Growing up high: Neurobiological consequences of adolescent cannabis use About one in five Canadian adolescents uses cannabis (19% of Canadians aged 15-19), and its recent legalization across the country warrants investigation into the consequence of this use on the developing brain. Adolescence is associated with the maturation of cognitive functions, such as working memory, decision-making, and impulsivity control. This is a highly vulnerable period for the development of the brain as it represents a critical period wherein regulatory connection between higher-order regions of the cortex and emotional processing circuits deeper inside the brain are established. It is a period of strong remodeling, making adolescents highly vulnerable to drug-related developmental disturbances. Research presented by Canadian neuroscientists Patricia Conrod, Steven Laviolette, Iris Balodis and Jibran Khokhar at the 2019 Canadian Neuroscience Meeting in Toronto on May 25 featured recent discoveries on the effects of cannabis on the adolescent brain. Dr. Patricia Conrod, at Universite de Montreal, studied the year-to-year changes in alcohol and cannabis use and cognitive function in a sample of adolescents consisting of 5% of all students entering high school in 2012 and 2013 in the Greater Montreal region (a total of 3,826 7th grade students). Students were assessed annually for 4 years on alcohol and cannabis use, and their cognitive function was evaluated using computarized cognitive tests. The researchers found substance use to be linked to low cognitive functioning, a finding that could be indicative of an underlying common vulnerability. Cannabis use was linked to impairments in working memory and inhibitory control, which is required for self-control. Cannabis use was also linked to deficits in memory recall and perceptual reasoning. Alcohol use was not linked to impairments in these cognitive functions, suggesting cannabis could have more long-term effects than alcohol. More recently Dr. Conrod's team analysed the sex difference in cannabis response in the same sample of adolescents. Preliminary data indicates that cannabis use had a stronger effect on the memory functions of male students than female students. Both sexes were however, equally affected by cannabis on inhibitory control. These results help identify at-risk youth groups and target them for early intervention and information. Dr. Steven Laviolette presented research on the effect the primary psychoactive component of cannabis, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol or THC, on the adolescent brain, in rodent animal models. His team demonstrated that adolescent exposure to THC induces changes in specific a region of the brain called the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and in a brain circuit, the mesolimbic pathway, that closely resemble the abnormalities observed in schizophrenia. Furthermore, adolescent THC exposure also caused affective and cognitive abnormalities including deficits in social interactions, memory processing and anxiety regulation. Interestingly, Dr. Laviolette's team found that administration of drugs that restore normal PFC function in early adulthood could reverse the effects of adolescent THC exposure. They also demonstrated that co-administering THC with drugs that prevent the THC-induced disruption in brain signaling pathways prevented the development of schizophrenia-like effects. These results offer insights into ways to prevent or reverse THC-induced brain signaling defects in adolescents. Dr. Iris Balodis, from McMaster University, investigates the mechanisms that motivate individuals to act and make decisions that can go against a person's best interest, as seen in people suffering from addiction. To compare decision-making in individuals suffering from cannabis addiction (also called cannabis use disorder) to healthy controls, Dr. Balodis used an effort-based decision-making test, which explores how much effort and individual is willing to make to receive a given reward. Participants are given a choice between an easy task or a hard task in which they can gain varying amounts of money (for example, pressing a lever a number within a certain time limit). During the administration of this test, Dr. Balodis and her team looked at differences in activity in different brain regions by functional magnetic resonance imaging. Initial findings suggest that there are differences in encoding the value of the reward (money received) and of the effort cost (amount of work done) in individuals addicted to cannabis relative to healthy controls. These were revealed by differences in activation of specific brain regions known to be important for motivation. This information could be key to finding cannabis addiction vulnerability factors. Adolescent cannabis use is associated with behavioral changes related to reward and motivation in humans. Paradoxically, this use has both been suggested to increase motivation for other drug use (the gateway hypothesis) and a potential "amotivation syndrome" in which individuals are less willing to expend effort to receive a reward. It is not known whether adolescent cannabis use causes either of these responses, or if cannabis use is rather a symptom of a pre-existing state that results in these behaviours. In order to better understand the long-term effects of adolescent cannabis exposure on the brain, Dr. Jibran Khokhar, from the University of Guelph, studied the effect of THC exposure in adolescent rats on their adult behaviour. In this study, adolescent THC exposure differentially impacted instrumental (decreased lever pressing) and Pavlovian learning (increased sign-tracking). These rats also showed differences in other reward-related behaviors. These behavioural changes were accompanied by changes in the connection between different regions of the brain, including those involved in encoding reward and motivation. These results suggest adolescent cannabis exposure in rats can produce long-lasting changes in brain circuitry which might contribute to the behavioral changes observed after cannabis exposure. Taken together, the research results presented in this symposium help decipher the links between cannabis use and long-lasting changes in the brain, which underlie changes in behaviour in adolescent humans, and in studies reverse-translating these findings to animal models. Research in humans shows that adolescent cannabis use is widespread, and associated with defects in working memory, self-control and motivation. Similar results were obtained in animal studies, through which researchers were also able to test therapies that can reverse the effects of adolescent cannabis use in adulthood. These findings provide keys to prevent and treat the long term effect of adolescent cannabis use. ### This story has been published on: 2019-05-25. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. After going through something as life-altering as a car accident, the best thing you can get out of it is... Re: The Latest: Air Force moves planes ahead of Oklahoma storms, (The Billings Gazette, May 20) Our military is taking no chances with the extreme weather and catastrophic storms we are experiencing, impacts of our changing climate. Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida was extensively damaged by Hurricane Michael last year and Nebraskas Offutt Air Force Base, home of U.S. Strategic Command, was flooded in March. Malmstrom AFB in Montana is also at risk. The military has long warned the government about the connection between climate change and national security. Fortunately, there is an effective, bipartisan solution to address the climate emergency. The Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act is a climate solution that goes further than any national policy to date, creating over 2 million new jobs, lowering health care costs, and promoting energy innovation (energyinnovationact.org). The animals can spread so quickly because they are sexually mature at a young age and can have large litters of six piglets or more. They weigh on average 120 to 250 pounds, but larger ones have tipped the scales at more than 400 pounds. They are very tough, Steuber said. Not much messes with a 300-pound sow with big tusks sticking out. In addition to the physical damage they can cause to habitat by rooting and feeding, feral swine are also known to carry 89 bacterial, viral, and parasitic diseases that can be transferred to livestock, wildlife, and humans everything from swine brucellosis to swine fever and salmonellosis. Crafty Hunting has proven to do little to halt the species' spread. Once threatened by hunters, the wild pigs may become nocturnal. They are also incredibly good at hiding, even burrowing under the snow to create pigloos. Although hunters may imagine them as bacon on hooves, wild pigs are leaner than farm-raised ones, since they are more active. That means the belly meat traditionally used for bacon may not be as marbled with fat. Styles-Rohde awarded Rhonda Styles-Rohde, director of marketing communications for Charles Hall Youth Services, has received the Woman of the Year Award from the Bismarck-Mandan Business and Professional Women. Styles-Rohde also is president of Bis-Man Stilettos, a committee member of The Mercy Box Movement, president of Arts for All and a volunteer with Innocence, Heavens Helpers Soup Cafe and Ministry on the Margins. Grorud to join Dr. Jane Grorud plans to join Mid Dakota Clinic Gateway Mall in pediatrics in mid-June. Grorud is a graduate of the University of North Dakota School of Medicine and completed a pediatric internship/residency at the University of Missouri/Columbia Hospitals and Clinics in Columbia in 1990. Hired as interns William Blewett and Hunter Vatne have been hired as summer interns in the Bismarck office of Advanced Engineering and Environmental Services Inc. Blewett, originally from Belgrade, Mont., is pursuing a bachelor of science in civil engineering degree at the University of Mary. He will work on civil municipal projects. Vatne, originally from Gillette, Wyo., is pursuing a civil engineering degree at U-Mary. He will work with the survey crew and on civil municipal projects. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Title: "Northern Lights" Author: Raymond Strom Publisher: Simon & Schuster Raymond Strom is no stranger of rural America having lived in small towns in Minnesota, the Dakotas, Montana and Wyoming, thus he writes of what he knows. He has seen the dying little towns with boarded up storefronts, little opportunity for employment, and nothing for young people to do. The 1990s story is told by Shane Stephenson set in Holm, Minn., searching for the mother he hasn't seen since grade school. He has just graduated from high school, went home to his uncle's place only to find a note and a bit of money telling him to load up his backpack and get out. Stephenson's father had died four months ago. That's when he decided to look for his mother. All he has to go on is a postcard from several years back, with the address of a hotel in Holm, Minn. Holm's residents take an initial dislike to the long-haired blond Stephenson, especially sadistic high school senior Sven Swenson. Stephenson makes his way to the place where his mother lived, a former hotel, and now a boarding house. The kindly building superintendent lets him rent his mother's former dingy room. While the search for his mother is futile, Stephenson gets a part time job at the local cafe and does make some new friends among other miss-fit teenagers in Holm. It is uncanny how hurting youth and misfits gravitate to each other. They introduce him to the new world of sex, and drugs; Russell a homosexual, beautiful straight Jenny, Mary and her boyfriend J. Alcohol, methamphetamine, weed, and cocaine become part of his life, but he is careful to keep his job. He has difficulty sorting his feelings for both Russell and Jenny. Antagonism grows between Stephenson and his friends and the always angry Swenson. He gruesomely kills two pet dogs and almost kills Stephenson several times by running him down with his truck, yet the youth are drawn to him for their drug needs, Russell being their go-to dealer. Jenny and Stephenson realize that Swenson has to be stopped and devise a plan to get needed proof of his drug dealings. Stephenson decides give up the drugs, which fortunately he is able to do, due in part because of his realization of what drug use has done to his friends and his love for both Jenny and Russell. Stephenson continues the search for his mother after a chance meeting with a former friend of hers that leads him to the state of Michigan. The book is gloomy, seemingly without hope, yet compelling the reader on through to the exciting climax. Strom's book shows the devastating effects poor or non-existing parenting can have on vulnerable youth. It shows how illicit drugs are available even in small rural communities. It shows the assortment of products available and what people will do to get them. It shows the odd (to this reader) unlikely means users adapt to getting them into their systems. It also shows how the drugs affect the human body. There is no "one size fits all" in the time for them to achieve the desired high affect, nor how long it will last. The author writes his characters and scenes with graphic clarity, with no attempt to gloss them over, but does leave the reader cheering for this group of unlikely friends. Virginia Luger is a former school teacher, business owner, and retired deacon in the Episcopal Church. Formerly from Fort Yates, she now lives in Bismarck. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Authors: Rebecca E. Bender and Kenneth M. Bender Title: "Still" Publisher: North Dakota State University Press, 2019. 328 pages of text with black/white photos throughout. Rebecca Bender credits her father Kenneth Bender as co-author for the stories he told her and for his unpublished book. Unless otherwise noted any reference to Bender refers to Rebecca Bender. The title Still comes from a question a newspaper editor asked her, Are you still Jewish? Benders book is a definite affirmative Yes. Benders great grandfather was born Keva Bendersky in small village in Czarist Russia. At 16, with his parents having died, he walked to a bigger village, met and married Rebecca under Jewish law and tradition. They had nine children, four of whom died. Their third son named Yosef was born in 1888. The family settled in Odessa, Russia, where there were more Jews and synagogues. Jews were not allowed to own land and lived with many restrictions. In the early 1880s, pogroms large scale, targeted massacres against Jews directly supported by Czar Alexander III and aided by the Czars secret police broke out in southern Russia. Pogroms continued and one in 1905 left Yosefs two brothers killed. Many Jews fled Odessa, but they had to do it secretly leaving everything behind. One sister secretly married and ultimately made it with her husband to America, which was destination favored by people looking for free land. In 1906 Keva, Rebecca, Yosef and his sister Lena left at night making it to Antwerp. The steamship fare had doubled so Keva and Rebecca went to America to claim homesteads leaving Yosef and Lena with a Jewish charity. They soon sent the money for Yosef and Lena who after arriving in America took the train to the end of the line in Eureka, S.D., where they rode on a horse drawn wagon to Ashley, N.D., to join their parents. When the family arrived in America the family name was shortened by immigration officials to Bender and Yosef became Joseph. By the time Jewish farmers arrived to claim homesteads most of the good land was already claimed. Keva got rocky, hilly soil. When Joseph became old enough, he too claimed a homestead near Ashley. When Keva died he was buried in the Ashley Jewish Homesteaders Cemetery. Joseph married and had a son named Keva. Joseph moved his family and his mother to Eureka and opened a general store. This was not an unusual path for Jewish homesteaders. When Keva was about to graduate from Eureka high school in 1933 they had a second son named David. Benders research revealed, North Dakota Jewish history was unlike that in any other states, as most of the first Jewish settlers came to till the soil. About 1,200 Jewish farmers and their families lived in North Dakota on 250 farms, in at least fifty settlements spread out over twenty-seven North Dakota counties between the 1880s and the 1920s. The Ashley Jewish Homesteaders Cemetery was the cemetery for the largest Jewish agriculture settlement ever in North or South Dakota, and it is the largest Jewish homesteader cemetery in North or South Dakota. Josephs son Keva went to law school at the University of Minnesota, graduating in 1939, but was unable to find a law job in Minneapolis due to blatant discrimination against Jews. He found a position in Rapid City, S.D., but in 1940 with war in Europe he volunteered for the draft. When he joined the Army, he changed his name from Keva to Kenneth. He went from being a private to becoming an officer commanding a company landing in Normandy on June 7 with the follow-on divisions. He was a good officer who cared for his men. He was awarded a Silver Star and several Purple Hearts, being discharged as a major in 1946. He settled in the Minneapolis area, married, had two daughters. He owned and operated a Federated store in Minneapolis for 53 years. During the annual trips in which Kenneth took his wife and daughters to Eureka they would always go north to visit the Ashley Jewish Homesteaders Cemetery. Bender writes of her own story and that of her son Lincoln, but the heart of her research is about the Jewish homesteaders in North Dakota. On Nov. 17, 2015, she succeeded in her effort to get the Ashley Jewish Homesteaders Cemetery named to the National Register of Historic Places. On May 17, 2017, the Ashley Jewish Homesteaders Cemetery was rededicated. Through all the generations in the Bender Family they devotedly maintained and honored their Jewish religion. Bender writes, Over the years I have learned that Judaism is much more than my religion. It is also a guide as to how to live my life, as it was to my ancestors. I have had great examples to follow from five generations of my family, as well as from rabbis and teachers. I also learned from them to recognize and appreciate the special qualities of persons who do not happen to be Jewish, and that all good deeds are on the same level no matter what the persons faith. This book is an excellent look at a very interesting part of North Dakotas history. Although I do not mean this as a criticism, this books epilogue at 68 pages out of 328 pages is the longest epilogue of any book I have ever read! Bob Wefald is a retired North Dakota State District Court judge, former attorney general and a retired Navy captain. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Mehlhoff recognized North Dakota Highway Patrol Trooper Brian Mehlhoff was named the 2018 Trooper of the Year by the North Dakota Motor Carriers Association. Mehlhoff, who is stationed in Bismarck, serves the southwest region as a traffic enforcement trooper. He has been a trooper since 2007 and serves on the Crash Reconstruction Team. Optimists give $5,000 The Bismarck Optimist Club has awarded a $5,000 Funds for the Future grant to Liberty Elementary in Bismarck. The school will use the funds to purchase inclusive playground equipment to be integrated with existing equipment. In its eighth year, the grant program is available to one or more elementary schools in Bismarck and Mandan each year for projects they plan to complete within the next calendar year. Med school recognition The University of North Dakota School of Medicine & Health Sciences recently presented awards to its graduating medical students, faculty and other community volunteers. Area recipients of the Deans Special Recognition Awards for Outstanding Volunteer Faculty include Dr. Heather Bedell and Timothy Bedell, clinical assistant professors of obstetrics and gynecology, Trinity Health, Minot; Dr. Amir Kichloo, clinical assistant professor of internal medicine, CHI St. Alexius Medical Center, Bismarck; Dr. Tessa Marburger, clinical associate professor of neurology, CHI St. Alexius Health, Williston; and Dr. Christina Tello-Skjerseth, clinical assistant professor of radiology, Sanford Health, Bismarck. Tello-Skjerseth also received the Alpha Omega Alpha Volunteer Clinical Faculty Recognition. Dr. Josalynne Hoff Rue, family medicine, Bismarck, received the Alpha Omega Alpha Resident Recognition. Recipients of Outstanding Teaching Awards included Dr. Aaron Chalmers, clinical assistant professor of surgery, Bismarck; and Dr. Paul Olson, clinical assistant professor of family and community medicine, Minot. Awards from NDU Four Bismarck residents have received scholarships and a grant from the North Dakota United Foundation for 2019-20. Olivia Becker has been awarded a $1,000 Horace Mann ND Agents Graduate Education Scholarship to pursue her masters degree in elementary administration. Becker is a Bismarck native who obtained a degree in elementary education from the University of Mary in 2014. She started teaching at Saxvik Elementary School. Erik Holland will receive a $500 Workplace Innovation Grant for a professional development program for teachers to learn about North Dakota history. Holland has been the curator of education at the State Historical Society of North Dakota since 2010. He studied archaeology and anthropology at the University of North Dakota and at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and received a master of arts degree in history with certificates in public history and museum studies. Anna Roaldson is the recipient of a $1,000 Member/Dependent Scholarship for her freshman year of study. Roaldson, a 2019 Bismarck High School graduate, plans to pursue a doctorate of physical therapy degree at the University of North Dakota. Mariah Fitterer will receive $1,750 through the Education Scholarship and a Gary and Cindy Rath Scholarship for her senior year at Dickinson State University. Fitterer, the daughter of Keith and Alice Fitterer, Bismarck, attended New Salem-Almont High School and is pursuing an elementary education degree with an early childhood endorsement. She has been a private tutor for elementary school students since August 2018 and is a co-owner of Fitterers Fireworks in Glen Ullin. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Paul Schauer was one of the first in Wilton to receive a volunteer emergency responder license plate. "I think just about everybody on the squad took advantage of that opportunity," said the volunteer ambulance driver, who is also a Lutheran pastor. North Dakota voters in 2018 approved a statutory initiative by 64% to provide volunteer firefighters and emergency medical personnel with red-colored license plates free of charge that grant admission to state parks. Since it took effect on Dec. 6, more than 2,550 sets of plates have been distributed to qualified volunteers, according to the North Dakota Department of Transportation. Volunteers must apply for the plates. Mandan Rural Fire Chief Lynn Gustin said 10 or 12 firefighters of his 32-member volunteer department have applied for and received plates since February or March. Gustin said he supported Measure 4, viewing the special plates as an incentive and "good deal for first responders" with voters' approval. He said he may apply for a plate this fall, though his pickup has a personalized license plate. Bismarck Rural Fire Chief Michael Voigt said his department encountered "a quandary" with the plates as the fire department includes paid, part-time employees who meet the state's volunteer definition. "We don't want to basically create a situation where it looks like over here we're saying we're not volunteers for the purposes of all our payroll and everything that we do, but then we bend the rules over here and we say that we are volunteers because this law reads a certain way," Voigt said. "I just don't want to create that with the public." He added his department will leave it to North Dakota lawmakers to adjust or clarify volunteer language in the 2021 legislative session. Lawmakers did pass a bill in their 2019 legislative session to put criteria in definitions related to the plates, such as volunteers' membership and pay. Since early May, Dan Schelske, park manager of Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park, said hes seen about six of the license plates at the park south of Mandan. License plates are something he takes notice of as visitors from other states frequent the park. He's also seen the red plates around Bismarck-Mandan. "There's a few floating around. They're really easy to spot," Schelske said. Schauer said he was neutral on Measure 4 but applied for plates "just to see how it worked." He received his plates in January and affixed them to his pickup. Some Wilton ambulance volunteers didn't apply for plates due to their "additional burden to taxpayers" and easy identification, he added. Schauer said he had wondered if the plates' visibility would make responders "a target" in some instances, such as an active shooter. "Those red plates do stick out," he said, but also called them "a nice gesture," especially for volunteers who log many hours on call. NDDOT in 2018 estimated a combined 10-year revenue loss to the highway tax distribution fund and state parks of about $17.7 million for Measure 4's fiscal impact. About 11,000 people serve volunteer fire departments and ambulance services in North Dakota. Reach Jack Dura at 701-250-8225 or jack.dura@bismarcktribune.com. Love 0 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. Volunteers are requested to place flags at headstones of the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery Monday morning before the Memorial Day ceremony there. Cemetery director Pam Helbling-Schafer said that because of a shortage of volunteers last year it took about three hours to plant the flags instead of the usual 30 minutes. "People can just show up and we'll be there to guide them and where the flag placement should be," Helbling-Schafer said. Volunteers are further requested to help remove the flags at 7 p.m. Monday. The Memorial Day service will begin at noon Monday at the cemetery south of Mandan. The 45-minute program will include a flyover and music from the 188th Army Band brass quintet. Various honor guards will post colors, with a rifle volley from American Legion Post 40 and Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 707, both of Mandan. The North Dakota National Guard Military Funeral Honors also will present a cannon salute. Retired Brig. Gen. Al Palmer will give the keynote address after remarks from Gov. Doug Burgum, Sen. John Hoeven and Maj. Gen. Alan Dohrmann. The ceremony's theme will be "Vietnam 50 Years Remembered." Bleachers and chairs will provide seating for 500. Attendees may bring their own chairs. The American Red Cross and the Salvation Army will provide refreshments for the ceremony. Burgum has directed flags to fly at half-staff Monday until noon. A local Memorial Day service organized by the American Legion Lloyd Spetz Post 1 of Bismarck will begin at 9:45 a.m. Monday at the North Dakota Heritage Center's Russell Reid Auditorium. Reach Jack Dura at 701-250-8225 or jack.dura@bismarcktribune.com. 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. WEST FARGO Imagine if your school district grew so fast it had to build a new building every year to handle growth, but it essentially wouldnt see funding for the students taught in the new building until the following year. Thats the situation West Fargo Public Schools has faced for the last six years. The district that enrolled 10,799 students this past fall has gained 2,338 children since the 2013-14 school year, averaging growth of almost 400 students per year, North Dakota Department of Public Instruction figures show. But because of a law passed by the 2013 Legislature, school districts have been funded using a formula based on the previous years enrollment. For example, West Fargo opened Willow Park Elementary School in August because of the increase in students. Funding for those students wont be seen until next school year. That means we are not really able to spend $10,000 per kid, said Mark Lemer, West Fargo Public Schools business manager. On the other end of the spectrum, smaller districts with declining numbers can receive the per-student funding amount they got in 2012-13, or they can go by the formula if it provides more money. This option exists because of a so-called "hold harmless" clause in the formula meant to help shrinking districts. For example, Sawyer School District in north-central North Dakota has lost 80 students since the 2013-14 school year, the most of any district in the state, and reported an enrollment of 39 children in 2018-19. Sawyers total formula funding would be $599,982 for the 2019-20 school year. But because the district goes by the 2012-13 baseline, its state and local payouts for next school year total $1.7 million, including $1.3 million in state aid. But that baseline is set to lapse in the 2021-22 school year if legislators dont adjust it, said North Border Public Schools Superintendent Paul Stremick, who oversees schools in Walhalla and Pembina. Basically, that safety net thats been there for small schools that have been declining (will) eventually disappear, he said. Some advocates, including Gov. Doug Burgum and DPI Superintendent Kirsten Baesler, pushed the Legislature to give schools on-time per-student payments based on current enrollment. However, lawmakers this year ultimately decided to switch to 50% on-time payments beginning in 2020-21 and increase those payments 10% each year until they reach 100%. The Legislature also plans to study the per-student formula. Legislators cited a high price tag in their reasoning for not immediately switching to 100% on-time funding. Also, legislators may have been hesitant to change the formula if a district is in danger of consolidating or closing because of the change, Baesler said. For schools in West Fargo, Williston, Bismarck and Watford City, which have grown by hundreds of students in some years, the current formula can leave funding gaps for administrators. A school district can absorb 15 students, 30 students even, Baesler said. When you start talking about absorbing 2,300 students over a six-year period, thats an incredible amount of money to ask a school district to carry. How the formula works The idea is to pay schools based on the students who were educated rather than pay for phantom students, Baesler said. A lawsuit from counties with low property values, Baesler said, claimed the state was not paying districts enough. With the state covering a larger share of school funding, the state needed to devise a new formula to pay districts, she said. It was a need to become better at forecasting and budgeting for the number of students, she said. Its easier to budget for something and make sure that you are paying only for what you are paying for if you are a year behind. The state uses a formula to determine the average daily enrollment of each district, she said. Other factors are weighted to adjust the number to come up with the amount of weighted student units, which is then multiplied by the amount allocated for each student $9,839 for next school year. Based on this formula, West Fargo is expected to get $120.4 million next school year. That money includes $98.1 million in state aid, plus local property taxes and other local contributions. Fargo Public Schools has not been growing at the rate of West Fargo the former has gained about 400 students in six years, with a 2018-19 enrollment of 11,373, according to the DPI. Formula funds are used to pay for salaries and benefits for teachers and staff. Stretching its money over a larger number of students, West Fargo has had to make tough decisions in the past to balance its budget, from pulling funds from reserves to deciding whether to hire more teachers or pay teachers more. It also cant expand programs or provide items staff say they need, according to district officials. Fears of closing Although legislators said it would have been too expensive to switch to on-time payments right away, Lt. Gov. Brent Sanford said such a switch in the second half of the 2019-21 biennium was possible, adding it would have cost $17 million. What is happening now is there will be a six-year tail on this, he said. When you talk to the normal general public, they shake their heads and say, Why would you not pay for the kids that are there? Legislation passed this year creates a new baseline for schools with declining enrollments they cant make less than the 2017-2018 level. About 80 districts are not on the formula system, meaning they are held harmless and dont see a drop in funding because of declining enrollment. North Border, which consists of schools in Pembina and Walhalla, has lost 45 students in the last six years, though enrollment has been up and down. It reported 319 students this school year. Under the formula, the district would receive $3.6 million next school year. But it's not on the per-student formula system, so it will get a total of $5.9 million, including $4.2 million in state aid. The hold harmless clause has been beneficial because schools with dipping enrollment still need to pay enough teachers to educate children, Stremick said. At some point, we have to draw a line and say, What size school is the minimum size school we need? he said. Schools arent losing large amounts of students in North Dakota for the most part. But in the case of Sawyer, the loss of 80 students over six years means a student body decrease of 37%. Sawyer school officials did not respond to requests for comment on this story. Sanford said the state has to come up with an efficient way to pay districts. But he noted that communities want to do everything they can to keep their schools open, especially as enrollment declines. Theres a component to this thats super important: to not be closing schools all over the state, he said. You dont want to have it where kids are driving 100 miles to school, so it is a balancing act. Lemer said the change in funding is appreciated and gives a glimmer of hope the formula will improve. The fact that we actually got to 50% in the second year makes me somewhat hopeful that the Legislature would move that up, he said. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 As we prepare to observe Memorial Day on Monday there are reminders of why we honor those who served and gave their lives. The reminders bring the past alive even for those who werent born at that time. Among the sailors serving in Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, were two brothers from Minot. Seaman 2nd Class Calvin H. Palmer, 23, and Navy Seaman 2nd Class Wilferd D. Palmer, 21, were shipmates aboard the USS Oklahoma when Japanese planes attacked. They were among the 429 crew members of the Oklahoma who died during the surprise bombing. Their remains werent identified and along with hundreds of unidentifiable bodies were buried in 46 plots at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu in 1947. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency exhumed the USS Oklahoma unknown remains from the Punchbowl for analysis in 2015. This year the Palmer brothers were identified. "These brave brothers, who perished along with 427 others on the USS Oklahoma during the attacks on Pearl Harbor, remind us yet again of the bravery and sacrifices of our nation's Greatest Generation," Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., said after the announcement they were identified. The remains of 72,729 are still unaccounted for from World War II, according to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency. Some of the unidentified remains no doubt come from D-Day on June 6, 1944. This year will be the 75th anniversary of the largest seaborne invasion in history to liberate Europe. More than 9,000 Allied soldiers were killed or wounded after landing on the beaches of Normandy. There arent many D-Day veterans left and this year could be the last big commemoration of the event. It wont be long before all the veterans of World War II are gone like those from World War I. That doesnt mean they will be forgotten. The fact that the U.S. continues to try to identify victims of the wars involving our country demonstrates a resolve not to forget. There are several reasons we should continue the effort to identify the dead. First, we owe it to the men and women who served the nation in the steamy jungles, freezing winters and at sea (and under it). They fought and died in awful conditions. There are still family members, especially from recent conflicts, who would like closure. Confirmation that a loved one died can help the healing. Sometimes identification can provide information about the circumstances of the death. It all adds up that identification is the responsibility of the nation that sent them into battle. Its also our responsibility to remember and honor those who served. We will do that with Memorial Day ceremonies at the North Dakota Heritage Center at 9:45 a.m. Monday and the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery starting at noon Monday. There's also an event from 2 to 3 p.m. Monday at the Former Governors' Mansion. There will be music and poetry. Its the least we can do. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Africa is one of the most admired continents in the globe due to its rich culture emanating from its diversified groups. Among the prominent cultures in South Africa, the outstanding one is that of the Swazi. The Swazi culture is one exciting tribe that has for years caught the eyes of residents and tourists. The aspect making this ethnic group even more famous is their South African dresses, which most people know as the Swazi traditional attire. Image: pixabay.com Source: UGC The Swazi culture has distinct features that make it stand out from the other tribes. Their beliefs, ceremonies, residential units; are some of the characteristics that make this tribe unique. Who makes up the Swazi? Since there are very many cultures in a country, it makes it vital to know the identification of the Swazi tribe. The Swazi refer to a tribe, nation, or an ethnic group that speaks the siSwati language. Most of the siSwati speakers reside in South Africa and Mozambique. In South Africa, the Swazi can be found in Swaziland, which is a small landlocked country with an estimate of 17, 368 square kilometers. Since they are the dominant tribe in this region, Swaziland is often referred to as the land of Swati. For those who may be wondering, Swati is also another name used to refer to the Swazi nation. History of the Swazi tribe The Swati tribe acquired its name after the prominent king Mswati II, who acquired his throne in 1839. The lineage of this ethnic group can also be traced back to the era of chief Dlamini, which up to date is the royal clan title. Roughly three-quarters of these Dlamini clan names comprise of the Nguni tribe, and the other quarter belonging to the Sotho and the Tsonga. With time, these clans have intermarried amongst themselves. Image: instagram.com, @mirjamw76 Source: Instagram When comparing these tribe tribes, you will note minor differences among the Swazi group. Despite the differences, this nation still extends its devotion to the duo monarchs of Ngwenyama the Lion (which is seen as the king) and Ndlovukati the She-Elephant (which is regarded as the queen mother). Domestic unit of the Swazi tribe Typically, a household comprises of the father, who is the head of the family, the mother, and the children. This is no different from the household in this ethnic group. In a home, which is known as the indlu, there is a man, his wife, and children. A sophisticated house stead, on the other hand, is made up of households, in which members share the agricultural tasks, and eat from one kitchen. In case there are multiple households on the homestead, each comprises of a single polygamous family, an agnatic family, or a complex family grouping. In some instances, the wife has an attached co-wife who is known as the inhlanti. Both of them work alongside each other, and together with the children, they make the house. Once a son marries and has children, he, his wife, and children form another house within the premises of the house of his mother. Nguni huts The Swati still live in the traditional Nguni huts which are made of thatch and poles which are bound together with ropes. Despite being a place for living and comfort, the huts also have a significant meaning in village life. Image: pixabay.com Source: UGC The indlunkulu hut is used as a shrine. There is also a hut where only the wives of a man live. READ ALSO: Zulu traditional food with pictures Religious beliefs of the Swazi The Swati believe in a supreme being whom they call Mkhulumnqande. They think that Mkhulumnqande formed the earth but demands no sacrifices. There is also a belief that Mkhulumnqande is not to be associated nor worshipped with the ancestral spirits. It is the role of the Swati men to offer sacrifices to the ancestors during the traditional religious ceremonies. On the other hand, the women communicate with the spirits, while the queen mother acts as the custodian of the rain medicines. Marriage units in the Swazi tribe The Swazi traditional wedding is one of the most favorite ceremonies in South Africa. Not only is it a beautiful occasion, but a time to admire the traditional attire styles. In this tribe, unions between the same clans are forbidden, and this helps maintain social ties. In the past, polygamous marriages were, but presently, they have reduced due to the spread of Christianity. Sub-clans are frequently formed to facilitate the union of members of the same clan. Divorce is also present in this ethnic group and has increased as a result of urbanization. Traditional attire of the Swazi It is obvious that the South African traditional clothing outstand when one is looking at the African traditional dresses and skirts. In this tribe, the Swazi traditional dresses are particular to gender and age. According to the Swazi culture clothing, infants aged 3 months are clothed with protective medicines only. Males that are between 3 months and three years are given tiny loin skin to wear, whereas the females of the same age group are required to wear no cloth or sometimes wear a string of colorful beads. Image: instagram.com, @eswatini_royalty Source: Instagram Males between 3 years and eight years wear loin skin while females of the same age wear a string of beads and a skirt that is made of grass or fabric. Males aged 8 to 17 are required to clothe themselves in loin skin and a penis cap, whereas females aged 8 to 15 must clothe themselves in a skirt made from grass or skirt and short toga of fabric, which must be accompanied by bead necklaces. Unmarried males clothe themselves in loin skins and cloth and bead ornaments, while the females wear a dress of fabric, and hold their hair up in a small bun. Married males clothe themselves in loin skins whereas the females that just got wedded clothe in skin skirts and skin aprons, and an apron under their armpits. The reed dance One of the most popular cultural celebrations of this tribe is the Umhlanga Reed Dance.The eight-day ceremony commences in late August or early September. The ritual requires the unmarried girls to cut off reeds and hand them over to the queen mother. Image: pixabay.com Source: UGC After giving away the reeds, the traditional dance follows. The ceremony is held to make the unmarried girls pay homage to the queen mother and the king. It is a good time to spot some of the most creative African traditional wear. Arts and crafts of the Swazi tribe The Swati ethnic group is famous throughout South Africa due to its appealing arts and crafts, which they still use to date. They have colorful beaded jewelry that is breathtaking. From history, the religious beliefs, to the traditional attires, it is crystal clear that the Swazi culture is one to be admired. The Swati people have stayed true to their roots and continued to entertain us with their traditional dances such as the reed dance. READ ALSO: 5 Facts about heritage day South Africa you need to know Source: Briefly News News / National by Staff reporter PRESIDENT Mnangagwa has urged the nation to remain united and support Government policies in finding lasting solutions to current challenges and the attainment of Vision 2030.Speaking during the commissioning parade for 149 officer cadets at the 35th Commissioners' Cadet Ceremony at the Zimbabwe Military Academy (ZMA) in Gweru yesterday, the President urged the nation to embrace the new dispensation to ensure sustainable economic growth."My Government is presently in a phase of transition which is geared to put our country back on the rails of development."In our politics, economy and society in general, our country has been stuck in the old way of doing things. This has held us back as a nation for too long. We must embrace the new, to ensure sustainable economic growth that will develop our country and speedily improve the standard of living of all people," he said.President Mnangagwa said the road to recovery will be bumpy but through resilience and unity, Zimbabweans will enjoy the fruits as a country. President Mnangagwa officially opens accommodation and mess facilities."The journey towards the attainment of Vision 2030, requires us to have common ideals, convictions and unity of purpose. "As I have saidthe road will not be easy and requires sacrifices by all of us. Let us collectively determine to build a modern, industrialised, stronger and more prosperous Zimbabwe, for both present and future generations," he said.President Mnangagwa said even if the road to recovery gets bumpy, Government will not take short cuts to prosperity. He urged all progressive forces to pull in one direction and have the interests of the country at heart."We cannot and should not take short cuts for political expediency. Our economics and politics must be that which puts national interests above individual or group interests."My Government will continue to put in place an environment that ensures the long term benefits of all citizens of our great country."As we implement the broad economic reform policies, we will also put in place the appropriate safety nets to cushion the most vulnerable members of society."I, therefore, urge all of us to remain resolute and play our part in line with the Transitional Stabilization Programme and our quest to attain vision 2030," the Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Forces said.President Mnangagwa commended the ZDF for remaining vigilant and loyal as Government works towards solutions to current challenges."I further, recognize the unflinching resilience of the Defence Forces in general, who have remained loyal, focused and dedicated as my Government seeks to find lasting solutions to the currents challenges facing the forces."I assure you all that my government remains seized with the need to address the housing backlog among other issues affecting our public service, including the uniformed forces."Of the 149 officers graduated with a Diploma in Military Training and Education in association with Midlands State University, 35 were female.Overall best cadet Nobesuthu Moyo, a female, got a sword of honour and US$500 from the President. Second best cadet Itai Katsega got US$300, and third placed Lloyd Mbonisi US$200. President Mnangagwa said the Second Republic offers many opportunities for women. "I encourage them (female cadet officers) to always draw strength and inspiration, throughout their professional journey, from the resolve and determination that saw them completes this demanding course."Under the second republic, my Government will continue to ensure that women reach their full potential, with no glass ceilings. With hard work, zeal and perseverance anything is achievable, regardless of one's gender."I commend the Zimbabwe Defence Forces for continuing to strive for gender equity in line with our country's gender policy which calls for equal opportunities," he said.President Mnangagwa praised the marriage between the military and MSU for churning out officers who are able to deal with contemporary threats."Academic partnerships of this nature must always ensure that the graduates of this academy are equipped to deal with a broad spectrum of contemporary threats and opportunities within the security architecture. "Hence, bold, astute, innovative and entrepreneurial mindsets must equally be inculcated within the military domain."Wide ranging capabilities and talents of our cadets must therefore be constantly explored as we quest to build a stronger and modern defence forces."I commend the academy for its resource fullness and persistence in the fulfilment of the institutions mandate and set objectives, in spite of various constraints," he said.At least 215 officer cadets were enrolled at ZMA in September 2017 and of those, 149 were commissioned yesterday after 63 dropped for various reasons while three died during the period of the course. After the parade ceremony, the President also commissioned the new state-of-the-art cadet accommodation and messing facilities.Present at the graduation ceremony were Minister of Defence and War Veterans Affairs Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri, Minister of State for Midlands Provincial Affairs Larry Mavima, Minister of State for National Security Owen Ncube, ZDF commander General Philip Valerio Sibanda, Deputy Chief Secretary in the office of the President George Charamba, war veterans chairman Ambassador Christopher Mutsvangwa, and senior Government officials. News / National by Staff reporter Violence is not part of the Zimbabwe culture and its proponents must be condemned and rejected, President Mnangagwa has said.Speaking during the commissioning parade of 149 officer cadets at the 35rd Commissioners' Cadet Ceremony at the Zimbabwe Military Academy (ZMA) in Gweru yesterday, the President said Zimbabwe is a peace-loving nation.He said dialogue must be entrenched to promote peace."Let us always uphold our cultural values and ensure that our unique, tangible and intangible cultural heritage is not only embraced, but respected, safeguarded and celebrated."Violence is not part of our culture and its proponents must be condemned and rejected. The culture of dialogue should be preserved and entrenched. Each one of us must value and maintain peace, the peace that we are enjoying as it is the springboard that will help us attain upper and middle income economy status by 2030," he said. President Mnangagwa urged officers to be loyal and committed to their country."Now that you have attained this first major step in your chosen career path. I urge you to be loyal, disciplined and committed to your country. Be vigilant and watchful, avoid conduct and company that may defile your love for our great country," he said.The Commander-in-Chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces urged officers to measure up to their training."The academy is renowned for producing high grade officers, of sound professional and moral character. You must therefore, measure up to the expectation that comes with being a graduate of this premier military institution," he said.Last year, the Nelson Chamisa led MDC-Alliance pre-planned the August 1 post-election violence, which left six people dead and property estimated at millions of dollars, destroyed.Early this year, MDC-Alliance also instigated an illegal protest where they barricaded roads, looted groceries from shops and burnt Government property such as police stations and buses. A total of 78 police officers were injured in the line of duty while one was killed. News / National by Staff reporter Government is still working hard to address challenges facing employees in the health sector despite concerns by worker representatives at the pace at which the State was moving, the Health Service Board (HSB) has said.In an interview yesterday, HSB chairman, Dr Paulinus Sikosana said according to the minutes from Thursday's Bipartite Negotiating Forum (BNF), issues brought to the table were issues Government was already seized with and working flat out to address."The vehicle loan scheme, which was one of the issues brought to the table is something Government is already working on. Of course, the amendment of the Statutory Instrument 63 to accommodate vehicles less than 10 years has taken a bit of time, but these are issues the Ministry of Health (and Child Care), the Ministry of Finance (and Economic Development) and Zimra (Zimbabwe Revenue Authority) are working tirelessly on," said Dr Sikosana.He said on the other hand, the vehicle loan scheme itself was being implemented and workers with free funds were getting their duty free certificates."So far there are 18 applications from employees with their free funds waiting for duty free certificates and they are currently being processed and as we speak, all the US$10 million has been allocated," said Dr Sikosana.The Fund is revolving, more workers are expected to benefit as others pay back.Dr Sikosana said the agenda item on cost of living adjustments was an issue affecting all employees, including those outside the health sector and can therefore not be addressed through the BNF."This is an issue Government is looking into and as far as we are concerned Central Government has already indicated that there will be a review on cost of living in June and that is what we advised them," he said.On the issue of work environment, Dr Sikosana said although the workers did not specify their challenges the common issues were to do with drug supply, protective clothing and functioning of equipment, which President Mnangagwa and Minister of Health Dr Obadiah Moyo have committed to address."Government is already seized with these issues from the highest office and there is that commitment that Government is working to improve the working environment for health workers. Some of these improvements might not happen overnight, but Government is working on them," said Dr Sikosana.He said the other item on the agenda was to do with flexible working hours especially for nurses."There is nothing controversial about this issue. The meeting agreed that flexible working hours for nurses should continue," said Dr Sikosana.Although the workers have indicated their intention to down tools until these issues are addressed, Dr Sikosana said the Board was still open to negotiations.Zimbabwe Nurses' Association (Zina) president Mr Enock Dongo, however, said the Health Apex Council failed to agree with the employer in Thursday's meeting and were therefore considering alternative options to express their grievances."All health workers have agreed to issue a 14-day notice to the HSB to address the issues that were raised," said Mr Dongo.He said some of the issues raised had been on the agenda for a long time and health workers were becoming frustrated. These, according to Mr Dongo, are the vehicle loan scheme, payment of locums, flexible working hours for nurses and grading of health workers into correct grades."Whenever Government promises something to the worker, they should urgently implement it not to just talk about it without action," said Mr Dongo.In a feedback letter to its members, the Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors Association (ZHDA) concurred that the Apex Council declared a deadlock in the negotiations."Against this background that the past two meetings, health apex rejected twice the April cost of living adjustment and that today, no offer came, health apex declared a deadlock," said ZHDA. News / National by Mandla Ndlovu Human Rights Watch Southern Afrca Director Dewa Mavhinga has reported that five men claiming to be state agents have stormed exiled former cabinet minister Saviour Kasukuwere's farmSaid Mavhinga, "Alert: 5 men claiming to be State Agents at Hon_Kasukuwere's Cornucopia Mazowe Farm demanding to search without a warrant. Family and workers scared, want Mazowe Police to intervene."Kasukuwere is reported to be in self-imposed exile in South Africa after the state hounded him for various crimes that he allegedly committed while he was still a minister.More to follow... News / National by Staff reporter OUTSPOKEN Ntabazinduna Chief Nhlanhlayamangwe Ndiweni says MDC leader Nelson Chamisa was real head of the nation while President Emmerson Mnangagwa was only just a "constitutional" leader.Chief Ndiweni was speaking at the 5th elective Congress of the MDC in Gweru on Saturday.Ndiweni called for "proper dialogue" and declared Chief Justice Luke Malaba's judgment after last year's electoral petition by Chamisa challenging the results of last year's elections as a charade."We need a dialogue that is led by a third person who is Independent," Ndiweni said."This dialogue we are seeing today is nonsense."Imagine if Muhhamad Ali and George Foreman were fighting and George Foreman says no we do not need a judge I can be a judge. That is the situation we are in in our country."In a thinly veiled attack on President Emmerson Mnangagwa's legitimacy, Chief Ndiweni added: "Currently in our country we have a constitutional President and a popular president right here (in Gweru). We have not started yet. Things will get much worse."Ndiweni thanked the MDC for inviting him to the event and gave solidarity messages from Filabusi Chief Vezi Maduna.The Saturday event was attended by the Secretary General of Kenya's Orange Democratic Movement and Uganda's charismatic Bobi Wine. News / National by Staff reporter FORMER Kuwadzana MP Betty Nhambu-Kaseke (Zanu-PF) has brought smiles to hundreds of Cyclone Idai victims after she donated some bales of clothes, children's shoes and two tonnes of sorghum through the Zanu-PF women's league.Nhambu-Kaseke presented the donations at Zanu-PF Headquarters in Harare at an event also attended by Senate president Mabel Chinomona and other senior members of the women's league.She said her foundation was there to assist the less privileged in society."As a woman and mother who understands and knows what children go through, I have noticed that children are being sidelined in this crisis, hence I have done something for them in order to bring a smile to our fellow brothers and sisters who are in dire need of such assistance," Kaseke said."This Cyclone Idai is a national disaster which requires all of us across the spectrum to give a helping hand."Chinomona commended Nhambu-Kaseke for the gesture."She could have taken these goods to the victims' herself, but she remembered that I have others who are in the women's league," she said. TAJAMUKA22/05/19TOTAL & FINAL SHUTDOWN!!!Today we officially declared the national shutdown against government's bad policies that have led to the untold suffering of the citizens.This declaration means that nobody should come to work from Monday the 27th of May 2019 to Friday the 31st of May 2019.We have announced this shutdown on a Thursday to give you time to buy all the basic necessities you will need during the national shutdown. If you decide to come to work during the stay away or to open your shop, do not cry fowl when rowdy elements, taking advantage of the citizens stay away destroy damage or loot your shop.We are shutting down to protestHigh and unjustified taxesPlanned and unlawful retrenchment of civil servantsKilling and eviction of vendors without offering them any alternative livelihoodDeteriorating living standards, shortage of basic commodities and hiking pricesUse of live ammunition by state enforcement agents against unarmed and peace loving citizens.In conclusion, non but ourselves can stop us. Let us show these thieves that enough is enough.Economic freedom in our lifetime!Tajamuka/Sesjikile CampaignPeople's Revolutionary Council News / National by Methusi Ncube Former Zipra intelligence supremo and liberation war stalwart Dr Dumiso Dabengwa has been declared a national hero.Vice president kembo Mohadi told a crowd that had gathered at the Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport in Bulawayo to welcome the body of the former cabinet minister that the government had conferred the status on Dr Dabengwa.Credited with crafting and spearheading the liberation war, Dr Dabengwa died in Kenya on Thursday on his way from India where he had gone to seek treatment for a liver related illness.He was 79.The body did not arrive only the family was in the plane. Mohadi has said arrangements are still being made to transport the body from South Africa News / National by Staff reporter Zanu-PF's United Kingdom (UK) Youth League members have thrown their weight behind President Emmerson Mnangagwa and launched a campaign to support the Head of State's economic reforms which seeks to propel Zimbabwe into an upper middle income economy by 2030.The massive campaign, launched in the town of Dunstable, also aims to mobilise Zimbabweans in other parts of the UK to partake in economic opportunities presented by the Second Republic.Pioneers of the programme are Zanu-PF UK district Youth League members Cdes Salome Eric, Kudzai Makuku, Kudzaishe Chipadza, Takudzwa Chidarikire and Fungai Mudoma.In a statement to The Sunday Mail, the youths said the programme will spread to other parts of the UK."In support of His Excellency, President ED Mnangagwa's vision for Zimbabwe to be an upper middle income economy by 2030, Zimbabwean UK based Zanu-PF youths launched an initiative aimed at encouraging diaspora based Zimbabweans to partake in making Vision 2030 a reality," read the statement in part."Once awakened, Vision 2030 will be not a vision, but a reality for all Zimbabweans, both in the diaspora and at home."Despite the pioneers being members of Zanu-PF UK and EU Youth League, they are focused on economics ahead of politics to ensure that by 2030, Zimbabwe will emerge as an upper middle income economy with high quality life for its citizens."Zanu-PF UK district youth chair Masimba Tawengwa applauded the youths for the initiative and implored young people to take up opportunities presented by President Mnangagwa's administration."I am so proud of these youths who are defying the odds and rising up to the challenge of promoting Zanu-PF right within the belly of the beast," he said."These youths have refused to be lethargic and came up with this noble, intelligent way of reaching out to Zimbabweans in the UK to promote key Government and party policies." News / National by Staff reporter IN a show of popularity and heart-warming camadarie, President Emmerson Mnangagwa yesterday received the most thunderous welcome from thousands of South Africans gathered at Loftus Versfeld Stadium for the inauguration of President Cyril Ramaphosa.President Mnangagwa was part of the 20 Heads of State and Government that attended yesterday's ceremony which was also graced by former South African presidents, diplomats and leaders of various international organisations.President Mnangagwa was given a rapturous applause soon after arrival while making his way to the VVIP platform where other important dignitaries were seated. President Ramaphosa became the 6th President of South African following the end of Apartheid in 1994. His African National Congress party won the elections held on May 8 with a 57,5 percent majority. The main opposition party, Democratic Alliance, came a distant second with 20,8 percent follows with the Economic Freedom Fighters third with 10,8 percent of the vote.The ANC managed to retain all the eight provinces it held before the elections while the Democratic Alliance retained its governing position in the Western Cape. President Ramaphosa took his oath of office before South Africa's Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng. In his inauguration speech, President Ramaphosa said he would be guided by the country's values in discharging his duties."Our Constitution - the basic law of our land - continues to guide our way even at the darkest hour. As a nation, we therefore can no longer abide the grave disparities of wealth and opportunity that have defined our past and which threaten to imperil our future. It is our shared will - and our shared responsibility - to build a society that knows neither privilege nor disadvantage. It is a society where those who have much are willing to share with those who have little. It is a society where every person, regardless of race or sex or circumstance, may experience the fundamental necessities of a decent, dignified life."President Ramaphosa also thanked African leaders who attended yesterday's ceremony and pledged to work with other African nations for the continent's development."We are profoundly grateful to you for choosing to celebrate Africa Day among us, giving further poignancy to South Africa's transformation from a pariah state to a full and valued member of the family of African nations," he said."We also recognise, with appreciation, those countries from other continents who have joined us today. We remain eternally grateful to all nations represented here for the sacrifices and tireless contributions by your people and governments to the liberation of our land. Today, we reaffirm our determination to work with our sisters and brothers across the continent to realise the African Union's vision of Agenda 2063."Zimbabwe and South Africa enjoy cordial relations dating back to the liberation struggle. News / National by Staff reporter ZIMBABWE must improve its business environment if it is to receive any meaningful investment from China, a senior diplomat has said.Following years of condemnation by international financiers and Western governments for gross human rights violations and failure to pay debts, Zimbabwe turned to the Asian giant, which doled out billions in loans to Harare in exchange for unchecked access to the country's vast mineral wealth.But with most of those loans falling due and Zimbabwe showing little to no capacity to settle its obligations, Beijing has been holding back support demanding bankable projects before any new financing can be released.China's deputy ambassador to Zimbabwe Zhao Baogang told Standardbusiness that Chinese investors had adopted a wait-and-see attitude towards Zimbabwe."We appreciate the efforts done by the Zimbabwean government to facilitate the investment from China and many other countries, but we still can see when theChinese investors come here they encounter some problems."So we expect that the government will improve the efficiency in resolving all the issues related to the investment climate," Zhao said on the sidelines of the Zimbabwe-China Business Forum held in Harare recently."For example, when they come here if they want to find a piece of land, it takes a long time and when the factory has been set up there is a shortage of electricity."It is also at times a little bit difficult for some investors to get work permits, so we expect that these problems can be resolved very soon though this is a drop of water in the mainstream of the cooperation between the two sides."But if we don't resolve it, it might have a very negative impact between the two sides."With little access to other sources of foreign capital, Zimbabwe is desperate to attract Chinese investment to retool its dormant industry and jump-start its economy.Zimbabwe is ranked 155 out of 190 countries on the global ease of doing business and the country also ranks poorly on Transparency International's corruption index.The country dropped three places from last year to 160 out of 180 countries in the 2019 report."From time to time I still want to make this call to the government and the business community to resolve those issues," Zhao said."Certainly, it is not possible that we don't have any problems, but whenever we have any problems we prefer to have them resolved as quickly as possible to pave way for future investments."Once all the bottlenecks are removed, Zhao said a "stream" of Chinese investment will come to Zimbabwe."Last year Zimbabwe only attracted $487 million in foreign direct investment, but the surrounding countries attracted billions of dollars in investment," he added."Zimbabweans ask me why Chinese businesspersons are not coming to Zimbabwe in huge numbers."Some of them are here, they have really encountered some problems, they came here but they cannot find land, they were promised resources but those promises are not fulfilled and have their factories here but they don't have enough electricity."Meanwhile, Vice-President Kembo Mohadi assured Chinese businesspeople that they would be able to repatriate their profits as the country is a safe and secure tourism and investment destination."So feel free to invest," he said.However, experts say, despite moving in the right direction, Zimbabwe is not moving fast enough on the ease of doing business.There have been slow reforms largely in financing the processes and getting support from policymakers. News / National by newzimbabwe THE body of late national hero and Zapu president Dumiso Dabengwa will now arrive in Bulawayo on Monday after family members and Zapu officials resisted government's move to ferry his body through Harare.Dabengwa, who died in Nairobi, Kenya on Thursday enroute to Zimbabwe after undergoing a month-long treatment in India, will be buried on Saturday at a family graveyard in Ntabazinduna.The body of the struggle icon was set to arrive in Bulawayo on Sunday aboard a South African Airways plane but did to come as expected, much to the disappointment of hundreds who thronged Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo Airport to welcome their much-loved hero.It also emerged that some family members - who included Dabengwa's widow - who had gone to South Africa to meet his body from Kenya, were informed their relative's body was not on the flight when the plane was mid-air.Addressing journalists at the airport Sunday afternoon, Vice President Kembo Mohadi said that Dabengwa's body could not fit into the plane's cargo area.H said Mnangagwa's government was making arrangements that his body be flown into Zimbabwe either this evening (Sunday) through any other aircraft but not directly to Bulawayo. They were trying to get him to come in a commercial plane via Harare and the Air Force brings the body to Bulawayo.During a meeting, Dabengwa's family members and the Zapu leadership expressed reservations over government's move to take Dabengwa's body via Harare."Dabengwa's wife Mama MaKhumalo openly told Mohadi and his delegation that the option of taking her husband's body to Harare was unacceptable," said a source who was part of the tense meeting also attended by Defence Minister Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri, Zanu PF secretary for Administration Obert Mpofu and Patrick Chinamasa.Addressing mourners at the late national hero's home, family spokesperson, Gibson Sibanda said Dabengwa's body will no longer go to Harare. News / National by Mandla Ndlovu So military intelligence left a list of people to be killed at borders and airports myself included...God will protect us! Promise Mkwananzi (@pmkwananzi) May 26, 2019 Spokesperson of Tajamuka Promise Mkwananzi has alleged that Military Intelligence Department has drawn up a hit list of people to be assassinated and handed it over to officials at airports and borders.Said Mkwananzi, "So military intelligence left a list of people to be killed at borders and airports myself included. God will protect us!"In January the former student leader claimed that a source had informed him that he was a candidate of assassination."I hear these animals have ordered my assassination and that of one or two other comrades whose identity I am not at liberty to disclose. This is from very reliable source. But by the grace of God, we will not die."I hear the police/army/CIO came for me and broke down the whole house looking for me. We have to remain vigilant and a step ahead of them, which we already are. Police running like headless chickens looking for me. Ndini ndadii zvangu," Mkwananzi said then.Critics have labelled Mkwananzi an attention seeker who seeks to use lies in order to get donor funding or asylum. News / National by Mandla Ndlovu Former MDC-T Spokesperson Linda Masarira has advised Dr Thokozani Khupe to stop fighting with Nelson Chamisa over the party as the political dynamics had overtaken the court judgement that ruled Chamisa as an illegitimate President.Thokozani Khupe on Friday revealed that her party was gearing up for an extraordinary Congress using 2014 structures."On a more serious note, politics has overridden the court judgement. Dr Thoko Khupe has her own party which went to congress on 21 April 2018. I don't understand why they want to go for another extraordinary congress. What is their end game? You can't force yourself on people."Masarira said.The vocal gender activist advised her former Boss to focusing on building her own brand because fighting Chamisa will leave her fatigued."My humble advice to my erstwhile Cde sister Dr Thoko Khupe is to focus on her party MDC-T, build its brand and stop all this political hullabaloo. At the end of all these legal challenges, it will leave their party leadership broken, frustrated, fatigued and defeated."Khupe told media recently that she will be embarking on a nationwide consultative process with grassroots structures as the party moves towards a congress.She told MDC-T supporters not to panic over Chamisa's Gweru Congress.Meanwhile Chamisa's MDC held a successful congress that was attended by Uganda's opposition leader Bobi Wine. News / National by Sunday Times While Zimbabwe grapples with a foreign-exchange shortage, rural districts in Matebeleland North and South have fostered a thriving South African rand economy.Since the abolition of Zimbabwe's own currency in 2009, the floundering fiscal system has been underpinned by the use of foreign currency, predominantly the US dollar.Investment economist Colls Ndlovu said use of the rand flourished in rural expanses of the country, because informal economies have synchronised with that of SA."It's a model that should be studied by government if they want to change the economy. Adoption of the rand in these areas as the currency of choice is because it is readily available," he said."We work in SA and those incomes sustain families. As a result, businesses have found it worthwhile to peg prices of services and goods as they are in SA," Ndlovu said.The rand is in common usage in the Bulilima district in Matabeleland South, with traders regularly importing goods from SA.Nene Ngwenya, a general dealer, told the Sunday Times that he imported all his wares from beyond the Zimbabwean border."I can even order bread from SA, where it retails for R10, and sell it for R12," he said. "All my products are slightly more expensive than in SA because I factor in transport and other costs."I even sell mineral water from SA," he said.About 100km north, in Tsholotsho, a rural district in Matabeleland North, shopkeeper Leon Tsheza said that dollars and bond notes were a rarity.Fuel in abundance"We hardly see any US dollars and we see bond notes, just not as frequently," he said."I think this area has the largest rand economy. Even when shopping for groceries the rand is favoured by my clients."Tsheza said that fuel, often hard to come by, was available in abundance at rates cheaper than in the major centres.In the Tsholotsho district, petrol retails for R18.20 a litre whereas in cities such as Bulawayo and Harare, motorists pay an average of R22/l.At the Tsholotsho growth point, a Commercial Bank of Zimbabwe employee, who would not be named, told the Sunday Times that people tended to avoid the banking system and kept their cash in hand. This included savings of schools and government departments, he said.Drop in remittancesAccording to government statistics, remittances (money sent home by expatriates) dropped by 11.4%, from $699m in 2017 to $619.2m a year on.This drop, according to a Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe report, is attributed to distrust in formal channels of sending money back to Zimbabwe.This discontent has spawned a new breed of informal moneychangers in rural communities as well as in cities.Sandra Tshuma, who operates from Plumtree in the Bulilima district, said cash was exchanged outside of formal banking channels."If one is sending money to Zimbabwe, the person just walks into my shop in Hillbrow [Johannesburg] and leaves it there," she said."Using a WhatsApp message to confirm the payment, the money is ready for collection this side in minutes," she said."There are no glitches or computer systems involved. I charge 10% for any amount." News / National by Sunday Times Fallen national hero Dumiso Dabengwa, 79, knew his time on earth was up and wanted to die at home, according to a family source.Dabengwa, president of the Zimbabwe African People's Union (Zapu), passed away in Kenya on Wednesday while he was on his way back to Zimbabwe from India, where he had undergone three weeks of specialist treatment for a liver tumour.This week, the family member said doctors in India had told Dabengwa his was a risky case."He accepted his fate and wanted to return home for his last days. He tried booking a plane but was too fragile. The only option was chartering a plane with medical staff on it," the source said.It is a trying time for the family, as Dabengwa's wife, Zodwa, lost her mother while her husband was in India.A fierce critic of the Emmerson Mnangagwa administration, Dabengwa openly supported the MDC Alliance's Nelson Chamisa for the top job at last year's July 30 polls.But in their time of need, Dabengwa's family turned to the state for medical assistance. "The government helped send him to India and is also assisting with the repatriation of his body," the source said.Dabengwa's dying wish was to be buried next to his parents in Ntabazinduna."He openly despised the National Heroes' Acre in Harare," said Zapu national chair Isaac Mabuka.Dabengwa and five others went on trial for treason in 1983, accused of wanting to overthrow the government.Robert Mugabe's government accused Dabengwa, also known as the Black Russian, of plotting with the Soviet secret service, the KGB, to undermine his rule. The main evidence was a letter Dabengwa had written to the KGB in 1980, accusing Mugabe of being a Western lackey and asking Russia "to render us further assistance in our next struggle against imperialist intrigues".Immediately after being acquitted, Dabengwa was rearrested on charges of arming "dissidents". He was detained with- out trial for four years.Dabengwa was only released ahead of the 1987 signing of the Unity Accord between Zapu and Zanu.Years later, as home affairs minister, he unsuccessfully tried to dismantle the security laws under which he had been detained under both former prime minister Ian Smith and Mugabe.After some time in government, however, Dabengwa apparently abandoned the liberties he had stood for. In 1998, after riots hit parts of Harare over food prices, the armywas deployed to the streets."They will not hesitate to shoot," Dabengwa angrily warned at a press conference. At least eight people were killed in the crackdown that followed.He lost a 2000 parliamentary election in Bulawayo's Nkulumane constituency to the MDC. In a stinging rebuke, he said he had lost only because Zanu-PF had become so unpopular that "even if they [the opposition] had put up a donkey as a candidate, it would have won".In 2008, his frustration with Mugabe boiled over and he backed Simba Makoni, the former finance minister who had left the ruling party to challenge Mugabe, while still a member of Zanu-PF's top Politburo.This got him expelled from the party, and a year later, in 2009, he formed Zapu. He stood for president in 2013, winning only 0.74% of the vote. News / National by ZimLive Mnangagwa's ally has warned that they would "respond in kind" after a website linked to Zimbabwe's Military Intelligence reported that VP Chiwenga and army chiefs were ready to force the Zanu-PF leader out of power.The Spotlight Zimbabwe website, which correctly predicted former president Robert Mugabe's ouster in a military coup in 2017, reported Friday that "combative Vice President Rtd General Constantino Chiwenga, and a hardline military faction backing his political doctrine and ambitions, are reportedly on the verge of booting President Mnangagwa out of office at any moment now, through another subtle military intervention."Mnangagwa's ouster would be carried out under a military operation code-named "Operation Restore Economy", the website reported, citing "Military Intelligence sources and long-time serving former cabinet ministers.""Mnangagwa is keen to save face and resign to avoid humiliation, but a Zanu-PF faction supporting his presidency is resisting the move," the website reported.Top Mnangagwa ally, Terence Mukupe took to social media to warn the Zimbabwe army that Mnangagwa will not go Mugabe way.Said Mukupe:"You can't employ the same strategy twice. Good luck to you daydreamers. We will respond in kind," Mukupe tweeted, apparently referring to the 2017 coup which ironically catapulted Mnangagwa into power.Mukupe, in the tweet, attached a short video of Major General Sibusiso Moyo announcing the 2017 coup on ZBC TV, Moyo is one of several leaders being considered as Mnangagwa's successors, according to the army leaks."However, the army is believed to prefer an arrangement where Chiwenga takes over the presidency on a transitional basis until 2023, when fresh presidential and parliamentary elections are due," the website reported.The military, it is claimed, would force Mnangagwa out through any one of three ways: "The first is a recall by the party (Zanu-PF), allowing Chiwenga to replace him in the fashion and manner the ANC dealt with Jacob Zuma in February 2018; an impeachment parliamentary process over the deteriorating economy; or call for his arraignment in the killing of innocent protesters in August 2018 and early this year."Mukupe's comments on Twitter betray growing concern within Mnangagwa's camp that the plot may actually be much more advanced than previously thought.His choice of the coup video to make his point will also raise fresh questions about the state of Mnangagwa's relationship with the "military faction" within Zanu-PF. Opinion / Columnist It was in 2007 when l had four consecutive dreams about the same thing: l was talking to Dr Joshua Nkomo& he instructed me to go to Silobela&meet an old man from the Moyo clan& to deliver a message. After a few weeks l met elder Moyo's two daughters& they connected me with him. Upon my arrival,at elder Moyo's place, l found an ex-Zipra cadre named Mavalangezenge coming all the way from Nkayi& he was also there on a similar mission.l later learnt that khulu Moyo was a descendent to Mambo Chilisamhulu& his clan had played a pivotal role in the cultural issues during the liberation struggle& that they weworked closely with Dr Joshua Nkomo on those issues. That saw me joining hands with Mr Moyo to visit Chief Malisa,the Nkomo family, where we managed to see Ms Thandi Nkomo but we did not see Mr Sibangilizwe as he was said to be at the farm.Our second trip to Bulawayo we met the late cde Welshman Hadane Mabhena who was busy with the Mhlahlo Wesizwe sikaMthwakazi project together with the late Chief Khayisa Ndiweni, cde Maduma etc. We also went to see cde Dumiso Dabengwa at his MZWT offices. We found him with cde John Maluzo and ugogo uThenjiwe Lesabe. Elder Moyo delivered the message to cde Dumiso Dabengwa. Khulu Moyo also told him about his dream that will be Zapu revived and that he cde DD will lead it but for a period of time and it was done so for a purpose. Cde Dabengwa was at that time busy with Mavambo Dawn Kusile project, of which he was surprised how Zapu could be revived and how he could be the president of that party, he felt the young should take a lead and not him hence he lamented," Kambe Magugu lina abatsha lifuna ngilikhulule kangaki?(How many times Magugu should l free you the young?) Please take a lead& free yourselves." This statement he later used it so many times in his addresses. He was just cool& allowed cde Maluzo and Lesabe to lead the discussions and he will interject with a few questions. However, the three agreed that, "balayo imilandu emalindeni lobaba uNkomo."( They had obligations at the shirines with Dr Nkomo).Since l had a cellphone, all the messages from cde Dabengwa to khulu uMoyo came through me. He called us a year later on December 4 2008 & invited us to his offices and informed us that Zapu was being revived. That's when l found myself involved in Zapu activities. I worked under his close supervision in different structures and departments ie I worked with the youth, Midlands province& later elected into National People's Council at the 2010 congress. I also worked with khulu Moyo and Zipra veterans in cultural and community activities also in that committee there was the late Rtd Cl Ray Ncube, Rtd Cl Sijabuliso Dabengwa, Ex-Zipra commanders: Cde Themba Khanye, Cde Cetshwayo Sithole, Cde Baster Magwizi, Cde Headman Gumbo, cde Virginia Dube etc, we all reported to cde DD as he was affectionately known. I was also in the publications where l worked with Dr Strike Mnkandla, Cde Loreen Ncube, Advocate Stephen Nkiwane, Dr Dlodlo, Rtd Major Patron Nketha etc and we reported to cde DD.l also was in the think tank advising cde DD& Zapu in general.Cde DD would keep quiet during discussions and when making a contribution, he will do so talking slowly and carefully choose his words(His hallmark) He will, at times call me, ask me to carry some researches for him and will read my contribution carefully and just say," Thank you." I will go back to Kwekwe wondering whether l did a good job or not. I later realised that when he said thank you he was meaning you have done a good job& if he says," Ok, fine sizabona." He meant your job was not at its best. I learnt a lot of things from him ranging from military, economic& politically, and times l will arrange private meetings for him and his deputy cde Emelia Mkaratirwa with different stakeholders, ranging from priests, pastors, consultancy, chiefs etc, in most cases l was assisted by senior party members like Mr& Mrs J Dube. He respected me even when l was far far younger than him& when leaving his offices or home will escort us to the gate or outside the gate. He was full of tactics like one day we were coming from a rally in Gokwe, going to address the second one in Zhombe, he quickly switched cars and got into another small one where l was being driven by Dr Ndebele. He latter booked us all at the Midlands hotel but am hour later he woke me up, with cde Richard 'Gedi' Dube( an ex-Zipra instructor), cde Mkhwananzi& we went on to book at Village lodge where we slept, with the rest of the crew without knowing it. In the morning cde Mhodi& Gogo Lesabe had their bags stolen& he jocked by saying," bhassop abafana beZanu bazitshontshile khona bezazifaka imbhobho bathi sibanjwe sile arms cache futhi."One day we had a rally at Stanely Square, l was in the crowds, l dont know how he spotted me inside a crowd of 2000 pple, he asked cde Ngozo to go call me, twice cde Ngozo came telling him that he had not seen me, cde Dabengwa jokingly told cde Ngozo that he(Ngozo) was too old to see and if not therefore it means his eyes had seen a lot of things more than his age could see hence he was being blind. During that day he asked me to make an arrangement to go to Gokwe to see a certain chief. During that trip we asked two Zapu senior members from Midlands to escort us and he came driving himself, quickly switched cars and put on an old cap to disguise himself perhaps. We left using one car and in the car he would crack jokes, lecture us about the beneficiation of cotton and other products in Zimbabwe. Although some people thought he was too quiet, he was a man with sense of humour. One day in his office he asked me why l didnt study law and become a lawyer like B Elliot. Later he commented," Ngesibindi engilaso nga ngangile intelligence kaMagugu ngangingasoke ngehlulwe ngokufana lokhuya." Gogo Lesabe asked him," Okufana kuphi bhudi?" He answered," OkuMugabe." He left everyone in stitches. He will tell us about his childhood days, that, when a car passed through, they will remain closing their noses&, lamenting, " imota le isuzile(This car has puffed).One last thing he disclosed when l asked about arms caches said they hid to topple Mugabe. He narrated that they never hid any weapons, as they declared all the ordinance they had save for MK weapons& that some weapons were planted by Zanu, hence they refused Zipra commanders to confirm the weapons discovered. He went on to say that cde Fredric Charles Mutanda aka Chilies(a senior Zipra officer) was left in Zambia preparing all the military ordinance to be surrendered to the government of Zimbabwe, of which he did and Zanla did not. Thats when Zanla turned against them and made such false claims. He said he retired from army and handed over his uniforms after Mugabe appointed Solomon Mujuru his junior to be his commander that was against the military code so he resigned.A man full of wisdom, full of vision, misunderstood by many but spend time with him you start veiwing him differently. He knew our history from pre-mfecane up to present. He was a smiling soldier but was fearless and fond to see justice prevail. He will tell you how he challenged Mugabe at Goromonzi Congress held by Zanu. Having a heart of a lion, we as 1893MRM never thought that he will go so soon living the entire Mthwakazi region without the best military intelligence brains.Hamba kahle qhawe lethu.RIP! You Constructed& re-constructed history&noone will ever wish that history away. Opinion / Columnist It is with deepest and most profound sadness that the 1893 Mthwakazi Human Rights Restoration Movement (1893 MHRRM) has learnt of the passing of our great and illustrious liberator and freedom fighter, one of the greatest commanders of the mighty Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA), the military wing of Zimbabwe African People's Union (Zapu) who was the head of its National Intelligence Security Organization, Dumiso Dabengwa, affectionately known as the "Black Russian".Our Movement sends its deepest, most profound and enormous condolences to the Dumiso Dabengwa family, the Dumiso Dabengwa Foundation, his former military cdes in ZIPRA and uMkhonto WeSizwe and the people of Matebeleland. This is our deepest, most profound and enormous loss as a people. We are deeply shaken. A great revolutionary has been lost.We however celebrate the extraordinary life of this illustrious, remarkable and steadfast soldier, liberator, politician and extraordinary human rights revolutionary that lived among us and carried himself with dignity despite having horrible and unimaginable scars on his back due to ill-treatment by his enemies pre and post-independence of Zimbabwe. His wrongful ill-treatment and detention together with Lookout Khalisabantu Masuku, in the early 80s, after having fought hard to give birth to an independent Zimbabwe, remains one of the most distasteful episodes in the history of that country. Like him, we will never forget!It must be unequivocally stated that there are few people who are going to have such profound and enormous impact on our generation and generations to come like Dumiso Dabengwa and his colleagues in the mould of Joshua Nkomo, Akim Ndlovu, Nikitha Mangena, Lookout Khalisabantu Masuku, Jason Ziyaphapha Moyo, Johannes "Joe" Modise, Chris Hani (all late) and Jacob Gadleyihlekisa Mhlanganyelwa Msholozi Nxamalala Zuma, former head of uMkhonto Wesizwe Intelligence, the military wing of South Africa's African National Congress (ANC).Dumiso Dabengwa's history is remarkably rich and inspirational and a role model for fighting for people's human rights, peace and progress until the end. The Movement remembers engaging him to come to the United Kingdom last year for the Matebeleland Gukurahundi Genocide and him being extremely kin and raring to come to the UK, only to be frustrated by the UK embassy in Harare that delayed with issuing of visas for him and Moses Mzila Ndlovu until the event was postponed to November 2018 causing a disruption to the event and plans of the Movement. He was to confide to the Secretary for Information and Publicity of the Movement that he had been followed to the UK Embassy in Harare and cornered when submitting his visa papers and asked about his intention to travel to the UK on the Gukurahundi issue and whether it was true that he had been invited by the Movement and St Andrews University. He quietly stated to us over the phone in a joking manner, "Ngibatshelile ukuthi yes I have been invited to the UK to share and compare notes on the issue of Gukurahundi. Lina lilecala madoda". At the same time he was concerned about the whole issue of delay in visa issuance and felt the delay had more to it than met the eye.Dumiso Dabengwa leaves us with a solid foundation to build on our fight for the Restoration of the Human Rights of our people and for the restoration of the rights of all those whose human rights are trampled upon endlessly. He leaves a revolutionary legacy that will stand the test of time and a legacy that speaks to us of the deepest need to continue and persist in our pursuit for the Restoration of Our Human Rights.Uyesabeka DD, ulale kahle Qhawe lethu! We are forever grateful for all your great revolutionary work! Shopping card with boxes labelled REITs, ETFs, Bonds, Stocks The energy sector is a prime target for income-oriented investors, and with good reason. Energy companies tend to offer higher dividend yields than most other sectors. Moreover, the energy sector is capital intensive and presents strong barriers to entry, which means that energy companies are unlikely to lose a significant portion of their market share to newcomers. Lets look at two energy companies that offer high-dividend yields: Vermillion Energy (TSX:VET)(NYSE:VET) and Keyera Corp (TSX:KEY). Vermillion Energy The only thing better than strong quarterly dividend payouts are strong monthly dividend payouts. And thats exactly what Vermillion offers investors, which makes it an excellent option for those looking to supplement or eventually replace their monthly income. The company currently offers a juicy 8.07% dividend yield. With strong growth in its funds from operations recently, which is projected to continue its upward trend this year, the firm is set to continue rewarding investors. Vermillion also seems capable of keeping its earnings afloat. Though the firm is based in Alberta, a region famous for its rich reserves of oil and natural gas, Vermillion operates a number of energy assets throughout North America, Europe, and Australia. A little less than two-thirds of Vermillions free cash flow is generated outside Canada. The firms diversification has historically helped benefit from pricing compared to its Canadian peers. Keyera Corp As a midstream company, Keyera focuses on storing, processing and transporting Natural Gas Liquids (NGLs). The firm operates primarily in Canada, a country in which there is no shortage of oil companies with which to do business. Keyera is committed to growing its revenue base, and the company has various ongoing growth projects. Last year, the firm completed the construction of the South Grand Rapids Pipeline, a 50-50 joint venture it has with Grand Rapids Pipeline Limited Partnership. The pipeline, whose capacity is in excess of 900,000 barrels a day, is just one of Keyeras growth projects, all of which are worth at least a couple billion dollar for the firm, but which will generate earnings growth for Keyera in the future. Story continues Much like Vermillion Energy, Keyera offers investors monthly dividend payouts. With a current yield of 5.81%. The companys dividends seems sustainable with a payout ratio just above 90%, which isnt bad by industry standard. How to earn $500 in passive income Naturally, there are many different ways to earn $500 in passive income from these two energy stocks. The cheapest option would be to put all your money in Vermillion Energy, which is currently cheaper and provides a higher dividend yield and monthly payout. Investing about $65,155 in Vermillion would get you 2174 shares of the company for a yearly dividend payout of a few cents above $6,000 (or $500 per month). For those willing to spend more money for diversification purposes, investing $44,955 in Vermillion would allow you to purchase 1500 shares of the company for a yearly dividend income of about $4,140. An additional investment of $36,982 in Keyera would help you acquire 1100 shares of the energy firm and receive a yearly payout of $1,980. In total, you would spend $82,937 and receive $6,120 per year (or $510 per month). More reading Fool contributor Prosper Bakiny has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fools purpose is to help the world invest, better. Click here now for your free subscription to Take Stock, The Motley Fool Canadas free investing newsletter. Packed with stock ideas and investing advice, it is essential reading for anyone looking to build and grow their wealth in the years ahead. Motley Fool Canada 2019 Businessman pulling out wooden brick from toppling stack What a disgusting quarter for one of Canadas least-loved bank stocks. Dont look now, but CIBC (TSX:CM)(NYSE:CM) is on a streak for quarterly misses, as the bank slightly fell short of analyst expectations once again, inspiring unforgiving investors to ditch the stock to the curb, which sent shares down a whopping 4.4% in a single trading session. While the earnings miss was slight (adjusted cash EPS of $2.97 versus consensus expectations of $2.98), the provision for credit losses (PCLs) jumped 20% year over year together with managements higher guidance for expenses has many investors wondering if short-sellers, like The Big Shorts David Eisman, were right. Moving forward, less loan growth and more spending is expected, and with ugly macro headwinds likely to continue wreaking havoc on the broader industry, its tough to find a bull case for CIBC over the near term. While CIBCs performance has been abysmal, its important to remember that the broader basket of banks is slated to underperform over the next year or so, as I noted in a prior piece. Yes, CIBC dropped the ball and will probably end up the biggest loser of the Big Six banks this quarter, but the Q2 results werent 100% gloomy. The U.S. business looked very strong once again, posting earnings that were up 36% on a year-over-year basis. Unlike on this side of the border, U.S.-based expenses were well managed and PCLs werent ripping. As CIBC continues to bolster its U.S. foundation, I expect the long-term story to improve. But in the meantime, its all about those hideous domestic results, as the U.S. business isnt yet large enough to offset a meaningful portion of the meagre Canadian results. As CIBC pursues further U.S. tuck-in acquisitions, this will change, but in the meantime, investors expect nothing but doom and gloom with the Canadian business, which is suffering from below-average loan growth. Were the short-sellers right? I dont think so. CIBC isnt a ticking timebomb like some shorts believe. Yes, PCLs and jumping expenses are cringe-worthy, but as the bank continues to transform itself for the next generation, long-term investors have a lot to gain by going against the grain. Story continues CIBCs U.S. business is snowballing, and with a mobile app thats one of the best rated in Canada with one of Forresters top overall scores for functionality and user experience last year. Investors dont seem to care about these positives though, as all focus is on the shorts doomsday theses and the banks losing streak. If youre one to endure short-term pain for long-term gain, theres a fat dividend (yielding 5.3%), thats yours to keep. CIBC could very well fall back to $100 in the near term, and once it does, its time to pounce on the name in spite of the dire circumstances that are already exaggerated to the downside. Stay hungry. Stay Foolish. More reading Fool contributor Joey Frenette owns shares of CANADIAN IMPERIAL BANK OF COMMERCE. 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 (Bloomberg) -- MTN Group Ltd.s Nigeria listing is being investigated by local authorities, the latest in a series of disputes in the African wireless carriers largest market. Nigerias Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has requested certain information and documentation regarding the May 16 listing, MTN Nigeria Communications Plc said in a statement on Saturday. The carrier hasnt been accused of wrongdoing and received all the necessary regulator approvals to start trading the stock, it added. The companys Lagos head office was raided by the financial crime agency on Friday in connection with the probe, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter. While Nigeria is central to MTNs growth strategy and home to about 60 million of the Johannesburg-based companys subscribers, a string of accusations and legal claims by various authorities have weighed on the carriers shares. The listing on the Nigerian Stock Exchange was itself a condition of a settlement reached with the telecommunications regulator in 2016 over the handling of customers without proper documentation, while MTN is also fighting a claim that it owes $2 billion in back taxes. Since the listing, MTN Nigerias stock has jumped 41%, closing at 140 naira per share on Friday, giving the company a market capitalization of 2.8 trillion naira ($7.8 billion). That makes the firm the second-biggest listed company in Nigeria, behind only Dangote Cement Plc. The Lagos-based bourse said on May 21 that MTN Nigerias shares werent available for buyers and urged the company to provide more of the stock for investors. Parent company MTN plans to sell some of its majority stake at a later date. MTNs shares have declined 55% over the past four years in Johannesburg, largely as a result of Nigerian setbacks. The company is valued at 189 billion rand ($13 billion). --With assistance from Emele Onu. To contact the reporters on this story: Anthony Osae-Brown in Lagos at aosaebrown2@bloomberg.net;Dulue Mbachu in Abuja at dmbachu@bloomberg.net Story continues To contact the editors responsible for this story: Antony Sguazzin at asguazzin@bloomberg.net, John Bowker, Stephen Treloar For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com 2019 Bloomberg L.P. American politicians have been known to wave copies of the U.S. Constitution in each other's faces during debates. Canada's leaders save that kind of action for the courtroom. At more than 150 years old, the Constitution Act of 1867 has never been as relevant or as contested as right now, as the provinces and Ottawa fight over their roles in the defining issue of our times: climate change. In the past month alone, constitutional precedent has been called on to attack and defend positions on both pipeline politics and greenhouse gas emissions. In B.C., judges ruled Friday that the province doesn't have the right to stop diluted bitumen flowing through the proposed Trans Mountain expansion pipeline project which runs from Alberta to the Pacific Ocean. And in Saskatchewan, their counterparts found Ottawa has the right to impose a carbon tax on provinces that oppose it. 'These questions become really pressing' Both cases centre around the question of who best represents Canadian citizens the province where they live, or the one with an eye to the concerns of the country as a whole? And are those interests necessarily at odds? Both cases also appear headed for the Supreme Court of Canada. That's a good thing, says University of British Columbia environmental law assistant professor Jocelyn Stacey. At the very least, it adds a little spice to her classes. Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images "It becomes real when you consider questions about how do you regulate greenhouse gas emissions? How do you regulate oil spills? How do you regulate mining? All of these things that have a huge range of environmental effects," says Stacey, author of The Constitution of the Environmental Emergency. "When you're approaching it from an environmental perspective, that's when these questions become really pressing." 'The environment is all consuming' Stacey believes both the Trans Mountain pipeline case and the carbon tax debate are a good opportunity for Canada's top court to update its position on protection of the environment. Story continues "The Supreme Court of Canada hasn't considered environmental issues in relation to the Constitution and the division of powers in a very long time," she says. The courts have held that all levels of government have a role to play in protecting the air, land and water. But all governments also have to negotiate their own mazes of related economic and social interests. Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press The B.C. NDP were elected on a promise to use "every tool" in their toolbox to stop the Trans Mountain expansion. Alberta Premier Jason Kenney was elected on a similar note of defiance to both B.C.'s position and the federal carbon tax. And that's to say nothing about the complication that the federal government now owns the pipeline. "The environment is all consuming, it's all around us. But to say that one level or the other has jurisdiction over the environment would tip the balance too far one way or the other," says Stacey. "So the court's always trying to be mindful of that balance." 'Climate change is a global problem' The debate over division of powers when it comes to the environment has been around for more than a century. One of the key cases cited by British Columbia in defence of legislation proposed to restrict the increased flow of "heavy oil" from Alberta dates back to 1899, when a Quebec municipality tried to force the Canadian Pacific Railway company to remove rubbish from a ditch alongside its tracks. The courts back then found that an interprovincial railway was subject to the "municipal code" of Quebec, but that the province couldn't regulate the "structure" of the ditch. CBC/Reuters Nearly 120 years later, the same tension underlies the B.C. Appeal Court's finding on rules the provincial NDP wants to apply to the proposed twinning of a 1,150-km pipeline from Edmonton to the West Coast. B.C. has a role to play when it comes to protecting its environment, the court said. But not if that means taking the constitutionally mandated control of a pipeline out of Ottawa's hands. Likewise, the Saskatchewan appeal court found that the federal government has the right to impose a carbon tax over provincial objections in the name of "peace, order and good government." "Climate change is a global problem and, accordingly, it calls for a global response," the appeal court ruling reads. "In participating in these international processes, Canada is expected to make national commitments with respect to [greenhouse gas] reduction or mitigation targets. Those commitments are self-evidently difficult for Canada, as a country, to meet if not all provincial jurisdictions are prepared to implement ... emissions pricing regimes." 'There's not watertight compartments' Stacey says she expected the B.C. Court of Appeal to rule as it did. Lawyer Jack Woodward, who specializes in Aboriginal and constitutional law, says he believes the panel of judges got it wrong. He sides with B.C. lawyer Joseph Arvay, who told the court the province is "not required to accept such a fate" when it comes to directly confronting problems in its own backyard. Grimsby Timescapes Facebook He's hoping the Supreme Court of Canada will overturn the decision. "There's not watertight compartments between what Canada can do and what the provinces can do. Everybody is allowed to make laws respecting the environment," he says. "And in this particular instance, Canada certainly has the power to authorize, but British Columbia certainly has the power to regulate, what goes in the pipe and the financial liability of people who operate pipelines in the case of a spill." 'Canada must take action' The kinds of environmental concerns at play in 2019 didn't exist in 1867. And divisions over the way to handle them aren't likely to vanish anytime soon no matter what the courts decide. Even the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal was split in its ruling. The two dissenting judges in Saskatchewan summed up the nature of the debate in a chapter of their opinion entitled "Climate Change and Confederation." "We agree that all levels of government in Canada must take action to address climate change," the judges wrote. "Federalism in Canada means that all governments of Canada must bring all law-making power to bear on the issue of climate change, but in a way that respects the division of powers under the Constitution Act." But how? By Alastair Macdonald and Jan Strupczewski BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Parties committed to strengthening the European Union held on to two-thirds of seats in the EU parliament, official projections from the bloc's elections showed on Sunday, though far-right and nationalist opponents saw strong gains. France's Emmanuel Macron, who has staked his presidency on persuading Europeans that the EU is the answer to the challenges of an uncertain, globalising world economy, took a personal hit when his centrist movement was edged into second place by Marine Le Pen's anti-immigration, anti-Brussels National Rally. But Macron's Renaissance, built on the ruins of centre-left and centre-right parties, added to gains for liberals at the EU level as turnout bounced sharply across the bloc. Along with a surge for the Greens, that meant four groups occupying the pro-EU middle ground lost under 20 seats, securing 505 seats out of 751, according to a projection by the European Parliament. That may complicate some policymaking, as a two-party "grand coalition" of the conservative European People's Party (EPP) and the Socialists (S&D) no longer has a majority. The liberals, with over 100 seats and Greens, with nearly 70, want a big say. But it also dents the hopes of Le Pen, Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini and others who have been seeking to disrupt attempts to forge closer EU integration. Salvini called the elections a mandate for a shake-up in Brussels. But tensions among nationalists, who also include the Polish and Hungarian ruling parties and the new Brexit Party of British campaigner Nigel Farage, have limited their impact on policy. "The big thing is that the gains for the extremists were not very substantial," Guntram Wolff, head of the Bruegel economics think-tank in Brussels, told Reuters. Luxembourg's liberal Prime Minister Xavier Bettel tweeted: "Europe wins! Voter turnout very high and pro-European parties are strongest." TURNOUT REVERSES FALLING TREND EU officials were delighted by an increase in turnout to 51%, up from 43% in 2014. It was the first reverse in a trend of falling participation since the first direct EU vote in 1979. At its highest in 20 years, that turnout may muffle talk of a "democratic deficit" undermining the legitimacy of the EU. As the Union faces unprecedented slights from the United States under President Donald Trump, hostility from Russia under President Vladimir Putin and anxiety over the rising trading power of China, a revival of its citizens' interest, however muted, and a containment of its critics, is welcome for supporters of the bloc. A stronger voice for the liberals and Greens could see the next EU executive seek a tougher line on regulating polluting industries, taxing multinational companies or demanding trading partners help contain climate change -- as well as press its own members, notably in the east, not to damage civil rights. 'GREEN WAVE' In Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives lost seven percentage points from five years ago as the far-right Alternative for Germany gained four points to 11%. But the headlines there went to the Greens, who nearly doubled their vote to finish second on 21%, ahead of the Social Democrats. Britain voted on Thursday but began releasing results only late on Sunday. The BBC said Farage's Brexit Party was set for a big win, reflecting frustration at the fact Britain is still in the EU, two months after Brexit was supposed to happen. Farage is determined that his MEPs will not sit for long in Brussels - though drama after the resignation of Prime Minister Theresa May leaves the fate of Brexit still very uncertain. In France, an official in Macron's team acknowledged "some disappointment" that, with some 22%, the president's Renaissance movement had lost first place to Le Pen's National Rally, which exit polls put on 24%. However, pro-EU parties were still in the majority, with the French Greens coming third. Added to the second place of their German counterparts, that lent credibility to expectations of a "green wave" that will influence policy in Brussels in the coming years. The Parliament's projection put the EPP on 179 seats, ahead of the S&D on 152, with the liberals on 105, up 36 seats, and Greens on 69, up 17. On the far-right, two groups in the current parliament had a combined 111 seats, a 40% jump from 2014. The European Parliament election will usher in weeks and possibly months of hard bargaining over who will run EU institutions. Party spokespeople for the four pro-EU centre parties were quick to talk of plans for a broad coalition. "We are facing a shrinking centre," said Manfred Weber, the German lead candidate of the EPP. "So what I would ask us to do to is to join our forces to work together from now." The Parliament as an institution has insisted that one of its own winning members should succeed Jean-Claude Juncker as president of the executive European Commission. But many national leaders, who will meet over dinner in Brussels on Tuesday, have said they will not be bound by that demand. Weber in particular faces resistance, having never held government office - although he insists his long experience in the European Parliament makes him the democratic choice. Frans Timmermans, Juncker's Dutch deputy who led the Socialists' campaign, cautioned against putting the "Game of Thrones" over top jobs ahead of efforts to forge a common programme among parties that will push for a stronger Union. (Additional reporting by Gabriela Baczynska, Alissa de Carbonnel, Daphne Psaledakis, Foo Yun Chee, Robin Emmott and Francesco Guarascio; Writing by Alastair Macdonald; Editing by Frances Kerry) One of the United Nations human rights observers who raised concerns about Quebec's proposed secularism law says while it's "premature" to discuss the impact of Bill 21 on Quebec society, it comes at a time of increased intolerance against minorities around the world. Fernand de Varennes, the UN's special rapporteur on minority relations, is one of three high-ranking human rights monitors who sent the letter delivered to the National Assembly through diplomatic channels last week. De Varennes, originally from Saint-Paul, N.B., was elected by the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in July 2017, after serving as the dean of law at Universite de Moncton. In an interview with CBC News Friday, de Varennes said a number of human rights groups in Quebec brought their concerns about Quebec's proposed legislation to restrict the wearing of religious symbols to the UNHRC's attention. Salvatore Di Nolfi/Keystone via AP "How minorities are perceived and treated in daily life, in many parts of the world, concerns me hugely," said de Varennes in a phone interview from Dublin, Ireland. "We are seeing an increase in not only intolerance but manifestations of hate speech against minorities." At legislative hearings earlier this month, human rights groups lined up to criticize the bill, saying it would divide Quebecers and exclude minorities from public service disproportionately affecting Muslim women who wear a religious headscarf, or hijab. Since the advent of the bill, Muslim women in Quebec say they have seen a spike in incidents of harassment. Reminder of international human rights agreement The special rapporteurs are concerned about the law's potential to discriminate against certain people seeking government services, as well as those working in public positions of authority who are targeted by the bill. Their letter also raised the concern that the government fails to define what a "religious symbol" is, leaving it up to potentially harmful interpretation. Story continues De Varennes explained that when special rapporteurs receive allegations that a government may be breaching human rights, they analyze the information and decide whether it is serious enough to send a letter of concern. "In this case we concluded that these [potential human rights violations] were serious enough to approach the government of Canada in relation to the legislation in Quebec," he said. The letter is a kind of warning, but the UNHCR doesn't have the power to force the government to act on it. It serves as a reminder to a state of the various international human rights covenants it has signed and agreed to adhere to. 'If we want these rules to apply to everyone then we have to continue reminding governments around the world that they have moral obligations.' - Fernand de Varennes, UN Special Rapporteur on minority relations The UNHRC is in charge of applying the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), a treaty signed by more than 150 countries. Canada signed that covenant in 1976 meaning Quebec must also comply with it. The letter also compels the government receiving the letter to respond to the concerns raised. After a government responds, de Varennes said, the rapporteurs may "take a position as to whether we consider there is a violation or not." "If we want these rules to apply to everyone and I think we agreed that there has to be some kind of respect for human rights around the world then we have to continue reminding governments, all of them, around the world that they have moral obligations. They have international obligations," de Varennes said. "This is where we really need to work so that those who are most vulnerable are protected." Fernand de Varennes/Facebook A spokesperson for the Quebec lawmaker overseeing the bill, Immigration Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette, said he had received the letter and was "analyzing it in detail." "The government of Quebec is proud of Bill 21," the spokesperson said in a statement. "It is pragmatic, applicable and moderate. It reflects the consensus of the majority of Quebecers." RCMP and France mentioned in letter The letter of concern about Bill 21 also notes other circumstances in which the UNHRC has warned governments about the risk of violating fundamental rights, including freedom of religion. For example, the UNHRC was alerted to the case of Baltej Singh Dillon, an aspiring RCMP officer and a religious Sikh who was prevented from wearing a turban by the force in 1988. Singh Dillon fought for the right to wear his religious headgear, and two years later, the Brian Mulroney government announced changes to the RCMP dress code that included the freedom for observant Sikhs to wear beards and turbans. The rapporteurs' letter also mentions the laicite law in France enacted in the early 2000s that prevents female Muslim students at public schools from wearing the hijab or other religious garments. In 2010, US Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning was sentenced to thirty-five years in prison after she leaked classified documents and footage of military operations in Iraq. In 2013, Manning (born Bradley Manning) came out as a transgender woman, before her sentence was commuted in 2017. Through archival footage, reconstructed online conversations and interviews with Manning and her associates, documentarian Tim Travers Hawkins portrays a figure whose trans identity is inextricably tied to her public identity as an activist. It would be easy to focus on the details of Mannings actions and subsequent incarceration and release, to tell the story of an individual bravely standing against the shady powers of the state and military-industrial complex a sort of Making a Murderer or The Staircase for the WikiLeaks crowd. Instead, Hawkins smartly keeps the details of Mannings leaks both in their content and the manner of their distribution to a tight segment at the films mid-point. The effect is to create space for the film to explore something altogether messier and contentious Mannings identities as a trans woman and a political activist, and the problematic, even dangerous, ways that her private self and public persona relate. What is perhaps most remarkable about Manning is just how superficially unremarkable she seems to be: she lacks the charisma and eccentricity of her mentor in absentia Julian Assange whose own serious misdeeds are kept in the background and is neither outwardly emotionally volatile on camera or in apparent possession of lifelong political conviction. Yet here she is, prepared to go down for life to expose what she saw as war crimes, undergoing deprivation and inhumane treatment at the hands of her own government. More astonishing still, she was jailed again in 2019 for refusing to testify against Wikileaks founder Assange. XY Chelsea connects this profound resilience unequivocably to Mannings gender identity, for which she publicly began her fight while incarcerated in 2013. Her status as a trans woman inevitably fuelled the bear-pit media debate of Manning as traitor versus hero, made yet more volatile by the ever-more divisive battle lines of so-called identity politics. Speaking about facing off against institutions that could and have hurt her terribly, she raises the spectre of Trump and the alt-right deplorables whom he has emboldened: This is an existential threat [but] Im not as afraid anymore of saying the things that need to be said. What are they going to? Throw me in prison? Or kill me? Theyre going to do that anyway if we let them. Id rather go down fighting. XY Chelsea is in UK cinemas and on demand now. xychelsea.com Christopher Machell | @Dr_Machell Shelby Myrick-Ducketts health issues began with her hand cramping up during a particularly cold and wet cross country meet in Jefferson during the fall of 2016. Someone got her a blanket, thinking it was the cold, but the cramps began to spread and she became confused. She doesn't have much awareness of what happened next, just flashes of being in an ambulance and then at a hospital. "It was very cold and very wet, that's mostly what I remember," she said. The incident was the first sign of an illness that would hit her so hard she would need an extra year to graduate high school. At the hospital she was given potassium and told to go see her regular doctor. Unlike many people with mysterious medical conditions, Myrick-Duckett got answers fairly quickly: her endocrinologist diagnosed her with hypokalemic periodic paralysis, a rare condition where a persons potassium will drop rapidly, causing severe cramps and, for Myrick-Duckett, even neurological effects. You need (potassium), said Myrick-Duckett. If you have too little of it, your muscles start cramping up and your heart cramps up. She said the potassium drops occur randomly, but there are triggers like exercise and the weather. Myrick-Duckett said since only about 3,000 people in the United States have the condition, many doctors dont know to look for it. However, Myrick-Ducketts dad has the condition too, and since it is genetic, her doctor knew to look for it. Its rare for it to be figured out so quickly, she said. Myrick-Duckett said although her dad has the condition, he didnt have a diagnosis when she was little, so even though she had a reference point she didnt know exactly how the condition would affect her. Youre sort of like, 'What can I do with this and how does my life look different?' she said. Although Myrick-Duckett, then a junior at Santiam Christian School, had been a straight-A student since kindergarten," she began having nearly weekly episodes where her potassium suddenly dropped and she began experiencing severe cramps and confusion, which necessitated emergency room visits and left her feeling extremely fatigued. Kelly Myrick, Myrick-Ducketts mom, said when her daughter has a severe issue with her potassium dropping, it can take her a week to recover. It was so difficult to see, said Myrick. Myrick-Duckett tried to continue going to school, but she wasnt getting better as she began the second semester of her junior year in 2017. She eventually moved in with her grandparents temporarily to recover with their full-time care. As she struggled with her health issues, Myrick-Duckett fell so far behind she had to repeat her junior year. But when she started that year over again, she did so with a new ally: a golden retriever and poodle mix named Doodlebug. Medical alert dog Myrick-Duckett said as she was researching her condition after her diagnosis she read a news article about someone with hypokalemic periodic paralysis who had a medical alert dog help give them an early warning. Myrick-Duckett said diabetics can use a glucometer to check their blood sugar, but there is no similar device for testing potassium levels in blood for people like her. Although she read about places that train service dogs to alert to low-potassium episodes, none are in this region. So she began working to get a pre-trained service dog, and when she got Doodlebug in the summer of 2017, she began working with Dogs for Invisible Disabilities in Lebanon to train him. Myrick-Duckett began collecting samples of her sweat and saliva when she was having a low-potassium episode, and with the help of a trainer she taught Doodlebug to recognize how she smelled when she had a hypokalemic issue so he could alert her with a signal, such as a whimper or a paw on her leg. When shes warned shes about to have an issue early, she can begin taking prescription potassium pills to avert the worst of her symptoms. Myrick-Duckett said around 90% of the time Doodlebug warns her she needs potassium before shes noticed any of the physical effects of her potassium dropping suddenly. Since shes gotten Doodlebug, said Myrick, its been a complete turnaround. Myrick said Doodlebug has kept her daughter out of the hospital numerous times. Myrick said in the year before Doodlebug, her daughter had four emergency room visits. In the nearly two years since, she's only had two. Myrick added that her daughter deserves all the credit for finding a way to address her health issues. Shes always going to have to deal with it, but now she knows how to deal with it and that makes all the difference, she said. Myrick-Duckett said before Doodlebug she was having hypokalemic issues severe enough to keep her out of school at least one day every week. Now, she's only missing about one day every month. With Doodlebug's help, she repeated her junior year and is now on track to walk with Santiam Christians class of 2019 in its graduation ceremony June 1. Shes also planning to go to Whitworth University in Spokane, Wash., this fall. Myrick said shes very proud of her daughter. The setbacks have been very hard to see, very painful to see, but to see her spirit is still there and that shes been able to overcome things has been lovely." 'One day at a time' Although college-bound, Myrick-Duckett said there have been some challenges. Making and keeping friends has been difficult with her health issues, and the students she's known since she was a kindergartener all graduated a year before she did. Shes also had to rule out medical school, which had been her plan before. My body cannot handle the stress of medical school. I cannot change that. Ive had to change my plans, she said. She said shes also learned to change her attitude to focus more on the present. Before I got sick I had a very specific life to-do list, but now I take it one day at a time, she said. Its not like in five years Ill be married and have a job and can be happy. Ive learned I need to be happy now. In this, Doodlebug has been helpful too: Getting a dog is a great motivator because you need to get up every day and walk and feed him. Having a service dog has also been a challenge, she said, because shes a natural introvert and having a service dog always draws attention. Myrick said her daughter has had to learn to be an advocate for herself and her dog, and shes really proud of them both. I could go on and on about how amazing she is. Im pretty proud of her. Its going to be amazing to see what she does with the rest of her life." Despite her setbacks, Myrick-Duckett is excited and optimistic about college. I can do it. It may not be the same way as everyone else, but I can do it. And shes already been working with Whitworth to make plans for bringing Doodlebug to college with her. Doodelbug is one of the reasons why Im still here and going to graduate. Hes wonderful. Hes my best friend. Hes a complete dork, but I love him. Anthony Rimel covers weekend events, education, courts and crime and can be reached at anthony.rimel@lee.net, 541-758-9526, or via Twitter @anthonyrimel. Love 2 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 McTurtle and Young are all riled up because the far right is attempting to primary Thom Tillis (R-NC), who's more like the near-right. McTurtle was heard screeching that there will be a "zero tolerance policy." That kind of thing is more likely to work in a fascist-oriented party than among Democrats, where Bustos is rapidly destroying her own credibility and her career. It is the policy of the NRSC that we will defend any member of our caucus from any challenge-- be it in a primary or general election-- by any means necessary, Kevin McLaughlin, the National Republican Senatorial Committee executive director, said in a statement. It is a zero tolerance policy and we will not work with any vendors who work for campaigns or outside groups challenging incumbent Republican senators. The announcement is the most public brushback to those working for primary challengers since 2014, when the NRSC-- looking to beat back a wave of conservative insurgents-- cut off a consulting firm that had targeted Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and other incumbents up for reelection that year. The Senate Leadership Fund, a well-funded super PAC closely aligned with McConnell, joined the committee in its decision. We have a long-standing policy of not using consultants who are assisting primary challenges against our Senate incumbents, said Steven Law, the group's president. The Club for Growth has not opposed an incumbent Republican senator since 2014, when it tried to unseat then-Mississippi Sen. Thad Cochran. But this week, the organization indicated it was trying to nudge North Carolina Rep. Mark Walker, a staunch Trump ally, into the primary. The Club for Growth also released a poll suggesting that Tillis would be vulnerable in a primary and general election. The flare-up threatens to divide Republicans in a state at the center of the partys 2020 strategy. Senate GOP campaign officials have warned aides to President Donald Trump that a disruptive and chaotic North Carolina Senate primary could hurt Trump in the battleground state. North Carolina had already become an early focus of GOP concerns. The state Republican Party, whose chairman was recently indicted in a corruption case, has been wracked by turmoil. And there is considerable angst within the party about a field of lackluster gubernatorial candidates. Senate Republicans are vigorously working to protect Tillis. In recent weeks, NRSC officials raised concerns with Trump campaign aides over the work that John McLaughlin, one of the presidents pollsters, was doing for Tillis primary challenger Garland Tucker. On Tuesday, McLaughlins firm withdrew from the North Carolina race. The NRSC has indicated that its prepared to aggressively go after Walker, a third-term evangelical pastor. The committee, for example, has pointed out that the congressman has become entangled in the same federal corruption probe that led to the indictment of state party chairman Robin Hayes. Major donors and outside groups are also coming to the senators defense. A spokesman for GOP megadonors Sheldon and Miriam Adelson said the couple stands by Thom Tillis. Ending Spending Action Fund, a super PAC that in the past has received funding from the billionaire Ricketts and Adelson families, said it will proudly support his reelection and vigorously oppose candidates or groups that seek to challenge the senator. Club for Growth officials say Tillis past differences with the White House have made him vulnerable in a state where Trump is popular among Republicans. Last year, the senator was criticized by fellow Republicans for co-sponsoring legislation to protect special counsel Robert Mueller. Earlier this year, Tillis wrote a Washington Post op-ed in which he announced his opposition to Trumps national emergency declaration to build a border wall, though he ultimately voted in favor of it. The Club for Growth tried to defeat the president in the 2016 GOP primary but has since refashioned itself into a pro-Trump outfit. On Friday, the group said it is still assessing whether to oppose Tillis. The Club for Growth has not made a determination if we will support a primary challenge to Sen. Tillis seat in North Carolina, said Joe Kildea, a spokesman for the organization. If we do endorse Walker, it will only be if we believe he is a stronger candidate in the general election. Republicans are not alone in trying to cut off oxygen to primary challengers. At a time when progressive insurgents are looking to unseat establishment incumbents, the House Democratic campaign arm has said it will no longer do business with vendors who are working to defeat sitting lawmakers. The Club for Growths threat to Tillis puts some of the Republican Party's incumbents, who typically treat their fellow colleagues with deference, in an awkward position. Arizona Sen. Martha McSally has previously used two consulting firms, Axiom Strategies and WPA Intelligence, who have done work for the Club for Growth and Walker. WPA Intelligence oversaw the Club for Growths new North Carolina survey, though a person familiar with the arrangement said it was done through a firewalled division of the polling firm. Jeff Roe, founder of Axiom Strategies and a top McSally adviser, said his firm would not be involved in any effort to defeat Tillis. McSally is one of the most endangered senators up for reelection in 2020. A spokeswoman for the senator suggested that she took the same no-tolerance approach as the party committee. "Sen. McSally strongly supports the reelection of Thom Tillis, said McSally spokeswoman Katie Waldman, and has made it clear that she will not use any vendors who are involved in a primary against the senator or any other Republican senator in the 2020 cycle. Earlier today the's Felicia Sonmez wrote that the White House put it out there that Trump and Kim Jong Un "agree in their assessment" of Biden . Unless today is the first time you discovered, you probably know we've been warning about what a shit Biden is since 2005, when the blog was founded. It's something that's concerned me since the gutter-level Delaware racist and devoted corporate whore started clawing his way to the top of the American political system. Luring Democrats into backing Biden is Trump's strategy for reelection. He believes that Biden would be the easiest Democrat to beat in 2020 and-- ignoring non-starters like Frackenlooper, Gillibrand and Delaney-- he's probably right. His latest manifestation of this strategy was to tweet an outrageous statement about he and the North Korean butcher both agreeing on Biden: Yesterday when Trump's goofball press secretary, Mike Huckabee's slow daughter Sarah went on Meet the Press to perform, she was asked by Chuck Todd whether Americans should "be concerned that the president of United States is essentially siding with a murderous authoritarian dictator over a former vice president in the United States." Chuck, the presidents not siding with that, she said. But I think they agree in their assessment of former vice president Joe Biden. Pressed whether Trump is taking Kims word about Biden, Sanders responded that the president doesnt need somebody else to give him an assessment of Joe Biden. Hes given his own assessment a number of times. Sanders was also asked about a tweet in which Trump appeared to contradict national security adviser John Bolton. Trump had said in the tweet that while some in his administration were disturbed by North Koreas testing of ballistic missiles earlier this month, the president himself was unbothered. Some of the activity thats taken place, as you can see from the presidents Twitter, isnt something thats bothering the president, Sanders said Sunday. He still feels good about the relationship that he has and about Chairman Kims commitment that he made to the president. Members of both parties sharply criticized Trumps handling of North Korea on Sunday. Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) said she certainly wouldnt trust Kim. She described herself as disturbed by both North Koreas recent missile test as well as Trumps reaction. I think Japan does have reason to be concerned, and I am concerned as well. We need to see North Korea back off of those activities, and we need to take a very strong stance on that, Ernst said on CNNs State of the Union. She added that she understand Trump has a job to do in negotiating, but we do need to push back on North Korea and make sure that they are following U.N. guidelines. South Bend, Indiana., Mayor Pete Buttigieg, who is running for the Democratic presidential nod, said that when Trump met with Kim last year in Singapore and this year in Hanoi, he was essentially handling North Korea something they needed, which was legitimacy. And the way diplomacy works, the way deals work is you give someone something in return for something, Buttigieg said on ABCs This Week. It hasnt worked at all. Canada has unveiled tough new airline passenger rights laws that will entitle some passengers whose trips are interrupted up to $2,400 CAD in compensation. Transport Minister Marc Garneau unveiled the sweeping legislation that will be implemented in two stages on July 15 and Dec. 15. In the first round of rules, those who get bumped from overbooked flights will be entitled to $900 in cash or vouchers at the passengers option if the denied boarding delays them by six hours. It doubles to $1,800 for up to nine hours and $2,400 for longer than that. Also as of July 15, ramp delays are limited to three hours and passengers must have access to food, drinks, toilets and adequate ventilation during the wait. Airlines will have to pay up to $2,100 for lost or damaged luggage. Effective Dec. 15, non-weather delays lasting three to six hours will cost the airlines $400 per passenger and up to $1,000 each if it drags longer than nine hours. That compensation isnt automatic. Passengers have to claim the money from the airline and the airline has a month to explain why it shouldnt have to pay. At three hours, delayed passengers have to be offered another flight. New rules will also require that children be seated either with their parents or near them depending on their age. Smaller airlines (less than two million passengers a year) will pay much lower compensation but the rules will apply to them, too. Pork stalls in a local market of Dan Ly Commune, Thanh Hoa Province are empty. Photo by VnExpress/Le Hoang Farmers in a central Vietnam commune are unhappy with local authorities uncalled for response to African swine fever. Authorities in Dan Ly Commune, Thanh Hoa Province have banned the slaughter and sale of pigs in an effort to keep the dreaded African swine fever at bay. The Dan Ly peoples committee announced the decision May 16, saying the ban would hold good until the epidemic is gone. Many farmers are upset at not being able to sell the pigs. "Weve heard on local media about African swine fever appearing in many places, but people are still allowed to butcher and sell [their products] normally. Why do they ban it here?" asked Thanh, a commune resident. The commune was only following orders from the Trieu Son District authorities, said Bui Van Tinh, vice chairman of the Dan Ly Commune peoples committee. But La Van Lam, head of the Trieu Son department of agriculture and rural development, said the commune had misinterpreted the districts orders. "The district only banned butchering and selling pork against proper regulations. But the communal authorities missed the against proper regulations part," said Lam. Echoing Lam, Le Duc Giang, head of Thanh Hoa Province's department of agriculture and rural development, said Saturday that the commune had misinterpreted the order. The Thanh Hoa provincial administration has clarified the order to commune authorities, said Giang. The Thanh Hoa department of agriculture and rural development said Monday the selling of pork in areas affected by African swine fever is not banned if the pork is certified as not infected with the disease by relevant veterinary entities. The same goes for butchering, which is allowed as long as the slaughterhouses are certified as meeting veterinary and food safety standards. After it hit Vietnam in February, African swine fever has quickly spread across the northern and central regions. At least 35 provinces have been infected by the disease. It went south in early May, infecting two farms in Dong Nai Province, home to the nations largest pig herd and a major source of pork supply to neighboring Ho Chi Minh City, and then spread to the Mekong Delta. Vietnam has the worlds seventh biggest pig herd and is the sixth largest pork producer, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade. Some 70 percent of meat products in Vietnam are from pigs, with over 10,000 farms and 2.5 million households raising the animal for food. There is no cure for African swine fever though humans are not affected by it. Twenty countries and territories have reported outbreaks since 2017 and over 2.5 million pigs have been put down, according to the World Organization for Animal Health. Vietnam is the third country in Asia to be hit after China and Mongolia. " " A World Without Language Barriers Waverly Labs In the novel "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy," translating unfamiliar languages meant stuffing a leech-like banana-colored fish into one's ear called the Babel Fish. Now a company claims to have invented a hearing-aid-sized device that will perform the same translating functions for spoken foreign language. The Pilot is wearable technology that fits in the ear and translates between users speaking different languages. The device, which works offline and internationally, is accompanied by an app that can toggle between languages, but the idea is to allow people to converse with each other directly without the aid or distraction of looking at a dictionary, smartphone or other electronic language translator. Currently, the Pilot translates between English, French, Spanish and Italian. Future languages are expected to include Hindi, Hebrew, Arabic and other African and Asian languages. Advertisement "I have pretty good skills in Spanish and Mandarin, but for other languages like Thai, Vietnamese, Russian, and French just can't wrap my head around the tones in French I'd use the hell out of a thing like that," says Cate Smith-Brubaker, a journalist and travel writer. "So many avoided frustrations, I'd get the food I actually want, and I could meet and become friendly with so many more people!" The Pilot devices, which went on sale in late May for an estimated fall 2017 delivery, cost up to $299. The first generation of in-ear translators only work when both people in a conversation are wearing the devices. However, the New York-based company behind the translator, Waverly Labs, said it plans to release future generations that will translate independently of a sister device. The application for a device like this is immense. Imagine being in a region where you don't speak the language and being able to request a restroom, drink or directions. Or, as product inventor and Waverly CEO Andrew Ochoa discovered, improve more complex interpersonal communication. Ochoa said the idea for the universal translator came to him "after meeting a French girl" with whom he could not communicate clearly. "It's the dream, you know? A life untethered, free of language barriers," Ochoa says in a company video. "It's just that it's no longer a dream anymore. It's real." Johanna Read, a travel writer who visited six continents last year, agrees. "It would be lovely to respond with a smile to a comment that I understand," she says, "rather than just pretend to understand." " " Waverly Labs plans to release the Pilot in-ear translator in multiple colors. Waverly Labs While Waverly Labs is quick to tout the product's attributes, it's slow to release details of its inner workings. The company initially pointed to vague "translation technology" embedded in the device's accompanying app. The process, however, is believed to require a clear signal from the Pilot's built-in microphone that is then converted from speech to text in both speakers' languages. The text is then thought to run through an online translation engine like those of Google or Microsoft before being converted from text back to speech and relayed into the wearer's earpiece. If the newly debuted Pilot seems familiar, it's probably because science fiction did it first. Star Trek characters have been using a universal translator from the outset of the series, allowing them to understand any language they encounter. Well, almost any language. The nuances of Klingon can sometimes get lost in translation. Advertisement Advertisement Now That's Cool Translating conversation as it happens may soon be as close as a free app; Google Translate and Skype Translator are both close to offering real-time translation services. ELKO Elko broke a precipitation record Saturday, flood waters are rising west of Battle Mountain, and at least another week of rain is expected in northeastern Nevada. Rain at the airport measured 0.41 of an inch on Saturday. The old record was 0.25, set back in 1937. May precipitation stood at 2.38 inches as of Monday afternoon, which is nearly three times the average amount for the month. The National Weather Service issued a flood warning for the Humboldt River between Battle Mountain and Winnemucca. The river reached 9.7 feet Monday morning, just above the flood stage of 9.5 feet. The river will continue to slowly rise to near 10.0 feet on Thursday, predicted the National Weather Service. The National Weather Service forecast for Elko calls for a 70 percent chance of rain Tuesday, 40 percent Wednesday, 60 percent Thursday, and continued showers and thunderstorms through at least Sunday. Temperatures may warm up into the lower 70s toward the end of the week. Love 3 Funny 2 Wow 8 Sad 2 Angry 2 At the meeting, leaders of the Norwegian groups such as Kongsberg, DVL-GL, Pharmaq, Vard, Jotun and Scatec Solar said that Vietnam is an open and potential market and voiced their hope that the Vietnamese Government will ensure a fair playing ground for foreign investors. Jotun CEO Morten Foyn said his group is planning to build another paint factory in the southern area of Ho Chi Minh City with an investment capital amount of US$ 100 million, besides its first in neighbouring Binh Duong province which was constructed in 1997. Geir Haoy, President and CEO of Kongsberg Group a leading technology group in Norway said that Vietnam is becoming an attractive destination for foreign investors with its rapid and stable growth rate. He expressed his hope to cooperate with Vietnam in expanding the application of technology in aquaculture and in developing its sea-based economy. Raymond Carlsen, CEO of Scatec Solar which freshly signed a US$500-million investment cooperation deal with Vietnam at the Vietnam-Norway Business Forum, shared that the investment will be poured into a solar power project and wished to build a laboratory in the country to support it in studying, transferring and exporting renewable energy technology to the region. He believed that Vietnam will issue a new preferential policy on tariffs for those who invest in renewable energy. For his part, PM Phuc affirmed that Vietnam attaches importance to all economic sectors and foreign investors. Showing his impression at Geir Haoys ideas, he said that Vietnam has paid attention to the sea-based economy. He assigned Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Quoc Doanh to hold in-depth discussions with the group on this issue. The government leader stressed that Vietnam always welcomes and is willing to create all favourable conditions for foreign investors, including those from Norway. Politburo member Minh made the remark during his receptions for Danish Ambassador to Vietnam Kim Hjlund Christensen and Bulgarian Ambassador to Vietnam Marinela Milcheva Petkova in Hanoi on May 10. He congratulated the two diplomats on their missions in Vietnam, affirming that Vietnam always treasures and wishes to strengthen its comprehensive partnership with Denmark, as well as its traditional friendly relations and multifaceted cooperation with Bulgaria. He voiced his belief that, during their working tenures, the ambassadors would make active contributions to the development of their countries friendly ties and cooperation with Vietnam across various spheres, especially in economics and trade, while boosting the exchange of all-level delegations and expanding collaboration in the fields of both sides strengths and potential. Deputy PM and FM Pham Binh Minh (right) receives Bulgarian Ambassador to Vietnam Marinela Milcheva Petkova. (Photo: VGP) Particularly, Deputy PM Minh asked Denmark and Bulgaria to further promote the prompt signing and ratification of EVFTA and EVIPA, aiming to soon bring practical benefits for the participating parties. On the occasion, he thanked the two countries for supporting Vietnam to become a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council in the 2020-2021 tenure, affirming that Vietnam would continue maintaining its close coordination with Denmark and Bulgaria at international organisations and forums. For their part, the two ambassadors spoke highly of Vietnams development achievements and its constructive foreign policies, which, they said, have helped to enhance the countrys role, position and prestige in the region and throughout the world over the past years. Taking place at a time when the two countries are celebrating the 50th anniversary of their diplomatic ties, the Vietnamese Government leaders visit is an important political event, contributing to enhancing Vietnam Sweden traditional friendship. With a knowledge-based economy towards high-end technology and a comprehensive social welfare system, Sweden is one of the countries with the highest living standards in the world as well as leading in research, application and use of green and clean technology, energy saving and renewable energy. Sweden ranks second in the world for their quality education system. The country is making efforts to strengthen its trade cooperation in emerging markets, including Vietnam, as well as accelerate the negotiation process of free trade agreements (FTAs) with the US and several other nations to complement the shortage of domestic markets and the EU region. Sweden has made the most extensive amendments of constitution since 1974, aiming to create more legal basis for the European unification. Regarding policies for development cooperation, the main goal of Sweden's development cooperation projects is to improve peoples lives; therefore, many projects have focused on hunger eradication and poverty reduction. Sweden was the first Western European nation to set up relations with Vietnam in 1969. Sweden was also a Western country that launched the strongest and earliest movement to support Vietnams resistance war against the US since August 1966. The National Liberation Front of South Vietnam formed its information office in the capital of Stockholm. We are pleased to see that the long-standing friendship between Vietnam and Sweden is constantly consolidating and strengthening. The fine relationship has been marked by high-level visits and exchanges, including the most recent official visit to Sweden by Chairwoman of National Assembly Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan in Apri 2017 and the visit by Crown Princess of Sweden Victoria Ingrid Alice Desiree to Vietnam in early May. Sweden is also a Western country taking the lead in assisting Vietnam in the reform process right from its very first years in the fields of economic reform, finance, banking, economic management, administrative reform and law. The country has actively supported Vietnam to establish relations with international financial and monetary institutions, such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB). In addition to the development of economic development, the trade relations between the two countries has grown. Two-way trade revenue reached US$1.8 billion in 2018. Sweden's investment in Vietnam has increased sharply in recent years. As of the end of March 2019, Sweden ranked 33rd out of 131 countries and territories investing in Vietnam, with 67 valid projects and a total registered capital of US$364 million. Vietnam also has two investment projects in Sweden with a total investment capital of nearly US$700,000. In terms of development cooperation Sweden is a Nordic country with the largest non-refundable aid provider to Vietnam (since 1967) with a total aid of US$3.4 billion. Cooperation in the fields of culture, education, science, technology, industry, agriculture and rural development and tourism has also been increasingly developed. Sweden is one of the nations that provide the most effective developmental aid for the cultural sector of Vietnam with projects in preserving and promoting cultural heritages as well as improving skills related to radio, television and newspapers. Vietnam welcomed nearly 50,000 Swedish visitors in 2018, a year-on-year increase of 13%. The Vietnamese community in Sweden has around 20,000 members, integrating very well into the host country. PM Nguyen Xuan Phucs official visit to Sweden aims to further deepen the traditional friendship between the two countries in the new current situation, strongly boosting the economic, trade and investment cooperation. May PM Nguyen Xuan Phucs visit to Sweden be a success, contributing to tightening the bilateral friendship. Speaking at a school in the central province of Thanh Hoa, Dam stated that most of todays children are receiving adequate care but a small percentage of them have yet to be provided with certain rights and have no access to education and healthcare. 2019 is the 25th year that Vietnam has launched an action month in aid of children but their rights have yet to be fully understood by the public. The Deputy PM noted that parents should not use any violence as a way to educate their children because it will leave them with lasting mental trauma. He added that adults should listen to children and let them express their opinions and personalities. The government official also urged the relevant ministries, agencies and local authorities to take further action to create more opportunities for children in less developed regions. He also called for children to be provided with better access to social services and be protected against violence and sexual abuse. During the action month, a wide range of activities will be held such as enhancing public awareness on preventing drowning in children, fending off violence and sexual violence against children and mobilising society to join hands to support poor children. A former aide to Irans Supreme Leader has called Ayatollah Ali Khamenei a despot after being issued a new subpoena while already facing a three-year jail sentence. Abolfazl Qadiani (Ghadiani) must attend court within 10 days but, writing for foreign-based opposition website Kalameh, he said he will refuse to do so. The 73-year-old slammed the subpoena as an overture to holding a session of the illegal Revolutionary Court dominated by intelligence agents, and both under the full control of Iran's current despot, Mr Khamenei. Qadiani who had previously called Khamenei a dictator now has used the term "despot". He added that the warrant against him applies to a case that is three years old. Qadiani went on to warn that recent reshuffles of top positions in the Islamic Republic suggests a period of increased violence and terror is to come. Ayatollah Khamenei has appointed a new head of the judiciary, replaced Friday-Prayer imams and appointed a new head of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps in recent weeks. Responding to Khameneis defense of Irans constitution last week in a meeting with students, Qadiani added: The Islamic Republic is incorrigible. He said that it is impossible to limit the Supreme Leaders powers because in case of any meaningful limitation, it would cease to exist. Qadiani, a staunch revolutionary in the 1970s and 80s, got into new legal troubles after calling for the position of supreme leader to be abolished, last year. Qadiani is a leading member of the Islamic leftist political organization IRMO (the Islamic Revolutions Mujahedeen Organization), a group that strongly supported the Islamic Republic until 2009 when they fell out with Khamenei after the disputed re-election of populist President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The group also initially contributed to the forming of the Islamic Republics internal security system as many of its members said in various interviews. After falling out with Khamenei, many of the organizations 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. His son, Morteza, says his father has received two years for insulting the leader and one year for propaganda against the regime. He might end up serving the longer of the two sentences. He has also been ordered to read three pro-revolution and Islamic Republic books, one praising Khamenei, and copying them by hand. Hand-copying texts is considered a punishment in Iranian elementary schools. The former revolutionary turned opponent has been criticizing Khamenei since 2009 when highly questionable poll results, believed to be engineered by military and intelligence organs, declared hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as the winner in presidential elections. . , . ... A comment in favor of federalism by Iran's former reformist president Mohammad Khatami has stirred controversy among political activists in Iran and abroad. Speaking during a meeting with Tehran City councillors on May 11, Khatami suggested that "the most desirable democratic form of government for Iran could be a federative government, although Iran cannot be a federal state according to its Constitution." Khatami also said that "maybe politically this is not the opportune time" for federalism. Over 200 Iranian activists inside and outside Iran wrote a critical letter, lashing out at Khatami for saying that a federal government is the most desirable form of government for Iran. They warned that such comments threatens the country's integrity and could even lead to ethnic disputes and civil war. The letter, titled "No to federalism, no to national disintegration," maintains that no integrated country with a consolidated political system has ever been turned into a federal country." The letter however, mentions Iraq as an exception to the rule because of "colonial demarcations, dictatorial rule and foreign intervention." The signatories to the letter said "Khatami has ignored the fact that Iran already exists as a country; and that is why he says the Constitution is the only barrier to Iran's move toward federalism, mindless of the fact that Iran is an age-old country that has always remained integrated." They also questioned Khatami's claim, saying is not based on any research or applied experience. Pointing out Irans persistent problems such as corruption, failure of foreign policy, outdated industry, devaluation of national currency, suppression of civil liberties, ideological, religious and gender discrimination, they asked: "How federalism can offer a solution for problems Iran's clerical rulers have created?" At the same time, U.S.-based Iranian scholar of political science Javad Tabatabai questioned Khatami and the city councillors' qualifications for such discussions that "will sacrifice the interests of the nation for the interests of a group Khatami leads," he wrote in a letter to the former president published on his Telegram channel. Khatami was one of Iran's most popular presidents who still effectively exerts his charismatic influence over reform-minded Iranians at election times. However, he has recently said that it is unlikely that people would take his advice this time and vote for individuals he backs. Khatami advised Iranian reformists to vote for Hassan Rouhani in Presidential elections in 2013 and 2017. But his public activism was only for the elections period. In fact, state controlled media had already been instructed not to give any exposure to the former president and it was even forbidden to publish his photos. Following the 2017 elections, in October of that year Khatami was banned from attending public events and gradually the noose tightened, restricting him from meeting with close supporters and reformist aides. Many lawmakers protested but nothing changed. Khatami's involvement with expanding local powers goes back to his first years as president in later 1990s. He pushed for local councils to be formed, and function albeit with limited powers and impact. Tabatabai further called on Khatami to take back his comment and to suggest to his followers not to continue such debates. But the fact remains that many activists defending the rights of Iran's ethnic groups advocate decentralization. However, both pro-regime and anti-regime proponents of a unitary Iran argue that decentralization will lead to separatist demands. Speaking to Radio Farda, Tirdad Bonakdar, political scientist and lawyer in Tehran, noted that although Khatami is free to express any view as an individual, but many might be influenced by his comments without knowing much about federalism, because of his political background and his relative popularity in society. That is why some activists decided to react to Khatami's remarks. Some of Khatami's friends have said that this was not really Khatami's views. But Khatami must have had an idea about federalism and he knew that it was not a choice suitable for Iran, Bonakdar said. Reformist political activist, Mohammad Reza Javadi Hesar in Mashad, defended Khatami telling Radio Farda that the discourse of Iran's reformists' is based on the idea of justice. What Khatami said was within the context of local councils. He stressed that local councils were first formed during his administration (1997-2005) and that he was alluding to the fact the people in various areas are interested in running their administrative affairs by local officials. So, if Khatami says anything about federalism, in fact he is pointing out the benefits of local government and dispensation of justice in society. What he says will unite people rather than fragment the society. Meanwhile, London-based Abdollah Mohtadi, one of the founders of Iran's Kurdish Koumeleh party told Radio Farda that Khatami has pointed out Iran's ethnic diversity as a social and cultural reality. The discourse of federalism is one of participation in political power, based on decentralizing the structure of power, and attaching significance to ethnic groups' mother tongue. Unlike radical nationalists of Iran, I believe federalism is a progressive idea which secures Iranian people's rights and brings them closer to each other, Mohtadi said. Bonakdar said he supported the idea of decentralization within the frameworks of Iran's cultural milieu and Javadi Hesar concluded that Khatami did not support the disintegration of Iran by suggesting a federative plan. Ali Larijani has been reinstated as the speaker of the Iranian Parliament (Majles) for the 12th consecutive year as the longest serving head of Iranian Parliament. The annual election for the posts on the Majles presidium was held on Sunday May 26, with the only surprise in the result being the replacement of outspoken conservative vice-speaker Ali Motahari, with another conservative figure Abdolreza Mesri. Mesri was the Minister of Welfare and Social Security under ultraconservative President Mahmoud Ahmadinjad in his first term of office as Iran's president. He is now a member of the conservative faction of the Majles but no he longer supports Ahmadinejad. From among the three main contestants for the post of Speaker, Ali Larijani won 155 votes from 274 MPs present. The losers were reformist Mohamad Reza Aref with 105 and ultraconservative Mohammad Javad Abtahi with only 9 votes. The defeat for Aref was meaningful as he had won 123 votes last year. The other members of the presidium were reelected. Meanwhile, like the previous rounds, no woman will be on the presidium. Ali Larijani, 62, has been holding the post of the speaker of the Majles since 2008. Motahari's defeat could be attributed to his harsh criticism of the performance of both reformists and conservatives in the Iranian government. His criticism of conservatives, and even Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei for the continued house arrest of Green Movement leaders have at times annoyed politicians close to Khamenei. Motahari has also at times argued for more political freedom of speech while remaining true to his social conservatism. International human rights watchdogs have charged that extensive vetting and the disqualification of thousands of candidates has turned the Iranian parliament into a rather non-elected institution. The other members of the Majles presidium include vice speaker Massoud Pezeshkian as well as Behrouz Nemati, Mohammad Ashouri, Assadollah Abbasi, Mohammad Ali Vakili, Ali Asghar Yousef Nejad, Alireza Rahimi, Amir Hossein Qazizadeh Hashemi, Ahmad Amirabadi Farahani and Akbar Ranjbarzadeh. The Assyrian Christian community in the northwestern Iranian city of Tabriz has been left in a state of shock after intelligence agents forced a Presbyterian church to close earlier this month, Assyrian International News Agency (Aina) reports. Religious freedom charity Article18 said: Intelligence agents stormed the 100-year-old church, officially recognized as a national heritage site in Iran, on Thursday, May 9, changed all the locks, tore down the cross from the church tower, and ordered the churchwarden to leave. They made it clear that the Assyrian people are no longer allowed to hold any worship service there, Article18 reported. The source also said church members had been fearful since just a few days after Christmas when agents from the intelligence ministry prevented pastors from other churches to visit the Tabriz church for a joint-worship service with other Assyrian and Armenian Christians. Quoting a source, Aina reported on May 9, a large number of agents from the ministry of intelligence and a state agency called Eiko entered the church compound and changed all the locks on the doors, removed the cross from the tower, installed some monitoring instruments and started to threaten and force our custodian to leave his place inside the compound immediately. Eiko, also known as the executive headquarters of Imams directive, is under the direct control of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Eiko was established from thousands of properties confiscated in the aftermath of the 1979 revolution. A Reuters investigation found that the organization built its empire on the systematic seizure of thousands of properties belonging to ordinary Iranians, also seizing property from members of religious minorities, business people and Iranians living abroad. It falsely claimed many properties were abandoned. The 100-year old church, owned by the Assyrian Presbytery, was confiscated by a revolutionary court order in 2011. The congregation, however, were able to continue using the building for services in the Assyrian language until this months raid. Many churches owned by Protestants have been confiscated in Iran, according to Article18s advocacy director, Mansour Borji. The reason can be deliberate targeting of any institution remotely linked with Americans. In most cases, the government has been unable to repurpose them, especially if they were listed. So they typically remain as abandoned buildings, often neglected, and turned into ruins before being demolished, as was the case with the church in Kerman. Christians from Irans historic Assyrian and Armenian communities are recognized minority, who are usually able to freely practice their faith, providing they don't open their doors to Muslim-born Iranians by holding services in Persian. The Islamic Republic authorities have not yet responded to the news concerning the century-old church in Tabriz. The Assyrian presence in Iran goes back 4,000 years. The Assyrian community in Iran numbered approximately 200,000 before the 1979 revolution. Many Assyrians left the country in the after the establishment of the Islamic Republic, primarily for the United States. Current estimates of the Assyrian population in Iran range from 50,000 in 2007 to 32,000 in 2015. The Iranian capital, Tehran, is home to the majority of Iranian Assyrians; however, approximately 15,000 Assyrians reside in northwestern Iran, in the city of Urmia and various Assyrian villages in the surrounding area, in West Azarbaijan province, northwest Iran. Assyrians were the first people who warmly welcomed an American Presbyterian missionary and linguist, Justin Perkins, on his arrival in Urmia. Justin Perkins, known as the first U.S. citizen residing in Iran, established a missionary center in Urmia in 1835. Perkins, later dubbed the Apostle of Persia, was assigned to look after the remaining members of the Assyrian Church of the East in northwestern Iran. Appointed by the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, Perkins began preaching, generally with the full consent of the local Assyrian church clergy, and often in their churches. Dozens of Assyrians left Iran for America through Perkins and his successors, mainly settling in Chicago. Irans President Hassan Rouhani speaking on Saturday May 25 said that a referendum on the countrys nuclear program can offer a breakthrough. The Iranian president in a meeting with media managers in Tehran was answering a question when he said that Article 59 can unblock difficult situations. He added, The question of when we should utilize this Article or when in the past we should have used it, is a different matter. Rouhani told the gathering that in 2004, when he was not president, he told the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to put the nuclear issue to a referendum and Khamenei thought using the Article was a good idea and accepted Rouhanis suggestion. Apparently, Rouhani referred to the months before the election of hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as president and said that later the government changed and the process took a different course, but Article 59 could offer a breakthrough at any juncture. This is not the first time Rouhani has raised the possibility of referendums to solve fundamental disagreements in the country or untangle issues. In early 2017 he defended the principle of resorting to public vote to make decisions on crucial issues. At the time, Rouhanis suggestion met with stern opposition from Khameneis top allies. Khamenei, using his constitutional authority and the unrivaled power he has accumulated in 30 years of rule, has the ultimate say in almost all matters, particularly in foreign policy, internal security and military issues. A referendum can be a challenge to his power, as people would get to decide directly. It is almost unavoidable that Khamenei's conservative allies will react negatively to Rouhani's suggestion, not only because of concerns about diluting Khamenei's authority but also considering the risks in offering people the chance to decide on the nuclear program. At this point it is unclear if the president coordinated his suggestion with the Supreme Leader, which is also a possibility. Iran has suffered years of severe international and U.S. sanctions, which have greatly harmed its economy and impoverished the people. Rouhani is not the only politician who has spoken of using referendums. An outspoken member of parliament, Mahmoud Sadeghi also has suggested to hold a referendum in approving anti-corruption legislation demanded by the international community. Article 59 says, In important economic, political, social and cultural issues it is possible to legislate through referendum, resorting to the direct vote of the people, whichshould be approved by two-thirds of the total number of members of parliament. However, some influential politicians and officials believe that based on other constitutional principles, the Supreme Leader should agree to holding any referendum. Article 59 has never been used in the Islamic Republic after the adoption of its current constitution. Based on reporting by IRNA, ISNA, Iran State Broadcasting Baku, Azerbaijan, May 26 Trend: Over the past 24 hours, Armenian armed forces have violated the ceasefire along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops 19 times, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said on May 26, 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. Baku, Azerbaijan, May 26 Trend: Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has congratulated Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili. On my own behalf and on behalf of the people of Azerbaijan, I extend my cordial congratulations to you and all the people of your country on the occasion of the national holiday of Georgia, the Independence Day, President Aliyev said. Relations between Azerbaijan and Georgia stem from the will of our two peoples who have historically lived in an atmosphere of friendship and good neighbourliness, he said. We are satisfied with the high level of interstate relations based on such solid foundations, the president stressed. I believe that our cooperation in bilateral and multilateral formats, and based on mutual trust and support our strategic partnership will continue developing and expanding to the benefit of our nations. On this remarkable day, I wish you the best of health, success in your endeavours, and the friendly people of Georgia peace and prosperity, he added. Baku, Azerbaijan, May 26 By Matanat Nasibova - Trend: Until the end of this year, 5 seed processing plants will start operating in Azerbaijan, Emin Aliyev, chairman of the State Seed Fund under the Ministry of Agriculture, told Trend. He said that in addition to the launch of 2 such plants in Khachmaz and Sheki cities this summer, it is planned to open 3 new plants until the end of the first half of the next year. "The plants in Tovuz, Gobustan and Agjabadi districts are planned to be launched before the end of this year," he added. "Moreover, the creation of seed processing plants will continue in 2020 as well. In particular, the construction of new seed processing plants in the southern areas of Azerbaijan - in Jalilabad and Saatli districts - is planned in the first half next year." He also noted that the plants are set up to process seed material and implement seed dressing and packaging in order to obtain seeds. The State Seed Fund was established under the Ministry of Agriculture of Azerbaijan by order of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to meet the countrys increased need for new high-yielding and drought-resistant types of seeds and, in general, to strengthen Azerbaijans food safety. Baku, Azerbaijan, May 26 By Sara Israfilbayova Trend: The development of innovations and financial technologies is a promising direction for the Azerbaijani market, Cristina Doros, Senior Director and Head of Products for CIS & South-Eastern Europe at VISA, told Trend. "This trend can be observed throughout the CIS region. Using successful global experience in other regions, VISA can, in cooperation with the regulator, provide support to new financial technology players (FinTech) and, together with partners, propose new payment solutions for the market," she said. According to Doros, VISA strongly contributes to the development of FinTech and supports this trend in the development of the payments market. Furthermore, she noted, VISA aims to unite the FinTech community and its own resources in several ways. "By connecting to our network, FinTech companies gain access to our global ecosystem. They can use the VisaNet network to maximize their capabilities. We have all the resources to help FinTech companies accelerate the market entry process with our assets and capabilities," she stated. Also, Doros said that VISA recently announced the FinTech Fast Track global program. "Under this program, VISA allows companies based in the CEMEA region (Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa) to accelerate the process of integrating their innovative payment solutions into the global VisaNet network, and also offers a set of adapted technology solutions and opportunities for company growth," she emphasized. According to her, the company's global strategy is to open a network to support a wide range of players who are working on new business opportunities. Follow the author on Twitter: @IsrafilbekovaS Baku, Azerbaijan, May 26 By Elnur Baghishov Trend: INSTEX, the financial mechanism created between European members of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and Iran, may start working in two months, Slovenian ambassador to Iran Kristina Radej said. This mechanism is not working yet, Radej added, Trend reports referring to Iran's Shargh newspaper. The Slovenian ambassador said that medicines and necessary products will be first exchanged via this financial mechanism. Radej added that Slovenia has intensified trade relations with Iran and intends to use this financial mechanism for trade development. The JCPOA, signed between Iran and the P5+1 group (US, UK, Russia, China, France and Germany), was put in force in January 2016. The US announced its withdrawal from the deal in May 2018 and imposed sanctions on Iran in November of the same year. In late January 2019, the European signatories of the JCPOA (namely the UK, France and Germany) officially announced the establishment of INSTEX, a special financial mechanism formed with Iran for backing the said agreement. Iran will defend itself against any military or economic aggression, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Sunday, calling on European states to do more to preserve a nuclear agreement his country signed, Trend reports citing Reuters. Speaking at a Baghdad news conference with his Iraqi counterpart Mohammed al-Hakim, Zarif said Iran wanted to build balanced relations with its Gulf Arab neighbors and had proposed signing a non-aggression pact with them. We will defend against any war efforts against Iran, whether it be an economic war or a military one, and we will face these efforts with strength, he said. Strains have increased between Iran and the United States after this months attack on oil tankers in the Gulf region. Washington, a firm backer of Tehrans regional rival Saudi Arabia, has blamed the attacks on Iran. Tehran has distanced itself from the bombings, but the United States has sent an aircraft carrier and an extra 1,500 troops to the Gulf, sparking concern over the risk of conflict in a volatile region. Iraq stands with Iran and is willing to act as an intermediary between its neighbor and the United States, Hakim said. Baghdad does not believe an economic blockade is fruitful, he added in a reference to U.S. sanctions. We are saying very clearly and honestly that we oppose the unilateral actions taken by the United States. We stand with the Islamic Republic of Iran in its position, Hakim said. Baku, Azerbaijan, May 26 By Elnur Baghishov Trend: More than 6.4 million tons of products have been produced in the Persian Gulf Special Economic Zone of Irans southern Hormozgan province last Iranian year (started on March 21, 2018), Executive Director of the Persian Gulf Special Economic Zone of Hormozgan province Hassan Khalaj Tehrani said. Most of the products account for steel products, Tehrani added, Trend reports referring to the Persian Gulf Special Economic Zones website. Tehrani added that 3.2 million tons of sponge iron and 1.4 million tons of slab were produced at Hormozgan and Kaveh plants. Moreover, more than 1 million tons of billets were produced at the South Kaveh Steel Plant. Last Iranian year Almahdi Hormozal aluminium company produced more than 130,000 tons of aluminium ingots. Some 9,170 tons of zinc have also been produced in this zone, he said. He said that Persian Gulf Saba steel plant produced 504,200 tons of steel briquettes last Iranian year. Iran has two new "top secret weapons" and may use them to sink U.S. warships, an advisor to the chief commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said, Trend reported citing Xinhua. "In case of the smallest foolish act by the enemy in the Gulf waters, they will find out what we will do to them," Morteza Qorbani was quoted as saying by Tehran Times daily. "The Americans should not play these games" and bring their warships to the region, Qorbani warned. The IRGC may use its weapons to sink the U.S. warships "with everything and everyone on board," Qorbani added. Washington said earlier this month that it had dispatched an aircraft carrier strike group and a bomber task force to the Middle East region to counter "threats" from Iran. On Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he was sending 1,500 more troops to the Middle East region. Former central bank board member and economist Gitanas Nauseda won Lithuanias presidential election on Sunday after his opponent Ingrida Simonyte conceded, Trend reports citing Reuters. Nauseda, 55, had 74 percent of the vote, according to election authority results after a quarter of the ballots were counted. Ingrida Simonyte, 44, a former finance minister in a center-right government, stood at 26 percent. Nauseda, a household name because of his role as chief economist at a top bank, has pledged to follow the tough stance set out by current President Dalia Grybauskaite, the Baltic nations Iron Lady and one of the European Unions most outspoken critics of the Kremlin. Former Brexit Minister Dominic Raab became the sixth candidate to enter the contest to replace Theresa May as prime minister, vowing to fight for a fairer deal on Brexit, Trend reported citing Reuters. To deliver Brexit successfully will require focus, discipline and resolve, Raab wrote in an article for the Mail on Sunday newspaper. As a former Foreign Office lawyer and Brexit Secretary I have the experience. Last week the German aviation company Lilium unveiled the design of its five-seat vertical take-off and landing electric jet, which completed its maiden flight earlier this month, Trend reports citing Sputnik. Air taxis will become a reality and start offering services through an app in a number of cities over the next six years, according to the German company Lilium, according to media reports. On Thursday, the Munich-based startup revealed its five-seater electric air taxi prototype. Today we are taking another huge step towards making urban air mobility a reality, Lilium co-founder and CEO Daniel Wiegand said at the unveiling. We dream of a world where anyone can fly wherever they want, whenever they want. According to Oliver Walker-Jones, Lilium head of communications, there are plans to start operations in a number of cities by 2025, but its yet to be decided exactly where to begin providing services. The battery-powered vertical take-off and landing jet is capable of travelling 300 kilometres (186 miles) in 60 minutes on a single charge. The Lilium Jet, which concluded a maiden flight earlier this month, is part of an app-based flying taxi service that the company hopes to get off the ground. Cities are planned to be linked up via a network of landing pads, with commuters able to book trips through a smartphone app. Although the startup has yet to reveal the possible cost of such a service, it has claimed it will be comparable in price to regular taxis. The German startup will be facing competition as other companies out there are also working on flying cars. Uber (UBER) is partnering with NASA with the goal of launching a flying taxi network by 2023, while Boeing and Rolls Royce are also reportedly developing similar projects. Lilium claims its aircraft is capable of making much longer journeys than the majority of its competitors. The German company, founded in 2015, boasts some high-profile investors, such as Atomico, the tech investment fund headed by Skype co-founder Niklas Zennstrom, and Chinas tech giant Tencent, who have contributed around $100 mln to the company in the lofty hope of finally making flying cars an affordable reality. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said Sunday he would call for snap general elections in the country after 2 June, Reuters and AFP reported, Trend reports citing Sputnik. "Following the second round of local elections (on 2 June), I will ask the president to immediately call national elections", Tsipras said in a televised address Sunday, cited by AFP. Earlier on Sunday, the leader of Greece's opposition New Democracy party which is leading in the European Parliament elections, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, called for the resignation of Alexis Tsipras. "The prime minister must take responsibility and he must resign, and the country will head to national elections as soon as possible", Mitsotakis said. The liberal-conservative New Democracy party is gaining 33.07 percent of the vote and is currently ahead of the ruling Syriza party, which is headed by Tsipras, by 9 points, according to preliminary results, released by the country's Interior Ministry on Sunday. Four people are missing after two freight ships collided in the Pacific Ocean off the east coast of Japan on Sunday morning, Trend reported citing Sputnik. According to Japanese Kyodo news outlet, the incident occurred at 2:00 a.m. local time (17:00 GMT), about 7 miles from Japan's easternmost city of Inubosaki. As a result of the collision, one of the ships sunk. At the time of the incident, there were five crew members on the ship that sunk, four of which have gone missing. According to the Japanese Coast Guard, the foul weather and fog could have caused the collision. Last year, the Japanese fishing boat carrying eight crew members on board collided with the South Korean trawler in the Sea of Japan, some 206 miles to the northeast of Dokdo (Takeshima) islands, contested both by Seoul and Tokyo. Following the incident, the South Korean vessel started sinking, however, the 13-member crew was reportedly rescued. Mexicos environment minister resigned on Saturday after causing a commercial flight to be delayed, making her the second top official to depart from the government of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador in less than a week, Trend reported citing Reuters. The presidents office announced that Josefa Gonzalez Blanco Ortiz Mena, minister of the environment and natural resources, had tendered her resignation, and Lopez Obrador said during a speech on Saturday afternoon he had accepted it. In her resignation letter, which was published by the presidents office, Gonzalez Blanco said that at the start of a work trip on Friday, she had caused a delay to passengers who were traveling on the plane and its crew. There is no justification. The true transformation of Mexico requires total alignment with the values of equity and justice, Gonzalez Blanco said. Nobody should have privileges, and the benefits of one, even in carrying out ones duties, cannot be above the well-being of the majority. In his afternoon remarks, the president said he had spoken with Gonzalez Blanco that morning, telling her to attend to the matter of the flight delay, adding that she apologized. She very honestly told me what had happened and placed her resignation at my disposal and I accepted it, Lopez Obrador said. Her exit follows Tuesdays resignation of German Martinez, head of Mexicos social security institute (IMSS), who complained budget cuts and lay-offs ordered by Lopez Obradors finance minister were harming health services for the poor. Since Lopez Obrador took office in December, the veteran leftist has taken commercial flights after making a campaign pledge to sell his predecessors luxury presidential plane. Lopez Obrador has taken an implacable stand against public sector excess and his first budget slashed spending for several major government departments, including the health service. His austerity drive has caused problems in hospitals, leading to anger over surgery delays, reductions in testing and staffing shortages, hospital directors say. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison named his new cabinet on Sunday, with most positions staying the same, saying the government had a significant agenda to deliver and it was time to get back to business, reports Trend citing to Reuters I have high expectations of my ministry and clear goals for each of their roles, he said in an emailed statement. Incoming Defence Minister Linda Reynolds, who served in the Army Reserves for almost three decades and rose to the rank of brigadier, replaces Christopher Pyne who has retired. Foreign Minister Marise Payne retains her position as does Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, Finance Minister Mathias Cormann, Trade Minister Simon Birmingham, Energy Minister Angus Taylor and Attorney General Christian Porter. A priority of the re-elected Liberal National coalition is to deliver tax cuts by July 1, a cornerstone of its election campaign, as the central bank has called for stimulus to aid a slowing economy. Morrison entered this months election at the head of a minority government after a series of defections, unable to pursue its legislative agenda without the support of independent lawmakers and minor parties. A surprise victory, however, secured the coalition an outright majority, removing the legislative uncertainty. Official counting has not yet finished with three seats still in doubt, but the Electoral Commission said Morrisons coalition leads in an outright majority of 78 seats in parliament which has 151 elected lawmakers. The opposition Labor party is expected to win 67 seats and there are six crossbenchers made up of minor parties and independents. Morrison also created a national agency for Indigenous Australians which would report directly to new Indigenous Affairs Minister Ken Wyatt, the first Aboriginal cabinet minister. Three Afghan police officers and seven Taliban militants were killed, and seven police and six militants wounded following clashes in Afghanistan's northern province of Kunduz, reports Trend with reference to Reuters In one incident, clashes erupted after militants attacked a security checkpoint in Zakhil, a neighborhood in Police District 3 of provincial capital Kunduz city in early hours of Sunday, Esmatullah Muradi, provincial government spokesman provided information. "The police officers fought back the attackers and the gunfight claimed the lives of two police officers and four attackers," he said. In a similar incident at the same time, one police officer and three Taliban militants were killed in Saychinar area of Chahar Dara district, on outskirts of the city, the official added. Fighting rages across the war-torn country and clashes between security forces and Taliban have been continuing in more than 20 out of the country's 34 provinces since early April when the Taliban launched an annual rebel offensive. Fighting between government forces and Taliban fighters often intensifies in spring and summer, the period locally branded as the fighting season of the year. Eight people, including a one-year-old baby, were killed and 14 others wounded when some 30 Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) terrorists attacked government troops in a remote coastal town of Sulu province in southern Philippines, reports Trend citing to Reuters A report from the 11th infantry division of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said, a platoon of soldiers were doing community work in a village of Patikul town when the attack occurred around 5:35 p.m. local time on Saturday. Civilians were caught in a 30-minute firefight that broke out between the government troops and terrorists, the report said. Among the dead were a one-year-old baby and a 12-year-old, the report said. Six terrorists were also killed in the clash, it added. The report said five soldiers, two civilians and seven terrorists were wounded in the fighting. Clashes between the ASG terrorists and government security forces erupt almost every day in the remote southernmost Sulu and Basilan Island provinces, a known Abu Sayyaf lair. The AFP considers the ASG as a collection of armed criminals or bandits preying on civilians and foreign nationals. The group gained notice in southern Philippines in the early 1990s, with demands for an Islamic state. It acquired a worldwide notoriety with a series of kidnappings and beheadings. The Duterte government has formed an entire army division to hunt down the militants who were blamed for a series of kidnapping and bombings in the southern region, including the Jan. 27 twin bombings in a church in Jolo city, Sulu province that killed more than 20 people and injured more than 100. US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that Washington and Tokyo were progressing very well in their trade talks, noting, however, that many issues would not be resolved until Japan holds elections to its upper chamber in July, reports Trend referring to Reuters "Great progress being made in our Trade Negotiations with Japan. Agriculture and beef heavily in play. Much will wait until after their July elections to the Japanese upper house where I anticipate big numbers!" Trump tweeted. Great progress being made in our Trade Negotiations with Japan. Agriculture and beef heavily in play. Much will wait until after their July elections where I anticipate big numbers! Trump and his wife, Melania, are currently paying a four-day state visit to Japan. On Saturday, Japanese Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer held trade negotiations in Tokyo. The trade talks with Japan were triggered by the United States' withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement in 2017. Without the deal, US farmers will not benefit from the same tariff exemptions as those countries that supported the agreement and signed a new trade deal. Trump now wants to secure a bilateral trade agreement with Tokyo that would allow the United States to boost its agricultural exports to Japan. Tokyo, in turn, wants to prevent Trump from slamming import duties on Japanese cars and auto parts, which are one of the most important export products for Tokyo. Heavily armed individuals attacked the church as worshippers celebrated Sunday Mass, the source said, Trend reports citing Sputnik. Three worshipers were killed on Sunday as a result of a fresh attack on a Catholic church in Toulfe, northern Burkina Faso, where violence against Christians has been increasing, according to a security source cited by the AFP news agency. "The attack, which took place around 09:00 (local and GMT), killed at least three and injured several people," the source added. The latest deadly attack comes after media reported that six people, including a priest, were killed on 12 May in an assault on a Catholic church in Dablo, northern Burkina Faso. Another attack took place last month, as several gunmen targeted a Protestant church in Silgdji in the north of the country, killing five churchgoers and the pastor. The April deadly incident was the first attack on a church since 2015. The attacks comes as the authorities of Burkina Faso have launched a massive anti-terrorist operation in the eastern and central-eastern regions of the country. Three armed insurgents were killed and 10 others injured in a clash with Pakistani army in the country's northwest tribal town of North Waziristan on Sunday, an army statement said, Trend reports citing Xinhua. A group lead by a local insurgent group assaulted an army check post, attempting to exert pressure for release of a suspected terrorists' facilitator arrested the other day, the Inter-Services Public Relations, the military's media wing said in the statement. "Troops at the check post exercised maximum restraint in the face of provocation and direct firing on the post. Due to firing of the group 5 Army soldiers got injured." The injured people were shifted to a nearby military hospital for treatment. One of the insurgent leaders have been arrested with eight other assailants while another fled the scene after inciting the crowd, the statement added. Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman's complaining about lack of outdoor activity may be part of a plan to escape from detention before his sentencing next month, federal officials allege, Trend reports citing CNN. An attorney for Guzman this month asked a federal judge to intervene over "cruel and unusual" prison conditions for the drug kingpin detained in a federal prison in New York. In the more than two years he's been detained, he's not had access to fresh air or natural sunlight, and is forced to put toilet paper in his ears to mask loud prison noise, his attorney wrote in a letter to the judge. The United States issued a response to the allegations Thursday, saying the only outdoor exercise space at the facility is a rooftop with a wire mesh covering. That facility was the site of a 1981 attempted jail break -- where an inmate's cohorts hijacked a sightseeing helicopter and attempted to cut open the wire mesh covering, the US said. "In this case, any outdoor exercise time would be particularly problematic for this defendant," the US said. "The defendant has successfully planned and executed elaborate escapes from two high-security penal institutions. As detailed at trial, one of the defendant's escapes involved the construction of a sophisticated, ventilated tunnel that stretched for over a mile. Certainly, an escape via rooftop, using a helicopter, or any related means would be elementary by comparison." North Koreas state-run news agency issued a biting attack last week on Biden, who has been critical of the communist state, Trend reports citing Reuters. I think they agree in their assessment of former Vice President Joe Biden, Sanders said of Trump and Kim during an interview with NBCs Meet the Press. She was speaking from Japan during a state visit by Trump. The president doesnt need somebody else to give him an assessment of Joe Biden. Hes given his own assessment a number of times. The Biden campaign said it would not issue a new statement on Sanders remarks, but pointed to its response on Wednesday to the KCNA commentary. Trump, a Republican, referenced the North Korean criticism in a Twitter post on Saturday in which he mentioned Biden, initially misspelling his name as Bidan and taking pleasure in the North Korean leaders sharp rhetoric. Trump, who regularly uses derisive nicknames against his political opponents, said in a subsequent corrected tweet that he smiled when Kim called Swampman Joe Biden a low IQ individual, & worse. Perhaps thats sending me a signal? A commentary by North Koreas KCNA state media on Tuesday slammed Biden for rhetoric slandering the supreme leadership of the DPRK (Democratic Peoples Republican of Korea). What he uttered is just sophism of an imbecile bereft of elementary quality as a human being, let alone a politician, it said. KCNA chronicled a series of Biden controversies or gaffes, from allegations of plagiarism to falling asleep during a speech by President Barack Obama in 2011. At his May 18 campaign launch in Philadelphia, Biden asked, Are we a nation that embraces dictators and tyrants like (Russian President Vladimir) Putin and Kim Jong Un? Bidens campaign on Wednesday responded to the KCNA statement by saying Trump has been tricked into making concessions to Kim, a dictator and a tyrant. Trump, who left his second summit with Kim earlier this year in Vietnam without a peace deal, has put enormous value in his personal relationship with the North Korean leader, despite actions by Pyongyang that others consider provocative. On Sunday, Trump dismissed concerns about recent missile launches from North Korea and said he was confident that Kim would keep promises that he had made. Before the two leaders began their strained rapprochement, they had exchanged some sharp words, with Kim calling Trump a dotard and Trump implying Kim was short and fat. U.S. President Donald Trump and North Koreas Kim Jong Un agree on their assessment of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said on Sunday, aligning the American president with an authoritarian foreign leader over a former U.S. vice president. Dupa inscrierea pe site-ul HotNews.ro, poti deschide sectiunea MyHotNews ca sa completezi sau sa schimbi profilul de utilizator. Atentie! Logarea pe site se face cu adresa de email, nu cu nickname-ul. Adresa ta de email va ramane confidentiala si nu va fi niciodata data unor terte persoane sau institutii. Inainte de a te inscrie pe site te rugam sa parcurgi termenii si conditiile atasate unui cont HotNews.ro. Earlier this year, actress Amy Jackson made the announcement that she is expecting her first child with fiance George Panayiotou. The love birds got engaged on 5th May in a Greek ceremony. Recently, Amy made her first red carpet appearance since announcing her pregnancy at the prestigious Bafta television awards 2019. She looked beautiful in a red Maria Grachvogel gown, flaunting her baby bump with George at her side in a cream suit. Amy began her career at the age of 16 with modelling. After winning the Miss Teen World competition, the British beauty made her debut in Indian films with the Tamil period-drama Madrasapattinam. The actress went on to work in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu and Kannada films. Amy established her name in the Bollywood industry with hit films like Singh Is Bling opposite Akshay Kumar and Rajinikanths Robot 2.0. In one of the videos, the actress said that she has been quiet on her pregnancy journey so far but hopefully moving forward she will share the journey with her fans and followers. She also captioned her baby bump photo with the text: Baby P growing & growing!. Amy Jackson recently took to her social media handle to upload photos and videos of her baby bump celebrating her 22nd week of pregnancy. read: Ranbir Kapoor is a secret admirer of his ex-girlfriends She uploaded a picturesque post of herself standing in the balcony with the caption- Goodmorning Paradise. The actress is currently in Marrakesh, Morocco. Buddhism is a religion based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, who was born in the fifth century B.C. in what is now Nepal and northern India. He came to be called "the Buddha," which means "awakened one," after he experienced a profound realization of the nature of life, death, and existence. In English, the Buddha was said to be enlightened, although in Sanskrit it is "bodhi," or "awakened." For the rest of his life, the Buddha traveled and taught. However, he didn't teach people what he had realized when he became enlightened. Instead, he taught people how to realize enlightenment for themselves. He taught that awakening comes through your own direct experience, not through beliefs and dogmas. also read Keep these Feng Shui things at home at fetch happiness and prosperity At the time of his death, Buddhism was a relatively minor sect with little impact in India. But by the third century B.C., the emperor of India made Buddhism the state religion of the country. Buddhism then spread throughout Asia to become one of the dominant religions of the continent. Estimates of the number of Buddhists in the world today vary widely, in part because many Asians observe more than one religion and in part because it is hard to know how many people are practicing Buddhism in Communist nations like China. The most common estimate is 350 million, which makes Buddhism the fourth largest of the world's religions. Buddhism Is Distinctly Different From Other Religions Buddhism is so different from other religions that some people question whether it is a religion at all. For example, the central focus of most religions is one or many. But Buddhism is non-theistic. The Buddha taught that believing in gods was not useful for those seeking to realize enlightenment. Most religions are defined by their beliefs. But in Buddhism, merely believing in doctrines is beside the point. The Buddha said that doctrines should not be accepted just because they are in scripture or taught by priests. Instead of teaching doctrines to be memorized and believed, the Buddha taught how to realize truth for yourself. The focus of Buddhism is on practice rather than belief. The major outline of Buddhist practice is the Eightfold Path. Basic Teachings In spite of its emphasis on free inquiry, Buddhism might best be understood as a discipline and an exacting discipline at that. And although Buddhist teachings should not be accepted on blind faith, understanding what the Buddha taught is an important part of that discipline. The foundation of Buddhism is the Four Noble Truths: The truth of suffering ( "dukkha") The truth of the cause of suffering ( "samudaya") The truth of the end of suffering ( "nirhodha") The truth of the path that frees us from suffering ( "magga") also read What is BrahamSthan in Home and why it is considered so important? know here Arjun Kapoor starrer Most Wanted has released and receiving thumbs up from the audience. In the spy-drama, Arjun's character Prabhat Kapoor heads to Nepal to nab India's Most Wanted criminal, who has been dubbed as India's Osama Bin Laden. Although the movie received mixed reactions from film critics, B-town celebs are loving this tale. Earlier today, Arjun's BFF Ranveer Singh took to Instagram to praise the actor's performance in the Raj Kumar Gupta directorial movie. Now, Deepika Padukone has taken to Instagram to share her review. Leonardo DiCaprio clicking picture of his GF is giving couple goals, check it out here The Piku actress took to her Instagram Stories to share her thoughts on the spy-drama. She shared a poster of the movie and revealed that she enjoyed the movie. Deepika deemed the movie "gripping" and entertaining. She fruther write, "A story that needed to be told!" She congratulated Arjun, director Gupta and others involved in the making of the movie. Box-office collection: India's Most Wanted witness a huge jump at BO, earns Rs 5.13 crore Arjun shared Deepika's review and replied, "Thank u Angie aka @deepikapadukone (sic)" Anushka Sharma also took to Twitter to express her thoughts about the movie. She wrote, "Gritty, gripping and real. Well done team #IndiasMostWanted for backing the story of our unsung heroes. @arjunk26 you were amazing in the film! All the best to the entire team @foxstarhindi @rajkumar_rkg. Go watch!" A high alert has been sounded along with the coastal areas of Kerala after an intelligence report said that 15 terrorists of Islamic State had set off from Sri Lanka for the Lakshadweep islands on boats. The coastal police department has also alerted fishing vessel owners and cautioned others against venturing into the sea. It added that the department has been on alert since May 23 after the intelligence input came from Sri Lanka. "We have been on alert since the Sri Lankan attack. We have alerted fishing vessel owners and others venturing into the sea to be cautious," a coastal police department official was quoted as saying by news agency PTI. read: Box-office collection: India's Most Wanted witness a huge jump at BO, earns Rs 5.13 crore As per reports, authorities in coastal areas of Kerala have been put on high alert after coastal police stations and police chiefs were alerted about suspicious vessels, PTI sources said. The sources said that such alerts are "usual practice", however, this time the police have specific information about the number of terrorists. Following the devastating terror attacks in Sri Lanka, Kerala was put on alert, especially after NIA investigations revealed that IS operatives had planned attacks in the state. As per intelligence agencies, a considerable number of people from Kerala are in touch with the Islamic State. On April 21, a series of deadly attacks rocked Sri Lanka, killing over 250 people and injuring 500. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack. New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modis first official overseas trip will be to the tropical island nation of Maldives and the PM is expected to make the visit from 7-8 June, according to diplomatic sources and Maldivian media reports. Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih had called PM Modi on May 23 to congratulate him on his re-election. PM Modi earlier visited the Maldives on a short visit to attend President Ibrahim Mohamed Solihs inauguration ceremony in November last year. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj visited the Maldives in March, the first full-fledged bilateral trip from India to the island nation after the government of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih came to power in November last year. Last week, it was announced by the Maldives, as part of the grant, that India will be building two projects in the country - a Police Academy in Dhaalu Atoll and a Convention Centre in Ukulhas, Alif Alif Atoll. The total cost of both the projects will be 14.8 million Maldivian rufiyaas or US $960,000. India and the Maldives share close ties in areas such as economics, military and security and PM Modis first visit to the island nation after starting his second term will be seen as a signal to the international community as well as China that India is ready to play a more active role in the Indian Ocean region (IOR) and in its immediate neighborhood. The Golden Temple is situated in Amritsar, located in Northern Punjab, India, which is close to the border of Pakistan. It is the central gurdwara, or worship place, for all Sikhs in the world. Its proper name is Harmandir, which means "Temple of God" and is respectfully referred to as Darbar Sahib (meaning "court of the Lord"). Darbar Harmandir Sahib is popularly known as the Golden Temple because of its unique features. The gurdwara is constructed of white marble overlaid with genuine gold leaf. It stands in the center of the sarovar, a pool of fresh, clear, reflective water which is fed by the River Ravi, and said by some to originate from the Ganges River. Pilgrims and devotees bathe and perform ablution in the sacred waters of the tank which is known for its healing properties. Visitors gather inside the gurdwara to worship, listen to hymns, and hear the holy scripture of the Guru Granth Sahib read. The golden gurdwara has four entrances, one on each side to symbolically welcome everyone who enters regardless of caste, class, color, or creed. also read Red chilies also fulfill wishes and solved issues with these simple tricks Akal Takhat Throne of Religious Authority The Akal Takhat is the foremost throne of five governing bodies of religious authority for Sikhs. A bridge extends from the Akal Takhat to the Golden Temple. The Akal Takhat houses the Guru Granth Sahib between midnight and 3am while cleaning is done. Every morning a conch shell sounds gather to perform ardas and prakash. Devotees carry the palanquin bearing Guru Granth Sahib upon their shoulders along the lamp lit bridge to the Golden Temple where it resides for the remainder of the day. Every evening at midnight the sukhasan ceremony is performed and the scripture is returned to its resting place at the Akal Takhat. Langar and Seva Tradition Langar is a traditional free sanctified meal which is prepared and served at the temple. It is available to the tens of thousands pilgrims who visit daily. All cost is provided for by donations. Cooking, cleaning, and serving, is performed as voluntarily seva. The entire maintenance of the golden temple complex is carried out by devotees, pilgrims, sevadars, and worshipers, who volunteer their services. also read Keep these Feng Shui things at home at fetch happiness and prosperity Pakistan is ready to hold talks with the new Indian government to resolve all outstanding issues, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said. Addressing an Iftar dinner in Multan on Saturday, Qureshi said both India and Pakistan should sit on a negotiation table to solve issues for the sake of prosperity and peace of the region, state-run Radio Pakistan reported. His remarks came two days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi Thursday led his Bharatiya Janata Party towards a super-sized victory for the second term in office. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday congratulated Modi on his electoral triumph and expressed the desire to work with him for peace and prosperity in the region. read: Watch Video: MS Dhoni comes for fielding after giving wicketkeeping gloves to Dinesh Karthik "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. Just a day before the announcement of results, 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. He conveyed to her Pakistan's desire to resolve all issues through 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 aerial combat and captured an IAF pilot, who was handed over to India. 'Full House' star John Stamos lists Beverly Hills estate for $6.75 million take a look inside "Full House" star John Stamos has listed his four-bedroom, four-bathroom Beverly Hills home for $6.75 million. Stamos, best known for his role as Uncle Jesse on the hit 1990s comedy, purchased the property in 2005 for $3.57 million, the Los Angeles times reports . Take a look inside. The gated home sits on a half-acre and has 3,500 square feet of living space, according to the listing by Barry Peele of Sotheby's International Realty. Because it sits on a hill, it has city, canyon and ocean views. Built in 1951, the home has vaulted wood beamed ceilings, hardwood and stone floors, French doors and three stone fireplaces. The backyard has a swimming pool, spa, dining area and pergola. There's also a guesthouse, which has the same Country French style of the main house. Recently, Stamos has also in "You" and "Fuller House" on Netflix. During the '90s, Stamos owned a 6-acre, Mediterranean-style estate in Calabasas, California, which he sold in 2001 for $2.15 million, according to the Los Angeles Times. Don't miss: Paul Simon's $13.9 million Connecticut mansion is for sale take a look inside Like this story? Subscribe to CNBC Make It on YouTube! More From CNBC We're definitely into long term investing, but some companies are simply bad investments over any time frame. It hits us in the gut when we see fellow investors suffer a loss. Anyone who held Argentina Lithium & Energy Corp. (CVE:LIT) for five years would be nursing their metaphorical wounds since the share price dropped 94% in that time. And we doubt long term believers are the only worried holders, since the stock price has declined 91% over the last twelve months. Shareholders have had an even rougher run lately, with the share price down 65% in the last 90 days. This could be related to the recent financial results - you can catch up on the most recent data by reading our company report. We really feel for shareholders in this scenario. It's a good reminder of the importance of diversification, and it's worth keeping in mind there's more to life than money, anyway. 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 Argentina Lithium & Energy Argentina Lithium & Energy didn't have any revenue in the last year, so it's fair to say it doesn't yet have a proven product (or at least not one people are paying for). You have to wonder why venture capitalists aren't funding it. So it seems that the investors focused more on what could be, than paying attention to the current revenues (or lack thereof). For example, investors may be hoping that Argentina Lithium & Energy finds some valuable resources, before it runs out of money. Companies that lack both meaningful revenue and profits are usually considered high risk. There is usually a significant chance that they will need more money for business development, putting them at the mercy of capital markets. So the share price itself impacts the value of the shares (as it determines the cost of capital). While some companies like this go on to deliver on their plan, making good money for shareholders, many end in painful losses and eventual de-listing. Argentina Lithium & Energy has already given some investors a taste of the bitter losses that high risk investing can cause. Story continues Argentina Lithium & Energy had liabilities exceeding cash by CA$593,103 when it last reported in March 2019, according to our data. That puts it in the highest risk category, according to our analysis. But with the share price diving 44% per year, over 5 years, it's probably fair to say that some shareholders no longer believe the company will succeed. The image below shows how Argentina Lithium & Energy's balance sheet has changed over time; if you want to see the precise values, simply click on the image. TSXV:LIT Historical Debt, May 25th 2019 Of course, the truth is that it is hard to value companies without much revenue or profit. Given that situation, would you be concerned if it turned out insiders were relentlessly selling stock? I would feel more nervous about the company if that were so. You can click here to see if there are insiders selling. A Different Perspective Argentina Lithium & Energy shareholders are down 91% for the year, but the market itself is up 1.5%. Even the share prices of good stocks drop sometimes, but we want to see improvements in the fundamental metrics of a business, before getting too interested. Regrettably, last year's performance caps off a bad run, with the shareholders facing a total loss of 44% per year over five years. We realise that Buffett has said investors should 'buy when there is blood on the streets', but we caution that investors should first be sure they are buying a high quality businesses. If you would like to research Argentina Lithium & Energy in more detail then you might want to take a look at whether insiders have been buying or selling shares in the company. We will like Argentina Lithium & Energy better if we see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying. Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on CA exchanges. 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. BRUSSELS, May 26 (Reuters) - Far-right Flemish separatist party Vlaams Belang looked on course for major gains in an election on Sunday for the Belgian national parliament. Belgium held a "Super Sunday" of European, national and regional elections, which was expected to result in a shift to the right in more prosperous Dutch-speaking Flanders and to the left in French-speaking Wallonia. A handful of initial results showed the anti-immigrant Vlaams Belang gaining across Dutch-speaking Flanders at the expense of the more moderate separatist N-VA party, who had participated in the last federal government. In the French-speaking south of the country, an exit poll conducted for broadcaster RTL, showed the Socialists (PS) of former prime minister Elio di Rupo were set to be the biggest party, followed by current Prime Minister Charles Michel's liberal MR party. The initial results and exit polls suggest the linguistically divided country could take some time to form a federal coalition. 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 as party leaders seek to form a new coalition after the vote. In 2010, that task took a world record 541 days until Di Rupo finally took office. Belgium effectively runs two separate elections in the Dutch and French-speaking regions, with no national parties, after which it somehow has to weld together a federal government from both sides of the linguistic divide. People in other European Union countries are also voting on Sunday in elections for the European Parliament, which are expected to dent traditional pro-EU parties and bolster the nationalist fringe. But some exit polls in countries that have already voted have given pro-EU parties some comfort. In the Netherlands, the Dutch Labour party looks to have finished first, with a weak showing for eurosceptics. (Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop. Editing by Jane Merriman) Smoke rises from KMTC cargo ship after it caught on fire at the Laem Chabang port Smoke rises from a KMTC cargo ship after it caught on fire at the Laem Chabang port, Chonburi province, Thailand May 25, 2019 in this still image take from social media video. Mbah Ambyah via REUTERS BANGKOK (Reuters) - Flames ripped through a load of cargo including chemicals in Thailand's eastern Laem Chabang port on Saturday, forcing officials to evacuate workers and temporarily close three piers, authorities said. More than 130 people were taken to hospital, some complaining of irritation in the eyes and throat, others of a burning sensation on the skin, but there were no major injuries, according to the Ministry of Public Health. Red flames and clouds of thick black and white smoke poured out of the South Korean container ship KMTC Hongkong Co. through the morning and early afternoon at pier A2, port director Yuthana Mokkao told Reuters. Initial checks showed the blaze broke out in a load of cargo containing the chemical calcium hypochlorite, he said. "We closed the pier where the fire broke out and two others that were affected by the fire." The fire at the port in the industrial Chonburi province, east of Bangkok, had now been contained and officials were looking for the cause, he added. (Reporting by Panarat Thepgumpanat; writing by Patpicha Tanakasempipat; Editing by Andrew Heavens) (Adds European Greens, BusinessEurope, Spanish and Polish polls) By Foo Yun Chee and Gabriela Baczynska BRUSSELS, May 26 (Reuters) - Around half of eligible voters cast their ballot in European elections, a bloc-wide estimate showed on Sunday, the first time turnout has risen in four decades of continent-wide voting. The increased enthusiasm was seen by some commentators as a response to challenges ranging from climate change to the rise of eurosceptic parties. For 27 of the 28 EU states - all except the United Kingdom - the estimate came at 51%, a European Parliament official said. Turnout in the last European elections in 2014 hit a historic low of below 43%. The first vote in 1979 - when the EU was just nine countries - generated a peak of 62%. Five years ago, more than 80% of voters cast their votes in Belgium and Luxembourg, where voting is obligatory, while only 13% took part in the election in the ex-communist Slovakia, according to the European Parliament's figures. Turnout in Poland at 1500 GMT was 32.51%, double the 2014 figure, according to the country's election commission. The figure was nearly 50% in Spain at 1600 GMT, up from 34%in 2014. Germany's Green party doubled its share of the Sunday vote, leaping into second place behind Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives and above the centre-left Social Democrats. France's green party also saw a surge in support. Bas Eickhout, a Dutch member of the outgoing European Parliament with a Greens party, attributed the high turnout readings to a mobilisation against a growing challenge from eurosceptic parties. "This time it was very clear that these elections really matter for Europe," Eickhout told Reuters. "There has been quite an activity on the right side saying we are going to tear down Europe," Eickhout told Reuters. "The counter-action is now coming from a lot of progressive voters turning out and saying that we are not going to let that happen," he said. The picture was mixed, however, as the far-right National Front came in first in France, according to exit polls. In the run-up to the vote, Europe's biggest companies urged employees to vote, from Volkswagen unfurling a massive banner at its headquarters to Lufthansa carrying its slogan "SayYesToEurope" on the fuselage of an Airbus A320 to Lime offering free scooter rides to the polls. Story continues Lobbying group BusinessEurope welcomed the higher turnout. "Europe matters to Europeans, we've seen a lively European democracy at work. We need to defend our place in the world, at a time when the European Union is facing huge challenges. The world is not waiting for us," said the group's director general, Markus J. Beyrer. (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee and Gabriela Baczynska in Brussels, Agnieszka Barteczko in Warsaw and Andrei Khalip in Lisbon Editing by Frances Kerry) By Jan Strupczewski BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Expected gains for populist eurosceptic parties in this week's European Parliament elections could prompt a shift in the political balance of power in leading member states and stall moves towards deeper economic integration. Voting across the 28-nation EU runs from Thursday till Sunday and eurosceptic parties are forecast to do well, including in the three biggest countries of the euro zone, Germany, France and Italy. An exit poll in the Netherlands, which along with Britain voted on Thursday, showed mainstream pro-EU parties performing surprisingly well but analysts warned against reading too much into the Dutch results. "Concerns are high that the centre ground continues to fragment (across the EU) and that populists succeed in sufficient numbers to derail further European integration," ING bank said in a note. The EU Parliament has little direct say on euro zone economic policy but an assembly dominated by eurosceptics could hamper moves to deepen integration of the single currency area and make it more resilient to future shocks through the creation of a special budget and euro zone-wide deposit guarantee scheme. GERMANY Polls show that in Germany, the euro zone's biggest economy, the Social Democrats (SPD), junior coalition partner of Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives, is likely to win fewer votes than in the 2017 national election, when it recorded the worst result in its post-war history. If the SPD also suffers defeat on Sunday, as expected, in local elections in Bremen where the party has ruled for 73 years, it could embolden those who want to pull out of Merkel's government and rebuild their party's popularity in opposition. That could increase Berlin's reluctance to accept any far-reaching euro zone reforms such as a substantial euro zone budget to stabilise economies since the SPD is seen as more enthusiastic towards euro zone integration than Merkel's party. However, some euro zone officials said that even if the SPD were to pull out, the gap could be filled by the Greens, the most pro-integration German party, who are seen gaining strongly in the EU election. Story continues FRANCE AND ITALY In France, polls show Marine Le Pen's eurosceptic National Rally could win more support in the election than President Emmanuel Macron's strongly pro-EU Republic on the Move party, which would be a big blow to a president already weakened by six months of "yellow vests" protests. Macron is the main champion of euro zone integration with the boldest ideas on a joint budget, but defeat by Le Pen in Sunday's vote could weaken his ability to push through reforms at a time when Germany is becoming more resistant to change. In a further likely blow to integration, in Italy Matteo Salvini's far-right League is tipped to win more than 30% of the vote on Sunday, according to polls. If that happens, Salvini could push for early national elections to get rid of his 5-Star coalition partner and rule alone or in coalition with Forza Italia, euro zone officials said. Salvini denied on Wednesday he would do that. Strong support for the League would also give Salvini ammunition for another confrontation with the European Commission over fiscal policy after an unprecedented clash in the second half of 2018 when Rome refused to cut its budget deficit and public debt as required. Salvini has been calling for a review of the EU's budget rules so that Italy could cut taxes, even though its deficit and huge debt are on the rise. Italy's loose fiscal policy is already the main reason why Germany now rejects a European Deposit Insurance Scheme (EDIS), fearing German depositors would have to bail out Italians if Italian banks got into trouble. "For Germany, Italy is the real problem when discussing EDIS and this is also the reason why there is no progress at all with EDIS," one senior euro zone official said. "If Salvini wins I am convinced that there will never be a full mutualised EDIS." Italy has proportionally the second highest public debt in the euro zone after Greece at above 130 percent of GDP, an almost stagnant economy and a rapidly falling primary budget surplus, a measure which excludes interest payments. Euro zone officials said Salvini's plans for further fiscal loosening could increase the threat of a debt crisis in Italy and make Germany and its northern allies even more reluctant to agree that the nascent euro zone budget, due to be created from 2021, should be used to stabilise economies under stress or be of any meaningful size. (Reporting By Jan Strupczewski; Editing by Gareth Jones) Despite all the focus on this week's European parliamentary elections, this vote shouldn't distract anyone from the more existential questions facing Europe, writes Atlantic Council CEO Fred Kempe. The dangers are deep and fall under three, broad categories: consistently slow economic growth, declining global relevance and unimaginative political leadership. European leaders and citizens can address all three, but many continue to live in denial. The best Europe in history is facing some of its greatest challenges ever. They will test the sustainability, effectiveness and relevance of the European Union and its related institutions that helped end centuries of conflict. Despite all the focus on this week's European parliamentary elections the most closely watched and most widely reported in their four-decade run this vote shouldn't distract anyone from the more existential questions facing Europe. The dangers are deep and fall under three, broad categories: consistently slow economic growth, declining global relevance and unimaginative political leadership. The good news is that European leaders and citizens can address all three, and European parliamentary elections might even help more than they hurt by creating a more democratically dynamic and truly European body that is closer to its constituents. The bad news is that most European leaders and citizens continue to live in denial, insufficiently aware of the fragility of their historic accomplishments and inadequately motivated to make the decisions that could build on the past 74 years of European peace and progress. Even worse, few in the Trump administration least of all President Donald Trump himself are willing to say loudly and publicly that today's Europe is one of the greatest foreign policy accomplishments in American history, achieved at a considerable cost of blood and treasure through two world wars and a Cold War that followed. Fast-forward to today. The stakes have rarely been greater for U.S.-European relations as we enter a new and intensifying period of major power competition, pitting democracies and open societies against autocratic rivals. Story continues We confront a historic inflection point as significant as 1919, 1945 and 1989, and just as then Europe is at the center of a global contest and the United States remains a crucial actor in how that unfolds. Whatever challenges the West faces in the 21st century ideological, economic, technological and geopolitical all are playing out again in full force on the European continent. As the financier George Soros has argued , "Europe is sleepwalking into oblivion, and the people of Europe need to wake up before it is too late. If they don't, the European Union will go the way of the Soviet Union in 1991. Neither our leaders nor ordinary citizens seem to understand we are experiencing a revolutionary moment, that the range of possibilities is very broad, and that the eventual outcome is thus highly uncertain." Share that warning with most Eurocrats in Brussels or officials in European capitals, and they'll roll their eyes. They'll remind you that critics and particularly Americans have been underestimating the European Union since its beginning and should drop outdated, apocalyptic thinking about their future. I share the view that this European project, at age 74, is more robust and resilient than doomsayers recognize. Indeed, even as many worry that Eurosceptic and nationalist parties will surge in this weekend's elections, far-right populist parties, except in the UK, have shifted away from seeking a way out of the European Union to wanting to change it from within. This vote is perhaps the most truly European in the European Union's history, with ideological battle lines being drawn across national borders. The result is likely to be a more factionalized European parliament with more pronounced disputes. However, it at the same time will be a more democratically dynamic, political and pan-European parliament, one that more closely reflects the preferences of national electorates and thus might increase confidence in the EU. That, however, will only happen if they and national political leaders address the three broad issues listed above. Slow economic growth It's no wonder that populists are gaining ground against established parties that haven't delivered results. If the eurozone's GDP over the past decade were a stock, you wouldn't want to own it. Eurozone economic output in 2017 was lower than it was in 2009, according to World Bank figures. Looking at the considerable political risks ahead, the Atlantic Council's Ben Haddad judges that stock as "high risk, low returnn risks ahead By comparison, Chinese GDP over that same period grew by 139%, India's GDP by 96% and the United States' by 34%. The European Commission has cut the 2019 eurozone growth forecast to 1.2% from an already unimpressive 1.9% -- with concerns over Germany's economic strength abound. "And there are strong signals that worse is to come," says Ana Palacio, former Spanish foreign minister. "Debt levels are rising fast and the European Central Bank has re-launched stimulus measures to stave off recession." Unlike the financial crisis of a decade ago, where the pain was concentrated in southern Europe, this one will hit the eurozone generally and, most dangerously, Germany. "The European Union barely survived the first crisis," says Palacio. "A recession that hits the EU core would amount to a serious, even existential threat." Declining global relevance The EU has failed to adjust to the new world of major power competition, and it thus is at risk of being a less relevant global actor an object of international relations rather than a subject. "The EU finds itself in a world dominated by great power rivalries, Chinese assertiveness and revisionist Russian belligerence," says former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt. "Worse, in confronting these threats, it can no longer count on the United States as an unconditional friend or ally." Says Bildt, one of Europe's leading strategic thinkers: "The EU now must choose between securing its own place on the global stage and becoming a playground for other powers. This is a strategic decision of the first order all other policy choices will follow from it." Unimaginative leadership With German Chancellor Angela Merkel fading from the field, with French President Emmanuel Macron's European visions swamped in a sea of yellow vests, and given the current candidates for top European jobs, it's hard to know where the leaders will emerge who will reform, revive and reorient Europe for the challenges ahead. The continent that gave the world the Thirty Years War, a dozen years of Napoleonic wars, and then two world wars, doesn't look poised to self-destruct again on that scale. Yet the heady hopes of the last seven decades are also fading. Europe, with critical U.S. help, secured peace between France and Germany and advanced its institutions and agenda, holding strong against the Soviet Union through the Cold War. After the Soviet Union collapsed, it brought in 11 formerly Communist countries as new democracies. The post-Cold War years were ones of self-confidence that had many believing, says Bildt, that the EU model "would lead to more stable governance for the entire world." For now, however, the emphasis must be on saving the best Europe history has known. After all, history has also taught us how costly it is to remake Europe once it is torn asunder. Frederick Kempe is a best-selling author, prize-winning journalist and president & CEO of the Atlantic Council, one of the United States' most influential think tanks on global affairs. He worked at The Wall Street Journal for more than 25 years as a foreign correspondent, assistant managing editor and as the longest-serving editor of the paper's European edition. His latest book "Berlin 1961: Kennedy, Khrushchev, and the Most Dangerous Place on Earth" was a New York Times best-seller and has been published in more than a dozen languages. Follow him on Twitter @FredKempe and subscribe here to Inflection Points, his look each Saturday at the past week's top stories and trends. For more insight from CNBC contributors, follow @CNBCopinion on Twitter. More From CNBC By Rania El Gamal and Vladimir Soldatkin JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said on Saturday that he saw no oil supply shortage as global oil inventories are still rising, particularly from the United States, but OPEC will be responsive to the oil market's needs. Speaking in Jeddah ahead of a ministerial panel gathering on Sunday of top OPEC and non-OPEC producers, including Saudi Arabia and Russia, Falih told Reuters OPEC will not decide on output until late June when the group is due to meet next. "I am not sure there is a supply shortage, but we will look at the (market) analysis. We will definitely be responsive and the market will be supplied," Falih said, when asked whether an increase in output was on the table due to oil shortage concerns. "But all indications are that inventories are still rising. We saw the data from the U.S. week after week, and they are massive increases, so there is obviously supply abundance." The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Russia and other non-OPEC producers, known as OPEC+, agreed to reduce output by 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) from Jan. 1 for six months, a deal designed to stop inventories building up and weakening prices. "We will be flexible. We are going to do the right thing as we always do," Falih said of any decision at the meeting in June on continuing the reductions. Falih said OPEC was guided by two main principles: "One to keep the market in its direction towards balancing, and inventories (are) back to normal level. And two to be responsive to market needs. We will strike the right balance I am sure." Saudi Arabia does not see a need to quickly boost production now with oil prices around the $70 a barrel level, as it fears a crash in prices and a build-up in inventories, OPEC sources said. But Russia wants to increase supply after June when the current OPEC+ pact is due to expire, the sources said. The United States on the other hand, which is not a member of the OPEC+ but is a close ally of Saudi Arabia, wants the group to boost output to bring oil prices down. Falih has to find a delicate balance between keeping the oil market well supplied and prices high enough for Riyadh's budget needs, while pleasing Moscow to ensure Russia remains in the OPEC+ pact, and being responsive to the concerns of the United States and the rest of the OPEC+, the sources said. OPEC's agreed share of the cuts is 800,000 bpd, but its actual reduction is far larger due to the production losses in Iran and Venezuela. Both are under U.S. sanctions and exempt from the voluntary reductions under the OPEC-led deal. U.S. President Donald Trump has called on OPEC and the group's de facto leader Saudi Arabia to lower oil prices. Sunday's ministerial panel meeting, known as the JMMC, comes amid concerns of a tight market as Iran's oil exports are likely to drop further in May, and shipments from Venezuela could fall more in coming weeks due to the sanctions by Washington. Oil contamination also forced Russia to halt flows along the Druzhba pipeline - a key conduit for crude into Eastern Europe and Germany - in April. The suspension, as yet of unclear duration, left refiners scrambling to find supplies. But U.S. crude inventories rose unexpectedly last week to their highest since September 2017, while gasoline stockpiles decreased more than forecast, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Wednesday. [EIA/S] Tensions between Saudi Arabia and fellow OPEC member Iran are also running high, after last week's attacks on two Saudi oil tankers off the coast of the United Arab Emirates and another on Saudi oil facilities inside the kingdom. Saudi Arabia accused Iran of ordering the attack on state oil giant Saudi Aramco's oil pumping stations that Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi militia has claimed responsibility for. An OPEC and non-OPEC technical committee found that oil producers' compliance with the supply-reduction agreement reached 168 percent in April, three sources told Reuters on Saturday. That shows that OPEC+ producers are cutting output by more than their share. Saudi Arabia has been pumping below its production target since January to keep oil inventories and prices in check. (Reporting by Rania El Gamal and Vladimir Soldatkin; Editing by Tom Hogue and Ros Russell) * Le Pen party seen winning 24 seats in European Parliament * Emmanuel Macron's party second with 22.5% of votes * Electoral turnout up sharply in France to 52% * Result may crimp Macron's influence in EU * Le Pen looking to build far-right alliance in Europe * By Luke Baker PARIS, May 26 (Reuters) - Marine Le Pen's far-right Rassemblement National party secured the most votes in France's election to the European Parliament on Sunday, a result that will greatly strengthen her ability to build a far-right alliance in the European Union. An exit poll conducted by the Ifop group showed the Rassemblement National securing 24.0% of the vote, more than a point ahead of President Emmanuel Macron's La Republique En Marche list which was projected to win 22.5%. Definitive final results will be announced by the French interior ministry later on Sunday. The result is a setback for Macron who has put Europe at the heart of his presidency and had personally invested time in campaigning for the European vote, in part because of the lacklustre performance of the top candidate on his list, former Europe minister Nathalie Loiseau. "The French people have sent a very clear message and a lesson in humility" to Macron, Jordan Bardella, Le Pen's lead candidate, told supporters. "Its him and his politics that have been rejected." Turnout was 52%, far higher than expected -- at the last EU vote in 2014 it was 42%. Turnout figures during the day suggested voting was particularly strong in areas where the far-right has support, including the northeast and far south. The result will be encouraging for Le Pen and Bardella, who campaigned heavily on returning more power to EU member states, saying that too much 'sovereignty' had been surrendered to Brussels. However, RN, formerly known as the National Front, performed slightly stronger in the 2014 European Parliament election when it secured 24.8%. Le Pen has traditionally done well in the EU ballot, which voters sometimes treat as a protest vote. Former President Francois Hollande secured barely 14 percent in 2014. Story continues Macron, who formed his own movement to run for the French presidency in 2017, shattering the traditional centre-right and centre-left blocs, had never contested a European election. FAR-RIGHT RISES, AGAIN Le Pen had cast the vote as a referendum on Macron's first two years in power, and had sought to capitalise on the fact that support for his presidency is low after months of anti-government 'gilets jaunes' protests against his economic reforms. In the event, the 22.5% showing for En Marche is a solid score, but down on the 24% that Macron secured in the first round of the presidential election in 2017, when Le Pen won 21.3% of the vote. An Elabe poll projected the RN would obtain 24 seats in the European parliament compared with 23 percent for Macron's party. Le Pen is hoping to forge a far-right alliance in the European Parliament with Italy's Matteo Salvini and other far-right parties from Denmark, Austria, the Netherlands and Germany. Sunday's results suggest she will have an influential role in that alliance alongside Salvini, with the group likely to hold around 80 seats, according to projections. For Macron, the question will be whether his ambitions to lead in Europe will be dented by his second placing in France. Macron has opposed Germany's Manfred Weber as the lead candidate to become president of the European Commission, instead preferring France's Michel Barnier, the EU's chief Brexit negotiator. Macron plans to forge a centrist alliance with liberal, pro-European parties after the vote, a bloc that in the past has been known as ALDE but may now change its name. The group expects to secure around 100 seats in the 751-seat European Parliament, which would make it the third-strongest bloc. Because no single group will have a majority in the parliament, alliances will be necessary to secure the 376 seats needed to carry a vote. Macron has said he will aim to build a bloc together with the centre-left Socialists and Democrats, the Greens, and potentially some centre-right Christian Democrats. (Additional reporting by Inti Landauro, Richard Lough and Michel Rose in Paris; Writing by Luke Baker; Editing by Richard Lough) It has been about a month since the last earnings report for Illinois Tool Works (ITW). Shares have lost about 3.6% in that time frame, underperforming the S&P 500. Will the recent negative trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is Illinois Tool Works due for a breakout? Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late, let's take a quick look at its most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important catalysts. Illinois Tool Q1 Earnings Top Estimates, Sales Lag Illinois Tool has delivered better-than-expected results for first-quarter 2019, with positive earnings surprise of 0.6%. However, sales lagged estimates by 2.3%. This industrial tool maker's earnings in the reported quarter were $1.81 per share, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.80. On a year-over-year basis, the bottom line declined 4.7% from the year-ago figure of $1.90 due mainly to weak sales as well as adverse impacts of 3 cents from higher tax rates, 6 cents per share of restructuring costs and 7 cents from forex woes. Revenues Decline Y/Y Illinois Tool generated revenues of $3,552 million in the reported quarter, reflecting a decline of 5.1% from the year-ago figure. A 3.4% impact of unfavorable foreign currency movement, 0.2% owing to acquisitions/divestitures and 1.5% drop in organic sales affected top-line results. Product Line Simplification ("PLS") initiatives had adverse 0.7% impact on organic sales. Also, the top line lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3,636 million. Illinois Tool reports revenues under the segments discussed below: Test & Measurement and Electronics' revenues in the first quarter decreased 3.6% year over year to $524 million. Revenues from Automotive OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) declined 10.5% to $806 million. Food Equipment generated revenues of $518 million, decreasing 1.7% year over year. Welding revenues were $427 million, increasing 1% year over year. Construction Products' revenues were down 6.3% to $401 million while revenues of $465 million from Specialty Products reflect a decline of 4.3%. Polymers & Fluids' revenues of $416 million decreased 6% year over year. Operating Margin Improves In the reported quarter, Illinois Tool's cost of sales decreased 5.6% year over year to $2,059 million. It represented 58% of the quarter's revenues versus 58.3% in the year-ago quarter. Selling, administrative, and research and development expenses decreased 0.2% year over year to $611 million while were 17.2% of first-quarter revenues versus 16.3% in the year-ago quarter. Operating margin (excluding restructuring charges) was 24.3%, increasing 20 basis points (bps) year over year. Enterprise initiatives contributed 100 bps to operating margin, offsetting 30 bps of adverse impacts from volume, 10 bps from price/costs and 40 bps from other sources. Adjusted tax rate in the quarter was 24.8%. Balance Sheet and Cash Flow Exiting the first quarter, Illinois Tool had cash and cash equivalents of $1,755 million, up 16.7% from $1,504 million recorded at the end of the last reported quarter. Long-term debt decreased 0.8% sequentially to $5,981 million. In the first quarter, the company generated net cash of $616 million from operating activities, reflecting growth of 14.5% over the year-ago quarter. Capital spending on the purchase of plant and equipment was $77 million, lower than $94 million used in the year-ago quarter. Free cash flow was $539 million, reflecting year-over-year growth of 21.4%. During the quarter, the company bought back $375 million worth of common shares and paid dividend totaling $328 million. Outlook Illinois Tool noted that its performance in the second half of 2019 will be better than the first half, driven by favorable price/cost impact, enterprise initiatives and restructuring actions. Also, benefits from favorable forex and sales comparisons, and stabilizing Europe and China auto production will be boons. For 2019, the company maintained the earnings guidance of $7.90-$8.20 per share, reflecting growth of 4-8% year over year. The company anticipates organic revenue growth of 0.5-2.5%, down from previously mentioned 1-3%. The revision reflects weak organic performance in the first quarter. Adverse impact of 80 bps is expected from PLS activities. Total revenues will likely be $14.5-$14.8 billion, down from previously stated $14.8-$15 billion. The company expects operating margin to increase roughly 100 bps year over year. The results will gain from 100 bps of contributions from enterprise initiatives, favorable pricing conditions and restructuring benefits expected in the second half. The expected tax rate is roughly 24.5-25.5%. Free cash flow will likely be more than 100% of net income. Share buybacks are anticipated to be roughly $1.5 billion in the year. Story continues How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then? Fresh estimates followed a downward path over the past two months. VGM Scores Currently, Illinois Tool Works has a nice Growth Score of B, a grade with the same score on the momentum front. Charting a somewhat similar path, the stock was allocated a grade of C on the value side, putting it in the middle 20% for this investment strategy. Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of B. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in. Outlook Illinois Tool Works has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We expect an in-line return from the stock in the next few months. 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 Illinois Tool Works Inc. (ITW) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. London. 23rd May 2019 Despite a challenging 18 months, the crypto sector still represents a considerable investment opportunity. INDX, a London-based index-linked crypto fund, has developed a proprietary algorithm that will make it simple and safe for investors of all sizes to enjoy stable, secure passive income from the fast-growing Masternode infrastructure that is supporting the blockchain and crypto sectors as they move into a more mature, regulated phase. Masternodes are rapidly becoming central to the development of the blockchain networks. They offer secure, consistent validation that blockchains require to ensure that data is not compromised, challenging and replacing the old proof-of-work network. INDX offers investors access to the sector through a tokenized fund in an algorithmically selected portfolio London. 23rd May 2019 Despite a challenging 18 months, the crypto sector still represents a considerable investment opportunity. INDX, a London-based index-linked crypto fund, has developed a proprietary algorithm that will make it simple and safe for investors of all sizes to enjoy stable, secure passive income from the fast-growing Masternode infrastructure that is supporting the blockchain and crypto sectors as they move into a more mature, regulated phase. Masternodes are rapidly becoming central to the development of the blockchain networks. They offer secure, consistent validation that blockchains require to ensure that data is not compromised, challenging and replacing the old proof-of-work network. INDX offers investors access to the sector through a tokenized fund in an algorithmically selected portfolio of Masternodes. In return, investors will receive passive income based on the Masternode yields. The proprietary INDX algorithm scans the currently available Masternodes and selects a risk-managed outperformance portfolio which is overseen by a panel of finance and technology investment experts. The INDX platform then hosts the Masternodes, secures the wallets and collects the rewards. Simultaneously, the INDX Hedge protects the collateralised stakes against the risk of a market crash. All that investors need to do is buy an INDX token and they will receive 50% net dividend directly into their wallet each quarter. Additionally, the INDX token price is expected to grow on exchanges since the remaining 50% is reinvested back into the portfolio. This is a really exciting time to be involved in the Masternode sector which will significantly accelerate the functionality of the crypto sectors over the next few years, says Jonathan DeCarteret, CEO and Co-founder of INDX. Our fund will make it simple for investors of all sizes to enjoy the benefits of the digital economy as well as opening the gateway for institutional capital into this new superclass of assets. INDX will launch its security token offering on 1st June 2019, before offering exchange listing and quarterly dividends from Q3 2019. The post INDX to offer stable passive Masternode income appeared first on Coin Rivet. Alexandria, Va, May 09, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) today commended the introduction of the bi-cameral, bi-partisan Rural Access to Hospice Act (S. 1190/H.R. 2594) by Senator Shelley Moore-Capito (R-WV), Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Congressman Ron Kind (D-WI) and Congresswoman Jackie Walorski (R-IN). Currently, a statutory barrier restricts access to hospice in rural communities across the country. When a Medicare beneficiary becomes eligible for hospice, they select a physician or nurse practitioner to serve as their attending physician. Unfortunately, providers working in Rural Health Centers (RHC) and Federal Qualified Health Centers (FQHC) cannot bill and be paid for hospice attending physician services. This statutory barrier restricts choice for some of the most underserved populations by not allowing patients to choose the RHC or FQHC provider they know and trust to serve as their attending during hospice care. The Rural Access to Hospice Act will allow RHCs and FQHCs to receive payment for hospice services while acting as attending physicians for their patients. This would allow RHCs and FQHCs to bill and be paid for hospice attending physician services the same way they are currently paid for other services they provide. In press releases posted yesterday, Rep. Kind and Congresswoman Walorski commented on how this bill will increase access to hospice in their home districts and in rural communities across the country. As Wisconsin seniors and families make end of life care decisions, the last thing they need to focus on is finding a new care provider for their loved one. The Rural Access to Hospice Act will ensure Wisconsin families can keep their local, trusted care provider and give them a little more peace of mind in a trying time, said Rep. Ron Kind. For Americans in rural communities and other underserved areas, Federally Qualified Health Centers and Rural Health Centers play a critical role in providing access to affordable, quality health care, Congresswoman Walorski said. These patients shouldnt lose the doctor they know and trust when they enter hospice care simply because of where they live. The bipartisan Rural Access to Hospice Act will fix a technical glitch to ensure seniors can access hospice care and choose their own doctor as the attending physician. Story continues We support expanded patient access to high-quality, person-centered hospice care including greater access for rural and urban families in medically underserved areas, stated NHPCO President and CEO Edo Banach. This statutory oversight has kept too many patients from choosing hospice care for fear of losing their preferred attending physician. Congress should be working to allow access to hospice care, one of the premier value-based models of care, and this legislation is a step in the right direction. NHPCO is now asking other Members of Congress to support this legislation to ensure more Americans have access to high-quality hospice care. #### About NHPCO NHPCO is the oldest and largest nonprofit membership organization representing hospice and palliative care programs and professionals in the United States. NHPCOs mission is to lead and mobilize social change for improved care at the end of life. Learn more at www.nhpco.org. Media Contact: Jon Radulovic Vice President, Communications Ph: 703-837-3139 jradulovic@nhpco.org Jon Radulovic National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization 703-837-3139 jradulovic@nhpco.org FILE - This Jan. 15, 2019 file photo shows treasurer of Pennsylvania Joe Torsella before Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf takes the oath of office for his second term at the state Capitol in Harrisburg, Pa. Pennsylvanias treasury department is accusing about a dozen large financial firms of working together to illegally inflate the price of bonds issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac over seven years. A federal court filing by Torsella on Thursday, May 23, cites what his office says is evidence from a cooperating co-conspirator in a U.S. Department of Justice investigation into price-fixing in the secondary market for bonds issued by government-controlled companies. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File) HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) Pennsylvania's treasury department is accusing about a dozen large financial firms of working together to illegally inflate the price of bonds issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac over seven years. A federal court filing by Pennsylvania Treasurer Joe Torsella cites what his office says is evidence from a "cooperating co-conspirator" in a U.S. Department of Justice investigation into price-fixing in the secondary market for bonds issued by government-controlled companies. Evidence cited in the filing late Thursday includes brief transcripts of what it says are electronic chats between traders from various financial institutions that are the largest dealers of the bonds. In the discussions, the traders allegedly agree to fix bond prices at artificially inflated prices, cheating Pennsylvania and other buyers of the bonds. The price-fixing began in 2009 and lasted through 2015, and violates federal anti-trust law, Torsella's filing said. In one 2012 exchange in Torsella's filing, a Morgan Stanley trader says, "I just don't want to create a race to the bottom between the 3 of us, doesn't help anyone." That trader and traders from Deutsche Bank and BNP Paribas then agree on a price. One trader proposes a price of $99.985, another agrees and the third responds, "Good by me." An analysis shows that pricing patterns are consistent with such a price-fixing agreement, the filing said. The "economic fingerprints" of the conspiracy diminished after January 2016, when the cooperating co-conspirator discovered it, it said. Torsella's office said it is bound by a confidentiality agreement and could not reveal how it came to receive information from the cooperating co-conspirator. It would not say who the confidentiality agreement is with. Named as defendants are Barclays, Bank of America, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, BNP Paribas, First Tennessee Bank, TD Securities, Morgan Stanley, Nomura, JP Morgan, Cantor Fitzgerald, UBS and HSBC. Most firms declined to comment, while other financial institutions contacted by The Associated Press did not immediately respond Friday. Some asked for a copy of the lawsuit. Story continues Justice Department spokesman Jeremy Edwards declined comment Friday. The bonds are a cornerstone for the investment portfolios of government and institutional investors, and Torsella's office said it expects that a large number of governments, public agencies, pension funds and other public institutional investors are victims of the alleged conspiracy. Thursday's filing is part of an ongoing case in federal court in New York's southern district being led by Torsella's office. Pennsylvania is seeking class action in the case, which has consolidated lawsuits by various government entities, labor unions and public pension systems, including the city of Baltimore. It said Pennsylvania's various state agencies bought or sold $63 billion in so-called GSE bonds during the seven-year period. Torsella's office is in the process of determining how much money state agencies lost because of the alleged price-fixing scheme, officials there said. The Department of Justice hasn't filed any criminal charges and the cooperating co-conspirator is not directly identified in Torsella's court filing. However, Torsella's filing identifies Deutsche Bank as a co-conspirator and one of various entities that participated in the violations, but that are not named as defendants. A Deutsche Bank spokesman declined comment Friday. In a March filing in the case, the Alaska Electrical Pension Fund lobbed similar accusations against a nearly identical group of financial firms, saying traders communicated through electronic chatrooms, instant messaging, emails, telephone and in-person meetings. It went on to name 27 "key personnel" on the desks that traded the bonds in question at 11 firms: Bank of America, Barclays, BNP Paribas, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, FTN Securities, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley and UBS. They shared "highly sensitive trading information about their own books and about the trading strategies of their customers," positioning themselves to earn "extraordinary trading profits in the secondary market," it said. Buyers didn't know that the firms' traders had secretly agreed not to compete, and often sought to drive competition among the firms to get a better price, the Alaska Electrical Pension Fund's lawsuit said. "Little did they know that, behind the scenes, defendants would invariably share their clients' confidential information and coordinate their actions to ensure such efforts to benefit from competition went nowhere," it said. ___ Associated Press reporter Michael Balsamo in Washington, D.C., contributed to this report. Los Angeles, May 25, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- High Times , the most well-known brand in cannabis globally, today announced the inclusion of a special birthday celebration at its Cannabis Cup in Southern California for long time industry leader Tommy Chong. Taking place this weekend, May 25th & 26th, the event will include opportunities for fans to meet the marijuana legend, as well as help him celebrate his birthday in person. The weekends event, which includes the awarding of the Southern California Cannabis Cup, the industrys premiere distinction for the best products in the space, also includes musical heavyweights Ice Cube, Tory Lanez, and Blueface, along with dance producers Girl Talk and Thriftworks. VIP tickets are still available at Cannabiscup.com for those looking to join the celebrations. The event will take place at the NOS Center in San Bernardino beginning today, May 25th, with doors opening at noon. Mr. Chong will be signing autographs and greeting fans on both Saturday and Sunday from 12-4 PM. He also plans to make a special announcement during this celebration, likely including one of his associated brands: Chongs Choice, Greenstone, Top Shelf Cultivation, and/or Honey Dew Farms. For more information, or to request a ticket to the Cannabis Cup SoCal, please reach out to mediateam@hightimes.com . About High Times For more than 44 years, High Times has been the worlds most well-known cannabis brand - championing the lifestyle and educating the masses on the benefits of this natural flower. From humble beginnings as a counterculture lifestyle publication, High Times has evolved into hosting industry-leading events like the Cannabis Cup and the High Times Business Summit, while providing digital TV and social networks, globally distributed merchandise, international licensing deals, and millions of fans and supporters across the globe. In the world of Cannabis, High Times is the arbiter of quality. For more information on High Times visit http://www.hightimes.com . For Hightimes financial information visit http://www.hightimesinvestor.com . Stock and crypto trading app Robinhood is looking to raise at least $200 million in a new funding round, Bloomberg reports. This would value the company at between $7 billion and $8 billion. The cash infusion is coming from existing investors, people familiar with the deal told Bloomberg. The funding talks are ongoing, but the companys valuation could climb to as much as $10 billion in a subsequent round. What is Robinhood? Lets start with the basics. Robinhood began as a trading app for Android and iOS in 2015 and now has a desktop version available. It allows traders to enter the stock market commission-free (so now you can see where the name comes in). Its founders say: We believe that Stock and crypto trading app Robinhood is looking to raise at least $200 million in a new funding round, Bloomberg reports. This would value the company at between $7 billion and $8 billion. The cash infusion is coming from existing investors, people familiar with the deal told Bloomberg. The funding talks are ongoing, but the companys valuation could climb to as much as $10 billion in a subsequent round. What is Robinhood? Lets start with the basics. Robinhood began as a trading app for Android and iOS in 2015 and now has a desktop version available. It allows traders to enter the stock market commission-free (so now you can see where the name comes in). Its founders say: We believe that the financial system should work for the rest of us, not just the wealthy. The app has been attracting Millennials since its inception, and its hardly surprising. Of all Millennial retail traders worldwide, some 72% of them describe themselves as self-directed. This means that they are confident in using trading tools and apps without going through a traditional broker. Trading on the app is free, but the bare-bones interface means that traders may need to complement it with other tools as well. A recent NerdWallet review gives the Robinhood app an impressive 4.5 out of 5 stars. However, they also stamp a disclaimer on top of the article reminding readers that Robinhood is a NerdWallet partner. Robinhood has been dealt a few blows recently too when it was discovered to be selling its customers data for millions of dollars to Wall Street trading firms. Somewhat ironic when you consider the messaging of the company about taking back power from traditional investment firms. Data scandals aside, the venture still boasts over four million users in the US, which means it must be doing something right. What is Robinhood Crypto? In January 2018, Robinhood announced that it would be making Robinhood Crypto available for its users in selected states. Just like the flagship app, this also offers commission-free trading. Story continues Starting out slowly, it was originally available in only a handful of states, including its native California, offering just Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH). However, the app has been gradually expanding support for other cryptos. Robinhood Crypto has now added Bitcoin Cash (BTC), Bitcoin SV (BSV), Ethereum Classic (ETC), Dogecoin (DOGE), and Litecoin (LTC). It is also now available in over 30 states. Already catering to a millennial base, Robinhood Crypto made perfect sense for its customers and had one million users sign up in the days following its launch announcement. Whats good about Robinhood Crypto? The main advantage is obvious commission-free trading. It doesnt get much better than free, after all. This is particularly appealing for low-volume, high-frequency traders, who often see a dent in profits from commissions elsewhere. Users also sing the praises of its simple interface and usability. Targeting such a mobile-heavy demographic, cryptocurrency trading straight from a smartphone reduces a lot of the steps and hassle of regular exchanges. The sign-up process (provided that you live in the right state) is simple and quick and you can verify your account in a matter of minutes, initiating a bank transfer in under an hour. Instant verification with many major banks also means users are spared from making micro-deposits. And if you want to make trades of less than $1,000, the process is almost instant. Larger transactions, however, can take several business days. Where does Robinhood Crypto fall short? Limited geographical reach aside, there are some major limitations to Robinhood Crypto that prevent it from being a threat to an exchange like Coinbase, for the time being at least. First of all, there is no way of withdrawing the crypto that the Robinhood app holds for you. Or, to put that another way, you can only sell crypto for fiat, not for other cryptos. Moreover, you cant use your Robinhood Crypto wallet to deposit any existing coins you may have. The app is also distinctly lacking when it comes to customer support. There is no one at the end of a phone to call when things go wrong and support can be slow, by email only. Is Robinhood Crypto hitting the target? The answer to that question is largely based on where you live and what your stance on double standards and data abuse is. Currently, theres just one major competitor in its app-only, commission-free crypto trading corner in the shape of Circle Invest. But backed by Goldman Sachs, its a pretty big one. While Robinhood Crypto is racing to add more states to its app, Circle Invest launched in March 2018 and is already available in 47 states. Only Minnesota, Wyoming, and Hawaii are out of their reach at the moment. Circle Invest also offers a wider range of cryptos. Add Zcash (ZEC), EOS (EOS), Monero (XMR), Stellar (XLM), Qtum (QTUM), 0X (ZRX), and Basic Attention Token (BAT) to the list. Wrapping it up Data scandals aside, Robinhood Crypto is a solid, safe bet for US crypto traders who want to trade commission free. Its a great chance for newer traders to get their feet wet in crypto in a safe way, and who arent looking for a large variety of cryptocurrency options. Thanks to its market experience in the traditional investment arena, its also a good choice for self-directed Millennial crypto investors who want to diversify their investment portfolios. The post Trading app Robinhood preps major funding round appeared first on Coin Rivet. (Bloomberg) -- The Trump administration widened its dragnet this week on Chinese companies barred from selling to the U.S. or buying components from American firms in a push to slow Chinas technological advances. After crippling Huawei Technologies Co., Chinas biggest telecommunications company, the administration followed up by threatening to cut off U.S. components or software to five Chinese video surveillance firms. But the plan might backfire, because U.S. companies are so inextricably involved in the global technology supply chain. Concerns over Washingtons punitive measures and possible retaliation by the Chinese rattled markets throughout the week, hammering chipmakers and Apple Inc. It's 5G that embodies most of Washingtons fears -- by powering a wealth of upcoming technologies from self-driving cars to advanced medical procedures, the new wireless standard is set to be the backbone of the modern economy. Until recently, it seemed like Huawei, the world's biggest purveyor of communications networking gear and the second-largest smartphone maker, was leading in supplying that infrastructure.By cutting off the Chinese tech giant, the U.S. will only slow the expansion of 5G. Thats bad news for some of the most important U.S. companies, particularly component makers, that were banking on it for a major surge in orders starting this year. Without Chinas 5G network, consumers there won't buy new phones that contain chips from Qualcomm Inc. and Micron Technology Inc. They won't generate data that need to be crunched by processors made by Intel Corp., Nvidia Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. And there'll be no need for faster networking gear powered by chips from Broadcom Inc. and Xilinx Inc.I dont think its good for the U.S. economy, said Minyuan Zhao, an associate professor of management at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. With its strong institutions, the U.S. has long been an assuring force in the global supply chain. People dont always trust China, but they consider the U.S. a trustworthy partner, if not guardian, of the global economic system. If supply chains can be arbitrarily interrupted and that trust disappears, countries will start to develop individual systems and the result will be inferior and more expensive. Story continues Washingtons efforts to contain the worlds second-largest economy accelerated about three years ago when Beijing first codified a broad ambition to take the lead in future technologies through its Made in China 2025 industrial policy. Coupled with a formal plan to dominate artificial intelligence by 2030, the plans showed the country's willingness to funnel billions of dollars into scientific research -- a goal that spooked Washington bureaucrats worried that private U.S. enterprise and the military would be left in the dust. Still, Chinese tech companies remain well behind their American counterparts in some key industries. The country still imports more semiconductors than oil and no Chinese company has caught up with Google or Microsoft Corp. in software yet. That makes the threat of witholding American technology from Huawei and its peers so disruptive. In other areas, though, they're gaining headway quickly. Huawei is already the biggest provider of 4G networking and its gear is key to rolling out 5G networks in China, the biggest market for smartphones that will connect to it. U.S. companies are keen to tap into that pool, with its hundreds of millions of subscribers. Chinas well-funded firms from Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. to Tencent Holdings Ltd. and startups like SenseTime are closing the gap on AI with an unparalleled trove of user information that privacy-focused Western rivals are afraid they'll never match; even consumer internet concerns like Tencent and Ant Financial Services Group are leading the way in social media innovation and mobile payments. Companies like General Electric Co., Alphabet Inc. and Microsoft Corp. are worried that export controls being considered by Washington, related to technologies seen as essential to competitiveness, could actually impede them from competing in lucrative markets, while reducing Americas capacity to innovate. In a written submission to the Department of Commerce, Microsoft warned that the proposed restrictions risked isolating the U.S. from international research collaborations and could thwart U.S. interests. Artificial intelligence is a very broad concept, GE cautioned in its own submission. Defined too broadly export controls could sweep up things like medical imaging where algorithms are being used to scan for diseases and in toys, it said.The crackdown on Huawei and other tech companies has spread from the U.S.-China trade war, which has been going on for months. Trump has targeted technology companies due to suspicion that Chinese firms help Beijing spy on foreign governments and steal U.S. intellectual property. Its a risky move.The more that we continually conflate economic warfare with national security interests, then we start to look at everything as national security, said Evanna Hu, CEO of Omelas, a security software firm based in Washington. When you have a hammer, everything looks like a nail.So far U.S. chipmakers have probably suffered the most from Washingtons actions. Intel, Qualcomm, Xilinx and Broadcom have said they will cut off supplies to Huawei until further notice, according to people familiar with their actions. While their move hamstrings Huawei, it also means the companies will lose revenue. China has threatened to retaliate. ``This is wrong behavior, so there will be a necessary response, Zhang Ming, Chinas envoy to the EU said in an interview in Brussels. Such a move could be devastating for Apple. Rising nationalistic, pro-Huawei sentiment could make Apples already troubled business in China more difficult, hobbling iPhone sales and disrupting the companys supply chain, according to analysts.Apple could lose nearly a third of its profit if China retaliated by banning its products, Goldman Sachs analysts estimated this week. But so far there isnt any evidence that China is planning to do so. Dan Ives, an analyst at Wedbush Securities, said 3% to 5% of iPhone sales in China may disappear over the next 12 to 18 months because of the U.S. ban on Huawei. As the global markets have begun to imagine a new Cold War-era between China and the U.S., President Donald Trump said Thursday that Huawei could be included in some kind of trade deal with China, without offering any details. The president also added that Huawei is something thats very dangerous. You look at what theyve done from a security standpoint, from a military standpoint, its very dangerous. --With assistance from Ian King, Mark Gurman, Dina Bass and Mark Bergen. To contact the authors of this story: Molly Schuetz in New York at mschuetz9@bloomberg.netEdwin Chan in Hong Kong at echan273@bloomberg.net For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com 2019 Bloomberg L.P. By Christoph Steitz FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Uniper's chairman on Sunday said talks with major shareholder Fortum to resolve a dispute between the two companies were on hold after two of the German utility's board members resigned. Fortum and Uniper have been at loggerheads since the Finnish state-owned utility tried to take over the German group in 2017, a deal that Uniper's management opposed due to concerns it might get broken up. Fortum, which has a 49.99% stake in Uniper, has claimed that Uniper's board actively tried to block its planned takeover, which Uniper denies. The resignation of Uniper's Chief Operating Officer Eckhardt Ruemmler and Chief Commercial Officer Keith Martin came in response to Fortum's move last week to postpone a shareholder vote to endorse Uniper's management for the past two years. "We must and want to work with our major shareholder in a trusting relationship. This trust has lost its foundation. Talks had been on a good path. In my view a major chance has been blown," Uniper Supervisory Board Chairman Bernhard Reutersberg told Reuters. He said that talks with Fortum were on hold for now. "I expect a clear signal from Fortum on how they think talks can be continued in light of the current developments." Uniper said Ruemmler and Martin -- which had led cooperation talks with Fortum since February -- had asked the group's chairman to terminate their contracts at the end of Nov. 30, 2019. Russian regulators have barred Fortum from increasing its stake in Uniper because of a water-testing license owned by the German firm's Russian business Unipro. Uniper has so far held on to the license, effectively blocking a takeover. Reutersberg said that external and internal experts had found no evidence that Uniper management violated any laws in its dealings in Russia, adding there were no findings that support Fortum's claims. Fortum Chief Executive Pekka Lundmark said in a statement delaying the discharge vote on Uniper's management had been a result of the lack of transparency on management conduct during and after the takeover bid, not a sign of mistrust in management as a whole. Story continues He said it was now Fortum's goal to establish a dialogue with Uniper's incoming Chief Executive Andreas Schierenbeck and Chief Financial Officer Sascha Bibert, which will both start their jobs on June 1. "We are confident that together we can make a joint vision reality," Lundmark said. (Reporting by Christoph Steitz. Editing by Jane Merriman) PALO ALTO, Calif., May 21, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- VMware, Inc. (VMW), a leading innovator in enterprise software, today announced that Sanjay Poonen, VMwares chief operating officer, customer operations, will present as a speaker at the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Conference in San Francisco, CA on Tuesday, June 4, 2019 at 11:00 a.m. PT/ 2:00 p.m. ET. A live webcast will be available on VMwares Investor Relations page at http://ir.vmware.com. The replay of the webcast will be available for two months. About VMware VMware software powers the worlds complex digital infrastructure. The companys cloud, networking and security, and digital workspace offerings provide a dynamic and efficient digital foundation to over 500,000 customers globally, aided by an ecosystem of 75,000 partners. Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, VMware is committed to being a force for good, from its breakthrough innovations to its global impact. For more information, please visit https://www.vmware.com/company.html. Additional Information VMware's website is located at www.vmware.com, and its investor relations website is located at http://ir.vmware.com. VMware's goal is to maintain the investor relations website as a portal through which investors can easily find or navigate to pertinent information about VMware, all of which is made available free of charge. The additional information includes materials that VMware files with the SEC; announcements of investor conferences and events at which its executives talk about VMware's products, services and competitive strategies; webcasts of our quarterly earnings calls, investor conferences and events (archives of which are also available for a limited time); additional information on VMware's financial metrics, including reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures; press releases on quarterly earnings, product and service announcements, legal developments and international news; corporate governance information; and other news, blogs and announcements that VMware may post from time to time that investors may find useful or interesting. Story continues Contacts: Sandra Kerrigan VMware Investor Relations skerrigan@vmware.com Tiptoeing through the tundra. After the 2002 Iditarod Trail Invitational many of the race regulars decided that they'd had enough of the "same-old same-old", so they went in search of a new venue. What they came up with was brilliant -- a 500-mile route through the Alaskan Interior, dubbed the Great Yukon Challenge. Starting at Tok, the route headed north through the historic Fortymile country to Eagle: 165 miles of snow-covered mountain road, packed by snowmachines. Once racers had thawed out and resupplied, they'd face 170 daunting, tortured miles on the Yukon River to get to Circle City. There they'd turn south, leaving the Yukon Flats, and grunt another 165 miles over the steep domes of the White Mountains.The Alaskan Interior is notoriously inhospitable in February. I had researched weather trends when testing and preparing my gear and clothing, and came to Alaska expecting that the mercury wouldn't see the happy side of zero for the entire race. Once on the ground in Anchorage I grabbed a newspaper and learned that:A large high pressure system moving into Alaska from Siberia brought gale force winds to most mountain tops last night and remains stationary at this point. Temperatures have dropped to -50F and winds have calmed as the weather system settles over Alaska. The coldest air will settle into valleys and river beds. Outdoor travelers must be prepared to endure raw temperatures of -60 and wind chill of at least -75F. Forecasts indicate no change in the weather pattern for the next several days. While extremely low temperatures with clear skies are forecast, travelers will be rewarded with unobstructed views of the full moon and northern lights.Forearmed with that welcome, Pat "A single speed is not a handicap" Irwin and I rechecked our gear, caught a ride from Anchorage to Tok, and then headed out in the fading twilight to start racing. Although several others had preregistered, for some reason (weather?) Pat and I were the only two to start. Pat has won the last two 350-mile Iditarod Trail Invitational races, while I've managed to squeak out two wins in the 1100-mile version of that event. All evidence points to Pat being faster in the 'shorter' events, while I tend to shine in the longer ones. Acutely aware that this race split the difference between the two, we began racing each other from the get-go.On the rolling hills up to Chicken we were evenly matched - Pat would pull away on the flats with his single fairly tall gear, then I'd catch him on the climbs and descents where his gear wasn't ideal. Even with a show-stopping storm atop American Summit that pinned me down overnight while Pat narrowly squeaked through, we managed to arrive in Eagle within a few minutes of each other.These first three days were memorable due to the stunning, forlorn mountains and valleys all the way up to Eagle, with not one human, car, snowmobile, nada. To say that we were alone wouldn't be true - you'd be forgetting about the wolves, moose, coyotes, caribou, and lynx that we saw and heard on the trail. It would only be accurate to say that there were no other humans, for we were almost constantly accompanied.The next 160 miles were all on the Yukon River, which at this point in it's course is fairly quaint in width (compared to the 5-miles-wide at Ruby that I'm used to) and scale, framed in every direction by bald domes or striking peaks. Jumble ice was a novelty to me -- for some reason the ice downriver on the Iditarod course always freezes up relatively smooth. Here the ice was occasionally featureless beneath it's blanket of snow, but more frequently it had cracked, bulged, torn, overflowed itself, piled high, refrozen, and then started over in a different order.Even more perplexing were the open leads of water, hissing steam in defiance of the bitter temps. To get through some of the rougher stretches and around the leads the trail had been routed from bank to bank and back, switchbacking upon itself to find the smoothest route. Many times we traveled 5 miles of actual trail to progress one mile downriver.We had a bit of a cold snap on the way up to Circle City -- 5 days straight with a high temp of 35 below, and down to 65 below at night. "Night" is a relative term at this time of year, as we had a scant 7 hours of low-angle sun before switching our headlamps back on for the next 17. Seems like every time I think I've never been this cold before, I find a way to be colder.I was marginally comfortable when riding, walking, eating, and sleeping, even down to -55 degrees. The problem became getting my hands warm again after fixing flats, which required taking off my mitts and working with the bare metal of the rim to achieve better dexterity. It took a few anxious hours for me to get my hands back to normal after the first flat. Each time thereafter I made sure to have a chemical toe heater warm and waiting inside the flap of my mitten. Even still it would be 10-15 minutes before my hands would start to throb and the anxiety would start to recede. This was the first time I've ever had to use the chemical heat packs, despite the fact that I've carried them for years for such an eventuality.At 20 below zero (at home in Colorado) everything had worked just fine, but when the temp started dropping, little problems started to rear their heads:-At 25 below zero my suspension seatpost froze solid, so there was no suspension movement. Curiously, the pivots shrunk in the cold, so there was plenty of side-to-side slop.-At 30 below zero our headsets (and thus handlebars) were very difficult to turn, allowing maybe 45 degrees of total movement with a LOT of effort.-Goggles didn't take long to fog when the differential on each side of the lens was 130 degrees, and especially when the warm side (your face) was producing a little moisture from exertion and exhalation. Once they fogged we simply took them off and cinched our hoods down tighter.-At 40 below zero we started to have tube failures. We had WTB, Kenda, and Avenir tubes with us and they all pulled apart at their seams. The flats were so prevalent that we no longer had to look at our thermometers to know when the temp had hit -40. After the race a product manager explained to me that 40 below zero falls a bit outside of the design parameters for bicycle inner tubes.-At 47 below zero my pump head shattered when I snapped it onto the valve of a tube. Realizing that I had 150-miles to the next village (with a flat tire) I jumped up and started running with the bike, nearly exhausting myself trying to keep Pat in sight. Fortunately (and I cannot overstate how fortunate I was) Pat turned to check on me before rounding a bend of the Yukon, and stopped when he saw me running. With over 300 miles left to go and only one pump between us, Pat made the call, "We're stickin' together". Had his pump died out there we might have followed suit.-At 50 below zero it's necessary to take turns fixing flats. One person runs up and down the trail to get warm, while the other works on the flat until all feeling is gone from their fingers. Then you switch.-At 52 below zero our headsets didn't turn more than 10 degrees.-One night, at -55 degrees on the Yukon River, Pat had 3 flats in 30 minutes. The third was the last -- we had no more good tubes and patching in those temps wasn't an option. Unfortunately, we still had about 12 miles to go to get to shelter that night, so it was a long, anxiously cold shuffle/run that ended at 5am. Locals placed the temp at -65 degrees on the river.The nights were so cold that I couldn't stop to crane my head back to enjoy the aurora -- I'd start shivering the minute I stopped pedaling. I tried to watch many times because the colors, shapes, and fluid patterns of the lights were so alluring, but violent shivers quickly snapped me back to reality. At -65 I wore everything I had, with chemical heat warmers in each mitten and one against my belly. I was as comfortable as I think is possible, but the knowledge of that temperature leads to a certain anxiety that precludes ever really being able to just relax and enjoy.Once in Circle we had a relatively mundane stretch of ice-road to Central, followed by a portage of the infamous Eagle Summit. I'd once read about this pass in Archdeacon Hudson Stuck's turn of the century account,, and had preconceived ideas about the grandeur and scale of the mountains through which we'd be passing. The mountains did not disappoint, but the trail up the pass was less impressive. Perhaps hauling a 55-lb bike wearing modern, lightweight gear is a bit easier than pushing a many-thousand-pound freight sled pulled by overworked, unmotivated and underappreciated huskies? Whatever the reason, the descent of the pass got my heart rate up more than the climb had, as I spent many anxious moments with my butt behind the saddle, rear brake locked, front brake delicately feathered in an attempt (key word here) to keep the front end of the bike from diving through the sastrugified crust. It remains one of the steepest sustained descents I've ever ridden.My front tire went soft somewhere in the valley below, mandating a forced walk. I'd have gladly fixed it on the trail, but the previous days of arctic cold had cracked and ruined our 13 other tubes (Unlucky number? You make the calland I hadn't a serviceable one left. In fact, the tubes in our tires had already been double patched and wrapped with duct tape in an attempt to coerce the air into staying for at least a little while. We'd hoped to move fast enough to beat the failing tubes to the finish, but our luck, like the patches, wasn't holding.Splashing through overflow up onto the Steese Highway, I caught up to Pat and a brief conversation ensued. While our intended route wound for several more miles to end in Fairbanks, the lack of serviceable inner tubes made continuing impossible. Walking that distance through slushy-overflowed swamps and rivers, not to mention pushing up, over, and down two more passes with a 55lb flat-tired bike sounded a little like medieval torture, or at least a good start for next year's event.In completing the route from Tok to Mile 101 of the Steese, Pat and I became the first we'd heard of to complete this route under human power (parts of it are traveled once a winter by a handful of dog teams and snowmachines in the Yukon Quest dogsled race). Pat's overall time was 33 minutes faster than mine, making him the victor in the first, and possibly only, Great Yukon Challenge. Greg Gleason arrives at CP#2. (L-R) Unknown, Steve Fuller, Gleason, MG, and Dan Buettner. " Trans Iowa Stories" is an every Sunda... Three people were killed and at least 10 others were injured in clashes between Pakistani security forces and protesters in the countrys northwestern tribal region, the military and eyewitnesses say. Details of the May 26 incident in North Waziristan district remain murky. Witnesses told RFE/RL that at least 20 people, including a lawmaker, were injured after security forces opened fire on peaceful protesters seeking to join a protest against what they called the militarys heavy-handed methods. But the military said that a group led by two members of parliament attacked a security post, wounding five soldiers. It said troops responded to direct firing on the post, killing three attackers and wounding 10 others. The two lawmakers -- Mohsin Dawar and Ali Wazir -- were among the founders of the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) civil rights group that has been a thorn in the side of the military with regular sit-ins and protests denouncing alleged military abuses. The PTM, whose support base is mostly among the Pashtun ethnic minority, has been peaceful since its founding in early 2018. International rights groups say authorities have banned peaceful rallies organized by the PTM and some of its leading members have been arbitrarily detained and prevented from traveling within the country. A curfew was imposed in the area where the violence took place. Residents of Datta Khel, a small town in North Waziristan, launched a sit-in late on May 25, accusing security forces of persecuting and torturing civilians during a recent search operation targeting suspected militants. Eyewitnesses said that dozens of tribal elders and leaders of the Pashtun Protection Movement (PTM) were on their way to the sit-in on the morning of May 26 when troops stopped them at a checkpoint and prevented them from reaching the protest site. As more protesters arrived at the area, the security forces opened fire at them, according to the witnesses. Dawar was among the protesters and told RFE/RL by phone that he was slightly hurt. Wazir was taken to an unknown location by security forces along with a tribal elder identified as Gul Alam, residents said. In a statement, the military said that a group led by Dawar and Wazir assaulted the Kharqamar checkpost, adding that they wanted to exert pressure for the release of a suspected terrorists facilitator who had been arrested. Troops manning the post exercised maximum restraint in the face of provocation and direct firing on the post, it said, adding that five soldiers were injured. The military said that three attackers also lost their lives in the shooting while the 10 others who sustained injuries were evacuated to an army hospital for treatment. Wazir was arrested along with eight other people and Dawar is at-large after inciting the crowd, the statement said. The PTM has denounced the army's heavy-handed operations in the militancy-hit tribal regions. The group has called for judicial probes into those killed by the military and campaigned for ending enforced disappearances, extrajudicial executions, and discrimination against Pashtuns. Pakistan's impoverished tribal areas became a front line in the battle against extremist groups after the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, when the Afghan Taliban and Al-Qaeda took refuge in the region. The region has been the scene of deadly Pakistani army operations, U.S. drone attacks, and militant attacks. Pashtuns make up the majority of recruits and members of Pakistani-based militant groups such as the Afghan Taliban, the Haqqani network, and the Pakistani Taliban. But PTM supporters say civilians have borne the brunt of the violence, and claim Pashtuns have been the targets of the army and the ISI, two powerful bodies that have an oversized role in the country. Pakistans government and military have said they are taking steps to address the protesters demands. Amazons Thornton fulfillment warehouse is a study in efficiency. The 2.5 million-square-foot warehouse is filled with thousands of robots, and every one of the more than 20 million items there is scanned every step from arrival to departure to make sure it gets to the customer that bought it in the fastest and least expensive way possible. As Amazon gears up to build a huge new delivery facility in Colorado Springs, the high-tech Thornton center offers a glimpse of what's to come: a high-tech, robotic distribution system built to get merchandise to customers sometimes within an hour and often the same day. The Thornton center sends merchandise to be delivered to customers through both sorting centers, including one in Aurora, and delivery stations, including a temporary one at the Colorado Springs Airport and three others in the Denver area. Amazon opened the temporary delivery facility late last year and is building a permanent one in the airport's Peak Innovation business park. Amazon is building warehouses, delivery stations and other facilities in Colorado Springs, the Denver area and across the nation to keep up with surging demand by consumers buying everything from dog food to televisions online. The Springs delivery station is under construction on an 18-acre site in Peak Innovation Park. The Colorado Springs city Council agreed in November to sell that land and a second 70-acre parcel to a Fortune 500 company, which has been identified as Amazon, for a warehouse-distribution facility that would generate a "significant" number of jobs, according to information present to the council. No plans have been submitted for the 70-acre site. The Seattle-based online sales giant has spent more than $1.5 billion over the past three years in Colorado, pumping more than $1 billion a year into the state's economy, to build the Thornton warehouse and three other fulfillment and sorting centers, three other delivery stations in the Denver area, Prime Now, Tech and Amazon Air hubs as well as several storefront locations. That's part of $160 billion Amazon has spent nationwide during the past seven years on corporate offices, research and development centers, fulfillment centers and payroll offices. Much of what Amazon customers in Colorado and nearby areas receive comes from its fulfillment centers, which stock millions of items that go through a six-step process. First merchandise is received from a vendor, then stowed in bins that are stacked in tall carts moved around by thousands of robots. The items are then picked out of the bins by workers, packed in a boxes or sleeves and loaded onto trucks to be sent to a nearby sorting center or delivery station, where vans will pick up the orders and deliver them to customers. The Thornton warehouse was built to make same-day deliveries in the Denver area and much of Colorado, while Whole Foods stores (which Amazon owns) and smaller delivery stations handle one- and two-hour deliveries to Amazon Prime customers in the immediate area around those stations and stores. The station under construction in Colorado Springs will serve the Springs area and will employ "hundreds" of people ranging from full-time employees to independent contractors, according to an Amazon spokeswoman. The Thornton center opened in August adjacent to Interstate 25 and 144th Avenue, one exit south of where the E-470 toll road and I-25 meet on Denver's north end. The four-story building stocks smaller items, mostly for delivery in and around Denver, but can ship items as far as needed if it is the only facility with that item, said Zeshan Kazmi, an Amazon spokesman. Amazon operates 150 such centers nationwide, including an Aurora center that handles large items such as furniture. Amazon hired employees for the Thornton center mostly from the northern Denver area, but some commute from as far as Weld County and many come from the warehouse and retail industries, said Clint Autry, the center's general manager. Many are highly educated and applied for jobs at the center as a way "to get a foot in the door with Amazon," he said. The company tries to promote from within and offers financial assistance of up to 95 percent of the cost of specialized training for difficult-to-fill jobs like truck drivers or information technology workers. For example, Maria Lopez joined Amazon in 2010 as an hourly employee in Phoenix and later moved to the Denver area and was later promoted to Autry's assistant. Connie McAllister came from Kentucky and was hired as an entry-level trainer when the Thornton center opened and was quickly promoted to the highest-level trainer for the company's first-day training process for new hires. The company trains most employees in more than one job. Amazon has hired employees for the center from many non-traditional sources Kenneth Cruz spent eight years in the Marine Corps, much of it overseas, before moving to Denver for a "fresh start" and getting a job at the Thornton center. Jennifer Cowden had been out of the work force for 23 years as a stay-at-home mom before she moved from Chicago to Denver and was hired by Amazon in December. Joshua Garcia was an assistant manager in a Denver area pawn shop before he was hired. The jobs at the center start at $15 an hour Amazon's company-wide minimum wage and many are full-time positions with benefits, although the company also hires hundreds of seasonal workers for the busy holiday sales season. Autry said employees get raises and promotions every few months, and he expects the center to continue growing by hiring additional workers. Amazon employees unpack arriving merchandise and put individual items into random bins. Autry said he wants items "as scattered as possible because we want the item to be as close to a picker (employee that takes merchandise from a bin to fill a customer order) to allow the fastest possible delivery to the customer," which is calculated by an algorithm. Since every item is scanned, the center's computer system knows where every item is at every step of the delivery process. Once the merchandise is in bins on a cart, fleets of robots move the carTs to specific places on the warehouse floors marked with QR codes that the robot reads. Autry said the robots aren't taking away jobs from workers "without robots, we couldn't meet demand and that is what keeps customers coming back" and creating additional jobs. After a customer orders an item, a robot brings the cart that includes a bin with the right item to a picker, who inspects it to make sure it is what the customer ordered and isn't broken. The picker puts it into a tote that is transported by a 10-mile network of conveyors to where it will be packed in a box or sleeve. The center's computer network tells the packing employee what box or sleeve to use and dispenses the correct amount of tape to seal the container. The packages then travel along the conveyor system to semi-trucks where workers can pack more than 100 trucks at a time. Much of the technology Amazon uses to track and move merchandise was designed internally to improve efficiency in each step, but the company still relies on humans for quality control and to handle items that are rejected by the scanning system, Autry said. 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: Spotlighting upcoming events worthy of your next Colorado road trip. GoPro Mountain Games June 6-9 in Vail, mountaingames.com, free to attend Free of charge isnt the first thing that comes to mind when one thinks of Vail. But on the first weekend of June, the world-renowned ski resort hosts the GoPro Mountain Games, and the No. 1 reason to go is the zero cost of admission. Its Colorado fest-going at its finest, featuring mountain views, art, music and, of course, adventure. Thousands of warriors rack up points by running, biking, climbing, kayaking and doing whatever else necessary across 30-plus competitions to claim the ultimate prize. Ever seen someone paddleboarding furiously down a roaring river? How about someone speed-walking a slackline over said roaring river? Heres your chance. But the crowd favorite? The dock diving event, in which furry friends of all shapes and sizes leap as far as they can into a pool. While youre there: The concerts are free, too. Langhorne Slim and the Law highlights a three-night lineup at the iconic Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater. Also on our calendar: Colorado Shakespeare Festival, June 7-Aug. 11, cupresents.org/series/shakespeare-festival/ Boulders rich tradition of live performance in the name of the Bard kicks off with a comedic take on Twelfth Night. Tickets start at $19. Greeley Blues Jam, June 7-8, greeleyblues jam.org Aint nothin but a party is the motto a party put on by some of the best and brightest in blues. Tickets $30. SETH BOSTER, THE GAZETTE Lt. Col. ML Cavanaugh, PhD, is a non-resident fellow with the Modern War Institute at West Point, and co-edited, with author Max Brooks, Winning Westeros: How Game of Thrones Explains Modern Military Conflict, from Potomac Books. Connect with Matt through MLCavanaugh.com. Under the spires of the Air Force Academy Cadet Protestant Chapel, fellow soldiers, family and friends on Saturday mourned the loss of Fort Ca Tom Cotton is a United States senator from Arkansas. He served in Iraq with the 101st Airborne Division and in Afghanistan with a Provincial Reconstruction Team. Between combat tours, he served with the United States Armys 3rd Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) at Arlington National Cemetery. Excerpted with permission from Cottons Sacred Duty: A Soldier's Tour at Arlington National Cemetery , out May 14 from William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. You have permission to edit this article. Edit Close Monument-area residents are crying foul over plans to build a charter school, saying a developer has leveraged his having served on a local ed Welcome to followthemedia.com The article or material you have chosen... Michael Hedges May 27, 2019 Within Russia's quite restricted media sphere, daily business newspaper Kommersant has been an occasional standout. The vast majority of Russian news media touts the government line, Kommersant included. Its reputation was built of bringing Russian business and politics into reasonably clear view with solid journalistic light. Something is happening. Newsroom Vacates After Spate Of FiringsMichael Hedges May 27, 2019 Follow on Twitter Within Russia's quite restricted media sphere, daily business newspaper Kommersant has been an occasional standout. The vast majority of Russian news media touts the government line, Kommersant included. Its reputation was built of bringing Russian business and politics into reasonably clear view with solid journalistic light. Something is happening. ...is available for restricted access. You may access this specific article or material for 4 If you are an ftm Member, please go to the home page HERE and log in ftm Members can access all site material at no additional charge. You can JOIN ftm here The ftm newsletter available at no charge to all with registration To register click here. Late May is a time that no Iowa birding enthusiast would care to miss. With thousands of northbound songbirds arriving at local woodlands daily, it is one the years premier outdoor events the grand finale of the spring migration. The diversity is daunting. More than 200 bird species nest in or migrate through Iowa each spring. And while birds such as orioles, tanagers, buntings or grosbeaks may be hard to miss, others such as the more than 30 visiting species of wood warblers provide greater observational challenges. Sometimes a quick flash of color is all you get before the bird is gone. But regardless of which feathered creatures may be nearby, there are some basic common-sense tips that will take you a long way toward improved viewing. Getting up early pays dividends. Most birds are most active during the first hours of daylight. Just as the early bird gets the worm; early birders get more sightings. Once youre in the woods, keep noise and movement to a minimum. Stay in one spot for a least a half hour. Youll do a lot better if you let the birds find you instead of doing it the other way around. Wearing dark or camouflaged clothing will help blend into your surroundings. Dont forget the binoculars and bird book. Theres no better time to key out a bird than when its hopping around in front of you. Location is everything. And although every hedge and thicket is likely to harbor its own feathered treasures, larger [public] habitats generally yield greater numbers and greater varieties of birdlife. Two of my favorite high yield locations are the Nature Conservancys 250-acre, Clausens Cove Area located adjacent to Farmers Beach Road on the South Shore of Clear Lake and the 700-acre, Pilot Knob State Park near Forest City. Both areas offer a rich mix of hardwood timber, dense understory, and are liberally sprinkled with small wetlands. For birding diversity, it just doesnt get any better than that. One last tip. Theres an old adage that says, strike while the metals hot. For North lowans, thats certainly sound advice when it comes to spring birding adventures. For many spring migrants including nearly all the warblers the flight will continue all the way to the wilderness pine forests of northern Minnesota and Canada. Some will travel all the way to subarctic tundras. For many neotropical species, Iowa is but the half-way point between winter and summer homes. The annual nesting season is brief and, from a birds point of view, there is no time to waste. Here today -- Gone tomorrow is a migrating birds credo. Viewing the spring migration is something that cant be put off. To make the most of current opportunities, North Iowa birders need to strike while the metals hot. Enjoy more wildlife tales online at Washburns Outdoor Journal at iawildlife.org/blog Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 January 28, 1962-May 22, 2019 BURCHINAL Deborah S. Debbie Bates, 57, of Burchinal died Wednesday (May 22, 2019) at MercyOne North Iowa-Hospice, with her beloved family by her side. A Funeral Service will be held at 2:00 pm on Tuesday (May 28, 2019) at Hogan Bremer Moore Colonial Chapel, 126 3rd St NE, Mason City with Pastor Dan Carlson officiating. Burial will follow in Mt. Vernon Township Cemetery, rural Burchinal. Debbie's family will greet relatives and friends on Monday afternoon (May 27, 2019) from 3 pm until 6 pm at Hogan Bremer Moore Colonial Chapel. Should friends desire, memorials may be left in Debbie's name in care of her family. The daughter of Lester and Gail (Knutson) Bates, Deborah Sue was born on January 28, 1962 in Mason City. She was raised with her siblings in Burchinal and attended and graduated from Clear Lake High School. Following her graduation, Debbie enrolled at Hamilton Business College in Mason City where she studied accounting; she also attended NIACC, excelling in her studies there as well. On August 18, 1984 Debbie would be blessed with the arrival of her son, Eric and quickly settled into her role as a mother. She would be united in marriage to Randy Hogan, and together they would welcome a daughter, Stephanie. Debbie was a loving and devoted mother. She was proud to attend each and every sporting and school event for her children and never missed an opportunity to cheer them on. Her kids would joke they could always tell when Debbie was in the stands, and felt sorry for whomever happened to be next to her! But jokes aside, Eric and Steph always came first and foremost in her life; they were her complete world. She cherished time spent with her kids and their friends, in earlier years countless sleepovers were hosted at the Bates household, having as much fun as the kids maybe more! Countless family nights were spent enjoying board and card games, stargazing in the back yard, camping, and enjoying one another's company. She was known for entertaining and loved hosting; the coffee pot was always on and everyone was welcome to Debbie's Coffee House. She was an avid animal lover and shared the love of many pet cats and her beloved dog, Phoebe. Debbie will be remembered for her kind heart and always seeing the good in people, as well as her sometimes quirky sense of humor and could always be counted on for a laugh. Those grateful in sharing in her life are her beloved children, Eric (Lindsey) Bates, North Liberty, and Stephanie Hogan, Burchinal; parents, Lester and Gail Bates, Burchinal; siblings, Brett Bates, Terry Bates and Laurie Duryee, and Becky Krull and Jarett Krull; and nieces, Jessica Krull, Charlie Krull, and Tessa Bates (Joe Gleason) and their children, Ben and Chloe; as well as extended family and many friends. She is preceded in death by her niece, Brooke Bates, and Brooke's mother, Kris Bates. You're precious and you're special. Bless You. Debbie Hogan Bremer Moore Colonial Chapel, 126 3rd St NE, Mason City. (641)423-2372. ColonialChapels.com February 27, 1941-May 23, 2019 CLEAR LAKE - Larry Quentin Snow, 78, of Lake City, MN, formerly of Clear Lake, died Thursday, May 23, 2019, at Lake City Care Center. A memorial service will be 2:00 p.m. Monday, June 3, 2019, at Ward-Van Slyke Colonial Chapel, 101 N. 4th St., Clear Lake. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service. Family suggests memorial contributions to Moose Lodge in Mason City or Mooseheart Child City and School Inc., a Moose Family affiliate. Larry was born February 27, 1941, the son of Jean Edwin and Fern Vaceria (Wilkinson) Snow in Spirit Lake, IA. At age five his family moved to Clear Lake where he attended country school through sixth grade. A graduate of Clear Lake High School, class of 1959, and member of the National Honor Society, Larry enlisted in the United States Army on June 8, 1959, and medically retired in 1960. Following his time in the Army, he married Dyan Groh and to this union three children were born. He later married Joan Lesser and adopted her two children. Larry worked as a journeyman engraver and pressman for Lee Enterprises (Globe Gazette) for 24 years; retiring in 1988. Larry was a member of the Mason City Moose Lodge 1328 and Disabled American Veterans. He was an avid Chicago Cubs fan throughout his life. He always cherished the time spent with his family and grandchildren, while hosting family barbecues and playing a good game of Mexican Train Dominoes. Larry is survived by five children, Kemberly (David) Drotzmann, Hermiston, OR, Tammy Jacky (Joe), Des Plaines, IL, Daryl (Elsa) Snow, Tempe, AZ, and Kevin Snow (Marni), Lake City, MN; many grandchildren and great-grandchildren; and a brother Harlan (Gayle) Snow, Clear Lake. He was preceded in death by his parents; daughter, Angella Gilyard; grandson, Christopher Ryan; great-grandson, Gabriel Vincent; and two brothers, Bruce S. Snow Sr., David E. Snow. Ward-Van Slyke Colonial Chapel, 101 N. 4th St., Clear Lake. 641-357-2193. ColonialChapels.com. May 12, 1950-April 28, 2019 MESERVEY --- Max G. Christie, 68, of the Meservey, IA, area, most recently a resident of the Westview Care Center, Britt, IA, died, April 28, 2019, at the Westview Care Center, Britt. Public graveside services will be Saturday, June 1, 2019, with full military honors provided by the Klemme Miltary Unit at the Ell Township Cemetery in Klemme. A public Celebration of Life and Reception will follow at Mat's Place in Garner, IA, from noon until 3 P.M.; casual attire is requested. Max George Christie, the son of Charles George and Charlotte Hazel (Lewis) Christie, was born May 12, 1950, at Forest City, IA. In his childhood the family moved to the Klemme area where he attended Klemme Schools graduating from high school there in the Class of 1968. Following graduation he enlisted in the enlisted in the United States Army. During his tenure he served for a time in Germany. He spent part of his Army years specializing in missile disassembly. Max served active duty for 4 years before being Honorably Discharged in Jan. 1972. He then served in the Army National Guard for a time and then transferred into the Seabees where he picked up some engineering training. Max was united in marriage to Carol Vierkant from 1972-1980. He later married Candace Kuester in 1982 at the First Reformed Church parsonage in Meservey. and they were together until 2016. Max moved to the Westview Care Center for health reasons in January 2018. Max was a hardworking man who excelled at whatever job he did. His engineering training, creative mind and work ethic were an asset to his employment roles. He had farmed with his brother Bill Christie for a time in addition to both of them working full time as well. Max was employed at Central Soya in Belmond for 15 years. He then worked at Stellar Industries in Garner for 10 years until his retirement at age 62. His 68 year life journey was definitely action packed, filled with diverse hobbies and pastimes. He loved time spent in the outdoors and especially those times camping out with his wife and kids, fishing excursions to northern Minnesota and Canada annually in the summer, and Sunday afternoons with his boys and other family get togethers at Charlotte and Charlie's farm. He had a love of motorcycles and shared this passion with friends and his son Kyle taking him on various two wheel journeys. Max favorite bike was a Triumph Bonneville, but he also owned Kawasaki's and Harleys. Max enjoyed collecting and restoring and working classic cars and along with his other career stops during life he shared his skills through a time of working at Herman Stadtlander's Garage in Meservey. He had restored a 61, and 62 Impala, as well as owning and meticulously maintaining a Mustang, Nova, 1967 Camaro, and Firebird. Other favorite pastimes included woodworking, history, coffee time at various places and breakfast at the Weathered Goose, Klemme. He loved to bake larger batches of chocolate chip cookies and an occasional pie to eat and share with others. In is younger days Max had a small rifle collection, looked forward to attending regional gun show, enjoyed hunting and target shooting. He spent many years proudly volunteering and showing his patriotism helping raise the flags at the Ell Township Cemetery. Those who crossed in Max's life journey will remember him in many diverse ways including his fun and playful wit and dry sense of humor, always brewing up the next trick or prank he could play on friends and family, a trait that he honed during his years in the service. He may have been reserved in nature, but once you were acquainted with him, he was loyal and became friends for life. He was occasionally a bit on the stubborn side, but his heart was filled with generosity and shown through as he often times provided for the needs and wants of everyone else, before those of his own. Many will also remember his characteristic of Max having a very innate sense of his surroundings. Max memory will continue to live on in the hearts and minds of his sons: Kyle Christie, Klemme, IA, and Cory (Kirsten) Kuester, Des Moines, IA; brother Bill (Kris) Christie, Garner, IA; former wife Candy Christie, Belmond, sisters-in-law: Becky Janssen, Belmond and Carrie (Steve) Gnerre, Naples, FL; brothers-in-law: Dan (Cindy) Brown, Surprise, AZ, Russ (Belinda) Brown, Spokane, WA, Bob Murphy, Dayton, IA; and many loving nieces, nephews, and many many friends. Memorial suggestions include One Vision, Hospice of North Iowa, or to the donor's choice. He was preceded in death by parents Charles and Charlotte, a brother Jesse, sister-in-law Judy Murphy, brothers-in-law: Rod Brown and Jim Janssen, and a nephew Colin Murphy. Andrews Funeral Home, Belmond. www.andrewsfuenralhomeandfloral.com 641-444-4474. Shorub wrote: Thank you Scott. I scored about 560, Q44 / V23 / IR 3. I realised that I did not apply most of the concepts I learnt in SC and Quants because of time pressure. Need to practice strategy in RC and CR. I am devising a new study plan to learn concepts and also practice under time pressure. Probably, will test myself again after a month. Any suggestions on the study plan? Target is 750. Shorub Posted from my mobile device Sure, Im happy to provide some advice. So since you scored a 560 (almost 200 points from your score goal), you need to make sure you are following a linear and structured study plan that allows you to individually learn each GMAT quant and verbal topic and then practice each topic until youve gained mastery. Let me expand on this idea further.If you are learning about Number Properties, you should develop as much conceptual knowledge about Number Properties as possible. In other words, your goal will be to completely understand properties of factorials, perfect squares, quadratic patterns, LCM, GCF, units digit patterns, divisibility, and remainders, to name a few concepts. After carefully reviewing the conceptual underpinnings of how to answer Number Properties questions, practice by answering 50 or more questions just from Number Properties. When you do dozens of questions of the same type one after the other, you learn just what it takes to get questions of that type correct consistently. If you aren't getting close to 90 percent of questions of a certain type correct, go back and seek to better understand how that type of question works, and then do more questions of that type until you get to around at least 90 percent accuracy in your training. If you get 100 percent of some sets correct, even better. Number Properties is just one example; follow this process for all quant topics.When you are working on learning to answer questions of a particular type, start off taking your time, and then seek to speed up as you get more comfortable answering questions of that type. As you do such practice, do a thorough analysis of each question that you don't get right. If you got a remainder question wrong, ask yourself why. Did you make a careless mistake? Did you not properly apply the remainder formula? Was there a concept you did not understand in the question? By carefully analyzing your mistakes, you will be able to efficiently fix your weaknesses and in turn improve your GMAT quant skills.Each time you strengthen your understanding of a topic and your skill in answering questions of a particular type, you increase your odds of hitting your score goal. You know that there are types of questions that you are happy to see, types that you would rather not see, and types that you take a long time to answer correctly. Learn to more effectively answer the types of questions that you would rather not see, and make them into your favorite types. Learn to correctly answer in two minutes or less questions that you currently take five minutes to answer. By finding, say, a dozen weaker quant areas and turning them into strong areas, you will make great progress toward hitting your quant score goal. If a dozen areas turn out not to be enough, strengthen some more areas.Follow a similar routine for verbal. For example, lets say you start by learning about Critical Reasoning. Your first goal is to fully master the individual topics: Strengthen the Argument, Weaken The Argument, Resolve the Paradox, etc. As you learn about each question type, do focused practice, so that you can track your skill in answering each type. If, for example, you get a weakening question wrong, ask yourself why. Did you make a careless mistake? Did you not recognize the specific question type? Were you doing too much analysis in your head? Did you skip over a keyword in an answer choice? You must thoroughly analyze your mistakes and seek to turn weaknesses into strengths by focusing on the question types you dread seeing and the questions you take a long time to answer correctly.When practicing Reading Comprehension, you need to develop a reading strategy that is both efficient and thorough. Reading too fast and not understanding what you have read are equally as harmful as reading too slow and using up too much time. When attacking Reading Comprehension passages, you must have one clear goal in mind: to understand the context of what you are reading. However, you must do so efficiently, so you need to avoid getting bogged down in the details of each paragraph and instead focus on understanding the main point of each paragraph. That being said, do not fall into the trap of thinking that you can just read the intro and the conclusion and thereby comprehend the main idea of a paragraph. As you read a paragraph, consider how the context of the paragraph relates to previous paragraphs, so you can continue developing your overall understanding of the passage. Furthermore, as you practice Reading Comprehension, focus on the exact types of questions with which you struggle: Find the Main Idea, Inference, Authors Tone, etc. As with Critical Reasoning, analyze your incorrect Reading Comprehension answers to better determine why you tend to get a particular question type wrong, and then improve upon your weaknesses. Keep in mind that GMAT Reading Comprehension passages are not meant to be easy to read. So, to better prepare yourself to analyze such passages, read magazines with similar content and style, such as The Economist, Scientific American, and Smithsonian.Sentence Correction is a bit of a different animal compared to Reading Comprehension and Critical Reasoning. There are three aspects to getting correct answers to GMAT Sentence Correction questions: what you know, such as grammar rules, what you see, such as violations of grammar rules and the logic of sentence structure, and what you do, such as carefully considering each answer choice in the context of the non-underlined portion of the sentence. To drive up your Sentence Correction score, you likely will have to work on all three of those aspects.Regarding what you know, first and foremost, you MUST know your grammar rules. Let's be clear, though: GMAT Sentence Correction is not really a test of knowledge of grammar rules. The reason for learning the grammar rules is so that you can determine what sentences convey and whether sentences are well-constructed. In fact, in many cases, incorrect answers to Sentence Correction questions are grammatically flawless. Thus, often your task is to use your knowledge of grammar rules to determine which answer choice creates the most logical sentence meaning and structure.This determination of whether sentences are well-constructed and logical is the second aspect of finding correct answers to Sentence Correction questions, what you see. To develop this skill, you probably have to slow way down. You won't develop this skill by spending less than two minutes per question. For a while, anyway, you have to spend time with each question, maybe even ten or fifteen minutes on one question sometimes, analyzing every answer choice until you see the details that you have to see in order to choose the correct answer. As you go through the answer choices, consider the meaning conveyed by each version of the sentence. Does the meaning make sense? Even if you can tell what the version is SUPPOSED to convey, does the version really convey that meaning? Is there a verb to go with the subject? Do all pronouns clearly refer to nouns? By slowing way down and looking for these details, you learn to see what you have to see in order to clearly understand which answer to a Sentence Correction question is correct.There is only one correct answer to any Sentence Correction question, there are clear reasons why that choice is correct and the others are not, and none of those reasons are that the correct version simply "sounds right." In fact, the correct version often sounds a little off at first. That correct answers may sound a little off is not surprising. If the correct answers were always the ones that sounded right, then most people most of the time would get Sentence Correction questions correct, without really knowing why the wrong answers were wrong and the correct answers were correct. So, you have to go beyond choosing what "sounds right" and learn to clearly see the logical reasons why one choice is better than all of the others.As for the third aspect of getting Sentence Correction questions correct, what you do, the main thing you have to do is be very careful. You have to make sure that you are truly considering the structures of sentences and the meanings conveyed rather than allowing yourself to be tricked into choosing trap answers that sound right but don't convey logical meanings. You also have to make sure that you put some real energy into finding the correct answers. Finding the correct answer to a Sentence Correction question may take bouncing from choice to choice until you start to see the differences that make all choices wrong except for one. Often, when you first look at the choices, only one or two seem obviously incorrect. Getting the right answers takes a certain work ethic. You have to take the time to see the differences between answers and to figure out the precise reasons that one choice is correct.To improve what you do when you answer Sentence Correction questions, seek to become aware of how you are going about answering them. Are you being careful and looking for logic and details, or are you quickly eliminating choices that sound a little off, and then choosing the best of the rest? If you choose an incorrect answer, consider what you did to arrive at that answer and what you could do differently to arrive at correct answers more consistently. Furthermore, see how many questions you can get correct in a row as you practice. If you break your streak by missing one, consider what you could do differently to extend your streak.As with your Critical Reasoning and Reading Comprehension regimens, after learning a particular Sentence Correction topic, engage in focused practice with 30 questions or more that involve that topic. As your skills improve, you w(ill want to practice with questions that test you on skills from multiple Sentence Correction topics.In order to follow the path described above, you may need some new quant and verbal materials, so take a look at the GMAT Club reviews for the best quant and verbal courses . You also may find it helpful to read the following article about The Phases of Preparing for the GMAT Feel free to reach out with any further questions. Good luck!_________________ Brazils rainforest warriors ready to battle Bolsonaro Indigenous people fear new president plans to encroach on their land Andres Schipani Dado Galdieri. 'Chasing after the enemy': Tribal chief Kruwyt fears the impact of Jair Bolsonaro's plans for the rainforest Rainforest under threat: Activists say the presence of indigenous people helps guard against deforestation Grand Old Partisan honors George Fogg, born this day of 1813. He studied at Dartmouth College and Harvard Law School. His career began working at an iron foundry, then shifted to publishing a newspaper. He won a state house term and was secretary of the state supreme court. Delegate for New Hampshire to the GOP's nationwide organizational meeting, Fogg signed, as National Committeeman, the call for the 1856 Republican National Convention. While secretary of the RNC, he backed Abraham Lincoln at the 1860 Republican National Convention. The President made him ambassador to Switzerland. In 1866, a Republican Governor named him to a U.S. Senate vacancy. Here is a Video Version of this article on YouTube: https://youtu.be/owivLEEe_gU Michael Zak is author of Back to Basics for the Republican Party, a history of GOP civil rights achievement. Each day, Michael Zak's grandoldpartisan YouTube channel and Grand Old Partisan blog celebrate more than sixteen decades of Republican heritage. And, see Speech Raves for audience feedback from his presentations in thirty-one states so far. He also wrote the 2005 Republican Freedom Calendar. Clarence Thomas cited Back to Basics for the Republican Party in a Supreme Court decision. Buy the book at Amazon See www.youtube.com/q?v=IzxKCiXc5Qc for a brief video of a Texas Republican praising Back to Basics for the Republican Party. "This is the most amazing book about politics that I have ever read. The Overview should be required reading for anyone with even a minor interest in government. The remainder is an enthralling history lesson that I will never forget. For years, we have all been misled about the true nature of the GOP. This is the real deal! Read it and be proud!" "Michael Zak wrote the definitive history of the GOP." "Back to Basics for the Republican Party is the most significant contribution to the Republican Party in the last twenty years apart from Ronald Reagan." "Back to Basics for the Republican Party is more important to our party now than ever before." and "one of the best books I ever read" 1. Fill in your name or an alias. Do not leave blank or use the name 'guest' or 'anonymous'. 2. No Nivul Peh. Profanity will be deleted. Year in and year out, thousands of people ride the Last Chance Tour Train through downtown Helena. Because of the creative relationship between downtown businesses and the chugging locomotive, each passage provides a marketing opportunity. "For years, the downtown has felt like they rely heavily on the train to get tourists into their businesses," said Lee Holmes, executive director of the Last Chance Tour Train. With a second tour added this year, there is double the opportunity to grab a tourist's attention. It was Sandy Shull, owner of Birds & Beasleys, who thought a partnership with the train was a great way to bring in new customers. She came up with the idea to list businesses on the train's boarding pass. The pass has nine coveted slots that nearly guarantee that the name of your businesses gets noticed. "About nine years ago I was in the old store thinking about how I could get more people into my store," Shull said. "Then the train drove by and I thought to myself, '20,000 people a year ride past my store.'" Shull isn't being hyperbolic. The Last Chance Train Tour services somewhere between 16,000 and 20,000 people per year. Shull explained that tourists see the downtown area, but getting them to come back on their own can be challenging. It was Shull's idea to offer riders a free gift. "I could say, '10% off at Birds & Beasleys,' but what the heck is Birds and Beasleys anyway?" Shull said. "But if I say 'free gift' then more people are incentivised." Shull said approximately 3,000 people per year come into her store because of the boarding pass. She said it's a huge return on investment. The businesses pay between $600 and $700, according to Holmes, and the gifts or discounts don't usually cost that much. "We make our money back and then some," Shull said. This year's Birds & Beasleys gift is a small sample of locally made honey, a journal and one of Jane Beasley's miniature bird portraits. This is relatively inexpensive, but highly unique. The first year, Birds & Beasleys was the only business to participate. Eventually, more businesses than could fit on a boarding pass wanted to be part of the partnership. Now, businesses rotate based on interest and locations, limited to one business per block. "As an ambassador we also encourage people to see the other stores in the area on the block," Shull said. "The ambassador's job is to spread the business around and act as a block representative." This also helps cultivate a friendly downtown atmosphere in Helena. Holmes said when he drives the train he gets lots of comments about the friendliness of downtown. Shull stands outside and waves a sign that says "come get your free gift." The tour is such a part of the business that Birds & Beasleys has an alarm that goes off when the train is coming. Without fail, one of the store's employees will drop what they are doing and rush outside with the sign. "It really works," Shull said. "I ask people all the time, 'What brings you to Birds & Beasleys?' and they say 'Well, you waved at me. I was on the train.'" Shull believes it's the personal touch that makes a big difference. On this year's boarding pass, riders will find offers from Birds & Beasleys, Imagine Jewelry and Gifts, LaPa Grill, Sage & Oats Trading Post, Bert & Ernies Dining Saloon and Grill, Holter Museum of Art, Jmacs Pottery, Fire Tower Coffee House and Great Northern Carousel. LaPa, Fire Tower and Sage & Oats are new to this year's boarding pass. Michelle and Major Robinson, co-owners of Sage & Oats, said last year was their first summer in business and they constantly saw the train. "Our store is unique compared to many others so we decided to reach out," Major said. "Just being inside the store is a big part of shopping here." Michelle explained that she and her husband have a background in the amusements industry and that when they saw something as dynamic as the train, they knew it was a great way to get people into their store. Nord Johnson, owner of Fire Tower, said he has spent the past seven years watching the train go by and wanted to get involved. He heard the announcement of what businesses they were passing and thought to himself "I want that." "The tour train has the biggest impact on tourism in downtown," Johnson said. "What do people want when they are visiting a place? Fun places to eat and interesting places to shop." In talking with other business owners on his block, Johnson said they decided it doesn't matter who acts as the block ambassador as long as they can get people to come back to the block. Getting people to stay downtown is the overall goal, Johnson said. The story is similar at Sage & Oats. Major said that since the store opened, they have been working to promote the "Jackson Street gang," a concept to include surrounding businesses. "Because we are new, we are hoping this literally puts us on the map," Michelle said. "We want people to see that Jackson Street is just as important as Last Chance Gulch." For Shull, the partnership is a match made in heaven. "Lee is all about community collaboration and we think the same way about the business relationship," Shull said. "He has a captive audience and we like new customers. It's a win-win for the train and us." Holmes said the partnership is pretty significant to keeping the nonprofit train tour running. They promote the businesses on the boarding pass, the tour, and with 30-second commercials at the Helena Regional Airport. "It really helps us present Helena," Holmes said. "The Capital complex isn't personal, but when you get downtown you really feel the pulse of the community." Love 6 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. With Emily Dean filing on Wednesday, four are in the running for the two Helena City Commission seats up for grabs in this falls municipal elections. Incumbent commissioners Ed Noonan and Kali Wicks are up for re-election on Nov. 5 and will be challenged by newcomers Dean and Kayt Bonahoom. Noonan joined the commission in 2015 alongside Robert Farris-Olsen, who was replaced by Wicks five months ago when he left to serve in the Montana House of Representatives. Dean sought what would become Wicks seat back in December, while Bonahoom is making her first run at the commission. According to Lewis and Clark County treasurer/clerk and recorder Paulette DeHart, all candidates must be U.S. citizens and registered voters over the age of 18 and have resided in Helena for at least 60 days prior to election day. Residents have until 5 p.m. on June 17 to file with the county elections board for a $90 fee. A primary election, if necessary, is scheduled for Sept. 10. As of Friday, the candidates are: Kayt Bonahoom Bonahoom, CEO of Gold Rush Financial Management Co., said she quickly became comfortable observing and speaking at city commission meetings before deciding to run. She has considered an entry into politics in the past few years and even considered running for the Montana Legislature but later decided against it. Showing up and being a member of the community who cares enough to get up and voice their opinion on different topics, you start to feel like well, gosh maybe I should be on the other side of things, as you see the way other people make decisions, Bonahoom said. A big part of it was just kind of feeling like a lot of the commissioners theyd have their public hearings and theyd listen, but it didnt seem like they were listening (to) what the public did bring to the table. Theyd already kind of made up their minds before they got into their seats and had to hold the public hearing. Bonahoom said transparency of commission proceedings and better coordination between the programs the commission authorizes and the city staff that run them are important to her. She said she would bring to the commission the perspective of a local entrepreneur with knowledge of city business practices, which could help generate necessary revenue while still implementing progressive change. Ive grown up in Helena, Im a business owner and know a lot about Helena, and I think Id be a great representative, Bonahoom said. Emily Dean Dean, a communications specialist for the Montana School Boards Association, was one of six finalists considered to replace Robert Farris-Olsen in December and previously served as student body president of Carroll College. I think that right now Helena is coming to a crossroads and I think we need to start making a few priorities to ensure we are securing a strong and stable future for our community, Dean said. Dean emphasized creation of opportunities for education and jobs, the latter of which she believes would be well-served by partnering Helenas nonprofit organizations and colleges. We live in a community that has a lot of really great resources, so in terms of improving access to opportunities, I think that means adequate and affordable housing, I think that means access to health care, Dean said. Dean also called for more transparency within the City/County Building, noting the difficulty of obtaining an advance copy of the citys preliminary budget for the next two fiscal years, which was presented Monday. I think that we need to make sure that we are reaching out and proactive and providing information to the community, Dean said. And I think with that youll get a lot more community involvement in the decisions were making and therefore make better decisions on behalf of the entire community and not just those who have access to the information or understand the process of getting that information. Ed Noonan Noonan, an adjunct professor at Carroll College, is running for his second full term on the commission after his 2015 election alongside Farris-Olsen. When asked about the most important issues he sees coming into play in a new term, Noonan said the commission must remain vigilant in investing in downtown Helena while closely monitoring city water resources over the long term. We are lucky, we have two sources of water right now. But we also have the third source, which is the vast underground reserve, Noonan said. And we havent really tapped into that, and the issue there is that in the next few years the federal government is going to look at the historic use of that water and start assigning it to entities that have used it. So I think we need to prepare for that evaluation and in order to do so we probably have to find ways to take more advantage of that water source. Noonan also spoke about the value of viewing Helena and surrounding southern Lewis and Clark County as a valley community rather than separate entities to ensure better community planning. We too often think about the city and the county when, in terms of our resources, work, the educational system, we really are one community, Noonan said. In saying that it sounds like Im a city person who wants to get more taxes, but thats not what Im thinking of. Kali Wicks Wicks, the senior manager of government relations for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Montana, joined the commission in December after being selected from 13 residents who applied to replace Farris-Olsen. I am a strong believer in servant leadership, and have been an active member of the Helena community for the past 12 years, Wicks said. For a potential full term of four years, Wicks named as her principal issues transparency and accessibility among city government, economic development, public lands protection and affordable housing. Wicks said she has firsthand experience with the latter, admitting that she struggled to obtain affordable housing when she originally moved to Helena to work for the state Department of Commerce. The City Commission must work hand in hand with the county and like-minded partners to ensure that we are able to efficiently use available funding and take advantage of existing grant programs to create new projects here in Helena, Wicks said. We also need to ensure that city and county policies are workable for those interested in new affordable housing developments. Economically speaking, Wicks said she hopes to see more partnership between Montana Business Assistance Connection and the Helena Area Chamber of Commerce to ensure growth and attraction of a strong workforce. Wicks serves as a local government representative to both groups. With my background in workforce and community development, I know that economic success is crucial to a communitys prosperity, as is listening to our citizens and their ideas, Wicks said. 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. MACON Paul Wells was 20 years old when he decided to join the military in 1950, but he wasnt sure they wanted him. We took a train down to St. Louis, and they told us Lackland (Air Force Base) was full, he said. And we would have to come back. That was Wells' first attempt to join the service, which he finally accomplished in December 1951 after several more delays. He would go on to serve for nearly two years in Korea and elsewhere, earning a Purple Heart and other medals and commendations. Wells is among the Decatur-area veterans who are subjects of the Herald & Review's "Stories of Honor" series, which recognizes those who have served or are currently serving in the U.S. armed forces. A committee chose which servicemen and servicewomen are featured. His second attempt to join the military, several months after the first, also was not successful. This time, he was told: Youre too close up on the draft board list, he recalled. You cant join. So the young farmer from Macon decided to wait to join. He made plans to get married in August 1951. A couple of months before the wedding day, the military suggested he try to enlist again. I said I would probably get killed here at home if I did that, Wells said. But the Army eventually got its man: After a three-week honeymoon, he was drafted, but was allowed 90 days to harvest his crops. In December 1951, as war was raging in Korea, Wells was finally sworn into the service. After basic training, he spent 17 days on a ship heading for Japan, where he would learn how trucks were assembled. Shortly afterward, he was sent to Korea, assigned to the 23rd Infantry Regiment, 2nd division, Company A. We were all up front, Wells said about his place as he prepared for battle. The second was in the back, the relief. The young soldier found himself climbing the hilly terrain daily, carrying the necessary equipment to fight a war. I thought we were going to die, Wells said. It was rough. The environment was made worse by the uninvited guests sharing their bunkers: rats, which also stole their C-rations. Shortly after arriving in the country, Wells and his company were assigned to take back Old Baldy Hill, he said, an important strategic location in western Korea often battled over. We wanted it back again, he said. Wells job during the conflict was assistant BAR (Browning Automatic Rifle) man. His equipment consisted of a heavy rifle with large cartridges and shells. As the company approached Baldy Hill, Wells found himself in combat with mortar shells falling all around him, digging in as fast as he could. We just took turns, he said. While Wells was digging, a mortar fragment hit his left shoulder. His wound was not able to be treated until the next evening, as the medic with his unit focused on those with more severe wounds. I stayed at the bottom of the foxhole, he said. We had been there all night and all day. Although the injury wasn't life-threatening, it has always been a sign of his time in battle. The Wells children saw the scar throughout their own lives. Mark Wells, who nominated his father for the "Stories of Honor" recognition, felt admiration for what his father went through. "That permanent scar has been a constant reminder of his time in Korea," his son said. Paul Wells said the injury was painful, but he struggled more with a negative reaction to penicillin, a common antibiotic. I was in the hospital longer with the penicillin reaction than I was with the wound, he said. Wells' discharge papers show that he was awarded a variety of medals and commendations besides the Purple Heart, including a United Nations Service Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Combat Infantry Badge and Korean Service Medal with Bronze Service Star. From his time in the service, some of the best memories involved his time with a company of Marines. Now, they ate good, Wells said. The remainder of his service was spent with an Army truck company, then back to the United States. He was discharged in November 1953. Upon returning, Wells found that he was not honored by his country in the same way as his three brothers who served in the previous war less than 10 years earlier. They were treated with a lot more respect in World War II, he said. We were in the Forgotten War. It was just a conflict. Soldiers returning from the Vietnam War in the 1960s and '70s were met with mixed, and sometimes harsh, greetings because of the controversial nature of that war. Now that was a sad situation, Wells said. And while he wasnt greeted with parades, Wells had an excellent reason for excitement waiting at home. By the time I got home I had a daughter, he said. She was 11 months old, and I hadnt seen her. Contact Donnette Beckett at (217) 421-6983. Follow her on Twitter: @donnettebHR Love 1 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. 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 Leadership is not a skill that just comes by birth. It comes with years of experience, mentoring and above all, learning from failures. William Sim (President, Heilind Asia Pacific) is a true manifestation of this statement. He boasts rich industry experience of more than 30 years which entails holding key positions in the semiconductor manu-facturing business as well as the global distribution business of electronics. Williams professional journey began at Philips Semiconductors(now NXP Semi-conductors), where in he was initially involved in sales & marketing while serving as the General Manager for South Asia Pacific at the end of his tenure. Post serving Philips Semiconductors for about 25 years, he moved-on to WPG Holdings, the No.1 Global Semiconductor Distributor and became the Senior Vice President of Global Operations. He also served as the Vice President of Global Alliance at Arrow Electronics, two years prior to joining Heilind Asia Pacific, a well-renowned interconnect specialist as its President. All through this challen-ging yet content journey, William felt extremely blessed to have worked for many reputable MNCs in both verticals of manufacturing and distribution verticals.It was after plunging into the electronics realm, William learnt a piece of advice from one of his former CEOs, which is People are the single most important resource in any organization which drives all other resources. Till date, this statement has impacted both his personal and professional lives to a great extent. He accentuates on the fact that no matter how visionary a corporate mission is, how good a strategy is, how much investments it acquires, it is ultimately people who accomplish great things for any organi-zation. In fact at Heilind Asia Pacific, William always ascertains to create a culture of valuing people, which in-turn yield the firm with great employee satisfaction. He vests his beliefs in empowering each individual in the organi-zation and engage maximum of them in decision making, thus giving them the ownership in each business endeavour. This is what William strongly preaches at Heilind Asia Pacific besides advocating human rights and promoting sustainable development. William gives his employees extensive freedom to learn & grow in tandem with the organization, and more precisely infuse the feeling of belongingness into each one of them. Even when they commit mistakes for the first time, he fosters them to learn & correct those mistakes instead of inflicting a penalty right away on them. He further respects suggestions or ideas from each of his employees and allows them to walk through his door any time. By and large, his primordial aim is to set goals for his company, communicate them well among his people, fine-tune strategies as & when needed, track progress seamlessly and eventually recognize, celebrate and reward the success of his people. "William gives his employees extensive freedom to learn and grow in tandem with the organization, more precisely infuse the feeling of belongingness into each one of them" Presenting people the right recognition is an important aspect that William always emphasizes on. Each milestone accomplished by the company gets featured in its newsletter, while all the teams are allowed to celebrate for the same. Moreover, all employees, including the ones confined to warehouses at Heilind Asia Pacific, proactively participate in the yearly outing and take some quality time off work. No wonder, William takes utmost pride in Heilind Asia Pacific for be-holding a very low staff turnover; for instance, out of 30 people who joined the firm during the inception year, 27 still remain. Today, he is extremely elated to have people who clearly comprehend and support the companys business goals. Extended Value Partners & Suppliers Not just his people, William extremely values his partners and suppliers at Heilind Asia Pacific, as he considers distribution as a relationship business. Since the firm is dependent on suppliers and customers for its distribution business, he pledges its prime business goal is to retain the very essence of distribution through the concept - Distribution As It Should Be. This concept includes considering distribution as a relationship business, catering to the entire range of customers, appli-cations & market segment and being a stocking distributor with large inventory, and also bringing quick TAT with no Earlier this month, a court in Canada delivered aagainst the operators of a website Afterlife Network Inc. - which publishes and profits from publishing obituaries and photographs. The Court found that the Defendants act of posting the obituaries and photographs authored by the Applicant and other persons, amounted to copyright infringement. The Court ordered the defendant to desist from further acts of infringement and awarded statutory ($10million) and aggravated damages ($10million) to the Applicant. Thomson vs Afterlife Network Inc. The Applicant, Dawn Thomson instituted the action in a representative capacity on behalf of herself and other persons (Applicants) who authored respective obituaries and photographs posted by the Defendant on its website without authorisation. The Applicants also sought damages for the alleged infringement of their moral rights in the obituaries and photographs. On the claim for copyright infringement, the Court first determined that the obituaries and photographs satisfied the requirements of originality in that the Applicants, respectively personally authored and chose the obituaries and photographs using their own skill and judgment, choosing their own words to convey the appropriate message about the life of the deceased person and their funeral arrangements. Paragraph 34. The Defendant, having posted the obituaries and photographs without authorisation, infringed the copyright of the Applicants. On the claim for infringement of moral rights, the Court held that moral rights infringement has both a subjective and objective element and that both elements must be present for a claim to succeed. Paragraph 41. While the subjective element requires the authors own subjective evidence as to how his/her honour or reputation has been affected, the objective element requires an objective evaluation based on public or expert opinion. Paragraph 43. The court found that the Applicants satisfied the subjective element by showing that amongst other concerns, they were mortified that others would think that they were profiting from their bereavement. Paragraph 46. However, they failed to satisfy the objective element as there was no public opinion or expert evidence provided nor was there any authority that suggests the Court could make such determination of prejudice to honour or reputation without objective evidence. Paragraph 47. On the claim for a (wide) injunction, the court held that the Applicants needed to show that, besides the works which formed the subject matter of the suit in the first place, the Applicants needed to show that they had other works which the Defendant may likely infringe on. The Applicants only had specific obituaries and photographs in which they own copyright and so the court refused the claim for a wide injunction but granted an injunction to restrain the Defendant from further infringing on the Applicants specific works. Paragraphs 49 and 50. Comment This case reminds one of some of the arguments put forward to support the establishment of limitation and exceptions for digitisation of archival materials. There are suggestions that most copyright objections to digitisation of copyright-protected archival materials do not stem from copyright perspectives. Instead, possible copyright owners decline consent on grounds privacy and/or require further information on the context of the digitisation project. This case reminds one of some of the arguments put forward to support the establishment of limitation and exceptions for digitisation of archival materials. There arethat most copyright objections to digitisation of copyright-protected archival materials do not stem from copyright perspectives. Instead, possible copyright owners decline consent on grounds privacy and/or require further information on the context of the digitisation project. Archival materials in that sense are personal and family documents much like the obituaries and related photographs in the present case. In these circumstances, is the archival institution likely to face copyright infringement suits? What is the likelihood of success or failure of such suits? [In the light of damages of $20million, these are real questions]. Lets take a look at South Africa. Moneyweb (Pty) Limited v Media 24 Limited and Another, the High Court of South Africa held that 4 of the contested news articles did not enjoy copyright protection because those articles failed the originality test. In applying the originality test, the court considered whether the articles were verbatim report of the interview transcripts on which they were based and concluded that it was not evident how much of the article was the writers own work or a repetition of what the writer heard. Paragraphs 25, 28, 34 and 39. Based on that test, it is likely that South African courts may find obituaries sufficiently original if the words are the authors own words. By extension, copyright infringement may be an additional/alternative route (to privacy laws, for instance) to stop offending digitisation projects. Depending on the jurisdiction, the originality threshold can be quite low. In, the High Court of South Africa held that 4 of the contested news articles did not enjoy copyright protection because those articles failed the originality test. In applying the originality test, the court considered whether the articles were verbatim report of the interview transcripts on which they were based and concluded that it was not evident how much of the article was the writers own work or a repetition of what the writer heard. Paragraphs 25, 28, 34 and 39. Based on that test, it is likely that South African courts may find obituaries sufficiently original if the words are the authors own words. By extension, copyright infringement may be an additional/alternative route (to privacy laws, for instance) to stop offending digitisation projects. Following from this, a copyright infringement claim may succeed in stopping an archival institution from including specific works within a planned digitisation project. But it may not succeed to stop the digitisation project entirely. In the present case, the Canadian court granted injunction to restrain further use of the applicants work but not for the other works on the defendants website. For archival institutions, the context of digitisation will heighten or reduce the risk of copyright infringement claim. In the Thomson case, the Applicants were not averse to the obituaries being published. They had in fact sent the obituaries and photographs to the respective funeral homes that handled the burial of their loved ones. What they found reprehensible was the defendants actions and how it portrayed them. Where an archival institutions digitisation project is perceived as having the appropriate context, the risk of copyright infringement claim is likely to be low. The amount of damages awarded in the present case - $20million - strengthens the argument that archival institutions could face significant damages if they handle archival materials in a manner that is reprehensible to their patrons. The Canadian court did not consider whether the defendants use of the obituaries and photographs was fair dealing. It may be assumed that the court considered fair dealing a defence stricto sensu and as such expected that it must be raised by the defendant before it may be considered. The present case was undefended, and the Applicants proved their case on a balance of probabilities. See paragraph 31. However, the Applicants produced evidence to show that the defendant had claimed copyright in the obituaries and photographs they shared and sold other products together with the obituaries. See paragraphs 5 and 62. The courts consideration and acceptance of this evidence may be construed as an indirect way of considering the fair dealing defence. South Africa presently has a closed list of activities (research or private study, criticism or review, reporting current events) permissible as fair dealing for literary and musical works. See section 12(1) of the Copyright Act. In Moneyweb (Pty) Limited v Media 24 Limited and Another, the defendant (Media 24) raised the fair dealing defence. The South African Court felt it necessary to first consider whether the defendants use of Moneywebs articles was fair dealing. The outcome of the fair dealing consideration would determine the necessity or otherwise of going into the question of whether the copying was substantial as to be infringing. In the courts words it would be fruitless then to engage in a determination as to whether there has been substantial reproduction of an article covered by section 12(8)(a) of the Act. See paragraph 55 of the judgment in Money web. By extension, the fair dealing defence would only be available to archival institutions if their activities fall within the closed list. South Africa presently has a closed list of activities (research or private study, criticism or review, reporting current events) permissible as fair dealing for literary and musical works. See section 12(1) of the. In, the defendant (Media 24) raised the fair dealing defence. The South African Court felt it necessary to first consider whether the defendants use of Moneywebs articles was fair dealing. The outcome of the fair dealing consideration would determine the necessity or otherwise of going into the question of whether the copying was substantial as to be infringing. In the courts words it would be fruitless then to engage in a determination as to whether there has been substantial reproduction of an article covered by section 12(8)(a) of the Act. See paragraph 55 of the judgment in Money web. By extension, the fair dealing defence would only be available to archival institutions if their activities fall within the closed list. However, if the Copyright Amendment Bill becomes law (or at least the portion proposing an expanded fair use defence), archival institutions may be in a better position. This is especially so where profit-making may not be the goal. The proposed fair use defence (Section 12A) may avail archival institutions which act in the appropriate context no profit-making, nature of the use, preservation of and access to the collections of libraries, archives and museums; research purposes, etc. However, if thebecomes law (or at least the portion proposing an expanded fair use defence), archival institutions may be in a better position. This is especially so where profit-making may not be the goal. The proposed fair use defence (Section 12A) may avail archival institutions which act in the appropriate context no profit-making, nature of the use, preservation of and access to the collections of libraries, archives and museums; research purposes, etc. Time will tell. With Intel's processors in the news since January 2018 over CPU flaws, it should come as no surprise to see AMD urging government agencies and corporate bodies to "keep an open mind about their CPU and GPU options when purchasing their fleet of desktops, notebooks and servers". A recent case study conducted by the government's Digital Transformation Agency, highlights that despite a majority market share by competitors, "AMDs processors offer a compelling solution with performance, security and reliability all whilst helping organisations and agencies reconsider TCO on ICT hardware". The study isn't yet public at DTA's site, but AMD tells us that it "tested AMDs Ryzen Pro CPUs with integrated Vega graphics across a suite of desktop computers from Dell, Lenovo and HP brought to light the similarities in performance between AMD and its main competitor". From the results of the case study, AMD says "it is clear that whilst there is a heavy skew among government bodies and corporations towards AMDs competitor, the performance difference of the processors appears to be unnoticeable among the two competing brands", and that "it is therefore in the best interests of customers to consider both solutions". AMD naturally states that it "challenges the way that organisations and bodies procure their technologies, and would encourage them to take all options into consideration during the procurement process. "Rather than defaulting to desktops, notebooks and servers with processors created by their competitor, AMD urges government agencies and large corporate bodies to consider AMD when making decisions about their selection of processor". Peter Chambers, managing director of Sales, Asia Pacific & Japan at AMD, said: "AMD has been striving over the past five years to manufacture a line of products that can meet and exceed that of its competition. Currently we are the only company with extensive capabilities in both CPU and GPU markets, providing industry leading processors with superior graphics performance. "AMD systems offer fleet management solutions, place a serious emphasis on security and dont artificially limit feature sets based on product positioning. AMD is more than capable of delivering on the requirements of the largest organisations, all while helping keep an eye on the bottom line. Here is the "final Dept of Jobs & Small Business-approved study/review" that has been provided to iTWire: "Traditionally Australian government and corporate buyers have not had an option to purchase chip sets from other vendors. In recent years AMD have presented an alternative range of products, designed to disrupt the existing monopolisation of the computer-processor market. "In order to gage the strength of their product, AMD recently provided the Department of Jobs and Small Business with a suite of Ryzen based desktops for review. The results highlighted that AMD products have the capacity to go head-to-head with competitors on performance and features. "Put to the test by government and corporate clients across the country, AMD's Ryzen Pro processors and Vega GPU solutions stack up as a powerful yet cost-effective alternative for organisations looking to get more from their technology spend without compromise. "Australia's Digital Transformation Agency is tasked with the role of assisting government departments and agencies in undergoing digital transformation. The agency approached the federal Department of Jobs and Small Business at the end of 2017 to evaluate Ryzen Pro enterprise chipsets built on AMD's CPU and GPU expertise in preparation for the department's migration to Windows 10. "The department's Technology and Services Group evaluated desktop computers from Dell, Lenovo and HP, all based on AMD's R5 and R7 Accelerated Processing Units (APUs) which combine the CPU and GPU onto a single chip. These demonstrated no noticeable performance differences to the departments current desktop computers. "Along with suitability for day-to-day computing tasks, the review also considered AMD's compatibility with Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) and imaging deployment as well as driver support and driver pack availability." The review stated: "There were no issues with SCCM deployment and no issues were encountered using AMD-based machines running normal tasks". "While developing their suite of Ryzen processors, AMD placed emphasis on product compatibility. While AMD machines are not compatible with Intel's proprietary vPro remote management platform, AMD instead relies on the open industry-wide Dash standard. Dash's remote management tools are capable of supporting both AMD and Intel systems within the same environment. "AMD also offers greater flexibility when it comes to managing large fleets by incorporating Dash across its complete Ryzen Pro stack of R3, R5 and R7 processors. Meanwhile, Intel only includes vPro technology with its Core i5 and i7 processors. AMD stands by their belief that this tactic forces government and enterprise customers to either forgo important management and security features or unnecessarily upgrade to more expensive hardware when buying Intel. "AMD's approach ensures that even the entry-level AMD Ryzen Pro 3 is suitable for fleet deployment, whereas Intel withholds these features from its Core i3 products. "Dash also offers the advantage of "out of band" manageability, ensuring that devices can be managed remotely even if they are offline, asleep or shutdown. It is also possible to manage Dash systems in the SCCM infrastructure employed by many large organisations to manage assets, eliminating the need to stick with vPro. "AMD's security credentials also make Ryzen a safe choice for government agencies and corporates which need to place information security above all else. "All of Windows 10's latest security features have been enabled on Ryzen Pro, including TPM 2.0 encryption standards, Device Guard for device security, Credential Guard for identity security and Windows Information Protection for data security. Meanwhile, AMD's Guard MI secure boot technology protects against threats such as malware which attempts to hide from the operating system during a boot sequence. "It is also important to note that AMD processors are not vulnerable to hardware security flaws such as Meltdown, Foreshadow, TLBleed and AMT Backdoor. "When you weigh up the options, there's no reason for government agencies and large corporates to disregard AMD as a viable option when making decisions about their selection of desktop processors. The trials conducted on the Ryzen-based desktops, highlight that AMD is more than capable of delivering on the fleet management and security requirements of the largest organisations, all while helping keep an eye on the bottom line." Competition regulators world-wide are grappling with the rise of dominant digital platforms like Facebook and Google, and are debating whether current competition laws need to be reframed in response, the chair of Australias competition regulator, the ACCC, Rod Sims, has said. Sims, who heads the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, said in a speech on Friday that "a global discussion among anti-trust authorities on how should they respond to acquisitions by big digital platforms of start-ups, while small, may evolve into significant competitors. At the 2019 Competition Law Conference in Sydney, Sims said Google and Facebook had commercial incentives to strategically acquire nascent firms, even if the chance of those firms ultimately posing a competitive threat was small. Arguably, Facebooks acquisition of Instagram eliminated the threat of a substantial potential competitor, Sims said. Over the past 12 years, Facebook acquired 66 companies for US$23 billion, Sims noted, adding that between 2004 and 2014, Google acquired 145 companies for US$23 billion. Sims said one question being posed was whether the forward-looking test for proposed mergers, which questioned if a transaction would substantially lessen competition, remained adequate in these circumstances. The challenges involved for competition authorities in dealing with such issues should not be understated, he said. Some have argued that preventing large digital platforms acquiring small start-ups interferes with the incentives to innovate in the first instance. This perspective appears to be based on a view that large digital platforms are uniquely placed to develop and monetise the innovations of small start-ups. In my view, merger law should focus on whether the acquisition interferes with the competitive process and recognise that the process of competition for the market is not the same as the process of competition within the market. If the prospect that the target will become an effective competitor is small, but the potential increase in competition and consumer welfare is large, greater weight should be put on the potential for competition. Sims said the ACCC will provide its views on the importance of potential competition in the final report of its Digital Platforms Inquiry, to be provided to the Treasurer on 30 June. In his speech, Sims also addressed the current debate about whether the objectives of competition law should be broadened to include issues like consumer privacy, economic inequality and even political influence. While the aims are admirable, indeed compelling, I do not believe that broadening the objectives of competition law is the best way to promote them, Sims said. Widening the objectives of competition law is likely to reduce its effectiveness. If we try to get competition law to achieve everything it may end up achieving nothing. On two recent competition law matters, Sims said the ACCC was considering its options in response to the recent Pacific National-Aurizon judgment, in which the Federal Court allowed PN to acquire Aurizons Acacia Ridge Terminal on the basis of a behavioural undertaking offered by PN. The failings of behavioural undertakings are recognised globally, Sims said. In the mobile services sector, where the ACCC recently decided to oppose the merger of TPG and Vodafone, overseas examples have demonstrated that markets with four competitors often result in better outcomes for consumers. We see this currently playing out overseas in markets as diverse as Canada and France. Indeed, recently the Canadian Competition Bureau has said that mobile wireless pricing is much lower in regions where there are four players; prices are high and stable where there are three players. In the commentary on the TPG-Vodafone, I think there is reflected a belief that the scale or financial strength of a competitor determines their competitiveness. We dont agree with this. A stable three-player market facing no threats will likely lead to stable and so-called rational pricing. Sims said rational pricing should not be confused with the consumer interest. Consumers need the benefits of vigorous competition in order to obtain competitive pricing and the innovation that is in their interests, he said. I was at OHare International Airport in Chicago when the news broke. It was spring break for me, and I was fortunate to be able to travel to Florida for my familys annual vacation. At my gate, I saw a student carrying an SAT book, studying for the upcoming test. This was not an uncommon occurrence, considering sites such as Prep Scholar recommend studying between 40 and 100 hours. Yet it's likely people like Lori Loughlins daughter, Olivia Jade, didnt come close to studying that amount of time. Her parents are accused of paying $500,000 in bribes to get their daughters admitted to the University of Southern California as members of the crew team. Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli have pleaded not guilty. Children of the rich and famous already have advantages: private schools, large donations, and legacy admissions, to name a few. Her name alone likely could have guaranteed her a spot at many high-ranked schools. But it wasnt enough for these high-profile parents. Were their childrens grades and extra-curriculars that disastrous and embarrassing that they began participating in illegal activities? Did they think it was fair to take away the chances from someone more deserving, perhaps that of a kid from a small town in Central Illinois? The system is already stacked against the normal student. My family, for one, is not famous. There are no legacies to rely on or enough money to donate to persuade universities to accept me, nor would I want these advantages. Thousands of students study, work hard and earn the scores that the students in the scandal had handed to them. I imagine it is not just me who is outraged. What if a student-athlete in Kansas was the one next in line, or it was the young girl who spent her weekends dedicating her time to community service that had her chance stolen from her? Sadly, the result is that trust in the system is lost. Reading reports of students wanting to show their loan applications to prove they got in through the front door is surreal. How can a hopeful, hardworking student feel confident that everyone is playing by the rules when taking standardized tests, and how can I be sure that there is no cheating when placing extra curriculars on their applications? As the plane took off that day, I was left thinking about all of the damage these parents did to the system. Studying, taking notes and working hard on homework assignments are how deserving students earn grades to get into a university. What these parents failed to accept is that the education system is designed to reward students who succeed in school and who demonstrate leadership and service. What happens when these students who are part of the scandal enter these colleges? Did the parents involved wonder how their child would succeed in college if they had no confidence in them doing well in high school? One can only assume their illegal activities to get them into the school could possibly aid in them graduating as well. I ended my trip by boarding a plane back to Chicago. I passed an older woman wearing a Harvard Law School sweatshirt and briefly talked with her about her time at Harvard. She was neither famous nor wealthy when she applied; she earned her way through hard work, walking through the front door of Harvard on her own. Hopefully, more people like her can offer a regained confidence in the admissions process. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 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. Sabanto was at Bristol's farm near Fairmont in mid-May and used the tractor to plant about 200 acres of soybeans. Rupp, who grew up on a farm in northwest Iowa, said planting in Nebraska showed him how different the conditions are from his home state. "It was a great experience," he said. "Shane Bristol really educated us." Bristol, for his part, called the experience "awesome." He said he found out about Sabanto through Ag Astra, a Kansas-based commodities trading advisory firm he works with. At the time, Sabanto did not have a farm in Nebraska lined up, so Bristol volunteered. "It was a really cool experience to be the first and only one in Nebraska," Bristol said. Bristol said the autonomous tractor is not cheaper to use nor is it faster. The big advantage, he said, is that it frees up a farmer's time. The tractor is controlled by a laptop computer, and though it does have to be monitored, a farmer can do other things while it is planting. "You can have one guy doing the job of two," Bristol said. Coca-Cola apparently believes the second time is a charm. After waiting nearly 40 years since first introducing New Coke, only to have it bomb, the company is bringing the ill-fated product back to the world that didnt want it in the first place. As part of a promo its doing with the producers of Stranger Things, now entering its third season, Coke will introduce a limited number of New Coke cans in both the show and in real-life in early July. Re-introducing a flop is sure to add even more folk lore to a global corporate heavyweight that has been oozing its own self-made mythology since company founder Asa Candler in 1891 first erected the iron-clad veil of secrecy that surrounds the one of the worlds most famous recipes. Heres a sampling of that legendary lore: Keep it in the vault May 13, 2019 Sara E. Sally Salisbury Stoddard died May 13, 2019, at age 90. She was born in St. Paul, Minn., to Allen and Blanche (McFadden) Salisbury. She grew up in Iowa, married in India and settled in Nebraska. Sally was a teacher, a linguist, an art photographer, a writer and a mentor. She traveled extensively and particularly loved India. Friends remember her welcoming smile and ability to talk with anyone. She took a special interest in encouraging young women to believe in themselves. Sally is survived by children Martha, Andrew and Hugh; grandchildren Micah and Aaron; nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband of 62 years, Robert Bob Stoddard, and brothers Gerald and Allen Salisbury Jr. A reception celebrating her life will be 2-4 p.m. June 9 at the Unitarian Church, 6300 A St., with a sharing of memories at 2:30 p.m. Memorials to Friends of Woodstock School. Body donated to the Nebraska Anatomical Board. The customer service agent doesnt think she did anything special. She wasnt busy after work that day and because United employees can fly free on standby, she figured why not help a passenger out? Morgan is a retired special-education teacher who moved to Lincoln in 2012 to be closer to her daughter and son. She went back to school. Became a licensed massage therapist and opened her own business Beyond Calm Massage & Spa. And she took a second job with United Ground Express. She liked the work, everything from loading luggage to ticketing passengers to cleaning out planes. She works part-time now, coming to work at 4 a.m. and getting back home by the time most people are waking up. That holiday weekend last year, she remembers another agent bringing the panicked mother over to her counter. Semira Osman's daughter had flown on Delta, but the airline didnt have flights out of Lincoln to Chicago and couldnt help. United did have a flight departing soon, but there was a catch. The only option for getting the passport to her daughter on short notice was to send it with the planes cargo. The hot dogs are a metaphor, or maybe the beginning of a story on its way to a metaphor. They were real for Angel Tran, a bland, rubbery, unimaginative and not-so-healthy meal she ate every night when she was younger, boiled in a pan on the stove by a foster mother for her and the seven other foster care kids who lived there. The home was not a good place, said Tran, the only time she ever felt like a ticket to a paycheck in the welfare system. One night her foster parents got into a heated argument. Tran and the other foster kids huddled in a basement bedroom, away from the anger and the prospect of hot dogs upstairs, and talked about what it would be like to come home to a wonderful feast. Eventually, she left that home, found a much, much better one, a permanent one with a family that became her family and parents who have loved and guided her. And so, years later, she looked back on that night in the basement and realized what it meant. Nobody was going to make her a feast. She was going to have do it herself. "Memorial Day is always about honoring memory. I lost a brother of mine last year, January 1, 2018. Ive been out here to Arlington to visit him, and this will be my third time. Every time its always really rough. His name was Mihail Golin and right after he left our unit he became a special forces operator. I didnt see him again until he was in a coffin in a Russian Orthodox Catholic church. Its always really difficult." Randy Marshall, Army "I always think of my fallen comrades. I remember them, but at the same time I like to use the holiday to do something recreational and fun, go for a hike in the woods. Its something to do that I can do in a sort of solitude. Sometimes I just go out on my boat and be alone. Its just a time to remember and Im just grateful Im here." Robert Montag III, Army "Its hard to put in words, really. Its a time of remembering. Whenever we can, a couple buddies and I don our uniforms and stand guard at the grave of one of another buddy. Well stand guard for an hour or so, and the family comes and its a whole thing. Theyre the nicest people in the world, and I always hope we can do it for them." "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 near 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. 1929: Attorney General C.A. Sorenson said the fact that an alien could not teach in Nebraska was one of the "many unpalatable products of the recent war." 1939: With the droughts of 1934 and 1936 still in mind, federal farm officials told Nebraskans they were uneasy about a shortage of moisture in a broad area of Midwestern wheat and corn lands. 1949: The Legislature adjourned after passing 318 bills in 100 days. Several weeks without moisture began to worry Nebraskans, but a sudden storm that dumped 1 to 4 inches of rain on portions of the state eased their minds. 1959: The state Highway Commission voted 5-2 in a secret ballot to locate the interstate highway north of the Platte River between Grand Island and North Platte. 1969: The state Board of Education voted 5-3 to discharge Commissioner Floyd Miller. The action was one chapter in a long dispute between some rural- and smallschool-oriented board members and Miller. Gov. Norbert Tiemann vetoed a "self-defense" bill that would have allowed a person to use "any means necessary" to protect himself or his property. Too often shortchanged in that discussion are Asian and black immigrant students who tend to score higher than all other racial groups, leading to their disproportionately high enrollment numbers at prestigious colleges. And any move toward recognizing socioeconomic class instead of race takes fire from some voices on the right, like the Manhattan Institute's Heather Mac Donald, author of "The Diversity Delusion: How Race and Gender Pandering Corrupt the University and Undermine Our Culture." She blasted the "adversity score" as a backdoor to racial quotas by the College Board, which she said is "under relentless pressure from the racial-preferences lobby" and "the anti-meritocratic ideology of 'diversity.'" Yet, we are reminded by the ongoing college admissions scandal that our current system falls way short of true "meritocracy" too. I think President Barack Obama got it right when he saw a fundamental unfairness in the notion that his daughters, for example, deserved a break because of their race that was not available to a poor but equally promising white youth. There was only one side of the dais at Tuesday's House Judiciary Committee hearing that mentioned impeachment -- and it wasn't the Democratic side. There was only one side that hollered and sputtered, one side that lobbed insults at the other and impugned colleagues' motives -- and it wasn't the majority. Indeed, Tuesday's hearing was a study in the asymmetric combat that defines our politics in the Trump era. Some on the left see this asymmetry as a sign of Democratic weakness. I see it as the nation's best hope for recovery. At Tuesday's session, the committee's chairman, Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., spoke in a calm, steady voice about the absence of former White House counsel Donald McGahn, a no-show after President Trump ordered him not to comply with a subpoena. "Mr. McGahn has a legal obligation to be here for this scheduled appearance. If he does not immediately correct his mistake, this committee will have no choice but to enforce the subpoena against him," Nadler intoned. Nadler mentioned neither impeachment nor contempt, and he managed to keep the Democratic side -- including the gadfly who brought fried chicken to a previous hearing as a prop -- quiet. Which makes this a good time for the left to step back and ask whether it was ever a good idea to urge such sweeping powers on unelected judges. The benefit of going the judicial route is that you can occasionally achieve outcomes you could never obtain through legislatures; that is how America, a center-right nation, got one of the most liberal abortion regimes in the world. The problem with going the judicial route is that it short-circuits public debate and forces the opposition to take radical action -- like, say, a decades-long project to fill the courts with right-leaning judges -- to amend that "settled law." The consequences of the counterreaction can go well beyond the issue at hand. If not for Roe, it seems eminently possible that the conservative-court project would have been less urgent, and the decisions in District of Columbia v. Heller on gun rights or Citizens United on campaign finance might never have happened. If it hadn't been for Roe, evangelicals might also have balked at electing Donald Trump. Some religions take the stance that life begins at conception. Others do not. Judaism, for example, is a religion that believes pregnant individuals are only carrying potential life but not a full-fledged life that possesses a soul. When a pregnant individuals own life is at risk by carrying a fetus to term, that individual must, according to Jewish law, abort that fetus in order to preserve ones own life. In addition, if maintaining a pregnancy causes the individual undue harm either physically or mentally, abortion is considered to be justifiable. Abortion is not seen as a form of birth control. The decision to have an abortion is a serious one, and the Conservative Jewish Movement encourages its members to consult beforehand with health care professionals, family and ones rabbi. Religions can cherish life yet hold differing views on how one determines whether or not an abortion is permissible in individual cases. The difference is based on the definition of when full-fledged life and ensoulment start. I do not recall that my parents ever took a real vacation. My father most likely did not believe in such a thing. But he was too busy anyway building his accounting business to even think of such an idea. He was already 20 years behind in his plans when he began his accounting business at age 40. The Depression and World War II had intervened. Car trips were taken, but always with a purpose and usually in the greatest hurry. One destination was Jefferson County, about 60 miles from Racine. My father had grown up on a small farm outside of the City of Jefferson and his youngest brother and wife ran the farm now, along with their children, my cousins. The Farm was the welcoming gathering place for all the extended family. And then there were also my fathers clients to see, who ranged from farmers talking over matters with him in their barns during milking to wealthy city residents, sitting in their screen porches as they discussed business matters. Jefferson was the place my parents had met, before my father left at age 30 for Northwestern University in Chicago. Mother had been a beloved teacher for 10 years in neighboring Fort Atkinson, but with her successes, had come to Jefferson the county seat to supervise teachers of the country schools. It never failed that on our trips she would be warmly greeted on the streets by her former pupils and teachers. My father and I admired her celebrity status. But although there were interesting people to meet in Jefferson County, there was another destination for my parents: The Evergreen Cemetery in Fort Atkinson. My fathers grandparents were buried there, as well as his mother. Her gravestone mysteriously included the name of his father, even though he was still very much alive! Other former friends and distant relatives from my fathers youth were also to be found throughout the lawns of Evergreen. And the tombstones also read like a directory of those my mother had known from her teaching years. There were also a few imposing grave stones that would cause one to stop to take solemn notice of the distinguished silent strangers from the past. The largest was one for the Hoard family, known to be famous farmers, politicians and publishers. Although my parents would visit Evergreen throughout the year, it was imperative in their minds to be there around Memorial Day. Big red geraniums would be delivered to our home the prior week by Charles Stark, a white-haired colorful family friend, and would sit outside on the garage step ready for the trip. My parents would anticipate leaving by 10 or so, and we three would envision a beautiful day, visiting the relatives, perhaps a few clients, and then visiting the graves at Evergreen. Travel preparations But to get to Jefferson County was the difficult part. My father would follow a check list in his characteristic methodical accountants manner, including having the car oil and tire pressure checked once again. Mother, who frequently had last-minute household tasks to complete, nevertheless sometimes would become silently exasperated. Couldnt her husband skip just one step? So, quite often, we would not start out until afternoon, only to reach Evergreen when the sun was almost setting and the cemetery was quite deserted. We would drive in, under the wrought iron arch, past the darling white gingerbread caretaker house, past the Hoard monument, finally to my grandparents graves. The stillness was breathtaking. Huge maples hung their big leaves overhead and the smell of lilacs was in the air. Mother would plant Charles Starks geraniums one more time. And soon the fireflies would come out. While Mother planted, my father would reminisce about the Memorial Day ceremonies he had taken part in during his 20s. Playing in the area band, he had solemnly walked with its members to the gates of the cemetery on those long-ago Memorial days. Then the marchers had stopped playing, to walk in silence to the huge statue on the rotary that honored the dead soldiers. Only the footsteps of the men and the horses would be heard until they were assembled. Gun salutes would shatter the silence. And then, interspersed with the remarks of local dignitaries, the band would render patriotic classics. It seemed to me, as my father talked and as the quiet evening drew to a close in Evergreen, that I could actually see and hear those ceremonies of long ago. I could almost see my young father, standing in uniform, holding his clarinet, and I could sense the pride he had felt in being there. Driving home in the dark, we would have a feeling of satisfaction. Love and commitment Years later, as a teenager, I rarely made the Memorial Day trips to Evergreen. Life in Racine seemed far more interesting and too busy to accompany my parents. And when I left for college and married, the trips grew further from my mind. It was May 5, 1993, however, that my return to Evergreen took on new meaning. Along with other relatives and friends, my husband John, our daughter Lisa, my father and I buried Mother. With his characteristic precision, my father had taken great pains to have their gravestone etched with the exact design of his parents stone, now just a short way off where we had visited on those former Memorial days. And it was on Flag Day, June 14, 1995, that we were there for my father. Both days were brilliantly beautiful. At times, the familiar smell of lilacs seemed to still be in the air. A few years later, Evergreen began a beautiful program of lining the circular roads with flags on Memorial Day in honor of those buried there. On that first Memorial Day, John and I drove in under the familiar arch and got out to find my parents flag. And there it was, one of the first from the entrance just near the little gingerbread house, just on the path to the rotary. It could not have been more perfect. Looking back today, it is amazing to me that the impact of the precious trips my parents and I took to Evergreen and the few hours we shared there did indeed leave their impact on me. They left their legacy: A profound memory of love and commitment. Looking back today, it is amazing to me that the impact of the precious trips my parents and I took to Evergreen (Cemetery) and the few hours we shared there did indeed leave their impact on me. Carol Burow Gianforte Carol Burow Gianfortes past stories can be found by going online at journaltimes.com. Her memoir about growing up in Racine, My Heart Leads Me Home A Daughters Memoir, is available at the Racine Heritage Museum, Barnes & Noble, and on Amazon. She can be reached at gn40s@msn.com Love 4 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 My Uncle Gerritt is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. A number of years ago, when we visited Washington, D.C., we went to Arlington to observe the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, President John F. Kennedys grave, and then went to my uncles grave. It was a very moving and sobering experience. For those who have been to Arlington, there are signs for all visitors to observe silence and respect, and people do observe them. We were there in the summer, during the heavy tourist season and saw people of all ages from a wide variety of ethnic, linguistic, religious and national backgrounds ... a literal microcosm of our country ... all there in respect for that place. Every time we have visited other national cemeteries, whether it was in Vicksburg, Andersonville, or the American Cemetery in Luxembourg, there has always been that same sense of solemnity and respect for those who have made the ultimate sacrifice. Historically, Memorial Day was first known as Decoration Day. It actually began after the Civil War as a way of remembering the many who lost their lives our deadliest of wars. But the day originated with a sense of both national reckoning and repentance. It was first recognized in the last year of the Civil War by white widows decorating war graves in northeastern towns and then by black citizens of Charleston, S.C., who reburied Union prisoners of war, and turned Decoration Day into a symbolic funeral for slavery. As the years have passed, Memorial Day has become one of those special remembrances of our nations civil religion, calling for our allegiance and loyalty in a way meant to exceed other ultimate loyalties. But there is a hidden danger for Christians if this day is approached without true understanding. The parades, concerts, and other rituals of Memorial Day are nationalistic liturgies, which are intended to make us into certain kinds of people ... good, loyal, productive citizens who, when called upon, are willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for the good of the nation. But to pledge to the United States our ultimate allegiance, in a way that can only be reserved to God, should make us take pause. In 1967, Robert Bellah wrote an essay on the subject of civil religion and said, Without an awareness that our nation stands under higher judgment, the tradition of the civil religion would be dangerous indeed. When I come to graves like my Uncle Gerritts, I need to remember how this countrys wars have revealed both the angels and inner demons of our humanity. Our remembrances should also cultivate the kind of patriotism that President Barack Obama talked about in 2015, when he commemorated the civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery: the belief that America is not yet finished, that we are strong enough to be self-critical. Being patriotic means that Memorial Day should be a time not only to remember those who gave their lives for our country, but also a time for national reflection and repentance. If our country is to stay in alignment with its original ideals ... if we are to remember the past and seek to reconcile our different political differences, we must always depend on Gods grace. But we do not do so by judging other peoples patriotism. This prayer by civil rights activist W.E.B. DeBois says it best: May the Lord give us both the honesty and strength to look our own faults squarely in the face and not ever continue to excuse or minimize them, while they grow. Grant us that wide view of ourselves which our neighbors possess, or better the highest view of infinite justice and goodness and efficiency. In that great white light let us see the littleness and narrowness of our souls and the deeds of our days, and then forthwith begin their betterment. Only thus shall we broaden out of the vicious circle of our own admiration into the greater commendation of God. Amen. When I come to graves like my Uncle Gerritts, I need to remember how this countrys wars have revealed both the angels and inner demons of our humanity. Knight Wells is interim pastor, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, in Champaign, Ill. He wrote this for The Pantagraph, a Lee Newspaper in Bloomington, Ill. He can be reached at revknight.wells5@frontier.com. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Were not sure what Gov. Tony Evers and his administration hope to gain by lobbing accusations of sexism at Republican legislative leaders, but they seem determined to do so. On May 20, Evers issued a statement implying Assembly Speaker Robin Vos of Rochester and Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald of Juneau werent meeting with his aides because of sexism, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. Only Robin Vos and Scott Fitzgerald can say why they wont work with the women who are leading my office, Evers said in his statement. I have asked Republicans to work with my staff the way they worked with the former governors staff. They know how to work with my staff and are choosing not to. So, this is clearly a departure from past practice. You connect the dots. In reply to the accusation, Vos noted his top aides are women, and Fitzgerald called claims of sexism asinine in part because the top Senate Republican working on the budget is a woman, Alberta Darling of River Hills. It would seem the differences are much more about policy than gender. On May 18, Fitzgerald said at the state Republican Party convention in Oshkosh that Evers had no point person for lawmakers. In response that same day, Evers spokeswoman Melissa Baldauff issued a statement saying Vos and Fitzgerald had repeatedly been told they should meet with Evers chief of staff, Maggie Gau, just as they had met with Republican Gov. Scott Walkers chief of staff, Eric Schutt, before Evers defeated Walker in the Nov. 6 election. That directive wasnt confusing to them when the chief of staff was a man, Baldauff said. Vos and Fitzgerald are clearly uncomfortable or simply unwilling to work with a leadership team made up entirely of women. Or it seems entirely possible that Vos and Fitzgerald were willing to meet with Schutt because Walker is a fellow Republican. It seems entirely possible that Vos and Fitzgerald knew that they agreed with Walker on the fundamentals, and that sending Schutt to present Walkers specific proposals worked when the GOP controlled the governors office and both houses of the Legislature. It doesnt seem so far-fetched that, in the first budget negotiations between a Democratic governor and a Republican-majority Legislature in 13 years, Vos and Fitzgerald would want to meet with Evers directly. In November, Wisconsin elected a divided government. It kept the Republicans in the majority in the Legislature, but also elected a Democrat as governor. Republicans control the budget-writing process, but this year they do so in the knowledge that the Wisconsin governor has substantial veto power, and that what Walker found acceptable, Evers might not. All of this means that the Democrat-led executive branch must work with, and be willing to negotiate with, the Republican-led legislative branch. Accusations of sexism from Evers and his administration might score political points, but they dont do anything to move the budget negotiations forward. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 - Kathryn Bernardo penned a lengthy letter for her boyfriend, Daniel Padilla - The couple is celebrating their 7th years together - This is the first time that the actress posted a letter for Daniel since they had admitted their relationship just recently PAY ATTENTION: Click "See First" under the "Following" tab to see KAMI news on your News Feed! Kathryn Bernardo penned a sweet and sincere letter for Daniel Padilla on their 7th year. She shared the cheesy letter on Instagram as she professed her love for her boyfriend publicly for the first time after admitting about their relationship. Kath admitted that she had no answer to the question of how do they stay in love. According to her, everything is not forced but she is sure that staying in love is a choice. It is also about not giving up on each other amidst the trials. Kathryn cited Padilla's positive traits with reference to the role he portrayed in their movies and series, which, according to her, make her feel thankful. PAY ATTENTION: Using free basics app to access internet for free? Now you can read KAMI news there too. Use the search option to find us. Read KAMI news while saving your data! The actress also did not fail to thank him for every loving thing she did for her. They are in Morocco currently probably to celebrate their 7th anniversary. The couple admitted about their relationship just recently, but they did not disclose how long they have been together precisely. Enjoyed reading our story? Download KAMI's news app on Google Play now and stay up-to-date with major Filipino news! Exclusive Interview: Madam Kiley's New Afam | HumanMeter How Madam Kilay and Afam T met. Have they already talked about getting married? What is Madam Kilay's favorite gift from Afam T? Find all this in our new exclusive interview. Source: KAMI.com.gh After being closed for a few months for a major renovation, new owner Ryan Johnson expects to reopen Big Als Pizza at 115 S. Third St. in downtown La Crosse by the end of this week. The local restaurateur bought Big Als and the adjacent Carlies on Third bar at 111 S. Third St., both of which closed in late December. He dropped the Carlies name and will use that space for Big Als Pizza overflow seating and for private parties and other special events. Big Als Pizzas focus will be pizza, calzones, appetizers, salads and toasted sandwiches, Johnson said. We put in a new hardwood floor and booth seating and replaced the restaurants tables and chairs, he said. The kitchen also has been completely remodeled and most of the equipment in it is new. We brought in a lot of new decor, Johnson said. We kept a lot of the previous elements, but turned it up a notch. Ive been collecting vintage signs and other unique items for a number of years. Weve incorporated some of my collection (into the restaurant) while embracing the history of Big Als and keeping significant elements like the airplanes, the old car and the Western Wisconsin Wet Goods. Johnson also has added an outdoor patio, which will open soon. I saw it as a huge opportunity, he said of buying and renovating Big Als, which started in 1979. Its an iconic La Crosse brand. Were honored to be the caretaker of the next chapter of Big Als history. Hours tentatively will be 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday. For more information, visit www.bigalspizzalacrosse.com or the restaurants Facebook page. La Farge, Wis.-based Organic Valley plans to reopen its renovated and enlarged retail store at 507 W. Main St. in downtown La Farge on June 3 and hold a grand reopening event on June 29. The store has been closed since last August, when it was damaged by flooding of the nearby Kickapoo River. Wieser Brothers General Contractor Inc. incorporated flood-mitigating strategies into renovation of the building, which was expanded to 1,200 square feet of space from the previous 500 square feet. We explored other locations, store layout options, and worked with the community to develop the new retail store, said Eric Hartwig, Organic Valley director of workplace services. We worked closely with Wieser Brothers to design a store that is resistant to flood damage. The store sells a variety of Organic Valley products, as well as organic items from partner organizations and other regional foods. Hours will be 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. The June 29 grand reopening celebration will feature free grilled bratwurst, hot dogs and burgers while supplies last; demonstrations and free samples from local partners, and drawings for prizes. Organic Valley also has a retail store at its office building in Cashton. Alexis Probst plans to hold a soft opening during the communitys June Dairy Days for her new Empower Nutrition business at 122 S. Leonard St. in downtown West Salem. Its in the former location of the Oma coffeehouse, which moved in April to 234 N. Leonard St. Probst said Empower Nutrition is a healthy shake bar that offers breakfast, lunch and snacks, as well as wellness profiles. Its similar to the Elite Nutrition business that she opened in October 2017 and continues to operate at 533 Second Ave. S. along Hwy. 35 in Onalaska. The shakes are blended at the business and Probst also sells the products used to make the shakes. The West Salem locations hours during next weekends June Dairy Days will be 3 to 8 p.m. Friday, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday. Then the West Salem location will be closed until its grand opening from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. June 19. Hours after that will be 6:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday and 8 a.m. to noon Saturday. Probst plans to eventually add Tuesday and Thursday hours. For more information, visit Empower Nutritions Facebook page. Steve Cahalan can be reached at stevecahalan.reporter@gmail.com or 608-791-8441. Love 2 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Wisconsin utility regulators have authorized construction of a $21 million underground power line in Verona to serve the growing power needs of Epic Systems. The medical software company, which expects electricity demand to double in the next decade, has agreed to pay $10.2 million of that to cover the cost of putting the line underground. The remaining costs will be passed on to about 5 million ratepayers in eastern Wisconsin and Michigans Upper Peninsula. The Public Service Commission voted unanimously Thursday to allow American Transmission Co. to build the 1.3-mile high-voltage line, determining that it would not impair the efficiency of utility service and is reasonable to meet future requirements. The 138-kilovolt line and substation are needed to provide backup in case of a failure on the primary connection, a lower-voltage line owned by Alliant Energy, according to ATCs application. Epic anticipates peak demand will grow from about 15.5 megawatts to 30 megawatts by 2028, which would exceed the current lines capacity. That would put the company on par with the states largest electric customers, which are mostly manufacturers. Epic is already one of Alliant Energys largest customers, according to documents filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Epic has 2.2 megawatts of on-site solar panels, currently one of the largest solar installations in the state. A company-owned wind farm near Waunakee can generate up to 9.6 megawatts of power, but the campus still needs a connection to the grid to meet the demands of computer servers and more than 9,500 employees working on the Verona campus. Though the company says its looking at other renewable-energy options, ongoing energy conservation efforts wont be enough to offset the growing demand, according to ATCs application. The PSC approved plans to bury all but one-tenth mile of the line, which would run parallel to Highway PD from an existing substation at the intersection with Highway M to a new substation that would be built on city land near the intersection of Woods Road. ATC hopes to begin construction in January and have the line in service by May 2021. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 The title of professor at UW-Madison has long been associated with the opportunity to gain tenure. But the meaning of the coveted title will change, likely for the first time in the universitys history, with UW-Madison taking steps in recent weeks to create new job titles teaching professor and research professor that will not offer those assuming the positions the chance to earn an indefinite academic appointment. The universitys Faculty Senate approved the use of the titles last month, though individual academic departments will decide whether to appoint academic staff to the roles. At a meeting earlier this month, the Faculty Senate considered a third title, professor of practice, but decided to refer that topic to a committee for more discussion. What may seem like a slight change in language that is little noticed outside of email signatures and business cards actually hits at a host of tension points that higher education is confronting in recent years: the increasing use of adjunct instructors for undergraduate education, the competition for federal money to offset dwindling state support and the decline of tenure-track faculty. Some faculty members are concerned the changes strip away the sanctity of the professor title and could eventually lead to fewer tenured positions on campus. The changes, they say, cede more control to administrators at a time when shared governance has been weakened in recent years. But other faculty members and most academic staff say the new titles will help with recruitment and retention of talent whose work can often go unrewarded. It may also help UW-Madison secure more federal research funding, a sore spot for the university when it fell out of the nations top five research institutions in 2015. Im not trying to take away anyones tenure, said Leigh Orf, who works in the universitys Space Science and Engineering Center as an academic staff member without tenure protections. Orf previously worked as a tenured professor at Central Michigan University and has operated on both sides of academia. We really are sort of holding ourselves back a little bit, I think, by keeping these out-of-date titles, he said. Titles matter To the average UW-Madison student, the person standing in front of the lectern is a professor. The position of professor, however, belies a labyrinth of academic titles, more than 1,800 across the University of Wisconsin System. Students instructors might be lecturers. Or faculty assistants. Or faculty associates. Or associate faculty associates, the step just below the faculty associate. Some faculty members argue that surrendering the professor title to some academic staff will further confuse students and the public. The greater harm, however, is in the potential elimination of tenure-track positions on campus, they say. Nationally, the percentage of faculty members who are tenured or on the tenure track has been declining for decades, according to the American Association of University Professors. Colleges across the country have shrunk the share of tenured labor force for more financial flexibility. Institutions then offset those positions with instructors who operate on short-term appointments with heftier teaching loads, lower salaries and less academic freedom. I believe what we are being asked to do today is to relinquish that, physics professor Lisa Everett told the Faculty Senate last month. And no matter what statements are there in bold at the end (of these resolutions) about how we dont want this to be used as arguments against hiring more faculty positions, I think its very clear that thats already going on. At UW-Madison, the number of instructional academic staff the employee group that would most closely align with the new teaching professor title has exceeded the number of faculty members each year over the past decade, according to university records. The number of other academic staff, the group that research professor would be lumped into, has grown 35% since 2009, from 4,906 to 6,613. Meanwhile, the number of faculty, which includes both tenure-track and tenured professors, ran as high as 2,400 in the early 1990s and 2,175 a decade ago. In 2018, there were 2,140 faculty members. Student enrollment has climbed 5.5%, or about 2,300 students, at UW-Madison over the past decade. The concern over a potential dilution of the campus professoriate comes four years after legislators stripped tenure protections from state law. The UW System Board of Regents later wrote a weaker version of those protections into policy. (Academic staff) are enormously important, marketing professor Thomas OGuinn told the Faculty Senate. But names matter, titles matter and this title matters. Its near sacred. And were in a battle of hearts and minds with the public and with government to maintain some of (these) specialists and I dont see any way this is not a diminution of the notion of the tenured professor. Low cost, high payoff UW-Madison is somewhat unique in its lack of research professor and teaching professor titles. A review of 20 universities, including all of those in the Big 10, found UW-Madison and Indiana University were the only ones without a research professor title. At least six institutions in the Big 10 offer a teaching professor title. UW-Madisons research office has not done any recent analyses on academic staff retention and is unaware of any other office that tracks it, according to university spokeswoman Meredith McGlone. The lack of data means it is unclear whether an increased number of academic staff have left in recent years and if more substantive job titles at other institutions have contributed to their departures. Adding the titles would help UW-Madison draw the strongest pool of job applicants because candidates would more clearly understand the nature of their intended position, those in favor of the new positions say. It would also advance the universitys research interests. The universitys inability to offer a research professor title was one of the reasons then-vice chancellor for research and graduate education Marsha Mailick cited in 2017 for the university falling from its standing among the nations top five research universities for the first time in nearly 45 years. UW-Madison employs nearly 700 doctorate-level staff scientists, and between 35 and 50 may qualify for the research professor title, according to Faculty Senate documents. Research professor conveys stability and commitment to federal agencies awarding research money in a way that a scientist or researcher title does not, said Shane Hubbard, a researcher for the universitys Space, Science and Engineering Center. At universities where the research professor title is offered, a scientist typically assists on a project, but does not lead it. In Hubbards own pursuit of federal research money for his work studying natural disaster modeling, he said his impression during the review process for academic research-based grants was that his job title drew concern, though he cautioned that he had no hard evidence that this occurred during the application processes. A committee report on research titles, which Hubbard helped author, interviewed leaders for centers and institutes on campus, the majority of whom said it is more difficult for scientists to secure grant money than it is for faculty. Kevin Niemi, chairman of the academic staff executive committee, said campus offices apply the titles differently and, depending on which title an employee receives, different salary ranges apply. He said the changes may streamline some titles and create more pay equity on campus. Department of Horticulture chairman Irwin Goldman, who served on one of the committees looking at the titling topic, said his department has limited options when recruiting new teachers because current job titles fail to capture the complexity of their work. The new title of teaching professor, he said, may better convey that some of these individuals not only teach, but also develop academic programs and advise students. This is a low-cost or no-cost way to ensure were not only competitive but that we can get these best people, Goldman said in an interview. Why wouldnt we do this? Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Wisconsins trucking industry is instrumental to our states economy, but these big rigs have become a popular punching bag for politicians on both sides of the aisle. The industry is regularly maligned, and some lawmakers in Madison are now advocates of hiking their taxes without an understanding of the strains the industry faces or how greatly our economy relies on trucking to simply function. Wisconsin is a state that makes things and grows things. By far, manufacturing and agriculture are the largest drivers of our states economy. Between the two, they employ one in five workers and contribute to more than 20 percent of our states gross domestic product. Both of these economic sectors need to move their goods to market. In the modern Wisconsin economy, trucking is often the best and sometimes the only viable way to move goods to market. For example, 84% of manufactured goods are transported by truck in our state. Without the trucking industry, Wisconsins economy could not function. However, as Wisconsin and the United States need more trucks, factors outside the governments control are creating a supply crunch. The nations demand for freight moved by truck is expected to increase 40% by 2045, and the value of that freight is expected to increase by about 80%. Unfortunately, in the next decade alone the American Trucking Association estimates a national shortage of 175,000 truck drivers. Wisconsin has not been spared from this driver shortage, which has led to increased prices to move goods and longer wait times to get those goods to market. An increase in demand and a decrease in supply lead to increased costs for basic consumer goods. While the workforce shortage is hitting the trucking industry, Gov. Tony Evers proposed budget would increase the industrys barrier to entry and increases costs by raising fees on trucks by 27%. The trucking industry already pays more than $16,000 per truck per year in state and federal transportation-related taxes and fees. An increase in the registration fee would regrettably and disproportionately harm small trucking companies, as larger multi-state companies would have the option of re-registering some or all of their fleet in states with lower transportation taxes and fees. Targeting small businesses for tax increases and increasing prices on Wisconsin consumers is not good tax policy and should not be pursued. If the governor and Legislature want to address policy concerns underlying the predicament of more freight to move and less of an ability to move it, there are a few avenues they should look at. First, incentivize the creation of more intermodal terminals in the state. An intermodal terminal allows freight to be transferred between different modes of transportation generally from trucks to trains. This will move freight off Wisconsin roadways increasing safety and doing less damage to roads and may help consumers save money by using cheaper modes of transportation. The Wisconsin Department of Transportation has done a great job fleshing out the viability for intermodal operations in Wisconsin, and Gov. Evers and lawmakers should look at incentivizing its development. Second, increase truck weight limits on state highways. Wisconsins current 80,000-pound limit is lower than almost all our Midwestern neighbors including Michigan, Iowa, Indiana, North Dakota, South Dakota and Nebraska. According to studies conducted by the U.S. Department of Transportation, UW-Madison and the Minnesota Department of Transportation, a modest weight increase paired with an additional axle will actually do less damage to roads. Raising the weight limit to 91,000 pounds over six axles from the current 80,000 pounds over five axles will spread the weight over more axles, reducing the impact, while increasing safety because there will be additional brakes and a larger braking surface. In addition, this would lead to needing fewer trucks because they could haul more in one load. This will also decrease damage to roads and help fight against the driver shortage the industry is facing all of which will benefit the economy. Third, continue to research and invest in autonomous vehicle technology. Then-Gov. Scott Walkers Steering Committee on Autonomous and Connected Vehicle Testing and Deployment, UW-Madisons investment in autonomous vehicle testing facilities and the Legislatures passage of a bill allowing truck platooning are good first steps toward meeting our future shipping needs and dealing with what is likely to be an ongoing driver shortage. Wisconsin should continue to invest in these technologies and align our laws to reduce impediments to their deployment. These policy suggestions will result in less damage to Wisconsin roadways, help address our driver shortage and make our roads safer, all while helping grow Wisconsins economy. Although not as simple or viscerally appealing as a tax increase, if enacted, these policies will make a difference without putting an industry that employs more than 157,000 Wisconsinites at risk. Cory Fish is director of Tax, Transportation and Legal Affairs for Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce. Love 0 Funny 2 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 3 While it often seems that nonprofits and civic groups catch the brunt of church-state litigation, the latest casualty is a bit surprising the American Legion. In late February, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case of the American Legion vs. the American Humanist Association. At issue was a cross placed at a Maryland state road intersection in 1925 by the Legion to honor their WWI soldiers killed in action. The cross stands several miles from the Supreme Court building and humanists claim its a violation of the Constitutions First Amendment separating church and state. Others contend this is yet another attempt to sweep the public marketplace clean of any reference to religion. They argue that the First Amendment already grants freedom of worship to all religions and prohibits government coercion to a state-sponsored religion. Now the justices face the epic task of uncovering our constitutional DNA, a bit more challenging than just clicking around Ancestry.com. Even as the justices sift through centuries of constitutional law and early American history, some proponents of the right to express their faith publicly point to research thats already detected traces of Judeo-Christian tradition. Our heritage In his recent book, Last Call for Liberty, Oz Guinness explains how basic constitutional values such as freedom, rule of law, consent of the governed, and separation of powers to name a few, originated with the Sinai Covenant after the Hebrew exodus from Egypt. Centuries later, these basic values ran like threads through the Reformation, eventually weaving their way into English Common Law where they impressed political philosophers like John Locke. The Pilgrims and the Puritans carried the genetic mix of faith and secular to the New World. Early colonial charters, as well as the Constitution, separated civic and religious life with varying degrees of interplay. Yet, the documents preserved many of the core structures and principles that originated with the Sinai Covenant. Although secular philosophy formed government oversight, the Judeo-Christian faith was still within eyesight. During the Revolution, for example, James Madison was irked by clergy who balked at recognizing a Day of Prayer proclaimed by the Virginia House of Burgesses. Similarly, noticing parallels between the Hebrew exodus and the colonial break with England, Franklin and Jefferson suggested that the lawmakers include elements of the Sinai Covenant in the Great Symbol of the United States. Guinness concludes that attempts to purge the Judeo-Christian faith from civic life is more than just a denial of history; its a rejection of the underpinnings and basic values of our freedom. He warns that such a situation creates potential for an anti-religion that ultimately replaces basic freedoms with authoritarianism. Its the biblical view, not secularism which puts freedom and responsibility squarely at the heart of politics and a free society, Guinness maintains. In other words, yanking out the taproot of Judeo-Christian faith from the public marketplace runs the risk of pulling the roots of our freedoms with it. While it may take the Court most of the summer to figure out our constitutional gene pool, the most logical step might be to recognize where our freedoms originated in the first place. And that happens to be the faith of our fathers. Greg Kirscher lived in West Salem since 1999 before moving to La Crosse four years ago. He has worked as a corporate photographer in Chicago, a pastor in New England, custodian and freelance writer. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 The words Equal Justice Under Law are the words emblazoned across the entrance to the U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C. Its author intended for this to be a meaningful depiction of how this court, this deliberative body, would protect our Constitution while meting out justice under our laws. Clearly, during the past several years, equal justice has not been realized. While The Supreme Court is not directly at fault, the lower courts are, especially the Ninth District, which has run amok, endangering the very fabric of our legal system. But the pendulum rarely swings in only one direction. For two years, our president and our country have labored under a false accusation, of which he has been completely exonerated. There are now strong indications that the worm has turned. Our country now has an attorney general who has served honorably in this capacity before and seems intent on righting the faltering ship that is the Justice Department created under the prior administration. That administration politicized our great FBI and weaponized the Justice Department. At this point, many of the proponents of what amounted to a cabal which lead an attempted coup to overthrow our president-elect have been fired or resigned. But no one has been punished. As the pendulum continues its swing, I think the members of the cabal, which affected the FBI, the Justice Department and the Deep State, will enter a punitive phase. If not, I fear the abuses of the Obama administration will be repeated. T. Larry Mell, La Crosse Love 3 Funny 4 Wow 1 Sad 0 Angry 0 Ein kleiner Holocaust im Kabinett Does this look like the face of a man worried about political survival? Following Austrian Vice-Chancellor Heinz-Christian Straches resignation amid a corruption scandal, Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has hinted that Israeli political strategist Tal Silberstein may have orchestrated the debacle. ... However, both Strache who headed Austrias Freedom Party, the junior coalition partner to Kurzs Austrian Peoples Party and Kurz alleged dirty tricks were afoot. Strache called the surreptitiously recorded tape a targeted political assassination, and Kurz compared the scandal to a dirty campaign waged against him in 2017 by Austrias Social Democrats, via political adviser Tal Silberstein. Speaking to German tabloid Bild on Sunday, Kurz again dropped Silbersteins name. Concerning the methods, this strongly reminds me of Tal Silberstein, the campaign aide of the SPO (Social Democrats) in 2017, Kurz said. He used similar methods all across the world. ... Silbersteins work in Austria began in 2002, where he has repeatedly lent his expertise to the Social Democrats. However, his operation is global. Silberstein has advised former Israeli Prime Ministers Ehud Barak and Ehud Olmert, as well as Yulia Tymoshenko, the former Prime Minister of Ukraine. Strache and the Honigtopf I seem to recall a very hot Russian with George Papadopoulos being set up, who was not a Russian either, but was working for the CIA and was thought to be Turkish. It is all such a pity as by some remarkable coincidence Mrs. Strache looks exactly like the woman who was set up to entice her husband into confessing all the crimes in history. Man that Mrs. Strache comes with the entire package like being the poster breast for a milk factory. The question is, who would send in a look alike, or even know that Strache's wife looked like this, in getting this Romanian past all security, to cross her legs and listen to Strache destroy himself in a tape which has been marketed for just the right moment to secure an Austrian Dictatorship? Herr & Frau Heinz Christian Strache Strache and Gudenus talked about all kinds of things for hours, they were definitely drunk and possibly also on other drugs. A very short clip has already been released of them discussing Christian Kern (Austrias last Social Democratic Chancellor) and Sebastian Kurz, and Strache talks about alleged sex parties with minors and drugs. But well probably never get to see the whole video. Habe ich schon erwahnt, dass ich in Dallas am Grashugel war? If Kurz were to survive a no-confidence vote, the chancellor could emerge from the current turmoil strengthened. In 2000, then-OVP leader Wolfgang Schussel became chancellor despite coming in third place in Austrias 1999 elections. Schussel entered into a coalition with the FPO, who had won more votes. After a schism within the FPO led to the resignation of several key ministers in 2002, snap elections were called and Schussels OVP won 40 percent of the vote before re-entering a coalition with a dramatically weakened Freedom Party. For Freedom Party voters who no longer want to vote for the party, the Social Democrats are not a real alternative, Mangott told RT. They will turn their backs on the Freedom Party and vote for the other right-wing, anti-immigrant party. The scenario of 2002, Gaertner added, is what Kurz is hoping for. ... Federal President Alexander Van Der Bellen said on Tuesday that he expects Kurz to remain in power until September. Mangott views this as a message to parliament: Dont pass a no-confidence vote, because this will bring more instability. Bannons Populists, Once a Movement, Keep Him at Arms Length May 24, 5:48 pm (ET) PARIS Steve Bannon, the millionaire former Trump adviser turned rabble rouser of European populists, settled into a plush set of rooms this week in ... As another Lame Cherry exclusive in matter anti matter.Will the virginal innocence of Chancellor Sebastian Kurz remain intact, after one of his naughty Jews stuck a gerbil up his anus when all Sabby was trying to do was start the beast of Revelation? Yes after the King of Jewry has done so much for Jews, here comes one of the Bill and Hillary Clinton Jews, performing a Jew Coup in Austria.It was all quite revealing in somehow for sometime, Sebastian Kurz and his pet in Germany, Manfried Weber had been going scorched earth on Nationalists in Europe, and just like that there appears a video, a real honeypot video, of the leading right wing politician, the #2 in Austria, sitting on a couch, confessing to crimes and of all things, seeking new ways to break the law, with a video recorder running.This caused the collapse of the Austrian Government, and a call for snap elections, which of course allows Sebastian Kurz everything he desires politically, but instead of Kurz taking a bow, he has gone out and cast the first stone in going after Tal Silberstein.Silberstein is an amazing hatchet man, even if he looks like Geofrey Booza Pitt from House of Cards. For those with the short term memory, the above Ehud Barack and Ehud Olmert, were part of the conspiracy the Clinton's unleashed on Likud Jews which threw Benjamin Netanyahu out of power.It was a tangle bit of intrigue as just as in the United States in the Trump era, the Conservatives were being destroyed, as Likud under the crook Ariel Sharon, suddenly split and became what was called Kadima. In the meantime in this fiasco, Ehud Barack was installed into power, by the Clintons meddling in Jew elections and what followed was an equally crooked Ehud Olmert.It took sometime for Benjamin Netanyahu to get power back in Tel Aviv after this Clinton meddling.......and now we have Chancellor Kurz pointing the finger at Silberstein, who appeared in John McCain's Ukraine in dirty elections, along with Austria and is being blamed for framing Heinze Strache, which of course has helped Sebastian Kurz immensely install only his people to rule for 3 months, until September, just as European elections are set to make Kurz the King of Europe for the Habsburgs.It is rather bizarre for Sebastian Kurz to be crying wolf in this, as Silberstein is the same leftist that Kurz is. It is the same smarmy order which has been lurking around making criminal political deals for decades, but this time the Russian twist, unlike with Donald Trump, is that a hot blonde Russian heiress is posed in her very short white skirt, legs as long as a lie, is sitting with Strache, who is for some reason spilling his guts on every crime he has committed and is making up new ones to impress this hottie....who turns out is not Russian again, but is a Romania, just like Silberstein.Strache looks more than drunk. He looks drugged, but none of that matters, as what matters is remembering Canadian Mosaad katsa in Victor Ostrovsky in his exposure of how Mosaad operates in liking foreign blondes to get men to destroy themselves all for the benefit of Tel Aviv.Again, just as with Donald Trump, the Mosaad was lurking around in the shadows and this looks exactly like a Mosaad operation, to remove the Conservatives they do not like, for the Sebastian Kurz they are being promised the world with.I honestly expected Strache to confess he was at the Grassy Knoll in Dallas in 1963, as this was a most interesting situation which was set up for his demise. Remember in this, that the Conservatives won the election in Austria before Kurz, but had the election stolen from them by a liberal using the post office delaying ballots.Suddenly this leftist Kurz appears to lead the right wing of Austria, and he is a socialist just like Donald Trump is a socialist leading Conservatives over the cliff.Sebastian Kurz is not going to face a confidence vote. The President of Austria, already let him form a Kurz friendly regime. All of this is theater, and Kurz is in the process of creating a Jewish Judas Goat to be blamed, but the fact is, he is the one standing and Strache is finished by what looks like a Mosaad operation.Consider it this way, if Strache was around, after Manfried Weber seizes power in European Parliament elections, it would only strengthen Strache and the right wing in Europe. With Strache gone, Kurz is concentrating power, and with Germany and England backing Kurz, there simply was not any room for a contender who is a real Conservative to lead Europe.It was profoundly convenient for Sebastian Kurz, the King of Jewry to have Bill and Hillary Clinton Jewry who brought down the Jewish Conservatives, to have their man take out Austrian Conservatives. Kurz can blame Silberstein as he cements power and that is what this intrigue is all about. It is the moth to the flame. Kurz has stuck the match and the feurer incinerated Strache.It is just amazing though in how these blonde Mosaad agents appear on schedule, blow things up, and then disappear in no one knows what they look like, as the leftist media keeps fuzzing out their photos, as if someone who produced these coups, does not want anyone seeing the whores they are hiring to bring down the West.and it is not any coincidence that DIA operative, Steve Bannon is in Europe, and tanking in his political schemes of harnessing European Nationalism. They have moved on without him, and in the fervor, they are being swept aside by a greater force arsing in the Saxon Anglo Alliance.Once again, another Lame Cherry exclusive in matter anti matter.Nuff SaidagtG Rumilda Fernandezs indigenous community has always cared for its ancestral lands in Paraguay. Her community marks borders with an ancient system of names for trees and waterways. Now, the group is turning to technology to defend itself from nearby farms and the clearing of forests. Fernandez is one of the groups first technology-equipped forest watchers. She travels along the paths of the Isla Jovai Teju communitys land to map the area with application software on her smartphone. She also uses Global Positioning System (GPS) technology to identify her position and follow her movement. The work is important to the survival of her Mbya Guarani ethnic group. The group has been slowly losing control of its ancestral lands. The forest was our supermarket and we did not need anything more. Now with the clearing, everything has changed, community leader Cornelia Flores told the Reuters news agency. Before, we did not know how many hectares our land was. Now we have the map and the actual size, she added. The technology push is part of a project with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. As part of the effort, the project is training eight young people from four Mbya communities in Caaguazu, an area about 200 kilometers east of Asuncion. The forest watchers take pictures with a cellphone app of natural landmarks. They identify the images with ancestral terms such as yvyra pyta, guajayvi or ygary. These points are used to make a map, showing the borders of the area. It was easy to learn, though the technology element was tougher for me, said Fernandez. She had never used a computer or a GPS before. The Mbya leaders believe technology will help them protect lands that, in the past, have been occupied by very large farms. Their hope is to keep local forests as an important place to find food and medicinal plants. Loss of land and other natural resources is a painful issue for the indigenous people. They represent just 2 percent of Paraguays total population. Seventy-five percent of them live in poverty or extreme poverty, according to government records. Experts say much of the groups poverty is linked to loss of their land. The countrys minister of social development, Mario Varela, told Reuters impoverishment came from the exclusion of indigenous people. They had never been included, nor their original culture respected in Paraguayan society. The problem for the indigenous is that we have been in Paraguay for 500 years and they have never helped us, said Teofilo Flores. He is the leader of the Pindoi community of 750 people in Caaguazu. We need to know how to preserve the forest giving us the tools and support so that we ourselves also dont deforest the lands, he added. Illegal activities Paraguay is divided into two main parts: an area with industrial farming in the east; the other is Chaco, a livestock area where clearing of forests is permitted and where laws are not always enforced. The country has lost nearly 500,000 hectares of native forests in the east since 2004, official records shows. That was the year when a Zero Deforestation Law was approved. The measure was supposed to ban the mass cutting of woodland. Cristina Goralewski is president of Paraguays National Forestry Institute. She says corruption was a large part of the problem. The illegal clearing of forests has been permitted to continue. She hoped the use of technology will change that. Mario Abdo took office as president last year. He has condemned the corruption and promised zero tolerance for officials who are found guilty. We know that theres corruption that supports this deforestation, said Goralewski, a 28-year-old engineer. She pointed out that, in five years, officials had only stopped 20 trucks carrying illegally cut trees. The priority for the government is to stop illegal deforestation in the eastern region and use technology for that because we see that the controls are just not working. 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 indigenous adj. produced, living, or existing naturally in an area or environment application software n. a computer program used in an electronic device landmark n. an object that is easily seen and recognized from a distance tougher adj. more difficult according adv. as stated by or in livestock n. animals used for creating money, such as chicken or cows tolerance adj. the ability or willingness to deal with something In the western American state of Utah, drone aircraft are flying near avalanches to watch snow crashing down from mountains. Drones are also being used in the southeastern United States. For example, in North Carolina, they are searching for endangered birds and the places they use to raise their young. Public transportation agencies are using drones in nearly every state. That information comes the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, or AASHTO. In a report released this month, the nonprofit group found a large increase in the use of drones over the past few years. The aircraft are also called unmanned aerial vehicles. The associations survey found that governments as well as private citizens have accepted the technology. They include individuals who love flying model aircraft. In 2016, the group found that no state transportation agency was using drones every day. Now, 36 states employ certified drone pilots. Jim Tymon is the executive director of the association. Youve seen the cost of drones come down significantly, and the capabilities that come along with some drones increase significantly as well, he said. Jared Esselman is the director of aeronautics at the Utah Department of Transportation. He says that drones are valuable for all kinds of work. We can predict not only snow slides, but mudslides and water runoff as the snow melts, Esselman said. Drones are a perfect tool for any job that is dangerous or dirty. In North Carolina, drones are finding the nests of endangered species like the red-cockaded woodpecker, reports Basil Yap. He is the unmanned aerial systems program manager at the states transportation department. People once used helicopters or all-terrain vehicles to inspect for evidence of woodpeckers before building new projects. But the drones can do the job quicker with fewer problems, Yap said. A number of states are beginning to explore how to create laws to control a flood of private drone traffic that is likely to come in the future. In Ohio, the state government is working on an air-traffic control system, called SkyVision, which would enable drones to recognize and avoid other aircraft in flight. I'm John Russell. Lindsay Whitehurst reported on this story for the Associated Press. John Russell adapted the AP story for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story avalanche n. a large amount of snow and ice or of dirt and rocks that slides suddenly down the side of a mountain survey n. a study or investigation certified adj. having met the official requirements that are needed to do a particular type of work nest n. a place made or chosen by a bird for sheltering its young We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section. Please register or log in to keep reading. No credit card required! Stay logged in to skip the surveys. Elected as state representative for the 48th Assembly District, Rep. Melissa Sargent, D-Madison, has been legislating through listening to her 60,000 constituents since 2012. The stories and concerns she heard from voters in her district have launched Sargent on an unexpected journey, sending her on a mission that she never anticipated when she first ran for office. Sargent, who says she has never used marijuana, has concluded that prohibition of the drug is ruining the lives of a large number of Wisconsin residents. Sargent recalled talking to a mother whose child a recent high school graduate ready for college was pulled over for failing to use a turn signal and cited for marijuana possession. Sargent does not know what happened to the student, but she said such a ticket can lead to egregious consequences, including lost scholarships and housing. At an April press conference, Sargent introduced Sarah Fabry, a registered nurse who used cannabis and later cannabidiol (CBD) to treat her Crohns disease, an inflammatory bowel condition. Fabry said she took care of patients desperate to get cannabis for loved ones with agonizing end-stage cancer pain. She believes legalization would ease a lot of suffering. Fabry said her view of marijuana users has radically changed, from the stereotypical pothead to your grandma, your spouse, your child, yourself. Such stories have prompted Sargent to three times introduce bills to fully legalize marijuana . On May 17, she introduced Assembly Bill 220, a fourth, updated version of that proposal. Previously, Democrats Sen. Jon Erpenbach of West Point and Rep. Chris Taylor of Madison have introduced bills to legalize medical marijuana , but those measures did not pass. Taylor aide Chet Agni said a new medical marijuana bill is being drafted and this time around, it has bipartisan support. I was on a pretty lonely ship about five years ago when I put this bill out, Sargent recalled. There were people quite frankly in the Capitol building that didnt want to talk to me. They thought that I was I really out of touch. Now, marijuana legalization has entered the mainstream although as of mid-May, Sargent still had no GOP co-sponsors for her bill. Democratic Gov. Tony Evers has called for decriminalization of possession of small amounts of marijuana and legalizing medical marijuana. Republican leaders who run the state Legislature plan to take those proposals out of Evers budget. At a WisPolitics luncheon in April, Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul expressed support for first legalizing medical marijuana and seeing how it unfolds before considering additional loosening of cannabis laws. Weve had the referendum recently that showed broad support, particularly for legalizing medical marijuana, and I think theres momentum for some changes in the Legislature, he said. Kaul supports legalizing medical marijuana to provide pain relief and as a source of revenue for the state. He said medical marijuana legalization also could ease the drug addiction epidemic by prompting people who use opioids for pain relief to use cannabis instead. In neighboring states, Michigan recently legalized marijuana for recreational use, and Illinois is considering doing the same next year. In all, medical marijuana is legal in 33 states plus the District of Columbia ; it is legal for recreational use in 10 states plus D.C. Messages left with Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, were not returned, although Vos has stated he would support legalizing medical marijuana with a doctors prescription. Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, also did not return messages. He has stated there is a lack of support for legalization among Senate Republicans. The governor, on the other hand, has told Sargent that if her legalization bill makes it to his desk, he would sign it. In November, voters in 16 Wisconsin counties, including Dane and Milwaukee, passed advisory-only referenda on legalization by wide margins. Nearly a million people voted in support of marijuana to become legal for medical or recreational use. Every one of the questions passed. It doesnt affect our governing, but it does provide a temperature of the people in our community, said Sargent, referring to the referenda. Overall, what weve seen over the last decade is a real shift nationally and internationally on cannabis and the usage of cannabis and the prohibitions. Landon Meske is general manager of Knuckleheads Tobacco & Vape Club, which has an uneasy alliance with the illegal substance. The downtown Madison store sells supplies including glass water tubes and wrapping papers, which can be used for both tobacco and cannabis. He is excited to see more open-mindedness around legalization in Wisconsin. When people think legalization, they immediately think recreationally, people can just go get high whenever they want, Meske said. Theres so much more potential with industrial, medical (marijuana) legalization than just recreational. For Meske, getting high is just a small piece of the pie. As someone who has been to states where marijuana use is legal, Meske said he is much more apt to get legal cannabis and hang out with friends, rather than go to a bar. A chill Friday night spent consuming cannabis with friends is a much safer alternative to drinking, Meske said. According to the latest Marquette Law School Poll conducted in April, 59% of respondents believe marijuana should be made legal an increase from 50% who favored legalization when the question was first asked in 2013. In the most recent poll, 36% said they opposed legalization. That question did not specify whether legalization would apply to medicinal, recreational or both forms of marijuana use. However, when asked specifically about medicinal use, 83% of respondents said they would favoring legalizing marijuana. The poll showed that as the age of the respondent drops, support for legalization grows. Among 18- to 29-year-olds, 88% said marijuana should be made legal. Seventy percent of respondents ages 30-44 support legalization, while 52% of respondents ages 45-59 support legalization. Only 51% of respondents ages 60 and older said marijuana should be legalized in the poll, which had a margin of error of plus or minus 5.7 percentage points. Thomas Felhofer of Luxemburg, Wisconsin, is in that top age category; he does not support legalization. When he was in college in the late 1960s, he said friends who were heavy into marijuana flunked out of school. One of his best friends was a world-class MJ stoner, who was otherwise very talented, Felhofer said in an email. I don't believe he ever had a real job after leaving school, Felhofer wrote. He died in his very early 50s of drug-related causes. He believes it is too early to jump on the MJ bandwagon, adding, There's good reason to suspect that the upside is minimal, and that the downside is huge. Religiosity may also play a role in whether a person supports or opposes marijuana legalization, the poll showed. Only 36% of respondents who attend a religious service more than once a week support legalization. By contrast, 80% who seldom attend and 81% who never attend religious services support legalization. In terms of party identification, the poll reported substantially differing results between strong party identifiers and party leaners. While one-third of solidly Republican respondents favored legalization, the number jumps to 59% of people who simply lean Republican. When it comes to Democrats, though, the majority of respondents across the spectrum favor legalization with 79% of Democrats favoring legalization and 72% of Democratic-leaning respondents favoring it as well. Not surprisingly, self-described very conservative respondents were overwhelmingly opposed to legalization, with just 15% supporting it, while 95% of very liberal respondents supported legalization. The policymakers in the Capitol building are really whats standing in the way for making this change, and even though their constituents overwhelmingly support full legalization, tax and regulation of cannabis, they are unwilling to hear the voices of their constituents, Sargent said. I think thats pretty egregious. But Smart Approaches to Marijuana spokesperson Colton Grace said opposition to marijuana legalization cuts across party lines. Democrats, for example, fear creation of a big marijuana industry, said Grace, whose group opposes legalization but supports decriminalizing marijuana possession. Meske, who supports legalization, also raised concerns about a marijuana industry dominated by large companies. He would favor giving an advantage to local farmers and small business owners to succeed in the new market. That would depend heavily, he said, on what regulations would be put in place. Under Sargents latest bill , a person who wants to grow, process or sell marijuana for recreational use must obtain permits from the Department of Revenue and the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection. Applicants with 20 or more employees must have a labor peace agreement with a labor organization. According to Sargent, her bill would create 13,000 jobs in Wisconsin and generate hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue for the state. A study cited by Smart Approaches to Marijuana disputes this type of math, saying when the costs of drug-impaired driving, black markets and workplace incidents are accounted for, they cancel out the extra tax revenue, which Grace described as a drop in the bucket. Despite the popular support, Sargent said she continues to have trouble garnering support from Republicans. The bill has 22 co-sponsors in the Assembly and Senate, all Democrats. For Felhofer, even legalization of medicinal cannabis may not be worth the risk. He warned of the possibility of an increased stoner underclass, increased pressure on social services and law enforcement, more health care issues, and the degradation of certain neighborhoods and of quality of life. But Meske said it is time for lawmakers to reflect the publics support for marijuana legalization. I just think its disappointing that we dont have representatives that are listening especially with this last midterm with the referendums that passed, Meske said. I think the only solution is people just getting out there and voting in new representatives. This story was produced as part of an investigative reporting class in the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication under the direction of Dee J. Hall, the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalisms managing editor. The Center's collaborations with journalism students are funded in part by the Ira and Ineva Reilly Baldwin Wisconsin Idea Endowment at UW-Madison. The nonprofit Center (www.WisconsinWatch.org) collaborates with Wisconsin Public Radio, Wisconsin Public Television, other news media and the UW-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication. All works created, published, posted or disseminated by the Center do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of UW-Madison or any of its affiliates. Elected as state representative for the 48th Assembly District, Rep. Melissa Sargent, D-Madison, has been legislating through listening to her 60,000 constituents since 2012. The stories and concerns she heard from voters in her district have launched Sargent on an unexpected journey, sending her on a mission that she never anticipated when she first ran for office. Sargent, who says she has never used marijuana, has concluded that prohibition of the drug is ruining the lives of a large number of Wisconsin residents. Sargent recalled talking to a mother whose child a recent high school graduate ready for college was pulled over for failing to use a turn signal and cited for marijuana possession. Sargent does not know what happened to the student, but she said such a ticket can lead to egregious consequences, including lost scholarships and housing. At an April press conference, Sargent introduced Sarah Fabry, a registered nurse who used cannabis and later cannabidiol (CBD) to treat her Crohns disease, an inflammatory bowel condition. Fabry said she took care of patients desperate to get cannabis for loved ones with agonizing end-stage cancer pain. She believes legalization would ease a lot of suffering. Fabry said her view of marijuana users has radically changed, from the stereotypical pothead to your grandma, your spouse, your child, yourself. Such stories have prompted Sargent to three times introduce bills to fully legalize marijuana. On May 17, she introduced Assembly Bill 220, a fourth, updated version of that proposal. Previously, Democrats Sen. Jon Erpenbach of West Point and Rep. Chris Taylor of Madison have introduced bills to legalize medical marijuana, but those measures did not pass. Taylor aide Chet Agni said a new medical marijuana bill is being drafted and this time around, it has bipartisan support. I was on a pretty lonely ship about five years ago when I put this bill out, Sargent recalled. There were people quite frankly in the Capitol building that didnt want to talk to me. They thought that I was I really out of touch. Political support on rise Now, marijuana legalization has entered the mainstream although as of mid-May, Sargent still had no GOP co-sponsors for her bill. Democratic Gov. Tony Evers has called for decriminalization of possession of small amounts of marijuana and legalizing medical marijuana. Republican leaders who run the state Legislature plan to take those proposals out of Evers budget. At a WisPolitics luncheon in April, Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul expressed support for first legalizing medical marijuana and seeing how it unfolds before considering additional loosening of cannabis laws. Weve had the referendum recently that showed broad support, particularly for legalizing medical marijuana, and I think theres momentum for some changes in the Legislature, he said. Kaul supports legalizing medical marijuana to provide pain relief and as a source of revenue for the state. He said medical marijuana legalization also could ease the drug addiction epidemic by prompting people who use opioids for pain relief to use cannabis instead. In neighboring states, Michigan recently legalized marijuana for recreational use, and Illinois is considering doing the same next year. In all, medical marijuana is legal in 33 states plus the District of Columbia; it is legal for recreational use in 10 states plus D.C. Messages left with Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, were not returned, although Vos has stated he would support legalizing medical marijuana with a doctors prescription. Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, also did not return messages. He has stated there is a lack of support for legalization among Senate Republicans. The governor, on the other hand, has told Sargent that if her legalization bill makes it to his desk, he would sign it. Sargents lonely ship, it seems, has begun filling up. Popular support for cannabis grows In November, voters in 16 Wisconsin counties, including Dane and Milwaukee, passed advisory-only referenda on legalization by wide margins. Nearly a million people voted in support of marijuana to become legal for medical or recreational use. Every one of the questions passed. It doesnt affect our governing, but it does provide a temperature of the people in our community, said Sargent, referring to the referenda. Overall, what weve seen over the last decade is a real shift nationally and internationally on cannabis and the usage of cannabis and the prohibitions. Landon Meske is general manager of Knuckleheads Tobacco & Vape Club, which has an uneasy alliance with the illegal substance. The downtown Madison store sells supplies including glass water tubes and wrapping papers, which can be used for both tobacco and cannabis. He is excited to see more open-mindedness around legalization in Wisconsin. When people think legalization, they immediately think recreationally, people can just go get high whenever they want, Meske said. Theres so much more potential with industrial, medical (marijuana) legalization than just recreational. For Meske, getting high is just a small piece of the pie. As someone who has been to states where marijuana use is legal, Meske said he is much more apt to get legal cannabis and hang out with friends, rather than go to a bar. A chill Friday night spent consuming cannabis with friends is a much safer alternative to drinking, Meske said. Age, religion determine position In addition to the referenda, recent polls show a majority of Wisconsin residents favor legalization. According to the latest Marquette Law School Poll conducted in April, 59% of respondents believe marijuana should be made legal an increase from 50% who favored legalization when the question was first asked in 2013. In the most recent poll, 36% said they opposed legalization. That question did not specify whether legalization would apply to medicinal, recreational or both forms of marijuana use. However, when asked specifically about medicinal use, 83% of respondents said they would favoring legalizing marijuana. The poll showed that as the age of the respondent drops, support for legalization grows. Among 18- to 29-year-olds, 88% said marijuana should be made legal. Seventy percent of respondents ages 30-44 support legalization, while 52% of respondents ages 45-59 support legalization. Only 51% of respondents ages 60 and older said marijuana should be legalized in the poll, which had a margin of error of plus or minus 5.7 percentage points. Thomas Felhofer of Luxemburg, Wisconsin, is in that top age category; he does not support legalization. When he was in college in the late 1960s, he said friends who were heavy into marijuana flunked out of school. One of his best friends was a world-class MJ stoner, who was otherwise very talented, Felhofer said in an email. I don't believe he ever had a real job after leaving school, Felhofer wrote. He died in his very early 50s of drug-related causes. He believes it is too early to jump on the MJ bandwagon, adding, There's good reason to suspect that the upside is minimal, and that the downside is huge. Religiosity may also play a role in whether a person supports or opposes marijuana legalization, the poll showed. Only 36% of respondents who attend a religious service more than once a week support legalization. By contrast, 80% who seldom attend and 81% who never attend religious services support legalization. Party split on legalization In terms of party identification, the poll reported substantially differing results between strong party identifiers and party leaners. While one-third of solidly Republican respondents favored legalization, the number jumps to 59% of people who simply lean Republican. When it comes to Democrats, though, the majority of respondents across the spectrum favor legalization with 79% of Democrats favoring legalization and 72% of Democratic-leaning respondents favoring it as well. Not surprisingly, self-described very conservative respondents were overwhelmingly opposed to legalization, with just 15% supporting it, while 95% of very liberal respondents supported legalization. The policymakers in the Capitol building are really whats standing in the way for making this change, and even though their constituents overwhelmingly support full legalization, tax and regulation of cannabis, they are unwilling to hear the voices of their constituents, Sargent said. I think thats pretty egregious. But Smart Approaches to Marijuana spokesperson Colton Grace said opposition to marijuana legalization cuts across party lines. Democrats, for example, fear creation of a big marijuana industry, said Grace, whose group opposes legalization but supports decriminalizing marijuana possession. Meske, who supports legalization, also raised concerns about a marijuana industry dominated by large companies. He would favor giving an advantage to local farmers and small business owners to succeed in the new market. That would depend heavily, he said, on what regulations would be put in place. Under Sargents latest bill, a person who wants to grow, process or sell marijuana for recreational use must obtain permits from the Department of Revenue and the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection. Applicants with 20 or more employees must have a labor peace agreement with a labor organization. According to Sargent, her bill would create 13,000 jobs in Wisconsin and generate hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue for the state. A study cited by Smart Approaches to Marijuana disputes this type of math, saying when the costs of drug-impaired driving, black markets and workplace incidents are accounted for, they cancel out the extra tax revenue, which Grace described as a drop in the bucket. Despite the popular support, Sargent said she continues to have trouble garnering support from Republicans. The bill has 22 co-sponsors in the Assembly and Senate, all Democrats. For Felhofer, even legalization of medicinal cannabis may not be worth the risk. He warned of the possibility of an increased stoner underclass, increased pressure on social services and law enforcement, more health care issues, and the degradation of certain neighborhoods and of quality of life. But Meske said it is time for lawmakers to reflect the publics support for marijuana legalization. I just think its disappointing that we dont have representatives that are listening especially with this last midterm with the referendums that passed, Meske said. I think the only solution is people just getting out there and voting in new representatives. They gathered along the banks of what used to be Lake Wood and talked. A group of neighbors, property owners, friends and elected officials looked out into the forest that sprouted up in the three years since a spill gate failure drained the lake, leaving only the river channel. Anyone who's completed the climb out of their early 20s hopefully has the wits to remember when life was as vivid as Kodachrome and the experience to recognize that perhaps all those new colors were duller than they seemed. Perspective, after all, is one of the great pleasures of getting older. But at the date of her death Thursday at the age of 87, Joan Didion's 1967 essay "Goodbye to All ... The farmstead is out of place and, a year after being purchased by the city, out of luck. The city (has) no interest in this historic property, Joe Chase, Sun Prairies mayor from 2005 to 2011, said as he surveyed the farmstead last week. You used to have business people on the (City) Council that have been with the community for many generations. Now youve got people that are coming to town and have very short terms living here and theyre making the decisions for the future. Is that really taking into consideration the community and how it was built and how it will move forward? To no avail Chase, a charter member of the Sun Prairie Historical Museum, founded in 1969, and the sixth person in his family to be either village president or mayor of Sun Prairie, has for the last year been lobbying the City Council and trying to convince others to preserve the home. He has suggested leaving the house in its place and incorporating it into a park or even into a retail development. But efforts by the city to give away the home for free, on the premise that it be moved to another property, failed to garner any offers. HAILEY The 18th annual Memorial Day ceremony will be held at 11 a.m. Monday at the Hailey Cemetery, 511 E. Maple St. The ceremony will honor the nearly 400 Blaine County veterans laid to rest at the cemetery. Join the community gathering in remembrance of the fallen airmen, soldiers, sailors and Marines. The program will include the Mountain Home Air Force Base Honor Guard and music by members of the Boise Highlander Bagpipers. Refreshments will be hosted by Girls Scouts of Silver Sage and Boy Scouts of America. More information: 208-720-7395 or haileycemetery.com. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 TWIN FALLS The College of Southern Idaho has announced that Associate Professor Dr. Russ Tremayne has been named one of 11 Esto Perpetua awardees for 2019. Each year, the Idaho State Historical Society presents the award to individuals in honor of professional accomplishments, public service, volunteerism and philanthropy related to the preservation of the states heritage. Videos Sorry, there are no recent results for popular videos. Originally posted on IdahoEdNews.org on May 21. BOISE Idaho has failed to meet 33 of 34 interim targets for long-term goals outlined in the states plan to comply with federal education law. As part of Idahos plan to comply with the Every Student Succeeds Act, state officials outlined a series of performance and achievement goals they hope to meet by 2022. The goals called for increasing test scores and closing achievement gaps. Specifically, Idahos long-term goal for English/language arts and mathematics will be to reduce the percentage of nonproficient students by 33 percent over six years. In order to stay on track, Idahos plan outlined a series of yearly interim targets that incrementally broke down the difference between the long-term goal and the baseline. Thats where Idaho fell short. Idaho Education News reviewed the ESSA plan and cross-referenced the interim targets with data the State Department of Education publishes through its new online report cards to shine a light on Idahos performance. Idaho missed its interim targets in 33 of 34 areas. The state missed every one of its targets for improving the graduation rate and increasing achievement in math and English language arts. The only target Idaho met involved English language proficiency. In some cases, Idaho was somewhat close. In math, for example, the state set a target of having 48.1 percent of students reach a score of proficient or advanced. In 2018, 43.69 percent of students reached that interim target. In other cases, Idaho fell well short of the mark. State officials set an interim target of having 24.6 percent of students with disabilities earn scores of proficient or advanced on their math assessment. In reality, just 13.81 percent of those students hit the mark in 2018. Although state officials celebrated an increase in high school graduation rates last year, the figure everyone celebrated was short of the interim target from the ESSA plan. The state set a target of having 84.8 percent of students graduate high school. In reality, the graduation rate was 80.6 percent. There is still time to recover by 2022, but Idaho is already behind schedule and now faces even more work if it hopes to realize its long-term goals. Karlynn Laraway, the SDEs director of assessment and accountability, said Friday she isnt concerned about the widespread failure to meet interim targets. Is it a cause for concern? No, at this point we are staying the course and continue to support schools and districts in meeting local needs, Laraway said. It also doesnt appear there are any consequences for failing to meet the interim goals. It isnt clear, either, what would happen if Idaho falls short of its goals for 2022. There is no guidance from the U.S. Department of Education that plans have to be renewed or updated annually, Laraway said. Where did the targets and goals come from? SDE officials developed the ESSA plan in 2016 and 2017. Superintendent of Public Instruction Sherri Ybarra, State Board of Education then-President Linda Clark and former Gov. Butch Otter all signed off on it in 2017. Then, the State Board unanimously approved the plan before submitting it to the U.S. Department of Education, which approved it in March 2018. During public ESSA hearings in 2017, several education groups and advocates weighed in on the long-term goals. Several of them, including Rep. Ryan Kerby, a New Plymouth Republican who now serves as vice chairman of the House Education Committee, voiced concerns about setting unrealistic goals. To me, we havent talked about the main issue here: How are we going to reach those goals? Kerby asked on June 26, 2017. I havent heard any kind of plan on how to reach them. Several prominent education advocates including leaders of the Idaho Education Association and the Idaho School Boards Association and Senate Education Committee Chairman Dean Mortimer, R-Idaho Falls all complained that they had been kept in the dark about the ESSA compliance plans. Marilyn Whitney, the SDEs deputy for communications and policy, said the problem is not with the goals. She said officials and stakeholders tried to strike the right balance when developing the goals and targets. There was a discussion about where to set those targets, Whitney said Friday. We want them to be realistic. We want to set targets that are achievable. At the same time, we want to have high expectations. Laraway agreed. The requirement was they had to be ambitious and had to close achievement gaps in subgroups or underperforming (students), she said. A closer look at the data: Click on the highlighted text of the 2018 ESSA Goal Summary to view Idaho Education News spreadsheet tracking Idahos performance vs. the ESSA interim targets. Further reading: Idahos ESSA compliance plan, with pending amendments, is available on the State Department of Educations website. Idaho Education News data analyst Randy Schrader contributed research to this report. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 1 Sad 0 Angry 3 SUN VALLEY Sun Valley Community School has announced that its 2019 graduation speaker will be New York Times bestselling author and former Stanford University dean of freshmen Julie Lythcott-Haims. The class of 2019 commencement ceremony will take place at 1 p.m. June 2 in the Sun Valley Pavilion. Thirty-nine seniors will graduate along with one exchange student who will receive a Certificate of Completion. Lythcott-Haims first book is the 2015 New York Times bestseller How to Raise an Adult, which details how a parent can rob a child from developing agency by over-parenting. The book has been published in more than two dozen countries and gave rise to a TED Talk, which became one of the 2016 top talks with more than four million views. There will also be a forthcoming sequel on how to be an adult for young adults. In 2017, her second nonfiction book was published. Real American: a Memoir is a critically-acclaimed and award-winning memoir, which examines racism through Lythcott-Haims experience as a black/biracial person. Ms. Lythcott-Haims is an important voice in our national conversations around parenting trends, the well-being and resiliency of our children, college admissions and finding the right fit all of which are prominent conversations within our school community, Head of School Ben Pettit said in a statement. Further, she is a vital voice in the conversations around opportunity, diversity, equity and inclusion in educational settings. Given her broad expertise and alignment with the schools values, ambitions and hopes on all of these fronts, we are thrilled to have her as our graduation speaker this year. In addition to publishing two non-fiction books, Lythcott-Haims work has appeared in the New York Times, the Times Literary Supplement of London, the Chicago Tribune, the Atlantic, Parents, AsUs, PBS News Hour, CBS This Morning, Good Morning America, The Today Show, National Public Radio and its affiliates, C-SPAN, The TD Jakes Show and numerous podcasts and radio shows. She is also a member of the Peninsula chapter of Threshold Choir and volunteers with the hospital program No One Dies Alone. Lythcott-Haims holds a bachelors of arts from Stanford, a juris doctor from Harvard and a Master of Fine Arts in writing from California College of the Arts. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her partner of over 30 years, their two teenagers and her mother. Its a privilege to join the Sun Valley Community School seniors as they say a final farewell to a community they hold so dear, Lythcott-Haims said in a statement. From my brief interaction with them, I know them to be clear, kind and bold, a wildly eclectic bunch, each part thinker, part doer, part dreamer, all eager to chart their own course in this one precious life. I cannot wait to meet them in person. Sun Valley Community School graduation is open to the public. However, if you plan to attend in order to hear Lythcott-Haims speak, the school requests that guests stay for the entire event and respect the special nature of the event for the graduating seniors and their families. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Presidential contenders are in a battle to out give one another. Senator Elizabeth Warren proposes a whopping $50,000 per student college loan forgiveness. Senator Bernie Sanders proposes free health care for all Americans plus illegal aliens. Most Democratic presidential candidates promise free stuff that includes free college, universal income, Medicare for All and debt forgiveness. Their socialist predecessors made promises too. Freedom and Bread was the slogan used by Adolf Hitler during the National Socialist German Workers Party (Nazi) campaign against president Paul von Hindenburg. Hitler even promised, In the Third Reich every German girl will find a husband. Stalin promised a great socialist-Marxist society that included better food and better worker conditions. Chinas Mao Zedong promised democratic constitutionalism and the dream that farmers have land to till. These, and other promises, gave Mao the broad political support he needed to win leadership of the entire country in 1949. Socialism promises a utopia that sounds good, but those promises are never realized. It most often results in massive human suffering. Capitalism fails miserably when compared with a heaven or utopia promised by socialism. But any earthly system is going to come up short in such a comparison. Mankind must make choices among alternative economic systems that actually exist. It turns out that for the common man capitalism, with all of its alleged shortcomings, is superior to any system yet devised to deal with his everyday needs and desires. By most any measure of human well-being, people who live in countries toward the capitalistic end of the economic spectrum are far better off than their fellow men who live in countries toward the socialist end. Why? Capitalism, or what some call free markets, is relatively new in human history. Prior to capitalism, the way individuals amassed great wealth was by looting, plundering and enslaving their fellow man. With the rise of capitalism, it became possible to amass great wealth by serving and pleasing your fellow man. Capitalists seek to discover what people want and produce and market it as efficiently as possible as a means to profit. A historical example of this process would be John D. Rockefeller, whose successful marketing drove kerosene prices down from 58 cents a gallon in 1865 to 7 cents in 1900. Henry Ford became rich by producing cars for the common man. Both Fords and Rockefellers personal benefits pale in comparison to the benefits received by the common man who had cheaper kerosene and cheaper and more convenient transportation. There are literally thousands of examples of how mankinds life ha been made better by those in the pursuit of profits. Heres my question to you: Are the people who, by their actions, created unprecedented convenience, longer life expectancy and a more pleasant life for the ordinary person and became wealthy in the process deserving of all the scorn and ridicule heaped upon them by intellectuals and political hustlers today? In many intellectual and political circles, the pursuit of profits is seen as evil. However, this pursuit forces entrepreneurs to find ways to either please people efficiently or go bankrupt. Of course, they could mess up and avoid bankruptcy if they can get government to bail them out or give them protection against competition. Nonprofit organizations have an easier time of it. As a matter of fact, people tend to be the most displeased with services received from public schools, motor vehicle departments and other government agencies. Nonprofits can operate whether they please people or not. Thats because they derive their compensation through taxes. Im sure that wed be less satisfied with supermarkets if they had the power to take our money through taxes, as opposed to being forced to find ways to get us to voluntarily give them our money. By the way, Im not making an outright condemnation of socialism. I run my household on the Marxist principle, From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs. That system works when you can remember the names of all involved. Walter E. Williams is a professor of economics at George Mason University. To find out more about Walter E. Williams and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com. Walter E. Williams is a professor of economics at George Mason University. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 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. 10 hours ago 2 Semiconductor Stocks To Own For 2022 Yesterday we wrote about how attractive Micron (NASDAQ: MU) is looking as we close out 2021, with the likes of Mizuho and Citi both calling it a top pick for the coming year. But theyre certainly not alone in attractive semiconductor names, and as was pointed out by the latter, business conditions for the industry havent been this attractive since 2000. Read Article In this Wednesday, April 26, 1989 file photo, Norma McCorvey, Jane Roe in the 1973 court case, left, and her attorney Gloria Allred hold hands as they leave the Supreme Court building in Washington after sitting in while the court listened to arguments in a Missouri abortion case. A wave of state abortion bans in 2019 has set off speculation: What would happen if Roe v. Wade, the ruling establishing abortion rights nationwide, were overturned? (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File) A wave of state abortion bans has set off speculation: What would happen if Roe v. Wade, the ruling establishing abortion rights nationwide, were overturned? Although far from a certainty, even with increased conservative clout on the Supreme Court, a reversal of Roe would mean abortion policy would revert to the states, and many would be eager to impose bans. What would not happen is a full-fledged turning back of the clock to 1973. Women now have far more methods to avoid unwanted pregnancies, as well as safer, easier options for abortion. Many abortions are induced at home with a two-drug combination, and advocacy groups are spreading the word about home abortions using one of the drugs that can be done without a medical professional's involvement. "I don't think you can put all those different genies back in the bottle," said medical historian Andrea Tone at McGill University in Montreal. "Women are in charge of their procreative destiny. I don't think women will put up with the absence of privacy and discretion that birth control and abortion provide." Here's a look at some of the abortion-related changes that have unfolded since 1973: __ At the time of Roe, abortion was broadly legal in four states, allowed under limited circumstances in 16 others, and outlawed under nearly all circumstances in the rest. A reversal of Roe would produce a patchwork map where perhaps 15 or so states would continue to make abortion easily accessible, a dozen or more would ban virtually all abortions unless the mother's life is at stake, and the rest would thrash out their response in the public arena and the legislatures. In this Sunday, Jan. 21, 1996 file photo, Norma McCorvey, Jane Roe in the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, is embraced by The Rev. Robert L. Schenck of the National Clergy Council before she addresses a memorial service at Georgetown University in Washington. McCorvey, in town to join abortion opponents for their annual protest march, shocked abortion rights advocates in 1995 by announcing that she opposes the procedure. (AP Photo/Cameron Craig, File) In 1974, a year after Roe, there were about 899,000 abortions in the U.S., according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research organization that supports abortion rights. The number of abortions rose steadily, peaking at 1.61 million in 1990, before starting a steady declinefalling to 926,200 in Guttmacher's latest national survey, covering 2014. Close to 90 percent of the abortions occur in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. The decline is attributed to increased availability of effective contraception and a sharp decrease in unintended pregnancies, notably among teens. In 1974, teens accounted for 32.5% of abortions in the U.S.; in 2014 that dropped to 12%. ___ Technology and science have given women unprecedented options and control over fertility since 1973. Back then, single women had only recently gained nationwide access to birth control, thanks to a 1972 Supreme Court ruling, said Dr. Sarah Prager, who directs the University of Washington School of Medicine's family planning fellowship. In this Jan. 22, 1981 file photo, several thousand marchers, protesting the 8-year-old Supreme Court decision permitting abortions, march down Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington toward the U.S. Capitol building. There have been major shifts in anti-abortion tactics. Compared to the 1990s, there are fewer mass demonstrations and clinic blockades, and far more success passing anti-abortion laws in Republican-controlled state legislatures. In the five years preceding this year's sweeping bans, scores of other laws have been passed to restrict abortion access. (AP Photo/Herbert K. White) "This is recent history," Prager said. "Now we have these incredibly effective contraceptive methods available." A woman can get the morning-after pill without a prescription and keep some in her medicine cabinet for emergencies. Her smartphone sends birth control reminders. Or, if she prefers, a matchstick-size implant gives her no-hassle contraception for years at a time. Surgical abortion has become safer, employing tools that use vacuum pressure rather than scraping. There's increasing use of the medication alternative: Ending a pregnancy with mifepristone and misoprostol now accounts for about 30% of U.S. abortions. "It's safe and comfortable," said Missouri resident Lexi Moore, 30, who ended a pregnancy in September with a prescription from Planned Parenthood. "You get to sit in the comfort of your home instead of doing it in a clinic or in a back alley. ... You will have cramps, like a heavy period. But it's worth it in the end, and you have control over that." Moore had to drive 70 miles to pick up her prescription and, lacking insurance, paid $800 out of pocket. But she welcomed the outcome, and wrote thank-you cards to the clinic. This Friday, May 17, 2019 file photo shows an examination/procedure room at the Jackson Women's Health Organization in Jackson, Miss. The facility is the state's only abortion clinic. Technology and science have given women unprecedented options and control over fertility since 1973. Back then, single women had only recently gained nationwide access to birth control, thanks to a 1972 Supreme Court ruling, said Dr. Sarah Prager, who directs the University of Washington School of Medicine's family planning fellowship. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) Her experience contrasts with that of Vikki Wachtel, who as an 18-year-old attending school in Connecticut had an abortion in New York City's Bellevue Hospital in October 1970. That was just a few months after New York became a pioneer in broadly legalizing abortion. "The staff made us feel like we were about to commit a crime," Wachtel said, recalling how she and other young women were treated callously. That ordeal was followed by post-abortion complications, yet Wachtel has steadfastly supported abortion rights. "It was MY CHOICE to not have a child in 1970 and it must remain a woman's choice to do so on a national level," she said in an email. "These overreaching and restrictive laws will only make abortions more dangerous, not eliminate them." ___ In this Saturday, July 14, 2001 file photo, abortion-rights activist Karen Nicholls of Chicago, right, shields herself from anti-abortion leader Rev. Flip Benham, left, as Benham attempts to pray for Nicholls during a protest by the two groups , at a Wichita, Kan., abortion clinic. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, file) For women today, there's even abortion by mail. It's still under study, but early results show women can manage their medical abortions safely at home. A doctor first confirms the woman's pregnancy is less than 10 weeks, then mails the pills. About 300 U.S. women have ended pregnancies in the TelAbortion study . "Women are really grateful not to have to travel three or four hours to a clinic," said researcher Dr. Beverly Winikoff of Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. "But there are also people within walking distance from a clinic who prefer to do it this way because it's more private." Abortion-rights activists, at rallies supporting Roe v. Wade, often display images of coat hangers that were sometimes used in illegal abortions many decades ago. However, warnings that large numbers of women would die from unsafe abortions if Roe were overturned don't reflect the fact that abortion-related deathswhich numbered as high as 2,700 in 1930fell to under 200 a year by the mid-1960s thanks to the development of antibiotics and other medical advances. In this Friday, Jan. 18, 2019 file photo, anti-abortion activists march outside the U.S. Supreme Court building, during the March for Life in Washington. The anti-abortion movement's clout in many state legislatures has now been amplified by Donald Trump's election as president after he promised to support the movement's key goals. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana) To the extent that women can get and use misoprostol to end pregnancies at home, women even in states with bans would have a relatively safe option. It's available only by prescription in the U.S. but is available online from some countries where it is sold over the counter. Among the leading advocates of this do-it-yourself option is attorney Jill E. Adams, executive director of If/When/How: Lawyering for Reproductive Justice. Amid the wave of abortion bans, she said her group's hotline has received a surge of calls from worried women. "If the recent events have shown us anything, it's that self-managed abortion is vital to current and future reproductive rights in the United States," Adams said. ___ One crucial change since 1973 is the development of ultrasound technology. For many Americans, the first image they now see of a son, daughter or grandchild is often a sound wave scan of the fetus. In this Thursday, May 19, 2016 file photo, South Wind Women's Center executive director Julie Burkhart stands in the entryway of the Wichita, Kan. clinic which was once owned by slain Dr. George Tiller, pictured at left. Anti-abortion violence didn't erupt immediately after the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, but it has been a constant since the 1990s, when three abortion providers and three clinic employees were killed in attacks. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File) The images change minds about abortion, said Dr. Donna Harrison, executive director of the American Association of Prolife Obstetricians and Gynecologists. "Ultrasound opens the window on the womb," Harrison said. "That has changed since 1973. We couldn't see who was in there. Now we can." But seeing an ultrasound image doesn't change the biology of fetal development, said Dr. Anne Davis, consulting medical director for Physicians for Reproductive Health. She disputed the idea that the threshold of viability for a fetus, a concept important in Roe v. Wade, is pushing ever closer to the moment of conception. "If someone is six weeks pregnant, that's not a viable pregnancy," Davis said. "And some fetuses will never be viable because they have a lethal abnormality and will die after birth." ___ In this Tuesday, May 21, 2019 file photo, women's rights advocates demonstrate in Philadelphia against recent abortion bans put forward in several state legislatures. There have been major shifts in anti-abortion tactics. Compared to the 1990s, there are fewer mass demonstrations and clinic blockades, and far more success passing anti-abortion laws in Republican-controlled state legislatures. In the five years preceding this year's sweeping bans, scores of other laws have been passed to restrict abortion access. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke) In the aftermath of Roe, it took years for supporters and opponents of abortion rights to entrench themselves in the polarized camps of today. Anti-abortion violence didn't erupt immediately after the decision, but it has been a constant since the 1990s, when three abortion providers and three clinic employees were killed in attacks. More recently, Dr. George Tiller, an abortion provider in Wichita, Kansas, was shot to death by an anti-abortion activist in 2009, and a gunman killed three people at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado in 2015. There have been major shifts in anti-abortion tactics. Compared with the 1990s, there are fewer mass demonstrations and clinic blockades, and there is far more success passing anti-abortion laws in Republican-controlled state legislatures. In the five years preceding this year's sweeping bans, scores of other laws have been passed to restrict abortion access. Julie Burkhart, a former colleague of Tiller's who now runs an abortion clinic in Wichita, said Kansaslike many GOP-controlled statesnow has an array of restrictions that make obtaining abortions more expensive, time-consuming and stressful. The anti-abortion movement's clout in many state legislatures has now been amplified by Donald Trump's election as president after he promised to support the movement's key goals. In this Tuesday, May 21, 2019 file photo, August Mulvihill, of Norwalk, Iowa, center, holds a sign depicting a wire hanger during a rally to protest recent abortion bans put forward in several state legislatures at the Statehouse in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) "They don't need to go to the streets anymore, because they really do have a lot of power," Burkhart said. Professor Michael New, an abortion opponent who teaches social research at Catholic University of America, said the debate is far more polarized now than in 1973, with fewer Republicans favoring abortion rights and fewer Democrats opposing them. "Pro-lifers are having an easier time enacting pro-life laws in conservative parts of the country, but for the first time in a long time they have to play defense in blue states," said New, citing bills passed in New York and Vermont this year expanding access to abortion. Explore further Missouri, latest US state to restrict abortion 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. In an effort to guide growth and development over the next decade and beyond, a coalition of businesses and organizations are joining taxpayer-funded entities in drafting a new Missoula Downtown Master Plan. The most recent draft was unveiled to the public on Wednesday night and a team of consultants spent the week meeting with City Council members and other elected officials. When Jason King of consulting firm Dover, Kohl & Partners asked a crowd at the Wilma to vote on whether they thought the draft of the plan was on the right track or not, 66% voted yes with high confidence." Another 23% voted yes with low confidence, 7% were not sure and 4% voted no. During a meeting Wednesday morning, Missoulas city councilors were supportive of many of the ideas but challenged others. King said everywhere downtown needs more parking, even though he and his team found during a weeklong count of public spaces that only 64% of spots are usually occupied. He suggested more parking on the south side of the river, and noted that they have suggested 17 different approaches to parking in more than 30 pages in the report. The first thing were trying to do is more multi-modal so people dont need to drive, he told the City Council. The second thing is were trying to find places that can handle the parking. King is one of the lead consultants hired to draft the plan, which could be adopted this fall or winter. Missoulas downtown is booming, with hundreds of millions of dollars of new investment in recent years and more on the way. Meanwhile, median wages in town arent keeping up with the median home sales price. Linda McCarthy, the director of the Downtown Missoula Partnership, said the 2009 Downtown Master Plan is out of date, although many of the goals in that document were accomplished. Its an update to the Downtown Master Plan, but in a lot of ways its kind of modernizing it, she told the Missoulian as the process began. We really want to see a concerted effort on downtown housing. Of course, parking will always be a key thing. But were looking at business development, what kinds of retail stores we want to see, transportation infrastructure, the arts, parks, everything. King is a proponent of tall structures and adding density. Although nothing in the plan has concrete solutions for how to pay for anything, he proposes a tall parking/mixed-use structure at the north end of Higgins near the old railroad depot. His vision is to make the structure look different from regular parking garages by adding stores and cafes on the ground floor with signs that lead to the parking. Right now (Missoula's) zoning has a hard time mixing uses, King said. You need coding thats more up to date when it comes to mixing new building types like live/work buildings and where you can have higher densities. Youre building urbanism at the same time. He is also a proponent of a streetcar, perhaps a trolley powered by electricity, that would run continuously from Providence St. Patrick hospital through downtown and to the University of Montana campus and back. King said cities need less parking if they have an electric-powered street car or a rubber-treaded trolley. He said in 2012, it didnt appear that Missoula had enough tax revenue to support a streetcar. Now, however, things have changed. When we do the math, using the same equation from 2012 for an urban streetcar, we see that it might be more feasible, he said. Streetcars can utilize federal dollars as well, he added, pointing to cities in Arizona and Texas that have used federal funding for similar projects. The plan has some pie-in-the-sky ideas that would hinge upon private property owners being amenable to drastic changes. One thing the plan calls for is a mixed-use residential and business development north of the California Street bridge and another one in the current railroad yards owned by Montana Rail Link north of downtown. By the railroad, if you work with them to try to connect it with downtown you can add three or four more blocks to the downtown, he said. He acknowledged that it would take a long time to work with MRL to get access through the site or to purchase or lease the site. Council member John DiBari said some communities have buried their railroad tracks while still allowing them to be used and wondered how Missoula might remove that barrier. Im pretty sure MRL will not let people cross the tracks freely, he said. Theres opportunities if we can bury the tracks, and then there are the hazards that come through town daily on the train. The plan also calls for more protected bike lanes. King talked about walkable streets at the Wednesday presentation, showing pictures of how cobbling and artwork on busy streets could slow traffic by giving drivers a physical reminder that they are entering a slow-driving zone. Images on the screen behind him showed clear pathways in the middle of roads like Front Street and Pattee Street, with seating next to buildings, more street trees and landscaping between bike paths and vehicle lanes. But some of the councilors noted how that scenario can be difficult for ADA access. Things like benches and signposts already block them when they try to get out of the car, said council member Julie Merritt. Just to be aware there are good places and bad places for parking. The plan is attached to this story online or can be found at https://missoulasdowntownmasterplan.com/ by clicking the "Resources" tab then clicking the link for the new master plan. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. 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. It was one of those General Conference debates in which the regional accents of the United M Its not easy to navigate the Skaggs Building on the University of Montana campus. The maps on the walls do little to help distinguish the maze of hallways or locate rooms that dont seem to be numbered in any particular order. Its fitting that this is where Wilena Old Persons office is located. For her entire career, Old Person has been a leader in helping others guide and navigate conversations about diversity, equity and education. She has volunteered for numerous positions over the years, having served as a member and the co-chair of the Diversity Advisory Council at UM, a member of the UM Presidential Search Committee in 2017, a member of the DiverseU Planning Committee, a member of the Board of Directors at Empower MT, a member of the Board of Directors, the Chair and the Secretary of the Missoula Urban Indian Health Center, and as an adviser for the Kyiyo Native American Student Association since 2011 and thats not even half of the positions shes held in the last 10 years, in addition to her full-time job. In every one of her roles, Old Person has been a voice for American Indians and underrepresented students. Shes the mother of four boys. Shes a student working on her masters thesis. But if theres one identity that comes to mind when people think of Old Person, its her role as a leader. Wilena just has this natural ability to lead with grace and collaboration and wisdom and vision, said Heidi Wallace, the executive director of Empower MT, an organization that develops youth and adult leaders to correct systemic inequalities. Old Person and Wallace got to know each other when Old Person served on the board of directors for Empower MT and volunteered as one of their community trainers. During her time at Empower MT, Old Person led cultural competency training for state agencies as well as prejudice reduction and violence prevention training in schools throughout the state. I am proudly Native American and that does come with challenges that are not positive, Old Person said. I have experienced insensitive comments, microaggressions, racism, etc., and as a mother, I wanted to become a trainer to help make my community a more inclusive space for not only myself but for my children. Although Old Person is known for work on diversity issues and advocating for Native populations, her leadership extends throughout the community. She was a real leader in the cohort on a variety of levels in terms of our discussions on womens leadership, our discussion of campus leadership and on community leadership, said Deena Mansour, the founding director of the inaugural Womens Leadership Initiative cohort at UM. Old Person was among a group of women in the first year of the program, which is geared toward building women as leaders. She has a great combination of analytics but also using her heart to approach issues, and thats something thats incredibly valuable in our community, Mansour said. Earlier this year, Old Person said she had to take a step back from a few volunteer positions to focus on her masters. She said she put her all into everything she does and she felt worn out. Theres a thing called diversity fatigue and I think thats how I felt, Old Person said. I pushed so hard but I had to take a step back because I felt like I couldnt make an impact. Old Person said burnout among faculty and students of color is common. Theyre stretched so thin because theres only a few of them and theyre asked to be on all these other committees, she said. However tired she may be, Old Person doesnt give up. As the granddaughter of Blackfeet Chief Earl Old Person, leadership and resilience are in her blood. I feel like people were like, Ugh, shes just going to talk about diversity again, Old Person said. But to me, I feel like if I dont, who will?" In the fall of 2018, just after Old Person was taking a step back from a couple of volunteer positions, she joined the Missoula County Public Schools elementary boundary study committee to help the district redraw attendance boundaries to reduce overcrowding at schools. She said she decided to join after seeing a lack of involvement with communities of color. In talking with community members throughout the process, Old Person noticed disparities in the people who were able to take the time to attend meetings and be heavily involved in the process. So she decided to run for the school board. In May, Old Person was elected and sworn in as a member of the MCPS Board of Trustees. As a mother with four sons in the district, she said she wanted to bring her cultural lens to the board and be a voice for parents of Native students. She is so passionate about diversity, equity and inclusion and I really believe that is so important for our school district to be a leader in when were thinking about how to be powerful 21st century teachers and learners, Wallace said, adding that Old Persons abilities as a collaborator will not only help with teachers and board members, but also community partners. Old Person said she also wants to make sure her children have opportunities she didnt have. Old Person grew up in Starr School and attended Browning High School on the Blackfeet Reservation, where she pointed out differences in access to educational programs. In Missoula, her oldest son plays in a band at Sentinel, but she said Browning is still trying to find funding for a band. Old Person moved back to Starr School briefly after earning her undergraduate degree from UM, but she said her heart was in Missoula. A lot of people talk about how they wanted to go back and make an impact on their reservation, and I did, she said. But I wasnt there. I wanted to be here. She moved back to Missoula and married Jason Plain Feather on the 50-yard line of the Washington-Grizzly Stadium. I feel like Im making my impact here, Old Person said. For my people, for my culture, for Natives here on this campus by doing what Im doing now. Salena Hill, Old Persons sister-in-law who worked with her at UM, said shes seen a change in Old Persons leadership over the years. The conversations we have now are so much different than when she was brand-new, starting out, Hill said. She knows the ins and outs of the system and has a perspective of how they can work better. In Old Persons current role as a program coordinator for the Health Careers Opportunity Program at the College of Health Professions and Biomedical Sciences, she helps assist pre-health students and ensure theyre successful. She works especially with students who come from disadvantaged backgrounds, such as first-generation college students or those who were raised in rural areas. One of her current students came from a high school of 30 kids and didnt have the opportunity to take classes like advanced chemistry or advanced biology. Others are first-generation students whoo might not have parents to go to for advice, or minority students who are intimidated to be the only person of color in advanced classes at UM. Old Person helps these students navigate the university, providing academic and emotional support. My staff here, thats what were trained to do is to help those students and let them know that there is a safe place to come to, she said. Old Person has helped a lot of students along the way who have said thank you with gifts such as the beaded earrings that dangle just above her shoulders. Although she has an affinity for earrings, Old Person said she feels the most fulfillment from attending graduation. Thats the best part, when those students are in cap and gown and they know theyve done it, she said. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. 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. The Missoulian is tracking Miss Montana, the Museum of Mountain Flyings DC-3 that left Missoula on Sunday, May 19, on its route to Europe to help commemorate the 75th anniversary of D-Day. The six-person crew for the North Atlantic crossing is made up of pilots Jeff Whitesell, Eric Komberec, Bryan Douglass, Art Dykstra, and mechanics/EMTs Randy and Crystal Schonemann. (all times Mountain and approximate) Friday, May 24 Briefly marooned by weather in Goose Bay, in Canada's Newfoundland and Labrador Province. Change of original route which called for heading to Narsarsuaq, Greenland, then Reykjavik, Iceland and flying instead to Iqaluit, on Baffin Island in Nunavut Territory. Photos on the Miss Montana to Normandy Facebook page show the plane flying over some impressively icy territory. Saturday The crew flew to Greenland, landing in Kangerlussuaq. Bryan Douglass' Facebook video shows a rocky shoreline bordering glacial-green waters. A video clip from Gooney Bird Group - Betsys Biscuit Bomber shows what that plane's trip from Goose Bay to Greenland was like mostly cloudy, but a big payoff at the end. Facebook posts From Bryan Douglass Just landed Kangerlussuaq Greenland. Impossible to describe the views coming in. From Betsy's Biscuit Bomber via D-Day Squadron Ride along with Gooney Bird Group - Betsys Biscuit Bomber as they travel from Goose Bay, Canada to Kangerlussuaq, Greenland in just a couple of minutes. Stay tuned to the end to see the breathtaking fjord approach to the former Sondrestrom Air Base in Greenland! And, from a couple of days ago during the stop in Goose Bay, a post from pilot Eric Komberec reassures us the crew is having fun Welcome Aboard Miss Montana Airlines. Where every seat is first class. We have fresh Dunkin Donuts Coffee and the Cabin temperature is a balmy 73 degrees F.... Glad we installed that extra insulation. This is a First Class Operation. And the detailed work and love and care that went into this ground up restoration is definitely showing. Very proud of what our 100% voulenteer work team was able to accomplish Tracking Links You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 This weekend we will spend time with our families as many of us will have a Memorial Day holiday from work. I urge you to think with compassion about the many families around the world who are mourning loved ones because of war; about the many young people who face life wounded and challenged; the children living without parents and the parents living without children. Memorial Day was originally known as "Decoration Day" because it was a time set aside to honor the nation's Civil War dead by decorating their graves. It was started by two Mississippi mothers who laid wreaths on the graves of soldiers both Confederate and Union, because, after all, they are somebodys sons. How far we have strayed from that generosity! Today, we cant seem to even allow the other sides opinion to have worth, much less decorate the graves of their dead. It seems that Decoration Day was about honor the type of honor that recognized the humanity in all of us and was concerned with actually binding wounds rather than enlarging them. Today, we spend more on military around the world than all the other nations combined. And as I write this, there are many fears about the possibility of war with Iran and the reality that this is our new normal. We choose to police, occupy and wage war in many nations while we neglect the critical human needs in our own house while our children go hungry and uneducated. We have many wounds to bind. And yet, we cannot even come together to talk about them in civility and respect. Let us be like those Mississippi mothers and see the humanity on both sides of our political debates and let us be willing to meet that humanity in the middle. What a challenge it is to honor others despite our philosophical differences with them it is the foundation of peacemaking. Betsy Mulligan-Dague is the Executive Director of the Jeannette Rankin Peace Center. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 At 2400 Harvard Ave. in Butte is a small, modest barbecue restaurant. But dont let the small package fool you: What the restaurant lacks in size it makes up for with big flavors and a whole lot of heart. The restaurant is Zobaneys Melting Pot of Great Cuisine, and its operated by Butte natives Mike and Cyndi Mullaney and longtime family friend Dave Stevens. Offering an unpretentious, family-friendly atmosphere, the fast-casual eatery opened in February and serves up barbecue alongside Butte mainstays, things like pork-chop sandwiches, halibut fish and chips, and the quintessential side of spaghetti. Customers on the go can use the restaurants drive through, while the owners hope to offer delivery within the coming weeks. Zobaneys keynote is a sweet-and-savory barbecue sauce. Its a sauce, Mike Mullaney says, that hes been perfecting for over 10 years. He also came up with Zobaneys signature rub, which flavors brisket, pulled pork, and ribs. When it comes to cooking the restaurants meats, he brings them to tender perfection using a wood-burning smoker. Other menu highlights include kielbasa sandwiches (ballpark style), and fried chicken, which the restaurant serves after 4 p.m. and on Saturdays. A lot of good comfort food, said Mike. One can tell by the photos that line the restaurants walls that the Mullaneys roots run deep in Butte. One photo shows Cyndis great grandfather, who immigrated to the Mining City when he was just 18 years old and drove the trolley in Butte. Another shows Mikes family posing in front of a fleet of trucks. The trucks belonged to his grandfathers business, Jerrys Distributing, a snack-food distributor that existed long before Frito-Lay was a household name. His grandfather eventually passed on the business to Mikes aunt Ginny Mullaney, who today runs Jerrys Fireworks on Montana Street. Its just in our blood, said Mike of the familys entrepreneurial spirit. Perhaps it may come as a surprise then that Mike and Cyndi werent always entrepreneurs. A Butte native, Mike graduated from Montana Tech in 92 and left the state with his wife to pursue a career in the mining industry. He returned to the state in 99, and later to Butte, and worked at a cement plant in Three Forks. There, he often found himself behind the grill during company barbecues. For three years he commuted back and forth between Butte and Three Forks, until retiring from his position in July to start the business. Mike says he enjoyed the people he met and his career and at the cement plant and mining industry, which he said enabled him to have the capital necessary to start his own business. However, he had an entrepreneurial drive he couldnt ignore. Plus, after Cyndi survived a breast cancer diagnosis, the two decided that life was short and there was no time like the present to pursue their dreams. To honor their creativity, he and Cyndi started making plans for starting their own restaurant. Ive always had an (interest in) smoked meats, so thats where we kind of got the idea of doing an eatery where we could use a commercial smoker, Mike said. Longtime family friend and coworker Dave Stevens followed suit, becoming a partner in the business. Mike said he cultivated a passion for cooking early on in life, learning from his parents, and, after he and Cyndi moved back to Montana, he started cooking with Cyndis father Rick Zobenica. Hailing from Croatian heritage, Zobenica is reportedly an ace when it comes to making kielbasa. Zobenica has also dabbled in the art of smoking, even partnering with Mike to build a homemade smoker. Zobenica is known for giving away his famous kielbasa to friends and family during the holidays. The smell of it still I love because it reminds me of Christmas time, said Cyndi. Today Zobenicas family recipe for kielbasa is one of the touchstones of the Zobaney menu. As for the Zobaney moniker, Mike and Cyndi said its a fusion of the Mullaney and Zobenica names, while the O in the restaurants logo features a Yugoslavian emblem that represents the federal republics that once made up the nation. The three business partners spent about a year looking for a building until they came across 2400 Harvard Ave. The former site of the Road Runner restaurantwhich had been operated by Chuck, Joe and Betty Fournierhad been vacant for several years. Inside, the Mullaneys and Stevens did extensive renovations, updating the interior with a fresh, tidy look thats both casual and welcoming. Many of the interior elements are inspired by Butte, including a decorative vinyl door wrap depicting a mineshaft and the copper-sided counter, reminiscent of vintage ceiling tiles that can be found throughout the city. While building the business, the budding restaurateurs received requests from neighbors to resurrect their favorite Road Runner menu items. We really got inspired, said Mike. To honor the neighborhood mainstay, Stevens and the Mullaneys incorporated a hand full of Road Runner staples. Chuck and Betty Fournier even got involved, taking the Zobaney crew under their collective wing, showing them how to prepare the former restaurants items and giving them industry advice along the way. They ran this place for 35 years, said Mike. This was a big part of their lives and (it was) a big service to the community, he said. Stevens was on the verge of retirement when he heard about the Mullaneys plans to start a business, so he decided to jump in. At the restaurant hes a jack of all trades, contributing to multiple aspects of the business. Its kind of like a blind man walking down a new street, said Stevens of taking on entrepreneurship for the first time. Many aspects of the business, he said, the trio had to learn as they went along. He said the best part of his new career is interacting with customers. Some of them become almost like friends, said Stevens. Love 17 Funny 2 Wow 1 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. A Butte-Silver Bow firefighter was alone in the basement of a burning building when he became separated from the hose line. It was dark and smoky but when he called for help on his handheld radio, no other firefighters could hear his mayday. In the parking lot of Lydias restaurant on the outskirts of town, a man started fighting with a lone Butte police officer. He called for backup on his portable radio but nobody could understand what he was saying. Both incidents ended without serious injury, but problems with portable communications between firefighters, police and other first responders in urban Butte are getting worse and becoming more frequent. Sheriff Ed Lester and Butte-Silver Bow Fire Chief Jeff Miller say the 50-watt or 100-watt radios in police and fire vehicles work fine, but the portables needed in the field are increasingly hit-and-miss, especially inside buildings. If there was a fire or mass shooting at a school or Walmart, as an example, police and firefighters might not be able to talk to each other from opposite sides of the building or to anyone outside. If we have an interior firefighting crew and they are unable to communicate with either their second interior crew or the incident commander who is outside, that is a problem, Miller said. Our worry isnt that you cant talk from 5 miles away. Our issues are within less than 100 yards away most of the time. Theres a fix, but its costly. Getting new, more powerful 800-megahertz portables under a new system for all police officers, most paid firefighters and all of the volunteer fire departments in Butte-Silver Bow County would cost taxpayers just over $1 million, officials say. Thats with a stand-alone system that would enhance communications just within the county. Getting portables that hook into a digital trunked system that covers much of Montana would cost more. The price tag would nearly triple when you add other needed upgrades, including two new radio towers and an enhanced 911 system. Not counting multimillion-dollar projects OKd by voters, the radios alone would be one of the biggest-ticket capital requests in recent years. Butte-Silver Bow Budget Director Danette Gleason and Chief Executive Dave Palmer say in all likelihood, the county would have to finance them over a period of years. But theyre looking at the next county budget to get that started. They have been talking about this for quite some time, Palmer said. Where they dont get coverage is a real concern and its getting worse. I think there is a need, definitely, but its a big ask. Emergency officials know that, but say this about way more than improving efficiency. Our whole goal is to make sure that we can respond to any area and make sure those who are responding go home to their families at night, said Dan Dennehy, the countys emergency management director. WHATS WRONG? It took a long time to diagnose the problem. We started noticing that some days they (portable radios) would work, some days they wouldnt work, Lester said. We would go out to the same location where there was a problem and all of a sudden they would be fine. They tried moving a repeater a receiver that captures radio signals, magnifies them and instantly broadcasts them out again from the top of the Law Enforcement building to the top of the Bell Diamond headframe on the Hill. That didnt improve anything so they moved it to the top of the Emergency Operations Center off of Wynne Avenue on the Flat. That didnt help either. We started thinking, maybe its not the radios that are the issue, Lester said. Turns out they are an issue but not the only one. The primary culprit is whats called a noise floor all the unwanted electrical signals that interfere with conventional VHF radio transmissions. They come from computers and other electronics, lights and motors, and increasingly now, from Wi-Fi and cell phones. What we have is all these electronics concentrated in this bowl (valley) here and it interferes with our radios, Lester said. Sometimes it just sounds like static. Police and firefighters in Butte have been using VHF (very high frequency) radios since the late 1980s and with help from a federal grant, all of the hand-held units were replaced about a dozen years ago. Before VHF, Miller said, they used standard low-band radios. You literally could not hear each other from car to car mobile radios from Walkerville to the Nine Mile, and if you had to leave to go to Divide or Melrose, you were literally out of touch, Miller said. So when they brought us up to VHF, it was spectacular, he said. But there was none of these electronics out there like cell phones and nobody had computers except the Montana Power Company and you didnt have all this interference. In laymans terms, VHF radio waves are long and sloped. They are more susceptible to the noise floor and they have a hard time penetrating buildings, Miller said. Signals in the 800-megahertz band are short and stubby, can penetrate buildings better and are less susceptible to todays interference. In addition to the noise floor, VHF radios are hampered by narrow banding that the Federal Communications Commission ordered several years ago. The VHF frequencies were basically squeezed to allow other entities to use the band. We noticed degradation of the signal with our portable radios shortly after the radios were narrow banded, Miller said. LOOKING FOR THE BEST FIX County officials have some big choices to make in the coming months. First, they can purchase portable radios that work independent of a still-developing statewide system or they can buy more expensive models that work well with the latter. This could be an ideal time to join the state system because the Montana Legislature just approved $3.75 million in funding to upgrade, expand and maintain that system. The new law says that amount is to be made available each year for the next decade. With the trunked system, radio signals are sent to a controller in Helena, converted into a computer file and sent back out almost instantaneously. The system finds the best repeater tower available to rebroadcast the signal without responders having to select anything. The state system could make communications between fire, police and other first responders seamless even when vehicles and personnel travel far outside of Butte-Silver Bow County. If they join the state system they could be standing on Montana Street in Butte and talk to someone in Glendive, said Col. Tom Butler, chief of the Montana Highway Patrol. Events dont stop at the county line. Events dont stop in just one jurisdiction. Mike Feldman, a retired sergeant with the Montana Highway Patrols Butte Division, says some Montana counties tapped into federal grant money following the 2001 terrorist attacks and began setting up the trunked system. But the grant funds dried up. What we have now is part of a statewide system that doesnt include everybody and some of the software and hardware is out of date, said Feldman, who helped persuade lawmakers to invest new money in the statewide system. Radios would cost more with the state system, but Lester said they have been tested here and work well. And the costs of towers and other necessities could be partially funded by the state or be shared through agreements with other counties. Dennehy said such discussions are under way. Feldman and Butler are promoting the state system. I think Butte has a communications problem and they are looking for a solution, Feldman said. I think the state system could be a great part of that solution. They will still have to buy the radios but they wont need the master controller (in Helena) to manage the radio traffic, Butler said. That will be available to them as part of this. Radios would work better in either system if Butte had two new repeater towers to magnify 800-megahertz signals, officials say, and that is part of their bigger request. It would add another $800,000 or so to the tab. They also want to implement an enhanced record-keeping system that would allow police to get up-to-date criminal justice information on people instantly without going through a dispatcher. It would provide valuable information to firefighters, too, such as configurations on buildings and who lives there. That would cost about $700,000. And Butte, like all cities and counties, wants to upgrade its analog 911 system with digital technologies, commonly called Next Generation 911. It is a faster system that allows voice, videos, photos and text messages to flow easily from the public to the 911 network. Those upgrades would cost about $300,000. Emergency officials in Butte are pushing for the radios first and hope to get a foothold of funding for them in the county budget that will be approved in August. They can then decide whether radios with a state or stand-alone system are a better, long-term buy. Whatever system they choose, they want to make sure it can be updated periodically and last a long time. We havent had any major upgrades to our system in a long time," Sheriff Lester said. "We need to modernize, and the sooner the better. Technology is always changing but Id like to see this upgrade take us down the road 10 to 15 years before we have to look at it again. Officials will look at creative ways to lessen the financial hit on taxpayers, he said, but "the longer we go without addressing that problem, the greater the likelihood something bad is going to happen." Love 1 Funny 5 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 6 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. Roger O. Hansen passed away at his home on May 18, 2019 in Phoenix, Arizona where he had lived for the last 45 years. He was born and raised in Butte, Montana and still cherished many friends and family there. Roger served in the Army and was an electrical contractor for 28 years. Roger is survived by wife, Sandy, daughter and son-in-law, Jodi and Joel McWilliams; granddaughter, Alexandra; and brother, Alan Hansen. Roger will be interred at the National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona, at 10:30 a.m. on May 28, 2019. Because Roger loved animals all of his life, in lieu of flowers, the family asks for contributions to be made to Tiger Haven Inc., www.tigerhaven.org, on behalf of Roger O. Hansen. Obituaries Newsletter Sign up to get the most recent local obituaries 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. They fought our wars for us the unfashionable wars, the dirty, muddy, bloody wars, the wars that seemed to go on forever, the wars fought in strange places thousands of miles from Montana. They didn't ask why, or pause to consider the reasons. They simply fought for their country. They did their best to keep their comrades in arms safe, to protect the rest of us from the realities of war, and to win the day on the battlefield. They distinguished themselves with their determination and their bravery. Then they came home to southwest Montana and the people they were fighting for. And we are lucky to have them among us. Starting this Memorial Day and ending the week of Veterans Day, we will feature a vignette each week about a veteran in our midst. The first one will be published tomorrow; another will run each week for 25 weeks. In Montana, nearly one in 10 of our residents are veterans more than we could ever honor individually. But by paying special homage to these 25 between Memorial Day and Veterans Day, The Montana Standard's intention is to honor all of our state's veterans for their service, to us and to the country. It seems fitting to us to start our Stories of Honor with Mike Lawson, a decorated Vietnam veteran who has dedicated his life to veterans affairs. The Marine Sergeant earned a bronze star with a combat "V", but his service didn't stop with his heroism during the war. He has contributed for many years as a driver for the Disabled American Veterans; as commandant of the local and state Marine Corps League; as vice commander of the American Legion Post #1; and in many other ways. Watch in Monday's edition of The Montana Standard for the first Story of Honor, featuring Lawson. Lawson said he is "humbled to say the least" to be the first in The Montana Standard's Stories of Honor series. "Recognizing different veterans from now to Veterans Day is hopefully a way for people to realize the commitment/sacrifice to our country veterans have made and continue to make within their communities," Lawson said last week. "The patriotism we the veterans learned and embraced from boot camp on through our military career didnt stop upon our discharge but continues to the day were laid to rest and join our brothers and sisters who have gone before us," he added. "Our motto, for many of us, is 'to serve is to give back' to our brother/sister veterans, our communities and ultimately our country. Its an honor for us to do so." We understand the enormous debt of gratitude we owe our veterans, both living and dead. Please join us in honoring them on this Memorial Day, on Veterans Day, and on each week in between. We hope you enjoy these quick glances at the lives and accomplishments of the 25, and that they remind us all of just how much we do owe them. And if you, too, are a veteran, we thank you sincerely for your service. Love 2 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 When I'm planning to have friends over for drinks and cheese, I tend to stock up on cool-climate wines, whites and reds. I avoid big, bruisy wines, which generally hail from warmer regions and tend toward over-ripeness, low acidity and higher alcohol levels. Wines like Aussie shiraz, Argentine malbec and Napa cabernet have their place, sure, particularly those nights I want to channel my inner Olivia Pope or am digging into a giant steak, but for brunch, book club or a casual hang, light and nimble wines do the trick. Easygoing Sicilian frappato and cool-climate Loire Valley cabernet francs are my go-to reds, mainly because both express softer tannins and higher acidity. They're lively and tend toward funky, a nice foil for grassy or stinky cheeses. France's Loire Valley and Beaujolais regions produce some of the country's best drink-me-now wines. In recent years, the general "vin de table" (table wine) or "vin de France" designations have modernized beyond old associations with plonk. You'll find many wines now carrying these on their label instead of vineyard or appellation designations some contemporary winemakers feel boxed in by traditional methods governed by appellation d'origine controlee certification. The trade-off for eschewing AOC strictures is greater control for the winemaker. * "Most Popular Intellectual Property Law Blawg" of all time according to Justia rankings , December 2021. * "Most Popular Copyright Blawg" of all time according to Justia rankings , December 2021. * PermaKat Eleonora Rosati listed as one of the World Intellectual Property Review's "Influential Women in IP" of 2020. * PermaKat Eleonora Rosati listed as one of the Managing Intellectual Property magazine's "Fifty Most Influential People" of 2018. * IPKat founder and Blogmeister Emeritus Jeremy Phillips listed as one of the Managing Intellectual Property magazine's "Fifty Most Influential People" of 2005, 2011, 2013, and 2014. * Recommended by the European Patent Office as reading material for candidates for the European Qualifying Examinations, 2013. * Listed as "Top Legal Blog" in The Times Online, March 2011. 2010 ABA Journal 100. * One of the only two non-US blogs listed in the Blawg100. * Court Reporter Top Copyright Blog award winner, November 2010. * Number 1 in the 2010 Top Copyright Blog list compiled by the Copyright Litigation Blog, July 2010. * Selected by the United States Library of Congress for inclusion in its historic collections of Internet materials related to Legal Blawgs as of 2010. * Top Patent Blog poll 2009: 3rd out of 50 in the "Favourite Patent Blog" poll and 2nd out of 50 in the "Most-read" poll. Blog of the Year, 20 August 2008. * ComputerWeekly IT Law and Governance, 20 August 2008. The Rapport newspaper reported that Eskom CEO Phakamani Hadebe collapsed twice at his office this year and was driven away by ambulance. This followed news on Friday that Hadebe has resigned and will step down as Eskom chief executive at the end of July 2019. Citing a well-placed source, Rapport said Hadebes suffered from severe stress and handed in his resignation twice before. He was, however, asked to stay on until after the elections. As part of his resignation, Hadebe said the role of Eskom CEO comes with unimaginable demands which have unfortunately had a negative impact on his health. In the best interests of Eskom and my family, I have therefore decided to step down, said Hadebe. Energy Expert comments EE Publishers and energy expert Chris Yelland confirmed Hadebes health problems, but added that the Eskom CEOs resignation at this point is no coincidence. He said there is a whole lot of things coming together right now and that the new cabinet announcement may have also played a role in Hadebes decision. Eskom is also set to present its latest financial results to the board on Tuesday, which are expected to be disastrous with a loss of over R20 billion. Yelland added that Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhans hands-on approach with Eskom may have raised questions whether Hadebe was trusted as Eskom CEO. Transition period Speaking to Rapport, Eskom board chairperson Jabu Mabuza said that Hadebes resignation was unexpected but understandable. Luckily well still work together for another two months during the transition period, Mabuza said. Its going to be a challenge replacing him. Anton Eberhard, the chairperson of Ramaphosas task team on Eskoms sustainability, tweeted that Hadebes resignation had been expected since April. Thank goodness. What has been known behind the scenes since April is now official and public, Eberhard said. Now we need urgently to strengthen both executive management and the Board at South Africas national power utility. In the age of personal information farming and database breaches, it doesnt always hurt to be a bit paranoid about your online activities. Smartphones play a large role in this environment, as we use them for everything from navigation or ordering food to our home address to texting loved ones and browsing the web. Fortunately, there are simple steps you can take to improve your anonymity online. Network One of the easiest ways to prevent your ISP from tracking your online activity is to use a virtual private network (VPN). VPN services can provide you with anonymity along with additional functionality, such as selecting which region you would prefer to access a website from. These services can often limit your speed however, especially if you use a free platform instead of a paid service. Whether you want to prioritise speed and pay for a stable service or use a free option, these services can be ideal for ensuring your online privacy. After subscribing to a VPN, you will be able to connect to your chosen service by entering the data and login information provided by your VPN service into your smartphone. On Android, this option is usually found in the Wireless & Networks settings menu. It is under the General settings menu on iOS devices. Messaging WhatsApp is the most popular messaging platform in South Africa, but it does require users to sign up with a mobile number. If you are concerned about divulging your mobile number to use a messaging platform, you could always sign up for a service like Wire. Wire encrypts all your data, including voice calls and video conferences, and does not require you to enter a phone number to sign up. Blockchain enthusiasts also have another option in the form of Status Messenger which is a censorship-resistant and private messenger built on the Ethereum blockchain. Browsing If you use Google as your search engine or Chrome as your browser, your browsing data can be collected. An alternative is an anonymous browsing mode like Incognito Mode or InPrivate browsing in Chrome and Edge respectively. This does not save your browsing history or your cookies. If you are looking to use a browser which offers more privacy however, you might want to select the Tor browser for Android. Additionally, Tor will let you access the dark web on your smartphone. Storage If you have sensitive information stored on your smartphone, there are services you can use to protect your files. These include encryption and password-locking options such as Samsungs Secure Folder, which lock files and folders behind a password or biometrics. Other services like Huaweis PrivateSpace allow users to have a clone of their system locked behind a password. If your device does not have any native file locker functionality, it is simple to browse the Google Play Store for highly-rated software. Users must double-check that the app they are downloading is reputable and legitimate. By Tim Culpan The U.S.-China tech cold war is about to spread, and that will force leaders to make some difficult decisions. I wrote last week that a digital Iron Curtain had been drawn when President Donald Trump moved to isolate Huawei Technologies Co. Within a week, global corporations were caught in this divide. Alphabet Inc.s Google said it would cease some ties with Huawei, including limiting the Chinese electronics companys access to its Android mobile operating system. From there, telecom firms in Japan, Britain and Taiwan were among those that halted orders for Huaweis newest devices. Microsoft Corp. dropped Huawei products from its Azure Stack catalog while Britains ARM Holdings Plc, now owned by SoftBank Group Corp., said it would comply with an order to stop supplying some intellectual property used in semiconductors. These companies were following the directive of one sovereign nation. From their perspective, there was little wriggle room either legally or functionally (if a phone cant operate Android properly, then thats a problem). A slower-moving, but more significant divide, is likely to form between nations as this digital Iron Curtain falls. Having mutually exclusive technological spheres doesnt simply mean supply chains will mirror each other on different continents. Rather, for countries around the world, it means that every business and investment decision becomes a political one. U.S. technology still leads the world, and itll stay that way for a while. But China has shown a willingness to engage and help developing nations in ways the U.S. once did. Constructing or subsidizing fixed-line and mobile communications networks is likely to continue. Made by Huawei and ZTE Corp., but funded directly or indirectly by Beijing. Its not just high-tech networks. Numerous developing nations want high-speed rail lines, efficient ports and airports, and energy-saving, low-pollutant electric vehicles. Each of these could be provided by America or its allies. Japan, Europe and Canada have the technology and skill to help. But in addition to being capable of offering those items, China has the political and fiscal capital to do so. The will already exists in the form of its Belt and Road Initiative. But if a nation agrees to install Chinese networks or infrastructure, theres an increasing chance it will be cut off from U.S. products under the guise of American national security. The Philippines and Vietnam epitomize this dichotomy. The Philippines has had historically close ties with the U.S. However, President Rodrigo Duterte has alternated between love and hate for China, noting both Beijings belligerence toward its neighbors and its willingness to do deals. Under his presidency, the two nations have signed more than a dozen agreements including one for China Telecom Corp. to build a mobile-phone network in the Philippines. The mood toward China was summed up this month by Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin in an interview with Bloomberg News: Chinas offer of a strategic partnership is a bit more attractive than the current offer of the U.S. of strategic confusion. Vietnam, by contrast, would seem to be a natural Chinese ally. Yet Beijings assertive behavior hasnt endeared it to the Vietnamese, while they have a relatively warm disposition toward the U.S. Four decades after a brutal war ended, the two nations are building military ties as Vietnam seeks to hold back the tide of rising Chinese power. This makes Hanoi more likely to eschew Chinese offers if it would mean losing Washingtons favor. But the choice wont be easy, given the largess China offers. Such decisions will need to be made around the world. They wont be rushed, and probably wont be come in clear declarative speeches at a podium. Instead theyll be made in the meeting rooms of bureaucratic institutions, over the table at cabinet meetings, and in foreign embassies where the carpets will be worn thin by a stampede of government and non-government lobbyists. Just as the world was divided along military lines 70 years ago, the digital Iron Curtain will force political leaders to decide whether theyre Team China or Team America. Now read: Huawei is now banned from using microSD cards 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 Sure, no one needs a $35 pool float shaped like a bottle of ranch dressing. But ranch dressing has never been about needs. Ranch dressing is about our most brazen wants: to make healthy vegetables unhealthy, to put buttermilk on pizza (pizza!), to cover our fats in a coating of more fats. Ranch dressing is pure id. And if ranch dressing is for some reason your thing, you can broadcast it to the entire pool party: Hidden Valley Ranch has just released a collection of ranch-themed summer clothing and accessories. There are swimsuits and trunks, beach bags, towels, water bottles (they say "There's a chance this is ranch"), and button-down, Hawaiian-style shirts printed with pizza and ranch bottles, which are very Urban Outfitters meets Jeremy Scott. They join a collection of preexisting products on the Hidden Valley merch site, including a ranch fountain - like a chocolate fountain, but ranch - which would probably be a big hit at a cool wedding. There's also a ranch flask (fill with ranch, obvi), a "Peace Love Ranch" shirt, and a "Pizza & Veggies & Wings & Fries & Hidden Valley" shirt, a knockoff of those Helvetica ampersand shirts, but without the Helvetica. All of this is to say that ranch is trying to be the summer version of pumpkin spice - a flavor preference that some people think is a substitute for a personality. It means August will be a smooth transition from your "I put ranch on my ranch" one-piece swimsuit to your "Pumpkin spice is my favorite season" T-shirt. It's been a good year for ranch. It started with a charming presidential campaign meme, when Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand was interrupted in an Iowa pizza parlor by a young woman who was "just trying to get some ranch." (Gillibrand later acquired a ranch shirt of her own, but not from the Hidden Valley line.) It was followed by several new products: Hidden Valley introduced ranch dressings flavored like pizza seasoning and Buffalo wing sauce, while Heinz gave the world the extremely fun-to-say Kranch, a combination of ketchup and ranch. Anyway. Only a few lucky flavors and brands that get elevated to the status of fashion icon - such as Old Bay, if you live in Maryland, or Sriracha. Which will be next? Gochujang? Mayochup? Not every war hero has a book written about him or her, or a movie depicting the story of their sacrifice on the big screen. And not every American prisoner of war (POW) comes back from the war to become a beloved and celebrated United States senator that the whole country mourns on his passing. The vast majority of war heroes and surviving POWs come back to live their lives in relative anonymity as your quiet neighbor down the street. Such was the case of Lt. Cmdr. Carl O. Quartername, who passed away in 1999 and was a long-time resident of Napa who worked at Mare Island for much of his post-war years before retirement. His name came to light recently quite by happenstance in a column that appeared in the Napa Valley Register titled A Pacific pilgrimage, a tribute to those who served 1939-1945, and written by Lynne Champlin. It turns out a school in Penang, Malaysia described by Champlain is the same school where Quartername was held prisoner in after being captured, along with his crewmates aboard the submarine USS Grenadier. In one of the photos accompanying the story, Quarternames name along with several fellow POWs etched on the wall of a classroom is visible. This caught the attention of Quarternames grandson, Duane Stofan of Portland, Oregon, who has the diary kept by his uncle during his internment. Ive been to this school and touched that wall, Stofan said. It was a surreal experience to visit the spot that my uncle became a POW. After spending two years as a POW he was eventually liberated from a camp that performed labor at a copper mine in Japan at the end of the war. Quartername, a chief quartermaster at the time. Many of his fellow POWs had been U.S. Navy submariners serving aboard the U.S.S. Grenadier, which was hit by Japanese bombs in the Gulf of Thailand off the coast of Malaysia on April 23, 1943, and later scuttled by the crew. Quartername and his fellow crewmen were picked up by a Japanese ship and transported to the POW camp in Penang. According to historical accounts, the Grenadier had departed Australia on March 20, 1943, headed for the Strait of Malacca, which separates the Pacific and Indian oceans. A month later, while running on the surface, the sub was spotted by a Japanese plane. The Grenadier dived to 130 feet, thinking it was safe, but was struck by Japanese explosives. The damaged vessel sank to the bottom, at 270 feet, with the crew making frantic repairs and fighting an internal fire, potential death to the men confined inside the sealed tube. After 13 anxious hours, the Grenadier managed to surface to get a better sense of the damage. It was quickly obvious that the sub was beyond repair. The crew tried to bring the vessel closer to a nearby island, where the crew could escape and the sub could be scuttled. At one point, they even attempted to hoist an improvised sail. But before they could maneuver to shore, dawn broke, and with it the sight of two approaching Japanese ships. The crew fought an attacking torpedo plane with a machine gun, but it was clear the disabled Grenadier was doomed. The crew destroyed confidential documents, opened the vents, and abandoned ship. They were picked up by a Japanese merchant ship as the Grenadier settled to the bottom. In all, eight officers and 68 enlisted men were saved and taken to Penang in Malaysia. They were held in a former Catholic girls school, where they were questions and tortured. They were later moved through various prison camps and wound up in Japan. Remarkably, despite the brutal treatment inflicted on POWS by the Japanese, all but four of the men survived the war. Like many World War II veterans, Quartername never spoke much about the war or his time in prisoner of war camps, according to Stofan: The family obviously knew that hed been held as a prisoner for a couple years and that hed been tortured as part of that process. My mother, Barbara Stofan, said that he didnt talk about it and no one really brought it up. But Stofan said Quartername carried the scars of the torture he endured, in particular the burns on his back from cigarettes placed there by his captors. We know he shared some details about his experience with people outside the family, but it is safe to say that his POW experience was not a topic of family discussion, Stofan said. It was one of the most difficult and traumatic times of his life, for two years he didnt know if he would live to see the next day, let alone make it home someday. As his grandson and a former Navy enlisted man myself, he did tell me about memorials for the USS Grenadier that were near my location, but he never shared the details of his time as a POW with me, Stofan recalled. Stofan said Quartername never returned to any of the places of his captivity, including the school in Malaysia where his name can be seen etched in the wall to this day. He never left the country after he retired from the Navy, and appeared to have no interest at all in visiting any of the camps. He was a member of the WWII Submarine Veterans Association, and did attend a few reunions. Carl passed away in 1999, about a year after I completed my enlistment in the Navy, Stofan said. During his memorial service, a bell ceremony was held where they rang a bell for every U.S. sub lost during WWII. At that time, the story of his submarine, details about the crews capture and their time as POWs was shared. We obtained more details and information about his time as a POW during his funeral than anyone had during his lifetime. One of Quarternames shipmates and fellow POWs, Tim McCoy, recalled the circumstances of the crews liberation at the end of the war: We were at the factory and had gone to work when they called us out to these huge parade grounds. They assembled us and the emperor himself came on the radio over the loudspeakers and announced to everybody that the war was over. When that happened, the Japanese just started running and leaving and going in every direction. Prison guards were nowhere to be seen. McCoy said the prisoners had often been told they would all be executed immediately if American soldiers invaded Japan, but fortunately that didnt happen. All but four of the Grenadiers crew made it safely back to American soil, an amazing tribute to their tenacity despite undergoing daily torture and abuse. To this day, the Grenadier remains the only U.S. submarine whose crew was captured entirely intact. All of those men are heroes in every sense, including one of our own, Carl Quartername, who is eternally at rest in the Napa Valley Memorial Park. Americans borrowed $105 billion in student loans last year, an annual figure that has doubled in constant dollars since 1999. That makes student debt, as a category of consumer debt, second only to mortgages. Democratic presidential candidates are drawing applause by talking about free college and debt relief. As graduates toss their mortarboards in the air this month, here are five lasting misconceptions about the debt they'll spend years or even decades paying back. MYTH NO. 1: You can avoid debt by working your way through college. This is an old chestnut. "You can earn money by working while taking classes," Yahoo Finance advised in May in an article headlined "5 Ways to Avoid Student Loans." In 2015, CNBC touted the story of a mom whose "son snagged a job as a resident assistant, which covered his room and board." Anecdotes are not data. It was entirely possible in the 1980s to pay your way through a typical public university with a part-time minimum-wage job. But trends in both tuition and wages have put that strategy out of reach for most today. The average in-state cost for tuition, fees, room and board at a public four-year university last year was $21,370,according to the College Board. The federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour. To pay for college on that wage, a student would have to work 56 hours a week, every week of the year. No wonder about 2 in 3 graduates of public and private nonprofit colleges borrow, a proportion that's held steady for a decade. MYTH NO. 2: The bigger the loan, the worse trouble you're in. This seems like a reasonable assumption. "Anyone who has shouldered the burden of six-figure student loan debt knows the heavy toll it can take," HuffPostwroteon May 14. According to Entrepreneur magazine, "Stories abound of liberal arts majors leaving school with six-figure student loans." Yes, there are some. But the graduates who average six-figure student loan balances are generally doctors,lawyers and PhDs, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, and those degrees tend to come with six-figure salaries to match. Meanwhile, those most likely to default on their student loans (and suffer a lifetime of financial setbacks that follow bad credit) have debt in the four figures, not six, according to the Center for American Progress, which profiled defaulters in 2017. Its report found that defaulters are more likely to be older, to be African American and to attend for-profit colleges. About half never finish their degrees. CAP discovered that, in 2017, the median defaulter borrowed a little more than $9,600, while borrowers who did not default took out almost twice as much at the median. MYTH NO. 3: Student loans are a young person's problem. This notion is out of date. "Student debt is delaying progress for an entire generation,"said a Philadelphia Inquirer headline on May 21, referring to more-recent graduates. According to CBS News, "Millennials struggle under the burden of student loan debt." True enough, but boomers are increasingly in hot water, too, and they have retirements to fund. AARPreported this month that Americans over 50 owe almost $290 billion of the nation's student loans, up from $47 billion 15 years ago. Among seniors, the number of indebted people, the amounts they owe and the percentage who are behind on payments all rose in the first half of the 2010s, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Some of the growth comes from parents taking out what are called PLUS loans for their children's educations: nearly $89 billion in total. MYTH NO. 4: If you rack up student loan debt, college isn't worth it. "I'm going to owe $100K by the time I graduate college," Jacob Lopez, a junior economics major at Columbia,wrotein a recent Newark Star-Ledger op-ed. "Is it worth it?" The Gates Foundation has a new initiative aimed at answering just that question. And in an Aprilsurvey by the financial website GoBanking Rates, 42 percent of Americans said that "their college degree wasn't worth the student debt it created." Assuming he finishes his degree, Lopez has nothing to worry about. Economics is in the top 25 majors ranked by wages, according to Georgetown, with a midcareer salary of $117,800,according to PayScale. The firm also reports that a Columbia degree specifically is worth a 14 percent salary premium over the average grad. Even if you're not an Ivy Leaguer, odds are still pretty good that a college degree will pay off - as long as you finish. The College Board's most recent Education Pays report found that the average bachelor's degree recipient earns $61,400 annually, compared with $36,800 for someone with just a high school diploma. The average graduate, meanwhile, owes $28,650. So let's imagine that Jane, who goes right into the workforce after high school, earns $515,200 in her first 14 years. John, who spends four years in college, will earn $614,000 in his first 10 years, while repaying$38,000 or so in principal plus interest under a standard repayment plan. Now his loans are gone. He's in the black, and the gains will only multiply over a several-decade career. And that calculation doesn't include the social benefits of higher education, such as job creation, innovation, and even improved health and social stability. MYTH NO. 5: The Democrats have a plan to end student loan debt. Democratic presidential candidates like Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders are promoting "billion-dollar plans to make college free on the campaign trail,"according to NBC News. They want to "erase student debt,"reports CNBC. And it's true that the federal government could, in theory, cancel existing student loans. The Democrats just have to take control of the White House in 2020, recapture Congress and get rid of the filibuster so they can pass student debt relief over the opposition of Senate Republicans. But it's unclear what would happen to the student loan program. Erasing the need for all student debt forever - "free college" - is beyond the power of the federal government alone. Warren's and Sanders's free-college proposals, which have the most details, require the federal government to spend more to incent public universities to forgo charging tuition in favor of other revenue schemes, including more state funding. But it would be up to states to decide whether to ante up the extra dollars. Given how many red states opted out of the Obamacare Medicaid expansion - a similar federal proposal that relied on state participation - it's unlikely that a Democrat would get nationwide results with such a plan. Anya Kamenetz, who covers education for NPR, is the author of Generation Debt and The Art of Screen Time. She wrote this for The Washington Post. It also does not reflect the views of the Firm of which the Author is working for. Since the inception of this blog, the Author has avoided writing views and opinions of his clients or views and opinions which third parties has paid him to write. The Author has maintained editorial independence since Day One. Any individual or group affected by the opinions and views of the Author can write the author thru mangubat.patricio@gmail.com. Opinions and views expressed in this blog are personal views of the Author and does not involve organisations and companies being serviced by the Author as part of his profession as a Strategic Communications professional. Bill Gates reveals plan to save the planet Kuwait forms new cabinet Attorney: Criminal prosecution against Artur Vanetsyan terminated, there was no preparation for Armenia PM's murder Armenia army's General Staff chief visits air force military unit Armenia opposition MP: Constitutional Court states that government should decide who will pay for employees' PCR tests Brawl takes place in Parliament of Jordan Armenia Ombudsman meets with Russia Ambassador, return of Armenian captives being held in Azerbaijan discussed Armenia launches 42 cases regarding submission of declarations by officials in 2021 Armenian man who was wanted arrives in Yerevan and voluntarily shows up at police station Armenia MOD peacekeeping brigade soldiers participate in tactical military exercises Armenia has new Ambassador to Israel Azerbaijani opposition journalists protesting against repressive law on media Armenia President and his wife pay visit to Yerablur Military Pantheon Armenia Competition Protection Commission to check pricing for COVID-19 tests at Zvartnots Airport Advocate: Criminal prosecution against Armenian detachment commander Ashot Minasyan is over NEWS.am daily digest: 28.12.21 Opposition 'Armenia' Faction of National Assembly holds session chaired by Robert Kocharyan Armenia education minister: 9 universities in 11 countries are carrying out Armenian Studies development programs Armenia PM attends informal meeting of leaders of CIS countries in St. Petersburg Ex-PM: Armenia authorities want to leave Karabakh to Azerbaijans whim Armenia Competition Protection Commission chief: There will be new player in petrol market soon Armenia political parties activities, their governing bodies property shall be scrutinized Dollar goes down in Armenia Opposition lawmaker: Local producers will face difficult situation if Turkey companies invade Armenia Georgia PM: Pashinyan and Aliyev are interested in the establishment of peace in the region Ruling force MP is sure all remaining Armenian captives in Azerbaijan will be returned Aravot.am: Mother of ex-mayor Vardan Ghukasyan's deceased son-in-law killed in Armenia's Gyumri Parliament majority member: Major personnel changes must be made in Armenia army A new start at Inecobanks most popular branch Governor: Armenia Central Bank has entered new stage of transformation Shoygu: Russian peacekeepers gradually bringing life back to Karabakh 60% of Armenias Zangezur Copper and Molybdenum Combine to pass under Russia-registered company control Seven people killed in Colombia bus incident Learjet crashed in California Shooting in Colorado kills five people President: Main precondition for keeping Artsakh Armenian, alive is to live, create here (VIDEO) 1 more person dies of coronavirus in Karabakh Turkey records increase in COVID-19 cases Yerevan has new First Deputy Mayor Displaced Karabakh residents seek political asylum from France 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 A journalist of Armenias Fifth Channel was attacked during the rally organized by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyans supporters yesterday. This is what Director of TV 5 Harutyun Harutyunyan wrote on his Facebook page. A couple of days ago, people attacked Hrant Markarian while he was strolling with his grandchildren. The government kept silent, making it seem like nothing had happened, and if It wasnt for the media, who would have known that a group of bastards had attacked a grandfather strolling with his grandchildren just because he is the member of a political party and a veteran of the Artsakh war? Representatives of the journalistic community had to have given a response yesterday. Yesterday, they scolded the President of Artsakh and threatened to stone him, attacked the journalist of the Fifth Channel, and later, they stabbed an employee of Para TV. Whereas in Hrants case the government kept silent, in this case, the government has chosen to lead the ostrich policy, saying it doesnt know who those people are. But does this justify the bloodshed that might turn into a river of blood? Harutyun Harutyunyan wrote. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and Iraqi President Barham Salih met in Baghdad on Saturday to discuss security cooperation between the two countries in a bid to help increase the stability in the region, reports Mehr. The two sides stressed the need to increase security cooperation between Iran and Iraq to defuse the current tensions and increase regional stability. Salih, for his part, said boosting relations with Iran and other Islamic states is the best way for reinforcing the stability in the region and establishing balanced ties between the regional countries, especially the neighbors. Upon his arrival to Baghdad earlier in the day, the Iranian diplomat met and held talks with Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi. The officials discussed the recent regional developments and Irans recent countermeasures against the US unilateral moves. The diplomats noted that both Iran and Iraq have been affected by US sanctions on Tehran, while stressing that the deal should be preserved despite Washingtons hawkish moves. Tika R Pradhan is a senior political correspondent for the Post, covering politics, parliament, judiciary and social affairs. Pradhan joined the Post in 2016 after working at The Himalayan Times for more than a decade. On May 26, based on the results of the meeting of Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia Zohrab Mnatsakanyan and member of the State Council of the Peoples Republic of China, Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi, several documents were signed between the Republic of Armenia and the Peoples Republic of China, reports the news service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia. The documents are the following: Agreement for Reciprocal Elimination of Visas for Persons Holding Ordinary Passports between the Government of the Republic of Armenia and the Government of the Peoples Republic of China Agreement on Extradition between the Republic of Armenia and the Peoples Republic of China Protocol on Food Hygiene for Honey Exported from the Republic of Armenia to the Peoples Republic of China, the Veterinary Sector and Plant Conservation between the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Armenia and the General Administration of Customs of the Peoples Republic of China. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan received today member of the State Council of the Peoples Republic of China, Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi, reports the Department of Information and Public Relations of the Government of Armenia. Prime Minister Pashinyan welcomed the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Peoples Republic of China to Armenia and cordially remembered his visit to China. I had great and very fruitful meetings with the President and Prime Minister of China and Chinese businessmen and am glad that we reached concrete agreements on enhancing the mutually beneficial cooperation. Once again, I express my gratitude for the invitation to participate in the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations, the Prime Minister stated. Member of the State Council of the Peoples Republic of China, Foreign Minister Wang Yi expressed gratitude to the Prime Minister of Armenia for the reception and for his participation in the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations. The head of government attached importance to the signing of the Agreement for Reciprocal Elimination of Visas for Persons Holding Ordinary Passports between the Government of the Republic of Armenia and the Government of the Peoples Republic of China today and, in this context, offered to discuss the perspectives for the establishment of direct air communication. The interlocutors discussed issues on the deepening of relations in several sectors within the scope of bilateral agreements. The parties attached importance to cooperation for construction of the North-South Road Corridor. According to Pashinyan, the Government of Armenia views the construction project as an opportunity for the establishment of a communication corridor that can serve as a link in the context of the Belt and Road Initiative. In his turn, Wang Yi stated that China is interested in the construction of the North-South Road Corridor. The Prime Minister noted that the Armenian government is taking steps to promote the technology industry and invited Chinese IT companies to participate in the World Congress on Information Technology (WCIT) to be held in Armenia in October of this year. Wang Yi expressed gratitude for the invitation and noted that China will consider the opportunities and level of participation. The Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister also exchanged views on the challenges of global and regional security and attached importance to cooperation for the strengthening of global and regional stability. Prime Minister Pashinyan also expressed gratitude for Chinas balanced position on the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian received today the delegation led by member of the State Council of the Peoples Republic of China, Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi, reports the news service of the Staff of the President of Armenia. Welcoming the guests, President Sarkissian stated that the recent reciprocal visits of high-ranking officials of both countries are promoting the deepening of relations hinged on the friendship, mutual confidence and mutual respect of both countries. The friendship between our nations traces back to the friendly cooperation spanning centuries and millennia, President Sarkissian stated, adding that the two nations cooperated successfully back in the era of the Silk Road. Minister Wang Yi emphasized that the Armenian people have made great contributions to the history of human civilization. The Great Silk Road united our two nations centuries ago. The Chinese and Armenian nations treat each other with respect and sympathy, and our bilateral relations are growing persistently, the Chinese foreign minister noted and transmitted the kind wishes of President of the Peoples Republic of China Xi Jinping. During the meeting, the parties touched upon the deepening of trade and economic ties between the two friendly countries, the perspectives for cooperation within the scope of the Belt and Road Initiative, as well as the enhancement of partnership in the areas of new technologies, education and science. The process of vetting everywhere is a very sensitive process that needs to be approached extremely carefully. This is what EU Ambassador Piotr Switalski told journalists during a wrap-up of the events dedicated to Europe Day today. The process of vetting everywhere is a very sensitive process. Basically, it is a phenomenon that needs to be approached extremely carefully due to certain reasons that are so clear that it seems as though there is no need to talk about them, the EU Ambassador noted. Switalski highlighted the fact that the EU isnt participating in the discussions in Armenia on how to implement judicial and legal reforms. We are simply saying what is enshrined in our statement. Were ready to share the experience other countries. I cite once again the Minister of Justice who talked about the Albanian model. We can share our experience because the EU is deeply engaged in the process of reforms in Albania. According to the EU Ambassador, Armenia has to determine the model for reforms that it prefers. As an expert, I can say that there are different models and both positive and negative experiences. I believe if we take a look at the Albanian experience, it is viewed as positive. Of course, the procedure is rather intricate from the legal and constitutional perspectives and is costly and time-consuming. Consequently, the Armenian government and parliament need to sit together and understand which model is the best one for Armenia. There will be experts, including experts from the Council of Europe who will give you advice, but Armenia has to do it by itself, Piotr Switalski concluded. The final events dedicated to Europe Day are taking place at Northern Avenue at the initiative of the Delegation of the European Union to Armenia today. Armenia and China have quite a big agenda in several fields and sectors that concern both the global and bilateral agendas. This is what Armenias Minister of Foreign Affairs Zohrab Mnatsakanyan said during his meeting with member of the State Council of China, Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi, reports the Media and Public Diplomacy Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia. I am very glad that we have another opportunity to address the bilateral cooperation within the framework of this visit that is taking place two weeks after the visit of the Prime Minister of Armenia to China and is providing the opportunity to benchmark the future actions for enhancement of the dialogue, Minister Mnatsakanyan highlighted in his welcoming remarks. The interlocutors exchanged views on various issues on the bilateral agenda and attached more importance to the promotion of trade and economic ties and investment projects for infrastructures, etc. In this context, the parties touched upon the future formation and expansion of the joint agenda within the scope of the Belt and Road Initiative. According to Minister Mnatsakanyan, Armenia views its relations with China as one of the country's foreign policy priorities. Touching upon the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Armenias foreign minister presented Armenias approaches to and fundamental position on the settlement of the conflict and highly appreciated Chinas support to the peaceful settlement of the conflict and the negotiations. The parties shared the view that it is necessary to settle the conflict through peace and provide a political solution. The need to take actions to promote regional cooperation and the importance of responding to terrorism and other global challenges through cooperation were highlighted. 19:22 The government on Sunday said reports on the deteriorating health of outgoing Finance Minister Arun Jaitley are false and baseless, and media should stay clear of rumour mongering. Amid speculations on the state of Jaitley's health, government spokesperson Sitanshu Kar took to Twitter to clear the air. "Reports in a section of media regarding Union Minister Shri Arun Jaitley's health condition are false and baseless. Media is advised to stay clear of rumour mongering," he tweeted. While Jaitley remained unreachable despite several attempts, his office said he is resting at home. Sources aware of his condition had on Friday stated that Jaitley is unlikely to be part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Cabinet in the Bharatiya Janata Party government's second term due to his ill health, which may require him to travel to either the United Kingdom or the United States for treatment. Jaitley's college friend and media baron Rajat Sharma too took to Twitter to dispel rumours. "Everyone is discussing my friend @arunjaitley's health, some out of genuine concern and some for loose talk. Let me share with you that I met him last evening, he is recovering well and is working behind the scenes. Friends and family have convinced him to stay away from public interaction to avoid infection. I am glad he has finally agreed." Doctors treating him have advised him to go to the UK or the US for treatment, sources said. Jaitley, whose health has been on a decline ever since he underwent a kidney transplant in May last year, will take a call in the next few days on the issue. He has not attended office for the last three weeks and has rarely been seen in public. He, however, has been writing blogs and tweeted on Modi's victory on Thursday. He neither attended the Cabinet meeting called Friday that recommended dissolution of the 16th Lok Sabha, nor the Saturday meeting of the BJP parliamentary party that elected Modi as its leader. Sources said that he, however, met all the five secretaries in his ministries at his residence on Friday in what was described as a routine meeting. A lawyer by profession, he has been the most important leader in Modi's Cabinet and has often acted as the chief troubleshooter for the government. He had undergone surgery in the US on January 22 for a reported soft tissue cancer in his left leg, an illness that deprived him from presenting 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. -- PTI The requested page is currently unavailable on this server. Back to [RTHK News Homepage] Traffic police books nearly 3,000 haphazardly parked four-wheelers in four months Traffic police division says after the introduction of the wheel clamp drive, the number of haphazardly parked vehicles have gone down in the Valley 9550 W. Sahara Ave. | Photo: Zumper Curious just how far your dollar goes in the Lakes? According to Walk Score, this Las Vegas neighborhood requires a car for most errands, is fairly bikeable and has a few nearby public transportation options. Data from rental site Zumper shows that the median rent for a one bedroom in The Lakes is currently hovering around $950. So, what might you expect to find with a budget of $1,200 / month? Read on for a roundup of the latest rental listings, via Zumper and Apartment Guide. (Note: prices and availability are subject to change.) 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. 9550 W. Sahara Ave. Listed at $1,196/month, this 721-square-foot one-bedroom, one-bathroom is located at 9550 W. Sahara Ave. When it comes to building amenities, expect a swimming pool, a fitness center, a residents' lounge, outdoor space and a pet park. In the unit, you will find stainless steel appliances and high ceilings. Good news for animal lovers: both dogs and cats are permitted here. (See the complete listing here.) 9225 W. Charleston Blvd. Next, there's this one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment over at 9225 W. Charleston Blvd. It's listed for $1,189/month for its 832 square feet of space. In the apartment, there are hardwood floors, in-unit laundry, stainless steel appliances, in-unit laundry and high ceilings. Building amenities include assigned parking, a fitness center and a clubhouse. If you've got a pet, you'll be happy to learn that cats and dogs are allowed. Expect a $300 pet fee. (See the complete listing here.) 9501 W. Sahara Ave. Here's a 1,069-square-foot two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment at 9501 W. Sahara Ave. that's going for $1,155/month. In the unit, you'll get in-unit laundry, carpeted floors and a balcony. The building has assigned parking, on-site management, secured entry and outdoor space. Pet owners, take heed: cats and dogs are allowed. (Take a look at the full listing here.) This story was created automatically using local real estate data, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback. 521 S. Broad St. | Photo: Zumper Curious just how far your dollar goes in Washington Square? According to Walk Score, this Philadelphia neighborhood has excellent walkability, is convenient for biking and has excellent transit. Data from rental site Zumper shows that the median rent for a one bedroom in Washington Square is currently hovering around $1,470. So, what might you expect to find if you've got $1,700 / month earmarked for your rent? Read on for a roundup of the latest rental listings, via Zumper and Apartment Guide. (Note: prices and availability are subject to change.) 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. 140 S. 11th St., #3 Listed at $1,695/month, this one-bedroom, one-bathroom condo is located at 140 S. 11th St., #3. In the unit, you can expect hardwood flooring, high ceilings and stainless steel appliances. The building boasts extra storage space. Animals are not permitted. Future tenants needn't worry about a leasing fee. (See the complete listing here.) 331 S. 12th St., #2R Next, there's this one-bedroom, one-bathroom townhouse located at 331 S. 12th St., #2R. It's also listed for $1,695/month. In the unit, you can expect air conditioning, high ceilings and hardwood flooring. Pet owners, inquire elsewhere: this spot doesn't allow cats or dogs. Extra storage space is listed as a building amenity. The rental doesn't require a leasing fee, but there is a $45 application fee. (Take a gander at the complete listing here.) 1125 Sansom St. Next, check out this 706-square-foot one-bedroom, one-bathroom that's located at 1125 Sansom St. It's listed for $1,690/month. In the unit, you'll get a dishwasher, in-unit laundry and a balcony. The building features a fitness center, secured entry and on-site management. Luckily for pet owners, both dogs and cats are welcome. (Take a look at the complete listing here.) Story continues 521 S. Broad St. Located at 521 S. Broad St., here's a 541-square-foot studio that's listed for $1,678/month. In the unit, you can expect stainless steel appliances, granite countertops and hardwood flooring. Building amenities include a fitness center, secured entry and on-site management. Luckily for pet owners, both dogs and cats are welcome. There isn't a leasing fee associated with this rental. (Check out the complete listing here.) This story was created automatically using local real estate data, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback. (Adds background) By Lamine Chikhi ALGIERS, May 26 (Reuters) - Algeria will block Total from acquiring Anadarko's assets in Algeria, energy minister Mohamed Arkab told reporters on the sidelines of a conference on Sunday. Occidental Petroleum has agreed to sell Anadarko Petroleum Corporation's assets in Algeria, Ghana, Mozambique and South Africa to Total for $8.8 billion if the U.S. oil company succeeds in completing its plan to take over Anadarko. "Our ministry has contacted Anadarko to get explanations on this information, but so far we got no answer," Arkab said. "It means there is no contract between Total and Anadarko ...We have good relations with Anadarko and we will do the utmost to preserve Algeria's interests, including using our pre-emption right to block the sale," the minister said. Anadarko holdings in Algeria represent about 260,000 barrels of oil per day, more than 25% of the country's crude production estimated at 1 million barrels per day. There was no immediate comment from Total or Anadarko. In 2018, Algeria's state energy firm Sonatrach and Total signed new agreements, including a contract to develop the Erg Issouane gas field and plans to create a joint venture. Total said at the time that the development represented an investment of $400 million. It said it would also form a joint venture company called STEP for a joint petrochemical project in Arzew, western Algeria. But the relationship between Algeria and France remains scarred by the trauma of the 1954-1962 independence war in which the North African country broke with France. Hundreds of thousands of Algerians were killed and both sides used torture. (Reporting by Lamine Chikhi; Editing by Jane Merriman and Daniel Wallis) * Brexit Party storms to victory * Conservatives and Labour hemorrhage support * Farage: We are preparing for an election * Labour's Corbyn: We need a Brexit vote or election (Adds Corbyn and Farage) By William James SOUTHAMPTON, England, May 26 (Reuters) - Nigel Farage's Brexit Party stormed to victory in a European election, riding a wave of anger at the failure of Prime Minister Theresa May to take the United Kingdom out of the European Union. A European Parliament election that the United Kingdom only took part in because May delayed Brexit showed a country even more polarized over the EU divorce nearly three years since a 2016 referendum in which it voted 52% to 48% to leave. The United Kingdom was supposed to have left on March 29 but it remains a member of the EU and its politicians are still arguing over how, when or even whether the country will leave the club it joined in 1973. May on Friday announced she was stepping down, saying it was a matter of deep regret that she could not deliver Brexit. The Conservative Party was on course for one of its worst results in a nationwide election ever. Across England and Wales, voters turned away in anger from May's Conservatives and the opposition Labour Party of Jeremy Corbyn, which had sought a softer version of Brexit. The Brexit Party came first while explicitly pro-EU parties - the Liberal Democrats, Greens and Change UK - were, combined, a few percentage points behind. Farage, elected as a Member of the European Parliament for the South East of England, said he wanted to be involved in Brexit negotiations and warned that British politics was on the cusp of major upheaval unless Brexit took place on Oct. 31. "We want to be part of that negotiating team," Farage said in Southampton, southern England. "If we don't leave on Oct. 31 then the score that you have seen for the Brexit Party today will be repeated in a general election and we are getting ready for it." Story continues Such a severe election drubbing for the two major parties will stiffen a belief among leading Conservatives vying to replace May that they must go for a more decisive split from the EU. But it will also increase pressure on Labour's Corbyn to come out explicitly for a second referendum on EU membership. "This issue will have to go back to the people, whether through a general election or a public vote," Corbyn said. "Over the coming days we will have conversations across our party and movement, and reflect on these results on both sides of the Brexit divide." BBC projections put the Conservatives on around 10 to 12%, down from 23% in 2014. Labour came third in Wales. The Liberal Democrats even won in Corbyn's home constituency, Islington. The Brexit Party won around 10 percentage points more than the UK Independence Party did in 2014, partial results showed. In total, the United Kingdom elects 73 MEPs (Members of the European Parliament) to the 751-seat parliament. They will not contribute directly to British policymaking on domestic issues like Brexit, but will have a say in EU-wide policy as long as they remain in the assembly. 'BREXIT BETRAYAL' Farage casts Britain's political system as broken and says parliament and the government are trying to thwart Brexit. He wants the United Kingdom to leave the EU as soon as possible and says the damage of a no-deal departure has been exaggerated. Farage, who as UKIP leader persuaded May's predecessor, David Cameron, to call the Brexit referendum and then helped lead the campaign to leave the EU, has said that failure to implement Brexit would show Britain not to be a democracy. While the United Kingdom 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 make them poorer, undermine London's position as a global financial capital and weaken the West as it grapples with Donald Trump's unpredictable U.S. presidency and growing assertiveness from Russia and China. The Liberal Democrats, who campaigned under the slogan "Bollocks to Brexit," oppose Brexit and want a second referendum to stop it. Supporters of Brexit admit there may be some short-term pain for the UKs $2.9 trillion economy but long-term it will prosper when cut free from the EU which they cast as a failing German-dominated experiment in European integration. The loss of Britain for the EU is the biggest blow yet to more than 60 years of efforts to forge European unity after two world wars, though the 27 other members of the bloc have shown surprising unity during the tortuous negotiations. In the 2014 EU Parliament election, what was then Farage's UK Independence Party won with 26.8%, followed by Labour on 24.7% and the Conservatives on 23.3%. The Greens won 7.7% in 2014 and the Liberal Democrats 6.7%. Turnout was 35.6%. (Writing by Kate Holton and Guy Faulconbridge Editing by Frances Kerry and Mark John) * Greece heads to polls after Syriza defeat * New Democracy storms ahead in European Parliament vote * (Updates with elections result) By Renee Maltezou and Michele Kambas ATHENS, May 26 (Reuters) - Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras called snap national elections after suffering a heavy defeat by the opposition conservatives in European Parliament elections on Sunday. With an unexpectedly severe pounding at the ballot box for his leftist Syriza party, Tsipras decided not to push through to a full term which expires in October. "I will request immediate declaration of national elections from the President of the Republic," Tsipras said in a speech. A party source said the earliest a vote could take place would be June 30, to allow for preparations. Results for the European Parliament vote showed Syriza trailing the opposition New Democracy party by about nine points. Syriza stormed the Greek political scene on an anti-austerity platform six years ago, then suffered a backlash after having to impose cut-backs as part of a third bailout in 2015. More damagingly, there was a deeply unpopular agreement that resolved a long-running name dispute with North Macedonia. New Democracy leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis demanded Tsipras resign, saying he had lost the popular mandate. "The Prime Minister must assume his responsibilities. For the good of the country he must resign and the country should hold national elections, the soonest possible," Mitsotakis said. Once a leftist firebrand, Tsipras, 44, mellowed after sweeping to power and telling the country's creditors to back off in 2015. But he was forced into a painful new bailout months later, when faced with a choice of that or being turfed out of the euro zone and into the financial wilderness. The capitulation went down badly with many voters. Greece emerged from close financial supervision by its lenders in August 2018. The government this month introduced tax cuts and pension payouts, going some way toward unwinding some of the austerity measures. Story continues The handouts may have averted a steeper defeat in the European election, political analyst Thanos Veremis said. Tsipras' decision to broker a deal ending a name dispute with North Macedonia earned kudos from his European partners, but proved deeply unpopular with many Greeks. His coalition partner, Panos Kammenos, pulled out of the government in January, triggering a confidence vote in parliament that Tsipras nonetheless won comfortably. For most, use of the Macedonia name is an appropriation of Greek heritage by the country's small neighbor. Regardless, Tsipras signed the name-change deal in June, on the banks of the Prespes Lake bordering Albania, Greece and North Macedonia. "Syriza committed suicide in Prespes," Kammenos, his former coalition partner, tweeted on Sunday evening. (Additional reporting by Lefteris Papadimas, Writing by Michele Kambas Editing by David Holmes and Andrew Heavens) * Far-right Vlaams Belang second biggist in Flanders * More moderate N-VA to be country's biggest party * Socialists largest party in French-speaking Belgium (Updates with 85% of votes counted) By Philip Blenkinsop BRUSSELS, May 26 (Reuters) - The far-right Flemish separatist Vlaams Belang party scored major gains in Belgian elections on Sunday, an outcome likely to make forming the next national government more difficult. Linguistically divided Belgium held a "Super Sunday" of European, national and regional elections, which resulted in a shift to the right in more prosperous Dutch-speaking Flanders and to the left in French-speaking Wallonia. With 85% of the vote counted, the anti-immigrant Vlaams Belang (Flemish Interest) gained across Dutch-speaking Flanders to become the second largest party in the region behind the more moderate separatist N-VA party. N-VA suffered after being part of the last federal government. Christian Democrat politician Miet Smet, the widow of former prime minister Wilfried Martens, described the far right's success as terrible, marking a "jet black" day. Vlaams Belang leader Tom Van Grieken disagreed. "This is not a black Sunday, but a Sunday full of hope. We want to assume our responsibility," he told a cheering crowd of supporters. The party has so far been excluded from ruling coalitions at all levels of government. In the French-speaking south of the country, the Socialists (PS) of former prime minister Elio di Rupo were set to be the biggest party, ahead of current Prime Minister Charles Michel's liberal MR party, but with the same number of federal parliamentary seats as the Vlaams Belang. The initial results and exit polls suggest Michel, who has been running the country of 11 million people in a caretaker capacity since December, could face many more months in that role as party leaders try to form a new coalition. In 2010, that task took a world record 541 days until Di Rupo finally took office. Story continues Belgium effectively runs two separate elections in the Dutch and French-speaking regions, with no national parties, after which it somehow has to weld together a federal government from both sides of the linguistic divide. This could become harder with a greater number of Flemish separatists pushing for more powers to be devolved to Belgium's regions, something the poorer south resists. The process could begin in the coming week, with King Philippe expected to speak to the leaders of the main parties. People in other European Union countries are also voting on Sunday in elections for the European Parliament, which are expected to dent traditional pro-EU parties and bolster the nationalist fringe. In France, the far right was seen winning the most votes, although in the Netherlands, there appeared to be weak showing for eurosceptics. (Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop. Editing by Jane Merriman) (Adds quote, detail, background) By Ahmed Rasheed BAGHDAD, May 26 (Reuters) - An Iraqi court sentenced three French men to death on Sunday after finding them guilty of joining Islamic State, two court officials told Reuters. Iraq is conducting trials of thousands of suspected members of Islamic State, including hundreds of foreigners, with many arrested as the group's strongholds crumbled throughout Iraq. The French trio were extradited to Iraq in February and military sources at the time said that 14 French citizens were among 280 Iraqi and foreign detainees handed over by the U.S-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). "They were sentenced to execution after it was proven that they were members of the terrorist Islamic State organization," said one court official, who declined to be named because he was not authorized to speak to the media. Iraq began court proceedings against the 14 French suspected Islamic State members in March, legal sources said. "All three convicted Frenchmen rejected the ruling and asked to be tried in France, but judges ignored their request," a court-appointed lawyer said. Appeals can be made against the convictions. The French government has so far categorically refused to take back IS fighters and their wives. Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian referred to them as "enemies" of the nation, saying they should face justice either in Syria or Iraq. The French Foreign Ministry declined to comment on Sunday's death sentences. French authorities have repatriated a handful of children and plan to continue on a case-by-case basis. Human rights groups have accused Iraqi authorities of inconsistencies in the judicial process and flawed trials, leading to unfair convictions. (Reporting by Ahmed Rasheed Writing by Ahmed Aboulenein Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky and David Goodman) * MP began hunger strike in November to protest Ocalan's isolation * Ankara allowed lawyers to visit him for first time since 2011 * Minister denies link to looming Istanbul election (Adds details, background) By Daren Butler ISTANBUL, May 26 (Reuters) - Several Kurdish lawmakers and thousands of prison inmates in Turkey have ended their hunger strike after a call from jailed militant leader Abdullah Ocalan, one of the MPs said on Sunday, 200 days after the protest was launched. Pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) lawmaker Leyla Guven began a hunger strike in November in a bid to end Ocalan's years of isolation by securing him regular access to his family and lawyers. "Comrades who have committed themselves to hunger strikes and death fasts, I expect you to end your protest," Ocalan said in a statement read out by one of his lawyers in Istanbul, four days after they visited him for the second time this month. One of the MPs who had been on hunger strike said at a news conference in Diyarbakir, the largest city in the mainly Kurdish southeast of Turkey, that the protest was ending in response to Ocalan's call. The resumption of lawyers' visits came a month before a mayoral election re-run in Istanbul, prompting speculation of steps towards a new peace process four years after Ankara's talks with Ocalan on ending conflict in the southeast of the country fell apart. However, Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul has denied there is any connection. Ocalan is the founder of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), designated a terrorist group by Turkey, the European Union and United States. He has been held in an island prison since Turkish special forces captured him in Kenya in 1999 and is revered by grassroots HDP supporters who see him as key to any peace process. His lawyers visited him at the start of this month for the first time in nearly eight years and were allowed to hold talks with him again on Wednesday. Story continues LOOMING ELECTIONS Guven was joined on hunger strike by three more HDP members of parliament, around 3,000 inmates in dozens of prisons across Turkey and activists in various countries, according to her party, the third largest in the assembly. The HDP said seven people, six in Turkish prisons and one in Germany, had committed suicide in March in protest against Ocalan's isolation. Guven had been consuming water, vitamins and sugar for the duration of the hunger strike. The PKK launched a separatist insurgency in southeast Turkey in 1984 although it subsequently moderated its stated goal to autonomy. More than 40,000 people have been killed in fighting since, mostly Kurds. The HDP supported the opposition candidate who narrowly beat the candidate of President Tayyip Erdogan's AK Party in the Istanbul mayoral election on March 31. Election authorities annulled the vote, citing irregularities. With the HDP indicating it will do the same in the June 23 election re-run, some commentators have suggested the decision to allow lawyers to visit Ocalan could be an attempt to win over Kurdish voters by the AK Party. Kurds make up around 15 percent of the city's population of more than 15 million and mostly vote for either the pro-Kurdish HDP or the AK Party. (Additional Reporting by Bulent Usta Writing by Daren Butler Editing by Keith Weir and Kirsten Donovan) (Adds details, quote) By Andrius Sytas VILNIUS, May 26 (Reuters) - Former central banker Gitanas Nauseda won Lithuania's presidential election on Sunday after opponent Ingrida Simonyte conceded. Nauseda, 55, had 72 percent of the vote, according to election authority results after 42 percent of the ballots were counted. Simonyte, 44, a former finance minister in a center-right government, stood at 28 percent. "I was the independent candidate and my task in this election campaign was to unify Lithuanian people, no matter where they live, in small regions, villages, small cities or big cities," Gitanas Nauseda told Reuters after declaring victory. Nauseda, a household name from his role as chief economist at a top bank, has pledged to follow the tough stance set out by current President Dalia Grybauskaite, the Baltic nation's "Iron Lady" and of the European Union's most outspoken critics of the Kremlin. The political outsider's first challenge will be to resolve a government crisis. Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis pledged to quit on the presidential inauguration day after failing to advance from the first round of the presidential election. The Lithuanian president has a wide semi-executive mandate and can veto laws passed by the parliament. He also will have decisive role in shaping the country's foreign and security policies as well as in appointing key officials such as the prime minister, judges, the chief prosecutor, and the central bank governor. Five years after Moscow's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine that sparked fears of further Russian aggression across Eastern Europe, the election campaign in Lithuania was dominated by voter anger over economic inequality and corruption. Income inequality is among the highest in the European Union, second only to Bulgaria. In an earlier interview with Reuters, Nauseda said he would use his presidential powers to help businesses expand in emerging markets, especially China, and request that the government increase revenues and better fund social services such as pensions. Still very popular, Grybauskaite, 63, was not eligible to run again after serving two terms. Nauseda's election pledges include supporting Poland in its quest to have a permanent U.S. military base, dubbed "Fort Trump." (Reporting by Andrius Sytas, Writing by Johan Ahlander in Stockholm Editing by Jane Merriman and Bill Trott) (Adds context) WARSAW, May 26 (Reuters) - Poland's ruling Law and Justice party (PiS) came out narrowly ahead in Sunday's European Parliament vote, seen as test of the party's nationalist, eurosceptic platform before a national election later in the year. An exit poll by pollster IPSOS showed PiS winning 42.4% of votes, up from 31.8% in the EU ballot five years ago and 37.6% during Poland's 2015 parliamentary election. The opposition European Coalition, comprising the Civic Platform formerly led by European Council President Donald Tusk and a group of leftist and rural politicians, scored second with 39.1%. If confirmed by official results, the strong showing by PiS will bolster a growing chorus of populists in Europe that share the broad goal of returning power to EU member states. Voter turnout stood at 43%, a record high for a European election in Poland, following an acrimonious campaign dominated by issues such as gay rights, the legacy of the Holocaust in Poland, and the role of the Catholic Church in public life. PiS had framed the European ballot as a battle against western liberal ideals which it says threaten the traditional way of life in Poland, a staunchly Catholic country. Another term in office for PiS following the national vote in October or November could deepen Poland's isolation in the European Union amid criticism that the party is tilting towards authoritarian rule. "We have to remember, the decisive battle for the future of our homeland will take place in the autumn," PiS leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski told party supporters after exit poll results were published. (Reporting by Pawel Florkiewicz and Agnieszka Barteczko Editing by David Holmes) Prahlad Rijal is a business reporter at The Kathmandu Post, focusing on the energy sector. Before joining the Post, Rijal was an online reporter at The Himalayan Times. * Socialists top vote in EU election * Spain targets top EU jobs * Local vote fragmented, tricky negotiations loom (Adds detail on regional election) By Belen Carreno and Ingrid Melander MADRID, May 26 (Reuters) - Spain's Socialists won most votes in European and local elections on Sunday in a series of ballots that boosted their ambitions to target a top EU job in Brussels but highlighted how deeply fragmented the political landscape is at home. After winning national elections in April without a majority, the acting prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, was looking to Sunday's local, regional and EU elections to reinforce his negotiating stance to form a government. On the EU front, the Socialists scored a strong win. Sanchez' PSOE party topped the European election and was on course to have the biggest contingent in the EU assembly's Socialist group. On the local front it is more complicated. The Socialists won more votes than any other party nationwide but the election was very fragmented and conservatives and the center-right and far-right together were set to win in key cities and regions like Madrid. This set the stage for complicated talks to form governments both at local and national level. Sunday's election "confirmed that the Socialists are, by far, the first political force in Spain," Sanchez said at a news conference, talking of his "pride" over the EU result. Turning to local and regional elections, Sanchez reached out to the center-right Ciudadanos and conservative People's Party (PP), urging them to strike deals with his party rather than with the far-right Vox. "I appeal to the responsibility of national political leaders not to leave the stability of municipal and regional governments in the hands of the far right," he said. The outcome provides a more mixed picture than the April 28 general election, said political sciences professor Pablo Simon. He said the Socialists could be happy with their wins but that PP had won some oxygen, while Ciudadanos failed to consolidate their claim to be the main opposition party. Story continues With more than 99% of the votes counted, the Socialists had scored nearly 30% in the municipal elections. PP came in second with just over 22%. Voting in Barcelona, Spain's second-largest city, also was very fragmented. The ERC separatist party came first but it was unclear who could form a majority to rule the municipality. Regarding regional elections, the Socialists overall improved or maintained their score but will also need to strike alliances to govern. TOP EU JOB? The Socialists won 20 seats in the European Parliament, PP 12, Ciudadanos seven and Vox three. Spain has long punched below its weight in Brussels, dragged down by the economic crisis and a bigger focus on domestic issues, but sees in its better economic results, combined with Brexit and with Italy's woes, a chance to make a comeback. Madrid is likely to aim for the EU's top foreign policy job and for a vice presidency at the European Commission, government sources have said in recent days. "Spain is going to fight to have a position according to our new weight in Europe," a government source told Reuters ahead of what promises to be a tough battle on the bloc's coveted senior jobs amid a fragmented political landscape. Catalan separatist leaders Carles Puigdemont and Oriol Junqueras both won EU seats, but with question marks over whether they can become EU lawmakers. Puigdemont lives in self-imposed exile in Belgium and would be arrested over his role in a 2017 independence bid in Catalonia if he sets foot in Spain to complete the formalities to get his EU seat. Junqueras is in jail during his trial over the independence attempt. (Additional reporting by Elena Rodriguez Writing by Ingrid Melander Editing by Frances Kerry, Andrew Heavens and Bill Trott) (Adds Biden campaign will not issue new statement) By Doina Chiacu May 26 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korea's Kim Jong Un agree on their assessment of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said on Sunday, aligning the American president with an authoritarian foreign leader over a former U.S. vice president. North Korea's state-run news agency issued a biting attack last week on Biden, who has been critical of the communist state. "I think they agree in their assessment of former Vice President Joe Biden," Sanders said of Trump and Kim during an interview with NBC's "Meet the Press." She was speaking from Japan during a state visit by Trump. "The president doesn't need somebody else to give him an assessment of Joe Biden. He's given his own assessment a number of times." The Biden campaign said it would not issue a new statement on Sanders' remarks, but pointed to its response on Wednesday to the KCNA commentary. Trump, a Republican, referenced the North Korean criticism in a Twitter post on Saturday in which he mentioned Biden, initially misspelling his name as Bidan and taking pleasure in the North Korean leaders sharp rhetoric. Trump, who regularly uses derisive nicknames against his political opponents, said in a subsequent corrected tweet that he smiled when Kim "called Swampman Joe Biden a low IQ individual, & worse. Perhaps thats sending me a signal?" A commentary by North Korea's KCNA state media on Tuesday slammed Biden for "rhetoric slandering the supreme leadership of the DPRK (Democratic People's Republican of Korea)." "What he uttered is just sophism of an imbecile bereft of elementary quality as a human being, let alone a politician," it said. KCNA chronicled a series of Biden controversies or gaffes, from allegations of plagiarism to falling asleep during a speech by President Barack Obama in 2011. Story continues At his May 18 campaign launch in Philadelphia, Biden asked, "Are we a nation that embraces dictators and tyrants like (Russian President Vladimir) Putin and Kim Jong Un?" Biden's campaign on Wednesday responded to the KCNA statement by saying Trump has been tricked into making concessions to Kim, a dictator and a tyrant. Trump, who left his second summit with Kim earlier this year in Vietnam without a peace deal, has put enormous value in his personal relationship with the North Korean leader, despite actions by Pyongyang that others consider provocative. On Sunday, Trump dismissed concerns about recent missile launches from North Korea and said he was confident that Kim would keep promises that he had made. Before the two leaders began their strained rapprochement, they had exchanged some sharp words, with Kim calling Trump a "dotard" and Trump implying Kim was "short and fat." (Reporting by Doina Chiacu in Washington; Editing by Phil Berlowitz) (Adds comment from Chinese official) BEIJING, May 26 (Reuters) - China should hold talks with Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, U.S. Ambassador to China Terry Branstad told Chinese officials during a trip to the Himalayan region where he criticized Beijing for interfering in religious freedom. Branstad visited Tibet last week, the first such trip by a U.S. ambassador since 2015, amid escalating trade and diplomatic tension between the two countries. His visit followed the passing of a U.S. law in December that requires the United States to deny visas to Chinese officials in charge of implementing policies that restrict access to Tibet for foreigners, legislation that was denounced by China. Branstad met Chinese government officials and Tibetan religious and cultural figures, and "raised our long-standing concerns about lack of consistent access" to Tibet, the U.S. Embassy in Beijing said in an emailed statement on Saturday. "He encouraged the Chinese government to engage in substantive dialog with the Dalai Lama or his representatives, without preconditions, to seek a settlement that resolves differences," an embassy spokeswoman said. "He also expressed concerns regarding the Chinese government's interference in Tibetan Buddhists' freedom to organize and practice their religion," she said. Beijing sent troops into remote, mountainous Tibet in 1950 in what it officially terms a peaceful liberation and has ruled there with an iron fist ever since. The Dalai Lama fled to India in early 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule, and Beijing still brands him a dangerous separatist. China says its leaders have the right to approve his successor, as a legacy from China's emperors. But the 83-year-old Nobel peace laureate monk, who lives in exile in the northern Indian hill town of Dharamshala, has said that his incarnation could be found in India after he dies, and that any other successor named by China would not be respected. Story continues Tibetan tradition holds that the soul of a senior Buddhist monk is reincarnated in the body of a child on his death. Tibet's Communist Party secretary, Wu Yingjie, told Branstad how China had made "huge achievements" in "guaranteeing according to law" religious freedom and traditional culture in Tibet, the official Tibet Daily newspaper said late on Saturday. Wu added that he "sincerely welcomed more American friends to visit" the region. China's Foreign Ministry said last week that China hoped the ambassador would not take any "prejudices" with him on the trip. In December, China criticized the United States for passing the Reciprocal Access to Tibet Act, which seeks to promote access to Tibet for U.S. diplomats and other officials, journalists and other citizens by denying U.S. entry for Chinese officials deemed responsible for restricting access to Tibet. The U.S. government is required to begin denying visas by the end of this year. (Reporting by Michael Martina; Editing by Nick Macfie) 401 Massachusetts Ave. NW, #1006. | Photos: Zumper Curious just how far your dollar goes in Mount Vernon Square? According to Walk Score, this Washington neighborhood has excellent walkability, is great for biking and boasts excellent transit options. Data from rental site Zumper shows that the median rent for a one bedroom in Mount Vernon Square is currently hovering around $2,500. So, what might you expect to find if you don't want to spend more than $2,900/month on rent? Read on for a roundup of the latest rental listings, via Zumper and Apartment Guide. (Note: prices and availability are subject to change.) 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. 475 K St. NW, #805 Listed at $2,895/month, this 879-square-foot one-bedroom, one-bathroom condo is located at 475 K St. NW, #805. The unit offers air conditioning. Pet owners, inquire elsewhere: this spot doesn't allow cats or dogs. Future tenants needn't worry about a leasing fee. (See the complete listing here.) 425 L St. NW, #1408 Next, there's this one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment located at 425 L St. NW, #1408. It's listed for $2,890/month for its 770 square feet of space. Apartment amenities include in-unit laundry. The building features a business center, a swimming pool and assigned parking. Pet owners, take heed: cats and dogs are welcome. (Check out the complete listing here.) 401 Massachusetts Ave. NW, #1006 Here's a 702-square-foot one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment at 401 Massachusetts Ave. NW, #1006 that's also going for $2,890/month. The building boasts a fitness center, a swimming pool, a lounge and a business center. The furnished unit offers a dishwasher and in-unit laundry. For those with furry friends in tow, know that cats and dogs are allowed on this property. (Check out the complete listing here.) This story was created automatically using local real estate data, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback. * Conservatives win EU vote by big margin despite scandal * Kurz faces no-confidence vote in parliament on Monday * Social Democrats now say they will vote to sack him * Much will depend on how far-right FPO lawmakers vote * FPO has yet to decide but sees 'a certain leaning' (Updates with Social Democrats' comments, fresh results) By Francois Murphy VIENNA, May 26 (Reuters) - Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz strengthened his hand in his fight to save his job as his conservative party came far ahead of rivals in Sunday's European election, but the main opposition party said it would seek to depose him on Monday anyway. Video footage of a sting operation in which the far-right Freedom Party's (FPO) leader Heinz-Christian Strache appeared to discuss fixing government contracts forced him to step down as Kurz's deputy and party leader last weekend. Kurz ended their coalition and now heads a caretaker government that he hopes to use as a springboard to re-election. But with the next parliamentary election expected in September, opposition parties say Kurz must share the blame for the political crisis set off by the footage of his former coalition partner. A no-confidence motion against Kurz will be brought in parliament on Monday that could force him out. "We came to the conclusion that we will not express confidence in the whole (government), including in the newly named ministers," the leader of the Social Democrats, Pamela Rendi-Wagner, told broadcaster ORF on Sunday night after a meeting of her party's leadership. The party had been undecided. While another opposition party is planning to submit the motion of no-confidence against Kurz, Rendi-Wagner said the Social Democrats, the biggest opposition party, would submit their own motion against the whole government including Kurz. Rather than punish Kurz's People's Party (OVP) in Sunday's polls for governing with the far right for 17 months, voters gave it a bigger share of support than in the parliamentary election it won in 2017, a count of all but postal ballots on Sunday night showed. Story continues The Social Democrats finished more than 10 points behind the OVP, performing worse than in 2017 or the last European Parliament election. Kurz has presented himself as a victim of the current political crisis rather than a midwife to it. The OVP secured 34.9% of the vote, ahead of the Social Democrats on 23.4% and the FPO on 17.2%, an updated projection by pollster SORA factoring in the latest count of all but postal ballots showed. The Greens came in fourth on 14%, a leap from the last parliamentary election, in which they failed to make the 4% threshold for entering the assembly, but slightly less than in the last European election in 2014. FAR RIGHT HOLDS KEY In parliament on Monday, Kurz's immediate survival is now likely to depend on the FPO, many of whose members are furious at him for ending their coalition over a scandal they believe could have been confined to one man in their government. The FPO has not said how it will vote but its new leader Norbert Hofer told ORF on Sunday: "There is a certain leaning." He did not elaborate. If Kurz loses the vote, Austria's president will have to nominate a new chancellor who can govern until the next election. Kurz has said that whatever happens, it will be up to the people to decide then. Rendi-Wagner said Kurz had not taken the confidence-building steps she and her party had called for after Kurz replaced outgoing FPO ministers with civil servants last week. "We will make a recommendation to the Social Democratic parliamentary membership, namely not to express confidence in Sebastian Kurz and his OVP one-party government," Rendi-Wagner said, adding that she expected her lawmakers would formally agree at a meeting on Monday morning. (Additional reporting by Kirsti Knolle Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky, Jane Merriman and Frances Kerry) (Adds quotes, comment, background) By Marcin Goclowski and Pawel Florkiewicz WARSAW, May 26 (Reuters) - Poland's ruling Law and Justice party (PiS) came out narrowly ahead in Sunday's European Parliament vote, seen as test of the party's nationalist, eurosceptic platform before a national election later in the year. An exit poll by pollster IPSOS showed PiS heading towards its best result ever in a general or European Union election with 42.4% of votes. It won 31.8% in the EU ballot five years ago and 37.6% in the 2015 parliamentary election. The opposition European Coalition, comprising the Civic Platform formerly led by European Council President Donald Tusk and a group of leftist and rural politicians, scored second with 39.1%. If projections are confirmed by official results, the strong showing by PiS will bolster a growing chorus of populists in Europe who share the broad goal of returning power to EU member states and strict limits on immigration. Voter turnout stood at 43%, a record high for a European election in Poland, following an acrimonious campaign dominated by issues such as gay rights, the legacy of the Holocaust in Poland, and the role of the Catholic Church in public life. PiS had framed the European ballot as a battle against western liberal ideals, which it says threaten the traditional way of life in Poland, a staunchly Catholic country. Another term in office for PiS following the national vote in October or November could deepen Poland's isolation in the European Union amid criticism that the party is tilting towards authoritarian rule. "We have to remember, the decisive battle for the future of our homeland will take place in the autumn," PiS leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski told party supporters after exit poll results were published. Kaczynski said ahead of the European election that in casting their votes Poles would be deciding on the "preservation of family values, ... the future of Polish tradition and the Church in our country," according to an interview with the ultra-conservative Gazeta Polska weekly. Story continues BATTLE OVER VALUES Underscoring the deepening divides around issues of national identity, minority rights and religion, two new groupings competed in Sunday's ballot. A coalition of far-right groups that includes staunch anti-abortion activists, anti-EU campaigners and fringe politicians with overtly anti-Semitic platforms won 6.1%. A progressive party set up by Poland's first openly gay lawmaker, Robert Biedron, garnered 6.6%. Launched in February, Biedron's Spring wants to sever any ties between the state and the Catholic Church in Poland, liberalize the nation's strict abortion laws and phase out coal mining. "The success of PiS is part of a broad cultural divide across the world," said Jaroslaw Flis, a sociologist with the Jagiellonian University in Krakow. "It's a divide between those who advocate economic solidarity and a uniformity of values, meaning they are socially conservative and support the welfare state, against those who back economic and social liberalism." Some observers had said PiS could suffer in the election following the release of a documentary film about pedophilia in the Catholic Church, which has close ties with the party. In the run up to Sunday's vote, senior PiS officials, including Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and Kaczynski traveled to rural communities, vowing to ensure gay couples will not be allowed to adopt children and that Poland would not join Europe's single currency for years. Poles are among the most pro-EU nations in the bloc, in part because of massive aid Poland receives from the bloc. PiS focused its campaign on stoking fears against the euro, telling voters adopting it would raise consumer prices. Not all voters bought the argument. "I vote for Biedron's party. I feel first and foremost a European. We need to defend the EU against a wave of totalitarianism," said Marcin Matecki, a 46-year-old psychologist voting in Warsaw. PiS party also pledged to oppose any claims for compensation for Jewish property seized during World War Two, an issue that became a focal point of the campaign following efforts in the United States to address restitution. (Additional reporting by Agnieszka Barteczko, Alan Charlish, Joanna Plucinska, Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk Writing by Justyna Pawlak Editing by David Holmes and Frances Kerry) * MP began hunger strike in November to protest Ocalan's isolation * Ankara allowed lawyers to visit him for first time since 2011 * Minister denies link to looming Istanbul election * Ocalan says ready to play "positive role" on Syria (Adds Ocalan, Guven comments, background) By Daren Butler ISTANBUL, May 26 (Reuters) - Several Kurdish lawmakers and thousands of prison inmates in Turkey have ended their hunger strike, heeding a call from jailed militant leader Abdullah Ocalan, MPs said on Sunday, 200 days after the protest was launched. The decision removed a source of tension in mainly Kurdish southeast Turkey after Ankara let Ocalan meet his lawyers this month for the first time since 2011, triggering speculation about possible fresh efforts to end conflict in the region. Pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) lawmaker Leyla Guven began a hunger strike in November in a bid to end Ocalan's years of isolation by securing him regular access to his family and lawyers. "Comrades who have committed themselves to hunger strikes and death fasts, I expect you to end your protest," Ocalan said in a statement read out by one of his lawyers at a news conference in Istanbul on Sunday morning. Ocalan has been held in an island prison since Turkish special forces captured him in Kenya in 1999 and is revered among Kurdish HDP supporters who see him as key to any peace process. On Wednesday, the lawyers visited him for the second time this month. Authorities had repeatedly rejected earlier requests to visit him, citing reasons including ship repairs and poor weather. In Diyarbakir, the southeast's largest city, a hunger-striking MP announced the end of the protest at a news conference. Hunger strikers' mothers, wearing white headscarves, applauded and chanted in Kurdish "long live the prison resistance." The lawyers' visits resumed a month before a re-run of the Istanbul mayoral election and prompted speculation of steps towards a new peace process four years after Ankara's talks with Ocalan on ending conflict in southeast Turkey fell apart. Story continues However, Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul has denied there is any connection. Some commentators have suggested the decision to allow lawyers to visit Ocalan could be an attempt to win over Kurdish voters by the AK Party. In March's Istanbul mayoral election, the HDP supported the opposition candidate who narrowly beat President Tayyip Erdogan's AK Party candidate. Election authorities annulled the vote, citing irregularities. The HDP has indicated it will again support the opposition in the June 23 election re-run. Kurds make up around 15 percent of Istanbul's population of more than 15 million and mostly vote for either the pro-Kurdish HDP or the AK Party. OCALAN OFFERS ROLE ON SYRIA Before being transported to hospital by ambulance, Guven said the hunger strike had achieved its goal. "But our struggle against isolation and our struggle for social peace will continue in all areas. This struggle must lead to an honorable peace," she said in a written statement. Ocalan is the founder of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), designated a terrorist group by Turkey, the European Union and United States. His lawyer Newroz Uysal cited him as saying Ankara's permission for lawyers to meet him did not mean there was a negotiation process. But Ocalan said he was ready to play a positive role on issues concerning Syria. Earlier in May, Ocalan called on the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to resolve disputes in Syria without conflict. Ankara views the YPG militia, which forms the core of the U.S.-backed SDF, as part of the PKK. Guven was joined on hunger strike by three more MPs, around 3,000 inmates in prisons across Turkey and activists abroad, according to her party, the third largest in parliament. The HDP said seven people, six in Turkish prisons and one in Germany, had killed themselves in March in protest against Ocalan's isolation. Guven had been consuming water, vitamins and sugar during the hunger strike. The PKK launched a separatist insurgency in southeast Turkey in 1984. More than 40,000 people have been killed in fighting since, mostly Kurds. In November 2012, Ocalan made a similar call to end a hunger strike by prisoners. A month later it emerged that he was in talks with Ankara on a peace process. Those talks and a ceasefire broke down in 2015, unleashing some of the worst violence since the insurgency began. Erdogan's AK Party has since formed an alliance with nationalists who revile Ocalan and who fiercely opposed the peace process. (Additional Reporting by Bulent Usta Writing by Daren Butler Editing by Keith Weir/Kirsten Donovan/Jane Merriman) Of all the stories gaining press in 2019, perhaps none will prove more important or impact more American lives and pocketbooks than the ongoing trade war between the United States and China. Talks about working out a new trade deal have ebbed and flowed between the two sides for more than a year. President Trump believes that China has raked the U.S. over the coals, so to speak, for far too long and wants to end the substantial annual trade deficit the U.S. has with its Far East neighbor. Meanwhile, Chinese President Xi Jinping is unwilling to give up too many key advantages his country possesses to appease the United States. Thus, we stand on the precipice of seeing hundreds of billions of dollars' worth of goods being hit with tariffs ranging between 5% and 25%. Two clenched fists facing off, with the one on the left decorated like the American flag, and the one on the right decorated as the Chinese flag. Image source: Getty Images. The cannabis industry is a casualty of the trade war, too With trade talks more or less at an impasse at the moment, certain industries have really taken it on the chin. Tech companies, for instance, could see the biggest hit in the U.S., with many components and finished products being imported from China expected to face the maximum 25% tariff rate. Though the taxation is designed to make American-made goods more attractive, it'll ultimately hit consumers in the pocketbooks -- unless, of course, businesses are willing to eat the added costs of the tariffs. But it's not just the tech sector that'll feel the pinch. The marijuana industry will also be somewhat impacted by the trade war with China. Now, I know what you're probably thinking, and generally speaking, no, companies that directly deal with cannabis aren't expected to feel much of a margin squeeze from the trade war. Since marijuana isn't being exported or imported, there's no concern about tariff imposition. However, growers could see added costs if the growing or extraction equipment they purchase is made with Chinese steel or aluminum. Likewise, ancillary players that deal with growers could feel the effects of the trade war. Everything from growing solutions to packaging could be impacted, which in turn could make legal marijuana products pricier to consumers. Mind you, black-market cannabis is already a big problem in California, with some locales paying up to an aggregate 45% tax rate, so you can imagine what might happen if tariffs coerce legal producers and retailers to lift their prices even further. Story continues These marijuana stocks could feel a trade war margin pinch Here are four pot stocks that look to be most directly impacted by the ongoing trade war with China. A hydroponic indoor cannabis grow farm. Image source: Getty Images. Scotts Miracle-Gro Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE: SMG) is a company most people are probably familiar with for making our gardens look greener or removing weeds from our lawns. In 2018, Scotts generated about 87% of its sales from its core lawn and garden business, which caters to residential consumers and enterprises looking to improve crop yields. But what you might not realize is that Scotts Miracle-Gro's subsidiary Hawthorne Gardening is specifically focused on helping to provide growing solutions to the North American medical marijuana industry. This includes hydroponic solutions (i.e., growing plants in a nutrient-rich water solvent), as well as lighting, soil, and nutrients. In 2018, Scotts acquired Ohio-based Sunlight Supply for $450 million to broaden Hawthorne's hydroponic products portfolio, as well as snag more small- and medium-sized enterprise customers. The thing is, Sunlight Supply moved away from making a lot of its lighting solutions in-house and has instead turned to China for its lower-priced production and labor costs. Even though the company still brands imported Chinese products under the Sunlight Supply name, it could be in line to face tariffs on these lighting solutions. Potted cannabis plants growing indoors under special lighting. Image source: Getty Images. Cree Speaking of lighting systems and solutions, another "pot stock" that could soon be contending with higher expenses is Cree (NASDAQ: CREE). I very loosely lump Cree in as an ancillary cannabis play given the role its LED lights and lighting systems can play for U.S.-based marijuana growers. Traditionally, cannabis plants are grown under high-pressure sodium (HPS) lights. All things considered, HPS lights are reasonably inexpensive, and they produce highly predictable yields per square foot of growing space. On the other hand, they use a boatload of electricity, and they generate a lot of heat, often requiring an expensive cooling system to regulate indoor temperature to maximize yield. Comparatively, Cree's LED lights produce very little heat and use far less electricity. In turn, they do cost more up front, but they're expected to be more than worth the up-front cost over the long run, since they also last longer than HPS bulbs. The issue is that Cree has an LED production factory in China, which allows the company to take advantage of substantially lower labor costs. With tariffs going into effect, Cree's margin outlook could dim if it chooses to eat these higher expenses. An assortment of legalized cannabis products on a counter. Image source: Getty Images. KushCo Holdings Middlemen in the cannabis industry are the likeliest to contend with higher expenses associated with tariffs on imports from China. KushCo Holdings (NASDAQOTH: KSHB), which sells vaporizer products, as well as packaging solutions for growers, could be hit on both fronts. First, there's KushCo's vaporizer business, which sells everything from cartridges to the heating elements and batteries required to make these devices work. With a laundry list of technology items being hit with import tariffs, KushCo should expect components of its vaporizer business to cost more. Then again, with Canada on the verge of legalizing a number of new consumption options by October, higher costs in the U.S. could easily be offset in Canada and foreign markets. And second, part of KushCo's packaging line could be hit with tariffs. For example, its Value Line packaging products are purchased from China. These generally cheaper packaging products are used in markets where packaging regulations aren't as strict. So far, KushCo has been absorbing these added tariff costs. But if this trade war becomes protracted, KushCo will have little choice but to pass along higher costs to its customers to avoid further margin erosion. A vape pen with dried cannabis flower set to the side of the pen. Image source: Getty Images. Greenlane Holdings A fourth and final marijuana stock that could be impacted by the trade war is Greenlane Holdings (NASDAQ: GNLN), which recently IPO'd on the Nasdaq. Greenlane is a pot paraphernalia giant that sells more than 5,000 individual products, many of which are involved in the vaporization, cleaning, or consumption process. Aside from having its products in an estimated 9,700 retailers throughout North America, Greenlane also runs two very popular e-commerce websites, VaporNation.com and VapeWorld.com. The issue for Greenlane, which is similar to that for KushCo, is that a handful of products it's bringing in from China, mostly revolving around its vape line, are already or are expected to be hit with additional tariffs. In the company's S-1 prospectus, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 20, Greenlane had this to say about the ongoing trade war under its risks section: These new tariffs and the evolving trade policy dispute between the United States and China may have a significant impact on the industries in which we participate. A "trade war" between the United States and China or other governmental action related to tariffs or international trade agreements or policies has the potential to adversely impact demand for our products, our costs, customers, suppliers and/or the United States economy or certain sectors thereof and, thus, to adversely impact our businesses and results of operations. With most marijuana companies unwilling to state whether they'll be impacted by a protracted trade spat between the U.S. and China, this is about as transparent a statement as you'll get from a pot stock. More From The Motley Fool Sean Williams owns shares of KushCo Holdings. The Motley Fool recommends KushCo Holdings and Nasdaq. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. From a Memorial Day wreath-laying ceremony to the presentation of the 2019 Vision Awards, there's plenty to enjoy in Washington 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. Wreath-laying ceremony and tour From the event description: Commemorate Memorial Day with guided tours of the United States Soldiers and Airmens Home National Cemetery. Visited by President Abraham Lincoln, the Soldiers' Home National Cemetery is notable for being the first national cemetery (established in 1861), and for serving as the final resting place for John Logan, who formalized Memorial Day celebrations in 1868. Tours of the cemetery will highlight the history of the Soldiers' Home Cemetery, notable people buried there and the history of Memorial Day. Distinguished military veterans from the Armed Forces Retirement Home (Old Soldiers Home) here in Washington, D.C. will be on site to place the wreath during the ceremony. When: Monday, May 27, wreath laying at 10 a.m., tours at 10:45 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Where: President Lincoln's Cottage, 140 Rock Creek Church Road NW Admission: Free Click here for more details, and to get your tickets Regional Latin Dance Competition From the event description: Regional high schools are invited to compete in the four main worldwide popular Latin dance genres: salsa, cha cha, merengue and bachata. Categories include: Couples, Parent/Child, Best in Show and Jack and Jill. When: Monday, May 27, 5:30-7 p.m. Where: John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, 2700 F St. NW Admission: Free Click here for more details, and to get your tickets Screening: 'The Class' by Laurent Cantet From the event description: As part of the film series "Highlights of Cannes," the Cultural Services of the French Embassy presents a screening of the film "The Class." Set wholly in a secondary school in a working-class district of Paris, where many inhabitants are foreign-born, the film follows a year in the life of a young teacher, Francois Marin, and the 25 teenage pupils to whom he teaches French for an hour each day. Story continues When: Tuesday, May 28, 7-9 p.m. Where: La Maison Francaise at the Embassy of France, 4101 Reservoir Road NW Admission: Free: Each person must have a ticket registered in their name and a government-issued ID that matches the name on the reservation. Click here for more details, and to get your tickets 2019 Vision Awards From the event description: The Committee of 100 on the Federal City invites you to join us in honoring the 2019 Vision Awards winners in three categories. A lifetime achievement award will also be presented. When: Wednesday, May 29, 6-8:30 p.m. Where: Trinity Washington University, 125 Michigan Ave., NE, Main Hall Admission: $100 Click here for more details, and to get your tickets 'Black Gold: Past and Present' From the event description: Musicians from Washington, D.C., and Dakar, Senegal, discuss the cultural and historical themes that have influenced their work, highlighting the shared connections through their work. A musical performance and tour of the exhibition "Good As Gold: Fashioning Senegalese Women" follow the panel discussion. When: Wednesday, May 29, 6-9 p.m. Where: Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, 950 Independence Ave. SW 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. Kaiba Japanese Ramen, Sushi & Grill. | Photo: Susie P./Yelp Looking to sample the best sushi around town? Hoodline crunched the numbers to find the top sushi spots in Anaheim, using both Yelp data and our own secret sauce to produce a ranked list of where to satisfy your cravings. 1. Kaiba Japanese Ramen, Sushi & Grill Photo: cecilia m./Yelp Topping the list is Kaiba Japanese Ramen, Sushi & Grill. Located at 820 N. Euclid St. in the Colony Historic District, the sushi bar, which offers ramen, poke and more, is the highest-rated sushi spot in Anaheim, boasting 4.5 stars out of 928 reviews on Yelp. The restaurant offers six kinds of sushi, 12 types of basic rolls, a variety of sashimi and carpaccio, as well as sushi burgers served on a rice bun and burritos. Sake cocktails, beer and wine are available to complement your meal. 2. Toyo Sushi & Roll Photo: miguel a./Yelp Next up is Southeast Anaheim's Toyo Sushi & Roll, situated at 676 S. State College Blvd., Suite 103. With 4.5 stars out of 466 reviews on Yelp, the sushi bar and Japanese spot has proven to be a local favorite. Yelper Cynthia C. wrote, "I like to get my bento box with chicken teriyaki and three egg rolls they are super delicious. The chicken teriyaki has such a great flavor, the meat is not too over-cooked like other places and it's very chewy." 3. Roy's Restaurant In the Anaheim Resort District, Roy's Restaurant, located at 321 W. Katella Ave., Suite 105, is another top choice. Yelpers give the steakhouse and sushi bar, which offers seafood and more, four stars out of 1,405 reviews. Roy's, which has several locations in California and in other states, features local menus. In Anaheim, signature items include the Lakanilau roll with wagyu beef, snow crab, tempura asparagus and avocado. There's also the tempura-crusted ahi roll. Vegetarian and gluten-free options are also available. 4. Yagi Japanese Restaurant Photo: yagi japanese restaurant/Yelp Yagi Japanese Restaurant, a sushi bar and izakaya (Japanese-style pub) in Anaheim Hills, is another much-loved go-to, with 4.5 stars out of 348 Yelp reviews. Head over to 6324 E. Santa Ana Canyon Road to see for yourself. Story continues Yelp user Maria S., who reviewed the restaurant on May 14, wrote, "It's the best soft-shell crab I have had recently fresh and crispy. No soy sauce needed for any sushi piece. Every piece is perfectly seasoned and fresh." 5. Sushi@Sushi Photo: lorena m./Yelp Check out Sushi@Sushi, which has earned four stars out of 214 reviews on Yelp. You can find the sushi bar and Japanese spot at 414 N. Lakeview Ave. Yelper Daniel O. wrote, "The service was great, but most of all the food was delicious and fresh. The salmon was buttery, but crisp with freshness. It melted in my mouth, with no lingering taste." 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. Caesarean delivery is safe and reliable But this service is only available in 5.1 percent of the public health institutions, which has compelled pregnant women to go to private hospitals. Pixabay From an event to recognize City of Dallas AmeriCorps VISTA members to a dog rescue benefit at a local brewery, there's plenty to enjoy in Dallas 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. Danny Worsnop Touring to Support New Album 'Shades of Blue' From the event description: Danny Worsnop (a member of the rock band Asking Alexandria) is performing an intimate show with music from his new album, "Shades of Blue" on Monday at the High & Tight Barbershop. When: Monday, May 27, 8 p.m. Where: High & Tight Barbershop, 2701 Main St., #180/190 Admission: $25 (general admission); $50 (VIP) Click here for more details, and to get your tickets City of Dallas VISTA Reception From the event description: The 2019 City of Dallas VISTA Reception, held on Tuesday at City Hall, is an annual event designed to acknowledge the service of current and past City of Dallas AmeriCorps VISTA members, as well as commemorate city partners and stakeholders who have helped support the efforts of the program. When: Tuesday, May 28, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Where: Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St., Flag Room Floor 6 Admission: Free Click here for more details, and to get your tickets Mayoral Runoff Election Candidate Forum From the event description: The public is welcome to attend this free mayoral runoff election forum between candidates Scott Griggs and Eric Johnson on Tuesday at the Methodist Dallas Medical Center HItt Auditorium. There is a meet and greet prior to the forum. When: Tuesday, May 28, 6-8 p.m. Where: Methodist Dallas Medical Center, Hitt Auditorium, 1441 N. Beckley Ave. Admission: Free Click here for more details, and to get your tickets "DA JAM" OPEN MIC NIGHT From the event description: All artists, bands, musicians and poets are encouraged to attend the 4 The Culture Studios first open mic/jam session, on Tuesday, that will feature live music and local talent. The sign up list opens up at 7:30 p.m. Story continues When: Tuesday, May 28, 7-11 p.m. Where: 4 The Culture Studios, 115 N. Carroll Ave. Admission: Free Click here for more details, and to get your tickets The Ticket Sportsradio P1s for Pups Benefiting Dallas DogRRR From the event description: KTCK Sportsradio 1310 The Ticket is broadcasting live at Four Corners Brewing Co. during a benefit for Dallas DogRRR. Adoptable Dogs will be on site from Dallas DogRRR as well as merchandise available for purchase. When: Wednesday, May 29, 4-10 p.m. Where: Four Corners Brewing Company, 1311 S. Ervay St. 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. From a community celebration to a mind-body workshop, there's plenty to enjoy in Houston 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. Republic Day Celebration & Azerbaijani Community Iftar From the event description: Dear Friends: You are cordially invited to the Republic Day Celebration and Azerbaijani Community Iftar Dinner. When: Monday, May 27, 7:30-9:30 p.m. Where: Azerbaijani American Cultural Alliance, 9301 W. Bellfort Ave. Admission: Free Click here for more details, and to get your tickets Fish, Grits & Politiks From the event description: Join us for another exciting episode of "Fish, Grits & Politiks," where the conversation never stops! Guest will be announced soon! We want you to be a part of our live studio audience! Just click on the button to RSVP. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. When: Tuesday, May 28, 6:30-9 p.m. Where: The Breakfast Klub, 3711 Travis St. Admission: Free Click here for more details, and to get your tickets "Rahman 1400" (Banned Movie) screening From the event description: "Rahman 1400" (Banned Movie). Plot: Rahman is the custodian of a company and the doctor has told him that he will die soon. He decides, with the help of his friend Anush, to make a plan and inherit some money for his family. When: Tuesday, May 28, 7:30-10:30 p.m. Where: Landmark's River Oaks Theatre, 2009 W. Gray St. Admission: $12 (Students-Have ID with you) Click here for more details, and to get your tickets Teach at Harmony Public Schools From the event description: Youre invited to this free information session to learn about how you can become a fully certified teacher and start teaching for Harmony Public Schools this year. Harmony Public Schools will speak about their mission and career opportunities; Texas Teachers will lead a presentation on teacher certification; Discounts into the certification program are available. Story continues When: Wednesday, May 29, 6-7 p.m. Where: Harmony Public Schools Central Office, 9321 W. Sam Houston Parkway South, Multipurpose Room, Floor 1 Admission: Free Click here for more details, and to get your tickets A mind-body workshop From the event description: Certified mind-body medicine practitioner Becky Dodds will lead an evening of exploration as she and other trained facilitators with the Center for Mind Body Medicine introduce practices that support healing, growth and the resilience we each need to continue lifes journey with joy and vigor. When: Wednesday, May 29, 6-7 p.m. Where: The Jung Center, 5200 Montrose Blvd. Admission: $20 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. From Car and Driver The building of this country's grandest and greatest racetrack, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, went from conception to opening day in fewer than nine months. And there was little doubt in anyone's mind that when the first cars would race there in August 1909 it was going to be dangerous, maybe even deadly. But the country was in the delirious grip of a great new age of mechanized invention-the speeding automobile! the roaring motorcycle! the incredible flying machine!-and there was no shortage of brave men eager to take the controls, or bold businessmen looking to get rich because of them. The world was not just changing-it seemed to be exploding into a new era of speed. The man credited with building the speedway was Carl Graham Fisher, just 35 in 1909. The son of an alcoholic Indiana attorney, Fisher was a school dropout who'd gone from rail-yard butcher boy at 12 to bicycle shop owner at 17 to daredevil automobile barnstormer at 27. In one short season, he earned $20,000 (more than $350,000 in today's dollars) on the county-fair circuit. (In 1901, for $500 a performance, Fisher would race his Winton automobile-top speed, 60 mph- over 200 or more yards against any horse. The horse always jumped out to a lead, but Fisher would reel the animal in and make the pass just before the line.) In 1900, when he was 26, Fisher started one of the nation's first car dealerships and four years later laid the groundwork for his first fortune, when he backed a local inventor and became a founder of the Prest-O-Lite carbide headlight company with an initial investment of only $2000.Having done all of that, Carl Fisher decided what this country needed was a huge automobile testing ground and racetrack where manufacturers of America's automobiles-notoriously unreliable in those early days-could test, improve, and above all, race their products. His hometown of Indianapolis was the logical setting because more than 100 different makes were manufactured in Indiana alone, including Duesenberg, Studebaker, and Stutz. Fisher had found four partners, and just before Christmas 1908, he locked up an agreement to purchase 320 acres of the old Pressley farm for $72,000. The acreage was just 15 minutes northwest of downtown Indianapolis. Story continues Two months later, on February 8, 1909, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was incorporated with four owners. Fisher and Prest-O-Lite partner Jim Allison each put up $57,500 (just over $1 million in today's dollars); Indianapolis businessman Frank H. Wheeler of the Wheeler-Schebler Carburetor Company took a $46,000 share; and Indianapolis carmaker Arthur Newby of the National Motor Vehicle Company put up $23,000. A fifth invitee, Indianapolis banker Stoughton Fletcher, declined, fearing the venture might damage his bank's reputation. But Fisher ran the show, and things began to move fast-perhaps too fast. The partners decided on a three-mile rectangular track. They didn't want a dirt track, but their capital couldn't cover a paved track. Fisher settled on a track made of a mixture of crushed stone and tarlike asphaltum, built atop a clay base, for $220,000. ('You Might Also Like',) US abortion providers reported an alarming escalation in incidents of disruption and intimidation in 2018, according to new findings report by their professional association, the National Abortion Federation (NAF). Trespassing reached the highest level since the NAF began recording such incidents in 1999, while incidents of obstruction of facilities grew 78% from 2017 to 2018. Providers also reported record levels of picketing (99,409 incidents) since recording began in 1977, and the highest number of incidents of vandalism (125) since 1990. The group also recorded decreases in incidents of stalking, burglary, and assault and battery. The report comes amid continuing fallout from the recent spate of anti-abortion legislation in statehouses across the country. On Friday, a federal judge in Mississippi blocked that states recently enacted ban on abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy; civil liberties and reproductive rights organizations filed a lawsuit challenging Alabamas extreme new abortion ban; and Missouris governor, Mike Parson, signed a ban on abortions after eight weeks of pregnancy. Related: ACLU and Planned Parenthood file lawsuit against Alabama abortion ban Anti-choice individuals and groups have been emboldened by the rhetoric of President Trump, Vice President Pence and other elected officials and we are seeing this play out in more instances of activities meant to intimidate abortion providers and disrupt patient services, said Katherine Ragsdale, interim president and CEO of NAF, in a statement. Trump and other politicians advocating for the restriction of access to abortion have frequently engaged in false and inflammatory rhetoric about the practice, using emotive and inaccurate language such as infanticide or late-term abortion. In recent weeks, several state legislatures have enacted so-called heartbeat bills . These laws criminalize abortion after six weeks, when what anti-abortion activists call a fetal heartbeat is detected. At six weeks, a pregnancy involves an embryo, not a fetus, and while some tissue does throb, the embryo has not yet developed an actual heart. Story continues Demonizing health care providers and women who rely on them for abortion care has become one of the go-to tactics for anti-choice politicians, added Ragsdale. Those lies have consequences and it is not the anti-choice politicians who are facing those consequences; it is those who are denied abortion care and the providers targeted by threats, harassment, and violence who are. NAF began tracking violence and disruption against abortion providers in 1977, though the categories it tracks have changed over the years. The new abortion bans in Alabama and Missouri are expected to be blocked by lower courts, just as the Mississippi law was. They are designed to be appealed to the US supreme court, which anti-abortion activists hope will reverse the precedent of Roe v Wade. In his order granting a preliminary injunction against the Mississippi law, Judge Carlton Reeves appeared to express a certain amount of irritation with the tactic, writing: Here we go again. Mississippi has passed another law banning abortions prior to viability The parties have been here before. Reeves had previously ruled against a 15-week ban on abortion, he wrote, and the passage of an even more restrictive bill did not move him to reconsider. This Court previously found the 15-week ban to be an unconstitutional violation of substantive due process because the Supreme Court has repeatedly held that women have the right to choose an abortion prior to viability, and a fetus is not viable at 15 weeks lmp, he wrote, using the initialism to denote weeks after a womans last menstrual period. If a fetus is not viable at 15 weeks lmp, it is not viable at 6 weeks lmp. London (AFP) - Strobe lights were dancing over the London nightclub when Liberal Democrats leader Vince Cable tapped the microphone and hushed the room with a call to keep Britain in the EU. It was the grandfatherly figure's closing act in an unorthodox campaign that propelled his party of political outcasts to a top-two finish in European elections in which he embodied Britain's anti-Brexit voice. The Liberal Democrats even came first in the Islington borough of London that the main opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn represents in the UK parliament. "We have shown ourselves to be the strongest 'Remain' force in British politics," a triumphant Cable declared after his party collected around 20 percent of the national vote. "There is a clear lesson for Labour in tonight's results: get off the fence." The venue for Cable's final campaign event reflected the cosmopolitan and socially liberal values of many UK voters who still embrace the European Union. And they found unexpected solace in a balding 75-year-old whose party had been fairing so poorly that he promised to step down after the vote. "What the Liberal Democrats have succeeded in doing is establishing themselves as the principal 'Remain' party," said University of Birmingham professor Matt Cole. "But obviously it is also a reflection of their traditional role as a safe vote for disgruntled people who would normally vote Labour or Conservative," his Lancaster University colleague Mark Garnett added. "They are receiving protest votes from people who dislike the way the two main parties are going." - Shifting alliances - Their success also comes at the expense of the newly-formed Change UK group of breakaways from the two main parties. Change UK's refusal to form an anti-Brexit alliance with Cable backfired -- as did a series of media gaffes and internal disagreements that resulted in them looking at projections of just three percent. Story continues British parties that back staying in the EU and demand a second referendum were set to get a combined 32.4 percent of Sunday's ballot. That edged ahead of the 31.6 percent for populist Nigel Farage's Brexit Party and sufficient for Cable to claim a mandate for a second referendum aimed at undoing the one that pushed Britain out of Europe in 2016. Cable had previously ruled out a new vote as "disrespectful" to Britons who voted to leave. He now argues that it is justified because people know far more about Brexit's complexities and potential negative economic consequences. But his critics are not fully convinced. The Liberal Democrats have had a history of shifting alliances since being formed as a centre-left union of two moderate parties in 1988. Their decision to become junior partners in David Cameron's Conservative government of 2010-2015 proved nearly fatal. The party's numbers in the 650-seat House of Commons shrank from 57 in 2010 to eight in 2015 and just 11 today. "The accusation of betraying their voters has not completely lost its impact," University of Birmingham's Cole said. "They're not back where they were and that's partly to do with betrayal." - Irreverent tone - Cable's adoption of the "Bollocks to Brexit" slogan -- using what a BBC host crossly called "a profanity that we don't normally use in political discourse" -- defined his campaign's slightly irreverent tone. The attitude helped secure a strong May 3 result in local elections that have been the traditional base of party support because of their relatively low cost. But limited coffers might hurt the Liberal Democrats' chances in a snap general election that some think may be the only way of resolving the Brexit chaos. Cable still hopes that Sunday's performance pushes the main opposition Labour Party to stop hedging its bets and demand a second referendum at its party conference in September. "The key factor will be what the Labour Party does," Cole said. "If the Labour Party fails to come up with a clear position on Europe, the Liberal Democrats will be the beneficiaries." ALGIERS, May 26 (Reuters) - Algeria will block Total from acquiring Anadarkos assets in Algeria, energy minister Mohamed Arkab told reporters on a sidelines of a conference on Sunday. Occidental Petroleum has agreed to sell Anadarko Petroleum Corporation's assets in Algeria, Ghana, Mozambique and South Africa to Total for $8.8 billion if the U.S. oil company succeeds in completing its plan to take over Anadarko. Our ministry has contacted Anadarko to get explanations on this information, but so far we got no answer," Arkab said. "It means there is no contract between Total and Anadarko ...We have good relations with Anadarko and we will do the utmost to preserve Algerias interests, including using our pre-emption right to block the sale, the minister said. Anadarko holdings in Algeria represent about 260,000 barrels of oil per day, more than 25% of the country's crude production estimated at 1 million barrels per day. (Reporting by Lamine Chikhi. Editing by Jane Merriman) Sonny's Pizza. | Photo: Willie L./Yelp Food trends come and go. So how can you tell which tastes are trending today? We took a data-driven look at the question, using Yelp to uncover which local businesses have been getting a notable increase in attention this month. To find out who made the list, we looked at Washington businesses on Yelp by category and counted how many reviews each received. Rather than compare them based on number of reviews alone, we calculated a percentage increase in reviews over the past month, and tracked businesses that consistently increase their volume of reviews to identify statistically significant outliers compared to past performance. Read on to see which spots are getting plenty of attention, right now. Seasons & Sessions Photo: seasons & sessions/Yelp Open since November 2018, this beer bar and New American spot is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "American (New)" on Yelp. Citywide, New American spots saw a median 2% increase in new reviews over the past month, but Seasons & Sessions saw a 47.6% increase, maintaining an impressive five-star rating throughout. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis, Seasons & Sessions' review count increased by more than 200%. It's not the only trending outlier in the New American category: St. Anselm has seen a 14.4% increase in reviews. Located at 2427 18th St. NW (between North Columbia and North Adams Mill roads) in Adams Morgan, Seasons & Sessions features a pub with American-style comfort foods on the main floor, a music venue on the subterranean level and an arcade on the third floor. Craft beers are on tap on each floor. Craft cocktails are also served, as well as burgers, steaks, sides and desserts. Sonny's Pizza Photo: willie l./Yelp Park View's Sonny's Pizza is also making waves. Open since March at 3120 Georgia Ave. NW (between North Irving and North Kenyon streets), the pizza spot has seen a 65% bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 2.2% for all businesses tagged "Pizza" on Yelp. Story continues Sonny's Pizza offers New York-style whole pies, slices, meatballs, chicken parmesan and eggplant parmesan sandwiches, salads and sides. Over the past month, it's maintained a mixed 3.5-star rating among Yelpers. Coconut Club Photo: ryan b./Yelp Coconut Club in the Union Market warehouse district is the city's buzziest seafood spot by the numbers. The cocktail bar, which offers seafood and more, opened at 540 Penn St. NE (between North 5th Street and North Brentwood Parkway) in January. It increased its new review count by 20.9% over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median new review count of 2.7% for the Yelp category "Seafood." Coconut Club's four-time "Chopped" champion, chef Adam Greenberg, offers Hawaiian-inspired small plates, such as tuna poke and pork belly and pineapple, and cocktails, including an Old Fashioned made with coco-Spam-infused bourbon. American Son Photo: grace l./Yelp Downtown Washington's American Son is currently on the upswing in the cocktail bar category on Yelp. While businesses categorized as "Cocktail Bars" on Yelp saw a median 3.7% increase in new reviews over the past month, this cocktail bar and New American spot increased its reviews by 17.6% and kept its rating consistent at four stars. Open for business at 1201 K St. NW in the lobby level of the Eaton hotel since October 2018, the menu features locally sourced ingredients, with a focus on vegetables. Entrees include spaghetti squash wraps, fried whole fish with papaya salad and braised rabbit rigatoni. Trio Bistro Photo: trio Bistro/Yelp This popular bar and traditional American and breakfast and brunch spot in Dupont Circle is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Breakfast & Brunch" on Yelp. Citywide, businesses tagged "Breakfast & Brunch" saw a median 2% increase in new reviews over the past month, but Trio Bistro saw a 3.8% increase, maintaining a mixed 3.5-star rating throughout. It gained 12 times more reviews than expected based on past performance, significantly outperforming the previous month. There's more than one place trending in Washington's breakfast and brunch category: Bluestone Lane has seen a 5.1% increase in reviews, and Unconventional Diner and Kirwan's Irish Pub have seen 9.8% and 4% increases, respectively. Located at 1537 17th St. NW (between North Q and North Church streets), the brunch menu at Trio Bistro offers a variety of omelets, Belgian waffles, brioche French toast and eggs Benedict four ways. 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. The Los Angeles Angels placed right-hander Matt Harvey on the 10-day injured list on Saturday due to an upper back strain. The move comes two days after Harvey served up four homers and was hammered for eight runs and seven hits in just 2 2/3 innings against the Minnesota Twins. The poor outing leaves the 30-year-old Harvey with a 2-4 record and 7.50 ERA in 10 starts this season. The Angels also activated right-hander Luis Garcia (back) from the IL, optioned right-hander Luke Bard to Triple-A Salt Lake and recalled right-hander Taylor Cole from the same affiliate. Garcia, 32, was 0-1 with a 2.25 ERA in 18 appearances for the Angels before going on the IL on May 13. The 28-year-old Bard is 1-2 with a 4.22 ERA in 16 appearances (two starts) for the Angels. He made two scoreless appearances for Salt Lake earlier this season. Cole, 29, is back after being sent down on Friday. He has a 3.38 ERA in six appearances (one start) for the Angels. --Field Level Media "It's time to celebrate!" Hundreds of volunteers who aided the grim search and sensational rescue of Amanda Eller will celebrate Monday at a barbecue bash promoted by the "Findamanda" Facebook page. The party reflects the relief and joy being expressed by friends and family of Eller, a physical therapist and yoga instructor who walked into a Hawaiian forest on May 8 and was not seen again for more than two weeks. Eller, 35, survived on wild fruit, water, grit and determination. On Friday, searchers in a helicopter spotted her near a creek bed, and she was airlifted to safety about two hours later. Eller suffered a leg fracture and abrasions, was sunburned and hungry but was otherwise in good shape, her family said. Eller, from her hospital bed, thanked the hundreds of volunteers who conducted exhaustive searches. She said her 17 days in Maui's Makawao Forest Reserve were the most difficult of her life. "There were times of total fear and loss and wanting to give up," she said in video posted on Facebook. "It did come down to life and death and I had to choose. I chose life I wasn't going to take the easy way out." Eller's mother, Julia, said her daughter hiked into the woods, stopped to meditate, then couldn't find her way back to her car. The SUV was found in the Makawao parking lot, her wallet and phone inside. Julia Eller said her daughter kept walking, surviving by drinking from the creek and eating wild raspberries and other fruits. Amanda lost about 15 pounds. She fell two feet off a ledge and broke a bone in her leg. She lost her shoes in a flash flood. But she did not give up. I heard this voice that said, If you want to live, keep going,'" Amanda Eller told The New York Times. Julia Eller said Amanda waved at helicopters that occasionally flew overhead, but that the canopy was apparently too thick for searchers to see her. Amanda finally hiked to a waterfall, encountering a 20-foot cliff. She could go no farther. And the search for food was growing more difficult. Story continues Julia Eller said she never gave up hope her daughter would be found. "She's a trouper, a real warrior," Julia Eller said. "And I had no doubt that if anybody could make it through it, it was her." Julia Eller's hopes became reality when Javier Cantellops, Chris Berquist and Troy Helmer spotted Amanda late Friday from a helicopter. Cantellops is a former Army Ranger who operates "Masters of Adventure," which leads diving, spearfishing and other outings in the Maui area. He said he, Berquist and Helmer were surveying terrain for possible locations to enter the woods on foot when they saw her. "It was like a movie, man," he told a new conference Saturday. "Out of nowhere, we look and we did a double take. Out of the woods she comes. It's an incredibly happy ending." Cantellops said the helicopter dropped him and another searcher off more than 300 yards from Amanda, and the duo "broke brush all the way" to reach her. As they approached her, "I said 'Do you recognize this voice? And she said "Javier?!" "It's been a surreal moment," Cantellops said of the hours since the rescue. "I had to check my phone today to make sure it all really happened." Eller said her daughter was fearful that searchers might have given up. But the leaders of the search never wavered, she said. Dr. Zora Bulatovic, who treated Amanda, said she looks "amazing" and should recover fully. It's just a miracle that our daughter has come home to us," Eller said. "Miracles do happen. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'I chose life': Hiker Amanda Eller survived on wild fruit, water and grit for 17 days in the Hawaiian forest Revolver. | Photo: David F./Yelp Want the dirt on Houston's most talked-about local spots? We took a data-driven look at the question, using Yelp to uncover which restaurants have been on the tips of diners' tongues this month. To find out who made the list, we looked at Houston businesses on Yelp by category and counted how many reviews each received. Rather than compare them based on number of reviews alone, we calculated a percentage increase in reviews over the past month, and tracked businesses that consistently increase their volume of reviews to identify statistically significant outliers compared to past performance. Read on to see which spots are worth exploring, right now. Dragon Bar Photo: yu l./Yelp Open since February, this bar and Asian fusion spot, which offers barbecue and more, is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Bars" on Yelp. Citywide, bars saw a median 3.9 percent increase in new reviews over the past month, but Dragon Bar saw a 40 percent increase, maintaining a mixed 3.5-star rating throughout. It's not the only trending outlier in the bar category: Indianola has seen a 15.4 percent increase in reviews. Located at 9889 Bellaire Blvd., Suite 314, in Sharpstown, Dragon Bar offers barbecued meats, seafood and hot pot. (Check out the entire menu here.) Crawfish & Beignets Photo: Na l./Yelp Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about Sharpstown's Crawfish & Beignets, the Cajun/Creole and Vietnamese spot, which offers seafood and more, is a hot topic according to Yelp review data. While businesses categorized as "Seafood" on Yelp saw a median 3.2 percent increase in new reviews over the past month, Crawfish & Beignets bagged a 40 percent increase in new reviews within that timeframe, maintaining a sound 4.5-star rating. Open at 9600 Bellaire Blvd., Suite 102 since March, Crawfish & Beignets offers Cajun-style seafood such as crawfish, oysters, crab, shrimp and mussels. Diners can choose from sauce options like Cajun, garlic butter, lemon pepper and Thai citrus. The spot also offers fried seafood baskets and po'boy sandwiches. (Here's the entire menu.) Story continues Common Bond Cafe & Bakery Photo: jacqui L./Yelp University Place's Common Bond Cafe & Bakery is also making waves. Open since March at 2276 W. Holcombe Blvd., the bakery and breakfast and brunch spot, which offers desserts and more, has seen a 44 percent bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 3 percent for all businesses tagged "Breakfast & Brunch" on Yelp. Common Bond Cafe & Bakery offers sandwiches, flatbreads, soups, salads and pastries. At lunchtime, try the specialty beef bourguignon (slowly braised beef, potatoes, carrots, pearl onions and a baguette), or the pork belly sandwich (crispy honey-soy glazed pork belly, pickled carrots, red onion and cucumbers, gochujang aioli, bibb lettuce) with shoestring fries. Over the past month, it's seen its Yelp rating tick down from 4.5 stars to four stars. (Take a look at the rest of the menu here.) Revolver Houston Photo: david f./Yelp Washington Avenue Coalition / Memorial Park's Revolver Houston is the city's buzziest cocktail bar by the numbers. The popular cocktail bar, whiskey bar and lounge, which opened at 6502 Washington Ave. in 2015, increased its new review count by 9.5 percent over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median new review count of 4.2 percent for the Yelp category "Cocktail Bars." It outperformed the previous month by gaining 16.0 times more reviews than expected based on past performance. Revolver Houston offers burgers, sandwiches, wings, tacos and salads. Yelpers recommend ordering the chicken fried bacon to start, then tackling the Revolver burger (with pickles, lettuce, tomato, onion, cheddar cheese, bacon, with sriracha aioli) and finally, the fried apple pie for dessert. The bar serves more than 120 types of whiskey and has 19 craft beers on tap. (Explore the menu here.) 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. Forest officials demolish illegal structures built on encroached forestland in Kapilvastu Encroachers had built 14 houses and huts in the forestland which were being used to operate eateries. SheKnows Halle Berry is having the best holiday vacation, relaxing by the ocean with nothing but a comforter covering her up. It looks like the most idyllic place to wake up after the frenzy of December. The actress shared the sultry photo on her Instagram page that showed her lounging on an outdoor bed overlooking the [] A month has gone by since the last earnings report for AutoNation (AN). Shares have added about 0.5% in that time frame, outperforming the S&P 500. Will the recent positive trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is AutoNation due for a pullback? Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late, let's take a quick look at the most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important drivers. AutoNation Q1 Earnings Beat Estimates, Revenues Miss AutoNationreported adjusted earnings of $1.05 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 92 cents. In the year-ago quarter, the bottom line was $1.01 per share. Net income from continuing operations was $92 millioncompared with $93 millionin first-quarter 2018. During the quarter under review, AutoNations revenues were $4.98 billion compared with $5.26 billion in the prior-year quarter. The top line also missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $5.22 billion. During the reported quarter, new-vehicle revenues decreased 10.3% year over year to $2.5billion. Used-vehicle revenues rose 1.4% to $1.3 billion from the year-ago figure. The parts and service businesss revenues gained 2.4% to $859 million from first-quarter 2018. Net revenues from the finance and insurance business were $234 million, reflecting decline of 1% from the prior-year quarter. Segmental Details Revenues at the Domestic segment comprising stores that sell vehicles manufactured by General Motors, Ford and FCA US declined 11.6% to $1.6 billion. The segments income decreased 6.8% to $56 million in the quarter under review. Revenues at the Import segment consisting of outlets that sell vehicles manufactured primarily by Toyota, Honda, Nissan and Hyundai declined 9.5% to $1.5 billion. Further, the segments income lost 0.3% to $73 million in the reported quarter. Revenues at the Premium Luxury segment comprise stores that retail vehicles manufactured by Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Lexus and Audi. The sales figure increased 0.9% to $1.7 billion. Segmental income declined 3.9% to $84.3 million in the reported quarter. Story continues Balance Sheet and Capex AutoNations cash and cash equivalents were $48.7million as of Mar 31, 2019, declining from $57.5 million as of Mar 31, 2018. The companys inventory was valued at $3.8 billion as of Mar 31, 2019, comparedwith$3.5 billion recorded in the prior-year period. At the end of the first quarter of2019, non-vehicle debt was $2.4 billion compared with $2.6 billion in first-quarter 2018. At the quarter end, capital expenditure was $40.4 million compared with $79.4 million in the prior-year quarter. How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then? In the past month, investors have witnessed an upward trend in fresh estimates. VGM Scores At this time, AutoNation has a strong Growth Score of A, though it is lagging a lot on the Momentum Score front with a D. However, the stock was allocated a grade of A on the value side, putting it in the top 20% for this investment strategy. Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of A. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in. Outlook Estimates have been trending upward for the stock, and the magnitude of these revisions looks promising. Notably, AutoNation has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We expect an in-line return from the stock in the next few months. 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 AutoNation, Inc. (AN) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Hundreds of Bangladeshi fishermen staged a protest in the country's south on Sunday, police said, after the government imposed an unprecedented two-month long fishing ban on the Bay of Bengal. Carrying placards and banners, the fishermen marched to Cox's Bazar city from coastal villages days after the government's 65-day long fishing embargo came into effect. "This is wrong. This is injustice. No other country in the world has ever imposed such a long ban," said union leader Kolim Ullah through a loudhailer during the protest. Ullah said the ban has hit the livelihood of hundreds of thousands of people in Bangladesh's coastal districts, home to about 20 million people, most of whom depend either directly or indirectly on fishing. "The embargo has especially hit the poor fishermen hard. They don't know any other work," he said. Bangladesh imposed the ban on fishing in the Bay of Bengal last week in an effort to replenish depleted stocks. The junior minister for fisheries, Ashraf Ali Khan, said the ban would run from May 20 to July 23, and that navy and coast guard vessels would patrol the bay to prevent boats from putting to sea. Bangladesh frequently slaps seasonal bans on fishing in deep seas and coastal rivers, but authorities said this was the longest-ever imposed for shallow waters near the coast. It covers all types of fishing boats. Ullah said the protesters submitted a memorandum to the administrator in Cox's Bazar demanding the ban be shortened to one month and the government stop foreign fishing vessels from entering Bangladeshi waters. As part of compensation measures, the Bangladesh government has announced it will provide free rice for nearly half a million families of badly affected fishermen. But S.M. Nazrul, another union leader, said the aid is promised only for the registered fishermen, while "the number of unregistered fishermen is eight times more than the registered ones." Story continues Fishermen have also threatened to march towards the capital Dhaka if the embargo is not shortened. "The ban is slapped on just before Eid," said fisherman Mohammad Rafique, referring to the largest Muslim festival of Eid al-Fitr. "How will we celebrate Eid when we don't have a penny in the pocket?" . The ban has also hit Rohingya refugees, nearly a million of whom have fled a military crackdown in Myanmar and found shelter in squalid camps near Bangladesh's Teknaf and Ukhia fishing towns. The refugees are not permitted to work outside the camps but thousands have secretly found work in the sea-going fishing trawlers owned by Bangladeshis. "Thousands of Rohingya work as crew members in a bid to find a better life. This ban would throw these Rohingya back on the streets," Abdus Salam, a boat owner in Shamlapur fishing village, told AFP. Every year Bangladesh imposes a weeks-long ban on the fishing of Hilsa -- a popular Herring-like staple -- and has created six sanctuaries in its network of coastal rivers to allow spawning. The bans have boosted the Hilsa catch by more than 150 percent since 2004 and turned it into a $2 billion industry. 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 Difficulties with Iran will recur regularly, like the oscillations of a sine wave, and the recent crisis if such it was, or is illustrates persistent U.S. intellectual and institutional failures, starting with this: The Trump administrations assumption, and that of many in Congress, is that if the president wants to wage war against a nation almost the size of Mexico (and almost four times larger than Iraq) and with 83 million people (more than double that of Iraq), there is no constitutional hindrance to him acting unilaterally. In April, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was pressed in a Senate hearing to pledge that the administration would not regard the 2001 authorization for the use of military force against al-Qaeda and other non-state actors responsible for 9/11 as authorization, 18 years later, for war against Iran. Pompeo laconically said he would prefer to just leave that to lawyers. Many conservatives who preen as originalists when construing all the Constitutions provisions other than the one pertaining to war powers are unimpressed by the Framers intention that Congress should be involved in initiating military force in situations other than repelling sudden attacks. The Economist, which is measured in its judgments and sympathetic to America, tartly referred to the supposed evidence of Irans intentions to attack U.S. forces, allies, or interests as suspiciously unspecific. Such skepticism, foreign and domestic, reflects 16-year-old memories of certitudes about Iraqs weapons of mass destruction: Remember Secretary of State Colin Powell spending days at the CIA receiving assurances about the evidence. There also are concerns about the impetuosity of a commander in chief who vows that military conflict would mean the official end of Iran, whatever that means. U.S. policy makes easing economic sanctions against Iran contingent on Iran doing twelve things, most of which (e.g., halting development of ballistic missiles, withdrawing from Syria, ending support for allied groups) it almost certainly will not do. This U.S. policy is congruent with U.S. disregard of this truth: Any nation, however prostrate, poor, or ramshackle, that ardently wants nuclear weapons can acquire them. Just four years after Hiroshima, the Soviet Union, which had been laid to waste by World War II, became a nuclear power. China was an impoverished peasant society in 1964 when it detonated a nuclear weapon. Pakistans per capita income was $470 in 1998 when it joined the nuclear club. In the more than a decade since North Korea acquired nuclear weapons, U.S. policy has pronounced this unacceptable. But U.S. behavior has been to accept it while unfurling the tattered flag of arms control hoping to talk North Korea into giving up what it has devoted three decades to developing. Story continues Fifteen years ago, Condoleezza Rice, then George W. Bushs national-security adviser, said that an abstraction (the international community) would not allow the Iranians to develop a nuclear weapon. Allow? In 2012, President Obama said: Irans leaders should understand that I do not have a policy of containment. I have a policy to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. If probably when that policy fails, we shall have a policy of containment, or a major war. Trumps national-security apparatus might include a plucky cohort of regime changers who, undaunted by 18 discouraging years (Afghanistan, Iraq), cling to the fatal conceit that U.S. policies, such as sanctions, can manipulate the internal dynamics of societies such as Irans. In any case, todays president is, in one respect, like his predecessor: Obama denied that hundreds of U.S. air strikes that killed hundreds in Libya and helped to destroy a regime constituted involvement in hostilities. Trump recently vetoed a congressional resolution that would have terminated U.S. involvement with Saudi Arabia and its allies in the war in Yemen, by the terms of the 1973 War Powers Resolution. It forbids the introduction of U.S. forces into hostilities for more than 90 days without congressional authorization. It defines introduction to include the assignment of U.S. military to command, coordinate, participate in the movement of, or accompany the . . . military forces of any foreign country or government when such military forces are engaged . . . in hostilities. VIEW SLIDESHOW: USS Abraham Lincoln The U.S. military is providing intelligence, logistical support, and, for a time, occasional in-flight refueling of Saudi bombers. This certainly constitutes involvement in the commanding, coordinating, and movement of military forces. This is similarly certain: Whatever the U.S. does to Iran militarily will be decided unilaterally by this president. But his predecessor, and todays Congress and previous Congresses, will be implicated in the absence of restraint by laws or norms. 2019, Washington Post Writers Group More from National Review Boston-based business intelligence and commercial real estate company Robin has secured $20 million in Series B funding, according to company database Crunchbase, topping the citys recent funding headlines. The cash infusion was announced May 20 and led by Tola Capital. According to its Crunchbase profile, "Robin modernizes the open office. We help employees secure the ideal space and resources for whatever project theyre working on at any given time, while equipping facilities leaders with the insights they need to continually optimize the workplace. The solution to the open office isnt more walls." The five-year-old company has raised two previous funding rounds, including a $7 million Series A round in 2016. The round brings total funding raised by Boston companies in messaging and telecommunications over the past month to $25 million. The local messaging and telecommunications industry has seen six funding rounds over the past year, capturing a total of $40 million in venture funding. In other local funding news, cloud security company ZeroNorth announced a $10 million Series A funding round on April 29, led by ClearSky. According to Crunchbase, "ZeroNorth is the security industrys 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." Founded in 2015, the company has raised three previous rounds, including a $6 million round in 2018. 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. Chandan Kumar Mandal is the environment and migration reporter for The Kathmandu Post, covering labour migration and governance, as well as climate change, natural disasters, and wildlife. Barcelona (AFP) - A Catalan separatist won municipal elections in Barcelona for the first time on Sunday, tailed closely by outgoing left-wing mayor Ada Colau. France's former prime minister Manuel Valls lost his bet to become mayor of the Mediterranean seaside city in Catalonia, coming in fourth with just over 13 percent of the vote. The winner was Ernest Maragall, a veteran politician from ERC, a party that wants Catalonia -- the northeastern region ruled by separatists -- to be independent from the rest of Spain. He gained 10 seats out of 41 in the city council, as did Colau. But Maragall beat her by fewer than 5,000 votes, and unless other groupings manage to build an alternative majority, he will become mayor of Spain's second largest city. Catalonia was the scene of a failed attempt to secede from Spain in October 2017, when separatist leaders who ran the region went ahead with an independence referendum despite a court ban. That was followed by a brief declaration of independence before Spain's then prime minister sacked the Catalan executive and called snap regional polls. ERC leader Oriol Junqueras, who was Catalonia's vice-president at the time, is currently in jail as a trial over his and 11 others' role in the secession bid goes on. Cavan Biggio is on the board. (Fred Thornhill/The Canadian Press via AP) When your dad has 3,060 MLB hits, you dont want to wait too long into your big-league career to start your quest for family supremacy. After a rough couple of games in which he went 0-for-6 with three strikeouts, Cavan Biggio got to work on Sunday, producing the type of game the Blue Jays hope is indicative of whats to come. The 24-year-old busted out, going 3-for-4 with his first career home run in Torontos 10-1 win. It gave me the chills, manager Charlie Montoyo said. I thought man thats why I love this job, thats why I came here to see that. That was fun. Biggio got things started in the second inning. After taking a fastball well high from Padres southpaw Robbie Erlin, he got hold of a heater low in the zone and shot it through the infield for his first career hit. Via MLB.tv The hit itself wasnt particularly special - a 91.4-mph grounder with a .250 Expected Average - but Biggio would have happily taken anything that broke up his early goose egg. You just want to get that first hit and get that monkey off your back, he said. After that first at-bat I felt like I could finally exhale and just play the game. Just two innings later, Matt Wisler left a fastball in his wheelhouse and Biggio got on the board with his first deep fly - this time a 405-foot bomb above the second deck that stayed just inside the foul pole. Biggio found himself fearing it would be a long strike and trying to will it fair. Thats why I was walking down the line a little bit, he said. They tried to come inside with a fastball with two strikes and I was just trying to battle and keep my hands inside. But yeah just hoping the ball would be fair. The high-arching round tripper put the Blue Jays ahead 3-1 and also got former minor league teammates Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. going in a major way. Frankly, we all deserve the level of support Vladito & Lourdes Gurriel Jr. give Cavan Biggio. pic.twitter.com/4aF2SMiwvl Cut4 (@Cut4) May 26, 2019 I felt like it was me hitting that home run, Gurriel Jr. said through an interpreter. I love Biggio, hes going to be a great player so we were very, very happy for him. Story continues Being the kind of teammate that elicits that reaction isnt an accident for Biggio, its something he actively works at, which help explains why hes so beloved by the guys whove played with him in the minors. Being a good teammate is probably the biggest thing for a baseball player, he said. You can trick a coach, you can trick the media, but you cant trick a teammate. Our relationships are probably the most important, especially over the course of your season when youre trying to win. Its just something Ive learned from my dad and being around the game for so long. It wasnt just Biggios teammates that had big reactions for his first career homer. His Hall of Famer dad, Craig - whod demonstrated superhuman stoicism to that point - was dishing out the high fives to Blue Jays fans. Via MLB.tv The rookie wasnt done after the home run, either. In the sixth inning, he added an RBI single, clubbing a Luis Perdomo fastball to centre to score Gurriel Jr. Despite something of a slow start, the Blue Jays expect big things from the 24-year-old who hit .307/.445/.504 in Triple-A this season. In the last couple of years, Biggio has gone from a non-prospect with a famous name to a player Toronto hopes will be a part of its future core. Sunday was the first time he played like he deserved that billing. Hell need plenty more big games to secure his place in the Blue Jays plans, but with a couple of major firsts in his rearview, his road looks a little bit easier. More Blue Jays coverage from Yahoo Sports Canada BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The centre-right German candidate to head the next European Union's executive called for a broad alliance of pro-EU forces among socialists, liberals and greens after a continent-wide vote on Sunday. "We are facing a shrinking centre," Manfred Weber said. "When I look to the figures, I don't see a majority against the liberals, I don't see a majority against the socialists, I don't see a majority against the European People's Party." "So what I would ask us to do to is to join our forces to work together from now." (Reporting by Jan Strupczewski, Francesco Guarascio, Writing by Gabriela Baczynska, Editing by Andrew Heavens) China is digging in for a tough period of deteriorating ties with the United States, fanning the flames of patriotism with Korean War films, a viral song on the trade war, and editorials lambasting Washington. The trade spat has turned into a war of words since President Donald Trump blacklisted Huawei last week over concerns the telecom giant's equipment could be used by Beijing for espionage. The move, which bans US companies from providing technology Huawei needs, came as the two sides have yet to resume trade negotiations after they exchanged steep increases in tariffs. A commentary on state-run Xinhua news agency Friday said China now had a "deeper understanding" of US "capriciousness" and was ready to fight with its "Long March" spirit. It echoes President Xi Jinping's tough stance when he called on cadres earlier this week to brace themselves for a "new Long March" -- recalling the legendary strategic retreat by Communist revolutionaries in the 1930s who regrouped and went on to triumph in 1949. Xi warned local officials of "complicated and long-term effects" of external influences. The world's top two economies will "go through a long period of irrational conflict," said Zhang Yansheng, chief researcher at the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, at a government organised briefing Wednesday. "And then during this process, step by step... come to understand each other, resist each other, and (finally) cooperate with each other." - 'Selfish and arrogant' - Trump has left the door open for reconciliation with plans to meet President Xi on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Japan next month. But Chinese state media have ramped up the rhetoric. A Xinhua commentary Thursday called the US government "selfish and arrogant". "The US is defying international rules, abandoning cooperation agreements and harping on America first, American privilege and American exceptionalism," it said. Story continues Since Trump raised tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese goods in mid-May, the Communist Party mouthpiece People's Daily has been running a daily column tag-lined "an alarm bell", rejecting Trump's arguments that China's rise was leading to American losses. Korean War films stoking anti-US sentiments from the 1950s were broadcast for six consecutive days on state television from May 16, reminding audiences of a time when the Cold War came to China's doorstep as it fought on North's side against US-led UN forces defending the South. Meanwhile, a song penned by a former Chinese government official vowing to beat the US "out of its wits" on the trade war went viral this week, before it was pulled down from popular social media platforms WeChat and Weibo for violating their content rules. The song is set to the tune of a well-known wartime anti-Japanese propaganda film, "Tunnel War". "The Chinese nation is facing a dangerous threat now, similar to the difficult times addressed in the film," lyricist Zhao Liangtian told AFP. "I want to use this song to awaken the masses. We need to unite as one to develop and to fight." - 'Fake' patriotism - Chinese netizens have rallied around Huawei after Trump's threat to kneecap the company, which is widely seen as a move to thwart Beijing's hi-tech ambitions. An interview last week with the telecom giant's founder, Ren Zhengfei, was one of the top trending topics on China's Twitter-like microblogging platform Weibo. Hundreds of commentators said they wouldn't abandon the company, while a few called for boycotting iPhones. But several others said the idea of smashing iPhones was "mere fake patriotism," after Ren himself said his family uses Apple products. "US attempts to damage Huawei is only a delay tactic, it won't lead to a deadlock," said Shi Yinhong, director of the American studies centre at Renmin University. But China's tech sector would have to brace itself for a long, painful period as it had relied heavily on American technologies, he said. "The American door is closing," he said, "but China still doesn't have a plan B." * June 4 marks 30th anniversary of Tiananmen Square crackdown * Chinese censors reliant on increasingly sophisticated AI * Regulator CAC muscles up under Xi leadership By Cate Cadell BEIJING, May 26 (Reuters) - It's the most sensitive day of the year for China's internet, the anniversary of the bloody June 4 crackdown on pro-democracy protests at Tiananmen Square, and with under two weeks to go, China's robot censors are working overtime. Censors at Chinese internet companies say tools to detect and block content related to the 1989 crackdown have reached unprecedented levels of accuracy, aided by machine learning and voice and image recognition. "We sometimes say that the artificial intelligence is a scalpel, and a human is a machete," said one content screening employee at Beijing Bytedance Co Ltd, who asked not to be identified because they are not authorized to speak to media. Two employees at the firm said censorship of the Tiananmen crackdown, along with other highly sensitive issues including Taiwan and Tibet, is now largely automated. Posts that allude to dates, images and names associated with the protests are automatically rejected. "When I first began this kind of work four years ago there was opportunity to remove the images of Tiananmen, but now the artificial intelligence is very accurate," one of the people said. Four censors, working across Bytedance, Weibo Corp and Baidu Inc apps said they censor between 5,000-10,000 pieces of information a day, or five to seven pieces a minute, most of which they said were pornographic or violent content. Despite advances in AI censorship, current-day tourist snaps in the square are sometimes unintentionally blocked, one of the censors said. Bytedance declined to comment, while Weibo and Baidu did not respond to requests for comment. SENSITIVE PERIOD The Tiananmen crackdown is a taboo subject in China 30 years after the government sent tanks to quell student-led protests calling for democratic reforms. Beijing has never released a death toll but estimates from human rights groups and witnesses range from several hundred to several thousand. Story continues June 4th itself is marked by a cat-and-mouse game as people use more and more obscure references on social media sites, with obvious allusions blocked immediately. In some years, even the word "today" has been scrubbed. In 2012, China's most-watched stock index fell 64.89 points on the anniversary day https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-stocks-tiananmen-idUSBRE8530F720120604, echoing the date of the original event in what analysts said was likely a strange coincidence rather than a deliberate reference. Still, censors blocked access to the term "Shanghai stock market" and to the index numbers themselves on microblogs, along with other obscure references to sensitive issues. While companies censorship tools are becoming more refined, analysts, academics and users say heavy-handed policies mean sensitive periods before anniversaries and political events have become catch-alls for a wide range of sensitive content. In the lead-up to this year's Tiananmen Square anniversary, censorship on social media has targeted LGBT groups, labor and environment activists and NGOs, they say. Upgrades to censorship tech have been urged on by new policies introduced by the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC). The group was set up - and officially led - by President Xi Jinping, whose tenure has been defined by increasingly strict ideological control of the internet. The CAC did not respond to a request for comment. Last November, the CAC introduced new rules aimed at quashing dissent online in China, where "falsifying the history of the Communist Party" on the internet is a punishable offense for both platforms and individuals. The new rules require assessment reports and site visits for any internet platform that could be used to "socially mobilize" or lead to "major changes in public opinion," including access to real names, network addresses, times of use, chat logs and call logs. One official who works for CAC told Reuters the recent boost in online censorship is "very likely" linked to the upcoming anniversary. "There is constant communication with the companies during this time," said the official, who declined to directly talk about the Tiananmen, instead referring to the "the sensitive period in June." Companies, which are largely responsible for their own censorship, receive little in the way of directives from the CAC, but are responsible for creating guidelines in their own "internal ethical and party units," the official said. SECRET FACTS With Xi's tightening grip on the internet, the flow of information has been centralized under the Communist Partys Propaganda Department and state media network. Censors and company staff say this reduces the pressure of censoring some events, including major political news, natural disasters and diplomatic visits. "When it comes to news, the rule is simple... If it is not from state media first, it is not authorized, especially regarding the leaders and political items," said one Baidu staffer. "We have a basic list of keywords which include the 1989 details, but (AI) can more easily select those." Punishment for failing to properly censor content can be severe. In the past six weeks, popular services including a Netease Inc news app, Tencent Holdings Ltd's news app TianTian, and Sina Corp have all been hit with suspensions ranging from days to weeks, according to the CAC, meaning services are made temporarily unavailable on apps stores and online. For internet users and activists, penalties can range from fines to jail time for spreading information about sensitive events online. In China, social media accounts are linked to real names and national ID numbers by law, and companies are legally compelled to offer user information to authorities when requested. "It has become normal to know things and also understand that they can't be shared," said one user, Andrew Hu. "They're secret facts." In 2015, Hu spent three days in detention in his home region of Inner Mongolia after posting a comment about air pollution onto an unrelated image that alluded to the Tiananmen crackdown on Twitter-like social media site Weibo. Hu, who declined to use his full Chinese name to avoid further run-ins with the law, said when police officers came to his parents house while he was on leave from his job in Beijing he was surprised, but not frightened. "The responsible authorities and the internet users are equally confused," said Hu. "Even if the enforcement is irregular, they know the simple option is to increase pressure." (Reporting by Cate Cadell. Editing by Lincoln Feast.) Washington (AFP) - Less than a dozen people affiliated with the Ku Klux Klan white supremacist group were drowned out by hundreds of counter-protesters Saturday at a rally in the midwestern US state of Ohio, authorities and local media said. The event ended peacefully without injuries or arrests, the city government of Dayton, Ohio, said in a statement on Facebook. Nine people from a group called the Honorable Sacred Knights showed up for a rally they'd obtained a permit to hold in Dayton's Courthouse Square. They were met by 500 to 600 counter-protesters, city officials said. The counter-protesters chanted, sang and played various instruments to drown out the racist demonstrators, who had gathered behind a tall metal fence under tight police security, local media reports said. More than 350 law enforcement officers were on hand amid fears of violence. In 2017, a woman was killed at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. President Donald Trump sparked outrage in its aftermath after claiming there were good people "on both sides" at the rally. Nicosia (AFP) - The European vote in Cyprus produced a landmark result on Sunday when a Turkish Cypriot was elected as an MEP for the first time on the ethnically divided island. The majority Greek Cypriot and minority Turkish Cypriot communities are separated by barbed wire but both sides came together to vote for candidates on the same ballot in Sunday's vote. Among the six MEPs elected was university professor Niyazi Kizilyurek, 59, who was on the ticket of the main Greek Cypriot opposition party, the communist Akel. A Greek Cypriot party having a Turkish Cypriot running was unique for Cyprus, as was the stream of 5,600 voters who crossed the UN-patrolled ceasefire line to cast ballots in the government-controlled south. Akel leader Andros Kyprianou thanked Turkish Cypriots who worked with the party saying, "peace in Cyprus cannot be prevented". Turkish Cypriots are considered EU citizens and have the right to run and vote in European elections, even though under the current constitution they cannot participate in parliamentary ballots in the south. There were an unprecedented nine Turkish Cypriots in the running to be MEPs. But the election result did little for gender equality, as Cyprus returned no women to the European Parliament. - 'Help overcome problems' - Turkey has had thousands of troops stationed in the northern third of the island since it invaded in 1974 in response to a Greek military junta-engineered coup aimed at uniting Cyprus with Greece. The northern part was declared the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), which is only recognised by Ankara. Turkey does not recognise EU member the Republic of Cyprus. UN-brokered efforts to reunify the island failed at a summit in July 2017, and all moves to restart the peace talks have faltered since then. Kizilyurek, a self-confessed European federalist, campaigned on both sides of the divide on a pro-reunification platform. The vote comes at a time of rising tensions with Turkey amid a dispute with the Cyprus government over energy drilling rights. Story continues It is the first time since the outbreak of inter-communal violence in 1963 that a Turkish Cypriot has been elected to office in the Republic of Cyprus and given Turkish Cypriots a voice in public affairs. Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades hailed the participation of Turkish Cypriots in the European elections. "Turkish Cypriot participation creates the conditions for all citizens to understand that Europe can help us overcome problems facing the talks and create the conditions where we could be happy living in a reunited country," he told reporters. After Greek Cypriots failed to back a UN reunification blueprint in a referendum, Cyprus entered the European Union as a divided island in 2004. With EU law suspended in the north, Cyprus's six MEPs have always been Greek Cypriots. Bhrikuti Rai is an investigative reporter for The Kathmandu Post, covering technology, environment and human rights. Before joining The Kathmandu Post in 2019, she was a reporter at Nepali Times and South Asia Check. She loves all things audio, and is co-creator of the Boju Bajai podcast. After Dayton, Ohio became the site of a peaceful protest against a very small Ku Klux Klan rally on Saturday, Mayor Nan Whaley is proud of the way her community came together. Theres only one problem: paying the massive bill required to keep protestors, and KKK demonstrators, safe. Im proud of the city, Whaley tells TIME. I think it is frustrating on how expensive it is today to keep people safe. Local officials estimate that the city incurred $650,000 in expenses due to the KKK rally. That cost included assembling more than 350 police officers in order to keep the peace, as well as barriers and other materials used to keep the nine KKK-affiliated demonstrators separated from the protestors. Whaley adds that cost of securing the rally was compounded by the fact that Ohio allows the open-carry of weapons, which exacerbated safety concerns for police and local officials. The number of assault rifles was troubling to me, Whaley says. This place we live in now [is] where we have to really prepare for really bad scenarios, and thats really expensive. Community members expressed similar sentiments proud of how their community united against racism and hatred on Saturday, but frustrated over the cost that their city incurred in managing the protest. The way that the city did it was really awesome, but as a taxpayer of the city Im extremely aggravated and irritated [at] the fact that our city spent $650,000 on this, says Dayton resident Jesse Seiber, 25, who put a sign up outside his restaurant that read, Yo, KKK youre in the wrong hood. All around on the tallest buildings you had cops with binoculars watching the crowd, says Seiber. But as for the crowd itself, it was extremely peaceful. the KKK have a rally today in Dayton, Ohio and this is how the businesses are responding.. pic.twitter.com/mnhkpEiVUg (@TRINHTRILLA) May 25, 2019 Only nine people actually showed up for the KKK rally Saturday, and their chants were drowned out by between 500 and 600 protesters, many from the community, who assembled in Dayton to show their opposition to the hate groups message. Those protests remained peaceful and progressed without incident, with Dayton police reporting no arrests, no use of force, and no citations. Story continues Whaley says that Dayton is in talks with Ohio Sen. Sherrod Browns office to help recoup some of Saturdays costs. In March, Dayton filed a lawsuit against an Indiana-based KKK-affiliated group that was planning a rally in their city, citing a danger to the community if the group held a paramilitary-style event, according to WCMH Columbus. In May, the two sides reached a settlement that prevented the group from wearing military-style gear or carrying assault rifles, shields, bats, knives or flame throwers. They were, however, permitted to cover their faces and carry certain firearms if they had permits. Those precautions, along with a minuscule turnout from the group, strong police presence and a unified sentiment in the community may have all contributed to keeping Saturdays events peaceful. And because the KKK-affiliated group stuck to the terms of the consent agreement for holding their rally, Whaley says she has been advised the city had no avenue to try to recoup the security costs from the hate group itself. For some Dayton residents, that the price may have been worth it. Id much rather spend money than human lives, says Dayton bar owner Gus Stathes. It could have gotten real ugly real fast. The General Public. | Photo: Jamie S./Yelp Spending time in Forest Crest? Get to know this San Antonio neighborhood by browsing its most popular local businesses, from a moonshine bar to a Mexican eatery. Hoodline crunched the numbers to find the top places to visit in Forest Crest, using both Yelp data and our own secret sauce to produce a ranked list of neighborhood businesses. Read on for the results. 1. The General Public Photo: Mary G./Yelp Topping the list is New American restaurant and bar The General Public. Located at 17619 La Cantera Parkway, Suite 102, it's among the highest-rated businesses in the neighborhood, boasting four stars out of 517 reviews on Yelp. Offering a comprehensive lunch and dinner menu of gastropub fare, this eatery is serving up everything from burgers, salads and sandwiches to oysters, chicken tortilla chili and other house specialties. The restaurant also serves brunch from 10:30 a.m.2:30 p.m. on weekends. 2. Mash'D-The Rim Photo: Ashley M./Yelp Next up is bar and eatery Mash'D-The Rim, situated at 17623 La Cantera Parkway, Suite 107. With four stars out of 719 reviews on Yelp, it's proven to be a local favorite. In addition to a menu filled with modern and traditional American cuisine, the business features a full moonshine list. Stop by during happy hour, which takes place every weeknight from 3-6 p.m., to enjoy some house-infused flavored moonshine and other drink specials. 3. Tiago's Cabo Grille Photo: Kay J./Yelp Check out Tiago's Cabo Grille, which has earned four stars out of 245 reviews on Yelp. You can find the Mexican spot at 17711 Interstate 10 W, Suite 101. According to Tiago's website, the restaurant has won an array of awards, including top votes for the best happy hour and guacamole in San Antonio. 4. Gloria's Latin Cuisine Photo: Meri M./Yelp Finally, there's Gloria's Latin Cuisine, a local favorite with four stars out of 175 reviews. Stop by 17623 La Cantera Parkway, Suite 103, to hit up this Latin American eatery next time you're in the neighborhood. Known for "Salvadorian-style fine cuisine," Gloria's offers a selection of food traditionally found in El Salvador with a Tex-Mex flair. On the menu, look for margaritas, sangria, tamales and fajitas, as well as ceviche tostadas, enchiladas, Salvadorian pupusas and more. 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. As a presidential candidate, Donald Trump repeatedly vowed to protect LGBTQ Americans. When a debate broke out over which bathrooms transgender individuals should be able to use, Trump told the Today show that Caitlyn Jenner could use any bathroom she wanted at Trump Tower. He later tweeted that he would be better for LGBT Americans than Hillary Clinton. And during his acceptance speech at the Republican national convention, he cited the shootings at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla. As your President, I will do everything in my power to protect our LGBTQ citizens from the violence and oppression of a hateful foreign ideology, he vowed. But since becoming president, Trump and his administration have repeatedly rolled back existing protections, especially for transgender Americans. This is an all-out attack on not only the rights of trans people but our very existence in the public square, says Charlotte Clymer, an LGBTQ activist and press secretary at the Human Rights Campaign. Never have transgender people been under greater threat than under Donald Trump and Mike Pence. In February 2017, top officials from the Justice and Education departments rejected the Obama-era guidance that nondiscrimination laws required schools to let transgender students use the bathroom that fit their gender. In April 2019, the Department of Defense finalized Trumps guidance that effectively bars transgender individuals who have transitioned from enlisting in the military, and prohibits already-enlisted troops from undergoing hormone therapy or gender transition surgeries. The Supreme Court is also slated to hear a trio of cases in order to settle whether federal civil rights protections on the basis of a persons sex should extend to sexual orientation and gender identity. In July 2017, Trumps Justice Department weighed in on the matter, despite not being a party in the case. The essential element of sex discrimination under Title VII is that employees of one sex must be treated worse than similarly situated employees of the other sex, and sexual orientation discrimination simply does not have that effect, says the amicus brief, which was filed at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit. Story continues Now, the Administration is expanding this approach with government-wide guidance that would further restrict protections for transgender Americans. On Wednesday, the Department of Housing and Urban Development announced it intends to reverse the requirement that operators of homeless shelters receiving Housing Department funding have to provide equal access to programs, benefits, services, and accommodations in accordance with an individuals gender identity. The policy change would allow mens and womens shelters to segregate transgender people where allowed by state and local laws. It would also allow shelters to consider a persons sex when determining whether an individual will be admitted to the shelter. On Friday, the Department of Health and Human Services published a proposal that would reverse an Obama-era rule that defined discrimination on the basis of sex to include gender identity. The draft rule would amend regulations that identify sexual orientation or gender identity as prohibited bases for discrimination for programs funded or administered by the Department. According to the HHS proposal, the draft is an attempt to streamline policies across departments. This proposed rule avoids different interpretations of the same statute by multiple agencies, and promotes consistent expectations and enforcement, it says. The proposal is in addition to a new rule scheduled to take effect in July that allows healthcare providers to recuse themselves from performing medical procedures that violate their conscience or religious beliefs. Though that rule does not refer to transgender individuals explicitly, it does specify a provider can deny a service that results in sterilization. Experts warn the rule could make it more difficult for transgender Americans to receive hormone therapy and gender-affirming surgeries like hysterectomies. Medical experts say the proposed policy changes intended to streamline the definition of sex for simplicity, could further marginalize a group of people who already face disproportionately high risks of violence and suicide. It displays an ignorance on behalf of policy makers to think that this can be simplified, says Dr. Amy Weimer, the founder and co-director of UCLAs Gender Health Program. What were finding scientifically is that sex and gender are very complex, and that the traditional sense of binary gender identity is an outdated concept from a scientific standpoint. People in the LGBTQ community are also more likely to experience barriers in finding and receiving healthcare. Nearly a quarter of transgender individuals avoid doctors or health care out of concern they will be discriminated against, and 31% say they dont have a regular doctor, according to a 2017 poll by NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Harvard. Weimer is concerned the reversals and proposed rule changes could make these barriers to health care even more onerous. Health outcomes are going to worsen, she said. Violent clashes continued in India on Sunday between supporters of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist party and a regional party in the politically volatile eastern state of West Bengal, officials said. Rival supporters regularly engaged in pitched battles across the state during the bitterly fought elections that saw Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) clinch a massive victory both in the state and nationwide. A BJP supporter was shot dead late Friday in the capital Kolkata, where massive clashes broke out and fires were lit on the eve of polling day on May 19. Police said thousands of supporters of the regional Trinamool Congress party -- which has its stronghold in West Bengal -- and the BJP, threw rocks and attacked each other with sticks in several locations. Rock-throwing mobs also attacked a car carrying a state minister from Trinamool Congress in northern Coochbehar district, smashing its windscreen. Minister Binoy Krishna Burman accused BJP supporters of carrying out the attack and blamed them for ransacking the party's office in the district. Authorities called on armed paramilitary forces to bring the situation under control. More than 20 people have been detained over the violence, police said. BJP campaigned aggressively in the state and won 18 seats, well up from the two it won in 2014. Modi's party won a record 303 seats in the national parliament, increasing their previous tally of 282 seats in 2014. The rightwing party has been aggressively pushing to expand its reach in eastern India, where it traditionally lacks support. Meanwhile, police in northern Uttar Pradesh state's Amethi were investigating the murder of a political activist of BJP. Surendra Singh believed to be a close aide of BJP minister Smriti Irani, was shot dead late Saturday by unidentified gunmen. Police said they were investigating all angles including a "political murder". Irani won the Amethi seat in the election defeating Congress party chief Rahul Gandhi in his home bastion by more than 50,000 votes. Madrid (AFP) - Ireland, Spain, Portugal, the Baltic states... The expected surge in support for eurosceptics in elections to the European Parliament will likely spare several countries which have reaped huge benefits from EU membership. "These countries were transformed by their membership of the EU," says Jean-Dominique Giuliani, president of the Robert Schuman Foundation think tank, which would explain the lack of major eurosceptic forces. Dublin for instance "became the gateway for investments of the Gafa (tech giants Google, Amazon, Facebook and Apple) in Europe," he adds. Spain, Portugal and the Baltic states also benefitted from ample EU funds. According to the latest Eurobarometer survey published by the European Parliament, 83 percent of respondents in Ireland have a positive opinion of EU membership. That's well above the average of 61 percent for the 27 member states, excluding the United Kingdom which is in the process of leaving the bloc. Still, this average is the highest since the early 1990s. Voters in the Netherlands appear to have shown their attachment to the bloc with pro-EU parties heading for a surprise win in the multi-day elections that end on Sunday, according to an exit poll released Thursday. - Prosperity, freedom - Where Ireland is concerned, the country has received 42 billion euros ($47 billion) in EU development aid since it joined the bloc in 1973, according to Irish government figures. In all, 700,000 jobs have been created and foreign trade increased 90 fold. The main parties are pro-European. Prime Minister Leo Varadkar has called his ruling Fine Gael party "the party of Europe". Ireland, which will bear the economic brunt of Britain's looming exit from the EU, has consistently been backed by its EU partners. An exit poll in Ireland suggested Varadkar's Fine Gael was in the lead. In Spain, which elects the fifth-biggest contingent of lawmakers to the 751-seat European Parliament, citizens are broadly pro-EU, says Jose Ignacio Torreblanca of the European Council on Foreign Relations think-tank. Story continues And that is because the EU rhymes with freedom. Spain's return to democracy following the death of longtime dictator Francisco Franco in 1975 and its entry in 1986 into the then European Economic Community "are two sides of the same coin," he adds. EU membership helped thrust Spain into the modern world. EU development funds for example helped the country build Europe's largest high-speed rail network. Even the programme of far-right party Vox, which won seats in the Spanish parliament for the first time in a general election last month, starts off by saying "We believe in Europe because we are Europe". Like Spain, in Portugal 69 percent of the population looks upon EU membership favourably, according to the Eurobarometer, despite drastic austerity imposed by Brussels after the financial crisis. The country joined the bloc in the same year as its neighbour after decades of dictatorship. It has "benefitted greatly from the European project" in terms of improved social services, education and transport, says the head of the ruling Socialist Party's poll list, Pedro Marques. The poverty rate for senior citizens in Portugal has been halved since statistics started being kept in 1995, he notes. As in Spain, polls show Portugal's ruling Socialists will win the most seats while support for the populist right will be negligible. - History, identity - But what of other member states like Hungary and Poland that also benefitted economically from the EU but elected eurosceptics to power? According to Giuliani, it's all down to history. "For Spain, Europe is democracy and prosperity. In Hungary or in Poland, Europe is prosperity, security but it's something that runs up against the desire to recover national sovereignty," 20 years after the end of communism, he says. It's an entirely different story for the Baltic states. The EU and NATO allowed Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, once ruled from Moscow, to reassert their sovereignty. They became member states in 2004 and for them, the EU means access to the single market and security in the face of their giant, increasingly assertive Russian neighbour. Even in Estonia, where a far-right party is part of the governing coalition, 74 percent view EU membership favourably, according to the Eurobarometer. That's more than in Lithuania (71 percent) and Latvia (54 percent), where no eurosceptic force to speak of is running in the European election. Of communists and farmlands It is not the exodus of the youth to foreign jobs, but the communist governments neglect of land reforms that has undermined agriculture. Shutterstock PARIS, May 26 (Reuters) - Marine Le Pen's far-right Rassemblement National party won the most votes in the European Parliament election in France, two exit polls showed on Sunday, in an upset to the domestic and European ambitions of President Emmanuel Macron. The IFOP poll showed the RN winning 24 percent of the vote compared with 22.5 percent for Macron's centrist party. An Elabe poll showed similar figures and forecast they would leave Le Pen's party with 24 seats in the European Parliament compared with 23 seats for Macron's party. (Reporting by Richard Lough; Editing by Michel Rose) Visiting Hickory Ridge-South Riverdale, or just looking to better appreciate what it has to offer? Get to know this Memphis neighborhood by browsing its most popular local businesses, from a deli to a Southern-style spot. Hoodline crunched the numbers to find the top places to visit in Hickory Ridge-South Riverdale, using both Yelp data and our own secret sauce to produce a ranked list of neighborhood businesses. Read on for the results. 1. Pop's Deli Topping the list is deli Pop's Deli, which offers sandwiches, cheesesteaks and more. Located at 6749 E. Shelby Drive, it's the highest rated business in the neighborhood, boasting 4.5 stars out of 99 reviews on Yelp. This spot, which has operated for more than a decade, was named as one to check out for its Chilean sandwich by The Commercial Appeal. Other menu items include chicken tenders, hot wings and sandwich platters. 2. La Michoacana Photo: William P./Yelp Next up is La Michoacana, a spot to score ice cream and frozen yogurt, situated at 6635 Winchester Road With five stars out of 24 reviews on Yelp, it's proven to be a local favorite. This restaurant's rum raisin cream pop was named the "best Mexican ice pop" at La Michoacana by Memphis magazine. Other Ice cream flavors include German vanilla, bubble gum and strawberry cheesecake. 3. Southern Hands Homestyle Cooking Photo: rae m./Yelp Southern Hands Homestyle Cooking, a Southern spot, is another neighborhood go-to, with four stars out of 84 Yelp reviews. Head over to 6025 Winchester Road to see for yourself. This spot boasts two other locations in Mississippi and along Austin Peay, according to its website. On the menu, look for fried chicken, catfish and baked spaghetti. 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. Kensho Hollywood. | Photo: Lucia L./Yelp Interested in getting intel on the newest restaurant and retail additions to Los Angeles? From a bar to a coffee house, read on to see the newest hot spots to make their debut around town. Barcade Photo: john p./Yelp New to 5684 York Blvd. in Highland Park is Barcade, a bar, arcade and New American spot. The bar features over 70 retro arcade games and small-batch craft beer. This is the largest Barcade location and first on the West Coast. Song Hak Photo: DongUk O./Yelp Song Hak is a Korean spot, offering barbecue and more, that's made its debut at 356 S. Western Ave., Suite 201 in Koreatown. Enjoy Korean barbecue dishes such as beef intestine, short rib and pork belly, as well as noodle bowls and sides like corn cheese, steamed egg and fried rice. As stated on the business' Facebook page, "Song Hak is an authentic Korean barbecue restaurant, well known for its premium quality meats and special beef intestine barbecue menus." Kensho Hollywood Photo: Lila H./Yelp Head over to 1999 N. Sycamore Ave. in Hollywood Hills and you'll find Kensho Hollywood, a wine/sake bar and Japanese cafe, offering coffee, tea and more. The restaurant is currently in its soft open stage, with a menu that features fresh burrata, somen noodles in chilled soy broth, roasted heart of palm with cured trout roe and black cod with matcha beurre blanc. Honey & Bacon Coffee House Photo: Dan K./Yelp Stop by 5016 Melrose Ave. in Larchmont and you'll find Honey & Bacon Coffee House, a spot to score coffee, tea and more. The name comes from the Polish saying "Miod z Boczkiem (honey with bacon) to mean something is delicious. Started by Polish immigrants, the cafe integrates Polish hospitality and home cooking to create a sense of community, according to its website. It offers handcrafted coffee and tea drinks, as well as a food menu that features toasts and sandwiches. (View it menu here.) 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. Photo: iStock Looking for an adventure in one of the worlds great megacities, but without the hassle of flying halfway around the world? Mexico City is North Americas largest, at over 8 million people (and more than twice that number in the greater metro area). It's the oldest capital city in the Americas, rich in history and culture, and a major economic center in the region today. In addition to Aztec ruins, the city has the worlds largest single-metropolitan concentration of museums, plus extensive art galleries, concert halls and theaters. And the citys 16 boroughs and many colorful neighborhoods offer an abundance of shopping, restaurants, bars and nightlife. Thankfully, there are plenty of regular, relatively inexpensive flights between Oakland and Mexico City. We pulled from travel site Skyscanner to provide you with a short list of flights and hotels handpicked with the trendy adventurer in mind. (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 Mexico City Currently, the cheapest flights between Oakland and Mexico City are if you leave on Aug. 15 and return from Mexico on Aug. 21. Volaris currently has tickets for $213, roundtrip. There are also deals to be had in September. If you fly out of Oakland on Sept. 6 and return from Mexico City on Sept. 8, Volaris can get you there and back for $242 roundtrip. Top Mexico City hotels To plan your accommodations, here are two of Mexico Citys top-rated hotels, according to Skyscanner, that we selected based on price, proximity to things to do and customer satisfaction. The St. Regis Mexico City (Paseo de la Reforma 439) Photo: Trip by Skyscanner If you're looking to splurge on top quality, consider The St. Regis Mexico City. The hotel has a five-star rating on Skyscanner, and rooms are currently available for $255. Story continues "Great location to amazing restaurants and street food, excellent staff, champagne to greet you when you walk in, daily free dessert delivery what else can you ask for on a vacation?" wrote visitor Yvette. The Four Seasons Mexico City (Paseo de la Reforma 500) Photo: Trip by Skyscanner There's also the 4.9-star rated The Four Seasons Mexico City, which has rooms for $179/night. Set in the heart of Mexico City on the busy Paseo de la Reforma, this luxury hotel is close to the Monumento a los Ninos Heroes and the Monumento a los Heroes de la Independencia. Local restaurant picks Don't miss Mexico City's food scene, with plenty of popular spots to get your fill of local cuisine. Here are a few of the top-rated eateries from Skyscanner's listings. Panaderia Rosetta (Colima 179) Photo: Trip by Skyscanner If you're looking for a local favorite, head to the Panaderia Rosetta, which has an average of 4.9 stars out of 11 reviews on Skyscanner. "It's a very cozy breakfast spot with only a few bar stools for seating. Get there early to get your hands on the good pastries," wrote Leila. El Moro (Eje Central Lazaro Cardenas 42) Photo: Trip by Skyscanner Another popular dining destination is the El Moro, with 4.8 stars from 17 reviews. "This 1930s churreria is a must-visit," wrote reviewer Harold. Casa de los Azulejos (Av Francisco I. Madero 4) Photo: Trip by Skyscanner Also worth considering is the Casa de los Azulejos, with 4.7 stars from 14 reviews. "It's set on one of the main tourist streets in Mexico City. Many people stop by to get a picture of the unique facade or to grab a coffee inside," wrote Gianfi. What to see and do in Mexico City Mexico City is also full of sites to visit and explore. Here are two popular attractions to round out your trip, again from Skyscanner's listings. The Palacio de Bellas Artes (Av. Juarez) Photo: Trip by Skyscanner First up is The Palacio de Bellas Artes. It has 4.8 stars from 74 reviews. Inaugurated in 1934, the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City is a major cultural center where you can attend poetry readings, operas, dance recitals, art shows and more. Callejon Regina (Calle Regina Centro Historico) Photo: Trip by Skyscanner Then, there's the Callejon Regina, with five stars from five reviews. "Undoubtedly, this is one of my favorite areas of the historic center. It's the home of very trendy cafes and restaurants as well as the refuge of urban and independent artists," wrote visitor Rebeca. 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. LONDON, May 27 (Reuters) - Nigel Farage's Brexit Party was set to sweep to victory in the European election, with both Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservatives and the opposition Labour Party losing support across the country, early results showed. For a menu of stories on the EU election: WHAT DO THE PRELIMINARY RESULTS SHOW? Nigel Farage's Brexit Party is on course to win while smaller pro-European Union parties are also gaining. Both the Conservatives and Labour are losing support. A BBC projection put the pro-EU Liberal Democrats on second place. Results from the East Midlands Party % of votes Brexit Party 38 Liberal Democrats 17 Labour 14 Conservatives 11 Green 11 UKIP 5 Change UK 3 Results from the North West Party % of votes Brexit Party 31 Labour 22 Liberal Democrats 17 Green 12 Conservatives 8 UKIP 4 Change UK 3 Results from the South East: Party % of votes Brexit Party 36 Liberal Democrats 26 Green 14 Conservative 10 Labour 7 Change UK 4 UKIP 2 Results from the South West Party % of votes Brexit Party 37 Liberal Democrats 23 Green 18 Conservative 9 Labour 7 UKIP 3 Change UK 3 Results from Wales: Party % of votes Brexit Party 32 Plaid Cymru 20 Labour 15 Liberal Democrats 14 Conservative 7 Green 6 UKIP 3 Results from Yorkshire & Humber Party % of votes Brexit Party 36 Labour 16 Liberal Democrats 16 Green 13 Conservative 7 UKIP 4 YP 4 Change UK 2 Results from London: Party % of votes Liberal Democrats 27 Labour 24 Brexit Party 18 Green 12 Conservative 8 Change UK 5 UKIP 2 AWP 1 Results from West Midlands: Party % of votes Brexit Party 38 Labour 17 Liberal Democrats 16 Green 11 Conservative 10 UKIP 5 Change UK 3 Results from East of England: Party % of votes Brexit Party 38 Liberal Democrats 23 Greens 13 Conservative 10 Labour 9 Change UK 4 UKIP 3 ED 1 Results from the North East: Party % of votes Brexit Party 39 Labour 19 Liberal Democrats 17 Greens 8 Conservative 7 UKIP 6 Change UK 4 WHO GETS ELECTED? The United Kingdom is divided into 12 electoral regions - nine in England, and one each for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. In total it will elect 73 MEPs (Members of the European Parliament). WHAT SYSTEM IS USED? In Britain, parties submit a list of candidates for each region and voters select a party rather than an individual candidate, unless they are backing an independent. As the seats are allocated to a party, they in turn allocate them to candidates starting from the top of their list. In Northern Ireland, as votes are counted the candidate with the least votes in eliminated and their votes redistributed. This is repeated until there are only the required number of candidates left for the number of seats available. ISN'T THE UK LEAVING THE EU? Britain is taking part in the elections because it delayed the date of its exit from the EU, but its MEPs will leave the parliament when Brexit happens. WHAT WERE THE RESULTS IN 2014? Turnout: 35.6 percent MEPs % of votes UK Independence Party 24 26.77 Labour 20 24.74 Conservative 19 23.31 Green 3 7.67 Scottish National Party 2 2.4 Liberal Democrat 1 6.69 Sinn Fein 1 0.66 Democratic Unionist Party 1 0.54 Plaid Cymru 1 0.69 Ulster Unionist Party 1 0.35 Sources: UK Electoral Commission, European Parliament, regional election officials (Writing by Guy Faulconbridge and Kate Holton) (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May has announced she will quit next month, triggering a contest that will bring a new leader to power who is likely to push for a cleaner break with the European Union. Below are Conservatives who have either said they are putting themselves forward or are widely expected to run for the leadership, and what they have said about Brexit: Announced they are running: 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. On Brexit, Johnson used a newspaper column in April to argue for a "standstill arrangement a managed no deal that would give us time to negotiate an FTA (Free Trade Arrangement) and to solve the issues raised in Northern Ireland." On Friday he said: "We will leave the EU on October 31, deal or no deal" adding that a second referendum on EU membership would be a "very bad idea" and divisive. He is the bookmakers' favorite to succeed 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. On Brexit, Raab told the BBC on Sunday that he plans to seek a "fairer deal" with Brussels, including renegotiating the customs and border plans relating to Northern Ireland. He also said he would not delay Brexit beyond October however, and was prepared to leave without a deal. Raab said he expected that if Britain left without a deal, it would likely get to keep around 25 billion pounds of its 39 billion pound exit payment, and the government could use that money to support businesses through Brexit. 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. He teamed up with Johnson during the 2016 Brexit campaign only to scupper Johnsons subsequent leadership bid by withdrawing his support at the last moment to run himself. Gove said on Sunday he believed he could unite the party and deliver Brexit, but did not set out what his plans were. 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. On Brexit, Hunt told the Sunday Times: "We can never take no deal off the table but the best way of avoiding it is to make sure you have someone who is capable of negotiating a deal." At a lunch with journalists last month, he said: "I would always prefer to leave with a deal because I think there will be disruption without a deal ... it would potentially be very significant and that is something I think anyone sensible would wish to avoid." But added: "If there was a binary choice between no deal or no Brexit, I would choose no deal because I think the democratic risk of no Brexit ultimately is higher than the economic risk of no deal." 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. On Brexit, he told Sky News on Sunday that he favored a "pragmatic, moderate Brexit". He said he would not seek to change the Withdrawal Agreement which has been rejected by parliament three times and said anyone who said they could do so by October was "deluding themselves or deluding the country". "We have a deal negotiated with the European Union on the Withdrawal Agreement. What I would be doing in parliament and with the British people is sorting out that political declaration and landing it so we can get out and move on." 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 May. Leadsom quit as Leader of the House of Commons earlier this month, saying she did not believe the government's approach would deliver on the Brexit referendum result. On Brexit, she told the Sunday Times she would put significant effort into encouraging the EU to come up with a "deal that we can all live with" but also said Britain had to leave by the end of October, with or without a deal. 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. On Brexit, he told BBC Radio that leaving without a deal was not an option as parliament would not allow it. He said he was open to renegotiate May's deal with the EU but would focus on getting a Brexit deal through parliament. "There is no point in becoming prime minister at this moment unless I am completely straight forward about the trade offs that exist and the realities of it. The trade offs between sovereignty and market access, the trade offs required to get a deal through this parliament," he said. 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, said on Sunday Britain has to leave on Oct. 31 and "if that means without a deal, then that is what it means." She told Sky News: "We won't be asking for any more extensions, that is part of the corrosive uncertainty that individuals, business and the country dont want." "We need to make sure we are ready to leave on that date. If the EU wants to come to us, the door is open, if they want to have a better deal that is fine, we have always wanted a free trade agreement but what we have got to do is not waste time, time is limited, we have to make sure that we are ready to leave." Expected to run: 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. 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. GRAHAM BRADY, 51 Brady resigned as chair of the influential 1922 Committee of Conservative lawmakers on Friday because he was considering running for the leadership, the BBC reported. The 1922 Committee oversees the leadership contest. 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 became a junior Brexit minister last month, having previously been deputy chair of the Conservative Party. He worked 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/Janet Lawrence/Jane Merriman) 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 reshaping the country's Brexit-dominated landscape. Farage was a driving force behind the 2016 vote to quit the EU and the 55-year-old has now helped see off two prime ministers after scoring his third political victory in five years in the European Parliament polls held in Britain on Thursday. The victory appears set to bring Farage back to the European legislature -- an institution he wants to see disbanded but where he has nonetheless enjoyed a long career. "Do you really want me back in this place?" he goaded fellow MEPs in a speech in March, urging them to force the British government to leave the EU without a deal. In the past, his success in Brussels has not been mirrored at home. Farage has been a serial failure at getting elected to the British parliament but his latest victory could change all that and he is now threatening to smash the two main parties' historic hold on power. - '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 lambasts "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. Story continues "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. 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 that would eventually seal his demise. 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, prompting the European Parliament to announce an investigation. 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 far more ambitious than winning European elections, vowing that they were merely the first shots of "a revolution in British politics to end the two-party structure". His mission has already claimed the scalp of prime minister Theresa May, who announced her resignation on Friday with her party resigned to Sunday's electoral wipeout. Photo: iStock 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 Oklahoma City and New York City, which we pulled from travel site Skyscanner. We've also included popular hotels, restaurants, and attractions in New York City, to showcase the range of local amenities that travelers will find there. (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 Currently, the cheapest flights between Oklahoma City and New York City are if you leave on May 31 and return from New York on June 2. American Airlines currently has tickets for $386, roundtrip. There are also deals to be had earlier in May. If you fly out of Oklahoma City on May 30 and return from New York City on June 3, Frontier Airlines can get you there and back for $394 roundtrip. Top New York City accommodations Regarding where to stay, 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 splurge on top quality, consider The Standard, High Line. The hotel has a 4.4-star rating on Skyscanner, and rooms are currently available for $275. Story continues 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.) Photo: Trip by Skyscanner If you're looking for an inexpensive place to stay, there's the Ace Hotel New York. The 4.3-star hotel has rooms for $84/night. The Ace Hotel New York is a 12-story hotel in the heart of Midtown Manhattan. The new boutique hotel has 269 rooms and is located near the Theater District. Top picks for dining and drinking If you're looking to snag a bite at one of New York City's many quality eateries, here are a few popular culinary destinations from Skyscanner's listings that will help keep you satiated. Levain Bakery (167 W. 74th St.) Photo: Trip by Skyscanner First things first: dessert. For a popular option, check out Levain Bakery, which has an average of 4.8 stars out of 42 reviews on Skyscanner. "The chocolate chip walnut cookie here is amazing!" wrote visitor Sandy. The Meatball Shop (84 Stanton St.) Photo: Trip by Skyscanner Also worth considering 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 If you're looking for a local favorite restaurant pick, head to the Red Rooster, with 4.5 stars from 56 reviews. The Red Rooster 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. 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.) First up is The Brooklyn Bridge Park. It has 4.6 stars from 469 reviews. Located in the heart of New York City, The Brooklyn Bridge Park is a great place for tourists and residents to visit. 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. The High Line Park Photo: Trip by Skyscanner The High Line Park is another popular destination. It has 4.7 stars from 390 reviews. 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. "This is the best place I have found to walk in the city yet," wrote visitor Lars. The Statue of Liberty Photo: Trip by Skyscanner Finally, spend some time at The Statue of Liberty, with 4.6 stars from 410 reviews. 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. 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. Photo: iStock 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 in 2011, 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? Thankfully, there are plenty of regular, relatively inexpensive flights between San Antonio and New York City. We pulled from travel site Skyscanner to provide you with a short list of flights and hotels handpicked for the occasion. (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 San Antonio and New York City are if you leave on May 30 and return from New York on June 2. Delta currently has tickets for $300, roundtrip. If you fly out of San Antonio on May 30 and return from New York City on June 3, Frontier Airlines can get you there and back for $326 roundtrip. Top New York City hotels To plan your accommodations, here are two of New York Citys top-rated hotels, according to Skyscanner, that we selected based on price, proximity to things to do 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. The hotel stands in the Meatpacking District overlooking the historic high line, the former elevated rail road that has been developed into New Yorks new favorite public park. All 338 rooms have ground-to-ceiling windows with spectacular views. Story continues 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. Top picks for dining and drinking If you're looking to snag a bite at one of New York City's many quality eateries, here are a few popular culinary destinations from Skyscanner's listings that will help keep you satiated. Levain Bakery (167 W. 74th St.) Photo: Trip by Skyscanner Let's start with the essentials: dessert. For a popular option, check out Levain Bakery, which has an average of 4.8 stars out of 42 reviews on Skyscanner. From the beginning, Levain Bakery has been a comfortable and inviting presence in its Upper West Side neighborhood where it 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. Red Rooster (310 Lenox Ave.) Photo: Trip by Skyscanner One of New York City's most popular restaurants is Red Rooster, with 4.5 stars from 56 reviews. 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. "I am writing this at home after one of the most amazing meals I've ever had," wrote reviewer John349. "The flavors still lingering with me. I cannot say enough how absolutely delicious every meal that was ordered at our table was." The Meatball Shop (84 Stanton St.) Photo: Trip by Skyscanner Also worth considering is The Meatball Shop. "These are the best meatballs I have ever had," wrote ABelle. Top New York City attractions To round out your trip, New York City offers plenty of popular attractions worth visiting. Here are a couple of top recommendations, based on Skyscanner's descriptions and reviews. The Brooklyn Bridge Park (334 Furman St.) Photo: Trip by Skyscanner First up is The Brooklyn Bridge Park. Located in the heart of New York City, Brooklyn Bridge Park is a great opportunity for tourists and residents to visit. This park is located beside the Brooklyn Bridge, considered one of the portals into the city. Although the park itself is simple, it also offers an amazing view of the entire city. "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 Statue of Liberty Photo: Trip by Skyscanner Lastly, spend some time at The Statue of Liberty. Lady Liberty has welcomed the grandparents and great-grandparents of many Americans. 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. Photo: iStock 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 Dallas 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. Cheapest New York City flights Currently, the cheapest flights between Dallas 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 $241, roundtrip. There are also deals to be had earlier in May. If you fly out of Dallas on May 30 and return from New York City on June 3, Spirit Airlines can get you there and back for $244 roundtrip. Top New York City accommodations To plan your stay, 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. Story continues The Dream Downtown (355 W. 16th St.) Photo: Trip by Skyscanner There's also the 4.5-star rated The Dream Downtown, which has rooms for $204/night. It's situated between the thriving Meatpacking District and Chelsea. Ace Hotel New York (20 W. 29th St.) Photo: Trip by Skyscanner 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. It's within walking distance of many popular destinations like Times Square, the Empire State Building, Macy's and the Broadway theaters. And it's close to the old Tin Pan Alley. Local restaurant picks New York City has plenty of top-notch dining options. Here are a few of the most popular, according to Skyscanner. Levain Bakery (167 W. 74th St.) Photo: Trip by Skyscanner First things first: dessert. For a popular option, check out Levain Bakery, which has an average of 4.8 stars out of 42 reviews on Skyscanner. The menu includes an inventive array of rustic breads and other creative takes on traditional baked goods and cookies. Red Rooster (310 Lenox Ave.) Photo: Trip by Skyscanner One of New York City's most popular restaurants is Red Rooster, with 4.5 stars from 56 reviews. 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. The Meatball Shop (84 Stanton St.) Photo: Trip by Skyscanner Also worth considering is The Meatball Shop. "It was the best meatballs I have ever had," wrote reviewer ABelle. 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." What to see and do in New York City Not sure what to do in New York City, besides eat and drink? Here are a few recommendations, provided by Skyscanner. The Brooklyn Bridge Park (334 Furman St.) Photo: Trip by Skyscanner First up is The Brooklyn Bridge Park. The park is located beside the Brooklyn bridge and 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. It is a highly recommended spot to watch the sun go down over the city. "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 re-purposing 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. "Starting in spring they offered great tours. Every time I go there are even more things blooming. 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, consider checking out 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. A South Florida firefighter has become part of a global effort to honor those that gave the ultimate sacrifice. John Fisher is a retired firefighter with Delray Beach and he says the department built a relationship with firefighters in Belgium. Those firefighters invited Fisher and a group of 30 first responders to fly out to Europe and join them in playing bagpipes at World War II memorials, in honor of the 75th anniversary of D-Day. Kano (Nigeria) (AFP) - Five Nigerian soldiers have been killed and a number are missing after an ambush by Boko Haram's Islamic State-backed faction, security sources said Sunday. Fighters from Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) on Friday opened fire on a column of civilian vehicles under military escort in the northeastern Borno State, according to the sources who requested anonymity. The troops were escorting residents from the village of Sabon Garin Kimba in dozens of trucks to a camp in the town of Damboa about 50 kilometres (30 miles) away, according to a militia fighting against the jihadists alongside the army. They were being evacuated from the village, which lies 130 kilometres from the state capital Maiduguri, ahead of a major military offensive against ISWAP, which has recently increased its activities in the area. "We lost five soldiers in the ambush, two were wounded and several are missing, their fate still unknown," said one military officer. He said the attackers seized two military trucks and tried to immobilise an armoured vehicle by destroying its tyres but the driver managed to drive it to safety. "As they approached Bungiri village ISWAP laid an ambush on the convoy. The troops engaged the terrorists in a gun battle and all civilians were able to escape but five soldiers were killed," a second military source said. A search and rescue operation was under way, the officer said. Last month the jihadists raided a nearby military base in Mararrabar Kimba, killing five troops and stealing weapons, while some 30 troops are still listed as missing. ISWAP has since July last year targeted dozens of military bases in attacks that that have killed scores of soldiers. On Monday, its fighters ransacked a base in the town of Gubio, 80 kilometres from Maiduguri, killing three soldiers, although the group claimed it killed 20 soldiers. Boko Haram's decade-long campaign of violence has killed 27,000 people and displaced around two million in Nigeria. The violence has also spilled over into neighbouring Niger, Chad and Cameroon, prompting a regional military coalition to defeat the jihadist group. * Fiat Chrysler and Renault in talks on a deal - sources * Struggling Italian plants are a challenge for a tie-up * Any closures may face political and labor opposition * GRAPHIC on European plants: https://tmsnrt.rs/2WZ1U6o By Giulio Piovaccari and Pamela Barbaglia TURIN, Italy/LONDON, May 26 (Reuters) - Fiat Chrysler has been angling for a combination with another automaker for years, and its latest attempt - for a global tie-up with France's Renault - could address some of the main weaknesses of both companies, sources say. But its vast Mirafiori plant in Turin, Fiat's former hometown, illustrates a major reason why no deal has happened before, and the challenges for a tie-up that could face Italian political and labor opposition to any factory closures. Like most of Fiat Chrysler's European plants, Mirafiori is running below 50 percent capacity. Workers have been working seven days a month on average since January, union representatives told Reuters, after sales of the Maserati Levante slumped. The luxury SUV is the only model built at Mirafiori, and it was intended to power the plant's rebirth, bringing back thousands of assembly line workers who had been on temporary layoffs for years. But three years after Levante's launch, those workers spoke of long waits between calls to do an extra day's work to top up their net pay of around 1,100 euros ($1,230) a month, having to put family holidays on hold and having mortgages refused. "Every three to four years we are hoping that a new model will help us turn the corner ... but then after a boom we are back in furloughs or on solidarity contracts and our salary goes down by a third," said Giovanna Treccalli, a 54-year-old assembly line worker who has been with Fiat since 1987. Furloughs are temporary leave with reduced pay, while solidarity contracts allow employers to reduce the hours of some staff. Fiat Chrysler has highly profitable businesses in North America, with its RAM trucks and Jeep brand, but has been losing money in Europe where it may also struggle to keep pace with looming carbon dioxide emissions curbs. Story continues Renault, by contrast, is an electric-car pioneer with relatively fuel-efficient engine technologies and a strong presence in emerging markets, but no U.S. business. Two sources with knowledge of the discussions told Reuters on Saturday the talks between the two carmakers were at an advanced stage. The Financial Times earlier reported the companies were discussing a deal. Like its rivals, Fiat Chrysler faces huge costs to develop cleaner, more electric vehicles to comply with tighter global emissions rules. To help shoulder those costs, it has said it could be open to a merger or alliance. The company has previously been approached by at least one European suitor, France's PSA Group, it came to light earlier this year, but the talks came to nothing, according to two banking sources. RESISTANCE TO LAYOFFS A combination with a European rival and eliminating duplicate products and plants could generate - in the case of PSA - annual savings of between 3 billion and 6.6 billion euros ($3.4 to $7.4 billion), UBS analysts estimate. "Savings could be derived from the combination of platforms and plants, general R&D, overhead and procurement," they said, leaving open the specific question of Italian plant closures. Any tie-up is however likely to face political and workforce hurdles, particularly in Italy, with layoffs and closures potentially required to boost European operating profit margins from last year's slender 1.8%. The Rome government is resisting layoffs even at Alitalia, the loss-making airline that has been burning through government loans for the past two years. Instead Fiat Chrysler, which has 58,000 workers in Italy, is using state-subsidized furloughs and solidarity contracts to cut costs and avoid the high political and social price to the company's controlling Agnelli family of shutting a factory. Marco Bentivogli, head of the metal mechanic branch of the CISL trade union, told Reuters his organization was in favor, in principle, of a strategic alliance to strengthen the carmaker. But he called for discussions with Fiat Chrysler to rule out the possibility of plant closures and job losses. Chairman John Elkann, the grandson of Gianni Agnelli who built Fiat into a global company, has said his family is open to accepting a smaller stake in a larger entity if that made the company stronger. But he does not want to shut down Italian plants and has been reluctant to embark on a collision course with Rome, according to three people familiar with his thinking. A deal with an Asian buyer would not pose overlaps in Europe, but Washington is likely to vet any attempt to put Jeep or U.S.-based Chrysler in Chinese hands. STRONG IN STATES Fiat Chrysler Automobiles combined Italy's national automotive champion with the Detroit-based owner of the most distinctively American vehicle brand, Jeep. When the company was formed in a deal brokered during the 2008-2009 financial crisis, the American side was bankrupt and the new company's leader was Sergio Marchionne, the long-time chief executive of Fiat. The center of gravity for the world's seventh-largest carmaker has now shifted across the Atlantic. Fiat Chrysler's North American operations, which include the Jeep SUV brand and the Ram truck, accounted for 85 percent of profits last year. Italy is now a central challenge for the company and its new CEO Mike Manley. Morgan Stanley values Jeep at 16.6 euros per share and RAM trucks at 6.6 euros per share, out of a price target for the whole group of 21 euros per share. That compares with a zero value for the Fiat brand and a negative one for Alfa Romeo. Manley pledged Europe would hit 3% operating margins by the last quarter of this year, driven by ending costly retail practices and "a series of restructuring actions." But Maserati and Alfa Romeo, two of the main pillars of the Europe revival plan, have failed to meet Fiat Chrysler's own expectations. Mirafiori's 3,500 workers are hoping the arrival of an electric version of the Fiat500 minicar and a hybrid Levante next year will revive profits. They also hope any merger will secure jobs, said 56-year-old Giuseppe Pecorino, who has been with the company for 31 years. "They could even make us assemble bicycles as long as that will keep us working," he said. ($1 = 0.8927 euros) (Reporting by Giulio Piovaccari and Pamela Barbaglia; Writing by Georgina Prodhan; Editing by Pravin Char) Los Angeles (AFP) - Late Marvel Comics legend Stan Lee's former manager was arrested in Arizona on Saturday in connection with allegations of elder abuse, fraud, theft and false imprisonment, Los Angeles police said. Keya Morgan "will go before a judge and eventually (be) extradited to Los Angeles to face charges," according to a statement released by the Los Angeles Police Department. Lee, who revolutionized pop culture as the co-creator of iconic superheroes such as Spider-Man and Black Panther, died last November at the age of 95 after suffering multiple illnesses over the years, and had been the victim in an elder abuse investigation that began in March 2018. His former attorney, Tom Lallas, last year sought a restraining order against Morgan, claiming that the 43-year-old was a "memorabilia collector who inserted himself into Mr. Lee's life as his caregiver" and isolated him from his loved ones. Lallas accused Morgan of exploiting Lee, who he said was exhibiting signs of short-term memory loss and impaired judgment, amid a struggle over the comic-book mogul's fortune, estimated at over $50 million. In addition to issuing the restraining order, Los Angeles authorities also arrested Morgan last year for making false calls to 911, alleging that Lee's life was in danger. Police say he made the calls in order to convince Lee to leave his Hollywood Hills residence and move to a secured condo in Beverly Hills last June so he would be isolated and under Morgan's control. Police also accuse Morgan of stealing, including by staging autograph signing sessions worth $262,000 -- money that never made it into Lee's coffers. Following last year's restraining order, Morgan told TMZ that he had "taken great care of Stan Lee for the past many years, and... never had a problem directly with Stan." "I will 100 percent prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the allegations against me are false," he said at the time. "The truth will come out." Ouagadougou (AFP) - Four people were killed Sunday at a Catholic church in northern Burkina Faso in the latest in a series of attacks on Christian targets in the region, according to a bishop in the region and a security source. "The Christian community of Toulfe was the target of a terrorist attack which gathered for Sunday prayers. The attack left four of the faithful dead," the Bishop of Ouahigouya, Justin Kientega, said in a statement. Earlier a security source has said three people were killed in the attack. "Heavily armed individuals attacked the church... as the faithful were celebrating Sunday mass" in the town of Toulfe, the source had said. A local resident contacted by phone by AFP said the attack "caused panic in the village and many residents sought to seek cover in their homes or in the bush." Last week gunmen killed four Catholics in a religious procession, the day after a priest and five parishioners were murdered at mass. Also this month, French special forces freed four foreign hostages in the former French colony during an overnight raid that cost the lives of two soldiers. Burkina Faso's population is around two-thirds Muslim and one-third Christian. The semi-desert country has suffered increasingly frequent and deadly attacks attributed to a number of jihadist groups, including the Ansarul Islam group, the Group to Support Islam and Muslims (GSIM) and Islamic State in the Greater Sahara. The raids began in 2015 in the north before targeting the capital Ouagadougou and other regions, notably in the east. Nearly 400 people have been killed since 2015 -- mainly in hit-and-run raids -- according to an AFP tally. Jihadist groups target Christian clerics as well as Muslim ones they do not consider sufficiently radical in a country where traditionally both religions have co-existed peaceably. France has deployed 4,500 troops in Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Chad in a mission codenamed Barkhane to help local forces flush out jihadists. Zack Wheeler tossed 7 1/3 strong innings Sunday afternoon and Adeiny Hechavarria hit a three-run homer to cap a four-run fourth inning for the New York Mets, who edged the visiting Detroit Tigers 4-3. The Mets won the final two games of the three-game series and went 6-1 on a seven-game homestand to get back to .500 for the first time since May 14. The Tigers have lost 11 of 12. Nicholas Castellanos staked the Tigers to an early 3-0 lead via a first-inning solo homer and a two-run single in the third. But Wheeler (4-3) retired 13 straight following Castellanos' second single before he exited with two on and one out in the eighth. Wheeler gave up the three runs on five hits and one walk while striking out eight. Jeurys Familia struck out both batters he faced in the eighth and Edwin Diaz allowed a walk and a hit in the ninth before striking out John Hicks and JaCoby Jones to earn his 13th save. Tigers rookie right-hander Spencer Turnbull (2-4) limited the Mets to one hit - a single by Wheeler - through the first three innings before Dominic Smith led off the fourth with a double. Smith went to third on a one-out single by Wilson Ramos and scored when Todd Frazier performed a half-swinging bunt into the shift for an RBI single. After Carlos Gomez struck out, Hechavarria launched his second opposite field three-run homer of the series. Turnbull allowed the four runs on seven hits and one walk while striking out eight and tying a career-high with seven innings pitched. He also scored his first major league run in the third inning. Wheeler and Smith had two hits apiece. The three RBIs were a season-high for Castellanos and his most since he had five RBIs against the Chicago White Sox last Aug. 13. Jones had two hits and a stolen base for Detroit. --Field Level Media Rukum local unit decides not to issue licence to establish private schools Municipal council meeting of Aathbiskot Municipality has decided not to issue any licence to set up new private schools, and to focus on imparting quality education at the community schools. PARIS (Reuters) - France's green party saw a surge in support in Sunday's European Parliament election, mirroring strong gains made by ecologist parties in Germany and Ireland, and hailed a "green wave" they said was sweeping the European Union. Three exit polls showed the French greens -- officially known as the European Ecologists and the Greens -- placing third behind the far-right and President Emmanuel Macron's centrist party, winning about 13% of the vote. If the projections are confirmed, the greens will have trounced the mainstream center-right and center-left parties, which have failed to recover from Macron's redrawing of the political landscape in the 2017 presidential vote. "We are witnessing a green European wave tonight that we are part of," Yannick Jadot, leader of the French greens, told supporters. "The French sent us a clear message: They want ecology to be at the heart of our lives." With Germany's Greens coming second behind Chancellor Angela Merkel's party in the election, the Greens across the EU are expected to hold up to 70 seats in the 751-seat European Parliament, giving them significant clout. The European elections have coincided with a wave of grassroots protests across Europe demanding action against climate change and pressing governments to cut carbon emissions. Macron made climate politics a central plank of his party's EU election campaign and has reached out to Green parties across the bloc as he seeks to construct a centrist alliance that he hopes will play a "kingmaker" role in the assembly, where no single group will have a majority. An Elabe exit poll showed the French greens obtaining 13 seats in the European Parliament. They won 9% of the French vote in the last EU election in 2014. (Reporting by Richard Lough; Editing by Luke Baker) By Inti Landauro PARIS (Reuters) - Yellow vest protesters clashed with riot police in Paris and the northern city of Amiens on Saturday as the French anti-government movement waned on its 28th straight weekend. Police in Amiens, hometown of President Emmanuel Macron, fired teargas at about 1,200 demonstrators after a group pelted stones at police, attacked local bank branches and set fire to rubbish cans, the local police chief's office said. Police detained 27 people in the city. A few hundred protesters also clashed with police in downtown Paris, in and around the Place de la Republique. After more than six months, the grassroots movement protesting over the cost of living and Macron's perceived indifference seems to be losing steam. Around the country only 12,500 demonstrators took to the streets during the latest day of protests, the lowest turnout since the movement started, the French interior ministry said. At the peak in November more than 300,000 were taking part nationally. The prolonged protests, named after the high-visibility jackets worn by participants and which began in opposition to fuel tax increases, have hampered Macron's efforts to push his reform timetable and forced him into costly concessions. Despite Macron's swift reversal of the tax hikes and introduction of other measures worth more than 10 billion euros ($11 billion) to boost the purchasing power of lower-income voters, protests and riots continued all over the country. As he was celebrating his second anniversary in power, Macron last month offered more tax cuts worth 5 billion euros, along with other measures. The protests also battered Macron's party in its campaign for European elections to be held on Sunday. La Republique en Marche is polling neck-and-neck with the far-right National Rally. ($1 = 0.8927 euros) (Reporting by Inti Landauro; Editing by David Holmes) Photo: Cielito Cafe/Yelp Interested in sampling the freshest new spots in Houston? From a cafe to a barbecue joint, read on for a rundown of the newest hot spots to make their debut around town. Common Bond Cafe & Bakery Photo: jacqui l. /Yelp Head over to 2276 W. Holcombe Blvd. in University Place and you'll find Common Bond Cafe & Bakery, a new bakery and breakfast and brunch spot, offering desserts and more. This local chain has one other location in the city, with a third opening next spring. On the menu, early risers will find egg sandwiches, french toast, biscuits and gravy and the popular chef's scramble with three eggs scrambled with daily selection of seasonal ingredients, crispy hatch potatoes, choice of bacon or sausage patty and choice of biscuits or whole wheat toast with jam. (Check out the entire menu here.) Dao's Pho And Chinese Food Photo: dao's pho and chinese food/Yelp New to 3758 S. Gessner in Westchase is Dao's Pho And Chinese Food, a Vietnamese and Chinese spot. This Asian fusion eatery has a large menu offering eggrolls, pho, rice plates, banh mi sandwiches, lo mein, pork, beef, chicken and shrimp dishes. The restaurant also has a "Chinese all-day combo special," which includes fried or steamed rice, your choice of hot & sour, egg drop or wonton soup and a choice of a pork, chicken or vegetable eggroll. (Here's the entire menu.) Cielito Cafe Photo: Cielito Cafe/Yelp Cielito Cafe is a breakfast and brunch and Mexican spot, that's made its debut at 1915 Dunlavy St. in Neartown - Montrose. With five stars out of 25 reviews on Yelp, It's off to a strong start. Serving authentic Mexican breakfast items, Cielito Cafe has a menu that includes divorciados (two eggs rancheros served on corn tostada with homemade salsa topped with chorizo, cheese and avocado,) cajeta toast (Mexican-flavored French toast cooked in caramelized goat's milk) and molletes (bolillo toast openfaced with chorizo, cheese, beans, avocado, pico de gallo and two eggs.) Pinchys Tacos Photo: shruthi k. /Yelp Pinchys Tacos is a spot to score tacos and more, that recently opened its doors at 14515 Katy Freeway, Suite 600 in Memorial. Story continues This eatery has 16 types of tacos on the menu. Try the Pinchy's (steak marinated with Mexican dry spices and peppers), the al pastor (pork marinated in Middle Eastern and Mexican spices and topped with pineapple and pickled red onions) and the Volcano (beef steak marinated in lime and Mexican spices, topped with guacamole, macho sauce and cheese). (Explore the menu here.) Phil-Paul's BBQ Phil-Paul's BBQ is a soul food and caterer spot, offering barbecue and more, that opened recently at 3206 Lyons Ave. in Greater Fifth Ward. This restaurant serves up barbecue beef, pork, sausage and chicken in a bun or by the pound. Side options include tamales, potato seafood stew, baked beans and corn. Stop in on "Soul Food Sunday," which features chitterlings and oxtail. (Find the rest of the menu here.) 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. By Rupam Jain and Sabine Siebold KABUL/BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany, a leading donor and member of the NATO-led coalition in Afghanistan, has been talking with the Taliban and the Afghan government in an effort to restart peace talks to end 18 years of conflict, officials said. While the Taliban have been talking with U.S. officials since October about a withdrawal of international troops, they have so far refused formal talks with the Western-backed government, which they dismiss as a "puppet" regime. Berlin's special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Markus Potzel, has visited Kabul for talks with the Afghan government and met Taliban officials in Doha at least twice this month. "The current chance for a process towards a more peaceful Afghanistan should not be missed. If the friends of Afghanistan and Germany is one of them together can help in this effort, then we should do it," Potzel said. "In the end only the Afghans themselves, including the Taliban, can decide upon the future of their country." The chief U.S. negotiator in Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, in March said that a draft agreement had been reached on a withdrawal of U.S. forces in exchange for a commitment by the Taliban to cut ties with militant groups such as Al Qaeda. But there has been no agreement yet on a ceasefire or a start to talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban, both seen as key conditions for a settlement. An Afghan delegation had been due to meet Taliban officials in the Qatari capital Doha last month to build the basis for possible negotiations, but the meeting was canceled at the last minute after a dispute over the number of participants. "We realize that U.S.-Taliban talks will gain momentum only if the insurgent leaders start engaging with the Afghan representatives," a senior German official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Sohail Shaheen, spokesman for the Taliban's political office in Doha, said that Germany was one among several countries to have offered help to seek a peaceful resolutions. The European Union and Indonesia are among those to have offered help, another Taliban official said, declining to be named. Discussions were held with Germany about an Afghan-Taliban meeting in Germany but no decision has been made, Shaheen told Reuters. The moves come at a time when the Taliban controls or exercises influence over more than half of Afghanistan. At least 3,804 civilians were killed in the war last year, according to a United Nations report, plus thousands of soldiers, police and Taliban militants. The involvement of Germany, the second-largest donor and an influential member of the 39-member NATO-led coalition in Afghanistan, follows concern among several U.S. allies at being excluded from the talks. Germany, which last year spent 23 billion euros ($25.76 billion) in integrating hundreds of thousands of refugees from countries including Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria, also has pressing domestic reasons for promoting peace. Next year, parliament will have to approve the continued presence of 1,200 German troops in Afghanistan. "Lawmakers will ask why they should extend the mandate again if there is no progress there whatsoever," said Conrad Schetter, an Afghanistan at the Bonn International Center for Conversion, an independent think-tank. ($1 = 0.8927 euros) (Additional reporting by Hamid Shalizi and Abdul Qadir Sediqi; Editing by David Goodman) Berlin (AFP) - Chancellor Angela Merkel's centre-right bloc was leading in European elections in Germany, exit polls showed Sunday, but the score was shaping out to be a historic low, while the Greens recorded a surge. Merkel's Christian Democratic Party and allies Christian Social Union were set to garner around 28 percent, two separate polls by national broadcasters ARD and ZDF showed, sharply under their 35.3 percent in 2014. Her coalition partner SPD was also headed for its poorest showing in an EU poll with 15.5 percent, as the centre-left party was knocked from second position by the Greens, which surged to between 20.5 and 22 percent. The far-right AfD was set to improve on their 2014 score of 7.1 percent, with both exit polls seeing it coming in at 10.5 percent. Latest surveys have suggested that the climate crisis has overtaken immigration as the main worry. Illustrating the shift, the Greens were forecast to be heading for an all-time high score which is double that of their 2014 showing. "It's the first time that climate change has played such a role in an election," said Greens chief Robert Habeck. Ska Keller, who was leading the Greens' list, pledged that "we must now implement (our proposals) on climate change". School strikes by students joining young Swedish activist Greta Thunberg's protests on Fridays have given momentum to the cause. The environmental party may have also benefited from the impact of an online assault by a young German YouTuber against Merkel's CDU party days before the vote. Accusing the Christian Democratic Union of not doing enough against global warming, the almost one hour long blistering attack has been viewed more than 11 million times by Sunday. The leadership of both Merkel's centre right and the SPD voiced disappointment at their scores. But both were at pains to stress that they are not about to break up the coalition. CDU party general secretary Paul Ziemiak told ZDF the coalition "must go on so that there is stability in Germany," stressing that for his party, "it's about the country and not party political questions". Separately, his counterpart at the SPD, Lars Klingbeil said the result "cannot remain without consequences". But he said he "would advise against any personnel discussion", in what appeared to be a move at batting down rumours of a putsch being planned against party chief Andrea Nahles. Paris (AFP) - The family of former Renault and Nissan head Carlos Ghosn has submitted another request for UN intervention against what it says is his "judicial persecution" in Japan, one of their lawyers said Sunday. Jessica Finelle said the family had approached the working group on arbitrary detention at the Office of the UN Commissioner for Human Rights to see if they could provide some redress. In the request, the lawyers say bail conditions imposed on Ghosn amounted to "house arrest" and were intended to weaken him psychologically ahead of his trial. Ghosn was dramatically arrested in November as he stepped off his private jet in Tokyo. He was held for 108 days as prosecutors investigated financial misconduct allegations and charged him with three counts. He finally won bail in March, agreeing to conditions including living in a court-appointed residence monitored by cameras. But prosecutors then levelled a fresh allegation against him in April and he was rearrested, spending another 21 days in detention before winning bail a second time. The former Nissan chief is now preparing for trial on four charges of financial misconduct ranging from concealing part of his salary, to using Nissan funds for personal expenses. Lawyers for the family said in the latest request to the UN's working committee on arbitrary detention that the number and scale of the conditions imposed on Ghosn amounted "in effect to house arrest, meaning that his provisional detention continues and he is still deprived of his liberty". The restrictions, "especially the prohibition of any direct contact with his wife, appear to be abuse aimed at tiring him out psychologically and to put him in a position of weakness... in violation of the right to a fair trial". "This really amounts to a form of judicial persecution of Carlo Ghosn who is prohibited from meeting his wife, even for an hour in the presence of lawyers," they say, according to the documents seen by AFP. Story continues Describing Ghosn as being held "hostage", the lawyers go on to demand that the UN working group declare the Japanese measures to be "arbitrary" and to urge Japan to "release (him) without delay". Lawyer Finelle told AFP that even if the UN working group has no power to compel Japan to act differently, "it is still a matter of image for the Japanese". She said she hoped for a decision before Ghosn's court case begins, which might not be until next year. Berlin (AFP) - With double-digit scores across Europe's biggest countries including a stunning 20 percent in Germany, the Greens bagged record gains in EU elections on Sunday with younger voters leading calls for action to halt global warming. The environmental party doubled its score in Germany from the last EU elections in 2014, knocking the Social Democrats off their traditional second place. In France, the Greens were number three with 12 percent, while in Austria, Ireland and the Netherlands, they garnered double-digits. In Britain, they were on 12.4 percent, nearly double their previous score, and beating the ruling Conservatives into fifth place. "To see The Green Party beating the Conservatives so far in these elections is truly amazing. Something seismic is happening in British and European politics," said Alexandra Phillips, Green Party candidate for South East England. With the two main traditional EU blocs -- the conservative EPP and the centre-left Social Democrats projected to lose ground, the Greens could end up as kingmakers in the European Parliament. "This is a Sunday for Future," said the Greens' lead candidate in Germany Sven Giegold, in a nod to the "Fridays for Future" school strikes by students sounding the alarm on the climate crisis. His counterpart in France, Yannick Jadot, also hailed it as a "green wave in which we are the main players". France's Prime Minister Edouard Philippe acknowledged the "message about the ecological emergency". "Everywhere in Europe, our citizens and in particular the youngest are asking us to act with determination and that's what we'll do in France and in Europe," he said. In Ireland, Green Party candidate Ciaran Cuffe was on course to top the first preference tally in Dublin on 23 percent of the vote, with the Greens also seen in contention in the country's two other constituencies. Congratulating the Greens, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said the election was about Brexit and climate action. Story continues "It's a very clear message from the public that they want us to do more on climate action -- and we've got that message. That's going to require lots of changes on individual level, community level and Govt level," he said on Twitter. - 'Prove you mean business' - "The big story tonight is that the far right didn't rise in Europe, those numbers didn't come in," said Irish Green Party leader Eamon Ryan. "What actually happened is the Greens came in, the counter to that. In Germany they're the second biggest party, and right across Europe and including here at home I'm so glad that green wave hit home -- we're part of that story." The momentum for the Green surge had been building up over months as the strikes started last November by Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, 16, not only refused to lose steam but caught the imagination of youth across the world. In a major mobilisation on Friday, tens of thousands of students rallied, with some calling on their parents to tick the box for the environment at European polls this week. Cheering Sunday's results, a leading student activist in Germany Luisa Neubauer wrote: "The European elections show that we're not only bringing the climate crisis to the streets but also to the ballot boxes. This should give food for thought to those who have in the last month laughed at 'youth engagement'." Under the 2015 Paris deal to limit global warming to well below two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, the 28-nation EU has pledged to cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40 percent by 2030, compared with 1990. But many scientists and climate activists say Europe and all other major economies must sharply raise their ambition. The UN Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change warned in October that warming is currently on track towards a catastrophic 3C or 4C rise. - Biggest challenge - In Germany, the climate crisis has exposed a generational split, with adults and the elderly accused of hanging on to their polluting diesel cars while youngsters are urging change by going on school strikes. Stunned by the Greens surge, the parties in Germany's governing coalition vowed to take on the challenge. Markus Soeder, who heads Chancellor Angela Merkel's Bavarian allies CSU, declared the environmental party as its main competitor. "The biggest challenge of the future is the intensive debate with the Greens," he said, adding that "old measures that we had before, are no longer valid". Underlining that his party is struggling to win over young voters, he added that "we must work to be younger, cooler and more open". Early results suggest around one in three under-30s voted Green, while only 13 percent picked the CDU. burs-hmn/har/mtp/qan By Alissa de Carbonnel BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Surfing a global wave of climate activism to their strongest showing yet in European Union elections, Europe's Greens on Sunday readied to press their demands on climate and trade in Brussels. An ebb in support for mainstream parties raised hopes among Europe's ecology parties that they could use their still relatively small presence in the EU assembly to act as kingmakers in an increasingly fragmented EU legislature. Many of the gains came from the northern European countries that were once the continent's industrial heartlands where, often inspired by 16-year-old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, young people have taken to the streets to demand a break from a legacy of dependence on fossil fuels. Germany's Greens leapt into second place behind Chancellor Angela Merkel's CDU conservatives, with a third of its voters under the age of 30. "This election was above all about the issue of climate and climate protection," acknowledged Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, leader of the German Christian Democrats (CDU), currently the biggest European party in the EU chamber. Greens also doubled their share of the vote to take two seats in Finland and Denmark, won their first two seats in Ireland in two decades, grabbed third place in France and were set for strong showings in Belgium, the Netherlands and Britain - the latter partly as a result of being clearly anti-Brexit. The Greens added at least 15 more seats in Parliament, where there will be now weeks of bargaining among all the parties to form a stable majority. The stakes are high amid fears by some that unprecedented gains by populist nationalists will seek to hijack or block a pro-European agenda. Leaders of the pan-European Green alliance projected said their support will not come cheap. Not only will they seek written commitments on climate action - which could mean tighter regulation for industry - but will push demands on tax policy and in trade negotiations with Australia and the United States. The Greens also talk tough on using the threat of cutting off access to EU funds over violation of the bloc's rule of law principals in member states like Hungary and Poland - an issue where they will find common cause with the liberals. "The citizens are giving a bigger lever than we ever had in this parliament and we are going to use that lever," Philippe Lamberts, who leads the Greens family of more than 30 national parties in Parliament, told Reuters. The 751-member house has emerged as a more ambitious voice on a raft of regulation to slash emissions in the world's biggest economy over its last five-year term than national capitals or the EU executive. It faced down Germany and its powerful automotive lobby to push for deeper cuts to car pollution, higher targets on renewable use and energy savings, limits on plastic waste and palm oil over deforestation. It pushed for more transparency in free trade deals and close tax loopholes for corporations. CLIMATE ACTIVISM A festive mood reigned at the Greens headquarters in the European Parliament on Sunday night at the end of campaign, which profited from worries over global warming but also frustration at stagnating living standards and disillusionment with establishment parties. Still ecologists made little inroads - and even lost some seats - in eastern and southern Europe, where climate worries are dwarfed by concerns over migration and jobs. And projected gains in Britain will be short-lived if the country leaves the EU as planned. As the parliament shrinks after Brexit, 27 of Britain's 73 seats will be redistributed to candidates elected onto a reserve list in other countries. There the Green group stands to lose - although they expect to be able to add some seats by courting unaffiliated parties like the Pirate party in the Czech Party. The center-right and center-left parties could yet turn to the liberal alliance of ALDE and French president Emmanuel Macron's party to maintain their majority in informal coordination on voting over the last five years. But they have all three leading parties have courted the Greens in an effort to bolster their credential on climate - one of the areas where the EU has the most say over policy. "We know they want to court us," Lamberts said. "It won't be that you get the Green votes for forever and that we will forget about the promises." (Reporting by Alissa de Carbonnel in Brussels; Additional reporting by Andreas Rinke in Berlin, Francesco Guarascio and Bart Biesemans in Brussels; Editing by Mark John) Anna Mae Robertson finally received her World War II medals a few years ago. The Milwaukee woman served in the only all-female battalion deployed overseas and the first female African American battalion in the Army. MILWAUKEE When Anna Mae Robertson and her fellow soldiers arrived in England early in 1945, millions of pieces of mail and parcels destined for homesick American troops gathered dust in postal bags piled high in warehouses. Knowing the importance to morale of letters and packages from home, commanders gave the difficult task of sorting through a months-long backlog of mail to the Women's Army Corps 6888 Central Postal Directory Battalion. The women devised a system, rolled up their sleeves and got to work. "We worked in shifts around the clock. You had to find the right name and address," Robertson, 95, recalled in a recent interview at her Milwaukee home. "You just managed." Soldiers in the Women's Army Corps 6888 Central Postal Directory Battalion sort mail in a warehouse in England. When the only all-female battalion to deploy overseas arrived in England it faced a two-year backlog of mail that was handled in three months. The hard work and critical role played by the battalion of African American women during World War II is spotlighted in a new documentary by a filmmaker from Wisconsin. Jim Theres filmed interviews with the last seven survivors of the unit for his documentary, "The Six Triple Eight," which will be shown at the War Memorial Center in Milwaukee on June 6. Robertson was interviewed for the documentary and will appear at the screening. Memorial Day deals: Free food and Memorial Day deals for active military and veterans Monday Record number of black female grads: West Point's class of 2019 includes historic number of African-American women Arriving in Birmingham, England, in February 1945 after their convoy across the Atlantic was rerouted because of German U-boats, postal battalion soldiers quickly organized a system to find troops who had been on the march since the D-Day invasion. Some letters were simply addressed "Junior, U.S. Army," rats and mice had gnawed into parcels packed with baked goods, and tracking down the 7 million American GIs in Europe was incredibly difficult. But the 855 women in the Six Triple Eight figured it out, processing 65,000 pieces of mail during each eight-hour shift. They worked in unheated buildings with windows darkened because of nightly attacks by German pilots and V-2 rockets. Some of the women were assigned the sad task of returning mail sent to troops killed before their letters from home reached them. Story continues When the Women's Army Corps 6888 Central Postal Directory Battalion arrived in England it discovered a two-year backlog of mail including these bags stacked high in a warehouse. The six-month backlog was cleared in half the time. Since the Army was still segregated, they lived and ate in barracks apart from other American soldiers with battalion members assigned to handle their own motor pool and chow hall. "These are the stories that got stuck in the nooks and crannies of history. When people hear about this, their reaction is almost universally the same: 'Wow, I didn't know about that,'" said Theres, a Racine native. Theres was screening a documentary last year on American female telephone operators in Europe during World War I when someone in the Milwaukee audience asked if he knew about the all-African American female postal battalion. He Googled the unit, was amazed to learn its story and decided to make a documentary. All seven surviving veterans Theres could track down agreed to take part in the movie. He recorded five of the interviews, including Robertson's, in November during ceremonies in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, dedicating a monument to the 6888 Postal Battalion. Maj. Charity Adams (foreground at right) and executive officer Capt. Abbie Campbell inspect soldiers in the Women's Army Corps 6888 Central Postal Directory Battalion in England during World War II. The unit was the only all-female battalion deployed overseas during the war. Theres wondered if the women would talk about the racism and sexism they experienced at home and in the military. "But they talked about the good things that happened in Birmingham (England), their sense of mission, how proud they were to find homes for millions of pieces of mail," Theres said. "That was their focus. That made the conversations just so engaging. It was really wonderful." At the start of the war, only 10% of the Women's Army Corps at any one time could be African American. Black female soldiers began calling themselves the "10 percenters." They fought Nazis, now they fight rust: Veterans struggle to save World War II ships WWII vet battles dementia: Family's research uncovers lost stories from the veteran's life The military also restricted the number of black female officers with each branch to one full colonel or Navy captain. More than 6,500 African American women served in the Women's Army Corps throughout World War II. In 1948, America's military was integrated. Marcia Anderson, the first African American woman to become a major general in the Army, knew about the 6888th as she made a career in the military. Soldiers in the Women's Army Corps 6888 Central Postal Directory Battalion march in a parade in Rouen, France, on Joan of Arc Day, May 30, 1945. The Six Triple Eight is "something that's passed down among black female officers," said Anderson, a Beloit native who is now clerk of court for the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wisconsin's Western District. "I definitely stand on their shoulders." Anderson, who was interviewed for the documentary, knows the importance of communication to military members trying to connect with family and friends while serving so far from home, whether it was letters and parcels during World War II or email, text messages and care packages for today's troops. "Back in the day when there wasn't email, mail call was a significant event. To learn that all that mail was sitting around in warehouses in England is incomprehensible," said Anderson. Mike Pence at West Point commencement: Praises for Trump, graduates' diversity In June 1945, the unit was sent to France where it worked on another backlog of mail alongside French civilians and German POWs. The next month, three soldiers in the battalion were killed in a Jeep crash and were buried in the cemetery made famous in the film "Saving Private Ryan." Since the War Department didn't pay for their funerals, fellow 6888th soldiers pooled their money to buy caskets, and three women in the unit with mortuary experience took care of the bodies. Early in 1946, the unit returned to the U.S. from France and was quietly disbanded. There were no parades, no recognition, no medals. A native of Mississippi, Robertson, whose maiden name is Wilson, was living in Arkansas when her mother died. She was 19 and had no way to support herself, so she decided to join the Army in March 1943. Robertson came to Milwaukee after the war for the wedding of a fellow soldier and decided to stay here. She got a job as a nurse's aide at the VA hospital, married in 1948 and raised eight children, including a daughter who worked for the U.S. Postal Service. She didn't talk much about her service in World War II and quietly raised her family, instilling in them a sense of duty and the importance of education, said her daughter Sheree Robertson. Vets' donation saves 4-year-old: Army veteran meets the little girl he saved with his bone marrow donation "As she journeyed through life, she continued to be a courageous woman. She worked hard and raised her eight children to make good choices and let their light shine," Sheree Robertson said. Not until 2014, with the intervention of Congresswoman Gwen Moore, D-Wis., did Robertson finally receive the Women's Army Corps Medal, American Campaign Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, World War II Victory Medal and the Honorable Service Lapel Button WW2. The medals are in a shadow box that Robertson proudly hangs on a wall in her home. Follow Meg Jones on Twitter: @MegJonesJS This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Groundbreaking World War II unit of black women honored decades after their service Seis Kitchen. | Photo: Kelly S./Yelp Looking to uncover all that Menlo Park has to offer? Get to know this Tucson neighborhood by browsing its most popular local businesses, from a Mexican kitchen to a coffee roastery. Hoodline crunched the numbers to find the top places to visit in Menlo Park, using both Yelp data and our own secret sauce to produce a ranked list of neighborhood businesses. Read on for the results. 1. Mercado San Agustin Photo: guy s./Yelp Topping the list is food and art market Mercado San Agustin. Located at 100 S. Avenida Del Convento, Suite 200, it's the highest-rated business in the neighborhood, boasting 4.5 stars out of 68 reviews on Yelp. The market features a number of food vendors, from a burger joint to a cake shop to a Japanese kitchen. Check out the website here for a full line of vendors and fare options. 2. Seis Kitchen Photo: deanna s./Yelp Next up is Mexican breakfast and brunch spot Seis Kitchen, situated at 130 S. Avenida Del Convento, Suite 100. With 4.5 stars out of 369 reviews on Yelp, it's proven to be a local favorite. This eatery features breakfast, lunch and dinner options. Stop by in the morning for the el nino breakfast burrito, complete with barbacoa, salsa, green chiles, eggs, potatoes and cheese. In the afternoon, dig into the street tacos (with your choice of meat) or the green chile pork platter with red onion, cilantro, pickled jalapenos, guacamole and queso fresco. Check out the restaurant's website for a full line of offerings. 3. Presta Coffee Roasters Photo: marianne z./Yelp Presta Coffee Roasters, a spot to score coffee, tea and more, is another top choice. Yelpers give the business, located at 100 S. Avenida Del Convento, Suite 180, 4.5 stars out of 136 reviews. Current roasts derive from Kenya, Guatemala and Costa Rica. Customers also have the option to sign up for Presta's subscription package to get fresh roasts delivered to their front door. 4. Los Olivos Photo: dawn k./Yelp Los Olivos, an Italian spot that offers pizza, sandwiches and more, is another much-loved neighborhood go-to, with 4.5 stars out of 131 Yelp reviews. Head over to 937 W. Congress St. to see for yourself. Story continues Order the supreme pizza with black olives, mushrooms, sausage and green peppers or opt for the Greek pizza with feta cheese, salami, black olives and pepperoni. Appetizers, sandwiches, Italian entrees and specialty creations are also available. Check out the menu here. 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. OUAGADOUGOU (Reuters) - Gunmen burst into a church in northern Burkina Faso on Sunday and shot dead four people, a security source said - at least the fourth attack on Christians in the past month. Other worshippers were wounded in the assault on the morning service at the church near the town of Titao, the source added. No one has claimed responsibility for the attacks which threaten to upend traditionally peaceful relations between the Muslim majority and Christians who make up a quarter of Burkinabes. The government has blamed unnamed terrorist groups operating in the country and Africa's surrounding Sahel region. Islamist militants based in Mali have regrouped after a French intervention in 2013 and now use the countrys north and center as launchpads for attacks on neighboring Burkina Faso and Niger. Gunmen killed a Protestant pastor and five congregants in another church in northern Burkina in late April. A Catholic priest and five parishioners were killed in an attack in the central town of Dablo on May 12 and another four Catholics died in an attack two days later in the northern town of Ouahigouya. (Reporting by Thiam Ndiaga; Writing by Juliette Jabkhiro; Editing by Andrew Heavens) Port-au-Prince (AFP) - More than 1,000 Haitians took to the streets of the capital Port-au-Prince on Sunday to denounce sexual violence in the country after two students were gang-raped this week. Marchers dressed in white walked to the city center from the university where one of the recent victims studied, passing the scene of the attack while screaming loudly to imitate the cries of rape victims. "Rape is becoming a form of repression against women in working-class neighborhoods and in universities across the country," said feminist activist Pascale Solages. Explaining the march's slogan #PaFeSilans, or "do not be silent" in Creole, Solages said: "Victims keep silent because they feel shame and fear. But everyone must end this silence: witnesses in the communities, families, no matter where the rape is committed, silence must not be kept." There has been little study of sexual assault in Haiti, but in 2017, the Ministry of Health released a survey saying one in eight women report experiencing sexual violence at some point in their lives. Haiti is dominated by a patriarchal culture and following this week's attacks, several commentators publicly questioned whether the women were responsible for their rapes because of what they were wearing. "Absolutely nothing can justify rape. Girls are free to walk outside at any time they want, and they can dress as they want," said Wilkenson Saint-Fleur, a student who joined the march. "We're not living in a jungle. The authorities must now uphold their responsibilities to the public they've sworn to protect, otherwise people will take justice into their own hands, and we'll fall into chaos," he said. The rector of Quisqueya University, where one of the victims studied, walked alongside his students and encouraged them to demand justice. "Violence is becoming a cultural phenomenon and society is beginning to tolerate violence against women," said Jacky Lumarque."We must say no." (Reuters) - A general election before Brexit would be bad for the UK and catastrophic for the ruling Conservative party, British health minister Matt Hancock told the Times newspaper on Monday. Hancock who announced on Saturday that he would enter the contest to replace Prime Minister Theresa May, said Brexit will have to be delivered through the current parliament. "A general election before Brexit would be madness. It would be bad for our country and catastrophic for our party," he said. (Reporting by Bhargav Acharya in Bengaluru; Editing by Andrew Heavens) Campione d'Italia (Italy) (AFP) - Campione d'Italia, a tiny Italian enclave on the shores of Switzerland's Lake Lugano, is fighting for its survival after its main source of income -- a giant casino -- went bankrupt. "SOS Campione is dead" reads a giant banner hung opposite the immense casino, made up of modernistic cubic-shaped blocks with darkened windows stretching 10 floors high. "Rien ne va plus" -- the French version of "no more bets" -- reads another banner on a tent set up by the unions representing some 500 casino employees, who suddenly found themselves without work. For the 1,961 inhabitants of this one-square-kilometre (0.4-square-mile) sovereign Italian territory inside southern Switzerland, the closure of the public casino has been devastating. For decades, it guaranteed the prosperity of the town, 23 kilometres (14 miles) from Italy. "Those who were lucky enough to be born here, were lucky enough to have a job," Fiorenzo Dorigo, who worked at the casino for 21 years, told AFP. "Once you were done with your studies and military service, you reunited with all of your old school mates" working at the casino, he said. But that comradery and income security evaporated last July, when a local Italian court in Como ordered the casino to close after it failed to honour its financial obligations to authorities in Campione, which is part of Como province. - Hoping for resurrection - The atmosphere in the community now that the casino is shut is "sad", said Evgenia Petrova, a 52-year-old Russian artist, living in Campione since 2012. The typical "Italian positivity", which used to distinguish the village from the surrounding Swiss communities, "is not obvious anymore," she told AFP, looking sadly out the window of her paint-splashed studio. But residents still hope for the casino's resurrection. A Milan court recently overturned the Como legal ruling on the grounds of procedural inconsistencies. Story continues And last month, the Italian government sent an expert to evaluate the possibilities of bringing the casino back to life. Inhabitants are demanding that Rome comes to the rescue. "Campione is Italian. Italy cannot just abandon it. It must take all possible steps" to save the enclave, unionist Vincenzo Falanga told AFP. - Espionage - Campione has a long and rich history. In the year 777, a wealthy trader and landowner named Totone donated Campione -- later renamed Campione d'Italia under the rule of dictator Benito Mussolini -- to the monastery of Sant'Ambrogio in Milan, which became part of Italy in 1797. The picturesque enclave, which with its winding walkways and hills covered in cypress and palm trees offers a magnificent view of the lake, has a unique status. Inhabitants pay taxes to Italy, but almost everything else is Swiss, including the currency, car registration number plates, telephone lines and rubbish collection. It is also a tax haven: there is no sales tax and inhabitants benefit from a generous tax break to compensate for the cost of living, which is also very Swiss -- meaning high. A gaming establishment was first opened in Campione in 1917, but its main purpose was to spy on foreign diplomats during World War I, and it closed two years later. It reopened in 1933 thanks to a decree, which remains in effect, requiring the casino proceeds to cover all municipal costs. The casino, with its high-rollers, showered Campione in riches for decades, allowing the tiny enclave to dream big -- too big, according to some. - Competition, online gambling - In 2007, after seven years of construction, a brand new, 36,000-square-metre, ochre-coloured casino, saw the light of day. The colossus, designed by Swiss architect Mario Botta, can accommodate 3,100 gamblers at a time, offering them 56 tables and around 1,000 slot machines to choose from. But new laws permitting slot machines in bars and cafes and the rise of online gambling have gradually whittled away the house winnings. The strengthening of the Swiss franc against the euro, as well as the opening of three large Swiss casinos nearby since 2000 have also taken their toll. Over the past decade, as the casino's profits fell, so too did the town's fortunes. The mayor quit, the nursery school shuttered and the tourist office is preparing to do the same. Swiss and Italian aid groups say that around 200 people now usually show up at their thrice monthly food and other aid distributions. "Campione has not seen a situation this difficult since the war," said Giorgio Zanzi, the administrator sent by Rome to run things after the mayor left. His office is chilly: Campione can no longer afford fuel to keep the heating on, and municipal employees have not been paid since February 2018. The casino and municipality have together raked up millions in debt, Zanzi told AFP, adding, though, that he was still holding out hope for a rescue. As a result of the downturn, Campione had no candidates for Sunday's local elections and has cancelled the ballot, which should have run in parallel with voting in European elections. - 'Small territory, big problems' - Ideas on how to save Campione have been discussed, from investing in tourism or new technologies to the creation of an advantageous tax scheme for businesses. But time is of the essence. The situation will soon become even more complicated: Next year, the enclave is due to become part of the European Union customs area, raising practical questions about interactions with non-EU member Switzerland. Authorities in Bern say discussions with Italy about the implications of the change are "under way" but refuse to give details. Campione, Zanzi said, is "a small territory, but with big problems". (Adds latest projections, comments from candidates) BRUSSELS, May 26 (Reuters) - Following are predictions of the European Parliament election results based on exit polls and some official results. Over 400 million people can vote in 28 countries, seven of which held ballots between Thursday and Saturday, with the remainder voting on Sunday (times CET): 0040 - EU - The European Union's top competition official, Margrethe Vestager, called on Sunday night for an end to the center-right's hold on power in the bloc after European election, and for a first gendered-balance European Commission. "The monopoly of power is broken. And this is of course why we can do something else," Vestager said. 0028 - EU - The center-left candidate to head the next European Union's executive on Sunday ruled out building a coalition with far-right forces, calling for a "progressive" majority in the next European Parliament. "My offer is on the table: let's sit together, the progressive forces in this parliament, let's try and find a program for the next five years that will prepare Europe for the 30 years to come," said Frans Timmermans. 0018 - EU - The center-right German candidate to head the next European Union's executive called for a broad alliance of pro-EU forces among socialists, liberals and greens after a continent-wide vote on Sunday. "We are facing a shrinking center," Manfred Weber said. "When I look to the figures, I don't see a majority against the liberals, I don't see a majority against the socialists, I don't see a majority against the European People's Party." "So what I would ask us to do to is to join our forces to work together from now." 0020 - EU - The latest projections from the European Parliament estimate the European People's Party (EPP) will win 180 of the 751 seats in the European Parliament, followed by the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) with 152. The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe and Renaissance (ALDE&R) was projected to win 105 seats, the Greens 67, the European Conservatives and Reformists Group (ECR) 61, Europe of Nations and Freedom Group (ENF) 57, the Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy Group (EFDD) 54 and the Confederal Group of the European United Left/Nordic Green Left 38. The projection also showed 30 seats going to members not allied with any of the existing political groups in the outgoing Parliament and seven seats going to non-attached members. Story continues 2321 - SLOVAKIA - Liberal, pro-European coalition Progressive Slovakia/Together won the EU election in Slovakia with 20.1% of the vote, followed by the ruling leftist Smer party at 15.7%, official results showed. The far-right People's Party-Our Slovakia was third in the EU vote with 12.1%. 2319 - SPAIN - The Socialists won the EU election in Spain with 20 seats in the European Parliament, official results with over 98% of votes counted showed. The conservative People's Party (PP) won 12, center-right Ciudadanos seven and far-right Vox three. 2318 - HUNGARY - Prime Minister Viktor Orban's ruling Fidesz party won just over 52% of votes Sunday on a hardline anti-immigration platform. The leftist Democratic Coalition was second with 16.26%, according to the national election office. The Momentum party was third with 9.92%, the Socialists won 6.68%, and nationalist Jobbik got 6.44%. 2309 - UK - Nigel Farage's Brexit Party looked to be in the lead in the country's elections to the European Parliament, according to the first result from Leeds. Farage said it looked like a big win for the Brexit Party in the EU elections. The results from Leeds showed the Brexit Party at 29%, followed by Labour with 20%, the Liberal Democrats with 18%, the Greens with 16% and the Conservatives at 7%. 2300 - ITALY - The far-right League overtook the 5-Star Movement as Italy's largest party during Sunday's EU election, according to exit polls. The 5-Star Movement lost a third of its voters this year and is expected to win between 18.5-23 percent of the vote. The League was predicted to take 26-31 percent and the center-left Democratic Party was also expected to also surpass the 5-Star Movement with between 20.5-25 percent of the vote. 2233 - GREECE - Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras called for a snap general election in June after the opposition party took the lead in Sunday's elections to European Parliament. Greek opposition leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis called for the resignation of Tsipras after Mitsotakis's party pulled ahead in the vote. Early election results showed Mitsotakis's New Democracy party leading Tsipras's Syriza party by up to nine points. Elections in Greece are scheduled to be held in October. 2102 - POLAND - Poland's ruling nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party is expected to come first in the election with 42.4% of the vote, an exit poll showed. The opposition European Coalition - comprising the Civic Platform formerly led by European Council President Donald Tusk and a motley of leftist and rural politicians - scored second with 39.1%. As of 1500 GMT, voter turnout was 32.51% in Poland compared to 16.91% in 2014 at the same time, according to the election commission. 2050 - ROMANIA - The ruling Social Democrats (PSD) were tied with the opposition centrist National Liberty Party at 25.8%, according to exit polls. The poll showed a sharp decline in support for PSD, which won 45% in the last national ballot in 2016. 2036 - FRANCE - An Elysee official said French President Emmanuel Macron's loss to Marine Le Pen's far-right party in the EU elections was "disappointing," but would not prompt a change in the government's reform drive. "There is of course some disappointment," an Elysee official said. "But the score is absolutely honorable compared to how incumbents did in previous European elections. There was no sanction." 2011 - EU - The EPP is expected to remain the largest party in the EU Parliament with 173 of 751 seats, according to the first European Parliament estimate. The S&D follow closely behind with 147 seats and the ALDE+R is projected to win 102. The Greens are projected to win 71 seats and the combined two far-right parties are expected to get 113. 2004 - SPAIN - Socialists are expected to win 18 of Spain's EU Parliament seats, according to an exit poll, a gain of 4 seats from 2014. Far-right Vox is predicted to get its first members in EU Parliament, with four to five seats. The Ciudadanos and Catalan separatists are also expected to win seats. The Conservative People's Party is predicted to lose seats, dropping to 11-12 from 16 in 2014.. Voter turnout was nearly 50% in Spain at 1600 GMT, up from 34 percent in 2014. 2000 - CROATIA - According to the first exit polls on the state television, the ruling conservative HDZ party won four out of 12 seats in the European Parliament, slightly below opinion polls, which gave it five seats (some even six). The ruling conservatives have a pro-EU agenda. The main opposition party, the Social Democrats won three seats, according to the exit polls. The recently formed anti-corruption party led by a judge Mislav Kolakusic should take one seat. Also, the populist "Human Shield" gets one seat alongside two nationalist parties "Suverenisti" and "Neovisni za Hrvatsku." All three have an anti-EU agenda. A liberal pro-EU coalition "Amsterdamska koalicija" also wins one seat. Croatia will have 11 seats in the EU Parliament until the UK leaves the EU. Then Croatia is to get one seat more. 2000 - FRANCE - The far-right Rassemblement National party is predicted to win in France with 24 seats followed by French President Emmanuel Macron's party with 23 seats. The Greens are predicted to be in third place, with 13% of the vote. 1945 - EU - The European Parliament first estimate of the turnout in the elections is 49-52% against 42.61% in the 2014 election. 1917 - BULGARIA - The ruling center-right GERB party of Prime Minister Boyko Borissov won 30.5-32.7% of the vote, according to exit polls by two independent pollsters. The win gives Borissovs coalition government a breath of fresh air after a scandal over purchases of luxury properties at low prices. Opposition Socialists came in second with 23.2-25.4% and the ethnic Turkish MRF party won 12.8-13.6%, the exit polls showed. 1922 - HUNGARY - Hungary's ruling Fidesz, the party of Prime Minister Viktor Orban, was expected to win 56% of votes, state television reported. The Socialists and leftist Democratic Coalition were estimated to win 10% each, nationalist Jobbik was predicted to get 9% and the Momentum party 7%. 1810 - NETHERLANDS - ALDE+R TAKES THE LEAD ALDE+R are expected to win six out of the Netherlands' 26 seats in the EU Parliament, according to an exit poll. The European Conservatives and Reformists group (ECR) and the S&D follow with five seats each. The EPP is expected to win four and the Greens three. The Confederal Group of the European United Left and Nordic Green Left (GUE/NGL), the Europe of Nations and Freedom (ENF) and one other are all projected to win one seat each. 1810 - MALTA - S&D TAKES THE LEAD OVER EPP The S&D are projected to win four of Malta's six seats in the EU Parliament and the EPP two. 1810 - IRELAND - GUE/NGL TIED WITH EPP FOR SEATS Both the GUE/NGL and EPP parties are estimated to win four seats respectively out of Ireland's 11 seats in the EU Parliament, according to an exit poll. The Greens are projected to win two seats and ALDE+R one. 1810 - GERMANY - GREENS POLLING SECOND Chancellor Angela Merkel's governing coalition, the CDU/CSU, is projected to win 28 of Germany's 96 seats for the EPP in the EU Parliament, according to an exit poll. The Greens are projected to come in second with 23 seats, followed by S&D with 16 seats, EFDD with 10, ALDE+R with eight, GUE/NGL with five seats, three non-attached members and three others. 1810 - AUSTRIA - EPP TO BE THE BIGGEST PARTY The EPP is projected to win seven of Austria's 18 seats in the EU Parliament, according to an exit poll, followed by S&D with five, ENF with three seats, the Greens with two and ALDE+R with one. 1810 - CYPRUS - DEMOCRATIC RALLY LEADS The Cypriot Democratic Rally is projected to win 38.5% of the votes for EU Parliament, followed by the Progressive Alliance of Working People at 26% and the Democratic Party at 11.9%, according to an exit poll. Two of the six EU Parliament seats Cyprus has would go to the GUE/NGL party, two to S&D and two to the EPP. 1805 - GREECE - OPPOSITION CONSERVATIVES LEAD IN TV STATIONS' EXIT POLL The Greek opposition conservatives New Democracy took the lead over the ruling leftist Syriza party in the EU elections, according to a joint exit poll by five private TV stations. New Democracy had 36-32 percent of the vote and Syriza, the party of Tsipras, had 29-25 percent, according to the poll. 1745 - AUSTRIA - KURZ'S PARTY LEADS IN POLLS-BASED PROJECTION A polls-based projection showed the party of Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz leading in the EU election Sunday, the day before he faces a no-confidence motion. The projection found support for Kurz's party, the conservative People's Party, at 34.5%, followed by the Social Democrats at 23.5% and the far-right Freedom Party at 17.5%. (Reporting by EU bureaux Writing by Daphne Psaledakis) By Aziz El Yaakoubi DUBAI, May 26 (Reuters) - A leader of Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi movement said on Sunday it had resumed drone strikes deep inside Saudi Arabia this month in response to what he called the Saudi-led coalition's spurning of "peace initiatives" by his group. Mohammed Ali al-Houthi dismissed Saudi accusations that the attacks had been carried out on the orders on Iran - at a time of growing tension between Tehran and Riyadh alongside its Western and regional allies. "We are independent in our decisions and ... we are not subordinated to anyone," al-Houthi told Reuters by phone. Saudi Arabia, leading a Western-backed Sunni Muslim coalition, intervened in neighboring Yemen in 2015 after the Houthis ousted the government of Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi from power in the capital Sanaa. The Houthis have stepped up attacks on the kingdom in the past two weeks - including a drone strike on two oil pumping stations near Riyadh - in a resurgence of tactics that had largely subsided since late last year amid U.N.-led peace efforts. In the first statement on the attacks from a senior figure, al-Houthi told Reuters the movement had agreed to halt raids last year "in good faith" and had been ready to take more steps. "But unfortunately the aggressor countries misinterpreted these efforts (as weakness) and regarded them with contempt and indifference," al-Houthi, the head of the group's Supreme Revolutionary Committee, added. He said the Houthis had unilaterally withdrawn from three Red Sea ports and he accused the Saudi-led coalition of failing to reciprocate. There was no immediate reaction to his statement from Riyadh which has not yet recognized the port pull-out. Saudi state media reported that the kingdom had on Sunday intercepted another missile armed with explosives that it said had been fired by the Houthis towards the southern airport of Jizan. The coalition has responded to the renewed drone attacks with air strikes on Houthi military sites in Sanaa. The Houthis, who still hold the main urban centers, say their revolution is against corruption and have long rejected reports that they are acting as Iran's proxy against Saudi Arabia. The war has killed tens of thousands of people and pushed the poorest Arabian Peninsula nation to the brink of famine. (Editing by Andrew Heavens) Craving New American food? Hoodline crunched the numbers to find the best high-end New American restaurants around Oklahoma City, using both Yelp data and our own secret sauce to produce a ranked list of where to satisfy your cravings. 1. The Metro Wine Bar & Bistro Photo: Trevar P./Yelp Topping the list is The Metro Wine Bar & Bistro. Located at 6418 N. Western Ave., the wine bar, New American and French spot is the highest rated high-end New American restaurant in Oklahoma City, boasting 4.5 stars out of 104 reviews on Yelp. This spot, founded by husband and wife duo Chris and Laveryl Lower, celebrated its 30th year anniversary last December, according to NewsOK. On the menu, look for main dishes like Parmesan risotto and Thai curry shrimp. 2. Nonesuch Photo: jeff m./Yelp Next up is Cottage District's nonesuch, situated at 803 N. Hudson Ave. With 4.5 stars out of 60 reviews on Yelp, the New American spot has proven to be a local favorite for those looking to indulge. Bon Appetit named this 20-seat spot one of America's best new restaurants of 2018. On the menu, expect to find pasta paired with fennel and tomato or grilled bison drizzled with herb sauce and greens. 3. Ludivine Cottage District's Ludivine, located at 320 N.W. 10th St., is another top choice, with Yelpers giving the fancy bar and New American spot four stars out of 232 reviews. This eatery recently reopened next to its sister restaurant R&J Supper Club, and includes two dining rooms, spacious kitchen-side bar and a full-service cocktail bar, according to NewsOK. The menu offers a small selection of items like wild-caught Alaskan halibut and gnocchi paired with veggies in a white wine butter sauce. 4. Castle Falls Photo: castle falls/Yelp Castle Falls, a venues and event space and New American spot in Meridian Avenue Corridor, is another pricey go-to, with four stars out of 33 Yelp reviews. Head over to 820 N. MacArthur Blvd., Bldg A, to see for yourself. This restaurant, founded by war hero Bill Blecha, was inspired by a European castle, according to its website. On the menu, expect to find entrees like grilled salmon in a lemon-basil butter sauce and lobster and linguini. 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. Nayak Paudel is a crime reporter for The Kathmandu Post. Since joining the Post in 2018, he has also written on health issues. Generally speaking long term investing is the way to go. But that doesn't mean long term investors can avoid big losses. For example, after five long years the Capital Estate Limited (HKG:193) share price is a whole 74% lower. That's not a lot of fun for true believers. And some of the more recent buyers are probably worried, too, with the stock falling 33% in the last year. Furthermore, it's down 24% in about a quarter. That's not much fun for holders. 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 Capital Estate While the efficient markets hypothesis continues to be taught by some, it has been proven that markets are over-reactive dynamic systems, and investors are not always rational. One way to examine how market sentiment has changed over time is to look at the interaction between a company's share price and its earnings per share (EPS). During five years of share price growth, Capital Estate moved from a loss to profitability. That would generally be considered a positive, so we are surprised to see the share price is down. Other metrics might give us a better handle on how its value is changing over time. In contrast to the share price, revenue has actually increased by 28% a year in the five year period. A more detailed examination of the revenue and earnings may or may not explain why the share price languishes; there could be an opportunity. You can see how revenue and earnings have changed over time in the image below, (click on the chart to see cashflow). SEHK:193 Income Statement, May 26th 2019 We like that insiders have been buying shares in the last twelve months. Having said that, most people consider earnings and revenue growth trends to be a more meaningful guide to the business. Before buying or selling a stock, we always recommend a close examination of historic growth trends, available here.. What about the Total Shareholder Return (TSR)? Story continues We'd be remiss not to mention the difference between Capital Estate's total shareholder return (TSR) and its share price return. The TSR is a return calculation that accounts for the value of cash dividends (assuming that any dividend received was reinvested) and the calculated value of any discounted capital raisings and spin-offs. We note that Capital Estate's TSR, at -68% is higher than its share price return of -74%. When you consider it hasn't been paying a dividend, this data suggests shareholders have benefitted from a spin-off, or had the opportunity to acquire attractively priced shares in a discounted capital raising. A Different Perspective We regret to report that Capital Estate shareholders are down 33% for the year. Unfortunately, that's worse than the broader market decline of 14%. However, it could simply be that the share price has been impacted by broader market jitters. It might be worth keeping an eye on the fundamentals, in case there's a good opportunity. Unfortunately, last year's performance may indicate unresolved challenges, given that it was worse than the annualised loss of 20% over the last half decade. We realise that Buffett has said investors should 'buy when there is blood on the streets', but we caution that investors should first be sure they are buying a high quality businesses. It is all well and good that insiders have been buying shares, but we suggest you check here to see what price insiders were buying at. Capital Estate is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket. Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on HK exchanges. 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. Tehran (AFP) - Iranian state TV has fired two channel managers over a live programme deemed insulting to Sunni Muslims, it said in a statement Sunday. The sackings at Channel 5 came after a broadcast on May 20 celebrating the birthday of the second imam in Shiite Islam, Hassan ibn Ali. During the programme, religious chanter and story-teller Ahmad Qadami recited a eulogy that "insulted the sanctities of Sunni Muslims", according to official news agency IRNA. "Following the negligence of airing an irreverent chanter's speech on Channel 5, the channel's head and broadcast manager were fired," state TV's website quoted head manager Abdolali Aliaskari as saying. The channel's senior producer, programme manager and video supervisor were also fired, TV deputy head Morteza Mirbagheri told semi-official news agency ISNA. According to IRNA, the chanter was summoned by Iran's culture and media court on Sunday and further investigations into his case are pending. Iran is a Shiite powerhouse, but under the country's constitution, Sunnis -- who account for around 10 percent of the population -- are "free to perform their religious rites according to their religious jurisprudence". Baghdad (AFP) - Iraqi leaders has warned of the risks of war during a visit by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, whose country is locked in a tense standoff with the United States. Zarif's visit to neighbouring Iraq -- which is caught in the middle of its two allies, the US and Iran -- follows a decision by Washington to deploy 1,500 additional troops to the Middle East. "We are currently repelling all the efforts of war against Iran, whether economic or military," Zarif said at a joint news conference with his Iraqi counterpart Mohammed Ali al-Hakim. "We will face them with strength and we will resist," he added. For his part, Hakim said: "We stand by our neighbour Iran, and economic sanctions are unnecessary and cause great suffering to the Iranian people." Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi warned of the "danger of a war" during a meeting with Zarif on Saturday night, his office said. Abdel Mahdi pleaded for the "stability of the region and the upholding of the nuclear deal," it said, referring to a 2015 agreement between Tehran and major powers. Iraqi President Barham Saleh discussed with Zarif "the need to prevent all war or escalation," his office said. On Saturday, Zarif called the deployment of extra US troops to the region "very dangerous and a threat to international peace and security." It follows a US decision in early May to send an aircraft carrier strike force and B-52 bombers in a show of force against what Washington's leaders believed was an imminent Iranian plan to attack US assets. Washington says the latest reinforcements are in response to a "campaign" of recent attacks including a rocket launched into the Green Zone in Baghdad, explosive devices that damaged four tankers near the entrance to the Gulf, and drone strikes by Yemeni rebels on a key Saudi oil pipeline. Iran has denied any involvement. - Visits to Oman, Kuwait, Qatar - Story continues On May 15, the United States ordered the evacuation of non-emergency staff from its Baghdad embassy and Arbil consulate, citing an "imminent" threat from Iranian-linked armed groups in Iraq, two of which rejected the claim. During the three-year battle to oust the Islamic State group from Iraqi cities, Iran-backed Shiite militias on the ground effectively fought on the same side as US-led coalition warplanes in the skies. But since Iraq declared victory over the jihadists in December 2017, relations between Washington and Tehran have deteriorated sharply. In May last year, US President Donald Trump pulled out of the landmark nuclear deal with Iran and later re-instated tough sanctions. Zarif was due to meet representatives of Iraq's different political forces as well as religious dignitaries in the Shiite holy cities of Karbala and Najaf in southern Iraq during his visit through Monday. On Friday night, thousands of Iraqis staged anti-war demonstrations in Baghdad and the southern oil city of Basra, waving flags and carrying placards calling for a US-Iranian confrontation to be averted. Iraq is trying to act as a mediator in the deeply fractured Middle East, particularly because it borders Iran and regional arch-rival Saudi Arabia, which is also at the centre of a dispute with Qatar. Also on Sunday, Iran's deputy foreign minister Abbas Araghchi began a tour of Oman, Kuwait and Qatar, his ministry said, while its spokesman "categorically denied" reports of talks between Americans and Iranians. Dublin (AFP) - Ireland voted by an overwhelming majority to relax its constitutional restriction on divorce, results showed Sunday, the latest in a series of reforms to modernise the charter of the once devoutly Catholic nation. Some 82 percent of voters cast their ballots in favour of removing a provision requiring couples to live separately for four out of the previous five years before dissolving their marriage. The Irish government has signalled it will bring forward new legislation shortening the requirement to two out of the prior three years. At present Irish divorce law is regarded as among the most restrictive in Europe. It is thought to be responsible for the republic having the lowest separation rate of any EU member state, according to 2015 figures from the country's Central Statistics Office. The outcome of Friday's referendum will also see Irish lawmakers granted powers to recognise foreign divorces once it is signed into law by the president. The mandated separation period was a hangover condition from the 1995 referendum which granted Irish couples the right to divorce by a slim majority of 50.3 percent. Campaigners said it placed an unfair emotional and financial burden on couples and families at a time when Irish rental and property prices are spiking. The result of the vote comes one year on from the day when 66 percent of voters cast referendum ballots in favour of repealing the republic's constitutional ban on abortion. While the result of that vote was hailed by crowds in jubilant scenes in Dublin Castle, Sunday's result was announced without fanfare. In October of last year voters also chose to lift a rarely enforced -- and oft ridiculed -- constitutional ban on blasphemy. A further referendum to excise or alter the constitutional article referring to the "woman's life within the home" is expected to be brought forward soon. The turnout in the referendum, which took place alongside EU elections, was 51 percent. DUBLIN, May 26 (Reuters) - Ireland's two largest parties held their own in local elections on Sunday in a bad day for left-wing Sinn Fein, whose political ascent in the republic suffered its first major setback. With more than three quarters of the 949 seats announced, Prime Minister Leo Varadkar's Fine Gael party rose to 24.9% from 24% five years ago. It still trailed fellow center-right party Fianna Fail, whose share rose to 26.9% from 25.5%. Sinn Fein - the former political wing of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) who established themselves as the third largest party in Ireland two decades after their members were banned from speaking on Irish media - fell to 9.6% from 15.2%. The result was a setback for Mary Lou McDonald who succeeded Gerry Adams a year ago amid hopes a younger leader would broaden the Irish nationalist party's appeal and advance its ambition of governing on both sides of the Irish border. The biggest gainers were the Green Party, which, after topping polls by significant margins in some urban areas, was set for an almost four-fold increase to 5.7%. Such a showing could leave them as kingmakers if repeated at a parliamentary poll. A similarly fragmented result in 2016 parliament elections resulted in Fine Gael leading a minority government with a handful of independent lawmakers and the backing of Fianna Fail from the opposition benches. With that Fine Gael-Fianna Fail agreement set to run out early next year, Varadkar said he could not rule out a national election in the coming months although senior ministers have cautioned that Brexit will continue to weigh on any decision to go to the polls this year. (Reporting by Padraic Halpin Editing by Andrew Heavens) Jerusalem (AFP) - Israel said it eased on Sunday fishing restrictions off the blockaded Gaza Strip with the aim of preventing a deterioration in humanitarian conditions in the Palestinian enclave. The move came just three days after Israel had reduced the offshore fishing limits in response to Palestinians floating balloons fitted with incendiaries over the border. COGAT, the defence ministry unit that oversees such regulations, said the fishing zone was being "expanded to 15 nautical miles," back up from 10. It restores the fishing zone to the limits set in April ahead of Israel's general election, and is the largest allowed in years. "This measure is part of the civilian policy for prevention of deterioration in humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip and is consistent with the policy of distinguishing between terrorists and the unimplicated population," COGAT said in a statement. Palestinians in Gaza have frequently floated balloons fitted with firebombs over the border to damage Israeli property and have succeeded in setting fire to large areas of farmland. The additional nautical miles are important to Gaza fishermen as they bring more valuable, deeper water species within reach. Around 80 percent of Palestinians in impoverished Gaza are reliant on international aid, according to the United Nations. Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza have fought three wars since Hamas assumed power over the enclave more than a decade ago. Four Israeli civilians and 25 Palestinians, including at least nine militants, were killed in an escalation earlier this month. According to reports, a May 6 ceasefire included Israel taking steps to ease its blockade on Gaza, while Hamas in return would calm border protests. By Daren Butler ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Several Kurdish lawmakers and thousands of prison inmates in Turkey have ended their hunger strike, heeding a call from jailed militant leader Abdullah Ocalan, MPs said on Sunday, 200 days after the protest was launched. The decision removed a source of tension in mainly Kurdish southeast Turkey after Ankara let Ocalan meet his lawyers this month for the first time since 2011, triggering speculation about possible fresh efforts to end conflict in the region. Pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) lawmaker Leyla Guven began a hunger strike in November in a bid to end Ocalan's years of isolation by securing him regular access to his family and lawyers. "Comrades who have committed themselves to hunger strikes and death fasts, I expect you to end your protest," Ocalan said in a statement read out by one of his lawyers at a news conference in Istanbul on Sunday morning. Ocalan has been held in an island prison since Turkish special forces captured him in Kenya in 1999 and is revered among Kurdish HDP supporters who see him as key to any peace process. On Wednesday, the lawyers visited him for the second time this month. Authorities had repeatedly rejected earlier requests to visit him, citing reasons including ship repairs and poor weather. In Diyarbakir, the southeast's largest city, a hunger-striking MP announced the end of the protest at a news conference. Hunger strikers' mothers, wearing white headscarves, applauded and chanted in Kurdish "long live the prison resistance." The lawyers' visits resumed a month before a re-run of the Istanbul mayoral election and prompted speculation of steps towards a new peace process four years after Ankara's talks with Ocalan on ending conflict in southeast Turkey fell apart. However, Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul has denied there is any connection. Some commentators have suggested the decision to allow lawyers to visit Ocalan could be an attempt to win over Kurdish voters by the AK Party. Story continues In March's Istanbul mayoral election, the HDP supported the opposition candidate who narrowly beat President Tayyip Erdogan's AK Party candidate. Election authorities annulled the vote, citing irregularities. The HDP has indicated it will again support the opposition in the June 23 election re-run. Kurds make up around 15 percent of Istanbul's population of more than 15 million and mostly vote for either the pro-Kurdish HDP or the AK Party. OCALAN OFFERS ROLE ON SYRIA Before being transported to hospital by ambulance, Guven said the hunger strike had achieved its goal. "But our struggle against isolation and our struggle for social peace will continue in all areas. This struggle must lead to an honourable peace," she said in a written statement. Ocalan is the founder of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), designated a terrorist group by Turkey, the European Union and United States. His lawyer Newroz Uysal cited him as saying Ankara's permission for lawyers to meet him did not mean there was a negotiation process. But Ocalan said he was ready to play a positive role on issues concerning Syria. Earlier in May, Ocalan called on the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to resolve disputes in Syria without conflict. Ankara views the YPG militia, which forms the core of the U.S.-backed SDF, as part of the PKK. Guven was joined on hunger strike by three more MPs, around 3,000 inmates in prisons across Turkey and activists abroad, according to her party, the third largest in parliament. The HDP said seven people, six in Turkish prisons and one in Germany, had killed themselves in March in protest against Ocalan's isolation. Guven had been consuming water, vitamins and sugar during the hunger strike. The PKK launched a separatist insurgency in southeast Turkey in 1984. More than 40,000 people have been killed in fighting since, mostly Kurds. In November 2012, Ocalan made a similar call to end a hunger strike by prisoners. A month later it emerged that he was in talks with Ankara on a peace process. Those talks and a ceasefire broke down in 2015, unleashing some of the worst violence since the insurgency began. Erdogan's AK Party has since formed an alliance with nationalists who revile Ocalan and who fiercely opposed the peace process. (Additional Reporting by Bulent Usta; Writing by Daren Butler; Editing by Keith Weir/Kirsten Donovan/Jane Merriman) MEXICO CITY (AP) Mexican prosecutors say a Japanese man who died aboard an airliner shortly after takeoff from Mexico City had ingested 246 packets of cocaine and went into cardiac arrest from a drug overdose. Sunday's statement was issued by the attorney general's office for the northern state of Sonora, where an autopsy was performed following an emergency stop by the Aeromexico flight in Hermosillo. The prosecutor's office says other passengers reported seeing the man convulsing in the early hours of Friday as the jetliner headed for Narita, Japan. Authorities identified the man only as Udo "N'' and said he had traveled to Mexico's capital from Bogota, Colombia. The kidnapper of 13 year-old Jayme Closs has been jailed for life after she told the judge she wanted him locked up forever for murdering her parents and keeping her prisoner for 88 days. Jake Patterson, 21, targeted the teenager after spotting her getting on a school bus in a rural area of Wisconsin while he was driving to work at a cheese factory. After two aborted attempts to kidnap her, he dressed up in black clothing, armed himself with his fathers shotgun and drove to her home in Barron in the early hours of 15 October. Her shot her father James Closs through a window in the front door, blasted the lock and entered the house. After finding the bathroom locked he broke down the door and discovered Jayme and her mother clinging to each other in the bathtub. Patterson tied Jayme up with tape and shot Denise Closs in the head as she sat next to her daughter. He then dragged Jayme through her fathers blood and put her in the truck of his car before driving to his remote cabin about 60 miles away in Gordon, Douglas County. Patterson kept her captive under a bed and hit her with a curtain rod, Wright said. He kept her in constant fear, threatening her, telling her things would get worse, said district attorney Brian Wright. Jaymes disappearance mystified authorities until she finally escaped on 10 January while Patterson was away. Thirteen-year-old Jayme Closs, who was reported missing from Barron, Wisconsin in October 2018 (EPA) She flagged down a neighbour and Patterson was arrested by police minutes later as he returned to the cabin. The killer pleaded guilty last month to two counts of intentional homicide and one count of kidnapping. Jayme did not appear at the sentencing but her statement was read out in court by a family attorney. He thought that he could own me but he was wrong. I was smarter, the statement said. I was brave and he was not. ... He thought he could make me like him, but he was wrong. For 88 days he tried to steal me and he didnt care who he hurt or who he killed to do that. He should be locked up forever. Story continues Judge James Babler called Patterson the embodiment of evil before sentencing him to consecutive life sentences without the possibility of release on the homicide charges. He also ordered Patterson to serve 25 years in prison and 15 years of extended supervision on the kidnapping count. Theres no doubt in my mind youre one of the most dangerous men to ever walk on this planet, Babler said. Offered a chance to speak, Patterson offered an apology: I would die, he said. I would do absolutely anything ... to bring them back. I dont care about me. Im just so sorry. Thats all. In statements written while in prison, the killer said he had succumbed to fantasies about keeping a young girl and torturing and controlling her. He started looking for an opportunity to kidnap someone, even deciding he might want to take multiple girls and kill multiple families. After seeing Jayme, he decided then that she was the girl he was going to take. Pattersons attorneys, Richard Jones and Charles Glynn, told the judge that Patterson was isolated and that he overreacted to loneliness. The killer was also ordered to register as a sex offender. Jaymes aunt, Jennifer Smith, said after the sentencing that this was an important step in helping Jayme to move forward. She said the family believes the outcome will give Jayme some much needed peace of mind". Additional reporting by Associated Press Photo: Eddie V's Prime Seafood/Yelp Interested in sampling the newest restaurant and retail additions to Boston? From a cafe to an Italian restaurant, read on for a list of the newest destinations to open their doors near you. Cafe Beatrice Photo: maureen p./Yelp Cafe Beatrice is a cafe, that recently opened at 182 Western Ave. in Allston. This pop-up cafe, which will operate for six months, comes from Puritan & Co. chef and owner Wil Gilson, according to Boston Eater. On the menu, expect to find breakfast sandwiches, burgers, fish tacos and more. There's also pastries and boozy beverages. Night Shift Brewing - Lovejoy Wharf Photo: Patrick T./Yelp Head over to 1 Lovejoy Wharf, Suite 101 in North End and you'll find Night Shift Brewing, a new brewery. This 12,000-foot brewery offers a taproom, in-house kitchen and 10-barrel space, according to Boston. On the menu, look for sandwiches, salads and sweets, along with a wide selection of draft beer. Eddie V's Prime Seafood Photo: Eddie V's Prim Seafood/Yelp A newcomer to Back Bay, Eddie V's Prime Seafood is a steakhouse and lounge, offering seafood and more that's located at 122 Belvidere St. This 10,000-square-foot spot boasts 20 outposts across Texas, California, Arizona, Pennsylvania and more, according to Boston Eater. This upscale spot offers an oyster bar, specialty lobster tails and hand-cut steaks like filet mignon and New York-style strip steak. Forcella Photo: mike o/Yelp New to 33 N. Sq in North End is Forcella, an Italian spot. This restaurant, which holds a little over 30 seats, boasts a menu crafted by chef Robert Morotto, who designed it to include dishes from all over Italy, according to Boston. On the menu, look for dishes crispy quail, risotto and Faroe Island salmon. 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. Istanbul (AFP) - Imprisoned Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan has called for an end to hunger strikes by thousands of jailed supporters in Turkey protesting the conditions of his detention, his lawyers said Sunday. "I expect the action to come to an end in light of the broad statements to be made by my two lawyers," Ocalan said in a message read by his lawyer Nevroz Uysal during a press conference in Istanbul. Ocalan, the co-founder of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) held on Imrali island off Istanbul since 1999, was allowed to see his lawyers this month for the first time in eight years. The first visit took place on May 2. After Turkish authorities lifted an official ban on lawyers' visits to Ocalan, a second trip by two of his lawyers was made on May 22. His lawyers said during their visit on May 22, Ocalan said the hunger strikes "had achieved their goal" and was insistent in his call for the action to end. "We believe the hunger strikers will end their action after this," the lawyers added. Some 3,000 prisoners across different prisons were on hunger strike, the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) has said, in solidarity with one of the party's lawmakers who launched the action in November. MP Leyla Guven was in custody when she went on hunger strike to protest Ocalan's isolation from his family and lawyers but she was later released. Other detainees then followed suit. Eight people also killed themselves over the issue, according to the HDP. Ocalan's PKK, blacklisted by Ankara and its Western allies as a terror group, has been waging an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984. Despite his almost complete isolation, Ocalan is still a key figure of the Kurdish insurgency and the movement generally in the region. Ankara (AFP) - Thousands of inmates in Turkish prisons ended their mass hunger strike on Sunday, heeding a calling by militant Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan whose jail conditions they were protesting. The action had grown to involve some 3,000 people held in different prisons, since the first hunger strike was launched last November by a detained lawmaker from the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) over Ocalan's isolation in prison. But after the militant leader was allowed to see legal representatives for the first time in eight years this month, Ocalan told his lawyers the hunger strikes "had achieved their goal" and called for them to end. "After the call... we are ending our hunger strikes," the prisoners' representative, Deniz Kaya, said in a statement, quoted by Kurdish news agency ANF. Ocalan, the co-founder of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), has been held on Imrali island off Istanbul since 1999. The first visit by his lawyers took place on May 2. After Turkish authorities lifted an official ban on lawyers' visits to Ocalan, a second trip by two of his lawyers was made on May 22. The hunger strike was initially launched by the MP Leyla Guven while she was in custody, although she was later released. Other detainees then followed suit. Eight people also killed themselves over the issue, according to the HDP. Guven, announcing the end of her hunger strike, said in a statement that although the action was successful, "our struggle against isolation and our struggle for social peace will continue in all areas". "With this resistance, Turkey's peoples, Turkey's democracy has won," Guven later told reporters in Diyarbakir in the Kurdish-majority southeast. Three other HDP MPs said they would also end their hunger strike. - Role in Syria? - Ocalan's PKK, blacklisted by Ankara and its Western allies as a terror group, has been waging an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984 during which more than 40,000 people have been killed. Story continues Ocalan was caught in February 1999 in Kenya and jailed several months later after he was found guilty of treason, separatism and murder. Despite almost complete isolation, Ocalan is still a key figure of the Kurdish insurgency and the movement generally in the region. His lawyers said Ocalan indicated he would "play a positive role" in Syria in confronting the issues there "including the Kurdish issue" if he was given the chance. Ocalan previously said in a message following the May 2 visit that "Turkey's sensitivities" should be taken into account in Syria, where the US-backed Kurdish YPG militia is battling the Islamic State group. Turkey says the YPG is a "terrorist offshoot" of the PKK. Guven said Ocalan's voice being heard was "very important for Turkey's democratisation and peace in the Middle East". - 'No new peace process' - The visits come just weeks before a controversial re-run of the Istanbul mayoral election, which was lost by the ruling party of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on March 31. Experts say Kurdish votes played a significant role in Erdogan's party loss and he is hoping for their support in the repeat vote on June 23. But Turkish Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul said Friday the lawyers' visits "had nothing to do with a peace process" and "no link to the Istanbul elections". Ocalan had called for a ceasefire in 2013 to allow peace talks a chance to reach a negotiated settlement. However, fighting between Turkey and the PKK intensified after the collapse of the ceasefire in the summer of 2015, dashing hopes of a peaceful solution to the conflict. Ocalan's lawyers said the rebel chief said the permission given for these meetings "did not mean the existence of a negotiation process". Ocalan noted that Turkey fundamentally needed "democratic negotiations and honourable peace", adding through his lawyers that the authorities' reaction to his comments would be clear within "30-40 days" but he gave no further details. By Francois Murphy and Kirsti Knolle VIENNA (Reuters) - Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz got a boost in his fight to keep his job on Sunday with a projection showing his conservative party coming a clear first in the European Parliament election despite a scandal involving the far right. Kurz's coalition with the far-right Freedom Party (FPO) collapsed after a video sting forced FPO leader and Vice Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache to step down last weekend. The projection, based on polling mainly before the vote, suggested the Social Democrats, the biggest opposition party, were unable to capitalise on the crisis prompted by the video scandal. Their support fell relative to the last parliamentary vote in 2017 and the European Parliament vote five years ago. The projection put Kurz's People's Party on 34.5%, the Social Democrats on 23.5% and the far-right FPO in third place on 17.5%. "It is a barnstorming result. We have achieved the best result of all time, the biggest lead of all time over the second-placed party," Kurz told his supporters, referring to his party's performances in previous European elections. The projection showed the Greens came in fourth on 13.5%, a leap from the last parliamentary election, in which they failed to make the 4% threshold for entering the assembly, but 1 percentage point less than in the last European election in 2014. Polls in Austria closed at 5 p.m. (1600 GMT) and the first official results are expected at 11 p.m. Kurz, fighting to contain the fallout from the scandal and depicting himself as a victim of the current crisis rather than a midwife to it, is now in charge of a caretaker government in which FPO ministers have been replaced by civil servants ahead of a snap election widely expected in September. Opposition parties say he must carry at least some of the blame, and one or more of them plan to submit a no-confidence motion against him in parliament on Monday. Story continues "One has nothing to do with the other," the Social Democrats' chairman Thomas Drozda told national broadcaster ORF, referring to the projected EU vote result and the no-confidence vote. "He (Kurz) has done nothing to build this trust that would have been necessary (to support him in parliament)," Drozda said. The Social Democrats and the Freedom Party are likely to determine the outcome of a no-confidence vote on Kurz. Neither has said which way it will vote. (Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky, Jane Merriman and Frances Kerry) Activists in Latin America, home to some of the worlds toughest restrictions on abortion, have denounced draconian new laws in places such as Alabama, warning they could result in the deaths of women. Campaigners in Honduras, one of five nations in Latin America with complete bans on abortion, and which also prohibits emergency contraception, have urged the government of president Juan Orlando Hernandez to make it legal for women to obtain the day after pill, and known by the acronym PAE. The emergency contraceptive pill is essential to avoid a pregnancy when you have unprotected sex, when condoms fail or in cases of rape, said Ana Falope, a Honduran womens rights activist and leader of Hablemos lo que es, the name of the legalisation campaign, and a commonly used phrase that translates as lets call it what it is. This emergency contraceptive is completely safe, has no side effects different from regular contraceptives, it does not affect womens fertility and does not cause cancer. This has been indicated by the World Health Organisation, which also believes that PAE should be available to all women. Activists say they have been dispirited by recent events in the US, where a succession of states have passed laws banning or restricting abortion, part of a campaign to try and force the Supreme Court to reconsider 1973s Roe v Wade ruling that gave women the right to a safe and legal abortion. Emboldened by Donald Trumps appointment to the top court of two conservative justices, Neal Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, and the presidents own statements that the issue of abortion should be left to individual states, activists in 15 states have pushed through laws restricting abortions after six weeks, what some refer to as heartbeat laws. In Alabama, meanwhile, legislators passed a near total ban on abortion earlier this month that only allows exceptions to avoid a serious health risk to the unborn childs mother and if the unborn child has a lethal anomaly. Story continues Paula Avila Guillen, director of Latin America initiatives at the New York-based Womens Equality Centre, told The Independent she had spent years working in countries with either total or partial bans on abortion. She said it was frustrating activists would now have to direct their fight for a womans right to choose to the US as well. I used to live in a country that had a total ban, she said. I have visited the women who get sent to jail. I have met the relatives of those women who die as a result of an unsafe [illegal] abortions. She added: Its frustrating. But it also gives me fire to carry on the fight. Women in the US will see what its like in El Salvador and Honduras. I think it will also create solidarity. Campaigners say Honduras suffers from one of the highest rates of sexual violence in the hemisphere, and that half of sexually active young women face obstacles to obtaining modern contraceptives. PAE is fundamental for all women, but it is especially important for those who have been victims of sexual violence, said Julissa Rivas, another Honduran activist. We should unmask the myths and unite so that the ministry of health revokes the agreement that prohibits the trade of the PAE in our country, so that it guarantees the reproductive rights of all women in Honduras and protects them from preventable traumas as victims of a rape. Activists say PAE was available up until 2009, when the government of Manuel Zelaya was ousted in what he and his supporters termed a coup. It is still available on the black market, reinforcing a class divide between middle class urban women and poorer women in rural areas with reduced access to contraception. Beirut (AFP) - Lebanon has arrested a Saudi man at Beirut airport carrying about 10 kilograms of the amphetamine-like drug captagon, said authorities cited in local media. "The airport's security service, in coordination with the army intelligence directorate, arrested... Saudi citizen H. al-Ruwayli as he was leaving the airport with about 10 kilos of captagon," the NNA state news agency said. It did not say whether he was arriving in or leaving Lebanon, and security services were not immediately available for comment. Captagon is an amphetamine manufactured in Lebanon and probably also in Syria and Iraq, mainly for consumption in Saudi Arabia, according to the French Observatory for Drugs and Drug Addiction (OFDT). It is also one of the most commonly used drugs in the Syrian war, where fighters say it helps them stay awake for days and numbs their senses, giving them stamina for long battles and allowing them to kill with abandon. Lebanon has previously stopped several shipments of the drug to Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia. In April, Lebanese police seized more than 800,000 captagon pills they said were worth more than $12 million, in an operation coordinated with Saudi authorities. In July last year, at least eight people involved in drug trafficking were killed and about 40 arrested in an exchange of fire with soldiers during an operation in eastern Lebanon, the army said. In one of the country's largest busts, Lebanon arrested a Saudi prince and four other Saudi nationals in October 2015 for attempting to smuggle out nearly two tonnes of captagon via Beirut's airport. PARIS (Reuters) - Libyan eastern commander Khalifa Haftar has ruled out a ceasefire in the battle for Tripoli and accused the United Nations of seeking to partition Libya, according to an interview published by French newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche. Haftar's Libyan National Army (LNA) began an offensive in early April to take Tripoli from fighters loyal to Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj's Government of National Accord (GNA) which has the backing of the United Nations. The LNA, which is allied to a parallel government in the east, has not been able to breach the southern defences of Tripoli. The fighting has killed at least 510 people, forced 75,000 out of their homes and trapped thousands of migrants in detention centres. "Of course, the political solution is still the goal. But to get back to politics, we must first finish with militias," Haftar told the newspaper. Haftar also said the head of U.N. mission to Libya, Ghassan Salame, was no longer impartial. "Partition of Libya is maybe what our adversaries want. This is maybe what Ghassan Salame also wants." 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 the LNA advanced on the capital. Even though France and other Western countries officially back the Libyan government, some have supported Haftar as they see him as a bulwark against Islamist militias in the country. Macron had asked Haftar in a meeting held in Paris this week to make a public step towards a ceasefire, without much luck, a French official told Reuters. (Reporting by Inti Landauro; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky) 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 Mosul (Iraq) (AFP) - For months, Alia Ali endured the din of fighting in Iraq's second city Mosul. Then a missile slammed into her home, killing her husband and her hearing. The 59-year-old lost her sense of sound in the final phase of the ferocious battle between government forces and jihadists of the Islamic State group, not long before the guns fell silent in July 2017. For nearly nine months, air strikes, mortar rounds and car bombs pummelled the city relentlessly, and thousands of residents still suffer hearing problems ranging from tinnitus to profound deafness. "I lost my sense of hearing two years ago," Ali recalled. "A warplane hit our neighbourhood in the fight for the western half of the city and my husband died of very bad burns," she told AFP. Ali spent two years piecing her life back together, but could not afford to get specialised care for her diminished hearing. "We lost our home and all our possessions -- we didn't have money to go to private clinics," she said. Blasts in conflict zones can propel debris into the human ear and rupture the eardrum, which transmits sound further into the cochlea. Nerves in the cochlea, which sends sound on to the brain to be processed, can also be destroyed by explosions. Mines have noise levels approaching 170 decibels -- twice the loudness needed to cause permanent damage to ears. - Bleeding, nerve damage - In Mosul, civilians were exposed to repeated loud blasts that sent between 15 and 20 a day to hospitals complaining of hearing loss. "They were bleeding from their ears because of the shelling, but they had nothing to stop the flow," according to hearing specialist Mohammad Saleh. "Some never recovered because their nerve cells were torn by the loud sounds." Mosul's health infrastructure was ravaged by IS's reign and subsequent fighting, with the 6,000 hospital beds available before the jihadist takeover reduced to just 1,000. Story continues With help from outside charities, hospitals are slowly reopening wing by wing. At Jumhuriya hospital in west Mosul, a specialised hearing impairment centre opened its doors less than a year ago with backing from Iraq's Dary Humanitarian Organisation. The waiting room is packed with people, young and old, waiting to get long-delayed hearing tests to see how badly the blasts have damaged their ears. "My hearing deteriorated after three mortars hit my house in west Mosul," 65-year-old Fathi Hussein yelled. He can only respond to questions that are virtually screamed, and answers them at the same volume. "I put off treatment because I'm poor. I don't have the money for consultations or medicine," he said. Since the centre opened less than a year ago, it has treated several thousand patients, according to specialist Mohammad Said. "We have distributed 2,000 hearing aids so far. More complex cases get sent to hospitals in Baghdad for treatment, including cochlear implants which aren't available here yet," Said told AFP. He expects there are thousands more cases that have yet to visit the Jumhuriya centre. "Some patients went to private clinics, others went elsewhere in Iraq or even left the country and still others have received no treatment at all," he said. - 'I want to go to school' - For younger patients, partial deafness means more than just shouting to be heard -- it can affect schooling. "In kids especially, hearing loss can damage speaking ability," Said said. "It's extremely important because it means the hearing aids we distribute aren't enough, and these children are in need of treatments and speaking rehabilitation that we don't offer here." Five-year-old Mohannad may not remember much of life under bombardment in Mosul, but it will likely mar his education for years to come. He suffers both hearing and speech impediments from the fighting that were long left untreated. "I didn't notice how weak his hearing was until weeks after Mosul was liberated," his mother told AFP. She said she was now desperate to get free treatment for Mohannad in time for him to finally enrol in classes this autumn. "I want to go to school like our neighbour's son, Ahmad," Mohannad mumbled with difficulty. Paris (AFP) - The fight between President Emmanuel Macron and far-right leader Marine Le Pen in Sunday's European election in France mirrors a larger battle across the continent between competing visions of bloc's future. Macron, France's youngest ever president, and Le Pen have a lot riding on the results of the polls which both have pitched as a re-run of their duel for the presidency two years ago. The last opinion surveys appeared to show the far-right National Rally (RN) with a slight edge over Macron's centrist alliance, including his Republic on the Move (LREM) party. One poll on Friday put the RN on 25 percent, up 1.5 points in a week, with LREM and its allies stable on 22.5 percent. Analysts say that two years into his five-year term, the EU represents a critical juncture for Macron and might influence whether the 41-year-old can pursue his pro-business reforms domestically. But his reputation as the champion of more integration among EU member states is also on the line. "Symbolically, losing European elections in his own country would be seen as a repudiation of someone so pro-European," said Sebastien Maillard, director of the Jacques Delors Institute think-tank. "What is at stake for Emmanuel Macron is to have an influence in the future European parliament. This is not a given." Macron has made no secret of the significance he attaches to the polls, telling regional French newspapers last week that the elections were the most important for four decades as the union faced an "existential threat". He has jumped into the campaign himself in recent weeks, appearing alone on an election poster in a move that exposes him personally if LREM under-performs. Sources close to Macron say a bad loss to Le Pen's National Rally could prompt a major cabinet reshuffle, with the job of Prime Minister Edouard Philippe in the balance. - 'Did not impose himself' - After re-branding her party -- previously known as the National Front -- and overhauling its programme, Le Pen has campaigned since January with the head of state in her sights. Story continues She sees the chance not only to deal a blow to Macron's faltering presidency, but for her ideas to move further into the political mainstream. Le Pen has ditched her long-standing policy of wanting to leave the EU -- a so-called "Frexit" -- and her proposal to abandon the euro common currency. Instead, she proposes unpicking the bloc from the inside, rolling back its treaties and common rules and turning it into a "union of nation states" who act independently. She has been heartened by gains for far-right nationalist parties across Europe. "Everything has changed," she told AFP in a recent interview. "Before we were on our own on the European scene... we didn't have any allies. But in the space of a few months, a whole range of political forces have risen up in spectacular fashion," she said. But some projections for the National Rally, with its list led by 23-year-old Jordan Bardella, show it could end up below 2014 levels when the National Front came top with 25 percent. She has said she would be "disappointed" to finish behind Macron's party and her reputation as party leader is also in the spotlight. Her gaffe-ridden performance in the presidential election in 2017, particularly a bungled televised debate, has not been completely forgotten by some party faithful. Le Pen has also had difficulties finding allies despite her dreams -- and those of Donald Trump strategist Steve Bannon -- of forging a pan-European "supergroup" of ultra-nationalists. The hard-right eurosceptic ruling party in Poland -- PiS -- has shunned her over her pro-Russian stance, while Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban has also spurned her advances. - 'Give some oxygen' - Sources in Macron's party say that if the LREM falls behind the RN all eyes will be on the margin to determine the magnitude of the reaction. "If there is nothing in it, behind or in front, I don't see a reshuffle. But if we are three to four points behind the RN, or below 20 percent, people within the ruling party will start to ask questions," said a person close to Macron, who asked not to be named. "And this will require a change in personnel," the source told AFP. A minister, also speaking on condition of anonymity, added: "If we are far behind the RN then things are going to shake. There will be a big reshuffle. I don't see how we can lose the elections" and not change the prime minister. For Brice Teinturier from the polling institute Ipsos in France, victory would give the government some "political oxygen". burs-adp/bp MEXICO CITY (AP) Authorities in Mexico have confirmed that six people died when a military helicopter that was helping fight forest fires crashed in the north-central state of Queretaro. The Russian-made MI-17 transport helicopter was carrying water to firefighters when it went down Friday in the pine-covered mountains known as the Sierra Gorda. The crash occurred near the township of Jalpan de la Sierra, located on a high mountain range that drops abruptly onto Mexico's Gulf coast plain. The National Forests Commission said Saturday that one of its workers died in the crash, raising the death toll to six. Five Navy crew members also died. Mexico has suffered hundreds of brush, pasture and forest fires in recent weeks amid very hot, dry conditions. Asad Ahmed, one of about 1.2 million young Indians entering the cutthroat job market each month, diligently scribbles notes at a computer class in New Delhi. While nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi won a new five-year term promising to step up his campaign for a "new India", 18-year-old Ahmed is pessimistic about getting a new job. "There are so many people in Delhi and the competition is intense," said Ahmed, dressed like the other students in a black-and-white uniform at the three-month community course run in a police station in Old Delhi. "I know this stint may not be enough for me to get a job but I am trying my best." Modi came to power in 2014 promising jobs, but delivering on that has been a challenge. And as soon as the election euphoria settles, Modi's government will have to find ways to boost investment and revive manufacturing to create new jobs. Like Ahmed, most of the other 60 students at the government-sponsored "skill development" classes at the Old Delhi police station, all from poor families, were also apprehensive. Nudrat Akram, 19, signed up for the course because her family could not afford to pay for higher education. "I want a job in the retail sector where I can earn 10,000 rupees ($143) a month," Akram said, as she practised speaking English with pretend customers. - More jobs, more debt - India's conservative prime minister came to power in 2014 on a pro-business platform, promising to create 10 million jobs a year. The world's fastest-growing major economy has grown about 7 percent a year since, but jobs have been elusive. The promise was barely mentioned in Modi's triumphant re-election campaign. Nearly two-thirds of India's 1.3 billion population are of working age, between 15 and 64, but an increasing number are in the unemployed list. No official data has been released for more than two years but a recent leaked report -- denied by the government -- put the unemployment rate at a 45-year high of 6.1 percent. Story continues The Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy, a private research firm, estimates the jobless rate rose to 7.6 percent in April. "The economy is going to be a huge problem. The government simply cannot create jobs for millions entering the workforce," said political analyst Parsa Venkateshwar Rao. "Modi will rely on businesses but they are also struggling so he has a real problem on his hands." - 'Not easy to survive' - Unemployment is particularly dire for women. A Deloitte consultancy report in March said female labour force participation fell to 26 percent in 2018 from 36 percent in 2005 because of poor education and socio-economic barriers. The manifesto of Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) promised a $1.4-trillion infrastructure boost to create jobs if it won the election. It offered metro trains for 50 cities and to double the national highway network. But analysts say the government, which has drastically increased its debt over the past five years, will have to borrow huge new amounts to pay for the works. In 2015, Modi launched a Skill India programme aiming to train 500 million people by 2022. But the results have been mixed. According to 2018 data, only a quarter of people who joined the scheme found jobs. "The Skill India mission has not had as much success as say the highway programme," said economist Arvind Virmani. "The real crisis is about job skills and basic education." India's rural jobs guarantee programme offers work to about 70 million people at a minimum wage for 100 days a year, but there is no equivalent for the growing numbers of urban youth. Experts say the government must consider an urban employment guarantee scheme in order to reap the true benefit of its economic growth. At the Delhi classes, 18-year-old Sehar, who uses one name, is worried about helping her poor family, including four younger sisters. Her father, who works at a hospital, is the only earner. "I am the eldest and I want to help my family, it's not easy to survive in this city." Frothy Monkey. | Photo: Jen K./Yelp Need more sandwiches in your life? Hoodline crunched the numbers to find the best affordable sandwich spots in Nashville, using both Yelp data and our own secret sauce to produce a ranked list of the best places to meet your needs. 1. Mitchell Delicatessen Photo: George L./Yelp Topping the list is Mitchell Delicatessen. Located at 1306 McGavock Pike in South Inglewood, the deli and breakfast and brunch spot is the highest-rated affordable sandwich spot in Nashville, boasting 4.5 stars out of 400 reviews on Yelp. The full-service deli features locally sourced, natural ingredients and handmade sausages and roast beef. 2. Frothy Monkey Photo: Caroline M./Yelp Next up is Belmont/Hillsboro's Frothy Monkey, situated at 2509 12th Ave. S. With four stars out of 646 reviews on Yelp, the spot to score coffee, tea and sandwiches has proved to be a local favorite for those looking for a budget-friendly option. The eatery offers gluten-free options as well as vegetarian- and vegan -friendly fare. 3. Pork Belly Cafe Photo: shivani t . /Yelp Lennox Village's Pork Belly Cafe, located at 7009 Lenox Village Drive, Suite 109, is another top choice, with Yelpers giving the budget-friendly breakfast and lunch spot, which offers sandwiches and more, 4.5 stars out of 177 reviews. On the menu, look for the Reuben breakfast sandwich and lunch options like pretzel grilled cheese and the roast beef with Gouda sandwich. Yelper Rebekah K. wrote , "Really great spot for a quick and delicious lunch! I had an amazing pretzel grilled cheese with tomato soup. I was completely impressed by it all! The service was great and the atmosphere was stylish, contemporary and casual." 4. Kouzina Cafe Gyros and Subs Photo: salman s . /Yelp Kouzina Cafe Gyros and Subs, a Greek spot that offers sandwiches and more, is another much-loved, cheap go-to, with 4.5 stars out of 99 Yelp reviews. Head over to 5300 Nolensville Pike to see for yourself. Offerings include the Philly cheesesteak hoagie and gyro wrap, along with sides such as grape leaves and hummus with pita. Story continues Yelper Erica B. wrote , "Never disappoints. Good food, large portions (I always have leftovers) and reasonable prices." 5. InterAsian Market & Deli Photo: leann l . /Yelp Over in South Nashville, check out InterAsian Market & Deli, which has earned 4.5 stars out of 90 reviews on Yelp. Dig in at the deli and international grocery store , which offers banh mi sandwiches and more, by heading over to 2160 Nolensville Pike. Chef Boonkheng Xayarath has over 50 years of experience, including cooking in Vietnam and Laos, and makes everything from scratch. 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. Many investors are still learning about the various metrics that can be useful when analysing a stock. This article is for those who would like to learn about Return On Equity (ROE). By way of learning-by-doing, we'll look at ROE to gain a better understanding of Nath Bio-Genes (India) Limited (NSE:NATHBIOGEN). Over the last twelve months Nath Bio-Genes (India) has recorded a ROE of 7.0%. Another way to think of that is that for every 1 worth of equity in the company, it was able to earn 0.070. 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 Nath Bio-Genes (India) How Do You Calculate Return On Equity? The formula for ROE is: Return on Equity = Net Profit Shareholders' Equity Or for Nath Bio-Genes (India): 7.0% = 349m 5.0b (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2018.) It's easy to understand the 'net profit' part of that equation, but 'shareholders' equity' requires further explanation. It is all the money paid into the company from shareholders, plus any earnings retained. Shareholders' equity can be calculated by subtracting the total liabilities of the company from the total assets of the company. What Does Return On Equity Mean? Return on Equity measures a company's profitability against the profit it has kept for the business (plus any capital injections). The 'return' is the amount earned after tax over the last twelve months. A higher profit will lead to a higher ROE. So, as a general rule, a high ROE is a good thing. That means it can be interesting to compare the ROE of different companies. Does Nath Bio-Genes (India) Have A Good Return On Equity? Arguably the easiest way to assess company's ROE is to compare it with the average in its industry. However, this method is only useful as a rough check, because companies do differ quite a bit within the same industry classification. As shown in the graphic below, Nath Bio-Genes (India) has a lower ROE than the average (9.0%) in the Food industry classification. Story continues NSEI:NATHBIOGEN Past Revenue and Net Income, May 26th 2019 Unfortunately, that's sub-optimal. We'd prefer see an ROE above the industry average, but it might not matter if the company is undervalued. Still, shareholders might want to check if insiders have been selling. How Does Debt Impact ROE? Companies usually need to invest money to grow their profits. The cash for investment can come from prior year profits (retained earnings), issuing new shares, or borrowing. In the case of the first and second options, the ROE will reflect this use of cash, for growth. In the latter case, the debt required for growth will boost returns, but will not impact the shareholders' equity. In this manner the use of debt will boost ROE, even though the core economics of the business stay the same. Nath Bio-Genes (India)'s Debt And Its 7.0% ROE While Nath Bio-Genes (India) does have a tiny amount of debt, with debt to equity of just 0.097, we think the use of debt is very modest. Its ROE is certainly on the low side, and since it already uses debt, we're not too excited about the company. Careful use of debt to boost returns is often very good for shareholders. However, it could reduce the company's ability to take advantage of future opportunities. But It's Just One Metric Return on equity is one way we can compare the business quality of different companies. In my book the highest quality companies have high return on equity, despite low debt. All else being equal, a higher ROE is better. But ROE is just one piece of a bigger puzzle, since high quality businesses often trade on high multiples of earnings. The rate at which profits are likely to grow, relative to the expectations of profit growth reflected in the current price, must be considered, too. So I think it may be worth checking this free this detailed graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow . Of course Nath Bio-Genes (India) may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of other companies that have high ROE and low debt. 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 Yazid Yolisigira editorial@ug.nationmedia.com Four Kenyan pilgrims have died while four others sustained injuries after a commuter taxi whose driver lost control rammed into them at Bugodi Village along the Iganga-Jinja highway on Sunday morning. The officer-in-charge of traffic at Magamaga Police Station, Ms Beatrice Apiny says the taxi registration number UBD 680W rammed into the pilgrims, killing Joselyn Wanjala and Sarah Ajambo on spot, while Pelivin Malinde and Geofrey Ogaga were pronounced dead on arrival at Iganga Hospital. She added that after ramming into the pilgrims, the vehicle lost control, crossed the road and came to a halt in a nearby banana plantation. All the deceased were pilgrims from Bungoma, North Kenya, said Ms Apiny. The group, comprising of about 100 pilgrims, are said to have started walking from Lakiri Catholic Parish in Bungoma Diocese on May 15. Those seeking treatment at Iganga Hospital include John Okoth, Joseph Lusenyu, KelvinAkira and Gladesi Eduti. Ms Apinyi attributed the accident to reckless driving by the taxi driver who is on the run.He was speeding yet it was still dark and raining, Ms Apiny told reporters. Mr Peter Asota, who led the pilgrims from Bungoma Diocese, said that the accident was intentional. We were walking on the side of the road with two reflecting Kenyan flags hoisted up; he saw us because we were knocked from a road reserve, Mr Asota, overcome by emotions, said. Asked whether they would proceed to Namugongo, Mr Asota said that they will most definitely reach the martyrs shrine for prayers. The reason why we cant stop here is because we need to fulfill the desire of our hearts like the Uganda martyrs did, he said, adding that among other things they are going to pray for, is for East African countries to have peace. We are going to pray for peace in our country, in South Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi, he said. Jerusalem (AFP) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday he believed a deal to form a new coalition government remained possible only days ahead of a deadline as speculation mounted over the possibility of fresh elections. Netanyahu has been unable to reach a deal with potential coalition partners despite results from April 9 polls giving his Likud party and its right-wing and religious allies a majority in parliament. Negotiations have broken down over legislation aimed at requiring ultra-Orthodox Jews to perform mandatory military service like other Jewish Israelis. The deadline for Netanyahu to form a coalition is Wednesday. Holding elections so close to one another would be unprecedented for Israel. "I think that the problem can be solved with good will, if that's what people want," Netanyahu said at the start of a cabinet meeting. "If there's not a desire, and things are being aimed in a certain direction, it's unfortunate. I don't think the country needs to be dragged to another election, but there might be someone who wants that," he added. Avigdor Lieberman, who is likely to become defence minister under a coalition deal, has pushed for a guarantee that a bill he backs on ultra-Orthodox military conscription be passed. The ultra-Orthodox parties have refused to support this reform. Netanyahu needs both Lieberman's Yisrael Beitenu party and the ultra-Orthodox to form the coalition he is seeking. Likud and its allies hold 65 seats in the 120-seat parliament, including Yisrael Beitenu's five and the ultra-Orthodox parties' 16. A Likud spokesman said Sunday that "if Lieberman continues to insist on taking down the government, the Likud has begun preparations ahead of elections." But he added: "at this stage there has been no decision on dissolving the Knesset (parliament)." Netanyahu said later in a Twitter post that he had put together a last-ditch proposal on the conscription issue and was meeting individually with party heads to discuss it. Story continues Both Lieberman and ultra-Orthodox leaders indicated they were not prepared to compromise. Separately, thousands protested in Tel Aviv on Saturday night against Netanyahu's reported attempts to seek immunity from prosecution as part of coalition negotiations. Netanyahu faces potential indictment for bribery, fraud and breach of trust in the months ahead. * Israeli leader faces Wednesday deadline to seal deal * Coalition talks deadlocked over military conscription bill * Netanyahu invites negotiating partners for "final" talks * Stalemate could lead to new election By Jeffrey Heller JERUSALEM, May 26 (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu embarked on Sunday on what he termed a "final effort" to break a deadlock on forming a governing coalition ahead of a Wednesday deadline for a deal. In power for the past decade, Netanyahu has unexpectedly struggled to seal an agreement with a clutch of right-wing, far-right and ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties that would align with his Likud party and ensure him a fifth term following Israel's April 9 election. Divisions between former Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman's ultranationalist Yisrael Beitenu party and United Torah Judaism over a military conscription bill governing exemptions for ultra-Orthodox Jewish seminary students have plunged the coalition talks into stalemate. Lieberman has long said ultra-Orthodox men must share other Israeli Jews' burden of mandatory service. Ultra-Orthodox parties say seminary students should be largely exempt from conscription as they have been since Israel was founded in 1948. A 42-day deadline mandated by law to announce a new government expires on Wednesday, and President Reuven Rivlin can then assign the task to another legislator after consultations with the leaders of political parties. That could open the way for former military chief Benny Gantz, leader of the centrist Blue and White party, to try. But he would need the backing of some of Likud's allies to persuade Rivlin he could put together a ruling majority in parliament. Likud and Blue and White each won 35 of the Knesset's 120 seats seats in the April ballot, but Netanyahu was seen as having clinched victory because of the right-wing majority that emerged. In a video published on Twitter on Sunday, Netanyahu said he had invited all of his negotiating partners to meet him in "a final attempt to form a right-wing government" and avoid "an unnecessary election." Story continues A Likud source said the sessions would be held later in the day and on Monday. Parallel to the negotiations, Likud announced preparations for a possible national ballot, with November already touted by political analysts as a likely date. Likud lawmaker Miki Zohar released a draft of a dissolution bill that he said he was submitting to parliament, but no date for a vote in the legislature was announced. Likud said its secretariat would meet on Tuesday "to prepare for an election." Some political commentators saw those moves as an attempt to pressure Likud's negotiating partners into a deal, given the possibility of a voter backlash against another national ballot so soon after the previous one and the uncertainty of the election's outcome in a country riven by divisions. The scheduling of an election - and Likud could face an uphill battle for the necessary 61 votes in parliament to pass a dissolution resolution - would pre-empt a coalition-building assignment from Rivlin and ensure Netanyahu remains as interim prime minister until a new government is formed. Already locked in a legal battle over his potential indictment in three corruption cases, Netanyahu has vowed to remain in office even if he is charged. He denies any wrongdoing and is scheduled to argue against indictment at a pre-trial hearing in October. (Editing by Frances Kerry) SOUTHAMPTON, England (Reuters) - Britain's Brexit Party is on course for a big win in the country's European Parliament elections, leader Nigel Farage said on Sunday ahead of the release of official results. "The intelligence I get is that the Brexit party is doing pretty well... It looks like it's going to be a big win for the Brexit Party," Farage told reporters at the venue where vote tallies from across the south east region were being collated. (Reporting by William James; editing by Guy Faulconbridge) LONDON (Reuters) - It would not be sensible to aim only to leave the European Union without a deal but it would not be responsible to take no deal off the table, Boris Johnson, the bookmakers' favorite to succeed Theresa May as British prime minister, said on Sunday. On Friday former foreign minister Johnson said Britain should leave the bloc with or without a deal on Oct. 31. "No one sensible would aim exclusively for a no-deal outcome. No one responsible would take no-deal off the table," he wrote in his weekly column for the Daily Telegraph newspaper. "If we are courageous and optimistic, we can strike a good bargain with our friends across the Channel, come out well and on time by October 31 and start delivering on all the hopes and ambitions of the people." (Reporting by Kylie MacLellan; editing by Kate Holton) May 26 (Reuters) - Oklahoma has reached a $85 million settlement agreement with Israeli-based Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd ahead of the start of a trial in a multibillion-dollar lawsuit over the opioid epidemic, the state's attorney general said on Sunday. While the terms of the agreement may take up to two weeks to finalize, the money will go to the state and be used to abate the opioid crisis in Oklahoma, Attorney General Mike Hunter said in a statement. An announcement of the specific terms of the agreement will be made at a later date, Hunter's statement said. (Reporting by Nate Raymond; Editing by Lisa Shumaker) London. 21st May 2019 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Action Fraud are warning the public to be wary of investment scams carried out via bogus online trading platforms. This warning comes as cryptoassests and forex investment scams reports more than tripled last year to over 1,800. Fraudsters promise high returns from investments in crypto and forex, with victims losing over 27 million in total in 2018/19. How the scams work Fraudsters often use social media to promote their get rich quick online trading platforms. Posts often use fake celebrity endorsements and images of luxury items like expensive watches and cars. These then link to professional-looking websites where consumers are persuaded to invest. Investors will often be led to believe that their first investment has successfully made a profit. The fraudster will then contact the victim to invest more money or introduce friends and family with the false promise of greater profits. However, eventually the returns stop, the customer account is closed and the scammer disappears with no further contact. Action Fraud reports show that on average, victims were each scammed out of 14,600 from forex and crypto scams in 2018/19. Raising awareness As part of the FCAs ScamSmart campaign the FCA will be running advertising to raise awareness of online trading scams. Running on social media, the ScamSmart adverts aim to make consumers more sceptical of get rich quick trading scams promoted online. Supported by the City of London Police, the FCAs ScamSmart campaign encourages those considering an investment to check its dedicated website for tips on how to avoid investment fraud. Director of Action Fraud, Pauline Smith, says: These figures are startling and provide a stark warning that people need to be wary of fake investments on online trading platforms. Its vital that people carry out the necessary checks to ensure that an investment theyre considering is legitimate. Action Fraud is pleased to be partnering with the FCA to raise awareness of online trading scams, and we hope it will help prevent more people falling victim. Remember, if you think you have been a victim, contact Action Fraud. Story continues Mark Steward, Executive Director of Enforcement and Market Oversight, FCA, says: Were warning the public to be suspicious of adverts which promise high returns from online trading platforms. Scammers can be very convincing so always do your own research into any firm you are considering investing with, to make sure that they are the real deal. Before investing online find out how to protect yourself from scams by visiting the ScamSmart website, and if in any doubt dont invest. Stay safe when scrolling Dont assume its real professional-looking websites, adverts or social media posts dont always mean that an investment opportunity is genuine. Criminals can use the names of well-known brands or individuals to make their scams appear legitimate. Stay in control avoid uninvited investment offers whether made on social media or over the phone. If youre thinking about making an investment, thoroughly research the company first and consider getting independent advice. Make the right checks Firms providing regulated financial services must be authorised by the FCA. You can check whether they are authorised on the Financial Services Register. Use the contact details on the Register, not the details the firm gives you, to avoid clones. Every report matters If you have been a victim of fraud or cybercrime, report it to Action Fraud(link is external). The post Over 27m reported lost to crypto and forex investment scams appeared first on Coin Rivet. By Park Hyong-ki Hana Financial Group and Japan's Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group have agreed to expand their ties in asset and trust management and jointly to develop new digital businesses, the Seoul-based holding company said Sunday. To mark the fifth anniversary of their partnership, executives from the two sides met to discuss their alliance at the Hana Global Campus in Incheon's Cheongna International City last Friday. They said they will also seek to collaborate in infrastructure and aviation financing globally and exchange human resources. KEB Hana Bank has forged a strategic alliance with Netherlands-based Arena Aviation Capital in commercial aircraft leasing and financing. The bank and Arena are seeking to provide these services in Japan. Also under the expanded alliance, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust will help launch Hana Financial's Global Loyalty Network (GLN) digital platform in Japan this year. GLN will enable customers to make digital transactions wherever they are in the world through a decentralized system using blockchain technology. Besides KEB Hana Bank, Hana Financial Investment has participated in the Hana-Sumitomo Mitsui alliance. "We will further use each other's strength to expand our global reach," Hana Financial Chairman Kim Jung-tai said. The two financial groups signed their first agreement in December 2014 to forge ties in investment banking. In February 2018, they further expanded their relations by agreeing to work together in financial technology and real estate investment management. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust is the fifth-largest financial group by net profit in Japan. The group has businesses in asset management, real estate trusts and brokerages, with particular strengths in real estate, according to Hana Financial Group. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank is Japan's largest trust bank. Islamabad (AFP) - Pakistan said on Sunday over 600 people, most of them children, had tested HIV positive in a city in the southern Sindh province. Concern grew after hundreds of people were allegedly infected by a doctor using a contaminated syringe in Rato Dero city and surrounding villages of Larkana district. "Some 681 people, of which 537 were children from two to 12 years of age, had been tested positive for HIV until yesterday in Rato Dero," special health advisor Zafar Mirza told a press conference in Islamabad. He said 21,375 people had been screened in Rato Dero, adding that the increase in the number of patients testing positive for HIV was "a matter of grave concern" for the government. One cause being investigated by Pakistani authorities is the use of "unsafe syringes" on patients. Mirza said: "Initial investigations reveal that used syringes are being re-packed, which may not only grow significantly the number of HIV cases but also other diseases." The federal government is providing 50,000 HIV screening kits to Sindh. - 'Drastic measures' - Provincial health officials have also noted that patients are at particular risk of contracting diseases or viruses at these clinics, where injections are often pushed as a primary treatment option. "The government will get to the bottom of the outbreak and fully assist the provincial government to provide treatment to all patients," Mirza said, adding that a team of experts from the World Health Organization was also scheduled to arrive soon to assist Pakistani authorities in ascertaining the cause of the HIV virus in the area. "Prime Minister Imran Khan is going to unveil drastic measures to prevent the disease once we ascertain the cause of the spread of disease," he said. Parents in the area fear their children's futures have been irreparably harmed after contracting HIV, especially in a country whose masses of rural poor have little understanding of the disease or access to treatment. Story continues Nisar Ahmed, the father of one of the affected baby girls aged just one, told AFP: "We are told to go to Larkana for medicine. I curse the doctor who has spread this disease to every child. "Four of the children of my village have already been diagnosed HIV positive." Pakistan was long considered a low prevalence country for HIV, but the disease is expanding at an alarming rate, particularly among intravenous drug users and sex workers. With about 20,000 new HIV infections reported in 2017 alone, Pakistan currently has the second fastest growing HIV rates across Asia, according to the UN. "According to some government reports, around 600,000 quack doctors are operating across the country and around 270,000 are practising in the province of Sindh," according to UNAIDS. Pakistan's surging population also suffers the additional burden of having insufficient access to quality healthcare following decades of under-investment by the state, leaving impoverished, rural communities especially vulnerable to unqualified medical practitioners. ISLAMABAD, May 26 (Reuters) - Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday spoke to Narendra Modi and congratulated the Indian leader on the runaway election victory of his Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Pakistan's foreign office said. "Prime Minister Imran Khan spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi today and congratulated him on his party's electoral victory in the Lok Sabha elections in India," Pakistan's foreign office said in a statement. "The Prime Minister expressed his desire for both countries to work together for the betterment of their peoples." Tensions between India and Pakistan flared in February with cross-border air strikes and a brief battle between fighter jets above Kashmir. (Reporting by Drazen Jorgic Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky) ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday spoke to Narendra Modi and congratulated the Indian leader on the runaway election victory of his Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), both countries said on Sunday. "Prime Minister Imran Khan spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi today and congratulated him on his party's electoral victory in the Lok Sabha elections in India," Pakistan's foreign ministry said in a statement. "The Prime Minister expressed his desire for both countries to work together for the betterment of their peoples." Tensions between India and Pakistan, both nuclear-armed countries, flared in February with cross-border air strikes and a brief battle between fighter jets above Kashmir. India's Ministry of External Affairs confirmed Khan had called Modi on Sunday, adding the two leaders had discussed fighting poverty together. "He (Modi) stressed that creating trust and an environment free of violence and terrorism were essential for fostering cooperation for peace, progress and prosperity in our region," the ministry added in a statement. (Reporting by Drazen Jorgic in Islamabad; Additional reporting by Alexandra Ulmer in Mumbai; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky) Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O'Neill resigned on Sunday, media reports said, following a string of high-profile political defections that threatened his leadership. O'Neill -- who had been in power since 2011 -- handed over the reins to Julius Chan, who has twice been prime minister, PNG broadcaster EMTV reported. "It is important that we maintain a certain amount of stability. We have heard the calls and we have agreed for a change of government," O'Neill told reporters, according to EMTV. Chan said the transition was to ensure stability in the Pacific nation. "I want to thank the Prime Minister, Peter O'Neill, for all that he has done to bring this country (to where it is) today," he told reporters. "Men and women of Papua New Guinea... we have very short memories. Tomorrow you will look back and see all the things that he has done. But like life itself, you just got to move on." O'Neill, 54, survived a vote of no confidence earlier this month, but had been under pressure following the signing of a multi-billion-dollar deal for a liquefied natural gas (LNG) project with France's Total and US firm ExxonMobil earlier this year. The LNG project would almost double Papua New Guinea's gas exports, but local communities have complained bitterly about not benefiting from similar deals in the past. Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O'Neill resigned on Sunday following a string of high-profile political defections that threatened his leadership. O'Neill -- who had been in power since 2011 -- handed over the reins to veteran politician Julius Chan, who has twice been prime minister. "I will be stepping down as prime minister in the coming days, when I visit the governor-general... (to) pave way for a new government," O'Neill told reporters in the capital, Port Moresby. "We have agreed for a change of direction, that leadership of the government will be now handed over to Sir Julius Chan, who is a veteran leader and one of the founding fathers of our nation." Chan, 79, who was prime minister from 1980-82 and 1994-97, said his government would not be a lame-duck administration. "We are not just going to be a caretaker government, we will work. The transformation of PNG. I don't intend to be a lame duck. We will move this country forward," he told reporters. O'Neill, 54, had avoided a vote of no confidence earlier this month after the defections of his defence, health and forest ministers. His People's National Congress Party had a small majority in parliament and he faced repeated closed-door requests from party allies to step down. O'Neill was under pressure following the signing of a multi-billion-dollar deal for a liquefied natural gas (LNG) project with France's Total and US firm ExxonMobil earlier this year. The LNG project would almost double PNG's gas exports. But James Marape, who had led the government in parliament and was also the finance minister, resigned citing the failure of the government to ensure national firms and locals benefit from the contract. Local communities had complained bitterly about not benefiting from similar deals in the past. Marape said in a separate press conference Sunday the opposition could rally 63 out of 111 members of parliament on their side. Story continues - Uncertainty ahead - PNG's parliament is due to sit on Tuesday, with O'Neill's resignation -- and whether it is formalised by a visit to the governor-general -- possibly changing the dynamics ahead of a possible vote of no confidence. "By offering to resign, it basically resets that question," said Shane McLeod, a PNG specialist at the Australian thinktank the Lowy Institute. "The question is: what will parliament be voting on on Tuesday? Will it be moving a vote of no confidence in the current prime minister? Will it be voting on a vacant role of prime minister? Will it be something else? It's just a bit uncertain." McLeod said it was possible O'Neill's announcement could have been a way to win back MPs who had deserted his government for the opposition. One of the companies involved in the LNG project was Australia's Oil Search. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Sunday his nation had a "special relationship" with PNG, and he thanked O'Neill for being a "passionate servant" of his country. "PNG is our closest friend and neighbour, there is just a small body of water that is between us and PNG," he told reporters in Canberra. "And I will look forward to working with the prime minister of PNG in the same way I have enjoyed such a strong friendship and relationship with Peter O'Neill." O'Neill's long tenure in office had brought unusual stability to PNG's fractious politics. Yet it was also marred by rampant corruption, high levels of crime and large-scale investments that ran up public debt but showed little benefit for ordinary Papua New Guineans. The country has one of the highest poverty rates in the world, and a little over one in ten Papua New Guineans have access to reliable electricity. O'Neill was accused of micromanaging and of looking out for his own interests. By Alison Bevege SYDNEY (Reuters) - Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O'Neill announced his resignation on Sunday after seven years in the top job following weeks of high-level defections from the ruling party. "I am announcing today that I am stepping down as the Prime Minister of the Independent State of Papua New Guinea," O'Neill said in an emailed statement. O'Neill, who handed the reins of power to former prime minister Sir Julius Chan, said the change of leadership will allow the country to "continue the reform agenda that we have been delivering." Political instability is something of a fixture in the resource-rich but poverty-stricken South Pacific nation and O'Neill, who has been leader since 2011, has seen off previous attempts to topple him. ONeill had resisted calls to resign for weeks but his opponents said on Friday they had mustered enough support in parliament to oust him over a range of grievances including a gas deal with France's Total, which critics have questioned. Defections from the ruling coalition have been going on for weeks and on Friday at least nine members switched sides, according to two ministers who were among them. O'Neill's opponents needed to rally 62 members of PNG's 111-seat parliament to vote him out. Opposition politicians said on Friday they would push for investigations in Australia and Switzerland into a A$1.2 billion ($830.76 million) loan arranged by finance group UBS if there was a change of government, the Australian Financial Review reported. A report by the Ombudsman Commission of PNG into the 2014 deal that allowed the country to borrow from UBS to buy a 10 per cent stake in Australian Stock Exchange-listed energy firm Oil Search is scheduled to be tabled in parliament next week. Oil Search in turn used the money to buy into the Elk Antelope gas field being developed by France's Total . PNG is estimated to have lost 1 billion kina ($287 million) on the deal after being forced to sell the shares when the price fell in 2017. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison thanked O'Neill for his friendship on Sunday. "I will look forward to working with the new prime minister of PNG in the same way I have enjoyed such a strong friendship and relationship with Peter O'Neill," he told reporters in Canberra. (Reporting by Alison Bevege; Additional reporting by Tom Westbrook; Editing by Nick Macfie & Shri Navaratnam) 22nd May 2019 Paxful (https://paxful.com/), a peer-to-peer Bitcoin marketplace, has announced a series of educational workshops throughout Africa in 2019 in conjunction with the official launch of their wallet app. They have also pledged to continue aiding the growth of entrepreneurship in emerging markets by giving away bitcoin to those who attend the workshop and download the wallet app. Through interactions with customers, Paxful has gained valuable insights into how con sumers are evolving their use of digital currencies, with bitcoin becoming more mainstream in everyday lifestyle and business transactions, rather than for investment or speculative trading. Based on these insights, Paxful determined that it should launch a wallet app to make buying, selling, and storing bitcoin easier. The app will work seamlessly in connection with the Paxful website, providing secure storage to all customers. It is available for Android and iOS devices. To increase access to the Bitcoin economy for many more youths on the African continent, Paxful is also launching a series of educational workshops across Africa in 2019. This education initiative will kick off in South Africa and Kenya in May, with Nigeria and Ghana to follow later on in the year. The workshops will cover the very basics about Bitcoin for novices and also further expand on innovative use cases and business applications observed around the world for more experienced attendees. As a values-driven company, we want to make the Bitcoin economy accessible for everyone, especially the underbanked. To this end, we would like to reach as many young people as possible to help them understand the digital currency market and transact safely and with confidence. Our aim is to continue to partner with customers and other key stakeholders to ensure they are well informed about the opportunities presented by peer-to-peer finance, states Ray Youssef, CEO, and Co-founder of Paxful. Story continues The first leg of the tour kicks off on 13th May. The Bitcoin-curious and experts alike can catch the team on the following dates: MAY 2019 CAMPUS TOUR DATES SOUTH AFRICA Wits University Date: 13th May 2019 Time: 6:00 pm 9:00 pm Venue: Wits Clubhouse, West Campus UCT Date: 15th May 2019 Time: 5:00 pm 8:00 pm Venue: The New Lecture Hall, Upper Campus Stellenbosch University Date: 17th May 2019 Time: 4:00 pm 7:00 pm Venue: VV Hall, 1st Floor, The Neelsie KENYA Date: 23rd May 2019 Time: 10:00 am 12:00 nn Venue: Nairobi Cinema For students from Nairobi University, Kenyatta University, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Catholic University of East Africa, Strathmore University, Multimedia University, Zetech University, Technical University of Kenya, and Kenya Methodist University. The post Paxful launches wallet app In conjunction with Africa education tour appeared first on Coin Rivet. 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United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. 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 Pope Francis has compared having an abortion to hiring a hitman and said the procedure can never be condoned, even when the foetus is gravely sick. Speaking at a Vatican-sponsored anti-abortion conference, he urged doctors and priests to support families to carry all pregnancies to full term. Is it licit to throw away a life to resolve a problem? he asked his audience. Is it licit to hire a hitman to resolve a problem? The pontiff said that the matter was not a religious issue but a human one. And he denounced decisions to abort pregnancies based on prenatal testing, saying a human being is never incompatible with life. It is not the first time the Pope has spoken out strongly against abortion but his new comments come little more than a week after the issue was pushed into the global spotlight when the US state of Alabama passed highly restrictive laws banning abortion in almost all cases, including where pregnancies have been caused by rape. The bills architects expect that it will be defeated in the lower courts, but hope that it will therefore come before the countrys newly conservative Supreme Court. If judges there uphold the bill, it will give the green light for other states across the US to impose similarly draconian measures. Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri and Ohio are among others which have also passed new abortion restrictions in recent months with the same goal in mind. Washington (AFP) - Rescuers in the US state of Oklahoma were searching Sunday for survivors in the tangled remains of mobile homes and other structures demolished overnight by a powerful tornado that killed at least two people. "Right now (we are) doing a search effort to assess everything," El Reno Mayor Matt White told reporters in a televised news conference. "We can confirm there have been two fatalities at this time." "It is very traumatic." The city of about 17,000, 25 miles (40 kilometers) west of state capital Oklahoma City, was just recovering from serious flooding when the storm hit late Saturday with little warning. At least 29 people were hospitalized, with injuries ranging from minor to critical. A mobile home park was nearly flattened, and White said residents had been moved to temporary shelters. "We do need some help," he said. "We have moved all the people out of the trailer park." Photos showed widespread devastation, with many mobile homes mangled beyond recognition. In addition, White said, most of the second story of a local motel, the American Budget Value Inn, was lost. "Pray for the families," he told reporters. "People have absolutely lost everything. You're not going to believe the devastation." The National Weather Service (NWS) office in Norman, Oklahoma tweeted that Saturday's tornado was an EF3 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale, meaning it packed winds of 136 to 165 miles per hour, making it capable of inflicting severe damage. The NWS said the storm was on the ground for 2.2 miles. El Reno and Oklahoma City are in what is often referred to as Tornado Alley, a region frequently hammered by storms of rare intensity, particularly in spring and early summer. A tornado on May 3, 1999 that struck parts of the capital city reached estimated wind speeds of more than 300 miles per hour (480 kilometers per hour), among the highest speeds -- and with the most violent force -- ever recorded anywhere. Thirty-six people died. ISTANBUL (AP) A Kurdish politician has announced the end of a hunger strike by prisoners demanding improved conditions for Abdullah Ocalan, the imprisoned leader of an outlawed Kurdish rebel group. In a statement Sunday on the 200th day of the hunger strike, Leyla Guven said they had reached their goal. The Turkish government has lifted a ban on lawyer visits to a prison island where Ocalan is serving a life term. Close to 3,000 people have joined the hunger strike in some 90 prisons. Ocalan, in a letter shared Sunday by his lawyers following a second visit this month, thanked the strikers for their support and said he expects them to end the protest. Ocalan, the leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, was arrested in 1999. Hunger strikers in Turkey traditionally refuse food but take vitamins and salt and sugar solutions, which prolong life. By Kylie MacLellan LONDON, May 26 (Reuters) - The prospect of a "no deal" Brexit was fast becoming the central battle of the race to succeed Prime Minister Theresa May on Sunday, as environment minister Michael Gove became the latest candidate to declare. May said on Friday she was quitting over her failure to deliver Brexit, potentially opening the way for a new leader who could seek a more divisive split with the European Union and lead to confrontation with the bloc or a possible parliamentary election. Setting out their pitch to the Conservative Party's largely pro-Brexit membership who will decide the outcome of the contest, four of the leadership hopefuls have said Britain must leave the EU on Oct. 31 even if this means a no-deal Brexit. "I will fight for a fairer deal in Brussels ... if not I will be clear we will leave on WTO terms in October," former Brexit minister Dominic Raab, who bookmakers rank as the second favorite to win, told BBC TV. "If you're not willing to walk away from a negotiation, it doesn't focus the mind of the other side ... I will not ask for an extension." Fellow contenders Esther McVey and Andrea Leadsom both made similar comments on Sunday, while former foreign minister Boris Johnson, the favorite to replace May, said on Friday: "We will leave the EU on October 31, deal or no deal." Gove, a leading campaigner for Brexit during the 2016 referendum campaign and a candidate in the Conservative leadership contest that May ultimately won, told reporters on Sunday that he planned to run again. "I am ready to unite the Conservative and Unionist Party, ready to deliver Brexit and ready to lead this great country," he said, without giving any detail on his plans for Brexit. "A DANGEROUS STRATEGY" The EU has said it will not reopen negotiations on the Withdrawal Agreement, which has been rejected by parliament three times, while British lawmakers have also repeatedly voted against the prospect of a no-deal exit. Story continues Highlighting the deep splits within the governing party over the way forward on Brexit, several senior Conservatives, including leadership candidate Rory Stewart, on Sunday warned against pursuing the policy of leaving without a deal. Finance minister Philip Hammond said parliament would be "vehemently opposed" to a no-deal strategy and a prime minister who ignored parliament "cannot expect to survive very long." "I will urge all of my colleagues who are standing in this contest to embrace the concept of compromise ... going to parliament with a hard line absolutist view and daring parliament to accept it is quite a dangerous strategy," he told BBC TV. Hammond said he could not support a no-deal strategy but declined to say what he would do if there was a vote of confidence in a government which adopted that policy. "In 22 years in parliament I have never voted against the Conservatives ... and I don't want to have to start now contemplating such a course of action," he said. The opposition Labour Party said it was seeking to work with other parties to try and block May's successor from taking Britain out of the EU without a deal. "There is real threat now of an extremist Brexiteer becoming the leader of the Conservative Party and taking us over the cliff edge of a no deal," Labour's finance spokesman John McDonnell told Sky News. "We have got to move to block a no deal." The deadlock over Brexit is expected to have hit both main parties when the results of the European Parliament elections are declared from 2100 GMT on Sunday, with Nigel Farage's Brexit Party, which backs a no-deal exit, predicted to come out on top. (Additional reporting by David Milliken. Editing by Jane Merriman) Maaret al-Numan (Syria) (AFP) - Regime air strikes killed 12 civilians including four at a market on Sunday in a jihadist bastion in northwest Syria, a war monitor said. A young girl was among those killed at the market in the town of Maaret al-Numan in Idlib province, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Eight other civilians were killed elsewhere by government fire in Idlib, a stronghold of Syria's former Al-Qaeda affiliate Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the Britain-based monitor said. Idlib is supposed to be protected from a massive government offensive by a September buffer zone deal, but the jihadist bastion has come under increasing bombardment by the regime and its Russian ally since late April. An AFP reporter in Maaret al-Numan saw a young man carry the arched body of what appeared to be a young girl out over grey rubble after the air strike. Another man retrieved a distressed, dust-covered young girl, slung over his shoulder. Witness Hamdu Mustafa said he was out shopping when the air strike hit. Everybody was "in the street selling and buying," he told AFP. "The planes targeted civilians who were buying food for their children," he said. Nearby, rescue workers known as the White Helmets directed a bulldozer to clear the debris. Fighting has raged to the south of the bastion in recent days. On Sunday, regime forces took back control of the town of Kafr Nabuda in the north of Hama province, the Observatory and state news agency SANA said. HTS and allied rebels overran part of the town in recent days, after the regime first expelled them on May 8. The United Nations has warned that an all-out offensive on the Idlib region would lead to a humanitarian catastrophe for its nearly three million residents. The Observatory says more than 230 civilians have been killed in the spike in violence since the end of April. More than 200,000 civilians have already been displaced by this upsurge of violence, the United Nations 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. Paris (AFP) - French carmaker Renault is in talks with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles with the long-term prize a world-leading alliance including Japan's Nissan and Mitsubishi, reports say. The Financial Times posted Saturday night that the discussions were at an "advanced" stage and could lead to "extensive cooperation". The Wall Street Journal said the talks were "wide-ranging" and could include Renault and Fiat Chrysler "joining large portions of their businesses". However, The New York Times said the discussions were in early stages, the specifics unclear and "could still collapse". Contacted by AFP, neither Renault nor Fiat would comment. The Financial Times, quoting multiple people informed on the talks, said: "The agreement may ultimately lead the carmaker (Fiat-Chrysler) to join the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance in the future," if Nissan could be won over. Such an automaker alliance would become the world's biggest, a title Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi currently vies for with Germany's Volkswagen. Renault holds 43 percent of Nissan which in turn owns 15 percent of its French partner Renault. The imbalance causes frictions in a relationship that has been tested by the arrest of former Renault and Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn in Tokyo. He was bailed for a second time on April 25 and is now preparing for trial on four charges of financial misconduct ranging from concealing part of his salary, to using Nissan funds for personal expenses. The reports did not spell out the level of any involvement by Nissan in the current discussions, although one FT source said it was absent. Early this year rumours circulated that Renault was interested in Fiat-Chrysler after its hopes for a merger with Nissan or even French competitor PSA faded. 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. Following is a summary of current science news briefs. First satellites for Musk's Starlink internet venture launched into orbit SpaceX, the private rocket company of high-tech entrepreneur Elon Musk, launched the first batch of 60 small satellites into low-Earth orbit on Thursday for Musk's new Starlink internet service. A Falcon 9 rocket carrying the satellites blasted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at about 10:30 p.m. local time (0230 GMT Friday), clearing a key hurdle for a business venture that Musk hopes will generate much-needed cash for his larger ambitions in space. NASA executive quits weeks after appointment to lead 2024 moon landing plan A top NASA executive hired in April to guide strategy for returning astronauts to the moon by 2024 has resigned, the space agency said on Thursday, the culmination of internal strife and dwindling congressional support for the lunar initiative. Mark Sirangelo, named six weeks ago as special assistant to NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, left the agency as NASA abandoned a reorganization plan due to a chilly reception on Capitol Hill, Bridenstine said in a statement. Following is a summary of current world news briefs. Defying Congress, Trump sets $8 billion-plus in weapons sales to Saudi Arabia, UAE U.S. President Donald Trump, declaring a national emergency because of tensions with Iran, swept aside objections from Congress on Friday to complete the sale of over $8 billion worth of weapons to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan. The Trump administration informed congressional committees that it will go ahead with 22 military sales to the Saudis, United Arab Emirates and Jordan, infuriating lawmakers by circumventing a long-standing precedent for congressional review of major weapons sales. Seven up: Contest to replace May as British prime minister gets crowded The contest to replace Theresa May as British prime minister hotted up on Saturday with seven candidates now throwing their hat into the ring, saying they would succeed where she failed by taking a deeply-divided Britain out of the European Union. May announced on Friday she was quitting over her failure to deliver Brexit, raising the prospect of a new leader who could seek a more divisive split with the EU and lead to confrontation with the bloc or a possible parliamentary election. Israelis protest moves to grant Netanyahu immunity, limit Supreme Court Thousands of Israelis protested on Saturday against legislative steps that could grant Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu immunity from prosecution and limit the power of the country's Supreme Court. The demonstration in Tel Aviv was attended by nearly all opposition parties, a rare show of unity for Israel's splintered political system. Police did not say how many people attended. A Reuters photographer estimated about 20,000 were present, while organizers put the figure at 80,000. French police search for man who left bomb in Lyon Police hunted on Saturday for a man who left a bomb in a pedestrian shopping street in the central French city of Lyon on Friday that wounded 13 people, including a 10-year-old girl. Ninety police investigators supported by 30 scientific officers and technicians as well as local police were searching for the man, who was seen on security cameras at around 5.30 p.m. on Friday, anti-terrorism prosecutor Remy Heitz told reporters in Paris. Story continues Europeans vote, with EU future in balance Europeans vote on Sunday in an election expected to further dent traditional pro-EU parties and bolster the nationalist fringe in the European Parliament, putting a potential brake on collective action in economic and foreign policy. Right-wing populists top opinion polls in two of the big four member states - Italy and supposedly exiting Britain - and could also win in a third, France, rattling a pro-Union campaign championed by centrist President Emmanuel Macron. Trump urges greater Japanese investment in U.S., criticizes trade advantage U.S. President Donald Trump urged Japanese business leaders on Saturday to increase their investment in the United States while he chided Japan for having a "substantial edge" on trade that negotiators were trying to even out in a bilateral deal. Trump arrived in Japan on Saturday for a largely ceremonial state visit meant to showcase strong ties even though trade relations are problematical. In the evening, the Tokyo Sky Tree tower was lit up red, white and blue in Trump's honor. Trump says not disturbed that North Korea has 'fired off some small weapons' U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday dismissed concerns about recent missile launches from North Korea and said he was confident that the country's leader, Kim Jong Un, would keep promises that he had made. "North Korea fired off some small weapons, which disturbed some of my people, and others, but not me. I have confidence that Chairman Kim will keep his promise to me," he said on Twitter. Norway says Venezuela government, opposition to hold new round of talks Norway said on Saturday that representatives of Venezuela's government and opposition will return to Oslo next week following an initial round of preliminary talks about how to address the country's political crisis. "We announce that the representatives of the main political actors in Venezuela have decided to return to Oslo next week to continue a process facilitated by Norway," the Scandinavian country's foreign ministry said in a statement. Heavy fighting in Libyan capital Heavy fighting raged in the Libyan capital on Saturday as eastern forces made a new push to advance inside the city controlled by the internationally recognized government. The Libya National Army (LNA) force of Khalifa Haftar, who is allied to a parallel government in the east, started an offensive to take Tripoli almost two months ago but has not breached the city's southern defenses. Turkey sends weapons to Syrian rebels facing Russian-backed assault: Syrian sources Turkey has equipped an array of mainstream Syrian rebels it backs with fresh supplies of weaponry to help them try to repel a major Russian-backed assault, senior opposition officials and rebel sources said on Saturday. Russia is backing the Syrian army's large aerial and ground assault as it seeks to gain control of the last big stretch of rebel-held territory in the northwest of the country. Vilnius (AFP) - Gitanas Nauseda, a centre-right independent and political novice, won Lithuania's presidential runoff in a race marked by low populist sentiment and concerns over inequality in the Baltic eurozone state. Although Lithuanian presidents do not directly craft economic policy, bread-and-butter issues have dominated the race. Experts also noted that by choosing between two pro-EU, centre-right candidates in the runoff, Lithuanians who see the European Union as a source of prosperity and security bucked growing eurosceptic and populist sentiment in the bloc. Vowing to build a "welfare state", Nauseda said he would bridge the gap between rich and poor in Lithuania, which is among the most pronounced in the 28-member EU, adding that he would also seek to bring urban and rural Lithuanians closer together. "All people can live with dignity in this small country," the 55-year-old former bank advisor and economist told reporters as he claimed victory at his campaign headquarters in the capital Vilnius following Sunday's vote. Nauseda also hinted he wanted to soften Lithuania's often sharp rhetoric towards Russia, but insisted that relations could only be improved if Moscow changes its policy towards Ukraine. Challenger Ingrida Simonyte, a conservative-backed independent MP conceded defeat, telling public broadcaster LRT she had wished Nauseda "success in uniting Lithuanian people." Nauseda scored 65.86 percent of the vote ahead of 32.86 percent for Simonyte based on full official results from all 1972 polling stations. Vilnius voter Jonas Jovaisas, 25, said that Nauseda's lack of party affiliation made him the most suitable to lead the nation. "He doesn't depend on any political party and that will help him to work with any parliament or government," he told AFP after casting a ballot for Nauseda. He will replace popular incumbent President Dalia Grybauskaite, a 63-year-old independent who cannot run for a third consecutive term. Story continues Dubbed the "Iron Lady" for her hard line on Russia, Grybauskaite is tipped as a possible for European Council president. - Rich-poor divide - Lithuania is struggling with a sharp population decline owing to mass emigration to Western Europe by people seeking better opportunities. The rivals pledged to bridge the rich-poor divide in the nation of 2.8 million where, despite solid economic growth, almost 30 percent are at risk of poverty or social exclusion, notably in rural areas. Growth is forecast at 2.7 percent this year, higher that 1.1 percent average in the 19-member eurozone, but income inequality is still among the highest in the EU. Decades of TV appearances as an economic expert have made the married father-of-two a household name reputed for his intelligence, calm and moderation. Critics, however, had argued his platform is too vague and see his political inexperience and business links as liabilities. Simonyte, 44, was finance minister during the global financial crisis and saw the economy shrink by nearly 15 percent, a decline that took a high toll on low-income earners. Socially liberal, she supports same-sex partnerships, a position which has stirred controversy in the predominantly Catholic country. - Firm on Russia - Lithuanian presidents steer defence and foreign policy, attending EU and NATO summits, but while they have veto powers they must agree senior appointments with the prime minister. Nauseda firmly supports EU and NATO membership as bulwarks against neighbouring Russia, especially since Moscow's 2014 military intervention in Ukraine. Grybauskaite had called Russia a "terrorist state" in 2014 after it annexed Crimea from Ukraine but Nauseda said on Sunday that he "would like to be diplomatic and to use wording which could be slightly different from what we used previously." But he added that "it will be very difficult to improve relations" with Russia if it continues its current policy on Ukraine. "We cannot tolerate this," Nauseda said. Political expert Linas Kojala said the new president will face issues including Lithuania's position on EU-US disagreements, security concerns tied to Chinese investment and whether to forge closer ties with neighbouring Belarus. Turnout was 53.43 percent for the presidential ballot which coincided Sunday with European elections. WASHINGTON, May 26 (Reuters) - The Rolling Thunder motorcycles that descend on Washington, D.C. every Memorial Day weekend made their final ride on Sunday, ending a three decades-old tradition that was initially meant to serve to pay tribute to fallen and missing-in-action soldiers. The veterans advocacy group, formed in 1987 by 73-year-old Vietnam veteran Artie Muller, got its name from a 1965 bombing campaign against North Vietnam dubbed "Operation Rolling Thunder." President Donald Trump gave the group a shout out on Twitter on Sunday, where he pledged that the annual rides in Washington would continue. "The Great Patriots of Rolling Thunder WILL be coming back to Washington, D.C. next year, & hopefully for many years to come," Trump wrote. For years, the group has become synonymous with the annual Memorial Day celebration in the nation's capital, where thousands of motorcycles meet in the Pentagon parking lot and continue their ride across the Memorial Bridge toward the National Mall. Late last year, the group announced it would be making this May its final ride, citing a lack of cooperation by law enforcement and rising costs of permits. The Defense Department told ABC News that they support peaceful demonstrations and were prepared to support the 2019 Rolling Thunder ride. In an interview with Reuters TV, Muller said that while this will be the final ride, the event will also mark the beginning of a new chapter. "We're not really talking about a legacy here because we're not going away. We're just spreading out and we hope to get stronger. That's what our idea is on this, so coast to coast -- North, South, Midwest," Muller said. (Reporting by Temis Tormo in Washington; Writing by Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Lisa Shumaker) San Francisco-based company Nextdoor has secured $123 million in Series F funding, according to company database Crunchbase, topping the citys recent funding headlines. The cash infusion was announced May 14 and led by Riverwood Capital. According to its Crunchbase profile, "Nextdoor is the worlds largest private communications platform for neighborhoods. On Nextdoor, neighbors create private online communities that help build stronger and safer places to call home. Building connections in the real world is a universal human need." The nine-year-old company has raised five previous funding rounds, including a $75 million Series E round in 2017. The round brings the total amount of funding raised by San Francisco companies in the community and lifestyle space over the past month to $569 million, an increase of $541 million from the month before. The local community and lifestyle industry has seen 81 funding rounds over the past year, securing a total of $14 billion in venture funding. In other local funding news, aerospace and electronic design automation company Tempo Automation announced a $45 million Series C funding round on May 14, led by Point72 Ventures. According to Crunchbase, "Tempo Automation is the worlds fastest electronics manufacturer for prototyping and low-volume production of printed circuit board assemblies. Tempo is changing the way electronics are developed by optimizing the process of creating prototypes with new levels of speed, precision, and transparency. Tempos San Francisco-based connected factory is powered by proprietary automation software, creating an unbroken digital thread from design to delivery, enabling hardware developers to innovate faster." Founded in 2013, the company has raised three previous rounds, including a $20 million Series B round in 2018. Meanwhile, web browser company Brave raised $30 million in Series A funding, announced on May 16. The round was financed by Brendan Eich. Story continues From the company's Crunchbase profile, "Brave Software focuses on increasing browsing speed and safety for users, while growing ad revenue share for content creators. Brave aims to transform the online ad ecosystem with micropayments and a new revenue-sharing solution to give users and publishers a better deal, where fast, safe browsing is the path to a brighter future for the open web." Brave last raised $35 million in an initial coin offering in 2017. Also of note, drones and delivery company Volans-i raised $20 million in Series A funding, announced on May 13. From Crunchbase, "Volans-i builds and operates long-range, high-payload unmanned aerial systems for various applications, such as delivery of spare parts and medical supplies. We help our customers save millions of dollars on down-time costs, receive life-saving supplies when needed most, and conduct demanding industrial jobs." The company previously raised $5 million in seed funding in 2018. Rounding out the city's recent top local funding events, personal health company Core raised $4 million in seed funding, announced on May 16 and led by Spero Ventures. From Crunchbase, "Core provides a unique meditation experience using haptics and biofeedback to guide progress and personalize techniques. With a device, app and community experiences, Core makes meditation easier, approachable, and tailored to your specific needs and goals, getting smarter about you over time. Whether you're seeking relief from stress, better sleep, or a performance boost, we're here to help you build a habit of meditation that really works for you." The company previously raised convertible note funding in 2018. 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. DUBAI (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's air defence forces intercepted a drone armed with explosives which had been launched by Yemen's Houthis and aimed at an airport in the south of the kingdom, state news agency SPA said on Sunday. The aircraft had been targeting the airport in Jizan, close to the border with Yemen, SPA said, citing a statement from a Saudi-led coalition that has been battling the Houthis in Yemen. SPA posted pictures of the drone wreckage on its Twitter feed. Houthi-run Masirah TV said earlier on Sunday the group had launched a drone strike on military hangars at the airport. The Houthis have stepped up missile and drone attacks on Saudi cities in the past two weeks. (Reporting by Sylvia Westall; Editing by Andrew Heavens) Sri Lanka's military has detained nearly 100 suspects during four days of search operations against remnants of an Islamist group blamed for the Easter attacks that killed 258, officials said Sunday. Some 3,000 military personnel were deployed in and around the capital as well as other key towns for cordon-and-search activities that began on Thursday, a military official said. In the first three days, security forces took 87 suspects into custody and they were handed over to police for further investigations, he added. "The number of people detained could be around 100 by now," a security official said adding that almost all were taken in for possessing drugs and in some cases illegal weapons. A few were also detained along with video and other propaganda material of the local jihadi group, the National Thowheeth Jama'ath (NTJ) which has been blamed for the April 21 bombings. The Islamic State group has also claimed a role in the attacks. Several parts of the capital were also targeted in search operations by troops on Sunday. Similar raids were carried out in North Western Province, north of Colombo, where anti-Muslim riots this month left one man dead and left hundreds of Muslim-owned shops, homes and mosques destroyed. Security forces have arrested scores of suspects in connection with the April 21 bombings of three hotels and three churches, as well as over what appeared to be organised violence against the island's Muslim minority. While authorities say the immediate jihadist threat has been blunted, President Maithripala Sirisena on Wednesday extended for one month the 30-day state of emergency imposed after the suicide bombings. Sirisena said the move was to maintain "public security", with the country still on edge after the Easter attacks. Christians make up 7.6 percent and Muslims 10 percent of mainly Buddhist Sri Lanka. Lima (AFP) - The death toll from a powerful earthquake that rocked parts of Peru and neighboring Ecuador rose to two on Monday, with more than 30 people injured, authorities said. Sunday's 8.0-earthquake hit a sparsely populated region of Peru's Amazon basin region but was felt over a wide area. Reports were still coming in Monday from remote areas affected by the quake, which also rattled the capital Lima and other cities where frightened residents rushed into the streets. "We have two dead because of the earthquake. The second victim is a 15-year-old who was hit on the head" by falling rubble at his home, Civil Defense Coordinator Ricardo Seijas told Chanel N television. The teenager died of his injuries after begin taken to hospital in Peru's northern region of La Libertad. The other victim, a 48-year-old man, was reported Sunday to have been killed by falling debris while he slept at his house in Cajamarca in northern Peru. The quake struck at 2:41 am (0741 GMT). Seijas said 15 people had been injured, with several hundred buildings destroyed or damaged. The quake was the most powerful to hit the earthquake-prone country in 12 years, Peru's President Martin Vizcarra said, adding that it blocked roads, damaged a bridge and knocked down houses. "It is an earthquake affecting the entire Peruvian jungle," he said. One of the most dramatic moments captured on social media happened in Yurimaguas, the town closest to the epicenter. Video from the police station shows the police chief shouting at his subordinates to quickly open the jail cells and get inmates outside. "The earthquake is strong!" he is heard yelling. "Open the cells! Help with the detainees, get one each!" Arri Pezo, the mayor of Lagunas, 75 kilometers from th epicenter, said many residents who fled from their homes later stayed in the streets for fear of aftershocks. "You could not walk at the time of the earthquake, things were falling," Pezo told RPP radio. Story continues Reports said 15 people had been hurt in Ecuador, where power-cuts were reported in parts of its Amazon basin region. Peruvian media said the tremor was also felt in parts of Colombia and Venezuela. Peru lies on the so-called Ring of Fire -- an arc of fault lines that circles the Pacific Basin and is prone to frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. The South American country records about 200 earthquakes a year, most of them going unnoticed by the public. By Giulio Piovaccari and Laurence Frost MILAN/PARIS (Reuters) - Fiat Chrysler and Renault are set to confirm tie-up talks on Monday, with the board of the French carmaker called to an early morning meeting to discuss the situation. It comes after news broke over the weekend that two of the world's leading car companies are in talks on a comprehensive global combination that could address some of the main weaknesses of both. The plan under discussion would involve some transfer of equity, according to a source close to the discussions. The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday that the two companies are considering a merger of equals, among other tie-up options. Renault Chairman Jean-Dominique Senard presented an FCA-Renault merger plan to French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire on Friday, Les Echos reported on its website. The French government has a 15% stake in Renault. The deal being discussed would include guarantees covering corporate governance and employment in France and Italy, the French daily said. Pressure for consolidation among carmakers has grown with the challenges posed by electrification, tightening emissions regulations and expensive new technologies being developed for connected and autonomous vehicles. Earlier this year FCA Chairman John Elkann - a member of Italy's Agnelli dynasty that controls the company - stressed the family's commitment to the automotive industry. But he also added that they were prepared to take "bold and creative decisions" to help build a solid and attractive future for the company. A source said earlier an announcement from Italo-American FCA could provide some concrete although initial details but added the situation was still "fluid". A separate source with direct knowledge of the situation confirmed that the Renault board will meet on Monday morning at 0800 local time (0600 GMT) to discuss the issue. REGIONAL RATIONALE FCA has a highly profitable North American RAM trucks business and Jeep brand but has been losing money in Europe, where it may also struggle to keep pace with looming carbon dioxide emissions curbs. Story continues Renault, by contrast, is an electric-car pioneer with relatively fuel-efficient engine technologies and a strong presence in emerging markets, but no U.S. business. Any tie-up would likely face political and workforce hurdles, particularly in Italy. However, most of FCA's European plants are running below 50% capacity. A deal between FCA and Renault would not preclude a consolidation of Renault's alliance with Japanese carmaker Nissan Motor Co Ltd , a source told Reuters on Saturday. The Renault-Nissan partnership, underpinned by cross shareholdings, has been strained by the scandal surrounding former Chairman Carlos Ghosn, who was ousted after his arrest last year. Speculation about the future of Fiat Chrysler, often seen as a potential M&A target, intensified after the sudden death of long-serving former CEO Sergio Marchionne almost one year ago. In October last year, just after three months he was picked to replace Marchionne, new CEO Mike Manley agreed to sell FCA's car parts unit Magneti Marelli to Japan's Calsonic Kasnsei, owned by U.S. private equity firm KKR & Co Inc . The sale was completed early this month for 5.8 billion euros. According to reports earlier this year, the manufacturer had also restarted talks with France's PSA Group - which have been a recurrent theme over the years. Fiat Chrysler and Renault together would have a combined market capitalization of more than 32 billion euros ($36 billion) and total global sales of 8.7 million vehicles. Fiat Chrysler has a valuation of just under 18 billion euros and Renault around 14.4 billion An alliance that included Nissan would vault the ensemble to the rank of global No.1 carmaker with 13.8 million annual sales. It would also maintain a foothold in China, where both FCA and Renault are marginal players. (Reporting by Laurence Frost, Gilles Guillaume and Inti Landauro in Paris, Pamela Barbaglia in London and Giulio Piovaccari in Milan; Editing by Keith Weir and Lisa Shumaker) Khartoum (AFP) - Sudan's main opposition group and supporter of the protest movement on Sunday rejected its call to stage a two-day general strike, in the first sign of a rift within the movement negotiating the launch of civilian rule. Talks between leaders of the umbrella protest movement, the Alliance for Freedom and Change, and army generals who seized power after ousting autocrat Omar al-Bashir last month are deadlocked over who should lead a new governing body -- a civilian or soldier. In a bid to step up pressure on the generals, the protest movement has called for a general strike starting Tuesday, but the National Umma Party, a key backer of the movement, rejected the measure. "We reject the general strike announced by some opposition groups" in the Alliance for Freedom and Change, Umma said in a statement. "A general strike is a weapon that should be used after it is agreed upon by everybody," the party said. "We have to avoid such escalated measures that are not fully agreed." The National Umma Party led by former premier Sadiq al-Mahdi said any such decision should be taken by a council of leaders of the protest movement. Such a council was still not in place and "will be composed in a meeting on Monday", it said. It was Mahdi's elected government that Bashir, who himself was deposed on April 11, toppled in an Islamist-backed coup in 1989. In a recent interview with AFP, Mahdi warned protesters not to "provoke" the army's rulers as they had been instrumental in ousting Bashir. - 'Negative development' - Sudanese political analyst Faisal Mohamed Saleh said the Umma party's stand was a "negative development". "It will not only threaten relations between Umma party and the Freedom and Change alliance, but it will also threaten unity inside the Umma party itself," Saleh told AFP. "I believe this is not the party position, it is Mahdi's position because there were representatives of the party in meetings that decided on the strike call." Story continues Saleh said a "harsh reaction" could not be ruled out from alliance supporters at the sit-in outside the army complex. Minutes after Umma's statement, another key member of the protest movement, the Sudanese Congress Party, said the strike would go ahead as planned. The strike was a new measure "to complete the mission of the revolution, which definitely will achieve its victory", it said. The military toppled Bashir after months-long protests across Sudan led by the Alliance for Freedom and Change against his iron-fisted rule of three decades. But the generals who seized power have resisted calls from protesters and the international community for civilian rule. - Talks deadlocked - Talks between the generals and protest leaders remain deadlocked over who should lead a new governing body to oversee the formation of a civilian administration. On Sunday, the military council said the talks were "proceeding at a weak pace". "If the situation continues like this, it might lead to many options for safeguarding the interests of Sudanese citizens and for the country's protection," spokesman of the army council Lieutenant General Shamseddine Kabbashi told soldiers in Omdurman, the twin city of Khartoum. Protest leaders insist a civilian must head a new sovereign council and that civilians should make up the majority of its members, proposals rejected by the ruling generals. The new ruling body when finalised is expected to install a transitional civilian government for three years after which the first post-Bashir election would be held. Before suspending talks last Monday, the two sides had agreed on several key issues, including the three-year transition period and the creation of a 300-member parliament, with two thirds of lawmakers coming from the protesters' umbrella group. On Sunday, the chief of the ruling military council General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan travelled to the United Arab Emirates after a visit to Cairo. The United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Egypt are seen as backing the generals, while Western powers led by Washington have called for a swift transition to civilian rule. BEIRUT, May 26 (Reuters) - Syrian government forces pounded positions in the northwest of the country on Sunday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, in the heaviest day of air strikes since launching a major campaign against the rebel-held territory nearly four weeks ago. The bombardment helped Russian-backed government forces capture the small town of Kafr Nabouda in northern Hama province, the third time it has changed hands in the latest offensive, sources on both sides said. Air and ground strikes killed 12 people in several areas including the town of Maarat al-Numan, the Observatory said. The onslaught since late April, focused mostly on southern parts of Idlib province and adjacent parts of Hama and Latakia, marks the most intense conflict between President Bashar al-Assad and his insurgent enemies since last summer. The bombardment has killed 229 civilians, injured 727 and forced more than 300,000 people to flee since April 28, according to The Union of Medical Care and Relief Organisations (UOSSM), which provides assistance to health facilities. Rami Abdulrahman, director of the Observatory, said Syrian government planes and helicopters launched more than 280 strikes on Sunday and Russian jets had carried out 15. Syrian state news agency SANA said Kafr Nabouda had been taken from militants led by a group known as Tahrir al-Sham, previously called the Nusra Front and part of al Qaeda until it broke away and renamed itself. A spokesman for one of the rebel formations in the area, the Turkey-backed National Liberation Front, confirmed government forces had taken Kafr Naboud after an eight-hour bombardment involving hundreds of rockets and dozens of air strikes. (Writing by Tom Perry Editing by David Holmes) London (AFP) - Her voice breaking, Prime Minister Theresa May announced her resignation on Friday after three years of Brexit turmoil, dramatically increasing the likelihood of Britain crashing out of the EU within months. May, who took over in the aftermath of the 2016 Brexit referendum, was forced to make way following a Conservative mutiny over her ill-fated strategy to end Britain's near five-decade membership of the European Union. "It is and will always remain a matter of deep regret to me that I have not been able to deliver Brexit," May said outside her Downing Street office, holding back tears. "It will be for my successor to seek a way forward that honours the result of the referendum." May, 62, who will be among the country's shortest-serving post-WWII prime ministers remembered for presiding over one of the most chaotic periods in its modern political history, said she would step down as head of the Conservative Party on June 7. She will remain in Downing Street in a caretaker role until a replacement is elected by the party before July 20. Any new leader of the party, which won the most votes in the last election, automatically becomes prime minister. - 'Dangerous phase' - Gaffe-prone Brexit cheerleader Boris Johnson, who resigned as foreign secretary last summer over May's withdrawal strategy, is the immediate front-runner to succeed her. He said Friday that under his leadership Britain would leave the EU with or without a deal on October 31 -- the latest deadline agreed with Brussels after Brexit was twice delayed. "The way to get a good deal is to prepare for a no-deal situation," he told an economic conference in Switzerland, according to Bloomberg. "To get things done you need to be prepared to walk away." The pound wobbled as analysts said her imminent departure amplified the chances of leaving the EU without a deal. However, EU leaders struck a defiantly contrasting tone. Story continues Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said the withdrawal plan agreed was "not up for renegotiation". German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she "respects" May's decision and would keep working towards an "orderly" Brexit, while Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar warned the saga was entering "a phase that may be a very dangerous one for Ireland". May received more sympathy from Brexit-backing US President Donald Trump, who said "I feel badly for Theresa. I like her very much. She is a good woman." - 'Misjudged the mood' - May was pushed into the humiliating spectacle of a hastily arranged resignation announcement following a meeting with the Conservative Party's committee chief in charge of leadership elections. She had been under rising pressure following months of Brexit-fuelled political paralysis, which intensified following disastrous results in the May 2 English local elections. The Conservatives are expected to fare even worse in this week's European Parliament elections when results are announced Sunday. "Politically she misjudged the mood of the country and her party," said Nigel Farage, whose new Brexit Party is predicted to emphatically win the contest in Britain. The beleaguered leader had previously vowed to step aside once her unpopular EU divorce deal had passed parliament, and this week launched a short-lived bid for lawmakers to approve it in early June. MPs have overwhelmingly rejected the agreement three times, weakening May on each occasion Her latest effort to force it through the House of Commons, which included giving MPs the option of holding a referendum on it, proved her final undoing, prompted a furious reaction from Conservatives, including cabinet members. - 'No legacy' - Her departure kickstarts a Conservative Party leadership contest -- already unofficially under way -- that is expected to encompass more than a dozen candidates and favour an ardent Brexiteer. Tory MPs will hold a series of votes to whittle the contenders down to a final two that will be put to the party's more than 100,000 members. Johnson is the membership's favourite, but numerous Conservative lawmakers are thought to hold serious reservations about his suitability for the top job. May was the surprise victor in the 2016 leadership contest to replace then prime minister David Cameron after he quit following the EU referendum. Despite having campaigned to Remain, she embraced the cause with the mantra "Brexit means Brexit". However the decision to hold a disastrous snap election in June 2017, when she lost her parliamentary majority, left her stymied. Her dismally dysfunctional government saw 36 ministerial resignations -- a modern record. May will leave office without any significant achievements -- other than her bungled handling of Brexit, according to political analysts. "She doesn't really have a legacy," said Simon Usherwood, of the University of Surrey. "I think anybody in her position would have had great difficulty." Others were more brutal in their assessment. "It was only an impossible job because she made it one," said Tim Bale of Queen Mary University of London. Former prime minister and close advisor to Thailand's revered royals Prem Tinsulanonda died early Sunday aged 98, a senior parliamentarian said, ending a decades-long career of unrivalled influence over Thai politics. Hailed as a stabilising force by allies but loathed by critics as a conservative underminer of democracy in the kingdom, Prem was a top aide to the late beloved King Bhumibol Adulyadej and helped cement the unshakeable bond between the monarchy and the military. Prem "passed away this morning around 9 o'clock", interim house speaker Chai Chidchob told MPs on the third day of Thailand's new parliament. "I would like to ask everyone to stand for a moment in memorial." The cause of death was heart failure, the royal household bureau said in a statement. As Privy Council president, Prem's influence endured through a tense succession period after Bhumibol died in 2016, and he was briefly appointed regent before Bhumibol's son Maha Vajiralongkorn ascended the throne. Prem presided over the king's surprise wedding to Queen Suthida days before his coronation earlier this month. With assistants helping him stand, he also took part in a key sacred water ritual on coronation day alongside 2014 coup leader and junta chief Prayut-Chan-O. Late Sunday the newly crowned Vajiralongkorn expressed "sorrow" at Prem's death, adding he had "worked with loyalty" in his many positions over the years, the royal household bureau said. The participation highlighted his legacy of cementing the army's self-designated role as protector of the royals. The general helped establish the all-powerful "monarchised military" seen in Thailand today, according to Paul Chambers, lecturer at Naresuan University in Thailand. "Prem proved time and again that his savvy acumen could prevent or facilitate army coups that helped the palace," Chambers told AFP. Born in southern Songkhla province in 1920, 12 years before Thailand's absolute monarchy was abolished, Prem experienced most of modern Thai history. Story continues He graduated from the country's top military academy in 1941, showcasing his talent on the frontline by fighting the French in Cambodia and later the British in Burma. He was a key figure in the kingdom's battle against communists in its northern provinces and was rewarded with the top job of army chief in 1978. But the ambitious commander only held the position for two years before seizing power in what was widely viewed as a silent coup. His 1980-1988 rule as premier brought a rare period of political and economic stability to Thailand thanks to his patronage of military officers but most importantly through the trust he forged with Bhumibol. The bachelor general cultivated loyalty in the military despite two counter-coup attempts. He helped instigate three coups including the one in 2014, according to Chambers, while indirectly assisting in the ouster of four other governments. Prem was credited by some for opening up some space for democratic politics when he eventually stepped down for an elected premier to take office. But when he was soon after appointed member and later president of the super-elite Privy Council, an inner circle of advisers to the king, Prem became a figure of revulsion in Thailand's pro-democracy camp. Anger over his influence boiled over after the 2006 coup that ousted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra when his supporters accused Prem of masterminding the putsch. In a symbolic meeting several months after the May 2014 coup, Thailand's junta chief Prayut visited Prem at his home in a widely photographed trip. Prem leaves Thailand amid ongoing political tensions as a junta-backed party fronted by Prayut closes in on the premiership after March elections widely seen as tilted in military's favour. Rio de Janeiro (AFP) - Thousands of supporters of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro took to the streets across Brazil Sunday in a protest seen as a gauge of the embattled leader's popularity only five months into his term. Waving Brazilian flags and chanting Bolsonaro's nickname "Mito" or "Myth," protesters wearing T-shirts emblazoned with "My party is Brazil" demanded lawmakers speed up approval of the government's signature pension reform that has stalled in Congress. His supporters blamed "satanic maneuvers" by the head of the lower house, Rodrigo Maia, for stalling the reform. "The politicians must understand that Brazil does not belong to them," said former paratrooper Geralmir dos Santos, 50, as he gathered with thousands of noisy protesters along Rio de Janeiro's Copacabana beach. The protests, organized by Bolsonaro's most radical supporters, are aimed at shoring up the ultraconservative government as it faces growing opposition. Tens of thousands of students and teachers took to the streets on May 15 to protest against the government's plans to freeze 30 percent of discretionary spending for public universities in the second half of the year. Rising unemployment, slowing economic growth and deepening discord within his administration has further eroded Bolsonaro's popularity since taking power in January. His controversial order earlier this month permitting millions of Brazilians to carry loaded weapons in public has fuelled anger, sparked a legal challenge and added to his woes in Congress, where his relations with key leaders such as Maia had already deteriorated. Bolsonaro, who was in Rio this weekend for one of his son's weddings, had said he would not participate in the demonstrations and advised his ministers against taking part. "Today is the day the people are going to the streets, not to defend the president, but to defend the future of our nation," Bolsonaro said at an evangelical church in Rio on Sunday. Story continues Bolsonaro's ambitious overhaul of Brazil's pension system -- which he has warned will bankrupt the country if his proposal is not approved -- is seen as key to getting a pipeline of economic policies through Congress. But the changes to Brazil's retirement age and benefits are facing resistance in the lower house of Congress where Bolsonaro's ultraconservative Social Liberal Party has only around 10 percent of the seats. Economy minister Paulo Guedes, who is spearheading the government's reform agenda, threatened Friday to resign if the pension bill was not passed or was watered down. "We will not have money to pay officials, it will be chaos in the public sector," Guedes told Veja magazine. "The reform is urgent." Some of the protesters in Rio called for "military intervention" as in 1964 when a military coup ushered in decades of army rule in Brazil. Others expressed more sober demands, such as "Let's help our president rebuild Brazil." "I am here for the pension reform, which will be good for the poor," said Janelsa Salomao, 59, in Rio. "Those who do not want it are corrupt." Rio de Janeiro (AFP) - Thousands of supporters of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro took to the streets across Brazil Sunday in a protest seen as a gauge of the embattled leader's popularity only five months into his term. Waving Brazilian flags and chanting Bolsonaro's nickname "Mito" or "Myth," protesters wearing T-shirts emblazoned with "My party is Brazil" demanded lawmakers speed up approval of the government's signature pension reform, which has stalled in Congress. His supporters blamed "satanic maneuvers" by the head of the lower house, Rodrigo Maia, for stalling the reform. Bolsonaro, who was in Rio for a family wedding and had previously announced that he would not to take part in the demonstrations, shared pictures and videos of the protests on Twitter. "Most of the people came out on the streets with legitimate, democratic concerns," he tweeted. Former paratrooper Geralmir dos Santos gathered with the thousands of noisy protesters along Rio de Janeiro's Copacabana beach. "Politicians have to understand that Brazil does not belong to them," the 50-year-old told AFP. At a demonstration in Brazil's biggest city of Sao Paulo, Andre Santos told AFP: "There's no point wasting more time, they have to approve it." The protests, organized by Bolsonaro's most hard-line supporters, are aimed at shoring up the ultraconservative government as it faces growing opposition. Tens of thousands of students and teachers took to the streets on May 15 to protest against the government's plans to freeze 30 percent of discretionary spending for public universities in the second half of the year. Rising unemployment, slowing economic growth and deepening discord within his administration has further eroded Bolsonaro's popularity since taking power in January. His controversial order earlier this month permitting millions of Brazilians to carry loaded weapons in public has fuelled anger, sparked a legal challenge and added to his woes in Congress, where his relations with key leaders such as Maia had already deteriorated. Story continues - 'Help our president' - Bolsonaro's ambitious overhaul of Brazil's pension system -- which he has warned will bankrupt the country if his proposal is not approved -- is seen as key to getting a pipeline of economic policies through Congress. But the changes to Brazil's retirement age and benefits are facing resistance in the lower house of Congress, where Bolsonaro's ultraconservative Social Liberal Party has only around 10 percent of the seats. Economy minister Paulo Guedes, who is spearheading the government's reform agenda, threatened Friday to resign if the pension bill was not passed or was watered down. "We will not have money to pay officials, it will be chaos in the public sector," Guedes told Veja magazine. "Reform is urgent." The government's proposal is designed to yield savings of around one trillion reais (roughly $250 billion) over a decade, but analysts expect the actual amount will be more like 500-700 billion reais by the time the bill is approved later this year. The pension bill is one of several economic reforms seen as crucial to helping Brazil reduce its massive public debt burden, which the International Monetary Fund said Friday was 88 percent of GDP -- one of the largest among its peers. Official data this week is expected to show that Latin America's biggest economy, which is still struggling to recover from the devastating 2015-2016 recession, contracted in the first quarter. Some of the protesters in Rio called for "military intervention" as in 1964 when a military coup ushered in decades of army rule in Brazil. Others expressed more sober demands, such as "Let's help our president rebuild our Brazil." "I am here for the pension reform, which will be good for the poor," said Janelsa Salomao, 59, in Rio. "Those who do not want it are corrupt." Baghdad (AFP) - An Iraqi court on Sunday sentenced three French citizens to death after they were found guilty of joining the Islamic State group, a court official said. Captured in Syria by a US-backed force fighting the jihadists, they are the first French IS members to receive death sentences in Iraq, where they were transferred for trial. Named as Kevin Gonot, Leonard Lopez and Salim Machou, they have 30 days to appeal. Iraq has taken custody of thousands of jihadists repatriated in recent months from neighbouring Syria, where they were caught by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces during the battle to destroy the IS "caliphate". Iraqi courts have placed on trial hundreds of foreigners, condemning many to life in prison and others to death, although no foreign IS members have yet been executed. Those sentenced on Sunday were among 12 French citizens who were caught in Syria and transferred to Iraqi custody in February. Rights groups including Human Rights Watch have criticised Iraq's anti-terror trials, which they say often rely on circumstantial evidence or confessions obtained under torture. The country remains in the top five "executioner" nations in the world, according to an Amnesty International report in April. Analysts have also warned that prisons in Iraq have in the past acted as "academies" for future jihadists, including IS supremo Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Three activists from a civil rights movement were killed Sunday after Pakistani troops clashed with protesters led by two parliamentarians in a restive tribal region near the Afghan border, the military said. The protest was led by the Pashtun Protection Movement (PTM), which has rattled the military since it burst onto the scene earlier last year with a call to end alleged abuses by security forces targeting ethnic Pashtuns in the restive tribal areas along the Afghan border. Mohsin Dawar and Ali Wazir, both members of parliament, were leading the demonstration when a confrontation broke out at a checkpost in Boyya in the North Waziristan tribal district. "In (an) exchange of fire, three individuals who attacked the post lost their lives and 10 got injured," said the military in a statement, adding that at least five army soldiers also sustained injuries. "Ali Wazir along with eight individuals has been arrested while Mohsin Javed (Dawar) is at large after inciting the crowd," the statement added. What exactly led to the confrontation remains murky, with the military saying the activists assaulted the checkpoint, while PTM leader Dawar has alleged security forces fired directly into their group after they passed the checkpoint. "They fired straight at us," Dawar later told Voice of America in an interview. The incident follows months of rising tensions between the two sides, with the military publicly warning PTM leaders repeatedly to end the group's vocal criticism of the countrys armed forces. Since launching in 2018, the PTM has unleashed festering anger over abuses allegedly committed against Pashtuns across the country, including enforced disappearances and targeted killings. The movement has remained peaceful since it began, but has been notable for its direct verbal attacks on the armed forces, in a country where such criticism is largely seen as a red line. Pashtuns are a fiercely independent ethnic group that straddle both sides of the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Story continues They account for roughly 15 percent of Pakistan's population, with a majority of the 30 million-strong group living in the northwest and a significant population in the southern port city of Karachi. Sunday's incident occurred in North Waziristan, where the movement is believed to draw much of its support. The area was once plagued by militancy and unrest. Washington believes Pakistan is providing safe haven to militant groups there -- including the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani Network. The army has carried out multiple operations in the region, and security -- both there and across Pakistan -- has dramatically improved in recent years. However, the PTM alleges the operations came at a heavy price, accusing the military of extrajudicial killings and "disappearing" thousands of people in the crackdown. By Alison Bevege SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison named his new cabinet on Sunday, with most positions staying the same, saying the government had "a significant agenda" to deliver and it was time to get back to business. "I have high expectations of my ministry and clear goals for each of their roles," he said in an emailed statement. Incoming Defence Minister Linda Reynolds, who served in the Army Reserves for almost three decades and rose to the rank of brigadier, replaces Christopher Pyne who has retired. Foreign Minister Marise Payne retains her position as does Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, Finance Minister Mathias Cormann, Trade Minister Simon Birmingham, Energy Minister Angus Taylor and Attorney General Christian Porter. Morrison also created a national agency for Indigenous Australians which would report directly to new Indigenous Affairs Minister Ken Wyatt, the first Aboriginal cabinet minister. Mr Morrison said he intends to recommend Arthur Sinodinos, a senator from the eastern state of New South Wales, for the plum diplomatic post of ambassador to the United States, replacing Joe Hockey. Communications Minister Mitch Fifield will be Australia's representative at the United Nations. A priority of the re-elected Liberal National coalition is to deliver tax cuts by July 1, a cornerstone of its election campaign, as the central bank has called for stimulus to aid a slowing economy. Morrison entered this month's election at the head of a minority government after a series of defections, unable to pursue its legislative agenda without the support of independent lawmakers and minor parties. A surprise victory, however, secured the coalition an outright majority, removing the legislative uncertainty. Official counting has not yet finished with three seats still in doubt, but the Electoral Commission said Morrison's coalition leads in an outright majority of 78 seats in parliament which has 151 elected lawmakers. Story continues The opposition Labor party is expected to win 67 seats and there are six crossbenchers made up of minor parties and independents. The cabinet will be sworn in on Wednesday, however parliament will not resume until after all counting is finished and the writs are returned which is expected by June 28. (Editing by Nick Macfie) Photo: iStock Looking for an adventure in one of the worlds great megacities, but without the hassle of flying halfway around the world? Mexico City is North Americas largest, at over 8 million people (and more than twice that number in the greater metro area). It's the oldest capital city in the Americas, rich in history and culture, and a major economic center in the region today. In addition to Aztec ruins, the city has the worlds largest single-metropolitan concentration of museums, plus extensive art galleries, concert halls and theaters. And the citys 16 boroughs and many colorful neighborhoods offer an abundance of shopping, restaurants, bars and nightlife. Fortunately, there are plenty of relatively inexpensive flights between Albuquerque and Mexico City, at least according to travel site Skyscanner. Heres a list of flights, hotels, restaurants and local attractions in Mexico City to get you started. (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 Mexico City The cheapest flights between Albuquerque and Mexico City are if you leave on Oct. 29 and return from Mexico on Oct. 31. United currently has roundtrip tickets for $253. There are also deals to be had in July. If you fly out of Albuquerque on July 18 and return from Mexico City on July 25, Volaris can get you there and back for $316 roundtrip. Top Mexico City hotels To plan your accommodations, here are two of Mexico Citys top-rated hotels, according to Skyscanner, that we selected based on price, proximity to things to do and customer satisfaction. The Four Seasons Mexico City (Paseo de la Reforma 500) Photo: Trip by Skyscanner First there's The Four Seasons Mexico City, which has rooms for $179/night. Set in the heart of Mexico City on the busy Paseo de la Reforma, this luxury hotel has a 4.9-star rating and is close to the Monumento a los Ninos Heroes and the Monumento a los Heroes de la Independencia. Story continues The St. Regis Mexico City (Paseo de la Reforma 439) Photo: Trip by Skyscanner If you're looking to splurge on top quality, consider The St. Regis Mexico City. The hotel has a five-star rating on Skyscanner, and rooms are currently available for $255. "Great location to amazing restaurants and street food, excellent staff, champagne to greet you when you walk in, daily free dessert delivery what else can you ask for on a vacation?" wrote visitor Yvette. Top picks for dining and drinking Don't miss Mexico City's food scene, with plenty of popular spots to get your fill of local cuisine. Here are two of the top-rated eateries from Skyscanner's listings. Panaderia Rosetta (Colima 179) Photo: Trip by Skyscanner If you're looking for a local favorite, head to the Panaderia Rosetta, which has an average of 4.9 stars out of 11 reviews on Skyscanner. "It's a very cozy breakfast spot with only a few bar stools for seating. Get there early to get your hands on the good pastries," wrote visitor Leila. El Moro (Eje Central Lazaro Cardenas 42) Photo: Trip by Skyscanner Another popular dining destination is El Moro, with 4.8 stars from 17 reviews. "This 1930s churreria is a must-visit," wrote reviewer Harold. Featured local attractions Mexico City is also full of sites to visit and explore. Here are a couple of popular attractions to round out your trip, again from Skyscanner's listings. Callejon Regina (Calle Regina Centro Historico) Photo: Trip by Skyscanner The top-rated visitor attraction in Mexico City, according to Skyscanner, is the Callejon Regina. "Undoubtedly, this is one of my favorite areas of the historic center. It's the home of very trendy cafes and restaurants as well as the refuge of urban and independent artists," wrote visitor Rebeca. The Palacio de Bellas Artes (Av. Juarez) Photo: Trip by Skyscanner Finally, spend some time at The Palacio de Bellas Artes. It has 4.8 stars from 74 reviews. Inaugurated in 1934, the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City is a major cultural center where you can attend poetry readings, operas, dance recitals, art shows and more. 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. Photo: iStock 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? Using travel site Skyscanner, weve sifted through the cheapest flights between Detroit and New York City, including some standout hotel options and other beloved local attractions. (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 Detroit and New York City are if you leave on May 31 and return from New York on June 4. Spirit Airlines currently has tickets for $216, roundtrip. If you fly out of Detroit on May 31 and return from New York City on June 4, Spirit Airlines can get you there and back for $224 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. Story continues 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. May 26 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un agree on their assessment of former Vice President Joe Biden, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said on Sunday. North Korea's state-run news agency issued a blistering attack last week on Biden, who has been critical of the reclusive communist state in the past. "I think they agree in their assessment of former Vice President Joe Biden," Sanders said of Trump and Kim. She was speaking from Japan during a state visit by Trump. "The president doesn't need somebody else to give him an assessment of Joe Biden. He's given his own assessment a number of times." Trump, a Republican, referenced the criticism in a Twitter post on Saturday in which he mentioned Biden, a Democrat who is running for president, initially misspelling his name as Bidan and taking pleasure in the North Korean leaders sharp rhetoric about a fellow American. Trump said in a subsequent corrected tweet that he smiled when Kim "called Swampman Joe Biden a low IQ individual, & worse. Perhaps thats sending me a signal?" Trump on Sunday dismissed concerns about recent missile launches from North Korea and said he was confident that Kim would keep promises that he had made. (Reporting by Doina Chiacu in Washington; Editing by Phil Berlowitz) By Doina Chiacu (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korea's Kim Jong Un agree on their assessment of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said on Sunday, aligning the American president with an authoritarian foreign leader over a former U.S. vice president. North Korea's state-run news agency issued a biting attack last week on Biden, who has been critical of the communist state. "I think they agree in their assessment of former Vice President Joe Biden," Sanders said of Trump and Kim during an interview with NBC's "Meet the Press." She was speaking from Japan during a state visit by Trump. "The president doesn't need somebody else to give him an assessment of Joe Biden. He's given his own assessment a number of times." The Biden campaign said it would not issue a new statement on Sanders' remarks, but pointed to its response on Wednesday to the KCNA commentary. Trump, a Republican, referenced the North Korean criticism in a Twitter post on Saturday in which he mentioned Biden, initially misspelling his name as Bidan and taking pleasure in the North Korean leaders sharp rhetoric. Trump, who regularly uses derisive nicknames against his political opponents, said in a subsequent corrected tweet that he smiled when Kim "called Swampman Joe Biden a low IQ individual, & worse. Perhaps thats sending me a signal?" A commentary by North Korea's KCNA state media on Tuesday slammed Biden for "rhetoric slandering the supreme leadership of the DPRK (Democratic People's Republican of Korea)." "What he uttered is just sophism of an imbecile bereft of elementary quality as a human being, let alone a politician," it said. KCNA chronicled a series of Biden controversies or gaffes, from allegations of plagiarism to falling asleep during a speech by President Barack Obama in 2011. At his May 18 campaign launch in Philadelphia, Biden asked, "Are we a nation that embraces dictators and tyrants like (Russian President Vladimir) Putin and Kim Jong Un?" Story continues Biden's campaign on Wednesday responded to the KCNA statement by saying Trump has been tricked into making concessions to Kim, a dictator and a tyrant. Trump, who left his second summit with Kim earlier this year in Vietnam without a peace deal, has put enormous value in his personal relationship with the North Korean leader, despite actions by Pyongyang that others consider provocative. On Sunday, Trump dismissed concerns about recent missile launches from North Korea and said he was confident that Kim would keep promises that he had made. Before the two leaders began their strained rapprochement, they had exchanged some sharp words, with Kim calling Trump a "dotard" and Trump implying Kim was "short and fat." (Reporting by Doina Chiacu in Washington; Editing by Phil Berlowitz) US President Donald Trump took to Twitter on Sunday to express his "confidence" in North Korean leader Kim Jong Un despite Pyongyang's recent weapons tests and deadlocked nuclear talks. Trump, currently in Japan on a trip aimed at improving ties with Washington's close Asian ally, also suggested that Kim was sending him a "signal" through a North Korean state media commentary on Joe Biden -- in which the former vice president was labelled an "imbecile" and a "fool of low IQ" for criticising Kim. "North Korea fired off some small weapons, which disturbed some of my people, and others, but not me," Trump wrote on Twitter, apparently referring to weapons tests in early May. Hours before Trump landed on Saturday, his hawkish National Security Advisor John Bolton told local media there was "no doubt" Pyongyang's recent missile tests had violated UN Security Council resolutions but insisted Washington is still ready to resume talks. But Trump tweeted: "I have confidence that Chairman Kim will keep his promise to me, & also smiled when he called Swampman Joe Bidan [sic] a low IQ individual, & worse. Perhaps that's sending me a signal?" North Korea is one of the top issues on the agenda as Trump meets with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Pyongyang fired two short-range missiles on May 9 following an earlier drill on May 4 -- the first in 18 months. The North had not launched any missiles since November 2017, shortly before once-reclusive Kim embarked on diplomatic overtures. In a historic first, Trump met with Kim in Singapore in June 2018, and again in Hanoi in February at a meeting that ended abruptly with no deal. An Afghan court Sunday sentenced two teenage boys to 30 years in prison for the abduction and killing of a young girl whose brutal murder provoked a national outcry. Six-year-old Mahsa Ahmadi was snatched off a Kabul street in March and was killed after her parents were unable to pay a ransom of $300,000. Police eventually arrested two boys and released a video clip showing them confessing. They said they had picked up Mahsa, driven her away on a motorcycle, taken her to a house and then strangled her after the ransom wasn't paid. In a televised court hearing, a judge sentenced the two youths to 30 years each in prison. Their ages were not released, but the judge said they were under 18. For Mahsa's father, the sentence was too lenient. "I want the severest punishment for them, they should be hanged," he said. "They should feel what we are feeling." But the judge said since they were minors they could not be executed. They have the right to appeal the sentence. Even in war-torn Afghanistan, where crime and violence are common, Mahsa's death drew broad condemnation and angry Afghans took to social media demanding justice. Kidnappings for ransom are increasing in Kabul, as are a host of other crimes, adding yet more worries for an already stressed-out population. Overwhelmed police are already pushed to their limits attempting to prevent insurgent attacks by the Taliban and other groups. Crime in Kabul came under scrutiny again this month when former journalist Mena Mangal was murdered in broad daylight on a busy street. Her killing appears tied to a domestic dispute, but many observers viewed the brutal and public slaying as a bellwether demonstrating just how cheap life has become in Afghanistan. BEIJING, May 26 (Reuters) - China should hold talks with Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, U.S. Ambassador to China Terry Branstad told Chinese officials during a trip to the Himalayan region where he criticized Beijing for interfering in religious freedom. Branstad visited Tibet last week, the first such trip by a U.S. ambassador since 2015, amid escalating trade and diplomatic tension between the two countries. His visit followed the passing of a U.S. law in December that requires the United States to deny visas to Chinese officials in charge of implementing policies that restrict access to Tibet for foreigners, legislation that was denounced by China. Branstad met Chinese government officials and Tibetan religious and cultural figures, and "raised our long-standing concerns about lack of consistent access" to Tibet, the U.S. Embassy in Beijing said in an emailed statement on Saturday. "He encouraged the Chinese government to engage in substantive dialog with the Dalai Lama or his representatives, without preconditions, to seek a settlement that resolves differences," an embassy spokeswoman said. "He also expressed concerns regarding the Chinese government's interference in Tibetan Buddhists' freedom to organize and practice their religion," she said. Beijing sent troops into remote, mountainous Tibet in 1950 in what it officially terms a peaceful liberation and has ruled there with an iron fist ever since. The Dalai Lama fled to India in early 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule, and Beijing still brands him a dangerous separatist. China says its leaders have the right to approve his successor, as a legacy from China's emperors. But the 83-year-old Nobel peace laureate monk, who lives in exile in the northern Indian hill town of Dharamshala, has said that his incarnation could be found in India after he dies, and that any other successor named by China would not be respected. Story continues Tibetan tradition holds that the soul of a senior Buddhist monk is reincarnated in the body of a child on his death. China's Foreign Ministry said last week that the government welcomed Branstad's visit, but that China hoped the ambassador would not take any "prejudices" with him on the trip. In December, China criticized the United States for passing the Reciprocal Access to Tibet Act, which seeks to promote access to Tibet for U.S. diplomats and other officials, journalists and other citizens by denying U.S. entry for Chinese officials deemed responsible for restricting access to Tibet. The U.S. government is required to begin denying visas by the end of this year. (Reporting by Michael Martina; Editing by Nick Macfie) May 26 (Reuters) - The U.S. military presence in the Middle East is at its "weakest in history," a deputy commander of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards was on Sunday quoted by the semi-official news agency Fars as saying. U.S. President Donald Trump has tightened economic sanctions against Iran, and his administration says it has built up the U.S. military presence in the region. It accuses Iran of threats to U.S. troops and interests. Tehran has described U.S. moves as psychological warfare and a political game. "The Americans have been present in the region since 1833 and they are now at their weakest in history in West Asia," said Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi, a deputy Guards commander, according to Fars. (Reporting by Dubai newsroom Editing by Keith Weir) LONDON, May 26 (Reuters) - Britain could survive a no-deal Brexit but it would be better to leave the European Union with an agreement, environment minister Michael Gove, who is running to succeed Theresa May as prime minister, said on Sunday. In an interview with the BBC's Nick Robinson at the Hay Festival, Gove said he would be setting out more details on his plan for Brexit at his official campaign launch. Several other candidates said on Sunday that Britain should leave on Oct. 31, with or without a deal. "In government and in this job I have got to grips with preparing for a no-deal, it is a possible outcome ... We would be able to get through it but it is ultimately better for all of us if we secure a deal and leave in an orderly way," Gove said. (Reporting by Kylie MacLellan Editing by Andrew Heavens) London (AFP) - Nigel Farage's anti-EU Brexit party topped European Parliament polls in Britain, putting intense pressure on the ruling Conservatives who suffered a historic rout and raising the chances of a no-deal outcome. The populist party, founded just three months ago, capitalised on public anger over delays to Britain's exit from the European Union, winning 31.6 percent of the vote and picking up 29 seats, final results showed. Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservative party meanwhile slumped to 9.1 percent, its worst national election result since 1832. In a sign of the divisions still gripping Britain three years after the referendum vote for Brexit, the pro-European Liberal Democrats and Greens also made significant gains. The elections, which took place on Thursday, were never meant to happen, as Britain was due to be out of the bloc on March 29. But parliament has been unable to agree on how to leave, slowly sapping May's authority and forcing her to finally announce last week she would quit to let somebody else try. Describing the result as "very disappointing", she said: "It shows the importance of finding a Brexit deal, and I sincerely hope these results focus minds in parliament." Several of those vying to replace her, including Boris Johnson, were quick to repeat that Brexit must happen by the latest deadline, October 31, with or without a deal with Brussels. "No one sensible would aim exclusively for a no-deal outcome. No one responsible would take no-deal off the table," Johnson wrote in his weekly column in The Daily Telegraph. In Sunderland, a Brexit-backing area in northeast England, several voters voiced support for a no-deal Brexit following the results. "It's not going to kill us if we come out without a deal," said Alan Bell, 67, a former chef. It was also a bad night for the main opposition Labour party, which has been accused of a confusing position on Brexit and slumped to 14.1 percent. Story continues - 'Stun everybody' - Farage only registered his party in February but succeeded in leveraging his reputation as one of the masterminds of the pro-Brexit campaign in 2016. "If we don't leave on October 31, then the Brexit Party will go on to a general election and stun everybody there too," Farage told reporters in London on Monday. He said his party should now have a say in any new Brexit negotiations with Brussels. The EU has said it will not re-open the withdrawal deal already agreed with May, but many of her would-be successors are still likely to try. - 'Almost certainly' a referendum - Anti-Brexit campaigners also hailed the success of parties who want to keep Britain in the EU, suggesting voters are as split as they were when they voted 52 to 48 percent to leave three years ago. The Liberal Democrats came second with around 20.3 percent and 16 MEPs, up from just one MEP in the last European elections in 2014. The Greens, who campaigned on an anti-Brexit ticket as well as for action on climate change, won seven seats with 12.1 percent of the vote. Adding in votes for the Scottish National Party and Plaid Cymru in Wales, both of which want a second referendum, supporters saw a resounding victory for pro-EU forces. "There will almost certainly be a referendum now and we've got to win that," Lib Dem leader Vince Cable told AFP at an event with the party's new MEPs on Monday. Analysts, however, warned that European election results cannot be easily translated into success at British parliamentary elections, not least because a different voting system is used. - No-deal pressure - May's bickering Conservative party had been braced for poor results and barely bothered to campaign. But it must now decide what to do about the long-suffering EU withdrawal deal May reached with Brussels last year. Parliament was on course to reject the pact, intended to smooth Britain's exit, for a fourth time before May announced she was quitting. Despite the calls for a "no deal" Brexit, MPs have repeatedly voted against that option, fearing the economic impact of a harsh break with Britain's closest trading partner. And May's Finance Minister Philip Hammond warned on Sunday he might even be prepared to take the drastic step of voting to bring down a future Conservative government in order to avoid that situation. Dubai (AFP) - UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has assured Yemen's leader that the world body will remain impartial in efforts to resolve the country's conflict, rejecting accusations that its envoy was siding with rebels. The pledge came in a letter from Guterres to President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, who had accused the UN special envoy to Yemen of bias. "I would like to assure you that every effort will be made to maintain the impartial stance that is expected of the United Nations," while implementing a ceasefire agreement, Guterres said in the letter seen by AFP on Sunday. In his own letter addressed to Guterres, Hadi accused envoy Martin Griffiths of "providing the Huthi militia with guarantees to stay in Hodeida and its ports under the umbrella of the UN". "I can no longer accept these offences by your special envoy which threaten chances to find a (lasting) solution," Hadi said. Hodeida is the main entry point for the bulk of Yemen's imports and humanitarian aid, providing a lifeline to millions of people. Earlier this month, the United Nations supervised the rebels' handover of the ports of Hodeida, Saleef and Ras Issa to a "coast guard", but the government said they were in fact Huthi forces in different uniforms. The pullback is in line with a ceasefire deal for Hodeida reached in Stockholm in December. Guterres said that he and Griffiths were prepared "to discuss the legitimate concerns of the government of Yemen referenced in your letter, which we take very seriously." He also gave an assurance that the United Nations had no plans to set up an international administration in Hodeida. The UN humanitarian coordinator in Yemen, Lise Grande, on Sunday condemned a deadly strike on a petrol station east of the city of Taez. The attack on Friday killed 12 civilians, seven of them children, she said, updating an earlier death toll. "Innocent lives continue to be lost in Yemen because of this conflict," she said in a statement, without identifying the assailants. Story continues Huthi rebels said it was an air strike by the Saudi-led military coalition. Government forces -- backed by the coalition -- and the Iran-aligned Huthi rebels have been locked in a four-year war that has pushed the country to the brink of famine. Tens of thousands of people, mostly civilians, have been killed. The conflict has triggered what the UN describes as the world's worst humanitarian crisis with more than two-thirds of the population in need of aid. Majuro (Marshall Islands) (AFP) - As nuclear explosions go, the US "Cactus" bomb test in May 1958 was relatively small -- but it has left a lasting legacy for the Marshall Islands in a dome-shaped radioactive dump. The dome -- described by a UN chief Antonio Guterres as "a kind of coffin" -- was built two decades after the blast in the Pacific ocean region. The US military filled the bomb crater on Runit island with radioactive waste, capped it with concrete, and told displaced residents of the Pacific's remote Enewetak atoll they could safely return home. But Runit's 45-centimetre (18-inch) thick concrete dome has now developed cracks. And because the 115-metre wide crater was never lined, there are fears radioactive contaminants are leaching through the island's porous coral rock into the ocean. The concerns have intensified amid climate change. Rising seas, encroaching on the low-lying nation, are threatening to undermine the dome's structural integrity. Jack Ading, who represents the area in the Marshalls' parliament, calls the dome a "monstrosity". "It is stuffed with radioactive contaminants that include plutonium-239, one of the most toxic substances known to man," he told AFP. "The coffin is leaking its poison into the surrounding environment. And to make matters even worse, we're told not to worry about this leakage because the radioactivity outside of the dome is at least as bad as the radioactivity inside of it." - 'Staggering' challenges - The dome has become a symbol of the mess left by the US nuclear test programme in the Marshall islands when 67 bombs were detonated between 1947-58 at Enewetak and Bikini atolls. Numerous islanders were forcibly evacuated from ancestral lands and resettled, including Enewetak's residents. Thousands more islanders were exposed to radioactive fallout and suffered health problems. The people of Enewetak were allowed home in 1980, and about 800 islanders now live in the southern part of the atoll, 20 kilometres (12 miles) from Runit. Story continues After the US military withdrew, the Marshall Islands government officially accepted a "full and final" settlement to cover the impact of the nuclear tests. But there have long been complaints that the compensation paid by Washington was inadequate, and the United Nations has described "a legacy of distrust" towards the United States. UN Secretary General Guterres raised the issue earlier this month after meeting Marshall Islands President Hilda Heine in Fiji, when they discussed the nuclear legacy and the prospect of radioactive leakage from Runit dome. "The Pacific was victimised in the past as we all know... the consequences of these have been quite dramatic, in relation to health, in relation to the poisoning of waters in some areas," he said. Marshalls Foreign Minister John Silk said he appreciated Guterres bringing the Runit dome to world attention with this comments. "We are pleased that the Secretary General made these statements, since so often it seems that these ongoing legacy issues that continue to impact our people are forgotten by the international community," he said. - Uncertain future - Rhea Moss-Christian, who chairs the Marshall Islands National Nuclear Commission, said the country "needs the support of the international community to address the staggering health and environmental challenges across the Pacific." The consequences of the dome failing are unclear. A 2013 inspection commissioned by the US government suggested radioactive fallout in the Enewetak lagoon sediment was already so high a catastrophic failure would not necessarily result in locals receiving increased dosages of radiation. Silk, noting that the US government had committed to ongoing monitoring of the dome, said an independent assessment of the structure's status "would be helpful". But Ading said the situation was "a constant source of anxiety for the people of Enewetak". "We pray that the Runit dome does not eventually become our coffin," he said. Barquisimeto (Venezuela) (AFP) - Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido on Sunday defended his decision to send delegates to Oslo for talks with representatives of President Nicolas Maduro's government, warning that critics of the move risk becoming accomplices of his rival's "dictatorship." "We have to play on all the boards... we have to have an active presence in all places," Guaido told hundreds of supporters in Barquisimeto in Venezuela's Lara state. "From Lara to Norway, from Caracas to Washington, our demands are the same. Whoever wants us to renounce the pressure in the street or in international scenarios in order to stop the takeover, becomes an accomplice of the dictatorship," he later tweeted. Guaido, recognized by the United States and dozens of other countries as Venezuela's interim president, said Saturday that the opposition delegation will be headed by deputy legislative speaker Stalin Gonzalez and the ex-deputy Gerardo Blyde. Media reports said Venezuelan Communications Minister Jorge Rodriguez and the governor of Miranda state Hector Rodriguez represented Maduro's government in the initial talks, but it was unclear if they would participate in next week's meeting. Guaido has appeared cautious about talking with Maduro's representatives since the idea is unpopular with the opposition base that has spent months in the streets trying to push Maduro out. The bid for talks comes after a months-long power struggle between National Assembly leader Guaido and the socialist president, with sometimes deadly street clashes. Guaido's backers dismiss Maduro's presidency as "illegitimate" following his re-election last year in polls widely labeled as rigged. Maduro has been shunned by much of the international community for presiding over the country's economic collapse, which has led to shortages of basic goods -- forcing millions to flee -- as well as brutally suppressing dissent. He retains the backing of major creditors Russia, China and Cuba, as well as the powerful military. Carora (Venezuela) (AFP) - Venezuela's opposition leader Saturday rejected "false dialogue" in resolving the country's political crisis, as Norway announced it would host another round of talks between his representatives and the government of President Nicolas Maduro. The two sides would return to Oslo next week "to continue a process facilitated by Norway," the Scandinavian country's Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Soreid said. The mediation bid comes after a months-long power struggle between National Assembly leader Juan Guaido and the socialist president, with sometimes deadly street clashes. US-backed Guaido is recognized by dozens of countries as interim president after dismissing Maduro's presidency as "illegitimate" following his re-election last year in polls widely dismissed as rigged. Maduro has been shunned by much of the international community for presiding over the country's economic collapse, which has led to shortages of basic goods -- forcing millions to flee -- as well as brutally suppressing dissent. He retains the backing of major creditors Russia, China and Cuba, as well as the powerful military. "Nobody is ever going to get us here confused about a false dialogue," Guaido told supporters in Carora, Lara state on Saturday, without addressing Norway's announcement directly. He is cautious about the talks since they are unpopular with the opposition base that has spent months in the streets trying to push Maduro out. Guaido said there had been no "negotiation" in the Norway talks, while any deal should include mediation leading to Maduro's departure and new elections being scheduled. "We are going to insist," he said, "because today by combining all our strategies, using all the tools we have, we are going to get to that final step," Guaido said, referring to street protests and multiple levels of diplomacy. Guaido tried to incite a military uprising against Maduro on April 30 but only about 30 members of the armed forces joined him. The socialist regime has since ramped up pressure on Guaido's allies and supporters, charging 10 lawmakers with treason. The pro-government Constituent Assembly recently stripped 14 opposition lawmakers of their legislative immunity over their support for the failed uprising. Carora (Venezuela) (AFP) - Venezuela's opposition leader Juan Guaido said on Saturday he would send delegates to Oslo next week for the first face-to-face meeting with representatives of President Nicolas Maduro's government as part of a Norway-led mediation effort. They "will talk with both the Norwegian government and with representatives of the regime", Guaido said in a statement, after the two Venezuelan sides traveled separately to the Norwegian capital last week without meeting. Guaido, recognized by the United States and dozens of other countries as Venezuela's interim president, said the opposition delegation will be headed by deputy parliament speaker Stalin Gonzalez and the ex-deputy Gerardo Blyde, both of whom were involved in the initial talks with the Norwegians. Media reports said Venezuelan Communications Minister Jorge Rodriguez and the governor of Miranda province Hector Rodriguez represented Maduro's government in the initial talks, but it was unclear if they would participate in next week's meeting. Guaido has appeared cautious about talking with Maduro's representatives since the idea is unpopular with the opposition base that has spent months in the streets trying to push Maduro out. Earlier on Saturday, Guaido told supporters in Carora, Lara state that "nobody is ever going to get us here confused about a false dialogue." He said there had been no "negotiation" in the earlier meetings in Norway, and that any deal should include mediation leading to Maduro's departure and new elections being scheduled. "We are going to insist," he said, "because today by combining all our strategies, using all the tools we have, we are going to get to that final step," Guaido said, referring to street protests and multiple levels of diplomacy. The bid for talks comes after a months-long power struggle between National Assembly leader Guaido and the socialist president, with sometimes deadly street clashes. Story continues Guaido's backers dismiss Maduro's presidency as "illegitimate" following his re-election last year in polls widely labeled as rigged. Maduro has been shunned by much of the international community for presiding over the country's economic collapse, which has led to shortages of basic goods -- forcing millions to flee -- as well as brutally suppressing dissent. He retains the backing of major creditors Russia, China and Cuba, as well as the powerful military. Guaido tried to incite a military uprising against Maduro on April 30 but only about 30 members of the armed forces joined him. The socialist regime has since ramped up pressure on Guaido's allies and supporters, charging 10 lawmakers with treason. The pro-government Constituent Assembly recently stripped 14 opposition lawmakers of their legislative immunity over their support for the failed uprising. LONDON (Reuters) - British finance minister Philip Hammond said on Sunday it would be very difficult for Prime Minister Theresa May's successor to bypass the will of parliament and seek to take Britain out of the European Union without a deal. Several of the candidates vying to take over from May have said Britain must leave on Oct. 31, without or without a deal. Parliament has repeatedly voted against a no-deal Brexit and Hammond said he did not believe Britain was likely to be heading towards leaving without an agreement. Hammond said parliament would be "vehemently opposed" to a strategy of leaving without a deal. "It would be very difficult for a prime minister who adopted no deal as a policy ... to retain the confidence of the House of Commons," Hammond told BBC TV, adding that he could not personally support a no-deal strategy. (Reporting by Kylie MacLellan and David Milliken; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky) Somebody tried to play a dirty trick on Nancy Pelosi, slowing down and editing a video of her to make it appear as though she were drunk and incoherent. Thats pretty low: Nancy Pelosi is, whatever her other flaws as a public figure, generally sober and incoherent. The speaker, for her part, is not exactly conducting her affairs with high seriousness of late. She argued last week that President Donald Trumps family should stage an intervention. The president had briefly attended and then abruptly ended a meeting with Democratic leaders, arguing not without some reason that negotiating about taxes and infrastructure with people who pretend to believe that he is guilty of treason and who are seriously talking about impeaching him for . . . something . . . is not the best use of his time. Why waste time on Chuck and Nancy, the Tweedle-Dum and Tweedle-Comprehensively-Useless of American politics, when he could be watching reruns of Fox and Friends? The president has reached into his vast arsenal of schoolyard-bully nicknames thats how you know hes serious! and christened the speaker of the House Crazy Nancy. The Democratic leader in the Senate is to be Crying Chuck. Well. Washington no longer does much in the way of day-to-day governance and instead careers from crisis to crisis and convulsion to convulsion, the most recent being Fridays derailment of an emergency disaster-relief bill. It was an end-of-the-second-act setback, a standard genre convention for legislative tragicomedy. Because Congress has more or less abandoned regular order and the traditional norms of the legislative process, the emergency disaster-relief bill had been scheduled to pass by unanimous consent rather than on a traditional vote this is a three-day weekend, after all! But the thing about unanimous consent is that it has to be unanimous It only takes one person to object to unanimous consent, CNN reports, for all the complete and thoroughgoing illiterates in its audience and one Republican, Representative Chip Roy of Texas, didnt like the idea of tens of billions of dollars being spent without members of Congress being present for a vote. So the consent was not unanimous. Story continues What followed was Washington corporately making approximately the same panicked whelping noise that my dachshund makes when shes getting her toenails clipped. Pelosi, speaking in the kulaks-must-be-liquidated-as-a-class idiom of the day, called the objection an act of sabotage and complained that it would make victims wait even longer for help. Some of the disasters covered by the bill happened years ago (the terrible storm that savaged Puerto Rico was in 2017) but, years later, Washingtons big worry is . . . a three-day weekend. Strange times. President Trump has a disaster-relief program of his own in the works, some $16 billion to be paid out to American farmers who are victims of the man-made disaster that is President Trumps trade war with China, a major consumer of U.S. farm exports. President Trump, who is one of the worlds biggest fans of tariffs, does not actually know how tariffs work, and he confidently announced that the billions would be paid for by China, in much the same way as he confidently insisted that Mexico would pay for the wall. (Wheres that wall, anyway?) Tariffs are in reality a sales tax on American importers and consumers, who will pay the bill. Trumps trade war has turned economic life upside down for many American farmers, and the damage done will amount to a great deal more than $16 billion. But he stood in front of a bunch of farmers and announced, with a straight face, that he was honored to have done this for you, as though he were the tribune of the plebs. One fellow from Idaho wore a red cap reading Make Potatoes Great Again. The debt continues piling up, and the unfunded liabilities of Social Security and Medicare are a fiscal disaster waiting to be triggered. President Trumps demeaning nickname for Kim Jong-Un does not seem to have deterred North Koreas nuclear-missile program, and that U.S. withdrawal from Syria that was supposed to happen keeps not quite happening. Speaker Pelosi is right. It is time for an intervention. But not the one she has in mind. It is tempting to assume that Washington has entered early into its traditional late-summer silly season, but the fact is that silly season has become the permanent state of affairs. Thats the kind of luxury that is more expensive than anybody understands until the moment comes when we can no longer afford it. More from National Review Washington (AFP) - The longtime Washington adage that politics should stop at the water's edge took a new beating over the weekend, as US President Donald Trump cited the North Korean dictator as agreeing with his own dim view of Democrat Joe Biden. A White House spokeswoman on Sunday brushed off criticism of Trump's remark and confirmed the two leaders' critical opinion of the former US vice president. Trump had tweeted on Saturday, at the outset of an official visit to Japan, that he "smiled when (Kim) called Swampman Joe Bidan a low IQ individual, & worse." Trump later corrected the spelling of Biden's name, but his reliance on a dictator's opinion to ambush a political foe from overseas drew sharp criticism from Biden's team and others. "I would say the tweet speaks for itself, but it's so unhinged and erratic that I'm not sure anyone could even say that with a straight face," an unnamed Biden aide told ABC News. During a satellite interview from Tokyo with NBC, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders was asked "why Americans should not be concerned that the president of the United States is essentially siding with a murderous authoritarian dictator over a former vice president of the United States." "The president's not siding with that," Sanders replied, "but I think they agree in their assessment of former vice president Joe Biden." "The president doesn't need somebody else to give him an assessment of Joe Biden." Biden, a six-term senator before serving as No. 2 to President Barack Obama, has taken a substantial lead in early polling on the nearly two dozen Democrats seeking the 2020 presidential nomination. He has increasingly been a favored target of Trump, who refers to the Democrat as "Sleepy Joe." bbk/jm London. 23rd May 2019 Wirex and Elliptic have strengthened their collaboration in order to reduce the risk of cryptocurrency fraud and money laundering. The new remit solidifies the relationship between the two companies as Wirex becomes Elliptics first partner to proactively contribute data on fraudulent accounts. Borderless payments platform Wirex and Elliptic, a cryptocurrency compliance provider, have been working together since 2016 to help counter and prevent money laundering and other illicit uses of cryptocurrency. Users of Elliptic software will benefit from this enhanced collaboration as Wirex red-flags wallet addresses associated with illegal and suspect activity. This paves the way for a new data model built on industry-wide collaboration and best practice, ultimately reducing the risk of fraud and promoting the benefits of cryptocurrencies to a wide audience. Wirex offers consumers and businesses secure, multi-currency accounts to manage digital and traditional currencies, make fast and efficient domestic and international payments and spend cryptocurrency in day-to-day life using the Wirex Visa card. By bridging the gap between digital and conventional payments, Wirex is able to identify fiat-based financial crimes, such as stolen credit card details, that ultimately lead to cryptocurrency wallet addresses being used for money laundering. Fraudulent or suspicious behaviours are now fed directly into Elliptics dataset of high-risk actors in cryptocurrency. Elliptic has assessed risks for transactions worth several trillion dollars, enabling cryptocurrency exchanges, brokers, banks and other financial institutions across the world to prevent illicit activity and provide secure and trusted services. Pavel Matveev, CEO and Co-Founder at Wirex, says: We have entered a new age in which conventional regulated financial frameworks and the new token economy must coexist. By uniting the existing and future financial ecosystem, Wirex occupies a unique position in the industry we believe it is our duty to deliver innovation and choice to our customers whilst ensuring the security of their money and data. We are delighted to work with Elliptic and contribute to creating a safer environment for all. James Smith, CEO & Co-Founder of Elliptic says: The cryptocurrency community continues to work collaboratively with innovative approaches to strengthen security across the industry. Our new working arrangement with Wirex will play a significant role in helping cryptocurrency become more trusted and commonplace. This enhanced partnership is yet another milestone for companies working together with this shared purpose. The post Wirex and Elliptic unite in new approach to make crypto safer appeared first on Coin Rivet. How does one make a Shakespearean tragedy relevant? This spring, two separate New York City productions reached the same answer gender politics. The Cort Theatres King Lear playing on Broadway starred Glenda Jackson, the 83-year-old English actress and former British MP, in the title role. Off-Broadway at the Lucille Lortel Theatre is Mac Beth (yes, two words), adapted by Erica Schmidt. *** In King Lear, the aged monarch asks his three daughters to declare their love to him. Two of them do so instantly and insincerely and are rewarded with their inheritance. The third, Cordelia, who truly loves him, refuses to heave [her] heart into [her] mouth and is swiftly disowned. Lear then loses his mind, along with everything else. Somebody said to me the other night, quite amazingly, . . . Ive seen this play many times. . . . Its the first time Ive seen that maternal side of Lear, and I thought that was very interesting, Jackson said in a recent interview. Surely this is more odd than interesting, since King Lear is a man. And since, despite popular opinion, men cannot be mothers. A maternal side to Lear would be as self-defeating as an elderly side to Peter Pan. Nevertheless, this audience member was onto something. Ruth Wilson played both Cordelia and the Fool (an interesting and effective doubling) and was very convincing as the latter. Watching Wilson, one was lost in her performance of the character forgetting that the Fool is male, and she is not. This is how it should be. But when Jackson was aggressive, she was aggressive in a conspicuously female way. When she was warm, the same thing. And what this really tells us, gender politics aside, is that there was far too much Jackson and not enough Lear in her performance. This was self-indulgent and distracting. Though not quite as distracting as Hollywood A-lister Matt Damon sitting in the third row smacking gum. . . . *** In Macbeth, the Scottish general is told by three witches that hell be king. His wife tells him to kill the current king (saying thats what a real man would do), so he does. He becomes paranoid, murders some more people, and, after his wifes guilt-stricken suicide, is slain by a supporter of the rightful heir. Story continues Inspired by stories of two twelve-year-old girls who lured their friend into the woods in Wisconsin in 2014 thereafter stabbing her 19 times in an attempt to impress a fictional online character The Slender Man Schmidts Mac Beth is a play within a play about seven teen girls who meet up after school to perform Shakespeare. If youre wondering what the horror in Wisconsin has to do with Macbeth, the answer is not much. The idea, from what I can tell, was to inject the former into the latter so as to prove that teen girls can be just as sexual and violent as men. The actresses were a talented bunch. Especially Isabelle Fuhrman (Macbeth) and Lily Santiago (Macduff). But, again, we ran into problems. When I see two girls in school uniform intensely making out, I dont think, Oh wow, proof at last of the depth and complexity of female sexuality, I think, Stereotypical male sexual fantasy. And when it gets very heated, I dont think, Gosh, how cutting-edge, I think, Porn cliche. The same is true for girls jumping up and down in the rain in soaked and see-through shirts (though stage rain is a marvelous effect). And the same is true for the exaggerated innuendos and bloodlust. Of course, its not that teen girls arent capable of such things (they are), its just they arent very interesting. They dont give a satisfactory account of the female experience of falling in love, of emotional and sexual intimacy, of the gut-wrenching experience of abandonment, of sisterhood, of motherhood, of bodies anchored to nature. All qualities that are in the text, waiting to be brought to life by Lady Macbeth, whose femaleness is effectively neutered in this production indistinct against a backdrop of hysterical genderism. Perhaps my objection goes deeper still. Perhaps, when it comes to Shakespeare, Im a textual originalist. As with certain rights purported to be in the U.S. Constitution: If the meaning is not stated in the text, then the meaning is not in the text. Period. If something is left wanting like female representation, for instance then either amend it (if youre up to it; and with Shakespeare, youre probably not) or write a different play. These supposed penumbras have the potential to collapse the genius of the entire project. Mac Beth is little more than an attempt by women to play men in order to prove that they, too, can be like men. The result is a tedious failure that does not elucidate either sex. And is wholly irrelevant to the play. Again, its not that women cant play men they can. Its that, gender notwithstanding, this self-indulgent tendency in modern theater to make the text illuminate the actors (rather than the other way around) ought to be resisted. More from National Review Maarat Masrin (Syria) (AFP) - After giving birth and raising a toddler during four years in a Syrian prison, 30-year-old Hasna Dbeis is now free -- and determined to forge a new life for her family. Dbeis says she was two months pregnant when she was detained in August 2014 in the Eastern Ghouta suburbs of Damascus, accused of working with rebels; an allegation she denies. She was shuffled around various detention centres, including one where she saw her father and brother for the last time. "They were tortured in front of me," she told AFP, her face veil revealing tired eyes. She is one of tens of thousands of Syrians jailed during the conflict for opposing President Bashar al-Assad. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says around 200,000 people have gone missing since the civil war started in 2011. Nearly half are believed to be held in government jails. Dbeis said she was kept in solitary confinement for 40 days at one stage, in a cell littered with garbage. Insects crept up the walls, and the screams of inmates being tortured rang around her, she recalled. She was allowed out of jail only once, when she went into labour. "A newborn came into my life and I didn't know what to do," she said, clad in black. After giving birth to Mohammad, Dbeis was transferred to the notorious al-Fayhaa prison in Damascus. The facility housed other mothers, including Iraqi women detained on suspicion of working with the Islamic State jihadist group, she said. - Beaten and suspended - Dbeis shared a cell with her newborn and a 20-year-old Ethiopian woman. Her cellmate, who other inmates called Lamees, would help her sew clothes for the little boy, she said, but also care for the infant when Dbeis was being interrogated. Guards usually entered her cell at around midnight to take her to another room where she was beaten and suspended by the wrists, she said. The first time, she recounted, "the interrogator started by taking off my veil. He looked at my hair, brought a knife, and started cutting" it. Story continues "Then he started beating me," she said. Her hands were cuffed behind her back, she said, and she was left hanging from her wrists for hours. She also contracted tuberculosis, she claimed, and had to be kept away from her child for more than four months while she received treatment. By the time she recovered, her son -- then nine months old -- thought Lamees was his mother. "He didn't know who I was," Dbeis said. For three years, her hope for a better life dwindled, as she watched Mohammad grow up in a cell, the sound of other children playing echoing in from outside. "I used to dream of walking in the street with my child and entering a store to buy him clothes like normal mothers do," she said. In April 2018, she was released. She did not return to Eastern Ghouta, which had fallen under government control that month, after regime bombardment and a crippling siege. - New regime assault - Instead, she boarded a bus that took rebels and their families from the Damascus suburbs to opposition-held territory in the northern province of Aleppo. Dbeis remembers the first time Mohammad saw a stand selling tomatoes. "He ran towards it, grabbed a tomato, and started gobbling it up," she said. "He'd never seen a tomato before." But catching up with one of her sisters in the neighbouring province of Idlib brought new trauma. Dbeis was told that her mother was dead and that her husband had been killed by regime forces. Two of her sisters were detained by the government, and the fate of her father and brother -- who she last saw in jail -- was unknown. "After hearing about my family's heart-wrenching fate, I decided to start a new life," Dbeis said. She remarried and moved to Idlib, a region outside regime control ruled by Syria's former Al-Qaeda affiliate. But four months after her wedding, her 25-year-old husband was hit in the stomach by shell shrapnel, leaving him unable to work. In a desperate bid to provide for her family, she joined a sewing workshop employing former female detainees. "The money I make, I spend on my home," said Dbeis, who makes children's clothes. But her life is under renewed threat. Since late April, heightened bombardment of Idlib by the regime and its ally Russia has sparked fears of an imminent full assault against the jihadist stronghold. "I don't want the regime to enter Idlib and throw me back in prison," Dbeis said. Comments Policy Comments that are excessively crude, obscene or profane - especially when they consist of nothing more than gratuitous insults or aspersions upon the character of authors or other commenters - will be vigorously discouraged. Therefore, if you find your comment has been deleted, you will know why. Palmer Luckey, the 26-year-old entrepreneur best known for founding Oculus, the AR company he sold to Facebook for $2 billion, is calling for more tech companies and investors to get into the defense space. After getting fired by Facebook in 2017, Luckey started his own defense company, Anduril Industries, and has been very proud of his work for the military, including making autonomous drones and autonomous sensors for the U.S. Department of Defense and NATO. Military contracting work is a space big tech companies have shied away from. Google pulled out from a Department of Defense program known as Project Maven after protest from employees. Recently, some Amazon shareholders scrutinized the internet giant for selling facial recognition to the government. Those people refuse to work on national security problems, partly for ideological reasons, partly because it makes it harder for them to play in the consumer space, partly because they're afraid of a tech media that is by and large, anti-military, Luckey said at the Collision Conference in Toronto. Luckey said its a void that needs to be filled. Traditional defense companies Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin are known for making fighter jets, submarines and aircraft carriers, but they are not particularly known for cutting-edge artificial intelligence or vision. Anduril, the two-year-old startup he founded, aims to provide a platform so top talent could do military work unapologetically. Anduril has reportedly won contracts from Project Maven after Google dropped out. Luckey, who is also an investor in other defense companies, said its difficult for them to attract venture capital money. If you're an investor doing pattern matching, it's reasonable to say, well, there are literally only two unicorns in the whole defense space in 30 years, he said, referring to Palantir and SpaceX, which are funded by Peter Thiel and Elon Musk, respectively. Why would I invest in you knowing that you're probably going to be one of the many to hit the cutting floor? Story continues Luckey said he was motivated to enter the industry by Russia and China rising strategic rivals of Washington. I knew that we needed more companies with smart people and lots of investment working to make sure that Russia and China don't dictate the future of warfare, so they don't dictate the norms behind how artificial intelligence is used, behind how cyber warfare tools are used, Luckey said. And I felt like I had a responsibility to do something with the money that I had made that would make a difference. And this felt like a place where not enough people were doing their duty. Palmer Luckey, Oculus VR, and Deirdre Bosa, CNBC, on Centre Stage during day two of Collision 2019 at Enercare Center in Toronto, Canada, on 22 May 2019. (Photo By David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile via Getty) Keeping politics to himself As a self-identified libertarian, Luckey said he would not work on urban surveillance and acknowledges tech innovations for warfare could cause unintended consequences. But he said his project can help the U.S. government and military get more information and make better decisions, so fewer civilians would be hurt. His military work isnt the only thing that makes Luckey a controversial Silicon Valley entrepreneur. In 2016, he was criticized for donating $10,000 to a pro-Trump organization. I don't want to sound like too much of a rich person, but $10,000 just isn't that much to me. And you know, I think that I didn't realize just how provocative that could be, and how upset people can get around this stuff, Luckey recalled. He said he doesnt regret the donation, but he has learned to be more low-key on some issues just keep your politics to yourself, and find somebody else to be your champion. Krystal covers tech and China for Yahoo Finance. Write to Krystal via krystalh@yahoofinance.com or follow her on Twitter. Mel B has apologised after the Spice Girls first show. Photo: Getty Mel B has promised the Spice Girls will improve their vocals and sound issues before their next concert. It was the long awaited reunion of Mel B, Mel C, Geri Horner and Emma Bunton as they kicked off their 13-date Spice World UK and Ireland tour at Croke Park in Dublin on Friday. But some fans were disappointed by the sound during the Spice Girls first show. Speaking on her Instagram stories after the gig, Mel address fans concerns. "Hey guys thank you for attending our show tonight in Dublin, she wrote. We will see you in Cardiff and hopefully the vocals and the sound will be much, much better." Mel's statement came after fans took to social media to vent their frustrations. One concert-goer wrote on Twitter: "Cannot hear anything. I want to bawl ." Another added: "There's something wrong when the crowd at spice girls concert are all sitting down because no one has a clue what song is on because the sound really is THAT bad..." "You've gone to all the effort of taking the time off work, travelling, booking accommodation and paid through the nose for a ticket. Not good enough, Someone else said. Mel B, Emma Bunton, Geri Halliwell and Melanie C of The Spice Girls at their first show. Photo: Getty Despite the sound issues, the Spice Girls were off to an impressive start when they opened the tour in front of 71,000 people at Croke Park, becoming the first all-female band in history to do so. Seven years after they last performed together for the 2012 Olympics, the group treated fans to a live show containing all their smash hit singles including 'Wannabe', '2 Become 1', 'Spice Up Your Life', 'Viva Forever', 'Goodbye' and many more. Emma, Geri, Mel B and Mel C took the sold out audience on an emotional journey into Spice World with their iconic songs backed by a huge production with giant screens displaying messages of unity, togetherness and love throughout the night. They kicked off proceedings with the inclusive message: "We welcome all ages, all races, all gender identities, all countries of origin, all sexual orientations, all religions & beliefs, all abilities." Story continues Reporting by Bang Showbiz. Got a story tip? Send it to lifestyle.tips@verizonmedia.com Want more lifestyle and celebrity news? Follow Yahoo Lifestyle on Facebook,Twitter and Instagram. Or sign up to our daily newsletter here. Gitanas Nauseda, a centre-right independent and political novice, won Lithuania's presidential runoff in a race marked by low populist sentiment and concerns over inequality in the Baltic eurozone state. Although Lithuanian presidents do not directly craft economic policy, bread-and-butter issues have dominated the race. Experts also noted that by choosing between two pro-EU, centre-right candidates in the runoff, Lithuanians who see the European Union as a source of prosperity and security bucked growing eurosceptic and populist sentiment in the bloc. Vowing to build a "welfare state", Nauseda said he would bridge the gap between rich and poor in Lithuania, which is among the most pronounced in the 28-member EU, adding that he would also seek to bring urban and rural Lithuanians closer together. "All people can live with dignity in this small country," the 55-year-old former bank advisor and economist told reporters as he claimed victory at his campaign headquarters in the capital Vilnius following Sunday's vote. Nauseda also hinted he wanted to soften Lithuania's often sharp rhetoric towards Russia, but insisted that relations could only be improved if Moscow changes its policy towards Ukraine. Challenger Ingrida Simonyte, a conservative-backed independent MP conceded defeat, telling public broadcaster LRT she had wished Nauseda "success in uniting Lithuanian people." Nauseda scored 65.86 percent of the vote ahead of 32.86 percent for Simonyte based on full official results from all 1972 polling stations. Vilnius voter Jonas Jovaisas, 25, said that Nauseda's lack of party affiliation made him the most suitable to lead the nation. "He doesn't depend on any political party and that will help him to work with any parliament or government," he told AFP after casting a ballot for Nauseda. He will replace popular incumbent President Dalia Grybauskaite, a 63-year-old independent who cannot run for a third consecutive term. Dubbed the "Iron Lady" for her hard line on Russia, Grybauskaite is tipped as a possible for European Council president. - Rich-poor divide - Lithuania is struggling with a sharp population decline owing to mass emigration to Western Europe by people seeking better opportunities. The rivals pledged to bridge the rich-poor divide in the nation of 2.8 million where, despite solid economic growth, almost 30 percent are at risk of poverty or social exclusion, notably in rural areas. Growth is forecast at 2.7 percent this year, higher that 1.1 percent average in the 19-member eurozone, but income inequality is still among the highest in the EU. Decades of TV appearances as an economic expert have made the married father-of-two a household name reputed for his intelligence, calm and moderation. Critics, however, had argued his platform is too vague and see his political inexperience and business links as liabilities. Simonyte, 44, was finance minister during the global financial crisis and saw the economy shrink by nearly 15 percent, a decline that took a high toll on low-income earners. Socially liberal, she supports same-sex partnerships, a position which has stirred controversy in the predominantly Catholic country. - Firm on Russia - Lithuanian presidents steer defence and foreign policy, attending EU and NATO summits, but while they have veto powers they must agree senior appointments with the prime minister. Nauseda firmly supports EU and NATO membership as bulwarks against neighbouring Russia, especially since Moscow's 2014 military intervention in Ukraine. Grybauskaite had called Russia a "terrorist state" in 2014 after it annexed Crimea from Ukraine but Nauseda said on Sunday that he "would like to be diplomatic and to use wording which could be slightly different from what we used previously." But he added that "it will be very difficult to improve relations" with Russia if it continues its current policy on Ukraine. "We cannot tolerate this," Nauseda said. Political expert Linas Kojala said the new president will face issues including Lithuania's position on EU-US disagreements, security concerns tied to Chinese investment and whether to forge closer ties with neighbouring Belarus. Turnout was 53.43 percent for the presidential ballot which coincided Sunday with European elections. Nauseda is a 55-year-old former bank advisor and economist The gap between rich and poor in Lithuania is among the most pronounced in the 28-member EU Socially liberal, Simonyte supports same-sex partnerships, a position which has stirred controversy in the predominantly Catholic country My wife and I have been watching the new HBO miniseries on the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster. During the second episode, she asked me the question that is probably on everyones minds as they watch the drama unfold: Could a Chernobyl-type event happen today? I told her No, I dont believe thats possible. However, its important to note that we never dreamed such an accident was possible in the first place. So, lets explore the question in a little more depth. The Recipe for Disaster An accident is the result of an initiating event or series of events and an inadequate response. Accidents are mitigated by lowering the probability of the event(s) and ensuring a response that prevents the consequences from escalating. In the event that the potential worst case scenario is catastrophic, there needs to be substantial reduction in the probability of the event, as well as a response that reliably mitigates the consequence. A catastrophic consequence could be one that involved multiple human fatalities, huge environmental contamination, major property damage, or major financial losses. But a catastrophic consequence would also include major disruptions to the population, like having to evacuate 50,000 people from their homes. In the case of Chernobyl, the evacuations happened on short notice, and they were permanent. I think if you have to permanently leave your home on short notice, thats a catastrophic outcome. Further, in the second episode of the HBO series, they presented a narrowly-averted scenario in which millions of people could have died. I cant say whether those events actually unfolded or whether this is a dramatization to make for more exciting TV but viewers will certainly have the impression that Chernobyl nearly killed millions of people. Thus, the public must have absolute confidence that another Chernobyl (or Fukushima) cant possibly happen again. Reducing the Risks There are still 11 operating RBMK reactors of the type involved in the Chernobyl accident. All of them are in Russia. Since Chernobyl, there have been significant design modifications that were recommended by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). In 2006, IAEA deputy director Tomihiro Taniguchi told The Associated Press Very significant changes have been made in the technology. The IAEA is firmly committed that such an accident not happen again. Theres no doubt that the potential for a Chernobyl-type event has been greatly reduced as a result of design changes and additional training, but has it been reduced to zero? Hold that thought for a moment. While there are no RBMK reactors in the U.S., around 30% of U.S. nuclear power plants use General Electric-designed boiling water reactors (BWR). This was the type involved in the core meltdowns in Fukushima following the 2011 tsunami off the coast of Japan. Related: Is This The Most Underrated Upstream Player In The Industry? Again, training and design changes have reduced the risks of a repeat, but has the risk been reduced to zero? Again, lets hold that thought for a moment. The Unknown Unknowns I do believe that the probability of having a similar set of events lead to a similar outcome has been reduced to zero for both Chernobyl and Fukushima-type events. The causes were identified and addressed in other plants with those designs. But, bear in mind that nobody had any idea that such huge disasters were possible for either of these locations. Indeed, it took years to fully understand what had precisely caused the accident at Chernobyl. As someone who has been involved in many safety reviews and incident investigations, what always concerned me more than anything were the things we might have missed. In 2002, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld made the following observation: There are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say there are things that we now know we dont know. But there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we do not know we dont know. Chernobyl was caused by one of these unknown unknowns. This is partially true for Fukushima as well, but at least in that case the causes were understood. They were just deemed to be highly unlikely, such as the possibility that a tsunami could breach the plants 33-foot tall seawall. Preventing Another Chernobyl When someone asks if a Chernobyl could happen again, the engineer in me pauses and thinks about the unknown unknowns. By definition, we dont know what they are. Thus, the completely honest answer when someone asks me this question is I dont think so, but I cant guarantee it. Further, we have seen people deliberately crash airplanes. Could a disgruntled operator deliberately sabotage a nuclear plant and cause a catastrophic outcome? Related: Oil Markets Uncertain As Trade War Counters Supply Shortages Given the possibility of unforeseen events or even sabotage in combination with potentially catastrophic consequences nuclear power plants must approach the mitigation of consequences with overkill and redundancy. By that, I mean that if a series of events can take place that would potentially lead to a catastrophic incident, there should be several layers of potential mitigation. We have to ensure that even with a saboteurs best efforts, they couldnt cause a catastrophic release from a nuclear power plant. Ultimately, there is no way to foresee all possible causes of an accident. Thus, we have to ensure that if a failure takes place, it results in a safe state. I discussed the example of an electrical fuse in a previous article. When the fuse fails, it does so in a safe state. The flow of electricity stops. I do believe our best minds can ensure such designs in the worlds nuclear power plants. If we can ensure that all nuclear power plants in the world are fail-safe designs, then we can indeed say that even though failures could happen, No, another Chernobyl is simply impossible. By Robert Rapier More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: The onshore oilfield expansion in the shale plays has sucked most of the oxygen out of oil company investment coffers in recent times. The The question now before us is, does Carbo have a long term upside that might make a patient investor some money? Or are they a value trap, slated to slide to zero? Their legacy is that of the provision of high technology of crush-resistant ceramic beads used to prop open fractures created in oil and gas formations by hydraulic fracking. This is referred to in the industry as stimulation, and is the process by which oil and gas flow is enabled from tight rock formations. The deepwater jobs in the GoM sometimes used as much as a million pounds of the stuff at a time. As in all booms, the industry players lost sight of the general up and down nature of the oil markets historically, and when the bust hit were stuck with too much inventory, and a bloated manufacturing structure. A situation that described Carbo to a T. The collapse of deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, (GoM) beginning in 2014, with no real recovery yet in sight, has spread a lot of misery around the oilfield. Nowhere is that more evident than in the fortunes of Carbo Ceramics, NYSE: CRR. A former oilfield high flyer, Carbo, whose stock crested in 2014 at $154.30 per share, now trades under $2.00 per share. Introduction The collapse of deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, (GoM) beginning in 2014, with no real recovery yet in sight, has spread a lot of misery around the oilfield. Nowhere is that more evident than in the fortunes of Carbo Ceramics, NYSE: CRR. A former oilfield high flyer, Carbo, whose stock crested in 2014 at $154.30 per share, now trades under $2.00 per share. Yahoo Financial Their legacy is that of the provision of high technology of crush-resistant ceramic beads used to prop open fractures created in oil and gas formations by hydraulic fracking. This is referred to in the industry as stimulation, and is the process by which oil and gas flow is enabled from tight rock formations. The deepwater jobs in the GoM sometimes used as much as a million pounds of the stuff at a time. As in all booms, the industry players lost sight of the general up and down nature of the oil markets historically, and when the bust hit were stuck with too much inventory, and a bloated manufacturing structure. A situation that described Carbo to a T. The question now before us is, does Carbo have a long term upside that might make a patient investor some money? Or are they a value trap, slated to slide to zero? The problem with ceramics in the low cost oilfield The onshore oilfield expansion in the shale plays has sucked most of the oxygen out of oil company investment coffers in recent times. The lure of easy access and quick returns has led to oil companies to focus there, as opposed to developing the long-cycle projects that sustained players like Carbo for so many years. A question naturally arises then, why dont they just transfer their efforts in this area. Carbo has a two-fold problem with selling its high-tech Kryptosphere product to the shale-based oilfield. First, the industry has moved into a lower cost environment, where operators ruthlessly find ways to cut well costs. Ceramics are more expensive by a factor of ten to twenty times than alternative proppants, like resieved sand, and operators just cant justify its use. You can see from the graphic below that it is clearly superior in size and shape to alternatives, but the cost differential is just too high. Source The second problem lies in the message the industry is sending about proppant. Put simply, proppant quality, in terms of sphericity and crush resistance, is just not presently much of a factor in selection, as it once was. This is underscored by the shift to Texas Red sand, and away from the purer Northern White material. Fracking sand volumes have increased so massively, as much as 5,000 # per lateral foot. When you consider the nearly 10,000 foot length of some wells, you can see what the impact of cost differentials between the two are to operators making cost decisions. Source In this picture darker sand from West Texas is shown with Northern White sand next to it. Carbo has tried to crack this market, and even gotten a job here and there in the shale patch, often with impressive results. It hasnt made a difference as shipments of Carbos signature Kryptosphere proppant have continued to decline quarter after quarter. In 2018 Carbo saw a 32% decrease in ceramics sales from the prior year. Developing other markets for ceramics and outside products With its formerly lucrative deepwater market shrunk to near non-existence, Carbo has successfully started developing industrial markets in the grinding and casting industries with its products. There is a federal initiative to move away from silica in grinding and castings that is supportive of this business. Silica (sand) is a known causal agent in silicosis and some forms of lung cancer. Across a number of lines ranging from industrial floor protectors with its Assetguard line to Metakao which is sold to concrete blenders to add structural strength Carbo has done an outstanding job diversifying its product base away from the oilfield. They have also ventured into contract manufacturing for outside clients to soak up fallow factory space. Recently theyve also entered into a joint venture with Melior Innovations, to manufacture and market its PicOnyx, M-Tone form of carbon black to printer ink and coatings business. So, while the company cannot be accused of letting grass grow under its feet, the persistent decline in the stock price tells us that the investing community just doesnt care, at least right now. The forecast through 2020 On the oilfield side, Carbo is expecting an uptick in offshore work in the coming quarters. They have a well programmed for Kryptosphere HD that is scheduled for late in the second quarter, and have projects for the LD form later in the year. Deepwater activity will be down for Carbo year-on-year, but the outlook for 2020 is robust with high double-digit growth given the current projects that are under discussion. The StrataGen consulting business is expected to increase in the second quarter of 2019 as clients complete more projects than in the first quarter. In addition, with improving domestic activity, software sales should benefit in the second quarter. In the industrial sector, they see growth in the industrial ceramic markets. Product trials with potential clients around the world are in discussion. METAKAO in recent third-party tests against other metakaolin providers, METAKAO significantly outperformed competing products during the evaluation of compressive strength and water intake. This is all interesting but the investment case largely rests with the Kryptosphere family of products. Ceramics used in fracking drive so many aspects of their business that no amount of industrial activity that is achievable in the realistic near term, can replace it. Key Financials Revenue is down 4.5% sequentially from the same period in 2018, at $47.5 mm. Declines in oilfield revenue were partially offset by increases on the industrial side. Losses have been cut 10% to $-0.74 per share, a significant portion of which are non-cash, with impairments, inventory write downs, and associated expenses being the culprits Cash on hand stands at about $81mm, giving them some room to fund operations, although they forecast using about half of this amount to repay loans to the company made by two of its directors. This should still leave ample liquidity to fund operations for several years. Long term debt stands at $65 mm the bulk of which is due in 2020, but may likely be rolled into a new credit agreement as the lenders have warrants to buy a half a million shares at $14.91 a share. At current prices these lenders who already hold 10% of the common stock are unlikely to exercise these warrants. Source, Carbo Ceramics, 10-Q The revenue picture continues a downward slope as declines in the oilfield sector outweigh increases in industrial activity. You can see the bulk of their revenue still comes from a combination of sand (Carbo sells Northern White as well as ceramics), and ceramics. A couple of years ago Carbo stopped breaking out sand and ceramics, so its impossible to know the exact ratio of the two. My expectation this is it is skewed largely to sand. Source Carbo Ceramics, 10-Q The key takeaway here is that even with its dramatically reduced levels, the oilfield provides 80% of Carbos revenue. Carbo is still predominantly an oilfield service supplier. Your takeaway The company expressed optimism about the upcoming couple of years both on the oilfield side and with growth in the industrial side amounting to 40% of its business in a couple of years. There is nothing wrong with being optimistic, the industrial growth is impressive. Its just small potatoes. I would rate in the investbility in the company as being very marginal until they show some strong improvement in ceramics sales. It should be noted that their future is in the hands of their lenders, who although they have stepped into avert bankruptcy before, might be close to having their patience exhausted. Carbo has to be viewed as a purely speculative play at current levels akin to stepping up to the roulette table. By David Messler for Oilprice.com Disclosure: The writer does not hold and does not intend to obtain a position in this stock within the next 72hrs. The author expresses his own opinions and has no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article. A little known investment vehicle-based in Cyprus is raising US$5-10 billion for acquisitions of underutilized natural gas assets in the Eastern Mediterranean, Bloombergs Yaacov Benmeleh wrote this week, noting the assets included production facilities operated by supermajors such as Exxon and Shell spanning Egypt, Israel, and Cyprus. The firm, Cynergy Group, is negotiating the fundraising with some of the most respected global family offices, private equity firms and sovereign funds, its chief executive told Benmeleh. As to why it is focusing on this particular region in its natural gas investment push, Mike Germanos said asset consolidation would do the industry good as now there were too many assets that were either underutilized or straight away idled. It is an odd fact that natural gas production assets and LNG plants could be idled at a time of soaring demand growth for natural gas but the Eastern Mediterranean is a special case politically, which is reason enough for investors to steer clear of it, and also legally, according to the Bloomberg report. At the same time, however, it is an attractive natural gas destination. Major discoveries of gas have been made in all three of the countries collectively referred to as the Eastern Mediterranean in the report. Egypt has the ambition to turn into a major regional player in natural gas after the political situation began to calm down after the Arab spring rebellion and trouble with fundamentalists, and earlier this year it even resumed LNG sales after a five-year pause. The resumption of exports took place at the Idku LNG plant, which Bloombergs Benmeleh listed among assets that could become targets for Cynergy Group. While Germanos did not name any assets he and his team had in mind when the money was raised, some of the others that could be considered underutilized or idled include the giant Leviathan gas field in Israel as well. It is one of the largest gas discoveries in recent years and has led Israel to stake a claim in the regional gas market. Operated by Israeli Delek Group and U.S. Noble Energy, Leviathan holds an estimated 605 billion cu m of natural gas and production at some 1 billion cu ft (28.3 million cu m) daily to date. Leviathan is definitely a tasty morsel for anyone interested in gas. There is also another LNG plant in Egypt among assets that Cynergy Group might be interested inUnion Fenosas and Enis Damietta projectas well as two gas fields in Cyprus. The Damietta plant was idle for seven years after the feed of gas was cut off in 2012 after the revolution that wreaked havoc on gas production in the country. LNG production and exports from Damietta were only resumed earlier this year because Union Fenosa agreed to drop a US$2-billion arbitration it had filed against the Egyptian government (the largest stakeholder) for losses suffered during the period of suspension of operations. Related: China Set To Defy U.S. Sanctions On Iran In Cyprus, two recently discovered fields could draw the attention of Cynergy Group, according to Bloombergs Benmeleh. The first is the Aphrodite field, just 30 km from the Leviathan in Israeli waters. The field is part of Block 12, which is estimated to contain some 3.6-6 trillion cu ft of natural gas. The operators, including Delek again, along with Noble Energy, and Shell, recently struck a gas supply deal with the Egypt LNG facilities to get the gas from Aphrodite to international markets. The second discovery, Glaucus-1, was made by Exxon and Qatar Petroleum earlier this year and is ranked the third-largest gas discovery off the Cypriot coast. It contains an estimated 682 million barrels of oil equivalent, of which about 90 percent is natural gas. There are assets to pick from, certainly, and Cynergy Group may be just the first of several investment projects for the region. The largest discoveries in the Eastern Mediterranean are relatively close to each other and the deal between the operators of the Aphrodite field and Egypt LNG plants suggest partnerships are an obvious way of utilizing these assets in a mutually beneficial way. This means lower costs and internationally competitive LNG. Amid tightening competition, this should be quite an attractive idea despite Israels chronic geopolitical problems and the equally chronic hostility between Cyprus and Turkey, which has already spread to natural gas exploration after Turkey decided to start drilling in Cypriot waters. By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) congratulates Zamfara State Governor-elect, Bello Mohammed Matawalle, all federal and state legislators-elect, as well as people of Zamfara state describing their victory as the triumph of the will of the people over manipulative forces. The party says this victory is a clear pointer to the fact that no matter how long manipulations and anti-democratic tendencies appear to thrive, justice and the will of the people always prevail at the end of the day. The PDP assures the people of Zamfara state of a purposeful, people-based and result-oriented leadership that will unite and revitalize the state for the greater good, in line with the wishes and aspiration of the people. The party says Zamfara is blessed with abundant human and natural resources adding that the in-coming administration will direct all energies towards harnessing such resources for the wellbeing of all the people. The PDP therefore urges the people of Zamfara state to resist all forces of division and unite behind their new leaders to move the state forward. In congratulating the people of Zamfara state, the PDP expressed optimism that justice will prevail in its effort to retrieve all its stolen mandate, particularly the Presidential mandate that Nigerians freely gave to Atiku Abubakar, at the courts. Signed: Kola Ologbondiyan National Publicity Secretary Wife of President Muhammadu Buhari, Aisha, on Saturday, took the N500 billion Social Investment Programme, SIP, of her husbands administration to the cleaners, decribing it as a woeful failure. According to the Presidents wife, the programme failed woefully especially in the North. In what qualifies as another major outburst from the Presidents wife, Aisha, who hails from Adamawa State, said the situation in her home state, as far as the implementation was concerned, was pathetic. The highly outspoken First Lady also cited Kano in the Northwest as another example where she believed the programme failed, despite the huge funds the Federal Government budgeted for it. Mrs Buhari expressed her feelings in Abuja during an interactive programme she organised for women at the Presidential Villa. According to her, though the Special Assistant (SA) to the President on SIP, Maryam Uwais, informed her that 30,000 women would be beneficiaries in Adamawa State, four years had passed and there was no evidence that the SA kept her word. She said: Concerning the N500bn voted for SIP, that was part of 2015 campaigns where they promised to give out N10,000, feed pupils in primary schools and give N5,000 to the poorest of the poor. The SSA to the President on Social Investment is a lady from Kano and I am sure that my husband decided to put somebody from Kano because of the population and political impact it made. I have never asked how the money is being used or is being given out. I met Barrister (one of the Presidents aides on SIP) once and he promised me that for my state (Adamawa), we should get 30,000 women to be given N10,000. Up till now, I havent heard from him. I dont want to raise the alarm that my state does not benefit from it, where the SGF (Secretary to the Government of the Federation) came from, I kept quiet because I dont want people to say that I talk too much. Recently, I saw a 74-year-old man selling petty things in Kano, I asked him how much is his capital, he told me between N3,000 and N4,000. Dont forget that we have campaigned to give the poorest of the poor N5,000 every month . So, I dont know where is the social investment Maybe, it worked out in some states. In my own state, only a local government benefited out of the 22. I didnt ask what happened and I dont want to know, but it failed woefully in Kano, its not a good sign and its not a good thing. We have a lot of women that do business locally due to the cultural thing in the North, they are at home doing their business. Some are millionaires, some have thousands of naira, they need the assistance but they do not get it. Most northern women do not belong to any market association. I was expecting the N500bn to be utilised in different methods in the North for the aim to be achieved. I dont know the method they used, but most of the northern states do not get it. My state does not get it. How many of you (women in the hall) get it in your state? My state did not benefit from it. The women responded by saying that they got nothing in the past four years. Aisha further argued that the method employed in implementing the programme in the North was faulty, a reason she believed it failed there. It worked out well in a situation whereby they have market associations but I was thinking different methods should be used in the North, the Presidents wife stated. The Presidents wife also went on to rubbish the $16m counterpart fund said to have been used so far on procurement of mosquito nets. She said: I have heard about mosquito nets, Nigeria paid its counterpart fund, $16m. I asked them to give my own share of the net to send it to my village people. I didnt get it. They have spent $16m in buying mosquito nets, I did not get it, maybe some people have got it. But I feel that, thats my personal opinion, $16m is enough to fumigate mosquitoes in Nigeria. Thats my opinion. The First Lady, however, commended the SGF, Mr Boss Mustapha, for the initiative to include women in the inauguration programme of her husband for his second term on May 29. I will also like to use the opportunity to thank the SGF for including women in the inaugural activities of Mr President; this is what is called next level. They didnt allow us to participate in politics but now they have started giving us hope that we can be involved in certain things, Aisha stated. Speaking on the anti-drug committee headed by a former Military Administrator of Lagos State, Buba Marwa, the Presidents wife revealed how she practically made herself a member to ensure that things went well. She added: I also managed to put myself as member of the committee and the wife of the Vice-President. The wife of the Vice-President (Dolapo Osinbajo) has worked very well; it took her one year to go round schools in Abuja because of the level of abuse. Many girls dont go to school because they are afraid of being raped while returning from school or when their parents are away. You know most of their parents are farmers. The revelation is beyond comment. I asked her to publicise her discovery but she didnt; if she had done so, it would have served as a lesson. Over N12bn has been released by the President to take care of trauma cases across the country. Can you please monitor the money? The ministers are going very soon and the money is being released. She also called on the All Progressives Congress, APC, to refund the money female contestants spent to purchase nomination forms for the 2019 general elections, since the women, according to her, ended up being marginalised. Blessing Okoro showed off this house as her own Nigerian blogger, Blessing Okoro has been lambasted for stealing photo of a newly completed 7-bedroom duplex and claiming it is her own. However, the China-based real owner of the home didnt mince words with the blogger lambasting her for lying. He showed a video evidence as he recorded his house before calling the blogger a stupid liar. The house which is reportedly located at Republic Layout, Bricks Estate, Enugu State is in the neighbourhood of the blogger, Blessing. According to a voice note sent to Instablog alongside a video of the house by the China-based owner, yesterday, he called the blogger stupid for using his house to deceive people on Instagram. They also reported that two residents of estate also stated that Blessing only went to the house to take pictures and proceed to the uncompleted house beside it to take another picture which she passed across as before and after pictures. Okoro Blessing Nkiruka is a Nigerian relationship expert and Break up or Makeup CEO. She had before now, shared a touching story of how she thought marriage was happiness and begged her husband to take her back even after she was domestically abused. See voice note below: Suspected Fulani herdsmen, numbering at least nine, have attacked the palace of Onigedegede of Gedegede in Akoko North-West Local Government Area of Ondo State, threatening to kill the monarch, Oba Walidu Sanni, The Independent reports. The monarch said the suspected herdsmen stormed his palace, harassed and threatened him because he had reported the continued destruction of his subjects farm produce and farmlands to the police. Consequently, Oba Sanni raised the alarm over the threat posed by the Fulani herdsmen to his life, his immediate family members and people of Gedegede Town. The monarch said he reported the case to the police after he seized a gun and a cutlass which he deposited to the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in charge of Okeagbe Police Station, Mr Johnson Akintola. Speaking at a stakeholders parley initiated by the state government in order to douse the tension and apprehension in the council area, the monarch said the governments timely intervention saved the situation from becoming bloody. According to him, his subjects were spoiling for a showdown following the herdsmens invasion of the palace and subsequent harassment. The traditional ruler noted that the incident was reported to the Chairman Akoko NorthWest Local Government Area, Samson Akande as well as fellow traditional rulers in the area. According to him, the timely intervention of Governor Rotimi Akeredolu who deployed his Special Assistant on Security Matters, Alhaji Jimoh Dojumo, to douse the tension saved the tensed situation. Dojumo at the meeting said carrying of arms and ammunition are prohibited while grazing in any part of the state. Also, he said grazing between 6 am and 6 pm in the state is prohibited while no under-aged children should graze in the state. Dojumo urged herdsmen to live with their host communities peacefully, assuring them that the governor would soon invite all the stakeholders for talks in a bid to find lasting solutions to the incessant clashes. The Lagos police command has arrested a Lagos State Polytechnic security guard who allegedly killed his colleague while they were both on night duty. DSP Bala Elkana, in a statement on Sunday, said on May 24 at 7.00a.m, operatives of Shagamu Road Police Station, in collaboration with the Chief Security Officer of Lagos State Polytechnic, Ikorodu, arrested one Cletus Williams, a security guard with the institution, for allegedly killing his colleague, Okoro John, while they were on night duty. The suspect used a sharp knife to slash the throat of the victim and also chopped off his right hand, Elkana said. Homicide detectives from State Criminal Investigation Department, Yaba, are investigating the case to ascertain the motive behind the killing. The knife used for the murder has been recovered and suspect will soon be charged to court for murderm he added. Post Views: 9 A Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress in Osun State, Dr. Ismail Abiodun Saka-Layonu (SAN) on Saturday cheered the immediate past Governor of the State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola on his 62nd birthday, saying the Ilesa born politician and Nation builder has immortalized himself through hard work and his great legacy in the State of Osun. The legal luminary described Ogbeni Aregbesola as a good converter of leadership opportunities to platforms for prompt service delivery to humanity and Osun in particular. He added that the ex Governor did remarkably well to reinvent Osun positively and the people are substantially proud of his legacy when one remembers the battered system he met in 2010! In a statement he personally signed, the Ede born politician said, To me, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola was Godbsent to us in Osun and Nigeria at large, especially as he came when we were in strong need of good leadership to build a solid foundation for a prosperous State. Ogbeni gave us good selfless leadership, infrastructural development, human development and capacity building for residents and citizens which in turn led to a much developed but still rapidly developing State we all are proud of today. By his landmark achievements, the unique Ogbeni has thus immortalised himself in the hearts of the people of Osun. During his tenure, he was energetic, creative and determined to succeed. I wish well today and pray that he would still serve Nigeria, Osun and humanity in general. May Allah SWT answer your prayers. Ameen. A seyi samodun o. Ameen. As he clocks 62 on earth, I join the community of friends, family members, associates and admirers globally on this glorious event. Share this: Last week, a 16-year-old girl in Kuching jumped to her death from a building after posting a poll on her Instagram story asking people whether she should choose life or death. Picture by Choo Choy May KOTA KINABALU, May 24 Two groups today called for changes in the national policy to improve public attitude towards suicide and mental health issues after a teenage girl in Kuching killed herself after posting a poll on Instagram recently. Mental Health Association of Sarawak and Befrienders Kuching said that it was time for the country to inspect its role in building a nation that was more supportive and aware of mental health issues and one of the ways was to decriminalise attempted suicide. The current law, underlined in Section 309 of the Penal Code, states that a suicide survivor is liable to one year imprisonment or a fine or both. This archaic law is not only inhumane and counter-productive, it is likely to drive those who attempt suicide to succeed on their first attempt. Standard Operating Procedures should be set up within the police force and other related agencies to provide immediate help for people thinking of committing suicide, the two group said in a joint press statement. It also proposed that mental illnesses such as depression, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are recognised under insurance policies in Malaysia. This would have three immediate benefits: encourage people to seek help from private facilities without worrying about the financial burden, ease heavy demand on public healthcare facilities, and destigmatize mental health conditions, they said. The groups added that mental health awareness was not the job of the government alone and in order to move forward, society needs to recognise that mental health awareness is a collective responsibility that needs a holistic approach across all sectors. They said open conversations and support was needed to help people recognise and know how to deal with mental health problems instead of dismissing or belittling the issues as attention-seeking behaviour. We believe that ignorance and stigma is the root cause of how some responded when presented with the Instagram poll. Mental illnesses are inherently very isolating conditions because of this low level of awareness and high level of stigma in society. Story continues Open conversations about mental well-being and mental health conditions that are non-judgmental and non-stigmatising are crucial to foster an environment that allows people going through mental health issues to speak up, be understood and feel supported, they said. The groups suggested that social media platforms should also have an alert system in place that could immediately report instances related to suicidal plans and ideas and offer help immediately to prevent tragedies. In addition, all media professionals and agencies should be trained in responsible reporting on suicides according to guidelines issued by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP). There is extensive evidence that shows that media reports on suicide have a significant impact in enhancing or weakening suicide prevention efforts, they said. Last week, a 16-year-old girl in Kuching jumped to her death from a building after posting a poll on her Instagram story asking people whether she should choose life or death. In her poll, she asked Really Important. Help me to choose D/L - with D standing for death while L meant live. 69 per cent of people responding chose D although possibly not knowing what it meant. Police later said she was suffering from depression. Related Articles Friends, family should be there for those facing mental distress, says minister Mum of Sarawakian teen says daughter showed 'no behavioural change' prior to suicide Dr Wan Azizah urges public to be more responsible following teens suicide THE Philippine National Bank (PNB) has joined the Philippine Business Coalition for Women Empowerment (PBCWE) as its newest member company.A signing ceremony was recently held between the representatives THE Philippine National Bank (PNB) has joined the Philippine Business Coalition for Women Empowerment (PBCWE) as its newest member company. A signing ceremony was recently held between the representatives of the two parties, making the PNB the first universal bank in the Philippines to be included in the coalition. The PBCWE is comprised of large and influential companies committed to gender equality in the workplace. By becoming a PBCWE member, we signify our commitment to promote equal rights and opportunities for our employees regardless of gender, PNB chairperson Florencia Tarriela said. The bank joined the other eight member companies of the PBCWE in leading efforts towards building a business case for gender equality, creating knowledge on best workplace practices, communicating the benefits of empowering women in the workforce and institutionalizing policies based on best practices. As part of its commitment, the PNB will undergo the Economic Dividends for Gender Equality (Edge) Certification, a leading global assessment methodology and business standard for gender equality. It evaluates the workplaces gender equality performance of an organization against global and industry benchmarks. With this partnership, PNB is bringing gender equality to the next level. The Edge Certification presents an exciting challenge. Our ultimate goal is to build and sustain an organization where the best talents thrive based on their competence and contributions, Tarriela said. The PBCWE was established in 2017 as an inaugural project of the Philippine Womens Economic Network (PhilWEN) with funding support and in partnership with Investing in Women, an initiative of the Australian Government. We are proud to have PNB in the coalition, whose members take gender equality seriously, said PhilWEN chairperson and PBCWE co-chairperson Ma. Aurora Boots D. Geotina-Garcia. We believe the business sector should not just talk about gender equality, but rather, walk the talk by implementing concrete actions in pursuit of its advocacy. (S) THE MAKABAYAN bloc in the House of Representatives lost some representatives in the party-list polls although one of its former members unseated the Ecleos in Dinagat. I dont know if some other Makabayan bloc representatives made it by gaining other congressional district seats but its strength has always been in the party-list polls and it looks like some of the blocs party-list allies failed to get enough votes, like Akbayan. Akbayan used to be a formidable force in the party-list polls so its loss was readily observable. Its ideological rival, Bayan Muna, gained three seats. Former Akbayan representative Walden Bello attributed the loss to the party-list groups alliance with the Liberal Party, whose Otso Diretso slate got shut out in the Senate race. But I say that is not the main factor. Bayan Muna and Akbayan take joy in their organizing strength, which has allowed them to gain party-list seats despite the attacks and the propaganda hurled against them by the state. In this sense spontaneity is not one of their best suits. But I rate Akbayan a bit better in alliance work judging from some of its triumphs in the elections. I think it was in 2010 when the Left that includes Bayan Muna forged an alliance with the Nacionalista Party that in turn aligned with Ferdinand Bongbong Marcos Jr., the son of the late dictator whose regime jailed many leftist leaders including Satur Ocampo, who was running for the Senate then. It was therefore a spectacle seeing a Marcos share the same stage with Ka Satur. In 2016, a Left faction supported the candidacy of the liberal Grace Poe in the presidential elections. That was drowned by the high profile expression of love by Jose Ma. Sison, founding chairman of the Communist Party of the Philippines, for then Davao City mayor Rodrigo Duterte. That love turned to hate in a snap after Duterte became president, attesting to Jomas error. Meanwhile, while the Left could not see eye to eye with former president Benigno Aquino III, Akbayan aligned itself with the Aquino government. That alliance partly paid dividends with the election to the Senate of Risa Hontiveros, Akbayans sole holdout among the incumbents now. In the recent elections, I didnt see an aggressive push by Akbayan in the party-list polls in Cebu. Some Akbayan leaders that I know were not that visible unlike in previous elections, probably because Hontiveros was not running for reelection. But the lack of visibility may have been because the party machinery nationwide was not humming well. But supporters need some reminding during elections that, yes, your group still exists. In a way, that too may have been the fault of the other popular party-list groups. I would have liked, for example, that Gabriela got more than one seat in the House, considering the need for women to have a stronger voice in an administration whose view of women is not admirable. I also would have wanted the youth to be represented in the house by progressives, not by the Duterte Youth some of whose members are fanatics and old. The huge dome built over top of a crater left by one of the nuclear nuclear tests over Runit Island in Enewetak in the Marshall Islands As nuclear explosions go, the US "Cactus" bomb test in May 1958 was relatively smallbut it has left a lasting legacy for the Marshall Islands in a dome-shaped radioactive dump. The domedescribed by a UN chief Antonio Guterres as "a kind of coffin"was built two decades after the blast in the Pacific ocean region. The US military filled the bomb crater on Runit island with radioactive waste, capped it with concrete, and told displaced residents of the Pacific's remote Enewetak atoll they could safely return home. But Runit's 45-centimetre (18-inch) thick concrete dome has now developed cracks. And because the 115-metre wide crater was never lined, there are fears radioactive contaminants are leaching through the island's porous coral rock into the ocean. The concerns have intensified amid climate change. Rising seas, encroaching on the low-lying nation, are threatening to undermine the dome's structural integrity. Jack Ading, who represents the area in the Marshalls' parliament, calls the dome a "monstrosity". "It is stuffed with radioactive contaminants that include plutonium-239, one of the most toxic substances known to man," he told AFP. "The coffin is leaking its poison into the surrounding environment. And to make matters even worse, we're told not to worry about this leakage because the radioactivity outside of the dome is at least as bad as the radioactivity inside of it." Graphic showing the "Cactus dome" US nuclear waste dump in the Pacific. 'Staggering' challenges The dome has become a symbol of the mess left by the US nuclear test programme in the Marshall islands when 67 bombs were detonated between 1947-58 at Enewetak and Bikini atolls. Numerous islanders were forcibly evacuated from ancestral lands and resettled, including Enewetak's residents. Thousands more islanders were exposed to radioactive fallout and suffered health problems. The people of Enewetak were allowed home in 1980, and about 800 islanders now live in the southern part of the atoll, 20 kilometres (12 miles) from Runit. After the US military withdrew, the Marshall Islands government officially accepted a "full and final" settlement to cover the impact of the nuclear tests. But there have long been complaints that the compensation paid by Washington was inadequate, and the United Nations has described "a legacy of distrust" towards the United States. UN Secretary General Guterres raised the issue earlier this month after meeting Marshall Islands President Hilda Heine in Fiji, when they discussed the nuclear legacy and the prospect of radioactive leakage from Runit dome. Thousands of Marshall Islanders, amid continued nuclear tests in the region the 1950s, fled or were forcibly evacuated "The Pacific was victimised in the past as we all know... the consequences of these have been quite dramatic, in relation to health, in relation to the poisoning of waters in some areas," he said. Marshalls Foreign Minister John Silk said he appreciated Guterres bringing the Runit dome to world attention with this comments. "We are pleased that the Secretary General made these statements, since so often it seems that these ongoing legacy issues that continue to impact our people are forgotten by the international community," he said. Uncertain future Rhea Moss-Christian, who chairs the Marshall Islands National Nuclear Commission, said the country "needs the support of the international community to address the staggering health and environmental challenges across the Pacific." The consequences of the dome failing are unclear. A 2013 inspection commissioned by the US government suggested radioactive fallout in the Enewetak lagoon sediment was already so high a catastrophic failure would not necessarily result in locals receiving increased dosages of radiation. Marshall Islands' President Hilda Heine has discussed the legacy left from the nuclear detonations, and the prospect of radioactive leakage Silk, noting that the US government had committed to ongoing monitoring of the dome, said an independent assessment of the structure's status "would be helpful". But Ading said the situation was "a constant source of anxiety for the people of Enewetak". "We pray that the Runit dome does not eventually become our coffin," he said. Explore further UN chief concerned nuclear 'coffin' leaking in Pacific 2019 AFP Renault is due to have a board meeting early Monday in Paris French and Italian-US auto giants Renault and Fiat Chrysler are set to announce talks on an alliance, with a view to a potential merger, informed sources said on Sunday. Renault and FCA are likely to unveil the move "within hours, perhaps tomorrow (Monday), before the (Paris) bourse opens," one of the sources told AFP on condition of anonymity, adding an eventual "merger" was on the agenda. The same source added that a statement would cover "the possibility of a convergence between the two groups" which "will be studied" with a view to a potential merger. A Renault board meeting is scheduled for 8:00 am (0600 GMT) on Monday. A source close to the French government, which holds 15 percent of Renault, said the authorities have noted the reports but will be "vigilant on jobs, the impact on industry as a whole and the national interest." Renault's current major partnership is with Japan's Nissan, in which it holds 43 percent. Nissan in turn owns 15 percent of its French partner Renault but the imbalance in the relationship has led to serious friction, highlighted by the arrest of former Renault and Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn in Tokyo. The Wall Street Journal said the talks were "wide-ranging" and could include Renault and Fiat Chrysler "joining large portions of their businesses". Renault has pushed ahead in electric cars but is relatively weak in North America Contacted by AFP, neither Renault nor Fiat would comment. Nissan likely 'furious' The Financial Times, quoting multiple people informed on the talks, said: "The agreement may ultimately lead the carmaker (Fiat-Chrysler) to join the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance in the future," if Nissan can be won over. Such an alliance would be the world's biggest with estimated total production of some 16 million vehicles. The Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi combine currently makes around 10.8 million automobiles, compared with Germany's Volkswagen and Japan's Toyota, both on around 10.6 million. However, the tie-up with FCA could make Renault much more powerful, potentially further upsetting the balance in the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance where Ghosn was pushing for much more say before his downfall. "The question now is 'what is the reaction of the Japanese going to be?" said one source close to the issue, suggesting they could be "furious." "Nissan has not been involved in this dossier," the source noted. Fiat Chrysler is widely seen as a latecomer to the electric vehicle market but is well placed in the US SUV and pick-up sectors In recent weeks, Renault has been pushing for changes to its tie-up with Nissan, suggesting the formation of a 50-50 holding company to run both firms. Nissan however has resisted, feeling it is the bigger company and should be treated as such. Last year, Renault sold 3.9 million vehicles and Nissan 5.65 million, with Mitsubishi accounting for another 1.22 million. Fiat Chrysler meanwhile sold 4.8 million autos but has been under pressure in Europe, stoking speculation it was looking for a partner as the industry is forced to consolidate in the face of declining demand and a costly switch into electric cars. "Without a partner, Fiat cannot survive. They don't have an electric vehicle, they only have old models and the only thing keeping them going is their sales in the US," said Ferdinand Dudenhoeffer, director of the Centre for Automotive Research based in Germany. FCA chief Mike Manley said earlier this month in Milan that his company would play an "active and constructive" role in this process. Fiat Chrysler is widely seen as a latecomer to the electric vehicle market but does well in the US SUV and pick-up sectors. Renault meanwhile has pushed ahead in electric cars but is relatively weak in North America so the two companies would be a good fit. Following his arrest, Ghosn was bailed for a second time on April 25 and is now preparing for trial on four charges of financial misconduct ranging from concealing part of his salary, to using Nissan funds for personal expenses. Early this year, rumours circulated that Renault was interested in Fiat-Chrysler after its hopes for a full merger with Nissan or even French competitor PSA were dashed. Explore further Renault wants joint holding with Nissan: media 2019 AFP Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism. Kenneth Tingley Editor 12801 Follow Kenneth Tingley 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 The question to Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner hung in the air for an unusually long period of time. Elected officials are used to answering questions and not easily thrown off message, but when asked if she was worried about the actions she sees in Washington and the behavior of President Trump, she hesitated, started to talk, then stopped, stuttered briefly and started again, before finally saying, Are you asking me as an elected state official or a private citizen? I told her it didnt matter. The political fissures in Washington were brought home to the New York Legislature this week with the passage of two bills that dont directly affect the well-being of New Yorkers one way or another, but could have a significant impact on national politics. The two votes dragged our local elected officials into a debate they dont appear comfortable with. That is the continued power of President Trump, where his base of support is probably also the base of support for locally elected state officials. The Legislature voted this past week to allow New York officials to release state tax returns in cooperation with congressional investigations by three different committees, while also voting to allow New York prosecutors to bring charges against people who have received presidential pardons or other forms of clemency. Both were designed as checks to President Trump. Sen. Betty Little, Sen. Daphne Jordan and Assemblyman Dan Stec, all Republicans, voted against both bills. Woerner, a Democrat, voted against the presidential pardon bill, but for the bill that would allow a peek at President Trumps state taxes. She said it was in the name of transparency. In phone conversations with Little and Woerner, neither seemed comfortable being dragged into Washington politics, and both were guarded when talking about President Trump. I never heard back from Stec after leaving him voice mail messages on Thursday and Friday. Both Little and Woerner believed pardons to be sacrosanct and beyond reproach. It is double jeopardy, Little said. A pardon is a pardon. For New York state to say it is going to prosecute, it would open a precedent for past and future pardons. She then cited the American Civil Liberties Union for its opposition to the law. It had to be the first time Little had used the ACLU as a defense. I dont think it is good public policy to craft a law around an individual, Woerner said. Woerner voted against the original bill to release Trumps tax returns because it was too broad and could open any citizens taxes for review. She worried it could be abused politically. After the bill was narrowed to those with executive power, Woerner voted for it in the name of transparency. Little, who makes her tax returns public every year even though she does not have to by law, said a better law might be to require all legislators to make their taxes public. She has also said President Trump should make his tax returns public. But that did not make her a yes vote, saying the political nature of the law made her uncomfortable. When I asked her if she was concerned with what she was seeing in Washington, she criticized the lack of bipartisanship in general. When I pressed her about the presidents behavior, his lying, the failure of the administration to respond to subpoenas from Congress and adhering to the rule of law, she said, Well, it does, but you dont know how much is true and not true. Like the veteran politicians she is, Little repeatedly turned the discussion from Washington to what needs to be done in New York and her district, although she did cite a number of accomplishments by the Trump administration from support of the military and veterans to the good economy. As the discussion with Woerner continued about her concerns with Washington politics, she said, I dont know how to answer it. She explained that the usual process is for the American people to evaluate a president after his three years in office and ask themselves whether they are better off now than I was before. I think we should embrace this process, she said. I pressed her further that these are not normal times. I am distressed that we have gotten so far away from the mission of government, which is to make things better, Woerner said, I fear we are becoming too distracted. As a state-elected official, we have to make sure the needs and priorities of modern society are taken care of, Woerner said. We have had an intrusion in the past week that has been driven by politics. I suspect those intrusions will continue for all of us and they will become harder and harder to ignore and characterize as politics as usual. By 2020 the next time our state elected officials are up for re-election it wont surprise me they are all judged on one issue where they stand on President Trump. Ken Tingley is the editor of The Post-Star and may be reached via email at tingley@poststar.com. You can read his blog The Front Page daily at www.poststar.com or his updates on Twitter at www.twitter.com/kentingley Love 0 Funny 4 Wow 0 Sad 2 Angry 4 Catch the latest in Opinion Get opinion pieces, letters and editorials sent directly to your inbox weekly! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. I'm not on Facebook and do not post to Medium. Twitter has suspended me. I don't know why. mscriver@3rivers.net COMMENTS WELCOME unless they are anonymous. 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 Another milestone for the flight is that it will carry more veterans than previous Honor Flights. The flight, out of the Quad-City International Airport, Moline, will include 105 veterans and 62 guardians, who escort the guardians. Garrington said with less health and mobility concerns, "we don't need as many wheelchairs so we're taking more veterans and less guardians." For all the veterans it will be a day of remembrance and gratitude. Jim Spratt credits a friend who had been on a previous Honor Flight for suggesting he take one. "I just thought it would be great if all five of us could go - it gives us bragging rights (with five brothers)," he said in a telephone interview. "I just gave the paperwork to my wife (Mary) and she took care of everything." Raised on a farm, the Spratt family totaled eight Spratt brothers, including Alan, who was killed in a farm accident when he was 26. Jim Spratt, 79, said his four brothers all were drafted into service and he volunteered out of high school serving during the Vietnam conflict in Germany and France. "We lived on a small farm so there was no exemption for us," he said. "But we wanted to do it, it was our duty." "The world has changed very rapidly and profoundly and we didn't 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." Also, Democratic primary voters object to the way the president conducts himself on the world stage, Delaney said. Values, decency and morality are now foreign policy issues, as well. That basic frame of a return to normalcy in foreign policy is similar to what the Democratic front-runner, former Vice President Joe Biden, is running on, as well. But Biden has yet to articulate a specific foreign policy agenda, and when talking about China, for example, he has stumbled. The two progressive candidates most active on foreign policy are Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. They both want the Democratic Party to pursue a more progressive, less-interventionist, less-capitalist foreign policy that would represent a wholesale change, as opposed to the tweaks centrists are proposing. "It's a whole ecosystem," says Alice Stollmeyer, a former digital activist from the Netherlands who now runs the advocacy group Digital Democracy. "It's no longer just state-backed, but it's of domestic origin as well." Stollmeyer warns against the idea that this campaign is related solely to the European elections. "There's a shift from misleading facts to misleading narratives - and it's not just one article or tweet, but a tapestry that's being woven all year long." As one example, she cites the "Great Replacement" - the burgeoning white nationalist claim that immigrants pose an existential threat to the European identity. A recent study in the Czech Republic dramatizes the extent of the problem. Pollsters from Nielsen Admosphere found that 28 percent of the population believe that "the E.U. is actually organizing the illegal migration of Muslim country people to Europe." Nineteen percent of those over the age of 55 said that anti-government demonstrations in Slovakia, Hungary and their own country were "paid for by George Soros." Though the Russians play a well-documented role in disseminating disinformation throughout the country's social media, the Czechs themselves have proved proficient at generating misleading content - starting with the country's own president. "The far-right populist politicians are using the same materials as the Kremlin when it's trying to interfere with domestic affairs," says Veronika Vichova of the European Values think tank in Prague. "Unless you understand the precise motivation, it's very hard to tell them apart." Our concern is the impact this will have on local contractors. Consider Michelle DeCap, chief financial officer of Phoenix Corporation, of Rapids City, Ill. This Quad-City company has done projects on both sides of the river for years. DeCap told us that, even though the same amount of federal money might be spent locally, she believes the funds will be rolled into larger state jobs and there will be a smaller number of projects for her firm to bid on meaning fewer opportunities for Phoenix, a certified woman-owned business, to win local projects. A number of area organizations, many of them labor unions, have opposed this move. But so has the Quad-Cities Chamber of Commerce. The chamber worried that participating in the swap program "may allow for more businesses from outside the Quad-Cities region that dont follow [federal wage and discrimination] guidelines to garner work, which would have a direct negative impact on our region." The law passed by the legislature assumes the swap will take place unless a local planning organization decides to opt out. School spending has been a major focus of discussion as state policymakers look for ways to reduce property taxes in Nebraska. As this discussion progressed, we decided to look more closely at school spending at the individual district level and to talk with superintendents and other school officials to see what they put their dollars toward. Their responses have been enlightening. For this simple study, we asked superintendents in 51 Nebraska districts where general fund operating expenditures (GFOE) increased by 50% or more between 2008-2009 and 2017-18 to discuss the causes of the increased expenditures. We have heard from 30 districts and their responses revealed some major trends: *Special education (SPED) costs in many districts rose dramatically over this time. In 42 of the 51 districts surveyed, SPED costs increased by 50% or more and multiple districts now have student populations that are composed of 20% or more SPED students. Not only are numbers growing, but the severity of the needs are growing as well. *Overall student enrollment is growing particularly fast in our bedroom communities, leading to these schools needing to increase funding for staffing, facilities and other functions in order to facilitate the spikes in student enrollment. *In many cases, the need to improve and maintain aging facilities some of which are more than a century old has contributed to increased spending. *Curricular changes and the increased use of technology are decisions local districts made that have a financial impact. *Teacher experience and continuing education cause costs to go up. Some of those who responded also noted that unfunded mandates from both the federal and state levels have an impact on expenditures over which school districts have little or no control. Furthermore, comparability requirements in teacher negotiations have an impact on what school districts have to spend as well. What becomes clear in the survey is that school spending has grown to meet important needs. Furthermore, as man of the survey respondents noted, the increased expenditures were approved by their boards of education, which are elected bodies that often have significant representation from our agricultural communities. Put another way, those who have been most impacted by Nebraskas growing reliance on property taxes our states farmers and ranchers also have, in many cases, approved increased school spending because they understand the money is being used to meet important community needs. Lawmakers have an important task this session in helping reduce the property taxes that have strained Nebraskans, and particularly those in our agricultural community. Looking to cut property taxes by reducing school spending, however, would be counterproductive and harmful to an already stretched educational system that is working hard to address real and growing needs. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 On the hallowed grounds of Gettysburg Battlefield in 1863, President Lincoln pledged that our country can never forget the last full measure of devotion given by our service members. This Memorial Day, Nebraskans and people throughout this nation will carry on a solemn tradition of honoring the fallen of our wars. Every one of them share this in common: they loved America, and they were willing to give their last full measure of devotion to protect our freedom. Those who gave everything when our country needed them most ask only one thing of us, that we remember them. On Memorial Day, and every day, we honor and remember our fallen service members. We do so not just with our words, but also with our actions. And we dont have to look far for evidence of this in our communities. Before World War I came to an end, plans were underway to build Memorial Stadium in honor of those who sacrificed their lives overseas. Its northeast corner is inscribed with timeless words: Their lives they held their countrys trust; They kept its faith; They died its heroes. First Lieutenant Jarvis Offutt was among them, who is the namesake of Offutt Air Force Base. Nebraskans commitment to honoring our fallen is alive and well among younger generations. Last year, The Washington Post chronicled the work of Vanessa Taylor, a high school student in Ainsworth, and her teacher, Nichole Flynn, as they dove into research for a history project. The goal was to honor a silent hero from their home state, as part of the National History Day Normandy Institute Program. Over several months, they brought the story of two twin brothers from Nebraska to life. Julius and Ludwig Pieper of Creston, were both stationed on a Landing Ship Tank called Stardust off the coast of Normandy during World War II. When the vessel struck an underwater magnetic mine, both brothers were killed. Ludwigs remains were found, but Juliuss name was etched on the Wall of the Missing at the Normandy American Cemetery in France. Vanessa and Nichole contacted the brothers family, the National Archives, and the Department of Defenses Prisoner of War and Missing in Action (POW/MIA) Accounting Agency, and after thorough research, authorities were able to find a match for Juliuss remains. Julius no longer remains anonymous and he was buried, fittingly, right next to his twin brother. In the article, the twins niece highlights one unforgettable memento, a letter the brothers wrote two days before their death, which read: Do not worry about us, we are together. Thanks to Vanessa and Nicholes hard work that statement is true once more. Nebraska is also home to other remarkable efforts to properly memorialize members of the Greatest Generation we lost. Recently, the Department of Defenses POW/MIA Accounting Agency, based at Offutt Air Base, identified the remains of Navy Fireman First Class Grant Cook Junior of Cozad. He was serving aboard the U.S.S. Oklahoma and sacrificed his life during the attack on Pearl Harbor. For over 70 years, his grave was topped with Known But to God. Grant Cook Junior was buried for a second time with a grave that bears his name. As we commemorate Memorial Day, I encourage every Nebraskan to reflect on the sacrifices made for our freedom. This year, Im looking forward to participating in the Adams County Memorial Day program at Parkview Cemetery in Hastings. It is my honor to join Nebraskans at this special event to remember those who gave their lives in service to our great nation. In the days ahead, please take a moment to lay flowers on the grave of a fallen service member or pause for a moment of silence. Our hearts are with the families of our fallen, who carry a heroic burden of their own. We honor their memory. Thank you for participating in the democratic process. I look forward to visiting with you again next week. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The bill that had the best chance of lowering property taxes and making public education funding more equal LB 289 has failed to advance. Aside from lowering everyones property taxes, this bill would have helped correct the terrible unfairness in funding for the 213 mostly rural school districts who receive no equalization aid from the state. Ask yourself why a child in the Gordon-Rushville School District is only worth about $80 in state aid to schools, but a child in the Omaha Public Schools is worth about $5,500. I wish I could name names and publish a vote count and show the people where their senators stand on this bill, but a vote was never taken. LB 289 did not have at least 33 supporters to end the filibuster, so we couldnt even take a vote on the most important issue facing Nebraska. I can tell you a lot of politicians opposed to this bill breathed a sigh of relief. They didnt want to be on the record voting against property tax relief. Good for them. Bad for Nebraska. The speaker announced at the end of the work week that the Legislature would adjourn Sine Die on 31 May. Thats four working days early. The speaker only has so much he can work with, so I understand his decision, but I am frustrated and disheartened by it. I cannot speak for others, but I am ready and willing to spend whatever time it takes to pass the most important piece of unfinished business we have. The 1.9 million Nebraskans outside of the capitol building see this legislature skipping out early without addressing the #1 problem facing our State the property tax crisis. This is not the first time the legislature has done this. This is my third session as a state senator and we have adjourned every single year without addressing the property tax crisis. This has been going on for decades and it makes me sick. It makes me sick because it is all based on a wrong idea. It is based on the idea that the masterminds in government bureaucracies are somehow more important than what happens on farms and ranches and in family homes and businesses across the state. Too many of my colleagues believe that their ideas for the peoples money are smarter and better and more important than what the people would choose for themselves. They forget it is private enterprise that grows our food and builds our houses. They forget that families are what make those houses into homes. When government spends too much, the answer cannot always be to take more from the people. In the few remaining days of this session, I am still hopeful there will be a final, successful effort to get property tax relief passed. The time for bickering and delay is long over. My message for my fellow senators is simple: lets get this done for Nebraska now! Please contact my office with any comments, questions or concerns. Email me at tbrewer@leg.ne.gov, mail a letter to Sen. Tom Brewer, Room #1423, P.O. Box 94604, Lincoln, NE 68509, or call us at (402) 471-2628. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Approaching their centennial year, the Rohrbach farm and ranch in Roscoe has never been more focused on improving the land. After years and generations of doing what was passed on to them, Jonathan Rohrbach has switched his management style toward a regenerative-focused operation. Rohrbach will serve as the Tri-State Neighbors northern South Dakota crop watcher for the 2019 growing season, along with his wife Sheena and son Jadon. Rohrbach, 47, has been on the operation all his life. His grandparents purchased the land in 1922, and he has long been focused on making his familys legacy stronger. With the years getting drier and the input costs ever rising, Rohrbach decided it was time to earn back the moisture on his land. The inputs kept going up and up and up, and it didnt seem like it was balancing, he said. The first thing Rohrbach tried was diversifying his crop rotations. With his 500 or so acres of cropland, Rohrbach decided to switch off the traditional corn-soybean rotation and add cover crops, peas and other forages. This year, Rohrbach added barley to his rotation and will continue to try out letting his cattle graze on corn stalks which he tested last season and liked what he saw. The added benefit to his new regenerative techniques with the crops is that he has already seen an improvement in his grazing paddocks. Rohrbachs father and grandfather were always on board with rotational grazing, and his new shorter rotation cycles have helped even further. Having already started with grazing rotations, I noticed that my pastures were holding up better to the dry conditions than others, he said. The Rohrbachs have 12 paddocks for the herd and five for the replacements and yearlings. After considering the move for some time, Rohrbach realized he was already working with a regenerative focus on the paddocks, so he decided he should apply that to the rest of his operation. If it worked on the grass, it should work on the crop, he said. The Rohrbachs are looking to keep it simple this year. With the added barley, Rohrbach said he is still looking to find that sweet spot for his operation. Unfortunately, every year brings differing amounts of moisture, so its been hard to judge each year as a whole. Some of the farmers are a bit frustrated but most of us cattle guys are happy we got moisture in the sloughs and dugouts, he said. We dont want the water to stop yet. One big change was to move calving to the beginning of May this year. Rohrbach believes it worked simply because he was able to miss the big March and April storms that came through South Dakota. In total, there were 109 inches of snow recorded in the Roscoe area, which is less than the record 120-plus inches recorded in the late 1990s. The Rohrbachs' plan is to plant one-fifth of their field to each barley, soybeans and cover crops while planting two-fifths of the field in corn. Rohrbachs main goal is to just to get by. The goal this year, as always, is to make some money, he said. But the reality is Id like to keep some of my weeds down without spraying. Weed control on a no-till, no-inputs crop operation has been difficult, but Rohrbach believes in a few years he will see the results he wants to see. As the farm evolves and the regenerative focus becomes stronger, Rohrbach said he has long-term goals to shrink the paddock sizes and make his grazing rotations shorter. In addition, hed like to see his son Jadon get more involved with the operation. At just 9 years old, he already pitches in tremendously where hes needed. Hes a good help, he said. Until those long term goals are met, Rohrbach wants to keep it simple. Theres always fences to fix, he joked. While no one in Rohrbachs area has yet switched to regenerative methods like he has, he said being a pioneer for the area isnt as daunting as it would seem. He credited his neighbors for being with him since his childhood and noted that several of his neighbors have been farming with him since he was his sons age. While most farmers go around advertising their acreage and herd size, Rohrbach said he was uncomfortable with the idea. (I have) enough to try and make a living, Rohrbach said. There is never enough when youre selling and always too much when youre working them. When they arent farming, the Rohrbachs have a unique way of making fun. According to Jadon, theyll set up a mini-racetrack for their four-wheelers with bales in the field. The family also likes to get out to swim and snowmobile when the weather is right. Rohrbach volunteers with the Roscoe Fire Department and serves as an advisor for the Edmunds County Conservation District. Reach Jager Robinson at 605-335-7300 or email jager.robinson@lee.net You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 ABERDEEN | It was a privilege. Brig. Gen. Thomas Croymans didn't speak the phrase. He didn't have to. With a slight flush in his skin, he averts his eyes and wipes at invisible particles on his meeting table in his office. His voice holds steady. "It went quick," Croymans said. Croymans retired from the South Dakota National Guard after 43 years. He was officially honored May 4 during a retirement ceremony at Joint Force Headquarters on Camp Rapid. He's quick to call attention to the sacrifice his family and employers have made and the support they've shown him and every guard member. He never anticipated being at this stage when he signed on at 17. He's 60 now and continues working in his civilian job as a highway engineer with the Bureau of Indian Affairs Central Office. He joined the Guard in October 1975. He would graduate high school in Wilmot the following spring. His father had been a first sergeant with the National Guard's 740th in Milbank. There was a little pressure, but Croymans was also excited. "When I first signed up, I wasn't thinking about anything long term. It was more fun; just to do something different. Once a weekend get out, go do drill. It was a lot of fun in the beginning. So that put the hook in a while. I had a good time when I first got in," Croymans said. The first 10 years went by quickly so he decided he'd continue to the 20-year mark for full benefits. "After a while, one opportunity after another came along. Each time I got a new job, there was a new set of challenges there. I kind of liked doing that kind of thing," Croymans said. Each advancement was spurred by different things sometimes luck, sometimes timing. With each rise in rank, Croymans could count on more responsibility and bigger decisions with bigger consequences. "All those things happened, especially in a career that's this long, but it doesn't always work the way you think it will," he said. When he joined the Guard, the U.S. was enjoying a peaceful respite after the Vietnam War. The Guard's first active duty was during Desert Shield and Desert Storm in 1990 and 1991. It tested the Guard's mettle in a way it hadn't been for some time, Croymans said. This was after his time as a soldier, so he fulfilled his duties stateside. "The last time the Guard was really utilized was in World War II. We had to up our game a bit, and we did. It was something that we had an integral part of," Croymans said. His career took him to Milbank, Brookings, Sioux Falls, Mitchell, Rapid City and Aberdeen. His first 14 years were as an enlisted soldier. The moving became more frequent, about every two years, when he got his commission and rose to second lieutenant. The Guard, run at the state level, sent Croymans and his compatriots to a number of disasters and incidents. "Watertown floods in spring of '98, coordination for fighting forest fires, search and rescue, those kinds of civil support activities," he said. "It's pretty rewarding work because you get to do something for the citizens of the state." In 1992, he married his wife, Vicki. He was 32, which he called "a little later in life." His Guard duty was already ingrained and his family was understanding. It was just a mindset. Family activities, games, recitals and reunions all took a backseat to Croymans' duty. That's the shadow he hasn't quite shaken that automatic priority response. This June, a big Guard month, will be the first time he can attend a Fathers Day fishing tournament, if he wants. For 43 years, there was no choice. His wife likes to joke that he still may need to get away one weekend a month to keep for a happy home. He laughs that he wouldn't know what to do if his hair touched his ears. He hadn't considered modifying the regimental cut, now that he can. At the thought, Croymans laughs heartily, wipes away another imaginary crumb and folds his hands humbly in service well spent. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 SIOUX FALLS | A small neon-vest-clad group was clustered in the Raven Industries parking lot in downtown Sioux Falls on May 18, waiting for the first installment of Sioux Falls' newest sculpture, the Arc of Dreams. The Arc is a centerpiece and celebration of SculptureWalk, which is entering its 16th year. The 2019 slate featured 59 pieces from artists across the country and Canada. The sculpture was six years in the making. Although 45 minutes to transport the sculpture pieces from the north side of town to its new home was a relatively short time to wait, the anticipation for its arrival was palpable. Semi trucks carried three pieces of the structure that will stand on the west bank of the Big Sioux River. The morning sun glinted off the woven stainless steel pieces, which when constructed will represent the risk and uncertainty that must be overcome when chasing dreams, ambitions and goals, according to its designers. Koni Schiller cried at the sight of it. "It's going to be for generations to come," Schiller said. "It'll promote the new and the young to make Sioux Falls better than before and take that leap of faith." The Arc is the culmination of six years of work, six different designs, three wind studies and hours of effort though a network of people, said Dale Lamphere, the sculpture's artist. It's essentially the culmination of his 50 years of work as an artist, said Lamphere, who is South Dakota's artist laureate and also created Dignity, placed near Chamberlain. "I hope it'll exceed expectations, but I'll feel relief," Lamphere said. He's yet to see the structure in its entirety, since it's been sitting in pieces outside his studio. "The SculptureWalk is doing something truly world class for Sioux Falls." Construction of the Arc of Dreams itself is a perfect example of the work it takes to achieve a dream, Lamphere said. A network of people in Sioux Falls came up with the idea of the Arc of Dreams to celebrate the SculptureWalk and Sioux Falls. Hundreds of hands have been involved in the project through making the sculpture, fundraising for the structure and arranging its fruition. "It honors past and present dreamers," Lamphere said. It'll take two weeks to assemble the west bank's structure, and another two weeks to complete the east bank near Cherapa Place. The assembly is similar to puzzle pieces. Construction and installation is difficult because of the bedrock under the structure, along with its size and 57-ton weight. It's expected to be finished by mid June. Downtown Sioux Falls 16 years ago would be unrecognizable now, according to Lynne Byrne, a selection judge for SculptureWalk and chair of the South Dakota State Art Council. The downtown area was struggling economically, and SculptureWalk was created to revitalize the area by getting people out and walking downtown, drawing them to businesses. "It's been part of why our downtown is so vibrant now," Byrne said. Since 2004, 836 sculptures have been displayed across downtown. "Over the years Sioux Falls has grown to be a national leader in the arts," SculptureWalk director Jim Clark said. "SculptureWalk is honored to be a part of the renaissance that has made downtown Sioux Falls a visitor destination and a great place to live, work and play." The construction of the Arc of Dreams structure, towering 70 feet above the Big Sioux rapids, will immediately alter the Sioux Falls skyline. "I think it will be a point of pride for the entire city. Everybody will be able to identify with the leap. It'll be right up there with the (St. Joseph) cathedral representing Sioux Falls," Byrne said. It will also change the landscape of South Dakota, establishing the state as the "Sculpture State," Byrne said. The South Dakota Department of Tourism has coined the "Sculpture Trail" across the state, including the Arc of Dreams, the Sioux Falls SculptureWalk, Dignity, the Badlands (a natural work of art), the Rapid City president walk, Crazy Horse Monument, and Mount Rushmore. The construction of the Arc of Dreams makes Sioux Falls an even bigger part of the landscape, according to Clark. "If we did something big, we really wanted to do something that represented the community," he said. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 HOUGHTON | An 88-year-old man has made his mark on a farming community in northeastern South Dakota as a prolific gopher killer. Clayton Sanderson of Houghton estimates he has caught 22,000 of the varmints since he started hunting them down in 1997. Sanderson told the Aberdeen News that he doesn't poison the animals, because poison is expensive and he can't reach their bodies if they go deep into their gopher holes to die, making it harder for him to turn them into profit. So he widens the top of the hole and sets a trap with two pressure-triggered arms. "Find the last hole they made, open the hole, set the trap in. They don't like the hole open so they come back to close that hole, and that's when you catch them," Sanderson said. He said he has been bitten only once in 22 years. Farmers hate gophers, he said, "with a passion," because of the damage wrought on their farm equipment when they hit the mounds at the entrance of the gopher holes. Sanderson said he earns $3 for every set of gopher front paws that he hands over to Shelby or Lansing township officials $1.50 from the officials and the same again from the grateful landowner. And the gophers' bodies? "I feed them to the cats," Sanderson said. The retired farmer started catching gophers with his son, Jackie, who suffered brain damage during an illness when he was very young. Jackie Sanderson has lived in an assisted-care facility since September, so his father soldiers on alone. He refers to his role as both a hobby and a full-time job. Sanderson admits he is slowing down. He has trapped 27 gophers this year after 125 in 2018. "My get up and go got up and left me, so I don't last very long," Sanderson said. "Then I just get back in my car and go home. That's all." You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 MOORHEAD, Minn. | Meg Moynihan used to work with the Minnesota Department of Agricultures organic program. Now she calls herself the ag departments farm stress lady. Moynihan understands farm stress. She and her husband operate a small dairy farm near Belle Plaine. For a period of time, she had to take a leave of absence from her job to step in and run the dairy operation herself at a time that is proving particularly challenging. Last year, 10 percent of Minnesota dairy farms went under, and a similar number are expected to fail this year just one troubled sector in an agricultural economy under stress from chronically low prices, rising costs and trade disputes, among other factors. It is a storm and I think people feel really battered, Moynihan said. The Moynihans lost a buyer for their organic milk, plunging their operation into chaos. Moynihans health began to decline under the time pressures. After nine months, the couple found a new buyer. Although emerging from the crisis, Moynihan asked to help the department develop programs and resources to help struggling farmers, including the Minnesota Farm and Rural Helpline. Farmers and farm families need a wide array of advice financial, banking, legal, physical, as well as mental and emotional health. These stresses are so real and they are so pervasive, she said. Farmers and ranchers, who pride themselves on being independent and resourceful, are reluctant to seek help. They say to themselves, Im going to buck up and make it work, Moynihan said. It mounts. Thats especially the case in a farm that has been in a family for generations. Farmers feel the weight of previous generations and feel responsible for passing the farm along to the next generation, she said. Lutheran Social Services recently created a new program under its Abound Counseling service to help farmers and ranchers cope with stress. The program is run by Becky Kopp-Dunham. As with Moynihan, Kopp-Dunham also has a connection to farming. She and her husband farm near Hawley. Counseling services for farmers and farm families are available over the phone and online to make it easier for people to access help, she said. Telehealth helped us branch out, Kopp-Dunham added. Were in the early stages of getting the word out. The delayed start of planting due to the cold, wet spring weighs heavily on farmers. Were hearing of the stress and the urgency to get in the field, she said. Financial difficulties for a farmer put more than livelihood at risk, making the emotional toll greater. People view farming as a job, and its not a job, Kopp-Dunham said. Its the loss of a culture and a way of life, likely for generations. Its a completely different level of stress and pressure than just losing a job. Pressures build over a succession of tough financial years due to chronically low prices. It compounds over the years and it becomes more than they can absorb. Ted Matthews, who counsels farmers with support from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture and colleges, has been working with farmers for more than 25 years. Im not only getting more calls, he said. Im hearing more desperation. They dont know what to do. The problem is that so much is beyond their control: farm policy, trade policy, monetary policy, the weather, global commodity markets. Working harder is not the answer, Matthews said. Working better is not the answer. Its beyond their control. Matthews, who describes himself as a crisis interventionist, finds himself getting angry at national politicians who he believes have failed to respond to the growing problems in farm country. The consequences of their not doing things, I hear, he said. Often, Matthews finds himself trying to prevent suicides. For every person who succeeds, he said, another 25 try to take their lives. Sometimes suicides are identified as farm accidents, he said. If you have insurance and your debt load is high sometimes that happens. Todays farm families face pressures earlier generations didnt, Matthews said. Now its common for wives to work off the farm, especially to provide health insurance for the family and to reduce debt. To be effective in helping farmers, counselors must truly understand how farmers think, whats important to them, and farm culture, Matthews said. Although farmers are becoming more open to accepting help and guidance, Matthews often hears from farmers through an intermediary, such as a trusted friend or neighbor, clergy member, lawyer or banker, a network that has developed over the years. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 A student organization has challenged the Rapid city Area Schools Board of Education to amend district policy so that it explicitly prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender identity. While district policy forbids students and employees from harassing any individual because of their age, citizenship, color, creed, disability, ethnic background, national origin, political affiliation, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation or veteran status, it lacks language that directly addresses gender. At their meeting last week, school board members heard from Stevens High School students belonging to the group WISE Working to Initiate Societal Equality who asked them to consider making a policy change similar to one they approved for Western Dakota Technical Institute in October. They brought with them a petition signed by around 240 of their peers. One member of the group, Noelle Schendzielos, said after the meeting that the request was made in an effort to support students who identify as transgender or non-binary, meaning they do not exclusively consider themselves to be masculine or feminine. I know that some of them feel like they have to hide it, because otherwise they get treated differently, Schendzielos said. School policy does state that discrimination against "any other protected characteristic under applicable state or federal law" will not be tolerated, however gender identity is not explicitly mentioned in South Dakota law either. Additionally, the U.S Supreme Court is scheduled to hear a case in October that could decide whether transgender workers are protected by current federal anti-discrimination law. Since last week, School Board President Ron Riherd said that board members have not discussed the students' proposal nor have administrators taken action to address it. The latter, he said, first needs to determine whether gender identity is encompassed in school policy as it currently stands, he said. Administrators at WDT previously said that transgender individuals were shielded from discrimination because of its policy prohibited sex-based discrimination but held that the eventual insertion of gender identity into the policy made their protection more clear. "I understand where they're coming from," Riherd said of the students. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The Montana Department of Revenue has opened the competitive bidding process for seven alcohol licenses across the state, including one in Hamilton. The people or businesses with the highest bids who meet all the legal requirements may apply for the licenses. Bids are due by midnight June 26. On-premises licenses are available for operations in these locations: Bozeman beer; Belgrade one restaurant beer and wine license, and one new all-beverage license; Helena beer; Hamilton beer; and Columbia Falls one restaurant beer and wine license, and one floater all-beverage license. The floater all-beverage license available in Columbia Falls allows the successful bidder to purchase an existing all-beverage license in an area that is over its quota limit. Once approved by the department, the successful bidder may transfer that license to Columbia Falls. Applicants must submit their bid through MyRevenue.mt.gov. All bids must include an Irrevocable Letter of Credit (ILOC) from a financial institution. See the departments website for specific requirements of the letter. All bids must also include a $100 processing fee plus any possible payment processing fees. The minimum bid is set at 75% of the market value of the similar licenses in the area. For more information, including the minimum bids for each license, visit revenue.mt.gov or call 406-444-6900. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 Korean War Navy veteran Ralph Keppel will be the Grand Marshall of the Memorial Day Parade hosted by American Legion Post #91 in Corvallis on Monday. Keppel is 89 and has been a strong servant in the American Legion for 59 years. Probably 30 of those years I served on the honor squad for burying the veterans, he said. Ive been post commander and went through the chairs. When we were young we did a lot of that stuff. My wife has volunteered a lot and thats what you do in a community. As a longtime honor guard, Keppel said he feels like hes marched in the Corvallis Memorial Day parade for what feels like 912 years. The American Legion Stevensville Post has a wagon that they pull all us old ducks, Keppel said. I cant tell you the love and the appreciation you get from the people as you go by. It just about brings you to tears as you go down that street, everyone is cheering for you and waiving at you. It is a terrific rush. Keppel said he is looking forward to riding in a jeep and doing the presidential wave as grand marshal. Ralph and Marilyn Keppel have been married 67 years and built the house they live in 54 years ago. She worked for Ravalli County and he was a masonry contractor for 40 years who Built the First Security Bank 65 years ago. Hes been a volunteer fireman, served on the zoning board and driven cancer patients for treatment. He just completed making and painting 100 crosses to mark veterans graves in the Riverside Cemetery in Hamilton. There are over 1,000 military graves in that cemetery, just the ones we know, Keppel said. Gaining new and young members is a challenge. We are having a real struggle to have young people to join in they have too many deviations with all the electronics and all the other stuff they do, so they dont have time for it. Keppel served in the Navy from 19501954 in undersea mines. His dad (Andrew) served in WWI, his son (William) served in Vietnam and his grandson (Scott Lette) served in Afghanistan. Keppel said his father, born in 1894, only had a third-grade education because he had to start work in a factory at age 12 to support his family before child labor laws. He learned the tile trade, was very smart and learned in his own way, Keppel said. He made me earn everything I ever had, to make me stand on my own feet. That sounds tough but when you have to earn something yourself you take care of it. Keppel is a native Montanan who grew up in Missoula, before he had even travelled to larger Montana he went to boot camp in San Diego. He remembers that once he caught a bus to Hollywood to watch the radio show of Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy. Well Rita Hayworth came out on stage and I was sitting in the front row, Keppel said. She put her face about six inches from mine and winked. Life has a lot of nice experiences. The Ladies Auxiliary sponsors the parade and select the theme, this year it is The American Legions 100th Birthday. The Corvallis Memorial Day parade begins at 10 a.m. at the north end of Main Street with local school children, floats, music, clubs, horses, politicians, emergency vehicles, classic cars and veterans. The Corvallis High School choir will give a performance after the parade and will host a barbecue. After the parade, Post 91 will conduct its annual memorial ceremony at noon at the Corvallis Cemetery where they read the names of all the veterans buried at the cemetery dating back to the Mexican War (1848). Then Post 91 goes to Woodside Cutoff Bridge to honor those who died at sea. Love 4 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 One man's odyssey through the world of books Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. " " Russia Once Built a Doomsday Device Nicknamed 'Dead Hand' HowStuffWorks It's the 1980s. The U.S. and the Soviet Union are locked in the decades-old Cold War. U.S. President Ronald Reagan decides that the U.S. needs to signal its strength to the Soviets and the Strategic Defense Initiative is born. The idea was that the missile defense system popularly dubbed "Star Wars" could defend against a Soviet nuclear attack and the U.S. could still launch an attack. The Soviet Union, for its part, wasn't going to be reduced to ash and rubble that easily. After all, it had "Mertvaya Ruka" or "Dead Hand" up its sleeve, a system that linked all of the country's nuclear weapons to one machine. Formally called Perimeter, the Soviet system hidden deep in a bunker was meant to guarantee that the country could respond to any nuclear attack, even if it had been bombed to smithereens. Advertisement How could it do that? And is it still around? Josh Clark gives you all the details in the BrainStuff video above. European law enforcement seized and shut down Bestmixer.io for reportedly laundering over $200 millio n in cryptocur rency. This week the Europol has dealt another blow to cybercrime, the European police along with the Dutch Fiscal Information and Investigation Service (FIOD), and Luxembourg authorities shut down Bestmixer.io, on one of the worlds leading cryptocurrency mixing services. A mixing service (aka cryptocurrency tumbler) mixes potentially identifiable or tainted cryptocurrency funds with others, making hard to trail back to the funds original source. Operators behind mixing services maintain a fee from the original funds. 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. reads a blog post published by McAfee. The legality changes when a mixing service advertises itself as a success method to avoid various anti-money laundering policies via anonymity. This is actively offering a money laundering service. Back in 2018, FIOD launched an investigation, with the support of the security firm McAfee, that led in the seizure of six servers in the Netherlands and Luxembourg. Today, the Dutch Fiscal Information and Investigation Service (FIOD), in close cooperation with Europol and the authorities in Luxembourg, clamped down on one of the worlds leading cryptocurrency mixing service Bestmixer . io . reads the press release published by the Europol. Bestmixer.io was launched in May 2018, it offered services for mixing the cryptocurrencies bitcoins, bitcoin cash, and litecoins. Immediately after the launch, the police began investigating the activity of the mixing service. The numbers behind the service are impressive, it reached a turnover of at least $200 million (approx. 27,000 bitcoins) in 12 months. Of course, the mixing service ensured the total anonymity of its customers. The investigation so far into this case has shown that many of the mixed cryptocurrencies on Bestmixer.io had a criminal origin or destination, continues the Europol. In these cases, the mixer was probably used to conceal and launder criminal flows of money. The Dutch FIOD is investigating data related to all the interactions on this service in the past year. Investigators obtained IP-addresses, transaction details, bitcoin addresses and chat messages associated with the interactions. This information will now be analysed by the FIOD in cooperation with Europol and intelligence packages will be shared with other countries. concludes the press release. 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 Bestmixer . io , cybercrime) Share this... Linkedin Share this: Twitter Print LinkedIn Facebook More Tumblr Pocket Share On Surekha A. Yadav MAY 26 Your phone is now on the front lines of a struggle for global dominance. The US governments actions in terms of banning US companies from doing business with Huawei has made this quite clear. President Trumps executive order means that Huawei will need licences to buy US technology products and these products in the form of US microchips and fundamental systems, like Android, are vital to Huaweis business. The US hasnt made clear the reason for the measures broadly citing national security and accusations that Huawei has been stealing US technology but the fundamental accusation seems to be that Huaweis technology, both in terms of mobile devices and particularly 5G networking technology, is a potential backdoor for the Chinese government and therefore a security risk. The larger context is that the US and China have been involved in a protracted trade dispute imposing billions of dollars of tariffs on each others exports. What is clear is that the worlds largest (US) and second largest (China) economies are in open conflict in the fields of trade and geopolitical influence. As the conflict escalates, the US is being quite explicit about the fact that information is power and that anyone who controls information is a potential threat. Of course, phones and mobile networks have huge amounts of information. Its not just about who makes the phones, its about the chips inside the phone and the platform and the network it runs on. Traditionally, US companies or companies from countries allied to the US have controlled virtually all the worlds networking and information technology systems. But Chinas Huwaei has been rising the worlds second largest maker of mobile phones and a world leader in 5G networking technology. It seems the US is no longer willing to countenance and support this rise. The reality is that US microchips and platforms like Android power Huaweis mobile phones; without these components, a phone isnt really going to be much more than a paper weight. Story continues By cutting off Huaweis access to these technologies, the US is flexing its economic muscles... reminding China of its overwhelming dominance in fundamental technologies. Just about every major producer of processors and advanced microchips in the world is American Intel, AMD and Qualcom and without support from them, Chinese factories would struggle to produce computers, phones or anything else. It would appear therefore that the US can exert strong leverage over China and its companies and this may force the Peoples Republic to the trade negotiating table and also eventually freeze Huawei out of global 5G networking deals. In the short term, theres a clear advantage to the US but in the long term the US seems to have set the stage for a protracted conflict as damaging to the US as anyone else. For years, we lived in world where products and systems have been dependent on components and supply chains from across the world. Singapore and Malaysia have benefitted hugely from the rise of these global supply chains. But in the wake of the US exercising its right to withdraw technology from potential rivals, we will inevitably see a push from China to ensure its companies are more self-reliant. And its not just China. Any country or company that doesnt want to feel concerted pressure from the US may now need to look at greater self-reliance. In effect, global supply chains may start to break down and once nations become less reliant on each other they become more able to escalate conflicts. Which makes things more dangerous and unpredictable for all of us. *This is the personal opinion of the columnist. Related Articles Google removes Huawei devices from official Android website Trade protection doesn't have to exclude growth stocks, strategists say PJ restaurant offers Huawei users discount on bill after Chinese tech giant ban by US Chinese President Xi Jinping has ambitions to build the Peoples Liberation Army into a world-class modern fighting force, but analysts say there is one core weakness could hold it back: a lack of well-trained and educated soldiers. Xi underlined the need for higher standards in the rank and file this week on a high-profile visit to the southeastern province of Jiangxi. One of the stops on the trip was the PLA Army Infantry Academy in Nanchang, where he drove home the need to train and improve the combat readiness of personnel to support a long-term struggle against US aggression. The armys educational institutions were established to study how to fight and win. We must teach with a focus on real combat scenarios and educate more talent, state broadcaster CCTV quoted Xi as saying. The trip comes two years after Xi set 2035 as the deadline for modernisation of the military, saying technology would be at the core of the PLAs combat strength. He added that the armed forces would need to apply information technology and modern warfare strategies to advance. To support these goals, China expanded national military spending by 7.5 per cent and research funding by 13.4 per cent this year despite tough economic times. A Pentagon report earlier this month said the PLA had made strides in artificial intelligence, advanced robotics and quantum computing, among other areas. The challenge now is to meet the requirements for skilled and educated military personnel demanded by modern warfare, according to Timothy Heath, senior international defence researcher at the Rand Corporation, a US think tank. In particular, the PLAs pursuit of joint operations reforms means PLA troops need a greater awareness of all the capabilities of the different services, weapons systems, and sensors, Heath said. But without well educated soldiers, those great expectations might not be met. Story continues A former deputy PLA commander acknowledged that this was one of the militarys major concerns. The standard of soldiers has improved in recent years, but China still lags compared to advanced countries, the former officer said. The quality problem is also part and parcel of the overall problem of [the relatively low] level of education in China. The PLA does not publish detailed data on its troops but according to a 2010 survey, only about half of its 2.3 million personnel had a middle-school education and roughly a quarter had graduated from university. In contrast, in the United States, virtually all soldiers are at least high school graduates, according to a 2008 Heritage Foundation report. That lack of education was reflected in a PLA Daily report on a model unit in August. The report said that among the people in units top 15 positions, only two people had a university education. Of the other 13, 10 had graduated from senior high school and three had only made it to junior high school. One army source said the poor training was a clear and present danger to itself. For example several navy personnel damaged a dome protecting radar equipment on one of Chinas Sovremenny-class destroyers several years ago when they used steel wire scourers to polish the device. Similar cases could happen again and undermine the combat readiness of the Chinese military if the calibre of Chinese soldiers cannot be improved, he said. Bates Gill, a strategic and defence specialist from Australias Macquarie University, said the talent issue was a key obstacle to Xis modernisation dream. Better educated troops have become more urgent for the PLA as it has become more modernised and technologically sophisticated, Gill said. The Chinese military will increasingly depend on more technologically advanced weaponry systems, including in the cyber, aerospace, and outer space realms, all of which will demand more highly-skilled personnel. The Chinese leadership obviously realised the shortage of skilled troops and has tried to resolve it. So far, it has achieved modest success. In 2001, it stepped up its efforts to recruit more tertiary graduates. By 2014, nearly 150,000 of the PLAs 400,000 annual recruits were university students and graduates but retention remained a challenge, Foreign Policy reported in August 2016. At the same time, the military must overcome hurdles presented by a bureaucratic training system that stresses political indoctrination. One problem that the PLA has consistently faced, and will continue to face, is that a significant amount of time is being spent on training and education involving political work, such as studying Communist Party history or the latest directives of Xi Jinping, Gill said. While these might help build morale and esprit de corps, it probably does not help make the PLA a more technologically sophisticated fighting force. More from South China Morning Post: This article Chinas long battle to build a better soldier for a modern fighting force first appeared on South China Morning Post For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2019. Slovaks and Latvians cast their ballots in EU elections on Saturday as the far right hoped to clinch major gains and deny a pro-Europe victory to French President Emmanuel Macron. Polls were open in Malta, Slovakia and Latvia, with most of the bloc's 28 member states -- including big players Germany, France and Italy -- to vote on Sunday, with turnout expected to be low. Polling has shown for months that eurosceptics and the anti-immigration far right could make big gains in the vote, which will also help determine who replaces Jean-Claude Juncker as head of the European Commission as well as other top jobs. More than 400 million people are eligible to elect 751 members of the European Parliament, with the first official results to be announced late Sunday once voting in all EU countries is over. France's staunchly pro-European Macron has a big stake in the outcome, hoping to see his centrist Republique en Marche make a strong showing and shake-up EU politics in a direct challenge to the nationalists. But Marine Le Pen of France's National Rally and Matteo Salvini of Italy's anti-immigrant League want to team-up to disrupt the EU establishment, and are wooing Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's Fidesz party to join them in parliament. Salvini's League tops the polls in Italy and Le Pen's RN party has an edge in France, with around 25 percent support against Macron's 22.5 percent. "Once again Macron is daring us to challenge him. Well let's take him at his word: On May 26, we'll challenge him in the voting booth," Le Pen said at a rally on Friday. Eurosceptics got a major boost from Britain's Nigel Farage whose Brexit Party, according to polls, will score a resounding victory in the UK. If that is confirmed, the veteran Brexiteer would likely group with Italy's anti-establishment Five Star movement to become another force to destabilise the Strasbourg, France parliament. Britain voted on Thursday, with Farage's in-roads helping push Prime Minister Theresa May to step down following months of Brexit crisis. Farage was handed the opportunity when May was forced to hold the EU elections after delaying Brexit beyond the original date of March 29 because of deadlock in the UK parliament over her divorce deal. - 'Biggest threat' - However, Europhiles on Thursday got an unexpected boost after exit polls in the Netherlands showed a surprise victory for pro-EU socialists, giving hope to the political mainstream. Traditional parties also had reason to cheer from an exit poll in Ireland that suggested Prime Minister Leo Varadkar's Fine Gael party, which aligns with the centre-right European People's Party (EPP), was in the lead. The EPP, which is also home to German Chancellor Angela Merkel's CDU party, will likely emerge once again with the largest share of the vote but perhaps not enough to control parliament in a grand coalition with the socialists as it has done for a generation. The Greens also claimed a solid result in Ireland raising their hopes for big gains in the wake of growing concern about climate change. "After the Netherlands, the Green Wave has rolled on to Irish shores," said the party's co-leading candidate Bas Eickhout. The days following the election will see the launch of elaborate negotiations to determine key positions in the European institutions, with an EU leaders summit on Tuesday to discuss who gets which jobs. Turnout is as ever a major concern in the EU elections, with voters in Slovakia historically the least interested, having just 13 percent show up for the last polls five years ago. "The biggest threat to our freedom is not Russia or (Austrian far rightist Heinz-Christian) Strache or Salvini or Le Pen or Orban; the biggest threat is indifference," said Dutchman Frans Timmermans, the lead socialist candidate, at a rally in Vienna. Disinformation is also a worry, though evidence so far has not revealed the level of meddling by foreign actors seen in the US election of Donald Trump in 2016, EU officials said. Fearing a wave of fake news the EU's External Action Service has set up a rapid alert system, with a dozen staff, to closely watch social media and warn of possible risks of interference. Europe's mainstream political parties took a hit in elections on Sunday but held off a strong surge by the populist right of Marine Le Pen, Matteo Salvini and Nigel Farage. In one of the world's biggest democratic votes, the main centre-right and centre-left groups lost their combined majority in the European Parliament in the face of a challenge by eurosceptic and nationalist forces. The symbolic clash of the campaign saw French far-right leader Le Pen's National Rally on course to come in just ahead of President Emmanuel Macron's centrist movement, damaging his drive for deeper European integration. In Britain, Farage's one-issue Brexit Party appeared to have trounced the main parties and he will send a large contingent of British eurosceptics to a parliament they want to leave in a few months. And in Italy, Salvini's far-right League achieved a similar result, strengthening its role at the core of a vocal populist faction in the EU's legislature. The advance of the right was less pronounced in Germany -- where a strong showing by the Greens was reflected in a "green wave" in many countries -- but the anti-immigrant AfD broke the 10-percent barrier. "We are facing a shrinking centre," said German conservative Manfred Weber, lead candidate for the centre-right European People's Party (EPP) to replace Jean-Claude Juncker as European Commission chief. - 'Big win' - Turnout EU-wide was estimated at 51 percent, the highest in 20 years, suggesting more than 200 million citizens across the 28-nation bloc voted in a poll billed as a battle between populists and pro-European forces. Across Europe, according to updated projections prepared by the parliament, the EPP is on course to have the most seats in the assembly with 179, down sharply from 216 in 2014. With the centre-left Socialists and Democrats (S&D) projected to win 150, down from 185, the two mainstream parties will no longer have a majority and will have to reach out to liberals to maintain a "cordon sanitaire" and exclude the far-right from decision making. The Liberals (ALDE), who include Macron's party, are on course for 107 seats against 69 previously while the Greens are forecast to take 70 seats, up from 52. The various populist, eurosceptic and right-wing parties won more than 150 seats, but form no coherent coalition. The Europe of Nations and Freedom -- composed mainly of the French National Rally and Salvini's League -- saw their share rise from 37 to 58 seats. Salvini tweeted a photo of himself with a sign saying "top party in Italy" while standing in front of a bookshelf featuring a Make America Great Again baseball cap and a picture of Vladimir Putin. The Europe for Freedom and Direct Democracy -- which includes Britain's Brexit Party -- went from 42 seats to 56. "It looks like it's going to be a big win for the Brexit Party," Farage said, after an election held against a backdrop of disarray including the resignation of Prime Minister Theresa May and the postponement of Britain's EU exit. - 'Save the EU' - Each previous EU election since the first in 1979 has seen turnout fall, but turnout figures from across the 28-nation bloc were up, suggesting this year's culture clash has mobilised both populists and those who oppose them. In Belgium, the far-right Flemish separatist Vlaams Belang was on course to triple its previous score. And in Finland, the far-fight Finns Party increased its vote share and retained its two EU seats. The Sweden Democrats were on course to increase their share from 9.67 to 16.9 percent. Dutch anti-Islam leader Geert Wilders was however set to lose all his Freedom Party's seats, although there was a strong showing by upstart populist Thierry Baudet. In his home country of Poland, European Council chief Donald Tusk expressed confidence that voters would not succumb to "radical political movements" but admitted that the priority was to "save the EU as a project". In France, Macron had taken it upon himself to act as a figurehead for the centrist and liberal parties, and Le Pen took up the 41-year-old's challenge. "It is up to the president of the republic to draw conclusions, he who put his presidential credit on the line in this vote in making it a referendum on his policies and even his personality," Le Pen said. An aide to Macron however said the result was "respectable", with exit polls showing his centrist alliance on 22.5-23.0 percent, just behind Le Pen's 24-24.2 percent. Another nationalist party, the Fidesz of Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban, was on course for a massive 56 percent victory, according to a poll conducted Sunday. The mainstream parties are vying between themselves for influence over the choice of a new generation of top EU officials, including Tusk and Juncker's replacements. EU leaders have been invited to a summit on Tuesday to decide how to choose the nominee. The EPP is insisting on Weber for the Commission, but Macron and some others want a higher-profile candidate. burs-dk/dc/mtp/qan In the fourth in a six-part series, Mimi Lau and Phoebe Zhang look at how censorship, silence and time have created a gulf between the young people who witnessed the events and those who came after them. Beijing-based writer Ma Bo, better known as Lao Gui, remembers taking his six-year-old son to the heart of the Chinese capital and hoisting the child on his shoulders to get a better view. In the spring of 1989, crowds of students had poured into Tiananmen Square to demand greater accountability from the government. Ma, then a journalist and an active participant in the movement, was keen for himself and his son to witness history unfold. Then the tanks rolled through the square in a bloody crackdown in which hundreds of people, perhaps more than 1,000, died. I never thought they [the government] would really launch a rampage, he said. It was too horrifying I could never forget it. For Ma, the memories of those days are clear. But for his son, the time is one to forget. I even took him with me to one of the demonstrations. He was only six or seven, he said. [But] my son doesnt care about politics There is no way I can speak to him about it. In the three decades since the June 4 incident, surveillance cameras have sprouted from almost every pole and security teams keep constant watch on the square. Where elderly people once flew kites, special forces officers now stand guard. A great change has also taken place among the young, opening up a generation gap in awareness and interest in the crackdown. For some, the youthful liberalism of the parents has given way to pragmatism or nationalism among the children. For others, the personal price of discussion is still too high. Zhang Shijun also avoids talking about June 4 with his child. Zhang was a medic with the Peoples Liberation Armys 54th Army Group, one of the military units called in to enforce martial law on the eve of the crackdown. Story continues He resigned from the PLA just days later and has spoken publicly about his haunting memories of that night. I dont think discussion of June 4 is getting increasingly irrelevant, even though 30 years have passed us by, he told friends in Shandong province. The more they want us to forget what happened, the more we need to talk about it. But despite his public outspokenness, Zhang told friends he would not bring up the events with his daughter unless she asked about it. Its not that we dont want to tell her, but she had enough of her share of trouble every time our home was raided over the years, he said. Zhang said his daughter had borne witness to his activism and felt anxious every time he was taken away. Every generation has their own share of historical burden, he said. If she wishes to learn more, there are ways for her to find out. Open discussion of the crackdown remains the biggest political taboo in China. Just last month, activist Chen Bing was sentenced to 3 years in prison after launching a campaign in 2016 that used labels on liquor bottles to encourage people to remember June 4. Andrew Nathan, a political scientist at Columbia University, said the Communist Party imposed complete censorship of June 4 because even discussing the possibility of errors and crimes would make the partys will to power seem weak. Controlling speech sends a message that the party will not allow any opposition, and this message of determination makes people afraid that if they talk about forbidden topics they will be punished, he said. But historical issues could never be entirely covered up, Nathan said. The problem with repressing discussion of them is that when, somehow, they do get raised in the public sphere, the shock value and the danger to the regimes legitimacy is all the greater. If you ask the millennials, I guarantee you 90 per cent of them dont know. 26-year-old Shenzhen art teacher Mention of the crackdown does occasionally slip through the censorship net. In 2007, an advertisement paying tribute to the mothers of June 4 victims appeared in Chengdu Evening News. The young female clerk who accepted the advertisement had never heard about the crackdown and thought it was commemorating a mining disaster. Some Chinese dissidents also have mobile phone numbers ending in 8964. But most young Chinese are unaware of the date or the efforts to mark it. A 26-year-old Shenzhen art teacher said she knew nothing about the Tiananmen crackdown until she came across a documentary on YouTube while visiting Vietnam in January. Your politics teacher wont tell you, your history teacher wont tell you, the adults wont tell you, so theres no way wed know, she said, asking that her name not be published. If you ask the millennials, I guarantee you 90 per cent of them dont know. She said that when she watched the documentary she was terrified by the roar of the tanks, the sounds of chaos and the anguish of the crowd. I couldnt even reach the shooting part, she said. She buried those emotions when she returned to China, saying no normal person would raise the topic in daily conversation. You couldnt find this information any more after returning home unless youre using a VPN but I dont usually do that because its too much trouble, she said. Sarah Lin, a 21-year-old university student in the United States, was willing to go to that trouble. She first learned about the crackdown from her aunt, who was a university student in Shanghai in 1989 and helped distribute fliers about the protest. Her aunt only spoke about it briefly and vaguely, but Lin looked it up herself later and found photos and testimony from people who survived the crackdown. I definitely felt terrible, not to mention there were some stupid comments saying [the students] deserved this suppression, she said. Lin said she had discussed it with her peers, but found they were not interested in revisiting that history. Some acknowledged nonchalantly that the crackdown had occurred, while others refused to believe what she said. They said, how do I know youre telling me the truth, or whether these foreign journalists are telling the truth? she said. Tsinghua University sociologist Guo Yuhua said many young people nowadays were indifferent to politics and more focused on the pursuit of prosperity in large part because of government censorship. That millennial pragmatism was in sharp contrast to the ideological liberation of the 1980s, which spawned diverse theories and philosophies. But liberal ideals snuffed out soon after they emerged and so never gained a place in mainstream Chinese politics, she said. But the thing is, people dont realise that without the establishment of a constitutional democracy theres no cage to contain power. Without judicial independence, without civil society, without freedom of speech, theres no way for a normal and gradually improving life and theres no harmonious society, she said. Shanghai-based historian Ni Lexiong, a military affairs expert, agreed that the core social values and beliefs behind 1989 had vanished, leaving next to no chance of the protests ever being repeated. Ni said the romantic communist ideals instilled in young minds during late leader Mao Zedongs era had crumbled in the face of party corruption 30 years ago, prompting the students who took part in the protest to begin doubting the political beliefs and values they once trusted. Now everybody is looking for money, he said. The June 4 repression tells them the stakes of engaging in a political movement are too high. Who would dare to do such a thing? An upsurge in nationalism and patriotism in China has been directly generated by decades of rapid economic growth, according to Zheng Yongnian, director of the East Asian Institute at the National University of Singapore. The young people in China have not lived through Chinas most painful and difficult time, he said. Coupled with official propaganda, their patriotic or nationalistic sentiment is likely to be spontaneous. But the online information came from different sources, some very dodgy. I was not sure which version to believe. Eddie Wang, a young cadre with the Communist Youth League One place where the importance of June 4 is being kept alive is within the party itself. Eddie Wang, a young cadre with the Communist Youth League, said the crackdown was part of a political preparation course he had to take before his promotion to division head with the league. June 4 was part of the course for young cadres, he said. Certainly, the narrative was the official one. But we learned the sensitive words, people and anniversaries. Wang was already aware of June 4, having searched for information about the crackdown online while studying in Australia. But the online information came from different sources, some very dodgy. I was not sure which version to believe, he said. Because of my overseas experiences, I knew more than what the party wrote in the training material [during the course]. Not all my classmates were mentally prepared like me. I could see some of them were shocked to learn this part of history. He likened his own patriotism to that of the students in Tiananmen Square in 1989. We all want a better China, Wang said. As of now, I think a better China requires more down-to-earth hard work, rather than empty slogans about democracy. The next instalment in this series will look at efforts to keep the June 4 flame alive in Hong Kong. More from South China Morning Post: This article Generation Amnesia: why Chinas youth dont talk about Tiananmen first appeared on South China Morning Post For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2019. Thousands of inmates in Turkish prisons ended their mass hunger strike on Sunday, heeding a calling by militant Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan whose jail conditions they were protesting. The action had grown to involve some 3,000 people held in different prisons, since the first hunger strike was launched last November by a detained lawmaker from the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) over Ocalan's isolation in prison. But after the militant leader was allowed to see legal representatives for the first time in eight years this month, Ocalan told his lawyers the hunger strikes "had achieved their goal" and called for them to end. "After the call... we are ending our hunger strikes," the prisoners' representative, Deniz Kaya, said in a statement, quoted by Kurdish news agency ANF. Ocalan, the co-founder of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), has been held on Imrali island off Istanbul since 1999. The first visit by his lawyers took place on May 2. After Turkish authorities lifted an official ban on lawyers' visits to Ocalan, a second trip by two of his lawyers was made on May 22. The hunger strike was initially launched by the MP Leyla Guven while she was in custody, although she was later released. Other detainees then followed suit. Eight people also killed themselves over the issue, according to the HDP. Guven, announcing the end of her hunger strike, said in a statement that although the action was successful, "our struggle against isolation and our struggle for social peace will continue in all areas". "With this resistance, Turkey's peoples, Turkey's democracy has won," Guven later told reporters in Diyarbakir in the Kurdish-majority southeast. Three other HDP MPs said they would also end their hunger strike. - Role in Syria? - Ocalan's PKK, blacklisted by Ankara and its Western allies as a terror group, has been waging an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984 during which more than 40,000 people have been killed. Ocalan was caught in February 1999 in Kenya and jailed several months later after he was found guilty of treason, separatism and murder. Despite almost complete isolation, Ocalan is still a key figure of the Kurdish insurgency and the movement generally in the region. His lawyers said Ocalan indicated he would "play a positive role" in Syria in confronting the issues there "including the Kurdish issue" if he was given the chance. Ocalan previously said in a message following the May 2 visit that "Turkey's sensitivities" should be taken into account in Syria, where the US-backed Kurdish YPG militia is battling the Islamic State group. Turkey says the YPG is a "terrorist offshoot" of the PKK. Guven said Ocalan's voice being heard was "very important for Turkey's democratisation and peace in the Middle East". - 'No new peace process' - The visits come just weeks before a controversial re-run of the Istanbul mayoral election, which was lost by the ruling party of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on March 31. Experts say Kurdish votes played a significant role in Erdogan's party loss and he is hoping for their support in the repeat vote on June 23. But Turkish Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul said Friday the lawyers' visits "had nothing to do with a peace process" and "no link to the Istanbul elections". Ocalan had called for a ceasefire in 2013 to allow peace talks a chance to reach a negotiated settlement. However, fighting between Turkey and the PKK intensified after the collapse of the ceasefire in the summer of 2015, dashing hopes of a peaceful solution to the conflict. Ocalan's lawyers said the rebel chief said the permission given for these meetings "did not mean the existence of a negotiation process". Ocalan noted that Turkey fundamentally needed "democratic negotiations and honourable peace", adding through his lawyers that the authorities' reaction to his comments would be clear within "30-40 days" but he gave no further details. Datuk Liew Vui Keong speaks to reporters at the Prime Ministers Office in Putrajaya May 8, 2019. Picture by Shafwan Zaidon KUALA LUMPUR, May 26 De facto law minister Datuk Liew Vui Keong has denied allegations that he tried to interfere with Singapores death sentence of a Malaysian citizen that a Singaporean court later stayed. Liew said he made a representation to the Singaporean government last Wednesday on Pannir Selvam Pranthamans case on valid legal grounds and had spoken to Singapores Senior Minister in the Ministry of Law, as Home Affairs and Law Minister K. Shanmugam was unavailable. The allegation that I have interfered with their judicial system is totally unfounded and baseless. Its purely a figment of an imagination on someones part, Liew said in a statement. The minister in the Prime Ministers Department said serious allegations had been made against him by a certain quarter across the Causeway. It is unclear who Liew is referring to. Singaporean leaders have responded strongly to the Malaysian case, with Shanmugam saying that it is not tenable for Singapore to go easy on Malaysian drug offenders arrested in their country. Singapores Ministry of Home Affairs also reportedly said Singapore President Halimah Yacob had acted on the Cabinets advice in not granting clemency to Pannir, besides noting that the public prosecutor had the sole discretion to deny Pannir a certificate of assistance. Liew noted that Pannir had applied for a stay of his execution last Wednesday by challenging the prosecutions rejection of a certificate of assistance on Pannirs claim of helping Singaporean police in a drug case. The certificate would have enabled the court to sentence Pannir to life imprisonment instead of death. Pannir was also challenging the Singaporean presidents rejection of his clemency petition that was purportedly served on the same day as his execution notice. The 32-year-old Malaysian, convicted of drug trafficking, was originally scheduled to hang last Friday, before Singapores Court of Appeal allowed last Thursday a stay of the execution to enable him to challenge the refusal of clemency. Story continues Although I havent had the benefit of reading the grounds of decision of the Singapores Court of Appeal, whats obvious is that the Singapores Court made its decision having considered the prevailing circumstances and the rule of law applicable to the case. It is therefore equally untenable to allege that theres an interference on my part to their judicial process. I, and so is everyone of us here in Malaysia, respect the decision of the Singapores Court, said Liew. Liew noted that the Singaporean court had only granted Pannir a temporary reprieve to allow him to exhaust his rights by engaging a competent lawyer. It is an absolute abhorrent to justice if he is denied such basic rights and get executed without being heard. Pannir was convicted on June 27, 2017 by the Singapore High Court of allegedly trafficking 51.84g of diamorphine at the Woodlands Checkpoint on September 3, 2014. Related Articles Singapore minister says not possible to oblige Malaysias requests to stop executions Law minister: Stay of execution for Malaysian on death row in Singapore only temporary reprieve Singapore court grants stay, Malaysian on death row wont hang tomorrow Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz told Malay Mail that the old education format can no longer cope with the demands of Industry 4.0 which requires knowledge in all areas of related services as well as production and supply chains. Picture by KE Ooi KUALA LUMPUR, May 27 A culture of continuous learning and constant upskilling is required before Malaysia can participate in Industry 4.0, says economists. AirAsia X chairman Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz told Malay Mail that the old education format can no longer cope with the demands of Industry 4.0 which requires knowledge in all areas of related services as well as production and supply chains. A revolution in education is required to be in line with the dynamics of the marketplace domestically, regionally and globally. Education is the lynchpin to a Malaysia moving forward successfully in the highly competitive operating environment. Failure to revolutionise the education system, structure and software and content will render Malaysia unable to meet the new demands and imperatives, said the former international trade and industry minister. Rafidah was responding to observations made by academics that in the event of a trade war escalation between the Asian superpower and its Western counterpart, China would prefer to shift their industrial operations to Vietnam, Cambodia or other countries in the South-east Asian region. Despite Putrajaya and various chambers of commerce saying that Malaysia can take advantage of the trade war, analysts pointed out that Malaysia is not among the top picks for China due to its lower skilled labour coupled with higher wages. To address this issue, Rafidah believes that a revamp of the overall higher education spectrum is needed to effectively close the gap between the supply and demand for human resource in the new economic sectors. Firstly, a good proportion (of graduates) have done courses or studies that have very little or no relevance to what business and industry require in their operations. Many do no not reinforce their knowledge base by additionally adding on ICT related skills and competence. In the highly competitive knowledge-based industries and sectors, there certainly is no place for graduates of studies in the humanities courses, she pointed out. Story continues University of Tasmanias director of Asia Institute Tasmania James Chin said the onus of training and upskilling Malaysias available manpower does not lie with the workers alone. He said employers must also shoulder the burden and help train their workers so the nation as a whole can become more capable and by virtue of being skillful, climb up the economic ladder. The problem is not how cheap but how skilled your workers are. Malaysian workers are not that skilled and have low productivity. Malaysian employers dont like paying for training and thus we have a problem. That is why we must move up the economic ladder, by producing higher-end stuff, Chin observed. Asian Strategic Leadership Institute (Asli) Centre for Public Policy chairman Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam added his two sen saying that education efforts on B40 workers must be made part of the New Economic Model and a shift in that policy is urgently required. Believing that in every crisis there is an opportunity, Ramon told Malay Mail that the nation should use this escalation to accelerate training processes and ensure that the nations workforce is capable for Industry 4.0 and the demands required by Chinese companies. If we look at it as a challenge and opportunity and accelerate the process of change and transformation, we can become more efficient. We must adjust our education fast enough so people can improve their domestic skills. We must share our growth with the poor. We must enhance our productivity through technology and have programmes where even farmers and fishermen can increase their yield through technology, said Ramon. Related Articles DPM says no discussions to shut down vernacular schools Penang Gerakan urges govt to abolish race-based education quota system Race quotas affect us all Ikmal Rozlan On the most recent season of "Veep," theres a joke played for big laughs that a town in Iowa has a dog for its mayor. "Novelty mayors are Iowa's number one source of tourism after coming into town to buy Sudafed," one of the characters says. But in the California mountain town of Idyllwild, the fact that their mayor is a dog is far from a joke. Every weekend, and some weekdays, you can find the golden retriever Mayor Max II (formally known as Maximus Mighty-Dog Mueller, II) in the back of his pickup truck, wearing a tie and sometimes a hat, barking his greetings to his constituents. Hes also sometimes eating ice cream. Related: Adorable Golden Retriever Attempts to Protect Yard From Scary Pool Flamingo Courtesy of Mayor Max Phyllis Mueller is Maxs human companion, or owner as some people might say. But she answers her phone with the greeting, Office of the mayor, and calls herself his chief of staff. She said the dog mayor tradition started in Idyllwild seven years ago. The town held a fundraiser where people could run their pets as candidates for mayor. You had to be a local resident to enter your pet, and people could vote with their dollars $1 per vote. We promoted this as an election you can buy, and we encouraged everyone to vote a lot, Mueller said. All of the proceeds went to Idyllwild Animal Rescue Friends (ARF), an animal rescue nonprofit. Related: Dogs Will Lie to Get What They Want, According to Research Mueller and her husband campaigned hard, but also wrote a $20,000 check, she said. Their dog Max (Maximus Mighty-Dog Mueller) won in a landslide. In the middle of his second term, Max passed away from old age. My heart was broken and so was the towns, Mueller said. So she took on a mission to find the descendants of Max in the hopes that one could replace him. At this point, it seemed Idyllwilds mayorship became more of a monarchy than a democracy, but no one in the town seemed to mind. (Probably because in reality, Idyllwild is a town in unincorporated Riverside County, and so is officially governed by that county.) Story continues Regardless, Mueller hunted for Maxs bloodline far and wide. I called my breeder, but she had lost track of her bloodline because she had switched to breeding goldendoodles, but I wanted a golden retriever to carry on what Idyllwild had, Mueller said. She then searched across three countries the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom but didnt find anything until she looked through an old golden retriever magazine and found a dog that looked exactly like Max. I called that breeder and sure enough, I had found the bloodline, Mueller said. She ended up tracking the bloodline and buying three Max descendants from breeders in California and Ohio. She dubbed them Max II, and Mitzi and Mikey, who she made deputy mayors. Max II took office when he was under two months old. Mueller said it was obvious which of the pups should be the mayor. When we met Max in his infancy, he looked right at the camera, crossed his arms and did a pose, she said. Thats how he let us know, we said, there it is, that's the sign, that is the mayor. While Mitzi and Mikey are equally as important to Maxs administration, Mueller said its clear they are not meant for higher office. Theyre like puppy wolves, wild and frisky, fun and energetic, while the mayor is very calm, and knows he needs to pose for the picture, she said. The town of Idyllwild seemed to agree, because in 2014 they elected Max II mayor for life. Long may he reign. Mueller said his days are now filled with appearances, including in the town square but also at schools, hospitals, and nursing homes. Any visitor to the town can also request a meeting with Max II through his website. He wants to help make the world a better place, she said. The mayor would like to see peace on earth in his lifetime. She said being mayor has gone to Max IIs head a little. Hes a spoiled dog, but also very hardworking, she said. He works all day, and he know hes the mayor, knows its his job to pose, knows to look at the camera. Im really proud of him. Top Image: Drive, directed by Don Aravind. Its April 2018, and local director/producer Kenny Tan finds himself in the French city of Lille. Drive, a short series produced by Kenny, and directed by Singaporean filmmaker Don Aravind, had been shortlisted for an award at Series Mania, a major international series festival that was being held in the city. At the moment, though, Kenny is feeling a little small. The big boys like HBO, Netflix, Amazon; all there. For a little guy like us to be presented there, and walk the red carpet, all that It was amazing. Drive is a slow-burning, contemplative series on the solitude and humanity of a late-night taxi driver, played by Silvarajoo Prakasam. But Singapore is famous for one thing, and it aint taxis. In [Series Mania], some of them only knew Singapore through Crazy Rich Asians. In CRA, you take a taxi, you go to Marina Bay With our series, Drive, you go the other way A lonely taxi driver. Fast forward to May 2019, and Im seated comfortably in Kennys office at Viddsee Studios, a Singapore-based film studio that has filmmakers across the region. One year later, how has international perception of Singaporean film changed? Through Kennys native platform, Viddsee, he says that much data is collected on local films viewership; particularly, how foreign audiences from around Southeast Asia are engaging with Singaporean films. While subtitles are provided, many of the subtleties and nuances of the language may be lost to international audiences. Youd be surprised, though, says Kenny, At how many of these films can break the language barrier, because of the universal values in these stories Love, sacrifice, empathy, triumph over evil, the underdog. These basic values are understood and appreciated by people everywhere, not just in Asia. If the underlying narrative and emotional landscape of a film are what give it universal appeal, the local setting is what sparks added curiosity and interest. Story continues Our idiosyncrasies, our folklore, our culture; they intrigue [international] audiences, says Kenny. As a filmmaker, I can put on a hyperlocal lens, but because of universal values, the [story] can go global Thats something we should be proud of, and try to show more of, to the world. Kennys favourite short film is not a modern effort or some fancy French art-house film, but a small local production. [It is] one of Royston Tans earlier films, Kenny says, Its called Hock Hiap Leong. I went back to look for it recently, found a bootleg copyand Im still in love with it. Roystons film is about a man who reflects upon his childhood haunt: the titular coffee shop, once located in Armenia Street, that is soon to close down. Midway through, the narration fades away. Inexplicably, the characters then erupt into a cheesy 70s song-and-dance routine, capturing the shops ethos in a form that transcends mere words. It opened my eyes to the possibility of short films, Kenny reminisces, The colours, the format, the alternative storytelling Its forever etched in my memory. For me, at the time, it was magical. Professional short films, such as those produced by Kenny, occupy a strange middle ground. While not as costly nor as profitable as big-budget productions like TV series or feature films, they require larger budgets than the other type of short-form content available on the internet: user-generated videos (think Youtube or Vine). With so many players fighting for attention, there are doubts about the viability of short films in Singapores tiny movie market. Youtube is not a competitor, Kenny corrects me, In fact, we are certified partners. [On Youtube], you fall into certain categories, things like how-tos, personalities [Short film] content, however, is being experienced through a narrative arc, through characters there is escapism. Kenny reckons that short films are a unique offering in the cinematic landscape. While mainstream films and big-budget television productions are tied down to corporate interests, and will err on the side of caution to safeguard their profits. Themes, style and content tend to follow established norms. Short films, as a less resource-intensive form, are more free to take a leap of faith into uncharted territory. Taking this leap is made easier by the benefit of data that Viddsee farms on its viewers. The studios producers, directors and writersthe creatorsare all made aware of this data. Kenny gives some examples: We found that revenge films really work well with certain female audiences. Theres a group of people that are really passionate [about that], so when you can push these films to them, especially from a female perspective, we can get a lot of views. And when these people are being served the content they know they are being targeted, and its something they like, so they will stay on more. It takes time to build up this consumption habit. Kenny goes on to explain how much care they take to understand their audience. Viddsee employs a team of analysts to crunch the numbers and provide insights based on such data; they help to unedersand the psychology and demands of local audiences. In the Philippines, or Indonesia, says Kenny, The underdog story is more important than anything So if you have a character that rises from being an underdog, they will love it; if you have a character thats a rich man; it may not work as well. Things like that guide the decisions of our charactersbut really just as a guide, he quickly adds. So where is the art in creative decisions based on giving people what they want? To be fair, they arent simply doing that. Sometimes, Kenny contends, creators can go in the opposite direction of what viewers expect. Supported by analysts insights, they can be clearer on the reasons for making a trailblazing creative decision. Only when they know data can creators react to it, choose to respond, or ignore it. Kenny prefers this informed choice to taking steps in the dark. I always use the Maps analogy, he says, Google map tells me how to get somewhere in three minutes. But actually, if I physically go out, I see something different. Maybe I can jump over this fence, cross there Data shouldnt make the decision for us, it should only be a guide. On some dark, dark days, I have the deep misfortune of stumbling across a stray episode of Tanglin on Channel 5, or accidentally tripping into a theatre where the latest rendition of Ah Boys To Men: A Franchise Worse Than Transformers is screening. At times like this, its a relief to close ones eyes and recall the slow, character-centred moments of Ilo Ilo, or the ethereal vistas of the more recent celebration of local cinema, A Land Imagined. But big-budget feature-length films are hard to fund, and even harder to market en masse. Into this empty space steps Viddsee, with a simple solutionlocal content, but on your phone, and, you know, actually good. Make no mistake, this is not a sponsored article. Drive is flipping fantastic. However, I cant help but clench my gut at the sound of words like pushing content, consumption habits, and data insights. It sounds too much like the infamous algorithms of sites like Facebook or Youtube, driving endless cycles of self-selecting content for pure profit. But Im just a cynic; Kenny Tan, an industry veteran (relatively speakinghes only thirty-six) has seen too many passionate filmmakers quit the field for lack of work. Last year, says Kenny, explaining why he enjoys the job of studio head, I went down on set to meet people The slightly elder [filmmakers] were bringing on the younger ones, teaching them I was really touched. There was this other group, an all-female team. I thought: thats great! Sends out a very good message; who says only men can be DPs?! (A DP is a director of photography for a film) Now, in this position, head of studios I have lesser chances to direct. But the value I could create, to some of these young filmmakers, I could feel it, says Kenny. These opportunities are enabled by the data-driven investment and commercial partnerships that Viddsee attracts. So this tale is about more than just the Singaporean culture war, or short films, or the viability of film itself. Commercialization, big data, algorithmsI hate them all. But after speaking to Kenny, it is hard to ignore the real, tangible opportunities they create, both for the art form and the creators that I love, that allow me to keep enjoying their work. In the modern world, it is often the things you disdain that make the things you enjoy possible. At the end of the day, consumers will have to decide for themselves whether the data-driven economy is ultimately what they want. Is it art, or is it crass commercialism? As with most things in life, its more complicated than that. Whatever it is, however, we can all agree on one thingat least its not, well, this: Have something to say about the article? Write to us at community@ricemedia.co. The post This is How The World Learns That Singapore Isnt All Crazy Rich Asians appeared first on RICE. George and Joann Pithan of Sioux City will celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary with a family dinner and card shower. The couple requests no gifts. Cards may be sent to 3911 Kateri Court, Sioux City, IA 51106. Their children are Joseph (Carol) Pithan of Sloan, Iowa, and Merle (Teresa) Pithan and Becky Amick, both of Sioux City. The couple has eight grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren. George graduated from East High School in Sioux City. He enlisted in the U.S. Army and served in World War II. He then attended and graduated from Morningside College. Joann graduated from Aurelia (Iowa) High School and attended Morningside College. George and the former Dorothy Joann Will were married at the Methodist Church in Aurelia on May 29, 1949. George retired from the Sioux City School District as a teacher and from the Army Reserves as a lieutenant colonel. Joann retired from the Sioux City School District as a school secretary. The couple are members of Southern Hills Baptist Church in Sioux City. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 LE MARS, Iowa -- The two women that were injured Sunday morning in a shooting at a Le Mars convenience store are recovering in a Sioux City hospital. In a statement sent out Sunday afternoon, Hy-Vee Chairman, CEO and President Randy Edeker said the cashiers, who were shot in the Hy-Vee Gas Station at 1201 12th St. SW in Le Mars, "are recovering at a Sioux City hospital. Local authorities say the employees are in stable but serious condition." The gunman died within hours of the shooting from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. According to a press release posted on the Le Mars Police Department Facebook page, at around 6:02 a.m. Sunday, a male subject entered the convenience store and displayed a handgun, demanding money from two clerks working at the counter. The suspect shot both victims in the stomach area during the robbery, then fled in a beige Buick sedan with an Iowa license plate. A broadcast was put out in an attempt to locate the suspect once Le Mars Police developed suspect information. Shortly after 8 a.m., he was found in South Sioux City by officers there, dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. The cashiers and suspect have not yet been identified. An investigation is ongoing and the Le Mars Police Department will release more details upon its completion, according to the post. The public is not thought to be at risk, because the suspect is deceased. Hy-Vee said the convenience store will remain closed Sunday. In his statement, Edeker said the store's kitchen manager, a trained EMT, and a customer, a nurse, helped provide first aid to the wounded employees after the shooting. "Today has been a difficult and challenging day for our entire Hy-Vee family. The attempted robbery and senseless violence at our Le Mars Hy-Vee convenience store was shocking to the entire community," his statement read. Copyright 2019 The Sioux City Journal. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Love 1 Funny 3 Wow 8 Sad 44 Angry 13 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. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds saluted, championed, and challenged some 570 graduates who gathered near the shores of Storm Lake on Saturday for the 128th commencement celebration at Buena Vista University. It seems like only a few years ago I was in your seat waiting to walk across the stage, Reynolds said from the podium gracing center stage in Siebens Fieldhouse. As a matter of fact, she was in that position. I graduated from college (Iowa State University) two-and-a-half years ago at the age of 57, Reynolds continued. I was the mother of three, all of whom had graduated from college, and the grandmother of seven. Like many 2019 BVU graduates, Reynolds began her college journey immediately after high school. Unlike many occupying seats in front of her, she didnt finish at that time. I assumed it was too late, she said while reflecting on turns her life would take. I want you to know that the words, Its too late, are never a statement of truth, she said. Theyre only an excuse not to try. Reynolds, who admitted that higher political office never occurred to her until age 50, earned her college degree while serving as lieutenant governor after ascending from positions as county treasurer and state senator. She was appointed the states 43rd governor in May 2017, then won the general election in November 2018. Lives arent set at 22 (years of age), she added. Never, ever stop learning. Her message resonated with Megan Douglas, of Humboldt, who earned BVU degrees in human services and psychology on Saturday. Douglas went back to school while raising children with her husband, Josh Douglas, working at a job, and leading young Boy Scouts. I never knew that about the governor, Megan Douglas said. She didnt get her degree until a couple of years ago. How neat is that? Its nice to see that someone else could balance all that out: working, raising a family, and still make time to get an education. Brittany Fisher, of Iowa Falls, decorated her BVU mortarboard with this message: Heres to strong women. May we know them, raise them, and be them. Fisher, who earned a degree in biomedical sciences, said a BVU Interim travel experience in Africa last winter prompted her to share the message. Im an advocate for equality for women, she said. I saw in January how women in parts of Africa live and dont have the rights we have. I want to live out the opportunities I have. Having the first woman governor deliver the commencement address meant something special to Fisher, who plans to begin work on a masters degree in the next year. The governor is a reminder that I can do anything I want, Fisher said. She got her dream, and now shes the leader of our state. Reynolds urged BVU students to thank those who support them on their career and family paths. She also stressed its OK to make mistakes, even fail from time to time. Ive met some of the most successful people in Iowa, the U.S., and throughout the world, and many of them succeeded because they failed, she said. They got there because things didnt work. Adjust, use the experience, learn from it, and move on. But, Reynolds cautioned, dont move away. She also implored BVU students to keep their sights set on Iowa. As governor of Iowa, I wouldnt be doing my job if I didnt give you this critical piece of advice: stay in Iowa! she exclaimed as an estimated 3,500 people in Siebens Fieldhouse cheered. I knew Id get lots of applause on that one! Its not just because Im governor, she said while growing serious. Its because I believe it. Reynolds cited opportunities in renewable energy, agri-sciences, education, medical fields, and more. She lauded quality-of-life initiatives across the state that feature recreational trails, art centers, and waterways. The average commute in Iowa is less than 20 minutes. The No. 1 state for jobs is not California or New York, its Iowa, she concluded. And yet, a percentage of these new BVU graduates will find work elsewhere. After asking those graduates to stay put, Reynolds laughed and said, Know that our door in Iowa is always open. Well welcome you back with open arms. Buena Vista University President Dr. Joshua Merchant presented Gov. Reynolds with a Doctor of Humane Letters prior to the speech. He lauded Reynolds for her belief in the power of education, and her commitment to bolstering rural communities and regions across Iowa. Merchant thanked the governor for her remarks and her ongoing efforts, then talked about how he and his family moved to the state two years ago. We love Iowa, he said. Merchant then closed the ceremony with his challenge to the new graduates, a mix of those who had earned masters degrees and bachelors degrees, both on the Storm Lake campus and in 16 BVU sites across Iowa. Go do your thing Class of 2019, he said. This is your moment. This is your time. It is up to you. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 SALIX, Iowa -- The victims of a Saturday afternoon tubing accident on Browns Lake have been identified. According to a press release from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, the tubers -- 17-year-old Adreanna Hamman of Sioux City and 39-year-old Bernard Jon "B.J." Baker of Lawton were taken to a Sioux City hospital after the accident. Hamman was later taken to an Omaha hospital and has undergone surgery. She is listed in stable condition. Baker remains at a Sioux City hospital and has been stabilized. Two taken to hospital after Browns Lake boating accident SALIX, IOWA Two people were rushed to the hospital Saturday afternoon from Browns Lake after an inner tube accident. Shortly before 4 p.m. Saturday, the pair were riding in an inner tube in Browns Lake behind a boat driven by 29-year-old Nicole Baker when the tube struck a stationary boat, causing serious injuries to both. Drugs and alcohol are not considered a factor in the crash. All safety equipment was in place on the boat during the crash and the tubers were wearing personal flotation devices. Charges are pending, according to the release. The Woodbury County Conservation, Woodbury County Sheriff's Department and the Iowa State Patrol assisted the Iowa DNR with the 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 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. This Letter to the Editor was submitted on behalf of members of the Plymouth County Democratic Central Committee. State Senator Claire Celsi, D-West Des Moines, recently made comments advising buyers to beware when considering purchasing products manufactured by Wells Enterprises based on Wells family members past financial contributions to Iowa Congressman Steve King. While we join in Ms. Celsis disdain for Congressman Kings tweets, Facebook posts, public comments, and overall lack of representation of Iowas Fourth District, we feel her attack on Wells Enterprises to be misguided for a variety of reasons. First and foremost, Wells employs more than 2,000 workers, not to mention the hundreds of employees of area businesses who exist and thrive as a direct result of Wells continued success. The overall contribution to the local economy is immeasurable. Aside from the purely business aspect, Wells Enterprises and individual Wells family members have been more than generous in their financial support of the city of Le Mars and the Plymouth County/Siouxland area. Many improvements to infrastructure and programs aimed at improving recreational opportunities and quality of life for area residents would not exist were it not for this generosity. Our understanding is Wells Enterprises as a business has not made the contributions to Congressman King and that the contributions made by or on behalf of individual Wells family members have been in the past, albeit the fairly recent past. Individuals are free to donate to whomever they want, and we would just encourage each person to take a hard look at the candidate or candidates they financially support when doing so. But we also feel actively discouraging the success of a business such as Wells Enterprises is not helpful. Mark Sturgeon, Le Mars, Iowa, chairman, Plymouth County Democratic Central Committee Love 8 Funny 1 Wow 1 Sad 0 Angry 0 The 72nd Cannes Film Festival ended on Saturday, and South Korean director Bong Joon-ho has won the Palme dOr for Parasite, Variety reports. The winning film was chosen in a unanimous decision by the festivals feature films jury, which was headed this year by director Alejandro Inarritu. The jury also included actress Elle Fanning, director Kelly Reichardt and director Yorgos Lanthimos. Bong, who also directed Okja, Mother, The Host, and Snowpiercer, is the first Korean director to win the Palme dOr. Heres the trailer for Parasite: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This years Grand Prix went to French-Senegalese filmmaker Mati Diop for Atlantics, a film she wrote and directed about a woman left behind in Dakar when the man she loves seeks a better life for himself in Europe. Its Diops first feature; she is also the first black female filmmaker to show a film in competition at Cannes. There doesnt seem to be an official trailer yet, but Netflix has acquired the film, so it cant be far off. In the meantime, the festival released a brief excerpt: Advertisement Advertisement Antonio Banderas won the Best Actor award for his performance in Pain and Glory, a semiautobiographical film from Pedro Almodovar. This is my night of glory, Banderas said as he accepted the award. Judging from the trailer, the film does not appear to be a stealth sequel to Michael Bays Pain & Gain. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Best Actress this year went to Emily Beecham for the film Little Joe, a sci-fi thriller directed by Jessica Hausner from a screenplay by Hausner and Geraldine Bajard. Beecham plays a scientist who develops a genetically modified plant that can treat depression. Theres no trailer, but heres the movies Dont go in the basement! moment: Hausner introducing her son to her newest invention. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Best screenplay went to Portrait of a Lady on Fire, written and directed by Celine Sciamma. Set in the 1770s, Sciammas film traces the relationship between a reluctant bride-to-be and the female artist whos been hired to paint her portrait. Two-time Palme dOr winners Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne had to settle for Best Director this year for Young Ahmed, which is about a Muslim tween in Belgium who plots a murder while under the influence of a radical imam: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This years jury prize was a tie between Les Miserables, a police drama directed by Ladj Ly from a script by Ly, Alexis Manenti, and Giordano Gederlini, and Bacurau, about a Brazilian town that disappears from the map after its local matriarch dies, written and directed by Kleber Mendonca Filho and Juliano Dornelles. Finally, a special mention went to It Must Be Heaven, from Palestinian writer/director Elia Suleiman. American filmmakers Terrence Malick, Quentin Tarantino, and Jim Jarmusch also had films in competition this year, but came up empty. Advertisement Jury president Inarritu acknowledged that many of this years winning films had political themes, saying that sometimes art can see the future, but assured everyone that politics werent part of the deliberations. These were cinematic decisions, not political agendas, he said. But if international politics did enter the conversation at Cannes this year, it wouldnt be the first time. Although the inaugural festival didnt happen until 1946, Cannes was originally conceived in the 1930s as an alternative to the Venice Film Festivals pro-Fascist bias. Just something to keep in mind as this years Oscar race heats up! You may have missed the bizarre crossbow murders that occurred in Germany a few weeks agoGame of Thrones was just about to end and we all had crossbow fatiguebut if youve been following the story, the German board of tourism would like it very much if youd just forget all about it. Conan OBrien has the details, as well as the first ad in the countrys new campaign to win back any tourists who might be having second thoughts about visiting the fabled Land of Crossbow Murder Sex Cults. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Theres a lot to love hereexcept for the part where Germans are murdering each other with crossbowsbut do not miss the international warning signs Conans artists dreamed up for Cannibal Murder Sex Cults and Chain Mace Murder Sex Cults: Our country may be a complete mess in most regards, but at least our murder sex cults dont go LARPing around killing people with medieval weaponry. Thanks, Second Amendment! Get Slate Culture in Your Inbox We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again. Please enable javascript to use form. Email address: Send me updates about Slate special offers. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms Sign Up Thanks for signing up! You can manage your newsletter subscriptions at any time. Germanys anti-Semitism commissioner suggested that Jews should think twice before wearing the traditional kippah skullcap in public due to a rise in attacks against Jews. I cannot advise Jews to wear the kippah everywhere, all the time, in Germany, Felix Klein said in an interview published Saturday by the Funke regional press group. Klein said that his opinion has unfortunately changed compared with what it used to be on the issue. Klein, whose position was created last year, said the increased attacks against the Jewish community was due to a rise in social disinhibition and coarseness that Is helped along by the internet and social media. Advertisement In an earlier interview with CNN, Klein had said that while anti-Semitism has always existed in Germany, it is now showing its ugly face more openly. As an example, Klein said that the word Jew is once again being used as an insult. The word Jew as an insult was not common in my time when I went to school, he said. Now it is, and its even an insult at schools where theres no Jews, where there are no Jewish students. So that is a growing concern and of course we have to develop strategies to counter that. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kleins warning was rejected by Israeli politicians, Jewish leaders, and even the U.S. ambassador to Germany. The statement of the German governments anti-Semitism commissioner that it would be preferable for Jews not wear a kippah in Germany out of fear for their safety, shocked me deeply, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin said. We will never submit, will never lower our gaze and will never react to anti-Semitism with defeatism and expect and demand our allies act in the same way. Richard Grenell, the U.S. ambassador to Germany, also rejected Kleins advice and called on Germans to take a completely different stance in the face of rising anti-Semitism. The opposite is true, Grenell wrote. Wear your kippa. Wear your friends kippa. Borrow a kippa and wear it for our Jewish neighbors. Educate people that we are a diverse society. Advertisement Advertisement The opposite is true. Wear your kippa. Wear your friends kippa. Borrow a kippa and wear it for our Jewish neighbors. Educate people that we are a diverse society. https://t.co/vd9nV9AvPG Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) May 26, 2019 The rabbi of Berlin, Rabbi Yehuda Teichtal, also rejected Kleins advice and called on Jews to not hide their identity. The combating of anti-Semitism is a top priority so it is appreciated that this is being addressed by top representatives of the government, Rabbi Teichtal wrote on Facebook. At the same time, the KIPA is a clear symbol of Jewish identity and should be worn with PRIDE. Even though everyone needs to be aware of their surroundings, hiding our identity was never the solution. Pete Buttigieg said there is no doubt in his mind that President Donald Trump faked a disability in order to avoid serving in the Vietnam War. There is no question, I think, to any reasonable observer that the president found a way to falsify a disabled status, taking advantage of his privileged status in order to avoid serving, Buttigieg said in an interview with ABC News This Week. The 2020 Democratic presidential hopeful went on to describe the commander in chief as somebody who thinks its all right to let somebody go in his place into a deadly war and is willing to pretend to be disabled in order to do it. That amounts to an assault on the honor of this country, Buttigieg, who served as a Navy intelligence officer in Afghanistan, added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Pete Buttigieg on President Trump: "You have somebody who thinks it's alright to let somebody go in his place into a deadly war, and is willing to pretend to be disabled in order to do it. That is an assault on the honor of this country" https://t.co/LqbnX8uTU4 pic.twitter.com/YBcQfr4Vsz This Week (@ThisWeekABC) May 26, 2019 The 37-year-old mayor of South Bend, Indiana had previously accused Trump of faking his disability during an interview with the Washington Post. You believe he faked a disability? reporter Robert Costa asked. Do you believe he has a disability? Buttigieg answered. Yeah. Yeah. At least not that one, he said jokingly. Trump was exempted from military service five times during the Vietnam War, including a medical deferment for having bone spurs. Former Trump attorney Michael Cohen told Congress that when he asked Trump for medical records, he gave me none. Advertisement Advertisement "You believe [Trump] faked a disability [to avoid serving in Vietnam]?"@PeteButtigieg: "Do you believe he has a disability? At least not that one..." Yes, yes, yes. pic.twitter.com/X6ls0k0Rvo Brian Tyler Cohen (@briantylercohen) May 23, 2019 Advertisement Advertisement In the interview that aired Sunday, Buttigieg also criticized Trump for considering pardoning servicemembers who have been accused or convicted of war crimes. The idea that being sent to war turns you into a murderer is exactly the kind of thing that those of us who have served have been trying to beat back for more than a generation, Buttigieg said. Frankly, his idea that being sent to fight makes you automatically into some kind of war criminal is a slander against veterans that could only come from somebody who never served. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Buttigieg also described the current situation in Washington as a continuing horror show. He said Trump has turned the entire thing into a reality show and Democrats have to completely change the channel and make sure we respond to all of the distractions and the nonsense coming out of the White House. The mayor, however, also recognized that the strategy has served Trump well. He provokes us in ways that make it very hard for us to do anything but respond in kind, the nicknames, the tweets, the insults, he said. And what weve got to remember is that the more were talking about him, the less were talking about voters. Support for abortion rights among Americans has risen over the past year as several state governments are moving toward restricting access. According to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll, 58 percent of Americans say abortion should be legal in most or all cases, an increase of eight percentage points from a similar poll in July 2018. The poll suggests Democrats are the most passionate about the issue, with 81 percent saying it should be legal in most or all cases. That compares to 55 percent of Republicans who say abortion should be illegal in most or all cases. Advertisement The poll comes as eight Republican-controlled states have passed restrictive new laws on abortion this year, a move that many see as an effort to get the Supreme Court to weigh in on the issue. The Reuters/Ipsos survey confirms though what several others have said, which is that Americans as a whole are opposed to very restrictive laws on abortion such as the one recently approved in Alabama that bans abortion in pretty much all cases. Eighty percent, for example, said they support abortion rights for cases of rape or incest. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Even though the recent wave of anti-abortion measures has helped rally conservatives, the poll also makes clear the strategy may not be very effective to win over voters. Only 9 percent of Republicans said their first preference would be to vote for a candidate who made banning abortion his or her main focus. Democrats also dont seem to see it as the most pressing issue since only 11 percent said they prefer to vote for a candidate whose main focus would be to protect abortion rights. This most recent poll is in line with other recent surveys that found Americans dont support restrictive laws on abortion and the vast majority want Roe v. Wade to be left in place. A recent Morning Consult/Politico poll found that 56 percent of registered voters are opposed to other states passing similar laws to the one approved in Alabama. Little wonder then that many conservatives have distanced themselves from these laws. Even President Donald Trump said he is in favor of exceptions in cases of rape and incest. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that President Donald Trump isnt quite siding with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un, but they just both happen to see eye-to-eye on former Vice President Joe Biden. I think they agree in their assessment of former Vice President Joe Biden, Sanders said on NBCs Meet the Press. Again, the presidents focus in this process is the relationship he has and making sure we continue on the path towards denuclearization. Advertisement Host Chuck Todd pressed Sanders about what kind of message Trump was sending by siding with Kim when it came time to discuss a potential challenger in the presidential contest. Todd wondered whether Americans should be concerned that the president of the United States is essentially siding with a murderous authoritarian dictator over a former vice president of the United States. Sanders dismissed the premise of the question. The president doesnt need somebody else to give him an assessment of Joe Biden, Sanders responded. Hes given his own assessment a number of times. I think youve seen it. Im sure youve covered it on your program. The president watched him and his administration with President Obama fail for eight years. Sanders went on to say that Trump has cleaned up a lot of the messes that were left behind. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement WATCH: Trump and Kim Jong Un agree on their assessment of Biden #MTP #IfitsSunday "I think if anybody needs help with an assessment it's Joe Biden and whether or not he should be trying to get an upgrade when he failed to do the job in the number two slot." pic.twitter.com/g7px0CicZ0 Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) May 26, 2019 Sanders was asked about the issue after Trump seemed to contradict his national security adviser when he downplayed the importance of recent North Korean missile tests. North Korea fired off some small weapons, which disturbed some of my people, and others, but not me, Trump wrote late Saturday. I have confidence that Chairman Kim will keep his promise to me, & also smiled when he called Swampman Joe Biden a low IQ individual, & worse. Perhaps thats sending me a signal? Trump appeared to be referring to a piece in state-run North Korean media outlet KCNA that on Tuesday called Joe Biden a fool of low IQ after the former vice president called Kim a tyrant. Advertisement President Donald Trump seemed to contradict his national security adviser Saturday, claiming he was unbothered by North Koreas recent missile tests essentially because he trusts dictator Kim Jong Un. In a tweet while he was in Japan, Trump also espoused a view that is at odds with his host country. North Korea fired off some small weapons, which disturbed some of my people, and others, but not me, Trump wrote on Twitter. I have confidence that Chairman Kim will keep his promise to me. Advertisement North Korea fired off some small weapons, which disturbed some of my people, and others, but not me. I have confidence that Chairman Kim will keep his promise to me, & also smiled when he called Swampman Joe Biden a low IQ individual, & worse. Perhaps thats sending me a signal? Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 26, 2019 Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Japan had said that North Koreas recent test of short range missiles amounted to a violation of United Nations resolutions. And Trumps own national security adviser John Bolton agreed with that assessment, telling reporters on Saturday there was no doubt that the missile test violated Security Council resolutions. Advertisement Advertisement Vipin Narang, a professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology who is an expert on nuclear proliferation and North Korea, said that Trumps message was disturbing for one key reason. There is a lot that is really disturbing here, but the most important bit is Chairman Kim will keep his promise to me, Narang wrote. Kim never promised to unilaterally disarm, and the problem is Trump continues to believe he did. THAT is why this is so dangerous. There is a lot that is really disturbing here, but the most important bit is Chairman Kim will keep his promise to me. Kim never promised to unilaterally disarm, and the problem is Trump continues to believe he did. THAT is why this is so dangerous. https://t.co/1nqTizNsDa Vipin Narang (@NarangVipin) May 25, 2019 Advertisement Trump also took the opportunity to mix a little domestic politics with a national security issue, although he misspelled the name of former vice president Joe Biden (he later deleted the tweet and reposted it with the spelling corrected). Trump says he smiled when Kim called Swampman Joe Bidan (sic) a low IQ individual, & worse. Perhaps thats sending me a signal? With the words, Trump seemed to be referring to North Korean outlet KCNA that on Tuesday called Joe Biden a fool of low IQ after the former vice president called Kim a tyrant. Advertisement Advertisement Trump deleted his mind-bogglingly awful tweet supporting Kim Jong Un, but the internet always remembers. RIP: Joe Bidan. We hardly knew ya.https://t.co/j5X8dZRAFy pic.twitter.com/i0VMtyMbnk Grant Stern (@grantstern) May 26, 2019 Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump also took some time from his foreign trip to blast a ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Haywood Gilliam that blocked the use of Defense Department funds to build sections of the border wall. Another activist Obama appointed judge has just ruled against us on a section of the Southern Wall that is already under construction, Trump wrote. This is a ruling against Border Security and in favor of crime, drugs and human trafficking. We are asking for an expedited appeal! Another activist Obama appointed judge has just ruled against us on a section of the Southern Wall that is already under construction. This is a ruling against Border Security and in favor of crime, drugs and human trafficking. We are asking for an expedited appeal! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 25, 2019 Advertisement Advertisement Trump also thanked actor Jon Voight, retweeted Fox News host Jesse Watters, and criticized actor Jussie Smollett for committing what he characterized as a hate crime. Thank you John, so nice! https://t.co/cfcXpzjYn7 Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 25, 2019 Advertisement TOMORROW: Senator @LindseyGrahamSC splashes into @WattersWorld to discuss his relationship with President @realDonaldTrump, Senate Hearings, and the Kavanaugh Hearings. THIS is an episode that you SERIOUSLY are not going to want to miss. See you at 8PM ET tomorrow on Fox News! pic.twitter.com/bSTlz6Bp6W Jesse Watters (@JesseBWatters) May 24, 2019 Advertisement Advertisement Slovakia will mark several firsts in the next European Parliament. Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled It seems that Matteo Salvini is not the most popular politician in Slovakia, despite what Boris Kollar told a crowd of rejoicing Italians in Milan last weekend. That was before the European Parliamentary elections, when Kollar was still riding his high horse after Marine Le Pens visit to Slovakia. Read also: Read also: EP election in Slovakia: Official results confirm the victory of the new political force Read more The results of the EP election in Slovakia have clearly shown him that there are only so many parties that can feed off anti-EU, populist gestures and big-mouthed claims and his Sme Rodina was not among them, having lost to the even-further-right-wing LSNS. Kollars party ended far below its 2016 parliamentary result. Salvini and Le Pen, if they want Slovaks to be represented in their faction, will need to drop any remaining scruples and invite the two fascist MEPs that Slovakia is sending to Brussels. Deep divide confirmed 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) Silver Price Looking Weaker than Gold Technical analyst Clive Maund charts silver and finds that it looks "considerably weaker than gold."Technical analyst Clive Maund charts silver and finds that it looks "considerably weaker than gold." Silver looks considerably weaker than gold, although that is normal at this stage in the cycle. It is still considered likely that it is forming a Double Bottom with its lows of late 2015, and if so then the support at those lows should hold. On silver's 1-year chart it still looks like it is moving to complete a Cup & Handle base, because the pattern roughly parallels the pattern completing in gold, although the downwardly skewed Handle is driving the price back down towards the vicinity of the lows of the Cup. A breakout from the Handle downtrend will be bullish although this doesn't look likely short-term because of adverse seasonal factors. In contrast to gold, silver's latest COT chart is already starting to look positive, although there is room for further improvement which may occur, meaning still lower prices for silver in coming weeks, due to June being the most negative month seasonally for silver, although this will clearly not be the case if Iran is attacked. Silver's seasonal chart does not bode well for coming weeks, although it should be emphasized that this is a background factor and silver has already dropped quite a lot and is approaching support, so we are not expected to see much more downside. The key bullish development to look out for is a breakout from the Handle downtrend shown on the 1-year chart, although that may still be some weeks out. 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 repr0esents 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. 2005-2019 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication. In order to continue enjoying our site, we ask that you confirm your identity as a human. Thank you very much for your cooperation. The city, people living in the city and their thoughts this is what the new book Architectural Mutation by young author, film critic Aram Avetis is about. The book was presented at Noyan Tapan Bookstore on May 25. While greeting the first buyers and signing his books for them, the author also talked about his book, the main character and presented the issues that he has raised. Aram noted that he had started writing the book two years ago. Writing the book was a very interesting process. My friend and I, Yervand Margaryan, decided to write about the city in letters addressed to each other. I would write in the morning, and Yervand would reply in the evening. While writing, I decided that each of us needs to write about the city, the people living in the city and their thoughts. The name of the books main character is Dissident, a person who lives in the city and has a hard time keeping his individuality in urban culture, he said, adding the following: The message of the book is for a person to not become assimilated in urban culture and to be able to keep his or her individuality. When asked if the reader can associate the books main character with the author and his thoughts, Aram said the following: I think all authors create their alter ego in some way and they are their own main characters. My favorite writers write about themselves and their past, and I think this is the right kind of literature. Aram Avetis started writing at the age of 17, even though he doesnt like to refer to himself as a writer to this day. You probably start writing when you cant say anything to the people around you because what you say may sometimes sound strange. In Armenia, whenever you tell people youre a writer, they think youre arrogant and start comparing you with the writers of the past century. Thats why I dont say Im a writer. I simply write. The book is edited by Aram Sargsyan and designed by Mkrtich Matevosyan. See NEWS.am STYLEs photo report for more details. Syune Arakelyan Photo by Arsen Sargsyan Follow NEWS.am STYLE on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram Police are asking for the community's help following a "violent" robbery in the Bay of Plenty. Shortly before 10am on Thursday 23 May, a man was the victim of an aggravated robbery outside his business on Richard Street, in Opotiki. He suffered a broken arm and bruising and swelling to his face. On Friday 24 May, police arrested a 33-year-old Opotiki man and charged him with aggravated robbery. He is due to appear in Whakatane District Court on Wednesday 29 May. Eastern Bay of Plenty Police are continuing to investigate the circumstances of what happened. We are very grateful to the local community who have provided valuable information which has allowed us to progress this investigation in a positive manner, says Detective Sergeant Darren Thomas. Police are appealing for any further information from the community who may have seen or heard anything in relation to this incident. Please call Whakatane Police on (07) 308 5255 and ask for a member of CIB, quoting file reference number 190523/2820. Alternatively, information can be passed anonymously through Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. Teenage Longview artist Alex Rushmer knows how isolating mental illness can be. She has lived with anxiety and depression for years. But thats why she uses social media and art to share her experiences and break down the stigma surrounding the afflictions. I feel like I struggled being misunderstood and treated poorly, Rushmer said. I dont want other people to deal with that. Rushmer, 19, returned home from a mental health hospital just a couple months ago. Drawing is a big part of her healing process, she said. At the end of April, she created an online list of drawing prompts for each day of May, which is Mental Health Awareness Month. Rushmer posted the list on her Instagram page, along with her drawings and an invitation for others to draw, too. The list includes mental illnesses, feelings and self-care methods. Every day of the month so far, Rushmer has posted a drawing for each prompt along with a caption. Some of the topics, such as depression, anxiety and self-harm, include her personal experiences. The first prompt for the month was depression. Rushmers drawing for that day is cool tones of blue, black and purple. It features a girl hugging herself while floating underwater. Fish swim around her, while light filters in from above but doesnt touch the girl. What saddens me is that I know many people with this illness feel misunderstood and alone, the post says. To those suffering from depression: Dont give up. I promise you can make it if you choose to keep going. Rushmer said her drawing for the prompt self-harm has gotten the biggest response. The mostly black and gray drawing is of a girl with lines of red stitches around her body. She pulls at the thread on her right arm, which is open on the end with red rose petals falling out. She wrote in her accompanying post that this drawing was the one she dreaded sharing the most. Rushmer said she has struggled with different forms of self-harm and its important to be open about it. People who struggle with self harm are not freaks, nor are they attention seekers, she wrote in the caption. They are people who are ill. They are people trying to cope with feelings that are too much for them. There is no easy solution, but it is possible to overcome. Rushmer said she was inspired to create the project on Instagram from another online art project called MerMay where artists post mermaid-inspired art throughout the month. This project is the first time she has shared her experiences with a wide audience. I approached it with the mindset that it doesnt matter what people think, Rushmer said. The first couple of days were hard, but the way people reacted to it gave me more courage. Rushmer has about 1,200 Instagram followers, and each of her Mental Health Awareness Month posts have at least 100 likes and dozens of comments. Not many people have drawn in response to her prompts, but she said shes gotten a great response in comments. Its been encouraging to see a lot of people sharing and being open, she said. Kari Rushmer, Alex Rushmers mother, said mental illness gets worse when the afflicted dont talk about it. Poor mental health flourishes in the dark, she said. Inviting people to bring it into the light is the first step. Alex Rushmer said her depression worsened in the last two or three years after a bad bout of anemia. She also struggled with body dysmorphia (obsessive focus on a perceived appearance flaw) and dissociation (disconnecting from thoughts, feelings, memories or sense of identity). In the beginning it was difficult to accept her mental illness, and she resisted therapy and medication. I had to overcome my own stigma. Mental health is really just health, she said. Her mother said healing is difficult. Once her daughter agreed to medication, it took time to learn what works, she said. Eventually, she needed a stay in a stabilization hospital in Vancouver. Its encouraging to see that her daughter is now well enough to share her experiences through this project, Kari Rushmer said. Im proud of her, how far shes come in the healing process and what shes doing with it. She said it was hard to find a hospital for the level of care her daughter needed. Rushmer said theyve had good experiences with treatment in the area, but mental health services are lagging behind the need. She said navigating the mental health care system is tricky, and it would be even more difficult without the support system her daughter had. Alex Rushmer said mental health education should be taught in schools. Although there are many misconceptions about mental illness, Kari Rushmer said the community has become more accepting. For example, the Run the Path 5K, sponsored by Columbia Wellness earlier this month, has helped raise awareness, she said. Alex Rushmer remembers that fellow patients at the stabilization hospital rooted for each other, calling the support amazing. If only that attitude were more widespread, she said. It would be easier if people didnt feel like they had to be isolated. Its just regular illness. Love 5 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. Robert Morris does not think of himself as an easy mark. Nevertheless, the retired University of Washington staffer nearly fell prey to the ploy of a sophisticated telephone scammer who said Morris had missed jury duty and would be arrested if he didnt immediately pay a $200 fine. Morris, 72, and his partner initially believed the con man. He appeared to be calling from a local sheriffs office. And they had recently been having trouble with mail delivery at their West Seattle home, so it stood to reason Morris could have missed a summons. It was after hours, so it was confusing, but he was so definite and seemed to know where we were at, that we thought, Oh, gosh, we better take care of this, Morris said Friday. He hopes sharing the story of how he and his partner almost got taken could help others avoid the trouble. The barrage of automated telephone solicitations and robocalls to Americans phones added up to nearly 50 billion calls in 2018, a 56% increase over the previous year, according to some estimates. To make matters worse, experts say as many as half of these calls may be attempts to defraud consumers. Many adults in Washington state are unaware of the latest scam tactics, according to a survey conducted by the AARP, an advocacy group for people 50 and older.Very smart people can fall for these scams, AARP communications director Jason Erskine said. The scammers are very good. Earlier this week, the organization put on a Spoof-Proof Your Life event at Seattles Museum of Flight, where the AARP and Washington states Attorney General Bob Ferguson explained to a capacity crowd what the survey data showed, gave tips on how to avoid falling for a scam and stressed the importance of reporting scams.Its important to always report scam attempts, even if you dont fall victim, Chuck Harwood, Federal Trade Commission regional director, said in a news statement released by AARP. Your story makes a difference. Every report is a piece of the puzzle that helps authorities see a fuller picture of what scammers are doing, which can also help in law enforcement actions. Scammers dont rip off just one person, and your story could be the one that helps protect others. The survey also showed that while most Washington adults know to be wary of calls coming from Unknown, Private, or Restricted numbers, theyre not prepared to resist the fear induced by calls that seem to be coming from sheriffs departments, police, the IRS and other official agencies. Fraudsters understand that fear sells and are increasingly turning to pitches designed to threaten or scare victims into handing over their money, according to the AARP. And it works, AARP communications director Jason Erskine said.By using programs that are readily and cheaply available online, scammers can manipulate your caller ID so that calls appear to come from any number or source they choose and consumers are falling for it, AARP state director Doug Shadel said. Scammers often pretend to be calling from a number that looks eerily similar to yours. According to AARPs survey, 60% of Washington adults say they are more likely to answer the phone if their caller ID shows a local number. Nearly half of respondents would likely answer if shown an area code where friends and/or family live, and 41% say they are more likely to pick up if the prefix on the caller ID matches their own. Morris, who attended the AARP event this week, said he learned there that what happened to him was almost a textbook shakedown: the call seemed to come from a law-enforcement agency, and the con artist kept him on the phone as he went to a bank, withdrew $200 in cash and then went to a store to purchase credit cards. The scammer also directed Morris to a legitimate place, the federal courthouse in downtown Seattle, where he said hed take the credit cards and issue Morris a receipt. The caller seemed to know where Morris and his partner were each step of the way, asking if they were on the viaduct, for example, and adding to their sense of worry. The ruse ended when Morris went into the QFC on Capitol Hill to buy the credit cards. He was unfamiliar with how to do that, and when he spoke to the clerk about it, the clerk said she thought it was scam. Two other customers took the phone from Morris and yelled at the scammer, he said. After that, Morris hung up, went to the police station and reported the incident. He said hes learned since then not to be afraid to ask for help and not to expect truth from unknown callers. We get calls all the time that are probably scams, but now I just dont answer them anymore, he said. To avoid becoming a victim, follow these tips: Dont rely on caller ID alone to identify who is calling Whether its online or on the phone, advances in technology have made it very easy for scammers to impersonate trusted sources, said Sean Murphy, senior vice president and chief information security officer for BECU, the credit union. Be suspicious of requests for personal information or pressure to take action quickly. Also be wary of requests for abnormal payment methods, such as through a gift card or wire transfer. Use call-blocking services Consider getting a call-blocking service like Nomorobo or You Mail, or contact your phone company and ask if they offer a call-blocking feature. AARPs survey showed that 81% of Washington adults dont use a robocall-blocking service. Independently verify the identity of those calling About half of Washington adults seldom or never look up a number online to determine whether its a scam, according to AARPs survey. The best thing you can do to prevent fraud is be vigilant, avoid unsolicited offers and safeguard your personal information, said Courtney Gregoire, assistant general counsel for Microsofts Digital Crimes Unit. Be wary of unsolicited phone calls or pop-up messages on your electronic devices. Never give control of your computer to a third party unless you can confirm that it is a legitimate representative of a computer support team of whom you are already a customer. Report fraud to the appropriate law-enforcement agencies Most adults in Washington skip this step, AARPs survey found: 79% of Washington adults havent reported telemarketing robocalls, 84% havent reported calls with fake or misleading display numbers, and 81% havent reported attempted telephone scams. Consumers should report scams to the FTC at FTC.gov/complaint and to the Washington State Attorney Generals Office at atg.wa.gov/file-complaint. A Spoof Proof Your Life event is scheduled for Vancouver on June 26. You can sign up for it at www.aarp.org/wa or you can call 1-877-926-8300. You can also sign up for fraud alerts from the AARP Fraud Watch Network at aarp.org/fraudwatchnetwork. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Scientists have discovered yet another way that single-celled organisms have outsmarted us. The tiny bacteria that live inside our guts have an ingenious way of withstanding the onslaught of antibiotics we throw at them, according to a report published Thursday in the journal Science. The two-part system allows bacterial cells to stay alive until another bacterium can deliver a lifeline, packaged in a snippet of DNA. Microbes 1, Humans 0. Im afraid our findings are great news for bacterial cells not so good for us, said study leader Christian Lesterlin, a researcher in the Molecular Microbiology and Structural Biochemistry program at Universite Lyon in France. Lesterlin and his colleagues already knew that superbugs could repel even our most modern medicines. What they didnt know was how they managed to pull it off. These are amazing abilities they have, to be able to adapt and survive in harsh environments with antibiotics, he said. But the more we understand about it, the more we can do for human health. For most of human history, bacteria have had their way with us. Though some of them are helpful, others cause dangerous diseases like pneumonia, cholera and meningitis. The bacterium Yersinia pestis wiped out roughly 20% of the worlds population in the mid-1300s during the pandemic known as the Black Death. When scientists first developed antibiotics in the early 1900s, humans enjoyed the upper hand for a while. Some of the drugs target the machinery that maintains a bacteriums all-important cell wall. Others rob bacteria of the proteins they need to carry out essential functions or damage the DNA needed to reproduce. It took just a few decades for the first drug-resistant strains to appear. Since then, the invention of each new antibiotic invited a jeering reply. Doctors responded by prescribing another antibiotic drug, and another. Then two drugs together. Then three. But now the arsenal is all but depleted, and there are strains of Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, acinetobacter and enterococcus that have evolved to overcome almost every medicine thrown at them. So scientists are racing to understand superbugs tactics. Among the most urgent questions is this: How does antibiotic resistance spread between bacteria cells, even or especially in the presence of antibiotics that are designed to knock them back? Bacteria know better than to wait around for a random mutation in their DNA that will protect them from antibiotics. Those mutations will come but not often: For some drugs, only about 1 in 10,000 bacteria will develop resistance that way. For other drugs, only about one in a billion will do so. Either way, thats not very efficient. Luckily for bacteria, they have plasmids at their disposal. These are circular snippets of DNA, and they can include genes that carry instructions for repelling specific antibiotics. Bacteria can swap useful plasmids with one another while socializing together in the human gut. (Imagine having an anti-cancer gene and being able to pass out copies of it to everybody you bump into at the grocery store. Like I said, bacteria have outsmarted us.) Lesterlins team wanted to visualize exactly how the exchange worked. They put a regular strain of Escherichia coli bacteria in one petri dish and a strain that is resistant to the antibiotic tetracycline in another dish. Then they saturated both plates with tetracycline and watched closely. Logic suggested the bacteria cells lacking the ability to resist the drug would die. Instead, they simply went to sleep. After several hours, the researchers combined the contents of the two dishes and used a technique called live-cell microscopy to watch in real time as plasmids were transferred in just two minutes from tetracycline-resistant bacteria cells to tetracycline-sensitive ones. Less than two hours later, the plasmid produced a protein called TetA resistance factor, which makes bacteria impervious to tetracycline. That was shockingly counter-intuitive, Lesterlin said, since tetracycline blocks the production of proteins by binding to the machinery required to make them. The next question was this: How could bacteria get away with producing drug-resistance proteins right there in the presence of a protein-inhibiting drug? As the hosts on QVC might say, one can never have too many accessories. Thats especially true for something called the AcrAB-TolC multidrug efflux pump, which sits on the cells outer membrane and ejects various toxic antibiotics that have invaded the cells interior. Despite the pumps fancy-sounding name, its not sufficient to keep the cell thriving amid a surge of antibiotics. But it buys vital time for the groggy cell to acquire a plasmid with an all-important resistance gene. In the teams experiments, the pump kept tetracycline levels low enough to give the cell a chance to translate the resistance gene into a version of the TetA protein that was immune to the antibiotic. Then that TetA protein took the reins in sustaining the newly drug-resistant cell, which went on to grow and multiply. Thanks to the multidrug efflux pump, bacteria have the ability to remain dormant not quite dead but not quite alive just waiting for a little help from a neighbor, Lesterlin said. Rudimentary microbiology discoveries like this one might seem far removed from the front lines of the war on superbugs. But military analysts and athletes alike will tell you that the key to victory is to study your enemy. Understanding basic cell functions could reveal gaping holes in our strategy to combat antibiotic resistance and weaknesses of their own that we might exploit. For now, scientists remain locked in a race that could mean life or death for all organisms involved. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria already kills at least 23,000 people in the United States per year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention an estimate that most experts consider conservative. The United Nations warns that, without action, drug-resistant infections could kill 10 million people annually by 2050. Thats a public health nightmare, but hardly a surprise. After all, bacteria have a few billion years of guerrilla warfare under their belts. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 WASHINGTON For sheer hypocrisy, its hard to match the European nations that are refusing responsibility for dozens of their nationals who became jihadist foreign fighters over the past five years and are now warehoused in makeshift prisons in northeast Syria. U.S. officials say that about 2,000 foreign fighters from more than 50 nations are among the roughly 10,000 captured Islamic State fighters held in several dozen ramshackle prisons in Syria. The detention facilities are run by the Syrian Democratic Forces, the Kurdish militia that partnered with a U.S.-led coalition to defeat Islamic State. The other 8,000 captives are Syrian and Iraqi fighters. The Pentagon and State Department have implored European nations to repatriate their nationals for trial and imprisonment, or at least pay the SDF to hold them temporarily. But so far, most European nations have refused. The SDF warns that it cant imprison them indefinitely and doesnt have laws that would allow formal prosecution in the Kurdish-controlled zone. If these prisoners are not going to be taken, what is the endgame? complained one frustrated Pentagon official in an interview: What comes next? People havent thought about it. The Europeans protest that they dont have adequate laws to try their nationals who committed terrorist offenses on foreign soil, and that they dont have evidence that would stand up in court. They worry, too, that jihadists in European prisons would radicalize other Muslim prisoners, and then be released back into society in a few years, perhaps to commit new terrorist acts. Its a political problem for Europe, too, explained one European who has talked extensively with officials there about the repatriation issue. The European Union is in denial, he told me. The security and interior ministers dont want to hear about it. The Europeans feel that a government that takes them back has no chance for reelection. The problem isnt just the foreign fighters in the prisons, but their wives and children living in camps. Experts estimate that of the 74,000 people at a huge camp known as Al Hol, about 11,000 may be related to fighters who arent Syrian or Iraqi. The European desire for self-protection was epitomized by Ben Wallace, British security minister, who told The Guardian: Im not putting at risk British peoples lives to go looking for terrorists or former terrorists in a failed state. The International Committee for the Red Cross, which visits prison and civilian camps in northeast Syria, said in a statement: Countries of origin cannot turn their backs. People especially children cannot be made stateless. Faced with this complex problem, moral inertia is not an option. What peeves some U.S. officials is that the European nations shunning responsibility for Islamic State prisoners have for years been lecturing the United States about its immoral treatment of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay. Facing a post-conflict dilemma now thats similar to what the U.S. encountered with al-Qaida, the Europeans are ducking the problem. European castigation of Guantanamo abuses included German Chancellor Angela Merkels statement that an institution like Guantanamo can and should not exist and the European Parliaments demand that the U.S. close Guantanamo without delay. (These criticisms were gathered by the Center for the Study of Human Rights in the Americas.) 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. But U.S. pleas have yielded little response, especially from Europe. The only countries to accept significant transfers from the SDF prisons are Kazakhstan, Macedonia, Kosovo, Morocco and Bosnia, a Pentagon official said. Some prisoners have also been transferred to Iraq, which has offered to take thousands more, but only if paid. The SDF, which has limited resources and faces a Turkish threat of attack, has kept holding the prisoners but warned it cant do so indefinitely. Abdulkerim Umer, an SDF representative, told The Associated Press: We cant put up with this burden alone. ... The international community has evaded its responsibility, so we ask that they help us set up the court here. European nations talk of some sort of international tribunal for the jihadist prisoners, but theres been no significant movement to make that happen. Defeating the Islamic State was a worthy goal. Ignoring the prisoners who were captured in that war, and leaving the problem to others, is reprehensible. David Ignatius is a syndicated columnist whose work appears each week in the Washington Post. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 For women, turning abortion policy over to legislatures will mean men fighting over your rights. Photo: KAREN BLEIER/AFP/Getty Images Whenever the constitutional right of a woman to choose abortion is in danger, anti-abortion advocates predictably recite the original talking points against Roe v. Wade and its successor decisions especially the notion that the right to choose was invented out of thin air by a Court majority that was indifferent to the Constitution and hostile to democracy as exercised by state legislatures. But increasingly, this litany of arguments for dispatching Roe in order to restrict abortion (supplemented by occasional cries of pain from those authentically conflicted by the issue and seeking some elusive compromise) coincides with the oddest thing: writers who come forward with arguments that transferring reproductive health care policy from the judicial branch to the legislative branch where it resided before Roe v. Wade would eventually, in the long run, become a good thing for the pro-choice cause. There was an effusion of such essays during George W. Bushs second term when he appointed two Justices (Roberts and Alito) presumed by supporters and opponents alike to be inclined to overturn or at least dislodge Roe and the 1992 Casey v. Planned Parenthood decision that affirmed and modified it. Heres how Scott Lemieux summed up the pro-choice, anti-Roe case in a rightly celebrated 2006 essay: It is difficult to know when a contrarian idea has been repeated so much as to become the new conventional wisdom. At least in prominent liberal media outlets, however, the argument that pro-choicers would be better off abandoning Roe v. Wade has probably crossed the line. In The Atlantic Monthly, Bejamin Wittes 2005 article asserting that Roe v. Wade has been deeply unhealthy for abortion rights was followed up by a similar (although more detailed and nuanced) article in the June Atlantic by Jeffrey Rosen, also a prominent Roe critic in The New York Times and The New Republic. Richard Cohen opined in the pages of The Washington Post (after sniffing that he no longer see[s] abortion as directly related to sexual freedom or feminism) that liberals should untether abortion rights from Roe. Slates William Saletan took to the Post op-ed pages also to argue on behalf of moving beyond Roe and to dismiss the decision as obsolete. The argument usually contains an added political component that overturning Roe would prove a boon to Democrats by waking a majority pro-choice electorate from its apathetic slumber. Now that reproductive rights are clearly facing their biggest test since at least 1992, were seeing a revival of such arguments. The eternal refrain is that abortion policy set by state legislatures (or by Congress) will command a stronger and more durable consensus, and produce less polarization.A Abortion rights activist Robin Marty has argued that letting red states ban abortion will galvanize complacent pro-choicers who dont really care about abortion restrictions that are already in place: When the entirety of the Gulf Coast is abortion-freea swath of land stretching from Texas through the Florida panhandleor Midwesterners have to choose between Illinois or Minnesota for abortion care, unintended childbirth will jump to historically high levels. Abortion bans would exacerbate the already unaddressed issues of maternal mortality and child mortality, both of which the United States has the worst rates for among all developed nations. The real-life consequences of forced childbirth will become real for Americans for the first time since 1972. Thatll teach us! At least Marty understands that the anti-abortion forces controlling red-state legislatures arent going to say I feel so much better now! if Roe is reversed, and eagerly seek compromises, which appears to be the delusion embraced by the uneasily pro-choice Megan McArdle: [I]t is Roe, more than any other opinion, that is driving both the radicalization and the judicialization of American politics, as pro-lifers fight like caged tigers to amend the law through the only avenue left open to them. [T]he way to make abortion less contentious is to throw the matter back to the states so that people can argue about it. Debating the difficult decisions regarding gestational age and circumstances would force people to confront the hard questions that abortion entails, which tends to have a moderating effect on extreme opinions. Returning the matter to the states would give most people a law they can live with, defusing the rage that permeates politics and has more than once culminated in acts of terrorism against doctors who perform abortions. One wonders if McArdle and the voices which echo the fantasy of a post-Roe peace offensive have ever spent any time among anti-abortion activists, or observing a state legislature. Lemieux made short work of this argument back in 2006: The pre-Roe period in state legislatures does not in any way comport with the romantic myths now being peddled by anti-Roe centrists. Far from being satisfied with legislative compromises, anti-choice activists were so well-mobilized in response to a few legislative reform laws that liberalization at the state level was essentially dead by the time Roe was handed down in January 1973. The National Review wrote more about abortion in the three years before Roe than in the three years after. The timing of the new arguments for, as McArdle puts it, letting Roe go, is astonishing. We are in the midst of a feeding frenzy of poorly-considered abortion restrictions that Republican-controlled legislatures are passing as fast as they can meet. Is that really an advertisement for turning the entire subject over to these same people? Yes, some of these laws are designed to produce litigation leading to the reversal or curtailment of Roe. But anyone who thinks anti-abortion activists and the major political party they control dont want actually to ban most if not all abortions really hasnt been paying attention very well for the last 40-some-odd years. Right now they are arguing with each other over issues like rape exceptions that affect a tiny handful of procedures, in the context of outlawing 99 percent of abortions or more. Theres no longer much of any visible opposition within the GOPs cadres of elected official to the proposition that abortion should generally be illegal. The last pro-choice Republican members of the U.S. House are gone, with just two GOP senators expressing any audible doubts about outlawing abortion. And lest we forget, the official platform of the Republican Party has since 1980 endorsed a Human Life Amendment to the Constitution that would not simply reverse Roe, but would endow the pre-born from the moment of conception in all 50 states with protected status as proto-citizens. Have they been kidding all these years? Are they just upset about judicial tyranny? Will they happily smile upon states in a post-Roe environment that accept what so many of them blithely call The American Holocaust? I dont think so. The anti-abortion movement will be at least as avid as it is today to stop all the baby-killing when the constitutional obstacle to its goal is discarded. The argument that returning abortion policy to the realm of plain politics will somehow broker foster peace and stability bugs me the most. It involves, of course, women giving up on this idea of having any reproductive rights they can rely on. They would henceforth depend on who controls their states legislature or the Congress a year or two down the road. Yes, conservative gains on the Supreme Court are one reason for the recent orgy of anti-abortion legislation in the states. But the other is simply that Republicans flipped 21 state legislative chambers and six governorships in a 2010 midterm landslide where abortion policy was rarely a major issue, and held on to most of those gains at least up until last years midterms. Should a womans ability to control her own body be contingent on every short-term political trend in whatever place they happen to live? Are red-state women just out of luck forever, unless they literally move like war refugees? Beyond that, battles over abortion policy in a post-Roe world would dominate every state legislative session in any state where one party or the other doesnt have complete control. Just tracking the bills being introduced daily to restrict this or that procedure or proscribe this or that motive for an abortion or shut down this or that clinic would require multiple Guttmacher Institutes, NARALs, and Planned Parenthood advocates. Should women really have to endure what might never be a better choice than illegal abortions or perpetual uncertainty? My colleague Andrew Sullivan hopes that all this inequality and instability might be prevented by preemptive federal legislation setting abortion policy nationally, as proposed by Senator Elizabeth Warren (Warren, of course, is offering her proposal strictly as a back-up in case Roe is reversed, a possibility she loathes). Just maybe, if one party or the other has a governing trifecta with a big majority in the House and more than 60 Senators (or action to abolish the Senate filibuster), it might be able to pass a national abortion lawwhich would remain in force until the next election. In the last half-century, there have been only ten years in which one party controlled the White House and Congress. Thats a slender reed on which to place a national solution to abortion policy. All in all a post-Roe world is likely to be a hellscape of endless battles, unrelieved uncertainty, and above all peril for women. However fragile the right to choose may seem today, its the Rock of Gibraltar as compared to a situation where every day could bring new laws and policies restricting choice, discouraging providers, and harassing those in need of services. It is especially troublesome when allegedly pro-choice men persist in offering to bargain awayto quite literally compromisewomens rights, in the pursuit of an illusory peace with those who dont acknowledge those rights at all. My colleague Rebecca Traistr is right to express fury at their presumption. As presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg recently said: I think the dialogue has got so caught up on where you draw the line that weve gotten away from the fundamental question of who gets to draw the line, he said. And I trust women to draw the line. Thats a good place to start in contemplating the future of reproductive rights. Sign Up for the Intelligencer Newsletter Daily news about the politics, business, and technology shaping our world. 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. Navigant Consulting, Inc. provides professional services worldwide. It operates through three segments: Healthcare, Energy, and Financial Services Advisory and Compliance. The Healthcare segment offers consulting and business process management services to healthcare providers, payers, and life sciences companies. This segment helps clients respond to market legislative changes, such as the shift to an outcome and value-based reimbursements model, ongoing industry consolidation and reorganization, Medicaid expansion, the implementation of a electronic health records system, and product planning and commercialization expertise. The Energy segment provides life-cycle solutions that help clients businesses in changing energy environment, manage complexity, accelerate operational performance, and meet compliance requirements, as well as transform its organizations and systems; and various benchmarking, and data and market research services. This segment serves utility and energy companies, government and nongovernmental organizations, large corporations, product manufacturers, and investors. The Financial Services Advisory and Compliance segment provides strategic, operational, valuation, risk management, investigative, and compliance advisory services to financial services industry, including financial and insurance institutions. This segment also offers anti-corruption solutions and anti-money laundering consulting, litigation support, and tax compliance services. Navigant Consulting, Inc. was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Read More CoreLogic, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides property information, insight, analytics, and data-enabled solutions in North America, Western Europe, and the Asia Pacific. The company operates in two segments, Property Intelligence & Risk Management Solutions (PIRM) and Underwriting & Workflow Solutions (UWS). The PIRM segment combines property information, mortgage information, and consumer information to deliver housing market and property-level insights, predictive analytics, and risk management capabilities. It also offers proprietary technology and software platforms to access, automate, or track the information and assist its clients with decision-making and compliance tools in the real estate and insurance industries. This segment primarily serves commercial banks, mortgage lenders and brokers, investment banks, fixed-income investors, real estate agents, MLS companies, property and casualty insurance companies, title insurance companies, government agencies, and government-sponsored enterprises. The UWS segment combines property, mortgage, and consumer information to provide comprehensive mortgage origination and monitoring solutions, including underwriting-related solutions, and data-enabled valuations and appraisals. This segment also provides proprietary technology and software platforms to access, automate, or track the information and assist its clients with vetting and onboarding prospects, and meeting compliance regulations, as well as understanding, evaluating, monitoring property values. It primarily serves mortgage lenders and servicers, mortgage brokers, credit unions, commercial banks, fixed-income investors, government agencies, and property and casualty insurance companies. The company was formerly known as The First American Corporation and changed its name to CoreLogic, Inc. in June 2010. CoreLogic, Inc. was incorporated in 1894 and is headquartered in Irvine, California. Read More HyQReal is 1,33 m long and 90 cm tall, and its weight is 130kg considering hydraulics and batteries onboard. The robot is protected by an aluminium roll cage and a skin made of Kevlar, glass fiber and plastic. Credit: IIT-Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia This four-legged robot has pull3 tons of itand its engineers were proud to show it off on May 23 as rugged and powerful as it is. HyQReal is a quadruped developed at the Italian Institute of Technology, and its team watched proudly as the robot pulled an airplane for over 10 meters (33 feet). This was a three-ton Piaggio P180 Avanti passenger airplane. At ITT, the action is at the Dynamic Legged Systems lab where work has been going toward hydraulic quadrupeds for some time. Specifically, a big concern is for "accurate hydraulic force/torque control at the joint level." The lab considers its "torque-controlled hydraulic quadruped" robot HyQReal as "our flagship platform." The video was released on May 23 from the Dynamic Legged Systems lab, showing the robot with hydraulics and batteries onboard, plus two computers, one for vision, the other for control, pulling the planea small-passenger Piaggio P180 Avanti. The features were tested at Genoa Airport, with the support of Piaggio Aerospace. The plane weighs 3,300kg (7,275.255 pounds, 3.6376275 tons). Now here are the far smaller numbers on this robot. HyQReal is 90cm (2.95 feet) tall, and its weight is 130kg (286.6 pounds). The robot has an aluminium roll cage and a skin made of Kevlar, glass fiber and plastic. The feet have special rubber for high traction on the ground. There is a 48 Volt battery; four electric motors are connected to four hydraulic pumps. IIT partnered with Moog on the hydraulics and Claudio Semini, project leader and coordinator of IIT's Dynamic Legged Systems lab, told Digital Trends that "IIT's software can optimize the robot posture, balance, and the ground-reaction forces to increase the pulling force and the traction." HyQReal has been tested in Genova Airport, in Genoa (Italy), with the support of Piaggio Aerospace. HyQReal was able to pull a small passenger airplane (Piaggio P180 Avanti), 3300 kg weight, 14.4 m long, with a wingspan of 14 m. Credit: IIT-Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia The robot would in the real world support relief efforts in disaster-hit areas without putting human lives at risk. ("Since the actuators are mostly sealed up, HyQReal is water- and dust-resistant, able to keep moving while being sprayed with water or having sand dumped all over it," said Evan Ackerman in IEEE Spectrum.) "The battery (which weighs 15kg) [33 lbs] should be good for about two hours," said Ackerman, "although IIT hasn't yet done endurance testing." In fact, the "not yet" helps to describe what's next. "The long-term goal of the project is to create the hardware, software and algorithms for robust quadruped vehicles for rough terrain that can be tailored to a variety of applications, such as disaster response, agriculture, decommissioning, and inspection," said the news release. "It's still very much a research robot at the moment," said Ackerman. Actually, Ackerman took care to point out that this robot is to undergo further testing. "At the ICRA workshop, we saw some brief video of the robot trotting, as well as lying down and standing up again. We're told that it should be able to autonomously recover after it falls, but IIT hasn't had time to test that either. HyQReal is very, very new, so there's a lot of stuff that the researchers simply haven't had a chance to figure out yet." Explore further Genoa lab makes sure robot can stand up to hard knocks 2019 Science X Network The Undead Archives I have finally salvaged my pre-Blogger TDR archives and added them into Blogger. They are almost totally in the form of one giant post for each month. And the formatting strayed from the originals. Sorry. But historians everywhere can rejoice that this treasure trove of my thoughts is restored to the world. 76-year-old Joe Biden and 77-year-old Bernie Sanders. Photo: Getty Images Like a nagging toothache, public opinion indicators keep showing that Americans, and particularly Democrats, dont like the idea of having a really old president. Its hard to square with an early 2020 Democratic presidential contest in which the two front-runners are over 75. Back in late February an NBC/Wall Street Journal survey of adults without regard to party asked about desirable and undesirable traits in presidential candidates. A full 62 percent said theyd either have reservations about, or would be very uncomfortable with, such a prospect (ranking second only to a socialist as a discomforting characteristic, which was less than great news for the 77-year-old self-described socialist Bernie Sanders). A Reuters/Ipsos poll in April showed that among Democrats over half said theyd be less likely to support a presidential candidate if they discovered he or she is over 70. An April Gallup survey showed 35 percent of Democrats expressing unwillingness to vote for an otherwise qualified over-70 candidate of their party. And then a May Pew survey of Democrats asked the best age for a president. Only 3 percent reported a preference for septuagenarians (at 47 percent, the 50s were the plurality winner as ideal for presidents). So whats up with that? Are Democrats simply finding other qualities of oldsters that outweigh age considerations? Is Perry Bacon Jr. correct in suggesting voters who as an abstract matter prefer younger candidates may feel differently about an individual pol whom they know? Is Helaine Olen right that when pressed voters really just dont care about age? Its possible voters simply dont know these popular public figures are as old as they actually are. I cant find any research testing that hypothesis. But whether its a matter of ignorance or not thinking deeply about it, this data does open up some possibilities for the campaigns of younger candidates. First, they could do the research that the public pollsters apparently arent doing about voter awareness of candidate age, and whether being informed that a candidate has achieved advanced geezerhood might have an impact. And second, they could subtly get their comparative youthfulness across in ads that touted their energy and fresh ideas, while presenting images that silently conveyed the decrepitude of the old folks. It could serve as a rehearsal for general election reminders that the junk-food-devouring Donald J. Trump will turn 74 next year. One objection to age-based comparisons like this is that it might honk off older voters. But theres some evidence (notably in the Ipsos/Reuters survey) that seniors are more concerned about age-related candidate impairment than anyone, perhaps because they understand what its like to lose a step. Theres also scientific research on the cognitive consequences of that lost step, as Robert Kaiser recently explained: Studies of old people conclude that between 16 percent and 23 percent of Americans over 65 experience some form of cognitive impairment. Researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology found that these subjects performed worse than others on tasks involving working memory the ability to remember information while manipulating it, as when calculating the tip on a restaurant bill and that theyre more impaired when those tasks become more complex. Older adults also have difficulties with tasks that require dividing or switching attention, like cooking while chatting on the phone. On tests of reasoning, memory and cognitive speed, the average scores for adults in their early 70s were near the 20th percentile of the population, whereas the average performance for adults in their early 20s was near the 75th percentile. A Mayo Clinic study of 161 cognitively normal adults between 62 and 100 years of age showed that declines in learning ability closely track the passage of time. Research has shown that concept formation, abstraction, and mental flexibility decline with age, especially after age 70, as older adults tend to think more concretely than younger adults, according to researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, who surveyed several studies. I would hope that impaired executive functioning is not the sort of torture Americans want their president to suffer. If the 2020 general election really does match Trump against either Biden or Sanders (or arguably Elizabeth Warren, who turns 70 next month, though womens brains tend to age more slowly than mens), looking at such sobering evidence could even be conducted on a bipartisan basis, perhaps in conjunction with a closer look than is customary at the qualifications of the Democratic and Republican veep nominees. If its indeed the golden age for Golden Girls and Boys in politics, it might be good to get a sense of when maturity reaches the point of diminishing returns. - An Echo I never thought I'd be in the demographic for one of these. (Once you get older you start ignoring most trends and fashions, because time has taught you how fleeting and without body and substance most of them are.) But I've ordered an Amazon Echo. The Echo is the device, the hardware; Alexa is the synthetic humanoid that* listens for your instructions and responds orally. By the way, Echo was originally a mountain nymph in ancient Greek mythology who pines so badly for Narcissus that she withers away until nothing is left of her but her voice. Really, what could be more perfect during my recovery than, um, a devoted mountain nymph? Hopefully I'll get it set up successfully so that it works entirely by voice command, so I can tell it to start and stop reading audiobooks. Not only that, but I don't even have to buy booksit turns out I joined Audible years ago (I think because my son was an affiliate for a while) and bought a dozen titles that I never listened to. They're still waiting. I'm good. Mayil in the clutch When the Harry Potter books came out 22 years ago, I (along with approximately one zillion other people) got the bright idea of writing a series of fantasy/sci-fi adventure books for young adults. I plotted a quadrilogy, four books, and outlined two of them. My stories followed a protagonist named Mayil Daka, who lives c. 2280 in an era that followed 80 years of disasters called The Contractions. During the Contractions, world population had plunged to a mere 20 million souls. Survivors had resumed living and behaving in tribal fashion, retreating into small fortified compounds called "enclaves." As world government began to get reorganized, resourceful individuals, called "travelers," were enlisted to locate and approach these armed and isolated settlements to inform them of the re-establishment of civilization and to try to reassure their leaders that it was safe to venture out and reconnect with the broader society. It was dangerous work, requiring bravery, social skill, and good judgement, and the travelers often became heroes to subsequent generations, as well as founders of larger civilized areas, which are also formally called Enclaves. Mayil (pronounced "mile"), lives in the Praetorian Enclave, formerly part of South Africa. When the story commences, world population is rumored to be approaching 100 million, and renewed fears of overpopulation are reaching almost hysterical levels among the superstitious; terror of the memory of the Contractions is so strong that parents are allowed to exempt their children from studying it in school. World government, based in the Australs (Australia/New Zealand/New Guinea), has an urgent need to carry out an accurate world census. There is only one octant of the globe that is not served by surviving satellites and is hence "dark"out of contact with the rest of the world. It's a region that was riven by sectarian violence, dark cults, and strange superstitions in the run-up to the Contractions, and it is known as the lands of the Northamsthe former North America. Little is known about conditions there. World government is mounting a small and most likely doomed expedition to the lands of the Northams to see if a government exists there, and, if it does, whether it has census data that can be added to the projections for the remainder of the planet. The expedition will travel by sailboat across the inhospitably hot equatorial region. Mayil, who is the only great-grandson of the great Traveler Emil Ali Daka, the most legendary of the nine founders of the Praetorian Enclave, has been chosen for the honor of being ceremonially asked to participate in the expedition. At age 14, he is not required or expected to accept; it's merely an honor to be asked, a symbolic gesture intended as a compliment to the people of the distant Praetorian Enclave. He has every reason not to want to go. He has just entered "clutch," a rite of passage for teenagers wherein 12 young women and 12 young men who have been scientifically selected as genetically healthy enough to have children sort themselves into couples. Clutch is not only prestigiousnot everyone is allowed to have children, because of the high incidence of birth defectsit is also very social and great fun. But Mayil has just lost two of his closest friends. One, Davi Ald, a neighbor boy whom Mayil grew up with, had been chronically sickly and always expected to die. But the other was the apparently healthy girl to whom Mayil had been secretly betrothed since age 10, Mali Ohen, who died unexpectedly of a fast-acting cancer after learning, to her devastation, that she would not be allowed to participate in clutch. Her genetic markers for disease had been just above the cutoff. Mali's exclusion from clutch had subtly driven a wedge between the two former childhood friends despite their better intentions, and since Mali's death Mayil has suffered from guilt as well as grief. To the great shock of his parents, when Mayil stands in the great Council Hall of the Australs to hear his invitation read aloud, he throws caution to the winds and surprises everyone presentand even himself, a littleby accepting a place in the dangerous expedition to the lands of the Northams. And off we went. Hominids and humanoids I had fun with it, anyway. The publisher of Harry Potter sent a very nice letter in response to an outline and seventy pages of manuscript: "This almost made it for us! Please keep us apprised of your other projects." Other projects? I didn't have any other projects. I was hard at work on that project. Unfortunately, my next project was to get fired from a job, which threw me into a slow-grinding crisis for several years. Writing was mostly forgotten. So what's the point of this? I'm sure experts in speculative fiction are well aware of this problem and can limn its dimensions at length, but when the first book opens, in the first scene, Mayil is waking up in his bedroom in his parents' house on the Transvaal plain, and the first thing he does is ask for news from something I called a "conbox," which is voice-activated and can respond to him interactively. The idea seemed at least mildly futuristic to my innocent self in 1999, but my fictional "conbox" was almost identicalin function, but even in size and shape!to an Amazon Echo. Sheesh. So anyhow, I got myself a conbox, straight out of the former future. Mike *A bit o' grammar: "who" is the proper pointer-word for humans; "that" is the pointer-word for things. Common errors like "the girl that was brushing her hair" or "My friends that have a nice house" are howlers to an ear sensitive to words; should be who both times. But here I think "Alexa" is properly a that, because "she" is not human, but rather humanoid. Original contents copyright 2019 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site. Amazon.com Amazon UK Amazon Canada Amazon Germany B&H Photo Adorama (To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.) Featured Comments from: No featured comments yetplease check back soon! Wild mustached horses couldnt drag this president away. Photo: Evan Vucci/AP/REX/Shutterstock On Saturday, White House national security adviser and longtime war enthusiast John Bolton became the first Trump administration official to acknowledge let alone forcefully that North Korea had violated UN sanctions when it recently staged a attention-seeking missile test. The national security advisers comments, made on the first day of the presidents trip to Japan, seemed to signal U.S. displeasure with North Koreas latest act of aggression amid the two countries hopelessly stalled denuclearization negotiations or at least they would have been, if he were not John Bolton and a member of President Donald Trumps administration. Hours later, Trump responded on Twitter to signal that if he had to choose between Kim Jong-un and his adviser with the prominent mustache hes going with the militaristic provocateur who has earned him better press (and shares his love of ridiculing political opponents with childish insults). Tweeting from the region most concerned about North Koreas love of ballistic missile tests, Trump asserted that he, the president, was totally cool with what happened. Downplaying the tests as though they were just some kids shooting off fireworks, Trump noted that North Korea fired off some small weapons, which disturbed some of my people, and others, but not me. The president, who has staked the entire peace process with North Korea on his personal relationship with Kim, explained that he still has confidence in Kim as a peace partner, while additionally appreciating Kims mutual love of ranking on a certain former vice president and would-be Trump challenger. Chairman Kim will keep his promise to me, & also smiled when he called Swampman Joe Bidan a low IQ individual, & worse. Perhaps thats sending me a signal? Trump wrote, later correcting the misspelling. The president was embellishing a North Korean state media report which said Biden was a low IQ idiot in response to Biden calling Kim Jong-un a thug at a campaign event. And if the intent of copying an insult Trump has often used was to get the presidents attention, North Korea seems to have found an alternative to missile tests. Now that Trump has celebrated the attack as a successful diplomatic entreaty, other foreign regimes could try to flatter Trump by insulting Democratic presidential candidates too. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders, appearing on Meet the Press on Sunday, shrugged off the presidents endorsement of a foreign dictators attack on a former vice president, saying that she thinks Trump and Kim agree in their assessment of Biden. She wasnt the only Republican who was challenged to defend the tweet by an indignant news anchor on Sunday, either. Then again, whats another norm in the wood chipper of this reality television presidency? Trumps outrageousness is his political brand, and he will never care about decorum, statesmanship, or the consequences of Americas president openly admiring every foreign strongman in the world. It also wont matter to his voters, nor will the dysfunction of a White House where the national security adviser regularly makes what appear to be foreign policy pronouncements when hes really just mouthing off or trying to trip the president into a war with one of at least three separate countries. President Trump is holding out hope that Kim Jong-un will, by some miracle, help him win a Nobel peace prize or at the very least not embarrass him with election season approaching. John Bolton is performing his vision of what a real hawks U.S. foreign policy should look like at least until Trump inevitably fires him and White House advisers leak whatever mustache-focused nickname the president had used for him behind his back. And Kim Jong-un, who is the actual madman of the trio by pre-Trump-era standards, probably doesnt have a clue what is going on anymore a nuclear-armed despot who is forced to guess. The U.S. used to have foreign policies. Now it just has Trump, his talking heads, and all the foreign leaders who have figured out how to exchange compliments or Democrat-targeting insults for concessions. This semesters graduating class is now entering the market in a time where hiring is red hot and technical skills are more in demand than ever before. Medical professionals looking for uniforms and scrubs have a new option for scrubs thanks to a new Marion business. Marks Scrubs, Medical Uniforms and Apparel recently opened at 1401 N. Carbon St. Owner Mark French says the store offers name-brand medical uniforms for both men and women from manufacturers including Cherokee, Heart and Soul and Infinity, as well as carrying stethoscopes, bandage scissors and other accessories. Even though French has never worked in medicine, he has a lot of experience with nurses and other health care providers. A Jackson County Sheriffs Deputy, French has battled multiple sclerosis for a number of years, enduring countless visits to medical facilities. Through observation and asking questions, hes learned what health care professionals want in their uniforms. If I am not able to do my job any more in law enforcement, I want to be able to do something, French said. I want to get up everyday and have a positive attitude and make a difference. Thats why I started this. French plans to continue his current employment while his mother and fiance take care of the business. He adds that he believes the medical uniform sector is poised for growth. Hospitals and nursing homes arent going anywhere, plus people in other careers are starting to wear scrubs; people like cooks, for example, he said. French says his goal is for customer service to set Marks Scrubs apart from other sources. We are from Southern Illinois and we are invested into the region. We want people to come in and feel comfortable and our goal is to know our customers, their needs and likes, he said, adding that the store will have a great environment featuring custom-made fixtures and some extras. Were going to have a lounge area so if somebody comes in with someone else, they can just hang out and watch TV. Its going to be a welcoming place, he said. French adds that children of shoppers will find toys to keep them entertained while mom or dad find apparel. He says hours (the store will be open until 6 p.m. on weekdays and until 3 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays) are designed to accommodate the demanding schedules of medical personnel. French says that one of his goals is for the business to give charitably, assisting those with other medical conditions. We want to donate a portion of everything from the business, he said. Some people have health issues maybe the need a wheelchair ramp or someone to mow their yard. We want to help out so they dont have to worry about all of that stuff. I want to be able to pass things along, because with my health issues, Ive had, honestly, a better experience than most people. He adds that Mark's Scrubs is all about being a part of the community. Were from Southern Illinois. We want to keep things local and take care of people in our area whether its with great apparel or with extra things we do. Love 9 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 POMONA With a new state grant in hand, Terri Addison and her business partners are working to fulfill a years-long dream of hers: to construct a replica of the Notre-Dame de Senanque, an abbey constructed in 1148 in Provence, France, by Cistercian monks. They plan to build the model Senanque abbey atop a ridge in rural Pomona that overlooks the Shawnee National Forest, from which they will offer guests a menu of craft beer and food. It will replace their three-year-old business on Boat Dock Road that was completely destroyed by a fire in 2017, Addison said. Plans call for constructing the walls and floor of the building from insulated concrete form blocks, she said. Then, the building's exterior and interior walls will be covered in concrete skins that are carved to replicate the stones of the 12th century building in France. Thats our prototype for the building, Addison said. Its a replica of the old abbey monasteries where the monks brewed beer in the Middle Ages. The abbey in Provence is monstrous, but that was our inspiration. This historical twist to their rebuilding plans is what made the project eligible for $107,000 in state tourism dollars, she said. Addison said that she and business co-owners Phil and Cindy Royster hope the unique structure will draw people from across the region and beyond. This design was always the long-term goal, she said, but then the fire halted their plans. Last week, state officials announced that Abbey Ridge LLC was among 17 entities across Illinois awarded a combined $1.8 million in tourism grant funding. The only other grant winner from Southern Illinois was the Bald Knob Cross of Peace, which received $53,000 for various improvements to the site that hosts that 111-foot tall beacon of hope in Alto Pass. The funding comes from two long-standing Illinois tourism grant programs that were halted for four years under the prior administration due to budget constraints, according to a spokesperson for the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO). They were funded again this fiscal year for the first time since 2015. Jan Kemmerling, acting deputy director of the DCEO Illinois Office of Tourism, said in a statement that the goal of the grant funding is to help local communities attract visitors and grow tourism-related jobs. The states tourism industry generated more than $3 billion in tax revenue for state and local coffers last year, the agency said. After the February 2017 fire that destroyed Abbey Ridge Brewery & Tap Room, the owners set about rebuilding it themselves, Addison said. By October of that year, they had completed the basement and partially constructed the first floor. And thats when we hit the insurance wall, Addison said. Citing a technicality, their insurance provider denied their claim on a newly constructed event center that adjoined the main building, she said. Abbey Ridge LLC filed suit and the matter is pending in court. This grant funding will allow us to continue getting that building up and completed, she said. Their goal is to have it ready to welcome the public within about a year. In the meantime, Addison said the team plans to open the brewery nearing completion across the street sometime in July. It will host guests until the main project is ready, and then continue to serve as the establishments brewery, she said. From the outdoor patio at The Brauhaus at Abbey Ridge, guests will be able to watch the construction activity across the street. You can see it coming up while having a drink and a jumbo pretzel, she said. Its an ambitious project, but the owners are known trailblazers. When they opened Abbey Ridge in 2014, it was one of the first establishments on the Shawnee Hills Wine Trail to offer brewed-on-site craft beer. Cant wait for a taste? Southern Illinois explorers can visit Downtown Abbey, the new pizza place that Addison and the Roysters opened last June in Cobden. Bald Knob Cross improvements planned Teresa Gilbert, executive director of Bald Knob Cross of Peace Inc., said the nonprofit plans to use its newly announced state grant to double the size of the parking lot in front of the welcome center, build an accessible walking path to the base of the cross, construct a covered stage, and purchase free-standing, accessible binoculars for the observation deck that was built two years ago. Currently, people with disabilities can utilize an access road that runs around the back side, but its generally closed to the public unless someone requests a special accommodation to get to the base of the cross, Gilbert said. Otherwise, getting there requires trekking up a steep, grassy hill. Beyond the difficulties that poses for people who use wheelchairs, other older adults and parents pushing baby strollers also find it difficult to navigate, she said. The walking path, she said, will be a nice addition. The covered stage will host the increasingly popular annual Easter sunrise services that draw hundreds of people every year. It will also make an ideal venue for Christian-based sunset concerts and other events, she said. Its really exciting, Gilbert said. Its an exciting time to be able to enhance the cross in this way and have an opportunity to attract more visitors from the area and outside the area, which boosts the economy and does a lot of great things for Southern Illinois. These planned improvements follow a series of recent others to the 56-year-old site. In 2012, the cross itself underwent a complete restoration. In 2015, the welcome center was renovated. In 2017, a new observation deck was built overlooking the Shawnee National Forest. That same year, new lighting was installed at the base of the cross, and the old lighting bunkers were restored and transitioned into informational kiosks about the history of the cross. The grant funding requires a dollar-for-dollar matching contribution. Gilbert said anyone interested in donating to the cause can do so online at baldknobcross.com or at the visitor's center. 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. WASHINGTON An autistic man walks out of a store without paying for a toy he picked up. He's followed by a storekeeper demanding he come back inside. The situation quickly escalates, and police are called. Officers arrive, their patrol car's lights flashing and sirens blaring, to find the man in the parking lot, yelling and not responding to their commands. They have a choice: confront the man and risk having the situation turn violent or regroup to figure out a different approach. The scenario is part of a virtual reality simulation for police that's being developed by Axon the company known best for developing the Taser so officers can learn how to interact with people who have autism and de-escalate situations that could quickly turn awry. The developmental disorder that can involve varying degrees of language and social impairments, often including repetitive behaviors. In 2018, the U.S. government estimated about 1 in 40 kids is diagnosed with autism. This week, the company announced a partnership with Chicago police to train officers by using virtual reality headsets. It will be making the program, developed with the help of mental health and autism experts, available to police departments across the U.S. For now, they offer two training modules: one for autism and another for dealing with people who have schizophrenia. "The ability to tell the difference between someone who's acting in an unusual way that may be due to their autism versus someone who could be a risk to you can be a really fine line," said David Kearon of the advocacy group Autism Speaks. "When you're trying to make that judgment very quickly, that's where we see mistakes made." The officers don headsets similar to those used for video games and are immediately immersed in a virtual reality training ground. With a small remote, they can pick the scenario and go through each training scenario in just about five minutes. In the autism scenario, officers experience it first from the point of view of the autistic person, watching as the storekeeper approaches somewhat angrily and pulls the toy robot away, telling the man he needs to pay for it. Police are called and officers arrive and confront him. They can then play it from the perspective of the police officers, observing tell-tale signs that someone could be autistic. A crackling call on the radio reports an aggressive male suspect shoplifting and fighting with an employee. The officers pull up to find the man in the parking lot, holding the toy and flailing his arms. They introduce themselves and ask the man what's happening. He doesn't respond. "We need you to calm down!" an officer tells the man, who is hitting himself in the head and speaking incoherently. The officers can then choose to either talk to their partner or close in and confront the man. The officers are taught that flashing lights and sirens can be overstimulating and just turning them off could ease the situation. They are also encouraged to remain calm, avoid physically confronting the person and to engage specially trained officers from a mental health crisis team, if their department has one. The training can also create "a sense of empathy" and emphasizes that other methods like shouting or grabbing a suspect "can hyper-escalate someone who is autistic," Rick Smith, Axon's founder and CEO, said in an interview with The Associated Press. "Rather than just training police how to use a Taser, maybe we should train them how to avoid using it," he said. Police departments large and small have had difficulties responding to calls involving autistic people. In Graham, Texas, about 120 miles west of Dallas, a 19-year-old man was throwing rocks at his neighbor's fence. The autistic teenager, Michael Moore, had difficulty communicating with the responding police officers, so they guessed he might have been drunk or high. They tried to give him a field sobriety test and when he failed the test, they moved in to arrest him. A struggle ensued. Body camera video shows the teen, whose mother says he has a "high functioning" form of autism, being shot with a Taser and thrown to the ground. "When the officers approached him, he tried to maintain contact," his mother, Tracie Brown, said. "It's very hard for people with autism." "His hands were visible at all times and he kept saying over and over, 'My mama is inside. Let me go get my mom,' and for whatever reason the police officers refused to come and verify," she said. Brent Bullock, Graham's interim chief, said all of his 25 officers underwent autism training after the incident and were given field guides to identify whether someone may have autism or a mental health crisis. "I believe it was a positive thing," he said. Since then, his officers have encountered similar situations and managed to de-escalate them, Bullock said. Axon plans to provide autism training free with the purchase of Taser devices. Hundreds of law enforcement agencies already use the company's other products, like Tasers and body cameras. The virtual reality experience may be more effective for officers than conventional training, Smith said, because officers can feel what it would be like to be on the other side of the encounter and may be more likely to remember it. "By putting them through this training, we're giving the officers a chance to learn through experience, which we know is a much more effective way than just trying to remember some checklist they may have been taught in the academy," Smith said. Associated Press journalist Robert Bumsted in New York contributed to this report. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 MARION Thomas Jefferson Throgmorton, 95, passed away at his home at 9:07 a.m. Wednesday, May 22, 2019, with his loving family at his side. Just a simple country boy, Thomas Jefferson Throgmorton the son of Thomas Jefferson and Edith (Chitty) Throgmorton was born Nov. 4, 1923, in Goreville. Tom was a proud U.S. Army Air Corp Veteran during World War II piloting P-47 Thunderbolts. Following his service, Tom attended Southern Illinois University at Carbondale where he received his bachelor of science in chemistry. It was at SIU where Tom met the love of his life, Julia Catherine Schmitt (or as he called her, J.C.). The two were married July 9, 1949, in the small town of Wendelin. Tom was able to provide for Julia her dream of sailing around the world. He was always proud and excited to join his wife on her worldly sailing adventures. Julia preceded him in death Sept. 5, 2016. During his college years and into the early 1950s, Tom played the steel guitar and fiddle in a band called the Fredman Gang. Here he played alongside friends including the late Hank Wright of Herrin and the late Judge Snyder Howell. During the 1950s Tom also began to work for Universal Match Corporation located in the Crab Orchard Ordill area. Tom went on to become the co-founder of Central Technology Incorporated of Herrin as a chemical engineer. Here he worked on the SR-71 Blackbird Program, as well as the Gemini Program, which was instrumental in the space race. He also designed and developed the original net trap cannons, the purpose of which is to launch nets over wildlife for safe capture. In September of 1970, Tom founded Winn-Star, a defense contractor. Winn-Star continues to operate today under the guidance of Tom's grandson, Tristan Throgmorton. After building Winn-Star, Tom co-founded South Pointe Bank in the early 1990s. Tom served as a director on the board of South Pointe during his tenure. In 2012, Tom founded South Porte where he served as chairman of the board. Tom was a lifelong member of the Republican Party and the NRA. Tom was a Master of the Foxhound Association of North America since 1968. As a Master of foxhounds, he was instrumental in bringing mounted horseback fox hunting to Southern Illinois. Carrying out his love of boating, Tom was a founding member of the Crab Orchard Boating and Yacht Club at the original marina in Carterville. He was involved on the Williamson County Fair Board, a member of the Egyptian Colt Stakes Organization, and a proud Mason within the Wolf Creek Masonic Lodge. Tom was very proud to watch his son Winston pursue a career in law and build his practice in Marion. He enjoyed coffee with Tristan each morning before work, telling Rachel to stay away from boys, and eating crawfish at Randol's with Roddy. A simple country boy, he left one hell of a legacy. Survivors include his son, Winston Cole Throgmorton of Marion; grandsons, Tristan Thomas and wife, Jessica, Throgmorton of rural Carbondale, and Roderick Vincent Paul Throgmorton of Marion; granddaughter, Rachel Rose Throgmorton of Marion; two great-grandsons, Jackson and Lincoln Throgmorton of rural Carbondale; brothers-in-law and sister-in-law; several nieces and nephews; and a host of beloved friends and extended family members. He was preceded in death by his parents, Thomas Jefferson Throgmorton Sr. and Edith (Chitty) Throgmorton; his loving wife of 67 years, Julia Catherine (Schmitt) Throgmorton; two brothers; and four sisters. Visitation will be from 4 to 6 p.m. Friday, May 31, with a moment of reflection at 5:30 p.m. at Mitchell-Hughes Funeral Home in Marion. For those who prefer, memorials may be made to the Shriner's Hospitals for Children or St. Jude's Children's Hospital. Envelopes will be available and accepted at Mitchell-Hughes Funeral Home; 800 N. Market Street; Marion, IL 62959. For more information, or to sign the memorial guest register, visit www.hughesfuneralhomes.com. Graduates from Southern Illinois University Carbondale's Theater Department are making waves across the nation. From acting in Off-Broadway productions to creating theater companies, there is no shortage of success for the department's newly minted graduates. Since graduating in 2017, Zoe Jensen has taken the performance world by storm. After a successful run with the Children's Theatre of Cincinnati, Jensen moved to New York City. "After moving, I did the first national tours of Polkadots and Mad Libs Live!" she said. "[Recently] I was in the Off-Broadway production of a new musical, We Are the Tigers." Many of the theater students receive training through the McLeod Summer Playhouse. Jordyn Kess, a junior in the musical theater program, has worked for the company for two summers. I starred as Bagheera in The Jungle Book, and as a featured ensemble member in 9 to 5: The Musical and MAMMA MIA! she said. The McLeod Summer Playhouse provides a unique opportunity for artists to grow in a professional setting. Olivia Gordon, a 2016 alumna, went to New York to pursue her dream of performing. "I moved and quickly found an amazing group of artists, she said. Together we created Our Time Players, a non-profit theatre company." Bobbi Masters also co-founded a grassroots theater. Upon completing her MFA in directing in 2017, Bobbi became the Associate Artistic Director for Valiant Theatre, a new company based in Chicago. She also works as a professor at City Colleges of Chicago. On and off stage Although the glimmer of the stage may appear glamorous, there is no shortage of hard work. I want to be a professional actress and my training is intense, Kess said. We are required to take dance, acting, voice lessons and speech classes. Many hours are dedicated to this craft. It can be stressful and hectic at times, but its always rewarding. Alumna Kristin Doty worked as an associate company member at Playhouse on the Square in Memphis. Alexis Nwokoji recently joined the national tour of Paw Patrol Live. Janessa A. Harris works as a lighting technician in the Stardust Theatre on the Norwegian Jewel. This year, Hayden Schubert worked as an actor at Jenny Wiley Theatre, where he played Willard in Footloose and Brad/Fight Choreographer in Hairspray, and this summer he will work as a performer at Unto These Hills. Mark Young, who graduated May 2019, will play the roles of Rev. Worchester and actor/combat at Unto These Hills. The possibilities appear endless for current students and alumni. Like her peers, Jensen shows no signs of stopping anytime soon. "This summer, I will be working at the Adirondack Theatre Festival, premiering a new musical, Calling All Kates, as the title role of Kate, she said. I'm continuing to audition and look forward to what's next!" SIU Carbondales Theater department does an outstanding job of preparing students for successful professional careers by providing valuable educational and training opportunities as well as numerous hands-on experiences. Meera Komarraju is the interim provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 VIENNA No one dies alone, Karen Smoot said. Smoot, health care unit director at the Shawnee Correctional Center, said she and her team were on 24-hour vigil for an inmate in the infirmary. He would be dying soon. Gathered around Ernest Cornes bed, a clear-cased television humming in the background, seven men looked down at the 88-year-old whom they have grown so close to. Do you want some Sprite, Kenny Harris asked. With a hushed word and a slow nod, Cornes said yes. Cornes is a slight man, his hands a bit puffy, his skin pale. A scruff of white stubble shadows his face. A blue knit cap keeps his head from the chill. These are all my guys, he said in his slow, hoarse voice. A tissue in hand, one of the men wipes the tears that fill his eyes. These guys are going to be in my mind and what they mean to me until I see Uncle Sams evil grin, Cornes said, acknowledging that his time was limited. Smoot has been a nurse for about 20 years. She has worked for the Illinois Department of Corrections since 2016, and said hospice or end-of-life care is different for prisoners. They are not in their homes, in their own beds, and oftentimes are not surrounded by loved ones. But still, Smoot sees it as her job to comfort them. Were tasked with taking care of him and providing for him the appropriate and humane end-of-life care, she said. Another thing that separates hospice care at Shawnee is the team of caretakers Smoot has assembled. The seven men that stood next to Cornes and have cared for his most intimate needs in the weeks hes been in the infirmary were not nurses. They are inmates. A directive Smoot said a 2017 directive came from the state that prisons in the Illinois Department of Corrections needed to implement some form of end-of-life care, and she decided to go a bit further. She created the Shawnee Hospice/Adult Comfort Care Program, which trains select inmates in the type of therapeutic, nonmedical care given to people who are nearing death. This means regular visits, playing cards, writing letters and even helping with bathing. Smoot said that many who come to prison and through her program are not used to thinking beyond themselves for some, that was a means of survival before they were incarcerated. The hospice program is a way, she said, for them to learn how to think about others. For someone who, like I said, has only ever taken care of themselves, or cared about themselves its a learning process for them to learn how to take care of someone else and not expect anything from it, she said. Smoot said many of the men she works with might have experiences with death, but not the kind they will experience in her program. Its generally in a very violent situation. I saw my brother shot. I held my cousin while he bled out. Those type things, she said. Smoot said they likely have not been in a position where they are waiting for a death. I try to help them understand, Well, this is going to be different. This process is different. Its not for everyone, though. She said some have had to leave because the emotion of the situation was too much. No judgement. You just let me know and we are good, Smoot said. 'It scares you' While the impact on the inmates needing care is important, the changes in perspective the caregivers experience can be world-changing. The lifestyle I lived, Im from the streets and I never took time to take care of nobody except for my grandparents, Kenny Harris said. After joining the program and seeing people become helpless, Harris said he felt compelled to help them. I didnt want to see someone going through that, he said. It really changed my outlook on things in just a matter of days, Alejandro Rodriguez said. Many of the men interviewed for this story said the experience of caring for the sick and the dying made them think long-term, and even reconsider previous life choices. It definitely makes you re-evaluate your own circumstances, the situation in your life and what youve done and the carelessness that you had doing it compared to now. You think about your health more. You think about your decisions and your choices and what they can lead to in the future, Kema Fair said. The men talked about seeing people wearing the same uniform they put on each day slowly taken away by death, and a lot of the time the only support they have is from other inmates. No family, no friends. It scares you, Fair said. But seeing mortality face-to-face is not the only influence the men talked about the program having on them. Part of it was Smoot, too. I cant speak to my mama every morning so I look forward to walking past her in the morning, Isiah Evans said. To hear her tell him she is proud of him is something he looks forward to. Whats more, they also dont want to make her disappointed and it could be said that the program and its reputation has helped shape the mens behavior. We represent Ms. Smoot, Fair said, adding that everyone in the program wants to see it grow and would hate for it to get a blemish because of something they did. At Shawnee Correctional Center, offenders are training shelter dogs to become companions for veterans Its a nice opportunity to be able to show the outside world that even while we are in prison we can do something positive and pay back some dues. All seven of Smoots workers volunteer without incentive. They do not receive pay like other prison jobs and there is no early-out, good time accrued. They all say they are there to help someone, and to help themselves. This help could come while they are on the inside, but when they are released all expect to take with them the insights and perspective they gained from participating in the hospice program. When asked if they felt they could have learned these lessons without the hospice program, no one said yes. I pray that I would have," Harris said, "but, nah." Fair said he has participated in several inmate programs in his time at Shawnee, but none, he said, have the ability to reach people the way the hospice program does. Theres a connection to reality in hospice that touches the deepest part of me that you cant get from any other program, any other experience in life, he said. A tough sell Smoot said implementation of the program wasnt terribly hard the state said they had to do it. But happy participation was a harder sell. The stigma is offender prisoners, inmates, whatever, are all cons ... and they dont deserve our care and thats not true, Smoot said. She said some of the correctional officers though not all, she was very quick to point out see the offense first and the person second. Ive had officers come in and tell me, Ms. Smoot, really. You know what hes in for right, she said. Her reply is forthright. No I dont, and I dont care, because Im going to provide these services whether they are here because they missed choir practice or whatever. Its my job. Smoot was emphatic. These individuals are still human, she said. This point resonates with the inmates in her hospice care program, as well. We are people, too. We are human beings and we do have the ability to grow and to change, Harris said. Harris and the men around him said they are not just one thing, and they recognized their need to change in order to be successful when they leave prison. We cant leave here the same way we came in here, Evans said. Its a part of rehabilitation for us. We need this, Edhan Salkic said. They dont appear to be the only ones. Ive had someone taking care of me 24 hours a day and doing a hell of a job, Cornes said of his posse, as Smoot calls them. I dont know if I could have made it on my own, he said. Fair said he and his fellow volunteers are a point of hope for the patients they serve, and possibly even for other inmates. We carry a light, he said. Isiah Evans stayed quiet through much of The Southerns group interview with the volunteers, and even through much of their visit with Cornes. He stood to the side of Cornes bed, leaning on the windowsill. His eyes stayed on his friend. Between quiet musings and even some swells of laughter from the group, Evans slipped in a quiet message. We love you. Love 19 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 2 Angry 1 As the spring legislative session nears its end, I want to take a moment to look back on one of the scariest times of the year with the hope that one of you might recognize something and help bring a deranged person to justice. You may have seen a brief news story about it, but several state legislators reported receiving an identical mailer in late April with the headline: "Dead People Can't Collect Fat Pensions." The envelopes were postmarked in Champaign, but that's a central collection point so the letters could've been mailed from anywhere in the region. The letter contained both a long list of grievances about the state's troubled pension system and numerous death threats. "Don't bother about new gun laws," the letter-writer stated, "from arson to strangulation, there are more effective means available." "You may think you can extract more money from us," the writer warned. "We would advise you to think again. Over 40,000 cowards unwilling to push back have left the state annually over the last 5 years, leaving behind the determined, the courageous - and most importantly - those with nothing left to lose." "Time is short. The list is long. After the first one, the rest are free," the writer concluded. The writer threatened mass assassinations for pretty much everyone who receives a state government pension, including survivors and heirs. To avoid this fate, the author demanded in the form letter that the pension actuarial tables be changed and the state's constitution be amended to remove the pension protection clause before instituting a graduated income tax. The writer also demanded unspecified "cap$ and clawback$ for outrageous$ pension payout$" and local government consolidation. He or she also demanded the end of pension double-dipping and "playing salary games at career's end to max out your take." Whoever wrote that letter is obviously more informed about state government than most average citizens. While the content of the mass mailer was identical, whoever sent it took some time to make almost every one distinct. One way the author individualized the letters was by using a different return address for almost all of them. The envelope sent to House Speaker Michael Madigan, for instance, used a return address for Gov. J.B. Pritzker. The Illinois Education Association's letter had the same return address, which was for Pritzker's personal business office in Chicago. The letter sent to a Champaign public radio station was ostensibly from the late Dawn Clark Netsch, the first woman elected to a statewide office in Illinois. All the return addresses were printed on labels and not hand-written. However, most of the return addresses appear to have been researched on the Illinois State Board of Elections' website. Several legislators told me that the names and return addresses on letters sent to them were of campaign contributors who can be found with an online search. Some return addresses and names were of political action committees. The letter addressed to a prominent gun control proponent, for instance, had a return address of a gun control political action committee which had contributed to his campaign last year. Other letters were ostensibly from specific individuals, including a prominent retired Chicago business executive, a legislator's mother, a legislator's relative and the husband of a state representative's senator. All were campaign contributors. In other words, whoever sent this letter doesn't appear to be just some random crank with a handy mailing list. That person or persons put some real time and effort into this. And that almost bothers me more than the letter itself. A state senator who received one of the mailers said the postage stamp on the envelope chilled him to the bone. The sender used a John Lennon stamp. The former Beatle was murdered in 1980. The letter writer had threatened all pension plan participants with being killed and cryptically asked recipients if they were "sure" that some accidental deaths on the highways were truly accidents or "the conscious decisions of people with nothing left to lose to 'take one with me?'" And that leads us to the most egregious example of how truly sick this person is. The return address on the letter mailed to a Rockford-area legislator appeared to come from Brooke Jones-Story, an Illinois State trooper who was killed by another motorist during a traffic stop in March near Rockford. Jones-Story was one of three troopers killed by motorists in the first three months of 2019. If you have any information at all, please call the Illinois State Police or the FBI. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 To the Editor: I am not fan of Donald Trump, but I want to appeal to his supporters on one issue: Iran. Trump criticized our invasion of Iraq and campaigned against an interventionist foreign policy. Trumps overtures to North Korea have not paid off, but at least we are not inching toward war. Polling shows most Trump supporters do not want war with Iran. Therefore, I am reaching out to them and asking that they contact the White House and urge the president to fire Bolton and not be pushed into a needless war. Trump was the first sitting U.S. president to hold a meeting with North Koreas leader. Why not a summit with Iran? Michael Sullivan Carbondale Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 It seems the Modi wave has gripped everyone alike in India. In a manifestation of this sway, a Muslim woman has named her newborn 'Narendra Damodardas modi' in Gonda, Uttar Pradesh (UP). The family of Mainaz Begum in Parsapur Mahraur has filed an affidavit to get the newborn's name registered, after failing to convince her against it. Mainaz Begum came up with the idea of naming her newborn after PM Modi as the probable names for the boy were being discussed amongst the family members on May 23, the day Narendra Modi secured a thumping victory in Lok Sabha election 2019. Also Read: President appoints Narendra Modi to the office of Prime Minister of India Meanwhile, people around her tried to persuade Begum to change her mind, but she was determined, her father-in-law told PTI. When her husband Mushtaq Ahmed, who works in Dubai, got to know, he too tried to talk her into dropping the idea, but gave in to his wife's wish in the end. "My son was born on 23 May, I called my husband who is in Dubai and he asked 'Has Narendra Modi won?' so I named my son Narendra Modi. I want my son to do good work like Modi ji and be as successful as him," Menaj Begum told another news agency ANI. The family eventually filed an affidavit addressed to the district magistrate and gave it for submission with the Assistant Development Officer (panchayat) Ghanshyam Pandey. When contacted by the news agency, Pandey confirmed the receipt of the affidavit on Friday. Also Read: PM Modi says he used digital camera, e-mail in 1988, and social media is having none of it The officer informed that the application has further been sent to the village panchayat secretary, who takes care of the registration regarding births and deaths. "Action will be taken as per the law," he told the news agency. Mainaz Begum, in the affidavit praised Modi and his government's welfare schemes, which includes providing free cooking gas connection to the poor and financial aid to construct toilets. "He is doing very good work for the country," the woman said in the affidavit. She also lauded PM Modi for his initiative to end triple talaq. Furthermore, the woman's father-in-law has said that "naming the newborn was the family's private affair and no one should interfere in this." Also Read: How the Sensex, Nifty reacted after Modi won 2014 elections Food Lion donates 500 millionth meal SALISBURY, N.C. With one in eight neighbors, including one in six children, facing hunger across its 10-state footprint, Food Lion set out to help its neighbors by launching Food Lion Feeds, the companys hunger-relief initiative, in 2014. After committing to donate 500 million meals by the end of 2020, Food Lion announced that it has reached its goal more than 18 months early. Each of these 500 million meals has helped one of our neighbors who did not know where their next meal would come from children, seniors, service members, veterans and families across our footprint who were faced with the impossible choices caused by hunger, Food Lion President Meg Ham said. We wont accept that many of our neighbors are food-insecure and struggle to nourish their families, so we felt compelled to take action by uniting with our customers and partners to eliminate the choices families are forced to make when they are hungry. To achieve this feat, the retailer worked with its national hunger-relief partner, Feeding America, and the 30 Feeding America-affiliated food banks across Food Lions 10-state service territory to identify opportunities to help and feed their neighbors. Additionally, Food Lion Feeds has made significant capital campaign commitments to partner food banks to increase access to nutritious food and create life-changing programs, including Harvest Hope Food Bank in Columbia ($1 million) and Lowcountry Food Bank in Charleston. ($300,000). For more information on Food Lions commitment to fighting hunger in the towns and cities it serves and how to help, visit www.foodlion.com. Exeter buys 77 acres at Camp Hall Commerce Park MONCKS CORNER Santee Cooper closed on a sale with Exeter Property Group for the purchase of a 77-acre tract of land, 75 acres of which are developable, at Camp Hall Commerce Park. Exeter, having just completed the permitting process, plans to build a logistics park with three speculative buildings totaling approximately 945,000 square feet of ready-to-lease industrial space for bulk warehouse and distribution. We are excited to welcome Exeter, a first-class developer, to Camp Hall. This sale marks a major milestone at Camp Hall since Volvo Car USA launched their new auto manufacturing plant last summer, said Pamela Williams, Santee Cooper senior vice president and CFO. In addition, the sale signals the progression of Camp Hall as a world-class commerce park designed for the needs of the next generation of industry. It also advances our mission of improving the lives of all South Carolinians and will bring economic benefits to South Carolina and the surrounding community. Exeters speculative buildings will sit on Camp Halls Campus 4 near the intersection of Fish Road and Volvo Car Drive. Camp Hall is located in the Charleston, South Carolina, area, and has remaining more than 1,300 developable acres and 1,950 acres of preserved land. Home to Volvo Car USAs first North American manufacturing plant, Camp Hall could ultimately house more than 10,000 jobs. MUSC Health links with Hampton hospital CHARLESTON MUSC Health, the clinical enterprise of the Medical University of South Carolina, has signed a strategic alliance with Hampton Regional Medical Center in Hampton. Together, MUSC and HRMC plan to extend primary and specialty care to serve Hampton County and surrounding areas by leveraging the combination of advanced practitioners, the latest telehealth services and supportive oversight by MUSC specialists. South Carolina continues to be one of the nations leaders in telemedicine, due in no small part to the fantastic work in the field being done by MUSC, Gov. Henry McMaster said. Telemedicine is a vital component of rural health care, and we couldnt be happier with this new partnership between MUSC and Hampton Regional Medical Center. Oftentimes, people living in the service areas of rural hospitals travel to larger facilities in urban areas to receive care that, with todays telehealth technology, can be provided closer to home, said Patrick J. Cawley, MUSC Health CEO and vice president for Health Affairs, University. Outmigration, which describes rural residents who leave their communities for health care needs, may be necessary when an advanced level of care is required; however, in many instances, rural residents can receive the quality care they need in their home communities. In recent years, four rural, South Carolina hospitals have closed due to financial forces that made their operations unsustainable, including an insufficient volume of patients, escalating costs, and decreasing reimbursements for services delivered. The market challenges that precipitated these closures continue to mount, making immediate access to quality care difficult at best in many rural areas. HRMC, an 82,000-square-foot, 32-bed facility, also encompasses adjacent medical office buildings with state-of-the-art facilities to serve the community. Unlike many rural health facilities with aging infrastructure, HRMC is uniquely positioned to care for the community effectively without the need for large capital investment. Walgreens is Loop partner NEW YORK -- Loop, a state-of-the-art circular shopping system, officially launched the pilot program in the Mid-Atlantic region of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Washington, D.C., and announced Kroger and Walgreens, respectively the countrys largest grocery retailer and one of the largest pharmacy chains, as the founding retailers in the United States. First announced at the World Economic Forum in January, Loop enables consumers to responsibly consume a variety of commonly used products from leading consumer brands in customized, brand-specific durable packaging that is delivered in a specially designed reusable shipping tote. When finished with the product, the packaging is collected, cleaned, refilled and reused creating a revolutionary circular shopping system. In the future, the partners aim to enable more consumers to purchase Loop products online and in stores in select Kroger and Walgreens markets. Walgreens is excited about this opportunity to help consumers purchase sustainably packaged products and contribute to a healthier planet, said Lauren Brindley, Walgreens group vice president of beauty and personal care. Innovative collaborations with partners like Loop are critical to solving the complex issue of reducing single-use plastics. Our customers look to us to innovate so that together we can reduce waste and increase re-use. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Retired United States Army Col. Jackie Fogles leadership experience in working with adults and youth has shone forth in a variety of ways, including making his military service what he said has been a fulfilling experience. From his work with the U.S. Army Special Forces, or Green Berets, in Vietnam from 1967 to 1968, to coming back to South Carolina to serve as director of the South Carolina Youth Challenge Academy, a military school for at-risk teens, his career has been a diverse one. 'It was a life experience' He is no stranger to service, military or otherwise. I just think its important to give back. I grew up at a different time than the way things are now. My dad was a World War II veteran. Most of the people that he knew and were friends with were World War II veterans, and the kind of people I grew up around, my role models, were mainly veterans who had served in World War II and Korea, Fogle said. I just felt it was my obligation to do my duty. The 71-year-old added, Its so few people serving and giving back to their country and the community. This countrys been good to all of us, and we need to give back to it in some way or another. He said his experience in Vietnam was not necessarily one he enjoyed, but he has no regrets about having served. I worked with an A-Team, plus I worked with an I Corps Mobile Strike Force. Our primary mission was training the Mountain Yard and the South Vietnamese Civilian Irregular Defense Group, CIDG, on American tactics and strategy to fight. It was unique. I mean, I wont say I enjoyed it, but it was an experience. It was an exposure to a lot of different cultures and ways of life. I think it impacted me in dealing with different people, the Livingston resident said. He values the relationships he made while serving with his fellow soldiers, with that being what really stood out about his service. I think its a lot of the relationships and the camaraderie that was established at the time that was more important that actually what we did. It was a group of people that were very close knit. We worked very well together and did what we thought was the right thing, Fogle said. He added, It was a life experience in dealing with the war in Vietnam. Everybody that was there had a different experience. It depends on where you were assigned, what you were doing and the people you were with. I think everybody has a lot of negative memories about it, but Ive always tried to look at the positive side of things. We did our job and we did it well. Fogle spent his first three years on active duty as a Green Beret before deciding to go school. I started at the University of South Carolina, and I enlisted in the (South Carolina) National Guard because I still wanted to be involved in the military. I got my commission (as a second lieutenant) through the National Guard and served in the National Guard for about 10 years. Then I went back on what was called Active Guard Reserve, where he spent 20 years, he said. Fogle has served as an associate professor of military science at Furman University and State University of New York. He was also director of the Southwest Region Counter Drug Task Force, along with serving as deputy director of exercise and training with Third Army at Ft. McPherson in Georgia. He retired from the U.S. Army as a colonel in July 1998. 'Emphasis will be on service' Fogle received his undergraduate degree from USC before earning a masters degree in counseling psychology from Liberty University. He is also a graduate of the U.S. Army Special Warfare School, Command and General Staff College and the South Carolina Executive Institute. Fogle, who has served as a company commander, battalion commander and in various staff positions, said the most fulfilling part of his military service came from his work at the Office of Adjutant General, where he served as director of the South Carolina Youth Challenge Academy. We basically tried to give them some values, some direction. Most of them had been in minor problems, and they responded real well to the disciplinary structure. We graduated quite a few people who went on to be very successful. A lot of them went into the military, a lot of them went on to college, he said. Its not that theyre bad kids, its they dont have discipline, structure and direction because its not an adult there to give it to them. ... I think that was the reason that the Challenge Program was so successful. We had cadres and staff that were willing to give them the right direction to go in, he said. Fogle said it was especially delightful to see the graduates take advantage of it. When you read the background, a lot of them didnt have any future, any hope. And then five months later, youd see them applying to college or going on to tech, or wherever it may be. But just the change in direction was very rewarding, he said. What has been equally rewarding for Fogle is his continued work in the community. He is a former mayor of Livingston who had also served on Orangeburg County Council, the former North School District 6 board, the Silver Springs Water Board and the Orangeburg Boys and Girls Club. He is presently serving on the Orangeburg County Transportation Committee and the Orangeburg County Soil and Water Board. He is a member of the VFW, American Legion and Livingston United Methodist Church. People dont realize how important maintaining our soil and water and conversation is. If we dont maintain our water quality and maintain our soil, were not gonna be around. Some people think everything comes out of the grocery store, he said. Fogle will be the featured speaker at Norways 44th Annual Memorial Day Service at 10 a.m. Monday, May 27. He said he plans to talking about the service and sacrifices veterans have made and how they all deserve respect. Emphasis will be on service and the people who actually gave it all. Anybody whos a veteran should be honored and respected, but Memorial Day will be about the ones who gave it all. They lost their life in the service of the country, and its about respecting and honoring them, Fogle said. He and his wife of more than 50 years, Lynda, are the parents of five daughters, 14 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. He is a lover of wildlife, with Fogle and his wife spending a lot of their time as beekeepers and enjoying the outdoors. He said his best years are yet to come. "I hope so. Life has been good to me. I think you make your opportunities, and I'm looking forward to the rest of my life," Fogle said. Contact the writer: dgleaton@timesanddemocrat.com or 803-533-5534. Follow "Good News with Gleaton" on Twitter at @DionneTandD 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. Orangeburg County may be getting a more modern mission statement. Discussion on possible changes was held during Orangeburg County Councils Strategic Plan Work Session on Monday. Council members are looking to eliminate the countys current vision statement, mission statement and values statement, combining them into one. The current statements read: Mission statement The County of Orangeburg exists for the purpose of providing a prosperous and healthy environment for its citizens. It seeks to create a positive leadership and the development of policies consistent with the present and future needs of the community. The county strives to be accountable to its citizens by providing the most effective and efficient services possible. Vision statement Orangeburg County will be a responsive, progressive, and service-oriented government in constant pursuit of excellence. Each citizen will be assisted by knowledgeable, courteous, and professional staff members committed to excellence in service through our cooperative attitude. We will be leaders on the forefront of economic, social, and environmental coalitions. Pride, integrity and respect are the key elements in unifying all aspects of our community. Values statement We will be responsive to our customers' needs by providing them with courteous, professional services. We will perform our duties to the best of our ability. We will be dedicated to providing the highest quality of service to the citizens in the most efficient and effective manner. We will earn public trust by being honest and forthright. We will be accountable for our actions. We will practice good stewardship of those resources entrusted to us and will serve all customers with full commitment and responsibility. We will take pride in our job and be committed to treating all people in a courteous, respectful, and professional manner. We will work cooperatively to accomplish the common goal of customer service, being fair and impartial to all. We will promote a positive exchange of ideas and directions in an understanding manner to meet the needs of the citizens and employees of Orangeburg County. Council members stressed having one statement that represents several aspects of the county is more appealing. The proposed changed motto, which hasnt been finalized, will focus on economic development aspects, educational opportunities, recreational opportunities and the infrastructure aspects of the county. Orangeburg County Administrator Harold Young said the decision to change is led by several factors. So, theyre looking at and its one of those things because its so long a lot of times the motto is typically short, something that the employees and the people can remember and spout off, he said. With the length of the one that we have, its not as easily rememberable, so it cant be put in play, Young said. Young said the proposed new statement will represent the county and pinpoint the countys focus, which will aid the countys marketability. The fact (is) that the times have changed and some of the stuff is from a more, less-aggressive time than were living in now," Young said. "From a standpoint of were going after economic development heavy and some other things that we want to show ourselves as transcendent with logistics, STEM, technology being the forefront of some of our economic development metrics." No official action was taken on the proposed changes, and discussions regarding the new motto will resume at the countys next scheduled work session. Also during the planning session, council members were asked to rank their priorities among technology, education, economic development, housing, infrastructure, recruitment and retention, and others. The consensus top three priorities among the council members were education and economic development, infrastructure and technology. Contact the writer: bharris@timesanddemocrat.com or 803-533-5516 Love 0 Funny 2 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. Area residents are encouraged to join the nation in saluting and remembering its fallen veterans at the annual Orangeburg Memorial Day Service at Veterans Memorial Park. The program will be held at 3 p.m. Sunday, May 26. Veterans Memorial Park is located on Riverside Drive across the street from the Orangeburg County Chamber of Commerce building. The rain location will be Council Chambers at the County Administrative building. The featured speaker will be retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. Anthony Louis Watson, who currently serves as the Battalion Recruiting Operation Officer for South Carolina State University's Army ROTC Program. Watson's military schooling consists of Field Artillery Basic and Advance Course, the Combined Arms Staff Service School and the United States Army Command and General Staff College. He has combat tours in Iraq with Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom. In May 2012, he retired from the military with a total of 28 years. As part of the program, the family of the late Sgt. Thomas Grant, an Orangeburg native, will be presented the Prisoner of War medal. Grant, while a corporal in the U.S. Army, was a POW of the Korean War. He was later killed Dec. 8, 1967, while serving in the Vietnam War. The program will also include an opening and closing prayer by the Rev. Wayne Manning of Branchville Christian Church, the National Anthem by Jimmy Loftis and the welcome by Orangeburg Mayor Michael Butler. Loftis will also provide a patriotic music selection. Commanders of VFW Posts 8166 and 2779 will recognize the POWs and Missing in Action. The laying of the wreath will be done by the Ladies Auxiliary of VFW Posts 2779 and 8166. Taps will be played by Steve Jarvis. The service is supported by a number of local veterans organizations and by the city of Orangeburg and the city's Parks and Recreation Department. 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. NORWAY Norway will hold its 44th annual Memorial Day service at 10 a.m. Monday, May 27, at the Veterans Memorial Site at the old Willow High School, town council announced at the May meeting. The speaker will be retired Col. Jack Fogle of the U.S. Army, a Livingston resident. Sherryl Tay Mitchum, librarian at the North Branch of the Orangeburg County Library, will also be presenting a compact disc recording of regional veterans telling stories about their experiences to the town of Norway during the service. In addition, Quilts of Valor will be presented to as of yet unnamed veterans during the event. Refreshments will be served at the end of the program, and in case of inclement weather, the service will be held at Norway Baptist Church. Contact the writer: rbaxley37@gmail.com. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Bamberg Police Department A Smoaks woman was arrested on multiple charges after police investigated a report of a possibly intoxicated driver. During a traffic stop, the officer approached of the vehicle and smelled a strong odor of alcohol and marijuana emitting from inside the vehicle. The officer advised both the driver and passenger to step outside of the vehicle in order for a search to be performed. As the driver opened her door, the officer could see an open container of alcohol in the drivers floorboard. The officer then conducted a search of the vehicle while another officer stood as a monitor of the two subjects. The search produced multiple items of marijuana and drug paraphernalia, along with the open container previously seen. During questioning of both the driver and passenger, both females admitted to consuming alcohol. The passenger was issued a summons for a minor consuming alcohol due to her being under the age limit. The driver failed a field sobriety test and then was arrested and booked for simple possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, driving under the influence, open container, minor in possession of alcohol and improper stopping. In other reports: On May 19, an officer on patrol observed a black car with a Georgia temporary vehicle license tag. The suspects vehicle windows were tinted to the point of not allowing any visibility into the passenger compartment. When the officer turned around, the vehicle then accelerated away quickly. The officer clocked the vehicle at 54 mph in a 30-mph zone and initiated a traffic stop; Once stopped, the officer approached the vehicle, and the subject gave the officer his drivers license. The officer observed what appeared to be behavior of impairment from the subject. The subjects eyes appeared to be glassed over, his pupils appeared large and dilated, and he did not seem to respond to the officers flashlight. The subject refused the officers request to test him for impairment. When the officer explained the suspension process for refusal to take the test, the subject seemed agitated and told the officer to take him to jail. The officer then handcuffed the subject and walked him to the assisting officers patrol car. A handgun was located in the floor area of the drivers side, for which the subject admitted to not having a valid concealed weapons permit. The subject was transported to Bamberg County Detention Center and charged with unlawful carrying of a pistol and speeding. On May 19, an officer on patrol was noticed a vehicle not staying within its lane. He followed the vehicle and noticed erratic driving. The officer conducted a traffic stop. As he was gathering the subjects drivers license, registration and proof of insurance, the officer noticed a strong odor of marijuana coming from her vehicle. The officer asked the subject if she had anything in her vehicle due to the odor coming out of it. She denied having anything. The officer had the woman and a male passenger exit the vehicle. The vehicle search produced marijuana, prescription medicine not belonging to either of the subjects, and drug paraphernalia to which the driver admitted to being the possessor. The officer allowed the passenger to take possession of the drivers car with the drivers permission. The driver was then arrested, transported to the detention center and charged with simple possession of marijuana, drug paraphernalia and was issued a warning for improper lane use. The officer also completed a form for a warrant for possession of a schedule IV narcotic. On May 18, an officer noticed a vehicle pull out of a side street onto Highway 301 South in front of another motor vehicle, causing that vehicle to quickly decelerate to avoid a collision. The officer initiated a traffic stop. However, the vehicle appeared to disregard the blue lights for about a quarter of a mile. The officer then activated the patrol cars siren, and the suspect complied. The subject fumbled with the documents while presenting them to the officer and displayed slurred speech and a slow reaction time. At first, the subject denied having any alcohol when first asked but admitted to it when asked a second time. The subject complied to take a field sobriety test and failed all portions. The subject was then placed under arrest and transported to the detention center. The subject was charged with failure to yield the right of way and driving under alcohol consumption. On May 18, an officer observed a vehicle in his mirror appearing to be left of the center line. The officer initiated a traffic stop, and the subject admitted to having an alcoholic beverage. Due to the subjects slurred speech and delayed reactions to questions, the officer performed a field sobriety test, to which the subject complied. The subject failed all portions of the field sobriety test. The officer then placed him under arrest and transported him to the detention center where he willingly gave a breath sample. The subject was charged with first-offense driving under the influence. On May 17, units were dispatched to a possible drunk driver approaching the Bamberg city limits. When an officer located the vehicle, he turned around and followed. The officer noticed the vehicle had no lights in the rear and only one working brake light. He then conducted a traffic stop. The officer approached the drivers side while his partner approached the passenger side. The officer noticed a marijuana odor. The officer asked the subject if he had anything illegal in the vehicle. The driver handed the office a small blunt. The subject was unable to perform a field sobriety test and was placed under arrest. A vehicle search found a package with a green leafy substance that appeared to be marijuana. The subject was transported to the detention center. He was charged with unsafe or improperly equipped vehicle and simple possession of marijuana. On May 16, officers were dispatched to a report of subject who had fallen off his bicycle. EMS was already on the scene when the officers arrived. An officer noticed a liquor bottle in one of the subjects pockets. The subject failed a field sobriety test, was arrested, transported to the detention without incident and charged with violation of ABC law and disorderly conduct. On May 15, an officer noticed a vehicle parked near a local business. The vehicle had been previously found on May 5 with a stolen vehicle license tag. At that time, the vehicles VIN number had been checked. The owners information came back to a local driver, and the vehicles tag was suspended. Then on Monday, May 7, the officer who first found the vehicle noticed that same vehicle with another tag which came back to another car. The officer and his partner waited for the vehicle leave the parking lot, then initiated a traffic stop. The driver exited the vehicle with his hands in the air and began walking to the rear of his vehicle. An officer instructed him to get back into his vehicle and close the door, to which he complied. The officer then approached the vehicle and asked him for his license, registration and proof of insurance. The driver stated that he had none of those items. At that time, the officer retrieved his name and date of birth and had dispatch run his information. Due to the results of the search, the driver was then placed under arrest, transported to the detention center and charged with operating an uninsured motor vehicle, tag registered to another vehicle and second-offense driving under suspension. On May 13, an officer noticed a vehicle traveling with the rear left tire wobbling. The officer initiated a traffic stop and approached the vehicle, which was occupied by a male driver and female passenger. The driver could not produce a drivers license, registration or proof of insurance. The officer obtained the drivers name and date of birth. The officer had dispatch run the vehicle license tag number, which came back as belonging to another vehicle. The officer then had dispatch run the drivers name and date of birth, and his information came back as being suspended. The driver was then arrested, transported to the detention center and charged with operating an uninsured vehicle and first-offense driving under suspension. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Issues of concern to people who live in the west: property rights, water rights, endangered species, livestock grazing, energy production, wilderness and western agriculture. Plus a few items on western history, western literature and the sport of rodeo... Frank DuBois served as the NM Secretary of Agriculture from 1988 to 2003. DuBois is a former legislative assistant to a U.S. Senator, a Deputy Assistant Secretary of Interior, and is the founder of the DuBois Rodeo Scholarship. 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. The London-based Humane Society International said "the horrifying decision... will send shock waves throughout the conservation world" / AFP/File 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. - '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. Botswana is renowned as a luxury safari destination / AFP/File "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." Some experts say the number of elephants in Botswana has almost tripled over the last 30 years / AFP/File 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. Villagers at the scene of an elephant trampling in which a man died / AFP/File 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. Two Libyan journalists held by an armed group for more than three weeks have been released, the television channel they work for said Saturday. "We congratulate the press world for the release of our two colleagues, Mohamad al-Gurj and Mohamad al-Chibani, who were kidnapped by Haftar's forces on May 2 while they were covering the assault on Tripoli," said the private channel Libya al-Ahrar, which is based in Turkey. It said they were freed on Friday. The capital's southern suburbs have been the target of an offensive launched April 4 by Khalifa Haftar, military strongman of an eastern administration aimed at seizing Tripoli from an internationally-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA). At least 510 people have been killed and around 2,500 wounded in the fighting, as well as more than 80,000 displaced, according to UN agencies. The release of the television journalists followed local and international condemnation of their detention, including from media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF). In a press freedom index compiled by RSF, Libya ranks a lowly 162nd out of 180 countries. The government has approached the Supreme Court with written submissions, saying that all review petitions in the controversial Rafale deal should be dismissed. These submissions were filed on Friday. One of the petitioners, senior lawyer Prashant Bhushan had told the SC that the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) had no precedent to redact pricing details from its official report. He told the bench comprising Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and KM Joseph that the CAG had never withheld pricing details in its reports in the past. He also questioned why the Cabinet Committee on Security deleted the standard anti-corruption rules from the inter-governmental agreement post-August 24, 2016, and that the government hid this information from the court. Rafale row: Anil Ambani's Reliance Group withdraws defamation suits against Congress, National Herald In an earlier hearing in the case on May 10, lawyer Prashant Bhushan had referred to various aspects of the deal, including the alleged suppression of material facts and had sought the registration of a criminal investigation in the case. Citing a leaked document of the Ministry of Defence, which alleged the PMO had undertaken parallel negotiations with the French government, Bhushan had said that three members of the Indian Negotiation Team (INT) had raised objections over it. Bhushan said all the allegations warranted the registration of an FIR. Attorney General KK Venugopal, appearing for the Centre, said: "There is no question of any corruption. The court has already decided that in the Rafale case verdict (on December 14 last year)." On the pricing of the fighter jets, the Attorney General said this was covered under Article 10 of the Inter-Governmental Agreement, which was not supposed to be disclosed. He said the court never asked for pricing but sought only the procedure adopted in the deal. "We produced the procedure. And even if there are errors in it, that will not be a ground for review. The entire judgment cannot be set aside," he said. Attempted break-in at IAF office in France that houses crucial Rafale data In the earlier hearing, the Attorney General had also raised objections over the grounds on which the petitioners were seeking review of the Supreme Court's verdict on the Rafale deal. He said the review of the judgment was being sought on the basis of some documents leaked to the media. Seeking dismissal of the review petitions, he said there's been an inter-governmental agreement between the two countries for the defence deals, and not to the award of contract for construction of flyover or dams. The rejoined affidavit filed in the apex court by Yashwant Sinha, Arun Shourie, and Prashant Bhushan had urged the SC to review its Rafale verdict, saying that it was obtained through multiple falsehoods. The petitioners had accused the government of misleading the courts on more than one accounts and alleged it suppressed material and relevant information. The government's statement in the court had said that there was no error in the SC's "categorical and emphatic" findings recorded in its December14 verdict. The Centre said the petitioner could not seek to open the entire matter again on the basis of some reports in the press and internal incomplete information leaked to the media. On the perjury action sought against government servants for allegedly misleading the court, the government told the court that the plea for perjury action was "completely misconceived" and that such action could not be taken on the basis of media reports and incomplete internal file notings. Manoj Sharma with agency inputs Reliance Capital to raise Rs 10,000 cr in current fiscal by selling assets, cut down debt by 50% Relegation, anger and abandoned games - the dramatic end to Everton misfit's dreadful loan spell Sunday, 26 May, 2019 Once vaunted in his own country as having the potential to be the next Xherdan Shaqiri, the Swiss will return to Finch Farm again this summer but with his future very much uncertain. Read the full article at Liverpool Echo About these ads Consumed in all tranquillity, nestled over the sand-kissed beach of Goas most-famed Baga beach, facing the vast stretch of the Arabian Sea is Arudra Hospitality, an exotic resort known to the waves since its inception in 2015. Concretized by the mastermind-duo Mayank & Sampada (Co-Founders & Partners), Arudra is an amalgamation of 18 most-beautifully themed air-conditioned wooden cottages inspired and based-on Shivas serene composure and natures attributes surrounded by attractive landscape gardens and spacious aligns of cottages with balconies. To this unique adorning and Arudras splendid hospitality, Mayank states, We connect to the calm, serene & the indisputable sense of protection of Lord Shiva, and this is what we intend to deliver to all our guests. The beach-front, pet friendly resort further assures an experience unlike any other, leaving its spellbound customers returning for more is rated among top 10 percent of best dog-friendly resorts in the world by Travelmyth. Housing a multi-cuisine beach-restaurant and bar that serves the most delectable dishes, right from Chinese to Indian and Continental, one cannot leave without tasting Arudras mouth-watering assembles of delicious sea-food and scrumptious sizzlers. "We connect to the calm, serene & the indisputable sense of protection of Lord Shiva and this is what we intend to deliver to all our guests" What holds distinct of Arudras exclusiveness is the arrangements of cottages (Trishul, Rudraksha, The Moon, Damru and Nandi) that reflect the fiery areole of Shivas cosmic dance. Aiming for utmost privacy to its guests, Arudra personalizes services for its residents as well as engages in hosting corporate and private-events for groups upto 150. Every event stages a day-full of relevant & exciting activities(tug of war, treasure hunts, beach football, and beach volleyball) that drifts into a foot-tapping DJ evening with dances and dinner. Aside this, ample opportunities to boost adventurous spirits include various water-sports like parasailing, water-skiing and many others, apart from an appealing ferry ride to Anjunas flee market (on lucky-Wednesdays). Assuring an All - Encompassing Experience As fun and entertainment brims the resorts to-do list, guests in search of a peaceful vacation occupy the serene umbrella-headed beach beds or dine at the sand-floored restaurant with a panoramic view of the Arabian Sea. Furthermore, as safety deems prime, Arudra assures the security of its guests by constantly monitoring well-placed CCTVs around the property with a special security team that includes the services of Ace and TinTin (Arudras pet dogs) who dont just scout the property, but also ensure to add-on to every pet-lover's enjoyment. The owners also maintain direct contact with the local beach police in case of any mishaps. Additionally, the hospitable staff undergo rigorous trainings and daily-briefings to ensure thorough hygiene is taken care of, for its guests to have the most comfortable stay. If this citing has just proved more than what one could expect, ones arrival at that the resort is seamlessly sorted-out with prior-informed pick-up requests from airports, railway stations or bus-stops. Thus, Arudra defines an ideal destination that marks the beginning of very special journeys, thereby stealing the attention of both native & international guests. Soon anticipating expansion, Sampada and Mayank plan on introducing an exclusive spa at the resort and look forward to launching three more Arudra properties by the end of 2020. If you are planning to experience Goas exotics, then Arudra defines the ideal solution for a perfect stay. The Town of Mills began as an appendage of the Amoco Oil Refinery. The North Platte riverfront offered the sand and gravel necessary for construction projects, and it was close enough to the refinery to be convenient for oil workers. The location attracted the Mills Construction Company, and an early homesteader sold the land to the business in 1919. The town grew around it. When Mills was incorporated in 1923, nearly all of its residents were employed by either the construction company or the refinery. But a number of annexations in the 1940s and 1950s pushed Mills from a landing spot for a few hundred day-laborers and their families to a full-fledged town. Nearly a century has passed since the genesis of the blue-collar borough, but Mills identity is largely the same: a central Wyoming town formed and sustained by industry. While still true to that identity, Mills is changing. New middle-class subdivisions have emerged. Retail is expanding. Mills started as tar-paper houses, and what its grown into today, its pretty impressive, Mills Mayor Seth Coleman said. In 1990, Mills was home to 1,565 people, according to census data. By 2010 the population had doubled, and now stands at nearly 4,000. This puts Mills in a distinct position. It is one of only two towns in Wyoming that experienced population growth this year, and its one of the fastest growing municipalities in the state over the past decade. Now, the town is on the verge of certifying itself as a first-class city, an important symbolic milestone that comes with some perks, like the ability to apply for more types of grants. But Mills is feeling growing pains from those rapid shifts. In the past 11 months, Mills has lost its only school and library. Its fire department is on the verge of closing, too. It really hinders what can be done, Coleman said. A growing dilemma Mills has several things going for it. Despite being located next to Casper, Wyomings second largest city, its retained a small-town feel. There are fewer regulations here for businesses to contend with. And its affordable. Its also easier to buy a house in Mills, thanks to a federal program that offers financing options for rural homeowners that arent available to residents in more urban areas. Because of this, three new residential subdivisions have been built in Mills over the last decade. And the town is a favorite for businesses, too. Rick Bonander is not a Mills resident, but he established his business Inter-Mountain Pipe there. He said the land is cheap and there are fewer regulations than if he had set up in Casper. This business-friendly atmosphere contributes to Mills growth, too, he said. As business picks up here in town, Mills will grow, he said. Its a pretty good community for business. Making the community look nice is part of that growth, he said. Bonander spearheaded the effort to put a large bald eagle statue along Wyoming Boulevard, a short distance from the riverfront. I think theres a lot of community pride there, and an identity, in a way, he said. But despite that growth, Mills revenue has actually declined, according to town budget documents from the past five years. The revenue troubles are largely due to how Wyoming funds local governments. Mills doesnt keep the sales or property tax money generated in the town limits. The state collects that money and then redistributes it to local governments based on population. The revenue distribution is always based on the census count, Wyoming Economic Analysis Division chief economist Wenlin Liu said. Wyoming experiences a lot of population mobility because of its boom and bust economy. During booms, the population grows, during busts, it decreases, Liu said. This makes estimating populations difficult, so the state uses U.S. Census figures. For local governments, its harder, Liu said, especially for towns like Mills, which have enjoyed consistent population growth, despite the booms and busts. Coleman said as of this year, Mills serves more than 4,000 people, but it receives funds proportional to the 2010 population figures. Were getting that at the 2010 level and not the 2019 level, he said. Financial challenges Community pride is one reason Sara McCarthy wanted to be on the Mills Town Council. She likes the small town feel, but she felt there was something missing. My goal was to help make Mills a family-friendly area, she said. It didnt feel very safe (when she first moved to Mills) and there wasnt a whole lot to do. But when she became an elected official, McCarthy realized the financial trouble the town was in. We inherited a mess, she said, saying that the previous council kept shoddy records and didnt invest the town money well. Indeed, the town was unable to provide itemized budgets for any year prior to 2016, and Town Clerk Christine Trumbull said she wouldnt trust any of those records because of how they were managed. (In 2017, then-town clerk and treasurer Lisa Whetstone was found guilty of embezzling $64,000 from the town. Those crimes were uncovered in a 2014 state audit of the towns finances.) McCarthy said the council has been working to clean things up, and the decision to reexamine the fire department is one way they looked to do that. In late April, struggling to right the budget, Coleman and two of the other three members of the Mills Town Council voted to lay off the nine full-time firefighters who staff the town fire station, effective July 1. Angry residents lined the hallway of the council chambers at the next town meeting. They worried about response times and the safety of their families. They wondered whether businesses would want to come to Mills if there was no fire department to respond to emergencies. And they worried for the firefighters, whose lives had been upended by a seemingly out-of-the-blue decision. Speculation and accusations abounded. Firefighters union president Jeremy Todd said the decision was in retaliation to tense contract negotiations. Coleman flatly denied that allegation. At the most recent council meeting, one resident called for Colemans resignation, and another began circulating a petition for a recall election. Residents have packed the last two council meetings to offer solutions and condemnations of the decision. All of them pleaded to keep the fire department. Coleman says he doesnt want to eliminate the agency, but something has to give. Weve got to be willing to make some changes ... to free up the funding to at least maintain what we have and maybe make some things better, he said. The Mills Fire Department costs the town roughly $1 million annually between salaries and equipment. Consequently, Mills is more than $1 million over budget for the 2020 fiscal year. McCarthy was absent on April 24 when the Town Council voted to lay off the firefighters. Had she been there, she would have voted to keep the firefighters, she said. But she conceded that the fire department is expensive as its now operated. Theyre running at too high a cost for the town, she said. McCarthy is on the fence. One on hand, she understands the budgetary restraints, but on the other, she worries for her six children. When her daughter had a seizure last year, the fire department was there within a minute, she said. What would happen if that service was to suddenly disappear? A series of losses The fire cuts are only the most recent in a string of losses for the town. Earlier this year, the towns library closed after the Natrona County Library Board voted to stop supporting it because of staffing and budgetary shortages. In 2018, the towns last school closed at the direction of the Natrona County School District. The decision didnt come without a fight. Mills sued the school district, but a judge dismissed the case. Residents say cutting the fire department adds insult to injury, considering how much the town has lost already. Some of these changes have been out of the towns hands, and Coleman said theyre trying to come up with ways to reintroduce services. He said the library will likely reopen in July, albeit in a limited capacity. He said the town can operate it with $20,000 to $30,000 a year. As for the school, he said if enough residents voice interest in establishing a separate school district, the council would gladly facilitate that process. But while Coleman is optimistic about the towns direction, others arent so certain. In fact, Mills resident Leah Juarez called for Colemans resignation at the last Town Council meeting. She doesnt think cutting the fire department is an option at all. Youre looking at new families moving into Mills, new businesses, people want to move to Mills because its affordable she said. But we also need to be sure their needs are being met. The recall process requires 25 percent of Mills registered voters sign a petition asking for the recall vote. There are 1,150 registered voters in Mills, according to the Natrona County Clerks office, meaning 288 people would need to sign a petition for a recall vote to happen. Juarez may end up running for Colemans seat if nobody else steps up to do it, she said. If she runs, she plans to push for responsibly investing city revenues and slow, steady growth. She pointed to the eagle project, which the town still owes $30,000 on, as an example of an unsound investment. I think there can be a healthy balance, she said. Taxing questions Since 1974, voters in Natrona County have agreed to add an extra penny to the local sales tax. That 1-cent money is distributed among the countys local governments. One-cent funds are intended to pay for infrastructure projects. Those projects can be anything from road repair to buying new police patrol cars, but theyre generally expected to be used for one-time expenses, not yearly operational costs. However, to make ends meet, Mills has been using 1-cent sales tax money for exactly that purpose, including paying town employees salaries and benefits. When the town is certified as a city, likely after the next census, that practice will have to change, Coleman said. The 1-cent issue has been a big debate among Mills residents. Juarez said there is no statute that prohibits those funds from being used for operational costs. Its true, there isnt a statutory obligation. But, Coleman said, its about what voters have approved. But beyond just meeting voter expectations, using 1-cent money for anything but infrastructure can cause problems down the line, Wyoming Association of Municipalities Executive Director David Fraser said. Its almost impossible to keep up with infrastructure needs, even with 1-cent money, he said. Fraser understands Mills dilemma. For most municipalities, salaries eat up most of the budget. Fraser estimated that most cities and towns spend between 60 and 70 percent of their money on paying staff. In Mills, its no different. The single most expensive line-item in Mills 2020 budget draft is salaries, and that doesnt factor in health benefits, workers compensation claims or other personnel-related expenses. When it comes to cutting the budget its hard to make headway...when 70 percent of your budget is people, Fraser said. Coleman said the council is trying to ensure the towns budget is balanced, but that cant happen without making cuts everywhere, not just in the fire department Officials arent looking to solve problems through cuts alone. Coleman wants to be a catalyst for investment and development in the town. Officials have been working with a local economic development group to leverage tax incentive opportunity zones. They want to attract a grocery store and provide amenities for residents. Coleman believes the town can overcome its current challenges. Its just going to take some work. Thats our responsibility as elected officials, to meet the hurdles head on, he said. We always have found a way to get through and were going to continue to do that. Follow city reporter Morgan Hughes on Twitter @morganhwrites. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 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 few weeks ago, the Wyoming Medical Center Board of Directors announced that we had completed a strategic planning process to help ensure our hospital continues to be well-positioned in the rapidly evolving healthcare landscape. We also shared that, as part of the process, we were beginning to explore whether a partnership affiliation with a likeminded organization could be right for Wyoming Medical Center. I am writing today to update you on that process, not only from my perspective as Board chair, but also as a mother, businesswoman and lifelong Casper resident. Wyoming Medical Center has played an exceptional role in my family. My brother and I were both born here as were my own children. My husbands life was saved at the hospital. But having good, quality, dependable healthcare is easy to take for granted. No one thinks of the hospital until you need the hospital. I joined the Board of Directors in 2016 and was elected chairwoman in 2018. Before that, I served on the WMC Foundation Board for six years where I began to see all the positive impacts the hospital had on patients, families, the community and the state. But when I was asked to join the Board of Directors, I was at first apprehensive. Board members must make difficult, sometimes unpopular decisions. We attend many meetings a month and spend hours on committees and subcommittees. But it is important work, and its all done 100 percent voluntarily. We serve for no other reason than we care about health care in our community and the future of WMC. Strategic planning is not new to this Board. As early as 2012, the Board was looking for a likeminded partner organization to grow medical services in Casper, expand access across the state, control costs and increase efficiencies. The difference in 2019 is we have a Board that recognizes the value in such a partnership, is motivated to push forward if a suitable partner is found, and that understands WMCs value to such a partnership. Its rare to have such comprehensive, exceptional healthcare in a town the size of Casper. Our heart program has been ranked among the top 10 percent of the country. The American Heart Association has consistently ranked our Stroke Program as among the best and recently awarded its top honor, 2019 Physician of the Year, to Dr. David Wheeler in recognition of the extraordinary stroke program he built at WMC and is expanding to hospitals across the state. We would make a valuable partner to a likeminded organization, and we are focused on enhancing, not reducing, the services we offer right here in Casper. Quality, comprehensive health care builds strong, vital communities. As Caspers second largest employer, its hard to overstate how important the hospital is to the health of our local economy. WMC employees are key to the success of our organization and support our economy. Good health care attracts new businesses and families, and my industry succeeds when Casper succeeds. Thats true for every member of the Board of Directors. We work here. We have raised our families here. Our priority has been, is and always will be protecting the mission of Wyoming Medical Center: To advance the health and wellness of our region and community by providing excellent healthcare services. To do that, the hospital must evolve along with the healthcare landscape. We have to look ahead and be visionaries. We will look for a partner that expands, not reduces, healthcare services in Casper and strengthens Wyoming Medical Centers position in the region and across the state. Were committed to keeping you updated on this process. We invite you to visit www.wmcforward.org to learn more about the process and what it could mean for our community and state. Jessica Oden is chair of the Wyoming Medical Center Board of Directors, and vice president and branch manager of Jonah Bank. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 0 Let me tell you about an old teeter-totter adage believed by a great many Wyoming leaders. In this theory, its believed the Wyoming economy operates in the opposite way of the national USA economy. It goes like this: When the country is struggling, Wyoming is thriving. When Wyoming struggles, the country thrives. It is like opposite sides of a coin. Right now, we are in a tails phase. Today while the USA economy is as hot as it has ever been, Wyoming is trudging along. A few years ago, it was worse. Most of the marginal businesses in the state are gone or acquired by hard working folks turning them around. It is hard to find runaway success stories. Another old saw about our states economy refers to Wyoming as the hole in the donut. States around us like Colorado, Idaho, and Montana are doing well while that state stuck in the middle of that circle struggles. So why is that? The obvious answer is our reliance on energy. The easy answer is that when national energy prices are high, Wyoming booms, and the country struggles. When prices are low, the country booms and Wyoming struggles. Is there more to it than this simple formula? Wyoming reportedly has more government workers per-capita that any state, even more than Alaska. Those jobs usually are bulletproof. When one in ten of your employees works for government, does this indicate a lack of economic viability? Is it easier to be economically successful in states where most folks work for private companies? This column is full of questions. Hopefully future columns offer a few answers. Some of our comments sound like cliches and long-time assumptions. A few years ago I wrote a column about how odd it was that Wyoming was the only state in the country without a major city. Even Montana, Idaho, and Alaska have larger metro hubs that spawn innovations, create jobs, and keep young people in their home states. We pointed out that 40 years ago, Casper and Cheyenne were on par with Boise, Fort Collins, Billings, Anchorage, and Sioux Falls. Today, our two leading cities do not reflect the growth of those other regional centers. So why did this happen? Most often given, as a reason, is the lack of a major university in either Casper or Cheyenne compared to those other cities. Apparently a major college is a huge economic driver. Cold, windy weather was also given as a reason, which I tend to discount. But perhaps it is not as depressing as I am assuming. Douglas is booming with oil and gas development. Cheyenne and Laramie are doing just fine, thank-you, thanks to huge numbers of state workers and aggressive job development. Jackson is in a league of its own as the most expensive place to live in the USA. Cody, Sheridan, and Lander are holding up fine with a combination of tourism, outdoor recreation, and lots of retirees moving in. Gillette and Rock Springs have been two of our most vibrant small cities over the past three decades. Leaders there are working hard to keep things going up. Earlier this month, a panel was held in Cheyenne to talk about Wyomings endless boom-and-bust cycle. It made me recall that former University of Wyoming Professor Phil Roberts has documented 13 of these busts since 1890 statehood over 129 years. This is a bust every decade. That many busts could make a state and its citizens somewhat gun-shy, I would think. That Cheyenne program was based around a quote from UW Professor Anne Alexander, where she said the states economic situation was not going to get better unless we make it better. Theres no cavalry on the way. Were the cavalry. As a local businessman for almost 50 years, it seemed like we were always working on economic development. People in all cities and towns in Wyoming work their tails off. The Wyoming Business Council has done well in my opinion. Gov. Matt Meads legacy program ENDOW shows promise in many peoples eyes. And yet, here we are in 2019 asking the same questions that I recall being asked at the Wyoming Futures Project 34 years ago during its organizational meeting in Ucross. NBC commentator Pete Williams was our moderator, as I recall. Discussing and cussing economic development is one of my favorite topics. Sometimes it feels like we are chasing our tails. Creating jobs and keeping your town viable is not getting any easier. Bill Sniffin is a longtime Wyoming journalist from Lander who has written six books. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Imagine for a moment that you could turn back the clock some 200 years or so and embark on a journey from east to west across the North American continent. You would be unaware of what lay beyond the great plains of the American heartland and oblivious to the Rocky Mountains that would thwart your path. Imagine that you had never heard of Yellowstone, or geysers and hot springs, and as far as you were concerned nature was epitomized by the patchy, deciduous forests and rolling hills of the Appalachian Mountains. During your march west, you would find yourself alone at the doorstep of another world, the smell of rotten eggs in the air, game abundant, the ground soft but warm beneath your aching feet, and all around you are jets of steaming water and pools of colorful splendor. Would anyone ever believe you if you told them what you saw? So goes the life of John Colter, the first mountain man to see what is now Yellowstone National Park. It was 1803 when Colter, already a skilled hunter and scout, joined the Corps of Discovery the Lewis and Clark expedition before it set out from St. Louis in an effort to document the lands of the newly acquired Louisiana Purchase. Upon reaching the Pacific Coast of modern-day Washington and Oregon, the expedition began its return trip to the Mandan villages of what is now North Dakota. It is here, in 1806, that Colter made a choice that would etch his name into history forever. The company encountered a couple of fur trappers, Forest Hancock and Joseph Dickson, who were planning to follow the Missouri River in search of game. Colter joined up to lead the two fur trappers, and they embarked northward along the Missouri River. The partnership lasted only a few months, however, and by early 1807 Colter was on his way back to St. Louis. As he approached the Platte River, Colter encountered another trading company run by Manuel Lisa and including some former members of the Corps of Discovery. They were en route to the Yellowstone River, and Colter again turned west, back to the wilderness. The group would build Fort Raymond at the intersection of the Yellowstone and Bighorn rivers. It was from here that Colter set out alone late in 1807 to establish trade relations with the Crow Nation. During the next year Colters nearly 500-mile route would take him across the Continental Divide into what today is Jackson Hole and eventually over Teton Pass into modern-day Idaho. Colter would then venture back across the Teton Range and travel north along Jackson Lake and into what is now Yellowstone National Park, making Colter the first European-American to set eyes on the Teton Range and the Yellowstone region. Most notably, Colters journey took him along Yellowstone Lake, where he would have encountered abundant thermal features, like hot springs and geysers. Alone in this completely uncharted territory, one can only begin to imagine the emotions that Colter was experiencing. There is much debate among the historical community regarding what exactly Colter saw during his lonesome trek through the Yellowstone wilderness. One thing is certain: Colters tales of fire and brimstone would seldom be accepted by the people with whom he shared his tales of adventure. In fact, a region of land along the Shoshone River that today is marked by mostly extinct thermal features is known appropriately as Colters Hell a name that started as a joke by Colters disbelieving audiences, but is now a mark of respect for his incredible journey. Now, ask yourself: If a mountain man told you the story of a place, deep in the mountains of the American West, where water spewed from the ground with such force and heat that the Earth shook beneath your feet, would you believe him? It is this sense of wonder and disbelief of a place so extraordinary that drives our reverence for the first national park. It is this idea that fuels the need to protect, conserve and study Yellowstone, for it is a uniquely special environment that, no matter how many times one lays eyes on it, continues to challenge our very understanding and perception of the natural world. Yellowstone Caldera Chronicles is a weekly column written by scientists and collaborators of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The CBI has summoned former Kolkata police commissioner Rajeev Kumar, asking him to appear before it on Monday for questioning in connection with the Saradha ponzi scheme case, officials said. Kumar, a 1989-batch IPS officer, has been asked to be present at the Kolkata office of the agency in Salt Lake, officials said on Sunday. The CBI has also issued a Look Out Notice against Kumar to prevent him from leaving the country, officials said. All the airports and immigration authorities have been alerted by the CBI to prevent him from leaving the country and intimate the agency about any possible move, they said. The agency wants custodial interrogation of Kumar in connection with the ponzi scheme case as he was heading the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the West Bengal police to probe the case before the CBI took over, the officials said. The probe agency had told the Supreme Court that custodial interrogation of Kumar was necessary as he was not co-operating in the probe and he was "evasive" and "arrogant" in answering the queries put to him during his questioning by the agency. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who was appearing for the CBI, had said Kumar was the incharge of investigation by the SIT and had allowed the release of mobile phones and laptops, containing crucial records of alleged involvement of political functionaries in the scam, which were seized from the accused. Also Read: CBI grills Kolkata top cop, ex-TMC MP over Saradha chit fund and Rose Valley scams Mehta had said the seized mobile phones and laptops were not even sent for forensic examination and material evidence were destroyed in the case. The apex court had last month asked CBI to furnish evidence for seeking custodial interrogation of Kumar in Saradha case, saying it has to be satisfied that the agency's request was "bona fide" and not for "political purposes". The apex court had on May 17 withdrawn protection given to Kumar from any arrest and had asked the CBI to proceed as per law. "We have withdrawn the protection given to Rajeev Kumar vide order dated February 5," the bench headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi had said, but gave a week's time to Kumar to approach competent court for anticipatory bail. Kumar had again approached the Supreme Court on May 20 seeking extension of protection claiming that the courts in West Bengal were not functioning due to lawyers' strike. This petition was rejected, following which Kumar had approached a Kolkata court with an anticipatory bail. Also Read: Mamata Banerjee vs CBI: What is the Saradha scam? In January, the Centre and West Bengal government had faced an unprecedented stand off after a CBI team, which reached the residence of Kumar for questioning him, had to retreat after local police refused to let it enter and detained its officers. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee came in the defence of Kumar and started a sit-in to protest against the Centre's move. The Supreme Court had on February 5 had prevented the agency from any coercive action against Kumar and directed him to appear and co-operate in CBI questioning at a "neutral place". He was questioned by the CBI for nearly five days at its office in Shillong from February 9 onwards. The ponzi scheme scam was over Rs 2,500 crore by the Saradha group of companies, which had duped lakhs of customers promising higher rates of returns on their investment, the CBI has alleged. Similar modus operandi was adopted by other ponzi companies like Rose Valley operating in West Bengal, Odisha and North Eastern states where gullible investors were duped, it said. The Supreme Court had ordered a CBI probe in which the agency has allegedly detected collusion of scheme operators, police personnel, politicians among others, the officials had said. Also Read: Saradha chit fund scam: CBI begins quizzing Kolkata police chief Rajeev Kumar in Shillong Save Our Schools wants to prohibit the state from issuing vouchers to more than 1% of the total number of children enrolled in public schools, setting the cap at about 11,000. Heres how Guffey says it works: If a caseworker believes a child is at risk of harm, the parents are asked to agree to have their child or children go live with a relative or friend while an investigation is carried out. Other times, the child can stay home with one parent while the other parent stays elsewhere. Guffey said present-danger plans are intended to foster a cooperative relationship between parents and caseworkers. In some instances, she said, the family crisis can be addressed quickly and the child or children are returned home without the opening of a formal case by state officials. She said the parents are told that they have the right to an attorney and a court hearing, but can do this plan instead. We try to be very clear with parents that if you dont feel comfortable, you can say no, Guffey said. If we determine the family is not interested in a voluntary plan, then we will need to take some (formal) action. If there is not a relative or friend who can help, the child is instead placed in temporary DCS custody and foster care, which requires court authorization and would be included when the state tallies child-removal numbers. Nearing the anniversary of her sisters death, Tara cried after holding tears in for a long time. Lost in her grief, someone at the vigil hugged her until she said she was OK. She never saw who it was. At that time, that was all I needed was that hug, she said. I can remember that hug right now. All the feelings that had been buried under anger and addiction came flooding in. She found herself crying on the bus, while crossing the street, in line at the store. She started going to support groups and equine therapy with Homicide Survivors. She enrolled in behavioral-health courses with CODAC and did classes for parenting, healthy relationships and substance abuse. She did one-on-one therapy and couples therapy with her boyfriend. And she hitchhiked out to Sells for additional parenting and life-skills classes. In January, the Primavera Foundation helped her and her boyfriend get into an apartment and, soon after, they both found jobs. And earlier this month, she found out that her kids could come home. Tara wishes her family on the reservation had the kind of services she does in Tucson. She said there are some behavioral-health services on the Nation, but programs come and go. Southern Arizona Veterans Memorial Cemetery 1300 S. Buffalo Soldier Trail, Sierra Vista. U.S. flag placement on veterans grave sites. Open to volunteers and family members at 8 a.m. May 25; observance ceremony with guest speaker, wreath laying, color guard and taps at 8:30 a.m. May 27. Free. (520) 458-7144. East Lawn Palms Cemetery, 5801 E. Grant Road Sons of Orpheus will provide musical interludes, VFW Post 4903 will perform its ritual ceremony, Sons of the American Revolution will post colors, Bulk Fuel Company A Marines will provide the rifle salute and taps. 9-10 a.m. May 27. Free. 886-5561. McCulloch-Wagner American Legion Post 109 Family Home, 15921 S. Houghton Road, Corona de Tucson Guest speaker is retired Lt. Col. Rob Matte, Army Reserve, and current University of Arizona and Pima Community College English professor. 11 a.m.-noon. May 27. Free. 762-5652. Santa Cruz Summer Winds American Heroes: Eternal Brave Community Performance and Art Center, 1250 W. Continental Road, Green Valley. A salute to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our country. 3-5 p.m. May 27. $15 in advance; $20 at door. 399-1750. I consider it an absolute honor to pay our respects to Sgt. Shuey who is our hometown hero, said Margo Susco, community engagement coordinator for the Tucson Police Department who helped organize ceremonial events. Mr. Shuey is a national treasure and we are grateful to be able to welcome him back home, said Susco, adding that an honor guard will be at the airport, and Tucson police officers will escort Shueys coffin to Funeraria del Angel South Lawn Chapel, 5401 S. Park Ave., and the Tucson Fire Department will display the American flag on extended ladders from aerial trucks at the mortuary. The public is invited to pay their respects to Shuey starting Tuesday from 2 to 5 p.m. at the chapel. (See attached box for services.) Death in POW camp Scientists in a specialized unit of the Defense Department in Hawaii identified Shueys remains in February using relatives DNA, dental and anthropological analysis and material evidence, officials said. Shuey was born in Norton, Kansas, and moved to Arizona with his family. However, it is not known what year or where the family lived, said Travis. Military records show that Shuey entered the Army by enlisting in Maricopa County. Out of Tucsons nine largest school districts, Catalina Foothills High School has received the most results-based funding since the programs inception nearly $377,000 in 2019 and $374,000 in 2018. Those years, 13% and 12% of the schools population qualified for free-and-reduced lunch. Sentinel Peak High School, an alternative high school in Flowing Wells, has received the least amount of results-based funding roughly $43,000 in 2019 and $41,000 in 2018. Those years, 75% and 74% of Sentinel Peaks students qualified for free-and-reduced lunch. The funding disparity between Catalina Foothills and Sentinel Peak illustrates an issue many educators have raised about results-based funding: The program tends to benefit mostly wealthier schools. Its not how I would support additional funding for public schools, Flowing Wells Superintendent David Baker said. Id rather see it in something like a poverty weight or a distribution of (funds) where the need is ... to ZIP codes and schools that are more at risk. Baker says he supports rewarding schools that perform well, but is bothered by the way funds are distributed under the results-based program. He was in a big construction pickup. He came across and was in tears and horror that he had done this. Other witnesses were at the scene, and I spoke with two who saw parts of the incident, Stephanie Chavez and Ryan Seltzer. Their impression was that the driver had paused long enough for Anderson to think he was waiting for her, but that he never actually saw her and quickly drove off onto Wilmot. Whatever witnesses told police, it was not enough evidence to show legal fault, in the authorities eyes. Theres a reason Im not naming him: The police never even cited him. For unrelated reasons, the driver died about eight months later. I have noticed what appears to be a reticence on the part of local authorities to accuse drivers of crimes or even civil infractions when they strike pedestrians or cyclists. Im not the only one whos perceived that. If you wanted to kill somebody with a car, you could do it and probably get away with it, said Kylie Walzak, program manager at Living Streets Alliance, a Tucson nonprofit that advocates for vibrant streets and alternatives to automobiles. To me it devalues human life. This poem was created to empower myself, a way to regain my voice; the voice stolen from my attacker, my school and the administration, the post said. My voice matters and so does every victim of sexual assault because our pain is real and is not something that society can marginalize and ignore. Later that evening, at an Art Under the Stars event, UHS students and supporters of the girl printed chalk messages on the sidewalk expressing their dismay with the schools response, including, Dear Admin, Dont silence empowerment. Cislaks newsletter, sent Monday, May 20, said the off-campus incident happened during the fall semester and was reported to the schools office, triggering the launch of an investigation. Cislak said in the letter that the investigation followed all legal and district protocols, the students poem described an incident thats part of an open investigation and presenting this poem during this time on school property was not feasible. New Jersey 10 injured as gunmen open fire outside bar TRENTON At least two gunmen fired into a crowd outside a bar in New Jerseys capital city, wounding 10 people, two critically, but the motive for the shooting remains unknown, authorities said. Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo Onofri said a vehicle pulled up to the corner outside Ramoneros Liquor and Bar in Trenton at about 12:25 a.m. Saturday, and the shooters fired more than 30 shots before fleeing. Five men and five women were taken to a hospital with gunshot wounds. Two of the male victims were listed in critical but stable condition while the others were in stable condition. Mayor Reed Gusciora said police were investigating whether gang rivalries could have been behind the shooting. Oklahoma Two bodies discovered in submerged vehicle OKLAHOMA CITY The bodies of a man and a woman were discovered Friday in a submerged vehicle near the Mississippi River in Missouri, bringing the death toll to nine from storms that ravaged the central U.S. last week. 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. Lok Sabha Results 2019: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit his mother in Gujarat today to seek her blessings after his thumping win in Lok Sabha election 2019. He will also address a public meeting in Ahmedabad. The Prime Minister will travel to Varanasi tomorrow (Monday) to thank the people from his constituency for re-electing him. President Ram Nath Kovind Saturday invited Narendra Modi to form the government for a second consecutive term after he and his Union Council of Ministers submitted their resignations to the President. Addressing newly-elected MPs in Parliament central hall, Modi said his government will leave no stone unturned to fulfill the aspirations of the people. "The government is going to continue its good work. We don't want even a moment to be wasted. 'Sabka saath, sabka vikas, sabka vishwas' is a mantra which is necessary for India's development. Keeping everyone's security and national prosperity in mind, we will move forward. The new government will leave no stone unturned to fulfill the aspirations of the people," said Modi. Meanwhile, the Congress Working Committee (CWC) in its review meeting Saturday rejected party Chief Rahul Gandhi's offer to resign while taking full responsibility for Congress' drubbing in the Lok Sabha election 2019. Also Read: President Kovind accepts PM Modi's resignation, 17th Lok Sabha to be formed by June 3 Follow the Lok Sabha Election Results 2019 LIVE updates here: 8.06 PM: Prime Minister Narendra Modi waves at BJP supporters outside the party office in Ahmedabad. BJP President Amit Shah also present. Gujarat: Prime Minister Narendra Modi waves at BJP supporters outside the party office in Ahmedabad. BJP President Amit Shah also present. pic.twitter.com/o2BIVWxvKZ - ANI (@ANI) May 26, 2019 7: 48 pm: The vote in 2019 is a pro-incumbency vote and a positive vote. After sixth phase of polling itself, I had said that it's 300 plus for us. When I said it, people mocked me. But, the results are for everyone to see, says Modi. 7: 45 pm : It is historic to see such a big mandate being given. The people had decided that they want a strong government again, says PM Modi. 7: 43 pm: In the run-up of the 2014 polls, the people of India got to know about the development strides Gujarat made, says PM Narendra Modi. 7:36 pm: It is from the BJP office here in Khanpur that I learnt the Sanskars of a Sangathan. I remember coming among you all in 2012, after our party was blessed with the people's mandate, says Modi. 7: 35 pm : I am here for a Darshan of the people of Gujarat. The blessings of the state's citizens have always been very special for me, says Modi. 7.30 pm: I am coming back to the land that has nurtured me. I am back to a place with which I have a very old bond, says PM Modi. 7: 20 pm: PM Modi addresses party workers in Ahmedabad, says saddened by Surat fire deaths. 7.00 PM: Amit Shah in Ahmedabad BJP President Amit Shah in Ahmedabad: After winning 26 seats (in Gujarat) Narendra bhai has come here, please shout loud so that the voice reaches West Bengal. pic.twitter.com/ij3CUuPTXD - ANI (@ANI) May 26, 2019 6: 45 pm: Rahul Gandhi on Sunday took back his offer to quit as the Congress President, a proposal he made during the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting on Saturday following the party's dismal show in the Lok Sabha elections, party sources said. 6.30 PM: Prime Minister Narendra Modi pays tribute to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's statue near the Ahmedabad Airport. BJP President Amit Shah and Gujarat CM VIjay Rupani also present. On landing in Ahmedabad, paid tributes to the great Sardar Patel. An icon of modern India, his contribution towards nation building is monumental. pic.twitter.com/wRwrWDrqjy - Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 26, 2019 6.15 PM: Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives at Ahmedabad Airport (Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport). Gujarat: Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives at Ahmedabad Airport (Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport). pic.twitter.com/xGzuakPmTY - ANI (@ANI) May 26, 2019 5.44 PM: Smriti Irani, BJP MP from Amethi: "I've taken an oath before Surendra Singh ji's (ex-village head Barauli who was shot dead y'day) family, the one who fired & the one who ordered it, even if I have to go SC to get the culprits a death sentence, we will knock the doors of the court." -- ANI 5.32 PM: Narendra Modi to be sworn in as the country's prime minister on May 30. Several foreign dignitaries expected to attend the oath taking ceremony. 5.10 PM: Pakistan PM Imran Khan congratulates Modi on his victory the Lok Sabha polls. MEA: PM Modi in his telephonic conversation with Pak PM Imran Khan stressed that creating trust and an environment free of violence and terrorism were essential for fostering cooperation for peace, progress and prosperity in the region. https://t.co/pZrZunmAs8 - ANI (@ANI) May 26, 2019 4.49 PM: The Election Commission says the 'Model Code of Conduct' has ceased to be in operation with immediate effect after the results of the Lok Sabha elections 2019 and Legislative assemblies in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha and Sikkim.' 4.47 PM: JP MP from Amethi, Smriti Irani, lends a shoulder to mortal remains of Surendra Singh, ex-village head of Barauli, Amethi, who was shot dead last night. #WATCH BJP MP from Amethi, Smriti Irani lends a shoulder to mortal remains of Surendra Singh, ex-village head of Barauli, Amethi, who was shot dead last night. pic.twitter.com/jQWV9s2ZwY - ANI (@ANI) May 26, 2019 3.33 PM: Andhra CM designate Jagan Mohan Reddy: Today was the first meeting with PM. God willing I'll probably meet him maybe 30, 40, 50 times over these 5 years. --ANI 3.23 PM: The Odisha Governor has extended invitation to Naveen Patnaik to form the government in the state. Bhubaneswar: Odisha CM & BJD chief Naveen Patnaik met Governor Prof Ganeshi Lal today and conveyed to him that he has been elected as the leader of BJD legislative party. The Governor has extended invitation to Naveen Patnaik to form the government in the state. pic.twitter.com/L78oFhLcyI - ANI (@ANI) May 26, 2019 3.22 PM: Jagan Mohan Reddy, YSRCP on Special Category Status to Andhra Pradesh: "The situation would have been different had they (BJP) won just 250 seats (in Lok Sabha elections). We would have then supported BJP only after they signed the Special Category Status document." YSRCP chief Jagan Mohan Reddy: If the BJP would've been limited to 250 seats, we wouldn't have had to depend so much on the central govt. But now, they don't need us. We did what we could do and told him (PM) of our situation. https://t.co/G594XFFMFZ - ANI (@ANI) May 26, 2019 2.11 PM: Owaisi on Modi's speech in Parliament: "If PM agrees minorities live in fear he should know people who killed Akhlaq were sitting in front bench of electoral public meeting...If PM feels Muslims live in fear, will he stop gangs, who in name of cow are killing, beating Muslims, taking our videos & demeaning us?" A Owaisi: If Muslims seriously live in fear can the PM tell us, out of the 300 odd MPs, how many Muslim MPs he has in own party who got elected from Lok Sabha? This is the hypocrisy & contradiction which the PM & his party is practicing from last 5 years. https://t.co/yMHLrFIXV4 - ANI (@ANI) May 26, 2019 2.00 PM: Newly elected BJD MPs met CM and party chief Naveen Patnaik, today in Bhubaneswar. Odisha: Newly elected BJD MPs met CM and party chief Naveen Patnaik, today in Bhubaneswar. pic.twitter.com/YV0ajqkfss - ANI (@ANI) May 26, 2019 1.50 PM: Chennai Central MP and DMK leader Dayanidhi Maran on AIADMK's performance in elections: "Edappadi K Palaniswami must take moral responsibility for the defeat of AIADMK in Lok Sabha elections." Chennai Central MP and DMK leader Dayanidhi Maran: Edappadi K Palaniswami must take moral responsibility for the defeat of AIADMK in Lok Sabha elections, the party managed to win on one seat in general elections because of money power. Palaniswami must tender his resignation. pic.twitter.com/SuNbdLAVbM - ANI (@ANI) May 26, 2019 1.30 pm: AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi questions PM Modi over his action on those killing Muslims. "If PM agrees minorities live in fear he should know people who killed Akhlaq were sitting in front bench of electoral public meeting. If PM feels Muslims live in fear, will he stop gangs, who in name of cow are killing, beating Muslims, taking our videos & demeaning us?" said Asaduddin Owaiai, newly-elected Member of Parliament (MP) and leader of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) while talking to ANI. 1.00 pm: Newly elected BJP MPs met Odisha CM and party President Naveen Patnaik today in Bhubaneswar. Odisha: Newly elected BJD MPs met CM and party chief Naveen Patnaik, today in Bhubaneswar. pic.twitter.com/YV0ajqkfss - ANI (@ANI) May 26, 2019 12.30 pm: YSRC Chief Jaganmohan Reddy discusses special status for Andhra Pradesh with PM Modi. YSR Congress (YSRC) President and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister-designate YS Jagan Mohan Reddy discussed his poll demand for special status to Andhra Pradesh with PM Narendra Modi apart from inviting him for his swearing-in ceremony on May 30. Jagan Mohan Reddy has requested PM Modi to implement the state reorganisation act and has also urged the PM to release the central funds for the state as soon as possible. Reddy explained the state's financial condition to the PM and requested him to release 30,000 crores pending bills. 12.15 pm: DMK leader Dayanidhi Maran asks Palaniswami to take moral responsibility for AIADMK's defeat in Lok Sabha polls. "Edappadi K Palaniswami must take moral responsibility for the defeat of AIADMK in Lok Sabha elections, the party managed to win on one seat in general elections because of money power. Palaniswami must tender his resignation," said Dayanidhi Maran, Chennai Central MP and DMK leader. Chennai Central MP and DMK leader Dayanidhi Maran: Edappadi K Palaniswami must take moral responsibility for the defeat of AIADMK in Lok Sabha elections, the party managed to win on one seat in general elections because of money power. Palaniswami must tender his resignation. pic.twitter.com/SuNbdLAVbM - ANI (@ANI) May 26, 2019 11.50 am: YSRCP Chief Jaganmohan Reddy meets PM Modi in Delhi today. YSRCP chief Jaganmohan Reddy met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi today. V Vijaya Sai Reddy and other leaders of YSRCP were also present. Delhi: YSRCP chief Jaganmohan Reddy met Prime Minister Narendra Modi today. V Vijaya Sai Reddy and other leaders of YSRCP were also present. pic.twitter.com/227596XZEx - ANI (@ANI) May 26, 2019 11.30 am: Smriti Irani leaves for Amethi to meet dead aide's family. Amethi MP & BJP leader Smriti Irani has left for her constituency Amethi, she will meet the family of Surendra Singh, ex-village head of Barauli, Amethi who was shot dead last night. Delhi: Amethi MP & BJP leader Smriti Irani leaves for her constituency, she will meet the family of Surendra Singh, ex-village head of Barauli, Amethi who was shot dead last night. pic.twitter.com/NnIdRWRjvk - ANI (@ANI) May 26, 2019 11.15 am: PM Modi calls on Vice President Naidu. A day after being appointed prime minister for a second term, Narendra Modi Sunday called on Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu. Sources described it as a courtesy call. Modi reached the vice president house here to meet Naidu this morning. Modi was Saturday appointed prime minister by President Ram Nath Kovind after he was unanimously elected NDA parliamentary party leader at a meeting in which he asked coalition members to work without discrimination, stressing on the need to win the trust of minorities. In the general election, he led the BJP-led NDA to a landslide victory with the alliance winning 353 seats, including an unprecedented 303 by the BJP. 10.40 am: AMMK Chief TTV Dhinakaran to file complaint with Election Commission on vote rigging. Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) Chief TTV Dhinakaran today said that he will file a complaint at the Election Commission (EC) regarding vote rigging at various booths during Lok Sabha election 2019. "It's very strange that many of our supporters had voted for our party but their votes have not been registered, there are instances where no votes were cast for our party. How can it be possible? EC has to clarify. I can't go to court as I have no evidence," said Dhinakaran. "We are collecting the details of booths and we will file a complaint at the Election Commission later," he added. TTV Dhinakaran, AMMK: It's very strange that many of our supporters had voted for our party but their votes have not been registered, there are instances where no votes were cast for our party. How can it be possible? EC has to clarify. I can't go to court as I have no evidence. pic.twitter.com/gq6lyBbnpO - ANI (@ANI) May 26, 2019 10.30 am: YSRCP Chief Jaganmohan Reddy arrived in Delhi to meet PM Modi. YSR Congress (YSRC) President and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister-designate YS Jaganmohan Reddy has arrived in Delhi to meet PM Modi. Reddy, whose party achieved a landslide victory in Andhra Pradesh on Thursday, is likely to discuss providing outside or issue-based support to the PM Modi's government in the meeting, sources said Saturday. During his election campaign, the YSRCP chief had said his party would support whoever promises Special Category Status to Andhra Pradesh. According to an official source, the YSRCP chief will arrive in Delhi this morning and will meet the prime minister at noon. After meeting PM Modi, he is expected to interact with Andhra Bhawan officials in the capita, the source added. Reddy will take oath as Andhra Chief Minister on May 30 in Vijayawada. #WATCH: YSRCP Chief Jaganmohan Reddy arrives in Delhi. He will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi today. pic.twitter.com/ip3nQilyyU - ANI (@ANI) May 26, 2019 10.15 am: Naveen Patnaik likely to be elected BJP legislature party President today. Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is likely to be elected as the leader of the BJD's legislature party at a meeting here on Sunday, party sources said. Naveen Patnaik, who led the party to a thumping victory for the fifth time in a row, will meet the newly-elected MPs and MLAs on Sunday, BJD spokesman Sasmit Patra said. The BJD president will meet the newly-elected MPs at Naveen Niwas in the morning, he said. Patnaik will meet the party MLAs at the party state headquarters in the afternoon, he added. He is likely to be elected as the leader of the BJD legislature party in the meeting of the newly-elected MLAs, party sources said. 10.00 am: BJP leader Smriti Irani's close aide shot at in Amethi, succumbed to injuries. A close aide of BJP leader Smriti Irani was shot at in Amethi's Baraulia village late Saturday night. The incident took place just days after Smriti Irani won the Lok Sabha elections from the Amethi parliamentary constituency. Surendra Singh, former village head of Baraulia village under Jamo police station limits, was shot by unidentified assailants at his residence. He was referred to Lucknow in a serious condition and he succumbed to his injuries during treatment, a police officer said, adding two people have been detained in connection with the incident and further investigation was underway. Amethi SP said, "He was shot around 3 am. We've taken a few suspects into custody. Investigation on. It can be due to an old dispute or a political dispute." Amethi: Surendra Singh, ex-village head of Baraulia, was shot dead by unidentified assailants at his residence, last night. Amethi SP says, "He was shot around 3 AM. We've taken a few suspects into custody. Investigation on. It can be due to an old dispute or a political dispute" pic.twitter.com/VYPy9jYDCR - ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) May 26, 2019 9.45 am: Congress worker hacked to death by Maoists in Binapur, Chhattisgarh. A Congress worker was hacked to death by Maoists in Binapur district of Chhattisgarh on Saturday night. The deceased has been identified as Sahadev. He was dragged out of his house and hacked by the ultras late last night just a few KM away from the local police station. More details are awaited. 9.30 am: Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammad bin Salman congratulates PM Narendra Modi for his historic win in Lok Sabha election 2019, in a telephonic conversation. Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammad bin Salman congratulates PM Narendra Modi, in a telephonic conversation. (file pic) pic.twitter.com/7IXKmp40SO - ANI (@ANI) May 26, 2019 9.00 am: BJP National Vice President and former Chhattisgarh CM Raman Singh met party leader Nitin Gadkari today in Delhi. BJP National Vice President and former Chhattisgarh CM Raman Singh met party leader Nitin Gadkari today in Delhi. pic.twitter.com/QphItpntgT - ANI (@ANI) May 26, 2019 8.45 am: Jagan Mohan to mee PM Modi in Delhi today. YSR Congress (YSRC) President and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister-designate YS Jaganmohan Reddy will call on PM Modi today in Delhi. Reddy, whose party achieved a landslide victory in Andhra Pradesh on Thursday, is likely to discuss providing outside or issue-based support to the PM Modi's government in the meeting, sources said Saturday. During his election campaign, the YSRCP chief had said his party would support whoever promises Special Category Status to Andhra Pradesh. According to an official source, the YSRCP chief will arrive in Delhi this morning and will meet the prime minister at noon. After meeting PM Modi, he is expected to interact with Andhra Bhawan officials in the capita, the source added. Reddy will take oath as Andhra Chief Minister on May 30 in Vijayawada. 8.15 am: Govt will not rest for a moment: Modi. "A lot of opportunities exist for India in world, govt will work to make full use of them and not rest for a moment," said PM Modi while addressing newly-elected MPs in Parliament central hall. 8.20 am: New govt will leave no stones unturned: Modi "'Sabka saath, sabka vikas, sabka vishwas' is a mantra that shows the path to development for every region of India. I once again thank the people of the nation and assure them that the new govt will leave no stones unturned to fulfill your dreams and expectations," said PM Narendra Modi. Narendra Modi: 'Sabka saath, sabka vikas, sabka vishwas' is a mantra that shows the path to development for every region of India. I once again thank the people of the nation and assure them that the new govt will leave no stones unturned to fulfill your dreams & expectations pic.twitter.com/Kr67IqLm2d - ANI (@ANI) May 25, 2019 8. 10 am: Modi appointed Prime Minister of India for second term. On Saturday, a day after he and his Union Council of Ministers submitted their resignations to President Ram Nath Kovind as per norm, the latter invited Narendra Modi again to form government for a second consecutive term. Modi has been asked to suggest names for his new Union Council of Ministers and the date and time of the swearing-in ceremony. Sources suggest the new government could be sworn in on 30th May, though official confirmation is still awaited. Narendra Modi's election as the leader of the National Democratic Alliance by leaders of all the alliance partners in Parliament's Central Hall. It happened in the presence of all 353 newly-elected MPs of the NDA. 8.00 am: President Ram Nath Kovind appoints Narendra Modi to office of Prime Minister of India. Your browser does not support the audio element. Vietnams tourism is facing a shortage in both quality and quantity, hindering the potential development of the industry as many businesses are willing to settle for non-professionals. Even though many programs have been set up to develop the human resources necessary for the industry, the reality still seems grim as the requirements are not being met. Within the past ten years, the number of applicants for housekeeping training has dramatically decreased even though the markets demand has increased, head of the Housekeeping Management Club of Vietnam Nguyen Quang said at the Creating memorable experiences for customers conference on Saturday. Many businesses, especially hotel and accommodation providers, agree to hire staff that have not yet had any training, have not graduated from high school, or elderly staff just to meet the demand. This has a negative impact on the industry as these staff members lack professionalism and necessary skills to do the job properly. Quang insisted that the lack of qualified staff is not the only reason Vietnamese accommodation providers are lagging behind their international counterparts. The absence of standards at Vietnamese hotels also contributes to suppressing the improvement in the services in this sector. While international chain hotels have a sufficient supervisory system which obliges the staff to do the job sufficiently and in line with international standards, Vietnamese hotels do not even have a standardized system and proper supervision to guarantee the quality. With the human resources already lacking the training and supervision not being strict enough, service quality will suffer, Quang said at the conference. Echoing Quangs view, head of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism Nguyen Huu Tho admited that the Vietnamese tourist industry is still facing many challenges, including how to increase the visitor satisfaction index. In order to a chieve that goal, human resources need to be significantly improved. Many hotels were able to maintain their brand and meet international standards, while others were even praised by global organizations, Tho said. However, if we consider meticulousness and professional attitude, there is still room for improvement, which results from the lack of properly trained staff, he added. According to Do Thi Hong Xoan, head of the Vietnam Hotel Association, the quality of staff does not keep pace with the tourism development speed and quality staff shortage gives rise to a considerable number of unhappy customers. Another challenge confronting hotels is using high-technology equipment to improve quality when employees are not trained or qualified. Thuy Anh, 25, was surprised to see that none of the questions asked by employers in hospitality were related to qualifications and training, as she attended a recruitment day at Kent International College in Ho Chi Minh City. An employment company gave me a scenario where a visitor was in a dilemma and asked me how I would resolve it. They even asked what my plan was for the next five years, Thuy Anh said, indicating that most of the interview questions were about personal development, characteristics, and survival skills. According to Thai Thi Phuong Hoa, vice-director of Kent International College, the main criteria that tourism businesses are looking for in order to improve their service quality are foreign language and customer service skills, both of which can only be attained through education and practice. Human resources in Vietnams tourism industry still lack proper training in hospitality, tour guiding, or proper qualifications recognized internationally, Hoa said. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Your browser does not support the audio element. A photographer in central Vietnam has spent the past five years using his camera to capture happy smiles shining through the darkness of cancer. Dang Huu Hung, a 63-year-old from Da Nang City, was into photography when he was 12. The man spent decades behind the lens, but it wasnt until a heart attack, a series of road accidents, and his wifes cancer diagnosis that he began to revaluate how he could use his experience as a photographer to help those around him. While caring for his wife in the hospital, Hung was overwhelmed by the desperation of the patients and their families he was surrounded by. Ill never forget the hopelessness I saw in their eyes each time we spoke, he said. That was when Hung decided to involved himself in the Mot Buc Tranh Nhieu Hy Vong (A Photo Can Raise Hopes) photo project an initiative meant to organize events and raise awareness for local cancer patients, as well as create opportunities for young people to volunteer to help people with illnesses. Hungs own contribution to the project has been snapping hundreds of photos of cancer patients. These photos, each showing a rare smile or moment of happiness, now hang on hospital walls throughout Vietnam, serving as inspiration to others to remain optimistic in the face of the brutal disease. A cancer patient smiles while holding a lantern. Photo: Dang Huu Hung Elderly men singing and swaying to music and women whove gone bald from chemotherapy laughing are just a few of the ways Hungs work serves as a reminder to smile in even the darkest of times. Though each photo shows a different aspect of life in a hospital, all depict a feeling of hope and optimism Hung hopes to spread through cancer wards across the country. The prettiest smile is the one that comes from a heart full of love and hope, he explained. Hung also explained that his motivation doesnt only come from the subjects of his photos, but also their families, who have the final smiles of their loved ones to hold on to forever. I just want to dedicate something to this world, Hung said with determination. Tran Minh Toai, a member of Mot Buc Tranh Nhieu Hy Vong, said that their project has received praise and financial support from philanthropists, as well as income from Hungs work, all of which is used to sponsor cancer patients at the Da Nang Oncology Hospital. Hung is the oldest member of our group, but he has the heart full of energy and passion thats incomparable, said Toai. A child suffering from cancer shares his love. Photo: Dang Huu Hung A patient sways to music. Photo: Dang Huu Hung A cancer patient smiles. Photo: Dang Huu Hung A group of cancer patients laughing over snacks and great conversation. Photo: Dang Huu Hung Cancer patients wear wigs and pose with ao dai. Photo: Dang Huu Hung Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Here are todays leading news stories: Politics -- Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc had a meeting with President of the Norwegian Parliament Tone Troen on Friday (local time) as part of his official visit to Norway from May 24 to 26. Society -- The 44-year-old mother of Cao My Duyen, a female college student who was raped and murdered by eight men in early February, was arrested by police in the northern province of Dien Bien on Saturday for drug trafficking. Officers are now working to see if there is any relation between the woman and the men who killed her daughter. -- A container truck was traveling along the expressway connecting Ho Chi Minh City and southern Dong Nai Province on Saturday afternoon when it suddenly caught fire, resulting in hours-long congestion along the route. -- A 48-year-old woman from the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong was apprehended on Saturday morning for allegedly murdering a 71-year-old woman and her two grandchildren, who were three and four years old, over personal conflicts on Friday. -- The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in Can Tho City announced on Saturday that an African swine fever outbreak had been discovered in the city. Can Tho is the sixth locality in the Mekong Delta to be affected by the epidemic, following Hau Giang, Vinh Long, Dong Thap, Kien Giang, and An Giang. -- The T2 tollgate near the freshly-built Vam Cong Bridge, which connects Dong Thap Province and Can Tho City, was temporarily shut down on Saturday for the installment of traffic cameras to monitor vehicles, the Directorate of Roads confirmed. Drivers have refused to pay to get through the tollgate over the past days, saying it is misplaced. -- Four sixth-grade schoolgirls in the northern province of Lao Cai drowned while bathing along a local stream on Saturday afternoon, the local administration confirmed later the same day. Business -- The State Bank of Vietnam has proposed that operators of e-wallets in the country should require their customers provide their personal information and documents, while the monthly amount of transaction for each user should not exceed VND100 million (US$4,300). Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Four sixth-grade students from the northern Vietnamese province of Lao Cai drowned while bathing along a local stream on Saturday afternoon. The victims were among a group of five girls and one boy who headed to a stream in Quang Kim Commune, Bat Xat District at around 2:00 pm that day, Tran Van Ngoc, chairman of the communes administration, confirmed. The girls were all 12 years old, who studied in the same class at Quang Kim Middle School, while the boy is 10 years old. As they were having a swim in the stream, one girl showed signs of exhaustion, before her three classmates attempted to help. The effort ended in tragedy as the four girls eventually drowned. Local residents were able to find their bodies at around 2:45 pm the same day. According to Chairman Ngoc, the section of the stream was about 2.5 to three meters deep, while some spots are up to five meters deep. The part of the stream is being used by a local business, the official continued. All of the victims were good students. Their school year just ended on Friday, he added. Local authorities have provided financial support worth VND5 million (US$215) for each of the victims families. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Mitch Fifield will be appointed as Australias ambassador to the United Nations. Senator Fifield will sit on the backbench until a date yet to be determined. In the reshuffle announced by Prime Minister Scott Morrison Paul Fletcher, the former minister for families and social services, will become Minister for Communications, Cyber Safety and the Arts. Mitch Fifields exit follows 3 years in the communications portfolio and 15 years in Parliament. It was Mitchs call about what he wanted to do, I would have been very happy for Mitch to continue to serve in communications and the arts, the Prime Minister said. Network 10 welcomed the new appointment. Paul Fletcher is a great choice for the Communications portfolio. He is smart, pragmatic and has a deep understanding of our industry, it said in a statement. Paul is definitely the right person to be dealing with the big and complex issues that need to be sorted in this area. We would also like to congratulate Mitch Fifield on his new role as Australias representative to the United Nations. We thank him for all his hard work in Communications over the past few years. Fifields most significant move during his time as Communications Minister was the shake-up of media ownership rules. Pak-Afghan to hold high-level security talks ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Afghanistan are set to hold high-level security talks in Islamabad next week. Pakistan and Afghanistan have not held any bilateral meeting since November when officials of both countries had met in Islamabad. Afghanistan had stopped meetings with Pakistan under the Afghanistan Pakistan Action Plan for Peace and Solidarity (APAPPS) as it wanted a joint meeting of religious scholars in support of peace in Afghanistan. Kabul had long been asking Islamabad to issue a joint ulema declaration similar to the one issued by nearly 2000 Pakistani clerics last year against suicide bombings. Afghan President Ashraf Ghanis phone contact with Prime Minister Imran Khan on May 5 played a key role in normalization of relations. President Ghani had accepted Imran Khans invitation to visit Islamabad. Sources told Daily Times that Afghanistans National Security Adviser Hamdullah Mohib would lead a delegation in talks with top Pakistani security officials on Tuesday. Afghan Interior Minister Massoud Andarabi will also be a part of the delegation. The Afghan ministers will hold talks with Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa on anti-terror and security cooperation and peace process, sources said. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani is also likely to visit Pakistan in June, sources said, adding that the senior Afghan security officials would also discuss the presidents visit to Pakistan during their talks with Pakistani officials. Sources said Afghan ambassador to Pakistan Atif Mashal was playing an active role to bring relations with Pakistan on track and to revive high level contacts. Meanwhile, ambassador Mashal, who is also Presidents Special Representative to Pakistan, told Pakistan-based Afghans at a gathering in Islamabad that his country is hopeful Pakistan will play its role in peace in Afghanistan. He said the issue of refuges, trade and people-to-people contacts should not be affected by political and security problems between Pakistan and Afghanistan. He underlined the need for enhanced trade relations and economic engagement between the two countries. Pakistan will get more benefits due to trade relations. Afghanistan gives priority to trade ties with Pakistan, Mashal said. He lauded Pakistans efforts for Afghan reconciliation, but called for more steps for solution to the problem. He also urged the Taliban to end war so Afghans could live in peace. FILE PHOTO: An Airbus A318-100 airplane of Avianca Brazil flies over the Guanabara Bay as it prepares to land at Santos Dumont airport in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, April 3, 2019. REUTERS/Sergio Moraes/File Photo SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazil's civil aviation regulator ANAC said on Friday it had suspended the operations of carrier Avianca Brasil in the country, including all remaining flights, as a precautionary measure. "All the flights are suspended until the company proves it has the capacity to maintain operations safely," ANAC said in a statement. Avianca Brasil has filed for bankruptcy protection and lost most of its fleet after lessors obtained favourable court decisions to take aircraft back for lack of payments. It is still trying to reach a deal to sell remaining assets. The carrier was operating around 30 flights per day using the planes it had left. ANAC said, without elaborating, that it took the decision after receiving information regarding the operational safety of Avianca Brasil flights. Avianca Brasil's press office said the company would comment on the ANAC measure later on Friday. The regulator said passengers who had flights booked with Avianca Brasil in the coming days should not go to airports, and should instead contact the company about arranging refunds or flights from other carriers. (Reporting by Marcelo Teixeira; Editing by Tom Brown) Counting is under way across Ireland in the European election. Results are widely expected to see a surge for the Green Party, as well as possible disappointment for Sinn Fein. An exit poll has suggested the Green Party will top the poll in Dublin. Green Party leader Eamon Ryan, left, and candidate Ciaran Cuffe, right, at the count in Dublin (Niall Carson/PA) The increased support looks widespread, even accounting for a 4% margin of error, and could see an unexpected boost in Irelands two other constituencies, RTE said. Green Party leader Eamon Ryan said the surge is reflective of a green wave of thinking thats happening all over the world. Fine Gael leader Leo Varadkar interpreted the Green surge as a signal from the electorate that they want the Government to do more on climate action. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar chats with party colleagues and members of the public as counting continues in Dublin (Niall Carson/PA) But he added it has been a very good election for his own party. We have won the popular vote. And our vote is up in all three constituencies, he told RTE. Arriving at the Dublin European election count centre at Simmonscourt on Sunday, Fine Gael minister Regina Doherty said she hopes her party can secure a second seat in the Midland/North West constituency. Judging from the exit polls, I think the response to our candidates was very good, she said. Fine Gaels Regina Doherty speaking to the media as counting of votes continues in Dublin (Niall Carson/PA) We are in the hunt for a second seat in the Midlands/North West, and I think that is a genuine response not only to Mairead McGuinnesss representation but also the calibre of Maria Walsh. Earlier Sinn Fein president Mary-Lou McDonald has insisted her party still hopes to return four MEPs three in the Republic of Ireland and one in Northern Ireland. She said: We are in the hunt still for four European seats, these are tight contests. We dont have anything beyond the exit polls but I can say two things that we knew all along, that each of the contests will be very competitive and tight, and that we are still very much in the reckoning in all of those contests. Irish voters will elect 13 MEPs, however two will face an uncertain wait over when they can take their seats due to the Brexit delay. Story continues The Republic will receive two of Britains 27 seats when it leaves the EU. They are being redistributed among 14 member states. The UK is participating in the poll, with British MEPs set to attend the inaugural plenary session of the new parliament on July 2. As a result, those elected in last place in Irelands Dublin and South constituencies must wait to see when they can take their seats. Ballot boxes are opened and counting begins in at the RDS in Dublin (Niall Carson/PA) Local council elections were also held across Ireland on Friday, and counting in those races is continuing on Sunday. Meanwhile a landslide Yes vote to liberalise Irelands divorce laws was confirmed in the early hours of Sunday. Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan is now set to bring forward a Bill to amend Section 5 of the Family Law (Divorce) Act 1996 to reduce the minimum living apart period to two years during the previous three years. The referendum on divorce laws ended in a Yes vote (Niall Carson/PA) The European election count for Irelands three constituencies Dublin, South, and Midlands-North-West started on Sunday morning at centres in Dublin, Cork and Castlebar, Co Mayo. A Europe-wide embargo means the first results in the poll cannot be declared until 10pm. If previous elections are a guide, counting is likely to continue into Monday. The European and local government elections are the first electoral test for Irelands main parties since the inconclusive general election of 2016. 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 focused 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. By Padraic Halpin DUBLIN (Reuters) - Support for Ireland's Green Party surged in European and local elections, an exit poll showed on Saturday, putting it in line to take its first seats in the European Parliament for 20 years and make the biggest gains in county and city councils. The Greens were set to win as many as three of the 13 European seats up for grabs and increase their local vote to 9% from less than 2% five years ago, according to a RED C exit poll for RTE/TG4, a showing that would put them in contention for government formation if repeated at a parliamentary poll. After 90 of the 949 council seats were filled at 1000 GMT, early results suggested The Greens' performance was in line with the exit poll. In Dublin, some of their candidates topped polls by significant margins. "We cannot yet count our chickens, but the exit polls for the Irish Greens are extremely encouraging," Irish Green Party leader Eamon Ryan said in a statement issued by the European Greens. European Greens co-lead candidate Bas Eickhout talked of a "green wave" rolling on to Irish shores from the Netherlands, where GroenLinks' (GreenLeft's) share of the vote rose to 10.5%, according to an exit poll there. While Ireland does not hold a significant share of the 751-seat EU chamber - and will initially send 11 MEPs until Britain actually leaves the bloc - an ebb in support for mainstream parties is raising hopes among Europe's Greens that they could act as kingmakers. "It is those climate strikes, it is those young people standing up and saying we have to protect our future," Ryan told national broadcaster RTE. The exit poll showed that almost 90% of voters feel that the government needs to prioritise climate change more. Health Minister Simon Harris of the governing Fine Gael said the topic came up on the doorsteps more in the last six months than in all of his last eight years as a member of parliament, while Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said the government had got a very clear message from the public that they want it to do more. Story continues Fine Gael and the two main opposition parties Fianna Fail and Sinn Fein looked set to share most of the remaining European seats with results set to be announced from Sunday. In Varadkar's first electoral as Fine Gael leader, the exit poll put his party and fellow centre-right Fianna Fail level on 23%, both down slightly on 2014 when Fianna Fail emerged as the biggest party. That set it up to close the gap on its main rival in parliamentary elections two years later. The left wing Sinn Fein was set to fall to 12% from 15%, and while the estimates suggested a further slight fragmentation of party support, it showed continued strong backing for centrist political parties in the EU's most committed member state. "In a lot other European countries, the far right in particular is encroaching very significantly and that isn't the case here. In general terms, it looks like the centre parties have done reasonably well," said Theresa Reidy, a politics lecturer at University College Cork. (Additional reporting by Philip Blenkinsop in Brussels; editing by Helen Popper and G Crosse) Jewish people have reportedly been warned not to wear kippahs in Germany (Picture: Getty) Jews in Germany have been warned to avoid wearing traditional skullcaps in public in certain parts of the country, amid concerns over a rise in anti-Semitism. Anti-Semitism commissioner Felix Klein reportedly said he could not recommend to Jews that they wear the traditional kippah in some areas. According to the BBC, Mr Klein told the Funke newspaper group: "I cannot recommend to Jews that they wear the skullcap at all times everywhere in Germany." Germany has seen a rise in anti-Semitism (Picture: AP/Jens Meyer) His comments come amid concerns over a rise in anti-Semitism in Germany, with official figures showing hate crimes against Jews had increased by 10% in 2018 compared to the previous year. In his interview, Mr Klein suggested that the internet and social media could be contributing to a rise in anti-Semitism. READ MORE Tory leadership race: The runners and riders and where they stand on Brexit He called for police officers, teachers, and lawyers to receive training to clarify "what is allowed and what is not" when dealing with the issue. Claudia Vanoni, Germany's top legal expert on anti-Semitism, recently told AFP that the prejudice remained "deeply rooted" in German society. She said: "Anti-Semitism has always been here. But I think that recently, it has again become louder, more aggressive and flagrant. Sudan's main opposition group and supporter of the protest movement on Sunday rejected a call to stage a two-day general strike, in the first sign of a rift within the movement negotiating the launch of civilian rule.Talks between leaders of the umbrella protest movement, the Alliance for Freedom and Change, and army generals who seized power after ousting President Omar al-Bashir last month are deadlocked over who should lead a new governing body -- a civilian or a member of the military.In a bid to step up pressure on the generals, the protest movement has called for a general strike starting on Tuesday, but the National Umma Party, a key backer of the movement, has rejected the measure.Minutes after Umma's statement, another key member of the protest movement, the Sudanese Congress Party, said the strike will go ahead as planned.It said the strike was a new measure "to complete the mission of the revolution, which definitely will achieve its victory".The military toppled Bashir after months-long protests across Sudan led by the Alliance for Freedom and Change against his iron-fisted rule over three decades.But the generals who seized power have resisted calls from protesters and the international community for civilian rule. Sudan's main opposition group and supporter of the protest movement on Sunday rejected a call to stage a two-day general strike, in the first sign of a rift within the movement negotiating the launch of civilian rule. Talks between leaders of the umbrella protest movement, the Alliance for Freedom and Change, and army generals who seized power after ousting President Omar al-Bashir last month are deadlocked over who should lead a new governing body -- a civilian or a member of the military. In a bid to step up pressure on the generals, the protest movement has called for a general strike starting on Tuesday, but the National Umma Party, a key backer of the movement, has rejected the measure. Minutes after Umma's statement, another key member of the protest movement, the Sudanese Congress Party, said the strike will go ahead as planned. It said the strike was a new measure "to complete the mission of the revolution, which definitely will achieve its victory". The military toppled Bashir after months-long protests across Sudan led by the Alliance for Freedom and Change against his iron-fisted rule over three decades. But the generals who seized power have resisted calls from protesters and the international community for civilian rule. A European Parliament election that could reshape the political order across the continent is drawing to a close, with the anti-immigrant far right projected to win in France. Germanys centrist governing party is also heading for heavy losses. The four days of balloting across the 28 European Union countries were seen as a test of the influence of the nationalist, populist and hard-right movements that have swept the continent. Exit polls in France indicated that Marine Le Pens far-right National Rally party came out on top, in an astounding rebuke for French President Emmanuel Macron, who has made EU integration the heart of his presidency. Manfred Weber and German Chancellor Angela Merkel (Sven Hoppe/dpa/AP) Exit polls indicated the party of German Chancellor Angela Merkel also suffered major losses. With the stakes high, turnout across the bloc not counting the UK, which is quitting the EU was put a preliminary 51%, a 20-year high. An estimated 426 million people were eligible to vote in what was considered the most important European Parliament election in decades. Full results are expected overnight. The balloting, which began on Thursday, pitted supporters of closer unity against those who consider the EU a bureaucratic presence and want to return power to national governments and sharply restrict immigration. Italys Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, a major figure among the anti-migrant hard-line nationalists, said that he felt a change in the air and that a victory by his right-wing League party would change everything in Europe. Mainstream centre-right and centre-left parties were widely expected to hold on to power in the 751-seat legislature that sits in both Brussels and Strasbourg. But the nationalist and populist parties that are hostile to the EU were expected to make important gains that could complicate the workings of the Parliament. In the first major exit poll, in Germany the EUs biggest country, governing parties were predicted to lose ground while the Greens were set for big gains. Story continues The far right was also expected to pick up slightly more support. Germanys Manfred Weber, the candidate of the European Peoples Party, currently the biggest in the legislature, said in Berlin that the elections appeared to have weakened the political centre. He said it is most necessary for the forces that believe in this Europe, that want to lead this Europe to a good future, that have ambitions for this Europe to work together. In France, Ms Le Pens National Rally party said the expected result was a clear punishment for Mr Macron and the EU itself. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban smiles before casting his vote (Szilard Koszticsak/MTI via AP) Hungarys increasingly authoritarian prime minister Viktor Orban, a possible ally of Mr Salvini, said he hopes the election will bring a shift toward political parties that want to stop migration. The migration issue will reorganise the political spectrum in the European Union, he said. The EU and its Parliament set trade policy on the continent, regulate agriculture, oversee antitrust enforcement and set monetary policy for 19 of the 28 nations sharing the euro currency. Other countries voting on Sunday included Italy, Poland, Portugal, Denmark, Sweden, Austria, Belgium and Lithuania. An Iraqi court has sentenced three French citizens to death for joining the the Islamic State (IS) armed group, court officials have said. They are the first IS members from France to be handed capital punishment.Kevin Gonot, Leonard Lopez and Sali Machou were among 13 French nationals captured by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces in Syria and transferred to Iraq for trial.The official, who requested anonymity because he was not authorised to speak with media, said the men have 30 days to appeal.Iraq declared victory over the IS caliphate in late 2017 and began trying foreigners accused of joining the group in early 2018. Its prisons hold thousands of jihadists deported from Syria.This month, Iraqs judiciary said it had tried and sentenced more than 500 suspected IS members so far. Some have been sentenced to life in prison and others to death, though no foreign IS members have yet been executed.Rights groups including Human Rights Watch have criticised the anti-terror trials, saying convictions are often based on circumstantial evidence or confessions obtained through torture.Twelve French nationals on trialThe three men sentenced on Sunday are among 12 French nationals on trial under Iraqs counterterrorism law, which can issue the death penalty to anyone deemed to have joined a terrorist group, even if they were not explicitly fighting.Gonot was arrested in Syria with his mother, wife and half-brother. A French court also sentenced him in absentia to nine years in prison, according to the French Terrorism Analysis Centre.Lopez travelled with his wife and two children from Paris to IS-held Mosul in northern Iraq before entering Syria, according to French investigators.Machou was a member of a brigade of European fighters that carries out attacks in Iraq and Syria and planned others in Paris and Brussels, according to US officials.One French national was released after it was found he was in Syria to support the Yazidi religious minority, which was targeted by a brutal IS campaign.Capital punishment rises in IraqBaghdad has offered to try all of the approximately 1,000 foreign fighters in SDF custody in exchange for millions of dollars. Iraq has also tried thousands of its own nationals for joining the IS.Amnesty International reported in April the country was one of the top five executioner nations in the world.The number of death sentences issues by Iraqi courts has more than quadrupled between 2017 and 2018, to at least 271.But Amnesty said 52 executions were carried out in 2018, down from 125 the year before.(with wires) An Iraqi court has sentenced three French citizens to death for joining the the Islamic State (IS) armed group, court officials have said. They are the first IS members from France to be handed capital punishment. Kevin Gonot, Leonard Lopez and Sali Machou were among 13 French nationals captured by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces in Syria and transferred to Iraq for trial. The official, who requested anonymity because he was not authorised to speak with media, said the men have 30 days to appeal. Iraq declared victory over the IS caliphate in late 2017 and began trying foreigners accused of joining the group in early 2018. Its prisons hold thousands of jihadists deported from Syria. This month, Iraqs judiciary said it had tried and sentenced more than 500 suspected IS members so far. Some have been sentenced to life in prison and others to death, though no foreign IS members have yet been executed. Rights groups including Human Rights Watch have criticised the anti-terror trials, saying convictions are often based on circumstantial evidence or confessions obtained through torture. Twelve French nationals on trial The three men sentenced on Sunday are among 12 French nationals on trial under Iraqs counterterrorism law, which can issue the death penalty to anyone deemed to have joined a terrorist group, even if they were not explicitly fighting. Gonot was arrested in Syria with his mother, wife and half-brother. A French court also sentenced him in absentia to nine years in prison, according to the French Terrorism Analysis Centre. Lopez travelled with his wife and two children from Paris to IS-held Mosul in northern Iraq before entering Syria, according to French investigators. Machou was a member of a brigade of European fighters that carries out attacks in Iraq and Syria and planned others in Paris and Brussels, according to US officials. One French national was released after it was found he was in Syria to support the Yazidi religious minority, which was targeted by a brutal IS campaign. Story continues Capital punishment rises in Iraq Baghdad has offered to try all of the approximately 1,000 foreign fighters in SDF custody in exchange for millions of dollars. Iraq has also tried thousands of its own nationals for joining the IS. Amnesty International reported in April the country was one of the top five executioner nations in the world. The number of death sentences issues by Iraqi courts has more than quadrupled between 2017 and 2018, to at least 271. But Amnesty said 52 executions were carried out in 2018, down from 125 the year before. (with wires) Police to make foolproof security measures on Youm-e-Ali (RA): Syed Murad Ali Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Saturday directed police to make foolproof security measures on Youm-e-Ali (RA) being observed on Monday. He issued the directives while chairing a high-level meeting on law and order held at CM House in Karachi on Saturday. Advisor to Chief Minister for Information Murtaza Aahab, the Sindh chief secretary, the Sindh Rangers DG, Sindh Police IG, the Home secretary and other officials attended the meeting. We are entering into the last 10 days of holy month of Ramazan. Eid shopping is at its peak during these days with bazaars packed with people. Therefore, strict security measures are required to be take to maintain law and order, he said. He said surveillance in markets should be increased. The chief minister directed officials to make better security arrangements for markets. The Sindh IG informed the meeting that a special security plan should be chalked out for Karachi city. Karachi Police Additional IG Dr Ameer Shaikh informed the meeting that security would be provided to 1,306 Imam Bargahs, 820 majalisis and 330 mourning processions during Youm-e-Ali (RA). Meanwhile Security arrangements have been tightened across the city ahead of Youm-e-Ali procession on the 21st of Ramzan. Roadblocks and containers have been set up on Karachis MA Jinnah Road, Empress Market, Saddar and Preedy Street. Police and Rangers also conducted search operations at Cantt Station, Rizvia Society, Jamshed Quarters, Lasbela and Patel Para neighbourhoods of the metropolis. Youm-e-Ali is observed on the 21st of Ramzan, the day is marked with large processions across the country commemorating the martyrdom of Hazrat Ali (RA). A high level meeting of paramilitary force presided over by Director General Sindh Rangers Maj Gen Umar Ahmed Bukhari on Tuesday reviewed security plan for Youm-e-Ali (RA). The forum decided to ensure security of majalis, mourning processions and sensitive installations. Three people have been killed at a Catholic church in the north of Burkina Faso in the latest in a series of attacks on Christian targets in the region, a security source has told AFP."Heavily armed individuals attacked the church... as the faithful were celebrating Sunday mass" in the town of Toulfe, the source said, adding that three people were killed.Last week gunmen killed four Catholics in a religious procession, the day after a priest and five parishioners were murdered at mass.Also last week, French special forces freed four foreign hostages in the former French colony during an overnight raid that cost the lives of two soldiers.Burkina Faso's population is around two-thirds Muslim and one-third Christian.The semi-desert country has suffered from increasingly frequent and deadly attacks attributed to a number of jihadist groups, including the Ansarul Islam group, the Group to Support Islam and Muslims (GSIM) and Islamic State in the Greater Sahara.The raids began in 2015 in the north before targeting the capital Ouagadougou and other regions, notably in the east.Nearly 400 people have been killed since 2015 mainly in hit-and-run raids according to an AFP tally.Jihadist groups target Christian clerics as well as Muslim ones they do not consider sufficiently radical in a country where traditionally both religions have co-existed peaceably.France has deployed 4,500 troops in Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Chad in a mission codenamed Barkhane to help local forces flush out jihadists.(with AFP) Three people have been killed at a Catholic church in the north of Burkina Faso in the latest in a series of attacks on Christian targets in the region, a security source has told AFP. "Heavily armed individuals attacked the church... as the faithful were celebrating Sunday mass" in the town of Toulfe, the source said, adding that three people were killed. Last week gunmen killed four Catholics in a religious procession, the day after a priest and five parishioners were murdered at mass. Also last week, French special forces freed four foreign hostages in the former French colony during an overnight raid that cost the lives of two soldiers. Burkina Faso's population is around two-thirds Muslim and one-third Christian. The semi-desert country has suffered from increasingly frequent and deadly attacks attributed to a number of jihadist groups, including the Ansarul Islam group, the Group to Support Islam and Muslims (GSIM) and Islamic State in the Greater Sahara. The raids began in 2015 in the north before targeting the capital Ouagadougou and other regions, notably in the east. Nearly 400 people have been killed since 2015 mainly in hit-and-run raids according to an AFP tally. Jihadist groups target Christian clerics as well as Muslim ones they do not consider sufficiently radical in a country where traditionally both religions have co-existed peaceably. France has deployed 4,500 troops in Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Chad in a mission codenamed Barkhane to help local forces flush out jihadists. (with AFP) Photo credit: The Body Shop From Good Housekeeping Are spots or oily skin causing you problems? The Body Shop has come to your rescue. Its Himalayan Charcoal Purifying Glow Mask has been dubbed a 'veritable miracle' by users and one pot sells every 15 seconds around the world. The mask works to unclog pores, fight bacteria that cause spots, mop up excess oil, and refine the appearance of pores for healthier-looking skin. 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The hand-harvested leaves are gently steam-distilled within 12 hours of harvest for an exceptionally high-quality, purifying essential oil. And, of course, it's vegan-friendly and cruelty-free. We're sold! ('You Might Also Like',) Environmentalists have reacted in outrage at the decision of the Botswana government to lift the ban on elephant hunting. The decision comes from the nation's newly elected president, Mokgweetsi Masisi, and the Ministry of Environment. It is a sharp detour from former President Ian Khama's policies which banned the hunting of elephants back in 2014 due to population decline. Since then, the country's elephant numbers have grown to 130,000, which is more than anywhere else in Africa. Conservationists around the world have taken to social media to condemn the move and put pressure on the authorities in Botswana to reconsider. President Masisi's culling initiative In May, President Masisi came under fire for gifting stools made from elephant feet to three African leaders from Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The four countries have called for a lift on the ivory ban and have been joined by South Africa in this movement. In a press release, Masisi referred to elephants as predators and recommended a regular culling of the species. In addition, he sought to establish an elephant-meat canning industry for pet food and other products. This idea was rejected due to the population status of elephants across the continent. International Backlash Paula Kahumbu, CEO of WildlifeDirect in Kenya, called this move "Horrific beyond imagination." She and other Conservation groups, including the German organization Pro wildlife, have taken to social media to condemn trophy hunting as archaic, unethical, and cruel. They have called for an end to the bloody sport to help preserve the future of African elephants. Others, including the U.S.-based Safari Club International, are celebrating the return of elephant hunting. The government of Botswana announced on Thursday that 400 licenses will be granted each year, and that several migratory routes for wildlife, including an antelope route into South Africa, will be closed. Discuss this news on Eunomia The reason behind these closures is that the government has labeled the routes as non-beneficial. Dwindling numbers According to National Geographic, poachers were responsible for killing approximately 100,000 elephants between 2010 and 2012. In just one decade, Central Africa lost 64 percent of its elephant population to trophy hunting. In September 2018, 87 carcasses were discovered near a protected sanctuary in Botswana. They had all been killed for their tusks. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has the African elephant on a "red list" of animals that are nearing extinction. Despite the dwindling population, Zimbabwe claims to have sold 100 elephants to China and Dubai over the last six years for approximately $2.7 million. The country is also said to have a stockpile of ivory that is worth over $300 million. Once putting high hopes on the Vietnamese retail market, described as very promising with 90 million consumers, many retailers have had to leave the country. Auchan Retail, the French supermarket chain, has announced a decision to sell 18 supermarkets in Vietnam. The market brought revenue of 45 million euros, or $50.4 million last year, and it has been incurring a loss. Auchan entered Vietnam in 2015 and now has 18 supermarkets in Hanoi, HCMC and Tay Ninh province. In its 2018 annual finance report, Vietnam was mentioned as one of the two markets which still could not bring a profit. The leading retail chain in France said it still could not find a suitable business model for the market and has been incurring losses here. A representative of Auchan has confirmed Auchan is negotiating with retailers in Vietnam on the sale of the 18 supermarkets. Once the sale is completed, it will officially leave. Once putting high hopes on the Vietnamese retail market, described as very promising with 90 million consumers, many retailers have had to leave the country. Prior to that, Parkson announced the closure of one of the last Parkson stores in Vietnam. Belonging to Parkson Holdings Berhard (PHB), a subsidiary of Lion group, Parkson joined the Vietnamese market early in 2005, and became one of the first retail premises developers. In the first years in Vietnam, the Malaysian retailer saw great potential here and drew up a very ambitious plan on expanding its business. However, it step by step lost the race for market share. Since 2014, Parkson has stopped pouring money into its network in Vietnam. In the next years, it shut down department stores because of unsatisfactory business results. Parksons report shows that its business in Vietnam was the worst among its Southeast Asian markets. The Malaysian retailer commented that the Vietnamese retail market is still challenging as more and more shopping malls appear. Five years ago, Metro Cash & Carry, which was considered the biggest modern wholesale supermarket chains, was transferred to Thai TCC Group after many years of taking losses Metro joined the Vietnamese market in 2002, when Vietnamese began getting used to the model. However, it had to leave after it developed 19 shopping centers in 14 cities/provinces, five transit storehouses, and employed 3,600 workers. While the revenue was on the rise, the reported profit was poor. A report from the taxation agency released in 2013 showed that Metro Cash & Carry topped the list of unprofitable foreign-invested enterprises. During the 12 years of operation in Vietnam, 2010 was the only year Metro Cash & Carry reported profit, VND116 billion. Meanwhile, it reported losses for the remaining years, from VND89 billion to VND160 billion. RELATED NEWS Billions of dollars being poured into VNs fast-growing retail market Who is the most profitable retailer? Thanh Lich Full steam ahead for expressway work International bidding for the eastern cluster of the North-South Expressway officially opens this month, with many new supporting policies available to push the interests of investors. At last weeks largest-ever conference to urge private funding across eight sections of the key national project under the public-private partnership (PPP) model, Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Nhat said, The bidding will last until March 2020. We encourage domestic and foreign investors to join these sections, with committed favourable conditions for interested investors. The eastern cluster of the North-South expressway, costing VND118.7 trillion ($5.16 billion), covers 11 sections. These include three state-invested sections connecting Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City via key economic zones, industrial parks, border gates, and seaports. The state is contributing around VND55 trillion ($2.39 billion) for the venture. About 300 representatives from the National Assembly, agencies, cities, and provinces related to the venture attended the conference. Besides, domestic businesses and foreign investors from South Korea, Japan, China, Spain, the UK, France, and Singapore also took part, discussing issues such as exchange rates, site clearance, guarantee mechanisms, revenue guarantees, and technology solutions. According to the Ministry of Transport, unlike other PPP projects in the sector, there are some advantages and supporting policies for financiers in the expressway scheme. Nhat said that the country takes responsibility for project site clearance and commits to hand over cleared land to those who join the eight PPP sections. In regards to government guarantees, at present the country is yet to guarantee minimum revenues, which is proving to be a thorny issue. A guarantee of minimum revenue was applied in South Korea in the past, but has since been put to a halt. We are working on the draft law on PPP, in which government guarantees are lined up for discussion, said a representative from the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI). The draft law on PPP will be available on the MPIs website in the upcoming days, and will seek comments from the business community. Investors are being encouraged to apply new environmentally friendly technology solutions in construction cost reductions, in order to gain profit and increase operational efficiency. Govt proposes maintaining fuel price stabilization fund A woman waits for her motorcycle to be refilled at a gas station in HCMC in this file photo. The Government has proposed maintaining the fuel price stabilization fund. The Government has proposed maintaining the fuel price stabilization fund as it has helped local fuel prices stay at a lower growth rate than global prices. According to a report on fuel price management, sent by the Government to the National Assembly, local fuel prices have risen by 17.2%-27.1% since early this year, lower than the global rates of 30.6%-46.2%. After nine adjustments, the fuel price was revised upward four times by a total of VND4,416 per liter and downward once by VND515 per liter, and was kept stable in four adjustments. Earlier, the Vietnam Petroleum Association had proposed disbanding the fuel price stabilization fund as it brings no benefits to either consumers or fuel traders. According to the association, the use of the fund has left a gap between domestic and global fuel prices. Therefore, the funds disbandment will help set the domestic fuel price aligned with global price movements. However, the Government argued that fuels are among products and services listed in the price stabilization program in line with the 2013 Pricing Law. Therefore, they are under the management of the State. In addition, if the fuel price stabilization fund is disbanded, the Government will have no tool to regulate the fuel price to safeguard the interests of consumers, enterprises and the State. Got It launches first on-demand Expert Service Cloud for analytics Got It, an on-demand expert platform and artificial intelligence (AI) innovator, launched Querychat for cloud data warehouses, starting with Google BigQuery, on May 22. The first on-demand Expert Service Cloud for analytics, Querychat creates a scalable and elastic pool of vetted analytics experts to add business intelligence (BI) team capacity with usage-based pricing, and automatically delivers deep learning training data into a natural language processing (NLP) AI system. Analytics tools and cloud data warehouses are extremely sophisticated products, said Mr. Peter Relan, Chairman and CEO of Got It. We help users get ten times more value from these products by empowering them to collaborate with our Querychat analytics experts anytime, just as we do for Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets users with Excelchat. Our on-demand platform with an analytics Expert Service Cloud now also gives line-of-business users and BI teams access to vetted analytics experts within 30 seconds for a 20-minute chat messaging workflow to help them create the right query or dashboard. He added that BI teams can now scale easily to handle unlimited requests, via a low-cost, usage-based pricing model. Plus, we are solving the single biggest problem in machine learning: quickly getting the training data needed to build and train a company schema-specific AI model, he said. Got It takes advantage of the advanced, full-sentence NLP in Google BERT, which is already pre-trained on a massive English corpus of 3.5 billion words. Leveraging BERT transfer learning for NLP and the data exhaust from user-expert chat conversations to train Got Its deep learning AI model, Querychat breaks the constraints of keyword search-based, auto-complete Q&A available today. Either from the Querychat TrueNLP AI or an on-demand Querychat expert, BI teams using columnar data warehouses in the cloud now have a way to guarantee answers to questions instantly, empowering marketing, operations, business, and product managers to ask ad-hoc questions in plain English sentences. By only providing access to the data warehouse schema and not relinquishing control of or access to the data, companies are able to ensure data privacy while avoiding the long installation and configuration time issues of existing solutions. BI teams also get a workflow to verify Querychat results. Currently, Querychat supports Google BigQuery cloud data warehouses carrying Google Analytics and Salesforce CRM data. Got It plans to extend Querychat support to the Azure Cloud Data Warehouse and other environments in 2019. Delivering product usage and engagement help for software products rather than traditional technical support, Got It has built the worlds largest on-demand expert service cloud with over 10,000 vetted, trusted experts from more than 79 countries and territories and hosted millions of chat messaging sessions already on the Got It Platform for products like Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, and columnar data warehouses. Spun out from Mr. Relans YouWeb incubator and backed by the Capricorn Investment Group and Kinzon Capital, Got It is headquartered in Silicon Valley with an R&D group in Vietnam. Luxstay raises $4.5mn in Bridge round Vietnamese home-sharing platform Luxstay has announced the completion of a Bridge fund-raising round with the participation of two new investors from South Korea - GS Home Shopping (GS Shop) and Bon Angels - worth $4.5 million. This is one of the largest early stage funding rounds for a Vietnamese tech startup. Receiving capital from well-known international investors is an important step for Luxstay to fulfill its ambitions as well as expand its scope to other regions in the future. Prior to this round, Luxstay had raised a total of some $6 million from CyberAgent Ventures, Genesia Ventures, and Nextrans, and two Vietnamese venture capital firms - ESP Capital and Founders Capital. Luxstay is continuing to work with financial investors and strategic partners to deploy the next fund-raising round of Series A capital calls with a scale of $15-20 million. This is expected to be completed this year. Launched in 2017, Luxstay focuses on developing domestic users and integrating with local partners in countries and territories with many tourists visiting Vietnam, such as South Korea and Japan. This also differentiates Luxstay from Airbnb, which is a global platform that does not have a focus on the Vietnamese market. Luxstay is recording rapid growth, aiming at annual turnover of over $300 million by 2023 and a market share of about 30 per cent. After Grabs victory over Uber in Southeast Asia, many analysts said that Luxstay has a lot of potential to dominate the market in the most dynamic and developing region in the world. Under the GS Corporation, one of the largest multidisciplinary investment groups in South Korea, GS Shop is currently the leading company in the country in the field of home shopping. It has also made its first steps into Vietnam, with the appearance of GS25. Meanwhile, Bon Angels is known as a successful venture capital fund accompanying a series of famous South Korean startups like Woowa Brothers, Daily Hotels, and My Real Trip. JLL: Smart townships finding favor Smart townships are gaining significant popularity that has directly led to a series of changes in Vietnams property market, according to a JLL report released on May 24. The report noted that smart townships launched by developers have achieved high sale rates. Since the first launch in 2016, Hanois property market has welcomed more than 10,000 smart units with sale rates of approximately 70 per cent on average. As a pioneer of this revolution, local property developer the Sunshine Group has built a series of smart homes and smart living ecosystems by applying integrated smart technology into their products. This features the Sunshine Cab App, similar to the Grab system, for residents, the Smart Home App, and Sunshine Mart, which offers cashless payments through the Sunshine Online service. The overall aim is to provide home-owners with an intelligent and high-tech urban complex that focuses on transportation, shopping, and relaxation services. Meanwhile, Vingroup upgraded their 280-ha project in the west of Hanoi into a dynamic smart township called Vinhomes Smart City in early April. The project uses artificial intelligence (AI) technology with facial recognition features and a single command center to provide a full suite of information services for occupants, from air quality monitoring to environmental pollution warnings. According to the report, Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi have among the youngest, most tech-savvy populations globally. The countrys population is young, with 70 per cent of people being below the age of 35, with a 98.5 per cent literacy rate among those aged 15 to 35. Developers of new residential projects are leveraging this trend and building smart townships to attract young buyers. In the time to come, projects such as BRG Smart City in Hanoi, Ecopark Smart City in northern Hung Yen province, Dragon Smart City in Da Nang, and Thu Thiem Eco Smart City in Ho Chi Minh City are expected to provide a range of new technological features such as smart landscape planning with advanced IT infrastructure to build a smart and eco-friendly neighborhood where residents can enjoy integrated services within a walkable distance. However, JLL also noted while technology could be a good option for investors and individual buyers, the latter should be aware that different developers are providing different technology solutions to varying degrees. Furthermore, technology that is not pragmatic and does not enhance efficiency or livability for users may not take off. It concluded that the adoption of new technology platforms generates new and more easily-accessible market data, which is key for overall real estate transparency in Vietnam. KOICA to boost ODA in ASEAN The Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) has said it will more than double the official development assistance (ODA) fund for six ASEAN members in 2023 to respond to the South Korean Governments foreign policy towards the region. The declaration was made at the Announcement ceremony of the plan to implement official development assistance (ODA) capital under KOICAs New South policy held on May 17 in Hue. Attending the ceremony were Mrs. Lee Mi Kyung, Chairman of KOICA, and national directors of KOICA representative offices in the ASEAN countries of Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and East Timor. KOICA has been developing plans to implement ODA projects that respond to the New South policy and will cement the plan through several meetings to be held after the announcement ceremony. On behalf of the national directors of KOICA offices in ASEAN countries, Mr. Kim Jin Oh, National Director of the KOICA Vietnam Office, presented a speech on Messages and visions of ODA implementation under South Koreas New South policy, one of the ODA implementation plans to contribute to the countrys strategy of building a common community in the future between South Korea and ASEAN countries based on human values, peace, prosperity, and global environmental protection. KOICA will make efforts to help ASEAN countries achieve the UNs Millennium Development Goals by increasing the size of ODA programs in ASEAN by 20 per cent each year, while promoting integration and the efficiency of ODA programs through coordination with domestic and foreign partners. Specifically, KOICA will increase ODA funds for Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, and the Philippines from 87 billion won to 180.4 billion won (about $151 million) by 2023. The plan is in line with the orientation of KOICA in implementing ODA programs for these countries, including support for education, rural development, information communications technology (ICT), urban development, and transportation. It is also in line with the common vision of ASEAN countries and the South Korean Governments strategy of building a common community in the future between South Korea and ASEAN. At the same time, it is in line with the Millennium Development Goals, which aim to end poverty, fight inequality and injustice, and deal with climate change. KOICA will contribute efforts to effectively implement the New South policy to effectively support ODA and realize the building of a friendly community between South Korea and ASEAN countries in the future, Mrs. Lee Mi Kyung said. KPMG accompanies Vietnamese SMEs in Economy 4.0 KPMG NEXT, one of the CSR programmes of KPMG in Vietnam, aims to support small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in developing and taking their business to the next level, not only in the region but also in the world. 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. 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. Egroup teams up with South Korean partner Minischool In a bid to create a modern education ecosystem in Vietnam and gradually break into promising regional markets, privately-held education firm Egroup has just inked an agreement to acquire a 15 per cent stake in Minischool in South Korea. The South Korean firm, Minischool, is specialised in establishing modern education platforms that allow unlimited connections between qualified lecturers and learners around the globe. The deal is expected to promote the training of English, mathematics, and logical thinking not only to high-paying learners (one-on-one study sessions), but also to regular classes. This is the first outbound investment venture of Egroup and it allows the company to take part in Minischools Board of Management. Egroup chairman Nguyen Ngoc Thuy shared that Minischool's field of investment and human resources were the top factors in the companys decision for partnership. Minischools leaders, especially founder Uk Neo Jung who used to be the tech leader of Kakao Corporation the owner of South Koreas leading messaging app Kakao Talk have a good tech mindset, a thorough knowledge of what customers want, and share Egroup's aspiration to bring users the best experience and create modern education platforms. This explains why Egroup has chosen to accompany Minischools journey on product development, while simultaneously promoting products to other Southeast Asian and several European markets. The Minischool programmes eminent advantage is the combination of online and offline formats, allowing learners to interact with lecturers through innovative cartoon games, creating an intriguing learning environment to promote interaction, creative thinking, and confidence in studying. In the first stage, the aim is to support children from 4 to 12 years to playfully approach the English language and knowledge at an early age. Egroup chairman Nguyen Ngoc Thuy said that if a country had many people who are masters of knowledge and good at English, they could provide the fundament to boost individual and business values as well as make positive contributions to societys development. Through the co-operation deal, Egroup and Minischool will jointly build up and develop technology platforms on training that are best suited to Vietnamese learners and the two companies target markets. Egroups managing director Vu My Lan shared that albeit Industry 4.0 and disruptive technology are the buzzwords these days in Vietnam, domestic firms are mostly at the study phase of new technologies or are importing products and services to Vietnam to learn about them. Through the co-operation deal, Egroup and Minischool will jointly build up and develop technology platforms on training that are best suited to Vietnamese learners and the two companies target markets. Egroup is serving a wide portfolio of more than 70,000 learners at its Apax English centre, an important platform to promote their new products in the market. Since 2016 when Egroup began a strategic co-operation with Chung Dahm, the largest English training group in South Korea, the group has developed co-operative ties with leading education and technology groups in the country, such as SK Telecom, Visang, or Rohoboth. Yearning to create a state-of-the art education ecosystem leveraging modern technologies and the achievements the company posted in recent years, Egroup has been put on the radar of quite a few major Korean players. In the upcoming week, the company is slated to sign a co-operative deal with tech giant Samsung Group, striving to better serve the customers and significantly broaden the development space for both sides in the near future. Egroup owns a 70 per cent stake in Apax Holdings Investment JSC (IBC), a Vietnamese listed company. KVision launches hackathon to co-innovate with Vietnamese startups The event targets startups with products or ideas to tackle finance and business challenges facing the Vietnamese and ASEAN economies. Bringing together KBanks expertise in regional banking, $245 million of funding from KVision, local know-how of VIISA, and innovative ideas from local startups, the aim is to drive synergies that will spur cutting-edge solutions that create value and drive growth in Vietnam and the wider region. Kasikorn Vision (KVision), an investment holding company under Kasikornbank Pcl. in Thailand (KBank), has joined hands with Vietnam Innovative Startup Accelerator (VIISA), a leading accelerator in Vietnam, and UP Co-Working Space, to hold a three-day hackathon on June 28-30, 2019. Chat Luangarpa, first senior vice president of KBank, said that Vietnam has emerged as one of the ASEANs most vibrant startup markets. Vietnam is now one of the most active VC markets in the region, and with a fast-growing economy, a pool of youthful tech talent, and strong government support, it has all the key ingredients for rapid innovation growth. Not only that, the countrys young, change-oriented consumer market makes Vietnam a perfect place for startups to thrive. KVision, aiming to drive innovative growth in the region, sees the potential for Vietnamese startups to not only grow in the local market but also capture opportunities across the ASEAN. Supported by KBanks presence in the region, the hackathon is aimed at equipping Vietnamese startups with the right tools to bring them to the next level of growth in the regional stage. The programme will bring seasoned mentors from the local and global startup community, including Akamai, Sendo, and other leading accelerators, as well as business veterans such as UniBrands. Through a series of mentoring and sharing sessions, startups will receive real-world advice, hands-on supervision, and invaluable networking to help them step up their game in all aspects. From design thinking to pitching, the end goal is to inspire and drive startups to come up with real solutions to materialise their business, and form real connections to make their business happen. On top of that, startups with potential will have the opportunity to gain financial backing from investors from Vietnam and overseas, as well as fast-track entry to a range of other startup programmes. At the heart of this programme lies the idea of co-innovation. Duc Tran, CEO of VIISA, said that the time for partnerships is now. Gone is the time when brick-and-mortar corporations and startups could simply view each other as competitors; partnerships between the two can bring a synergy effect and combination of different strengths to accelerate growth, allowing startups to scale in a time of increasing competition while also allowing corporations to transform in the digital age. Chat Luangarpa added that this is now also one of KBanks key strategies. The establishment of KVision in Vietnam as well as other countries with outstanding technology sectors, including China, Israel, and Indonesia, is in order to scout innovative startups to co-launch new services in the regions underserved and quickly evolving markets. KVision looks to play an active role in linking startup ecosystems in the ASEAN. Earlier this month, KVision signed a co-operation agreement with the Vietnamese governments Business Startup Support Centre (BSSC) to support Thai startups entry into the Vietnamese market. KBank first entered Vietnam through the launch of its Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City representative offices in 2015. To continue its focus on Vietnam, KBank plans to upgrade its Ho Chi Minh City representative office to its first branch in Vietnam, once the license is granted. Alongside setting up physical branches, KBank also looks to bring in digital solutions, including partnerships with startups to address financial service gaps and to drive disruption in the region. KVision will hold the three-day KVision x VIISA Hackathon: Building Co-Innovation hackathon at UP Co-Working Space, Ho Chi Minh City, June 28-30, 2019. The programme is opened to both startups with business ideas and those with existing products. Prizes include $2,000 for the ideation track winner, $5,000 for the acceleration track winner, as well as fast track guarantees to various startup programmes and perks from hackathon partners. For more information on qualifications and application methods, visit kvisionhack2019.devpost.com. Applications will be open until June 15, 2019. YouTube terminates Yeah1 business relationship indefinitely YouTube has terminated its content services hosting agreement (CSHA) with Vietnamese digital media giant Yeah1 Group and its subsidiaries indefinitely. An announcement by Yeah1 Group (stock code: YEG) on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange (HoSE) Thursday said YouTube has released all media channels related to Yeah1 and its subsidiaries from CHSAs starting May 22. A CHSA is the license for a partner media company, in this case Yeah1, to earn from third-party businesses that run ads on channels on the video streaming platform. "Yeah1's multi-channel network (MCN) rights will also be stopped indefinitely. The restoration of these rights may be reviewed in the future," YouTube informed Yeah1, adding that they will not limit "discussion opportunities" in the future. Prior to this announcement, Yeah1 had been YouTubes third largest MCN partner in the world, with 6.9 billion monthly views, according to Bloomberg. Youtube had announced the move on March 4 after Thailands SpringMe. Ltd., in which the Vietnamese company owns almost 17 percent, was involved in an incident that violated YouTubes policies. In a circular sent to shareholders, Yeah1 said it will cooperate with YouTube and its partners to facilitate the transition. It will continue to maintain other business lines and strategic partnerships, and focus on producing, managing, and generating revenue from content on other online platforms. YEG stocks Thursday morning dropped by 7 percent to VND100,500 ($4.29) in reaction to the news, with 30,000 unmatched sell orders at the end of the morning session. Founded in 2006, Yeah1 is Vietnam's largest MCN ecosystem, operating TV channels, movie studios, YouTube networks, and digital news. It was also the first media company to go public, listing on HOSE last June. FPT continues to report solid performance FPT Corporation has reported a 22.6 per cent year-on-year increase in profit before tax and 19.4 per cent increase in revenues in the first four months of the year. They were respectively VND1.34 trillion (US$57.4 million) and VND7.79 trillion ($333.29 million). The profit after tax (PAT) and PAT attributable to parent companys shareholders were VND1.1 trillion and VND887 billion, up 21.2 per cent and 22.3 per cent over a year. Earnings per share were up 21.7 per cent annually at VND1,446. A key growth driver, the technology sector recorded revenues and profit before tax of VND4.18 trillion and VND536 billion, up 22 per cent and 45.3 per cent. The software outsourcing segment had revenues of VND3.13 trillion, up 38.1 per cent. Its profit before tax was VND469 billion, up 39.6 per cent. The telecom segments revenues and profit before tax were VND3.18 trillion and VND504 billion, up 17.6 per cent and 10.8 per cent. Overseas revenues were over VND3.3 trillion, up 35.7 per cent and profit before tax was VND513 billion, up 33.8 per cent. Programme on sustainable enterprises kicks off A programme that evaluates and identifies sustainable enterprises in Viet Nam 2019 was launched on Tuesday in Ha Noi by the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and Viet Nam Business Council for Sustainable Development (VBCSD). The programme, now in its fourth year, promotes business breakthroughs that meet the sustainable development goals of the country, according to VCCI. It also aims to strengthen exchange and cooperation in sustainable development among businesses, and raise awareness about the importance and benefits of this kind of development. Nguyen Quang Vinh, VCCI general secretary and VBCSD vice chairman, said the 2019 version of the corporate sustainable index (CSI) includes additional content, making it a useful handbook for all corporate managers and investors. The index offers new companies basic suggestions on how to develop a sustainable development strategy, as well as evaluation criteria for companies that are already implementing sustainable development, he said. The CSI also provides a reliable and complete report on the potential of businesses for investors. This year, the number of criteria in the index has been reduced from 131 to 98, of which 90 per cent are legal compliance criteria. The reduction has made the index more scientific, with more updated international rules and domestic regulations, suited for many purposes, Vinh said. Participation in this prestigious national programme will help local businesses improve their competitiveness. Investors and reputable international partners are especially interested in these kinds of companies, because they prefer suppliers that have adopted a sustainable development strategy. The programme is receiving applications until August 31. A ceremony to announce the sustainable enterprises in 2019 will be held in Ha Noi in November. Dairy industry to boost exports Vinamilk imports cows from New Zealand to serve its milk production for local consumption and exports. Viet Nams dairy makers are accessing more opportunities to increase exports, but companies need to enhance their competitiveness in foreign markets and develop a concentrated production scale. The export value of dairy products and fresh milk reached US$48.6 million in the first three months of the year, with the main export markets in Iraq, Hong Kong, mainland China, Afghanistan, the Philippines and other countries, including UAE, Laos, Myanmar and Japan. Exports are expected to grow strongly this year as domestic enterprises are targeting expansion of their overseas markets. Two of Viet Nam's dairy giants, Vinamilk and TH True Milk, have been expanding investment in other countries. Vinamilk has invested in fresh milk and dairy product and processing in the US, New Zealand, Cambodia, Poland, Laos and Myanmar. This year Vinamilk invested in its first factory in Myanmar to meet the increasing demand for milk and milk products there. Milk consumption in Myanmar, which has a population of 55 million, is 10 litres per head per year, very low compared to other markets in the region, such as Thailand with 36 litres and Malaysia with 53 litres. TH True Milk recently invested in a US$2.7 billion project to raise cows and process milk in Russia. Exports of milk and dairy products are also expected to increase sharply in the future after the Protocol on exports of Vietnamese milk and dairy products to China, a market of 1.4 billion, was inked on April 26 According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation's 2018 global dairy market report, China produced 25.6 million tonnes of milk, down 1.1 per cent from 2017. In order to meet domestic consumption of milk and dairy products, the country annually imports 14.6 million tonnes of milk. Nguyen Quoc Toan, acting director of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development's Agro Processing and Market Development Agency, told local media at a recent conference in Ha Noi that there was great potential for exporting milk and dairy products to China. However, Toan said that Vietnamese exporters faced challenges because milk from Australia and New Zealand has occupied a large market share in the Chinese market. Vietnamese milk exports to China are promising but they will face competition from these two giants." To expand Viet Nams export market in the coming time, businesses in particular and the dairy industry in general should prioritise the modernisation of milk and dairy product processing technology that meets the requirements of China in the spirit of the Protocol signed recently, Toan said. "At the same time, product development should meet the demand of other potential markets such as Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore. The chairman of TH Group, Ngo Minh Hai, told diendandoanhnghiep.vn that the door for milk and dairy product exports to the Chinese market has initially opened, but not all businesses in Viet Nam's dairy industry would be able to enter. China has technical barriers that force us to overcome. Companies must ensure two important requirements, including maintaining quality and product standards, and ensuring origin, Hai said. The deputy head of MARDs Department of Livestock Production, Tong Xuan Chinh, said the Ministry of Industry and Trade should improve planning and supervision of the construction of milk processing plants, which must match the volume of local cattle herds and the consumption market. Chinh said MARD would create a new policy to support the development of dairy farming and milk processing in the 2020-30 period, promoting the industry as well as the export of milk and dairy products. The policy will be submitted to the Prime Minister for approval, he added. Chinh said that links between cow breeders and milk exporters should be tightened. Fresh milk from breeders has to be sold to businesses as soon as possible because breeders lack preservation facilities. If they sell milk to the market, it is only a small amount. Dairy enterprises need to reorganise the production of dairy cows in a closed chain, controlling disease safety and food safety. At the same time, modernisation of facilities, raw milk purchasing centres, and modern milk factories must be established to meet the export demand of many markets, he added. Viet Nam and US boost comprehensive co-operation Bilateral relations between Viet Nam and the US had developed into a comprehensive partnership ahead of the two countries celebrating 25 years since the normalisation of diplomatic relations (1995-2020), said President of the Viet Nam-US Association Nguyen Tam Chien. Chien was speaking at a meeting in Ha Noi on Thursday that aimed to promote exchange and co-operation among sectors, enterprises and organisations from both countries. Chien, who is a former deputy foreign minister, said the seminar was expected to raise awareness of the importance of efforts to expand bilateral co-operation. The two sides should explore each others advantages to speed up exchange and co-operation in economic, trade, investment, culture and education projects, as well as other spheres, Thang said. Our efforts in any industry, whether it be business or human resource training, information technology or marine aquaculture, or exploiting new resources to jointly address humanitarian issues left from the war... are all aimed at mutual benefits, Thang added. Vice counselor of the economic section at the US Embassy in Viet Nam, James Bagert, said the US Government expected to help Viet Nam to create a safe and peaceful environment with a fair trade system. He expressed his hope for Viet Nam to become a reliable partner of the US in the region, and for the two sides to reach common goals to bolster bilateral trade ties. To achieve those goals, enterprises were seen as the foundation for co-operation development between the two sides. Annual two-way trade between Viet Nam and the US has hit US$60 billion through investment and business co-operation between hundreds of enterprises, of which US firms are providing many job and education opportunities for Viet Nam. Bagert said Viet Nams economic growth was about 7 per cent per year, and the demand for energy was increasing. The US investment flows and technologies had supported Viet Nam in building sustainable energy systems. He said the US Embassy would continue to assist Vietnamese firms in seeking suitable partners in the US. At the seminar, participants also focused on the difficulties and advantages facing businesses, and offered solutions to strengthen co-operation between the two countries enterprises. VN Design Association shakes hand with foreign partners Vietnam Design Association recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with three foreign partners to support the development of creative design in Viet Nam. The association said the three partners include the International Federation of Interior Architects/Designers (IFI), Asia Pacific Space Designers Association (APSDA) and Society of Interior Designers Singapore (SIDS). Under the MoU, the association and its partners will co-operate to improve the quality of designs, and develop research and training activities. The signing ceremony was organised in connection with the first Vietnamese Interior Design Festival which took place in HCM City. The event's main aim was to develop and nurture Vietnamese design and creativity through community-connecting activities. With the theme of "Creative Aspirations - The Source of Creativity", the festival was organised to lay the foundation for the annual development of future events. At the event, 10 international design associations participated in the international design conference. In addition, many authors and excellent projects in Viet Nam were also honoured at the national-scale Vietnam Interior Design Award - Vmark 2019. The award is not only an opportunity to promote the contribution of Vietnamese creative interior designers in the context of international integration, but also a special opportunity for leading businesses to promote products from the most experienced and established experts and judges in the industry. This was the first time the International Interior Design Conference took place in Viet Nam, with presentations from 20 international speakers from 10 countries, with a commitment to continue to support the development of creative design in Viet Nam. China has exempted tariffs on 33 kinds of Vietnamese seafood exports, the Viet Nam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) has said. China has exempted tariffs on lobster and 32 other Vietanamese seafood exports. Photo baodautu.vn The products include lobster, tiger prawn, sea shrimp, cod, clams, frozen tra and basa fish, round scads, tuna and octopus. More than 150 Vietnamese enterprises export seafood products to China, including about 45 tra and basa enterprises and nearly 50 shrimp exporting enterprises, among other seafood enterprises, according to VASEP. With China easing its import policy, Viet Nam is expected to enhance its exports to the world's most populous market. China is considered one of the most important markets for Vietnamese seafood, with average export value from Viet Nam to China reaching over US$1 billion per year. In 2017, Vietnamese seafood export value to China increased nearly 50 per cent year-on-year to $1.3 billion, according to the association. However, the export value fell slightly by 5 per cent year-on-year in 2018 to $1.2 billion. It also fell by 5 per cent in the first quarter of the year, to $239 million. Truong Dinh Hoe, VASEP Secretary General, said the fishery industry set a target to export over $1.5 billion seafood products this year to China, where seafood consumption is increasing. Large provinces in China are concerned about direct trading activities with Vietnamese seafood firms instead of buying via intermediaries. As e-commerce in China is developing quickly, many kinds of Vietnamese seafood have been introduced on e-commerce platforms. Hoe said that Viet Nam could reach its target of seafood export value, which would be higher than the $1.2 billion recorded last year. Meanwhile, besides businesses efforts to ensure quality standards, the State must strictly control cross-border export activities of seafood products to China to ensure fair competition for Vietnamese seafood businesses, he said. VNS Policies to develop the industrial sector will be the key to keeping Vietnams out of the middle income trap, experts said at a workshop in Hanoi on May 23. Workers process garment products. Policies on developing the industrial sector will play an important role to overcome middle income trap in Vietnam. (Photo: vietstock.vn) The middle-income trap is closely tied to economic growth, so if growth doesnt stay high and for decades and there is not high income per capita, the nation will fall into the middle income trap, said Deputy Director of the Central Institute of Economic Management (CIEM) Nguyen Thi Tue Anh. Policy is one of the most important factors to promote industrial development, she said. Vietnam is also facing challenges in overcoming the middle-income trap requiring suitable management from the Government, she said. According to Deputy Director of the General Economics Department under the Party Central Committees Economic Commission Hoang Truong Giang, the labour force and workers skills are hugely important, so Vietnam must improve labour productivity of workers and enterprises. Ngo Minh Tuan, a CIEM researcher, said Vietnam must focus on developing several fundamental industries and meeting the demand for basic means of production in the economy. Vietnam also needs to focus on developing support industries, strengthening links between multinational corporations and domestic enterprises, forming support industrial complexes and linking commodity chains, he said. Tue Anh said so far, only a few countries have overcome the middle-income trap. According to the CIEM's research, productivity growth is a decisive factor in Vietnams solutions on overcoming the middle-income trap, with support from reforms of technology and institution. The Government has directed economic restructuring towards industrialisation and transformation from agricultural economy to industrial economy, aiming to increase labour productivity and income per capita as well as to upgrade all industrial sectors. First of all, the processing and manufacturing industry produces higher value-added and more complicated products and increase labour productivity, she said. In addition, the Government has employed a solution to restructure the manufacturing and processing industry from producing consumer goods such as food, garment, tobacco and wood, to capital goods such as chemicals and metals, machinery and equipment and motor vehicles. According to Tue Anh, the Government, the authorities need to find ways to mobilise maximum potential and take advantage of opportunities for focusing on support industrial development, wit a focus on the private sector.-VNA Latest report from retailer notes substantial growth in nearly all categories and indicators in first four months. The online, grocery, and electronics segments continued to boost sales growth at Vietnams largest retailer, the Mobile World Investment JSC (MWG), according to its latest report released on May 23. The contribution of the online segment continued to expand, reaching 18 per cent of total revenue compared to 12 per cent in the same period last year. With a total transaction value of VND6.1 trillion ($260.9 million), the online segment posted an increase of 69 per cent year-on-year, confirming the retailers No.1 position in e-commerce value. Net margin for the four months was 4.2 per cent, rising from 3.5 per cent in the first four months of 2018 and driven by improving average revenue per store and productivity enhancements at stores, distribution centers, and the logistics network, leading to a reduction in operating expenses as a percentage of revenue. All product groups, including phones, electronics, white goods, and household appliances, recorded growth. Of these, air conditioners and fans were particularly strong, doubling year-on-year as the peak of the hot season kicked off in April. The retailer sold roughly 200,000 cooling machines in just one month; almost half of last years total volume. As at the end of April, MWG operated 2,324 stores, up 58 compared to March. Dien May Xanh (DMX) added 17 new stores, resulting from both new openings and the upgrade of thegiodidong (TGDD) stores to DMX stores. It successfully transformed 83 mini-DMX stores with new layouts, to optimize revenue generation. Bach Hoa Xanh (BHX) maintained its rapid expansion, with 43 new stores, for a total of 512 as at the end of April. Of these, it had 141 stores (27 per cent of the total) in the Mekong Delta and southern provinces, and 63 large stores (300 sq m), accounting for 12 per cent of the total. Average monthly sales per store for those opened before April 1 was approximately VND1.3 billion ($55,600). April was a memorable month for the BHX chain, as it surpassed the milestone of 500 stores, and for the first time ever two stores recorded revenue exceeding VND4 billion ($171,100) per month. Both are located in provincial areas and conduct 1,000 to 1,200 transactions per day. After significant effort to understand consumer behavior in second-tier cities, adjusting the product offerings from those in Ho Chi Minh City and conducting flexible purchasing approaches, reaching this milestone will be strong motivation for BHX to accelerate store openings in provincial markets. The contribution of fresh, chilled, and frozen products in BHXs total revenue increased to 47 per cent in the first four months, compared to 40 per cent in the same period last year. BHX sold approximately 6,900 tons of fresh produce in April, up 15 per cent month-on-month and up 38 per cent against December 2018 and January 2019. Among modern trade channels, BHX leads in sales of domestic fruit such as watermelon (700 tons per month), bananas (500 tons), guava (300 tons), and oranges (200 tons). It also imported directly from orchards in the US, the EU, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Egypt, and Thailand, thereby offering a diversified range of products at the most attractive prices. As such, the imported fruit sales volume surged 300 per cent, to 30 containers a month. BHX has continued to negotiate with remaining FMCG suppliers to increase its gross profit margin from 1 per cent to 1.5 per cent by the end of this year. The retailer recorded net profit of VND1.4 trillion ($9.9 million) in the first four months, up 36 per cent year-on-year, on revenue of VND34.1 trillion ($1.45 billion), up 15 per cent year-on-year. April was the second-best month of the year, with the top line increasing 31 per cent year-on-year while the bottom line was even better at 62 per cent year-on-year. The retailer fulfilled 31 per cent of revenue and 40 per cent of net profit targets for financial year 2019. VN Economic Times Minh Do Vietnamese startups need to pay attention to their branding strategy if the aim is to "go global". EzCloud, a Vietnamese hotel tech startup, officially launched a new brand identity earlier this year after three months of preparations. With six years in business, it is one of only a few startups in Vietnam to pay attention to building its brand in the hotel management software industry. With the ambition of providing Vietnamese technology for Vietnamese people and exploiting global tourism markets, six young graduates from the University of Engineering and Technology (Vietnam National University) created ezCloud in 2013. It focuses on niche markets instead of large hotels dominated by major rivals in the hotel management software industry. The startup focused on approaching small and medium-sized hotels that havent maximized their operations and management systems. Though fully assessing the potential of the market and possessing its own technology, ezCloud still faced a host of difficulties. In the beginning, we had no funds for recruiting employees, and each co-founder managed one field, so we had four people researching products and two working on sales, said Mr. Dang Thanh Trung, Co-founder and Chief of Innovation Officer at ezCloud. In 2016, it launched ezCloudhotel, a hotel management app for two-star hotels that received a warm response. But the co-founders realized this wouldnt be enough for their go global goal. Product quality alone cant guarantee success - the startup needed a marketing strategy. In the initial days of its marketing investment, it had difficulties because it didnt know how to promote the brand and made many mistakes, according to Ms. Tran Thi Thuy Duong, Chief Marketing Director at ezCloud. The co-founders are also all engineers, with no knowledge or skills in marketing. Focusing more on building the brand, the startup seized market share in the industry with 3,000 customers and serves 1,100 new customers from zero to five-star hotels each year. Ms. Dang Thanh Van, Chairwoman of the Board of Directors at Thanhs Brand JSC, said that while advertising only pulls in customers the first time, marketing helps in making the customer return for a second and third time and the brand can go further, creating loyalty among customers and pulling in their acquaintances. While a business could sell a product for VND10 million ($430) by investing only in advertising, if it also invested in branding it could sell the product at a price at least 30 per cent higher. FROM THE BEGINNING A common story for startups is that the team is initially quite happy. But when they earn revenue their operations become sporadic as they lack a common vision for subsequent phases. This is a time for business owners to think about establishing a brand philosophy, through a mission and vision for the company, according to Ms. Van. A good vision is clear and transformed into a deployment plan, she explained. A beautiful mission must first inspire the entire team. The brand needs to be unique. But not unique in the market; unique in the minds of customers. Branding, however, is not just about designing a logo or building a media campaign. The whole production and sales process is within the overall branding strategy. The results must be measured specifically, by growth and revenue as well as the size of the company. When the startup has customers and a steady stream of revenue is the time to fully build a brand strategy and marketing strategy. But many startups mistakenly build brands just to make the business famous. The brand is the soul of an enterprise, and what the company is pursuing and what values it holds should be seen through the product, according to Mr. Mai Xuan Dat, CEO and Founder of SEONgon, a local digital agency. Branding should start from the inside and not be viewed as meaning throwing money away to make the company famous. Without a specific form of business, specific culture, specific brand, and specific personality, the company may approach more customers but few understand what the company is, he emphasized. In order to be consistent in business development, startups should bolster knowledge about the brand name from the beginning, and first of all knowledge about marketing. TO KEY POINTS The core task of a brand strategy is to create a solid and emotional position, taking a place in the minds of customers. The peak of branding is making customers love the brand, Ms. Van said. When they love the brand, they always look for the brand. This determines the loyalty of customers, even when the brand is in crisis. Of course, to get to this level, the brand will be challenged in a series of touch points with customers. The customer experience is gradually changing in the era of Industry 4.0, so customer touch points for the company also change. Quoting Mr. Jeff Bezos from Amazon, Mr. Doan Duc Thuan, Managing Director of StrategyM Consulting, said there are usually four key touch points for customers. First is the zero moment of truth, when there is a need for a product but customers either think about the company or dont. The essence of the brand is to answer the question: who is the company in the minds of targeted customers? Second is the first moment of truth, when there are two products on the shelf or on the selection screen - one from the company and one from its rival. Which one will the customer choose? Third is the second moment of truth: as customers experience the product, it feels like what the company promised. Fourth is the ultimate moment of truth, when the brand is what people say about you when youre not there. When customers in the target segment talk to each other about the company, the trust effect increases many times compared to the brand talking about itself. The customer journey will go through these four touch points, Mr. Thuan said. Therefore, the money outlaid and the media activities conducted need to pay attention to them. In particular, the first touch point costs money that isnt immediately recovered. The second touch point invests in the supply chain and distribution channel. The third touch point focuses on the product and service experience, and the fourth is investing in loyalty programs. Nothing happens if money is only spent on one touch point, he underlined. VN Economic Times Anh Tuyet & Nghi Do VietNamNet Global - Van Don International Airport has been listed among the top five airports with the highest points for quality services in the first quarter of the year, according to a survey by the Airport Performance Measurement Program (APMP). The survey, which included 47 airports worldwide where Vietnam Airlines operates, was based on indicators from SKYTRAX, the UK-based international air transport rating organization. The other top five were Jukuoka Airport of Japan, Sydney Airport of Australia, Kaohsiung Airport and Taoyuan Airport of Taiwan. A corner of Van Don International Airport in the northern province of Quang Ninh Photo by Sun Group Van Don Airport in Vietnams 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. Van Don Airport recorded its highest score in the survey in one group of indicators corresponding to a high level of passenger satisfaction. Of the indicators, the reflex score rated by customers accounted for the highest proportion in the grading structure, including general survey and assessment items on 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). 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, the airport welcomed nearly 40,000 passengers on 328 flights to and from Vietnam operated by Vietnam Airlines, Vietjet Air 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, Van Don 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 Viet Nam. Pham Ngoc Sau, director of Van Don Airport, said the airport, besides its impressive architecture and quality of facilities, adhered 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 Airport 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. Van Don Airport significantly contributed to the growth of 6.6 million visitors to Quang Ninh Province in the first four months of this year, up 14 per cent year-on-year. "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, Sau added. Officially inaugurated in December 30, 2018, Van Don Airport is the first private airport in Vietnam with a total investment of VND7.5 trillion. Though it has only recently opened, Van Don Airport 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 year-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 Organization standards, Van Don Airport 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. PV UN Secretary General conferred medal upon Naik Muhammad Naeem Raza UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, on Saturday conferred the Dag Hammarskjold medal posthumously upon a Pakistani soldier, Naik Muhammad Naeem Raza. The soldier had embraced martyrdom on January 27, 2018, while serving the UN mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Pakistans Ambassador to the UN, Maleeha Lodhi received the posthumous award in a solemn ceremony held at UN Headquarters in New York to commemorate the International Day of Peacekeepers. After the ceremony, Ambassador Lodhi said that she was humbled and honoured to accept this award for Shaheed Muhammad Naeem Raza. She added, This award of the Dag Hammarskjold medal to our hero is a recognition by the UN secretary general of the sacrifice, dedication and professionalism of Pakistans peacekeepers. The ceremony was organised to honour as many as 119 brave individuals for making the ultimate sacrifice while standing in the line of duty to uphold international peace and security in 2018 and early 2019. These awardees included military and police personnel; international civil servants and UN staff from 38 countries, who had served in 12 different UN Peacekeeping Operations worldwide. Pakistan continued its proud tradition of participating in UN peacekeeping, for which it has been consistently slated among the worlds top troop contributors. Over the last six decades, the country has contributed over 200,000 troops to 46 UN peacekeeping mission Pakistani peacekeepers, Ambassador Lodhi noted, continue to serve UN peacekeeping missions with distinction and fly the flag of Pakistan high. Vietnamese enterprises were looking forward to promoting their businesses under the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) to take advantage of a market that is home to 50% of the global population. The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership is expected to help Vietnamese enterprises boost exports. However, they were faced with fierce competition from other member countries. The statement was made by Director of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI)s WTO Integration Centre Nguyen Thi Thu Trang at a conference in Ha Noi on Thursday. The RCEP is a proposed free trade agreement between ASEAN countries and Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand. Its negotiations were formally launched in November 2012 at the ASEAN Summit in Cambodia. The negotiation process is in the final stages. Speaking at the conference, Trang said consumer characteristics of the RCEP were not that different except in Japan, Australia and New Zealand, and the demand for top Vietnamese products was quite high, especially tropical agricultural products and processed food. In addition, China and India, which accounted for 30 per cent of global GDP and 28 per cent of the worlds total trade, were huge markets. Many Vietnamese businesses are still concerned about this agreement because many partners have products similar to Viet Nam that are more competitive, Trang said. These markets also have big differences in quality requirements, she added. According to Trang, some enterprise said the RCEP agreement may not help increase exports due to reasons such as tax incentives, zero-tariff barriers and more fierce competition with RCEP partners. During the negotiation process, enterprises should focus on areas of strength, products with high export volume and tax incentives, Trang said. Pham Tuan Anh, an official from the Ministry of Finance who is also a member of the negotiation team, said expectations for the RCEP were huge, including import and export opportunities thanks to incentives on tariffs and regulations of origin, unified customs procedures and trade facilitation, and general rules to limit and control non-tariff barriers. Anh said some service markets would be more open, especially logistics and telecommunications services, and a better e-commerce platform. Enterprises were looking forward to the RCEP to avoid the trend of trade protectionism and the impacts of the US-China trade war. "This agreement is the final stages of negotiations, and we are conducting the last round of consultations with businesses," Anh said. The negotiations for the fifth round of the RCEP are being held in Bangkok with the participation of senior officials from 16 member countries to address current issues. Member countries are aiming to finalise the agreement at the end of this year. VNS The 9th meeting of the ASEAN-Australia Joint Cooperation Committee took place in Jakarta, Indonesia, on May 24. Delegates at the meeting (Photo: asean.org) The meeting reviewed the bilateral cooperation over the past year and discussed cooperation orientations in the coming time. At the meeting, the two sides spoke highly of the cooperation results in all three pillars of political-security, economy and socio-culture. In the 2017-2018 period, two-way trade between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Australia hit 105 billion USD. Australia is currently the 7th biggest trade partner and 6th biggest foreign investor of ASEAN. Australia has provided funds for a number of programmes, including the Australia-Asia Programme to Combat Trafficking in Persons (55 million USD), and the Shaping Inclusive Finance Transformations Programme (SHIFT) to support low income people and firms in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam to the tune of 6 million USD, among others. In educational cooperation, Australia has presented 1,175 awards to ASEAN citizens studying in the Oceania country. It is about to facilitate 18,500 Australian students to travel to ASEAN nations to enhance their understanding about the region. Both sides noted that to date, up to 109 out of total 113 action lines in the 2015-2019 Plan of Action (PoA) to Implement the ASEAN-Australia Strategic Partnership have been carried out, hitting 96 percent. The two sides agreed to promptly implement the remaining lines in 2019, and join hands to complete the 2020-2024 PoA in a strategic and practical manner. Australia reiterated its continued support for the ASEAN Community building efforts and realisation of the ASEAN Community Vision 2025, as well as attached importance to ASEANs central role in maintaining regional peace and stability. On the occasion of the 45th founding anniversary of ASEAN-Australia relations, Australia announced an aid worth 2 million USD for security cooperation and the launch of a programme titled Australia Now-ASEAN 2019 to foster understanding and awareness of the relations between Australia and ASEAN countries. ASEAN also highly evaluated the ASEAN-Australia strategic partnership, especially Australias assistance like the ASEANAustralia Development Cooperation Programme Phase II, the ASEAN Australia New Zealand Free Trade Agreement and the New Colombo Plan. Both sides pledged to deepen the ASEAN-Australia strategic partnership and noted the importance of enhancing cooperation in areas of mutual interest, such as maritime security, cyber security, digital trade standards, connectivity, smart city, development gap reduction, education, people-to-people exchanges, health, and disaster management.-VNA Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and his entourage met with Vietnamese expatriates in Norway during his visit to the Embassy of Vietnam in Oslo on May 25 (local time) as part of his official trip to the country. Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (right photo, standing) speaks at the meeting with Vietnamese expats in Norway He reaffirmed that the Party and State always consider the group an indispensible part of Vietnam. He also praised activities carried out by the Vietnamese associations in the Northern European country in support of the local expats. Taking into consideration comments and wishes from participating expatriates, the Government leader said there will be measures to protect the groups legitimate rights and interest, facilitating them to work and live in the host nation and make contributions to their home country. He went on talking about Vietnam Norway relations, which has recently recorded strong progress but still fall short of potential. Informing the participants on the outcomes of his talks and meetings with Norwegian leaders so far, Phuc said the sides have agreed to increase and expand bilateral cooperation in various fields of their strengths. Briefing them on current affairs at home, the leader said the Party and State are willing to offer best conditions possible for Vietnamese expats across the globe to run businesses and invest in the home country. Praising solidarity and mutual support among the expatriate community in Norway, the PM hoped them to continue learning from modern countries scientific and technological knowledge, preserve Vietnamese culture and language, and make contributions to Vietnams development and Vietnam-Norway friendship. While in Norway, PM Phuc toured facilities of Kongsberg Maritime and Pharmaq, which are leading Norwegian companies in marine economic sector. Kongsberg Maritime offers on- and off-shore services and products for ships and has established representative offices in over 40 countries. Meanwhile, Pharmaq, the provider of vaccines and innovation for aquaculture, has operated in Vietnam for 10 years with a long-term strategy for and commitment to the growth of the local sector.-VNA Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and a high-ranking delegation of Vietnam arrived in Stockholm on May 26, starting their official visit to Sweden at the invitation of Prime Minister Stefan Lofven. Hinh Anh Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and his spouse are welcomed at the Stockholm Arlanda international airport Accompanying PM Phuc and his spouse are Minister Director of the Government Office Mai Tien Dung; Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh; and Minister of Science and Technology Chu Ngoc Anh; and others. During the visit, PM Phuc is scheduled to hold talks with his host and pay a courtesy visit to the King of Sweden. He will join Swedish leaders in attending a Vietnam Sweden business forum, and have working sessions with leading officials of a number of major economic groups of the country operating in Vietnam. The Government leader will also meet Swedish diplomats, experts and friends and others on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Vietnam Sweden diplomatic relations.-VNA Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc had a meeting with President of the Norwegian Parliament Tone Troen on May 24 (local time) as part of his official visit to Norway. Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (L) meets President of the Norwegian Parliament Tone Troen Both leaders expressed their delight at the positive development of relations between Vietnam and Norway as well as between the parliaments in particular over the years. They held that Vietnam and Norway boast great potential for stronger cooperation in various areas. PM Phuc conveyed Vietnamese National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngans greetings and invitation to the Norwegian leader to visit Vietnam. Troen lauded Vietnams completion of the Millennium Development Goal in poverty reduction ahead of schedule, pledging that Norway will continue supporting Vietnam in the field. She said that in the coming time, the two parliaments should increase the exchange of experience in law building, supervision and enforcement, while supporting each other at multilateral parliamentary forums such as the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA). The leaders highlighted the significance of economic cooperation and the need for the soon signing of a Free Trade Agreement between the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and Vietnam. PM Phuc proposed the parliament of Norway support the business communities of both nations to strengthen connections and partnerships, while encouraging Norwegian firms to invest more in Vietnam in marine transport, shipbuilding, oil and gas, aquaculture, renewable energy, consumer goods, and information technology. The Vietnamese Government is implementing many policies to encourage and support foreign investors, including those from Norway, to operate effectively in Vietnam for a long term, he stressed. PM Phuc also proposed that Norway open its market for Vietnamese traditional products, especially farm produce, consumer goods and electronics products. In the context that Vietnam and Norway are switching their relations from development cooperation to development partnership for mutual benefit, Vietnam expects that the Norwegian parliament will back dialogue mechanisms and political consultations as well as other new cooperation methods, especially in climate change, clean energy, blue economy and sustainable development, he said. The PM expressed his hope that Norways parliament will continue assisting the 20,000-strong Vietnamese community in the country to stabilise their lives and well integrate into the host society, so that they could work as an important bridge to enhance the friendship, mutual understanding and close relationship between the two nations. Both leaders agreed to work together in maintaining peace and ensuring freedom and security of navigation and aviation in the East Sea, as well as the peaceful settlement of disputes in line with international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc receives leaders of Norwegian groups Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (third from left, first line) receives leaders of leading Norwegian groups Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc had a meeting with leaders of leading Norwegian groups in Oslo on May 24 (local time) as part of his official visit to the European country. At the meeting, leaders of the Norwegian groups such as Kongsberg, DVL-GL, Pharmaq, Vard, Jotun and Scatec Solar said that Vietnam is an open and potential market and voiced their hope that the Vietnamese Government will ensure a fair playing ground for foreign investors. Jotun CEO Morten Foyn said his group is planning to build another paint factory in the southern area of Ho Chi Minh City with an investment capital amount of 100 million USD, besides its first in neighbouring Binh Duong province which was constructed in 1997. Geir Haoy, President and CEO of Kongsberg Group a leading technology group in Norway said that Vietnam is becoming an attractive destination for foreign investors with its rapid and stable growth rate. He expressed his hope to cooperate with Vietnam in expanding the application of technology in aquaculture and in developing its sea-based economy. Raymond Carlsen, CEO of Scatec Solar which freshly signed a 500-million-USD investment cooperation deal with Vietnam at the Vietnam-Norway Business Forum, shared that the investment will be poured into a solar power project and wished to build a laboratory in the country to support it in studying, transferring and exporting renewable energy technology to the region. He believed that Vietnam will issue a new preferential policy on tariffs for those who invest in renewable energy. For his part, PM Phuc affirmed that Vietnam attaches importance to all economic sectors and foreign investors. Showing his impression at Geir Haoys ideas, he said that Vietnam has paid attention to the sea-based economy. He assigned Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Quoc Doanh to hold in-depth discussions with the group on this issue. The government leader stressed that Vietnam always welcomes and is willing to create all favourable conditions for foreign investors, including those from Norway. VNA Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phucs upcoming visit to Sweden from May 26-28 is hoped to further strengthen the traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation between the two countries. Sweden set up diplomatic relations with Vietnam on January 11, 1969, becoming the first Western country to establish diplomatic ties with Vietnam. Over the past 50 years, Sweden has offered great support and assistance to Vietnam during the past struggle for national independence and the present cause of national construction. Sweden set up its embassy in Hanoi in June 1970, and Vietnam established its embassy in Stockholm a month later. In September 2013, the Trade Office under the Business Sweden officially began operation in Vietnam. In March 2014, Sweden held the first conference of Swedish ambassadors in Asia in Hanoi, which coincided with the 45th founding anniversary of Vietnam-Sweden diplomatic relations. In January 2014, the parliament of Sweden ratified the European Union-Vietnam Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA). Trade value between the two countries has been on the rise, hitting over 1.8 billion USD in 2018. Meanwhile, the flow of Swedish investment in Vietnam has risen sharply. By March 2019, Sweden had ranked 33rd out of 131 countries and territories investing in Vietnam with 67 valid projects. Swedish-invested projects have covered seven provinces and cities of Vietnam. Many big firms of Sweden have marked their presence in the country, including Ericsson, ABB, IKEA, Electrolux, Volvo and H&M. Meanwhile, Vietnam has to date poured investment into two projects in Sweden. Sweden is the biggest Northwestern European provider of non-refundable aid for Vietnam with total capital of over 3 billion USD since 1967, mostly in health care, economic reform, institutional building, law, administrative reform, human resource development, environment, climate change, and anti-corruption. Through the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), Sweden has supported many culture projects in Vietnam. The two countries have signed two deals on culture and communications. In the field of education-training, Sweden has trained a large number of Vietnamese experts in forestry, paper industry, energy, biotechnology, health care and journalism. Universities of the two nations have shared close collaboration in training and student exchange. Since 2013, Sweden has prioritised Vietnamese students in scholarship granting. In August 2017, Vietnams Ministry of Education and Training and Swedens Ministry of Education and Research signed an agreement on cooperation in tertiary training and research. Currently, Vietnam and Sweden are working together for the formation of partnership in research, technological reform, innovation support for startups and small-and-medium-sized enterprises. Regarding tourism, the total number of Swedish visitors to Vietnam reached 44,045 in 2017 and 49.723 in 2018, up 16.9 percent and 13 percent year on year, respectively. In agriculture, in 1970, Sweden helped Vietnam build Bai Bang paper factory one of the biggest and most modern paper plants in the Southeast Asian country. The Swedish-funded programme of forest, tree and people in the 1980s helped develop a material region and boost socio-economic growth in five northern provinces. Sweden has also given many initiatives to support Vietnam in forestry, environment and climate change response. According to the Statistics Sweden, the Vietnamese community in Sweden groups about 20,000 people who have showed good integration into the local society.-VNA Education for Nature, Vietnam (ENV), has urged heavy sanctions on leaders of wildlife trafficking rings dealing in elephant tusks. From 2010 to 2018, ENV found 150 cases with violations related to elephant tusks, in which the amount of elephant tusks seized by agencies was up to 53 tons. Of these, 30 cases were discovered when ivory was carried to seaports and border gates. In hot spots such as Nhi Khe, ivory is no longer traded in the open air, but this doesnt mean the trafficking has cooled. The police and agencies seized a large amount of ivory last year. More seriously, traffickers now can advertise and sell ivory on line, via social networks, which makes it more difficult to discover trafficking rings. In hot spots such as Nhi Khe, ivory is no longer traded in the open air, but this doesnt mean the trafficking has cooled. The police and agencies seized a large amount of ivory last year. Bui Thi Ha from ENV said Vietnam is not only a potential market for elephant tusks, but also acts as an important transit point trafficking rings use to bring tusks to target markets. Vietnam is chosen by traffickers as the center where they gather ivory before sending to consumption markets because of Vietnams advantageous geographical position and ineffective enforcement of laws. Only 30 out of 150 discovered cases were put into trial in 2010-2018 and imprisonment was sentenced to subjects in 10 cases. In most cases, where the subjects were caught at seaports, appropriate agencies could not find the leaders of the rings who were behind the bogus companies which imported ivory illegally. This shows that Vietnam succeeds in discovering and seizing ivory, but not in dealing with violations, Ha commented. ENV believes that seizing elephant tusks will only reduce the profits of traffickers, but will not prevent crime. Only when the leaders of the rings can be found and heavily punished will Vietnam be able to deter this kind of crime. Dealing with the legal loopholes regarding wildlife traffickers, Ha said ENV finds it difficult to report to the police and agencies about its discoveries. In many cases, the agencies cannot truly assess the seriousness of the advertising and illegal trading of ivory on the internet. Vietnam is storing 50 tons of ivory at states facilities, but there has been no final decision on how to deal with it. In 2016, on the threshold of the Hanoi Conference on fighting against international wildlife trafficking, Vietnam for the first time destroyed 2 tons of elephant tusks and 70 kilograms of rhino horns, an action praised by the international community. EVN has called on state agencies to take action more regularly as a way affirming Vietnams determination to fight ivory trafficking. RELATED NEWS Vietnam struggles to escape notoriety of wildlife trade hotspot Elephant tusks enter Vietnam in scrap containers Mai Loan Talking about President Ho Chi Minh, French friends of the Vietnamese people always express their admiration for the beloved leader. Ho Chi Minh space inside Montreuil city's Museum of Living History in France. President Ho Chi Minhs 129th birthday on May 19 was an occasion for them to recall their fond memories of Uncle Ho. In late 1990s, the authorities of Paris district 17 decided to rebuild House No. 9 on Compoint alley, where President Ho Chi Minh lived and worked from 1921 to 1923 during his journey to search ways for national salvation. The Vietnamese embassy in Paris joined hands with relevant French authorities to keep all of President Ho Chi Minhs belongings left in that house and display some of them at the outskirts city of Montreuils Museum of Living History. Uncle Hos desk, books, and even the sink in his room at the House No.9 are on display at Ho Chi Minh space inside the museum. The display is designed to help Vietnamese people and international friends gain a deeper understanding of President Ho Chi Minhs sentiments toward the French and the years he spent in France. Gilbert Schoon, former Director of Montreuil citys Museum of Living History, in an interview with VOV. "I was very impressed with President Ho Chi Minhs strong will and determination as well as his sacrifice for Vietnams liberation and independence. He always put other people first. He is not only one of the greatest characters of the 20th century, but also a leader with incredible virtues, while being simple but noble. This is reflected through the way he dressed and worked in the fields with farmers", said Gilbert Schoon, former Director of Montreuil citys Museum of Living History. "I had a chance to visit his house in Vietnam, saw his bicycle and his bedroom. I was very moved with his simple lifestyle and what he did for the Vietnamese people. He showed the world that oppressed nations at that time, including Algeria, should liberate themselves from invaders and win their own independence," Mr. Gilbert Schoon added. The embassy in France held a ceremony to mark the late Presidents birth anniversary in Paris late last week. Following the ceremony, the delegation laid flowers at House No. 9 on Compoint alley in Pariss District 17. A ceremony to mark President Ho Chi Minh's birth anniversary at Montreau Park on May 17, 2019. The embassy has also joined hands with authorities of the outskirts city of Montreuil to organize a similar event at the Ho Chi Minh Space in Montreau Park. Philippe Lamarche, Montreuils Deputy Governor, said the locality is proud to be the city of friendship and solidarity with Vietnamese people. He told VOV "A communist myself, I understand how much President Ho Chi Minh contributed to promoting our ideology of peace and independence for every nation and strengthening relations between Vietnam and France. President Ho Chi Minh and what he has done will live forever in memories of French communists. We feel honored to join celebrations of his birth anniversary and recall fond memories of him." Many years have gone by but the feelings and memories of French friends as well as peace-loving people around the world towards President Ho Chi Minh, a great leader of the Vietnamese people, have remained intact, and will last forever. VOV5 A delegation from HCM City presented more than 300 titles of books to the overseas Vietnamese community in Saint Petersburg on May 24 (local time). Chairman of the Overseas Vietnamese Community in Saint Petersburg Le Dinh Vu receives books from the Ho Chi Minh City delegation. The book presentation ceremony was held at the Ho Chi Minh Citys book pavilion at Saint Petersburg International Book Fair, Russia in the presence of VyacheslavKalganov, deputy head of Saint Petersburg Government Committee for External Relations. Chairman of the Overseas Vietnamese Community in Saint Petersburg Le Dinh Vu expressed his delight at receiving the books and seeing Vietnamese books introduced to readers at the book fair. He said that the books presented to the Vietnamese community will enrich the source of learning materials and research demands of overseas Vietnamese while promoting the images of Vietnamese people and the land. The delegation from Ho Chi Minh City also presented a set of books on President Ho Chi Minh to the Ho Chi Minh Academy under the Saint Petersburg National University. During the book fair from May 23-26, the Ho Chi Minh Citys book pavilion showcased more than 300 titles of books from various Vietnamese publishing houses as well as books on President Ho Chi Minh, Vietnamese sea and islands, culture, history, tourism, investment and others in Vietnamese, English, French and Russian. The book fair has been held annually since 2008 by the administration of Saint Petersburg and the Russian Book Union. This years fair attracted the participation of more than 200 publishing houses from Russia and abroad. Nhan Dan An inter-sectoral working delegation led by Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Quoc Cuong has visited Vietnamese Cambodians in Boribour district of Cambodias Kampong Chhnang province. At a working session between the delegation and the Khmer-Vietnamese Association in Kampong Chhnang The Vietnamese Cambodians are facing a range of difficulties, especially during the implementation of the Cambodian Governments policy to relocate households living in floating houses in Tonle Sap Lake. Cuong presented gift packages, including rice and cash, to about 600 Vietnamese Cambodian households in the areas. He encouraged them to abide by the law of Cambodia, while discussing measures to seek new livelihoods for them as well as education for their children. According to the Khmer-Vietnamese Association in Kampong Chhnang, the association has six chapters, with regular activities to popularize policies and laws of the host country among the community and advise them to send children to schools. Since September 2018, Kampong Chhnang authorities have conducted relocation of floating households. The local administration has supported the community in health care and resettlement areas. To date, more than 1,068 households have been relocated, while 641 others are still staying on fish floats. Earlier on May 23, the working delegation had a working session with Kampong Chhnangs Governor Chhour Chandoeun and relevant agencies taking charge of the Vietnamese-Cambodian community in the province. The provincial leader affirmed that the Cambodian side hopes to cooperate with Vietnam to develop a fish cage farming model and eco-tourism village. A representative from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam pledged to consider the model and provide technical support for Cambodia, including inviting Cambodian officials to visit some models in Vietnam. Cuong agreed to consider the provinces request for support to build two roads with total length of 7km into the temporary resettlement areas of Vietnamese Cambodian households. He proposed that Cambodia create optimal conditions for the community in infrastructure, health care and education.-VNA WHO to help in HIV crisis in Ratodero The federal government has sought cooperation of the World Health Organisation (WHO) in the ongoing HIV crisis in Ratodero, Sindh. Special Assistant to Prime Minister for National Health Dr Zafar Mirza has written a letter to the WHO and requested for immediately sending a team of experts to Pakistan. Prime Ministers aide has requested the WHO to send the experts team to visit the areas affected by the HIV epidemic. Pakistan has also requested the world health body to provide diagnostic kits for HIV/AIDS. The prime ministers aide in his letter asked the WHO to immediately provide 50,000 HIV diagnostic kits for the crisis areas, adding that the HIV cases have reached to epidemic level in Larkana district. Around 500 infected patients are children between two years to 15 years age, the letter to WHO said. The federal government has been in contact with the government of Sindh over the HIV crisis, the letter further said. Recently Dr Zafar Mirza visited Sukkur and Larkana districts to review the situation in the crisis areas of the region. Dr Mirza also held a meeting with Sindhs Minister of Health Dr Azra Pechuho during his visit and discussed the situation related to the HIV outbreak and governments measures to address it. The federal government will extend its full cooperation to Sindh for treatment and rehabilitation of the infected patients, Dr Mirza said. Federal health authorities will ensure provision of diagnostic kits and supply of medicines in the affected region, Zafar Mirza said. Vietnamese people living in the Czech Republic brought renowned Vietnamese songs to a festival of ethnic minority groups which was held in Ustecky province on May 24. A photo exhibition featuring Vietnam's land and people held at the festival (Source: VNA) The Government of the Czech Republic officially recognised the Vietnamese community living in the country as an ethnic minority group in mid-2013. This was the fifth time the festival has been held in Ustecky, aiming to introduce cultures of the ethnic minority groups to local people so as to enhance mutual understanding and narrow gaps between groups. Phan Dang Anh, member of the council of ethnic minority groups of Ustecky province, said that attending the annual event, the Vietnamese community wants to help people in the Czech Republic and other countries understand more about Vietnam. At this years event, Nguyen Lan Chi, a Vietnamese student, was named among the three excellent students to receive rewards from the council.-VNA Vietnams culinary culture festival opened at the Hanoi-Moscow complex (Incentra) in Moscow on May 24 as a highlight of the Vietnam Year in Russia and Russia Year in Vietnam 2019. Vietnamese dishes introduced at the festival Opening the event, Vietnamese Ambassador to Russia Ngo Duc Manh said that the festival aims to introduce to Russian friends the unique and diverse cuisines of Vietnam. In recent years, Vietnamese cuisine has become more popular in Moscow, he said, expressing his hope that the festival will give Russian people better understanding of the culture, nation and people of Vietnam. Tran Quoc Khanh, deputy head of the Department of Cultural Affairs and UNESCO under the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that through cuisine, the organisers hopes to introduce the spiritual life of Vietnamese people to Russian friends. Visitors to the event had a chance to enjoy dishes prepared by famous chefs from different regions of Vietnam. The festival also includes photo exhibitions, art performances and pavilions featuring the Vietnamese culture. The festival will run until May 26.-VNA The Vietnamese Students Association in Korea (VSAK) held the sixth annual conference of Vietnamese young scientists in Seoul on May 26. A Korean expert is presenting the Republic of Koreas development and research policies at the workshop In his welcome speech, Ambassador Nguyen Vu Tu pointed to the fact that the number of the Vietnamese students in the Republic of Korea is increasing vigorously to 50,000 now. They will play a key role in the development of economic development of Vietnam as well as the Vietnam RoK relations, he stressed, expressing his hope that the conference will create a new and strong encouragement for young Vietnamese scientists in the host country. President of the association Tran Thien Quang said the event is divided into eight sessions, including one on the East Sea. This is a valuable chance for Vietnamese students in the RoK to share and learn experiences in various fields. Organisers described this as an important event to further push up scientific research activities by young Vietnamese scientists in such fields as social sciences, biology and medicine, chemistry, engineering, construction, environment, information technology, telecommunication technology and new materials.-VNA NOTE: This story corrects the spelling of the store name in the photos. CEDAR FALLS A new Main Street business hopes to provide its customers an experience while they shop. Driftless Style will offer home decor with a story, and Kelsie Kunkle, 31, the owner along with her husband, Tyler, hopes to open its doors for a soft launch this summer the Thursday of Sturgis Falls and hold its grand opening in the fall. Driftless Styles has been a dream in the works for about two and a half years or so, said Kunkle. Everything is going to be hand-made. Kunkle choose the name because Cedar Falls technically falls right on the border of the Driftless region created by a lack of ancient glaciers and an abundance of hills and bluffs. My husband and I recently bought and remodeled a cabin up in Ferryville, Wis., at the heart of the Driftless region, Kunkle said. We came to know and love the type of landscape that is typical and defining of the Driftless area. Her experience and love of the Driftless region stayed with her and her family and pushed her to pursue her dream business. We would love for the place to be so intentionally curated on the inside where people can see artisan-made products are not only beautiful but theyre actually functional, Kunkle said. Its a sustainable way to design a place. Kunkle didnt start out as a businesswoman; she was a labor delivery nurse in the Cedar Valley. Later she switched career paths after her second child and started working with a company which sells fair-trade accessories. She fell in love with the artisan craft sector, she said. That really expanded my passion and knowledge of the fair-trade world and how that can work in business. Driftless Style will offer artisan goods from around the world from places like Morocco and Argentina. I really just saw this need for something locally I love, Kunkle said. Ive been in Cedar Falls since I was six years old and so I just love this community. My husband and I are invested here. Kunkle has noticed Cedar Falls consumers gravitating toward the concept of being socially conscience consumers. I dont think thats a trend right now. I really see that as a lifestyle switch for a lot of people, Kunkle said. I just saw there was a need for that purpose-driven purchase in the Cedar Valley. Kunkle says socially conscience consumers are interested in where their purchases are coming from. We work closely with our artisan business partners across the globe and in America and also locally, Kunkle said. Its really to make sure every product in our store is ethically sourced and represents a story of empowerment, Kunkle said. The purchases directly translate into dignified work for others so we can know and pass on these stories of the piece that were putting into our homes. The store itself boasts a modern and Bohemian design. Itll have more of an art-gallery feel, Kunkle said. We want people to see that these pieces are one of a kind. No two pieces are going to be the exact same. She wants to celebrate handmade products in the store. The road to opening the store wasnt easy for Kunkle. I have a large order in transit from Morocco right now, she said. Another order in Argentina is stuck in customs. Its been a journey to learn importing exporting customs, Kunkle said. Kunkle has traveled around the world to find sources for her store. She and her husband are high school sweethearts and graduated from Cedar Falls High School and were married while her husband was in college and she was working at Allen Hospital as a nurse. Theyve been married for 11 years. Our dreams really complement each other. This is a dream also for our family, Kunkle said. Shes building a loft in the back for her two girls who are 6 and 8 years old. Its going to be very much a family-owned business. Driftless Style will have limited hours on Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Fridays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. during the summer. After the grand opening this fall, Kunkle plans to expand the hours. On Friday evenings, Kunkle will open the space for people to host fundraising parties for various causes. Theyll also give back 5% of their product cost to nonprofit organizations chosen by the customer. Cedar Falls is so great about supporting local businesses, Kunkle said. Love 7 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 3 OSAGE For five years, Sydney (Hein) Hartogh showed pigs, before getting into cattle. In 2006, Hartogh bought a Red Angus heifer in western Nebraska, starting her on a journey of raising cattle. We then kept our breeding heifers and bought more cows, said Syndeys dad, Mike Hein. We enjoyed the cattle and it kind of grew from that point. In 2010, Mike and his wife, Ann, moved back to the Osage area from western Nebraska. The Heins farm land in the Little Cedar and New Haven areas. Sydney and her husband, Ben, are all part of the Hein Cattle Co., which produces some prize-winning Purebred Red Angus breeding stock. Mike said much of the success of the herd is due to an extensive AI breeding program. We have a pretty extensive AI program, he said. We also do embryo transplants and use our black cows as carriers. We use some high-dollar bull semen, mostly from Canadian b bulls. While many herdsmen calf in the spring, the Heins first calving starts around Labor Day and runs for about 45 days. The second calving begins around Christmas and ends in mid-February. We calf in the fall so we can take our 15-month-old bulls to winter and spring cattle shows in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and to the Black Hills as well as the Beef Expo in Iowa, Mike said. We also take eight to ten head to show at the Iowa State Fair. Each member of the family applies their personal skills toward the success of the herd. Mike breaks most of the show cattle to lead. Sydney does the clipping and fitting of the show cattle and then she usually does the showing. Being a mechanic, Ben keeps everything running on the farm. Ann keeps the breeding stocks records, which is a major task when dealing with purebred breeding stock. She keeps bloodlines recorded for the herd, along with other vital information. We have a scale under our working chute. When we wean, we weight every calf. Ann enters all that data online, Mike said. We also provide all that information to all our bull customers. I have to record every calfs birth weight, their 205-day adjusted weaning weight, the breeding stocks yearling weight and also the ultrasound information, Ann said. Each year, the cattle being sold for breeding stock are run into a chute and an ultrasound is done on them to determine the size of the ribeye area, back fat, while measuring the marbling in the rib-eye, which is important to herdsmen who are investing in the Heins breeding stock. The Heins breeding program and ongoing evaluation of their cattle has paid dividends. Sydney showed the Division Champion Bull in the State Show two years ago. We then went to the National Show in Louisville and that bull also won our division there, Mike said. We usually have a couple of champions at the Iowa State Fair. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Rankings for hard-cover books sold in Southern California, as reported by selected book stores: ___ Fiction ___ 1. "Where the Crawdads Sing," by Delia Owens (G.P Putnam's Sons: $26) A young woman living on her own in the coastal marshes of North Carolina becomes a murder suspect. 2. "Normal People," by Sally Rooney (Hogarth: $26) A high school star athlete and a loner connect while attending Trinity College in Dublin. 3. "The Island of Sea Women," by Lisa See (Simon & Schuster: $27) An ancient guild of female divers on a South Korean Island reckon with the destruction of modernity from 1938 to 2008. 4. "Exhalation," by Ted Chiang (Knopf: $25.95) An alien scientist makes a shocking discovery along with eight other short sci-fi stories. 5. "The Guest Book," by Sarah Blake (Flatiron: $27.99) The course of an American family over three generations, from the 1930s to present day. 6. "Machines Like Me," by Ian McEwan (Nan A. Talese: $26.95) A love triangle between a couple and a synthetic human set in an alternative 1980s London. 7. "Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid," by Jeff Kinney (Amulet: $13.99) Rowley Jefferson agrees to be the biographer for his best friend, Greg Heffley, while writing in a diary of his own. 8. "Circe," by Madeline Miller (Little, Brown: $27) A retelling of the story of Circe, who draws the wrath of both men and gods. 9. "The 18th Abduction," by James Patterson (Little, Brown: $29) Lindsay Boxer investigates the disappearance of three female teachers. 10. "The American Agent," by Jacqueline Winspear (Harper: $27.99) When the Germans attack the British Isles, Maisie Dobbs must solve a case and protect a young evacuee. Visit the Los Angeles Times at www.latimes.com Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 WATERLOO When the Ogre and Donkey set off to rescue Princess Fiona in the North Star Community Services production of Shrek, theyll walk under swamp trees dripping with Spanish moss that are 20 feet high. Theyll enter a forest that measures 32 feet wide with trees topping out at 16 feet. Shrek will be presented June 5 in the Great Hall at the Gallagher Bluedorn Performing Arts Center in Cedar Falls. All fairy tales need a little magic, and the elaborate set design for Shrek is a key to the production, says Director Greg Holt. We want it to be a visual spectacle for audience. What has been created is so beautiful and imaginative that it becomes a character in the show. That allows us to surround our performers with high production values and makes the performances look very professional, said Holt, artistic director at the Waterloo Community Playhouse. He has directed seven shows for North Star since 2008, including Jungle Book, The Wizard of Oz and Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. There are 86 costumed characters in Shrek. Last years performance, My Son Pinocchio, was attended by about 2,000 people, said Jodie Muller, North Stars director of donor and public relations. The family-friendly productions allow adults with a wide range of special needs and disabilities served by North Star to display their talents on stage and as backstage crew. Some performers are non verbal; others are in wheelchairs. North Star staff members shadow the actors so they dont need to memorize lines. New Hartford artist Bill Close has volunteered his skills for designing and building sets at North Star for the last 10 years. The retired art teacher from Peet Junior High School in Cedar Falls was known for the schools larger-than-life outdoor sculptures. He wrote about his work in the book BIG: The Story Behind Twenty-Three Years of Peet Junior High Megasculptures. At 72, Close said Shrek will be his last show. Along with his crew of retired industrial technology teachers Don Foth and Gary Needham, commercial photographer Jerry Grier and artist Jean Melick, Close has built sets for the productions 12 scenes. Ten years ago, the former North Star art director asked Close for advice on building sets. I came and helped and fell in love with the whole concept. Its rewarding work. I tend to overbuilt stuff, but I want it to be solid and safe, Close said. And its big. Really big. Fionas tower rises 22 feet high into the air and theres a dungeon for knights who fail to slay the fiery dragon. As the story unfolds, audiences will see a stained glass window that is 9-feet by 14-feet tall, a large barn (complete with cat and owl) where Fiona must hide when she is transformed each night into an ogre, and the field of sunflowers where Shrek plucks a bloom and plans to profess his love for Fiona. We want to fill the stage at the Gallagher Bluedorn. The first set I built for Peter Pan looked large, but it didnt begin to fill up the Great Hall stage, Close recalled. The volunteers have spent two days a week for several months building sets in a warehouse area at North Star. Its a creative outlet for all of us retirees. We all love the camaraderie, and Im working with a great group of people, Close said. Grier volunteered two years ago to work on My Son Pinocchio. He was impressed by North Star and its staff. Bills the boss, and I do whatever he tells me. Seeing the show and seeing the scenery on stage, its quite something, Grier said. Every detail matters, Close said, and the set designers enjoy being inventive. For example, Castle Duloc was painted using the optical illusion of forced perspective to make it appear even taller, and theres a rotating stage for Fionas flashbacks to her childhood. A campfire has framework concealing a fan that sends up cloth flames. The trick, of course, will be finagling the large pieces of scenery into trucks, loading into the Great Hall and constructing it on stage. Hanging scenery pieces from a batten above the stage will allow it to fly in lowered for a scene, then fly out raised from view to set the stage seamlessly for the next scene. Close admits moving day is always stressful. But the technicians at Gallagher Bluedorn are wonderful and great to work with on getting everything set up. Love 2 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. WATERLOO Police investigating the April 28 shooting death of Micalla Rettinger on Highway 218 heard a second gunshot while they were searching wooded areas in the predawn darkness, according to police records. It wasnt clear what, if any, significance, the gunshot if it was a gunshot has in the investigation into the University of Northern Iowa graduates unsolved death. Rettinger, 25, of Waterloo, was driving her Jeep on Highway 218 with her boyfriend and another passenger following work when a single shot entered her front drivers side window. The bullet struck her neck and lodged in the mouth of her boyfriend, Adam Kimball. Rettinger was a former standout softball player on the University of Northern Iowa softball team. She stayed in the area after graduation and was working at a dental office and at Mulligans restaurant and bar in Cedar Falls. Kimball survived, but Rettinger did not. The third person in the back seat has not been identified by police, but there were reports he was a visitor from out of the area. No one has been arrested in the case. The shooting was reported to 911 at 2:28 a.m. after a wounded Rettinger pulled over at the Greenhill Road exit. More than 15 police officers responded to the call that morning. A list of calls from the early morning hours show that some officers assigned to the shooting call reported hearing a second gunshot around 4:55 a.m. in the area of Greenhill Road and Greenwood Avenue a short street that parallels the Cedar River winding through a wooded area next to Highway 218. A patrol officer and two Violent Crime Apprehension Team officers spent about a half hour trying to track down the second shot, according to the call listing. Capt. Joe Leibold said the officers came up empty. He said it wasnt known if the noise was an actual gunshot or if it had any relation to the fatal shooting. Meanwhile, Waterloo Police and the Cedar Valley Crime Stoppers are still seeking people with information on the case to come forward. A reward, beefed up by multiple area business leaders, is up to $58,000 for information to help solve the case. Those with information are asked to call the Investigations Division at 291-4340, ext. 7, or Cedar Valley Crime Stoppers at (855) 300-8477. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 2 Sad 18 Angry 2 Welcome Guest! You Are Here: CEDAR FALLS Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand from New York made her first visit to Cedar Falls on Saturday as a Democratic presidential candidate. She spoke to a group of about 10 people at Scratch Cupcakery in Cedar Falls before taking a stroll down Main Street. She covered a variety of topics, including funding special education, making the immigration process easier for asylum-seekers and expanding Medicare. I take on the special interests. I take on the systems in positions of power that other people wont, she said. Ive stood up to the Pentagon twice, first over dont ask, dont tell and then over sexual violence in the military. Gillibrand said she is not taking money from PACss, Super PACs or from federal lobbyists, and she was the first candidate to post her earmarks, schedule and taxes online. We need to know that Congress represents people first. I think Im the candidate who will do whats right and go through the fire to do whats right and I think our country deserves that. It deserves someone that fights for them, she said. She said while on her stops in West Des Moines, Fort Dodge and Iowa Falls this weekend she has heard many issues Iowans are concerned about, including health care, flooding, debt-free college and underemployment. I have ideas and plans for all of these areas, and I have experience in legislation getting things done, she said, noting she has served on the ag committee for 12 years. Marcie Hagge, a retired special education teacher at Expo High School in Waterloo, said she is trying to see as many candidates in person as she can. She sounded very competent and knowledgeable, and it was good to hear her thoughts, Hagge said. She is concerned with Gillibrands ideas for transitioning to a Medicare for All program. So Im a little dubious because I have very good health care and I wouldnt want to lose what I had, Hagge said. Gillibrand is attending a church service today at Mount Carmel Missionary Baptist Church in Waterloo. 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. WATERLOO The Sullivan Hartogh Davis Cedar Valley Honor Flight is selling keepsake items to help raise money for flights. The organization flies veterans from the Waterloo Regional Airport to visit military memorials in Washington, D.C. The 25th flight is scheduled for Sept. 10. Supporters can buy 25th flight commemorative pins for $5; an 18-month calendar created by La Porte City Printing and Design for $20; and an 80-minute DVD of The Unknowns, a documentary about the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, for $20. Individuals wishing to purchase any of the items can call Craig White at (319) 215-7104 or Frank Magsamen at (319) 830-8807. They are also available at the Board of Supervisors Office in the Black Hawk County Courthouse. Meanwhile, White and Magsamen also are looking at getting the Healing Field flag display back to Black Hawk County around Veterans Day to honor Iowans killed from the Korean War to the present day. They are seeking monetary donations to defray the costs. White also wants to remind the public about the upcoming annual Vietnam War vigil taking place from Aug. 23-25 at the memorial in Paramount Park. Love 2 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 "It's not the family farms that we all know and love. It's these big, kind of corporate operations putting thousands and thousands of animals in small spaces." --- Black Hawk County Supervisors Chris Schwartz on the 5-0 vote by the board on a resolution asking the governor and Iowa legislators to halt any new concentrated animal feeding operations from being built until the state's water quality improves. WATERLOO Fifty years ago 74 sailors died on the USS Frank E. Evans off the coast of Vietnam. Their shipmate, Bill Thibeault, 69, is working to preserve their memory. Those sailors names arent on the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C., and Thibeault, of Connecticut, is working to change that. Hes written songs to raise awareness of his comrade in arms sacrifice. On Wednesday he came to Waterloo to the Grout Museum during the morning veterans coffee time and sang songs to commemorate his shipmates. We came close last year, Thibeault said. When we found out in July that it failed, I said, Ive got to wrap my head around this, and being a musician I wrote a song. Hes on a cross-country tour to let people know about the USS Frank E. Evans. On June 3, 1969, the ship collided with the Australian aircraft carrier HMS Melbourne while on a training exercise. The USS Frank E. Evans was split in half by the impact. At least 199 sailors survived the disaster. Hannah Ackerman, 23, of Cedar Falls, was at Thibeaults concert. One of her relatives, Ronald Arthur Thibodeau, was killed during the incident. Shes has had a major hand bringing attention to the 74 sailors. I first got to know the USS Frank E. Evans when I was asked to perform for their naval reunion in Waterloo in 2011, Ackerman said. I got to know their wonderful history, and their accident, and their cause. Shes put on performances to bring attention to the 74 lost sailors. I havent given up, Ackerman said. I continue to bring awareness of their cause to everyone veterans, politicians and other people. Im going to help keep fighting their fight until they get what they deserve. Thibeaults been trying to get the 74 sailors names on the Memorial Wall since 2003. This time hes hoping to attract enough attention that the story becomes nationally recognized. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 In 1776, Thomas Paine advocated independence from Great Britain and stated, In a free republic the law is king. Paine contended for as in absolute governments the King is law, so in free countries the law ought to be King; and there ought to be no other. However, President Donald Trumps lawyers John Dowd and Jay Sekulow in a 20-page letter (January 2019) to Robert S. Mueller III argued the president has complete power over Department of Justice investigations; the president is omnipotent. That argument and subsequent touting of executive privilege contradicts the fundamental reason the revolutionary patriots fought to depart English rule. This begs the question: Who should be king in the United States, the president or the law? Muellers 448-page report clearly documented Trumps pre-election and post-election behavior. Department of Justice legal beagles concurred Trump may have obstructed justice 10 times. Mueller properly left Congress to enforce the law. Like Presidents Andrew Johnson, Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton, Americans want to know: Is Trump guilty or innocent? But the country is divided. Should the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives start impeachment hearings? Should the House not conduct hearings since the Republican-controlled Senate would follow the party line and not vote to convict Trump? Should both the Democrats and Republicans keep silent so as to not interfere with their self-serving 2020 election hopes? Enter the oath of office. All members of Congress said, with one hand placed on the religious artifact of their choosing: I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States . . . so help me God. Articles I and II of the Constitution grant the House of Representative the sole power of impeachment and the Senate the sole power to try all impeachments. Moreover, Congress is obligated (key word) to remove the president, vice president and all civil officers from office for conviction of treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors. A plethora of Trumps misdemeanor behavior gleaned from 500 witnesses, 500 search warrants and 230 communication orders have been documented and presented to Congress. In high school geometry we learned the transitive law whereby if A equals B, and B equals C, therefore A equals C. Logically, since all Republicans and Democrats vowed to support and defend the Constitution of the United States, Constitution Articles I and II are clear in their intent and multiple misdemeanor allegations about Trump are available for judicious review, the House must, not may but must, start impeachment hearings, even if the political repercussions of such action may damage Democrats down the road. And, if the obstruction allegations are forwarded to the Senate, they must, not may but must, be the final jury, again, even if their vote damages the Republican Party. If hearings are not held, a precedent will be set for subsequent presidents to behave in whatever manner they so desire. Future historians will say, In 2019, A.D., 535 members of Congress, by remaining silent, determined threats, impediments and obstruction in the due administration of justice were acceptable and America switched from a democracy to a monarchy. Dear Congress: You represent American citizens. Settle this once and for all. Is Trump guilty or innocent? Place your constituents and the republic before partisan politics. Honor your oath of office and our Constitution, and get behind the impeachment process or resign from office. To do nothing is a blatant dereliction of duty and a slap in the face to citizens of all political persuasions who support and defend the Constitution of the United States of America. Steve Corbin is an emeritus professor of marketing at the University of Northern Iowa. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not reflect those of the University of Northern Iowa. Love 4 Funny 2 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 In America, we now spend half of our time campaigning for the next presidential election, and the other half trying to destroy whoever is currently in office. For what purpose? Citizens have become like a piece of flotsam bouncing up and down on the waves of a sea, never getting to see under the surface or ever getting to the shore. Almost all the political news is a rant promoted by special interests, or a call for the personal destruction of others because of a set of rules materialized out of the never-ending retelling of the abuse and anger of one group or another. Organizations and governments are frozen into inaction because of bureaucratic process and thousands upon thousands of regulations. Governments no longer govern but act as echo chambers for bureaucrats and special interests feeding at the public trough. Congress has a 20 percent confidence rating from the American public, lower than any other major institution in the country, and it has refused to make any meaningful changes. Yet, it has been almost impossible to explain to the powerful in the media and in both parties why Donald Trump was elected, and why he still has the support of almost half of all Americans. The voters keep trying to send a message, but governments and those who benefit from them refuse to listen. It is rare for the electorate to allow one party to take control of a government. They will generally split power into different segments even if it deadlocks the government. The voters obviously do not trust government to do the right thing. With perhaps one exception, for 40 years the voters have elected Washington outsiders for president who have one thing in common. One way or another, they each have promised to get government off our backs. None have succeeded. We now have a nation run by thousands upon thousands of rules processed by millions of bureaucrats who cannot be fired or, in most cases, even reprimanded. Politicians campaign, but they do not govern. They spend their time posturing in front of cameras and trying to say or do something that will get some attention in the media for a few hours. Changes are drastically needed, tax laws are a mess, regulations are costing unnecessary trillions of dollars, anyone can be sued for anything and tort reform is overdue. Education doesnt need more money, it needs fundamental restructuring. But neither the Democrats nor the Republicans want to actually do anything. Doing something will only cause trouble.Insiders still seem to believe Trump was elected because voters are stupid. The electorate, however, seem to be aware of how dysfunctional our governmental systems have become and keep trying to send a message. A message that is continually being ignored. What should be done is difficult to articulate, but I recommend a new book by Philip Howard titled Try Common Sense, (which goes after both liberals and conservatives) for an insightful picture of what needs to change in America. Dennis Clayson is a marketing professor at the University of Northern Iowa. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author. and do not reflect those of the University of Northern Iowa. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Driving along Colorados scenic byways, one might be distracted these days by a series of billboards promoting safe abortions or, depending upon ones route, alternatives to abortion, as well as assorted child-rearing recommendations. They make one wistful for the old crazy preacher shouting the Gospel from an overturned fruit crate. If abortion was once a relatively quiet matter involving women and their doctors, it is no more. Thanks to extreme anti-abortion legislation in several states, notably Alabama, as well as laws elsewhere relaxing standards for late-term terminations, the American landscape may soon resemble a political campaign of dueling candidates. Family vacations, meanwhile, may impose uncomfortable conversations with the kids. Mom, whats an abortion? I remember once trying to answer this question for a young child. He burst into tears before I could find better words to make this thing not a nightmare. Children have a way of informing adults, dont they? Fun times ahead, summer campers! One billboard causing controversy near the Utah border reads: Welcome to Colorado, where you can get a safe, legal abortion. I guess if youre a woman who is conflicted over her pregnancy and you drive past the sign, you might find some relief in the message. But for most other people that is, me it would surely be an unwelcome intrusion upon their meditations. Nothing like a gargantuan abortion reminder to ruin a Rocky Mountain high. Not to make light of a serious issue that weve been debating for 40 years, but our interstate highway system risks becoming a sticky-note space ride through someone elses business, as 50 states adopt 50 different abortion policies. Already, the Guttmacher Institute calls the nation a lattice work of abortion law. Earlier this month, Alabama passed legislation banning abortion in all cases, unless a womans life is threatened (with no exceptions for rape or incest). Several other states recently have passed so-called heartbeat bills prohibiting abortion after six weeks, when something like a heartbeat is detected. Even six weeks is repugnant to those who want to protect human life from conception. While these apparently unconstitutional laws are challenged in courts, possibly all the way to the Supreme Court, states will be exercising their rights by signaling to the rest of the nation their various definitions of life. The group behind the Colorado billboard Keep Abortion Safe is unabashed in its purposes. Co-founder Fawn Bolak says the group hopes that the sign will bring women from neighboring states to Colorado for their reproductive needs. The goal: To be a bold message to our neighbors coming in. That they are now entering a state that respects and allows them to make their own reproductive health care decisions, Bolak told Denvers CBS affiliate. We also have instances of folks traveling from all over the country to come to Colorado for the access we have. Even recognizing pro-choice advocates desire to amplify their message of safe and available abortions, the billboard smacks of commercialism where none should exist. Advertising abortion as a commodity further dehumanizes the unborn and diminishes the moral impact of what is proposed. Will discounts next be offered in exchange for referrals? Billboards in states where heartbeat legislation has passed or is percolating surely would have a distinctly different look. Georgia has more than 9,800 billboards (second most behind Florida), while Louisiana boasts 7,000. Clearly, theres plenty of room for everybody to express themselves, though one reflects longingly on Lady Bird Johnsons mission of beautifying America by eliminating billboards. Pro-life billboards often feature babies with a message about gestational benchmarks. In one, produced by the group Prolife Across America, a baby exclaims: What? I could feel pain before I was born? Whatever transpires in courtrooms, the stage has been set for states to define themselves according to legislators interpretations and perhaps build marketing strategies around them. If many people (my hand is raised) have been offended by huge posters displaying partially aborted fetuses, a common occurrence at political conventions and statehouse rallies, just imagine what could be down the line. States regulate the content of billboards, so perhaps were in luck, but free speech challenges wouldnt be surprising as the two sides escalate their war of words and images. Meanwhile, road travelers are involuntary witnesses to a debate that many would prefer not to have. To a nation defined by individual autonomy, the only thing worse than the personal tragedy of abortion is the audacity of the self-ordained to govern when and under what circumstances women have children. Billboard that. Kathleen Parkers email address is kathleenparker@washpost.com. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Memorial Day is a time to reflect on the men and women who died to preserve our way of life. The truth is we should always be thinking about them and it should always be incumbent upon us to examine the policies that put our armed forces in harms way. Is there a foreign policy document to guide when and where we deploy our influence and power? Do we refer to specific criteria so America carries the moral authority expected of this free and powerful nation? What we do have are vague concepts that have been subjected to so many conflicting interests our authority on the world stage has diminished. The officially stated goal from the U.S. Department of State is: to create a more secure, democratic and prosperous world. Could anything be more vague? What determines security? Prosperity? What are the parameters? It attempts to follow George Washingtons policy themes: Observing good faith and justice towards all nations and cultivating peace and harmony with all, excluding both inveterate antipathies against particular nations, and passionate attachments for others. The United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs elaborates: Export controls, including nonproliferation of nuclear technology and nuclear hardware; measures to foster commercial intercourse with foreign nations and to safeguard American business abroad and protection of American citizens abroad. The trend of U.S. policy since our Revolution has been the shift from non-interventionism to hegemony. President Franklin D. Roosevelts support of the Allies against Germany and Japan resulted in an intense debate that initially determined our policy was to finance and equip the Allied armies without sending American combat soldiers overseas. Roosevelt then defined fundamental freedoms to rally American involvement. These were freedom of speech and religion, as well as freedom from want and fear. From here on a new expansionist American foreign policy followed with an exponentially expanding set of directives obscured by myriad political and corporate interests.Lack of clarity may be the fundamental dysfunction of government. This is a conundrum we must resolve if were to find balance domestically and abroad. Just as we refer to our Constitution we should have a document to guide involvement around the globe. What if we called for a new Continental Congress? Im being a bit tongue-in-cheek, but I do believe Thomas Jefferson suggested we hold one every 50 years to secure relevance in a changing world. This congress would draft The Constitution of American Foreign Policy. It is essential to coalesce the fundamental parameters and purposes that protect our sovereignty and our troops. As we perpetually face conflict in the Middle East and consider loss of life and global impact, we must be clear on what it is were doing and why. Knowing that brave men and women will follow the call to duty, let us do them the service of cherishing their lives today and every day. Gary Kroeger is a local business owner and advertising executive in Cedar Falls. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 As we enjoy the liberties we too often take for granted, it is worth recalling the words of the early 19th century civil rights leader George William Curtis: A mans country is not a certain area of land, of mountains, rivers and woods, but it is a principle and patriotism is loyalty to that principle, he wrote. During the Memorial Day observance Monday, whether we are Americans by chance (birth) or choice (immigration), it is a time to reflect on the freedoms we should cherish, while honoring those whose sense of patriotism included giving their lives to preserve them. For all the wars Americans have fought overseas, often in pursuit of liberties for others, the most devastating occurred at home. During the Civil War, 620,000 deaths occurred, according to 19th century statistics, but revised to 850,000 more recently. Two-thirds died not in battle, but from diseases in an era when antiseptics didnt exist. An estimated 13,000 Iowans succumbed, among the 76,000 troops from the state, including an all African-American regiment. In both the North and the South, citizens would decorate the grave sites of the fallen with flowers. Gen. John A. Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic, an organization of former Union sailors and soldiers, declared May 30, 1868, as the first Decoration Day. It was commemorated throughout the nation. At Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, where 5,000 people gathered to decorate the graves of 20,000 Union and Confederate soldiers, Gen. James A. Garfield, made a statement for the ages: We do not know one promise these men made, one pledge they gave, one word they spoke; but we do know they summed up and perfected, by one supreme act, the highest virtues of men and citizens, the future 20th president said. For love of country they accepted death, and thus resolved all doubts, and made immortal their patriotism and their virtue. In 1971, Congress approved the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, making Memorial Day the last Monday of May. While one motivation may have been a three-day weekend a holiday that for many exists solely to mark the end of the school year and beginning of the summer vacation season the importance of the day should not be forgotten. For perspective, we are listing below (from a Des Moines Register database) those from The Couriers circulation area who lost their lives in the most recent U.S. military actions in Afghanistan and Iraq: AFGHANISTAN Command Sgt. Maj. John Keith Laborde, 53, Army Reserve (died April 22, 2010), Reinbeck, married, five children. Spc. Donald Nichols, 21, Army National Guard, (April 13, 2011), Shell Rock, single. Spc. Travis Vaughn, 25, Army (Feb 18, 2007), Cedar Falls, married, one child. IRAQ GySgt. Jeffrey Bohr, 39, Marine Corps, (April 10, 2003), Ossian, married. Spc. Seth Garceau, 22, Army National Guard (March 04, 2005), Oelwein, single. Lt. Richard Gienau, 29, Army National Guard (Feb. 27, 2005), Tripoli, single, one child. Petty Officer 2nd Class Jaime Jaenke, 29, Navy Reserve (June 05, 2006), Iowa Falls, single, one child. Spc. Joshua Knowles, 23, Army National Guard, Feb. 5, 2004), Sheffield, single. Spc. Christopher Opat, 29, Army (June 15, 2010) Lime Springs, single. Sgt. Eric Steffeney, 28, Army (Feb. 23, 2005), Waterloo, married, three children. Staff Sgt. Mark Wall, 27, Army (April 27, 2006), Alden, single. Lance Cpl. Cody Wanken, 20, Marine Corps, (April 2, 2008), Hampton, single. You can get a better understanding of the sacrifices made by those who have served by visiting the Sullivan Brothers Iowa Veterans Museum in Waterloos Grout Museum. It honors all Iowa veterans from the Civil War to present with compelling stories vividly told by exhibits, 35 interactive activities and an electronic Wall of Honor. (All veterans and active members of the military are admitted free.) In Flanders Field may not be American in origin written by Canadian medic Dr. John McCrae in 1915 after losing a friend in battle during World War I, it describes a graveyard in Belgium but its sentiments are universal, and true for those we honor today: In Flanders Fields the poppies blow Between the crosses row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below. We are the Dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved and were loved, and now we lie In Flanders fields. Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high. If ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders fields. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Dog tag DEAN MEYER WATERLOO To the person(s) who sent Luvies dog tag to us, wed like to thank you. It was lost early last year. If ever you see a guy with a yellow lab and black and white Springer spaniel at the lake, please come say hi and let me thank you in person. I may even have a soda or beer for you. With all the negative things going on in our country right now, youve shown me there are still decent people in this world. It wasnt expensive, but it was her first tag and has sentimental value. Thank you again. What happened? PAUL HIGGINS WATERLOO JFK inspirationally remarked, Ask not what your country can do for you ask what you can do for your country. He later suggested, Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democrat answer, but the right answer. Let us accept our own responsibility for the future. JFK, a brilliant, articulate and inspirational leader. What happened to his political party? To clarify for Biden, Harris, Sanders and their like-panderers and their very gullible sheep in tow: U.S. taxpayers are expressly not responsible for paying for an unknowns education, health care, housing or anything else for that matter, including Wangs national income guaranty. The desperate left, all gussied in their Claus suits, offers no solutions to the obvious concerns, largely created by the D.C. political cesspool just more pseudo free stuff. Taxpayers for generations to come would be well served to review JFKs and MLKs doctrines and adapt immediately. They, theirs and their country would benefit immediately. Too bad these doctrines are not universally taught. God bless our military families this Memorial Day. No to bond vote EDWARD OLTHOFF CEDAR FALLS - Carney, Alexander, Marold & Co. L.L.P. audited the Cedar Falls Community School District for the year ending June 30, 2017, and submitted the audit report Jan. 5, 2018. Their 10-year summary revealed a deficit of $38 million over the previous 10 years. Cedar Falls Community School District liabilities included existing bond indebtedness of $66 million, an IPERs pension liability of $29 million and an OPEB obligation of $1 million. They had $79 million in net capital assets. Now they need a $70 million bond plus around $25 million interest, and $43 million cash for a new high school. How far dare they go in debt? The high school students (including my son) are excelling in the old building. The Cedar Falls School administrator and board are skillful at spending other peoples money and coveting other school districts buildings. Wait a few years. Vote no for the Cedar Falls High School bond referendum. Birth control HERMAN LENZ SUMNER Thanks to everyone for their letters about climate change, global warming, species extinction and pro-Planned Parenthood. Columnist Kathleen Parker was brave to mention the exploding world human population, which is the root cause of the above. One person today does more pollution and environmental damage than 100 people did 100 years ago, but the religionists and Republicans wont admit it because they dont want to admit human birth control is necessary. Big government RICHARD BETTERTON CEDAR FALLS In his opinion column May 12, Saul Shapiro uses the liberal tactic of a few examples to try and create a fact. In reality, the most likely reason people are turning to socialism is the lack of the knowledge of capitalism as the creator of economic prosperity. Given the history of business practices of the late 19th and early 20th century it is doubtful any objective person would believe the majority of corporations or wealthy industrialists created a model for labor relations. However, they did create the economic progress that eventually drove the United States to economic prosperity. They also did what the wealthy do today: They gave vast amounts of money to worthy causes all around the United States and the world. It is difficult to believe the rich are less compassionate today. There are studies that report rich Republicans donate more to charity than any other segment of society. Also, much of the lack of corporate benefits and pensions can be attributed to the continual interference and regulation by the federal government. Big government is the problem, not the solution. Socialism is just another term for big intrusive government. Letter response EDNA BRUNKHORST WAVERLY How disappointing to read the Erinn Crane letter Womens Health in the May 19 Courier in which Planned Parenthood was extolled to have been such a wonderful boon to womens health. My generation failed miserably if this is an example of what schools of nursing and the Catholic church are teaching this generation, and I fervently hope this is not the case. Nurses of all people know life is precious and starts at conception, and the Catholic church teaches all life is from God, the Creator and abortion is an abomination. The reason the number of abortions is down is because Planned Parenthood clinics have been closing all over the country and few doctors find satisfaction in killing unborn children. Abortion is not health care. The legality of abortion is quite questionable since it has not been put to a vote in either the House or the Senate nor signed into law by the president but was foisted on the country by the Supreme Court ruling in Roe v. Wade in 1973. Pro-life petition ROGER W. SMITH WATERLOO Following is the substance of a petition addressed to members of the Iowa Legislature, which I have signed and returned to Iowa Pro-Life Action: Whereas, nearly 4,500 unborn babies have their lives violently snuffed out by the barbaric practice of abortion in Iowa every year; and in the horrific Roe v. Wade ruling itself, the Supreme Court noted that if life was ever declared to begin at conception, then unborn babies must be protected by the U.S. Constitution; and if passed, the Iowa Life-at-Conception Act would legally recognize that life begins at conception and finally put an end to abortion in Iowa; and its time self-proclaimed pro-life members of the General Assembly do more than just campaign on putting an end to abortion; therefore, I urge you to end the horror of abortion by cosponsoring and seeking roll-call votes on the Iowa Life-at-Conception Act. I included a donation to Iowa Pro-Life Action in Urbandale. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 ANDOVER, N.Y. Many Pagans have a connection to the ancient Celtic cultures that pre-existed in Europe and parts of Asia some 30 centuries ago. The cultures extended from Ireland to Spain and then east through central Europe to modern day Turkey. Individuals from various traditions such as Druidry, Witchcraft, and Wicca draw spiritual inspiration from arts and stories of Celtic culture that still survives along the so-called Celtic fringe of Europe; and whose modern host nations, along with Celt-Iberia, were the origins of migrants that came to well-known destinations like the United States, Canada, and Australia but also to lesser known places like modern-day Argentina and Cuba. With them, of course, came the art and music of Celtic lands that still fascinates. After some 20 years of planning, the first International Conference for Celtic Artists will soon be held on the third annual International Day of Celtic Art. Craftspersons and scholars of Celtic art will converge on the small, rural town of Andover, New York, just north of the Pennsylvania border and a couple of hours south of the Canadian border, June 7th-9th to celebrate and explore Celtic arts. The gathering will bring together many artists who have never met face to face. It will also serve as an opportunity for scholars from North America, as well as Ireland and the United Kingdom, to come together and discuss new research on ancient artwork. Andover is an unlikely destination for rich discussions of Celtic art. The story of its selection for the epicenter for the International Day of Celtic Art is, however, a personal one. In 1958, a young artist, William Scotty MacCrea, was hired as the art teacher at the combined public elementary, middle and high school, Andover Central School. MacCrea was from a Gaelic-speaking Canadian family of Scottish origin. He taught as well as created art that included Celtic elements. Over thirty-one years of teaching and mentoring artists, his infectious enthusiasm for Celtic artistry spread across Andover. MacCrea, now 86, will be one of the presenters at the conference. Macraes legacy will be presented by a former student covering the fifty years of the growth of Celtic art in the town because of MacCreas championing of the artform which has produced an exceptionally strong local appreciation and tradition. The International Day of Celtic Art was first celebrated in 2017. The day is the result of a group of enthusiasts who began online conversations almost 20 years ago. The day was selected for the Christian St. Columba (Columbkille in Scots), who was born in Ireland and gained the respect but not conversion of King Bridei, leader of the Pictish kingdom of Fortriu, in the modern region of Inverness-Loch Ness, Scotland. He is the Catholic patron saint of bookbinders. The artistry that is covered in the scholarship and by the artisans will be geographically broader than just Ireland and Scotland, and the time period extending from pre-Christian artwork to modern interpretations of Celtic designs. The Celtic designs are familiar to many Pagans and polytheists. It consists of the characteristic knotwork and spirals as well as the interlaced ribbons that construct stylized animal motifs. These have become emblematic of the Celtic culture that survived Romanization in Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. It is also characteristic of the surviving Breton, Cornish and Manx traditions. The northern regions of the Spain and Portugal have these Celt-Iberian traditions and imagery as well, particularly the Spanish areas of Asturias and Galicia. The Celtic art form reached it golden age sometime between the 7th to 10th centuries CE. It has undergone numerous resurgences such as the Celtic revivalism of the 19th century and the current revival that began some 40 years ago. It has certainly gained attention among Pagans with practices focused on Celtic spirituality; and over the course of the last three decades gained increased mainstream popularity. Academic lectures will occur throughout the event, but the main keynote speech will be by Irish scholar Dr. Donncha MacGabhann who will present A Magnificent Obsession; An Artists Response to the Book of Kells. Additional lectures will cover the gamut of Celtic art research and history from Pictish stone monuments, arts in the Celtic diaspora as well as updates on restorations and Illumination methods. The upcoming event will be crafts-centered, as well as academic. There will also be workshops from practicing artists on Celtic knot-working, contemporary embroidery and metalwork. The weekend will provide an opportunity to strengthen practice and appreciation of Celtic artistry. As Mr. Michael Carroll, a Chicago based calligrapher notes, There has never been a better time to be a Celtic artist. Carroll is a master of illumination in the traditional Irish Celtic style most often associated with the 8th Century manuscript, the Book of Kells. The organizers comment that, Celtic art is being created around the world. Its makers are as varied as the mediums in which they work some working in very traditional mediums and styles, while others are taking their work into new technological formats and applications. The International Day of Celtic Art is an opportunity to explore the new incarnations of Celtic artistry in both modern and classical forms. The event will take place on and around the town center at Walker Metalsmiths Celtic Jewelry owned by organizer and master craftsman, Steve Walker, who became interested in Celtic art reportedly through bagpipes. His interest in Celtic art spans almost five decades and includes an MFA in metalworking. The website is somewhat sparse but clear. Organizers do note that presentations and gallery are free to the public but there are paid registrations for $100 that include food and other events. Discounts are available for youth and students. There are also additional registrations for specific classes. The organizers hope that individuals around the world will help celebrate Celtic art even if they are unable to visit Andover during the festivals. They note, Wear your Celtic jewelry, clothing and accessories prominently. Display your artwork with pride. If you are a collector, this is a good day to brag. 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Crash of 20072009 stripped American middleclass families of wealth. It gave rise to nativist politics on the right and socialism on the left, killing credence in neoliberal market capitalism in both the United States and Europe. It buried the Washington consensus that had energized bipartisan support for U.S. leadership around the world. Indeed, China has replaced the United States as the leading country whose investment drives the global economy. In his 2018 letter to shareholders, Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, described the state of the union as follows: Middle class incomes have been stagnant for years. Income inequality has gotten worse. Forty percent of American workers earn less than $15 an hour, and about 5% of full-time American workers earn the minimum wage or less, which is certainly not a living wage. In addition, 40% of Americans dont have $400 to deal with unexpected expenses, such as medical bills or car repairs. More here. Soyuz-2 rocket launches the 58th GLONASS mission The Russian military successfully delivered a fresh satellite to replenish the nation's orbital navigation network, despite a lightning strike on the launch vehicle. The 58th mission to deploy and maintain the GLONASS constellation lifted off into rainy skies over Plesetsk Cosmodrome on the Soyuz-2-1b/Fregat rocket on May 27, 2019, at 09:23 Moscow Time (2:23 a.m. EDT). Slightly more than three and a half hours later, the GLONASS M-58 satellite was released into its circular orbit about 19,000 kilometers above the Earth's surface. Previous GLONASS mission: GLONASS M-57 From the publisher: Pace of our development depends primarily on the level of support from our readers! GLONASS-M No. 58 mission at a glance: Satellite designation(s) GLONASS-M No. 58 (a.k.a. Uragan-M; 14F113; Kosmos-2534) Launch vehicle Soyuz-2-1b , 14A14 Upper stage Fregat 14S44 No. 112-09 Launch vehicle payload fairing 14S737 Launch site Plesetsk, Site 43 , Pad 4 (Launch complex 17P32-S4) Launch date and time 2019 May 27, 09:23:00 Moscow Time Target orbital altitude ~19,000 kilometers Target orbital inclination 64.8 degrees toward the Equator Orbital position within GLONASS constellation Plane 2, Position 12 Preparing the mission At the start of 2019, Roskosmos and the Russian Ministry of Defense began planning the launch of a Soyuz-2-1b rocket with a Fregat-M upper stage to replace an ailing satellite GLONASS M No. 723 in Russia's GLONASS orbital constellation. According to original plans for the deployment of the GLONASS system, it was expected that one of three missions in the course of the year would deliver previously manufactured Uragan-M satellites for the network, along with two more launches carrying new-generation GLONASS-K and GLONASS-K2 satellites. A single Uragan-M satellite (a.k.a. 14F113) for the 58th GLONASS mission arrived at Russia's military launch site in Plesetsk from a storage facility of its developer ISS Reshetnev on April 13, Roskosmos announced two days after the fact. According to the State Corporation, at the time, a joint team from ISS Reshetnev and Plesetsk was processing the satellite and its separation system from the upper stage. The operations included the installation of the spacecraft on the separation adapter, its integration with the upper stage, followed by autonomous and integrated tests, Roskosmos said. The delivery of the satellite to Plesetsk marked the start of the launch campaign, which normally lasts around a month, but in the final week of April, the liftoff of the mission was reported to have been postponed from May 13 to May 27. According to a standard launch campaign with the Soyuz-2-1b/Fregat-M vehicle carrying the GLONASS-M satellites, on-pad operations normally last for three days, including backup time to resolve unforeseen issues. The fueling of the rocket with propellant components normally begins around three hours before the scheduled liftoff time. In case of a delay, a second launch attempt can usually be made within around 24 hours, before a postponement for a longer period is be required. How GLONASS-M No. 58 was launched The liftoff of the Soyuz-2-1b/Fregat-M vehicle with the GLONASS-M No. 58 satellite took place as scheduled on May 27, 2019, at 09:23 Moscow Time (02:23 a.m. EDT) from Pad 4 at Site 43 in Plesetsk. After several seconds of vertical ascent, the launch vehicle headed southeast to reach an orbit with an inclination of 64.77 degrees toward the Equator. The four boosters of the first stage were to separate around two minutes into the flight and were expected to fall at drop zone S-19 in the eastern section of the Arkhangelsk Region. Around 45 seconds later, as the vehicle was leaving the dense atmosphere, the payload fairing protecting the satellite split into two halves and its fragments were likely to impact the ground at the S-20 drop zone in the Komi Republic. The second (core) stage of the rocket was to continue firing until around 4.7 minutes in flight, separating moments after the ignition of the RD-0124 engine on the third stage. Moments later, the cylindrical aft section of the third stage was to split into three segments and separate as well. The core stage and the fragments of the aft section aimed to fall at the S-21 drop zone in the Omsk Region. The third stage of the rocket was to complete its powered ascent and separate from the payload section nine minutes and 22 seconds into the ascent. The third stage was then expected to reenter the Earth's atmosphere near the opposite side of the Earth from the launch site and its flaming remnants were projected to fall into the southern section of the Pacific Ocean. A warning to air traffic for the area was issued on May 24. A lightning strike Several minutes after the planned liftoff time, the official TASS news agency confirmed the fact of the launch. Quoting a Ministry of Defense representative, the announcement said that all pre-launch operations and the liftoff of the Soyuz-2-1b rocket had gone as planned. The assets of the Titov Chief Test Space Center of the Space Forces within the Russian Air and Space Forces, VKS, began tracking the launch vehicle at 09:26 Moscow Time, the Ministry of Defense said. The separation of the payload section, including the Fregat upper stage and a GLONASS-M satellite was confirmed as taking place at 09:32 Moscow Time. Shortly thereafter, the military TV channel also reported that around 10 seconds after liftoff of the rocket into a rainy and cloudy sky, the vehicle was hit with a lightning strike, but, apparently, suffered no damage. According to a military TV announcer, the rain started around five minutes before the liftoff. Video footage released after the launch showed lightning striking the ascending rocket and the tip of the lightning pole on the launch pad, from which the vehicle had lifted off a few seconds earlier. Space tug maneuvers Following the separation from the third stage, the Fregat-M upper stage will use its own propulsion system to deliver the spacecraft to its operational circular orbit more than 19,000 kilometers above the Earth's surface. The first Fregat's maneuver, lasting just around 20 seconds, will insert the stack into an initial parking orbit and, after a less-than-half-an-hour passive flight, the Fregat will fire its main engine again, this time for around 9.5 minutes. The second maneuver will stretch the orbit to a target altitude of more than 19,000 kilometers, which the Fregat/GLONASS stack will climb for more than 2.5 hours before firing again. The third Fregat maneuver in apogee, lasting just under four minutes, will make the orbit circular, and will be followed by the separation of the satellite around 30 seconds later. Shortly after the planned separation of the satellite, the Russian Ministry of Defense confirmed that the Fregat upper stage had successfully delivered GLONASS-M satellite into orbit and that ground control had established and maintained stable telemetry link with the spacecraft, whose onboard systems functioned normally. According to the Ministry of Defense, with the launch of the 58th mission, Russian GLONASS constellation included 27 satellites. Upon the release of the satellite, Fregat is usually programmed to conduct two maneuvers with its attitude-control thrusters, SOZ, to enter a burial orbit above its former satellite passenger. Within hours after the launch, the NORAD listed two objects associated with the launch in orbit with an inclination around 64.8 degrees toward the Equator. The first appeared to be a satellite in a 19,126 by 19,155-kilometer orbit, while the second object in a 19,152 by 19,509-kilometer orbit could be a Fregat upper stage detected after it had maneuvered away from the satellite: International ID NORAD ID Orbital inclination Perigee Apogee 2019-030A 44299 64.799 degrees 19,126 kilometers 19,155 kilometers 2019-030B 44300 64.772 degrees 19,152 kilometers 19,509 kilometers Next GLONASS mission: GLONASS M-59 An artist rendering of the Uragan-M (GLONASS-M) satellite in deployed configuration. Credit: ISS Reshetnev GLONASS-M satellite. Credit: ISS Reshetnev Click to enlarge. Credit: Rossiya TV Soyuz-2-1b rocket with GLONASS M-58 lifts off into rainy sky on May 27, 2019. Click to enlarge. Credit: Russian Ministry of Defense Click to enlarge. Credit: Rossiya TV Around 10 seconds after liftoff, the lightning was seen striking the rocket and the launch pad. Click to enlarge. Credit: Novosti Kosmonavtiki Fregat upper stage boosts Uragan (GLONASS-M) satellite into orbit. Click to enlarge. Copyright 2017 Anatoly Zak Fregat and GLONASS-M satellite approach the release orbit. Click to enlarge. Copyright 2017 Anatoly Zak Returning to the grind after a three-day weekend is never easy, but there are plenty great events this week to help smooth the transition. Recharge on Baker Beach with outdoor yoga, head out of the city for the Healdsburg Jazz Festival, or remember the Elbo Room at the newly rebranded Valencia Room. Plus, get ready to eata lot. Look at this wayit's a short week. Have a good one! Monday, May 27th See on Instagram Camping-inspired ice creams. Through June 28th Bay Area Salt & Straw locations, saltandstraw.com Summer is pretty much here and Salt & Straw is celebrating with five new flavors inspired by outdoorsy trips to Bodega Bay. Swing by for scoops of North Coast Foraged Trail Mix (sea salt ice cream with salal berry jam, Bodega Bay seaweed, apricots, figs, and nuts); Mushroom Muddy Buddies (peanut butter-and-chocolate-coated Chex, hazelnuts, and candied mushrooms); Campfire S'mores; and more. // Sales will help raise funds for national parks. Memorial Day BBQ & Bacchus Noon to 3 pm The Winery SF, 30 Ave. G (Treasure Island), winery-sf.com Still no plans for the holiday? Grab your friends and head to The Winery SF on Treasure Island for a Memorial Day filled with with barbecue, music and plenty of poursand none of the hassle of hosting. The Winery offers hand-crafted wines that will instantly transport you to Wine Country, and the best part is, with every wine tasting purchase, you'll also get a hot dog to munch on. // Registration (free) can be found on eventbrite.com. Picnic in the Presidio Noon to 2 pm Main Parade Ground (Presidio), presidio.gov If you're staying local this weekend, cross you fingers for sunny weather and head to the Presidio for a low-key picnic. If you have some extra time, arrive early to catch some of the formal Memorial Day ceremony at 9:45 am. Food is available for purchase (cash only), or bring your own spread. // Registration (free) can be found on eventbrite.com. Yoga on the Beach 11am to 12:15 pm Baker Beach (Presidio), outdooryogasf.com Take a moment to appreciate the beauty of San Francisco on Memorial Day with beach yoga taught by Julianne Aiello. Close your eyes, breathe in the salty sea, and allow the beats of live DJ Gabriel Francisco to help you reset after a three day weekend. // Tickets ($28) can be purchased on eventbrite.com. Tuesday, May 28th The All Bark and No Bite cocktail at Elements on One65. Courtesy of ONE65 Early Rubens 9:30am to 5:15pm, Tuesday through Sunday Legion of Honor, Lincoln Park, 100 34th Avenue (Presidio), legionofhonor.famsf.org Spend the day at the Legion of Honor checking out one of their newest exhibitsEarly Rubens. The collection is by artist Peter Paul Rubens (15771640), one of the first celebrity artists. Keep an eye out for his piece The Massacre of the Innocents, a painting that was thought to be lost only to be found and auctioned in 2002 for a record-setting sum for the time, 49.5m. Pro tip, these paintings are so old they were made before electricity was invented, so bring and wear your sunglasses to get the real context of how these works should be viewed. // Tickets ($28) and event info on legionofhonor.famsf.org. Hang out at the Elbo, er, Valencia Room 5 m to 2 am The Valencia Room, 647 Valencia St. (Mission), valenciarm.com After years of hearing the Elbo Room was closing (and that the condos were coming), the space has been bought up by the owners of other SF drinking holes, Playland and Topsy's, and remodeled and renamed to The Valencia Room. Expect new lighting, some refreshed interiors, upgraded bathrooms (thank god), and a new sound system. Two Fine French Restaurants One65, 165 O'Farrell St. (Union Square), one65sf.com The epic culinary project that is One65 is coming together: Last week, the delightful patisserie and bakery opened, now this week two more floors in the six-story eater's paradise have opened: One65 Bistro & Grill, and a bar/lounge named Elements. Stop in for delicious eats from Michelin-starred chef/partner, Claude Le Tohic. // Reservations can be made on one65sf.com. Wednesday, May 29th See on Instagram "Food For Thought" Panel 7pm to 10pm SFJAZZ, 201 Franklin St. (Civic Center), sfjazz.org Engage in a discussion about food, access, affordability, and equity organized by Mother Jones and featuring panelists Alice Waters, Justin Phillips (San Francisco Chronicle), Tanya Holland (Brown Sugar Kitchen), and Paul Willis (farmer/entrepreneur). // Tickets ($25-$50) can be purchased on eventbrite.com. SF DocFest Through June 13th Shows at the Brava Theater, 2781 24th St. (Mission) & Roxie Theater, 3117 16th St. (Mission) Indie and documentary film lovers, get pumped for this two-week festival of movies. There are so many flicks to see, peruse the whole lineup on agileticketing.net. // Get your festival tickets ($14-$15 for each show, or $240 for a full pass) on sfindie.com. Thursday, May 30th See on Instagram "Vanity Fair" Menu at Merchant Roots Thursday through Saturday, through July 27th The Table at Merchant Roots, 1365 Fillmore St. (Fillmore), merchantroots.com If you haven't yet made it out to the intimate Chef's Table dinner series at Merchant Roots, where artfully prepared courses are served on custom dinnerware to show-stopping effect, now is the time. The latest menu, Vanity Fair, featuring courses like a swan-shaped gougere; sunchoke croquettes; prawn consomme cooked tableside; and snail wellington topped with snail caviar. // The 10-course menu ($168/person, $85/wine pairings) can be purchased on Tock. Cannabis Flower to the People 6:30pm to 8:30pm Canopy Jackson Square, 595 Pacific Ave (Jackson Squre), canopy.space CBD still seem a little confusing? Head to this cannabis event hosted by the Pineapple Collaborative and featuring speakers including Haejin Chun (Big Bad Wolf) and Jewel Zimmer (Juna Drops) as they debunk myths and explain the benefits of CBD for wellness and self-care. Eats from La Mediterranee will be provided. // Tickets ($32) can be bought on eventbrite.com. Rent the Runway + Levi's: 501 Month Celebration 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm Rent the Runway, 228 Grant Ave. (Union Square), renttherunway.com For anyone who swears by their Levi's, and who's also a Rent the Runway member, this exclusive RTR + Levi's collab event promises a range of denim-centric activities. Catch a styling demo, preview two upcoming collections, get personally fitted, and even rent a few pairs of Levi's at the event. // The event (free) is exclusive to RTR members; register at eventbrite.com. Sonoma Speed Festival Thursday through Sunday Sonoma Raceway, 29355 Arnold Dr. (Sonoma), sonomaraceway.com Love classic cars? Head to the raceway to see some of these babies in action. There's a bunch of events happening over the three days of the festivalcar showings, a car parade, vintage dragster demo, winery dinners, plus chef cooking sessions and wine tasting at the track's Sip & Savor Pavilion. // Tickets ($75 day passes, $100 weekend passes) can be bought on sonomaspeedfestival.com. Friday, May 31st See on Instagram Healdsburg Jazz Festival Through June 9th Various venues, Healdsburg, healdsburgjazzfestival.org Head to Healdsburg anytime over the next week to catch some great live jazz with performances at theaters, wineries, galleries, bars, brunches, and the movies. In between shows, cruise the Jazz Village for educational events, smaller performances, and more. // The schedule and tickets ($35 and up, per show) can be found on healdsburgjazzfestival.org. Catch a Beatles Tribute Band 8pm The Peacock Court at the Mark Hopkins Hotel, 999 California St. (Nob Hill), intercontinentalmarkhopkins.com Drink, dance, and sing the night away to some live music featuring Beatles classics performed by one of the best -tribute bands around, The Sun Kings. The event is happening at the historical, lavish Peacock Court so get ready to channel some old school glam. // Tickets ($40) can be bought on brownpapertickets.com. Closing Performances of Jangala 7:30pm tonight; 3pm and 7:30pm Saturday Odell Johnson Performing Arts Center Theater, 900 Fallon St. (Oakland) Catch the last few shows of Jangala, a show of Indian Bharatanatyam dancing showcasing stories from The Jungle Book set in an urban city scene, following the adventures and survival of a lost boy taken in by wolves. // Tickets ($30) can be bought on oaklandballet.org. Saturday, June 1st See on Instagram Brunch in Downtown Oakland Saturdays, 11am to 3pm Mockingbird, 416 13th St. (Oakland), mockingbirdoakland.com Downtown Oakland fav Mockingbird has expanded its menu to offer Saturday brunch with fun twists on American classics like a creme brulee French toast, avocado and smoked trout tartine, and a Moroccan spiced chicken hash. // Reservations can be made at mockingbirdoakland.com. Union Street Fair 10am to 6pm, Saturday and Sunday Union Street from Gough to Steiner (Marina) Summer festival season is kicking off with this classic Marina street fair. Several blocks of Union Street will be closed off to allow you to wander among pop-up street food, craft vendors, outdoor beer gardens, and mini-stages with a variety of live music (jazz, blues, countryyou name it). // Full event info on unionstreetevents.com. Bi-Rite Creamery Grand Re-Opening 11am to 10pm Bi-Rite Creamery, 3692 18th St. (Mission), biritemarket.com Hallelujah, the Dolores Park ice cream mecca is back after a few months of construction for a seismic retrofit. Check out the newly updated space, enjoy a temporary outdoor parklet, and enter a celebratory sweepstakes to win free Bi-Rite Creamery scoops for a year during their grand opening weekend -- oh, and def come ready for ice cream. 6th Annual Pints for Paws 2pm to 5pm Berkeley Humane, Ninth & Carleton Streets (Berkeley), berkeleyhumane.org More than 50 local breweries and wineries are coming together to raise funds for our furry friends. The usual food trucks, live music, and games will be on-hand to keep the day going. Dogs welcome! // Tickets ($65) can be found on berkeleyhumane.org/pints-for-paws. Power Pasta for a Cause 5:30pm to 11pm, daily Flour + Water, 2401 Harrison St. (Mission), flourandwater.com In case you've forgotten about Flour + Water with the slew of new restaurants popping up everyday, here's a reason to revisit the Italian hot spot. Over the next 10 months, the restaurant will be partnering with various guest chef from the Bay Area's top restaurants to offer special a la carte pasta dishes, with 100 percent of the proceeds supporting the visiting chef's preferred charity. This month, eat a pasta from Ravi Kapur of Liholiho Yacht Club, and look for collabs soon with Nicole Krasinski & Stuart Brioza (State Bird Provisions & The Progress), Sarah & Evan Rich (Rich Table), Val Cantu (Californios), Melissa Perello (Frances and Octavia), Reem Assil (Reem's & Dyafa), and Brandon Jew (Mister Jiu's & Moongate Lounge). Can you say powerhouses? // Reservations available and walk-ins encouraged. High Times' Cannabis Cup NorCal Through June 2 The Cannabis Cup is back in Northern California! The most coveted award in the industry returns to Sonoma County for the crowning of this year's finest. Catch A-list musical performances, meet world-renowned cannabis producers, and enter an edible taste test. Don't miss your chance to join in and experience the movement. // Sonoma County Fairgrounds, 1350 Bennett Valley Rd. (Santa Rosa); tickets are available at hightimesnorcal.frontgatetickets.com. *Thank you to our partners at High Times. Sunday, June 2nd See on Instagram Palm House Anniversary Luau 12pm to 4pm Palm House, 2032 Union St. (Marina), palmhousesf.com Palm House, a favorite Marina watering hole, is hosting its annual luau with a live steel drum band, patio tiki bar, poke bar, and whole roasted kalua pig. // Free to attend; optional event ticket ($30) gets you a cocktail, the luau feast, and priority entrance to Palm House if things start getting packedfind it on eventbrite.com. Day at the Beer Garden 11:30am to 11pm Sunday through Thursday, 11:30 am to midnight Friday and Saturday Willkommen, 2196 Market St. (Castro), willkommen.beer Soak up the vibes of Oktoberfest at this indoor beer garden where floor-to-ceiling windows provide all natural light you you need and festive greenery overhead is as good as the great outdoors. Expect about 10 beers on tap from Black Hammer Brewing alongside some curated German beers as well, Plus Germain drinking snacks like sausages from Rosamunde's. Prost! Harvest Uncorked Noon to 3pm Santa Rosa Golf & Country Club, 333 Country Club Dr. (Santa Rosa), clubcorp.com Hit up a new wine tasting event (with a few spirits for good measure), along with bites from more than 30 vendors. While you mix and mingle, make sure to get some raffle tickets for a chance to win special Sonoma experiences (think private wine cellar dinners, dinner at Single Thread, or a weekend getaway). Proceeds support Sonoma Family Meal to feed families affected by natural disasters in our area. // Tickets ($80) can be found on getharvestcard.com. Wine Down the Weekend 2pm to 5pm DecantSF, 1168 Folsom St. (SoMa), decantsf.com Pop into the newest wine bar in town, DecantSF, for their first event in a new series called Somm Sundays. Patrick Cappiello (sommelier and owner of Renegat Wines) will be on hand to walk you through wine flight tastings and offer bottle specials of his Monte Rio Cellars wine. // Find more info on eventbrite.com. Wine & Wags Noon to 4:30pm Livermore Valley Wine Country Livermore Valley's dog-friendly wineries host a day of fun for dogs and their owners. Bring your four-legged friends (on a leash, of course) and enjoy a day in beautiful Wine Country. Local animal rescues will be partnered with wineries, promoting adoptions of their furry friends that need a home. Come with your dogs, stay for the wine, and possibly leave with a new best friend. // Tickets ($30/pre-sale; $35 at the door) are available at lvwine.org. *Thank you to our partners at Livermore Valley Wine Country. County systems shut down in August after notification of a breach Brown County's emergency management director is confirming a notice of access resulted in the county system being shut down in August. Students help feed, groom horses, clean stable SANTA ANA PUEBLO A group of sixth- and seventh-grade students from Christ Lutheran School in Albuquerque volunteered their time to help groom and feed rescue horses at the Stables at Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort on Wednesday. The students were taking part in an annual four-day educational and fundraising event that teaches the importance of horse rehabilitation and creates a supportive environment for the animals to recover in, according to Connie Collis, founder of the Tamaya Horse Rehab and stable director. Its not easy to quantify a specific cost for taking care of a horse because each horse has its own unique needs, she said. According to Collis, the basic cost for each horse runs nearly $200 to $250 a month. Used to be, we could do it for a bare minimum of $100those days are gone, she said. Once we had a drought here and California had fires and Texas had floods, all the supplies we need have more than doubled (in cost). Collis funds most of the stables needs from her 14-year-old trail riding business at Tamaya, but she said she also relies on fundraising to keep her rescue sustainable. Anyone who comes trail riding here helps supports the horse rescue, and you dont have to be a guest to do it, either, she said. In order for us to help more people and more horses, we have to raise money, plain and simple. Collis said each horse she rescues is taken to a veterinarian, which can be costly because by the time she gets the call to help, the horse is already in poor shape. Besides taking care of the horses, we also provide training for our volunteers, she said. We all know a lot, but there are some things we just dont know, so having the training to continue to help these animals is why we are trying to raise funds. Collis said she currently has 50 horses in the rescue program, with all needing help in one form or another. Tallie Schroeder, volunteer and teacher at Christ Lutheran School, said bringing city kids to the stables gives them a chance to get up close and personal with an animal they wouldnt otherwise have a chance to interact with. I think it shows them in order to have something, you need to take care of it, she said. Especially for animals, it teaches the students that it takes hard work to have and maintain them. Schroeder said most of the kids volunteering have never really experienced hard manual labor. I think this type of work helps them build character and teaches them responsibility, she said. Its a win-win because we help Connie and the kids walk away learning a life lesson. According to New Mexico for Equine & Open Government, between 7,000 and 19,000 horses are abandoned in New Mexico annually. The Tamaya program works to rescue neglected, abused and unwanted horses in New Mexico and rehabilitate them by providing veterinary care, food, shelter and training so they can survive and lead healthy lives. There are miracles great and small in Dr. Erica M. Elliotts memoir Medicine and Miracles in the High Desert My Life Among the Navajo People. Several miracles appear in the first chapter, introducing Elliotts struggles improvising health care in a bare-bones clinic in Cuba, N.M. The chapter centers on the clinic, her first 24 hours of her first job out of medical school in 1986. She miraculously manages to stay alert to treat patients in an overnight shift through the next day. It was a miracle that Elliott temporarily resuscitated a Navajo medicine man who had been run over by a truck and rushed to the clinic, where X-rays revealed a crushed chest, all his ribs fractured and blood pooled in his lungs and chest cavity. After that chapter, the memoir takes the reader back 15 years to the start of her work on the Navajo reservation. A 23-year-old college graduate, Elliott is teaching at a Bureau of Indian Affairs boarding school in Chinle, Ariz. Her fourth-graders dont know English, and she doesnt speak Navajo. Because of Elliotts open mind and open heart a miracle of cross-cultural instruction ensues, paving the way for mutual acceptance and newfound bilingualism. Through English her students learn reading, writing and arithmetic. At the same time, Elliott learns to speak Navajo and to understand Navajo culture and customs with the help of a Navajo teachers aide, her students and their families with whom she spends some weekends. Elliott writes of being the beneficiary of a miracle while hiking solo in southern Utah. She nods off in a sleeping bag dreaming about the strong scent of a billy goat. The smell of musk follows her out of the dream. Before I could open my eyes, I heard a sniffing sound right next to me, Elliott writes. Without moving, I opened my eyes and Oh my God, I am being sniffed by a mountain lion, inches from my face! I closed my eyes, frozen in fear, waiting for his claws to dig into my skin and tear me apart. Nothing happened. Weeks after the encounter, the Navajo grandmother of a school colleague offered an explanation: The mountain lion was Elliotts spirit guide. It came to give her courage to face future obstacles in life. Elliott related another miracle, this one concerning a lymph node that had enlarged and hardened under her chin. An internist in a Ganado, Ariz., hospital told her it could be cancer and recommended a biopsy. Elliotts innate fear of hospitals propelled her to flee before having the biopsy. Instead, she tracked down two medicine men, one Hopi, one Navajo. But both said they didnt have the expertise to help her. Then a Navajo family recommended a Road Man, a person who leads Native American Church peyote ceremonies. Elliott was invited to participate in a ceremony. After two years in Chinle, Elliott broadened her experience in traditional Navajo ways. She spent the summer herding 597 sheep and goats for an elderly Navajo couple who lived near the foot of Shiprock. After that summer, Elliott joined the Peace Corps teaching school in a Quechua indigenous community in the Ecuadorian Andes and wrote a bilingual book for classroom use. Book of the week review Infobox hed Prev 1 of 6 Next About 36 years ago, art critics greeted Judy Chicagos Birth Project with derision. Now this iconic work designed by the Belen resident and stitched by 150 needleworkers is in demand across the country. The Harwood Museum of Art in Taos is opening Judy Chicago: The Birth Project from New Mexico Collections on Sunday, June 2. The exhibition will include more than 20 works that explore mythological representations in relation to women and creation. Selections from the project have already appeared in Pasadena, Calif.; Tallahassee, Fla.; St. Paul, Minn.; and at Miamis Art Basel. In Taos, the show features more than 20 tapestries celebrating the birth-giving capacity of women amid the flowering of their creative spirit. Designed by the author, artist and feminist, the pieces combine painting and needlework from the Harwood, the University of New Mexico Art Museum and Through the Flower, Chicagos nonprofit feminist art organization. Suddenly, theres all this interest in the Birth Project, Chicago said. Thats one of the things about my work 36 years after I do it, they go, Wow. It took 30 years to place The Dinner Party. This is a woman who is accustomed to being told no and doing it anyway. Chicagos work defiantly resists the patriarchy with a searing intensity. She showcased mediums such as needlework and embroidery, rejected by both male artists and critics as womens crafts. Born Judy Cohen in a lower-middle-class Chicago neighborhood, she changed her name in 1969 to assert my independence. She trained at UCLA in the 60s, founded a womens art gallery and moved from minimalist sculpture toward the images of female genitalia and radical feminism that made her famous or infamous, depending on your point of view. In The Dinner Party, her best-known and most controversial work, she set a huge triangular table with ceramic plates, symbols of women in western history. The piece celebrated 39 women, including Georgia OKeeffe, Virginia Woolf and Emily Dickinson. Chicagos plates were unabashedly explicit membranous designs in bright, sometimes lurid colors. By the time The Dinner Party arrived at the Brooklyn Museum in 1980, it triggered an uproar. In 2007, the museum accepted it into its permanent collection. Chicago conceived The Birth Project as The Dinner Party ended. When I did the drawing, it was quite raw, she said. When I saw it in needlework, it was completely different. The works depict maternity dresses, birth traditions and issues enveloping motherhood and the birth experience. Chicago researched birth practices around the globe and watched a live birth. She returned home in tears. I just thought to myself, If everybody grew up seeing this, there would be no idea of the vulva as a passive organ. Its tremendously powerful.' She was shocked to discover how rarely this natural process surfaces in art. A virtually unknown painting by Frida Kahlo was the exception. Chicago and her needleworkers gestated 85 exhibit units across five years. Although she knows nothing of sewing or embroidery, she discovered an unaccountable eye for designing needlework. The tapestries reveal the act of giving birth to be much more than a physical process; emotion and spirituality flow within the designs. Chicago used birth as a metaphor for creation. Individual lines undulate and spiral with depictions of lotus flowers, insects, fish and reptiles in evolutionary streams. Others feature an unashamed look up the birth canal, reading like a celebration of the feminine divine. The wrenching pain of labor is present; screams rent some of the womens mouths; the rippling designs pulse with agony. Some of the stupidest things have been written about The Birth Project, Chicago said. One of my favorites was that I degraded women by putting them on their backs. It is interesting to me that the work seems as relevant today as it was over 30 years ago when I first created it, she added. In 2018, Time magazine labeled Chicago one of its 100 Most Influential People. If you go WHAT: Judy Chicago: The Birth Project from New Mexico Collections WHEN: Opening reception noon- 5 p.m. Sunday, June 2. Open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Friday; noon-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday through Nov. 10. WHERE: The Harwood Museum of Art, 238 Ledoux St., Taos HOW MUCH: $10 adults, $8 seniors (65+), $8 students at 575-758-9826, harwoodmuseum.org. Its not up to the standards of the Democratic presidential campaign, but the race for northern New Mexicos 3rd Congressional District seat looks like it will be crowded. Officially, seven Democrats have registered to run for the U.S. House seat that represents Santa Fe, Rio Rancho, Farmington, Clovis and Gallup, and parts in between and beyond, up to the Colorado border. One has dropped out since filing and another is deceased, but plenty of others are talking about throwing hats into this ring. The good thing, both for political animals who like a good fight and for voters in general, is that at least at this point, there does not appear to appear to be an obvious favorite, no designated prince or princess for which the pathway to victory has been cleared. Lujan, leaving the House to run for Senate next year, didnt have a total cakewalk when first elected in 2008. But as the son of the powerful state House speaker at the time (the late Ben Lujan), he appeared to benefit from other potentially strong Democratic candidates deciding that the better part of valor was to stay away. Lujan has romped to re-election since then, with no serious primary competition, and Republicans havent been able to compete in such a blue district. This time around, Valerie Plame, a Santa Fe resident since 2007, has made the biggest splash in the 3rd CD race. Famously outed as a CIA operative by the George W. Bush administration, she is a nationally known figure no one else in the race has ever had a Hollywood movie starring Naomi Watts and Sean Penn made about part of their biographies. Her story gives her instant credibility with Democrats and has to be good for many campaign bucks from far and wide, and she has been an active part of the community since coming to New Mexico. She also probably has the inside track toward becoming the pick of Santa Fes progressive political establishment, despite that blip about tweeting out an article about Israel from a website considered anti-Semitic and then apologizing for it. The question is whether she can gain sufficient traction in the rest of the district, or will voters away from Santa Fe be turned off by the sheen of her national fame and the inevitable accusations that shes carpetbagging. Santa Fe lawyer Teresa Leger Fernandez has an impressive resume: an undergraduate degree from Yale, a law degree from Stanford, service on the federal Advisory Council on Historic Preservation under appointment by Barack Obama, and time as a White House Fellow with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in the Clinton administration. She was prominent in one high-profile political story she represented a group of voters who successfully sued to force Santa Fe to use ranked-choice voting in the 2018 election, as city voters had mandated by approval of city charter amendment a decade before. She will have to build name recognition to have a chance. Still, Leger has something Plame doesnt deep New Mexico roots via her family in the Las Vegas area. Then theres Santa Fe District Attorney Marco Serna, another scion of traditional northern New Mexico. He established political bonafides by winning a hard-fought race for the top prosecutors job in 2016, racking up big margins in Rio Arriba County and holding his own in the other two counties in the judicial district Santa Fe and Los Alamos for the primary, then taking out a Republican with ease. Hes filed to run for the 3rd CD, but has refused to say he will in fact be a candidate. Serna comes with a built-in political base developed by his father, former state insurance superintendent and longtime politico Eric Serna, that helped the son raise money from around the country during his race for DA. But that same legacy has a flip side voters rejected Eric Serna in a special election for the 3rd CD seat in 1997. The father also left the insurance superintendents job in 2006 amid controversy and investigations over contributions to a charity that Serna helped start by insurance companies and a bank that did business with the state Insurance Division. Marco Serna also has a significant blemish on his record as district attorney a judge let a murder defendant walk free because Sernas office couldnt meet speedy trial deadlines. The other viable Democratic candidate to file so far is first-term state Rep. Joseph Sanchez of Alcalde. But his chances in a Democratic field are diminished by conservative votes he made in this years legislative session. As we said, others are talking about getting into this race, but none of them is an obvious frontrunner, either. Its tempting to divide up 3rd CD voters by various demographics neighborhood, wealth and ethnicity and start making predictions about who will win. It may come down to which candidate can hold on to his or her base and get just enough votes from elsewhere to come out on top. So far, who that will be is far from clear. Copyright 2019 Albuquerque Journal Police believe an elderly Santa Fe man was beaten to death more than 13 years ago, and some officers are still pushing for charges against the man they believe did it. Walter Donlon, 87, died in November 2005 from injuries suffered in his north-side home. His property manager, Marvin CdeBaca, called 911 from the house, and said Donlon fell and hit his head on a TV. But doctors at a local hospital determined that Donlons injuries were inconsistent with a fall, and crime scene technicians later said that he was injured while he was sitting in a chair. Santa Fe and State Police officers believed CdeBaca killed Donlon, but CdeBaca was never charged. A former Santa Fe district attorney said last week that the evidence was not strong enough to charge CdeBaca with murder. CdeBaca has always maintained his innocence. The case has garnered new attention after a recent KRQE news story. A spokesman for current Santa Fe DA Marco Serna says the case is being reviewed. The Office of the Medical Investigator determined that Donlon died of blunt force trauma and noted that he had three wounds on his head that were inconsistent with a fall. Donlon briefly regained consciousness in the hospital and said they beat me before losing consciousness again, according to a 2006 search warrant affidavit. He died 10 days after he was injured. CdeBaca was considered a person of interest early in the investigation, according to Journal news stories from September 2006. Although there was no physical evidence that CdeBaca harmed Donlon, police believe financial motives tied him to the case. CdeBaca had taken over Donlons finances and became his personal representative when Donlon died, the police affidavit said. A collection of gold coins was also missing from Donlons study after his death. Angela Spence Pacheco, who took over the DAs office at the beginning of 2009 and served through 2015, said in an interview this week that her office took the Donlon case very seriously. We spent a lot time on it, working with the police, Pacheco said. They did a good job on the investigation. But it was clearly a circumstantial case, she added. In the end, there wasnt sufficient evidence to go forward. The Santa Fe Police Departments case agent, SFPD Detective Tony Trujillo, could not be reached last week. He is among the officers involved in the effort to push for Serna to file charges in the case. Donlons wife, Theresa Campora-Donlon, died of natural causes at 94 in June 2006. The couple did not have children. Former Santa Fe DA Henry Valdez, who preceded Pacheco and was in office when the Donlon investigation started, said in a recent interview that he vaguely remembers the case, but recalls the evidence as being circumstantial. I do remember there being some concerns (about the evidence), Valdez said. The case was two years old before we even got it. Valdez said he remembers the case being set for a grand jury hearing that was cancelled because the lead prosecutor had a family emergency. But Valdez said scheduling a grand jury hearing doesnt necessarily mean the hearings purpose was to seek an indictment of CdeBaca. He said it could have been to subpoena documents, which is common in financial cases. Valdez said a decision was then made to let the incoming DA Pacheco take over the case after his term ended in 2008. Former State Police investigator Paul Chavez said recently that the evidence was strong enough for prosecutors to at least try charging CdeBaca. In my opinion, I think it is a very strong case, Chavez said. What kind of physical evidence do you need? He said he worked on nearly 200 homicide cases and has seen a lot more circumstantial cases move forward. Chavez said he was brought in to analyze and reconstruct the scene in the Donlon case. He said evidence indicates that Donlon was beaten on the head as he was sitting in a chair. He said the investigating officers have approached every DAs administration since the investigation started. We have brought it to their attention and met with them, he said. Murray Gell-Mann, a Nobel Prize-winning American physicist who devised the eightfold way to bring order to the world of elementary particles and conceived the idea of quarks to explain the structure of such particles, died May 24 at his home in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He was 89. The death was confirmed by Jenna Marshall, a spokeswoman for the Santa Fe Institute, which Dr. Gell-Mann helped found. The cause was not disclosed. Among physicists, Gell-Mann could easily be placed on the timeline of the centuries-old effort to find the fundamental laws that governed the behavior of the everyday world and the universe around us. He was a pioneer in the development of what is called the standard model of particle physics, a guide to the fundamental behavior of the constituents of the universe. The Nobel Prize was awarded to Gell-Mann 50 years ago, when he was barely 40, suggesting the early recognition of the significance of his contribution to science. Murray Gell-Mann was a seminal figure in the history of physics, Thomas Rosenbaum, president of the California Institute of Technology and a physicist, said in a statement. A polymath, a discerner of Natures fundamental patterns, and, as such, an expositor for the connections of physics to other disciplines, Murray helped define the approaches of generations of scientists. A child prodigy, Gell-Mann grew up in the Bronx, graduated from Yale as a teenager and soon came to be identified with the development of such concepts as the strangeness of elementary particles. It was an apt name for an important characteristic of the particle world in which scientists found themselves in the years after World War II, as high-energy atom smashers produced a proliferation of odd and curious particles that challenged physicists earlier assumptions. One of Gell-Manns most widely hailed achievements was a proposal grouping all fundamental particles by eight characteristics, some of them described as quantum properties with no counterpart in the everyday world. He named his system the eightfold way, in reference to a Buddhist concept in which the path to enlightenment embodies a list of eight virtues to achieve harmony in life. The term seemed appropriate for a system that offered coherence and predictability where chaos had prevailed. As a means of explaining the symmetries inherent in the eightfold way, Gell-Mann came up with the idea of the quark to describe a subatomic structure even more basic than what had once been regarded as fundamental. Others also proposed the idea that particles once thought of as indivisible were actually composed of smaller constituents. But it was Gell-Manns designation for these particles that stuck. Quarks may be synonymous with modern physics, but they take their name from modernist literature. Gell-Mann found the term in James Joyces Finnegans Wake, which contains the line three quarks for Muster Mark. The word quark, much like the eightfold way, represented the breadth of Gell-Manns interests. In addition to addressing the most challenging problems of the physical world, he was at home in literature and philosophy and was conversant in a dozen languages. (He delivered part of his Nobel acceptance speech in Swedish.) In the early part of the century, the particles considered to be the fundamental constituents of matter were the proton, neutron and electron, whose basic qualities were termed charge and size and mass. As physics advanced, new characteristics were discovered in subatomic particles. Scientists used the terms up, down and strange to describe other qualities called flavors. He postulated a fourth quark, with a property he called charm, that was later proved by experimentation. Gell-Mann and other physicists also suggested that quarks must possess another property in addition to flavor. They dubbed that property color, assigning different quarks the names red, green and blue. Although abstract, these quark characteristics possessed a significance in the physical world and gave rise to a powerful theory of particle interactions. Gell-Mann named this theory quantum chromodynamics. The test of a theory is in its ability to predict the behavior of the real world. Gell-Manns theory was validated by later research on subatomic particles, including a landmark discovery in 1964 of a particle known as the Omega minus. I predicted that experimental physicists would find certain ones; that they would not find others, Gell-Mann once said. And this was all true. . . . They actually found all those that I predicted and didnt find any others. Murray Gell-Mann was born Sept. 15, 1929, in New York City. He was the youngest son of Jewish immigrants from Austria. His father, a learned man, operated a language school and later worked in a bank. (His father changed his surname from Gellmann to Gell-Mann after emigrating to the United States.) He showed early ability in many academic subjects and was dubbed the walking encyclopedia by schoolmates. My principal interests were all in subjects involving individuality, diversity, evolution, he said in an oral history with Caltech, where he was a longtime faculty member. History, archaeology, linguistics, natural history of various kinds birds, butterflies, trees, herbaceous flowering plants and so on those are the things that I loved. Plus mathematics. Plus all sorts of other things art, for example, and music. Gell-Mann began his studies at Yale when he was barely 15. He had considered studying archaeology or linguistics, but his father suggested engineering because it would help him find a job. They compromised on physics. Gell-Mann graduated from Yale in 1948, when he was 18. He earned his doctorate in physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1951 and had stints at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, and the University of Chicago before joining the Caltech faculty in 1955. He retired in 1993. He and his first wife, Margaret Dow, were married in 1955. She died in 1981. His second marriage, to Marcia Southwick, ended in divorce. Survivors include two children from his first marriage and a stepson from his second marriage. According to Caltech, Gell-Mann eventually became interested in the idea of complexity, a concept that is common to disciplines including biology, ecology, sociology, and computer science. In 1984, he co-founded the Santa Fe Institute in New Mexico to study such complex systems, and in 1994 published The Quark and the Jaguar, a book exploring those ideas. Summarizing his theoretical studies in 1969, when he won the Nobel, Gell-Mann said, Our work is a delightful game. I like to see my students every day. I know that sounds obvious, since I am a teacher, but I really do. I like to hear them say good morning to me as they walk in the door they dislike this, but I love it. I want to read what they are writing every day. If they are verbally quiet, sometimes reading their writing is the only way I learn things about them. I enjoy listening to them talk to each other during our end-of-the-day STEM project. When I dont see my students, I get worried. This year, it happened much too often. It began when I noticed a trend in my classroom. Some of my students were not coming to school on a regular basis. They would miss one day a week or maybe a few days in a row. When I looked at my attendance records, I realized that some of them had missed close to 20 days in the school year. I addressed it with my school administration, and they agreed with me that even 10 days was too much. It is essential for a student to be at school. And yet, my districts policy is that a student has to have 20 unexcused absences before we can do something about it. Until then, a students absence can be excused by the parent just by calling in or sending a note. This means that students can miss as many days as they want. When I asked my students where they were, I would often hear, My parents were gone, and I just didnt get up for the bus. There are many important educational issues, but none of them matter if a student is not at school to learn. It is every students right to get the best education possible, and we are failing them if we cant ensure they are at school most of the time. The Revised 2019 Department of Educations report, Chronic Absenteeism in the Schools, puts it this way: Students who are chronically absent meaning they miss at least 15 days of school in a year are at serious risk of falling behind in school. HB 236, the Attendance for Success Act, passed in the New Mexico Legislature and was signed by the governor. HB 236 aims to prevent absences and calls for earlier intervention for students who are absent or chronically absent. The bill also calls for specialized support and referrals for children and families. One of the most significant goals of this legislation is the introduction of chronic absenteeism into New Mexicos state law. Currently, the Compulsory Attendance Law in New Mexico only outlines habitual truancy, defined as 10 or more unexcused absences. In my district, it is the excused absences that are often the problem. Changing the law to focus on all absences, not just unexcused, is a good start. It will allow districts to reform outdated attendance policies and practices. HB 236 also covers the mandatory use of an Early Warning System and the enforcement of attendance improvement plans. However, districts will still bear most of the financial burden in enforcing the new law. Im hopeful implementation of this bill will help districts enforce attendance policies that are based on the best interests of the student and create better support systems to help families get students to school. We cannot expect the parents to do this alone when there are extenuating circumstances. Attendance policies that have worked in other states have included notifying parents after the third or fifth unexcused absence and requiring parents to meet with school administration. That way if the family needs help, it can be addressed at the meeting. If the parent fails to meet with the school they are fined, referred to the court or both. Absenteeism and chronic absenteeism are problems we need to address in our communities and the state as a whole. We want to hold our students to high expectations, and one of those expectations is they show up for school. If there is something getting in the way of that, lets fix it together. Ruth Gallegos is a Teach Plus New Mexico Teaching Policy Fellowship alumna. Its called the Wangiri or one-ring scam, popular several years ago but back with a vengeance, according to the Federal Communications Commission. If you get caught by this robocall fraud, your phone bill could end up with sizable toll charges. It starts with a one-ring call and then a hang-up, often followed by multiple similar calls that come in the middle of the night, the FCC says. (Wangiri is the Japanese word for this scam.) Recent reports show that many of the calls appear to come from a 222 number, which is the country code of Mauritania but could be mistaken for the 212 number for New York City. The perpetrators of this fraud use a code similar to those in the U.S. to confuse their targets. Other examples are the 232 exchange for Sierra Leone and the 809 code for the Dominican Republic. The idea is to get you to return the phone call, but if you do, you might end up connected to a number outside the U.S. That could mean a fee for connecting, plus per-minute charges for the time the scammers keep you on the phone. You wont know youve been hit until you get your bill and see charges related to premium services, international calling or toll-free calling. Most of the money will go to the scammer, the Federal Trade Commission says. Variations of this scam rely on phony voice-mail messages urging you to call a number with an unfamiliar area code to schedule a delivery or to notify you about a sick relative, the FCC says. You can protect yourself in the following ways: Dont answer or return any calls from numbers you dont recognize. Check your phone bill for charges you dont recognize. Before calling unfamiliar numbers, check to see if the area code is international. If you do not make international calls, ask your phone company to block outgoing international calls on your line. Always be cautious, even if a number appears authentic. If you do get charges as a result of this scam, first try to talk to your phone company. If you are unable to resolve it directly, you can file a complaint with the FCC at no cost. Do so at consumercomplaints.fcc.gov or by phone at 1-888-225-5322. A special message for Bank of the West customers: Scammers are using warnings about fraud to, well, commit fraud. Heres how its happening, according to an alert from the bank. Customers have reported getting calls that appear to be from a Bank of the West phone number, seeking personal account information, including username, password, account numbers and debit card information. In some cases, the callers are faking details about potential fraud on your account to trick you into giving additional information. Their goal is to gather enough personal information to commit actual fraud on your account, according to the company. Sometimes, the fraudsters are plying their trade through fake emails. Bank of the West reminds customers that it will never ask for your password. And it says many banks have been seeing a high volume of fraud attempts at this time. If you get one of these, you can report it to Bank of the West at 800-488-2265, option 3. Contact Ellen Marks at emarks@abqjournal.com or 505-823-3842 if you are aware of what sounds like a scam. To report a scam to law enforcement, contact the New Mexico Consumer Protection Division toll-free at 1-844-255-9210. Copyright 2019 Albuquerque Journal That light blue pill someone offers you could be prescription oxycodone painkiller. It might just be an antacid manufactured to look like oxycodone. Or, it could be a knockoff containing fentanyl that can kill you with a single dose. You never know. A trio of undercover Albuquerque police officers took the unusual step last week of consenting to a Journal interview to warn of the dangers of counterfeit oxycodone pills circulating in New Mexico. We live in this community. Were doing this for our kids, said one narcotics unit supervisor. What is scary is they could get offered these (pills) at school. But the person thats handing you this pill doesnt have any idea what is in it, and such a small dose can be so deadly. It (the proliferation of counterfeit oxycodone) would be catastrophic for our community. Over the past year, plastic baggies of such pills containing the deadly opioid fentanyl 50 times more powerful than heroin have shown up at drug busts, traffic stops and other law enforcement operations in New Mexico. Nobody has any idea whats in this pill, even the dealers selling it, the APD supervisor said. This looks like medication from the doctor. And thats whats scary. The public thinks this is somehow better than using heroin or meth. Like its more socially acceptable because its a pill. Users are thinking theyre getting prescription drugs. Albuquerque police declined to say how much has been seized over the past year. But state and federal search warrants and arrest records show at least 5,500 suspected counterfeit oxycodone pills have been confiscated since January, along with 18 pounds of powdered fentanyl. In January, an FBI-State Police undercover operation netted an estimated 2,000 fentanyl pills disguised as the painkiller oxycodone. Two people were arrested in the bust, but the FBI says a third suspect, a convicted drug trafficker with alleged connections to a Mexican drug cartel, is still on the loose. Marysol Pena, of Arizona, is wanted by the FBI on federal charges after she allegedly sent a runner from Arizona to deliver the pills along with a 15 pounds of methamphetamine to a location in southeast Albuquerque. The fentanyl pills were disguised as the pain reliever oxycodone, leaving the consumer with no idea what they actually bought, according to the FBI. The amount of fentanyl in each pill was not consistent, said FBI special agent Bryan Acee in a recorded statement on the FBI website. So one of them could have three times as much as the last pill you took. And that was a significant concern to us. New Mexico State Police Major Troy Weisler said that, over the past six months, his officers have noticed counterfeit oxycodone pills are getting a lot more common locally. In the past, fentanyl chiefly in powdered form was intercepted in New Mexico as runners headed from the West Coast by train or bus to deliver to Chicago or the East Coast. Now the pills are also in circulation in New Mexico. Weisler said the use of counterfeit pills can be linked in part to the national crackdown on prescription painkillers. In recent years, those who can no longer get prescriptions for the highly addictive oxycodone painkillers have resorted to buying heroin on the streets. Heroin makes a big comeback, and at some point the Mexican cartel or those on the Internet start realizing, I can make even more money by cutting my heroin with fentanyl, which is a synthetic opioid. Because fentanyl is so much stronger I can stretch (heroin) even further. So its only a matter of time before, they say, why even bother with the heroin, just get the fentanyl. The problem with fentanyl, though, is that it is so potent that if the dosage is off at all, youre going to kill somebody. Counterfeit oxycodone is a more palatable product for a wider market if its just a pill you take, Weisler said. Fentanyl is an accepted pain killer that physicians prescribe for cancer and other types of pain. But the drug typically comes in transdermal patch form where the dose is carefully controlled. But in the dark contraband market, traffickers are mixing fentanyl with other drugs and theyre blending it and then throwing it in a pill press, Weisler said. Thats why the amounts of fentanyl in each pill vary. With the M30 marking of the actual drug, counterfeit oxycodone pills can sometimes be identified because of speckling or difference in color. Prosecutions In one of the first federal prosecutions of its kind in New Mexico, a federal jury in Albuquerque earlier this month found Raymond Moya guilty of supplying heroin resulting in death to an 18-year-old former La Cueva High School student who died from an overdose in 2011. Federal law permits such prosecutions involving any kind of controlled substance that results in death. Moya faces up to life in prison. Earlier this year, the U.S. Attorney in Colorado encouraged law enforcement officers in his state to investigate opioid overdose deaths as homicides an idea some APD undercover narcotics officers have discussed. But it isnt easy to find those who provide the counterfeit oxycodone pills to people who have overdosed. You try to track it, said one APD undercover officer. But when somebody ODs (overdoses), nobody wants to say anything. You ask the friends, they cant give me the exact person. The pills show up for sale on the Internet, too. Social media is where its at, the officer told the Journal. Theres hundreds of group chats that deal with these (pills) in New Mexico. Along with interdiction and arrests, informing the public about the counterfeit pills is vital because the stakes are so high, the APD narcotics officers said. This is our community, one supervisor said. This is going to be an epic battle, I believe. Copyright 2019 Albuquerque Journal New Mexico is raking in record revenue hand over fist from activities on state-owned lands. The State Land Office collected $852 million from leases, royalties and other payments in fiscal year 2018, a 28% increase from FY 2017 and the highest amount ever recorded, according to a new report from the economic advocacy group New Mexicans for Economic Prosperity. And the Land Office expects revenues in FY 2019, which ends in June, to reach nearly $1 billion, State Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard said. About 93% of revenue is coming from lease sales and royalties on oil and gas operations, reflecting the unprecedented boom underway on New Mexicos side of the Permian Basin in Lea, Eddy and Chaves counties. But revenue is up as well from most other activities on state lands, including grazing and farming, non-oil-and-gas mineral mining, outdoor recreation, and, more recently, renewable energy development. The oil and gas boom in the Permian Basin is a big part of the record revenue flowing in, Garcia Richard told the Journal. The Permian is the best producing basin in North America, and possibly the world, especially in two key formations (in New Mexico) the Wolf Camp and Bone Spring. Theyre incredibly lucrative. Seeking renewable boost The Land Office, however, is now prioritizing efforts to diversify state land use, particularly emphasizing outdoor recreation and development of renewable resources such as wind and solar generation, which could significantly increase revenue in coming years. Garcia Richard created an entirely new Office of Renewable Energy after taking over the office in January. A new $100,000 legislative appropriation this year will allow the office to hire a renewable energy manager. As of the end of FY 2018, the Land Office was processing 15 new applications for renewable energy projects on state lands, according to the advocacy groups report. And many more have been streaming in since then, especially given the states new Energy Transition Act, which requires public utilities to derive 50% of their electricity from renewable resources by 2030, 80% by 2040, and 100% carbon-free generation by 2045. Wind and solar producers and transmission-line development folks are beating down our doors to develop projects, Garcia Richard said. Weve created an entirely new office with the sole mission to aggressively recruit renewable energy projects. Our state lands are ideal for wind farms, and were working with transmission developers to build the infrastructure needed to transmit all that new renewable energy. Renewable energy activities brought in about $937,000 in revenue in FY 2018, or just 0.1% of total Land Office proceeds last year, according to the report. But its an increase from the previous year, and nearly double the renewable energy-related revenue reported in FY 2015. About 475,000 acres of state trust land is suitable for wind development based on average wind speed and elevation, according to the advocacy group. That could support about 3,700 wind turbines, or enough to generate nearly $28 million in annual revenue. Elephant in the room Still, oil and gas remains, by far, the elephant in the room. Those operations generated $792 million in revenue last year. And as the boom continues, theres a lot more trust acreage to lease. The state controls about 46% of the mineral estate acreage in Lea County, 26% in Eddy, and 21% in Chaves. Together, that totals about 2.9 million acres in mineral estate that the Land Office manages in those three places, according to the report. The Land Offices monthly oil and gas lease sale in February raked in more than $35 million, including the largest-ever bid of $12 million for one open lease covering 8,920 acres in Lea, Eddy and Chaves counties. That was double the previous bid record for an open lease, and it broke the Land Offices online record-keeping system, Garcia Richard said. We had to redesign the IT system that records it all, she said. It wasnt compatible with the amount given for the lease payment. We had to add a zero. Non-oil-and-gas mining and minerals came in a distant second in revenue generation, generating $18 million last year. Still, thats about double the revenue earned in FY 2017, according to NM4EP. Agriculture, including livestock grazing and cropland production, came in third at $11.2 million in FY 2018. Outdoor recreation trailed with $1.5 million, followed by renewable energy. Revenue benefits residents Land Office revenue directly benefits New Mexico residents, since nearly all the proceeds are used to fund public schools, state colleges and universities, rural and childrens health care, and water and land conservation. The lions share is sent to the Land Grant Permanent Fund, managed by the State Investment Council. That totaled $690 million in FY 2018. The remaining $162 million went to the Land Maintenance Fund, managed by the Land Office. Those funds in turn send the proceeds onto state government to finance beneficiary programs. About 85% is used for public schools. Financing from those funds saved the average New Mexico household about $1,100 in taxes last year, according to the advocacy group, NM4EP. The economic activities that take place on our state trust lands are an important source of jobs in multiple industries, from agriculture and energy to mining and outdoor recreation, said NM4EP executive director Kyler Nerison. They also generate hundreds of millions of dollars every year for education and health care across New Mexico. By the numbers 9 million acres in state trust land, nearly 13 million in subsurface estate. Trust lands generated $6.25 billion in state revenue over the past decade The state distributed $6.52 billion to N.M. beneficiaries in that same period. Those distributions saved the average N.M. household $8,600 in taxes. Copyright 2019 Albuquerque Journal Back in the early 1970s, Paul Rhetts was the public relations director for Howard County Public Schools, between Baltimore and Washington, D.C., when an elementary school art teacher he had never met charged into his office. The first words out of her mouth were, Youre not doing a very good job, Rhetts said. The art teachers name was Barbe Awalt. And despite their rather abrupt and unsettling introduction, Awalt and Rhetts got married about 10 years later. Awalts take-no-prisoners approach to saying what she thought and campaigning for what she believed was very much in evidence after she and Rhetts moved to Los Ranchos de Albuquerque in 1990 and started publishing books on the art, history and culture of the Southwest a couple of years after that. She only knew how to go ahead at full speed, said Don Bullis, a New Mexico history writer published by Awalt and Rhetts. And she was unapologetic. Awalt, co-owner of Rio Grande Books and LPD Press and co-founder of the New Mexico Book Co-op, died on May 13, just two months after she had been diagnosed with Stage IV pancreatic cancer. She was 67. I once said that Barbe was one person I was pretty sure never needed assertiveness training, said New Mexico writer and humorist Slim Randles, another author published by Awalt and Rhetts. I have had other publishers but none of them have ever promoted books the way she and Paul did. She was hell on wheels and a thorn in the side of people she thought were taking advantage of other people. Tiger of a woman Awalt was born in Baltimore. She earned an undergraduate degree in art education from Towson (Md.) State University in 1973 and a masters degree in educational administration at Baltimores Johns Hopkins University in 1976. She taught art at the Howard County Public Schools for more than 15 years. She and Rhetts started a public relations firm in the Baltimore-Washington, D.C., area shortly before they married and built it into a company that represented clients ranging from the FBI to a governor of Arizona. A shared love for Hispanic devotional art (santos) prompted Awalt and Rhetts move to Los Ranchos. In late 1994, they published Charlie Carrillo: Tradition & Soul, a book about the prominent santero that they themselves had written and designed. Awalts and Rhett went on to publish books by Bullis, Randles, Rudolfo Anaya, Francelle E. Alexander, Nasario Garcia and many others. Today, Rio Grande Books and LPD Press, with about 350 titles to its credit, is one of the largest independent publishing companies in New Mexico. Her office was the Flying Star on Rio Grande, said Randles, author of such Rio Grande Books titles as Ol Jimmy Dollar, a childrens book, and Home Country, a collection of humorous essays. Shed call and say, Ill meet you at the office at 10 oclock, and I knew thats where she meant. I didnt have a problem with her as an editor. The advice she gave me worked like not using italics. She said italics made people work too hard. Francelle Alexanders two-volume history of Albuquerques North Valley Los Griegos & Los Candelarias and Alameda & Los Ranchos both published by Rio Grande Books, won the 2019 National Federation of Press Womens award for general nonfiction. Alexander met Awalt and Rhetts about 10 years ago when she approached them with the manuscript of her first book Among the Cottonwoods, about the lower Rio Grande villages of Peralta and Los Pinos. Rio Grande Books published Among the Cottonwoods in 2012. Before that I had never written anything except letters and memos, Alexander said. They took a chance on me, gave me a lot of good advice, told me how to clean it up. But Alexander admits she was thoroughly intimidated by Awalt early on. She was a blunt, aggressive, tiger of a woman, Alexander said. But I came to be really fond of her. She would take on any battle, including (those) for an author. They (Awalt and Rhetts) were always encouraging me. When are you going to do something on the South Valley?' Nasario Garcia, the author of more than two dozen books, including such Rio Grande Books titles as Grandma Lales Magical Adobe Oven, a bilingual childrens book, and Bernalillo: Yesterdays Sunshine/Todays Shadows, oral history, said the thing he will miss most about Awalt is her candor. She was very frank with me when she needed to be, but not offensive, he said. I did not have a problem with frankness. She was very cordial, very professional, very open. And Garcia said Awalt had a soft, even sentimental, side. At Christmas time, she always had some knickknack, some little gift related to one of your books, that she would give you. Champion of causes Awalt and Rhetts founded the New Mexico Book Co-op in 1994. In our first-hand experience of writing and publishing books we found a variety of obstacles for local authors and publishers, not the least of which was establishing an ongoing relationship with bookstores where people could get the (local) books, Rhetts said. Barbe was a proponent of the idea that the more people who are behind something, the more likely it would be to succeed. The whole point of the co-op was to promote local books. To that end, Awalt and Rhetts started the New Mexico Book Awards program in 2007 and expanded that into the New Mexico-Arizona Book Awards in 2012. During the awards programs first 10 years, 2,282 awards were given in recognition of 1,389 titles. Barbe championed all kinds of causes other people might not have taken on, Rhetts said. She was a champion for (taking action) against criminal acts or stupid public acts. She was a champion for open government and buying locally. But I think she had a dual personality. She found quiet ways to recharge. She would sit here and watch soap operas. In addition to Rhetts, her husband of 37 years, Awalt is survived by her mother, Rosalie Jane Kriete Awalt of Parkville, Md., and a brother, Robert Donald Awalt of Cockeysville, Md. Services are planned for Wednesday in Parkville. Rhetts said Albuquerque services will be announced later. Instead of flowers, Rhetts requested donations to the Pancreatic Care Action Network, www.pancan.org. Barbe particularly wanted me to carry on the banner for the New Mexico Book Co-op and the NewMexico-Arizona Book Awards, and Im going to keep publishing, too, Rhetts said. Her legacy was such that someone has to pick up the banner and keep it waving. 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). Talk of impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump doesnt appear to be going away anytime soon. Roll Call reported House Democrats held a caucus meeting Wednesday about whether to hold proceedings. The caucus remained divided over the issue. U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., was among lawmakers Roll Call polled who favored the proceedings. Thats not much of a surprise. The 3rd Congressional District representative told the Journal earlier this month he was open to the possibility. Lujan said impeachment was a tool the Constitution provided for Congress in its role of oversight of the executive branch. He voiced frustration at the time about the lack of cooperation from the Trump administration in hearings following the release of Special Counsel Robert Muellers report on Russian intervention in the 2016 presidential campaign. Lujans rival to replace fellow Democrat Tom Udall in the U.S. Senate, New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver, came out in favor of impeachment proceedings the day of the caucus meeting. We can both hold this President accountable and push for our progressive priorities and dont let anyone tell you differently, Toulouse Oliver said in a release. Other members of the New Mexico congressional delegation have gone on record about impeachment. U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., told the Journal he preferred a more cautious approach, but said the president needed to be held accountable if it was found that he interfered with the Department of Justice during the Mueller investigation. Udall said hes long maintained Trump isnt fit to hold the office. He said hes mindful that impeachment proceedings begin in the House, whereas the Senate serves as the judge, and so for now I believe Congress and the courts must continue to follow the facts to ensure accountability and the strength of our democracy in a deliberate but urgent way. University of New Mexico political science professor Lonna Atkeson said in an earlier interview that talk of impeachment works well with some segments of the country. But she also said Democrats could also be taking a risk, saying Trump does well when he has opposition. She also said Democrats in Congress needed to be careful not to show that this is all theyre about. And the president went on the attack Wednesday, saying he would not negotiate policy with Democrats while they continued to investigate him. He walked out of a discussion with Democrats about infrastructure that same day, demanding the probes should end. Lujan was at the meeting. U.S. Rep. Deb Haaland, D-N.M., criticized the president for walking out of the meeting. This is no way for the President of the United States to act, Haaland said. Since I was elected, we have been working diligently for the people. Our role is to hold the president accountable and to work for the American people. U.S. Rep. Xochitl Torres Small said the Constitution required Congress to provide oversight, and its important that we continue to carry out that responsibility, because no one is above the law. I join my colleagues on both sides of the aisle in hoping that the Administration will respond to requests for information so the American people get the transparency they deserve, she said. But oversight is far from Congress only job. Thats why I remain focused on finding real, bipartisan solutions to the challenges facing New Mexicans, like increasing access to health care and fixing our broken immigration and border security policies. Heinrich took to Twitter last week to call for the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act. He noted that it had been 48 days (as of this past Wednesday) since the act passed the House, and called on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., to bring it up for a vote immediately. We cant allow the needs of victims of domestic violence and sexual abuse to be secondary to political whims, he said. Udall advocated for the reauthorization in a teleconference two weeks ago, saying the act included protections for Native American women. He renewed that call on Senate leadership Friday. We cannot allow a comprehensive reauthorization of VAWA which would increase the safety and security of countless women in New Mexico and across Indian Country to be buried in the Majority Leaders legislative graveyard. Not when womens lives are literally at stake, Udall said. Scott Turner: sturner@abqjournal.com ANDERSON, Calif. - A judge sentenced a high school teacher to six years and four months in state prison for six counts of sexual abuse of a minor. Anderson Police arrested 36-year-old Daniel Schafer in 2018 on reports that he had been in a relationship with a 17-year-old student. At the time of the crime, Schafer was a teacher at Anderson New Technology High School. CHICO, Calif. - Books for Butte held a giveaway for Camp Fire survivors on Sunday, May 26. With 20,000 books to give away, there were books from every genre. The founder, Melissa Gianotti, said there were over 1,200 members who have worked on the project to provide books to survivors. Gianotti said she collected thousands of books for the past six months from donations all across the country. "My daughter's 21 and she was about 3 when I got this for her and we read it every single night and when I saw it in the box today I squealed because it just brought back memories of laying in bed with her and reading this over and over," said one fire survivor, Susan Brownfield. "I don't think Melissa realizes what this means so-- We just lost everything and this brings memories back." Brownfield was just one survivor who shared a hug with Gianotti. This was the second Books for Butte event, the group plans to host another giveaway in about six months. REDDING, Calif. - Redding police officers arrested convicted felon Gentry Ching for burglary, gun charges, hurting a police K-9 and threatening officers. At 7 p.m. Friday, May 24, a man said someone came into his home on Cedars Road in Redding and stole a loaded shotgun. Police searched for three hours without the use of a CHP helicopter because of the tornado warning that was in effect in the area. By 10 p.m. officers saw the tactical light of the stolen shotgun and when they began to approach Ching, of Redding, he raised the shotgun at the officers. That is when K-9, Otto, got the gun away from him and Ching was booked into the Shasta County jail. PARADISE, Calif. -- More than one hundred volunteers gathered at the Paradise Cemetary to place flags over veterans' graves on Saturday in honor of Memorial day. The Paradise Cemetery is home to 2,400 veteran graves and did not suffer any damage during the Camp Fire. Each grave was honored with a small American flag while many big coffin flags were put up around the cemetary. "We started it back in 2000 and the purpose was to identify, locate, and document every veteran buried in the cemetary," said Linda Nassie, a volunteer. Wayne Noel, commander of Disabled American Veterans chapter 106, has organized this event for the last five years and been involved years prior to that. He says it was special to see many volunteers help put up the flags and come together after the devastating Camp Fire. "It's beautiful to see this and since our town is gone, it brings hope, it brought our community together for one day to put these up to honor our fallen that brings hope and promise to this community again," said Noel. Congressman Doug LaMalfa was also in attendance to help put up the flags. "Its a time of year to pause and think about those who fallen in order to give us our freedom and give us this great nation we have," said LaMalfa. He goes on to say that the Paradise Cemetary still stands as a marker for everybody during this Memorial day and the future as the town rebuilds. The group will also need help taking the flags down. They're meeting Monday at the Paradise Cemetary located on 980 Elliott Rd, Paradise, CA 95969 at 4 p.m. 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. https://www.aish.com/ci/s/The-Best-and-Worst-Commencement-Speech-of-2019.html Oprahs wise words and hitting rock bottom at NYU. Its that time of year again. Graduation season is upon us and all across the land, as a new generation stands on the cusp of transition from years of formal education to the start of their own careers, tradition has sanctified the custom of a commencement address. A captive audience, there to celebrate a major life milestone, is depending on the speaker either treated to an exhilarating and inspirational address which can have meaningful impact or condemned to a seeming eternity of boredom or, worst case, to outrageous and inappropriate diatribes. So lets see what this year so far has brought us. Although I have no official authority and the commencement season has only just begun Im going to take it upon myself to designate the winners for the two major categories the Blech awards for the very best as well as for the very worst graduation addresses of 2019. The Blech award for the most inspirational talk this year had a lot of contenders. The most recent edition of Time magazine featured some of the top moments and words of wisdom from this years crop of contenders. In terms of the ecstatic reception it received, among the most highly rated must be the words of billionaire investor Robert F Smith who told the graduates, Were going to put a little fuel in your bus and announced that he would personally pay off the student loans of all this years graduates, to the tune of $40 million dollars. But in terms of guidance and advice for the future I believe the award belongs to Oprah Winfrey for her magnificent address to the graduating class at Colorado College during their commencement ceremony on May 19. Full disclosure: Ive always loved Oprah from the time I had the great honor of appearing on her show, after which she shared with me her very special respect for Jews and Judaism and the great wisdom shes found in some of its teachings. All you must do is to read a snippet of her speech to recognize how much her approach to life shares with the rabbinic teachings in the Talmudic book Ethics of the Fathers. Im here to tell you that you actually do get to transform the world every day by your actions, Winfrey told the crowd. Small steps lead to big accomplishments. The most important thing is how youre touching other peoples lives, Winfrey added, going on to discuss the importance of perspective. The truth is, you cannot fix everything. But what you can do, here and now, is make a decision, because life is about decisions. And the decision is that you will use your life in service; you will be in service to life. You will speak up. You will show up. You will stand up. You will sit in. You will volunteer. You will vote. You will shout out. You will help. You will lend a hand. You will offer your talent and your kindness however you can, she continued, and you will radically transform whatever moment youre in which leads to bigger moments. So powerful and so reminiscent of the words of Rabbi Tarfon: You are not obliged to complete the work, but neither are you free to desist from it (Ethics of the Fathers, 2:16); The day is short, and the labor is plenty; the laborers are slothful, while the reward is great (ibid, 2:15). Oprahs words have the power to be life-changing. But lets get to the Blech award for the most disgraceful commencement address. Come with me to the NYU graduation ceremony in Manhattan, where Steven William Thrasher received his doctorate in American studies from the universitys Department of Social and Cultural Analysis. The Department of Social and Cultural Analysis earlier this month voted to boycott the NYU satellite campus in Tel Aviv over Israels treatment of the Palestinians and their universities. The NYU student government considered resolutions to boycott and divest from Israel and last month the Students for Justice in Palestine received a Presidents Service Award. Thrasher is a professor at Northwestern Universitys Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications, where he holds the Daniel H. Renberg Chair, an endowed professorship focusing on social justice in reporting with an emphasis on issues relevant to the LGBTQ community. Thrasher, as required, presented the school with the prepared text he claimed he was going to deliver. Once on stage he changed his remarks. He took the opportunity, in the presence of a crowd with widely divergent views on Israel and the political realities of the Middle East, to substitute hatred for inspiration, condemnation for life-affirming cooperation. Thrasher chose that moment to trash Israel as an apartheid state and to push his agenda of severing ties with the Tel Aviv campus. He was so proud of NYUs chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine, Jewish Voice for Peace, the Graduate Student Organizing Committee labor union and his colleagues in SCA for supporting BDS against the apartheid state government in Israel. And so, not too long after Pittsburgh, not too long after San Diego, not too long after the now famous trio of freshmen congresswomen have made anti-Semitism camouflaged as anti-Zionism respectable, we are witness to the shocking spectacle of Jew hatred given a platform on one of the most prestigious campuses in a city known for its major Jewish population. Perhaps most revealing of the significance of this event in terms of NYUs history was the response of a student recently accepted for the coming year. She notified the school of her desire to withdraw her registration: I have decided to withdraw from NYU beginning in the Fall of 2019. This decision is made with real sadness as I was very excited to apply early decision to NYU and have looked forward to attending for a many years. My family has a long connection to NYU going back to my great-grandfather X who founded the department of music and was a professor at NYU for many decades... Unfortunately, it appears the NYU my family has known is changing. It has now become clear to me that as a Jew, if I were to attend NYU I would be affiliating myself with an institution that accommodates faculty members and student organizations that are dedicated to anti-Semitic ideologies. Some on your campus differentiate between anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism, however, I am not one of those people. This age-old hatred of my people wears different disguises in different generations but its root objective is always the same. I will not stand by as it is allowed to take form at NYU and will certainly not attend an institution where my core beliefs and very existence is being threatened. I can only applaud this young woman for her insight, her wisdom and her courage. Rather than closing her eyes to this spectacle of injustice, mocking civility and promoting hatred under the very banner of advanced education, her response was profound proof of Oprahs wisdom: Transform the world every day by your actions. If only all those exposed to the mindlessness of the words in Manhattan would have been blessed with the beautiful message at Colorado College. If only the Ivy League professors were smart enough to be moved by the inspiration of Oprah instead of the vile messages of the Thrashers. https://www.aish.com/jw/id/Giving-Birth-Under-Fire.html My wife gave birth to our first child in Ashkelon while terrorist rained down rockets. The hospital may have been hit by shrapnel, but we have emerged stronger. Imagine giving birth to a baby with rockets flying overhead. I didnt have to imagine it. I lived it. I was born in Rome and lived in Bologna Italy until a few years ago when my wife Lauren and I decided to make our home in the city of Ashkelon, Israel. Lauren and I had been married for almost five years without being able to conceive. We started fertility treatment in Italy and after we moved to Israel we were eventually blessed with a successful round of IVF. Being that the little girl on her way was Gods answer to our heartfelt prayers, my wife suggested that we could call her Eliana (meaning, my God answered), to which I happily agreed. But Eliana still had to make it to this world and suddenly her journey looked quite dangerous. A few weeks ago on Shabbat morning, the Torah reading was interrupted by a rocket siren. Hamas terrorists decided to indiscriminately start firing rockets at Israeli citizens. More alarms followed so I walked home to check on my wife who was almost 37 weeks pregnant. On my way another alarm rang out. There were no bomb shelters in sight so I did the only thing I could I picked up my pace and started praying. I saw three rockets explode in the sky, intercepted by Israels iron dome defense system. When I got home, my wife was physically okay, but rather anxious, as can be expected. A few hours had passed without rocket sirens and I decided to go back to shul for mincha, while my wife went for a walk with some friends by the beach. Just then two rockets struck the water near the beach where Lauren was. Lauren and her friends ducked next to a low concrete wall on the promenade, while a group of Arabs pointed at them and laughed. Their behavior angered her. How could people be so callous? After Shabbat, the situation escalated with alarms going off five or six at a time. That night we slept in the bomb shelter. At around 5 in the morning my wife informed me that we had to go to the hospital. She was having contractions. When we reached Barzillai Hospital, sirens had been ringing out constantly in the city for a while. We knew that two houses had been hit in Ashkelon and three people had been killed. Laurens labor was progressing quickly and she was ready for the delivery room as soon as we arrived. The medical staff told us that all four rocket proof delivery rooms were currently occupied. With little choice we agreed to go to a non-sheltered one. The delivery went well, thank God. A beautiful baby girl! Eliana because God truly answered our prayers. While the doctor was tending to my wife who needed some post-birth care another alarm went off. Against my wishes, I was ordered to leave my wifes side and take our new baby to the shelter. My wife and I looked at each other, while the young nurse told her twice, "Ani eetah, I'm with you," while stroking her arm. Think about having to make that decision: flee with your newborn baby to a bomb shelter while your wife remains in harms way undergoing medical treatment. I ran, my heart filled with conflicting emotions, while the medical staff continued their heroic work under extreme pressure. Eliana, our little hero In the shelter while I was on the phone with my rabbi in Italy who called to congratulate me, we heard two very loud explosions. The department of oncology was hit by shrapnel. After what seemed like an eternity, my wife was taken to the rocket safe area, so we were finally together again. A scared, but happy family. A nurse asked me to follow her with the baby for a routine check-up. All the babies were moved to the bomb shelter. So that's where little Eliana had to stay, along with more than a dozen of the other newborns. For the first day of her life, my baby girl was living in a bomb shelter. I'm so proud of my wife who courageously faced the pain of birth in such a distressing situation. And I'm proud of my daughter who was unwittingly born a hero, coming to life while our enemies were trying to kill us. Not only did God answer our prayers, but He gave a very meaningful answer to the terrorists. You want to kill us and wipe us off the map? Here is our answer. A new Jewish baby living proof that the Jewish people will live in this land forever. https://www.aish.com/jw/s/My-Disturbing-Visit-to-US-Campuses.html On a visit to US colleges with Reservists on Duty, I found not only anti-Zionism but also mainstream anti-Semitism. In the week preceding Israels 71st birthday, I had the honor to participate in a delegation to fight the rabid anti-Israel rhetoric that is so rampant on the liberal campuses. We were sent to Southern California during the infamous Israel Apartheid Week that so many campuses have begun to adopt. Our delegation was comprised of Israelis, mostly ex-pats of Anglo origin, who had all served in either the IDF or in Israeli National Service. The delegation was sent out on behalf of the organization Reservists on Duty. This was the second delegation that I had the opportunity to join. The organization was formed as a counter movement to Breaking the Silence, and strives to negate the lies and incitement against the IDF and the State of Israel that have spread on North American college campuses. My previous delegation focused on speaking to pro-Israel students and sharing my experiences as an Israeli and a former officer in the IDF. After speaking on a number of campuses, it became clear to me that Jewish students are being targeted by other minority groups merely for being Jewish. Our delegation booth at UC Irvine. These students suffered verbal abuse by being asked, how many Palestinian babies have you killed today? Some even found eviction notices taped across their dorm room doors. These acts have been masked as anti-Zionist, when in fact they are blatantly anti-Semitic this is due to the fact that students are targeted not for their political affiliation or outward support of Israeli policy, but for merely being Jewish. Upon hearing this I was floored. How is anti-Semitism so rampant in educational institutions within a country that is seen as the epitome of freedom and a beacon of democratic rights? I know there will always be anti-Semitism, but for it to be committed so openly within the walls of academic institutions was something that I could not fathom. It turns out I was very naive. Our recent delegations focus was not to preach to the choir by opening discussion with the pro-Israel students. This time, we were there to to confront the very students who were spreading lies about the country I have grown to love unconditionally. On these campuses, I came face-to-face with the snake that masks itself behind liberal values yet is, in its very essence, pure anti-Semitism. We started our mission at CSUF (California State University, Fullerton), which is known as a relatively quiet campus in terms of anti-Israel discourse. We were greeted by a large gray wall covered from top to bottom with facts about the Israeli oppression of the Palestinians. It was an impressive sight to behold and the first thought that crossed my mind upon seeing this behemoth of hatred was, how on earth did students find the time to put something so time-consuming together? If they spent so much time on this then they must at least be experts on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Turns out I was wrong. Twisting the truth at UC Fullerton. My fellow delegates and I spent the first day reading the text on the wall and merely listening to conversations that the students who put up the wall were having with passersby. When an outright lie was said, we chimed in and asked the appropriate questions to debunk theories on Palestinian genocide and the colonialist history of Israel. When it became apparent that we knew our facts well, very few of the wall builders engaged us in conversation most preferred to hide behind their wall. The following day, upon our arrival to the public campus, we immediately approached the wall with a sign saying We were soldiers in the IDF, ask us anything. We came to start a discussion, hold civil debates, let the Israeli narrative be heard and to spread the truth. These are true American values backed by the first amendment, yet we were met by college administration and were asked to step away from the area. We did not come to the campus to provoke anyone. We did not fly halfway across the world to commit verbal abuse. We did not endure 15 hours on a plane to disrupt any pro-Palestinian student events. Yet we were barred from approaching the wall and were banned from discussing the conflict with the wall builders. This proved that the college openly supported a one-sided narrative with hateful messages instead of upholding the value of open debate that should be highly regarded in the world of academia. Pushed off to the side, we then attempted to open up discussion with people who visibly took interest in the wall after they had passed by. We had some fascinating conversations with many students of diverse backgrounds and ethnicities. We shared our personal points of view on the conflict and it was eye-opening for the many students we spoke with. It was very important to all of us not to whitewash Israel. We made it very clear that Israel is a complicated country with unique issues that are not always handled correctly, but we emphasized that Israel always tries its best to do what is right. To say that Israel commits genocide against the Palestinians would make Israel the worlds most incapable perpetrator of genocide, seeing as the Palestinian population has multiplied eight-fold since 1948. To say that Israel is an apartheid state would mean that Jonathan, one of our fellow delegates of Christian-Arab descent, is a second class citizen in a country which gives him full rights just like any other Jewish Israeli citizen. An image of the UC Fullertons apartheid wall. Additionally, Israel may not be perfect, but if these righteous liberal students cared so much for the Palestinians, then they could afford to dedicate at least one panel of their odious wall to the blatant violation of human rights that Hamas is committing against their own people in Gaza. However, through our discourse with the students on campus, we all truly felt that we were successful in spreading a message of hope and peace in the face of the hatred and incitement that the wall spewed. Our next and final stop on the delegation was at UCI (University of California, Irvine). UCI has developed a repertoire as one of the most poisonously anti-Israel campuses in the United States. This is the third year in a row that Reservists on Duty has sent a delegation of English speaking former IDF soldiers to Irvine to combat the hate messages and calls to violence issued by extremist anti-Israel student groups on campus. In the past, delegation members have faced extensive verbal abuse and even an act of physical assault. I did not know what to expect, but I would be lying if I were to say that I was not worried. As soon as we arrived on campus, we knew that the organizations hard work over the past two years had paid off. What was once Israel Apartheid Week had turned into Global Oppression Week, in which each day focused on a different minority group that suffered oppression the world over. Each day, the student group would build a small pop-up stand with a few meek billboards representing violence and oppression against a different religious or ethnic group each dayIt was all a slow buildup to the grand finale taking place on Friday the Israeli oppression of the Palestinians. When we arrived at UCI on Friday morning, the ignominious wall was already standing. It was very different from the wall which we encountered at CSUF. It was large in scale but nearly no text was written on it. No skewed facts. No outward hate messages. No calls to violence. Instead it bore Banksy-inspired street art images depicting different aspects of Israeli occupation. This was a huge win for us, but the battle had only just begun. An image of UC Irvines apartheid wall. Similar to CSUF, the area directly surrounding the wall was fenced off to any campus visitors. In order to access the vicinity of the wall, one had to display a UCI student ID card. This did not deter our work. Courtesy of the student group which invited us to campus, College Campus Republicans of UCI, we built our own pop-up stand with signs, flags and informative roll-ups. We stood in front of the wall with our blue and white t-shirts with the words Defending Freedom from Hate And there we engaged students and other onlookers in an informative discussion and cordial debate. Again, many fascinating conversations were had. I felt we made an immense impact on many students who would have never been exposed to the Israeli narrative and who were willing to listen and understand. These students were eager to hear what we had to say and even thanked us for coming to share our ideas. I personally spoke with students of Lebanese, Syrian, Palestinian, Saudi Arabian and even Iranian descents. These are conversations I never would have had if I had not been sent on this delegation. On the other hand, I was exposed to a more hateful and terrifying side of the rhetoric. At around noon on Friday a group of students donning kufiyahs and armed with megaphones began chanting. From the river to the sea Palestine will be free! Or in other words, we support the ethnic cleansing of Jews and the destruction of Israel. Intifada, Intifada we support the Intifada! Put simply, the only solution to this conflict is terror and the murder of innocents. Israel, Israel you cant hide, we charge you with genocide! I mentioned earlier how ridiculous such an accusation is. These were messages of hate and were literal calls to incitement, violence and terror that have become commonplace in the Palestinian-Israeli dialogue on campuses. Another eye-opening example of the extent of anti-Semitism on campus was embedded in one of the more commonly asked questions by students to my fellow delegates and me. We were asked why the Jewish people deserve their own state. My immediate response, without delving into the number of Muslim and Christian states around the world, was that the Jews have suffered two millennia of persecution, and the world decided that there should be one country where the Jews can govern themselves and live without fear for being members of their faith. The immediate follow up question was always, So why do you think that the Jews have been persecuted for two millennia? To this I did not have a good answer. How do I explain the existence of anti-Semitism to an 18-year-old college student? But before I could get a response out of my mouth, the student would answer their own question with a blunt yet shocking answer, and it would always begin with, A a Jew, I hope you dont get offended but And thats when the Protocols of the Elders of Zion would come rushing out of the gates: the Jews control the media; the Jews control politics; the Jews own all the money; and the Jews band together for complete world domination. I was in utter disbelief. This did not happen once, twice or three times, but occurred on five separate occasions. Anti-Semitism is no longer sidelined; it is now becoming mainstream and people are not afraid to share it publicly on campuses in the United States of America, Israels closest ally. Whether it is in political caricatures in the New York Times or in synagogues in San Diego, anti-Semitism is alive and kicking within the most unlikely places. The thing that struck me the hardest as an Israeli was that we were out there standing up for Israel in a hostile place, and the only other people who were backing us were two representatives from the local Hillel and one of our non-Jewish hosts from the campus Republican group. Where were the other Jewish students? Where were the ex-pat Israeli students? I am not blaming anyone or pointing fingers at individual groups. And I know that it is much easier to combat these messages as a visitor, whereas fighting the lies while living daily with the people who spread them could mean social suicide. As a former combat officer in the IDF and as the grandson of Holocaust survivors, I know that the day of the trodden-upon Jew is over. We have our own state, a powerful military, a booming economy and cutting edge technologies that are implemented around the world. We are a modern-day miracle that has shaken off the ashes of the Second World War and has risen to be a globally recognized powerhouse of industry. This sense of empowerment is ingrained in every Israeli from day one. We have to fight our battles by ourselves because nobody is going to fight them for us. Today, the Jewish people are once again under attack. Whether you are Jewish and pro-Israel or not, anti-Semitism is on the rise. If we continue to show our enemies that we would rather refrain from engaging, as opposed to sharing the truth and spreading messages of peace and hope without fear, we embolden the ones who come forward to destroy us. We can no longer be viewed as the shamed Jew with the lowered head. We are fighters and it is our duty to stand up for ourselves. Jews of the world, please stand with me and my fellow delegates on this battlefield of truth. Combat the incitement, fight off the hate, and show the world that we are proud of our heritage and that nobody is going to get rid of us. Israel is the modern anti-Semites scapegoat and if we cannot stand up for Israel and show others that we are willing to fight back, then the targeting of Jews for their faith will become even more commonplace. Jews of the world, the citizens of Israel love you and need you now more than ever. Stand with us and do not be afraid to fight for what is right. This article originally appeared in the Times of Israel blogs. https://www.aish.com/sp/so/Israeli-Prisoner-of-War-in-Syria.html Noah Hertz was shot down during the Yom Kippur War in 1973. His agonizing eight-month imprisonment sparked his journey back to Judaism. Born in 1947 in the Israeli city of Afula, Noah Hertz grew up with a love of Israel and desire to fight for his country. But Judaism wasn't something he ever seriously considered. The Yom Kippur War would change all of that. Newly married with a two year-old daughter and another on the way, Hertz was discharged in August 1973, a month before the Yom Kippur War broke out. The pilot was called for reserve duty, leaving behind his pioneering family in their kibbutz in the Negev. On Yom Kippur, October 6 1973, Syria and Egypt mounted a massive surprise attack on Israels north and southern borders, trying to catch the country off guard when most soldiers were on leave, fasting and spending the day in synagogue. Hertz recalled, Within two hours of receiving the call, I was sitting in my airplane in my best clothes ready to go. The serenity of Yom Kippur was shattered with the harsh reality of a war that threatened Israels very existence. Noah Hertz in the air force before the Yom Kippur War I heard through my earpiece that hundreds of our planes had been scrambled in the air, Hertz said, and that many had already been shot down. Flying his Skyhawk Mirage, his orders were to head towards the Golan Heights where thousands of Syrian tanks, supported by airplanes and anti-aircraft batteries, had succeeded in breaking through to the southern Golan Heights. Israeli forces were bravely fighting waiting for reserve troops to arrive. In the opening days of the war, Hertz said, I flew several missions. On the fourth day of the war, I was shot down. Flying low over Damascus It was a Thursday, Hertz recalled. The air force had been given orders to fight the Syrians. Along with another pilot, his mission was to attack a base on the periphery of Damascus. The newly married couple We had to fly very low in order to avoid being picked up by radar." Flying at a height of 4,500 meters, around 700 km per hour, his plane took a direct hit by a Soviet made Sa6 surface-to-air missile. The plane began to nosedive, he says calmly, recalling how the combination of the strike and the sudden loss of altitude caused him to lose consciousness. I came to ten seconds before my plane would have hit the ground. I immediately hit the eject button and my parachute opened. The next thing Hertz remembers is opening his eyes in a Syrian hospital, weak, bruised and in incredible pain, realizing that one of his legs had been amputated. When I woke up, I thought of three things: I was alive, I was in enormous pain and all I wanted was to go home, back to Israel, to my wife and to my family. Noah Hertz waking up in Syrian hospital He stayed in hospital for five days, receiving minimal medical attention following the amputation, which he reckoned was carried out following a bad break on landing. I had one visit from a doctor who was just walking passed me, Hertz said. I was given pain relief and that was it. They did the bare minimum to keep me alive. Dashed hopes A few days later, Noahs hopes were briefly raised that he was going home when he was taken from his hospital bed and loaded onto a truck. I was sure the IDF had won the war. The pain on that journey was unimaginable but what kept me going was the belief that I was going home to my wife and my family. But instead Hertz went to a prison where he'd spend the next four and half months in solitary confinement. He was one of 20 IDF pilots and soldiers captured by the Syrians in that prison, each held in a tiny cell with no contact between them. Ignoring the Geneva conventions, the Syrians treated the Israeli POWs horrifically. As the IDF advanced they found the bodies of 28 Israeli soldiers who had been blindfolded and summarily executed. The vast majority of soldiers taken prisoner by Syria had been tortured, subject to burns, electric shocks and an array of brutal punishments. During his first week in prison, Hertz recalled how the majority of Israeli POWs were taken for interrogations. He was spared. I was a reservist and also severely wounded. Perhaps thats why they left me alone. What the others went through is unimaginable. Two soldiers were killed in the process. The first medical treatment Hertz received was to stop his bleeding after being punched in the mouth. The medic didnt even look at my leg, Hertz said. I had to take care of it myself. Before the medic left, Hertz asked him for some basic supplies which, thankfully he was given. I poured alcohol on the wound, tied a tourniquet and wrapped it in a bandage. Several days later, a medic came to his cell to check on his condition, returning every four days to change the dressing. It was a miracle I didnt die of an infection. Solitary confinement "Despite the crushing fear of being tortured or killed," Hertz said, the worst thing was the loneliness and not knowing when it was going to end. For days and nights on end, he lived with barely any human contact, just alone with the thoughts of the life he had left behind in Israel. Noah Hertz with his daughter There were very hard moments that Ill never forget, where you feel that you just cant go on anymore. One such moment hit him during the cold of a freezing winter when he developed an infection. I was weak, in severe pain, with a high fever and bleeding from my wound. I was shivering and without a blanket. I was saying over and over, I just cant, I just cant. I was afraid to go to sleep thinking that I wouldnt wake up. "I began thinking of my home, my wife and my family, everything I used to have in my life and then I burst out in tears. I left behind my wife who was about to give birth. I cried and cried and cried. From somewhere deep inside, he began to fight back. '"God gives you certain strength when you need it. The words of Shema Yisrael came from the pit of my stomach. Those were my first words of prayer. 'Shema Yisrael, God help me, help me!' I cried over and over. Hertz fell asleep saying these words, waking up to see two Arab guards entering his cell with a mattress, blanket and a shirt. Reflecting back he quotes a line from Psalms, When you call out to God and you really mean it, he hears. I thought about so many different things, he said. Once, one of the guards, an Arab who had fled from Israel to Syria, told me Jews had no right to the land that he said was his." This brief exchange would eat away at him during his long hours alone You start to think, what is my connection to the Land of Israel? Who am I? Who are we? What is my right to the Land? My family had come from Russia, from Poland, but this Arab was saying he had been here before us. It shook me to my core. I didn't have the answers." That proved to be a pivotal moment. From my small cell I started to look for answers. I began to think about history beyond my parents' generation and about Abraham being told to leave the place of his birth and being promised a homeland. The more I thought, the more I realized that the education I had received fell short. I was like an orphan in history. Jewish awakening After four and a half months, Noah Hertz was brought together with the other Israeli POWs. It was hard but it was so much easier than being alone. Among the group were several other pilots who had ejected from their planes including another three amputees. Speaking to Israeli soldiers There had been a Jewish awakening among many of us," Hertz said. Many had prayed for the first times in their lives and were experiencing gratitude for being saved. The soldiers united, trying to give strength to each other. We managed to light candles from the fat from the soup, he said, recalling how around that time they were finally allowed visits from the Red Cross. As Seder night approached, we requested matzah and to our surprise we received some. With the Red Cross doing their best to ensure prisoners religious rights, the soldiers were also given a number of prayer books. We prayed two prayer services a day with a minyan, in the morning and the afternoon. Although some of us had come from traditional families, none of us had been religious. Once you take off the rank, the uniforms and youre there in your pajamas, Hertz said, the soul starts to speak. There are tiny sparks inside that know the address and when these sparks grow stronger, they manage to get out. A week before being released, the soldiers' conditions started to improve. Hertz received new clothes and even a basic prosthetic leg from a hospital. Noah Hertz The wounded POWs were released first. It was Shabbat, Hertz recalled. I felt huge feeling of joy. I was reunited with my wife and I met the baby who had been born while I was in captivity. It's hard to put into words. After the elation of coming home, Hertz and his wife continued the journey that began in his prison cell. We started to ask these questions: Who are we? What values do we want to give our children? We started thinking and asking the big questions, why things happen, wars, the Holocaust, searching for answers. Hertz rejoined the army as an engineer and returned to the skies as a co-pilot. He and his wife started attending classes about Judaism. One of the first was a course in Jewish philosophy based on The Kuzari that explores fundamental Jewish beliefs. It had such great depth, Hertz said with a smile. I yearned to know what was written in all of these other books on the shelves. It has been 45 years since Hertz was released. Being a part of the Jewish People is incredible. Whats really inside is a breath-taking heritage. Having spent decades addressing soldiers, students and communities throughout Israel, Hertz was recently awarded with an award of distinction for his service to Israel and the IDF. The more I think about my story, Hertz said, the more I see how God gave me two gifts of life, one when I was born and the second when I was taken captive. Remarkably, that was another kind of birthday. https://www.aish.com/tp/i/sacks/510447681.html It is not too much to say that Jews kept hope alive, and hope kept the Jewish people alive. This week we read the Tochecha, the terrifying curses warning of what would happen to Israel if it betrayed its Divine mission. We read a prophecy of history gone wrong. If Israel loses its way spiritually, say the curses, it will lose physically, economically, and politically also. The nation will experience defeat and disaster. It will forfeit its freedom and its land. The people will go into exile and suffer persecution. Customarily we read this passage in the synagogue sotto voce, in an undertone, so fearful is it. It is hard to imagine any nation undergoing such catastrophe and living to tell the tale. Yet the passage does not end there. In an abrupt change of key, we then hear one of the great consolations in the Bible: Yet in spite of this, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away I will for their sakes remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought forth out of Egypt in the sight of the heathen, that I might be their God: I am the Lord. (Lev. 26:44-45) This is a turning point in the history of the human spirit. It is the birth of hope: not hope as a dream, a wish, a desire, but as the very shape of history itself, "the arc of the moral universe," as Martin Luther King put it. God is just. He may punish. He may hide His face. But He will not break His word. He will fulfil His promise. He will redeem His children. He will bring them home. Hope is one of the very greatest Jewish contributions to Western civilisation, so much so that I have called Judaism "the voice of hope in the conversation of humankind."[1] In the ancient world, there were tragic cultures in which people believed that the gods were at best indifferent to our existence, at worst actively malevolent. The best humans can do is avoid their attention or appease their wrath. In the end, though, it is all in vain. We are destined to see our dreams wrecked on the rocks of reality. The great tragedians were Greek. Judaism produced no Sophocles or Aeschylus, no Oedipus or Antigone. Biblical Hebrew did not even contain a word that meant "tragedy" in the Greek sense. Modern Hebrew had to borrow the word: hence, tragedia. Then there are secular cultures, like that of the contemporary West in which the very existence of the universe, of human life and consciousness, is seen as the result of a series of meaningless accidents intended by no one and with no redeeming purpose. All we know for certain is that we are born, we live, we will die, and it will be as if we had never been. Hope is not unknown in such cultures, but it is what Aristotle defined as "a waking dream," a private wish that things might be otherwise. As seen through the eyes of ancient Greece or contemporary science, there is nothing in the texture of reality or the direction of history to justify belief that the human condition could be other and better than it is. Judaism is not without an expression of this mood. We find it in the opening chapters of the book of Ecclesiastes. For its author, time is cyclical. What has been, will be. History is a set of eternal recurrences. Nothing ever really changes: What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. (Eccl. 1:9) Ecclesiastes, though, is a rare voice within Tanach. For the most part, the Hebrew Bible expresses a quite different view: that there can be change in the affairs of humankind. We are summoned to the long journey at whose end is redemption and the Messianic Age. Judaism is the principled rejection of tragedy in the name of hope. The sociologist Peter Berger calls hope a "signal of transcendence," a point at which something beyond penetrates into the human situation. There is nothing inevitable or even rational about hope. It cannot be inferred from any facts about the past or present. Those with a tragic sense of life hold that hope is an illusion, a childish fantasy, and that a mature response to our place in the universe is to accept its fundamental meaninglessness and cultivate the stoic virtue of acceptance. Judaism insists otherwise: that the reality that underlies the universe is not deaf to our prayers, blind to our aspirations, indifferent to our existence. We are not wrong to strive to perfect the world, refusing to accept the inevitability of suffering and injustice. We hear this note at key points in the Torah. It occurs twice at the end of Genesis when first Jacob then Joseph assure the other members of the covenantal family that their stay in Egypt will not be endless. God will honour His promise and bring them back to the Promised Land. We hear it again, magnificently, as Moses tells the people that even after the worst suffering that can befall a nation, Israel will not be lost or rejected: Then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you and gather you again from all the nations where He scattered you. Even if you have been banished to the most distant land under the heavens, from there the Lord your God will gather you and bring you back. (Deut. 30:3-4) But the key text is here at the end of the curses of Leviticus. This is where God promises that even if Israel sins, it may suffer, but it will never die, and it will never have reason to truly despair. It may experience exile, but eventually it will return. Israel may betray the covenant but God never will. This is one of the most fateful of all biblical assertions. It tells us that no fate is so bleak as to murder hope itself. No defeat is final, no exile endless, no tragedy the story's last word. Subsequent to Moses, all the prophets delivered this message, each in his own way. Hosea told the people that though they may act like a faithless wife, God remains a loving husband. Amos assured them that God would rebuild even the most devastated ruins. Jeremiah bought a field in Anatot to assure the people that they would return from Babylon. Isaiah became the poet laureate of hope in visions of a world at peace that have never been surpassed. Of all the prophecies of hope inspired by Leviticus 26, none is as haunting as the vision in which Ezekiel saw the people of the covenant as a valley of dry bones, but heard God promise to bring us "back to the land of Israel.'" (Ezek. 37:11-14) No text in all of literature is so evocative of the fate of the Jewish people after the Holocaust, before the rebirth in 1948 of the State of Israel. Almost prophetically, Naftali Herz Imber alluded to this text in his words for the song that eventually became Israel's national anthem. He wrote: od lo avda tikvatenu, "our hope is not yet lost." Not by accident is Israel's anthem called HaTikva, "The Hope." Where does hope come from? Berger sees it as a constitutive part of our humanity: Human existence is always oriented towards the future. Man exists by constantly extending his being into the future, both in his consciousness and in his activity... An essential dimension of this "futurity" of man is hope. It is through hope that men overcome the difficulties of any given here and now. And it is through hope that men find meaning in the face of extreme suffering.[2] Only hope empowers us to take risks, engage in long-term projects, marry and have children, and refuse to capitulate in the face of despair: There seems to be a death-refusing hope at the very core of our humanitas. While empirical reason indicates that this hope is an illusion, there is something in us that, however shamefacedly in an age of triumphant rationality, goes on saying "no!" and even says "no!" to the ever so plausible explanations of empirical reason. In a world where man is surrounded by death on all sides, he continues to be a being who says "no!" to death - and through this "no!" is brought to faith in another world, the reality of which would validate his hope as something other than illusion.[3] I am less sure than Berger that hope is universal. It emerged as part of the spiritual landscape of Western civilisation through a quite specific set of beliefs: that God exists, that He cares about us, that He has made a covenant with humanity and a further covenant with the people He chose to be a living example of faith. That covenant transforms our understanding of history. God has given His word, and He will never break it, however much we may break our side of the promise. Without these beliefs, we would have no reason to hope at all. History as conceived in this parsha is not utopian. Faith does not blind us to the apparent randomness of circumstance, the cruelty of fortune, or the seeming injustices of fate. No one reading Leviticus 26 can be an optimist. Yet no one sensitive to its message can abandon hope. Without this, Jews and Judaism would not have survived. Without belief in the covenant and its insistence, "Yet in spite of this," there might have been no Jewish people after the destruction of one or other of the Temples, or the Holocaust itself. It is not too much to say that Jews kept hope alive, and hope kept the Jewish people alive. Shabbat shalom. NOTES 1. Jonathan Sacks, Future Tense: A Vision for Jews and Judaism in the Global Culture (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 2011), 231-252. 2. Berger, op. cit., 68-69. 3. Ibid., 72. CONNECT WITH THE CHIEF RABBI Download the Chief Rabbis new iPhone and iPad app via www.chiefrabbi.org for mobile access to his video study sessions as well as his articles and speeches. Alternatively, search for Chief Rabbi in the App Store on your iPhone. SUBSCRIBE TO COVENANT & CONVERSATION To receive Covenant & Conversation and other news from the Office of the Chief Rabbi direct to your inbox each week, please subscribe at www.chiefrabbi.org. TUNIS As protests in Algeria inch toward their 14th Friday, paralyzing city centers and all but engulfing the countrys political agenda, the presidential elections scheduled for July 4 have begun to grow increasingly unlikely. Quoting an anonymous source said to be familiar with the matter, Reuters has reported that logistical difficulties as well as the scale of the popular movement could push balloting to the end of 2019. The prospect of deferring the election until later in the year presents Algerias popular movement with a crucial test. On the one hand, it provides the countrys entrenched power networks, the pouvoir, a temporary stay from the execution the protests are threatening. On the other, it would give protesters time to possibly agree on an agenda and candidates, but while risking schisms inherent in such a move. A delay would also prolong the economic stagnation that has denied many among the predominantly youth-led movement the futures for which their state-funded university educations equipped them. Itsall Boutmee and Nora Benseghir Achour, both teachers from Oran, would welcome a possible deferment. Achour told Al-Monitor, Time is crucial to decide who will be the right person for the right place at the right time and under the right circumstances. Boutmee seconded Achour's position, adding, As long as there is no violence, [people] will accept the idea of a postponement. Hamdi Baala, an Algerian journalist covering the protests, agreed with the two teachers. I think postponing the election would be perceived in a positive light by the popular movement, Baala told Al-Monitor. The main demand since the resignation of [President] Abdelaziz Boutelfika has been a transition led by the people, not the regime. Baala emphasized that if an election is held in July, it would be overseen by authorities with allegiances primarily to the regime. Postponing the election would also open the way for a political solution and negotiations outside the constitutional pretext offered up to now by the regime in order to reproduce itself, Baala added. Waiting until later in the year, however, would prolong the economic paralysis gripping the country and extend the influence of Gen. Gaid Salah, the army chief of staff, whose prominence appears to have usurped that of caretaker President Abdelkader Bensalah and Prime Minister Noureddine Bedoui. Salah uses regular public briefings to disavow harboring political ambitions and to underscore the armys determination to maintain its constitutional role vis-a-vis the state. That constitution has been a central issue in official debates about the future of Algeria and how the regime should react to the popular movement. Originally drafted in 1963 following the countrys bruising war of independence against the French, the document has undergone numerous revisions, including some intended to provide a legal pretext for the extension of Bouteflikas tenure, positioning the document closer to the interests of the regime than those of the countrys protesters. I imagine therell probably be some frustration among the protesters over any delay in the elections, Jonathan Hill, director of the Institute of Middle Eastern Studies at King's College London, told Al-Monitor. So far, theyve been pushing forward as the government has retreated, peeling back the networks like the layers of an onion. The achievements of the popular movement thus far are hard to dismiss. In addition to toppling Bouteflika, relentless pressure from the street has resulted in a tranche of dismissals and arrests of people once close to the former president, including several wealthy businessmen, Said Bouteflika, the presidents brother and popularly perceived power behind the throne, spy chiefs and Gens. Athmane Tartag and Mohamed Mediene. Deferring the election isnt a sign of weakness, so much as it is a calculation, Hill remarked. Theyve [the regime] been learning from the Arab Spring states. If you leave the protesters to determine a single agenda, the likelihood is that theyll fracture, leaving parts of the movement that the pouvoir can co-opt. This also gives the regime time to prepare the mechanisms theyve been using for years to, at best, influence elections, and at worst, manage them. Though the success of the popular movement is likely to produce some kind of economic reckoning for Algeria, which is heavily oil and gas dependent, it may not be what the protesters are actually hoping to achieve. Any economic reform at least any reform likely to secure international backing is likely to be neoliberal in nature, Hill said. This will hit the subsidy system and make life hard for ordinary people. It is a double-edged sword. In the short term, the government may be able to survive off the revenues from oil and gas exports, but beyond that, who knows. For now, the momentum lies firmly with the protesters, who have forced unprecedented change upon a country that since a savage civil war in the 1990s has grown more accustomed to stagnation than profound political and societal shifts. Thus far, the protesters have made unimaginable progress and have done so largely peacefully. Any delay in the election, however, risks testing Algerias protest movement in a way that it has hitherto not experienced. These are most important days in the life of Yisrael Beitenu leader Avigdor Liberman, Israels most enigmatic politician. Liberman emigrated to Israel from the former Soviet Union at the age of 20 and, against all odds, served in the following positions: head of the prime ministers office, national infrastructure minister, transportation minister, foreign minister and defense minister. Now hes the one who holds the keys to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's future, perhaps even the future of the entire state. It had seemed that Liberman had already done everything he could and that in the last two campaigns he had run out of steam and exhausted his political career. It had seemed clear that he would never break the armored glass ceiling that prevents people like him from reaching the top. But Liberman now celebrates a tremendous personal victory: It was he, and not his rival, New Right party leader Naftali Bennett (whose new party did not cross the threshold), who was elected to the Knesset with four other legislators to become the official tiebreaker. Netanyahu cannot form a government without him. Liberman had presented his detailed political demands in advance, even before the elections, and then festively announced that he has no intentions of backtracking one iota from them. No one took him seriously. Now, everyone takes him seriously. The most salient demand is, of course, the ultra-Orthodox draft bill (regulating exemptions from mandatory military service for yeshiva students). Liberman proclaims that if this bill which already passed its first reading in the Knesset in July 2018 does not pass immediately as is in the second and third readings, then hes out. Its that simple. But the ultra-Orthodox mainly United Torah Judaism chairman Yaakov Litzman, who represents Israels largest Hassidic Gur faction demand changes. Liberman answers a resounding "nyet" and Netanyahu is trapped in the crossfire between the sides. At the moment, there is no government, and Liberman is the only one who is not scared about new elections. On the contrary: After long years of being consigned to the political wasteland, Liberman is now enjoying great public popularity. He took over the niche of Blue and White party member and Yesh Atid chairman Yair Lapid in one fell swoop. Liberman says the Likud allows the ultra-Orthodox to take control of the state and that in all of Jewish history, there has never been a leader like Netanyahu who gives the ultra-Orthodox everything they want. Liberman is fighting the secular-liberal wars and believes that even if the state is dragged into another round of elections, he has nothing to lose from that. Liberman enjoys a close relationship with New Right party leader Ayelet Shaked, Bennets unrequited former political partner, and Shaked has quite an electoral potential. With Liberman in first place and Shaked in second, they would constitute a secular, pragmatic bloc with some liberal tendencies. And that could be a real resurrection of the dead for those who have already been mourned and buried in Israeli politics. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of Israelis congregated the night of May 25 in the Tel Aviv Museum square for a political demonstration organized by the people of the Blue and White, Labor and Meretz parties and a series of civic organizations. The turnout was impressive; tens of thousands of people filled up central Tel Aviv, thus increasing the pressure on Netanyahu. And this, in turn, amplified the pressure on the last remaining Knesset members from the Likud who still support the rule of law: Gideon Saar, Gilad Erdan, Avi Dichter, Yuval Steinitz and Yuli Edelstein. But the ones to suffer the most pressure are Kulanu head Moshe Kahlon and his faction, who expressly promised throughout the preceding term of office that they would oppose any personal legislation to "rescue" Netanyahu from the law. Israels political system has a long history of dramas and storms, but the coming days may be the most jittery ones that Israeli politics has known in the recent era. Netanyahu must form a government by midnight May 28. Should he fail in that task, he will lose his mandate for assembling a government and the ball will return to the presidents court. President Reuven Rivlin would then conduct another round of consultations with the heads of the factions. Then he could impose the coalition-building effort on another Knesset member or announce new elections. New elections would constitute a disaster for Netanyahu, and not only because he might not be able to reproduce his electoral achievements. New elections would mean that the prime ministers timetable would be delayed by several long months, allowing the justice system to complete a hearing and file an indictment against him before Netanyahu could emasculate the system and secure immortal immunity. Netanyahu and Liberman now face one another, no holds barred, cursing and accusing one another treacherously. All the other political players are asking themselves: Is this a real crisis, or a play orchestrated by true experts? Those who have passed by Netanyahus Balfour House recently are willing to swear that its all for real. Liberman and Netanyahu have walked down Israels political road hand in hand since the early 1990s, almost 30 years ago. They know everything about one another. Liberman is a right-winger and has publicly declared several times that he will never do anything to enable the rise of a left-wing government. Netanyahu, however, is still convinced that Liberman will do everything to bring him down in order to enable a new generation of right-wing leaders to arise. Right-wing leaders such as Liberman himself. Nevertheless, the more reasonable assessment is that the magic formula will appear at the last minute, as always: The ultra-Orthodox wont vote for the law and it will pass on the votes of the opposition. Or the opposing ultra-Orthodox faction (four Knesset members) will join an improvised 61-member coalition only after the law is passed. The next few days will be fateful ones for Liberman, and for the Israeli political system, but mainly for Netanyahu. Not only for Netanyahus rule, but also for his personal freedom. His hearing is scheduled for Oct. 2. His race to immunity is delayed because of coalition difficulties. Netanyahu never would have believed that the people who now stand between him and his freedom were once the most faithful political allies he ever had: Avigdor Liberman on one side and Litzman on the other. The educated guess is that the prime minister himself will pay a personal visit to the Gur rabbi (the religious leader of the Gur Hassidic court), in order to beg for his future. Will it happen, will it be successful? Well have a partial answer the morning of May 29. Christie Mowry, a 43-year-old mom in Missouri, loves shopping at J.C. Penney. Just don't steer her to the women's section, which she says has become a dumping ground of striped shirts and ill-fitting capri pants. "It's like they think women my age should go quietly into their golden years without any style or personality," said Mowry, a claims representative for an insurance company in St. Louis. "They have an antiquated idea of women my age." Like many of its peers, J.C. Penney has failed its most loyal shopper: the middle-aged, middle-income mom of middle America. Analysts say retailers, caught up in a millennial-chasing frenzy, have invested heavily in new store formats and trendy brand partnerships, making shoppers such as Mowry feel unwelcome and eating into companies' bottom lines. J.C. Penney and Kohl's - which have toggled between courting moms and millennials - both posted disappointed earnings this past week. And Dress Barn, frequented almost exclusively by middle-aged working women, announced Tuesday that it was closing all 650 of its stores. "These companies are so busy trying to figure out who their shoppers are - Is it moms? Is it millennials? - that they've lost their most loyal shoppers," said Bob Phibbs, chief executive of the Retail Doctor, a New York-based consulting firm. "Plus the customer experience is forgettable. Nobody is going into a J.C. Penney and saying, 'You've got to see this place. It's great.' " Part of the problem, analysts say, is economic. Rising inequality and stagnant wages have squeezed middle-class Americans, leaving them with less disposable income to spend on clothing and housewares. As a result, they are trading down from department stores to chains such as Target, Walmart and T.J. Maxx, where business is booming. "Luxury players are doing okay, and discounters are doing okay," said Mark Cohen, director of retail studies for Columbia Business School and the former chief executive of Sears Canada. "But the middle continues to be a killing ground, and I don't think that's going to change any time soon." New tariffs, he added, are likely to make matters worse for middle-of-the-road retailers. Executives at J.C. Penney, Kohl's and Macy's this past week warned that the trade war may soon cut into profits as they pay 25 percent more to import items such as makeup, handbags and leather jackets. At the same time, cash-strapped consumers are likely to cut back on clothing and shoes as they pay more for groceries, toilet paper and other essentials. "We've assumed that there would be an impact to the gross [profit] margin, which is in part why we've reduced the outlook from what we previously had," Bruce Besanko, Kohl's chief financial officer, said on a Tuesday earnings call. He added that more than 20 percent of the company's merchandise comes from China. In all, American families will pay an additional $767 a year for everyday items following the latest round of tariffs, according to a report by the Trade Partnership, a Washington-based research and consulting firm. If the Trump administration extends that tax to all remaining Chinese imports, that figure could go up to about $2,389 a year for the average household. At J.C. Penney, sales are down and losses are mounting as the department store chain tries - again - to win over the suburban moms that it has repeatedly sidelined over the past decade. In the most recent quarter, the company posted a $154 million loss, while sales declined 5.6 percent. Meanwhile, quarterly sales fell about 3 percent at Kohl's, where CEO Michelle Gass said the year has "started off slower than we'd like." J.C. Penney's troubles go back nearly a decade, when the company brought on Ron Johnson, formerly head of Apple's retail business, to revamp its stores. He got rid of coupons and tried to turn the company's tired locations into sexier enclaves filled with "stores within a store" featuring brands such as Levi's and I Jeans by Buffalo. It was a fast failure: Sales dropped by about 30 percent, and longtime shoppers swore off the company. The company - which fired Johnson after 17 months on the job - has had four chief executives in the past eight years. They have tried a number of approaches: bringing back coupons, reinvesting in hair salons and doubling down on millennial shoppers. But last summer, J.C. Penney said it was done trying to win over 20-somethings. It was time, the company said, to shift its focus back to middle-aged moms. "We did lose our way," Mike Robbins, J.C. Penney's executive vice president of supply chain, told the Wall Street Journal last year. "[We] took our eye off our core customer." The company is now opening 500 new baby shops and replacing its appliance and furniture departments with more clothing. It also brought on a new CEO, Jill Soltau, who has yet to outline her strategy for the company. (A turnaround, she said in an earnings call this past week, "will take time.") But Mowry, who wears a size 12, says she has not been impressed by the company's efforts, particularly in its plus-size and women's departments. Until recently she wore a size 16, which made it even more difficult to find well-fitting clothes at the store. When the company did make an effort to offer more stylish clothing in larger sizes by partnering with Project Runway winner Ashley Nell Tipton, the line was targeted squarely to millennials. Mowry said items such as slash-knee jeggings and bomber jackets did little for her wardrobe. "It was like they were doing everything they could to target a younger clientele," she said. "And for the rest of us, it was like, 'Hey, here's a shapeless green bag you can wear.' " These days, she shops at J.C. Penney mostly for her children, who are 11 and 14. The clothes are well-made, she said, and she can often get them at a discount. For herself, she shops almost exclusively at Dress Barn. Now that the chain is going away, she says, she will have to rethink her habits. "I don't have a lot of time. I work full time and have kids - and we're on a budget," she said. "There's nothing middle-of-the-road anymore." Holly Rye, a small-business owner in Phoenix, agrees. The longtime J.C. Penney and Kohl's shopper says she now buys clothes almost exclusively online. Department stores, she says, have become a "wasteland" of clothing that is either frumpy or "see-through and sleazy." Im 56 years old, but I can still rock a pair of shorts and cowboy boots, said Rye, who has three adult children. I dont dress like an old lady. Multiple inmate stabbings this weekend at Alabama's St. Clair Correctional Facility in Springville are under investigation. According to information released Sunday by the Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC), three men were injured in two separate incidents in the same cell block. The department didn't specify which cell block was involved. The first case occurred about 5:15 p.m. Saturday. Two inmates with stab wounds were taken to an off-site hospital. One was returned to the prison infirmary while the other remained hospitalized in serious condition. According to ADOC, a third inmate identified as a suspect "was removed from the general population" and a knife was recovered at the scene. ADOC reported that the second incident took place shortly before 1 a.m. Sunday. An inmate was treated for stab wounds and was in stable condition at an area hospital. According to ADOC, a cellmate confessed to the attack and turned over a makeshift knife. An announcement from ADOC said the facility is secure and prison officials have locked down the involved cell block while correctional officers conduct an investigation. Amanda Eller ventured into a dense forest in Hawaii on May 8, confident her three-mile hike would finish so quickly that her phone and water were unnecessary. She left behind her wallet and her keys, hidden in her cars tire well for when she returned. A physical therapist and yoga instructor who lives on Maui, Eller knew the terrain from a previous hike and veered off the trail for a quick rest. But when she got up to resume, she was turned around, and in a quixotic search for the trail, Eller fractured her leg. She ate insects in the 16 days she was missing in the Makawao Forest Reserve - a disappearance that triggered a massive search drawing hundreds of volunteers, even after authorities scaled back their efforts early on. Eller was found alive Friday, sunburned and smiling. A helicopter search team contracted by her family spotted her four miles from her car, gaunt after surviving on plants and water, a friend told KITV. She was airlifted to a hospital. "She figured it out, she was smart, she was strong, she was prepared. We said that in the beginning and it was absolutely true," said her father, John Eller, according to KITV. John Eller said his daughter "took a good fall," and got lost after looking for a way back, he told reporters outside a hospital in a video posted by Maui 24/7. "They found her in a deep ravine, basically unable to get out, as I understand it," he said. "The rescuers had to be airlifted out as well, because it was so tumultuous," he added. Eller detailed her survival to The New York Times in an interview. She fractured her leg and tore her meniscus on the third day, her friend said, as rescue efforts ramped up in the jungle thick with creeks, ravines and brush. Eller used ferns and leaves for warmth when the temperature plummeted, and one night, slept in a wild boar's den. She ate moths and wild strawberry guavas, her mother Julia Eller told Maui News. She could identify those. Other plants were risky and unknown meals. A flood took her shoes, leaving her barefoot and crawling. "I wanted to give up," she told the Times. "But the only option I had was life or death." A battalion of searchers worked day after day to bring Eller back, repelling from cliffs and combing streams for signs of life. Aggressive boars were killed and their intestines inspected for human remains. Her family offered a $50,000 reward, up from $10,000 in the days after Eller's disappearance, and hired a helicopter crew to search for her by air. That effort was Eller's salvation Friday. Searchers Troy Helmer, Javier Cantellops and Chris Berquist spotted the missing hiker from air, foraging for food. "It was unbelievable, dude," Cantellops told CNN. "Seeing her for the first time in a long time was just unbelievable. It was nothing short of elation." Her mother, Julia Eller, said her injuries were all treatable, including severe sunburn. "She lost quite a bit of weight, as you can imagine, being lost for that amount of time," Eller said, Maui News reported. "But she was able to survive it. She had the right skills and did the right things to buy time so that we had a chance to find her." Photos posted to Facebook show her ankles swollen and legs covered in large, blistered wounds. Maui County Mayor Michael Victorino thanked searchers for their efforts in statement, calling it a "truly a community collaboration." Cantellops appeared on cable news and on Facebook to describe the search effort. His photograph with Eller, eyes wide open and lips blistered, triggered waves of relief for volunteer searchers. Amanda Eller you are one tough ass woman!!! Cantellops wrote on Facebook. We are all blown away at your barefoot resilience!!! -- The Washington Post Private 1st Class Charles N. Carson Jr. of Ensley died in Vietnam on Nov. 1, 1966, at the age of 18. He would have turned 19 on Christmas Day. His name is inscribed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall in Washington D.C., along with the names of more than 58,000 other casualties of that war. But his photo is one of 27 from Alabama that hasnt yet been uploaded to the walls companion Wall of Faces, an online tribute to these fallen American heroes that features not just their names, but their pictures and details about their service. When this effort started several years ago, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund was still searching for 24,000 photos, many of which were lost 45 years ago when more than 6 million government military records were destroyed in a fire at a St. Louis, Missouri, records repository. As of last month, only about 1,300 are still missing, including 27 from Alabama Private Charles N. Carson Jr. and 26 others. Were only a few photos away from joining 36 other states that have found photos for all of their Vietnam casualties. Last year, when the traveling replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, The Wall That Heals, came to Alabama, there were still 255 Alabama names missing from The Wall of Faces. Thanks to a concerted effort by a group of dedicated veteran advocates and volunteers, most of those photos were found before the replica wall exhibit which included kiosks where The Wall of Faces could be viewed made its stop in Huntsville. What better way to celebrate Memorial Day this year than to find those missing photos? The National Newspaper Association and the Alabama affiliate, the Alabama Press Association, has made it a priority to help the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund finish the virtual photo wall, and Alabama Media Group is joining them in that effort. Memorial Day is the time to honor and remember those military members who gave all for our country, said Andrew Johnson, president of the National Newspaper Association. This particular project is near and dear to me since my own son, 1st Lt. David Johnson, was KIA in Afghanistan in 2012. I could not imagine not having a photo him or not honoring his service along with all who gave their lives. Please take a look at the list published with this article, and if you have a photo of one of the servicemen listed or know someone who does, please contact the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund and make sure that we put faces with the names of all of our Alabama Vietnam casualties. Alabama Vietnam War casualties with missing photos Baldwin County Spc. Kenneth L. Stokes, Stapleton, Army, KIA Jan. 18, 1970 Choctaw County Cpl. Ben E. Causey Jr., Choctaw, Army, KIA date unknown Elmore County Staff Sgt. Dale K. Wilson, Tallassee, Army, KIA March 8, 1968 Pfc. Richard Clark, Tallassee, Army, KIA Jan. 27, 1969 Greene County Cpl. Taylor H. McLemore, Boligee, Army, KIA June 3, 1967 Jefferson County Pfc. Charles N. Carson Jr., Ensley, Army, KIA Nov. 1, 1966 Sgt. Jerry T. Evans, Birmingham, Army, KIA May 4, 1968 Spc. Johnnie L. Evans, Birmingham, Army, KIA date unknown Pfc. Ronald Hall, Birmingham, Army, KIA Oct. 2, 1967 Pfc. Ronnie Harrell, Bessemer, Army, KIA date unknown Sgt. 1st Class William B. Hill, Birmingham, Army, KIA Sept. 5, 1966 Pfc. Adam Jackson, Birmingham, Marines, KIA June 6, 1970 Pfc. Christopher C. Oakes, Bessemer, Army, KIA date unknown Spc. Jim. L. Smith, Birmingham, Army, KIA July 8, 1966 Lance Cpl. Lee A. Toyer, Birmingham, Marines, KIA Oct. 21, 1967 Spc. Gene W. Williams, Birmingham, Army, KIA Oct. 12, 1965 Pfc. Fred Wilson, Birmingham, Army, KIA June 19, 1968 Staff Sgt. Claude Young, Birmingham, Army, KIA Oct. 21, 1967 Lee County Sgt. Joe L. Jones, Phenix City, Army, KIA date unknown Lowndes County Lance Cpl. Joseph W. McDonald, Letohatchee, Marines, KIA Feb. 8, 1970 Mobile County Staff Sgt. Francis E. Clark, Mobile, Army, KIA May 2, 1967 Pfc. Jack B. Meacham, Mobile, Army, KIA date unknown Pfc. Johnnie L. Pryear, Mobile, Army, KIA March 6, 1971 Pfc. Johnny M. Watson, Mobile, Army, KIA June 19, 1970 Pfc. Wilbert E. Waxton, Grand Bay, Army, KIA date uknown Montgomery County Pvt. Thomas J. Sims, Montgomery, Army, KIA May 8, 1969 Morgan County Cpl. David L. Turner, Laceys Spring, Army, KIA Jan. 31, 1968 How to submit a photo Online If you have a digital copy of the photograph you can upload it directly to that service members profile page on The Wall of Faces. Go to at https://www.vvmf.org/wall-of-faces and search for their name in either the Search The Wall bar or by using the Advanced Search. Once on their page, simply click Submit Photos. (Please make sure your photo is right-side up. If you are uploading an image, the file must have a .gif, .jpeg or .jpg extension. Please try to keep files under 5 MB in size. File names cant include any symbols or only be letters and numbers.) By mail Make a copy of your photo. VVMF does not want original photos and cannot be responsible for returning photos to donors. When having the photo copied, ask the photo professional to make it the highest quality possible, use a glossy finish and reproduce the photo at an 8x10 size, if possible. When mailing, please indicate on the front of the envelope that a photo is enclosed. Mail to: Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund Attn: The Wall of Faces 1235 South Clark Street, Suite 910 Arlington, VA 22202 Haskins writes about points of pride statewide. Email your suggestions to shaskins@al.com, or tweet them to @Shelly_Haskins using #AlabamaProud A nation reveals itself not only by the men it produces, but also by the men it honors, the men it remembers. - President John Kennedy, October 1963 --- Sherwin Callander was there for the start of U.S involvement in World War II, and had a front row seat for the opening act of its final chapter as well. The 98-year-old Navy veteran has the rare distinction of having been stationed at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii when the Japanese attacked on Dec. 7, 1941, before taking part in the D-Day invasion of Europe on June 6, 1944. "They were both bad," Callander said, "and we lost a lot of good people." Now living in Madison, Alabama, Callander will be in Normandy next month when the world commemorates the 75th anniversary of the Allied invasion of Nazi-occupied France. However, this could mark the last major D-Day milestone that Callander and many of his fellow warriors will live to see. That's because we're losing our World War II veterans at an alarming rate of about 348 per day, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs. Of the more than 16 million Americans who served in World War II, fewer than 500,000 were still alive in 2018. The youngest of these heroes are almost all in their mid- to late 90s at this point. Soon, the voices of the "Greatest Generation" will be forever silent. They put their lives on hold and answered the their country's call when it needed them most. So, while we can, we should make certain to honor them for saving the world from tyranny. Callander enlisted in the Navy in 1939 after a stint with the Civilian Conservation Corps. He was aboard a supply ship returning from Wake Island when the Japanese unexpectedly struck Pearl Harbor, killing roughly 2,400 people on a day that President Franklin Roosevelt would later characterize as "a date which will live in infamy." Arriving in Hawaii the following morning, Callander and his shipmates were horrified at the carnage, but helped pull the many dead and wounded Americans from the water. "We pulled into Pearl Harbor and had to clean up the mess that was left," he said. The experience inspired Callander to go to Virginia to be trained on the Higgins boats used to deliver combat troops ashore. He took part in the invasions of North Africa and Italy in 1942 and 1943, respectively, before making several trips to shore under withering enemy fire to deliver U.S. soldiers onto Utah Beach on D-Day. "Normandy was a rough one," he said. "There were dead and wounded everywhere, but we were told not to help anybody. We were to get back to the ship as soon as possible because we had to get more manpower on the beach." Callander said that day was one he'll never forget. "They were expecting us and were dug in," he said. "The first three waves of soldiers, I don't think they made it 10 feet after reaching the beach. The water was blood red for about 10 feet out. We finally got a foothold, but, man, we lost a lot of people." Callander, who will be in Normandy when he turns 99 on June 4, left the Navy in 1945 and went on to enjoy a wonderful life that produced seven children, and more than 40 grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He was among the many World War II veterans who returned home and immediately resumed their lives following the war's end. Many went back to school or got married and began raising families. It's a testament to just how much time has passed that their children are the Baby Boomers now old enough to be passing into retirement themselves. Callander, who speaks to groups of young people on occasion, says it's his hope that more young Americans of today might serve their country in uniform as he so proudly did. "Freedom is not free," he said. It's a sobering fact that Callander and his contemporaries knew all too well. And we're all the better off for it today. --- Its been a whirlwind week in Canaan, New Hampshire, with television cameras descending on the town of fewer than 4,000 after news of a cafeteria worker being fired for giving a student a free meal garnered national media attention. Bonnie Kimball claimed that she had lost her job when a supervisor caught her giving food worth $8 to a student whose account had no money. She received an outpouring of support after the story went viral, including a job offer from celebrity chef Jose Andres, and the contractor that employed her offered to rehire her. But now the school district has withdrawn its support for Kimball after the student's mother shared information with the New Hampshire Union Leader suggesting Kimball lied and engaged in a "cover-up." Kimball had served lunch in the cafeteria of Mascoma Valley Regional High for nearly five years, according to the Valley News, when she was fired March 29. The Union Leader reported, based on her account, that the termination came in response to a manager catching her giving one meal to a student who had no money in his lunch account. After an outpouring of public support for Kimball, the president of the Cafe Services subsidiary that employed her, Brian Stone, said in a May 17 statement to The Washington Post that the company would offer to rehire her. That same day, Kimball told the Associated Press she wasn't interested in taking the job back, alleging that the company, Fresh Picks Cafe, had offered her her job back "so that it could keep its contract [with the school district]." But the mother of the student who got the free lunch from Kimball has now told the Union Leader that Kimball has been dishonest. She said that her son, a 17-year-old, was supposed to bring his own lunches. "I have three children, and they are all well-cared for and well-fed," the mother told the Union Leader. "She did not get fired for feeding a hungry child." The woman, who the Union Leader did not name to protect her privacy, also shared Facebook messages from Kimball to the teenager attempting to cover up her account given to the news media. "We will prolly get written up," Kimball wrote, according to the messages cited by the Union Leader, "but we can make it look good. Lol." Stone said that the teenager received free food from Kimball for three months, not just one meal. The student's mother told the Union Leader that she did not know why Kimball was giving her son free food. "We have nothing to do with her outside of the school system," she told the paper. Kimball rejected the student's mother's claims of a coverup, the Union Leader reported. After the story went viral, Kimball started a GoFundMe account that has raised $8,498 as of May 24. A representative for GoFundMe, who had previously verified the account, told The Washington Post, "GoFundMe will honor refund requests by donors. To date, we have not received any requests for refunds." When first reached for comment May 17, a Cafe Services representative told The Post that "the information as reported is untrue" but declined to elaborate. The school district superintendent, Amanda Isabelle, confirmed that district policy is to provide lunch to every student, regardless of their ability to pay. On May 20, Stone, the president of the Cafe Services subsidiary that employed Kimball, released a video statement explaining that while he had not commented on the matter before out of "respect for the privacy and confidentiality of our employees," he wanted to correct the record. "This student hadn't been charged for anything for the previous three months," Stone said. "This employee was dishonest and was let go for not following procedures." Isabelle, the school district superintendent, wrote in a May 22 Facebook post that the district was "rescinding its demand that the employee be rehired." "We have been overwhelmed by a crush of national and international media interest in this incident," Isabelle wrote, "but I do not believe we have yet seen a full and complete retelling of the facts." In a separate statement sent to The Post, Stone said he hoped the attention on the story could be directed instead to organizations such as Friends of Mascoma, which supports nutrition in the area. He closed his video statement with a call for a return to normal. Wed like to get back to the business of feeding kids, he said, because thats what we love to do. -- The Washington Post (WB) BOGOTA, Colombia More than 300 activists and elected officials from around Latin America attended an LGBTQ Victory Institute-organized conference that took place in the Colombian capital of Bogota from May 16-18. Colombian Congressman Mauricio Toro, Venezuelan National Assemblywoman Tamara Adrian, Belizean Sen. Valerie Woods, Antiguan Sen. Akika Lake, Cuban National Assemblyman Luis Angel Adan Roble, Arizona state Sen. Tony Navarrete and Colorado state Rep. Brianna Titone are among those who attended. Claire Lucas, a prominent Democratic activist in D.C. who was previously a senior advisor at the U.S. Agency for International Developments Office of Innovation and Development Alliances, and Juan Carlos Archila of Censurados, a group in the Colombian city of Cucuta that provides assistance to Venezuelans with HIV/AIDS, also participated in the conference. Caribe Afirmativo, an LGBTI advocacy group that is based in northern Colombia, helped organize the conference. Theres energy and excitement and frustration because the conditions in so many of these Latin American countries that are represented is so hard, Victory Institute President Annise Parker told the Washington Blade during a May 17 interview. I am inspired by the bravery of the folks who are standing up in very difficult conditions. Peruvian Congressman Alberto de Belaunde told the Blade later in the day the conference is a really important meeting because this is the opportunity to talk to different LGBT politicians from around Latin America. De Belaunde also noted Latin American countries are in different stages of the LGBT rights fight. The conference took place against the backdrop of Costa Rica, Ecuador and other countries struggles with how to implement the Inter-American Court of Human Rights landmark 2018 ruling that recognizes same-sex marriage and transgender rights in the Western Hemisphere. It also coincides with persistent discrimination and violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity throughout the region. The conference on May 17 opened with a moment of silence that commemorated the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia. The Equality Act, which would add sexual orientation and gender identity to federal nondiscrimination laws, passed in the U.S. House of Representatives later in the day. Trans Venezuelan lawmaker: Country is melting down Archila and other Colombia-based activists with whom the Blade spoke at the conference noted Venezuelas economic and political crisis continues to have a devastating impact on people with HIV/AIDS who live in the country. Adrian a supporter of Venezuelan National Assembly President Juan Guaido who the U.S. and dozens of other countries have recognized as the countrys interim president in 2015 became the first openly trans woman elected to the Venezuelan National Assembly. She told the Blade on May 18 that Venezuelans wait up to eight hours in some parts of the country to fill their cars with gasoline. Adrian also said some parts of the country that are outside of the Venezuelan capital of Caracas only have electricity for a few hours a day. Venezuela unfortunately is melting down as a country, she said. An 11-year-old boy from Trussville was hospitalized Friday after the sailboat he was riding in made contact with live power lines running over a tributary of the Tennessee River. According to the Morgan County Rescue Squad, the boy was one of four passengers in a sailboat on Flint Creek when the mast of the boat contacted an overhead power line near Point Mallard in Decatur around 3:30 p.m. Friday. The boy was taken to Huntsville Hospital, and the boat sustained fire damage and was towed away by emergency response vessels. The boy is in critical condition, according to a report by the Trussville Tribune, which also said family members on board said they all felt the electric shock. The Alabama Law Enforcement Agencys Marine Patrol, Decatur Police Department, Decatur Fire and Rescue, Morgan County Rescue Squad, Decatur Utilities, First Response Ambulance, Air-Evac Helicopter, all responded to assist in the accident. The Marine Patrol is investigating the incident. Georgiana Mayor Jerome Antone remains perplexed over what will become of his small Alabama Black Belt community after the hospital closed in February. Gone were 100 jobs, and the tax base that came with having a hospital operating in the city for 60 years. Only about a half-dozen businesses remain in the city where the median household income is below $20,000 a year. When you are city like Georgiana, we dont have any tax dollars at all, said Antone. We really and truly hated that the hospital closed. The closure didnt come as a huge surprise: The medical center was hemorrhaging red ink, and millions had been lost the previous year alone because of the number of uninsured patients arriving to the complex in search of care. The Georgiana Medical Center became the 13th rural hospital casualty in Alabama since 2011, but most likely not the last. A whopping 88 percent of rural hospitals are operating in the red, meaning revenues received for patient care are not enough to cover the cost of providing care. Advantages The main culprit for the closure, according to the states hospital association, is the inactivity in Montgomery when it comes to investing into an expansion of Medicaid. Estimates this year pegged the states costs at $168 million to expand Medicaid to cover more than 300,000 uninsured Alabamians who often rely upon a cash-strapped hospital to pay for their basic health needs. The Legislature appears likely to, once again, forgo an investment into expanding Medicaid that has been possible since the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare, was adopted in 2011. Alabama remains one of 13 states mostly concentrated in the South declining to accept Medicaid expansion under the ACA. The notion has long irked the Alabama Hospital Association, which estimates an expansion would provide an additional $11.4 billion in economic impact to Alabama over a four-year period. An influx of new funding, the association estimates, would more than make up for the initial $168 million investment and $25 million that would be required each year thereafter. The group also draws a correlation between states opting not to expand Medicaid and rural hospital closures. The U.S. Government Accountability Office estimates about half the rural hospitals are located in states which chose not to expand Medicaid. Of the rural hospital closures between 2013-2017, 83 percent are located in non-expanding states, according to the GAO. So many states have taken advantage of this and seen the positives on health care, said Danne Howard, executive vice president and chief policy officer with the Alabama Hospital Association, who believes the objections to expanding Medicaid are more financial than based on past concerns over politics stemming from Barack Obamas presidency. Where do you get the $168 million for the first year? said Howard. Absent new revenue, we dont have $168 million and there has not been a big appetite for revenue-raising measures since the gas tax passed. That was a hefty lift for the governors office, so the questions are now, Where do we find the money? Funding not there Its a question that is going unanswered in Montgomery, and likely wont be part of a negotiation involving prison reform. A special session is a possibility for the fall, but would likely focus on addressing the U.S. Department of Justices concerns over the horrific conditions of the states prisons. State Sen. Cam Ward, R-Alabaster, and a leading proponent of prison reform, said in multiple meetings hes had with Iveys administration, the issue of lumping Medicaid expansion with prison reform has not materialized. Weve had Democrats, Republicans and everyone else solely focused on isolating the prison issue by itself so we dont mix and match with something else, said Ward. He added, Everyone comes back to where do you get the $168 million out of the General Fund to pay for the expansion? A spokesman for Alabama State Senate Pro Tem Del Marsh, R-Anniston, suggested the solution may have come through lottery proceeds. Lawmakers, however, have effectively killed legislation this session that would have created a paper-based lottery in Alabama. Estimates showed that a lottery would have generated an additional $125.5 million annually for the General Fund. If we approve a lottery, we can discuss starting conversations about that but as it stands now, the funding is just not there, said William Califf, spokesman for Marsh. Howard said a decision on whether to expand can also be backed by Ivey, who has also questioned ways to pay for it. She defeated Democrat Walt Maddox in November, who ran on a platform of expanding Medicaid. Ivey assembled a three-member team that was working on producing a report recommending ways to improve rural health care woes. The working group spent a good part of 2018 traveling the state and meeting with health professionals to gather information. But this year, so far, there hasnt been any public initiative backed by Alabama political leaders to find the revenue needed to expand Medicaid. The 2019 session appears likely to end next week without one bill surfacing that aimed to address Medicaid expansion. If Alabama chose to pursue an expansion of Medicaid eligibility, it would be necessary to obtain federal approval from (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) in order to receive federal matching funds, said Melanie Cleveland, spokeswoman with the Alabama Medicaid Agency. However, the Legislature would have to provide the necessary funding and/or support to underwrite the cost of that expansion. Other solutions State lawmakers are hopeful about a federal effort to change the Medicare Wage Index to boost Medicare reimbursement rates for low-wage hospitals. The move would likely come at the expense of decreasing reimbursements for higher-wage hospitals, but its viewed as a much-needed boost for the rural facilities. A comment period on the change runs until next month, at which time CMS plans to roll out the new rule. The change is expected to boost Alabamas hospitals, which are some of the lowest reimbursed facilities in the country, by around $34 million next fiscal year starting in October. Thank you, @CMSGov & @SeemaCMS! Grateful that you are taking the necessary steps to solve this dire issue. https://t.co/NCgQnplTxA Richard Shelby (@SenShelby) April 24, 2019 Lawmakers in smaller-sized districts believe the wage index change represents a big positive on Alabama hospitals. That would be a big help for the rural hospitals if it happens, said state Rep. David Standridge, R-Hayden, and chairman of the Alabama House Rural Caucus. Im not saying that it cures the issues, but its a big step. This is something weve been working on for several years. The wage index tweak, alone, wont resolve the struggles of rural hospitals, said U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Birmingham. Fixing the wage index is just a first step expanding Medicaid is the number one most effective action the state can and should take to ensure our rural hospitals can continue to keep their doors open," she said. Other solutions are being floated while Medicaid expansion is on the shelf. Alabama Arise, for instance, is pushing for a repeal of Alabamas income tax deduction for FICA taxes, which go to Medicare and Society Security. Removing the FICA tax deduction would raise an estimated $261 million annually, according to Arise. It doesnt take much arithmetic to figure out that the tax deduction is tilted toward the upper income brackets, said Jim Carnes, policy director at Alabama Arise. Carnes said if Alabama removed the state income tax deduction for federal income taxes paid, it would raise around $719 million a year. He said the state could then offset the revenue losses from a repeal of the state sales tax on groceries, which would save taxpayers around $400 million annually. In addition, removing the deduction would cover the states Medicaid costs. We think that this plan is the one that makes a lot of sense, said Carnes. Howard, with the Hospital Association, said a tax on vape products could also funnel in millions of dollars annually, but would not generate enough revenue to cover the $168 million. Another possibility, she said, could be a look at adding a tax on sugary substances that are used in soft drinks and candy. A number of states have placed taxes on soda, but few are located in the South. In Arkansas, lawmakers removed soft drinks and candy from being considered groceries, effectively raising the sales tax on the items from 1.5 percent to 6.5 percent. The idea, Howard said, is to save rural hospitals from further calamity. The sense of urgency is huge, she said. Healthy Alabama Plan The Hospital Association is calling its push for Medicaid expansion, A Healthy Alabama Plan, and is utilizing the website alhealthmatters.com, to provide information about the benefits of expansion. The groups analysis breaks down the effect in regions throughout the state: Jefferson County would realize a $298.6 million economic boost by expanding Medicaid, and would allow an additional 37,351 adults to be eligible for health care. In Mobile County, the effect would be an extra $260.5 million, and an estimated 30,785 adults eligible for health insurance. The statistics stood out to Mobile City Council Vice-President Levon Manzie, who recently urged his council colleagues to back a resolution in support for the hospital associations plan. Mobile became the first city in the state to pass a resolution effectively encouraging the expansion of Medicaid under Obamacare. It will have a drastic impact on the quality of care that will be received by citizens, and wait times and availability of rural hospitals and the residents of the Mobile region, said Manzie. We recognize that this is a step we needed to take and probably shouldve done this a few years back. Alabama Arise and the Southern Poverty Law Center have taken note, and are praising Mobile forits actions. Mobile is the first city to pass a resolution urging its legislative delegation to support the hospital associations efforts for Medicaid expansion. The Mobile City Council should be commended for its statewide leadership in passing this resolution, which signals to Mobiles legislative delegation the importance of promoting a healthy Mobile and Alabama, said Sam Brooke, deputy legal director with the Montgomery-based SPLC. Carnes, at Alabama Arise, said he hopes other cities are taking note and follow in similar fashion since many of their own hospitals are facing financial difficulties that could come back to haunt city halls. If the health care crisis in Alabama continues, which is reflected in being at or near the bottom of every health care indicator, I would imagine local governments will have to take a more active role in addressing this issue, said Maddox, the mayor of Tuscaloosa. Glenn Sisk, CEO of Coosa River Medical Center in Sylacauga, said that more cities and counties following Mobiles lead will elevate the urgency about the issue in Montgomery. It will assist the legislative leaders in understanding that people who provide local leadership see the value of a healthy health care system, said Sisk. I havent heard of anyone else doing that, but its given me the idea locally to pursue the same. A second Memorial Day weekend boating fatality has been reported in north Alabama, and the victim has been identified by authorities. In the first, a 12-year-old Cullman County boy was killed while tubing on Smith Lake southwest of Cullman late Saturday. The other incident, also on Saturday, involves the death of a man who apparently drowned while riding a personal watercraft on the Tennessee River near Talucah Landing, southeast of Decatur. Sunday afternoon the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency identified the victim as Jerome Marks, 56, of Huntsville. ALEA reported that Marks had not been wearing a personal flotation device when he fell from the craft. An investigation is ongoing. As reported by Huntville-based WHNT, boaters said they noticed the watercraft circling and found the man floating in the water. A registered nurse near the scene performed CPR but the man could not be revived. Marine Police are investigating both incidents. This story was updated at 3:55 p.m. to add Marks name. The detainees were shackled and beaten for supporting the government, working with the US or fighting the armed group. Afghan captives held by the Taliban have been subjected to abuse, ill-treatment and actions that may amount to torture, the UN said. The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said on Sunday it interviewed 13 detainees from a group of 53 recently rescued from the Taliban. The group mainly consisted of members of the Afghan forces but also civilians and government officials. The group was freed on April 25 when Afghan troops raided a Taliban-run detention facility in the Khas Uruzgan district in southern Uruzgan province. Most of the captives were held since 2018, with three since 2016, the UNAMA statement said, adding they were kept in poor conditions and subjected to forced labour. It cites the detainees as saying that the Taliban killed some of their captives. 190510062940394 I am gravely concerned about these serious allegations of ill-treatment, torture and unlawful killing of civilians and security personnel, as well as the deplorable conditions of detention, said Tadamichi Yamamoto, the head of UNAMA. The detainees were shackled while in captivity and almost all said they were beaten. The Taliban told them it was punishment for supporting the government, working with the US or fighting the armed group. US-Taliban talks The UN statement comes as Washingtons peace envoy, Zalmay Khalilzad is pressing ahead with talks with the Taliban, who refuse to negotiate directly with the Kabul government. The talks so far have focused on a timetable for US troop withdrawal as well as Taliban guarantees that they wont harbour terror groups or allow Afghanistan to be used as a staging ground for global attacks. 190508203445898 As the war approaches its 18th year, 14,000 US troops are still in Afghanistan, and senior US intelligence officials have repeatedly warned that the country remains fragile. The UN said in its quarterly report in April that between January and March 2019, armed groups killed 227 civilians and injured 736 others. In contrast, Afghan and international security forces killed 305 people and injured 303, a 39 percent jump from the same period last year. During the same period, aerial operations by both Afghan and international military forces caused 145 deaths, half of them women and children, UNAMA said. Six civilians, including a woman and two children, killed as they were exiting an area right after a raid by the forces. An Afghan security forces raid against Taliban fighters in eastern Nangarhar province mistakenly killed a family of six, including a woman and two children, on Friday. The forces, who mistook the family for Taliban fighters when they were driving out of the area after the night attack in Sherzad district, opened fire on their vehicle killing all of them, said Attahullah Khogyani, the provincial governors spokesman. At least 10 insurgents were also killed in the raid, he told Al Jazeera. Several villagers on Saturday carried the victims bodies in a procession in the provincial capital of Jalalabad to demand justice. Afghan people protest over killing of civilians in a night raid [Mohammad Anwar Danishyar/AP] The United Nations said in its quarterly report in April that between January and March 2019, armed groups killed 227 civilians and injured 736 others. The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said on Saturday it was concerned about the heavy toll on civilians in the conflict during the holy month of Ramadan and urged parties to do more to prevent casualties. In contrast, Afghan and international security forces killed 305 people and injured 303, a 39 percent jump from the same period last year. Aerial operations in the three months by both Afghan and international military forces caused 145 deaths, half of them women and children, UNAMA 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. Congolese politician Moise Katumbi tells Al Jazeera of his plans following his return to the Democratic Republic of Congo after almost three years in exile. Wealthy businessman and former governor of the southeast Katanga Province was once an ally of former President Joseph Kabila but after a falling-out, Katumbi was charged with property fraud and barred from running in Decembers election. That vote was won by Felix Tshisekedi, who has pardoned 700 prisoners including the political opponents of former President Kabila. Moise Katumbi was among those cleared and now he wants to unite the opposition. Al Jazeeras Catherine Soi reports from Lubumbashi. The election has been portrayed as a battle between the pro-European establishment and its Eurosceptic challengers. Brussels, Belgium As voting draws near a close across the European Union, the first exit polls suggest this years European Parliament elections have seen a higher turnout than usual, and the power balance is likely to change in the chamber. Taking place against the backdrop of a rise in support for far-right and nationalist parties at the national level in recent years, the election has been largely portrayed as a battle between the pro-European establishment and its Eurosceptic challengers. More than 400 million Europeans in 28 member states were called to the ballot box over four days to elect 751 members of the EUs only directly-elected body. Brexiting Britain and the Netherlands kicked off the elections, which take place every five years on Thursday. On Sunday, 21 countries voted and results are expected through the night. The European Parliament is responsible for choosing the next president of the European Commission, shares responsibility for deciding on the EUs annual budget with the Council of the EU, as well as oversees the work of EU institutions. While it cant initiate legislation, which is the purview of the European Commission, it can adopt and amend it. High turnout European Parliament elections are normally considered second-tier polls by citizens, who have traditionally used them to vent their frustrations with their own national governments with protest votes. Turnout has been steadily declining since they were first held in 1979. But turnout estimates suggest this year might buck that trend. By noon, 14.4 percent of eligible voters had gone to the polls in Poland, almost twice as many as in 2014. By early evening, an EU spokesman put the official turnout estimate at 51 percent for 27 countries except for the UK. At the last European Parliament elections in 2014, 42.6 percent of eligible voters cast their ballots. The European Parliaments two largest political groups, the centre-right European Peoples Party (EPP) and the centre-left Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) are both on course to lose 39 and 38 seats respectively according to an aggregation of 14 national estimates and voting intentions where these were not available unsettling their dominance and making this parliament the most fragmented so far. The EPP, whose lead candidate is Manfred Weber of the German Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CSU), is currently the largest group in the European Parliament and holds all three EU top jobs. As alliances tend to form on an issue-by-issue basis, this means it might become harder to form majorities. There are eight political groups national parties can currently join. A new group composed by centrist Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE), French President Emmanuel Macrons Renaissance movement and Romanias USR-PLUS so far has more than 100 seats. French polls suggest Macron is second to Marine Le Pen. For the first time in 40 years, the [EPP and the S&D] will no longer have a majority, Guy Verhofstadt, the president of the ALDE group, told journalists at a press conference. No solid pro-European majority is possible without centrist groups. Another big winner so far compared with the last legislature is the Greens group, projected to take 69 seats, mostly thanks to the German result. To forge a stable EU the Greens are going to indispensable, said Ska Keller, the lead European Commission candidate for the group. The centrist, liberal Alliance for Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) and the Greens are likely to play a more central role in future decision-making. The leftist European United Left/Nordic Green Left (GUE/NGL) is projected to lose 10 seats. Far-right parties led by Italys firebrand interior minister and co-deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini are projected to win 57 seats, 21 more than in the last legislature. Alongside a number of other Eurosceptic and nationalist parties that are part of the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group such as the Polish Law and Justice, they wish to take power back from Brussels and devolve it back to national governments. However, these parties are highly divided on some issues such as the budget, the role of Russia and migration, raising questions about how coherent a front they can form in the parliament. 190521205206706 Preliminary results: watching the socialists In the Netherlands, exit polls put the Labour Party slightly ahead of the ruling conservative VVD party led by Mark Rutte. The two are polling at 18 and 15 percent respectively, a surprise result that will bolster first Vice President of the European Commission Frans Timmermans, who heads the Labour party and is the S&Ds lead candidate for the presidency of the European Commission. The upstart far-right Forum for Democracy (FvD) and its flamboyant 36-year-old leader, Thierry Baudet, were seen as Ruttes main rival after the party came first in provincial elections earlier this year. It lags in fourth place. In Germany, the CDU/CSU centre-right political alliance which includes Chancellor Angela Merkels party remains the largest party with 28 percent of the share, but its the Greens who appear to be on course to bring home the best results, polling at 22 percent. That doesnt mean we will see dramatic changes in the balance of power of the political forces in terms of what we were expecting a few days ago, Doru Frantescu, the CEO of the Brussels-based think-tank Votewatch Europe, told Al Jazeera. Were seeing changes on the left between the political families, with the Greens taking more seats than expected but taking these seats from the socialists, he explained, adding that crash of the socialists appears to be bigger than expected, despite the gains made in the Netherlands, which has only five seats in the European Parliament. This is signalled by the result in Germany, where the Greens have for the first time passed the socialists. Meanwhile, in Austria, the far-right Austrian Freedom Party (FPO) doesnt appear to have suffered massive electoral losses following the Ibiza-gate video it polls third at 17.5 percent, behind the Austrian Peoples Party (34.5 percent) and the Social Democratic Party of Austria (23.5 percent). The FPO, a key ally in Salvinis coalition for a Europe of nations, was hit by a scandal after a secretly-filmed video emerged of its leader and Austrias vice chancellor, Heinz-Christian Strache, offering lucrative government contracts in exchange for campaign support to a woman posing as the niece of a Russian oligarch. The Austrian government witnessed a slew of resignations of far-right ministers and faces a no-confidence vote on Monday. (WB) The U.S. Senate confirmed to the federal bench Wednesday a Trump judicial nominee who not only litigated in favor or Californias Proposition 8, but argued a ruling against the measure should have been invalidated because the judge didnt disclose he was gay before deciding the case. The Senate confirmed Howard Nielson to a seat on the U.S. District Court in Federal District of Utah by a 51-47 party-line vote as Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) presided over the chamber. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) joined Democrats in voting no on the nominee. Kristine Lucius, executive vice president for policy and government affairs at The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, condemned the Nielson confirmation in a statement. By confirming Howard Nielson, the Senate has pushed through another extreme lifetime nominee who will not be fair-minded or impartial. Lucius said. Nielsons reprehensible arguments against LGBTQ equality including asking to vacate a judgment because the judge was gay are particularly alarming. In addition, he has litigated against common-sense public safety laws, demonstrated hostility to womens health care, and argued against educational equity and opportunity. Nominated by President Trump in September 2017, Nielsons nomination had stalled nearly two years in the Senate due to Democratic opposition, although Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnells (R-Ky.) change in rules to ease judicial filibuster allowed the nominee to come to a floor vote. At the time of his nomination, Nielson was a partner at the D.C.-based Cooper & Kirk, PLLC and represented the defendants in Hollingsworth v. Perry, who sought to uphold the measure banning same-sex marriage in California they placed on the ballot in 2008. The U.S. Supreme Court ultimately rejected their claims on the basis they didnt have standing in court, restoring marriage equality to California. But before that ruling, Nielson filed a motion seeking to vacate U.S. Chief Judge Vaughn Walkers ruling against Proposition 8 on the basis that he was in same-sex relationship and didnt disclose that as he adjudicated the case. Chief Judge Walker thus had a duty to disclose not only the facts concerning his relationship, but also his marriage intentions, for the parties (and the public) were entitled to know whether his waivable conflict was actually a non-waivable conflict mandating his disqualification, Nielson wrote. Nielsons attempt to invalidate Walkers ruling was rejected by U.S. District Judge James Ware, who sided with pro-gay rights groups in maintaining Walkers sexual orientation shouldnt invalidate his decision. In his argument in favor of Proposition 8 on its merits, Nielson suggested being gay is a choice by pointing out there is debate about how sexual orientation is defined and disputed the effect of discrimination on gay people, including increased rates of depression and suicide. Upon nomination to become a federal judge, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) queried Nielson in a written questionnaire on various matters, including whether he believes the Supreme Court ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges in 2015 was settled law. To that question, Nielson replied simply, Yes. But Nelson didnt indicate a change on mind on gay judges ruling in LGBT cases when, in an apparent reference to his litigation position in the Prop 8 case, he asked whether he believes straight judges can rule impartially in those cases. I believe the law is clear that no one is required to recuse himself or herself based on status,: Nielson writes. Where additional facts are involved, recusal issues must be resolved on a case-by-case basis, applying the judicial canons and the federal recusal statute. Under the judicial canons, it would be inappropriate for me to address hypothetical cases that could arise in litigation. Nielson has also faced criticism for being part of the screening committee at the U.S. Justice Department during the Bush administration, which was found to have taken political affiliation into account for hiring practices. He also worked at the Office of Legal Counsel, which justified the use of torture. Nielson has also been an attorney for the National Rifle Association. In a letter this week, Rep. A. Donald McEachin (D-Va.) distributed a letter signed by more than 50 U.S. House members urging the Senate to reject the Nielson nomination, citing his litigation position in the Prop 8 case. A fair and impartial judiciary is foundational to the success and stability of our democracy, McEachin writes. It is critical that federal judges embody these principles, and demonstrate a commitment to protecting all Americans constitutional freedoms. Mr. Nielson has a consistent record not just of opposing LGBT equality in court, but of making offensive and unfounded arguments in the course of those proceedings. That record raises serious questions about his ability to impartially administer justice. In related news, Trump announced this week as his intention to nominate former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, who has a long anti-LGBT record, as secretary of homeland security. In addition to derisively called being gay intrinsically wrong, Cuccinelli sought to have Virginias law criminalizing sodomy reinstated despite the Supreme Courts 2003 ruling in Lawrence v. Texas declaring such laws unconstitutional. Known as Kevin Gonot, Leonard Lopez and Salim Machou, they are the first French ISIL members to receive death sentences. An Iraqi court has sentenced three French citizens to death after they were found guilty of joining the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS), a court official said. Captured in Syria by a US-backed force fighting the ISIL, they are the first French ISIL members to receive death sentences in Iraq, where they were transferred for trial. Named as Kevin Gonot, Leonard Lopez and Salim Machou, they have 30 days to appeal. They were sentenced to execution after it was proven that they were members of the terrorist Islamic State organisation, said one court official, who declined to be named as he was not authorised to speak to the media. Iraq has taken custody of thousands of ISIL fighters who were repatriated in recent months from neighbouring Syria, where they were caught by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces during the battle to destroy the ISIL caliphate. Iraqi courts have placed on trial hundreds of foreigners, condemning many to life in prison and others to death, although no foreign ISIL members have yet been executed. 190320140536453 Those sentenced on Sunday were among 12 French citizens who were caught in Syria and transferred to Iraqi custody in February. Rights groups including Human Rights Watch have criticised Iraqs trials, which they say often rely on circumstantial evidence or confessions obtained under torture. The country remains in the top five executioner nations in the world, according to an Amnesty International report in April. Analysts have also warned that prisons in Iraq have in the past acted as academies for future fighters, including ISIL leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. They say they were restrained, doing only what they had to, but Amnesty International says they treated everyone violently. Indonesias disputed election is now in the hands of the countrys top court, following a challenge by the defeated candidate on Saturday. At least seven people have been killed in clashes between opposition protesters and police since Tuesday. And there are now calls for a formal investigation into how police handled the situation. Al Jazeeras Andrew Thomas reports from Jakarta. FM Zarif says Iran seeks balanced relations with its Gulf Arab neighbours and proposes signing a non-aggression pact. Irans Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says Tehran will defend itself against any military or economic aggression and calls on European states to do more to preserve a nuclear deal his country signed with them. Speaking in a news conference in Baghdad with his Iraqi counterpart Mohamed Ali al-Hakim on Sunday, Zarif said his country wanted to build balanced relations with its Gulf Arab neighbours and that it had proposed signing a non-aggression pact with them. Iraq is willing to act as an intermediary between its neighbour and the United States, al-Hakim said, adding that Baghdad does not believe an economic blockade is fruitful a reference to US sanctions. We are saying very clearly and honestly that we oppose the unilateral actions taken by the United States. We stand with the Islamic Republic of Iran in its position, al-Hakim said. We are trying to help and to be mediators, said al-Hakim, adding that Baghdad will work to reach a satisfactory solution while stressing that Iraq stands against unilateral steps taken by Washington. The mediation offer echoed one made on Saturday by Mohamad al-Halbousi, the Iraqi parliament speaker. Hakim also expressed concern for Irans spiralling economy. The sanctions against sisterly Iran are ineffective and we stand by its side. Mohamed Ali al-Hakim, Iraqi foreign minister Iranians make up the bulk of millions of Shia from around the world who come to Iraq every year to visit its many Shia shrines and holy places and their purchasing power has slumped after Trump reimposed the sanctions. The sanctions against sisterly Iran are ineffective and we stand by its side, al-Hakim said. Speaking about the rising tensions with the US, Zarif said Iran would be able to face the war, whether it is economic or military through the steadfastness and its forces. Iraqi President Barham Salih discussed with Zarif the need to prevent all war or escalation, his office said. Zarifs visit to Iraq follows a decision by Washington to deploy 1,500 additional troops to the Middle East. US presence at its weakest On Saturday, Zarif called the deployment of extra US troops to the region extremely dangerous and a threat to international peace and security. It follows a US decision in early May to send an aircraft carrier strike force and B-52 bombers in a show of force against what Washingtons leaders said was an imminent Iranian plan to attack US assets. No evidence was given on the alleged plan. A senior commander of Irans Revolutionary Guards said that the US military presence in the Middle East was at its weakest in history. 190524170019331 The Americans have been present in the region since 1833 and they are now at their weakest in history in West Asia, said Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi, a deputy guards commander, according to semi-official news agency Fars. Washington says the latest reinforcements were in response to a campaign of recent attacks including a rocket launched into the Green Zone in Baghdad, explosive devices that damaged four tankers near the entrance to the Gulf, and drone attacks by Yemeni rebels on a key Saudi oil pipeline. Iran has denied any involvement. The US this month ended the last exemptions it had granted from sweeping unilateral sanctions it re-imposed on Iran after abandoning the 2015 nuclear deal in May last year. Nuclear referendum Meanwhile, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani suggested the Islamic republic could hold a referendum over its nuclear programme. The official IRNA news agency said Rouhani, who was last week publicly chastised by the countrys supreme leader, made the suggestion in a meeting with editors of major Iranian news outlets on Saturday evening. Rouhani said he had previously suggested a referendum to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in 2004, when Rouhani was a senior nuclear negotiator for Iran. At the time, Khamenei approved of the idea and though there was no referendum, such a vote can be a solution at any time, Rouhani was quoted as saying. 180509072633096 A referendum could provide political cover for the Iranian government if it chooses to increase its enrichment of uranium, prohibited under the 2015 nuclear deal. Earlier last week, Iran said it quadrupled its uranium-enrichment production capacity though Iranian officials made a point to stress that the uranium would be enriched only to the 3.67 percent limit set under the deal, making it usable for a power plant but far below what is needed for an atomic weapon. Rouhanis remarks could also be seen as a defence of his stance following the rare public chastising by the supreme leader. Khamenei last week named Rouhani and Zarif relative moderates within Irans Shia theocracy who had struck the nuclear deal as failing to implement his orders over the accord, saying it had numerous ambiguities and structural weaknesses that could damage Iran. Khamenei, who has final say on all matters of state in Iran, did not immediately respond to Rouhanis proposal of a referendum. The Islamic republic has seen only three referendums since it was established in 1979 one on regime change from monarchy to Islamic republic, and two on its constitution and its amendments. Heavily armed men storm church and open fire on worshippers, killing at least four in the latest Sunday service attack. Four people were killed in an attack on a Catholic church in northern Burkina Faso, the latest in a string of assaults on Christian places of worship in the region. The Christian community of Toulfe was the target of a terrorist attack gathered for Sunday prayers, the bishop of Ouahigouya, Justin Kientega, said in a statement on Sunday. The attack left four of the faithful dead. A security source told AFP news agency heavily armed individuals attacked the church as the faithful were celebrating Sunday mass in the town of Toulfe, 240km northwest of the capital Ouagadougou. 190519101729848 [The attack] caused panic in the village and many residents sought cover in their homes or in the bush, a local resident said. Last week, gunmen killed four Catholics in a religious procession, days after a priest and five others were murdered at mass. No one has claimed responsibility for the attacks that threaten to upend traditionally peaceful relations between majority Muslims and Christians who make up one-quarter of the country. The government has blamed unnamed armed groups operating in the country and Africas surrounding Sahel region. Raids began in 2015 in the north before singling out Ouagadougou and other regions, notably in the east. Nearly 400 people have been killed since 2015 mainly in hit-and-run raids, according to an AFP tally. Armed groups target Christian clergy as well as Muslim scholar they do not consider sufficiently conservative in a country where traditionally both religions have co-existed peaceably. France has deployed 4,500 troops in Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Chad in a mission code named Barkhane to help local forces flush out fighters. French special forces this month freed four foreign hostages in the former French colony during an overnight raid that killed two soldiers. Police say they suspect the blasts may have been the work of a splinter group of former Maoist rebels. Four people were killed and seven others injured in three separate explosions in the Nepali capital Kathmandu, police sources said. Three people were killed on the spot and the fourth one died while undergoing treatment at a hospital, police official Shyam Lal Gyawali said on Sunday, adding that the nature of the blasts was still being investigated. One person was killed in an explosion inside a house in the Ghattekulo residential area in the heart of the city. 190404111507371 I heard a big noise and rushed to the spot to find the wall of a house had developed cracks due to the impact of the blast, 17-year-old student Govinda Bhandari told Reuters news agency at the site of the first blast. The second blast took place near a hairdresser in the Sukedhara area on the outskirts of the city, where three people were killed. The third blast, a crude device, went off near a brick kiln in the Thankot area of Kathmandu, injuring two people, police said. All seven injured people were taken to hospital. Stepped up security There was no immediate claim of responsibility but police said they suspect the involvement of a Maoist splinter group whose pamphlets were found in a house where one of the explosions took place. Gyawali said that a pamphlet from the group had been found at the site of the first blast. We are investigating all incidents and have stepped up the security, police spokesman Bishwa Raj Pokharel told the AFP news agency. The incidents come on the eve of a nationwide strike called by the same Maoist splinter group, protesting the death of their cadre in a police encounter over a week ago. Nepal has enjoyed a relatively peaceful environment since the end of a decade-long civil war which concluded with a peace deal in 2006. The main group of the former rebels has joined the party that runs the government. But some former fighters have broken away, accusing their previous leaders of betraying their original revolutionary ideals. In February, the breakaway group was implicated in an explosion that killed one person outside the office of a telecom company Ncell, part of Malaysia-based Axiata Group Berhad. The government outlawed the group following the incident, banning their activities. Islamabad, Pakistan At least three people have been killed and more than 15 wounded after gunfire erupted near a Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) protest against enforced disappearances in the northwestern Pakistani region of North Waziristan. This is the latest flare-up of tension between the countrys powerful military and the rights group. Gunfire occurred at the protest led by two PTM leaders, who are also members of parliament, near a checkpoint in the Khar Qamar area of North Waziristan on Sunday morning, the military said in a statement. There were conflicting reports on who initiated the violence, with PTM activists telling Al Jazeera that soldiers fired on unarmed protesters, while the military said the protesters assaulted the post, led by Mohsin Dawar and Ali Wazir, both elected members of the National Assembly from the area in a general election last year. 190111140428304 Wazir and eight others were taken into custody following the violence, the military statement said. Dawars whereabouts remain unknown. Five soldiers were among those wounded, the military said. Saud Dawar, the PTM leaders brother, told Al Jazeera that family members had received word that Mohsin Dawar was unhurt, but that they had not been able to establish direct contact with him. Dawar and Wazir were leading a protest in the area against an alleged enforced disappearance perpetrated by the military. The military said the man arrested was a suspected terrorists facilitator. Mobile phone reception and internet connectivity in North Waziristan is some of the worst in the South Asian country, with limited infrastructure erected in a district that has been among the lowest performing on governance and socioeconomic indicators for decades. Al Jazeera was unable to independently verify details of the violence due to the limited connectivity to the area. PTM alleges rights abuses The PTM shot to prominence in January last year when it led countrywide protests against the extrajudicial killing of Naqeebullah Mehsud, a young man from South Waziristan, by the police. The group, whose leadership is comprised of young rights activists from the war-torn tribal districts where Pakistan has waged the bulk of its war against the Tahreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and its allies, has been campaigning for accountability for alleged rights abuses by the armed forces in the war. 180418080944584 It has three main demands: the clearance of land mines and other unexploded ordnance from the tribal districts; an end to extrajudicial killings in Pakistans war against armed groups; and accountability for thousands of people who have been subjected to enforced disappearances by the state. North Waziristan, once a stronghold of the TTP, was cleared by Pakistans military after a security operation was launched in 2014 to dismantle the group. The PTMs campaign has often brought the group up against Pakistans powerful military, which has ruled the country for roughly half of its 71-year history and public criticism of which is considered rare for fear of reprisals. Last month, the military accused the PTM of being funded by foreign intelligence agencies and warned leaders that their time is up. The way they are playing into the hands of others, their time is up, said military spokesperson Major-General Asif Ghafoor, in the militarys most forceful statement yet against a group that has faced arbitrary detentions, treason charges against its leaders and a blanket ban on media coverage of its events. On Sunday, PTM leader Manzoor Pashteen said his group would continue to fight for justice peacefully. This is a follow up of [Ghafoors] threat of time is up, Pashteen tweeted. During past few days, [the militarys] social media teams have been creating the atmosphere for this attack today. Strongly protest this cowardly attack. PTM will continue its nonviolent constitutional struggle. Asad Hashim is Al Jazeeras digital correspondent in Pakistan. He tweets @AsadHashim MPs and prison inmates terminate their hunger strikes after imprisoned fighter leader Ocalan asks them to do so. A months-long hunger strike carried out by thousands of Kurdish inmates and several MPs against the solitary confinement of the leader of an outlawed fighter group in Turkey has ended, pro-Kurdish MPs said on Sunday. Earlier in the day, imprisoned Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan called for an end to the strikes by, his lawyers said. Pro-Kurdish Peoples Democratic Party (HDP) MP Leyla Guven began a hunger strike in November in a bid to end Ocalans years of isolation by securing him regular access to his family and lawyers. Comrades who have committed themselves to hunger strikes and death fasts, I expect you to end your protest, Ocalan said in a statement read out by one of his lawyers in Istanbul, four days after they visited him for the second time this month. I expect the action to come to an end in light of the broad statements to be made by my two lawyers, Ocalan said added. Ocalan, the co-founder of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), was allowed to see his lawyers this month for the first time in eight years. Thousands joined strike About 3,000 Kurdish prisoners have been holding hunger strikes since November to protest against Ocalans isolation and demand improved conditions for him, and eight have killed themselves over the issue, according to the HDP. Earlier this month, lawyer Nevroz Uysal 190506132430497 said the imprisoned leader wanted the hunger strikers to limit their protests. We respect the resistance of our friends inside and outside prisons but want them not to carry this to a dimension that will threaten their health or result in death, Uysal quoted Ocalan as saying. Turkey captured Ocalan, then public enemy number one, in February 1999 and imprisoned him on the heavily fortified island of Imrali off Istanbul where he has been kept for 20 years. The PKK is blacklisted as a terrorist group by Ankara, NATO, the United States, the United Kingdom and other Western allies. The conflict has claimed more than 40,000 lives since 1984. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has hardened his rhetoric towards Kurdish rebels since the last ceasefire broke down in 2015, reducing the odds of a political solution to the long-running conflict. Ocalans brother, Mehmet, was permitted to visit him in prison in January for the first time since 2016. Ocalan had been sentenced to death for treason after his capture by Turkish agents in Kenya, but this was commuted to life imprisonment when Turkey abolished capital punishment in 2002 at a time when it appeared close to securing membership of the European Union. More than 75,000 people have been driven from their homes and 510 killed in the weeks-long battle for Tripoli. Libyan renegade military commander Khalifa Haftar, who is leading a military offensive against the government in Tripoli, said in an interview published on Sunday he will continue fighting until militias in the city laid down their arms. Haftars Libyan National Army (LNA) began an offensive in early April to take the capital from fighters loyal to Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarrajs Government of National Accord (GNA), which is recognised by the United Nations. The LNA, which is allied to a parallel government in the east, has not been able to breach the southern defences of Tripoli. Haftar justified the offensive last month by saying he was fighting against private militias and extremist groups who he said were gaining influence under al-Sarraj. Of course a political solution is the objective, Haftar told the Journal de Dimanche newspaper in France. But to return to politics, we need to finish with the militias. The problem in Tripoli is a security one. READ MORE: Whats at stake for Libya? He offered an amnesty to fighters in Tripoli who laid down their arms, saying they would be allowed to return home safe and sound. French President Emmanual Macron asked Haftar in a meeting held in Paris last week to take a public step towards a ceasefire without much luck, a French official told Reuters news agency. Biased mediator Haftar also took aim at UN mediator Ghassan Salame who has warned that the country is committing suicide because of the conflict that six to 10 foreign states are involved in. Salame is making irresponsible statements, Haftar said. He wasnt like that before. He has changed from an impartial and honest mediator, he has become a biased one. Salame warned Haftars offensive is 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. As more than 500 people disappear in the country since 2009, a group in Dhaka seeks answers from the government. Dhaka, Bangladesh Nearly two dozen people gathered on a rooftop in Shaheenbagh, a sleepy neighbourhood in Bangladeshs capital Dhaka, have one thing in common: all of them have loved ones who have been missing, some for years. With vacant eyes that betrayed strain and weariness, each person at the gathering mostly women and children held a photograph of their loved ones who disappeared. The meeting on Wednesday was organised by Mayer Daak (Mothers Call in Bengali), a group that represents the families of the victims of forced disappearance of opposition members and activists. 190525161110573 Mayer Daak has been conducting such gatherings for nearly six years, apart from organising public rallies including one held on Saturday, where family members formed a human chain to press the authorities to find their family members. When my husband was picked up by some plainclothed men on the night of December 2, 2013, I was four months pregnant, Farzeena Akhter told Al Jazeera. My son, who is nearly six years old now, has never seen his fathers face, she said. Family members of the missing persons meeting in Dhaka [Mahmud Hossain Opu/Al Jazeera] A thousand nights wait Akhters husband Parvez Hossain was the secretary general of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), the main opposition party in the Muslim-majority country. Before the 2014 general elections in Bangladesh, Hossain, along with four other men, was allegedly picked up by law enforcement personnel in plain clothes. We have gone to many places, to the police, the detective branch (DB) and the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) since then. None of them could provide any information. I have spent more than a thousand nights waiting for his return. Now, I just want to know whether he is alive or not, she said. The RAB is an elite anti-crime and anti-terrorism unit of police and military. Farzeena Akhter says she just wants to know if her husband Parvez Hossain is alive [Mahmud Hossain Opu/Al Jazeera] Akhters eight-year-old daughter Adiba Islam Ridhi couldnt reply when asked what she remembered of her father. I want my father back. I miss him so much, she said, her voice choking. Dhaka-based human rights organisation Odhikar has documented 505 enforced disappearances between 2009-2018, the first two terms of the Awami League (AL)-led Grand Alliance government, which returned to power for a third consecutive term at the beginning of this year. A 2017 report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) and another produced last month by Paris-based International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) detailed how state actors, including military and police, worked in tandem to make people disappear. Of the 507 cases of enforced disappearances that have been documented by civil society organisations from January 2009 to the end of 2018, 62 people were found dead, 286 returned alive, and the whereabouts of 159 disappeared persons are still unknown, the FIDH report said. Silencing criticism and dissent Both reports cited a rise in the forced disappearances of political workers and dissidents opposed to the AL-led government. The systematic nature of this targeting suggests that enforced disappearances are being used as a political tool by the government to silence criticism and dissent, the FIDH report read. 190522110707210 State law enforcement agencies particularly RAB and the detective branch of the police have been involved in secret detentions and killings, despite public assertions to the contrary, the HRW report said. Adnan Chowdhury, a BNP activist, was picked up from his home on the night of December 4, 2013 by a group of people wearing RAB uniforms. I am certain that RAB took my son, said his father Ruhul Amin Chowdhury. I saw people wearing that uniform coming to my house and take him. He says his son was taken because of his political affiliation. I believe the RAB can pick anyone but they dont have the capacity to give them back unless there are orders from those with more power. This is completely the policy of the government, Chowdhury said. He said he had no hope now of his son returning after having waited for six years. 190516103206378 Asked why he attended the Mayer Daak gathering, he said, Because my wife Fatema Begum still believes our son is alive. Begum said seeing others at the meeting gave her some consolation. All of us here know how it feels. I cant explain the agony of not knowing whether your near and dear ones are alive or not, she said, holding her sons photograph. Mufti Mahmud Khan, head of the RABs media wing, denied the charges. We dont know anything about these missing persons, he told Al Jazeera. Begum Fatema Begum with a photo of her missing son M Adnan Chowdhury [Mahmud Hossain Opu/Al Jazeera] Mothers Call Hazera Khatun founded Mayer Daak in August 2014 to create a platform for the family members of the victims of forced disapearances in Bangladesh. Her son Sajedul Islam Shumon was a well-known BNP leader from Dhakas Shaheenbagh area and was picked up, along with five others, on December 4, 2013 allegedly by the RAB. Shumons sister Sanjida Islam said they met senior RAB officers after her brother went missing, who she said informally admitted to picking him and the others. One former RAB officer told us that the men were brought into his custody immediately after being picked up, but were then taken away by other RAB officials. He now assumed they had all been killed, she told Al Jazeera. Khatun hosted the latest Mayer Daak meeting at her home, with her family providing the main financing for the group. I still hope my son is alive, said the 78-year-old. We met before Eid al-Fitr. We try to do that each year to let everyone out there know that we also have the wish and right to celebrate a joyous occasion like Eid with all our family members. UN peacekeeping is owed a sum of over $1.9bn and the US owes more than any other country. The United Nations is holding its annual events honouring the work of its peacekeepers serving around the world. There are at least 100,000 on active duty, deployed to some of the worlds most dangerous places, and 98 were killed last year alone. But the tributes come as operations face an unprecedented budget crisis. Al Jazeeras James Bays reports. (WB) The local LGBT youth services group SMYAL announced this week that it will open a second transitional house for homeless LGBT youth in June in the citys Anacostia neighborhood. The new 14-bed house in Ward 8 follows the opening in January 2017 of SMYALs first house for homeless LGBT youth at 746 19th St., N.E. The first house has 12 beds. Similar to the first house the new house will be operated by SMYAL through funding from the D.C. Department of Human Services, according to SMYAL spokesperson Hancie Stokes. SMYAL once again rises to the challenge of meeting one of the greatest unmet needs in D.C. with this second and largest expansion of our housing program, said SMYAL Executive Director Sultan Shakir. This program is one of the most comprehensive in the region in that it holistically supports a youths development in their education, job readiness, mental health, physical health, and most importantly, taps into their inherent sense of resilience to create a path from homelessness to independence, Shakir said in a statement. SMYAL continues to support D.C.s LGBTQ youth with supportive and affirming clinical care, said Jorge Membreno, SMYALs Director of Youth Housing. The expanded transitional housing program will build a bridge to sustainable independence through clinical case management, life skills and wellness courses, and resource referrals, he said. Stokes said SMYAL has praised D.C. Council member Trayon White (D-Ward 8) for advocating for an increase in city funding for LGBT homeless youth programs, including programs aimed at addressing homeless youth in Ward 8. Saudi-UAE-led coalition fighting the Houthis have not confirmed the attack on Jizan airport. Yemens Houthi movement launched a drone attack on military hangars in Saudi Arabias Jizan airport near the Yemeni border, the groups al-Masirah TV reported on Sunday. There was no immediate confirmation from Saudi authorities or from a Saudi-Emirati-led coalition that has been battling the Houthis in Yemen since March 2015. The Houthis, who overthrew the Saudi-backed internationally recognised government from power in the Yemeni capital Sanaa in late 2014, have stepped up missile and drone attacks on Saudi cities in the past two weeks. Last Thursday, the rebel group said they had targeted the airport in the Saudi Arabian city of Najran with a drone strike. The kingdom said the attack was intercepted by its air defences and destroyed. Najran, 840km southwest of Riyadh, lies on the Saudi-Yemen border and has repeatedly been targeted by the Houthis. Earlier this month, the Houthis attacked an oil pipeline near the Saudi capital, Riyadh. Yemens four-year conflict has triggered what the United Nations terms the worlds worst humanitarian crisis, with over 24 million people, more than two-thirds of the population, in need of aid. Tens of thousands of people, mostly civilians, have been killed. 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. Saudi announcement came hours after Houthis said they used an armed drone to attack warplane runways at the airport. Saudi Arabia said on Sunday it shot down a bomb-laden drone deployed by the Houthi rebels in Yemen to attack an airport in the kingdom, the latest in a series of attacks targeting the kingdom. The Saudi air force intercepted and destroyed the drone that targeted Jizan airport, close to the southern border with Yemen, the Saudi-UAE-led coalition fighting the rebels said. While we confirm our right to defend our country, we stress that the terrorist Houthis will pay a dear price, said alliance spokesman Colonel Turki al-Malaki, according to the official Saudi Press Agency. The Saudi announcement came hours after the Houthis said they used an armed drone to attack warplane runways at Jizan airport. The airport is used by thousands of civilians every day, but the coalition reported no casualties. The attack comes after the Houthis on Thursday targeted Najran airport, also near the Yemeni border, with an explosives-laden drone. That attack the third against Najran airport in 72 hours targeted a Patriot air defence system, rebel-run Al Masirah TV reported. Civilian airports throughout the Middle East often host military bases. The kingdom said the last Najran attempted drone attack was also intercepted by its air defences and destroyed. Aggressor countries A Houthi leader said on Sunday the group resumed drone attacks deep inside Saudi Arabia this month in response to what he called the coalitions spurning of peace initiatives by the rebels. Mohammed Ali al-Houthi also dismissed Saudi accusations the attacks had been carried out on the orders on Iran at a time of growing tension between Tehran and Riyadh alongside its Western and regional allies. We are independent in our decisions and we are not subordinated to anyone, Houthi told Reuters news agency by phone. He said the rebels had agreed to halt air raids last year in good faith and had been ready to take more steps. But unfortunately the aggressor countries misinterpreted these efforts [as weakness] and regarded them with contempt and indifference, Houthi, the head of the groups Supreme Revolutionary Committee, added. He said the Houthis had unilaterally withdrawn from three Red Sea ports and he accused the Saudi-led coalition of failing to reciprocate. There was no immediate reaction to his statement from Riyadh, which has not yet recognised the port pullout. Worst humanitarian crisis The Saudi-led coalition intervened in Yemen in March 2015 to push back an advance by the Houthis, who still hold the capital Sanaa, and to restore to power President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi. Since then, the conflict has killed tens of thousands of people, mostly civilians, relief agencies say. The war triggered what the UN describes as the worlds worst humanitarian crisis with 24.1 million more than two-thirds of the population in need of aid. Earlier this month, the Houthis attacked an oil pipeline in Saudi Arabia with a series of drone attacks. The Houthis have stepped up missile and drone attacks on Saudi cities in the past two weeks. Qatars Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani has been invited by the Saudi king to an emergency summit on May 30. Qatars Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani has received an invitation from Saudi King Salman to attend the emergency Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit on May 30, the Qatari foreign ministry said in a statement. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani received the message while meeting the GCC Secretary-General Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani in Doha on Sunday. In June 2017, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) cut off ties with Qatar and imposed a land, sea, and air blockade on the Gulf state. The quartet accuses Doha of supporting terrorism and proscribed opposition political movements, such as the Muslim Brotherhood. Qatar has repeatedly rejected the accusations as baseless. https://twitter.com/MofaQatar_EN/status/1132746210907971586?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Earlier this month, King Salman had proposed holding two summits in Mecca at the end of May to discuss recent aggressions and their consequences in the region, according to the Saudi Press Agency. The announcement followed drone attacks on oil installations in the kingdom and attacks on four vessels, including two Saudi oil tankers, off the coast of the UAE. Riyadh accused Tehran of ordering the recent drone attacks on two oil pumping stations in the kingdom, claimed by Yemens Houthi group. Iran denied it was behind the attacks and a senior Iranian military commander was quoted as saying his country was not looking for war. Saudi Arabia said on Sunday it shot down a bomb-laden drone deployed by the Houthis to attack an airport in the kingdom. The Saudi air force intercepted and destroyed the drone that targeted Jizan airport, close to the southern border with Yemen, the Saudi-UAE-led coalition fighting the rebels said. A Houthi leader said on Sunday the group resumed drone attacks deep inside Saudi Arabia this month in response to what he called the coalitions spurning of peace initiatives by the rebels. Tensions in the Gulf have escalated since the US decision in early May to send an aircraft carrier strike force and B-52 bombers in a show of force against what Washingtons leaders said was an imminent Iranian plan to attack US assets. No evidence was given on the alleged plan. Washington says the latest reinforcements were in response to a campaign of recent attacks including a rocket launched into the Green Zone in Baghdad, the explosive devices that damaged four tankers near the entrance to the Gulf, and the drone attacks by Yemeni rebels on the Saudi oil pipeline. Hundreds of air attacks help Russian-backed government troops recapture town of Kafr Nabuda as battles rage on. Syrian government forces pounded positions in the northwest of the country on Sunday as troops on the ground seized a town retaken by rebels days before. The bombardment helped Russian-backed Syrian soldiers capture the small town of Kafr Nabuda in the north of Hama province, the third time it has changed hands in the latest offensive, sources on both sides said. Syrian state news agency SANA said Kafr Nabuda town was taken from fighters led by the Hayet Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group. A spokesman for one of the rebel formations in the area, the Turkey-backed National Liberation Front, confirmed government forces had recaptured Kafr Nabuda after eight-hours of heavy bombardment, Reuters news agency said. Hundreds of air strikes Turkeys state-run Anadolu Agency reported the number of casualties at six, quoting the White Helmets civil defence agency active in the area. 190517175629815 Overnight attacks also targeted the towns of Kafr Nabl and Khan Sheikhun in the province of Idlib, as well as the villages of Armanaya, Fatterah, Tramla, Deir Sunbul, Hass and Hobait, it added. The Syrian Observatory of Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor, said air and ground operations killed 12 people in several areas, including the town of Maarat al-Numan. Rami Abdulrahman, director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said government aircraft and helicopters launched more than 280 strikes on Sunday and Russian jets had carried out 15. A reporter with the AFP news agency in Maaret al-Numan said he saw a young man carry the arched body of what appeared to be a young girl out of the rubble after one air strike. Another man retrieved a distressed, dust-covered young girl and slung her over his shoulder. Witness Hamdu Mustafa said he was out shopping when the air raid hit. Everybody was in the street selling and buying, he said. The planes targeted civilians who were buying food for their children, Mustafa added. Intense bombardment 190523184614393 The onslaught by Syrian government forces supported by Russian air power has been going on since late April, and is focused mostly on southern parts of Idlib and adjacent parts of Hama and Latakia provinces. It marks the most intense conflict between President Bashar al-Assad and his rebel enemies since last summer. Bombardment has killed 229 civilians, wounded 727 others and forced more than 300,000 people to flee since April 28, according to The Union of Medical Care and Relief Organisations (UOSSM), which provides assistance to health facilities. The Trump administration's Middle East peace plan is demonstrating a great deal of uncertainty because the plan is unfinished and raw. That explains why the White House always finds an opportunity to postpone its release. Although the administration could have made the plan's main ideas known a long time ago, it is not worth speculating on rumors about its content. So what should we pay attention to when the project eventually comes to life? We have to pay attention to the compliance of the proposed peace plan with established international law. The inability to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict for almost a century is largely explained by abuses and blunt illegality of the earlier attempts. In other words, if the new peace plan is not based on international law, it will fail, like all the previous ones. Obviously, the new peace plan must comply with the Old Testament. It is written that the Almighty God gave the Land of Israel to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, making the Covenant with them and their descendants. Such (or similar) interpretation of events also exists in Christianity and Islam. In 1917, against the backdrop of the imminent defeat of the Ottoman Empire in World War I, the Zionists and Conservatives, who ruled Britain at that time, relying on Bible verses, agreed to restore Israel on the territory of the Roman province Palestine. Originally, Romans called it the Province of Judea after defeating and occupying ancient Israel. Palestine was always a name for a geographical area, not for a country or a state. (In contrast, Judea was the name of one of the two Jewish kingdoms.) Romans renamed Judea "Palaestina" in the second century A.D. That was reflected in the declaration of the British government, named after the foreign minister of Arthur Balfour. However, the Balfour Declaration was a "protocol of intent" and legally was unenforceable. The Balfour Declaration obtained proper legal status years later. The legal process took place right after World War I, within the framework of the Treaty of Versailles. It was the beginning of the development of documents of international law for the appropriate legal restoration of the modern State of Israel. It took about three years filled with amazing historical events, such as the communist revolution in Russia and the Turkish War of Independence. Russia went its own way. She self-expelled from the traditional international relations of the Russian Empire and ignored the League of Nations. It is indeed a paradox that the United States also did not become a member of the League of Nations for the same reason as Russia the change of government. In Russia, the Bolsheviks staged a coup d'etat, and in the United States, the isolationists won the elections and decided that it was better if the country dealt with internal problems first. By the summer of 1922, after a series of previous agreements (San Remo Conference and Treaty of Sevres), the League of Nations had established the Mandate for Palestine. The League authorized the United Kingdom to prepare the foundation for the creation of an independent Jewish state on the territory between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River in historic Israel, occupied by Britain since 1918. The League of Nations made the decision on July 24, 1922. However, the territory of modern Israel, thanks to this decision, was to be three or four times smaller than the territories of the biblical Jewish kingdoms that existed in the area between three and two millennia ago. (By the way, the original project, which was introduced in 19191920, almost corresponded to the biblical area under Jewish control, capturing both banks of the Jordan River.) The leading international document the decision of San Remo was signed and approved as follows: the territory from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River was allocated to the Jewish state. Israel should be established in this area and nothing else. In other words, no other state between the sea and the river. The procedures of the League of Nations were such that it was difficult or almost impossible to change its documents. Indeed, the decision of the League of Nations remains still in force, even after a century, and still has the same legal power, the same meaning, and the same value. This critical document of international law was subsequently reproduced in two additional relevant documents. The decision of League of Nations was approved in July 1922, but before its introduction, international lawyers demanded extra coordination with the United States. The United States had never been a member of the League, despite being the initiator of the creation of the League of Nations. However, at an early stage, the United States took part in establishing the postWorld War I order, including the British Mandate. Therefore, a convention between the United States and the United Kingdom was formed, providing U.S. guarantees to ensure compliance with the requirements of the Mandate from the United Kingdom. Then this document, the content of which fully repeats the text of the British Mandate, was transformed in the manner prescribed by the United States into a law that is still in force. In 1945, a special Article 80 was added to the U.N. Charter. The article is related to the continuity of the League of Nations mandate. Subsequently, the U.N. replaced the League of Nations. From Article 80, it follows that the U.N. could not transfer ownership and rights to any part of Palestine, but was obliged to grant rights exclusively to the Jewish people and not to other non-Jewish entities. In other words, the British Mandate eventually was more or less implemented, albeit not completely. An independent Jewish state appeared on the world map just in time, in May 1948. However, Britain, from the very beginning of the Mandate, which required preparation for the creation of a Jewish state in Palestine, was interested in creating obstacles and sabotage in favor of the Arabs. As in the case of the United States, this shift in policy followed the transition of power from the conservatives to the left-wing party. The British left-leaning administration had a clear policy bias in favor of the Arabs at the expense of the Jews for decades. It put sticks in the wheels to the best of its ability under the guise of the administration. It was a time when British authorities executed rebels, both Jewish and Arab. However, all their actions were in accordance with British colonial laws. Also, Great Britain, defending its imperial and colonial interests, fought bravely to prevent Germany to invade Palestine, where hundreds of thousands of Jews lived. For similar reasons, the British declined the Arab idea of a second (Muslim) state between the Mediterranean Sea and Jordan. The international laws that govern the creation of Israel have not been canceled or negated in any way. They are still in full force. Those are the decisions of San Remo and the British Mandate and, subsequently, the American Law of December 1924 on Guarantees of the Mandate with the full support of the United States. In other words, President Trump, like all presidents before him, has no right to transfer Jewish lands to anyone else (although we do know that some of his predecessors tried to do just that). President Trump certainly does not have the intent to violate established international law. The narrative about the latest peace initiative is already dubbed the "Deal of a Century," and it well could be. The only problem is that Trump is practically alone on the world stage on this issue. The world of the international diplomatic mafia (diplomafia, if you will) is still under the heavy hand of Soviet (now Russian) diplomacy and the wild imagination of Islamic diplomacy. Both of them joined forces with the left-wing diplomafia, which, by its nature, is anti-Israel and anti-Semitic (for example, the Democratic Party in the United States and the Labor Party in the United Kingdom). This trinity operates under a tale straight from "1001 Arabian Nights" about how Uncle Joe and Uncle Sam on November 29, 1947 gave orders to establish the State of Israel by partitioning Western Palestine once again. Come on everyone knows that this is a bunch of parables. Israel's existence is based on rock-solid historical and judicial foundations, and Trump's "Deal of the Century" must affirm just that. Reuven Miller is a citizen journalist and blogger. He is retired from the field of nuclear electronics and currently lives in Jerusalem, Israel. Gary Gindler, Ph.D. is a conservative columnist at Gary Gindler Chronicles. Follow him on Twitter. Image: Gage Skidmore via Flickr. (WB) In short order after the Trump administration announced a proposal to gut transgender non-discrimination protections at homeless shelters, Rep. Jennifer Wexton (D-Va.) has introduced legislation to block the change from going into effect. The two-page bill from Wexton, which was introduced on Thursday, has a simple paragraph in the text portion of the legislation. The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development may not implement, administer, enforce, or in any manner make effective the proposed rule entitled Revised Requirements Under Community Planning and Development Housing Programs, published by the Department of Housing and Urban Development in Spring 2019 (Docket No. FR-6152), or any final rule based substantially on such proposed rule, the bill says. Wexton introduces the legislation one day after OMB published the proposed rule change, which would carve out the Equal Access Rule implemented during the Obama administration to ban anti-LGBT discrimination and allow homeless shelters to turn away transgender people or deny them housing consistent with their gender identity. HUD seeks to gut transgender protections at homeless shelters despite assurance Secretary of Housing & Urban Development Ben Carson gave Wexton just this week that LGBT non-discrimination rules at the department would remain in place. Im not going to say what we will do in the future about anything, Carson said, Im not currently anticipate changing the rule. Wexton in a statement announcing her legislation referenced Carsons commitment to her during the committee hearing, saying he has failed to live up to it. I asked Secretary Carson directly if he was anticipating any changes to HUDs Equal Access Rule and he said no under oath, Wexton said. This change will allow shelters and programs to discriminate against transgender people seeking access to housing. A staggering 40 percent of homeless youth identify as LGBT, according to the Williams Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles. According to the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey, one in three transgender people reported being homeless in their lifetime and one in eight were homeless in the last year. This is a cruel attack on a vulnerable population, Wexton said. Barring a community already subject to alarmingly high levels of violence and abuse from access to life-saving shelter is dangerous. This administrations relentless assault on the rights of LGBTQ Americans cannot continue. It remains to be seen if Wextons bill will get a floor vote. Last week, the U.S. House approved the Equality Act, which would amend the Civil Rights of 1964 to ban anti-LGBT discrimination. That legislation would bar discrimination in housing and programs and federally funds, which would also stop HUD from implementing the anti-trans rule change. Jews are a hard people to figure out. They are, undoubtedly, the brightest minority on the face of the earth. There is no profession in which they are not held in the highest esteem. They excel in the arts, science, medicine, law and finance. But right here in America they've shown their political intelligence to be an oxymoron. In this area they are just plain stupid. Their support for Democratic candidates who are outright Jew haters is inexplicable. They show no common sense nor any desire to build up whatever portion of the brain functions as a road map to survival. Barely 75 years after the end of the Holocaust, in which nearly one half of the world's Jewry was slaughtered, Jews appear to have no interest in finding ways to prevent such a cataclysm from reoccurring. They may hold hands during the sad memorials such as Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Memorial Day), listen to stories repeatedly told by aging survivors, shed tears and pray for those who perished at the hands of the Jew haters but appear to be absolutely blind to the fact that Holocaust II is flaming up before their very eyes and they themselves are throwing kindling on the emerging fires. Look at the number of Jews who proudly supported and voted for Barack Obama, who was a solid 20+ year member of the Jew-hating United Trinity Church of Christ in Chicago run by Jeremiah Wright, who never hid his Jew hating during his weekly sermons while the Obama family sat in the front row. The Obamas were married by and had their kids christened by Wright. Barack worshiped the guy, going so far as to claim Wright was like his uncle. Wright served on Obama's 2008 election team. Wright also had Louis Farrakhan preach at his church and he honored this major Jew hater with that house of G-d's "Man of the Century" award. And Obama knew nothing of this? Jews voted for him in the 75% range on both of his presidential wins. Are we to believe that Jews were ignorant of Obama's views as reflected in his choice of church and pastor? Let's move on to the present, with the likes of Jews such as Schumer, Feinstein, Nadler, Schiff, Deutch, and Wasserman-Schultz as Democratic leaders in Congress. Democratic Jews hold eight seats in the Senate and 32 in the House. There are enough to form a Jewish Congressional Caucus as the blacks and Hispanics do to fight for their respective causes. But there is no such Jewish organization. And we see the reason for this. They have no allegiance to the needs of their Jewish constituents. Did any of them ever speak out against Obama's shameful personal treatment of Israel's prime minster Benjamin Netanyahu? Did any of them ever rebuke Obama for his actions to "create daylight between us and Israel?" Did any of them ever bring up the danger to Israel of Obama's support for the Iranian nuclear deal and handing over billions to that Israel-hating regime, or voice concern for Obama's support for the Muslim Brotherhood leader Muhanmed Morsi as President of Egypt? Were they tongue-tied or just ignoring the wishes of their constituents, knowing that the "D" in front of their names on the ballots would be enough to get the Jewish vote? And just where do they stand today with the likes of newbie Democratic congresswomen Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and her sister colleagues, Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar, both radical Muslims, all of whom are outspoken Israel/Jew haters? Where is the outrage over the dangerous verbiage emanating from their mouths that stokes the fires of Jew hatred not only among Americans but around the world? Why have Jewish lawmakers not demanded the ouster of Omar from her prestigious seat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee? Their silence says it all. They are also sliding dangerously close to an anti-Israel platform for their 2020 presidential campaign. After all, not one of their present announced candidates deigned to show up to address the recent AIPAC meeting. Not one of these candidates uttered a word of support for Israel during the recent rain of rockets from Gaza. Former Alaska Democratic senator Mike Gravel tweeted, "Long Live Palestine!" Bernie Sanders called Israel "racist" and he might just be the Dem's candidate to run the country and set our foreign policy. Zev Jabotinsky in the early 1930s warned Europe's Jews of the impending Holocaust. They refused to face reality and heed his clarion calls. America under Obama clearly changed our position in support of Israel and initiated an anti-Jewish movement led by George Soros' support of such groups as J Street, Jewish Voice For Peace, T'ruah, Black Lives Matter, and MoveOn among others. This movement has slowed under the leadership of pro-Israel/Jewish President Trump. However, the upcoming 2020 elections will tell the story of whether American Jewry will be threatened by the now open Jew hating brazenly promulgated by the Democrat Party. When will Jews finally wake up to this fact and utilize their votes and dollars to defeat their enemies and finally give support to the party that supports them. Adapting the phrase from the Roman poet Horace, Wilfred Owen during World War I turned "it is was sweet and seemly to die for ones country" into an anti-war poem. He may have had a point when it came to that war, a war that destroyed the very best of Europes young men and, in my view, set it on a downward spiral. Today Western Europe, with all its glorious architecture, art, and music seems like a living Disneyland. Take, for example, the fire that gobbled up the roof and spire of one of Paris most enduring symbols, Notre Dame. The cathedral was built over a long period of time (almost two centuries) as a testament to faith and a binding treasure of a nation. The embers still glowed when architects floated notions of redoing it into, among others, the base of an amusement-meditation center with a swimming pool rooftop: Stockholm-based firm Ulf Mejergren Architects this week unveiled its plan to turn the roof into a giant cross-shaped public pool guarded by the statues of the 12 apostles that were untouched by the inferno as they had already been removed for restoration, the World Architecture community said in a press release. The contemporary design would draw attention to the publicness of the cathedral, and the swimming pool would serve as a new meditative space with unmatched views over Paris, the firm said, according to the release. As we near Memorial Day, I most reflect on the short life of collective memory and what this means to the understanding of history. For me, Memorial Day will always mean my second-grade teachers tears as she explained the significance of the day to me. Her brother, an aviator, had perished in the war while training a new flier how to take off from an aircraft carrier. The wounds were deep and Im sure I was not the only one in the classroom who understood this. Our fathers, uncles, and cousins had just returned (if they were lucky) from serving, often abroad. They didnt have cell phones to call home. In fact, we often didnt know exactly where they were. Our news of them came sporadically, in small handwriting on onionskin sheets, which had to pass censors so where they were and what they were doing was pretty much a mystery. The letters came out of order, as did ours to them. The press was also heavily censored, so it provided little information about what was going on where they were. A few years later, in April of 1951,Truman fired General Douglas MacArthur, and as MacArthurs family had long ties to Wisconsin he was paraded past my elementary school where we stood on the grounds waving American flags as he passed by on his way to Mitchell Field. He had just addressed Congress memorably, saying, Old soldiers never die, they just fade away. The Generals plane arrived at Mitchell Field, and the entire city turned out to greet him. The populace greeted him with great enthusiasm. Everywhere the streets were lined with flag-waving, cheering people. April 27, 1951, was a day to be remembered in Milwaukee. The motorcade crept slowly up Wisconsin Avenue to the Stadium where 20,000 people roared their approval of a hometown heros return. Thus far, plans had proceeded as scheduled. On the official, bunting-draped platform erected especially for the ceremony, the hood denoting his honorary degree was placed across the Generals shoulders. He smiled broadly and stepped to the microphone. In the background, Mrs. MacArthur and the couples son sat proudly watching. General MacArthur began to speak. No sound came from the mike. He tapped it smartly. Still no sound; the P. A. system had conked out! There was a frantic call to the Engineering School which produced instant results. The General began to talk. His words were gracious, his tone courtly. The crowd went wild! Everything after that was anticlimax. Crowds pressed forward to see the famous man as the party left the stadium for a tour of the city. I rode with the General in his official car as we toured Milwaukee. He hadnt bargained for this. Nor had we. He was very obviously fatigued. Yet, when the motorcade reached MacArthur Square, he acknowledged the greetings of the crowd graciously. We were too young to fully understand who he was and what had occurred but so well-regarded was he in that place and time, I remember confusing him in my mind with the myth of Hercules and telling my parents that when he was a baby lying in a shield he reached out and strangled two snakes. Its impossible to fully convey to even my now adolescent grandchild the temper of that time. How much we respected and adored our military. They had saved us, and we knew it. We knew it even before the postwar letters from Poland to my Aunt revealed what had happened to family members who had remained in their town and I heard her cries. For my grandchild -- like you -- if she turns on the television or reads the papers, Im sure shell see ads for picnic supplies, recipes for your cookout, notices of restaurant and lawn equipment specials, and stories of U.S. military war crimes. In the meantime, the head of the EU Commission derides nationalism as Stupid and the globalists in our ranks certainly agree with him. I disagree. People will not fight to defend bloated, incompetent, undemocratic international organizations like the EU or the UN. Americans wouldnt. Its mom, flag and apple pie (our national values), not Junckers. On Monday when the results of the EU elections can be published, we will find out if hes right, if Western Europe wants to scrap nationalism, or if Im right and sentiment for national sovereignty and traditions still rules the day. Wilfred Owens bitter screed on war might have been appropriate for his time, but it is monstrously off the mark today when Americans and Europe face threats more akin to those of the war that followed the war to end all wars. Take some time off on Monday to remember and honor those who died for you. Paul McHugh, 87, is a psychiatrist and professor at Baltimores Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Dr. McHugh is best known as psychiatrys most outspoken critic and skeptic of the crazes that periodically overtake his specialty. In her recent "Weekend Interview" with McHugh, Wall Street Journal contributor Abigail Shrier observed, either hes crazy, or all the other psychiatrists are. Hes not crazy. Shrier writes that psychiatry has fallen under the sway of a dizzying number of crazes. Fads such as ADHD, anorexia nervosa, and recovered memory, devoid of organizing principles intrinsic to every medical discipline, destroy lives, displace centuries-old moral and societal customs, and lead to gross miscarriages of justice. For example, McHughs expert testimony has exonerated several defendants wrongfully accused of child abuse. McHugh argues that practitioners often employ what he calls DSM checklist psychiatry -- matching up symptoms from the Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) with the goal of achieving diagnosis -- rather than inquiring deeply into the sources and nature of an affliction. In the 1980s, Dr. McHugh became a leading opponent of so-called recovered-memory therapy He argues that recovered memories are iatrogenic -- a Greek word meaning brought on by the healer -- implanted by the therapeutic process that purports to discover them. Twenty-five years ago, a psychology practice in an affluent Philadelphia suburb wrought havoc in the lives of many local families through its controversial detachment theory and fostering recovered memories of parental abuse. Pennsylvanias Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs eventually intervened to revoke the cofounders credentials and their dangerous and unprofessional counseling techniques. I knew the mother and father who were crushed by their daughters recovered memory of sexual abuse. Their daughter in turn was victimized by the purveyors of this psychiatric craze. Although her mother courageously led the fight to debunk the accusations and their source, the pain, scars, and distrust were indelible. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is another example of iatrogenesis. In the United States PTSD is treated as a chronic disease with chronic invalids on permanent disability at taxpayer expense. McHugh points out that Israel Defense Forces veterans are taken out of battle temporarily and counseled that their condition is not permanent. After a few weeks rest, theyre returned to their units. Similarly, the attorneys general of several states cynically blaming drug companies for the opioid crisis should instead target child psychiatrists for treating adolescence as a pathology and psychiatric drugs its cure. When a generation of teens and children as young as eight are routinely prescribed Adderall and Ritalin for painful or uncomfortable feelings (now all newly discovered diseases such as ADHD, depression, and anxiety), we shouldnt be surprised when as young adults they turn to opioids to cope with the stresses of adulthood too terrible to face drug free. The world needs more Paul McHughs to bring sanity to a profession teeming with crazes. America's best diplomat is schooling the Germans again. This time, it's about Jew hatred, something they were supposed to have learned the dangers of and paid reparations for a few decades ago. They haven't. Here's the latest from the Jerusalem Post: The US government's most high-profile ambassador in Europe, Richard Grenell, said Jews in Germany should not conceal their religious identity and urged them to wear kippot in defiance of a Sunday statement from Germany's commissioner to combat antisemitism to avoid kippot in public. Grenell, the US ambassador to Germany, tweeted: "The opposite is true. Wear your kippa. Wear your friends kippa. Borrow a kippa and wear it for our Jewish neighbors. Educate people that we are a diverse society." The kippa, or kippot, is the distinctive disk-shaped hat that many observant Jewish men wear. Nobody else wears them, so anyone who has one on is easily recognized as Jewish. Grenell was responding to this statement from a German official known as the 'anti-Semitism commissioner,' a well-paid bureaucrat who's supposedly in charge of keeping the country's Jew hatred at bay: On Saturday, Felix Klein, the federal government Commissioner for Jewish Life in Germany and the Fight against Anti-Semitism, said, My opinion on the matter has changed following the ongoing brutalization in German society, " Klein told the Funk media group, adding "I can no longer recommend Jews wear a Kippah at every time and place in Germany." I am sure he was a well-meaning, practical German who only wanted to get the anti-Semitic attacks down in his country and thus, call it a protection of sorts for Jews. He might have even been in a position to claim success then, from his bureaucrat's perspective on the data, because right now, anti-Semitic attacks in Germany since its inundation by hostile Muslim migrants has pretty well created that situation in the once-Nazi nation that tried to exterminate the world's Jewry. It reminds me of how our leftist pope calls on Catholics to fuel the migrant trade as their Christian duty with zero regard for how it fuels an underlying structural problem. Germany's got such a structural problem, too, in spades. The commissioner's statement suggests something horrible is going on, what with the inundation of the country with stone-aged Muslim migrants along with the country's native far left and fascist extremists: "Ongoing brutalization in German society"? Those are strong words. But for the anti-Semitism commissioner to suggest that Jews need to hide -- rather than the cops crack down on violent Nazis and Islamofascists targeting Jews and teaching them a lesson they'll never forget -- is quite despicable. It's appeasement, appeasement of a very creepy kind the kind described by Martin Niemoller in his "First they came for" poem. Now it's down to first, they tell Jews to hide their Jewishness. That idiocy is what they are supposed to be avoiding. It sends a message to the assorted Muslim and other thugs that they've won round one. Next, one of the few who doesn't gets attacked. That brings charges and the next thing you know, the anti-Semitic attacker is let off with a lesser sentence since prevailing custom is to not wear the kippa. The Jewish person gets blamed for not following custom. After that, restrictions on wearing the kippa at all go into place. After that... The rest is history. Anti-Semitism, as German history demonstrates, is a long slide downward, not an instant explosion. Hitler rose to power with even some German Jewish supporters undoubtedly thinking he was a crocodile who would eat them last. It was appeasement, just as Neville Chamberlain's Munich agreement was appeasement, nobody took anti-Semitism seriously because, well, Hitler seemed so reasonable. It didn't work out that way and Hitler in the end got what he wanted, taking every advantage from this cover. Now it's chiefly Muslims engaged in anti-Jewish attacks and the Germans have learned utterly nothing. Instead of reading the Jew-haters the riot act and throwing the perpetrators back to their native hellholes, the Jews are called on to accommodate them. It reeks of failure and tells us Germans have learned nothing. It take an American ambassador to re-teach them the obvious and rest assured, they are going to resent it. But it's the truth and Germans now have one more cause for shame. Meet Simone Burns, renowned human rights lawyer for Palestinians and anti-Israel activist, who is now spending six months in a British prison. Burns is an Irish citizen resident in England who goes by the name Simone OBroin, who was flying from Mumbai to London on Air India, a nine-hour journey. When denied fourth bottle of wine following breakfast service, Burns engaged in a drunken, racist rant, spitting directly in the face of a female crew member. She also attempted to smoke cigarettes in a bathroom three times, but was stopped by crew members Appalled passengers in the business class cabin (the Palestinians apparently pay their lawyers well), recorded her rant on cellphone videos (embedded video below), which gained considerable social media attention in India, the UK, and Ireland, where she maintains citizenship. But oddly enough, American media seem to have ignored the incident. Daniel Sugarman of the UK JC News reports on her anti-Israel activism: Burns has previously written a paper accusing Israel of genocide over its treatment of the Palestinians, whom she described as "a group struggling for self-determination against a colonial, racist regime. As discovered by investigative researcher David Collier, Ms OBroin had also made Facebook comments about having Mossad agents and Zionists operatives all over my life there is yet again a fishy smell of CHABAD LUBAVITCH!! She also commented supporting a piece written by antisemite Gilad Atzmon attacking the sentencing of Holocaust denier Alison Chabloz, saying: I wonder how many successful libel actions there have been for unfounded allegations of antisemitism and all the rest. Burns was arrested upon landing at London Heathrow Airport. The UK Daily Mail reports on her first court appearance after being arrested. Burns, who lives in Hove, pleaded guilty to being drunk on an aircraft and assault by beating at Uxbridge Magistrates' Court today. The lawyer, who is Irish, will be sentenced at Isleworth Crown Court on April 4 after magistrates said the offence was too serious for them to deal with. Chairing the bench, Robert Della-Sala told Burns: 'You clearly put the safety of the aircraft in jeopardy by smoking. You were disruptive to other passengers who must have found the whole experience quite shocking. When she appeared in Crown Court, The Guardian reports: Judge Nicholas Wood, sentencing at Isleworth crown court, told Simone Burns: The experience of a drunk and irrational person in the confines of an aircraft is frightening, not least on a long-haul flight and poses a potential risk to safety. The judge noted that such offences are often committed by people of impeccable character. I would suggest that her airborne behavior suggests the contrary, that her character has been revealed as anything but impeccable. But perhaps Judge Wood really meant high social position. Although the aircraft was not at risk by Burnss behavior [disagreeing with the Magistrates Court - TL], the judge said for the luckless and unfortunate passengers and crew there is no escape at 30,000ft. He added that spitting straight into a crew members face at close range is a particularly insulting and upsetting act. Burns, of Hove, sat quietly in the dock as she was sentenced to six months for being drunk on an aircraft and two months for assault. A transcript of her comments appears below, as well as a video compilation. But most notable to me is her claim that I work for all you f**cking people, as if Palestinians and Indians are all the same because they tend to have darker skin than Irishwomen? Here is the video: And here is a description and transcript of the rant, via the Belfast Telegraph: "And you treat business class passengers like that? Who are international criminal lawyers for the Palestinian people. "Who are actually working for your... all you... oh, you're the captain aren't you. "You're the captain. I'm working for all your people." The aggressive drunk shoves her face inches from the captain's nose, shouting: "The f****** Rohingya, the f****** Quechua, the f****** people of all nations, For you. International criminal lawyer. "Don't get any money for it by the way. "But you can't give me a f****** glass of wine?" Still shouting, she says: "I say 'boycott Air India' (bleep) - done. "If I say boycott Jet Airways, done. Yeah? Do you understand me? Do you understand me, yes? So you can't give me a wee bottle of wine, (bleep). "I'm a f****** international criminal lawyer, and a barrister. Simone Burns begins flailing around wildly in the cramped cabin. "So don't even think about it, don't even f****** think about it," she says, calling the staff "rich Indian (bleep)" and "money-grabbing c****". Stumbling down the aircraft's centre aisle, she yells: "Give me a bottle of wine and get him over. Otherwise, when we arrive in where are we arriving? Where are we arriving again? "Heathrow! Otherwise, he'll be all over f****** you lot, yeah?" Burns continues to shout drunkenly in the cabin, at one point saying: "Speak to the police? Are you f****** joking me? I'm a f****** barrister. A human rights lawyer, and an international criminal lawyer. "For the f****** Palestinian people. You think I'm scared, you threaten me with (bleep). You'll be standing on your (bleep) heads. "Also Irish Republican Army. You'll be (bleep) shot. All you had to do is give me a f****** drink! "You couldn't do that you couldn't do that could you. "You said police are going to touch me at Heathrow Airport. Well (bleep) coming yeah? "Got it? Got it?" She rants at other passengers in the cabin: "Everyone in this (bleep) deaf? Anyone developed any balls recently? "All do it all myself for you all shall I? Shall I? The Rohyinga the f****** Quechua, the indigenous peoples, and all the peoples of the world. "And any time you can go, well we'll sort it out.You're sitting on your (bleep). You're pathetic." She falls into her seat, still shrieking: "We - you're pathetic", before mumbling "don't think I approved everything I say (bleep)." Quite the humanitarian.... Image credit: YouTube screen grab If there's anything to prove that open borders are actually a pretty inhuman arrangement, the statistics on migrant drowning deaths from Italy would tell that story. Breitbart reports: Migrant sea deaths in the Mediterranean have dropped to the lowest levels in years, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported Saturday. According to the IOM, 515 migrants have either died or gone missing in the first five months of 2019, compared to 664 during the same period of 2018; 1,738 in 2017; 2,557 in 2016; and 1,806 in 2015. Of those who died in 2019, only 260 died in the Central Mediterranean Route, which would be headed toward Italy. Migrant arrivals to Europe have correspondingly dropped, with 24,687 arriving in Europe in the first five months of 2019, compared to 43,765 in 2018; 76,501 in 2017; and 212,981 in 2016, during the same period. Last January, Italian daily La Verita reported that the Salvini method works, referring to plummeting migrant deaths following the border controls put in place by Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, who has insisted that open ports fuel human trafficking and encourage migrants to undertake perilous sea crossings. So migrant deaths are reduced, not increased, by Italy shutting its ports to all comers. What it shows is migrants are human. And as human beings, they respond to incentives, something the left is entirely opaque to. Allow illegal crossers in, even on humanitarian grounds, and watch a thousand more ships set sail filled with migrants looking for the same excellent deal. More ships, more drowning deaths, and not in the least because the ships are moving illegally. Illegal immigration means secretive moves and with watching for them, checking on their welfare, looking for their arrival, the migrants are on their own if the ship capsizes, any effort to save them then is reactive and anyone who's rescued is just lucky. The open ports, though, are the attractive nuisance, much like an unfenced swimming pool, something we have laws about for a reason. How very similar this is to the land crossings over the unfenced U.S. border. The left would have you think that open borders are a wonderful thing, and migrant crossings are a non-issue. The only real problem migrants face in crossing that attractive nuisance is U.S. authorities trying to stop them. It's rubbish. There is no such thing as an open border. Migrants who want to cross can either deal with U.S. immigration officials - or criminal cartel gangs who exact 'payments' as well as a harsh and unforgiving desert. How much more humane it is to have an easier legal immigration process if the economy calls for it, which is Congress's job to enact since it sets migration quotas. Walls, and legal immigration, are what's genuinely humane. This is as true in the U.S. as it is measurably so in Italy. India's conservative-populist President Narendra Modi won a big re-election victory this past week and the press is doing a number on him: Forecast correct, they're yelling racism. Get a load of some of these doomsday headlines: Now, I don't have facts and figures on how many Muslims voted for Modi, but those headlines set off a red flag. They have a familiar ring. Living nightmare? Stokes violence? Where have we read that sort of thing before? Meanwhile, here's the sort of thing seen on Twitter - Muslims celebrating Modi's victory same as everyone else: Ilhan Omar. True Divider in Chief. PM Modi's rule in India has corresponded with the spread of violent Hindu nationalism and hate crimes against Muslims. The USA should stand against him Indias peaceful Muslims celebrating Modi win:pic.twitter.com/BqYJyYGnK1 Katie Hopkins (@KTHopkins) May 25, 2019 It squares with the Muslims I know from India. They're normal people who want a normal country, and like other Asians, have interest in economic growth, which is what Modi stands for. They have zero interest in terrorism or any of the destructive religio-political ideologies around Islam coming from the Middle East. And yes, I am not surprised to read that at least some of them voted for Modi, given the hideous socialist alternatives. Let's look even further than the video. Here's what the Indian press is reporting: Varanasi: Muslims happiness knew no bound and it was no less than that of the Hindu brothers in Varanasis Peeli Kothi on the victory of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. As reported by an Urdu Daily, after Iftar on Thursday, a procession was taken out by BJP Minority Morcha led by Haji Iqbal in Muslim dominated Peeli Kothi. The procession passed by Shakar Talab, Visheshwarganj, Adampur, Daranagar and culminated again at Peeli Kothi. The youth in the procession were so thrilled that they were congratulating every passerby. The passersby also joined the procession from wherever it passed. A large number of children also participated in the procession. Are these Indian Muslims who voted for Modi hopelessly deluded? Did they elect a monstrous racist out to put them down, as the news reports claim? Doesn't sound like it with this report coming from the same Indian press: New Delhi: Days after BJPs landslide victory in Lok Sabha Election 2019, the Ramadan greeting of Mr. Narendra Modi went viral on social media. Although the greeting was extended in 2018 during Mann Ki Baat program, it went viral after the declaration of the LS Poll Results. It may be mentioned that during the program, he had talked about the importance of the day and highlighted teachings of Prophet Mohammed (PBUH). The Prophet Mohammed believed that if you had anything more than you need, then you should give it to a needy person. Hence the donations in Ramadan are also of great importance, PM Modi had said. Soon after he was elected the leader of BJP parliamentary party on Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi coined a new slogan sabka sath, sabka vikas, sabka vishwas (together with all, development for all, the trust of all). Today I appeal to all that we have to break that deceit on minorities. We have to gain their trust. We have to move shoulder to shoulder without discriminating on the basis of caste, sect and religion. We are for 130 crore people. These should be our priorities and responsibility. Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas aur ab Sabka Vishwas (Everyones support, everyones development and now everyones trust). This is our mantra. I will leave no stone unturned and I will work for all citizens of India, he said during his address to BJP MPs in the central hall of parliament. So in other words, the guy hates identity politics and wants Indians to identify as Indian first on the political front, not Muslim, not Hindu, not Christian, just everyone sharing the same civic values for a unified nation focused on getting its house in order to ensure economic growth. Yet at the same time, he extends kind words to one of India's sizable religious minorities, celebrating common values all Indians can identify with. Sound like the Indian version of Bull Connor? Nope, sounds more like Trump - not just in his program but in the way he's portrayed in the fake-news press. For all the media's yelling about Trump being supposedly racist, his record tells us something different, and sure enough, he's winning far more votes from the minority voters he's supposedly against than the press narrative claims. Like Modi, Trump has never rolled out the racism against entire ethnic groups and there are no pictures of Trump in his long-ago wearing blackface or a Klan hood. He's criticized illegal immigration, but it's the illegality and criminality he objects to, not the people. Yet Trump has been vilified in the press as a rank racist because the press wants to throw everything it can against him, as well as divide the world exclusively into ethnic group enclaves comprised of cookie cutter people. It's stupid and neither the Latinos and Blacks Trump is accused of being racist against, nor the Muslims Modi is accused of being racist against, are fooled. All of these people have big supporters of the two leaders among their communities, celebrating with the rest of their country the victory of put-the-country-first leaders. It's a global phenomenon. And increasingly, the panicked howls of the press crying racism - whether in India or America - in this easily verifiable Internet age - are ringing hollow. Image credit:Twitter screen grab Rep. Ilhan Omar is at it again, blaming America first for migrant deaths in custody, with massive hypocrisy and hyperbole. Via GatewayPundit, here is her tweet: How many more children must die before we address the atrocities our country is committing at our southern border? https://t.co/0W5TQ6Of8V Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) May 23, 2019 Her remarks follow those of another leftist extremist in Congress, Democratic Rep. Lauren Underwood of Illinois. Atrocities? Seriously? The U.S. is commiting atrocities because these illegal border crossers abusing our asylum system have just kind of ... floated in here against their will and some have died in U.S. custody? We have a hundred thousand migrants rolling in, all of them unvetted, and all of them are in perfect health, at least until the Border Patrol got involved? And the Border Patrol is commiting 'atrocities'? Nobody brought a sick kid or subjected their children to harsh desert conditions, or a horrible trans-country journey on foot, bus or 'bestia' train up the length of Mexico in order to enter the U.S. without papers? It all just ... happened, and the U.S. is busy doing 'atrocities." Gringo did it. Talk about blaming America first. It's outrageous, and that's just the hyperbole part. Here's the other problem: The hypocrisy. Omar is Venezuela's loudest defender in Congress. She defends the brutal socialist dictatorship which is literally starving its people to death in what is shaping up pretty rapidly to be a real atrocity. Kids are dying of hunger so that this socialism can be preserved in eternity and their starved bodies are showing up on the front pages of the New York Times. She knows that's what's going on and she's not said a word about that despicable crime. At most she's blamed U.S. sanctions on Venezuela's ruling drug lords, the ones who keep their regime afloat through cocaine and other drug shipments, done very illegally. Her hypocrisy is incredible, and boy does it stink. Image credit: Twitter screen shot Pope Francis has said so many left-wing things it's possible to just dismiss him as a hopeless boob and focus on hoping the next pope won't be such a politicized loser. We've had bad popes before and the Church has endured, which is what Catholics, including yours truly, tell each other. But then, then, he says something genuinely good. He did so this week, on abortion, with perfect timing. The fact that the New York Times catcalled him for it signals to the rest of us that it really was good: ROME Pope Francis said Saturday that abortion was always unacceptable, regardless of whether a fetus is fatally ill or has pathological disorders. He also urged doctors to help women bring to term even pregnancies likely to end in the death of a child at birth or soon after. Is it legitimate to take out a human life to solve a problem? Francis asked attendees at a Vatican conference on the issue, repeating one of his most contentious remarks on the issue. Is it permissible to contract a hitman to solve a problem? A decision to abort based on medical information about an ill fetus amounted to inhuman eugenics, he said, and denied families the chance to welcome the weakest of children. He argued that using abortion as a mode of prevention could never be condoned, and that such a position had nothing to do with faith. Human life is sacred and inviolable and the use of prenatal diagnosis for selective purposes should be discouraged with strength, Francis said. There it is: Hard, clear, immutable, a perfect rendition of long-established Church doctrine, and finally some leadership of the John Paul II variety coming out of the otherwise scandal-plagued Vatican. Wow. The Times of course couldn't have liked that message, and thus its headline focused on the 'hitman' comparison as a means of getting its pro-abortion readers all riled up. But to its credit, tha paper's actual writer really did explain out what the pope said, rather than just take a quote out of context, which is pretty common otherwise among reporters covering the Vatican. If abortion involves a human being, then there's no circumstance that would justify killing that person - not if the child is sick or full of birth defects, not if the child was conceived under terrible conditions such as rape, and certainly not if the child is inconvenient. That's tough stuff for the left, but it's also the truth. You can't define a baby as a person under some circumstances and then shift the definition other others in that Alice in Wonderland way of the current abortion debate. It's either a baby or it's not a baby. The pope says there's a baby. He pretty well put paid to the idea that the reasonable stance on abortion is to reduce it, with exceptions in the case of rape or incest or viability of the baby to remind everyone that ... it's a baby we are talking about here. In other words, he redefined the issue to its very root, that abortion is a human rights issue, not a definition issue. Which is pretty strong coming from him. The other thing that made his statement powerful was his timing. The remarks came as the abortion debate is heating up in the U.S. and some states are extending abortion to include infanticide, while others are moving to end it -- and an election in the U.S. to decide the direction of the country is in the works. That's showing leadership, something that up until now, has been in pretty short supply from him. It might even shift the debate favorably to the pro-life side for babies, in no small part because the pope is viewed as an ally to all the lefties out there. Righties can't stand him but lefties view him as their hero. So now will House Speaker Nancy Pelosi or Rep. Ilhan Omar continue to hide behind the pope for all their leftist positions now that the pope has come out strongly against the evils of abortion and redefined abortion as a human rights issue? One can hope that either they change their position or else be exposed as the hypocrites of political convenience that they currently are. The pope did a good one here. Let's hope he's tired of all the political leftwingery he's been involved in and is now focusing on the importance of defending human life with this kind of moral clarity and backbone that befits a major leader of one of the world's great religions whose mission is to serve. He might actually start to matter with this important statement. Image credit: Korea.net / Korean Culture and Information Service (Photographer name), via Wikimedia Commons // CC BY-SA 2.0 Just about a year after the launch of the NASA mission TESS, the first three comets orbiting the nearby star Beta Pictoris outside our solar system were discovered in data from the space telescope. The main goal of TESS is to search for exoplanets - planets orbiting other stars. The recognition of signals from much smaller exocomets compared to planets requires the analysis of a precise light curve, which can now be obtained using the technical sophistication of the new space telescope. Sebastian Zieba, Master's student in the team of Konstanze Zwintz at the Institute of Astro- and Particle Physics at the University of Innsbruck, discovered the signal of the exocomets when he investigated the TESS light curve of Beta Pictoris in March this year. "The data showed a significant decrease in the intensity of the light of the observed star. These variations due to darkening by an object in the star's orbit can clearly be related to a comet," Sebastian Zieba and Konstanze Zwintz explain the sensational discovery. In collaboration with Matthew Kenworthy from Leiden University (Netherlands) and Grant Kennedy from the University of Warwick (UK), they analysed and interpreted the signals of the exocomets. The results will now be published in the international journal "Astronomy and Astrophysics". Three similar exocomet systems have recently been found around three other stars during data analysis by NASA's Kepler mission. The researchers suggest that exocomets are more likely to be found around young stars. "The space telescope Kepler concentrated on older stars similar to the Sun in a relatively small area in the sky. TESS, on the other hand, observes stars all over the sky, including young stars. We therefore expect further discoveries of this kind in the future," says Konstanze Zwintz. Zwintz's research focuses on young stars and she is regarded as an internationally renowned expert in the field of asteroseismology. Dr Grant Kennedy, from the University of Warwick Department of Physics, assisted with the modelling and interpretation of the data. He said: "This discovery is really important for the science of extrasolar comets for several reasons. Beta Pictoris had been thought to host exocomets for three decades from a different technique, and the TESS data provide long overdue and independent evidence for their existence. Our next aim is to find similar signatures around other stars, and this discovery shows that TESS is up to the task." Famous star The young and very bright star Beta Pictoris is a "celebrity" among astronomers for many reasons: "Already in the 1980s, investigations of Beta Pictoris provided convincing evidence for planetary systems around stars other than our Sun - a decade before exoplanets were even discovered for the first time. In addition, there was already indirect evidence for comets at that time based on the characteristic signature of evaporating gas coming off them," adds Konstanze Zwintz. At about 23 million years old, Beta Pictoris is a relatively young star, "a young adult star compared to human age," says the astronomer. The discovery of exocomets around Beta Pictoris was predicted in 1999 in a paper by the astrophysicists Alain Lecavelier des Etangs, Alfred Vidal-Madjar and Roger Ferlet. "Together with our colleagues from Leiden and Warwick, we are pleased to have finally confirmed this theory," say Zieba and Zwintz. The scientists expect to discover many more comets and asteroids in this area, as it is a young star. "In the future, we want to find answers to the question of how often exocomets occur and whether their number really decreases with the age of a star. Information about this is important because by analysing the comets around a young star we can also draw conclusions about the history of our own solar system. Because we know that our solar system showed considerably more comets in 'young years'", explains Konstanze Zwintz. In the future, the researchers want to investigate the composition of exocomets, for example regarding their water content. The comets themselves are smaller than exoplanets, but have very large tails, which can be up to many millions of kilometres long. "What we are seeing is not the comet nucleus itself, but the material blown off the comet and trailing behind it. So the TESS data do not tell us how big the comets were, since the extent of the dust tail could be very big and not very dense, or less big and more dense. Both situations would give the same light curve," explains Zwintz. Publication: A transiting exocomet detected in broadband light by TESS in the Pictoris system. Sebastian Zieba, Konstanze Zwintz, Matthew A. Kenworthy, Grant M. Kennedy. arXiv:1903.11071v1 [astro-ph.SR] https://arxiv.org/abs/1903.11071v1 Please follow SpaceRef on Twitter and Like us on Facebook. Marysville, CA (95901) Today Generally cloudy. A few flurries or snow showers possible. High 46F. Winds light and variable.. Tonight Cloudy with periods of rain. Low near 40F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch. On January 26 2018, a former Spanish socialist deputy PM the late Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba warned on the radio that the State will foot the bill of thwarting Catalonias independence bid. Whats being discussed at the moment is the price to pay. Rubalcaba, ever the shrewd Rasputin, was advising then-PM Mariano Rajoy to show skill in order to minimise the damage that suffocating the independence movement would inflict on Spains reputation. Time has shown that a deep-State confederacy was organised to do whatever it took to decapitate the secessionist leadership, even if it meant jeopardising the essential separation of powers and debasing the quality of Spanish democracy. We have also witnessed how support at the polls has barely wavered for the independence camp and now the two electoral blocs will need to learn to coexist and respect one another. Amid foot stomping and shouting by outstanding members of the Spanish right who sought to drown out the voices of the political prisoners as they were taking their oath in the chamber, last Tuesday the Bureau of the Spanish parliament decided to suspend them as MPs following an instruction issued by Spains Supreme Court. This was despite the debate about the legality of a measure which has garnered neither widespread support nor an agreement on how it is supposed to be executed, not even among those who share the same ultimate goal. Could Meritxell Batet, the new PSOE Speaker and president of the Bureau, have acted differently? She could have, indeed, both legally and politically. But that would have required a modicum of political courage which the Spanish socialist party refused to show. The decision to suspend the newly-elected pro-independence lawmakers is a scorn for their presumption of innocence and violates their right to political participation and the exercise of their office as representatives who were elected by hundreds of thousands of voters in Catalonia. Furthermore, it might alter the balance of power in the chamber because proxy voting is not provided for in the Spanish parliament. Therefore, the majority threshold might be brought down, which could afford PM Pedro Sanchez a better standing than he obtained at the polls. The Bureaus decision was not put to a vote in parliament, disregarding the representatives presumed innocence and the obligation to formally request the chambers permission. Whats more, it wasnt taken in accordance with the parliaments rules and regulations, but as per Article 384 bis of Spains Law of Criminal Prosecution, an article that has been part of the enemys criminal law in history and had only ever been used apropos of terror crimes. By heeding the Supreme Courts indication, the Bureau has sparked an institutional conflict, further eroding separation of powers in Spain. The PSOE, the PP and Ciudadanos have responded by biting the bullet, even though experts have stated that the decision is more than questionable. For instance, in a recent article in this newspaper, Antoni Bayona a former lawyer with the Catalan parliament who is hardly politically suspect referred to the suspension as questionable, essentially due to a misuse of parliamentary immunity. Thus, once again, the spirit of poor Montesquieus laws becomes the shared spirit of a deep State whose political goal is to build a single, homogenous Spain at the expense of institutional balance and understanding politics as an instrument for concord and respect for diversity, rather than imposition. This is not a legal, but a political problem. After the first leg of elections, today [Sunday 26] we must face the second round. The results of the Spanish polls of April 28 began to paint a picture, albeit blurry. As with any other muddle, in politics the devil is in the detail. Catalonias pro-independence camp has persevered in its guerrilla tactics, forever trying to push the boundaries of the law and placing the institutions before new situations that force them to take a stand. As of Monday, this will also include the European Parliament. Next week we will have a better picture of what the future will be like, once we have answered the big questions: Who has won the battle for the city of Barcelona? Have the pro-independence parties got the mayoral prize ? Which leader has got the most votes in Europe? How much protection have Catalans given the pro-independence leaders? How big a share of local power have the main Catalan parties attained? There will still be one major challenge left: the ruling of the trial that poisons everything. Strictly speaking, the indictments and the trial itself aim to remove the secessionist leaders from the public arena rather than shed light on the events of October 2017. The Catalan leaders have held on to the support of their voters, proving that the strategy that sought to remove them was useless. Still, new leaders will emerge in this new political era, particularly on the centre-right, and the undercurrent will soon rise to the surface. The next big hurdle will be when the verdict is handed down. What will the response be the next day? It will be a critical moment that might provide a window of opportunity for a fresh bid, like in October 2017, or after weighing up the strength of both sides realistically it will lead to a snap election that will determine the future strategy. Richwood, TX (77531) Today Variable clouds with thunderstorms, especially late. Low around 70F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 40%.. Tonight Variable clouds with thunderstorms, especially late. Low around 70F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 40%. On 22 May, 2019, in Washington, Kadi Silde, Undersecretary for Defence Policy at the Estonian Ministry of Defence, and Kathryn Wheelbarger, the Acting Assistant Secretary of Defence for International Security Affairs, signed the Estonia-United States Roadmap for Defence Cooperation for 20192024 at the Pentagon. A member of the Estonian Defense Force shares a meal-ready-to-eat (MRE) with U.S. Army Spc. Angelique Helkowski, 290th Military Police Company, Maryland National Guard, May 6, 2019, in Ida-Viru County, Estonia. (Picture source U.S. DoD) Estonia joins Lithuania and Latvia in the five-year defense cooperation agreement between the Defense Department and the Baltic states. The foundation for strong allied relations between Estonia and the United States has been long-term and multifaceted cooperation. The agreement confirms the continuation of the cooperation and mapping future directions for work, officials said. During the next five years, the plan will focus on the more systematic development of bilateral security cooperation and achieving the objectives set forth in the national defense development plan, one of the basic documents for planning Estonia's national defense capability. Areas of cooperation between Estonia and the United States include capability development and defense-related aid, training exercises, cyber defense, the Estonian Defense League, training areas and host nation support, officials said. Estonia uses defense-related aid from the United States as an accelerator for defense investments to develop Estonia's independent defense capability and concluding possible joint procurements with other Baltic republics. At the core of cyber defense cooperation is training, information exchange, planning and capability development with the goal to improve the countries' capability to cope with the opponents' cyber attack operations. Broad-based national defense principles are adhered to within the cooperation plan when it comes to dealing with security problems, and cooperation with the police and border guard board, in addition to defense forces and defense league. Cooperation in the specified fields increases defense cooperation between Estonia and the United States, improves Estonia's independent defense capability and contributes to strengthening NATO's deterrence and defense posture on NATO's eastern wing, officials said, adding that specific activities for implementing defense cooperation between Estonia and the United States will be agreed upon at future bilateral meetings. The U.S. State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to the United Arab Emirates of Javelin Guided Missiles with support for an estimated cost of $102 million. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale on May 24, 2019. U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Troy Mole, section leader, Combined Anti-Armor Team, Weapons Company, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, fires a shoulder-fired Javelin missile during Exercise Bougainville II on Range 20A, Pohakuloa Training Area, Hawaii, May 15, 2019. (Picture source U.S. DoD) The Government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has requested to buy three hundred thirty-one (331) Javelin Guided Missiles with container. Also included are System Integration & Checkout (SICO) service; Field Service Representative; U.S. Government and contractor technical, engineering and logistics support services tools and test equipment; support equipment; publications and technical documentation; spare and repair parts; and other related elements of logistics and program support. The estimated total cash value is $102 million. This proposed sale will contribute to the foreign policy and national security of the United States by improving the security of an important partner that has been, and continues to be, a force for political stability and economic progress in the Middle East. This sale is consistent with U.S. initiatives to provide key partners in the region with modern systems that will enhance interoperability with U.S. forces and increase security. The proposed program will enhance the UAEs capability to meet current and future enemy threats. The UAE will use the capability as a deterrent to regional threats and strengthen its homeland defense. The UAE previously procured Javelin missiles and will have no difficulty absorbing these additional missiles into its armed forces. The prime contractor will be is Raytheon, Tucson, AZ. There are no known offset agreements proposed in connection with this potential sale. The Javelin is a portable anti-tank weapon manufactured jointly by U.S. companies Raytheon and Lockheed Martin Javelin. It is mainly an anti-tank guided missile that can also be installed on tracked, wheeled or amphibious combat vehicles. The Javelin missile has a maximum firing range of 2,500m. The missile achieved a higher range of 4,750m during a demonstration in February 2013. The Javelin missile's tandem warhead is a HEAT (High-Explosive Anti-Tank )type. This round utilizes an explosive shaped charge to create a stream of superplastically deformed metal formed from trumpet-shaped metallic liners. It can penetrate armor from 600 to 800 mm. Alumni of the Obama administration say the symbolism of the Tubman decision is hugely significant. Dan Pfeiffer, Obamas White House communications director, told me last night: It has all the hallmarks of Trumpism racism, misogyny, pettiness and whatever the opposite of virtue signaling is. Washington Post India will look to partner with the US and Japan in infrastructure in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka as well as East Africa. India has re-elected the incumbent Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, and the BJP government, with a bigger majority and an increased vote share. What will this mean for the foreign policy of India in a turbulent world in which the old verities are disappearing and domestic political compulsions exert overwhelming influence on external postures? The massive endorsement frees Mr Modi to continue his unabashed style and pursuit of the foreign policy objectives he set himself in 2014, which were primarily to raise the global profile of India, including among Indians living abroad. The first task will be to appoint a new external affairs minister since the incumbent Sushma Swaraj had recused herself from the election process. It is a highly desired but essentially powerless position since Prime Ministers from Jawaharlal Nehru on, have run foreign policy from the PMs office. Very likely the National Security Advisor, Ajit Doval, will be reappointed and former foreign secretary S. Jaishankar brought in as a minister of state since they had worked together without friction in the previous term. If the current NSA and the former foreign secretary are reappointed, the continuity theme will be reinforced. At his 2014 swearing-in ceremony, Mr Modi had surprised everyone who had written him off as a foreign policy novice by inviting the heads of governments of all South Asian neighbours, including Pakistan. An even bigger surprise was the presence of Dr Lobsang Sangay, then Prime Minister of the Central Tibetan administration (in Dharamsala). However, that show of strength against China disappeared with the informal Wuhan summit between Xi Jinping and Mr Modi in April 2018. The speculation this time is that the PM may shoot higher by inviting the leaders of the Permanent-5 countries and middle powers such as France and Germany. No bets on a convening of world leaders at Mr Modis swearing-in while he may be daring, he is not so foolhardy as to allow himself to be humiliated by no-shows from the likes of Mr Trump and Mr Xi. The two are currently engaged in a high-stakes trade war, overturning the conventional wisdom that extensive commercial dependencies deter hostility. The British PM, Teresa May, does not know how long she will hold her job. French President Emmanuel Macron may have hoped that he has diffused the weekly Yellow Vest protests but his dissatisfaction rating remains at a high of 66 per cent. That leaves Russian president Putin who, if he comes, can only be doing so for old times sake and to promote arms sales. The preoccupations of the P5 portray the disruption underway in the old equilibrium, bilateral and multilateral, which was put in place in the post Second World War period and which held, more or less, till the end of the last century. Today, India must negotiate a totally different world in which the old institutions such as NATO or the EU are imploding, a risen China plays by its own rules and diminished UK and France refuse to leave the world stage. Although India is now the fastest growing large economy predicted to become the third-largest in the world by 2030, it needs western markets and technology, Gulf oil, and foreign investment to build its infrastructure to sustain a high growth economy that can generate enough jobs to satisfy its youthful population. Mr Modis personalised diplomacy will only be enhanced by the confidence of a huge election victory, especially in multilateral forums like G20, SCO, BRICs etc. Strategic relations with the West, principally the US, will strengthen despite the irritants on bilateral trade. India will likely become more open in its participation in the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD) along with Japan, USA and Australia as a hedge against Chinese pressure. While India must invest in its own infrastructure buildout, it will look to partner with the US and Japan in infrastructure in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka as well as East Africa. The government will move rapidly to put more content into energy diplomacy in the Gulf. Finally, Mr Modi may surprise all by reaching out to China and Pakistan, despite the current delicate state of relations with both. Ambassador Neelam Deo is the director and co-founder of Gateway House The industry also wants the government to look at making spectrum prices more affordable. TRAI has recommended auction of about 8,644 MHz of telecom frequencies, including those for 5G services. New Delhi: The new government should take urgent steps to ease the financial burden on the stressed telecom sector, slash overall levies to an ideal 4-5 per cent and review spectrum prices to make it affordable ahead of the crucial 5G rollout, industry body COAI said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to a landslide victory for a second term in office, while the Congress suffered a serious setback in the Lok Sabha polls. The new government, which is set to be formed in the next few days, will present the full Budget for 2019-20, and the mobile operators' association is hoping that some of its long-pending demands will be taken up in the coming months. Topping its wishlist is cut in levies, as the industry hopes that the current level of 30 per cent levy would be reduced to provide a breather to the stressed sector. "Charges like Licence Fee, Spectrum Usage Charges and redefinition of Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) needs to be looked at," Cellular Operators' Association of India (COAI) Director General Rajan Mathews told PTI. Asked what the association considers to be an ideal level, Mathews said globally levies do not exceed 5 per cent and hence 4-5 per cent would be "ideal". On the issue of debt restructuring, Mathews said telecom operators should be given more time for repayment of spectrum bought in auctions. This, he said, can be done by increasing the moratorium period to four years and payment period to 18 years keeping the 'Net Present Value' unchanged. The industry also wants the government to look at making spectrum prices "more affordable". "If we want 5G to take off, the present pricing will not get you there," Mathews added. He noted that at the present prices proposed, operators will not be able to afford the radiowaves which, in turn, will pose a challenge in rollout of 5G services. A section of the industry has questioned regulator TRAI's methodology of computing the reserve price, claiming it has resulted in spectrum prices being unreasonably higher than global benchmarks. Earlier this year, Bharti Airtel Chairman Sunil Mittal too had flagged high reserve prices of 5G spectrum. He had said the government must price spectrum reasonably and lower various levies to encourage rollout of 5G services in the country at the earliest. The telecom czar had also warned that the spectrum auction may fail and Airtel might not bid for airwaves if the auctions are held at prices recommended by TRAI. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has recommended auction of about 8,644 MHz of telecom frequencies, including those for 5G services, at an estimated total base price of Rs 4.9 lakh crore. The telecom sector is burdened with staggering debt levels and cut throat competition. Competition has only intensified since 2016, when Reliance Jio, owned by richest Indian Mukesh Ambani, stormed into the market and offered lifetime free calls and dirt cheap data. Jio's disruptive offerings forced rivals to slash rates, affecting profit margins. Since Jio's launch, rivals have either merged, resorted to acquisitions or folded up. FPIs withdrew a net sum of Rs 2,048 cr from equities and Rs 2,309.86 cr from the debt market. FPIs invested a net Rs 1,352.20 crore in equities on May 23, when the ruling BJP scored a thumping victory in the general elections. New Delhi: Foreign investors have pulled out a net amount of Rs 4,375 crore from the Indian capital markets in May so far, driven by global and domestic factors. Prior to this, overseas investors had infused a net amount of Rs 16,093 crore in April, Rs 45,981 crore in March and Rs 11,182 crore in February in the capital markets (both equity and debt). According to the latest depositories data, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) withdrew a net sum of Rs 2,048 crore from equities and Rs 2,309.86 crore from the debt market during May 2-24, taking the total net outflow to Rs 4,375.86 crore. "However, it is noteworthy that foreign investors pumped in money on the day of election results as the mandate became clear," said Vidya Bala, Head - Mutual Funds Research at FundsIndia. FPIs invested a net Rs 1,352.20 crore in equities on May 23, when the ruling BJP scored a thumping victory in the general elections. "While FPIs may remain cautiously optimistic on what the government will deliver in a second term, neglected cyclical segments from banks to capital goods to infrastructure-related plays may see increased interest from institutional investors," Bala added. Kaustubh Belapurkar, Director - Manager Research, Morningstar Investment Adviser India, said, "The exit poll indications followed by the actual emphatic BJP victory has certainly enthused foreign investors. With a strong government at the Centre, we expect FPIs will be watching India more keenly amongst the emerging markets pack." Local media said the Goyals had been traveling to Dubai for a connecting flight to London. The airport official did not confirm that the couple had been detained. Mumbai: Indian carrier Jet Airways (India) Ltd founder Naresh Goyal and his wife Anita Goyal were stopped from leaving India on Saturday at Mumbai airport, according to an airport official who asked not to be named. The couple were taken into custody by immigration officers, the Indian Express reported, citing sources. The airport official did not confirm that the couple had been detained. It was not immediately clear why the couple had been prevented from traveling, or whether it was related to reported regulatory probes into the airline. It was not immediately possible to reach either the Goyals or Jet for comment late Saturday. Local media said the Goyals had been traveling to Dubai for a connecting flight to London. Local media, citing sources, reported earlier this month that the ministry of corporate affairs had been looking into Jets books and had asked for a corporate fraud investigation into the airline, suspecting that its promoters siphoned off funds. Jet said at the time that it had complied with all regulations. The Goyals did not comment on the reports at the time. Once one of Indias largest carriers, Jet was forced to ground all flights last month after running out of money and failing to secure funds, crippled by mounting losses as it attempted to compete with low-cost rivals. The carrier is saddled with some USD 1.2 billion in bank debt, and Goyal and his wife stepped down from the airlines board in March amid the crisis. Apparently the current meetings in New York are to accrue additional funds for Takht. With Kalank proving to be the biggest blot on its producer, Karan Johars career, there are loud whispers doing the rounds of his ambitious costume drama Takht getting shelved. Reports suggest that after the debacle of his highly ambitious costume drama project Kalank, Karan and his production partners Fox-Star have done a rethink on the budget of Takht. But here is the truth: at this very moment Karan is in New York for high-level meetings on Takht. A very well informed source reveals, The budget of the film is indeed sky-high. But there was never a re-think over doing Takht. The failure of Kalank has nothing to do with Takht. Kalank was directed by Abhishek Varman, whereas Takht is being directed by Karan himself, his directorial undertaking since Ae Dil Hai Mushkil three years ago, and yes his most ambitious film to date. Apparently the current meetings in New York are to accrue additional funds for Takht. Karans film would cost anything from Rs 180-200 crore. Supplementary finances are being negotiated at this very moment, adds the source. The lavish costume drama set in the Mughal era stars Kareena Kapoor Khan, Alia Bhatt, Bhumi Pednekar, Anil Kapoor, Ranveer Singh, Vicky Kaushal and Janhvi Kapoor. It is expected to be one of the most expensive films ever made in India. Nath however strongly backed Mr Gandhi to continue in his post, saying, the party badly needed Mr Gandhis leadership at the crucial juncture. Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath has skipped the Congress Working Committee (CWC), held in New Delhi on Saturday, to take stock of political situation in the state in the wake of NDAs return to power at the Centre. Sources close to Mr Nath said, the chief minister has earlier intimated the AICC president Rahul Gandhi about his inability to make it to Saturdays crucial CWC meeting, in view of volatile political situation in the state. He however strongly backed Mr Gandhi to continue in his post, saying, the party badly needed Mr Gandhis leadership at the crucial juncture. Two CWC members from MP, Jyotiraditya Scindia and Arun Yadav, however attended the Saturdays meeting of partys highest policy making body. Both Mr Scindia and Mr Yadav lost the recently held Lok Sabha elections from their respective constituencies of Guna and Khandwa. Mr Nath meanwhile has called a Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting here on Sunday to review the debacle of the party in the just-concluded LS elections in the state. He has also convened his cabinet meeting on Monday to get feedback from his ministers on the reasons for the partys disastrous show in the LS polls. He was scheduled to visit Delhi on Monday to submit the feedback report to the party high command, sources said. A senior Congress leader on Saturday disclosed to this newspaper that the state leadership was devising a strategy to nip in bud any attempt by Opposition BJP to destabilize the Kamal Nath government following NDAs return to power at the Centre. Kamal Nath government which has a wafer thin majority in the house was getting outside support from two BSP MLAs, one SP legislator and four Independents. BJP in Madhya Pradesh was divided over pulling down the Kamal Nath government by engineering defection in the ruling Congress. While a section of the party led by BJP Legislature Party leader Gopal Bhargav was in favour of dislodging the state government through a trust vote in the assembly, former chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan was opposed to it. Congress managed only Kishanganj seat while RJD, HAM, RLSP, and VIP failed in saving their electoral space after the poll results on Thursday. Patna: The 2019 Lok Sabha election has turned out to be a major setback for regional leaders like Tejashwi Yadav, Upendra Kushwaha, and Jitan Ram Manjhi who were aspiring to play a crucial role in Bihar politics. Sources said that these leaders and their parties have called for introspection at the organisational level to find reasons behind the humiliating defeat in the general election. The NDA comprising of BJP, JD(U) and LJP won 39 out of 40 seats in Bihar. Congress managed only Kishanganj seat while RJD, HAM, RLSP, and VIP failed in saving their electoral space after the poll results on Thursday. In his first hard-hitting reaction after the poll results, former Bihar chief minister and HAM chief Jitan Ram Manjhi said that "Modi factor and national security issue led to the crushing defeat of the Mahagathbandhan. We should sit and analyze why the Mahagathbandhan couldn't convince people the way NDA did during their campaigns. In my view, the Mahagathbandhan had no answer to NDA's national security issue. ". Jitan Ram Manjhi who was being seen as a strong Mahadalit leader had contested from two seats but suffered a humiliating defeat by NDA candidates. HAM sources claim that Mr. Manjhi has a major stake in the Mushahar community, a sub-caste among Dalits in Bihar. The community has a population of around 40 Lakh and was classified among Mahadalits in 2007 by chief minister Nitish Kumar. "The NDA used surgical strikes and nationalism issue to gain in the Lok Sabha elections. But the Mahagathbandhan couldn't handle these issues and failed in convincing the voters", Mr. Manjhi said in Patna. He also slammed the BJP for playing "Hindutva card" to win the election and said that "the poll result was also fixed". "They (BJP) tried everything to win elections. The poll result in my view was totally fixed. The NDA didn't even spare the Army and also tried to politicise the surgical strike and martyrdom of our jawans but the Mahagathbandhan had no answer to these issues and also failed in convincing the voters during campaigns", Jitan Ram Manjhi said in Patna. The Maldivian media has reported that Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit could take place on June 7-8. New Delhi: In what is expected to be his first overseas visit in his second tenure as PM, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to visit Maldives towards the end of the first week of June. The choice of Maldives Indias tiny south-western maritime neighbour is significant as it was, till last year, perceived to be totally under Chinese influence. According to news agency reports, the Maldivian media has reported that the visit could take place on June 7-8. Sources said the likely visit would be part of Indias neighbourhood-first policy and that the tiny archipelago nation is strategically important for India. Under Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, India and the Maldives are now the closest of friends once again. PM Modi had on November 17 last year attended the swearing-in ceremony of President Solih. The Maldivian President has strengthened ties with New Delhi and reversed the widely perceived slant towards Beijing that the Maldives had adopted during the controversial tenure of his predecessor Abdullah Yameen. President Solihs assuming of office following his victory in the Presidential polls against then president Abdulla Yameen last year had come as a huge relief for New Delhi. Mr. Yameen was openly pro-China and had become a thorn in New Delhis flesh, with Indo-Maldivian ties having nose-dived during Mr. Yameens tenure. India had earlier decided to give immediate assistance of US$ 25 million to the Maldives to ensure budgetary stability of its tiny maritime south-western neighbour. Meanwhile, the MEA on Sunday said former Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed called up and congratulated PM Modi on Sunday on the historic mandate. Singh was shot by unidentified assailants when he was sleeping in the verandah of his house in Amethi at around 3 am on Sunday. Singh is said to be a close aide of BJP's Smriti Irani who defeated Rahul Gandhi from Amethi which was till now considered a Nehru-Gandhi bastion. (Photo: ANI) Amethi: Suspects have been detained in connection with the murder of BJP leader Smriti Irani's associate and former village head Surendra Singh in Amethi district of Uttar Pradesh, police said on Sunday. "We have detained some suspects in the case. We are getting more information and are acting on it," Amethi's Superintendent of Police Rajesh Kumar told reporters. The police are looking into all aspects of the killing, including political rivalry. "Since he had been a village chief, it seems to be a fallout of an old rivalry. We are not ruling out a political rivalry and are looking into all aspects of the case," the police said. ''Intensive investigation is underway. We have found vital clues. Seven people have been detained for questioning. We're confident of solving the case in the next 12hrs. 3 companies of PAC are deputed,'' UP DGP, OP Singh said. Singh was shot by unidentified assailants when he was sleeping in the verandah of his house in Baraulia village of Amethi at around 3 am on Sunday. He was rushed to a trauma centre in Lucknow where he breathed his last. Singh is said to be a close aide of BJP's Smriti Irani who defeated Rahul Gandhi from Amethi which was till now considered a Nehru-Gandhi bastion. One of the deceased's cousins said, "He had distributed sweets and carried out a procession the day before yesterday (after Smriti Irani was declared a winner from Amethi Lok Sabha seat)." "The murder could have resulted out of an old dispute involving the village politics. This could also be a fallout of a political dispute. Smriti Irani was contesting against Rahul Gandhi here and we have been BJP supporters," a relative, who was in Lucknow to receive Singh's body, said. Another relative, Chandrapal Singh, said, "This is a political murder. This is a fallout of political rivalries relating to his tenure as village head and the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections." Senior BJP leader Rita Bahuguna Joshi, who won from the Allahabad Lok Sabha seat, termed the killing "unacceptable". "Such an in a democracy is completely unacceptable, there is no place for such things. The perpetrators will be punished," she told ANI. Police have been deployed in the village to deal with the possibility of untoward incident. Ambani promoted one particular candidate, but he balanced his act by sending Anant Ambani to Modis meeting public rally. The tall suave South Mumbai candidate and the current President of the Mumbai committee of Indian National Congress (INC) Milind Murli Deora showed promise and caliber of the kind that even swayed the affluent resident of the area Mukesh Ambani in endorsing the 42-year-old.Milind is the man for South Mumbai, Ambani had said in a campaign video released by Deora. Standing from the financial capital of the country, Deora garnered support from various industrialists and bank promoters including Uday Kotak, the Managing Director of Kotak Mahindra Bank. Although as the election results have it, the incumbent Shiv Sena MP Arvind Sawant has defeated Deora to become the chosen man for South Mumbai, yet again. Even though this is history repeating itself in the case of Deora, who had witnessed the same fate in the last Lok Sabha elections of 2014, when he lost to Sawant, the defeat is surely a lesson that even the voices of the rich and the powerful have no effect in Indias dynamic elections. There were many reasons for the affluent section of the constituency to support Deora, including his campaign that focussed on the development issues of infrastructure, economy, transportation and housing in the city. Talking about what had made Deora a popular choice in the run up to the election, Sanjay Jha, the National Spokesperson of Congress says, By far, Milind Deora was a much better candidate. He has been a successful minister in the government of Dr. Manmohan Singh and in a number of ways, he is a personification of what South Mumbai stands for which is cosmopolitan culture, liberal progressive society, a very young democracy and representing a heterogeneity of India. And believing so, even the billionaire industrialist Ambani, who shares a hand in glove relationship with Modi, found Deora to be a viable candidate for his constituency. Although this endorsement didnt fall short of Ambanis own display of affinity towards the BJP party, as a few days later his son Anant Ambani was spotted in Modis public rally. Ambani promoted one particular candidate, but he balanced his act by sending Anant Ambani to Modis meeting public rally. He gave a clear message that he is supporting a particular candidate, not the Congress, reminds Abhay. So even though Sawant won by the margin of 74,000 votes, the reason for Deoras loss is not his defeat, rather it is about Narendra Modi led NDAs victory. In one of his campaign rallies in the Parel area ahead of the elections, Deora had appealed to the voters to vote for the candidate than the party or the alliance. I am appealing to the people to look at the candidate and compare their record and mine. Know what he stands for because today nobody knows what he stands for; whatre his views on economy or foreign policies, development, inclusion and womens rights. No one knows and people should not ignore the candidate, they need to look at the candidate as well, he had said. In the hindsight, what was just an appeal to the voters for making an informed decision rather appears to be a warning of exercising caution while voting. But to no avail, his worst fear got realised, as struck by the Modi wave, the voters chose to vote for Sawant - an NDA representative - rather than Deora - the local face of Modis biggest opposition party Congress. In this election, most of the people voted for Modi, and not for the candidate. This election was like a referendum for Modi. Candidates are important, but the crowd voted for Modi. They did not bother about the MP or MLAs performance or their accessibility, assesses political analyst Abhay Deshpande. He further adds, BJP got huge margin win from areas like Malabar Hills, it shows that Modi is still intact Despite of four years of criticising Modi and his government, Shiv Sena got 18 MPs in Maharashtra. That also shows that people voted for Modi, not for Shiv Sena. Agreeing to this, Sanjay reiterates, At the end of the day, Milind lost to Arvind for the second successive time, probably, because he became a victim of a larger national narrative where people voted for not only for BJP, but for Modi. Mamata congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a sarcastic tone and dared the BJP to topple her government. Kolkata: Trinamul Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee on Saturday broke her silence over her partys drubbing at the hands of the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections and announced that she had offered to resign as West Bengal chief minister but was prevented from doing so by party leaders. Addressing a press conference after reviewing the TMCs below-expectation performance, Ms Banerjee accused the BJP of using money power, polarising people on religious lines to garner votes and questioned if some sort of setting or foreign power played a role in the saffron partys success. Undeterred by the BJPs second term at the Centre with a thumping majority and the saffron storm in the state, she rejected the theory of communal polarisation and vowed to devote more time to the party. Now I will focus more on the party and devote more time to it, she announced, claiming that she had completed all development work the state promised in the party manifesto. She congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a sarcastic tone and dared the BJP to topple her government. Expressing her frustration, she said, I really do not have the mentality to work as a chief minister when money shapes democracy and a government tainted with communalism is in power. I tried to convince my party a lot today. But they did not accept my wish. I have become very much isolated. It is my pain. It may be that I am bound to work as the chief minister in the face of the majority view in the party. Perhaps, I will continue to work till I can, she said. The Trinamul chief also blamed the Left for contributing to the BJPs success. I do not know why they (BJP) did not get 23 seats which they had predicted. How five seats went out of their hands is not clear. I firmly believe there was a setting. Since the Congress failed to mention it, I am talking on their behalf. How could BJP win all seats in Rajasthan and Haryana? she asked. Alleging a foreign hand behind the BJPs victory, she said, No justice came in any of our complaints. The Election Commission took over the administration from January. I was not allowed to work for five months despite being in the government. A total emergency situation was created here. Meanwhile, violent incidents were reported from across West Bengal on Saturday in which one person died and many were injured, officials said, as a face-off brewed between the ruling Trinamul and a surging BJP after the Lok Sabha results were declared on May 23. A BJP worker was murdered at Chakdah in Nadia on Friday night. Santu Ghosh, 23, the victim, was a jewellery maker from Tapaban area. He went out of his home after getting a phone-call at around 10 pm but a gang of miscreants shot him dead. According to sources, Ghosh had switched to the BJP from the Trinamul before the Lok Sabha elections. On Saturday, BJP workers blocked National Highway 34 to protest the murder. BJP Nadia district committee general secretary Tarak Sarkar accused the Trinamul of murdering Ghosh. State BJP president Dilip Ghosh said, After election defeat the Trinamul has adopted the path of violence. Peoples homes are being vandalised while they are being beaten up. The police has remained inactive. The TMC alleged that a number of its party offices have either been taken over or vandalised by BJP workers. Police sources said TMC workers were beaten up allegedly by BJP supporters in Coochbehars Sitai, Titagarh in North 24 Parganas and New Town area near Kolkata. The Goyals had resigned from the board of Jet Airways in March following a debt restructuring plan. Mumbai: Immigration authorities on Saturday afternoon prevented Jet Airways founder and former chairman Naresh Goyal and his wife, Anita Goyal, from flying abroad due to a lookout circular issued by the Union home ministry. The couple who was travelling to London was offloaded from Dubai-bound Emirates flight EK 507, which was scheduled to depart at 3.35 pm from Mumbai airport. The couple had checked in their baggage, which was in the name of Ms Goyal. The immigration authority was acting on a lookout notice issued by the ministry of home affairs. Mr Goyal and his wife were travelling to London on EK 507 but were restricted from leaving the country. The aircraft had reached the taxiway when it was recalled and they were taken into custody by immigration officers, said a senior executive at the airport. Kiran Pawaskar, president of All India Jet Airways Officers & Staff Association, had written a letter to Mumbai police last month, demanding the impounding of the passports of Mr Goyal and other senior members of the Jet Airways management as the airline had not paid its employees for several months. The Goyals had resigned from the board of Jet Airways in March following a debt restructuring plan. He had also resigned as the airline chairman. The defeated leaders will not be short of advice, particularly from the media on what went wrong and what they should now do. A missed tie-up here or there, and a wrong candidate in some or other constituency was not the reason this election ended in the way it did. (Representational image) How can the Opposition pick itself up from this sort of shattering defeat? The rest of us who are not in politics will likely never fully understand the meaning of a loss of this magnitude. The problems of defeat start with the personal. The loss of confidence in oneself and the shame of knowledge that others are looking at you differently are not things that most of us face on this scale. Our defeats and losses at work are mostly personal and if others know it is because we told them. For the Opposition leaders, it is in the most public sphere. Then there is the matter of having to face the adversary who has trounced you. In war, there is death or surrender for the defeated. In politics, the defeat is already in the past. It is over and done with. It is the present that must be engaged with and you have to work with the person and people that till yesterday you were abusing and being abused by. But the argument is ended and you have been humiliated. What is to be done from now on? The defeated leaders will not be short of advice, particularly from the media on what went wrong and what they should now do. Some of this will be useful but my guess is that most of it will not. At the television channel that I was a guest on, we were laughing over our designations: varisht patrakar. The fact is that 30 years or 40 years of experience in writing stuff is not a substitute for 35 minutes spent addressing a rally and the signals a crowd sends out. Nobody understands the deep causes of defeat and victory better than the defeated. The defeated have been to all the battlefields. They have looked into the eyes of their soldiers and those of the opponents. They have knowledge that is based on reality and lived experience. So with that understanding, and without wanting to give advice, let us see what we think they could do in terms of steps. When the Pakistani general Ayub Khan made himself the president of the country in the 1950s, he says he first wrote an Appreciation. This is apparently a military term which figures out the position that one finds oneself in. That would be a good first step in my opinion. It is fun to assess victories (students of military history spend many hours studying maps of Julius Caesar at Pharsalus or Alexander at the Jhelum). It is probably excruciating to assess a defeated position, and yet it must be done. State by state and candidate by candidate, there should be an assessment (I do not mean a judgement) of the present and where things stand. There should be, in this Appreciation, an honest and unemotional estimation of the opponent. Perhaps the sharpest tool that a leader and a manager has is transparency. The saying is that sunlight is the best disinfectant. Openness would be encouraging to troops and supporters who are totally demoralised by a thrashing by and the gloating of the victorious. It would bring the defeated together in sprit if they confront the reality of what they were defeated by and where they stand now. Then there is the issue of accountability. I do not mean blame. I think it would be easy for a leader to step down and go away, and perhaps that may be the right thing to do. But it should be part of a sequence in which there is first transparency. Stepping down without the critical steps required to start bringing the shattered side back together would just be like a tantrum and an act of ego. This moment requires selflessness. In my opinion there is not much else that the Opposition could have done in this election. A missed tie-up here or there, and a wrong candidate in some or other constituency was not the reason this election ended in the way it did. A hammering of this magnitude cannot be avoided through tactics or even through strategy. There is something deeper that needs to be addressed. Everything that the Opposition was faulted for for example not be aggressive, taking it easy, going off on vacations, not seeking alliances all of this was addressed. If defeat still came it was not for want of awareness or effort. Higher forces were at play. Another thing that must be done is a gathering of allies and friends. The Opposition has sympathy from civil society, meaning those groups like non-governmental organisations, which fight some of the same issues that are in the domain of politics. Many of these are grassroots organisations which have been struggling for decades. They will be of some value in both the assessment and in the rebuild. The third last thing is that defeated parties, particularly older ones, should go back to their founding principles and examine how far or close the party is currently to them. There was something within that made the party attractive to Indians. How can that or a version of that be reintroduced? It is a good question that will require some reflection and wisdom. The second last thing is to keep up the spirit. Civil society and NGOs, which in our part of the world have tasted defeat far more than success, do this through song. Volunteerism comes from a sense of purpose but work should be fun and it should be energising. The last thing in this piece of non-advice is to begin a routine. A routine is a wonderful thing. Just getting up and getting to work at a particular time and organising oneself can work small miracles. A routine lays out the small steps that we must take, and it gives us the confidence that we are moving forward. Shortly after the announcement, Maduro took to his Twitter handle to express gratitude to the Norway government for providing a platform. Noting the arrest of key opposition leaders in Venezuela, the US State Department hoped that the latest round of talks will focus on the departure of Maduro. (Photo:AP) Caracas: Representatives of Maduro-led Venezuelan government and opposition will hold the second round of talks in Norway's capital Oslo next week in an attempt to resolve the ongoing political crisis in the Latin American country, Norwegian Foreign Ministry said on Saturday. "We announce that the representatives of the main political actors in Venezuela have decided to return to Oslo next week to continue a process facilitated by Norway," the ministry said in a statement. "We reiterate our commitment to continue supporting the search for an agreed-upon solution between the parties in Venezuela." Shortly after the announcement, Maduro took to his official Twitter handle to express his gratitude to the Norwegian government for providing a platform for dialogue between Venezuela's opposing forces, reported TASS news agency. "I thank the Norwegian government for its efforts on facilitating dialogue about peace and stability in Venezuela. Our delegation is heading to Oslo, ready to work on a comprehensive agenda and move towards the signing of agreements," Maduro tweeted. Noting the arrest of key opposition leaders in Venezuela, the US State Department hoped that the latest round of talks will focus on the departure of Maduro. "The United States supports the desire of the Venezuelan people to recover their democracy and bring the illegitimate Maduro regime to an end. Previous efforts to negotiate an end to the regime and free elections have failed because the regime has used them to divide the opposition and gain time," the statement read. "Free elections cannot be overseen by a tyrant. As we have repeatedly stated, we believe the only thing to negotiate with Nicolas Maduro is the conditions of his departure. We hope the talks in Oslo will focus on that objective, and if they do, we hope progress will be possible," it added. It should be noted here that the US has opposed Maduro ever since he was sworn-in for the second term in January, after an election that has since been termed by most of the international communities as 'rigged.' Maduro, in turn, 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. Hours after Saturday's announcement by the Norwegian government, Guaido took to his official Twitter handle and reiterated that the opposition will be satisfied with nothing short of the removal of Maduro from the office, reports Sputnik. "We pursue all options with responsibility," he tweeted. "Our route is very clear: an end of usurpation, [creation of] interim government and free elections, and will pursue it in all areas of struggle, committed to URGENT changes that our country needs," Representatives of the Venezuelan government and the opposition had held a similar round of talks in Norway on May 16. Maduro had hailed the talks as 'positive.' 'We have noticed that after PM Narendra Modi assumed office, he has made a lot of efforts to enhance the Indian economy,' said Mu Degui. 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. (Photo:AP) Guizhou: Lauding Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the efforts made by his government to enhance the Indian economy, Mu Degui, a Member of the Standing Committee of CPC Guizhou Provincial Committee, asserted that in Modi's second tenure, China looks forward to setting up several businesses in India to help the local economy grow. When asked whether Modi's re-election as Prime Minister will improve India-China relations, Degui, while speaking to ANI, exuded confidence that the two countries will do good business in the near future. "We have noticed that after Prime Minister Narendra Modi assumed office, he has made a lot of efforts to enhance the Indian economy and improve livelihood of the people. The Prime Minister relentlessly focused on good governance and progress of India," he said. "India and China have enjoyed long-term friendship. With Prime Minister Modi at the helm, China will seek peaceful methods to achieve common goals," he added. 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 the 300 mark while storming back to power for the second consecutive term. Further expressing his desire to work with India, Degui said that China regards India as a "model" it can learn from. "We know that India is a major economy. We acknowledge the tremendous achievement it has made in the area of Information Technology. We regard India as a model we can learn from. We want to work with India and set up businesses there to help the local economy to grow," he said. "We are trying to promote direct flights to New Delhi and Bangalore so that the two sides could do business well," he added. Notably, Guizhou is a province in south-west China which, in recent years, has fought poverty and established itself as the country's data hub. Guiyang City in the province at present is hosting a 'Big Data Industry Expo 2019' showcasing China's might in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Big Data. More than 26,000 participants from 55 countries and regions are participating in the event. As China's first big data pilot zone, Guizhou has attracted heavyweight players, including Apple, Qualcomm, Huawei, Tencent, Alibaba and Foxconn, to establish cloud computing and big data centers as well as regional headquarters. Tehran has distanced itself from the bombings, but the United States has sent a aircraft carrier and an extra 1,500 troops to the Gulf. Imran Khan, who has been seeking to improve Pakistan's strained relations with neighbour Iran, said he was concerned about the rising tensions in the Gulf' (Photo:File) Islamabad: Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan warned against the risk of conflict in the region, following a visit to Islamabad by Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif as tensions between Washington and Tehran escalated. Strains have increased between Iran and the United States, which is a firm backer of Tehran's regional rival Saudi Arabia, in the wake of this month's attack on oil tankers in the Gulf region that Washington has blamed on Iran. Tehran has distanced itself from the bombings, but the United States has sent a aircraft carrier and an extra 1,500 troops to the Gulf, sparking concerns about the risks of conflict in a volatile region. Imran Khan, who has been seeking to improve Pakistan's strained relations with neighbour Iran, said he was concerned about the "rising tensions in the Gulf", but did not specifically name the United States or Saudi Arabia. US President Donald Trump sends 1,500 troops to Middle East as tensions with Iran continue to rise. Tensions between the US and Iran are rising as Trump sends 1,500 troops to the Middle East and pushes through the sale of billions of dollars' worth of arms to Saudi Arabia. "He underscored that war was not a solution to any problem," Khan's office said in a statement late on Friday, citing the premier. "Further escalation in tensions in the already volatile region was not in anyone's interest. All sides needed to exercise maximum restraint in the current situation." Washington has been seeking to increasingly tighten sanctions against Iran, as relations continue to worsen under President Donald Trump. At the end of the two-day visit to Pakistan, Zarif told Iranian state-run newswire IRNA that US allegations against Tehran were increasing tensions. "These actions are also a threat to global peace and stability," he said. Earlier this month, four tankers, including two belonging to Saudi Arabia, were bombed near the United Arab Emirates' Fujairah emirate, one of the world's largest bunkering hubs, located just outside the Strait of Hormuz. Washington has accused Iran's Revolutionary Guards of carrying out the attacks, and the Trump administration has declared a national security-related emergency that would clear the sale of billions of dollars' worth of weapons to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other countries, bypassing congressional approval. Pakistan's relations with Iran have also been strained in recent months, with both sides accusing each other of not doing enough to stamp out militants allegedly sheltering across the border. His remarks came two days after PM Modi on Thursday led his BJP towards a super-sized victory for a second term in office. Pakistan is ready to hold talks with the new Indian government to resolve all outstanding issues, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said. (Photo: File) Islamabad: Pakistan is ready to hold talks with the new Indian government to resolve all outstanding issues, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said. Addressing an Iftar dinner in Multan on Saturday, Qureshi said both India and Pakistan should sit on negotiation table to solve issues for the sake of prosperity and peace of the region, state-run Radio Pakistan reported. His remarks came two days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi Thursday led his Bharatiya Janata Party towards a super-sized victory for a second term in office. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday 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. 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 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 general elections. The results of India's general elections are very significant for Pakistan as the new government in New Delhi will determine the course of Indo-Pakistan ties, which were pushed to a new low after the Pulwama terror attack. Just a day before the announcement of results, 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. He conveyed to her Pakistan's desire to resolve all issues through 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. Keep yourself updated on Lok Sabha Elections 2019 with our round-the-clock coverage -- breaking news, updates, analyses etc all. Happy reading. In cases where the child may not live long, medical care is not wasted but by gaining time, allows parents to prepare for the death. Pope Francis says every child is a gift that changes the history of a family. (Photo:AP) Vatican City: Pope Francis reiterated on Saturday that abortion is unacceptable, saying its use amounted to the hiring of a "paid killer". "Is it lawful to eliminate a human lift to resolve a problem? It is lawful to hire a paid killer to resolve a problem," Francis asked during a conference at the Vatican on the use of abortion when the unborn child is found to have a serious illness. "No human being can ever be incompatible with life," he said, adding: "Every child is a gift that changes the history of a family... and this child needs to be welcomed, loved and cared for." In cases where the child may not live for very long, medical care is not wasted but by gaining time, allows parents to prepare for the death. "That child will remain in their lives forever," he said. Pope Francis used similar "paid killer" remarks in relation to abortion in October 2018, sparking a sharp reaction in medical circles. Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Speaking to The Financial Times , a person familiar with the matter understands that Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is in advanced talks with Renault about a possible alliance. Thats somewhat curious considering Nissan, which might not benefit from a tie-up if the deal goes through.Discussions are at an advanced stage according to the tipster, but Renault and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles both declined to comment. A transfer of equity is rumored, translating to buying a stake in each other. This would be a similar scenario to the beginning of the Renault-Nissan alliance, a strategy whose main architect was Carlos Ghosn when he was running the show as chairman of both Nissan and Renault.The question is, would Renault benefit from FCA and vice-versa? The European part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles could sure use the know-how of Renault in the Old Continent while the French would leverage on FCA in North America. Its a win-win situation, and both automakers are investing a lot in electric vehicles and autonomous driving.Not that long ago, Groupe PSA held talks with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. Carlos Tavares also expressed interest in Jaguar Land Rover, but so far, nothing went through for the French automaker. On the other hand, FCA head Mike Manley told the automotive journalists at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show in March that Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is open to a partnership, joint venture, or deeper levels of cooperation such as transferring equity.For the time being, many options are on the table for Renault and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. And as long as neither wants to discuss the subject, heres hope the mystery will soon be revealed. In this April 27, 2019, photo, Andy and Stacie Proctor stand in their new home in Vineyard, Utah. For some millennials looking to buy their first home, the hunt feels like a race against the clock. The Proctors ultimately made a successful offer on a three-bedroom house for $438,000. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer) 2020 presidential candidate Mayor Pete Buttigieg accused President Trump of "eroding the integrity of the military" should he decide to move forward with pardoning service members accused of war crimes, as has been speculated, CNN reports. "The reason that we can stand up tall and say that's not true, that having served honorably in the military, couldn't be more different than being a war criminal is because if we ever did anything that was wrong the United States under the Uniform Code of Military Justice would have held us accountable. And so when the President joins in with this idea, that it's just natural, that if you serve in conflict, that you're going to wind up murdering somebody, he is eroding the integrity of the military, and insulting the Constitution." Mayor Pete Buttigieg Why it matters: Buttigieg has worked to face Trump head on in the recent weeks. He accused Trump of faking a disability to avoid the draft for the Vietnam War, according to CNN. The context: It was revealed last week that Trump was considering pardoning military personnel found to have violated the Uniform Code of Military over Memorial Day weekend, per the New York Times. Trump allegedly asked for expedited documents to move the pardoning process forward. Edward Gallagher could receive a pardon, per the Times. He was accused of shooting unarmed civilians and killing an enemy captive in Iraq. A request was also made for a Blackwater security contractor found guilty in a deadly shooting, killing dozens of unarmed Iraqis in 2007, per the New York Times. Major Mathew L. Golsteyn may also be pardoned. He is a Green Beret accused of killing an unarmed Afghani citizen in 2010, per the New York Times. There is also a request regarding a group of Marine Corps members who allegedly urinated on the corpses of dead Taliban fighters, per the New York Times. Go deeper: Trump gives Mayor Pete a new nickname The change promised by the wave of leaders who rose to power around the world since President Trump's 2016 election often hasn't materialized, forcing them to make waves internationally instead of draining their respective swamps. The big picture: It's not just Trump whose domestic agenda has stalled out. Both Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's far-right policies and French President Emmanuel Macron's technocratic centrism are struggling to move forward at home. Trump's stalled domestic agenda pales in comparison to the portfolio of international issues he's inserted himself into or created: trade wars, confrontations with Iran and summits with North Korea, and a Middle East peace plan. The president doesn't face an oversight agenda when it comes to in-the-moment foreign policy, where he can rely on the personal, transactional style that he's favored throughout his business career to grab headlines with autocrats like North Korea's Kim Jong-un and Russia's Vladimir Putin. Bolsonaro dubbed the "Trump of the Tropics" for his sexist and homophobic statements took office at the beginning of 2019, but he's already seeing difficult times ahead for his key domestic promise: $300 billion in pension reform. The head of the congressional committee for pension reform said last week that Bolsonaro's plan doesn't have 200 of the 308 votes needed to pass Congress' lower house. In the meantime, Bolsonaro has used his notoriety abroad to gain influence with Trump officials even as he leverages the White House's trade war with China to his own advantage massively upping trade numbers, especially in soybeans. Macron has seen his presidency marred by "yellow vest" protests across France, while simultaneously using his power on the world stage to attempt to prop up the European project he holds dear. His grand entrance onto the political stage the presidency and a Parliament controlled by his brand new party became bogged down in a months-long listening tour called the "Great National Debate" in an attempt to quell the "yellow vest" outrage. As a result, Macron promised a massive reform package that would, among other things, cut income taxes and reduce the size of France's oversized bureaucracy, giving up control of a large portion of his domestic agenda in the process. While unrest percolated at home, Macron turned his attention to shoring up the European Union "going full de Gaulle," according to Foreign Policy's Robert Zaretsky bringing himself close to German Chancellor Angela Merkel as bastions of centrism on the continent and using his position as a bully pulpit against the U.K.'s botched Brexit process. The bottom line: Democracy is designed to be a deliberative, gradual process, and it's become even slower as political polarization takes root worldwide so leaders are increasingly forced to turn outward to flex their muscles. The results are in from this week's European Parliament elections, a massive, 4-day democratic exercise spanning 28 countries, 400 million voters and hundreds of parties all vying for a voice in the 751-seat assembly. Why it matters: With nationalism resurgent, this election was critical for those who wanted to preserve and further integrate the 62-year-old European Union as well as those who wanted it dismantled from within. 6 key takeaways 1. Record turnout Traditionally a low-interest contest akin to the U.S. midterms, final numbers show voter turnout increased from the last cycle for the first time since the first European elections were held in 1979. About 51% of the 400 million eligible Europeans vote, compared to 42.6% in 2014, and turnout increased in all but 7 countries. 2. Europe's political center crumbles As projected, the center-right conservatives (EPP) and center-left socialists (S&D) lost their combined majority, ending the "grand coalition" that had commanded parliament for the last 40 years. The liberal ALDE will merge with Emmanuel Macron's centrist, pro-EU Renaissance to comprise the 3rd largest group, marking one of two major realignments of power with the other coming on the far-right, populist wing of the assembly. 3. Green wave In what some commentators are dubbing the "Greta Thunberg effect," Green parties flooded the ballots in northern and western Europe, outperforming Politico Europe's projections by 10 seats and becoming the 4th largest group in parliament. The Greens' performance was especially strong in Germany, where they almost doubled their 2014 result and helped devastate the center-left Social Democrats. The Greens "cemented their status as the rising force in German politics," the FT notes, but their presence in southern and eastern Europe remains virtually nonexistent. 4. Nationalists sputter The overwhelming narrative heading into the elections was that a new crop of far-right, populist parties emboldened by a wave of victories in national and regional elections would take parliament by storm and become kingmakers. Certain nationalist parties like the Sweden Democrats fared well, but the overall gains were modest. One astute caveat: Academic Matthew Goodwin points out that while Denmark's far-right was decimated, the country's center-left party has adopted one of the most restrictive immigration policies in Europe. "The national populists collapsed because they won the argument," Goodwin writes. 5. A mixed bag in France Marine Le Pen's National Rally eked out a victory (23%-22%) over Macron seen as a bellwether for greater EU integration but failed to perform as well as in 2014. That comes as a surprise, given the persistent domestic troubles, such as the months-long gilet jaunes protests, that have helped sink Macron's approval rating at home. Former presidents Sarkozy and Hollande's Republican and Socialist parties, meanwhile, combined for less than 15% a collapse that The Economist's Sophie Pedder argues confirms "the upending of the French party-political system that Macron brought about in 2017." 6. The Brexit election Nigel Farage's new Brexit Party dominated the U.K.'s dreaded European election, which was only held because of a failure by Theresa May's Conservative government to pass a Brexit deal in time. The Conservatives were decimated across the country, but so were the opposition Labour Party a devastating rebuke of the U.K.'s two main political parties. The Liberal Democrats appear to be the main beneficiary of Labour's collapse, likely due to Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn's reluctance to adopt a second referendum as the party's official platform. The Lib Dems even won in Islington, Corbyn's own constituency. While the Brexit Party's triumph will likely dominate headlines, it's worth noting that the various pro-Remain parties together comprise the majority of votes. What to watch: There is still plenty to come in the way of group alignments, with parties on both sides of the political spectrum set to find new families. Once that's completed, parliament will vote on the next president of the European Commission, the EU's powerful executive body. The current favorite is Manfred Weber, leader of the now-weakened EPP. For more on the European elections, subscribe to the Axios World newsletter. Nick Geale, the top aide to Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta, is leaving the Trump administration after a clash with White House officials who regarded him as personally difficult and an impediment to President Trump's deregulatory agenda, according to sources with direct knowledge. Behind the scenes: Senior White House officials especially within the Domestic Policy Council have made it clear to Acosta that they're frustrated that, in their view, the Labor Department hasn't been moving quickly or aggressively enough on deregulation. And some have pointed to Geale as the problem. The White House also separately lodged a complaint about Geale. A source who is close to the president and has direct knowledge of the situation told me: "The pace of change has not been sufficient. [Acosta] tends to be fairly fearful of taking hardline positions. He tends to be solicitous of the unions, often making the argument that that's what the president wants." "The only question in my mind is, is it Nick Geale that's the problem? Or is he just doing his boss' bidding? It's not clear to me that Nick is the only problem. You take your cues from the top." Geale has told Acosta that he will be leaving shortly. A source with direct knowledge told me Geale's departure date is May 31. Geale told me: We in the administration all want to do what is best for the country. There are lots of passionate people in the administration, and I certainly am one of them. I believe Ive done a great job in implementing the presidents vision, and I wish everyone good luck in continuing their important work. A Labor Department spokesperson defended the department against White House accusations that it had been slow on deregulation. "The U.S. Department of Labor had $3.28 billion in deregulatory savings in FY 2018 the second most in the administration," the spokesperson said. "Even more actions like the current rules-making on overtime, joint employer and regular rate are in process." "Nick Geale plays an important role in these efforts. The Department of Labor will continue to work aligned with presidential priorities." Context: The White House's frustrations with Acosta's Labor Department are not new. Bloomberg Law describes the clashes and philosophical disagreements between the White House and the Labor Department exhaustively in this article. They boil down to a view among conservative White House officials that Acosta hasn't cracked down hard enough against unions and has been too cautious to implement deregulatory policies that might spark an uproar on Capitol Hill. President Trump tweeted a different take Saturday on North Korea from national security adviser John Bolton, who said Pyongyang's recent missile tests violated UN Security Council resolutions and sanctions must remain against the country. "North Korea fired off some small weapons, which disturbed some of my people, and others, but not me. I have confidence that Chairman Kim will keep his promise to me, & also smiled when he called Swampman Joe Biden a low IQ individual, & worse. Perhaps thats sending me a signal?" President Trump Why it matters: Bolton is the first senior administration official to confirm that North Korea launched the short-range ballistic missiles in contravention of UN resolutions. Trump's tweet appears to contradict Bolton's stance. The tweet puts Trump at odds with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. with whom he's meeting in Tokyo for a 4-day visit of Japan this week. Abe has also said North Korea violated UN resolutions with the weapons tests this month. The big picture: Trump's mention of North Korea's scathing online attack against former Vice President Joe Biden indicates he sees the Democratic presidential candidate as a potentially serious threat for 2020. 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg told ABC's Martha Raddatz on Sunday that "there is no question" President Trump faked a disability to escape the Vietnam draft, calling it "an assault on the honor of this country." BUTTIGIEG: "There is no question, I think, to any reasonable observer that the president found a way to falsify a disabled status, taking advantage of his privileged status in order to avoid serving. You have somebody who thinks it's all right to let somebody go in his place into a deadly war and is willing to pretend to be disabled in order to do it. That is an assault on the honor of this country." The big picture: The 37-year-old mayor of South Bend, who himself is a veteran of Afghanistan, has been a frequent and vocal critic of Trump's decisions related to the military. In the same ABC interview, Buttigieg blasted reports that Trump is considering pardoning military service members accused or convicted of war crimes. "For a president, especially a president who never served, to say he's going to come in and overrule that system of military justice undermines the very foundations, legal and moral, of this country. Frankly, his idea that being sent to fight makes you automatically into some kind of war criminal is a slander against veterans that could only come from somebody who never served." Go deeper: Pete Buttigieg on the issues, in under 500 words Speaking from Tokyo in her first "Meet the Press" interview ever, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told NBC's Chuck Todd that President Trump and North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un "agree in their assessment" of former Vice President Joe Biden, who Trump called a "low IQ individual" in a tweet Monday evening. TODD: Can you explain why Americans should not be concerned that the president of United States is essentially siding with a murderous authoritarian dictator over a former vice president in the United States? SANDERS: Chuck, the president's not siding with that. But I think they agree in their assessment of former Vice President Joe Biden. Again, the president's focus in this process is the relationship he has and making sure we continue on the path towards denuclearization. ... The president watched [Biden] and his administration with President Obama fail for eight years. He's come in in two and a half, he's cleaned up a lot of the messes that were left behind. We shouldn't even be in the position that we're in to have to deal with North Korea at the level we are if they had done their job in the first place. Why it matters: This is not the first time that Trump has taken the side of a foreign authoritarian over Americans that he deems his political enemies. As Axios has previously reported, Biden has been in Trump's head for months. His advisers take the former vice president very seriously and see him as Trump's biggest threat to re-election and have been surprised to see him dominating early in a primary that was expected to be steered by left-wing activists. The big picture: Sanders, like Trump on Sunday, downplayed the significance of North Korea's recent missile tests, saying none of them have posed "a threat" to the U.S. or its allies. Todd challenged her on comments by the prime minister of Japan and by national security adviser John Bolton that North Korea had violated a UN resolution with its tests. Sanders deflected the question and reiterated what has long been Trump's stance on foreign diplomacy: He believes in his personal relationship with Kim and that the dictator "will stay firm with the commitment that he made to the president and move towards denuclearization." By Trend Over the past 24 hours, Armenian armed forces have violated the ceasefire along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops 19 times, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said on May 26, 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 Azerbaijan intends to provide itself with seeds of major grain crops through which the countrys agriculture sphere will enter a new development stage. By the end of this year, five seed processing plants will start operating in Azerbaijan, Emin Aliyev, Chairman of the State Seed Fund under the Ministry of Agriculture, told Trend. In his words, in addition to the launch of two such enterprises in Khachmaz and Shaki this summer, it is planned to open three new plants by the end of the second half of next year. The plants in Tovuz, Gobustan and Agjabadi are planned to be launched before the end of this year, he said. Aliyev further stressed that the creation of seed processing plants will continue in 2020 as well. Particularly, it is planned to build new seed processing plants in the southern zones of the country - in Jalilabad and Saatli - in the first half of next year. The chairman also added that the plants are designed to process seed, implement seed dressing and packaging in order to obtain seeds. It is noteworthy that the production capacity of each of the enterprises is designed at 5 tons per hour, and the storage capacity - at 3,000 tons. Azerbaijans annual demand for seeds is 120,000 tons. The revival of the agriculture sector plays an important role in the development of rural regions, where 47 percent of Azerbaijans population lives. Azerbaijan is in need of quality seeds to grow its own products on order to both meet local demand and increase exports. The State Seed Fund was established due to the country's increased need for new high-yielding and drought-resistant types of seeds, and in order to strengthen food security and state support for agricultural development of Azerbaijan in general. It should be noted that State Seed Fund plans to create a Seed Exchange this year. Seed Exchange is an online project that will be a single tool through which farmers, producers and seed companies will be able to choose seeds, carry freight, insure, review resumes and select consultants for agrotechnical consulting, and later even apply for trade financing or lending. It will play the role of a single platform for producers and importers of seeds, individuals and legal entities engaged in seed production. Mainly, the West European experience will be studied in the creation of the Seed Exchange. In addition, this year, the Fund envisages the implementation of the ToxumArt project, as well as the creation of its network stands in various parts of Baku. Recently, the Agriculture Minister of Azerbaijan signed a protocol with Turkey in order to cooperate in the seed production. The goal of the bilateral agreement is to ensure efficiency and innovation in the agricultural sector. --- Leman Mammadova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @leman_888 Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Trend INSTEX, the financial mechanism created between European members of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and Iran, may start working in two months, Slovenian ambassador to Iran Kristina Radej said. This mechanism is not working yet, Radej added, Trendreports referring to Iran's Shargh newspaper. The Slovenian ambassador said that medicines and necessary products will be first exchanged via this financial mechanism. Radej added that Slovenia has intensified trade relations with Iran and intends to use this financial mechanism for trade development. The JCPOA, signed between Iran and the P5+1 group (US, UK, Russia, China, France and Germany), was put in force in January 2016. The US announced its withdrawal from the deal in May 2018 and imposed sanctions on Iran in November of the same year. In late January 2019, the European signatories of the JCPOA (namely the UK, France and Germany) officially announced the establishment of INSTEX, a special financial mechanism formed with Iran for backing the said agreement. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz Paris, TX (75460) Today Mostly clear skies this evening will give way to occasional showers overnight. Low 53F. Winds SSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 50%.. Tonight Mostly clear skies this evening will give way to occasional showers overnight. Low 53F. Winds SSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 50%. The Californians Robert Price answers your questions and takes your complaints about our news coverage in this weekly feedback forum. Questions may be edited for space and clarity. To offer your input by phone, call 661-395-7649 and leave your comments in a voicemail message or email us at soundoff@bakersfield.com. Include your name and phone number; they wont be published. Polls will open Tuesday for Beaumonts Ward 1 voters to make the final decision on who will represent them for the next two years. Incumbent Virginia Jordan and challenger Taylor Neild Sr. earned the most votes in the May 4 general election, but neither won more than 50 percent of the vote. Jordan, 70, received about 46.8 percent of the votes while Neild, 35, received 44.3 percent. Taher Quraishi pulled the remaining votes, almost 8.9 percent. He said he has thrown his support behind Neild, the candidate whose platform most resembles his. Virginia Jordan is a sweet lady, I like her too, Quraishi said, noting that choosing whom to endorse was a hard decision. But Im supporting the cause, the person who can do a better job and who knows construction like I do. At this point, theres very little that can be done to sway new voters, Jordan said. Its about getting the ones who support you out to vote, Neild said. We have to call and make as many touches as we can to get our people out there, Jordan said, reinforcing that her platform is strengthening crime prevention, prioritizing infrastructure improvements and pursuing various quality-of-life initiatives. Neild, on the other hand, took to social media to reach constituents. He started an online campaign titled Its Time for Taylor to share facts about him that he feels voters should know. Among them is that, if elected, Neilds construction company no longer would bid on city of Beaumont projects, he said. He also reiterated that he has 20 years of experience working on infrastructure. Ive heard people say Im running so I can get work for my company, this is not a true statement, he told The Enterprise. Im just excited for the opportunity thats been provided to me. Voting times and locations Early voting Through Saturday, June 1: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday and Tuesday, June 3-4: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Early voting locations Jefferson County Courthouse, 1085 Pearl St. Rogers Park Recreation Center, 6540 Gladys Ave. Election Day 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. June 8 Voting locations BISD Administration Building, 3395 Harrison Ave. O.C. Mike Taylor Career Center, 2330 North St. Rogers Park Community Center, 6540 Gladys Ave. Roy Guess Elementary, 8055 Voth Rd. See More Collapse Early voting begins Tuesday and lasts on specific days until June 4. Voters can call the Beaumont City Clerks office at (409) 880-3745 to confirm they live in Ward 1. Election day is June 8. Watch BeaumontEnterprise.com June 8 for election results. kaitlin.bain@beaumontenterprise.com twitter.com/KaitlinBain Baroness Eileen Paisley, wife of the late First Minister, DUP founder and firebrand preacher Ian Paisley has told Northern Ireland politicians to drop the baggage, their "petty" demands and think of the people they are continuing to fail in the ongoing absence of government. She also said it was "abominable" MLAs continued to take their salary for not doing their job and the public should be informed of what was going on in the current talks. In a wide-ranging interview with the BBC's Sunday Sequence, Baroness Paisley spoke of the DUP's decision to select its first openly gay candidate for the local government elections and how the matter should be put to the party for a "proper decision to be made". She said she felt the decision was taken in "defiance" to gauge reaction. And - referring to current DUP leader Arlene Foster's comments on leaving the country in the event of a united Ireland - Baroness Paisley said it would take an "awful lot" to move her out of her home. She said people should be mature enough to share the island and suggested partition was the wrong thing to do almost 100 years ago. "There are people of sense and sensibility who do not want to be fighting with their neighbours or their friends and who want to have it properly united," she said. It is going to get worse and that leaves us open to all sorts of trouble. Northern Ireland has been without its power-sharing institutions since January 2017. The parties are currently engaged in talks attempting to restore devolved government with civil servants responsible for running the country. Asked about her message to the local politicians, Baroness Paisley said they needed to "lay aside their baggage and face facts". "So many petty things, they don't see the big picture," she said. "So many people are crying out for help and they are failing them by not taking responsibility. "It is going to get worse and that leaves us open to all sorts of trouble." She added: "I would say to them cut out the petty things and dwell on things that matter - think of the people. She said she was "aggrieved" the 90 MLAs were still taking a salary and it was not fair on civil servants to be doing the job of elected representatives. "It is abominable for people to take money for nothing," she added, "they are not doing the job they were elected to do." Baroness Paisley also said the parties needed to be more open with the public, adding: "There is nothing in the open, what goes on is hidden." We are all sinners no matter who we are or what we are. She was asked about the DUP fielding its first openly gay candidate, Alison Benningtion and the subsequent resignations from the party after her successful election, including her late husband's brother in law and how some have said the late Ian Paisley would be "turning in his grave". "We are all sinners no matter who we are or what we are.. that girl may not know Christ died for her," she said. "I do not hate Ms Bennington, I don't know the girl. I don't hate anybody no matter who they are or what they have done against me. "But we have to love Christ first and what He says we have to obey his word. These things are written for our benefit." Baroness Paisley said she hoped the party was not making a move away from the ethos her husband established the party under. "It was a decision taken at the time and I think it was taken as a defiance to see what would happen. "And I think it should be put to the whole party and a proper decision made on what should be done." Turning to Brexit and Arlene Foster's comments on leaving the country if a united Ireland came about, Eileen Paisley said it would take an "awful lot" for her to move saying so long as their was freedom of religion she would remain. "I would not like a dictatorship or someone whatever their religion was to be persecuted because of that. "It is a big question. If we go right back to the beginning, the dividing of Ireland. The people or Ireland, north, south, east and west, I think are a great people. "No matter what part of Ireland a person is from.. they are a fellow country man or woman. "I just wonder why it had to be divided at that time and I think that was the wrong division. It is too big an issue for me to pontificate on." I don't want my mind and soul to be poisoned with an unforgiving spirit. Baroness Paisley said she missed her late husband more, and more every day and she was told many times by others across the political divide and the communities his leadership was missed. She recalled how her husband wanted to be a farmer when he was a young boy and it was when sowing corn he heard the call from God that it was not he seed He wanted Ian to sow. She said in his first sermon in Sixmilecross in Co Tyrone he spoke for only 10 minutes before running out of material and immediately vowed to never speak again. "And the man that was taking him told him 'you'll speak all right,' and so his words were fulfilled," she said. In his final years the Free Presbyterian Church ostracised its founder. Baroness Bannside said it was "very callous" but pointed to Jesus and how despite all he had done for his people, was crucified. Baroness Bannside said she no longer worships at the Free Presbyterian Church as it would "leave her open" instead going to her granddaughter's husband's baptist church. "I just put it away, I don't bother... I live my own live with my own family and I am content to do that," she added. "It was difficult to forgive them but I have to get on. I have to go on, I don't want my mind and soul to be poisoned with an unforgiving spirit. Fine Gael candidates Frances Fitzgerald (right) and former SDLP leader Mark Durkan at the count centre in Dublin (Brian Lawless/PA) Former SDLP leader Mark Durkan has conceded he is unlikely to win an MEP seat in Dublin. Mr Durkan ran as a Fine Gael candidate for the Dublin constituency in Ireland. An RTE exit poll estimated his vote share was just 5%. Arriving at the count centre at the RDS on Sunday evening, he said the possibility of winning the seat seemed unlikely. Expand Close Fine Gael candidate and former SDLP leader Mark Durkan at the count centre in the RDS, Dublin, as counting of votes continues in the European Elections (Brian Lawless/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Fine Gael candidate and former SDLP leader Mark Durkan at the count centre in the RDS, Dublin, as counting of votes continues in the European Elections (Brian Lawless/PA) Im not in here believing I am going to defy the gravity of the exit poll, he said. But I dont regret running, Ive enjoyed the conversations with people across Dublin, Ive enjoyed it as an experience. Ive enjoyed listening to the arguments and the ideas of other candidates as well, I have huge respect for a range of other candidates. Those who are elected I wish well, those who arent elected I also wish well and I want to commend them because the quality of the debate whenever you listen to it in various hustings and discussions was very good. Unfortunately, it wasnt a debate that was really platformed on the media and I can understand media generally treat local government and European elections as second order elections and I suppose when there are so many candidates, its hard to have meaningful debates in the usual way that happens in political discourse. Expand Close Fine Gael candidate Frances Fitzgerald speaks to count staff as she arrives at the count centre (Brian Lawless/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Fine Gael candidate Frances Fitzgerald speaks to count staff as she arrives at the count centre (Brian Lawless/PA) Mr Durkan said running in an election in the Irish Republic was a one off due to Brexit, adding he has no current plans to do it again. Im tattooed SDLP and the number of people who greeted me at the door as the SDLP man, and I wasnt going to disavow them of that, he said. But the fact is, I was invited to run in this European Parliament election for the unique and particular reasons about Brexit, it was only for that reason I was invited to run, it was mainly for that reason I accepted the invitation to run. I would have no plans to be running in other elections here. Police are appealing for two women who reported being sexually assaulted outside a Derry music festival to contact investigators. Two young women told staff at the event at Ebrington Square of separate incidents on Saturday but left before police could be informed. Police are appealing to these young women to get in touch. "We would also encourage any other person who may have information that could be useful to police to make contact with us. Officers can be reached by calling 101. Alternatively, information can be provided anonymously using the charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111, said a police statement. A Belfast mother has urged parents to educated their children on the dangers of the road. Noilin Welsh appealed to other parents after a schoolboy came within moments of getting knocked down by her car. She had been driving along the Stewartstown Road last Wednesday with her nine-month-old baby on the way to work. She was passing a set of lights just before a Glider stop when a group of school children came charging across the road in a bid to catch the bus. While most of them stopped to let her past one of the boys - thought to be between 12 and 14 - charged on. He narrowly missed the front of her car as Noilin slammed on the brakes. "I think its one of the worst experiences in my life," she told the Belfast Telegraph, "Im just glad I got stopped on time and the wee boy is ok." She added: "This could have been a completely different story for me, my baby and that boy. It has traumatised me and I can barely even watch the footage. "I have been living on my nerves all day and keep reliving those few seconds over and over again in my head. Please educate your children more on road safety." Taoiseach Leo Varadkar chats with party colleagues at the election count in Dublin (Niall Carson/PA) The results of the European elections could prompt a snap general election in Ireland. Irish premier Leo Varadkar said he could not rule out the possibility of an early election, adding that it will happen when it is the best time for the country. The Fine Gael leader said that the dissolution of the Dail may not be his decision as the main opposition party Fianna Fail could pull the plug at any time. He also played down talks of going into a coalition with the Green Party, which received a huge surge in support. The Green Partys Ciaran Cuffe topped the poll in the Dublin constituency with 63,849 votes. Fine Gaels Frances Fitzgerald polled 59,067 votes, while Fianna Fails Andrew Barry gained 51,420 votes. Independent Clare Daly gained 42,305 votes, beating Sinn Feins Lynn Boylan who polled 39,387 votes. Former SDLP leader Mark Durkan polled 16,473 votes. No one was elected on the first count in Dublin. Arriving at the count centre in the RDS Simmoncourts before the first official results, Ms Boylan said she still believes she has a fighting chance of taking a seat in the Dublin constituency. Her party leader Mary Lou McDonald said they were there in a spirit of optimism and a spirit of hope. Sinn Fein is facing challenging results in Ireland in both the European and local elections. Speaking in Dublin, Ms McDonald said: We are here to see what will transpire, we know this is a tight race. Everybody knew this was going to go down to the wire from the beginning. What we have is exit poll data so we are here to get the real figures. While counting continues across Ireland, no candidates have been elected in any of the three consistencies. Expand Close Green Party leader Eamon Ryan, left, and candidate Ciaran Cuffe, right, at the count in Dublin (Niall Carson/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Green Party leader Eamon Ryan, left, and candidate Ciaran Cuffe, right, at the count in Dublin (Niall Carson/PA) Green Party leader Eamon Ryan said the surge is reflective of a green wave of thinking thats happening all over the world. Fine Gael leader Mr Varadkar interpreted the Green surge as a signal from the electorate that they want the Government to do more on climate action. Expand Close Taoiseach Leo Varadkar chats with party colleagues and members of the public as counting continues in Dublin (Niall Carson/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Taoiseach Leo Varadkar chats with party colleagues and members of the public as counting continues in Dublin (Niall Carson/PA) But he added it has been a very good election for his own party, with its vote up by around 7%. Speaking in Dublin, he said: Our vote is up in all three constituencies. Well be ahead of Fianna Fail and they actually beat us in a popular vote in the European elections the last time. Fine Gael minister Regina Doherty said she hopes her party can secure a second seat in the Midland/North West constituency. Judging from the exit polls, I think the response to our candidates was very good, she said. Expand Close Fine Gaels Regina Doherty speaking to the media as counting of votes continues in the European Elections at the Dublin Count centre at the RDS in Dublin. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Sunday May 26, 2019. See PA story POLITICS Elections Ireland. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire PA / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Fine Gaels Regina Doherty speaking to the media as counting of votes continues in the European Elections at the Dublin Count centre at the RDS in Dublin. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Sunday May 26, 2019. See PA story POLITICS Elections Ireland. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire We are in the hunt for a second seat in the Midlands/North West, and I think that is a genuine response not only to Mairead McGuinnesss representation but also the calibre of Maria Walsh. Irish voters will elect 13 MEPs, however two will face an uncertain wait over when they can take their seats due to the Brexit delay. The Republic will receive two of Britains 27 seats when it leaves the EU. They are being redistributed among 14 member states. The UK is participating in the poll, with British MEPs set to attend the inaugural plenary session of the new parliament on July 2. As a result, those elected in last place in Irelands Dublin and South constituencies must wait to see when they can take their seats. Expand Close Ballot boxes are opened and counting begins in at the RDS in Dublin (Niall Carson/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Ballot boxes are opened and counting begins in at the RDS in Dublin (Niall Carson/PA) Local council elections were also held across Ireland on Friday, and counting in those races is continuing on Sunday. Meanwhile, a landslide Yes vote to liberalise Irelands divorce laws was confirmed in the early hours of Sunday. Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan is now set to bring forward a Bill to amend Section 5 of the Family Law (Divorce) Act 1996 to reduce the minimum living apart period to two years during the previous three years. The European election count for Irelands three constituencies Dublin, South, and Midlands-North-West started on Sunday morning at centres in Dublin, Cork and Castlebar, Co Mayo. A Europe-wide embargo means the first results in the poll cannot be declared until 10pm. If previous elections are a guide, counting is likely to continue into Monday. The European and local government elections are the first electoral test for Irelands main parties since the inconclusive general election of 2016. 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 focused 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. The region needs more peace and stability to ensure the flow of oil supplies, said Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo, secretary general of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec). Barkindo noted that any tension that occurs in the region affects the whole world, reported UAE news agency Wam. Opec secretary general made the remarks during the official launch of the project to establish the 250,000-barrels per day (bpd) capacity refinery to produce the International Maritime Organisation, IMO, 2020-compliant bunker fuel in Fujairah. Barkindo added that it is too early to talk about Opecs decision to continue to reduce the production of oil producing countries and their allies or not. He pointed out that Opec still needs more accurate data on the market and that the final decision on whether to continue to reduce or not will be determined in June. UAE-based Brooge Petroleum and Gas Investment yesterday unveiled a plan to build the refinery to produce IMO 2020-compliant bunker fuel in Fujairah, scheduled for completion by the first quarter of 2020. From January 1, 2020, IMO will enforce its Marpol Annex VI regulation mandating all ocean-going vessels to burn bunker fuels with a maximum sulphur content of 0.5 per cent, down from the current limit of 3.5 per cent. The refinery will be the first of its kind in the Middle East and North Africa to comply with the upcoming IMO 2020 regulation, added the report. The Green Partys Ciaran Cuffe is expected to top the poll in the Dublin constituency at Irelands European election count. The surge in support for the Green Party is widespread, with party candidates expected to take seats in Irelands other two constituencies. Mr Cuffe, who looks set to take the first Dublin seat, posed briefly for pictures after arriving at Dublins count centre in Simmonscourt. But when asked was he celebrating yet, he said he did not want to tempt fate. Ill wait until I see what is going on until I do any cheering, he said. I dont want to tempt fate, Im here to have a look at the spoiled votes, if things go well, Ill be celebrating when the count comes in, but for the moment I am just here to have a look. Heading out to Count Centre. Sincere thanks for all your support that brought us to this extraordinary day #LE2019 #WantGreenJoinGreen pic.twitter.com/wPe8J4mCkF Ciaran Cuffe (@CiaranCuffe) May 25, 2019 The RTE/TG4 poll indicates that the councillor will win the seat with 23% of the vote. The exit poll put Fine Gael TD Frances Fitzgerald on 14%, while Fianna Fails Barry Andrews and Independent TD Clare Daly are both on 12%. Sinn Feins Lynn Boylan will struggle to retain her seat as early indications put her on 10%. Ms Fitzgerald said it was interesting that some of her transfer votes went to Mr Andrews. It seems that in European elections the transfers go across the whole wide variety of candidates, she said. It does seem as if the left havent done well in these elections and maybe people are voting more centrist. I think that would be a reflection of that if that is the case. Climate change is very on the agenda and I think people wanted to give a message about climate change and thats very clear. Addressing questions about the possibility of an early general election, Ms Fitzgerald said there are a lot of factors at play including the very uncertain situation in British politics. I think theres a lot of challenges out there, stability is important, she added. Former SDLP leader Mark Durkan has conceded he is unlikely to win a seat in the European Parliament. Mr Durkan ran as a Fine Gael candidate in the Dublin constituency. An RTE exit poll predicted his vote share was just 5%. Arriving at the count on Sunday evening, he told Press Association he was unlikely to win a seat. Im not in here believing I am going to defy the gravity of the exit poll, he said. But I dont regret running, Ive enjoyed the conversations with people across Dublin, Ive enjoyed it as an experience. Ive enjoyed listening to the arguments and the ideas of other candidates as well, I have huge respect for a range of other candidates. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said his party is doing very well in the European elections, with its vote up by around 7%. Speaking in Dublin he said: Its up in all three constituencies, well be ahead of Fianna Fail and they actually beat us in a popular vote in the European elections the last time. He said he expects to take three seats and will be on the hunt for two more. The first count is expected to be declared in Dublin on Monday. Mairead McGuinness looks likely to top the poll in the hotly contested Midlands North West seats (Niall Carson/PA) Sitting MEP Mairead McGuinness looks likely to top the poll in the hotly contested Midlands North West seats. Ms McGuinness said she hopes that if she is successful, transfers will go to her running mate, former Rose of Tralee Maria Walsh, for the second seat. Im in Castlebar for the Midlands NorthWest count. Mairead McGuinness looks likely to top the polls but says she takes nothing for granted. She along with Maria Walsh, Peter Casey, Saoirse McHugh, Matt Carthy and Ming Flanagan are all in the running for the four seats. pic.twitter.com/PqrG5wxogS aoife moore. (@aoifegracemoore) May 26, 2019 Im a cautious person and I take nothing for granted, Ms McGuinness said on Sunday evening at the count centre in Castlebar, Co. Mayo. I got a strong cross party vote in my view, as people have said to me that theyre not Fine Gael voters but they like what I do. If I get through on first count, Ill be relieved, its a bit surreal as well when you hear it. What theyre saying here about transfers is that 40% will go to Maria, Id be happy with that. Obviously I would like it to be 100% but thats not how politics works. When asked about how she felt about the possibility of heading back to Brussels to hang around with Nigel Farage, Ms McGuinness said she would rather eat razor blades than work with the Brexit Party leader. The RTE/TG4 poll indicates the sitting MEP should retain her seat with the quota likely to be around 20%. If Fine Gael are successful for the first two seats, the battle for the other two seats will come down to a fight between Independent MEP Luke Ming Flanagan, Green Party candidate Saoirse McHugh, Sinn Fein MEP Matt Carthy and Independent Peter Casey. Mr Carthy polled at 15% with Ms McHugh 12% ahead of incumbent Independent Mr Flannagan at 10%. Ms Walsh polled at 10% but could overtake Mr Flanagan when Ms McGuinness has her transfers distributed. Ms McHugh has become an unexpected contender for the seat, following a much-praised TV debate appearance, and the Green wave of new support for Green Party candidates, with commentators speculating that the electorate has put climate change as a top priority in this election. Ms McHugh has said in a number of interviews that she would be prepared to leave the Green Party should they ever go into coalition with Fine Gael or Fianna Fail. Fianna Fail have polled poorly in the constituency, with candidates Brendan Smith and Anne Rabbitte on 9% of the exit poll vote between them. The party lost the seat in the 2014 election after Pat The Cope Gallagher failed to be re-elected after two terms at the European Parliament. Electoral officers say they are expecting the first count to be declared in Castlebar on Monday afternoon. The constituency covers counties Cavan, Donegal, Galway, Kildare, Leitrim, Longford, Louth, Mayo, Meath, Monaghan, Roscommon, Sligo, Westmeath and Galway city. The count at the Castlebar count centre ended without any declarations made at 10pm. A motorcyclist has died following a collision with a tractor in Co Meath (Niall Carson/PA) Two men have died in separate incidents on Irelands roads within two days. A man in his 30s was fatally injured in a two-car crash in Gorey, Co Wexford, on Sunday morning. He was the only person in one of the vehicles at the time of the incident at 8.30am, and was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the second car, a woman, was injured and rushed to Wexford General Hospital. On Saturday, a man died in hospital in Dublin after his motorbike was involved in a collision with a tractor. The incident happened at Balrath Cross in Kells, Co Meath, on Saturday afternoon. The 26-year-old motorcycle rider was seriously injured and rushed to hospital, but died in the early hours of Sunday morning, a Garda spokesman said. The driver of the tractor, a 19-year-old man, was not injured. Gardai are appealing for anyone who might be able to assist with their investigations into both incidents to contact them. Ballots are counted in the local government and European elections at the RDS in Dublin (Niall Carson/PA) A second day of counting is under way following the local government elections in Ireland. Fianna Fail so far appears to be on course to remain the biggest party at local government level in Ireland. Fine Gael is hopeful of gains, but the biggest surge looks likely to be enjoyed by the Green Party. Meanwhile, Sinn Fein is expected to suffer losses. Expand Close Former UFC fighter Paddy Holohan is hoping to win a seat on Dublin County Council for Sinn Fein (Niall Carson/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Former UFC fighter Paddy Holohan is hoping to win a seat on Dublin County Council for Sinn Fein (Niall Carson/PA) Counting started on Saturday morning, and continued on Sunday morning with a significant number of seats still to be filled. The first new councillor to be elected was independent Thomas Welby to Galway County Council. He topped the poll with 2,140 votes in the Connemara North local electoral area, despite not putting up any election posters. I said Ill canvass on the doors and go plastic-free and it went down very well, he told Irelands state broadcaster, RTE News. Irish voters went to the polls on Friday to elect 949 councillors across 31 local authorities. Some of the notable candidates include UFC fighter Paddy Holohan, who is running for Sinn Fein in the hope of winning a seat on South Dublin County Council. Sinn Fein president Mary-Lou McDonald congratulated the Greens on their surge, saying it would be churlish not to acknowledge that. For our part, I want to say firstly to all of our candidates who fought campaigns for weeks and months and to their families, a very big thank you, and to all of our activists and everyone who came out and voted for Sinn Fein, she said. Expand Close Sinn Fein leader Mary-Lou McDonald (Niall Carson/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Sinn Fein leader Mary-Lou McDonald (Niall Carson/PA) I want to say particularly to those who wont be returned to the council chambers, who have served their community with great pride and great commitment, I want to say to them, theyll be back, I have no doubt, and itll be our objective from Monday when we recover to win all of those seats back. These are very tight contests in many constituencies, last seats will be won or lost in handfuls of votes, thats the nature of local elections. I am not exactly sure where we are going to land, we will have a lot of counting and a lot of long nights ahead of us. Sinn Fein Leader Mary Lou McDonald speaks to the media as votes are counted (Niall Carson/PA) Sinn Fein is facing challenging election results in Ireland, with dozens of losses projected across local councils. There is also doubt over whether the party will be able to hold on to its three outgoing MEPs in the Irish Republic, with Dublin candidate Lynn Boylan having a nervous wait. The party is expected to suffer council losses in Dublin city, as well as Cork city, Galway, Limerick, Offaly and Cavan. Expand Close Counting continues in the local election at the City West convention centre in Dublin (Niall Carson/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Counting continues in the local election at the City West convention centre in Dublin (Niall Carson/PA) Among the electoral casualties on Sunday was Belfast-born Sarah Holland who failed to retake her seat on South Dublin County Council. She was first elected in 2014, and served as Mayor of South Dublin in 2015. Ms Holland is the daughter of greengrocer Harry Holland, 65, who was murdered in Belfast in 2007. Sinn Fein will soon be eliminated in Firhouse-Bohernabreena ward. It's been an absolute privilege to have served, and to have met so many wonderful people along the way. I wish the new council & my Sinn Fein colleagues the very best https://t.co/dx4pyWC0LG Sorcha H (@SJTHolland) May 26, 2019 Sinn Fein deputy leader Michelle ONeill expressed her commiserations to Ms Holland, tweeting: Disappointed for you Sarah. Keep your head up, you will be back. An exit poll commissioned by RTE forecasts that Sinn Feins vote share in the local government election could be 12%. That would represent a drop of three percentage points from the 15% support it won at the local government election in 2014. Dublin TD Louise OReilly said she did not see the drop in vote share coming. She shied away from analysing the developing situation on Sunday morning, saying it is something the party will examine in detail afterwards. She told RTE: We are going to have to analyse what went wrong. Its a difficult day (for the candidates). However, the party is likely to be buoyed by the expected election of one of its new candidates, former MMA fighter Paddy Holohan on South Dublin County Council. Expand Close Sinn Fein candidate and former MMA fighter Paddy The Hooligan Holohan with his son Seamus at the count in Dublin (Niall Carson/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Sinn Fein candidate and former MMA fighter Paddy The Hooligan Holohan with his son Seamus at the count in Dublin (Niall Carson/PA) On Saturday, Sinn Fein president Mary-Lou McDonald said she expects tight contests in many constituencies, with final seats likely to come down to handfuls of votes. Thats the nature of local elections, she said. I am not exactly sure where we are going to land, we will have a lot of counting and a lot of long nights ahead of us. However Ms McDonald was defiant when asked whether her leadership is at risk. Expand Close Mary Lou McDonald speaks to the media as ballot boxes are opened and counting begins in Dublin (Niall Carson/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Mary Lou McDonald speaks to the media as ballot boxes are opened and counting begins in Dublin (Niall Carson/PA) She said: Its easy to lead and to be a political activist when things go your way and when the surge is on. Those are great days, but you also have to be ready and fit for purpose when things are more challenging. Notwithstanding our disappointment, Sinn Fein remains a very strong organisation. The elections come following a disappointing performance for the party in the 2018 presidential election. Party candidate Liadh Ni Riada attracted 93,987 votes, finishing in fourth place. It was a significant drop from the 2011 presidential election in which the late Martin McGuinness scored 243,030 votes, finishing third. Results of the European elections will be announced after 10pm on Sunday (Yui Mok/PA) Both the Conservatives and Labour are braced for a backlash from voters over Brexit as the results of the European elections are announced. Opinion polls have suggested Nigel Farages Brexit Party could be on course for victory in the European contests, with results due to start coming in on Sunday night. The Liberal Democrats, from the opposite side of the Brexit divide, are also expected to pick up votes. Expand Close Nigel Farages Brexit Party appears on course for victory, according to opinion polls (Kirsty OConnor/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Nigel Farages Brexit Party appears on course for victory, according to opinion polls (Kirsty OConnor/PA) The European elections took place almost three years after the UK voted to leave the EU because of Theresa Mays failure to get her Brexit deal through Parliament, and could deliver a damaging blow for the Tories after a distinctly lacklustre campaign. Prominent Conservative MEP Daniel Hannan said he feared the party was facing total wipeout and would be left without any representation at all. The Brexiteer, who has been a member for South East England since 1999, said he suspected the party would be left with zero MEPs following the poll. 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. Thank you to everyone who voted for the @Conservatives today. My sense, for what it's worth, is that we are facing a total wipeout - zero MEPs. I just hope our next leader can get Brexit over the line. Daniel Hannan (@DanielJHannan) May 23, 2019 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. In a polling day video message, Mr Corbyn warned 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. You can stop the far right today. #VoteLabour pic.twitter.com/CPOf4KRnMs Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) May 23, 2019 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. Writing in The Observer, deputy Labour leader Tom Watson said the party was braced with a sense of despair and blamed Labours ambiguous position on a second Brexit referendum for losing votes. I want reports of high turnout in Remain areas to reflect a huge gain in votes for Labour. I fear that wont be the case, he said. In Ireland, an exit poll has indicated the Green Party could top the European election in Dublin. The increased support looks widespread, even accounting for a 4% margin of error, and could see an unexpected boost in Irelands two other constituencies, RTE said after commissioning a RedC exit poll. Thirteen MEPs are being elected in Ireland, but two will face an uncertain wait as to when they can actually take their European Parliament seats. The country is getting two of the 27 seats formerly reserved for the UK that are being redistributed among 14 member states as a result of Brexit. The problem for the duo elected in last place in the Dublin and South constituencies is Brexit has not happened and does not look like happening any time soon, and British MEPs are set to attend the inaugural plenary session of the new parliament on July 2. Results of the elections will be announced after 10pm on Sunday, when the final polls have closed across Europe. The turnout figure covering Birmingham was down slightly on the European elections in 2014 at 31.1% (32.4% in 2014). And the turnout for the South East in the European elections is 39.36% which is up from 36.3% in 2014. Turnout in the North West was 33.1%, which was marginally down from 33.3% in 2014. Nicola Sturgeons SNP is polling well in the European elections, with early results also showing Nigel Farages Brexit Party on track to see an MEP elected from Scotland. The SNP topped the poll in the first four council areas to declare their voting figures East Ayrshire, West Dunbartonshire, Renfrewshire and the Scottish Borders. In East Ayrshire, where the SNP took 41% of the vote, the Brexit Party were second on 16.4%, ahead of Labour on 12.9% and the Conservatives on 11.3%, while the Liberal Democrats secured 7.9% of votes cast, compared to 5.4% for the Scottish Greens. The SNP also topped the poll in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, with 45.4%, while Labour held on for second on 15.9%. The Brexit Party were third with 13.8%, Liberal Democrats fourth on 7.3% and the Greens polled 6.6%. The Brexit Party pushed Labour into third in Renfrewshire, with Nigel Farages party securing 13.6%, just ahead of Labours 13.2%. The SNP secured 41.4% of votes, while the Liberal Democrats were fourth with 10.7%. Here, the Tories were pushed down to fifth, polling 9.4% ahead of the Greens on 6.7%. In the Scottish Borders area, the SNP were again top but this time with a lower proportion of votes, securing 28.3% of the ballots. The Brexit Party were just ahead of the Conservatives, with the parties polling 18.9% and 18.8% respectively, while the Lib Dems were fourth on 7.9%, with Labours vote slumping to just 2.8%. At the last European elections in 2014, the SNP secured 28.9% of votes across Scotland, winning two MEPS. Labour also returned two MEPs, with 25.9% of the votes then, with both the Conservatives and Ukip getting one MEP, after polling 17.2% and 10.4% respectively. Both the Greens, on 8%, and the Liberal Democrats, who secured 7.1% of the votes, missed out. A British man has died after a collision between two yachts near Cannes on the last night of the film festival. The 29-year-old, who was a crew member on board the 26.5m-long Minx vessel, suffered a heart attack, according to the regions maritime prefecture. He was injured when the 27m yacht Vision tried to manoeuvre past the Minx, which was anchored north of Ile Sainte-Marguerite, a statement said. The prefecture said that despite all attempts at resuscitation the man was declared dead after a cardiac arrest. Another 17 people aboard the two vessels were taken to shore safe and sound but shocked, the prefecture added. Maritime police are investigating the incident. A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: Our staff are assisting the family of a British man following his death in France, and are in contact with the local authorities. Nigel Farage speaks with the media as he arrives at the European Parliamentary elections count at the Guildhall in Southampton (Andrew Matthews/PA) Nigel Farage appears set to be the big winner as the Tories and Labour discover the extent of the mauling they have suffered in the European Parliament elections. The last polls closed across Europe on Sunday, meaning results can be announced in the UK from the election that took place on Thursday, with Mr Farages Brexit Party widely expected to triumph. Expand Close (PA Graphics) Press Association Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp (PA Graphics) The Liberal Democrats, from the opposite side of the Brexit divide, are also expected to pick up votes in a sign that the country remains deeply split over the issue of Europe. In an early indication of the Brexit Party surge, in the first declared result Labour lost a seat in the North East region of England. The Brexit Party picked up two seats and 38.7% of the vote, double Labours vote share which gave it one seat in 2014 Labour won two seats with Ukip on one. Prominent Tory Brexiteer Daniel Hannan acknowledged he faced losing his seat in South East England as the party faced a total wipeout. With Theresa May already heading for the exit, having said she will quit as Tory leader on June 7, the vote will be an indication of the scale of the challenge facing her successor. On the Labour side, shadow chancellor John McDonnell said his party was braced for a good kicking in the election. Deputy Labour leader Tom Watson said the party must find some backbone and fully commit to a second referendum on Brexit to have any chance of winning the next general election. A dismal set of results particularly if votes drift to pro-EU rivals the Lib Dems, the Greens and Change UK could heap pressure on Jeremy Corbyn to change course. But Mr McDonnell told Sky News: It would have been easy to go to one side, go to the Remain side and ignored all those people who voted Leave thats not the nature of our party. We are the party that is trying to bring people back together again. Thats been difficult electorally for us in these elections, of course it has. But now we have got to move on. Never again can Labour policy on the most crucial issue of our generation find itself on the wrong side of its members and our voters. Never again can we find ourselves hedging our bets when we needed to make an historic choice about which side were on.https://t.co/yDu0Lrtbkw Tom Watson (@tom_watson) May 25, 2019 Mr Watson said: Our performance (in the European elections) is a direct result of our mealy-mouthed backing for a public vote on Brexit when it is being demanded loud and clear by the overwhelming majority of our members and voters. Polls show Labour has been losing up to four times more voters to parties giving full backing to a peoples vote than to (Nigel) Farage. And those same polls show we would have beaten him by a country mile if we had unambiguously backed a public vote on any form of Brexit. He added: Never again can we find ourselves hedging our bets when we needed to make an historic choice about which side were on. A Lib Dem source told the Press Association the party was expecting to give the Tories and Labour a fright. Results are likely to make for very worried people in CCHQ (Conservative campaign HQ) and Labour HQ about how many seats we could pick up in a general (election), the source said. 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. The vote only took place because of the delays to Brexit, which should have taken the UK out of the European Union before polling day. Despite the political importance of Brexit, which has dominated the Westminster agenda for months, the election does not appear to have captured the public imagination, although some areas reported increased turnouts. In the South West, a turnout of 40.5% has been recorded three percentage points up on 37.4% from 2014 while the North East has 32.7%, slightly up on the 31.6% of 2014, and Eastern has 36.4%, much the same as the 36.6% of 2014. The turnout for the South East is 39.36%, up from 36.3% in 2014, while in the West Midlands it dropped from 32.4% to 31.1% this year. The turnout for the South East is 39.36%, up from 36.3% in 2014, while in the West Midlands it dropped from 32.4% to 31.1% this year. In the North West turnout was down from 33.3% to 33.1% in this years elections. The turnout in Wales is five percentage points up on 2014 37.3% as against 32% in the previous Euro poll. In Northern Ireland, which is at the centre of the Brexit storm over the nature of the border with Ireland, turnout was down to 45.1% from 51% in 2014. Daniel McGuigan died after being attacked on a Glasgow street (Police Scotland/PA) Two more people have been arrested in connection with the death of a man in Glasgow. Police were called to a report of a man allegedly being attacked on Stravanan Street, Castlemilk, in front of his colleagues at around 10.50am on Friday. Emergency services were called out and Daniel McGuigan, 35, was pronounced dead at the scene. Police said on Sunday that two men aged 34 and 37 have been arrested in connection with the incident. A 14-year-old boy was arrested and charged in connection with the death on Saturday. The teenager is expected to appear at Glasgow Sheriff Court on Tuesday. Radisson Hotel Group has named Sergio Amodeo as the new chief financial officer of Radisson Hospitality for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), and member of the Global Steering Committee for Radisson Hotel Group, effective June 1. Amodeo joins Radisson Hotel Group from TeamSystem Group, the leading management software company in Italy, where he was CFO since 2015. During his time there, he supervised the sale of the group from one private equity fund to another (Hellman & Friedman), which has given him a deep understanding of capital markets. Prior to that, he spent two years serving as CFO of Bolton Group, a privately owned FMCG group, following 16 years at Danone. His final role there saw him responsible for the global corporate development of the company's leading division after holding several country and regional CFO roles. Amodeo graduated from Insead's Advanced Management Program (AMP) and has a major in Business Economics from the University of Salerno. I am delighted to welcome Sergio to his new role and to Radisson Hotel Group, said Federico J. Gonzalez-Tejera, president and CEO of Radisson Hospitality and chairman of the Radisson Hotel Group Global Steering Committee. He joins us at a key stage on our journey towards becoming one of the three top-of-mind hotel groups in the world. His experience and expertise will be critical in delivering on our commitments of the five-year operating plan. Amodeo will take on the duties of Knut Kleiven, who is currently the deputy president and CFO of Radisson Hospitality and a member of the Global Steering Committee for Radisson Hotel Group. After more than 30 years of service, Kleiven is retiring. I wish to personally thank Knut for his hard work and dedication over the many years he has been a part of the group, continued Gonzalez-Tejera. He has been an inspirational and iconic figure within our company for decades and has helped transform it into the globally renowned brand it is today. I wish him all the best during his retirement. Taking over the role of CFO from Knut (along with his position on the Global Steering Committee), Amodeo will be based at Radisson Hospitalitys headquarters in Brussels, reporting directly to president and CEO Federico J. Gonzalez-Tejera. Within EMEA, Amodeo will have responsibility for the finance, accounting, group tax, internal audit, and group controlling central teams. - TradeArabia News Service Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban smiles before casting his vote at a polling station in Budapest(Szilard Koszticsak/MTI/AP Hungarys prime minister has said he hopes the European Parliament election will bring a shift towards political parties that want to stop migration. Viktor Orban said after casting his vote at a school near his Budapest home on Sunday that the issue of migration, which he believes is stoppable, will reorganise the political spectrum in the European Union. Expand Close A member of the election commission carries a ballot box during the European elections in a polling station in Budapest,(Zoltan Balogh/MTI /AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp A member of the election commission carries a ballot box during the European elections in a polling station in Budapest,(Zoltan Balogh/MTI /AP) Mr Orban, whose Fidesz party had its membership suspended in the centre-right European Peoples Party, the largest political bloc in the EU parliament, because of concerns about Hungarys democracy, said Fidesz would want to stay in the EPP only if it can influence the groups future strategy. Mr Orban recently met Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, but has not committed to joining the more radically nationalist alliance that Mr Salvini has been forming. Fidesz is expected to win up to 14 of Hungarys 21 seats in the EU parliament. Expand Close People queue to cast their votes at a polling station in Antwerp, Belgium (Virginia Mayo/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp People queue to cast their votes at a polling station in Antwerp, Belgium (Virginia Mayo/AP) In Belgium, voters were heading to the polls in national and regional elections as well as the EU elections on Sunday. Polls opened at 8am (0700GMT) and the first estimates and exit polls were expected by 6pm (1700GMT). In the national elections, Belgians are looking to end months of political limbo after the biggest party in the governing coalition quit over Prime Minister Charles Michels support for the UN migration pact. Mr Michel has steered a caretaker government doing only day-to-day business since December, but with the countrys eight million voters choosing from more than a dozen parties, it is likely to prove difficult for him to quickly form a stable coalition. Expand Close Prime Minister of Bulgaria Boyko Borissov (Rick Findler/PA) PA Archive/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Prime Minister of Bulgaria Boyko Borissov (Rick Findler/PA) Meanwhile, Bulgarians are voting in the European Parliament elections after a series of scandals overshadowed the debate on key issues of the EUs future. Voters were casting ballots for their countrys 17 seats in the 751-member European Parliament. The vote is seen as a test for the centre-right party of Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, which suffered a setback after senior officials were involved in corruption scandals. Latest surveys showed only three parties, belonging to mainstream European political groups, passing the election threshold the ruling GERB party, the Socialist party, and the liberal MRF. Projections suggest the nationalist and far-right vote will be split between several smaller parties, which could prevent them from capturing seats in the EU legislature. Expand Close Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (Michael Gruber/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (Michael Gruber/AP) Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said he hoped the European Parliament elections would strengthen the centre rather than parties on the far right and left. He told reporters in Vienna on Sunday that he hopes his centre-right Peoples Party would retain first place in the race for seats in the EU legislature. The vote has turned into a first test of support ahead of a national election in September following the collapse of Mr Kurzs governing coalition a week ago in a scandal surrounding the now-departed leader of the far-right Freedom Party, which was his junior coalition partner. Regardless of the result, Mr Kurz faces a no-confidence vote brought by the opposition in parliament on Monday. He said he expects the Freedom Party and the Social Democrats to back it, which would bring him down. Spanish caretaker Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said he hoped the outcome of Sundays European and local elections will lead to more political stability for Spain as he attempts to form a government. Mr Sanchez called on all the political forces to open a horizon of political stability after he voted with his wife in Madrid on Sunday morning. He added that the elections are to decide the future of progress and well-being for the entirety of our country and Europe. Expand Close A man picks ballot papers at a polling station in Bascara, Spain,(Emilio Morenatti/AP)) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp A man picks ballot papers at a polling station in Bascara, Spain,(Emilio Morenatti/AP)) Voter opinion polls point to a victory for Mr Sanchezs Socialist Party in the European elections. Elections are also taking place for administrations in all Spains cities, including deciding on a second term for the female mayors of Madrid and Barcelona, and 14 of its 19 regions. Mr Sanchezs Socialists won national elections in Spain on April 28, but fell short of winning an outright majority and will need to earn the support from rivals in Parliament to stay in power. Expand Close A woman wearing a tradtional hat casts her vote in the European elections in the black forest city of Gutach, southern Germany (Patrick Seeger/dpa/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp A woman wearing a tradtional hat casts her vote in the European elections in the black forest city of Gutach, southern Germany (Patrick Seeger/dpa/AP) The centre-right German candidate to head the European Commission said he hoped voters would back a Europe of stability and a united and ambitious continent. Manfred Weber, whose European Peoples Party group hopes to retain its status as the biggest in the European Parliament, said after voting in his native Bavaria on Sunday: I dont want to see a right-populist Europe (that) wants to destroy the idea of togetherness and Im also against a Europe which is in the hands of the left. Ska Keller, a German Green who heads her groups European election slate, said in Berlin that the European Union should lead the way in climate protection. We need social cohesion, we need to strengthen democracy in Europe and I hope that this will meet with much support. An exit poll showed Germanys governing parties losing significant ground in the European Parliament election, with big gains for the Greens and a much smaller increase for the far-right. The ARD television exit poll put support for Chancellor Angela Merkels centre-right Union bloc at 28% and showed their coalition partners in Berlin, the centre-left Social Democrats, dropping to a dismal 15.5%. Five years ago, those parties took 35.4% and 27.3% respectively of the vote. It showed the Greens easily taking second place with 22% double their result five years ago. The far-right Alternative for Germany was seen with 10.5% support, better than its showing in 2014 but less than it scored in Germanys last national election in 2017. Expand Close Slovak president-elect Zuzana Caputova casts her ballot for the European elections in Pezinok, near Bratislava, on Saturday (Vit Simanek/CTK/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Slovak president-elect Zuzana Caputova casts her ballot for the European elections in Pezinok, near Bratislava, on Saturday (Vit Simanek/CTK/AP) Peoples Party Our Slovakia, a far-right party that has 14 seats in Slovakias parliament, is expected to win seats in the European legislature for the first time. The party openly admires the Nazi puppet state the country was during the Second World War. Party members use Nazi salutes, blame Roma for crime, consider Nato a terror group and want the country out of the alliance and of the European Union. It received a boost in April after Slovakias Supreme Court dismissed a request by the countrys prosecutor general to ban it as an extremist group whose activities violate the Constitution. Turnout in Slovakia at the previous vote in 2014 was 13%, the lowest in all EU countries. The polls favour the leftist Smer-Social Democracy party, the senior member of the current coalition government, to top the voting with about 20%. Meanwhile, a European Parliament spokesman said turnout for the pivotal election is nearing 51% for 27 nations, according to preliminary figures. Jaume Duch Guillot said the figure, which excludes Britain, is the highest in at least 20 years and reverses years of steady decline. Mr Guillot said it is a very significant increase in turnout for the very first time since the first European elections took place in 1979. In France, far-right, nationalist leader Marine Le Pen declared victory in the election over pro-EU French President Emmanuel Macron. French polling agencies are projecting that Ms Le Pens National Rally will come first in France, followed by Mr Macrons centrist Republic on the Move party. Ms Le Pen said the expected result confirms the new nationalist-globalist division in France and beyond. She immediately expressed hope the election could foreshadow her partys victory in Frances 2022 presidential election. Ms Le Pen was beaten handily by Mr Macron in Frances 2017 presidential vote. Director Bong Joon-ho poses with the Palme dOr award for the film Parasite (Vianney Le Caer/AP) South Korean director Bong Joon-hos social satire Parasite, about a poor family of hustlers who find jobs with a wealthy family, has won the Cannes Film Festivals top award, the Palme dOr. The win for Parasite on Saturday marks the first Korean film to ever win the Palme. In the festivals closing ceremony, jury president Alejandro Inarritu said the choice had been unanimous for the nine-person jury. The genre-mixing film had arguably been celebrated more than others at Cannes this year, hailed by critics as the best yet from the 49-year-old director of Snowpiercer and Okja. It was the second straight Palme victory for an Asian director. Last year, the award went to Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-edas Shoplifters, a film also about an impoverished family. We shared the mystery of the unexpected way this film took us through different genres, speaking in a funny, humorous and tender way of no judgement of something so relevant and urgent and so global, Mr Inarritu told reporters after the ceremony. Many of the awards at Cannes were given to social and political tales that depicted geopolitical dramas in localised stories, from African shores to Paris suburbs. The festivals second place award, the Grand Prize, went to French-Senegalese director Mati Diops feature-film debut, Atlantics. The film by Diop, the first black female director ever in competition in Cannes, views the migrant crisis from the perspective of Senegalese women left behind after many young men flee by sea to Spain. Les laureats du 72e Festival de Cannes The 72nd Festival de Cannes awards winners #Cannes2019 #Awards pic.twitter.com/IrqSJFSMrF Festival de Cannes (@Festival_Cannes) May 25, 2019 Although few quibbled with the choice of Bong, some had expected Cannes to make history by giving the Palme to a female filmmaker for just the second time. Celine Sciammas period romance Portrait Of A Lady On Fire was the Palme pick for many critics this year. Instead, Sciamma ended up with best screenplay. In the festivals 72-year history, only Jane Champion has won the prize in 1993 for The Piano, tying with Chen Kaiges Farewell My Concubine. Best actor went to Antonio Banderas for Pedro Almodovars reflective drama Pain And Glory. In the film, one of the most broadly acclaimed of the festival, Banderas plays a fictionalised version of Almodovar looking back on his life and career. Expand Close Actresses Lee Jung-Eun, from left, Park So-dam, Cho Yeo-jeong, and Chang Hyae-Jin pose for photographers at the photo call for the film Parasite (Petros Giannakouris/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Actresses Lee Jung-Eun, from left, Park So-dam, Cho Yeo-jeong, and Chang Hyae-Jin pose for photographers at the photo call for the film Parasite (Petros Giannakouris/AP) The best is still to come, said Banderas, accepting the award. The Belgian brothers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, who have already twice won the Palme dOr, took the best director prize for Young Ahmed, their portrait of Muslim teenager who becomes radicalised by a fundamentalist imam. The jury prize, or third place, was split between two socially conscious thrillers: The French director Ladj Lys feature-film debut Les Miserables and Brazilian director Kleber Mendonca Filhos Bacurau. Ly called his film an alarm bell about youths living in the housing projects of Paris suburbs. Filho viewed his feverish, violent Western about a rural Brazilian community defending itself from a hard-to-comprehend invasion as a reflection of President Jair Bolsonaros Brazil. British actress Emily Beecham won best actress for her performance in Jessica Hausners science-fiction drama Little Joe. The jury also gave a special mention to Palestinian director Elia Suleimans It Must Be Heaven. Expand Close Director Mati Diop, winner of the grand prix Palme dOr award (Petros Giannakouris/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Director Mati Diop, winner of the grand prix Palme dOr award (Petros Giannakouris/AP) The Camera dOr, an award given for best first feature from across all of Cannes sections, went to Cesar Diazs Our Mothers, a drama about the Guatemalan civil war in the 1980s. The ceremony Saturday brought to a close a Cannes Film Festival that was riven with concerns for its own relevancy. It had to contend, most formidably, with the cultural television force of Game Of Thrones. The continuing rise of streaming was also a constant subject around the festival. Two years ago, Bong was in Cannes competition with Okja, a movie distributed in North America by Netflix. After it and Noah Baumbachs The Meyerowitz Stories, another Netflix release premiered at Cannes, the festival ruled that all future films in competition needed French theatrical distribution. Expand Close Actor Antonio Banderas poses with the best actor Palme dOr (Petros Giannakouris/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Actor Antonio Banderas poses with the best actor Palme dOr (Petros Giannakouris/AP) Netflix has since withdrawn from the festival on the French Riviera. This year, bowing to pressure from 50502020, the French version of Times Up, the festival released gender breakdowns of its submissions and selections. Cannes said about 27% of its official selections were directed by women. The 21-film main slate included four films directed by women, which tied the festivals previous high. The 72nd Cannes had its share of red-carpet dazzle, too. Sir Elton John brought his biopic Rocketman to the festival, joining star Taron Egerton for a beachside duet after the premiere. And Quentin Tarantino unveiled his 1960s Los Angeles tale Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, with Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio, 25 years after the directors Pulp Fiction won the Palme dOr. Tarantino, who attended the closing ceremony, did not go home empty handed. On Friday, a prominent player in his film won the annual Palme Dog, an award given by critics to Cannes best canine. A European Parliament election that could reshape the political order across the continent is drawing to a close, with the anti-immigrant far right projected to win in France. Germanys centrist governing party is also heading for heavy losses. The four days of balloting across the 28 European Union countries were seen as a test of the influence of the nationalist, populist and hard-right movements that have swept the continent. Exit polls in France indicated that Marine Le Pens far-right National Rally party came out on top, in an astounding rebuke for French President Emmanuel Macron, who has made EU integration the heart of his presidency. Expand Close Manfred Weber and German Chancellor Angela Merkel (Sven Hoppe/dpa/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Manfred Weber and German Chancellor Angela Merkel (Sven Hoppe/dpa/AP) Exit polls indicated the party of German Chancellor Angela Merkel also suffered major losses. With the stakes high, turnout across the bloc not counting the UK, which is quitting the EU was put a preliminary 51%, a 20-year high. An estimated 426 million people were eligible to vote in what was considered the most important European Parliament election in decades. Full results are expected overnight. The balloting, which began on Thursday, pitted supporters of closer unity against those who consider the EU a bureaucratic presence and want to return power to national governments and sharply restrict immigration. Italys Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, a major figure among the anti-migrant hard-line nationalists, said that he felt a change in the air and that a victory by his right-wing League party would change everything in Europe. Mainstream centre-right and centre-left parties were widely expected to hold on to power in the 751-seat legislature that sits in both Brussels and Strasbourg. But the nationalist and populist parties that are hostile to the EU were expected to make important gains that could complicate the workings of the Parliament. In the first major exit poll, in Germany the EUs biggest country, governing parties were predicted to lose ground while the Greens were set for big gains. The far right was also expected to pick up slightly more support. Germanys Manfred Weber, the candidate of the European Peoples Party, currently the biggest in the legislature, said in Berlin that the elections appeared to have weakened the political centre. He said it is most necessary for the forces that believe in this Europe, that want to lead this Europe to a good future, that have ambitions for this Europe to work together. In France, Ms Le Pens National Rally party said the expected result was a clear punishment for Mr Macron and the EU itself. Expand Close Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban smiles before casting his vote (Szilard Koszticsak/MTI via AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban smiles before casting his vote (Szilard Koszticsak/MTI via AP) Hungarys increasingly authoritarian prime minister Viktor Orban, a possible ally of Mr Salvini, said he hopes the election will bring a shift toward political parties that want to stop migration. The migration issue will reorganise the political spectrum in the European Union, he said. The EU and its Parliament set trade policy on the continent, regulate agriculture, oversee antitrust enforcement and set monetary policy for 19 of the 28 nations sharing the euro currency. Other countries voting on Sunday included Italy, Poland, Portugal, Denmark, Sweden, Austria, Belgium and Lithuania. A wounded civilian is treated at a military hospital in Jolo island in the southern Philippines, May 25, 2019. Two children were killed after gunmen linked to the Islamic State (IS) attacked a village where soldiers and community elders were meeting in the southern Philippine island of Jolo, the military said Sunday. The attack Saturday afternoon was the latest deadly assault blamed on the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), four months after the militants allegedly worked with foreign suicide bombers to attack a Catholic Church in Jolo that killed 23. Those killed were Saiful Abdun, 1, and Jahida Usab, 12, and six ASG gunmen. Five soldiers and two other civilians were wounded, according to the military. The death of the two innocent children and the wounding of civilians are indicative of the ASGs desperate actions of sowing fear among the local populace, said Brig. Gen. Divino Rey Pabayo Jr., the commander of Joint Task Force Sulu. The soldiers were meeting with villager elders in the town of Patikul when about 30 ASG rebels attacked the village, triggering 30 minutes of clashes that led to the casualties, the military said. Pabayo said soldiers were conducting community work as part of their activities to flush out the ASG gunmen. He said the militants were furious (with) their relatives whom they suspect of collaborating with our soldiers. The attack came as the predominantly Muslim Jolo island was observing the holy month of Ramadan. History of militancy The ASG is a group of self-styled Islamic militants who have degenerated into banditry. The group is believed to be holding eight captives, including a Dutch national, a Vietnamese, a Malaysian, two Indonesians and three Filipinos, in Jolo. In January, the ASG allegedly worked with an Indonesian couple to carry out the suicide bombing at the church in Jolos capital, which also wounded more than 100 people. Police and military intelligence officials have blamed the ASG for the attack while Indonesian investigators sent to the Philippines discounted the angle of suicide bombers from their country. Previously, a senior ASG commander, Isnilon Hapilon, was named as the IS leader in the region. He led fighters from Southeast Asia and the Middle East and took over the southern city of Marawi just over two years ago where he had planned to establish a caliphate. Government troops reclaimed the city five months later after fierce gun battles. Hapilon was among the more than 1,200 rebels, soldiers and civilians killed in Marawi. With his death, it is believed that the overall leader of the ASG-IS faction is little known, Jolo-based militant Hatib Hajan Sawadjaan, who allegedly planned the church bombing, according to officials. Mark Navales and Jeoffrey Maitem in Cotabato City, Philippines, contributed to this story. RTHK: Fight to be PM rubs salt in Tories' Brexit wounds The race to become Britain's next prime minister has begun, exposing the deep divisions within the ruling Conservative Party over how to leave the European Union. Theresa May is bowing out with her legacy in tatters and the country in agony over what to do about the voters' decision in 2016 to abandon the European integration project after nearly 50 years. Those seeking to replace her need to find a withdrawal plan acceptable to parliament and public, after MPs rejected May's compromise three times. However European leaders say they have made their final offer and there can be no substantial changes. The markets view the risk of Britain crashing out of the bloc without a deal as uncomfortably high. The twice-delayed departure date is now October 31 Their main concern is that some candidates to head the party say they will get Brexit done at any cost - concerns shared by others in the race. International Development Secretary Rory Stewart says he would not serve under rival Boris Johnson because of his backing for a no-deal Brexit. The former foreign secretary is the early front-runner to lead the party. However another candidate, Health Secretary Matt Hancock, said leaving the EU without an agreement is "not an active policy choice that is available to the next prime minister". Johnson's main challenges are expected to come from former Brexit secretary Dominic Raab - viewed as an even more committed eurosceptic - and Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt. (AFP) This story has been published on: 2019-05-26. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Google has quietly entered the online travel booking space with the launch of 'Trips', a one-stop-shop for booking flights, hotels and tour packages, it has emerged. "Travel planning is complicated. The number of tools and amount of information you need to sift through when deciding where to go, where to stay and what flight to take can be time consuming and overwhelming. Thats why today, were simplifying the way we help travellers plan trips with Google across devices," said Richard Holden, vice president, Product Management, Travel. The search engine giant is combining its travel-related products the mobile Google Trips app, Google Flights, Google hotels search, and more under a singular landing page called Trips (https://www.google.com/travel). "Last year, we simplified trip planning by making navigation between Google Flights, Hotels, and Trips easier on smartphones. Were now rolling this out on desktop as well," he said. 'Trips' allows browsers to search for flights, hotels and packages, as well as explore possible destinations, all on a single landing page. It automatically maps out a half day or a full day with suggestions for things to see and do. "As you plan a trip, your research and reservations will be organised for you in Trips. Moreover, recent searches, saved places and flights youre tracking are added automatically to your trips when youre signed into your Google Account," Holden said. At this stage, the company is not pushing ahead with sales of flights and holidays (direct bookings) but instead continuing its metasearch model, where users click through to book rooms and airfares provided by advertisers. According to Holden, in the next few months, trips including reservations for things like hotels and restaurants will be accessible in Google Maps, too. - TradeArabia News Service Mainly Jem's Birding & Ringing Exploits in the Eastern Province & Ringing Trips to Bahrain 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 Donald Trump is bypassing Congress to clear the sale of $7 billion-worth of arms to Saudi Arabia citing the growing threat to the region from Iran. Independent Television reports in its article Donald Trump to bypass congress on 7bn Saudi Arabia weapons sales that the Trump administration has invoked a rarely used provision in US federal law to bypass congressional review of arms sales. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo notified Congress of the decision to use an emergency loophole in the Arms Export Control Act to move ahead with sales of $7 billion (5.4 billion) in weapons and aircraft maintenance support to Saudi Arabia, along with the United Arab Emirates and Jordan, without legislators' approval. In his notification, Mr Pompeo said he had made the determination "that an emergency exists which requires the immediate sale" of the weapons "in order to deter further the malign influence of the government of Iran throughout the Middle East region". He said the transfers "must occur as quickly as possible in order to deter further Iranian adventurism in the Gulf and throughout the Middle East". Mr Trump is due to land in Japan on Saturday for a state visit and is expected in the UK at the beginning of June. Mr Pompeo's move follows President Trump's announcement that the US plans to send 1,500 additional US troops to the Middle East as part of a build-up in response to an unspecified threat from Iran. It also comes as the administration has actively courted close ties with Saudi Arabia over congressional objections, notably following the killing of Jamal Khashoggi , a US-based columnist for The Washington Post, by Saudi agents in October. Mr Khashoggi's killing, coupled with increasing concerns about civilian casualties resulting from a Saudi-led coalition's military operation against Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, prompted legislators to block about 2 billion dollars (1.6 billion) in arms sales to the kingdom for more than a year. Last month, Mr Trump vetoed legislation that would have ended US military assistance for the Saudi-led war in Yemen. Critics of the Saudi campaign quickly denounced Friday's step. Senator Bob Menendez, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the administration did not cite a specific legal or practical reason for using the loophole other than Iran. "I am disappointed, but not surprised, that the Trump administration has failed once again to prioritise our long-term national security interests or stand up for human rights, and instead is granting favours to authoritarian countries like Saudi Arabia," Mr Menendez said in a statement. Senator Chris Murphy, who earlier this week warned against bypassing Congress, said the administration was only declaring an emergency because legislators would have blocked the transfers. "President Trump is only using this loophole because he knows Congress would disapprove of this sale," Mr Murphy said. "There is no new 'emergency' reason to sell bombs to the Saudis." The law requires Congress to be notified of potential arms sales, giving the body the opportunity to block the sale. But the law also allows the president to waive that review process by declaring an emergency that requires the sale be made "in the national security interests of the United States." The debates about the present and the future state of NATO continue to be a hot topic in the 70th anniversary of the organization. Last week a major workshop on the Turkish-NATO relations, titled, "Cultivating Turkey's NATO Alliance Alive: Evolving Relations and Diverging Priorities," was organized by the Turkish think tank, the Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research (SETA). Daily Sabah reports in its article The function of NATO for Turkey that in addition to the present challenges of the organization, which has been frequently mentioned in reports and analyses, the Turkish perspective on NATO has become one of the main issues during the meeting. Within this context, the public image and standing of NATO in Turkey created a lot of debate during the meeting. As the public in Turkey started to be more informed about and engaged with the foreign policy decisions; NATO's image and its meaning for the Turkish people began to be more important for the Turkish-NATO relations. For the last few years, the term NATO, besides being one of the most enduring alliances in history, started to be frequently used in a specific context. Its meaning in terms of political and military alliance started to be utilized less and in most contexts, it started to be used as a political correctness tool in international relations. It has, on the one hand, become a custom to present NATO membership as a positive foreign policy image in diplomatic meetings while on the other the term began to be used as the preliminary stage for criticizing a member country. The resolutions and letters from the U.S. Congress against a member country frequently began emphasizing NATO membership to claim the fairness of that statement. Thus in the actual use of the term, it is increasingly becoming as an abstract concept more than an alliance. The fact that NATO members did not spend a lot of efforts to fix this situation also contributed to the consolidation of this image among the public of the member countries. Since the Turkish public in the last few years sees an ample amount of these documents, the impact of that image has become much stronger for the Turkish public. As the title of the aforementioned meeting stated, the diverging priorities have become another significant challenge for the image of the organization. In the last three decades, one of the most frequently mentioned aspects of NATO has been the search for a mission for NATO. In almost every report on the organization, the failure of the organization to develop a common threat perception and to find a common purpose was emphasized as the most important problem of organization. However, while NATO was searching for a mission, one of its most important members; Turkey was facing a significant threat from different terrorist organizations. Although NATO officials always emphasize the fact that NATO is not a first responder in terrorism threats and there should be a consensus among the member countries, these explanations mean a little for the Turkish public, who have been facing threats from terrorism for over three decades. NATO's near-irrelevance when it comes to threats for Turkey's national security lowered the trust for the organization. NATO cannot continue to search for a mission and common purpose among the member countries when it does not pay attention to the national security concerns of its members. Standing by Turkey or another member country facing terrorism threats has to be shown with more than standard statements with refined wording. The public in different member countries need to see that its pain is shared, its trauma is recognized and its government receive support against threats. In the absence of such an endeavor, it will be really hard for the organization to find a mission, let alone to expect its people to recognize that mission and support the organization. MONTREAL - The Quebec government will reduce oil consumption in the province by 40 per cent by 2030 through a vast program to shift transportation systems, buildings and businesses to hydroelectricity, Premier Francois Legault announced Sunday as his party held a general council meeting in Montreal. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 26/5/2019 (947 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Quebec Premier and CAQ leader Francois Legault speaks during the party's general council meeting in Montreal, Sunday, May 26, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes MONTREAL - The Quebec government will reduce oil consumption in the province by 40 per cent by 2030 through a vast program to shift transportation systems, buildings and businesses to hydroelectricity, Premier Francois Legault announced Sunday as his party held a general council meeting in Montreal. Legault said his plan to "electrify Quebec" will require massive investments, which he said could be unlocked by reviewing the management of the government's Green Fund and by increasing funding for infrastructure planning. He said that from now on his government will only finance public transit projects that are electric and that are built mostly in Quebec, and will take steps to ensure that all new public buildings be powered by clean energy as of 2020. "I want that in four years, it will be said that no government has realized as many public transit projects as the Coalition Avenir Quebec government," Legault said in a speech to 1,300 party members. Legault said he's tasked his transport minister with seven different projects, including the expansion of an existing subway line and a light-rail system being built in Montreal, as well as tramway projects for Quebec City and Montreal's South Shore. The premier told reporters after the speech that he would look for a way to increase the involvement of local companies in these projects, pointing out that the United States requires 65 to 70 per cent local content. "We have to see what the laws allow," he said. Quebecers who live outside major urban centres and who do not have access to public transportation will benefit from further incentives to buy electric vehicles, he added. The government estimates that a million electric vehicles could reduce oil consumption by six per cent. Legault said his government would also put incentives in place to encourage owners of residential and commercial properties, as well as those in the industrial and agriculture sectors, to switch from heating oil to hydroelectricity, and called for more innovation and new technologies to aid in the transition. The premier, who has sought to position Quebec as the "green battery of North America," also said he was confident he'd be able to reach deals to sell Quebec hydroelectricity to Ontario and New York City. He said he would offer Ontario "a deal they can't refuse: cheaper energy and clean energy." Last fall, Legault proposed a plan to sell Quebec hydroelectricity to Ontario so the province could avoid costly repairs to its nuclear power plants, but the proposal was rejected by Doug Ford's government. OTTAWA - Some facts and figures about the D-Day landings in Normandy on June 6, 1944: Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 26/5/2019 (947 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Second World War -- German Prisoners taken by Canadian troops at Juno Beach, D-Day, during the invasion of Europe, on June 6, 1944. THE CANADIAN PRESS/National Archives of Canada, Frank L. Dubervill, PA-133754, *MANDATORY CREDIT* OTTAWA - Some facts and figures about the D-Day landings in Normandy on June 6, 1944: TARGET: Allies land on French channel coast along five Normandy beaches stretching about 80 kilometres west from River Orne. BEACHES: From west to east, Utah (U.S.); Omaha (U.S.); Gold (Britain); Juno (Canada); Sword (Britain). FEATURES OF JUNO: Eight-kilometre strip of summer resorts and villages scattered over flat land behind low beaches and a sea wall. Many Canadians in first wave race to cover of sea wall. D Company of Queen's Own Rifles loses half its strength in initial sprint from water to seawall about 180 metres away. ENEMY AT JUNO: About 400 soldiers of 716th Infantry Division man concrete gun positions sited to fire along beach. Zones of fire calculated to interlock on coastal obstacles intended to rip bottoms out of invading boats. Gun positions protected by mines, trenches, barbed wire. SHIPS: More than 7,000 vessels manned by 285,000 sailors. Royal Canadian Navy contributes 110 ships and 10,000 sailors. SOLDIERS: 130,000 ashore by nightfall, including about 14,000 Canadians. VEHICLES: 6,000 tracked and wheeled vehicles and 600 guns land. PLANES: More than 7,000 bombers and fighters available. Allied planes fly about 14,000 sorties June 6, against about 250 by Luftwaffe. D-DAY CASUALTIES (killed, wounded and missing): Canada: 1,074, including 359 killed; U.S. 6,000; Britain: 3,200. Germany figures unreliable because of confusion in retreat. CAMPAIGN CASUALTIES (killed, wounded and missing): In 2-plus months of Normandy campaign (June 6-Aug. 21) Germans lose 450,000 soldiers, Allies 210,000. Canadian casualties total more than 18,000, including more than 5,000 dead. ALLIED LEADERS: Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower (U.S.), Supreme Commander, Allied Expeditionary Force. Gen. Sir Bernard Law Montgomery (Britain), Field Commander, D-Day Forces. CANADIAN LEADERS: Gen. Harry Crerar, Commander 1st Canadian Army. Maj.-Gen. Rod Keller, Commander 3rd Canadian Infantry Division. DIVISIONS INVOLVED: Canadian 3rd Infantry Division; British 3rd and 50th Infantry Divisions; U.S. 1st and 4th Infantry Divisions. (All had armoured units attached). A call has been made for the Council in Kerry to take over the 10,200-hectare Killarney National Park so it can be properly staffed and maintained. Killarney National Park is facing huge challenges with deer management and invasive species such as rhododendron, as well as fires - yet it it has fewer key staff than the much smaller Phoenix Park in Dublin. Staffing Figures released recently by the National Parks and Wildlife Service which manages the Killarney park and its unique herd of Killarney red deer, reveal that there are fewer wildlife rangers working in the Killarney Park, a UNESCO biosphere reserve, than there are in the Phoenix Park. The total number of rangers available to the whole of the Killarney District, which includes the 10,236 hectare Killarney National Park and areas outside it like the MacGillicuddys Reeks, is seven, the Department of Heritage has said. In contrast, the 707 hectares Phoenix Park in Dublin, managed by the OPW, has a ranger staff of 11. The most recent meeting Kerry County Council heard how only three wildlife rangers now work in the park itself - and it no longer has specialist tradespeople such as masons and carpenters. None of the rangers who have retired or left due to illness in recent years have been replaced and in July the park will only have two wildlife rangers, the meeting was told. In addition, two other posts have not been taken up and the selection process from a new panel has to begin again. A motion by retiring councillor John Joe Culloty (FF) asked the Department of Heritage to provide the funding for extra staff for the Killarney National Park. Mr Culloty who is part of the Meitheal volunteer movement tackling the rhododendron infesting woods and walkways in Killarney, last year exposed the situation of starving sika deer on Inisfallen Island. He said staffing levels for the park, which includes a number of historic buildings, are no longer acceptable and the park is no longer employing permanent masons and other tradesmen. Everything that is being done in the park is piecemeal" because of the lack of commitment and funding for staff, he suggested. On foot of this, led by Cllr Dan McCarthy of Kenmare, a call was made for the Council to take charge of the national park so staffing can be deployed and the park be properly looked after. Is it time for this Council to take charge of the national park and put staff in there, Mr Mc Carthy suggested, echoing local discussions. Concern about the decline of the Killarney National Park which is at the centre of the towns multi-million euro tourist industry was a priority election issue for at least one local candidate this time around. Tanaiste Simon Coveney has said Fine Gael will see "modest gains" and that the election results this weekend instead will show support has plummeted for Sinn Fein. Mr Coveney also advised that the coming months will see a laser-like attention" on Brexit. Speaking as counting continued in the local and European elections, the Fine Gael deputy leader defended his own party's results. Fine Gael were up by 3.5% in Dublin, roughly the same in Ireland South and had achieved multiple increases beyond this in Midlands-North West. Mr Coveney said there would be modest gains for his party overall for his party in the local elections. Senior party figures expect the party to slightly increase its 235-seat tally from 2014. The election results would prove to be bad for Sinn Fein, he predicted, particularly in Cork where the opposition party looks set to lose multiple council seats from its national high tally of 159 councillors in 2014. Sinn Fein's vote would be "down significantly," he added. The Tanaiste also addressed the issue of the green wave and huge swell of support for the Green Party. Outlining plans for the government's long-awaited climate action plan, he also said that you don't need to wipe out farming to have a green agenda. Ireland also needed to look at its methods of protecting the climate, with 10 times as much sea as land mass, he told RTE. Mr Coveney also warned that Brexit would occupy much of the government's work in the coming months. With a Tory leadership race looming in Britain, he warned that the country was going to have a very challenging Summer and Autumn with Brexit. Furthermore, there would be laser-like attention and focus on Brexit in the weeks and months ahead. Ireland has voted overwhelmingly to ease restrictions on divorce and recognise foreign divorces. In a landslide vote, the second biggest since the Good Friday agreement, the country voted 82% Yes to 18% No in the divorce referendum. Returning officer Barry Ryan announcing the result at Dublin castle at 4.30am this morning after a delay at the Galway count centre. The waiting time for a divorce will be reduced from four to two years, while foreign divorces will be recognised under Irish law for the first time The final result was 82.07% Yes and 17.93% No. The highest vote was in Dun Laoghaire Rathdown at 86.7% and the lowest was in Monaghan at 75.04%. Its a stark contrast to the last divorce referendum in 1995 which lifted the ban on divorce by a margin of 50.28% to 49.72%. Culture Minister and Fine Gaels Divorce Campaign director of elections Josepha Madigan says the referendum result is not about rocking the system but about humanising it. The Minister for Justice and Equality, Charlie Flanagan, welcomed the outcome, saying it was "a very decisive result with a consistent, high level of support right across the country". The result is testament to the compassion and fairness of Irish people in every part of the country. The primary purpose of the referendum was to reduce the emotional and financial distress experienced by couples whose marriages have sadly broken down irretrievably by allowing the Oireachtas to legislate. Over time, it has become very clear that complex questions of social policy are best dealt with through detailed legislation in the Oireachtas. Core protections for marriage will remain in our Constitution. The Government wants to ensure that the process for obtaining a divorce is fair, dignified and humane, and allows both parties to move forward with their lives within a reasonable timeframe. "It is therefore my intention to reduce the living apart period to a minimum of two out of the preceding three years and to do so by way of ordinary legislation, which I will bring forward as soon as possible. This proposal has widespread cross-party support in the Oireachtas," he said. Fine Gael MEP Mairead McGuinness has hit out at party TD Maria Bailey over her "swing" legal case, insisting it affected the party's support on the doorsteps in the lead up to this weekend's elections. Speaking to reporters after arriving at the Midlands North West European elections count centre in Castlebar, Co Mayo, the likely constituency poll topper said Ms Bailey was in her view wrong to take the case. Asked if it damaged Fine Gael's election performance, Ms McGuinness said: Ive been listening again to the commentary on that and certainly it wasnt said directly to me but I did get some emails about that. "So it did impact because I did a very big meeting in Navan with the Meath Chamber and the insurance issue is a major issue. And whats troubling for me is that there are businesses who are afraid to speak out because if they do they will lose the bit of insurance that they have. "Already Ive written to Commissioner Vestager asking her to extend the investigation beyond the motor industry right across the board particularly into public liability. "I also think we need to look at is there any competition in this sector at all because from my conversations with businesses there isnt. And we need to be aware of that. "So I think the bigger issue is how do we make sure that businesses can go and get reasonable quotes form a few companies rather than going to several agents who go to one company for a quote. Im troubled that that might be the case at the moment," she said. Asked if she was "glad" Ms Bailey has ended her legal case, Ms McGuinness said: "Yes. I am glad she dropped the case. I know there were people who said that to me having listened to her decision. Look Im sure its very tough for her as well but Im glad the case is dropped." However, she said it is unlikely there will be any "repercussions" for the Dublin TD within the party when she meets Taoiseach Leo Varadkar about what happened next week: I dont think were going to do anything to Maria Bailey. I mean I think that in politics we all learn hard lessons on occasion. "Like I said Im more troubled by the businesses that are in confidence speaking to me but will not speak out because they are terrified that they will be forced to close if I put on the record what I am being told." Speaking during the same interview, Ms McGuinness was jokingly asked if she is looking forward to potentially spending another five years in the European parliament with Nigel Farage given the likely election result and ongoing Brexit confusion. She responded: "Well, just for the record, I've never hung out with Nigel Farage. I'd rather eat razor blades, but perhaps I shouldn't say that. "I don't hang out with people who are disruptive, and whose entire objective is to pull the European objective apart. "I think we need to be very careful because of course those who are very good making videos get the oxygen of publicity. Those of us who actually do a bit of hard graft don't. "I believe passionately that bringing people together is never as important as it is today, but equally dividing people has never been as easy. "Look across the water at what is happening. Look at this campaign where some tried and failed. And thank god Ireland is more open and aware, we're bigger than that." Green Party candidate Saoirse McHugh says she is not sure how she will travel to Brussels if she is elected in the Midlands North West constituency. Early indications suggest the she could be in with a chance of winning the fourth and final seat in the constituency. She admits there is no eco-friendly way to travel from her base in Achill to meetings in the European Parliament: "We have talked about moving over but I will have to travel using unsustainable transport," she admitted Twenty-one EU countries go to the polls today, with the results of the seven countries that have already voted not released until their polls close. Fine Gael Minister Michael Ring, says he is confident that both candidates from his party contesting the European Elections in the Midlands Northwest will get elected. Their sitting MEP Mairead McGuinness, who was on 23% in the RTE/ TG4 exit poll conducted by Red C, is expected to easily top the poll, a result that could see her transfers drag fellow candidate Maria Walsh, who is on 10%, over the line into the fourth seat. Sinn Feins Matt Carthy is on 15%, while Green Party first-time candidate McHugh, who is in with a shock chance of winning a seat, is on 10%. Sitting MEP Luke Ming Flanagan is also on 10%, while Peter Casey, who is also running as an Independent, is on 7%. The Green Party has won its first seat on Cork City Council since the 2004 local election. Lorna Bogue was deemed to be elected on the second count shortly after the count resumed in City Hall at 10am this morning, with 2,265 votes, picking up 58 votes following the distribution of Solidarity candidate Ed Fitzgerald's vote of 255. She was congratulated and embraced immediately by former Senator and former city councillor, Dan Boyle, who is also Read More: While the last Green councillor on the council was Cllr Chris O'Leary in 2009, the last time the Green Party won a seat on the council was in 2004. Ms Bogue said: I had obviously seen the tallies last night, but Im surprised at the percentage that I got, because the national exit poll was 6%. "I felt well, Cork likes the Greens, so I thought it might be a little higher, but to be as high as 14% was something I didnt expect at all. It wasnt as if people just became concerned about the environment - thats been trundling along for a while and maybe just slipped under the radar. People arent generally asked direct questions about climate or the environment, so maybe it was down to how the polling was done as well. Ms Bogue, 26, from Mahon, is a committed activist, having served as the Press Officer for the Cork branch of the Together for Yes campaign during the 2018 referendum campaign. She has a master's degree in Economic Analysis, completing her dissertation on local government taxation. She was the Green Party candidate for Cork South Central in the 2016 General Election and was eliminated in the 10th count with over 3,200 votes. Additional reporting by Ryan O'Neill Labour leader Brendan Howlin has said his party will have 20 more seats after the local elections but conceded none of his three MEP candidates will be elected. Mr Howlin, speaking at the RDS, accepted the Labour Party fell victim to the Green surge but said he is willing to explore a so-called progressive civic alliance. Mr Howlin said the swing to the Green Party is a signal to us all in politics that real action on the environment is now demanded by voters. Not at all disappointed. Everyone has been impacted by the Green surge including us. But we had 37 incumbents looking to be re-elected. "We will have at least 57 seats, so that is 20 new councillors in key areas that are targets for us. So we see the building I expected to happen happening, we would have liked a greater pace of increase but that was impacted upon by the Green surge, he said. He said he will meet with Eamon Ryan next week to discuss how the two parties can work at council level. I had discussions with Eamon Ryan in advance of polling day and I am going to meet him next week to look at the number of seats we have and see what we can do together. Mr Howlin said he is also willing to work with the Social Democrats both at local and national level. He rejected the result puts his leadership into question. Ireland South candidate Mick Wallace insists that the nerves aren't getting to him despite facing a tough fight to secure a seat in Europe. The Independents 4 Change candidate is in with a chance of securing a seat in the constituency but he is likely to face stiff competition from Fianna Fail's Malcolm Byrne and sitting MEP Deirdre Clune for the fifth seat. However, with the count in Ireland South likely to take several days before it finishes, it could be several days before Wallace's fate is determined. The RTE exit poll released after the voting finished on Friday had Mr Wallace at 10%, just 1% ahead of Mr Byrne. "It is going to be very close," Mr Wallace said. I heard that Fianna Fail are doing better than the exit poll showed and that would be problematic because Malcolm Byrne is a competitor for the fifth seat. If he does better, it is more difficult for me. "But, I don't do nerves - pressure is for car tyres. Whatever the result is, I've put myself up there and the people will make that call. I accept whatever come my ay. If I'm not elected, I'm not elected. If I am, I am and I'll make the best of it either way." Even if he doesn't make the cut, Mr Wallace said that he has no regrets about running for the seat. "I spent nearly a month going around. I spread myself evenly across the 12 counties. I was amazed at the reception I got but that doesn't turn into votes," he said. Fine Gael MEP Sean Kelly claims that the party is still in contention to win two seats in Ireland South. Exit polls have put Mr Kelly as firm favourite to top the poll in the constituency but the picture is less positive for running mates Deirdre Clune and Andrew Doyle. While Ms Clune could be in with a fighting chance of claiming the fifth seat, she will have to get there ahead of TD Mick Wallace and Fianna Fail candidate Malcolm Byrne. Mr Doyle, meanwhile, was trailing at just 4%, with Fine Gael Senator Neale Richmond conceding that it "doesn't look good" for the party in Ireland South. But, Mr Kelly said that transfers can still play a big role in determining who is elected in the coming days. "I think we are still very much in contention for two seats. Definitely if it is a five seater but also if it is a four seater," he said. You have to realise transfers will have a big bearing on a constituency. Particularly when you have 23 candidates, there will be a whole pile of transfers and if they fall the right way, they will push up candidates quite a lot. Mr Kelly said that his likely re-election is proof that hard work in Europe does not go unnoticed. He said, "We put in a long campaign and, from my point of view, there were two aspects which I am pleased about. Number one: I worked hard in Europe and I worked hard in Ireland. Sometimes people say that people don't notice what is going on in Europe and I think if I do well, it is an example that if you work hard, people will notice. "And, number two, at the start of this campaign, there was an agreed divide in the party and I said I am going to honour this 100%. If I am to win this election, I want to show that it can be done honourably without any changing or any deviation. We did that as well." Gardai are seeking the public's assistance in locating a 55-year-old man who is missing in Dublin. Gerard Taylor was last seen when he left his home in Sandyford at approximately 9am yesterday morning. An Irishman and a woman have been killed by an alleged drunk driver after a crash in upstate New York. The man has been named as 33-year-old John Heneghan from Co Mayo and the woman has been named as 32-year-old Caitlyn Holtzman. Both were living in New York. Protesters cornered Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy today at the local election count in Dublin. Eliminated People Before Profit candidate Peter Dooley confronted Eoghan Murphy over the government's housing policies. Protesters surrounded Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy as he waited for a local candidate to be elected, chanting: "You can stick your co-living, stick your co-living up your a**e." This was a reference to the Minister's comments earlier this month that a "co-living" model of accommodation is part of a mix of measures needed to tackle the housing crisis. The co-living model provides en-suite bedrooms with shared, communal living areas and is similar to student accommodation but aimed at young, working professionals. One protester told Eoghan Murphy: "The posh boys aren't living in reality", and that public housing was not being built. People Before Profit candidate Peter Dooley had been eliminated on the previous count for Kimmage Rathmines. After about 15 minutes the protesters moved on to monitor progress in another count. It came as counting continues across the country with it looking as though Fine Gael will pick up a few seats nationally as will Fianna Fail. The Greens are the big winners with Labour and the Social Democrats also improving. Lots of those gains have come at the expense of Sinn Fein - which has endured a torrid weekend and will have lost a significant number of local councillors by the time all votes are counted. Asked about his future on radio, Hinch said that if he lost the appeal he would have to talk to the manager of 3AW about the stations attitude. Its not nice to have a criminal conviction, obviously, he said. But he did not want to exacerbate a situation, to enrage or inflame or scandalize the court in the next few weeks. In court yesterday, Hinch sat directly behind his barristers, Mr. Winneke and Mr. Geoffrey Gibson, looking pale and worried, with his hand covering his face for most of the time. The judge took 25 minutes to deliver his sentence, and a further 15 to decide not to send Hinch to jail immediately. Derryn Hinch on air at Melbourne radio station, 3AW in 1986. Credit:Peter Rae Despite a submission from the Attorney-General, Mr. Kennan, that a jail sentence would make a martyr of Hinch, the judge said the radio commentator had placed himself above the law by his broadcast, which would interfere with an accused mans fair trial. The judge said: This case provides a good example, in my opinion, of the evils that go along with trial by media. In my opinion the risk that trial by media can become rife in our community is a serious one today, and the courts should be vigilant to prevent this risk from becoming a reality. The jail sentence is the first in Australia of anyone in the media commenting about a matter in a way which could affect a fair trial. The Attorney-General charged Hinch and Macquarie Broadcast Holdings Limited over three broadcasts, two last November and the third in March, concerning a Catholic priest, Father Michael Glennon, who had been charged with sex offences. Hinch detailed Father Glennons association with a youth foundation, and his prior convictions. Last week the judge described the broadcasts as audacious, flagrant and reckless contempts of court, because of the real risk of prejudicing a fair trial. Mr. Justice Murphy fined Mr. Hinch $25,000 for the first two broadcasts, and imposed the jail sentence for the third, saying it had occurred after Mr. Hinch had been notified of contempt proceedings for his comments, and warned witnesses and potential jurors could be unfairly influenced. He fined Macquarie Holdings $25,000 on the first charge and $30,000 on the second. Mr. Justice Murphy said the law was not designed to prevent reports of court proceedings or charges, and said Hinch might have warned parents about the dangers, but perhaps, not with the sensationalism that attended the actual broadcasts. The judge said: In my experience most journalists do know better, and act accordingly in a responsible manner. In acting as he did, he deliberately chose to take the risk involved, with a story of sensational scandal, at the same time flouting the law. Hinch had adequate knowledge of the law of contempt, and had now been convicted of four contempts of court in the past two years, which the judge believed would be unique. General deterrence of others, as well as deterrence of the individual, was an important factor in sentencing. I think it has become commonplace in Victoria for criminal trials to be aborted because of the publication of prejudicial material, and that judges regularly refer cases to the Attorney-General for his consideration, the judge said. I have myself personal experience of several cases in the last few months in which applications have been made to the court in criminal trials to discharge a jury because of prejudicial material published, particularly by the television branch of the media, although it is not confined to that branch. Hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars are wasted each year because of the irresponsibility of some sections of the media. The burden on the community has in my view become intolerable, and it must be brought to a stop. Hinch could not be excused on the basis that he was indiscreet, or had been over-enthusiastic, or had overstepped the mark. In my view this was a deliberate decision. It seems to me, having regard to all the circumstances, that Mr. Hinch placed himself above the law, the judge said. On previous occasions 3AW had paid Hinchs fine and legal costs. I see no reason to conclude that he would suffer any penalty at all by the imposition of a fine in each of these cases, the judge said. In fact the likelihood is that the opposite is the case. I my opinion it is necessary to impose a penalty which would be likely to deter Mr. Hinch from further similar actions. Fining the radio station, Mr. Justice Murphy said it had fully supported Mr. Hinchs campaign against child molestation, and had apparently taken no steps, after the proceedings were launch over the first two broadcasts, to see that they were not repeated. Of course the second defendant profits from Mr. Hinchs sensationalism; one might imagine it increases its popularity and the stations ratings, and the popularity of the stations advertisers, the judge said. He said that if, as was suggested, Hinch was given carte blanche, the radio station must accept responsibility. Earlier, the solicitor-general, Mr. Hartog Berkeley, QC, submitted on behalf of the Attorney-General that jail was not an appropriate sentence. Instead, he said, a fine so big that it hurts, and a good behavior bond with a special condition that Hinch not commit contempt of court for two years, would meet the situation. Mr. Berkeley said: There is no doubt that the jurisdiction (to punish for contempt) is oppressive because it prevents people saying what they want to say, and it should be exercised sparingly. There are better ways of dealing with Mr. Hinch than sending him to prison. There is a great danger in the circumstances of this case we dont, with respect, want to make a martyr of Mr. Hinch, although we want to stop him doing this sort of thing again. Mr. Berkeley said the Australian Law Reform Commission, in a report on contempt and the media, had found no Australian case where someone from the media had been jailed for breaching the rule not to comment on matters which were sub judice. Mr. Winneke argued that Hinchs motives in making the broadcasts lessened the gravity of the contempt. He said Hinch was anxious to protect children from a man, who despite convictions, remained a risk to children because he continued to be in a youth organization in a position of trust. He asked the judge to look at the competing concerns and intentions of a mans fair trial on the one hand, and the community interest in children being protected from molestation. The Uluru Statement from the Heart follows in the tradition of the Yirrkala Bark Petitions from 1963, and Barunga Statement from 1988. "They show who we are through artwork," says Thomas Mayor, a Torres Strait Islander signatory to the Statement. Lead artist Rene Kulitja (third from left) supervises artists Christine Brumby, Charmaine Kulitja and Happy Reid. Credit:Clive Scollay But where those earlier declarations of Indigenous rights were addressed to kings, queens or parliaments, the Uluru statement forges a new path. "Its written to the Australian people," Mr Mayor says. "So I started to take it to the Australian people." On election night I was swapping messages with a good friend, a passionate, smart, generous advocate for Indigenous people who was now despondent. She said she feared for the future of the First Peoples under three more years of a conservative government that had already said no to the hopes and aspirations in the Uluru Statement from the Heart. It isnt a view I share. The Australian people had rejected Bill Shorten, a leader they had never warmed to and did not trust; they rejected Labors ambitious agenda for change; they rejected more taxes and class warfare; in parts of the country they rejected a climate change policy they thought threatened their jobs. But they did not reject the Uluru Statement. Indigenous leaders will have to reframe their arguments for a Prime Minister more interested in fairness not difference. Credit:AAP Whenever Australians have been asked, they have overwhelmingly supported the idea of Indigenous constitutional recognition. Polling numbers consistently show more than 80 per cent in favour. Many of those people would have voted for the Coalition. There is a challenge for Indigenous leadership, to work with the Morrison government and reframe the argument for recognition, rights, justice. This is not government interested in symbolism, it is going to prioritise real outcomes: jobs, education, health. It is a government thats going to be big on personal responsibility. Forget about changing the date of Australia Day or treaties; this governments mantra will be fairness not difference. Figures are in on the number of passengers using Sydney Metro Northwest this morning. About 21,000 people hopped on or off a single-deck metro trains between the start of services at 4.45am and 10am. The greatest number of people to use their Opal cards to tap on from the early morning to midday were at Epping station where 8080 did so, followed by Chatswood (4695), Macquarie University (2072) and Tallawong at the end of the line at Rouse Hill (1823). However, Chatswood had the highest number of people using their cards to tap off at 9425, followed by Macquarie University (5875) and Epping (2368). Interestingly, about half the passengers who rode on the driverless metro trains this morning did so to get to destinations along the north-west rail corridor, rather than hopping on double-deck Sydney Trains services to get to destinations further afield. Sydneysiders have turned out in the tens of thousands to ride the city's first metro train line, leading to huge crowds at stations and longer than expected trips for some on a historic day. In the first six hours after gates opened, 90,000 people rode on the new 36-kilometre Metro Northwest line from Chatswood to Rouse Hill in the north west on Sunday. On the opening day, the driverless trains were running to a weekend timetable of a service every 10 minutes. Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Transport Minister Andrew Constance cut the ribbon on Sydney's Metro Northwest line with the help of children. Credit:Edwina Pickles While the new line was under pressure from a sea of people, the significance of the day was not lost on many young and old. The moment was perhaps best summed up by 10-year-old Ryan Gates, who queued with his mum Sonya for several hours to ride on the driverless trains. "Its super cool," said the young train spotter from Como in Sydneys south. Ms Herron has a sister and brother and was "a part of a beautiful caring Greek-Aussie family". She was raised in the northern suburbs. Ms Norris said she and Ms Herron were "good friends" when she was with her brother. "She often babysat my older kids and even house sat for me once." Courtney Herron was only 25 when she was killed in Royal Park. Credit:Facebook Ms Herron had worked for a government department ''a number of years ago", Ms Norris said. "So to end up homeless and on the street is truly shocking for people to grasp." A friend of Ms Herron's, who asked not to be named, visited the site where her body was found on Sunday afternoon. She left flowers before weeping on the shoulder of another friend. "She was kind and she was lovely and she was a great friend," she said. Flowers at the crime scene in Parkville. Credit:Luis Ascui A high school friend said Ms Herron was one of the most kind-hearted people he had ever met. "[She was] always smiling and joking, trying to make herself and others happy. That's how I'll remember her," he said. "She should be remembered by her smile because you would see it every day without fail." Others have taken to social media to pay tribute to their friend. RIP beautiful, forever in our hearts. You didnt ever deserve this, another friend posted on Facebook. You lit up a room with your smile and happy, bubbly personality. Why did this happen ... you were an amazing person who will never be forgotten ... Memories will last a lifetime but wont be the same. Never will you be forgotten." Tributes to Ms Herron at the scene where her body was found. Credit:Luis Ascui Jadee Craggles posted on Facebook about her anger at Ms Herron's life being taken so young. "Breaks my heart that we live in such a f---ed up world, nobody deserves this," she said. "It was a pleasure knowing you; even not seeing you in years." Ms Craggles told The Age that she hadn't seen Courtney since high school, and was shocked to hear that she had been struggling. "She was a beautiful, normal young girl, breaks my heart to hear she was doing it so tough now," she said. She said Ms Herron was an incredibly "uplifting and kind" person. "She was a good friend with a beautiful character who had her life ahead of her," she said. She was kind-hearted, friendly and funny, always up for a good time and always there for her friends... and most of all a good friend to everyone. Homicide squad Detective Inspector Andrew Stamper said Ms Herron had lived a difficult life, struggling with drugs and mental health issues. He said the scene was "horrendous" and vowed police would not stop until they found who was responsible. Detective Inspector Stamper described her as a "vulnerable" member of the community who society had failed to protect. "This was a young woman who had significant challenges in life. We as a community should be protecting these people and we didn't. We failed on this occasion," he said. Detective Inspector Stamper said Ms Herron's family had been notified and were "heartbroken". "Courtney had had sporadic contact with her family, which is very much part of the challenges that happen when there is a child that suffers drug use and mental health issues ... family relationships can be fragmented," he said. "But I stress, that doesn't mean that families out there don't love their children and their heart breaks for them. We're dealing with a heartbroken family." Police say Courtney Herron was homeless at the time of her death. The last confirmed sighting of Ms Herron was on May 14 in St Albans when she spoke with police about a minor matter relating to her mental health and drug use. Police said that towards the end of her life she was transient and interacted with a lot of people. They are hoping some of these individuals may help them map out her movements in the last weeks of her life. Flowers have begun to pile up on the logs behind which Ms Herron's body was found. Ned Thompson was one of those who left a tribute. I felt like I have to do something," he said. "I feel like whoever she was, she deserves more than that and deserved more respect than that. And even if its a little symbolic gesture like [leaving flowers], I feel like its important to do something, he said. Another man who came to the scene did not wish to be named, but said he was mortified that another woman had lost her life on the streets of Melbourne. Never in a thousand years would you get used to it ... [leaving flowers] just seemed like the right thing to do, he said. A card left in tribute at the site lamented a life tragically lost. Police are appealing for help to piece together a collision between a car and a cyclist south of Brisbane that left the cyclist with serious head injuries. Investigators from the forensic crash unit believe the 55-year-old man was riding north on the left-hand side of Logan Road near the Kingston Road intersection between 6.40am and 7.10am on Saturday. The Toyota Camry Sedan struck him as it pulled out of Kingston Road, throwing him "some distance", where he came to rest in an adjacent lane, police said. The 29-year-old driver was not injured but the cyclist was taken to the Princess Alexandra Hospital with serious head injuries. Police are calling for anyone with dashcam footage from the area at the time of the crash to come forward. Loading Ms Herron had suffered "many mental illness issues and recurring homelessness" since the split with her brother, according to Ms Norris. She said her brother would want Ms Herron "to be remembered for the lovely woman she was and not just another homeless person who died on the streets". Ms Herron had worked for a government department "a number of years ago", Ms Norris said. "So to end up homeless and on the street is truly shocking for people to grasp." Melburnians will gather for a vigil on Friday at 5.30pm at Royal Park, with organisers urging people to "join together" to pay tribute to Ms Herron and reclaim the public park. "All people deserve safety in this world. Sadly, once again we must mourn the loss of an innocent woman in a place known to so many of us." Bouquets and heartfelt messages have been placed by mourners at a group of logs behind where Ms Herron's body was found. The makeshift shrine was continuing to grow on Monday morning, with friends and complete strangers braving the bitter cold winds to make their way across Royal Park and pay their respects. Annette Graham, 48, didnt know Ms Herron, but arrived with her 11-year-old son Coulton to place a bouquet of bright yellow roses tied with a red ribbon. "I wanted to send a message to whoever loved this poor lady, that we are thinking of them, and thinking of her." Ms Graham, who lives locally in North Melbourne, walks here four or five times a week at 7am and is wondering if its still safe to do so. "It just felt close to home and I just feltits enough. It has to stop. The violence has to stop." She used to walk at Royal Park at 6am or earlier but said 18 months ago she was followed at strange man and became scared. A friend of Ms Herron's, who asked not to be named, on Sunday left flowers at the site and wept on the shoulder of another friend. "She was kind and she was lovely and she was a great friend," she said. Tributes to Ms Herron at the scene where her body was found. Credit:Luis Ascui A man who knew Ms Herron in high school and said she was one of the most kind-hearted people he had ever met. "[She was] always smiling and joking, trying to make herself and others happy. That's how I'll remember her," he said. Loading Jadee Craggles posted on Facebook about her anger at Ms Herron's life being taken so young. "Breaks my heart that we live in such a f---ed up world, nobody deserves this," she said. "It was a pleasure knowing you; even not seeing you in years." Ms Craggles told The Age she hadn't seen Courtney since high school, and was shocked to hear that she had been struggling. "She was a beautiful, normal young girl, breaks my heart to hear she was doing it so tough now," she said. Detective Inspector Stamper said Ms Herron had lived a difficult life, struggling with drugs and mental health issues. He described Ms Herron as a "vulnerable" member of the community who society had failed to protect. "This was a young woman who had significant challenges in life. We as a community should be protecting these people and we didn't. We failed on this occasion," he said. Detective Inspector Stamper said Ms Herron's family was "heartbroken". "Courtney had had sporadic contact with her family, which is very much part of the challenges that happen when there is a child that suffers drug use and mental health issues ... family relationships can be fragmented," he said. Tributes have already began to appear on social media remembering Ms Herron as a kind and caring friend. RIP beautiful, forever in our hearts. You didnt ever deserve this, a friend posted on Facebook. You lit up a room with your smile and happy, bubbly personality. Why did this happen ... you were an amazing person who will never be forgotten ... Memories will last a lifetime but wont be the same. Never will you be forgotten." Detective Inspector Stamper described the scene as "horrendous" and vowed police would not stop until they found who was responsible. He said police were still determining whether it was a random attack or Ms Herron was killed by somebody she knew. Investigators had established Ms Herron was attacked a short distance away from where her body was later dumped. Homicide Squad Detective Inspector Andrew Stamper at the media conference on Sunday. Credit:Paul Rovere The last confirmed sighting of Ms Herron was in St Albans on May 14, police say. At the time of her death, Ms Herron was wearing a light brown sleeveless vest/jacket, a black hoodie, black trackpants, black runners and a blue singlet top, which featured pink buildings, gold sequins and a large blue rose on the lower right side. Detective Inspector Stamper said Ms Herron's family had been notified and were "heartbroken." "Courtney had sporadic contact with her family which is very much part of the challenges that happen when there is a child that suffers drug use and mental health issues ... family relationships can be fragmented," he said. "But I stress, that doesn't mean that families out there don't love their children and their heart breaks for them. We're dealing with a heartbroken family." A man lays flowers at the murder scene. Credit:Darrian Traynor Detective Inspector Stamper said there was no evidence at this stage that the attack had been sexually motivated. "It's the death of a woman, sadly, again in our city," Detective Inspector Stamper said. "This is an horrendous crime, as all murders are, particularly the murders of women." Detectives and forensic scientists worked through the night to investigate the circumstances of Ms Herron's death and were keen to speak to anyone who may have been in the area at the time and seen anything suspicious. We are committed to finding the person, or people, responsible for this horrific attack, Detective Inspector Stamper said. We are appealing for the communitys help and remind them that no piece of information is too big or too small." Police believe Ms Herron was couch-surfing with friends and may have been rough sleeping in the weeks leading up to her death. "Sadly, Courtney led a transient lifestyle which involved a lot of contact with different people so that presents a number of challenges for us," Detective Inspector Stamper said. "But I am really confident that there is a lot people out there who knew and loved Courtney and will want to provide assistance." Ms Herron's body was found hidden by charred logs in the busy inner Melbourne park. Heavy rain soaked the scene in Parkville overnight. On Sunday morning, the police tape was gone but horseback police patrolled the area as people began to lay flowers at the scene. Around 9.30am, a man walked through the park to lay a bunch of purple flowers at the logs where the womans body was found. He did not want to be named, but said he was mortified that another woman had lost her life on the streets of Melbourne. Never in a thousand years would you get used to it ... [leaving flowers] just seemed like the right thing to do, he said. Another man, Ned Thompson, also left flowers at the site. I felt like I have to do something," he said. "I feel like whoever she was, she deserves more than that and deserved more respect than that. And even if its a little symbolic gesture like [leaving flowers], I feel like its important to do something. Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews condemned the woman's death on Sunday describing it as a "deeply distressing" tragedy. "This is a terrible, terrible tragedy," Mr Andrews said. "It reminds us that whilst we have achieved a lot we have so much more to do in terms of preventing violence against women and keeping women across Victoria safe." When asked whether the government would beef up security measures in city parks, Mr Andrews said authorities were still piecing together the circumstances of the woman's death. "We've rolled out a lot of CCTV across the city and state and we take the best advice from trends in criminal activity from the experts... in this case Victoria Police," Mr Andrews said. "Every tragedy is an opportunity to learn. As more and more details come forward and we understand more about this particular case, then of course, we stand ready to make whatever changes Victoria Police think they need." Police and SES crews swept the scrub land on Saturday for evidence, cordoning off a large area of the park. A man walked through Royal Park in Parkville to lay a bunch of purple flowers at the logs where a womans body was found. Credit:The Age While police described the crime as horrendous, many women were not put off on Sunday, jogging and walking their dogs along the parks paths. I'm not scared at all, said local Lexi Poniros. It seems like a very random thing. This is a really nice area. Jan Hayes says she would never walk through the park at night due to poor lighting, but Saturdays crime scene has not scared her. I would still walk home from the tram and do all that, I wouldnt worry about that. she said. There are people who sleep rough and thats okay. Nobody worries about that, they are sort of part of the community. People keep an eye out for them. Loading The woman's death appears to be the fourth killing in less than 12 months of a lone woman in public in Melbourne. Uniformed police, detectives and members of the State Emergency Service at the scene in Parkville where a woman's body was found on Saturday morning. Credit:AAP It comes less than a year from the killing of Eurydice Dixon, whose body was found on an oval in Princes Park in Carlton North in the early hours of June 13, 2018. Ms Dixon was raped and murdered while on her way home from a comedy club in the city. Jaymes Todd has pleaded guilty to murdering Ms Dixon in Princes Park in Carlton North, having followed her on foot from outside Flinders Street station. Loading Jaymeso follows the killing of 21-year-old international student Aiia Maasarwe in Bundoora in January this year. Ms Maasarwe had moved to Melbourne for a one-year exchange program to study at La Trobe University. She was kilMaasarweing from a tram stop to her home. Her Maasarwe found on grass near a Bundoora shopping centre. Codey Herrmann, 20, has been charged with Ms Maasarwe's rape and murder. Direct flights from Melbourne to Kununurra are set to start on May 2020, linking east coast travellers to WA's Kimberley region in an Australia-first. The trial air service will include three flights per week between the Victorian capital and Kununurra from May to August, the Kimberley's peak tourism season. The flights will be four hours long and operated by an Alliance Airlines 80-seat Fokker 70 aircraft. The initiative hopes to bring more east coast holidaymakers to the Kimberley. Flights will be booked and distributed via Virgin Australia. Scott Morrison has tapped one of the Coalition's most trusted voices, Arthur Sinodinos, to become the next ambassador to the United States as President Donald Trump raises questions over Australia's role in the FBI inquiry into his 2016 election. Ahead of what could be a testing period for Australia's relationship with its most important diplomatic relationship, Senator Sinodinos - widely tipped to take a cabinet position in the re-elected Morrison government - will head to Washington. Next ambassador to the US, Arthur Sinodinos. Credit:Janie Barrett The term of Joe Hockey, the current ambassador and former treasurer in the Abbott government, is to finish at the end of the year. This enabled Mr Morrison to offer the post to Senator Sinodinos who is expected to take over in January 2020, the start of a presidential election year. Senator Sinodinos said he was pleased to take up the posting. Latest News MoneyMe to acquire SocietyOne Deal brings together two of the fastest-growing brands in the non-bank space Resimac makes key broker channel hires Two new GMs to bolster broker support A lawyer is calling on aggregators and lenders to assess how they deal with misconduct after receiving a series of legal enquiries from brokers who say they have been denied separation letters. Matthew Bransgrove, partner at the law firm Bransgroves, wrote to more than 40 aggregators and lenders last week and followed up today with a letter to brokers, which he said has been distributed to 8,000 industry members. Bransgrove claimed brokers are being stripped of their accreditation for alleged misconduct that is not committed to writing and that, since the royal commission, the number of brokers seeking legal advice on the issue had increased. The brokers in question are then refused the paperwork necessary to join a new aggregation group, effectively locking them out of the industry and creating what he has termed a Hollywood blacklist. From a legal perspective, Bransgrove concluded that the behaviour is anticompetitive, and he said the practice is ruining innocent brokers lives. This is an extra-judicial process that bypasses the formal mechanisms available through the MFAA. Aggregators and lenders could use the MFAA, they could report brokers to ASIC, but they choose to do neither, he explains. His letter begins, We are writing because we have noticed an increasing trend for brokers to be unfairly refused separation letters containing the no adverse circumstances notation. Speaking to Australian Broker, Bransgrove added, For many years the banks and major aggregators have been operating a Hollywood blacklist to deal with brokers who they individually deem warrant expulsion from the industry. This exposes brokers to very unfair results as they are given no chance to defend themselves before an independent umpire, he added. To address the situation, Bransgrove is calling for aggregators to add a due process clause to their broker deeds whereby they agree that they will give a no adverse circumstances or due process when the broker leaves. They also need to stand up to the banks and ask for evidence of wrongdoing before treating the broker as a criminal, he continued. Despite highlighting that the MFAA is bypassed during the alleged process, Bransgroves letter concludes with a plea for the association to step in. In response, MFAA CEO Mike Felton said the association is focused on ensuring fair practice across the industry. The MFAA strongly believes that any lender or aggregator with an allegation of misconduct by an MFAA member should refer the matter to the MFAA, to ensure that an independent process is triggered to deal with it and come to an appropriate, peer-reviewed outcome, he said. With respect to matters involving misconduct, the MFAAs main focus is on ensuring that the process is fair while delivering natural justice with the ultimate objectives of protecting consumers and the reputation of the finance broking industry, he added. However, in the case of contractual disputes these fall outside of the MFAAs jurisdiction and must be handled by the courts. Royal commission recommendation 1.6 called for greater investigation and detection of misconduct, and for transparency of recording and reporting of misconduct matters. As the Combined Industry Forum works through the process of addressing this recommendation, the MFAA is continuing to advocate for the greater use of its disciplinary system and its tribunal by lenders and aggregators, to ensure that those brokers who are alleged to have been involved in misconduct are subject to a procedure that is independent, fair and provides natural justice to all parties, Felton concluded. Australian Broker has contacted several aggregation groups, and all have denied that the alleged collusion occurs. There will be more on this story as it develops. Sign up for our amNY Sports email newsletter to get insights and game coverage for your favorite teams They fly through the borough with the greatest of ease! A new show will use live music, slapstick comedy, and high-flying acrobatics to take guests on a journey through Brooklyn in Manhattan. The latest production from Williamsburgs Bindlestiff Family Cirkus, Brooklyn Abridged, swinging into the Connelly Theater on the distant isle of Manhattan on May 30, will pay tribute to Kings County through a spectacular circus display, said the shows co-creator. Were paying homage to the do-it-yourself circus scene that has grown out of Brooklyn over the years, which we were at the forefront of for a long time, said Keith Nelson. Were also paying homage to the interesting individuals in Brooklyn, from artists to steel workers, as well as the diversity that makes Brooklyn what it is. The show will feature jaw-dropping acrobatic performances, said Nelson, including multiple trapeze acts, a trip up an unsupported ladder, and a daring walk across an elevated slack wire. The daring young athletes perform against a backdrop that echoes some of the Brooklyns most notable landmarks, from its namesake bridge to the iconic rides of Coney Island, according to Nelson. The show is based a lot around the Brooklyn Bridge, he said. Its really a strong piece of the show. We also talk about the 20-or-so people who died in the construction of the bridge, so were exploring some darker elements as well. Everything about the show is intertwined with Kings County, said Nelson, except the theater hosting to the performance. We couldnt find a space in Brooklyn, he said. Brooklyn has become more expensive than Manhattan and Im only half joking. Nelson wishes the show could have debuted in the borough from which it draws its inspiration, but says that the 100-seat venue provides a perfect setting for this dazzling display. It is a really amazing venue. Its not quite dilapidated, but its an old theater with a ton of character, he said. Its also one of those places that is still very accessible, both in terms of geography, and also in that youre not walking into this giant palace. Its more intimate, so we can keep ticket prices lower, and everyone can experience the art. If all goes well throughout the shows 11-day run, Bindlestiff hopes they will find another home to keep the show swinging. Were hoping to get a longer run, ideally in Brooklyn, because that would be more fitting to do Brooklyn Abridged in Brooklyn, said Nelson. But youve got to take the show to whatever venue you can. Brooklyn Abridged at the Connelly Theater (220 E. Fourth St. between Avenue A and Avenue B in the East Village in Manhattan, www.conne llyth eater.org ). May 30June 9, Wed-Thu at 7 p.m., Fri at 8 p.m., Sat; 3 p.m. and 8 p.m., Sun at 3 p.m. $35 ($30 in advance). Mean Girl: Ayn Rand and the Culture of Greed Lisa Duggan University of California Press; $18.95; 116 pages Ayn Rand liked to see herself as an ardent custodian of truth, but in her own life she had a hard time abiding too much reality. The critical recognition she craved mostly eluded her her best-selling novels The Fountainhead (1943) and Atlas Shrugged (1957) were lurid, melodramatic, full of implausible characters and turgid harangues and as her fame and notoriety grew, she retreated to the safe harbour of her acolytes. Or presumably safe. As Lisa Duggan explains ... Collaboration with top designer house Isabel Marant, known for signature bohemian style, may be making news for Swedish apparel chain Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) these days. But, that's not the only thing keeping H&M busy. The fast-fashion chain is quietly giving finishing touches to its first phase of store rollout in India, a market it will enter 66 years after being born. As soon as H&M gets the approval of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB), it will start opening stores in India, an industry source points out. If in the next one month, the company gets the government nod, the first store may come up as early as end of 2013 or at the start of 2014, he says. This is quite in contrast to the other major Swedish brand, IKEA, which hit the headlines with the largest foreign investment proposal in retail at Rs 10,500 crore last year. IKEA wants to wait for the right location, right infrastructure and right price before taking a call on its first store. It seems now that the company has zeroed in on a plot of land at Noida, next to Delhi, where it may start its India journey. Construction of the IKEA store could take anything from 18 to 24 months. The apparel company, whose creations are often seen on people like Kate Moss and David Beckham, is already believed to be in advanced stages of negotiation to book 25,000 square feet space at a top mall in New Delhi. Three years ago, Spanish rival Zara opened its flagship store, spread out across 16,000 square feet, at the same mall and it continues to do brisk business from there. In fact, people close to the development indicate that H&M, which offers high-end fashion and catwalk look on a budget, is planning six stores in Delhi and its neighbourhood alone. Of course, it's going with a pan-India expansion strategy. While Hacan Andersson, press officer at H&M's Stockholm headquarters, says it is too early to say when and where the first stores would be opening, he adds that "India is an interesting market for H&M with many fashion conscious customers, and we look forward to open our first stores." The brand, which operates 3,000 stores in 53 markets around the world, including the popular outlet at London's Regent Street, seems to be in a hurry to cater to the fashion-hungry young population of India. H&M wants to invest Rs 700 crore in India initially and may then scale it up. The company's April 18 application indicates that its investment could be much bigger than ^100 million. H&M has spent around $300 million in five years in many developing markets where it already has a presence and believes India has the same potential to attract investment. Different strokes Saloni Nangia, president, Technopak Advisors, a retail consultancy, argues that IKEA and H&M are both from Sweden, but they follow different formats. "IKEA is a destination shopping format with one or two stores in the city, which are larger. It will have complex sourcing processes. H&M, on the other hand, is a fast-fashion brand catering to a different target audience." A fast-fashion brand like H&M is expected to click in India with its large young population, according to Nangia. Another analyst, who does not want to be named, says the format is such that it would do well. "Zara and Marks & Spencer are already here in India and it's a proven model." However, the road to the lucrative India market has not exactly been a bed of roses for H&M. It filed its application with the department of industrial policy & promotion (DIPP) under the commerce and industry ministry in April and it was only recently forwarded to FIPB, a key wing in the finance ministry that vets foreign investment proposals. According to government officials, FIPB is likely to consider H&M's application soon. There's something about Sweden. While IKEA's protracted negotiations with the government on India's retail policy is well chronicled, subsequently resulting in single-brand sourcing norms somewhat easing, mystery surrounds the hurdles faced by H&M. While it was clear that the chain's proposal had hit the regulatory wall, nobody explained why, till recently. Five months after H&M filed its application to invest Rs 100 million (Rs 700 crore) in setting up single-brand retail stores in India, the government asked it about its commitment to comply with the mandatory 30 per cent sourcing norm. According to single-brand FDI guidelines, in cases where foreign investment is more than 51 per cent, 30 per cent of the value of goods purchased must be from India, preferably from small and medium enterprises. The products so sourced would have to be used for single-brand retailing in India. But, DIPP sought clarity from H&M on whether it wants to source from India for retail operation in the country or for exports to other geographies also. In its application, the company had confirmed compliance, saying: "H&M will source from India (preferably from micro, small and medium enterprises) the equivalent of 30 per cent of the value of the goods (excluding taxes and duties) purchased by H&M Retail India, the proposed investee company to be incorporated in India." It had added: "The goods sourced from India for the purposes of meeting the 30 per cent sourcing requirement will be utilised for export sales, as well as for domestic sales, through retail stores in India." The latter part of the statement may have triggered doubts in the minds of the officials. Also, the FDI rules say that only one non-resident entity, whether owner of the brand or otherwise, shall be permitted to undertake single-brand product retail trading in the country for the specific brand through a legally tenable agreement with the brand owner. H&M was told to clarify to the government on its licensing agreement. In this case, the applicant company (H&M Hennes & Mauritz GBC AB), as well as the second minority investor entity (H&M Hennes & Mauritz International AB) are 100 per cent subsidiaries of Hennes & Mauritz AB, the brand-owning entity. Hennes & Mauritz AB, through a licence agreement on April 11, 2013, had granted to H&M Hennes & Mauritz GBC AB, the applicant company, the exclusive right to undertake single-brand product retail trading in India, according to its application. An official said recently, "H&M has clarified and there's no hurdle now." At this point, the government does not want to create barriers for foreign investors, especially for single-brand chains which are not really a threat to the largely-unorganised, small retail stores. Politically too, single-brand retail is not such a hot potato, unlike multi-brand retail where majors such as Walmart and Carrefour have been waiting to enter but have not made any headway because of the tough policy riders on sourcing and investment, in spite of the Cabinet clearing FDI in the sector more than a year ago. While H&M is coming to India with a clear strategy to target the fashion-conscious young population, it is sure to keep an eye on the likes of Zara which already operates in India through a tie-up with Trent. Around the world, Germany is H&M's topmost market, followed by the US, UK and France. Apart from H&M, the group has brands including COS, Monki, Weekday and Cheap Monday and Other Stories. The Zara-H&M rivalry is well known in other parts of the globe. According to analysts, Zara has been scoring over H&M in many parts because of its aggressive e-commerce strategy and also its fast supply chain, low stocking, quick updating of designs and focused Asia expansion. We will soon know how the rivalry plays out in the stores closer to home. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the next five years will be the time to regain the rightful position of India in the world order. He was speaking here at a function following the Lok Sabha election victory, which was kept simple and shorn of pomp because of the Surat fire tragedy. Next five years will be very important in the history of the country, as was the period between 1942 and 1947, Modi said addressing a huge gathering. Next five years will be the time to regain the rightful position of India in the world order. In the past our country had that ... 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 It's the most sensitive day of the year for China's internet, the anniversary of the bloody June 4 crackdown on pro-democracy protests at Tiananmen Square, and with under two weeks to go, China's robot censors are working overtime. Censors at Chinese internet companies say tools to detect and block content related to the 1989 crackdown have reached unprecedented levels of accuracy, aided by machine learning and voice and image recognition. "We sometimes say that the artificial intelligence is a scalpel, and a human is a machete," said one content screening ... Iran will defend itself against any military or economic aggression, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Sunday, calling on European states to do more to preserve a nuclear agreement his country signed. Speaking at a Baghdad news conference with his Iraqi counterpart Mohammed al-Hakim, Zarif said Iran wanted to build balanced relations with its Gulf Arab neighbours and had proposed signing a non-aggression pact with them. "We will defend against any war efforts against Iran, whether it be an economic war or a military one, and we will face these efforts with ... For nearly three weeks, Baltimore has struggled with a cyberattack by digital extortionists that has frozen thousands of computers, shut down email and disrupted real estate sales, water bills, health alerts and many other services. But here is what frustrated city employees and residents do not know: A key component of the malware that cybercriminals used in the attack was developed at taxpayer expense a short drive down the Baltimore-Washington Parkway at the National Security Agency, according to security experts briefed on the case. Since 2017, when the NSA lost control of the ... Punjab police arrested two persons in Firozpur on Saturday and confiscated over 3.5 kilograms of heroin from their possession. According to police, Special Task Force (STF), Ludhiana arrested the duo near Border Security Force (BSF) post, Ghatti Hayat in Firozpur and seized 3.560 Kg of the Heroin and a motorbike, recovered from the accused. The two were identified as Boota Singh and Harchand Singh, both residents of Tarn Taran district. Accused Boota Singh has as many as 10 cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act against him. . (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) John Bailey, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, on Saturday encouraged the idea of representation of Indian cinema in new Academy museum in Los Angeles. He also stated that opening an office in India is an "excellent idea". "We have an office in London and in New York. India is the largest film-making country in the world. India makes up to 1,800 movies a year, which is more than four numbers of times that we make (Hollywood) in the US. It's an excellent idea... Mumbai would be such a strong connection to all of South-East Asia. It makes a lot of sense," Bailey, who is in India along with his wife Carol Littleton, told media here. "The Academy is not a company or a corporation... The reason to have an office anywhere is based upon the services the Academy can provide to the membership. So, the key to having an office in Mumbai or in India would be to being able to service the members and the community and expand the outreach. Last year, the Academy accepted 928 new members from 56 countries... The Academy is not just a Hollywood bubble," he added. Talking about the Academy museum, he said, "The Academy museum is going to open early next year. We hoped that it would open by the end of this year, but due to various events we have decided to open it in March or April probably." He added, "I am very proud to be here as the first President of the Academy to visit India. Carol and I come from the ground level of film-making... We bring a perspective and an understanding of the film-making process." Asked about representation India cinema abroad, Bailey said, "I think that they need a much broader distribution in large parts of the world. I know there are Indian films they continue to show at Cannes and in Venice. But it's very hard certainly in Europe and the US for these films to get much of the exhibition in the theatres... It's such a rich tradition. Most of us only know Indian cinema today from a very limited perspective of musical and dance films of Bollywood, but there is so much more. There are ways to do it." Also present were State Cultural Affairs and Education Minister Vinod Tawde and Principal Secretary, Cultural Affairs, Bhushan Gagrani. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Sumalatha Ambareesh, the first independent candidate to successfully win the Mandya Lok Sabha seat, met senior BJP leader SM Krishna here in Bengaluru on Sunday. She was accompanied by former Karnataka Chief Minister and BJP state president BS Yeddyurappa and party leader R Ashoka. Sumalatha Ambareesh, the veteran actor and wife of late former Congress lawmaker MH Ambareesh, created history by winning against Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy's son Nikhil Kumaraswamy with a margin of over 1 lakh votes. "Just wait and see," said Yeddyurappa on being asked about the political development in the state. Meanwhile, Ambareesh said: "I am here to thank everyone. SM Krishna is a senior most respected leader and he hails from Mandya. I had taken his blessings earlier and now I want to thank him." After the meeting, Yeddyurappa said that they met Krishna to congratulate him for covering around 27 parliamentary constituencies in the concluded Lok Sabha elections. "SM Krishna ji has covered about 27 constituencies in the LS elections. Because of him, we got all the Bangalore seats. I came here to congratulate him," he said. He accepted that Congress leaders including Ramesh Jarkiholi and Dr Sudhakar came to meet Krishna. "Jarkiholi and other Congress leaders are his close friends. They came here to congratulate Krishna ji," Yeddyurappa said. Responding to speculations if Sumalatha is joining BJP, Yeddyurappa said: "She is going to take opinion from people of Mandya. After discussing it with them, she will take an appropriate decision." He further dismissed the reports of BJP trying to form government in Karnataka. "We are happy to be in the Opposition. Government in Karnataka? Not at all, we are not working on it." Sumalatha also spoke to media and expressed happiness over her massive win in Mandya. "Supporters will always wish the best for you. We have to see how it unfolds the whole scenario. The country has given a huge amazing mandate to one party (BJP), which itself is a very healthy side. Now, the government is strengthened and they can do all kind of welfare programmes. I am going to get a slice of it for my district," she said. "As an independent, you are not allowed to join any party. You can only support from outside," she said on her possibility of joining the BJP. She added that she will go to Mandya on 29 May, which happens to be her husband's birthday. "I would like to give credit to everyone who has worked hard for me. It was a tough an election, a lot of people did not give me a chance at all," she said. On the other hand, Ashoka said, "I came to meet SM Krishna Ji to discuss party matters. I have no friendship with Congress leaders Ramesh Jarkiholi and Dr Sudhakar." It is worth mentioning that BJP had supported her by not fielding any candidate from the Lok Sabha seat. The BJP won 25 of the 28 seats along with an Independent backed by it just leaving one seat each to Congress and JD(S). Narendra Modi-led NDA swept the elections and won 352 out of 542 seats in the 17th Lok Sabha elections. As per official numbers, the BJP secured 303 seats, 22 more than its 2014 figures. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has set a 12-hour deadline to nab culprits who killed ex-pradhan Surendra Singh of Amethi and has dispatched Inspector General, Lucknow for monitoring the probe. Singh is a close associate of BJP's Smriti Irani, who trounced Rahul Gandhi in Amethi and campaigned extensively in her favour. "On the unfortunate murder of Ex Pradhan Surendra Singh of Amethi, Chief Minister has directed the DGP to take severe and effective action and show results by today evening in the next 12 hours and catch the culprits. IG Lucknow has been dispatched for monitoring on the ground," office of Uttar Pradesh CM informed. Newly elected Amethi MP, Smriti Irani reached Singh's native place to offer condolences and also paid floral tributes to the deceased. Surendra Singh was shot at by unidentified assailants when he was sleeping in the verandah of his house at around 3 am on Sunday. He was rushed to a trauma centre in Lucknow where he succumbed to injuries, police said. OP Singh, DGP, Uttar Pradesh told ANI that seven people have been detained during the investigation and said, "Intensive investigations are underway. Seven people have been detained for questioning. Apart from this, three companies of Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) have been deputed." Singh further said that the police is confident of solving the case within the next 12 hours. "We have found vital clues through electronic surveillance. We're confident of solving the case in the next 12 hours". "The postmortem of the victim is underway in Lucknow. We will later go through the report, which we hope will fetch us important details related to the case," he further added. According to the DGP, there is a possibility of further arrests and said the police is looking into all aspects of the killing, including political rivalry. Singh's son alleged a role of Congress supporters in the killing of his father. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) BJP General Secretary Muralidhar Rao on Sunday asserted that the BJP will definitely make inroads into Telangana by 2024. Speaking to ANI, Rao said: "If there is one single party which is capable of performing well in the state, it is BJP. If we work hard towards exterminating unfavourable policies of Telangana Rashtra Samithi over the period of next 2-3 years, our party will definitely make inroads into the state in the next Lok Sabha elections in 2024. Telangana is ready for BJP." Out of 17 Lok Sabha seats in the state, TRS won nine parliamentary seats, wherein the BJP won four parliamentary seats, the Congress won three and the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen won one seat. In 2014, however, TRS had won 11 seats, while BJP had won only 1 seat. Buoyed by his party's win in the four constituencies in the state, he said: "If there is one state which is naturally inclined towards the party, it is Telangana. It has a history of fighting against Nizam's feudalism. After Assembly elections, people realised BJP will provide more stable government at the center and voted accordingly." Rao also mounted an attack on the Congress and said that it has become weak and incoherent at the level. "Congress and TRS are alike in terms of policies and ideologies," he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Sunday issued a Look-Out Notice against former Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar in connection with the ongoing investigation into the Saradha chit fund scam in West Bengal. The investigative agency has mentioned in the notice to airports and land ports that Kumar should not be allowed to leave the country. The notice means that Kumar, who is allegedly linked to the Saradha chit fund scam, will be handed over to the CBI at airports or land ports of the country if he tries to leave India. Kumar has been accused of destroying evidence related to the Ponzi scheme when he was heading the West Bengal Police's Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the chit fund scam. On May 24, the Supreme Court refused to entertain a plea filed by Kumar seeking an extension of the seven-day period granted to him to approach a competent court for protection from arrest in connection with the case. Kumar had approached the apex court seeking an extension of protection from arrest, claiming that he was not able to access legal remedies in West Bengal since lawyers in the state were on strike. An unprecedented chain of events had unfolded on February 3 when a CBI team was detained by Kolkata Police when it reached Kumar's residence to question him. It was followed by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's visit to the officer's home. The CBI officers were taken to a police station and later released. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Congress leader and MP from Assam's Koliabor Lok Sabha constituency, Gaurav Gogoi, on Sunday accused BJP of using Citizenship Amendment Bill as a 'political weapon' while asserting that his party will keep opposing it. "We have already been very clear about CA bill issue. Rahul Gandhi had clearly said that if Congress forms a government then we will remove this bill. Although we are not in government still we are going to oppose it. This bill is against the constitution of India. For BJP this bill is like a political weapon to divide the country. They did not think about Assam and its growing population", Gogoi told media persons. He also blamed the central government for not being serious enough about the Register of Citizens (NRC) and said, "This government is not serious regarding NRC. Repeatedly Supreme Court is making statements but the government is not doing anything. We want that a full and final accurate NRC must happen at the earliest and all those Indians who are not part of it must be included in it." In Assam, BJP won nine out of 14 seats, surpassing its 2014 tally in the state. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Bar Council of India (BCI) on Saturday expressed its trust in the in-house inquiry that cleared Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi of sexual harassment allegations. The council also expressed disappointment over the views of two former Supreme Court judges, Justice Jasti Chelameswar and Justice Madan Lokur, following the clean chit given to Chief Justice of India, Gogoi. "The issue of the concocted story of so-called harassment to an unknown Lady complainant has been buried to the grounds: But unfortunately we find that few persons are still trying to make unwarranted and uncalled for comments for the reasons best known to them. We could understand the motive of some Lawyers behind such baseless criticisms of the Institution, the In-House Committee and of the Chief Justice of India but now the phase wise, belated comments of Justice Madan Lokur and Justice Chelameswar, the two former Judges of Supreme Court, is beyond imagination," said Manan Kumar Mishra, Chairman, BCI. "Both Lokur and Chelameswar were the Chief Justices of Gauhati High Court while Justice Ranjan Gogoi was a Judge. Unfortunately, neither of them could become the Chief Justice of India and Justice Gogoi got this opportunity: This depends on one's destiny and merit," Mishra added. Mishra later went on to add, "We are shocked and surprised to see the comments of the two Judges after several weeks of the closer of this episode. What is their purpose, we fail to understand?" Mishra said that the council hopes that the two Judges "would not make any further statement in the press which could further harm the institution." He added, "Bar has no hesitation in saying that it were these two Judges who had taken lead role in January, 2018 in holdings a Press-Conference and that was the starting point of Deterioration: we should not forget that Justice Gogoi told the very next day that 'there was no crisis in the Judiciary', but neither Justice Lokur nor Justice Chelameswar ever realized their mistakes." The BCI statement further recommends that the In-House inquiry's report must not be made public. "In the considered opinion of the Bar and the responsible citizen of this country, if the report of the Committee is made public, it would cause serious harm to the lady-complainant: Moreover the disgruntled elements and people with vested interests will again start making baseless comments: there will be no end to this episode and this would lead to perpetual irreparable loss to our Highest office of Judiciary," the statement read. This comes after it was revealed on May 16 that the former woman court staffer, who levelled allegations of sexual harassment against CJI Ranjan Gogoi, will soon file an appeal against the clean chit given to the CJI by an in-house panel of the apex court. "The victim will soon file an appeal against the clean chit given to CJI in the sexual harassment case by the in-house panel of the Supreme Court," lawyer Prashant Bhushan said. On May 6, it was disclosed that a three-judge in-house committee of the Supreme Court gave a clean chit to CJI Gogoi in the sexual harassment allegations levelled against him by the former court staffer. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the coming five years of his second term have to be years of 'Jan Bhagidari' (people's participation) and 'Jan Chetna' (people's awareness), and should further enhance India's position at the world stage. Addressing the party workers during his first visit to Gujarat after registering a massive victory in the just-concluded Lok Sabha elections, Modi said: "We have to utilise these five years to solve the issues of common citizens. We have to further enhance India's position at the world stage. The coming five years have to be years of Jan Bhagidari and Jan Chetna." Stating that the vote in 2019 is a pro-incumbency vote and a positive vote, he said: "This election many pundits failed. After the sixth phase of polling, I had said that we will get 300 plus seats. Many people made fun of me. During the whole election, it was noticed that people were voting to form a strong government." He also spoke about his dilemma to take part in the event in the wake of Surat fire tragedy and said that he was in constant contact with the state government regarding the fire incident. "Since yesterday I had been in a dilemma whether to attend the programme or not. One side it was 'kartavya' and on another side, it was 'karuna.' Families who lost their children lost their future. I pray that God gives power to the families of those children," said Modi. The Prime Minister also spoke about a viral video from West Bengal and said: "I saw a video on social media in which a woman from Bengal kept saying 'Modi, Modi.' When asked why? She said - 'I have visited Gujarat and found development there. I want the same in Bengal.' But when that woman was asked for whom she voted, she didn't say anything." Asserting that the mandate the BJP got in 2014 Lok Sabha polls was because of the development of Gujarat, Modi said: "However, about 2019, the president (Amit Shah) once told me that this election was not fought by Narendra Modi, BJP or candidate. It was the people who were contesting the election. If we look at the votes as per assembly constituencies, then in these elections we have won in 173 assembly seats in Gujarat." During the visit, Prime Minister Modi also spent some time at the party office in Khanpur and recalled his association with the place. "When I used to be in the party office, during evening time journalists will come here and chat with me. I learned many things at this small party office. What I learned from this soil and the 'Sanskar' which I got from Gujarat has helped me a lot," said Modi. Every time PM Modi wins elections, he visits the party office at Khanpur and sits in a particular room from where he started his political career. Earlier in the day, he paid tribute to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's statue near Ahmedabad airport. He was accompanied by BJP president Amit Shah and Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani among others. PM Modi, who will be sworn in for the second term as India's prime minister on May 30, is visiting the state today to seek the blessings of his mother Heeraben Modi. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pune Magistrate court on Sunday sent two accused in the Dabholkar murder case--Advocate Sanjeev Punalekar and Vikram Bhave -- to CBI custody till June 1. Additional sessions judge S N Sonawane was hearing the matter pertaining to the murder of Narendra Dabholkar, founder of the Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti (MANS). He was shot dead by bike-borne assailants while returning home from a morning walk on August 20, 2013. The probe agency had sought custodial interrogation of Sanjiv Punalekar for his role in the destruction of firearms used in the commission of the offence. In an application moved by the CBI in court today, it submitted, "During the investigation, it is revealed that in the month of June 2018, accused Sharad Kalaskar, visited the chamber of Advocate Punalekar and told him about his role in Dabholkar's murder. He told Kalaskar to destroy firearms used in the murder cases including the murder of Gauri Lankesh. Punelekar custodial interrogation is required to unearth conspiracy which is in the exclusive knowledge of the accused and his involvement with other co-accused persons, in this case, having and international ramification." During the course of hearing, CBI lawyer Prakash Suryavanshi contended that while Bhave recced the spot where Dabholkar was shot, Advocate Punalekar was the conspirator. While demanding 14 days police custody of the accused, Suryavanshi said, "Punalekar also helped the shooters to dismantle the weapon. Both the accused have also dismantled the vehicle used by shooters." Vikram Bhave's counsel, however, argued that there was no mention of Bhave in the second charge sheet filed by the CBI. "Already one charge sheet has been filed in this case which said the shooters were two other people namely Sarang Akolkar and Vinay Pawar. Advocate Bhave has already been investigated by CBI in September last year. They do not have any evidence like CCTV or call records to ascertain his involvement." Another accused, Sanjeev Punalekar, said, "Seven months have passed since Karnataka SIT took the statement of Sharad Kalaskar, in which he had alleged my involvement in the case, then why did CBI not question me during this time?" On May 25, the CBI had arrested the accused duo from Mumbai. Punalekar is also an advocate for the case and has been advocating for many right-wing accused in different cases. Earlier, CBI had arrested Amol Kale, Rajesh Bangera and Amit Degvekar in connection with the case, but they were granted bail by the Pune Sessions Court in 2018 as the agency failed to file charge sheet against them within the stipulated 90-day period. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Delhi Police on Sunday arrested a person in Khajuri Khas area of the capital for allegedly murdering an 11-year-old boy who was missing since May 14. Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) North-East Delhi said, "The dead body of the boy was recovered from under a flyover yesterday evening." "The accused whose name is Danish was angry with the deceased's family over some issues. To teach them a lesson, he took the boy and killed him by strangulating him," the DCP added. The DCP further said, "While analysing CCTV footages, police got the lead and interrogated the accused, who later confessed to his crime. Whether the boy was sodomised or not will be clear by postmortem report only. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A 28-year-old man was shot at by three unknown bike-borne assailants in Welcome area here on Sunday afternoon. According to Delhi Police, as the victim was returning after showing a tenant his one-room accommodation, three assailants on a bike fired at him repeatedly. The police is analysing CCTV footage to ascertain the identity of the accused. Further investigation in this regard is underway. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Vijayawada, on Sunday said it has arrested a man and seized 1137.30 kg of cannabis worth over Rs. 2 crores. Acting on intelligence sources on May 24, a team of DRI officials intercepted a cargo vehicle carrying cannabis worth about Rs 2,27,46,000 in Vijayawada. After interrogating the driver, DRI learned that the ganja was being transported illegally from Narsipatnam to Hyderabad under the cover of a bulk cargo of Phospho Gypsum. A case has been registered and further investigation is underway. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) British Environment Secretary Micheal Gove on Sunday pitched himself to succeed Theresa May as the Prime Minister of Britain. "I can confirm that I will be putting my name forward to be prime minister of this country," local media quoted Gave, as saying. So far, eight contenders have said that they will run for the post whose central task would be to find a way to complete the process of pending Brexit. Gave has joined British Health Minister Matt Hancock, Foreign Minister Boris Johnson, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, International Minister Jeremy Hunt, and Development Secretary Rory Stewart and former Work and Pension Minister Esther McVey, to replace May. UK Prime Minister Theresa May announced her resignation on the morning of May 24. She will remain head of the UK government till her successor is not chosen. For long, May had been making efforts to push her beleaguered agreement or an alternative withdrawal deal through the British Parliament in a bid to prevent the UK from participating in the European Parliament elections. Her thrice-rejected deal forced the 62-year-old leader to request an extension to delay the withdrawal process. The Brexit date was hence changed from March 29 to April 12. Last month, the EU leaders agreed to delay the Brexit process to another six months, with October 31 as the new date for the UK's withdrawal from the European bloc. May took office as UK's Prime Minister in July 2016 after her predecessor and party colleague David Cameron stepped down from the post, following the Brexit referendum, which saw 52 per cent of the electorate voting in favour of the country leaving the EU. In a last-ditch attempt, May on Tuesday gave a chance to those in the UK Parliament asking for a second referendum on Brexit to have their way by introducing a new Brexitdeal, even as she maintained her stand against the move. "I've tried everything possible to find a way through. Today I am making a serious offer to MPs across Parliament -- a new Brexit deal," she had said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Voters across 21 European nations on Sunday headed to polling stations to cast their votes on the final day of the 2019 European Parliament elections. The result is expected to be declared later in the evening. Over 400 million Europeans were eligible to cast their votes to elect 751 ministers of European Parliament, Sputnik reported. Right-wing nationalist parties have emerged as a great challenge for the centre-right and the centre-left parties. Italy's League party has formed an alliance with other right-wing groups including Germany's AfD, the Finns Party and the Danish People's Party to create the European Alliance for People and Nations. French President Emmanuel Macron has described the vote as the most important since direct elections to the European Parliament began in 1979 "because the union is facing an existential threat" from populist, anti-EU forces, local media reported. The voting process began on May 23 with the UK, who was hesitating to vote earlier but had to after EU forced it to do so. Meanwhile, voting took place in Ireland on Friday. The Czech Republic, Latvia, Malta, and Slovakia voted on May 25. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived here on Sunday and paid tribute to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's statue near Ahmedabad Airport. He was accompanied by BJP President Amit Shah and Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, among others. Modi, who will be sworn in for the second term as Prime Minister on May 30, is visiting the state today to seek the blessings of his mother Heeraben Modi. Along with Shah, the Prime Minister will take part in a public felicitation event being organised to mark the euphoric mandate of BJP under their leadership. Earlier, BJP's Gujarat unit president Jitu Vaghani had told ANI that Modi and Shah will not receive a grand welcome on Sunday owing to the Surat fire tragedy which claimed the lives of 20 people. Modi is scheduled to visit his parliamentary constituency Varanasi tomorrow. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) YSRCP president and Chief Minister-designate YS Jaganmohan Reddy on Sunday said that he would meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi even for "50 times" in the next five years to get special status to Andhra Pradesh. Talking to media persons after meeting Modi here, Reddy said: "Today was my first meeting with Prime Minister Modi. God willing I will probably meet him, maybe, 30, 40 or even 50 times over these five years. I told him how important the special status is for us." In reply to a question, Reddy said: "Will not just let go off the special status. I will keep on reminding Prime Minister Modi and hope things change." He added: "The situation would have been different had the BJP won just 250 seats in the Lok Sabha elections...We would have then supported the BJP only after they signed the Special Category Status document." Reddy also said that he met BJP president Amit Shah and discussed with him the issue of special category status. Talking about Pollavaram project, Reddy said: "This project should be completed in a time bound manner and that is what I want." On being asked how hopeful he is after meeting with Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao regarding disputes between two states, Reddy said: "Both of us speak the same language...we can voice our concerns to each other. KCR has moved a couple of steps for us." The two leaders had met on Saturday where Rao expressed that if water from Godavari and Krishna rivers is used effectively, both the states would prosper in all respects. Speaking about his rival former Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, Reddy said: "I have nothing against Naidu. My duty is that of a custodian. Today I promise that our government will be revolutionary." "Within six months to one year, I will make sure that this government stands as an exemplary to the country," he said. Reddy steered YSRCP to a massive victory in 175-member Assembly, ousting N Chandrababu Naidu-led Telugu Desam Party (TDP) from power in the state. YSRCP finished the tally by winning 151 seats, while TDP's strength drastically reduced from 102 in the 2014 Assembly elections to 23. YSRCP polled 49.9 per cent votes, while the TDP got a 39.2 per cent vote share. One Assembly seat went to the Jana Sena Party (JSP)-led by actor-turn politician Pawan Kalyan. The party also bagged 22 Lok Sabha seats out of 25 in the state during the simultaneous elections while the TDP could get only three seats. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi lashed out at the Prime Minister for his "minorities made to live in an illusion of fear" statement and said if Modi really cares about minorities then he should ensure that Muslims are not lynched by cow vigilantes. "As given in our Constitution, Right to Life is for human beings and not animals. I am sure that if Prime Minister realises it, then fear among minorities will go away," said Asaduddin Owaisi. The newly-elected MP from Hyderabad also cited an incident of Madhya Pradesh's Seoni wherein three youths were thrashed, allegedly over suspicion of possessing beef. "If Prime Minister seriously believes that minorities live in fear then will he stop all mob-lynching gangs who in the name of cow killing, lynch Muslims, beat them, take out their videos and demean Muslims. What happened in Madhya Pradesh is an example," he said. Intensifying his attack, he questioned the Prime Minister over mob-lynching cases. "If PM agrees minorities live in fear he should know people who killed Akhlaq were sitting in the front bench of the electoral public meeting," Owaisi remarked. "If Muslims seriously live in fear can the Prime Minister tell us, out of the 300 odd MPs, how many Muslim MPs he has in his own party who got elected from Lok Sabha? This is the hypocrisy and contradiction which the PM and his party are practicing from last 5 years," the AIMIM chief said. While addressing the newly-elected members of Parliament, after being elected as leader of BJP-led NDA, Narendra Modi on Saturday sought to reach out to minorities saying there will be no discrimination against anyone on the basis of caste, sect, and religion and gave a new slogan of "trust of all". Modi said political parties in the past played deceit on minorities who were used for vote bank politics. "They were kept in illusion, the climate of fear and insecurity. They were misled by deceit. It would have been better if they were given education so that some good leaders emerged from the community, which could have become equal to other sections," said Modi. "But for the sake of vote bank politics, they were kept away from everything. Today I appeal to all that we have to break that deceit on minorities. We have to gain their trust. We have to move shoulder to shoulder without discriminating on the basis of caste, sect and religion. We are for 130 crore people. These should be our priorities and responsibility. 'Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas aur ab Sabka Vishwas (Everyone's support, everyone's development and now everyone's trust). This is our mantra. I will leave no stone unturned and I will work for all citizens of India," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Ambalal Koshti, the man who inducted Narendra Modi into the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), says the Prime Minister was very dedicated to working for the poor and marginalised sections of the society even during early days of his life. "I inducted him into the Jan Sangh, because his ideology was nationalistic. He was very keen to work for the society, especially for the poor and Dalits," Koshti, who works as the media in-charge in BJP office in Gandhinagar, told ANI. Koshti, who claims to know Modi since his childhood, said he met the PM when he used to sell tea at the Transport Office in Ahmedabad and was impressed with his ideology and knowledge. He said: "Once when the bus fares were raised by Gujarat State Transport Corporation, I had organised a protest outside its office in Ahmednagar. This boy was passing through the protest venue. I called him. His ideology was identical to ours. He expressed his eagerness to work for us." "One day I forcibly took him to my residence and gave him the membership of Jan Sangh, charging 25 paise as joining fee," recalled Koshti. He said Modi was working at the State Transport office canteen then and had no place to live. "He was living in the state Transport Office canteen in Ahmedabad. I used to meet him after 'Shakhas' (RSS gathering) at canteen every day," he said. Koshti had then arranged a place for Modi at the RSS office, also known as Hedgewar Bhawan in Ahmedabad. He said: "I told him that he would have to do everything including the cleaning of the office. He worked in the RSS. Then he went into the Jan Sangh and now he is the Prime Minister of India for the second time," an elated Koshti said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) District Magistrate Doda, Sagar D Doifode issued the order of detention of three persons, including a woman under Public Safety Act (PSA), with an aim to maintain peace, social harmony and tranquillity in the region. According to the police, the three persons are Najmus Saqib, Rehmtullah and Shakeela Taya. The grounds on which they are detained are different in nature and can harm the society up to the unprecedented magnitude like growing drug menace among youths, growing anti-national, unlawful activities and other acts which can harm the social fabric resulting in the communal discord in the society, police said. "Saqib was booked for creating law and order problem, Rehmtullah for bovine smuggling and Shakeela Taya for drugs," Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Sahbir Malik said. "The woman was running an organised network of drugs and it was necessary action against her, if anyone found involved in future too, then strict action will be taken against them," a police official said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) YSR Congress Party leader Jaganmohan Reddy who is set to take oath as new chief minister of Andhra Pradesh on Sunday arrived in the capital and met Prime Minister Narendra Modi.The meeting was held at Prime Minister Modi's residence at Lok Kalyan Marg.Reddy, whose party achieved a landslide victory, winning 151 seats in the 175-member Assembly and 22 out of the 25 Lok Sabha seats in Andhra Pradesh, discussed providing outside or issue-based support to the Prime Minister Modi's government, sources said.During his election campaign, the chief minister-designate Reddy had mentioned that his party would support whosoever promises Special Category Status to Andhra Pradesh.On Saturday, Reddy went to Hyderabad where he met Governor ESL Narasimhan and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao. The two leaders discussed the latest political developments and decided to work together for the development of Telugu states.Party sources said that Jagan invited KCR for his swearing-in ceremony to be held in Vijayawada on May 30.Naidu had submitted his resignation to Governor Narasimhan on Thursday after he lost the polls. The 14th Andhra Pradesh legislative assembly was dissolved on Saturday after the notification in this regard was issued by Governor ESL Narasimhan.The YSRCP got an absolute majority in the Assembly, ousting N Chandrababu Naidu-led Telugu Desam Party (TDP) from power in the state.Narendra Modi-led NDA swept the elections and won 352 out of 542 seats in the 17th Lok Sabha elections. As per official numbers, the BJP secured 303 seats, 22 more than its 2014 figures. (ANI) The meeting was held at Prime Minister Modi's residence at Lok Kalyan Marg. Reddy, whose party achieved a landslide victory, winning 151 seats in the 175-member Assembly and 22 out of the 25 Lok Sabha seats in Andhra Pradesh, discussed providing outside or issue-based support to the Prime Minister Modi's government, sources said. During his election campaign, the chief minister-designate Reddy had mentioned that his party would support whosoever promises Special Category Status to Andhra Pradesh. On Saturday, Reddy went to Hyderabad where he met Governor ESL Narasimhan and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao. The two leaders discussed the latest political developments and decided to work together for the development of Telugu states. Party sources said that Jagan invited KCR for his swearing-in ceremony to be held in Vijayawada on May 30. Naidu had submitted his resignation to Governor Narasimhan on Thursday after he lost the polls. The 14th Andhra Pradesh legislative assembly was dissolved on Saturday after the notification in this regard was issued by Governor ESL Narasimhan. The YSRCP got an absolute majority in the Assembly, ousting N Chandrababu Naidu-led Telugu Desam Party (TDP) from power in the state. Narendra Modi-led NDA swept the elections and won 352 out of 542 seats in the 17th Lok Sabha elections. As per official numbers, the BJP secured 303 seats, 22 more than its 2014 figures. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) With BJP making electoral inroads in Karnataka following the Lok Sabha polls, Congress MLAs Ramesh Jarkiholi and Dr Sudhakar met BJP leader R Ashok at veteran leader SM Krishna's residence here on Sunday. However, the MLAs clarified that they visited Krishna's residence to greet him for the success of BJP in the recently-held polls, adding that there was "nothing political" about the meeting. "It was not a political meet. We are Congress MLAs and we just wanted wish SM Krishna after BJP won more than 25 seats in Karnataka. I was an MLA even when he was Chief Minister of the state from 1999 to 2004. That is why we met him. It was just a courtesy call," Jarkiholi told ANI. Dr Sudhakar added, "We had nothing to discuss, we just wanted to wish him. He is a senior leader and he was a former Congress leader that's why we felt that we must wish him for his party's success." Meanwhile, Ashok said he visited Krishna at the latter's residence to discuss party-related matters. "I have no friendship with Congress leaders Ramesh and Dr Sudhakar," he clarified. The BJP won 25 of the 28 seats at stake in Karnataka, while Congress and JD(S) managed to bag just one seat each. BJP is the single largest party with 105 members in the 225 member assembly, while the ruling coalition has 117 members with 79 legislators from Congress, 37 from JD(S) and 1 from BSP. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) At least four militants, including a local Islamic State (IS) commander, were killed in an operation carried out by Afghan Special Forces in Nangarhar province, local media reported on Saturday. According to Afghanistan's Interior Ministry, the operation was carried out in the Deh Bala district of the said province on Friday. Six other IS sympathisers sustained injuries during the operation, reported Sputnik. Nangarhar lies 120 kilometres east of capital Kabul. The province witnesses scenes of clashes between the security forces and IS militants from time to time. This has forced more than 9000 families living in the province to flee to safer places. Afghanistan is suffering from an unstable political, social, and security situation due to the activities of the Taliban and Islamic State. The Afghan National Defence and Security Forces (ANDSF) regularly conduct joint offensive operations to combat terrorism across the country. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's offer to resign is her way of doing drama as she can never leave the CM's position, said BJP leader Mukul Roy here on Sunday. "Yesterday I saw a drama which was done in order to be in the headlines. Mamata Banerjee said she wanted to resign. Whom did she give her resignation to? No one knows. It was just to be in the headlines. She can never resign. You can write it down," Roy said at a press conference here. He also alleged that Tapan Kumar Ray, BJP's MP candidate from Arambagh, was forcefully defeated by the Trinamool Congress (TMC) as the recounting of EVMs was not carried out and the BJP is planning to approach the court for the same. "In Arambagh constituency, our candidate was forcefully defeated as they did not recount the EVMs. This is not in the Election Commission's hand. So now we have to move the court. We want to re-establish democracy in Bengal," Roy said. He added that Banerjee had no idea of the Register of Citizens (NRC) and the Citizenship Amendment Bill and her rule in West Bengal would come to an end soon. "TMC will slowly get finished. Her government in the state will also come to an end soon. Mamata has no idea of the NRC and the Citizenship Amendment Bill and its benefits," Roy said. TMC faced a shocking defeat as it could manage to win just 22 seats in the Lok Sabha elections. BJP, on the other hand, made huge strides in the state by garnering 18 seats, 16 more than it had bagged in the 2014 polls. The Congress managed to win just two seats, while the Left parties drew a blank. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Three days before taking oath as Prime Minister for a second consecutive term, Modi will hold a roadshow in Varanasi, his parliamentary constituency, and address BJP workers. Admiring the success of Modi in the Lok Sabha elections, Priest Ashok Dwivedi told ANI, "Baba Shiv and Maa Ganga have accepted him. Prime Minister has blessings of Baba with him. Our Prime Minister is the most respected leader." "This is our fortune that Prime Minister will perform puja with all rituals like he did in 2014 Lok Sabha and state elections. He is the biggest devotee of Vishwanath baba. Even before the rituals start, he devotes himself to god, you can see tears of devotion in his eyes", he added. Speaking on the Prime Minister's historic victory, Ashok said, "This prediction was done long ago that he will be Prime Minister again. His devotion is world famous." Modi is expected to visit the famous temple at around 10 in the morning. He is also expected to hold a five-kilometer-long roadshow in the constituency to celebrate his massive victory in the Lok Sabha elections. After the 'darshan' and 'puja' at Kashi Vishwanath temple, the Prime Minister is scheduled to address BJP workers at Deendayal Hastkala Sankul. Modi defeated his Samajwadi Party (SP) rival Shalini Yadav by a margin of over 4.80 lakh votes in the Lok Sabha elections from Varanasi. The BJP, which had won 282 seats in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, managed to increase its tally and notched up 303 seats in the 2019 elections. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The administration of BYL Nair Hospital has formed an anti-ragging committee to probe into the suicide by Dr Payal Salman Tadvi, while Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD) has suspended three accused doctors -- Dr Hema Ahuja, Dr Bhakti Mehar, and Dr Ankita Khandilwal. Talking to ANI, BYL Nair Hospital dean Dr Ramesh Bharmal said: "We have formed an anti-ragging committee to look into the matter. We have also sent a notice to three senior doctors asking them to appear before us. They are currently not in Mumbai. The committee will file its report as soon as possible." "Based on the report, we will initiate appropriate action against them. As of now, the MARD has suspended the three doctors," Dr Bharmal said, while denying the claims of the victim's mother Abeda Tadvi that she had complained to the hospital administration against three doctors but no action was taken. "Dr Payal's mother claims that she had complained to the hospital about the alleged torture being meted out to her daughter are not true. We have received no complaint till date regarding this issue," he said. Abeda, the mother of Dr Payal, who committed suicide on May 22, told ANI: "Whenever she used to speak to me on phone, she would say that these three (senior doctors) people torture me as I belong to a tribal community, use casteist slurs.' We want justice for her." "We have registered a case under SC/ST Atrocities Act, Anti-ragging Act, and IT Act, and Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Further probe is currently underway," said Deepak Kundal, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Agripada, said on Wednesday. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) With Maharashtra in the grip of a severe drought, an NGO has taken upon itself to feed and look after the over 6,000 cattle at a fodder camp at Lasur village in Aurangabad. Along with cattle, their owners are also provided meals. The NGO Aarita Foundation along with Indian Jain Organisation and MLA Prashant Bam have been taking care of cattle and providing meals to people at Rs 10, without any aid from the government. Fodder camp aka 'Chara Chawani' for cattle in the drought-hit village was set up by the state government to provide shelter home, fooder and water to cattle of 1200 farmers from three tehsils. Around fifty shades have been arranged for cattle. Every person who brings his cattle here is also provided meals two-times. The food includes pulse, rice, vegetable, chappati and sweets. [{25484a52-95a9-4889-9991-29712b68c036:intradmin/Meal.JPG}] "I came here with my cattle. We are impressed with the job of the foundation. They not only provide good-quality fodder to our cattle but also give us a sumptuous meal two times a day. I wish such camps are opened in other parts of Maharashtra too," Anil Bika Dhotre from Pimple village told ANI. Besides, facilities such as proper medication, CCTV cameras and fire fighting equipment have also been installed. "I am visiting this place for the past two months. Such an initiative is required in the state to help farmers residing in drought-affected areas. The government had organised this camp but it did not take any measure efforts to improve our condition. We thank the NGO and other organisations who have been taking good care of our cattle and us," Madan Rajput Shankarpur, a local, said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) United States President Donald Trump on Sunday said he was not "disturbed" by the short-range missile tests recently conducted by North Korea, unlike "his people and others". "North Korea fired off some small weapons, which disturbed some of my people, and others, but not me. I have confidence that Chairman Kim will keep his promise to me, and also smiled when he called Swampman Joe Bidan a low IQ individual, and worse. Perhaps that's sending me a signal?" the president wrote on Twitter. The remarks made by Trump, who is on a four-day state visit to Japan, came as a major blow ahead of his meetings with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, which are set to begin in a few hours. The Japanese government has said that North Korea's recent test of short-range missiles violated the UN resolutions, a determination that national security adviser John Bolton had also agreed with in Tokyo on Saturday during a briefing with reporters before Trump arrived in Japan. Bolton was quoted as saying by Al Jazeera that North Korea on May 4 and 9 tested short-range ballistic missiles, ending a pause in launches that began in late 2017. During his meeting with Abe, Trump is also expected to reflect on a possible summit between Abe and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as an additional push toward resolving North Korea's missile and nuclear threats. The two leaders are to discuss North Korea as well as trade, security, and tensions with Iran. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi continued to receive congratulatory messages on Saturday from leaders across the for the sweeping victory of BJP-led NDA in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections. These included telephone calls from Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena, Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, United States President Donald Trump, and Former Nepalese Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda'. Warmly felicitating the Indian Prime Minister, Sirisena noted the enhanced engagements between the two neighbours and expressed his desire to further deepen the ties between the two countries. Modi thanked Sirisena and expressed his readiness to work even more closely for the benefit of the people in the two countries and the region. Sincerely thanking the Saudi King for his warm felicitations and good wishes for the progress and prosperity of the people of India under the leadership of the Indian Prime Minister, Modi conveyed his appreciation for the guidance of Al Saud to the bilateral relations between India and Saudi Arabia. Trump also congratulated Modi on the unprecedented electoral victory. The two leaders agreed to meet at the forthcoming G-20 Summit in Osaka, Japan, to discuss bilateral relations and global matters. They also agreed to work together for further enhancing the close and strategic partnership between the two countries. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday met Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu at his official residence in New Delhi. Wearing a white kurta and churidar with a yellow stole around his neck, Prime Minister Modi was welcomed with a bouquet of lilies by the Vice-President's wife M Usha. Along with three photos from the meeting, Vice-President Naidu tweeted that the two had breakfast together and chatted about "strengthening Parliamentary institutions" and increasing the pace of development in the country. This visit by PM Modi comes a day after he was unanimously elected as the leader of the BJP parliamentary party and the NDA, to head the government for a second term. PM Modi had visited party veterans Lal Krishna Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi on Friday, to seek their blessings after emerging victorious in the elections. Earlier on Saturday, Modi met President Ram Nath Kovind and staked claim to form the government at the centre. Kovind, as per powers vested in him by the Constitution, appointed Modi to the office of Prime Minister of India. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday reiterated the need for "jointly fighting against poverty, creating trust and an environment free of violence and terrorism in the region" when his Pakistan counterpart Imran Khan dialed to congratulate him for his resounding victory in the just-concluded Lok Sabha elections. "The Prime Minister thanked the Prime Minister of Pakistan for his telephone call and greetings. Recalling his initiatives in line with his government's neighbourhood first policy, Prime Minister Modi referred to his earlier suggestion to the Prime Minister of Pakistan to fight poverty jointly. He stressed that creating trust and an environment free of violence and terrorism were essential for fostering cooperation for peace, progress, and prosperity in our region," said an official statement. Prime Minister Modi on Sunday also received telephone calls from former President of Maldives Mohamed Nasheed, and former Prime Minister of Nepal Madhav Nepal, congratulating him on his victory in the recent General Elections in the country. "Former President Nasheed congratulated the Prime Minister on the historic mandate and noted that the relationship between Maldives and India had deepened in recent times. He stressed the importance of close cooperation to fight the forces of extremism and radicalisation in the region," added the statement. "The Prime Minister thanked him for his felicitation and reiterated his commitment to continue fostering a strong, a mutually beneficial and all-round partnership between the two countries for peace, security and development in the region." "Madhav Nepal warmly congratulated the Prime Minister on leading his party and alliance to a grand, historic and landslide victory. He expressed the confidence that India's emergence as a front-ranking power would qualitatively uplift the entire region," said the statement. "Thanking Mr. Nepal for his warm wishes, the Prime Minister expressed his earnest desire to further strengthen and deepen the historically friendly and multifaceted ties between India and Nepal," added the statement. Pak Prime Minister Khan also expressed his desire that New Delhi and Islamabad will work together for the "betterment of their people." "PM [Imran] spoke to PM Modi today and congratulated him on his party's electoral victory in Lok Sabha elections in India. PM expressed his desire for both countries to work together for the betterment of their peoples," tweeted Pakistan's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mohammad Faisal. "Reiterating his vision for peace, progress, and prosperity in South Asia, the Prime Minister said he looked forward to working with Prime Minister Modi to advance these objectives," he added. Wishes and greetings poured in from across the after Modi-led NDA swept the elections and won 352 out of 542 seats in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections. Khan had earlier extended his greeting to PM Modi through 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," he had tweeted. Khan has joined a number of leaders who telephoned the Indian Prime Minister to congratulate him, including Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena, Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, United States President Donald Trump, and former Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' Ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, Khan had said that there might be a better chance of peace talks with India if Prime Minister Modi wins the elections. Tension between India and Pakistan had soared after February 14 Pulwama terror attack, killing 40 CRPF soldiers. The responsibility for the attack was claimed by Pakistan-based terror outfit -- Jaish-e-Mohammed. On February 26, India launched an air strike on terror camps in Pakistan's Balakot. The next day, Pakistan Air Force planes had tried to attack Indian military installations in Jammu and Kashmir, leading to a dogfight. A MiG 21 aircraft flown by Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman had shot down F16 fighter plane of Pakistan during the aerial confrontation. India too lost the MiG-21 Bison plane and Wing Commander Varthaman was captured by the Pakistan Army after he bailed out and landed on the other side of the border. He was released by Pakistan on March 1. In a major diplomatic victory for India, JeM chief Masood Azhar was recently declared as a global terrorist by the UN Security Council. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Four days before taking oath as Prime Minister for a second term, Narendra Modi on Sunday visited his mother Heeraben Modi to seek her blessings. Modi's convoy arrived at his mother's residence here as scores of supporters lined up on the streets to catch a glimpse of their leader. He was greeted with thunderous applause and cheering. Supporters were seen raising slogans in praise of the Prime Minister while holding placards with his pictures. Security was beefed up during the Prime Minister's visit here. Earlier today Modi visited Ahmedabad where he paid tributes at the statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel near the airport. He later addressed a gathering of BJP workers along with party chief Amit Shah and Chief Minister Vijay Rupani. On Monday, Modi is scheduled to visit his parliamentary constituency Varanasi to hold a five-kilometre-long roadshow till Kashi Vishwanath temple amidst heightened security. Thereafter, the Prime Minister will address BJP workers at Deendayal Hastkala Sankul. In the recently concluded polls, BJP secured 303 seats, 22 more than the party got in the 2014 elections. The NDA's total tally went up to 352 in the 17th Lok Sabha. The Prime Minister won the Varanasi Lok Sabha seat by a huge margin of 4, 79,505 votes. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pope Francis on Saturday said abortion was always unacceptable, regardless of whether a fetus is fatally ill or has pathological disorders. Speaking at a Vatican-sponsored anti-abortion conference, The New York Times quoted the Pope as saying that the abortion was not a religious issue, but a human one. "Is it legitimate to take out a human life to solve a problem?" the Pope asked. "Is it permissible to contract a hitman to solve a problem?" he further questioned. The Pope also stressed that the decision to abort based on medical information about an ill fetus amounted to "inhuman eugenics," and denied families the chance to welcome the weakest of children. He argued that using abortion as a mode of "prevention" could never be condoned and that such a position had "nothing to do" with faith. "Human life is sacred and inviolable and the use of prenatal diagnosis for selective purposes should be discouraged with strength," the Pope was quoted as saying. The pope's remarks come in the wake of a raging abortion debate in the US, where multiple states, including Alabama, Georgia and Missouri severely limited or banned abortion after six weeks, prompting an outcry by pro-choice advocates. The leader of the Roman Catholic Church, which considers abortion a grave sin, argued that children who were not expected to live long after birth deserved to be treated in the womb "with extraordinary pharmacological, surgical and other interventions." Such care "helps parents to grieve and not only think of it as a loss, but as a step on a path taken together." "Every child" in the womb is a gift that "changes the history of a family," he said. The latest comments follow the Pope's previous condemnations of abortion, though he had struck a more sympathetic tone towards the women who had the procedure and made it easier for them to be absolved of the sin. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) BJP vice president and former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh on Sunday met Union Minister Nitin GadkariNew Delhi [India], May 26 (ANI) Singh, the longest-serving chief minister of Chhattisgarh, also presented a beautiful flower bouquet to Gadkari. A former BJP president Gadkari retained Nagpur seat by defeating Congress candidate Nana Patole. Gadkari, who had won the Nagpur constituency in 2014, polled 6,60,221 votes. At present, he is a minister of Road Transport and Highways, Shipping and Water Resources, and River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation.Narendra Modi-led NDA swept the elections and won 352 out of 542 seats in the 17th Lok Sabha elections. As per official numbers, the BJP secured 303 seats, 22 more than its 2014 figures. On Saturday, an NDA delegation led by BJP president Amit Shah had called on President Ram Nath Kovind and staked claim to form the government. Gadkari was also present in the meeting. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) BJP president Amit Shah on Sunday urged the people here to chant 'Jai Shri Ram' loudly enough to be heard in West Bengal, in an apparent dig at TMC president and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. As the crowd began shouting 'Jai Shri Ram,' Shah said: "Brothers, Narendra Bhai (Narendra Modi) has come here after winning 26 seats of Gujarat. Please chant 'Jai Shri Ram' so loudly that this sound reaches West Bengal." A controversy had erupted during the election campaign for Lok Sabha polls when a purported video of Chief Minister Banerjee showed her getting down from her car and venting her anger at the people who shouted 'Jai Shri Ram' on seeing her. The video went viral on social media. Some people were also arrested for raising the religious slogan. Shah during his election rallies had frequently criticised Banerjee for action against 'devotees' of Ram and the people who shouted 'Jai Shri Ram' slogan. Reminding the people that from this place Prime Minister Narendra Modi started his journey, Shah said: "After becoming NDA leader, today Narendra Modi has come out from Delhi and this is the place from where BJP and Narendra Modi started this journey." Shah also expressed his condolences over Surat's fire tragedy. "People have come here to welcome us but due to Surat tragedy in which 22 kids lost their lives, we should offer condolences to their spirit. We should also pray to God for them and their family," he said. He also thanked the people of Gujarat for BJP's clean sweep in the state in 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls. "I want to thank the people as the president of BJP. Both the elections of 2014 and 2019 were fought under the leadership of Narendra Modi in which Gujarat gave us 26 seats both the times," said Shah. He also thanked the people for electing him as Lok Sabha MP from Gandhinagar. Shah claimed that riots in Gujarat stopped after Modi became the Chief Minister of the state. "In 2001, when Narendra Modi became Chief Minister, the BJP was strong but after that 'Vikas Yatra' started. It has today reached entire India. Earlier, Gujarat was known for riots but after he became the Chief of Minister of the state, the riots stopped. Corruption and 'Goondaraj' came to an end," he said. Shah also praised Prime Minister Modi for giving a 'befitting reply' to terrorism. "Terrorism started after 1990. People felt that there should be a leader who gives them a reply. Narendra Modi came and not once but twice he gave a befitting reply to terrorism," he said. "On behalf of BJP, I thank the people of Gujarat and extend greetings to Narendra Modi for taking India to the top," said Shah. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A close aide of newly elected BJP MP Smriti Irani was allegedly shot dead by unidentified assailants early Sunday in Baraulia village of Uttar Pradesh's Amethi district. Seven persons have been detained for questioning in connection with the killing, police said, not ruling out political rivalry as a possible motive. BJP leader Surendra Singh, a close associate of Irani and former village head was shot at by unidentified assailants when he was sleeping in the verandah of his house at around 3 am on Sunday. He was rushed to a trauma centre in Lucknow where he succumbed, police said. OP Singh, DGP, Uttar Pradesh told ANI: "Intensive investigations are underway. Seven people have been detained for questioning. Apart from this, three companies of Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) have been deputed." Singh further said that the police is confident of solving the case within the next 12 hours. "We have found vital clues through electronic surveillance. We're confident of solving the case in the next 12 hours". "The postmortem of the victim is underway in Lucknow. We will later go through the report, which we hope will fetch us important details related to the case," he further added. According to the DGP, there is a possibility of further arrests and said the police is looking into all aspects of the killing, including political rivalry. Surendra Singh's son alleged the role of Congress supporters in the killing of his father. "My father was a close aide of Smriti Irani and campaigned 24 by 7 in the Lok Sabha elections. After she was elected as an MP, a victory procession was taken out. I believe some Congress supporters didn't like it. We have suspicions on some people," Singh's son said here. Some relatives of Singh have also indicated that his murder could be a fallout of a political rivalry, including the recently concluded general election in which Irani trounced Congress president Rahul Gandhi from the Nehru-Gandhi bastion with a margin of 55, 000 votes. Smriti Irani has left for her constituency from New Delhi to meet Singh's family. Uttar Pradesh cabinet minister Rita Bahuguna Joshi condemned the attack and demanded strong action against the culprits. "There is no place for violence in democracy. Those who committed this act should be punished and stringent action should be taken against them," she said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Son of Surendra Singh, a close associate of Amethi's newly-elected MP Smriti Irani, on Sunday alleged Congress supporters' role in the killing of his father. "My father was a close aide of Smriti Irani and campaigned 24 by 7 in the Lok Sabha elections. After she was elected as an MP, a victory procession was carried out. I believe some Congress supporters didn't like it. We have suspicions on some people," Singh's son said here. Some of the deceased's relatives have indicated that his murder could be a fallout of a political rivalry, including the recently concluded general election in which Irani trounced Congress president Rahul Gandhi. Smriti Irani has left for her constituency from New Delhi to meet Singh's family. Uttar Pradesh cabinet minister Rita Bahuguna Joshi condemned the attack and demanded strong action against the culprits. "There is no place for violence in democracy. The who did this act should be punished and stringent action should be taken against them," she said. Singh was shot by unidentified assailants when he was sleeping in the verandah of his house in Baraulia village of Amethi at around 3 am on Sunday. He was rushed to a trauma centre in Lucknow where he breathed his last. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Congress leader Hardik Patel on Sunday threatened to go on hunger strike if the state government did not act against Mayor and the Fire Department officials within 12 hours. "I have said that if action is not taken against Mayor and officials of the Fire Department, then I will sit on hunger strike," he said while talking to reporters after visiting the Takshashila Arcade in Surat where a fire incident on Friday claimed the lives of 20 students. Hardik also accused the state government of being in collusion with the accused and trying to "wrap up the issue under the carpet." "Why have you arrested the tuition manager? Why have not you arrested the people who constructed this building illegally? The government is trying that people in collusion with it should not be arrested and this issue is pushed under the carpet by arresting anyone," said Hardik. Mocking the Union Government's claim of making Surat a smart-city, the Congress leader said: "The incident is a 'glowing' example of the smart city in Surat." "If the fire equipment could not reach the fourth floor, then it proves how smart is our city planning. Not just that fire brigade people reached after 40 minutes, they also did not have water. That means the lives of children were lost only due to the irresponsibility on part of the government," he said. Asserting that this is not about any particular community, Hardik said, "All I want to say that it is not about one community. If it would have happened at some other places and the people of all communities would have been there, everyone would have lost his life." One person has been arrested and two officers of Fire Department were suspended on Saturday. Further probe is on. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) leader TTV Dhinakaran on Sunday said that he will file a complaint before the Election Commission regarding non-registration of votes in the polling booths during the Lok Sabha elections. "It is very strange that many of our supporters had voted for our party but their votes have not been registered, there are instances where no votes were cast for our party. How is it possible? Election Commission has to clarify. We are collecting the details of booths and we will file a complaint at the Election Commission later," AMMK chief told media persons. He, however, claimed he cannot approach any court as he has no evidence to ascertain his claim. AMMK could only muster an estimated vote share of 5 per cent in the Parliamentary elections and Assembly by-polls, whose results came to the fore on May 23. The DMK-led alliance in the state, which includes the Congress, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), Communist Party of India (CPI) and Communist Party of India (Marxist) along with several other smaller parties, routed rival AIADMK by winning 37 out of 39 Lok Sabha seats. DMK, alone, was able to sweep the state by winning 23 seats, with a vote share of 32.76 per cent. The AIADMK, which partnered the BJP for the general elections, managed to win just one Lok Sabha and won nine seats in the by-polls. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An 18-year-old boy sustained injuries after he was hit by a bullet in cross LoC firing in Nowshera area of Rajouri on Sunday, police said. The injured teenager was identified as Muhammad Ishaq, a resident of Pokharni in Nowshera. According to an official, firing began at 12 am in the area. The injured was immediately rushed to Nowshera Hospital after being treated at a local army camp. "The injured was provided medical aid in a local army camp. Later, he was shifted to civil hospital Nowshera for treatment and then referred to GMC Jammu for further treatment," an official said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Yoga guru Baba Ramdev asserted that in order to contain population growth, the government should bring in a law whereby third-borns should be bereft of voting rights. He also batted for a pan-India ban on manufacturing, sale, and purchase of liquor. "India's population should not be more than 150 crores in the next 50 years as we are not prepared or ready to bear more than that. This is only possible when the government makes a law that third child would not be allowed to vote, neither contest election nor he/she enjoys any type of privileges and facilities given by the government," Ramdev said while addressing a press conference here on Sunday. "Then people will not give birth to more children, no matter which religion they belong to," he added. He also demanded a complete ban on cow-slaughter and said that it is the only way out to reduce the conflict between cow smugglers and "gau rakshak" (cow protectors). "There should be a complete ban on cow slaughter and it is the only way out to end the conflict that we see between cow smugglers and 'gau rakshak'. For those who want to eat meat, there are several other types of meat which they can eat," he said. Further, he pressed for a country-wide ban on liquor. "In Islamic countries, liquor is banned. If in Islamic countries it can be banned then why not in India? This is the land of sages. There should be a complete ban on liquor in India," the Yog guru said. Ramdev also spoke about Patanjali Ayurved Limited's Managing Director, Acharya Balkrishna, receiving the 'UNSDG 10 Most Influential People in Healthcare Award' on behalf of Patanjali Group of Institutions in Geneva yesterday, and termed it a moment of pride. "Acharya Balkrishna was invited to represent India. In the context of global health, how lifestyle diseases can be treated with Yoga, Ayurveda and traditional Indian methods, Patanjali has contributed towards this. So, Acharya Balkrishna was awarded by UNSDG. We are proud," he said. Patanjali Ayurved is a company producing a range of Ayurvedic medicinal and personal care products, among other consumer items. Popular yoga guru Baba Ramdev co-founded the company along with Balkshrina. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A United Nations tribunal on Saturday ordered Russia to immediately release three Ukrainian naval ships and two dozen sailors, who were captured during a confrontation off the Crimean Peninsula last November. The Germany-based International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) issued the order after a hearing, earlier this month, which was not attended by Russia, Voice of America reported. The Russian navy captured the Ukrainian sailors and their vessels in the Kerch Strait, which links the Black and Azov seas, on November 25, 2018, after opening fire on them. It was the first open military clash between Russia and Ukraine since Moscow's 2014 annexation of the Crimean Peninsula, which has been internationally condemned as an illegal action. Ukraine stresses that Russia stopped its ships in the Black Sea as they were returning to the Ukrainian port city of Odessa. The country argues that its ships were immune to such seizures under the Law of the Sea. Meanwhile, Russia says that the vessels were trying to enter the Azov Sea through the Kerch Strait in defiance of Russian orders to stop because it had temporarily closed the waterway. Moscow, since then, has charged the crew with violating its border and argues the tribunal does not have jurisdiction over the issue because of an exemption for military activity. "The Tribunal notes that any action affecting the immunity of warships is capable of causing serious harm to the dignity and sovereignty of a state and has the potential to undermine its national security," Al Jazeera quoted Jin-Hyun Paik, the President of ITLOS, as saying. "The tribunal considers it appropriate to order both parties to refrain from taking any action which might aggravate or extend the dispute," he added. However, the tribunal "does not consider it necessary to require [Russia] to suspend criminal proceedings against the 24 detained Ukrainian servicemen and refrain from initiating new proceedings," Paik said. Kiev had called for an end to the legal proceedings in which sailors may face up to six years in prison if found guilty. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Abeda Tadvi, mother of Dr Payal Salman Tadvi, who committed suicide on May 22, claimed that three senior doctors at Nair Hospital tortured her daughter, and unable to bear this, she committed suicide. "Whenever she used to speak to me on call, she would say 'these (3 senior doctors) people torture me as I belong to a tribal community, use casteist slurs.' We want justice for her," Abeda told ANI. The 23-year-old, a postgraduate student at Nair Hospital, committed suicide after allegedly facing harassment at the hands of three senior doctors. "We have lodged a case under Atrocities Act, Anti-ragging Act and IT Act, and Section 306 of Indian Penal Code (IPC). Further probe is currently underway," Deepak Kundal, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Agripada had said on Wednesday. When asked if the victim was harassed because she got admission through reservation quota, Kundal had said, "We are investigating the matter as per the complaints lodged by the complainant. The case has been lodged under the Atrocities Act to investigate this angle." The police have reportedly registered a case against three female doctors in connection with the death of Payal. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The security has been tightened in Varanasi ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's first visit to his constituency on Monday after his massive victory in the Lok Sabha elections. PM Modi is scheduled to hold a five-kilometre-long roadshow in the constituency after his arrival here. The preparations for his welcome have been completed and the area has been decked up with saffron party flags, ribbons and wall paintings of Buddha and other spiritual idols. Cleaning and maintenance work have also been completed. Speaking to ANI, Anand Kulkarni, SSP Varanasi said: "We have done all the arrangements, state police along with paramilitary will be deployed for the security. More force in civil dress will also be deployed to beef up the security. We are alert." According to sources, as many as 12 companies of paramilitary forces have been deployed to ensure foolproof security to the PM. 10 Indian Police Service (IPS) officers, 25 additional Superintendents of Police (SP), 60 deputy SP (DySP) and 200 Inspectors have also been deployed to ensure that there is no lapse in the security arrangements. The Indian Air Force is also ready with all the security checks in place as PM Modi will be covering the distance from Varanasi Airport to Police line by helicopter. He will then proceed to the Kashi Vishwanath temple in a roadshow. All the link roads along the five-kilometre route which PM Modi's convoy is scheduled to take have been barricaded. After the 'darshan' and 'puja' at the temple, the Prime Minister is scheduled to address BJP workers at Deendayal Hastkala Sankul. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Representatives of Maduro-led Venezuelan government and opposition will hold the second round of talks in Norway's capital Oslo next week in an attempt to resolve the ongoing political crisis in the Latin American country, Norwegian Foreign Ministry said on Saturday. "We announce that the representatives of the main political actors in Venezuela have decided to return to Oslo next week to continue a process facilitated by Norway," the ministry said in a statement. "We reiterate our commitment to continue supporting the search for an agreed-upon solution between the parties in Venezuela." Shortly after the announcement, Maduro took to his official Twitter handle to express his gratitude to the Norwegian government for providing a platform for dialogue between Venezuela's opposing forces, reported TASS news agency. "I thank the Norwegian government for its efforts on facilitating dialogue about peace and stability in Venezuela. Our delegation is heading to Oslo, ready to work on a comprehensive agenda and move towards the signing of agreements," Maduro tweeted. Noting the arrest of key opposition leaders in Venezuela, the US State Department hoped that the latest round of talks will focus on the departure of Maduro. "The United States supports the desire of the Venezuelan people to recover their democracy and bring the illegitimate Maduro regime to an end. Previous efforts to negotiate an end to the regime and free elections have failed because the regime has used them to divide the opposition and gain time," the statement read. "Free elections cannot be overseen by a tyrant. As we have repeatedly stated, we believe the only thing to negotiate with Nicolas Maduro is the conditions of his departure. We hope the talks in Oslo will focus on that objective, and if they do, we hope progress will be possible," it added. It should be noted here that the US has opposed Maduro ever since he was sworn-in for the second term in January, after an election that has since been termed by most of the international communities as 'rigged.' Maduro, in turn, 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. Hours after Saturday's announcement by the Norwegian government, Guaido took to his official Twitter handle and reiterated that the opposition will be satisfied with nothing short of the removal of Maduro from the office, reports Sputnik. "We pursue all options with responsibility," he tweeted. "Our route is very clear: an end of usurpation, [creation of] interim government and free elections, and will pursue it in all areas of struggle, committed to URGENT changes that our country needs," Representatives of the Venezuelan government and the opposition had held a similar round of talks in Norway on May 16. Maduro had hailed the talks as 'positive. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) After the Lok Sabha poll debacle, while offering to resign as president of Congress party during the meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) on Saturday, Rahul Gandhi said that he wanted to work for the party's ideology and not for any post. As per sources, quoting Mahatma Gandhi in his address, the Congress president said, "Mahatma Gandhi fought for ideology and for people, irrespective of their cast and religion, but never took any post." Hitting out at senior party leaders, Gandhi accused them of pressurizing him to give tickets to their sons in the elections. Without naming, his indication was towards Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, and former finance minister P Chidambaram. As per sources, during the CWC meeting, when Jyotiraditya Scindia suggested that the party should consolidate leadership in specific regions, Gandhi, in a satirical tone, questioned him, "Is it necessary to consolidate leadership in a region so that chief ministers pressurise the party's top brass to give tickets to their sons?" Rajasthan chief minister Gehlot's son Vaibhav Gehlot contested from Jodhpur parliamentary constituency and lost, while Kamal Nath's son Nakul Nath has won from Chhindwara and P Chidambaram's son Karti Chidambaram registered a victory from Sivaganga. Gandhi also expressed displeasure over sluggishness of the party leaders in raising the Rafale deal issue, sources added. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also criticised party leaders saying that her brother Rahul was left alone when he was criticizing the BJP on its policies. During the CWC meeting, taking moral responsibility for the defeat in the polls, the Congress president offered to resign but it was rejected 'unanimously' by the party members who authorized him to do a complete overhaul and restructure the party at every level. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) At least 22 militants, including two Taliban commanders, and three police officers were killed in separate clashes in Afghanistan, authorities said on Sunday. Fifteen militants, including the two commanders, were killed as security forces targeted Taliban hideouts in Khakriz district of Kandahar province since Saturday, reports Xinhua news agency. Following clashes in Kunduz province, three Afghan police officers and seven Taliban militants were killed. The Taliban have not made any statement yet. --IANS ksk/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The CBI, which has issued a lookout circular (LoC) against former Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar, on Sunday issued summons to him for questioning over his role in the multi-crore Saradha chit fund scam. Kumar has been asked to be present at CBI's office in Kolkata on Monday, agency officials said. Meanwhile the West Bengal government on Sunday reinstated Kumar as Additional Director General, CID, an official statement said. The order came after the withdrawal of Model Code of Conduct imposed by the Election Commission with the announcement of the poll schedule. The poll panel on May 15 relieved Kumar from his post in West Bengal following violence in Kolkata and asked him to report to the Union Home Ministry the next day. The CBI, which has been seeking custodial interrogation of Kumar, issued the LoC this week alerting all airports and immigration authorities not to allow the IPS officer to leave the country for a year and to detain him if he tries to travel abroad, they said. The 1989-batch IPS officer is accused of being involved in tampering of evidence and attempting to protect certain politicians from investigation in the Rs 2,500-crore Saradha chit fund scam when he headed the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of West Bengal Police. The CBI later took over the case. The SIT was formed by the Mamata Banerjee government in 2013. In 2014, the apex court transferred the case to the CBI. The CBI had told the Supreme Court that it wanted custodial interrogation of Kumar as there was prima facie evidence that he tried to protect the accused. Earlier, the Supreme Court had vacated its order granting protection to Kumar from arrest. Now, the apex court has allowed the CBI to "act in accordance with law". The CBI questioned Kumar for nearly five days in Shillong from February 9. The Saradha group of companies duped lakhs of customers promising higher rates of returns on their investment, the CBI has alleged. --IANS rak-spk-bnd/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The cabinet of the Pema Khandu-led BJP government in Arunachal Pradesh met for the last time on Sunday and recommended the assembly's dissolution, ahead of new BJP legislature party's meeting on Monday to decide a date for formation of the next government in the state. The BJP has emerged as the single largest party in Arunachal Pradesh by winning 41 of the total 60 seats in the House. "The BJP legislature party is scheduled to meet tomorrow (Monday). We are going to decide on a date to form the government," Khandu said after the cabinet meeting. The term of the outgoing assembly of the northeastern border state ends on June 1 and a new assembly has to be constituted before that. Assembly polls and Lok Sabha polls were held simultaneously in Arunachal Pradesh last month and counting of votes held on May 23. The cabinet meeting on Sunday also observed two minutes silence to mourn the untimely death of Tirong Aboh and ten others who were gunned down by unidentified militants on May 21. The Cabinet remembered the legislator for his services to the people and strongly condemned the dastardly act which claimed 11 precious lives including that of Aboh and his minor son. Khandu, accompanied by Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein, later called on the Governor to submit the resignation of his ministry and the Cabinet resolution recommending dissolution of the Sixth Legislative Assembly. --IANS ah/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) With Prime Minister-elect Narendra Modi is all set to be sworn in for the second consecutive term and to choose his Cabinet, speculations are on as to who will be the new Agriculture Minister. Radha Mohan Singh, who headed the ministry in the first Modi government, is unlikely to be given the charge again, BJP sources said, adding that his tenure was not so impressive and the government faced a lot of criticism by the opposition parties on this front. The Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) defeat in the Assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh late last year were also seen as the repercussion of the farming community's anger. With Modi, having, on many occasions, surprised the country by his choice of several key appointments including Ram Nath Kovind as NDA's presidential candidate and Hardeep Singh Puri and K.J. Alphons as Ministers, Ashok Gulati is a name which may figure when Modi names his ministers and allocates them portfolios. If sources are to be believed, Gulati's name is being considered by Modi for the next Agriculture Minister. A well-known agricultural economist, Gulati is a former chairman of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP), the government's advisory body on food supplies and pricing policies, where he was instrumental in hiking minimum support price of several food grains. He was also assigned responsibility to advise the government on pricing policies of 23 agri-commodities. Currently Infosys chair professor for Agriculture at the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER), Gulati is also a member of the Task Force on Agriculture set by the Prime Minister under the NITI Aayog and the Chairman of the Expert Group on Agriculture Market Reforms. He was an active member of the High Level Committee set up by the NDA government to restructure and reorient the Food Corporation of India in order to improve its operational and financial efficiency. Having graduated from Shri Ram College of Commerce and done his Masters in Economics and PhD from the Delhi School of Economics, Gulati was the youngest member of the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council in the tenure of Atal Bihari Vajpayee. --IANS bns/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Amid violent political clashes continuing even after poll results came out, West Bengal Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi on Saturday appealed to the people to maintain peace. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, however, accused the BJP of inciting violence in areas where they were elected in the Lok Sabha elections. In a statement, Tripathi conveyed "thanks to the people of West Bengal for participating in the festival of Lok Sabha election of the largest democracy of the world" and appealed to them "to maintain peace in accordance with rich culture of Bengal and unitedly work for the prosperity and progress of the state and the nation". His appeal came at a time, when a slew of violent incidents were reported on Saturday across districts leaving several injured. Banerjee hit out at the BJP, which had made enormous strides in the state, winning 18 seats as against two in 2014. "BJP is (playing) a one-sided scandalous game. They are torturing people not only in Bengal but also in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and other places wherever they have been elected. We cannot tolerate all this. I urge oppositions to work together and be with the people so that tortures can be stopped," she said. However, allegations of creating violence against workers of her Trinamool Congress were reported across districts. As many as 12 persons were injured in a clash between the Trinamool and the BJP activists at Deganga in North 24 Parganas, police said, adding that two accused have been arrested. In another incident, a local BJP leader was allegedly beaten up by Trinamool supporters at Charkol village in Birbhum's Nanur, an area infamous for political violence while Trinamool activists accused the BJP workers of vandalising several vehicles in the area. BJP supporters also alleged that party's booth president at Salboni in West Midnapore district sustained injures after he was beaten up by Trinamool workers. Trinamool, on the other hand, accused BJP workers of ransacking a Trinamool workers' union office in Bankura where party's veteran and state Minister Subrata Mukherjee lost to BJP's Saubhas Sarkar in the Lok Sabha polls. --IANS bdc/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) After its overwhelming success in the Lok Sabha, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is expected to get a majority in the Rajya Sabha by the end of next year which will make it easy for the Modi government to push its legislative agenda that has often faced hurdles in the upper house during the past five years for lack of majority. At present, the NDA has 102 members in the upper house of Parliament, compared to 66 of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) and 66 of the parties not aligned with either of the two alliances. The BJP-led NDA is expected to add about 18 seats to its tally by November next year. The ruling alliance can also be sure of the backing of some nominated, independent and unattached members. The half-way mark in the upper house is 123 and the members of upper house are elected by the members of state assemblies. The BJP will win most of the 10 Rajya Sabha seats that will fall vacant in November next year in Uttar Pradesh. Nine of these seats are held by the opposition parties - six by Samajwadi Party (SP), two by the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and one by Congress. The BJP has 309 members in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly, followed by 48 of SP, 19 of BSP and seven of Congress. By next year, BJP will also pick up seats in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Odisha, Himachal Pradesh. It would lose seats in Rajasthan, Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. The outcome of assembly polls in Maharashtra and Haryana will also have a bearing on the NDA's tally. While biennial elections have already been announced for two seats in Assam, three more seats will fall vacant in the state next year. The BJP and its allies have two-thirds majority in the state assembly. Nearly one third of the seats of the upper house will fall vacant between June this year and November next year. Two seats will fall vacant in Assam next month and six in Tamil Nadu in July this year. Thereafter, fifty five seats will fall vacant in April next year, five in June, one in July and 11 in November. The BJP-led government's efforts to push its legislative agenda often ran into opposition resistance in the last five years in the upper house. The government could not get the triple talaq bill passed despite a hard push, even though it was passed by the lower house. The Citizenship Amendment bill was also not passed. However, Biju Janata Dal and Telangana Rashtra Samithi - both of which seek to keep equal distance from BJP and Congress - had supported the NDA nominee Harivansh for the post of Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman last year. -IANS ps/bc (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Slamming the BJP for its "religious polarisation" across the country, newly-elected Congress MP from Assam's Nowgong Lok Sabha constituency Pradyut Bordoloi on Sunday vowed to fight against the "divisive" spread by the saffron party. Bordoloi, a senior Congress leader and a former minister in the Cabinet of ex-Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, had lost the Assembly election in 2016 to the BJP. Winning the Nowgong Lok Sabha seat assumes significance for Bordoloi as it not only boosts his political career but because Nowgong was with the BJP since the last two decades from 1999. "There are obviously some weaknesses in our party for which we could not do well in the Lok Sabha polls in Assam and also in the country. I am sure our party will introspect into the reasons and take steps. However, money power and polarisation of religion are two main factors that worked for the BJP in the recently held polls," Bordoloi said. He said the BJP has divided society by religious polarisation which is a dangerous signal for a secular society like Assam and the northeast. Asked about the Congress strategy, Bordoloi said that the Nyuntam Aay Yojana (NYAY), or minimum income guarantee was an "epoch-making" programme announced by the Congress manifesto. "However, Congress party was late in publishing the scheme and it is one of the reasons we could not reap the benefits of the scheme through votes," he said. "The BJP has been predicting that I cannot win from Nowgong Lok Sabha constituency as there are only 34 per cent religious minority votes in Nowgong. However, I managed to poll 51 per cent of votes in the constituency which indicates that I got support from the non-minority communities as well," he said. "The BJP resorted to create a narrative of religious polarisation and on their brand of nationalism. We cannot do that as Congress believes in the secular identity of India. This polarisation by the BJP is dangerous for the future of Assam," he said. Congress could just win three out of 14 Lok Sabha seats. "Nowgong, Kaliabar and Barpeta Lok Sabha seats. The victory in Nowgong and Kaliabar assumes significance as these two seats are located in Central Assam and has given a strong message to the religious of the BJP," he said. Accusing the BJP of using money power to win the elections, the Congress leader said his party fought the polls amid a funds crunch. "For the BJP there was unlimited funds but we had funds constraints. Everyone knows that we could not match the money power of the BJP. The BJP and RSS polarised the voters for their petty interest even through Ekal Vidayalaya schools," he added. --IANS ah/kr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A large number of people took to the streets on Sunday against the alleged detention and thrashing of two boys by the Army in Jammu and Kashmir's Badgam district. The protesters alleged that during demonstrations that erupted in the aftermath of militant commander Zakir Musa's killing, the Army detained some youths belonging to Dharmuna village at an Army camp. Family members of one of the two boys handed over to them on Friday alleged that both had been ruthlessly beaten by the soldiers. One of the injured boys, Fazil Fayaz Malik, 14, of Soibug village was referred to the Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) and was operated for a head injury. "He has been put on life support facility. His condition is critical," a doctor said. Locals have also alleged that when they approached the Army camp earlier seeking the release of the detained boys, they were told that they had been handed over to the police. A police official said that they were now holding only three boys. Defence Ministry spokesman Colonel Rajesh Kalia told IANS that the Army was ascertaining details of the allegation and would soon come up with the facts. --IANS sq/pg/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan will arrive in Islamabad on Sunday on a three-day visit to Pakistan, the government announced. "The visit is in continuation of high-level exchanges between the two countries, which have acquired an increased momentum since Prime Minister Imran Khan's visit to China in November 2018 and his participation in the 2nd Belt and Road Forum in Beijing in April 2019," Foreign Office spokesman Muhammad Faisal said. According to Faisal, Wang will call on President Arif Alvi and Imran Khan, reports The News International. A number of MoUs and agreements will be signed during the visit. The Chinese Vice President will also inaugurate projects to enhance bilateral cooperation. "The visit of the Vice President underscores the vitality of the time-tested and all-weather relationship between Pakistan and China. "It would reinforce the strength of bilateral ties and impart further impetus to the growing, multi-faceted cooperation between the two countries in diverse fields," Faisal added. --IANS ksk/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A joint team of Delhi Police and the Excise Department raided Shangrila Hotel here early on Sunday and booked the owner and manager of 'Privee' pub for serving alcohol and allowing the entry of minors in large numbers, a police officer said. The raid was conducted between 2 and 3 a.m. when over 600 partygoers were being served drinks and music inside the five-star property in Connaught Place in the heart of the capital. "We got a tip that a large number of minors had entered and were served alcohol regularly at night in Privee pub in Shangrila Hotel. A team was constituted with local police and the pub was raided," a senior police officer who was part of the raid told IANS. Deputy Commissioner of Police Madhur Verma confirmed the raid at Shangrila Hotel. "A majority of the minors belonged to business families in central and south Delhi while others were from Gurugram and Noida," he said. "We have booked owner Manish Jain and Manager Rajeev Ranjan of Privee pub under the Excise Act. They were found entertaining minors below the age of 25 inside the pub. A majority of them have failed to show proper identity proof," he added. "The accused used to take Rs 4,000 per entry and Rs 7,000 for couples' entries in the pub," an Excise Department officer said. "Five 'hukkahs' found in the pub were being illegally used as per the law," he added. Police have set up teams to conduct surprise raids in all five-star hotels in which pubs and bars were operational in Connaught Place. "Our team is also looking for pubs and bars in which alcohol is served to minors in pubs in Connaught Place," the officer said. (Sanjeev Pal can be contacted at sanjeev.p@ians.in) --IANS sp/kr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Dubai-based Indian boy has ranked among the top 100 regional finalists for the Google Science Fair global contest for his project to make street lights smarter, the media reported. Shaamil Karim, a grade 11 student at the Indian High School Dubai, was selected from thousands of entries, Gulf News reported on Saturday. His project detects if a car or person is passing by and makes the next street light brighter and the previous light dimmer, saving energy. Karim, a 15-year-old computer whizkid who originally hail from Chennai, said his father was his inspiration to come up with a solution for power wastage. "We were at a park late at night and all the lights were switched on. My dad said, 'Can't we do something about this?' I decided to do my project to make street lights smart," he told the Gulf News. Karim added that his project would be around 63 per cent cheaper than infrared-based sensors. The global 20 finalists are expected to be announced this month. --IANS ksk (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Posts containing fake news continued to flourish on social media platforms after the end of the Lok Sabha elections that saw the Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) returning to power with a massive win. Celebrations followed the results that pave the way for Modi to become the Prime Minister of the country for the second consecutive term. Some distributed ladoos to celebrate the victory. A few others spread fake news. A post claiming that "Welcome Modi Ji" has been written on all the city buses of London soon started doing the rounds on social media platforms. The claims were found to be fake by fact-checking platform BOOM. The images used for the posts originated in 2015, when a bus named "Modi Express" was launched by the Indians living in the UK, the fact checkers found. Some even circulated a video on Facebook that claimed that a Gujrati man got so elated with Modi's re-election that he showered cash on people in Milton, Canada. The caption that accompanied the video claimed that the man made a lot of profit after the share market responded positively to Modi's re-election. BOOM traced the viral video to the Instagram account of a Detroit, US based man. It found that the video, originally shot in New York, was uploaded much before the election results in India were declared and it had nothing to do with the celebration of BJP's victory. On May 23, the day the results of the Lok Sabha polls were declared, a video that showed Modi with his mother went viral on Facebook. While social media users claimed that the video was shot after BJP's landslide victory in the elections, fact checking website Alt News traced the video to 2014. BOOM also found that following the victory of the BJP, a quote that was falsely attributed to Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan in the past resurfaced on WhatsApp. "I would leave India if Modi becomes the PM of this country," the actor was falsely quoted as saying in the post that demanded that the actor should now "apologise or leave the country as PM Modi is back". BOOM traced the quote to a fake tweet and fake news report that celebrated the 2018 April Fool's Day with the false information. These posts, however, are only the tip of the iceberg. Many more fake posts are doing the rounds on social media with some even falsely claiming that six lakh votes polled in favour of Congress President Rahul Gandhi in Kerala's Wayanad mysteriously disappeared from the records. According to BOOM Founder Govindraj Ethiraj, the spread of fake news reached an "all-time high" in the run up to the 2019 general election. The flow of fake news after the election results suggests that the tide of misinformation on social media is unlikely to stop any time soon. "The biggest challenge to fighting fake new is that over 300 million of the 550 million smartphone and broadband users in the country are low on literacy and digital literacy and are especially gullible," leading tech policy and media consultant Prasanto K. Roy earlier told IANS. --IANS gb/prs (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Four key economic issues -- GDP figures from CSO, fiscal deficit numbers from CGA, Jalan panel report on RBI surplus and RBI circular on NPA resolution -- are awaiting formation of government as the Modi 2.0 is faced with a slowdown, slack in demand, consumption and investment. Battered by a severe slowdown, the Indian economy is expected to grow slower at 6.3 per cent in the January-March quarter of fiscal year 2018-19, clocking the lowest expansion in six quarters, said sources. The full year and Q4 GDP growth reports are awaited from CSO. The concerns about a slow-down in economy could continue well into FY20 and will be immediately felt in the Q1 period, sources said. The GDP growth has been falling consistently from July-September quarter of FY19. The year (2018-19) began with a GDP growth of 8 per cent in Q1 period only to slow down to 7 per cent in the second quarter. In Q3, it was 6.6%. On another key macro stat, the government had pegged its fiscal deficit target for 2018-19 at 3.4 per cent for which was revised upwards from the earlier 3.3 per cent. At the end of February, the fiscal deficit is at Rs 8,51,499 crore had crossed 134 per cent of the budget estimate which translated into 4.52 per cent of GDP. The figures for FY19 is awaited from Controller of Government Accounts (CGA). The other key report is RBI's revised circular which is expected now after the government formation. In the report, the RBI is likely to adopt a more accommodative approach towards resolution of stressed assets when it issues a revised circular sometime in the next few days, following the February 12 circular quashed by the Supreme Court. Sources said the major contention in the February 12, 2018, circular that got challenged in the court leading to its quashing, will be done away with in the new circular. Instead, banks will be given more time to identify and qualify an account as bad debt and also be given more time to resolve the same. The RBI is likely to retain the main contours of its February 12, 2018 circular while making the referral to National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) non-compulsory, sources told IANS. It might, however, be guided by suggestions earlier given by the Indian Banking Association (IBA) for debt resolution for classification of Non-Performing Asset (NPA) 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 the 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. On April 2, the Supreme Court struck down a February 12, 2018 circular of the RBI that asked banks to initiate insolvency process against companies even if there was a day's delay in payment of dues. Bimal Jalan panel on RBI's capital size is likely to submit report by June. The high-level panel looking into appropriate capital reserves the RBI should maintain will hold at least two more meetings before finalising the report. (Anjana Das can be contacted at anjana.d@ians.in) --IANS ana/sn/prs (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The downtrend in air passenger traffic might continue unless the new government takes steps to reduce air fares via rationalisation of jet fuel taxes and infrastructure creation to spur capacity at major airports. Industry experts warn that unless these crucial steps are implemented, the sector would continue to see a slide in passenger traffic numbers. Lately, high fares caused by capacity constraint and slowdown in economic activity has subdued passenger traffic. The growth rate of the high frequency indicator is usually 1.3-1.4 times the gross domestic product (GDP) growth of the country. "Besides, economic revival and pick-up in tourism demand, the government needs to address India's aviation infrastructure requirements and other matters (like tax on ATF), which have constrained the performance of airlines," Kinjal Shah, Vice President and Co-Head, Corporate Sector Ratings, ICRA, told IANS. As a case in point, the monthly air passenger traffic on a year-on-year basis fell for the very first time in the last six year. India's passenger traffic growth rate was in double digits for over 50 months. However, in April, the air passenger traffic declined (-) 4.50 per cent to 1.09 crore in April from 1.15 crore reported for the corresponding month of the previous fiscal. The last monthly Y-o-Y de-growth in the domestic passenger traffic was recorded in June 2013. "This trend is expected to persist for some time, until capacity situation is corrected... the available capacity (in April) came down by six per cent month-on-month, and this will further come down in May," said Anshuman Sinha, Principal, Transportation and Automotive at A.T. Kearney. "Fares will remain high until more capacity is added, and until that situation balances itself, downtrend in passenger traffic is expected to continue." As per the Directorate General of Civil Aviation data, January-April passenger traffic grew 2.53 per cent to 4.64 crore from 4.53 crore ferried during the corresponding period of the previous year. "Higher ATV (average transaction value) and lower flight options due to capacity constraints has led to low passenger numbers at airports," said Rajnish Kumar, Co-founder, ixigo. "Recent negative growth in passenger traffic is a reflection of how price sensitive the Indian consumer is. Previous strong demand seen in passenger traffic was primarily being driven by promotional offers, sales being offered by airlines." Kumar blamed the current capacity constraint on the grounding of aircraft by Jet Airways which ceased operations from April 18. This impacted 14 per cent of the total industry capacity. "This (Jet Airways grounding) has resulted in a shortage of 180 slots which have in turn driven up air fares and impacted the overall passenger travel growth," Kumar said. In addition, while Jet's demise has been cited as the trigger for decline in passenger numbers; other airline were quick to absorb the market share or passengers of the erstwhile carrier. The current situation allowed other airlines to induct Jet's grounded aircraft, hire some of its pilots along with crew and come out with robust plans for capacity expansion. (Rohit Vaid can be contacted at rohit.v@ians.in) --IANS rv/sn/prs (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The German government's anti-Semitism commissioner has urged Jews to avoid wearing "kippa", the traditional Jewish skullcaps in public, the media reported on Sunday. Felix Klein warned Jews against donning the kippa in parts of the country, following a rise in anti-Semitism, the BBC reported. Klein said his opinion on the matter had "changed compared with what it used to be". "I cannot recommend to Jews that they wear the skullcap at all times everywhere in Germany," he told the Funke newspaper on Saturday. A sharp increase was recorded last year by the German government last year in the number of anti-Semitic offences. Official figures showed 1,646 hate crimes against Jews were committed in 2018 - an increase of 10 per cent on the previous year. Physical attacks against Jews in Germany also rose in the same period, with 62 violent incidents recorded, up from 37 in 2017. Klein suggested "the lifting of inhibitions and the uncouthness" of society could be behind the spike in anti-Semitic crimes sweeping country. The Internet, social media and "constant attacks against our culture of remembrance" may be contributing factors, he added. --IANS ksk (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Megastar Amitabh Bachchan was filled with pride as his grandson Agastya graduated in London. Agastya is the son of Big B's daughter Shweta, who also shared multiple photographs from the graduation ceremony and tagged Sevenoaks in London. "In the blink of an eye. Congratulations Gus, you made it," Shweta wrote with one picture, and she captioned another photograph, "Journey wisely". Amitabh was emotional about the moments. On his blog, he wrote: "Another (grandchild) several miles away graduates and it's a moment of great pride and joy... The family is all with him and there are frequent messages and pictures flying about. "But I mean, he was just born the other day and we had all been around his mother at Breach Candy Hospital, and carried him into the world with affection and love... And there he is today, spanking big boy, carnation on his suit lapel, hair flushed back and looking very British... And taller than everyone else in the family. "Err...almost... still have to see where he measures against Abhishek and me," added the actor, who towers at 6 ft-plus. Abhishek Bachchan too congratulated his nephew Agastya and said he felt like one "proud mamu". Apart from praising Agastya, Amitabh also shared a photograph of a card made by his granddaughter Aaradhya for him. "The little one drops by after her Cannes sojourn, writes an affectionate note on a post it...," Big B wrote along with the card's image. He dissected the card, and wrote: "She got the French beard and the glasses right... the hair has been through 440 volts, and her own self being loved with the 'U <3 I' is her righteous belief, even before I could genuinely express it myself.. the 'Hey Dood' was an after thought... and the typo... haha." --IANS sim/rb/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Heads are expected to roll in the Congress following the party's dismal performance in the just-concluded Lok Sabha elections where it won just 52 seats, just 8 more than what it managed in 2014. A party source told IANS: "Many General Secretaries and state unit chiefs could face the heat as the party will fix responsibility for its poor performance." The Congress Working Committee (CWC) on Saturday authorised Rahul Gandhi -- whose offer to step down as the Congress President was unanimously rejected by CWC members -- to make a complete overhaul and detailed restructuring of the party at every level. According to the source, the Congress President was quite forthright at the CWC meeting, not sparing even some senior leaders of the party. Gandhi is believed to have said that Congress Chief Ministers Ashok Gehlot and Kamal Nath were eager to give ticket to their sons although the party President was not very keen on the idea as he felt that they had a bigger role to play in campaigning. While Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath's son Nakul Nath successfully contested from his father's stronghold Chhindwara, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's son Vaibhav Gehlot tasted defeat in Jodhpur. The source said that Gandhi also referred to veteran Congressman and former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram for pushing for a Lok Sabha ticket for his son Karti Chidambaram from Sivaganga in Tamil Nadu. Karti Chidambaram is one of the eight Congress candidates who emerged victorious in Tamil Nadu. The Congress President reportedly told the CWC that these senior leaders had put the interests of their sons before the interests of the party. Gandhi is learnt to have said that Chidambaram was even willing to walk out of the party if his son was denied a Lok Sabha ticket. However, when Gandhi offered to step down as the Congress President on Saturday, Chidambaram got emotional and broke down in front of the CWC members. The source said that Chidambaram reportedly told Gandhi that 12 crore people had voted for the party and that "south India believes in you. How can you say you don't want to remain President?". --IANS aks/ps/arm/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The India-Bangladesh District Magistrate-Deputy Commissioner level meeting would be held here on Monday to discuss border-related issues including crime as well as terrorism, an official said on Sunday. "District Magistrates of three Tripura districts and their Bangladeshi counterparts would meet here tomorrow (Monday). The one-day meet would discuss border-related issues including crimes, human trafficking, infiltration and terrorist activities," North Tripura District Magistrate C.K. Jamatia told IANS. Jamatia, who will lead the Indian delegation, said that border fencing, joint patrolling of the Border Security Force and Border Guards Bangladesh and setting up of more "Border Haats" (markets) would also be discussed in the meeting. Apart from District Magistrates of Tripura's Dhalai, Unakoti and North Tripura districts and Deputy Commissioners of Bangladesh's Rangamati, Khagrachari and Moulvibazar districts, senior officials of the BSF, the BGB, the Customs, the Geological Survey of India, as well as Superintendents of Police of both the Indian and Bangladeshi districts would also be present at the meet. Tripura, which is surrounded by Bangladesh from three sides, shares 856-km border with India's eastern neighbour. All of this, except a nearly 20-km-stretch, is fenced. --IANS sc/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The West Bengal Government on Sunday reinstated former Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar as Additional Director General, CID, an official statement said. The Governor is pleased to direct Rajeev Kumar to resume his government duties as ADG and IGP, CID, WB with immediate effect, it said. The order has been issued in view of withdrawal of Model Code of Conduct by the Election Commission on May 26. The poll panel on May 15 relieved Kumar from his post in West Bengal following violence in Kolkata and asked him to report to the Union Home Ministry the next day. Meanwhile, the CBI has on Sunday issued a lookout notice against senior officer for his alleged role in the multi-crore rupees Saradha chit fund scam. --IANS bnd/mgr/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The massive victory of Bharatiya Janata Party in Delhi may change the in the national capital as the ruling Aam Aadmi Party, which had come to power with a thumping majority in 2015 state elections, failed to take lead in any of the 70 assembly segments in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. While the BJP is a clear winner in 65 out of 70 assembly segments, it is the Congress that came first on five seats, all having large Muslim population. The AAP candidates have ended runners-up most in South and North West Delhi assembly segments while the Congress recovered its lost vote base to end as No. 2 in the rest of the city. If AAP's meteoric rise in 2015 was spectacular, its fall four years later in 2019 Lok Sabha elections is equally astonishing. With assembly elections due next year, the news is not good for Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. The best score for AAP was in Tughlakabad Assembly segment where it got 35.7 per cent of the votes when BJP's Ramesh Bidhuri got 52.1 and Congress was restricted to 7.8 per cent. The second best was Deoli where it got 32.5 per cent vote share against 49.5 for the BJP and 14.5 for Congress. The BJP, which had won three out of 70 seats in the assembly elections, can win more than 60 seats if the trend witnessed in 2019 holds. The Congress, which had failed to opened an account in 2015, can win five. The Congress was ahead of BJP and AAP in Ballimaran in the walled city getting 53 per cent votes while the BJP got 36.4 and AAP 9. The Congress, which had ruled the city for 15 years before it was uprooted by AAP, delivered its best performance in Matia Mahal, another Muslim dominated pocket, bagging 65.1 per cent of the vote. The BJP polled 25 per cent and 8.3 per cent went to AAP. The other seat where Congress got maximum votes include Seelampur (56.6 per cent) and Okhla (37.2 per cent). --IANS gd/prs (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A pall of gloom descended on village Kachpura in Agra early on Sunday when a young boy and girl were found hanging from a tree. Some people found the bodies near the Bholey Nath temple in Kundaul area. Police later sent the bodies for post mortem. Villagers told Dauki police officials that the two belonged to the village and were having a love affair for the past two years. Their families were opposed to their relationship. The girl was identified as 15-year-old Rabeena while the 19-year-old boy was named Ram Pal who worked in a factory in Agra. The two had left their homes around 8 p.m. on Saturday and never returned. Family members of both searched for them the whole night but could not find them. --IANS bk/kr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Goa Police on Sunday arrested a teenager from Solapur district in Maharashtra for allegedly stalking and assaulting a Russian woman tourist on May 15, a police spokesperson said. The accused, Ashpak Mujawar, 19, was arrested on Sunday from Nagoa village in North Goa, where he is residing temporarily. Last week, the Russian tourist had alleged that she was "stalked and slapped" by an unidentified person at Arpora village in North Goa and had claimed that the state police was refusing to investigate the case. The incident occurred on May 15, but got attention after the victim uploaded a video of her assault on social media, which later went viral. The victim claimed that she had turned down an offer of a "lift" from the two-wheeler- borne accused, who later stalked her and then slapped her, before speeding away on his vehicle. --IANS maya/bc (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) UK Prime Minister Theresa May, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Sadi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his victory in the Lok Sabha elections, a statement said on Sunday. According to the statement, Modi received phone calls from May, Markel, Salman, Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani and former Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa. May congratulated the Prime Minister on the strong mandate. "Describing the general elections as a major showcase for democracy, May complimented the people of India on completion of the significant exercise. Modi thanked her and expressed his desire to continue to work for further deepening bilateral cooperation with the United Kingdom in all spheres," the statement said. "Congratulating Modi, Merkel noted the growing relationship between the two countries and expressed her desire to further enhance cooperation in areas of mutual interests. The Prime Minister thanked her and noted the exemplary role played by her in furthering bilateral ties between the two countries as well as for global peace and prosperity." The two leaders looked forward to interacting with Modi at next month's G20 Summit in Osaka Japan, and at the Inter-Governmental Consultations between the two countries later this year in India. Modi has thanked the Crown Prince for his warm felicitations and conveyed his appreciation for his invaluable friendship with people of India and his personal interest in furthering the close relations between the two countries. He has also thanked the Emir and expressed appreciation for his guidance in building strong partnership between the two countries. Modi also thanked Rajapaksa for his greetings. "Stating that as neighbours India and Sri Lanka enjoy longstanding, close and friendly relations, the Prime Minister expressed the confidence that these relations will continue to grow for the benefit of the people of the two countries as also for regional peace and prosperity," the statement added. --IANS ak/ksk/pg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Delhi police have arrested one person in connection with the murder of an 11-year-old boy whose body was recovered from under a flyover in the capital's Khajuri Khas area on Saturday night, the police said on Sunday. The deceased was reported missing for the last 12 days. "The boy was reported missing on May 14 by his family members who live in the Nehru Vihar area. On Saturday night we recovered his boy. A youth living in the neighbourhood has been arrested in connection with the case," said Atul Kumar Thakur, Deputy Commissioner of Police (North-east Delhi). The arrested person has been identified as Danish Ali (28). During interrogation, Ali confessed to the crime in question and told the police that he had picked up an argument with the deceased boy who had told him not to sit in front of his house. The police have not ruled out the chances of sexual assault before the murder and are waiting for the post-mortem report to confirm their suspicion. "Ali is claiming that he killed the boy just because the latter told him not to sit in front of his house. However, we doubt his claims and are waiting for the post-mortem report to ascertain whether the deceased was sexually assaulted before being killed," said a senior police officer, who did not wish to be identified.--IANS rag/arm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President Amit Shah are arriving here on Sunday a two-day visit to their home turf Gujarat, which has once again given the party all the 26 Lok Sabha seats. They are expected to land at the Sardar Patel airport at 5 p.m. and offer floral tributes to the statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel at the airport, state party President Jitubhai Vaghani said. A human chain will be formed from the Sardar statue to the airport circle. Twenty-two stages would be erected on both sides of the road to host cultural performances, according the party's youth wing President Ritvik Patel, who is presiding over the preparations. From there, the leaders will reach the old State BJP headquarters at JP Chowk in the Khanpur area. Modi used to live here in a room when he was Gujarat BJP's Organizational Secretary in the late 1980s during the party's formative years in the state. The Prime Minister and Amit Shah will address a public meeting at the JP Chowk where he always makes the first speech after every election victory. The meeting would be to convey his and the party's gratitude to the people for giving such a massive mandate. As always, Modi will have a night-halt at Raj Bhavan in Gandhinagar and visit his mother Hiraba to take her blessings at his younger brother's house in Raisan area in Gandhinagar before leaving for Delhi. --IANS desai/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Indicating that Bharatiya Janata Party is eyeing to conquer West Bengal, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday that the people in the eastern state are wishing for a Gujarat-like development. Modi recalled that ever since the 2014 elections, the story of Gujarat's development initiatives had reached all corners of the country even before he reached various places for campaigning. "I watched a social media interview of an elderly woman in West Bengal where she kept on repeating Modi-Modi. But when asked who she will vote for, she said she will vote for the communists. "When she was asked why, since she wanted Gujarat like development, she said this is Bengal, we can't say all this publicly, you never know what happens to you," Modi said during his first speech in Gujarat after the 2019 landslide victory in the Lok Sabha battle. The BJP, dramatically, improved its Lok Sabha tally in the state from two seats in the 2014 elections to 18 seats this time from the total 42 seats. Modi, who arrived here along with BJP President Amit Shah, was speaking at a thanks-giving public function near the old BJP headquarters in Ahmedabad's Khanpur area. While concluding his speech, he asked the people to raise the slogan "Bharat mata ki jai" and asked them to be louder, saying, "I and Amitbhai have to work there, our voice has to reach Bengal." Similarly, the party chief Amit Shah also asked people to raise the slogan. "Arey bhai, you sound too low after such a huge victory! Raise the slogans loud enough so that it echoes in West Bengal." The Assembly elections in West Bengal are scheduled in 2021. --IANS desai/vin (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President Amit Shah arrived here on Sunday evening on a two-day visit to their home turf Gujarat, which has again given the party all the 26 Lok Sabha seats, but the celebrations will be devoid of drums and firecrackers in homage to the Surat fire victims. Modi and Shah landed at the Sardar Patel airport around 6 p.m. and offered floral tributes to the statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel at the airport. Gujarat BJP President Jitubhai Vaghani told reporters earlier: "PM Modi and Amit Shah are coming for the first time after a huge victory but the celebrations will be simple and austere. "There will be no firecrackers or beating of drums. This is in homage to the children who died in the Surat fire," he added. From the Ahmedabad airport, the leaders will reach the old State BJP headquarters at JP Chowk in the Khanpur area. Modi used to live here in a room when he was Gujarat BJP's Organizational Secretary in the late 1980s during the party's formative years in the state. The Prime Minister and Amit Shah will address a public meeting at the JP Chowk where Modi always makes the first speech after every election victory. The meeting would be to convey his and the party's gratitude to the people for giving such a massive mandate. As always, Modi will have a night-halt at Raj Bhavan in Gandhinagar and visit his mother Hiraba to take her blessings at his younger brother's house in Raisan area in Gandhinagar before leaving for Delhi. --IANS desai/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday received telephone calls from former Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed and former Nepali Prime Minister Madhav Nepal congratulating him on his victory in the parliamentary elections. An External Affairs Ministry statement said that Nasheed congratulated Modi on the historic mandate and noted that the relationship between Maldives and India had deepened in recent times. He also stressed the importance of close cooperation to fight the forces of extremism and radicalisation in the region. Modi thanked him for his felicitation and reiterated his commitment to continue fostering a strong, mutually beneficial and all-round partnership between the two countries for peace, security and development in the region. The statement said that Madhav Nepal congratulated Modi for leading his party and alliance to a "grand, historic and landslide victory". He expressed confidence that India's emergence as a front-ranking world power would qualitatively uplift the entire region. Thanking Nepal for his wishes, Modi expressed his earnest desire to further strengthen the historically friendly and multifaceted ties between India and Nepal. --IANS ps/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that the next five years would be crucial for India to regain its global position. He equated his first tenure as the Prime Minister (2014-2019), with the five years from 1942 to 1947 leading to Independence, which were key to laying the foundation for a strong India. Making his first public address in Gujarat after his landslide victory, Modi said: "If we look at the five years leading to Independence from 1942 to 1947, they were very important to revive the idea of India and galvanise the people to fight the external forces." "This is a similar opportunity to awaken the public consciousness and work hard to scale new heights for the country. We must work as one society with one purpose and in one direction to achieve this goal," he said in his speech outside the old BJP headquarters at JP Chowk, where he took his first steps in in the 1980s. Addressing thousands of people, Modi said wherever he went for campaign during the 2014 and 2019 elections, the stories of Gujarat's development had already reached there. Giving an example, he said: "I watched a social media interview of an elderly woman in Bengal where she kept on repeating Modi-Modi. But when asked who she will vote for, she said she will vote for the Communists. "When she was asked why, since she wanted Gujarat like development, she said this is Bengal, we can't say all this publicly, you never know what happens to you." Modi, along with BJP President Amit Shah, arrived here on a two-day thanksgiving visit to Gujarat, which gave the party all the 26 Lok Sabha once again. Modi later took his nonagenarian mother Hiraba's blessings at Raisin near state capital Gandhinagar. He would spend the night at the Raj Bhawan before returning to Delhi on Monday. --IANS desai/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A 25-year-old youth has been arrested after a man said to be a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) supporter was shot dead in West Bengal's Nadia district following the announcement of the Lok Sabha election results, police said on Sunday. Santu Ghosh was shot outside his home at Chakdaha on Friday night and was declared brought dead at a hospital. A political blame-game on the issue has erupted between the BJP and Trinamool Congress. "Bharat Biswas, 25, alias Pochan was arrested on Saturday. He was produced at the court on Sunday," said a senior officer of Nadia district. Asked whether the incident has any political link, the officer said that the police "didn't find any political connection in the preliminary stage" of investigations into the murder. While being taken to court, Biswas told reporters that he was present at the spot on the day of the murder but was busy surfing on his mobile phone. "I fled from the area when a boy named Laltu shot Shantu. I was very scared," he said. "The accused was known to the deceased. As for the rest, everything is under investigation," the officer said. Claiming that Ghosh had defected from Trinamool Congress, BJP activists blocked a national highway and railway tracks for about two hours on Saturday, causing major disruption of train services in the Sealdah division. BJP state unit chief Dilip Ghosh also claimed that the deceased party worker was targeted by the Trinamool as he had worked hard for the saffron party during the Lok Sabha polls. When asked about the incident, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee blamed it on infighting in the BJP. --IANS bnd/bc (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday telephoned his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi to congratulate him on his victory in the parliamentary elections. Thanking Khan for the congratulatory message, Modi referred to his earlier message to Pakistan to fight poverty jointly, an External Affairs Ministry statement said. Modi stressed that creating trust and an environment free of violence and terrorism were essential to foster cooperation for peace, progress and prosperity in the region. --IANS ps-mr/pg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said that Islamabad is ready to hold talks with the new Indian government, the media reported on Sunday. Addressing the participants of an iftar dinner here on Saturday, Qureshi stressed that both the countries would have to have a dialogue to maintain peace in the region and resolve all issues, reports the Nation daily. He said that maintaining peace in the region was a priority for Pakistan. On Afghanistan, the Minister said: "We want peace in Afghanistan so that way is paved for sustainable regional peace." He said Pakistan would continue playing its role as a facilitator in Afghanistan. --IANS ksk/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) South Korean film "Parasite", a dark comedy by Bong Joon-ho, won the coveted Palme d'Or at the 72nd Cannes Film Festival, where Quentin Tarantinos "Once Upon A Time" was praised highly but returned empty handed. At the Cannes closing ceremony, on Saturday night, Joon-ho got a standing ovation and a loud cheer from the audience when his film was named the Palme d'Or winner, reported hollywoodreporter.com. Jury president Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu said the Palme d'Or decision was "unanimous". Antonio Banderas won the best actor award for his role as a past-his-prime director in Pedro Almodovar's "Pain & Glory", and Mati Diop's "Atlantics" landed the runner-up Grand Prix award. Banderas, who teamed up with Almodovar for the eighth time, said, "I met Pedro 40 years ago, 8 movies together. I respect him, admire him, love him. He's given me so much in my life that this award obviously is dedicated to him. People think we live on a red carpet. But we suffer a lot, sacrifice a lot and there is a lot of pain. Also there are nights of glory. And this is my night of glory." The Camera d'Or went to Cesar Diaz for "Our Mothers", which screened in the Critics' Weel sidebar. The award honours the best first feature film presented in one of the Cannes' selections. A special mention was handed over to Elia Suleiman for "It Must Be Heaven", which played in the competition segment, the hollywoodreporter.com reported. Brothers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne took best director honours for "Young Ahmed", a film about a Belgian teenager embracing Islamic extremism. British actress Emily Beecham won the best actress award for "Little Joe" for her role as Alice, a scientist who creates a genetically modified plant that seemingly causes uncanny changes in other living creatures. The awards ceremony drew a who's who of celebrities from the film industry, including Viggo Mortensen, Sylvester Stallone and Vincent Cassel, adding to the glamour quotient. --IANS rb/pcj (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) AIMIM President Asaduddin Owaisi on Sunday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was only paying lip service by saying minorities live in fear as he and his party BJP had been "practicing hypocrisy" for five years. A day after the Prime Minister stated that minorities live in fear and called for removing it, Owaisi said Modi was not giving a message but "stood exposed with the hypocrisy and contradictions". If Modi stops gangs which are killing and beating Muslims in the name of cows, the fear among minorities will go away, he told reporters here. Referring to the latest incident of beating up of a Muslim in Madhya Pradesh by cow vigilantes, Owaisi said the BJP's victory had further emboldened these organisations and nobody could stop them. The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief said as the Prime Minister who takes oath on Constitution, Modi should know that right to life is for human beings and not for animals. "If the Prime Minister understands this basic thing of Constitution that right to life is for the human being, I am sure the fear will go away but BJP does not appreciate fundamental rights. "If the PM seriously feels minorities live in fear, will he stop all these gangs who in the name of cow, kill and beat Muslims, take out videos and demean us," said Owaisi terming these gangs as "bhasmasur". Noting that those who killed Akhlaq in the name of cow-killing were sitting on front bench in BJP public meetings, he also sought to remind Modi that one of his newly-elected MPs (Sadhvi Pragya Thakur) called Nathuram Godse a nationalist and she was also an accused in Malegaon blast in which six Muslims were killed. "If the Prime Minister seriously believes Muslims live in fear, I hope the RSS and the BJP will stop saying Muslims are appeased. If they are living in fear, will the PM ensure that the minority character of Jamia Millia Islamia and Aligarh Muslim University will not be disturbed," he asked. --IANS ms/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) As the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government is set for its second term in office, realty players want the government to resolve the liquidity crisis in the industry at the earliest. In the upcoming full budget, developers say the government should give industry status to the realty sector and introduce single-window clearance for projects. Anuj Puri, Chairman of Anarock Property Consultants, said: "It (new government) inherits major issues that the real estate industry is still grappling with, and require immediate attention. The issues include a surfeit of stalled or delayed housing projects, a huge pile-up of unsold stock across cities (paradoxically juxtaposed against a huge housing deficit), property prices that remain unaffordable for the large part of population, and the ongoing liquidity crisis of developers. "The real estate industry is hopeful that the government will redress and resolve the liquidity crisis the sector is facing," said Niranjan Hiranandani, President of the National Real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO). A strong and steady government should bring about stability with remedial actions without much delay, he added. The liquidity crisis became apparent after infrastructure lending major IL&FS in September defaulted on few of its commercial papers, which impacted several segments, including the real estate business. Although the goods and services tax (GST) rates were lowered for the under-construction properties recently, the market players advocate few more changes and streamlining of the GST. "As far as the GST is concerned, we feel reduction in rates is lucrative for buyers, but input tax credit (ITC) should be given to developers," said Pradeep Aggarwal, Chairman of Signature Global India. Aggarwal is also the Chairman of Assocham National Council on Real Estate, Housing and Urban Development. In February 2019, the GST Council lowered tax on the under-construction properties to 5 per cent from 18 per cent, and affordable housing projects to 1 per cent from 8 per cent, with effect from April 1. This rate cut, in effect, did away with the ITC or refund given to builders on taxes paid on inputs. Honey Katiyal, CEO of Investors Clinic, said the ITC's inclusion in the GST umbrella for under-construction properties would increase developers' profit share, and added stamp duty and registration charges should also be brought under the GST ambit. "The relaxation in GST with inclusion of the ITCs for developers along with addition of stamp duty and registration charges will help bridge the demand-supply gap," he said. The single-window clearance for projects is another long-standing demand, and realtors say they expect the new government to take steps on that front. "This process will create a positive environment as delay in clearances result in increased cost, which reflect on homebuyers. The single-window system will help in speeding up the clearance process, while minimising documentation. It will benefit both the sector and the homebuyers," Katiyal said. The industry status for the sector is also being demanded for long. The government accorded industry status to the affordable housing segment in 2017, and developers feel it should be extended to the entire sector. The industry or infrastructure status helps players get loans on easy rates from banks compared with financial institutions or private equity funds. It also means easing of cap on banks' lending to a particular industry. "After the affordable segment has been awarded the infrastructure industry status, we are hopeful the government will award the industry status to the entire realty segment," said Abhishek Kulkarni, Chairman and Managing Director of Million Sqft Realty. As the market saw several measures, like the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code and the GST, in the past few years, with the NDA returning with even bigger mandate than 2014, sector players expect further reforms. --IANS rrb/pg/pcj (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Actor Riteish Deshmukh became nostalgic on Sunday, the 74th birth anniversary of late Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh. Riteish took to Instagram and wrote: "Happy Birthday Pappa... I miss you." Along with it, he uploaded a photograph of his father. Riteish's wife and actress Genelia too penned an emotional post for her father-in-law. "Those we love don't go away. They walk beside us everyday... unseen, unheard but still always near. Happy Birthday Pappa.. Sometimes I just look up and smile and say 'I know that was you'. Miss You," she wrote along with a black and white photograph. Vilasrao Deshmukh, who served two terms as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra and served in the Union cabinet as the Minister of Science and Technology and Minister of Earth Sciences, was diagnosed with cirrhosis in 2011. He died on August 14, 2012. Earlier this month, Union Minister Piyush Goyal accused the late politician of being busy with film producers for his actor-son while the deadly 26/11 terrorist attack took place in the city in 2008. Riteish had came in support of his father and defended him saying "it is wrong to accuse someone who is not here". --IANS sim/rb/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In Rajasthan, the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) has shown its value to the BJP by turning the tables on the Congress in the Lok Sabha election even at a time when the state is under Congress rule. The RSS has an excellent work record in the western belt of Rajasthan which comprised crucial Lok Sabha seats including Jodhpur and Barmer. Its different units including Kisaan Sangh, Mazdoor Sangh and a separate unit active in border villages have been active on the ground for the last several years contributing to social causes irrespective of caste barriers and as a result, they won the favour of the local masses. Also their gestures of organising inter-caste marriages and cow welfare, among many others, made their workers earn the people's trust. Eventually, it was not a tough contest for the RSS when Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's son was fielded from Jodhpur against Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat who also has an RSS background and romped to victory. The organisation was firmly determined to show its strengths, virtually making it a Chief Minister versus RSS contest in Jodhpur. Surprisingly, all caste equations were neutralised on these seats when Jats, considered rivals of the Rajputs, also voted for Shekhawat who won by around 2.7 lakh votes. Similar was the story of the Barmer seat which witnessed Congress' Manvendra Singh fielded against the humble Kailash Chaudhary who was a farmer leader and yet again an RSS worker. Here too, Chaudhary won by 3.23 lakh votes brushing aside all caste equations by garnering votes of Rajputs too. As RSS workers were silently working on booth analysis and campaigning for their candidates across the state, Chief Minister Gehlot many a time openly criticised the working of the RSS during his press conferences and public gatherings during the election. Twice in May, Gehlot attacked RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, advising him to merge with the BJP and "play on the front foot". In one of his tweets, he said: "The RSS must do on the front foot. The Congress is strong enough to fight back. Let's fight it out in the open. Let's see who has what policies, what programmes and what ideals. Let's say what we want and then let the people decide. from behind the curtains is not in the interest of the country." "The way RSS leaders are giving covert support to the BJP, indulging in politics and enjoying its benefits while staying behind the scenes, it would be better if the Sangh announces itself as a political party. They should take my advice very seriously, discuss it and come forward," Gehlot had said. "It seemed the Rajasthan Chief Minister had got an inkling that his son was losing the battle in his home turf and hence he came out openly against us," says a senior RSS worker. In fact, the RSS after witnessing the BJP's defeat in the Assembly election in December, became proactive right from January and worked on a clear strategy. The workers of around 4,000 RSS 'shakhas' in the state proactively went door to door surveying the electorate and classified them in four different categories. The last category which constituted of Congress loyalists was altogether ignored and all emphasis was given to the other three categories to ensure they voted for the BJP. Their clear plans changed the fortunes of the saffron party which did result in record voting and record victories in many seats in the state. And the direct consequence of its efforts resulted in the drastic rise in BJP's vote share which was an increase of around 20 per cent as compared to the 2018 Assembly polls. The BJP's vote share was 54.5 per cent as compared to 38.8 per cent in the Assembly polls. The ground work of booth workers and RSS teams read the pulse of voters and drew them out of their houses to vote in big numbers. Also, fresh voters' names were added in voting lists with their support. As a result, 68.22 per cent voting was recorded in the first phase of polling held on April 29 for 13 seats, while in the second phase on May 6, around 63.78 per cent voting was registered on 12 seats. Overall, 66.12 per cent voting was recorded which was the highest voter turnout in the state in the last 67 years. In 2014, 63.10 per cent voting was recorded. As RSS was quite active in western Rajasthan, a few seats witnessed over 70 per cent polling in some belts as people supported the BJP due to the social work being done since the last many years and they came out in large numbers to vote. The RSS has also been working thoroughly in Bhilwara, where BJP candidate Subhash Baheria clinched victory by over six lakh votes. The unit has been quite active with their 'path sanchalans' and their cow research centre has been drawing accolades by people of all castes and creeds in this belt. Another BJP candidate from Chittorgarh, C.P. Joshi, who won by record margin of over four lakh votes, is yet again a soldier of the RSS army who is expected to get a decent berth in the Union cabinet. Advertisements congratulating him were released a day before the counting was done which left the opposition stunned and surprised over his confidence. --IANS arc/kr/rs (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) BJP leader Smriti Irani reached Amethi on Sunday afternoon to meet the family of Surendra Singh, a former village head who was shot dead early on Sunday. Irani met the family members of the deceased and attended the cremation. Surendra Singh's son Abhay told reporters: "We could not see the perpetrators but it is clear that Congress workers are behind this. My father was actively campaigning for Smriti Irani and the BJP." The brother of the deceased, Rajendra Singh, also termed it a political killing. He said that his brother wielded considerable influence in his village as well as in adjoining villages and this led to his murder. The post-mortem of the deceased was carried out in Lucknow after which the body was brought to Amethi. A large number of BJP leaders were present outside the post-mortem house and in Amethi. Uttar Pradesh Minister Mohsin Raza, who is in charge of Amethi, said the killers would be arrested within 24 hours. Director General of Police (DGP) O.P. Singh said that seven suspects had been detained in connection with the murder and were being interrogated. He said the police had got crucial leads in the matter. Three companies of the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) had been deployed in Barauliya village where the murder took place. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has directed the DGP to ensure the arrest of the killers at the earliest. Surendra Singh was shot dead while he was sleeping outside his house. The assailants came on motorbikes and sprayed him with bullets. --IANS amita/mr/pg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A former village head known to be close to newly-elected BJP MP Smriti Irani was shot dead while he was sleeping in his village in Uttar Pradesh's Amethi district early on Sunday, leading to the arrest of seven suspects. Irani rushed to Amethi from New Delhi and took part in the cremation of Surendra Singh, a former head of Barauliya village who was shot by bike-borne assailants outside his house, along with Uttar Pradesh Minister Mohsin Raza and scores of party supporters. Both Raza and Irani helped carry the body of the deceased on their shoulders. Singh was taken to the district hospital in Amethi after the attack and then referred to Lucknow. He succumbed to his injuries while on his way. The post-mortem of the deceased was carried out in Lucknow after which the body was brought to Amethi for cremation. Director General of Police O.P. Singh said that seven suspects had been detained in connection with the murder who were being interrogated. He said the police had got crucial leads. Three companies of the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) had been deployed in Barauliya village where the murder took place. BJP sources said that Singh had actively worked for Irani during the general elections. Police teams conducted raids in adjoining villages to trace the accused. Surendra Singh's son Abhay told reporters: "We could not see the perpetrators but it is clear that Congress workers are behind this. My father was actively campaigning for Smriti Irani and the BJP." The brother of the deceased, Rajendra Singh, also termed it a political killing. He said his brother wielded considerable influence in his village as well as in the adjoining villages and this led to his murder. Minister Raza, who is in-charge of Amethi, said the killers would be arrested within 24 hours. Raza added that the government will ensure such stringent punishment for the assailants that no one will dare to target BJP workers in future. "No one will dare to harass and target our workers. We will ensure strict punishment for the killers. At the moment we are all with the family of the deceased," he told reporters. Senior police officers from Lucknow reached Amethi to supervise the investigation. Barauliya, the village to which Surendra Singh belonged, is said to be a BJP stronghold and sources say the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) got votes from here even when Congress President Rajiv Gandhi held the Amethi seat. Surendra Singh, interestingly, had joined the Samajwadi Party on the eve of the 2017 Assembly elections but returned to the BJP soon after. The deceased was preparing to contest the panchayat elections scheduled to be held later this year and this could have been a motive behind the murder, some said in Amethi. On May 24, a Samajwadi Party member of the zila panchayat, Vijay Yadav, was shot dead in Ghazipur. --IANS amita/mr/arm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A former village head, known to be close to the newly elected BJP MP Smriti Irani, was shot dead in Baraulia village in Uttar Pradesh's Amethi district on Sunday. Surendra Singh was killed by the bike-borne assailants while he was sleeping outside his house. Singh was taken to the district hospital from where he was referred to Lucknow. He succumbed to his injuries while on his way. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Amethi Rajesh Kumar said that some people have been detained in connection with the murder and further investigations are on. Sources said that Singh had worked for Irani during the recently concluded general elections. The police are yet to find a motive behind the killing. Raids are being conducted in adjoining villages to trace the accused. A heavy deployment of forces has been made in the village in view of prevailing tension. On May 24, a Samajwadi Party member of the zila panchayat Vijay Yadav had been shot dead in Ghazipur. --IANS amita/ksk (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Shuttler Sourabh Verma on Sunday slammed the Air India support staff for damaging his bag in transit during a flight from New Delhi to Copenhagen, Denmark. Verma, ranked 46th in the world, expressed his displeasure in a series of tweets. "Really disappointed with the service that @airindiain has provided in the last few weeks (sic.)" Verma tweeted. "I was travelling from Delhi to Copenhagen and on receiving my baggage I found it had been mishandled and broken. I immediately filed a complaint with the @airindiain airport staff. "I had also sent a mail stating the situation along with the complaint receipt and the pictures of the broken bag. But I have not received any response or reimbursement regarding my complaint even after 20 days of reporting the damage," Verma said. Tagging images of his boarding pass, the complaint receipt and the damaged portion of the bag, the shuttler tweeted: "Hence @airindiain I would like you to look into this matter as soon as possible because I am a Badminton athlete and I travel frequently for tournaments. I need you to solve this issue as my bag was mishandled by your staff. I am attaching the relevant pictures (sic)." Verma had recently won the Slovenia International title, beating Japan's Minoru Koga 21-17, 21-12 in the final. --IANS rkm/arm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A campaign to stop former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson from becoming the UK's new Prime Minister and taking the country into a no-deal Brexit has been launched by moderate cabinet ministers. After Theresa May owed to pressure on Friday and announced she would resign as Conservative leader within two weeks, Justice Secretary David Gauke and International Development Secretary Rory Stewart condemned Johnson's readiness to embrace a no-deal, saying it would be hugely damaging to the national interest, the Guardian reported. The campaign launched on Saturday as part of a concerted "anti-Johnson" push by opponents of a hard Brexit followed comments by the former Foreign Secretary on Friday, soon after May's resignation speech, that the UK would definitely leave the European Union (EU) "deal or no deal" on October 31 if he became leader in July. The remark infuriated the soft-Brexit wing of the party, with some MPs and Ministers even warning that there would be "serious numbers" of moderate Conservatives who would be ready to vote down a Johnson government if he set the country on a path to no deal. In a clear attack on Johnson, Gauke, writing in the Guardian's Observer magazine on Sunday, warned that candidates who fail to acknowledge the "enormously harmful" effects of crashing out of the EU will fuel populism and risk doing untold harm to the economy and national interest. His warning came after Stewart, who has declared his intention to stand, tore into Johnson and said he would refuse to serve in a government under his leadership. "I spoke to Boris, I suppose, about two weeks ago and I thought at the time he had assured me that he wouldn't push for a no-deal Brexit. So, we had a conversation about 20, 25 minutes and I left the room reassured by him that he wouldn't do this. "But it now seems that he is coming out for a no-deal Brexit. I think it would be a huge mistake. Damaging, unnecessary, and I think also dishonest," Stewart added. The race to succeed May has begun with Conservative leadership contenders clashing over Brexit. UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock, 40, become the latest Cabinet Minister on Saturday to declare his intentions to stand for the Conservative leadership after May's resignation. Hancock joins a long list of prominent Conservatives vying for the party leadership -- and, by default, the country -- including Johnson, Stewart, party leader Andrea Leadsom and former Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab. Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt and former Work and Pensions Secretary Esther McVey have also confirmed their intentions to stand, the BBC reported. --IANS ksk/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The week, post exit polls that were declared on Sunday, was volatile and fruitful for the bulls. With volatility ruling the roost and BJP-led NDA beating the pollsters in their actual performance, markets were on a roll. Volatility during the week saw BSESENSEX make a high of 40,124.96 points and a low of 38,570.04 points, an intra week move of 1,550 points. Similarly, NIFTY made a high of 12,041.15 points and a low of 11,591.70 points for a weekly move of 450 points. Election day results saw the typical sell on news phenomenon and markets, after gaining intraday over 1,000 points on the BSESENSEX, closed with net loss of 300 points, while NIFTY, after gaining 305 points, lost 120 points. BSESENSEX gained 1,503.95 points or 3.96 per cent to close at 39,434.72 points while NIFTY gained 436.95 points or 3.83 per cent to close at 11,844.10 points. The broader markets saw BSE100, BSE200 and BSE500 gain 4.01 per cent, 4.11 per cent and 4.23 per cent respectively. BSEMIDCAP was up 4.45 per cent while BSESMALLCAP was up 5.85 per cent. FII's were bullish and bought on four of the five trading days. Their net purchases during the week was Rs 5,900 crore. The first part of electing a new government is now over. There is no uncertainty in the same and the mandate is more than crystal clear. The next part is the priorities of the government and its agenda. Very clearly the focus would be on infrastructure creation and the Bharat-mala and Sagar-mala projects would be continued vigorously. This would help in job creation as well. As far as markets go, the next agenda would be cabinet formation and then the budget which would be presented in July. As the same government continues, a lot of work on budget has already been done. This year, one could see some progress being made on strategic stake sale by DIPAM as well, and this is always welcomed by the markets. There were a lot of developments in the week gone by. Reliance Capital has sold its stake in Reliance Nippon Asset Management Company to its equal partner, Nippon Life at Rs 230. This incidentally is below the issue price of Rs 252 during the IPO which was done during November 2017. Naresh Goyal and his wife Anita Goyal, the promoters of now grounded airline Jet Airways, were not allowed to leave on a flight to Dubai on Saturday. A look out notice was issued against them and the flight which they had boarded was called back and they were made to deplane. The top management of Manpasand Beverages which includes its Managing Director, Whole time Director and CFO were detained under judicial custody by the Commissioner of Excise and Customs, Vadodara, for taking bogus credit of input credit under GST. The company was already under the radar when its auditors resigned at the same time last year. The share would again be under severe pressure when trading resumes on Monday morning. The week ahead sees May futures expire on Thursday, May 30. The present value of NIFTY at 11,844.10 points is higher by 202.30 points or 1.74 per cent. It's a clear advantage for the bulls and with the kind of volatility witnessed during the month, bulls should be able to have the upper hand. With election results declared the uncertainty over the volatility index levels have dropped by almost half and the premiums have significantly reduced. With the benchmark indices having performed and gained significantly, it would be quite logical to now expect the midcap and Smallcap to play catch up. A preview of the same was available last week where one saw these indices gain significantly more and outperform the benchmark indices. Expect markets to continue to gain in the coming week with a broader participation. With global issues and geo political tension rising, investors are likely to look at India where the prospects of growth look more likely to happen than many other markets. While new highs are some distance away the fact that the intra week move and the gains are similar, we still have distance to travel upwards. (Arun Kejriwal is founder of Kejriwal Research and Investment Services) --IANS kejriwal/am (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Outgoing Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, who failed to win the Lok Sabha battle from Amritsar, termed it a privilege to forge ties with the people of the Sikh holy city with which he has a family "connect". "I once again felt the surge of the kind of electricity that mass contact with people and the rough and tumble of ground level electioneering brings. "But the permanent connect that I have been able to make with people of the holy city has been worth every moment of the 21 days I got to campaign in the city and its nine rural and urban 'halqas'," the diplomat-turned-politician wrote on Facebook on Sunday. Tracing his roots, Puri, who lost to sitting Congress MP Gurjit Singh Aujla by 99,626 votes, said the election has only reiterated the connect that he had with the city. "A connect established by my grandfather Sardar Sujan Singh who was wounded in the Jallianwala Bagh carnage in 1919 and later by my father who sought refuge in Guru Nagri after he took the last Frontier Mail from Lahore to escape the ravages of partition." Remembering his experience as a first-time politician, Puri said: "The welcoming smiles, the warm hospitality, the brotherly embraces, the enthusiastic handshakes, youngsters touching my feet...and those thousands of selfies (the digital age expression of affection!) clearly communicated that the people (not politicians) of Amritsar never looked at me as an outsider." "Elections come and go but I want to assure every 'karyakarta' and every citizen of Sri Amritsar Sahib, that the bond we now have will be everlasting and permanent. I will keep coming back home to Amritsar to be with them. I am as much a part of their lives as they are of mine," he added. --IANS vg/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Days after suffering a whitewash in the Lok Sabha polls in the national capital where it drew a blank, Delhi's ruling Aam Aadmi Party on Sunday launched its new slogan - 'Kejriwal in Delhi' - to gear up for the upcoming Assembly polls in the city. The slogan on banners 'Delhi mein toh Kejriwal...' ('Kejriwal in Delhi') were seen all over as AAP national convenor and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal met Delhi state unit volunteers. On Sunday, Kejriwal had called a meeting of Delhi state unit volunteers at the Punjabi Bagh Club here. The meeting was called to interact and discuss the future course of action of the party with volunteers. Delhi will have Assembly polls later this year or in early 2020. The AAP, which contested the Lok Sabha polls in the national capital, came third with only 18 per cent votes across Delhi. Three of its candidates also lost their deposits as the BJP won all seven seats. Kejriwal in his address congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi for winning and hoped the central government would work in good faith with the state government for the betterment of Delhi. Asking the party volunteers not to feel disheartened because of the adverse poll results, Kejriwal said the party put up the best candidates and gave a good fight. "Our volunteers should hold their heads high for having done their job so well. The results were not as per our expectations. There was no negativity about AAP in Delhi. People of the city love and respect us," Kejriwal said addressing party volunteers. He said the party failed to make the people understand why they should vote for the AAP in this election. "People gave votes based on the PM face thinking it was a national election. But now it is time to tell them that state elections are coming and we must vote not on a name but on the basis of work done." He also said that every AAP volunteer should be proud that over four years into governance and six years post formation of the party, "we remain dedicated to the same founding principles of honest and ending corruption." Kejriwal said the Central Bureau of Investigation, Income Tax department and the Enforcement Directorate had raided him and his ministers but "not even corruption of a single paisa could be proved." He also said that all AAP leaders, office bearers and volunteers are just as honest as they were on November 26, 2012 - when the party was formed. He also said that based on the work done by AAP in four years, he believed the 54 per cent vote share of AAP in the last Assembly election would be surpassed in 2020. Echoing the sentiment, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh in his address said: "In 2015, we won on the basis of work done in 49 days. Now AAP will win on the strength of work done in five years. In Delhi, it's only Kejriwal." Singh said that while the Lok Sabha election may have been fought on one name, the state election will be fought on local issues of education, health care and infrastructure where AAP's work has been recognised globally. Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia thanked the crowds of several thousand volunteers gathered there despite a long and tiring campaign. He appreciated their efforts over the past year and the spirit of AAP volunteers. Thousands of volunteers were present along with losing party candidates Raghav Chadha, Dilip Pandey, Atishi, Delhi minister Imran Hussain and all MLAs and office bearers. --IANS nks/kr (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.) Before Yu Songsong started to learn yoga, he knew little about India where it originated. Having spent the last six years learning yoga disciplines, he is enamored by the yoga culture and eager to travel to India, reports Xinhua news agency. In 2013, Yu, from a rural area in Guizhou, fell ill ahead of an examination to enter university. He ended up studying marketing at a local college of finance not far from his home. "I don't like marketing at all and I was suffering from an emotional disorder, almost depression. I received medical treatment but did not get my mind and body right," said the 25-year-old who is pursuing a master's degree in the China-India yoga college in Yunnan Minzu University in Kunming, capital of southwest China's Yunnan province. "It was yoga that turned me around. I was no longer lost. I've found a direction for my life," Yu said. He started to practice yoga when he was a freshman and became a vegetarian. "The physical and mental practices relieved me of psychological distress." Yu participated in a national fitness yoga competition and studied hard for an admission test to enter the master's programme in the yoga college. Through yoga, Yu is deepening a comparative study in the philosophies of China and India, two great civilizations in Asia. "In the class, we discuss and compare the traditional Chinese theory that 'man is an integral part of nature' and the Indian idea that 'the Buddhist and I are one.' Through this, we explore the similarities that underly the culture and civilizations of the two countries," he said. Yu is learning from his Indian teacher Yatendra Dutt Amoli, who is studying taiji from Chinese masters and students. "I'm trying to teach them Indian culture from the Chinese way of looking at nature and values," Amoli said. "Both Chinese and Indian civilizations were born by nature, and we always try to find ways to connect human beings with mountains, rivers, forests and lakes in the class," Amoli said. For example, taiji and yoga stress the elemental nature of the being and their performances reflect the balance between the elements of human being with nature, he said. In Amoli's opinion, though the ways to practice taiji and yoga may differ, the fundamentals are similar. As an ancient Chinese martial art, taiji can establish a good base for yoga meditation and enhance one's awareness level, which will be helpful for yoga, Amoli said. At the beginning of 2018, two sub-centres of the China-India Taiji college of Yunnan Minzu University were established in India and have trained about 1,000 Indians. "Taiji and yoga provide two different platforms to pursue spiritual sublimation and a sound body and mind," said Yu Xinli, director of the international cooperation and exchange office of Yunnan Minzu University. "But many Chinese and Indian youths still know little about each other," he said. "They consider yoga and taiji merely as two physical exercises rather than two cultures, so we need to do more to deepen mutual learning and friendship," he said. --IANS mr/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) At least 10 people died and 19 others injured after carbon dioxide leaked from a cargo ship's fire preventing system at Longyan Port in eastern China's Weihai city, officials said on Sunday. The accident happened around 4 p.m. on Saturday, when the ship owned by the Fujian Shipping Company was being repaired. Ten people were killed in the accident, the local government said. Nineteen people injured in the accident are receiving medical treatment at a local hospital and their condition is stable, state-run Xinhua agency reported on Sunday. A preliminary investigation showed that carbon dioxide leaked from the fire preventing system due to improper operation of crew members. Those responsible for the accident are under police custody. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The first session of the 17th Lok Sabha may start from June 6 and last till June 15, sources said Sunday. The dates of the first Parliament session are expected to be finalised during the first meeting of the new Cabinet on May 31, a day after Narendra Modi takes oath as the Prime Minister of the country, they said. The BJP-led NDA government will prove its majority during the session which is likely to have six sittings, starting from June 6 and concluding on June 15, the sources said. President Ram Nath Kovind will administer the oath of office and secrecy to Modi and other members of the Union Council of Ministers during a ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Thursday at 7 pm, an official communique said. Modi is the first BJP leader who has been elected for a second time after completion of his five-year tenure, a feat so far achieved only by two Congress leaders -- Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Nearly half of the newly-elected Lok Sabha members have criminal charges against them, a 26 per cent increase as compared to 2014, according to the Association of Democratic Reforms. Of the 539 winning candidates analysed by the ADR, as many as 233 MPs or 43 per cent have criminal charges. The BJP has 116 MPs or 39 per cent of its winning candidates with criminal cases, followed by 29 MPs (57 per cent) from the Congress, 13 (81 per cent) from the JDU, 10 (43 per cent) from the DMK and nine (41 per cent) from the TMC, the said. In 2014, 185 Lok Sabha members (34 per cent) had criminal charges and 112 MPs had serious criminal cases against them. In 2009, 162 (nearly 30 per cent) out of the 543 Lok Sabha MPs had criminal charges and 14 per cent had serious criminal charges, it said. In the new Lok Sabha, nearly 29 per cent of the cases are related to rape, murder, attempt to murder or crime against women, the non-governmental organisation said. "There is an increase of 109 per cent (in 2019) in the number of MPs with declared serious criminal cases since 2009," it said. Eleven winners -- five from the BJP, two from the BSP, one each from the Congress, and the YSR Party, and an Independent -- have murder charges against them, the said. Pragya Singh Thakur, the newly-elected BJP MP from Bhopal, faces terror charges in connection with the 2008 Malegaon blasts. The has faced a lot of criticism for fielding her. Moreover, 29 winners have declared cases related to hate speech, it said. Dean Kuriakose from the Congress, who won from the Idukki constituency in Kerala, has 204 criminal cases against him, including culpable homicide, house trespass, robbery, criminal intimidation, it added. At least eight candidates, including hard Brexiteer Boris Johnson, have joined the fray to battle it out to take over the reins from British Prime Minister as the UK's ruling Conservative Party leadership contest gets underway. While Johnson, the former foreign secretary, is seen as the frontrunner to succeed May, the contest still remains wide open to at least seven other contenders. May had announced her resignation earlier this week and is set to formally step down as Tory leader and PM on June 7, after a three-day state visit to the UK by US President Donald Trump. The formal segment of the party leadership contest will then kick off on June 10, but prospective candidates have already begun laying out their bids for the top job. UK environment secretary Michael Gove became the latest Tory MP to announce his intention to challenge Johnson on Sunday. "I can confirm that I will be putting my name forward to be prime minister of this country. I believe that I'm ready to unite the Conservative and Union Party, ready to deliver Brexit, and ready to lead this great country," he told reporters outside his home in London on Sunday. The EU has already made it clear that it will not renegotiate the terms of the deal. Gove's decision is reminiscent of the 2016 leadership race, when he was accused of betraying Johnson by withdrawing his support for him and choosing to contest himself. It led to Johnson withdrawing his bid and Gove went on to lose out in the party ballot, resulting in May being chosen for the post. Among some of the other contenders eyeing Downing Street include the former secretary, Dominic Raab, and former Commons leader Andrea Leadsom - both of whom confirmed their leadership bids in different Sunday newspapers. They joined UK foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt, development secretary Rory Stewart, health secretary Matt Hancock, and former work and pensions secretary Esther McVey, in the battle for the leadership. All the leadership contenders must make their position on clear to their electors - the 313 Tory MPs who choose a shortlist and the 124,000 party members who will have the ultimate say on the final two contenders who will go head to head in the race. May's announcement to resign has increased the chances of the UK exiting from the European Union without any deal on October 31 -- the deadline set by EU leaders. A no-deal would face fierce opposition in the parliament, including from the ruling Conservative Party lawmakers who backed staying in the EU. Some of the PM hopefuls have said they will seek to negotiate changes to a draft divorce agreement struck with the EU last year but would be ready to go with a no-deal Brexit if refused. A dividing line has emerged between candidates such as Johnson, who say the UK must be ready to leave the EU on October 31 without a deal, and those who oppose a such no-deal Brexit like Stewart who said he would not serve in the Cabinet of someone explicitly pushing for a no-deal Brexit". The Opposition Labour Party also remains divided over the issue, with one section still pushing for a second referendum on the final and the other calling for a common Customs Union with the EU. "I think the responsibility is on all of those opposition parties to come together with us and some Conservative MPs to block a 'no deal' and if that means going back to the people, yes let's go back to the people," said Labour's shadow chancellor John McDonnell. Meanwhile, May is set to continue as Prime Minister while the leadership contest takes place. Tory MPs have until the week beginning June 10 to put their names forward, and any of them can stand as long as they have the backing of two parliamentary colleagues. The candidates will then be whittled down by votes of MPs until two remain, and in July a postal ballot of all Tory party members will be held to decide the winner. The last leader elected by the Tory party membership was David Cameron in 2005. May was chosen unopposed in 2016 after Leadsom withdrew her candidature at the last minute. After leading the BJP to a massive victory in the Lok Sabha polls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met his nonagenarian mother Heeraben on Sunday and sought her blessings. She lives with the PM's younger brother Pankaj in 'Vrindavan Bungalows' in Raysan village near Gandhinagar. Ahead of his swearing-in on May 30 as prime minister for his second term, Modi arrived here and attended a felicitation event at the JP Chowk in the Khanpur area in the evening. Modi spent about 20 minutes with his mother, touching her feet and seeking blessings. He is scheduled to stay at the Raj Bhavan for the night. He will leave for his Lok Sabha constituency Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh Monday morning. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Kolkata-bound Air Asia flight from Bagdogra made an emergency landing at the city airport Sunday evening after a threat call was received at the airlines' office at Bengaluru airport, a senior official said. The aeroplane carrying 179 passengers and six crew members was cordoned off for safe landing at the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport here. "The plane was escorted to a remote bay for a thorough check by the bomb disposal squad," the official told PTI, adding it turned out to be a hoax call as the authorities could not find any explosive material inside the plane. "On 26.05.2019, around 1805 hrs, emergency was declared at Kolkata Airport after a threat call received at Bengaluru Airport for Air Asia I5-588 flight from Bagdogra to Kolkata. Emergency was called off at 1925 hrs. 187 passengers on board including crew members," a statement issued by the Kolkata Airport said. "All the security checks are being carried out as per procedure. All passengers disembarked safely," it said. The carrier's Bengaluru office received an anonymous call saying there was something suspicious inside its Kolkata-bound Bagdogra plane which could harm the passengers, the city airport official said. "The Bengaluru office of Air Asia then informed our officials in Bagdogra, but by that time the flight had already taken off and was about to reach Kolkata. We were informed by the senior official at Bagdogra airport and an emergency was sounded immediately," he said. A huge team comprising CISF's Quick Response officers and bomb disposal personnel, doctors and fire brigade officers cordoned off the area for safe landing of the flight, the official added. "There was nothing inside the plane. I believe it was a hoax call. All the passengers are safe and sound," he said. Air Asia could not be contacted as calls to their city office went unanswered. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An AMMK functionary was hacked to death by an unidentified gang in the district Sunday, police said. Saravanan, AMMK's Manamadurai West Union secretary was murdered when he was on his morning walk here, they said adding the motive behind the crime was not known immediately. Meanwhile, several party cadres staged a demonstration near the government hospital demanding the arrest of those involved in the murder and refused to accept the body. District Superintendent of Police Jayachandran held talks with the protesters and assured to take action following which they dispersed. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The union secretary of Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam, Saravanan, has been hacked to death by unidentified persons here, police said Sunday. Four special teams have been constituted to nab the culprits, they said. Saravanan was killed when he was taking his morning walk, police said, adding the motive behind the killing was being investigated. Police said AMMK leaders and activists, including district secretary Umadevan, refused to accept Saravanan's body in protest. They demanded the culprits be arrested. Superintendent of Police Jayachandran assured the AMMK men swift would be taken action in the matter. Police personnel were deployed at the government hospital here where the AMMK leader's body was kept. The SP said 20 people have been detained in connection with the killing. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In a first, scientists have discovered the remnants of seawater dating back to the Ice Age, tucked inside rock formations in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Researchers from the University of Chicago in the US made the discovery on a months-long scientific mission exploring the limestone deposits that form the Maldives. The ship, the JOIDES Resolution, is specifically built for ocean science and is equipped with a drill that can extract cores of rock over a mile long from up to three miles beneath the seafloor. Then scientists either vacuum out the water or use a hydraulic press to squeeze the water out of the sediments. "Previously, all we had to go on to reconstruct seawater from the last Ice Age were indirect clues, like fossil corals and chemical signatures from sediments on the seafloor," said Clara Blattler, an assistant professor of geophysical sciences at the University of Chicago. "But from all indications, it looks pretty clear we now have an actual piece of this 20,000-year-old ocean," Blattler said in a statement. The scientists were actually studying those rocks to determine how sediments are formed in the area, which is influenced by the yearly Asian monsoon cycle. However, when they extracted the water, they noticed their preliminary tests were coming back salty -- much saltier than normal seawater. "That was the first indication we had something unusual on our hands," Blattler said. The scientists took the vials of water back to their labs and ran a rigorous battery of tests on the chemical elements and isotopes that made up the seawater. All of their data showed that the water was not from today's ocean, but the last remnants of a previous era that had migrated slowly through the rock. Scientists are interested in reconstructing the last Ice Age because the patterns that drove its circulation, climate and weather were very different from today's. Understanding these patterns could shed light on how the planet's climate will react in the future. "Any model you build of the climate has to be able to accurately predict the past," Blattler said. For example, she said, ocean circulation is a primary player in climate, and scientists have a lot of questions about how that looked during an Ice Age. "Since so much fresh water was pulled into glaciers, the oceans would have been significantly saltier -- which is what we saw," Blattler said. "The properties of the seawater we found in the Maldives suggests that salinity in the Southern Ocean may have been more important in driving circulation than it is today," she said. The findings may also suggest places to search for other such pockets of ancient water. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Promising a corruption-free government in Andhra Pradesh, Chief Minister-designate Jagan Mohan Reddy on Sunday said he would initiate a probe into the alleged financial irregularities in the construction of new state capital Amaravati, the Polavaram project and other schemes launched by former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu. Reddy, who is set to take oath as the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh on May 30 in Vijayawada, said a white paper in this regard would be released after reviewing the works of each department in the state. The YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) president also said he would take oath alone and his cabinet would be in place in a week or 10 days. He further said his priority would be implementing his party's poll promise of "nine large-scale welfare programmes". "I have promised to my people and I have a big responsibility to fulfil those. So, I cannot take any chance. With the blessings of the god, I will work towards that direction. In 50 days after taking oath as chief minister, I will chalk out a plan of action," Reddy told reporters here. He was in the national capital to call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah to discuss the issue of special category status and financial help to the Rs 2.58 lakh crore debt-ridden state. Asked if his government would probe the alleged irregularities in the construction of the new state capital and other schemes launched by the previous government, Reddy said, "It is a Catch 22 situation. We have to look into the scams.... These are not ordinary scams. They are going to be sensational scams." He accused Naidu of misleading people about the place where the new capital would come up in order to buy himself land at lower rates. "This is an inside story. This is something like insider trading. He (Naidu) has bought vast expanses of benami land. This scam does not stop there. He forced people to sell under land pooling and exempted his own benami land," Reddy said, adding that he had nothing personal against Naidu. With regard to the multi-purpose Polavaram project on the Godavari river, he said, "We will probe if there was any scam in the implementation of the project. This project has to be completed as per the timeline and there is no other option." The state did not have the mandate to complete the project but there was a necessity to finish the work, he added. "If there is a need to involve the central government to call for reverse tenders (for the Polavaram project), that will also be done. We do not mind. All I want is that the Polavaram project should be completed in a time-bound manner," Reddy said. Since the Centre declared it as a national project in 2014, an amount of Rs 11,210 crore has been spent on the Polavaram project. The Centre has reimbursed Rs 6,727 crore to the state government, according to the official data. The project aims to irrigate 2.91 lakh hectares, generate 960 MW of power, and fulfil the water needs of industries and 540 villages in Andhra Pradesh. Asserting that the YSRCP-led government would be "transparent and corruption-free", Reddy said, "We will not only clean the system and show how it is cleansed, but we will also show how to stop scams." "We will bring in reverse tendering. If scams are found in a project, we will identify and cancel that work and increase the pre-qualification criteria so that more number of people can participate. We will give projects to those who quote less. Everything will be transparent. We will monitor all projects," he added. The YSRCP chief said his government will be "revolutionary" and will set an example in the country. "Within six months or a year, I will make sure that this government will stand as an exemplary one in the country. I will ensure that there is no corruption and clean up the entire system," he added. Asked about the 32 cases lodged against him, Reddy claimed that those were filed by the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the Congress, adding that the huge verdict in the Assembly polls in favour of his party was a clear indication that the cases were false. "The cases were filed after my father's (former chief minister, late Y S Rajasekhara Reddy) death and after I left the Congress. The petitioners in the cases are none other than the TDP and the Congress," he said, adding that everyone in Andhra Pradesh knew about it and that's why people had given this verdict. Reddy's party has won 151 of the 175 Assembly and 22 of the 25 Lok Sabha seats in Andhra Pradesh, the elections for which were held on April 11. Reddy was unanimously elected as the leader of the YSRC Legislature Party on Saturday. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Pema Khandu and his Council of Ministers Sunday submitted their resignation to Governor Brig (retd) B D Mishra and requested him to dissolve the sixth Legislative Assembly of the state, officials said. The Governor accepted the resignation and requested Khandu and the Council of Ministers to continue till a new government is sworn in, an official release said. The governor accepted the advice of the cabinet and signed the order dissolving the Assembly with immediate effect, it added. Mishra conveyed his appreciation to Khandu for successfully running the state administration during his tenure. The ruling BJP in the state has gained an absolute majority to form the next government by winning 41 seats in the 60-member Arunachal Pradesh Assembly. The Congress won four seats while Janata Dal United JD(U) bagged seven seats and National People's Party (NPP) five seats. The BJP had also won both the Lok Sabha seats in the border state. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Chief of Army Staff General Bipin Rawat has said the Balakot attack in February was to ensure that terrorists being trained across the border do not survive to carry out action against India. Coordinated efforts are being made by various government agencies to tackle cross-border terrorism, he said. "Through the coordinated efforts of various government agencies, now the NIA has stepped in, the Enforcement Directorate has stepped in and all are trying to ensure financing and funds available to terrorists are cut off," he said, responding to a question on insurgency in Kashmir at a media interaction here. He also said the situation there has been brought under control. Rawat said the country has been facing terrorism since Independence and that security forces and all agencies supporting them have met these challenges head on. "We have been able to ensure that the insurgency has been brought under control. Of course in the Kashmir Valley, we have been witnessing ups and downs of insurgencies. "That's because they got support from our western neighbour. At the same time many (people) are misguided due to a misinformation campaign spread by terrorists. But we have brought the situation under control," he said. The Chief of Army staff was interacting with the media here yesterday after reviewing the passing-out parade of 264 trainees, comprising midshipmen and cadets of the Indian Navy, Indian Coast Guard and 10 international cadets. Asked about the radar comment of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Rawat said some types of radar cannot see through clouds because of the manner in which it is operates. "There are various kinds of radars working with different technologies. Some have the capacity to see through, some don't have the capacity to see through. "Some kinds of radar cannot see through clouds because of the manner in which it is operating. Sometimes we can, sometimes we can't," Rawat said. In a television interview aired recently, Modi had said he used his "raw wisdom" to dispel doubts of defence experts, who wanted the air strike to be deferred due to bad weather. "The weather was not good on the day of air strike. There was a thought that crept in the minds of the experts that the day of strike should be changed. "However, I suggested that the clouds could actually help our planes escape the radars," Modi had said while talking about the cross-border strike on terror camps in response to the Pulwama attack that claimed the lives of 40 CRPF personnel. The prime minister's comment drew widespread ridicule and condemnation from various quarters, including a large number of memes on the social media. The cadets who passed out Saturday marked the culmination of their training at the Indian Naval Academy (INA) here. The passing-out parade was reviewed by General Rawat and meritorious midshipmen and cadets were awarded medals after the ceremonial review. INA Commandant Vice Admiral R B Pandit and Director of the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, Anurag Kumar, were in attendance at the parade. The parade also saw 15 female cadets marching shoulder to shoulder with their male counterparts to join the ranks of the Indian Navy, a release issued by the Academy said. There were 10 trainees from various friendly nations, including two each from Maldives, Myanmar and Seychelles, one from Tanzania and three from Sri Lanka. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The impressive gains made by the BJP and the Congress in the Lok Sabha polls in Telangana have reinvigorated the parties after their dismal showing in last year's state assembly polls. The ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) party swept the December 2018 assembly polls by winning 88 of 119 seats. Many exit polls had predicted that it would also do well in the Lok Sabha polls and could win 13-16 seats. However, the party led by Chief Minister Chandrasekhar Rao, which had set a target of winning 16 of the 17 Lok Sabha seats in the state, only managed to bag nine. The BJP won four seats and the Congress bagged three. The BJP, which had managed to bag only one seat in the 2014 general elections in Telangana, now plans to consolidate its position and emerge as a viable alternative to the TRS. "This is the beginning of the BJP era in Telangana. Now, the downfall of the TRS has begun. The BJP alone can take on the TRS, that is the public mandate in Telangana," state BJP president K Laxman told PTI. He said the entire nation's mood is in favour of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Telangana is no exception. BJP president Amit Shah is also focusing on the party's growth in the state, he added. Laxman said Telangana is the gateway to south India after Karnataka and the BJP has got a fertile political space in the state. Drawing a parallel between the in Telangana and West Bengal, the BJP leader alleged that Rao is a "dictator" and his government had also filed cases against cadres of the saffron party. He added that the BJP will grow in Telangana like it did in West Bengal. Laxman also exuded confidence that the BJP will capture power in Telangana in the 2023 Lok Sabha elections with the support of Modi and Shah. The Congress too improved its tally this year. In 2014, it had bagged two Lok Sabha seats in Telangana. Significantly, both state Congress chief N Uttam Kumar Reddy and working president A Revanth Reddy emerged victorious. The Congress had been facing a crisis of sorts in the state after its humiliating defeat in the assembly polls and 11 of its newly elected 19 MLAs pledging their support to the TRS. State Congress working president Ponnam Prabhakar claimed that his could have won a few more seats in the Lok Sabha polls. Speaking about the BJP, he said the party benefitted due to the "Modi wave" and certain comments of Rao on Hindus that allegedly hurt them. "The Congress is definitely there. The BJP could not save its deposits in 103 seats in the assembly polls. The BJP won because of the 'Modi wave' and KCR's comments. There is no guarantee that the trend would continue (in 2023)," Prabhakar told PTI. The BJP could not recover its deposits in 103 seats, but won four Lok Sabha seats. So, it would be stupidity to assume Congress will not win elections to be held five years later, he said. TRS MLC Palla Rajeshwar Reddy said the ruling party lost some of the Lok Sabha seats due to "over-confidence" and the voters' preference for Modi. The TRS lost some constituencies by slender margins, he said. He alleged that the BJP and the Congress had an understanding in constituencies like Nizamabad to defeat the TRS. "For example, in Nizamabad, the Congress got only 1,000 votes in Jagtial assembly segment (represented by Congress for long)... Same thing happened in Karimnagar also. The Congress surrendered in areas where they felt that the BJP was strong," Reddy told PTI. The defeat of sitting Nizamabad MP of the TRS and daughter of the chief minister, K Kavitha, came as a shocker to the party. Asked about the BJPs aggressive growth plans in Telangana, Palla said the TRS is "ready". "All political parties have their own plans. We are ready to face whatever it is. We have to fight either the Congress or BJP," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Jammu and Kashmir BJP president Ravinder Raina Sunday said his party is for early abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A of the Constitution. He also exhorted confidence that the BJP will form the next government in the state on its own. Raina said his party will work for defreezing of the eight assembly seats reserved for refugees from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and revoking of the cumbersome M-Form exercise for Kashmiri migrant pandits before the next assembly polls. "Article 370, a temporary transititional provision, is the biggest injustice with the people of Jammu and Kashmir, while the Article 35A is a constitutional blunder which was included through back door without the consent of Parliament and the president...We wish the early abrogation of both these constitutional provisions," Raina told reporters here. Article 370 grants special status to Jammu and Kashmir and limits Parliament's power to make laws concerning the state. Article 35A empowers the state assembly to define 'permanent residents' for bestowing special rights and privileges on them. On Friday, National Conference president Farooq Abdullah had said Prime Minister Narendra Modi cannot remove Article 35A and Article 370 of the Constitution. "Let him be as powerful as he (Modi) likes, he cannot remove Article 370 and Article 35A (from the state of Jammu and Kashmir)," Abdullah had said, adding "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". Accusing Kashmir-based politicians of "misleading" the people of the state on these articles, Raina said Article 370 is a "wall of hatred" and the main reason for the prevailing situation in the Jammu and Kashmir. "Both the provisions have to go. Article 35A is discriminatory in nature as Omar Abdullah (former chief minister) if marries outside the state, his wife is entitled to various rights under these articles but when her sister Sara married Sachin pilot, she lost all her rights over property in the state," he said. Raina said the BJP from the days of the Jana Sang and the Praja Parishad under the leadership of Shyama Prasad Mukherjee and others fought against these articles of the Constitution which are "not good for the state". "Due to these articles, near about 100 families have looted all other families of the state for decades together," he alleged. Buoyed by the success of retaining the three Lok Sabha seats in Jammu and Ladakh regions, Raina exhorted confidence that the BJP will win the upcoming assembly polls in the state with a "thumping majority". "With the bumper support, the masses have made it clear that the BJP is going to win more than 50 seats in the next Assembly elections and will form the next government on its own strength. The next chief minister will be of the BJP," he said. When his attention was drawn towards the BJP dominating only in 28 assembly seats in the just concluded parliamentary elections and the possibility of coalition with any other party, he said, "I am hopeful that the BJP will get the clear mandate like Prime Minister Narendra Modi who returned to power with a landslide victory." "There are at least six more months or whatever the Election Commission decides before the Assembly polls, we will make all our effort. Kashmiri migrant pandits have to undergo cumbersome process of filing M-Forms to participate in the elections. If they had no such formality, I believe that Abdullah would have lost his security deposit and only BJP had won across the state," he said. Terming the M-form formality for the migrants to vote as a "rider" introduced by the Kashmir-based parties to keep them away from voting, he said the BJP is committed to take up this issue at every level so that every Kashmiri migrant pandit is able to cast his or her vote without any problem. Similarly, he said, there are 24 seats reserved for PoK and the parts under the illegal occupation of China in Jammu and Kashmir assembly. The BJP would work to ensure defreezing of eight such seats for the refugees living in the state before the assembly polls, Raina said. "One-third of the population of POJK had migrated to this side in 1947 and need to be given the eight seats reserved for them. We demand that the assembly segments be identified so that they can represent their community in the state assembly," he said. On the kiling of Surendra Singh, a close aide of BJP leader Smriti Irani, in Uttar Pradesh, Raina said any political killing is condemnable as is a battle of ideologies. "After facing a drubbing at the hands of Irani, the Congress and its president Rahul Gandhi is frustrated. We demand a probe into the incident so that the guilty is punished," he said. "We have seen in Jammu and Kashmir that such incidents are carried out by anti-national elements at the behest of Pakistan," he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A supporter of the ruling BJP was killed in Tripura's West Tripura district, police said on Sunday. The BJP alleged that the CPI(M) had a hand in the death of its supporter, but the communist party denied the allegation. "A BJP karyakarta was murdered at Banikya Chowmuhani area on Saturday night. We have report that there is involvement of CPI(M). There is also silent Congress support from behind," BJP state spokesperson Nabendu Bhattacharya told reporters. Police said Shibu Das was found severely injured at Banikya Chowmuhani area under mysterious circumstances and he died on way to a local police station. A case has been registered and investigation is on. Another BJP supporter Biju Bhowmik was killed at Fatikcherra of West Tripura district on Friday last, police said. Bhattacharya claimed that two BJP supporters were killed since Lok Sabha election results were announced, adding that 25 BJP supporters were assaulted in the last three days. However, the opposition CPI(M) Sunday rubbished the BJP allegations and claimed that murders of two BJP supporters were due to their own factional feuds. CPI(M) central committee member Bijan Dhar claimed on Sunday evening that more than 200 cases of attacks and 88 cases of arson had taken place in Tripura since Lok Sabha results were announced. "At least 209 cases of attacks against Left leaders and supporters and 88 cases of arson and ransacking occurred across the state since Lok Ssabha election results were announced. But nobody was arrested for any of these," Dhar, who is also the convener of Tripura Left Front told reporters. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) BJP workers on Sunday complained to police here against a Congress activist for allegedly posting a derogatory meme on a social media platform, an official said. According to the complaint, a Congress functionary uploaded a meme on local WhatsApp groups, depicting a dog 'Motiji' pooping and a man next to time dubbed as 'bhakt'. Some BJP activists from Sion-Koliwada area here objected to the post and asked the Congress worker to delete it and tender an apology, the saffron party's local leader Alvin Das said. However, when the post was not deleted, the BJP workers submitted a complaint at the Antop Hill police station here. "We have received an application from BJP supporters. We will seek a legal opinion on it and action will be taken accordingly. An inquiry is on in the matter," Antop Hill police station's senior inspector Rajiv Wavhal said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Indian Texpreneurs Federation (ITF), one of the largest textile entrepreneurs association in India, Sunday appealed to Brands and Retailers to focus on local sourcing, which would result in creation of 1.5 lakh jobs and significantly lift wages of people in rural areas. The appeal was made following the observation of a 53 per cent jump in imports of readymade garments from Bangladesh, ITF Convenor, Prabhu Dhamodaran said in a statement here. Bangladesh's overall exports to India in the July-April 2018-19 increased by 53 per cent to touch US 1.07 billion Dollars and data from Export Promotion Bureau in that country revealed it earned 701.56 million Dollars in the corresponding period last fiscal, with a major contribution from Ready Made Apparels, he said. In Rupee terms, it was about Rs 7,500 crore worth of garmenting business which India lost to its neighbour, Prabhu said. "It would have created an additional 6,000 jobs in the spinning sector, 500 jobs in processing sector, one lakh in the garmenting sector and another 40,000 jobs in the printing and embroidery sector of Textile Value chain," he said. Western retailers having outlets in India, as well as Indian local brands are sourcing their goods from Bangladesh*, and have also aided in this growth, he said. Prabhu said this was paradoxical because the government was making the tbest possible efforts to promote 'Make in India' , 'Skill India'and incentivizing job creations in the second most labour intensive sector of India -- the textile industry. Through these schemes, Government was trying to support textile brands and retailing chains operating in India to both establish and expand their business in India, he said. "Therefore, ITF, being a responsible body and considering the situation of the industry and India's job creation challenge, urges all brands and retail chains in Indi India to explore possibilities of partnerships with garmenting hubs of the country like Coimbatore, Tirupur, Karur, Erode ,Surat, Ludhiana," Prabhu said. He said ITF was ready to take up the responsibility to create a platform for all retailers and brands and would ensure the best possible support and cooperation for engaging them with apparel manufacturing units in all clusters of Tamil Nadu. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan, who arrived here on a three-day official visit, met Pakistan President Arif Alvi and Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday and signed several agreements and agreed to speed up the projects under the USD 60 billion CPEC to further cement the bilateral all-weather ties. President Alvi also conferred its highest civilian award Nishan-e-Pakistan on Wang, 70, a member of the ruling Communist Party of China's (CPC) powerful Politburo Standing Committee. The senior Chinese leader was received at the airport by Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and other top officials. During delegation level-talks between Prime Minister Khan and Vice President Wang, a number of Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) for cooperation in different sectors were also signed between the two countries, the government said. "These MoUs include cooperation in economic and technical affairs, Disaster Management and assistance in agriculture sector of Lasbella University," it said. Khan and Wang were present during the signing of the MoUs. The visiting Chinese leader also attended a special seminar about the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Wang will visit Lahore tomorrow after completing his meetings in Islamabad, it said. The Chinese Vice President's visit underscores the vitality of the time-tested and all-weather relationship between Pakistan and China. His visit will reinforce the strength of bilateral ties and impart further impetus to the growing, multi-faceted cooperation between the two countries in diverse fields, it said. The visit is in continuation of high-level exchanges between the two countries, which have acquired an increased momentum since Prime Minister Khan's visit to China in November last year and his participation in the 2nd Belt and Road Forum in Beijing in April this year. Last week, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said in Beijing that Vice President Wang's visit to Pakistan will further deepen high-level exchanges, friendship and mutual trust between the two countries. He said the visit will also advance the development of the CPEC besides bilateral cooperation across the board. Lu said China and Pakistan are all-weather strategic cooperative partners and iron friends, and firmly support each other on issues concerning each other's foreign interests. He said Pakistan has been a priority on China's diplomacy and now both the countries have witnessed a sound momentum in their cooperation and frequent high level exchanges. Lu said both the countries are deepening the mutually beneficial cooperation and conducting close coordination in international and regional affairs. The CPEC, which connects Gwadar Port in Pakistan's Balochistan with China's Xinjiang province, is the flagship project of the Belt and Roads Initiative (BRI). After visiting Pakistan, the Chinese leader will also visit Germany and Netherlands. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan arrived here Sunday on an official visit during which he will hold talks with Pakistan President Arif Alvi and Prime Minister Imran Khan and sign several agreements under the USD 60 billion CPEC to further cement the bilateral all-weather ties. Wang, 70, is a member of the ruling Communist Party of China's (CPC) powerful Politburo Standing Committee. He is also a member of China's Parliament, National People's Congress and the Central Foreign Affairs Commission, a key foreign affairs body of the CPC. He was received at the airport by Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and other high officials. During the three-day visit, Vice President Wang will call on President Alvi and have a separate meeting with Prime Minister Khan. Pakistan and China will sign five MoUs and agreements and inaugurate projects to enhance bilateral cooperation in a broad range of areas, state-run Radio Pakistan reported on Sunday. His visit underscores the vitality of the time-tested and all-weather relationship between Pakistan and China. Wang's visit will reinforce the strength of bilateral ties and impart further impetus to the growing, multi-faceted cooperation between the two countries in diverse fields, it said. The visit is in continuation of high-level exchanges between the two countries, which have acquired an increased momentum since Prime Minister Khan's visit to China in November last year and his participation in the 2nd Belt and Road Forum in Beijing in April this year. Last week, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lu Kang in Beijing said that Vice President Wang's visit to Pakistan will further deepen high-level exchanges, friendship and mutual trust between the two countries. He said the visit will also advance the development of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) besides bilateral cooperation across the board. Lu said China and Pakistan are all-weather strategic cooperative partners and iron friends, and firmly support each other on issues concerning each other's foreign interests. He said Pakistan has been a priority on China's diplomacy and now both the countries have witnessed a sound momentum in their cooperation and frequent high level exchanges. Lu said both the countries are deepening the mutually beneficial cooperation and conducting close coordination in international and regional affairs. The CPEC, which connects Gwadar Port in Pakistan's Balochistan with China's Xinjiang province, is the flagship project of BRI. After visiting Pakistan, the Chinese leader will also visit Germany and Netherlands. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan arrived in Islamabad Sunday on a three-day official visit to Pakistan during which he will hold talks with President Arif Alvi and Prime Minister Imran Khan on a host of bilateral issues including the smooth development of the USD 60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Wang, 70, is a member of the ruling Communist Party of China's (CPC) powerful Politburo Standing Committee. He is also a member of China's Parliament, National People's Congress and the Central Foreign Affairs Commission, a key foreign affairs body of the CPC. He was received at the airport by Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and other high officials. During the visit, Vice President Wang will call on President Alvi and have a separate meeting with Prime Minister Khan. Pakistan and China will sign MoUs and agreements and inaugurate projects to enhance bilateral cooperation in a broad range of areas, state-run Radio Pakistan reported on Sunday. His visit underscores the vitality of the time-tested and all-weather relationship between Pakistan and China. Wang's visit will reinforce the strength of bilateral ties and impart further impetus to the growing, multi-faceted cooperation between the two countries in diverse fields, it said. The visit is in continuation of high-level exchanges between the two countries, which have acquired an increased momentum since Prime Minister Khan's visit to China in November last year and his participation in the 2nd Belt and Road Forum in Beijing in April this year. Last week, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lu Kang in Beijing said that Vice President Wang's visit to Pakistan will further deepen high-level exchanges, friendship and mutual trust between the two countries. He said the visit will also advance the development of China Pakistan Economic Corridor besides bilateral cooperation across the board. Lu said China and Pakistan are all-weather strategic cooperative partners and iron friends, and firmly support each other on issues concerning each other's foreign interests. He said Pakistan has been a priority on China's diplomacy and now both the countries have witnessed a sound momentum in their cooperation and frequent high level exchanges. Lu said both the countries are deepening the mutually beneficial cooperation and conducting close coordination in international and regional affairs. The CPEC, which connects Gwadar Port in Pakistan's Balochistan with China's Xinjiang province, is the flagship project of BRI. After visiting Pakistan, the Chinese leader will also visit Germany and Netherlands. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan will arrive in Islamabad on Sunday on a three-day official visit to Pakistan during which he will hold talks with President Arif Alvi and Prime Minister Imran Khan on a host of bilateral issues including the smooth development of the USD 60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Wang, 70, is a member of the ruling Communist Party of China's (CPC) powerful Politburo Standing Committee. He is also a member of China's Parliament, National People's Congress and the Central Foreign Affairs Commission, a key foreign affairs body of the CPC. During Wang's visit, Pakistan and China will sign MoUs and agreements and inaugurate projects to enhance bilateral cooperation in a broad range of areas, state-run Radio Pakistan reported on Sunday. His visit underscores the vitality of the time-tested and all-weather relationship between Pakistan and China. Wang's visit will reinforce the strength of bilateral ties and impart further impetus to the growing, multi-faceted cooperation between the two countries in diverse fields, it said. The visit is in continuation of high-level exchanges between the two countries, which have acquired an increased momentum since Prime Minister Khan's visit to China in November last year and his participation in the 2nd Belt and Road Forum in Beijing in April this year. Last week, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lu Kang in Beijing said that Vice President Wang's visit to Pakistan will further deepen high-level exchanges, friendship and mutual trust between the two countries. He said the visit will also advance the development of China Pakistan Economic Corridor besides bilateral cooperation across the board. Lu said China and Pakistan are all-weather strategic cooperative partners and iron friends, and firmly support each other on issues concerning each other's foreign interests. He said Pakistan has been a priority on China's diplomacy and now both the countries have witnessed a sound momentum in their cooperation and frequent high level exchanges. Lu said both the countries are deepening the mutually beneficial cooperation and conducting close coordination in international and regional affairs. The CPEC, which connects Gwadar Port in Pakistan's Balochistan with China's Xinjiang province, is the flagship project of BRI. After visiting Pakistan, the Chinese leader will also visit Germany and Netherlands. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Amid coalition worries, the Congress, a partner in the ruling alliance in Karnataka, has convened a meeting ofits legislature party on Wednesday to discuss the current political developments in the state. The meeting comes in the backdrop of the rout of the Congress-JD(S) alliance in the Lok Sabha polls and simmering discontent within the party. CLP leader Siddaramaiah,in a letter to party legislators, including members of the legislative council, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, said the meeting woudl be held at a hotel here on May 29 at 6 PM to discuss the current political developments. "All MLAs should be present at the meeting without fail and give valuable suggestions," it said, adding that Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara, Pradesh Congress President Dinesh Gundu Rao, among others, would be present. In its worst ever electoral performance in Karnataka, Congress won just one out of 21 seats it contested in the Lok Sabha polls, while JD(S) too won just one out of the seven seats it had fought. Reflecting the coalition's sorry state, several stalwarts including former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, veteran Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, Veerappa Moily, K H Muniyappa among others were defeated. The alliance's humiliating defeat in the LS polls, which saw BJP winning 25 of the 28 seats, is widely expected to have a bearing on the stability of the Kumaraswamy government. As voices emerged in the Congress to end the alliance, blaming the JDS partnership for their disastrous performance, Kumaraswamy had offered to resign, following which the cabinet met on Friday and reposed its "faith and confidence" in his leadership, asserting that the coalition would continue. The CLP meeting also comes in the wake of simmering discontent within the party, with party MLA Ramesh Jarkiholi, who has been hobnobbing with the BJP for some time, even threatening to resign along with a few MLAs after the LS polls polls. Adding to this was senior party legislator Roshan Baigs outburst against the leadership, holding them responsible for the poor show by the party. The BJP, on its part, has predicted the collapse of he coalition and an increase in its tally in the assembly after the LS poll results, claiming that 20 odd Congress MLAs are unhappy with the government and may take any decision. During the CLP, legislators are expected to put forth their opinion on the coalition and the way forward, as the party has decided to go ahead with the alliance, despite rout in the Lok Sabha polls and may even seek changes or reshuffle in the ministry, sources said. A couple of weeks ago there was a growing clamor in the Congress for Siddaramaiah to become Chief Minister once again, resulting in a public spat between leaders of alliance partners. The Legislators may also seek proper coordination with the government, and the Chief Minister's intervention to resolve some of their constituency and governance related issue on priority, the sources said, adding that they may also ask for a joint legislature meeting of both parties. The leadership is also expected to explain to MLAs about the need to continue with the coalition and ask them not to make any public statements against the alliance. There is also the possibility of discussions on some Ministers quitting from their posts to make way for others to quell the growing discontent, the sources added. It also remains to be seen whether the disgruntled MLAs would attend the CLP meeting. If not, it will once again trigger speculation about the numbers game. The Congress had petitioned the Speaker, seeking action against four rebel MLAs, including Jarkiholi, for not attending the CLP meeting early this year when the state was going though political turmoil amid alleged poaching attempts by the BJP. One of them, Umesh Jadhav, subsequently quit the Congress and joined BJP and went on to become an MP from Gulbarga, defeating veteran party leader Mallikarjun Kharge. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The new government should take urgent steps to ease the financial burden on the stressed telecom sector, slash overall levies to an ideal 4-5 per cent and review spectrum prices to make it affordable ahead of the crucial rollout, industry body Cellular Operators' Association of India (COAI) said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to a landslide victory for a second term in office, while the Congress suffered a serious setback in the Lok Sabha polls. The new government, which is set to be formed in the next few days, will present the full Budget for 2019-20, and the mobile operators' association is hoping that some of its long-pending demands will be taken up in the coming months. Topping its wishlist is cut in levies, as the industry hopes that the current level of 30 per cent levy would be reduced to provide a breather to the stressed sector. "Charges like Licence Fee, Spectrum Usage Charges and redefinition of Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) needs to be looked at," Director General Rajan Mathews told PTI. Asked what the association considers to be an ideal level, Mathews said globally levies do not exceed 5 per cent and hence 4-5 per cent would be "ideal". On the issue of debt restructuring, Mathews said telecom operators should be given more time for repayment of spectrum bought in auctions. This, he said, can be done by increasing the moratorium period to four years and payment period to 18 years keeping the 'Net Present Value' unchanged. The industry also wants the government to look at making spectrum prices "more affordable". "If we want to take off, the present pricing will not get you there," Mathews added. He noted that at the present prices proposed, operators will not be able to afford the radiowaves which, in turn, will pose a challenge in rollout of services. A section of the industry has questioned regulator Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's (TRAI) methodology of computing the reserve price, claiming it has resulted in spectrum prices being unreasonably higher than global benchmarks. Earlier this year, Bharti Chairman Sunil too had flagged high reserve prices of 5G spectrum. He had said the government must price spectrum reasonably and lower various levies to encourage rollout of 5G services in the country at the earliest. The telecom czar had also warned that the spectrum auction may fail and might not bid for airwaves if the auctions are held at prices recommended by The has recommended auction of about 8,644 MHz of telecom frequencies, including those for 5G services, at an estimated total base price of Rs 4.9 trillion. The telecom sector is burdened with staggering debt levels and cut throat competition. Competition has only intensified since 2016, when Reliance Jio, owned by Mukesh Ambani, stormed into the market and offered lifetime free calls and dirt cheap data. Jio's disruptive offerings forced rivals to slash rates, affecting profit margins. Since Jio's launch, rivals have either merged, resorted to acquisitions or folded up. Speculation was rife on Sunday about senior Congress leader Lalchand Kataria quitting as the Agriculture Minister of Rajasthan with his purported resignation letter doing the rounds on social media, even though the Chief Minister's Office did not confirm the development. In a purported press release, Kataria said he resigned from the Ashok Gehlot cabinet in the wake of the Congress party's poor performance in the state in the Lok Sabha elections. The Congress lost all 25 Lok Sabha seats in the state in the general elections. The BJP won 24 and its ally Rashtriya Loktantrik Party one seat in the Congress-ruled state. Kataria said he was forwarding his resignation to Governor Kalyan Singh through the CM. When contacted, the Chief Minister's Office told PTI, "We refuse to confirm the resignation." Sources at the Raj Bhawan also did not confirm the resignation. "There is no confirmation on this," said a source. Kataria could not be contacted for comments as his official phone was unreachable. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Congress' Nana Patole, who lost from Nagpur Lok Sabha seat to BJP's Nitin Gadkari, was booked along with his supporters for allegedly disrupting the vote counting process on May 23, police said Sunday. An official said Patole and his supporters entered the counting centre on May 23 without permission and then got into altercations with polling staff and also indulged in sloganeering. He said Kalamna police filed a case against Patole, local Congress leader Abhijeet Wanjari and 10-15 polling agents of the party on a complaint lodged by Shital Deshmukh, Additional Election Officer, Nagpur East constituency on May 24. Officials said District Collector and Returning Officer Ashwin Mudgal has informed the Chief Election Commissioner in New Delhi and the Chief Electoral Officer of the state about the complaint against Patole. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi continues to receive congratulatory calls from leaders across the globe for returning to power with a massive majority in the Lok Sabha elections. The prime minister received telephone calls from crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman, Emir of State of QatarSheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, British PM Theresa May and former Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa. A statement from the prime minister's office said all calls were received Saturday. Modi thanked the Crown Prince for his felicitations and conveyed his appreciation for his invaluable friendship with people of India and his personal interest in furthering close relations between the two countries. The Emir felicitated the Prime Minister and noted the deepening relationship between India and Qatar. The prime minister thanked the Emir and expressed appreciation for his guidance in building strong partnership between the two countries, the statement said. Congratulating Modi, Chancellor Merkel noted the growing relationship between the two countries and expressed her desire to further enhance cooperation in areas of mutual interests. The Prime Minister thanked her and noted the exemplary role played by her in furthering bilateral ties between the two countries as well as for global peace and prosperity. The two leaders look forward to interacting at the forthcoming G 20 Summit in Osaka, Japan, and to the Inter Governmental Consultations between the two countries later this year in India. Prime Minister May congratulated Modi on the strong mandate. Describing the Lok Sabha polls as a major showcase for democracy, Prime Minister May complimented the people of India on completion of the significant exercise. Prime Minister Modi thanked her and expressed his desire to continue to work for further deepening bilateral cooperation with the United Kingdom in all spheres. The prime minister thanked Rajapaksa for his greetings. "Stating that as neighbours India and Sri Lanka enjoy longstanding, close and friendly relations, the prime minister expressed the confidence that these relations will continue to grow for the benefit of the people of the two countries as also for regional peace and prosperity," the statement read. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a telephonic conversation with his Pakistani counterpart Imran Khan on Sunday, during which he called for creating trust and an environment free of violence and terrorism for fostering peace and prosperity in the region. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said it was Khan who called up Modi. "The Prime Minister thanked the Prime Minister of Pakistan for his telephone call and greetings," it said. Recalling his initiatives in line with his government's "neighbourhood first" policy, Modi referred to his earlier suggestion to Khan to fight poverty jointly, the MEA said. "He stressed that creating trust and an environment free of violence and terrorism were essential for fostering cooperation for peace, progress and prosperity in our region," it added. It said Modi also received telephone calls from former president of the Maldives Mohamed Nasheed and former prime minister of Nepal Madhav Nepal on his victory in the recent general election. "Former president Nasheed congratulated the Prime Minister on the historic mandate and noted that the relationship between the Maldives and India had deepened in recent times," the MEA said. He stressed the importance of close cooperation to fight the forces of extremism and radicalisation in the region, it added. On his part, Modi thanked Nasheed for his felicitation and reiterated his commitment to continue fostering a strong, mutually beneficial and all-round partnership between the two countries. The MEA said Madhav Nepal warmly congratulated Modi on leading his party and alliance to a grand, historic and landslide victory. He also expressed the confidence that India's emergence as a front-ranking world power would qualitatively uplift the entire region. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The decomposed body of an 11-year-old boy, who had been missing since May 14, was found under Khajuri flyover in northeast Delhi Sunday evening, police said. The boy was allegedly killed by his neighbour as he felt insulted when the victim's parents admonished him for staying outside their house, police said. Confirming the incident, Atul Kumar Thakur, Deputy Commissioner of Police (northeast), said the accused, identified as Danish, has been arrested from his house in the Nehru Vihar area. He used to deal in sale of live chicken and his house is adjacent to victim's house, the officer said. During investigation, Danish was seen walking down a lane with the boy in a CCTV footage. The date and time of the CCTV footage was matched with the missing compliant of the child, Thakur said. On Saturday, Danish was held for questioning and he confessed that he killed the boy because he felt insulted after his parents scolded him for staying in front of their house, the DCP said. He held a grudge against the family and wanted to teach them a lesson, Thakur added. On May 14, he allegedly took the boy to an isolated spot under the Khajuri flyover, almost four kilometres from his house, after luring him to offer chocolate, the DCP said. He strangulated him and later dumped the body under the flyover, the officer said. The boy's parents, who work as labourers, when returned from their workplace found that their son was missing, and subsequently filed a missing complaint at Khajuri Khas police station, Thakur said. Danish shared a friendly relation with the boy. He even had gifted a few chicks to him, he said. Police are also looking if the boy was sexually assaulted before being killed, Thakur said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The forensic science lab at Rohini here will have a brain fingerprinting machine operational in June this year, police has told the Delhi High Court. Brain fingerprinting is a type of lie-detection technique through which a person's brain waves are measured to find out if the individual is telling the truth when answering questions put to him or her. The high court had in March directed installation of the system at the Rohini FSL during the hearing of a plea related to a missing four-year-old boy after it was informed there were no facilities here for carrying out narco tests. On May 20, the court was informed that the machine has been installed and it will be operational after May 31, by when the electrical work would be completed. The court had called for the system to examine the mother and sister of the main suspect, a young boy of around 11 years, who was last seen with the missing child according to CCTV footage. A narco test of the two women was scheduled to be carried out at Gandhinagar FSL in Gujarat in March, but due to medical reasons could not be done and was re-scheduled to September, the high court noted in its order. The four-year-old boy has been missing since August 4 last year, when he was last seen with the juvenile. Subsequently, the child's father moved a habeas corpus petition in the high court, seeking directions to police to trace his son. According to the juvenile, the child drowned in the river Yamuna, but as no body was recovered, the investigation continued. As police could not trace the child till December last year, the court transferred the case to the anti-human trafficking unit of the crime branch. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Despite receiving a drubbing in the just held Lok Sabha polls, the Chhattisgarh Congress has drawn consolation by wresting the Naxal-hit Bastar seat, reserved for Scheduled Tribe candidates, which it never won in the past. Congress nominee Dipak Baij defeated BJP's Baiduram Kashyap by a margin of 38,982 votes in Bastar. Prior to the Lok Sabha elections, the Congress was hopeful of faring well and winning seats reserved for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe candidates as it won the Assembly polls last year with a thumping majority, uprooting the BJP which ruled the state for 15 years. However, in the Lok Sabha polls to 11 seats in the state, the results of which were declared last Thursday, the Congress managed to win only two seats - Korba and Bastar. But, the party is happy to have improved its tally from the previous record of winning just one seat in the state in the last three Lok Sabha polls. "We performed well in Bastar and Kanker - both reserved for tribal candidates. Though we won only Bastar of these two, the loss margin in Kanker was just 6,914 votes. Despite a strong 'Modi wave', the Congress has improved its tally in Chhattisgarh to two seats," state Congress spokesman Shailesh Nitin Trivedi told PTI. "It is significant that the party has won a reserved Lok Sabha seat for the first time since the formation of Chhattisgarh in November 2000. The credit goes to Congress' pro-tribal and pro-farmer measures taken in just two months of formation of its government in the state," he said. Prior to polling in Bastar Lok Sabha seat, ultras last month killed BJP MLA Bhima Mandavi and four security personnel in the region, which has been struggling with Naxal menace for the past three decades. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An alleged drug peddler was arrested and about 2.5 kg poppy straw recovered from him in Ganderbal district of Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday, police said. Acting on a tip-off, a police team in presence of a magistrate seized the contraband from a dhaba located at Wayil Bypass, a spokesman said. The owner of the Dhaba, Mohammad Maqbool Bhat, a resident of Manigam area of the district, has been taken to Ganderbal Police Station and remains to be in custody, the spokesperson said. A case has been registered in this connection and further investigation is underway, he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An Indian teenaged boy based in Dubai has topped the list of 100 regional finalists for a prestigious international science fair contest for his project to minimise power wastage and make street lights smarter, according to a media report. Shaamil Karim, a grade 11 student of the Indian High School in Dubai, was selected for the Google Science Fair global contest from thousands of entries, the Gulf reported on Saturday. His project detects if a car or person is passing by and makes the next street light brighter and the previous light dimmer, saving energy, the report said. Instead of using expensive infrared-based motion detectors, the 15-year-old computer whizkid from Chennai used photo-resistors to detect the shadow cast by passing cars or people. Once a shadow is sensed, the next street light brightens up for the approaching road user while the previous one dims down. "For safety reasons, you cannot have the street lights off and then suddenly come on - as in the corridors in buildings - so the solution is to make them smarter by brightening and diming where and when appropriate," the report quoted Karim as saying. The teenager said his project would be around 63 per cent cheaper than infrared-based sensors as it would only need photo-resistors, cables and a micro-controller to fit to existing street lights in developing countries. According to Karim, his father was his inspiration to come up with a solution for power wastage. "We were at a park late at night and all the lights were switched on. My dad said, 'Can't we do something about this?' I decided to do my project to make street lights smart," he said. The global 20 finalists are expected to be announced this month. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte has congratulated his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on his victory in election and expressed confidence in working together in a spirit of friendship and cooperation. Prime Minister Rutte, in a letter sent to Prime Minister Modi on Friday, wished him success in the coming years. He expressed confidence in working together with Modi in a spirit of friendship and cooperation for the benefit of people of India and the Netherlands, a statement issued by the Indian Embassy here said. Prime Minister Rutte said that he greatly values the strong and wide-ranging partnership between India and the Netherlands which is based on long-standing historic ties between the two countries. Rutte conveyed that he is looking forward to meet Prime Minister Modi next month in Osaka at the G20 Summit, the statement added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Egypt has unfrozen the assets of its Mubarak-era interior minister, who was acquitted on all corruption-related charges earlier this month, a judicial source confirmed Sunday. The Illicit Gains Authority decided last Thursday to lift freezes on Habib al-Adly's assets and those of aides who were key players in the graft that dominated Egypt under long-time autocrat Hosni Mubarak. "He is free to walk, with no cases or charges against him at the moment," the judicial source told AFP. Adly's behemoth security apparatus was accused of systematic torture and repression of dissent, helping fuel the 2011 uprising that toppled Mubarak. In May, a court fined the former minister 500 Egyptian pounds (about USD 29) on charges of abusing public funds. Adly was sentenced in April 2017 to seven years in prison along with 10 other former officials, for embezzling about USD 122 million. But his case was thrown out, with the court citing procedural errors, and a retrial was ordered last year. In 2014, Adly was acquitted of charges of responsibility for the deaths of protesters during the 2011 uprising. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Ministry is planning to launch an exchange traded fund (ETF) consisting of stocks of banks and financial institutions this fiscal and will soon appoint an advisor to explore its feasibility, according to an official. After the resounding success of CPSE ETF and Bharat-22 ETF, the government is looking at diversifying the ETF basket by including stocks public sector banks and financial institutions. "We will be soon appointing advisor to suggest on launching an ETF with scrips. The advisor will also look into the feasibility of including stocks of financial institutions and companies into the basket," the official told The plan to launch a ETF comes on the back of the government seeing huge investor demand for two existing ETFs. It has raised Rs 32,900 crore through two tranches and an additional fund offer of Bharat-22 ETF, and Rs 38,000 crore in five tranches of CPSE ETF in the domestic market. "We expect balance sheet of banks to strengthen going forward and an ETF would provide risk-averse investors an option to hold shares of multiple banks through a single financial instrument," the official said. Currently, there are two state-owned companies -- General Corp of and New Assurance Co Ltd -- and 19 public sector banks that are listed on exchanges. Besides, financial institution IFCI is also listed on the exchanges. The government currently has two -- CPSE ETF and Bharat-22 ETF -- listed on domestic exchanges. ETFs function like a mutual fund scheme and have underlying assets of government-owned companies. The Ministry has also started consultations with global investors for launching CPSE-scrip based ETF in overseas market. The official further said that the government does not intend to launch in the domestic market any new ETFs comprising stocks of public sector companies since in most of these companies government holding is nearing 51 per cent. Bharat-22 ETF, which was launched in 2017-18, has 16 central public sector enterprises covering six sectors, three public sector banks and three private sector companies where the government holds minority stake. CPSE-ETF comprises shares of 11 companies -- ONGC, Coal India, Indian Oil Corp, Power Corp, REC, Bharat Electronics, Oil India, NTPC, (India), and SJVN Ltd. The government has budgeted to collect Rs 90,000 crore through CPSE disinvestment in the current fiscal as against Rs 84,972 crore mopped up in 2018-19. Foreign investors have pulled out a net amount of Rs 4,375 crore from the Indian capital in May so far, driven by global and domestic factors. Prior to this, overseas investors had infused a net amount of Rs 16,093 crore in April, Rs 45,981 crore in March and Rs 11,182 crore in February in the capital (both equity and debt). According to the latest depositories data, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) withdrew a net sum of Rs 2,048 crore from equities and Rs 2,309.86 crore from the debt market during May 2-24, taking the total net outflow to Rs 4,375.86 crore. "However, it is noteworthy that foreign investors pumped in money on the day of election results as the mandate became clear," said Vidya Bala, Head - Mutual Funds Research at FundsIndia. invested a net Rs 1,352.20 crore in equities on May 23, when the ruling BJP scored a thumping victory in the general elections. "While may remain cautiously optimistic on what the government will deliver in a second term, neglected cyclical segments from banks to capital goods to infrastructure-related plays may see increased interest from institutional investors," Bala added. Kaustubh Belapurkar, Director - Manager Research, Morningstar Investment Adviser India, said, "The exit poll indications followed by the actual emphatic BJP victory has certainly enthused foreign investors. With a strong government at the Centre, we expect will be watching more keenly amongst the emerging pack. A history-sheeter was shot dead reportedly by three bike-borne men in northeast Delhi's Welcome area Sunday, police said. Imran (28), who used to work as a driver, was earlier involved in cases of attempt to murder and rape, they said. The incident took place around 3 pm in Lakdi market when three-bike borne men opened multiple rounds of fire on the victim and fled from the spot, Atul Kumar Thakur, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Northeast), said. Imran was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was declared brought dead, he said. A case has been registered in the incident, the officer said. The victim lived with his wife at Shashtri Park, police said. Thakur said the police were scanning CCTV footage to ascertain the exact sequence of events and identify the accused. The body has been sent for postmortem, he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Chinese telecom giant founder Ren Zhengfei has brushed aside a US ban against his company, saying the Trump administration -- which is urging European allies to cut their business ties with the tech giant -- is "not powerful enough" to make others to follow its orders, as he flaunted his close links with the 10 Downing Street. Escalating the bruising trade war with China, the US Department of Commerce recently blacklisted over security concerns and barred American from installing the telecom equipment. Earlier in the week, US President Donald Trump said there is a possibility of including the issue in the ongoing trade negotiations with China. In a recent interaction with the Chinese official media, 74-year-old Ren, whose daughter and CFO of Huawei Meng Wanzhou has been arrested in Canada to face prosecution for violations of American sanctions against Iran, said the US ban will not affect the roll-out of its 5G technology. "I used to have afternoon tea at 10 Downing Street. They asked me how I learned to accompany the rest of the world, and I said it was afternoon tea. So they greeted me with afternoon tea on Downing Street," he said pointing to his links with the British Prime Minister's Office. "We have communicated with leaders from different countries. Each country has its own interests. The US campaign will not be powerful enough to ask everyone to follow them," he said. However, as per UK media reports, Britain is still reviewing its 5G telecom and may allow Huawei to supply "non-core" 5G components, such as antenna masts. The British government was also under pressure from internal reports highlighting concerns over implications of using Huawei 5G network. As the British government dithered, a top Chinese diplomat in London has warned that there could be "substantial" repercussions for Chinese investment in the UK, if Huawei were to be banned from Britain's 5G network. In an interview to the BBC, Chen Wen, the Chinese charge d'affaires in London, said Beijing had already "witnessed some conscious moves" in that direction. She further said the UK economy would be damaged by the message any ban on Huawei sent out to and Chinese Motivating disheartened AAP workers after the party's crushing defeat in the Lok Sabha polls, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Sunday asked them to humbly accept people's verdict and concentrate on the assembly elections slated for next year. Kejriwal, addressing party workers in west Delhi's Punjabi Bagh, said anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare told him that "when one comes into or public life, one should have the ability to endure humiliation". "We have to bear humiliation at times and I am proud of my workers for humbly accepting that insult," he said. "Now, you go to the people of Delhi and tell them that the big election has ended and small elections are going to come, and in these elections, cast your vote on the basis of 'kaam' (work) and not 'naam' (name)," he said. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) lost on all seven Lok Sabha seats in the national capital by huge margins of votes. Kejriwal said the party has not deviated from its principles of honesty and hard work which is its biggest strength. "All of us are as honest as we were on November 26, 2013 when the party was formed. I am proud to say we have not deviated from the values of the party. Several CBI raids were conducted against me, Manish Sisodia (deputy chief minister) and Satyendra Jain (health minister), but corruption of not even a single paisa was found. You all should be proud of it," he said. The chief minister asserted that all the work done by the AAP in Delhi has been due to the support of party workers and they should take pride in it. "I can say with confidence that we got 54 per cent votes in the last assembly elections and this time we would win by more votes," he said. Sisodia also asked AAP workers to start preparing for the 2020 assembly elections. "The assembly elections next year will not be fought by any individual MLA or counsellor. It will be contested by Team Kejriwal and our slogan will be 'ladenge, jeetenge' (we will fight and win)," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Breaking the ice in bilateral ties, Prime Minister on Sunday spoke to his Indian counterpart and expressed his desire to work together for the betterment of their peoples, the Foreign Office said here. Khan's telephone call to came days after the cricketer-turned-politician congratulated on Twitter the Indian Prime Minister on his massive electoral victory in the general elections. Prime Minister on Thursday led his to a landmark victory for a second five-year term in office, winning 302 seats in the 543-member Lok Sabha. Foreign Office spokesman Mohammad Faisal said that Khan also congratulated Modi on his party's electoral victory in the Lok Sabha elections. Reiterating his vision for peace, progress and prosperity in South Asia, Prime Minister Khan said he looks forward to working with Prime Minister Modi to advance these objectives, Faisal said on Twitter. PM spoke to PM Modi today and congratulated him on his partys electoral victory in Lok Sabha elections in PM expressed his desire for both countries to work together for betterment of their peoples. 1/2 Dr Mohammad Faisal (@DrMFaisal) May 26, 2019 Reiterating his vision for peace, progress and prosperity in South Asia, the Prime Minister said he looked forward to working with Prime Minister Modi to advance these objectives.2/2 Dr Mohammad Faisal (@DrMFaisal) May 26, 2019 Khan expressed his desire for both countries to work together for betterment of their peoples, he added. The results of India's general elections are very significant for as the formation of the next government in New Delhi will determine the course of Indo- 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 and settle the Kashmir issue if Modi's party BJP wins the general elections. Just a day before the announcement of results, Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj 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. Tensions flared up between 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. Khan expressed his desire for both countries to work together for betterment of their peoples, he added. 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. Just a day before the announcement of results, Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj 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. 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. In the first incident of post-poll violence in Uttar Pradesh, a close aide of newly-elected Amethi MP Smriti Irani was shot dead by two unidentified men, with police not ruling out the possibility of it being a "political murder". Surendra Singh, 50, a former head of Baraulia village, around 25 km from the Amethi district headquarters, was shot at around 11.30 pm on Saturday. Singh was referred to a Lucknow hospital, but succumbed during treatment, Additional Superintendent of Police Daya Ram said. Director General of Police Om Prakash Singh said seven people had been taken into custody and they were being interrogated. "We have come to know about old enmity. We are also finding out if there was any political enmity. In initial investigation, we have got some vital clues," the DGP told reporters in Lucknow. "UP police teams are conducting a very intensive investigation. We have also got important evidence through electronic surveillance," the officer said. "I am hopeful that in the next 12 hours, we will solve the case." Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has directed the DGP to take effective action and report back to him, a senior official said, adding that the inspector general of Lucknow had been sent for monitoring the situation. Irani, who was in Delhi, flew to Lucknow en route to Amethi, where she met Surendra Singh's family and consoled them. The BJP leader and state minister Mohsin Raza participated in the funeral rites, which was attended by a larger number of people. Both Irani and Raza were seen carrying Surendra's body amidst chanting of slogans by villagers. "As per the information received, Singh was attacked in his sleep. This is a very heinous and disgusting incident," Raza, the minister in charge of Amethi district, said. "I think some pro-Congress anti-social elements did not like our celebration following the BJP's win from Amethi. They were upset," Abhay Singh, the former village head's son, told reporters. Irani had defeated Congress president Rahul Gandhi from Amethi, a seat considered a Gandhi family bastion. District Superintendent of Police Rajesh Kumar said the incident cannot be ruled out to be a "political murder". "All aspects are being probed. There can be old enmity as well," the SP said. Women family members of the slain ex-pradhan were inconsolable. "He (Singh) never has any enmity with anyone despite being a village pradhan for many years," a teary-eyed elderly lady told reporters. "And as the (Lok Sabha) elections were over, enemies surfaced. From where they came, who came, no one knows." Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya expressed grief over Singh's death. "The death of a party worker is indeed very sad and unfortunate. He was a hard worker," Maurya said. "Even if his killers are hiding below the ground, they will be caught. The entire Amethi is sad over the incident." Newly-elected Allahabad MP Rita Bahuguna Joshi said there was no place for violence in a democracy and demanded strict action against the killers. Baraulia was in the during the Lok Sabha election campaign after Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra accused Irani of distributing shoes to the residents in order to insult Rahul Gandhi. "Considering the fact that the Congress is disappointed, especially after the defeat of its party president in Amethi, a high-level probe should be ordered and the guilty should be punished," Rajesh Agrahari, the BJP convenor for the Amethi constituency, told PTI. "Surendra Singh was a popular and active grassroots-level leader, and a close aide of MP Smriti Irani. He and other party leaders were actively involved in distribution of shoes," he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In the first incident of post-poll violence in Uttar Pradesh, a close aide of newly-elected Amethi MP was shot dead by two unidentified men, with police lodging an FIR against five persons and not ruling out the possibility of it being a "political murder". (BJP) MP asked party workers to exercise restraint, even as she targeted over his "take-care-of-Amethi-with-love" remark, saying she had got the message "loud and clear". (50), a former head of Baraulia village, around 25 km from the Amethi district headquarters, was shot at around 11.30 pm on Saturday. Singh was referred to a hospital, but succumbed during treatment, Additional Superintendent of Police Daya Ram said. Director General of Police (DGP) Om Prakash Singh said seven people were taken into custody, adding that they were being interrogated. "We have come to know about an old enmity. We are also trying to find out if there was any political enmity. The initial investigation has thrown up some vital clues," he told reporters in "UP police teams are conducting a very intensive investigation. We have also got important evidence through electronic surveillance," the DGP said, adding that he was hopeful that the case would be solved "in the next 12 hours". Chief Minister had directed the DGP to take effective action and report back to him, a senior official said, adding that the inspector general in was sent to monitor the situation. "An FIR has been registered against five persons under sections 302 (punishment for murder) and 120B (punishment of criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) on the complaint of Narendra Singh, brother of Surendra Singh," Daya Ram said. In the FIR lodged at the Jamo police station in Amethi, the complainant said, "On the intervening night of May 25-26, my younger brother was sleeping in the verandah of the house, along with nephews Abhay and Anurag, when we heard the sound of gunshots. "As we woke up, we saw Wasim, his brother Nasim and Golu running away. Across the road, we saw Ramchandra. In this case, there is also a conspiracy of Dharamnath Gupta (related to the panchayat polls). Ramchandra was involved in a scuffle with one of my nephews during the Lok Sabha polls, due to which the incident took place." When contacted, Jamo Station House Officer (SHO) Rajeev Singh said, "Wasim, Nasim Golu and Ramchandra have been booked under section 302, IPC. Dharamnath Gupta has been booked for conspiracy charges. Investigations are going on." Irani, who was in Delhi, flew down to Lucknow en route to Amethi, where she met Singh's family members and consoled them. The BJP and state minister were present when Singh's last rites were performed. A large number of people was also present on the occasion. Both Irani and Raza were seen carrying Singh's body amidst chanting of slogans by villagers. "My request to all party workers is that we should exercise restraint," Irani told reporters in Lucknow. She said Singh was killed so that Amethi could be "terrorised, disintegrated and bowed down". "On (May) 23, I was given a message that take care of Amethi with love. To the person, who gave me the message, I would like to say that I have received the message loud and clear," she said, referring to Gandhi's remarks made on the counting day. In the just-concluded Lok Sabha polls, Irani defeated the from Amethi, a Gandhi family bastion. "As per the information received, Singh was attacked in his sleep. This is a very heinous and disgusting incident," Raza, the minister in-charge of Amethi district, said. "I think some pro- anti-social elements did not like our celebration following the BJP's win from Amethi. They were upset," Abhay Singh, the deceased's son, told reporters. The women family members of the slain former village head were inconsolable. "He (Singh) never had any enmity with anyone, despite being a village head for years," a teary-eyed elderly woman told reporters, adding, "As the polls were over, enemies surfaced. From where they came, who came, no one knows." Deputy Chief Minister expressed grief over Singh's death. "The death of a party worker is indeed very sad and unfortunate. He was a hard worker. Even if his killers are hiding below the ground, they will be caught. The entire Amethi is sad over the incident," he said. Newly-elected Allahabad MP said there was no place for violence in a democracy and demanded strict action against Singh's killers. Baraulia was in the news during the poll campaign after Congress Priyanka Gandhi Vadra accused Irani of distributing shoes to the villagers in order to insult "Considering the fact that the Congress is disappointed, especially after the defeat of its party in Amethi, a high-level probe should be ordered and the guilty should be punished," Rajesh Agrahari, the BJP convenor for the Amethi constituency, told " was a popular and active grassroots-level leader, and a close aide of MP He and other party leaders were actively involved in the distribution of shoes," he added. A Baghdad court Sunday sentenced to death three French citizens for being members of the Islamic State group, an Iraqi judicial official said. The verdict raised fresh questions about the legal treatment of thousands of foreign nationals formerly with the extremist group. The official said the three were among 12 French citizens whom the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces handed over to Iraq in January. They can appeal the sentences within a month, according to the official. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorised to speak to the media. Iraqi President Barham Saleh had said during a February visit to Paris that the 12 will be prosecuted in accordance with Iraqi laws. The SDF has handed over to Iraq hundreds of suspected IS members in recent months. The trials of the French nationals in Baghdad raise the difficult question of whether foreign IS suspects should be tried and punished in the country of their alleged crimes, even when there are serious doubts about the impartiality of the courts in Iraq and Syria. The thousands of men and women who came from around the world to join the self-styled Islamic caliphate have been left in limbo following the group's territorial defeat earlier this year in Syria. Many of their home countries hesitate to take back citizens they see as having gone willingly to join the extremist group. In March, Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi asserted Iraq's authority to try foreign IS suspects detained in Syria because "the battlefields were one." The three men are the first French IS members to receive death sentences in Iraq. It wasn't immediately clear how France, which abolished the death penalty nearly four decades ago, will react to the sentence. It could be a test for how the international community handles the thousands of foreign nationals who stayed, or were trapped, with the Islamic State group through its dying days. The women and children are languishing in camps run by the Kurdish forces that led the fight against IS in northeast Syria, where the militants made their last stand. Thousands more men are detained by the Kurdish-led SDF, held in jails in northeast Syria on the suspicion that they fought for IS. Iraqi prosecutors say the 12 French nationals are accused of belonging to IS, were parties or accomplices to its crimes, and threatened the national security of Iraq. Simply belonging to the extremist group is punishable by life in prison or execution under Iraq's counter-terrorism laws. A French diplomatic official, speaking on condition of anonymity to speak freely about policy, said France recognizes the right of Iraq to try people for crimes committed in Iraq. But human rights groups and advocates of the men in France say it is not certain that the men committed crimes in Iraq, or if they were even ever in the country. They also doubt the impartiality of the courts, which have handed down hundreds of death sentences to Iraqi suspects in trials that run for just a few minutes. Iraq has detained or imprisoned at least 19,000 people accused of connections to IS or other terror-related offences, and sentenced more than 3,000 of them to death, according to an analysis by The Associated Press last year. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) YSR Congress Party president and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister-designate Y S Jaganmohan Reddy met Prime Minister Narendra Modi here on Sunday and discussed the issue of according the special category status to the state. He later also met BJP president Amit Shah and sought his support for the state's key demands. The SCS is a major demand of the YSRCP and Reddy, during his election campaign, had said he would support the party at the national level which promises to grant the status to Andhra Pradesh. The YSRCP stormed to power on Thursday with a landslide victory in assembly polls. During the meeting with Modi at his 7, Lok Kalyan Marg residence, Reddy discussed the issues of special category status to Andhra Pradesh and the state's financial situation and sought central funds, sources said. They said he also invited the prime minister to his swearing-in on May 30 in Vijayawada. The YSRCP chief also interacted with officials at Andhra Bhawan. On Saturday, he was unanimously elected as the leader of YSRC legislature party. Reddy's party has won 151 of the 175 assembly and 22 of the 25 Lok Sabha seats in Andhra Pradesh, the elections for which were held on April 11. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A government college teacher has been arrested here for allegedly writing an "objectionable post" on Facebook two years ago in support of a beef party in Chennai, police said on Sunday. Jeetrai Hansda, a contractual faculty member in the Jamshedpur Co-operative College, was apprehended from a village in Sakchi area of Jamshedpur on Saturday night, an officer said, adding that the teacher had been evading arrest. "Hansda has been booked under various sections of the IPC and the IT Act, and the process to forward him to judicial custody is currently underway," Rajeev Singh, the officer-in-charge of Sakchi police station, told PTI. The teacher, a resident of Parsudih here, had allegedly written a post in support of a beef party organised by the IIT-Madras students, prompting the Akhil Bharatiya Vishwa Parishad (ABVP), the student's wing of the RSS, to file a complaint against him, the officer said. The beef fest was organized at IIT-Madras in 2017 in protest against the restrictions imposed on cattle trade by the Union government. The student's union had demanded the sacking of Hansda. The post was then deleted, the officer added. Asked for a reaction, Kolhan University vice-chancellor Shukla Mohanty said Hansda was a guest faculty member of the Graduate School College for Women when he posted the message on Facebook. He was later absorbed as a contractual teacher in the women's college. "A show-cause notice was served to Hansda after receiving a complaint about his objectionable Facebook post, He then apologised," Mohanty said, adding that Hansda had joined as a contractual faculty member in the Co-operative College recently. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Imprisoned Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan has called for an end to hunger strikes by thousands of jailed supporters in Turkey protesting the conditions of his detention, his lawyers said Sunday. Ocalan, the co-founder of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) held on Imrali island off Istanbul since 1999, was allowed to see his lawyers this month for the first time in eight years. "I expect the action to come to an end in light of the broad statements to be made by my two lawyers," Ocalan said in a message read by his lawyer Nevroz Uysal during a press conference in Istanbul. The first visit took place on May 2. After Turkish authorities lifted an official ban on lawyers' visits to Ocalan, a second trip by two of his lawyers was made on May 22. His lawyers said during their visit on May 22, Ocalan said the hunger strikes "had achieved their goal" and was insistent in his call for the action to end. "We believe the hunger strikers will end their action after this," the lawyers added. Some 3,000 prisoners across different prisons were on hunger strike, the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) has said, in solidarity with one of the party's lawmakers who launched the action in November. MP Leyla Guven was in custody when she went on hunger strike to protest Ocalan's isolation from his family and lawyers but she was later released. Other detainees then followed suit. Eight people also killed themselves over the issue, according to the HDP. Ocalan's PKK, blacklisted by Ankara and its Western allies as a terror group, has been waging an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984 during which more than 40,000 people have been killed. Ocalan was caught in February 1999 in Kenya and jailed several months later after he was found guilty of treason, separatism and murder. Despite the almost complete isolation, Ocalan is still a key figure of the Kurdish insurgency and the movement generally in the region. His lawyers said Ocalan indicated he would "play a positive role" in Syria in confronting the issues there "including the Kurdish issue" if he was given the chance. Ocalan previously said in a message following the May 2 visit that "Turkey's sensitivities" should be taken into account in Syria, where the US-backed Kurdish YPG militia is battling the Islamic State group. Turkey says the YPG is a "terrorist offshoot" of the PKK. The visits come just weeks before a controversial re-run of the Istanbul mayoral election, which was lost by the ruling party of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on March 31. Experts say Kurdish votes played a significant role in Erdogan's party loss and now he is hoping for their support again in the repeat vote on June 23. But Turkish Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul said Friday the lawyers' visits "had nothing to do with a peace process" and "no link to the Istanbul elections". Ocalan had called for a ceasefire in 2013 to allow peace talks a chance to reach a negotiated settlement. However, fighting between Turkey and the PKK intensified after the collapse of the ceasefire in the summer of 2015, dashing hopes of a peaceful solution to the conflict. Ocalan's lawyers also said the rebel chief said the permission given for these meetings "did not mean the existence of a negotiation process". But he said Turkey was in need of discussions regarding democracy and peace. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A court here Sunday remanded two men including a lawyer in CBI custody till June 1 in the rationalist Narendra Dabholkar murder case. Advocate Sanjeev Punalekar, who had represented some of the accused in the same case, had asked one of the alleged shooters to destroy the weapons, while Vikram Bhave had helped them in reconnaissance before the crime, the CBI said. Punalekar and Bhave were arrested in Mumbai on Saturday. Bhave, a member of the right wing outfit Sanatan Sanstha, was earlier convicted in the case related to a low-intensity blast at Gadkari Rangyatan auditorium Thane. He worked as Punalkear's assistant in his office, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said. The duo was produced before additional sessions judge S N Sonawane amid tight security on Sunday. The prosecution told the court while seeking remand that Bhave had helped Sharad Kalaskar and Sachin Andure, the alleged shooters, to conduct a recce of the spot, and helped them escape after the crime. He also took the motorcycle they had used during the crime and left it at an abandoned place, it said. As to advocate Punalekar's role, the agency said in June 2018, Kalaskar visited the lawyer's office in Mumbai and told him about his role in Dabholkar's murder. "Punalekar then told Kalaskar to destroy the fire arms used in the murder cases including the journalist Gauri Lankesh murder case," said special prosecutor Prakash Suryawanshi. According to the agency, the murders of Dabholkar, communist leader Govind Pansare (killed in Kolhapur in February 2015) and Lankesh (shot dead in Bengaluru in September 2017) were linked. On July 23, 2018, Kalaskar dismantled four country-made pistols by taking out their barrels and sliders, and threw them into the Thane creek while on the way to Nalasopara from Pune, the prosecutor said, adding the dismantled pistols were yet to be recovered. Advocate Virendra Ichalkaranjikar, the accused's lawyer, said the CBI has arrested Punalekar on the basis of Kalaskar's statement to the Karnataka Police in October 2018, which Kalaskar had later retracted. The CBI arresting Punalekar on the basis of that statement after seven months was "illogical", he said. In February 2019, the CBI annexed a copy of this statement when it filed a charge-sheet against Andure and Kalaskar, but Punalekar was not probed, and "now all of a sudden they are stating that his role was revealed during the investigation," he said. He also argued that it made no sense that Kalaskar should remove barrels and sliders before dumping pistols. If he wanted to destroy evidence, he would have destroyed the entire weapon, Ichalkaranjikar argued. The court granted the accused's request that two lawyers be allowed to meet them daily to discuss the case. Dabholkar, an anti-superstition activist, was shot dead while on morning walk in Pune on August 20, 2013. It is suspected that it was Bhave who had identified Dabholkar for the benefit of shooters, a CBI official had said on Saturday. Before this, six people, including Sanatan Sanstha member and ENT surgeon Virendrasinh Tawde, Andure and Kalaskar, were arrested by the CBI in the case. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) PC maker Lenovo is looking to increase its India revenues by around 16-20 per cent in the current fiscal, which will be double the industry's growth rate, a top company official said. Traditional PC shipments in India dropped 8.3 per cent to 2.15 million units in the the January-March 2019 period, according to market research firm IDC. "Market is looking very stable in 2019-20. IDC is projecting it to be flat. My view is that in revenue it will grow maybe 8-10 per cent and in volumes it will be 3-4 per cent. We will grow every business in double digits in terms of revenue and volume both... at least double the market growth," Lenovo India Managing Director and CEO Rahul Agarwal told PTI. According to IDC, Lenovo had the third highest market share of 25.2 per cent in overall personal computer segment in the first quarter. It missed the second spot to Dell by a narrow margin. HP led the market with 28.1 per cent share. Lenovo India has 21-22 per cent share in the enterprise segment and 19-20 per cent each in the consumer and small and medium business (SMB) segments, Agarwal said. Lenovo counts tablet business as a separate category in which it commands an estimated 33 per cent market share. "We have aggressive plans. Our strategy is growth. We are very watchful. We want to be profitable. We want to sell premium products, which is Rs 50,000 above -- there our strategy is (selling) gaming PCs and thin and light PCs. We are number one in the thin and light PC segment. In SMB we will have more partners, we will reach more customers," Agarwal said. Lenovo's share in commercial PC segment increased during the first quarter of 2019 on account of a contract it bagged from ELCOT (Electronics Corporation of Tamil Nadu). "Last two years we have been growing our share in PC and tablet. We will continue on that path. One in three devices in India should be Lenovo. In tablets we have achieved it. In PC we have to achieve. Right now, we have Lenovo as one in five device. But we are not in a hurry," Agarwal said. There is no big factor that will boost the PC business in India, he added. While there are projections of business growth in the technology segment with 5G coming in India, Agarwal said the company is reworking on its mobile phone sales strategy and does not see much impact in the current fiscal on overall business due to the next generation technology. "Between 3G to 4G life did not change dramatically. Quality of phone calls has gone down, but data has improved. I don't know how 5G will change our lives. Data will keep growing. Today everyone cries about the phone call," Agarwal said. Presently, Lenovo makes some of its commercial PCs in India, while rest are imported from China. Agarwal said there is little benefit in manufacturing PCs in India as the market size is very small and there are no export incentives offered by the government. "We have supply chain set up in China. To disrupt it and set up manufacturing chain in India there should be a good reason. "Today on export there is hardly any incentives. If the government gives 3-4 per cent incentives and tax breaks on export, I think a lot of people will start moving in here," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Filmmaker Luca Guadagnino has come forward in defence of embattled director Woody Allen over allegations of child sexual assault that have resurfaced over the past years against him. Dylan Farrow, Allen's adopted daughter with former wife Mia Farrow, accused the director of sexually abusing her in the early 1990s while she was a child. She reiterated her claims in a 2014 New York Times op-ed and other articles. The allegations caught steam in the wake of the #MeToo uprising. The "Call Me By Your Name" director disapproves of Allen's dismissal from Hollywood courtesy of #MeToo allegations brought forth again, over 20 years after he was found not guilty in the court of law. Speaking with IndieWire, Guadagnino called it "the perverted and primordial enjoyment of a kind of 'Scarlet Letter' trial of a man. "I still am a believer in state of rights; Mr Allen went through many investigations 20 years ago and was cleared. The Woody Allen legacy - those movies are there, and they are fantastic. Anyone who denies that 'Another Woman' is masterpiece is stupid!' he added. The director made his Cannes Film Festival debut this year with the short film, "The Staggering Girl". He asked Ariel Schulman to draw the title font of the film by hand as it happens in Allen's films. "I did it already in the past with the short film 'Working Stories'. I was asking Ariel Schulman, a director who is also a great visual artist, to draw by hand Woody Allen titles," Guadagnino said. "I'm a Venice (festival) man. I am a nouvelle vague person, this is my first time. I felt at home. Maybe this is the beginning of a new phase for me," he added. As per IndieWire, Allen's long-delayed "Rainy Day in New York" is set to premiere at the Venice Film Festival in September. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) BJP leader Mukul Roy on Sunday described Trinamool Congress (TMC) president Mamata Banerjee's offer to quit as the West Bengal chief minister following her party's drubbing in the Lok Sabha polls as nothing but a drama to stay in the Banerjee would never step down from the chief minister's post as she was more keen on relishing the powers of the chair, he said. "Mamata Banerjee offering to quit is nothing but a drama. She said all these only to stay in the headlines. To whom did she submit her resignation? She herself is the party (TMC). Has anybody seen her resignation papers? "I think she submitted the resignation to herself and then rejected it on her own," the BJP leader mocked while speaking to reporters here. "She (Banerjee) is more keen on relishing the powers of chief minister and will never resign unless the people of West Bengal use their democratic rights to throw her out," Roy, who was Banerjee's right-hand man before joining the BJP, said. The TMC supremo had Saturday said she had offered to quit as the West Bengal chief minister at the party's internal meeting in view of its drubbing in the Lok Sabha polls at the hands of the BJP, but her offer was rejected by the party. Reacting to Banerjee's statement that she would continue to attend Iftar parties without caring for the appeasement jibes as she was "ready to be kicked by the cow that gives milk", Roy said the TMC chief should come clean on whether she was calling the Muslim community "cow". "I will also like to request the people of the Muslim community to think on this," he said. On Banerjee's reiteration that she would never allow implementation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in West Bengal, the BJP leader claimed that she had no idea about it or the Citizenship Amendment Act. "In the country, first the Citizenship Amendment Act will be implemented and then the NRC will come into place," he said. Keeping up his attack on the TMC, Roy said the party would soon be relegated to "history" as it was born only to oppose the CPI(M) in West Bengal and had no philosophy or idea about the country's economy or industry. "Only history books will mention that there was a party called the TMC. The process of the TMC going into extinction has already started," he said, alleging that the Communist Party of India (Marxist) had helped the party improve its vote share in the Lok Sabha polls. Roy also rubbished reports that BJP activists were forcibly occupying TMC party offices after the poll results and handing those over to the Left parties. Asked to comment on the claims made by several BJP leaders that the Assembly polls in West Bengal would be held in another six months, Roy declined, saying it depended on the will and wisdom of the people. West Bengal witnessed a saffron surge as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 18 of its 42 Lok Sabha seats, up from only two in the 2014 parliamentary polls. The TMC won 22 seats, down from 34 in 2014. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Chief Minister says the massive mandate in the Lok Sabha polls was a mandate for creating "new India's new Uttar Pradesh" and gave a befitting reply to those parties which cheated the poor in the name of social welfare and relied on caste politics. Adityanath says his government's focus on development helped him secure another term in the politically important state. "While the opportunistic coalition of the and were relying on caste politics, I kept toiling for development of citizens rising above caste, creed or religion. This is the reason people voted for the BJP," the chief minister told PTI, giving full credit for the massive mandate to PM Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah. "The massive mandate received in in favour of the ruling party is the mandate for creating new India's new The mandate is against nepotism, casteism, corruption. It is a befitting reply to those hypocritical parties which cheated poor in the name of social welfare. It is a victory over goons of who were harassing our mothers and sisters by collecting goonda tax from traders and industrialists," Adityanath said. During the poll campaign, while Modi talked about 55 years of and his five-year tenure in rallies, Adityanath presented the report card of his two-year rule. Noting that the law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh was earlier bad, the chief minister said, "Crime had become a business in the state because of nexus of criminals, corrupt police officers and politicians. But today the same group is running for cover due to zero tolerance' policy of the present government against criminals". "In last two years, for the first time in the history of Uttar Pradesh, stringent action was taken against criminals without looking at their caste, religion and political inclination. The police department, which had become infamous for its poor work culture and behaviour towards people, is now going through drastic changes," he said. On the Punjab and Haryana High Court recently ordering Punjab and Haryana governments to uproot emerging gang culture and look at the measures adopted by UP, he said, "This is the result of commitment of our government that in a very short span of time, the UP law and order model has set an example for other states to follow." According to data provided by Adiyanath's aides, in the 3,539 encounters during the BJP government, 8,135 criminals were arrested and 75 killed in self-defence. Besides, 2,764 most wanted criminals were arrested, while 13,886 surrendered after their bail was cancelled. Adityanath said, "There has not been a single incident of riot in the past two years". As per statistics given by his aides, there were 227 riots in 2012, 247 in 2013, 242 in 2014, 219 in 2015 and the year 2016 also witnessed the killing of innocent people in more than 100 riots. Brian Austin Green says his wife, actor-model Megan Fox is yet to watch iconic '90s soap drama "Beverly Hills, 90210". Green, who shot to fame with the show as David Silver, said it was Fox's sister who was a fan of the show instead. "When we met, Megan was like, 'He looks like Justin Timberlake.' That's all she cared about. She grew up with 'N Sync. Her older sister was a huge fan of '90210', but Megan didn't know it at all," the actor told People magazine. Green, 45, and Fox, 33, have been married since 2010 and met while working on the sitcom "Hope & Faith". The couple have three children together -- Noah Shannon (six), Bodhi Ransom (five) and Journey (two). Green also has a 17-year-old son Kassius Lijah from a previous relationship with "90210" co-star Vanessa Marcil. Green is set to star in "90210" reboot along with original cast members Gabrielle Carteris, Tori Spelling, Jason Priestley, Shannen Doherty, Jennie Garth and Ian Ziering. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Xem them ... Tin bai cuoi cung Khong con du lieu e load A militant belonging to the proscribed outfit the People's Liberation Army (PLA) was arrested by security forces from Manipur's Moreh town on Sunday, police said. The militant identified as N Sanjay, 39, a self styled captain of the outfit was arrested by a joint team of the Assam Rifles and Manipur Police. He had joined the militant group in 2002, they said. The militant was handed over to the Moreh police station for further investigation, the added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A teenager, who went missing about a fortnight ago after failing in his class 10 exam, was traced Sunday and handed over to his family in Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said. The boy -- a resident of Tridwan village-- was reported missing from his home since May 14 and was traced to Bari Brahmana area of Samba, a police official said. He said the father of the boy had lodged a report with police post Basantpur on May 19, stating that his son is missing from his house since Tuesday. A case was registered and during investigation it came to light that the boy had failed in the exam and had left his home in fear, the official said. He said police flashed complete description of the missing boy along with his recent photograph and found the boy in Bari Brahmana area this morning. He was handed over to his family after completion of legal formalities, the official said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived here Sunday evening. After garlanding the statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel near the airport, Modi drove to the city in a car with BJP president Amit Shah and Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani. Thousands of people lined the roads to greet him. The prime minister is on his first visit to his home state after the Bharatiya Janata Party's massive victory in the Lok Sabha polls. Modi and Shah will be felicitated at the BJP office here in the evening and also address party workers. Modi will then visit his mother Hiraba Modi. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be administered oath of office for his second term along with his new council of ministers on May 30, the President's Office said Sunday. President Ram Nath Kovind will administer the oath of office and secrecy to the prime minister and other members of the Union Council of Ministers at a ceremony in Rashtrapati Bhavan on Thursday at 7 pm, an official communique said. Modi is the first BJP leader who has been elected for the second time after completion of his five-year tenure, a feat so far achieved only by two Congress leaders Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi. From BJP, Atal Bihari Vajpayee was also elected as a prime minister for two consecutive terms, but his first stint had lasted only for one year and seven months. "The President (Ram Nath Kovind) will administer the Oath of Office and Secrecy to the Prime Minister and other members of Union Council of Ministers on 30.05.2019 at 07.00 pm at Rashtrapati Bhavan," the communiuqe issued by President's press secretary Ashok Malik said. Names of the ministers who would join Modi in his second innings is yet to be disclosed, though there has been speculation about some new members expected to join the council, including from states like West Bengal that played a key role in the BJP's massive victory in the just-held Lok Sabha elections. It was also not immediately clear whether the ceremony will be attended by some world leaders. Modi had stunned everyone during 2014 swearing-in when he had called SAARC leaders, including the then Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif. The 2014 swearing-in was held at the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan with around 2,000 people including foreign dignitaries invited for Modi's oath ceremony, which was administered by the then President Pranab Mukherjee. Several global leaders, including Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, US President Donald Trump, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin have congratulated Modi on his resounding victory. On Sunday, Khan spoke to Modi and expressed his desire for both the countries to work together for the betterment of their peoples, the Pakistani Foreign Office said. Khan reiterated his vision for peace, progress and prosperity in South Asia and said he looks forward to working with Prime Minister Modi to advance these objectives. Modi has been elected unanimously as leader of the National Democratic Alliance after which he called on President Kovind on Saturday in his capacity as leader of the BJP Parliamentary Party, which has majority support in the House of the People following the general election to the 17th Lok Sabha. The President, exercising powers under the Constitution, appointed Modi to the office of Prime Minister of India and sought his advice about names of others to be appointed members of the Union Council of Ministers and indicate the date and time of the swearing-in-ceremony to be held at Rashtrapati Bhavan. Earlier on Saturday, an NDA delegation, led by BJP president Amit Shah and comprising of Parkash Singh Badal, Rajnath Singh, Nitish Kumar, Ram Vilas Paswan, Sushma Swaraj, Uddhav Thakeray, Nitin Gadkari, K. Palaniswami, Conrad Sangma and Neiphiu Rio also called on the President at Rashtrapati Bhavan. They handed over a letter stating Modi has been elected leader of the BJP Parliamentary Party. The letters of support from the NDA constituent parties were also handed over to the President. NDA together has a strength of 353 MPs in the 543-member Lok Sabha, out of which BJP has a majority of 303 Members of Parliament. This is the highest every tally for the BJP, which had got just two MPs in its Lok Sabha electoral debut in 1984. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister will visit his parliamentary constituency on Monday to thank the people for "reposing faith" in him and offer prayers at the famous Kashi Vishwanath temple. After reaching Varanasi, Modi will travel by road from the police lines to Bansphatak, with his cavalcade passing through various parts of the city. He will pay obeisance at the Kashi Vishwanath temple on Monday morning and later address a gathering of workers of his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), party sources said. Earlier on Saturday, Modi had tweeted, "Will be going to Gujarat tomorrow evening, to seek blessings of my Mother. Day after tomorrow morning, I will be in Kashi to thank the people of this great land for reposing their faith in me." District Magistrate Surendra Singh said heavy security has been put in place for the PM's visit. Singh, along with Senior Superintendent of Police Anand Kulkarni, reviewed the security arrangements for Modi's visit. A large number of security, paramilitary and Special Protection Group personnel have been deployed in places where Modi will be visiting. This will be Modi's first visit to his constituency after he won the by a huge margin of 4.79 lakh votes. Modi not only retained his seat, but also saw his victory margin increase by nearly 1 lakh votes as compared to the 2014 general elections. In a video message ahead of the May 19 polling, Modi had called himself a "Kashivasi" and termed the city his guiding spirit. He had said that it was a matter of great satisfaction for him that he was in service of the city whose presiding deity is Lord Shiva. Modi also led the BJP to a resounding victory for a second term in office. In first back-to-back majority in the general elections for a single party in over three decades, the Modi-led BJP won 303 out of 542 Lok Sabha seats that went to polls, handing out a crushing defeat to the Congress and many other political opponents. Bhawna Dehariya from Chhindwara in Madhya Pradesh became the first woman from the state to scale Mount Everest, the world's highest mountain, but not before a leaking oxygen cylinder regulator gave her a mighty scare. The 27-year-old, hailing from Tamia in Chhindwara and pursuing her Masters in Physical Education from Bhopal, completed the feat on May 22. Speaking about the life-threatening hiccup that took place as she approached the summit, Dehariya told PTI, "The oxygen cylinder's regulator started leaking. I had to keep a thumb on the leak for about 90 minutes to survive. After the leak was plugged by my help accompanying me, I resumed the trek, scaled the peak and unfurled the Tricolour." She was speaking over phone from Kathmandu in Nepal, from where she will fly to Delhi and then on to MP. She expressed gratitude at the Rs 27 lakh support she received from MP chief minister Kamal Nath. "If Nath ji had not helped me, I could not have conquered Mt Everest. I am also grateful to my family for their untiring support," she said. Her expedition leader, Dawa Steven Sherpa, confirmed that Dehariya had scaled the world's highest mountain peak. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A 25-year-old Muslim man was allegedly assaulted here byfour unidentified youths for wearing traditional skull cap, an official said Sunday. The victim was identified as Mohamad Barker Alam, a Bihar native, living here in Jakob Pura area of Gurgaon. In a complaint to the police, Alam alleged that four unidentified youths accosted him in a Sadar Bazar lane and objected to his wearing the skull cap. "The accused threatened me, saying wearing cap was not allowed in the area. They removed my cap and slapped me, while asking me to chant Bharat Mata ki Jai," Alam said in the FIR, lodged at the city police station. "As I followed their instruction and chanted Bhrat Mata ki Jai, they asked me to chant Jai Sri Ram which I refused. At this, the youths picked up a baton from the roadside and began mercilessly beating me. They hit me at my legs and back," he added. In the FIR, Alam said he was returning home after offering Namaj in a mosque at Sadar Bazar when the incident took place. He said as he cried for help, other people from his community rushed to help him, when the assailants fled. "We have received a complaint about the incident and registered an FIR under sections 153, 147, 149, 323 and 506 in the city police station. We have also conducted medical examination of victim," said Gurgaon City ACP Rajiv Kumar. While section 153 of the IPC pertains to causing enmity between people of different religions, sections 147 and 149 define offences of riots and unlawful assembly respectively. Sections 323 and 506 deals with offences of causing hurt and crminal intimidation. "We are also scanning the CCTV footage of the area to identify the accused. Effort are on to nab them," ACP added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Arunachal Pradesh unit of National People's Party (NPP) on Sunday unanimously elected Roing MLA Mutchu Mithi as its legislature party leader in the state Assembly. The NPP has won five seats in the state Assembly election. The decision to elect Mithi as the legislature party leader was taken in a meeting held in New Delhi under the chairmanship of NPP president Conrad Sangma which was also attended by the newly elected MLAs of the party along with state unit president Gicho Kabak, a party release said. The meeting congratulated Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu for winning 41 seats in the state Assembly election. The NPP hoped that the BJP government in the state would work for the all round development of the state. Sangma assured the party leaders of the state to visit family members of party MLA Tirong Aboh and others who were killed by suspected NSCN militants at Khonsa on May 21 last. Aboh had won the Khonsa West seat as a NPP candidate this time. Sangma, who is also the chief minister of Meghalaya would also attend the oath taking ceremony of Khandu which is likely to held on May 29 next, party sources said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Navy, Coast Guard and Coastal police are maintaining a high level of survillance off Kerala and Lakshadweep coasts following intelligence reportsthat a boat carrying 15 Islamic State Terrorists had set off from Sri Lanka to Lakshadweep islands. "The Navy and Coast Guard are maintaining vigil. Ships and aircraft have been engaged to ensure high level of coastal survillance", Naval sources told PTI Sunday. Coastal police are also continuing their vigil. Kerala Police sources had Saturday said coastal police stations and coastal district police chiefs have been alerted. Though such alerts are a usual practice, as there is specific information, coastal police stations and police chiefs of coastal districts have been asked to be alert in case suspecious vessels are sighted. The coastal police department said it was on alert since May 23, the day the alert came from Sri Lanka. After the serial bombings in Sri Lanka, Kerala wason alert, especially after NIA investigations revealed that IS operatives had planned attacks in the State. Intelligence agencies believe that a considerable number of Keralities are still with the ISIS, which was recently wiped out from Iraq and Syria. Sri Lanka witnessed a deadly terror attack on Apr 21 when eight blasts rocked the island nation,claiming over 250 lives. The Islamic State had claimed responsibility for the incident. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) BJP allies JD(U) and AIADMK are likely to be part of the new government while it will also reflect the saffron party's inroads into states like West Bengal and Telangana, sources said Sunday. A JD(U) leader said the Bihar party expects at least one Cabinet berth in the government which will be sworn in on May 30. The party may also get one more berth in the Council of Ministers. The Rashtrapati Bhavan said on Sunday that Narendra Modi will be sworn in as Prime Minister on Thursday for his second term. Though there has been no official word on likely faces in the new government, many leaders are of the view that most key members of the previous dispensation will be retained. There has been speculation that Arun Jaitley, who held the finance portfolio in he previous government, may opt out due to health reasons but people close to him have insisted that he has been doing well after undergoing treatment. The government on Sunday stepped in to insist that reports regarding his heath condition are false and baseless. "Reports in a section of media regarding Union Minister Shri Arun Jaitley's health condition are false and baseless. Media is advised to stay clear of rumour mongering," its principal spokesperson Sitanshu Kar tweeted. Rajya Sabha MP Swapan Dasupta, who is associated with the BJP, said Jaitley is off all medication now and is recovering his strength. He is still meeting officials, Dasgupta said. "Questions about Arun Jaitley health understandable. He is recovering from a bout of heavy medication. But he is still in terrific form and his wit is firmly intact. Needs a little rest to get back his strength. All our good wishes," Dasgupa tweeted. A number of senior faces from the outgoing cabinet including Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, Nirmala Sitharaman, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Piyush Goyal, Narendra Singh Tomar and Prakash Javadekar are expected to figure in the new cabinet. Speculation has been rife that BJP president Amit Shah, who won the Lok Sabha election from Gandhinagar with a massive margin, may also join the government. Shah has refrained from commenting on the matter. Another BJP ally LJP president Ram Vilas Paswan, sources said, has pushed for induction of his MP-son Chirag Paswan in the government. His party LJP won six seats in the polls. Ram Vilas Paswan, one of the most veteran parliamentarians, was a Cabinet minister in the last government. Though the AIADMK, which was also not part of the previous government, has won only one seat, it may be given a ministerial berth as it is in power in Tamil Nadu and a key dravidian ally of the BJP. The BJP put up its best ever show in West Bengal and Telangana these elections, winning 18 (from two in 2014) and four seats (from one in 2014) respectively in the two states. This may result in the party giving a greater representation to these states in the government. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A total of 475 members of the new Lok Sabha are 'crorepatis' with Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath's son Nakul Nath topping the list, the Association of Democratic Reforms said Sunday. The ADR arrived at the figure of 'crorepati' MPs after analysing the affidavits on assets and liabilities of 539 new MPs. The ADR said it was unable to access affidavits of three of the 542 new MPs -- two of the BJP and one of the Congress. The BJP won 303 seats in the 17th Lok Sabha and the Congress 52. Elections were held for 542 of the 543 Lok Sabha seats. The election for Vellore Lok Sabha seat had been cancelled by the Election Commission of India, citing abuse of money power. A fresh date is yet to be announced. Two membvers of the 545-strong House are nominated. Out of the 301 new BJP MPs, whose affidavits were examined, 265 (88 per cent) were found crorepati, while all 18 winners of its NDA partner Shiv Sena had assets exceeding Rs one crore. In the Congress, 43 out of its 51 MPs (totalling 96 per cent) were fund to be 'crorepati'. Similarly, 22(96 per cent)out of 23 DMK MPs,20 (91 per cent)out of 22 of the Trinamool Congress MPs and 19 (86 per cent)out of 22 YSR Congress MPs had assets exceeding Rs one crore. The top three crorepatis MPs are from the Congress, the ADR said. Nath, who won from Chhindwara, Madhya Pradesh, has declared assets worth Rs 660 crore, followed by Vasanthakumar H from Kanniyakumari, Tamil Nadu (Rs 417 crore) and D K Suresh from Bengaluru Rural, Karnataka (Rs 338 crore). The average of assets per winner in the Lok Sabha elections is Rs 20.93 crore. There are 266 members in the new Lok Sabha whose assets are Rs 5 core or above. The number of crorepati MPs elected in 2009 Lok Sabha elections was 315 (58 per cent) and 443 (82 per cent) in the 2014. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Monitoring a woman's relationship with her body during pregnancy may help predict how a new mother will bond with her unborn baby and whether she will suffer from depression or anxiety, scientists say. The BUMPS method, developed by scientists at the University of York and Anglia Ruskin University in the UK, is a self-reporting system based on questions relating to satisfaction with appearing pregnant, weight gain concerns, and the physical burdens of pregnancy. For the study, published in the journal Psychological Assessment, data was collected from more than 600 pregnant women using the BUMPS questionnaire. The research revealed that women who felt more positively about their body changes in pregnancy were more likely to have better relationships with their partners; lower depression and anxiety scores; and were better at interpreting their bodily signals. Combined scores from the questionnaire provided a strong predictor of whether a pregnant woman would have a positive attachment to their unborn child or not. Low scores, suggested that these women may need additional emotional support during pregnancy and monitoring after birth for signs of postnatal depression. "Our previous research has demonstrated that there is a relationship between how we perceive our bodies and our emotional state, but bodily experience is not systematically considered during pregnancy even though it is a time when dramatic bodily changes occur," said Catherine Preston, an from the University of York. "Women are under constant pressure about their appearance and during pregnancy and after birth is no exception," said Preston. "It is important therefore that pregnancy care is not just about the physical health of the mother and the health of the unborn child, but also about women's emotional wellbeing, which can give us a lot of important information about how they might react to being a new mum in the longer-term," she said. The questionnaire was taken at each trimester of pregnancy to understand how perceptions of the body might change through the different stages. Questions in the study range from the type of clothes that a woman decides to wear during pregnancy, to concerns about the size of their 'bump,' and any frustrations they might have at not being able to be as physically active as they once were. "There is growing evidence that women's experience of their body during pregnancy can have a positive or negative impact on both maternal and infant wellbeing, so more should be done within our care systems to protect women against the more negative effects," Preston said. "There are many midwives who independently do a fantastic job of offering this support, but currently there is no standardised method or criteria for measuring this to inform the level of care required," he said. The team plans to assess more women post-pregnancy to understand the longer-term impacts of negative and positive body image on both mother and child. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In a breather to the Group, the Maldivian government has decided not to press for income tax and fines of over $20 million from the infra major on the compensation it received from the island nation for the premature termination of Male International Airport contract. In a statement issued on May 23, the Maldivian Attorney Generals Office has said no sum will be imposed on by the inland Revenue Authority on the Final Award Sum in respect of taxes. The Maldivian government in 2017 had slapped a notice seeking $20.5 million (approximately Rs 137 crore) towards income tax and fines from Male International Airport Private Limited, a GMR group company, that won $270 million arbitration against the premature termination of the contract for modernisation and operation of the Male airport. The Indian infrastructure major refuted the tax claim by "We have been informed by the Government (of Maldives), and, therefore, confirm that no sum will be imposed (on GMR) by inland Revenue Authority on the Final Award Sum in respect of taxes. As a result, there is no need for any sum to be added to the Final Award Sum to take into account any tax to be imposed by the Maldives Inland Revenue Authority," the Maldivian Attorney Generals Office said. When contacted, an official of the the GMR Group confirmed the development and welcomed the decision of the Maldivian government. "Maldives government has now agreed with the GMR assertion that GMR need not pay any tax on the arbitration award. GMR welcomes this positive outcome," the company spokesperson told PTI Sunday in an email response. GMIAL had entered into an agreement on June 28, 2010 with the Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) and the Ministry of Finance and Treasury (MoFT), Maldives, for the rehabilitation, expansion, modernisation, operation and maintenance of the Ibrahim Nasir International Airport for a period of 25 years. However, in November 2012, the agreement was repudiated on in November 2012 by the MACL and the MoFT alleging that the same was void ab initio, following which GMR initiated international arbitration. A Singapore arbitration tribunal awarded $270 million arbitration against the premature termination of the contract. During 2017-18 the Maldives Inland Revenue Authority had issued tax audit reports and notice of tax assessments demanding business profit tax amounting to $14.4 million, $2.8 million as the additional withholding tax and further $3.3 million towards fines, GMR had earlier said. The mega project to develop the country's main airport worth over $500 million was awarded to GMR during the tenure of former President Mohamed Nasheed, despite concerns by the then opposition. Shortly after the controversial resignation of Nasheed, the island nation government had cancelled the airport project. Life returned to normal in Kashmir on Sunday after two days of restrictions and shutdown in the wake of the killing of Zakir Musa the so-called head of an Al-Qaeda affiliate in the valley in an encounter with security forces in Pulwama district, officials said. They said there were no restrictions in place in any part of the valley on Sunday. Normalcy has returned to the valley as there is no strike today and no restrictions have been imposed anywhere, an official said. Officials said shops, fuel stations and other business establishments re-opened this morning while public transport also operated normally. The weekly flea market on the TRC Chowk-Batamaloo axis through the Lal Chowk city centre was also open, they said. Musa, the so-called head of the Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind, was killed in an encounter with security forces at Dadsara village of Tral in the south Kashmir's Pulwama district Friday after forces launched a search operation on late Thursday evening following specific information about the presence of militants there. Fearing law and order problems, authorities had imposed curfew in parts of Kashmir Valley as a precautionary measure on Friday. The curfew continued on Saturday in view of a strike called by the hardline Hurriyat Conference chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani against the killing of Musa and a civilian, Zahoor Ahmad, a resident of Naira Pulwama by unidentified gunmen on Thursday. Mobile internet was also suspended on Thursday night across the valley, but the low-speed service was restored in most parts on Saturday evening following improvement in the situation. The high-speed mobile internet service continued to remain barred. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Roger Federer marked his return to Roland Garros after a four-year absence with a straight sets win over Italy's Lorenzo Sonego on Sunday, admitting he "felt on edge", as Angelique Kerber's hopes of completing a career Grand Slam suffered a quick kill. Federer, a 20-time major winner, hadn't played the tournament since 2015 when he reached the quarter-finals. However, on Sunday, it was as if the 37-year-old had never been away as he swept to a 6-2 6-4 6-4 victory in one hour 41 minutes on a packed, rebuilt Court Philippe Chatrier. It was his 60th successive first round win at a Grand Slam. "I felt on edge at the start, my heart was beating crazily," said Federer, who hailed the new-look stadium which has been 90% rebuilt in readiness for the installation of a retractable roof for 2020. "I felt great playing on this court. It looks very attractive, so congratulations to everyone involved. "Hopefully I can play here again for my next match." That match will be against German lucky loser Oscar Otte who won just his second match in eight years on the tour by seeing off Malek Jaziri of Tunisia 6-3 6-1 4-6 6-0. "I would be surprised if Roger knew my name," said Otte, the world number 145. Federer broke serve five times and fired 36 winners past 24-year-old Sonego, the world number 73 who made the quarter-finals at the Monte Carlo Masters. German fifth seed and reigning Wimbledon champion Kerber saw her hopes of a career Grand Slam ended by Russian teenager Anastasia Potapova. Kerber slumped to a 6-4 6-2 defeat to 18-year-old Potapova who was making her French Open debut. "Kerber is actually one of my idols, and when I was young I was looking for her game," said the 81st-ranked Russian who hit 28 winners past her German opponent. Kerber, 31, has now lost six times in the French Open first round. The German left-hander had come into Roland Garros carrying a right ankle injury which forced her to pull out of the Italian Open and retire from her second round tie in Madrid. "I didn't have many expectations coming in," said Kerber, who was broken six times in the match which brought the curtain up on the newlook Chatrier arena. Potapova's first win over a top 10 player gives her a second round clash against 19-year-old Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic. Greek sixth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, who stunned Federer on his way to the Australian Open semi-finals and beat 11-time Roland Garros champion Rafael Nadal in Madrid, also made the second round. The 20-year-old sixth seed brushed aside Germany's Maximilian Marterer 6-2 6-2 7-6 (7/4). - New court unveiled - ======================The new Court Simonne Mathieu, a 5,000-capacity semi-sunken arena enclosed by greenhouses, was officially unveiled on Sunday. It forms part of the 350 million euro upgrade of the entire site which will also see the demolition of the Court 1 'bullring' after the 2018 tournament. Spain's Garbine Muguruza, the 2016 champion, had the honour of opening proceedings against America's Taylor Townsend and the 19th seed marked the occasion with a 5-7 6-2 6-2 win. "It's cute," said the Spaniard. "It's not small, but it's, you know, cosy." Other winners on the first day included Japanese seventh seed Kei Nishikori, a quarter-finalist in 2015, who eased past France's Quentin Halys 6-2 6-3 6-4. However, Italian 16th seed Marco Cecchinato, the man who sent Novak Djokovic crashing out in the quarter-finals in 2018, fell at the first hurdle. Cecchinato lost to 37-year-old Frenchman Nicolas Mahut -- who has slipped to 253 in the world -- 2-6 6-7 (6/8) 6-4 6-2 6-4. Canada teenager Felix Auger-Aliassime withdrew from the tournament with a thigh injury, just a day after finishing runner-up to Benoit Paire in Lyon. The 18-year-old was seeded 25 and had been due to face Australia's Jordan Thompson in the first round on his maiden appearance in the main draw in Paris. Auger-Aliassime's spot in the first round draw has been taken by Spanish lucky loser Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. Second seed Karolina Pliskova closed play on Chatrier with a 6-2 6-3 win over Madison Brengle of the United States. Later Sunday, Venus Williams, the 38-year-old American, faces Ukraine ninth seed Elina Svitolina on Simonne Mathieu. Williams, runner-up to sister Serena in 2002, made her debut in Paris in 1997. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) One crew member was killed and three were missing after a steel-carrying cargo ship sank following an overnight collision with another ship off Japan, the Coast Guard and local media reported. Japan-flagged cargo ships Senshomaru and Sumihomaru collided around 2:10 am Sunday (1710 GMT Saturday) in Pacific waters off Chiba prefecture, local Coast Guard official Hiromitsu Kawaguchi told AFP. "Senshomaru seems to have sunk at the scene of the collision. Coast Guard patrol boat Matsushima rescued the captain of Senshomaru," Kawaguchi said. The Senshomaru was later found on the seabed at a depth of 30 meters near the site of the collision, and the body of one of the missing crew members was found inside, Japan's Jiji Press and Kyodo reported. All four crew on the 499-tonne Sumihomaru were safe after the collusion. There were no details immediately available about the scale of the damage it had suffered, officials said. Dense fog was covering the area at the time of the accident, Kawaguchi said, adding that oil had been seen in the water around the collision site. The Senshomaru was carrying 1,600 tonnes of steel from Kashima in eastern Japan to Osaka, Japan's western commercial hub, he said. The Coast Guard launched five patrol vessels, a helicopter, and a special search-and-rescue unit to find the missing men, while another special unit was working to contain the oil leak, Kawaguchi said. The captain and the missing crew members are all Japanese men, he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistan is ready to hold talks with the new Indian government to resolve all outstanding issues, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said. Addressing an Iftar dinner in Multan on Saturday, Qureshi said both India and Pakistan should sit on negotiation table to solve issues for the sake of prosperity and peace of the region, state-run Radio Pakistan reported. His remarks came two days after Prime Minister led his Bharatiya Janata Party towards a super-sized victory for a second term in office. Pakistan Prime Minister on Thursday 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 and allies. Look forward to working with him for peace, progress and prosperity in South Asia," Khan tweeted in both English and Urdu. In April, Khan said he believed there may be a better chance of peace talks with India and settle the issue if Modi's party wins the general elections. The results of India's general elections are very significant for Pakistan as the new government in New Delhi will determine the course of Indo-Pakistan ties, which were pushed to a new low after the Pulwama terror attack. Just a day before the announcement of results, 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. He conveyed to her Pakistan's desire to resolve all issues through 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. Emmanuelle Seigner, French actor and Roman Polanski's wife, has called out Quentin Tarantino for using the embattled director for his latest film, "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" without his permission. The film explores how the Golden Age of the film industry came to an end with the murder of a pregnant Sharon Tate, Polanski's second wife at the hands of the Manson Family cult in 1969. Polish actor Rafal Zawierucha stars as Polanski and Margot Robbie as Tate in the film. Tarantino confirmed he did not consult with Polanski before making the movie, which is slated to be released on July 26. Seigner took to Instagram on Friday to slam the director. She said she was not criticising the values of the film but only the decision to use Polanksi's presence in it at a time where Hollywood continues to reject the director for being charged with rape in the 1970s. Seigner pointed out the movie will make money for Tarantino and a major Hollywood studio (Sony Pictures) with help from Polanski's image despite the fact that the director is an outcast today. "I am just saying that it doesn't bother them (in Hollywood) to make a film which takes Roman and his tragic story while at the same time they have made him a pariah. And all without consulting him of course," she wrote in French, as translated by Yahoo! The film, which stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt, received rave reviews at its world premiere in Cannes Film Festival last week. Last month, Polanski sued the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to get back his membership. In 2018, he was booted out of the Academy, along with comic Bill Cosby, as a result of the organisation's Standards of Conduct enacted post the Harvey Weinstein sexual harassment scandal. Polanski has admitted to having sex with a 13-year-old girl after plying her with champagne and pills in 1978 at actor Jack Nicholson's house. He fled the US to avoid jail and continues to be a fugitive in the country. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) President Ram Nath Kovind has given his assent to a bill which will facilitate redevelopment of 25-year-old group housing societies in Gujarat with the consent of 75 per cent residents, instead of all, officials said on Sunday. The Gujarat Ownership Flats (Amendment) Bill 2018 was enacted by the Gujarat Assembly in September 2018 and it was subsequently sent to the President for his assent. The President has given his assent to the Gujarat bill recently, a Home Ministry official said. According to the legislation, apartments which were built 25 years ago or earlier can be redeveloped with the consent of 75 per cent of the owners. Till now, redevelopment of any group housing society in the state required consent of all residents, which had led to conflicts in many apartments. As many apartments in Gujarat are more than 25 years old and require redevelopment, the new legislation will accelerate such activities, the official said. Last year, the President gave his assent to a similar bill enacted by the Maharashtra Assembly to smoothen the process of reconstructing dilapidated buildings or a complex of buildings in land-starved Mumbai. The Maharashtra Apartment Ownership (Amendment) Bill was aimed at facilitating reconstruction of old and dilapidated buildings, especially in Mumbai, by allowing "majority consent of the owners instead of unanimous consent". There are hundreds of buildings in Mumbai which could not be redeveloped as not all the flat owners gave their consent, leading to fears of collapse and other problems. According to the Maharashtra legislation, the consent of 51 per cent of the residents will be required for reconstruction or repair of old buildings. Some state bills require presidential assent. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) was appointed prime minister on Saturday by Ram Nath Kovind after he was unanimously elected NDA parliamentary party leader at a meeting in which he asked its members to work without discrimination, stressing on the need to win over the trust of minorities. In an impassioned 75-minute speech in Parliament's Central Hall that Modi began after bowing to the Constitution, he struck a note of inclusion, asking the MPs to take along everyone, including those who have not voted for the ruling alliance and have been its trenchant critics. After meeting Kovind, he said his government will leave no stone unturned to fulfill the aspirations and dreams of the people who have given it a massive mandate, multiplying its responsibilities. "Exercising powers vested in him under Article 75 (1) of the Constitution of India, Kovind, today appointed @narendramodi to the office of Prime Minister of India," official Twitter account of Rashtrapati Bhavan posted. The has asked him to begin the process of forming the new government and he will soon inform him about the date of oath-taking ceremony, Modi told media. In the general election, he led the BJP-led NDA to a landslide victory with the alliance winning 353 seats, including an unprecedented 303 by the BJP. All its key allies, including Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U)'s Nitish Kumar, Shiv Sena's Uddhav Thackeray, LJP's Ram Vilas Paswan and Akali Dal's Parkash Singh Badal, were present as BJP president Amit Shah announced Modi's name as the alliance leader after formalities were done amid massive cheers from the MPs. An NDA delegation then met Kovind and Modi staked his claim to form the government. In his address to NDA members, Modi said his government will now begin "a new journey to build a new India with new energy". Reaching out to minorities, he slammed the opposition for making them live in an "imaginary fear" and asked the MPs to win their trust and work without any discrimination, including on the basis of faith or caste. "Our mantra should be 'sabka saath, sabka vikas and sabka vishwas' (with all, for everybody's development and having everyone's trust)," he said. "They (minorities) cannot be handed over to them (opposition), who benefit because we keep quiet," he said, accusing his rivals of exploiting them during elections as part of their votebank politics. He said the poor were deceived all these years but his government managed to break through this "deception" and improved their lot, and asked the NDA MPs to similarly smash through the deception around minorities. "Minorities were deceived, like the poor," the prime minister said. "It would be good if their education, social and economic standards were lifted all these years," he said. "We have to break through this deception. We have to win their trust... It is a big responsibility that we have to fulfil. Those who vote us are ours and those who did not are also ours. Even our most trenchant opponents are ours. We cannot believe in any discrimination," he said. Invoking the 1857 War of Independence against the British rule, he said all communities had then fought together and called for replicating a similar unifying spirit for good governance now as India readies to celebrate the 75 years of Independence in 2022. "The Constitution is supreme for us. Whatever form of worship we follow at home but outside there cannot be a bigger God for us than Bharat Mata (Mother India)," he said, likening the country's 130 crore citizens to 130 crore 'Gods' who should be served by the ruling alliance with a similar spirit. Minorities, especially Muslims, are seen to be strongly opposed to the BJP due to their wariness over its Hindutva ideology. "We stand for those who trusted us and also for those whose trust we have to win... We have to take everyone along to take India to new heights in the 21st century," Modi said. With speculation being rife over who will join his Council of Ministers, Modi said he was yet to go through the details of NDA MPs and asked them to not trust media reports, adding they are aimed at creating confusion and often put out with "bad intentions". Many "Narendra Modis" have cropped up in the country, giving out ministerial positions to MPs, he said wryly and added that newspaper reports do not make ministers. Responsibilities will be given as per norms, he stressed. Modi said elections often divide and create gulfs but the 2019 polls united the people and society. There was a pro-incumbency sentiment in this election, he said. "We ran the government for poor people between 2014-19 and I can say the poor elected the government this time," the prime minister said. With the BJP having had an uneasy relation with some of its allies during the last five years, Modi underscored his party's commitment to take allies along and noted that he is making this comment despite the saffron party winning 303 seats, many more than the majority mark of 272. Invoking the late BJP stalwart Atal Bihari Vajpayee for making coalition political successful, he called for the NDA to work with cohesion for the country's development and said his "naara" (slogan) for the alliance is "national ambition and regional aspirations". Asking MPs to work with him, he said they should shun arrogance as it is the people not their personality, any caste or Modi who elected them. He also asked MPs to avoid falling to temptation of publicity in the media. A crisis loomed large over Kerala's influential Syro-Malabar Catholic Church with priests of an Archdiocese reading out a circular during Sunday mass in churches under its jurisdiction blaming Church head Cardinal George Alencherry over a criminal case filed against a section of priests. The "unprecedented" move by the priests comes days after they came out openly against the arrest of a 24-year-old man for allegedly forging bank documents against Alencherry, who is also the major Archbishop of the Ernakulam-Angamaly Archdiocese. The clarification circular issued by Vicar General of the Ernakulam - Angamaly Archdiocese, Fr Varghese Pottackal, said the Apostolic Administrator of the Archdiocese, Bishop Jacob Manathodath and senior priest Fr Paul Thelakkat were made accused in the forgery case filed on behalf of the Synod of the Syro-Malabar Church. The circular was read out in many churches in the Ernakulam-Angamaly Archdiocese, a Church source said. "It is an unprecedented situation. Such a move against the Church head is unheard in our Church," the source said. The circular said although the Cardinal had assured that everything possible would be made to get these two priests off the list of the accused as there was no intention to make them as accused in the case, no steps in this direction have been taken so far. They still continue as accused in the case, it said. Referring to the case against one more priest of the Archdiocese in connection with the case, the circular said not a single priest of the Archdiocese have made any sort of forgery of documents against the Cardinal. The circular termed as "wrong" the propaganda that efforts were made to defame the Cardinal using the forged documents. Alleging that the youth Adithya Valavi arrested was subjected to torture in custody, the Archdiocese urged the government to order either a CBI or a judicial probe into the forgery case. The youth was kept in the police custody illegally and was subjected to torture to make him say names of priests in the case, it said. The police said there were altogether four accused in the case Paul Thelakkat (first accused), Bishop Jacob Manathodath (second accused), Adithya Valavi (third accused), and Fr Antony Kallokkaran alias Tony (fourth accused). Earlier, three bishops of the Ernakulam-Angamaly Archdiocese had come out openly against the arrest of Adithya Valavi, who is a post-graduate from an IIT, claiming that he is not a criminal and he had no role in forging documents. The priests had claimed that the man, a faithful, while working as an intern with a reputed business group in Kochi, had taken a screenshot of documents allegedly having Alencherry's name from the computer server of the firm and brought it to the notice of a church priest he knew. The priest had reportedly shared it with another priest, who allegedly submitted it to a Synod of the Syro-Malabar Church. The priests, including auxiliary bishops of the Ernakulam-Angamaly Archdiocese, had also demanded a high-level investigation into the forgery case. Adithya's father Zachariah had alleged that his son was physically and mentally tortured by the police in custody. Adithya was also forced to make a statement against Father Tony Kallookaran, vicar of Muringoor Sanjoe Nagar church, he had alleged. Refuting allegations of torture in custody, the police had said they were carrying out a "scientific probe" into the case. The police said investigation has revealed that the forged documents were created by Adithya from his computer kept at his fathers hardware shop. The issue of controversial land deals involving top priests of the Syro-Malabar Church has been in the for quite some time. The Syro-Malabar Church has over 30 dioceses in the country and four outside -- in the US, Canada, Australia and Britain -- serving over five million faithful. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Punjab Vigilance Bureau Sunday arrested an absconding official of the District Food and Civil Supplies Controller (DFSC), Amritsar in connection with a Rs 40 crore paddy scam. A P Singh had allegedly duped the state exchequer in connivance with other officials of the Food and Civil Supplies department and an Amritsar based rice mill owner, a spokesperson of the bureau said in an official release. Nabbed by the bureau's Special Investigation Team (SIT) from Patiala, Singh had been evading arrest for nearly an year, the official added. An FIR under various provisions of the IPC and Prevention of Corruption Act was registered at Police Station Jandiala Guru, Amritsar district last year. The vigilance bureau had taken over the investigation from Amritsar district police last year. "Some co-accused in the scam including DFSC officer Raminder Singh Bath, assistant food and civil supplies officer Vipan Sharma and food inspector Gurjinder Singh have already been arrested by the bureau while some are still absconding," he said. The investigation so far has brought forth incriminating evidence against the suspects who failed to perform their duties. "A huge quantity of government paddy worth crores of rupees was found misappropriated from the rice mill in Jandiala, allegedly by its owner," he said. The spokesperson further said that it would seek remand of the accused DFSC official from the court to investigate his modus operandi. Last year, over 2.50 lakh bags of paddy were found to be missing from a rice mill in Amritsar during an inquiry by Punjab's Food and Civil Supplies Department. At that time, the local department officials had allegedly kept the higher authorities in the dark about the missing stock. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A week after stepping down as the director of Akshay Kumar-fronted "Laxmmi Bomb" over "disrespect" and creative differences, Raghava Lawrence says he will reconsider coming on board the project if he is given the respect he deserves. The director, who was set to helm the Hindi remake of 2011 Tamil horror comedy "Kanchana", announced his departure from the project on Twitter. Lawrence said there were "multiple reasons" for his exit, one of them being the first look poster which was released without any discussions with him. In his latest statement he shared Saturday, Lawrence said the producers of the film are set to meet him and the matter is completely in their hands. "... The producers are coming to Chennai to meet me. It's completely in their hands now, if I'm given proper self-respect for my job, then I'll think about it. Let's see after the meeting. Wanted to share this message to all the fans who were genuinely concerned." Lawrence said he was overwhelmed with the love and support that came his way post his exit. "Post my tweet both Akshay Kumar sir fans and my fans have been requesting me to do this film. I'm overwhelmed with their genuine love. But trust me, I'm equally upset for the past one week as you are. "I was very thrilled to do this film, as I almost waited very long to direct this film, spent a quality time on pre-production works and have also blocked my dates for this film." Lawrence had earlier said even though he has stepped down, he won't hold back his script as it would be unprofessional and he respects Akshay a lot. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A month after he was prevented from entering Vijayawada to promote his upcoming film 'Lakshmi's NTR,' noted film-maker Ramgopal Varma Sunday arrived in the city and said the "truth coming out is inevitable." "... The movie is set to release on May 31. The incidents in the movie are 25-years-old, but the characters are still in politics and among people. Truth can be suppressed, but its coming out is inevitable," Varma told reporters here. "The movie talks about a person who is seeking votes using NTR's photos and what he did to him. The person has been punished even before the release of the film," he said in an apparent reference to Naidu's Telugu Desam party facing a rout in the assembly as well as Lok Sabha polls in Andhra Pradesh. 'Lakshmi's NTR' is a portrayal of the events that led to TDP founder and former Chief Minister N T Rama Rao's 'dethroning' in an intra-party coup in August 1995 by his son-in-law Nara Chandrababu Naidu, who later become Chief Minister of the state. Earlier, announcing his arrival in the city, Varma tweeted, "... Am landing in Vijaywada at 1 pm on spice jet from Mumbai .. I hope @ysjagan police will treat us with better respect than the @ncbn Police." On April 28, Varma was detained by the city police and sent back to Hyderabad without assigning any reason. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Consumer health and hygiene RB India (erstwhile Reckitt Benckiser) has entered into the liquid detergent segment in the country with its global brand Woolite launched exclusively through the e-commerce channel. It plans to bring more global brands in home hygiene space going forward. "E-commerce is a full medium and spread across all the cities and allows you to rest products that are premium. E-commerce as a channel is growing and allows us to launch products exclusively for the online space. If it ( launch of liquid laundry brand through E-commerce) succeeds it will open flood gates for us to bring more products from our global portfolio," Sukhleen Aneja, marketing director, South Asia RB Hygiene Home told PTI. When asked if the company will also look at offline distribution channels like modern trade and general retail trade, Aneja said: "Our strategy is to sustain on e-commence first and then we may look at offline distribution as well at a later date". Aneja said the company is looking at competing in the premium laundry detergent space and aims to achieve a significant market share in the Indian market. RB's innovative keratin based new liquid detergent formula will be imported from Europe to India. The product is currently available across all the e-commerce platforms including Amazon, Bigbasket, Grofers and Flipkart. RB's other popular brands include Dettol, Harpic, Lizol, Mortein, Vanish and Veet. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi has said she is ready to sacrifice everything to safeguard the basic values of the country, as she thanked the people of Rae Bareli for re-electing her. In a letter addressed to the people of Rae Bareli, the Congress leader also thanked the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party, which did not field any candidate against her. "I promise you that to safeguard the basic values of the country and to uphold the tradition of the ancestors of the Congress, I will not step back from sacrificing whatever I have got," Gandhi said. "I know that the coming days are going to be very tough, but I am fully confident that with the power of your support and trust, the Congress will meet every challenge," she said. Referring to the people of her constituency, the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) leader said she had always tried to look after this extended family. "Like every Lok Sabha election, this time also you have reposed your faith in me. I am thankful to each and every Congress worker, and friends from the SP, BSP, Swabhiman Dal for the hardwork put in for my win." Gandhi said. "My life is an open book in front of you all. You are my family. I derive strength from you and this is my real asset," she added. Gandhi had won the Rae Bareli seat by defeating the Bharatiya Janata Party's Dinesh Pratap Singh by over 1.67 lakh votes, according to the Election Commission website. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Amid perceived threat to the coalition government in Karnataka after its rout in the Lok Sabha polls, rebel Congress MLA Ramesh Jarkiholi Sunday visited senior BJP leader S M Krishna's home here in the presence of party state Chief B S Yeddyurappa. Though the leaders termed the timing as "coincidence", Jarkiholi, in response to a question on whether he would quit Congress, said he would have to discuss it with his "team". Jarkiholi has been hobnobbing with the BJP for some time and had threatened to resign from the party along with some MLAs after the Lok Sabha polls, which would lead to a numbers game in the assembly. Speaking to reporters, Jarkiholi called Krishna his "leader" and said he paid a visit to inquire about his health and was not aware that Yeddyurappa was also visiting him. In response to a question about his resignation, Jarkiholi said "will give (resignation)...will not give it through media, will (discuss with) well wishers and give... I won't say (when)...I may even give after one year (he said, upset over repeated questioning). "...we are a team, Im not alone. Will have to inform everyone and do it (resign) together,"he said, as he clarified that his visit had nothing to do with politics. He evaded a direct reply to a question on the number of MLAs he claimed were with him and shot back "Will you (media) inform and go for a sting operation? To a question if that meant he was involved in any secret operation, he said "...I'm giving an example, don't confuse. I won't say anything else." Interestingly, Jarkiholis visit to Krishna's residence along with Chikkaballapura Congress MLA K Sudhakar raised eyebrows within Congress circles, with doubts now emerging about him being part of a "rebel team". Sudhakar told reporters here that Krishna was his political guru and father figure and it was a courtesy visit he used to pay once a month. He said he told Jarkiholi, who had come to his residence that he would be visiting Krishna and asked him whether he would like to join, to which he agreed. "When we were there, Yedyurappa came... we were not aware of his visit. It it was unexpected for us, he said. Sudhakar has been expressing his displeasure against the coalition and party leadership for some time now, after not being inducted into the ministry and being denied Chairmanship to any board and corporation. BJP has predicted the collapse of the coalition and increase in its tally in the assembly after the LS poll results, claiming that 20 odd Congress MLAs are unhappy with the government and may take any decision anytime, as coalition partners Congress and JD(S) each won one seat in the LS polls. BJP made a clean sweep, winning 25 of the total of 28 seats. Also, Sumalatha Ambareesh, an independent candidate supported by the saffron party, was victorious in Mandya against Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamys son Nikhil. Meanwhile, Yeddyurappa said he had come to thank Krishna for the effort he had put in by campaigning for party candidates in Karnataka and ensuring their victory. "...there is no strategy going on, they (Jarkiholi and Sudhakar) are well wishers of S M Krishna and had come to meet him," he said in response to a question about any strategy as Jarkiholi was also visiting Krishna at the same time. "It (visit) was a coincidence...there is no special reasons to it, Yeddyurappa said, as he clarified that he had held no discussions with Jarkiholi and Sudhakar. Asked about Jarkiholi joining BJP, he said, there is no such proposal, I dont know anything about it. Individually what he decides is left to him. We did not discuss anything about it.We only sat together and had coffee at Krishnas residence and greeted each other." BJP leader and former Deputy Chief Minister R Ashoka, who had accompanied Yeddyurappa to Krishnas residence said he too had not held any discussions with Congress MLAs. Asked about his photo with Jarkiholi and Sudhakar appearing in the media, he said "...media have captured only one side there were people sitting on the other side, so it was not meeting between just us... Our visit was just a coincidence. There was no politics involved." Shaken by the rout of the ruling Congress-JDS combine in the Lok Sabha polls and possible threat to the government by disgruntled legislators, the Karnataka cabinet on Friday had reposed its "faith and confidence" in the leadership of Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, who had offered to resign, and asserted that the coalition would continue. There are reports in the local media that about six to eight Congress MLAs were in touch with Jarkiholi and may soon shift their base to Goa. The Karnataka assembly has 224 members, in which BJP has 105 MLAs, Congress-78, JD(S)-37, BSP (1), independent (1) (both currently supporting the ruling alliance), KPJP (1) and Speaker. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) French and Italian-US auto giants Renault and Fiat Chrysler are set to announce talks on an alliance, with a view to a potential merger, informed sources said on Sunday. Renault and FCA are likely to unveil the move "within hours, perhaps tomorrow (Monday), before the (Paris) bourse opens," one of the sources told AFP on condition of anonymity, adding an eventual "merger" was on the agenda. The same source added that a statement would cover "the possibility of a convergence between the two groups" which "will be studied" with a view to a potential merger. A Renault board meeting is scheduled for 8:00 am (0600 GMT) on Monday. Renault's current major partnership is with Japan's Nissan, in which it holds 43 per cent. Nissan in turn owns 15 per cent of its French partner Renault but the imbalance in the relationship has led to serious friction, highlighted by the arrest of former Renault and Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn in Tokyo. The Financial Times reported Saturday that the Renault-FCA discussions were at an "advanced" stage and could lead to "extensive cooperation". The Wall Street Journal said the talks were "wide-ranging" and could include Renault and Fiat Chrysler "joining large portions of their businesses". However, The New York Times took a more cautious line, saying the discussions were in early stages, the specifics unclear and "could still collapse". Contacted by AFP, neither Renault nor Fiat would comment. The Financial Times, quoting multiple people informed on the talks, said: "The agreement may ultimately lead the carmaker (Fiat-Chrysler) to join the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance in the future," if Nissan can be won over. Such an alliance would be the world's biggest with estimated total production of some 16 million vehicles. The Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi currently makes around 10.8 million automobiles, compared with Germany's Volkswagen and Japan's Toyota, both on around 10.6 million. However, the tie-up with FCA could make Renault much more powerful, potentially further upsetting the balance in the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi combination where Ghosn was pushing for much more say before his downfall. "The question now is 'what is the reaction of the Japanese going to be?" said one source close to the issue, suggesting they could be "furious." "Nissan has not been involved in this dossier," the source noted. In recent weeks, Renault has been pushing for changes to its tie-up with Nissan, suggesting the formation of a 50-50 holding company to run both firms. Nissan however has resisted, feeling it is the bigger company and should be treated as such. Last year, Renault sold 3.9 million vehicles and Nissan 5.65 million, with Mitsubishi accounting for another 1.22 million. Fiat Chrysler meanwhile sold 4.8 million autos but has been under pressure in Europe, stoking speculation it was looking for a partner as the industry is forced to consolidate in the face of declining demand and a costly switch into electric cars. FCA chief Mike Manley said earlier this month in Milan that his company would play an "active and constructive" role in this process. Fiat Chrysler is widely seen as a latecomer to the electric vehicle market but is well placed in the US SUV and pick-up sectors. Renault meanwhile has pushed ahead in electric cars but is relatively weak in North America so the two companies would be a good fit. Following his arrest, Ghosn was bailed for a second time on April 25 and is now preparing for trial on four charges of financial misconduct ranging from concealing part of his salary, to using Nissan funds for personal expenses. The reports did not spell out the level of any involvement by Nissan in the current Renault-FCA discussions although one FT source said it was absent. Early this year, rumours circulated that Renault was interested in Fiat-Chrysler after its hopes for a full merger with Nissan or even French competitor PSA were dashed. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Chaudhary Ajit Singh-led Rashtriya Lok Dal party was decimated in the Uttar Pradesh Lok Sabha polls this time but senior party leader Jayant Chaudhary is undeterred by the results, saying "a person who has not tasted defeat, has actually not lived his life". There were some hopes of the party making its presence felt in the political landscape of the state in May last year during the Kairana bypolls, when the BJP lost to the joint opposition candidate, RLD's Tabassum Hasan. However, this time Hasan (SP) lost to BJP's Pradeep Kumar by a margin of 92,160 votes. Buoyed by the victory of the joint opposition candidate in the Kairana Lok Sabha bypolls, talks of 'mahagathbandhan' of opposition parties (SP, BSP and RLD) had gained momentum in the state. However, the joy was short-lived, as in the parliamentary elections, the SP could not improve its 2014 tally and bagged five seats, while the BSP gained 10 seats. The RLD, which had fielded three candidates, failed register a win on even a single seat. RLD candidates Ajit Singh and his son Jayant Chaudhary lost from Muzaffarnagar and Baghpat Lok Sabha seats respectively, while Kunwar Narendra Singh lost from Mathura. In a video message on Saturday, Jayant Chaudhary had said, "The BJP has registered a massive win in the Lok Sabha elections. I congratulate Prime Minister Narendra Modi and all newly-elected MPs. The entire nation is pinning its hopes on newly elected MPs that they will work for betterment of farmers, poor and traders. We will continue to contribute our bit in nation building. The constituents of the mahagathbandhan have worked very hard, and I want to thank all workers for their hardwork." "For young RLD workers, my message is 'jo haara nahi woh jiyaa nahi' (a person who has not tasted defeat has not actually lived his life). We should take a lesson from this, and at every turn of life, there is scope of self-improvement. I am not at all disappointed, and want to assure you that we will continue our fight for farmers' rights," he said. However, UP BJP media coordinator Rakesh Tripathi told PTI, "This Lok Sabha election has proved to be the ultimate nemesis for the Rashtriya Lok Dal. Henceforth, the RLD will not be in a position to forge an alliance with any political party. "Only when the RLD decides to merge itself with any party, will any political party accept it. The father-son duo of Ajit Singh and Jayant Chaudhary have been unsuccessful in managing the legacy of former Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh. The arrogance (ahankaar) of Ajit Singh has been completely shattered in this election." In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, RLD candidates had to forfeit their deposits in six of the eight Lok Sabha seats they contested from Uttar Pradesh. The party managed to poll only 0.86 per cent of total votes in the state. The father-son duo had lost the elections from their respective seats in 2014 as well. The party's performance was equally dismal in the 2017 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections -- RLD contested 277 assembly seats but 266 of its candidates lost their deposits. Only one RLD candidate -- Sahender Singh Ramala from Chhaprauli assembly constituency -- emerged victorious. But he, too, left the RLD for BJP in April last year. In the UP Legislative Council, there are no RLD MLCs, as the term of party MLC Chaudhary Mushtaq ended in May last year. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Over 1,100 kg of ganja worth over Rs 2.27 crore had been seized by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) at Vijayawada and one person arrested in this connection, the agency said Sunday. The seizure was made on May 24 when the DRI officers, acting on specific intelligence, intercepted a cargo vehicle and searched it at Vijayawada, in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh. They seized 1,137.30 kg of ganja valued at Rs 2,27,46,000 being transported illegally under the cover of bulk cargo of Phosphogypsum to Hyderabad, a release from the DRI Hyderabad Zonal Unit said. The narcotic substance was seized under the provisions of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985 and one person arrested in this, it said adding further investigation was in progress. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Saudi Arabia on Sunday shot down a bomb-laden drone deployed by Iran-aligned Huthi rebels in Yemen to attack an airport in the kingdom, state media reported. The Saudi air force intercepted and destroyed the drone that targeted Jizan airport, close to the southern border with Yemen, the Riyadh-led coalition fighting the rebels was quoted as saying by the official Saudi Press Agency. The rebels' Al-Masirah TV said earlier that the drone targeted military hangars at Jizan airport. The airport is used by thousands of civilians every day, but the coalition reported no casualties and warned the rebels of a strong response. The strike comes after the Huthis on Thursday similarly targeted Najran airport also near the Yemeni border with an explosives-laden drone. That attack -- the third against Najran airport in 72 hours -- had targeted a Patriot air defence system, Al-Masirah said. The Saudi-led coalition intervened in Yemen in March 2015 to push back an advance by the Huthi rebels, who still hold the capital Sanaa, and to restore to power President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi. Since then, the conflict has killed tens of thousands of people, many of them civilians, relief agencies say. It has triggered what the UN describes as the world's worst humanitarian crisis, with 24.1 million -- more than two-thirds of the population -- in need of aid. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Citing the hardships faced by commuters, senior citizens have demanded that a connecting bridge be built to link Sector 51 station of Noida Metro's Aqua Line with the nearby Blue Line of the Delhi Metro. The 29.7-km Aqua Line runs between Sector 51 and Depot stations. At present, commuters have to exit at Sector 51 station and walk nearly 200 metres on an under-construction road to take the Blue Line at Sector 52 station, said Ajay Chaturvedi, a resident of Sector 137. "What is more painful is that commuters need to get themselves frisked again to board the Blue Line, thus consuming a lot of time," said Chaturvedi, a senior citizen. He demanded that the Noida Metro Rail Corporation consider building a bridge to connect the two stations. "I do not understand why the Noida Metro Rail Corporation is causing such a big trouble to senior citizens and women travelling with children to walk on a road to board the Blue Line. They must build a bridge as early as possible," Chaturvedi said, adding that he has given a suggestion in this regard officially to the Noida Metro authority. People can take e-rickshaws, run by Noida rail corporation at free of cost, at Sector 51 to go to the Blue Line station. However, commuters complain that during peak hours or late in the night the e-rickshaws are unavailable. Moreover, the road these e-rickshaws ply is filled with dust as construction is under way. "The availability of e-rickshaws are inadequate. One cannot wait for them during peak or late in night. E-rickshaws provided by Noida metro rail authority ply on the narrow under-construction road. They should have completed all this basic work before starting the metro services," said Ashish Saxena, another senior citizen from Noida. Unavailability of seamless connectivity between the Aqua and Blue Lines is proving to be a major hurdle for thousands of commuters of Noida who travel to Delhi daily. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had inaugurated Noida Metro in January this year. There are 21 stations on the corridor 15 in Noida and six in Greater Noida. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The AIADMK in Puducherry Sunday called on the Narayanasamy led Congress government not to indulge any longer in confrontation with the NDA government at the Centre. Addressing reporters here, the leader of the legislature wing of AIADMK, A Anbalagan said, "now that the BJP-led NDA has romped home for second successive term to form the government under leadership of Narendra Modi at the Centre, the Puducherry government should concentrate on development of Union Territory." He said only through cordial relations with the Centre could Puducherry make progress and bring the fruits of various welfare schemes to the people. The newly elected Congress MP V Vaithilingam should also ensure that the demands raised by the Chief Minister for Statehood for Puducherry, inclusion of the Union Territory in the Central Finance Commission and generation of jobs for the youth during poll campaigns were taken up with the Centre, he added. Referring to the tussle between Narayanasamy and Lt Governor Kiran Bedi, he said, "All these three years the Congress government had locked horns with the Lt Governor and also with the Centre which did not help Puducherry in any manner." The territorial government should focus on the requirements of the Union Territory without any longer encouraging confrontation."Taking strong exception to the 4.5 percent rise in power tariff announced for consumers in the Union Territory, Anbalagan said the rise should be revoked as it would cause hardships to the poor and also middle income groups of consumers. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Indian badminton player Sourabh Verma Sunday lashed out at national carrier Air India for manhandling and damaging his luggage while he was travelling from Delhi to Copenhagen. "Really disappointed with the service that @airindiain has provided in the last few weeks. I was travelling from Delhi to Copenhagen and on receiving my baggage I found it had been mishandled and broken. I immediately filed a complaint with the @airindiain airport staff," Verma wrote on his twitter handle. The 26-year-old shuttler said despite filing a complain with the airline, he has not got any reimbursement for the broken baggage. "I had also sent a mail stating the situation along with the complaint receipt and the pictures of the broken bag. But i have not received any response or reimbursement regarding my complaint even after 20 days of reporting the damage," he tweeted. The winner of the last year's Russian Open and Dutch Open badminton tournaments, Verma has asked the airline to solve his issue at the earlier. "Hence @airindiain I would like you to look into this matter as soon as possible because I am a Badminton athlete and I travel frequently for tournaments. I need you to solve this issue as my bag was mishandled by your staff. I am attaching the relevant pictures," he further wrote on his twitter page. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Scientists have developed a new test that can easily measure common stress hormones using sweat, blood, urine or saliva. Stress is often called "the silent killer" because of its stealthy and mysterious effects on everything from heart disease to mental health. Researchers from the University of Cincinnati in the US hope to turn the system into a simple device that patients can use at home to monitor their health. "I wanted something that's simple and easy to interpret. This may not give you all the information, but it tells you whether you need a professional who can take over," said Andrew Steckl, a professor at University of Cincinnati. Scientists developed a device that uses ultraviolet light to measure stress hormones in a drop of blood, sweat, urine or saliva. These stress biomarkers are found in all of these fluids, albeit in different quantities, Steckl said. "It measures not just one biomarker but multiple biomarkers. And it can be applied to different bodily fluids. That's what's unique," he said. The device, described in the journal American Chemical Society Sensors, is not intended to replace full-panel laboratory blood tests. "If you're able to do the test at home because you're not feeling well and want to know where you stand, this will tell whether your condition has changed a little or a lot," said Steckl. "Stress harms us in so many ways. And it sneaks up on you. You don't know how devastating a short or long duration of stress can be," said Prajokta Ray, from University of Cincinnati. "So many physical ailments such as diabetes, high blood pressure and neurological or psychological disorders are attributed to stress the patient has gone through. That's what interested me," said Ray. Taking exams always gave her stress. Understanding how stress affects you individually could be extremely valuable, she said. "Stress has been a hot topic over the past couple years. Researchers have tried very hard to develop a test that is cheap and easy and effective and detect these hormones in low concentrations," Ray said. "This test has the potential to make a strong commercial device. It would be great to see the research go in that direction," she added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Six alleged drug peddlers have been arrested in separate incidents in Jammu and Kashmir, police said on Sunday. A total of 700 bottles of banned codeine phosphate drug were recovered from a Kashmir-bound truck during checking at T-Chowk in Banihal town of Ramban district on Sunday, they said. The truck driver, Mudassir Ahmad, a resident of Baramulla, was arrested and booked under the Narcotics, Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, they added. Another alleged drug peddler, identified as Santosh Kumar Chandra, was arrested from Jammu's Talab Tilloo area with one kilogram of ganja on Sunday, the police said. In separate search operations in Banota Pulli, Godha Chowk and Gadigarh areas of Jammu late Saturday, four more alleged drug peddlers were arrested with 250 grams of drugs, they said. In another incident on Saturday, Excise Department officials seized 285 kilograms of poppy straw from a Punjab-bound truck in Kathua district, the police said. The poppy straw was seized at a toll post in Lakhanpur. However, no one has been arrested in connection with the recovery so far, they said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In the first incident of post-poll violence in Uttar Pradesh, a close aide of newly-elected Amethi MP was shot dead by two unidentified men, with police not ruling out the possibility of it being a "political murder". Surendra Singh, 50, a former head of Baraulia village, around 25 km from the Amethi district headquarters, was shot at around 11.30 pm on Saturday. "Singh was admitted in a Lucknow hospital, but succumbed during treatment," Additional Superintendent of Police Daya Ram said. Director General of Police Om Prakash Singh said seven people had been taken into custody and they were being interrogated. "We have come to know about old enmity. We are also finding out if there was any political enmity. In initial investigation, we have got some vital clues," the DGP told reporters in Lucknow. "UP police teams are conducting a very intensive investigation. We have also got important evidence through electronic surveillance," the officer said. "I am hopeful that in the next 12 hours, we will solve the case. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has directed the DGP to take effective action and report back to him," a senior official said, adding that the inspector general of Lucknow had been sent for monitoring the situation. Irani, who was in Delhi, flew to Lucknow en route to Amethi, where she met Surendra Singh's family and consoled them. The BJP leader and state minister Mohsin Raza participated in the funeral rites, which was attended by a larger number of people. Both Irani and Raza were seen carrying Surendra's body amidst chanting of slogans by villagers. "As per the information received, Singh was attacked in his sleep. This is a very heinous and disgusting incident," Raza, the minister in charge of Amethi district, said. "I think some pro-Congress anti-social elements did not like our celebration following the BJP's win from Amethi. They were upset," Abhay Singh, the former village head's son, told reporters. Irani had defeated Congress president from Amethi, a seat considered a Gandhi family bastion. District Superintendent of Police Rajesh Kumar said the incident cannot be ruled out to be a "political murder". "All aspects are being probed. There can be old enmity as well," the SP said. Women family members of the slain ex-pradhan were inconsolable. "He (Singh) never has any enmity with anyone despite being a village pradhan for many years," a teary-eyed elderly lady told reporters. "And as the (Lok Sabha) elections were over, enemies surfaced. From where they came, who came, no one knows." Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya expressed grief over Singh's death. "The death of a party worker is indeed very sad and unfortunate. He was a hard worker," Maurya said. "Even if his killers are hiding below the ground, they will be caught. The entire Amethi is sad over the incident." Newly-elected Allahabad MP Rita Bahuguna Joshi said there was no place for violence in a democracy and demanded strict action against the killers. Baraulia was in the news during the Lok Sabha election campaign after Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra accused Irani of distributing shoes to the residents in order to insult "Considering the fact that the Congress is disappointed, especially after the defeat of its party president in Amethi, a high-level probe should be ordered and the guilty should be punished," Rajesh Agrahari, the BJP convenor for the Amethi constituency, told PTI. " was a popular and active grassroots-level leader, and a close aide of MP He and other party leaders were actively involved in distribution of shoes," he added. No-frills airline SpiceJet Sunday announced the induction of a Boeing 737, taking its fleet size to 100 aircraft. SpiceJet is the fourth domestic airline to achieve the feat after national carrier Air India, now defunct Jet Airways and rival IndiGo. Eight domestic carriers - Air India, IndiGo, SpiceJet, GoAir, Air India Express, Vistara, AirAsia and Alliance together have 595 planes in their fleet at the moment. Spicejet in a release said it has added some 23 planes in the last one month alone. "Who could have thought that from the brink of closure in December 2014, SpiceJet would have a 100-aircraft fleet in 2019," SpiceJet chairman and managing director Ajay Singh said on the induction of 100th plane in the fleet. The Gurugram-based budget carrier now has 68 Boeing 737s, 30 Bombardier Q-400s and two B737 freighters. The airline at present operates 575 daily flights on an average to 62 destinations 53 domestic and nine international, it said. SpiceJet is a key player in the Union government's regional connectivity scheme UDAN operating 42 flights per day to and from various regional destinations, it added. "SpiceJet has added 23 planes and over a hundred new flights, most of them connecting the key metros of Mumbai and Delhi, in just over a month's time," the airline said. Of the 595 planes, IndiGo has 230, Air India 128 and SpiceJet 100. Jet Airways, which ceased operations around mid-last month, had 120 planes in its fleet before going bust. Besides, GoAir has 49 planes, Air India Express 25, Vistara 22 snd AirAsia India 21 planes in their fleet. Alliance Air, which is the regional subsidiary of Air India, has 20 ATRs for operations. SpiceJet had placed a USD 22 billion order for 205 aircraft with Boeing in 2015 and had followed it up with a USD 1.7 billion order for 50 Bombardier Q400 planes. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Sri Lankan Navy on Sunday said coastal guard vessels and personnel have been alerted following reports of boats allegedly carrying 15 local Islamic State (IS) members had set off for India's Lakshdweep islands. A top official source of the Kerala Police Saturday said that the state's coastal police stations and the police chiefs of the coastal districts have been alerted following intelligence reports that boats allegedly carrying 15 IS terrorists had set off from Sri Lanka to the Lakshdweep islands. "The Navy has come to know through the reports in local and Indian media that some 15 local IS members were moving to India's Lakshadweep islands through the sea route," Sri Lankan Navy spokesman Isuru Suriyabandara said. "We have alerted all our coastal guard vessels and personnel," he added. The spokesperson also said the Navy had not received any official information in this regard. "The possibility of the local Jihadi group members moving to India, however, had not been communicated to the Navy through the official channels," Suriyabandara said. Sri Lanka witnessed the worst terror attacks on its soil, when nine suicide bombers carried out a series devastating blasts that tore through three churches and as many luxury hotels on April 21, killing around 260 people, including over 40 foreigners, and injuring 500 others. The IS claimed responsibility for the blasts but Sri Lanka government said it was carried out by a local jihadi group, the National Thoweed Jamaath (NTJ). Since the April 21 suicide attacks, the Sri Lanka Army has launched an island-wide operation to search for people having links with the NTJ. During which, one of the associate of NTJ leader Zahran Cassim, who blew himself up at one of the hotels during the Easter Sunday attacks, was arrested. The Sri Lanka Army Sunday said it continued with its operations to search for the local network of the IS in the district of Colombo and its suburbs. "Around 120 people had been arrested during four days of cordon-and-search operations. During the drive, some explosives, ammunition, military like uniforms were recovered from them," the Army officials said, adding some of them were arrested for possessing drugs. Meanwhile, a group of Buddist monks have accused a cabinet minister and a provincial governor of aiding and abetting the NTJ, and lodged a complaint with the police, which has referred to it to the Crime Investigation Department. The monks have accused Industry and Trade Minister Rishath Bathiyutheen and Governor of the Eastern Province M L A M Hisbullah of aiding and abetting NTJ, the group responsible for the Easter Sunday attacks. "The complaint has been referred to the Crime Investigation Department (CID) for further investigation," police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekera said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) 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. Two men were arrested here Sunday for alleged frauds worth at least Rs 3 crore in online and store shopping through credit cards that were obtained using forged Aadhaar cards, police said. As many as 29 credit cards of various banks, including five American Express ones, six ATM cards of different banks, 10 fake Aadhaar cards and seven PAN cards were seized from the duo's possession, the police said. A hatchback car and Rs 20,000 in cash were also seized from the accused, they added. The arrested duo has been identified as Sandeep Kumar and Sandeep Beniwal, both B Tech graduates in their mid-20s, Superintendent of Police (Noida City) Sudha Singh said. She said a complaint was made at the Sector-20 police station by the American Express bank after its financial fraud cell took cognizance of such cases recently. A probe was taken up and the major fraud, in which some more people are suspected to be linked, was unearthed, Singh said. "The duo used their photographs along with forged identifications and fake documents to get the Aadhaar cards made which were then used to get the credit cards made. The accused would lavishly use the credit cards for shopping and primarily bought gold which they would then sell off to get cash money, she told reporters. "At this level, it has emerged that the fraud committed by the two could be between Rs 3 crore and Rs 5 crore. It is yet to be ascertained how much of that has been done through online shopping and how much through cards at stores," Singh said. The SP said besides Kumar and Beniwal, one more man who would get the mortgaged assets is yet to be nabbed, while more people could be linked to the fraud. "More details will be unearthed on basis of further investigation in the case," she said. A case has been registered against them at the Sector-20 police station and they have been charged under Indian Penal Code sections 420 (fraud), 467 (forgery) and related offences, the officials said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Soon after the Election Commission lifted the model code of conduct, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Sunday reinstated 11 IPS officers, including Rajeev Kumar, to their old posts. Kumar, who was removed by the poll body from the post of Additional Director General of West Bengal CID, was reinstated by an order issued by the state home and hill affairs department. Kumar was embroiled into a controversy in the Saradha chit fund scam. He was relieved from his duty by the EC following violence in the city during BJP president Amit Shah's roadshow. According to the order issued by the state government, Rajesh Kumar, who was made the Kolkata Police Commissioner by an EC directive, was sent on "waiting for posting order", while his predecessor Anuj Sharma was named in his place. The EC had ordered the transfer of Sharma from the post of Kolkata Police Commissioner to the position of ADGP and IGP (Operations) of the state police. Natarajan Ramesh Babu, who was appointed the Commissioner of Bidhannagar Police by the EC, was transferred from the post and sent on "waiting for posting order". Gyanwant Singh, the earlier Bidhannagar police commissioner, who was transferred by the EC as Director of the Directorate of Economic Offences, was brought back to his old post, the order stated. Devendra Prakash Singh, the DIG Midnapore Range, was named as the new Commissioner of Police of Barrackpore Police in place of Sunil Kumar Choudhary. Choudhary, who was made the CP of Barrackpore Police by the Commission, was send on "waiting for posting order". Shyam Singh was reinstated as the Superintendent of Police of Birbhum in place of Avvaru Ravindranath, who was made the new DC, Zone II (airport division) under the Bidhannagar Police Commissionerate. Amit Kumar Singh who was appointed as the Superintendent of Police of Coochbehar district by the EC was transferred by the state government and put on "waiting for posting order". Abhishek Gupta, the Commanding Officer (CO) of Specialised India Reserve Battalions (SIRB) was appointed the new Superintendent of police of Coochbehar district, the order said. The model code of conduct, which came into force on March 10 when the Lok Sabha election was announced, ceased to be in existence, the Election Commission said on Sunday. In an instruction to the cabinet secretary and chief secretaries of state governments, the commission said the model code has been lifted with immediate effect. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has vowed to take security measures to prevent Islamic State (IS) terrorism raising its head again in the country as he appealed people not to support extremism or religious fanaticism. The premier after meeting with a group of representatives of civil societies and trade union collective at Temple Trees on Saturday said the security forces and police have been able to apprehend everyone involved in the Easter Sunday attacks that killed 258 people, the Colombo Page reported. "But this doesn't mean that this is the end of this type of terrorism. We now have to take certain measures of counterterrorism to ensure that the country will not face terrorism again," he cautioned. He said the government is discussing the counterterrorism measures that are being taken, with the country still on edge after the attacks on three hotels and three churches that were blamed on a local jihadi group, the National Thowheeth Jama'ath (NTJ). The Islamic State group has also claimed a role in the attacks. "We have also had the help of the Muslim community in bringing about many changes and suggestions - Madrasa education bill not allowing sharia universities, ensuring name boards in only the three national languages," the premier said. Civil societies and trade union representatives inquired the prime minister on the political and institutional responsibilities which have failed to prevent the Easter Sunday attacks and also on the security situation in the country after the attacks. The premier responded, saying the parliamentary select committee (PSC) has been appointed to investigate the issue. He pointed out that the attacks in Sri Lanka is one instance that the ISIS did not have the support of the local Muslim community for their actions and that should be maintained. Prime Minister Wickremesinghe requested not to drive people to extremism by supporting religious fanaticism and racism. "We must maintain it that way and not allow extremism to come in, racial and religious hatred to come in, whereby driving some people to the other side," he said. Christians make up 7.6 per cent and Muslims 10 per cent of mainly Buddhist Sri Lanka. The prime minister said the government will appoint a resident committee of parliament to look into all the incidents and circumstances surrounding the Easter bomb blasts. Wickremesinghe said a methodology will be devised preventing Islamic State (IS) terrorism to raise its head again in the country by safeguarding the law and order of the country. He also said that the Speaker has agreed to open the proceedings through the media in order for people to gain access to the activities of the PSC. "Today we have taken all the measure to restore law and order. We've been able to observe Ramadan, We've been able hold prayers, Sunday Mass, and Vesak Poya has been observed very, very successfully," he said. He said schools have started and life is getting back to normal. the security forces and police have been able to apprehend everyone involved in the attacks and detained while legal proceedings are yet to be decided by the Attorney General. "But this doesn't mean that this is the end of this type of terrorism. We now have to take certain measures of counterterrorism to ensure that the country will not face terrorism again," the Premier cautioned adding that the government is discussing the counterterrorism measures that are being taken and being presented. "We have also had the help of the Muslim community in bringing about many changes and suggestions - Madrasa education bill not allowing sharia universities, ensuring name boards in only the three national languages," the Premier said. He pointed out that the attacks in Sri Lanka is one instance that the ISIS did not have the support of the local Muslim community for their actions and that should be maintained. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Multilingual actress and independent candidate from Mandya Lok Sabha seat,Sumalatha Ambareesh, who defeated Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy's son Nikhil, Sunday thanked BJP for it's support and said she would decide on supporting the party after consulting supporters and voters. Sumalatha met state BJP chief B S Yeddyurappa and another senior party leader and former Chief Minister S M Krishna and thanked them for their support for her victory in Mandya. BJP had supported Sumalatha by not fielding any candidate against her. "I want to clarify one thing that if an independent candidate wins, there is no provision in our constitution for him or her to join a party, but can support...there is a provision to give issue based support, this is what I have got to know," she told reporters in response to a question about her joining BJP. She said, "I have been saying that the opinion of people is important to me. I have plans to go to every taluk in Mandya to thank voters during which I will consult my supporters and followers on what steps I have to take in the interest of Mandya. After taking their opinion I will come to a decision on this." Thanking BJP for its support to her victory, Sumalatha congratulated the saffron party for its win both nationally and in Karnataka, by terming the landslide win as "tsunami". Pointing out that her win was "historic",she credited the people of Mandya and supporters from across the party for it. In a huge embarrassment to Kumaraswamy, his son Nikhil was defeated by Sumalatha by 1,25,876 votes in Mandya in a bitterly contested campaign. Sumalatha (55) is the widow of popular actor-turned politician, the late M H Ambareesh. She had initially sought a ticket from Congress,the party from which her husband had represented Mandya in the past, but it was denied citing coalition compulsions as it had to cede the constituency to JD(S),as per the seat sharing arrangement. Several Congress leaders and workers were miffed over their party's decision to cede the seat to JD(S) and did not campaign for Nikhil, upset over certain comments by Kumaraswamy allegedly against them. Many of them had extended support to Sumalatha and had campaigned for her openly with the Congress flag, despite the party warning against it. Congratulating Sumalatha for her victory in Mandya, Yeddyurappa said she would take a decision on her association with BJP after consulting her supporters and voters. "After knowing the opinion of voters of her constituency, she will let us know about her stand," he said in response to a question about inviting Sumalatha to BJP or her willingness to join the party. BJP, which has very less presence in Mandya, decided to support Sumalatha as it saw the party's prospects increasing its base there with her win. Despite losing the LoK Sabha by-polls in November 2018, the saffron party had made significant inroads by securing 2,44,404 votes, its best performance there. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Disgruntled Aam Aadmi Party legislator Alka Lamba has announced that she would leave the party next year. "My journey started with you in 2013 will end in 2020. My best wishes will be with the dedicated revolutionary ground workers of the party, hopefully you will remain a strong alternative in Delhi. The last six years have been memorable and I have learnt a lot from you," the Chandni Chowk MLA said in a tweet. She did not say whether she would quit AAP before or after the assembly election due in Delhi next year. Lamba has been at odds with the party for some time now. On Saturday, Lamba sought accountability from AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal on the crushing defeat of the party in Lok Sabha polls following which she was removed from the official WhatsApp group of the party lawmakers. AAP did not win any of the seven parliamentary seats in Delhi. Sharing screenshots on Twitter where it can be seen that she was removed by AAP's North East Delhi candidate Dilip Pandey from the group, Lamba lashed out at Kejriwal and said why is she being held responsible for the party's loss in Lok Sabha elections. Hinting at Kejriwal, she said action should be taken against those who took all decisions "sitting in a closed room". "I have always been telling the party what you (Kejriwal) are telling them now. I am sometimes added to the group, sometimes removed. It would have been better if a meeting was held to introspect, look at the shortcomings and move ahead, she said. This is the second time that Lamba has been dropped from the WhatsApp group. Previously, she was dropped in December last year when she raised objection to AAP's resolution to revoke Rajiv Gandhi's Bharat Ratna. However, she was added before the campaigning for Lok Sabha polls started and was expected to campaign for the party. But Lamba refused to campaign for the party and even refrained from participating in Kejriwal's roadshow after she was asked to walk behind his car during the event. In April, Lamba engaged in a bitter Twitter spat with AAP's Greater Kailash MLA Saurabh Bharadwaj, who had taunted her to resign from the party. Following the spat, Lamba addressed a large crowd outside Jama Masjid and said the party was repeatedly demanding her resignation. She alleged that the party leadership was "weakening" her and said she is being accused of attempting to switch over to the Congress. Alka Lamba won the Chandni Chowk assembly seat for the first time in 2013. Before joining Kejriwal, Lamba was part of the Congress women wing. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A woman running an NGO and three of her associates have been arrested on the charge of cheating 2,700 people a total of Rs 8.1 crore after promising to build houses with overseas subsidy for them in neighbouring Yadadri Bhuvanagiri district, police said Sunday. K Krishnamma, Chairperson of Malyavi Karunodaya Society for people of Old age and Physically Handicapped, and the three others holding various posts in the society were arrested Saturday, a police release said. Police recovered Rs 12.22 lakh cash and 'incriminating' material from their possession, it said. The fraud came to light after a labourer of Tangutur village lodged a complaint with the police. According to the complaint, Krishnamma visited the village six months ago and assured that she would build double bedroom houses for poor people at a cost of Rs 7.5 lakh each with Rs five lakh as subsidy to be arranged from NRI donors. The buyers need to pay only Rs 2.5 lakh, she had said and collected Rs 30,000 as advance from several people in the village. However, even six months after collecting the advance, the construction work was not started. A case was registered based on the complaint and during investigation it came to light the accused had collected a total of Rs.8.1 crores from 2,700 people from different villages in the district by making the same promise. A hunt was on to nab some other absconding accused, police added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Yoga and Taichi, two practices from world's ancient civilisations of India and China, are the best medium for both the countries to communicate with each other and deepen their friendship, feel a student and experts at China's first Yoga college set up in cooperation with India. The China-India Yoga College was opened at Yunnan Minzu University in Kunming in 2015 after the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Before Yu Songsong started to learn yoga at the institution, he knew little about India, where the ancient practice originated. Having spent the last six years learning yoga disciplines, Yu is enamoured by the yoga culture and eager to travel to India, the state-run Xinhua agency reported on Sunday. In 2013, Yu from a rural area in Guizhou fell ill ahead of an examination to enter university. He ended up studying marketing at a local college of finance not far from his home. "I don't like marketing at all, and I was suffering from an emotional disorder, almost depression. I received medical treatment but did not get my mind and body right," the 25-year-old, who is currently pursuing a master's degree in the China-India yoga college, said. "It was yoga that turned me around. I was no longer lost. I've found a direction for my life," Yu said. He started to practice yoga when he was a freshman and became a vegetarian. "The physical and mental practices relieved me of psychological distress," he said. Yu participated in a national fitness yoga competition and studied hard for an admission test to enter the master's program in the yoga college. Through yoga, Yu is deepening a comparative study in the philosophies of China and India, the two great civilisations of Asia. "In the class, we discuss and compare the traditional Chinese theory that 'man is an integral part of nature' and the Indian idea that 'the Buddhist and I are one'. Through this, we explore the similarities that underlie the culture and civilisations of the two countries," he said. Yu is learning yoga from a Indian teacher named Yatendra Dutt Amoli, while his teacher is studying Taichi from Chinese masters and students after the class. "I'm trying to teach them Indian culture from the Chinese way of looking at nature and values," Amoli said. "Both Chinese and Indian civilisations were born by nature, and we always try to find ways to connect human beings with mountains, rivers, forests and lakes in the class," Amoli said. "For example, Taichi and Yoga stress the elemental nature of the being and their performances reflect the balance between the elements of human being with nature, he said. In Amoli's opinion, though the ways to practice Taichi and Yoga may differ, the fundamentals are similar. "In this sense, the two practices from the world's ancient civilisations value human life in the same way. This is the best medium for us to communicate with each other as we share the same levels of understanding," he said. As an ancient Chinese martial art, Taichi can establish a good base for Yoga meditation and enhance one's awareness level, which will be helpful for Yoga, Amoli said. At the beginning of 2018, two sub-centres of the China-India Taichi college of Yunnan Minzu University were established in India and have trained about 1,000 Indians. "Taichi and Yoga provide two different platforms to pursue spiritual sublimation and a sound body and mind," Yu Xinli, director of the international cooperation and exchange office of Yunnan Minzu University, said. "But many Chinese and Indian youths still know little about each other," he said. "They consider yoga and Taichi merely as two physical exercises rather than two cultures, so we need to do more to deepen mutual learning and friendship," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Life returned to normal in Kashmir after two days of restrictions and shutdown in the wake of the killing of Zakir Musa the so-called head of an Al-Qaeda affiliate in an encounter with security forces in Pulwama district, officials said. They said restrictions on the movement of people were lifted Sunday morning from all areas where they had remained imposed for the past two days. "Normalcy returned to the Valley as there was no strike today and restrictions were lifted this morning. The situation remained peaceful throughout the day," the officials said. They said shops, fuel stations and other business establishments re-opened in the morning while public transport also plied normally. The weekly flea market on the TRC Chowk-Batamaloo axis through the Lal Chowk city centre was also open, they added. However, the officials said, restrictions on the assembly of people were imposed around Jamia Masjid in Nowhatta here in the afternoon after vehicles passing through the area were pelted with stones by some youths. Musa, the so-called head of the Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind, was killed in an encounter with security forces at Dadsara village of Tral in south Kashmir's Pulwama district on Friday. Apprehending law and order problems, the authorities had imposed curfew in parts of the Valley as a precautionary measure on Friday. It continued on Saturday in view of a strike called by hardline Hurriyat Conference chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani against the killing of Musa and a civilian Zahoor Ahmad, a resident of Naira Pulwama, who was killed by unidentified gunmen on Thursday. Mobile internet was also suspended Thursday night across the Valley, but the low-speed service was restored in most parts Saturday evening following improvement in the situation. However, the high-speed mobile interned continued to remain barred. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Yoga guru Baba Ramdev has said that in order to contain population growth, the government should enact a law whereby third child should not be allowed to vote and enjoy facilities provided by the government. The Yoga guru also called for ban on manufacturing, sale, and purchase of liquor across India. Baba Ramdev likely to head India's first Vedic board; Patanjali promises fund of Rs 21 crore "India's population should not be more than 150 crores in the next 50 years as we are not prepared or ready to bear more than that. This is only possible when the government makes a law that third child would not be allowed to vote, neither contest election nor he/she enjoys any type of privileges and facilities given by the government," news Agency ANI quoted Ramdev as saying while addressing a press conference in Haridwar on Sunday. Baba Ramdev flays HUL for Brooke Bond Red Label ad fiasco "Then people will not give birth to more children, no matter which religion they belong to," he added. Baba Ramdev also demanded full ban on cow-slaughter saying that it was the only way out to reduce the conflict between cow smugglers and "gau rakshak" (cow protectors). "There should be a complete ban on cow slaughter and it is the only way out to end the conflict that we see between cow smugglers and 'gau rakshak'. For those who want to eat meat, there are several other types of meat which they can eat," he said. Ramdev also pressed for a country-wide ban on liquor. "In Islamic countries, liquor is banned. If in Islamic countries it can be banned then why not in India? This is the land of sages. There should be a complete ban on liquor in India," the Yog guru said. Edited by Aseem Thapliyal Saradha Chit Fund Scam: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has issued a Look Out Notice (LoC) against former Kolkata Police Commissioner and Mamata Banerjee's close aide Rajeev Kumar, in connection with the Saradha Chit Fund case. The agency has sought Kumar's custodial interrogation to prevent him from leaving the country, officials said Sunday. CBI had alerted all airports and immigration authorities this week to stop Kumar from exiting the country and inform the agency on any of his possible moves, the officials told PTI. Meanwhile, according to India Today TV, the LOC was issued on May 23. A look out circular is issued to keep a check on a traveller who is wanted by the police. It is mostly used in immigration desks at international borders, including airports. Unless the period is stated, look out circulars have a validity of a year as per a notification by the Ministry of Home Affairs. Also Read: Mamata Banerjee vs CBI: What is the Saradha scam? The Supreme Court (SC) had earlier vacated its order granting protection to Kumar from arrest in the Rs 2500 crore Saradha Chit Fund scam case. However, the apex court has now allowed the CBI to "act in accordance with law" on his custodial interrogation matter. The CBI had alleged in the Supreme Court that Kumar, who was leading the SIT probe into Saradha chit fund scam before the agency took over the case, tampered with the electronic evidence and handed over documents to the agency, some of which were "doctored". Also Read: Saradha chit fund scam: CBI begins quizzing Kolkata police chief Rajeev Kumar in Shillong The SIT was set up by Mamata Banerjee government back in 2013 and 2014. Saradha Group chit fund scandal was one of the major financial scams in India which duped 1.4 million investors of Rs 1,200 crore with its illicit money pooling schemes promoted through lustrous brochures and the promise of unfeasible high returns. The group was using collections from new investors to make payments to the previously-enrolled members, rather than from income generated through investments. Among others, the activities of these companies were found to be in serious violations of the Companies Act, the Sebi Act, and several provisions of the Indian Penal Code. The scam, wherein lakhs of investors in West Bengal and neighbouring states were defrauded of thousands of crores through illegal money pooling activities, came to light early 2013. The case had become a political hot potato with Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government facing flak from various quarters. It was alleged that the West Bengal government had a direct link with Sudipta Sen, the Chairman of the chit fund group. Also Read: Saradha chit fund scam: CBI summons Kolkata top cop Rajeev Kumar to Shillong Also Read: CBI grills Kolkata top cop, ex-TMC MP over Saradha chit fund and Rose Valley scams Odisha' National Law University (NLU) is all set to conduct Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) today from 3 pm to 5 pm in the offline mode. The CLAT 2019 admit card tickets can be downloaded from the CLAT's official website--clatconsortiumofnlu.ac.in. About CLAT exam: Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) is a centralised test for admission to 21 National Law Universities in India. The Consortium of NLUs will conduct the CLAT 2019 exam today (May 26). The exam is for the admission of candidates to undergraduate (LLB) and postgraduate (LLM) law programmes offered at NLUs and other universities. CLAT in offline mode: CLAT was conducted in offline mode till 2015 but from 2015 to 2018 the CLAT examination was held online. However, last year, due to a lot of technical snags CLAT exam's reliability was questioned and also, issues of accessibility of CLAT online exam in rural areas were raised. Hence, this year, CLAT will be conducted in offline mode. CLAT 2019: Exam pattern CLAT undergraduate test: The exam for the undergraduate programme will be of 200 marks. There will be 200 questions of one mark each and there is negative marking also of 0.25 mark for each wrong answer. The two hours admission test comprised Multiple-Choice Questions (MCQ). Subject areas: Legal Aptitude and Logical Reasoning, English including comprehension, Elementary Mathematics (Numerical Ability), General Knowledge and Current Affairs, CLAT postgraduate test: The exam for the postgraduate programme will have a total of 150 questions of one mark each and there is negative marking also of 0.25 mark for each wrong answer. The exam will be two-hours long. CLAT 2019 exam details: Important documents to carry: Admit card: The hall ticket is the most important document to be carried to the test centre. Candidates without the CLAT admit card on the day of exam won't be allowed to take the paper. The hall ticket is the most important document to be carried to the test centre. Candidates without the CLAT admit card on the day of exam won't be allowed to take the paper. ID proof: Candidates must carry a valid and original photo ID proof with them to the allotted CLAT exam centre. ID proof include Aadhaar Card/PAN Card/Passport/ Driving License/ Voter ID. Candidates must carry a valid and original photo ID proof with them to the allotted CLAT exam centre. ID proof include Aadhaar Card/PAN Card/Passport/ Driving License/ Voter ID. Photo: Candidates are also recommended to carry at least one passport size photograph to the allotted exam centre. Candidates are also recommended to carry at least one passport size photograph to the allotted exam centre. Candidates also must carry a pencil and at least two ballpoint pens (black/ blue) to the exam centre. Last year, CLAT was conducted by National University of Advanced Legal Studies (NULS) Kochi. Aman Garg of Jaipur bagged 1st All India Rank with 159 out of 200 marks. The fiscal deficit is likely to be revised upwards from 3.4% in the upcoming Budget in July to take on the economic slowdown in the country. The move is aimed at stepping up public expenditure while keeping in mind that the tax revenue is not going to pace up in order to match the increase in expenditure. "In a scenario where consumption, demand, investment and capital formation need support, fiscal deficit can be secondary point though profligacy will not be tolerated and the revision in the deficit will be well-controlled," sources told the ET. Deviating from the fiscal consolidation path as per the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act, the government in February's interim Budget pegged the fiscal deficit for 2019-20 at 3.4 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP), as against the original target of 3.1 per cent. Also Read: Budget to indicate new govt's intent on stepping up reforms, sticking to fiscal discipline: Fitch The Budget to be presented amidst a gripping slowdown is expected to address the concerns by taking steps to rationalise tax, undertake public spending in infrastructure, social and farmers' schemes and job creation, the report said. Although, the FY19 fiscal deficit figure is yet to be announced, the NDA dispensation has brought it down in the last five years and broadly averted any big slippage in the deficit since it came to power in 2014. Also Read: Fiscal Deficit Under Stress India's fiscal deficit was at Rs 8.51 lakh crore in February-end touching 4.52 per cent of GDP, a senior Finance Ministry source told a news agency. "The receipts are sufficient to cover only 61 per cent of expenditure. As a percentage to GDP, fiscal deficit is 4.52 per cent and revenue deficit is 3.45 per cent," says the Finance Ministry note, IANS reported. The figures mean fiscal deficit has crossed 134 per cent of the government's budget estimate. Last year, the deficit stood at 120 per cent, during the same period. In FY19, the total expenditure was Rs 21.9 lakh crore or 89 per cent of the budget estimate. Total expenditure comprised revenue expenditure of Rs 19.15 lakh crore, at 89 per cent of budget estimate, and capital expenditure of Rs 2.73 lakh crore at 87 per cent of budget estimate. Also Read: India's fiscal deficit touches 4.52% of GDP in February-end: report Further, at the end of February, the total receipts stood at Rs 13.37 lakh crore, or at 73 per cent of the budget estimate. Gross tax collection had touched Rs 16.92 lakh crore or 75 per cent of the budget estimate against 81 per cent in the same period of the previous fiscal. The net tax revenue to the Centre was of the order of Rs 10.93 lakh crore, or 74 per cent of BE, after deducting devolution to States (Rs 5.96 lakh crore) and collections under national calamity and contingency duty (NCCD) to be transferred to the National Disaster Response Fund or NDRF ( Rs 1,520 crore). Total receipts include Net Tax Revenue to Centre (Rs 10.93 lakh crore), Non Tax Revenue (Rs 1.71 lakh crore) and Other Receipts (Rs 71,662 crore), the figures showed. Also Read: Modern monetary theory- a resurrection of a failed idea (With agency inputs) A consumer court has asked Malaysia-based AirAsia to pay Rs 1.54 lakh to a passenger for serving him non-vegetarian food instead of vegetarian meal and allegedly harassing his family. In a complaint to Panchkula consumer forum, Vijay Trehan (61) eldest member of the family said he booked onward and return tickets for the journey between Amritsar and Kuala Lumpur in Air Asia on October 7, 2018, and October 13, 2018, respectively. In the complaint, Trehan said he had paid Rs 59,482 and Rs 15,016 for onward and return journeys, respectively. Trehan stated that there was no issue in the onward journey to Malaysia. Flight ticket prices to London, Dubai see a spike as holiday season kicks off However, they faced problems during their return journey to India, according to a report in The Indian Express. On October 13, 2018, the family reached Kuala Lumpur Airport and got their baggage clearance and boarding passes by 5.15 pm. The flight was scheduled to take off at 7:20 pm. However, due to a huge rush at the immigration counter and also at the security check, it took around one and a quarter hour for clearance for the entire family comprising five adults and three children. The passage between the boarding pass counter to the exit gate of the terminal was about 1 km and was confusing since there was no signage or any guidance by any airport personnel. When the family reached the terminal, airline officials did not allow the family to board the plane, citing the delay of 10 minutes in arriving at the gate. In his complaint, Tehran said at that time the plane was still present at the runway and had not even started revving for taking off. Trehan said the airlines did not make any announcements which added to the delay in reaching the terminal. After they were not allowed to board the return flight to India, the family again bought tickets for Rs 1.03 lakh. They had no option but to stay another day in a foreign land which led to heavy cost of hotel expenses. Here is how the new owner should fix Jet Airways During their return journey on October 14, 2018, Vijay Trehan was served a sandwich containing chicken when he had asked for a cheese sandwich. Trehan is from a Hindu family whose members are also devotees of the ISKON sect. The family filed a complaint with the consumer forum which issued a notice to AirAsia. No intimation of the notice either served or unserved was received despite the expiry of 30 days after which the fine was imposed on airline. The forum held that "despite reaching the Airport in time, getting their boarding passes in time, they were not allowed to board the flight, we find deficiency in service on the part of the OP (Air Asia). It may be mentioned here that serving of non-vegetarian food to a vegetarian person is also a gross deficiency in service "as it not only hurts religious sentiments but also thrust upon in the mind of the concerned person a sense of guilt and even physical problems like vomiting etc". The forum has directed the airline to pay Rs 1,19,213 for expenses incurred by the complainants on new tickets, hotel room rent, food expenses along with interest at 9 per cent per annum from the date of filing of complaint till realisation, and Rs 30,000 on account of physical harassment, pain and mental agony as well as Rs 5,500 on account of litigation charges. Edited by Aseem Thapliyal Budget carrier AirAsia India has decided not to lease B737 aircraft of the grounded Jet Airways due to several complications in inducting these planes into the carrier's fleet. After showing initial interest, the Tata Group venture airline has now reportedly decided to continue with only one type of aircraft. Cash-strapped Jet Airways shut down its operations on April 17. The grounding of one of India's biggest airlines gave competitor airlines an opportunity to fill the capacity gap. Following the closure of Jet Airways' operations, SpiceJet, Vistara and AirAsia had approached the airline to buy its narrow-bodied aircraft, B737. Though Air Vistara had applied for the approval of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) after approaching Jet, the company didn't pursue the plan further. "AirAsia India had informed the aviation regulator about their plan to lease some of the B737 airplanes that were operated by Jet Airways. But later it did not follow up," Mint quoted a source as saying. Beside Air Asia, both SpiceJet and Vistara have inducted 24 of Jet Airways' B737 planes, including 20 by SpiceJet alone. However, the Bengaluru-based airline has plans to increase its existing fleet capacity by adding over 21 more A320 aircraft in the two years. Also read: Jet Airways crisis: Naresh Goyal, wife stopped from flying abroad at Mumbai airport Naresh Goyal and his wife Anita Goyal had resigned from Jet Airways board on March 25, transferring the control to the lenders led by State Bank of India. Top five executives of the airline, including CEO Vinay Dube, have already resigned from the airline citing "personal reasons". The company ceased operations temporarily around mid-April due to an acute liquidity crisis. Lenders to grounded Jet Airways, however, are confident over the future of the airline, with Rajnish Kumar, chairman of State Bank of India (SBI) expressing hope that clarity will emerge soon. Also read: Jet Airways CEO Vinay Dube resigns a day after CFO Amit Agarwal quit company The consortium of 26 lenders, which seeks to recover their dues of over Rs 8,400 crore, had shortlisted private equity firm TPG Capital, Indigo Partners, National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) and Etihad Airways to submit their bids after they put forward their Expression of Interest (EoI). Out of four, only Etihad Airways expressed its interest to buy a stake in the debt-laden airline that too on the last date of the bidding i.e. May 10. There were reports that the bidders had lost interest in the airline after its aircraft and slots at airports in Delhi and Mumbai were handed over to competitors. However, SBI Chairman had ruled out the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) route for the crisis-hit Jet Airways. ALso read: Jet Airways revival plan: Etihad puts debt write-down on the list Edited by Manoj Sharma Our Promise: Welcome to Care2, the world's largest community for good. Here, you'll find over 45 million like-minded people working towards progress, kindness, and lasting impact. Care2 Stands Against: bigots, racists, bullies, science deniers, misogynists, gun lobbyists, xenophobes, the willfully ignorant, animal abusers, frackers, and other mean people. If you find yourself aligning with any of those folks, you can move along, nothing to see here. Care2 Stands With: humanitarians, animal lovers, feminists, rabble-rousers, nature-buffs, creatives, the naturally curious, and people who really love to do the right thing. You are our people. You Care. We Care2. Photo: DriveBC UPDATE: 5:20 p.m. DriveBC reports that Highway 1 has now reopened. They say the road is cleared in both directions east of Revelstoke after an earlier closure due to a crash. UPDATE: 2 p.m. The Trans-Canada Highway remains closed east of Revelstoke, after a vehicle crash closed the highway earlier Saturday morning. DriveBC's latest estimated time of reopening is 5 p.m. ORIGINAL: 10:30 a.m. A crash has closed the Trans-Canada Highway east of Revelstoke Saturday morning. The crash occurred at about 9:30 a.m. near the Woolsey Creek Forest Service Road, 29 kilometres east of Revelstoke, closing both directions of traffic. DriveBC estimates the highway will remain closed until 3 p.m., causing major delays for weekend travellers. The condition of those involved is unknown at this time. Photo: File Be sure to clean that patio furniture now in case you have unexpected guests drop in. This might be the ideal day to hose down the deck and wicker furniture if you haven't already. Environment Canada is calling for a gorgeous week of sun and temperatures near 28 C for the Okanagan Valley through Thursday. Today's high is expected to be 22 C, perfect for some outside work. The UV Index should be very high, forecast calls for 8. The normals for this time of year are 21 C for a high and 8 C for the overnight low. Predictions are fine, but if you recall from last week's forecast, things can change quickly over the mountains so it's always wise to prepare for all kinds of weather if you're heading out for a hike. Photo: The Canadian Press Emergency workers check what is left of the second floor of a hotel, Sunday, May 26, 2019, l in El Reno, Ok. A tornado levelled a motel and tore through a mobile home park near Oklahoma City overnight, killing two people and injuring at least 29 others, authorities said Sunday. The twister touched down in El Reno, about 25 miles west of Oklahoma City, late Saturday night. It crossed an interstate and walloped the American Budget Value Inn before ripping through the Skyview Estates trailer park, flipping and levelling homes, Mayor Matt White said at a news conference. "It's a tragic scene out there," White said, adding later that, "People have absolutely lost everything." The two people who were killed were in the mobile home park, White said. Everyone at the motel was accounted for, but searchers were still going through the mobile home park. Many of the people living there are Hispanic and don't speak English, which has complicated the rescue efforts, he said. The 29 people who were injured were taken to hospitals, where some were undergoing surgery, the mayor said. Some of the injuries were deemed critical, he said. "The thing about El Reno is we are more than a community, we are a family. ... We're going to overcome this. It's so devastating to see the loss out there," he said. April Sandefer, a spokeswoman for the University of Oklahoma Medical Center, said the hospital has treated 13 patients who were injured during the tornado. She declined to disclose the severity of the injuries or to say how many of the patients, if any, were admitted. National Weather Service personnel were assessing the damage, but the agency gave the twister a preliminary EF-2 rating, which would mean it had wind speeds of 111-135 mph (179-217 kph). White didn't give details about the two people who were killed. The tornado was spawned by a powerful storm system that rolled through the state the latest in a week of violent storms to hit the flood-weary Plains and Midwest that have been blamed for at least 11 deaths, including the two killed in El Reno. Emergency crews on Sunday could be seen sifting through the rubble at the trailer park and motel, where the second story collapsed into a pile of debris strewn about the first floor and parking lot. Tweety Garrison, 63, told the AP that she was in her mobile home with her husband, two young grandchildren and a family friend when the storm hit. She said when she heard the storm coming she immediately hit the ground. Moments later, she heard her next-door neighbour's mobile home slam into hers before it flipped over and landed on her roof. Garrison said the incident lasted five to 10 minutes and that she received a tornado warning on her phone but the sirens didn't go off until after the twister hit. Her 32-year-old son, Elton Garrison, said he heard the wailing tornado sirens and had just laid down at home about a half-mile (1 kilometre) away when his phone rang. He recognized his mother's number, but there was no voice on the other end when he answered. "I thought, 'That's weird,'" he said. Then his mother called back, and delivered a chilling message: "We're trapped." He said when he arrived at his parent's home, he found it blocked by debris and sitting with another trailer on top of it. He immediately began clearing a path to the home so that he could eventually lift a portion of an outside wall just enough so that all five occupants could slip beneath it and escape. "My parents were in there and two of my kids, one 9 and the other 12 ... my main emotion was fear," said Elton Garrison, who has lived in El Reno for about 26 years. "I couldn't get them out of there quick enough." He said he wasn't alarmed by the warning sirens when he first heard them at home. "We hear them all the time here, so it didn't seem like a big deal. ... I heard a lot of rain with the wind. But when it kind of got calm all of a sudden, that's when it didn't feel right." He said his parents had only recently recovered after losing their previous home to a fire a few years ago. "Now this," he said, before expressing gratitude that everyone inside his parents' home had emerged without serious injury. In the next breath, he added: "Items can be replaced. Lives can't." Des soldats camerounais dans une rue de Bamenda, capitale de la region camerounaise anglophone du Nord-Ouest le 17 nove AFP/Archives/STRINGER Calm is yet to return to Bali Nyonga in the North West region, after a gun exchange with soldiers led to the killing of at least seven, five from same family. Reports say military shot dead five members of a family called Baya, as they tried to rescue one of theirs who was earlier shot, to the hospital. An older woman, said to the grand mother to the others, was killed. Some two separatists were also shot in the process. Their remains were discovered around Sang. Villages such as Bali-Nyonga are most often targeted by the military, who believe it serves as a hideout for armed separatists. Along the stretch of road from Bali in Mezam Division to Batibo in Momo Division, many have described it as a stronghold for Amba boys. Several persons have fled those two communities, due to increasing confrontations between the military and armed separatists. It was along this same road that the convoy of late popular pidgin news broadcaster in Bamenda, Peter Tebit Chi, was halted by armed separatists, asking if mourners thought they were immune to attacks. Following yesterdays attacks, some villagers went into nearby bushes for security reasons. Civilians continue to bare the consequences of gun exchanges between military and separatists. Military has been accused of shooting indiscriminately at civilians, during their numerous raids in the North West and South West regions. Over 530,000 civilians have been displaced as a result of the ongoing war, with at least 1870 persons dead. Government has announced it was ready for dialogue, but with a condition that separation isnt amongst the options discussed. Separatists on the other hand, have pushed aside the decentralization agenda government has been advancing as solution to the crisis. Happy New Year, Yall. Please let 2022 be a better year for our country and local community, because I truly love these Appalachian hills and river town - or southern Appalachian periphery to be geographically correct. I am optimistic that 2022 will be a better time for local businesses that darn near lost it all - some did lose it all, and for the children of this community. ... (click for more) Major General William B. Raines, U. S. Army [Ret] has been honored by the Tennessee Society Daughters of the American Revolution with the 2019 Outstanding Veteran Volunteer Award. The award is presented to a veteran in recognition of outstanding contributions of leadership, patriotism and increased public awareness of veterans. Major General Raines, nominated by the Chief John Ross Chapter, Regent Jessica M. Dumitru and the Judge David Campbell Chapter, Regent Stacy Kehoe, serves as the chairman of the Board, Charles H. Coolidge National Medal of Honor Heritage Center. His leadership with the Heritage Center supports each of the three major functions of the NSDAR: Education, Historic Preservation and Patriotism. He has successful led the Board of Trustees to secure a new location for the Heritage Center at 2 Aquarium Way and to raise more than $4 million to design and install exhibits and expand the Character Development Program in the public and private schools of the region. While needed fundraising continues, the Heritage Center is scheduled to open in February 2020. In addition, Major General Raines is a former chairman of the Chattanooga Area Veterans Council, an active member of the Military Officers Association, the John Sevier Chapter, Sons of the American Revolution and numerous other veterans organization. Major General Raines retired as a Major General from the Army Reserves on April 15, 2000 after 32 years of services. His last assignment was to the Joint Forces Command in Norfolk, Va. as the vice-director of Strategy, Requirements and Integration (J8V). His prior assignment was as deputy commander, 125th U.S. Army Reserve Command in Nashville. General Raines was commissioned a second lieutenant in 1968 at the U.S. Military Academy, West Point, New York, where he also received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Engineering. With 32 years of military service, he served in many important positions on active duty and in the Army Reserve. During the period June 1968 to June 1973, General Raines served in numerous active duty assignments in Okinawa (Hawk), Vietnam (Battery Commander on the Demilitarized Zone) and Fort Bliss, Texas. After leaving active duty, General Raines held numerous assignments within the 3397th U.S. Army Reserve Garrison in Chattanooga and the 125th ARCOM Headquarters in Nashville. General Raines returned to active duty during Operations Desert Shield/Storm where he served as the commander of the 3397th USAR Garrison from Chattanooga (the unit was presented the Army Superior Unit Award) at Fort Campbell, Ky. during the period August 1990 to September 1991. General Raines is a graduate of the Airborne School, Air Defense Artillery School, Command and General Staff College and the Army War College. (Editors Note: Dr. Wayne Shearer, 94, is a retired optometrist and retired colonel from the U.S. Air Force Reserve now living in Hixson. In his early 90s, he decided to sit down and write from memory and a few records he still possesses his recollections of going through Army Air Corps pilot training at several bases in the United States during World War II. A lifelong writer, he wanted to pen them as he remembered them happening at the time. He also recreates now-lost letters as best as he recalls writing them and references newspaper articles he collected at the time and still possesses. This is the 17th in a series of regular excerpts from his as yet unpublished book, Under This Arch.) * * * * * Setting: Preflight School in San Antonio, Texas November 29, 1943: We received back our final exam scores today, Monday, from the tests we took before Thanksgiving. Im in the middle of the others with solid Bs except I failed the blinker part of the Morse Code. I had no trouble with hearing the dahs and dits but the silent blinking light seemed to have failed 80 percent or so of us in the flights composing our squadron. Surely, theyre not going to wash us all out! Im very discouraged. The sergeant in charge of the code instruction/testing said the blinker test would be given again tomorrow because so many had failed. He went over some of the blinker code with us again. Im not sure Ill do any better. November 30, 1943: Well, discouragement knows no end. I and around 30 percent of us who retook the blinker test today failed it. Our tach officer told us that we would not be eliminated but would have to repeat the second half (4) weeks of Preflight School. I sat near the back of the code room and some of the fellows that passed were sitting near the front and said they could hear a slight sound of the code. No one around me heard it, nor did I. In the future, Ill sit on the front row. The rumor says that this is a method to slow down and decrease the number of pilot graduates! A lot of us will be held back. In a few days, some of our friends are moving on to Primary Flying School and the rest of us will move into other barracks with the new upper classes and we become 44-G as wash-backs. Well make the best of it and Im keeping my goal of earning those Silver Wings of an Army Air Force pilot. Letter home: December 1, 1943 Dear Mother and Dad: Im writing bad news today (Wednesday). Many of us failed the Morse Code light blinker retake test. Were being held back for 4 weeks and will take over all the courses. Im trying not to be discouraged but am downhearted. Im now part of Class 44-G. Well all get moved into different barracks with a new address in a few days. Ill get adjusted and make new acquaintances; as well as being with my friends that are repeating the academics with me, even though we only failed part of the Morse Code. Im going to do OK and dont worry about me. Tell my sister, Norma, I love her. Your loving son, Wayne The San Antonio Evening News from San Antonio, Texas, on Thursday, December 2, 1943, said: GERMAN DEFEAT THIS WINTER IS ALLIED CONFERENCE PLAN. In Cairo Britain and the United State agreed on details for a new invasion of Europe and perhaps discussed a strike into the Balkans, it was reported on good authority today. There was a feeling here that big developments would come from the five-day meeting of President Roosevelt, Prime Minister Churchill and Generalissimo Chiang Kaishek. For Japan they promised unrelenting pressure by sea, land and air. Other news headlines from that days paper: BEATEN GERMAN TROOPS RETREAT BEFORE ADVANCING EIGHTH ARMY. German troops, beaten in a bitter four-day battle, are retreating on the Adriatic wing of the Italian front before General Sir Bernard L. Montgomerys advancing 8th Army, Allied Headquarters announced today. WIFE OF MISSING S.A. OFFICER ACCEPTS AIR MEDALS AWARDED. December 3, 1943: Yesterday was goodbye to my friends who shipped out to various Primary Flying Schools. Id like to have been with them! The barracks, being about 80 percent empty, was lonely; but this afternoon (Friday) we moved into barracks on the opposite side of Preflight School. We have new tach officers and some of us are still together. A positive is that Im closer to the main PX where a doughnut machine continually makes hot doughnuts that I enjoy. Everything is going to be OK. I dont think I need the chaplain to punch my card. The San Antonio Evening News on Monday, December 6, 1943, stated: 3 POWERS AGREE ON PLAN TO WIPE OUT NAZI MIGHT. President Roosevelt, Prime Minister Churchill and Premier Joseph Stalin have agreed completely on the scope and timing of operations to destroy the German armies, U-boats and war plants, according to an announcement from their meeting in Teheran, Iran, released today. Another headline news summary: AMERICANS TAKE HEIGHTS FROM GERMAN ARMY. The American 5th Army, bypassing German strong points has captured new heights commanding the road to Rome west of Mignano while the British 8th Armys drive has carried to the Moro River, Allied Headquarters announced today. Letter home: December 9, 1943 Dear Mother and Dad: Ive gotten settled into my new flight with the other wash-backs. Im with a good group of fellows and am moving onward and upward. Note the new address. This barracks has Thursday off and today several of us went horseback riding after walking off two hours of gig tours on the quadrangles. Yes, your son and others got gigged during Saturdays white glove inspection. The tach officer reached the very back shelf on top of my small closet and -- oh-oh his white glove had dust on it. No more dust will be there! Since walking the gigs off took part of the day, we went to the historic stables on Kelly Army Air Field just a short on-base walk away. Two old-time pre-World War II sergeants are in charge. Theyve kept these stables over the years. I asked the master sergeant that was in charge to get me a calm horse and that was the wrong request. Of course, I was assigned a feisty horse. It was a good ride through the wooded trails until our group turned the horses heads around facing the way we had come. They all knew the way back to that barn with a shortcut or two and unfortunately took off at a galloping speed. It was all I could do to hold onto the saddle horn. Each horse was racing the others and mine in the lead to be fed first at the barn. It was a fun ride with laughs. Ill ask for a different horse next time, though! Write soon and hug Norma! Your loving son, Wayne December 11, 1943: No dust on my closet shelves today (Saturday)! So, am gig free! The routine hasnt changed regarding the academics, the marching and the physical training. Everything went well at the usual parade grounds inspection and pass in review. Im much more serious about the Morse Code classes now, thats for sure. One of the guys heard from a friend, who is an upperclassman at the Muskogee Army Air Field, Oklahomas Primary Flying School. He said he got into trouble on take-off with the PT-19s engine backfiring and missing. He said he prayed and cursed all at the same time while working the wobble pump. This kept the engine running long enough to get into the landing pattern and taxi to the closest hangar. The mechanics said there was no oil in the engine and that he was to blame for not raising the bonnet to check the oil stick. He told them that he didnt know the plane had a bonnet and that no one ever told him to check the oil. His instructor came to his defense rather than washing him out. The cadet wrote his friend that the same thing had almost killed several others and one cadet crash landed into a cemetery unable to make it back to the flying field. The San Antonio Evening News on Monday, December 13, 1943, announced: ALLIED ARTILLERY LOOSES CASCADE OF FIRE ON NAZIS. Heavy American field guns have blasted a German attempt to muster strength for a counterattack designed to drive the 5th Army from mountains north of Mignano Gap and the main road to Rome, official reports disclosed today. Other news headlines from that days paper: 172 NAZI PLANES DOWNED BY U.S. FLYERS IN DECEMBER. The mighty Flying Fortresses and fighters of the 8th Air Force struck Emden in Northwest Germany today for the second straight day. One hundred thirty eight Nazi fighters were shot out of the sky with our losses being 17 bombers and 3 fighters. COL. NEEL E. KEARBY OF SAN ANTONIO WAS DECORATED. Lt. Gen. George C. Kenney at a 5th Air Force base in New Guinea pinned six medals on the 16-victory ace. LOCAL ARMY AIR FORCE BOMBARDIER MISSING IN ACTION OVER GERMANY. December 15, 1943: After the evening meal today (Wednesday), we were sitting on our beds talking and were interrupted by Military Police sirens. Upon looking out the windows, we saw that everyone in the barracks next door was in the street and M.P.s had it surrounded. We all ran outside. Whats going on? In answer one of the guys living in that barracks said about 30 minutes ago one of his fellow cadets, whose bunk was upstairs, went off the deep end overturning his bed and closets, was fighting others, and was completely out of control and had barricaded himself in the flights cadet officers room. The M.P.s tried to talk him out of the room and had to break down the door to subdue him. The medics put a straightjacket on him and placed him in an ambulance. Ive never seen anyone in such a psychotic state before. I feel sorry for him. The pressure they put on us here is heavy, as were getting close to finishing Preflight School. Its better that it happened here rather than in combat for him and the A.A.F. Letter home December 16, 1943 Dear Mother and Dad: Weve been having wet, cold days here that reminds me of South Georgia. A freeze is rare this time of year. The local radio stations are beginning to play Christmas music such as Gene Autrys Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer hit record and Bing Crosbys White Christmas. Mother, in my mind I can hear you playing White Christmas on your piano. Glad you got some new sheet music and that was one of the selections. Norma is going to be good, too, on the piano. Christmas will be here in less than two weeks. All of our final exams start the last week of December. Im going to pass everything, especially the visual Morse Code! I expect to be in a primary flying school in early January. I know Norma is looking forward to Christmas. Your loving son, Wayne The San Antonio Evening News on Friday, December 17, 1943, said: ARAWE HELD BY SAN ANTONIAN. U.S. 6th Army vanguards opening an offensive to smash Japans Little Pearl Harbor at Rabaul in New Britain. An official report from General Douglas MacArthurs headquarters revealed Brig. Gen. Julian W. Cunningham of San Antonio commands the organization, making the landings with General Krueger in charge. Other news headlines from that days paper: TROOPS LEARN TO PRAY IN 30 MINUTES OF HELL. The commandoes who survived the attempted assault on Umtingalu Village of Arawe with the 6th Army suddenly found they knew how to pray. It didnt make any difference whether theyd ever been to church, said Pvt. Fred Libow of Long Beach, N.Y. Sixteen rubber boats carrying 155 men under Capt. Edward Wright Jr., Dallas, Texas, tried to make the assault. Perhaps half got back. All four second lieutenants on the raid were killed. One wounded corporal fired his tommy gun until his ammunition ran out, and he died with his finger on the trigger. The murderous fire from the Japs on shore greeted our troops in rubber boats. BERLIN IN FLAMES AGAIN AFTER 6TH RAID IN MONTH. R.A.F. bombers loosed thunderous explosives on the Nazi nerve center. This raid was launched from Britain just after 8th A.A.F. B-24 and B-17 bombers returned in twilight from their daylight raids on Northwest Germany. December 18, 1943: No one fainted today, or recently, in our Saturday Pass in Review parade ground marching inspections. Everyone has learned to flex his knees while standing at attention for long periods. Our squadron seems to grade out by the inspecting officer either average or slightly above average. Were a good, precise marching group. Next week will be final exams. After the 10 p.m. lights out, Im one of those sitting on a commode in the bathroom, where the lights are always on, studying. I feel like Ill be on shipping orders to one of the dozen or so primary flying schools in the Central Flying Training Command. A few days ago several of us enjoyed seeing Jimmy Cagney and Joan Leslie at the base theatre in Yankee Doodle Dandy. Letter home: December 20, 1943 Dear Mother and Dad: Saturday will be Christmas, and Merry Christmas to you and Norma. This will be the first Christmas Ive never been home. Ill miss being with you, as well as enjoying the good food you always have. On Christmas Eve, Ill be attending a service in the chapel. I feel confident about my final exams next week. All of us have put in extra time on the Morse Code. Some of us that had to repeat it are thinking the AAF may have had more cadets in preflight than there were training spaces at Primary Flight School. Tell Norma that I know Santa Claus is going to be good to her. Your loving son, Wayne December 23, 1943: Were continuing on our regular schedule this Christmas week. After all, theres a war going day and night, which the U.S. must win. Air power is a big part of it. Someones radio in the barracks tonight seems to play over and over Bing Crosbys plainful lyrics to Ill Be Home For Christmas. The last line of the verse, Ill be home for Christmas, if only in my dreams, causes a lot of us cadets to get a lump in our throats or even a tear upon hearing this beautiful and melancholic song. One of these days the war will be over and well all be home! * * * * * To see the previous entry in this series, read here. https://www.chattanoogan.com/ 2019/5/8/389873/Wayne- Shearers-World-War-II-Memoir. aspx * * * * * Dr. Shearer can be contacted at docshearer@epbfi.com. Luke Perry was held in high esteem by his colleagues, fans, and family. In a new interview, Brad Pitt revealed how he felt working with Perry on the upcoming Quentin Tarantino movie, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and how he had a burst of excitement when he learned that Perry had stepped on set. Brad Pitt | Photo by Marc Piasecki/GC Images Pitt recalls meeting Perry Once Upon a Time in Hollywood was Perrys last role before his tragic death back in March. According to ET Online, Pitt remembers exactly how he felt the day Perry walked on the set. Although Brad Pitt is one of the most popular stars in all of Hollywood, he said he was like a kid in the candy shop when Perry arrived at the studio. Pitt also revealed that the rest of the cast, including Leonardo DiCaprio, felt the same way. I remember going to the studios [years ago] and [Beverly Hills, 90210] was going on and he was that icon of coolness for us, as teenagers. It was this strange burst of excitement that I had, to be able to act with him, Pitt shared. Hearing Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio geek out about getting to meet Luke Perry last year really reminds you that Luke Perry was AN ICON. https://t.co/5ETUxtj7YZ h/t @shindig9 pic.twitter.com/b8xM30e3AN Jarett Wieselman (@JarettSays) May 21, 2019 The World War Z star added that Perry was super humble around everyone and was committed to the project. He also explained how he had the opportunity to spend some personal time with Perry, whom he called a wonderful guy. Perry tragically passed away on March 4 after suffering from an unexpected stroke. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood was his last role and will open in theaters this summer. DiCaprio was starstruck to meet Luke Perry too Brad Pitt was not the only cast member who enjoyed meeting the 90210 alum. In the same interview, DiCaprio revealed that he couldnt believe it when he saw Perry on the set and experienced a butterfly moment. Tarantino, who brought Perry on board, also paid his respects to the late actor. The acclaimed director revealed that he attended Perrys memorial service just days after he finished editing Perrys scenes. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood premiered this week at the Cannes Film Festival. In the new Once Upon a Time in Hollywood trailer includes Luke Perry's final role. All the latest updates and reactions to this right here: "The new Once Upon a Time trailer provides a look at Luke Perry's last role" https://t.co/B8d32mirMm Johnny T (@JohnnyTUpdates) May 22, 2019 In the days following Perrys death, several of the movies cast members offered their heartfelt tributes on social media. This includes DiCaprio, who praised Perrys for being an amazing actor and said it was a great honor to have worked alongside him. Perrys family also took to social media to thank everyone for their continued support. The actor was only 52 years old at the time of his passing and will be sorely missed. Tarantino hand-picked Luke Perry Ahead of the movies premiere, Perrys son, Jack, also talked about his dads involvement in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Jack revealed that his father was thrilled to work alongside Tarantino and that the role gave him a renewed sense of energy. He also reportedly said that he would be happy if his part in the film was the last role he ever got. As far as Tarantino is concerned, he said that he hand-picked Perry for his part and thought it was perfect for him. The movie centers on the story of an actor in Hollywood named Rick Dalton (DiCaprio) and his longtime friend/stuntman Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt). The two friends have a difficult time adjusting to the changes in the industry, which are put on full display by their neighbor, Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie). Perry plays the part of Scott Lancer in the film. Pitt praises Burt Reynolds Pitt also shared some kind words for the late Burt Reynolds, who was set to appear in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood before his death in the fall of 2018. Although Reynold passed away before filming began, he interacted with Pitt during rehearsals. It was during one of their rehearsals that Pitt got the chance to spend two days with the movie icon, which he says were some of the best moments hes ever had. Pitt grew up watching Reynolds in popular movies like Smokey and the Bandit, though this was the first time the pair had ever crossed paths. Pitt praised Reynolds for his sense of humor and his amazing style. Reynolds, who suffered from several health issues over the years, passed away after having a heart attack in his home in Florida. He was replaced in the film by Bruce Dern. Fans can watch Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Luke Perry in action when Once Upon a Time in Hollywood premieres in theaters July 26. Joanna Krupa from The Real Housewives of Miami announced today she is pregnant. The model shared a photo on Instagram along with a sweet message. Hi Guys! Just wanted to share this amazing news with everyone . Hubby @nunes451 and I are beyond excited about this new chapter in our life and cant wait to meet this little Joanna Krupa and husband, Douglas Nunes |Photo by Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images Messages of congratulations immediately poured in. Mazel!!! Perez Hilton exclaimed. Kenya Moore from The Real Housewives of Atlanta and Joyce Giraud from The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills shared their excitement too. Husband Douglas Nunes piped in with a hilarious comment. Well its about time! That took a lot of work! Krupa may have hinted a month ago Krupa apparently dropped a hint she may be pregnant in a birthday message to Nunes. Happy Birthday to my other half, my partner in crime and my forever pain in the butt, she wrote. I love you @nunes451 . Happy I get to share the same birthday with you. Excited to start this new chapter in life with you. She posted photos of the couple as babies. The pregnancy is indeed happy news for the 40-year-old mother to be. She told US Weekly she was looking forward to becoming a mother. God willing we will start planning this year, she said after she announced her engagement to Nunes in 2018. Nunes and Krupa married in a small ceremony in Poland last August. In October she shared a wedding picture and wrote about meeting Nunes. One year ago today I met you @nunes451 at the dog park and my life has changed forever . Thank you @pawelsarotaphotographerfor capturing this moment from our wedding. She joins a growing list of new Bravo babies Bravo is certainly experiencing a baby boom. Only a few short years ago, Fredrik Eklund from Million Dollar Listing New York finally realized his dream of becoming a father. His gorgeous twins are now about 16 months old and are growing like trees. Most recently, Ryan Serhant and wife Emilia welcomed their infant daughter, which makes three new babies for the real estate franchise. And of course, Andy Cohens son Ben was born in early February. Cohen likes to share super smiley snaps of his growing son, who is often the recipient of some pretty sweet baby swag from Watch What Happens Live guests. Also, Kenya Moore from The Real Housewives of Atlanta welcomed her adorable daughter too. Still pregnant is Gretchen Rossi from The Real Housewives of Orange County. Rossi has been celebrating her pregnancy and sharing her journey on Instagram. She recently posted some gorgeous pictures from her baby shower. This little girl is something that I have dreamed about my whole life, and I am filled with so much gratitude on a daily basis for this little miracle growing inside me. It feels like weve been talking about David Eason for years. The hotheaded, gun-toting 30-year-old married Jenelle Evans in 2017. Since then fans have watched the father of three unravel into an absolute maniac. While there have been allegations of irrational behavior and rumors of abuse, nothing was concrete until now. Eason seems to be on a mission to show the world just how unstable he is, and over the course of the last 30 days, hes proven just how big a threat he is four separate times! David Eason called Leah Messer a drug addict Easons online trolling of his wifes former costars might seem like small potatoes now, but long before the father of three found himself in hot water with the law and CPS, he spent much of his time trolling the web. The North Carolina native, who is tasked with homeschooling his oldest child, took to social media to call out Leah Messer. Eason mocked the Teen Mom 2 star for her former addiction. Not only did he bring up her past troubles with drugs, but he also gave her some family planning advice. In fact, he flat out told the reality TV star she didnt need any more kids. David Eason shoots the family dog Shortly after calling out Messer, then trolling Kailyn Lowry online about her weight, he committed the act that would cost his family not only their income but their children, too. At the end of April 2019, Eason shot the family dog for what he claims was an attack on the couples 2-year-old daughter. Eason attempted to excuse his actions by suggesting the dog nipped at Ensley, but fans were having none of it. Randy Houska even chimed in to let Eason know that his child was torturing the poor dog, and the video he posted hardly qualified as an attack. You arent protecting your family when you shoot a 10 pound dog that your daughter was tormenting. Randy Houska (@PapaRandlicious) May 3, 2019 CPS later responded, removing the three kids that resided in the North Carolina home with Jenelle and David. Two of the children were initially placed in the care of their paternal grandmother, while the third child, the 4-year-old son that Jenelle shares with Nathan Griffith, was turned over to his fathers family. David shows up to court with a gun David Eason was prepared to show up to court to get his kids back last Wednesday, but his lawyer apparently didnt tell him bringing a gun to the courthouse was a big no-no. Eason showed up to court with the weapon but left it on the dashboard of his vehicle while he went inside. According to Us Magazine, North Carolina law allows individuals to possess firearms without a permit, but they can not conceal those weapons. Easons lawyer argues that the troubled father was abiding by the law by leaving the gun in plain sight, but fans are a little curious about why he brought it with him in the first place. David causes an uproar at a visitation center Before Evans and Eason showed up in court to ask for their kids back, there was an alleged scuffle at a visitation center. Kaiser, 4, Ensley, 2, and Maryssa, 11, were brought to the center to see Jenelle and David after being removed from the home, but apparently, all didnt go well. According to Cafe Mom, Eason was allegedly tossed from the visitation center and told not to return after he started an argument with a social worker at the location. An insider claims that Eason was dismayed when his eldest child, Maryssa, left the room crying. He may have tried to blame the social worker for the childs distress. Evans was due to visit her children at the center on Friday but failed to show up due to illness. She was in court later that morning looking perfectly well. The late Princess Diana is someone who will never be forgotten. She touched the hearts of many people around the world, especially those in need. Diana was many things to many people she was an excellent mother to her two children, William and Harry, as well as a role model, a humanitarian, and more. That is why Diana was known as the Peoples Princess, even after her marriage to Prince Charles came to an end. We can certainly say the princess left behind a wonderful legacy, one that her sons are both choosing to honor through their work as royals. Prince William and his younger brother, Prince Harry, were both young boys when they unexpectedly lost their mother after a tragic accident. Although that fateful night was over 20 years ago, both princes still speak glowingly of their mother to this day. She lives on in their hearts, and they are sharing her memory with their wives and children. With Prince Harry being called the Peoples Prince, many fans are left wondering if he is more like Princess Diana or Prince Charles. Lets take a look. Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex | Patrick van Katwijk/WireImage Harry has a soft spot for children Just like Diana, Harry relates to children in a unique and special way. He has been known to single them out in crowds, always greeting his younger fans with a smile and sometimes even a warm hug. Kids seem to love him right back, as there are many photographs of children gazing at Harry adoringly. Diana was the same way whenever she interacted with kids, often kneeling down to their level to greet them and listen to what they had to say. Meghan and Harry are planning on raising Archie away from the royal spotlight Although she was married to a future king, Diana didnt want her sons to get caught up in the privileges of royal life. She wanted them to have a normal upbringing, experiencing things such as standing in line to buy fast food or volunteering to help those in need. Harry even fondly remembers a childhood trip to Disney World, where he had the time of his life exploring the theme park and enjoying the rides with his beloved mother. Just like Diana, Harry wants to give his son a normal life, and although Archie is barely a month old, they have plans to keep him away from the royal spotlight. Harry is a humanitarian Many years ago, we remember the extensive humanitarian work that Princess Diana did, and Harry currently does the same thing. In fact, it was while doing humanitarian work in Botswana that Harry realized that he was in love with Meghan Markle. The Duke of Sussex has done extensive work helping others and has supported charities and foundations including Sentebale, the National AIDS Trust, Walking With the Wounded, and many more. As we all know, Harry founded the Invictus Games, a sporting event for sick or wounded armed services personnel. We can only imagine just how proud Diana would be of Harry today. Is Prince Harry more like Princess Diana or Prince Charles? Harry may be close with his father, Prince Charles, but we do have to say that he seems to be slightly more like Princess Diana. Harry has a heart of gold, just like his late mother did, and he is not afraid to let it show. He is always going out of his way to help others and spread his love and compassion around the world whenever it is possible. It is really no surprise that Harry has earned the nickname Peoples Prince, just another reason as to why Diana would be so delighted by Harrys royal work. Me Charles Tchakoute Archives The reopening of the judicial year 2019 for the Cameroon Bar Council will take place next June 5, 6 and 7, 2019 at the Yaounde Multipurpose Sports Complex. Announcing the event at a press diner recently at the Yaounde Djeuga Palace Hotel, Bar Council President, Tchakoute Patie Charles said the event to be punctuated with a colloquium on the theme "New legal fields," is a move by their association to promote specialization among its members in the country. He revealed that for the very first time, the Cameroon Bar Council will be inviting foreign Common Law Bars in Africa such as Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Tanzania, Liberia, Sierra Leon and Gambia to come and share with their colleagues, interesting and great moments of the Bar. Speaking to reporters, the President of the Cameroon Bar Council, Batonnier Tchakoute Patie Charles explained that We will be organizing a colloquium from June 5 to 6, 2019 to let colleagues advocates discover new fields for practice because before now, we noticed that some advocates were carrying out their practice on the same field (e.g; criminal matters, divorce cases etc) on daily basis meanwhile there are many more fields yet to be exploited that can give them more openings in the legal profession. It is a matter of making even lawyers to discover unknown or not well known fields so that in the years ahead, they should specialize in our country. The colloquium will be crowned on the 7th of June, 2019 by the official reopening of our judicial year which will enable us to discuss issues affecting the Bar. The colloquium of the Bar Council to be animated by both local and international legal experts expected to be attended by top government officials, political parties leaders as well as other personalities, will serve as an opportunity for stakeholders to brainstorm on Law as an instrument for market regulation, and Law as a market object. Elected at the helm of the Cameroon Bar Council last November 27, 2018 during the general assembly in Douala, Tchakoute Patie Charles said he is committed to creating more openings for advocates in the country. Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor is coming to America. After giving birth to Archie earlier this month, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are reportedly planning a trip to the United States in the near future. The couple is bringing their little one to the states so that he can visit Markles grandmother and begin his journey as a global citizen. Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, pose with their newborn son Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor | Photo by Dominic Lipinski WPA Pool/Getty Images Meghan Markle and Prince Harry bring Archie Harrison to America Markle gave birth to her first child with Harry a few weeks ago. The couple confirmed the exciting news on social media days after the birth and later revealed their sons name. According to Refinery 29, inside sources claim that Harry and Markle are planning an upcoming trip to the United States, making the journey from their home at Frogmore Cottage all the way to Los Angeles. It is unclear how long the family plans to stay, but the visit will be a special time for Markles mother, Doria Ragland. For Meghan [Markle], its just as important for Archie to learn about her family history as it is for him to learn about his royal ancestors, so she plans to go on a trip to L.A. with him once shes comfortable taking him on a plane, a source dished. Members of the royal family do not make a lot of trips to the United States and hardly ever travel when their children are still newborns. But the excursion makes total sense for Harry and Markle. After all, the former actress used to live in Los Angeles and her mom still resides there. We do not know if Meghan Markle will make any public appearances while in California, but there is plenty of things they can do in Tinseltown. This includes enjoying some time at the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the Griffith Observatory, or even Dodger stadium. Archie Harrison will be a citizen of the world While the couples main goal is to spend time with grandma, the trip to Los Angeles also fulfills their dream of Archie becoming a global citizen. Markle has allegedly talked about wanting Archie to be someone who travels the world in order to find where he truly belongs. Archie is too young to remember a trip to California right now, but it does put him on the right path to being a part of the global community. Given Meghan Markles status as a citizen of the United States, Archie Harrison technically holds dual citizenship. By the time he becomes a teenager, Archie will undoubtedly have already traveled to most parts of the world. There is even a chance that he attends a university in America, just like his mother. Markle is a graduate of Northwestern University, though she has yet to say where Archie will spend most of his educational years. Inside Meghan Markles search for a nanny Now that Ragland is back in Los Angeles, sources say that Markle and Harry are on the hunt for a new nanny for Archie Harrison. Over the past few weeks, Ragland has been helping raise Archie and only recently returned home. Sources have described Ragland as being indispensable, which will put a lot of pressure on whoever fills her shoes. Sources say that Ragland will not live full-time in the U.K., but she does plan on splitting her time between England and the United States. This could be one of the reasons why Markle and Harry moved to Windsor, as it is near the airport in Heathrow. When it comes to her new nanny, sources believe that Markle is looking to hire someone from the United States. While they wait to find the right candidate, Markle and Harry are reportedly being very hands on raising Archie. Harry and Markle adjust to their new lives It has only been two weeks since Meghan Markle gave birth to Archie Harrison, and yet sources say the two are getting used to life as parents. The couple recently renovated Frogmore Cottage to get ready for Archies arrival. An insider told People that their new place is cute and warm and that they like it a lot more than Kensington Palace, which is around 25 miles away. Not only is their new home larger, but it also gives them a chance for some freedom away from the bustle of the palace. Markle and Harry have not commented on their rumored trip to the United States. It is unclear when the trip will happen as Markle is only a few weeks away from giving birth. In a perfect world, Princess Diana and Queen Elizabeth would have been the best of friends. Princess Diana would fulfill the queens expectations of her and Queen Elizabeth would support Diana through her troubles as a young royal woman. But, unfortunately, that wasnt always the case. Dont get us wrong, Her Majesty and the Princess of Wales were, at times, very close. Queen Elizabeth was a support system for Princess Diana and the two women had plenty of great times together. Rumor has it, Princess Diana even called the queen mama. But, like many mothers- and daughters-in-law, Princess Diana and Queen Elizabeths relationship was complicated. On top of that, it appears the queen has had stronger relationships with her other daughters-in-law. Princess Diana and Queen Elizabeth | Tim Graham/Getty Images Queen Elizabeth and Princess Dianas relationship The queen and Princess Diana experienced many ups and downs throughout the 15 plus years they knew each other. At first, the queen saw Diana as a perfect match for her son and royalty given her aristocratic background. However, the Princess of Wales struggled throughout her royal life and often turned to the queen for advice. Up ahead, take a closer look at the queen and Princess Dianas relationship, plus find out why Princess Diana probably wasnt Queen Elizabeths favorite daughter-in-law. Queen Elizabeth didnt always approve of Princess Dianas behavior Princess Diana and Queen Elizabeth | Tim Graham/Getty Images The queen and Princess Diana didnt always see eye-to-eye, especially when it came to Princess Dianas behavior. Although she is praised publicly for it, the Princess of Wales was brutally honest and outspoken, which often bothered Queen Elizabeth. However, through Princess Dianas death, Queen Elizabeth learned that the people really responded to her late daughter-in-law because of her openness and ultimately learned to be a little more like Lady Di. Princess Diana leaked information about the royal family Queen Elizabeth is a very private person, so you can imagine her upset when Princess Diana connected royal biographer Andrew Morton to some of her closest friends and family members to help him write Diana: Her True Story. In the book, Morton gave details about the princess life inside the palace, plus her troubled marriage with Prince Charles. He also touched on Queen Elizabeth and Princess Dianas relationship. Although Princess Dianas involvement in the book wasnt revealed until after her death, was very upset by the information revealed. The queen requested Prince Charles and Princess Dianas divorce Throughout her troubled marriage, Princess Diana often leaned on Queen Elizabeth for support. However, Princess Diana later admitted that her advice wasnt very helpful and, in the end, it was Queen Elizabeth that strongly suggested a divorce. In the documentary, Diana: In Her Own Words, Princess Diana described a time she sought advice from Her Majesty about her loveless marriage. I went to the top lady and said: I dont know what I should do. She said: I dont know what you should do. ANd that was it. That was help, Princess Diana noted. Princess Diana | Bettmann / Contributor / Getty Images Queen Elizabeth admired Princess Diana Although their relationship was sometimes strained, Queen Elizabeth had admiration for her daughter-in-law. I want to pay tribute to Diana myself. She was an exceptional and gifted human being, Queen Elizabeth said in the wake of the princesss death. In good times and in bad, she never lost her capacity to smile and laugh, nor to inspired others with her warmth and kindness. I admired and respected her for her energy and commitment to others, and especially for her devotion to her two boys, she added. Who is Queen Elizabeths favorite daughter-in-law? Despite Queen Elizabeths admiration and close relationship with Princess Diana, Her Majesty likely didnt favor her. In fact, it was Sarah Fergie Ferguson that often felt favored by Her Majesty. However, Fergies relationship with Queen Elizabeth also went sour towards the end of her marriage to Prince Andrew. In 1999, Queen Elizabeths youngest son, Prince Edward married Sophie, Countess of Wessex. And, in 2005, Prince Charles married his mistress, Camilla Parker Bowles. These days, Queen Elizabeth and Camilla Parker Bowles appear to get along, but the two have a rough history (Her Majesty once reportedly banned Camilla from Buckingham Palace and called her a wicked woman) and are occasionally met with feud rumors. Who is Queen Elizabeths favorite daughter-in-law? Some could argue that its Sophie as the two royal women appear to be thick as thieves. She is trusted and relied on by the Queen in a way I couldnt say applied to the Duchess of Cambridge or the Duchess of Cornwall, an unnamed royal aide revealed to Daily Mail. She is like another daughter to Her Majesty, they are that close. In addition to her trust in Sophie, Queen Elizabeth also bonds with her on a deeper, more personal level. She talks to Sophie in the way she used to talk to Princess Margaret. Sophie has filled a terrible gap in the queens life that was left when her sister and Queen Mother died in 2002. Check out The Cheat Sheet on Facebook! It looks like Garrison Brown wants to separate himself from the Brown family, a little bit. The 20-year-old son of Janelle and Kody Brown recently joined the mainstream LDS church, started his own company, and is even going by a different name to set himself apart. Is there a rift that fans should be worried about or is Garrison just forging his own path? Garrison joined the LDS Church The fans over at Reddit unearthed a recent Instagram post that indicates Garrison has become a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The mainstream LDS church renounced the practice of polygamy way back in 1890, leaving the Brown family out in the cold. The Instagram post indicates that Garrison has been working to become a member of the church for seven long years, which means he began attending service as a non-member when he was around 13 years old! Funnily enough, several of Garrisons siblings attempted to join the church in the past but were denied membership due to their connection to Sister Wives. Garrison, unlikely his siblings Maddie and Mykelti, is mostly absent from the show, which may have made it easier for him to join. Garrisons parents belong to the Apostolic United Brethren, a sect that still practices the principle of polygamy. None of the Brown children have decided to practice polygamy at this point. However, fans believe Aspyn, the daughter of Christine and Kody, is headed in that direction. Garrison is now going by Robert, his actual first name While fans know the young reality TV star as Garrison, his real first name is Robert. The fourth child of Janelle and Kody appears to be utilizing his first name now that hes officially enlisted in the service. While going by Robert instead of Garrison might not seem like a big deal, it is possible that the name change is being used to distance himself from the media circus that is his family life. @Caecillia my son Robert GARRISON Brown aka @King_Robert71 . Peers call him Robert. Family calls him Garrison. pic.twitter.com/h3ZmTyD3nC Kody Brown (@realkodybrown) July 7, 2014 Garrisons name change also seems to coincide with his family picking up and leaving Las Vegas. The 20-year-old college student has seemingly decided to stay behind in Nevada to finish his education. Without a large group surrounding him, it seems hes been freed to forge his own path, and a name change might be the first step. Garrison is selling Hawaiian shirts while in college There has been much talk about the Brown family finances in recent months. After leaving Las Vegas, the family watched several of their properties languish on the real estate market. The rumors of financial instability were further fueled by news that the Brown family had failed to pay property taxes in their new home state. If the Browns are suffering from a lack of cash flow, Garrison Brown has a plan for supporting himself. The industrious 20-year-old just opened up a Hawaiian shirt business. Garrison has a lot on his plate already, but it looks like he has time to design, market and sell the button downs all while finishing up school, dating and attending to his military obligations. Memorial Day weekend officially kicks off the cookout season. The Duggar family is sure to have more than a few barbecues as the summer slowly rolls in. With a ton of hungry mouths to feed and an ever-expanding family, the Arkansas-based family has to get a little creative when it comes to food. There, however, is one food that is sure to be on the Duggar familys grocery list for every single outdoor meal pickles. Pickles are everywhere for the Duggar family The Duggar family is pickle obsessed. In fact, they love this food item so much that it is given as a Christmas gift to each Duggar still residing under the familys roof. The Duggar kids also make their own pickles. Theyve shared their quick pickling recipe more than a few times on the familys blog. The family of 21 can go through 2 quarts of pickles in under 10 minutes. Several Duggar kids are tasked with creating the homebrew pickles for the family. Jason, however, appears to head most pickle projects. Either way, his method ensures the entire family can enjoy a round of homemade pickles in just a few hours. Where did the pickle love come from? The Duggar family has never explained exactly why the entire crew has chosen the sandwich accessory as their favorite snack. Some fans have surmised that some of the Duggar kids, specifically the older ones, have battled with food insecurity. According to the sleuths at FreeJinger, Jill Duggar openly admits that she would swipe food and hide in the bathroom. Fans have also wondered if Joshs weight gain following his marriage to Anna was somehow connected to the food shortage he may have dealt with as a child. Michelle Duggar and Jim Bob Duggar | Photo by Peter Kramer/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images Before TLC came knocking and the family businesses took off, Jim Bob and Michelle were tasked with feeding an awful lot of young children without a ton of money to do it with. Some fans have wondered if the pickle love developed out of necessity rather than out of taste. Pickles are cheap, hearty, and an easy way to satisfy a hungry group quickly. Jim Bobs famous BBQ Tuna might be the most disastrous dish on the Duggar familys menu While the pickle might be a polarizing food, we think everyone can agree that the Duggar family recipe for Jim Bobs BBQ tuna is perhaps the worst thing ever created. Jill Duggar has shared her fathers time-honored recipe with the blogosphere to the dismay of fans around the world. So, what exactly is BBQ tuna? You wont need a grill to make it, which might be the recipes only redeeming quality. Jim Bob once took a can of tuna fish, mixed it with BBQ sauce and served it up to a horde of hungry Duggar kids. In fact, its so beloved that Jill still whips it up for her own kids now and then, and she likely serves it with a side of pickles. Prince Harry and Meghan Markles romance is one straight out of a fairy tale. The couple moved quickly; from the moment they met each other up until they welcomed their first child, they havent slowed down in their relationship at all. They might have moved fast, but when did Harry actually know he was in love with his future wife? Prince Harry and Meghan Markle | Karwai Tang/WireImage Harry and Meghan were introduced through a mutual friend Meghan definitely isnt a conventional royal. But when it comes to knowing whats best for Harry, the person who set them up definitely knew what they were doing. Meghan is a biracial American, and shes been divorced; all three of those dont necessarily fit the royal mold. But Harry has never been one to judge on something so superficial. Harry and Meghan were set up on a blind date, but the person who set them up has never officially been revealed. Meghan and Harry reportedly want to keep the persons identity quiet for privacy reasons. Some have suspected its British designer Misha Noonoo, who knows the royals well but is a longtime friend of Meghans. Others believe it is Violet von Westenholz, who has been a close friend of Harrys for years. Harry knew the very first time we met that Meghan was the one Its hard to find a true love story that starts with a blind date, but Harry and Meghan made it happen. The couple met for drinks in 2016, and it wasnt long before they knew they wanted to see each other again. According to the two, shortly into the date, they already started discussing the plans they wanted to make for the following day. And Harry has since said that he knew Meghan was the one the very first time he met her. It was practically love at first sight. The couples first getaway was to Botswana and it still holds meaning today Again, Meghan and Harry moved quickly throughout their relationship. As if planning a second date for the following day wasnt quick enough, Harry asked Meghan to take a getaway with him to Botswana after only two dates. The two of them camped out under the stars privately, which gave Harry a chance to get to know his future wife. And today, that first trip together still holds meaning. Meghans engagement ring has a center stone that comes from Botswana; traditionally, royals have center stones that have been passed down in the family. Meghan Markles engagement ring holds a diamond from Botswana | Chris Jackson/Getty Images Despite the media giving Meghan a hard time, the two seem incredibly in love Things for Meghan havent been easy since Harry entered her life. She was thrown into the royal spotlight, and although she has handled it well, the press definitely has been hard on her. From the time they started dating, Harry said it killed him that he couldnt defend Meghan more. He recalled how the paparazzi treated his mother and was worried Meghan would be subject to the same thing. While the press hasnt been kind to her, she has handled it with grace. And despite the rumors, it appears Harry and Meghan are very in love. Check out The Cheat Sheet on Facebook! When Kate Middleton married Prince William on April 29, 2011, she became the Duchess of Cambridge and an official Princess of the United Kingdom. However, according to royal family rules, Kate Middleton is not a princess in the way that Princess Diana was but, she will become one. When will Kate Middleton become a princess? Find out, ahead! Kate Middleton | Samir Hussein/WireImage When will Kate Middleton become a princess? While it might seem like princes and princesses are a dime a dozen in the royal family, its actually quite hard to become one. And, although her occupation is Princess of the United Kingdom, it could be a while before Kate Middletons royal title reflects that. Princess of Wales As the wife of a future heir apparent, Kate Middleton will first become Princess of Wales. When Prince Charles ascends the throne and becomes king, he will likely name his son the Prince of Wales a special royal title that belongs to the monarchs eldest son and heir apparent which would automatically make Kate Middleton the Princess of Wales. Right now, Camilla Parker Bowles is technically the Princess of Wales, although she goes by her husbands dukedom (the Duchess of Cornwall) out of respect for the late Princess Diana who was widely known as the Princess of Wales. While Kate Middleton could follow in Camillas footsteps, many believe she will honor Princess Diana and go by her late mother-in-laws official royal title. When Prince William and Kate Middleton become the Prince and Princess of Wales, their children will become Prince George of Wales, Princess Charlotte of Wales, and Prince Louis of Wales. Princess Consort In the royal family, a monarchs wife doesnt assume the role of queen. However, they do receive a special title that marks their position and status in the royal family. Upon his ascension, Kate Middleton has the option to become either a Queen Consort or a Princess Consort. However, many believe she will choose Princess Consort, making her Princess Catherine. When Prince William and Kate Middleton ascend the throne as king and Princess Consort, Prince George will be named Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall. In the royal family, dukedoms are typically given when a royal marries. However, given his status, Prince George will not wait until marriage to receive these titles (just like Prince Charles did not wait). In addition to Prince Georges title, Princess Charlotte will likely be named Princess Royal (if the title is available) and Prince Louis will become His Royal Highness The Prince Louis. If Prince Louis is already married, he will likely hold a dukedom like his father and uncle, Prince Harry. Queen Mother Kate Middleton wont be a princess forever. Should Kate Middleton outlive Prince William, she will see her son, Prince George ascend the throne. When that happens, the Princess Consort will become Queen Mother, a title given to the previous monarchs widow and mother of the king or queen. Check out The Cheat Sheet on Facebook! There are a lot of reality shows in America that actually got their start in other countries. Shark Tank happens to be one of them and there were some small changes made when the show was brought here. So what was the show that inspired Shark Tank and where can you watch it? Also, which shark can be found on one of the foreign versions of the show? Here is everything you need to know. Alli Webb, Kevin OLeary, Mark Cuban, Lori Greiner, Robert Herjavec on Shark Tank | Eric McCandless via Getty Images Money Tigers is the original show that had this format The Japanese show got the ball rolling by having the same format. There were five entrepreneurs who were presented with business ideas by entrepreneurs. The successful pitches were offered money in exchange for a stake in the company. It ran for three years, and clips can be found on YouTube. Similar shows began getting produced in other countries. The Shark Tank we know today is inspired by Dragons Den. The U.K. version, Dragons Den is what inspired Shark Tank We like crispy fish, but what did the Dragons make of fishy crisps on Sunday's show? #dragonsden pic.twitter.com/PKnrkZQWsW BBC Dragons' Den (@BBCDragonsDen) February 5, 2019 The BBC show started back in 2005. It has the same format and is actually the version that Shark Tank is based on. Instead of sharks there are dragons making deals. The latest cast includes six people. Arlene Dickinson, Jim Treliving, Lane Merrifield, Manjit Minhas, Vincenzo Guzzo, and Michelle Romanow currently make the cast. The show is currently airing Season 16. Fans can watch episodes of the show on BBC America. There are also multiple episodes found on YouTube. Other foreign versions of the show share the name Dragons Den. There is an Irish and Canadian version. Fans can also find a familiar face in the Canadian version as a dragon. Kevin OLeary has been on Canadas Dragons Den The shark is a producer on Shark Tank and has been on it since Season 1. He also has appeared on Dragons Den. Kevin OLeary had an interesting answer for whether there is a difference between Canadian and American entrepreneurs. One is not better than the other the platform is different, he explained to Financial Post. In the U.S. the producers spend a tremendous amount of time digging into the backgrounds of the people presenting, so as a shark I get a pre-pack of where they came from, history, what school they went to. I know more about them as individuals. Im not saying thats good or bad. He continued, On Dragons Den, we focus more on what happens in the Den and the deals. The other difference is in Canada we essentially have three sectors: financial services, commodities and energy, and much of what we see on Dragons Den fit into one of those three in some way. OLeary is no longer filming on the Canadian show. As Dragons Den did in Canada, Shark Tank has grown and each year more shows are contemplated, he told Financial Post. It became impossible to shoot 46 shows and keep my other commitments. At some point, you run out of runway and thats what happened. So a Japanese show is what truly created more shows like Shark Tank. However, the American show is modeled after the U.K. version. Most people would agree that if any actor were responsible for the success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it would have to be Robert Downey Jr. He was only the one at the head of the ship in Iron Man, the movie that kicked off the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Yet Downey himself, who has had more than one brush with humility, has downplayed his success in the MCU the person most directly responsible for the franchises world dominance. Marvel producer Kevin Feige, who took the long view. He very smartly laid the groundwork for characters so that they could interact with each other and create the juggernaut known as The Avengers. Yet one could also argue that if Downey hadnt been there in the first place, none of this would have happened. Well take a look at how superhero movies and Downey both went through rough patches before they complemented each other perfectly. Robert Downey Jr. | Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images for Disney Superhero movies only recently consumed the world As ubiquitous as superhero movies are now, its easy to forget that once upon a time, they only came along maybe once a decade. This is how Hollywood thought of superhero movies until the MCU came along. The 1930s through the 1960s: Superman and Batman are created. Hollywood said, Wow, youre crazy. Superhero movies would break our bank and the effects are impossible. That stuff is only for serials and TV. The 1970s through the 1980s: Richard Donners Superman is released in 1978. Hollywood said: Wow, that movie made a lot of money! Ah, its probably a fluke. Well keep going with Supes, but thats pretty much it. The late 1980s through the late 1990s: Tim Burtons Batman comes out in 1989: Wow, that movie made a LOT of money too! Keep going with the dark knight, and look into whether we can do anybody else. Are those Marvel guys viable, maybe? The late 90s through 2008: X-Men and Spider-Man kick-start the genre, and DC revives Batman. Hollywood says. Wow, the Marvel characters really stepped up to the plate. Lets ramp it up! Let that Christopher Nolan kid do whatever he wants as long as every other movie is Batman. 2008 to the present: The MCU starts. Hollywood says: Wow. Downey really sells it. Maybe these characters can cross: Superhero movies every two months! Downey isnt as confident as Tony Stark or is he? It may seem strange to think so now, but when Marvel was casting Iron Man, Downey was far from an easy sell. He had once been the hot next big thing, leading up to an Oscar nomination for the film Chaplin before he was 30. Then came the nightmarish tabloid headlines that kept recurring. By the mid-2000s, the actor was still trying to emerge from the shadow of multiple drug charges that had landed him in prison. Studios conceded the man was talented, but for insurance reasons alone, they were hesitant to take a chance on him. In a 2016 interview with Howard Stern, Downey said, Right before Iron Man and the screen test for that, there was part of me saying My worldview has to change if I want to really have a shot. If Im not on my side for this going my way, why should anybody else be? Essentially, Downey reasoned, he had to be like Tony Stark a man who puts on a cocky, confident front but who is massively insecure behind closed doors. I havent really done it since, but for that one instant, I had to psych myself (that) there nobody else on Earth had a chance I was just thinking, that was me, and I am in this situation, he said. Wrapping up Marvel Once he got the part, and the movie was a major success, that was when Downey allowed himself to say. I got to be the front man in a band that was going to make it in the hall of fame no matter what. Now Avengers: Endgame is the second most successful movie of all time in the US, after only a month in theaters. Downey may not think he deserves great credit, but others are only too happy to give it to him. Ive said it before and Ill say it again: the MCU would not exist without Robert Downey Jr., Feige told the Toronto Sun last year. Kate Middleton has been a fixture Prince Williams life since her college days. When the two finally married in 2011, it seemed that her popularity went through the roof. Fast forward a few years, and suddenly Prince Harry was involved in a serious relationship with American actress Meghan Markle, putting the world on ring watch. It wasnt long before we were watching live coverage of one of the most amazing royal weddings to date. It seemed that Meghan was about to begin living the ultimate fairy tale, marrying a prince, living in a palace, and being a member of one of the most famous families in the world. In addition, most of us thought Meghan and Kate would become inseparable, bonding over royal life and spending their free time together. While this didnt happen at first, there is still time. So, will Kate and Meghan become best friends after all? Rumors of a royal feud Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex | Samir Hussein/WireImage For the past year, we have heard so many rumors of a feud between the two duchesses that it is becoming difficult to even keep track. There have been countless explanations as to why there may be tension between Meghan and Kate, with some saying the more reserved Duchess of Cambridge couldnt handle her new sister-in-laws strong personality, and others going so far as to say they werent even on speaking terms. Things got so bad, in fact, that reports came out the real feud was actually between Harry and William, and that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were moving to Windsor since the two couples couldnt bear to live in close proximity to each other. Luckily, these rumors are beginning to die down, as Meghan and Kate have been seen interacting and getting along just fine. Did Meghans celebrity status get in the way? As we all know, Meghan was famous long before she met Prince Harry. Kate, on the other hand, was known as a commoner, having come from a hardworking family and meeting William at the University of St. Andrews. Some people may have felt that Meghans status as a celebrity caused some problems between the two, at least at first. As time has passed, we can see that this is certainly not the case, since Kate is not the type of person to be jealous of anyone. Different personalities Just like everyone in the entire world, Meghan and Kate have different personalities. Meghan is outspoken and has strong beliefs. She also has a close circle of celebrity friends, most of whom we saw attending her New York City baby shower a few months ago. Kate, by comparison, is much quieter than Harrys wife. As a future queen, she knows that she is being watched a little more closely, and must behave in a certain way, never going against what royal life dictates. Meghan is a well-known bender of the rules. Can the two become best friends after all? Now that Meghan has officially entered the world of motherhood, she and Kate have something wonderful to bond over. The birth of baby Archie Harrison has the potential to bring the two duchesses closer together, and chances are, they will be talking more and spending more time together. Kate even paid Meghan a visit at Frogmore Cottage shortly before she gave birth, proving that their relationship is getting even stronger. Perhaps Meghan and Kates friendship will be able to reach new levels, and although they may not become best friends as everyone had hoped for, they will get closer as time moves forward. Medical Lake survives state financial audit, but not without some bruises A three-year financial audit by the Washington State Auditors Office found that the City of Medical Lake has had issues keeping track of its internal finances. But dont be alarmed, Kathleen Cooper, director of communications for the state auditor said. Its not an usual finding, Cooper said. Internal controls are the most common finding. They dont have enough internal staff to do (the accounting) so they hire someone. The audit found the city incorrectly classified $507,023 as unreserved rather than reserved money in its general fund, understated $56,372 in cash and investments, and $70,847 in expenditures in 2015, according to the audit report. Findings were similar for 2016 and 2017 as well. These are not insignificant errors, Cooper said. Not that there isnt a problem, but there isnt any missing money. The problem is oversight, and its not an uncommon one. Smaller cities like Medical Lake, school districts, and even some counties must compete with the private sector which typically pays more to hire financial professionals, according to Cooper. Its a specialized body of work, she said, noting that Washington state has its own unique accounting standards that must be met by government agencies. As a result, smaller government organizations like Medical Lake lack the specialized accounting knowledge required to produce financial reports, so they often outsource these heavy accounting tasks to private firms. But cities also need to know and understand what theyre getting back, and therein lies the audits primary finding. According to the report, the city did not adequately review the financial statements, notes, and supplemental schedules of the annual financial report to ensure they were complete and accurate. Internal control problems can be traced back to staffing shortages, staffing turnovers and staffing vacancies, Cooper said. Staffing is the number one problem that local governments have when it comes to this kind of stuff. It was a bit of a perfect storm, according to City Administrator Doug Ross. The citys previous finance director left in 2016 at about the same time the city switched accounting systems. Thats where a lot of the oversight finding came in, Ross said of the audit. We had an outside firm doing (financial reporting) so if they had numbers wrong, or didnt have all the numbers, we didnt necessarily know. He noted that he got a crash course in finance, along with Karen Langford, the citys current finance director who replaced the previous director. Langford certainly had her hands full when she replaced her counterpart. Promoted from clerk to finance director, not only did she need to learn the new accounting system, but the old one as well for carry-over purposes. Both were new to her. It was kind of rough for sure, she said. But between Doug and I we got a lot of stuff figured out. The audit recommended the city complete monthly ledger reconciliations, which Langford said the city is doing, and make sure staff is properly trained to review financial statements to ensure the those from outside accountants meet necessary reporting standards. The auditors office isnt unfamiliar with government fraud, Cooper said, and has internal fraud investigators who take an audit to the next level if front-line auditors feel there is a need or potential malfeasance. If fraud is uncovered, investigators typically refer to county prosecutors to file charges. In some situations the case may be referred to the state attorney generals office, Cooper said. Medical Lake is on a two-year audit cycle; its next audit is scheduled for 2020, according to Cooper. The entire audit can be viewed on the state auditors website at http://www.sao.wa.gov. Under Reports & Data click on Audit Reports. Type in Medical Lake in the By Government Name cell and click Search Audit Reports. Lee Hughes can be reached at lee@cheneyfreepress.com. Paul Ayah Abine archives Security forces in Buea are reported to have battled suspected armed men fighting for the "restoration" of the independence of a country they call Ambazonia. The daylight shootings of Sunday, May 26, 2019 is said to have resulted in two deaths in Bomaka Village in the outskirts of Buea. It is not known if those who died were belligerents. So far, information on why the military reportedly opened fire on the bus, and why two of its occupants were killed, has not been made public. The incident happened beside the popular Bakassi Na Cameroon drinking spot, where the Ayahs were reportedly holding their family meeting. Barrister Ayah Paul Abine has since taken to facebook to narrate how he saw it happen. Ayah writes: "A Bloody Meeting "Our family meeting was just about to begin at Bomaka Buea. Three vehicles were brought and parked in front of the meeting venue. After a while, came a bus from the opposite direction in the direction of Mile 17. Some six men in Camerounese military uniform burst out of the three parked vehicles and opened fire, shattering all the wheels of the bus. "Two young persons emerged from the bus and took to their heels. The persons in military uniforms opened fire on them. They fell to the ground. Those shooting ordered everyone attending the meeting to get into the compound quickly and bolt the gate! "DIE DI HOT, MASSA!!! "WHO COULD RISK CLOSING THE GATE? "WHO HAD THE COURAGE TO DEFY DEATH, REAL AND PRESENT?? "Those running into the far side of the compound died several times over as one or some of those shooting banged the gate in the course of closing it! Who was not lying down, face down now, my broda? For incomprehensible reason, the shooting went on for at least half an hour "When silence returned, the corpses of the two young persons were lying virtually opposite each other on opposite sides of the road. The nearer corpse, just some 15 metres from our meeting venue, oh!!! Neither the bus nor the rest of the passengers were anywhere to be found "MEETING CHACKERA ONE TIME! "WHAT A HORRIBLE BLOODY MEETING! "WE SEE DIE "WITH WE OWN EYES "WITH WE OWN NAKED EYES SO!!! "WAR NO FINE, SIR! Fathers must take charge of their sons' sexual education, resist 'toxic' sex ed: scholar Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment WASHINGTON Fathers must take stewardship of their sons' sexual lives and understand that nefarious forces have long been at work to dismantle the family, warns Pat Fagan, a Catholic scholar of marriage and family. During a panel discussion at the Watchmen on the Wall National briefing on Thursday, Fagan, director of the Marriage and Religion Research Institute, which is based at The Catholic University of America, unpacked the history and key players who advocated for abolishing the family unit, particularly the push to take down fathers. "When we have weak men, our children are not protected," Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council who moderated the panel, said in his opening remarks. He further noted that there is an all-out "assault" on masculinity. Alongside two other panelists, Fagan began his comments by noting that "on every single outcome the federal government researches, the more people worship the more you get of the positive things on every single outcome: education, happiness, income, savings, longevity, health," he said. "Family structure, same thing," he added. When mom and dad are married raising their own kids together, the statistics reveal the best results. "In total, on every single outcome in this country, and this should be used in every debate at every level of government. The in-tact married family that worships God weekly on everything, does best, adults and kids, no exception. And those who deny it, don't know the data," Fagan said. The same holds true internationally, he continued, "including, most especially, sexual satisfaction." "The Left has sex totally wrong, totally wrong," he emphasized. Two sexual revolutions have ravaged families over the centuries, the scholar elaborated. When the Christian faith first spread across Europe what traveled with it were in-tact families and marriages. "Marriage was for life, divorce was not present. I'm sure some did it, but everybody knew to be a Christian was to be married [for life]. And with that came tremendous strength. And now with the retreat from marriage and the guidance of the social sciences we can see how much weaker that means. So the old rise of Europe as an international power and a great civilization depended on marriage, which was Christ's gift," Fagan continued. The French Revolution was the beginning of the modern assault on the institution of marriage, which at one stage there was a prostitute on the high altar of the cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris with an orgy party occurring around her consisting of the revolutionary leaders, he explained. In subsequent decades, Marx and Engels with their international socialist endeavors identified the family and religion as the main obstacles that stood in their way. In 1919, when Vladmir Lenin took over Russia, marriage was abolished; it was reinstituted a decade later due to the social chaos. And that same chaos, which the contemporary Left is presently pushing, will grow in the United States and will destroy the social fabric, he stressed. In 1923, Marxist intellectuals in Germany set up the Institute for Social Research, also known as the "Frankfurt School," and many of them eventually migrated to Columbia University in New York. They were asked by Lenin how the West could be defeated from within since the proletariat was supposedly never going to rise up. They figured out that to undermine Western society, the family and marriage had to be chief targets. Among their ranks were feminist Marxists like Kate Millett, author of Sexual Politics, and Shulamith Firestone, author of The Dialectic of Sex, both of whom were influential thought leaders and instrumental in groups like the National Organization for Women and other feminist groups. Fagan recounted how, around the time of the founding of NOW, they convened for several weeks and began their meetings with Millett, who chaired the gatherings, asking: "Why are we here today?" to which they would respond "To make revolution." "What kind of revolution?" she replied. "The Cultural Revolution," they would say in response. "And how do we make Cultural Revolution" Millett then asked. "By destroying the American family!" the women said. "How do we destroy the family?" she pressed them. They replied: "By destroying the American Patriarch." The chanting continued as the women resolved to destroy the father by taking away his power. They would do that by destroying monogamy by promoting promiscuity, eroticism, prostitution, and homosexuality. "These were all brilliant women, Oxford degrees, Columbia degrees," Fagan said of the NOW founders. Through their efforts and influence, women's studies centers were established at elite universities and proliferated throughout the nation. He emphasized: "The man is the target. The father in the family, father is the target. Take him out and the family collapses, society collapses. We can see that happening. This is by design. What will it collapse into? Exactly what Lenin asked for." "How do you collapse the West from within? Short answer: Destroy the father. How do you that? Sex gone wild. Us guys are suckers for it. Every single one of us in this room knows that," he told the crowd. "It's very easy to be tempted. It's very easy to fall." Amid the breakdown of manhood and the scourge of fatherless homes, Christians must be about solutions, the panelists asserted. "The way forward is articulated by our Lord Jesus Christ, the second person of the Trinity who came to save us, but who also came to reveal man to himself," Fagan said. Jesus changed the paradigm of the Old Testament, and raised the standard, he said, forbidding both divorce and even looking at a woman lustfully. "Followers of Christ, you and everyone you preach to, are called to ... celibacy. You are called to celibacy, all your children, everyone else. Some, a few, for life. The majority 'til marriage." "What we need now," he said, "are fathers who will take over the sexual education and formation of their sons, and they'll have to take it over themselves in the home, because everything else out there is toxic, in the schools and all the rest. So they've got to step up to the plate ... we need warriors." Such warriors, he continued, are the ones who will go to the school systems hellbent on indoctrinating their sons with ungodly sexual dogma and refuse to allow them to be corrupted and say: "He's mine, and I'm going to make a man of him. A real man who will be a fantastic husband, and I'll teach him how. He will be a great lover of his wife, sexually and in every other way, and then will be a great father. And that's my vocation, that's my calling. I brought him into life sexually. Nobody else here can claim that." "You say it to the school board, you say it the principal, you say it to the teacher: He's mine. Keep your hands off him," Fagan stressed. "Preach that," he emphasized to the pastors in the audience. Email Whatsapp Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment In NRO, Robert VerBruggen provided a nice history of the ongoing debate among economists over whether the legalization of abortion in the 1970s resulted in lower crime rates starting in the 1990s. John Donohue and Steven Levitts working paper on this topic started receiving media attention in 1999. Their study was published in The Quarterly Journal of Economics in 2001 and was popularized in their book Freakonomics. While the study itself has received a great deal of media coverage, most outlets have given subsequent critiques of the study considerably less attention. One problem with the original study is that it failed to properly account for interstate travel. The authors argue that states that legalized abortion before the Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade legalizing abortion, experienced crime-rate reductions earlier than other states. However, it is not clear that the Centers for Disease Control data, which Donohue and Levitt used, was able to effectively track the residence of women who crossed state lines to obtain abortions. In particular, when New York legalized abortion throughout the first 24 weeks of pregnancy in 1970, there was no requirement that women be state residents. As a result, approximately 58 percent of women obtaining abortions in New York in 1971 and 1972 resided in other states. Additionally, it is not clear that the authors properly controlled for interstate migration; many people born in one state grow up elsewhere. Economist Ted Joyce has argued that reductions in crack cocaine use were primarily responsible for the crime-rate decline in many cities. Economists John Lott and John Whitely, meanwhile, have argued that Donohue and Levitts hypothesis can be tested by analyzing the demographics of crime rates. If their theory is correct, there should be a decrease in the number of crimes committed by young people. However, between 1976 and 1998, murder rates for the oldest age groups steadily decreased, while the murder rates for younger age cohorts which eventually began to include people born after Roe increased. Lott and Whitely also found that murder-rate trends among young people did not vary much between the states that legalized abortion early and the states where abortion became legal only after Roe. The abortion cuts crime hypothesis never did much to inform the ongoing public-policy debate over life issues. Abortion opponents believe in the intrinsic value of all human life and therefore were not persuaded by the argument that the legalization of abortion might have reduced the population of criminals. Additionally, supporters of legal abortion recoiled from the eugenic implications of this type of argument. Even so, it is interesting that Donohue and Levitt are continuing to publish research on this subject. Hopefully media outlets are willing to give scholarly critiques of this research the attention they deserve. Originally posted at nationalreview.com Michael J. New is a Visiting Associate Professor at Ave Maria University and an associate scholar at the Charlotte Lozier Institute. Follow him on Twitter @Michael_J_New Email Whatsapp Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment I have been in active ministry for over 15 yearsthat is, I have worked for churches for over 15 years. But I have officially been in ministry for over 25 years. This does not include the seven years I was officially out of ministry. If you count the years I have been mentored by veteran pastors, the number would increase still. This is not to toot my ministerial horn, so to speak. It is to merely state that I have been involved in church ministry for more years of my life than not. I have seen many great things happen in churches. But I have also seen some things that need to be corrected. One pressing issue is the demands that we place upon pastors. According to Soul Shepherding.org, 75% of pastors feel highly stressed, 90% of pastors work between 55 and 75 hours per week, and 90% feel fatigued every week (https://www.soulshepherding.org/pastors-under-stress/). Even more startling, 80% of pastors will not be in ministry ten years later and only a fraction make ministry a lifelong career (Ibid). On average, seminary trained pastors only last five years in church ministry (Ibid)! The best-trained pastors do not remain in ministry on average. Could it be due to a Superman complex? Houston, we have a major problem! Quite honestly, these demands do not always originate from the church body. Ironically, they often originate from pastors who feel as if they are called to be Superman. I have read numerous articles from pastors who have placed demands upon themselves and upon others who don the ministerial cloak, demands of which no human being could ever accomplish. I read from one pastor that his church expects the pastoral staff to work no less than 55 hours a week. 55 hours a week! But, it seems that this was impressed upon the church by a previous pastor who was a workaholic. Pastors, if you feel the incessant desire to overwork yourself, dont be surprised if your congregation, your body, and especially your family suffers. You may find that your children leave the faith because they feel the church stole their father. In reality, God has not called pastors to be supermen. I repeat. Pastors, you cannot be Superman! Here are a few reasons why. Pastors, you do not have superhuman staminabut God does. One of the most forgotten passages of Scripture in the pastorate is Mark 1:35-38, particularly verse 35. Mark writes, Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, [Jesus] got up, went out, and made his way to a deserted place; and there he was praying (Mk. 1:35). Did you catch that? Jesus, the Son of God, needed personal time with the Father. Jesus later told his disciples, Come away by yourselves to a remote place and rest for a while (Mk. 6:30). As pastors, we do not have an unlimited supply of stamina to keep working without rest. As I grow older, I realize how limited a cache of energy I do possess. God has the stamina that we do not have. If Jesus needed rest, how much more do we? Depend on Gods ability to endure and dont depend on your own stamina in ministry. Pastors, you do not have superhuman knowledgebut God does. Preaching and teaching are the two areas of ministry that I enjoy most. There is something special about digging into the treasure trove of the hidden mysteries of God and expounding those truths to his people. As a pastor apologist, I take special pleasure in defending the word of God and showing others why they should believe in Christ. Despite that, I have learned that the toughest words to admit are I dont know. We as pastors, especially those of us with advanced training, like to think that we have all the answers. However, we dont. We read statistics that indicate that the church is dying in America and we fret and mourn, worrying about what we need to do to save the church. We cannot save the church, but God can! We dont have all the answers, but God does. God has unlimited wisdom where his pastors do not. Pastors, you do not have superhuman presencebut God does. Some pastors feel that they must attend every function in the community. If the pastor is an extravert, then this is not so much an issue. But if the pastor is an introvert, then the continuation of public attendance at every function will quickly burn the pastor out. Many pastors become overwhelmed at the places they feel they need to be. However, no pastor is omnipresent. That is to say, pastors cannot be everywhere at the same time. It is okay to say no. But God can and is everywhere. There may be times in ministry where the pastor will have to trust someone else to be where he cannot. He may have to trust that God can do what he cannot do. The centurion believed in the power of Christ so much that he realized that Jesus could heal his servant even from afar, without even being physically present (Mt. 8:5-13). Jesus said that no one in Israel had the faith that this Roman centurion did (Mt. 8:10). Pastors, do we have the kind of faith that the centurion did? Pastors, you do not have superhuman powerbut God does. People like to reflect on Jesuss words, noting how faith can move mountains (Mt. 17:20). Its true. However, remember that faith is trust. Your trust is in the God who can move mountains. God has the power. We dont. If we allow God to work through us, theres nothing that cannot be done. No mountain is too high. But it is the power of God moving the mountains and not our own. When Paul asked God to remove the thorn in his flesh (whatever that was), God responded by saying, My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness (2 Cor. 12:9). Cassiodorus (c. 485-580), the founder of the monastery in Vivarium, wrote, Paul was denied the fulfillment of his prayer for his glory, whereas the devil was granted his [when praying to bring harm to Job] for the devils pain. Thus it is often an advantage not to be heard even though postponement of our desires depresses us (Cassiodorus, Explanation of the Psalms 21.3). Pastors, you do not have superhuman strength to move mountains. But you work for One who does! Pastors, you do not have superhuman persuasionbut God does. One of my personal pet peeves is when pastors say, I saved x amount of souls this past week. You really saved no one. You proclaimed the word. The Spirit of God did the work. One of the greatest blessings I have received is the realization that I cannot save anyone. I am not responsible for how people respond to the message. I am, however, responsible if I act like a jerk. But for the message itself, everyone is responsible for how he or she responds to the moving of the Spirit of God. Jesus says, When the [Holy Spirit] comes, he will convict the world about sin, righteousness, and judgment: About sin, because they do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will no longer see me; and about judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged (Jn. 16:8-11). The Holy Spirit has the power to persuade and convict. We as pastors do not. While this article may seem a bit depressing to the Type A, take the bull by the horn kind of pastor; its really a blessing in the end. As pastors, we have a high calling upon our lives to minister to a lost and dying world. However, we cannot for one moment think that we are the ones bringing salvation or the ones to blame for the condition of society. So long as we are faithful in our ministries, God will use what we offer, as small or large as that may be, and will do something great through our lives. Rest in the assurance that God has the power to do what you cannot. Dont work yourselves to death. Rest in the loving arms of a powerful God who can do far more than we could ever think or imagine. In a time where ministerial burnout is increasing, it should be welcomed news that God has not called you to be Superman. Pastors, if your place of service does not realize that, then you dont need to be there. Its better to be without a job than to have a mental breakdown. God has called you to be faithfulfaithful to God, faithful to your family, and faithful in the trust that God can do what you cannot. 2019. BellatorChristi.com. Brian G. Chilton is the founder of BellatorChristi.com and is the host of The Bellator Christi Podcast. He received his Master of Divinity in Theology from Liberty University (with high distinction); his Bachelor of Science in Religious Studies and Philosophy from Gardner-Webb University (with honors); and received certification in Christian Apologetics from Biola University. Brian is enrolled in the Ph.D. program in Theology and Apologetics at Liberty University. Brian has been in the ministry for over 15 years and serves as a pastor in northwestern North Carolina. Christian foster campaigner welcomes new Government funding to keep families together Christian foster and adoption campaigner Dr Krish Kandiah has welcomed the Government's decision to invest 15m into keeping families together. The new cash injection will go towards supporting families where children are at risk of being taken into care because of domestic violence, substance misuse or addiction, among other issues. The programme, Supporting Families; Investing in Practice, will help these families work through their issues with the aim of creating stability in the home for young family members and prevent them from being taken into care where this is deemed in their best interests by social workers. It is being rolled out across 40 local council areas after initial stages showed promising results. The investment has been welcomed by Dr Kandiah, founder of Home For Good, a Christian charity encouraging and supporting more people within the church to become foster carers and adoptive parents. According to charity figures, a child in the UK goes into care every 15 minutes, many of them having suffered neglect or abuse, but local authorities are hindered by a chronic shortage in foster carers, with an estimated 8,100 needed this year to meet demand. "There are more children in the UK care system than ever before. We believe that children thrive in families which is why home for good seeks to find loving foster or adoptive families for every child who needs one," said Dr Kandiah. "Wherever possible, children should be able to grow and flourish within their birth family. In some cases, families do not the receive the support that would enable their children to remain safely at home. "So we welcome this significant investment from the government. It is our hope that it will help children who don't need to come into care to stay with their families and experience stable, loving relationships." Supporting Families is modelled on two existing projects, both of which have helped improve family reunification. Under the Family Drug and Alcohol Courts, parents work with a team of substance misuse specialists, domestic violence experts, psychiatrists and social workers on a 'trial for change', while Family Group Conferences offer a mediated process bringing in the wider family network and children to work out a plan for how the family can flourish safely. Announcing the investment, Children and Families Minister Nadhim Zahawi said: "Every child, no matter what hand they have been dealt, deserves the opportunity to grow up in a stable, loving family so they can develop into confident adults equipped to take on life's challenges successfully. "For too many children, this is not the reality, and we are seeing rising numbers of children going into care. Often, their parents are struggling with problems of their own and that has an impact on the whole family. "Projects like these are making sure vulnerable families get the support they need from experts who can help them address their problems head on and stop them from spiralling out of control. "I want to see children to be able to stay with their family where it's appropriate and safe for them to do that that's why I will continue to back innovative approaches with a track record of success in doing this, to give the most vulnerable children in our society the best chances in life." 1. Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. A woman who survived alone in the marsh becomes a murder suspect. 2. The 18th Abduction by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro. The 18th book in the Womens Murder Club series. Lindsay Boxer investigates the disappearance of three female teachers. 3. Blessing in Disguise by Danielle Steel. Isabelle McAvoy faces challenges as she raises three daughters from three separate fathers on her own. 4. Redemption by David Baldacci. The first man Amos Decker put behind bars asks to have his name cleared. 5. Sunset Beach by Mary Kay Andrews. Drue Campbell inherits a run-down beach bungalow and takes a job at her estranged fathers personal-injury-attorney office. 6. Storm Cursed by Patricia Briggs. The 11th book in the Mercy Thompson series. Dangers swell as Death approaches. 7. The Road Home by Richard Paul Evans. The third book in the Broken Road series. Charles James continues his journey on Route 66 to his ultimate destination. 8. The Big Kahuna by Janet Evanovich and Peter Evanovich. The sixth book in the Fox and OHare series. An FBI agent teams up with a con man to search for a Silicon Valley billionaire. 9. Neon Prey by John Sandford. The 29th book in the Prey series. Lucas Davenport goes after a serial killer. 10. The Guest Book by Sarah Blake. Evie Milton uncovers a story going back a couple of generations that may shatter a family myth. Nonfiction 1. The Pioneers by David McCullough. The Pulitzer Prize-winning historian tells the story of the settling of the Northwest Territory through five main characters. 2. Becoming by Michelle Obama. The former first lady describes how she balanced work, family and her husbands political ascent. 3. Educated by Tara Westover. The daughter of survivalists leaves home for university. 4. The Moment of Lift by Melinda Gates. The philanthropist shares stories of empowering women to improve society. 5. The Second Mountain by David Brooks. A New York Times op-ed columnist espouses having an outward focus to attain a meaningful life. 6. Furious Hours by Casey Cep. Harper Lees work on the true-crime story about a rural preacher accused of murdering five of his family members in the 1970s. 7. No Walls and the Recurring Dream by Ani DiFranco. A memoir by the Grammy Award-winning folk and alternative rock musician. 8. Lake of the Ozarks by Bill Geist. Coming-of-age anecdotes set in a 1960s Midwestern summer-vacation destination. 9. Every Tools a Hammer by Adam Savage. The star of MythBusters shares his tools for creativity. 10. Where the Light Enters by Jill Biden. The former second ladys challenges in being a mother, an educator and a political spouse. New York Times The Sanctuary at Lake Houston United Methodist Church in Huffman ruined by the floodwaters from Hurricane Harvey, but the congregation has been determined from the beginning to build a new one in its place. They took a big step on Sunday, May 19, when they held a groundbreaking ceremony for their new sanctuary. Various members of the congregation dug up shovelfuls of dirt on the site where the new sanctuary will be built, right where the former sanctuary which was built in 1961, was. The groundbreaking ceremony came in the wake of a capital campaign which raised over a million dollars in pledges and received grants from the Texas Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, the Woodlands United Methodist Church and the Moody Foundation. The theme of the capital campaign was rising rom the water based off Isaiah 43:2, When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. The demolition process for the former sanctuary, which consisted largely of removing sheetrock and insulation, was done entirely through volunteers. Wesley Duncan, the associate pastor at the First United Methodist Church in Humble, who is also an architect, donated his services for the new sanctuary. The congregation had been worshipping in the Christian Fellowship Center at the church, which sustained some water damage, but was salvageable after four weeks of repairs. We were worshipping in the parking lot for a couple weeks, said pastor Frank Coats. The sanctuary was beyond anything we could do, but in the CFC, we were able to pull up carpet, and we worshipped there on bare concrete and without walls for a while until we could get that built. Coats said the timeline for the new sanctuary to be built is somewhat fluid and that it could take up to 12 months from the time construction starts. Im tremendously excited about it, not just about having a new building, but that Ive been privileged to pastor this group that has faced a great deal of adversity, he said. Everything was under water after Hurricane Harvey. A group that didnt have the faith and the resiliency and the courage would have been defeated by that. elliott.lapin@hearst.com Across the nation, many people observed National Emergency Medical Services Week the week of May 19-25. Senior adults love their emergency responders, too. A group of residents from Parkway Place, a faith-based senior living community in the Memorial area, took time on Thursday, May 23, to handwrite special thank-you letters to them. A day later, they hand-delivered the notes to the staff at Houston Fire Department Station 86. 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. BREAKING NEWS | ALERTS Find out first: Get breaking news sent directly to your inbox. See More Collapse 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. Nfor Tabe Tando, president du groupe parlementaire RDPC au Senat Cameroon Tribune Senator Chief Table Tando Ndiep Nso of Bachau-Ntai Village, Mamfe in the South West region has revealed in was in negotiations with some separatists, who have revealed over 500 of them will be dropping their arms soon in the South West region, and join the region's disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration center. The Senator was talking over Cameroon Calling on state radio this Sunday May 26, where he said youths of his area, Manyu Division, were tired of being deceived by outsiders. Most of the youths of Manyu Division, in particular Eyumojock, Mamfe central and part of Akwaya, are now understanding that it is detrimental for them to continue assisting, supporting or aiding those boys or girls who live from other divisions or other areas or even country, to come and deceive them because they have seen the obvious advantages, said the Senator referring to the importance of the reintegration centre in Buea. He narrated stakes at the just ended visited of Prime Minister, Joseph Dion Ngute to the South West region, whom he said has genuine concern for his people, as he didnt only ensure those separatists who drop their arms will be reintegrated into the society, but on his own initiative would support them to pick up from whatever trade or education they were doing, before they joined Amba boys'. The centre is just to bring them to be reintegrated into the society and then going out now, they would have what they think they are capable of doing for themselves. If one was doing trading, he would be given some small money to continue with his trade, if one was doing poultry, he would be trained into poultry farming, carpentry ,sewing etc. So this is an opportunity for them, he assured. Senator Tando announced that separatists have been contacting him, asking he reassures them that after dropping down their weapons, they wouldnt be killed. He quoted three cases during the visit of the Prime Minister to Buea, where he said he took them to the head of government, who reassured them that President Paul Biya, meant well when he created the reintegration centres. He also revealed he had been contacted that some 500 Amba boys will be joking others in the centre too. On Thursday 23rd, I received a call to say that they are now prepared to come out. So I directed them to go and see the director in charge of the center in Buea. And the boys told me that they were over 500 of them, who would come out eventually, boasted the Manyu Chief. However, he joined his voice to the Head of State and Prime Minister Dion Ngute, to call on separatists, to drop their weapons and surrender. To him, the more these fighters stay in the bush, the more they miss several opportunities and the more the community continues to live in fear. Workshop participants Facebook The Executive Director of Women in Alternative Action, WAA Cameroon, Justine Kwachu Kumche has warned the government that if the socio-political crisis in the country is not given a lasting solution, then, all efforts made by Cameroon towards attaining the Sustainable Developmen t Goal 16 on peace, justice and inclusive institutions would be compromised. She was speaking last May 15, 2019 at the Yaounde City Council hall at the close of a three-day validation workshop of WAA Cameroon-GPPAC report on SDG16 implementation in Cameroon within the framework of the voluntary national review of the UN SDG16. Organized by WAA Cameroon with support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands and the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict, GPPAC, the workshop which brought together civil society leaders from conflict zones in the country was moderated by Kristina Miletic of GPPAC and attended by the President of the National Communication Council, Peter Essoka. Participants noted with dismay that Cameroon has made very insignificant progress in the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 16 due to a combination of political, socio-economic and institutional constraints. Most members of the public are ignorant of the SDGs in general and the legal framework that covers the SDGs which are yet to be fully understood and successfully implemented. There is a situation of international compliant and internally defiant laws at the level of implementation in the country. Civil society space in the implantation of the 2030 SDGs agenda is restricted and constrained. Ongoing violent conflicts in the North West, South West and Far North are likely to compromise Cameroons potential to attain the SDGs 16+ by 2030. They said. After findings on recruitment of youths into Boko Haram terrorist group in the Far North, they urged government to consider issues of recruitment an extremely complex picture including other factors linked to political and social exclusion dynamics, bad governance structures as well as religious and ethnic discrimination. They concluded that achieving the SDG16+ will demand much more than the implementation efforts currently underway in Cameroon and that it will require more focus on access to justice, inclusive governance and policies enhancing prospects for a peaceful Cameroon. A man in Nebraska attempted to give a false name to police, but things didn't go exactly as planned. Lincoln police officers arrived just after 10:30 p.m. Tuesday in response to a domestic assault and searched for the suspect, identified as 26-year-old Markel Towner, who had two arrest warrants. Police found a man who matched Towners description seated in a parked vehicle outside the residence where they were dispatched. CHRON CATCH-UP | NEWSLETTER Get a quick, weekday news update for free. See More Collapse An officer asked the man for his name. He said he was Deangelo Towns. Then the officer observed a lanyard around the mans neck with the name "Markel Towner" on it. When the officer told Towner he was under arrest, he tensed up, resisted and yelled at officers that he didnt do anything wrong. The officers struggled with Towner for several minutes and they went to the ground, where Towner grabbed one officers duty belt. During the struggle, some of Towner's friends and family members surrounded the officers in an attempt to intervene and prevent the arrest. Towner was eventually taken into custody without injury. He's been charged with resisting arrest, obstructing a government operation, false reporting, child neglect and third-degree domestic assault. A Massachusetts police officer rescued a baby opossum Tuesday night after its two siblings died. Officer Kaes responded to a report of the opossums on Willard Street. The officer found a baby opossum alive. Police said the officer was unable to find a wildlife center that would take the animal. "Fearing it may die if left outside, Officer Kaes brought Stone Cold Steve Opossum, as he's been named, home for the night," the Quincy Police Department posted on its Facebook page. The officer hand-fed the animal and even posed for a few pictures with his new friend. Wildlife officials are warning anyone headed to New Jersey about an invasive species of jellyfish in the water. CBS New York reports the small, spider-like, clinging jellyfish were first found in the Shrewsbury River in 2016 and have spread to the Metedeconk River. Were just pulled algae and what were trying to look for is something called clinging jellyfish. The reason were trying to look for it is because they have a very lethal toxin, Elias Chalet, a biology major at Montclair State, said. University students and professor Paul Bologna are working with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection to map out where the jellyfish are located. Brick Councilman Paul Mummolo is spreading the word. A lot of our beaches, our bay beaches, its important to educate the people on these clinging jellyfish where they are so that something doesnt happen, Mummolo said. They carry these paralysis toxins that cause your muscles to tense up. They use those to catch fish so the fish dont run away, but it also causes intense pain, Bologna said. More than 200 of the jellyfish have been discovered in New Jersey waters. Most were smaller than a half-inch and hiding in grassy areas. Anyone looking to be in the water this summer is advised to wear waders. A Lancaster County woman pleaded guilty to animal cruelty for debarking her dogs. Annie Beiler, of Quarryville, was sentenced to two years of probation in exchange for the plea on six misdemeanor and summary counts, according to officials with the district attorney's office. Officials said Beiler, 47, was also ordered to surrender all dogs on her property except one, which is subject to routine checks by the Pennsylvania SPCA. Beiler is prohibited from owning or working with dogs for the period of supervision, authorities said. According to the district attorney's office, Beiler obtained the services of Denise Felling to debark the dogs. The way Felling did it -- by shoving a rod-like object into the dogs' vocal chambers -- is illegal, authorities said. Felling was also charged and pleaded guilty, officials said. According to Lancaster Online, Felling was sentenced up to 23 months in prison and released on credit for time served. Authorities said Felling told Beiler she was a veterinarian but never obtained a license in Pennsylvania. According to officials, her license in Iowa was revoked. CHRON CATCH-UP | NEWSLETTER: Get a quick, weekday news update for free. A wave of state abortion bans has set off speculation: What would happen if Roe v. Wade, the ruling establishing abortion rights nationwide, were overturned? Although far from a certainty, even with increased conservative clout on the Supreme Court, a reversal of Roe would mean abortion policy would revert to the states, and many would be eager to impose bans. What would not happen is a full-fledged turning back of the clock to 1973. Women now have far more methods to avoid unwanted pregnancies, as well as safer, easier options for abortion. Many abortions are induced at home with a two-drug combination, and advocacy groups are spreading the word about home abortions using one of the drugs that can be done without a medical professional's involvement. "I don't think you can put all those different genies back in the bottle," said medical historian Andrea Tone at McGill University in Montreal. "Women are in charge of their procreative destiny. I don't think women will put up with the absence of privacy and discretion that birth control and abortion provide." Here's a look at some of the abortion-related changes that have unfolded since 1973: __ At the time of Roe, abortion was broadly legal in four states, allowed under limited circumstances in 16 others, and outlawed under nearly all circumstances in the rest. A reversal of Roe would produce a patchwork map where perhaps 15 or so states would continue to make abortion easily accessible, a dozen or more would ban virtually all abortions unless the mother's life is at stake, and the rest would thrash out their response in the public arena and the legislatures. In 1974, a year after Roe, there were about 899,000 abortions in the U.S., according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research organization that supports abortion rights. RELATED: The best coffee table book you can buy is about abortion The number of abortions rose steadily, peaking at 1.61 million in 1990, before starting a steady decline falling to 926,200 in Guttmacher's latest national survey, covering 2014. Close to 90 percent of the abortions occur in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. The decline is attributed to increased availability of effective contraception and a sharp decrease in unintended pregnancies, notably among teens. In 1974, teens accounted for 32.5% of abortions in the U.S.; in 2014 that dropped to 12%. RELATED: The fight for abortion through the years: ___ Technology and science have given women unprecedented options and control over fertility since 1973. Back then, single women had only recently gained nationwide access to birth control, thanks to a 1972 Supreme Court ruling, said Dr. Sarah Prager, who directs the University of Washington School of Medicine's family planning fellowship. "This is recent history," Prager said. "Now we have these incredibly effective contraceptive methods available." A woman can get the morning-after pill without a prescription and keep some in her medicine cabinet for emergencies. Her smartphone sends birth control reminders. Or, if she prefers, a matchstick-size implant gives her no-hassle contraception for years at a time. Surgical abortion has become safer, employing tools that use vacuum pressure rather than scraping. There's increasing use of the medication alternative: Ending a pregnancy with mifepristone and misoprostol now accounts for about 30% of U.S. abortions. "It's safe and comfortable," said Missouri resident Lexi Moore, 30, who ended a pregnancy in September with a prescription from Planned Parenthood. "You get to sit in the comfort of your home instead of doing it in a clinic or in a back alley. ... You will have cramps, like a heavy period. But it's worth it in the end, and you have control over that." Moore had to drive 70 miles to pick up her prescription and, lacking insurance, paid $800 out of pocket. But she welcomed the outcome, and wrote thank-you cards to the clinic. RELATED: Abortion entrenched in Washington, but backers ready to hit the trenches Her experience contrasts with that of Vikki Wachtel, who as an 18-year-old attending school in Connecticut had an abortion in New York City's Bellevue Hospital in October 1970. That was just a few months after New York became a pioneer in broadly legalizing abortion. "The staff made us feel like we were about to commit a crime," Wachtel said, recalling how she and other young women were treated callously. That ordeal was followed by post-abortion complications, yet Wachtel has steadfastly supported abortion rights. "It was MY CHOICE to not have a child in 1970 and it must remain a woman's choice to do so on a national level," she said in an email. "These overreaching and restrictive laws will only make abortions more dangerous, not eliminate them." ___ For women today, there's even abortion by mail. It's still under study, but early results show women can manage their medical abortions safely at home. A doctor first confirms the woman's pregnancy is less than 10 weeks, then mails the pills. About 300 U.S. women have ended pregnancies in the TelAbortion study . "Women are really grateful not to have to travel three or four hours to a clinic," said researcher Dr. Beverly Winikoff of Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. "But there are also people within walking distance from a clinic who prefer to do it this way because it's more private." Abortion-rights activists, at rallies supporting Roe v. Wade, often display images of coat hangers that were sometimes used in illegal abortions many decades ago. However, warnings that large numbers of women would die from unsafe abortions if Roe were overturned don't reflect the fact that abortion-related deaths which numbered as high as 2,700 in 1930 fell to under 200 a year by the mid-1960s thanks to the development of antibiotics and other medical advances. To the extent that women can get and use misoprostol to end pregnancies at home, women even in states with bans would have a relatively safe option. It's available only by prescription in the U.S. but is available online from some countries where it is sold over the counter. RELATED: Connelly: When Washington legalized abortion, before Roe v. Wade Among the leading advocates of this do-it-yourself option is attorney Jill E. Adams, executive director of If/When/How: Lawyering for Reproductive Justice. Amid the wave of abortion bans, she said her group's hotline has received a surge of calls from worried women. "If the recent events have shown us anything, it's that self-managed abortion is vital to current and future reproductive rights in the United States," Adams said. ___ One crucial change since 1973 is the development of ultrasound technology. For many Americans, the first image they now see of a son, daughter or grandchild is often a sound wave scan of the fetus. The images change minds about abortion, said Dr. Donna Harrison, executive director of the American Association of Prolife Obstetricians and Gynecologists. "Ultrasound opens the window on the womb," Harrison said. "That has changed since 1973. We couldn't see who was in there. Now we can." But seeing an ultrasound image doesn't change the biology of fetal development, said Dr. Anne Davis, consulting medical director for Physicians for Reproductive Health. She disputed the idea that the threshold of viability for a fetus, a concept important in Roe v. Wade, is pushing ever closer to the moment of conception. "If someone is six weeks pregnant, that's not a viable pregnancy," Davis said. "And some fetuses will never be viable because they have a lethal abnormality and will die after birth." ___ In the aftermath of Roe, it took years for supporters and opponents of abortion rights to entrench themselves in the polarized camps of today. Anti-abortion violence didn't erupt immediately after the decision, but it has been a constant since the 1990s, when three abortion providers and three clinic employees were killed in attacks. More recently, Dr. George Tiller, an abortion provider in Wichita, Kansas, was shot to death by an anti-abortion activist in 2009, and a gunman killed three people at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado in 2015. There have been major shifts in anti-abortion tactics. Compared with the 1990s, there are fewer mass demonstrations and clinic blockades, and there is far more success passing anti-abortion laws in Republican-controlled state legislatures. In the five years preceding this year's sweeping bans, scores of other laws have been passed to restrict abortion access. Julie Burkhart, a former colleague of Tiller's who now runs an abortion clinic in Wichita, said Kansas like many GOP-controlled states now has an array of restrictions that make obtaining abortions more expensive, time-consuming and stressful. SEE ALSO: Abortion statistics: The anti-abortion movement's clout in many state legislatures has now been amplified by Donald Trump's election as president after he promised to support the movement's key goals. "They don't need to go to the streets anymore, because they really do have a lot of power," Burkhart said. Professor Michael New, an abortion opponent who teaches social research at Catholic University of America, said the debate is far more polarized now than in 1973, with fewer Republicans favoring abortion rights and fewer Democrats opposing them. "Pro-lifers are having an easier time enacting pro-life laws in conservative parts of the country, but for the first time in a long time they have to play defense in blue states," said New, citing bills passed in New York and Vermont this year expanding access to abortion. Minister Momo with a bottle of Palm Wine Facebook Jean de Dieu Momo, Minister Delegate to the Minister of Justice, Keeper of the Seals has pulled another stunt, making startling remarks about the crisis in Cameroons North West and South West Regions. In a video that has since gone viral on social media, the Knight of the Cameroon Order of Valour and National President of PADDEC (Patriotes Democrates pour le Developpement du Cameroun) laughs at the plight of the suffering masses in the North West and South West regions as he drinks from a bottle of palm wine. Apparently addressing a gathering of his admirers in his Yaounde office, Momo said: The people of the North West and South West Regions have taken up arms. Does that stop me from drinking my palm wine? The Minister Delegate said when the Bamilekes were fighting among themselves in 1960; it did not stop him from living peacefully in Douala. Similarly, he says Anglophones who have taken up arms in the North West and South West regions do not prevent him from drinking his palm wine in Yaounde. Momo says they the real Bamilekes have today refused to follow the mad people and Maquisards who went marching in Paris and asking the masses to take up arms against the regime. He declared his support for the indomitable patriots and wishes that such patriotic groups multiply to fight the enemies of the state who are largely illegal immigrants and asylum seekers abroad. In the viral video, Minister Momo says the Maquisards and Ambazonians are just the same. He says the likes of Brice Nicheu and Patrice Nganang who are leading anti-regime protests in the diaspora are children of the maquisards of yesterday. He says those who stage protests in Paris should not only walk, but should run, though in either case, Cameroon remains unmoved. He qualified those in the anti-sadinard movement as immigrants who used fake warrants of arrests and prison release papers to get political asylum and can no longer return to Cameroon as long as the present regime is in place. Jean De Dieu Momo had in March 2019 received blessings from the traditional ruler of Esu in the North West region and on the occasion, he pledged to find a lasting solution to the Anglophone crisis. Many have now been taken aback by his recent utterances. File/Google The U.S. Coast Guard was searching Sunday for a missing 16-year-old swimmer at Matagorda Beach, according to a news release. Coast Guard searchers were notified around 1 p.m. about the missing teen, who did not make it back to shore when swimming with friends. Anjali Kulkarni, a 55-year-old Indian mountain climber, trained for six years to make it to the top of Mount Everest, the highest mountain peak in the world. She finally reached Everest's summit this week, fulfilling a longtime goal. It was coming back down that killed her. Her son, Shantanu Kulkarni, told CNN that she died after getting stuck in a "traffic jam" on the mountain. "She had to wait for a long time to reach the summit and descend," Thupden Sherpa, who organized tours on the mountain, told Agence France-Presse. "She couldn't move down on her own and died as Sherpa guides brought her down." Two other Indian hikers, Kalpana Das, 52, and Nihal Bagwan, 27, also died on Thursday. Keshav Paudel, who organized tours on the mountain, told AFP that Bagwan was "stuck in the traffic for more than 12 hours and was exhausted." RELATED: 6 of Texas' most dangerous state parks are near San Antonio She is one of at least seven people believed to died on the mountain this week, as a few days of clear weather attracted hundreds of climbers hoping to scale the 29,029 feet to Everest's peak. This season, Nepal has issued 381 permits for hikers hoping to climb the mountain, AFP reported. They cost about $11,000 each and hikers are accompanied by local guides. A chilling photograph from the mountain shows a long line of mountaineers queuing to ascend a steep stretch of the route to the summit. The photo was shot by Nirmal Purja, an avid mountaineer, who wrote in an Instagram caption that he estimated there were around 320 people in line. Traffic jams create dangerous situations for hikers, who are often already exhausted and carrying heavy loads while battling altitude sickness, which can make people dizzy and nauseated. The waits can be deadly. Earlier this week, American Donald Lynn Cash, from Utah, died after developing severe respiratory symptoms due to the high altitude. It was unclear what role, if any, the foot traffic jams had in his death. Seamus Lawless, assistant professor of computer science at Trinity College, went missing on Everest on Thursday when he slipped and fell shortly reaching the summit. A 65-year-old Austrian man is also among the dead. Last year, 807 people reached the mountain's summit, more than had ever reached the top in a single year before. SDF bigwigs in a ceremony in Buea File picture On May 26, 1990, thousands of SDF 'militants' and sympathizers gathered at Bamenda's Ntarinkon Park to take part in the launching of the Social Democratic Front (SDF) party and a reintroduction of multipartism in defiance of a Government ban. In his speech, the lion-hearted SDF Chairman, Ni John Fru Ndi, fearlessly lashed out at Cameroon's monolithic and oppressive political system, amidst a suffocating military presence. Speaking directly to the militants who had braved the threat of repression to be at the party's launching Fru Ndi declared: Thank you for your faith and determination. Make no mistake, and dont allow yourself to be misled and misguided by anyone, no matter his situation in life. Democracy has never been handed on a platter of gold! () Let us make it clear to those who are hearing us today that, in the view of the Social Democratic Front, the struggle will continue, not only here, but anywhere in the world, as long as there is somebody who is governing and someone who is governed. It was indeed a memorable day in the annals of Cameroon's checkered democratic history. As the mammoth crowd dispersed after the ceremony, security forces shot and killed six individuals at the Liberty Square (City Chemist Roundabout: Fidelis Chosi Mankam (Corn Mill Operator), Tifuh Mathias Teboh (Student), Asanji Christopher Fombi (Student), Nfon Edwin Jatop (Tailor), Juliette Sikod (Student), and Toje Evaristus Chatum (Student). Within a couple of years of its birth which had been "watered" with the blood of these "six martyrs of democracy, the SDF had become the most popular party in Cameroon, and its motto "Power to the People", the rallying cry of the oppressed masses of Cameroon. By the time the SDF and its charismatic chairman challenged President Paul Biya in the October 1992 presidential elections under the banner of the "Union for Change coalition, the party was already being considered as the most viable alternative to the Biya regime - Fru Ndi's controversial loss to Paul Biya in these elections (generally considered to have been rigged) only made the SDF appeal much stronger. But the fortunes of the party have since dwindled 29 years on, from 46 members of parliament in 1997 to only 18 members of the National Assembly in the 9th legislature voted in 2013. Under very controversial circumstances, the SDF harvested 14 senators from the Adamawa and West Regions in 2013 out of the country's 100 pioneer senators. The electorate in the two regions were a CPDM majority that unfortunately suffered from the rejection of their lists. In 2018, they narrowly secured seven senate seats in the North West region in an "election of bullets and ballots". In Bangem and Fontem, the SDF said running gun battles between the State Armed Forces and Armed Men frustrated the elections. In the presidential elections that followed on October 7, 2018, SDF National Chairman Fru Ndi did not present his candidacy in favour of his Vice, Hon. Joshua Osih Nabangi. The SDF got from these elections her worst results ever. Osih emerged fourth with 3.35% of 'validly cast votes'. Greenhorns like Professor Maurice Kamto and Cabral Libii emerge second and third behind President Paul Biya who officially swept over 71% of the votes. The SDF has since failed to push for the resolution of the Anglophone crisis that broke out in 2016 despite holding parliament hostage and supporting populist positions. The political base of the SDF in the North West and South West Regions have since been swept away by a "senseless war" that has killed close to 2,000 persons and internally displaced about 500,000 with close to 50,000 others believed to be refugees. Only recently, SDF National Chairman Ni John Fru Ndi was "kidnapped" by armed men fighting for the "restoration" of the independence of a country they call Ambazonia. Upon his release, the SDF has since offered him to mediate between the parties in the crisis for a speedy return to normalcy. "I held Biya's hands and told him that if he fails to act fast, the problems will slip under our fingers to uncontrollable levels, and here we are today," Fru Ndi laments. At 29, the SDF is still battling to install the tenets of democracy including the rule of law, good electoral laws, an independent electoral commission and sweeping people-centered constitutional reforms. Several anniversary rallies are expected to take place in all wards of the party across the country and in the diaspora. CLEVELAND, Ohio The East Wing of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. paid tribute last week to its architect, the late I.M. Pei, by setting vases of orchids and calla lilies on a table in its lobby alongside a gold-framed document extolling the Chinese-American designer. Even more touching as a public display of affection were two spots on the pink marble building that have been discolored by thousands of admirers who stroked them like statues of Buddha or a Christian saint. One is where Peis name has been incised in a classical Roman font on a lobby wall. The other is outside, where a knife-edged portion of the facade comes close to a sidewalk. Architects rarely get such love, but Peis death at 102 on May 16 was a reminder of the gratitude people feel for the beauty he brought into their lives, and impact he made on global culture through buildings including the East Wing, the Louvre pyramid in Paris and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. Yet even though some obituary writers included the Rock Hall among Peis greatest achievements, the Cleveland building lacks the refined power of his best works. It stands as an example instead of Clevelands propensity to miss out on making the most of great architectural opportunities in this case, the rare combination of a prominent site, a famous architect, and the mission to design a civic icon. Yet under the leadership of CEO Greg Harris over the past seven years, the Rock Hall has matured gracefully and intelligently, relocating and redesigning exhibits and amenities to make the most of a problematic structure. A steady climb in attendance on Harriss watch has positioned the Rock Hall to explore an expansion that will connect it with the adjacent Great Lakes Science Center on the west side of North Coast Harbor. As it nears its 25th anniversary next year, and with attendance reaching 560,000 or more a year, the Rock Hall is performing well as a cultural anchor and as a globally visible point of local pride. Odd choice Pei certainly deserves some credit for that, although after all these years, he still seems a very odd choice for the project. Born in China in 1917, Pei studied architecture at Harvard, where he imbibed the modernism taught by Walter Gropius, a refugee from Nazi Germany who founded the Bauhaus, an influential wellspring of modernist design. Pei was less an inventor of primary architectural forms, like first generation modernists Mies van der Rohe and Le Corbusier, than a refiner of their ideas. He enriched modernism, which at mid-century threatened to become a bore, if not a menace, through repetition, dilution and blunt insensitivity to public space. Peis best work marries austere geometries with exquisite materials and fine detailing. These attributes are visible in the Bank of China tower in Hong Kong, a tower of triangular trusses reaching skyward with an asymmetrical peak, and in the Louvre pyramid, which serves as an elegant focal point to the courtyard of a royal palace that houses one of the world great art museums. Erieviews planner Cleveland is both lucky and unlucky to have shared in Peis legacy. Along with the Rock Hall, Pei provided Cleveland at the outset of his career with a 1960 master plan for the Erieview Urban Renewal District. The plan led to the clearance of 200 acres of downtown fabric and its replacement with mediocre modernist towers and some of the bleakest streetscapes in the city. Little of what Pei proposed for Erieview got built exactly according to his plan, but he set the pattern for a chilly gigantism that persists in the district to this day. The Rock Hall is a far more positive outcome dating from the tail end of Peis career although it doesnt compare with the excellence of the East Wing. Pei was a strange choice for the Cleveland project because at heart, he was an establishment architect accustomed to serving elite institutions. His milieu was the antithesis of rock and roll, yet he took on the challenge to bring high culture validation to a pop culture idiom. Intended to go elsewhere The museum was originally designed for a site behind Tower City Center as a rambunctious architectural David placed at the base of the Goliath Terminal Tower, which in this juxtaposition would have served as an embodiment of stodgy tradition. A photo of an early model by I.M. Pei showing the Rock Hall in its original proposed location behind Tower City Center overlooking the Cuyahoga River. Plain Dealer File.Plain Dealer file Pei was inspired by the 19th century grain silos along the Cuyahoga River to build the museum on a triangular platform supported at its outer point by a squarish tower rising up from the flood plain along the Cuyahoga River below. The buildings lobby, placed directly on the center line axis of the Terminal Tower, would have created dramatic views of the skyscraper above, plus great diagonal views of the Flats reaching out on either side. Unfortunately, the city, Pei and the Rock Halls leaders moved it to North Coast Harbor on the lakefront for publicly-stated reasons including the lack of expansion space at Tower City. At the lakefront, the Rock Halls tower and triangular lobby (actually a tetrahedron) make no contextual sense; the building simply acts as a powerful sculptural object that turns its back to the water and faces southeast, away from the downtown skyline. The tower rising above the Rock Halls lobby had to be trimmed from 200 to 167 feet to fit under the flight path for nearby Burke Lakefront Airport, further compromising Peis original vision. Theres no question, however, that the Rock Hall is a powerful piece of architectural sculpture. The drum-shaped exhibit hall that juts from the buildings west side is one of Clevelands most dramatic sights. So too is the flaring box, housing a small auditorium, that protrudes from the buildings east side. Inside, as a museum, the building has been something of a conundrum. The towering structure requires elevators, escalators and stairs to transport visitors from one level to another, consuming space that could have been used for exhibits. And because of its pyramidal shape, the floor spaces in the museum get smaller the higher up you go, further reducing their utility. Under Harris, the museum has undergone extensive modifications that make it feel livelier and more inviting and less like a cerebral exploration of clashing and intersecting geometric forms. Meanwhile, after more than two decades on the waterfront, the Rock Hall still feels isolated. Its part of a precinct of public attractions disconnected from downtown by a quarter-mile strip of highways, railroads and a 50-foot bluff. Someday, maybe, the city will figure out how to turn this intervening wasteland into connective urban fabric. We can only hope. For now, even though its not on par with Peis Louvre pyramid or the National Gallery East Wing, the Rock Hall has qualities that are pretty terrific. Were lucky to have it, for all its flaws, and to have a significant piece of Peis impressive legacy. ZOETERMEER, Netherlands Imagine applying for a job at Walmart and being asked if you have a retail-sales diploma. Or being asked for your special diploma to work as sales assistant at a gas station. Jobs like retail sales or receptionist are lower-skill and lower-paying than engineering, law or medicine, but theyre still higher-skilled and higher-paid in Europe than they are in the U.S. So schools train people for them. Employers in the Netherlands value very muchthat they (applicants) have a certain basis of knowledge and skills they can count on, said Regina Kleingeld, a manager of credentials with SBB, the Dutch business-government partnership that organizes job training in 180 different fields. With 480 certifications or diplomas available many filling the role that Americas catch-all general high school diploma does - hiring is often based on that credential alone. Since at least one internship or apprenticeship in the field is built into the training, everyone has had at least some work experience by graduation. For companies like Praxis, a Dutch chain of home improvement stores similar to Lowes or Home Depot, the diplomas professionalize the staff and ensure new hires know basics like how to operate a register, arrange store displays and serve customers. Applicants with a retail sales diploma will land a job ahead of someone that doesnt. Someone who only has a high school diploma does not know how to interact with a customer in the best way, said Merel Vollenberg, the chains head of personnel development. Someone who has a retail diploma does. The Dutch model, which has similar counterparts in other European countries, is a significant departure from the American approach of wedging almost all students into a single high school diploma that is the basic requirement for almost all jobs. What does a high school diploma really mean? While the Netherlands offers dozens of diplomas, each with their own criteria and tests, Ohio officials have fought the past three years to wedge expectations for both college and career readiness into a single diploma. It has been a major source of tension, with officials worrying that college-ready standards would prevent non-college students from receiving a basic credential to land a job. Meanwhile, many college-bound students arent really ready. In 2016, 13% of freshmen at Ohio public colleges need to take remedial classes in English and 25% in math. U.S. businesses, meanwhile, are frustrated with graduates lack of soft skills such as critical thinking and the ability to interact with others. Tom Gunlock, the former president of the state school board, would regularly state that high school graduates would not have basic skills to work retail and fast food jobs at the shopping centers his family owns. His familys property development company instead created its own tests for job applicants. I dont think the diploma tells the business owner anything, Gunlock said. As a business owner, hed be glad to hire high school students as interns if they were receiving some training at school. He was a board member who fought for higher statewide requirements, including using test scores, for diplomas. But those requirements have been weakened by allowing students to graduate using alternate pathways such as having strong attendance or a doing community service project. Everybody wants a participation trophy, he said. Had I thought about it at the time (he was on the board), I would have advocated for a multi-tiered diploma. That would mean giving possibly three or four diplomas an honors diploma, a standard one, a work-ready one and maybe a participation trophy with low demands. It falls short of what Europeans do, but would approach how those countries award different classes of diplomas for college-preparatory schools or those preparing kids for work-school training combinations. Thats not really on the table for Ohio this spring, as the state school board and state legislature debate again where to set graduation requirements. All the while, businesses are stating the bar is too low. Tom Lasley, a finalist in 2016 to become Ohios state superintendent, backs having a few diplomas here for a few levels of learning. The University of Dayton professor who heads Learn to Earn, a Dayton-area project to boost learning and job preparation, also disagrees with lowering graduation requirements here. He also is a fan of how European companies take on almost all vocational students as interns. Yet, he cautions against tracking students, meaning placing them on a college or career track too young. Tracking too young In the Netherlands, an exam given to all eighth graders puts a little more than 20% of Dutch ninth graders on a path to academic research university. That exam, known as Cito, directs about 40% toward higher professional education, with mostly classes and some internships at colleges of applied science. That separation of programs by school is common in Europe, while usually mixed together at U.S. colleges. The other 40% start more work-based vocational training that can include apprenticeships or other programs with lots of work time. Thats too strict for Lasley, who would prefer a mix of career prep and college prep, like in the career academies model just started by the Akron schools. It is used in some Cleveland schools and was pioneered in the Nashville, Tennessee, school district. Anthropologists warn about romanticizing what we see in other countries, Lasley said. We can learn from them. I think weve pushed too hard to try to get all kids to go to college, but Im also concerned that wed track young people way too early into fields of study. For the Dutch and for Germans, its natural. Madelaine Kunstmann, 26, a clerk at the Karstadt department store in downtown Hamburg, Germany, was happy to do an internship and training for stores, which she finished by 19. I think its good for life and work and school, she said. I learned about people and I had experience. Daniela Wullems, 36, was an apprentice in a shop learning the retail trade before she started working in a clothing store in downtown Hamburg. She now helps new apprentices learn while she works. That's typical in countries like Germany, where there is real training for many more jobs than in the U.S. (Lisa DeJong/The Plain Dealer) Lisa DeJong/The Plain DealerLisa DeJong/The Plain Dealer Daniela Wullems, a manager at a nearby clothing store, said shes happy to employ an apprentice. The student will work in the store for three years and then become an employee. In Rotterdam, requirements for diplomas are mixed. A downtown McDonalds hires servers and janitors with no diploma just like in the U.S. The Esprit clothing store doesnt require them, though the C &A department store uses them partly. Sometimes, interns end up working in surprising places on their way to a diploma. Isabel Lenders, 18, whos studying at Albeda College in Rotterdam one of the colleges of applied science interned at Amsterdams Schipol Airport. Her first year she helped push wheelchairs around terminals. Now, in her second year, she is interning at the James Hotel near Rotterdam Central Station. At the front desk, she checks in guests and helps explain local restaurants and attractions to visitors. Its not the same job, but you have the same things to do, she said. We have to do it (the internship), but I also like it. You are helping people. Alongside her is another Albeda intern, Eline Berre, 25, who earned the flight diploma a few years ago and traveled around the world. Now she is seeking a tourism diploma so she can settle back in the city and work for travel agencies, hotels, museums and other tourist spots. Shes an example of the system working for someone changing paths over time. She also managed to overcome a low score on her Cito exam, which originally placed her at the lowest level. Im not really a fan of Cito, she said. Youre quite young and you have a lot of things in your head. At that age youre not thinking about this (work). Your school and your parents are. But she is a fan of starting on a career at a young age, rather than going through 12 boring grades of classes. BEACHWOOD, Ohio -- Dr. Reuben Gobezie is known as one of the nations and worlds top orthopedic surgeons. But these days, in addition to his medical practice, there is another type of operation he has going -- the operation of a coffee shop. The coffee shop business stems from Gobezies keen desire to help the homeless. The Daily Dose coffee shop -- which is more of a coffee stand -- can be easily spotted in the entry area, next to the reception desk, of the new Lake Health Beachwood Medical Center. The medical center opened April 2 at the northwest corner of Chagrin Boulevard and Richmond Road, at 25501 Chagrin Blvd. One hundred percent of our proceeds go towards helping a local charity, which is the (Cleveland) City Mission (and New Horizons Program), Gobezie said. Every year, were going to choose a Cleveland charity to donate to, although well probably be staying with the City Mission for a while. The City Missions Lauras Home program helps single mothers, who often can only obtain jobs that pay minimum or low wages, to eventually become homeowners. The program was started two or three years ago, Gobezie said. It takes about 11 months for (women) to go through. After a single mother decides to go down the path of home ownership, New Horizons purchases a blighted home for $1 from the Cuyahoga Land Bank. A local group provides renovation costs and volunteers for a total home remodel. At the same time, the mother prepares for home ownership with specialized casework and financial planning classes. At the completion of home ownership training and home renovation, the family moves in. After 24 months of proven management of full-time employment and home care, the homes deed is turned over to the woman. A native of Ethiopia who grew up in California, Gobezie moved to Cleveland 15 years ago when he began to teach at Case Western Reserve University. I love it here, he said. My wifes from Cleveland. Gobezie said people arent just getting any coffee when they buy a cup to help the charity. Daily Dose has teamed with Crimson Cup to source their coffees. Crimson Cup, of Columbus, uses only Class 1 Specialty Grade beans. Class 1 beans offer more consistently sized and shaped beans, which helps the coffee to roast evenly. I have to admit that when we first started, I didnt know about Crimson Cup and didnt know if it would be good, Gobezie said. But it is very good. People are really liking it. The beans used in all Daily Dose drinks are hand-roasted every day in small batches to bring out their unique flavor profiles. The beans come from small coffee farms in remote, high-altitude growing regions all over the world, including Gobezies native Ethiopia, Guatemala, Honduras and Indonesia. All Daily Dose coffee beans also are certified kosher through Ohio-K Kosher Supervision Services. The Daily Dose Coffee Shop is open from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. Through his independent practice, Cleveland Shoulder Institute, Gobezie is one of the highest-volume shoulder surgeons in the United States. Outside of his orthopedic work, Gobezie spends much of his time helping the homeless in Cleveland, Orlando, Fla., and in Ethiopia. His Coffee for a Cause effort is seeking to make a difference in the community. That effort will be greatly helped if people -- not only those visiting the Lake Health Beachwood Medical Center, but those traveling through Beachwood -- stop in for some coffee. We would like people to come in off the street as theyre driving along Chagrin Boulevard, try our coffee and help out our charity, Gobezie said. Read more news from the Sun Press. INDEPENDENCE, Ohio -- Theft, Brecksville Road A man reported prescription medication stolen from his car May 2. The victim said the car was parked in a lot, and when he returned to it the next day, the medication was missing. There were no suspects at the time of the report. Warrant arrest, Brecksville Road Officers responded to a call from Lakewood police at 2:52 p.m. May 3 that a man wanted on a warrant out of Independence had been picked up in Lakewood. The suspect was turned over to Independence police without incident, reports said. Read more news from the Parma Sun Post. STRONGSVILLE, Ohio -- A mysterious church would like to move into a vacant Temple Drive building that was formerly a Masonic Temple. However, the church first needs City Council to rezone the property from an office district to a public facilities district. The rezoning would not go to the ballot because in Strongsville, voters decide rezonings only if residential land is involved, said Law Director Neal Jamison. On Monday (May 20), council without discussion referred the rezoning request to the citys Planning Commission for a recommendation. The former Masonic Temple, a gathering place for Masons or Freemasons, is near the northwest corner of Temple and Pearl Road, about 2,000 feet south of Ohio 82, in an area packed with retail and fast-food restaurants. The land is owned by Relentless Recovery Inc., a Cleveland automobile-repossession company with locations throughout Ohio, including Akron, Elyria, Perry and Warren, according to the firms website. According to the Cuyahoga County Fiscal Office website, Relentless Recovery bought the Masonic Temple site, measuring about 1.15 acres, in June 2016. Relentless Recovery filed the rezoning application. The change in zoning would restore the structure back to its original purpose and use -- church and house of worship, Relentless Recovery wrote on its application. Mark Manos, compliance officer with Relentless Recovery, told cleveland.com that his firm had planned to move its corporate headquarters into the former Masonic Temple. Since buying the building three years ago, the company has installed a new heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system, replaced electrical lines and made other improvements. However, Relentless Recovery dropped plans to relocate after its Cleveland landlord offered free rent as an incentive for the company to stay put. Manos said a church now wants to buy the former Masonic Temple property. He didnt know the name or denomination of the church, saying the deal is being handled through a Realtor, but added that it was a non-Catholic Christian church. He said the church plans to pave the parking lot and improve the property in other ways. Manos didnt provide the name and contact information of the Realtor, who might know more about the church. Jamison, the citys law director, also didnt know the churchs name or denomination. Read more news from the Sun Star Courier. Sunday, May 26, 2019 at 6:05AM The trailers on Netflix are particularly useful for when you want to decide what to watch next. Unfortunately, these dont seem to be spoiler-free. And thats what writer/director Edgar Wright is complaining about. His film The Worlds End got a major plot twist revealed in the auto-playing trailer. If you havent seen it yet, Wright claims this would definitely ruin the first time for anyone watching it. The 2013 science fiction film stars Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Paddy Considine, Martin Freeman, Eddie Marsan, and Rosamund Pike. They are out on a hometown pub crawl when they were forced to deal with an alien invasion. The film is the final entry in the Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy. @Netflix also shows the key twist to The Worlds End as the automatic trailer on the page. So tough shit if you wanted to go in blind. edgarwright (@edgarwright) May 25, 2019 Source: Deadline CLEVELAND, OHIO -- Stable Genius President Donald Trump memorialized Tricky Dick Nixon by having his own Im not a crook moment when Trump claimed I dont do cover-ups and then retweeted a tape of Speaker Nancy Pelosi, doctored to make her sound drunk. The Washington Post which has been keeping a tally of false statements made by Trump can add to the total of over 10,000 so far. Not only does Trump do cover-ups, he has had people like convicted felon Michael Cohen and U.S. Attorney General William Barr doing cover-ups for him. Trump cover-ups have covered everything from Cohen paying hush money to Stormy Daniels to Barrs actions since the release of the Mueller report. Contrary to Barrs misleading summary of the Mueller Report, Special Counsel Robert Mueller found he could not exonerate Trump of obstruction during the periods Muellers team was investigating, and during the investigation itself. Since Mueller turned in his report, Trump has been transparent in continuing to try and cover-up and obstruct Congressional oversight duties called for in The U.S. Constitution. Under Trumps direction, White House lawyers, the Department of Justice and the Secretary of Treasury have sought to subvert subpoenas from Congressional oversight committees. Leading up to this Memorial Day weekend, Bone Spur Deferment Donald Trump has not deferred from stoking war with Iran and trying to thwart the checks and balances of the U.S. Constitution that so many men and women gave their lives fighting for. Coming up tomorrow I will be posting a cartoon commemorating Memorial Day remembering the actions of one of the many who gave their lives for all of us. On May 23, members of the House Energy and Natural Resources Committee voted to strip all renewable energy and efficiency provisions out of the most current version of House Bill 6 (Bill to gut Ohios green-energy standards waved forward, May 24). They are no longer hiding behind the pretense that the purpose of the bill was to provide cleaner air or reduce climate change pollution. Instead, House Bill 6 imposes an energy tax on every single ratepayer across the state of Ohio to bail out nuclear power plants and old, dirty coal plants while scrapping the effective clean energy standards that have been working in Ohio. Lawmakers had the opportunity to develop a comprehensive energy strategy similar to those in other Midwestern states that expanded investment in renewable energy and energy-efficiency programs and removed barriers to in-state clean energy generation. Instead, they bowed to the wishes and enormous campaign contributions of FirstEnergy by ensuring the benefits of the bill will go almost exclusively to the states two aging nuclear power plants. Its not too late to stop this - we need Ohio representatives to stand up for the best interest of all Ohioans, not bow to one company. I urge my state representative David Greenspan to oppose HB 6. Heather Tuck-Macalla, Bay Village (Updated 2:15 p.m.): A follow-up notification from Cuyahoga County says that for a short time Sunday, the 911 software experienced an issue with limited connectivity. However, the 911 vendor and AT&T have conducted testing and confirmed that the lines are back operating as normal. CLEVELAND, Ohio Emergency phone lines to reach law enforcement are down across several Northeast Ohio communities on Sunday. Lyndhurst sent out a notification to residents about 11 a.m. Sunday saying that 911 lines are down. If you need to contact Lyndhurst law enforcement in an emergency, you can call 440-442-1234. On the West Side, the cities of Parma, Parma Heights and Brooklyn are also experiencing issues with their 911 phone lines Sunday. In case of an emergency, you can call the communities central dispatch center at 440-499-4876. In Olmsted Falls, if you have a hard time reaching 911, you can call 440-235-3335 for police and 440-235-3746 for fire and EMS services, a notification from the county states. Cuyahoga Countys ReadyNotify notification system sent out this message about 11:50 a.m. Sunday: Cuyahoga County is experiencing a sporadic 911 outage. If unable to get through using 911, residents are to dial their local non-emergency number. SEVILLE, Ohio A crowd of more than 1,500 volunteers turned out Saturday to decorate the graves with American flags at the Ohio Western Reserve National Cemetery. This year also marks the 20th anniversary of the cemetery, which is about 45 miles southeast of Cleveland, in Medina County. The event is a collaboration with the Ohio American Legion and local Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts troops. Most of the volunteers who turn out for the event are scouts. Weve always done the decorating on Saturday with a ceremony on Sunday because theres so much going on in the surrounding community, said Mark Polen, Director Ohio Western Reserve National Cemetery. It gives folks the opportunity to come out for at least one of our events and also participate in their own towns events as well. "Its wonderful to see all the young people out here. its important for those of us who served, to pass the torch on to these young folks. Theres a lot of civic education that goes on in the Scouts and this is just part of the process, Polen said. The staff spends over a hundred hours getting ready for the Memorial Day weekend. Polen wants people to remember that the most important thing about Memorial Day is to honor the men and women who have served our country. He also wants people to be exposed to the national cemetery. We get people coming through our front door who dont know we exist, and they only live 20 miles from here, he said. Statehouse reporter Laura Hancock took a deep dive into what Ohio might look like if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns the longstanding Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion, examining the political and pragmatic consequences. On the latest episode of the cleveland.com podcast This Week in the CLE, Lauras editor, Jane Kahoun talks with her colleagues about what Laura found. Its an illuminating and somewhat frightening picture of what could be ahead, especially if state leaders do not prepare for the consequences. You can Download the MP3 here to start listening to the abortion discussion, at minute 16:58, or, on many devices, you can click this player to listen to the entire podcast. Or, you can read a transcript below Chris Quinn: Jane, one of the reporters you work with, Laura Hancock, put together a detailed look at what the Ohio landscape might look like if the US Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade on abortion. The piece had all sorts of facets. Let's start with the structural side first. Laura predicted that abortion foes would immediately put a constitutional ban on abortion on the Ohio ballot. Is there any indication on whether such a thing might pass? Jane Kahoun: Well, I just saw a national poll the other day, a Quinnipiac poll that said more Americans favor access to legal abortion than those who oppose it. So I don't know the answer to that question. Ohio is, it's Ohio, it's different. But yeah, that would be if the Supreme Court leaves it up to states, they would move for a constitutional amendment. There are other scenarios possible. The court could do a wholesale reversal of Roe v. Wade, or it could decline to reverse it. Chris : Well, is there a possibility you'd see the opposite, that people who believe in right to abortion would seek a constitutional amendment enshrining that? Jane : I haven't heard any talk about that. But that's very interesting. Perhaps they will [crosstalk 00:01:16]. Chris : Because there are strong feelings on both sides. She also looked at what would happen to women seeking abortions, and predicted the picture would look very different based on income. How would that be? Jane : Because wealthy women will find a way to get an abortion, whether it's traveling to another state or finding somebody who will quietly provide it, whereas poor women aren't going to have those kinds of options. So, also, many might turn to try to induce their own abortions. Chris : Mary. Mary Kilpatrick: The doctors that I've talked to about this can't say enough how dangerous that would be if women were in a position where they felt like they had to induce their own abortion. These are very, very dangerous situations that can put the woman at risk. I was talking about what the climate was in the 1960s and was told by an attorney that Cincinnati, a hospital in Cincinnati had an entire ward dedicated to women who had botched abortions. Chris : Wow. That's frightening. Ohio's a big state, and we're bordered by a bunch of states. What are the states on our borders that we think would offer the closest options to women in the various parts of Ohio? Pennsylvania seems likely? Jane : New York, although that's not technically on our border, but it's not far to get to the New York border. Chris : What about on the west side? Jane Kahoun: Maybe Michigan? I don't know. Chris : Maybe Michigan. Mary : Well, I mean, even today too, for women who don't live near an abortion clinic, which is most women in Ohio, I think there's like seven abortion clinics in the state, and most of them are in urban areas, they have to visit the abortion clinic twice. You have to have an initial consult, then you have to make another appointment for the actual abortion procedure. So even today, access to abortion for low income women, I mean, you're talking about taking off several days off your job, if you live far away, you've got to find a way to get to a major city where you can get in to have an abortion. So even if you look at the landscape today, it is tough for low income women who don't live in urban areas to get an abortion in Ohio. Chris : Well, let me ask this. We've dealt statewide, and particularly in Cleveland, with a high infant mortality rate. If the belief is that women of lesser means, it will be more challenging getting abortions, and we end up with a lot more births, largely in that population, what will that do to Ohio's resources in dealing with all of these children that we don't have now with all of these special needs? Jane : Well, the right to life folks say that there are plenty of people waiting to adopt children. And these children could be placed. They also say they're working to make sure the social services are there. There are these crisis pregnancy centers that are ... Chris : Hold on, hold on. How many abortions were there in Ohio last year? Was it 28,000, or something like that? It was a huge number. They're saying that there's 28,000 potentially adoptive parents for ...? Jane : I think this is all open to debate. It's not a decided ... Mary : The other thing to note is not all women are having an abortion because they don't want to have a child. There are women out there who are having an abortion in the late stages of pregnancy because some sort of genetic anomaly or because the pregnancy is dangerous to her. So just because there were x number of abortions at Ohio in 2018, that doesn't mean that there would've been that same number of births. Chris : The other question is, would prosecutors in the urban areas, where you have a greater percentage of people that favor abortion rights, prosecute if doctors did this? And its hard to know because I dont think theyre going to campaign on this, but its an interesting question across the country and in Ohio who would prosecute these cases. RICHMOND HEIGHTS, Ohio -- Many veterans, myself included, have struggled at some point with what to say when someone thanks us for our service. Youre welcome just doesnt feel right. We didnt serve because we wanted recognition; and those who made the ultimate sacrifice probably felt the same way. We served because we felt it was the right thing to do; and we sacrificed for the same reason anyone sacrifices: to take care of those whom we care about. To truly honor those who have given all, we must honor what they gave it for. Take a moment to look around you; the person standing to your left and to your right. Those whom we honor on Memorial Day died protecting the person to their left and the person to their right. And they served because to stand for this great nation was, and is, the right thing to do. The lesson we can take from them is twofold: honor your country and take care of each other. I suppose it is easy to lose track of this simple yet profound philosophy in todays hectic and fast-paced life. Between obligations, distractions and the hustle of todays world, I think we all have come up short from time to time. Maybe we havent been as kind as we should have been to a loved one; or maybe we didnt treat a stranger as we should have; perhaps we did not do right by a fellow citizen or follow the laws of this land or live up to the values of its founding. I can tell you that is also part of the conflict in how some veterans feel when thanked for their service: We are not perfect, either, and we dont always feel like heroes. We are all human and wed hate to let someone else down with our imperfections. But it is important for a society to have heroes. We need role models to exemplify what is good and what is right. We need examples to point to, so that we can teach our young about what defines who we are. We need to be able to point to our role models and heroes and say: This is what is expected, and This is what must be done under extreme circumstances. And while no one is perfect; the dead we honor on Memorial Day meet that need. They teach us that some things are worth fighting for; and dying for. They teach us that this country is a special place. And they teach us to count our blessings. We can ground ourselves in remembering their sacrifice. It helps us remember what is truly important. It gives us pause to reflect on how we should act: as those who have inherited their American legacy. It is said that only the dead have seen the end of war. This may be true. While our honored dead now peacefully rest with their Creator, others will still be called to make the ultimate sacrifice. As Thomas Jefferson said: The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." Try to remember that as you deal with others in your daily life. You might be dealing with one of those who will make that sacrifice one day; or someone who is missing someone who already has. Know that our heroes do not want our regret or mourning. We best honor them through remembrance and by calling upon ourselves to be better, to do better, to try every day to live up to our highest standards and to earn what has been given to us. In times past, warring armies in the field would stop fighting to allow each other time to collect their dead. Once finished, each army would signal the opposing side by firing three times; letting them know that the duty to the dead had been satisfied and it was time to return to the business at hand. This tradition of three volleys continues today in memorials for our fallen warriors, signaling that our duty to the dead is fulfilled and it is time to return to the business of the living. In bringing my words full circle; I would like to speak to what feels right for a veteran who is thanked for their service. It is simple and sincere: We appreciate the support. So, as you hear those three volleys fired tomorrow on Memorial Day, please accept these words on behalf of our fallen heroes: Thank you for your support, and thank you for being present in remembrance on Memorial Day. J. McVey retired as a master sergeant from the U.S. Army National Guard after serving two tours in Afghanistan with the Guard and a Balkans tour with the regular Army. He is now a police officer in Richmond Heights. This is excerpted from the Memorial Day address he plans to give tomorrow at 9:55 a.m. at the Richmond Heights Community Park, 27285 Highland Road. The thoughts expressed are his own. ************** Use the comments to share your thoughts. Then, stay informed when readers reply to your comments by using the Follow option at the top of the comments, & look for updates via the small blue bell in the lower right as you look at more stories on cleveland.com. SHAKER HEIGHTS, Ohio -- As we approach Memorial Day honoring our war dead, take a few minutes to reflect on our governments most sordid, disgraceful, unconscionable, ignoble and shameful policy during the Vietnam War: The Johnson administrations Project 100,000 program instituted in October 1966, which involved the drafting of low-IQ men as the war escalated. Of the 58,220 of our military who died in Vietnam, 5,478 mentally deficient servicemen were killed, most in combat. The latter statistic was provided in the Fall 2017 edition of The Veteran, a publication of Vietnam Veterans Against the War, in a story written by Hamilton Gregory, author of McNamaras Folly: The Use of Low-IQ Troops in the Vietnam War. Gregory enlisted in the U.S. Army after graduation from college. While at an armed forces induction center in Nashville, Tennessee, a sergeant ordered him to take charge of Johnny Gupton (not his real name). The sergeant instructed Gregory to go with him every step of the way during their basic training at Fort Benning, Georgia. The sergeant said Gupton could not read or write and would require assistance in completing documents at Fort Benning. Then the sergeant said, Make sure he doesnt get lost. Hes one of McNamaras morons. Vietnam veteran Louis H. Pumphrey, pictured in 2013, is a member of Chapter 39 of Veterans for Peace. (Gus Chan, The Plain Dealer, File, 2013) Gupton was among men with low IQs drafted in a program that resulted in the addition of 354,000 low-IQ men into the armed forces, with 71 percent sent into the U.S. Army; the Navy and Marines each getting 10 percent; and 9 percent going into the Air Force, according to Gregory. The reason, as you might imagine, was that President Lyndon B. Johnson and Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara were desperate for warm bodies, wrote Gregory. Earlier, the draftees had failed the mental acuity test administered by the military and therefore had been out of reach of the draft, but the Johnson administration changed that policy. The program also encompassed not only those with below-normal IQs, but also men with other mental or physical disabilities. There was a higher number of volunteer recruits in the program compared to the number of draftees, according to a RAND Corp. study of the strategy. Further, the endeavor, in addition to being applied to those who had failed mental acuity tests, also included men who had been unable to meet other eligibility criteria. Gregory reported that, when he was on his way to Fort Benning with Gupton, he asked his charge what state he was from and Gupton said he did not know. Gupton, Gregory wrote, was unaware the United States was at war, had no understanding of basic training, did not know his left from his right and had to be taught how to tie his boots. Gupton survived his tour in Vietnam because a sergeant took him under his wing, putting him in noncombat jobs. (The sergeant grew up with a sister who he said was mentally handicapped, and was sympathetic to Guptons condition.) One of the low-IQ fatalities, Gregory noted, was a nephew of combat veteran Barry Romo. The nephew, Robert, was in Vietnam for part of the time Romo served as a platoon leader. Romo was very worried about his kin, who he said was like a brother, because the new draftee was to be trained as an infantryman at Fort Lewis, Washington. Gregory reported that a contingent of the nephews family, along with Fort Lewis recruits, officers and sergeants, wrote to the military bases commanding general pleading that the recruit be spared combat duty because, as one relative wrote, he would die. The general refused to budge. Romos nephew was sent to Vietnam and was in combat close to the border between South and North Vietnam -- an especially dangerous area. While on a patrol and attempting to aid a wounded soldier, Robert was shot in the neck. Intense gunfire prevented a medic from treating Robert and he drowned in his own blood, said Romo. The army gave Romo permission to accompany the sealed aluminum casket with Roberts remains to Rialto, California, for his funeral. Romo said in a speech several years later that his nephews family never recovered from his death, which almost destroyed us with anger and sorrow. Gregory concluded his story in The Veteran with a quote from Joseph Galloway, a war correspondent: The Good Book says we must forgive those who trespass against us -- but what about those who trespass against the most helpless among us: those willing to conscript the mentally handicapped, the most innocent, and turn them into cannon fodder? Drafted in 1966, Louis H. Pumphrey was a reporter, then editor, for the U.S. Armys 1st Infantry Division newspaper in Vietnam from July 1967 to July 1968. He is a member of Chapter 39 of Veterans for Peace, based at a Cleveland Heights church. ************** Use the comments to share your thoughts. Then, stay informed when readers reply to your comments by using the Follow option at the top of the comments, & look for updates via the small blue bell in the lower right as you look at more stories on cleveland.com. Guest columnist Mark Mecum is the chief executive officer for Ohio Childrens Alliance. In this role, he directs the strategic initiatives of the association, its advocacy and lobbying responsibilities, and development of collaborative partnerships. Each day that passes, more and more children from our community are being placed in foster care. Many of them come from families that are living in poverty and battling opiate addiction. These factors have compounded in recent years, leading to record numbers of children entering Ohios foster care system. Today, 16,000 Ohio children reside in foster care. Six years ago, there were just 12,000. Many believe the Ohio foster care total will grow to 18,000 by the end of this year. These trends are indeed a crisis that warrants activism, leadership and policy solutions. The crisis also demands that we address the problem with a different set of tools if we truly want to stem the tide. Fortunately, Ohios new governor, Mike DeWine, recognizes that Ohio is experiencing a foster care crisis and has acted swiftly to address the problem. In January, he launched a statewide campaign to promote Ohios need to recruit foster and adoptive parents. He also has called for a 95 percent increase in the state governments share of child welfare funding. Such a funding increase -- $74 million per year -- would be unprecedented and is long overdue. The funding would be an investment in our communities. It would empower community agencies to support more families in crisis and prevent children from entering foster care. It would equip child protection agencies to meet the needs of kids already in their custody. And it would expand Ohios new Bridges program, which provides foster kids who age out of the system with the tools to succeed in adulthood. The governors plan is a blueprint for success. As lawmakers consider our states funding priorities, they must remember that children who are placed in foster care did not cause the neglect, abuse or dependency that was discovered in their families. These children -- like yours and mine -- deserve a childhood free of trauma, stress and constant moves into new homes. By enacting the governors proposal, vulnerable children and families in our community will finally receive the support and care that they need. Elected officials are not the only people capable of leading efforts to address Ohios foster care crisis. All of us have a role in protecting our communitys children. I urge every Ohioan to consider how they can be part of the solution. Are you willing to open your home to a foster child or an extended family member in need? Are you interested in adopting? Is there a foster care agency in your community in need of volunteers? Do you have ideas worth sharing with your state lawmakers? Our collective activism is critical to addressing Ohios foster care crisis. Have something to say about this topic? Use the comments to share your thoughts, and stay informed when readers reply to your comments by using Notification Settings (in blue) just below. Readers are invited to submit Opinion page essays on topics of regional or general interest. Send your 500-word essay for consideration to Ann Norman at anorman@cleveland.com. Essays must include a brief bio and headshot of the writer. Essays rebutting todays topics are also welcome. CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Manager Terry Francona said the Indians needed a starting pitcher for Tuesday night to face the Red Sox at Fenway Park. Theyve found one. Prospect Zach Plesac will make his big-league debut against Boston. The Indians 12th round pick out of Ball State in 2016 is having a big year in the minors. Hes 4-1 with a 1.41 ERA in nine starts and was recently promoted from Class AA Akron to Class AAA Columbus. Plesac, the nephew of former big-league pitcher Dan Plesac, has struck out 56 and walked seven in 57 1/3 innings. The opposition is hitting .185 against him. Heres a brief scouting report on the 6-3, 220-pound right-hander: He throws a fastball between 94 mph and 96 mph. His curveball is his second best pitch and he also throws a change up and slider. When the Indians drafted him, Plesac was coming off Tommy John surgery on his right elbow and he did not pitch in 2016. Last season was his first healthy year as a pro and this year hes raised his game. Plesac started the year at Akron, going 1-1 with a 0.96 ERA in six starts. He went 3-0 with a 2.25 ERA in three starts at Columbus after his promotion. The Indians created the opening for Plesac when they optioned Adam Plutko to Columbus on Sunday. 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. It's just $3.99 a month, which works out to about 13 cents a day. Learn more and sign up here. You can sign up for free text messages from Cleveland.com reporters for May. Heres a link to show you how. Call it the 21st-century space race. A new exchange-traded fund that launched last month is already outperforming the market up nearly 5% versus the almost 2% loss over the same period and it's intent on profiting from a rapidly developing theme: outer space. The Procure Space ETF, which began trading on April 11 on the New York Stock Exchange, tracks companies within the space industry that are involved in high-growth areas like big data, 5G and the internet of things. Believe it or not, those seemingly earth-bound themes are key drivers for this space-based fund, which trades under the ticker UFO, says Andrew Chanin, the fund's creator and the co-founder and CEO of ProcureAM. "If you look at what is really driving the space industry right now, we're talking about some of these transformational technologies, things like 5G, cloud computing, internet of things and connected devices," he said Monday on CNBC's "ETF Edge." "If you believe in those industries, you're saying there is going to be a massive increase of data, and these satellite companies are actually the backbone and the toll operators for this road that transfers data." The ETF is comprised of 30 stocks, with satellite companies, launch equipment makers and telecommunications firms among its top holdings. Its heaviest weighting is in Maxar Technologies, a satellite maker focused specifically on space technology, but its top 10 holdings also feature the familiar Dish Network. In its effort to be a "pure play" on space, the fund's strategy is to be 80% invested in companies that get at least 50% of their revenues from the space industry. And, according to Chanin, "most people are overlooking" the involvement of satellite companies in this growing area. That's why the fund includes "companies that not a lot of people actually hold in their already existing exposure," he said Monday. "Not just did we want to bring out the Procure Space ETF to be the first pure-play space ETF, but we also wanted to really capture what the broader space industry looks like. And most people don't have that exposure currently, so we provided something really new for investors." Right now, the amount spent on the space economy each year is around $384 billion. Eighty percent of that is spent commercially, with government spending totaling just 20%. But when it comes to larger companies that people typically associate with aerospace like Boeing, Airbus and Lockheed Martin, their size runs somewhat counter to Procure's mission of creating a pure play on space, Chanin said. "They're considered diversified companies," he said. "If you look at some of those more industrial defense names [and] aerospace names, that people are familiar with, because it's not a pure play, they fit into this 20% diversified traunch. So, you are getting exposure to these companies that are huge players, but because you don't necessarily want a fund that's going to be guided by these companies that aren't necessarily deriving their revenues from this theme, that's why they have this traunch." Mary Ann Bartels, head of ETF strategy at Bank of America Global Research, predicted huge growth in this area of the market in the next two decades. "We've estimated that the market, by 2045, can actually be close to $3 trillion. So ... we see tremendous amount of growth in this area," she said in the same "ETF Edge" interview, adding that the firm's exact estimate is $2.7 trillion. The main driver? For Bartels, "it's digital." "I think this is what the world is underestimating, is the power of digital, the power of 5G and the growth in all the markets, whether it's cloud computing, whether it's semiconductors," she said. "We have short-term hiccups here in the marketplace, but the long-term prospects for the growth in digital [are] quite large." Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond waits for Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May to give her keynote address on the fourth and final day of the Conservative Party Conference 2018 at the International Convention Centre in Birmingham, central England, on October 3, 2018. British finance minister Philip Hammond said on Sunday it would be very difficult for Prime Minister Theresa May's successor to bypass the will of parliament and seek to take Britain out of the European Union without a deal. Several of the candidates vying to take over from May have said Britain must leave on Oct. 31, without or without a deal. Parliament has repeatedly voted against a no-deal Brexit and Hammond said he did not believe Britain was likely to be heading towards leaving without an agreement. Hammond said parliament would be "vehemently opposed" to a strategy of leaving without a deal. "It would be very difficult for a prime minister who adopted no deal as a policy ... to retain the confidence of the House of Commons," Hammond told BBC TV, adding that he could not personally support a no-deal strategy. The EU Parliament will be much more fragmented over the next five years with the established centrist bloc set to fall short of securing a majority at this week's election, early results show. The current projection from the European parliament is that center-right and center-left blocks will end up with a total of 329 seats out of 751.The lack of a majority for the centrist bloc the center-right European People's Party (EPP) and the center-left Socialist and Democrats (S&D) which has held power in Brussels for several decades could further complicate decision-making at the European Union. Pro-EU parties will hold onto two-thirds of the seats at the EU Parliament, but their nationalist opponents have also produced solid results.Italy's anti-immigration Lega party has reportedly secured 28 seats, essentially doubling its level of national support. Euroskeptic groups in France and the U.K. look to have held the gains they saw in 2014 but that said, the results on Monday morning suggested a strong showing for Liberal and Green parties. Turnout rises Voter turnout has typically been one of the EU election's biggest challenges. Indications show that figure has hit 51% this year, up from 43% in the 2014 election. This year's vote was particularly relevant due to the surge of anti-EU and nationalist parties across the region. However, the pro-EU parties look to have largely held their ground in many countries and the euro rose slightly in early trading Monday. Holger Schmieding, an economist at Berenberg, said there had been "no dramatic upset" in a research note as the early exit polls were released. "Defying the doomsayers once again, Europe continues to muddle through reasonably well. Judging by exit polls and first projections, the EU election will result in a more fragmented parliament with a slightly increased presence of euroskeptic right-wing parties," he said. However, he added that "the deeply divided right-wingers will remain far away from wielding any significant power at the European level. They will not be able to block significant decisions." France In France, Marine Le Pen's euroskeptic National Rally looks to have topped the European election vote, winning 22 seats, narrowly beating the centrist alliance of President Emmanuel Macron which won 21. The marginal victory for Le Pen's party marked a symbolic victory for nationalist supporters across the bloc. In a statement, Macron's office described the performance as disappointing but not disastrous. It also said pro-EU parties were still in the majority. UK Projected results in the U.K. showed the newly-formed Brexit Party had comfortably beat the country's two main parties, with voters expressing their frustration over deadlock in Westminster. The biggest gainer appeared to be the Liberal Democratic party which had campaigned with a message to remain a part of the European Union. It comes shortly after Conservative Party leader Theresa May announced her resignation as prime minister on Friday morning. Germany Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative alliance secured the most seats in Germany in the European Parliament election on Sunday, the early results showed, with the Greens and the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (Afd) party set to finish second and fourth respectively. Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU), and its partner the Christian Social Union, received roughly 28% of the vote share equating to 29 seats, followed by the Greens with approximately 21 seats. Italy Meanwhile in Italy, the Lega party picked up the most votes comfortably beating its coalition partner the Five Star Movement (M5S). Early results showed Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini's Lega party had secured around 28 seats, while socialist PD has taken 19 seats to secure second place. M5S, led by Italy's other deputy leader Luigi Di Maio, looked on track to receive around 17% of the vote, securing 14 seats. That compared with 32% in the 2018 country-wide election and 21% in the EU vote five years ago. The result could herald a dramatic shift in the coalition government's dynamic, following months of wrangling over their respective manifestos and ministerial appointments. Why it matters Iraq offered Sunday to mediate in the crisis between its two key allies, the United States and Iran, amid escalating Middle East tensions and as Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers steadily unravels. Iraq's foreign minister, Mohammed al-Hakim, made the offer during a joint news conference in Baghdad with visiting Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif. "We are trying to help and to be mediators," said al-Hakim, adding that Baghdad "will work to reach a satisfactory solution" while stressing that Iraq stands against unilateral steps taken by Washington. In recent weeks, tensions between Washington and Tehran soared over the U.S. deploying an aircraft carrier and B-52 bombers to the Persian Gulf over a still-unexplained threat it perceives from Tehran. The U.S. also plans to send 900 additional troops to the 600 already in the Mideast and extending their stay. The crisis takes root in President Donald Trump's withdrawal last year of the U.S. from the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers that capped Iran's uranium enrichment activities in return for lifting sanctions. Washington subsequently reimposed sanctions on Iran, sending its economy into freefall. Trump has argued that the deal failed to sufficiently curb Iran's ability to develop nuclear weapons or halt its support for militias throughout the Middle East that the U.S. says destabilize the region, as well as address the issue of Tehran's missiles, which can reach both U.S. regional bases and Israel. Zarif, who was been on a whirlwind diplomatic offensive to preserve the rest of the accord, insisted that Iran "did not violate the nuclear deal" and urged European nations to exert efforts to preserve the deal following the U.S. pullout. Speaking about the rising tensions with the U.S., Zarif said Iran will be able to "face the war, whether it is economic or military, through steadfastness and its forces." He also pressed for a nonaggression agreement between Iran and Arab countries in the Gulf. The Shiite-majority Iraq has been trying to maintain a fine line as allies Tehran and Washington descended into verbal vitriol. The country also lies on the fault line between Shiite Iran and the mostly Sunni Arab world, led by powerhouse Saudi Arabia, and has long been a battlefield in which the Saudi-Iran rivalry for regional supremacy played out. The mediation offer by al-Hakim, Iraq's foreign minister, echoed one made Saturday by Mohamad al-Halbousi, the Iraqi parliament speaker. Al-Hakim also expressed concern for Iran's spiraling economy. Iranians make up the bulk of millions of Shiites from around the world who come to Iraq every year to visit its many Shiite shrines and holy places and their purchasing power has slumped after Trump reimposed the sanctions. "The sanctions against sisterly Iran are ineffective, and we stand by its side," al-Hakim said. Retired Libyan Army general Khalifa Haftar speaks during a press conference in the town of Abyar, 70 km southwest of Bengahzi, on May 17, 2014. Libyan eastern commander Khalifa Haftar has ruled out a ceasefire in the battle for Tripoli and accused the United Nations of seeking to partition Libya, according to an interview published by French newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche. Haftar's Libyan National Army (LNA) began an offensive in early April to take Tripoli from fighters loyal to Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj's Government of National Accord (GNA) which has the backing of the United Nations. The LNA, which is allied to a parallel government in the east, has not been able to breach the southern defenses of Tripoli. The fighting has killed at least 510 people, forced 75,000 out of their homes and trapped thousands of migrants in detention centers. "Of course, the political solution is still the goal. But to get back to politics, we must first finish with militias," Haftar told the newspaper. Haftar also said the head of U.N. mission to Libya, Ghassan Salame, was no longer impartial. "Partition of Libya is maybe what our adversaries want. This is maybe what Ghassan Salame also wants." 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 the LNA advanced on the capital. Even though France and other Western countries officially back the Libyan government, some have supported Haftar as they see him as a bulwark against Islamist militias in the country. Macron had asked Haftar in a meeting held in Paris this week to make a public step towards a ceasefire, without much luck, a French official told Reuters. President Donald Trump sided with North Korea in its recent personal attacks on Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, saying he "smiled" when Kim Jong Un called the former vice president a "low IQ individual." Trump, in a post on Twitter, asked if North Korea's recent criticism of Biden was a signal to him. North Korea fired off some small weapons, which disturbed some of my people, and others, but not me. I have confidence that Chairman Kim will keep his promise to me, & also smiled when he called Swampman Joe Biden a low IQ individual, & worse. Perhaps that's sending me a signal? White House press secretary Sarah Sanders, in an interview on NBC's "Meet The Press," said the president of the United States and the North Korean dictator agreed in their assessments of Trump's political rival. "I think they agree in their assessment of former Vice President Joe Biden," Sanders said, criticizing the Obama administration's handling of North Korea. Biden had criticized Kim Jong Un as a "dictator" and a "tyrant" at a recent rally in Philadelphia. North Korean state media responded by calling Biden a "fool of low IQ," among other insults. The president also appeared to contradict his national security advisor, John Bolton, who said North Korea's recent missile launches violated U.N. Security Council resolutions. Trump dismissed the recent launches as "some small weapons" and said that while some of his people were disturbed by North Korea's recent actions, he was not. "I have confidence that Chairman Kim will keep his promise to me," Trump said. Nigel Farage, leader of the Brexit Party, reacts as he speaks to members of the media at a European Parliamentary elections count centre in Southampton, U.K., on Sunday, May 26, 2019. Britain's newly-formed Brexit Party comfortably beat the country's two main parties in European Parliamentary elections, early results showed Monday, as voters expressed their frustration over the Brexit deadlock. The results are coming in after Conservative Party leader Theresa May announced her resignation as prime minister on Friday morning. It is expected that U.K. MEPs (Members of the European Parliament) will only take their seats until the country leaves the European Union. Brexit has gripped British society for more than three years, splintering both the ruling Conservative Party and the opposition Labour party into warring factions since the country's EU referendum in June 2016. The U.K. participated in European Parliamentary elections on Thursday after failing to leave the EU at the end of March. The UK is electing 73 MEPs from across 12 regions and 10 have so far declared. The Brexit Party have 28 MEPs winning 32% of the vote and are largest party in 9 regions. The pro-EU Lib Dems have also made gains, taking second place with 20%. The Green Party also enjoyed a good night, recording its best performance since 1989. The Conservative Party was ignored by the electorate, winning only 3 MEPs while the main opposition Labour Party won 10 MEPs and just 11% of the vote. Veteran euroskeptic campaigner Nigel Farage who is credited by some with forcing Britain's 2016 referendum on EU membership launched his new party in April, after claiming the country's political leaders had betrayed the vote to leave. Farage's former party UKIP (The U.K. Independence Party) gained the most U.K. seats at the 2014 European Parliamentary election. 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. You must be logged in to participate in the Show Me the Errors contest. The results of the European Parliamentary elections will start to be declared today To publish exit polls or results is a criminal offence while elections are under way. Only once the clock strikes 10pm tonight, and polls close elsewhere in Europe, will a picture of how the UK voted start to emerge. The results are released region by region, with the northeast likely to announce first, at 10.15pm. London is set to declare as late as 2am tomorrow. In 2014, the last region to report was Scotland, at 11am, as it awaited results from the remote Western Isles. With the exception of Northern Ireland which uses a different system the results are expected be out in full by midday tomorrow. Sunday Times > Today: ToryDiary The results of the European Parliamentary elections will begin to be announced this evening Will our MEPs be in place for only four months? Sunday Times Leadership election 1) Gove declares Michael Gove today throws down the gauntlet to Boris Johnson, announcing that he will fight him for the Tory crown because he has a better track record and is more capable of delivering Brexit. The environment secretary will electrify the contest and argue that he should lead rather than his Vote Leave ally, whose campaign he dramatically torpedoed in 2016. Gove, who faced criticism from Brexiteers for backing Theresa Mays deal, will argue in a podcast interview with the BBCs Nick Robinson that he is best placed to deliver a better deal for Britain. Sunday Times I back Gove George Eustice, Sunday Times Leadership election 2) So does Leadsom Leadsom interview Sunday Times Andrea Leadsom today confirms that she will enter the race. In her first interview since leaving government last week, the former Commons leader vowed to leave the EU with or without a deal on October 31. To succeed in a negotiation you have to be prepared to walk away, she said. She said she would introduce a citizens rights bill to resolve uncertainty facing EU nationals, then seek agreement in other areas, such as on reciprocal healthcare and Gibraltar. Sunday Times Leadership election 3) So does Hancock The 40-year-old Health Secretary claimed he is a fresh start candidate who is connected with modern Britain. And he insisted he is the man to kick out the ugly politics of the last few years to able to attract a new generation of young voters. He warned that the next leader must look beyond Brexit or risk letting Jeremy Corbyn into Number 10 by Christmas. Mr Hancock declared: Weve got to unite the party but we need to unite the country, too. The next Prime Minister must not just be the leader for now but for years to come. Sun on Sunday Hancock displays near-contempt for people with autism and learning disabilities locked up in abusive detention Ian Birrell, Mail on Sunday I back Hancock Damian Green, Sunday Times Leadership election 4) So does Raab Claim that he botched Brexit negotiations Sunday Times Raab promises pay rise for millions Sun on Sunday My plan to deliver Brexit Dominic Raab, Mail on Sunday Leadership election 5) Johnson sets out his stall and comes under fire Former Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab launched his own leadership bid today in an article for the Mail on Sunday. The hardline Eurosceptic pledged to demonstrate unflinching resolve to secure Britains exit from the EU and vowed to leave with no deal if necessary. Mail on Sunday He will try to win over waverers with a wad of initiatives to boost NHS funding, tackle violent crime, ease the housing crisis and improve transport linksTo show he means business, Mr Johnson has spent the past few months drawing up a detailed manifesto for his first months as PM. It is packed with policies that he believes are clear vote-winners to prove he is more than a mere political showman. He has also held a series of drinks meetings with MPs at which he constantly reminds them of his popular appeal to ordinary voters. Sun on Sunday Leadership election 6) Not least from Stewart Leadership election 7) Hunt sets out business credentials Tory PM hopeful Rory Stewart launched a blistering attack on Boris Johnson yesterday branding him PinocchioMr Stewart said: I could not serve in a government whose policy was to push this country into a no-deal Brexit. I could not serve with Boris Johnson. I spoke to Boris, I suppose, about two weeks ago about this and I thought at the time he had assured me that he wouldnt push for a no-deal Brexit. So, we had a conversation about 20, 25 minutes and I left the room reassured by him that he wouldnt do this. But, it now seems that he is coming out for a no-deal Brexit. Sun on Sunday In an interview with The Sunday Times, the foreign secretary also said he was better placed than his main rivals to win a general election because unlike them he had fought and won a marginal seat. He also sought to dispel the notion that he was less combative than his rivals. Hunt said: If I was prime minister, Id be the first prime minister in living memory who has been an entrepreneur by background. Doing deals is my bread and butter as someone who has set up their own business. Ive taken risks, Ive employed people. You have to do deals the whole time. Sunday Times Javid insists that there will be a deal Mail on Sunday Other leadership candidate news: Rudd rules herself out of leadership contest and hints she could work with Johnson Sun on Sunday So does Truss Sunday Telegraph (Truss interview: she says the new leader must have backed Brexit in 2016 Sunday Telegraph Fox is considering standing Observer Other leadership election news and comment: Tory MPs warned not to pledge their votes to more than one camp Sunday Telegraph Tory MPs warned not to pledge their votes to more than one camp Sunday Telegraph Who do voters in the safest Conservative seat in Britain want? Observer We need a clearout of anti-Brexit Downing Street advisers Liam Fox, Sunday Telegraph WTO terms now Esther McVey, Sunday Telegraph We must stave off the risk of Corbyn Graham Brady, Sunday Telegraph Remainers are hijacking One Nation Toryism Tim Stanley, Sunday Telegraph Greening warns that the Party could face electoral oblivion Observer The Tories need a credible Brexit plan Sunday Telegraph And they need a credible Brexit leader Janet Daley, Sunday Telegraph They must wake up and appeal to younger voters Sun on Sunday Other Tory news: Rudd defends Huawei Mail on Sunday Ellwood quizzed by Chief Whip over alleged security indiscretion Mail on Sunday Cameron and Osborne considering return to politics Mail on Sunday Today: > Yesterday: Columnist Nick Hargrave Why a referendum and not an election could offer the new leader a Brexit answer May the aftermath. She apologised to her staff for breaking down in her resignation speech On Friday, as May walked back into No 10, her face an agonised mask, she was greeted with applause. In an address to advisers in the state rooms upstairs, the prime minister was emotional but defiant. She said we had all done all we can, said one of those present. May apologised for breaking down in the street as she concluded her speech: Im sorry. Her chief of staff, Gavin Barwell, said: You have nothing to apologise for. Sunday Times > Yesterday: Adam Boulton: The new Prime Minister should be in place by the time the Commons rises for the summer recess The quicker the contest, the less time there will be for doubts about Johnson to grow. The 1922 committee has set a brisk timetable, aiming to have a new leader in place before the house is due to rise for the summer recess in the week of July 22. Three weeks for MPs to whittle down the candidates to two, and three weeks for hustings and voting by party membersNobody knows who will be the next prime minister, but it is already clear that, like Mrs May, they will fail to restore strong and stable government. Sunday Times Tory membership swells Sunday Telegraph Labour plan no confidence vote in new government Observer Hinds says too many Universities arent delivering and prepares to act Labour could face a lengthy anti-semitism enquiry Damian Hinds, the education secretary, says poor value degrees are letting down thousands of students and costing the taxpayer millions. He released a new analysis of tax data showing that on one in 10 courses, three out of four students were earning less than 25,000 five years after they graduated. Some universities, he said, seemed more focused on getting bums on seats than getting students into courses worth paying for. The worst subjects for future salaries are the creative arts, where average earnings after five years are 20,000. Sunday Times Sources say the move, by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (ECHR), comes after it received compelling evidence of Labours failure to deal with anti-Jewish prejudice among its members. An inquiry lasting up to a year would be a crushing setback to Mr Corbyns attempts to draw a line under the affair which has bedevilled his leadership. One close ally said: This will be a real blow to Jeremy and it will go on for months and months. Its the last thing we need. Mail on Sunday Corbyn to snub Trump Sunday Times Labour must back second referendum vote or risk losing the next election, says Watson The Guardian How Geoffrey Robinsons millions bewitched Blair and Mandelson Tom Bower, Mail on Sunday Change UK woes latest Liam Halligan: Fund British Steel The former Labour MP Chuka Umunna said he thought a pact between the two parties would be sensible when asked if his recently formed party could forge an alliance with the Lib Dems, similar to that between the Social Democratic party and the Liberal party in the 1983 general election. Speaking to BBC Radio 4s Today on Saturday, Umunna said: The remain forces in this country need to work even more closely together than we have managed to achieve up to this point between now and the general election. The Observer Across Europe, populist politics is on the rise, as todays European election results will show. Communities in proud industrial heartlands in towns like Scunthorpe are crying out to be heard. Brexit allows Britain to regain control of our regional policy establishing free ports, enterprise zones and, judiciously, providing temporary state support, with conditions and when absolutely necessary, to viable strategic businesses. When it comes to British Steel, this is an option our next prime minister should grant. Sunday Telegraph 80% Website cvbankas.lt uses latest and advanced technologies. It is very popular on the web, it's within the 1 million most visited websites of the world at position 11504 by Alexa. It supports HTTPS and GZIP compression. The main html page has a size of 640090 bytes (625.09 kb uncompressed) and 39593 bytes (38.67 kb compressed). This CoolSocial report was updated on 2021-07-23, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want. 62% Website surendranathcollege.org uses latest and advanced technologies like: JQuery and Boostrap. It is very popular on the web, it's within the 1 million most visited websites of the world at position 477085 by Alexa. It supports HTTPS. The main html page has a size of 78316 bytes (76.48 kb uncompressed). This CoolSocial report was updated on 2021-10-12, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want. 100% Website windowsazure.com uses latest and advanced technologies. It supports HTTPS. The main html page has a size of 886113 bytes (865.34 kb uncompressed). This CoolSocial report was updated on 2021-08-27, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want. You could have the missing piece of the puzzle that will help the RCMP put someone behind bars. Here are some recent crimes that Central Okanagan Crime Stoppers hope you can help solve by calling our anonymous tips line at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or visit our website at www.crimestoppers.net CRIME: THEFT OF LAPTOP FROM VEHICLE DATE: May 18, 2019 RCMP FILE: 2019-28482 Sometime between 10:30 p.m. on May 17th and 8:00 the next morning a laptop was taken from a white SUV parked outside a residence on the 2700 block of Robinson Road in Lake Country. Thieves made off with a black Acer Aspire 3 laptop with serial number NXGNVAA022836057397600. Photo: Crime Stoppers If you know anything about this crime, or any other crime, call the Central Okanagan Crime Stoppers anonymous tips line at 1-800-222-TIPS or visit our website at www.crimestoppers.net. Your information will be kept confidential and could lead to a reward of up to $2000.00. CRIME: THEFT OF BATTERIES DATE: May 17, 2019 RCMP FILE: 2019-27717, 2019-27558 Thieves entered a yard on the 16,800 block of Terrace View Road in Lake Country on May 17th and left with two MK grey gel batteries, the type used for wheelchairs, worth approximately $300.00. The same night a property on the 15,600 block of Commonage Road was entered and thieves went through a detached garage and stole a battery from a John Deer lawnmower, a high-end framing hammer, a round shovel, 5 gallons of racing methanol alcohol and several 5 gallon jerry cans filled with marked fuel. Photo: Crime Stoppers You can help catch these suspects and qualify for a reward by calling Crime Stoppers anonymous tips line at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or visit our website at www.crimestoppers.net. 81% Website znajomi.interia.pl uses latest and advanced technologies. It is very popular on the web, it's within the 1 million most visited websites of the world at position 706 by Alexa. It supports HTTPS and GZIP compression. The main html page has a size of 244707 bytes (238.97 kb uncompressed) and 60887 bytes (59.46 kb compressed). This CoolSocial report was updated on 2021-10-09, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want. Despite the skies opening up on competitors just near the end, the annual United Way bus pull event was a big success Saturday. Running for more than five years, Pulling for My Community saw 14 eight-person teams pull a BC Transit bus across the Prospera Place parking lot, all to raise money for the local United Way. All the money that we raise stays local, said Sarah Anne Taylor of the United Way. We reinvest it into social service organizations and programs that combat our three focus areas, being youth, poverty and community. So all the money that we raise here today is going to get reinvested right back into Kelowna. The competition worked as a round-robin tournament, with teams going head-to-head to see who can pull the bus the quickest. After all was said and done, the BMO team took the Community Cup. We had Crossfit Okanagan competing, Good Life Fitness, November Project, all big, strong folks, and then BMO just came out of the woodwork and took that cup, said Taylor. It was amazing. When all was said and done, competitors raised more than $18,000 for the local United Way, just shy of their $20,000 goal, but donations will be accepted online for a few more weeks. Everybody who pulled is the best. The fact that you got up and came here knowing that you were going to have to pull a bus, you're all the best in my eyes, Taylor said. NEW YORK Coast Guard officer helped rescue a 61-year-old woman with chest pains from a cruise ship in New York Harbor Sunday afternoon. According a news release, Watchstanders at Coast Guard New York command center received notification about 4:20 p.m., stating the woman needed medical attention aboard the 965-foot Maltese-flagged cruise ship Celebrity Summit. The Coast Guard command center coordinated with the New York City Fire Department to safely remove the passenger. At approximately 4:40 p.m., the passenger was transferred from the cruise ship and taken to awaiting emergency medical services at Station New York for transfer to Staten Island University Hospital. The individuals current medical condition is unknown. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., plans to enjoy ice cream with New Hampshire voters to celebrate Memorial Day. He won't be far from former Rep. John Delaney, D-Md., another presidential candidate, who's in the midst of his 19th trip to the state and plans an itinerary that includes four barbecues, one parade and a wreath-laying. In Iowa, Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., is rolling through the cornfields in an RV, while Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., unveils a "Family Bill of Rights" and tours an ethanol plant. And here's former Vice President Joe Biden's agenda for the holiday weekend, according to his campaign: "Joe Biden has no public events scheduled." Those seven words are becoming familiar for the Biden team. Aside from a campaign swing right after announcing his candidacy, Biden has kept his head down while his rivals rush from state to state to state. Even when he has held public events, they have included only a handful of questions from voters or reporters. The light public schedule reflects the unique position of his campaign, advisers say: With near universal name recognition and high favorability ratings among Democrats, the former vice president does not need to introduce himself to voters like nearly every other candidate. And as the leader in early polls, he can attract media attention without splashy events. But there are risks. Voters in the early primary states - especially Iowa, with its caucus system that rewards on-the-ground organizing - want to see the candidates personally and often. And there is the danger that Biden's schedule could reinforce a word President Donald Trump is already using to describe his candidacy: sleepy. Biden's campaign says that's not going to happen. "I have zero worry that any voter will leave a Joe Biden event with doubts about his energy," said Kate Bedingfield, his deputy campaign manager. "They're going to see it everywhere he goes." Biden spends 30 minutes to an hour greeting voters on a rope line after his public events, Bedingfield said. But after a short burst of activity in the early primary states, his schedule the past two weeks or so has mostly involved fundraisers, which - while publicly announced and attended by a pool reporter - are far different from open campaign events. It's not clear how long Biden can continue to limit his public exposure in this way. The first Democratic debate is June 26 and 27, and Biden will share the stage with nine rivals and a moderator, each eager to press him on his positions and record. Other debates follow, while influential groups ranging from labor unions to ethnic organizations are hosting multicandidate events and may not take kindly to being skipped. For now, however, the strategy appears to be working. Biden's carefully crafted three-part campaign launch went off without an obvious hitch, and the polls so far give him a comfortable lead in the fractured field of 23 Democratic contenders. Some Democratic strategists say Biden, 76, may be limiting his participation in freewheeling campaign sessions partly to play down the fact that he is older than the figure they may remember. "Voters are going into events with him expecting 'Uncle Joe,' but they come out having seen 'Grandpa Joe,' " said Rebecca Katz, a Democratic strategist who favors liberal candidates and is not working for a presidential campaign. She said Biden is benefiting from his association with former President Barack Obama, who remains popular with many Democrats. "The more people see him live in 2019, the more they realize he might not be the guy the remember from 2008," Katz said. Since entering the race four weeks ago, Biden has held 11 public events, according to his campaign. Former Rep. Beto O'Rourke, D-Texas, held nearly four times that number in the same period, according to schedules. And Gillibrand, who is lagging in the polls, planned 11 stops in Iowa just over the holiday weekend. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., has shown her face to the public at 27 events in the four weeks since Biden entered the race. Booker has had at least 27 events scheduled in the same time span, and Sanders has had at least 17 announced engagements. And with the exception of O'Rourke - and unlike Biden - all of those candidates have full-time jobs in the Senate that keep them tethered to Washington most weeks. Advisers say Biden's public schedule reflects a thought-out strategic choice. The candidate's time is better spent on vital but less public activities, they say, such as fundraising, one-on-one calls, policy development and the building of a campaign infrastructure. "It's definitely an advantage that he can pace himself and do events that matter, rather than just doing events that traditionally are used to prove yourself," said Larry Rasky, who worked on Biden's earlier presidential campaigns but has no formal role this time around. "He's in a different place than the other candidates." So far, Biden is taking a pass on the multicandidate forums sponsored by various interest groups, which have become a staple of the early campaign for his rivals. They have allowed some of the hopefuls to show off their policy chops in front of an engaged audience and generate buzz and momentum. Organizers with MoveOn, a prominent liberal activist group, said Biden is not coming to their Big Ideas forum next weekend in San Francisco, which will feature eight other candidates. And he will skip the California Democratic Party Convention the same weekend, which will host 14 candidates. Regarding the Iowa Democratic Party dinner next month, 17 candidates have said they're coming - but not Biden. And he also has passed on the more exclusive Black Economic Alliance presidential forum in Charleston, South Carolina, which sent out seven invitations, organizers say. Similarly, the cable networks have been holding hourlong town hall sessions in which voters can question individual candidates. Biden has given no indication that he plans to take part in one. Some activists worry that by skipping such forums, Biden is able to avoid defining where he stands on the details of policies such as trade, health care, the environment and criminal justice. But Biden's team says he is simply being careful to choose the right venues. "There are a tremendous amount of them," Bedingfield said of these sessions. "The organizers of the events understandably try to create a sense that missing their event is the biggest mistake that a candidate could make. But there are a countless number of these in any given week, and you have to be smart about how you're spending your time and where you're going." Bedingfield said Biden and his wife, Jill Biden, do plan to attend a late-June town hall at the organized by the American Federation of Teachers, a powerful union that is hosting events across the country for all of the Democratic presidential hopefuls. "I don't think any voter or any activist will have any questions about where Joe Biden stands on any issue," she said. "His schedule is and will be driven by him talking on his own terms about his policy positions and his vision for the country." Some veterans of previous campaigns said that limiting public exposure can have the opposite effect, restricting a candidate's ability to set the terms of the discussion. When a candidate isn't in public much, they said, the pressure builds so every word, pause and gesture is scrutinized, sometimes not in ways that are intended. "The upside for front-runners is they are always going to be covered," said Robby Mook, who was Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign manager. "The curse of always being covered is it's not always what you want it to be about." In such cases, Mook said, the coverage tends to be about process and how well the candidate is doing in the polls. "It can be tricky to stay focused on what you want to talk about," he said. Democratic officials in important campaign states, meanwhile, are noticing that Biden hasn't been around as much as the other candidates. "He was here the very first day, for his first event," said Bret Nilles, chairman of the Linn County Democrats in Iowa. "But besides that, we haven't really heard much from him at all." In a sense, Biden, who first ran for president in 1988, has been campaigning for decades, and some Democrats say that relieves much of the pressure. "We have not seen Joe Biden yet. He has a lot of history here, though," said Sarah Mahler, chair of the Washoe County Democrats in Nevada. "A lot of us have our pictures with him, or some story with him." - - - The Washington Post's Dan Balz contributed to this report. One of the many exciting cannabis industry developments in recent years has been the rise of infused beverages. According to a report by Zenith Global, the cannabis-infused beverage market is expected to grow to $1.4 billion by 2024. Recognizing the lucrative potential of the market, existing beverage companies are investing billions of dollars into the cannabis industry. By far the largest investment has been made by Constellation Brands, the distributor of Corona beer. Hoping to corner the market, Constellation has pledged to invest roughly $4 billion into Canopy Growth (NYSE: CGC), one of the worlds biggest cannabis companies. Infused beverages offered little in the way of refreshment when first introduced to the market, often tasting more like cannabis than the drink it was meant to recreate. However, as the cannabis industry has matured, so has its infused products. Now consumers can casually sip on an infused beverage without even noticing the taste of THC. A brand that exemplifies this evolution of taste in infused beverages is House of Saka, which officially launched last month. Related: Mary Jane: How the Cannabis Industry Can Win Women Over House of Saka, guided by an all-female advisory board with more than a century of combined experience in wine, cannabis and luxury branding, is the first luxury infused cannabis wine made for women by women. Infused with a proprietary, patent-pending water-soluble formulation, the brand sources its wine from some of the most beautiful vineyards in the Napa Valley of California. House of Saka is poised to be a trailblazer, said Terry Wheatley, president of Vintage Wine Estates and a member of House of Sakas board of advisors. Having been in the wine industry for over 40 years, I believe infused beverages and House of Saka specifically are the future. House of Saka derives its name from an ancient race known as the Scythians. Also known as Saka, the Scythians were a group of fearsome warriors that inspired legends about a mythical race of female warriors known as the Amazon and are known as one of the earliest people to use cannabis spiritually and for ceremonial rites of passage. House of Saka officially debuted their signature Pink and Sparkling Pink cannabis, and CBD infused alcohol-free beverages on April 18, 2019. Fortuitously coinciding with the rise of the full Pink Moon, the launch party was appropriately named High Fete: The Most Luxurious Evening in Cannabis. Related: Why Do So Many Americans Now Support Legalizing Marijuana? Located at the exclusive and isolated Triple S. Ranch in Calistoga wine country, the private sit-down dinner was planned by wine countrys top event planner, Nicki Wolfe. With Napa/Sonoma County as a world destination for all things wine hospitality and tourism, it was a no brainer for me to segue the same attention to detail into a luxury event for House of Saka, said Wolfe. The design was based on sensuality and Spring, old and new, vintage modern...but the subtext for the event was the boldness of the product and the fearless female leaders of the brand itself. Featuring a sumptuous menu that was as extravagant as the decor, the only thing more impressive was the guest list itself. The event included a veritable whos who of top executives from throughout the wine industry, beer industry, and cannabis industry. It was amazing to be apart of the launch for the House of Saka's brands. I loved the entire concept and direction of the brand from the moment I saw it, said Cannacraft co-founder Dennis Hunter. House of Saka's female focused and luxury designed products are something that CannaCraft fully endorses. We feel infused beverages and luxury beauty products will define a large segment of the cannabis market in the near future. As the event concluded, House of Saka co-founder Cynthia Salarizadeh thanked her guests as her partner, Tracey Mason, gave a moving speech about the brands mission. From that start, we envisioned House of Saka to set the bar for female-centric, infused-luxury products in both the cannabis and CBD space, said Mason. Brands like House of Saka are the future of the industry and a platform from which we hope to inspire female entrepreneurs and draw women toward the extraordinary plant that is cannabis. Related: House of Saka Aims to Redefine Luxury With Cannabis-Infused Wine 8 Indian Red Wines You Need To Try Right Now & Relish The Classy Flavour From Rock God to Master Rose Winemaker: a Conversation With Jon Bon Jovi Copyright 2019 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved Photo: Nicholas Johansen Hundreds of people shared a free meal at the Real Canadian Superstore Saturday. Hundreds of people sat down across from total strangers in Kelowna's Real Canadian Superstore parking lot Saturday and shared a meal. The President's Choice Eat Together tour, which encourages participants to take time to eat meals with others, stopped by Kelowna Saturday on their tour across Canada. From the stats, there's an epidemic of loneliness, said Kevin Andrews with President's Choice. In the past few years we've seen that grow. As we're more connected to technology, sometimes the irony is that we're less connected to humans face-to-face. While the rain came down hard Saturday afternoon, it was all smiles under the tents. The idea was started three years ago, and Andrews says the response has been overwhelming. In today's world, it's easy not to sit across the table and have conversations with your friends and your family and people who matter most, and food is the conduit to many of those interactions, he said. "Our message is simple, we just want to bring Canadians back together and encourage them to eat together. As a part of the tour, President's Choice is donating $1 to their President's Choice Children's Charity for every person who pledges to eat together more often, up to $250,000. On Saturday, the number of pledges was over 450,000. The tour is coming from Vancouver, and heading east, culminating with an event in Halifax on June 14. Those in Kelowna Saturday were treated to a burger, salad, chips and drink. We believe in it wholeheartedly as an organization, Andrews said. We're not trying to push products, we're not selling products. For us, it's the notion of eating together. Chelsea Powrie Dozens gathered in Penticton's Nanaimo Square Saturday morning to protest a bylaw that will make it illegal to sit or lie down on certain downtown streets and sidewalks a law that critics call unconstitutional, and unfairly biased against the homeless. Organizer Chelsea Terry was enraged when she heard the news that the bylaw had passed by a 5-2 vote at city council on Tuesday, and immediately started hatching plans for a sit-in at the square, which is often a hub for homeless and transient individuals. "It was just frustrating, I see a lot of bureaucracy really screwing people over," Terry said. "These are people that need help the most, which is the most frustrating part." Terry printed up large signs with the faces of the four council members and mayor who voted in favour of the bylaw with captions like "Does not care about your rights" and "Bylaw amendment: No sitting in council chambers," and rallied other protesters on Facebook. They spent a few hours parked in and across from Nanaimo Square, mostly peaceful and quiet, other than a rash of booing when councillor Frank Regehr, who voted in favour of the bylaw amendment, showed up briefly. Resident Vivian Short showed up with her own home-made sign, reading "Penticton has made national news (again) for all the wrong reasons," because she feels the bylaw isn't a solution to the real issues plaguing downtown Penticton. "I don't believe it's a solution to a homeless and underprivileged problem," Short said. "You're just trying to move people from one area, to where?" She is also frustrated by people who support the bylaw and seem to lack empathy for the homeless. "I just asked a guy, 'So what's your solution?'" she said. "Send them all to concentration camps? It's scary stuff." The owner of Petrasek Bakery, which shares a wall with Nanaimo Square, has a different view. Jan Petrasek is fed up with the crime he sees daily in the square, and public backlash against his support of the bylaw. "I invested 20 years of my life, and I don't see [anyone] with a poster that says 'Poor guy, left his family, came here, invest his life here,'" Petrasek said, adding he's tired of the perception that he doesn't care about the less fortunate. He's simply sick of the drug use and threatening behaviour he encounters from those loitering in the square. For Terry, who is born and raised in Penticton, this protest was partly about proving to the homeless population that not everyone in the city has turned their backs on them. "I think that is the best part about it, that we can actually interact with these people," Terry said. "They're not scary, I think that the rhetoric that the Downtown Penticton Association and the city is spouting about the dangers of this area is false, and I know this for a fact because I've lived here my whole live and seen it with my own eyes." She is also unhappy with what she characterizes as blatant bias in the bylaw, targeting homeless people. "City council hasn't even tried to make it look like it isn't. They're doing as much as they can to get rid of or close their eyes on the homeless population, and these people are part of our community as well," Terry said. The $100 fine associated with breaking the bylaw is also laughable to Terry, considering many of the homeless would not be able to pay it. "It's ridiculous, it's a waste of time, a waste of money, there's so many objections, really." Protesters plan to be outside City Hall on June 4 when the bylaw goes through its final reading and is potentially adopted. Photo: The Canadian Press A federal judge has blocked President Donald Trump from building key sections of his border wall with money secured under his declaration of a national emergency, delivering what may prove a temporary setback on one of his highest priorities. U.S. District Judge Haywood Gilliam Jr.'s order, issued Friday, prevents work from beginning on two of the highest-priority, Pentagon-funded wall projects one spanning 46 miles (74 kilometres) in New Mexico and another covering 5 miles (8 kilometres) in Yuma, Arizona. On Saturday, Trump pledged to file an expedited appeal of the ruling. Trump, who is visiting Japan, tweeted: "Another activist Obama appointed judge has just ruled against us on a section of the Southern Wall that is already under construction. This is a ruling against Border Security and in favour of crime, drugs and human trafficking. We are asking for an expedited appeal!" While Gilliam's order applied only to those first-in-line projects, the judge made clear that he felt the challengers were likely to prevail at trial on their argument that the president was wrongly ignoring Congress' wishes by diverting Defence Department money. "Congress's 'absolute' control over federal expenditures_even when that control may frustrate the desires of the Executive Branch regarding initiatives it views as important_is not a bug in our constitutional system. It is a feature of that system, and an essential one," he wrote in his 56-page opinion. It wasn't a total defeat for the administration. Gilliam, an Oakland-based appointee of President Barack Obama, rejected a request by California and 19 other states to prevent the diversion of hundreds of millions of dollars in Treasury asset forfeiture funds to wall construction, in part because he felt they were unlikely to prevail on arguments that the administration skirted environmental impact reviews. The delay may be temporary. The question for Gilliam was whether to allow construction with Defence and Treasury funds while the lawsuits brought by the American Civil Liberties Union and the state attorneys general were being considered. The cases still must be heard on their merits. "This order is a win for our system of checks and balances, the rule of law, and border communities," said Dror Ladin, an attorney for the ACLU, which represented the Sierra Club and the Southern Border Communities Coalition. The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment late Friday. The administration faces several lawsuits over the emergency declaration but only one other seeks to block construction during the legal challenge. A judge in Washington, D.C., on Thursday heard arguments on a challenge brought by the U.S. House of Representatives that says the money shifting violates the constitution. The judge was weighing whether the lawmakers even had the ability to sue the president instead of working through political routes to resolve the bitter dispute. At stake is billions of dollars that would allow Trump to make progress in a signature campaign promise heading into his campaign for a second term. Trump declared a national emergency in February after losing a fight with the Democratic-led House that led to a 35-day government shutdown. As a compromise on border and immigration enforcement, Congress set aside $1.375 billion to extend or replace existing barriers in Texas' Rio Grande Valley, the busiest corridor for illegal crossings. Trump grudgingly accepted the money, but then declared the national emergency to siphon money from other government accounts, identifying up to $8.1 billion for wall construction. The funds include $3.6 billion from military construction funds, $2.5 billion from Defence Department counterdrug activities and $600 million from the Treasury Department's asset forfeiture fund. The Defence Department has already transferred the counterdrug money. Patrick Shanahan, the acting defence secretary, is expected to decide any day whether to transfer the military construction funds. The president's adversaries say the emergency declaration was an illegal attempt to ignore Congress, which authorized far less wall spending than Trump wanted. The administration said Trump was protecting national security as unprecedented numbers of Central American asylum-seeking families arrive at the U.S. border. The administration has awarded 11 wall contracts for a combined $2.76 billion including three in the last two months that draw on Defence Department counterdrug money and is preparing for a flurry of construction that the president is already celebrating at campaign-style rallies. The Army Corps of Engineers recently announced several large contacts with Pentagon funding. Last month, SLSCO Ltd. of Galveston, Texas, won a $789 million award to replace 46 miles (74 kilometres) of barrier in New Mexico the one that Gilliam blocked on Friday. Last week, Southwest Valley Constructors of Albuquerque, New Mexico, won a $646 million award to replace 63 miles (101 kilometres) in the Border Patrol's Tucson, Arizona, sector, which Gilliam did not stop. Barnard Construction Co. of Bozeman, Montana, won a $141.8 million contract to replace 5 miles (8 kilometres) in Yuma that Gilliam blocked and 15 miles (24 kilometres) in El Centro, California, which he did not address. Gilliam's ruling gives a green light at least for now for the administration to tap the Treasury funds, which it has said it plans to use to extend barriers in Rio Grande Valley. California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, a Democrat and frequent Trump adversary, didn't comment directly on his defeat but congratulated the ACLU and its clients "in securing this critical victory for our states and communities." Trump inherited barriers covering 654 miles (1,046 kilometres), or about one-third of the border with Mexico. Of the 244 miles (390 kilometres) in awarded contracts, more than half is with Pentagon money. All but 14 miles (22 kilometres) awarded so far are to replace existing barriers, not extend coverage. The continuing revelations in this newspaper about alleged links between veteran Labour MP Geoffrey Robinson and the secret services of Communist-era Czechoslovakia are dismissed by some as ancient history. Its all such a long time ago, they say including some who actually doubt Mr Robinsons vehement denials. Isnt Communism dead? But such pleas for forgetfulness about the past are naive at best and more often self-serving. They cannot silence the rattle of skeletons left too long in the cupboard. Simply ignoring the grim legacy of Communism, including its efforts over so many decades to subvert our freedoms in the West, will not exorcise a past which I encountered at first hand. As a history research student in the 1980s, I went backwards and forwards to Czechoslovakia, East Germany and other Soviet bloc states. The Cold War was at its height. Grim legacy: Warsaw Pact tanks invade Prague in August 1968 I saw the cruelty, the repression of the human spirit, and played a small part as an occasional lecturer to groups of dissidents. People such as me smuggled forbidden books, fax machines, photocopiers and even cash to brave people daring to stand up to the authorities. Caught up in the cat-and-mouse game with the local secret police, I was lucky. The occasional strip-search and interrogation were the worst I had to experience. But for the locals, it was very different. For them, the threats and the punishments they encountered could be life-changing. By the 1980s, the Communists were no longer killing their opponents on the scale of Stalin, but they could still squeeze people over matters of life and death. When a Czech friends daughter was born very prematurely, it was delicately suggested that given the shortage of incubators a public statement from him denouncing dissidents could free up a place for the infant. What would any parent do faced with that dilemma? Knowing a Westerner such as me even through a chance meeting could lead to an interrogation. If an East German or Romanian colleague of mine refused to talk, they risked accusations of spying. If they did recount even an innocent conversation, however, they entered the files as an informer. The control was insidious. So we have to distinguish between people who avoided trouble by providing harmless chit-chat from those who vindictively betrayed friends, even husbands or wives. And while it is one thing to bend under extreme pressure from the secret police, it is quite another for a comfortable Westerner with all the advantages of free speech to secretly serve a dictatorship, particularly one in thrall to the interests of a Soviet regime which had liquidated millions. Because we in Britain were neither occupied by the Red Army nor subjected to government by an army of local collaborators, we are starting to forget the misery that Communism inflicted on people from East Berlin to Vladivostok and to forget that some people connived to bring it here. It is no accident that the allegations against Robinson concern the Czech secret service, the StB, as this agency had a special interest in Great Britain. Thanks to the division of labour between Soviet bloc intelligence agencies, the Czechs had been ordered to target this country, often through post-war trade connections, whether the purpose was stealing top-secret information or, more often, recruiting agents of influence. Such people would use their roles in politics, the media, business or universities to push the Communist line. Any information of value was passed directly to the KGB in Moscow, and that is where it remains, in the files of its successor agencies and under the control of the Russian President, former KGB officer Vladimir Putin. Communism as an economic system collapsed 30 years ago, but the spies serving it did not just vanish in a puff of smoke. If we Westerners have put the Cold War behind us, our enduring rivals around the world have not. Indeed, the struggle between East and West remains at the core of global power politics. We are now well aware of Russias information warfare and the vulnerability of peoples private data. But these threats were there in embryonic form in the Cold War, when Soviet bloc spy agencies such as the KGB and the StB recruited armies of informers. They deployed growing technological sophistication in phone-tapping and other ways of keeping tabs and so built up a vast network of information on people in the Eastern bloc and as far as possible in the West too. That information survives in Russian hands today. It is too soon to dismiss it as irrelevant, or somehow past its sell-by date. Geoffrey Robinson will not be the only person exposed to long-buried depth-charges in the Communist archives. Sitting in the Kremlins files are records of all sorts of alleged indiscretions from some of todays Great and Good. The past has a long reach. We in the West tend to dismiss something as irrelevant by saying thats history. But the Russians and the Chinese regard the past as very much alive. While there have been many positive developments since the grey old days of Soviet control, the ghosts of the Communist past still haunt us, whether we like it or not. It is foolish to pretend their poisonous ideology had no effect on us, or that by forgetting our history, we can inoculate ourselves against its residual corrosive effects. There is a lesson in this for how we conduct our affairs today. Look at how Chinese businessmen have been cultivating prominent British figures, offering them lucrative directorships, pumping them for information about the Establishment and for more connections within it. COULD it be the case that these distinguished persons had a flirtation with Maos Little Red Book 40 years ago? Flirtations forgotten by everyone except the children of Chinas Cultural Revolution, the people now running its businesses and its intelligence services? What sort of information, I wonder, is noted down and tabulated when they meet today. How many members of the British Establishment have something shameful buried deep in the past or are committing fresh indiscretions now? Denial doesnt make the allegations go away, and certainly not to a blackmailer with a sheaf of old receipts and carefully-filed reports. Britain often prides itself on its sense of history, but actually we have sent the Cold War, its methods and its legacy down a memory hole. And in doing so, we make ourselves more vulnerable to the sort of political repression that we worked so hard to fight for most of the 20th Century. Tony Blairs incoming Labour government in 1997 actually ordered the destruction of MI5s files on suspected Soviet subversives. The slate may have been wiped clean here, but not further east. It is significant that one of the last acts of the East European spy agencies before the collapse of Communism there in 1989 was to send copies of their archives to the Kremlin. Moscow remembers what Britain forgot. In due course, we will find that Beijing also has a long memory. What is alleged to have happened between Geoffrey Robinson and the Czech secret services still matters very much today. An Australian mum is now the founder of a $4million business after she invented a special lamp to help restless children sleep. Cara Benau, 43, from Melbourne is the founder of Glow Dreaming a sleeping aid she developed four years ago. She's been selling the $130 lamp, which fuses light therapy, aromatherapy, pink noise and a humidifier, around the world since 2016 and the product has been hailed a lifesaver by parents the world over struggling with the same problem. Mrs Benau said she hadn't set out to invent a product that would change lives, more she wanted to help her step-daughter who'd stopped sleeping after suffering a loss. 'This death had a profound impact on Nevoh who was eight at the time, she developed a very deep fear of dying in her sleep,' she told FEMAIL. Cara Benau (pictured right with her husband, who is pictured left) came up with the idea for Glow Dreaming as a way to help her step-daughter start sleeping again 'Over a period of six to eight months her fear continued to grow and get worse and it got to the stage where Nevoh couldn't sleep at our home anymore. 'Prior to this, as part of a divorced family we had always had 50/50 shared care and this had a devastating impact on my husband and our relationship.' In a bid to find a solution to her step-daughter's sleeping problem, the couple started seeing psychologists as well as doctors who were 'quite happy to prescribe various medications'. 'We decided not to go down the medicated route as we wanted a long-term solution not a temporarily medicated child who still had an underlying issue.' The Glow Dreaming lamp, priced at $130, fuses light therapy, aromatherapy, pink noise and a humidifier (pictured) Mrs Benau said over the course of a year the problem got worse - and in the end her daughter had stopped sleeping completely. 'We would still see her twice a week and enjoy her company during the day but as night fell, her fears would escalate. 'She started losing weight, stopped being the happy, smiley little girl she used to be and her schooling started to suffer. 'She always been such a hardworking and successful student, but her mind couldn't stay focused without the sleep she needed.' Finding a solution to her step-daughter's sleeping problems led Mrs Benau (pictured right, with her step-daughter, pictured left) to create what would become an in-demand sleep lamp How does the Glow Dreaming lamp work? * The humidifier doesn't use heat or moisture. Instead, it uses ultrasonic waves to create air moisture and it also features a timer that can be set for two or four hours * The aromatherapy element helps the mind relax through the use of specially formulated essential oils * It comes with a range of interchangeable sleeves including foxes, mermaids or robots (without a sleeve, it is just plain white) * The sounds are a combination of frequencies commonly heard in waterfalls, rain and thunder. * The red light helps stimulate the body's production of melatonin, the hormone that signals it's time for sleep. Advertisement Finding a solution to help their child get some restful sleep became an all-consuming project. 'We considered moving to a new house to try and fix the problem. As an interim step, we decided to redecorate her whole room,' Mrs Benau said. 'It helped, but she was only staying over once a week and waking up numerous times during the night. Desperation saw Mrs Benau, a former office administrator, and her husband spend hours online researching anything that could break Nevoh's cycle of sleeplessness. 'We started with a humidifier and used the best possible organic oil. This helped relax her, calm her mind and allowed her to breathe easier while sleeping. While these techniques helped, their child was still waking through the night, so a red LED night light was added to help her reset her internal clock. The unique lamp is a combination of devices that operate in conjunction to promote a restful night's slumber 'When she did wake up during the night, it helped ease her fears. I was also using my phone to download white noise and playing it in the background while she slept.' To the family's surprise, the unusual combination of devices worked and within a week their girl was sleeping through the night. 'We were all ready to celebrate. It was such a victory, not just for me but for my little girl. 'This was the turning point and before long, my stepdaughter was back home spending half her time with us again.' Ms Benau said she was struck her idea could help others after a friend relayed to her how she had been struggling with a sleepless child This success formed the germ of an idea that saw Mrs Benau consider the possibility of creating a product to help others. 'I was sitting in a cafe having a coffee with some friends and one of them started telling us about her child's sleep issues. 'I told her about the setup we were using with Nevoh and it worked for her as well! It was at that point that I thought to myself "what if I could help others?"' Fuelled by the real possibility she'd stumbled on a solution, Mrs Benau sketched out her idea and within two weeks had a blueprint to take to manufacturers. After searching for a company that could create her vision, a decision was made 'after a restless night of should we or shouldn't we' to take the plunge. 'We had one prototype sent to us and after a night of testing, we ordered our first 1000 units. 'My husband built a WIX website himself off a template and we waited for the stock to arrive. All up the initial investment to get started hit the $30,000 mark.' At the beginning, the business ran a few ads on Facebook but it was word of mouth that saw demand for the product skyrocket Generating sales of the device saw the couple turn to Facebook where they ran ads, but Mrs Benau said the business' growth was well and 'truly through word of mouth'. 'Glow Dreaming spread like wildfire through word of mouth in the mum community. One mum would use it, have amazing success and tell all the other mums at mother's group about it. 'Every single family will, at some stage, go through a phase of sleep issues, so every mum and dad can relate to this topic. 'They understand the suffering and they genuinely want to help one another.' 'One mum would use it, have amazing success and tell all the other mums at mother's group about it,' said Mrs Benau Fast forward just four short years and the business is set to have its best year yet with a predicted turnover of $4million. 'If you had asked me when we first started that we'd have 10 employees and be turning over this sort of revenue, I would have said you were mad! 'It has been such an overwhelming whirlwind of an experience. 'We have grown so fast and helped so many people along the way and are continuously reinventing and improving our product.' Mrs Benau (pictured centre, with her step-daughter, left and step-son, right) said she's made many sacrifices along the way to ensure the business' success The company's success has come with plenty of sacrifices but Mrs Benau said every trial she has endured along the way has been worth it. 'This business has tested me like nothing else in my life. It's taken a toll on my mental health, my marriage, my friendships and my time.' To those nervously considering following their dreams by making a business idea a reality, her words of advice are to 'truly believe in what you are doing'. 'At the end of the day, what has seen me through all of it has been the success stories. 'I still get goose bumps every time I read one. Each time the responses come through I have the realisation over again that I'm helping make people's lives better.' In the moment when Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor was welcomed into the world, an NHS midwife was in the West African country of Liberia, as a planned wedding gift for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle came to fruition. Mother-of-six Sam Falloon, 50, from Caerphilly, was giving ten Liberian midwives a crash course in the basics of maternity care and obstetric emergencies. Her travel expenses were covered by a 1,500 donation made by the Welsh Government on behalf of the people of Wales to mark the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex last May. Midwives from hospitals and clinics dotted across the capital, Monrovia, at an awards ceremony to mark the end of the four-day training on Thursday Cardiff midwife Sam Falloon (pictured right) presents a certificate to Christine Tah at the end of the training Christine and Sam (pictured left) compare notes during a tour of the Agnes Varis clinic where Christine works 'I was curious,' says Sam. 'You hear all the time about low resource areas and how difficult it is. 'I wanted to see for myself. It was also an opportunity to really contribute on a scale outside of my own country.' Sam, who works at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff, was joined by fellow NHS midwife Claire Fitzsimons, 29, from Homerton University Hospital in East London. Their trip was arranged by the Welsh charity, Life for African Mothers, which provides midwifery training and medication in seven African countries. A reminder of the royal connection was met with a warm round of applause at an awards ceremony to mark the end of the four-day training on Thursday. The participating Liberian midwives came from hospitals and clinics dotted across the capital, Monrovia. Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, smile during a photocall with their newborn son in St George's Hall at Windsor Castle on May 8 Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor (pictured) was welcomed into the world while the midwives received their training as a gift on behalf of the Welsh people for Prince Harry and Meghan Two came from the government-run Agnes Varis Clinic in the Rehab suburb, better known for being the neighbourhood of former Chelsea striker-turned Liberian president, George Weah. A few streets away from the razor wire-topped walls and watchtowers of the president's private residence, the single storey clinic is reached via a rutted dirt track. The surrounding area is dominated by corrugated iron shacks adorned with lines of washing and the odd construction site signalling grander homes in the making. 'When the women come to give birth we ask them to bring items like tissues and Dettol so we can clean up after they bleed, because the hospital doesn't supply them,' says midwife Karen Williams, 46, who works at the clinic. 'But some of them can't afford these things.' Liberia is one of the poorest nations in the world, with infant and maternal mortality rates to match. Hackney midwife Claire Fitzsimons (pictured left) leads a training session on women's empowerment Claire (pictured left) sits in on a consultation with 21-year-old mother-to-be Julie Lawrence (centre) and midwife Joanna Tugbah Claire looks on as Christine inspects a patient. For every 1,000 live births in Liberia there are 75 infant deaths, compared to four in the UK For every 1,000 live births in Liberia there are 75 infant deaths, compared to four in the UK. Sam says: 'The comforts that we have [in the UK] when we're having a baby just don't compare. Sheets on the bed, for example, and a private delivery room with just one delivery bed in it. 'We visited another facility that had three beds in it. Privacy is a real issue it just doesn't bear thinking about. There wasn't even a curtain.' The emergency room at the Agnes Varis Clinic is busy. There are two beds, both of which are occupied. One-year-old Dennis Sunah is sitting in the lap of his mother, Tutu, in the middle of the room. Tutu is worried Dennis is feverish and has been vomiting. He weighs just 6.7kg. Sam and Claire are struck by the total absence of equipment in the emergency room, along with dwindling stocks of medication such as Oxytocin and Misoprostol that are essential for maternity clinics. Sam and Claire with training participants. Their trip was arranged by the Welsh charity, Life for African Mothers, which provides midwifery training and medication in seven African countries One-year-old Dennis Sunah is sitting in the lap of his mother, Tutu, in the middle of the room. Tutu is worried Dennis is feverish and has been vomiting. He weighs just 6.7kg Sam and Claire with midwife Christine Tah, pictured left, and right, student nurse Cecelia Garneia at the Agnes Varis clinic And this, according to Abdul-rahman Bah, Country Director for Life for African Mothers, is the cause of so many needless deaths. 'Women die giving birth in Liberia because of a lack of skills, equipment and medication,' he says. Several years ago, an already weak healthcare system was crippled by the Ebola crisis that swept across Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea from 2014-16. Liberia was the worst hit country, with 4,800 deaths recorded. With symptoms including uncontrollable bleeding, it was often difficult to differentiate between infected expectant mothers and those suffering from obstetric complications. Midwives quickly found themselves on the front line. Karen remembers a colleague who fell victim to the outbreak. 'A patient came in and presented with fever,' she recalls. Claire is struck by the total absence of equipment in the emergency room, along with dwindling stocks of medication such as Oxytocin and Misoprostol that are essential for maternity clinics Stocks of medicine are in short supply at this government-run clinic. Hospital staff are expected to pay for the transport of essential supplies such as medication from other facilities out of their own pockets 'She decided to help but was not fully dressed in the protective clothing. She touched the patient, and before long her entire family had been wiped out. 'She, her husband and her children died. Only one of her daughters survived because she was not at home.' Even with Ebola now behind them, the everyday work of delivering babies in Liberia is often the equivalent of a worst case scenario for Sam and Claire. 'These are a really resilient group of professionals who've coped with the most awful, difficult situations and yet they go back to work every day,' says Sam. 'For many of these midwives something dreadful can happen like a cord prolapse or a post-partum haemorrhage and the equivalent in the UK would be for a midwife to be on top of Pen y Fan [mountain] with a lone woman in a snowstorm, and that would never happen.' Midwives in Liberia are poorly compensated for their hard work, with delays to their salary payments often exceeding a month. Joanna Tugbah inspects a mother-to-be's stomach. She has been a midwife for the past 34 years The Agnes Varis government clinic. Several years ago, an already weak healthcare system was crippled by the Ebola crisis that swept across Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea from 2014-16 'We earn $150 [115] per month,' says Karen, who has three children to support. 'But we're noticing that amounts are being deducted since the new government took over last year, so now we take home around $145.' And that's not all. Hospital staff are expected to pay for the transport of essential supplies such as medication from other facilities out of their own pockets. But for Christine Tah, 44, who has been working as a midwife for ten years, none of this is enough to make her give up. 'I love it. That's why I'm in it,' she says, displaying boundless enthusiasm for her work as she takes Sam and Claire around the Agnes Varis delivery room. Karen agrees: 'The salary is nothing. I keep doing it out of passion and to save the lives of women.' Sam is looking forward to getting back home to her husband: 'This is the longest I've ever been away from him.' She will also return to her hospital in Cardiff with a fresh perspective. 'We've got no idea how lucky we are,' she says. 'I'm never going to complain again.' Wired before bed and struggle with insomnia and an overall low mood? You're not alone. In fact, you may be 'highly distressed' - or displaying characteristics from one of the five different sleep personalities. Speaking to FEMAIL, sleep expert Olivia Arezzolo explained the five different personality types, as identified in The Lancet. The Sydney-based specialist also revealed the five best ways to combat insomnia, whatever sleep personality you are. Speaking to FEMAIL, sleep expert Olivia Arezzolo (pictured) explained the five different personality types, and her top five ways to beat insomnia 'The first is highly distressed - which means you're often wired before bedtime and experience high levels of insomnia, plus you're prone to depression,' Olivia told FEMAIL (stock image) So what are the five different sleep personalities? 1. 'Highly distressed' 'The first is highly distressed - which means you're often wired before bedtime and experience high levels of insomnia, plus you're prone to depression,' Olivia told FEMAIL. 'Those with high levels of distress will typically sleep the worst, as the brain is unable to switch off,' she said. 2. 'Moderately distressed, reward-sensitive' The second type of sleep personality, Olivia said, is the 'moderately distressed, reward-sensitive' type' - which is like the 'highly distressed', but with a few key differences. 'This type is typically wired before bed, but they aren't always experiencing negative thoughts.' Olivia highlighted this type 'feel happiness after enjoying positive experiences', but have higher than average levels of insomnia due to stress. The 'slightly distressed, high reactivity' sleep type 'is less anxious overall, and responsive to positive and negative influences in their environment,' Olivia (pictured) said 3. 'Moderately distressed, reward-insensitive' Where the previous sleep personality reacts well to positive experiences, the 'moderately distressed, reward-insensitive' sleeper is less likely to respond well to things. 'This sleeper is wired before bed, less sensitive to positive emotions after great experiences and is therefore pessimistic,' Olivia said. 'But while they are often in a negative mood, these personalities aren't as likely to have depression as type two.' 4. 'Slightly distressed, high reactivity' 'This sleep type is less anxious overall, and responsive to positive and negative influences in their environment,' Olivia said. 'If they do have insomnia, it's more long term than the other personality types.' Their insomnia is also likely to be because of life events - such as financial or relationship difficulties. 5. 'Slightly distressed, low reactivity' The final sleep type is the 'slightly distressed, low reactivity' sleeper, who Olivia said is 'again less anxious and less reactive to influences within their environment'. 'Like type four, this personality struggles because of life events, but they don't necessarily feel the effects as heavily,' Olivia said. They are more likely to display insomnia later in life. When it comes to cleaning up insomnia, Olivia (pictured) has plenty of tips including practising anti-stress activities and getting a weighted blanket What are the five best ways to cure insomnia? So how can you clean up your insomnia and get on top of your sleep health? 1. Practice anti-stress activities day and night: 'Excessive activation of the stress centre within the brain, the HPA axis, contributes to an inability to switch off in the evening,' Olivia said. What are Olivia's top five tips for beating insomnia? 1. Practice anti-stress activities day and night. 2. Get your 10,000 steps in daily. 3. Get a weighted blanket for your bed. 4. Protect your eyes from blue light. 5. Use Instagram wisely and only follow people who make you feel good about yourself to avoid triggering anxiety. Advertisement 'The HPA axis is active when you react to stress anytime - so having a set of activities which are your go-tos to manage stress effectively is key.' The expert recommends writing these things on a piece of paper on your desk at work, or in the 'notes' section of your phone. Even if it's something as simple as a few deep breaths or a meditation exercise, make sure you find the time to incorporate anti-stress techniques into your working day, as well as your evenings. 2. Get your 10,000 steps: Olivia said that Japanese researchers found that the 'target of 10,000 steps daily for four weeks improved their participants capacity to fall asleep, stay asleep and overall sleep quality'. 3. Get a weighted blanket: A third tip to help your shut-eye is a weighted blanket, which studies have shown has a positive effect on both anxiety and insomnia. 4. Protect against blue light: 'Blue light heightens the release of the stress hormone cortisol, so any time you can limit it is a good thing,' Olivia said. The expert recommends blue-blocking glasses at night and sunglasses from Local Supply during the day, which block the harmful blue rays. 5. Use Instagram wisely: Finally, the expert recommends you 'disconnect from any pages which trigger your levels of anxiety and instead connect with people you trust'. Olivia's page offers sleep tips and insights. For more information, please click here. From skimpy straps to barely-there styles, the swimwear trends of late haven't been all that forgiving for the average female frame. But the latest fashion trend that has proven as popular with regular women as it has with influencers and celebrities is an altogether more flattering look. Even better, it will help to give you a smaller waist in seconds. With the help of one extra tiny piece of material, women are showing how belted swimwear can create the illusion of a cinched waist (pictured: Kady McDermott) Meanwhile, fellow model Sierra Skye showed how the look can equally work with bikinis, when she added a pink belt to her two piece suit recently (pictured) With the help of one extra tiny piece of material, women are showing how belted swimwear can create the illusion of a cinched waist. And even Victoria's Secret models such as Romee Strijd and Kylie Jenner are in on the act, revealing how adding a buckle to their midsection can give anyone a slender look in seconds. Meanwhile, fellow model Sierra Skye showed how the look can equally work with bikinis, when she added a pink belt to her two piece suit recently. Fashion experts say the trend works because it breaks up a one-piece and adds interest to the block colour (pictured: Zara McDermott) And even Kylie Jenner (pictured) is in on the act, revealing how adding a buckle to her midsection can give anyone a slender look in seconds Speaking to Who What Wear, Peony Founder and Director Rebecca Morton explained why the belted trend is such a hit. 'We have seen a prominent push toward belted styles in upcoming 2019 collections,' she told the publication. 'While reminiscent of the golden years of the '60s and '70s, a belted bottom or one-piece can create shape through the midline and also act as a focal point to elevate and enhance an otherwise simple piece. 'A belted bikini bottom can also be pared back with a flowing blouse and straw basket away from the ocean.' The trend can also suit both curvy and leaner women, adding length and something to break up an otherwise block-coloured one piece suit. The trend is 'reminiscent of the golden years of the '60s and '70s' according to fashion experts (pictured: Romee Strijd) The trend can also suit both curvy and leaner women, adding length and something to break up an otherwise block-coloured one piece suit (pictured: Montana Brown) Earlier this year, models and celebrities started tying the straps of their swimsuits around their midsection to draw all eyes to the slimmest part of the stomach region Australian label Heartland & Baulch shared an image of a model (left) on Instagram and American model Sierra Skye (right) wearing the upside down bikini trend This isn't the first trend that celebrities have adopted in an attempt to shrink their waists even further. In January this year, FEMAIL drew attention to the fact that women were tying the straps of their swimsuits around their midsection to draw all eyes to the slimmest part of the stomach region. Australian ladies including Belle Lucia, Olivia Mathers and Natasha Oakley have tried it on for size, as well as stateside stunners like Emily Ratajkowski and Sierra Skye. Meanwhile, others started wearing their triangle tops upside-down in order to highlight their cleavage. A world-renowned makeup artist with enviably glowing skin has revealed the secrets to her flawless complexion. Nam Vo is a Vietnamese woman who was born in San Jose, California, and has impressed the internet with a look she calls the 'dewy dumpling', which she describes as 'looking fresh, plump, and delicious just like a dumpling'. Her talent is so admired that she has now worked with the likes of Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Kylie Jenner and Chrissy Teigen. Now, Nam has shared her five best pieces of advice with Glamour so that others can recreate the much-coveted 'lit-from-within' glow. World-renowned makeup artist with enviably glowing skin, Nam Vo, has revealed the secrets to her flawless complexion Exfoliate your face before moisturising Although there are a variety of great formulas on the market Nam has said if you have a lot of dead skin on the surface of your face and you're not exfoliating then the moisturiser you apply won't ever be able to penetrate the skin. She recommends everyone uses products with pineapple enzyme as it gently removes dead skin, leaving polished skin that can take full advantage of a hydrating cream. Mix your skincare with foundation for a flawless finish When it comes to a great makeup look, it's as much about skincare as it is about the makeup you put on top of your skin. 'We're seeing skincare and beauty being merged more and more. I often mix oils, primers and mist with foundation,' she said. Her talent is so admired that she has now worked with the likes of Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Kylie Jenner and Chrissy Teigan Although there are a variety of great formulas on the market Nam has said if you have a lot of dead skin on the surface of your face and you're not exfoliating then the moisturiser won't be able to penetrate the skin Avoid applying powder over your entire face Although Nam personally loves using powder she said women do themselves a disservice when they use it to cover their entire face. 'Powder isn't meant to go everywhere. I call it precision powdering - which is the T-zone and side of the nose with a very small detailed brush. A lot of the time, powder makes you look matte which can be ageing,' she said. Nam said that everyone has oil glands, which means it's natural to be oily. She believes cheeks look 'beautiful' with a little bit of shine and so does most of the face, except for on the side of your nose or side of your mouth. Although Nam personally loves using powder she said women do themselves a disservice when they use it to cover their entire face Get the glow Nam is best known for her highlighter posts on Instagram that feature so much 'glow' they're almost blinding. These videos - in which she swipes a brush filled with powder highlighter across the cheek - are so satisfying in their payoff that they have garnered thousands of likes and comments. Nam said it really does starts with skincare so you the better your skin is, the better the makeup is going to sit on it. To get the glow Nam said it's a case-by-case scenario as for editorial she will do a really over the top glow but for everyday most women just want to look like they have healthy skin. 'For a lit-from-within radiant glow, it's about layering. I usually do lighter in the centre and then I'll work with highlighter, bronzer and contour. It's about knowing textures and how to layer them - cream, powder and then maybe a mist,' she said. Photo: The Canadian Press Two former Liberal cabinet ministers who resigned over the SNC-Lavalin controversy are set to announce their next moves on Monday. Jody Wilson-Raybould and Jane Philpott say they'll announce their political futures at events held at the same time in their ridings. Wilson-Raybould is the independent MP for the B.C. riding of Vancouver Granville and Philpott is the independent MP for the Ontario riding of Markham-Stouffville. Neither is saying what they have in mind, other than that constituents have been invited to meet with them as they share announcements about their political futures. Wilson-Raybould served as justice minister in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's cabinet before she was shuffled to the portfolio of veterans affairs in January. She later revealed she thought the decision to move her out of the justice role was motivated by her handling of a request to intervene in the criminal prosecution of the Quebec engineering giant, SNC-Lavalin. Wilson-Raybould gave four hours of testimony to the House of Commons justice committee in February detailing sustained pressure she felt over a period of four months to head off the company's prosecution on corruption charges related to contracts in Libya. Philpott, a former health minister, Indigenous-services minister and president of the Treasury Board, resigned from cabinet in early March over Trudeau's handling of the affair. In early April, both were ousted from the Liberal caucus. With the start of winter next week Australians living in colder climates are desperate to find a way to escape. Luckily Wotif has revealed the best holiday destinations for those wanting to chase the sun. They have compared accommodation costs, weather patterns, year-on-year search growth, traveller reviews and proximity to the coast. From Thailand to a variety of towns in Queensland, FEMAIL shares their top 10 suggestions. With the start of winter next week Australians living in colder climates are desperate for a way to escape so luckily Wotif has revealed the best holiday destinations to chase the sun 1. Townsville, Queensland This winter and beyond, Townsville is the perfect tropical escape without the need for a passport. From the beaches to the rainforests, to Magnetic Island and the Great Barrier Reef, whether youre an adventure seeker or looking to relax, there is something for everyone in Townsville. Not only are there fantastic and affordable accommodation options in town, with a predicted accommodation rate of $144 per night, several new foodie events have launched including the monthly Townsville Eats food festival bringing together the best local food vendors and market stalls. For the ultimate tropical escape, book yourself into the new The Ville Resort, complete with infinity pool, onsite restaurant and swim-up pool bar. This winter and beyond, Townsville is the perfect tropical escape without the need for a passport What are the stats? Jeju Island in South Korea is this years up and coming hotspot, with year-on-year accommodation interest up a huge 180 per cent on Wotif Townsville has taken out this years top spot, beating international powerhouse Bali thanks to a combination of affordable accommodation, great weather, good traveller reviews and YoY growth Queensland and Western Australia prove to be the countrys best winter destinations Advertisement 2. Jeju Island, South Korea Known as the Hawaii of South Korea, Jeju Island has long been a favourite for Korean locals and now Aussies are starting to catch on with searches for Jeju Island on Wotif spiking by a huge 180 per cent. As an island, it goes without saying you'll be spoilt for choice when it comes to beautiful beaches but there's also incredible nature experiences like waterfalls, rock formations, mountains and volcanoes to explore. With direct flights to Jeju Island from Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur and Jetstar set to launch direct flights from the Gold Coast to South Korea in December, this emerging gem is one to watch. Known as the Hawaii of South Korea, Jeju Island has long been a favourite for Korean locals and now Aussies are starting to catch on with searches for Jeju Island on Wotif, spiking by a huge 180 per cent 3. Bali, Indonesia With winter accommodation searches up over 25 per cent when compared to last year, Bali remains a firm favourite for Aussie travellers. Luckily the the winter months are one of the best times to visit, aligning with Bali's dry season. From modest bungalows to luxurious private villas, there's an endless list of new resorts, restaurants and bars opening in Bali, meaning even if you've been once or twice before, Bali is the perfect winter getaway, just a short flight away from Australia. With winter accommodation searches up over 25 per cent when compared to last year, Bali remains a firm favourite for Aussie travellers 4. Bowen, Queensland Bowen's prime location near the Whitsundays means you're spoilt for choice when it comes to exploring this local slice of paradise. With eight palm fringed beaches, relaxed bays and a great foreshore, Bowen is a fantastic option for those looking to unwind with the kids this winter. With a predicted accommodation rate of $136 per night, enjoyable winter temperatures and an abundance of local fruits and vegetables grown in the region, Bowen remains a reliable Aussie getaway this winter. Bowens prime location near the Whitsundays means youre spoilt for choice when it comes to exploring this local slice of paradise 5. Agnes Water, Queensland Already a popular local hotspot for Queenslanders, Agnes Water is gaining serious credibility this winter, with searches up over 30 per cent when compared to last year. Located at the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef, Agnes Water is surrounded by secluded beaches and untouched nature discoveries. Opt for a tour to Lady Musgrave Island, visit the twin town of Seventeen Seventy, head to the most northern location to surf on Australia's east coast, or pay for your getaway using cryptocurrencies at Australia's first beach town to accept digital currency there's plenty to learn and discover in Agnes Water. Already a popular local hotspot for Queenslanders, Agnes Water is gaining serious credibility this winter, with searches up over 30 per cent when compared to last year 6. Carnarvon, Western Australia With accommodation searches jumping up 50 per cent when compared to last year, Carnarvon is one of the fastest growing regions in Western Australia right now, surely thanks to Chris Hemsworth and Matt Damon choosing to holiday in Carnarvon with their families in March. This under the radar gem sits at the southern end of Ningaloo Reef, between Shark Bay and the Ningaloo Coast World Heritage area making is a must-see destination, boasting what is said to be some of the best winter weather in the world. Commonly referred to as the fruit bowl of WA, the region is home to an abundance of local produce to sink your teeth including choc-coated bananas, mango smoothies and locally caught seafood along Carnarvon's famous 'Fruit Loop' drive. With accommodation searches jumping up 50 per cent when compared to last year, Carnarvon is one of the fastest growing regions in Western Australia right now, surely thanks to Chris Hemsworth and Matt Damon choosing to holiday in Carnarvon with their families in March 7. Cairns, Queensland Cairns remains one of the most popular destinations over winter and this year, there have been no signs of the city's popularity slowing down with year-on-year interest on Wotif up close to 50 per cent. The new five-star Riley Hotel is one of Australia's best new coastal resorts to open within the last year and is the perfect place to stay for a relaxed tropical getaway. From land to air, sand to sea, the endless adventures and affordable accommodation means Cairns truly has it all. Cairns remains one of the most popular destinations over winter and this year, there have been no signs of the citys popularity slowing down with year-on-year interest on Wotif up close to 50 per cent 8. Monkey Mia, Western Australia With blue skies and sunshine almost every day of the year, Monkey Mia is an ideal winter destination. Not only does Monkey Mia's popularity continue to grow, with year-on-year searches up by close to 25 per cent but new and improved accommodation make it a top place to visit this winter. The recently renovated and impressive RAC Monkey Mia Dolphin Resort has reopened after a $20 million refresh and now includes beach-front family villas, extra camp sites and a new swimming pool. For a getaway that is as relaxing as it is beautiful, get to Monkey Mia this winter. With blue skies and sunshine almost every day of the year, Monkey Mia is an ideal winter destination 9. Exmouth, Western Australia The Coral Coast is full of bucket-list attractions and swimming with Whale Sharks along Ningaloo Reef, near the township of Exmouth is quickly becoming one of Australia's most sought-after experiences. This huge tourist drawcard has firmly put Exmouth on the map with accommodation interest continuing to grow, up close to 25 per cent when compared to last year. Snorkeling and diving are an absolute must and winter is the best time to do so, when temperatures are a balmy 25 degrees, with little to no predicted rainfall. Swimming with Whale Sharks along Ningaloo Reef, near the township of Exmouth is quickly becoming one of Australias most sought-after experiences 10. Phuket, Thailand Whether you want to experience the local culture, island hop or lay low at a resort, Phuket is a great option this winter and offers fantastic affordability with an average accommodation rate of $123. While you should expect a few showers as we head into Thailand's wetter season, theres still plenty of sunshine. Even better the beaches and attractions are often far less crowed over the Australian winter, meaning you can really make the most of your overseas adventure. Princess Eugenie has paid tribute to her four-times great grandmothers birthday in a sweet Instagram post. The royal, 29, whose full name is Eugenie Victoria Helena, remembered the one-time longest reigning monarch by posting a portrait alongside a touching caption - admitting she was proud to be named after her. Eugenie also recognised her mother Sarah Ferguson, revealing she had directed the 2000 film The Young Victoria, which starred Emily Blunt and Rupert Friend. The post quickly racked up 70,000 likes, as fans expressed their surprise at the resemblance between the late Queen Victoria, and Eugenie's sister Princess Beatrice, 30. Princess Eugenie, seen at an art show in London last week, has paid tribute to her four-times great grandmothers birthday in a sweet Instagram post Sharing the picture of National Gallery portrait of Victoria, Eugenie wrote: 'Today marks the 200th Anniversary of the birth of Queen Victoria (1819-1901). She reigned for almost 64 years and I'm very proud to be named after her. 'The first image is a portrait of Queen Victoria by Franz Xaver Winterhalter (1805-1873)'. Sharing a second snap of Emily Blunt and Rupert Friend in The Young Victoria, Eugenie added: 'The second is of Emily Blunt and Rupert Friend, who played Victoria and Albert in The Young Victoria (2009) - a film produced by Sarah Ferguson'. The royal, 29, whose full name is Eugenie Victoria Helena, remembered the one-time longest reigning monarch by posting a portrait alongside a touching caption, left. Fans quickly pointed out the late Victoria's resemblance to Beatrice, 30, right Sharing the picture of National Gallery portait of Victoria, Eugenie wrote: 'Today marks the 200th Anniversary of the birth of Queen Victoria (1819-1901). She reigned for almost 64 years and I'm very proud to be named after her' Commenting on the resemblance, one follower wrote: 'Princess Beatrice looks a lot like Queen Victoria. Another added: 'Your lovely sister resembles her very much', while one added: 'Princess Beatrice looks very much like queen Victoria. Same eyes and pout.' 'Your sister, Princess Beatrice, looks very similar to Her Majesty Queen Victoria. Especially when Bea does side view,' a fan agreed. 'Princess your sister looks so much like young Victoria', another said. Eugenie is the younger daughter of Prince Andrew (Queen Elizabeths third child) and Sarah Ferguson. Queen Elizabeth, 93, broke Queen Victorias reign of 63 years and 216 days in September 2015, becoming the longest-reigning British monarch in history. The post quickly racked up 70,000 likes, as fans expressed their surprise the resemblance between the late Queen Victoria, and Eugenie's sister Princess Beatrice, 30. And others expressed their surprise after discovering the Duchess of York had produced hit flick Young Victoria. 'I had no idea your wonderful mother produced this film. Its one of my very favorites. Shes very gifted!', one wrote. 'Oh I didnt know your mum produced it! Very well done', another admitted. Meanwhile one person wrote: 'OMG, your mom produced it. I really love that movie and I was like OMG she is Princess Beatrice, in the coronation scene'. Another said: 'I didn't know your mother produced that beautiful movie! I love it!' And others expressed their surprise after discovering the Duchess of York had produced hit flick Young Victoria She's one of the best known faces in British television. But despite hosting the BBC's biggest show, with millions tuning in each week to watch her present Strictly Come Dancing with Tess Daly, Claudia Winkleman claims her teenage children have no idea what she does for a job. Speaking to Notebook magazine, the TV star added that she wouldn't be happy about her children following her into the showbusiness industry. Despite hosting the BBC's biggest show, with millions tuning in each week to watch her present Strictly with Tess Daly, Claudia Winkleman claims her teenage children don't know what she does for a living Claudia, 47, said: 'They don't really know what I do for a living,' referring to her children, Jake, 16, Matilda, 12, and Arthur, 7, whom she shares with her film producer husband Kris Thykier. The star, who has a string of advertising deals alongside her presenting jobs, also claimed she has never been recognised in public in her 'entire life' as she isn't 'orange or in her Strictly outfits' while on the Tube. Claudia added she doesn't keep herself busy with other projects when Strictly isn't filming. 'Please don't tell anyone, but I'm not busy at all. I only work on Saturdays. The rest of the week I'm at home,' she told the publication. Speaking to Notebook magazine, the TV presenter said she wouldn't accept her children following her into the showbusiness industry 'The other day somebody said to me, "You're so busy!" and I was like, "What are you talking about? I'm working today, and the next job in my diary is in August".' In her downtime she helps her children to study - revealing that she recently bought a laminating machine and is 'very interested' in preparing a timetable to help her son study for his GCSEs. Speaking of how her relationship with her kids has changed as they've got older, she confessed she used to think her children growing up was terrible. Referring to her 16-year-old son, she said: 'I used to follow him around and still try to chop up his sausages. I would be like, "Can I hold your hand and say love you so much in front of all your friends?" 'But as they grow up, they become really funny and great company, so you go, OK. It's just a different relationship. So I'm no longer just feeding you and licking your neck, you are the best person I know to go out for dinner with.' Claudia also revealed that she often tries to give her seven-year-old son nightmares. 'Sometimes I try to show him quite scary things at night so he'll come into the bed in the middle of the night, which is my absolute favourite thing.' Claudia, 47, shares Jake, 16, Matilda, 12, and Arthur, 7, with her film producer husband Kris Thykier Speaking recently about her home life, Claudia revealed she does not have any locks on the doors in her house and often speaks to her children from the shower. Speaking to beauty journalist Sali Hughes from inside her bath, the star said: 'I don't think we've got one lock in this house. Why would you lock?' Asked if she would use the loo without locking the door, Claudia added: 'Of course, yes! And the window open... I might go, "I'm in here," but you could sit there, no problem.' Speaking about whether she would leave a bathroom door open to chat to friends while on a night out, Claudia said: 'Yeah of course. I'm ready for an adult nappy. 'I never close a door. I'd never lock a cubicle. I'm chatting, there's stuff to say.' He may have a string of lead actor credits to his name, but David Tennant still battles with 'imposter syndrome' and a lack of self-confidence. The Scottish-born star, 48, admitted he's suffered from anxiety since he was a child and still fears everything is about to go wrong at any minute. The former Doctor Who even steers clear of social media for fear of saying the wrong thing or not being 'witty' enough. David Tennant, 48, pictured at the screening of new Amazon Prime drama Good Omens, admits he's suffered from anxiety since he was a child and still fears everything is about to go wrong at any minute 'I've always had insecurity, a lack of self-confidence, which is classic [for an actor],' he told The Sunday Times Magazine. 'It's worrying about not being good enough, about being found out, about not being worthy as an actor. When you're making a living at it and so many friends aren't, that makes you feel guilty.' When asked if he believes he may be suffering from imposter syndrome - the fear of being exposed as a fraud - he exclaimed: 'I didn't know there was a word for it. That's me, yes, yes!' When it comes to social media, the Broadchurch star said he doesn't bother as he'd 'worry about it too much'. The former Doctor Who even steers clear of social media for fear of saying the wrong thing or not being 'witty' enough 'I'd worry I wasn't witty enough, or didn't take the right moral standpoint,' he said. 'It would consume so much of my time that it would paralyse me.' Earlier this week David revealed he is expecting his fifth child with wife Georgia Moffett, 34 - letting the news slip while recording the Late Late Show with James Corden. The couple married in a romantic ceremony on New Year's Eve in 2011 after meeting when Georgia played the actor's daughter in Doctor Who. David and Georgia are already parents to 17-year-old Ty, Olive, eight, Wilfred, six, and Doris, four. David's latest role involves him playing a demon in the new TV adaptation of Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman's 1990 novel Good Omens, a surreal comedy about an angel and a demon teaming up to save the world from Armageddon. Pictured beside co-star Michael Sheen, who plays the Angel David who adopted Georgia's son Ty in the same year that the couple married - admitted their growing family has become a cause for concern for their eldest son, who is now giving his parents 'lectures on birth control'. He confessed: 'I know! Five is a lot. What's really weird about it is we're now getting lectures on birth control from our 17-year-old son. And that's definitely meant to be the other way around. 'He's like, "Come on, do I need to teach you the basics?" It's mental. It's a lot.' Broadchurch star David, pictured beside his former co-star Olivia Coleman, said he worries about 'not being good enough, about being found out, about not being worthy as an actor' David admitted his growing family with wife Georgia, right, has become cause for concern in their eldest son, Ty, 17, centre, who is now giving his parents 'lectures on birth control' Ty now appears to be following in his adopted father's acting footsteps, recently making his film debut playing a young Christopher Wiseman in the Tolkien biopic, alongside big-name actors Nicholas Hoult and Lily Collins. David's latest role involves him playing a demon in the new TV adaptation of Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman's 1990 novel Good Omens, a surreal comedy about an angel and a demon teaming up to save the world from Armageddon. David played the role of The Doctor in the hit series from 2005 to 2010, while Georgia's dad Peter Davison played the titular Time Lord between 1981 and 1984. Georgia gave birth to Tyler in 2002, when she was just 17. She brought him up alone and has never publicly revealed who the father is. Alton Towers crash victim Leah Washington looked in good spirits as she enjoyed a girls day out in Manchester yesterday. Miss Washington, 21, from Barnsley, South Yorkshire, appeared in fine fettle as she left the Revolution De Cuba restaurant and bar. Model Leah sported a trendy all-black ensemble as she enjoyed her day in the northern city. Alton Towers Smiler crash victims Leah Washington was joined by friends yesterday for a girls day out in Manchester Pairing high-waisted black trousers with classic cool black converse, the blonde beauty showed a glimpse of her washboard abs beneath a tied Dior crop top. Touting her possessions in a cross-body black leather satchel, the model added a pop of colour to the ensemble with with coral red nails. Natural beauty Leah kept her make-up look to a minimum, opting for just a lick of black mascara. The amputee recently starred in a body positivity campaign for online retailer In The Style. She shared a photo with her 17,000 Instagram followers from the campaign alongside British actress Emily Atack, who is best known for her role on The Inbetweeners and appearing on last year's I'm A Celebrity. Miss Washington, 21, from Barnsley, South Yorkshire, appeared in good spirits as she left the Revolution De Cuba restaurant and bar Touting her possessions in a cross-body black leather satchel, the model added a pop of colour to the ensemble with coral red nails Leah, who wears a 60,000 prosthetic leg, wrote: 'Such an amazing experience to work with @inthestyle and @emilyatackofficial! So overwhelmed to even be asked by the brand and the collection looks like it's going to be amazing. 'So proud that In The Style has decided to work with non-stereotypical models and also banning air brushing to show off real girls.' Many social media users were quick to praise Leah's appearance and the brand for their choice of casting. Leah kept her make-up look to a minimum, opting for just a slick of black mascara as she joined a group of trendy pals for the big day out Alton Towers amputee Leah Washington, 21, (pictured right) features in a new body positivity campaign alongside British actress Emily Attack (pictured second from left) for In The Style Leah shared a photo from the campaign on Instagram with her 17,000 followers and confessed she was overwhelmed by the experience A flood of responses to the post were full of fans commenting on how proud they were of Leah's achievement. One person said: 'Leah you are one amazing beautiful lady, well done and well done to In The Style.' Another added: 'Love, love, love it. I think they asked you because you're gorgeous and a lovely person with it - just saying.' Leah dazzles in the campaign wearing a white mini dress with flat white sandals. Leah's prosthetic leg contains a microprocessor knee and will need replacing multiple times throughout her lifetime, costing hundreds of thousands of pounds Leah has been in a relationship with fellow Alton Towers victim Joe Pugh for the past three years. The pair had been dating for just six weeks at the time of the accident on the Smiler ride at the Staffordshire theme park. Leah's prosthetic leg contains a microprocessor knee and will need replacing multiple times throughout her lifetime, costing hundreds of thousands of pounds. She has had her medical bills covered by the theme park's owners, Merlin Attractions, to date, and has also submitted a substantial compensation claim. Leah has had her medical bills covered by the theme park's owner's Merlin Attractions to date, and has also submitted a substantial compensation claim The 21-year-old has previously said she thinks there is a 'real chance' she will be with Joe 'forever'. Speaking to Cosmopolitan, she said: 'Joe and I both understand what the other one has been through in a way that no one else can.' Leah said that after she lost her leg she doubted whether her boyfriend would want to continue dating an amputee and thought he would let her down gently by ending the relationship once she had regained her strength. She later found out that even her brother had spoken to Joe and told him he didn't have to stay with Leah if he couldn't cope, but he insisted he wanted to. Leah was without her fellow Alton Towers victim boyfriend Joe Pugh, whom she has been dating for the past three years Leah, pictured with a friend yesterday, said after she lost her leg she doubted whether Joe would want to continue dating an amputee and thought he would let her down gently by ending the relationship once she had regained her strength An investigation into the 2015 accident concluded that the crash was due to human error; an engineer had wrongly restarted the ride while a stationary carriage was on the track in front of it. Alton Towers owner Merlin Attractions were fined 5million for health and safety breaches which were blasted by Judge Michael Chambers QC as a 'catastrophic failure'. They were fined an initial 5million, and interim payments have covered Leah and Joe's medical and physio bills to date. Monday blues never felt so good! This season, denim perhaps the most humble of fabrics has had a high-fashion revamp. Renowned for its comfort and practicality, the material is now fronting the latest catwalk collections of designers such as Isabel Marant and Dior. Think acid-wash jeans, sharp blazers and tailored dresses. Denim just got serious. Doubling up on your blues, once a fashion faux pas, is now a must. Heading to a party? Why not pair a boiler suit with heeled sandals and gold earrings. Or, for a more subtle look, team your espadrilles with a tie-waist dress. Margot Robbie arrives at Beijing Capital International Airport in 2016, wearing a denim dress Were into wedding season. Hooray! So much fun, once youre there, hat at a tilt, champagne flute in hand. But before you get to that happy place you need to have solved the trickiest fashion dilemma of the lot: What To Wear? Its not easy. Youve got to pitch the smartness just right: you dont want that Sunday best look (matching coat and sleeveless shift), but you dont want everyday (your droopy wrap dress), either or work smart (khaki shirt dress), or vampy (lurex halter-neck). The unspoken rule of dressing for weddings is: make an effort, and dont look weddingy as in trussed up in a starchy number thats clearly only good for one thing. Glamorous: Naomi Watts. Shane Watson shared how to look your best during this year's wedding season What you want in 2019 is an occasion dress with a small O; one that looks like you bought it this year and will be wearing it for all sorts of occasions, from the intimidating neighbours drinks to your daughters graduation. It so happens that this is shaping up to be the summer of the Little O dress, also known as the Not Just For Weddings dress. Were used to pretty dresses landing in the shops at this time of year, but this lot feel different. These are dresses that would work in a church and on a dancefloor dresses you dont have to cover up with a jacket because theyre too bare, or wear with one of those 12-strap Houdini bras. Let us count the ways this Little O dress fits the bill. Its midi length. Its fitted in the bodice and flowy in the skirt. It comes in a pretty print (or several all mixed up together). Or its one bedazzling colour, such as tangerine. It has long or elbow-length sleeves. It could be a wrap, or it could have a couple of front splits, or it could be round-necked and buttoned up. But it is always feminine, flattering and elegant. So where should you start? With prints, of course. Weve said it before: floral prints are practically compulsory this summer, and the print-clash midi dress is this trend wrapped up in its most occasion-friendly form. At the pricier end of the scale are dresses by Rixo, the brand that helped kickstart the vogue for mixed-up-in-one-piece prints. Among the best are its dress thats a mish-mash of tulip prints (325, rixo.co.uk), and the plainer English floral spot (315, rixo.co.uk). Also mixing up the prints to pretty effect is Next, with its orange, yellow and black daisy dress (119, next.co.uk), and Reserveds short-sleeved V-neck midi in a patchwork of different paisley prints (34.99, reserved.com). For summer weddings, part of the challenge is to keep it light, and white backgrounds are always fresh: Topshop does a white floral midi with a plunge front and soft bell three-quarter sleeves (49, topshop.com). That said, with floral prints you can get away with dark backgrounds and add pops of colour with your shoes and bag or hat. Hats off: Poppy Delevingne. Shane Watson explains that for 2019 you want to make an effort, but dont look weddingy Finerys floral mixed-print dress (99, finerylondon.com) has a black background, and Roujes Gabin dress legendarily flattering with its three-quarter sleeves and definition at the waist comes in red or black with a tiny white flower print (154, rouje.com). The design doesnt have to be floral, of course. There are scarf prints, and spots Zara has a pale cream dress with a chocolate spot (39.99, zara.com). Or, if you want to go the navy-and-white polka dot route (after all the excitement about that Alessandra Rich dress, as worn by Kate Middleton and all the celebrities), then try Kitris polka dot wrap dress (145, harveynichols.com). GET THE LOOK: THE NEW RULES The look is midi fitted on the top, flowy in the skirt. This is a sleeves moment go for long or three-quarter length. Floral prints work best, but leave the animal prints at home. If you choose a plain colour, make it bright and in a silky fabric. Advertisement A more original bet might be M&Ss embroidered navy midi (49.50, marksandspencer.com) or Zaras navy-on-white printed dress with ruffle sleeves (39.99, zara.com). If you want to narrow your sights and keep the price down, Zara is nailing the floral dress this season. The other Little O option is a dress in one block colour: a plain slinky V-neck, with or without leg splits, and ideally with a bit of a sheen to give it some extra pizzazz. (Note: dont automatically reject leg splits so long as they are discreet they help to break up the line of a longer dress and give it movement.) & Other Stories does one in burnt orange (89, stories.com), while Zara does a lemon yellow sateen wrap (now 19.99, zara.com) its not for everyone, but could be pretty on a hot day. Dont you just love having this much choice? Many businesses these days pay influencers such as film stars or social media celebrities to advertise their goods to try to dramatically improve sales. However, it seems that there is no better advert for your products than a royal seal of approval. Jewellery designer Annoushka Ducas said she saw a phenomenal rise in sales of her brand, Annoushka, after a pair of her pearl earrings were worn by the Duchess of Cambridge. Jewellery designer Annoushka Ducas said she saw a phenomenal rise in sales of her brand, Annoushka, after a pair of her pearl earrings were worn by the Duchess of Cambridge Miss Ducas, 53, said there was traffic from all over the world to her website after Kate was pictured wearing the 320 18-carat yellow gold and freshwater pearl baroque drops. She revealed the duchess had seen them in store and someone returned to buy them for her a little later. Kate then wore them on engagements including during her tour of Australia in 2014 and at a state visit by Singapores president that October. When asked what that had done for sales, Miss Ducas told the Hay Festival: Phenomenal on those in particular. She is her own brand and she is internationally well known and that drives traffic from all over the world. People pay influencers a fortune to wear jewellery on the catwalk or at the Oscars but my experience is that has absolutely no influence on sales unless its someone like the Duchess of Cambridge. Kate wore the earrings, which now cost 325, on four engagements last year alone. She also wears an Annoushka diamond eternity ring on a daily basis. LOST AND WANTED by Nell Freudenberger (Viking 14.99, 432 pp) LOST AND WANTED by Nell Freudenberger (Viking 14.99, 432 pp) In the wake of Elena Ferrantes My Brilliant Friend, there has been a profusion of novels about rivalrous female friendships, from Zadie Smiths Swing Time to The Burning Girl by Claire Messud. Another book in that mould, Nell Freudenbergers latest, is narrated by Helen, a world-leading physicist who learns that her best friend, Charlie, a TV writer, has died of complications related to lupus. Yet Helens seven-year-old son, Jack, claims to have seen Charlie, and shes still getting texts from her. The plot thickens when Charlies husband, a good-looking surfer whos handy in the kitchen, and her eight-year-old daughter move in next door, which sparks high emotion all round not least in Jack, conceived via an anonymous sperm donor. Acute about children and grief, this multilayered narrative tackles a range of meaty subjects from the age-old conflict between faith and rationalism, to the challenges faced by women in high-flying industries. Tender, sharply observed and marvellously rich. THE BEHAVIOUR OF LOVE by Virginia Reeves (Scribner 14.99, 304 pp) THE BEHAVIOUR OF LOVE by Virginia Reeves (Scribner 14.99, 304 pp) Virginia Reeves was deservedly longlisted for the Man Booker Prize with her 2016 debut, Work Like Any Other, about a black farmhand forced to shoulder the blame for his white boss after a fatal accident in Twenties Alabama. Her new book, set in the U.S. during the Seventies, tracks the doomed marriage between Ed, a philandering psychiatrist, and Laura, an artist forced to tag along when he lands a new job in another state. When he gets uncomfortably close to a 16-year-old girl in his care, its just the latest in a long line of humiliations for his wife Ed hasnt even noticed shes four months pregnant. If the story feels well-worn, theres a left turn when Ed, struck by an aneurysm, finds himself in need of care. Reevess theme as in her debut is the limits of forgiveness. Shes a superb writer, moving with crisp, swift strokes over the thorny question of how far people ever change. THE BOOK OF SCIENCE & ANTIQUITIES by Thomas Keneally (Sceptre 20, 336 pp) THE BOOK OF SCIENCE & ANTIQUITIES by Thomas Keneally (Sceptre 20, 336 pp) While thomas Keneally, best known for Schindlers Ark, tends to blow hot and cold nowadays, you can still rely on the 83-year-olds fiction to be vigorous, big-hearted and terrifically direct. Although his new book may not be his finest, its hardly unambitious, taking us into the mind of Shade, an elderly Aboriginal man in Stone Age Australia. His story alternates with that of Shelby, a dying documentary-maker recalling a film he made about prehistoric human remains dug up in New South Wales in the Seventies. Theyre now held in Australias National Museum in Shelbys eyes, a colonial wrong hes keen to correct. As his late-life memories mingle with the blood-and-bone fantasy narrative of Shades tale, the details of each mans life echo across the millennia. Yet Keneally risks oversimplifying some big questions, and, while Shelbys first-person narration is engaging, the book ultimately stands or falls by its portrait of humanity at the dawn of language. Audacious, but ever so slightly risible. It was one of the most charming scenes of the television series Victoria and painted a little-known picture of the domestic life of the monarch. As the Queen and Prince Albert breakfasted with their children, they flicked through etchings they had created in the early years of their marriage. What fun we had doing these, says Victoria, who was played by the actress Jenna Coleman. Look at this one. How young you look, Albert. That was before I was the father to seven children, quipped Albert, played by Tom Hughes. The display At Home: Royal Etchings By Queen Victoria And Prince Albert, opens in July and contains 20 etchings by Victoria and Albert of their children, pets and literary scenes Turning to her oldest daughter, Victoria says: That is you when you were a baby, Vicky. Whos that nursemaid holding me? Vicky replies. Thats me silly, retorts Victoria. No, Vickys right, says her sister Feodora, the actress Kate Fleetwood. You dont look like a queen at all. Now visitors to the British Museum can decide for themselves, as the etchings are going on display for the first time, proving that, in some cases, as Oscar Wilde famously wrote, life imitates art. Victoria personally kept the drawings and they remained in the Royal Collection until 1926 when her grandson George V donated them to the museum. They have now been brought out of the archives to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the couples births. The display At Home: Royal Etchings By Queen Victoria And Prince Albert, opens in July and contains 20 etchings by Victoria and Albert of their children, pets and literary scenes. Etched at Windsor and Claremont, the country house in Surrey where they had a retreat from the bustle of court, they open a window into the domestic life of the monarch and her relationship with her husband and family. BY VICTORIA: Victorias etching of Albert in 1840. Victoria and Albert became the subject of a court case over privacy after the couple discovered that their printer had been selling impressions of the etchings to the public BY VICTORIA: Princess Victoria and Prince Albert Edward in peasant dress, 1845 BY ALBERT: Princess Victoria and Prince Albert Edward, 1843 Interestingly, Prince Albert based some of his etchings on drawings by Victoria, showing how close they were. Others depict their growing brood of children and their beloved dogs. They also show an interest in the theatre and German literature Albert was German and there are illustrations of scenes from German author Goethes novels. Sheila OConnell, curator of prints and drawings at The British Museum, says, The television series tends to reflect Victoria and Albert as being rather intense, but they were very happy in the early years of their marriage. I dont think its very well known that they were keen on etching. Its certainly not the first thing one thinks of. Of course, being Queen, Victoria could work with the great artists of the day, who could show her their techniques. Albert was a better artist but sometimes hed been etching from a drawing shed done, or the other way around, which is very nice because it shows how much they worked together. My favourite is the one of Vicky getting into the bath because it shows that Victoria was an affectionate mother. There are things she says in her diaries which show how incredibly fond she was of her children I read a dispatch and then went up to see the baby. She obviously fitted domestic life around her duties. The etchings also reveal that the Royal Familys artistic streak stems from Victoria and Albert: the Duke of Edinburgh painted a loving image of his wife entitled The Queen At Breakfast in 1965 and it has been in the familys private collection ever since. Prince Charles is a keen painter he describes himself as an enthusiastic amateur, but his watercolours are respected in the art world and have raised more than 2 million for the Prince of Waless charitable foundation. And Prince Harry did an A-level in art, which notoriously led to him being accused of cheating. His former teacher at Eton had claimed that she helped him cheat on his course work, but the exam board later cleared Harry of any wrongdoing. He is also a keen collector of art: in a romantic moment, he bought the diptych Everybody Needs Somebody to Love by the artist Van Donna when he began dating Meghan Markle. BY VICTORIA: Three studies of Princess Victoria and her nurse, 1843 Greyhound Eos and terrier Cairnach, in the style of Edwin Landseer, 1844 (left); dachshund Waldmann (right) And, in another parallel with the Royal Family, Victoria and Albert became the subject of a court case over privacy after the couple discovered that their printer had been selling impressions of the etchings to the public. They had entrusted the copper plates to John Brown, a printer in Windsor, in order to make copies for their friends and family. But one of Browns employees sold a set of 63 prints for the princely sum of 5 to writer Jasper Tomsett Judge, who planned to exhibit them publicly. After creating a catalogue for the exhibition, which was printed by his publisher William Strange, two copies were sent to Windsor Castle, for the royal couple to look at. However, instead of approving the exhibition, Prince Albert went to the High Court and was granted an injunction for the surrender of the etchings, prohibition of the exhibition and banning any publication. It goes to show that there has always been huge interest in the Royal Family, and concerns over privacy are nothing new, adds OConnell. The medias appetite for stories on Queen Victoria was not that different to what we see today with William and Kate and Harry and Meghan. Then as now, the royals have to manage that delicate balance of doing their job and maintaining their privacy. Perhaps what is different is a willingness to share their love of art. While Victoria only intended for her etchings to be seen by close friends and family, Prince Charles, who is a keen painter, has been happy to sell his work to help the charities he supports. At Home: Royal Etchings by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, opens at the British Museum on July 18 Srinagar: On July 27, 2017, for the first time since the outbreak of militancy in Kashmir in 1989, Al Qaeda formally announced establishment of its affiliate Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind in Kashmir. And its chief was a local militant Zakir Musa, who was killed in an encounter with the security forces on May 23, coinciding with the outcome of the general elections which returned the Prime Minister Narendra Modi to power. Kashmir has since observed a two-day shutdown marked by the protests and the stone-throwing. With Musa's death, security agencies have declared the end of Ghazwat-ul-Hind in Kashmir. Musa was the last militant of the global outfit in the state, being the first one too. In between, he had been able to recruit about a dozen militants from around the Tral area of South Kashmir, his native place, who were killed over the past two years. The outfit has also not been found involved in an attack on the security forces. However, it was reported to have been behind the last year's grenade attack in Punjab in November last. And for a while Punjab police even claimed to have spotted him in the state. In fact, Firozabad and Bathinda regions were put on high alert after Musa was reported to have been spotted in the state. Reports claimed that he had been seen wearing a Sikh turban. Punjab police in Gurdaspur had even pasted posters of Musa to enable people to identify him. Mysterious militant Musa's joined militancy in 2013 when he was a student of engineering at Chandigarh. He rose to become a close confidante of the slain Hizbul Mujahedeen commander Burhan Wani and was also chosen his successor. But he soon fell out with his Pakistan based superiors when he publicly disagreed with them on the goal of the separatist movement in the state. Musa wanted the goal of the struggle to be the establishment of an Islamic government in an independent Kashmir rather than merger with what he deemed a "secular Pakistan". In his then frequent audio messages he argued that only a pursuit of an Islamic caliphate qualified the Kashmir struggle as a jihad and the dying of militants in this jihad as martyrdom. He also threatened the state's separatist political leadership for terming Kashmir movement a political struggle, saying he will chop off their heads and hang these in the city square. But after being censored by the top Hizb leadership in Pakistan, Musa quit the outfit and decided to strike on his own. It was then that the Al Qaeda announced its presence in Kashmir with Musa as the chief. The announcement was made by Global Islamic Media Front, a media wing of Al Qaeda. The Muslim nation of Kashmir has committed to carry flag of jihad to repel the aggression of tyrant Indian invaders and through jihad with the aid of Allah (swt) only, we will liberate our homeland Kashmir, the Al Qaeda statement read. For this goal, a new movement of jihad has been founded by the companions of martyr Burhan Wani (rh) under the leadership of Mujahid Zakir Musa (May Allah Almighty protect him). But as Gazwat-ul-Hind chief, Musa was never heard again. His audio messages stopped. Gazwat-ul-Hind hardly figured in news about the ongoing violence in the state. That is until his death in an encounter on Wednesday. What next? Will Musa's killing be a setback for the Kashmir militancy? Unlikely. For one, he was the lone remaining militant in his outfit, others having either been killed or having moved on to join Islamic State (IS) which too, police recently claimed to have wiped out after killing of its last militant. The IS has more or less followed a similar trajectory, boasting of no fewer than half a dozen militants with an odd attack on the security forces to their credit. "Incidentally both outfits have lost last their of militants in the last month," says a police officer, not wishing to be named. "But this shouldn't make much of a difference. The outfits had little more than a symbolic presence in the Valley". The militancy in Kashmir is largely led by Hizbul Mujahedeen followed by Lashkar-i-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad, the Pakistan based group which claimed to have carried out Pulwama bombing killing over 40 CRPF personnel. According to General Officer Commanding, Northern Command, Lieutenant General Ranbir Singh this year so far forty Kashmiri youth have joined militancy and the last year 217 youth took up arms. A police estimate has put the number of active militants in Valley at around 200 and most of them belong to Hizb. "With local recruitment continuing, the militancy is unlikely to come to an end anytime soon," said a police officer. "killing of Zakir Musa will not change this reality". For those of us used to seeing Jenny Agutter in a nuns habit on Call The Midwife, it will come as something of a shock to see her as a vampish seductress in her latest movie. It is, says the 66-year-old actress rather proudly, a role she absolutely relished. Part of the reason she took the part in Sometimes Always Never was to free herself from the constraints of Sister Juliennes strait-laced image. Its a pretty big change for me, she laughs as she describes her role as Margaret, a woman adrift and trying to find her missing son but who wants to escape the sadness of her marriage by becoming romantically involved with Bill Nighy. For those of us used to seeing Jenny Agutter in a nuns habit on Call The Midwife, it will come as something of a shock to see her as a vampish seductress in her latest movie It is a very quirky black comedy and I loved Margaret because she is refusing to give up on life. Shes a bit of a rock chick stuck in the Seventies and shes not afraid to be open about her sexuality. There is even an almost sex scene with Bill, but we didnt have the budget for an actual bedroom scene because that would have required another set. We ended up doing a post-sex scene where Bill and I are both in towels on the stairs after being discovered by his son. In real life Agutter is much more discreet, although starring in several iconic productions, from The Railway Children to Walkabout, Logans Run and currently the television phenomenon that is Call The Midwife, has not stopped her from taking Tubes, trains or buses or roaming around cities. Its a compliment that someone would come out of their way to tell you they like what you do, she says. You also see the sort of people who watch your show. It amazes me how many men watch Call The Midwife. Jenny Agutter as Sister Julienne in Call The Midwife. Agutter laughs: I have been a nun for eight years now and in a habit for eight years, so for me its a treat to do something different' We are here to talk about Sometimes Always Never, about a father (Nighy) who tries to connect with his missing son through playing online Scrabble. Nighy plays a retired tailor who believes his son, who ran away from home several years earlier, is his online opponent. After meeting in a hotel, Margaret ends up having an affair with Nighy. Agutter laughs: I have been a nun for eight years now and in a habit for eight years, so for me its a treat to do something different. I would always jump at the chance to play opposite Bill, and as soon as I read the script I was intrigued. Margaret is a very emotional woman who has no issues talking about sex. Shes very comfortable in herself she loves the rock chick clothes, and that was a lot of fun after spending six months of every year in a grey habit. Her habit has, however, reignited her career, with the chance to appear in Hollywood blockbuster movies, from Captain America to The Avengers at an age when many female stars are struggling for parts. Call The Midwife also managed to supersede in the public imagination her role as the plucky Bobbie in the TV and film adaptations of the childrens classic, The Railway Children. This made her a star at the age of 18, propelling her into Hollywood, where the following year she picked up an Emmy for The Snow Goose and massive critical acclaim for Nicolas Roegs coming-of-age movie, Walkabout. Amazingly, when Agutter first read the script for Call The Midwife she believed it would be a huge flop. I thought, who in this day and age is going to tune into a series about midwives, nuns and a really impoverished part of London in the Fifties? Nobody is ever going to watch this. I prepared myself for just one series. She could not have been more wrong. The show has a regular audience of more than ten million, has racked up 17 television awards and is one of the BBCs best exports, with a huge following in America. Earlier this year the BBC announced it had been commissioned until 2022. Does she ever feel like she needs to quit? I do, she says. But then I read the scripts and they just get better. People think it is soft and cosy but we deal with tough stuff illegal abortions, homosexuality, wife-beating, alcoholism, sexual assault, and there are these endless emotional layers of humanity pitted against the law and religious morals. Im incredibly proud to be part of it. Shes very comfortable in herself ... not afraid to be open about her sexuality A gutter, who was awarded an OBE in 2012, has had a good professional life but she thinks of herself as an accidental actress. The child of an Army officer, her childhood was spent in Singapore, Cyprus and Malaya, until a talent for dance was discovered and she was sent to a ballet school in England. At the age of 12 she was cast in the 1964 movie East Of Sudan. I left school at 16 with no other qualifications, and the acting offers kept slowly coming. In Hollywood she had major success with Logans Run and a slew of movies. But I wasnt very good at the celebrity stuff. Id go to parties and people would ask what I was doing and Id say, Oh nothing at the moment, and then Id be pulled to one side and told I must never say that. But I always just told the truth. Did she experience the darker side of Hollywood, with predatory casting agents and directors? I was aware of it. There were times I would be pushed into a swimsuit, which I never felt comfortable about, but I did it. If I was asked to go out to dinner, I would ask what was the reason. If there wasnt one and that person had a reputation, I would just decline. I actually had a very happy time in Hollywood. There Agutter was most definitely something of a sex symbol, a fact that makes her cough and smile today. Its not something I ever thought myself to be, she says. She did not, however, behave like a sex symbol there were no high-profile relationships, no broken engagements or unsuitable marriages. Jenny Agutter with Bill Nighy and Tim McInnerny in Sometimes Always Never I was single for a quite a long time in my late 20s and early 30s, and I just resigned myself to never marrying or having children. It can be difficult to meet people in this industry and you then just stop expecting to meet anyone, she says. She was nearly 40 when she met Johan Tham, a Swedish hotelier who was a director of Cliveden Hotel in Buckinghamshire. The year after their marriage in 1990 their son Jonathan was born. I was very lucky, she says. I had given up hope of being married and just thought marriage and motherhood isnt my path. I love what I do but my family is an absolute blessing. When asked what her ambitions are she says quickly, To direct The Tempest in Tobago, where she has a small home. Commitments to Call The Midwife, however, take priority. We talk about the pleasures and pains of making the show. Wearing a habit means I dont have to sit for hours in a make-up chair, which is great. But the make-up room is the best for gossip and chatting so I tend to sit in there anyway, drinking coffee. The most miserable aspect of filming is, she says, not the brutal births or the endless hours in the chapel, but the cosy mealtimes. Nightmare, she says. They can take up to 12 hours because there are so many issues over continuity, who spoke and ate what when. It all has to go back exactly. You cant eat bread or you end up with such a dry mouth. The funniest times we had around the table were with Miriam Margolyes, who temporarily joined Nonnatus House in series eight. Everyone else takes the tiniest bites of a tomato or tries to avoid eating anything but Miriam would just tuck in. She loved the food. It was hilarious. The continuity people would have to add more food constantly because Miriam kept eating all the pies. That made us all laugh. We do really have fun on that show. e Sometimes Always Never is in cinemas from June 14 ANNA Dorfman stage, National Theatre, London Until Jun 15, 1hr 5mins Rating: Ive often thought it a good idea to introduce the Donald Sinden award for actor audibility. The theatre these days is as bad as the telly. The late Sir Donald once told me that, back in his early days in rep, if you couldnt be clearly heard in the gods, you got a formal letter of warning from the management. Better, he reckoned, to boom than go without the job, the fags and the beer. That audibility imperative may vanish for good if this audience headphones business catches on. For Anna, attached to your seat is a comfy pair of cans through which binaural sound, a sort of audio 3D, is pumped. The set is an East German apartment in Berlin in 1968. The actors perform behind a glass screen, like communist goldfish You can hear a pin drop at your side and a door slam 50 yards off. I almost had a heart attack when footsteps suddenly came up behind me in the gloom. The idea is that we are not watching a play but listening in. The set is an East German apartment in Berlin in 1968. The actors perform behind a glass screen, like communist goldfish. We watch young Hans (Paul Bazely) and Anna get ready for a party to celebrate his promotion. Colleagues arrive, as does poor Elena from downstairs, whose husband has been whisked away by the Stasi secret police. The party is increasingly fraught, and theres a cheese- on-sticks hedgehog to go with the drinks. Anna neurotically played by Phoebe Fox is a bag of nerves The party is increasingly fraught, and theres a cheese- on-sticks hedgehog to go with the drinks. Anna neurotically played by Phoebe Fox is a bag of nerves. When Hanss boss, Christian Neumann, arrives, she goes white and throws up. You can hear her being sick in the loo in full surround sound! Is it the cheese hedgehog? No, it turns out that Neumann (Max Bennett) is the man who shopped her mum to the invading Soviet soldiers in 1945, who then raped and killed her. Hes blond, like the creepy Nazi in Where Eagles Dare, with all the fake charm of Donald Tusk. The props are in period, the sounds (by Ben and Max Ringham) spookily real, but the script is written in cloth-eared modern English (Pictured above, Dwane Walcott) As thrillers go, the ensuing plot has some drive. But the young author Ella Hickson (fierce, privileged and achingly Left-wing) clearly knows nothing about East Germany, except what shes gleaned from the 2006 film The Lives Of Others, a genuine German masterpiece from which she pinches a chilling joke. The props are in period, the sounds (by Ben and Max Ringham) spookily real, but the script is written in cloth-eared modern English. For example, Hans raises a glass and says: Were going to do a toast. Nothing sounds remotely in period, and coincidences pile up implausibly. The one-hour running time is the shows (almost) saving grace, along with the great Diana Quick as an elderly neighbour. This felt to me like a very average radio thriller, gussied up with an air of pretension and horrid nibbles. Orpheus Descending Menier Chocolate Factory, London Until Jul 6, 2hrs 40mins Rating: One of Tennessee Williamss most sweaty melodramas, Orpheus Descending drawing on the myth of the doomed troubadour is swollen with its own poetry and symbolism. Its an uneven, intense play, often repetitive in its imagery, which dulls its rather mysterious powers. But although it may not be one of Williamss finest, it continues to be a draw thanks to a meaty central part for a female lead (Helen Mirren and Vanessa Redgrave have previously had a go). American actor Seth Numrich is too easy-going, too bland really to set hearts pounding as the wild interloper with his guitar and snakeskin jacket Tamara Harveys production by the Menier and Theatr Clwyd, where she is artistic director brews up the right thick atmosphere of menace for this story of forbidden passions in a strait-laced Southern town, where neighbourly pettiness can at any moment harden into dangerous prejudice. But it isnt quite enough to make this strange play really work on the heartstrings. Leading an impressive cast here is Hattie Morahan, who as ever gives a standout, layered performance. She plays Lady, a woman stuck in a loveless marriage, her tough shell gradually prised open by Valentine, a handsome young wastrel who has come looking for work, swearing hes thrown off his corrupt ways. But American actor Seth Numrich obviously a Williams fan, having also starred in Sweet Bird Of Youth opposite Kim Cattrall and in The Glass Menagerie, both in Britain is too easy-going, too bland really to set hearts pounding as the wild interloper with his guitar and snakeskin jacket. Jemima Rooper does well, however, with the tricky part of the raddled outcast Carol, another contrast to the strictly buttoned-up townsfolk. The plays dry-goods store is sparsely evoked in Jonathan Fensoms dark, wooden set. And the decision to have the one black character, a watchful conjure man or witch doctor, read aloud the stage directions is canny, adding some theatrical heft to an otherwise uncomfortably tokenistic role. Holly Williams The Provoked Wife Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon Until Sep 7, 3hrs Rating: John Vanbrughs 1697 Restoration comedy has an inky darkness under its frills and wigs. Its driven by a convoluted plot of schemes and frolics usually to woo women, or to shame them and a nasty abusive relationship. Sir John Brute (Restoration playwrights were rarely subtle in naming characters) is a dyspeptic drunkard who drives his wife to take a lover the adoring, devoted Constant (Rufus Hound). Alexandra Gilbreath is marvellous as Lady Brute, husky and lusty, eyes widening and swivelling with exasperation or ardour. As her husband, Jonathan Slinger is viciously acerbic and very funny, although we laugh at him, not with him. Caroline Quentin is enjoyable to watch as Lady Fancyfull, with her characters ego as puffed-up as her cupcake of a frock, but it feels an old-fashioned, ungenerous reading of the part Sadly, the same cant be said of Caroline Quentins Lady Fancyfull, mocked for her vanity, vulgarity and age. Quentin is enjoyable to watch, with her characters ego as puffed-up as her cupcake of a frock, but it feels an old-fashioned, ungenerous reading of the part. Phillip Breens production serves up sparkling sparring and steamy subtext but doesnt gloss the nasty bits of the battle of the sexes. A scene where Brute attempts to rape his wife is repulsive, as it ought to be. But although its all set at a scurrying pace, at three hours, the play ultimately outstays its welcome. Holly Williams Frankissstein Jeanette Winterson Jonathan Cape 16.99 It has been called the most productive holiday in English literature. In June 1816, four friends Percy Bysshe Shelley and his young lover (later wife) Mary, plus Lord Byron and his personal physician, Dr John Polidori rented two adjoining houses overlooking Lake Geneva. An exceptionally wet summer ensured that they were all stuck indoors. To stave off boredom, Byron suggested they should each write a ghost story. Neither Byron nor Shelley came up with anything of interest, but Dr Polidori wrote The Vampyre, which gave birth to the myth of Count Dracula, and, after a few days of writers block, the 18-year-old Mary had a nightmare and woke with the tale of Frankenstein in her head. Often Frankissstein reads less like a novel than notes for a novel, or even notes for a TV script Two hundred years later, where would we all be without blood-sucking vampires and Frankensteins monster? Its odd to think that a sudden change in the weather probably caused by the eruption of the Mount Tambora volcano in Indonesia resulted in the creation of two of the most dramatic figures in all fiction. What if the sun had been shining brilliantly, as it should have been at that season of the year? Professor John Sutherland asks in his lively book Curiosities Of Literature. Would there be blank spaces where all the Frankenstein and Dracula knock-offs, homages and rip-offs now lodge on our shelves? Jeanette Winterson is the latest in a long line of writers to draw inspiration, or pay homage to, or ahem rip off Mary Shelleys immortal work. Wintersons novel goes by the peculiarly irritating name of Frankissstein, with at least one S too many. It starts on pretty solid ground, in 1816, with the four friends beside Lake Geneva. They talk, and talk. Mary, who is narrating, says she hopes that one day there will be a human society which is just. Polidori replies that this will never happen. The radical Shelley predicts a revolution in England and then, truly, we shall begin again. Their conversation strays into other areas. Polidori mentions that they opened a grave in Albania recently, and the corpse, though one hundred years old was perfectly preserved, with fresh blood visible at the mouth. This gives Byron the idea that they should each set about writing a story of the supernatural. Mary then has her nightmare about a monster created from body parts. I saw the hideous phantasm of a man stretched out, and then, on the working of some powerful engine, show signs of life, and stir with an uneasy, half-vital motion. If these words sound authentic, thats because they are: in fact, they are the exact words that Mary Shelley wrote in her preface to Frankenstein, though Winterson fails to acknowledge this. Just as the reader is beginning to feel cosy, and on solid historical ground, the setting switches to the present day, and a robotics conference in Memphis, with a fresh set of characters. Or perhaps not wholly fresh: they are skewed versions of what has gone before, either in history or in fiction. For instance, the narrator is called Dr Ry Shelley, a gender-fluid rendering of Mary Shelley. You look like a boy whos a girl whos a girl whos a boy, observes a robotics genius who goes by the name of Victor Stein (geddit?). Ry is, it turns out, a woman who has become a man, or at least in some respects. I have chosen not to have lower surgery, Ry explains, helpfully. Also present is a clodhopper called Ron Lord, who sells Sexbots, and seems to have sprung from a coarse Carry On update. He says things like I am working on a model with detachable tits, for variety, and No nagging about stopping for lunch or needing the toilet. No sulking about the Holiday Inn youve booked. An equally crass character is a pushy journalist from Vanity Fair called Polly D. Maybe I could interview you? Polly D says to Ry Shelley. Trans is hot right now. Its not a fashion choice, OK? says Ry. No, no, I mean you, as a doctor what was it like taking all that testosterone? Having the surgery? You could be an icon. Polly, Im not Caitlyn Jenner. I dont want to be in Vanity Fair. What is Jeanette Winterson up to? She is one of our most inventive and original writers, yet there are countless passages in Frankissstein which read as though the late Jackie Collins had sprung back to life, complete with her familiar two-dimensional characters and Seventies soap-opera dialogue. For instance, attending a lecture by Victor Stein, Ry Shelley thinks: I love watching him. He has that sex-mix of soul-saving and erudition. His body is lean and keen Women adore him. Men admire him. How could an accomplished novelist like Winterson write such rubbish? Perhaps I have got it wrong. Perhaps Winterson is just pretending to write badly, as some sort of playful post-modern jeu desprit. But, if so, I cant see why. And as the book goes on, her various plots grow sillier and sillier, with Ry Shelley supplying Victor Stein with body parts, in order to create modern monsters. Working in A&E has its advantages, Ry tells him. This is a well-shaped leg, whose was it? he asks. Motorbike accident. Young woman, Ry replies. Meanwhile, back in the 19th century, things are also going off the rails. Mary Shelley is contacted by a doctor who tells her that her fictitious creation, Victor Frankenstein, has escaped from Bedlam. Winterson clearly wants to explore themes of illusion and reality, artistic and scientific creation, human consciousness and artificial intelligence, and the conflict between the physical and the mental. All very well, but its as though she is simply box-ticking these various themes before rushing onwards, in search of something else. IT'S A FACT Frankenstein actor Boris Karloff, famous for his terrifying creation, loved to tour childrens wards dressed as Father Christmas. Advertisement Often Frankissstein reads less like a novel than notes for a novel, or even notes for a TV script. The room had the look of a bad set from an early episode of Doctor Who, observes Ry, having been led into a new chamber by the baddie, Dr Stein. Would this novel have been published if it had not been written by Jeanette Winterson? Like Dr Frankenstein, she plunders bits and pieces from the dead. Alan Turing gets a look-in, as he did in Ian McEwans most recent and infinitely more thoughtful novel about robots. She also finds room for a character called Dr James Bedford, who was the first person to have his corpse cryogenically preserved, in the hope of coming back to life some time later. Of course, theres no reason novelists shouldnt resuscitate real people. That said, I feel sorry for Professor Jack Good, who, perhaps because of his name, I took to be fictitious, but turns out to be real. Good was recruited by Alan Turing as a codebreaker at Bletchley Park, and went on to work with him on a ground-breaking computer. He was fascinated by the idea of a machine that was capable of learning, and thus improving itself. Arthur C Clarke was influenced by this distinguished scientist to create the computer with a mind of its own in 2001: A Space Odyssey. Good died in 2009. All well and good, but Winterson makes macabre use of him in Frankissstein. Before he died, Jack and I agreed that we would preserve his head with a view to returning him to consciousness some day, says Dr Stein. In his laboratory, he reveals what looked like a cross between a puppet and a robot. The cylinder base ran on wheels. Above was a body with arms and a head. The whole thing was about two feet tall. Victor explains: Jack was a small man I think he will like this. Its his new body. So death now holds a fresh horror: one day, without so much as a by-your-leave, Jeanette Winterson may just bring you back to life in a novel, but this time as a head on wheels. 'As with any type of surgery, there can be complications' As we age, our faces change. Our collagen production slows and levels of hyaluronic acid reduce, meaning our skin thins and becomes less stretchy and less plump. As a result, what was once smooth and taut succumbs to gravity. Medical aesthetics or cosmetic surgery to you and me is a rapidly expanding speciality with lots of new technologies being developed. This can include facial fillers substances injected into the lines, folds and tissues of the face to reduce wrinkles, plump up cheeks and lips, reduce scars and restore youthful-looking volume and shape. Most of these fillers break down over time. However, as with any type of surgery, there can be complications. Should you choose to go down this route, research is vital. You expect to trust a doctor, nurse or dentist as they have qualifications and a regulatory body, but there are no restrictions on who can inject fillers. The British College of Aesthetic Medicine is lobbying for a formal regulatory body and register but in the meantime, saveface.co.uk, which is recognised by the Professional Standards Authority, NHS England, the government and The Care Quality Commission, has its own list of accredited practitioners. If you plan to have any kind of treatment, particularly on your face, you need to be able to trust the person administering it. If things go wrong for example, if you get local bruising, the formation of lumps, bumps, nodules, swelling or even infection it can be extremely distressing. Occasionally, the risks can be more serious such as allergy, or if a blood vessel is affected interrupting blood supply to the lip or eye. It is vital that the practitioner is able to manage these promptly as they may have irreversible consequences. Surgeon and cosmetic medical doctor Miss Sherina Balaratnam is a strong advocate of patient education so if youre considering fillers, here is her checklist of what to look for Identify your main concerns and know what look you want to achieve. This should mean you dont get talked into having procedures you might not want. Be realistic about your expectations do you want to look less tired? More youthful? More relaxed? To redefine your lips or jawline? Research the procedure you want and find a qualified practitioner. Ask to see their qualification (ideally from a medical, nursing or dental regulatory body), before-and-after images of their patients, how long they have been using these products and look up patient reviews. Expect a good consultation. You need time to be assessed and to ask questions take a list if you need to. Informed consent means understanding the potential side effects. Expect a cooling-off period to consider if its right for you or to look at other options. Is the clinic clean and professional? Ask about the product, its safety profile and about the clinics aftercare protocols so you have a more relaxed treatment journey with your practitioner on hand to address any queries. Cheaper may not necessarily be better. With a huge range of options available, choose a practitioner and clinic you feel comfortable with and whom you can trust. For a botanical boost For a botanical boost Natural spring water with added botanical extracts is going to be my drink of choice this summer. And not just because the aromatic flavours are delicately delicious they are good for me, too. Certain herbs are said to have various health benefits after being carefully extracted to retain all the active compounds in the drink. Mint water is thought to aid digestion, thyme water may help a hangover and my favourite, juniper water, is said to reduce inflammation and its berries are famously used to make gin. See no1botanicals.com. It was a daft publicity stunt for peace, but it did the trick, remembers Ray Connolly John and Yoko said they were protesting against war and violence in the world John Lennon did some very clever things in his life, mostly involving songwriting. But he did some daft things, too. For me, the silliest were his Bed-Ins for Peace. As a young reporter for the Evening Standard, I was seeing a lot of The Beatles, and a few days earlier had revealed in a front-page lead that John and Yoko had flown to Gibraltar to get married. However, when they decided to spend their week-long honeymoon sitting in bed in room 902 of Amsterdams Hilton, telling journalists it was for world peace, I was unconvinced. I thought it was naive and narcissistic to believe that it would do anything at all to stop the war in Vietnam. I wasnt opposed to the message I just couldnt see how John and Yoko calling themselves Mr and Mrs Peace and inviting the worlds press to come to talk to them for 12 hours a day, during which they insisted that they were on an anti-war advertising campaign, was going to achieve that. I wasnt alone. While Johns fame drew worldwide coverage he was gifted at generating self-publicity the stunt was greeted by the public with little more than fond amusement by fans and head-shaking ridicule by older disparagers. I dont care if people laugh at us, John later told me. Yoko and I are willing to be the worlds clowns if it does some good. As he sang on The Beatles The Ballad of John and Yoko, the newspapers said, shes gone to his head, they look just like two gurus in drag. They did. A few months later, the pair held another Bed-In in Montreal and John took the opportunity to write and record a new song Give Peace a Chance. It may not be a great melody, but it was an inspired peace anthem. This time he got his message across in the best way he knew. Its still being sung today. Also that month Concorde Jo and Sarah answer real questions from readers: to put your query, go to beautybible.com Q I have been told I have dry eyes, which often feel sore and gritty by the end of the day. The optometrist says I should be careful with eye make up. Can you advise on this and is there anything else I can do? A Dry eye syndrome is very common these days, largely due to the amount of time we spend at a screen. The underlying problem is we don't blink enough when were focused on a computer. Research shows that we blink one to three times per minute sitting at our screens, compared to a natural healthy level of 15 to 20 times a minute. Every time you blink, your eyelids spread a cocktail of oils and mucus across the surface of the eye to prevent them drying out. Blinking also protects the eyes from irritants. If the blinking rate plummets, your eyes are likely to suffer as you describe. Other symptoms are eyes feeling tired and heavy, blurred vision and headaches. For more information follow Beauty Bible online here or on Facebook and Twitter London based eye surgeon Dr Sabrina Shah-Desai, who is very concerned about the rising tide of dry eye syndrome and also blepharitis [inflammation of the eyelids], has several suggestions for eye make up. Never take mascara right down to the roots. Just colour the ends, preferably with a product that does not contain lengthening or thickening fibres. For greater impact, use eyelash curlers. Avoid powder eye shadow, especially anything with glitter. Instead use liquid eyeliner rather than eye pencil, which may migrate into the eye. Dr Shah-Desais personal favourite is a Bobbi Brown product, such as Long-wear Gel Eyeliner, 19.50 in ten shades. We have just discovered Code 8 Precision Liquid Eyeliner in Carbon Black, which has an easy to use, very fine tip. 28 from codeeight.com. BUT no tight lining inside the eye rim, insists Dr Shah-Desai, practically shuddering at the thought. When choosing eye make up, always look to see that it is ophthalmologist tested for allergens, not just dermatologist tested. If you experience any sensitivity reaction, stop immediately. Never use old eye make up or leave the container open. Don't pump mascara wands into the product as it invites contaminants. Mascara should be disposed of after three months. If you wear a light-blocking eye mask at night, do keep it scrupulously clean to ensure bacteria don't breed. Remove eye make up with a targeted product for sensitive eyes. For foundations/concealers around the eyes, Dr Shah-Desai recommends a specialist brand like Oxygenetix Oxygenating Breathable Foundation, which is safe to use on upper eye lids, under the lower lash line for dark circles, and in the shadowy corners either side of the nose. Oxygenetix is available in some clinics (aesthetic doctors are big fans) and online, in 14 shades. Theres a useful colour chart at facethefuture.co.uk. Dr Shah-Desai has also devised a three-step eye health regime using two leading brands, Optase and Hycosan, both available nationwide and online. Products are preservative free. Step 1 Heat: You have about 70 oil (meibomian) glands along your eyelids. If these glands get blocked, it can cause irritation and dry eyes. Try using an OPTASE Moist Heat Mask, 10.99) daily to stimulate these glands. Heat for 25 seconds in a microwave then relax as your eyes are soothed. NB If you find this is too hot you could steam eyes over a bowl of boiling water with a towel over your head brilliant for skin and sinuses too. Step 2 Cleanse: The skin around our eyes is the thinnest and most delicate on our whole body so it needs a specialist product. Cleanse with OPTASE Tea Tree Oil Lid Wipes, 9.99 for 20. Gently pressing the lids helps stimulate oil glands. Step 3 Hydrate: Very watery eyes can actually be a symptom of dryness. Apply HYCOSAN Dual eye drops just one drop in each to help moisturise dry eyes and reduce itching and burning. If you find the pump dispenser awkward to use, try OPTASE Eye Spray, 15.99, which contains omega-3 rich sea buckthorn oil plus hydrating sodium hyaluronate. Beauty Bible loves Aromatherapy Associates Support & Travel Edit, 33. Were all going on a summer holiday And you can bet that well be packing this. In fact, though were not 100% sure this bag is airport security approved, were going to keep our fingers crossed and pack this sturdy see-thru zip-up bag with our hand luggage beauty essentials. Multi-award-winning Aromatherapy Associates showcase some of their travel must-haves in this Support & Travel Edit. Heres what youll find and why we love it Multi-award-winning Aromatherapy Associates showcase some of their travel must-haves in this Support & Travel Edit. Heres what youll find and why we love it Support Breathe Roller Ball if you find travel stressful (um, who doesnt?), this is brilliant for centreing and calming yourself, and also as a bit of a pick-me-up before you land, with its easy-breathe-y blend of eucalyptus, tea tree, pine and peppermint. Aromatherapy Associates De-Stress Muscle Gel massage this into legs at 37,000 feet and also after that hike youre going on, to ease weary muscles. A fusion of black pepper, lavender, ginger and rosemary, its ideal to de-stress your body after spending too long in one position Perfect for long-haul, then. Support Lavender & Peppermint Bath & Shower Oil a two-treatment size of this wonderfully balancing bath or shower treat. Unpack that case, run those taps and let this make you feel human again. Hydrosol Sheet Mask the kit features one of these brilliant skin-replumping masks, to put back what Sahara-dry in-flight conditions take out. If you dont want to scare your fellow travellers, slap this on when you arrive at your hotel and hear your skin slurp up the aloe- and hyaluronic acid-powered goodness. Antu-Ageing Intensive Skin Treatment Oil follow the mask with this luscious replenisher, with its heavenly rose and rose geranium scent. Theres enough here to last for at least a week of night treatments, we reckon. If you dont know some of these products, these are all good introductions. And if you do? Youll appreciate just why we wont be leaving home without this kit. Arcadia boss Sir Philip Green Whatever you think of Sir Philip Green, it was terrible timing by Lord Hain to air new lurid sexual harassment allegations only hours after the tycoon launched a last-ditch attempt to stave off insolvency at his High Street empire. But quite aside from the question of whether Hain abused parliamentary privilege to attack Green without fear of being sued, the furore will not have helped to push through the rescue package. I say this not to sympathise with Green, but for the sake of the 18,000 employees at his Arcadia group which includes Topshop, Burtons and Dorothy Perkins whose livelihoods are at stake. Green and Arcadia need to get a company voluntary agreement (CVA) arranged by early June. Without it, the future looks grim. This deal has been under negotiation for months and is highly sensitive. Everyone concerned is taking some sort of haircut and, if it is to go through, it will need a degree of trust. In Green's case, this is in short supply following the BHS debacle. Landlords and pension regulators are asking why they should accept reduced terms from Green and his wife, who have taken more than 1 billion out of the business. It is a reasonable question. But at this point cool heads are needed for the sake of the employees and pensioners. With his grandstanding, Hain inflamed the situation unnecessarily. The rescue involves almost 50 store closures with the loss of more than 500 jobs, payments by Lady Green into the business and the pension funds, and deals with landlords. The latter are being asked to accept reduced rents in return for a 20 per cent cut of the proceeds if Arcadia is sold at a later date. The contentious part, unsurprisingly given the track record at BHS, is the pension fund. Green paid in 363 million to the BHS scheme, though not before he had been roundly vilified. This time Lady Green is offering 100 million and despite this being seen as a good deal by some leading pensions experts, the regulator has said it is inadequate. Green's Arcadia group includes Topshop, Burtons and Dorothy Perkins The Greens will have to stump up more indeed, there are already indications they and Arcadia will put up an additional 185 million of security. If the regulator deems their backing for the fund falls short then it will not agree to the CVA, and the alternative to that is dire. The regulator also has the power to take enforcement action against Green and order him to pay into the fund, as it threatened over BHS. Arcadia is in a pretty grim state. Its accounts for the year to August 2018 are due imminently and will not make pretty reading. The CVA documents show its earnings are down to about 30 million it made just over 90 million in 2017. The bigger question, even if the CVA goes through, is whether it will be enough to revive Arcadia. Retail experts say the real problem is the Greens have underinvested in the business and that Lady Green's offer to put in 50 million of fresh capital is not enough. Asos, for instance, is investing 200 million this year. A CVA is not in itself a miracle cure. Plenty of firms have progressed from one into an administration. All it provides is a breathing space the business still has to have a robust strategy for recovery and the wherewithal to execute it. Unless Green can get back some of the fashion mojo that Topshop showed at its peak, then Arcadia, and he, will be on the slide to oblivion. The private equity owner of British Steel, Marc Meyohas The private equity owner of British Steel has insisted its collapse was not his fault. Marc Meyohas said his company, Greybull Capital, should not be blamed for the failure which has put 25,000 jobs at risk and that he had done everything possible to keep it afloat. It came as Whitehall sources warned that British Steel will be allowed to go under if a buyer is not found within two weeks. Greybull bought British Steel for 1 from Tata in 2016, when it was last at risk of failure, and has since extracted 6 million of fees. But Meyohas said the collapse was due to factors which are beyond his control, such as Brexit uncertainty. He said he would be willing to face MPs on the Business Select Committee and account for his actions, telling The Mail on Sunday: 'We'll support any inquiries fully and openly. We did everything we could to support British Steel from the minute we got involved in it.' The firm is now being supported by the Government amid desperate efforts to find a buyer. British Steel has 4,800 staff, mostly working at its site in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire. Another 20,000 people work for firms in its supply chain. Fiat Chrysler is holding tie-up talks with French rival Renault Fiat Chrysler is holding tie-up talks with French rival Renault as the car industry battles a slowdown in sales. The two firms are said to be in discussions about how they can work together, potentially paving the way for a formal merger. Renault is already in an alliance with Nissan and Mitsubishi, in which they share many resources and suppliers. It comes as car makers are being hammered by tariffs slapped on by US President Donald Trump, while customers are shunning diesel vehicles due to pollution concerns. A merger between Renault and Italy's Fiat would create the world's largest car manufacturer. Advertisement Sydney has some of the most iconic and historic buildings in Australia - but many of these landmarks also have a dark and often ghastly past, which many visitors would be surprised to learn. From the cemeteries of Central and Town Hall stations to The Mint's dark and painful history as Sydney's first general hospital, the gruesome and secret past of Sydneys most historic landmarks has been revealed. Let's take a look at the past and present of some of the more eye-catching structures around Australia's oldest city, and uncover the little known history of Sydney's biggest landmarks. The Mint - formerly the Rum Hospital' The historic Mint building on Macquarie Street is one of Sydney's oldest surviving public buildings - but before it was the first overseas branch of Londons Royal Mint, it was a colonial hospital (pictured) that was financed with rum The hospital was renowned for its rudimentary bloodletting practices (pictured) and its corridors were often overcrowded with poor ventilation so dysentery was rife, which led to the hospital being known as the 'Sidney Slaughter House' Governor Macquarie struck a deal with rum merchants that allowed them to import 45,000 gallons of the spirit in exchange for them building the 'Rum Hospital', which would later become known as The Mint (pictured) in 1854 When Lachlan Macquarie began his term as governor of New South Wales in 1810, one of his first goals was to develop a new hospital for Sydney, but the British government refused to fund major public works in the colony. So the governor struck a deal with rum merchants that allowed them to import 45,000 gallons of the spirit in exchange for them building the 'Rum Hospital', which would later become known as The Mint in 1854. The hospital was renowned for its rudimentary bloodletting practices and its corridors were often overcrowded with poor ventilation so dysentery was rife, which led to the hospital being known as the 'Sidney Slaughter House'. *Source: Sydney Living Museums Town Hall - Sydney's first official cemetery The 'Old Sydney Burial Ground' site was the final resting place for people for 27 years until it later became Sydney Town Hall Many coffin relics (left) and tombstones have been unearthed during excavation and construction of the cemetery site (right) Newspaper headlines from July 1924 confirmed the discoveries of tombstones, wooden coffins and other 'old time' relics Sydney Town Hall (pictured) is one of the grandest surviving buildings in Australia, which has played host to many civic, community and cultural celebrations, but it also sits on the site of what was once the principal cemetery of NSW Sydney Town Hall is one of the grandest surviving buildings in Australia, which has played host to many civic, community and cultural celebrations, but it also sits on the site of what was once the principal cemetery of NSW. Dating back to the 1790s, the 'Old Sydney Burial Ground' closed by 1820 when it was full. Soon neglected, the graveyard became a refuge for stray animals and a target for grave robbers on the hunt for leaden coffins. Over the years, a number of coffins and tombstones have been unearthed during the construction of Sydney Town Hall, the open-cut excavations for Town Hall Railway Station, and the excavation and formation of Sydney Square. *Source: City of Sydney The Adina Hotel, Sydney - formerly Crown Street Women's Hospital Crown Street Women's Hospital (pictured) was the leading women's hospital in New South Wales between 1893 and 1983, which played an instrumental role in caring for the poorest and most marginalised women in Sydney When the hospital closed in 1983, it resulted in public uproar and demonstrations (pictured) in the streets of Surry Hills From its early days, the hospital sheltered homeless and pregnant women, and in its later days it revolutionised birthing practices in Australia and it was a place where women went after botched illegal abortions The site where the Crown Street Women's Hospital once sat is now home to a budget hotel (pictured) and medical centre Crown Street Women's Hospital was the leading women's hospital in New South Wales between 1893 and 1983, which played an instrumental role in caring for the poorest and most marginalised women in Sydney. From its early days, the hospital sheltered homeless and pregnant women, and in its later days it revolutionised birthing practices in Australia and it was a place where women went after botched illegal abortions. Despite its rich history of medical care for women, the hospital closed in 1983, which resulted in public uproar and demonstrations in the neighbouring streets of Surry Hills. The site now hosts a budget hotel and medical centre. *Source: Allen & Unwin Central Railway Station - formerly the Sandhills Cemetery When the Old Burial Ground reached capacity in 1820 and was closed, the Sandhills Cemetery (pictured), or Old Devonshire Street Burial Ground was used to bury Sydneys dead, until the site was redeveloped as Central Railway Station The exhumed coffins were taken to cemeteries at Rookwood, Camperdown, South Head, Waverley and Gore Hill, while the remainder were transferred to Bunnerong Cemetery near Botany via a purpose-built spur line The cemetery was the resting place for nearly 50 years, between 1819 and 1868, until the State Government exhumed and relocated those buried to make way for the construction of Sydney's Central Railway Station (pictured) When the Old Burial Ground reached capacity in 1820 and was closed, the Sandhills Cemetery, or Old Devonshire Street Burial Ground was used to bury Sydneys dead, until it was later redeveloped as Central Railway Station. The cemetery was the resting place for nearly 50 years, between 1819 and 1868, until the State Government exhumed and relocated those buried to make way for the construction of city's soon-to-be transport hub. The exhumed coffins were taken to cemeteries at Rookwood, Camperdown, South Head, Waverley and Gore Hill, while the remainder were transferred to Bunnerong Cemetery near Botany via a purpose-built spur line. *Source: Sydney Architect It was only six seconds, but in prison, that's long enough. Mongols bikie Daniel Sarkis, 31, had just been escorted into a holding cell at the John Morony Correctional Centre when he fronted up to Corey Smith, 25, a member from the gang's hated rivals, the Finks. The two gangs had been at each other's throats for some time inside the jail in Sydney's north-west, but just after 9.30am on August 18 last year, tensions reached boiling point. Within seconds of a prison officer putting Sarkis and another inmate into the holding cell where Smith and four others were already standing, fists were flying. CCTV footage from within the jail, obtained exclusively by Daily Mail Australia, shows Sarkis - a high-ranking Mongol - walk up to Smith and utter something before hitting him with a right hand. The video gives a rare insight into the brutal reality of life behind bars - with others in the holding cells looking on impassively and the guards in no rush to end the brawl. High-ranking Mongols OMCG member Daniel Sarkis (left) has been convicted of affray after a wild prison brawl with Corey Smith (right), a member of the rival Finks OMCG Security footage shows Sarkis initially walk straight past Smith into the centre of the cell, before quickly performing a U-turn. The heavily-tattooed Sarkis then mutters something to Smith, before letting fly with a flurry of punches. While Smith manages to evade the first punch he is soon hit by a heavy right-hand, at which point he begins to defend himself. Court documents seen by Daily Mail Australia reveal tensions between Mongols and Finks members had been building prior to the fight. 'The affray is a direct (result) of the accused membership and conflict with members of the Finks Outlaw Motorcycle gang,' agreed court facts state. Over the years the two gangs have had an up and down relationship. MONGOLS vs FINKS: - Mongols OMCG arrived in Australia at the start of the decade - The bikie gang had a reputation as one the most notorious in the U.S - Within a few years many Finks OMCG members had joined the Mongols - In Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia, 90% of Finks patched over to the Mongols - But in NSW many Finks chapters did not patch over, leading to tensions - Sarkis and Smith's prison brawl came as a result of 'ongoing conflict', court documents state Advertisement Starting their first chapter in Australia in 2013, the Mongols arrived from the United States with a reputation as the country's 'most violent and dangerous biker gang'. Their name is a nod to brutal Mongolian warlord Genghis Khan, who dominated Asia in the 12th century and killed more people than anyone in history. In the early years the two groups were close allies in Australia, with an estimated 90 per cent of Finks in Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia patching over to amalgamate with the Mongols. But in New South Wales some Finks chapters refused to change their colours, which in turn led to heightened tensions. 1. Sarkis and another man are led into the holding cell at John Morony Prison just after 9.38am 2. The Mongols bikie walks into the centre of the cell, before turning around to confront Smith 3. Sarkis says something to his Finks rival, before throwing a right-fist at which point the brawl unfolds. The other men in the cell move away, before prison officers finally enter to break it up Sarkis was in prison for stalking and intimidating a woman, as well as driving a motor vehicle with intent to menace. He was released on parole earlier this year after 11 months behind bars Smith (far right) declined police involvement, but the following day anti-bikie Strike Force Raptor began an investigation Sarkis faced Windsor Local Court on May 10 where he pleaded guilty to one count of affray. He was handed a two-year community corrections order (CCO), which will require him to attend anger-management classes. The prison brawl is not Sarkis' first violent incident. He was jailed in mid-2018 for a minimum of 11 months after he pleaded guilty to one count of threatening and stalking a woman and another of driving a motor vehicle with intent to menace. The woman also had an Apprehended Violence Order (AVO) taken out against the bikie, which will remain in place until 2023. The minimum security John Morony Correctional Centre (pictured) is located south of Sydney and generally houses low-risk prisoners Sarkis was also placed on another two-year CCO for possessing a prohibited weapon and dealing with information with intent to commit a crime, as well as damaging and damaging property. The heavily-tattooed bikie also used to manage an Anytime Fitness gym on Sydney's northern beaches. During his tenure as manager of the Dee Why franchise he was charged with stealing the information of his clients and possessing drugs, but those charges were later dismissed. Sarkis is currently out on parole having been released from prison earlier this year. Two teenage boys leave the safety of their homes for the remote Kimberley region in Australia's far north-west to work as jackaroos in their first big adventure. Before the end of the year they will disappear together in the desert - their bodies discovered months later and hundreds of kilometres away in one of the most inhospitable places on earth. One boy had scratched out a last loving note to his family; the other had two bullet holes in his head. More than 30 years later it is still unclear exactly what happened to James Annetts and Simon Amos that drove them out into the Great Sandy Desert to their deaths. James, 16 , and Simon, 17, separately answered advertisements in 1986 to work as jackaroos at Flora Valley station, about 120km east of Halls Creek in Western Australia. Halls Creek - population about 1,500 - is 150km north of Wolfe Creek Crater, the dramatic feature created by a meteor strike which featured in the 2005 Outback horror movie Wolf Creek. The poor state of the roads in that part of the country means a 150km journey can take seven hours to drive. James Annetts was just 16 when he answered a newspaper advertisement for jackaroos on a cattle station in Australia's far north-west. Within months he and fellow jackaroo Simon Amos, 17, were dead. James is pictured in November 1986, just before he and Simon disappeared Roads in the Kimberley region of far north Western Australia (pictured) are so poor it can take seven hours to drive 150km. James Annetts, 16, and Simon Amos, 17, were left alone on cattle stations about 180km apart and had to drive up to 14 hours a day checking water bores James Annetts wrote a dying note to his family on a plastic water bottle which was found near his remains. The scratched message on the lid of the bottle read: 'James, My Follt. I allways love you Mum and Dad, Jason, Michelle, Joanne.' On the handle was written: 'I found peece' The advertisements placed on behalf of Australian Stations Pty Ltd had called for 16 to 18-year-olds to work in their cattle operation and stated no experience was necessary. James was from Griffith in the New South Wales Riverina region and arrived at Flora Valley in July. Simon, from Adelaide, reached the station the next month. The boys could have had no idea when they left their respective home towns the appalling conditions they would face in the Kimberley. When the boys arrived in north western Australia the cattle industry was in decline and station management had been cutting costs. Flora Valley was run by manager Giles Loder and also occupied by his pregnant wife, a governess, a cook and a dozen stockmen. After seven weeks at Flora Valley, the boys were each sent to work as sole caretakers on two other remote properties about 180km apart. James went north-east to Nicholson station and Simon south to Sturt Creek. Working alone, the boys were paid little money for their toil which included daily bore runs to check that windmills and other equipment were functioning. 'Bore running' meant round trips of 12 to 14 hours a day over ungraded tracks in vehicles with no air conditioning. Vast expanses of uninhabited land in the Kimberley region of Western Australia contributed to the bodies of jackaroos James Annetts and Simon Amos not being discovered for four months 'A sad loss not forgotten by the people of the Kimberleys': The deaths of James Annetts and Simon Amos remain a mystery, more than 30 years after they disappeared in the desert Their accommodation was equally primitive. Sewage sometimes flowed into the showers when the toilets were flushed and touching light switches could cause electric shocks. James and Simon each had a radio to keep in contact with Mr Loder but there was little other outside support. On Wednesdays when the boys would drive to Flora Valley to pick up their mail and supplies they could socialise briefly with other staff on the main station. But on the afternoon of Monday, December 1, both boys missed their twice-daily radio calls to Flora Valley. When Mr Loder visited Nicholson two days later, James and Simon still had not called and the Datsun utility kept there for James's use was gone. There was no sign of Simon at Sturt Creek and the next day it was reported the two boys were missing. It appears James and Simon joined up on the night of December 1 and drove into the desert in the un-roadworthy Datsun ute. No one knows where they were headed or just what they were doing. A three-day aerial search of an area covering 100,000 square kilometres failed to find any trace of the boys who were presumed to have perished in the desert. Wolfe Creek Crater, the dramatic feature created by a meteor strike which featured in the 2005 Outback horror movie Wolf Creek, is 150km south of Halls Creek. Halls Creek, population 1,500, is the town nearest to the stations where James Annetts and Simon Amos worked Some suggested they might have gone hunting or attempted to drive to Adelaide. In April the next year a bulldozer driver found the abandoned Datsun in sand dunes about 500km south-east of Halls Creek. There were clear signs the boys had tried to jump-start the ute. An SOS had been formed on the vehicle's roof with spanners and an arrow made with two branches and a star picket pointed north. Further investigation revealed the boys' remains. What police discovered has never fully explained the boys' fate but a coroner later found James died of dehydration and Simon from one rifle shot that went through his skull. At some point their vehicle had gone onto a track normally used only by seismic survey teams and became bogged in the sand. In temperatures soaring into the 40s they had both set off on foot. The pair walked about 18km and made a camp, where Simon apparently shot himself in the head. Human blood found on James Annett's hat (pictured) did not match him or Simon Amos. Both boys had left their wallets, cash and letters from family and friends at their respective homes James then walked a further kilometre and died after scratching a last note to his family into a water bottle. The message on the lid read: 'James, My Follt. I allways love you Mum and Dad, Jason, Michelle, Joanne.' On the handle was written: 'I found peece.' All that was left of Simon were bones; the remains had been disturbed by camels and wild dogs. James's remains still carried some flesh, hair and clothing. Further mysteries were never explained. In addition to the marked difference in the decomposition of the boys' bodies, human blood on James's hat was not from him or Simon. Both boys had left their wallets, cash and letters from family and friends at their respective homesteads. Residents of an Aboriginal settlement the boys drove through said they saw another vehicle following the Datsun, and Simon had left behind a Valiant Charger which he was restoring. James's parents Sandra and Les Annetts would later sue Australian Stations over the psychiatric injuries they suffered during the months they waited for news of their son's fate. Residents of an Aboriginal settlement the boys drove through said they saw another vehicle following the Datsun they were driving. Pictured is a diesel fuel station in the Kimberley The couple claimed their son died due to negligence of the company, which put him on an isolated outstation with a defective vehicle and no training in survival skills. They further claimed the company failed to keep in radio communication with James and did not tell police of his disappearance for several days. The WA Supreme Court rejected the couple's negligence claim in 2000, finding the they were too far removed from events surrounding their son's death to be compensated. The High Court subsequently found Australian Stations did owe a duty of care to James's parents, which allowed them to plan an appeal before the WA Court of Criminal Appeal. The family had never been satisfied with any explanation of why the boys had driven into the desert and Mrs Annetts believed they had met with foul play. James Annetts with his father Les the night before he left for Flora Valley station in 1986 Throughout the legal process Mrs Annetts had said her main objective was to learn what had happened to her son, not to receive compensation. In March 2003 James's parents received an out-of-court compensation payout for damages due to emotional shock caused by their son's mysterious death. The boys' employer, Australian Stations, had been bought by the Holmes a Court family company Heytesbury Holdings two years after their deaths. At the time, lawyer Lionel Rattenbury, acting for Mr and Mrs Annetts, said Heytesbury had made a 'very generous' offer which had been accepted. 'They're very happy to put this part of their life behind them,' Mr Rattenbury said. The remains of James Annetts are buried in the Griffith Lawn Cemetery. Simon Amos's ashes are interred at the Enfield Memorial Park cemetery in Adelaide. Notorious bomber and jailhouse killer Craig 'Fatty' Minogue stands today as an accused sex offender. The despised killer and serial court pest was this week stung with more than 38 offences including abduction by force and aggravated rape. He has already served more than 30 years for his role in the 1986 Russell Street police complex bombing in the heart of Melbourne's CBD that killed 21-year-old Constable Angela Taylor. Evil bomber and jailhouse killer Craig 'Fatty' Minogue in a police mug shot. Minogue has been charged over his alleged involvement in a sickening gang attack on a woman a day before he carried out the Russell Street bombing Craig Minogue as he appeared on Twitter recently. Minogue has become a pest of the court and the community with his insensitive rants from behind bars. He has been aided with a mate on the outside It has been revealed Minogue's alleged rape victim was inside the police station making a report about her assault when the car bomb outside went off. The woman escaped without injury. While speculation is rife the bombing may of had something to do with her presence inside the Russell Street cop shop, those that know the case intimately believe it was more likely a massive coincidence. For Minogue and his gang of reprobate mates had been planning the attack on Melbourne for sometime. Why exactly has never fully been explained. What is known is that the men charged over the bombing had a deep-seated hatred for police and had been investigated over other crimes, including a series of armed bank robberies. Some have speculated the bombing itself was done to create a diversion for a bank robbery the gang carried out later that day. The latest allegations against Minogue, and his old mate Peter Michael Komiazyk (also known as Peter Reed) stem back to South Yarra in November 1985 and March 26, 1986 the day before the explosion. That assault allegedly happened at Minogues house in Nunawading - southeast of Melbourne. 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. The first victim was allegedly 'blindfolded, bound, gagged and threatened with death'. Taylor died in custody in 2016 after spending 30 years in jail for his role in the bombing. Reed was acquitted over any involvement in the bombing but went onto be jailed for the attempted murder of two police he shot at during raids connected to it. One of those officers later took his own life. Carnage: The burning wreck of a car bomb on Russell Street after Craig Minogue and his mates attacked Melbourne. An officer was killed in the senseless attack and Minogue has rotted behind bars ever since That Minogue could be accused of participating in such an evil attack against a woman comes as little surprise to Victorians, whom have been against the killer ever seeing the light of freedom ever again. So despised is Minogue in his home state that Premier Daniel Andrews' government last year introduced specific laws to keep him caged. The laws were rushed through after Minogue won his High Court appeal against another law that designed to keep him in jail indefinitely. Prue Bird was murdered in supposed payback for one of the Russell Street bombers ratting against his mates. Craig Minogue allegedly threatened to kill the families of anyone who snitched on the fearsome crew Craig Minogue refers to himself as 'doctor' while bothering the court. In jail he is called 'Fatty' due to his large structure. Although he appears to have lost weight going by recent jailhouse photos In addition to being a cop killer, Minogue also has form for killing his own. In July 1988, two weeks after his July 12, 1988, conviction, he killed multiple murderer Alex Tsakmakis inside Pentridge Prison by repeatedly smashing a pillowcase filled with gym weights into his head. He was convicted of the crime and hit with another life sentence, but not a day was added to his existing minimum term over the bombing. Should he be convicted again over the latest allegations, Minogue is again unlikely to have a day added to his non-parole period as the attacks happened before he committed the bombings. The killer has been a controversial figure in Melbourne's crime history even while trapped behind bars at Barwon Prison - Victoria's toughest jail. He has never been far from the headlines and even this year broke the news that drug lord Tony Mokbel had been stabbed behind bars. He has been a frequent user of social media thanks to a little help from his friends on the outside. So despicable is the grubby killer that he is still heard on radio bleating about his prison woes. He got away with the grotesque insults to his victims by having a mate record his prison phone calls and then publish them online. He was banned from calling the contact in March, which saw Minogue gain some support from bleeding heart rights activists who argued even a villain like Minogue had a right to make phone calls to the outside. Minogue has long told anyone who could be bothered listening that he is now a changed man. He is a regular time waster at the Supreme Court. In 2017 he brought on a matter after being denied access to tarot cards and an Aldi catalogue sent to him in jail by a family member. Minogue, who calls himself 'an academic by occupation, but a prisoner for the time being' was awarded a PhD in applied ethics, human and social services by La Trobe University in 2012. In court, he is referred to by Supreme Court judges as 'doctor'. To police, Minogue's name is associated with more unflattering titles. His alleged involvement in a gang rape will come as little surprise to those who know 'Fatty' well. He is still suspected of having a hand in another disgraceful murder linked to the Russell Street bombing. In a crime that shocked the nation in 1992, 13-year old school girl Prue Bird was abducted from her Glenroy home and never seen again. It was later revealed her abduction and murder was in payback for Minogue's bombing partner Paul Hetzel turning rat on his mates when they were pinched. Prue was the granddaughter of Hetzel's partner Julie. The murder of Prue Bird shocked and sickened Australia. She was later found to have been murdered by the same man who killed two girls in Bega in another crime that stunned the nation Craig Minogue has continued to deny any role in the murder of Prue Bird. Although many in the police force hold serious doubts he is telling the truth In 2013, Les Camilleri was sentenced to a minimum of 28 years after pleading guilty to the murder. Camilleri, who was already serving life with no minimum for the murder of two schoolgirls in Bega, claimed it had been a random attack. Police claim Minogue had threatened that if anyone spoke to police he would kill them and their families, including a threat to Julie Hetzel. 'It would be a shame if anything happened to your sweet little Prue, wouldn't it?' she would tell police. While Minogue does not back away from his role in the bombing, he maintains he was not involved in Prue's murder. He became eligible for parole in 2016. President Donald Trump announced Sunday the bikers of 'Rolling Thunder' would be back in Washington DC next year after they prepared to make their final ride for missing US soldiers. 'The Great Patriots of Rolling Thunder WILL be coming back to Washington, DC next year, & hopefully for many years to come. It is where they want to be, & where they should be. Have a wonderful time today. Thank you to our great men & women of the Pentagon for working it out!,' he wrote on Twitter. No details were offered on the arrangements made to ensure next year's event takes place. Organizers had said this was the last year because of high cost fees from the Pentagon, where riders meet to kick off their rally. President Trump, seen here with first lady Melania Trump on a state visit to Japan, said the 'Rolling Thunder' rally would take place next year A crowd of motorcyclists gathered at the Washington National Cathedral at the start of Memorial Day weekend for the 'Blessing of the Bikes' before the main ride on May 26, 2019 Thousands of bikers, many of them Vietnam War veterans, converged Saturday on the US capital for what was billed as their last national 'Rolling Thunder' ride in honor of missing American soldiers on Memorial Day weekend. Trump tweeted Saturday that he would like to help maintain the event, which is bogged down in a dispute over costs. The huge motorcycle rally that takes place on Sunday began in 1988 with fewer than 3,000 participants under the motto 'We will never forget.' The goal was to press for an accounting of those missing in Vietnam. Over the years, it has grown into a rumbling combination of protest and parade, with tens of thousands of participants and many more lining the streets from the Pentagon to the National Mall to watch - and hear - the gleaming spectacle. Organizers had said this was the last year because of high cost fees from the Pentagon, where riders meet to kick off their rally No details were offered on the arrangements made to ensure next year's event takes place The huge motorcycle rally that takes place on Sunday began in 1988 with fewer than 3,000 participants under the motto 'We will never forget.' The goal was to press for an accounting of those missing in Vietnam Riders end up at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the nearby Lincoln Memorial for speeches and a concert on the Sunday before Memorial Day. Unlike Veterans Day in the United States, which honors all military veterans in November, Memorial Day - on the last Monday in May - is aimed specifically at remembering those who died while serving in the US armed forces, were prisoners of war, or remain unaccounted for. The veterans advocacy group, formed in 1987 by 73-year-old Vietnam veteran Artie Muller, got its name from a 1965 bombing campaign against North Vietnam dubbed 'Operation Rolling Thunder'. Riders end up at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the nearby Lincoln Memorial for speeches and a concert on the Sunday before Memorial Day The event has the same name as a major US bombing operation against North Vietnam during the war Bikers kicked off the weekend of events with a 'blessing of the bikes' at Washington National Cathedral on Friday. Late last year, the group announced it would be making this May its final ride, citing a lack of cooperation by law enforcement and rising costs of permits. The Defense Department told ABC News that they support peaceful demonstrations and were prepared to support the 2019 Rolling Thunder ride. 'As always, the Pentagon is charging us with an outrageous bill for their services,' the group's national president Joe Bean said in a letter to members. Bikers kicked off the weekend of events with a 'blessing of the bikes' at Washington National Cathedral on Friday Boots are placed in the median as motorcyclists participate in the 32nd Rolling Thunder demonstration on Sunday 'The organization will continue to bring awareness to the public, in years to come, with regional demonstrations,' organizers said in a statement on their website. Trump, who was on an official visit to Japan, offered his support. 'Can't believe that Rolling Thunder would be given a hard time with permits in Washington, DC. They are great Patriots who I have gotten to know and see in action. They love our Country and love our Flag. If I can help, I will!' he said. In an interview with Reuters TV, Muller said that while this will be the final ride, the event will also mark the beginning of a new chapter. 'We're not really talking about a legacy here because we're not going away,' he said. 'We're just spreading out and we hope to get stronger. That's what our idea is on this, so coast to coast - North, South, Midwest.' Riders in 'Rolling Thunder' are seeking to draw attention to military personnel still missing in action Broncos star Payne Haas' mother could go to jail as she faces court for the second time in just three months. Uiatu 'Joan' Taufua, 42, attacked delivery driver Keith Tyler in a car park at The Pines shopping centre on the Gold Coast in a road rage incident that was filmed last year. Mr Tyler was left almost unconscious with a broken cheek and nose after he got out of his truck to film Taufua's registration plate when she blocked him. The mother-of-ten has pleaded guilty to assault occasioning bodily harm and could face time behind bars when she's sentenced at Southport Magistrates Court this week. She faces court as her 19-year-old son is tipped to join the Blues to become the least experienced Origin debutant since Ben Ikin in 1995. The mother of star NRL player Payne Haas (pictured) will face court this week after attacking a delivery driver. She faces jail time over the assault and could be behind bars while Haas makes his likely NSW Origin debut Mother-of-10 Joan Taufua (pictured), 42, will be sentenced at Southport Magistrates Court on Wednesday after attacking delivery driver Keith Tyler (right) Taufua was given a three-year probation for assaulting a mother and her teenage daughter at a women's rugby league match in Brisbane in August last year. During the sentencing hearing, Magistrate Joan White said Taufua's behaviour was 'outrageous' and her criminal history was 'appalling', according to The Courier Mail. This does not bode well for her Wednesday sentencing over the road rage incident. Mr Tyler was completing a delivery when people in a car behind him started shouting abuse. Taufua was filmed getting out of the van with two other people before abusing Mr Tyler through his window. Mr Tyler began filming the verbal abuse and assumed the altercation was over after the group walked back to their van. However, when the delivery driver got out of his car to film the van's registration plate, the group turned around and physically confronted him. Haas is tipped to join the Blues to become the least experienced Origin debutant since Ben Ikin in 1995. He is pictured playing for the Broncos in their win over the Warriors on Saturday Taufua is on a three-year probation for assaulting a mother and her teenage daughter. She is pictured on the right with her children, including Haas (far left) In the footage, shared with Channel Nine's A Current Affair, Taufua is seen storming toward Mr Tyler before his phone is knocked out of his hand. 'I remember the guy holding my head, and his knee kept coming up to my face, and I remember punches raining down on me,' he said. Witnesses came to Mr Tyler's aid and he was treated for a broken nose, broken teeth and a punctured lip. Since the attack, Mr Tyler said he was still mentally scarred from the traumatic event. 'She was certainly the most aggressive, not just female, but person I've ever come across in my life,' he said of Ms Taufua. Mother-of-ten Taufua (pictured) is seen storming toward Mr Tyler before his phone is knocked out of his hand in shocking footage Taufua's son Payne Haas, 19, was suspended for four matches and fined $20,000 after he refused to cooperate with the NRL Integrity Commission during investigations for the brawl at the women's rugby league match. In April, he was caught by police driving to training without a license and using his phone as he drove. The rising star was fined $500 and lost his license for six months after pleading guilty to the two offences. Inner-city voters have been slammed for opposing the implementation of the Adani mine and calling for a 'Quexit', separating Queensland from the rest of the country following the result of the shock federal election. Thousands of Australians took to social media to joke that the nation should 'cut Queensland loose' after support for Labor collapsed in the state, costing the party and Bill Shorten the election. Posts on Twitter showed a map of the country, however Queensland was replaced with the ocean, accompanied by the word 'Quexit' - in reference to Britain's Brexit from the European Union. Liberal National MP Ken O'Dowd, who managed to retain his marginal seat of Flynn, has since slammed 'ignorant' inner-city voters for their reaction to the election result. Inner-city voters have been slammed for opposing the implementation of the Adani mine and calling for a 'Quexit' Thousands of Australians took to social media to joke that the nation should 'cut Queensland loose' after the Coalition claimed victory According to The Sydney Morning Herald, voters have blamed the Labor party's failure to connect with voters in Queensland for the loss. 'These people don't even know where central Queensland is,' Mr O'Dowd said. 'They should come and have a look and see what this country is about.' Traditional Labor voters deserted their party at the ballot box after Bill Shorten vowed to change the nation and take 'real action' on climate change. The party's immigration spokesman Shayne Neumann said Labor needed to work to 'do better and reconnect with working class and middle Australians.' Mr Neumann, who narrowly secured Labor's only regional Queensland seat of Blair after a huge primary vote swing against him, echoed Mr O'Dowd's thoughts. 'I wish they had done this (shown support for Adani) some weeks ago. This hurt us badly,' he said. 'I campaigned, like many of my colleagues, in places like Rockhampton, Townsville and Gladstone, this was a big issue in central and north Queensland. 'You can go through some of these country towns and cities in Queensland and see where there are places for leases because shops have closed. People in Queensland are pro-mining and they're pro-jobs and this issue hurt us very badly here.' Liberal National MP Ken O'Dowd (pictured with Prime Minister Scott Morrison) has since slammed 'ignorant' inner-city voters for their reaction to the election result The posts came after support for the Labor party collapsed in the state, forcing Bill Shorten to lose the 'unloseable election' Queensland Labor Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has demanded action over the Adani coalmine after her party's federal election defeat. Ms Palaszczuk criticised her own government's delays in approving Australia's biggest mine. She said federal Labor's loss of core support in the Sunshine State has given her a 'wake-up call.' The Adani coal mine will be built at Galilee Basin (pictured), some 500kms west of Mackay Before the federal election, Ms Palaszczuk promised there would be no political interference in the decision to approve the Adani mine. But on Wednesday she stood before cameras in a hard hat in Mackay and demanded a meeting between Adani and her own government ministers. 'The community is fed up with the processes, I know I'm fed up with the processes, I know my local members are fed up with the processes,' Ms Palaszczuk said. 'We need some certainty, and we need some timeframes. Enough is enough the federal election was definitely a wake-up call to everyone.' The Adani coalmine will provide 1,500 jobs in regional Queensland but building work is on hold pending approval from the regulator, Queensland's Environment Department. Advertisement The Royal Navy's aircraft carrier has sailed into its home port of Portsmouth after its commanding officer was removed from his post for using an official car for personal journeys. Crowds lined the sea walls of Portsmouth to wave home the 65,000-tonne warship as it returned to the Hampshire city's naval base. The ship's Twitter account posted: 'We would like to apologise to the residents of #Portsmouth and #Gosport for bringing more greyness to your #BankHolidayWeekend.' HMS Queen Elizabeth draws crowds as it sails back into Portsmouth harbour today after six weeks in Rosyth, Scotland, undergoing maintenance It added: 'On the plus side, we will be home and it will be great to see your support at the usual spots.' Commodore Nick Cooke-Priest is understood to have been onboard HMS Queen Elizabeth but then removed as it set sail from Rosyth, Scotland, earlier this week. The navy had already announced that Cooke-Priest, who takes the rank of captain for being in charge of the carrier, was being reassigned. Commodore Nick Cooke-Priest is understood to have been onboard HMS Queen Elizabeth but then removed as it set sail from Rosyth earlier this week A Royal Navy spokesman said on Wednesday: 'In light of the ongoing investigation, as a precautionary measure to protect both the individual and the ship's company, the Royal Navy has decided that Captain Nick Cooke-Priest will not be at sea in HMS Queen Elizabeth.' Cooke-Priest, who joined the Royal Navy in 1990, had only been in command of the 280-metre vessel, described by the Royal Navy as an 'awe-inspiring warship' capable of carrying up to 40 aircraft, since last October. He has been accused of using the navy's Ford Galaxy car for personal journeys in breach of the service's rules. He was reassigned after accusations emerged he used the navy's Ford Galaxy car for personal journeys in breach of the service's rules And the Royal Navy confirmed the married father-of-three would no longer be in charge of the 3billion vessel known as 'Big Lizzie' after an investigation found he made an 'error of judgement'. Cooke-Priest sailed the ship from Rosyth to Portsmouth because the Ministry of Defence said it 'makes sense' for him to sail the ship back to port while he is still technically in charge. He first took over the ship after a period working with the Ministry of Defence in the Corporate Strategy Group and the Standing Joint Force Headquarters as the assistant chief of staff of operation. An investigation found Cooke-Priest made an 'error of judgement' and he was then relieved of his duties commanding the carrier known as 'Big Lizzie' Cooke-Priest, who was made an OBE in 2016, was then relieved of his duties commanding the carrier, which has a crew of 700 and is capable of carrying up to 60 aircraft including the new Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II. There is no allegation of fraud and the officer, who joined the Royal Navy in 1990, paid for his own petrol. But it still remains unclear what personal trips the Ford Galaxy was used for. Today, crowds lined the sea walls of Portsmouth (pictured) to wave home the 65,000-tonne warship as it returned to the Hampshire city's naval base The decision to remove him from the role has been criticised by former senior officers including a retired commanding officer of an aircraft carrier who said: 'I know of him and he is seen as a fine chap, it seems somewhat harsh and smacks of political correctness.' Admiral Alan West, former first sea lord and security adviser to Gordon Brown, said: 'Nick Cooke-Priest is a very good officer and highly competent and nice officer and I would be surprised he has done anything dishonest but I don't know the details of it so I cannot comment further.' Work carried out during the six-week maintenance period in Scotland included replacing 284 hull valves, removing and cleaning both rudder blades and applying a fresh coat of anti-foul paint to the ship's bottom. Captain Stephen Moorhouse OBE (pictured above) will take over the command of HMS Queen Elizabeth, which is worth 3billion Successful completion of the work means HMS Queen Elizabeth should not need to dock down again for another six years, the navy said. Captain Stephen Moorhouse OBE is set to take over the command of the vessel. The carrier will go on to conduct a period of sea trials and training before a planned deployment to the east coast of the US later in the year. Residents of a small Queensland town believe the Adani coal mine will do wonders for their economy by bringing in more jobs and business for the area. Clermont, halfway between Rockhampton and Mackay, is the closest populated area to the planned and controversial Carmichael mine. Les Boal, owner of the Leo Hotel Motel, said the Adani mine would be beneficial to his business. Clermont, halfway between Rockhampton and Mackay, is the closest populated area to the proposed Carmichael mine Les Boal, owner of the Leo Motel Hotel, said the Adani Coal Mine would be beneficial to his business 'My word, it would be,' Mr Boal told Daily Mail Australia. 'And don't let anyone tell you different.' He said the Adani mine would mean he would need to hire more staff as there would be an influx of employment in the area. There are 26 in the Isaac Region, where Clermont falls, and Mr Boal said the majority of people who stay in his establishment are contractors. The mines can bring an extra 11,000 residents to the area and Adani claims the Carmichael mine will bring an extra 1,500 jobs. The Australia Institute disputes this as they believe this will displace demand for coal from other places in the country. There are currently 26 in the Isaac Region, where Clermont falls, and Mr Boal said the majority of people who stay in his establishments are contractors However the Australia Institute disputes this as they believe this will displace demand for coal from other places in the country The mayor for the region, Anne Baker, said she is cautiously excited about the mine after state Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk welcomed set dates when the government and Adani must settle their royalties agreement. The Isaac Regional Council still has infrastructure agreements to finalise with Adani, which include the residents of the region not having to pay for damage caused by big trucks. Clermont also hopes to be nominated as the nearest populated centre, which would award them extra resources to deal with the mine. The mayor for the region, Anne Baker, said she is cautiously excited about the mine after state Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk welcomed set dates when the government and Adani must settle their royalties agreement 'It means that if you are inside the radius, the mine company must look at your town for employment,' Cr Baker told the Sydney Morning Herald. 'That can only be beneficial for Clermont and for the Isaac Region.' The chief executive of Adani Luca Dow also commited to not 'flying in' the majority of workers for the mine. In April, nearly 1000 activists made their way through Clermont to protest the proposed mine. Clermont locals refused to serve the activists at cafes and restaurants during the protests. The demonstrators were joined by Greens leader Richard Di Natale and held 10 rallies in 18 days across four states. UN envoy Philip Alston, who wrote the report on the UK based on a visit here lasting precisely 11 days He claimed to have witnessed Dickensian poverty during a fact-finding tour of Britain. So United Nations envoy Philip Alston might well have been happy to go home to his spectacular 3.1 million beachside property in America. Here, a world away from poor, brutish Britain, the UN Special Rapporteur for Extreme Poverty and Human Rights lives in luxury in one of Americas most exclusive resorts. Professor Alstons report last week, following a visit to the UK at the end of last year, caused outrage, with the Government describing it as barely believable. Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd is considering complaining to the UN about its contents. Prof Alston, 69, a law professor, said UK welfare policies had been designed to harm the poor and that life for many in the country risked becoming solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short. United Nations envoy Philip Alston might well have been happy to go home to his spectacular 3.1 million beachside property in Long Island, New York (pictured) A living room in Professor Philip Alstons 3.1 million beachside home in The Hamptons, Long Island, New York Mr Alston and wife Grainne de Burca demolished an existing house in 2011 and built a new four-bedroom house with three bathrooms in its place He wrote: It might seem to some observers that the Department of Work and Pensions has been tasked with designing a digital and sanitized version of the 19th Century workhouse, made infamous by Charles Dickens. By stark contrast, theres no expense spared at the home Prof Alston shares with his fellow law professor wife Grainne de Burca in The Hamptons in Long Island. The couple, who also have an apartment in the trendy Greenwich Village district of New York, paid around 1,700,000 in November 2007 for its third-of-an-acre plot on a private road. The house has a first-floor kitchen, dining and living area with cathedral-style ceiling, a German-made mahogany floor, a fireplace and sliding windows opening on to a balcony Prof Alston put it on the market for around 3,140,000 in May 2017 and then offered it as a holiday rental in 2018, priced at 19,600 for two weeks. One of three bathrooms in the house (left) and one of four bedrooms (right) Another living room in the luxury home shared by Proffesor Alston and his fellow law professor wife Grainne de Burca in The Hamptons in Long Island They demolished an existing house in 2011 and built a new four-bedroom house with three bathrooms. It has a first-floor kitchen, dining and living area with cathedral-style ceiling, a German-made mahogany floor, a fireplace and sliding windows opening on to a balcony. Prof Alston put it on the market for around 3,140,000 in May 2017 and then offered it as a holiday rental in 2018, priced at 19,600 for two weeks. The estate agent details boasted: Wraparound mahogany decks invite you to enjoy the spectacular natural surroundings. It is not known if the professor penned his controversial report while at his property. Wraparound mahogany decks invite you to enjoy the spectacular natural surroundings A view of The Hamptons beach from the property's balcony, the area is known for attracting wealthy New Yorkers from the city Prof Alston, the John Norton Pomeroy Professor of Law at the New York University School of Law, is believed to have generated his wealth through academic appointments and by writing and editing books on human rights. UN Special Rapporteur posts are unpaid but envoys are given expenses for their trips. A UN spokesman declined to say how much Prof Alstons visit to the UK cost. Prince Charles is prepared for a frank exchange of views with Donald Trump over climate change during the US Presidents State visit to Britain next month, The Mail on Sunday can reveal. According to a source close to the Prince, Charles will be very happy to talk about climate change if the subject is raised by the President. The two men have long been outspoken in their very different views on global warming. Charles has been a passionate environmental campaigner for decades and called for international co-operation to reduce greenhouse emissions in the run-up to the landmark Paris Agreement of 2015. Prince Charles (left) is prepared for a frank exchange of views with Donald Trump (centre with wife Melania, right) over climate change during the US Presidents State visit to Britain next month, The Mail on Sunday can reveal (photo taken in 2005) Trump sparked widespread outrage when he pulled the US out of the treaty, and is even on record as claiming that the concept of global warming was created by China to damage the US economy. According to Palace sources, diplomatic protocol says that the agenda for the meeting should be dictated by Trump as the visiting head of state. But a source close to the Prince last night told The Mail on Sunday it remains very likely climate change will be discussed, adding that no conversations have taken place to prevent it from being raised. The source said: Climate change is a subject that the Prince has talked about for 40 years and he will look forward to discussing it with the President should it come up. He would be very happy to have the opportunity to talk about it. Given Trumps notoriously volatile personality, a frank discussion risks becoming heated. But a second source said that Charles had more than enough experience to prevent any diplomatic incident. Prince Charles, who has been a passionate environmental campaigner for decades will be very happy to talk about climate change if the subject is raised by the President, according to a source close to the Royal An intervention by Charles over climate change could spark new fears that the heir to the throne will be a meddling monarch. The Prince has responded to such accusations in the past saying he will discontinue campaigning when he becomes king. Trumps meeting with Charles is expected to take place at his official residence, Clarence House, on June 3. On the same day, the Queen will hold an official State banquet for the President, which Charles will also attend. The Prince declined to meet Trump when he came to Britain last year. At the time it was said that a future State visit by the President was in jeopardy because of fears that Prince Charles would lecture him on climate change. The claim was strongly denied. According to plans released last week, Trump and his wife Melania are set to arrive in England on the morning of June 3, where they will be welcomed at Buckingham Palace by the Queen, Charles and Camilla. Trump and his wife Melania will be welcomed at Buckingham Palace by the Queen, Charles and Camilla (left). Meanwhile, Duchess of Sussex, Meghan (right) is conveniently on maternity leave The President is supposedly bringing four of his five children with him, along with their respective partners, but their involvement in the visit itself has not yet been made clear. The trip includes a private lunch with the Queen and Prince Harry at Buckingham Palace. Meghan is conveniently on maternity leave, having called Trump divisive and misogynistic. Trump and Melania will meet the Cambridges at the State banquet, along with Charles, Camilla and the Queen, and will then continue to Clarence House for a private tea with Charles and Camilla, where it is likely any discussions about climate change would take place. Last night, a spokesperson for Clarence House declined to comment but noted that all discussions held will be private. Comedienne Jo Brand has revealed how she was threatened with gang rape when she was a student. Ms Brand said she was confronted by three youths while alone at night in South London. She said: I was visiting a friend in a high-rise in Camberwell I was about 20. Comedienne Jo Brand, 61 (pictured), has revealed how she was threatened with gang rape when she was a student. She said she was often too scared to reply when she was abused on the streets while growing up in London I came down the stairs, the lift door was open and three guys were standing there. One of them goes, We are going to f***ing rape you. I nearly had a heart attack and then they started laughing. I just started running. Ms Brand, 61, said she was often too scared to reply when she was abused on the streets while growing up in London. Ms Brand told an audience at the Hay Festival in Hay-on-Wye that she created a series of put-downs to deal with flashers in a park or perverts on a train. She said she used the same techniques to deal with hecklers during her early days on the comedy circuit The Great British Bake Off Extra Slice presenter added: On lots of occasions, as a woman, I didnt get the chance to answer back. But Ms Brand told an audience at the Hay Festival in Hay-on-Wye that she created a series of put-downs to deal with flashers in a park or perverts on a train. She said she used the same techniques to deal with hecklers during her early days on the comedy circuit. Former Uber executive Ryan Graves notified the company on Thursday that he's stepping down from its board of directors, according to an SEC filing reported Friday Uber's first employee, who once served as the company's CEO, has stepped down from the board of directors shortly after the ride-sharing app's IPO made him a billionaire. Ryan Graves, 36, who quit working for Uber in 2017 but remained a shareholder and on the board, informed the company of his plans on Thursday, according to SEC records reported on Friday. The filing noted that the reason for Graves resignation 'was not the result of any disagreement' between him and the company or its board of directors. Ron Sugar, the independent chairperson of Uber's board, said it accepted Graves' resignation and thanked him for his 'contributions to Ubers success,' according to Fox Business. He also called Graves 'one of the key people who helped shape Uber into the company that it is today.' In less than nine years with Uber, Graves' net worth has skyrocketed to an estimated $1.4 billion. It all started with a tweet for the Miami University of Ohio econ major, who responded to an online inquiry from Uber executive Travis Kalanick on January 5, 2010 about a job opportunity at the then-fledgling company. 'Funny story how we brought him in,' Kalanick wrote in a December 2010 blog post. 'I was hitting Craigslist, Twitter, and other channels looking for the right candidate. What resulted was the Awesomest [sic] job post and response Ive ever seen.' At the time, Graves was working as an IT Program Leader at General Electric. Graves, 36, became Uber's first employee in 2010 after responding to a tweet from Uber co-Founder and former CEO Travis Kalanick about a job opportunity Kalanick previously called his Twitter back-and-forth with Graves 'the Awesomest [sic] job post and response I've ever seen' 'Looking 4 entrepreneurial product mgr/biz-dev killer 4 a location based service.. pre-launch, BIG equity, big peeps involved--ANY TIPS??' Kalanick tweeted in 2010. '@KonaTbone heres a tip. email me :) graves.ryan[at]gmail.com,' Graves replied. Graves briefly served as Uber's CEO before becoming its Senior Vice President of Operations in December of 2010 after Kalanick took over as the company's chief executive. Kalanick was forced to resign as the company's leader in June of 2017 following a major sexual harassment scandal. Graves quit working as an Uber employee in September of 2017 while remaining on its board of directors. Uber's stock price performance over the last five days He went on to found his own asset management company, Saltwater Capital LLC, in January of 2018. Graves owns 31.9 million shares in Uber stock. He officially became a billionaire on May 10 when the company went public at a valuation of roughly $75.5 billion. But Uber's stock plunged 7.6 percent on the first day of trading, making it the worst-performing IPO in US stock market history at the time. The stock's poor performance didn't stop Uber employees, many of whom own stock in the company, from partying hard at the company's Silicon Valley offices on IPO day. Uber managers were forced to shut down at least one party at one of the company's California satellite offices. Another Uber official reportedly quit her job when festivities got out of hand at the office. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi sent a letter to employees to reassuring them of the company's bright future after their rough start as a publicly traded corporation. 'Remember that the Facebook and Amazon post-IPO trading was incredibly difficult for those companies. And look at how they have delivered since,' Khosrowshahi wrote. Graves' tenure with the rideshare industry leader's board officially ends on Monday. Kalanick (pictured) took over as CEO of Uber until he was forced to resign in June of 2017 following a sexual harassment scandal Jeremy Corbyn is expected to be told this week that he faces a formal investigation into the anti-Semitism crisis gripping his party. Sources say the move, by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (ECHR), comes after it received compelling evidence of Labours failure to deal with anti-Jewish prejudice among its members. An inquiry lasting up to a year would be a crushing setback to Mr Corbyns attempts to draw a line under the affair which has bedevilled his leadership. Sources say the move, by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (ECHR), comes after it received compelling evidence of Labours failure to deal with anti-Jewish prejudice among its members One close ally said: This will be a real blow to Jeremy and it will go on for months and months. Its the last thing we need. Labour kick out 92-year-old grandmother A grandmother aged 92 was expelled from Labour after being a member for 71 years because she inadvertently broke party rules. Margot Packwood signed nomination papers for her daughter Lesley, who stood for the Green Party against a Labour candidate in council elections earlier this month. Mrs Packwood, of Ipswich, was told in a letter from Labours Governance and Legal Unit that she had breached party rules and her membership had been cancelled. The letter was just so rude, said her daughter. Labour General Secretary Jennie Formby has now reinstated her on compassionate grounds. Advertisement The prospect of a full-scale inquiry has been hanging over Mr Corbyn since March, when the EHRC called on Labour to respond to its concerns. The party formally submitted a response to the watchdog last month. It has been claimed the EHRC was deeply unimpressed by the submission in which the party apparently suggested the anti-Semitism problem was down to a small number of individuals. And deputy leader Tom Watson was angry that he had not been able to see the response before it was sent in. Sources claimed evidence submitted by the Jewish Labour Movement via its legal team at Mishcon de Reya proved compelling to the watchdog. JLM sources say its lawyers have since been supplied with a further raft of alleged anti-Semitic incidents. An EHRC investigation would be likely to result in Labour being handed an action plan to implement changes in their approach to handling complaints. An inquiry lasting up to a year would be a crushing setback to Mr Corbyns attempts to draw a line under the affair which has bedevilled his leadership Last night, the party said it had been co-operating with the EHRC, and added: We completely reject any suggestion the party has acted unlawfully. A spokesman said: Labour is fully committed to the support, defence and celebration of the Jewish community and its organisations. We are determined to tackle anti-Semitism and root it out of our party. An EHRC spokesman said last night it would issue a public statement on whether we will proceed with enforcement action in due course. In London and across the globe, a revolutionary wind was blowing. It was 1968, a time of seismic political and social change. According to intelligence files, as protest raged, Geoffrey Robinson, then a 29-year-old Labour Party official working in its overseas research unit, was engaged in a rebellion of his own but it was one conducted in the shadows rather than the streets. It is claimed he aimed to help effect change to try to bring about reconciliation between East and West by allegedly passing sensitive, sometimes confidential information to one of Britains Cold War enemies: communist Czechoslovakia. It was a dangerous game and Robinson knew it, acknowledging say the files that he could be sent to jail if caught. His job had given him the opportunity to be in contact with all the prominent figures within Labour, among them Defence Secretary Denis Healey and Foreign Secretary George Brown. Labour MP Geoffrey Robinson (pictured) passed sensitive British Government policies to Czechoslovakian spies during the Cold War. It was a dangerous game and Robinson knew it, acknowledging say the files that he could be sent to jail if caught Squash Game: Geoffrey Robinson is alleged to have met his handler at Dolphin Square in Pimlico in 1968. First the two men played squash before going across the road to Italian restaurant Villa dei Cesari on the Thames But early that year his time at Transport House was nearing its end. Before his departure, he increased his intelligence service activities to the maximum, claimed a report written in Prague dated January 1970. It was described as an evaluation of the future Blair Minister who, now 81, remains one of Jeremy Corbyns most senior MPs. Back in the Sixties, the files claim he was given the codename Karko by the Czechs, along with the registration number 585015. He handed over virtually everything he could give us from the position he held, his evaluation claims. He even borrowed a few confidential NATO documents and gave us copies to be used by the LP [Labour Party] international department. A significant meeting with his alleged handler, Karel Pravec, on February 8, 1968, is described in the files. First, the two men played squash at Dolphin Square in Pimlico with Pravec feigning exhaustion to let his less proficient opponent catch up and then went across the road to an Italian restaurant, Villa dei Cesari, on the Thames. Robinson initially declined to talk about his job, Pravec reports, but then spilled his guts and the entire contents of his briefcase, according to the Czech files. A significant meeting with his alleged handler, Karel Pravec (Pictured), on February 8, 1968, is described in the files He spilled them quite literally... the papers flew out of his briefcase and landed under the table. Karko crawled on the floor and even as we were leaving the restaurant, he kept on checking whether some papers might still be lying there. In fact, earlier hed even been advised to bring the briefcase on to the squash court so it was never out of sight. Pravec claims Robinson finally handed over the contents of the briefcase during their meeting and describes one item as a photocopy of the study Reductions in Overseas Commitments and Defence Expenditure 23 pages... Karko declassified them before copying by simply crossing out the comment CONFIDENTIAL on either side down and at the top. Other documents included an eight-page Foreign Office circular to British ambassadors on the subject of post-devaluation Britain. Two months earlier, Prime Minister Harold Wilson devalued the pound to tackle the root cause of Britains economic problems. Of this document, Pravec writes: Needless to say, the telegraph was ciphered. Robinsons evaluation was written six months after his alleged relationship with the Czechs fizzled out. Karko is a confidential contact, it asserts. The field of action is Great Britain. He was oriented towards international politics and later towards economics. The tasks Karko was assigned were fulfilled to our satisfaction. He was one of the most productive sources in the residentura [intelligence agents in a foreign country]. Some of the reports, according to the evaluation, were of the highest quality because they were coded and came from the Foreign Office to which Karko had access at the beginning of 1968. It claims 59 reports and documents were delivered during the evaluated period: January 1968 to July 1969. Out of these, 7 concerned the USA, 10 NATO, 6 CSSR [Czechoslovakia], 15 others dealt with international issues and 21 reports and confidential documents related to economic problems of GB, EEC.. Confidential documents about economics were handed over to be used by friends [Soviet Union] 9 reports were unused, 3 of them concerning CSSR. Financial remuneration was explicitly refused by Karko. Robinsons involvement with Pravec is said to have begun 15 months earlier, in October 1966. Back then (to his handlers disappointment) he was equally resistant to financial overtures, though it is said he later accepted gifts, among them 200 worth of Harrods vouchers as a wedding present, a gallon of whisky and wine. Poor table manners: Karel Pravec complained about the way Geoffrey Robinson ate his lobster in one report Another of Robinsons stipulations, according to the files, was that he would only divulge information verbally. One report claimed: He was willing to discuss and explain things to Comrade Pelnar [Pravecs codename] that he was not informed about, but he could not give him any documents. This position shifted over time, the files claim, with Robinsons cooperation apparently reaching its apex that evening at the Villa dei Cesari. Much of the reason for his change of heart can be attributed at least according to the files to the skill of Pravec, who arrived in London in 1966 and was nominally first secretary at the embassy. In truth, he was a spymaster, an assiduous talent spotter for potential agents. Charming, handsome, highly intelligent, he was also accomplished at ensnaring them. Of this period, another intelligence agent, Josef Frolik, whose spell at the embassy overlapped with that of Pravec, recalled in his memoir: The job of our collective wasnt simply to obtain military information, but also to get any kind of material, political, social, etc which could be used to help our nation and damage the one which was our host. Geoffrey Robinson's response The Mail on Sunday gave Geoffrey Robinson's lawyers copies of 87 pages of documents from his file held in the Czech state security archive. They insisted that the material did not corroborate claims the MP spied for Communist Czechoslovakia during the Cold War. A spokesman for Mr Robinson said: 'These allegations are highly defamatory and false and Mr Robinson strongly refutes them. 'The allegations, which are apparently based on documents put together by Czech authorities in the 1960s, are a complete fabrication. 'At no time did Mr Robinson ever pass confidential Government documents or information to any foreign agent and he did not have access to such material.' Advertisement Frolik defected to the United States in 1970. It is perhaps worth noting his view on gifts: There are no such things as gifts in the Czech service there are only bribes! According to the files, Robinson quickly warmed to Pravec, having first met him at Labours 1966 Brighton conference, though initially he was a little wary. After a number of restaurant meetings, his concerns subsided. Describing this period, Pravec wrote in a report: He told me that he is only beginning to get to know me, that he has more confidence in me than at the start of our contact when, allegedly, he intentionally withheld information he knew about but which he did not want to share with me essentially a stranger. Various reports examine Robinsons motives. As well as his dream of uniting East and West, it is claimed he harboured a desire to see Britain leave NATO. None of the documents report that he expressed much admiration for the Communist cause, however, though he proclaimed himself a Leninist and, at the time, was said to be associating with neo-Marxist elements at Transport House. But above all else, the files suggest that Robinsons liking and respect for Pravec, who was some years his senior and offered him sound advice on a variety of subjects, was key to his co-operation. He appeared to greatly enjoy their squash games, as well as the numerous visits to Londons exclusive restaurants and clubs. Pravec cut an interesting figure and was, in his way, useful to Robinson. One report says that at one meeting Robinson expressly stated that he was seeing Comrade Pelnar in order to exchange views and not for the exchange of gifts. In his role at Labours overseas research unit, the aspiring politician had legitimate reason to meet diplomats and on occasion would notify a Transport House secretary when he saw Pravec. To make the meetings entirely secret would raise suspicions if he were to be caught, Robinson is claimed to have said. According to the files, Robinson knew from early on in their relationship that Pravec wasnt a straight diplomat and said as much. It appeared to cause him some anxiety internally... he is fighting with himself yet he didnt walk away. Neither did he balk, according to the documents, when Pravec made a suggestion that could have come from the spy film The Ipcress File starring Michael Caine which played at cinemas a few months earlier. It was that in the event of one of them failing to turn up for a scheduled meeting, they should return to the same place exactly a week later at exactly the same time. He agreed to this system, one report claims. An early assessment of Robinson in addition to noting his desire to be an MP and later Prime Minister lists some of his contacts in London. Among them is Kaiser a Washington Post correspondent in London and the son of a top US diplomat. He is Robert G Kaiser who was at Yale with Robinson in 1963. Now living in New York, Mr Kaiser last week told The Mail on Sunday that he remembered Robinson as being likeable when they were at college together. He added he was very surprised by the Czech intelligence files since his former classmate went on to become a very successful capitalist and a Blairite. He added that he never met Robinson in London during this period. According to the files, Robinson told his handler that another contact was Michael Alexander, also a Yale alumnus. Karko deems him very capable and claims that he will be one of the most important people at the FCO [Foreign and Commonwealth Office] within ten years, claimed a 1969 report. Alexander, knighted in 1988, was later foreign policy secretary to Margaret Thatcher and UK ambassador to NATO. In another report, Pravec writes that during one meeting Robinson accepted two tasks: to find out more about the British European conception and the nuclear planning committee conference in London. He will attempt to fulfil both tasks by contacting Alexander, said Pravec. Later Pravec reported that Karko turned up to a prearranged meeting on June 6 visibly upset because everything he learned from Alexander, or so he claimed, during their dinner [three days earlier] in relation to the meeting of the nuclear planning committee ended up in todays Economist. Even if true, there is nothing whatsoever to suggest Sir Michael knew of Robinsons alleged involvement with a foreign agent. Since the meeting was not particularly fruitful from an intelligence point of view, I dedicated the evening to strengthening my contact with Karko, reported Pravec. He was in a good mood. But in a withering assessment of his contacts table manners he noted: He has not learnt how to eat properly though he used his hands to pull out lobsters from the bowl, made smacking noises, used bread to wipe his plate as if he was in a university canteen where such habits are normal even among big snobs. Back in Prague, though, according to the files, intelligence chiefs expressed pleasure with Robinsons output during this period, noting that a report about Plans for organising a Mediterranean conference obtained on 21.2.68 was confidential, specific, timely... informative and has been sent for use by Communist Party Head Office. Joining the Governments Industrial Reorganisation Corporation in 1968, Robinson, according to the files, warned that he would now be less useful in future, though he still met Pravec, albeit less frequently. The following year, Pravec claimed he assigned Robinson the task of gaining a report... about specific plans that would be followed in the event of a military conflict between East and West involving nuclear weapons. Karko accepted the task after receiving several instructions. According to the Czech files, Robinson was confident of obtaining the material from an MoD source. Karko promised to hand over the report at a meeting on August 20, which however I did not attend due to removal from my role. I consider the interruption of the work on this case to be the most harmful. Honeytrap plot failed to lure Barbara Castle By Jake Ryan for the Mail on Sunday Faithful: Barbara Castle resisted the agent's advances Dame Barbara Castle was wined and dined by a suave Italian agent who hoped to honeytrap her into becoming a spy, intelligence files reveal. In the documents, discovered by The Mail on Sunday in the Czech State Security archive, journalist Renato Proni, codenamed Andrej, describes how he tried to charm the Labour MP on behalf of the StB spy agency. Proni, 25, was an agent who, in a written statement, had pledged his allegiance to the Czechoslovakian secret police against American and British imperialism. In the files, he reported how he flirted with married Mrs Castle and took her for drinks and meals in 1955 and 1956, when she would have been aged about 45. And the journalist boasted to his handlers how he showered the MP, codenamed Monika by the Czechs, with compliments, adding that she would soon be 99 per cent ours. She was said to have been charmed by the smooth-talking Italian. In a letter dated April 22, 1955 on House of Commons paper, she thanked Proni for lunch at The Ivy in London and accepted an offer to write articles on politics for Italian papers. Mrs Castle is said to have written a number of newspaper pieces for Proni, for which receipts in the files show she received 15 on each occasion. Suave: Renato Proni was said to have 'charmed' the MP. Proni, 25, was an agent who, in a written statement, had pledged his allegiance to the Czechoslovakian secret police against American and British imperialism This tactic was described in detail by another StB agent Josef Frolik, a defector to the CIA, as a way to eventually blackmail the target with the bundle of receipts, to further deepen co-operation. Proni told how at another meeting in September 1956, he met Mrs Castle at Westminster Gate and drove the MP home from the Commons. He was reportedly invited inside and described her flat as very nice. They are then said to have discussed politics and their views on socialism, while the MP poured her heart out, describing how she felt depressed. Proni wrote: I told her she looked young and pretty. She liked it but talking about her life she admitted she has no sex worries because she is too busy. The pair enjoyed another meal at Londons Savoy Grill in October before Proni wrote that he hoped to bust the MPs marriage to journalist Ted Castle because she would then probably fall on me. But the files came to an abrupt end towards the end of 1956, suggesting the MP who died in 2001 resisted the Italians advances. Perfect spy - until the Russian tanks rolled into Prague By Jake Ryan in London and Abul Taher in Prague for the Mail on Sunday For his intelligence chiefs in Czechoslovakia, Major Karel Pravec was the perfect spy. The chiselled secret police officer codename Pelnar was a science graduate who spoke four languages, joining the Communist Party in 1947, aged just 16. By the time he arrived in London, in March 1966, he was a rising star of the feared StB agency tasked with developing contacts in foreign affairs. The Czech embassy in London then had around 30 spies working under diplomatic cover as the vanguard of Soviet Russias UK intelligence operation and with little room for any genuine diplomats, according to StB agent and CIA defector Josef Frolik. Top Operator: Karel Pravec today in the US and as a young spymaster Archived personnel files unearthed by The Mail on Sunday describe Pravec as an ambitious 34-year-old who was determined to shake up the agency. A report by spy chief Lieutenant Colonel Jan Novak states that he worked very hard from the start of his three-year tenure. He wrote that he became the agencys most productive operative in intelligence terms and was responsible for 42 per cent of the residencys total output in terms of external usability. Within just over six months of his arrival, the documents report he met Geoffrey Robinson, who would later become the London residencys most productive intelligence source in the words of Novak. Profiles of Pravec written by his bosses opine about the spys excellent results in intelligence gathering and add that the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs had no objections to his legally focused work. And they state it was his good social skills and agreeable manner which were behind his ability to reel in valuable contacts. In fact, Pravec even became something of a mentor to colleagues during his three years in London after gradually overcoming the vanity and egocentricity which he sometimes displayed in the past. An extract in one profile reported he was absolutely honest and demands the same from others while in work and in his personal life he sets an example for others. He was promoted in February 1969 to the official title of first secretary in the Czech embassys political section, but was in fact now the head of the StBs intelligence-gathering operation. In Richard Deacons 1987 compilation of spying titled Spyclopedia, Pravec is described as the spymaster who controlled operations from inside the Czech embassy. Notorious British StB spy John Stonehouse, a Labour MP from 1957 to 1974, is also revealed in the files to have been handled by Pravec. Stonehouse was later revealed as a Czech agent following the release of National Archives files in 2010 after years of rumours about his StB links. The files describe Robinson as Pravecs top contact, with his intelligence results more than just good. However, the Czech spymaster wrote that the Labour Party researchers move in 1968 to Prime Minister Harold Wilsons economic project the Industrial Reorganisation Corporation meant his usefulness for intelligence gathering decreased significantly. Pravecs personnel file paints a picture of a man who was not afraid to make his views known. Intelligence chiefs said his outspoken manner could often reduce his popularity and added that he should at least be more sensitive in his management approach and occasionally have more understanding. But for Major Pravec it was the events of 1968 in Prague that materially shifted the Communist spys commitment to the cause. In August 1968, Soviet tanks and 650,000 Warsaw Pact troops invaded the country, brutally suppressing the Prague Spring and killing 137 civilians. Pravec now began openly railing against the Communist regime in Czechoslovakia to anyone who would listen, according to the files. Spy chiefs report he evaluated the events of August 1968 in an openly negative manner and without respect for internationalist values. Dissent among Czech agents led to the largest purge within the whole StB secret police, according to historian Petr Kanak, with 270 officers opposed to the invasion dismissed across the globe about a quarter of the total. In Lt Col Novaks report of September 1969, he wrote that Pravec had not been able to abandon his unacceptable opinions and continued to oppose the Soviet invasions. At the end of his report, Novak wrote, without any sentiment, that Pravec had been expelled from the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia after 22 years his years as a spymaster were over. For Pravec, writing in his final report, it was Robinson and the interruption of the work on this case which was most harmful, appearing to cause a sense of genuine regret that he was leaving London. Pravec, now a disgraced civilian, was sent back to Czechoslovakia where he found work as a manager in a state-owned construction company. His wife Jana was employed in a science academy in Prague. The pair struggled financially, and it is said they were unable to send their children to good schools. In 1980, more than ten years after Pravec had been kicked out of the Communist Party, the family took a holiday to Yugoslavia. From there, they fled to Austria and reportedly travelled on to Canada. The couple were sentenced by the Czech authorities, in absentia, to 18 months each in jail for fleeing the country. Pravec later settled outside New Jersey, where little is known about his life and how he came to own an 800,000, five-bedroom home where he and Jana still live. Intelligence sources have speculated as to whether the former StB agent was a source for the CIA who had been turned by the agency. When the MoS contacted the CIA about Mr Pravecs status, the US intelligence agency said they would look into the matter but did not comment. Disgraced Australian entertainer Rolf Harris is now living his life as a recluse in his $9million mansion in his home town and spends his days looking after his dying wife. The 89-year-old is living in his home town of Bray in Berkshire, England, spending his time caring for his wife of 61 years, who suffering through Alzheimer's disease. According to the Herald Sun, Harris has chosen to give up the appeal against his child abuse convictions. Disgraced Australian entertainer Rolf Harris is now living his life as a recluse in his $9million house in his home town and spends his days looking after his dying wife The former TV star has been disgraced by Bray locals after he was spotted wandering into primary school grounds and waving at young pupils. Harris was ordered by his family not to leave his house without permission after police gave him a warning for walking into the school. Suffering from diabetes, Harris only leaves the house for his frequent trips to the local doctors and to pick up medication. 'I've got diabetes. I've suffered from it for 25 years,' he told the publication. He is also caring for wife, Alwen Hughes, who has been seen in a wheelchair as her health continues to decline. 'It's Alzheimer's. She can hardly walk, she has carers in all the time. They are just doing a change of carers now,' a friend of Harris, named Michael, said. He also said Harris had given up fighting his convictions because he didn't have the 'energy or the money'. Harris' daughter Bindi Nicholls, 54, who has desperately been trying to restore his image after he was jailed for indecently assaulting girls, says it is a 'PR disaster'. The former TV star has been disgraced by Bray locals after he was spotted wandering into primary school grounds (pictured) and waving at young pupils The former Australian entertainer was convicted of 12 indecent assaults at London's Southwark Crown Court in June 2014, and was sentenced to six years behind bars. The assaults include one on an eight-year-old autograph hunter, two on girls in their early teens, and a catalogue of abuse against his daughter's friend of over 16 years. However, he was released on parole in May 2017 after serving just three years in jail. Of the 12 convictions, one was overturned on appeal in November 2017, and a jury chose not to convict him in two additional cases in the same year. Daughter Bindi has revealed plans to pen a tell-all book about life with her father after sticking with him throughout his prison term and trial. The 89-year-old is living in his home town of Bray in Berkshire, England, spending his time caring for his wife of 61 years, who suffering through Alzheimer's disease Harris rose to fame in his early 20's when he moved to England, became an art student and found work in television at the BBC, performing a regular ten-minute cartoon drawing section in a children's show - Jigsaw. He went on to illustrate Harbin's Paper Magic program in 1956 and quickly became a regular on other BBC television shows. Harris moved back to Australia in 1959 and tried his hand as an actor, before inventing the wobbleboard - and used it in his song 'Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport'. He recorded more novelty music before moving back to England and began to socialise with stars such as The Beatles. A woman with multiple personality disorder who was sexually abused by her father for more than a decade testified against her dad in court as six different people. Jeni Haynes can present as any one of 2500 different personalities in a single day, including four-year-old 'Symphony', and an eight-year-old boy named 'Little Ricky'. She is believed to have developed the disorder as a 'sophisticated' coping mechanism to deal with the sustained abuse she experienced at the hand of her father Richard, now 74, from the ages of four to 16. From the witness box in the NSW District Court, the 49-year-old testified against her father's actions and the long-lasting effect it has had on her mental well-being. The court heard from 'Symphony', 'Little Ricky', a bike-loving teenager named 'Muscles' and a handful of Ms Haynes' other personalities. A woman with Multiple Personality Disorder who was sexually abused by her father for more than a decade testified against her dad in court as six different people In an interview with 60 Minutes airing on Sunday Night, Ms Haynes admitted she never realised having multiple voices inside her head was considered abnormal. 'I didn't know that you're only supposed to have one personality,' she said. Almost 90 per cent of Multiple Personality Disorder cases, now more commonly referred to as Dissociative Identity Disorder, involve some form of trauma or abuse. It is often thought of as a coping mechanism for victims to disconnect, distance or separate themselves from the trauma. 'Jenny was born and my father started to abuse her. An alter was created who came to take dad's abuse so Jenny didn't have to,' Ms Haynes previously said. Jeni Haynes expressed her relief to reporters when she left a Sydney court after her father Richard pleaded guilty to 25 counts of rape, buggery and indecent assault 'Symphony intended to testify in court for the whole thing. When my father raped Jennifer Haynes he raped Symphony. He pleaded guilty because he is scared to death of hearing Symphony testify about everything he did to her.' Ms Haynes, who now lives in Queensland, said the other egos came along after the abuse became too difficult for Symphony to deal with. 'It's not an act of mental illness or playing silly games, pretending to be other people,' Jeni tells Liz Hayes. 'You are protecting yourself. You are protecting your soul, and that's what I did.' Ms Haynes' 2500 odd personalities all have their own voices and characteristics. Earlier this month, Haynes pleaded guilty to 25 counts of rape, buggery and indecent assault at their Sydney home in the 1970s and 1980s. Ms Haynes, 49, believes that he did so because he 'was afraid' of one of her alter-egos - of which Symphony was the most significant. Ms Haynes, who now lives in Queensland, said the other egos came along after the abuse became too difficult for Symphony to deal with He was extradited from the United Kingdom in February 2017 to face multiple counts of sexual abuse against his daughter at the heir homes in Dulwich HIll and Greenacre. The case was one of the worst cases of child sex abuse ever documented in Australia. Outside court, a relieved Ms Haynes told reporters she was stunned but thrilled her father had 'owned up' to what he'd done. 'The guilty plea is my father admitting everything he did and I could not be happier,' she said. Ms Haynes said she wanted her father to face her in court because he'd previously thought of her as 'not real'. 'I am a blow-up doll ... and today he had to face the blow-up doll and I hope he enjoyed every minute of it,' she said. Ms Haynes urged other child victims to come forward and issued a warning to their abusers. 'Children remember,' she said. 'We will tell and we will put you in a courtroom ... and you will go to jail.' The judge had previously made an order allowing Ms Haynes to be identified after she indicated her consent. The allegations were so serious that the case was a judge-only trial because it was feared a jury could be left psychologically traumatised. Haynes will be sentenced on May 31. Police have been slammed for telling innocent people to accommodate crime They were told not to leave their homes after 9pm or wear headphones by police Residents in the worst robbery hotspot in NSW have been given a grim warning Residents have been warned to stay home at night and not to wear headphones in Sydney's western suburbs after a string of robberies. There have been almost 30 men under 25 charged with 77 robberies in Fairfield and surrounding suburbs this year. Police have formed a strike force to deal with the crime wave, and say a majority of the young criminals are linked to a gang of Pacific Islanders from Bossley Park. Fairfield Police Area Command Superintendent Peter Lennon has warned residents to avoid unlit areas at night and urged parents to enforce a 9pm curfew for their kids. Fairfield is the worst robbery hotspot in NSW with 77 robberies this year alone. Pictured is a crime scene in Fairfield from 2015 Residents have been warned to stay home at night and not to wear headphones in western Sydney suburbs after almost 30 men were charged with robbery (stock image) There were 13 robberies in surrounding areas of Fairfield such as Bossley Park, Greenfield Park and Cabramatta in April. 'A majority of them (robbery suspected) are under 25,' Superintendent Lennon said, according to the Daily Telegraph. 'They are local youths, we know who they are and we are trying to break them up out of groups so they are not just standing around plotting who they will rob next.' People near shopping centres, skate parks, train stations and bus stops are at risk according to Superintendent Lennon. One person was ambushed by a man wielding a knife at Bonnyrigg Heights skate park. 'They're kids but they're mature enough to see a phone or a pair of shoes or a wallet and grab it,' he said. A gunman tried to rob a Dominos Pizzeria in nearby Edensor Park on May 5. The Bossley Park Sporting club was targeted by a man wielding a sawn-off shotgun on April 7. Fairfield Police Area Command Superintendent Peter Lennon's (pictured) curfew suggestion has been slammed by residents for suggesting they should change their ways out of fear People near shopping centres, skate parks, train stations and bus stops are at risk according to Superintendent Lennon. Pictured is the main shopping strip in Fairfield Superintendent Lennon advised parents in the area to keep their children at home before 9pm, but was met with a flood of criticism on social media for the curfew suggestion. 'Police couldn't run a rigged race. If they can't control the streets, what can they do?' one man said on Facebook. 'So to tackle the crime wave everyone just stay inside,' another man said. 'This is so sad, to live in a world where you can't even walk at night,' one woman said. Others have backed the police suggestion that people should stay home at night. 'Exactly right, teenagers should be home after nine and studying for their future education. Not roaming the streets causing problems,' another woman said. Boris Johnson is looking to divorce his wife Marina (both pictured) within six weeks Prime Minister hopeful Boris Johnson is seeking a speedy divorce from his estranged wife so he can move into Downing Street with his new girlfriend, it has been claimed. The former foreign secretary, 54, reportedly wants the split within six weeks to tie in with a move to Number 10 if he wins the Conservative leadership election. Mr Johnson, who is dating 31-year-old ex-Tory spin doctor Carrie Symonds, is divorcing wife Marina Wheeler after 25 years. A source told the Daily Mirror: 'There have been lots of emotional conversations and dinners with each of their four grown-up children. 'He has told them he wants do the right thing. 'Marina will walk away with a handsome deal. He is now hoping the divorce will go through in the six weeks.' They added: 'Politically it will work out well, but also personally so he can move forward with Carrie.' Mr Johnson is dating former Tory aide Carrie Symonds (both pictured), who lives in a 1million flat in south London which Mr Johnson often stays at The couple announced their divorce in 2018. In a joint personal statement in September last year the pair said: 'Several months ago, after 25 years of marriage, we decided it was in our best interests to separate. 'We have subsequently agreed to divorce and that process is under way. As friends we will continue to support our four children in the years ahead. We will not be commenting further'. Mr Johnson and Ms Wheeler's 3.75million house in Islington, north London, is up for sale - with Ms Wheeler, 55, expected to keep the money as well as 15 per cent of his future salary. Ms Symonds currently lives in a 1million flat in south London, which Mr Johnson often stays at. Despite claims, the source said Ms Wheeler 'would never ruin Boris' chances of being PM'. It comes at a critical time for Mr Johnson, as he is the favourite to replace Theresa May as party leader after she announced on Friday she will resign on June 7. He kicked off the Tory leadership battle - that should be decided by the end of July - by declaring the UK should leave the EU on October 31 'deal or no deal'. It emerged last September that Mr Johnson and Ms Wheeler were planning to divorce. Mr Johnson, 54, has been dating former Tory spin doctor Carrie Symonds (pictured), 30, since last summer. It is understood he wants a hasty divorce from his wife so he can move with Ms Symonds into 10 Downing Street if he is elected Tory leader and prime minister It came amid reports that father-of-four Mr Johnson had begun a relationship with Ms Symonds. When they announced they were to divorce, Mr Johnson and his wife stressed that 'as friends, we will continue to support our four children in the years ahead'. Mr Johnson married first wife Allegra Mostyn-Owen in 1987, then Ms Wheeler, a QC, in 1993 after they had an affair. Ms Wheeler is the mother to Mr Johnson's children Milo, Cassia, Lara and Theodore. But a string of affairs followed and Ms Wheeler kicked him out twice, only to take him back. The first time was in 2004 over his affair with writer Petronella Wyatt, who had an abortion and miscarriage. Ms Wyatt, who worked with Mr Johnson at the Spectator, said yesterday: 'We remain friends. I think he would be a good Prime Minister.' The second came six years later, when he was suspected of having a love-child with art consultant Helen Macintyre, who was 39 at the time. Advertisement Less than a dozen people affiliated with the Ku Klux Klan white supremacist group were drowned out by hundreds of counter-protesters Saturday at a rally in Ohio. Nine people from the Honorable Sacred Knights showed up for a rally they'd obtained a permit to hold in Dayton's Courthouse Square. But they were met by 500 to 600 counter-protesters, city officials said. Members of the white nationalist group the Honorable Sacred Knights of the Ku Klux Klan hold a rally in Dayton, Ohio According to police, the small group of 9 Honorable Sacred Knights were met by an estimated 500-600 counter-protesters Anti-protesters drowned out the racist group as they played trumpets and saxophones to overcome the hateful messages 'God's clan includes every tribe': A counter protester shouts during a counter demonstration on Saturday afternoon Members of the Church Of God sing gospel songs as a way of protest against Ku Klux Klan members rallying in city square The counter-protesters chanted, sang and played various instruments to drown out the racist demonstrators, who had gathered behind a tall metal fence under tight police security. A sign on the fence read: 'Don't feed the animals.' More than 350 law enforcement officers were on hand amid fears of violence and the city reportedly spent $650,000 as police units from the Ohio state cities of Columbus, Cleveland, Toledo, and Cincinnati were called in for backup. But the event ended peacefully without injuries or arrests, the city government of Dayton, Ohio, said in a statement on Facebook. Mounted cops kept an eye on things as communities came together to say no to racism. Counter protesters gather en masse to protest against a rally held by the KKK affiliated group Honorable Sacred Knights of Indiana at Courthouse Square on May 25 The racist group members were protected by two barricade fences and a multitude of police officers The Dayton chapter of the Black Panthers protest against a small group from the KKK-affiliated Honorable Sacred Knights A woman held a sign that read: 'Your hate makes me weak'. An anti-protester wore a T-shirt that read Straight Outta Dayton The Dayton chapter of the Black Panthers was present but the positivity spread beyond affiliated groups. One attendee wore a Straight Outta Dayton T-shirt to show the city was having none of the negativity after the local government encouraged locals to avoid the downtown rally area on Saturday in order to #UniteAgainstHateDYT. Instead people came out in their droves parading placards; one read 'no hoods in my woods' alongside a drawing of the KKK's recognizable white robes. Police officers and Highway State patrol officers keep careful watch over the various activities occurring Counter protesters seen holding placards as they face a Ku Klux Klan affiliated group at a rally in Dayton, Ohio Three-year-old Laylani Jeniya-Smith Edgecomb rides atop her fathers shoulders and watches a police helicopter circle above during a protest against a rally held by the KKK affiliated group Honorable Sacred Knights of Indiana A young man holds a sign while protesting against a small group from the KKK-affiliated Honorable Sacred Knights 'Good people don't commit hate crimes': One man held a placard reading 'love will always prevail' A woman held a sign saying, 'Your hate makes you weak' and another simply put it: 'Dayton says no'. Some Honorable Sacred Knights are currently the subject of a lawsuit from a man who was run down by the same car that killed an anti-protester at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017. President Donald Trump sparked outrage in its aftermath after claiming there were good people 'on both sides' at the rally. On Saturday in Dayton one man held a sign with the names of the many black people killed in police brutality cases in the US over the years. Anti-protesters waved the American flag as the nine demonstrators stood behind a small railing. 'Make racists afraid again': One attendee donned a red cap in the same style as Trump's Make America Great Again hat A little boy sits on the sidewalk as peaceful counter-protesters wave flags, signs, and rock body paint 'This Jew will replace you' a man scrawled on his chest and a counter-protester held a sign reading Dayton Says No But they were barely heard as a brass band played and people looking for unity sang and chanted. Mayor Nan Whaley, City Manager Shelley Dickstein and Police Chief Richard Biehl, with Commissioners Joseph, Mims, Shaw and Fairchild, held a news conference afterward, thanking the many agencies and cities collaborating to support the extraordinary efforts of the Dayton Police and Fire Departments. Mayor Whaley also thanked the Dayton community for the unified response to the hate group event, while acknowledging the work yet to be done for greater equity. Police stood behind barricade before the rally where a sign read 'don't feed the animals' next to another with 'no trespassing' Counter protesters gather en masse to protest against a rally held by the KKK affiliated group Honorable Sacred Knights of Indiana at Courthouse Square The crowd of 500 to 600 counterprotesters sang, chanted and played instruments to drown out the racist demonstrators Mounted cops from Columbus, Ohio kept an eye on things as communities came together to say no to racism A 47-year-old man has been charged in the case of the Massachusetts teenager who ran away from home was dropped off at hospital the next day where she later died. Carlos Rivera was arrested Saturday morning and Lawrence Police said he gave drugs to Chloe Ricard, 13, who was pronounced dead in the emergency room of Lawrence General Hospital on Monday night soon after the man left her with medical staff saying the teenager needed help. Essex District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett said in a statement Rivera was accompanied by an unidentified girl under the age of 16 when Ricard was dumped at the ER, about 30 miles north of Boston, around 4.47pm. Investigators learned both minors were at Rivera's 59 Bellevue Street apartment Sunday evening and most of Monday. It's unclear how he knows them but a source claimed he knew them before Sunday. Carlos Rivera, 47, was arrested Saturday morning in Massachusetts after cops accused him of giving Chloe Ricard (pictured), 13, drugs and sexually assaulting her before she died Monday Her body was dumped at Lawrence General Hospital emergency room where she died The cause of the Amesbury girl's death is still not clear. Rivera is charged with two counts of distribution of Class B drugs to a minor, two counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14 years old, and one count of the same charge for a person over 14, according to the statement. He is being held on $750,000 bail and is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday. 'We will continue our diligent pursuit of justice for this victim,' Blodgett said in the statement. 'I want to commend the entire investigative team who worked around the clock to determine the events leading of the tragic death of a 13-year old girl. We will continue our diligent pursuit of justice for this victim.' One of Chloe's last posts on the photo-sharing website Instagram was a troubling musing about death. It reads: 'I dont wanna live long at all. 'Y'all dumb tryna clown me and bring me down for being what I am... I live my life everyday like its the last and that's me. 'I'll never change and one day i will not wake up and that's my goal. Stop worrying about my health.' Ricard was with another girl under the age of 16 according to investigators. It's unclear how Rivera knows them but a source claimed he knew them before Sunday They were at Rivera's 59 Bellevue Street apartment Sunday evening and most of Monday Chloe's Instagram page has since been closed and police are investigating the mysterious death that her family say happened one day after she ran away from home. Stepfather Brian Dolan told Boston 25 News: 'No pulse, no nothing, they just drove in and dropped her off. 'She didn't even have a pulse when they pushed her out of the car. The only thing I was told earlier from another agency is someone 47 years old dropped her off. 'Whoever did this to my little stepdaughter, trust me, I hope there's 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? I'm beside myself.' Authorities say the teenager, who was in the eighth grade at Solstice Day School, went into cardiac arrest. Family said they last saw Ricard Sunday afternoon when she was dropped at a friend's house They reported her missing the following day when child services contacted her to report they thought she might be trying to run away. Images from her social media are shown The man who drove her to the hospital left soon after notifying staff of the girl's condition but was later tracked down by police via surveillance video. Police have not revealed any information about the man - including whether or not Chloe knew him - but said no charges have been filed as part of their investigation. Chloe's family, who said she had suffered problems following her father's death five years ago, are demanding answers into her death. The family indicated that she was in the 'wrong place with the wrong people'. Her mother Deborah Goldsmith-Dolan said they last saw Chloe when she was dropped off at a friend's house on Sunday afternoon. They said she would often seek comfort from her friends when she was feeling sad or angry. Her mother Deborah Goldsmith-Dolan (left) and stepfather Brian Dolan, (right) who said she had suffered some problems following her father's death five years ago, are demanding answers Unconfirmed reports suggested Chloe ran away that night, and after she didn't return home her mother contacted her daughter's friends, who assured her she was okay and was with a friend. She said the Department of Children and Families then contacted her during the day to report there were 'red flags' that Chloe was possibly looking to run away out of state. Her mother reported Chloe missing at the local police station. While she was there, Goldsmith-Dolan said she received a text from her daughter's friend saying Chloe was in the hospital. 'Who can do that? Who can take and just dump her? It's just the most horrific act,' Goldsmith-Dolan told WCVB. Chloe's stepfather also described the teenager's death as 'so complicated'. 'Chloe was a great kid. She was pretty smart. She was bright. She was beautiful,' he said. 'Just the wrong place with the wrong people. 'I've been trying to piece it together, like trying to get a hold of her friends to see if I can find out what's going on and no one is saying nothing to me.' The family have set up a GoFundMe page to help cover the costs of Chloe's funeral, which by Saturday night had raised more than $8,485 of its $10,500 goal An autopsy was carried out on Tuesday but the medical examiner's ruling on her cause of death is not expected to be released for some time. The family have set up a GoFundMe page to help cover the costs of Chloe's funeral, which by Saturday night had raised more than $8,485 of its $10,500 goal. The page reads: 'She was a beautiful soul inside and out and was very kind to others, especially to those less fortunate. 'Chloe had a passion for drawing, loved to listen to music, enjoyed dancing, singing, beach time and spending time with her family & friends. 'She loved her family so incredibly much, especially her mother Deborah Goldsmith-Dolan whom she was often seen riding the school bus on her mother's route before school just to be able to spend more time with her. 'She was also constantly spoiled by her 2 brothers Kyle and Nicholas Ricard, and step-father Brian Dolan. 'She missed her dad Raymond Ricard immensely after his passing 5 years ago. They also held a very special relationship.' He's Britain's most celebrated master of illusion. And as a youngster, Derren Brown already had a way of making objects vanish on shoplifting sprees. Speaking on Radio 4's Desert Island Discs today, Brown, 48, reveals: 'It was never anything expensive. But I remember looking around my bedroom once as a teenager and everything in my room I had stolen.' The star, who eventually confessed his crimes to his parents, says stealing from shops including Harrods was partly down to necessity. He adds: 'I loved the gadgets, they were too expensive to buy so I would steal them.' Derren Brown, 48, has revealed he used to shoplift from places like Harrods in his younger days But he also believes the shoplifting sprees filled a void which his later career would take care of. Brown, pictured, said: 'This is before the magic thing took off. It was the joy of the misdirection and the fun of pilfering and not being seen. 'It was joyful, but terrible and I am not condoning it.' Desert Island Discs is on BBC Radio 4 today at 11.15am. Democratic presidential hopeful Beto ORourke says Donald Trump is provoking yet another war in the Middle East by sending 1,500 more troops to the region to counter an alleged threat from Iran. President Trump is escalating tensions, is provoking yet another war in the Middle East where we find ourselves already engaged in war in so many countries - in Iraq, in Syria, in Yemen, not too far from there in Libya, and in Afghanistan, the former congressman told CBS News on Saturday. ORourke told CBS News that we don't need another war and that the administration should find a way to work with allies and partners and in some cases with our enemies. The Democratic presidential candidate said he was skeptical of claims by the administration that Iran posed a threat to American troops in Iraq. Beto ORourke, who is running for the Democratic Party's nomination for president, accused the Trump administration of 'provoking yet another war in the Middle East' 2020 hopeful @BetoORourke says @realDonaldTrump is provoking yet another war in the Middle East by sending an additional 1,500 troops to counter the threat from Iran. Catch more of @margbrennan's interview tomorrow on @FaceTheNation. https://t.co/pz2leQJbNH pic.twitter.com/HTAi3QPl16 Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) May 25, 2019 ORourke also said he doubted the assessment of National Security Adviser John Bolton, who was a top aide to George W. Bush during the invasion of Iraq in 2003. I have a really hard time believing this administration and believing a president who has so wantonly lied and misconstrued the facts at every single turn to his own gain, ORourke said. I'm suspicious of a national security team that has so often called for war. You have someone in Bolton who has publicly said that he wants regime change in Iran. ORourke said a war with Iran could result in thousands or perhaps hundreds of thousands of casualties. If there is a peaceful alternative to this - and I know that there is - then we must do everything within our power to pursue it, the former congressman from El Paso said. That's what I would do in my administrationI'd stick up for our values, make sure that we defend our allies, protect the lives of our fellow Americans. But do that peacefully where we can. Deployment: Trump announced his 1,500 strong reinforcement of U.S forces in the Gulf region before leaving for his state visit to Japan on Friday Escalation: Sources said Trump's deployment included engineers but the exact make-up of what units are going and where remains unknown Otherwise, we will produce more wars, more veterans coming back to this country seeking the care that they are being effectively and functionally denied today. I think we need to do far better going forward and I know that we can. The United States on Friday said it was sending 1,500 troops to region in what it called an effort to bolster defenses against Tehran, and it accused Irans Revolutionary Guards of direct responsibility for attacks on tankers this month. Trump also invoked the threat from Iran to declare a national security-related emergency that would clear the sale of billions of dollars worth of weapons to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other countries without congressional approval. It follows decisions to speed up the deployment of an aircraft carrier strike group as well as to send bombers and additional Patriot missiles to the Middle East. Trump will send hundreds of extra troops on top of the 70,000 already stationed from Egypt to Afghanistan, deploy a squadron of 12 fighter jets, backed by surveillance planes and drones, and keep a Patriot missile battery to the Middle East. On top of that he is using emergency powers to get round a Congressional block on arms sales to allow $8 billion in materiel for Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan, with senators told the move is because of 'threats from Iran.' 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 The USS Abraham Lincoln, a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier with F/A-18E - like this landing plane - 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 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. And for the first time, Pentagon officials on Friday publicly blamed Iran and its proxies for recent tanker bombings near United Arab Emirates and a rocket attack in Iraq. The president said the troops were being sent because 'we want to have protection,' but did not mention the squadron of fighters or the Patriot battery. 'Some very talented people are going to the Middle East right now, and we'll see what happens,' Trump said. He was speaking as he left the White House to begin travelling to Japan where he and the first lady are taking part in a state visit this weekend. The deployments announced Friday include a squadron of 12 fighter jets, manned and unmanned surveillance aircraft, and a number of military engineers to beef up protection for forces. In addition a battalion of four Patriot missile batteries that were scheduled to leave the Middle East has been ordered to stay. The total number of troops involved is about 1,500, with roughly 600 included in the Patriot battalion. Rivkah Weber, 29, and 37-year-old David Costello had been attending a synagogue in West Ridge, Chicago, for a few months after moving to a nearby neighborhood A couple in Chicago claiming to be a part of the Orthodox Jewish community was accused of proselytizing after they were exposed as actually being 'Christian missionaries.' Rivkah Weber, 29, and 37-year-old David Costello had been attending a synagogue in West Ridge, Chicago, for a few months after moving to a nearby neighborhood. But their cover soon was blown when on May 14, a Brooklyn man attending service recognized Costello as actually being a Christian man who pulled a similar stunt in New York. Rabbi Levi Notik, spiritual leader of the FREE center in Chicago, confronted the impostors after getting the concerning news from the Brooklynite. 'They have beliefs of Kefira and Christianity,' Notik explained to COL LIVE. 'He doesn't deny any of it, on the contrary, he insists that he is correct in his way, and has no regrets.' But their cover soon was blown when on May 14, a Brooklyn man attending service recognized Costello at the FREE center in Chicago By the next day, the Jewish community in Chicago had begun posting about the couple on social media. Many began voicing their displeasure at having been conned. '[T]o answer the rumors, it is true that a couple moved into our community in the purpose of proselytizing They are confirmed missionaries,' one post read, according to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 'They have beliefs of Kefira and Christianity,' Rabbi Levi Notik explained after confronting the couple. 'He doesn't deny any of it, on the contrary, he insists that he is correct in his way, and has no regrets' Included in the post were pictures of the couple - Weber is dressed conservatively while wearing covering on her hair as her husband wears a yarmluke and has his hair in sidelocks. The couple admitted that their objective was to try to get the Jewish community to get more comfortable with Jesus. 'We want Jewish people to recognize Yeshua as Moshiach and as a Jewish Messiah,' Costello said in an interview with JTA. He used the Hebrew words for both Jesus and Messiah while speaking, notably intermixing Hebrew and Yiddish. He added: 'We actually keep the Torah and the mitzvahs. We actually have an Orthodox life in our house and every day of our life, and they are saying that it's simply to deceive and to bring Jewish people to believe in Jesus.' The father-of-two shared that he was raised in a Christian family in New Jersey but described that his maternal great-grandmother was Jewish. His wife - whose real name is Rebekah - was born in a Christian household in North Carolina. She may have Jewish ancestry on her father's side. The father-of-two shared that he was raised in a Christian family in New Jersey but described that his maternal great-grandmother was Jewish. His wife - whose real name is Rebekah - was born in a Christian household in North Carolina. She may have Jewish ancestry on her father's side The pair were told they were not welcomed back in the Chicago community and Costello has lost his job at a kosher shop Documents from 2016 revealed that Costello had been employed by Global Gates, which aims 'to see gospel transformation of the world's most unevangelized people groups (sic) who have come to global gateway cities, and through them reach their communities around the world.' But the company was adamant that the couple were no longer involved with them. 'They were previously employed by Global Gates for less than a year. Their relationship with Global Gates ended in July 2017,' they stated. A newsletter from the Johnson County for Israel, an evangelical group based in Texas, suggested that the couple had doing missionary work in Brooklyn in 2016. 'David and Rivkah have taken a very costly yet bold stand for the Lord in Brooklyn as they live kosher among Hasidim while serving Jesus as their Savior,' the newsletter reads. 'My hope today is that you might learn a little more about their ministry, commit to pray for them, and even be mindful of how you might support their efforts.' Costello admitted that the post was about them but mischaracterized their mission. Rabbis in Chicago voiced their disgust at the news and highlighter moments when they knew something was off about the couple. A newsletter from the Johnson County for Israel, an evangelical group based in Texas, suggested that the couple had doing missionary work in Brooklyn in 2016 'They came to Chicago, they moved into their neighborhood, dressing and behaving outwardly like Hasidic Jews,' said one leader. 'They were welcomed into the community and befriending everyone.' 'People feel betrayed. If you want to believe in something and sell it, that's your business. But to come into a community and portray to be something you're not, prey on people, unsuspecting, is unacceptable.' Another rabbi shared that Costello knew a lot of the Bible but struggled with Hebrew words. Weber, the rabbi said, still wore too much color in her wardrobe and also had difficulty with some Hebrew and Yiddish words. The pair were told they were not welcomed back in the community and Costello has lost his job at a kosher shop. A cyclist has been captured on camera illegally riding through one of Sydney's busiest tunnels with a child resting on the frame of his bike. The man was riding through the Lane Cove Tunnel, which has a speed limit of 80km/hr, towards Sydney's CBD about 3pm Saturday. Passengers and drivers were left shocked by the stunt, while police have called for anyone who recognises the man to contact them. The man was riding through the Lane Cove Tunnel, which has a speed limit of 80km/hr, towards Sydney's CBD about 3pm Saturday The stunt was filmed by a passenger who was trailing the cyclist in a car. 'There is a child in there...are you joking,' a woman can be heard saying in the clip. Police said they were more concerned with the fact the man was dodging cars in a tunnel than the child resting on his bike. 'It is about riding in the tunnel. It is illegal to ride in a tunnel,' a police spokesperson said. 'We are appealing for help in the identification of the cyclist.' Police said the man could face a fine up to $765 for interfering in the safe operation of tunnel. A staff sergeant and a senior airman have been punished after they were caught drinking alcohol at an Air Force base in Wyoming. The pair, whose job it is to maintain a missile alert facility at the sensitive F.E. Warren Air Force Base, were off-duty at the time, the Air Force Times reported. But consumption of any alcohol at the base, which houses nuclear weapons, is prohibited. A spokesperson for the 90th Missile Maintenance Squadron A spokesperson said that the two workers were not in contact [with], nor had any access to, weapons or classified material at the time of the incident, on May 14. Officers at the base conducted an investigation, during which one of the two maintenance workers is alleged to have confessed. Airmen from the 90th Missile Maintenance Squadron prepare a re-entry system for removal from a launch facility at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming in this undated file photo The rules in place at air force facilities forbid processing or consuming alcoholic beverages within the confines of any missile alert facility while en route to or from duty in the missile complex. This is an unacceptable breach of standards and the Air Force held the airmen accountable for their actions, spokesperson Joseph Coslett said. The military would not say what punishments the two men received. The 90th Maintenance Group, to which the squadron belongs, is tasked with maintaining the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles that are on the base. They also must keep an eye on the command and control systems used to launch them. The Minuteman III is the only land-based ICBM currently in service in the United States. Produced at a cost of $7million per unit, a Minuteman has a range of over 6,300 miles. It can reach 700 miles into space and has a speed of 15,000 miles per hour. Each missile is capable of carrying up to three thermonuclear warheads. Currently, the American military has in its arsenal 399 Minuteman III missiles stashed in missile silos in three bases - Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana; Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota; and Warren Air Force Base. The base is one of three that is home to the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile (like the one seen above during an operational test at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on May 9) This is the second time in a year that soldiers at Warren have been busted for the use of mind-altering substances on the premises. In May 2018, authorities discovered a drug ring that operated undetected for months at the base, where more than a dozen airmen entrusted with guarding nuclear missiles used LCD, cocaine, ecstasy and marijuana. Air Force records showed they bought, distributed and used the mind-altering illegal drugs until one of the airmen serving at F.E. Warren Air Force Base slipped up and posted an incriminating photo on Facebook, which sparked an investigation that eventually led to courts martial and other disciplinary measures. The service members accused of involvement in the LSD ring were from the 90th Missile Wing, which operates one-third of the 400 Minuteman 3 missiles that stand 'on alert' 24/7 in underground silos scattered across the northern Great Plains. A former Home And Away actor accused of breaking a female police officer's nose tried to apologise in court before his lawyer told him it would be in his best interest to keep silent. Keiren Patrick Noonan, 32, was drinking in a bar in Sydney's Darling Harbour early on Sunday morning when he was asked to leave the venue by security. The Irish-born actor and tradesman was allegedly approached by plain-clothes police officers who identified themselves after he refused to leave. Police allege that Mr Noonan pushed one officer before he punched the female officer in the face - fracturing her nose and shattering her teeth. Keiren Patrick Noonan was allegedly drinking at a Darling Harbour bar, when he refused to leave the establishment before punching the female officer 'The [female] officer immediately started bleeding from the nose, while the other officer arrested the man and conveyed him to Day Street Police Station,' police said in a statement. The woman was taken to St Vincents Hospital, where she was treated for a 'broken nose, swelling to the face and sore teeth'. When Mr Noonan was in Parramatta Bail Court on Sunday he made an attempt to apologise. The Irish actor's legal aid representative then intervened and said it would be best if he didn't speak on the public record. When Mr Noonan was in Parramatta Bail Court on Sunday he made an attempt to apologise. Pictured with Patrick OConnor 'Your honour can I give you my version of events,' he said via video link, according to the Daily Telegraph. 'I would just like to say I'm really apologetic for what happened. 'I would never hit anybody especially not a female police officer.' Mr Noonan has been charged with assault causing actual bodily harm, assault police, resist arrest, offensive language and fail to quit licenced premises. 'A long-term banning order will also be applied for,' police said. Mr Noonan has been granted bail. When Mr Noonan was in Parramatta Bail Court on Sunday he made an attempt to apologise. Pictured on Home And Away set Prime Minister Scott Morrison has named his new Cabinet a week after he led his party to a surprise victory during the Federal Election. Mr Morrison's new-look Cabinet includes an indigenous Australian for the first time, with Ken Wyatt named as the Minister for Indigenous Affairs. Marise Payne will remain as the Foreign Affairs Minister and has been handed additional responsibilities as Minister for Women. She is one of a record number of seven women announced in the new Cabinet. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has named his new Cabinet a week after he led his party to a surprise victory during the Federal Election Mr Morrison's new-look Cabinet includes an indigenous Australian for the first time, with Ken Wyatt (pictured) named as the Minister for Indigenous Affairs Josh Frydenberg and Mathias Cormann will stay in their posts of the Treasurer and the Finance Minister, respectively. Mr Morrison recommended NSW Senator Arthur Sinodinos for the role of the Ambassador for the United States as he announced his cabinet on Sunday afternoon. Senator Sinodinos is a former cabinet minister and was a chief of staff to John Howard before he was forced to step away from parliament after he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The position is widely considered Australia's top international post, and draws an estimated salary of $360,000. Marise Payne will remain as the Foreign Affairs Minister and has been handed additional responsibilities as Minister for Women Prime Minister Scott Morrison is believed to have appointed NSW senator Arthur Sinodinos (pictured) to the role of Ambassador to the United States Former Environment Minister Melissa Price - who had previously been unable to comfortably answer media questions about her portfolio - has been demoted from Cabinet and will now be Defence Industry Minister. 'Melissa and I discussed her role and she asked to be given a new challenge and I was pleased to give her one,' Mr Morrison told reporters in Canberra on Sunday. She's been replaced by rural NSW Liberal MP Sussan Ley as Environment Minister. Ms Ley was in 2017 forced to stand down as Health Minister after revelations she purchased a Gold Coast apartment while on a work trip. Stuart Robert was Assistant Treasurer but has now been promoted to cabinet as Government Services Minister and will oversee the National Disability Insurance Scheme. Karen Andrews will be Minister for Industry, Science, and Technology - one of a record number of woman appointed to cabinet. Bridget McKenzie will become Australia's first ever female Agriculture Minister Mr Morrison was given room to promote and reshuffle his ministry after a number of high profile ministers retired at the election NSW Liberal MP Sussan Ley (pictured) will take over Melissa Price as Environment Minister Michael Sukkar, who quit a previous role in August in a bid to get Peter Dutton into the top job, has been brought in as assistant treasurer to oversee the first home loan deposit scheme. Nationals MP David Littleproud has been given water resources, natural disasters, and emergency management, while Bridget McKenzie will become Australia's first ever female Agriculture Minister. Alan Tudge will be Population Minister, while Richard Colbeck will take Aged Care, Youth and Sport. Victorian senator Mitch Fifield will quit the Senate and go to the United Nations as ambassador, after asking to leave. 'I would have been very happy for Mitch to continue to serve in communications and the arts,' Mr Morrison said. Linda Reynolds will be Defence Minister, Peter Dutton retained his position in Home Affairs and Dan Tehan will stay in Education. Mr Morrison was given room to promote and reshuffle his ministry after a number of high profile ministers retired at the election. Peter Dutton (left) will remain in Home Affairs and Dan Tehan (right) will stay in Education Linda Reynolds has been announced as the Minister for Defence A police dog has died moments after tracking down a man suspected of a break and enter. Police dog Kaleb was with handler Sergeant Constable Trevor O'Neill in Harristown, Queensland, at 1.30am on Sunday searching the streets after reports of a break and enter. They found the suspect at 2.45am, but Kaleb suddenly collapsed while walking back to the police car. Police dog Kaleb was with his handler Sergeant Constable Trevor O'Neill in Harristown, Queensland, at 1.30am on Sunday searching the streets after reports of a break and enter His handler tried to perform first aid but Kaleb quickly slipped into unconsciousness. He was rushed to the closest vet, but could not be saved and died. Sergeant Constable O'Neill has been left devastated by the loss of his 'dog, partner and mate'. Kaleb lived at the officer's home and was treated like a family member. 'The QPS takes the safety and wellbeing of all police dogs very seriously and treats them as valued members of the police family,' a statement read. Kaleb was born in October 2012 and served as a police dog for five years, where he performed countless successful tracks. 'Vale RD Kaleb, with honour you served, and it was our honour to serve with you,' police said in a statement. A review into Kaleb's death will be conducted by the State Capability Coordinator (Dog Squad), as is routine when a police dog dies during training or while on duty. Two simulated supermarkets have opened up in schools in Sydney and will be staffed by children with special needs and disabilities. The supermarket giant has added the two miniature stores to its nationwide fleet which will provide an engaging educational experience for youngsters. The simulated stores have been designed to give children a true insight into the realities of working life - and both come complete with working payment registers, uniforms and name badges, as well as groceries to stack on shelves. Scroll down for video Two miniature Woolworths stores which will be staffed by children with special needs and disabilities have opened in two Sydney schools Eddie's Fresh Food opened at St Edmund's College in Wahroonga last year, while Gabe's Fresh Food at St Gabriel's School in Castle Hill was completed earlier this month. The students will work in the stores as part of the pathway to work programme and will be able to understand what it's really like to work in retail. Woolworths Group General Manager of IT, Angelo Clayton said Woolworths was pleased to offer the valuable learning experience for students. 'Our aim at Woolworths is to bring a little good to everyone, every day and by working closely with Fujitsu, we are pleased to be able provide a valuable learning experience for the students at St Gabriel's,' Ms Clayton told Daily Mail Australia. The students will undertake jobs in the stores as part of the pathway to work programme and will use real equipment 'Gabe's Fresh Food is a very special version of a Woolworths store. 'It has real products, real ticketing, signage, uniforms and name badges for the students to immerse themselves in an authentic supermarket experience a fantastic way to learn a great number of skills. 'We are very excited by the authentic learning experience made available by Woolworths and Fujitsu for our students' says Jon Franzin, Principal at St Gabriel's. 'We see use of the payment registers as increasing student's communication and numeracy skills, skills that are transferable to the workplace and for life,' she said. Secret FBI tapes that accuse Martin Luther King Jr of having extramarital affairs with '40 to 45 women' and even claim he 'looked on and laughed' as a pastor friend raped a parishioner exist, an author has claimed. The civil rights hero was also heard allegedly joking he was the founder of the 'International Association for the Advancement of P***y-Eaters' on an agency recording that was obtained by bugging his room, according to the sensational claims made by biographer David Garrow - a Pulitzer prize-winning author and biographer of MLK. Writing in British magazine Standpoint, Garrow says that the shocking files could lead to a 'painful historical reckoning' for the man who is celebrated across the world for his campaign against racial injustice. Along with many US civil rights figures, King was subject to an FBI campaign of surveillance ordered by Director J Edgar Hoover in an effort to undermine his power amid fears he could have links to the Communist Party. Martin Luther King, who married Coretta Scott in 1953, is said to have carried out numerous affairs with dozens of women during his lifetime The civil rights hero pictured with his wife Coretta was also said to be heard joking he was the founder of the 'International Association for the Advancement of P***y-Eaters' The FBI surveillance tapes detailing his indiscretions are being held in a vault at the U.S. National Archives and are not due for release until 2027. How J. Edgar Hoover kept incriminating evidence against the great and the good of American society The first FBI director was responsible for making the intelligence service what it is today but used tactics which many thought were unethical. Hoover was mainly concerned about what he considered to be 'subversion' and tens of thousands of suspected radicals were interviewed under his directorship. J. Edgar Hoover was criticised for using underhand tactics against radicals Some believe Hoover exaggerated the potential dangers of these subversive characters. He has also been criticised for going too far and overstepping his brief. Hoover founded a covert 'dirty tricks' program under the name COINTELPRO to disrupt the Communist Party. He went after big-name stars such as Charlie Chaplin, Malcolm X, Ernest Hemingway, Muhammad Ali, Jane Fonda and John Lennon. He spied on the celebrities using methods such as wire-tapping, infiltration, forging documents and spreading false rumours. Some have even alleged COINTELPRO incited violence and arranged murders. In one particularly controversial incident, a white civil rights worker was killed by a member of the Ku Klux Klan who happened to also be an FBI informant. The FBI then spread rumours that she was a Communist and abandoned her children to have sex with black people involved in the civil rights movement. FBI records later showed that Hoover personally communicated these rumours to President Johnson. Even President Nixon said he did not fire Hoover because he feared he had too much dirt on him. Hoover's actions came to be seen as abuses of power and the tenure of the FBI director was later limited to ten years. Advertisement But David Garrow, a biographer of King who won a Pulitzer Prize for his 1987 book Bearing the Cross about the Baptist minister, has unearthed the FBI summaries of the various incidents. In an article to be published in Standpoint, Garrow tells how the FBI planted transmitters in two lamps in hotel rooms booked by King in January 1964, according to The Sunday Times. FBI director J Edgar Hoover ordered the surveillance of King in an effort to undermine his power amid fears he could have links to the Communist Party. The intelligence service carried out surveillance on a number of civil rights figures and suspected communists and they had an interest in smearing their reputation. The recording from the Willard Hotel near the White House shows how King was accompanied his friend Logan Kearse, the pastor of Baltimore's Cornerstone Baptist church who died in 1991, along with several female parishioners of his church. In King's hotel room, the files claim they then 'discussed which women among the parishioners would be suitable for natural and unnatural sex acts'. The FBI document says: 'When one of the women protested that she did not approve, the Baptist minister immediately and forcefully raped her' as King watched. He is alleged to have 'looked on, laugh and offered advice' during the encounter. FBI agents were in the room next door but did not intervene. The following day, King and a dozen others allegedly participated in a 'sex orgy' engaging in 'acts of degeneracy and depravity'. When one woman showed reluctance, King was allegedly heard saying that performing the act 'would help your soul'. Senior FBI officials later sent King a copy of the incriminating tape and called him an 'evil abnormal beast' and his sexual exploits would be 'on record for all time'. The letter also suggested he should commit suicide before his wrongs were revealed to the world. King's philandering has long been suspected, however Garrow, who spent several months digging through the archive material, said he had no idea of the scale or the ugliness of it and his apparent indifference to rape until he saw the files. He said: 'It poses so fundamental a challenge to his historical stature as to require the most complete and extensive historical review possible.' Among the revelations is a claim by a prostitute who said she was involved in a threesome with King, which she described as the worst orgy she had ever experienced. His wife Coretta often complained he was hardly with her and even said he would spend less than 10 hours a month at home. Who is David Garrow? David Garrow's biography of King earned him a Pulitzer Prize The American historian and author, 66, has frequently written about the civil rights movement in the US. His 1986 biography about King, Bearing the Cross, won the Pulitzer Prize for biography. He has taught history at a number of universities across the US and also written about Barack Obama and reproductive rights. The distinguished researcher detailed some of King's affairs in his original biography but he said he was not aware of its scale until now. He also published The FBI and Martin Luther King, Jr, a work that analyses the relationship between the intelligence service and the civil rights leader. Advertisement According to one FBI report, King even said: 'She should go out and have some sexual affairs of her own.' There is even a suggestion in the files that King fathered a daughter with a secret girlfriend in Los Angeles. Both the mother and child are alive but refused to talk to Garrow. Dr King was assassinated in 1968 by James Earl Ray but many conspiracy theories suggest that the government was involved. Small-time criminal Ray was caught trying to board a plane at London Heathrow on a fake Canadian passport. He pleaded guilty to the killing and quickly recanted, claiming he was set up. The conviction stood and Ray died in prison at the age of 70 in 1998. He had been serving a 99-year jail term. Marking the anniversary of Dr King's assassination last year, President Donald Trump issued a proclamation in honour of Dr King, saying: 'In remembrance of his profound and inspirational virtues, we look to do as Dr King did while this world was privileged enough to still have him.' The president was heavily criticised by some speakers at MLK commemorations around the time of the anniversary as they complained of fraught race relations and other divisions since he was elected. Thousands marched and sang civil rights songs to honour the fallen leader in April 2018. Among the largest gatherings was a march through the Mississippi River city where the civil rights leader was shot dead on a motel balcony. In the immediate aftermath of Dr King's assassination there were race riots across the country, from Washington DC to Chicago and Baltimore. A national day of mourning was later declared by then-President Lyndon B. Johnson following Dr King's death. From 1971 onwards Martin Luther King JR Day has been observed to remember him. But it wasn't until 2000 that all 50 states took part in the national holiday, the last three being Arizona, Utah and New Hampshire. In 2016 the US Treasury Secretary announced that images from the iconic I Have A Dream speech would be among several to feature on the back of American bank notes from 2020. A Merseyside vet snatched the expensive breed after making a joke to colleagues that she would do so, only for her to be rumbled and suspended for six months. Dr Zahra Rafiq, 29, was found to be 'dishonest' at a tribunal in London but will be able to return to work, to the bulldog owner's dismay. The stolen pup - worth up to 2000 - perished in Rafiq's home, which she admitted three days after saying it faded in her car. VetsNow emergency surgery chain, which has 60 branches, fired Rafiq but she will be able to continue practicing as a vet after the independent committee concluded Dr Rafiq was not motivated by financial gain and was 'very unlikely to pose a risk to animals in future.' Safinah Mhagrh was told there were only four live pups out of six when the vet did the C-section. Her son Joel, 9, is pictured with two of their French Bulldogs , including mother, Kyla However, the company vowed that both Rafiq and the animal care assistant who took the second pup will never work for them again. A spokesperson also said that the surgeon who worked alongside Rafiq and who failed to account for the amount of pups born, will also never be employed by them again. Safinah Mhagrh, who was told there were only four live pups out of six when the vet did the C-section, told The Mirror of her disgust at the decision by the veterinary governing body to only suspend Rafiq, and not strike her off the register completely. 'I'm fuming. That vet stole my puppy. It was a terrible, heartless thing to do. She should not be allowed to practise,' she said. Dr Zahra Rafiq pictured as a 21-year-old student in Liverpool in 2011 The problems started for Ms Mhagrh when she rushed her heavily pregnant French Bulldog, Lyla, to VetsNow in December 2017. The mother revealed that she thought Lyla would die because one of the pups was coming out legs first, and she was told to go home as a surgeon performed a C-section with Rafiq assisting. 'I was told there were four but the stuck one didn't make it,' Ms Mhagrh said. A week after they were born, she was called back into the Huyton, Merseyside clinic to be told that an allegation had been made against two staff members. She said: 'They said one had been returned, but the other died after being taken home.' She was then given the surviving pup that was allegedly taken and then returned by another staff member. against whom no further action was taken. 'I burst out crying, I was heartbroken,' she said. 'You're meant to trust a vet. I'm only glad there are some decent people at VetsNow who told me what happened. If they hadn't I would never have known.' Two of the French Bulldog pups that were born and brought home by Ms Mhagrh Ms Mhagrh said she contacted police who opted not to pursue the case. A Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons disciplinary hearing was told Dr Rafiq was overheard in surgery saying she intended to take one of the puppies but that colleagues presumed she was joking. The surgeon that she was assisting was also sacked by VetsNow because he failed to record the number of puppies, despite being said to have been focused on their health. The surgery refunded the 200 Ms Mhagrh paid for the C-section as Dr Laura Playforth, standards head at VetsNow, said the incident was an 'isolated' one. She said: 'We are extremely sorry about what happened, especially to our client and their pets. 'We are very clear on our position here these two individuals will not work with us again. 'I want to reassure pet owners that this is an isolated incident. We have almost 600 vets and vet nurses working for us up and down the country, working tirelessly to help animals in their greatest time of need. In my 20 years as a vet, I've never seen anything like this case.' Ministers have called for 'professional protesters' on the dole to have their welfare money withheld. Protesters travelled to Queensland to protest Adani's planned $2billion coal mine at Carmichael ahead of the Federal Election. Queensland voters responded by swinging towards the Coalition and contributing significantly to Scott Morrison's shock re-election as Prime Minister. Now, Queensland MPs have called for activists who are receiving welfare money to have the payments stopped, the Sunday Mail reported. Protesters travelled to Queensland to protest Adani's planned $2billion coal mine at Carmichael ahead of the Federal Election 'Newstart is funded by taxpayers, who would expect recipients to use it for its intended purpose of supporting them while they look for work, not supporting them in a lifestyle of being a full-time protester,' Social Services Minister Paul Fletcher said. Queensland Police Union President Ian Leavers (right) said protesters actions were putting public safety at risk by stretching police resources Queensland Police were also highly critical of what they called professional protesters with Union president Ian Leavers adding that their actions were putting public safety at risk by stretching police resources. 'Police in these regional and rural areas are short-staffed at the best of times and these professional protesters and their complete disregard for economic loss are tying up valuable police time,' Mr Leavers said. 'Which means real police work to keep the community safe and tackle crime is not able to be done.' 'Police just wish they'd move on to their next professional protest in some other state and let us get back to real policing duties instead of babysitting people who should know better,' he said. Social Services Minister and Liberal MP Paul Fletcher said the Newstart program was not for supporting their 'lifestyle' as full-time protesters The recent Adani protests led by former federal Greens leader Bob Brown were out in force prior to the May 18 election. Protesters visited Clermont, which is the closest town to Adani's planned Carmichael mine. Greends founder Bob Brown and his pals believed a 2,000km convoy into Queensland's coal heartland would sway the opinions of locals. 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) Greens founder Bob Brown (pictured) led a convoy of left-wing supporters on a tour across Queensland in an effort to convince locals to vote against Adani When the convoy entered Queensland towns, locals turned out in droves to tell the greenies to go home - and then waited to make their fury felt at the ballot box. The reactions on the locals' faces shows exactly why Labor - which refused to give as straight answer about the Adani coal mine as they courted Green votes in the inner suburbs - was left without a single seat north of Brisbane. Mr Brown's convoy began its tour throughout Queensland's coal country on April 23, with the ex-Greens leader even saying Adani was 'a litmus test of Australia's intelligence'. At the time, he said he expected to receive a warm welcome in communities worried about job losses because the Great Barrier Reef would die in a warming world. The moment a wild brawl erupted between an unruly passenger on board a Jetstar flight and police officers has been captured on camera. The 26-year-old man, who has not been identified, had been on a Sydney flight bound for Melbourne when he reportedly started acting abusively towards members of staff about 4pm on Saturday. His aggressive behaviour escalated before the plane had taken off and members of staff are understood to have asked the man to exit the aircraft. He refused and Australian Federal Police officers were called. When officers boarded the plane the man continued to act aggressively and became embroiled in a tussle with officers. He is then alleged to have lashed out and head butted one policeman twice before attempting to bash other officers. The officer who was head butted was knocked to the ground for about one minute before he was helped back up to his feet, Nine News reported. Two AFP officers are believed to have been injured in the incident. The unidentified man was then removed the plane and was charged with multiple offences, including assaulting and resisting police. He will appear in Sydney Downing Centre Local Court on July 23. The 26-year-old man (pictured) had been on a Sydney flight bound for Melbourne when he allegedly started acting abusively When officers arrived at the scene the man is alleged to have become more aggressive and became embroiled in a tussle with officers A spokesperson for AFP confirmed to Daily Mail Australia that officers responded to a request for assistance at Terminal 2 in Sydney airport on Saturday afternoon. 'A 26-year-old male passenger on board a flight to Melbourne allegedly became disruptive. AFP officers attended and removed the passenger from the plane,' the spokesperson said. 'In the course of the man being removed from the flight, he allegedly assaulted two officers. Neither required medical treatment. 'Inquiries are ongoing at this stage and no further comment can be made.' A spokesperson for Jetstar said the airline will not tolerate this type of behaviour. The unidentified man was then removed the plane and was charged with multiple offences, including assaulting a police officer (File picture) 'A passenger boarding a Jetstar flight in Sydney became disruptive and abusive prior to take off,' they told Daily Mail Australia. 'Our crew attempted to calm the passenger however after the man's behaviour continued the crew contacted the AFP and the passenger was escorted off the flight. 'We take safety and security very seriously and this type of behaviour will not be tolerated on our aircraft.' Esther McVey has said the UK must prepare to leave the European Union with no deal. The former Work and Pensions Secretary, who is standing for the Tory leadership as a 'blue collar Conservative' platform. Ms McVey said this morning: 'The EU doesn't want to move, the UK therefore has to be prepared to leave. 'And as we know, with No Deal there is no backstop, so the best thing we can do is prepare to leave with No Deal.' former work and pensions secretary Esther McVey, who is standing for the Tory leadership, said the country should be ready to leave the EU with no deal The 'proud northerner' told Sky she said she is standing for 'regular people who pay into the system, work hard, but want to know they get something back.' She said the Brexit date of October 31 was 'now fixed' adding: 'We won't be asking for any more extensions that's one of the uncertainties that individuals, businesses, and the country don't want.' But, she added, the 'door is open' if the EU wishes to come back to offer a renegotiation. On the tortured issue of the Irish backstop, which sank three attempts by Mrs May to pass her Withdrawal Agreement, Ms McVey said an 'invisible border' would be possible to put in place even before October. An invisible border refers to plans to use number plate cameras and online pre-submission of customs forms to prevent customs checks at the one land border between the UK and the EU, in Northern Ireland. She said the 'door is open' if the EU wishes to come back to offer a renegotiation She told Sophie Ridge: 'We know the EU ain't going to put up a border, we know Ireland won't be putting up a border and we won't putting up a border.' Writing in the Sunday Telegraph today Ms McVey said: 'It is clear to see the publics view has hardened and its time to actively embrace leaving without a Withdrawal Agreement.' Ms McVey, who resigned from Theresa May's cabinet over the Withdrawal Agreement, said: 'It was always a poor deal and I preferred leaving without a deal. I therefore voted against it twice.' She said the Withdrawal Agreement 'ship has now sailed' and should be 'put out of its misery', and that paying 39bn for a lengthy implementation period will not 'cut the mustard' with 'an increasingly impatient public.' She argued: 'This country needs a genuinely bold, new approach. So we must now leave the EU on October 31 with a clean break.' Meanwhile her former Cabinet colleague Damian Green, a close ally of Mrs May's, said he would be supporting Matt Hancock in the forthcoming leadership contest and warned against a 'divisive' figure taking the helm. At least one person has died after a large earthquake with a magnitude of 8.0 struck the Amazon jungle in north-central Peru early Sunday. The quake, at a moderate depth of 68 miles struck at 2.41am, 50 miles southeast of the village of Lagunas and 98 miles northeast of the larger town of Yurimaguas. There were no immediate reports of casualties, although some buildings collapsed and power cuts were reported in a number of cities. Earthquakes that are close to the surface generally cause more destruction. Ricardo Seijas, chief of the National Emergency Operations Centre, said one person died when a rock fell on a house in the Huarango district. Scroll down for video A road in Cajamarca, Peru was completely destroyed by the tremors which struck in the early hours of Sunday Emergency services personnel inspect the damage caused the quake, which killed one person Residents fled their homes as power was cut off to at least one town, with the impact felt as far afield as neighbouring Ecuador A preliminary survey by authorities found that six people were injured and 27 homes damaged across seven provinces. Three schools, three hospitals and two churches were also affected. In a tweet, President Martin Vizcarra called for calm and said that authorities were checking the affected areas. Vizcarra posted on Twitter: 'The strong earthquake that occurred this morning was felt in several regions of the country. We're evaluating the affected areas. 'To all our citizens, I ask you to remain calm.' The mayor of Lagunas, Arri Pezo, told local radio station RPP that the quake was felt very strongly there, but it was not possible to move around the town because of the darkness. In Yurimaguas, a number of old houses collapsed, and the electricity was cut, according to the National Emergency Operations Center, which gave the magnitude of the quake as 7.2. In the capital, Lima, people ran out of their homes in fear. Earthquakes are frequent in Peru, which lies on the Pacific's so-called Ring of Fire. British student Leith Livingstone, who was in Montanita, Ecuador, told Mirror Online: 'I got woken up at approx 2.40am local time with the building I'm in shaking heavily back and forth the bed was being moved with it. 'I wasn't sure what was going on till everyone came in and said it was an earthquake. Pictures posted on Twitter showed areas of several Peruvian towns left devastated by the quake. Pictured: A partially collapsed shopping mall Peruvian President Martin Vizcarra (right) walking to board a flight from Lima to Yurimaguas with Civil Defence authorities to inspect the Amazonic area after a strong 8.0-earthquake struck northern Peru in the early hours Authorities said no-one had been injured in the quake but several buildings in the region collapsed 'The shaking lasted at least a minute.' The USGS wrote: 'This earthquake occurred in a segment of the subducted plate that has produced frequent earthquakes with focal depths of 100 to 150 km. 'Earthquakes like this event, with focal depths between 70 and 300 km, are commonly termed 'intermediate-depth' earthquakes. 'Intermediate-depth earthquakes represent deformation within subducted slabs rather than at the shallow plate interface between subducting and overriding tectonic plates. 'They typically cause less damage on the ground surface above their foci than is the case with similar-magnitude shallow-focus earthquakes, but large intermediate-depth earthquakes may be felt at great distance from their epicenters.' It comes just two months after a quake with magnitude of 7.1 struck southern Peru, amid a mass of activity under the Pacific 'Ring of Fire' that sent 46 separate tremors through countries situated on the famous disaster zone. The tremors struck in the middle of the night 50 miles southeast of the village of Lagunas and 98 miles northeast of the larger town of Yurimaguas A house damaged by an 8.0 earthquake in Yurimaguas, Peru, early on Sunday morning An aerial view shows a landslide caused by an 8.0 earthquake in Yurimaguas, in the Amazon region, Peru People salvage belongings after a quake damaged their house in Yurimaguas A road is left cracked after the earthquake struck San Martin, Peru in the early hours of Sunday The epicenter of the tremor was 80 kilometers (49.7 miles) southeast of Lagunas district at a depth of 115 kilometers (71.4 miles) Advertisement A smiling Theresa May arrived at church this morning with her husband Philip - and had another encounter with Blitz the Border Collie. The Prime Minister, who announced on Friday that she is to quit her post in June, attended her weekly service at St Andrews church in her Maidenhead constituency as fellow Tories battle to succeed her. Mrs May is to continue in her post while a new Conservative Party leader is chosen, but looked relaxed as she greeted the friendly dog, named Blitz and walked with her husband. Boris Johnson, the leading contender to replace her as prime minister, is set for a furious battle with party rivals, with seven others having announced that they are to run. This morning Brexiteer Michael Gove, who famously torpedoed Boris Johnson's leadership bid in 2016 to run himself, announced that he is to have another attempt at becoming prime minister. This is while other contenders appeared on politics shows across broadcasters to get their points across. A smiling Theresa May arrived at church this morning with her husband Philip. She is set to step down from her role as Prime Minister on June 7 Theresa May (pictured above) seemed in high spirits this morning as she arrived at church and was greeted by Blitz the Border Collie As she arrived at St Andrews Church, in Sonning, Berkshire, Mrs May looked relaxed as she and husband Philip smiled for the cameras (left) and was also smiling when Blitz came to greet her (right) Michael Gove (pictured above) announced this morning that he will be running for leadership of the Tory party and said he was ready to deliver Brexit Esther McVey (pictured above) appeared on Sky News earlier today where she said that the UK needs to be ready for a no deal Brexit Speaking outside his home earlier today Mr Gove said: 'I can confirm that I will be putting my name forward to be prime minister of this country. 'I believe that I'm ready to unite the Conservative and Union Party, ready to deliver Brexit, and ready to lead this great country.' This echoes the 2016 Conservative contest when Gove famously sank Johnson's campaign by quitting as its chairman and insisting he was unfit to be leader. Gove's entry into the race for Downing Street grows an already crowded field of prime ministerial hopefuls which has seen big beasts Dominic Raab and Andrea Leadsom set out their leadership stalls today. Mrs May (right) is to continue in her post while a new Conservative Party leader is chosen and it looked as though a weight had been lifted off her shoulders today as she attended church with her husband (left) The pressure's off: Mrs May can now enjoy her last few weeks in government and appeared all smiles today, following a tearful address earlier this week Mrs May leaves church after the service, with photographers out in full force as Blitz the Border Collie seems unphased by the media attention But Liz Truss, who has been ramping up efforts to appeal to the free-market wing of the party and was supposedly poised to make her pitch, announced that she would not be standing. Johnson, who is popular with the Tory grassroots and is perceived as the favourite to succeed the embattled Theresa May, has come under fire from Gove who reportedly claims to be more 'capable' and have the better 'track record'. In a BBC podcast, Gove will say that 'it is not enough for them [next leader] to just believe in Brexit. The next leader must respect it, believe in it and, crucially, have the wherewithal to deliver it,' according to the Sunday Times. Despite last week hailing his former rival as a man of 'intellect', this latest jibe will heap tension on the warring pair who fell out in the aftermath of the referendum. No running through wheat fields today! Mrs May and her husband were pictured walking through the garden to the church this morning where they then enjoyed the service Blitz the Border Collie didn't seem aware of the drama brewing in the Conservative Party and seemed pleased to see Theresa May and her husband Philip Gove also tried to rally Brexiteer MPs to his campaign by telling them that while Johnson was the face of the Vote Leave team, he put in the grunt work of TV debates, according to the Sunday Telegraph. And the Environment Secretary is not alone in trying to leapfrog Johnson in the polls and position himself as Mrs May's successor. Blitz the Border Collie Blitz greeted the Prime Minister this morning as she arrived at church. Mrs May had previously found favour with the pooch on Christmas Day, after she gifted him a toy. On Christmas Day the Prime Minister was sure to bring a gift for Blitz The dog instantly recognised the PM who she has admitted to being a fan of and who she sees regularly on her Sunday morning church visits. Mrs May had also previously been pictured playing fetch with Blitz. The Prime Minister and her husband pictured today greeting Blitz Advertisement Esther McVey appeared on Sky News this morning and said the EU isn't prepared to move on the deal. 'And as we know, with No Deal there is no backstop, so the best thing we can do is prepare to leave with No Deal.' The 'proud northerner' told Sky she said she is standing for 'regular people who pay into the system, work hard, but want to know they get something back.' She said the Brexit date of October 31 was 'now fixed' adding: 'We won't be asking for any more extensions that's one of the uncertainties that individuals, businesses, and the country don't want.' But, she added, the 'door is open' if the EU wishes to come back to offer a renegotiation. On the tortured issue of the Irish backstop, which sank three attempts by Mrs May to pass her Withdrawal Agreement, Ms McVey said an 'invisible border' would be possible to put in place even before October. An invisible border refers to plans to use number plate cameras and online pre-submission of customs forms to prevent customs checks at the one land border between the UK and the EU, in Northern Ireland. She told Sophie Ridge: 'We know the EU ain't going to put up a border, we know Ireland won't be putting up a border and we won't putting up a border.' Writing in the Sunday Telegraph today Ms McVey said: 'It is clear to see the publics view has hardened and its time to actively embrace leaving without a Withdrawal Agreement.' Ms McVey, who resigned from Theresa May's cabinet over the Withdrawal Agreement, said: 'It was always a poor deal and I preferred leaving without a deal. I therefore voted against it twice.' She said the Withdrawal Agreement 'ship has now sailed' and should be 'put out of its misery', and that paying 39bn for a lengthy implementation period will not 'cut the mustard' with 'an increasingly impatient public.' She argued: 'This country needs a genuinely bold, new approach. So we must now leave the EU on October 31 with a clean break.' Meanwhile her former Cabinet colleague Damian Green, a close ally of Mrs May's, said he would be supporting Matt Hancock in the forthcoming leadership contest and warned against a 'divisive' figure taking the helm. Former work and pensions secretary Esther McVey, who is standing for the Tory leadership, said the country should be ready to leave the EU with no deal Esther McVey (pictured above on Sky News) said the Withdrawal Agreement 'ship has now sailed' and should be 'put out of its misery' Yesterday Mr Hancock announced his candidacy by telling the BBC: 'Yes. I'm going to run to be the next prime minister.' He followed Jeremy Hunt who gave a very heavy hint that he will also run by saying on Friday: 'I'll make the announcement on my own candidacy at the appropriate time.' Others to have said they are throwing their hat in the ring are former work and pensions secretary Esther McVey and Rory Stewart, the International Development Secretary. Former Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab launched his own leadership bid today in an article for the Mail on Sunday. The hardline Eurosceptic pledged to 'demonstrate unflinching resolve' to secure Britain's exit from the EU and vowed to leave with no deal if necessary. This position was mirrored by fellow Brexiteer and candidate Andrea Leadsom who told the Sunday Times that she would be prepare to walk away from negotiations with the 27-member bloc to secure a timely departure. Leadsom's withdrawal in 2016 paved the way for May to take the keys to Number 10 after claims that being a mother gave her an edge over the then Home Secretary backfired. Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt is seen as a dark horse in the race and as a converted Brexiteer is positioning himself as a unity candidate. Johnson also took flak from development secretary and leadership contender Rory Stewart who said he would refused to serve in his cabinet. It has also been revealed that former Prime Minister David Cameron could also be eyeing a comeback. Brexiteer MPs fear the former Prime Minister could team up with his old ally George Osborne after claims that the ex-Chancellor privately hinted he harboured ambitions to return to government. Despite the drama of the last few days, the Prime Minister managed to muster a smile whilst attending a church service today Any attempt by Mr Cameron to return to the Commons is likely to prove highly controversial. The Tory Party has been bitterly divided since the referendum which he called in 2016. But allies point to Mr Camerons record as the only Tory leader to win a Commons majority in the past 27 years, and say that at the age of just 52, he has three decades of public service left in him. One source claimed last night that friends of Mr Cameron had made discreet enquiries about standing in Sevenoaks one of the safest Tory seats in the country after the expected retirement of the sitting MP Sir Michael Fallon. However, Mr Cameron denied last night that he planned to re-enter the Commons. Today Chancellor Philip Hammond warned Tory leadership candidates that Parliament would block a No Brexit Deal and said a No Deal would have serious implication for our country', adding: 'Parliament has voted very clearly to oppose a no deal exit'. Speaking on The Andrew Marr show this morning he said: 'This is a Parliamentary democracy. A Prime Minister who ignores Parliament cannot expect to survive very long. 'Some people on the hardline Brexit wing of my party have consistently failed to understand how the EU have approached this problem', adding that the EU had 'never wavered' from their plans on how to deal with the UK as a departing member. 'I hear a lot of my colleagues talking about 'wanting to do a deal' with the EU, but actually very many of them only want to do a deal that is entirely on their terms. They're not really proposing to negotiate with the European Union they're simply proposing to go to Brussels, once again, and tell the EU, once again, what it is they don't like about the Withdrawal Agreement.' Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond told Andre Marr that 'daring' Parliament to oppose a no deal Brexit would be a 'very dangerous strategy' 'The EU will not renegotiate the Withdrawal Agreement, I'm quite sure about that', he said. The Chancellor argued that Tories saying they would seek to renegotiate before leaving on no deal if necessary were offering the renegotiation as a 'figleaf' because EU internal politics, and timings of its sessions, would mean such a renegotiation was simply impossible before October. Saying that No Deal would have 'serious implication for our country' the Chancellor warned: 'Parliament has voted very clearly to oppose a no deal exit.' Ignoring Mr Marr's interjection that Parliament would not need to be consulted given existing legislation, he went on: 'This is a Parliamentary democracy. A Prime Minister who ignores Parliament cannot expect to survive very long.' Asked about plans outlined this morning by Dominic Raab to leave in October even if a deal is not done he said: 'Parliament will be vehemently opposed to that strategy.' 'Going to Parliament with a hard line, absolutist view, and daring Parliament to accept it, is quite a dangerous strategy.' Ruling himself out of the leadership race, but positioning himself as an elder statesman to be wooed by the contenders, Mr Hammond said he would be meeting with the candidates in a series of one-on-one meetings, insisting the race was about 'policies, not personalities.' On the same show Mr Raab said he was a 'details guy' in an apparent swipe at Mr Johnson. Dominic Raab (left) and Philip Hammond (right) didn't look too pleased to have been sat next to each other during the Andrew Marr Show this morning Despite insisting he would not be bad-mouthing any fellow Conservatives, Mr Raab's repetition of his eye for the fine print - he also mentioned his years as a lawyer and in the Foreign Office, twice - will be seen as an attempt to position himself as the 'serious' hard-Brexit candidate. Mr Raab said he would not request an extension on the Brexit departure date, blaming the outgoing PM for not being 'resolute' enough in her negotiations. He blamed poor tactics by Theresa May's team for the Brexit impasse and said as Brexit secretary he had been 'undermined' by others in the government. He said: 'We took no deal off the table. I don't want a WTO Brexit, but if w're not willing to walk away from a negotiation it doesn't focus the mind of the other side.' He said among his demands would be an end date for the Northern Irish backstop. He told the BBC that as PM he would not ask for an extension to Britain's departure on October 31, but denied he was the No Deal candidate, saying he would be the candidate to put Britain in the 'best position to leave with a deal'. Mr Raab (right) was quizzed by Andrew Marr (left). Raab said Brexit should have been used to take control of the UK's laws He estimated that 25bn of the 39bn saved in a no deal would be available to give as a boost to British business to help 'support British business through the transition'. He said: 'I don't think we were resolute enough ... it's become a miserly, dour, risk-management exercise rather than grasping the opportunity to take back control of our laws, our borders, and our money - and also to have the global advantage and opportunities that free trade brings.' Grammar school alumnus Mr Raab said his leadership of the party, and of the country, would include 'fighting for a fairer society' where 'a kid from a humble home gets their shot'. What are the odds for the next prime minister? Boris Johnson: 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, however, he is also distrusted by many tory MPs Has recently lost a lot of weight and smartened up his appearance Leadership odds 4/5 Dominic Raab: Shortlived Brexit secretary last year, replacing David Davis in the hot seat. He has won support from Davis and is in some circles regarded as more reliable than Johnson But walked in November over terms agreed by PM Voted for Brexit in 2016 Leadership odds 6/1 Michael Gove: 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. It's not clear however, that he will be able to win over the the membership Leadship odds 10/1 Jeremy Hunt: 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 and could receive significant cabinet support. He could suffer after being seen as sinking when May was on her way out Leadership odds 14/1 Rory Stewart: 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 He was only recently appointed to cabinet and has since mad errors during his public appearances Leadership odds 22/1 Andrea Leadsom: The Commons' Leader challenged May in 2016 Voted for Brexit Hosted Brexiteer 'pizza party' plot last year Increasingly outspoken Brexiteer, but will need to find a way to set herself apart from other candidates such as Johnson and Raab Leadership odds 12/1 Penny Mordaunt: The MP for Portsmouth North is a Royal Navy reservist Highly regarded in Brexiteer circles She has been consistently tipped to quit over Brexit but remains in the Cabinet Once appeared in a swimsuit in a reality TV show. Some say she lack the experience required and would also need to appeal to younger voters Leadership odds 20/1 Sir Graham Brady: Quit on Friday as chairman of the 1922 Committee of backbench MPs He went into Downing Street on Friday to tell Mrs May time was up But his name was oddly missing from a later statement on leadership Leadership odds 33/1 Sajid Javid: The most senior cabinet contender, he was a front runner but seems to have slipped back 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 25/1 Matt Hancock: The youngest front-runner at 40 A Remainer who now backs Theresa May's Brexit deal. He is known to have stayed out of the line of fire He wants the party to look to the future and attract younger voters Leadership odds 50/1 Steve Baker: He has been the ultimate hardliner on Brexit and takes a no compromise approach to the situation Despite this he is known to be disliked by moderate Tory MPs who prefer the ERG party What may stand in his favour is that he never backed Mrs May's deal when the likes of Johnson and Raab did Leadership odds 50/1 Esther McVey: She has previously said that Britain should be able to leave the EU without a deal and had maintained her hard line stance Her supporters claim she is a strong media performer Colleagues in Westminster were not impressed with her as a minister and it's not clear on how she will stand against other candiadates Leadership odds: 50/1 Advertisement Britain awaits a Brexit Party landslide: European election turnout is projected to be UP to 38% in promising sign for Farage as he boasts he'll be 'king maker' in Tory leadership battle The whole of the UK is eagerly awaiting the European Union election results as it has been revealed that the turnout was up 38 per cent, an increase of 2 per cent from 2014. The turnout in many areas had especially increased in those places that had voted to remain in the EU in the 2016 referendum vote. People across Europe will continue to head to the polls today to cast their votes, with leaders from Belgium to Spain having been out this morning to make their decision. It comes as Nigel Farage has also called himself a 'king maker' in the Conservative Party leadership battle. The Brexit Party leader claimed that leadership hopefuls would have to earn his support if they wanted to be in with a chance of winning. Nigel Farage (pictured above) said the new Prime Minister would have to win him over. He is pictured above on Friday on his way to vote in the European elections Across Europe today many are still casting their votes. Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel (pictured above) was seen out at a polling station Voters across the UK turned out on Friday to cast their vote and boxes could be seen stacked up in areas such as Wealden (left) and Cambridgeshire (right) Speaking to Fox News he said that the new Prime Minister would have to accept the Brexiteer's policy of a no-deal Brexit. He boasted that his success at the European Parliament elections would set him up as a kingmaker in the heated contest. 'On Sunday night, we get the results of the European elections. The Conservative Party will get less than 10 percent of the vote. 'The Brexit Party which I founded six weeks ago is expected to top the polls with 35 percent. Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven casts his vote at a polling station during the European Parliament elections in Stockholm Pedro Sanchez (pictured above) casting his vote this morning as he seeks to form a new government and gain influence across the EU Ska Keller (pictured above), casts her vote during the European elections at a polling station in Berlin. The European Parliament election is being held by member countries of the European Union from 23 to 26 May 2019 'Whoever the Conservatives choose, whether it's Boris or not, without my support they won't win the next election.' Estimates from Number Cruncher Politics UK revealed that national turnout was up by around 38 per cent. Some of the strongest increases were where the Green Party did best in 2014, however it also appeared that turnout in Labour held areas had been worse. The analysis from Number Cruncher Politics shows where people are turning up to vote and also revealed that turnout was weakest in areas where UKIP was strongest in 2014. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban (pictured above) smiles before casting his vote at a polling station in Budapest Stefano Buffagni (pictured above) was seen putting his ballot paper into a box this morning in Italy. The 35-year-old looked in high spirits as he attended his local station in Milan 'Most of UKIP's 2014 voters will have voted for someone else this time, but this may be some less good news for the Brexit Party (though to be clear, this does NOT mean that they won't win)'. It also stated that the pattern wasn't clear when it came to where the Conservative's strengths were. 'A slight (though weak) positive correlation between Tory strength last time and turnout change but they may, of course be voting for the Brexit Party or Lib Dems.' People across Europe continues to take to the polls today with the Five Star Movement's party deputy Stefano Buffagni having caste his ballot at a polling station this morning. This is while Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez was pictured in Pozuelo de Alorcon casting his vote. Opposition leader Ska Keller, for the Green Party in Germany was also out early this morning to cast her vote in Berlin. While in Romanian, President Klaus Johannis was pictured in Bucharest, as was the former Prosecutor General of the Anti Corruption Department, Laira Codruta Kovesi. Other countries included in the vote include Hungary, and pone man was pictured casting his vote this morning in Budapest (above) Top candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) for the European Parliament elections, German Minister of Justice, Katarina Barley after casting her vote in the European elections at a polling station in Schweich Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras prepares to cast his vote for the European and local elections at a polling station in Athens Voting in Sweden was also taking place in Lund. There are currently 751 members of the EU Parliament, including 20 from Sweden If the stresses of modern life are getting in the way, then it might be time for you to head to one of Britain's most remote spots, but you need to be quick, as they are becoming few and far between. Off the beaten track areas are under attack, as new research has found that we are never further than six miles away from a road whilst on mainland, as developments and infrastructure keep destroying the bliss of the British countryside. According to data from the Ordnance Survey the most remote spot in the UK lies in the Scottish Highlands. The stunning wild brown trout loch near the east of Gairloch is hard to find and access is limited on the nearest minor road, 5.7 miles away. However there is also an A-road just 6.6 miles away. Fionn Loch, pictured, is the most remote part of the UK lies in the Scottish Highlands (pictured above) which is only accessible by a minor road In Wales, the most remote spot is in the Brecon Beacons national park, the Black Mountains This is while in England, the most remote place is in the Yorkshire Dales on Riggs Moor The map above shows where the most remote places of the UK are situated in relation to some of the biggest cities in the UK This is while in England, the most remote place is in the Yorkshire Dales on Riggs Moor, which is a national park and is 2.4 miles from a restricted local-access road. In Wales, the most remote spot is in the Brecon Beacons national park, the Black Mountains. It's less than three miles from the village of Glynatawe which is a hamlet and parish on the upper reaches of the River Tawe. Speaking to The Sunday Times, an explorer and former president of the Royal Geographical Society, Nicholas Crane said he thought there was 'no genuine wildlife left in Britain'. 20-years-ago Crane walked the lengths of England for a book, 'Two Degrees West' and highlighted that the biggest change he has seen is the rise in traffic. The Scottish Highlands (above) have always been popular with tourists however some have said that even the most remote places are now being rated on Trip Advisor The superbly shaped mountain of Suilven seen here in late autumn, with its refection upon the waters of Fionn Loch Winter sunset from Sugar Loaf in the Black Mountains, Brecon Beacons National Park 'There is no longer such a thing as a secret place. Even the most obscure Highland bothies are rated on TripAdvisor.' He told of a trip he had taken with his wife to stay on the uninhabited Hebridean island, and said his wife had burst into tears when a sea kayaker arrived. This is while the president of the Campaign to Protect Rural England, Emma Bridgewater, said that we were 'deluded' to think we could 'do without wilderness'. She added: 'Thomas Hardy, Wordsworth, Keats described a very different landscape, which has almost entirely disappeared.' She also mentioned Kelling Heath in Norfolk as a place where you can get back to nature and said you could still hear birds singing. The Hebridean Islands has a small population and many visit it in order to experience solace. But some have found that that is no longer the case Others who have explored all the countryside has to offer, have also said that there are few places which had been left untouched by roads or developments. Mark Clarke, who penned the book 'High Point', about his journey to climb the highest point of Britain's 85 historic counties said there are still some 'honeypots' left that people can visit. He said on quiet weekdays, those looking to escape the hustle and bustle can still enjoy all that nature has to offer in places such as Snowdon and Scafell Pike. He also revealed that while hiking through these places, there were times that he hadn't seen anyone for five or six hours. A hiker walking down towards Seathwaite, Grains Gill from Scafell Pike in the English Lake District Scafell Pike (above) is one of the places not spoiled. Pictured above are hikers descending the during winter months Advertisement Revellers across the country celebrated the first full day of the long weekend by partying into the early hours yesterday. Britons made the most of the glorious weather for the three-day Spring Bank Holiday and carried on their celebrations into the night as the country basked in temperatures up to 73F (23C). Many party-goers dressed in their finest to hit up the boozy establishments of Blackpool for the festivities. But it appears some took on more than they could handle and ended the night slumped on pavements and being carried home by friends after a long day of drinking. Paramedics were on hand to help those struggling at the end of the night and supportive friends carried each other home after the exuberant celebrations. Expect more of the same today even though the weather looks to take a turn with showers predicted across the country. In Blackpool, party-goers made the most of the long weekend by partying into the early hours last night and these two were clearly making the most of the festivities Some appeared to take on more than they could handle and ended the night slumped over the shoulder of a supportive friend, like this unfortunate woman The long day took its toll on some and this woman gave her feet a well-earned rest after a day of dancing by taking off her heels in the street Paramedics were on hand to help those in need and offer a bowl for some who were struggling to keep everything down after a long day Concerned friends and paramedics look on as a woman lies on the ground in the early hours of the first of the three-day weekend Many dressed up in their finest for the wild night of celebrations which saw these four end up outside a kebab shop After a sunny afternoon, the rain came down on the streets of Blackpool but that did not dampen the spirits of these revellers This pair rocked a monochromatic look as they partied on the streets to celebrate the Spring Bank Holiday with an extra day to recover from a potential hangover Police were on hand to watch over the festivities and intervened and escorted away this unfortunate party-goer This pair chose to wear all-white ensembles for the night on the tiles as Britons across the country hit the pubs and clubs Late night takeaways proved a hit with the Blackpool revellers who needed sustenance at the end of the long day Britons were making the most of the final Bank Holiday until late August by celebrating the sunny weather with their close friends A woman with a red visor dashes through the Blackpool streets on a night of carnage which saw many requiring medical assistance This man appears rather worse for wear and is struggling to hold down the contents of his stomach but at least he has his two friends to guide him home Paramedics assist a woman who needs medical assistance as they transport her on a gurney towards their ambulance After a boozy day in Blackpool, this man takes to the water as his two friends look after him at the side of an ambulance The rain made an appearance towards the end of the night but fortunately this reveller was well-prepared with her sleeveless hooded coat In a softly-spoken pitch for the Tory leadership this morning, former Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab told the BBC's Andrew Marr 'I'm a details guy' three times in an apparent side-swipe at his boisterous leadership rival Boris Johnson. He joined Michael Gove, Jeremy Hunt, Rory Stewart and Matt Hancock in veiled attacks on Mr Johnson, his policy positions, or his work ethic, as the campaign against the Tory front-runner intensified. Despite insisting he would not be bad-mouthing any fellow Conservatives, Mr Raab's repetition of his eye for the fine print - he also mentioned his years as a lawyer and in the Foreign Office, twice - will be seen as an attempt to position himself as the 'serious' hard-Brexit candidate. Mr Raab said he would not request an extension on the Brexit departure date, blaming the outgoing PM for not being 'resolute' enough in her negotiations. What are the odds? Bookies make Boris the favourite and Cameron a 200/1 long shot Bookmakers Willian Hill are offering odds on dozens of Tory MPs and MEPs to be next party leader. Of those who have said they'll run the odds are: Boris Johnson: 13/8 Domin Raab: 4/1 Michael Gove: 5/1 Jeremy Hunt: 10/1 Rory Stewart: 14/1 Andrea Leadsom: 16/1 Matt Hancock: 25/1 Esther McVey: 66/1 Tories who are know to be considering a run are at longer odds, including Penny Mordaunt at 22/1, and Sajid Javid and 1922 Committee Chairman Graham Brady, both at 25/1. Punters can also bet on big names highly unlikely to stand, including: Jacob Reed-Mogg: 66/1 Dan Hannan: 200/1 David Cameron: 200/1 Chris Grayling: 250/1 Advertisement He blamed a lack of 'resolution' among the UK government team for the Brexit impasse, and said as Brexit secretary he had been 'undermined' by others in the government. He said: 'We took no deal off the table. I don't want a WTO Brexit, but if w're not willing to walk away from a negotiation it doesn't focus the mind of the other side.' He said among his demands would be an end date for the Northern Irish backstop. He told the BBC that as PM he would not ask for an extension to Britain's departure on October 31, but denied he was the No Deal candidate, saying he would be the candidate to put Britain in the 'best position to leave with a deal'. He estimated that 25bn of the 39bn saved in a no deal would be available to give as a boost to British business to help 'support British business through the transition'. He said: 'I don't think we were resolute enough ... it's become a miserly, dour, risk-management exercise rather than grasping the opportunity to take back control of our laws, our borders, and our money - and also to have the global advantage and opportunities that free trade brings.' Grammar school alumnus Mr Raab said his leadership of the party, and of the country, would include 'fighting for a fairer society' where 'a kid from a humble home gets their shot'. This morning Brexiteer Michael Gove, who famously torpedoed Boris Johnson's leadership bid in 2016 to run himself, announced that he is to have another attempt at becoming prime minister. Speaking outside his home The Environment Secretary said: 'I can confirm that I will be putting my name forward to be prime minister of this country. 'I believe that I'm ready to unite the Conservative and Union Party, ready to deliver Brexit, and ready to lead this great country.' Just minutes before Boris Johnson's planned launch of his own campaign during the 2016 leadership race his close ally Mr Gove entered the race himself, quitting as Johnson's campaign chairman and insisting the former Mayor of London was unfit to be leader. Johnson, who is popular with the Tory grassroots and is perceived as the favourite to succeed the embattled Theresa May, has come under fire from Gove who reportedly claims to be more 'capable' and have the better 'track record'. In a BBC podcast, Gove says 'it is not enough for them [next leader] to just believe in Brexit. The next leader must respect it, believe in it and, crucially, have the wherewithal to deliver it.' The Environment Secretary also insists he has 'evolved' as a politician since previously stating he was 'incapable' of being prime minister. He told BBC Radio 4 podcast, Political Thinking with Nick Robinson: 'In those three years I have been through a variety of experiences. 'I led, some people may lament this, but I lead the campaign to leave the European Union and that involved going up head to head with David Cameron and others in the debate formats that we had. 'And being tested during that campaign, having had time to reflect when I was on the backbenches and then coming back into government. 'I think that I've evolved as a politician, but, obviously, we'll see in the course of the next few days and weeks who people think has what it takes.' Michael Gove joined fellow Tories in implying Mr Johnson did not have the work ethic for the top job, stressing the new leader must have the 'wherewithal' to deliver Brexit Theresa May announced her resignation on Friday and will step down on June 7. Parliamentary party members will begin whittling down the field of contenders to a final two from June 10. The finalists will then be put to a postal ballot of 100,000 party members in July. Mrs May will stay on as Prime Minister until the new leader is chosen. The list of candidates to replace her already including Johnson, Gove, Raab and Andrea Leadsom from the Brexit wing of the party as well as Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, who campaigned for Remain but has since reversed his stance. The field grew further on Saturday when moderates Health Secretary Matt Hancock and International Development Secretary Rory Stewart entered the race. Brexit moderates Matt Hancock (l) and Rory Stweart (r) have also entered the leadership race Leaving the European Union without an agreement is 'not an active policy choice that is available to the next prime minister,' Hancock told Sky News. Mr Johnson has said the UK under his leadership would leave the EU in OCtober 'deal or no deal. And International Development Secretary Rory Stewart is also positioning himself as a more consensus-seeking alternative to Johnson. 'It now seems that (Johnson) is coming out for a no-deal Brexit,' Stewart told BBC radio. 'I think it would be a huge mistake. Damaging, unnecessary, and I think also dishonest.' Chancellor Philip Hammond warned that Johnson's stated plan to take the UK out of the EU with or without a deal would be blocked by Parliament - and even suggested he might be prepared to vote to bring down a Johnson government which tried to do so. Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond told Andre Marr that 'daring' Parliament to oppose a no deal Brexit would be a 'very dangerous strategy' Mr Hammond, a strong opponent of a no deal exit, told the BBC this morning that that No Deal would have 'serious implication for our country', adding: 'Parliament has voted very clearly to oppose a no deal exit. 'This is a Parliamentary democracy. A Prime Minister who ignores Parliament cannot expect to survive very long.' He added: 'Going to Parliament with a hard line, absolutist view, and daring Parliament to accept it, is quite a dangerous strategy.' He also warned he might even be prepared to take the drastic step of voting to bring down a future Conservative government in order to avoid no-deal. Asked if whether he would vote against the Government on a no-deal withdrawal if he were a backbencher in the autumn, the Chancellor said: 'I would certainly not support a strategy to take us out with no deal.' On whether he would vote against the Government in a confidence motion in the circumstance of no deal, Mr Hammond said: 'It's a hypothetical question because I don't know what the confidence motion is. 'What I would say is that in 22 years in Parliament, I have never voted against the Conservative whip, unlike many of my colleagues, and I don't want to have to start now contemplating such a course of action.' He added: 'I don't want to be put in that situation. So my focus will be trying to ensure that I don't find myself facing that challenge.' Asked again if he could vote against the Government on a confidence motion, the Chancellor said: 'I'm saying this is a very difficult situation. It would challenge not just me, but many of our colleagues, and I hope we will never get to that position.' Former House of Commons leader Andrea Leadsom, whose resignation on Thursday pushed May towards stepping down, has also confirmed she will run. She told reporters outside her home this lunchtime she believed she was the 'decisive and compassionate leader' who could unite the country. She refused to speculate on which other candidates she could or could not work with saying she would set out her own stall for running the country once the campaign gets underway. Asked if she would be prepared to leave without a deal she said: 'Of course in order to be able to succeed in a negotiation you have to be prepared to leave without a deal. 'But I have a three- point plan for Brexit, for how we get out of the European Union, I'm very optimistic about it.' So who will replace Theresa? Bookies' favourite Boris is ODDS-ON to take May's crown By James Tapsfield and David Wilcock for MailOnline Boris Johnson is now odds-on to replace Theresa May's after her decision to resign on June 7 fired the official starting gun on the race to succeed her. The long-term favourite has roared into a commanding lead to win the vote to take over as Tory leader and become the Prime Minister who will be faced with delivering Brexit. But the field in the contest due to take place in June and July is likely to be wide, with more than a dozen ministers, former ministers and backbenchers believed to be ready to run. Some like Mr Johnson, Rory Stewart and Esther McVey have already announced they will run and Jeremy Hunt announced to his local paper this morning that he was going for it. Other frontrunners believed to be ready include Dominic Raab, Sajid Javid and Andrea Leadsom. But a few outsiders have seen their odds shorten this morning, including hardline Brexiteer Steve Baker and even Sir Graham Brady, the chairman of the backbench 1922 Committee. 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 split from his wife Marina and is in a relationship with former Conservative staffer Carrie Symonds 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 10/11 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 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 5/1 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. Dominic Raab has become a cheerleader for a hard Brexit since stepping down as Brexit secretary in November 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 12/1 The former Commons' Leader piled pressure on the Prime Minister by announcing her own resignation from the Cabinet on Wednesday. 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. In a brutal resignation letter she said: 'I no longer believe that our approach will deliver on the referendum result.' 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. 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. 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 16/1 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. 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. On Wednesday, 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 25/1 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. 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. 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 50/1 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. Steve Baker: Brexiteer 'Spartan' and self-styled 'hardman' who refused to budge over Brexit Brexit 'hardman' Steve Baker has previously threatened to leave the Tories over Brexit Former Brexit minister who resigned last year A member of the European Research Group which has has opposed Theresa May's deal in every vote Threatened to quit the Tories over Brexit earlier this year Leadership odds 50/1 The High Wycombe MP, 47, is a Brexit purist who has never backed Theresa May's deal. In March he even threatened to quit the party over the issue, saying: 'We've been put in this place by people whose addiction to power without responsibility has led them to put the choice of No Brexit or this deal. 'I may yet resign the whip than be part of this.' The married former RAF engineer officer described himself as a 'hardman' in a TV interview this year, only to be shown shortly afterwards in a dsocumentary crying in his office. Today he told the BBC: 'There is no point shying away from it, people have been asking me to stand. I have had a degree of support from across the country that I could never have foreseen. 'I have also had some MPs asking me to stand but I need to face up to the challenge of taking a decision on whether I should do it. Sir Graham Brady: Backbench kingmaker with an eye on the throne? The chairman of the influential 1922 Committee of backbench MPs has played a key but neutral role in the downfall of Theresa May The chairman of the 1922 Committee of backbench MPs He went into Downing Street today to tell Mrs May time was up But his name was oddly missing from a later statement on leadership Leadership odds 50/1 The chairman of the influential 1922 Committee of backbench MPs has played a key but neutral role in the downfall of Theresa May. Despite being a Brexiteer he has been an independent arbiter, overseeing the no-confidence vote Mrs May survived in December and reportedly opposing attempts to change the rules to dethrone her early. The married father of two has held several meetings with the PM in recent weeks as the mutiny against her grew and this morning saw her in Downing Street where he told her that her time was up. But his name was conspicuously absent from a later Conservative Party statement about how the leadership election would happen. The three signatories - including his two 1922 deputies - ruled themselves out of running, leaving people to wonder whether he would run. His Brexiteer credentials and honourable display as Mrs May was brought down will count in his favour but he lacks frontbench experience, having a sole three-year stint as a shadow Europe minister 15 years ago on his CV. Esther McVey: Former TV presenter and minister who quit Government over Brexit 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 66/1 The former television journalist, is engaged to fellow Tory backbench Brexiteer Philip Davies, 47 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'. Festival-goers 'collapsed' and let out screams after long queues saw impatient crowds push through security barriers at a London festival. A video and photos show barriers being lifted in the air as crowds of t-shirt clad revellers rush past barriers to get in to We Are FSTVL, in Upminster, yesterday. Witnesses said a lack of wristbands triggered the rush of people running past staff to get into the event, and one man later posted photos of bruises to his leg caused by the crush. Videos and photos show barriers being lifted in the air as crowds of t-shirt clad revellers rush past barriers to get in to We Are FSTVL, in Upminster Witnesses said a lack of wristbands triggered the rush of people running past staff to get into the event, and one man later posted photos of bruises to his leg caused by the crush Hundreds of people who had waited in a three-hour queue are seen in a video pushing through barriers as staff stand by. Barriers are pushed on the grass amid hoards of people, who then walk across them before carrying on into the attraction, and one man can be hear saying, 'what a joke!' Lewis Mitchell, 26, told The Sun Online he was injured after being 'stomped on' by a 'stampede'. He said: 'People had got fed up of waiting and forced the fences open, crushing people underneath. 'I tried to help a girl on the floor and ended up being pushed in to a wooden table then stomped on all over leading to these injuries. 'All I could see was a crowd of people treading on my legs,' he added. Hundreds of people who had waited in a three-hour queue are seen in a video pushing through barriers as staff stand by. The two-day festival's line up yesterday included Chase and Status, Bugzy Malone, and CamelPhat. One woman told the BBC that a woman was hit by a barrier which had been thrown into the crowds. 'A barrier got thrown into the crowds, the woman next to me got hit by it and it sliced a massive chunk out of her leg,' she said. 'She's passed out on the floor, security ran over to her and people were just charging through. 'They took out the barriers, pushed through security, punching security, just taking everyone out in their way,' she added. Another reveller who had travelled from Birmingham, Renardo Henry, 21, said some people passed out in the heat, but staff were just throwing water bottles into the crowds. Barriers are pushed on the grass amid hoards of people, who then walk across them before carrying on into the attraction, and one man can be hear saying, 'what a joke!' He added that he saw his friends 'getting crushed' and some people were 'crawling and crying' after being trampled on. In this video, crowds are seen rushing past barriers, while one man takes a running jump over them A We Are FSTVL spokesman siad: 'Due to unforeseen technical difficulties at the wristband exchange, customers had experienced longer waiting times and for that we apologise. 'Security were able to overcome these issues and barriers were quickly reinstated. Five customers sustained minor injuries and all were treated on site before rejoining the festival. 'The situation was quickly resolved and measures including providing additional queuing lanes and dedicated water distributors have been taken to change the process on site today for the benefit of all festival goers.' 'Our sincere apologies for anyone that was affected by the issue at the gate.' Former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce found out he lost his role as Special Envoy for Drought Assistance and Recovery on Twitter. Sky News shared a video titled 'Barnaby Joyce doesn't look like he has retained his role as special envoy to the drought' to social media on Sunday, ahead of Prime Minister Scott Morrison announcing his cabinet. 'Just found out from you guys then,' Mr Joyce wrote in response to the tweet. Former National Party Leader Barnaby Joyce (right) found out he lost his role as Special Envoy for Drought Assistance and Recovery via a tweet from Sky News Sky News posted a news segment to its Twitter titled 'Barnaby Joyce doesn't look like he has retained his role as special envoy to the drought' The tweet was the first Mr Joyce had heard that he wouldn't retain the role according to his reply (pictured) Just days ago Mr Joyce was on the Tingha Plateau in New South Wales talking about the work the Rapid Relief Team AU in donating 25 tonnes of fencing to farmers struggling through the drought. Mr Joyce was appointed as the Special Envoy for Drought Assistance and Recovery in August of 2018, giving him the power to advice the government on drought relief policy. 'This is a national crisis and we've got to approach it as such,' Mr Joyce said after his appointment. When the role was first announced the key dates and progress were only set out until March of 2019, ending with a drought round table from with stakeholders from across the country. So far the only envoy announced by the government was Queensland MP Warren Entsch who is now the special envoy to the Great Barrier Reef. Prime Minister Scott Morrison made the announcement during a press conference revealing his cabinet in Canberra on Sunday. 'Warren has a passion across a whole range of issues in relation to the reef ... and he has a particular passion about oceans policy and the impact of plastics on our oceans,' Prime Minister Morrison said. The role of special envoy to Indigenous Australians, formally held by Tony Abbott, is also yet to be filled. Philip Hammond has told Tory leadership candidates including Boris Johnson and Dominic Raab any plans they may have for a no deal Brexit would be blocked by Parliament. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, a strong opponent of a no deal exit, he told the BBC this morning that that No Deal would have 'serious implication for our country', adding: 'Parliament has voted very clearly to oppose a no deal exit. He even refused to rule out voting against the government in a confidence motion on the issue. 'This is a Parliamentary democracy. A Prime Minister who ignores Parliament cannot expect to survive very long.' It came as the the Tory leadership race intensified on only the second full day since the Prime Minister's resignation, with Dominic Raab, Michael Gove, Jeremy Hunt, and Esther McVey setting out their stall in print and on television as a 'Stop Boris' operation gained momentum. Both former Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab, and leadership front runner Boris Johnson, have said the UK will leave the EU on October 31 whether or not a deal can be reached. Mr Hammond said: 'Some people on the hardline Brexit wing of my party have consistently failed to understand how the EU have approached this problem', adding that the EU had 'never wavered' from their plans on how to deal with the UK as a departing member. He said: 'I hear a lot of my colleagues talking about 'wanting to do a deal' with the EU, but actually very many of them only want to do a deal that is entirely on their terms. 'They're not really proposing to negotiate with the European Union they're simply proposing to go to Brussels, once again, and tell the EU, once again, what it is they don't like about the Withdrawal Agreement.' 'The EU will not renegotiate the Withdrawal Agreement, I'm quite sure about that', he said. Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond told Andre Marr that 'daring' Parliament to oppose a no deal Brexit would be a 'very dangerous strategy' The Chancellor argued that Tories saying they would seek to renegotiate before leaving on no deal if necessary were offering the renegotiation as a 'figleaf' because EU internal politics, and timings of its sessions, would mean such a renegotiation was simply impossible before October. Saying that No Deal would have 'serious implication for our country' the Chancellor warned: 'Parliament has voted very clearly to oppose a no deal exit.' Ignoring Mr Marr's interjection that Parliament would not need to be consulted given existing legislation, he went on: 'This is a Parliamentary democracy. A Prime Minister who ignores Parliament cannot expect to survive very long.' Asked about plans outlined this morning by Dominic Raab to leave in October even if a deal is not done he said: 'Parliament will be vehemently opposed to that strategy.' 'Going to Parliament with a hard line, absolutist view, and daring Parliament to accept it, is quite a dangerous strategy.' He also warned he might even be prepared to take the drastic step of voting to bring down a future Conservative government in order to avoid no-deal. Mr Hammond told Andrew Marr: 'I think it would be very difficult for a prime minister who adopted no deal as a policy - we are leaving with no deal as a matter of policy - to retain the confidence of the House of Commons.' Asked if whether he would vote against the Government on a no-deal withdrawal if he was a backbencher in the autumn, the Chancellor said: 'I would certainly not support a strategy to take us out with no deal.' Asked again if he could vote against the Government on a confidence motion, the Chancellor said: 'I'm saying this is a very difficult situation. It would challenge not just me, but many of our colleagues, and I hope we will never get to that position.' On whether he would vote against the Government in a confidence motion in the circumstance of no deal, Mr Hammond said: 'It's a hypothetical question because I don't know what the confidence motion is. 'What I would say is that in 22 years in Parliament, I have never voted against the Conservative whip, unlike many of my colleagues, and I don't want to have to start now contemplating such a course of action.' He added: 'I would find it very difficult to vote for a no-deal Brexit, but I have never voted against my government, or my party, in the 22 years that I have been in Parliament. 'And I don't want to be put in that situation. So my focus will be trying to ensure that I don't find myself facing that challenge.' Asked again if he could vote against the Government on a confidence motion, the Chancellor said: 'I'm saying this is a very difficult situation. It would challenge not just me, but many of our colleagues, and I hope we will never get to that position.' Ruling himself out of the leadership race, but positioning himself as an elder statesman to be wooed by the contenders, Mr Hammond said he would be meeting with the candidates in a series of one-on-one meetings, insisting the race was about 'policies, not personalities.' Earlier today former Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab sought to differentiate himself from his fellow hard-Brexiteer Boris Johnson by telling Andrew Marr ''I'm a details guy' three times. He joined Michael Gove, Jeremy Hunt, Rory Stewart and Matt Hancock in veiled attacks on Mr Johnson, his policy positions, or his work ethic, as the campaign against the Tory front-runner intensified. Despite insisting he would not be bad-mouthing any fellow Conservatives, Mr Raab's repetition of his eye for the fine print - he also mentioned his years as a lawyer and in the Foreign Office, twice - will be seen as an attempt to position himself as the 'serious' hard-Brexit candidate. Mr Raab said he would not request an extension on the Brexit departure date, blaming the outgoing PM for not being 'resolute' enough in her negotiations. Mr Raab said in his time as Brexit secretary he had been 'undermined' by others in the government saying the UK should be more resolute in its negotiating position, and would be under his leadership. He said: 'We took no deal off the table. I don't want a WTO Brexit, but if w're not willing to walk away from a negotiation it doesn't focus the mind of the other side.' He said among his demands would be an end date for the Northern Irish backstop. He said: 'I don't think we were resolute enough ... it's become a miserly, dour, risk-management exercise rather than grasping the opportunity to take back control of our laws, our borders, and our money - and also to have the global advantage and opportunities that free trade brings.' Grammar school alumnus Mr Raab said his leadership of the party, and of the country, would include 'fighting for a fairer society' where 'a kid from a humble home gets their shot'. What are the odds? Bookies make Boris the favourite and Cameron a 200/1 long shot Bookmakers Willian Hill are offering odds on dozens of Tory MPs and MEPs to be next party leader. Of those who have said they'll run the odds are: Boris Johnson: 13/8 Domin Raab: 4/1 Michael Gove: 5/1 Jeremy Hunt: 10/1 Rory Stewart: 14/1 Andrea Leadsom: 16/1 Matt Hancock: 25/1 Esther McVey: 66/1 Tories who are know to be considering a run are at longer odds, including Penny Mordaunt at 22/1, and Sajid Javid and 1922 Committee Chairman Graham Brady, both at 25/1. Punters can also bet on big names highly unlikely to stand, including: Jacob Reed-Mogg: 66/1 Dan Hannan: 200/1 David Cameron: 200/1 Chris Grayling: 250/1 Advertisement This morning Brexiteer Michael Gove, who famously torpedoed Boris Johnson's leadership bid in 2016 to run himself, announced that he is to have another attempt at becoming prime minister. Speaking outside his home The Environment Secretary said: 'I can confirm that I will be putting my name forward to be prime minister of this country. 'I believe that I'm ready to unite the Conservative and Union Party, ready to deliver Brexit, and ready to lead this great country.' Just minutes before Boris Johnson's planned launch of his own campaign during the 2016 leadership race his close ally Mr Gove entered the race himself, quitting as Johnson's campaign chairman and insisting the former Mayor of London was unfit to be leader. In a BBC podcast, Gove will say that 'it is not enough for them [next leader] to just believe in Brexit. The next leader must respect it, believe in it and, crucially, have the wherewithal to deliver it,' according to the Sunday Times. Theresa May announced her resignation on Friday and will step down on June 7. Parliamentary party members will begin whittling down the field of contenders to a final two from June 10. The finalists will then be put to a postal ballot of 100,000 party members in July. Mrs May will stay on as Prime Minister until the new leader is chosen. The list of candidates to replace her already including Johnson, Gove, Raab and Andrea Leadsom from the Brexit wing of the party as well as Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, who campaigned for Remain but has since reversed his stance. The field grew further on Saturday when moderates Health Secretary Matt Hancock and International Development Secretary Rory Stewart entered the race. Leaving the European Union without an agreement is 'not an active policy choice that is available to the next prime minister,' Hancock told Sky News. And Cabinet newcomer Rory Stewart, 46, told the BBC Mr Johnson had told him recently that he had no plans to pursue a no deal Brexit, but when Boris announced his run he insisted the UK would leave the EU 'deal or no deal. 'We had a conversation about 20, 25 minutes and I left the room reassured by him that he wouldn't do this. 'But, it now seems that he is coming out for a no-deal Brexit.' Mr Stewart said there was no majority in the Commons for no deal, adding: 'I think it would be a huge mistake. Damaging, unnecessary, and I think also dishonest.' But Mr Johnson has pledged to take the country out of the EU in October - with or without a deal - if he wins the leadership race. Mr Stewart went on: I could not serve in a government whose policy was to push this country into a no-deal Brexit. 'I could not serve with Boris Johnson.' Then in a Tweet which has already received 5,000 Likes he seemed to compare the front runner to Pinocchio. Former House of Commons leader Andrea Leadsom, whose resignation on Thursday pushed May towards stepping down, has also confirmed she will run. She told reporters outside her home this lunchtime she believed she was the 'decisive and compassionate leader' who could unite the country. She refused to speculate on which other candidates she could or could not work with saying she would set out her own stall for running the country once the campaign gets underway. Asked if she would be prepared to leave without a deal she said: 'Of course in order to be able to succeed in a negotiation you have to be prepared to leave without a deal. 'But I have a three- point plan for Brexit, for how we get out of the European Union, I'm very optimistic about it.' Jeremy Hunt, pictured on a run today, referenced both small business and Homey's Odyssey in his pitch to be Tory leader Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt - seemingly in a bid to appeal to the party's middle-England base as well as its public school grandees - referenced both his small-business background and Homer's Odyssey as he made his pitch for the top job. Mr Hunt told the Sunday Times: 'If I was prime minister, I'd be the first prime minister in living memory who has been an entrepreneur by background. 'Doing deals is my bread and butter as someone who has set up their own business.' Mr Hunt's emphasis on his entrepreneurial past is being seen as swipe at Mr Johnson who reportedly once said 'f*** business' in relation to Brexit. In a reference to the mythical rocks and whirlpools between which Odysseus is said to have navigated on his epic voyage home from the Trojan war, Mr Hunt said. 'The real question is: who has got the experience to avoid the Scylla and Charybdis of no-deal or no Brexit. 'I've got very important experience in that respect. 'We can never take no-deal off the table but the best way of avoiding it is to make sure you have someone who is capable of negotiating a deal.' Ireland has voted to ease restrictions on divorce after the result of a landslide referendum. Married couples will now be able to legally divorce after living apart for two years. An 82 per cent Yes vote across Ireland was confirmed in the early hours of Sunday morning at Dublin Castle after 1.7million people cast their vote. Couples currently have to prove to a court that they have been separated for four of the previous five years before they can secure a divorce. A tallyman watches live results as ballot boxes are opened and counting begins in the local and European Elections and divorce referendum Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan is now set to bring forward a Bill to reduce the minimum living apart period to two out of three years. But he said 'core protections for marriage' will remain in the constitution. He said: 'The Government wants to ensure that the process for obtaining a divorce is fair, dignified and humane, and allows both parties to move forward with their lives within a reasonable time frame. 'It is therefore my intention to reduce the living apart period to a minimum of two out of the preceding three years and to do so by way of ordinary legislation, which I will bring forward as soon as possible.' The liberal change follows the recent trend in Ireland after historic votes to legalise same-sex marriage in 2015 and overturning the abortion ban last year. Voters were asked to amend the state's constitution to hand politicians the power to set the length of the 'pause period'. What are the recent changes to UK divorce laws? UK divorce laws are to be overhauled in the biggest shake-up for half a century. Ending the blame game Under laws announced last month, divorcing couples will no longer have to blame each other for the breakdown of their marriage in court. Currently in England and Wales, unless someone can prove there was adultery, unreasonable behaviour or desertion, the only way to obtain a divorce without their spouse's agreement is to live apart for five years. The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said this forces spouses wanting a divorce to submit evidence of a partner's wrongdoing or years of separation. They have to do this even when the decision to split is mutual. New process Spouses will be able to submit a 'statement of irretrievable breakdown' to apply for divorce under the new laws. There will also be the option for a joint application for divorce. Irretrievable breakdown of a marriage will remain as the sole ground for divorce. No more contested divorces While accounting for under 2 per cent of the approximately 120,000 divorces triggered each year, the ability of a husband or wife to contest proceedings is being scrapped. The MoJ said the practice is known to be misused by abusers to continue coercive and controlling behaviour. Ministers also said it takes both spouses to save a marriage, so allowing one to contest a divorce is of no use. Breathing space and an opportunity to turn back A minimum time frame of six months from petition to a divorce being finalised will be introduced under the proposals. The current two-stage legal process, currently known as decree nisi and decree absolute, will stay in place. However, it will take a minimum of 20 weeks to go from the petition stage to decree nisi and six weeks from decree nisi to decree absolute. What was wrong with the existing laws? Described as 'archaic' and 'outdated' by campaigners advocating reform, Britain's existing divorce laws had been shown to exacerbate conflict between divorcing couples, the MoJ said. A consultation also found the system was potentially working against any prospect of couples reconciling. A foremost concern was of the potential damage caused to children by undermining the relationship parents may have after divorce. What effect might the changes have on marriage? Justice Secretary David Gauke insisted the Government 'will always uphold the institution of marriage', but said the law should not create or increase conflict between divorcing couples. When will the changes be introduced? The MoJ said the new legislation is expected to be introduced as soon as parliamentary time allows. Advertisement Couples can currently secure a judicial separation in a shorter time frame, but they must then proceed to a second legal stage to obtain a formal court-approved divorce. Those advocating a No vote had warned against the prospect of 'quickie divorces', expressing concern about giving politicians a free hand to potentially reduce the waiting time even further in the future. A second element of the referendum focused on foreign divorces. The Yes vote is set to make it easier for those divorces to be recognised in Ireland. Josepha Madigan, Irish Culture Minister and advocate of the liberalisation of the nation's divorce laws, thanked those who voted in the referendum. Josepha Madigan, who advocated liberalisation of the nation's divorce laws, thanked those who voted In 2016 Ms Madigan moved a Private Member's Bill that proposed a liberalisation of the law, which led to the referendum. 'I think it's an emphatic, unequivocal result, and, even though we have a very low marital breakdown in Ireland, it just demonstrates the amount of people who stand in solidarity with them,' she said. 'It's a real groundswell of support and compassion for all those people suffering from marital breakdown and I really want to thank the Irish people for coming out and supporting them.' Israel's president said today that Jews are unsafe in Germany after a government official warned about the dangers of wearing a traditional yamulke skullcap. Reuven Rivlin said the warning by Germany's government commissioner on anti-Semitism, Felix Klein, was a 'capitulation to anti-Semitism'. Klein said in an interview yesterday: 'I cannot recommend to Jews that they wear the skullcap at times everywhere in Germany.' Israel's president Reuven Rivlin (right), pictured with prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has criticised Germany's warning about the dangers of wearing a Jewish skullcap The German government's top official against anti-Semitism says Jews should be cautious about where they wear the traditional headwear (pictured with German and Israeli flags) The number of anti-Semitic incidents rose in Germany last year, according to government statistics released earlier this month. Rivlin said Klein's remarks 'shocked' him, and while appreciating the German government's 'commitment to the Jewish community,' accused it of bowing to those targeting Jews in Germany. Felix Klein said he had changed his mind after latest statistics revealed a rise in anti-Semitism The Israeli president said: 'Fears about the security of German Jews are a capitulation to anti-Semitism and an admittance that, again, Jews are not safe on German soil. 'We will never submit, will never lower our gaze and will never react to anti-Semitism with defeatism - and expect and demand our allies act in the same way.' Anti-Semitic crimes rose by 20 percent in Germany last year, according to interior ministry data which blamed nine out of 10 cases on the extreme right. Klein, whose post was created last year, said while the far-right was to blame for the vast majority of anti-Semitic crime, some Muslims were also influenced by watching certain television channels 'which transmit a dreadful image of Israel and Jews'. Klein's comments came just weeks after Berlin's top legal expert on anti-Semitism said the issue remains entrenched in German society. Claudia Vanoni said: 'Anti-Semitism has always been here. But I think that recently, it has again become louder, more aggressive and flagrant.' Germany has a culture of atonement over atrocities committed during World War II, during which the ruling Nazis orchestrated the murder of some six million Jews in the Holocaust. Australia is known to be home to the world's deadliest snakes - but one scientist has claimed that isn't the case. Amphibian and reptile scientist Ruchira Somaweera said the claim is a myth, and that what makes a snake deadly goes beyond the amount of venom it produces. The CSIRO scientist made the claim despite the lucky country being home to some of the most venomous snakes in the world including the eastern brown and tiger snake. The amphibian and reptile scientist Ruchira Somaweera cast doubt on what he said is a myth created out of an a study focusing on toxicity but noted it was not necessarily specific to humans (stock image) 'Factors such as the quality of antivenom, our paramedical services and knowledge of first aid is really good here in Australia, which contributes to the negligible number of human deaths,' the told The Guardian. Dr Somaweera said the study failed to mention snakes that were extremely dangerous and aggressive such as vipers, which are common in Asia, Africa and South America. He said education on how to deal with snakes in Australia such as wearing closed in footwear and first aid training were a major reason snake deaths were uncommon. Dr Somaweera noted that countries such as India experience 10,000 deaths a year from snake bites. 'In the neighbouring island of Sri Lanka, an estimated 80,000 people get bitten by snakes annually, of which about 400 lose their lives,' Dr Somaweera said. 'It's clearly a massive issue and a real threat in other parts of the world, especially Asia, compared to Australia,' he said. Despite these factors Dr Somaweera said even when he has taken these factors in to consideration the eastern-brown and tiger snake still come out on top. The brown snake, that has the ability to kill a grown human within four hours, is naturally aggressive and fond of rural areas which increased the risk of human contact. Advertisement Bank Holiday revellers could be forced to cut their celebrations short as heavy rain and wide-spread showers are expected across most of the UK, according to the Met Office. And on top of that, Brits can expect to spend their time off stuck in traffic as motoring experts have predicted eight million more car journeys this Bank Holiday compared to last year. The RAC is warning that 22 million car journeys are expected with people set to make the most of a pleasant bank holiday weekend. Spectators of the Houghton horse trials in Norfolk were soaked as the Bank Holiday weather turned wet and cold today Wind swept: This woman had to use her umbrella to shield her from the wind as well as the rain during an outing in Norfolk this Bank Holiday Bank Holiday revellers could be forced to cut their celebrations short as heavy rain and wide-spread showers are expected across most of the UK, according to the Met Office. Rain hit Blackpool last night as party-goers hit the town Britons could be forced to spend their Bank Holiday stuck in traffic as motoring experts predict an estimated eight million more car journeys compared to last year. Pictured is the M40 near Solihull today Bank Holiday revellers in Norfolk had their celebrations rained off early as showers swept across the country The Met Office warned Bank Holiday celebrators to check the weather forecast before heading out this weekend to avoid being caught out in the rain that is set to hit the UK The heaviest rain will mainly effect northern and central Scotland, while the rest of the UK will experience an intermittent drizzle throughout the rest of today. Later on in the evening the weather is expected to clear, with dry spells across most of the country. Heading into the last day of the Bank Holiday weekend tomorrow, southern England will mostly stay dry while the risk of heavy rain and thunderstorms looms for Scotland. The bad weather will come as a sour surprise for Brits, who flocked to the coast in their thousands yesterday to make the most of the 73F (23C) highs. Getaways peaked yesterday with an estimated 6.6million trips planned, up from 3.8million last year, followed by bank holiday Monday with 5.6million, up from 2.9million, and today with 5.3million, up from 4.5million Spectators at Houghton horse trials were forced to huddle together under umbrellas and take refuge underneath food stall awnings Heavy traffic on the M40 near Solihull in the west Midlands yesterday morning as people hit the road for the bank holiday weekend and half term break Bournemouth was packed with happy Bank Holiday revellers wanting to make the most of the fleeting sunshine yesterday Hundreds of families flocked to the beach at Bournemouth, Dorset, yesterday afternoon to make the most of the fine weather before the Bank Holiday turns into a washout People sunbathed on the beach at Brighton in East Sussex while temperatures remained high for much of the country yesterday afternoon Manchester-based RAC employee Ben Aldous said: 'Our research suggests a lot of drivers are planning on taking to the road over this weekend, with routes leading to the coasts, national parks and highlands like the Lake District likely to see significant volumes of traffic and some extensive jams.' A Met Office meteorologist said: 'This upcoming bank holiday weekend will start off fine and warm with sunny spells in the south, but for northern parts of the UK it'll be cooler, cloudier and breezy with some rain at times. 'At the moment Saturday looks to be one of the better days of the weekend with the promise of sunshine for most, whereas Sunday will be cloudier with outbreaks of rain moving in from the west. 'By Monday this rain and cloud should clear with a return to sunny spells and the odd shower in places, feeling cooler across the country in the fresh westerly breeze.' Much of the next few days will be determined by the impact on Britain of stormy weather across North America, which has included tornadoes in the mid-west affecting the upper atmosphere. One month ago Britain was bathed in a record heatwave at Easter, with Easter Monday proving to be the hottest on record with 77F (25C) recorded at Heathrow and Northolt in West London and Wisley in Surrey. The highest temperature for the late May bank holiday was 91F (32.8C) in Horsham, West Sussex, on May 29, 1944. Meterological summer begins on June 1, and the UK daytime average for the time of year is around 61F (16C). Consultant Dr. Darnisa Amante (pictured) allegedly told New York City public schools educators and staff that resources should be devoted to middle class black students over poor white ones A consultant working with New York City public schools on its implicit bias training allegedly told educators and staff that resources should be devoted to middle class black students over poor white ones. A person present at the training in question told the Post that educational and racial equality strategist Dr. Darnisa Amante said: 'If I had a poor white male student and I had a middle-class black boy, I would actually put my equitable strategies and interventions into that middle class black boy because over the course of his lifetime he will have less access and less opportunities than that poor white boy. Thats what racial equity is.' DailyMail.com reached out to Dr. Amanta to confirm the quote and seek additional context, but did not immediately receive a reply. Dr. Amante is said to have made the statement during a workshop as part of New York City Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza's mandatory anti-bias training program for all Department of Education (DOE) employees, according to the New York Post. The comment was said to have been made during recent implicit bias training, as part of a $23 million program implemented by New York City Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza (shown) The $23million program has come under fire from some including New York City Parents Union President Mona Davids, who said she was appalled by Dr. Amante's directives, calling them 'completely absurd.' Davids took issue with this idea, saying the approach is racist in itself. Parent leaders are divided on the approach to eradicating racial bias and inequality. New York City Parents Union president Mona Davids (pictured) told the New York Post she was appalled by Dr. Amante's directives, calling them 'completely absurd' 'Its completely absurd,' Davids said. 'They want to treat black students as victims and punish white students. That defeats the purpose of what bias awareness training should be.' DOE spokesperson Will Mantell said, 'Anti-bias and equity trainings are about creating high expectations and improving outcomes for all of our students. These trainings are used across the country because they help kids, and out-of-context quotes and anonymous allegations just distract from this important work.' Other parent leaders like Shino Tanikawa, a parent in Manhattans District 2 and member of Mayor de Blasios School Diversity Advisory Group, support the campaign began by Carranza. 'We agree with the chancellor that those who do not see the value in this work are the ones who must look inward harder,' Tanikawa said. 'This work requires everyone, including people of color, to look inward and confront prejudices we all harbor. For some of us, this work also requires us to acknowledge the privilege bestowed upon us by the power structure. It creates a great deal of discomfort but that is the nature of the work. Disrupting the system is difficult and sometimes painful.' Dr. Amanta, who is a lecturer at Harvards Graduate School of Education and CEO of The Disruptive Equity Education Project (DEEP), has previously said her organization 'works together to change mindsets around equity and dismantling systemic oppression and racism.' DEEP has a $175,000 contract with the DOE's Office of Equity and Access. A separate $775,00 contract has been awarded to Glenn Singleton, another anti-bias consultant who is the author of 'Courageous Conversations.' Part of Singelton's program includes a critique of the 'white supremacy culture.' Dr. Amanta (pictured), who is a lecturer at Harvards Graduate School of Education and CEO of The Disruptive Equity Education Project (DEEP), has previously said her organization 'works together to change mindsets around equity and dismantling systemic oppression and racism.' DEEP has a $175,000 contract with the DOE's Office of Equity and Access The training has reportedly been confusing for some, particularly white people, who feel they can't participate, the Post reported. During a training meeting in Spring of last year, a Jewish superintendent said she was 'traumatized' after sharing a story about her grandparents talking about surviving the Holocaust in response to the question, 'What lived experience inspires you as a leader to fight for equity?' The woman said her grandmother told her of packing up her four children and hiding in the forest from Nazis as bombs fell in Lodz, Poland, and her grandfather witnessed the brutal killing of his mother and sister while spending close to six years in a labor and concentration camp. 'My grandparents taught me to understand the dangers of "targeted racism" or the exclusion of any group, and the importance of equity for all people. This is my core value as an educator,' she said at the meeting. 'At the break, I stood up and, to my surprise, I was verbally attacked by a black superintendent in front of my colleagues. She said "This is not about being Jewish! Its about black and brown boys of color only. You better check yourself."' 'I was traumatized,' the Jewish superintendent said. 'It was like 1939 all over again. I couldnt believe this could happen to me in NYC!' A middle school teacher with children in the Manhattan school system called the program 'a catalyst for hate and division.' 'I have colleagues who wont participate during "Courageous Conversations" workshops because they dont feel safe,' she said. 'My ancestors were enslaved and murdered because of their religion, I am now being forced to become "liberated" from my whiteness. I am being persecuted because of the circumstances of my birth. I was not aware that I needed to be liberated from how God created me.' She added: 'I will never be brainwashed by Richard Carranza and his minions. I cannot support a schools chancellor who is implicitly biased against me and my children.' Since Carranza was hired in April of 2018, four white female executives have been reassigned to lesser positions or stripped of duties and have now said they plan to sue the city because Carranza has created 'an environment which is hostile toward whites,' the Post reported on May 18. In a February training session, Dr. Amante addressed job security under Carranza's program. 'You are going to have to acknowledge that you will have to step back. You might fear losing your job,' she said. 'When we get to true racial equity you will have to define new institutional policies. This might feel dangerous because you are going to have to talk about race daily.' During his time working as deputy superintendent and later superintendent of San Francisco's Unified School District, Carranza was sued for allegedly creating a hostile work environment towards women, the New York Times reported. That lawsuit reached a settlement outside of court. An Iraqi court on Sunday sentenced three French citizens to death for joining the Islamic State group, the first IS members from France to be handed capital punishment, a court official said. Captured in Syria by a US-backed force fighting the jihadists, Kevin Gonot, Leonard Lopez and Salim Machou were transferred to Iraq for trial. They have 30 days to appeal. Iraq has taken custody of thousands of jihadists repatriated in recent months from neighbouring Syria, where they were caught by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces during the battle to destroy the IS 'caliphate'. The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), who waged a gruelling campaign against the Islamic State group's 'caliphate', have transferred thousands of suspected jihadists to Iraq for trial [file photo] The Iraqi judiciary said earlier in May that it has tried and sentenced more than 500 suspected foreign members of IS since the start of 2018. Its courts have condemned many to life in prison and others to death, although no foreign IS members have yet been executed. The trials have been criticised by rights groups, which say they often rely on evidence obtained through torture. They have also raised the question of whether suspected IS jihadists should be tried in the region or repatriated to their countries of origin, in the face of strong public opposition. Those sentenced on Sunday were among 13 French nationals caught in battle-scarred eastern Syria and handed to Iraqi authorities in February on suspicion of being members of IS's feared contingent of foreign fighters. One was later released as it was found he had travelled to Syria to support the Yazidi religious minority -- the target of a particularly brutal IS campaign that rights groups say may have amounted to genocide. The remaining 12 were put on trial under Iraq's counterterrorism law, which can dole out the death penalty to anyone found guilty of joining a 'terrorist' group, even if they were not explicitly fighting. Gonot, who fought for IS before being arrested in Syria with his mother, wife, and half-brother, has also been sentenced in absentia by a French court to nine years in prison, according to French research group the Center for the Analysis of Terrorism. Machou was a member of the infamous Tariq ibn Ziyad brigade, 'a European foreign terrorist fighter cell' that carried out attacks in Iraq and Syria and planned others in Paris and Brussels, according to US officials. Lopez, from Paris, travelled with his wife and two children to IS-held Mosul in northern Iraq before entering Syria, French investigators say. His lawyer, Nabil Boudi, condemned the trial as 'summary justice'. Kevin Gonot, Leonard Lopez and Salim Machou were transferred to Iraq for trial and now have 30 days to appeal their conviction [file photo] The French government had 'guaranteed us that French citizens would all be entitled to a fair trial, even in Iraq,' he told AFP. But Lopez had been sentenced to death 'based solely on a series of interrogations in Baghdad jails', he said. Iraq declared victory over IS in late 2017 and began trying foreigners accused of joining the jihadists the following year. Rights groups including Human Rights Watch have criticised Iraq's anti-terror trials, which they say often rely on circumstantial evidence or confessions obtained under torture. Baghdad has offered to try all foreign fighters in SDF custody -- estimated at around 1,000 -- in exchange for millions of dollars, Iraqi government sources have told AFP. Among those sentenced to life in prison are 58-year-old Frenchman Lahcen Ammar Gueboudj and two other French nationals. Iraq has also tried thousands of its own nationals arrested on home soil for joining IS, including women, and begun trial proceedings for nearly 900 Iraqis repatriated from Syria. The country remains in the top five 'executioner' nations in the world, according to an Amnesty International report in April. The number of death sentences issued by Iraqi courts more than quadrupled between 2017 and 2018, to at least 271. But only 52 were actually carried out in 2018, according to Amnesty, compared with 125 the year before. Analysts have also warned that prisons in Iraq have in the past acted as 'academies' for future jihadists, including IS supremo Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Three women duped by a serial conman have spoken out about the heartbreaking betrayal and destruction he caused to their lives. Hamish Earle McLaren, 48, from Sydney's eastern suburbs, has been behind bars since his arrest in July 2017 after he fleeced $70million worldwide from dozens of victims by pretending to be an investment fund manager. McLaren pleaded guilty to 17 counts of dishonestly obtaining a financial advantage by deception and one count of knowingly dealing with proceeds of crime last September. He will be sentenced next month after he conned almost $8million from 15 Australian victims between 2011 and 2017. Two of his victims, ex-wife Bec Rosen and Tracy Hall, McLaren's last partner before he was arrested have since become best friends and call themselves the 'Hamish Survivors' Club'. Conman Hamish McLaren (pictured) has scammed dozens of victims, including 15 in Australia 'It's good to be able to share stories and have a laugh. Somebody else who was in a relationship with him and went through what she went through. I felt like I wasn't on my own anymore,' Ms Hall told Channel Seven's Sunday Night. When asked whether they felt like victims, Ms Rosen replied: 'No, not at all. What do we call ourselves? 'Survivors,' Ms Hall replied. The single mum fell in love with market trader Max Tavita on a dating app in March 2016. She didn't have a clue his real name was Hamish McLaren until 16 months into their whirlwind romance relationship when he was arrested, just days after they'd returned from a NSW north coast mini-break. By then, Ms Hall had given him $320,000 of her life savings. McLaren later called Ms Hall from Silverwater Jail, followed by a barrage of love letters declaring his love for her. 'He's dead,' Ms Hall said. 'He was somebody who was completely fabricated and made up. He actually doesn't exist. None of it was real.' Two of McLaren's victims, ex-wife Bec Rosen (left) and his most recent partner Tracy Hall (right) are now best friends who catch up at least once a week Bec Rosen fell in love with McLaren when she moved to Blueys Beach on the NSW north coast in 2008. He quickly became a father like figure to her three young sons and the couple married two years later. McLaren then told his wife he returning to his old job as an investment trader in Sydney, and rented a waterside apartment. She had no idea she was footing the bill for much of her husband's luxurious life, including a Porsche. Ms Rosen eventually left the marriage in 2013 after a horrifying admission from her son's 16-year-old girlfriend that she was having an affair with McLaren. Karen Lowe (pictured) also fell for Hamish McLaren's charms and was conned out of $1.15million 'I'd see them having a coffee at the cafe together and I'd go, "Why is it Jack's girlfriend sitting with my husband?" she said. 'Hamish would rock up in some mid-life crisis type of car and she'd be there, this beautiful 16-year-old, and then they burned off down the street.' She didn't lose money, despite McLaren forging her signature to take out $450,000 worth of loans. McLaren's next victim after Ms Rosen was Karen Lowe, a recent divorcee who got ownership of a $11million harbourside mansion built in 1890 as part of the settlement. She desperately needed a $200,000 loan to repair the leaky roof. Enter McLaren, who convinced an unsuspecting Ms Lowe he could get her a $1million loan and that she could invest what she did not spend on the repairs. 'I'll never forget his face when he walked into my kitchen for the first time,' Ms Lowe recalled. 'It was like a child in a sweet shop. He was like, "Oh, wow. He said You don't have to worry. I'm here to take care of you".' McLaren pleaded guilty to 17 counts of dishonestly obtaining a financial advantage by deception and one count of knowingly dealing with proceeds of crime last September She still remembers the day she's realised she'd been scammed $1.15million not long after she returned from a trip to New York, which she claims he paid for from her money. She now can't look at his photo. 'I still feel it sometimes, that pit-of-the-stomach sick feeling. I don't think I'll ever forget that,' Ms Lowe said. 'It's humiliating. I feel humiliated and very silly over how I fell for it all.' She would have lost her home if it wasn't for a wealthy and kind neighbour who bought out her mortgage, who Ms Lowe will pay back when she sells the house. Ms Rosen, Ms Hall and Ms Lowe weren't the only victims scammed by McLaren. It's estimated he's conned $70 million worldwide, much of it still unaccounted for. 'I do think there's money somewhere,' Ms Hall said. 'Many, many more millions. He used to say to me, "Go to the police, and I'll just sit on the beach for the rest of my life with the money".' Fashion designer Lisa Ho was also scammed but unlike many victims, got some money back One Australian retired couple were fleeced $1,712,500 and were left without superannuation and savings, according to agreed facts tendered to the court. Fashion designer Lisa Ho paid McLaren $850,000 of her superannuation in late 2011 after the pair were unwittingly introduced by her ex-husband. But unlike many victims, Ms Ho was able to recover $500,000 after she launched legal proceedings. 'I'm glad he's behind bars and starting to feel the punishment he dumped on so many trusting people,' she said. Shamed retail tycoon Sir Philip Green has been pictured enjoying his weekend on a yacht in Monaco, after it was announced earlier this week that over 600 people could lose their jobs at his Arcadia empire. The 67-year-old was seen with night club king Richie Akiva as well as several other women on a yacht as he prepared for a Grand Prix party. Green was smiling as a smaller boat dropped him off at the yacht, as he relaxed in a faded grey t-shirt and sweatpants. This is while female attendees of the party frolicked in their bikinis and seemed to be having a swell time. Philip Green was all smiles yesterday as a boat sped across the shore to drop him and night club king Richie Akiva off at a yacht A group of woman were pictured in their swimwear on the yacht yesterday ahead of the Grand Prix today Philip Green (left) was pictured in his casual clothes in Monaco and seemed to be taking the opportunity to dress down as he boarded a yacht (right) However, the weekend will not have been as relaxing for those employed by Green through Arcadia, as it emerged this on Friday that the number of stores due to close is expected to at least double the 23 outlined in rescue documents published earlier in the week. This is likely to put several hundred more jobs at risk in addition to the 520 announced on Thursday. Arcadia, which owns Topshop, Dorothy Perkins, Wallis and Miss Selfridge, employs around 18,000 staff. Green was also told to ensure the retirement pot at Arcadia is fully funded whatever it costs him. Enjoying the sunshine: Green was pictured being driven to a yacht by a smaller boat The business tycoon looked gleeful as he made his way to a yacht in Monaco yesterday as he prepared for his Grand Prix party Green looked somewhat at peace today after revealing that he himself would plough an extra 185 million of security behind the Arcadia pension scheme in an effort to win support for a major overhaul of his business. The sum is chiefly made up of property assets and includes security over the flagship store on Oxford Street. The agreement would mean that in a crisis the buildings could be sold to fund payouts to pensioners. The offer takes the package put forward by Green and Arcadia to support the pension scheme to 360 million over the next three years. Green slipped into his lounge wear over the weekend as he geared up for the Grand Pix today Green and his pals were on the higher part of the yacht while four women chatted below them The women were pictured making the most of the weather and soaked up the sun while enjoying the yacht However, the stress his business is under is not the only reason Green had to flee to Monaco to relax this weekend. On Friday 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. 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.' Sir Philip Green was tracked down in Monaco and was preparing to host a lavish party 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' Lord Hain said he was revealing the account of a victim for the first time as he defended the use of parliamentary privilege. 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 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.' 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. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un 'agree in their assessment' that Joe Biden is a 'swampman' and 'low IQ individual,' White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said on Sunday. 'They agree in their assessment of former Vice President Joe Biden,' Sanders said on NBC's 'Meet the Press.' 'The president doesn't need somebody else to give him an assessment of Joe Biden. He's given his own assessment a number of times. I think you've seen it. I'm sure you've covered it on your program. The president watched him and his administration with President Obama fail for eight years,' she added. President Donald Trump - seen here with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during the state visit to Japan - agrees with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Joe Biden White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said Trump and Kim 'agree in their assessment' of the former vice president Sanders was asked about a tweet the president posted Saturday after it was revealed North Korea conducted missile tests. Trump said that he smiled when he heard Kim Jong-un call Biden a 'swampman' and a 'low IQ individual.' In a tweet where he misspelled Biden's name, Trump wrote: 'North Korea fired off some small weapons, which disturbed some of my people, and others, but not me. 'I have confidence that Chairman Kim will keep his promise to me, & also smiled when he called Swampman Joe Bidan [sic] a low IQ individual, & worse. 'Perhaps that's sending me a signal?' Trump, who later deleted the tweet and re-posted it with Biden's name spelled correctly, was referring to a recent piece published by state-run media in North Korea. The editorial was full of insults hurled at Biden, who was labeled a 'fool of low IQ' and an 'imbecile bereft of elementary quality as a human being.' NBC's Chuck Todd asked Sanders 'why Americans should not be concerned that the president of United States is essentially siding with a murderous authoritarian dictator over a former vice president in the United States?' North Korean ruler Kim Jong-un (left) called former Vice President Joe Biden (right) 'swampman' and a 'low IQ individual,' President Trump claimed in a tweet Trump also dismissed concerns about recent missile launches from North Korea and said he was confident that the country's leader, Kim, would keep promises that he had made Trump deleted the original tweet, and then re-posted it with Biden's name spelled correctly 'Chuck, the president's not siding with that,' Sanders said. 'But I think they agree in their assessment of former Vice President Joe Biden. Again, the president's focus in this process is the relationship he has and making sure we continue on the path towards denuclearization. That's what he wants to see and that's certainly what the people in this region want to see. And are hopeful that the president is right and that that relationship will be what helps move us further down that path.' Biden, who is running for the Democratic presidential nomination, frequently slams Trump's relationships with 'dictators and tyrants' like Kim and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Andrew Bates, director of rapid response for Biden's campaign, slammed back at the president. 'Given Vice President Biden's record of standing up for American values and interests, it's no surprise that North Korea would prefer that Donald Trump remain in the White House,' he said. In the meantime, Pyongyang conducted missile tests which violate North Korea's promise not to test long range or nuclear missiles, but are likely to cause unease on the Asia continent where Trump in the midst of a state visit to Japan. Sanders said the tests weren't 'bothering' President Trump. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said the North Korean missile tests weren't 'bothering' President Trump She said the president was focused on maintaining his relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un 'Some of the activity that's taken place, as you can see from the president's Twitter isn't something that's bothering the president. He still feels good about the relationship that he has and about Chairman Kim's commitment that he made to the president,' she said. Sanders added that the president was focused on denuclearizing the Korean peninsula and maintaining his relationship with Kim. 'The president's focus in this process is on continuing to move towards total denuclearization of the peninsula. We know that the activities at no point that took place over the last several weeks have been a threat to the United States or our allies. And we're going to continue pushing forward to the ultimate goal and that's denuclearization of the peninsula,' she said. 'And the president still feels comfortable and confident in the relationship that he has with Chairman Kim and that he's going to stay true to the commitment that he made to the president,' she added. Three brothers subjected to years of beatings at the hands of their evil mother have spoken out to reveal the extent of her abuse. Anne Brown, 63, regularly beat Michael Keane, 30, and his brothers Connor, 22, and Blair, 20, all over their bodies with a belt she kept in her handbag. Brown also held their 'heads under water' and 'pushed pillows onto their faces' to restrict their breathing. Michael - the eldest of the boys - only found the courage to share his horrific upbringing when he met his wife Jennifer, 30, in 2010. Abuse victim Michael Keane, 30, from Cumbernauld, Scotland has spoken out about his mother's crimes Michael with his mother Anne Brown, in Cumbernauld, on his first day of school when he was five After confiding in her, Michael - and Blair - finally reported their mother to the police. Brown was found guilty of assault against each of her sons between May 1994 and October 2010. She was sentenced to five years in jail at Airdrie Sheriff Court, Lanarkshire, earlier this year. Dad-of-three Michael has vowed to give them the loving upbringing he said he was denied, knowing Brown is behind bars. Michael from Cumbernauld, Lanarkshire, said: 'There is no other way to describe my mother than pure evil. 'She raised us to live in fear and on every day that we were in her care, pain and terror was inflicted upon us. Michael with his mother Anne Brown when he was ten. He only found the courage to share his horrific upbringing when he met his wife Jennifer in 2010 'It's drastically impacted how I've raised my own children, and will be something that lives with me forever.' From the age of four, Michael was subjected to extreme child abuse from his mother, who was 'big on physical punishment'. Mum-of-three Brown would carry a leather belt in her handbag, alongside her lipstick and house keys, so that wherever they went she could punish her sons, they claimed. 'We were petrified all of the time,' Michael said. 'She could snap at the smallest of things which meant we were constantly on edge. 'I was so scared of doing something wrong that my nerves caused me to knock over a glass of water while we were out for dinner at a restaurant once. 'That was enough for her to drag me out of sight of the other customers, and belt me viciously across the back. 'She would always use the metal buckle end to administer her beatings, but the abuse would increase even more when we were at home and away from prying eyes. 'She'd use the belt buckle on the backs of my knees, or worse, my genitals and buttocks, if I 'stepped out of line' while at home. 'It could be for the smallest of things, mostly because she 'didn't like my tone'. 'It made it impossible to know when she was going to flip - we were constantly on edge.' Michael at 16 with his younger brothers, Connor and Blair. All three boys were subjected to her abuse Michael claims the child abuse was mainly confined to Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday's when the boy's father, Michael Snr, 56, was working away as a display rep. On those days, Brown's true colours would show, leaving the boys praying for the return of their dad so the violence would calm down for a day or two. Michael's only respite was when he was in the care of his two aunts Marion and Lily. Brown would allow them to take care of the boys when it suited her, and soon a maternal bond was formed between them as they gave Michael the love he had never received from his mother. 'My aunts were such a vital part in my upbringing, and I don't think I'd be here if it wasn't for them,' Michael said. 'She tried to stop me from seeing them but we remained close up until they died in 2003 and 2016.' As Michael grew up he says Brown also began to use her fists and drag him about by his hair, often pulling out large chunks in her aggression. 'She might have been a small 5ft 5ins, but she would throw us about with ease and land punches without any trouble at all,' Michael said. 'It wasn't long before I was bigger than her, but I was so terrified I wouldn't dare try to fight back - she had us right where she wanted us.' In 2005, Brown told Michael that she was separating from their father - the news he hoped he would never hear. Michael added: 'I tried to stand up for myself and tell her I wouldn't be living with her after the separation. It was then that she told me should would kill me - and I knew she wasn't joking. 'I'd always been scared of her, but it wasn't until that day that I knew she had the potential to kill us. Looking back now, I should have gone to the police then, but I felt helpless.' Their cruel mother that moved out, leaving the boys with their father, and the assaults ended when Michael was 17. Michael and his brother Blair, when he was born. In 2016, Michael and Blair reported their mother to the police, before standing before the court In 2010, Michael met Jennifer, 30, an admin worker, and the pair soon became a couple. The pair married in June 2011, but not before Michael had opened up about what his evil mother had subjected him to as a child. It was the first time he had ever spoken to anyone about what happened other than Connor or Blair. In November 2016, Michael and younger brother Blair reported their mother to the police, before standing before the court. Giving evidence in court, Blair, 20, told jurors he had been abused from the age of six to when he was nine. Like Michael, he was struck repeatedly on the head and body with the belt buckle, as well as shoes, clothes hangers and toys. Horrifyingly, Blair detailed how both he and middle brother, Connor, 22, were even held under the bathwater, as well as having pillows pushed against their faces. 'The rest of our family couldn't believe it when they found out what mum put us through,' Michael said. *Michael aged 10, with his mother Anne Brown and her sister in law Elizabeth Keane 'There were times when Blair thought she would kill him too, the scariest being when she held him under the water.' Anne Brown was found guilty of three charges of assault - one for each son. She was sentenced to a five-year custodial sentence for each - which she will serve concurrently - at Airdrie Sheriff Court, Lanarkshire, on February 6. At sentencing, Sheriff Morag Shankland said: 'You have been convicted of the most appalling of crimes against your own sons. 'The abuse persisted for years. The harm you have caused is, to my mind, simply incalculable.' Michael now has three children of his own but admits it is difficult to trust others around them, and will never let them meet his mother.. 'We will never forget what we went through, but I'll do my best to make sure I love my children in a way I never was so that at least one positive comes out of our experiences,' he said. Michael Keane with his wife Jennifer son Caleb, one, son Callum, six, and daughter Lauren, seven Labour will seek to force a vote of no confidence in Theresa May's successor as soon as he or she takes office, shadow chancellor John McDonnell has warned. Speaking as the race to be next Tory leader - and Prime Minister of the minority Conservative government - got underway, the shadow chancellor said the newcomer would face 'moral pressure' to call an election. Asked on BBC Radio 4's Today programme if Labour would call a no-confidence motion in the next Tory leader, the shadow chancellor said: 'Yes, because we believe any incoming prime minister in these circumstance should go to the country anyway and seek a mandate.' The Labour shadow chancellor, photographed this week in Westminster, has said his party will try to force an immediate no confidence motion in Mrs May's successor A poll two weeks ago gave Labour a seven-point lead over the Conservatives who languished in third place behind the new Brexit Party formed by Nigel Farage. David Cameron secured a surprise narrow majority for the Tories against Ed Miliband in 2015, but when she tried to improve on that position in 2017 Mrs May lost her majority as Jeremy Corbyn's Labour Party made gains. Her minority government is currently propped up by a confidence-and-supply agreement with the 10 MPs of the Democratic Unionist Party. Mr McDonnell's comments went further than his statement the previous evening, when he told ITV News on Friday that a new Tory leader would face moral pressure to call a general election in order to secure a democratic mandate. 'That's the first thing,' he said. 'The second thing of course [is that] we always have the opportunity of a no-confidence motion in parliament, and we will explore that. 'And the way in which the Conservative party remains divided, whoever is elected as their leader, there will be a prospect that some Conservative MPs now will think 'maybe we should go back to the country'.' This weekend an anonymous Tory MP told the Telegraph the party needs a snap election like it needs 'a hole in the head' The pro-EU Conservative warned Mrs May's decision to step down could deepen the crisis engulfing the party. This morning the shadow chancellor told Sophie Ridge the party would 'if necessary' call for a second referendum rather than agreeing to a no deal Brexit 'We need a general election like we need a hole in the head,' they said. 'This leadership election could be for the Tories what the Spanish flu was after the First World War.' But Lord Heseltine, the Remainer former Tory deputy prime minister who recently lost the party whip after urging voters to vote against the party, said a referendum or general election was the 'one way out of our present situation'. This morning, John McDonnell moved towards openly backing a second referendum, which Labour deputy leader Tom Watson said today was the party's only was avoiding electoral oblivion. Speaking to Sophie Ridge on Sky, Mr McDonnell said: 'We want to see the other opposition parties, we want to make sure we have that conversation within our own party and with some Conservative MPs who have said, like us, they will not vote for a no deal Brexit and yes, we've said that if necessary, let's have a general election about this and if necessary, yes, let's go back to the people again.' A four-year-old boy has died after he was found locked in a hot car in South Carolina. Richland County Coroner Gary Watts said at a news conference on Friday that Zion Akinrefon, of Maryland, died on Wednesday at a Midlands hospital. Watts said Zion suffered from complications of probable hyperthermia. Deputies found Zion unresponsive at a home in Blythewood. He was rushed to a hospital after paramedics couldnt revive him. Four-year-old Zion Akinrefon (pictured), of Maryland, died on Wednesday after he was found locked in a hot car in South Carolina Richland County Coroner Gary Watts said at a news conference on Friday that Zion suffered from complications of probable hyperthermia. Zion is pictured with his parents The child was in South Carolina visiting relatives. He was last seen watching television when he apparently went missing. His mother later found him in the back of the familys car. Sheriff Leon Lott says no charges are being filed so far. Authorities say the childs death marks the first hot car death in the county since 2015. The coroner told the public that hot car deaths are preventable deaths. Sheriff Lott added that people should call 911 immediately if they spot a child in a vehicle unattended. The child was in South Carolina visiting relatives. He was last seen watching television when he apparently went missing. His mother later found him in the back of the familys car. Sheriff Leon Lott (left) says no charges are being filed so far The sheriff's department also tweeted a reminder to the public about the risks of leaving a child in a hot car The sheriff's department also tweeted a reminder to the public about the risks of leaving a child in a hot car. 'Wed like to remind everyone, as the height of the heat kicks in, to never leave a child or a pet in a vehicle unattended not even for a minute. 'In this vehicle with tinted windows, the temperature climbed quickly to 110 degrees, when it was 91 degrees outside!' the department said following a demonstration. Temperatures in Blythewood on Wednesday reached a high of 88F. AccuWeather issued a warning about an 'extended period of unseasonably hot temperatures' that will continue across the Midlands of South Carolina and the Central Savannah River Area of Georgia into the middle of the week. 'Look Before You Lock. DO NOT leave children or pets unattended in a hot vehicle,' AccWeather's statement reads. Advertisement A wonderful selection of previously-unseen photographs showcasing the uniforms of air stewardesses who helped to ferry passengers around the world have been released by British Airways for its centenary this year. To mark the occasion, it has opened up its archive to the public for the first time to share never-before-seen memories of key moments from its history, including Winston Churchill's first trans-Atlantic flight in 1942. Among them are brilliant photos of air stewardesses posing in uniforms from 1967, 1972, 1977, and 2003, the last time the uniform was redesigned. As part of BA's celebrations in August to mark 100 years since it was formed, it is to release a new uniform, but the firm is yet to go into detail on how different the new design will be. The current uniform was designed by former Givenchy designer Julien MacDonald and is worn by staff including cabin crew and check-in agents. As well as the uniforms, the collection showcases hundreds of historical photos and videos, as well as articles explaining how British Airways evolved from a single-engine De Havilland aircraft to what it is today. A wonderful selection of previously-unseen photographs showcasing the uniforms of air stewardesses who helped to ferry passengers around the world have been released by British Airways for its centenary this year. Above: Stewards from BEA, which merged with BOAC to create the British Airways name in 1972, pose in the 1967 uniform. It was made from terylene and worsted material. To mark BA's centenary, it has opened up its archive to the public for the first time to share never-before-seen memories of key moments from its history, including Winston Churchill's first trans-Atlantic flight in 1942. Above: The 1967 royal blue kit had a shorter skirt than the previous design, reflecting changing societal trends. It was designed by Hardy Amies, who was dressmaker to The Queen from the time of her accession in 1952 until his retirement in 1989. Above: Hardy Aimes was also responsible for this BEA uniform from 1972. He designed it to allow the expression of individuality achieved by interchangeable colours of the blouses and scarves based on the strong red, white and blue theme associated with BEA. The short Tutankhamun hat is in French blue, trimmed with BEA red As part of BA's celebrations in August to mark 100 years since it was formed, it is to release a new uniform, but the firm is yet to go into detail on how different the new design will be. Although according to cabin crew blog Paddle Your Own Kanoo, Burberry has been enlisted for the job. Above: The first official British Airways uniform, from June 1977. It was designed by fashion house Baccarat Weathersall. A smart red-lined jacket and skirt, with optional flared trousers in white pinstripe, of the finest quality was chosen for the classical tailoring style. The cloth was lightweight but hard-wearing wool worsted. A shoulder bag of dark blue leather, a small-brimmed hat and a belt matching bearing the BA logo completed the outfit. The 1988 uniform of Scotland's flagship carrier British Caledonian, which was taken over by British Airways in 1987. The key elements of British Caledonian's uniform were the kilt and the various tartans. Tartans can be divided into Clan, Hunting and Dress; dress tartans were worn mainly by ladies and the tartans used by British Caledonian were adopted from clans originating in different parts of Scotland.The airline is remembered for its tartans. The 1993 uniform was designed by Irish designer Paul Costelloe. It combined a classic styling and informality in a stunning pinstripe and collage design, reflective of BA's worldwide multi-cultural interests and worldwide operations. The women's uniform was a classic tailed single-breasted suit in the corporate colours of red and navy blue, designed in a specially created pin-dot wool fabric. A silky crepe geometric print blouse in red, navy blue and grey complemented the suit. A BA stewardess proudly models her 1993 uniform. The hats later became optional. As well as the uniforms, BA's collection showcases hundreds of historical photos and videos, as well as articles explaining how British Airways evolved from a single-engine De Havilland aircraft to what it is today An unsuspecting groom nearly lost an eye after being glassed during a quiet pub quiz the night before his wedding day - but still got to the church on time. Scott Richards, 31, required over 14 stitches and scarred for life and was almost forced to call off the big day after medics warned he might need an eye removed. His devastated bride Adele, 34, from Ashford, Kent, saw her groom's mangled face for the first time as she walked down the aisle after only being informed of the attack just hours before. Attacker, Tyler Plumridge, 28, who flung the glass into Mr Rihcard's face at Ashford's Singleton Barn has since been spared jail at Canterbury Crown Court in May 2019. Drunk stranger, Plumridge, a security guard, lashed out after having joined Mr Richard's group at the quiet Sunday night pub quiz when he was caught stealing a wallet and a phone. Scott Richards on his wedding day (left) and right, shortly after having his face slashed He was asked to hand the stuff back and to leave the pub but instead stripped to his pants before throwing a pint glass into Scott's face. The couple claim that their 18,000 wedding day, for which they'd been saving up for two years, was 'almost totally ruined' by the attackers actions. Mr Richards, a carpenter, said: 'I still have nightmares about it now where I wake up in a cold sweat and can't get back to sleep, the flashbacks are terrible. Scott and Adele Richards on their wedding day, mere hours after the groom was attacked 'The whole incident was just so out of the blue, we'd only gone out for a few quiet drinks, but as soon as he threw the glass at my face there was blood everywhere. 'I had to be rushed to A&E straight away where they spent hours picking glass from my eye ball. 'Doctors thought they might have to take my whole eye out and advised that I'd have to miss the wedding if so... it was awful. Mr Richards in his local surrounded by friends who rushed to his aid to stop the flow of blood 'My wife, Adele, who I wasn't meant to be speaking to, as it was technically our wedding day, was devastated when I called to tell her. 'The whole day was really hard as a result because I had a banging headache, I was in so much pain and looked a right state for the pictures. 'I was bruised, bandaged up and scarred- our two-year-old son was clearly worried when he saw me looking all mangled up and kept asking if I'd 'fallen over'. Scott Richards, 31, required over 14 stitches and scarred for life and was almost forced to call off the big day 'Thankfully the photographer was clever with the pics and we got some decent ones where I look OK but it really was a nightmare.' The wedding, which took place at Cooling Castle Barn, did eventually go ahead despite the incident but the couple feel that their enjoyment of the special day was severely tainted by what happened. Both Mr and Mrs Richards, who have been together for five years, and have a son, Oscar, feel severely let down by what they feel is a very lenient sentence considering Scott's injuries. Attacker, Plumridge, was handed a suspended sentence pleading guilty to GBH and was spared jailed but was ordered to pay Scott 1,000 in compensation within three months. Mr Richards revealed that the wedding make-up artist spent longer working on his face than his wife-to-be's Mrs Richards, who works in marketing, said: 'I'm absolutely fuming about the sentence, this vile man almost ruined the most important day of our lives, never mind the health repercussions for Scott. 'I'm 100% sure that Plumridge knew that Scott was the groom and must have had some idea of what he was doing when he smashed that glass into my husband's face. 'Scott was forced to put a brave face on it for our whole wedding day but it was clear that he wasn't himself. The couple claim their 18,000 wedding day, for which they'd been saving up for two years, was 'almost totally ruined' by Plumridge's actions - but still, they enjoyed it with their son Oscar 'When I first saw him as I walked up the aisle, my stomach lurched, I thought I might be sick... I just couldn't bare to see how bad the damage was. 'He looked dreadful, despite my makeup artist having a go at disguising some of the bruising etc. 'He was popping pain medication all day and had a banging headache throughout. 'Our son was scared to even look at his own dad and kept asking me 'what happened to Daddy?' Tyler Plumridge, 28, who flung the glass into Scott's face at Ashford's Singleton Barn has since been spared jail. Mr Richards is pictured on his wedding day with his facial scars visible 'On top of his dreadful injuries, Scott didn't even get a wink of sleep that night so was shattered the whole wedding day. 'He didn't want to worry me about the attack and so didn't ring me until 6am on the morning of the wedding, I was shaking like a leaf after his sister told me in tears that I needed to ring Scott. 'For one dreadful moment I thought I was getting stood up! 'We did discuss cancelling the whole thing but in the end decided not to. Mr Richards needed 14 stitches on his face but his scars have since healed well and he has regained his eyesight after it was temporarily lost after having his face glassed 'I was late getting to the venue for my own wedding as after I'd spoken to Scott I just sat in my car and cried hysterically for 45 minutes, I couldn't believe it had all gone so wrong. 'Scott was late too as he couldn't even shower, his brother had to wash all the glass and blood out of his hair by hand.' The newlyweds were forced to spend their first week as man and wife shuttling to and from their local hospital, William Harvey Hospital, Ashford and specialist eye hospital, The Royal Victoria Hospital, Folkestone. Scott and Adele Richards on their wedding day, smiling through the pain caused by Plumridge Mrs Richards said: 'We were suppose to be in a happy newlywed bubble but instead I was spending my entire time rubbing different creams into Scott's injuries and taking him to appointments. 'At one point they were even worried he might not recover his sight in the left eye at all. 'He was still not completely well by the time we went on honey moon to the Dominican Republic two weeks later. 'He had to lie down a lot due to the migraines. 'Some of the scar's Scott has will never go now, the one on his nose is bright red like a burn, the skin is all crinkly. 'But it's not just the physical side of things, Scott definitely isn't the same care free person he was before the attack, he's much more wary and anxious now and gets uncomfortable in busy, loud places. 'He used to be the most chilled guy before hand and now he's lost that, it's so damaging what something like this can do. 'He's in a permanent state of high alert, it's so sad to see how much it's affected him.' A reality television show veteran has said she thought the man she went on a paid date with was drunk when she left him and stole his debit card, and had no idea he would overdose and die that night. Shannade Clermont, 25, who starred alongside her twin sister Shannon in 'Bad Girls Club' on Oxygen in 2015, will report to jail on June 4 in Los Angeles after pleading guilty to wire fraud related to the theft and being sentenced to one year behind bars. The social media influencer, who rakes in likes and adoration on an Instagram account she runs with her twin Shannon, went on a $20,000 spending spree after real estate professional James Alesi, 42, died. She used his stolen information to pay rent and buy designer items, but claimed she didn't know he had died until later. Shannade acknowledged that the situation looked bad, but told Page Six that Alesi was her 'sugar daddy' who 'took care of her.' 'From the outside looking in, it looks like I knew he was dead and was like "haha,"' Shannade said. 'And thats really sick.' Reality TV veteran Shannade Clermont, 25 (pictured), has said she thought her 'sugar daddy' James Alesi, 42, was drunk when she left him a this New York City apartment and stole his debit card, and had no idea he would overdose and die that night Shannade said Alesi had a reputation that preceded him as paying for the attention of women. 'The thing was, he was known as a sugar daddy. Very known,' Shannade said. 'Hes not, like, an innocent person.' Shannade didn't elaborate on exactly what she meant by claiming Alesi wasn't 'innocent,' but her lawyer, Jeffrey Lichtman, said at her sentencing that Shannade's facade of a luxurious life was not something she could pay for on her own, even with lucrative endorsement deals stemming from her and her sister's popular Instagram page. Lichtman said the model with fashion design aspirations had been 'reduced to trolling the Internet for prostitution dates' in order to pay for her lavish lifestyle. It was on one such date with Alesi on January 31 that Shannade stole his debit card and ran off after she said 'he was a drunk mess' and she thought he 'was playing games' so she left. Shannade used James Alesi's (pictured) debit card to pay for $20,000 worth of luxury items, including plane tickets, designer clothes and rent Shannade said she only later found out he was dead and that she hadn't spent time around people with hard drugs so she had no idea that he would die on the night of January 31, 2017. Shannade is pictured with her twin, Shannon Clermont Prosecutors said Shannade was paid $400 to hang out with him at his home, and Shannade said when she left him at his East 53rd Street apartment in New York City she had no idea what kind of condition he was in. 'He wasnt asleep when I left. He was just drunk,' Shannade said. 'I have never been around people who have been on heavy drugs, so I didnt really know.' The next day Alesi was found dead from an overdose of cocaine mixed with fentanyl. The victim's sister said at Shannade's sentencing in April that the what the social media influencer did 'was all calculated in advance, done out of greed and with malicious intent' She added, 'My brother died, and [Shannade] went shopping.' Shannade said Alesi (left and right) had a reputation that preceded him as paying for the attention of women. 'The thing was, he was known as a sugar daddy. Very known,' Shannade said. 'Hes not, like, an innocent person' Shannade didn't elaborate on exactly what she meant by claiming Alesi wasn't 'innocent,' but her lawyer, Jeffrey Lichtman, said at her sentencing that Shannade's facade of a luxurious life was not something she could pay for on her own, even with lucrative endorsement deals and stemming from her and her sister's popular Instagram page. Shannade and Shannon are pictured in Hollywood on February 8 Shannade said Alesi's family 'dont really know his lifestyle' and she shouldn't be the one blamed for his death. 'I mean, hes been in and out of rehab for years,' she said. 'Like, you knew he had a drug problem, why am I the one to blame for that?' Describing her relationship with Alesia, Shannade said, 'I mean, I didnt love him; I liked him. [He] was just someone who took care of me.' Shannade does have a love for fine things, though, which was apparent in the items she bought with the deceased man's card, including flights, Valentino shoes, a Philipp Plein jacket and Beats headphones. The lengths she was willing to go to obtain the objects of her affection have ultimately led to her downfall, at least for the next 12 months. 'We actually felt blindsided, because [the lawyer] told me [Shannade] was not going to serve any time,' Shannon told the New York Post. It was on a paid 'sugar daddy' date with Alesi on January 31 that Shannade stole his debit card and ran off after she said 'he was a drunk mess' shoe she thought 'was playing games' so she left. Alesi died that night from a cocaine and fentanyl overdose. Shannade and Shannon are pictured However, the judge who sentenced Shannade chose to look past a foundation the twins started to raise awareness about mental health following her arrest, and instead focused on the twins' continued social media posting while the trial carried on, according to Shannade. 'I just feel like the judge had her mind made up,' Shannon said. 'She kept talking about our social following. She said, "We need to use you as an example to your followers."' The judge's disdain didn't make sense to Shannade, who said, 'I dont know what they expect us to post like, us crying or looking sad? We dont post our daily struggles or how I feel every day.' The judge said at her sentencing, 'When faced with a real test of character, Ms. Clermont chose to leave [the victims] apartment with his debit-card information without calling 911. 'No foundation, established after her arrest, can account for that lack of character.' Shannade has accepted that her immediate future will be much less glamorous than she's used to, and has plans to make the most of it. While Shannade is in jail, she plans to educate herself and write a memoir while building her fashion brand with her sister. 'I think I want to actually learn some law, because I feel like I was misinformed about this whole process,' Shannade said. Her sister's life will also be stalled in the public eye during Shannade's incarceration. 'Im not posting by myself,' Shannon said, referring to their joint Instagram account. 'Now if its just one of us, we dont post: Thats our brand.' Shannade has high aspirations following her release from the low-security correctional facility in Los Angeles that she will call home for the next year. 'In five to 10 years, we want to be a huge fashion house,' Shannade said. 'We want to be the next Mary-Kate and Ashley [Olsen].' Doctors and nurses are being paid out millions of dollars in compensation after suffering vicious attacks while at work. The Daily Telegraph revealed that more than 600 cases of worker compensation were lodged each year from 2013 to 2017. The total pay-outs for the 735 claims accepted in 2014/15 totalled more than $11million dollars, indicating the heavy cost of hospital worker compensation. Doctors and nurses facing the worst aspects of patient behaviour are being paid out millions of dollars in compensation after suffering vicious attacks while at work As a result of the surge in attacks on health staff campaigners have called for the implementation of specific hospital security with extra powers to protect the hospital As a result of the surge in attacks on health staff campaigners have called for the implementation of specific hospital security with extra powers to protect the hospital. The security staff would be trained in specific health emergency situations as well as being put on 24-hour shift rotations to ensure security is on call all day. Even with a recorded surge in hospital assaults Australia's College of Emergency Medicine president Dr Simon Judkins said attacks were still under-reported. 'We don't want our emergency departments to look like some sort of bunker, (but) we do need to make sure they're trained, visible and people know they are there,' Dr Judkins told The Daily Telegraph. '(They) might be dealing with a 14 year-old autistic child one minute, then a 23-year-old intoxicated patient or someone on methamphetamine and then someone with a brain injury.' Gerard Hayes, the national president of the Health Services Union said if action wasn't taken soon then the upwards trend of violence on health professionals would continue. 'The hospitals want police to hang around but police say weve bought them here and its now your responsibility,' he said. Mr Hayes said as a result a dedicated security team is essential for staff safety. One doctor who suffered one of the most horrific attacks in an Australian hospital was Dr Michael Wong (pictured) who was stabbed 14 times by a patient One doctor who suffered one of the most horrific attacks in an Australian hospital was Dr Michael Wong. Dr Wong was stabbed 14 times by a mental health patient at Footscray Hospital in early 2014 as he walked through the foyer. The physician slammed security within hospital wards as 'unacceptable' 'It just highlighted for me once again that hospitals in Australia are not safe environments for anyone, these violent attacks can happen quite easily on any given day, at almost any hospital,' he told news.com.au. Staff were forced to drag Dr Wong's blood soaked body into an operating theater, where doctors were able to save his life, as others kept the knife wielding man at bay with whatever they could get their hands on. Eventually police arrived and were able to subdue and arrest the man. The SafeWork Australia data has shown that hospital workers are at an increasing threat of attack of abuse while on the job He said he believes hospitals are not secure enough and that staff are constantly at risk of an unprovoked attack. 'The general public can quite easily walk into any foyer of a hospital without being stopped or checked,' he said. The SafeWork Australia data has shown that hospital workers are at an increasing threat of attack of abuse while on the job. In 2013/14 there were 610 claims approved, 735 for 2014/15 and 660 for 2016/17, the figures for 2017/18 are yet to be finalised and released. SafeWork Australia data also shows the Health and Social Assistance sector accounts for the largest number of worker compensation claims ahead of construction and manufacturing. A grandfather died from sepsis poisoning after several 'gross failures' by a hospital led to a delay in emergency surgery, a coroner has ruled. William Shaw, 69, would have survived if doctors at Blackpool Victoria Hospital carried out vital scans marked as 'urgent' in time. But the delay meant he was operated on 13 hours after the procedure should have taken place. The retired bakery worker was rushed to A&E with a perforated ulcer so severe it went almost all the way around his bowel on at 5.15pm on May 2 last year, but it was 'perfectly treatable', an inquest heard. William Shaw, 69, would have survived if doctors at Blackpool Victoria Hospital carried out vital scans marked as 'urgent' in time, a court has heard He should have been placed on a hospital's sepsis pathway, but the junior doctor who saw him decided not to, resulting in a delay in him receiving antibiotics. At 9.10am the following day, a senior doctor at Blackpool Victoria Hospital ordered an urgent CT scan to be carried out, the hearing was told. He noted Mr Shaw was suffering from suspected peritonitis, an infection of the abdomen that can prove fatal. But this was not done until shortly after midnight on May 4, revealing a bowel perforation believed to have been caused by a large ulcer. He was taken in for a laparotomy to repair the severe perforation at 2.30am and suffered a cardiac arrest while under anaesthetic. Doctors battled for 12 minutes to restore his heartbeat and the surgery was completed. However, operating doctor Thu Linn observed that sepsis was by this time well established. Mr Shaw should have been placed on a sepsis pathway Blackpool Victoria Hospital, but the junior doctor who saw him decided not to, resulting in a delay in him receiving antibiotics Mr Shaw had a 28 per cent chance of survival when he was rushed into surgery on his bowel at Blackpool Victoria Hospital at 2.30am on May 4, 2018. His condition continued to decline and he died eight days later on May 11 from multi-organ failure and septicaemia. An expert told the inquest that Mr Shaw could have had an 87 to 89 per cent chance of survival had doctors operated earlier. Independent expert Dr Simon Galloway, director of surgery at the Manchester University Trust, said the hospital's delay in carrying out the scan 'undoubtedly' contributed to Mr Shaw's death. 'The fact that (the CT scan) wasn't obtained in a timely manner meant there was a delay in surgery,' he added. 'Mr Shaw died as his chances of mortality increased during the period. This gross failure directly contributed to his death,' said Coroner Clare Doherty in recording a conclusion of natural causes contributed to by neglect 'Mr Shaw was seen at 9.10am on May 3, and it was noted there were features of peritonitis present and an urgent CT scan was requested. 'The clinical history stated acute general abdominal pain with vomiting and known previous peptic ulcer disease. 'Mr Shaw deteriorated during the day. At 10am the number score was three. It remained at three at 2pm. At 6pm it was four. 'By 7.40pm it was elevated to six and by 8.30pm it was seven. It was nine at 9.10pm.' He said based on the urgent report, Mr Shaw should have had his CT scan within one and two hours, and ideally should have been operated on by 1.30pm on May 3 - 13 hours before the surgery eventually took place. He added: 'On the balance of probability, I believe that he would have survived if he had had the operation at an earlier stage - 6pm at the latest.' He also agreed that antibiotics should have been administered sooner in accordance with the hospital's own sepsis pathway rules. Had he been placed on the sepsis pathway, Mr Shaw would have received antibiotics within one hour of being seen, but he was not given them until 10pm the following day meaning a 23-hour delay. Dr Peter Hayes, clinical manager at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals Trust, went against the hospital's own internal review findings, which claimed that it was not possible to determine whether Mr Shaw could have been saved. He believed individual failures were to blame for the neglect suffered by Mr Shaw, rather than systematic ones. Coroner Clare Doherty recorded a conclusion of natural causes contributed to by neglect. She said: 'While in hospital there were a series of miscommunications with the result that several gross failures occurred and Mr Shaw's condition deteriorated. 'A CT scan recorded on May 3, marked urgent at 9.10am, was not carried out until after midnight on May 4. 'As a result of this delay, emergency surgery was delayed, and this was to repair a perforated ulcer. 'By this time Mr Shaw had deteriorated to the point where at the time of surgery he was gravely ill. 'Mr Shaw died as his chances of mortality increased during the period. This gross failure directly contributed to his death. 'Antibiotics were not administered until 24 hours after admission. This most likely contributed to the loss of Mr Shaw's physical resistance. 'Although the surgery was successful and he survived, he declined despite receiving a high level of care and support in ICU.' Ms Doherty said she did not intend to write a regulation 28 letter to the hospital, but had observations that she would pass on to the hospital at a later date. Among the mountains of rubbish blanketing villages in the East Java region of Indonesia are Coles supermarket bags, Woolworths milk cartons, and even a Northern Territory footy jersey. Australia's massive contribution to the plastic waste flooding these villages is undeniable - with Indonesia becoming the second largest export destination for our rubbish since China cracked down on the practice in recent years. An audit by a local environment coalition alleges thousands of tonnes of plastic waste from across the globe is being smuggled into East Java every month among paper shipments to be recycled in mills, according to The Australian. Indonesia becoming the second largest export destination for Australian rubbish since China cracked down on the practice in recent years (pictured; a village in East Java) Indonesian environment groups recently protested Australia's involvement in the waste export industry Australian waste management companies Cleanaway and Auswaste export millions of kilograms of waste paper to East Java but have told The Australian they are not involved in any smuggling of plastics. 'Every waste shipment sent by Cleanaway to Indonesia is inspected and approved prior to export by local contractors for Indonesian Customs,' Cleanaway told the publication, adding they have never had a shipment rejected for plastic contamination. 'We believe material we send to Indonesia and other destinations will be recycled in a proper manner,' Auswaste managing director Vincent Liang said. The village of Bangun is one of those in the region that has embraced the new industry of dealing with global waste from the West. The streets and rice fields are now used to harvest piles of rubbish as they are laid out to dry in the sun by locals before being sorted sold to tofu factories in the region to keep their furnaces burning. The region's tofu industry switched to burning rubbish instead of wood over a decade ago as it was a cheaper option with little thought being given to the acrid, toxic smoke billowing from their chimneys. 'Sometimes people complain about the smoke and liquid waste. Sometimes it's us who complains. We tell the boss, 'this waste doesn't smell good' and he lets us switch to wood for a day,' one worker Kasning told the publication. A California burglary suspect has finally been captured after he was found living in a 'very well-built' and 'modern' treehouse for months. Mark Duda, 56, has been charged with residential burglary. He was wanted on 'numerous warrants', according to the Pomona Police Department. The burglary was first reported on April 18 when 'numerous items' were taken from a home and garage in Ganesha Hills, a suburb of Pomona. A California burglary suspect has finally been captured after he was found living in a 'very well-built' and 'modern' treehouse for months Mark Duda, 56, (pictured) has been charged with residential burglary. He was wanted on 'numerous warrants', according to the Pomona Police Department Pomona police said the victim had recognized the suspect and saw them removing items from their home. The suspected thief remained at large for nearly a month before patrol officers received a report regarding someone who was living in a treehouse in the area on May 21. Authorities were told that the treehouse was 'well-disguised' in the hills of the suburb. Many neighbors had no idea it existed, much less that someone was living there. As it was already 9pm when they received the report, authorities enlisted the Pomona Police Air Unit as well as K9 officers to help locate the treehouse. Officers found the 'well-built' treehouse, which they said was 'hidden deep into the hillside'. Inside the treehouse were 'many essentials', including a 'fire pit, barbecue, and lighting' The treehouse had an incredible view of the Ganesha Hills suburb. It was found with the help of a police helicopter's heat sensing system The helicopter's heat sensing system was then able to locate the house in 'the heavy brush and trees', according to a post on the Pomona Police Department's Facebook page. Officers found the dwelling, which they said was 'hidden deep into the hillside'. Inside the treehouse were 'many essentials', including a 'fire pit, barbecue and lighting'. A saxophone and cuckoo clock were also found inside, according to NBC Los Angeles. A saxophone and cuckoo clock (both pictured here) were also found inside Duda's treehouse Authorities said they had to give 'numerous verbal commands' before Duda finally climbed down. He was then arrested 'without incident'. The treehouse was set to be torn down on Friday. Duda's case has since been presented to the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office, where he was charged with burglary. He is being held on $70,000 bail and is set to appear in court in June. An elderly bed-bound woman with dementia suffered at the hands of two carers who had no formal qualifications, a court has heard. Zaria Bi, 48, raised a clenched fist and threatened the 85-year-old woman at her home in an attempt to get her to drink a cup of tea, the court heard yesterday. She also suspended the cup over the woman's head and threatened to call the police if she failed to drink it. Her colleague, Farzana Bibi, 41, slapped the woman on her arms in footage recorded on CCTV fitted in the woman's bedroom by her daughter, who had become concerned by her mother's behaviour. An elderly bed-bound woman with dementia suffered at the hands of two carers who had no formal qualifications, a court has heard (stock photo) The only training they had was shadowing other carers, the court was told. In the footage, described by prosecutor Melanie Ibbotson, the victim was seen sobbing and telling the two carers to leave. Miss Ibbotson, who said the behaviour of the women should be seen as a disability hate crime, said a member of social services described their actions as 'disgusting and shocking'. The woman required four visits during the day, and one in the evening, and Bi and Bibi had been carrying out some of the visits for 18 months up to October, last year. Both women, of previous good character, admitted assaulting the woman at her home in Keighley, West Yorks., on October 22 and were sentenced to a 12 month community order with 200 hours unpaid work, as a direct alternative to custody. They were also ordered to pay compensation of 250 each. The pair admitted to assaulting the woman and were sentenced to a 12-month community order with 200 hours unpaid work at Skipton Magistrates Court Skipton Magistrates Court heard in mitigation that both women had been ostracised following their first appearance in court and had been fearful of being sent to prison. Sabeeha Khan said her clients had developed a rapport with the woman in their care and had wanted to make sure she had plenty to drink and eat. Miss Khan denied they were guilty of disability hate crime and that the fact the woman had vascular dementia was incidental. She added the only training they had had been to shadow other carers - a fact that she had found surprising. In a statement read out in court, the woman's daughter said she had been shocked and disgusted by the behaviour of the carers and had felt guilty that she had not known it was going on. She said she could not imagine how her mother would have felt, but that her mother was now happy again, and back to her normal self. Magistrates told Bi, of Keighley and Bibi, of Keighley, that what they had done had crossed the custody threshold, and that they had demonstrated hostility to the victim, both in the language they had used, the use of clenched fists, and threats. The assaults had also been carried out in the woman's own home, which was an abuse of trust. The community order, they said, was a direct alternative to custody. The 12 month community sentence also requires the women to complete up to 20 rehabilitation activity requirement days and prohibits them from paid work caring for vulnerable adults. They will also each have to pay costs of 85 and a surcharge of 85. Anthony Graziano, the former Bonanno crime family consigliere and father of former Mob Wives star Renee Graziano, has died. He was 78. 'I can't believe you're gone, life will never be the same without you, my hero, my protector, my rock, my dad and the best man in the world,' Renee wrote in an Instagram tribute on Saturday. 'Thank you for loving me the way I am and for helping guide my son. We sure are going to miss you Rest in peace, daddy,' she added in the caption of a photo of her and her father. Renee did not say what caused her father's death, but he previously suffered from cancer. In 2012, Anthony Graziano served a 19-month sentence in a North Carolina prison on racketeering charges. Anthony Graziano (right), the former Bonanno crime family consigliere and father of former Mob Wives star Renee Graziano (left), has died. He was 78 'Life will never be the same without you, my hero, my protector, my rock, my dad and the best man in the world. Thank you for loving me the way I am. We sure are going to miss you Rest in peace, daddy,' Renee wrote in an Instagram tribute. Graziano and his three daughters pictured At the time Renee's ex-husband, Hector Pagan Jr, left the Bonanno crime family and turned into a government informant against her father. After her husband switched sides, Graziano was charged with a number of mob crimes. Pagan wore a hidden 'wire' recorder and taped Graziano as part of an undercover Drug Enforcement Administration probe. In 2012, Anthony Graziano (pictured) served a 19-month sentence in a North Carolina prison on racketeering charges Graziano reportedly made his way up the ranks of the Cosa Nostra family from capo to consigliere for boss Joseph Massino, who also turned against the mob and testified twice for the government. Massino was the first American Mafia boss to turn state's evidence and is now in a witness protection program. During the 1990s, Graziano had multiple run-ins with the law and was indicted several times. Graziano, who was also known as T.G., pleaded guilty to federal tax evasion and spent five years in prison. In 2002, he was slapped with multiple charges in New York and Florida that included murder conspiracy, illegal bookmaking and investment fraud. The murder conspiracy charges stemmed from a 1994 incident when he reportedly ordered members of the Bonanno family to kill two Colombo family members. But Graziano eventually called off the hits before either mobster was killed. A year later in 2003, Graziano was sentenced to 11 years for the Florida case and nine years for the one in New York. He was hit with the racketeering charges in 2012 after Pagan ratted him out. Graziano took a plea deal and was released from prison in 2013 after his lawyer asked the judge for leniency in Graziano's case because of his deteriorating health problems. At the time Renee's ex-husband, Hector Pagan Jr, left the Bonanno crime family and turned into a government informant against her father. After her husband switched sides, Graziano was charged with a number of mob crimes Graziano (left) reportedly made his way up the ranks of the Cosa Nostra family from capo to consigliere for boss Joseph Massino (right), who also turned against the mob and testified twice for the government At one point, the mobster disowned his daughters after Mob Wives aired in 2011. Graziano eventually lost his leadership status in the Bonanno family, which brought an end to his mob career. He stopped speaking with Renee, who starred on the show, and Jennifer, who produced it. Eventually, they all made amends. He also has a third daughter, Lana. In a follow up Instagram post, Renee wrote: 'RIP DAD .. You might not get everything you ask for in life but as long as you have a family you have EVEYTHING you need. 'God keep TG in line lol and tell him he raised 3 strong women, sh*t we're a lot stronger then most of the men so we got this .. WE ARE OK AND WE WILL TAKE CARE OF MOMMY,' she added. At one point, the mobster disowned his daughters after Mob Wives aired in 2011. He stopped speaking with Renee (center), who starred on the show, and Jennifer (right), who produced it. Eventually, they all made amends. He also has a third daughter, Lana (left) Jeff Elrod was accused by a female friend who he had dinner with in August A New York City artist is facing charges for allegedly pulling a friend's breast out of her shirt and kissing it at a Texas restaurant. Jeff Elrod was accused by a female friend who he had dinner with in the Texas artist town, Marfa, in August. She filed a complaint with the police in October and he has been charged with simple assault, a misdemeanor which has a $500 fine and is a non-arrestable offense. She says that they had had a nice dinner together and were sitting down for a drink at the bar when he exposed her breast and put his mouth on it. He told her: 'I have to kiss your breasts,' beforehand, she said. The woman said she then went to his studio where he 'began trying to touch her leg.' She walked out, 'in shock', she said. She waited several months before reporting it to the police because she feared retaliation. The pair were in the popular artist town Marfa in Texas (famous in part for the side-of-the-road Prada store shown above) She has since signed a waiver stating that she does not want any form of civil settlement or compensation from him. Elrod's representatives dismissed the case as an extortion attempt. 'The Class C misdemeanor "offense" alleged is the Texas equivalent of a speeding ticket. 'We believe this is nothing short of an extortion attempt by the claimant,' his attorney told The New York Daily News. Rare etchings made by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert are going on display for the first time this summer. A free exhibition called 'At Home: Royal Etchings By Queen Victoria And Prince Albert' will be held at The British Museum in London from July 18 to September. The artworks, made by the royals in the early years of their marriage, will go on exhibition to mark the bicentenary of both their births. 'Victoria, Princess Royal, with her nurse' is an etching made by Queen Victoria in 1841 The etchings completed by the royals show their domestic life in Windsor and Claremont 'A greyhound and a skye terrier' is one of the artworks drawn by Prince Albert in 1844 The etchings, a type of printmaking involving drawing on a metal plate, were completed by Victoria and Albert in the 1840s. Museum curators say they show the royals 'in a completely different light'. The display will present 20 artworks by the couple, featuring domestic scenes of their life in Windsor and Claremont, as well as their children and pets. One of the artworks on display at The British Museum shows Prince Alfred and was made by Queen Victoria in 1846 'The Princess Royal and the Prince of Wales' is one of the rare etchings made by Prince Albert The artworks depict the royals' domestic life, including their pets, as the etching 'A Highland terrier', made by Prince Albert, shows The royals were 'talented and enthusiastic amateur artists' and their works were often collaborations, The British Museum said. Some of the etchings by Prince Albert were based on Queen Victoria's earlier drawings. The couple started etching shortly after their marriage in 1840 with the help of notable painter Sir George Hayter. Museum curators said Queen Victoria and Prince Albert were two 'talented and enthusiastic amateur artists' In her drawings, Queen Victoria (pictured) showed to be a very affectionate mother who loved spending time with her family They wanted the artworks to be shown only to their close friends and family, but in 1926 King George V, Victoria's grandson, donated them to The British Museum. This year's exhibition will be the first time the etchings have been on public display. Sheila O'Connell, curator of prints and drawings at the British Museum, said: 'As parents, both Victoria and Albert have been much criticised, but these images show them in a completely different light. 'Victoria, Princess Royal, standing in profile' is an etching Prince Albert made in 1842 'The Princess Royal and The Prince of Wales', drawn by Queen Victoria in 1845, is one of the rare paintings on display 'The scenes Victoria depicts in her drawings show her to be a very affectionate mother, and it's clear that both she and Albert enjoyed spending time with their children. 'We're delighted that we can now put these works on display for the first time since King George V donated them to us. 'It is the perfect way to celebrate 200 years since the birth of these towering figures of British history, who were also enthusiastic artists.' Queen Victoria and Prince Albert got married at the Chapel Royal in St Jamess Palace on 10 February 1840. They had nine children, four boys and five girls, born between 1840 and 1857. A mother has humorously attempted to bill Theresa May for the 'unauthorised absence' of her daughter from school, after the primary closed for two days to be used as a polling station. Kellie Heal, 35, was furious to hear that her 10-year-old daughter Demii's school had been closed on yet another election day, pulling children away from their education. Weston Junior Academy in Weston Coyney, Stoke-on-Trent, has closed twice in the month of May alone, once to be used as a polling station for the local elections and again on Thursday for the European Elections. The mum-of-four penned a letter to the Prime Minister billing her for 60 for the 'unauthorised absences' - the same amount billed to parents who remove their children without permission. 35-year-old Kellie Heal has written an email to Theresa May fining her for closing her daughter's school for the local elections and EU elections. Her 10-year-old daughter Demii attended Weston Coyney Junior Academy but following the closures for elections she has decided to home school her daughter Emailing Theresa May Mrs Heal wrote: 'Dear Theresa May, I am writing regarding the unauthorised absence for my daughter Demii Sophia Elizabeth Heal during term time to use her school as a polling station on 2nd May 2019. 'It is my policy not to authorise any absence from school unless it is an exceptional circumstance. The use of the school for political purposes does not meet the criteria of exceptional circumstances. 'I am therefore fining you and your establishment of 60 per MP per child if paid within 21 days, rising to 120 if not paid between 21-28 days.' The 35-year-old mother penned the email to the outgoing Tory leader after discovering Weston Junior Academy, in Weston Coyney, Stoke-on-Trent was to shut so it could be used as a polling station for the local election Mrs Heal posted a screen grab of the email on Facebook with the caption 'I wonder if i'll get a response. One rule for parents, one rule for the government. 'There are plenty of other places to hold polling stations, I.e village halls, churches, scout huts or pubs, yet there is still the need to use our schools.' The frustrated mother was not expecting the post to be shared many times but woke up to find it had already amassed 3,000 shares. She told the Mirror: 'It's nearly 5,000 shares now and people are agreeing with what I've said. 'I was very shocked by the reaction, I didn't even expect it to leave the Stoke-on-Trent area, but I've had people from Scotland share it and my friend who's a student said they debated the issue at Staffordshire University.' Weston Junior Academy in Weston Coyney, Stoke-on-Trent, has closed twice in the month of May alone Without a reply from the Prime Minister and with several other concerns about the school Mrs Heal has decided to remove her child from Weston Junior Academy, instead homeschooling her. Mrs Heal told The Mirror: My daughter has special needs. She is in year six but working at year two or three level. For her to miss a day of school, it would have a really negative impact. 'So I made the decision to take her out of mainstream education and home school her - I've seen a massive change, she's always smiling.' The mother questions why other available buildings in the area aren't used as a polling station instead. She said: 'There's plenty of buildings around Weston Coyney such as churches and village halls that are used as polling stations, it doesn't need to be children's schools. 'It doesn't make sense to me at all.' She has been an actress for more than a decade, but it was a single Instagram post that put Louise Linton's name in national headlines. The wife of Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin had posted a photo of herself disembarking from a military jet, tagging every item of her head-to-toe designer outfit. Now Linton, 38, is set out to prove that she is a vegan environmentalist who believes in diversity and makes sure to hire transgender actors on her films. It's a stark contrast to the Washington DC social circles in which Linton runs in, with friends including the president himself - who she says has a 'great sense of humor'. Louise Linton, the wife of Secretary of the Treasury Steve Mnuchin (pictured together in May) is set out to prove that she is a vegan environmentalist who believes in diversity and makes sure to hire transgender actors on her films As Trump's administration works to ban transgender people from the military and homeless shelters, Linton is celebrating her efforts to hire them. The Scottish actress, who has appeared in Cabin Fever and CSI, is currently directing and starring in the film Me, You, and Madness. In the movie she plays a bisexual psychopathic killer who is 'uninhibited' and 'very carnal and confident in her sexuality'. Linton told the Sunday Times that she is proud of the diversity she brings to her film company Stormchaser. 'I made sure I cast a transgender actor, two African-American women, a gay guy and a gender-neutral person,' she said of her most recent film, which features both lesbian and heterosexual sex scenes. It's a stark contrast to the Washington DC social circles in which Linton runs in, with friends including the president himself - who she says has a 'great sense of humor'. They are pictured here at Linton and Mnuchin's wedding in 2017 As Trump's administration works to ban transgender people from the military and even homeless shelters, Linton is celebrating her effort to hire them. Vice President Mike Pence officiated her wedding 'This was partly to represent who I am as a filmmaker and how I love diversity and inclusivity,' she added. But the film also stars Ed Westwick, who was accused of rape by two women, and sexual assault by a third, at the height of the #MeToo movement in 2017. 'I don't believe that he did those things,' said Linton as she defended her co-star. 'I don't really believe in torpedoing someone's career when they've been absolved of doing something.' Linton is also happy to defend the Trump family, who she counts among her friends. The actress' 2017 wedding to Mnuchin, 58, was attended by Trump, Melania, Ivanka and Jared Kushner, and even officiated by Vice President Mike Pence. Two months after her wedding to Mnuchin, Linton raised eyebrows when she posted a photo of herself walking off the military plane with him. She had tagged every designer in her outfit and got into a fight with a Portland mother-of-three in the comments, calling her 'out of touch' The actress said she is still perplexed by the fact that she was mocked for wearing long black leather gloves while posing with Mnuchin and a sheet of dollar bills bearing his name Linton calls Ivanka the 'most amazing mother' and often pays her visits when she's in Washington DC. 'I go over there with one of my dogs for the kids to play with,' she said. 'We're just two young women making our way in the world. We sit there in sweatpants and have a glass of wine.' Linton also praised Melania, who she called 'sincere, warm, and humble'. 'It's impossible to fully relate with someone who's that glamorous and has all these different facets of her life, but I wish people could understand that these people are public figures but they're also mothers, daughters, and sisters,' she said. 'They're relatable, even if their lifestyle is so different. It so saddens me that people don't give other people the benefit of the doubt in the way they'd want to be given it.' The Scottish actress, who has appeared in Cabin Fever and CSI, is currently directing and starring in the film Me, You, and Madness. In the movie she plays a bisexual psychopathic killer who is 'uninhibited' and 'very carnal and confident in her sexuality' The film also stars Ed Westwick, who was accused of rape by two women, and sexual assault by a third, at the height of the #MeToo movement in 2017 Like the Trump family, Linton is no stranger to controversy. Two months after her wedding to Mnuchin, Linton raised eyebrows when she posted a photo of herself walking off the military plane with him following a trip to Kentucky. 'Great #daytrip to #Kentucky!' she wrote in the captions alongside the hashtags #rolandmouret, #hermesscarf, #tomford and #valentino to note the labels she was wearing. The picture received swift backlash, including from Portland mother-of-three Jenni Miller, who commented: 'Glad we could pay for your little getaway. #deplorable.' Linton replied to Miller's comment, calling her 'adorably out of touch' and sarcastically writing that her life 'looks cute'. 'Have you given more to the economy than me and my husband? Either as an individual earner in taxes OR in self sacrifice to your country?' she wrote. Linton's Instagram is now scarce of glamorous outfit choices, instead showcasing her philanthropic work 'Pretty sure the amount we sacrifice per year is a lot more than you'd be willing to sacrifice if the choice was yours.' Looking back, Linton - who has homes in Los Angeles, DC, and Manhattan - said she now 'completely' understands 'why people were outraged'. But the actress said she is still perplexed by the fact that she was mocked for her outfit choice while posing with Mnuchin and a sheet of dollar bills bearing his name. 'Yes, I wore long, black leather gloves one day,' she said. 'Does that make me the DC [Comics] villain?' While she may now be one of DC's power wives, it is still Los Angeles that Linton loves to call home. 'I like the creativity here,' she said. 'I like that people are liberal, open-minded, and progressive.' Linton now has the help of a Washington 'protocol expert' to help prevent future scandals It's a quality she's trying to pass down to Mnuchin, who she says is 'very habitual'. 'I'm adventurous, I like change,' she said. 'I like to try different food. Her's very habitual, doesn't like change, and doesn't like to try loads of different foods, but I always force him to.' 'And he's funnier than people would ever guess. He can be really playful and goofy.' Linton now has the help of a Washington 'protocol expert' to help prevent future scandals, and may even find a way to pass down her newfound knowledge. 'I think the president has opened the floodgates for people who aren't necessarily your traditional political types to run for office. So going forward you're going to see a lot more celebrities, more billionaires, people in the tech space, all vying for political office,' she said. 'Maybe I'll create a guidebook for future political spouses. The dos and don'ts in DC.' Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger on Sunday blasted President Donald Trump for taking a shot at former Vice President Joe Biden while praising North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Kinzinger, an Air Force veteran who served in Iraq twice and remains in the Illinois National Guard, complained about a tweet the president posted on Memorial Day weekend. 'It's Memorial Day Weekend and you're taking a shot at Biden while praising a dictator. This is just plain wrong,' Kinzinger wrote on Twitter. Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger blasted President Trump for taking a shot at former Vice President Joe Biden while praising North Korean leader Kim Jong-un Kinzinger, who also served in Afghanistan, frequently speaks on military matters and serves on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. He was one of the few Republicans to criticize their party's leader for his tweet. Republican Rep. Liz Cheney, a member of the party's leadership on Capitol Hill, side stepped the question when asked about it on ABC's 'This Week.' 'I think that what we have seen so far with this president with respect to North Korea is that hes doing the right thing in terms of the policy,' she said. And she didn't bite when pressed on the issue. 'I would say youve got to judge based on actions, youve got to look where we are today and where we are today is the president walked away, he was not willing to accept a phony deal, which too many of his predecessors have been,' Cheney said. Kinzinger, a Republican lawmaker from Illinois retweeted Trump's tweet from Saturday calling Biden a 'swampman' with a 'low IQ.' 'North Korea fired off some small weapons, which disturbed some of my people, and others, but not me. I have confidence that Chairman Kim will keep his promise to me, & also smiled when he called Swampman Joe Biden a low IQ individual, & worse. Perhaps that's sending me a signal?,' Trump wrote. Trump was referring to a recent piece published by state-run media in North Korea. The editorial was full of insults hurled at Biden, who was labeled a 'fool of low IQ' and an 'imbecile bereft of elementary quality as a human being.' Biden, who is running for the Democratic presidential nomination, frequently slams Trump's relationships with 'dictators and tyrants' like Kim and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Andrew Bates, director of rapid response for Biden's campaign, hit back at the president. 'Given Vice President Biden's record of standing up for American values and interests, it's no surprise that North Korea would prefer that Donald Trump remain in the White House,' he said. Kinzinger did not endorse Trump in the 2016 election. 'I'm an American before I'm a Republican,' he told CNN at the time. But Kinzinger has also defended the president. He told MSNBC earlier this month he did not agree with fellow Republican Rep. Justin Amash that Trump should be impeached. President Trump, during his state visit to Japan, took to twitter to criticize Biden Kinzinger, in the middle, when he was in the Air Force 'I do disagree with him,' Kinzinger told MSNBC's 'Morning Joe.' He argued special counsel Robert Mueller's report on Russia's role in the 2016 election exonerated the president. 'There's no evidence of collusion and when it comes to the obstruction issue there's no final thing mentioned on that,' he noted. Kinzinger was also asked about Trump's tough talk on Iran. The president threatened the Islamic nation last weekend, writing on Twitter: 'If Iran wants to fight, that will be the official end of Iran. Never threaten the United States again!' Kinzinger said he may not like Trump's words all the time but agreed Iran is a threat. 'I don't necessarily agree with how the president puts everything all the time but I think in case I think it's a legitimate threat from Iran,' he said. A headteacher was sacked after her husband's building company was awarded 500,000 of work at her school, an employment tribunal has heard. Ruth Ejvet allegedly allowed a 145,000 contract to go through without considering other bids despite knowing it was against government guidelines. The three-phase project, which involved a two-storey extension with a new boardroom, staffroom and toilets, went ahead in 2017 despite alleged shortages of teaching staff and resources including IT equipment and interactive whiteboards. Ruth Ejvet was headteacher at the school when her husband Nish was awarded building contracts worth 500,000 But the work allegedly resulted in 'stinking' toilets and 100,000 had to be spent to put right problems, the tribunal heard. In 2014 a development was signed off in favour of her husband Nish, despite it being the most expensive of four bids, it was claimed. In total, his firm, Elite Building and Maintenance Services, was awarded 500,000 of work at St Margaret's Church of England School in Barking, east London. The tribunal was held after Mrs Ejvet, 57, claimed she was unfairly dismissed for gross misconduct. She is suing Genesis Education Trust for 1,194,000, alleging that she was sacked for making 23 whistleblowing disclosures. But the academy trust, which said it unearthed 'financial misconduct' after it took over the school and carried out an audit, told the tribunal it had discovered a string of failures. Ruth Ejvet had also given her daughter and a friend teaching jobs without carrying out criminal record checks These included Mrs Ejvet giving her daughter Amy and a friend, Abi Khan, teaching posts without carrying out criminal record checks, and hiring two cleaners who didn't have the right to work in the UK. Mrs Ejvet told the tribunal: 'I have worked in education for 32 years. My career has been totally unblemished and has always been on an upward trajectory.' Mr Ejvet declined to discuss the case when approached on Thursday, after the tribunal had finished hearing evidence. But he said: 'We have been operating with integrity all the way through.' During the hearing, the Reverend Canon Ade Ademola, a director at the trust, accused Mrs Ejvet of presiding over 'exceptionally serious' failures which could have resulted in the school being placed immediately into special measures. Speaking about the last contract awarded to her husband's firm, he said: 'She would have known it goes against the local government and government guidelines for what the tendering process should be. You don't even have to be a governor you can google it.' He added that the building was 'very obviously of poor quality'. East London Employment Tribunal heard that the school became part of the academy trust in April 2017. Mrs Ejvet, who earned 77,738 and lives in a 900,000 six-bedroom semi-detached house in Theydon Bois, Essex, went off sick that July. She was suspended after concerns emerged and was sacked in January last year. Mrs Ejvet is demanding she is reinstated. She also claims breach of contract, unfair dismissal and discrimination on the grounds of disability when she was off sick due to work stress caused by the investigation into her conduct. The tribunal will publish its judgment at a later date. Ruth Ejvet was fired from St Margaret's Church of England School in Barking, east London but is fighting a legal battle to be reinstated Federal and county authorities are still searching for a five-year-old girl in Utah after she went missing over the weekend. Elizabeth Shelley was discovered missing from her family's home about 10am on Saturday. She was last seen sleeping at around 2am. Logan City Police said they have arrested the girl's 21-year-old uncle, Alexander Whipple. Police started searching for Whipple after Elizabeth's parents said she might be with him. Utah authorities are still searching for five-year-old Elizabeth Shelley (pictured) after she went missing on Saturday Logan City Police said they arrested the girl's 21-year-old uncle, Alexander Whipple (right), who had stayed at the family's home Friday night. Whipple had some of the girl's clothing in his possession when he was arrested. He is not cooperating with authorities Whipple was at the family's home Friday night. He was located walking alone in the Logan area around 3pm on Saturday. According to Cache Valley Daily, Whipple had some of the girl's clothing in his possession when he was arrested. He was subsequently jailed on a probation violation and police say he's being uncooperative in their investigation of the girl's whereabouts. 'Were very concerned,' Logan police Capt Tyson Budge told the Salt Lake Tribune. 'At this point, we believe shes been harmed,' he added. Whipple was convicted of theft, failing to stop at the command of law enforcement and driving under the influence in January 2018. Authorities are asking residents to check home video surveillance footage from 2am to noon on Saturday. Police said dozens of law enforcement officers and other volunteers spent all day Saturday searching for Elizabeth. The search resumed on Sunday with officers going door-to-door and getting permission to search homes and yards of residents in the neighborhoods surrounding the child's home. Elizabeth's mother, Jessica (left), said Sunday's search began at 7am. The child's father, Wes Shelley (right), shared a Facebook post about Elizabeth asking for the public to 'pray' for his daughter Police said dozens of law enforcement officers (pictured) and other volunteers spent all day Saturday searching for Elizabeth Officers were going door-to-door and getting permission to search homes and yards of residents in the neighborhoods surrounding the child's home Elizabeth's mother, Jessica, said Sunday's search began at 7am. 'Update the police have asked us to keep the search to the professional so the dogs can get better sent and nothing gets interrupted! You can still look at parks!!!! Or hand out flyers!!!!!' she wrote. The child's father, Wes Shelley, shared a Facebook post about Elizabeth asking for the public to 'pray' for his daughter. Elizabeth is described as being 36 and about 40lbs. She has shoulder-length curly brown hair with bangs, and brown eyes. Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, a close ally of President Donald Trump, warned Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Sunday she would be committing 'political suicide' if she started impeachment proceedings against the president. 'She knows that impeachment would be political suicide because there's no reason to impeach the president,' Graham said on 'Fox News Sunday.' He claimed Pelosi's real motive is trying to keep her Democratic Party together and not lose control of the House of Representatives. Sen. Lindsey Graham warned Speaker Nancy Pelosi she would be committing 'political suicide' if she started impeachment proceedings against President Trump Graham warned Speaker Nancy Pelosi she would lose control of the House in the next election if she pursued impeachment charges He warned she would lose control the House in the 2020 election if she pursued impeachment charges. 'She's trying to keep the party intact. If she goes down the impeachment road, Republicans take back the House, we keep the Senate, President Trump gets reelected, but her job is very much at risk,' he said. 'So what I think is going to happen here - I think that she's going to be driven towards impeachment. If she goes down that road, it will be suicide for the Democratic Party. From President Trump's point of view, I disagree with the idea that you can't work with them while they're doing things like this. You have to work with him,' he added. Graham was an impeachment manager in the House of Representatives in the 1990s, when Republicans tried to impeach then-President Bill Clinton. They failed to do so and the party lost control of the House in the next election. Graham was discussing the end of an extraordinary week that saw Pelosi and Trump in an unprecedented war of words. The attacks began after a White House meeting between the two and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-New York) on infrastructure broke down on Wednesday. Trump promptly labeled the two leaders Crying Chuck and Crazy Nancy. 'You had the group - Crying Chuck and Crazy Nancy... 'I'll 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 at an event with farmers and the ranchers at the White House. Pelosi didn't hold back either. 'The White House is just crying out for impeachment. That's why he flipped,' she told reporters on Capitol Hill. 'Maybe he wants to take a leave of absence. I don't know. But on the other hand, we understand what our responsibilities are,' she charged. She also suggested it was time for an intervention. '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,' she said. President Donald Trump slammed Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer as 'Crazy Nancy' and 'Crying Chuck' The war of words began when President Trump walked out a Wednesday meeting at the White House with Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (pictured) Graham also advised the president to fight off Democratic subpoenas, such as those filed by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (pictured) The latest fracas between the executive and legislative branches comes as Trump is fighting Democratic subpoenas for his business records, his tax returns and for administration officials - both current and former - to testify before Congress. Six House committees are investigating the president - an argument Pelosi has used to try to tamp down impeachment talk among her party. Graham advised the president to fight 'tooth and nail' against the Democratic subpoenas. He specifically cited House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler, who subpoenaed the full, unredacted report from special counsel Robert Mueller. Nader also subpoenaed Attorney General Bill Barr and former White House counsel Don McGahn, who is frequently cited in Mueller's report, along with McGahn's chief of staff Annie Donaldson and former White House communications director Hope Hicks. 'If I were the president, Id fight back against this political revenge coming out of the House,' Graham said. 'I would fight Nadler tooth and nail,' he added. Advertisement After reducing the Tories to just 9 per cent of the vote, their worst showing ever in an election, Nigel Farage said: 'The Conservative Party are bitterly divided and I consider it to be extremely unlikely that they will pick a leader who is able to take us out on the 31st October come what may' Nigel Farage sent out a chilling warning to the Tories today that he would try to wipe the party out at the general election if they did not get the UK out of Europe by Halloween. After running away with the European election he goaded the deflated Conservatives after hanging them an election hiding today saying they were 'extremely unlikely' to elect a new leader who can push Brexit through by October 31. Mocking the candidates vying to replace Theresa May as party leader and Prime Minister at a chaotic press conference in London this afternoon he said: 'Why would I trust any of them? Why would I believe any of them?' Fresh from his dramatic triumph the Brexit Party leader told a chaotic press conference this afternoon that he did not believe that Theresa May's fragmented party would be 'able to deliver' by the October 31 deadline set by the EU. After reducing the Tories to just 9 per cent of the vote, their worst showing ever in an election, he posed with his 29 MEPs who will form the national largest group in the European Parliament. He said: 'The Conservative Party are bitterly divided and I consider it to be extremely unlikely that they will pick a leader who is able to take us out on the 31st October come what may. 'We might overnight have made their lives a bit easier but I don't see them being able to deliver and I think the real barrier, the real obstruction to all of this is a two-party system that may well have worked in decades gone by but is no longer fit for purpose.' Mr Farage also claimed the Labour Party are in 'more trouble' than the Conservatives following the European election results. His party took 31 per cent of the vote in Thursday's poll, despite only being formed six weeks ago. In grim contrast, the Conservatives have dropped to fifth place across much of the country. The disastrous showing immediately sparked warnings from would-be leader Boris Johnson that things will get even worse for the Tories if the UK does not leave the EU by the new deadline at the end of October - deal or no deal. Jeremy Corbyn was facing civil war within his party as critics blamed the party's poor third-place finish on 14 per cent on his failure to back a second referendum. The Remainer Lib Dems surged into second place on 20 per cent with the Greens coming a close fourth on 12 per cent. A jubilant Mr Farage demanded a role in the next round of negotiations with the EU, threatening to contest a general election. Nigel Farage today goaded the Tories, saying: 'The Conservative Party are bitterly divided and I consider it to be extremely unlikely that they will pick a leader who is able to take us out on the 31st October come what may' A jubilant Nigel Farage (pictured with Anne Widdecombe) demanded a role in the next round of negotiations with the EU after te Brexit Party's triumph, threatening to contest a general election A group of the Brexit Party's 29 MEPs including Anne Widdecombe gathered in London for a press conference with Nigel Farage today after their political earthquake in the European elections Speaking this morning, he blasted the Tories for their handling of Brexit but said he would be willing to support a Conservative leader who promises to take Britain out of the EU with No Deal. He said: 'If we don't leave in October the Brexit Party will go on to a general election. 'We are happy to help any leader who is genuine about us leaving the EU. We would like to be part of the negotiating team, use us and give us some responsibility, but they need to be prepared to leave with a clean break Brexit. Boris Johnson, Dominic Raab, Michael Gove - all of them voted for Mrs May's European treaty. 'It's all about establishing trust if the next leader says the same thing then no one is going to trust them.' 'This is just the beginning of a new political movement.' Victory: Nigel Farage celebrates his Brexit Party's sweeping triumph in the European Parliament elections last night, applauding alongside successful MEP candidates Robert Rowland (left) and Belinda de Lucy (right) These diagrams show how the Brexit Party has stormed to victory in the European elections, winning the most votes and seats A swing chart showed the Brexit Party surging from non-existence to almost a third of the vote while Labour, the Conservatives and UKIP all slumped WHAT ARE THE KEY DATES FOR BREXIT NOW - AND CAN A NEW DEAL BE AGREED BY OCTOBER 31? There might be five months left until the next deadline for the UK to leave the EU, but in fact time is short to prepare the ground for it to happen. The new Tory leader is unlikely to be in place before the end of July. And then they will have just two months - including August, when much of the continent downs tools - to overhaul the Brexit deal Theresa May thrashed out with Brussels. Success in this process would still mean a frantic race against time to pass legislation through Parliament in October. Here are the key dates in the process: June 7 - Theresa May formally steps down June 10 - Tory leadership contest begins The battle to succeed Mrs May as Tory leader should formally kick off early in June. Nominations to stand will close in the week beginning June 10 before it is put to several rounds of votes. The final two candidates are then offered to the Tory membership at large for an election. It could take two to six weeks for MPs to whittle down the leadership contenders From 24 June - Top Two Tory candidates are offered to Tory members Once Tory MPs have whittled the leadership contenders down to the top two in a series of votes - the lucky two will be be put to a vote by Conservative Party members. July 26 - New Tory leader selected and becomes PM The Tory party hierarchy has said it wants a new Tory party leader to be selected by the Parliamentary recess - which is likely to be on July 26. The new leader will become Prime Minister and form a government. September 29-October 2 - Conservative Party conference The Tory gathering in Manchester this autumn will be the natural time for a new leader to take the stage and try to unite the fractured party. Assuming no way has been found to force a Withdrawal Agreement through Parliament by this point, they will need to spell out how they intend to approach the Brexit process. October 31 - Britain leaves the EU? The Brexit extension Mrs May thrashed out with the EU expires on October 31. Unless another postponement can be agreed, the UK is still scheduled to leave the bloc at this point. Advertisement On a dramatic political night where turnout rose to a 15-year high as voters vented their fury at the chaos in Westminster: Boris Johnson seized on the 'rout' for the Tories to make his case to succeed Theresa May and pull the country out of the EU on October 31 come what may, while Chancellor Philip Hammond warned that any attempt to force a No Deal Brexit could collapse the Government; Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said it was a 'painful result' and there was an 'existential risk to our party unless we now come together and get Brexit done'; Mr Farage's Brexit Party polled above 50 per cent of vote share in some areas and raked in 31 per cent nationally; Tony Blair's former spin doctor Alastair Campbell said he had voted Lib Dem the first time he had not voted Labour; Change UK polled just 5 per cent in the Remain stronghold of London; Far-Right activist Tommy Robinson failed to win a seat as an independent, while Ukip lost all its MEPs; Turnout hit 37 per cent, the highest level since the European elections in 2004; Remain campaigners claimed that parties who support a second referendum on staying in the EU are on track to do better than hard Brexit parties; Scotland was the only place where the Brexit Party's surge was held back, with the SNP topping the polls north of the border; Election experts warned that the UK is more deeply divided between Leave and Remain than ever; Across Europe, far-Right and Eurosceptic parties were on course to win more seats than ever before. With almost all results in this morning, the Brexit Party's share of the vote was 31 per cent ahead of the Lib Dems on 20 per cent. Labour was third on just 14 per cent, with the Greens next on 12 per cent and the Tories on a disastrous 9 per cent. That is thought to make it the worst performance for the Conservatives since they took on their current name in 1834. Change UK, formed this year to fight for a second referendum, attracted just 3.4 per cent of the vote. In terms of MEPs elected, the Brexit Party were on 28, the Lib Dems 15 and Labour ten. The Greens had seven MEPs and the Conservatives just three. Change UK had none. Mr Farage, who was re-elected as an MEP in the South East, declared: 'This is a big, big message, a big wake-up call to Westminster. Will they listen? Never before in British politics has a new party launched just six weeks ago topped the polls at a national election. 'The reason of course is very obvious. We voted to leave in a referendum. We were supposed to do so on March 29 and we haven't.' Mr Johnson laid into Mrs May - who announced her resignation on Friday - for having 'flagrantly failed' to achieve Britain's departure from the EU. By contrast he has already declared that if he becomes leader this summer the UK will leave the EU at the end of October, with or without a deal. He wrote in the Daily Telegraph: 'No one sensible would aim exclusively for a no-deal outcome. No one responsible would take no-deal off the table.' This map shows the party which won the most votes in each of hundreds of local authority areas in England, Wales and Scotland. With almost all results in, the Brexit Party had won the vast majority of council areas in England and Wales last night This diagram shows where the Brexit Party had their strongest results and where Labour and the Tories struggled the most Former Conservative MP Ann Widdecombe (pictured last night) said that if Britain did not leave the EU then 'the Brexit Party will do what they've done tonight in a general election' The Conservative vote share slumped to around 9 per cent - thought to be its lowest in a national election since 1834 when the party took on its current name With almost all the results in from Scotland, the SNP seems likely to win three of the six Scottish MEP seats - with Scottish Labour losing its two MEPs His concerns over the future of the party were echoed by rival leadership hopeful Jeremy Hunt who warned there was an 'existential risk to our party unless we now come together and get Brexit done.' Farage faces next big test at Peterborough by-election next week - with the result still up in the air Nigel Farage is hoping to take the Brexit Party's first seat in Parliament next week. Mr Farage believes that the momentum from his party's European elections results gives them the chance to enter the Commons. But some voters who backed the Brexit Party this time are still undecided on whether they would do it in a Parliamentary election. Leave voter Dan Woodland, 73, backed the Brexit Party had his vote at the European elections, 'But I don't know who I will vote for in the by-election', he told The Times. Barry Vinicombe, also 73, said: 'I don't know if any of them will be good for Peterborough'. A lifelong Tory supporter who appeared on Channel 4's the Secret Millionaire will stand as the Brexit Party's candidate in the Peterborough by-election next Thursday. Mike Greene, a local benefactor and trustee of Peterborough cathedral, will fight the June 6 by-election. A victory would give Nigel Farage's new party its first seat in the Commons. The seat in Peterborough became available after Labour MP Fiona Onasanya was ousted in a petition. Last year she was jailed for perverting the course of justice after lying to avoid a speeding ticket. Advertisement Another contender, Home Secretary Sajid Javid, said the Tories must 'get on with' Brexit. 'There's a clear lesson: people want us to get on with it. Not another election or referendum asking if changed their mind,' he tweeted. 'We'll need to unite as a party to deliver that. There are no other options.' Daniel Hannan, who was elected as one of just three Tory MEPs in England and Wales, said the European elections had been 'without question our worst result as a party ever'. 'People voted to leave three years ago and we haven't left, it's as simple as that,' he said. 'I think I'm back as one of, I think it looks like being three Conservatives nationally. 'So without question our worst result as a party ever.' But he suggested the party's fortunes could be turned around and the threat from Mr Farage's Brexit Party neutralised if the UK did leave the EU. 'The appeal of a party called the Brexit Party will dry up very quickly once Brexit has happened,' he said. 'We need to leave in a way that carries as many people with us as possible and we need to be conciliatory and we need to have a Brexit that is cordial and orderly and that people in the 48% and the 52% can live with, but it's got to happen speedily. 'I was not expecting to go back to the European Parliament and I really don't want to stay there any longer than is necessary.' Former Brexit minister Chris Heaton-Harris said the Tories deserved their thrashing. 'Awful results for my Party tonight, but whilst our teams of candidates didn't deserve them, our Party did,' he said. 'We should have left the EU on 29th March, as we promised, with or without a deal. The message about leaving on 31st Oct is crystal clear.' However, Remainers voiced alarm at a populist shift. Former minister Sam Gyimah warned against interpreting the results as a 'mandate for No Deal'. 'Tough election for @Conservatives, and we need to rapidly find a way forward. With 34.9% of voters voting for hard Brexit in a low turnout election (compared to the GE and referendum), we should be careful not to interpret this as a mandate for No Deal.' Corbyn hints he now WILL back a second referendum Jeremy Corbyn has hinted strongly that he will back a second referendum after furious Labour members savaged the party's strategy following a humiliation at the European elections. The Labour leader said 'this issue will have to go back to the people', suggesting either a general election or a new public vote. His shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry was among those to blast the party's 'unclear' strategy and demand a second referendum after Labour's thrashing. Ms Thornberry said that the Opposition were 'getting a good kicking' as results suggested that a pro-Remain Lib Dem revival has eaten into the Labour vote. In a fresh hint that he was indeed considering backing a fresh Brexit poll, Mr Corbyn said the EU elections had become 'a proxy second referendum'. He added: 'With the Conservatives disintegrating and unable to govern, and Parliament deadlocked, this issue will have to go back to the people, whether through a general election or a public vote. 'Over the coming days, we will have conversations across our party and movement, and reflect on these results on both sides of the Brexit divide.' On a disastrous night for the party, Labour's vote share tumbled to third overall behind the Lib Dems. Critics said the voters' damning verdict came about because Mr Corbyn had tried and failed to attract the support of both Leave and Remain voters. In the event, voters on both sides of the Brexit divide deserted his party. Advertisement In a slight consolation, the Tories appear on course to retain their single MEP in Scotland when results are officially declared. Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson said 'all indications' pointed to Baroness Mobarik retaining her seat on a 'tough night' for the party across the UK. Tory chairman Brandon Lewis said: 'We knew this would be a difficult night for @Conservatives - people want us to deliver Brexit as quickly as possible. We must.' Mr Farage's triumph last night - which saw Ann Widdecombe and Annunziata Rees-Mogg elected as MEPs - marks a second consecutive victory for him at a European election. His victories in 2014 and 2019 are the only two times since 1906 that a party other than Labour and the Conservatives has won a national poll in the UK. The result will put huge pressure on the Conservatives to deliver Brexit but leaves third-placed Labour in equal turmoil as the party faces furious demands from its supporters to commit to a second referendum. Mr Farage's party surged all over the country, eclipsing his performance as UKIP leader in 2014 to win Wales and the North East of England, including victories in Cardiff and Newcastle which voted Remain in 2016. 'This is the vote that says put no-deal Brexit back on the table, make it part of our negotiations because without that we have no chance of getting a sensible, fair trade deal and I want us, as the Brexit Party, to be engaged in that,' he said. 'It's also a vote that says 31st October is the next really big day in this process, if we do not leave on that day then you can expect the Brexit Party to repeat this kind of surprise in the next general election.' Saying that he would be willing to work with Boris Johnson as prime minister, he added: 'I will work with anybody if it's to achieve Brexit, I would work with anybody.' Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage addresses supporters after being re-elected as an MEP during the results for the European Parliamentary election in Southampton Brexit Party chairman and newly-elected MEP Richard Tice said the success of his party showed that millions of people wanted a No Deal Brexit. No Deal Brexit: Where do the Tory leadership candidates stand? Boris Johnson: Brexiteer who backs a deal but will leave without a deal if required. Writing in the Daily Telegraph today the ex-foreign secretary said: 'No one sensible would aim exclusively for a no-deal outcome. No one responsible would take no-deal off the table.' Dominic Raab: Brexiteer who wants the current deal with Brussels renegotiated but believes the UK should leave on October 31 'at the latest' with or without a deal. Andrea Leadsom: Brexiteer who told the Guardian we must be 'prepared to leave without a deal' but has a 'three-point plan for Brexit, for how we get out of the European Union'. Rory Stewart: Remainer who says he could not work for a PM who backed a No Deal Brexit. Described it as 'damaging, unnecessary' and 'a huge mistake'. Michael Gove: Brexiteer who favours a deal. He told the BBC at the weekend that 'we would be able to get through it' but added: 'It's ultimately better for all of us if we secure a deal with the EU and leave in an orderly way'. Matt Hancock: Remainer who backs a deal. He told Sky News that leaving the European Union without an agreement is 'not an active policy choice that is available to the next prime minister', in jibe at Boris Johnson. Jeremy Hunt: Remainer turned Brexiteer whose views on No Desal have varied. last year he said it would be 'a mistake we would regret for generations' before later insisting the UK would 'would survive and prosper' if it left unilaterally. Esther McVey: Ruled out a futher Brexit extension, telling Sky yesterday: 'October 31 is the key date and we are coming out then, and if that means without a deal then that's what it means. We won't be asking for any more extensions. If Europe wants to come back to us, the door is open if they want a better deal.' Advertisement He said: 'We are incredibly humbled by the fact that millions of others across the country are backing our simple message to restore trust in democracy.' Ann Widdecombe, the former Tory Cabinet minister, was last night one of three MEPs elected for the Brexit Party in the South West. Miss Widdecombe warned: 'A message to Westminster has come out loud and clear tonight which is: If you don't Brexit, you will be going against the will of the people and then the Brexit Party will do what they have done tonight in a general election.' She added: 'When we go to Brussels we will say that because of our showing in these elections ... we want a role in the negotiations.' Britain went to the polls on Thursday but the results remained a secret until last night so that the outcome would not influence voters in other European nations who were still casting their ballots on Sunday. In Wales, traditionally a Labour stronghold, the party was third with 127,000 votes, behind the Brexit Party with 271,000 and Plaid Cymru on 163,000. In the West Midlands, the Brexit Party won three seats after picking up 37.7 per cent of the vote, ahead of Labour on 16.9 per cent, the Lib Dems on 16.3 per cent and Greens on 10.7. The Tories came fifth in the region with a 10 per cent share. The Tories slumped into third in Windsor and Maidenhead in the South East region where Theresa May has her constituency. With just 13.5 per cent of the vote, they trailed the Brexit Party on 32.7 per cent and Lib Dems on 31.5 per cent. In another sign of major-party struggles, Labour came fourth in Sheffield - down from first at the last election - while the Conservatives came in a miserable sixth in the city. In London, the Tories came fifth with 177,964 votes with the party's most senior MEP Syed Kamall losing his seat. The Lib Dems topped the poll in the capital with 608,725, ahead of Labour 536,810, the Brexit Party on 400,257 and the Greens on 278,957. In an embarrassing blow for Labour's Jeremy Corbyn, his party came second to the Lib Dems in his own backyard of Islington. In the East of England, the Brexit Party polled more than 600,000 votes pushing the Tories into fourth place. The Brexit Party took three of the seats, the Lib Dems two and the Tories and the Greens one each. There were a series of remarkable results. In Kingston, the Lib Dems secured almost 48 per cent of the vote. Anti-Brexit Labour peer Lord Adonis tweeted: 'Very clear that if Labour had been the party of Remain in this election, we would have won.' There was little to celebrate for Change UK, UKIP or independent candidate Tommy Robinson, who failed to win a seat. Emily Thornberry was among the first to react for Labour, saying the party had made mistakes about Brexit and demanding a second referendum. Far-right activist and former English Defence League leader Tommy Robinson (centre) arrives at a count in Manchester last night, where he failed to win election as an MEP and lost his 5,000 deposit Among the high-profile MEP candidates, the Brexit Party's Annunziata Rees-Mogg (left) - sister of Jacob - was elected but Change UK's Rachel Johnson (right), whose brother is Boris Johnson, did not win a seat SNP on course for victory in Scotland The SNP is on track for its best ever European election results - with First Minister Nicola Sturgeon declaring it 'emphatically clear' that Scotland has rejected Brexit. With almost all the results in from Scotland, the SNP seems likely to win three of the six Scottish MEP seats - with Scottish Labour losing its two MEPs. Results from 31 of the 32 councils across Scotland showed the SNP, who fought the election campaign on a strong pro-European platform, had polled 37.7 per cent. The party's previous best Euro election result was 32.6 per cent in 1994. But while Ms Sturgeon's party increased its vote - it had polled 28.9 per cent in the last European elections in 2014 - Labour's vote slumped. Five years ago it was a close second with 25.9 per cent of the votes, but with all but one of the council areas having declared, that fell to 9.3 per cent. Labour's David Martin - who had been the UK's longest serving MEP having first been elected in 1984 - conceded he had lost his seat, with the party paying the price for its failure to take a clear stand on the crucial issue of Brexit. Ms Sturgeon said tonight: 'Outstanding results so far tonight for the SNP- on course for our best ever Euro election result. 'Polling way ahead of any other party. Higher % in Scotland than Brexit Party's current share in UK. Emphatically clear that Scotland doesn't want Brexit.' Advertisement The Greens also raced into second place in Sheffield, amid strong results for environmentalist parties across the continent in the 28-nation ballot. Former Lord Mayor of Sheffield Magid Magid, who won a seat for the Green Party in Yorkshire and Humber, tweeted: 'We did it. Today is about a Green Wave cascading through Europe & landing on the shores of Yorkshire for the first time. We're just getting started. 'This'll be more than a fleeting midsummer night's dream in Brussels. We're going to turn the tide of history!' They came first in strongly pro-Remain Bristol and in Norwich. Meanwhile independent candidate Tommy Robinson was defeated in the North West of England. Speaking at the Manchester count, the former leader of the English Defence League said he had faced a 'near impossible task' in attempting to win one of the eight seats available. Despite a controversial campaign in which he was targeted by milkshake-wielding protesters, he said: 'More than anything every community I have gone to - every working class estate - I have so felt loved, (more) than I have ever felt in my life.' Jacob Rees-Mogg's sister Annunziata, standing for the Brexit Party, said her brother would be 'devastated' by the results. Her party won three seats in the East Midlands. After the result was announced in Kettering, the newly-elected MEP said the Conservatives were paying for outgoing Prime Minister Theresa May 'betraying' the public. Miss Rees-Mogg described the results as 'quite astounding', saying: 'They have been far bigger percentages than I had anticipated, although while I was on the streets in areas as diverse as Boston, Mansfield, Skegness and Chesterfield, the people were telling us they wanted to be listened to. Tony Blair's former spin doctor Alastair Campbell (pictured on the BBC's election broadcast last night) said he had voted for the Liberal Democrats, rejecting Labour for the first time in his life Lib Dems celebrate as Change UK ask to merge The Liberal Democrats were jubilant last night after their surge forced Change UK to beg them for a merger. Sir Vince Cable's party was set to finish second in terms of vote share as it hoovered up thousands of pro-Remain votes across the country from the main parties. Meanwhile, projections indicated Change UK would not to bag a single MEP. But leader Heidi Allen said that the new centrist party was 'down but not out' last night. Change UK MP Chuka Umunna said on Saturday that the two parties should form a pact not to stand against each other's candidates in the next general election. And yesterday Mrs Allen, who left the Conservatives to join other breakaway Tory and Labour MPs, said she would go 'one step further'. 'I would like us to be in the same vehicle,' she told BBC Radio 5 Live. Asked if she meant the same party, Mrs Allen replied: 'Yeah, probably.' The Lib Dems were 'cock-a-hoop' at their performance last night, taking votes from Labour supporters angry at the party's equivocal stance on Brexit. Turnout was said to be higher in Remain areas than in Leave ones, meaning the Lib Dems were on course to do even better than predicted. At the last European elections in 2014, towards the end of the Coalition period, the Lib Dems performed disastrously taking only one seat. The Greens also looked set to outperform Change UK last night. In the weeks following its formation, Change UK figures were talking confidently of replacing the Lib Dems as the third party in British politics. But yesterday Mrs Allen admitted that it was more likely that her party would have to join forces with the Lib Dems. 'I think we are sensible enough to know we can't do it on our own,' she said, adding: 'I don't know what the format will be, but will we be singing from the same hymn sheet? I would hope as a collective, let's call us a collective, somewhere in the middle with other like-minded colleagues.' Mrs Allen said that to be a 'real insurgent force', the alliance needs to be 'brand new' rather than a larger Lib Dem party. She predicted that more Tory MPs could desert the party if Boris Johnson becomes prime minister, while Labour MPs may also defect if Jeremy Corbyn continues to refuse to commit to a second referendum. However, she added that while the Brexit Party may do well in the EU elections it should not be part of any future Brexit negotiations. 'I don't think so. They need to earn some MPs to get that,' she said. Advertisement 'Today, they have had their voices heard and we will fight for them tooth and nail.' Addressing how her brother will be feeling, Miss Rees-Mogg said: 'I have no doubt he will be devastated at what has been done to his own party, the Conservatives. Theresa May has betrayed the British people. 'She made a lot of promises she didn't stick to and unfortunately the whole party is paying for it. We are the party that will be listening to them.' Writing in the Daily Telegraph before the results, Tory leadership frontrunner Boris Johnson said: 'I predict a rout. 'In this miserable election that should never have taken place, for a Euro parliament that should no longer represent us, the voters are delivering a crushing rebuke to the government in fact, to both major parties. 'I cannot find it in my heart to blame them. They gave us one chief task: to deliver Brexit. They have so far given us almost three years to do it. 'We have flagrantly failed to carry out their instructions. 'We have missed deadline after deadline, broken promise after promise; and today our employers the people have figuratively summoned us to human resources.' Daniel Hannan, a Conservative MEP in the South East, said the results were 'cataclysmic' for the party and left its new leader with a 'smoking ruin'. 'Ultimately the House of Commons has voted to prevent us leaving without the EU's explicit permission, that's what not leaving without a deal means. Brussels has had no incentive even to pretend to negotiate,' he said. 'In the end I suspect we are going to need a general election in order to break this deadlock.' The Conservatives lost their two most senior MEPs in the rout. Syed Kamall, who led their Europe-wide group the ECR, missed out in London. Ashley Fox, who was the Tory group leader, lost in the South West. The European Parliament's size is intended to be reduced to 705 in the 20192024 legislature after 46 of the UK's seats are removed following Brexit, and the rest are shared out among unrepresented countries. Throughout June the elected candidates will negotiate to form political groupings to sit with in the Parliament, before beginning the new ninth term on July 2. All 29 of the Brexit Party's new MEPs Nigel Farage will lead an army of 29 new Brexit Party MEPs as they head to Brussels after thrashing the Tories and Labour. The group, who only joined the party six weeks ago, were elected in a shockwave vote sparked because Britain failed to leave the EU on March 29 this year. Many of the candidates are political newbies, most have a background in business but others have worked for the NHS, in the media or for Mr Farage himself. The eclectic group includes Belinda de Lucy, a mother-of-four, seafood millionaire Lance Forman, and Louis Stedman-Bryce, who stood in Scotland saying that as a gay black man he was 'tired' of the way Brexit voters were portrayed. These are the 29 new Brexit Party MEPs that millions of Britons voted to elect last Thursday. Mother-of-four Belinda de Lucy who was elected as a Brexit Party MEP last night alongside seafood millionaire Lance Forman Nigel Farage 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 reshaping the country's Brexit-dominated landscape. Farage was a driving force behind the 2016 vote to quit the EU and the 55-year-old has now helped see off two prime ministers after scoring his third political victory in five years in the European Parliament polls held in Britain on Thursday. The next step in his plan is ti find 650 candidates to stand in the next General Election. Ann Widdecombe Ann Widdecombe began her career as a Tory councillor in Surrey before being elected to Parliament in 1987. During her career as an MP she gained notoriety for advocating the death penalty and opposing some gay rights legislation. After John Major became Prime Minister she was promoted to the front bench as a junior minister. In 1995 she became prisons minister - notably visiting every prison in the UK. In 2010 she left Parliament and appeared on Strictly Come Dancing with Anton Du Beke. Earlier this year she announced she was defecting from the Tories to the Brexit Party and backing Nigel Farage at the EU elections. On May 23 she was elected as an MEP for the South West of England. Annunziata Rees-Mogg The younger sister of Brexit hardliner Jacob Rees-Mogg was unveiled as the Brexit Party's star candidate. The 40-year-old married mother of one last appeared on the political stage in 2010 as the Tory candidate in Somerton and Froome, losing the Somerset seat to the Lib Dems by less than 2,000 votes. Ahead of the poll it was claimed David Cameron asked her to shorten her name to Nancy Mogg - but she refused and later claimed 'I think it's phoney to pretend to be someone you're not'. Annunziata married former soldier Matthew Glanville in 2010 and they have a daughter, Isadora. Richard Tice Brexit Party chairman Richard Tice is a multi-millionaire property developer in charge of a 500 million portfolio. He co-founded Leave.EU, which campaigned in the referendum, with Arron Banks. Tice, 54, then founded Leave Means Leave to fight for a hard Brexit. He regularly appears on TV and radio to make his case. He had been a loyal Tory backer, and was tipped to stand for them in next year's election for London's mayor. Louis Stedman-Bryce Louis Stedman-Bryce is the Brexit Party's only Scottish MEP. He said democracy was being 'betrayed' and as a gay black man he was 'tired' of the way Brexit voters were portrayed. Mr Stedman Bryce said: 'The perception is we are white, homophobic, racists, and don't know what we voted for. So I stand before you today as a gay black man. And I definitely know what I was voting for. I voted for Brexit.' He also appeared to break with Nigel Farage during the campaign and said he would not oppose a second Scottish independence referendum. The care home director said: 'If there was a demand for it, we are democrats, we believe in democracy, if the people said that is what they wanted then I don't feel we would stand in their way. Ben Habib Ben Habib is chief executive of First Property, a 730 million portfolio that has made the Anglo-Pakistani magnate millions from investments in office blocks in Central Europe. The company has boasted of exploiting 'Brexit nervousness' to maximise profits. Mr Habib, who lives in a 6 million mansion in Hampshire with wife Sarah and three children, was previously a lifelong Conservative voter who donated to the party Martin Daubney Martin Daubney, now a regular TV pundit but the former editor of 1990s 'lads' mag' Loaded, is the son of a Nottinghamshire coal miner and now a West Midlands MEP. He won plaudits from voters after he said he believed the current Westminster politicians were 'clueless' about the 'real world' of ordinary people's lives and 'don't know what a day's work is'. After winning one of three Brexit Party seats in the West Midlands, newly-elected MEP Martin Daubney tweeted: 'I did it! I'm in!' June Mummery June Mummery is a member of Fishing For Leave and the managing director of fish market auctioneers BFP Eastern in Lowestoft, Suffolk. Described as a 'veteran Brexiteer' who 'has spent years fighting for the rights of British fisherman by finally taking back controls of our waters', she has claimed some people call her Boadicea, after the British queen who led a doomed uprising against Roman rule almost 2,000 years ago. Mummery, 55, backed Brexit for the economic benefits she believes it will bring for the fishing industry, adding: 'At the moment we have about 500 people making a living from fish in the town. If Brexit goes our way, I believe the workforce will double in the next ten to 15 years.' Mrs Mummery's daughter Scarlett, 23, who works on oil rigs, has used her model good looks to gain almost 25,000 followers on Instagram. James Glancy James Glancy was a Captain in the elite British Royal Marines and Special Boat Service, serving in three combat tours of Afghanistan. In 2012, he was awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross (CGC) for leadership and bravery on the frontline. He is now a Director of a conservation charity, Veterans 4 Wildlife, where he focuses on the preservation of African wildlife and combating the global trade in shark fins. James is currently a host on Discovery Channel's Shark Week and a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. He says Brexit has made Britain an international laughing stock. Claire Fox Former Communist Party member Claire Fox is the director of the Academy of Ideas, which she established to create a public space where ideas can be contested without constraint. She is a panelist on BBC Radio 4's The Moral Maze and is frequently invited to comment on developments in culture, education, media and free speech issues on TV and radio programmes in the UK such as Newsnight and Any Questions? She said: 'Don't get me wrong, I'm from the left. If you sat Nigel and I down, I am not going to agree with them on any range of questions. But the question now is whether we are going to let democracy be overturned'. Lance Forman Mr Forman is owner of luxury food company H.Forman and Son, famed for its smoked salmon. Before taking over the family business, Lance Forman started out as President of the Cambridge Union. He qualified as a chartered accountant at PWC before running his salmon business out of east London. Matthew Patten Matthew is an experienced business and charity director. He has global board and CEO experience in social impact, sports, commerce, social mobility, governance, campaigning, fundraising and business development knowledge. He has been Chief Executive of the Lord's Taverners, Chief Executive at M&C Saatchi Sponsorship and Director of Communications for Clubs for Young People, working with over 400,000 disadvantaged young people. John Longworth John Longworth, 60, is a former director of Asda and Tesco who stood down as head of the British Chambers of Commerce in 2016 when he publicly backed Brexit, against the group's agreed stance. He says MPs have 'done everything possible to frustrate, delay and undermine' the process of leaving the EU. He is now chairman of Leave Means Leave, the lobby group set up by Richard Tice. Christina Jordan Christina is a former NHS nurse turned community leader. She came to the UK from Malaysia in 1985 after starting her career as a secretary at Turkish Embassy in Kuala Lumpur. She completed her Registered General Nurse training at Winchester General Hospital and went on to work as a staff nurse. Now she lives in Salisbury after a long career in nursing. She said: 'I love this country. I want to stand up for the 17.4 million'. Lucy Harris Lucy Harris, a former opera singer turned Brexit campaigner, also won in Yorkshire and Humber. She hit the headlines last year after she claimed a commuter called her 'thick and racist' for wearing a bag supporting leaving the EU. Ms Harris, a Brexiteer and founder of the pro-Brexit group Leavers of London, accompanied her post with a picture of the man, who denied her claims and described in the incident as 'friendly chat'. Henrik Overgaard-Nielsen Henrik Overgaard-Nielsen, 59, a Danish national, who has lived in the UK for more than 20 years with his British wife and children. He is an NHS dentist, senior trade union official and a socialist, who lives in London and is standing in the North West of England as a candidate. Mr Overgaard-Nielsen said he was involved in the campaign in Denmark in 1992 to reject the Maastricht Treaty, which he said was then rejected by politicians in that country. David Bull Ex A&E doctor David Bull was spotted by a modelling agency before transitioning into TV. He appeared on Watchdog before moving to join Tomorrow's world' the prime time technology show. In 2002 David launched the cult show Most Haunted Live, and hosted the world's largest live ghost hunt, each show being a three hour unscripted live show. He stood for the Tories in the 2009 election before joining the Brexit Party this year. Alexandra Phillips Alexandra Phillips was UKIP's Head of Media for three years but would later join the Conservative Party after Theresa May became leader. But she left again after her failure to deliver Brexit. There were jokes and a little confusion as voters in the South East elected two people called Alexandra Phillips to represent them in the European Parliament. Brexit Party MEP Alexandra Phillips secured a seat in the region alongside leader Nigel Farage and two other party colleagues. Meanwhile, the Green Party's Alexandra Phillips, previously the mayor of Brighton and Hove, was also elected. Robert Rowland Robert Rowland was elected alongside Nigel Farage in the south-east. He helped fund more than 15,000 for supporter Don MacNaughton, 81, who was covered in the strawberry drink by a 'yob' who spotted his Brexit Party rosette in Aldershot on Thursday. An outpouring of public sympathy for the widower saw a crowd-funding effort to pay for his dry cleaning bill surge in popularity, and within hours donations were approaching 15,000. Mr Rowland explained: 'It quickly snowballed into an incredible act of charity that gives you faith in the British public. 'Don was also being offered cash by the great British public on the street, which he steadfastly declined.' Belinda de Lucy The new Brexit Party MEP is studying Masters in EU Law while campaigning to leave. She says she loves Europe and all its 44 nations - but not its political institutions. She tweeted today: 'Thank you to all the protesters, campaigners, leafleters, supporters for every hour you stood, insult you bore, mile you marched and EVERY vote you've had to make. And they thought we'd come to heel'. Nathan Gill Nathan Gill heads up the Brexit Party in Wales, having previously served as a UKIP MEP. He is one of two newly-elected Brexit Party MEPs for Wales, tweeted: 'Thank you Wales! I will never forget that you voted to leave, even though those in Westminster have tried to silence your vote. Along with @JamesfWells I will be your voice in the European Parliament and we will get our Brexit.' He added: 'Wales voted to LEAVE! We knew what we were voting for and we still want to LEAVE. @brexitparty-uk is the only party committed to respecting the vote of the people of Wales'. James Well James Wells, who has been elected in Wales, was a civil servant banned from political involvement so resigned from his job as head of UK trade at the Office for National Statistics. He left work for the last time on at 4pm and embarked on a campaign to become an MEP the following day. 'It's been a bit of a whirlwind,' he said, but he could no longer go on 'shouting at the TV' as he believed 'democratic values' were being 'trampled over'. Michael Heaver Michael Heaver is a former press adviser for Mr Farage who writes for pro-Brexit political news website Westmonster. The newly-elected Brexit Party MEP tweeted: 'Huge win here in East of England with 38% of the vote and 3 Brexit MEPs. The fight back starts now!' Jonathan Bullock Former UKIP MEP Jonathan Bullock defected to the Brexit Party and is now an MEP in the East Midlands. For the Conservative Party, Bullock fought the Parliamentary seats of Manchester Gorton in 1992 and Gedling in 2001 before standing in the 2004 European Parliament election in the East Midlands constituency. Rupert Lowe Former Southampton chairman Rupert Lowe was the Brexit Party's lead candidate for the European Elections in the West Midlands. Mr Lowe, 61, became the football club's chairman in the mid-1990s and resigned in June 2006 after the club slumped into administration. In 1997 stood for the Referendum Party and played a high-profile role in the 2016 EU referendum. Andrew Kerr Andrew Kerr is a lawyer turned politician who was elected in the West Midlands yesterday. He also runs a number of business, including an estate agency. Jake Pugh Jake Pugh has been elected to his first political post in Europe overnight as part of the Brexit Party's big win. He tweeted today: 'Three more MEPs for the Brexit Party, taking half of the seats in Yorkshire and the Humber. Congratulations!' Brian Monteith Scottish-born Brian Monteith is PR expert who was a Conservative Member of the Scottish Parliament between 1999 and 2007. He has now been elected as an MEP for the Brexit Party in the North East England constituency. Monteith listed a French address as his primary home on his nomination papers and has not said if he will move to the North East region now elected. John Tennant Before becoming an MEP, Gateshead-born Mr Tennant is a senior councillor on Hartlepool Borough Councillor, having been elected as an independent and formed a group called the Independent Union. He has worked in Brussels and was considered to be close to Nigel Farage, helping him with his speaker schedule. An opera singer, a former special forces officer, Jacob Rees Mogg's sister and an ex-NHS nurse head to Brussels for the Brexit Party - while ex-Sheffield Mayor who 'banned' Trump becomes a Green MEP The European elections earthquake will deliver an extraordinary array of new British MEPs to Brussels including Jacob Rees-Mogg's sister Annunziata and former opera singer Lucy Harris. The Brexit Party will also be represented by a war hero, a former communist and an ex-NHS nurse after Nigel Farage's men and women humbled the Tories and Labour. Ms Rees-Mogg, once one of David Cameron's 'cuties' who refused party requests to 'de-toff' her name to Nancy, was elected in the East Midlands. Miss Harris, a former opera singer turned Brexit campaigner, also won in Yorkshire and Humber, hit the headlines last year after she claimed a commuter called her 'thick and racist' for wearing a bag supporting leaving the EU. Fellow Brexit Party candidate James Glancy, a retired Captain in the Royal Marines awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross for fighting in Afghanistan, was elected in the south-west alongside former nurse Christina Jordan, who came to Britain as an immigrant in 1985. As Labour lost votes to remain parties Magid Magid - whose election slogan was 'immigrants make Britain great' having banned Trump from Sheffield when he was Lord Mayor - was elected as a Green MEP in Yorkshire and Humber. The extraordinary array of new British MEPs heading to Brussels will include Jacob Rees-Mogg's sister Annunziata (left) and former opera singer Lucy Harris (right) The Brexit Party's Claire Fox speaks on stage after being elected in the north-west calling the results a 'cry for freedom' New Green Party MEP candidate, former Sheffield Lord Mayor Magid Magid, has been elected in the Yorkshire and Humber region (pictured centre) Mr Magid tweeted today: 'We did it. Today is about a Green Wave cascading through Europe and landing on the shores of Yorkshire for the first time. We're just getting started. This'll be more than a fleeting midsummer night's dream in Brussels. We're going to turn the tide of history'. Former nurse Christina Jordan claimed Remain-supporting MPs had been blocking Brexit and 'hysterical MPs call Brexiteers Nazi appeasers' But it was the Brexit Party and its band of candidates formed just six weeks ago who were the biggest winners. Annunziata Rees-Mogg, younger sister of Brexit hardliner Jacob was the Brexit Party's first star star candidate. The 40-year-old married mother of one last appeared on the political stage in 2010 as the Tory candidate in Somerton and Froome, losing the Somerset seat to the Lib Dems by less than 2,000 votes. She was once one of David Cameron's 'cuties' who refused party requests to 'de-toff' her name to Nancy. But because she lives in Lincolnshire she was elected in the East Midlands overnight. Ahead of the poll it was claimed David Cameron asked her to shorten her name to Nancy Mogg - but she refused and later claimed 'I think it's phoney to pretend to be someone you're not'. Annunziata married former soldier Matthew Glanville in 2010 and they have a daughter, Isadora. Ms Rees-Mogg, 40, and her brother Jacob, 49, are the youngest of five children born to Lord Rees-Mogg, who edited The Times from 1967 to 1981, and his wife Lady Gillian. They grew up together at the grand Ston Easton Park estate near Wells in Somerset, which has since been turned into a luxury hotel. In the south-west Ann Widdecombe was the biggest name to win, but second on the list was veteran James Glancy. James Glancy (pictured left today) is a retired Captain in the Royal Marines awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross for fighting in Afghanistan in 2013 (right at Buckingham Palace) Brexit Party wins Wales with Labour third In Wales, traditionally a Labour stronghold, the party was third with 127,000 votes, behind the Brexit Party with 271,000 and Plaid Cymru on 163,000. The Brexit Party won 33 per cent, almost a third of the vote in the country, which backed Leave in 2016. Nationalist party Plaid Cymru were second with 20 per cent. Labour, who run the Welsh Government and topped the EU poll there in 2014, were third with 15 per cent. The Lib Dems were fourth while the Conservatives just edged out the Greens to come fifth. UKIP, who came only narrowly behind Labour with 28 per cent under Mr Farage last time, gathered only three per cent of the vote this time around. The results mean the Brexit Party wins two out of four Welsh seats, Plaid one and Labour one. Labour's third-place finish is a humiliation for a party which usually dominates Welsh politics. It has come first in every Welsh Assembly election since the body was founded and holds the most Welsh seats at Westminster. In 2017 it won almost half of Wales's votes at the general election, winning half a million more votes than the nationalists they have now fallen behind. Advertisement He was a Captain in the elite British Royal Marines and Special Boat Service, serving in three combat tours of Afghanistan. In 2012, he was awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross (CGC) for leadership and bravery on the frontline. He is now a Director of a conservation charity, Veterans 4 Wildlife, where he focuses on the preservation of African wildlife and combating the global trade in shark fins. James is currently a host on Discovery Channel's Shark Week and a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. He says Brexit has made Britain an international laughing stock. Third on the list is Christina Johnson, a former NHS nurse turned community leader who is now an MEP. She came to the UK from Malaysia in 1985 after starting her career as a secretary at Turkish Embassy in Kuala Lumpur. She completed her Registered General Nurse training at Winchester General Hospital and went on to work as a staff nurse. Now she lives in Salisbury after a long career in nursing. She said: 'I love this country. I want to stand up for the 17.4 million'. Former Communist Party member Claire Fox turned Brexit Party candidate was elected in the the north-west, where Tommy Robinson lost his deposit. Ms Fox said last night's results were a 'cry for freedom'. She is a panelist on BBC Radio 4's The Moral Maze and is frequently invited to comment on developments in culture, education, media and free speech issues on TV and radio programmes in the UK such as Newsnight and Any Questions? She said ahead of Thursday's vote: 'Don't get me wrong, I'm from the left. If you sat Nigel and I down, I am not going to agree with them on any range of questions. But the question now is whether we are going to let democracy be overturned'. Martin Daubney, now a regular TV pundit but the former editor of 1990s 'lads' mag' Loaded, is the son of a Nottinghamshire coal miner and now a West Midlands MEP. He won plaudits from voters after he said he believed the current Westminster politicians were 'clueless' about the 'real world' of ordinary people's lives and 'don't know what a day's work is'. Battering for mainstream parties across Europe as Marine Le Pen calls for 'powerful' group of far-right parties to join forces in EU Parliament - and Greens also make gains France's Marine Le Pen has called for a 'powerful' far-right group in the European Parliament after her party beat Emmanuel Macron's in this weekend's elections with more nationalist parties making huge gains across the continent. Both populist far-right groups and left-wing environmentalists are securing considerable wins among the 751 European seats up for grabs, with the two biggest parties preparing to lose their majorities, despite coming out on top. But the mainstream leaders say they will not co-operate with far-right groups who 'do not believe in the future of the European Union', in spite of their huge gains. In the symbolic clash of the campaign, French far-right leader Le Pen's National Rally came in just ahead of President Macron's En Marche movement, damaging his drive for deeper European integration. In Italy, Matteo Salvini's far-right League achieved a similar result, strengthening its role at the core of a vocal populist faction in the EU's legislature. The advance of the right was less pronounced in Germany, where there was a strong showing by the Greens, but the anti-immigrant Alternative for Deutschland broke the 10 per cent barrier and will also gain seats. Spain is the only major EU country where the Socialists dominated, with Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez celebrating his party getting the highest number of votes, a result he will likely use to wield more influence in the bloc. Turnout across Europe was 50.5 per cent, a 20-year high and an eight per cent increase on last time Europe went to the polls in 2014. It represents a significant departure from the general trend of decreasing voter numbers in all 27 countries. In France Marine Le Pen's National Rally bagged 24.9 per cent of the vote, coming ahead of President Emmanuel Macron's En Marche party with 21.5 per cent. The Greens managed 12.8 per cent Italy's Interior Minister Matteo Salvini beams and holds up a 'first place in Italy, thank you' sign at his home in Milan Sanchez beams with acting Spanish Foreign Affairs Minister Josep Borrell after their Socialist party dominated the result Provisional European Elections results shown in Brussels show the EEP leading, with S&D second and Ald&R in third The results will likely leave Parliament's two main parties, the European People's Party and the Socialists & Democrats, without a majority for the first time since 1979, opening the way for complicated talks to form a working coalition. Manfred Weber, leader of the centre-right EPP group, said late on Sunday that 'from now on, those who want to have a strong European union have to join forces,' refusing to unite with any party that doesn't believe in the EU long-term. Frans Timmermans, the Socialist and Democrats leader who is Weber's chief rival for the top job at the EU's executive commission, says he wants to work together with progressive parties 'to try and build a program that addresses the aspirations, the dreams, and also sometimes the fears of our fellow Europeans.' The EEP group is forecast to win 178 seats and the S&D group will have 152 seats in the 751-seat parliament, according to EU projections. France's Interior Ministry published results based on 81 per cent of the votes counted, placing Le Pen's party at 24.9 per cent and Macron's party at 21.5 per cent. Behind them were the Greens with 12.8 per cent. The country's traditional parties, which were eviscerated by Marcon's presidential win in 2017, were far behind in Sunday's vote, with 8.3 per cent for The Republicans and six per cent per cent for the Socialist party. Italy's Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, a major figure among the anti-migrant hard-line nationalists, declared a 'change in the air' and that a victory by his right-wing League party would 'change everything in Europe'. He told supporters at his party headquarters in Milan early on Monday that the results mean'a new Europe is born'. The Italian added: 'I will say to those who have sunk the European dream, transforming it into a nightmare, that I am proud that the League participated in this new rebirth of a sunken Europe.' Germany's Carsten Meyer-Heder, of Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union Party (CDU) is pictured getting make-up done as exit polls in the EU's biggest country show his party facing the worst EU election result in its history with 28 per cent The Greek Prine Minister Alexis Tsipras has called a snap General Election after his Syriza party was decimated in the polls Spanish socialists are the only ones in Europe to dominate the polls in a victory for PM Pedro Sanchez and swing to the left in Madrid Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez was the big winner of European elections in Spain on Sunday with his ruling Socialists coming first, a result he will likely use to wield more influence in the bloc. With Spain the only major EU country where the Socialists topped the polls, Sanchez has emerged as the big hope for European social democrats. Results for local and regional elections that took place on the same day were still being counted. If his Socialists also do well in those as predicted, Sanchez will be in a stronger position as he seeks to form a new government following a general election on April 28. With 98 per cent of the votes counted late on Sunday, the Socialists won 20 of the 54 seats allocated to Spain in the European Parliament. They were followed by the conservative Popular Party (PP) which won just over 20 per cent. Newly-emerged far-right party Vox, meanwhile, got just over six percent of the vote. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez (pictured at a press conference in Madrid yesterday) was the big winner of European elections in Spain on Sunday with his ruling Socialists coming first, a result he will likely use to wield more influence in the bloc That's less than the 10 percent it won in the general election when it burst into the national parliament. The Socialists' win is a victory for Sanchez, not only on the domestic front but further afield in the bloc. On Friday, outgoing Foreign Minister Josep Borrell, whom Spain could push to become the next EU foreign policy chief, told supporters that Sanchez was going to 'lead the resurgence of social democracy in Europe'. Separately, Catalonia's former separatist president Carles Puigdemont, who fled Spain in 2017 after a failed secession bid, and his ex-deputy Oriol Junqueras, were elected to the European Parliament. Three Catalan separatists - one in jail and two more fugitives from Spanish justice - have won European Parliament seats. Former Catalan regional president Carles Puigdemont, his ex-No. 2 Oriol Junqueras and former Catalan Cabinet member Toni Comin all won seats for separatist parties in Sunday's EU vote. That's according to provisional results released by Spain's Interior Ministry with 85 per cent of the votes counted. Junqueras is in jail in Madrid while on trial on charges that include rebellion for his part in Catalonia's attempt to secede from the rest of Spain in 2017. Puigdemont and Comin are wanted in Spain after they fled to Belgium following Catalonia's failed secession bid. The three were allowed to run as candidates, but will face legal hurdles to actually take possession of their European Parliament seats. Is Madrid swinging to the left? On the domestic front, the results of local and regional elections may determine what Spain's new government looks like in what has been billed the 'second round' of the April general election. Sanchez had urged supporters to 'finish the work' of that election and turn out in force on Sunday. He hopes his party will perform well so he can opt for his preferred plan of forming a minority government with the support of other parties on a case-by-case basis when passing laws. But while Sanchez wants to rule alone, Pablo Iglesias, the leader of far-left party Podemos, is pushing him to form a coalition. Whether Sanchez accepts may depend on how both parties fare. The Socialists 'might need the support of Podemos to retain power in some regions, which Iglesias might use to pressure Sanchez into forming a coalition,' said Teneo analyst Antonio Barroso. But Iglesias' party is on the decline according to the most recent polls, and PSOE might enjoy a certain 'honeymoon effect' after its victory in the April legislative election. 'If the distance between the two parties widens after Sunday, Sanchez will be in an even stronger position to head a minority government.' Provisional results suggested the Socialists would win in many of the 12 regions going to the polls on Sunday. But all eyes are on the region of Madrid, which could swing left after being governed by the PP for 24 years. An exit poll by local television channel Telemadrid predicted that would be the case, with Socialist candidate Angel Gabilondo coming first. Votes are pictured being counted in at a polling station in Vitoria, Spain earlier on Sunday Advertisement Voter projections showed the League won 33 per cent of the vote in Italy, up from just 6 per cent last time and at least 10 percentage points ahead of the Democratic Party in second place. The League's coalition partners, the 5-Star Movement, suffered a blow, finishing third with just 19 per cent of the vote. In Germany, the far-right Alternative For Deutschland (AfD) party improved on its 2014 result, with a projected 10.5 per cent of the vote. Meanwhile polls suggested the ruling Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party faced its worst result ever, with just 28 per cent. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras was forced to call a snap General Election after his Syriza party was decimated in the polls. The Greek government's term expires in October and before last night's announcement, government officials insisted that elections would be held at the end of the term. Tsipras said he will visit the Greek president to request the early dissolution of parliament after the second round of local and regional elections on June 2. This puts the election date at June 30 at the earliest. Meanwhile caretaker Prime Minister Sanchez says Spain will lead the delegation of Socialists on the European stage after he got 20 of the 54 Spanish seats up for grabs. He described it as a 'source of enormous pride and an enormous opportunity for us but also an enormous responsibility'. Portuguese Prime Minister and Socialist Party General Secretary Antonio Costa beams as his Socialist party dominated the polls Ireland's Taoiseach Leo Varadkar (left) is pictured with Fine Gael candidate Frances Fitzgerald and (centre) and Alan Farrell (second right) In Hungary Prime Minister Viktor Orban (pictured centre), who has firm views on migration, celebrated securing 13 of the country's 21 seats, gaining one from the previous EU vote in 2014 Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz pictured during a meeting after European Parliament elections at the Austrian People's Party on Sunday In Hungary Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has an equally strict view on migration, celebrated securing 13 of the country's 21 seats, gaining one more on the previous EU vote. He said the result shows that 'people in Hungary believe change is needed in Brussels' and he will 'cooperate with everyone who wants to stop immigration.' But Orban did not directly address possibly joining up at EU level with like-minded far-right leaders such as Salvini. Back in France Le Pen said the expected result 'confirms the new nationalist-globalist division' in France and beyond. She immediately expressed hope the election could foreshadow her party's victory in France's 2022 presidential election. The former National Front leader was beaten handily by Macron in France's 2017 presidential vote. In Portugal, the ruling centre-left Socialists, led by Prime Minister Antonio Costa, looked to have won their elections with a higher tally than their 2014 result of 31.46 per cent - bagging 32.5 per cent this time. The Green Party was set to win as many as three of the 13 seats up for grabs in an overwhelmingly pro-EU Ireland, according to exit polls and early counting, putting the small Irish party in line to take its first seats in Europe for 20 years. The governing Fine Gael and main opposition Fianna Fail were well placed while the left wing Sinn Fein appeared to be in a battle to retain all of their three seats. Far-right anti-immigration party win Italian vote, as Matteo Salvini declares 'a change in Europe' Matteo Salvini's anti-migrant League party won the most votes in Sunday's European elections in Italy with 27-31 per cent, marking a historic success for the far-right, exit polls showed. Its coalition partner the anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S) was beaten by a resurgent centre-left Democratic Party (PD) which came second with 21-25 percent, the polls showed after voting ended at 2100 GMT. Luigi Di Maio's M5S garnered between 18.5-22.5 percent of votes, while tycoon and former premier Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia scored eight-12 percent. Salvini tweeted a photo of himself grinning and holding a sign saying 'top party in Italy' while standing in front of a bookshelf featuring, among other things, a religious icon and a Make America Great Again baseball cap. 'The League has probably become the top party in Italy,' the head of the party's Senate grouping Riccardo Molinari said after the exit polls were released. The result for the anti-migrant League was not as high as some had predicted but confirmed the party's stellar rise since forming a government in June last year. Italy's Interior Minister Matteo Salvini (pictured casting his vote earlier on Sunday in Milan), a major figure among the anti-migrant hard-line nationalists, declared a 'change in the air' and that a victory by his right-wing League party would 'change everything in Europe' Some analysts predicted that Salvini would want to call snap elections if the League obtained a high score, although he denied this during campaigning. 'As far as I'm concerned, if the League wins nothing changes in Italy, everything will change in Europe, starting from tomorrow,' he said earlier Sunday. The March 2018 general election in the eurozone's third largest economy saw the League take home just 17 percent of the vote, while the M5S - which set itself up as the honest, environmentally-friendly alternative to a corrupt old political guard - pocketed over 32 per cent. Analysts said a strong League result - over 30 per cent - could see Salvini tempted to ditch the M5S for the far-right Brothers of Italy (which won five-seven percent on Sunday), or a fresh alliance with the party's historic partner, the centre-right Forza Italia. 'We don't intend to use this result to put the government in crisis,' the head of the League's Senate grouping Riccardo Molinari said, claiming that with M5S the governing coalition had more than 50 percent of votes. 'Our result gives us more strength to put our themes to the fore,' he said. Advertisement Provisional results in Austria point to a big win for Chancellor Sebastian Kurz's centre-right party in the European Parliament election, days after a scandal involving the far-right Freedom Party brought down his governing coalition. That is a big boost for Kurz before a national election expected in September. The early results show the Freedom Party finishing far behind in third place. The projection also points to a comeback for the Greens, who lost their seats in Germany's national parliament in 2017. A new pro-EU coalition linked to President-elect Zuzana Caputova has won the vote in Slovakia while a far-right party gained seats in the EU legislature for the first time. According to the final results released by the Slovak Statistics Office, the coalition Progressive Slovakia/Together received 20.1 per cent of the vote, gaining four seats in the European legislature. Caputova was Progressive Slovakia deputy chairman before winning the March presidential election. People's Party Our Slovakia, a far-right party, finished third with 12.1 per cent, winning two seats. But Slovakia's local ally of France's far-right National Rally party led by Marine Le Pen didn't win a seat. In Slovenia, an anti-immigrant party has won the most votes - but less than allied moderate groups together. The State Election Commission said Sunday that near-complete results showed that the Slovenian Democratic Party of former Prime Minister Janez Jansa - an ally of Hungary's hard-line Prime Minister Viktor Orban - has won 26.5 per cent of the vote. The Social Democrats are second with 18.6 per cent while Prime Minister Marjan Sarec's party won 15.6 per cent. The two parties are part of Slovenia's current coalition government. The right-wing Slovenian Democratic Party also won most votes at last year's parliamentary election in Slovenia but remained out of the government after moderate groups joined forces to form a coalition. The opposition conservative New Slovenia party is fourth in the EU vote with 11.1 per cent. Supporters of the New Democracy opposition party, which has made significant gains over the ruling Syriza watch the exit polls results in central Athens Germany's anti-immigration party Alternative for Germany (AfD) leader Joerg Meuthen reacts to the first exit polls in Berlin, which showed his party making gains compared to 2014 Eurosceptic populists the Danish People's Party (DF) lost around two-third of their votes, a major setback for them ahead of their national elections on June 5. Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen's Liberal Party overtook DF to become the biggest Danish party in the European Parliament; EU Commissioner Margrethe Vestager's Social-Liberal Party also gained. The Cypriot Democratic Rally, the country's ruling conservative party came first in Cyprus with 29 per cent of the vote. Opposition Communist Akel came a close second with 27 per cent. Based on projected results, Cyprus was to get its first Turkish Cypriot MEP, academic Niyazi Kizilyurek, making history on the ethnically-split island. In Romania there were big losses looming for the ruling Social Democrats (PSD), according to exit polls, which put them tying for first place with opposition centrists. A new grouping of parties, USR-Plus, secured third place with 24 per cent of votes, opening up the prospect of a wider alliance pushing the PSD out of government next year. Supporters of Marine Le Pen's National Rally party wave French flags after exit polls showed their party on top in France The centrist party in the Czech Republic led by populist Prime Minister Andrej Babis won the most votes there despite the leader facing fraud charges involving the use of EU funds. The Czech Statistics office says his ANO (YES) group has won 21.2 per cent percent of the Sunday vote or six seats - two more than in 2014 -of the 21 seats at stake in the Czech ballot. Babis wants his country to remain in the bloc but is calling for EU reforms. Croatian election authorities have confirmed the ruling conservatives and opposition centre-left party have won an equal number of seats in the EU's newest member state. With 99.8 per cent of the ballots counted, the results early on Monday showed the Croatian Democratic Union winning 22.7 per cent of the vote, followed by the centre-left Social Democratic Party with 18.7 per cent - or 4 seats each. Initially, the ruling HDZ party was projected to win 5 seats, but missed out on the fifth by around 1,000 votes. In the UK Nigel Farage and his Brexit Party are celebrating a historic victory with huge gains, crushing both the Tories and Labour after Theresa May's resignation and widespread Brexit chaos. Before the results started coming in violence broke out in Brussels on Sunday when Yellow Vest protestors clashed with police outside the EU headquarters in the city. Several hundred protesters wearing yellow vests marched in protest of social injustices in their home countries in Brussels while others sporting black hoods taunted authorities. Police on horseback patrolled the historic centre where several people were detained. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, one of the first Democrats in Congress to call for President Donald Trump to be impeached, said Sunday that more Democrats are 'moving toward' a consensus on such proceedings against the president. 'It is moving towards that. It's going to demand that. It already is,' she said on NBC's 'Meet the Press.' 'We can't be able to do our jobs if we don't hold him accountable,' she said. Rep. Rashida Tlaib said more Democrats are 'moving toward' a consensus that President Donald Trump should be impeached She was one of the first members of Congress to say President Donald Trump should be impeached 'This is not about the 2020 election, she noted. 'Its about doing whats right now for our country. This is going to be a precedent that we set when we dont hold this president accountable to the rule of the law and to the United States Constitution.' Tlaib, after she took the oath of office in January, vowed Democratic House leadership will impeach 'motherf***er' - in a reference to Trump. She has beat the impeachment drumbeat as Speaker Nancy Pelosi has tried to hold back that tide among her Democratic lawmakers. The Michigan Democrat countered a major argument from Pelosi, who has told her party to let the six House committees investigating Trump's businesses, tax returns, administration, and actions in the 2016 election finish their work first. But Tlaib argued the traditional method of congressional oversight - subpoenas and committee hearings - isn't working. 'The traditional congressional oversight process isn't working,' she said. Trump has fought off subpoenas for his business records, his taxes, and for his administration officials - both current and former - to testify. Although two court decision last week came down in favor of Democrats. Trump is expected to appeal. A federal judge in New York on Wednesday refused to block subpoenas from House Democrats for Trump's financial records from Deutsche Bank and Capital One. Earlier in the week a judge in Washington D.C. ruled Trump's former accounting firm Mazars would have to comply with a subpoena from Democrats. Matters came to a head for Democrats last week when former White House counsel Don McGahn, at the White House's request, refused to comply with a subpoena for his testimony on Capitol Hill about the Russia investigation and his testimony outlined in Mueller's report. His move infuriated Democrats and led Pelosi to call for a special party meeting to tamp down on the impeachment talk. While she has held off the impeachment calls - for now - a subsequent war of words between her and Trump saw relations between the executive branch and legislative branch hit a new low. Speaker Nancy Pelosi has been trying to hold back the impeachment tide in her party Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, a staunch Pelosi ally, also appeared on 'Meet the Press' to make the case for waiting out the House investigations into President Trump Rep. Liz Cheney, a member of the Republican House leadership, said Pelosi is losing her grip on her party Tlaib, who came into office after the 2016 election which saw Democrats retake control of the House of Representatives, said that was a sign the public was on their side. 'The majority of states across this country saw an huge historic turnout of people coming out to vote for the first time. And I feel like in many ways that's a referendum to stand up to a bully, to a president that subverts the United States Constitution every single day,' she noted. Congressional Republicans also have gone on the attack. 'What I see every day is a Speaker of the House who is increasingly losing her grip on the leadership of her conference,' Rep. Liz Cheney, a member of the Republican House leadership, said Sunday on ABC's 'This Week.' And Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, a close ally of President Trump, warned Pelosi she would be committing 'political suicide' if she started impeachment proceedings against the president. 'She knows that impeachment would be political suicide because there's no reason to impeach the president,' Graham said on 'Fox News Sunday.' But one of Pelosi's staunchest allies was also out to make the case for waiting it out. 'Democrats can sing and dance at the same time just like Beyonce,' Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, a member of the House Democratic leadership told NBC's 'Meet the Press.' 'We don't work for Donald Trump. We work for the American people. We have a constitutional responsibility to serve as a check and balance on a potentially out of control executive branch. But we will not overreach. We will not over-investigate, we will not over-politicize that responsibility. We will proceed as Speaker Pelosi has eloquently laid out, methodically yet aggressively to get to the truth,' he said. Emmanuel Desreux, 45, sold 39 motorised inflatable boats to migrants in 2018 and 2019 A Frenchman has been jailed for selling dozens of boats to migrants desperate to reach Britain by sailing across the English Channel. Emmanuel Desreux, 45, sold 39 motorised inflatables to people trying to make the journey from France to the UK illegally. He was sentenced to a year and a half behind bars, with another 18 months suspended for abetting illegal migration between October 2018 and March 2019. More than 30 migrants have been returned to Europe so far this year after they were caught trying to enter the country by boat. There has been a huge spike in Iraqi, Iranian and Afghan nationals travelling to the UK in recent months, prompting border officials on either side of the Channel to step up patrols. Desreux's taxi driver accomplice who organised the transport of the boats and some of the migrants to beaches, Jean-Claude Demeyer, 54, was sentenced by the same court in Boulogne-sur-mer to one year in prison, with another year suspended. Police launched their investigation into the crossings when they arrested four Iranians and two taxi drivers in January on a beach near Calais in January. Information from those arrested led them to Desreux and his firm, Fluvialys, which was located in the town of Deulemont on the border with Belgium. The period his company sold the boats corresponds with the noticeable increase in arrivals of illegal migrants. A group of 18 migrants are pictured on a Border Force dinghy after they were caught trying to reach the UK illegally from France via the Channel this week Migrants have turned to the clandestine sea route after abandoning attempts to clamber aboard trucks crossing from France to Britain via the Channel Tunnel or on ferries. Authorities in the northern Pas-de-Calais region said nearly 500 migrants on more than 60 boats managed to reach England's shores between October and March. Some of the vessels were stolen fishing boats, while others were purchased by the migrants. Police found 14,000 euros (12,308) in cash in Desreux's car when he was arrested. Neither of themen expressed any remorse for the risks the migrants ran by crossing one of the busiest shipping corridors in the world, one beset by strong currents and often foul weather. 'Everything depends on the weather,' Desreux said in court. 'When it was bad weather, I told them (the migrants) to call back later.' On Friday, a group of 18 migrants - including children - were found crammed on a small inflatable boat off the Kent coast. Kingsdown Beach near Deal on the Kent coast (pictured) is where several of the migrants have been found since last year Their rigid-hulled inflatable boat (RHIB) was intercepted by a Border Force cutter and the migrants were taken to shore at Dover. The group, made up of men, women and children, said they were either Iraqi or Iranian. They have been taken in for interview by immigration officials after being medically assessed. The migrant crisis skyrocketed skyrocketed at the end of last year, with hundreds risking their lives to make it from France to Britain. It sparked Home Secretary Sajid Javid into declaring a 'major incident' at the end of December 2018, and he hauled in extra Border Force cutters in a bid to stem the crisis. A Home Office spokesman said: 'Anyone crossing the Channel in a small boat is taking a huge risk with their life and the lives of their children. 'Since the Home Secretary declared a major incident in December, two cutters have returned to UK waters from overseas operations, we have agreed a joint action plan with France and increased activity out of the Joint Coordination and Information Centre in Calais. 'It is an established principle that those in need of protection should claim asylum in the first safe country they reach and since January more than 30 people who arrived illegally in the UK in small boats have been returned to Europe.' He also claims that, despite being born in England, he was told to '**** off back to your own country' by a white steward BA Whistleblower Nick Singh alleges the company failed to deal properly with incidents including a BA pilot calling him a dirty black P*** A former British Airways first class steward is suing the airline after claiming he suffered years of racism. Nick Singh alleges the company failed to deal properly with incidents including a BA pilot calling him a dirty black P***. He also claims that, despite being born in England, he was told to **** off back to your own country by a white steward. The father of one, who is claiming racial discrimination at an employment tribunal, says he took his allegation that racism is commonplace to senior managers including the chief executive, Alex Cruz. Last week, Mr Cruz showed the Queen around BAs headquarters near Heathrow airport, to celebrate the national flag carriers centenary. Mr Singh, 53, claims that last year he was offered 25,000 to leave BA and, when he did not accept, the airline sacked him. BA is understood to strenuously deny all his claims. Yesterday he told the Daily Mail: They sacked me four days before Christmas. They offered me money to settle, but I want the public know what has been going on. I am sick of it. Mr Singh alleges: The father of one, who is claiming racial discrimination at an employment tribunal, says he took his allegation that racism is commonplace to senior managers including the chief executive, Alex Cruz Bosses did not take seriously his warnings about a white-supremacist BA pilot who allegedly called him a dirty black P***; Mr Singhs Audi car was vandalised in the BA crew car park with P*** scrawled across the bonnet; A white steward who told him to **** off back to your own country and called him a dirty black P*** b****** was forced to write an apology on what looked like a crumpled piece of toilet paper; One of his managers shared a social media post by the race-hate far-Right group Britain First, although she later insisted it was accidental. British Airways said it could not comment on the details of the case because of ongoing legal proceedings Mr Singhs decision to speak out comes after BA suspended five pilots for alleged racism earlier this year, following claims by a Boeing 777 captain, Manish Patel, that he had endured being called P*** lad and chai wallah. All five have since been reinstated. Mr Singh has been an air steward for three decades. He said that in 1990, he became Virgin Atlantics first British-Indian steward. He switched to BA in 1997. But he was incensed last October when British Airways held a campaign to trumpet Black History Month. I couldnt believe it when they launched this campaign saying they are proud to celebrate ethnic minorities, he said. I have been suffering shocking racist abuse for years and they never get a grip on it. Mr Singh also claims that, despite being born in England, he was told to **** off back to your own country by a white steward In January last year, Mr Singh, of Hounslow, west London, wrote to Willie Walsh, boss of BAs owner IAG, copying in Mr Cruz, to claim that racism is commonplace in my experience. Then he wrote to Amy James, head of worldwide cabin crew, alleging that his claims had not been properly resolved. British Airways said it could not comment on the details of the case because of ongoing legal proceedings. But a spokesman said: British Airways is a global company that operates to over 75 countries, and racism is not tolerated. We encourage a diverse and inclusive culture, and expect all our colleagues to treat each other with dignity and respect. Advertisement Far-right and Eurosceptic parties have won more European Parliament seats than ever before after voters across the continent left their nations' rulers with bloody noses. Conversely, left wing and pro-EU Green parties also surged amid the highest turnout in 25 years as the 40-year majority held by the two largest centre-right and centre-left groups of parties was broken. Marine Le Pen's National Rally inflicted a painful defeat - but not a knock-out blow - on pro-European French president Emmanuel Macron before her party called for a 'powerful' group of far-right parties to join forces in the EU Parliament. In Italy, the League party of hard-line Deputy Prime Minister, Matteo Salvini, was one of the biggest winners in the European elections, with soaring support that bolsters his role as the flagbearer of the nationalist and far-right forces in Europe and could also shake up politics at home. 'The rules are changing in Europe,' Salvini said at his League party headquarters in Milan early Monday. 'A new Europe is born.' The party of longtime German chancellor Angela Merkel, a European Union stalwart, lost ground, although it was the Greens and not the far-right Alternative for Germany that made big advances in her country. Despite making gains, the vote was hardly the watershed anticipated by Europe's far-right populists, who have vowed to dilute the EU from within in favour of national sovereignty. While the big centre-right and centre-left blocs in the European Parliament have lost their combined majority, pro-EU parties are still expected to take two-thirds of the legislature's seats. The centre-right European People's Party was forecast to lose 36 seats but remain the largest group - with leader Manfred Weber warning that 'those who want to have a strong European Union have to join forces'. He insisted his group would not cooperate 'with any party that doesn't believe in the future of the European Union'. Far-right and Eurosceptic parties have won more European Parliament seats than ever before after voters across the continent left their nations' rulers with bloody noses Marine Le Pen spoke triumphantly on Sunday evening as the results came in, she will have the same number of seats as French President Emmanuel Macron's En Marche party - the final results were a mixed picture for the 50-year-old Le Pen: her party ended up losing ground since European elections in 2014 when it finished top with 24.9 percent Italian Deputy Prime Minister and leader of far-right League party Matteo Salvini celebrated the election results in Milan last night - his emerged as the largest party in Italy Matteo Salvini was celebrating in Italy (right) while in France Marine Le Pen's National Rally (RN) bagged 24.9 per cent of the vote. As far-right parties courted the youth vote, Le Pen turned to 23-year-old Jordan Bardella (left, last night) to lead her National Rally party to victory The party of longtime German chancellor Angela Merkel (pictured in Sassnitz, northern Germany, this morning), a European Union stalwart, also lost ground, although it was the Greens and not the far-right Alternative for Germany that made big gains in her country In Germany, support for Mrs Merkel's Christian Democrats coalition was down 7 percentage points to 28 per cent. She is pictured in Berlin this morning ITALY: Salvini bolsters role as flagbearer of far-right forces in Europe The League party of Italy's hard-line interior minister, Matteo Salvini, was one of the biggest winners in the European elections, with soaring support that bolsters his role as the flagbearer of the nationalist and far-right forces in Europe and could also shake up politics at home. With one-third of the Italian vote, the League is poised to become one of the biggest parties in the European Parliament with 28 seats. Meanwhile, Salvini's coalition partner in Italy, the populist 5-Star Movement, got only 17 percent, shifting the balance of power from last year's Italian election. Salvini said today he will stick with his coalition with 5-Star party, despite his own victory and 5-Star's disappointing third place finish in the European elections. Italy's Interior Minister Matteo Salvini (pictured casting his vote earlier on Sunday in Milan), a major figure among the anti-migrant hard-line nationalists, declared a 'change in the air' and that a victory by his right-wing League party would 'change everything in Europe' After speculation in the runup to the vote that a thumping League win could shift the balance of power and undermine the year-old coalition, League leader Matteo Salvini struck a magnanimous tone in victory. 'For me our government allies are friends and from tomorrow we will get back to work with serenity and softer tones,' Salvini told reporters. 'My opponent is and remains the Left,' he said, referring to the pro-Europe Democratic Party (PD), which placed second. For his part, 5-Star chief Luigi Di Maio blamed his party's defeat on a low turnout in its southern strongholds, and also ruled out a cabinet re-shuffle. 'Nothing will change and we will get going again from today,' he said in an interview with daily Corriere della Sera. He said he hoped to meet Salvini this week to set the next priorities and he expected they would govern together for a full five-year term. With the vote count almost completed, the League had more than 34 per cent of the vote and 5-Star had just 17 per cent, an almost exact inversion of the result of national elections a year ago that led to the coalition between the two. The PD was on around 23 per cent. The campaign was acrimonious, with the League and 5-Star fiercely attacking each other, increasing the speculation that the coalition might be in jeopardy after the vote. Despite Salvini's magnanimous comments, other figures in his party suggested the balance of power had shifted towards Salvini, who is pushing for deep tax cuts in possible defiance of EU budget rules. 'Deciding the priorities of the government will now be up to Matteo Salvini and the League,' said the League's parliamentary leader, Riccardo Molinari. The big gap between the two parties' support may encourage internal 5-Star dissent towards Di Maio, who is likely to face pressure not to make any major concessions to Salvini which might further erode grass-root support. 'In the short term it's not in either side's interests to break up the government, and they will try to find stability,' said Alessandra Lanza, from the Bologna-based economic consultancy Prometeia. However, analysts said that with the economy almost stagnant, the government will face a tough task in the autumn putting together a 2020 budget which keeps the League's promises of tax cuts while keeping public accounts under control. 'We face a difficult economic situation, I am well aware of that,' a buoyant Salvini said on Facebook in the early hours of Monday, after his election victory was confirmed. By Reuters and AP Advertisement Miss Le Pen's National Rally received 23.31 percent of the French vote, with Macron's centrist alliance trailing with 22.41 percent. Both parties will each have 23 seats in the parliament. But despite triumphalist comments, the final results were a mixed picture for the 50-year-old Le Pen: her party ended up losing ground since European elections in 2014 when it finished top with 24.9 percent. Miss Le Pen declared her success a 'victory for the French people', adding that the result 'confirms the new nationalist-globalist division' in France and beyond. 'It is the President and his policies that are rejected,' Miss Le Pen said in a celebratory speech soon after results started to appear at 8pm. French government spokeswoman Sibeth Ndiaye said the results were 'a disappointment for us' but they're 'not a failure for Macron'. Mr Salvini's Italian populist League party appeared to have more than quadrupled his vote share, from six per cent in 2014 to around 29 per cent in this election according to a poll last night. It also saw the political return of the country's notorious former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi who was elected as an MEP for his centre-right Forza Italia party, aged 82. Negotiations will start on Monday between groups in the parliament that sits in Brussels and Strasbourg to find a coalition with a workable majority ahead of the bloc's top jobs being carved up for the next five years. Mr Salvini told RAI state television that his League, Marine Le Pen's National Rally and Nigel Farage's Brexit Party together should control 90 seats and that other populist parties could bring the number to at least 150. But forming a coherent alliance of far-right parties may prove problematic given the existing network of European alliances and divisions among groups on key issues such as cooperation with Russia. In Germany, support for Mrs Merkel's Christian Democrats coalition was down 7 percentage points to 28 per cent. The advance of the right was less pronounced there, where there was a strong showing by the Greens, but the anti-immigrant Alternative for Deutschland broke the 10 per cent barrier and also gained seats. Mrs Merkel's party lost control of the state of Bremen in a regional election for the first time in 73 years. And in the Netherlands the far-right Forum for Democracy party, launched in 2016 by Thierry Baudet, picked up around 11 per cent of votes. Only Spain saw the ruling party celebrating, with caretaker Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's socialists taking 20 of the 54 seats available. He described it as a 'source of enormous pride and an enormous opportunity for us but also an enormous responsibility'. Sanchez is travelling to Paris today to analyse the election results with French President Macron over a working dinner. The two leaders will exchange views on the allocation of top jobs in the parliament when they meet in the Elysee Palace tonight. Meanwhile, Greens increased their holding from 52 to 70 seats, describing their performance as a 'green wave' in the wake of popular protests in recent months calling for urgent action to tackle climate change. The rise in support for parties hostile to the EU was partly credited for a rise in turnout in several countries. The overall turnout, 50.5 percent, was the highest in 25 years, up eight percent since 2016. It means that the largest centre-right and centre-left groupings, the European People's Party (EPP) and Socialists and Democrats (S&D), could now lose their majority for the first time since 1979. The two umbrella groups won 412 seats in 2014, but are only expected to win around 320 this time well short of the 376 needed for a majority. More than 170 Euro-MPs, up from 155 in 2014, are set to come from anti-Brussels and reformist parties out of 751 available seats in the chamber. The Greens and Liberals were also set for gains at the expense of the traditional big two, taking about 173 seats, up 56. The far-right Alternative for Germany celebrated increasing its presence in the European Parliament but fell short of its showing in Germany's 2017 national election. Party co-leader, Joerg Meuthen, is pictured left last night In Spain Pedro Sanchez (left) beams with acting Spanish Foreign Affairs Minister Josep Borrell after their Socialist party dominated results in the country Marine Le Pen gives a victory speech (left) last night after National Rally matched President Emmanuel Macron's En Marche party at the ballot box, while Matteo Salvini's (right) populist League party won an historic vote share The Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras (pictured last night) has called a snap General Election after his Syriza party was decimated in the polls The election results will influence who could become the next EU Commission president after Jean-Claude Juncker (pictured on Sunday) in November SPAIN: PM's socialists come out on top in only major left-wing triumph Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez was the big winner of European elections in Spain on Sunday with his ruling Socialists coming first, a result he will likely use to wield more influence in the bloc. With Spain the only major EU country where the Socialists topped the polls, Sanchez has emerged as the big hope for European social democrats. With 98 per cent of the votes counted late on Sunday, the Socialists won 20 of the 54 seats allocated to Spain in the European Parliament. They were followed by the conservative Popular Party (PP) which won just over 20 per cent. Newly-emerged far-right party Vox, meanwhile, got just over six percent of the vote. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez (pictured at a press conference in Madrid yesterday) was the big winner of European elections in Spain on Sunday with his ruling Socialists coming first, a result he will likely use to wield more influence in the bloc Advertisement The results were partly seen as an indictment of European leaders and the federalist direction of EU politics during a parliamentary term in which Brussels has struggled to deal with the migration crisis. It has also seen Britain vote to leave the EU. Guy Verhofstadt, leader of the Liberals and the parliament's chief Brexit negotiator, told the Daily Mail the results showed European politics was as 'fragmented' as ever and that 'European unity is certainly under threat'. However, he said: 'This is not necessarily a bad thing. This opens up a window for others to push for desperately needed reforms to the EU.' Mr Verhofstadt added: 'We need to create an EU that is capable of defending our interests, because in the world of today no one else will.' The election results will influence who could become the next EU Commission president after Jean-Claude Juncker in November. And even though Britain is due to leave in October, the appointment is important as the new president will lead any post-Brexit trade negotiations. The leader of the party with the largest number of seats usually takes on the role. However, the rise of far-right parties will potentially make it harder for the two main centre-right and centre-left groups to appoint Mr Juncker's successor. Manfred Weber, a German who is backed by Mrs Merkel, is the current leader of the EPP, will be favourite. But he could be stopped from becoming the new Commission president if EU leaders decide to bypass the traditional process at a summit to discuss the role tomorrow night. But as the votes continued to be counted across the bloc, populist politicians were already celebrating. In Italy, Salvini declared a 'change in the air' and that a victory by his right-wing League party would 'change everything in Europe'. Salvini added: 'I will say to those who have sunk the European dream, transforming it into a nightmare, that I am proud that the League participated in this new rebirth of a sunken Europe.' Preliminary results: EPP - Group of the European People's Party (Christian Democrats); S&D - Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament; ECR - European Conservatives and Reformists Group; ALDE&R - Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe + Renaissance + USR PLUS; GUE/NGL - Confederal Group of the European United Left - Nordic Green Left; Greens/EFA - Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance; EFDD - Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy Group; ENF - Europe of Nations and Freedom Group; NI - Non-attached Members; Others - independent members not allied to the political groups Portuguese Prime Minister and Socialist Party General Secretary Antonio Costa beams as his Socialist party dominated the polls Ireland's Taoiseach Leo Varadkar (left) is pictured with Fine Gael candidate Frances Fitzgerald and (centre) and Alan Farrell (second right) In Hungary Prime Minister Viktor Orban (pictured centre), who has firm views on migration, celebrated securing 13 of the country's 21 seats, gaining one from the previous EU vote in 2014 Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz pictured during a meeting after European Parliament elections at the Austrian People's Party on Sunday FRANCE: Le Pen and far-right beat Macron's centrists Le Pen's party received 23.31 percent of the vote, with Macron's centrist alliance trailing with 22.41 percent. The two groups will have the same number of seats in the European Parliament, 23. Marine Le Pen smiles from ear to ear as she celebrates her National Rally's party major victory over Macron's En Marche group Le Pen, who lost out to Macron in a bitter presidential contest in 2017, called for the head of state to dissolve the parliament and call new elections, a proposal that was immediately rejected by the government. 'It is up to the president of the republic to draw conclusions, he who put his presidential credit on the line in this vote in making it a referendum on his policies and even his personality,' Le Pen said in a brief speech late Sunday. But despite triumphalist comments from RN figures, the final results were a mixed picture for the 50-year-old Le Pen: her party ended up losing ground since European elections in 2014 when it finished top with 24.9 percent. The green party EELV came in third position with 12.8 per cent support. In a first reaction after exit polls were released late on Sunday, an aide to Macron called them 'respectable'. Leading allies of the 41-year-old president sounded satisfied that the margin of defeat looked like it would be slender. Reporting by AFP Advertisement In Hungary Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has an equally strict view on immigration, celebrated securing 13 of the country's 21 seats, gaining one more on the previous EU vote. He said the result shows that 'people in Hungary believe change is needed in Brussels' and he will 'cooperate with everyone who wants to stop immigration.' But Orban did not directly address possibly joining up at EU level with like-minded far-right leaders such as Salvini. In Portugal, the ruling centre-left Socialists, led by Prime Minister Antonio Costa, looked to have won their elections with a higher tally than their 2014 result of 31.46 per cent - bagging 32.5 per cent this time. The Green Party was set to win as many as three of the 13 seats up for grabs in an overwhelmingly pro-EU Ireland, putting the small Irish party in line to take its first seats in Europe for 20 years. The governing Fine Gael and main opposition Fianna Fail were well placed while the left wing Sinn Fein appeared to be in a battle to retain all of their three seats. Provisional results in Austria point to a big win for Chancellor Sebastian Kurz's centre-right party in the European Parliament election, days after a scandal involving the far-right Freedom Party brought down his governing coalition. But a good night for Chancellor Kurz turned into a bad morning when it emerged he is set to lose his post after the far-right closed ranks with other opposition parties, to say they would support a no-confidence motion against him. Norbert Hofer, chief of the far-right Freedom Party, said his party 'will support' the motion, which is also backed by the Social Democrats and comes after the collapse of Kurz's coalition government over a corruption scandal. Meanwhile, a new pro-EU coalition linked to President-elect Zuzana Caputova has won the vote in Slovakia while a far-right party gained seats in the EU legislature for the first time. In Greece, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras called for an early national election following the defeat of his party in the European Parliament polls. Supporters of the New Democracy opposition party, which has made significant gains over the ruling Syriza watch the exit polls results in central Athens GERMANY: Governing parties suffer worst defeat in 70 years Germany's Carsten Meyer-Heder, of Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union Party (CDU) is pictured getting make-up done Germany's governing parties slid to their worst post-World War II showing in a nationwide election Sunday amid discontent with their stuttering performance over the past year, while the Greens surging to second place in the European Parliament vote amid increasing concern about climate change. Chancellor Angela Merkel's center-right Union bloc won 28.9% of the vote and the Social Democrats, their partners in an often-cantankerous 'grand coalition' of what have traditionally been Germany's biggest parties, got 15.8%. Five years ago, they took 35.4% and 27.3%, respectively. The Greens powered past the Social Democrats into second place, increasing their score to 20.5% - nearly double their 10.7% showing in 2014. It was a less satisfying evening for the far-right Alternative for Germany, which celebrated increasing its presence in the European Parliament but fell short of its showing in Germany's 2017 national election. The party took 11% of the vote, up from 7.1% five years ago. In Germany, support for Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats coalition was down seven percentage points to 28 per cent, while the far-right Alternative for Germany party got around 11 per cent of the vote. Her party lost control of the state of Bremen in a regional election for the first time in 73 years. The advance of the right was less pronounced in Germany, where there was a strong showing by the Greens and votes continued to be counted. Advertisement Mr Tsipras said from the Syriza party offices that 'the result does not rise to our expectations ... I will not ignore it or quit'. Mr Tsipras credited his government for pulling the country out of the austerity imposed by Greece's creditors and said that voting for Sunday's winner, the conservative New Democracy, would be turning back to 'the darkness of austerity, the darkness of crisis, the oligarchs, the International Monetary Fund'. The government's term expires in October and before Sunday night's announcement, government officials insisted that elections would be held at the end of the term. But a long and contentious meeting of government ministers and party officials ended with the announcement of the early election. Mr Tsipras said he will visit the Greek president to request the early dissolution of parliament after the second round of local and regional elections on June 2. This puts the election date at June 30 at the earliest. In the run-up to the election, Mr Tsipras brought to Parliament a series of measures that amounted to handouts and defied the conservatives to vote against them. They did not, but accused Mr Tsipras of a desperate gambit for votes. With just over a third of voting precincts reporting, New Democracy is leading with 33.62 percent to Syriza's 23.86. The socialists of the Movement for Change follow with 7.16 percent, ahead of the Communist Party (5.75), the far-right Golden Dawn (4.86), the hard-line nationalist Greek Solution (4.04) and Diem25, the pan-European movement of Syriza's first finance minister Yanis Varoufakis (3.15). If the results hold, New Democracy will win seven European Parliament seats; Syriza will get six; the socialists, the communists and Golden Dawn two each; and Greek Solution and Diem25 one each. IRELAND: Greens on course to change nation's political landscape as Sinn Fein falter The second day of counting in the European elections gets under way later on Monday. The count ended on Sunday in Ireland's three constituencies without any MEPs elected. The Green Party's Ciaran Cuffe topped the poll in the Dublin constituency with 63,849 votes. He is expected to be elected later today. Beaming greens: Green Party's Ciaran Cuffe celebrated a good early showing as votes were counted in Dublin The voting system - single transferable vote - in the European election means counting could run on until Wednesday. The first day of counting saw a major surge in support for the Green Party with candidates expected to take seats in all three constituencies. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said he is confident his party will take three seats adding he was 'on the hunt' for two more. Meanwhile, Sinn Fein is facing challenging results in Ireland in both the European and local elections with huge losses in several councils. Irish voters will elect 13 MEPs, however two will face an uncertain wait over when they can take their seats due to the Brexit delay. The Republic will receive two of Britain's 27 seats when it leaves the EU. They are being redistributed among 14 member states. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said he was confident of taking at least three seats The UK is participating in the poll, with British MEPs set to attend the inaugural plenary session of the new parliament on July 2. As a result, those elected in last place in Ireland's Dublin and South constituencies must wait to see when they can take their seats. Local council elections were also held across Ireland on Friday, and counting in those races is continuing on Monday. Meanwhile, a landslide Yes vote to liberalise Ireland's divorce laws was confirmed in the early hours of Sunday. Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan is now set to bring forward a Bill to amend Section 5 of the Family Law (Divorce) Act 1996 to reduce the minimum living apart period to two years during the previous three years. The European election count for Ireland's three constituencies - Dublin, South, and Midlands-North-West - started on Sunday morning at centres in Dublin, Cork and Castlebar, Co Mayo. A Europe-wide embargo meant the first results in the poll could not be declared until 10pm. The European and local government elections are the first electoral test for Ireland's main parties since the inconclusive general election of 2016. 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 Ireland's 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 Friday's elections focused on European and council issues, the results will no doubt be interpreted as a public judgment on Fine Gael's 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. Advertisement Marine Le Pen speaks to the media after exit polls showed her party National Rally on top in Paris, France on Sunday Supporters of Marine Le Pen's National Rally party wave French flags after exit polls showed their party on top in France A man has died after being stabbed multiple times in a knife fight in Tower Hamlets, becoming London's 50th murder victim of 2019. The 23-year-old was stabbed at 4.30pm yesterday in East London and died late last night as a result of his multiple wounds. His family have been told of his death. A police forensic officer at the crime scene in Tower Hamlets, where a 23 year old man was stabbed multiple times yesterday, and died overnight in hospital A 23-year-old man has died after suffering multiple stab wounds in a fight in Tower Hamlets Scotland Yard launched an investigation following the stabbing but no arrests have been made The second victim, 25, remains in hospital but his injuries are not thought to be life-threatening. Police were called to St Paul's Way in Mile End where officers along with London Ambulance Service found the two men suffering stab wounds. Scotland Yard has launched an investigation while officers remain at the scene and a cordon is in place. The victim has become the eighth murder in the capital this month with Britain in the grips of a knife epidemic. A second victim remains in hospital but his condition is not thought to be life-threatening LONDON'S MURDERS IN 2019 Where the 49 murders in the capital so far this year have been committed Jan 1: Charlotte Huggins, 32, Camberwell Jan 1: Tudor Simionov, 33, Mayfair Jan 4: Simbiso Aretha Moula, 39, Rainham Jan 6: Sarah Ashraf, 35, Isle of Dogs Jan 7: Jayden Moody, 14, Waltham Forest Jan 11: Asma Begum, 31, Canning Town Jan 27: Kamil Malysz, 34, Acton Jan 29: Nedim Bilgin, 17, Islington Feb 4: Carl Thorpe, 46, Highgate Feb 5: Lejean Richards, 19, Battersea Feb 10: Dennis Anderson, 39, East Dulwich Feb 18: Bright Akinlele, 22, Camden Feb 19: Brian Wieland, 69, Chingford Feb 21: Glendon Spence, 23, Brixton Feb 22: Kamali Gabbidon-Lynck, 19, Wood Green Feb 25: David Lopez-Fernandez, 38, Tower Hamlets Feb 26: Che Morrison, 20, Ilford Mar 1: Jodie Chesney, 17, Harold Hill Mar 2: Elize Linda Stevens, 50, Hendon Mar 2: Jolia Bogdan, 3 months, Croydon Mar 3: Unnamed man, 37, Soho Mar 6: Laureline Garcia-Bertaux, 34, Kew Mar 6: David Martinez, 26, Leyton Mar 7: Antoinette Donnegan, 52, Battersea Mar 7: Ayub Hassan, 17, West Kensington Mar 16: Nathaniel Armstrong, 29, Fulham Mar 22: Abdirashid Mohamoud, 17, Isleworth Mar 24: Ravi Katharkamar, 54, Pinner Mar 27: Ramane Richard Wiggan, 25, West Norwood Mar 28: Zahir Visiter, 25, Regents Park Mar 29: Gavin Garraway, 40, Clapham Apr 1: Calvin Bungisa, 22, Kentish Town Apr 2: Hubert Hall, 60, Walthamstow Apr 7: Annabelle Lancaster, 22, Enfield Apr 8: Noore Bashir Salad, 22, Manor Park Apr 16: Gopinath Kasivisuwanathan, 27, Wembley Apr 17: Steven Brown, 47, Stoke Newington Apr 23: Meshak Williams, 21, Harlesden Apr 26: Mihrican Mustafa, 38, Canning Town Apr 26: Henriett Szucs, 34, Canning Town Apr 26: Amy Parsons, 35, Whitechapel Apr 26: Joshua White, 29, Hackney May 1: Tashaun Aird, 15, Hackney May 5: Constantin Sin, 51, Leytonstone May 5: Junior Urugbezi-Edwards, 18, Southwark May 11: Erik San-Filippo, 23, Islington May 16: Barrington Davis, 54, Lewisham May 23: Unnamed man, 60s, Kensington May 23: Unnamed woman, 60s, Kensington In a statement, the Metropolitan Police said: 'Police were called at around 1630hrs on Sunday, 26 May, to a stabbing in St Pauls Way, E3. 'Officers attended along with London Ambulance Service and found two men suffering from stab injuries. They were both taken to an east London hospital. 'One of the victims, a 23-year-old man, had suffered multiple stab wounds. 'Sadly, he was pronounced dead later that night. 'His next of kin are aware. 'We await formal identification. A post-mortem examination will be scheduled in due course 'The second victim, aged 25, remains in hospital. His injuries are not thought to be life-threatening. 'An investigation has been launched. Officers are working at the scene and cordons are in place. 'Any witnesses or anyone with information should call police via 101 or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. Blond bombshell who's bookies' favourite ... even if he didn't fare too well last time! Boris Johnson, 54. Pitch: Considering his reputation for extra- marital affairs, when he launched his campaign he could have used a less saucy phrase than saying it's time to put 'Brexit to bed'. Boris is playing on the fact the many believe he's the only Tory who could beat Jeremy Corbyn in a General Election. Also, promises to review the HS2 rail link if the billions could be better spent in the North. Would inject more millions into the NHS. Hard to know which Boris will hit the campaign trail the Brussels-bashing patriot or the social liberaliser who once wore a pink cowboy hat to lead a Gay Pride march. Born in New York into a political family brother Jo is a fellow MP and sister Rachel campaigned for the arch-Remain Change UK party last week. A proven winner having been twice elected Mayor of London in a Remain-voting city but that was before anyone believed he could be PM. Brexit: Happy to leave the EU on October 31 with No Deal. But says: 'The way to get a good deal is to prepare for a No Deal. To get things done you need to be prepared to walk away.' Supporters: Hardline Brexiteers such as Jacob Rees-Mogg, but also backed by his passionate Remainer MP brother Jo. Boris Johnson (pictured with his girlfriend Carrie Symonds) is playing on the fact the many believe he's the only Tory who could beat Jeremy Corbyn in a General Election Man who sank Boris's last bid Michael Gove, 51. Pitch: Says he's the 'unity' candidate with the vision and grip from holding high office to secure Brexit and reverse the Tories' poll slump. His torpedoing of Boris Johnson's leadership hopes in 2016 will create electrifying tension between them. Wants to repay the faith his adoptive parents Christine and Ernest Gove, pictured with the Environment Secretary, placed in him by becoming PM. Brexit: Supports Mrs May's deal a key reason he's not a favourite of hardline Conservative Brexiteers. Claims the UK could survive No Deal. Supporters: New Leader of the House Mel Stride, ex-minister George Eustice, and senior backbenchers Ed Vaizey and Tom Tugendhat. Michael Gove (pictured with his parents at their house in Aberdeen) says he's the 'unity' candidate with the vision and grip from holding high office to secure Brexit and reverse the Tories' poll slump The wealthiest man in Cabinet Jeremy Hunt, 52. Pitch: Says his business background makes him best qualified to negotiate a new deal with Brussels. 'Doing deals is my bread and butter. I've taken risks, I've employed people. ' Would reduce corporation tax to 12.5 per cent, which he says would turbo-charge the economy. 'This is a moment for hunger and ambition,' he says but was he talking about himself or the country? Admiral's son Hunt was educated at Charterhouse, where he was head boy, and Oxford University. Sale of his Hotcourses education firm for 15million makes him the richest member of the Cabinet. Says his experience in taking a marginal seat also makes him a winner. Brexit: A Remainer in the referendum, now says he's a 'born-again Brexiteer'. 'We can never take No Deal off the table, but the best way of avoiding it is to make sure you have someone capable of negotiating a deal.' Opposes a second referendum (a 'massive breach of trust'). Supporters: A raft of senior backbenchers. With a wife from China, they say he is 'as international as they come ... a fluent communicator in several languages'. Jeremy Hunt (pictured jogging on Sunday) says his business background makes him best qualified to negotiate a new deal with Brussels The 'details man' whose father fled from Nazis Dominic Raab, 45. Pitch: To build a fairer society and give the underdog a shot in life. His Czech-born Jewish father, whose family fled the Nazis, arrived in the UK aged six with no English. 'Britain gave him sanctuary and opportunity through a grammar school education and a great job at Marks & Spencer.' His dad died of cancer when Raab was 12. 'I was brought up with a sense of the precariousness of life.' Would revive apprenticeships for 14- to 16-year-olds. Describes himself as a 'details-oriented man' whose politics have been 'instilled with a sense of stubborn optimism'. Offers to cut 1p off basic rate of income tax and raise the threshold for National insurance to 12,500. Brexit: The former Brexit secretary insists he will not ask for a Brexit extension preferring to leave with a deal but that it must be made clear to Brussels we will walk away on World Trade Organisation terms, if the EU does not budge. Supporters: Include David Davis, who he succeeded as Brexit Secretary. Dominic Raab (pictured on the way to speak on the Andrew Marr Show on Sunday) says to build a fairer society and give the underdog a shot in life. 'I was brought up with a sense of the precariousness of life' Mother of three who wants Tories to woo youth vote Andrea Leadsom, 56. Pitch: Says she's inherited her drive from her 'formidable' mother who, as a single parent after divorce, had three daughters under five to care for. 'She always drummed it into us the world does not owe you a living; you've got to fight for what you believe in and never rely on a man.' Proud that her mother never claimed welfare benefits. 'It was tough but very formative.' Wants to lure younger voters and has made climate change policies central to her campaign. In 2016, she and Theresa May were the final two candidates, but Leadsom quit after appearing to suggest that as a mother she had a greater stake in the country than childless Mrs May. Brexit: Would go with No Deal. 'To succeed in negotiation you have to be prepared to walk away,' she says. Supporters: No Cabinet heavyweights so far, but several MPs such as Chris Heaton-Harris and Heather Wheeler. Andrea Leadsom (pictured today) says she's inherited her drive from her 'formidable' mother who, as a single parent after divorce, had three daughters under five to care for Son of a bus driver from Pakistan Sajid Javid, 49. Pitch: Wants the Tories to be the party of social mobility which is no surprise considering he has the most aspirationally successful back-story. Still to formally declare but an announcement is expected. Married to Laura, pictured, he is one of five sons of an immigrant Pakistani who came to the UK with just 1 and gained the nickname 'Mr Night and Day' because he worked 'every hour that God sent his way'. After stints in a Rochdale cotton mill and as a bus driver, Javid's father bought a small clothing store in Stapleton Road, Bristol. His young family were billeted in a two-bedroom flat upstairs. 'Three brothers were in one bedroom and myself and a younger brother were with my parents in the other.' Stapleton Road was once named 'Britain's worst street' by a Sunday newspaper, which dubbed it a 'lawless hellhole where murder, rape, shootings, drug-pushing, prostitution, knifings and violent robbery are commonplace'. Javid worked in the City before entering politics and becoming the first non-white Briton to hold one of three great offices of state. Brexit: A former Remainer 'but with a heavy heart and no enthusiasm' he backs Brexit. As such, better positioned than a staunch Leaver or Remainer to unite the party. Supporters: MPs such as Robert Halfon and Chris Skidmore who believe his refugee family roots-to-riches personal story can reconnect the Tory Party with disaffected voters. Sajid Javid (pictured with wife Laura) wants the Tories to be the party of social mobility which is no surprise considering he has the most aspirationally successful back-story The young pretender Matt Hancock, 40. Pitch: The youngest candidate yet, so sees himself as the 'generational shift' choice. Promises to reboot the party by kicking out 'ugly politics'. Hancock, pictured with his wife Martha, vows to tackle low pay, create a culture for higher wages and no tax increases. Privately educated at The King's School, Chester, and Oxford University, he points out that he runs the world's fifth largest organisation the NHS with 1.9million staff. Brexit: Says a general election would be 'disastrous' as it would risk putting Jeremy Corbyn in No10. Delivering Brexit depends on being 'brutally honest' about trade-offs 'between sovereignty and market access'. Supporters: Former deputy PM Damian Green and ex-ministers Stephen Hammond and Tracey Crouch. Expected to get backing of his former Treasury boss George Osborne. Matt Hancock (pictured with his wife Martha at the NME Awards at the O2 Arena, Brixton, in February) is the youngest candidate yet, so sees himself as the 'generational shift' choice The 'anti-Boris' pick Rory Stewart, 46. Pitch: The anti-Boris candidate, having already refused to serve in the Cabinet if Johnson becomes PM. Wants to build a stronger relationship between Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland by appointing a secretary of state for the union. One of the most privileged upbringings of all candidates (Hong Kong diplomat's son, Eton and then Oxford, where he once attended a meeting of the notorious Bullingdon Club). Maths and Latin tutor to princes William and Harry. Joined his father's old regiment, the Black Watch, before entering the diplomatic service. Brexit: Voted Remain in referendum but respects Brexit vote. Says No Deal would be 'damaging and dishonest. Supporters: No big names yet. Rory Stewart (pictured arriving for the Andrew Marr Show on Sunday) is the anti-Boris candidate, having already refused to serve in the Cabinet if Johnson becomes PM Barnardo's girl backing 'clean break' from EU Esther McVey, 52 Pitch: Warns that the Conservatives will be 'the last defence against one of the most toxic Labour leaders we have ever known,' adding that it will be a battle for 'the heart and soul of this country hard socialism vs the people.' The daughter of a Liverpool scrap metal dealer, she spent her first two years in foster care with Barnardo's before being returned to her family. After school in Liverpool and university in London where she studied law, McVey spent ten years in broadcasting and was an on-screen reporter for GMTV. Has said: 'Most people will fall upon tough times at some point, but I want to give the message that anyone can succeed given the opportunity.' To attract 'blue collar' Tories, promises to axe the foreign aid budget and, instead, invest the money in policing and schools. Brexit: A long-time Brexiteer, she wants a clean break from the EU unless Brussels 'make a better offer'. Says tweaking Mrs May's deal is 'pointless'. Supporters: Senior backbencher Philip Davies (her fiance) and four others. Republican Rep. Liz Cheney, a member of the House GOP leadership, said Sunday that former FBI agents Peter Strzok and Lisa Page may have committed treason with the anti-Donald Trump texts they sent during the 2016 election. 'I think what is really crucially important to remember here is that you had Strzok and Paige who were in charge of launching this investigation and they were saying things like we must stop this president, we need an insurance policy against this president,' she said on ABC's 'This Week.' 'That in my view when you have people that are in the highest echelons of the law enforcement of this nation saying things like that, that sounds an awful lot like a coup and it could well be treason,' she noted. Republican Rep. Liz Cheney said former FBI agents Peter Strzok and Lisa Page may have committed treason with their anti-Donald Trump texts 'That's treason,' President Trump said last week, describing communications of FBI lovers Peter Strzok and Lisa Page Her words echo President Trump's words last week, when he accused the two of treason. And Cheney followed Trump's lead in singling out former FBI director James Comey and his former deputy at the bureau Andrew McCabe. 'We need to know what was Jim Comey's role in all of this? These people reported to him, Andy McCabe reported to him, what was Comey's role in that?,' she said. She noted Attorney General Bill Barr would be focusing on all those topics when he probes the agency's actions during the 2016 election. 'That is what the attorney general is going to be focused on,' Cheney said. At the White House on Thursday, President Trump railed against the FBI's look into his 2016 campaign to see if it had been infiltrated by Russians. '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 said. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders also said Sunday that Barr would find out what happened at the FBI during that time. 'We already know that there was an outrageous amount of corruption that took place at the F.B.I. They leaked information. They lied. They were specifically working trying to take down the president, trying to hurt the president,' she said on NBC's 'Meet the Press.' 'We'll leave the final call up to the attorney general and he'll get to the bottom of it. But we think Americans deserve the truth. The president's asked for that. And we should expect nothing less.' She added: 'There's a lot more there that we still need to know. And we're going to let the attorney general do his job.' 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 NBC's Chuck Todd asked her: 'That's my point. It doesn't sound like you want him to do his job. It sounds like the president has already determined the outcome.' Sanders referred to new executive order that empowers Barr to declassify information in connection with the probe of law enforcement actions. 'Chuck, that's the reason that he's granted the attorney general the authority to declassify that information, to look at all the documents necessary is so that we can get to the very bottom of what happened. Once again, we already know about some wrongdoing. The president's not wrong in that. But he wants to know everything that happened and how far and how wide it went,' she said. And she argued that 'the people that were responsible and that were part of this unprecedented obstruction and corruption at the F.B.I., those people should certainly be held responsible and be held accountable and the president expects that to take place.' Todd asked her: 'So he expects an outcome that he wants, not an outcome that the facts lead to.' 'Chuck, I think you're trying to muddy the waters too much here. We already know, once again that there was wrongdoing,' she replied. Attorney General Bill Barr has opened an investigation into how the Justice Department's broad Russia probe began White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said that Barr would find out what happened at the FBI during that time 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 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 last week that his preliminary look isn't reassuring. 'I've 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 the FBI's initial counter intelligence investigation into Trump's campaign and on Special Counsel Robert Mueller's expansive investigation. Durham, the new spy-hunter, has previously served as a special prosecutor investigating allegations of impropriety by intelligence officials In an August 2016 text message exchange, the two agents - who were having an extramarital affair - talked about Trump's chance of being elected president. '[Trump's] not ever going to become president, right? Right?!' Page texted Strzok. 'No. No he won't. We'll stop it,' Strzok responded. In another text, they spoke of an 'insurance policy' against Trump. Page later told lawmakers this referred to the Russia investigation. 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. These astonishing images show just how desperate migrants are to get into Europe. They capture the moment border police found a man in his twenties squeezed behind a car dashboard, trying to enter Spains North African enclave of Melilla. Officers said three vehicles were stopped in Beni-Enzar, Morocco, in the space of three hours on Saturday. Astonishing images captured migrants squeezing into car bodywork to get into Europe. (Pictured) A man in his twenties squeezed behind a car dashboard. He was found by officers at Beni-Enzar, Morocco, trying to cross into Spain's North African enclave, Melilla Another man was found wedged into an engine compartment. Police said they stopped three cars within three hours on Saturday Shocking pictures also showed a stowaway hidden in an engine compartment Border Police said they found another illegal migrant behind a car's rear seats, and a fourth in a dangerous position in a dumper truck, where they were in danger of being crushed. The migrants, including a 15-year-old girl, were rescued from their cramped surroundings and two of the men, aged 20 and 21, had to receive medical treatment. Border police said they were showing signs of suffocation, disorientation and pain in the joints due to the 'terrible conditions' in which they travelled. Three males, all Moroccan nationals and aged 19, 30 and 31, have been arrested on suspicion of people smuggling. Another man was found packed into a car dashboard (Pictured). Police said two men, aged 20 and 21, needed medical treatment as they were showing signs of suffocation, disorientation and pain in the joints They each drove Moroccan registered cars of different brands. It follows other shocking attempts to cross into Melilla. Two men were found sewn into mattresses in January, while a 12-year-old boy was discovered behind a dashboard in 2017. Two men were found sewn into mattresses in January trying to cross into Melilla from Morocco The pair will discuss Jarretts work ensuring equality for women and girls and advancing civil rights, her upcoming book Finding My Voice: My Journey to the West Wing and the Path Forward, her writing process and the stories that inspired her book. Colton Harris-Moore, 28, was denied by a federal judge when he sought an early end to his probation. He is seen in an undated file photo The infamous burglar dubbed the Barefoot Bandit for his massive two-year crime spree, has been told he cant end his probation early so that he can earn money abroad as a motivational speaker. Colton Harris-Moore, 28, is currently on supervised release after serving a prison sentence for 67 state and federal crimes, including theft of cars, speedboats, and airplanes. A federal judge in Seattle on Friday denied Harris-Moores request to be let out of supervised release so that he could earn at least $10,000 per speech in countries like France, China, and South Korea. Harris-Moore claimed in his court filing last month that he was a changed man and that the supervised release has prevented him from pursuing lucrative opportunities, according to The Seattle Times. He is due to complete his sentence this coming September. His lawyer, Colleen Hartl, argued in court that continuing probation would be a waste of the courts resources. She also claimed that Harris-Moore was told by his probation officer that he was being treated differently than others because of his fame. Harris-Moore (seen far right with his lawyer, John Henry Browne, in December 2011) is due to end his three-year federal probation in September Harris-Moore gained notoriety as 'Barefoot Bandit' for committing a series of burglaries and thefts while barefoot. As the name became known, he began leaving chalk drawings of his bare feet (like those shown above in a market in Orcas Island, Washington after it was broken into in February 2010) Hartl told the court that Harris-Moore is trying to move beyond the barefoot bandit persona. The Barefoot Bandit has not been his identity or reality for over 10 years. The Barefoot Bandit is gone, Hartl wrote. If the purpose of probation is to reintegrate the offender back into society as a productive, law-abiding citizen, thats been done. Probation has nothing left to offer him. Hartl complained in her court filing last month that it took months for the probation officer to process and eventually deny a request by Harris-Moore to be relocated to Arizona last year. But federal prosecutors refuted claims made by Harris-Moores attorney. Harris-Moore (seen in this undated file photo) says his probation is limiting his opportunities to earn money as a motivational speaker They said that Harris-Moore was denied a chance to move to Arizona because he has no ties to the state and had never visited. Michael Dion, the assistant U.S. attorney, said that Harris-Moore has been the beneficiary of his notoriety. He noted that Harris-Moore received more than $1million for the rights to his life story - most of which was used to pay the roughly $1.3million he was ordered to give his victims as restitution. In 2011, the film studio 20th Century Fox acquired the rights to Harris-Moores life story. According to Dion, most convicted felons would need to spend their whole lives working to pay off that debt. Harris-Moore claims he could earn at least $10,000 per speaking engagement in countries like China, France, and South Korea Assuming that people really would pay Mr. Harris-Moore a $20,000 speaking fee, that is because of his persona, Dion told the court. Other people on supervision have their own compelling stories, full of struggles, hardships, mistakes, successes, and hopes. But nobody will pay them to speak, because they are not The Barefoot Bandit Mr. Harris-Moore committed dozens of dangerous and destructive crimes. These also happened to be unusual, interesting crimes that caught the attention of the press and turned Mr. Harris-Moore into an outlaw hero. He may regret what he did, but he should not deny that he continues to benefit from that persona. U.S. District Court Judge Richard A. Jones denied Harris-Moores request because he says he failed to offer proof that he was indeed getting opportunities to work as a motivational speaker. Jones also said that Harris-Moore failed to ask his probation officer for permission to travel to speaking engagements, which should be the first step in the process. In his ruling on Friday, Jones said it was noble of Harris-Moore to want to pay off restitution sooner, but the convicted felon fails to appreciate that another way to serve as an example to others is to satisfy his complete sentence for the myriad of egregious crimes he committed and damage he did to the lives of a number of victims. Upon completion of his entire sentence and continued effort to deliver on his promise to make everyone whole, Mr. Harris-Moore can shed the Barefoot Bandit moniker and instead be known as Colton Harris-Moore, the role model for having turned his life of challenges into a success story to inspire others, the judge wrote in his ruling. In 2012, Harris-Moore was sentenced to six years in prison and three years of supervisory probation. As a youth, Harris-Moore was brought up by an alcoholic mother and a series of her convict boyfriends. Harris-Moore's first conviction came at age 12, in 2004, for possession of stolen property, and his first experience with burglary came when he broke into the homes of his classmates to steal food because his mother spent most of her Social Security income on beer and cigarettes something she has denied. Over the next three years he was convicted of theft, burglary, malicious mischief and assault, among other crimes. In 2007, the boy was sentenced to three years in a juvenile lockup after pleading guilty to three burglary counts in Island County. But he fled the minimum-security facility in April 2008 and was soon back to his old tricks, breaking into unoccupied vacation homes, stealing food and sometimes staying there. His lawyers say Harris-Moore wants to shed his 'Barefoot Bandit' persona and inspire others Some of the crimes were committed barefoot, which is where he got the moniker. After the nickname made nationwide news, Harris-Moore began leaving chalk drawings of feet at the scenes of his crimes. As red-faced investigators repeatedly failed to catch him, his antics escalated: He began stealing planes from small, rural airports and crash-landing them at least five in all. Waves of burglaries broke out on Orcas Island, where Kyle Ater runs his Homegrown Market and Deli, in late 2009 and in early 2010, after stolen planes were found at the airport there. The second time, Harris-Moore left Ater's new security system in a utility sink, under a running faucet. Harris-Moore's final spree came after he stole a pistol in eastern British Columbia and took a plane from a hangar in Idaho, where investigators found bare footprints on the floor and wall. That plane crashed near Granite Falls, Washington, after it ran out of fuel. He made his way to Oregon in a 32-foot boat stolen in southwestern Washington - stopping first to leave $100 at an animal shelter in Raymond, Washington. From Oregon, authorities said, Harris-Moore traveled across the United States, frequently stealing cars from the parking lots of small airports. In Indiana, he stole another plane and made for the Bahamas, more than 1,000 miles away, where authorities finally caught him in a manhunt that spanned multiple islands. Advertisement Memorial Day weekend brought record-breaking heat to the Southeast - and the blistering temperatures are expected to continue through Thursday. The heat wave scorched parts of Florida, Georgia, Alabama and North and South Carolina as weekend revelers headed out to the beach and parks for the Memorial Day weekend festivities. On Sunday temperatures reached the high 90s while the Carolinas and Georgia reached into the triple-digits. Augusta and Savannah, Georgia marked record highs for the month of May reaching a peak 101 degrees Fahrenheit on Sunday. The previous record for Augusta was 100F in 1926 and 100F in Savannah in 1953. Charleston and Columbia in South Carolina and Wilmington and Fayetteville North Carolina also hit triple digits sweltering to 100 degrees on Sunday. A heatwave is baking the Southeast for Memorial Day Weekend and will continue through Thursday Sunday saw record breaking highs for the month of May, reaching 101 degrees in Augusta and Savannah, Georgia, and 100F in several South and North Carolina cities This week high pressure will remain over the Southeast, diverting the jet stream to the north, meaning the South will remain under dry, intense heat sitting in the mid 90s The National Weather Service released heat advisories for parts of the Florida Panhandle, Georgia, and South Carolina for the holiday weekend in light of the heatwave which will divert moisture to the northeast Sunday and Saturday saw record highs for the month of May. On Sunday Augusta and Savannah, Georgia reached a blazing 101F. On Saturday the same cities hit 100F Thanks the sunshine and levels of humidity, even cities in the South in the low 90s felt like a blazing 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Saturday also saw record highs in Georgia, and the Carolinas as well as Ohio where Cleveland and Mansfield reached highs of 92 and 89 degrees Fahrenheit respectively. Other notable Saturday daily highs included 99 degrees in Gainesville, Florida, 97 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and 95 degrees in Pensacola, Florida, as per Weather.com. High pressure will remain over the Southeast, diverting the jet stream to the north, meaning the South will remain under dry, intense heat. The hot, dry weather is expected to bake the Southeast through next week Thursday, keeping Louisiana, Tennessee, Alabama, Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas under an intense mid 90s heat The National Weather Service released this warning for people in the Southeast to stay inside to avoid heatstroke Monday's forecast: The blazing temperatures are set to continue through this week, keeping the south in mid 90s heat On Tuesday the South will continue to blaze, with the heat scorching Georgia, Florida, and the Carolinas On Wednesday the hot weather will continue as the northeast experiences rain and thunderstorms On Thursday the south will continue to feel the hot but the temperatures will tip to low 90s and high 80s Humidity will hit along the Gulf Coast and Atlantic beaches over the weekend. And the sweltering temperatures will continue through the week. Monday through Wednesday the temperatures in Tennessee, Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and north Florida are expected to sit in the mid 90s. On Thursday the temperature will cool down a bit hitting 92 degrees in Atlanta, Georgia 93 degrees in Charlotte, North Carolina, 96 in Norfolk, Virginia, and 88 in New Orleans. Sunday: The National Weather Service shared these maps showing the high temperatures in along the East coast Monday: The start of the week will see blazing triple digit temperatures in Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina Tuesday: The sun and dry air will continue to beat down on the South on Tuesday The National Weather Service released heat advisories for parts of the Florida Panhandle, Georgia, and South Carolina for the holiday weekend. Locals were warned to not leave their kids or pets in hot vehicles without air conditioning. 'Most high temperature records across the region stand in the 90s, so many cities are expected to consistently challenge records during the heat wave,' according Accuweather meteorologist Max Vido. The hot weather reached New Jersey that reached 89 degrees as Memorial Day weekend revelers headed outside to enjoy the sun Memorial Day Weekend revelers took to the Jersey Shore beaches to enjoy the start of the summer Washington D.C. felt a high of 88 degrees on Sunday, as motorcyclists took to the street for the 32nd Rolling Thunder demonstration The heat also beat down in Florida in the high 90s. The U.S. Air Force Honor Guard pictured above at the Hyundai Air and Sea Show on Sunday for a Memorial Day weekend performance 'Many records date back to the late 1800s and early 1900s,' he added. Meteorologists are warning that this week's heatwave will remain in the high 90s to lower 100s, continue to challenge record highs, and will bring with it dry height that can increase the possibility of fires. A massive brush fire dubbed the Yellow Bluff Fire broke out in Jacksonville, Florida, charring a whopping 608 acres of land on Thursday. That fire is now about 50 percent contained. The family of a woman who hanged herself in prison with her bra after guards allegedly hedged bets on her becoming suicidal has been awarded $860,000 as part of a lawsuit settlement. Janika Edmond, 25, died in hospital several days after she used her bra to hang herself in the shower at Women's Huron Valley Correctional Facility in Michigan in 2015. Prior to her death, Edmond had spoken of wanting to kill herself and asked prison guards for a suicide prevention vest. Guards had allegedly made bets on whether Edmond would ask for the vest. Janika Edmond, 25, died in hospital several days after she used her bra to hang herself in the shower at Women's Huron Valley Correctional Facility in Michigan in 2015 One guard, Diana Callahan, was allegedly caught on video pumping her fist in the air saying 'somebody owes me lunch' in an apparent response to Edmond's request. Surveillance video taken inside the prison also showed that guards failed to immediately respond to Edmond despite audible choking sounds being heard. Callahan was later charged in Edmond's death and was sentenced in December, to six months in prison and two years probation for involuntary manslaughter. She was also fired following the incident. The Michigan Department of Corrections last week agreed to pay Edmond's family $860,000 to settle a lawsuit brought against them over her death. Edmond's two half brothers, Jacob Christopher Edmond and Cazz Vinson Jr., will receive about $275,000 each from the settlement. The two Detroit law firms who brought the case will be given $142,000 each. Prior to her death, Edmond had spoken of wanting to kill herself and asked prison guards for a suicide prevention vest. Guards allegedly made bets on whether Edmond would ask for it One guard, Diana Callahan, (above) was allegedly caught on video pumping her fist in the air saying 'somebody owes me lunch' in an apparent response to Edmond's request. Callahan was later charged in Edmond's death and was sentenced in December last year to six months in prison U.S. District Court Judge Robert Cleland approved the settlement last week. Edmond's family filed the lawsuit back in 2017 claiming the corrections department tried to cover up the alleged misconduct in the prisoner's death. She was in prison at the time of her death for violating probation and subsequently assaulting a guard. Edmond was sentenced in 2011 to five years probation for assault with a dangerous weapon. The young woman violated her probation when she was caught with marijuana and was ordered to spend six months in prison. During that prison stint, Edmond assaulted a guard and was ordered to serve time. Edmond had told probation officers that prison time wouldn't be good for her mental health and records show she twice attempted suicide behind bars with a sheet and a towel. The lawsuit filed by Edmond's family also accused the corrections department of failing to properly train its guards. Jeremy Corbyn is facing war with his closest ally tonight after John McDonnell insisted a second referendum is now the 'only option' following Labour's EU elections disaster. The leader is under massive pressure to shift position to full-heartedly back another national vote that could potentially see Brexit cancelled. The row escalated dramatically this evening after Mr McDonnell stepped up his backing for a referendum. Mr Corbyn has been trying to tread a fine between keeping another public vote on the table to appease Remainer activists, and avoiding aggravating the party's Brexit-supporting northern heartlands. But Mr McDonnell admitted that a general election - the other option being pursued by Labour - was highly unlikely to happen because 'Turkeys dont vote for Christmas'. 'Our only option now is go back to the people in a referendum and that is the position were in now,' the shadow chancellor told Sky News. The comments came after Diane Abbott demanded a 'clearer' position after Labour slumped to third place in England and Wales and fifth in Scotland. Earlier, Mr Corbyn was still trying to dodge being pinned down, saying only that he thought there should be a 'public vote'. In a tense interview with the BBC, he said: 'I support that any final deal has to be put to a public vote. What this party does is supports an agreement with the EU to prevent crashing out, supports putting that proposal when agreed to a public vote.' Earlier in a statement, the Labour leader said: 'With the Conservatives disintegrating and unable to govern, and Parliament deadlocked, this issue will have to go back to the people, whether through a general election or a public vote.' He added: 'Over the coming days, we will have conversations across our party and movement, and reflect on these results on both sides of the Brexit divide.' Scroll down for video Mr Corbyn (pictured leaving home this morning) himself has said 'this issue will have to go back to the people' as the shadow Cabinet turned on him Labour infighting escalated dramatically tonoght after John McDonnell stepped up his backing for a second Brexit referendum Disappointing result: A Labour supporter looks gloomy last night at the count for North West England in Manchester: The party dropped to third place behind the Lib Dems in the European elections and Jeremy Corbyn's critics are blaming his lack of clear support for a second referendum Unhappy-looking Labour party observers during the Yorkshire and Humber European election count at Leeds Town Hall Labour is well behind Nigel Farage's Brexit Party and the Lib Dems. Even in Mr Corbyn's Islington back yard Labour only managed to come second. It is being consumed by an acrimonious split between MPs in Remain-supporting areas and those in Leave seats who fear a backlash at the next general election. After the result Mr McDonnell said Labour could unite the party and country by 'taking (the) issue back to people in a public vote' and Ms Abbott said that the party had been damaged by not having a 'clearer line' on the issue. Foreign secretary Emily Thornberry was among those to blast the party's 'unclear' strategy and demand a second referendum after Labour's thrashing. After Labour big beasts demanded a fresh Brexit poll, Jeremy Corbyn last night made the strongest indication yet that he could look to back a second referendum Ms Thornberry warned were 'getting a good kicking' as the unashamedly pro-Remain Lib Dems ate into the Labour vote. Deputy leader Tom Watson demanded an 'urgent' change of direction, warning that it will soon be too late to stop the UK from crashing out of the EU without a deal. And shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer said that the public should be offered a choice between 'a credible leave option and remain'. But shadow justice secretary Richard Burgon - a key Corbyn lieutenant - insisted Labour had the right approach in seeking to appeal to both Leavers and Remainers despite its failures. It came after Mr Corbyn himself has said 'this issue will have to go back to the people' as the shadow Cabinet turned on him - although he again dodged stating whether there should be a general election or a single-issue vote. Mr McDonnell initially said: 'Can't hide from hit we took last night. 'Bringing people together when there's such a divide was never going to be easy. 'Now we face prospect of Brexiteer extremist as Tory leader & threat of no deal, we must unite our party & country by taking issue back to people in a public vote.' However after his commentds were picked up on social media he added a caveat: 'So people are absolutely clear what I am saying. 'Of course I want a general election. But I realise how difficult this is to secure. 'I will do anything I can to block no deal Brexit. So yes if, as likely GE (general election) not possible, then I support going back to the people in another referendum.' This latter comment is in line with the party's policy, which is to only back a second referendum if it cannot achieve a general election. Ms Abbott added: 'We have to take the time to analyse the EU vote. 'But, when we come in third after the Brexit party, that is a clue something is wrong with our strategy. 'We need to listen to our members and take a clearer line on a public vote.' But Mr Burgon said: 'I think the message of trying to bring people together who voted Remain and Leave is the right message. 'It was never going to work in this kind of low-turnout EU election where the people most interested in this important issue of Brexit, whether it is to Remain or Leave, came out to vote. A general election would be very different.' And party chairman Ian Lavery, who has spoken against a second referendum, tweeted: 'Those who voted Leave are rightly frustrated that we haven't left & those who voted Remain are rightly furious at the Tories disastrous handling of Brexit. 'Don't define people by how they voted in 2016 - the real divide is between the have & have nots.' Savaging the campaign, Mrs Thornberry told BBC News: 'I think we are going to get a kicking. I feel really sorry for all our MEPs who are going to lose their seats, all the candidates who work so hard and all our activists who, frankly, have not done well and it's not their fault. 'I think that the point is that we went into an election where the most important issue was 'what was our view on leaving the European Union' and we were not clear about it. 'We were not clear on the one single thing that people wanted to hear and that wasn't their fault. 'We sent people out to campaign on that and, unfortunately, we just weren't clear enough.' She added: 'I fear we will have no deal and we must be clear it will be a disaster for the country so we must have a second referendum.' Senior backbencher David Lammy accused Mr Corbyn of trying to 'ride two horses'. 'Labour should get its act together. We tried to ride two horses. We fell flat on our faces, basically, with our face pressed against the pavement,' he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. 'That's what happened. It is now clear that the electorate is now polarised, still, along leave and Remain. 'There is a surge of support for those who want no deal, and there is an absolute surge for those who want a confirmatory vote. 'And in this election, we have resuscitated the Liberal Democrats, we have handed votes to the Greens, 'And very, very worryingly, we have facilitated Nigel Farage's Brexit Party because in the system of elections in the European elections, the largest parties always do well unless your policy is not clear.' In a fresh hint that he was indeed considering backing a fresh Brexit poll, Mr Corbyn said the EU elections had become 'a proxy second referendum'. He added: 'With the Conservatives disintegrating and unable to govern, and Parliament deadlocked, this issue will have to go back to the people, whether through a general election or a public vote. 'Labour will bring our divided country together so we can end austerity and tackle inequality. 'Over the coming days, we will have conversations across our party and movement, and reflect on these results on both sides of the Brexit divide. 'We will not let the continuing chaos in the Conservative Party push our country into a No Deal exit from the EU. Parliament can and will prevent such a damaging outcome for jobs and industry in the UK . On a disastrous night for the party, Labour's vote share tumbled to third overall behind the Lib Dems. Critics said the voters' damning verdict came about because Mr Corbyn had tried and failed to attract the support of both Leave and Remain voters. In the event, voters on both sides of the Brexit divide deserted his party. In the Leave-supporting North East region, the Brexit Party polled twice as many votes as Labour. Mr Corbyn's party fell to fourth in strongholds such as Cardiff and Sheffield. In Remain-supporting London, Labour lost control of the north London borough of Islington, where Mr Corbyn who turned 70 yesterday has his Commons seat, to the Lib Dems. The full London results showed the Lib Dems taking 27 per cent of the vote, above Labour on 24 per cent. Change UK, which broke away from Labour earlier this year, got just 5 per cent. It means that of the eight seats up for grabs in London, the Lib Dems took three and Labour two. Labour also had its worst ever result in Wales, slumping to third behind the Brexit Party and the pro-independence Plaid Cymru. A Remain-supporting Labour source said there will now be a fresh move by MPs against Mr Corbyn. The source said the focus will be on changing Labour policy to support a second referendum, and then challenging Mr Corbyn's leadership if he refuses. Anti-Brexit Labour peer Lord Adonis tweeted: 'Very clear that if Labour had been the party of Remain in this election, we would have won.' Mary Creagh MP said: 'If we'd said referendum, remain and reform, Labour would've beaten [Brexit Party leader Nigel] Farage. A tragedy for our country and our party.' Colleague Jess Phillips tweeted: 'If we had been clearer we'd have beaten Farage. The end.' Labour MEP candidate John Howarth apologised to party members in the south-east for the party's expected poor showing. 'Had Labour's high command set out to lose an election they could not have gone about it in a more convincing way,' he wrote. Blair's old spin doctor votes Lib Dem for the first time in his life Alastair Campbell (right) and former PM Tony Blair (left) Alastair Campbell said he had not voted Labour for the first time in his life in disgust at the party's stance on Europe. Tony Blair's former spin doctor, pictured, tweeted: 'I voted Lib Dem, as did Fiona Miller [his partner]. For both of us the first time ever we did not vote Labour. I'm not a Lib Dem. I'm Labour and I hope that in voting as I did I will help the Labour Party see sense and do right thing for the country: People's Vote.' He added: 'If Islington has gone Lib Dem then maybe even Jeremy Corbyn might realise the strategy pursued by the posh boy revolutionaries is failing badly and putting his and Labour's future at risk.' Mr Campbell was Mr Blair's chief spokesman from 1994 to 2003. He is now a key figure in the People's Vote campaign, demanding a second referendum. He said before the poll that he believed the country 'made a terrible choice' and had realised 'just how difficult Brexit is'. Mr Campbell also insisted that Mr Corbyn's approach of 'facing both ways' on Brexit had failed. Advertisement 'Labour's NEC [National Executive Committee] had plenty of warning ... of the likely consequences of adopting an equivocal policy on Brexit not based on seeking to remain in the EU.' In the North-East of England traditionally Labour's hardiest stronghold in the country the Brexit Party collected twice as many votes as Labour. Labour slumped to just 19 per cent of the vote, meaning Mr Farage's party took two of the three available seats for the region. In Yorkshire and the Humber, Labour lost control of cities including Leeds and Sheffield. Former Labour MP Jamie Reed tweeted: 'Jeremy Corbyn destroying Labour in Yorkshire tonight. Yorkshire. That's Yorkshire. Well done Jez.' Labour's civil war erupted into the open yesterday as hard-Left union boss Len McCluskey accused the party's deputy leader Tom Watson of using Brexit as a ruse to topple Mr Corbyn and called him a 'poor imitation of Machiavelli'. Mr Watson said that Labour must come out strongly in favour of a second referendum, or face electoral oblivion. Writing in The Observer, he said: 'For our party's sake, but most of all for Britain's sake, Labour needs to find some backbone on Brexit, find our voice and do it fast.' Mr Watson described the party's stance on a second referendum as 'a deliberate, self-defeating attempt to triangulate between different groups'. Mr McCluskey, general secretary of the Unite union, responded: 'Tom Watson's already out, surprise surprise, trying to take on the role of Prince Machiavelli, but I've got news for Tom,' he said. 'Machiavelli was effective. He's a poor imitation of that. If he's trying to turn Labour members against Corbyn and in his favour, then he's going to lose disastrously.' He added: 'If you look at the Remainers, some of the leading lights, Blair, Mandelson, Alastair Campbell, Tom Baldwin these are individuals who have actually indicated they'd sooner have a Tory government than a Corbyn government, so take no notice of these phoneys, and stick with Corbyn.' Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell insisted it had been right to 'tread a really difficult road' of trying to bring Leave and Remain supporters together. Former Labour MP and longtime Eurosceptic George Galloway tweeted a scathing attack on his old party He said: 'Labour as we knew it is dead. 'A coalition of Blair Labour and Corbyn Labour, of Leave voters and Remain members, right wing wreckers and liberals masquerading as left. 'Unless Corbyn sharply turns to Brexit and his heartlands and confronts and routs the Blairites it's over.' Britain has given thousands of pounds in foreign aid to support fracking in China, the Government has confirmed. Since 2016 the Foreign Office has spent 87,000 on projects to help the countrys environmental regulation of shale gas development. Meanwhile the fracking process which involves breaking open rock layers to release underground gas remains hugely controversial in the UK. It often triggers minor earthquakes and campaigners claim it causes water contamination and traffic pollution. Fracking in China has been supported by thousands of British pounds in foreign aid. The UK gave 87,000 to help the country's 'environmental regulation of shale gas development' since 2016 The Foreign Office argued that working with China was a national security priority and an opportunity to influence its future. But Alex Norris, Labours spokesman for international development, said: The Tories are hypocritically spending UK aid to support fracking in China, while also announcing the climate crisis will be a top priority of their international development agenda. 'Fracking by the Chinese government has already been suspected of causing three earthquakes this year in Sichuan province. Critics have also questioned why ministers have given so much money to China, when it has been hailed as the next economic superpower. Nerissa Chesterfield, from the Institute of Economic Affairs think-tank, said it was time to cut the aid budget and offer genuine aid for countries who need it. Fracking remains controversial in the UK. (Pictured) Cattle graze next to a fracking site operated by Cuadrilla Police budgets have been cut and schools work on a shoestring, and yet our foreign aid budget remains ring-fenced and used to advise the worlds second largest economy on environmental regulation, she added. Foreign aid was championed by former prime minister David Cameron, who pledged in 2010 that ministers must spent at least 0.7 per cent of national income on international development. Last year the foreign aid budget swelled to 14.5billion, compared with just 6.4billion in 2008. But now ministers are under pressure to end the pledge at a time when funding for schools, policing and social care is being cut. There is currently only one site in the UK where fracking takes place, in Fylde, Lancashire, and drilling has been repeatedly suspended following tremors. A Foreign Office spokesman said: Britains aid helps the UK to create opportunities, peace and prosperity worldwide, which is in the national interest. In China shale gas is a transition fuel as the country moves away from coal. Sharing UK expertise will help to ensure that the exploration and development of shale gas meets higher environmental standards. Banks should not guarantee refunds for fraud victims to deter customers from being careless with their money, a police chief has claimed. Commander Karen Baxter, the national co-ordinator for economic crime at the City of London Police, said there should be 'consequences for extremely irresponsible behaviour' such as ignoring safety advice and making unwise transfers. Her calls come days before major banks including HSBC, RBS and NatWest are set to adopt a voluntary code of conduct requiring them to refund scam victims in full provided they have shown reasonable diligence. Commander Karen Baxter, the national co-ordinator for economic crime at the City of London Police, said there should be 'consequences for extremely irresponsible behaviour' such as ignoring safety advice and making unwise transfers It will protect against 'push payment' fraud, where customers are tricked into transferring money to scammers pretending to be trusted parties. The code spelled a victory for the Mail which has led the campaign for fairer treatment of victims of sophisticated fraud, who lose an average 2,920 per case. But Commander Baxter said more 'personal responsibility' was required to prevent the public from being complacent about the threat of scammers. She told The Sunday Times: 'If we are not diligent around money and the economy, we all end up paying for it. I'm not sure that's a good message.' Her calls come days before major banks including HSBC (stock picture of its London building in Canary Wharf), RBS and NatWest are set to adopt a voluntary code of conduct requiring them to refund scam victims in full provided they have shown reasonable diligence 2.5b conned from charities Fraudsters plundered a record 2.5billion from UK charities last year. Experts have warned charities are locked in an 'arms race' to protect themselves as the amount stolen rose by more than 200million last year. It means around a quarter of the 10billion donated by the British public annually is now lost to fraud. The statistics, revealed in a BBC1 series Britain's Secret Charity Cheats, which starts today, are from the Annual Fraud Indicator Report due out later this year. The University of Portsmouth's Professor Jim Gee, who worked with accountancy firm Crowe UK on the report, said: 'The quicker the sector gets together and starts reducing that [2.5billion] cost the better.' Advertisement Around 1.2billion was stolen through fraud last year, including 354million by authorised push payments. Until now, banks have refused to give compensation in the case of the latter, claiming it is the fault of the victim. Commander Baxter said she welcomed the new code, but said it is not 'encouraging the best responsible behaviour', adding: 'When people are being offered things that are too good to be true, things that they are advised against doing... I think we have to have some really difficult conversations.' Nigel Farage's Brexit Party stormed to victory in Wales, knocking Labour into an embarrassing third. Mr Farage's movement claimed 32 per cent of the vote in the country, more than 10 points ahead of their nearest rivals. The result marks an improvement for the Eurosceptic leader over his performance in 2014, when he came second to Labour as leader of UKIP. Nationalist party Plaid Cymru were second in Wales last night, winning 20 per cent, comfortably ahead of Labour on 15 per cent. Nigel Farage 's Brexit Party stormed to victory in Wales, knocking Labour into an embarrassing third With most results in, the Brexit Party had won the vast majority of council areas in England and Wales last night The results mean the Brexit Party wins two out of four Welsh seats, Plaid one and Labour one. Labour's third-place finish is a humiliation for a party which usually dominates Welsh politics. It has come first in every Welsh Assembly election since the body was founded and holds the most Welsh seats at Westminster. In 2017 it won almost half of Wales's votes at the general election, winning half a million more votes than the nationalists they have now fallen behind. However, the country voted Leave in the 2016 referendum and now appears to have signalled its fury at Labour's much-derided position on Brexit. Nathan Gill, one of two newly-elected Brexit Party MEPs for Wales, tweeted: 'Thank you Wales! 'I will never forget that you voted to leave, even though those in Westminster have tried to silence your vote. An early vote share chart showed Mr Farage's party more than 10 points clear of rival parties with Labour in third behind the Liberal Democrats and the Tories a humiliating fifth behind the Greens Ballot papers are counted at the Pembrokeshire Archives building in Prendergast, Wales. The Brexit Party won the European election in Wales with Labour third 'Along with James Wells I will be your voice in the European Parliament and we will get our Brexit.' He added: 'Wales voted to LEAVE! We knew what we were voting for and we still want to LEAVE. @brexitparty-uk is the only party committed to respecting the vote of the people of Wales.' The Liberal Democrats were fourth in Wales with just under 14 per cent of the vote. The Conservatives were also embarrassed, dropping from third to fifth and gathering just 6.5 per cent of ballots. UKIP, who were second with 28 per cent five years ago, dropped to only three per cent this time around. Meanwhile Nicola Sturgeon's SNP is polling well in the European elections in pro-Remain Scotland. This diagram shows the change in vote shares with Labour, the Conservatives and UKIP all losing ground while the Brexit Party came from nowhere and the Lib Dems and Greens gained This diagram shows the change in vote shares with Labour, the Conservatives and UKIP all losing ground while the Brexit Party came from nowhere and the Lib Dems and Greens gained The result in Wales marks an improvement for Nigel Farage (pictured) over his performance in 2014, when he came second to Labour as leader of UKIP The SNP topped the poll in the first four council areas to declare their voting figures - East Ayrshire, West Dunbartonshire, Renfrewshire and the Scottish Borders. Early results are also showing Nigel Farage's Brexit Party on track to see an MEP elected there. The Brexit Party pushed Labour into third in Renfrewshire, with Nigel Farage's party securing 13.6 per cent, just ahead of Labour's 13.2 per cent. At the last European elections in 2014, the SNP secured 28.9 per cent of votes across Scotland, winning two MEPS. Scotland was also strongly pro-Remain in 2016. Some pro-independence politicians have argued for a new referendum on Scotland leaving the UK, saying they were misled in the 2014 vote into thinking they would stay in the EU. Advertisement Top Tories demanded Brexit be completed as soon as possible today to avoid a catastrophe for the party after it was utterly humiliated by voters who subjected it to its worst ever election defeat. As Sajid Javid became the ninth MP to declare they were running for Tory leader a host of MPs vying to replace Theresa May broke cover to warn of a Conservative collapse as it finished fifth on 9 per cent behind the Greens. After Nigel Farage's Brexit Party gobbled up votes to come top in the contest and consign the Conservatives to the worst result in their history, leadership favourite Boris Johnson delivered a stark message that they must listen to the 'millions who voted for change'. The leadership front runner - who was pictured today with his girlfriend Carrie Symonds - said the rout last night in the polls after months of chaos and bitter infighting will become a 'permanent haemorrhage' of voter support unless the party takes dramatic action to win back furious Brexiteers. Nigel Farage today warned the Tories he will wipe them out at a general election unless they push through Brexit by Halloween - after securing a stunning triumph in EU polls. The stark ultimatum came after the Brexit Party won at least 28 MEP seats and 31 per cent of the vote, despite only being formed six weeks ago. Just four Conservatives were elected in England, Scotland and Wales. The Prime Minister said the European elections were a 'very disappointing night' for the Tories, adding that: 'It shows the importance of finding a Brexit deal, and I sincerely hope these results focus minds in Parliament.' Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, who is also hoping to succeed Theresa May, said the Tories were looking at an 'existential risk' unless they found a way to break the impasse. Andrea Leadsom, who quit last week over Theresa May's later-abandoned Brexit deal, said the nation 'should never have been fighting these elections' and said she had a 'three-step plan' to deliver Brexit. And another hardline Brexiteer, Dominic Raab, said voters had delivered a message that 'unless we get on and actually leave the EU they will rightly kick us out at the next election'. Mr Javid announced he was joining the leadership race today, saying: 'First and foremost, we must deliver Brexit.' The Tory disaster came as Jeremy Corbyn was facing civil war within his party as critics blamed the party's poor third-place finish on 14 per cent on his failure to back a second referendum. The Remainer Lib Dems surged into second place on 20 per cent with the Greens coming a close fourth on 12 per cent. Scroll down for video Boris Johnson leaving his home today with his girlfriend, 31-year-old Carrie Symonds, after he delivered a stark message that the Tories must listen to the 'millions who voted for change' in the election Tory leadership contenders including (l-r) Jeremy Hunt, Andrea Leadsom and Dominic Raab were among those to issue dire warnings for the Conservative Party if it cannot sort out Brexit fast Sajid Javid entered the crowded Tory leadership race today, posting this Twitter video (above) to launch his campaign A jubilant Nigel Farage (pictured in London this morning) demanded a role in the next round of negotiations with the EU after the Brexit Party's triumph, threatening to contest a general election A group of the Brexit Party's 29 MEPs including Anne Widdecombe gathered in London for a press conference with Nigel Farage today after their political earthquake in the European elections What will the Tory leadership candidates do to deliver Brexit as Farage calls the shots? Boris Johnson: Brexiteer who backs a deal but will leave without a deal if required. Writing in the Daily Telegraph today the ex-foreign secretary said: 'No one sensible would aim exclusively for a no-deal outcome. No one responsible would take no-deal off the table.' Dominic Raab: Brexiteer who wants the current deal with Brussels renegotiated but believes the UK should leave on October 31 'at the latest' with or without a deal, saying: 'I believe that I have the plan to ensure we can leave the EU by the end of October'. Andrea Leadsom: Brexiteer who told the Guardian we must be 'prepared to leave without a deal' but has a 'three-point plan for Brexit, for how we get out of the European Union'. Rory Stewart: Remainer who says he could not work for a PM who backed a No Deal Brexit. Described it as 'damaging, unnecessary' and 'a huge mistake'. Michael Gove: Brexiteer who favours a deal. He told the BBC at the weekend that 'we would be able to get through it' but added: 'It's ultimately better for all of us if we secure a deal with the EU and leave in an orderly way'. Matt Hancock: Remainer who backs a deal. He told Sky News that leaving the European Union without an agreement is 'not an active policy choice that is available to the next prime minister', in jibe at Boris Johnson. Jeremy Hunt: Remainer turned Brexiteer whose views on No Desal have varied. last year he said it would be 'a mistake we would regret for generations' before later insisting the UK would 'would survive and prosper' if it left unilaterally. Esther McVey: Ruled out a futher Brexit extension. Todya she said: 'People saying we need a Brexit policy to bring people together are misreading the situation. We need to deliver on the referendum result with a clean break and then we bring people together by how we govern the country outside the EU.' Sajid Javid: Remainer Home Secretary who accepts that Brexit has to happen. He said today: 'First and foremost, we must deliver Brexit.' Advertisement A jubilant Mr Farage demanded a role in the next round of negotiations with the EU, threatening to contest a general election. But he said he would be willing to support a Conservative leader who promises to take Britain out of the EU with No Deal. He said: 'If we don't leave in October the Brexit party will go on to a general election. 'We are happy to help any leader who is genuine about us leaving the EU. We would like to be part of the negotiating team, use us and give us some responsibility, but they need to be prepared to leave with a clean break Brexit. Boris Johnson, Dominic Raab, Michael Gove - all of them voted for Mrs May's European treaty. 'It's all about establishing trust if the next leader says the same thing then no one is going to trust them.' 'This is just the beginning of a new political movement.' Brexiteer leadership outsider Esther McVey went further that the other candidates, saying that Brexit shouyld happen before any attempt to heal the party and the nation. 'People saying we need a Brexit policy to bring people together are misreading the situation,' she said on Twitter. 'That is clearly not possible. 'We need to deliver on the referendum result with a clean break and then we bring people together by how we govern the country outside the EU.' But Matt Hancock said the party needed to win back voters who defected to the 'Brexit Party and Lib Dems', saying: 'We must deliver Brexit, before an election. Then focus on the future: higher pay not higher taxes: thats how we win elections - and we can do so again.' Election guru Sir John Curtice said that the result meant that the next Tory leader faced a 'conundrum', saying: 'So many Conservative Leave voters have switched to the Brexit Party - many of whom we should remember voted for Ukip in 2014 and/or in 2015. 'They switched to the Conservatives in 2017 because they thought Theresa May would deliver. 'Now that she hasnt delivered it seems to me once bitten, twice shy and they will probably wish to see the UK leaving the European Union before many of them will be willing to go back again. This map shows by council that the Brexit Party have topped polls in almost everywhere in England and Wales. The Tories have not topped in any council areas The Brexit Party won the most seats in the election last Thursday The Brexit Party have topped polls in every country or region apart from London. London was won by the Liberal Democrats The Conservatives suffered a humiliating 14.9 per cent loss in their 2014 vote share in last night's European election results The Conservative vote share slumped to around 9 per cent - thought to be its lowest in a national election since 1834 when the party took on its current name Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, who is also hoping to succeed Theresa May, said the Tories were looking at an 'existential risk' unless they found a way to break the impasse On a dramatic political night where turnout rose to a 15-year high as voters vented their fury at the chaos in Westminster: Mr Farage's Brexit Party polled above 50 per cent of vote share in some areas and raked in 31 per cent nationally; Tony Blair's former spin doctor Alastair Campbell said he had voted Lib Dem the first time he had not voted Labour; Change UK polled just 5 per cent in the Remain stronghold of London; Far-Right activist Tommy Robinson failed to win a seat as an independent, while Ukip lost all its MEPs; Turnout hit 37 per cent, the highest level since the European elections in 2004; Remain campaigners claimed that parties who support a second referendum on staying in the EU are on track to do better than hard Brexit parties; Scotland was the only place where the Brexit Party's surge was held back, with the SNP topping the polls north of the border; Election experts warned that the UK is more deeply divided between Leave and Remain than ever; Across Europe, far-Right and Eurosceptic parties were on course to win more seats than ever before. Mr Johnson laid into Mrs May - who announced her resignation on Friday - for having 'flagrantly failed' in managing Britain's departure from the EU. Sajid Javid joins fight for the Tory leadership Sajid Javid today joined the Tory leadership battle - warning that the party 'must deliver Brexit'. Home Secretary Sajid Javid declared that he will seek the top job as the contest crunched into top gear after the Conservatives' dire EU election results The Home Secretary declared that he will seek the job as the contest crunched into top gear after the Conservatives' dire EU election results. In a video message posted on Twitter, Mr Javid said he would 'restore trust, bring unity and create new opportunities across the UK'. He added: 'First and foremost, we must deliver Brexit.' Advertisement By contrast he has already declared that if he becomes leader this summer the UK will leave the EU at the end of October, with or without a deal. He wrote in the Daily Telegraph: 'No one sensible would aim exclusively for a no-deal outcome. No one responsible would take no-deal off the table.' Mr Johnson insisted last week that the UK would quit the bloc on October 31 'deal or no deal'. His concerns over the future of the party were echoed by leadership rival Mr Hunt who warned there was an 'existential risk to our party unless we now come together and get Brexit done.' Another rival, Dominic Raab, said Britain must leave the EU by October 31, and challenged the other contenders to a televised debate on Brexit. He said: 'Voters have sent us a very clear message: unless we get on and actually leave the EU they will rightly kick us out at the next election. 'I believe that I have the plan to ensure we can leave the EU by the end of October, as well as the tenacity and experience to see it through.' Mr Raab added: 'I hope that the other candidates take me up on my suggestion of holding a televised debate so that we can test each other's plans on Brexit. I look forward to debating my optimistic vision of a fairer deal for Britain in the coming days.' And Mrs Leadsom added: 'These results are truly terrible and demonstrate the damage that has been done to the Conservative Party, and to the country, in not leaving the European Union. 'We should never have been fighting these elections. It is now vital we now find a way to decisively leave the EU. The Brexit Party's advance was only checked in Scotland, where Nicola Sturgeon's SNP topped the polls and Nigel Farage's party finished narrowly ahead of the Lib dems 'Doing so will allow us to focus on other areas people care so passionately about, such as the climate crisis, and social care. Labour tears itself apart over a new referendum as frontbenchers line up to demand a new poll Jeremy Corbyn Labour Party was engulfed by a bitter Brexit civil war over a second referendum today after a brutal night in the European elections saw it humiliated. Shadow chancellor John McDonnell and shadow home secretary Diane Abbott both spoke out publicly in support of a 'public vote' after it slump to a predicted third behind the Brexit Party and the resurgent Liberal Democrats. Labour is well behind Nigel Farage's Brexit Party and the Lib Dems. Even in Mr Corbyn's Islington back yard Labour only managed to come second. It is being consumed by an acrimonious split between MPs in Remain-supporting areas and those in Leave seats who fear a backlash at the next general election. After the result Mr McDonnell said Labour could unite the party and country by 'taking (the) issue back to people in a public vote' and Ms Abbott said that the party had been damaged by not having a 'clearer line' on the issue. Foreign secretary Emily Thornberry was among those to blast the party's 'unclear' strategy and demand a second referendum after Labour's thrashing. Ms Thornberry warned were 'getting a good kicking' as the unashamedly pro-Remain Lib Dems ate into the Labour vote. Deputy leader Tom Watson demanded an 'urgent' change of direction, warning that it will soon be too late to stop the UK from crashing out of the EU without a deal. And shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer said that the public should be offered a choice between 'a credible leave option and remain'. But shadow justice secretary Richard Burgon - a key Corbyn lieutenant - insisted Labour had the right approach in seeking to appeal to both Leavers and Remainers despite its failures. It came after Mr Corbyn himself has said 'this issue will have to go back to the people' as the shadow Cabinet turned on him - although he again dodged stating whether there should be a general election or a single-issue vote. Advertisement 'I have a three-step plan for how we deliver Brexit which I look forward to discussing further during the leadership campaign.' Daniel Hannan, who was elected as one of just three Tory MEPs in England and Wales, said the European elections had been 'without question our worst result as a party ever'. 'People voted to leave three years ago and we haven't left, it's as simple as that,' he told the Press Association. 'I think I'm back as one of, I think it looks like being three Conservatives nationally. 'So without question our worst result as a party ever.' But he suggested the party's fortunes could be turned around and the threat from Mr Farage's Brexit Party neutralised if the UK did leave the EU. 'The appeal of a party called the Brexit Party will dry up very quickly once Brexit has happened,' he said. 'We need to leave in a way that carries as many people with us as possible and we need to be conciliatory and we need to have a Brexit that is cordial and orderly and that people in the 48 per cent and the 52 per cent can live with, but it's got to happen speedily. 'I was not expecting to go back to the European Parliament and I really don't want to stay there any longer than is necessary.' Former Brexit minister Chris Heaton-Harris said the Tories deserved its thrashing. 'Awful results for my Party tonight, but whilst our teams of candidates didn't deserve them, our Party did,' he said. 'We should have left the EU on 29th March, as we promised, with or without a deal. The message about leaving on 31st Oct is crystal clear.' Ex-cabinet minister John Redwood said: 'The big Brexit Party win must be a wake up call to Parliament. Get us out of the EU immediately with no Withdrawal Treaty lock in.' Ribble Valley MP Nigel Evans said the result, which saw no Tories elected in the North West, was 'beyond dire', adding: 'Wake up Conservatives and deliver Brexit.' However, former minister Sam Gyimah warned against interpreting the results as a 'mandate for No Deal'. 'Tough election for @Conservatives, and we need to rapidly find a way forward. With 34.9% of voters voting for hard Brexit in a low turnout election (compared to the GE and referendum), we should be careful not to interpret this as a mandate for No Deal.' In a slight consolation, the Tories appear on course to retain their single MEP in Scotland when results are officially declared. What if Euro poll was a GENERAL election? Nigel Farage might have delivered a political earthquake in the EU elections - but it would be nothing to the shock if he could replicate the performance in a Westminster election. The Brexit Party would be sitting on a 200-plus seat majority if the votes broke down the same way in a general election, according to the Electoral Calculus website. Such results would spell disaster for key Conservative strongholds - with constituencies held by Cabinet ministers Sajid Javid and Brandon Lewis among those most at risk. The figures will come as a brutal wake-up call to the Tories, although experts have played down the likelihood of a Westminster election having the same outcome. Even though turnout was relatively high at 37 per cent, the 2017 general election had turnout of just under 69 per cent. While the European elections are conducted on a party list system, MPs are elected on a first-past-the-post basis. There would also probably be other policy issued at stake in a general election and the grass-roots machines of the two main parties could hold more sway. However, theoretically Mr Farage's 31.6 per cent support would give the Brexit Party 446 out of 650 seats in the Commons, under the formula used by Electoral Calculus. That would be a significantly bigger majority than Tony Blair enjoyed in 1997. Labour would have 93 MPs, and the Tories would be down to zero. The SNP would have 56 seats, the Liberal Democrats 31, the Greens one, and Plaid Cymru five. Advertisement Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson said 'all indications' pointed to Baroness Mobarik retaining her seat on a 'tough night' for the party across the UK. Tory chairman Brandon Lewis said: 'We knew this would be a difficult night for @Conservatives - people want us to deliver Brexit as quickly as possible. We must.' As the battle for Downing Street heated up, Environment Secretary Michael Gove insisted he has 'evolved' as a politician since previously stating he was 'incapable' of being prime minister. He told BBC Radio 4 podcast, Political Thinking with Nick Robinson: 'I've changed my mind. 'In those three years I have been through a variety of experiences. I think that I've evolved as a politician.' Mr Johnson and Mr Gove fronted the Vote Leave campaign to victory in the 2016 referendum. But they famously fell out in the aftermath when Gove quit as Johnson's campaign chairman and sank his leadership bid. These former battle lines are now being redrawn as the rival Eurosceptics both set their sights on Number 10. Chancellor Philip Hammond has repeatedly refused to rule out backing a no confidence vote in Theresa May's successor if they went for a no-deal Brexit in October. He told the BBC: 'A prime minister who ignores Parliament cannot expect to survive very long.' Other leadership contenders Dominic Raab, Andrea Leadsom and Esther McVey have said they would be prepared to leave with no deal on October 31 if necessary. Mr Gove said he would set out his stance on no-deal in the coming days, but that he agreed with Mrs May on the need for compromise in politics. Writing in the Times, Health Secretary Matt Hancock called for fellow contenders to rule out a snap national poll in a bid to try and end parliamentary deadlock on Brexit. He said: 'A general election before Brexit would be madness. 'That means we have to deliver Brexit through this Parliament, whether we like it or not.' Mr Gove insisted he could be trusted when asked about campaigning against his previous political ally David Cameron in the referendum, and the way he suddenly abandoned Mr Johnson in the 2016 leadership contest. And Mr Johnson used the poor Tory showing in the European Parliament election to try and position himself as the candidate best placed to battle the Brexit Party. The new Tory leader looks set to take over as prime minister at the end of July after Mrs May finally laid out a timetable for her exit from Downing Street. Nominations close in the week of June 10, with MPs involved in a series of votes to whittle down the crowded field to a final two contenders. The 160,000 Tory party members will then decide who wins the run-off. Furious viewers slam BBC's 'biased' Euro election coverage that focused on Remainer Lib Dems and Greens Some viewers of the BBC's election broadcast took aim at former Labour spin doctor Alastair Campbell (pictured) over his comments about the Brexit Party Furious Brexit Party supporters have lashed out at BBC election coverage claiming it was 'biased' and downplayed Nigel Farage's triumph at the polls. The corporation faced fury for emphasising the strong performance of the Remain-supporting Greens and Liberal Democrats rather than focusing on Mr Farage's victory. BBC presenters were also taken to task for allowing former Labour spin doctor Alastair Campbell to grill another guest over the Brexit Party's finances. During the programme Mr Campbell admitted he had voted for the Lib Dems in the election - something that could trigger his expulsion from Labour. He said it had been the first time in his life that he had not voted for the Labour Party, launching a blistering attack warning its 'policy of riding two horses has failed'. Former UKIP MEP Patrick O'Flynn said: 'I know it's early, but I must say BBC coverage is missing the obvious huge story - the Brexit Party has won these elections and won them big.' One twitter user also chimed in and addressing the BBC directly, said: 'Your biased Euro election coverage was appalling, Alastair Campbell lied about Iraq, and continues to lie and spin against democracy, aided and abetted by the 'impartial' BBC. You know where you can stick your licence! I'll save my roubles and watch YouTube.' In a statement to the MailOnline, the BBC said: 'The Brexit Party being the clear winner, with the Liberal Democrats coming second, was our lead story. The BBC's EU election coverage provided accurate, impartial reporting and analysis.' Advertisement So who will replace Theresa? Bookies' favourite Boris is ODDS-ON to take May's crown as a DOZEN former ministers and backbenchers enter the race to be PM Boris Johnson is favourite to replace Theresa May's after her decision to resign on June 7 fired the official starting gun on the race to succeed her. The long-term favourite has roared into a commanding lead to win the vote to take over as Tory leader and become the Prime Minister who will be faced with delivering Brexit. But the field in the contest due to take place in June and July is likely to be wide, with more than a dozen ministers, former ministers and backbenchers believed to be ready to run. Eight MPs have now said they will run: Mr Johnson, Dominic Raab, Rory Stewart, Jeremy Hunt, Andrea Leadsom, Michael Gove, Matt Hancock and Esther McVey. Sajid Javid is also believed to be considering a run, alongside outsiders including hardline Brexiteer Steve Baker and even Sir Graham Brady, the chairman of the backbench 1922 Committee. Here we look at the main runners and riders, with their odds with Ladbrokes and how they voted in the 2016 referendum: Theresa May broke down in tears as she announced she would step down as party leader on June 7, sparking a leadership battle in June and July Mr Johnson, the former foreign secretary, has long been the bookies' favourite to replace Theresa May Boris Johnson: The long-running thorn in May's side who has recently had a 'prime ministerial' makeover Boris Johnson split from his wife Marina and is in a relationship with former Conservative staffer Carrie Symonds 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. 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. 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 5/1 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. Supports leaving with a deal and while he says a No deal Brexit would come with 'problems' he believes the country could get through it. Seen as one of the Cabinet's strongest political thinkers and having stood once it is unthinkable that he would not stand again. He will again be pitched against Mr Johnson in a battle for Brexiteer votes. 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 12/1 The former Commons' Leader piled pressure on the Prime Minister by announcing her own resignation from the Cabinet on Wednesday. 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. In a brutal resignation letter she said: 'I no longer believe that our approach will deliver on the referendum result.' 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 12/1 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. 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 16/1 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'. He also lashed out at Mr Johnson at the weekend, saying he would not serve under a No Deal-supporting PM. 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. Matt Hancock: Waffle-loving health secretary who wants Tories to choose a younger leader Then culture secretary Mr Hancock with his wife Martha at the 2018 NME Awards 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 20/1 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 made some hard-hitting interventions in areas 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. 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 25/1 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. On Wednesday, 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, pictured with his wife Laura, 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 33/1 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. Steve Baker: Brexiteer 'Spartan' and self-styled 'hardman' who refused to budge over Brexit Brexit 'hardman' Steve Baker has previously threatened to leave the Tories over Brexit Former Brexit minister who resigned last year A member of the European Research Group which has has opposed Theresa May's deal in every vote Threatened to quit the Tories over Brexit earlier this year Leadership odds 33/1 The High Wycombe MP, 47, is a Brexit purist who has never backed Theresa May's deal. In March he even threatened to quit the party over the issue, saying: 'We've been put in this place by people whose addiction to power without responsibility has led them to put the choice of No Brexit or this deal. 'I may yet resign the whip than be part of this.' The married former RAF engineer officer described himself as a 'hardman' in a TV interview this year, only to be shown shortly afterwards in a documentary crying in his office. Today he told the BBC: 'There is no point shying away from it, people have been asking me to stand. I have had a degree of support from across the country that I could never have foreseen. 'I have also had some MPs asking me to stand but I need to face up to the challenge of taking a decision on whether I should do it.' Sir Graham Brady: Backbench kingmaker with an eye on the throne? The chairman of the influential 1922 Committee of backbench MPs has played a key but neutral role in the downfall of Theresa May Quit today as chairman of the 1922 Committee of backbench MPs He went into Downing Street today to tell Mrs May time was up But his name was oddly missing from a later statement on leadership Leadership odds 50/1 As chairman of the influential 1922 Committee of backbench MPs he has played a key but neutral role in the downfall of Theresa May. But he quit that post after nine years today ahead o a possible run for the top job. Despite being a Brexiteer he has been an independent arbiter, overseeing the no-confidence vote Mrs May survived in December and reportedly opposing attempts to change the rules to dethrone her early. The married father of two has held several meetings with the PM in recent weeks as the mutiny against her grew and this morning saw her in Downing Street where he told her that her time was up. But his name was conspicuously absent from a later Conservative Party statement about how the leadership election would happen. He told the Press Association: 'I have been approached by a number of colleagues across the party both inside and outside Parliament asking me to put myself forward as a candidate. 'Therefore I have taken the decision to stand down from the position of chairman of the 1922 Committee in order to ensure a fair and transparent election process. 'I am considering the approaches I have received and will make a further statement in due course.' His Brexiteer credentials and honourable display as Mrs May was brought down will count in his favour but he lacks frontbench experience, having a sole three-year stint as a shadow Europe minister 15 years ago on his CV. 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. Chelsea fear N'Golo Kante could miss the Europa League final after the midfielder sustained an injury setback during training on Saturday. Kante had almost completely recovered from a hamstring injury and was expected to feature in Wednesday's clash against Arsenal in Baku. However, the Frenchman now looks to be facing an extended period on the sidelines after reports of aggravating the problem. N'Golo Kante is considered a major doubt for Europa League final after suffering training injury According to Goal, Kante is now considered a major doubt to play against Arsenal. Maurizio Sarri indicated last week that he was optimistic about Kante's chances of regaining full fitness before the final, so this news will come as a bitter blow for Chelsea. Kante is likely to have further fitness tests this week to determine whether or not he is capable of playing some part against Arsenal. The midfielder (left) sustained the injury during Chelsea's training session on Saturday Chelsea are have concerns over Jorginho, who also suffered a slight problem during an open session last week. Sarri's squad has already been reduced to the bare bones with Callum Hudson-Odoi, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Antonio Rudiger all out with serious injuries. Italian midfielder Jorginho is likely to still be part of Chelsea's match-day squad for the final. She has starred on TOWIE for many years, with her daughter making a few rare appearances. And Chloe Sims, 37, has lashed out at trolls who sent her abusive messages on Instagram about her parenting style as she parties it up in Ibiza without her daughter Madison, 14. The reality TV star typed out a message, where she explained the reasons for her holiday and revealed her teenage daughter was staying with her dad. Hitting back: Chloe Sims, 37, has lashed out at trolls who sent her abusive messages on regarding her parenting as she parties it up in Ibiza without her daughter Madison, 14 In a message on her story, Chloe wrote: 'Always someone who has something to sayspend more time in the present and not worrying about someone youve never met, It puzzles me that people only think you're a good mum if you plaster your children over social media everyday! 'Personally I prefer to keep her away from vile vultures on here, and let her have a childhood instead of making money off being a mother! So f*** off!' Prior to the lengthy statement, Chloe uploaded screenshots of messages she had received from trolls - which she responded to directly. One social media user told Chloe to 'to stay at home and look after your daughter' after calling her 'stupid' and 'fake' after seeing the TV personality was in warmer climes minus her daughter. Getaway: Chloe is away for the bank holiday weekend with her TOWIE co-stars Hitting back: The reality TV star typed out a message, where she explained her reasons for her holiday, and shared that her teenage daughter was away with her dad Chloe hit back: 'I go away for the bank holiday after filming for three months and this is the stupid s**t I get sent! 'My daughter is also on holiday with her father! Mind your business and your trashy mouth.' Another troll sent: 'Are you ever with your daughter?! Embarrassing watching a middle-aged woman constantly on holiday hanging about with people younger than her... Your poor wee girl, feel sorry for her!' Troll: One social media user told Chloe to 'to stay at home and look after your daughter' after calling her 'stupid' and 'fake' Not a fan: Another troll sent: 'Are you ever with your daughter?!' Chloe responded by stating her age and typed: 'Woman to woman you should be ashamed of yourself.' The Essex girl has spoke about her relationship with Madison's dad in the past but has never revealed his identity until she shared a snap of him on her social media at her daughter's 14th birthday party. She said: 'So lots of people have always been interested in who is Maddie's dad, well, here he is... 'I was 18, he was 24... all you nosy f**kers who wanted to know, here he is!' Shots! The star has documented her holiday on social media as she enjoyed boozing and dancing Dining out: The TV personality has dined out during her stay in the white isle which she shared online 'Nosy fans': Chloe, who has always kept her love life before TOWIE private, called out her 'nosy' fans as she shared a video of herself with Madison's dad Family time: Chloe filmed Madison's father carrying her birthday cake adorned with sparklers and candles at the party In a past interview with New! magazine, she said: 'I was with Maddies dad, Matthew, for seven years, but we ended up like brother and sister and that isnt what I want. 'Ive only ever been in love once and that wasnt with Madisons dad. It was with the most amazing man I ever met he was so funny with perfect looks. I really fancied him. 'She [Madison] has a good relationship with her dad. Im very close to her dads parents. She is surrounded by people who love her.' Chloe is currently single after a short-lived romance with co-star Dan Edgar, the TOWIE veteran ended things with the handsome reality star, 28, after he 'freaked out' about their first date due to mounting pressure surrounding their romance. As they all chatted among themselves, their eyes were all locked on the police activity down the block where a 23-year-old man had just been shot on one of the warmest days of the year. I wonder if Hollywood icon Sylvester Stallone got ever so slightly confused when he took his wife and daughter out on Friday night. Mrs Stallone Jennifer Flavin, 50, and the couples second child, Sistine Rose, 20, could pass for twins, let alone sisters, despite the 30-year difference. It couldnt have helped him that both dressed in floor-length metallic gowns. Sly, 72, posed between the pair like a thorn between two roses on the red carpet at the Millennium Media Dinner in Cannes, France, following a screening of his new film Rambo V: Last Blood. I wonder if Hollywood icon Sylvester Stallone got ever so slightly confused when he took his wife and daughter out on Friday night. Mrs Stallone Jennifer Flavin, 50 (right) and the couples second child, Sistine Rose (left), 20, could pass for twins, let alone sisters, despite the 30-year difference It couldnt have helped him that both women dressed in floor-length metallic gowns. The Stallone family was on the red carpet at the Millennium Media Dinner in Cannes, France, following a screening of his new film Rambo V: Last Blood Sly, 72, is seen posing between the pair after a screening of The Specials at the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday How do you celebrate your 86th birthday when youre a wealthy star? Well, you pop down to the shop and treat yourself to a bag of pick n mix sweets, of course! Its my birthday so heading for a sugar rush, Joan Collins said on her Instagram page, alongside this snap. Joan Collins celebrated her 86th birthday by treating herself to a bag of pick 'n' mix sweets Joan doesnt just look young for her years, she clearly still behaves like someone much more youthful too. She has, of course, another thing keeping her young fifth husband Percy Gibson, whos 30 years her junior. She revealed she was pregnant with her third child when she debuted her bump at the Detective Pikachu premiere earlier in the month. And Saturday marked the first time since the red carpet that Blake Lively was spotted out and about with her bump. The 31-year-old beauty was dotting mom as she brought her children James, four, and Inez, two, to visit dad Ryan Reynolds, 42, on the set of his new movie, Free Guy, in Boston, Massachusetts. She's popping! Blake Lively was seen for the first time since debuting her baby bump on Saturday, taking her daughters James, four, and Inez, two, to visit dad Ryan Reynolds on the set of his new movie Blake kept a low profile for the outing, covering her burgeoning baby bump with a grey T-shirt. She opted for a dark overcoat over the top and completed her look with form-fitting denim jeans. The Gossip Girl star kept up her disguise with a large black wide brimmed hat and ensured she was completely comfortable with a pair of sneakers. Blake, is that you? Blake kept a low profile for the outing, covering her burgeoning baby bump with a grey T-shirt High spirits: At one point, Blake and Ryan appeared to be enjoying a funny moment, with the actor seen with a cheeky look on his face Blake styled her blonde hair back naturally into a low bun and appeared to be wearing no makeup. Ryan also kept things casual for the day on set, opting for a baby blue colored long-sleeved shirt and taupe trousers. The actor appeared to be thrilled for the family visit, at one point wrapping his hands around his wife's shoulders. No stress look: Ryan also kept things casual for the day on set, opting for a baby blue colored long-sleeved shirt and taupe trousers Protective: The actor appeared to be thrilled for the family visit, at one point wrapping his hands around his wife's shoulders The couple's children, James, four, and Inez, two, also showed up for the family reunion. James was in a purple colored shirt while Inez was dressed as a princess. The young kids appeared well behaved, enjoying each other's company while their parents chatted. Calling it a day, Blake was seen getting some assistance with her daughters as she buckled them up in the car. Standing tall at a decent 5'10", she was completing overshadowing her nanny who at one point was seen picking up Inez. Helping hand: Calling it a day, Blake was seen getting some assistance with her daughters as she buckled them up in the car It takes a village: Blake was seen getting some help putting James and Inez in the car, with a nanny seen picking up her younger daughter Towering over: Standing tall at a decent 5'10", she was completing overshadowing her nanny who at one point was seen picking up Inez Blake debuted the baby bump of her third child at Ryan's Pokemon Detective Pikachu premiere on May 2. The mom-to-be ensured her baby bump was all on show, highlighting her changing shape in a yellow beaded Retrofete gown with a belt around her waist. While Blake or Ryan are yet to announce when they're due, they managed to keep their pregnancy a secret up until the premiere. Back in 2016, the A Simple Favor actress told Marie Claire that they'd decided to raise their children out of the spotlight. 'Ryan [Reynolds] had a nice, normal upbringing, and we want our kids to have the same normal life that we had,' she said. Keeping the details hush: While Blake or Ryan are yet to announce when they're due, they managed to keep their pregnancy a secret up until the premiere Low-key: Blake kept a low profile with a hat and went makeup free for the visit 'We dont ever want to rob them of what we had because then wed feel really selfish.' Ryan and Blake first met in early 2010 when they were filming Green Lantern together. It was reported the following year that they were dating before they married in September 2012 at Boone Hall Plantation in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. They welcomed James into the world in December 2014 and Inez in September 2016. She has been enjoying the perks of being invited to the hottest parties in Cannes over the past two weeks. And Bella Hadid is proving that she has a long list of star-studded events to attend as she was spotted at the TAG Heuer yacht party in Monaco on Saturday. The model, 22, led the glamour in a white, three-piece ensemble crafted out of crisp cotton as she ventured to the luxury event with fellow catwalk queens Jourdan Dunn, 28, and Winnie Harlow, 24. Vision: Bella Hadid, 22, attended the TAG Heuer yacht party in Monaco on Saturday in a crisp white ensemble Bella's bright white outfit was made up of a ruffled shirt that was unbuttoned to flash her toned midriff and a thigh-skimming mini-skirt that showcased her long pins. The beauty completed her look with a matching jacket, which she left open. The brunette slicked her hair off her face in her trademark bun which allowed her pretty features to take centre stage. Jourdan showed off her style credentials by slipping into a satin pyjama suit and matching trousers. Bright: Jourdan Dunn, 28, showed off her style credentials by slipping into a satin pyjama suit and matching trousers Chic: Bella's bright white outfit was made up of a ruffled shirt that was unbuttoned to flash her toned midriff and a thigh-skimming mini-skirt that showcased her long pins Dazzling: Winnie Harlow, 24, dazzled in a sheer pleated skirt that was adorned with strips of gold and silver glitter The gorgeous garment was printed with a floral design in a rich palette of colours including emerald, ruby and mulberry. Keeping her look bold, the British star strutted around in red pointed heels. Jourdan left her chestnut locks down and tucked the glossy do behind her ear. She framed her almond shaped eyes with bronze shadow and a slick of turquoise liner. Winnie dazzled in a sheer pleated skirt that was adorned with strips of gold and silver glitter. Suave: Also at the event was actor Patrick Dempsey, who looked ever the dashing gentleman in a navy blue suit and pale blue striped shirt Group photo: Patrick and Bella posed with (L to R) Frederic Arnault, TAG Heuer Chief Stategy and Digital Officer, Kai Lenny and Stephane Bianchi, CEO of the LVMH Watchmaking Division and CEO of TAG Heuer The svelte model rocked an off the shoulder black top and killer thigh high boots that were stamped with studs. Working the camera, the beauty threw a number of poses as she flicked her raven tresses to the side and smiled. The Canadian native enhanced her brown eyes with false lashes and slicked nude gloss on her lips. Also at the event was actor Patrick Dempsey, who looked ever the dashing gentleman in a navy blue suit and pale blue striped shirt. The silver fox stood next to Bella for snaps alongside Kai Lenny, a professional surfer from Hawaii. Bella's outing comes shortly after Calvin Klein apologized for an ad that featured Bella kissing CGI Instagram model Lil Miquela. Some online commentators accused Bella of 'queerbaiting' because she shared a kiss with a fake woman in a commercial despite being heterosexual herself. 'We understand and acknowledge how featuring someone who identifies as heterosexual in a same-sex kiss could be perceived as queerbaiting,' the brand groveled in a statement posted to its Twitter page. 'As a company with a longstanding tradition of advocating for LGBTQ+ rights, it was certainly not our intention to misrepresent the LGBTQ+ community. We sincerely regret any offence caused,' they concluded. They have been dating since at the start of the year. And now Bachelor franchise stars Kaitlyn Bristowe and Jason Tartick have announced their plans to move in together. The couple revealed their news in her podcast, Off the Vine. 'Jason is moving to Nashville': Bachelor franchise stars Kaitlyn Bristowe, 33, and Jason Tartick have announced their plans to move in together 'Jason is moving to Nashville,' announced the 33-year-old star, who later explained her reason for their cohabitation. 'We're at the next step in our relationship, where we wanna grow even more and we can't do that in long distance, and we've done it.' Jason, 30, shared his perspective on the move. Their reason: Kaitlyn said it's because they're 'at the next step in our relationship' 'I think from my perspective, Kaitlyn and I got to a point where being across the entire country didn't make sense,' he began. 'And I think that, for the short term, and the long term, Nashville was the best place for us to be. Puts us back on the East Coast.. I'll be just a few hours drive from my parents, quick flight to my brother and it puts us in a better position for short and long term.' Still the couple, who have plans to renovate their new home, don't plan to make Nashville their permanent residence. Their beginning: The reality stars have been dating since at least January Past: It was only recently that Canadian beauty Kaitlyn was in a three-year relationship. It was only recently that Canadian beauty Kaitlyn was in a three-year relationship. The reality star was engaged to trainer Shawn Booth, whom she gave her final rose to on season 11 of The Bachelorette. The couple split last November, and according to Us Weekly, Shawn has reportedly moved on with WWE announcer, Charly Arnolt, whom he met a month later. Security guards were reportedly forced to separate Brooklyn Beckham and his girlfriend Hana Cross after she 'lashed out' at him during Cannes Film Festival. The alleged bust-up is the latest in a series of public arguments, which are believed to have left parents David and Victoria concerned about their volatile relationship. The 20-year-old and his girlfriend, 22, were said to be enjoying a champagne-filled lunch at the lavish Hotel Martinez in the French resort when the argument broke out, according to The Sun. During the boozy lunch at the hotel, Hana is believed to have challenged Brooklyn, which led to them both 'screaming and crying' during another public spat. During the boozy lunch at the hotel, Hana is believed to have challenged Brooklyn, which led to them both 'screaming and crying' An insider close to Hana told the publication: 'They had had a couple of drinks and started trading insults. They are both still young, so of course everything is very impassioned at that age.' 'Hana confronted Brooklyn and lashed out, and security waded in. David and Victoria were contacted and made aware of the incident. 'Not surprisingly, they are seriously worried about the couple's toxic relationship and frustrated by all this humiliating public drama.' An insider close to Hana told the publication: 'They had had a couple of drinks and started trading insults' 'Hana confronted Brooklyn and lashed out, and security waded in. David and Victoria were contacted and made aware of the incident,' a source claimed Spat: Brooklyn Beckham's girlfriend Hana Cross reportedly 'lashed out' at the budding photographer during an explosive row at the Cannes Film Festival The source added that the root of the couple's arguments seems to centre around Brooklyn's prolific image as a Beckham while he reportedly gets jealous easily. The publication reported that it isn't believed that their argument became physical and the couple have now apologised to each other and moved on. MailOnline have contacted Brooklyn's representatives for further comment. Public row: The alleged bust-up is the latest in a series of public arguments, which are believed to have left parents David and Victoria concerned about their volatile relationship Glitzy: The pair have made many public appearances in recent days in the Riviera, including at the Formula E private dinner hosted by Alejandro Agag on Thursday evening (pictured) The pair have made many public appearances in recent days in the Riviera, including at the Formula E private dinner hosted by Alejandro Agag on Thursday evening. They also made their red carpet debut at the star-studded Once Upon A Time In Hollywood premiere during the 72nd annual Film Festival earlier this week. The pair only appeared to have eyes for each other as they put on a PDA-heavy display, where they held hands and locked lips in front of the camera. Red carpet debut: The pair only appeared to have eyes for each other as they put on a PDA-heavy display, where they held hands and locked lips in front of the camera (pictured) Last month Brooklyn and his model girlfriend engaged in a heated chat during a shopping trip with his brothers Romeo and Cruz in Los Angeles. During the chat Romeo, 16, could be seen consoling Hana, as he wrapped his arms around her in an attempt to intervene in their row on Tuesday afternoon. It seemed that their dispute had rumbled on into the evening, as after dinner at Madeo in Beverly Hills, Brooklyn, 20, looked tearful during another tense chat with Hana. Passionate: The pair only appeared to have eyes for each other as they put on a PDA-heavy display, where they held hands and locked lips in front of the camera Tense: Last month Brooklyn and his model girlfriend engaged in a heated chat during a shopping trip with his brothers Romeo and Cruz in Los Angeles However just weeks later they appeared stronger than ever as they put on a passionate display while straddling one another in Richmond Park, following a fraught few weeks. 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 She welcomed her first child Theodore with husband Spencer Matthews in September last year. And Vogue Williams, 33, has revealed she is ready to grow her family as a result of being inspired by the arrival of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's latest addition. The Irish TV presenter admitted the birth of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's first child Archie has made her 'broody' according to The Mirror. Planning: Vogue Williams, 33, has revealed she is ready to grow her family as a result of being inspired by the arrival of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's latest addition The model told the publication: 'I love the fact that the baby Archie has arrived. Who doesnt love a royal baby? Its made me broody to have more.' She also told the publication she and her husband have finally got their room back to themselves after sharing with their little tot. The fashion forward star divulged: 'We were all in the same bedroom. But then we gave Theodore the boot and we were like, "Off to your own room"'. Vogue has not been shy in sharing that she wants to have more children. Inspiration: The Irish TV presenter admitted that the birth of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's first child, Archie, has made her 'broody' Family: The model welcomed her first child, Theodore, with Spencer Matthews, 30, in September last year In a recent appearance on Lorraine, when asked about the prospect of more kids, the beauty stated: 'Yes definitely, hopefully soon, I'll keep practising'. Vogue and Spencer tied the knot in June last year before welcoming baby son Theodore three months later, and it seems baby number two could be in sight. Speaking about Theodore, she said: 'Theodore loves the camera, he's so well behaved. he's sleeping now which makes it so much better... Looking ahead: In a recent appearance on Lorraine, when asked about the prospect of more kids, the beauty stated: 'Yes definitely, hopefully soon, I'll keep practising' 'You dont get sleep at the start. I love working with Spencer, the more time we can spend together is better. I look back on the reality show and think how did I do that?' Prior to her appearance on morning TV this month, Vogue had revealed she put plans for a second child on hold, admitting she and Spencer want to enjoy their time with Theodore. The couple had previously been outspoken about how they wanted to add to three more to their brood, but now Vogue has backtracked and explained that she wants to give her 'body a break' before trying again. Schedule: Vogue had previously revealed she put plans for a second child on hold, admitting she and Spencer want to enjoy their time with Theodore She told the Daily Mirror: 'I think I just want to enjoy a bit more of Theodore. And being pregnant, I didnt find it the easiest thing in the world so I need to give my body a little bit more of a break.' Vogue admitted she doesn't want to wait too long before the next as she shares such a special bond with her sister Amber, who is two and half years her junior. She added: 'Theres just two and a half years between my sister and I and shes my best pal so Id love that for Theodore. At some point, we will start trying again in the not too distant future.' Vogue and her husband Spencer Matthews first met in January 2017 in Austria, on the set of Channel 4 reality show The Jump. The couple married in at Spencer's family's estate in the Scottish Highlands in an intimate ceremony in June 2018. Vogue recently admitted she cannot take any credit for 'taming' her former lothario husband as she discussed their marriage. Speaking to Fabulous Magazine, the model claimed that Spencer's transformation from a woman-loving party boy to doting dad and husband was simply due to him 'growing up'. She said: 'Taming Spencer wasnt anything to do with me. He had already grown up and was ready for a relationship. Ready for this kind of relationship.' In the midst of the fallout from his turbulent marriage to Amber Heard, Johnny Depp has been taking refuge with his old pals and work colleagues Helena Bonham-Carter and Tim Burton. The actor has taken a number of trips to see the former couple at their historic mansion in Oxfordshire, England, according to The Sun. The filmmaker and his actress wife have reportedly tried to intervene amid the scandal over abuse allegations levied against him by Heard, in addition to his admitted drug and alcohol abuse. 'Helena and Tim have been very worried about Johnny in recent months and have done what they can to help,' the source revealed. Refuge: Johnny Depp has sought solace with old pals Helena Bonham-Carter and Tim Burton at their historic mansion in Oxfordshire, England amid the fallout from his divorce At one point, Bonham-Carter and Burton helped stage what could be described as an intervention, along with others friends including rocker/bandmate Alice Cooper. 'Helena feels maternal towards Johnny although shes younger than him - and that is why they stepped in,' the source added. Depp filed a $50 million defamation lawsuit against his ex-wife in March 2019 over a an op-ed she wrote for The Washington Post in December 2018, in which she claimed she was abused by Depp. As part of the suit, Depp claimed that Heard had in fact physically abused him during the marriage rather than the other way around, a claim Heard has denied. Intervening: Bonham-Carter, 52, and Burton, 60, 'have been very worried about Johnny in recent months and have done what they can to help,' a source revealed to The Sun; the former couple are pictured in February 2013, about a year before their split Amid all the 'he said, she said' legal turmoil, the Pirates Of The Caribbean star has been over to see his friends a few times in order to cheer up and get away from the temptations of Hollywood. Some locals have reported seeing Depp around the village a number of times, riding around on a bike and looking happy. Depp and Bonham-Carter have even been spotted together at a traditional 16th Century pub in a village, near Abingdon, enjoying themselves while having a couple of drinks. 'It is a good place for him to come to as an escape, as it's so peaceful and about as far away from Hollywood as you can get,' a witness reported. Depp filed a $50 million defamation lawsuit against Heard in March 2019 over an op-ed piece she penned for The Washington Post in which she claimed to be a domestic abuse victim at the hands of Depp, something he has steadfastly denied; they are pictured in February 2016 Carter, 52, and Burton, 60, split up in 2014 after 13-years of marriage. They have remained friends and often spend time together at their home they bought in 2006 with their children: son Billy, 15 and daughter Nell, 11. Burton has directed Depp in a number of films over the years, including Edward Scissorhands (1990), Ed Wood (1994), Sleepy Hollow (1999), Charlie And The Chocolate Factory (2005), Alice in Wonderland (2010) and most recently Dark Shadows (2012). Depp and Heard were married in February 2015. She ended up filing for divorce in May of 2016, along a temporary restraining order against him, stating in a court declaration that he had been verbally and physically abusive during their relationship. The two sides reached a settlement and finalized the divorce in January 2017, which included the dismissal of the restraining order and Depp paying her $7 million, which she donated to charity. They're usually giving someone a smackdown when they're on stage together. But Nikki and Brie Bella instead showed off their cooking skills while making an appearance at the 2019 BottleRock Napa Valley Festival on Saturday. The 35-year-old dueling identical twin sisters paired up with brother chefs Bryan and Michael Voltaggio to see who could cook up the tastiest meal at the Northern California music and food festival. Showdown: Nikki (R) and Brie Bella (L), both 35, showed off their cooking skills while making an appearance at the 2019 BottleRock Napa Valley Festival The sister fighters looked like boxers arriving for a fight with their silky white robes with baby blue trim as they took to the WilliamsSonoma Culinary Stage. Nikki was decked out in a cream-colored mesh dress that bared her impressive cleavage and hinted at the rest of her trim figure. Her outfit featured an intricately designed layer of lace around her bust, as well as a row of stringy fringe. Her boxer's robe slipped won during the opening presentation, showing off her fit arms. The former WWE star added a bit of flair with an array of thin gold necklaces draped over her throat. Cruising for a bruising: The 35-year-old dueling identical twin sisters squared off to see who could cook up the tastiest meal at the Northern California music and food festival Entering the ring: The sister fighters looked like boxers arriving for a fight with their silky white robes with baby blue trim Busty display: Nikki was decked out in a cream-colored mesh dress that bared her impressive cleavage and hinted at the rest of her trim figure Delicate design: Her outfit featured an intricately designed layer of lace around her bust, as well as a row of stringy fringe Fit figure: Her boxer's robe slipped won during the opening presentation, showing off her fit arms Where Nikki opted for muted colors, Brie went all out with an eye-catching scarlet dress adorned with white and lilac floral patterns. The wrestler and amateur chef accessorized with multiple bracelets and rings, and she let her long raven tresses cascade over her shoulders in soft curls. After showing off and pumping up the crowd, the two dark-haired beauties paired off with the chefs to make the best-tasting concoction. Flower power: Where Nikki opted for muted colors, Brie went all out with an eye-catching scarlet dress adorned with white and lilac floral patterns Dark-haired beauty: The wrestler and amateur chef (L) accessorized with multiple bracelets and rings, and she let her long raven tresses cascade over her shoulders in soft curls Double trouble: After showing off and pumping up the crowd, the two dark-haired beauties paired off with the chefs to make the best-tasting concoction Seniors: Nikki (R), the elder sister by six minutes, joined the older Voltaggio brother, Bryan (Second R) Kitchen master: The Maryland-based chef was elevated to greater prominence in 2009, when he placed second on Top Chef Nikki, the elder sister by six minutes, joined the older Voltaggio brother, Bryan. The Maryland-based chef was elevated to greater prominence in 2009, when he placed second on Top Chef. He was bested in the show's sixth season by his younger brother, Michael Voltaggio, best known for creating the now-shuttered restaurant ink. in Los Angeles. Both Nikki and Brie have shared videos to their joint YouTube account showing off their culinary skills, and the two didn't disappoint when paired with world-class chefs. It seems that the extra six minutes were crucial, and older siblings Nikki and Bryan were named the winners of the cook-off. Sibling rivalry: He was bested in the show's sixth season by his younger brother, Michael Voltaggio (L), best known for creating the now-shuttered restaurant ink. in Los Angeles Holding their own: Both Nikki and Brie have shared videos to their joint YouTube account showing off their culinary skills, and the two didn't disappoint when paired with world-class chefs The winners: It seems that the extra six minutes were crucial, and older siblings Nikki and Bryan were named the winners of the cook-off Having a blast: After squaring off against each other, the two sibling put grudges aside for a fun trip around the festival After squaring off against each other, the two sibling put grudges aside for a fun trip around the festival. Nikki shared videos of herself and her slightly younger sister as they toured the festival grounds with her boyfriend Artem Chigvintsev in tow and stopped to watch pop rock band OneRepublic perform. The wrestler and reality star was paired with the RussianAmerican dancer during her stint on Dancing With The Stars in 2017. This year's festival featured headlining performances from Imagine Dragons and Logic on Friday, and Neil Young, Pharrell Williams, Mumford & Sons and Santana were set to lead Saturday and Sunday night. Tamara Ecclestone reportedly didn't speak to her mother Slavica for almost a year. The Formula One heiress, 34, allegedly was caught up in a feud with her mother, 60, despite always having a close relationship in the past. A friend of Tamara's told The Sun that the pair have patched things up now, but did not speak for nearly a year as a result of the row. Feud: Tamara Ecclestone reportedly hasn't spoken to her mother Slavica for almost a year MailOnline have contacted Tamara's representative's for further comment. Although Tamara fell out with her mother, she was still on good terms with her dad Bernie, 88, and sister Petra, 30. The Grand Prix legend and Croatian native Slavica were married for 24 years before splitting in 2009, citing Bernie's 'unreasonable behaviour'. Not speaking? The Formula One heiress, 34, is allegedly in an ongoing feud with her mother Family: Although Tamara fell out with her mother, she was still on good terms with her dad Bernie, 88, and sister Petra, 30 (pictured with Bernie, Slavica and Petra in 2007) Tamara married her husband Jay in 2013 after a six month worldwind romance, and gave birth to their beloved daughter Fifi just a year later. The stunning star recently spoke exclusively to MailOnline about life in the Ecclestone-Rutland household with daughter Fifi and her gallery owner husband Jay Rutland. She discussed her beloved daughter and her decision to breastfeed her until recently - which has caused controversy in the past. Patched up: The pair are said to be on better times now after falling out She said: 'The first time it happened we were breastfeeding on the beach with no one around and I said to Jay take a picture and there was this huge uproar and people fighting and getting aggressive about a picture! 'When that happened I knew every time I did this it would happen but I was not going to let that stop me so I continued... 'There was such a circus around it so I thought... let me use this platform. People messaged me saying I gave them confidence to stand up to people asking them to stop and people came up to me and told me their stories.' He was freed last year after being incarcerated for increasingly convoluted firearms charges. But Meek Mill was prevented from entering a concert Saturday at Las Vegas' Cosmopolitan Hotel and Casino by security guards who threatened to have him arrested if he entered the premises, according to TMZ. The 32-year-old rapper was apparently attempting to see a DJ Mustard show, but the venues security made it clear that someone higher up didn't want him anywhere near the show. Turned away: Rapper Meek Mill, 32, was stopped from entering a concert Saturday at Vegas' Cosmopolitan Hotel and Casino by security guards who threatened to have him arrested; pictured April 2 In a video shared by TMZ and to the rapper's own Twitter, he can be seen speaking through the window of his vehicle with casino security members. The first part of the conversation is cut-off by the security guard seems to be alleging that Meek was involved in some kind of physical altercation during a previous visit to the casino, something he claims is 'impossible.' The Ima Boss rapper (real name: Robert Rihmeek Williams) claimed he'd visited the casino once before when he accompanied fellow rapper and former girlfriend Nicki Minaj to a Jay-Z show. When he and his own security pressed the employee for details about the alleged altercation, he punted, claiming he didn't know the details and that they'd need to contact the casino's vice-president. 'This comes from way higher up than me,' one guard allegedly said, according to Meek's lawyer Joe Tacopina. Altercation: In videos shared by TMZ and to the rapper's own Twitter, he can be seen speaking through the window of his vehicle with casino security members Accusations: The security guard claimed that Meek was involved in some kind of previous altercation at the casino, though Meek later denied that, saying he'd only visited the casino once with Nicki Minaj for a Jay-Z show Passing the buck: The guard told the rapper and his entourage that they were trespassing and that they'd need to contact the organization's vice-president for more information The rapper took to social media to accuse the casino of racially profiling him. 'If you come from our culture you should never step foot in the cosmopolitan hotel they just really racist as hell,' he wrote. 'Something really has to be done in Las Vegas what they doing to black people!' 'They telling black rappers they are banned from properties they own without incident ... they just told me I was trespassing and I will be arrested I stepped in that hotel once at a jayz party without incident!' he added in a subsequent tweet. He followed up his outraged posts with a legal threat. 'I needs lawyers ASAP yall not gone treat me like Im just a rapper and expect me to be quiet.' Not holding back: The rapper took to social media to accuse the casino of racially profiling him Furious: Meek claimed that the hotel was banning black rappers from it's property Strong accusation: Joe Tacopina, Meek's lawyer, claimed he spoke with 'a well-placed person inside the hotel' who told him that a group of Vegas hotels have been attempting to keep rappers off their premises Tacopina, Meek's lawyer, claimed he spoke with 'a well-placed person inside the hotel' who told him that a group of Vegas hotels have been attempting to keep rappers off their premises. He labeled the alleged actions racist, saying, 'They wouldn't ban Vanilla Ice.' On Instagram, Meek accused the cabal of casinos of taking black artists' money when it suited them. 'Some of these casinos have a bunch of Tatics to keep the level of blacks down .... but love to take our money!!!! This happens to a lot of black entertainers not just me either!! I felt crazy being put out by these white men for no reason!' Profiling: 'Some of these casinos have a bunch of Tatics to keep the level of blacks down .... but love to take our money!!!! This happens to a lot of black entertainers not just me either!!' wrote Meek on Instagram; shown March 13 in New York City Later on Saturday, TMZ obtained a letter written by Mill's lawyer officially accusing the Cosmopolitan of racially profiling his client. '... we have learned that the Cosmopolitan maintains a list of African American recording artists who should be denied access for no other reason than than their culture and skin color. Such course of conduct constitutes discrimination per se, in violation of state and federal law, and exposes you to significant monetary damages,' he wrote.' '...we urge you to promptly issue an apology to Mr. Williams and grant him immediate access. In the event you fail to heed this one and only warning, we intend to pursue all legal recourse against you.' Legal miscarriage: Meek was in and out of court (and jail) in a serious of interactions with Judge Genece Brinkley, who was alleged investigated by the FBI for her conduct in his trial, according to Page Six; pictured April 18 in Los Angeles Though Meek claimed not to have had any previous negative experiences at the Cosmopolitan, he was involved in a long legal saga that started when he was arrested for possessing a firearm and assaulting a police officer when he was 18. Subsequent legal confrontations were handled by the same judge, Judge Genece Brinkley. Mill was in and out of court, and also behind bars, due to later alleged parole violations, though Brinkley was criticized for her judicial conduct, and an FBI investigation was allegedly launched into her participation in Mill's case, according to Page Six. Last year, the Philadelphia District Attorney's office petitioned Brinkley to release Mill from jail due to potential mishandling of his initial arrest in 2007. She refused, though the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ordered him to be released in April of last year. A person sought help Wednesday in Kentucky, near Cincinnati, claiming to be Timmothy Pitzen, an Aurora boy who disappeared almost eight years ago. He told police he had run away from people who had been holding him. The FBI determined Thursday that the man is not Timmothy. The man, identified as Brian Rini, has now been charged in federal court and had twice before fraudulently portrayed himself as a juvenile sex-trafficking victim, according to the FBI. He's known for his incredibly buff physique, having played Thor for years in the Marvel blockbusters. And on Wednesday, Chris Hemsworth flaunted his famous figure while surfing up a storm in Byron Bay. The 35-year-old wore skintight swimwear for the occasion, showing off the silhouette of his perfect pecs and bulging biceps while hitting the waves. Having a blast! Chris Hemsworth (pictured) flaunted his buff physique while catching waves for a surf in Byron Bay on Wednesday Striking a fierce pose, Chris was seen holding on to a surfboard and splashing through the water. He showed off a number of impressive moves - from standing upright on the surfboard to laying down for a quick dip. The Hollywood heavyweight wore black swim tights teamed with a matching short-sleeved swim top. What a view! The 35-year-old wore skintight swimwear for the occasion, showing off the silhouette of his perfect pecs and bulging biceps Wow! Striking a fierce pose, Chris was seen holding on to a surfboard and splashing through the water He's got this! He showed off a number of impressive moves - from standing upright on the surfboard to laying down for a quick dip He accessorised the minimal look with a glitzy large watch. Meanwhile, Chris launched his first business venture this year, with more than 100,000 people signing up to his Centr program and app. Ward Blacket Investments - the investment arm of Hemsworth's management company Forward - claimed the Thor hunk took a risk to get it off the ground. Looking good: The Hollywood heavyweight wore black swim tights teamed with a matching short-sleeved swim top for the occasion Details: He accessorised the minimal look with a glitzy large watch Business: Meanwhile, Chris launched his first business venture this year, with more than 100,000 people signing up to his Centr program and app Speaking to The Weekend Australian, Trent Blacket, the managing director of Ward Blacket Investments, said the rumoured multi-million dollar deal has left the star 'heavily exposed' and forced him to 'learn quickly alongside us'. 'He has been in the weeds on this, the exact equivalent if it was a major motion picture. He has had to be because it's the first time it's his name (attached to a company),' Mr Blacket added. Chris has become a shareholder in FLG (which includes Fitness First Australia), and FLG's chief executive Greg Oliver told the publication: 'There's been a lot of blood, sweat and tears building this.' Chris fronts the Centr program, which sees members given access to world class trainers online, allowing them to train at home or in the gym. He owns half of the beloved South Sydney Rabbitohs team. And on Saturday night, actor Russell Crowe certainly seemed content with his expensive investment. Watching proudly from the stands of Sydney's ANZ Stadium, Russell, 55, was seen looking joyful as he cheered on his team who were playing against the West Tigers. Loud and proud! Russell Crowe, 55, cheered on his beloved South Sydney Rabbitohs team from the stands as they played the West Tigers in Sydney on Saturday night The famously private Hollywood star was seen laughing and clapping as he took in the surrounding patriotic atmosphere. Russell stood in tall in the teams signature red jumper as he mingled with other Rabbitohs fans, including several children who donned the teams signature colours of red and green. At one point, Russell even smiled for the cameras as he casually leaned over the rail. Proud:Russell stood in tall in the teams signature red jumper as he mingled with other Rabbitohs fans, including several children who donned the teams signature colours of red and green The Robbin Hood star bought into the Rabbitohs in 2006 after being an avid fan of the NRL and the team, which were going through a plethora of legal and financial issues at the time. Russell, as well as other co-owner James Packer, is credited to bringing the team back to life with their high profile names bringing in sought after international players and sponsors. The outing comes as Russell continues to promote his upcoming TV series The Loudest Voice. Go Rabbitohs! At one point, Russell appeared pensive as he watched his team played against Sydney's West Tigers The Gladiator actor shocked fans around the world in March when images of him in full disguise as former Fox News CEO Roger Ailes circulated. Russell plays Roger in the series alongside Naomi Watts, Seth MacFarlane and Sienna Miller. The series, which premieres on Stan in July, focuses on Roger's leadership of the Republican Party and his sexual harassment accusations that brought his career to a grinding halt. What a change! The Gladiator actor shocked fans around the world in March when images of him in full disguise as Roger Ailes circulated He ex best pal Kylie Jenner said she 'f***ed up' in the latest Keeping Up With The Kardashian clip. But Jordyn Woods brushed off the repercussions of her cheating scandal as she stepped out with her mum Elizabeth and friends in London on Saturday. Leaving her hotel, the television personality, 21, put on a very leggy display in a white silk minidress, with ruching at the sides. Ignoring the drama: Jordyn Woods brushed off the repercussions of her cheating scandal as she stepped out with her mum Elizabeth and friends in London on Saturday The reality star dressed down the look with a mint green denim jacket and opted for comfort with white Nike trainers. Slinging a Fendi shoulder bag, she accessorised her evening ensemble with silver hoop earrings and a glamorous face of make-up. Ahead of leaving her hotel, Jordyn posted a few racy Insta stories snaps in the white silk minidress. Turning heads: Leaving her hotel, the television personality, 21, put on a very leggy display in a white silk minidress, with ruching at the sides Sporty: The reality star dressed down the look with a mint green denim jacket and opted for comfort with white Nike trainers Her latest posts come after a Keeping Up With The Kardashians trailer pulled the curtain back on Kylie's response to Jordyn's recent scandal. Kylie's half-sister Khloe Kardashian broke up with her boyfriend Tristan, the father of her child, this February after he kissed Jordyn at a party. In the mid-season Keeping Up With The Kardashians sneak peek posted by E!, Kylie can be seen confessing of her best pal: 'She f***ed up.' Glam: Slinging a Fendi shoulder bag, she accessorised her evening ensemble with silver hoop earrings and a glamorous face of make-up Strike a pose: Ahead of leaving her hotel, Jordyn posted a few racy Insta stories snaps in the white silk minidress Fall-out: Jordyn ignored the latest KUWTK trailer dropping, which follows her betrayal against the Kardashian family Mother-daughter bonding time: Jordyn headed out with her mum Alexandra for the evening Dressed to impress: Alexandra looked glam in a black semi-sheer minidress and biker boots Kardashian-Jenner matriarch Kris Jenner, who has had two failed marriages, explained to Kylie: 'For you and Jordyn, it's like a divorce.' During another scene shown in the commercial, Kylie sits a table across from Khloe and tells her: 'Just know I love you.' Tristan, a hunky Cleveland Cavalier, shares his one-year-old daughter True with Khloe and his two-year-old son Prince with his ex-girlfriend Jordan Craig. There she is: Jordyn Woods modeled white, the color of innocence, in a couple of new Insta Stories snaps Place to be: The former best friend of Kylie Jenner slipped into a barely-there mini and leaned against a bathtub for her social media snaps Jordan was still pregnant with Tristan's baby when he began running around with Khloe, who briefly moved to Cleveland to be with him. Less than 48 hours before True was born last April, DailyMail.com broke the story of Tristan's alleged infidelity to Khloe with New York City strip club bartender Lani Blair. His girlfriend eventually took him back, only for the relationship to end less than a year later in the wake of his lip-lock with Jordyn the weekend after Valentine's Day. 'She f***ed up': Her latest posts come after a Keeping Up With The Kardashians trailer pulled the curtain back on Kylie's response to Jordyn's recent scandal Khloe, 34, co-founded the apparel brand Good American and has used Jordyn as a model for the firm, helping the younger woman kick off her career. After the scandal broke, a series of competing stories have did the rounds about what actually happened at the party where the kiss occurred. Jordyn insisted to Khloe and Kylie that she only kissed Tristan because she was inebriated to the point of a blackout, sources in her camp alleged to TMZ. Meanwhile, the Kardashian family maintained Jordyn could not have been as drunk as she claimed, inasmuch as she drove herself away from the fete, per insiders. 'LIAR!': Kylie's half-sister Khloe Kardashian broke up with her boyfriend Tristan Thompson, the father of her child, this February after he kissed Jordyn at a party Jordyn went on Red Table Talk and told her side of the story to her old family friend Jada Pinkett Smith, saying of the party: 'On the way out, he did kiss me. No passion. It was like a kiss on the lips.' She allowed: 'I don't think he's wrong either because I allowed myself to be in that position and when alcohol is involved, people make dumb moves or people get caught up in the moment,' and held that there was 'No tongue kiss, no making out.' After Jordyn had her vulnerable talk show moment and public sympathy grew for her, Khloe wrote on Twitter that 'Jordyn is not to be blamed for the breakup of my family. This was Tristan's fault.' She's a businesswoman and busy mom-of-three, who manages to look effortlessly stylish while doing it. And Kourtney Kardashian looked straight out of a magazine on Saturday, as she ran errands in the Los Angeles neighborhood of West Hollywood. Joining the reality star was her adventurous youngest child, Reign Disick, four. Stylish: Kourtney Kardashian, 40, looked straight out of a magazine on Saturday, as she ran errands in the Los Angeles neighborhood of West Hollywood Kourtney kept warm in the cool, LA weather with a green leather trench coat. The brunette beauty added a pair of boot cut, black jeans to her look and she finished off her ensemble with snakeskin print heels. Young Reign was dressed comfortably in a black sweater, joggers and matching sneakers. Mommy and me: Joining the reality star was her adventurous youngest child, Reign Disick, four Not seen with Kourtney and Reign were the social media star's eldest children. The half-Armenian stunner is also mom to eldest son Mason, nine, and Penelope Disick, six. Kourtney shares her three children with ex-boyfriend, Scott Disick, 36. For the cameras: No stranger to the selfie, Kourtney showed off a white satin pantsuit The former couple were in an on-and-off relationship from 2006 until 2015. Scott, who lost his mother in 2013 and his father in 2014, is currently dating Sofia Richie, 20. The couple have been together since May 2017. Like the father of her child, Kourtney has also dated a much-younger mate. She was previously in a relationship with model Younes Bendjima, 26. There's rarely a red carpet they aren't photographed on these days. And on Sunday, Married At First Sight's Jules Robinson and Cameron Merchant made yet another public appearance at a TV WEEK Logie awards nominations event. Flaunting her flair for fashion, Jules, 37, showcased her sensational curves in a turquoise velour dress alongside her fiance at The Star Gold Coast. Married At First Sight's Jules Robinson showcased her sensational curves in a velour dress alongside fiance Cameron Merchant at a TV WEEK Logie awards nominations event on Sunday The Sydney-based salon owner styled her hair in voluminous loose waves, while finishing the look off with a pair of strappy beige heels. Cameron looked suave in a checkered blazer with slim-fitting white chinos. He completed his outfit with an unbuttoned white shirt and brown shoes, beaming with joy while posing alongside his wife-to-be. Dressed up! The Sydney-based salon owner styled her hair in voluminous loose waves, while finishing the look off with a pair of strappy beige heels at The Star Gold Coast They were joined by co-star Heidi Latcham, who looked unrecognisable with her famous curly locks tamed in tight brides. The Sunshine Coast radio presenter looked heavenly in an all white ensemble, with her cropped jacket featuring a quirky tie around detail on her midriff. It was announced at the event that Married At First Sight is one of the final nominations in the Most Popular Reality Program category. Who's that! They were joined by co-star Heidi Latcham (left), who looked unrecognisable with her famous curly locks tamed in tight brides Facing big competition, it is up against My Kitchen Rules, I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!, MasterChef Australia, The Block and Australian Survivor. Jules, Cameron and Heidi's presence at the event comes after Daily Mail Australia previously reported that cast members of the show are 'at war' over the Logies. Behind the scenes, contestants are said to be 'begging' Nine for a ticket to the grand ceremony, which will be held on June 30. '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,' an insider said. 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. Influencer life! Jules, Cameron and Heidi's presence at the event comes after Daily Mail Australia previously reported that cast members of the show are 'at war' over the Logies Halle Berry has been out in force promoting her new film, John Wick: Chapter 3 Parabellum, with a number of talk show appearances and interviews. But on Saturday the age-defying beauty, 52, was able to enjoy a little downtime when she got a jump start on her Memorial Day weekend. The Oscar-winning actress spent some quality time with her son Maceo and friends while out for lunch and an afternoon stroll in the Studio City neighborhood of Los Angeles. Downtime: Halle Berry spent some quality time with her son Maceo and friends while out for lunch that was followed by an afternoon stroll in the Studio City neighborhood of Los Angeles Opting to cover-up her curvy-toned figure, Berry donned light blue denim jeans with a long brown and white sweater that came down to just above her knees. The mother-of-two matched the ensemble with a pair of brown sandals. Looking for some semblance of anonymity, she pulled her light brown tresses back into a loose ponytail while sporting brown-shaded sunglasses. Casual: Opting to cover-up her curvy-toned figure, Berry donned light blue denim jeans with a long brown and white sweater that came down to just above her knees and sandals The group, led by the Hollywood beauty, began with lunch at Joan's On Third in Studio City. Always one to keep in tip-top shape, she also led them on a stroll along the busy streets lined with store fronts and restaurants. While five-year old son Maceo kept close to his mother's side, it appeared that daughter Nahla, 11, did not make the afternoon outing. Son's daddy: Berry shares son Maceo, five, with ex-husband Olivier Martinez; the former couple are pictured in Los Angeles in June 2014 Berry shares Maceo with ex-husband Olivier Martinez; the French film star is best known for crossover films such as Unfaithful (2002), S.W.A.T (2003) and Taking Lives (2004). Nahla's father is Canadian model Gabriel Aubry, who was romantically linked to Berry for almost five years. Berry plays Sofia, an assassin and close friend of John Wick in the third installment of the popular franchise. She announced back in March that she was starting a new film in June during an appearance on The Late Late Show with James Corden, but she did not disclose any details about of the role. Amber Heard was spotted beaming at her phone as she enjoyed a stroll in sunlit Los Angeles this Memorial Day weekend. The 33-year-old, who is now dating the hunky It director Andy Muschietti, modeled a white T-shirt with blue cutoff jeans and black boots. Amber's life has been quite eventful lately, as her ex-husband Johnny Depp - whom she has accused of abuse - has turned around and alleged that she abused him. Blithe spirit: Amber Heard was spotted beaming at her phone as she enjoyed a stroll in sunlit Los Angeles this Memorial Day weekend Johnny, who has consistently denied Amber's allegations that he physically abused her, is now suing her for defamation to the tune of $50 million. In a new declaration, he said: 'I have denied Ms. Heards allegations vehemently since she first made them in May 2016 when she walked into court to obtain a temporary restraining order with painted-on bruises that witnesses and surveillance footage show she did not possess each day of the preceding week.' According to the Guardian, Johnny insisted: 'While mixing prescription amphetamines and non-prescription drugs with alcohol, Ms. Heard committed innumerable acts of domestic violence against me, often in the presence of a third-party witness, which in some instances caused me serious bodily harm.' He previously said that Amber punched him 'twice in the face' in 2016, and in March The Blast ran the photo of his bruised complexion that he is using in the case. Casual: The 33-year-old, who is now dating the hunky It director Andy Muschietti, modeled a white T-shirt with blue cutoff jeans and black boots Johnny has contended that Amber cooked up 'false allegations' of his abusive behavior to 'advance her career,' The Blast quoted his defamation suit. Amber, whose dating record includes Elon Musk and photographer Tasya Van Ree, tied the knot with Johnny in 2015, beginning her first marriage and his second. The following May 23, she filed for divorce, and within a week won a restraining order against him, claiming he had verbally and physically abused her. Through a representative, Johnny dismissed the accusations as 'salacious false stories, gossip, misinformation and lies about his personal life.' The way they were: Amber's life has been quite eventful lately, as her ex-husband Johnny Depp - whom she has accused of abuse - has turned around and alleged that she abused him That August, he and Amber agreed that she would scrap the restraining order and get a $7 million divorce settlement, which she would give to charity. Johnny decided to give the money directly to the groups of her choice, Children's Hospital and the ACLU, according to TMZ. It was not lost on Amber's team that this meant he'd get the tax deduction, and they told TMZ Johnny ought to correct for this by doubling the $7 million to $14 million. 'If Johnny wishes to change the settlement agreement, we must insist that he honor the full amount by donating $14M to charity, which after accounting for his tax deduction, is equal to his $7M payment obligation to Amber,' said they. Globetrotter: Amber is pictured this month attending the Cannes Film Festival's red carpet for Pain And Glory, the latest film by legendary Spanish director Pedro Almodovar As Johnny's plan was to give the $7 million in increments, Amber's team 'would also insist that the full amount be paid immediately and not drawn out over many years.' Amber's divorce from the Donnie Brasco star was finalized in January 2017, at which time the settlement remained at $7 million, TMZ reported. Last year, a spokesman for Seattle-Tacoma International Airport told USA Today that Amber was arrested there in 2009 for hitting her then-girlfriend Tasya. Tasya put out a statement via Amber's publicist saying police 'misinterpreted and over-sensationalized' her ex's actions and 'wrongfully' charged her. She went under the knife to remove her 'painful' breast implants last week. And bikini-clad Charlotte Crosby proudly showed off the results of her boob reduction as she enjoyed a holiday with her Geordie Shore pals in Ibiza on Saturday. The reality star, 29, embraced her B-cup bra size when she slipped her figure into a strapless plaid two-piece at The Beach Star hotel poolside. Phenomenal in plaid: Charlotte Crosby showed off the results of her breast reduction in a strapless bikini at Ibiza poolside on Saturday... after having 'painful' implants removed Charlotte struggled to contain her assets as she was seen readjusting her strapless bikini top while she larked about in the sunshine. The skimpy design of her swimming two-piece also ensured her enormous rose tattoo on her thigh was on full display. A natural on and off the camera, the MTV personality smouldered while she toyed coquettishly with her dyed honeycomb locks. Reality star queen: A natural on and off the camera, the MTV personality smouldered while she toyed coquettishly with her dyed honeycomb locks Change: The reality star, 29, embraced her B-cup bra size when she slipped her figure into a strapless plaid two-piece at The Beach Star hotel poolside Revealed: She went under the knife to remove her 'painful' breast implants last week and she proudly showed off the results of the reduction in a skimpy bikini Charlotte also showed off her new look in a series of sultry Instagram posts when she partied with her pals in the sun-soaked party island. The reality star topped up her radiant tan before she headed out for a night on the tiles with her Geordie Shore pals. Wearing her special post-surgery bra, Charlotte wore a simple white strapless bandeau bikini underneath the crop top. Near miss: Charlotte struggled to contain her assets as she was seen readjusting her strapless bikini top while she larked about in the sunshine Ink-credible: The skimpy design of her swimming two-piece also ensured her enormous rose tattoo on her thigh was on full display She complemented her beach party look with a black fringed belt and matching bikini bottoms. The beauty's trip to Ibiza comes after she spoke about her decision to return to her natural bra size. Charlotte experienced pains in her breast which left her fearing her life was in danger because she wasn't able to check her breast underneath the implant. Difficult: Charlotte experienced pains in her breast which left her fearing her life was in danger because she wasn't able to check her breast underneath the implant Terrifying: The television personality must wait until her wounds have fully healed to have a breast scan to rule out anything sinister The television personality must wait until her wounds have fully healed to have a breast scan to rule out anything sinister. But she insisted that she is finally happy with her natural B cup boobs and revealed her boyfriend Josh Ritchie 'loves' them. She told The Sun: 'I am finally back to myself. I prefer my natural body. I was crazy to ever get those implants in. I am back to my natural normal boobs. 'I think having the implants out has made me realise that when I look back I was perfect without them. I have accepted who I am.' Truth telling: The beauty's trip to Ibiza comes after she spoke about her decision to return to her natural bra size It's real love: But she insisted that she is finally happy with her natural B cup boobs and revealed her boyfriend Josh Ritchie 'loves' them No choice: Charlotte explained she went to see a doctor because she was in agony with 'shooting pains and dull aches' in her left breast Charlotte explained she went to see a doctor because she was in agony with 'shooting pains and dull aches' in her left breast. After going to the doctors, she was informed that her body was rejecting the implants, which is something which happens gradually. The reality star's breast was feeling hot and the doctor felt severe inflammation around the area. Long time coming: After going to the doctors, she was informed that her body was rejecting the implants, which is something which happens gradually Symptoms: The reality star's breast was feeling hot and the doctor felt severe inflammation around the area Fearful: The TV star revealed that while her mother was 'worried sick' about her, she herself was left in fear for her life because she wasn't able to check her breasts properly Thanks to the swift removal of the implants, Charlotte has avoided any further damage. But she will have to wait until she is fully recovered from surgery to be scanned to ensure there are no further issues, and hopefully be given the all clear. The TV star revealed that while her mother was 'worried sick' about her, she herself was left in fear for her life because she wasn't able to check her breasts properly. Under the knife: Charlotte also showed off her new look in a series of sultry Instagram posts when she partied with her pals in the sun-soaked party island Natural: The reality star, 29, embraced her B-cup bra size as she slipped into a sheer mesh crop top for the poolside bash at The Beach Star hotel She added: 'I heard that when you have implants it's actually harder to feel for lumps like that. Breast cancer lumps can go unnoticed.' The presenter first decided to get surgery in 2017 to correct her 'uniboob' - a congenital symmastia where breasts merge across the breastbone - and opted to have implants at the same time. The Geordie babe admitted that she was 'crazy' to ever have the implants in the first place, and has finally 'accepted who she is' after having them removed, insisting she much prefers her natural body. Embracing her natural self: Wearing her special post-surgery bra, Charlotte wore a simple white strapless bandeau bikini underneath the crop top Reduction: The beauty's trip to Ibiza comes after she spoke about her decision to return to her B-cup bra size The television personality also revealed that her boyfriend Josh 'completely loves' her new look, telling her that her implant-free breasts are 'cute and little.' Charlotte is still healing from having the implants removed, with tape covering the wounds and a special bra which she'll have to wear for the next two months. It was reported she underwent surgery following a trip to Brazil last week, with the whole ordeal said to be captured for her MTV reality series, The Charlotte Show. Charlotte has spoke candidly about her various surgeries in the past and in 2016 she unveiled her new nose after a rhinoplasty procedure. Scary! Charlotte revealed she had her breast implants removed after experiencing shooting pains which left her fearing that her life could be in danger (pictured last year) The star admitted scrutiny from the show's audiences drove her to have the surgery. She told Heat magazine: 'It's not like I can hide it. If I'd not been on TV, I'd never have got it done. 'I do think [my nose] caused a lack of confidence, and you always compare yourself to other people who are on TV as well.' She added: 'You just think, 'I hate it', especially on television. I think it'll make a big difference to my life in terms of getting photographed and always being on the telly, not having to worry about where to stand or what angle to go from.' She celebrated the arrival of her fourth child and her fifth anniversary this month. And the good times kept coming for Kim Kardashian as Kanye West whisked her off to Las Vegas for a surprise date night on Saturday. The reality starlet, 38, took to Instagram to reveal her husband had surprised her with the impromptu cross-state visit to see Celine Dion in concert at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace, a day after they celebrated their wedding anniversary. Loving life: Kanye West whisked Kim Kardashian off to Las Vegas for a surprise date night on Saturday, with the couple attending a Celine Dion concert before meeting the star backstage Kim looked incredible for the concert, showcasing her curves in a skintight white catsuit adorned with crystals and cream beads. Keeping her accessories simple so that she wouldn't detract from her sparkling one-piece, the mother-of-four donned no jewellery and boosted her frame with a pair of heeled white boots. Ahead of the show, Kim and her rapper beau, 41, went backstage to meet Celine, 51. who was dressed to impress in a gold baroque suit and cowboy boots. Terrifc trio: Ahead of the show, Kim and her rapper beau, 41, went backstage to meet Celine, 51. who was dressed to impress in a gold baroque suit and cowboy boots The surprise date night came after Kim and Kanye marked their five-year wedding anniversary on Friday. To celebrate the occasion, Kim dropped 10 never-seen-before photos from the couple's big day at the historic Forte di Belvedere, a 16th-century-era fortress atop a hill near the Arno river, Florence, Italy. '5 years ago today I married my best friend,' the Selfish author captioned the images. Dressed to impress: Kim looked incredible for the concert, showcasing her curves in a skintight white catsuit adorned with crystals and cream beads Fun times: The reality starlet, 38, took to Instagram to reveal her husband had surprised her with the impromptu cross-state visit a day after they celebrated their wedding anniversary In the five years the couple have been married, their relationship has gone from strength to strength and the pair are parents to four children, including: North, five, Saint, three, and Chicago, 16 months. On May 9, the couple welcomed their fourth child, son Psalm via surrogate. According to the baby's birth certificate, Psalm was born at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and does not yet have a middle name. In the two weeks since Psalm was born, Kimye have ensured that they still manage to fit in some quality time together with romantic date nights, whilst Kim treated her eldest children North and Saint to a day out Disneyland so that they wouldn't feel left out after the new arrival. Little Mix sent temperatures soaring as they stormed the stage at Radio 1's Big Weekend at Stewart Park in Middlesborough on Sunday. Clad in neon green costumes, Perrie Edwards, 25, Jessie Nelson, 27, Leigh-Anne Pinnock, 27, and Jade Thirlwall, 27, wowed the crowds with their energetic dance routines while showing off their impressive vocals. Their latest gig comes after it was reported the band's earnings skyrocketed by five times in one year as they raked in 6.6million between the four of them. They have the Power: Little Mix sent temperatures soaring as they stormed the stage at Radio 1 Big Weekend at Stewart Park in Middlesborough on Sunday Eternal Magic Touring's new accounts showed the girls each brought home 1.65million. The X Factor 2010 winners equally divided up the 6.6million they earned over the past year, with each bandmate listed as a director of Eternal Magic Touring. Eternal Magic Touring's accounts, which were submitted to Companies House recently, document Little Mix's earnings for a year until August 31 2018. Working it! Clad in scanty neon green costumes, the girls wowed the crowds with their energetic dance routines while showing off their impressive vocals (pictured Jesy Nelson) Giving it all she's got: The songstress showed off her incredible physique as she performed the high octane dance routine Racy display: Perrie Edwards (L) slipped into a neon lycra polo neck and black boiler suit, while Jesy (R) opted for a skintight leotard In the money: Their latest gig comes after it was reported the band's earnings skyrocketed by five times in one year as they raked in 6.6million between the four of them According to The Mirror, the accounts read: 'During the year, dividends of 6,600,00 were paid to the directors.' The four-piece have raked in 9.2million since they set up their joint company Eternal Magic Touring in 2015. To date, Little Mix's accounts hold 5million in funds and made a 2.8million profit; according to new figures, this past year has been their most successful year so far. Stunning: The Essex beauty styled her tresses into loose waves for her performance Don't mess with me! Jesy put on a fierce display as she stomped her foot Ooh-la-la: She displayed her perky posterior in her scanty number Groovy: Leigh-Anne Pinnock also wore the band's green theme with a skintight boilersuit with black padding Fancy: Perrie wore her blonde hair in a high ponytail which had an intricate braid Impressive: The songstress was lifted up into the air with the help of backing dancers and Leigh-Anne In comparison, the four-piece earned 350,000 each in 2017 and 325,000 in 2016. MailOnline approached Little Mix's representatives for further comment. They have been riding on the waves of success this year as the band recently nabbed the fourth spot on The Sunday Times' Wealthiest Young Musicians list. Energetic: The girls threw their hands in the air as they worked the stage Risque: Jesy amped up the sex appeal as she provocatively licked her lips Lucrative: Eternal Magic Touring's new accounts showed the girls each brought home 1.65million Woman like me: The girls put on a confident display as they performed a slew of their biggest hits All eyes on her: Jesy commanded the stage, while a group of hunky backing dancers leaped around her Racy: Jesy showed off her peachy derriere in the scanty PVC costume They were listed for their wealth of 45million, up on 5million, after the likes of Ed Sheeran as well as former One Direction stars Harry Styles and Niall Horan. The news Little Mix split from Simon Cowell's record company Syco came just days before they dropped their fifth album LM5 in November last year. Despite being an award-winning mega star, Perry previously took aim at the music industry as she staked claims it was 'fake'. She said: 'We've seen how the real industry works and none of it is real.' Ab-tastic: Jade Thirlwall, 27, showcased her toned midsection in a sporty long-sleeved crop top and matching joggers Leading ladies: They have been riding on the waves of success this year as the band recently nabbed the fourth spot on The Sunday Times ' Wealthiest Young Musicians list Wow-factor! Jesy displayed her vocal prowess as she belted the group's chart-topping hits during her time on stage Racy display: She captivated the audience as she provocatively grinded on a male dancer Wow-factor! Ensuring her outfit matched her bold performance, Rita Ora commanded attention in a powder pink blazer, which she teamed with a pair of high-waisted briefs Booti-ful: Turning up the heat: In Rita's true kooky fashion, the singer boosted her physique in a pair of mismatched pink and orange PVC thigh-high boots Racy performance: Ellie Goulding, 32, turned heads in a sporty zip-up bodysuit and daring chaps as she flaunted her enviable figure on stage Quirky: Zara Larsson commanded attention in a satin green bra with a feathered shoulder piece Having fun: The 21-year-old Swedish singer complemented her ensemble with a pair of white joggers Lively: Matthew Healy of The 1975 put on an energetic display as he took to the stage Jeffery Parks, of the 5200 block of South Blackstone Avenue in Hyde Park, appeared in court for a bond hearing Sunday. Chicago police said he is charged with one felony count of predatory criminal assault of a victim under 13 and one felony count of aggravated criminal abuse of a victim under 13. Roxanne Pallett's rumoured new boyfriend could find himself in hot water after he called her 'manipulative and disgusting' on Twitter last year over her punchgate scandal. In the resurfaced tweets, former model Mike Etherington waded in on the ex soap star's notorious row with Ryan Thomas during her time on Celebrity Big Brother. Roxanne, 36, and the American entrepreneur were spotted looking cosy on a doughnut gate in Manchester on Friday, just four months after her split from fiance Lee Walton. Not a fan: Roxanne Pallett's rumoured new boyfriend could find himself in hot water after he called her 'manipulative and disgusting' on Twitter last year over her 'punchgate scandal' Suggesting Roxanne should face criminal action over her false accusations Ryan punched her, he posted: 'Manipulative, disgusting, attention seeking women who fake abuse, its not only a slap in the face of true victims but a slap in the face of the law. 'This type of person needs criminal prosecution, equal to what a genuine abuser would face. #CBB.' 'Girls who lie about domestic abuse should face the same consequences as a genuine abuser would, he added. 'There needs to be a strong deterrent as situations like this are a slap in the face to genuine victims, and it can undeservedly ruin a genuinely good persons life forever. #CBB.' Angry: In the resurfaced tweets, former model Mike Etherington (pictured) waded in on the ex soap star's notorious row with Ryan Thomas during her time on Celebrity Big Brother Furious: Suggesting Roxanne should face criminal action over her false accusations Ryan punched her, he posted: 'Manipulative, disgusting, attention seeking women who fake abuse' In pictures obtained by The Sun, the television personality was spotted wearing a gold band on her ring finger, prompting speculation they had secretly tied the knot. MailOnline has contacted Roxanne's representatives for comment. Roxanne has kept a low profile and stayed off social media after her ill-fated stint on Celebrity Big Brother last summer. Roxanne branded housemate Ryan Thomas a 'woman beater' after a play fight before going to the Diary Room to demand the actor be removed from the house. He was issued with a formal warning, but Roxanne claimed to be afraid of him, asking to sleep in a separate room that evening and seen crying and shaking. She then told her fellow housemates that he had 'repeatedly hit her in the ribs', which led them to confront him about it. Hitting out: 'Girls who lie about domestic abuse should face the same consequences as a genuine abuser would, he added On eventually understanding what took place, the housemates backed Ryan, with Roxanne leaving the show. After her exit from the Channel 5 show, she returned for a pre-recorded interview with host Emma Willis to apologise for the incident. Ofcom confirmed that they wouldn't be taking action against the broadcaster after 27,000 complaints were made in relation to the incident. Roxanne recently returned to Instagram to talk about her mental health. In a length post she detailed her struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, and panic disorder. Reflecting on her struggles, for which she sought professional help, the reality star cited a house-fire, domestic violence at the hands of an abusive boyfriend, the death of her grandmother and the devastating suicide of a close friend among the potential causes. Complaints: Roxanne branded housemate Ryan Thomas a 'woman beater' after a play fight before going to the Diary Room to demand the actor be removed from the house She wrote: 'I want to open up about some things you may not know, as I've found there's a lot of judgement out there with little knowledge when it comes to the story behind the character ~ so here's mine. 'I was 16 when our family home went up in flames. It was traumatic to be trapped inside a burning house. Losing our home & all our belongings was one thing, but months later, cancer took my grandma who had raised me. It broke me.' Roxanne admitted she did not see a therapist after being overwhelmed with grief, a decision which led to the actress taking prescription drugs with little knowledge of the consequences. 'I didnt have counselling,' she explained. 'Instead, struggling to cope with my grief & upset, I took measures into my own hands & naively overdosed on a handful of tablets from a school friend who told me it would numb the pain. 'Two years later & desperate for stability I clung to the wrong guy at uni & ended up isolated in an abusive relationship. If it wasnt for a friend who clocked my hidden bruises & helped me pack my bags, I cant even imagine. I buried this awful episode but subconsciously it affected my trust in people.' The actress says she buried herself in work and the 'charade of success' after becoming a household name as Jo Sugden in long-running ITV soap Emmerdale. She has baffled fans by jetting off to party hotspot Magaluf with her ex Sam Gowland due to work commitments. Yet Geordie Shore's Chloe Ferry put her ex out of her mind when she headed out with her scantily-clad co-star Holly Hagan on Saturday. The reality star, 22, bared all in a sheer bralette, with only sequinned pineapples protecting her modesty. She Shore looks fantastic! Geordie Shore's Chloe Ferry exhibited her cleavage in a sheer bra as she joined scantily-clad Holly Hagan during awkward holiday with ex Sam Gowland on Saturday The MTV star was flirtatious in her tasseled white miniskirt which she wore over her bikini bottoms during her outing with the Geordie Shore crew. Chloe tugged on Charlotte Crosby's BFF Adam Frisby's vest top while the friends topped up on their tans underneath the scorching hot sunshine. Holly sizzling in a flaming print bra and matching co-ords when she led the slew of Geordie Shore stars for the outing. Although Love Island's Sam had been on holiday with the gang, the hunk was no where to be seen. Flaming hot: Holly sizzling in a flames print bra and matching co-ords when she led the slew of Geordie Shore stars for the outing Summer sizzler: The MTV star was flirtatious in her tasseled white miniskirt which she wore over her bikini bottoms during her outing with the Geordie Shore crew Flirty fun: Chloe tugged on Charlotte Crosby's BFF Adam Frisby's vest top while the friends topped up on their tans underneath the scorching hot sunshine Feeling fruity: The reality star, 22, bared all in a sheer bralette, with only sequinned pineapples protecting her modesty, as she got very hands-on with a shirtless hunk However, Holly, Abbie Holborn, Sophie Kasaei and Nathan Henry joined Chloe for the afternoon in the sunshine. The flirtations arose after allegations emerged claiming that Sam partied with an 18-year-old girl in his hotel room just hours following his split from Chloe. The fresh report follows claims that he also had a steamy romp with a fellow Love Island contestant, just days after he split from his ex-girlfriend. Where is he? Although Love Island's Sam had been on holiday with the gang, the hunk was no where to be seen The Geordie Shore star reportedly invited pretty brunette Holly McConnell, 18, back to his hotel room in Walsall after meeting her outside a club Birmingham. In a short video clip obtained by The Sun, Sam could be seen opening the door to his hotel room in his boxer shorts with his unmistakable Chloe leg tattoo on display. Holly told the newspaper: 'I was standing outside Rosie's in Birmingham when I spotted Sam and asked for a picture. The next thing I knew he was asking me back to his hotel and I decided to say yes. Fabulous fun: Holly, Abbie Holborn, Sophie Kasaei and Nathan Henry joined Chloe for the afternoon in the sunshine The teenager told the publication that Sam, who she claims was in good spirits, didn't mention Chloe after going into his room. Holly explained that the reality star was sober, despite attempting to get drunk, and the pair chatted before she got a taxi home. She said: 'We chatted for a bit afterwards and then I got a cab home. We didn't exchange numbers but I'd only just come out of a relationship myself so wasn't looking for anything.' Getting on with it! She has baffled fans by jetting off to party hotspot Magaluf with her ex Sam Gowland due to work commitments MailOnline has contacted Sam and Chloe's representatives for comment. The allegation comes shortly after claims emerged that Sam romped with a Love Island beauty just a few days after Chloe ended their 17-month romance. Recently, Chloe broke her silence on the claims her ex hooked up with another Love Islander as she reportedly shared a now-deleted tweet. It read: 'Mad how you think you know someone so well but you don't know them at all.' She also added on Twitter: 'And he's still trying to deny it,' followed by a laughing face emoji. Set the records straight: Since then, Chloe angrily took to social media to set the record straight that she and Sam were not together despite holidaying together Since then, Chloe angrily took to social media to set the record straight that she and Sam were not together despite holidaying together. She said on Instagram: 'To answer everyones question me and Sam are NOT back together. Yeah, we live together, but thats because weve got a mortgage together. We cant just chuck each other out. 'And why are we on holiday together? Because we work together and Sams best friend is here.' Fans were devastated their romance had come to an end after the couple had invested in a bright future together with a mortgage and a house. Chloe had shared their split with her 3,200,000 fans on social media but she insisted the former flames were 'still friends' following the demise of their two-year romance. End of an era: Fans were devastated their romance had ended after the couple had invested in a bright future together with a mortgage and a house She wrote on Instagram: 'It hurts me to say this but me and Sam have gone our separate ways. We are still friends. Things carry on as normal.' Things soon turned sour when a jealous Chloe discovered Sam had followed a bevy of girls on Instagram less than 24 hours after their break up. Sam, of Love Island fame, had joined the Geordie Shore cast as Chloe's boyfriend following his rise in status to the spotlight. Doctor Who's Jodie Whittaker laughed nervously as she come face-to-face with The Judoon during filming at Gloucester Cathedral for the first time. The rhino-headed space police first appeared on Doctor Who in 2007 when they transported a London hospital to the moon. Seen shooting series 12 for the first time on Thursday, the actress, 36, burst into hysterical giggles when she laid her eyes on the menacing Doctor Who character. Doctor Who series 12 FIRST LOOK: Laughing Jodie Whittaker come face-to-face with The Judoon during filming at Gloucester Cathedral on Thursday Jodie slipped into her Time Lord attire as she dressed in teal blue cut-offs and androgynous braces. Keen to get into character, the Time Lord star playfully put up her fists for a fight as she joked about during filming breaks. Elsewhere on set, The Judoon was instantaneously recognised for their enormous rhino heads and armour covering their bodies. They were all armed with space guns when they roamed free in the realms of Gloucester Cathedral. Bringing them back: The rhino-headed space police first appeared on Doctor Who in 2007 when they transported a London hospital to the moon Having a fabulous Time (Lord): Seen shooting series 12 for the first time on Thursday, the actress, 36, burst into hysterical giggles when she laid her eyes on the menacing Doctor Who character Fabulous: Fans will be delighted to see all the cast have descended on Gloucester Cathedral to start shooting scenes for the sci-fi drama Evil: The Judoon were seen brandishing their space guns as they lined up Actors: The actors enjoyed a laugh between scenes as they took off their helmets Historically, The Judoon has had an important role in Doctor Who after they brought on the meeting between the Tenth Doctor and his companion Martha Jones. Bosses have stayed tight-lipped as to how The Judoon will return to the show next year but the episode will also feature a guest appearance by Neil Stuke. Neil, 53, has previously appeared in the legal drama Silk, as well as the 1990s series Game On. Showrunner Chris Chibnall said: 'No! Sho! Blo! The Judoon are storming back into Doctor Who in full force, and the streets of Gloucester arent safe. Poser! Jodie looked happy as she greeted many fans on her way to work in the blazing sunshine Good fun: Jodie showed off her playful side as she giggled away while she took a break on set Nice try! Keen to get into character, the Time Lord star playfully put up her fists for a fight as she joked about during filming breaks No one knows: Bosses have stayed tight-lipped as to how The Judoon will return to the show next year but the episode will also feature a guest appearance by Neil Stuke 'If anyone has anything to hide, confess now. The Judoon are taking no prisoners, and will stop at nothing to fulfil their mission!' The writer added: 'The whole team on Doctor Who are delighted and scared in equal measure to welcome them back: one of many treats weve got in store for viewers next series. 'And were over the moon [with Judoon], to be welcoming the wondrous Neil Stuke as guest star. We cant wait to show you what happens when his path crosses with the Thirteenth Doctor.' Hard work pays off! The TV star held a script as she revised her lines and grabbed a coffee before getting in front of the cameras Picture perfect! The actress showed her good humour as she snapped selfies with members of the public before she stepped into character Quirky style: Jodie slipped into her Time Lord attire as she dressed in teal blue cut-offs and androgynous braces She's wonderful: Jodie earned a hugely positive reception when she became the first woman to play The Doctor in its 56-year history Spotted: The Judoon was instantaneously recognised on set for their enormous rhino heads and armour covering their bodies Long time ago: The Judoon first appeared in the 2007 episode Smith And Jones when they transported a hospital to the moon to hunt down a plasmavore who was disguised as an old woman The Judoon first appeared in the 2007 episode Smith And Jones when they transported a hospital to the moon to hunt down a plasmavore who was disguised as an old woman. In typical Who fashion, the kidnap sparked the first meeting of medical student Martha Jones and The Tenth Doctor (David Tennant) with the pair eventually teaming up to travel the universe for the rest of the third series. The Judoon also appeared in Series Four's The Stolen Earth, as The Doctor desperately tried to figure out the truth behind the disappearance of 27 planets from the sky. On guard: They were all armed with space guns when they roamed free in the realms of Gloucester Cathedral Keeping cool: A kind lady held an umbrella over the three actors during filming breaks to ensure they didn't get too hot in their space suits Moving the story on: The Judoon also appeared in Series Four's The Stolen Earth, as The Doctor desperately tried to figure out the truth behind the disappearance of 27 planets They also appeared on spin-off The Sarah Jane Adventures and made several cameos during Matt Smith's era as the Eleventh Doctor. Jodie earned a hugely positive reception when she became the first woman to play The Doctor in its 56-year history. The series has taken a year-long break and will return in early 2020, though an exact release date is yet to be confirmed. Terrifying: They also appeared on spin-off The Sarah Jane Adventures and made several cameos during Matt Smith's era as the Eleventh Doctor Coming back: The series has taken a year-long break and will return in early 2020 She's the Australian model with a passion for health and fitness. And Rachael Finch has revealed she is taking her fitness brand, Body By Finch, global, starting with image-obsessed Los Angeles. 'We're heading to America in June for a little business trip,' the 30 year-told Confidential on Sunday. Going global! Former Miss Universe Australia Rachael Finch (pictured) is set to launch her fitness empire in Hollywood, she revealed in an interview on Sunday The beauty reveals that her app will be available around the world. 'We're launching our body program overseas,' she said, adding that LA is the perfect market for the brand. 'LA is very health and fitness focused so it'll be great to get among energy and excitement,' she added. Taking on the world: The model is taking her fitness brand, Body By Finch, global, starting with image-obsessed Los Angeles Big things! 'We're heading to America in June for a little business trip,' the 3-year-old told Confidential. 'LA is very health and fitness focused' It comes after the model showed off her fitness prowess, sharing a clip of herself assuming the gravity-defying pose. She told her followers: 'Don't expect everything overnight. I've been doing yoga for 12 years and only today just thought, 'okay, headstands aren't as difficult as I was making them.' The former Miss Universe Australia has in the past revealed the one secret behind her incredible figure. Good at it! It comes after the model showed off her fitness prowess, sharing a clip of herself assuming the gravity-defying pose 'I usually like to eat within an hour of waking up,' explained Rachael. 'If I wait too long for breakfast I notice my body goes into a stressful state and I then tend to overeat!' However, Rachael went on to remind fans that 'all bodies are different' and her top tip may not work for them. Of the more than 40 seasons of Bachelor branded shows, only a handful of couples have gotten married. But on Saturday, The Bachelorette star Ashley Iaconetti took another step toward joining those ranks and celebrated her upcoming wedding to 30-year-old former Bachelor in Paradise co-star, Jared Haibon. The reality TV star, 31, took to Instagram to share pictures and videos of her New Kids on the Block themed bachelorette party. Celebration: The Bachelorette star Ashley Iaconetti took another step toward joining the wife ranks and celebrated her upcoming wedding to 30-year-old former Bachelor in Paradise co-star, Jared Haibon with an epic bachelorette party The bride-to-be dressed in all denim in a 90's inspired look for the occasion, donning All Stars on her feet while her brown tresses were pulled back into a half-up ponytail. She wore an 'NKOTBride' sash across her chest as 6 of her gal pals joined her on a party bus. The ladies headed off to the New Kids on the Block concert at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. But before the festivities could begin, Iaconetti's fiance had to '[vet] the party bus driver.' Iaconetti' posted a video to her Instagram story of three men, including Haibon, chatting with the man. 'Plan accordingly because you have to be back here by 11:30,' Haibon says. On the party bus, the ladies can be seen dancing and singing to their favorite music, including: Spice Girls, *Nsync, Demi Lovato, The Jonas Brothers, One Direction, Adam Lambert and Jesse McCartney. #NKOTBachelorette: 'I'm so blessed that 11 years later New Kids on The Block are on tour and we have a new Jonas Brothers album,' the TV personality says, captioning one video, 'Not drunk, just #blessed' 'I'm so blessed that 11 years later New Kids on The Block are on tour and we have a new Jonas Brothers album,' the TV personality says, captioning one video, 'Not drunk, just #blessed.' The women ate pizza, drank booze and danced on the bus' pole donning jackets with #NKOTBachelorette stitched on them. '@AdamLambert got me on the pole,' Iaconetti wrote on one video. The ladies did make it to their destination safely and well hydrated, as the Bachelor Winter Games winner can be seen 'Just trying to prevent the hangover,' while drinking a Liquid I.V. concoction. Party time: The women ate pizza, drank booze and danced on the bus' pole donning jackets with #NKOTBachelorette stitched on them Back in April, Iaconetti discussed which Bachelor alums would be part of her nuptials, telling US Weekly, 'Nick [Viall] and Dean [Unglert] are groomsmen of Jareds.' Season 2 Bachelor in Paradise winner Tanner Tolbert and his wife Jade will also be part of the 'romantic and timeless' nuptials. 'Tanner [Tolbert] is maybe officiating if he can make it in time,' she said. The couple are expecting their second child near the wedding date. The pair will reportedly tie the knot in Rhode Island during the month of August in front of 180 people. Mariah Carey continued her trend of bringing her children onstage during her London concert this week. The 49-year-old returned to the Royal Albert Hall after 15 years and turned the extravaganza into a family affair. She sang with Moroccan and Monroe, the eight-year-old twins she shares with her dashing second ex-husband Nick Cannon. Family time: Mariah Carey continued her trend of bringing her children onstage during her London concert this week, singing with twins Morocco and Monroe According to a Guardian review of the show, the number she performed with her children was Always Be My Baby from her 1995 album Daydream. Mariah, who according to legend has had a concert rider stipulating she 'doesn't do stairs,' blew through a flurry of outfits during her gig. One of them was a strapless black gown that featured pink accents and a cleft neckline that showed off her unmistakable cleavage. Having a ball: The 49-year-old returned to the Royal Albert Hall after 15 years and turned the extravaganza into a family affair What a night: She crooned with Moroccan and Monroe, the eight-year-old twins she shares with her dashing second ex-husband Nick Cannon So sweet: According to a Guardian review of the show, the number she performed with her children was Always Be My Baby from her 1995 album Daydream Sensational: Mariah, who according to legend has had a concert rider stipulating she 'doesn't do stairs,' blew through a flurry of outfits during her show When you got it: One of them was a strapless black gown that featured pink accents and a cleft neckline that showed off her unmistakable cleavage The pop diva known affectionately to her fans as 'Mimi' also slid herself into a bright pink gown with pleated mesh skirts and a glittering top. Going for full Las Vegas glamour, the All I Want For Christmas Is You could also at one point be seen in a blue sequined gown and matching feather boa. Her stage looks also included a bubblegum pink sequined bodysuit and a complementary jacket splattered with mirror-work. Iconic: The pop diva known affectionately to her fans as 'Mimi' also slid herself into a bright pink gown with pleated mesh skirts and a glittering top Gorgeous in glitter: Mariah was a vision of beauty as she belted out her hits Camp legend: Going for full Las Vegas glamour, the All I Want For Christmas Is You could also at one point be seen in a blue sequined gown and matching feather boa Blue-tiful! Mariah dazzled in a turquoise gown which clung to her hourglass curves Justice! Mariah was handed a sign from the crowd which she proudly waved on the stage Legs for days: Her stage looks also included a bubblegum pink sequined bodysuit and a complementary jacket splattered with mirror-work Mariah's London engagement got a warm reception from such outlets as the Guardian, the Telegraph and the Daily Mail's sister publication Metro. The Precious star's present world tour is named after her 15th studio album Caution, which she released last year to rave reviews. She spent February, March and early April taking her show around Canada and her native United States, then had a few weeks off. Welcome back: Mariah's London engagement got a warm reception from such outlets as the Guardian, the Telegraph and the Daily Mail's sister publication Metro Fab: The Precious star's present world tour is named after her 15th studio album Caution, which she released last year to rave reviews Globetrotter: She spent February, March and early April taking her show around Canada and her native United States, then had a few weeks off By May, Mariah had embarked on the European leg of her tour, beginning at Dublin's 3Arena and then alighting on the Royal Albert Hall. After her last London show this Sunday, the singing sensation will perform in Paris, Hamburg, Aalborg, Barcelona, Bordeaux and Amsterdam. The tour will end over the summer with gigs at Quebec City's Festival d'ete and the North Sea Jazz fest at Curacao's capital Willemstad. Place to be: By May, Mariah had embarked on the European leg of her tour, beginning at Dublin's 3Arena and then alighting on the Royal Albert Hall Indefatigable: After her last London show this Sunday, the singing sensation will perform in Paris, Hamburg, Aalborg, Barcelona, Bordeaux and Amsterdam Making it happen: The tour will end over the summer with gigs at Quebec City's Festival d'ete and the North Sea Jazz fest at Curacao's capital Willemstad Mariah married Nick back in 2008, and although she divorced her hunk in 2016 the pair have remained friendly co-parents to their children. Mimi's first ex-husband was music executive Tommy Mottola, who discovered her back in the 1980s when he was the head of Columbia Records. In recent years, she had a failed engagement to Australian billionaire James Packer and struck up a romance with her backup dancer Bryan Tanaka. Maturity: Mariah married Nick back in 2008, and although she divorced her hunk in 2016 the pair have remained friendly co-parents to their children Remember when: Mimi's first ex-husband was music executive Tommy Mottola, who discovered her back in the 1980s when he was the head of Columbia Records She recently defended her Bank Holiday getaway after trolls attacked her for not holidaying with her daughter Madison, 14. And Chloe Sims, 37, ensured she sizzled as she lead the way alongside Georgia Kousoulou, 27, as they took to the waves aboard a Mr Pink yacht with their cast mates as part of Tommy Mallet's birthday celebrations in Ibiza on Sunday. Flaunting her surgically enhanced assets, Chloe ensured her tight, white swimsuit showcased her ample cleavage. Beach babes: Chloe Sims (L) and Georgia Kousoulou (R) ensured they caught the eye while celebrating Tommy Mallet's birthday celebrations with their The only Way Is Essex cast-mates in Ibiza on Sunday Covering her peachy posterior, the blonde slipped into a slinky pink sarong that clung to her curves. Adding a hint of boho to the look, the Essex native strapped an anklet adorned with shells around her ankle and carried a fringed bag. The star left her long hair extensions down and shaded her eyes behind large gold framed sunglasses. Georgia modelled an squally skimpy ensemble by squeezing her curves into a mustard yellow swimsuit that was printed with a tile pattern. Bombshell: Flaunting her surgically enhanced assets, Chloe ensured her tight, white swimsuit showcased her ample cleavage Here come the girls: Joining the girls was Chloe's sister Demi Sims, 22 Shady: Mother-of-one Chloe, left her long hair extensions down and shaded her eyes behind large gold framed sunglasses The racy swimsuit featured an ultra high leg and plunging neckline - which was sure to set her boyfriend Tommy's pulse racing. The confident star tied a white linen shirt around her waist, carried a wicker beach bag and sported white sliders. Bringing the bling, the reality TV personality wowed with statement ear rings and ensured the rays kept out of her eyes by wearing sunglasses. Edgy: The new addition to the show put on a kooky display in a black swimsuit that was patterned with flames and a dragon motif Sleek: Ensuring all eyes were on her bold beach attire, the blonde styled her tresses in a straight style Bottoms up! Georgia enjoyed a glass of bubbly on board the boat Sisters: Demi and Chloe showed off their enviable figures in the sunshine Glam gang: The women basked in the sunshine before heading off land Joining the girls was Chloe's sister Demi Sims, 22, the new addition to the show put on a kooky display in a black swimsuit that was patterned with flames and a dragon motif. The curvy beauty completed her look by wearing a matching fiery shirt unbuttoned over the edgy one piece. Ensuring all eyes were on her bold beach attire, the blonde styled her tresses in a straight style. Birthday boy: Girlfriend and boyfriend Georgia and Tommy looked glad to be celebrating with their pals Chilled: Tommy kept it relaxed as he stepped on the boat in a pair of black swim shorts printed with an abstract pattern in red and pink tones and co-ordinated T-shirt Supplies: Chloe and Demi brought supplies with them onto the boat On the guest list: Also receiving an invite to the water party was Shelby Tribble, 26, and Sam Mucklow, 27 Tommy, 26, the birthday boy kept it relaxed as he stepped on the boat in a pair of black swim shorts printed with an abstract pattern in red and pink tones and co-ordinated T-shirt. Looking like he was planning a fun time, the shoe brand owner looked in high spirits as he larked around with his pals. Also receiving an invite to the water party was Shelby Tribble and Sam Mucklow. Ladies man Sam appeared to be unable to keep his hands off the brunette star - who he previously had a fling with and then dumped her shortly after in Thailand. Flirty: Ladies man Sam appeared to be unable to keep his hands off the brunette star - who he previously had a fling with and then dumped her shortly after in Thailand Pucker up! Clearly enjoying the attention from Sam, the star looked ecstatic as she shared intimate moments with her fellow co-star Natural beauty Shelby, kept it laid-back in a red bikini-top and black shorts that allowed her long pins and flat stomach to be spied. Clearly enjoying the attention from Sam, the star looked ecstatic as she shared intimate moments with her fellow co-star. Clelia Theodorou was also on-board the vessel and looked cute in a pair of white denim shorts and blue shirt embossed with white polka dots. Party time! The crowd looked revved up to party Setting off: The group chatted as they got ready to hit the water Diving in: Demi waited patiently to step onto the yacht Flaunting her lithe physique, she knotted her shirt up above her naval. A number of friend of Tommy's joined the cast who do not appear on the ITVBe show. Chloe's day at sea comes after she shut down trolls online who questioned her parenting. The bombshell lashed out at trolls who sent her abusive messages on Instagram about her parenting style as she parties it up in Ibiza without her daughter Madison, 14. Snap happy: Demi made sure she got some snaps from the celebrations Happy day: The gang posed for photos to commemorate the day Main man: Sam looked in his element as Shelby and Clelia wrapped themselves around him Tanning time: Sam was rubbed with sun tan lotion from another woman on the boat, who was not Shelby Sea legs: The Essex natives looked eager to set off from the marina The reality TV star typed out a message, where she explained the reasons for her holiday and revealed her teenage daughter was staying with her dad. In a message on her story, Chloe wrote: 'Always someone who has something to sayspend more time in the present and not worrying about someone youve never met, It puzzles me that people only think you're a good mum if you plaster your children over social media everyday! Excited! The group could not contain their glee Work it! The ladies strut their stuff through Ibiza before getting onto the luxury boat Fun day: Looking like he was planning a fun time, the shoe brand owner looked in high spirits as he larked around with his pals Getting close: Sam continued his PDA with Shelby as he wrapped his tatted up arms around her Girl chat: Chloe, Demi and Georgia stood around chatting in their glamorous outfits 'Personally I prefer to keep her away from vile vultures on here, and let her have a childhood instead of making money off being a mother! So f*** off!' Prior to the lengthy statement, Chloe uploaded screenshots of messages she had received from trolls - which she responded to directly. One social media user told Chloe to 'to stay at home and look after your daughter' after calling her 'stupid' and 'fake' after seeing the TV personality was in warmer climes minus her daughter. Chloe hit back: 'I go away for the bank holiday after filming for three months and this is the stupid s**t I get sent! All aboard: The girls were in high spirits as they made their way onto their luxury yacht on Sunday Occupied: Chloe looked engrossed in her mobile phone as she scrolled on the device Posers! Demi posed up a storm with some friends for photos on the vessel 'My daughter is also on holiday with her father! Mind your business and your trashy mouth.' Another troll sent: 'Are you ever with your daughter?! Embarrassing watching a middle-aged woman constantly on holiday hanging about with people younger than her... Your poor wee girl, feel sorry for her!' Chloe responded by stating her age and typed: 'Woman to woman you should be ashamed of yourself.' In a past interview with New! magazine, she said: 'I was with Maddies dad, Matthew, for seven years, but we ended up like brother and sister and that isnt what I want. Hitting back: Chloe lashed out at trolls who sent her abusive messages on regarding her parenting as she parties it up in Ibiza without her daughter Madison 'Ive only ever been in love once and that wasnt with Madisons dad. It was with the most amazing man I ever met he was so funny with perfect looks. I really fancied him. 'She [Madison] has a good relationship with her dad. Im very close to her dads parents. She is surrounded by people who love her.' Chloe is currently single after a short-lived romance with co-star Dan Edgar, the TOWIE veteran ended things with the handsome reality star, 28, after he 'freaked out' about their first date due to mounting pressure surrounding their romance. Hitting back: The reality TV star typed out a message, where she explained her reasons for her holiday, and shared that her teenage daughter was away with her dad Not a fan: Another troll sent: 'Are you ever with your daughter?!' She's enjoying some time with her family before heading into another busy year in front of the camera. And Gal Gadot was in great spirits as she trekked around Disneyland in Anaheim, California, on Saturday. The 34-year-old actress wore a tiger striped sweatshirt on top of a white tee as she frolicked around the happiest place on earth with her daughters Maya and Alma by her side. Good times: Gal Gadot was in great spirits as she trekked around Disneyland in Anaheim, California, on Saturday Gal looked at ease as she walked around the amusement park wearing a statement T-shirt with 'GRL PWR' written across in bold black lettering. She teamed her top with a pair of black skinny jeans and snacked on a chocolate covered frozen banana while making her way to the rides. The Wonder Woman star threw her hands up in the air as she sat in the backseat of a bright red car on Radiator Springs Racers. Sweet: Gal looked at ease as she walked around the amusement park wearing a statement T-shirt with 'GRL PWR' written across in bold black lettering It seemed Gal had time for a quick outfit change as she posed in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle wearing a white denim jacket and jeans. 'There's something so magical about Disneyland,' she captioned the photo shared to her 29million followers. 'Thank you for the enchanting time!' Gadot has been married to Israeli real estate developer Yaron Varsano for more than a decade and the couple has two daughters. Mouse house: It seemed Gal had time for a quick outfit change as she posed in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle wearing a white denim jacket and jeans Carsland: The Wonder Woman star threw her hands up in the air as she sat in the backseat of a bright red car on Radiator Springs Racers. While Gadot doesn't have any movies slated for release in 2019, she will have a big year in 2020, with two huge movies coming out. She will return as Diana Prince, a.k.a. Wonder Woman, in the highly-anticipated Wonder Woman 1984, a sequel to her 2017 smash hit Wonder Woman, arriving June 5, 2020. The actress will also star in Death on the Nile, a follow-up to 2017's Murder on the Orient Express, starring Kenneth Branagh as Detective Hercule Poirot, arriving October 22, 2020. She reignited her turbulent romance with her on/off flame on last weeks' edition of TOWIE, just weeks after calling it quits during an explosive row, which saw him call her a 's**g'. But Shelby Tribble and Sam Mucklow appeared cosier than ever as they boarded the Mr Pink yacht for Tommy Mallet's 27th birthday celebrations in Ibiza on Sunday afternoon. TV personality Shelby, 26, was in great spirits as she enjoyed a warm embrace with cheeky Sam, 27, who was pictured planting a kiss on her cheek during their sun-soaked Spanish trip. What's going on? Shelby Tribble and on/off flame Sam Mucklow appeared cosier than ever as they boarded the Mr Pink yacht for Tommy Mallet's 27th birthday in Ibiza on Sunday Showcasing her incredibly toned abs and ample bust, the reality star slipped into a burnt orange bikini top, teamed with a pair of tiny distressed denim shorts. The former beauty pageant queen maintained her chic display with her choice of accessories as she wore a pair of cat-eye sunglasses and toted a by designer checkered handbag by Louis Vuitton, which retails at 920. Opting for comfort in the footwear department, the former glamour model strolled along the cobbles of the party island in plain black flip flops. Hotting up: TV personality Shelby, 26, was in great spirits as she enjoyed a warm embrace with cheeky Sam, 27, who was pictured planting a kiss on her cheek during their sun-soaked Spanish trip Having fun: The brunette bombshell couldn't contain her delight with joining her love interest Sam on the trip as they engaged in lively conversations during their time together Shelby highlighted her naturally radiant complexion in minimal neutral-toned make-up and styled her tresses into loose waves. The brunette bombshell couldn't contain her delight with joining her love interest Sam on the trip as they engaged in lively conversations during their time together. Earlier this year, the pair ended their romance in Thailand after he branded her a 's**g' in a furious row before pursuing Demi Sims. Sizzling hot! Showcasing her incredibly toned abs and ample bust, the reality star slipped into a burnt orange bikini top, teamed with a pair of tiny distressed denim shorts But on last week's edition of the TV series, Sam revealed he had ignited his relationship with Shelby, causing his furious love rival Tom McDonnell to brand him 'slippery'. Revealing the news to Tom's best friend Harry Lee, Sam confidently said: 'Me and Shelby have just been chatting again, it's harmless flirting. She's not with Tom. 'She's being very vague about him and just said "it's early doors", so I don't see any harm in it.' To which Harry replied: 'Tom respects her. He's a lovely boy. I don't want to see him get mugged off.' In good company: The pair joined Clelia Theodorou (bottom left), birthday boy Tommy (top centre), Georgia Kousoulou (fourth from right), Chloe (far right) and Demi Sims (third from left) In a teaser clip for the show's grand finale on Sunday, it seems like Shelby hasn't been completely honest with Tom about her 'flirty' friendship with Sam. With her close pals having a go at her for running back to the Lothario after he 'clicked his fingers', Shelby then decided to pull Tom to the side to tell the truth. News of their reignited romance is a far cry from when Sam revealed to MailOnline he refused to film with her after feeling she manipulated their Thailand argument to her benefit. He said: 'Im quite intelligent and I was very naive and played. But listen, Shelby is a one-trick pony, without a relationship or a man in her life what else is she bringing to the show? Nothing.' 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 it seems the drama continues in the next series as Thandie Newton was pictured attacking a soldier while filming scenes for the third series of the hit HBO show. The actress, 46, donned a chic burgundy skirt suit as she showed off her combat moves in dramatic scenes on location in Besalu, Spain on Saturday. Back in action: The drama continues in the next series of Westworld as Thandie Newton was pictured attacking a soldier while filming scenes for the third series of the hit HBO show The star looked stylish in the retro two-piece which consisted of a tailored buttoned blazer and a matching pencil skirt. Her brunette tresses were styled into a vintage up-do, while she added a rouge lip in a similar hue to her ensemble. Thandie donned her comfy brown Ugg boots as she practiced her scenes which saw her grappling with the soldier on set. Despite there being a stunt double for the Line Of Duty favourite on hand, it appeared as through Thandie was doing her own stunts as she got to grips with her co-star. Attack! The actress, 46, donned a chic burgundy skirt suit as she showed off her combat moves in dramatic scenes on location in Besalu, Spain on Saturday 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. Tough lady: Despite there being a stunt double for the Line Of Duty favourite on hand, it appeared as through Thandie was doing her own stunts as she got to grips with her co-star 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. The officer said that she could call 911 to find out which hospital the ambulance was headed to, as he did not have that information either, he said. She walked away, and minutes later, the ambulance also took off. They spent the Easter Bank holiday under the UAE sunshine in Dubai. And Sam Faiers, 28, is once again back in a bikini as she enjoys a holiday with her son Paul, three, and daughter Rosie, 18 months, in the luxury destination of the Turks and Caicos islands. The Mummy Diaries star spent the day by the pool doting on her two tots whilst modelling her toned stomach and enviable assets in a skimpy white bikini. Beach babe: Sam Faiers, 28, is back in a bikini as she enjoys a holiday with her son Paul, three, and daughter Rosie, 18 months, in the luxury destination of the Turks and Caicos islands The former TOWIE star ensured she caught the eye in the tiny two-piece that clung to her curvy frame. Radiating beauty, the mother-of-two appeared to forgo make-up for her day of fun in the sun and slicked her brunette tresses off her face in a relaxed bun to flaunt her heart-shaped jawline. The designer brand lover accessorised with over-sized sunglasses from Fendi that featured brown frames printed with the Italian luxury fashion house's logo on the side. Adding a touch of glitz to her sunshine style, the sister of Billie Faiers clipped hooped earrings to her ears. Vision: The former TOWIE star ensured she caught the eye in the tiny two-piece that clung to her curvy frame Family time: The Mummy Diaries star spent the day by the pool doting on her two tots whilst modelling her toned stomach and enviable assets in a skimpy white bikini Glowing: Radiating beauty, the mother-of-two appeared to forgo make-up for her day of fun in the sun Designer girl: The designer brand lover accessorised with over-sized sunglasses from Fendi that featured brown frames printed with Italian luxury fashion house's logo on the side Later on, the former glamour girl pulled down her hair and allowed it to cascade down her shoulders. Ensuring their poolside day had a VIP touch, Sam booked a private area for her and her brood underneath a white canopy that was stocked with towels, juices and snacks. Little Rosie looked in her element as she toddled around with her mum and brother in her nappy. Quality time: Little Rosie looked in her element as she toddled around with her mum and brother in her nappy Up-do: The reality TV personality slicked her brunette tresses off her face in a relaxed bun to flaunt her heart-shaped jawline Long locks: Later on, the former glamour girl pulled down her hair and allowed it to cascade down her shoulders Mummy's boy: Paul looked in high spirits as he played and danced with his mum Paul looked in high spirits as he played and danced with his mum. The toddler looked adorable in a camel coloured pair of shorts and a T-shirt that was embroidered with his initials on the front. He kept his hunger at bay by chomping on cookies and was spotted eyeing up the table of snacks in their private area. Sam beamed with happiness as she enjoyed the day with her children in the sunshine and ensured they were well looked after by laying out towels for them. Sweet moment: Sam carried Paul in her arms as they embraced in a hug Special day: Ensuring their poolside day had a VIP touch, Sam booked a private area for her and her brood underneath a white canopy that was stocked with towels, juices and snacks Their latest trip comes just three weeks after the family jetted to the sunny climes of Dubai to ring in Easter. The family spared no expense for the trip, staying at the luxury hotel the One & Only Royal Mirage. Sam has just finished wrapping up the last series on the Mummy Diaries, which aired earlier this month. The Faiers family watched Sam's sister Billie marry Greg Shepherd in a breathtakingly beautiful Maldives beach ceremony. Cute: The trio looked totally relaxed as they spent the day in the sunshine Stylish: Paul looked adorable in a camel coloured pair of shorts and a T-shirt Parenting: Sam beamed with happiness as she enjoyed the day with her children Mummy duties: The TV star prepared towels for the kids on sun loungers Fans saw the ins and outs, ups and downs and excitement ahead of their wedding, including Billie's dad Dave nearly missing the big day after he was too inebriated to fly and was escorted off his plane to the Maldives. In the 90-minute special the couple finally said 'I do' in front of 95 guests, after five years together and over a year of planning to reach the big moment. Viewers took to Twitter to share their delight at finally seeing the couple exchange their vows, after the build-up was fraught with drama and chaos. Adorable: Rosie giggled with her mum as she reclined on a lounger Kisses: Paul and his mum cuddled and shared a loving kiss Special: Sam looked in her element as she cooed over her mini-me Snug as a bug: Rosie was wrapped up in towels at one point Hungry? Paul appeared to have his eye on the table filled with snacks Despite a frantic day which saw Greg waiting in the sunshine, the groom was left stunned as Billie finally made her way down the aisle in a lace wedding gown. Sam also paid a touching tribute to her sister in an incredibly moving speech that the mother-of-two close to tears. She said: 'It feels like yesterday when we were all standing in the sea in Ibiza, and I said to Greg ''you fancy my sister don't you?'' and he said ''yes.'' I told Billie straight away. Lovely: The little boy grabbed onto his mother adoringly Yummy! Paul snacked on a cookie as he ran around with his sister and mum 'I'm so happy that my big sister is marrying the man of her dreams, she may not tell you that Greg, thank you for making me an auntie to Nelly and Arthur. 'Being here in the Maldives with all your family and friends is going to be an unforgettable celebration, I love you both with all your heart, and welcome officially to the family Greg.' And while Billie has tied the knot, there seems to be no plans for Paul to propose to Sam anytime soon. Funny moment: Sam looked ahead as her son gazed at her with a mischievous look on his face Big boy: Paul helped himself to food from under the shaded area On the hit ITVBe show, the All Bits London creator told the reality star he was glad she failed to catch the bouquet, as it would have only increased the pressure on him to pop the question. He said: 'I was celebrating ''yes she didn't catch it.''' Inevitably the response leaves Sam unimpressed, as she dramatically turned to him and screamed 'What?' Glowing: Sam looked effortlessly beautiful as her hair blew in the wind Peachy! The star showed off her perky bottom in her tight white bottoms Equator From The Air Rating: Gentleman Jack Rating: Thar she blows! The traditional cry of the whalers has never rung more true, as wildlife film-maker Gordon Buchanan set off in search of a sneeze from Moby Dick. So far we've seen Buchanan getting bear cubs high on rotten fish paste and teaching meerkats to take selfies. You might imagine his animal encounters couldn't take a more surreal turn, but on Equator From The Air (BBC2) he flew a camera drone straight through a humpback whale's spout, to sample DNA from its nasal mucus. Bizarre though it seems, this is an ingenious way for scientists to monitor the health of humpbacks as they edge back from the brink of extinction. The sticky gunk on the drone's sensors can be analysed in the lab: 'The DNA barcode doesn't just tell you about the health of that particular animal,' Gordon enthused when I interviewed him earlier this month, 'a wealth of information is stored about the entire marine environment.' Gordon Buchanan (pictured) on Equator From The Air (BBC2) flew a camera drone straight through a humpback whale's spout, to sample DNA from its nasal mucus This four-part documentary series investigates the technical advances made possible for naturalists by new types of flying machines especially drones. Regarded as little more than children's toys when they first appeared about a decade ago, they are revolutionising the way scientists monitor the world. Gordon chose to follow the equator, travelling around the world's waistline because that's where the most dramatic changes are taking place. 'We tend to think of it as a wild, far-distant land,' he told me, 'but there's a superabundance of people. Populations are growing faster than anywhere in the world, transforming the landscape in an alarming way.' Gordon chose to follow the equator, travelling around the world's waistline because that's where the most dramatic changes are taking place Nowhere was that more evident than in spectacular aerial shots of vast flamingo flocks at Lake Bogoria in Kenya's Great Rift Valley. The birds a million and a quarter of them gather to feast on the blue-green algae blooms. It's a sight Gordon waited 30 years to see. But it might soon be a vanished phenomenon. At nearby Lake Nakuru, the flamingos have all gone. A city has sprung up on the shores and, even though the lake is a national park, deforestation and pollution have changed the chemical balance of the water. The algae no longer grows . . . and the birds no longer come. Pictures from the air explained the causes in ways that words never could. Suranne Jones (pictured) plays the title character in Gentleman Jack, a female landowner with the manners and sexual appetites of a man This was a much more informative programme than the recent Earth From Space, based on satellite photography. Who needs space probes? It turns out you can learn more from the contents of a whale's Kleenex. Handkerchiefs played a part in Gentleman Jack (BBC1), as befits any good costume drama. Innocent heiress Ann (Sophie Rundle) pressed one to her admirer's hand after a nasty nick with a paper knife, and then stood at the window, sighing as she plucked at its embroidery. It may be that the 20th-century invention of the paper tissue spelt the death of old-fashioned romance. No hankies, no love affairs and no wonder the divorce rate is so high. But there's little real romance in Gentleman Jack. The way she's plotting to seduce Ann is downright predatory. If she were a man, she'd be a cad Despite its lurid reputation, there was very little hanky-panky either just a two-second flashback to a very raunchy bedroom scene, as fleeting as it was gratuitous. Suranne Jones plays the title character, a female landowner with the manners and sexual appetites of a man, and we're supposed to admire her for being so dashed unconventional. The problem is, she's also dashed unpleasant. The way she's plotting to seduce Ann is downright predatory. If she were a man, she'd be a cad liable to be blackballed by her club for the heartless way she treats women. And serve her right. She was in the South of France for the star studded Cannes Film Festival this past week. And not one to miss out on an adventure, Kris Jenner, 63, took to Instagram to share a peek at her life of luxury while traveling abroad on Sunday. The Keeping Up with the Kardashians matriarch shared a series of photos wearing a royal blue dress with a thigh-high slit as she enjoyed a night on Tommy Hilfiger's yacht with her boyfriend Corey Gamble. Bold and beautiful: Kris Jenner, 63, took to Instagram to share a peek at her life of luxury while traveling abroad on Sunday The momager paired her long-sleeve gown with sparkling silver kitten heels and dangly silver earrings. Jenner donned glittery baby blue eye shadow from the Kim x Mario palette, applied by celebrity makeup artist Ash K Holm. The mother-of-six was styled by celebrity fashion stylist Charlene E Roxborough Konsker. The Keeping Up with the Kardashians matriarch shared a series of photos wearing a royal blue dress with a thigh-high slit as she enjoyed a night on Tommy Hilfiger's yacht with her boyfriend Corey Gamble. Baby blue: Jenner donned baby blue eyeshadow from the Kim x Mario palette, applied by celebrity makeup artist Ash K Holm Sea vibe: Gamble opted for a relaxed look with a neutral colored ensemble Corey, 38, looked svelte in a neutral colored ensemble as he struck a pose on Hilfiger's grand yacht. The couple made sure to take a photo with their hosts, with Tommy rocking a black-and-white gingham suit. His glamorous wife Dee Ocleppo simply sparkled in a tea-length, black sequin strapless gown. Jenner simply captioned the set of photos 'Monaco nights' before tagging a host of contributors for her look on the water. All aboard! The couple made sure to take a photo with their hosts, with Tommy rocking a black-and-white gingham suit Glam: Ocleppo stunned in a strapless sequined gown, accessorizing with rhinestoned silver earrings, a ring and a watch Green light: 'Race day in Monaco!!' Kris Jenner captioned her photo as she relaxes on a yacht in Monaco on Sunday The group was back together again the next morning wearing vibrant ensembles, with Kris standing on in a bright pink Versace pantsuit. 'Race day in Monaco!!' the star captioned her photo and made sure to tag her fashionable friends. Dee looked lovely in a canary yellow jumpsuit while Tommy and Corey both opted for white slacks. Pretty in pink: The momager ensured all eyes would be on her at the star-studded sporting event as she donned a hot pink trouser suit Rose gold: Jenner's rosegold eye shadow and pink pout were applied by celebrity makeup artist Ash K Holm Bearded men, get your wax and comb at the ready. Charlize Theron says shes looking for someone with facial hair but if yours is on the patchy side, you might not stand a chance. The South African actress, 43, was describing her ideal suitor after she revealed last month she is shockingly available. Charlize Theron and Tom Hardy attend Mad Max red carpet in Cannes, France Charlize Theron, 43, with ex Sean Penn, who himself has often been seen with a somewhat patchy beard Following her 2015 split from actor Sean Penn, who himself has often been seen with a somewhat patchy beard, Miss Theron said she sidelined romance to concentrate on raising her two adopted children. I made a choice to be single. I was raising two small children and thats what I wanted to do, she told the Sun on Sunday. Now I have changed my mind and I will handle it. I want to have a good time. Speaking about her ideal man, she said: It depends on the guy. A man that can grow a good beard. I dont want guys who dont grow good beards to grow beards, like those patchy ones. Im not a fan of that. The actress, who stars alongside bearded Seth Rogen in romantic comedy The Long Shot, added: Im just looking for a good human. Queensland's education minister has joined the growing chorus of experts calling for an urgent review of online NAPLAN testing after a series of glitches resulted in some students having to resit exams. Grace Grace said the federal government should delay the 2020 full implementation of NAPLAN online until the ongoing technical issues had been fixed. "States were reassured by the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) that issues experienced with the online test in 2018 had been addressed, however we saw more issues this year," she said on Saturday. More than 1800 students in Queensland will have to take one or more of the tests again after experiencing connectivity issues with the online portal earlier this month. Schools in other states also experienced outages, with students in South Australia and Victoria worst affected. Ms Grace said student anxiety about the tests needed to be addressed, and that a full review of NAPLAN should also investigate reports from teachers that they felt pressured to tailor their teaching to the exams. US President Donald Trump wants Australia's role in sparking the 2016 FBI probe into potential links between his election campaign and Russia examined by US Attorney General William Barr. In a potentially explosive development for the historically rock solid US-Australian alliance, Trump has publicly named Australia for the first time while discussing what he calls the "Russia hoax" and "witch hunt". The move was denounced by some members of US Congress who predicted trust between the Five Eyes intelligence sharing nations - the US, Australia, UK, Canada and New Zealand - could be eroded. Trump said he has declassified potentially millions of pages of intelligence documents related to surveillance activities on his campaign and Mr Barr would have "full and complete authority" to examine them. "So what I've done is I've declassified everything," Trump told reporters at the White House on Friday before departing on a trip to Japan. "He can look and I hope he looks at the UK and I hope he looks at Australia and I hope he looks at Ukraine. "I hope he looks at everything, because there was a hoax that was perpetrated on our country." US Special Counsel Bob Mueller's report on links between the Trump campaign and Russia, pointed to a 2016 meeting between then Trump campaign aide George Papadopoulos and Australian high commissioner to the UK Alexander Downer in a London bar as prompting the FBI to open its Trump-Russia probe. The FBI probe led to Mueller being appointed as special counsel. Papadopoulos has claimed Downer spied on him during the bar meeting, a claim which Downer has rejected this. Downer did say Mr Papadopoulos told him at the bar Russia had damaging material on Trump's presidential rival Hillary Clinton. The information was forwarded to Canberra and then passed on to US intelligence services and the FBI. Papadopoulos denies telling Downer anything about Russia obtaining damaging information on Ms Clinton. Trump on Friday described the Russia probe as "an attempted coup or an attempted takedown of the president of the United States". Trump also said he might ask outgoing British Prime Minister Theresa May about "potential Five Eyes spying" on his campaign. "I may very well talk to her about that, yeah," Trump said. "There's word and rumour that the FBI and others were involved, CIA were involved, with the UK, having to do with the Russian hoax," Trump said. Jim Himes, a Democrat member of the House Intelligence Committee, said Trump was damaging alliances and potentially exposing confidential sources for his own political purposes. "What the UK and Australia and New Zealand see is because the president, in order to forward a political fantasy, may blow our sources and methods, put our people at risk," Himes told CNN. "This is a very dangerous thing for the United States. Papadopoulos was one of Mueller's first convictions, with the former aide pleading guilty to lying to the FBI. He was sentenced to 14 days' jail. Papadopoulos, Republican members of Congress and right-wing US media figures have been urging the president to declassify the documents. "It's the greatest hoax, probably, in the history of our country and somebody has to get to the bottom of it," Trump said. "We'll see. "But for a long period of time, they've wanted me to declassify and I did." An Adelaide man has died after being shot in the chest by police. The 20-year-old man was shot once after he allegedly threatened an officer with a large knife in the city's west on Saturday morning. Police were called to the Seaton property at about 9am with reports a man was threatening to self-harm. Soon after arriving, officers spotted a silver Mercedes leaving the house along Tapleys Hill Rd, resulting in a short pursuit. The male front seat passenger got out of the vehicle and threatened the lone officer with the knife, police allege. At the time of the incident, the 20-year-old had been travelling in the car with two women. The man was rushed to the Royal Adelaide Hospital in a critical condition but died later in the day. No other person was injured. The two women are assisting police with their investigation. Police assistant commissioner Scott Duval told reporters there would be a commissioner's inquiry into the incident. This is the second police shooting in South Australia in the past 10 days. On May 15, a 20-year-old man was shot multiple times by two officers in Adelaide's north. Police were called to the Ingle Farm home over an alleged domestic violence incident at about 2:30am. The man threatened the officers with a lit gas bottle and a knife. He was taken to the Royal Adelaide Hospital in non-life-threatening condition. The Australian economy may be slowing to the point where the Reserve Bank is being forced to cut the cash rate, but Finance Minister Mathias Cormann remains committed to delivering a surplus in the next financial year. The government's monthly financial statement released on Friday showed in the financial year to April the deficit was $4.9 billion, $1.9 billion lower than had been expected after 10 months of 2018/19 year. The budget released in April forecast a $4.2 billion for the full 2018/19 financial year before returning a $7.1 billion surplus in 2019/20, the first in a decade. "We continue to make progress in getting the budget back to surplus," Senator Cormann told reporters in Perth on Saturday. "If you look at our performance against budget over the last two financial years it has been materially better." He again turned his focus on the likely new Labor leader Anthony Albanese and his party, calling on them to abandon their opposition to the government's income tax plan, a key component of last month's budget. "The government will not be splitting our income tax plan," Senator Cormann said. "It is a holistic plan, it is a plan that will be put to the parliament in full as soon as all the votes have been counted and the writs have been issued." Mr Albanese has already said he "will consider" supporting the entire tax plan, after previously flagging support for only the initial stages. The opposition has previously indicated support for the first part of the plan geared toward low and middle-income earners, but not the government's aim to flatten the tax structure in 2022 and 2024 under the second and third stages of its plan. Daria Gavrilova will put a life-long friendship on hold when she begins her French Open assault against Aleksandra Krunic in Paris. The pair were born less than a year apart in Moscow, with Gavrilova now a proud Victorian and Krunic representing Serbia. Gavrilova will arrive in Paris with some unexpected silverware, after winning the Strasbourg International doubles on Saturday with compatriot Ellen Perez. Buzzing after the win, Gavrilova said her opening Roland Garros assignment - on Monday or Tuesday - would present a unique challenge. "I've known Krunic since we were little, we're really good friends and were actually having dinner in Rome, having a deep conversation and I said 'no we're going to play each other soon' and I jinxed it," the world No.63 said. "It's going to be tough; she is a tricky opponent and it's always tough playing a friend. "Some players actually lift their games and I think that's going to happen." After making the quarter-finals in the Strasbourg singles, Gavrilova's arrival in Paris has been delayed thanks to her charmed last-minute pairing with Perez. "It's the second time I've won a title as an alternate (doubles partner)," she said. "It was a last-minute decision, but I'm really happy. I think I've gotten better every day and am still improving. "It's a real positive and nice to go to Paris with a win." Women walk under a bridge in Tehran a day after US President Donald Trump said if Iran attacks American interests it will be destroyed Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Monday the "genocidal taunts" of US President Donald Trump will not "end Iran", as tensions spike between the two countries. "Iranians have stood tall for millennia while aggressors all gone. Economic terrorism and genocidal taunts won't 'end Iran'," Zarif wrote on Twitter. "Never threaten an Iranian. Try respect -- it works!" he added. The riposte by Iran's top diplomat follows an ominous warning by Trump, who on Sunday suggested the Islamic republic would be destroyed if it attacked US interests. "If Iran wants to fight, that will be the official end of Iran. Never threaten the United States again," Trump tweeted. Relations between Washington and Tehran plummeted a year ago when Trump pulled out of a landmark 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and imposed tough sanctions. Iranian officials have repeatedly slammed the unilateral US sanctions as "economic terrorism," saying that they have impeded the flow of essential goods. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has played down the prospect of a war in the region Tensions have risen further this month with Washington announcing more economic measures against Tehran, before deploying a carrier group and B-52 bombers to the Gulf over unspecified alleged Iranian "threats". The Trump administration last week ordered non-essential diplomatic staff out of Iraq, citing the danger posted by Iranian-backed Iraqi armed groups. On Sunday a rocket was fired into the Green Zone of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, which houses government offices and embassies including the US mission. It was not immediately clear who was behind the attack. While the US claim of Iranian "threats" has been met with widespread scepticism outside the United States, the mounting tensions have sparked growing international concern. "I would say to the Iranians, do not underestimate the resolve on the US side in the situation," British foreign minister Jeremy Hunt told reporters on Monday in Geneva. "They don't want a war with Iran, but if American interests are attacked they will retaliate," he added. Hunt said that Britain wanted "the situation to de-escalate" and urged Iran "to pull back from the destabilising activities it does throughout the region." - 'Goaded' into war - US media reports say Trump's hawkish national security advisor John Bolton is pushing for war with Iran, but others in the administration are resisting. US-Iranian relations have plummeted since Trump pulled out of a landmark 2015 nuclear deal and imposed tough sanctions Zarif's tweet said Trump is being "goaded by B Team," a term he coined to refer to Bolton as well as Israel's prime minister and the crown princes of Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates who are all pushing a hard line on Tehran. Before Trump's Twitter threat Zarif had downplayed the prospect of a new war in the region, saying Tehran opposed it and nobody was under the "illusion" the Islamic republic could be confronted. Iran is exercising "maximum restraint" in the face of an "unacceptable" escalation by the United States, Zarif said on Thursday. Tehran has threatened to gradually withdraw from the 2015 nuclear deal if partners still in the agreement -- Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia -- do not help it to circumvent US sanctions. A man reads newspaper headlines in the Iranian capital Tehran Saudi Arabia on Saturday called for emergency regional talks to discuss the mounting Gulf tensions. It came days after mysterious sabotage attacks on several tankers in highly sensitive Gulf waters and drone strikes on a Saudi crude pipeline by Yemen rebels who Riyadh claimed were acting on Iranian orders. Saudi Arabia's minister of state for foreign affairs, Adel al-Jubeir, said Sunday his country does not want to go to war with Iran but would defend itself. Saudi Arabia "does not want a war, is not looking for it and will do everything to prevent it," he said. "But at the same time, if the other side chooses war, the kingdom will respond with strength and determination to defend itself and its interests." Nagode said the two officers were hospitalized for anxiety related to the shooting and were expected to be released around midnight Sunday. Neither of them were hit by gunfire. Bonobo mothers play an outsized role in ensuring their sons have fruitful sex lives, according to a study in the journal Current Biology Bonobos, our altruistic, peaceful and lascivious primate relatives are known for their female-dominant societies, in contrast to more violent and patriarchal chimpanzees. What we didn't know, until now, was the outsized role bonobo mothers play in ensuring their sons have fruitful sex lives: from using their rank to ensure their male offspring get to meet attractive ovulating females, to interfering with male rivals' attempts to mate. The behavior was described in a study published Monday in the journal Current Biology, which found that bonobo males who had a mother living in their group were three times more likely to sire offspring than those without. "This is the first time that we can show the impact of the mother's presence on a very important male fitness trait, which is their fertility," Martin Surbeck, a primatologist at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, said in a statement. "We were surprised to see that the mothers have such a strong, direct influence on the number of grandchildren they get." For the study, Surbeck and colleagues observed wild bonobo populations in the Democratic Republic of Congo, as well as wild populations of chimpanzees in Ivory Coast, Tanzania, and Uganda. They found that both bonobo and chimpanzee mothers attempted to assist their sons, but bonobos were far more successful because their communities' highest ranks are dominated by females. Chimpanzee communities on the other hand are dominated by males who compete for alpha status. "The bonobo moms act a bit like social passports," Surbeck told AFP. "The sons, in close proximity to their moms, are also very central in the group and access positions in the group that allow them to interact more with other females including copulation." "If there's a female who's very attractive, you see moms stick around them, and in the shadow of their moms are the males," he added. By contrast, they found that if a mother lost her high rank, her son also fell in rank and was subsequently less successful in his mating attempts. Intriguingly, bonobo mothers did not go the extra mile for their daughters, nor did they help their daughters raise offspring. Surbeck's current hypothesis is that, since bonobo daughters leave the community and males remain behind, it may not be worth the mothers' time from an evolutionary perspective. One thing the team believes they now have evidence for is the so-called "grandmother hypothesis": that a post-reproductive female can continue her genes by ensuring her offspring's reproductive success. It is an idea that anthropologists have applied to humans and Surbeck believes it could also be the case for bonobo populations. "The interesting thing now is in bonobos we have such a mechanism, apparently allowing the females to do that, but intriguingly not through their daughters but their sons," he told AFP. For many, "freedom of speech is unconditional," as the placard says, and that includes for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange Does the indictment of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange under the US Espionage Act for publishing classified military and diplomatic documents threaten the constitutional right to freedom of the press? Many legal experts fear it does, and say journalists could find themselves facing similar charges if they try to protect their sources. "What he is accused of doing is exactly what professional journalists do every day -- seeking, receiving and publishing important information about our government," said Sonja West, a law professor at the University of Georgia. "When it comes to the Espionage Act, this is a line that press advocates have been closely watching, and the Trump administration just crossed it." Sixteen of the 17 new charges against the 47-year-old Australian unveiled Thursday by the US Justice Department are related to obtaining and disseminating classified information. The military documents and diplomatic cables were obtained by former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning, who was sentenced in 2013 under the Espionage Act to 35 years in prison over the leaks. In a bid to head off a stampede of criticism from press freedom groups, Assistant Attorney General John Demers said: "Julian Assange is no journalist." Ben Rhodes, a former senior official in the administration of Barack Obama, agrees. "This is not journalism," Rhodes said on his "Pod Save the World" podcast. "Julian Assange has essentially been operating at least in recent years as an extension of Russian intelligence. His motivation behind what he's doing is not transparency," he said. "It's on behalf of a very specific agenda." But others note that the events date back to 2010, long before the 2016 presidential election campaign, when WikiLeaks published documents about the Democratic Party obtained by Russian intelligence. "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 of the American Civil Liberties Union. "This is an extraordinary escalation of the Trump administration's attacks on journalism, and a direct assault on the First Amendment." - Bound for the Supreme Court? - For Floyd Abrams, a prominent constitutional law specialist, "the question, I think, should not be whether Assange is a journalist but whether the First Amendment protects his conduct." Indeed, the amendment is seen as the bedrock worldwide for the defense of media rights. "If Julian Assange is convicted... the concern is that there will be no meaningful principle to distinguish the rejection of the First Amendment argument for him from the application of the First Amendment defense to the mainstream media," explains Mary-Rose Papandrea, a professor at the University of North Carolina School of Law. "There actually isn't a very good way of defining who counts as a journalist these days," she said. Julian Assange -- seen here leaving a London court on May 1, 2019 -- has been charged with violating the US Espionage Act by publishing classified military and diplomatic files in 2010 "There never has been, but particularly with the internet, anybody can be a journalist, anybody can be a third party that receives information from a source." The indictment also raises questions about the precise scope of the Espionage Act, which was passed in 1917 -- shortly after the United States entered World War I -- to prevent leaks of confidential information during wartime. "What makes the indictment against Assange so concerning is that it exposes just how vulnerable journalists are under the Espionage Act," West said, saying the law is written "very broadly." The Obama administration targeted leaks from within the government like no White House before it, but did not indict any journalists under the law, and also elected not to file such charges against Assange. Before Obama took office, a handful of people, including at least one journalist, were charged with violating the Espionage Act for obtaining and publishing classified information, but each time, the cases were dropped. An editor has never been charged. Some say Assange would fall under that title at WikiLeaks. Papandrea says she believes the Assange case will end up in the US Supreme Court, which has yet to consider the constitutionality of the law. "If the US can prosecute a foreign publisher for violating our secrecy laws, there's nothing preventing China, or Russia, from doing the same," the ACLU's Wizner warned. US President Donald Trump says the Russia meddling investigation was a "hoax" President Donald Trump is defending his unprecedented decision to give his Justice Department chief unfettered access to the country's deepest foreign intelligence secrets amid an outcry from the spy community and a veiled warning from the US intelligence czar. The president said Attorney General Bill Barr needed unilateral power to declassify any top secret material to get to the roots of the 2016-2018 investigation into whether his election campaign colluded with Russia. Barr "will be able to see how this hoax, how the hoax or witch hunt started, and why it started," Trump said. "It was an attempted coup or an attempted takedown of the president of the United States. It should never ever happen to anybody else, so it's very important." But politicians and former intelligence community leaders said Trump and Barr are threatening to expose the country's most protected sources of secrets on Russia to mount a political attack on a legitimate investigation that exposed a serious threat to the United States. - Reopening the Russia meddling investigation - US President Donald Trump (L) and Attorney General William Barr (R) The brief order issued late Thursday tells the heads of each of the bodies of the intelligence community, including the CIA and National Security Agency, to support Barr in his review of what he has called suspected improper "spying" on Trump by the FBI and intelligence bodies. It also gives Barr the power to access and declassify any information he views necessary, which could extend to the top-secret sources of information that intelligence chiefs used to conclude that Russian President Vladimir Putin presided over a concerted effort to sway the election on Trump's behalf in 2016. The same information led to the investigation of Trump by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, whose final report in April detailed numerous acts of possible collusion, but concluded none amounted to criminal conspiracy. Critics said Trump and Barr, who has become one of the president's staunchest defenders, were playing fast and loose with intelligence for political reasons. "The president has granted sweeping declassification powers to an attorney general who has already shown that he has no problem selectively releasing information in order to mislead the American people," said Senator Mark Warner, the leading Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee. "People risk their lives to gather the intelligence material that President Trump and Attorney General Barr are so eager to politicize." - 'Really bad idea' - Former CIA deputy director John McLaughlin called for Congress to thwart the move. "Giving Barr declassification authority for this investigation is a really bad idea," he said on Twitter. "The agencies can cooperate but must retain their legal responsibility for protecting sources." Dan Coats, the Director of National Intelligence who oversees the various intelligence branches, stepped carefully, but also made clear that Barr should not play loose with the country's secrets. "I am confident that the Attorney General will work with the intelligence community in accordance with the long-established standards to protect highly-sensitive classified information that, if publicly released, would put our national security at risk," he said. - 'Dangerous abuse of power' - Barr himself has stunned law enforcement and intelligence officials with his willingness to question whether there was a genuine foundation for the investigation into Russian election meddling and into the many suspect contacts between the Trump campaign and Moscow. The investigation was launched in mid-2016 after campaign advisor George Papadopoulos told an Australian diplomat in London that Russians had offered dirt on Trump's Democratic rival Hillary Clinton. The subsequent investigation, which included authorized national security wiretaps, found a concerted effort by Russia to develop contacts, exchange information and negotiate deals, from a Trump real estate project in Moscow to the lifting of sanctions on Russia. Those acts and episodes have all been made public in detail in congressional testimony and Mueller's report. But Trump continues to insist that the investigation had no foundation and that the spying on his advisors was illegal, the product of a menacing "deep state." Former CIA officer Evan McMullin warned that Trump's move "is truly a dangerous abuse of power." "Barr will selectively release sensitive information, as he did with Mueller's report, to shape a favorable narrative for Trump and impede the intelligence community's ability to collect intel on foreign threats." Cyril Ramaphosa was sworn in for a five-year term as president of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa vowed a "new era" Saturday after he was sworn in as president of South Africa at a colourful ceremony in the capital, as he looks to revitalise his push to revive the economy and fight corruption. Foreign heads of state from more than 40 countries were among 36,000 people who witnessed the event replete with pomp, military honours and an airforce flyover at a rugby stadium in Pretoria. Ramaphosa, who became president last year through internal politics in his African National Congress (ANC) party and won a popular mandate in elections on May 8, faces an uphill battle to drive through reforms in a country suffering from chronic jobless rates, inequality, crime and endemic corruption. "A new era has dawned in our country. A brighter day is rising upon South Africa," said Ramaphosa, promising that the nation was beginning "a new era of hope and renewal". "This is a defining moment for a young nation like ours. It is a time for us to make the future that we yearn for," added the 66-year-old. The former trade unionist played a prominent part in the struggle to end white-minority rule -- at one point seen as a protege of Nelson Mandela -- before becoming a successful businessman and served as vice president to former president Jacob Zuma. Thousands attended the ceremony in Pretoria Ramaphosa vowed to root out corruption as he took power last year when the ANC forced scandal-plagued Zuma to resign after nine years in office. On Saturday he pledged "to build the South Africa that we all want and deserve. "Let us forge a compact for an efficient, capable and ethical state, a state that is free from corruption." Ramaphosa faces a herculean task to tackle the country's many problems -- from a sickly economy, in which more than a quarter of the workforce is jobless, to land ownership that remains overwhelmingly in the hands of whites. Many solutions will require him to inch his way along a high wire, balancing leftwing calls for radical change with investors' demands for caution. Corruption scandals and the country's economic struggles have also dented the support for the ANC. The party won 57.5 percent of the vote on May 8, its weakest result since apartheid was overturned 25 years ago. - Cabinet tensions - Main opposition Democratic Alliance leader Mmusi Maimane said he wanted to work with Ramaphosa to improve the lives of South Africans. Traditional dancers were part of the celebrations "Today is a historic day in South Africa, the people of this country... have spoken, now the job that we have to make sure we do is build the reforms. "I will work with the president when he supports the people of this country but when he puts the ANC first I will not be there," Maimane told reporters. The South African government spent 120 million rand ($8.3 million) for Ramaphosa's inauguration ceremny Ramaphosa's first test will be choosing a cabinet -- a task beset by rival factions within the ANC. He is expected to name his new team within days, but the choice of vice president hangs in the balance after deputy David Mabuza said Wednesday he would defer taking his seat in parliament. An ANC integrity commission report has alleged that Mabuza -- the party's No. 2 -- "prejudiced the integrity of the ANC and brought the organisation into disrepute". Maimane called for a smaller cabinet and "not to have criminals in it". - Zuma a no-show - Breaking with tradition Ramaphosa's swearing-in ceremony was moved from the amphitheatre of the Union Buildings -- the seat of government, where Mandela was inaugurated as the country's first black president in 1994. Ramaphosa faces an uphill challenge in his reform programme All other leaders after Mandela have taken their oaths at the Union Buildings, whose grounds can accommodate only up to 4,500 people. But this year the event was moved to the 52,000-seater Loftus Versfeld stadium to allow more people to attend. Foreign leaders present included Rwandan President Paul Kagame and the Democratic Republic of Congo's new leader Felix Tshisekedi. Land ownership is one of South Africa's most emotive issues All of the country's living former presidents were at the ceremony except for Zuma, who on Friday attended a court hearing on corruption charges in the southeastern city of Pietermaritzburg. He told supporters afterwards he was too busy to go to Pretoria for Ramaphosa's inauguration. "There is no time. I am fighting to stay out of jail," Zuma said. More than 2,500 police were deployed for security, while a battalion of soldiers performed ceremonial parades inside the stadium. The airforce put a spectacular aerobatics display overhead. Factfile on South Africa Newly-elected South African President Cyril Ramaphosa faces herculean tasks after he gets down to work after Saturday's inauguration. They include: - Fixing the economy - South Africa has the most advanced infrastructure in the continent, but its commodities-dependent economy has been in a slump for a decade. It grew by an anaemic 0.8 percent last year and slipped into a brief recession during the third quarter of 2018. It is projected by the World Bank to expand by 1.3 percent this year. Unemployment is running at 27.6 percent, but among the 20.3 million South Africans aged between 15-34 reaches 55.2 percent. In 2017, two of the world's leading ratings agencies S&P Global and Fitch downgraded the country to sub-investment levels. Ramaphosa, who enjoys support from the business community, has prioritised reform and economic revival. But he faces resistance from within his own party. - Addressing inequalities - With a population of 56.7 million people (2017), the country still has "one of the highest inequality rates in the world," the World Bank says. The gulf between richest and poorest has widened since the end of apartheid 25 years ago, and skin colour still plays a defining role in job hiring. Despite the emergence of a black middle class, 20 percent of black households live in extreme poverty, against 2.9 percent for white households, according to the South African Institute of Race Relations. Between 2011 and 2015, three million more South Africans fell into poverty, according to a World Bank estimate. - Tackling graft - One of the biggest sources of public acrimony is over endemic corruption. Graft scandals last year forced out Ramaphosa's predecessor, Jacob Zuma, and taint the moral stature of Nelson's Mandela's African National Congress (ANC). Alleged corruption under Zuma -- known as "state capture" -- saw millions of dollars siphoned off through government and state agencies awarding fraudulent contracts to favoured companies in return for bribes. Zuma himself is facing trial for alleged corruption relating to a multi-billion-dollar arms deal in the 1990s. Ramaphosa in February announced he would set up a special tribunal of seven senior judges for "fast-tracking" recovery of proceeds from corruption cases. - Fighting crime - South Africa has a notorious reputation for crime. Last year, 19,000 people were murdered -- 52 per day, according to official figures. Women are especially vulnerable. Around 100 rapes are recorded each day and a woman dies from domestic violence roughly every eight hours. The country's crisis of gender-based violence gained worldwide prominence in March after after pop-star Babes Wodumo broadcast live images of her apparently being assaulted by her lover. Violence and theft have spawned a lucrative home-security industry. Wealthy people live in fortified homes with high walls topped with electrical wires, CCTV monitoring and armed guards. - Land reform - Ramaphosa faces a high-wire act in pushing ahead with his vow to speed up reforms of land, which remains overwhelmingly in the hands of the white minority. He has to balance pressure from the ANC's left and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) for expropriation with the need to avoid Zimbabwean-style evictions that would be economically ruinous. "The land reform process is something we should never fear. It is going to be done in terms of the constitution," he told farmers in April. South Africa's post-apartheid constitution prohibits the "arbitrary deprivation of property" and limits expropriation to cases in the public interest, for which landholders should be given "just and equitable compensation." "Ramaphosa will have to make some very hard decisions on this matter," political analyst Daniel Silke says. "He is going to have to choose whether he wants to be investor-friendly or whether he wants the interests of his own political party... to win out." The United States says it is sending 1,500 additional troops to the Middle East to join an aircraft carrier task force and an amphibious assault ship in response to what it calls a "campaign" of attacks approved by Iran's top leadership Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Saturday a US decision to deploy 1,500 additional troops to the Middle East is a "threat to international peace," state media reported. "Increased US presence in our region is very dangerous and a threat to international peace and security and must be confronted," Zarif told the official IRNA news agency before heading home from a visit to Pakistan. Washington says the reinforcements, which come after the deployment earlier this month of an aircraft carrier task force, B-52 bombers, an amphibious assault ship and a missile defence system, are in response to a "campaign" of recent attacks approved by Iran's top leadership. Those include a rocket launched into the Green Zone in Baghdad, explosive devices that damaged four tankers near the entrance to the Gulf, and a drone attack by Yemeni rebels on a key Saudi oil pipeline. Iran has denied involvement in any of the attacks. "Americans make such claims to justify their hostile policies and to create tension in the Persian Gulf," Zarif said. The United States this month ended the last exemptions it had granted from sweeping unilateral sanctions it reimposed after abandoning a landmark 2015 nuclear between major powers and Iran in May last year. The move dealt a heavy new blow to Iran's already reeling economy as even vocal critics of the renewed sanctions, like Turkey, announced they had stopped buying Iranian oil. Iran has appealed repeatedly to the other parties to the 2015 nuclear deal -- Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia -- to rescue it from renewed US sanctions, so far to little avail. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has pleaded repeatedly with the other parties to the 2015 nuclear deal for concrete action to rescue it from renewed US sanctions -- so far to little avail Britain, France and Germany launched a special payment system, called INSTEX -- the Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges -- in late January to enable Iran to keep trading with European companies. But in March Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei dismissed the mechanism as a "bitter joke". - Brinkmanship fears - Earlier this month, on the first anniversary of Washington's withdrawal from the agreement, Tehran announced it was rolling back some of the limits on its nuclear activities it had agreed under the deal. It threatened to suspend more if there was no action from the major powers within 60 days on honouring their own commitments to sanctions relief. The European powers denounced Iran's threat to resume nuclear work but urged the US not to further escalate tensions with a military build-up. The successive US deployments have raised concerns, even among governments close to Washington, that brinkmanship with Tehran could lead to a dangerous miscalculation. The Gulf sultanate of Oman, which has acted as a broker between Iran and the United States in the past, said it was trying reduce tensions, following a visit to Tehran this week by state minister for foreign affairs Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah. On Tuesday, Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi announced that he was sending delegations to the US and Iran in an attempt to ease tensions between the two countries, which are both key Baghdad allies. Tehran has refused to hold talks with Washington "under any circumstances" if the rights of the Islamic republic are not respected. "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," Supreme National Security Council spokesman Keyvan Khosravi said on Thursday. Congress party barons at the meeting, including Rahul Gandhi's mother Sonia, reportedly urged him to continue Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi, scion of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty, offered to resign Saturday after his Congress party was trounced in a second straight national election but the gesture was rejected, party officials said. While Prime Minister Narendra Modi triumphantly accepted pledges of allegiance from members of allied parties after his second landslide win, Congress leaders licked their wounds at a special meeting in New Delhi. "Party President Rahul Gandhi offered his resignation but it was unanimously rejected by the members of Congress Working Commission," Randeep Surjewala, a party spokesman, told reporters. Gandhi led the party campaign against Modi's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) but managed only 52 seats, barely more than the historic low of 44 in the 2014 election. The BJP increased its majority, taking 303 of the 543 elected seats announced Friday, up from 282. "In a democracy wins and losses keep happening but providing leadership is a different matter. He gave leadership," senior Congress member Ghulam Nabi Azad told reporters after the meeting. Azad said party barons at the meeting, including Gandhi's mother Sonia and former prime minister Manmohan Singh, urged Rahul Gandhi to continue. Gandhi led the Congress campaign in the 2014 defeat before taking over from his mother as party president in 2017. The 48-year-old lost his constituency in Amethi, Uttar Pradesh, that has been a family bastion for decades. He was allowed to contest a second seat however and won in southern India. Experts outside Congress have strongly criticised his display against Modi, who mocked the opposition leader as a spoiled member of the family dynasty that has dominated Indian politics since independence in 1947, providing three prime ministers. Modi was unanimously elected head of his BJP-led alliance in a special ceremonial meeting at parliament. He is to be sworn in for a new term this week. In West Bengal state, where Modi's BJP took seats from the regional Trinamool Congress party, supporters of the two sides fought battles that left one dead, officials said. Paramilitary forces boosted security on Saturday because of the violence. The BJP said a 23-year-old party worker was shot dead by Trinamool activists late Friday at Chakda, north of the regional capital Kolkata. The rival party denied any involvement. The man's family said he was shot in a field near his home. Clashes between BJP and Trinamool activists were also reported in three other districts. Lebanon hosts almost one million Syrian refugees, a significant burden for a country that had 4.5 million inhabitants before the Syrian civil war erupted in 2011. Lebanese security forces on Saturday denied accusations by rights groups that they had coerced Syrians who had landed at Beirut airport into signing forms to return to their war-torn country. Human Rights Watch and four other groups Friday accused Lebanon of "summarily deporting" at least 16 Syrians on April 26, after forcing them to sign "voluntary repatriation forms". Most of them had been sent back to Lebanon after they were barred from entering northern Cyprus via Turkey, quashing their plans to seek asylum, HRW said. But Lebanon's General Security agency "categorically denies it forced any Syrian to sign any form", it said in a statement carried by state-run news agency NNA on Saturday. "Any Syrian who arrives in Lebanon and does not meet entry requirements, and... wants to go to Syria because they do not wish to remain in their country of residence for a number of reasons, signs a declaration of responsibility for choosing to return voluntarily," it said. Lebanon hosts almost one million Syrian refugees, a significant burden for a country that had 4.5 million inhabitants before the Syrian civil war erupted in 2011. The latest deportees said they were "pressured" by General Security officers at the airport, the rights group said. Around 30 Syrians have been deported from Beirut airport this year by the General Security agency, the rights group said, citing local refugee organisations. General Security estimates that over 170,000 Syrians returned home from Lebanon between December 2017 and March 2019. The conflict has wound down in Syria, after a string of victories by the regime and its Russian ally since 2015, but the United Nations has stressed all returns should be voluntary. The rights groups say some 74 percent of Syrians in Lebanon lack legal residency and are at risk of detention. Local media in Lebanon have reported that the Supreme Defence Council, whose decisions are not made public, recently instructed General Security to deport all Syrians who have entered the country illegally. The official NNA news agency, quoting a "security report", said Friday that Lebanese authorities had deported 301 Syrians between May 7 and May 20. Syria's war has killed more than 370,000 people and displaced millions inside the country and abroad. The war was triggered in March 2011 by a violent crackdown on anti-government demonstrations. New Mexico State Senator John Pinto, who served as a Navajo code talker during World War II, has died at age 94, his party announced John Pinto, a Navajo code talker during World War II who went on to a long career as a Democratic state lawmaker in New Mexico, has died at age 94, his party announced. Pinto was the longest-serving senator in the state, having been first elected in 1977 and remaining in office until his death on Friday, the New Mexico Senate Democrats said. "This is an extraordinary loss to Senator Pinto's family, the state of New Mexico, the country and anyone who knew and loved him," state Senate majority leader Peter Wirth said in a statement. Pinto was born in December 1924 to a family of Navajo shepherds and grew up in Arizona and New Mexico, the Senate statement said. During World War II, he served in the Marine Corps as a code talker -- the native Americans recruited to relay battlefield communications in a spoken code based on their tribal language, which the Germans and Japanese never cracked. Some 400 Navajo took part in the project, along with members of several other tribes. None of the original 29 code talkers who invented the language are still alive. The last, Chester Nez, died in 2014. "The debt we owe for that service, and the service of all Code Talkers, can never be repaid," New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham said in a statement. Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez hailed Pinto as a "great Dine warrior" who "dedicated his life to helping others." Grisham ordered all state flags to fly at half-staff in Pinto's honor. The huge dome built over top of a crater left by one of the nuclear nuclear tests over Runit Island in Enewetak in the Marshall Islands As nuclear explosions go, the US "Cactus" bomb test in May 1958 was relatively small -- but it has left a lasting legacy for the Marshall Islands in a dome-shaped radioactive dump. The dome -- described by a UN chief Antonio Guterres as "a kind of coffin" -- was built two decades after the blast in the Pacific ocean region. The US military filled the bomb crater on Runit island with radioactive waste, capped it with concrete, and told displaced residents of the Pacific's remote Enewetak atoll they could safely return home. But Runit's 45-centimetre (18-inch) thick concrete dome has now developed cracks. And because the 115-metre wide crater was never lined, there are fears radioactive contaminants are leaching through the island's porous coral rock into the ocean. Cold War-era nuclear dome in the Pacific The concerns have intensified amid climate change. Rising seas, encroaching on the low-lying nation, are threatening to undermine the dome's structural integrity. Jack Ading, who represents the area in the Marshalls' parliament, calls the dome a "monstrosity". "It is stuffed with radioactive contaminants that include plutonium-239, one of the most toxic substances known to man," he told AFP. "The coffin is leaking its poison into the surrounding environment. And to make matters even worse, we're told not to worry about this leakage because the radioactivity outside of the dome is at least as bad as the radioactivity inside of it." - 'Staggering' challenges - The dome has become a symbol of the mess left by the US nuclear test programme in the Marshall islands when 67 bombs were detonated between 1947-58 at Enewetak and Bikini atolls. Thousands of Marshall Islanders, amid continued nuclear tests in the region the 1950s, fled or were forcibly evacuated Numerous islanders were forcibly evacuated from ancestral lands and resettled, including Enewetak's residents. Thousands more islanders were exposed to radioactive fallout and suffered health problems. The people of Enewetak were allowed home in 1980, and about 800 islanders now live in the southern part of the atoll, 20 kilometres (12 miles) from Runit. After the US military withdrew, the Marshall Islands government officially accepted a "full and final" settlement to cover the impact of the nuclear tests. But there have long been complaints that the compensation paid by Washington was inadequate, and the United Nations has described "a legacy of distrust" towards the United States. UN Secretary General Guterres raised the issue earlier this month after meeting Marshall Islands President Hilda Heine in Fiji, when they discussed the nuclear legacy and the prospect of radioactive leakage from Runit dome. Marshall Islands' President Hilda Heine has discussed the legacy left from the nuclear detonations, and the prospect of radioactive leakage "The Pacific was victimised in the past as we all know... the consequences of these have been quite dramatic, in relation to health, in relation to the poisoning of waters in some areas," he said. Marshalls Foreign Minister John Silk said he appreciated Guterres bringing the Runit dome to world attention with this comments. "We are pleased that the Secretary General made these statements, since so often it seems that these ongoing legacy issues that continue to impact our people are forgotten by the international community," he said. - Uncertain future - Rhea Moss-Christian, who chairs the Marshall Islands National Nuclear Commission, said the country "needs the support of the international community to address the staggering health and environmental challenges across the Pacific." The consequences of the dome failing are unclear. A 2013 inspection commissioned by the US government suggested radioactive fallout in the Enewetak lagoon sediment was already so high a catastrophic failure would not necessarily result in locals receiving increased dosages of radiation. Silk, noting that the US government had committed to ongoing monitoring of the dome, said an independent assessment of the structure's status "would be helpful". But Ading said the situation was "a constant source of anxiety for the people of Enewetak". "We pray that the Runit dome does not eventually become our coffin," he said. About 12:55 a.m., police were called to the 2300 block of South California Avenue in the Little Village neighborhood, officials said. A 23-year-old said he was on foot when two people started chasing him and shooting at him. He was struck in the chest and the back, though it was unclear whether that was two gunshots or one, creating both entrance and exit wounds, according to preliminary reports. The man, who was known to police, was taken by friends to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was listed in critical condition. The gunman or gunmen fled on foot, the man told investigators. No arrests have been made. Prem Tinsulanonda was hailed as a stabilising force by allies but loathed by critics as a conservative underminer of democracy in the kingdom Former prime minister and close advisor to Thailand's revered royals Prem Tinsulanonda died early Sunday aged 98, a senior parliamentarian said, ending a decades-long career of unrivalled influence over Thai politics. Hailed as a stabilising force by allies but loathed by critics as a conservative underminer of democracy in the kingdom, Prem was a top aide to the late beloved King Bhumibol Adulyadej and helped cement the unshakeable bond between the monarchy and the military. Prem "passed away this morning around 9 o'clock", interim house speaker Chai Chidchob told MPs on the third day of Thailand's new parliament. "I would like to ask everyone to stand for a moment in memorial." The cause of death was heart failure, the royal household bureau said in a statement. As Privy Council president, Prem's influence endured through a tense succession period after Bhumibol died in 2016, and he was briefly appointed regent before Bhumibol's son Maha Vajiralongkorn ascended the throne. Prem presided over the king's surprise wedding to Queen Suthida days before his coronation earlier this month. With assistants helping him stand, he also took part in a key sacred water ritual on coronation day alongside 2014 coup leader and junta chief Prayut-Chan-O. Late Sunday the newly crowned Vajiralongkorn expressed "sorrow" at Prem's death, adding he had "worked with loyalty" in his many positions over the years, the royal household bureau said. The participation highlighted his legacy of cementing the army's self-designated role as protector of the royals. The general helped establish the all-powerful "monarchised military" seen in Thailand today, according to Paul Chambers, lecturer at Naresuan University in Thailand. "Prem proved time and again that his savvy acumen could prevent or facilitate army coups that helped the palace," Chambers told AFP. Born in southern Songkhla province in 1920, 12 years before Thailand's absolute monarchy was abolished, Prem experienced most of modern Thai history. He graduated from the country's top military academy in 1941, showcasing his talent on the frontline by fighting the French in Cambodia and later the British in Burma. He was a key figure in the kingdom's battle against communists in its northern provinces and was rewarded with the top job of army chief in 1978. But the ambitious commander only held the position for two years before seizing power in what was widely viewed as a silent coup. His 1980-1988 rule as premier brought a rare period of political and economic stability to Thailand thanks to his patronage of military officers but most importantly through the trust he forged with Bhumibol. The bachelor general cultivated loyalty in the military despite two counter-coup attempts. He helped instigate three coups including the one in 2014, according to Chambers, while indirectly assisting in the ouster of four other governments. Prem was credited by some for opening up some space for democratic politics when he eventually stepped down for an elected premier to take office. But when he was soon after appointed member and later president of the super-elite Privy Council, an inner circle of advisers to the king, Prem became a figure of revulsion in Thailand's pro-democracy camp. Anger over his influence boiled over after the 2006 coup that ousted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra when his supporters accused Prem of masterminding the putsch. In a symbolic meeting several months after the May 2014 coup, Thailand's junta chief Prayut visited Prem at his home in a widely photographed trip. Prem leaves Thailand amid ongoing political tensions as a junta-backed party fronted by Prayut closes in on the premiership after March elections widely seen as tilted in military's favour. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said "every effort" would be made to maintain an impartial stance in Yemen peace efforts UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has assured Yemen's leader that the world body will remain impartial in efforts to resolve the country's conflict, rejecting accusations that its envoy was siding with rebels. The pledge came in a letter from Guterres to President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, who had accused the UN special envoy to Yemen of bias. "I would like to assure you that every effort will be made to maintain the impartial stance that is expected of the United Nations," while implementing a ceasefire agreement, Guterres said in the letter seen by AFP on Sunday. In his own letter addressed to Guterres, Hadi accused envoy Martin Griffiths of "providing the Huthi militia with guarantees to stay in Hodeida and its ports under the umbrella of the UN". "I can no longer accept these offences by your special envoy which threaten chances to find a (lasting) solution," Hadi said. Hodeida is the main entry point for the bulk of Yemen's imports and humanitarian aid, providing a lifeline to millions of people. Earlier this month, the United Nations supervised the rebels' handover of the ports of Hodeida, Saleef and Ras Issa to a "coast guard", but the government said they were in fact Huthi forces in different uniforms. The pullback is in line with a ceasefire deal for Hodeida reached in Stockholm in December. Guterres said that he and Griffiths were prepared "to discuss the legitimate concerns of the government of Yemen referenced in your letter, which we take very seriously." He also gave an assurance that the United Nations had no plans to set up an international administration in Hodeida. The UN humanitarian coordinator in Yemen, Lise Grande, on Sunday condemned a deadly strike on a petrol station east of the city of Taez. The attack on Friday killed 12 civilians, seven of them children, she said, updating an earlier death toll. "Innocent lives continue to be lost in Yemen because of this conflict," she said in a statement, without identifying the assailants. Huthi rebels said it was an air strike by the Saudi-led military coalition. Government forces -- backed by the coalition -- and the Iran-aligned Huthi rebels have been locked in a four-year war that has pushed the country to the brink of famine. Tens of thousands of people, mostly civilians, have been killed. The conflict has triggered what the UN describes as the world's worst humanitarian crisis with more than two-thirds of the population in need of aid. Captagon pills, such as these ones seized by Syrian authorities in 2016, have been widely used by fighters in Syria's civil war Lebanon has arrested a Saudi man at Beirut airport carrying about 10 kilograms of the amphetamine-like drug captagon, said authorities cited in local media. "The airport's security service, in coordination with the army intelligence directorate, arrested... Saudi citizen H. al-Ruwayli as he was leaving the airport with about 10 kilos of captagon," the NNA state news agency said. It did not say whether he was arriving in or leaving Lebanon, and security services were not immediately available for comment. Captagon is an amphetamine manufactured in Lebanon and probably also in Syria and Iraq, mainly for consumption in Saudi Arabia, according to the French Observatory for Drugs and Drug Addiction (OFDT). It is also one of the most commonly used drugs in the Syrian war, where fighters say it helps them stay awake for days and numbs their senses, giving them stamina for long battles and allowing them to kill with abandon. Lebanon has previously stopped several shipments of the drug to Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia. In April, Lebanese police seized more than 800,000 captagon pills they said were worth more than $12 million, in an operation coordinated with Saudi authorities. In July last year, at least eight people involved in drug trafficking were killed and about 40 arrested in an exchange of fire with soldiers during an operation in eastern Lebanon, the army said. In one of the country's largest busts, Lebanon arrested a Saudi prince and four other Saudi nationals in October 2015 for attempting to smuggle out nearly two tonnes of captagon via Beirut's airport. BOKOSHE, Okla. (AP) - Susan Holmes' home, corner store and roadside beef jerky stand are right off Oklahoma Highway 31, putting them in the path of trucks hauling ash and waste from a power plant that burns the high-sulfur coal mined near this small town. For years, when Bokoshe residents were outside, the powdery ash blowing from the trucks and the ash dump on the edge of town would "kind of engulf you," Holmes said. "They drove by, and you just couldn't breathe." Over three decades, the ash dump grew into a hill five stories high. Townspeople regard the Environmental Protection Agency as the only source of serious environmental enforcement. Whenever people took their worries about ash-contaminated air and water to state lawmakers and regulators, "none of them cared," Holmes said. So the residents of this 500-person town have nothing but bitter warnings for similarly situated communities now that President Donald Trump's EPA has approved Oklahoma to be the first state to take over permitting and enforcement on coal-ash sites. "They're going to do absolutely nothing," predicted Tim Tanksley, a rancher in Bokoshe, about 130 miles southeast of Tulsa in a Choctaw Nation coal patch that helped fuel the railroads. Around the country, the EPA under Trump is delegating a widening range of public health and environmental enforcement to states, saying local officials know best how to deal with local problems. Critics contend federal regulators are making a dangerous retreat on enforcement that puts people and the environment at greater risk. In this April 8, 2019, photo, Tim Tanksley, who has been fighting for years trying to convince Oklahoma lawmakers to crack down on the coal ash dumping, stands outside a dump site in Bokoshe, Okla. President Donald Trump's EPA has approved Oklahoma to be the first state to take over permitting and enforcement on coal-ash sites. "They're going to do absolutely nothing," Tanksley said. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki) One administration initiative would give states more authority over emissions from coal-fired power plants. Another would remove federal protections for millions of miles of waterways and wetlands. Some states and counties say the EPA is also failing to act against threats from industrial polluters, including growing water contamination from a widely used class of nonstick industrial compounds. Michigan, New Jersey and some other states say they are tackling EPA-size challenges - like setting limits for the contaminants in drinking water - while appealing to the real EPA to act. In Houston's oil and gas hub, local officials and residents say a lax EPA response to toxic spills during Hurricane Harvey left the public in the dark about health threats and handicapped efforts to hold companies responsible for cleaning up. Nationwide, EPA inspections, evaluations and enforcement actions have fallen sharply over the past two years, some to the lowest points in decades, or in history. The agency says environmental enforcers remain on the job despite the plunging enforcement numbers. "There has been no retreat from working with states, communities and regulated entities to ensure compliance with our environmental laws," said George Hull, the agency's enforcement spokesman. "Through our deregulatory actions, the Trump administration has proven that burdensome federal regulations are not necessary to drive environmental progress," EPA Director Andrew Wheeler, a former coal lobbyist, told lawmakers earlier this year. Past EPA officials accuse the Trump administration of pulling back on enforcement of polluters and turning back the clock to a dirtier, more dangerous time. "The reason that the ultimate authority to enforce the law was put into federal hands was because the states weren't any good at it," William Ruckelshaus said. Now 86, Ruckelshaus served as the first administrator of the EPA in 1970, when President Richard Nixon created the agency amid a wave of public anger over contaminated air and water. The previous year, the pollutant-slicked surface of Ohio's Cuyahoga River caught fire for only the latest time, sending smoke billowing in downtown Cleveland. Then and now, some states lack the resources and legal authority to police big polluters. And crucially, Ruckelshaus said, some states just don't want to. They see routine environmental enforcement as a threat to business and jobs. "The idea that you're going to delegate it to the states ... is completely fraudulent," Ruckelshaus said in an interview. Congressional Democrats allege Trump is selective in his passion for state sovereignty and has blocked states that want tighter environmental enforcement. They point to the president's call to revoke California's authority under the Clean Air Act to set tougher mileage standards than those Trump wants, among other examples. Oklahoma acquired permitting and oversight authority over a half-dozen coal-ash dumps and ponds last year under then-EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, a former Oklahoma attorney general. Pruitt left the agency amid ethics probes last year, and now lobbies for coal. Georgia has also applied to manage its coal-ash dumps and ponds. The EPA says it is talking with other interested states but declined to identify them. Risks from coal-ash sites jumped to national attention in 2008, when a dike broke at a Tennessee coal ash pond, releasing 1 billion gallons of toxic sludge. Coal ash - the gunk left after pollution equipment captures the worst of the toxic soot that once poured out of power plant smokestacks - contains heavy metals and carcinogens, including lead, mercury, arsenic and radium. The tiny particles can seep into the lungs and blood system. U.S. coal plants generate about 100 million tons of ash annually. An Associated Press analysis of data released by utilities last year showed widespread evidence of groundwater contamination around coal plants nationwide. In Oklahoma, groundwater testing at some of the ash sites shows contaminants at levels above what the government deems safe, according to Earthjustice and other environmental groups that are suing to reverse EPA's transfer of permitting and oversight. Patrick Riley, the state Department of Environmental Quality official in charge of Oklahoma's coal-ash program, said the half-dozen sites will be brought up to federal standards. That includes moving some, Riley said. The boom-and-bust cycles of the oil and gas fields govern Oklahoma's economy. But state officials also try to support the state's flagging coal industry, including giving what a state task force said are the highest subsidies in the U.S. to the few companies that mine and burn Oklahoma's high-sulfur coal. The coal-fired power plant that produces the ash dumped at Bokoshe has been one of the main beneficiaries. The Bokoshe coal-ash dump was opened at an unlined former coal mine pit by a local outfit that was initially called Making Money Having Fun LLC, until complaints from townspeople made the ash dump notorious. Laws designed to encourage rehabilitation of old coal pits meant the Bokoshe site was classified as a reclamation project and not an ash dump. That's even though the coal ash long ago filled the pit and now stands more than 50 feet high over several acres. Fearing what the ash was doing to their air and water, the ranchers, teachers and shopkeepers of Bokoshe appealed for years for government action. During Barack Obama's first term as president, residents went to the state capital in Oklahoma City and to Washington, D.C. Holmes herself thrust a record of the town's complaints into the hands of the EPA's then-administrator. Television correspondent Diane Sawyer put the tiny eastern Oklahoma town on the network news. TV crews took photos of all the asthma inhalers stashed in the lockers of Bokoshe schoolkids. Almost a decade later, the only time excitement enters Tanksley's voice is when the cattle rancher recalls the day the EPA acted. Tanksley stood next to an EPA staffer that day as the man gathered beakers of runoff from the site for testing. In 2010, the EPA cited the dump for toxic discharges in violation of the federal Clean Water Act. That led the state to stop the dump from accepting hazardous wastewater from oilfield operations. The dumping of ash continued, but state regulators required the operators to do more to contain the billowing ash. Townspeople say they have little hope left for more state or federal help for Bokoshe. They have none to offer communities in similar fights. "I did a lot," Holmes said. "But it never did much good." In this April 8, 2019, photo, the entrance to the coal-waste dump site is padlocked in Bokoshe, Okla. President Donald Trump's EPA has approved Oklahoma to be the first state to take over permitting and enforcement on coal-ash sites. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki) This April 8, 2019, photo, shows a coal-waste dump site in Bokoshe, Okla. Residents of Bokoshe have been worried for years about coal-ash contamination. Now the Environmental Protection Agency has approved Oklahoma to be the first state to take over enforcement on coal-ash sites. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki) CAIRO (AP) - In April 2015, President Omar al-Bashir traveled to the heart of Sudan's conflict-ravaged Darfur region to congratulate one of his hand-picked commanders on a recent victory over rebels. Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, better known as Hemedti, had led the so-called Rapid Support Forces on a series of counterinsurgency campaigns in Darfur and other restive provinces. The paramilitary force grew out of the notorious Janjaweed militias, and rights groups say forces under his command used many of the militias' brutal tactics. "I signed the list of promotions that I received from you without even looking at it," al-Bashir told a cheering crowd, addressing Dagalo, as he stood atop a Land Cruiser in the sweltering heat, according to a contemporary account of the rally. Four years later, al-Bashir is imprisoned in the capital, Khartoum, and Hemedti, who comes from a camel-trading family in a remote province, is the second most powerful man in Sudan. He is the deputy head of the military council that assumed power after removing al-Bashir from office in April, following four months of mass protests. At 44, he is also the youngest member of the council. He says he refused orders from al-Bashir to fire on the protesters, and he praised them as recently as last weekend, saying "we want the democracy they are talking about." Many see him as an ally against the Islamic movement that orchestrated al-Bashir's 1989 coup and underpinned his regime. Hemedti has supplied ground forces to the Saudi-led coalition fighting Iran-aligned rebels in Yemen and can count on the support of the Saudis, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, which also hope to sideline the Islamists. In this Saturday, May 18, 2019 photo, Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, better known as Hemedti, the deputy head of the military council that assumed power in Sudan after the overthrow of President Omar al-Bashir, speaks to journalists in Khartoum, Sudan. At 44, he is the youngest member of the council. He says he refused orders from al-Bashir to fire on the protesters, and he praised them as recently as last weekend. (AP Photo) But his meteoric rise is closely linked to the ongoing conflict in his native Darfur, where his forces are accused of continuing the scorched-earth campaign against rebels that al-Bashir launched in 2003, and for which the president was indicted for war crimes and genocide by the International Criminal Court. Hemedti, who declined AP requests for an interview, has not been implicated in the atrocities carried out in Darfur in 2003 and 2004, when the government-backed Janjaweed rampaged across the region, torching villages and killing and raping ethnic Africans. Some 300,000 people were killed and 2.7 million were forcibly displaced in the early years of the conflict, before the violence gradually declined. ___ DARFUR ABUSES In an interview with documentary filmmakers in 2008, Hemedti said al-Bashir had personally asked him to lead the campaign against the insurgency in Darfur, but he denied any involvement in attacks on civilians and said he had refused orders to attack civilian areas. Magdi el-Gizouli, a scholar at the Rift Valley Institute, a think tank focused on East Africa, links Hemedti's rise to the military's outsourcing of the conflict to local forces. "In essence, he is the reason why the rebellion in Darfur was defeated, because he was capable of recruiting an efficient fighting force that knew the local terrain well, that knew the geography well, and that had an ax to grind against farming communities in Darfur," he said. The RSF, formed in 2013 and eventually including up to 10,000 fighters, was in some ways an attempt to bring greater discipline to the Arab militias and more closely tie them to the armed forces. Under Hemedti's command, the RSF waged two major counterinsurgency campaigns in Darfur, in 2014 and 2015. A 2015 report by the New York-based Human Rights Watch found that the RSF "committed a wide range of horrific abuses," including forcibly displacing entire communities, destroying wells and plundering livestock. "Among the most egregious abuses against civilians were torture, extrajudicial killings and mass rapes," it said. Witnesses to a 2015 attack by the RSF in Darfur's Jebel Marra region said troops carried out mass rape in and around the village of Golo, often gang-raping women and girls in front of local elders before killing the women and leaving their bodies in the streets, Human Rights Watch said. "As head of the RSF, Hemedti bears responsibility for the attacks on civilians his forces have carried out, in which civilians have been killed and villages have been burned to the ground," Jehanne Henry, a Sudan researcher at Human Rights Watch, said last week. "The fact that Hemedti is now deputy head of the (transitional military council) is not lost on Darfuris I speak to." The International Criminal Court has not brought charges against Hemedti. But it said in a 2014 report that the RSF under his command was "similar in structure and modus operandi" to the Janjaweed, with a "similar pattern of indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks against civilians." ___ TURNING ON AL-BASHIR Hemedti's forces appear to have acquitted themselves better during the protests against his longtime patron al-Bashir, which erupted in December over rising bread prices and rapidly escalated into a popular uprising. He says his forces, like the regular army, refused al-Bashir's orders to violently disperse a sit-in outside the military headquarters in Khartoum established on April 6. The military removed al-Bashir from power five days later, ending a 30-year reign marked by repression and civil war. The protesters have remained in the streets , demanding that the military rapidly hand power over to a civilian government. But while the protesters have forced several officers to resign from the council after complaining they were too close to the former regime, there have not been widespread calls for Hemedti to step down. "Many people, including some of Sudan's finest democrats, consider him a counterweight to the Islamic movement," el-Gizouli said. "A lot of people in Khartoum would be ready to tolerate him for a while. I'm not sure what they can do once this ends." In the weeks since al-Bashir's overthrow, Hemedti has met with Western ambassadors and other envoys in his office in the presidential residence. He has said he has no interest in seeking higher office and has called for a government of technocrats. "We want a real democracy, fair and free elections," he said Saturday. "Whoever the Sudanese choose will rule." But he has also warned the protesters against any further "chaos," hinting late last month that the military may use force if the unrest continues. In Darfur, government forces violently dispersed a rally earlier this month outside a military facility, setting off clashes in which an 18-year-old protester was killed. The protesters in Khartoum have meanwhile expressed mounting frustration with the military council, accusing it of dragging its feet in order to keep much of al-Bashir's regime intact. As tensions escalate, Hemedti's balancing act could prove more challenging. "Hemedti has been thinking that he is one of the leaders of the change because he was neutral in the protests," said Shamayel el-Nour, an activist with the Sudanese Professionals Association, which spearheaded the demonstrations. "The protesters recognize his refusal to use force against them, but in Darfur he is viewed as a war criminal." In this Saturday, May 18, 2019 photo, Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, better known as Hemedti, right, the deputy head of the military council that assumed power in Sudan after the overthrow of President Omar al-Bashir, arrives for a Ramadan event, in Khartoum, Sudan. Dagalo says he refused orders from al-Bashir to fire on the protesters, and he praised them as recently as last weekend. Many likely see him as an ally against the Islamic movement that orchestrated al-Bashir's 1989 coup and underpinned his regime. (AP Photo) In this Saturday, May 18, 2019 photo, Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, better known as Hemedti, the deputy head of the military council that assumed power in Sudan after the overthrow of President Omar al-Bashir, speaks at a press conference after a Ramadan event, in Khartoum, Sudan. Dagalo says he refused orders from al-Bashir to fire on the protesters, and he praised them as recently as last weekend. Many likely see him as an ally against the Islamic movement that orchestrated al-Bashir's 1989 coup and underpinned his regime. (AP Photo) In this Saturday, May 18, 2019 photo, Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, better known as Hemedti, kneeling center, the deputy head of the military council that assumed power in Sudan after the overthrow of President Omar al-Bashir, prays during a Ramadan event, in Khartoum, Sudan. Dagalo says he refused orders from al-Bashir to fire on the protesters, and he praised them as recently as last weekend. Many likely see him as an ally against the Islamic movement that orchestrated al-Bashir's 1989 coup and underpinned his regime. (AP Photo) BAGHDAD (AP) - Leading Iraqi Shiite figures warned Monday against attempts to pull their country into a war between the U.S. and Iran, saying it would turn Iraq into a battlefield yet again, just as it is on the path to recovery. The warning came hours after a rocket slammed into Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, landing less than a mile from the sprawling U.S. Embassy. No injuries were reported and no group immediately claimed the Sunday night attack. Shortly after, President Donald Trump tweeted a warning to Iran not to threaten the United States or it will face its "official end." Last week, the U.S. ordered the evacuation of nonessential diplomatic staff from Iraq amid unspecified threats from Iran and rising tensions across the region. The White House has also sent warships and bombers to the Persian Gulf to counter the alleged Iranian threats. Iraqi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Rasoul tweeted Monday that the army command in Baghdad is working "day and night" to guarantee the security of citizens, foreign missions and international and local companies. On Monday, two influential Shiite clerics and a leading politician - all with close ties to Iran - warned that Iraq could once again get caught in the middle. The country hosts more than 5,000 U.S. troops, and is home to powerful Iranian-backed militias, some of whom want those U.S. forces to leave. Populist Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr said any political party that would drag Iraq in a U.S.-Iran war "would be the enemy of the Iraqi people." "This war would mark the end of Iraq," the black-turbaned al-Sadr warned. "We need peace and reconstruction." The influential cleric's statements were echoed by the Shiite militias, which appeared to distance themselves from Sunday's attack. Qais al-Khazali, the leader the Iranian-backed Asaib Ahl al-Haq, or League of the Righteous group, tweeted that he is opposed to operations that "give pretexts for war" and added that they would only "harm Iraq's political, economic and security conditions." A spokesman for Kataib Hezbollah said the rocket attack was "unjustified" and suggested a third party was trying to provoke a war, citing Israel or Saudi Arabia. For the Shiite-majority Iraq to be a theater for proxy wars is not new. It lies on the fault line between Shiite Iran and the mostly Sunni Arab world, led by powerhouse Saudi Arabia, and has long been the setting where Saudi-Iran rivalry for regional supremacy played out. After America's 2003 invasion of Iraq to oust dictator Saddam Hussein, American troops and Iranian-backed militiamen fought pitched battles around the country, and scores of U.S. troops were killed or wounded by sophisticated Iranian-made weapons. The office of Hadi al-Amiri, the leader of a coalition of Shiite paramilitary forces backed by both Baghdad and Tehran, released a statement calling on Iraqis to work together "to keep Iraq and the region away from war." "If war breaks out ... it will burn everyone," al-Amiri warned. CHICAGO (AP) - Chicago police are stepping up patrols at synagogues as well as Jewish schools and businesses after an attempted arson at a synagogue and vandalism near others. Police say they're seeking to identify a person seen on surveillance video about 12:30 a.m. Sunday near Anshe Sholom B'nai Israel Congregation in the city's Lakeview neighborhood. Police say the person tried to use Molotov cocktails to cause a fire, but no damage or injuries were reported. Rabbi David Wolkenfeld says three broken bottles containing charred black towels were found outside the synagogue. Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi (goo-lee-EHL'-mee) said on Twitter that detectives also are investigating the smashing of car windows outside synagogues in the Rogers Park area. Guglielmi says different suspects are being sought in the attempted arson and the car vandalism. VIENNA (AP) - A senior Chinese official has officially handed over a 19-year-old male giant panda to Vienna's Schoenbrunn zoo. Yuan Yuan arrived in Vienna last month and has spent the last few weeks in quarantine. He was chosen as a partner for Yang Yang, the zoo's 18-year-old female panda, who has been at the zoo since 2003 but without a companion since its previous male, Long Hui, died of cancer in 2016. Li Zhanshu, the head of China's parliament, handed over Yuan Yuan at a ceremony Monday. China lends the rare bears to other countries as a sign of goodwill in what is known as "panda diplomacy." Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen described the animals as a "symbol of friendship" and said they have a "certain diplomatic mission." From liberal firebrands Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren to moderates Joe Biden and John Hickenlooper, nearly the entire 2020 Democratic presidential field agrees that the federal minimum wage should be more than doubled, to $15 an hour. That near-unanimity reflects the success of an unorthodox campaign by the Service Employees International Union called the Fight for 15. It launched in 2012 to help nonunion McDonald's workers who walked off their jobs as cooks and servers agitate for a then-unthinkable $15 minimum wage. Now, according to the National Employment Law Project, one-third of the country will have a $15 minimum wage as gradual increases in bedrock Democratic states like California, Illinois and New York kick in over the coming years. Ernie Tedeschi, an analyst at Evercore ISI, calculated the de facto national minimum wage at a historic high of $12 an hour when accounting for a flurry of recent city and statewide increases . Officially, the federal minimum wage is still $7.25 an hour. Other than the sudden jump on wages and its hold in the Democratic primary, the Fight for 15 is also showcasing a different form of labor organizing as traditional union membership has dwindled. "The labor movement is reinventing themselves as a new civil rights movement by helping workers in ways beyond collective bargaining," said Gary Chaison, an industrial relations professor at Clark University in Massachusetts. "This may be the last national political contest for the unions. A loss means the loss of relevancy as a workplace voice, and a win means a new purpose for the unions, outside of collective bargaining." Still, unions also need dues-paying members, and the movement is redoubling its efforts this week to pressure McDonald's into letting its workers unionize. Democratic presidential aspirants like New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee will join workers on picket lines this week, and Sanders will host a video town hall with employees of the fast-food giant who will protest outside the company's board meeting in Dallas on Thursday. FILE - This Oct. 24, 2016, file photo shows dollar bills in New York. Almost the entire 2020 Democratic presidential field has joined the labor movement driven by fast food workers to implement a federal minimum wage of $15. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File) "That's the lynchpin of the thing that we're asking elected officials to respond to," said Mary Kay Henry, SEIU's president, who has been demanding that presidential aspirants also detail how they'll make it easier for workers to join unions. "We're trying to make a demand for a union about having a seat at the table that allows workers to be able to have a say in how decisions are made." That may not be easy. McDonalds has argued that whether to allow unions is a decision for the franchisees who own the restaurants and employ the workers, not for the corporation. Labor groups worry that the new Republican-appointed majority on the National Labor Relations Board will prevent unions from forcing McDonald's to bargain for those employees. The tight job market has led some companies like Amazon and Target to offer a $15 minimum wage. But even though the $15 minimum wage has largely unified the Democratic presidential hopefuls - only technology entrepreneur Andrew Yang opposes it, arguing he'd rather have the government pay people directly - a bill to implement a national wage at that level is stalled in the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives. Democratic moderates worry it would be an economic shock to areas that don't already have high wages. A few booming cities like Seattle and San Francisco have already hit a $15 minimum wage, and evidence on the impact is mixed, with some studies showing that higher wages are boosting local economies but others following the traditional patterns that economists warn about with minimum wage hikes - that they can lead to fewer jobs by raising business payroll costs. "If $15 is causing speed bumps in San Francisco, what does it mean in Sioux Falls?" asked Michael Saltsman of the Employment Policies Institute, a conservative think tank in Washington, D.C., that opposes the higher wage. "We will get to the end of 2020, and $15 will be a largely blue state phenomenon." Kansas City, Missouri, in 2015 passed a law to gradually raise its minimum wage to $13 an hour. But Missouri's GOP-led state legislature passed a law forbidding cities and counties from raising the minimum wage on their own, forcing the Kansas City measure's repeal. Terrence Wise, a 39-year-old McDonald's shift supervisor who earns $11 an hour, recounted the story at a recent Democratic presidential candidate forum in Las Vegas that was co-sponsored by SEIU. At the forum, California Sen. Kamala Harris said that, as president, she'd call the leadership of McDonald's to urge them to remove obstacles to unionization. Harris and other candidates including Castro, Hickenlooper, Warren and former Texas Rep. Beto O'Rourke spoke about the need to support unions and restock the NLRB with pro-labor members. Wise has three children and normally works a second job to help pay the bills. He said that he used an online tool from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to determine what an adequate wage in his neighborhood would be to raise a family and found it was $22 an hour. But there are few good options around. "When I ride down my block to work, I see McDonald's, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell," Wise said in an interview. "We've got to make our bad jobs good jobs." LOS ANGELES (AP) - Actress Julianna Margulies knew she was claustrophobic. But she didn't realize just how much until she had to wear a sealed, full-body biosafety suit while filming the upcoming limited series "The Hot Zone." Margulies had to spend hours in the suit while filming the six-part show about how the deadly Ebola virus appeared on U.S. soil in 1989. "I hated it," Margulies said in a recent interview. "You immediately start to sweat. You are ensconced in rubber. There's two fans keeping the air ventilating so you can't hear yourself think and you can't hear anyone else, so you're sort of looking at everyone but you're isolated. It's a very lonely, strange experience." It was so intense, she said, that she cried on camera three times, "not when I was supposed to." "I'm very claustrophobic," she said. "Didn't realize how much until they zipped that thing up." But Margulies said the story she was helping tell was worth the stress. She plays Nancy Jaax, a veterinary pathologist with the U.S. Army faced with containing the highly contagious Ebola virus when monkeys shipped from the Philippines began testing positive at a facility in Reston, Virginia. FILE - This June 7, 2018 file photo shows Julianna Margulies at the 46th AFI Life Achievement Award Honoring George Clooney in Los Angeles. Margulies stars in the upcoming limited series "The Hot Zone." (Photo by Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP, File) "What drew me to this story was the fact that Ebola hit U.S. soil in 1989 and I didn't know anything about it," she said. "To me it was always this thing way off in Africa - didn't affect me. When I read the book and the first four scripts they sent me, I realized this is a global problem." Margulies, 52, said she hopes the show helps shine a light on the problem, and the fact that "we need to stand behind our scientists and start supporting the research. "Without it, it could be the way we all go," she said. "It wipes out villages in minutes." Margulies consulted with Jaax about the hazmat suit, asking her how she handled it and what she would think about when putting one on to handle the world's deadliest viruses at the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases in Maryland. "I said, 'Were you thinking of your life? Life and death? How were you rationalizing that in your head?'" Margulies said. Jaax's answer surprised her. "She said, 'Normally I would think about what I needed to buy in the grocery store. Like, what I needed to do after work and what I hadn't gotten,'" Margulies said. "So in a certain way it was also a godsend because it allowed her not to think about her own mortality." In fact, Jaax told Margulies the suit was her "happy place." "She could get in the suit, no one was bothering her. She could just do her work and be at peace, and I understand that as someone who loves my work," she said. "A million things can be going on in my life. The second the cameras are rolling or I get to go on stage, I feel the same way." Margulies, the only regular on "ER" to win an Emmy, scoffed when asked whether she'll get competitive come Emmy time with her former co-star George Clooney, who also has his own limited series coming out this month. "How could I ever compete with George Clooney?" Margulies laughed. "I would never consider it." She said she's just looking forward to watching Clooney's Hulu series, "Catch-22," an adaption of Joseph Heller's 1961 novel set during World War II. "The Hot Zone" premieres on National Geographic on May 27. ___ Follow Amanda Lee Myers on Twitter at https://twitter.com/AmandaLeeAP This private spleen venting is not to be confused with road rage, an other-directed behavior that can escalate to violence, nor are we stoking a hot-headed, reckless approach behind the wheel. Rather, a good swear relieves the adrenaline spike caused by that ignorant fill-in-the-blank who just cut you off. It allows you to go on calmly with your day and not carry that bad energy to the next person you encounter. If youre alone in the car, let it cheerfully rip. If not, give everyone else a moment to put their headphones on. MEXICO CITY (AP) - As Mexico City's 9 million residents sleep in the pre-dawn darkness, busy hands are already preparing the day's corn tortillas in the small kitchen of Molino El Pujol, a tortilla shop that is part of a famed chef's bid to help recover Mexico's iconic food. As the old tortilla machine roars to life at 5 a.m., a steaming hot mass of lime-treated corn mash is loaded into one end, where it is divided into small portions, flattened and baked. Fresh tortillas come out the other end, letting customers taste a bit of Mexican history that chefs say is being eroded by modern production techniques and modern corns. If the "Pujol" in the shop's name sounds familiar, it's because its creator is chef Enrique Olvera, whose Mexico City restaurant Pujol is rated among the world's best restaurants. Why would the star of Mexico's culinary world open a simple tortilla shop, or tortilleria, which conjures up images here of working class homemakers lining up for their tortillas with cloths that save them a peso on paper wrapping? For the 43-year-old Olvera, it was a logical step, given that he had already started supporting the local farmers who supply his restaurants. His shop is part of a new tortilla movement launched by a handful of chefs, restaurants and organizations to restore and popularize authentic tortillas. And Amado Ramirez, an agronomist who helped Olvera select the native corn varieties in the southern state of Oaxaca, often viewed as Mexico's culinary cradle, said starting a tortilleria was also an act of nostalgia. Chef Jesus Saldivar feeds ground corn through the tortilla making machine at El Pujol Mill in the Condesa neighborhood of Mexico City, Tuesday, April 9, 2019. The shop is part of a new tortilla movement launched by a handful of chefs, restaurants and organizations to restore and popularize authentic tortillas, made of only corn, water and lime or calcium carbonate. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell) "For him, a tortilla shop is about recovering his past," said Ramirez. "It was stepping back into the time when he would be sent to the street to get tortillas and bring them home for supper." That memory is part of the childhood of millions of Mexicans. Children would go hand-in-hand with their grandmothers to wait at the local tortilleria for the steaming hot discs of corn. Such scenes are still common in Mexico, but the practice has been eroded by the spread of pre-packaged tortillas, and many chefs say the raw materials are no longer the same. Corn was domesticated - hybridized from the tiny ears of wild teozintle - in Mexico thousands of years ago. Like the French baguette, the list of ingredients for a true tortilla is short: corn, water and lime or calcium carbonate. The corn is slowly cooked or soaked in the lime in process called "nixtamalization." Many experts say the quality of modern tortillas suffers from excessive processing and industrialization. The culprits include techniques that bypass the nixtamal process, GMO corn and the addition of preservatives. In big cities many Mexicans have lost sight - or memory - of the taste of authentic tortillas, or the differences between the vast varieties of native corn, which vary in color, consistency and taste. "Mexico took its corn for granted," says Rafael Mier, director of the Tortilla Foundation, which focuses its efforts on promoting quality tortilla production and informing people of its benefits. Historically, tortillas have been Mexico's greatest source of energy, though wheat bread has made inroads. "A poor quality tortilla yields poor performance," said Mier. "Tortillas are a part of Mexico's culture, national identity, economy and gastronomy." Other Mexico City "authentic tortilla" shops like Maizajo and Cal y Maiz (Lime and Corn) can appear to be specialty stores catering to Mexico's upper classes, in part because their distribution is limited to a few shops and restaurants. And they are a drop in the bucket compared to the mass production of giants like Maseca, which uses a dry corn flour tortilla recipe that differs from nixtamal. But tortilla advocates aren't deterred, even though the costs - and prices - are higher than Maseca, bakery giant Bimbo, or grocery chains that sell packaged tortillas as "loss leaders" to get people inside their stores. The Alliance for Our Tortilla has published a list of 10 commandments for good tortillas, including that they be made by the nixtamal process because cooking with lime breaks down the indigestible outer layer of a corn kernel and releases nutrients. Another factor is the use of locally sourced corn varieties: blue, red or white. Yellow corn in Mexico is generally used for animal feed. Still, many Mexicans find the prices at places like Molino El Pujol prohibitive. Concepcion Reyes, 84, buys her tortillas at a local shop in Mexico City's San Rafael neighborhood, and says she would never pay the 60 pesos ($3) per kilogram charged at Molino El Pujol. Reyes says she pays 13 pesos per kilogram at her shop, and won't pay more. Still some people are willing to pay the higher prices - often foreigners who want to taste an "authentic" Mexican tortilla. Molino El Pujol, where the air is scented with the doughy aroma of corn, was opened a year ago in Mexico City's trendy Condesa district. Customers can order at a wooden counter or sit at benches. The shop offers more than just tortillas, though everything is corn-based. There is a blackboard menu listing a dozen items, including a sweet, thick, corn-dough drink known as atole. Customers can also try the cooked corn tamales with local herbs and beans. But, true to tradition, sometimes the tortillas are just so good that locals will shun the fancy dishes, grab the salt shaker always present at the counter of tortillerias and have a "taco de sal" - a hot tortilla with a dash of salt. Chef Jesus Saldivar feeds ground corn through the tortilla making machine at El Pujol Mill in the Condesa neighborhood of Mexico City, Tuesday, April 9, 2019. The shop is part of a new tortilla movement launched by a handful of chefs, restaurants and organizations to restore and popularize authentic tortillas, made of only corn, water and lime or calcium carbonate. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell) Chef Jesus Saldivar kneads ground, red corn before feeding it into the tortilla making machine at El Pujol Mill in the Condesa neighborhood of Mexico City, Tuesday, April 9, 2019. The shop is part of a new tortilla movement launched by a handful of chefs, restaurants and organizations to restore and popularize authentic tortillas, made of only corn, water and lime or calcium carbonate. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell) Chef Jesus Saldivar removes freshly made tortillas from the tortilla making machine at El Pujol Mill in the Condesa neighborhood of Mexico City, Tuesday, April 9, 2019. The shop is part of a new tortilla movement launched by a handful of chefs, restaurants and organizations to restore and popularize authentic tortillas, made of only corn, water and lime or calcium carbonate. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell) NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - The Latest on the trial of man charged in a 2017 Tennessee church shooting (all times local): 10:45 a.m. A prosecutor says a black man charged with fatally shooting a woman and wounding seven people at a Nashville church aimed to kill at least 10 white churchgoers and cited a 2015 massacre at a black church in South Carolina. Nashville Deputy District Attorney Amy Hunter made the comments Monday during opening statements of the trial of 27-year-old Emanuel Kidega Samson. Prosecutors have said they're seeking life without parole for Samson, who faces a 43-count indictment, including a first-degree murder charge, in the September 2017 shooting at Burnette Chapel Church of Christ. Samson is black and the victims are white. Hunter mentioned a note in Samson's car that cited a white supremacist's massacre at a black church in Charleston, South Carolina, in 2015. An arrest affidavit says Samson waived his rights and told police he arrived armed and fired at Burnette. FILE - In this Feb. 20, 2019, file photo, Emanuel Kidega Samson, center, enters the courtroom for a hearing in Nashville, Tenn. Prosecutors have said they're seeking life without parole for 27-year-old Samson, accused of fatally shooting a woman and wounding several people at a Nashville church. His trial is slated to begin Monday, May 20. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File) Samson's attorney, Jennifer Lynn Thompson, said Samson was suicidal and wanted to die that day. ___ 12 a.m. A man accused of fatally shooting a woman and wounding seven people at a Nashville church is heading to trial. Prosecutors have said they're seeking life without parole for 27-year-old Emanuel Kidega Samson, whose trial is slated to begin Monday. Samson faces a 43-count indictment, including a first-degree murder charge, in the September 2017 shooting at Burnette Chapel Church of Christ. An arrest affidavit says Samson waived his rights and told police he arrived armed and fired at the church. A psychiatrist has diagnosed Samson with "schizoaffective disorder bipolar type" and post-traumatic stress disorder after an abusive, violent upbringing. Samson is black and the victims are white. Authorities haven't definitively said whether they believe he targeted them based on race. MADRID (AP) - Spanish police say they have arrested four people as part of a judicial probe into a money laundering racket allegedly involving funds coming from Venezuela's state-run oil company PDVSA. Police have confirmed Spanish media reports to The Associated Press that the four detainees are also facing charges of corruption in international monetary transactions and the falsification of documents, in addition to money laundering. The arrests took place on Monday when Spanish police say they raided eight locations. The investigation is being ordered by an investigative judge in Madrid. SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - San Francisco's police chief apologized on Friday for raiding a freelance journalist's home and office to find out who leaked a police report into the unexpected death of the city's former public defender. Chief William Scott told the San Francisco Chronicle on Friday the searches were probably illegal and said "I'm sorry that this happened." California's shield law protects journalists from search warrants and the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that journalists are free to report on newsworthy information contained in stolen documents. Because the warrants are under seal, it's not known what information police provided to support the searches or to what extent they disclosed that Bryan Carmody is a journalist. Scott said he has reviewed all material related to the searches and he was concerned the initial warrants didn't adequately identify Carmody as a journalist. "The description of what his role entails as a journalist - there should have been more clarity there," Scott said. "That is going to be a concern that has to be explored further." FILE - In this July 7, 2015, file photo, San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi, left, talks to members of the media after Francisco Sanchez' arraignment in San Francisco. On Friday, May 24, 2019, San Francisco Police Chief William Scott apologized for raiding a freelance journalist's home and office to find out who leaked a police report into the unexpected death of the city's former public defender. Scott said the warrants didn't adequately identify Bryan Carmody as a journalist. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar, File) Carmody was handcuffed for six hours on May 10 while police armed with a sledgehammer searched for evidence to determine who provided a confidential police report on the death of the late public defender, Jeff Adachi, after he refused to reveal his source. The case alarmed journalism advocates and put pressure on elected leaders in the politically liberal city to defend the press. Scott initially defended the raid, telling the city Police Commission his department went through the appropriate legal process. On Tuesday, Scott said Carmody "crossed the line" and suspected the journalist took part in a criminal conspiracy to steal an internal police report, motivated by profit or animosity toward Adachi. Carmody said he did not pay for the report or conspire to steal it but simply acquired it as part of his work as a journalist. Mayor London Breed had requested the independent probe into the way police handled the investigation into the leak and the internal affairs investigation, which could lead to discipline for officers. Scott said the department will not use any evidence seized in the raids. 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. "We're encouraged by the chief's apology but we think there needs to be real reform here," Carmody's attorney, Ben Berkowitz, said. "The city needs to take steps to make sure nothing like this happens again to journalists." FILE - In this May 10, 2019, image taken from video provided by Bryan Carmody, San Francisco police armed with sledgehammers execute a search warrant at journalist Carmody's home in San Francisco. San Francisco's police chief is apologizing for raiding the freelance journalist's home and office to find out who leaked a police report into the unexpected death of the city's former public defender. Chief William Scott told the San Francisco Chronicle on Friday, May 24, 2019, the searches were probably illegal and said, "I'm sorry that this happened." (Bryan Carmody/@bryanccarmody via AP, File) WASHINGTON (AP) - The Latest on President Donald Trump's trip to Japan (all times local): 8:15 p.m. President Donald Trump has greeted U.S. troops in Alaska while on his way to a state visit in Japan. Trump shook hands and signed caps for the service members on the tarmac at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage. Air Force One stopped there to refuel before it continued on to Tokyo, where Trump is being welcomed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. As he walked across the tarmac, Trump said Alaska is a "nice stop" and commented about needing the fresh air. President Donald Trump greets troops after landing at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson for a refueling stop en route to Japan Friday, May 24, 2019, in Anchorage. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) __ 1:45 p.m. Japan is ready to roll out the newest phase of its charm offensive targeting President Donald Trump as it welcomes him on a state visit, hoping to defuse the threat of potentially devastating U.S. tariffs on autos. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, arguably Trump's closest friend on the world stage, will continue a years-long campaign that so far appears to have spared Japan from far more debilitating U.S. actions. The stakes are high. U.S. tariffs could cripple Japan's auto industry, while North Korea remains a destabilizing threat in the region. Trump departed Washington for Tokyo on Friday. President Donald Trump greets troops after landing at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson for a refueling stop en route to Japan Friday, May 24, 2019, in Anchorage. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) SALEM, Ore. (AP) - Police in Oregon arrested a man Friday on suspicion of murder and kidnapping following the disappearance of a woman and their 3-year-old son. A search was continuing for the mother and son, but police had little hope they were alive. Karissa Fretwell, 25, of Salem and her son William haven't been heard from since May 13. Michael John Wolfe, the child's biological father, was arrested at a doughnut shop in the Portland area, Salem police Lt. Treven Upkes said at a news conference. Photos of the suspect with a distinctive walrus mustache and thinning brown hair had been published in newspapers and broadcast on TV news. Wolfe, 52, of Gaston is being charged with two counts of aggravated murder and two counts of kidnapping, police said. FILE - This undated file photo provided by the Salem, Oregon, Police Department shows Karissa Alyn Fretwell and her 3-year-old son William "Billy" Fretwell, as they seek the public's help in finding them. Authorities in Oregon say they've arrested Michael John Wolfe on murder and kidnapping charges following the disappearance of Fretwell, and the child, who hasn't been heard from since May 13. The Salem Police Department said in a statement Friday afternoon, May 24, 2019, that Wolfe, the child's biological father, was in custody. (Salem Police Department via AP, File) "Everybody that's been involved in this case continues to hope for the safe return of Karissa and William," Upkes said. The mother and son were last seen in west Salem, Upkes said. Her family reported them missing when she didn't show up for work May 17. Police, including divers, were searching a rural area southwest of Portland. "It's taking an incredible toll on everybody who's out there. They're working around the clock, following all leads," Upkes said. Court papers show Fretwell went to court last year to establish that Wolfe was William's father. A DNA test verified her claim, and Fretwell then filed a petition seeking more than $1,000 a month in child support from Wolfe, court records show. Wolfe is married to another woman, police confirmed. Upkes said there were aspects of the case he couldn't reveal because the investigation was ongoing. He did say there are no additional suspects. He said Wolfe would be lodged in the jail in Yamhill County, where the search is being carried out. Fretwell's Facebook page is full of smiling photos of her and William, including one in the hospital right after his birth. She is a student at Western Oregon University. In her profile, she wrote "My son is my world ... Future WOU graduate, BIG DREAMER!" Fretwell's sister did not immediately return a message sent through Facebook. ___ Follow Andrew Selsky on Twitter at https://twitter.com/andrewselsky FILE - This is undated photo provided by the Salem, Oregon, Police Department shows Michael John Wolfe, of Gaston, Ore. Authorities in Oregon say they've arrested Wolfe on murder and kidnapping charges following the disappearance of a mother and her 3-year-old son. The Salem Police Department said in a statement Friday afternoon, May 24, 2019, that Wolfe, the child's biological father, was in custody. Karissa Alyn Fretwell, 25, and her son, William, have not been found. (Salem Police Department via AP, File ) DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - How to pronounce Beto O'Rourke's first name - "Is it BET-oh or BAY-toe?" - is debated nearly everywhere the 2020 Democratic presidential hopeful goes in Iowa. But Rich Salas doesn't hesitate. "BET-oh," the chief diversity officer at Des Moines University says correctly while introducing O'Rourke at a recent gathering of an Asian and Latino political action committee. "What a really great name." Salas notes that O'Rourke "speaks really good Spanish, better than I do," before leading chants of "Viva Beto!" It's a rallying cry that may not resonate in Iowa, home to the nation's first presidential nominating contest, but could pay dividends faster than in previous years thanks to a primary calendar that will see the two states with the largest Hispanic populations go to the polls earlier than usual. Hispanics make up just 6% of the population in Iowa, which holds caucuses Feb. 3, and barely half that percentage in New Hampshire, which goes next. But then comes Nevada, where almost 30% of people are Hispanic. And, just 10 days later this cycle, California and Texas - home to 13-plus million eligible Hispanic voters, nearly half of all such voters nationwide, according to the Pew Research Center - vote on "Super Tuesday." That means candidates who can win consistent Hispanic support could potentially secure a viable - if narrow - path of survival through the primary's frantic opening weeks, as the 23-candidate field winnows. A total of 4,051 Democratic delegates are up for grabs. Nearly 500 of those will be in California and 260-plus in Texas. Both allocate delegates proportionately, though, meaning even the winners likely have to share their hauls - and potentially providing more lifelines for any candidate who can mobilize Hispanics even if they don't finish first. In this May 23, 2019, photo, Democratic presidential candidate and former U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro speaks with a supporter before rallying with McDonald's employees and other activists in Durham, N.C. Hispanics are poised to help shape the 2020 Democratic primary in unprecedented ways. They comprise almost 30% of the population in the state that votes third in presidential primaries, Nevada. And the nation's two largest Latino states, California and Texas, are among the 14 "Super Tuesday" states voting 10 just days later. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome) "I think it's smart for the candidates to be thinking about how they can become a household name in the Latino community," said Matt Barreto, co-founder of the Hispanic polling firm Latino Decisions. "It will keep them alive, and it will make them a national contender, even if they don't do well in Iowa or New Hampshire." It's a risky strategy since that means betting on an electorate that's disproportionately young and plagued by low voter turnout - and may still mostly be going to the polls late enough that campaigns working hard to woo it may not last that long. New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, who was the lone Hispanic in the 2008 presidential race, made a strong showing in Nevada essential to his bid, only to drop out before he got there - following fourth-place finishes in Iowa and New Hampshire. U.S. Census survey data shows that general election Hispanic turnout in 2018 climbed 13-plus percentage points from the last midterms in 2014, to 40.4%, but still trailed whites, who reported voting at 55% rates, and blacks, who reported voting at 51.1%. Still, Barreto noted that the overall number of Hispanics who reported voting has risen in recent cycles and that the turnout percentage has been hurt because so many Hispanics are turning 18 and young people of all backgrounds are less likely to vote. Hispanics, meanwhile, will outpace African Americans to become the electorate's largest nationwide racial minority group for the first time on Election Day 2020 - accounting for more than 13% of eligible voters, according to Pew projections. Not all Hispanics are Democrats, but about two-thirds reported voting for the party during last fall's midterms, according to AP VoteCast, a survey of the 2018 national electorate. "Over the years, there haven't been that many Latino presidential candidates," Julian Castro, former San Antonio mayor and Obama administration housing chief and 2020's only Hispanic presidential candidate, said in a phone interview. "So, there's still this sense of barriers being broken." Castro has been to Nevada more than any Democratic presidential rival and has announced sweeping plans on issues he says Hispanics most care about, including calls for decriminalizing crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally and universal prekindergarten. O'Rourke, a former congressman, is of Irish decent but speaks fluent Spanish and hails from El Paso, Texas, where more than a quarter of the population are immigrants, most from just across the border in Mexico. Sen. Kamala Harris has a home-state advantage in California and, during a recent town hall in neighboring Nevada, handed out headsets to attendees who wanted to listen to a Spanish translation - along with signs reading "Kamala Harris for the People" in English and Spanish. She's also named Emmy Ruiz, Hillary Clinton's 2016 state director in Nevada, as a senior adviser, and Julie Chavez Rodriguez, granddaughter of legendary activist Cesar Chavez, is her campaign's co-national political director. Cristobal Alex, who headed the Latino Victory PAC, is an adviser to former Vice President Joe Biden, while Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders' campaign points to polling showing his rising popularity with Hispanics. It's also enlisted Carmen Yulin Cruz, mayor of the Puerto Rican capital of San Juan - known for sparring verbally with President Donald Trump in the wake of Hurricane Maria's 2017 devastation of the island. Then there's New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who invited Yulin Cruz to Trump's State of the Union speech. Castro went to Puerto Rico immediately after launching his presidential campaign, and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren also visited, while O'Rourke and Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana, have talked about going. The island's 64-delegate Democratic primary is March 8, the Sunday after Super Tuesday. Cristina Tzintzun, executive director of Jolt, a Texas-based group that organizes Hispanics, said candidates won't be able to rely solely on their backgrounds or advisers, saying "I don't believe in honorary Latinos." "People want diversity," said Tzintzun, a Sanders supporter in the 2016 Democratic primary. "What matters more is who's offering the bold solutions." Castro has traveled to Nevada six times since December. He has gone to citizenship classes and attended house parties in historically Hispanic communities like east Las Vegas - including one hosted by an immigrant rights activist who is in the country illegally. "It's likely that my story, the way I grew up, is going to resonate a lot with a lot of Latinos," said Castro, whose grandmother was born in Mexico and whose mother was a noted Latino rights activist. "Because they can see their own story in mine." O'Rourke is hopeful his background can help him with Hispanics, too. "I've got to think that, the fact that I live on the U.S.-Mexico border, that a quarter of those with whom I live and represented in Congress were born in another country, that I can tell a pretty powerful, positive story," O'Rourke told reporters after the event in Des Moines. Of his Spanish, he added, "I'm going to try and reach people in every place and in every language that I possibly can." Castro speaks some Spanish while campaigning but admits he isn't fluent - and says that's not the key factor. "There's often this sense that, the only way to measure whether you're connecting with Latinos is if you're fluent in Spanish or not, which is just completely wrong," he said. "It becomes very one-dimensional. And what we've done is we're going after that vote in a much more holistic way." NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Minister Joey Spann watched Friday as 27-year-old Emanuel Kidega Samson was convicted of first-degree murder for killing one person and wounding seven others when he sprayed Spann's church and its congregants with bullets in 2017. It was hard for Spann to recognize in Samson the same young man who taught Vacation Bible School at Burnette Chapel Church of Christ in Nashville just years before, and who would sit up front with his cousins to hear Spann preach on Sundays. Spann said he had thought the world of Samson in those days. And Samson praised everyone from the church on the witness stand, calling them receptive, kind, warm and compassionate. Recollections of Samson as a young, eager fellow churchgoer were sprinkled throughout testimony by Spann and his multicultural congregation, who wrestled with grief and anger and struggled to forgive as they relived the shooting rampage in court this week. The impact was evident watching Spann gesture during trial testimony. One of his fingers is gone because of the shooting. For Spann, the contrast became starkest when they heard recordings of Samson and his ex-girlfriend laughing on the phone about the victims and bragging about how good he looked in media coverage. In one call recorded on the jail line, Samson's ex-girlfriend ridicules Spann for telling reporters about how he told his wife he thought he was dying when he was shot and bleeding from the chest. Spann said the congregation still hasn't heard Samson say, "I'm sorry." Emanuel Kidega Samson sits in court as the verdict is read in his murder trial Friday, May 24, 2019, in Nashville, Tenn. Samson was found guilty of first-degree murder in a shooting at a Nashville church two years ago that left a woman dead and seven wounded. Jurors deliberated less than five hours before finding Samson guilty on all 43 counts in the indictment. (Shelley Mays/The Tennessean via AP, Pool) "It angered me. And knowing the guy we knew, it's been hard for the last year and a half to two years to want that boy in jail forever," Spann told reporters Friday. "But it's not hard to want this guy in jail forever." Samson, who was convicted on all 43 counts, is black and the victims are white. He left a note about a 2015 massacre at a South Carolina black church and aimed to kill at least 10 white churchgoers in revenge, prosecutors said. Jurors will consider a life sentence without parole, and could reach a decision as soon as Tuesday. Samson testified that he didn't remember committing the crime. He said his mental health disorders have caused lapses in memory and constant shifts from feelings of ecstasy to the suicidal thoughts he said he experienced the morning of the shooting. He's on medication now in jail, and that has slowed down his thoughts, he has testified. On the day of the shooting, Melanie L. Crow of Smyrna, Tennessee, had walked out to the car to get a cough drop after the service ended. The 38-year-old mother of two was shot down in the parking lot and dropped her Bible and her notes from church. Donning a motorcycle-style clown mask, Samson followed up with a blaze of bullets inside the church. At trial, the judge limited what could be said in front of jurors about Samson's mental illnesses. Defense attorney Jennifer Lynn Thompson said the case was deemed not to meet the criteria for an insanity defense. Before the trial, the judge largely shielded details about the case from public view. At an open hearing in April, it was revealed that a psychiatrist diagnosed Samson with "schizoaffective disorder bipolar type" and post-traumatic stress disorder after an abusive, violent upbringing, which his sister began detailing at the start of his sentencing hearing Friday. For Armilla Bishop, Samson had been a part of her church family. Then just a few years later, the nurse found herself in a bullet-riddled house of worship rendering critical aid to minister Spann's chest wound. "They've helped us push cars out of the middle of the road. We've eaten together," Bishop said of Samson and his cousins when they attended Burnette. "They've helped us do Vacation Bible School skits. They were involved, always trying to learn more and trying to grow." "We loved them. They were sweet, sweet young men," she said. Spann said there was some disagreement in the congregation over whether the death penalty should have been sought. But with life without parole now the goal, Spann said he hopes the Samson he once knew comes back - even if it's in a prison cell where he might spend the rest of his life. "He was at an early age and I would think, through experience, that he chose the wrong path and was influenced by the wrong people," Spann said. "I wish he had been coming up that day and just come in. He was at the right place, just came for the wrong reason." Minister Joey Spann listens as Emanuel Samson testifies during his own trial Wednesday, May 22, 2019, in Nashville, Tenn. Samson is accused of fatally shooting a woman and wounding seven people at a Nashville church in 2017. Prosecutors have said they're seeking life without parole for Samson. Spann was injured during the shooting. (Shelley Mays/The Tennessean via AP, Pool) Emanuel Kidega Samson sits in court as the verdict is read in his murder trial Friday, May 24, 2019, in Nashville, Tenn. Samson was found guilty of first-degree murder in a shooting at a Nashville church two years ago that left a woman dead and seven wounded. Jurors deliberated less than five hours before finding Samson guilty on all 43 counts in the indictment. (Shelley Mays/The Tennessean via AP, Pool) Burnette Chapel Church of Christ member Brenda Enderson hugs a family member of Melanie Crow, a victim in a 2017 church shooting, before the verdict is announced in the trial of Emanuel Samson on Friday, May 24, 2019. Samson was found guilty of first-degree murder in the 2017 shooting at a Nashville church that left a woman dead and seven wounded. Jurors deliberated less than five hours before finding Samson guilty on all 43 counts in the indictment. (Shelley Mays/The Tennessean via AP, Pool) Emanuel Kidega Samson testifies in his own defense Wednesday, May 22, 2019, in Nashville, Tenn. Samson is accused of fatally shooting a woman and wounding seven people at a Nashville church in 2017. Prosecutors have said they're seeking life without parole for Samson. (Shelley Mays/The Tennessean via AP, Pool) PRAGUE (AP) - The European Parliament elections shifted to the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Malta and Latvia on Saturday as voters in those European Union nations took part in a landmark ballot in which resurgent nationalists are challenging traditional parties over the future of Europe. The stakes for the EU are especially high in this year's vote, which is taking place in all of its 28 nations from Thursday to Sunday. Voters are electing 751 lawmakers, with each nation apportioned a number of seats based on its population, for a legislature that increasingly affects the everyday lives of ordinary Europeans. Anti-immigrant and far-right groups are hoping to gain ground in the European Parliament and use it to claw back power from the EU for their national governments. Moderate parties, on the other hand, want to cement closer ties among countries in the EU, which was created in the wake of World War II to prevent renewed conflict. "We stand at a crossroads - that is, whether the EU is going to be stronger and more integrated or, quite the contrary, a process of its weakening is to begin," Zuzana Caputova, Slovakia's president-elect, told reporters after voting in the town of Pezinok. A Slovak far-right party that openly admires the country's wartime Nazi puppet state could win seats in the European Parliament for the first time. Its members use Nazi salutes, blame the Roma minority for crime, consider NATO a terror group and want the country to leave the western military alliance and the EU. Polls in Slovakia favor the leftist Smer-Social Democracy party, the senior member of Slovakia's current coalition government, to win the most votes. But the polls also suggest that the far-right People's Party Our Slovakia will win seats in the European legislature for the first time. Ballots are being prepared ahead of Sunday's European Elections, in Rozzano, near Milan, Italy, Saturday, May 25, 2019. Some 400 million Europeans from 28 countries head to the polls from Thursday to Sunday to choose their representatives at the European Parliament for the next five years. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni) In neighboring Czech Republic, a centrist party led by populist Prime Minister Andrej Babis expected to win the most votes, despite the fact that Babis is facing fraud charges involving the use of EU funds. Babis wants his country to remain in the bloc but is calling for EU reforms. Meanwhile the Czech Republic's most ardent anti-EU group, the Freedom and Direct Democracy party, is predicted to capture its first seats in the EU legislature. Britain, Ireland and the Netherlands have already voted this week, and the rest of the EU nations will vote Sunday. Official results will only be released Sunday night after all polls close. The legislature affects Europeans' daily lives in many ways: cutting smartphone roaming charges, imposing safety and health rules for industries ranging from chemicals and energy to autos and food, supporting farming and protecting the environment. Voting in the Netherlands may have already produced a surprise. An Ipsos exit poll forecast a win for the Dutch Labor Party, and predicted that pro-European parties would win most of the Netherlands' seats instead of right-wing populist opponents. In Ireland, early vote counts and an exit poll suggest that the Green Party is gaining strength as it challenges three larger parties in both local and European Parliament elections. In the Irish votes on Friday, an exit poll of more than 3,000 voters showed that Ireland's top two parties - the governing party Fine Gael and the more conservative opposition party Fianna Fail - are running neck and neck, followed by the nationalist Sinn Fein party and the pro-environment Greens. Early vote counts on Saturday in Ireland's local election confirmed these trends. Vote counting in the European Parliament races will begin Sunday morning. Overall, the European Parliament's traditional political powerhouses are expected to come out with the most votes. But the center-right European People's Party and the center-left Socialists & Democrats look set to lose some clout and face their strongest challenge yet from an array of populist, nationalist and far-right parties. Those upstart parties hope to emulate what President Donald Trump did in the 2016 U.S. election and what Brexiteers achieved in the U.K.: to disrupt what they see as an out-of-touch elite and gain power by warning about migrants massing at Europe's borders ready to rob the continent of its jobs and culture. The traditional parties warn that this strategy is worryingly reminiscent of pre-war tensions, and argue that unity is the best buffer against the challenges posed by a world in which China, the U.S. and Russia are all flexing their economic and military prowess. ___ Raf Casert in Brussels and Angela Charlton in Paris contributed. ___ For more news from The Associated Press on the European Parliament elections go to https://www.apnews.com/EuropeanParliament List of candidates are placed in a polling station ahead of Sunday's European Elections, in Rozzano, near Milan, Italy, Saturday, May 25, 2019. Some 400 million Europeans from 28 countries head to the polls from Thursday to Sunday to choose their representatives at the European Parliament for the next five years. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni) A man walks by an installation encouraging people to vote in the European elections at Luxembourg metro station in Brussels, Friday, May 24, 2019. Some 400 million Europeans from 28 countries will head to the polls May 23-26 to choose lawmakers to represent them at the European Parliament for the next five years. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo) People walk by a banner advertising the European elections outside the European Parliament in Brussels, Friday, May 24, 2019. Some 400 million Europeans from 28 countries will head to the polls May 23-26 to choose lawmakers to represent them at the European Parliament for the next five years. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo) Flags of the European Union flap in the wind outside the European Parliament in Brussels, Friday, May 24, 2019. Some 400 million Europeans from 28 countries will head to the polls May 23-26 to choose lawmakers to represent them at the European Parliament for the next five years. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo) People walk through a passage way at the European Parliament in Brussels, Friday, May 24, 2019. Some 400 million Europeans from 28 countries will head to the polls May 23-26 to choose lawmakers to represent them at the European Parliament for the next five years. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo) A man walks in the European Parliament as it is being set up for election night in Brussels, Friday, May 24, 2019. Some 400 million Europeans from 28 countries will head to the polls May 23-26 to choose lawmakers to represent them at the European Parliament for the next five years. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo) Slovak President-elect Zuzana Caputova casts her ballot for the European elections in Pezinok, near Bratislava, on Saturday, May 25, 2019. (Vit Simanek/CTK via AP) ** SLOVAKIA OUT ** Romanians wave a large EU flag during a 2020 USR PLUS alliance European Parliament elections rally, in Bucharest, Romania, Friday, May 24, 2019. Romanians will vote on Sunday, May 26, in the European Parliament elections. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda) A worker prepares urns in a voting station for the European, Municipal and local elections in Madrid, Spain, Saturday May 25, 2019. European Elections take place in each EU nation between May 23-26 and in Spain on Sunday May 26. (AP Photo/Paul White) A worker places voting slips on a table in a voting station for the European elections in Madrid, Spain, Saturday May 25, 2019. European Elections take place in each EU nation between May 23-26 and in Spain on Sunday May 26. (AP Photo/Paul White) Ballots are counted in the European Parliamentary elections and the referendum on Ireland's divorce laws at the RDS in Dublin, Saturday May 25, 2019. (Niall Carson/PA via AP) A woman runs her hand through her hair, backdropped by a European Union flag, during a 2020 USR PLUS alliance European Parliament elections rally, in Bucharest, Romania, Friday, May 24, 2019. Romanians will vote on Sunday, May 26, in the European Parliament elections. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda) Manfred Weber, left, leading candidate of the EPP in the 2019 European elections, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel attend the joint closing rally of the EPP, CDU and CSU parties for European elections in Munich, Germany Friday May 24, 2019. (Sven Hoppe/dpa via AP) Manfred Weber, leading candidate of the EPP in the 2019 European elections, speaks during the closing rally of the EPP, CDU and CSU parties for European elections in Munich, Germany Friday May 24, 2019. (Sven Hoppe/dpa via AP) Five-Star Movement leader and Italian Deputy-Premier Luigi Di Maio addresses a rally ahead of Sunday's European Elections, in Rome, Friday, May 24, 2019. Some 400 million Europeans from 28 countries head to the polls from Thursday to Sunday to choose their representatives at the European Parliament for the next five years. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini) Five-Star Movement leader and Italian Deputy-Premier Luigi Di Maio addresses a rally ahead of Sunday's European Elections, in Rome, Friday, May 24, 2019. Some 400 million Europeans from 28 countries head to the polls from Thursday to Sunday to choose their representatives at the European Parliament for the next five years. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini) Manfred Weber, leading candidate of the EPP in the 2019 European elections, speaks during the closing rally of the EPP, CDU and CSU parties for European elections in Munich, Germany Friday May 24, 2019. (Sven Hoppe/dpa via AP) Manfred Weber, left, leading candidate of the EPP in the 2019 European elections, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, right, and former Polish President Lech Walesa, center, attend the joint closing rally of the EPP, CDU and CSU parties for European elections in Munich, Germany Friday May 24, 2019. (Sven Hoppe/dpa via AP) Manfred Weber, leading candidate of the EPP in the 2019 European elections, waves after speaking during the closing rally of the EPP, CDU and CSU parties for European elections in Munich, Germany Friday May 24, 2019. (Sven Hoppe/dpa via AP) Manfred Weber, leading candidate of the EPP in the 2019 European elections, speaks during the closing rally of the EPP, CDU and CSU parties for European elections in Munich, Germany Friday May 24, 2019. (Sven Hoppe/dpa via AP) Manfred Weber, leading candidate of the EPP in the 2019 European elections, speaks during the closing rally of the EPP, CDU and CSU parties for European elections in Munich, Germany Friday May 24, 2019. (Sven Hoppe/dpa via AP) Five-Star Movement leader and Italian Deputy-Premier Luigi Di Maio addresses a rally ahead of Sunday's European Elections, in Rome, Friday, May 24, 2019. Some 400 million Europeans from 28 countries head to the polls from Thursday to Sunday to choose their representatives at the European Parliament for the next five years. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini) CANNES, France (AP) - South Korean director Bong Joon-ho's raucous social satire "Parasite," about a poor family of hustlers who find jobs with a wealthy family, won the Cannes Film Festival's top award, the Palme d'Or, on Saturday. The win for "Parasite" marks the first Korean film to ever win the Palme. In the festival's closing ceremony, jury president Alejandro Inarritu said the choice had been "unanimous" for the nine-person jury. The genre-mixing film, Bong's seventh, had arguably been celebrated more than others at Cannes this year, hailed by critics as the best yet from the 49-year-old director of "Snowpiercer" and "Okja." "It's the 100th anniversary of the cinema in Korea this year. To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Korean cinema, I think the Cannes Film Festival has offered me a very great gift," Bong told reporters after the ceremony. It was the second straight Palme victory for an Asian director. Last year, the award went to Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda's "Shoplifters," also a compassionate parable about an impoverished family. "We shared the mystery of the unexpected way this film took us through different genres, speaking in a funny, humorous and tender way of no judgement of something so relevant and urgent and so global," Inarritu told reporters after the ceremony. Director Bong Joon-ho poses with the Palme d'Or award for the film 'Parasite' during a photo call following the awards ceremony at the 72nd international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Saturday, May 25, 2019. (Photo by Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP) Many of the awards on Saturday were given to social and political stories that depicted geopolitical dramas in localized tales, from African shores to Paris suburbs. The festival's second place award, the Grand Prize, went to French-Senegalese director Mati Diop's feature-film debut, "Atlantics." The film by Diop, the first black female director ever in competition in Cannes, views the migrant crisis from the perspective of Senegalese women left behind after many young men flee by sea to Spain. Sylvester Stallone presented the honor. Although few quibbled with the choice of "Parasite," some had expected Cannes to make history by giving the Palme to a female filmmaker for just the second time. Celine Sciamma's period romance "Portrait of a Lady on Fire" was the Palme pick for many critics this year. Instead, Sciamma ended up with best screenplay. In the festival's 72-year history, only Jane Campion has won the prize in 1993 for "The Piano," tying with Chen Kaige's "Farewell My Concubine." Best actor went to Antonio Banderas for Pedro Almodovar's reflective drama "Pain and Glory." In the film, one of the most broadly acclaimed of the festival, Banderas plays a fictionalized version of Almodovar looking back on his life and career. "The best is still to come," said Banderas, accepting the award. The Belgian brothers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, who have already twice won the Palme d'Or, took the best director prize for "Young Ahmed," their portrait of Muslim teenager who becomes radicalized by a fundamentalist imam. The third-place jury prize, presented by Michael Moore, was split between two socially conscious thrillers: The French director Ladj Ly's feature-film debut "Les Miserables" and Brazilian director Kleber Mendonca Filho's "Bacurau." Ly has called his film an alarm bell about youths living in the housing projects of Paris' suburbs. Filho viewed his feverish, violent Western about a rural Brazilian community defending itself from a hard-to-comprehend invasion as a reflection of President Jair Bolsonaro's Brazil. British actress Emily Beecham won best actress for her performance in Jessica Hausner's science-fiction drama "Little Joe." The jury also gave a special mention to Palestinian director Elia Suleiman's "It Must Be Heaven." The Camera d'Or, an award given for best first feature from across all of Cannes' sections, went to Cesar Diaz's "Our Mothers," a drama about the Guatemalan civil war in the 1980s. The ceremony Saturday brought to a close a Cannes Film Festival riven by concerns for its own relevancy. It had to contend, most formidably, with the cultural force of "Game of Thrones," which concluded during the festival. The continuing rise of streaming was also a constant subject around Cannes. Two years ago, Bong was in Cannes' competition with "Okja," a movie distributed in North America by Netflix. After it and Noah Baumbach's "The Meyerowitz Stories" - another Netflix release - premiered at Cannes, the festival ruled that all future films in competition needed French theatrical distribution. Netflix has since withdrawn from the festival on the French Riviera. (Indie distributor Neon will open Bong's "Parasite" in North American theaters later this year.) Bowing to pressure from 5050x2020, the French version of Time's Up, the festival this year released gender breakdowns of its submissions and selections. Cannes said about 27% of its official selections were directed by women. The 21-film main slate included four films directed by women, which tied the festival's previous high. Cannes had its share of red-carpet dazzle, too. Elton John brought his biopic "Rocketman" to the festival, joining star Taron Egerton for a beachside duet after the premiere. And Quentin Tarantino unveiled his 1960s Los Angeles tale "Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood," with Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio, 25 years after the director's "Pulp Fiction" won the Palme d'Or. Tarantino, who attended the closing ceremony, didn't go home empty handed. On Friday, a prominent pooch in his film won the annual Palme Dog, an award given by critics to Cannes' best canine. ___ Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle at: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP Director Mati Diop, winner of the grand prix Palme d'Or award for the film 'Atlantique' poses for photographers during a photo call following the awards ceremony at the 72nd international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Saturday, May 25, 2019. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) Actor Antonio Banderas poses with the best actor Palme d'Or award for the film 'Pain and Glory' during a photo call following the awards ceremony at the 72nd international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Saturday, May 25, 2019. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) Director Ladj Ly, with his jury prize for the film 'Les Miserables during a photo call following the awards ceremony at the 72nd international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Saturday, May 25, 2019. (Photo by Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP) Director Bong Joon-ho, winner of the Palme d'Or award for the film 'Parasite', left, and actress Catherine Deneuve during the awards ceremony at the 72nd international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Saturday, May 25, 2019. (Photo by Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP) Director Mati Diop, right, holds the grand prix Palme d'Or award for the film 'Atlantique' presented by actor Sylvester Stallone during the awards ceremony at the 72nd international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Saturday, May 25, 2019. (Photo by Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP) Director Mati Diop, right, holds the grand prix Palme d'Or award for the film 'Atlantique' presented by actor Sylvester Stallone during the awards ceremony at the 72nd international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Saturday, May 25, 2019. (Photo by Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP) Actor Antonio Banderas receives the best actor Palme d'Or award during the awards ceremony at the 72nd international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Saturday, May 25, 2019. (Photo by Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP) Director Bong Joon-ho poses for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Parasite' at the 72nd international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Wednesday, May 22, 2019. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) Actors Antonio Banderas, from right, Penelope Cruz and director Pedro Almodovar pose for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Pain and Glory' at the 72nd international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Saturday, May 18, 2019. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP) Director Celine Sciamma poses for portraits for the film 'Portrait of a Lady on Fire' at the 72nd international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Wednesday, May 22, 2019. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP) Director Pedro Almodovar, from left, actors Penelope Cruz and Antonio Banderas pose for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Pain and Glory' at the 72nd international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Saturday, May 18, 2019. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP) Actress Penelope Cruz poses for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Pain and Glory' at the 72nd international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Saturday, May 18, 2019. (Photo by Arthur Mola/Invision/AP) Actors Nora Navas, from left, Antonio Banderas, directors Pedro Almodovar, actors Penelope Cruz, Asier Etxeandia and Leonardo Sbaraglia poses for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Pain and Glory' at the 72nd international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Saturday, May 18, 2019. (Photo by Arthur Mola/Invision/AP) Actresses Luana Bajrami, from left, Noemie Merlant, director Celine Sciamma, actresses Adele Haenel and Valeria Golino pose for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Portrait of a Lady on Fire' at the 72nd international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Monday, May 20, 2019. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP) Actresses Benedicte Couvreur, from left, Valeria Golino, Noemie Merlant, director Celine Sciamma, actresses Adele Haenel, and Luana Bajrami pose for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'Portrait of a Lady on Fire' at the 72nd international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 19, 2019. (Photo by Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP) Director Quentin Tarantino poses for photographers with the Palm Dog collar award for the the dog Brandy that appeared in his film 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood' at the 72nd international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Friday, May 24, 2019. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) Directors Jean-Pierre Dardenne, left and Luc Dardenne hold their best director award for the film 'Young Ahmed' as they pose for photographers during a photo call following the awards ceremony at the 72nd international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Saturday, May 25, 2019. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) Actor Antonio Banderas poses with the best actor award for the film 'Pain and Glory' during a photo call photo call following the awards ceremony at the 72nd international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Saturday, May 25, 2019. (Photo by Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP) Director Mati Diop, winner of the grand prix Palme d'Or award for the film 'Atlantique' poses for photographers during a photo call following the awards ceremony at the 72nd international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Saturday, May 25, 2019. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) Director Mati Diop, winner of the grand prix award for the film 'Atlantique' poses for photographers during a photo call following the awards ceremony at the 72nd international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Saturday, May 25, 2019. (Photo by Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP) Directors Juliano Dornelles, left and Kleber Mendonca Filho, co-winners of the jury prize for the film 'Bacurau' pose for photographers during a photo call following the awards ceremony at the 72nd international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Saturday, May 25, 2019. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) Illinois ranking was better than what it achieved in the prior years report. One reason for the improvement is the new school aid formula the state adopted in 2017 with an additional $350 million for education and the promise to put an additional $350 million into the system for each of the next nine years. Only the state didnt identify a source for the additional money, which some education advocates say is still too low to reduce inequities in school funding. Here's your look at highlights from the weekly AP photo report, a gallery featuring a mix of front-page photography, the odd image you might have missed and lasting moments our editors think you should see. This week's gallery includes people walking through the dappled light of the Medina of Fez in Morocco; a woman walking through her roofless house after a tornado in Missouri; and the kaleidoscopic entrance to a mall in Tokyo. ___ This gallery contains photos from the week of May 18-24, 2019. See the latest AP photo galleries: https://apimagesblog.com ___ Kashmiri villagers inspect a damaged house after a gunbattle in Tral, south of Srinagar, Indian-controlled Kashmir, Friday, May 24, 2019. Government forces in Indian-controlled Kashmir killed a top militant commander linked to al-Qaida in the disputed region, officials said on Friday. (AP Photo/ Dar Yasin) Follow AP photographers on Twitter: http://twitter.com/AP/lists/ap-photographers Follow AP Images on Twitter: http://twitter.com/AP_Images Visit AP Images online: http://www.apimages.com http://www.apimages.com/ ___ This gallery was produced by Patrick Sison in New York. Iesha McClain looks through her destroyed home Thursday, May 23, 2019 after a tornado tore though Jefferson City, Mo. late Wednesday. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel) A man takes pictures in the entrance way to a shopping mall decorated with mirrors Saturday, May 18, 2019, in Harajuku district of Tokyo. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong) People walk through the ancient Medina of Fez, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, in Rabat, Morocco, Wednesday, May 22, 2019. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy) British Prime Minister Theresa May walks walks out to make a speech outside 10 Downing Street in London, England, Friday, May 24, 2019. May says she'll quit as UK Conservative leader on June 7, sparking contest for Britain's next prime minister. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant) Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., greets supporters after speaking at a panel discussion at Delaware County Community College, Friday, May 24, 2019, in Media, Pa. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum) President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Friday, May 24, 2019, before boarding Marine One for a short trip to Andrews Air Force Base, Md, and then on to Tokyo. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) Firecrackers explode near supporters of presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto during clashes with the police in Jakarta, Indonesia, Wednesday, May 22, 2019. 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 the challenge the result in court. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara) BRUSSELS (AP) - The Latest on the European Parliament elections taking place Saturday (all times local): 5:40 p.m. Early vote counts and an exit poll in Ireland suggest that the Green Party is gaining strength in that European Union nation as it challenges three larger parties in local and European elections. In the Irish votes Friday, an exit poll of more than 3,000 voters suggests that Ireland's top two parties - the governing party Fine Gael and the more conservative opposition party Fianna Fail - are running neck and neck, followed by the nationalist Sinn Fein party and the pro-environment Greens. Early vote counts on Saturday in Ireland's local election confirmed these trends. Vote counting in the European parliament races will begin Sunday morning. The Red C Research exit poll, which had a margin of error of 3%, also suggests very strong support for a proposal to liberalize Ireland's divorce laws. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar casts his vote at Scoil Thomais, Castleknock as people across the Republic of Ireland go to the polls to vote in the European and local elections along with the referendum on Ireland's divorce laws, in Dublin, Friday May 24, 2019. (Brian Lawless/PA via AP) Irish voters last year decided in a referendum to overturn the country's ban on abortions. ___ 10:15 a.m. A far-right party in Slovakia that openly admires the country's wartime Nazi puppet state could win seats in the European Parliament for the first time. Slovaks are among four countries voting Saturday in the Europe-wide vote, which finishes Sunday. Polls favor the leftist Smer-Social Democracy party, the senior member of Slovakia's current coalition government to win the most votes. Polls suggest People's Party Our Slovakia, a far-right party that has 14 seats in Slovakia's parliament, will win seats in the European legislature for the first time. Party members use Nazi salutes, blame Roma for crime, consider NATO a terror group and want the country out of the alliance and the European Union. The election reflects a continental struggle between nationalists who want to wrest power back from the EU and moderates who want to make the EU stronger. ___ 8 a.m. Voters in Slovakia, Malta, Latvia and the Czech Republic are casting ballots in European Parliament elections. The stakes for the European Union are especially high in this year's elections, which are taking place over four days and involve all 28 EU nations. Many predict nationalists and far-right groups will gain ground. They would try to use a larger presence in the legislature to claw back power from the EU for their national governments. More moderate parties want to cement closer ties among countries in the EU. Britain, Ireland and the Netherlands have already voted. The Czech Republic started voting Friday and continues Saturday. Slovakia, Malta and Latvia are holding their European Parliament elections Saturday - and all the other nations vote Sunday. Results are expected Sunday night. ___ For more news from The Associated Press on the European Parliament elections go to https://www.apnews.com/EuropeanParliament From left to right: President and top candidate of the Hungarian Socialist Party Bertalan Toth, Istvan Ujhelyi, representative of the European Parliament, member and candidate of the oppositional Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP) and Benedek Javor, representative of the European Parliament and candidate of the oppositional Parbeszed (Dialogue) party L-R) hold a smoke flare during the final EP campaign event of the parties at the Clark Adam square in Budapest, Hungary, Saturday, May 25, 2019. The European Parliament election is held by member countries of the European Union (EU) from 23 to 26 May 2019. (Szilard Koszticsak/MTI via AP) Romanians wave a large EU flag during a 2020 USR PLUS alliance European Parliament elections rally, in Bucharest, Romania, Friday, May 24, 2019. Romanians will vote on Sunday, May 26, in the European Parliament elections. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda) A man walks by an installation encouraging people to vote in the European elections at Luxembourg metro station in Brussels, Friday, May 24, 2019. Some 400 million Europeans from 28 countries will head to the polls May 23-26 to choose lawmakers to represent them at the European Parliament for the next five years. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo) People walk by a banner advertising the European elections outside the European Parliament in Brussels, Friday, May 24, 2019. Some 400 million Europeans from 28 countries will head to the polls May 23-26 to choose lawmakers to represent them at the European Parliament for the next five years. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo) Flags of the European Union flap in the wind outside the European Parliament in Brussels, Friday, May 24, 2019. Some 400 million Europeans from 28 countries will head to the polls May 23-26 to choose lawmakers to represent them at the European Parliament for the next five years. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo) A man walks in the European Parliament as it is being set up for election night in Brussels, Friday, May 24, 2019. Some 400 million Europeans from 28 countries will head to the polls May 23-26 to choose lawmakers to represent them at the European Parliament for the next five years. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo) A woman runs her hand through her hair, backdropped by a European Union flag, during a 2020 USR PLUS alliance European Parliament elections rally, in Bucharest, Romania, Friday, May 24, 2019. Romanians will vote on Sunday, May 26, in the European Parliament elections. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda) Manfred Weber, leading candidate of the EPP in the 2019 European elections, speaks during the closing rally of the EPP, CDU and CSU parties for European elections in Munich, Germany Friday May 24, 2019. (Sven Hoppe/dpa via AP) Five-Star Movement leader and Italian Deputy-Premier Luigi Di Maio addresses a rally ahead of Sunday's European Elections, in Rome, Friday, May 24, 2019. Some 400 million Europeans from 28 countries head to the polls from Thursday to Sunday to choose their representatives at the European Parliament for the next five years. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini) Ballots are counted in the European Parliamentary elections and the referendum on Ireland's divorce laws at the RDS in Dublin, Saturday May 25, 2019. (Niall Carson/PA via AP) Taoiseach Leo Varadkar arrives to cast his vote at Scoil Thomais, Castleknock as people across the Republic of Ireland go to the polls to vote in the European and local elections along with the referendum on Ireland's divorce laws, in Dublin, Friday May 24, 2019. (Brian Lawless/PA via AP) Taoiseach Leo Varadkar at the polling station in Scoil Thomais, Castleknock as people across the Republic of Ireland go to the polls to vote in the European and local elections along with the referendum on Ireland's divorce laws, in Dublin, Friday May 24, 2019. (Brian Lawless/PA via AP) VALLETTA, Malta (AP) - Maltese authorities say they have rescued 216 migrants aboard two dinghies in distress in the Mediterranean Sea near Malta. The migrants were rescued Friday night by the Armed Forces of Malta and are being taken to Malta where they will be examined by doctors and given the chance to seek asylum. The Times of Malta newspaper reports that men, women and children were aboard the rubber boats. Maltese officials were not immediately available for comment Saturday morning. Maltese officials say good weather prompted at least 12 migrant boats to cross the Mediterranean in the past two days. They say the boats left from Libya, Tunisia and Algeria. Some 390 other migrants had arrived this year in Malta, according to the International Organization for Migration, an agency that tracks migrants. The agency says 1,445 migrants arrived in Malta last year. VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) - The two contestants in Lithuania's runoff election for a new president have one thing in common: They want to maintain the strict tone toward neighboring Russia, while easing sometimes harsh rhetoric. Gitanas Nauseda, a prominent economist, and Ingrida Simonyte, a former finance minister, are vying to succeed the popular Dalia Grybauskaite, who has called Russia "a terrorist state." "Too harsh rhetoric is not a solution. We can't shut all the windows with the neighbor in diplomatic, cultural and economic relations," Nauseda, 55, told The Associated Press ahead of Sunday's runoff ballot, held the same day as the European Parliament elections. The business-oriented Nauseda is not supported by any political party but calls himself "a man of center-right." "I do not see any reasons to change course in relation to Russia because nothing has changed there," said the 44-year-old Simonyte, who was finance minister from 2008-2012 when Lithuania suffered from severe economic hardship and harsh austerity measures. "But I think what we have to do in a broader sense is to prepare to talk with the Russia of the future," she added. Simonyte also isn't a member of any political party but is supported by the right-leaning opposition. Lithuanian presidential candidate, Economist Gitanas Nauseda waves before the final debate of the electoral campaign with presidential candidate, former finance minister Ingrida Simonyte at the S. Daukanto Square, in front of the Presidential Palace in Vilnius, Lithuania, Friday, May 24, 2019. Gitanas Nauseda and a former finance minister Ingrida Simonyte held the top two spots in returns from Lithuania's presidential election Sunday, May 26 and appeared headed to a runoff ballot later this month to choose a successor to incumbent Dalia Grybauskaite. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis) Both candidates have taken a "pragmatic approach" to relations with Russia with less confrontation - but they also have stressed that they won't go to Moscow and meet President Vladimir Putin unless his country withdraws from Crimea, which it annexed from Ukraine in 2014, said Jurate Novagrockiene, a political scientist with the General Jonas Zemaitis Military Academy in the capital Vilnius. The annexation sparked fears that other former Soviet republics could be next. This presidential campaign, however, has been dominated by voters' anger over economic inequality and corruption. The income inequality in Lithuania, a Baltic country of 3 million, is among the highest in the European Union, which it joined in 2004. That same year Lithuania became also a member of NATO together with its Baltic neighbors Estonia and Latvia. The presidential hopefuls have vowed that tax income should be raised to fund more state spending. Novagrockiene expects a close race on Sunday with an edge to Nauseda, who has said he wants to increase revenues and better fund social services such as pensions. In the first round, Simonyte received 31.21% and Nauseda 30.93% of the votes. A runoff was needed as neither received more than 50%. Grybauskaite, president since 2009, has been a strong critic of Putin and campaigned on stopping corruption and improving Lithuania's economy. She must step down after her two five-year terms. Casting her ballot in early voting on Tuesday, Grybauskaite wished "strength" for the winner who will take office in July. ___ This version corrects that Lithuania joined the EU in 2004, not 2002. Lithuanian presidential candidate, Former finance minister Ingrida Simonyte waves before the final debate of the electoral campaign with presidential candidate, Economist Gitanas Nauseda at the S. Daukanto Square, in front of the Presidential Palace in Vilnius, Lithuania, Friday, May 24, 2019. Gitanas Nauseda and a former finance minister Ingrida Simonyte held the top two spots in returns from Lithuania's presidential election Sunday, May 26 and appeared headed to a runoff ballot later this month to choose a successor to incumbent Dalia Grybauskaite. (AP Photo / Mindaugas Kulbis) People hold posters with an image of presidential candidate Ingrida Simonyte during debates between two candidates, Economist Gitanas Nauseda and former Finance Minister Ingrida Simonyte, at the S. Daukanto Square, in front of the Presidential Palace in Vilnius, Lithuania, Friday, May 24, 2019. Nauseda and Simonyte held the top two spots in returns from Lithuania's presidential election Sunday, May 26 and appeared headed to a runoff ballot later this month to choose a successor to incumbent Dalia Grybauskaite. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis) Former finance minister Ingrida Simonyte, a presidential candidate, speaks during a live, televised presidential debate at the S. Daukanto Square, in front of the Presidential Palace in Vilnius, Lithuania, Friday, May 24, 2019. Gitanas Nauseda and a former finance minister Ingrida Simonyte held the top two spots in returns from Lithuania's presidential election Sunday, May 26 and appeared headed to a runoff ballot later this month to choose a successor to incumbent Dalia Grybauskaite. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis) People hold posters with the image of Presidential candidate Gitanas Nauseda during debates between two candidates, Economist Gitanas Nauseda and Former finance minister Ingrida Simonyte, at the S. Daukanto Square, in front of the Presidential Palace in Vilnius, Lithuania, Friday, May 24, 2019. Gitanas Nauseda and a former finance minister Ingrida Simonyte held the top two spots in returns from Lithuania's presidential election Sunday, May 26 and appeared headed to a runoff ballot later this month to choose a successor to incumbent Dalia Grybauskaite. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis) Economist Gitanas Nauseda, presidential candidate, attend a debate at the S. Daukanto Square, in front of the Presidential Palace in Vilnius, Lithuania, Friday, May 24, 2019. Gitanas Nauseda and a former finance minister Ingrida Simonyte held the top two spots in returns from Lithuania's presidential election Sunday, May 26 and appeared headed to a runoff ballot later this month to choose a successor to incumbent Dalia Grybauskaite. (AP Photo / Mindaugas Kulbis) Former finance minister Ingrida Simonyte and Economist Gitanas Nauseda, right, presidential candidates, attend their debate at the S. Daukanto Square, in front of the Presidential Palace in Vilnius, Lithuania, Friday, May 24, 2019. Gitanas Nauseda and a former finance minister Ingrida Simonyte held the top two spots in returns from Lithuania's presidential election Sunday, May 26 and appeared headed to a runoff ballot later this month to choose a successor to incumbent Dalia Grybauskaite. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis) Former finance minister Ingrida Simonyte and Economist Gitanas Nauseda, right, presidential candidates, attend their debate at the S. Daukanto Square, in front of the Presidential Palace in Vilnius, Lithuania, Friday, May 24, 2019. Gitanas Nauseda and a former finance minister Ingrida Simonyte held the top two spots in returns from Lithuania's presidential election Sunday, May 26 and appeared headed to a runoff ballot later this month to choose a successor to incumbent Dalia Grybauskaite. (AP Photo / Mindaugas Kulbis) Former finance minister Ingrida Simonyte, presidential candidate, gestures as she attends debates between two candidates at the S. Daukanto Square, in front of the Presidential Palace in Vilnius, Lithuania, Friday, May 24, 2019. Gitanas Nauseda and a former finance minister Ingrida Simonyte held the top two spots in returns from Lithuania's presidential election Sunday, May 26 and appeared headed to a runoff ballot later this month to choose a successor to incumbent Dalia Grybauskaite. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis) CAIRO (AP) - An Egyptian rights lawyer says a former diplomat who called for a referendum on Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi's government has been released from jail. Khaled Ali says his client, Masoum Marzouk, was released earlier this week along with four activists. Marzouk was arrested in August 2018, shortly after calling for a referendum and a "popular conference" in Tahrir Square - epicenter of the 2011 uprising - if the government rejected his proposal. El-Sissi's government has rolled back many of the freedoms won in 2011, banning unauthorized protests and jailing thousands of people since 2013. He was re-elected in March 2018 after all serious challengers were either arrested or pressured into leaving the race. Marzouk was released Thursday, pending an investigation into terror-related charges. BEIJING (AP) - The U.S. ambassador to China urged Beijing to engage in substantive dialogue with exiled Tibetan Buddhist leader the Dalai Lama during a visit to the Himalayan region over the past week, the U.S. Embassy said Saturday. Terry Branstad also "expressed concerns regarding the Chinese government's interference in Tibetan Buddhists' freedom to organize and practice their religion," an embassy statement said. "He encouraged the Chinese government to engage in substantive dialogue with the Dalai Lama or his representatives, without preconditions, to seek a settlement that resolves differences," it said. Branstad also raised long-standing concerns about the lack of consistent access to the Tibetan Autonomous Region. The rare visit to the TAR and neighboring Qinghai province ran from Sunday through Saturday. Hosted by the Tibet Autonomous Region government, Branstad was given access to important religious and cultural sites, including the Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple, Norbulingka, and Sera Monastery in the Tibetan capital, Lhasa. He also met with senior Tibetan religious and cultural leaders, the embassy said. China tightly restricts access to Tibet by foreigners, especially journalists and diplomats. In response to those restrictions, the U.S. Congress last year passed an act that would deny entry to the United States for those involved in formulating or enforcing such policies. In this photo taken May 23, 2019, and released by the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, U.S. Ambassador to China Terry Branstad, left, speaks with a monk at the Jokhang Temple in Lhasa in western China's Tibet Autonomous Region. The U.S. ambassador to China urged Beijing to engage in substantive dialogue with exiled Tibetan Buddhist leader the Dalai Lama during a visit to the Himalayan region over the past week, the Embassy said Saturday. (U.S. Mission to China via AP) There was no immediate response from Beijing, although Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang last week said China welcomed Branstad to witness the "earth-shaking changes in the people's production and life since Tibet's peaceful liberation more than 60 years ago." "I hope that this visit to Tibet can help Ambassador Branstad make a conclusion without prejudice in the spirit of respecting the facts ... instead of being confused and disturbed by some long-standing hearsay and defamatory speeches," Lu said at a regularly scheduled briefing. China says Tibet has been part of its territory for centuries, but many Tibetans say they were effectively an independent nation for most of that time. Beijing's control was most recently asserted when the Communist Party's military wing, the People's Liberation Army, invaded the region in 1950. The Dalai Lama fled to India amid an abortive uprising against Chinese rule in 1959 and calls for genuine autonomy for Tibet under Chinese rule. Beijing labels the 83-year-old cleric a dangerous separatist, has refused contacts with his representatives for more than a decade and objects strongly to any meetings between him and foreign politicians. In recent years there has been a significant tightening of control over Tibetan Buddhism, use of the Tibetan language and traditional cultural expression. Following anti-government protests in 2008, Beijing imposed a policy of "grid policing" that substantially reduces travel and social life for Tibetans, even while China ramps up domestic tourism in the region. Those methods have been subsequently imposed in the neighboring region of Xinjiang, where an estimated 1 million members of its native Muslim ethnic groups have been confined to detention centers. In this photo taken May 23, 2019, and released by the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, U.S. Ambassador to China Terry Branstad rotates prayer wheels in Lhasa in western China's Tibet Autonomous Region. The U.S. ambassador to China urged Beijing to engage in substantive dialogue with exiled Tibetan Buddhist leader the Dalai Lama during a visit to the Himalayan region over the past week, the Embassy said Saturday. (U.S. Mission to China via AP) In this photo taken May 22, 2019, and released by the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, U.S. Ambassador to China Terry Branstad and his wife Christine pose for a photo in front of the Potala Palace in Lhasa in western China's Tibet Autonomous Region. The U.S. ambassador to China urged Beijing to engage in substantive dialogue with exiled Tibetan Buddhist leader the Dalai Lama during a visit to the Himalayan region over the past week, the Embassy said Saturday. (U.S. Mission to China via AP) In this photo taken May 23, 2019, and released by the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, U.S. Ambassador to China Terry Branstad, center, walks along a street in Lhasa in western China's Tibet Autonomous Region. The U.S. ambassador to China urged Beijing to engage in substantive dialogue with exiled Tibetan Buddhist leader the Dalai Lama during a visit to the Himalayan region over the past week, the Embassy said Saturday. (U.S. Mission to China via AP) In this photo taken May 21, 2019, and released by the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, U.S. Ambassador to China Terry Branstad and his wife Christine are greeted in Lhasa in western China's Tibet Autonomous Region. The U.S. ambassador to China made a rare visit to Tibet this week to meet local officials and raise concerns about restrictions on Buddhist practices and the preservation of the Himalayan region's unique culture and language. (U.S. Mission to China via AP) In this photo taken May 22, 2019, and released by the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, U.S. Ambassador to China Terry Branstad, second from right, visits the Sera Monastery in Lhasa in western China's Tibet Autonomous Region. The U.S. ambassador to China made a rare visit to Tibet this week to meet local officials and raise concerns about restrictions on Buddhist practices and the preservation of the Himalayan region's unique culture and language. (U.S. Mission to China via AP) In this photo taken May 22, 2019, and released by the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, U.S. Ambassador to China Terry Branstad, right, waves to schoolchildren as he visits an elementary school in Lhasa in western China's Tibet Autonomous Region. The U.S. ambassador to China made a rare visit to Tibet this week to meet local officials and raise concerns about restrictions on Buddhist practices and the preservation of the Himalayan region's unique culture and language. (U.S. Mission to China via AP) In this photo taken May 22, 2019, and released by the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, U.S. Ambassador to China Terry Branstad, left, meets with Wu Yingjie, Communist Party secretary of the Tibet Autonomous Region, in Lhasa in western China's Tibet Autonomous Region. The U.S. ambassador to China made a rare visit to Tibet this week to meet local officials and raise concerns about restrictions on Buddhist practices and the preservation of the Himalayan region's unique culture and language. (U.S. Mission to China via AP) BERLIN (AP) - A U.N. maritime tribunal ruled Saturday that Russia must immediately release three Ukrainian naval vessels it captured in November and free the 24 sailors it detained. The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea issued its order at its Hamburg headquarters following a hearing earlier this month. Russia stayed away from both the hearing and Saturday's session. Ukraine's new president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said that Russia could send a signal of "real readiness to stop the conflict with Ukraine" by complying with the order. Russia didn't immediately specify what it would do, but made clear that it still believes the tribunal is the wrong place to address the dispute. The confrontation in the Kerch Strait, which links the Sea of Azov with the Black Sea, marked a flashpoint in the simmering conflict over Russia's 2014 annexation of the Crimean Peninsula. Russia seized Crimea in a move that Ukraine and most of the world view as illegal. The Kerch Strait separates Crimea from mainland Russia. Russia had argued that the rights Ukraine claims in the case don't apply because they are covered by an exception for military activity. Kiev's lawyers contest this claim, saying Russia itself previously described the arrest as a law enforcement operation. FILE - In this Monday, Nov. 26, 2018 file photo, three Ukrainian ships are docked near the Kerch after been seized on Sunday, in Kerch, Crimea. A U.N. maritime tribunal has ruled that Russia must release three Ukrainian naval vessels captured by Russia in November and release 24 detained sailors. The Hamburg-based International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea delivered its verdict Saturday, May 25, 2019 on the case Ukraine brought against Russia. (AP Photo, File) The tribunal sided with Ukraine's argument on that point. But tribunal President Jin-Hyun Paik said both parties should "refrain from taking any action which might aggravate or extend the dispute." He said Russia must return the ships to Ukrainian custody and allow the servicemen to go home. The decision was a 19-1 vote, with a Russian judge dissenting. The tribunal "does not consider it necessary to require (Russia) to suspend criminal proceedings against the 24 detained Ukrainian servicemen and refrain from initiating new proceedings," Paik added. Kiev had called for legal proceedings to be ended. The tribunal's decisions are legally binding, but it has no power to enforce them. It called for both sides to report back on their compliance by June 25. Zelenskiy said when he took office on Monday that the main goal of his presidency is to bring peace to eastern Ukraine, where government troops have been fighting Russia-backed separatists for five years in a conflict that has left at least 13,000 dead. On Saturday, Zelenskiy said on Twitter that "Russia's fulfillment of the order ... could be a first signal from the side of the Russian leadership of real readiness to stop the conflict with Ukraine. In this way, Russia could take a step toward unblocking talks and resolving in a civilized way problems that it created." "We'll see what path the Kremlin will choose," he added. The Russian Foreign Ministry didn't address details of the order to release the ships and sailors. It underlined in a statement its argument that the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea's dispute resolution procedures can't be applied to this dispute. In subsequent arbitration proceedings at the tribunal, "we intend to consistently defend our position, including the lack of jurisdiction," it said. ___ Jim Heintz in Moscow contributed to this report. VATICAN CITY (AP) - Pope Francis said Saturday that abortion can never be condoned, even when the fetus is gravely sick or likely to die, and urged doctors and priests to support families to carry such pregnancies to term. Speaking to a Vatican-sponsored anti-abortion conference, Francis said the opposition to abortion isn't a religious issue but a human one. "Is it licit to throw away a life to resolve a problem?" he asked. "Is it licit to hire a hitman to resolve a problem?" Francis denounced decisions to abort based on prenatal testing, saying a human being is "never incompatible with life." Even those babies destined to die at birth or soon thereafter deserve to receive medical care in the womb, Francis said, adding that their parents need to be supported so they don't feel isolated and afraid. While one can argue about using medical resources this way, there is value to it for the parents, he said. Faithful reach out to Pope Francis during an audience with participants of a pilgrimage of the Italian-Albanian diocese of Lungro, in the Pope Paul VI hall, at the Vatican, Saturday, May 25, 2019. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini) "Taking care of these children helps parents to grieve and not only think of it as a loss, but as a step on a path taken together," Francis said. Francis has spoken out strongly against abortion but also has expressed sympathy for women who have had them and made it easier for them to be absolved of the sin of abortion. His comments come as the abortion debate is again making headlines in the U.S. with state initiatives seeking to restrict the procedure. KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP) - Sudan's protest leaders on Saturday issued a call for a two-day general strike next week in a bid to press the ruling military council to transfer power to a civilian-led authority. The Sudanese Professionals' Association, which spearheaded the protests that led the army to oust President Omar al-Bashir last month, set the nationwide strike for Tuesday and Wednesday. The SPA called on people to go to work but abstain from any activity, then head to various marches and sit-ins across the country. The protests will culminate in mass rallies on Thursday, the SPA said. It has threatened civil disobedience if the military council doesn't hand over power to civilians. Talks between protesters and the army reached an impasse Tuesday, after both sides had agreed to a three-year transitional period but were split over the makeup and leader of the sovereign council that would run the country in the transition. Protesters say they want a civilian leader and "limited military representation," but say the ruling generals have refused to relinquish power over the council. In the ongoing sit-in outside the military complex in Khartoum on Saturday, protesters denounced the generals' clinging to power. "The legitimacy is belonging to the people, the military council doesn't have legitimacy, they took the power in order to protect the Sudanese people, and the Sudanese will demand forever for a full civilian-led authority," said protester Mohammed Shareef. The Forces for the Declaration of Freedom and Change, which represents the protesters in the negotiations with the military council, said Friday that they have been forced to stage the general strike. The group said there was no other way "to rectify the course of the revolution and achieve its goals." The military and protest leaders have held several rounds of talks since the army overthrew al-Bashir on April 11, ending his 30-year reign. Also on Saturday, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi received Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, head of Sudan's military council, in Cairo, said Bassam Radi, spokesman for Egypt's presidency in a brief statement. Since the overthrow of al-Bashir, Egypt has voiced its support for the military council and pressed the African Union not to suspend Sudan's activities in the regional block. ___ Magdy reported from Cairo. KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) - Family, friends and supporters welcomed a veteran Sherpa guide upon his return to Nepal's capital on Saturday, days after his 24th climb of Mount Everest extended his record. After flying back from Everest to Kathmandu, Kami Rita was greeted by the waiting crowd at the airport. His wife hugged him and the crowd covered him with a cream-colored scarf and offered him yogurt. The brief celebration at the airport parking area with traditional drums was followed by Rita riding on a truck waving to supporters as they drove out of the airport. He told reporters he was very happy but exhausted. Rita reached Everest's 8,850-meter (29,035-foot) peak on Tuesday, the second time he had climbed to the summit in a week. He also reached the top of the world's highest peak on May 15, then returned to base camp before climbing again this past week. The climbs bring Rita, 49, closer to his target of 25 ascents of Everest before he retires from high mountain climbing. His two closest peers have climbed Everest 21 times each, but both of them have retired from mountain climbing. Nepalese veteran Sherpa guide Kami Rita, 49, is welcomed by his sister at the airport in Kathmandu, Nepal, Saturday, May 25, 2019. The Sherpa mountaineer extended his record for successful climbs of Mount Everest with his 24th ascent of the world's highest peak on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha) 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 get to the summit. About half a dozen climbers died this past week, most of them while descending from the summit during only a few windows of good weather each May. Most are believed to have suffered from altitude sickness, which is caused by low amounts of oxygen at high elevation and can cause headaches, vomiting, shortness of breath and mental confusion. Among the latest fatalities was British climber Robin Haynes Fisher, 44. Murari Sharma, managing director of Everest Parivar Expedition Pvt Ltd, said Fisher and his Sherpa guide reached the summit at around 8:30 .a.m. on Saturday and had descended 150 meters (490 feet) when he fell unconscious. A group of Sherpas changed his oxygen bottle and tried to give him some water but he could not be revived, he said. Rita first scaled Everest in 1994 and has been making the trip nearly every year since. His father was among the first Sherpa guides employed to help climbers reach the summit, and Rita followed in his footsteps and then some. In addition to his two dozen summits of Everest, Rita has scaled some of the other highest mountains, including K-2, Cho-Oyu, Manaslu and Lhotse. Sherpa tribespeople were mostly yak herders and traders living deep within the Himalayas until Nepal opened its borders in the 1950s. Their stamina and familiarity with the mountains quickly made them sought-after guides and porters. Nepalese veteran Sherpa guide Kami Rita, 49, is welcomed by his wife at the airport in Kathmandu, Nepal, Saturday, May 25, 2019. The Sherpa mountaineer extended his record for successful climbs of Mount Everest with his 24th ascent of the world's highest peak on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha) Nepalese veteran Sherpa guide Kami Rita, 49, is welcomed by his wife at the airport in Kathmandu, Nepal, Saturday, May 25, 2019. The Sherpa mountaineer extended his record for successful climbs of Mount Everest with his 24th ascent of the world's highest peak on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha) NEW DELHI (AP) - India's president on Saturday appointed Narendra Modi as the prime minister, soon after newly elected lawmakers led by Modi's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party chose him as their leader following a thunderous victory in national elections. President Ram Nath Kovind said in a tweet that he also asked Modi to forward the names of those to be appointed as ministers in his government, and the date for swearing-in for his second five-year term as prime minister. Modi and some leaders of his alliance met the president earlier on Saturday. Media reports said that Modi is likely to be sworn in by Kovind on Thursday. Critics say Modi and his party have applied divisive policies and used a Hindu-first strategy. But Modi said after Saturday's vote that "this election has become a movement of social unity." "It is generally said that the election divides, creates distances, makes walls. But the 2019 elections have worked to break the walls," he said in his address. BJP President Amit Shah announced Modi's name as the leader of the National Democratic Alliance in a meeting of the lawmakers in the Central Hall of Parliament in New Delhi. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks to the media after meeting with the President to stake claim to form the government in New Delhi, India, Saturday, May 25, 2019. Newly elected lawmakers from India's ruling alliance led by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party elected Narendra Modi as their leader on Saturday, paving the way for his second five-year term as prime minister after a thunderous victory in national elections. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup) The Election Commission announced that the BJP won 303 out of 542 seats in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of Parliament, after the official vote count from the 6-week-long election was completed on Friday. That is well beyond the simple majority a party in India needs to form a government. The BJP's 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, India's textiles minister, marking the end of an era for modern India's most powerful political dynasty. The BJP's victory was largely seen as a referendum on Modi's Hindu nationalist politics that some observers say have bred intolerance toward Muslims and other religious minorities. Modi also took a muscular stance on neighboring Pakistan, with whom India nearly went to war earlier this year after a suicide attack killed more than 40 Indian troops in Indian-controlled Kashmir. Modi effectively used the incident as a major campaign tool after responding to the attack with an airstrike in Pakistan that triggered nationalist sentiments, with the BJP saying Modi is the right person to ensure India's national security. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the media after meeting with the President to stake claim to form the government in New Delhi, India, Saturday, May 25, 2019. Newly elected lawmakers from India's ruling alliance led by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party elected Narendra Modi as their leader on Saturday, paving the way for his second five-year term as prime minister after a thunderous victory in national elections. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup) Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the media after meeting with the President to stake claim to form the government in New Delhi, India, Saturday, May 25, 2019. Newly elected lawmakers from India's ruling alliance led by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party elected Narendra Modi as their leader on Saturday, paving the way for his second five-year term as prime minister after a thunderous victory in national elections. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup) Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the media after meeting with the President to stake claim to form the government in New Delhi, India, Saturday, May 25, 2019. Newly elected lawmakers from India's ruling alliance led by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party elected Narendra Modi as their leader on Saturday, paving the way for his second five-year term as prime minister after a thunderous victory in national elections. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup) Indian prime Minister Narendra Modi, center, greets newly elected lawmakers at Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) parliamentary and their alliance meeting in New Delhi, India, Saturday, May 25, 2019. BJP president Amit Shah announced Modi's name as the leader of the National Democratic Alliance in a meeting of the lawmakers in the Central Hall of Parliament in New Delhi, paving the way for Modi's second five-year term as prime minister after a thunderous victory in national elections. On the left, is the huge portrait of India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup) Newly elected lawmakers from India's ruling alliance led by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) participate in meeting to elect Narendra Modi as their leader in New Delhi, India, Saturday, May 25, 2019. BJP president Amit Shah announced Modi's name as the leader of the National Democratic Alliance in a meeting of the lawmakers in the Central Hall of Parliament in New Delhi, paving the way for Modi's second five-year term as prime minister after a thunderous victory in national elections. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup) Newly elected lawmakers from India's ruling alliance led by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party raise their hands in support of Narendra Modi being elected their leader in New Delhi, India, Saturday, May 25, 2019. BJP president Amit Shah announced Modi's name as the leader of the National Democratic Alliance in a meeting of the lawmakers in the Central Hall of Parliament in New Delhi, paving the way for Modi's second five-year term as prime minister after a thunderous victory in national elections. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup) Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi leaves after addressing the media after meeting with the President to stake claim to form the government in New Delhi, India, Saturday, May 25, 2019. Newly elected lawmakers from India's ruling alliance led by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party elected Narendra Modi as their leader on Saturday, paving the way for his second five-year term as prime minister after a thunderous victory in national elections. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup) From left, Congress party leader Sonia Gandhi, her son and party President Rahul Gandhi, and former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh attend a Congress Working Committee meeting in New Delhi, India, Saturday, May 25, 2019. The BJP's top rival, led by Rahul Gandhi, won 52 seats out of 542 seats in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of Parliament, after the official vote count finished Friday. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri) Congress party President Rahul Gandhi attends a Congress Working Committee meeting in New Delhi, India, Saturday, May 25, 2019. The BJP's top rival, led by Gandhi, won 52 seats out of 542 seats in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of Parliament, after the official vote count finished Friday. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri) SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) - Nearly two decades after the Aryan Nations' Idaho compound was demolished, far-right extremists are maintaining a presence in the Pacific Northwest. White nationalism has been on the rise across the U.S., but it has particular resonance along the Idaho-Washington border, where the Aryans espoused hate and violence for years. The neo-Nazi group was based near Hayden Lake, Idaho, starting in the 1970s, and eventually was bankrupted in a lawsuit brought by local activists and the Southern Poverty Law Center. Its compound was seized, and supporters dispersed. But a series of incidents in recent weeks show far-right sentiments never really left the conservative region. In the county that is home to Hayden Lake, for instance, Republicans last month passed a measure expressing support for U.S. entry of a prominent Austrian far-right activist who was investigated for ties to the suspected New Zealand mosque gunman. In 2018, at least nine hate groups operated in the region of Spokane and northern Idaho, including Identity Evropa, Proud Boys, ACT for America and America's Promise Ministries, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. The center does not track how many members belong to each group. Keegan Hankes, a researcher for the Southern Poverty Law Center, said the number of hate groups is growing across the U.S., driven in part by a toxic political culture. The human rights group counted 784 active hate groups in the U.S. in 2014 and 1,020 in 2018. FILE - In this May 22, 2001, file photo, Norm Gissel smiles as he talks about the imminent dismantling of the former headquarters of the Aryan Nations in Hayden Lake, Idaho. Behind Gisel is a Nazi insignia painted atop the roof of the compound's cafeteria. Nearly two decades after the Aryan Nations compound was demolished in Idaho, far-right extremists are maintaining a presence in the Pacific Northwest. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File) In particular, white supremacist groups are growing because of fears that the country's racial makeup is changing. "That drives a ton of anxiety," Hankes said. These new far-right activists are more scattered than the ones who used to gather at the Aryan Nations by the dozens, experts say. "It is no longer necessary to go to a compound in Hayden Lake, Idaho," said Kristine Hoover, director of the Gonzaga Institute for Hate Studies in Spokane. With the proliferation of social media, groups "form in dispersed locations" and gatherings are "more covert," she said. In late April, a self-described "American Nationalist" named Brittany Pettibone appeared at a meeting of Kootenai County, Idaho, Republicans to ask for help to bring her boyfriend, Martin Sellner, to the country from Austria. Pettibone, 26, said Sellner wants to marry her and live in Post Falls, Idaho. Pettibone was a big promoter of the hoax known as "Pizzagate," telling her online followers Hillary Clinton and other high-profile Democrats were involved in satanic rituals and child sex trafficking tied to a Washington, D.C., pizza restaurant. Sellner is a leading figure in the extremist "identitarian" movement, which espouses a white nationalist ideology and has swept over Europe amid an influx of migrants and refugees. He has confirmed he exchanged emails with the suspected New Zealand shooter, who donated money to Sellner's group. But Sellner denies involvement in the attack. Despite his background, the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee passed a resolution urging the federal government to allow Sellner into the United States. The resolution said the government revoked Sellner's travel privileges "for political reasons," and demanded those privileges be reinstated. Faced with criticism for giving Pettibone a platform, Kootenai County GOP Chair Brent Regan blamed the press. "In its lust for scandal, the media has stretched the committee's simple act of kindness into headlines that are too bizarre to be fiction," he wrote in a recent op-ed. Also last month, The Guardian published internet chats from 2017 in which a Washington state legislator and three other men discussed confronting "leftists" with a variety of tactics, including violence, surveillance and intimidation. The messages prompted Washington House Democrats to demand that the Republican lawmaker, Rep. Matt Shea of Spokane Valley, be reprimanded for a history of far-right speech and activities. While Shea did not propose violence, he did not speak up when violence was proposed, Democrats said. House Republican Leader J.T. Wilcox of Yelm responded that Shea should not be punished before investigations are completed. The House, led by Democrats, will conduct an independent investigation of the lawmaker. Shea, who rarely speaks to reporters, did not return numerous messages from The Associated Press. He has served in the state House since 2008, introducing bills to criminalize abortion and roll back gun laws and pushing for eastern Washington to secede from the rest of the state. The military veteran attracted international attention in 2018 after a document he wrote laid out a "biblical basis for war" against people who practiced same-sex marriage and abortion, and instructed: "If they do not yield, kill all males." In a third case, a nationwide arrest warrant was issued in May for a Stevens County, Washington, man who allegedly tried to extort members of his right-wing militia group through anonymous written threats backed by insinuations they came from a Mexican drug cartel. James "Russell" Bolton, 51, faces at least six charges of extortion and attempted theft after he was arrested recently in West Virginia. Bolton has led a militia group called the Stevens County Assembly. Stevens County detectives believe he was responsible for a series of anonymous threatening letters delivered to members of the group. The letters purported to come from a Mexican cartel and demanded large sums of cash in exchange for protection. Hoover, the Gonzaga professor, said it is a mistake to consider all of the above as separate incidents. "These are movements," Hoover said, noting participants are not doing this alone. "They have interconnectedness over the internet." FILE - In this Jan. 15, 2015, file photo, Washington Rep. Matt Shea, R-Spokane Valley, center, poses for a group photo with gun owners inside the Capitol in Olympia, Wash., following a gun-rights rally. Recently published internet chats from 2017 show Shea and three other men discussing confronting "leftists" with a variety of tactics, including violence, surveillance and intimidation. The messages prompted Washington House Democrats to demand that Shea be reprimanded for a history of far-right speech and activities. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File) FILE - In this July 18, 1998, file photo, Karl Wolf raises his arm in a Nazi salute as he marches through the streets of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, where scores of police in riot gear stood between parading white supremacists and protesters who jeered at the Aryan Nations marchers. Nearly two decades after the Aryan Nations compound was demolished in Idaho, far-right extremists are maintaining a presence in the Pacific Northwest. White nationalism has been on the rise across the U.S., but it has particular resonance along the Idaho-Washington border. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File) WASHINGTON (AP) - Democratic leaders in Congress have argued that impeaching President Donald Trump is a political mistake as the 2020 election nears. Most of the candidates running to succeed him seem to agree, for now. Fewer than one-third of the 23 Democrats vying for the nomination are issuing calls to start the impeachment process, citing evidence in special counsel Robert Mueller's report they believe shows Trump obstructed justice . Most others, including leading contenders Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders, have found a way to hedge or search for middle ground, supporting investigations that could lead to impeachment or saying Trump's conduct warrants impeachment but stopping short of any call for such a proceeding. The candidates' reluctance, even as more congressional Democrats start pushing their leaders in the direction, underscores the risky politics of investigating the president for "high crimes and misdemeanors." Impeachment matters deeply to the party's base but remains unpopular with most Americans. White House hopefuls may win praise from liberal activists by pressing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., for an impeachment inquiry, but those who fall short of insisting are unlikely to take heat from early-state primary voters more focused on other issues. "People talk about it and people have opinions about it, but health care is much more salient to them," Sue Dvorsky, a former head of the Iowa Democratic Party, said in an interview. "I just don't see Democratic activists here all worked up about impeachment. They trust Pelosi." The 2020 candidates are facing pressure from the left to take a harder line on impeachment as the Trump administration's stiff-arming of subpoenas leaves House Democrats fuming and a growing number of lawmakers urge Pelosi to initiate an inquiry constitutionally required to remove Trump from office. Leah Greenberg, co-founder of the progressive group Indivisible, described the absence of louder calls for impeachment from the candidates as "a real gap in leadership." Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., speaks during a house party, Friday, May 24, 2019, in Newton, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) "What we're seeing is, some Democrats would prefer to keep the topic focused on places where they're most comfortable and some Democrats would prefer to play pundits on this," Greenberg said in an interview. Tom Steyer, a California billionaire, has run television ads and held town halls across the country as part of a campaign calling for Trump's impeachment. He suggested that candidates who haven't yet endorsed impeachment "have a political problem telling the truth about this." Steyer said that if the public saw televised, unfiltered hearings that showed "exactly how bad this president is and exactly who he's surrounded himself with and how corrupt he really is," Democrats and Republicans alike would "reject that kind of behavior." Steyer declined to enter the 2020 presidential race himself. The administration's blockade of congressional investigations and Mueller's report detailing possible obstruction action have yet to push any new Democratic candidates off the fence. Former Vice President Joe Biden, the current front-runner, said last month there is "no alternative" but impeachment if the administration keeps stonewalling congressional investigations. But Biden has notably stopped short of urging Pelosi to move forward. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who's running second in most polls, told CNN this past week "it may be time to at least begin the process" which could result in impeachment. But he warned in the same interview that Trump could try to exact political gains from any impeachment effort. Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, said in an interview Sunday that it makes sense for House Democrats to start taking the first steps toward impeachment but added, "I'm also mindful that people like me don't have a lot of business giving advice to Nancy Pelosi." New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker told The Associated Press on Friday that Trump's refusal to cooperate with Congress amounts to "undermining the Article I branch of the government's ability to conduct its constitutional mandates." But he gave Pelosi wide leeway. He acknowledged that "she's feeling the frustration from Democrats in the House" and said that "should getting cooperation from the administration not work, I know she'll increasingly be considering her options." Even California Sen. Kamala Harris, who said after the release of Mueller's report last month that "Congress should take the steps towards impeachment," is emphasizing her pessimism that Senate Republicans would act on impeachment if the matter came before them. The most vocal pro-impeachment candidates are Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, former Texas Rep. Beto O'Rourke and former Obama housing chief Julian Castro. Two others, Massachusetts Rep. Seth Moulton and California Rep. Eric Swalwell, also have supported the start of the impeachment process. Moulton and Swalwell are among four candidates could vote on impeachment, as current House members. Pelosi and other House leaders have signaled clearly that they want to pursue investigations into Trump, including two lawsuits where they scored victories this past week, rather than start a consuming and politically uncertain impeachment process. If the House did vote to impeach Trump, the Constitution requires a two-thirds majority of the Senate to support conviction in order to remove the president from office. Given the slim likelihood of that, it's no surprise to Democrats outside the nation's capital that impeachment isn't gaining steam among the candidates. "The people I talk seem to be more interested in what the next president is going to do to make their lives better rather than what they think about impeachment," New Hampshire state Rep. David Morrill said in an interview. ___ Associated Press writers Thomas Beaumont in Newton, Iowa, and Hunter Woodall in Manchester, New Hampshire, contributed to this report. FILE - In this May 18, 2019, file photo, Democratic presidential candidate, former Vice President Joe Biden speaks during a campaign rally at Eakins Oval in Philadelphia. Rising disagreement among congressional Democrats over whether to pursue impeachment of President Donald Trump has had little effect on the party's presidential candidates, who mostly are avoiding calls to start such an inquiry. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File) Democratic presidential candidate and Mayor of South Bend, Ind., Pete Buttigieg greets a crowd at Keene High School, in Keene, N.H., on Saturday, May 25, 2019. (Kristopher Radder/The Brattleboro Reformer via AP) FILE - In this May 18, 2019, file photo, Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., speaks at a house party campaign stop in Rochester, N.H. Rising disagreement among congressional Democrats over whether to pursue impeachment of President Donald Trump has had little effect on the party's presidential candidates, who mostly are avoiding calls to start such an inquiry. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File) The Education Secretary has called for more dialogue between schools and parents after protesters took their children out of school to continue campaigning against the teaching of LGBT lessons. Police attended Anderton Park Primary School in Birmingham on Monday after campaigners claimed around 600 pupils had been taken out of lessons. East Hampshire MP Damian Hinds said children and teachers should not have to walk past protests on their way to school and stressed the importance of children having an opportunity to find out about and discuss the reality of our society. Protests have taken place at the school over the lessons (Aaron Chown/PA) The leader of Birmingham City Council has since threatened protesters with a Public Spaces Protection Order to counter the demonstrations. West Midlands Police said they are also investigating a group who threw eggs at people and houses after another group placed placards and banners outside the premises supporting the schools stance. The force said they 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. Speaking to Sky News, Mr Hinds said: I want schools and parents to be talking about these things. We have come a long way actually and from next year and the year after, we are going to have relationships education as a mandatory subject in primary schools. Its about 20 years since we updated the guidance on relationships and sex education and a lot has changed in that time. Addressing the demonstrations, Mr Hinds said: We live in a society where we have a legal framework that rightly protects different people through society and recognises, celebrates the fact that people are different. Hundreds of pupils have been taken out of lessons (Aaron Chown/PA) Of course its also true that religion itself is a protected characteristic under the equalities legislation but it is important that in school, children are growing up knowing about modern Britain, knowing about the country in which they are going to become adults. There is really good dialogue going on in Birmingham and elsewhere and I want that to continue. Explaining why the Government takes a different stance to parents on the issue, Mr Hinds said: What were doing is were making sure all children growing up have an opportunity to find out about and discuss the reality of our society. You can have a child in your class who has same-sex parents, you can have children who have two parents, children who have single parents, children who come to school with their grandparents, children who are with foster carers all sorts of different families. I think this is a thing not only to recognise but to celebrate. Its good to be talking about it. Kids should be able to come to school, they shouldnt have to walk past protests teachers shouldnt have to walk past protests to come to school. The leader of Birmingham City Council, Ian Ward, said he would be seeking an order to stop the protests. Mr Ward said: This absolutely has to stop and Ive asked council officers to see if we could use a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) to counter these demonstrations. If a PSPO is not appropriate, then we will look at alternative options, because the children and staff at Anderton Park have a right to attend school without this daily disruption. Its one thing for parents to ask questions about elements of a school curriculum. Its quite another for others to pounce on the situation as an excuse to peddle hatred and misinformation. Labour MP Jess Phillips, who attended the school on Monday, said on Twitter: Our equalities laws protect us all. I will not be called aggressive for wanting to protect all of the community, Muslims too. This is doing deep damage to the Muslim community and these protesters do not represent Birmingham. Chief Superintendent Kenny Bell, from Birmingham East police, said: We remain wholly committed to tackling all forms of hate crime; such behaviour is completely unacceptable within our many diverse and multi-cultural communities. It seems last nights offences were motivated by hate and we need to get to the bottom of what happened and why. Nicola Sturgeon has said the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route (AWPR) will be transformative for people and businesses across the north-east of Scotland. The bypass was fully opened in February, having initially been expected to be completed by spring 2018. It was delayed by factors such as the weather and the collapse of construction firm Carillion. Around 50% of traffic has shifted from Aberdeen city onto the new Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route since it fully opened in February easing congestion and improving air quality in the north east @NicolaSturgeon has announced https://t.co/iFKmgqHNeV @transcotland pic.twitter.com/4mirOd0gxe First Minister (@ScotGovFM) May 20, 2019 Speaking at the Aker Solutions AWPR business event on Monday, the First Minister said the 36-mile long bypass is estimated to have cut journeys in Aberdeen city by up to a half. As everybody here knows, the opening of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route (AWPR) has been a long time coming I think that probably qualifies for the understatement of the decade, Ms Sturgeon said. I want to take the opportunity today of paying heartfelt tribute to everyone whose hard work, dedication and expertise contributed to what is a remarkable achievement. And I think I must also pay tribute to the people of Aberdeen, whose persistence has really ensured that eventually this project had to come to fruition. Im also grateful to everyone who has been involved in the Go North East campaign. The road was built under a 745 million fixed-price contract but in December contractors told MSPs delays had resulted in hundreds of millions of pounds in additional costs, taking the overall cost to more than 1 billion. Over the next 30 years it is expected to bring an additional 6 billion to the north-east economy, according to Transport Scotland, and help create around 14,000 jobs. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon spoke to business leaders about the benefits of the AWPR on Monday (Jane Barlow/PA) Ms Sturgeon said: Its estimated that in the long-term the AWPR will help to cut journey times across Aberdeen by up to half. That will be transformative for people and businesses, right across the north-east. And while its still early days and its important to stress that were already seeing some major and very significant improvements. The First Minister added: It will enable Aberdeen to be a cleaner, healthier and even more beautiful city than it already is. It will open up new economic opportunities and help businesses to thrive. In doing so we hope it will contribute to the common good that Tom Johnston spoke of of people throughout the north-east and across the whole of Scotland. Tech firms should make a digital key for police to unlock encrypted messages in exceptional circumstances such as child abuse or terror cases, a senior police officer has suggested to an inquiry. Norfolk Police Chief Constable Simon Bailey, the UK lead for child protection, said the tool would help UK authorities who are already stretched to capacity hunting online predators, the Independent Inquiry Into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) heard. But Melissa Polinsky, a senior executive at Apple, has told the inquiry any such key could be exploited by hackers to harvest the passwords, bank and medical details of hundreds of millions of people. Mr Bailey, who recently suggested a boycott of social media companies, told the inquiry: If I know and you know that somebody is abusing a child or sharing abusive imagery, then you surely give up your right to privacy. Id like to be in a position to have that conversation, because end-to-end encryption is going to make an already incredibly difficult task for myself, the National Crime Agency (NCA), so much harder. Counsel to the inquiry Jacqueline Carey said: (Ms Polinsky) is saying that cant be done yet, so how is it that law enforcement is going to try and get round in a different way the problem that end-to-end encryption poses? Norfolk Police Chief Constable Simon Bailey recently suggested a boycott of social media companies (Dominic Lipinski/PA) Mr Bailey replied: I think there needs to be with these companies some form of key that would afford access, and a very clear understanding from all customers that sign up to the contract that that key to break the privacy would only ever be used in exceptional circumstances. A prospective version of the Google Chrome browser will contain end-to-end encryption making it harder to block harmful content and easier, not harder, for child abuse to take place online, lawyer William Chapman previously told the inquiry. The inquiry heard of an exponential growth in referrals flagging suspected child abuse in the UK, and Mr Bailey said Britain is the third-biggest consumer of live-streamed child sex abuse in the world. Figures show referrals have jumped in recent years from 43,072 in 2016 to 82,109 in 2017 and 113,948 in 2018. Mr Bailey said around 400 suspects are arrested, with around 500 children safeguarded per month in the UK but forces were at saturation point. Robert Jones, director of threat leadership at the NCA, earlier told the inquiry there was an increase in the scale, complexity and severity of child abuse offending. He said: We are seeing more and more people pursuing more severe images of young children. We dont see any sign of that demand plateauing, so it seems to be getting worse and you cant explain all of this by technology and greater access. Mr Bailey added: Levels of depravity that havent been seen before are now being seen. The referral data comes from the US National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), which passes it on to law enforcement in countries around the world. The figures include non-actionable referrals, referrals with no identifiable criminal offence, and also contain duplicates. Globally, the number of referrals recorded by the NCMEC jumped from 110,000 in 2004 to 18.4 million in 2018, the inquiry heard. The IICSA is conducting its second investigation phase, into how the internet is used to facilitate child sexual abuse in England and Wales through acts such as grooming, sharing indecent images and live-streaming abuse. Leading tech firms including Facebook, Apple, Google and Microsoft have given evidence on how they are fighting child sexual exploitation on their platforms. Six airports will close for one day this week as a result of a strike by air traffic controllers involved in a pay dispute. Highlands and Islands Airports Limited (Hial) said it expects the airports at Inverness, Dundee, Benbecula and Stornoway in the Outer Hebrides, Sumburgh in Shetland and Kirkwall in Orkney to be shut on Thursday. Earlier this month, the workers union Prospect announced May 23 as the day for strike action as part of the ongoing air traffic controllers dispute it says has been going on for more than a year. The union said its members do not want to take industrial action but have been left with no choice after running out of patience with Hial. Hial said it believes its air traffic controllers are well paid, adding it has been fully committed to resolving the dispute. In a statement issued on Monday, Hial managing director Inglis Lyon said: We sincerely regret this escalation of the pay dispute by Prospect members and apologise for the inconvenience that this has caused our customers. Six Scottish airports will shut on Thursday (Steve Parsons/PA) We continue to work closely with our airlines to mitigate the effects of strike action and I wish to thank them and all our staff who have worked extremely hard to implement contingency measures. Throughout this process, Hial has been fully committed to resolving this dispute. We are disappointed that our efforts to provide possible solutions have been rejected by Prospect and its claim has not altered and remains a wage increase of at least 10%. Mr Lyon said the airport operator a public corporation wholly owned by Scottish ministers is bound by Scottish Government pay policy and cannot negotiate a separate settlement. We believe Hial air traffic controllers are well remunerated and have already accepted a pay increase backdated to April 2018, he said. He added: I urge the union to consider the best interests of all their Hial members, our communities and those with a stake in the long-term future of air services in the Highlands and Islands and moderate its claim to help us jointly resolve matters. Unless Prospect temper its claim and Hial is afforded flexibility around the implementation of the Scottish Governments public pay policy, I do not see a quick resolution to this dispute. The remaining airports operated by Hial Wick John OGroats, Barra, Campbeltown, Islay and Tiree are expected to remain open on Thursday. Prospect last week accused Hial and Scottish ministers of being involved in an unedifying blame game which will do nothing to resolve the dispute. David Avery, Prospect negotiations officer, said: My message to those suffering disruption to their flights is clear ministers and Hial have the power to end this strike today and to end this disruption but are choosing not to. Worse, they are choosing to pass the buck and blame each other for the failure of negotiations. With no-one stepping up to take responsibility there is no end in sight for this action. Ministers need to step in now and end this blatant dereliction of their duty. A Scottish Government spokesman said: It is disappointing the union is taking strike action, which will clearly impact passengers. We continue to encourage both Prospect and Hial to return to discussions around a retention allowance for air traffic controllers and to work towards a resolution to the pay dispute. He added: In the face of the UK Governments continued budget cuts, the Scottish Government delivered a distinctive and progressive pay policy for 2018-19 one which is fair, supports those on lower incomes and protects public sector jobs and services while delivering value for money for the people of Scotland. A man has been sentenced to a minimum of 17 years behind bars after pleading guilty to the murder of Dominic Brown in Clydebank, West Dunbartonshire. Daniel Devlin, 47, attacked Mr Brown, 31, with a knife after a fight broke out in Radnor Street on August 5 last year. At the High Court in Glasgow on Monday, Devlin was sentenced to life imprisonment with a 17-year minimum term after his guilty plea. Daniel Devlin was sentenced to life imprisonment, with a minimum of 17 years, at Glasgow High Court on Monday (Police Scotland/PA) Detective Chief Inspector Grant Macleod said: This was a tragic case where a man has lost his life and another will now face a number of years in prison following a violent fight outside a pub. Had Daniel Devlin not decided to use a knife that night then the outcome could have been very different for all involved. The choices he made that night highlights that the impact of those using knives is devastating and ruins the lives of victims, perpetrators, their families and the communities that they live in. He added: I hope todays sentencing will bring comfort to Dominics family in what has been a painful and distressing time for them. Police Scotland continues to tackle violent crime in an effort to rid our streets of weapons. A federal judge has temporarily blocked a Mississippi law that would ban most abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected, at about six weeks of pregnancy. Here we go again, US District Judge Carlton Reeves wrote in his order. Mississippi has passed another law banning abortions prior to viability. His new order stops the law from taking effect on July 1. Mr Reeves is the same judge who struck down a 2018 Mississippi law to ban abortion at 15 weeks. Mississippi is one of several states that have pushed this year to enact bans on early abortions. Alabamas Republican governor recently signed a law to ban most abortions, sparking protests in the state (AP Photo/Kim Chandler, File) Opponents of abortion are emboldened by new conservative Supreme Court justices and are looking for ways to challenge the courts 1973 ruling that legalised abortion nationwide. Mr Reeves heard arguments on Tuesday from lawyers for the states only abortion clinic, who said the law would effectively eliminate all abortions in Mississippi because cardiac activity is often first detectable when many women might not know they are pregnant. Lawyers with the state attorney generals office said the law should be allowed to take effect because it was not a complete ban on abortion but was instead a limit on when the procedure could be done. Alabamas Republican governor recently signed a law to ban most abortions, while Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana and Ohio have enacted or neared approval of measures barring abortion once there is a detectable fetal heartbeat. Missouri politicians approved an eight-week ban. All of those laws are expected to face legal challenges, and the Kentucky one was temporarily blocked by a federal judge in March. Mr Reeves ruled last year that Mississippis 15-week ban was unconstitutional because it would prohibit access to abortion before a fetus could survive outside the pregnant womans body. People gather for a rally in support of reproductive rights in Dallas (Ryan Michalesko/The Dallas Morning News via AP) Viability is generally considered to be about 23 or 24 weeks. In an indication of which way he was leaning on the request to block the new law with the earlier ban, Mr Reeves asked lawyers on Tuesday: Doesnt it boil down to: Six is less than 15? Also during the hearing, Mr Reeves criticised Mississippi politicians for passing an earlier ban after he struck down the one at 15 weeks. It sure smacks of defiance to this court, he said. Mr Reeves will hear arguments later about the question of whether the six-week ban is constitutional. He wrote on Friday that the new law prevents a womans free choice, which is central to personal dignity and autonomy. This injury outweighs any interest the State might have in banning abortions after the detection of a fetal heartbeat. The state is appealing Mr Reeves ruling on the 15-week ban, and Republican Governor Phil Bryant signed the new law in March. The states only abortion clinic, Jackson Womens Health Organisation, quickly sued the state. BREAKING: A federal judge just struck down Mississippis 6 week abortion ban!! Once again the rule of law has prevailed over political ploys to control personal health decisions. Well fight tooth and nail to make sure all of these bans meet the same fate. Center for Reproductive Rights (@ReproRights) May 24, 2019 Mr Bryant said in a statement on Friday that he was disappointed in Mr Reeves ruling. As governor, Ive pledged to do all I can to protect life, Mr Bryant said. Time and time again the Legislature and I have done just that. The Mississippi law says physicians who perform abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected could face revocation of their state medical licences. It also says abortions could be allowed after a fetal heartbeat is found if a pregnancy endangers a womans life or one of her major bodily functions. Senators rejected an amendment that would have allowed exceptions for pregnancies caused by rape or incest. Theresa Mays emotional resignation announcement is on every front page on Saturday. Images of the Prime Minister breaking down in tears as she told how it had been the honour of my life to serve as leader fill the fronts of the Daily Mail, the Daily Mirror, the Daily Express and The Sun. Tomorrow's @Daily_Express #frontpages - Tears for the love of her country. On a historic day, PM #TheresaMay quits and admits defeat over EU deadlock. ...But who can now deliver #Brexit and unite Britain? Unrivalled reports and the best analysis across 14 pages. pic.twitter.com/2bgwVTuhsM Daily Express (@Daily_Express) May 24, 2019 The Guardian says Mrs Mays resignation kicked off a frantic scramble among senior Tories who want to become Britains next prime minister. The Guardian front page, Saturday 25 May 2019: Broken by Brexit pic.twitter.com/M6oT14hMVD The Guardian (@guardian) May 24, 2019 The Times says the leadership contest could plunge the nation into a constitutional crisis. The Times 25/5/2019 Theresa May breaks down as she announces her resignation outside number 10 Downing Street. She said as part of her speech, she done everything she could to deliver Brexit. Photo : Times Photographer Richard Pohle#thetimes #tomorrowspaperstoday @thetimes pic.twitter.com/fIMmzlYUlK The Times Pictures (@TimesPictures) May 24, 2019 The Daily Telegraph leads with leadership hopeful Boris Johnsons vow to take Britain out of the EU on October 31 deal or no deal if he succeeds Mrs May as PM. The front page of tomorrows Daily Telegraph: 'Boris makes Brexit vow in push for No 10' #tomorrowspaperstoday https://t.co/M8vYxCsh0i pic.twitter.com/lqf7ldwR0H The Telegraph (@Telegraph) May 24, 2019 The Financial Times says Mrs Mays resignation raises the likelihood of a no-deal Brexit. What the papers say - May 25 (PA) Just published: front page of FT Weekend, UK edition, Saturday 25 May https://t.co/Yt3qwuECr4 pic.twitter.com/ERg1BiJwfa Financial Times (@FinancialTimes) May 24, 2019 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is demanding a general election, the i weekend says. And the Daily Star figuratively illustrates Mrs Mays departure with Star Trek references. The Education Secretary has branded claims of financial hardship among universities as scaremongering amid speculation that a review will recommend a cut in tuition fees. Damian Hinds said hyperbolic warnings were misrepresenting the situation facing institutions, most of which have healthy balance sheets. The minister made the comments after concerns were raised that cutting tuition fees would harm students and even push several universities into bankruptcy. A review of tuition fees commissioned by Theresa May is reported to be considering whether to reduce the cap to 7,500. Alistair Jarvis, chief executive of Universities UK, said any reduction in fees must be made up in full by the Government. Mr Hinds said: The financial sustainability of our universities is clearly important to the staff and students of those institutions, as well as the local economies and communities they serve. Education Secretary Damian Hinds (Victoria Jones/PA) But with the vast majority of universities in a good financial position, hyperbolic warnings from some on universities finances are distorting the overall picture. The Education Secretary said that Britains universities had enjoyed rising student numbers and increased tuition fee income since the financial crash, whereas most sectors had had to reduce their expenditure. Mr Hinds added: I do understand universities are facing some challenges, but reports of financial hardship across the entire sector is scaremongering. Most universities have healthy balance sheets. Weve been seeing growth in international student admissions, with much further potential. And the number of 18-year-olds in England is soon to enter a period of sustained growth. I will do all I can to ensure the sector is financially stable now and in the future, but of course institutions need to act responsibly and develop sustainably. Mr Jarvis warned cutting fees would lead to bigger class sizes, poorer facilities, labs and libraries, a worsening student experience, job cuts and less money to support access and retention. It could damage research, reduces the number of highly-skilled employees that business needs and harm our international competitiveness, he told FE News. If Theresa Mays review of post-18 education recommends a cut in tuition fees, the funding gap must be made up in full by a government teaching grant. A funding cut for universities would be a political choice which harms students, the economy and communities that benefit from universities. According to figures from Universities UK, 35.7 billion went into UK higher education institutions in 2016-17. Less than half (46.9%) came from fees related to teaching 16.7 billion while government funding for teaching represented 9.1%. Last year, Sir Michael Barber, head of the Office for Students (OfS) watchdog, warned that universities that are not financially sustainable will not be bailed out. He said some university bosses making misjudged financial decisions believe ultimately it will be OK because the OfS will bail them out. This is wrong, the OfS will not bail out providers in financial difficulty, he said. Mrs May launched a review of post-18 education led by finance expert and author Philip Augar in February last year. The review has been focusing on four key areas; ensuring education is accessible to all, the funding system, encouraging choice and competition and providing the skills the country needs. According to the BBC, the review is expected to report back next week. Responding to the comments from Mr Hinds, the University and College Union (UCU) said lowering the tuition fee cap without direct investment to plug the funding gap would have serious implications for universities, but make little or no difference to the vast majority of students. The union pointed to modelling from London Economics which it said showed that cutting fees to 7,500 a year would reduce higher education funding by around 1.8 billion a year. UCU acting general secretary Paul Cottrell said: It is not scaremongering to point out the huge sums of money universities would lose if the government backs a cut in fees and does not plug the gap. The Prime Minister called the funding review because the current system was so politically toxic. However, we have seen nothing that suggests the review is looking at the sort of radical alternatives that would make life easier for students and guarantee funding for our colleges and universities. The UCU, in its submission to the Augar Review, has suggested reversing cuts to corporation tax to fund university tuition fees. Spice Girls star Melanie Brown has said she hopes the sound will be much better for their next gig after some fans complained about the sound during their first show. The pop group took to the stage for the first time in seven years at Dublins Croke Park on Friday night to kick off their highly-anticipated stadium reunion tour. The Spice Girls kicked off their tour in Dublin (Andrew Timms) Mel B wows the crowd (Andrew Timms/PA) More than 70,000 fans turned out to see Brown, Geri Horner, Emma Bunton and Melanie Chisholm perform the 1990s groups biggest hits in the dazzling show, which included a number of outfit changes and messages of diversity and unity throughout. Fans at the concert praised the group for their show, which opened with a performance of Spice Up Your Life and a fireworks display. Emma Bunton takes to the stage (Andrew Timms/PA However, some took to Twitter to complain about being unable to hear the group during the show, which saw many pay more than 100 for a ticket, commenting on the poor quality of sound in the stadium. Brown otherwise known as Mel B thanked their fans for attending the Dublin show in a video message on her Instagram story. She added: We will see you in Cardiff. And hopefully the vocals and the sound will be much, much better, pfft. One concert-goer had tweeted that the sound is awful, adding: Was perfect for Jess Glynn & is horrific now. Loads of people leaving. Too bad you cant hear a thing. The sound is awful. Was perfect for Jess Glynn & is horrific now. Loads of people leaving. Yvonne Rossiter (@msvonage) May 24, 2019 Another wrote: Anyone else think the sound is crap at the @spicegirls ? #spicegirls #spicegirlsdublin. Anyone else think the sound is crap at the @spicegirls ? #spicegirls #spicegirlsdublin Aileen H (@aileenballyDhob) May 24, 2019 The sound at the Spice Girls at Croke Park is awful, another said while one wrote: @spicegirls at the show in Croke Park and cant hear a word from your mics, turn it up. The sound at the Spice Girls at Croke Park is awful Mary (@Mc1988) May 24, 2019 However, the concert was largely well-received from those who attended, with one fan tweeting: Such a surreal night last night at the Spice Girls. Reliving the childhood was amazing, felt so emotional. Best night ever #SpiceWorldTour2019 #GirlPower #wannadoitagain. Such a surreal night last night at the Spice Girls. Reliving the childhood was amazing, felt so emotional. Best night ever #SpiceWorldTour2019 #GirlPower #wannadoitagain Keira Belmont (@KeiraBelmont) May 25, 2019 Another wrote: @spicegirls what can I say yous didnt disappoint!! Amazing from start to finish. All our dreams came true. #SpiceWorld2019 have lost my voice because I screamed like a 15year old girl. Memories forever #friendshipneverends. @spicegirls what can I say yous didn't disappoint!! Amazing from start to finish. All our dreams came true. #SpiceWorld2019 have lost my voice because I screamed like a 15year old girl. Memories forever #friendshipneverends Whitney Lorrimer (@Whitney2787) May 25, 2019 The show kicked off with Baby, Scary, Ginger and Sporty taking to the stage in extravagant fashion for their first number, wearing hand-embellished Swarovski crystal costumes designed by Gabriella Slade. Geri Horner donned a floor-length sparkling Union flag gown, Emma Bunton wore a shimmering pink mini-dress, Brown had a glittering animal print jumpsuit for the occasion while Melanie Chisholm sparkled in a shining Olympian outfit. Geri Horner during the show (Andrew Timms/PA) They opened the show with the message: We welcome all ages, all races, all gender identities, all countries of origin, all sexual orientations, all religions and beliefs, all abilities. Horner greeted the crowd saying: Welcome to Spice World. Spice girls, spice boys, everyone is welcome. We want every single one of you to feel special tonight. Like a king or a queen, we celebrate you. But I got to say there are a lot of queens here tonight. Girl power is back (Andrew Timms/PA) The girls sported a retro look (Andrew Timms/PA) Chisholm told the crowd it was very special for the band to be back in Dublin. She said: In 98, we started our world tour in Dublin, so we truly are home. Its got a very special place in our hearts. During the show, they performed a number of their hits including Who Do You Think You Are?, Viva Forever, Wannabe, 2 Become 1, Say Youll Be There, Mama and Stop. Geri Horner and Mel C (Andrew Timms) The stage, which featured an imposing Spice World sculpture and large screens on each side, was used to display messages of female empowerment, including We are stronger together and their motto Girl Power. It is the first time the group has performed since the closing ceremony of the London Olympics in 2012. The group are undertaking the 13-date tour without original Spice Girls member Victoria Beckham, who has decided not to join them. Spice Girls fans arrive at Croke Park stadium in Dublin (Tom Honan/PA) The band had to deny rumours of a rift in April following Browns claims that she had a one-night stand with Horner in the Spice Girls heyday. But on the opening night, there did not appear to be any tension between the girls, who all laughed and joked with each other throughout the show. The Spice Girls will head to Cardiffs Principality Stadium (May 27), the Etihad Stadium in Manchester (May 29 to June 1), Coventrys Ricoh Arena (June 3-4), Sunderlands Stadium Of Light (June 6), Edinburghs BT Murrayfield Stadium (June 8), Bristols Ashton Gate Stadium (June 10) and Londons Wembley Stadium (June 13-15). Colleges and universities will need to work closer together to deal with Brexit challenges, a Scottish Government minister has warned. Minister for Further and Higher Education, Richard Lochhead, will host a College and University Brexit Summit in Edinburgh this week to seek solutions. Ahead of the summit, a report from a forum of Scotlands colleges sets out the challenges facing the sector, including an ageing population and loss of EU funding, students and staff. The College Brexit Forum report suggests colleges could help plug forecast skills gaps from loss of EU workers but stresses the need for a funding system which enables flexibility. The report states: Replacing experienced and trained staff from a range of critical industries from a contracted pool of talent will present a unique test of the college sectors ability to adapt and flex its offer in order to continue meeting the needs of individuals, communities and businesses throughout and beyond the transition process. It continues: Whilst the current funding system does not prevent colleges from offering shorter courses which are linked to industry needs to help people to reskill and upskill, it does not actively incentivise this type of provision. New report from Scotland's #college sector highlights challenges in the wake of the UKs exit from the EU, ahead of second FE/HE #Brexit Summit to be hosted by @RichardLochhead in Edinburgh this week https://t.co/8CEcfPquI9 @CollegesScot pic.twitter.com/wBFgDHfMB9 Scottish Funding Council (@ScotFundCouncil) May 25, 2019 The report indicates a system is needed to enable new qualifications to be designed swiftly to respond to student demand. It continues: Alongside this, a more flexible student support offer, which funds those who wish to retrain or upskill in key areas, could help stimulate student demand. Mr Lochhead said: We know Scotland faces challenging demographics and skills gaps in the existing workforce that will be exacerbated by leaving the EU, particularly in sectors where there is a high percentage of EU nationals in the workforce. We have already seen how the continued uncertainty around the UKs relationship with the EU has led to the employment of EU nationals falling in the past year. Addressing these challenges and maintaining our strong research and teaching links with Europe will require our colleges and universities to work closer together to shape an education landscape that can continue to re-tool todays workforce and train tomorrows. Thats why I have called this weeks Brexit Summit, to bring Scotlands Further and Higher Education sectors together to discuss how we respond to these additional challenges that leaving the EU would bring. Richard Lochhead will host the summit in Edinburgh on Thursday (Danny Lawson/PA) Shona Struthers, Colleges Scotlands chief executive, said: The college sector in Scotland has consistently enunciated concerns over the implications of Brexit on our society and economy, however, we also recognise that colleges agility and capacity to respond quickly and nimbly to difficult situations can be used to fill the anticipated skills shortages many sectors are facing. Scottish Funding Council chief executive Karen Watt said Brexit will test the sector, adding meetings had been held with colleges to discuss their concerns and response plans. French police are hunting a suspect following an explosion that injured 13 people in a busy pedestrian street in Lyon. The countrys counter-terrorism prosecutor, Remy Heitz, said an investigation has been launched into attempted murderer in relation with a terrorist undertaking. He said no group has claimed responsibility for the explosion. Scene of the explosion in Lyon (Sebastien Erome/AP) Regional authorities said 13 people suffered mostly minor injuries, including 11 who were still in hospital on Saturday morning. French President Emmanuel Macron called the explosion an attack on Friday. Mr Heitz described video surveillance that shows the suspect heading towards Lyon city centre on a bicycle on Friday afternoon. The man was seen arriving on foot, pushing his bike, in the pedestrian Victor Hugo street. He was seen leaving a paper bag on a concrete block in the middle of the street near a bakery, Mr Heitz said. The suspect immediately returned to his bike and left by the same path. One minute later, the explosion shattered the glass of a cooler in the bakery. Investigators at the scene have found screws, metallic balls, a triggering device that can be used remotely and plastic pieces that may come from the explosive device. Police issued an appeal for witnesses and described the suspect as dangerous. A man has been released in a police probe after shots were fired on the day of a funeral for a republican. The incident came following the death of former INLA prisoner Michael McElkerney. Photographs have emerged of a masked gunman firing a rifle into the air outside Mr McElkerneys home in the Divis area of west Belfast. A 35-year-old man was arrested in the Newtownabbey area on Friday night under the Terrorism Act. He was arrested on suspicion of membership of a proscribed organisation, a PSNI spokesman said. The man was released on Saturday without charge following questioning. A 14-year-old boy has been arrested in connection with the death of a man in Glasgow. Daniel McGuigan, 35, was attacked on Stravanan Street, Castlemilk, in front of his colleagues on Friday. Emergency services were called out at about 10.50am and Mr McGuigan was pronounced dead at the scene. Police Scotland said in a statement: Police Scotland can confirm a 14-year-old boy has been arrested in connection with the death of a 35-year-old man in Castlemilk on Friday May 24. The force continued: The deceased can be named as Daniel McGuigan. Enquiries into the circumstances surrounding his death are continuing. A memorial to a six-year-old girl murdered after being taken from her grandparents home has been unveiled on the island where she died. Organisers said Alesha MacPhails family members attended the unveiling of the memorial bench at an area known as childrens corner at the beach in Rothesay, on the Isle of Bute. They hope the pink bench Aleshas favourite colour will give her family and others somewhere to remember her at a place where she liked to play. The primary pupil had recently arrived for a summer holiday stay with her grandparents and father in Rothesay last July when she was snatched from her bed by teenager Aaron Campbell, who raped and murdered her. The Isle of Bute Resilience Team raised almost 2,000 for the specially-commissioned bench, which features Aleshas name, two unicorns and a memorial plaque reading donated by caring people far and wide. A ceremony was held on Saturday morning, with bubble machines, balloons and a piper to mark installation of the memorial. Alesha MacPhail memorial bench with members of the Isle of Bute Resilience Team which organised the tribute (Anne Nicol/IBRT/PA) Fiona Gillespie, secretary and trustee of the resilience team, said they were called out to help on the morning when Alesha was reported missing. Its very close to our hearts, she said. Alesha liked unicorns and sparkle, and thats all we wanted for the bench. She added: We wanted somewhere nice for the family to go and remember her. It was a happy place. Her gran told me she used to love going her bike down there and loved the childrens area. She was a lovely girl. She had a beautiful wee affectionate smile. Campbell, 17, was handed a life sentence with a minimum of 27 years following a nine-day trial at the High Court in Glasgow earlier this year. He has been granted leave to appeal against the length of the minimum punishment part. During the case, judge Lord Matthews described Campbell as calculating and remorseless, and warned he may never be released from prison. A senior member of the shadow cabinet has criticised Scotland Yards plans to push for the prosecution of more than 1,100 Extinction Rebellion protesters. So far, more than 70 activists have been charged over the demonstrations that brought parts of London to a standstill last month and cost the force 7.5 million. Metropolitan Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor said on Friday a specialist team of 30 officers is investigating all of the 1,130 people arrested during the protests over 10 days in April. Olympic gold medallist Etienne Stott was arrested on Waterloo Bridge in London (Georgina Stubbs/PA) It is our anticipation that we are putting all of those to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) for decisions, he said at a briefing at Scotland Yard. Only the CPS can decide whether or not charges should be brought and shadow Attorney General Shami Chakrabarti hit out at the senior officers remarks on Saturday. The Deputy Assistant Commissioner would be wise to remember his constitutional role, which is not that of prosecutor, judge or commentator, she said. The police perform a vital role in preserving the law and keeping the peace, which includes safeguarding the rights of peaceful protesters. The next Labour government will review the statute book to ensure that the right to peaceful protest is robustly protected. Extinction Rebellion protesters in Hyde Park (Dominic Lipinski) The Extinction Rebellion groups tactics included asking volunteers to deliberately get arrested to cause maximum disruption at roadblocks on Waterloo Bridge, Oxford Circus and Marble Arch, while others glued themselves to trains and buildings. Some 1,130 people were arrested, including Olympic gold medal-winning canoeist Etienne Stott, as 10,000 police officers were deployed. Extinction Rebellion spokesman Ronan McNern said the Mets hardline approach could play into the campaign groups hands. We have seen doctors, we have seen XR youth kids with their parents permission doing civil disobedience, he said. If the Met plan is to take those people and put them through the court system, in a way it serves the purpose of Extinction Rebellion. More people will know who these people are protesting. Either way, we win. He added: If the Met decide to do this its them who are going to be adding to legal time and thats their decision. Extinction Rebellion demonstrators on Waterloo Bridge (Victoria Jones/PA) On the one hand they seem to be arguing we are wasting lots of police time. But if they are going to put more costs on the legal system, then thats their choice. Mr McNern said there are mixed messages coming from different arms of the state following meetings with London Mayor Sadiq Khan and Michael Gove and Parliaments declaration of a climate emergency one of the groups key demands. He said he hopes the UK will show real leadership in tackling climate change but warned: If action doesnt happen, there will be more people on the streets around the world. Further environmental protests, along with US President Donald Trumps visit in June and demonstrations over the ongoing Brexit debate, are likely to stretch police resources over the summer. Mr Taylor insisted the Met is equipped to deal with any upcoming actions and said officers from other forces will be called into action if needed. He said Scotland Yard is in discussions with the Home Office to review the current Public Order legislation with fears Extinction Rebellions tactics could be adopted by other groups and called for a stronger punishment of those who break the law. Irelands Green Party is expected to enjoy a surge following the European elections. Counting started on Saturday morning but results will not start to emerge until Sunday evening due to the Europe-wide embargo. However, an exit poll has suggested the Green Party will top the poll in Dublin. The increased support looks widespread, even accounting for a 4% margin of error, and could see an unexpected boost in Irelands two other constituencies, RTE said. Green Party leader Eamon Ryan gave the outlook a cautious welcome. We cannot yet count our chickens but the exit polls for the Irish Greens are extremely encouraging, he said. Green Party Leader Eamon Ryan speaks to the media as ballot boxes are opened and counting begins in Dublin (PA) Our MEP candidates Ciaran Cuffe, Saoirse McHugh and Grace OSullivan have put their heart and soul into campaigning across the three constituencies over the past few months. He told RTE earlier: We knew there was going to be a Green vote and its everywhere; its rural Ireland, urban Ireland, younger Ireland, older Ireland. Its reflective of a green wave of thinking thats happening all over the world, all across Europe. We were waiting for it to rise here and it has risen today. We still dont know the results obviously. Were going to be close on a couple of the European seats. I think were in with a chance. Fine Gael leader Leo Varadkar interpreted the Green surge as a signal from the electorate that they want the Government to do more on climate action. He added it has been a very good election for his party. We have won the popular vote. And our vote is up in all three constituencies, he told RTE. Sinn Fein President Mary-Lou McDonald has insisted her party still hopes to return four MEPs three in the Republic of Ireland and one in Northern Ireland. We are in the hunt still for four European seats, these are tight contests, she said. We dont have anything beyond the exit polls but I can say two things that we knew all along, that each of the contests will be very competitive and tight, and that we are still very much in the reckoning in all of those contests. The Irish broadcaster commissioned a RedC exit poll. The polling firm spoke to 3,230 voters in stations across Ireland. Ireland has 13 European Parliament seats. A Europe-wide embargo means the first results in that poll cannot be declared until 10pm on Sunday. Local council elections results are also being counted, as is a referendum on divorce laws with a Yes vote set to reduce the lengthy period separated couples have to wait before they can obtain a formal divorce. Early indications are that over 80% have voted in favour of liberalising divorce laws. Culture Minister Josepha Madigan welcomed the expected yes vote. I think its an emphatic unequivocal result, it should be a resounding yes, and even if we have a very low marital breakdown in Ireland, it just demonstrates the amount of people who stand in solidarity with them, she said. Its a real groundswell of support and compassion for all those people suffering from marital breakdown and I really want to thank the Irish people for coming out and supporting them. Narendra Modi has scripted the second term of a glorious victory. It is also the first time a non-Congress party has safely returned to the shores of power pushed by a huge pro-incumbency wave. A win despite the fact that the economy is not looking up, that demonetisation did lead to unemployment and that GST did throw small businesses out of gear. Despite all this, the largest election in the world has been won by one man Narendra Modi. And Modi won because India identifies with him. One may or may not identify with this new India but its a reality. Rahul Gandhi or the Gandhi dynasty itself may be one of the reasons why the Congress fared so badly in the elections but it certainly is not the main factor. There is no other leader in the Congress at this juncture who could have withstood the Modi wave in 2014 or 2019. And this swelling Modi wave was built on Modis refined idea of the RSSs concept of Indian nationhood a strong Hindu India with a singular identity. To my mind, this notion of Indian nationhood has won the battle over the Congresss supposed idea of India, whose core principle was a pluralism of identities. Rahul Gandhi's notion of India lost to Modi's new India a strong Hindu India, with a singular identity. (Image: DailyO) This mammoth political victory is not a vote on Modis economic achievement or social security schemes. Though, as the BJP President Amit Shah claimed, the schemes have touched 21 crores lives, it remains one of the many side factors for this staggering dominance. People did not vote for Modis Ujjwala Yojana, Swachh Bharat mission, toilets or LPG schemes. It is a victory of majoritarianism and of macho nationalism. The Congresss idea of India simply had no takers. In contrast, Modis idea of India was riding high on a wave of religious and cultural pride, along with adrenalin-infused macho nationalism that was propelled by Balakot. Muslim votes in favour of Modi remains at a constant of 7%-8%, just like in 2014 as per a CSDS survey. This is a huge thumbs-up vote for Modis Hindutva laced with the politics of Vikas. So, Modi has successfully overcome the veto of the Muslim votes with his saffron consolidation. The 2014 elections were fought on Vikas however, this time, that term was nowhere in sight because the government had fared miserably on the economy and the job front. In radio jingles and on billboards, the slogans of Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas were conspicuously absent. The 2019 campaign was mainly riding high on national security and anti-Pakistan sentiments, and had replaced Vikas with Modi Hai Toh Mumkin Hai, promising innumerous possibilities should Modi come to power again. The idea of India, which was supposedly followed by the Congress was more pragmatic, accommodating multiple identities and contradictions that constitute Indian society. It also led to policies of preferential treatment, which is now fiercely fought over as the policy of 'appeasement' which should be done away with. This issue is a separate debate in itself because the preferential treatment has ironically kept Indias largest minority backward and uneducated, reducing them to just a vote bank. As opposed to this, BJP propagated Indian nationhood as a unitary civilization which is essentially Hindu. In order to make its mark on the world stage as a strong nation, it must wear this identity with pride. Along with this, Modi promises Acche Din with upward economic mobility. A strong, rich and predominantly Hindu India is the dominant theme in national politics today, which compelled the other political parties to follow this narrative driven by the BJP. Hence, in these elections, as rightly pointed out by the PM himself, no political party dared to hide behind the veils of secularism. Time and again, we saw a race to show off who was more Hindu. The victory of Pragya Thakur against Digvijay Singh is a clear example of the ideology that has captured Indias mind. A BJP leader told me that Pragya Thakurs candidature was an experiment to burst the myth of 'Hindu terror' which was being accepted as the truth. The experiment succeeded. The question now is, will this experiment embolden the BJP's philosophy of aggressive Hinduism? And will this be repeated elsewhere? A political experiment? The victory of Pragya Thakur is a clear example of the 'Hindu nation' ideology that's captured Indias mind. (Photo: PTI) The self-proclaimed fakir, PM Modi, clearly made an emotional connect with India. Many of his critics took to Twitter to express their 'gratification' at apparently being out of sync with this India their behaviour reeked of a condescending attitude towards a democratic victory not palatable to a certain section. One can surely criticize Modi and his brazen Hindutva brand or macho nationalism but its imperative to look into the phenomenon that is sweeping India off its feet and casting a spell, especially over young voters. A very recent example of this new macho nationalism was on display in Aligarh, when the newly elected BJP MP stated his first priority was to send Jinnahs portrait, locked in a room in Aligarh Muslim University, to Pakistan. The BJP's increased vote share and a staggering 303 seats without the allies shows that the Congress would have lost this election even if it forged a couple of alliances in UP, Delhi, Haryana, Bengal and elsewhere. Now, they have lost out on the leader of the opposition berth due to the dismal 52 seats. It has been said that the issue of Rafale backfired, that Rahul Gandhis Chowkidar Chor Hai did not ring with the people, that Priyanka Gandhis much talked about charisma could not withstand the Modi magic. While all of this may be true, the Congress lost this election because their idea of India has paled in comparison to Modis notion of the Indian nation. This staggering concentration of power in one man (remember, the election was fought and won on only Modis name) is something to beware of in a democracy like India. Also read: Bye-Bye Dynasty: The Modi tsunami and the end of an age of privileged entitlement One of my promises to the community was to increase partnerships with all of the people we serve, and I believe this is another step toward connecting with our community, Idleburg said. Its my goal for everyone in Lake County to see the terrific work performed every day by members of the Lake County Sheriffs Office. 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Ltd., BlackRock Slovakia s.r.o., BlackRock Strategic Investors GP LLC, BlackRock Strategic Investors LP, BlackRock Trident Holding Company Limited, BlackRock UK (Alpha) Limited, BlackRock UK (Beta) Limited, BlackRock UK (Delta) LP, BlackRock UK (Gamma) Limited, BlackRock UK (Sigma) Limited, BlackRock UK 2 LLP, BlackRock UK 3 LLP, BlackRock UK 4 LLP, BlackRock UK A LLP, BlackRock UK Holdco 2 Limited, BlackRock UK Holdco Limited, Blackhawk Investment Holding LLC, CIE Automotive, Cachematrix Holdings, Cachematrix Holdings LLC, Cachematrix Integrations Private Limited, Cachematrix Software Solutions LLC, Cachematrix UK Limited, FutureAdvisor Inc., Glass Mountain Pipeline, Global Energy & Power Infrastructure Advisors LLC, Global Energy & Power Infrastructure II Advisors LLC, Grosvenor Alternate Partner Limited, Grosvenor Ventures Limited, HLX Financial Holdings LLC, MGPA (Bermuda) Limited, MGPA (Exec) Limited, MGPA Limited, Mercury Carry Company Ltd., Mercury Private Equity MUST 3 (Jersey) Limited, Object Capital Technology Inc., Phoenix Acquisition B.V., Phoenix Acquisitions Holdings LLC, Portfolio Administration & Management Ltd., Prestadora de Servicios Integrales BlackRock Mexico S.A. de C.V., SVOF/MM LLC, St. Albans House Nominees (Jersey) Ltd., State Street Research & Management, Tennenbaum Capital Partners LLC, Tennenbaum Capital Partners LLC, Tlali Acero S.A. de C.V. SOFOM ENR, Trident Merger LLC, eFront, eFront, eFront (Jersey) Limited, eFront DMLT Holdings LLC, eFront DMLT Holdings S.R.L, eFront DR S.R.L, eFront Do Brasil Solucoes Informaticas Para Sistemas Financeiros Ltda., eFront FZ-LLC, eFront Financial Solutions Inc., eFront GmbH, eFront Holding II SAS, eFront Holdings SAS, eFront Hong Kong Limited, eFront II SAS, eFront Kabushiki Kaisha, eFront Ltd, eFront SAS, eFront Singapore Pte. Ltd, eFront Software Luxembourg S.a r.l., eFront Solutions Financeieres Inc., eFront d.o.o. Beograd, iShares (DE) I Investmentaktiengesellschaft mit Teilgesellschaftsvermogen, and iShares Delaware Trust Sponsor LLC. Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Technology ETF's stock was trading at $168.3406 on March 11th, 2020 when COVID-19 reached pandemic status according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Since then, RYT stock has increased by 93.7% and is now trading at $326.05. View which stocks have been most impacted by COVID-19. That takes all control out of our hands, which means we would have no say on the siting permit and any other part of the process, Fischer said. As long as we have control at this level, we have some say in it. If we don't annex it, we have no voice. We have nothing. 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 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 Fielmann Aktiengesellschaft engages in the investment in and operation of optical and hearing aid businesses. The company manufactures and sells visual aids and other optical products, including glasses, frames, lenses, sunglasses, contact lenses and accessories, and various merchandise, as well as hearing aids and accessories. As of December 31, 2020, it operated 870 stores, including 605 in Germany, 43 in Switzerland, 38 Austria, 3 in Luxembourg, 33 in Italy, 25 in Poland, 80 in Spain, 28 in Slovenia, and 15 in the rest of Europe. The company also 79 smaller locations in Eastern Europe. Fielmann Aktiengesellschaft also offers its products through online stores. The company was founded in 1972 and is headquartered in Hamburg, Germany. Fielmann Aktiengesellschaft is a subsidiary of Korva SE. Read More The following companies are subsidiares of Caterpillar: Advanced Tri-Gen Power Systems LLC, Anchor Coupling Inc., Asia Power Systems (Tianjin) Ltd., AsiaTrak (Tianjin) Ltd., Banco Caterpillar S.A., Berg Propulsion International Pte Ltd., Bucyrus, Bucyrus Australia Surface Pty. Ltd., Bucyrus Europe Holdings Ltd., Bucyrus Europe Limited, Bucyrus International (Chile) Limitada, Bucyrus International (Peru) S.A., Bucyrus Mining Australia Pty. Ltd., Bucyrus Mining China LLC, Bucyrus UK Limited, Cat Rental Kyushu LLC, Caterpillar (Africa) (Proprietary) Limited, Caterpillar (China) Financial Leasing Co. Ltd., Caterpillar (China) Investment Co. Ltd., Caterpillar (China) Machinery Components Co. Ltd., Caterpillar (HK) Limited, Caterpillar (Huainan) Machinery Service Co. Ltd., Caterpillar (Langfang) Mining Equipment Co. Ltd., Caterpillar (Luxembourg) Investment Co. S.a r.l., Caterpillar (NI) Limited, Caterpillar (Newberry) LLC, Caterpillar (Qingzhou) Ltd., Caterpillar (Shanghai) Trading Co. Ltd., Caterpillar (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., Caterpillar (Suzhou) Logistics Co. Ltd., Caterpillar (Thailand) Limited, Caterpillar (U.K.) Limited, Caterpillar (Wujiang) Ltd., Caterpillar (Xuzhou) Ltd., Caterpillar (Zhengzhou) Ltd., Caterpillar Acquisition Holding Corp., Caterpillar Americas C.V., Caterpillar Americas Co., Caterpillar Americas Funding Inc., Caterpillar Americas Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Caterpillar Asia Limited, Caterpillar Asia Pacific L.P., Caterpillar Asia Pte. Ltd., Caterpillar Asset Intelligence LLC, Caterpillar Belgium S.A., Caterpillar Brasil Comercio de Maquinas e Pecas Ltda., Caterpillar Brasil Ltda., Caterpillar Brazil LLC, Caterpillar Castings Kiel GmbH, Caterpillar Centro de Formacion S.L., Caterpillar China Limited, Caterpillar Commercial Australia Pty. Ltd., Caterpillar Commercial LLC, Caterpillar Commercial Northern Europe Limited, Caterpillar Commercial S.A., Caterpillar Commercial S.A.R.L., Caterpillar Commercial Services S.A.R.L., Caterpillar Communications LLC, Caterpillar Corporativo Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Caterpillar Cote DIvoire, Caterpillar Credito S.A. de C.V. SOFOM E.N.R., Caterpillar DC Pension Trust Limited, Caterpillar Digital Services & Solutions SARL, Caterpillar Distribution International LLC, Caterpillar Distribution Services Europe B.V.B.A., Caterpillar East Real Estate Holding Ltd., Caterpillar Emissions Solutions Inc., Caterpillar Energy Solutions Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., Caterpillar Energy Solutions GmbH, Caterpillar Energy Solutions Inc., Caterpillar Energy Solutions S.A., Caterpillar Energy System Technology (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Caterpillar Engine Systems Inc., Caterpillar Equipos Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Caterpillar Eurasia LLC, Caterpillar FS (QFC) LLC, Caterpillar Finance France S.A., Caterpillar Finance Kabushiki Kaisha, Caterpillar Financial Acquisition Funding LLC, Caterpillar Financial Aftermarket Solutions Corporation, Caterpillar Financial Australia Leasing Pty Limited, Caterpillar Financial Australia Limited, Caterpillar Financial Commercial Account Corporation, Caterpillar Financial Corporacion Financiera S.A. E.F.C., Caterpillar Financial Dealer Funding LLC, Caterpillar Financial Funding Corporation, Caterpillar Financial Kazakhstan Limited Liability Partnership, Caterpillar Financial Leasing (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Caterpillar Financial New Zealand Limited, Caterpillar Financial Nordic Services AB, Caterpillar Financial Nova Scotia Corporation, Caterpillar Financial OOO, Caterpillar Financial Receivables Corporation, Caterpillar Financial Renting S.A., Caterpillar Financial SARL, Caterpillar Financial Services (Dubai) Limited, Caterpillar Financial Services (Ireland) plc, Caterpillar Financial Services (UK) Limited, Caterpillar Financial Services Argentina S.A., Caterpillar Financial Services Asia Pte. Ltd., Caterpillar Financial Services Belgium S.P.R.L., Caterpillar Financial Services CR s.r.o., Caterpillar Financial Services Corporation, Caterpillar Financial Services GmbH, Caterpillar Financial Services India Private Limited, Caterpillar Financial Services Leasing ULC, Caterpillar Financial Services Limited Les Services Financiers Caterpillar Limitee, Caterpillar Financial Services Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Caterpillar Financial Services Netherlands B.V., Caterpillar Financial Services Norway AS, Caterpillar Financial Services Philippines Inc., Caterpillar Financial Services Poland Sp. z o.o., Caterpillar Financial Services South Africa (Pty) Limited, Caterpillar Financial UK Acquisition Funding Partners, Caterpillar Financial Ukraine LLC, Caterpillar Fluid Systems S.r.l., Caterpillar Fomento Comercial Ltda., Caterpillar Forest Products Inc., Caterpillar France S.A.S., Caterpillar GB L.L.C., Caterpillar Global Investments S.a r.l., Caterpillar Global Mining America LLC, Caterpillar Global Mining Equipamentos De Mineracao do Brasil Ltda., Caterpillar Global Mining Equipment LLC, Caterpillar Global Mining Europe GmbH, Caterpillar Global Mining Expanded Products Pty Ltd, Caterpillar Global Mining Germany Holdings GmbH, Caterpillar Global Mining HMS GmbH, Caterpillar Global Mining Holdings GmbH, Caterpillar Global Mining Hong Kong AFC Manufacturing Holding Co. Limited, Caterpillar Global Mining Hong Kong Limited, Caterpillar Global Mining LLC, Caterpillar Global Mining Mexico LLC, Caterpillar Global Mining Pty. Ltd., Caterpillar Global Mining SARL, Caterpillar Global Mining U.S. Parts LLC, Caterpillar Global Services LLC, Caterpillar Group Services S.A., Caterpillar Holding (France) S.A.S., Caterpillar Holding Germany GmbH, Caterpillar Holdings Australia Pty. Ltd., Caterpillar Hungary Components Manufacturing Ltd., Caterpillar Hydraulics Italia S.r.l., Caterpillar IPX LLC, Caterpillar IRB LLC, Caterpillar Impact Products Limited, Caterpillar India Private Limited, Caterpillar Industrial Inc., Caterpillar Industrias Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Caterpillar Industries (Pty) Ltd, Caterpillar Insurance Co. Ltd., Caterpillar Insurance Company, Caterpillar Insurance Holdings Inc., Caterpillar Insurance Services Corporation, Caterpillar International Finance Designated Activity Company, Caterpillar International Finance Luxembourg Holding S. a r.l., Caterpillar International Finance Luxembourg S. a r.l., Caterpillar International Holding S. a r.l., Caterpillar International Luxembourg I S. a r.l., Caterpillar International Luxembourg II S. a r.l., Caterpillar International Product SARL, Caterpillar International Services Corporation, Caterpillar International Services del Peru S.A., Caterpillar Investment Limited, Caterpillar Investment One SARL, Caterpillar Investment Two SARL, Caterpillar Investments, Caterpillar Japan LLC, Caterpillar Latin America Services S.R.L., Caterpillar Latin America Services de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Caterpillar Latin America Services de Panama S. de R.L., Caterpillar Latin America Servicios de Chile Limitada, Caterpillar Latin America Support Services S. DE R.L., Caterpillar Leasing (Thailand) Limited, Caterpillar Leasing Chile S.A., Caterpillar Leasing GmbH (Leipzig), Caterpillar Leasing Operativo Limitada, Caterpillar Life Insurance Company, Caterpillar Logistics (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Caterpillar Logistics (UK) Limited, Caterpillar Logistics Inc., Caterpillar Logistics ML Services France S.A.S., Caterpillar Logistics Services China Limited, Caterpillar Luxembourg Group S.ar.l., Caterpillar Luxembourg LLC, Caterpillar Luxembourg S.a r.l., Caterpillar Machinery Nantong Co. Ltd., Caterpillar Marine Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., Caterpillar Marine Asset Intelligence, Caterpillar Marine Power UK Limited, Caterpillar Marine Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Caterpillar Maroc SARL, Caterpillar Materiels Routiers SAS, Caterpillar Mexico LLC, Caterpillar Mexico S.A. de C.V., Caterpillar Mining Canada ULC, Caterpillar Mining Chile Servicios Limitada, Caterpillar Motoren (Guangdong) Co. Ltd., Caterpillar Motoren GmbH & Co. KG, Caterpillar Motoren Henstedt-Ulzburg GmbH, Caterpillar Motoren Rostock GmbH, Caterpillar Motoren Verwaltungs-GmbH, Caterpillar Netherlands Holding B.V., Caterpillar North America C.V., Caterpillar Operator Training Ltd., Caterpillar Overseas Credit Corporation SARL, Caterpillar Overseas Investment Holding SARL, Caterpillar Overseas Limited, Caterpillar Overseas SARL, Caterpillar Panama Services S.A., Caterpillar Paving Products Inc., Caterpillar Paving Products Xuzhou Ltd., Caterpillar Pension Trust Limited, Caterpillar Poland Sp. z o.o., Caterpillar Power Generation Systems (Bangladesh) Limited, Caterpillar Power Generation Systems L.L.C., Caterpillar Power Systems Inc., Caterpillar Power Ventures International Ltd., Caterpillar Precision Seals Korea, Caterpillar Prodotti Stradali S.r.l., Caterpillar Product Services Corporation, Caterpillar Propulsion AB, Caterpillar Propulsion International Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Caterpillar Propulsion Italy S.R.L., Caterpillar Propulsion Namibia (Proprietary) Limited, Caterpillar Propulsion Production AB, Caterpillar Propulsion Pte. Ltd., Caterpillar Propulsion Singapore Pte. Ltd., Caterpillar R&D Center (China) Co. Ltd., Caterpillar Ramos Arizpe LLC, Caterpillar Ramos Arizpe S. de R.L. de C.V., Caterpillar Ramos Arizpe Servicios S.A. de C.V., Caterpillar Reman Powertrain Indiana LLC, Caterpillar Remanufacturing Drivetrain LLC, Caterpillar Remanufacturing Services (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Caterpillar Renting France S.A.S., Caterpillar Reynosa S.A. de C.V., Caterpillar SARL, Caterpillar Services Germany GmbH, Caterpillar Servicios Limitada, Caterpillar Servicios Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Caterpillar Servizi Italia Srl, Caterpillar Shrewsbury Limited, Caterpillar Skinningrove Limited, Caterpillar Southern Africa (Pty) Ltd., Caterpillar Special Services Belgium S.P.R.L., Caterpillar Switchgear Americas LLC, Caterpillar Switchgear Holding Inc., Caterpillar Tianjin Ltd., Caterpillar Torreon S. de R.L. de C.V., Caterpillar Tosno L.L.C., Caterpillar Transmissions France S.A.R.L., Caterpillar Tunneling Canada Holdings Ltd., Caterpillar Tunnelling Canada Corporation, Caterpillar Tunnelling Europe Limited, Caterpillar UK Employee Trust Limited, Caterpillar UK Engines Company Limited, Caterpillar UK Group Limited, Caterpillar UK Holdings Limited, Caterpillar Undercarriage (Xuzhou) Co. Ltd., Caterpillar Underground Mining Pty. Ltd., Caterpillar Used Equipment Services Inc., Caterpillar Venture Capital Inc., Caterpillar Work Tools B.V., Caterpillar Work Tools Inc., Caterpillar World Trading Corporation, Caterpillar Xuzhou, Caterpillar of Australia Pty. Ltd., Caterpillar of Canada Corporation, Caterpillar of Delaware Inc., Centre de Distribution de Wallonie SPRL, CleanAir Systems, Downer Freight Rail, ECM Railway Evolution Romania s.r.l., ECM S.p.A., EDC European Excavator Design Center GmbH, EMC Holding Corp., EMD International Holdings Inc., ERA Information & Entertainment (BVI) Limited, ERA Mining Machinery Limited, Electro-Motive Diesel Limited, Electro-Motive Locomotive Technologies LLC, Electro-Motive Technical Consulting Co. (Beijing) Ltd., Energy Services International Limited, Equipos de Acuna S.A. de C.V., Eurenov S.A.S., F. G. Wilson (Proprietary) Limited, F. Perkins Limited, FG Wilson (Engineering) Limited, GB Holdco (China) Inc., GFCM Comercial Mexico S.A. de C.V. SOFOM E.N.R., GFCM Servicios S.A. de C.V., Gremada Industries - Assets, Hong Kong Siwei Holdings Limited, Inmobiliaria Conek S.A. de C.V., JCS Co., Kemper Valve & Fittings Corp., Leo Inc., Locomotive Demand Power Pty Ltd., Locomotoras Progress Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Lovat, M2M Data Corporation, MGE Equipamentos & Servicos Ferroviarios, MWM, MWM Austria GmbH, MWM Benelux B.V., MWM Energy Australia Pty Ltd, MWM France S.A.S, MWM Real Estate GmbH, MaK Americas Inc., MaK Americas Inc. (Canada), Magnum Power Products LLC, Marble, Maschinenbau Kiel GmbH, Mec-Track S.r.l., Metalmark Financial Services Limited, Motoren Steffens GmbH, Nippon Caterpillar LLC, P. T. Solar Services Indonesia, PT Caterpillar Finance Indonesia, PT. Bucyrus Indonesia, PT. Caterpillar Indonesia, PT. Caterpillar Indonesia Batam, PT. Caterpillar Remanufacturing Indonesia, Perkins Engines, Perkins Engines (Asia Pacific) Pte Ltd, Perkins Engines Group Limited, Perkins Engines Inc., Perkins Group Limited, Perkins Holdings Limited LLC, Perkins India Private Limited, Perkins International Inc., Perkins Japan LLC, Perkins Limited, Perkins Machinery (Changshu) Co. Ltd., Perkins Motores do Brasil Ltda., Perkins Power Systems Technology (Wuxi) Co. Ltd., Perkins Small Engines (Wuxi) Co. Ltd., Perkins Small Engines LLC, Perkins Small Engines Limited, Perkins Technology Inc., Progress Metal Reclamation Company, Progress Rail Arabia Limited Company, Progress Rail Australia Pty Ltd, Progress Rail Canada Corporation, Progress Rail Equipamentos e Servicos Ferroviarios do Brasil Ltda., Progress Rail Equipment Leasing Corporation, Progress Rail Holdings Inc., Progress Rail Innovations Private Limited, Progress Rail Inspection & Information Systems GmbH, Progress Rail Inspection & Information Systems S.r.l., Progress Rail International Corp., Progress Rail Leasing Canada Corporation, Progress Rail Leasing Corporation, Progress Rail Leasing de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Progress Rail Locomotivas (do Brasil) Ltda., Progress Rail Locomotive Canada Co., Progress Rail Locomotive Chile SpA, Progress Rail Locomotive Inc., Progress Rail Maintenance de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Progress Rail Manufacturing Corporation, Progress Rail Raceland Corporation, Progress Rail Rocklin Corporation, Progress Rail SA Proprietary Limited, Progress Rail Services Corporation, Progress Rail Services Holdings Corp., Progress Rail Services LLC, Progress Rail Services UK Limited, Progress Rail Switching Services LLC, Progress Rail Transcanada Corporation, Progress Rail Welding Corporation, Progress Rail Wildwood LLC, Progress Rail de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Pyroban Group, Pyroban Group, Pyrrha Investments B.V., Pyrrha Investments Limited, S&L Railroad LLC, SCM Singapore Holdings Pte. Ltd., SPL Software Alliance LLC, Sabre Engines, Servicios de Turbinas Solar S. de R.L. de C.V., Shandong SEM Machinery Co. Ltd., Solar Turbines, Solar Turbines, Solar Turbines (Beijing) Trading Services Co. Ltd., Solar Turbines (Thailand) Ltd., Solar Turbines CIS Limited Liability Company, Solar Turbines Canada Ltd./Ltee., Solar Turbines Central Asia Limited Liability Partnership, Solar Turbines EAME s.r.o., Solar Turbines Egypt Limited Liability Company, Solar Turbines Europe S.A., Solar Turbines India Private Limited, Solar Turbines International Company, Solar Turbines Italy S.R.L., Solar Turbines Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Solar Turbines Middle East Limited, Solar Turbines New Zealand Limited, Solar Turbines Saudi Arabia Limited, Solar Turbines Services Company, Solar Turbines Services Nigeria Limited, Solar Turbines Services of Argentina S.R.L., Solar Turbines Switzerland Sagl, Solar Turbines Trinidad & Tobago Limited, Solar Turbines West-Africa SARL, Tangshan DBT Machinery Co. Ltd., Tecnologia Modificada S.A. de C.V., Towmotor Corporation, Traction & Mining Motor Repairs Pty Ltd, Turbinas Solar S.A. de C.V., Turbinas Solar de Colombia S.A., Turbinas Solar de Venezuela C.A., Turbo Tecnologia de Reparaciones S.A. de C.V., Turbomach, Turbomach Endustriyel Gaz Turbinleri Sanayi Ve Ticaret Limited, Turbomach France SARL, Turbomach GmbH, Turbomach Netherlands B.V., Turbomach Pakistan (Private) Limited, Turbomach S.A. Unipersonal, Turbomach Sp. Z o.o., Turner Powertrain Systems Limited, UK Hose Assembly Limited, Underground Imaging Technologies Inc, United Industries LLC, VALA Inc., Vasky Energy Ltd., Wealdstone Engineering, Weir - Oil & Gas Division, West Virginia Auto Shredding Inc., Western Gear Machinery LLC, Wetland Sustainability Fund I LLC, Williams Technologies, Yard Club, Zhengzhou Siwei Mechanical and Electrical Equipment Sales Co. Ltd., and okyo Rental Ltd.. In the event that the liquor vendor opportunity is not possible for this year, then lets consider using us as your providers for 2019 and beyond (time/years to be determined of course). Doing so would allow all of us to move forward with this years planning, while allowing us both to see that horizon we discussed, Tamayo-Calabrese wrote. iShares MSCI Singapore ETF's stock was trading at $19.75 on March 11th, 2020 when COVID-19 (Coronavirus) reached pandemic status according to the World Health Organization. Since then, EWS shares have increased by 7.4% and is now trading at $21.21. View which stocks have been most impacted by COVID-19. iShares S&P SmallCap 600 ETF's stock was trading at $62.31 on March 11th, 2020 when COVID-19 (Coronavirus) reached pandemic status according to the World Health Organization. Since then, IJR stock has increased by 84.0% and is now trading at $114.68. View which stocks have been most impacted by COVID-19. Royal Bank of Canada operates as a diversified financial service company worldwide. The company's Personal & Commercial Banking segment offers checking and savings accounts, home equity financing, personal lending, private banking, indirect lending, mutual funds and self-directed brokerage accounts, guaranteed investment certificates, credit cards, and payment products and solutions; and lending, leasing, deposit, investment, foreign exchange, cash management, auto dealer financing, trade products, and services to small and medium-sized commercial businesses. This segment offers financial products and services through branches, automated teller machines, and mobile sales network. Its Wealth Management segment provides a suite of advice-based solutions and strategies to high net worth and ultra-high net worth individuals, and institutional clients. The company's Insurance segment offers life, health, home, auto, travel, wealth, annuities, and reinsurance advice and solutions; and creditor and business insurance services to individual, business, and group clients through its field sales force, advice centers, and online, as well as through independent insurance advisors and affinity relationships. Its Investor & Treasury Services segment provides asset, cash management, transaction banking, and treasury services to institutional clients; correspondent banking and trade finance services for financial institutions; and short-term funding and liquidity management services. The company's Capital Markets segment offers corporate and investment banking, as well as equity and debt origination, distribution, sale, and trading services for corporations, institutional investors, asset managers, governments, and central banks. Royal Bank of Canada has a strategic partnership with Royal College Of Physicians & Surgeons Of Canada to support the needs of Canada's medical specialists. The company was founded in 1864 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada. Read More BASF SE operates as a chemical company worldwide. It operates through six segments: Chemicals, Materials, Industrial Solutions, Surface Technologies, Nutrition & Care, and Agricultural Solutions. The Chemicals segment provides petrochemicals and intermediates. The Materials segment offers advanced materials and their precursors for applications and systems, such as isocyanates and polyamides, as well as inorganic basic products and specialties for plastic and plastic processing industries. The Industrial Solutions segment develops and markets ingredients and additives for industrial applications, such as polymer dispersions, pigments, resins, electronic materials, antioxidants, light stabilizers, oilfield chemicals, mineral processing, and hydrometallurgical chemicals. The Surface Technologies segment offers chemical solutions and automotive OEM which include refinish coatings, surface treatment, catalysts, battery materials, and base metal services for the automotive and chemical industries. The Nutrition & Care segment provides nutrition and care ingredients for food and feed producers, as well as pharmaceutical, cosmetics, detergent, and cleaner industries. The Agricultural Solutions segment offers crop protection products and seeds, such as fungicides, herbicides, insecticides, and biological crop production products, as well as seed treatment products. The company has a strategic partnership with IntelliSense.io. BASF SE was founded in 1865 and is headquartered in Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Germany. Read More The following companies are subsidiares of SK Telecom Co.,Ltd: ADT CAPS Co. Ltd., ADT Caps, Atlas Investment, CAPSTEC Co. Ltd., Cyworld, DongGuan Iriver Electronics Co. Ltd., Dreamus Company, Eleven Street Co. Ltd., FSK L&S (Hungary) Co. Ltd., FSK L&S (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., FSK L&S Co. Ltd., FSK L&S Vietnam Company Limited, Hana Card, Hanaro Telecom, Happy Hanool Co. Ltd., Home & Service Co. Ltd., ID Quantique, Id Quantique LLC, Incross Co. Ltd., Infra Communications Co. Ltd., Iriver China Co. Ltd., Iriver Enterprise Ltd., K-net Culture and Contents Venture Fund, Korea Thrunet, LG HelloVision, Life & Security Holdings Co. Ltd., Life Design Company Inc., Mindknock Co. Ltd., Onestore Co. Ltd., PS&Marketing Co. Ltd., Panasia Semiconductor Materials LLC, Quantum Innovation Fund I, SK Broadband, SK Broadband Co. Ltd., SK Communications Co. Ltd., SK Global Healthcare Business Group Ltd., SK Infosec Co. Ltd., SK M&Service Co. Ltd., SK O&S Co. Ltd., SK Planet Co. Ltd., SK Planet Global Holdings Pte. Ltd., SK Planet Japan K. K., SK Telecom China Fund I L.P., SK Telecom China Holdings Co. Ltd., SK Telecom Innovation Fund L.P., SK Telecom TMT Investment Corp., SK Telink Co. Ltd., SK stoa Co. Ltd., SK telecom Japan Inc., SKP America LLC, SKT Americas Inc., SKinfosec Information Technology (wuxi) Co. Ltd., Service Ace Co. Ltd., Service Top Co. Ltd., Shopkick, Tbroad Nowon Broadcasting Co. Ltd., YTK Investment Ltd., iRiver Ltd, and id Quantique Ltd.. Visclosky, chairman of the House Defense Appropriations Committee, said it just moved legislation to the full House that sets aside $77 million for daycare services for children in military families. He said in the Navy alone, 9,000 children were on a waiting list. There is not enough analysis data for Central Securities. 5.0 Community Rank Outperform Votes Central Securities has received 112 outperform votes. (Add your outperform vote.) Underperform Votes Central Securities has received 27 underperform votes. (Add your underperform vote.) Community Sentiment Central Securities has received 80.58% outperform votes from our community. MarketBeat's community ratings are surveys of what our community members think about Central Securities and other stocks. Vote Outperform if you believe CET will outperform the S&P 500 over the long term. Vote Underperform if you believe CET 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 Newmont: AC40689 Limited, Administradora de Negocios Mineros S.A. de C.V., Australian Capital Territory, Battle Mountain Resources Inc., Cayman Pampas Ltd., Con Exploration Ltd., Datawave Sciences Inc., Dawn Mining Company LLC, ELLC Grazing Membership LLC, EMH (BVI) Inc., Elko Land and Livestock Company, Empresa Minera Maria SRL, Fronteer Development (USA) LLC, Fronteer Development LLC, Fronteer Royalty LLC, GCGC LLC, GMK Investments Pty Ltd, Galore Creek Mining Corporation, Galore Creek Partnership, Glamis Rand Mining Company, Gold S.p.A., Goldcorp (Barbados) Inc., Goldcorp America Holdings Inc., Goldcorp Aureus Inc., Goldcorp Aurum Argentum Inc., Goldcorp Canada Ltd., Goldcorp Capital Corporation, Goldcorp Exeter Ltd., Goldcorp Faja de Plata S.A. de C.V., Goldcorp General Holdings Ltd., Goldcorp Global Services Inc., Goldcorp Holdings Europe B.V., Goldcorp Holdings GmbH, Goldcorp Inc., Goldcorp Insurance Company Inc., Goldcorp Internacional S.A. de C.V., Goldcorp Kaminak Ltd., Goldcorp Latin America Finance Limited, Goldcorp MC Holding S.p.A., Goldcorp Penasquito S.A. de C.V., Goldcorp Porcupine Nominee Ltd., Goldcorp Red Lake Nominee Ltd., Goldcorp Stratum Inc., Goldcorp Tesoro Inc., Goldcorp Trading GmbH, Goldcorp USA Holdings Ltd., Goldcorp USA Inc., Goldcorp USA Services Inc., Goldfields Power Pty Ltd, Hemlo Gold Mines (Ghana) Limited, Holdco S.p.A., Honduras Holdings Ltd., Hospah Holdings Company, Idarado Mining Company, International Mineral Finance S.AR.L., MMC Acquisition Limited, Mexicana Resources Inc., Minera Alumbrera Ltd., Minera BMG, Minera Choluteca S.A. de C.V., Minera Faja de Plata S.A. de C.V., Minera Los Tapados S.A., Minera Newmont (Chile) Limitada, Minera Penasquito S.A. de C.V., Minera Yanacocha S.R.L., Miramar Gold Corporation, Miramar HBG Inc., Miramar Northern Mining Ltd., Montana Exploradora de Guatemala S.A. de C.V., Moydow Limited, Musto Explorations (Bermuda) Ltd., N.I. Limited, NP Kalgoorlie Pty Ltd, NVL (USA) Limited, NVL Haiti Limited S.A., NVL PNG Limited, NVL Solomon Islands Limited, Nevada Eagle Resources LLC, Nevada Gold Mines LLC, New Verde Mines LLC, Newmont (Guyana) Incorporated, Newmont AP Power Pty Ltd, Newmont Australia Investment Limited, Newmont Boddington Pty Ltd, Newmont Bolivia Limited, Newmont CC&V Mining Corporation, Newmont Canada Corporation, Newmont Canada Holdings ULC, Newmont Capital Limited, Newmont Capital Pty Ltd, Newmont Colombia S.A.S., Newmont Euronimba B.V., Newmont FH B.V., Newmont GTR LLC, Newmont Galore Creek Holdings Corporation, Newmont Ghana Gold Limited, Newmont Gold Company, Newmont Gold Pty Ltd, Newmont Goldcorp Australia Pty Ltd, Newmont Goldcorp Boddington Pty Ltd, Newmont Goldcorp Exploration Pty Ltd, Newmont Goldcorp Integrated Services Inc., Newmont Goldcorp Red Lake Holdings Ltd., Newmont Goldcorp Services Pty Ltd, Newmont Goldcorp Tanami Pty Ltd, Newmont Golden Ridge Limited, Newmont Holdings ULC, Newmont Indonesia Investment Limited, Newmont Indonesia LLC, Newmont International Exploration Pty Ltd, Newmont International Group BV, Newmont International Services Limited, Newmont Investment Holdings LLC, Newmont Landco Pty Ltd, Newmont Latin America Limited, Newmont McCoy Cove Limited, Newmont Mineral Holdings B.V., Newmont Mines Limited, Newmont Mining Finance Pty Ltd, Newmont Mining Holdings Pty Ltd, Newmont NGL Holdings Pty Ltd, Newmont Nevada Energy Investment LLC, Newmont North America Exploration Limited, Newmont Nusa Tenggara Holdings B.V., Newmont Overseas Exploration Limited, Newmont Pacific Energy Pty Ltd, Newmont Peru Limited, Newmont Power Pty Ltd, Newmont Realty Company, Newmont Second Capital Corporation, Newmont Suriname LLC, Newmont Technologies Limited, Newmont USA Limited, Newmont Ventures Limited, Newmont Woodcutters Pty Ltd, Newmont Yandal Operations Pty Ltd, Newmont de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Normandy Company (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Normandy Overseas Holding Company Sdn Bhd, Nusa Tenggara Partnership B.V., Orcana Resources Inc., Oroplata S.A., PT Newmont Minahasa Raya, Pequop Exploration LLC, Peridot S.A., Pittston Nevada Gold Company Ltd., Pueblo Viejo Dominicana Corporation, Red Lake Gold Mine Services Ltd., Resurrection Mining Company, Saddleback Investments Pty Ltd, San Juan Basin Holdings Company, Santa Fe Pacific Gold Corporation, Sermineros de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Sermineros de Mexico S.A. de C.V. <0.0010% Sermineros Zacatecas S.A. de C.V., Sociedad Contractual Minera El Morro, Suriname Gold Project CV, Takari Mining SAS, Talapoosa Mining Inc., The LeClair Consolidated Mines Company, The Matoa Gold Mining Company, US Mineral Company Inc., Vol Mines Limited, and West Pequop Project LLC. Wells Fargo & Co. is a diversified, community-based financial services company. It is engaged in the provision of banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance. It firm operates through the following segments: Community Banking, Wholesale Banking, Wealth & Investment Management, and Other. The Community Banking segment offers complete line of diversified financial products and services for consumers and small businesses including checking and savings accounts, credit and debit cards, and automobile, student, and small business lending. The Wholesale Banking segment provides financial solutions to businesses across the United States and globally. The Wealth and Investment Management segment includes personalized wealth management, investment and retirement products and services to clients across U.S. based businesses. The Other segment refers to the products of WIM customers served through community banking distribution channels. The company was founded by Henry Wells and William G. Fargo on March 18, 1852 and is headquartered in San Francisco, CA. Read More At least they are sending postcards this time. Last time, they were cleaning up the voter registration records they dropped my name without the slightest attempt to contact me. The excuse was I used my drivers license rather than social security number to register. The drivers license is a recognized option to register. Maybe they don't like the way I vote? The following companies are subsidiares of Quaker Chemical: AC Products Inc., Applied Surface Concepts Holdings Ltd. , Binol AB, Binol Biosafe OY, Commonwealth Oil Corporation, DA Stuart India Private Limited, DA Stuart Shanghai Co, ECLI Products LLC, EFHCO LLC, Engineered Custom Lubricants, Engineered Custom Lubricants GmbH, Epmar Corporation, G.W. Smith and Sons, GH Holdings Inc., GHG Lubricants Holdings Limited, GHGL London Ltd., GHI Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., Global Houghton Ltd., Houghton (Shanghai) Specialty Industrial Fluids Co. Ltd, Houghton Argentina S.A., Houghton Asia Pacific Co. Limited, Houghton Australia Pty. Ltd., Houghton Benelux BV, Houghton CZ s.r.o, Houghton Canada Inc., Houghton Denmark AS, Houghton Deutschland GmbH, Houghton Europe BV, Houghton Holdings Limited, Houghton Iberica S.A. , Houghton International, Houghton International Inc., Houghton Italia S.p.A., Houghton Japan Co. Ltd., Houghton Kimya Sanayi AS, Houghton Magyarorszag Kft, Houghton Mexico S.A. de C.V., Houghton Oil (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd., Houghton Polska Sp. Zo.o., Houghton Romania S.R.L., Houghton S.A.S., Houghton Sverige AB, Houghton Taiwan Co. Limited, Houghton Technical Corp., Houghton Ukraine ToV, Houghton do Brazil Ltda., Houghton plc, Internationale Metall Impragnier GmbH, Lubricor Inc, Lubricor Inc., Lubricor Mexicana S.A. de C.V., Lubricor USA Inc., MIH Acquisition Company LLC, MX Systems International Ltd, Maldaner GmbH, NP Coil Dexter Industries, New Houghton Brazil Inc., Norman Hay Engineering Ltd., QH Chemical Limited, QH Europe BV, QH Holdings Limited, QH International Limited, Quaker (Thailand) Ltd., Quaker Australia Holdings Pty. Limited, Quaker Chemical (Australasia) Pty. Limited, Quaker Chemical (China) Co. Ltd., Quaker Chemical B.V., Quaker Chemical CV, Quaker Chemical Canada Holdings Inc., Quaker Chemical Canada Limited, Quaker Chemical Europe B.V., Quaker Chemical Holdings South Africa (Pty) Limited, Quaker Chemical India Private Limited, Quaker Chemical Industria e Comercio Ltda., Quaker Chemical Investment Management (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Quaker Chemical Limited, Quaker Chemical MEA FZE, Quaker Chemical Operacoes Ltda., Quaker Chemical Participacoes Ltda., Quaker Chemical S.A., Quaker Chemical S.r.l., Quaker Chemical Services EURL, Quaker Chemical South Africa (Pty.) Limited, Quaker China Holdings B.V., Quaker Denmark ApS, Quaker Houghton (Finco) Ltd., Quaker Houghton Holdings Limited, Quaker Houghton Holdings Ltd., Quaker Houghton International LP, Quaker Houghton Ltd., Quaker International Holdings LLC, Quaker Italia S.r.l., Quaker Russia B.V., Quaker Sales Europe BV, Quaker Shanghai Trading Company Limited, Quaker Spain Holding SLU, Quaker Specialty Chemicals (UK) Limited, SB Decking Inc., SIFCO Applied Surface Concepts (UK) Ltd, SIFCO Applied Surface Concepts LLC, SIFCO Concepts Sarl, SIFCO Concepts Sweden, Sterr & Eder Industrieservice GmbH, Summit Lubricants Inc, Summit Lubricants Inc., Surface Technology (Coventry) Ltd, Surface Technology (Dalian) Co Ltd, Surface Technology (East Kilbride) Ltd., Surface Technology (Leeds) Ltd, Surface Technology Aberdeen Ltd, Surface Technology Australia, Surface Technology Holdings Ltd., TecniQuimia Mexicana, Tecniquimia Mexicana S.A. de C.V., Thai Houghton 1993 Co. Ltd., Ultraseal Asia Limited, Ultraseal Chongqing Limited, Ultraseal Germany GmbH, Ultraseal International Group Ltd, Ultraseal Machinery Dongguan Ltd, Ultraseal Shanghai Limited, Ultraseal USA Inc., Unitek Servicios De Asesoria Especializad S.A de C.V., Verkol S.A.U., Verkol SAU, Wallover Enterprises Inc., Wallover Oil Company Incorporated, Wallover Oil Hamilton Inc., and Wuhan Quaker Technology Co. Ltd. Umansky Subaru is sharing the love with Charlottesvilles Ronald McDonald House. Earlier this month, the dealership delivered a $10,000 check to the charitable organization as part of Subarus national Share the Love promotion, held during the last three months of 2018. The funds will be used to support the daily operations of the house, which has been in the area for 39 years and supports families of patients at the University of Virginia Childrens Hospital. The Ronald McDonald House provides lodging, meals and encouragement to hundreds of families each year. Send news tips to news@dailyprogress.com, call (434) 978-7264, tweet us @DailyProgress or send us a Facebook message here. 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. Its exceeded my expectations, he said of SkyWests first-year performance. Campbell said 2019 should rank as one of the best years in the airports history. Perhaps more importantly, the traveling public has really responded to the new service, according to Campbell. He told the commission that based on a survey of 10,000 to 11,000 frequent flyers around the Valley, at least 98 percent said they were aware of SkyWest flights at SVRA. That appears to have directly resulted in more passengers. According to data supplied by the airport, traffic dipped to a nine-year low in 2016 with 9,719 passengers boarding a flight at SVRA. After a slight rebound in 2017, passenger traffic returned in 2018 to numbers the airport hadnt seen since 2013, when more than 22,000 people flew on SkyWest during its eight months of service from Shenandoah Regional. This year, SkyWest is expected to fly 36,000 passengers through SVRA. That would represent the largest passenger load for any single carrier to ever fly in and out of the airport. So far, an outbreak of measles in 24 states has not yet hit Virginia. As of May 17, no cases of the highly contagious virus had been reported in the commonwealth to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But theres still reason to be cautious, warn local health officials, who are asking residents to check their records and follow vaccination recommendations. The most important thing to emphasize is that the measles outbreaks we have seen in the U.S. so far this year have primarily affected children, said Marshall Vogt, an epidemiologist for the Virginia Department of Health. The disease was eliminated in the United States in the 1990s. Current outbreaks have been imported by international travelers who have interacted with unvaccinated people while in the U.S. According to the CDC, there are currently 880 people affected across the country, the largest outbreak in a decade. Measles may just be a plane ride away from international airports in Virginia and Washington, D.C., but health officials are hopeful that historically high vaccination rates among Virginians will limit the risk of widespread outbreaks. As a longtime educator, Avoli said helping students find the best path forward has been a major part of his lifes work. However, the best path forward is not necessarily a four-year university, he said, and alternatives should be improved. Too many students are being forced into universities that may not fit their life path, and workforce development alternatives should be further explored, he said. Students are the key to our future, as often as thats said, and we must do well by them. As a conservative, Avoli said he is staunchly against abortion and believes Gov. Ralph Northam went too far with his recent comments on medical decisions regarding a nonviable fetus. Earlier this year, Northam expressed his support for a bill that would allow doctors and mothers to decide to abort a fetus during the third-trimester in circumstances where the child has no chance of survival. Bourne said his decision to run was similarly inspired by a desire to serve the public and to combat abortion on a state level. As a Christian, Bourne said he believes it is his calling to serve in the state legislature, spurred on further by medical problems that faced his son, who weighed 2 pounds at birth. RICHMOND A governor who waffled. Staff members who pushed him to act. Panic under pressure. A wife who was left out. An unflattering portrait of Gov. Ralph Northam and some of his closest advisers emerged this week from the investigation of a racist photo from his medical school yearbook page. While the inquiry did not confirm whether Northam was in the photo, investigators laid bare in excruciating detail how the governor and his staff botched the crisis when the picture came to light. That fumble risks leaving a permanent stain on Northam's tenure. Amid internal chaos and confusion, the governor first took the blame for appearing in a photo depicting one person in blackface and another in Ku Klux Klan robes, and then the next day insisted that neither was him. The reversal damaged public trust and raised questions about competence. "This initial mistake of the . . . messaging, he will not be able to recover from that for the rest of his governorship," said Marcus Messner, associate director of Virginia Commonwealth University's school of media and culture. "There will always be a mark because it just created such a believability problem for him." The mishandling seems to be the result of a combination of factors. Northam, a pediatric neurologist, is not a natural politician. Many of his closest staff members are young; others had no experience with scandals of a similar magnitude. Making matters worse, the racist photo went to the core of Northam's self-image as an upright former president of the Honor Guard at the Virginia Military Institute. "He's not a sophisticated political operator by any means," said Bob Holsworth, a longtime Richmond political analyst. "They compounded every problem they had exponentially. . . . It just revealed the inept crisis management mode there." Republicans have feasted on the racial component of the controversy they've dubbed Northam "Governor Blackface" and some critics have circulated doctored images of him in blackface on social media. Now they have a new line of attack in a year when all 140 seats in the legislature will be on the November ballot. "The report really does give me great concern about this administration's ability to handle a crisis," House Majority Leader Todd Gilbert, R-Shenandoah, said Friday. "In a situation that should have been the end of his career, he just sat down and did what his staff told him to do without much thought. That's not leadership." Democrats had high hopes of winning majorities in both the state House and the state Senate this fall for the first time in decades. Northam's troubles make that more difficult. But Holsworth noted that if the party can hang onto the momentum of its recent election cycles, Northam has a shot at being a successful governor. "He has the possibility of being effective still," he said. Even while hobbled, Northam managed to work with Republicans to add money to the state budget for at-risk public school students and for affordable housing. And he vetoed a mandatory minimum sentencing bill that African American lawmakers disliked. If Democrats do manage to take over the legislature, Northam could chalk up big wins in policy areas such as gun control, gay rights and access to abortion. That would come on top of the accomplishments of his first year: expanding Medicaid and landing the Amazon HQ2 headquarters. "The question is, does this impact getting that majority?" Holsworth said. The meltdown highlighted Northam's political liabilities in the starkest terms. It was foreshadowed just days before, when he made unclear remarks about late-term abortion that Republicans seized upon to accuse him of favoring infanticide. Northam and his staff declined to clarify or explain his remarks, seemingly stunned that anyone would question his intentions as a physician. That created a vacuum easily filled by opponents including GOP lawmakers and President Trump. Just two days later, on Feb. 1, someone apparently outraged by the abortion comments tipped off a conservative website to a racist photo on Northam's personal page in the 1984 Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS) yearbook. According to the investigation conducted by the McGuireWoods law firm on behalf of EVMS and confirmed in interviews with numerous people familiar with the events, Northam saw the photo around 3:30 p.m. on Feb. 1 as he prepared to head to a service for a fallen veteran in Suffolk. His chief of staff, Clark Mercer, came into Northam's office with the photo on his iPhone, along with communications director Ofirah Yheskel, 27. Mercer, 39, had been Northam's chief of staff when he served as lieutenant governor and also had been a policy adviser to U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va. He told the investigators that he had been waging two days of battles over the abortion comments. "It had been a long week," he said in the report. Northam initially said he had no memory of the photo and wondered if it was a hoax. He asked someone to go to the medical school to see if it was in the yearbook, and then left on a state helicopter for the memorial event. The governor was still in the air when Mercer summoned him back: The photo was real, and reaction was already rolling in. From that point on, insiders described mounting chaos. Media outlets and lawmakers were calling, texting and emailing, demanding an explanation. Yheskel had left that initial meeting to draft a statement for the governor in which he denied being in the picture, but Mercer wasn't sure she should. He huddled with Brian Coy, 35, who had been communications director for the previous governor, Terry McAuliffe, R. Mercer and Coy are close friends, and Coy had stayed in the job for the first few months of Northam's term before leaving for a Richmond lobbying firm. Mercer, Coy and other advisers gathered around a single computer and began writing a statement for Northam. The governor stayed in his office, taking calls and meeting with lawmakers and confidants who wanted answers. People who spoke with him came away with different impressions. Tom King, who had done political advertising for Northam, called the governor while on vacation. "He said, 'It's not me. I'm sitting with Pam. We've looked at this picture. It's not me,'" King recalled in an interview. Del. Luke Torian, D-Prince William, who met with Northam along with other members of the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus, pointed to the two people in the picture and asked: "Which one are you?" Northam told investigators that he responded: "Luke, I can't answer that. I have no memory of this." But Torian's recollection to investigators was that he said, "I don't know." As demands mounted for a public explanation, the staff consulted a crisis communications firm. Other advisers began converging on Richmond. Mercer and Coy considered three choices: deny, accept responsibility or say Northam was uncertain. They decided the uncertainty route would not fly, given the overheated tone of public attention the racist photo was beaming nationwide on cable news. They presented Northam with only the first two options. Northam kept saying he had no memory of it, didn't think it was him. But he said the worst possible outcome would be to deny it and then have someone come forward to say it was him in the photo. That, Northam said, would ruin his credibility. So Mercer gave him a written statement accepting responsibility for the picture. Northam approved its release, and later delivered a similar video message. Later, pressed by the investigators for an explanation, Northam blamed his staff for urging him to respond hastily, definitively and, he says, falsely. "My staff is young," he told investigators. "They work hard, but I haven't heard anyone say, 'We should've sat down and talked about this.' That's not in their playbook." But he also acknowledged that he had signed off on the statement. Mercer later told investigators that he should have paid more attention to what Northam was saying. "No question that he was in a state of shock that evening," Mercer said of Northam, according to the EVMS report. "Things could have been handled differently. I wish we had listened a little more intently." First lady Pam Northam had left the executive offices earlier in the evening, thinking her husband was going to issue a denial. She had never wavered in her belief that he was not in the picture. When she found out that he took responsibility, she was angry. She demanded that he come home to the Executive Mansion. It was about 10 p.m. If she had known that staff was going to release the statement accepting responsibility, she told investigators later, she would have "physically stood there and stopped it." Much like after the debacle over the abortion comments, Northam and his advisers counted on goodwill from his political allies to provide some cover. They were significantly off base. Every major politician including Northam's mentors, McAuliffe and U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va. called on him to resign. By the next morning, Northam and his wife had been up almost all night talking with friends and former EVMS colleagues. He was now convinced that he was not in the picture. Once Northam could sit in a quiet room and think, any doubt or indecision was gone, Mercer told the EVMS investigators. "When he got home, he was a little more clear-headed." He stunned his staff members by telling them that he would not resign, and he held a strange, nationally televised news conference in the Executive Mansion to announce that he now disavowed any knowledge of the photo. He did, however, admit putting shoe polish on his cheeks to imitate Michael Jackson in a dance contest later in 1984. In one moment that later drew sharp derision, a sleep-deprived Northam seemed ready to moonwalk for the cameras until his wife stopped him. Daniel Palazzolo, a political science professor at the University of Richmond, said the damage done to Northam on a single night in February was in part self-inflicted, a blunder that could have been avoided if the governor and his staff had reacted differently. "This idea that it was inevitable, that it had to go a certain way they ruled out the option that made the most sense," he said. "What if he'd said, 'Look, I've never seen this picture before. . . . I'll do an investigation and if it turns out that I'm one of the people in the picture, I'll resign.' . . . You don't have to be wishy-washy. Let's be accountable. But why not be just truthful?" Difficulties with Iran will recur regularly, like the oscillations of a sine wave, and the recent crisis if such it was, or is illustrates persistent U.S. intellectual and institutional failures, starting with this: The Trump administration's assumption, and that of many in Congress, is that if the president wants to wage war against a nation almost the size of Mexico (and almost four times larger than Iraq) and with 83 million people (more than double that of Iraq), there is no constitutional hindrance to him acting unilaterally. In April, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was pressed in a Senate hearing to pledge that the administration would not regard the 2001 authorization for the use of military force against al-Qaida and other non-state actors responsible for 9/11 as authorization, 18 years later, for war against Iran. Pompeo laconically said he would "prefer to just leave that to lawyers." Many conservatives who preen as "originalists" when construing all the Constitution's provisions other than the one pertaining to war powers are unimpressed by the Framers' intention that Congress should be involved in initiating military force in situations other than repelling sudden attacks. Northam initially indicated that he appeared in the picture; then expressed doubt and, finally, then declared he was not, introducing a different controversy by volunteering on the second day of this continuing public-relations disaster that in 1984, the same year the picture was published, he went to a dance contest in Texas as Michael Jackson, complete with blackface. This is a gang that can't shoot straight. And while still-angry Northam has incrementally emerged from a figurative bunker to speak on issues and resume fundraising, he presumably will consider steps and, perhaps, staff to mend broken relations with fellow Democrats he believed had his back and to improve his messaging without further dinging the reassuring image of the pediatrician he is. Northam's alma mater may face a steeper challenge. The McGuireWoods report shows that medical school staff at first, the alumni affairs director knew of the racist photograph before it came to the public's attention on Feb. 1. Further, that the school's current president, Richard Homan, and his predecessor, Harry Lester, were told of picture concurrent with Northam's political campaigns. Barely two decades since the impeachment of Bill Clinton, the people of the United States again are confronting the possibility that their president, now Donald Trump, could be impeached, meaning charged by the House of Representatives with offenses that, if proved in a Senate trial, would remove him from office. Not surprisingly, politics have pervaded the debate. Many people, perhaps most, assume that impeachment of a president should be, or inevitably will devolve into a political melee. The few historic examples that exist show political motivations to varying degrees in the impeachment proceedings against Presidents Johnson, Nixon and Clinton. Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told The Washington Post in March that impeachment is so divisive to the country that unless theres something so compelling and overwhelming and bipartisan, I dont think we should go down that path. Most Democratic leaders dont want impeachment, at least at this point, fearing a political backlash in 2020 if they pursue impeachment. Some believe that if impeached in the House and tried and acquitted by the Senate, Trumps political popularity will skyrocket like Bill Clintons did after his impeachment in 1998. The next image creates dissonance and worry: Will the names be erased? The concluding line relieves that worry the names are not being erased. More importantly, the final image of a simple act of caring calls to mind the sacrifices made to protect women and children by those whose names are on the wall. As a result, their image in the stone becomes a living memorial. Memory and reflection We can also learn from Brock Jones, an Army veteran who served three tours of duty in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. He named his award-winning book Cenotaph, the name for a tomb to honor those whose graves lie elsewhere. By using the name of a monument for those not present, a monument with historical ties to ancient Greece and Egypt as well as our own culture, Brock highlights how honoring the dead goes beyond culture and country. Jones poems do not focus outward toward social strife, but inward. They address languages inability to capture or express loss linked to memories of war. They also point to how those remaining alive, particularly those who have not served, might come to understand the depth of the sacrifice expressed by memorials and, by extension, Memorial Day. Several U.S. governors have expressed their hope that the United States and China could soon reach a win-win trade deal to reduce uncertainty in business and bring bilateral cooperation back on track. "Of all the 50 states, more exports go to China from Washington state than any other state. And then similarly, China is our number one export destination of all the countries," Cyrus Habib, lieutenant governor of the U.S. state of Washington, told Xinhua on the sidelines of the just-concluded Fifth China-U.S. Governors Forum. "Our relationship with China is absolutely key, central to the success that we have had," Habib said. "It's important for all different sectors of our economy." When asked how he views the decline in bilateral trade volume since the trade dispute, Habib said "it's a concern in both directions," adding that additional tariffs are definitely "a source of stress" for both Chinese and U.S. companies. "What businesses want and what workers need is predictability and an environment that reduces barriers," said the lieutenant governor. Former Missouri Governor Bob Holden also highlighted the disruption, saying that America's heartland, where the U.S. agricultural economy grows out of, has been severely hit by the trade dispute. Holden, currently chairman and CEO of the United States Heartland China Association, told Xinhua that 18 out of the 20 U.S. states located between the Great Lakes and the Gulf of Mexico are "the hardest hit" by tariffs stemming from U.S.-China trade friction. Holden said "there's a great deal of concern, (and) uneasiness" on the part of lots of soybean producers in Missouri, as well as some other agricultural areas. The former governor urged the two sides to resolve the issue so that things could go back to normal. Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin, whose state hosted the three-day forum, said "there's no governor in America, not myself or any other governor that does not want these agreements to be done and done soon," adding that the trade dispute is hurting companies because of the uncertainty. "When you consider that the U.S. economy and the Chinese economy together comprise 40 percent of the world's GDP ... it is critical that we resolve at the national level anything that separates our nations," Bevin said. "We have 9,000 people in Kentucky working for Chinese-owned companies and hundreds have been added just in recent months. This is good. I want more. I want thousands more," he said. In order to reach a trade deal, Holden said, the two sides are "going to have to feel like they both gave something and they both gained something from it." "I think they've got to look at it from the standpoint that what can we do and what can they do to both serve our self-interest and not undermine the credibility of the other," said Holden. The former Missouri governor's remarks were echoed by Habib, who believes a possible trade deal should be beneficial to both sides. "What do we need to be doing? ... That's a conversation (which) needs to go in both directions," Habib said, stressing the importance of mutual respect which is needed "at the heart of any negotiation." A trade deal, Habib said, should help both sides have a good long-term understanding about trade dynamics, renew and refresh the rules of engagement, and make sure that "to the best of our abilities, we facilitate imports and exports." Bevin said that the two governments need to make sure that the trade agreement is "proper" and "solid," and that both sides "get something and give something." The trade deal needs to be capable of lasting for years to come, Bevin added, saying that he is confident the trade dispute will eventually be settled. "At the national level, there'll be solutions," said Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, adding that he believes negotiations will be beneficial to both countries and his role is to enhance and develop those relationships in sub-national way. "I'm very optimistic about it," Habib said, "because I've seen it work and I know that there's a strong desire in both national governments to resolve this." "We can't let something that happens in one day or one week determine how we view one another. We have to have a long term view," Habib said. You are here: Business The total value of privately offered funds reached 13.31 trillion yuan (1.92 trillion U.S. dollars) at the end of April, industry association data showed. The figure was up 517.29 billion yuan, or 4.04 percent from a month earlier, according to the Asset Management Association of China (AMAC). The number of registered private funds rose 2.37 percent to 77,135 at the end of last month, said the AMAC in its monthly report. In breakdown, the value of funds investing in securities expanded 11.6 percent to 2.36 trillion yuan after months of shrinkage, due to the strong performance of the A-share market. The value of private equity funds, which invest in non-listed companies rose 3.04 percent to 8.16 trillion yuan. Meanwhile, the value of venture capital funds expanded 5.86 percent to 1 trillion yuan, according to the association. Established in 2012, AMAC is a self-regulatory organization that represents the mutual fund industry of China. Thirteen Chinese airlines are seeking compensation from Boeing over the grounding of its 737 Max jetliners and delays in delivering pre-ordered 737 MAX models. The Boeing 737 Max planes were grounded around the world in March following two fatal air crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia. 9 Air, a passenger airline company based in Guangzhou of Guangdong Province, was reportedly on Friday to join 12 other Chinese airlines to seek Boeing compensation. Currently all Chinese carriers which operated 737 Max-8 have lodged claims against the U.S. manufacturer. Meantime, China Air Transport Association (CATA) said on Friday that Chinese airlines could lose 4 billion yuan (580 million U.S. dollars) if the 737 Max suspension lasts through June, and losses will continue to mount if the grounding lasts beyond that. CATA said it will support and help its member airlines to demand compensation from Boeing. China is the biggest user of Boeing's 737 Max-8 jets 96 Boeing MAX-8 jets were in service in the country. China was the first country to suspend the commercial operations of all 737 Max-8 jets following the Ethiopian Airlines crash this March, which killed all 157 people on board. Last October, a 737 MAX-8 crashed in the Indonesian capital Jakarta on a domestic flight, killing all 189 people on board. You are here: China The death toll from a cargo ship gas leak in east China's Shandong Province on Saturday has risen to 10, with another 19 people injured, local authorities said in a statement on Sunday. The injured are in stable condition at a hospital, a local officials said. The incident happened at around 4:00 p.m. on Saturday at Longyan port in Rongcheng City, Shandong Province, when a Fujian-registered cargo ship had a carbon dioxide leak during maintenance. A preliminary investigation showed that the leak was caused by a member of the ship's staff. Further investigation is underway. The authorities said several people are in police custody. You are here: China Strong winds and heavy rainfall hit Beijing Sunday morning, causing over 100 flights to be canceled and delays for dozens of trains. The capital's meteorological bureau on Saturday afternoon issued a yellow alert for lightning expected in the city from 2 am Sunday until 2 pm in the afternoon. It also warned that some areas might face gusts of wind gusts and hail. Capital International Airport by 12 pm Sunday had canceled 111 out of 436 scheduled flights, while a China Southern Airlines flight scheduled to arrive in Beijing at noon from Guangzhou in Guangdong province found cracks on its windshield due to hail upon landing. The flight arrived safely with no injuries onboard, said China Southern Airlines. Railway departments said Sunday afternoon that they had adopted measures limiting the speeds of some intercity trains between Beijing and Tianjin, while also canceling a number of services due to strong winds and significant rainfall. The heavy rainfall and thunderstorms will last until 8 pm Sunday, according to the National Meteorological Center, which issued a blue alert for severe weather on Saturday. Southwest Guangdong, Fujian and Jiangxi provinces are also expected to experience the weather in the coming days, along with some provinces in Northeastern China. China has a four-tier color coded weather warning system, with red representing the most severe, followed by orange, yellow and blue. But before diving into each variant and what they offer, lets take a look at the specifications of the two sub-4m SUVs. With prices starting from Rs 6.5 lakh (ex-showroom), the Hyundai Venue is one of the most affordable sub-4m SUVs in the country. But how does it fare against the XUV300 in terms of value for money? Lets find out. But before diving into each variant and what they offer, lets take a look at the specifications of the two sub-4m SUVs. Dimensions: Hyundai Venue Mahindra XUV300 Length 3995mm 3995mm Width 1770mm 1821mm Height 1605mm (with roof rails) 1627mm Wheelbase 2500mm 2600mm Boot Space 350 litres 259 litres While the XUV300 and the Venue are identical in length, the Mahindra beats the Venue on all other fronts. It is wider, taller and also has a longer wheelbase than the Hyundai. The Venue has a much larger boot, which could come in handy for long road trips. Engine: Petrol Hyundai Venue Mahindra XUV300 Engine 1.2-litre / 1.0-litre turbocharged 1.2-litre turbocharged Power 93PS / 120PS 110PS Torque 115Nm / 172Nm 200Nm Transmission 5-speed MT / 6-speed MT, 7-speed DCT 6-speed MT The naturally aspirated 1.2-litre unit of the Venue is the least powerful engine here. However, its 1.0-litre turbocharged engine makes the most power in this comparison. In terms of torque, the Mahindra takes the lead. Where the Venue is available with both automatic and manual transmission options with the turbocharged engine, the XUV300 is a manual-only offering for now. Diesel Hyundai Venue Mahindra XUV300 Engine 1.4-litre 1.5-litre Power 90PS 115PS Torque 220Nm 300Nm Transmission 6-speed MT 6-speed MT The XUV300s 1.5-litre unit is not only bigger but more powerful as well. The Mahindra makes 25PS more than Hyundais 1.4-litre unit. The XUV300 makes more torque as well. Both SUVs are only available with a 6-speed manual. Also Read: Hyundai Venue Vs Rivals: Spec Comparison Variants Comparison: Lets compare similarly priced variants (price difference ~Rs 50,000) of the two sub-4m SUVs. Petrol Hyundai Venue Mahindra XUV300 E Rs 6.50 lakh S (1.2L) Rs 7.2 lakh S(1.0L) Rs 8.21 lakh W4 Rs 7.90 lakh W6 Rs 8.75 lakh SX Rs 9.54 lakh SX(O) Rs 10.60 lakh W8 Rs 10.25 lakh W8(O) Rs 11.49 lakh Hyundai Venue S(1.0L) Vs Mahindra XUV300 W4 Hyundai Venue S(1.0L) Rs 8.21 lakh Mahindra XUV300 W4 Rs 7.90 lakh Difference Rs 31,000 (Venue is more expensive) Common Features: Safety: Dual front airbags, ABS with EBD, ISOFIX child seat anchors, rear parking sensors, speed-sensing door lock, and driver and co-driver seatbelt reminder. Exterior: Body-coloured bumpers, door handles and ORVMs and steel wheels. Interior: Fabric upholstery. Comfort and Convenience: Manual AC, all four power windows, adjustable front headrest, manual day/night IRVM, tilt-adjustable steering, electrically adjustable ORVMs and central locking. What Hyundai Venue S(1.0L) offers over Mahindra XUV300 W4 Wheel covers, rear AC vents and 2-DIN music system with Bluetooth and steering mounted controls. What Mahindra XUV300 W4 offers over Hyundai Venue S(1.0L) All three adjustable rear headrests, 60:40 split rear seats, front tyre direction monitor, LED tail lamps, multiple steering modes and rear disc brakes. Verdict: The XUV300 is our pick here simply because it offers better value for money. Hyundai Venue SX(O) Vs Mahindra XUV300 W8 Hyundai Venue SX(O) Rs 10.60 lakh Mahindra XUV300 W8 Rs 10.25 lakh Difference Rs 35,000 (Venue is more expensive) Common Features (over previous variants): Safety: ESP and hill hold assist. Exterior: Projector headlamps with LED DRLs, LED tail lamps, fog lamps, turn indicators on ORVMs and alloy wheels. Infotainment: Both SUVs get a touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. However, where the Venue gets an 8-inch unit (biggest in class) and the XUV300 comes with a 7-inch unit. Comfort & Convenience: Auto AC, cruise control, adjustable front and rear headrest, 60:40 split rear seat, height adjustable driver seat, remote central locking, push button start/stop, auto headlamps, electrically foldable ORVMs and reverse parking camera. What Hyundai Venue SX(O) offers over Mahindra XUV300 W8: Side and curtain airbags, electric sunroof, projector fog lamps rear AC vents, air purifier and wireless mobile charging. The Venue also gets Hyundai BlueLink, which includes an e-Sim for internet connectivity. This allows the customer to control various car functions like engine start/stop and AC, among others. What Mahindra XUV300 W8 offers over Hyundai Venue SX(O): Centre adjustable headrest, rain-sensing wipers, dual zone AC, front tyre direction monitor, multiple steering modes and rear disc brakes Verdict: The Venue is the more expensive car here, but it totally justifies the premium over the XUV300 with the additional equipment it offers. Diesel Hyundai Venue Mahindra XUV300 E Rs 7.75 lakh S Rs 8.45 lakh W4 Rs 8.49 lakh SX Rs 9.78 lakh W6 Rs 9.30 lakh SX(O) Rs 10.84 lakh W8 Rs 10.80 lakh W8(O) Rs 11.99 lakh Hyundai Venue S Vs Mahindra XUV300 W4 Hyundai Venue S Rs 8.45 lakh Mahindra XUV300 W4 Rs 8.49 lakh Difference Rs 4,000 (XUV300 is more expensive) Common Features: Safety: Dual front airbags, ABS with EBD, ISOFIX child seat anchors, rear parking sensors, speed-sensing door lock, and driver and co-driver seat belt reminder. Exterior: Body-coloured bumpers, door handles and ORVMs, and steel wheels. Interior: Fabric upholstery. Infotainment: 2-DIN music system with Bluetooth. Comfort and Convenience: Manual AC, all four power windows, adjustable front headrest, manual day/night IRVM, tilt-adjustable steering, electrically adjustable ORVMs and central locking. What Hyundai Venue S(1.0L) offers over Mahindra XUV300 W4 Wheel covers, steering mounted control and rear AC vents. What Mahindra XUV300 W4 offers over Hyundai Venue S(1.0L) All three adjustable rear headrests, 60:40 split rear seat, LED tail lamps, front tyre direction monitor, multiple steering modes and rear disc brakes. Verdict: Both SUVs are quite evenly equipped here. However, the XUV300 has a slight edge with features like foldable rear seats, rear disc brakes, multiple steering modes and all three adjustable rear headrests. So, the XUV300 would be our pick here. Hyundai Venue SX Vs Mahindra XUV300 W6: Hyundai Venue SX Rs 9.78 lakh Mahindra XUV300 W6 Rs 9.30 lakh Difference Rs 48,000 (Venue is more expensive) Common Features (over previous variants): Exterior: Wheel covers and LED tail lamps. Infotainment: Both the SUVs get a touchscreen infotainment system. However, where the Venue gets an 8-inch unit, the XUV300 comes with a smaller 7-inch screen. Comfort and Convenience: Steering mounted controls, remote central locking and rear adjustable headrest. What Hyundai Venue SX offers over Mahindra XUV300 W6: Apple CarPlay and Android Auto support, projector fog lamps, automatic projector headlamps with LED DRLs, turn indicators on ORVMs, alloy wheels, reverse parking camera, auto AC with rear AC vents, height adjustable driver seat, electric sunroof and cruise control. What Mahindra XUV300 W6 offers over Hyundai Venue SX: 60:40 split rear seat, front tyre direction monitor, multiple steering modes and rear disc brakes. Verdict: The Venue is our pick here. Although it is more expensive than the XUV300, the premium it attracts is totally justified by the additional features it gets. Hyundai Venue SX(O) Vs Mahindra XUV300 W8 Hyundai Venue SX(O) Rs 10.84 lakh Mahindra XUV300 W8 Rs 10.80 lakh Difference Rs 4,000 (Venue is more expensive) Common Features (over previous variants): Safety: ESP and hill hold assist. Exterior: Projector headlamps with LED DRLs, LED tail lamps, fog lamps, turn indicators on ORVMs and alloy wheels. Infotainment: Both SUVs get a touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. However, where the Venue gets an 8-inch unit (biggest in class) and the XUV300 comes with a 7-inch unit. Comfort & Convenience: Auto AC, cruise control, adjustable front and rear headrest, 60:40 split rear seat, height adjustable driver seat, remote central locking, push button start, auto headlamps, electrically foldable ORVMs and reverse parking camera. What Hyundai Venue SX(O) offers over Mahindra XUV300 W8: Side and curtain airbags, electric sunroof, rear AC vents, air purifier and wireless mobile charging. The Venue also gets Hyundai BlueLink, which includes an e-Sim for internet connectivity. This allows the customer to control various car functions like engine start/stop, AC, among others. What Mahindra XUV300 W8 offers over Hyundai Venue SX(O): Rear centre adjustable headrest, rain-sensing wipers, dual zone AC, front tyre direction monitor, multiple steering modes and rear disc brakes. Verdict: The Venue continues to be our pick here. For a premium of just Rs 4,000, it gets a whole lot of features, including additional airbags and a sunroof, among others. Also Read: Hyundai Venue vs Tata Nexon: Variants Comparison Disclaimer: This article has not been edited by Deccan Chronicle and is taken from a syndicated feed. Photos: CarDekho. The plan to launch a bank ETF comes on the back of the government seeing huge investor demand for two existing ETFs. New Delhi: The Finance Ministry is planning to launch an exchange traded fund (ETF) consisting of stocks of PSU banks and financial institutions this fiscal and will soon appoint an advisor to explore its feasibility, according to an official. After the resounding success of CPSE ETF and Bharat-22 ETF, the government is looking at diversifying the ETF basket by including stocks public sector banks and financial institutions. "We will be soon appointing advisor to suggest on launching an ETF with PSU bank scrips. The advisor will also look into the feasibility of including stocks of financial institutions and insurance companies into the basket," the official told PTI. The plan to launch a bank ETF comes on the back of the government seeing huge investor demand for two existing ETFs. It has raised Rs 32,900 crore through two tranches and an additional fund offer of Bharat-22 ETF, and Rs 38,000 crore in five tranches of CPSE ETF in the domestic market. "We expect balance sheet of PSU banks to strengthen going forward and an ETF would provide risk-averse investors an option to hold shares of multiple banks through a single financial instrument," the official said. Currently, there are two state-owned insurance companies -- General Insurance Corp of India and New India Assurance Co Ltd -- and 19 public sector banks that are listed on exchanges. Besides, financial institution IFCI is also listed on the exchanges. The government currently has two exchange-traded funds -- CPSE ETF and Bharat-22 ETF -- listed on domestic exchanges. ETFs function like a mutual fund scheme and have underlying assets of government-owned companies. The Finance Ministry has also started consultations with global investors for launching CPSE-scrip based ETF in overseas market. The official further said that the government does not intend to launch in the domestic market any new ETFs comprising stocks of public sector companies since in most of these companies government holding is nearing 51 per cent. Bharat-22 ETF, which was launched in 2017-18, has 16 central public sector enterprises covering six sectors, three public sector banks and three private sector companies where the government holds minority stake. CPSE-ETF comprises shares of 11 companies -- ONGC, Coal India, Indian Oil Corp, Power Finance Corp, REC, Bharat Electronics, Oil India, NTPC, NBCC (India), NLC India and SJVN Ltd. The government has budgeted to collect Rs 90,000 crore through CPSE disinvestment in the current fiscal as against Rs 84,972 crore mopped up in 2018-19. Mumbai: For Sanjay Dutt, family always comes first. At multiple occasions, Sanjay Dutt is seen with his family for vacations and he never misses out on any occasion to celebrate with his family. It happens to be Sanjay Dutt's father Sunil Dutt's death anniversary and the actor took to his social media handle to share a heartfelt picture with his family from the childhood captioning, "The pillars of our family! I miss you Mom & Dad ". The actor missed valuable moments of his life while he was away to serve his term so now he makes it a point that even with his hectic schedule and shooting for multiple projects simultaneously, he takes out time for his children and family while never giving any occasion a miss. With Sanjay Dutt's line up of films, the actor is away from the family for the outdoor shoots for long schedules but he makes sure that he is still there for his children. He calls them every day and speaks to them in the morning before they go to school and before they sleep. The actors' children also visit when he is away for a long time. Sanjay Dutt with his first release of 2019 'Kalank' has mesmerized everyone with his performance being strong and impactful and for his fans, it is a series of period drama that will be following! Over the years, Sanjay Dutt has treated the audience with characters which have gone ahead to resonate and strike a chord with the viewers. Known to have a power packed screen presence, the actor hosts a number of strong characters in his diverse repertoire as an actor. With multiple films lined up, Sanjay Dutt is one of the busiest actors in the business. Big budgeted films like Shamshera, Kalank, Panipat, Bhuj: The Pride of India, Prasthanam, Sadak 2 amongst others make a list of his upcoming films. Cannes: The Invisible Life of Euridice Gusmao, a sweeping melodrama set in 1950s Rio de Janeiro by Brazilian filmmaker Karim Ainouz, bagged the top prize in the Un Certain Regard section, Festival de Cannes second most high-profile showcase. Adapted from the 2015 novel by Martha Batalha, the film tells the story of two sisters in desperate pursuit of their dreams. Twenty-year-old Guida (played by Julia Stockler), seeks love, passion, relationship of her choice, while 18-year-old Euridice (Carol Duarte), a gifted pianist, wants to study at the music conservatory in Vienna. But both are trapped in the conservative morality of their patriarchal middle class family, and when one dares to chase her dreams, it means heartbreaking separation that leads to decades of yearning, unanswered questions and letters from one that never reach the other. The film, in Portuguese, is both tragic and uplifting as the two sisters negotiate small pieces of their desire while always aching for the lost sister. That the film appealed to Un Certain Regards five-member jury, led by president Nadine Labaki (Oscar-nominated director of Capernaum), is no surprise. But some of the jurys other picks for seven awards from a total of 18 films competing in the Un Certain Regard section reinforced the criticism that the Cannes film festival is a life-time membership club where directors graduate from one section to another, cultivating good will and earning loyalty points as they climb up the ladder. Talent matters, of course. But loyalty counts for a lot, especially because Cannes rules demand a huge sacrifice: For any film to be considered in Cannes official sections, it should not have been shown internationally, at film festivals, in any country other than where it was produced, or on the Internet. This restriction narrows directors chances of entering their films in other festivals and they are, at times, compensated in other ways. But when Oliver Laxes Galician film, Fire Will Come, won the Jury Prize, there were no grudging noises. The film tells the story of Amador Coro (played by Amador) who is released from prison after serving his sentence for arson. He returns to a small village in Galicia, to live with his mother and three cows, and life goes on calmly till the night when a fire devastates the region. And Russian director Kantemir Balagovs Beanpole, a poignant and often devastating WWII drama about two young women rebuilding their lives in Leningrad despite a shared tragedy, justifiably won the Best Director award. But Chiara Mastroiannis performance in Christophe Honores French film, On a Magical Night, being adjudged the best performance was a shocker. Mastroianni plays Maria, a professor addicted to sex with younger men, despite a devoted husband at home. After one particularly testy break-up with a lover-student, that her husband gets to know of, she remains unapologetic about her needs and moves out of her house, but doesnt go very far. Maria checks into Room 212 in the hotel across her house, with a full view of her moping, angry husband. While she watches him, the film slides into her memories, producing, one by one, all the men she loved and lived with. Told strictly in comical mode, the film has a peppy narrative rhythm but is a rather light-weight comedy. And the jury, surprisingly, overlooked other, much stronger performances. Looking at just the women actors, there was young American actor Amber Havard who plays Kris in director Annie Silversteins affecting and intimately shot Bull. Set in Houston, Kris is a teenager waiting for her mother to return from jail so that she can begin living her life. But since that wait seems endless, she finds catharsis and peace in being trained by Abe, an aging bullfighter struggling to keep his job in the rodeo, to be a bullfighter. A still from the film. And then there was the charming and stunning performance by Leyna Bloom as a trans woman in American director Danielle Lessovitz Port Authority. As well as Viktoria Miroshnichenkos subtle, nuanced performance as Iya in Beanpole. The Special Jury Prize went to director Albert Serra for Liberte, a film that devotes itself to ogling an orgy between 18th-century libertines in the French countryside. The film has graphic sex scenes, accompanied by screaming, and prompted several disgusted walkouts during its premiere. A special award, the Coup de Coeur, was handed to two films: Quebecois filmmaker Monia Chokri for A Brothers Love, a rather silly and often annoying talkathalon that ends on a very bizarre note, and American writer-director-actor Michael Angelo Covinos The Climb, a warm, sharp, deadpan buddy comedy that received rave reviews. The Special Jury Mention of Joan of Arc, by director Bruno Dumont, Frances dark prince of dour auteurism, also saw many jaws drop on the Croisette on Friday night. Literally, Un Certain Regard means a certain glance, but is understood to mean "from another point of view, and in the section films from emerging directors or films on unexpected marginal themes are included. The awards in this section are a precursor to the big night at Cannes when the Palme dOr and Grand Prix, among other awards, are announced. Amongst the 21 films in the festivals main Competition section is Almodovars Pain and Glory. The Spanish director has never received a Palme dOr and there is buzz that Cannes will right that wrong on Saturday night. If it does, it will be overlooking much stronger films, like Terrence Malicks A Hidden Life, Ken Loachs Sorry We Missed You, Ladj Lys Les Miserables, and above all, Celine Sciammas Portrait of a Lady on Fire. Sciamma has, with her gorgeous, political, lesbian romance period film, rewritten the rules of which stories to tell and how. And Cannes likes it a lot when directors break rules. How much, well know tomorrow. Actor John Krasinski returned to his graduation student college to deliver the commencement speech during the school's Class of 2019 graduation. He kept the students entertained with a funny yet inspiring story, reports JustJared.com People ask me how I got into acting, and the truth is, I didnt get into acting. I got into everything. For the next four years I wanted to be part of it all, I formed a new way of thinking. A new way to execute those thoughts. I left my comfort zone and then stayed there, and left again, says Krasinski, who graduated in 2001 with a degree in theatre arts. He went on to say, Real change is organic. The only responsibility you all have is to hold fast to everything you have lived, right here. To not conform, to realize that when youre out there, youve done all this before. Remember fondly the discomfort you felt when you were asked to push yourself farther than you were ever sure you could go. And the elation when you finally got there. Kim Kardashians prisoner reform mission is changing lives of many criminals. The recent example is that of Paul Algarin. After coming out of the prison, he has been getting job offers from all around the world. According to Tmz.com, Paul says that he has got offers from the UK, Nigeria and other countries, where people want to work with him in one way or the other. Some have offered him modelling as well. Paul had written to Kim after serving seven years in Central Prison, North Carolina. After he was freed from the jail, Kim and husband Kanye West had visited him along with a doctor, who could start the face tattoos removal process. Former Mr India World Prateek Jain is all set to make his debut in Tollywood. Prateek, who won the coveted title in 2014, has since then been active in the modeling circuit. Impressed by his looks and body language, K. S. Ravindra (Bobby), the director of Venky Mama, has roped him in to play a crucial role in the film. The mixed martial arts fighter from Bengaluru will be seen sharing the screen with protagonists Venkatesh and Naga Chaitanya in the forthcoming film. Apparently, the actor commenced shooting for his part in Kashmir a few ago, and the unit was reportedly elated about his inclusion. Although Prateeks role in the film has not been disclosed yet, rumours are rife that he has been commissioned to play a badass. Bobby is convinced that a new face will complement the role. Other than lending a fresh appeal to the character, Prateeks performance is also expected to accentuate the impact of the scenes, said a source in the know. The agency wants custodial interrogation of Kumar, a 1989-batch IPS officer, in connection with Rs 2500 crore Saradha ponzi scam as he was heading the Special Investigation Team of West Bengal Police to probe the case before CBI took over. (Photo: PTI) New Delhi: The CBI has issued a Look Out Notice against former Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar, whose custodial interrogation it has sought in connection with the Saradha scam, to prevent him from leaving the country, officials said on Sunday. All airports and immigration authorities have been alerted by the CBI this week to prevent him from leaving the country and intimate the agency on any possible move, they said. The agency wants custodial interrogation of Kumar, a 1989-batch IPS officer, in connection with Rs 2500 crore Saradha ponzi scam as he was heading the Special Investigation Team of West Bengal Police to probe the case before CBI took over, they said. The CBI had told the Supreme Court that custodial interrogation of Kumar was necessary as he was not cooperating with the probe and he was evasive and arrogant in answering queries put to him during his questioning by the agency. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who was appearing for the CBI had said Kumar was the in-charge of investigation by the SIT and had allowed the release of mobile phones and laptops, containing crucial records of alleged involvement of political functionaries in the scam, which were seized from the accused. Mehta had said the seized mobile phones and laptops were not even sent for forensic examination and material evidence was destroyed in the case. The apex court had last month asked CBI to furnish evidence for seeking custodial interrogation of Kumar in the Saradha case, saying it has to be satisfied that the agency's request was bona fide and not for political purposes. The apex court on May 17 had withdrawn protection given to Kumar from any arrest and had asked the CBI to proceed as per law. "We have withdrawn the protection given to Rajeev Kumar vide order dated February 5, the bench headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi had said but gave a week's time to Kumar to approach competent court for anticipatory bail. Kumar had again approached the Supreme Court on May 20 seeking extension of protection claiming that the courts in West Bengal were not functioning due to lawyers' strike. This petition was rejected following which Kumar had approached a Kolkata court with an anticipatory bail. In the last week of January, the Centre and West Bengal government faced an unprecedented stand off after a CBI team which reached the residence of Kumar, then Kolkata police commissioner, for questioning him had to retreat after local police refused to let it enter and detained its officers. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee came in the defence of Kumar and started a sit-in to protest against the Centre's move. The Supreme Court on February 5 had prevented the agency from any coercive action against Kumar and directed him to appear and co-operate in CBI questioning at a "neutral place". He was questioned by the CBI for nearly five days at its office in Shillong from February 9 onwards. The Saradha group of companies duped lakhs of customers promising higher rates of returns on their investment, the CBI has alleged. Similar modus operandi was adopted by other ponzi companies like Rose Valley operating in West Bengal, Odisha and North Eastern states where gullible investors were duped, it said. The Supreme Court had ordered a CBI probe in which the agency has allegedly detected collusion of scheme operators, police personnel, politicians among others, the officials had said. The plane, which departed from Tiruchy, landed after the pilots received a smoke warning in the aircrafts cargo from the automated alarm system. Chennai: A Singapore-bound Scoot Airways flight was forced to make an emergency landing at Chennai international airport early on Monday, authorities said. The plane, which departed from Tiruchy, landed after the pilots received a smoke warning in the aircrafts cargo from the automated alarm system. According to sources, in the early hours of Monday, Flyscoot pilots got a smoke warning at around 3.40 am after the flight SCO 567, carrying 165 passengers and 7 cabin crew, had departed from Tiruchy airport at 1.30 am. The pilot had immediately requested an emergency landing, which was granted by the ATC, following which the aircraft landed in Chennai airport and was asked to park in the cargo area. A team of 60 firefighters were ready on the ground when the flight landed in Chennai. No mishap occurred while landing, airport sources said. The airline, which is Singapore Airlines budget wing, tried to fix the fault but at around 6 am all the passengers were offloaded and later lodged in a hotel. The airline said in a statement, Scoot flight TR567, operating Tiruchirappalli-Singapore on 20 May 2019, diverted to Chennai International Airport, as a precaution, due to a cargo smoke warning trigger. The aircraft landed safely in Chennai at approximately 3.41am local time. The aircraft has been grounded for investigations and preliminary assessment indicates a false warning. Scoot will mount a replacement flight to Chennai, subject to regulatory approval, to transport customers back to Singapore. The flight will depart Chennai on 20 May 2019 at 3.30 pm local time. Hotel accommodation and meals have been arranged for customers in Chennai. The safety of our customers is of Scoots highest consideration. We apologise for any inconvenience caused. 'On the unfortunate murder of Ex Pradhan Surendra Singh of Amethi, Chief Minister has directed the DGP to take severe and effective action,' office of Uttar Pradesh CM informed. (Photo: File) Lucknow: Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has set a 12-hour deadline to nab culprits who killed ex-pradhan Surendra Singh of Amethi and has dispatched Inspector General, Lucknow for monitoring the probe. Singh is a close associate of BJP's Smriti Irani, who trounced Rahul Gandhi in Amethi and campaigned extensively in her favour. "On the unfortunate murder of Ex Pradhan Surendra Singh of Amethi, Chief Minister has directed the DGP to take severe and effective action and show results by today evening in the next 12 hours and catch the culprits. IG Lucknow has been dispatched for monitoring on the ground," office of Uttar Pradesh CM informed. Newly elected Amethi MP, Smriti Irani reached Singh's native place to offer condolences and also paid floral tributes to the deceased. Surendra Singh was shot at by unidentified assailants when he was sleeping in the verandah of his house at around 3 am on Sunday. He was rushed to a trauma centre in Lucknow where he succumbed to injuries, police said. OP Singh, DGP, Uttar Pradesh told ANI that seven people have been detained during the investigation and said, "Intensive investigations are underway. Seven people have been detained for questioning. Apart from this, three companies of Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) have been deputed." Singh further said that the police is confident of solving the case within the next 12 hours. "We have found vital clues through electronic surveillance. We're confident of solving the case in the next 12 hours". "The postmortem of the victim is underway in Lucknow. We will later go through the report, which we hope will fetch us important details related to the case," he further added. According to the DGP, there is a possibility of further arrests and said the police is looking into all aspects of the killing, including political rivalry. Singh's son alleged a role of Congress supporters in the killing of his father. With this, the number of people arrested in the May 22 incident, a video of which went viral on the social media, stood at 10, an official said. (Representational image) Seoni: Two more persons were arrested on Sunday in connection with an incident in Madhya Pradesh's Seoni district, in which five persons had assaulted three others for allegedly carrying beef, following which the attackers and the victims were held. With this, the number of people arrested in the May 22 incident, a video of which went viral on the social media, stood at 10, an official said. According to the police, a group of five "gaurakshaks" (cow vigilantes) allegedly beat up two men with sticks and forced one of the victims to thrash a woman accompanying them with chappals. Read: Cow vigilantes beat up 3 in MP for possessing beef Read: 9 booked for attacking IIT Madras scholar who organised 'beef fest' While the five self-styled cow vigilantes were held under sections 341(wrongful restraint), 294 (obscene act), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 34 (act done by several persons with common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and under the Arms Act, the three persons who got thrashed were arrested under the Madhya Pradesh Govansh Vadh Pratishedh Adhiniyam. "We arrested siblings Rasheed Hakim (24) and Sammi Hakim (20) on Sunday for selling meat to the three people who were beaten up on May 22. The brothers are residents of Kheri village," informed Dunda Seoni police station in-charge GS Uike. The police had impounded 140 kg of red meat, suspected to be beef, which has been sent to the laboratory for analysis, the official said. Mumbai: Have you missed any news today? Here are the top national, international headlines of the day. Rajeev Kumar to appear before CBI on Monday: The CBI has summoned former Kolkata police commissioner Rajeev Kumar, asking him to appear before it on Monday for questioning in connection with the Saradha ponzi scheme case, officials said. He been asked to be present at the Kolkata office of the agency in Salt Lake, officials said on Sunday. READ: Saradha scam: CBI summons ex-Kolkata police chief, asks to appear before it tomorrow 2 persons arrested on suspicion of selling beef: Two more persons were arrested on Sunday in connection with an incident in Madhya Pradesh's Seoni district, in which five persons had assaulted three others for allegedly carrying beef, following which the attackers and the victims were held. READ: MP 'beef' assault: 2 siblings held for selling meat to victims Hardik threatens hunger strike: Congress leader Hardik Patel on Sunday threatened to go on hunger strike if the state government did not act against Mayor and the Fire Department officials within 12 hours. READ: Hardik threatens of hunger strike unless Govt takes action against Mayor, Fire Dept. PM Modi's swear-in: Narendra Modi will take oath for a second consecutive term as Prime Minister on May 30 at 7 pm in Rashtrapati Bhavan, along with members of the Union Council of Ministers. President Ram Nath Kovind will administer the oath and secrecy of the Prime Minister and other members of the Union Council of Ministers, a statement issued by the President's Office mentioned. READ: Narendra Modi to take oath as PM on May 30 Jagan Reddy meets PM Narendra Modi: Y S Jaganmohan Reddy said on Sunday his party could only request and not "demand or command" the special category status a lifeline for the Rs 2.58 lakh debt-ridden state during a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. READ: Could request, not demand, PM for special status to Andhra: Jagan Reddy Owaisi hits out at Modi, seeks protection against lynching: AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi lashed out at the Prime Minister for his "minorities made to live in an illusion of fear" statement and said if Modi really cares about minorities then he should ensure that Muslims are not lynched by cow vigilantes. READ: If you care for minorities, ensure Muslims aren't lynched: Owaisi jabs Modi BJD winners meet chief Naveen Patnaik: Newly elected Biju Janata Dal legislators on Sunday met incumbent Odisha Chief Minister and BJD chief Naveen Patnaik, who is set to form the government for a fifth consecutive term. They talks with the party chief and also posed for a photograph, flashing the victory sign with Patnaik, after the meeting held in Bhubaneshwar. READ: Newly elected BJD MPs meet Naveen Patnaik Suspects in murder of Smirti's aide held: Suspects have been detained in connection with the murder of BJP leader Smriti Irani's associate and former village head Surendra Singh in Amethi district of Uttar Pradesh, police said on Sunday. READ: Suspects in murder of Smriti Irani's aide held by police in Amethi 3 legislators leave RLSP, join JD(U): After drawing a blank in the Lok Sabha elections, former Union minister Upendra Kushwaha's Rashtriya Lok Samata Party Sunday received yet another setback as all three of its members in the bicameral legislature joined Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's JD(U), namely MLAs Lalan Paswan and Sudhanshu Shekhar and MLC Sanjiv Singh Shyam. READ: Jolt to Kushwaha's RLSP, all 3 of its legislators join JD(U) Pak read to talk to Indian govt: Pakistan is ready to hold talks with the new Indian government to resolve all outstanding issues, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi had said addressing an Iftar dinner in Multan on Saturday. READ: Pak ready to hold talks with new Indian government: FM Qureshi ISIS boat from Lanka, Kerala on high alert: The Kerala coast has been put on high alert following intelligence reports that boats carrying 15 ISIS terrorists had set off from Sri Lanka to the Lakshadweep islands, police said on Saturday. READ: ISIS boat reportedly sets off from Sri Lanka, Kerala coast on high alert CJI sexual harassment case: BCI disappointed over views of 2 ex-Supreme Court judges, Justice Jasti Chelameswar and Justice Madan Lokur, following the clean chit given to Chief Justice of India, Gogoi. READ: CJI sexual harassment case: BCI disappointed over views of 2 ex-SC judges Smriti lends shoulder for mortal remains of murdered aide: BJP leader Smriti Irani and a party MP from Amethi on Sunday lended a shoulder to mortal remains of Surendra Singh, ex-village head of Barauli, Amethi, who was shot dead on Saturday night by two unidentified men. READ: Smriti Irani, BJP MP lends shoulder to mortal remains of Surendra Singh The CBI has also issued a Look Out Notice against Kumar to prevent him from leaving the country, officials said. (Photo: PTI) New Delhi: The CBI has summoned former Kolkata police commissioner Rajeev Kumar, asking him to appear before it on Monday for questioning in connection with the Saradha ponzi scheme case, officials said. Kumar, a 1989-batch IPS officer, has been asked to be present at the Kolkata office of the agency in Salt Lake, officials said on Sunday. The CBI has also issued a Look Out Notice against Kumar to prevent him from leaving the country, officials said. All the airports and immigration authorities have been alerted by the CBI to prevent him from leaving the country and intimate the agency about any possible move, they said. The agency wants custodial interrogation of Kumar in connection with the ponzi scheme case as he was heading the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the West Bengal police to probe the case before the CBI took over, the officials said. The probe agency had told the Supreme Court that custodial interrogation of Kumar was necessary as he was not co-operating in the probe and he was "evasive" and "arrogant" in answering the queries put to him during his questioning by the agency. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who was appearing for the CBI, had said Kumar was the incharge of investigation by the SIT and had allowed the release of mobile phones and laptops, containing crucial records of alleged involvement of political functionaries in the scam, which were seized from the accused. Mehta had said the seized mobile phones and laptops were not even sent for forensic examination and material evidence were destroyed in the case The apex court had last month asked CBI to furnish evidence for seeking custodial interrogation of Kumar in Saradha case, saying it has to be satisfied that the agency's request was "bona fide" and not for "political purposes". The apex court had on May 17 withdrawn protection given to Kumar from any arrest and had asked the CBI to proceed as per law. "We have withdrawn the protection given to Rajeev Kumar vide order dated February 5," the bench headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi had said, but gave a week's time to Kumar to approach competent court for anticipatory bail. Kumar had again approached the Supreme Court on May 20 seeking extension of protection claiming that the courts in West Bengal were not functioning due to lawyers' strike. This petition was rejected, following which Kumar had approached a Kolkata court with an anticipatory bail. In January, the Centre and West Bengal government had faced an unprecedented stand off after a CBI team, which reached the residence of Kumar for questioning him, had to retreat after local police refused to let it enter and detained its officers. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee came in the defence of Kumar and started a sit-in to protest against the Centre's move. The Supreme Court had on February 5 had prevented the agency from any coercive action against Kumar and directed him to appear and co-operate in CBI questioning at a "neutral place". He was questioned by the CBI for nearly five days at its office in Shillong from February 9 onwards. The ponzi scheme scam was over Rs 2,500 crore by the Saradha group of companies, which had duped lakhs of customers promising higher rates of returns on their investment, the CBI has alleged. Similar modus operandi was adopted by other ponzi companies like Rose Valley operating in West Bengal, Odisha and North Eastern states where gullible investors were duped, it said. The Supreme Court had ordered a CBI probe in which the agency has allegedly detected collusion of scheme operators, police personnel, politicians among others, the officials had said. The state audit department noticing the discrepancy has led to the high court appointing an audit to examine the strongroom for verification. Kochi: The state government seems to be having no relief from Sabarimala with the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) landing in a new controversy over the alleged shortage of 40 kg gold and 100 kg silver received as offerings from devotees. The state audit department noticing the discrepancy has led to the high court appointing an audit to examine the strongroom for verification. The court-appointed audit team will open the strongroom of the TDB located at Aranmula on Monday to verify any shortage in the valuables of the hill shrine. The state audit team has found no records for their transfer to the strongroom. According to the rules, the offerings received from devotees have to recorded in the register 4-A of the temple. When gold, silver and other valuables recorded in 4-A register are transferred to the strongroom the same had to be logged into its column 8. Although the record shows receipt of the gold and silver, details of their transfer to the strongroom are missing. TDB president A. Padmakumar insisted that not even a piece of gold and silver is missing from Sabarimala hill shrine. Terming the present controversy as unnecessary, he told reporters that in case of any discrepancy found by auditors stringent action would be initiated against those responsible for it. Blaming a former TDB staff member of being responsible for the reports appearing in the media, he said the high court had constituted the audit on a petition he filed. The TDB has declined to grant the official his retirement benefit as he had refused to hand over the charge to his successor. The audit team will examine the strongroom as it was mandatory before a formal handover to his successor. Devaswom minister Kadakampally Surendran told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram that he has sought an explanation from the Travancore Devaswom Board president on the reports of missing valuables. In case of any mistakes, action would be initiated. He also said the strongroom would be strengthened with the latest technology. Prime Minister Narendra Modi takes blessings from his mother Hiraben Modi at her house in Gandhinagar on Sunday. This is the first time he is meeting his mother after the elections results. (Photo: AP) New Delhi: In what is expected to be his first overseas visit in his second tenure as PM, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to visit Maldives towards the end of the first week of June. The choice of Maldives Indias tiny south-western maritime neighbour is significant as it was, till last year, perceived to be totally under Chinese influence. According to news agency reports, the Maldivian media has reported that the visit could take place on June 7-8. Sources said the likely visit would be part of Indias neighbourhood-first policy and that the tiny archipelago nation is strategically important for India. Under Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, India and the Maldives are now the closest of friends once again. PM Modi had on November 17 last year attended the swearing-in ceremony of President Solih. The Maldivian President has strengthened ties with New Delhi and reversed the widely perceived slant towards Beijing that the Maldives had adopted during the controversial tenure of his predecessor Abdullah Yameen. President Solihs assuming of office following his victory in the Presidential polls against then president Abdulla Yameen last year had come as a huge relief for New Delhi. Mr. Yameen was openly pro-China and had become a thorn in New Delhis flesh, with Indo-Maldivian ties having nose-dived during Mr. Yameens tenure. India had earlier decided to give immediate assistance of US$ 25 million to the Maldives to ensure budgetary stability of its tiny maritime south-western neighbour. The MEA on Sunday said former Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed called up and congratulated Mr Modi on Sunday. Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath on Sunday said he never asked Congress president Rahul Gandhi for party ticket for his son in the just-concluded Lok Sabha elections. Reacting to reports that Mr Gandhi was upset with some senior Congress leaders for pushing for tickets for their sons, Mr Nath said, I never asked (for ticket for his son). He refused to say anything further. Mr Naths son Nakul won from Chhindwara. Mr Nath also ruled out possibility of stepping down in the wake of severe drubbing suffered by the Congress. Why should I quit? What is the provocation, he said. Mumbai: The prosecution on Sunday claimed that Sanatan Sanstha lawyer Sanjiv Punalekar helped the accused persons in Narendra Dabholkar murder case to destroy the murder weapon. Punalekar and his assistant, advocate Vikram Bhave, who were produced before a Pune court, were remanded in CBI custody till June 1. Advocate Punalekar was representing some of the accused in the same case. During the investigation, it was revealed that in the month of June 2018, accused Sharad Kalaskar, visited the chamber of advocate Sanjiv Punale-kar at Fort, Mumbai where Vikram Bhave, assistant of Punalekar was also present. Sharad Kalaskar told Punalekar about his role in the murder of Dr Narendra Dabholkar. Punalekar told Kalaskar to destroy the fire arms used in the murder cases, including murder of Gauri Lankesh case, read the CBI remand application. The CBI further alleged that on July 23, 2018 Kalaskar dismantled four country made pistols and threw it from a bridge in Thane creek while on the way to Nalasopara while returning from Pune. With these allegations the CBI sought custody of both Punalekar and Bhave saying the custodial interrogation of arrested accused is required for identifying his role in destruction of firearms used in the commission of offence and the recovery of the said dismantled fire arm. The probe agency also said that custodial interrogation is required to unearth the entire conspiracy, which is in the exclusive knowledge of the accused and his involvement with other co-accused persons in this case having national/international ramifications. Though the CBI had demanded his custody for fourteen days but the additional sessions judge S.N. Sonawane remanded him to the custody for seven days. The judge also allowed the request of accused that two lawyers be allowed to meet them daily to discuss the case. Bhave, a member of the right wing outfit Sanatan Sanstha, was earlier convicted in the case related to a low-intensity blast at Gadkari Rangyatan auditorium in Thane. The prosecution alleged before the court that Bhave had helped Kalaskar and Sachin Andure, the alleged shooters, to conduct a recce of the spot, and helped them escape after the crime. He also took the motorcycle they had used during the crime and left it at an abandoned place. Advocate Virendra Ichalkaranjikar, the accuseds lawyer, said the CBI has arrested Punalekar on the basis of Kalaskars statement to the Karnataka Police in October 2018, which Kalaskar had later retracted. The CBI arresting Punalekar on the basis of that statement after seven months was illogical. Dabholkar, an anti-superstition activist, was shot dead while on morning walk in Pune on August 20, 2013. New Delhi: Amid rumblings within the party after a disastrous performance in the Lok Sabha polls, Congress chief is said to have accused three senior leaders of placing their respective sons above the party while his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has alleged the entire top-brass left him alone to fight it out against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, party sources said. Narrating inside details of the crucial Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting, which was held on Saturday to assess the partys poll rout, the party leaders said Rahul Gandhi did a lot of plain-speaking in his surgical analysis of the role of several party leaders while himself offering to quit as the party president. Party sources said the top leadership is working out possible strategies for its future course of action, even as there are rumblings within the Congress over the turn of events at the CWC meeting. The meeting was held in the backdrop of the Congress winning just 52 Lok Sabha seats and drawing a nought in 18 states and Union Territories. Mr Gandhi himself lost from the family bastion of Amethi in Uttar Pradesh, though he won from Wayanad in Kerala. Stating that Priyanka lost her cool more than once during the four-hour long CWC deliberations, a party leader present there said the AICC general secretary in charge of eastern Uttar Pradesh said, All those responsible for the partys defeat are sitting in this room. When some party leaders were trying to convince Mr Gandhi to take back his resignation, which he had offered taking moral responsibility for the Congress debacle, Priyanka is learnt to have intervened saying, Where were you when my brother was fighting all by himself and alone? Priyanka sat through the meeting, looking visibly anguished, and interjected twice at least, while saying on one occasion, No one supported the Congress president in taking forward the narrative of Rafale and chowkidar chor hai. Mr Gandhi, who left the meeting abruptly and was adamant there on not continuing as the Congress president, also ticked off three senior party leaders former union minister P. Chidambaram, Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath and Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot saying they placed their sons before party interests. Mr Gandhi is learnt to have voiced his disappointment at the state of affairs in the party when he said to the CWC why cant anyone else be Congress chief. Sources said Priyanka also urged her brother not to resign saying it would be like falling into BJPs trap. Mr Gandhi expressed his displeasure at not being supported in the Rafale campaign and is said to have asked the party leaders present in the meeting how many of them backed him in building the corruption narrative against Prime Minister Modi. When some leaders raised their hands to say that they spoke about Rafale, Mr Gandhi is said to have dismissed them. Hyderabad: YSRCP leader YS Jaganmohan Reddy met Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao here on Saturday, during which the latter expressed confidence that Telangana and Andhra Pradesh will have cordial relations going forward. KCR made it clear that the policy of Telangana is to maintain cordial relations with neighbouring states. He said if water from Godavari and Krishna rivers are used effectively, both the states would prosper in all aspects. Reddy, who won the recent Assembly elections held in Andhra Pradesh, was elected as YSRCP Legislature Party leader, after which he called on KCR along with his wife in Pragathi Bhawan on Saturday evening. "Right from the beginning, it has been our intention to maintain cordial and friendly relations with neighbouring states. I personally went to Maharashtra State and met the Chief Minister Sri Devendra Fadnavis there. I personally took initiative on the aspect of water disputes between erstwhile Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra resulting in hold up of construction of projects. I told that our policy would be live and let live. I also told that by solving disputes both the States will be benefited. With this, Maharashtra State came forward to cooperate," Rao said. "As a result, we are able to construct Kaleshwaram and other projects. Our policy would be to maintain similar relations with the present Andhra Pradesh State also. Let us act in such a manner so that both the States are benefitted," he said. "From River Godavari, about 3,500 TMC of water flows into the sea every year. Telangana State can make use of a maximum of 700-800TMC of water only. Rest of the water, Andhra Pradesh can make use of. Water from Godavari River may be diverted through gravity through Prakasham Barrage to Somasila project. With this, the entire Rayalaseema could be converted into fertile fields. With just two lifts the Godavari Water could be supplied to Rayalaseema. The Andhra Pradesh farmers may be provided with irrigated water by making use of River Godavari water," he added. Both the leaders have agreed to have a meeting of officers of both states to discuss these issues. Reddy is all set to take oath as the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh on May 30. Keep yourself updated on Lok Sabha Elections 2019 with our round-the-clock coverage -- breaking news, updates, analyses et all. Happy reading. In the just-concluded Lok Sabha polls, the RLSP contested five seats in alliance with the RJD, the Congress and two other small outfits. The party, however, lost all five seats to its rivals, including Karakat and Ujiyarpur, from where Kushwaha himself had contested. (Photo: AP) Patna: After drawing a blank in the Lok Sabha elections, former Union minister Upendra Kushwaha's Rashtriya Lok Samata Party Sunday received yet another setback as all three of its members in the bicameral legislature joined Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's JD(U). Confirming the development, Assembly Speaker Vijay Kumar Chaudhary and legislative council deputy chairman Haroon Rashid said letters to this effect have been forwarded by two RLSP MLAs-- Lalan Paswan and Sudhanshu Shekhar-- and MLC Sanjiv Singh Shyam on Friday. "The legislators had also appended letters of approval from the JD(U). They were asked to appear in person for completion of formalities. Henceforth, they shall be treated as JD(U) legislators," Chaudhary and Rashid told PTI in Patna. Notably, the RLSP legislators had earlier revolted against Kushwaha's decision to snap ties with the NDA and join the Mahagathbandhan. They announced that they would remain with the ruling coalition and seek recognition from the Election Commission as the "real Rashtriya Lok Samata Party". The stupendous victory of the NDA in the Lok Sabha polls, wherein it won all but one of the 40 seats in the state, appears to have made the dissident RLSP legislators realise that it was safer to join the chief minister's party, which contested 17 seats and bagged 16, than seeking recognition as a separate group. Kushwaha was with the JD(U) till 2013, when he resigned from the party and his Rajya Sabha membership following differences with Nitish Kumar. He went on to float his own party which aligned with the NDA and won all three seats it had contested in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, riding the Modi wave. In the just-concluded Lok Sabha polls, the RLSP contested five seats in alliance with the RJD, the Congress and two other small outfits. The party, however, lost all five seats to its rivals, including Karakat and Ujiyarpur, from where Kushwaha himself had contested. Keep yourself updated on Lok Sabha Elections 2019 with our round-the-clock coverage -- breaking news, updates, analysis et al. Happy reading. Narendra Modi was Saturday appointed Prime Minister by President Ram Nath Kovind after he was unanimously elected NDA parliamentary party leader at a meeting in which he asked its members to work without discrimination, stressing on the need to win over the trust of minorities. (Photo: Twitter/ @BJP4India) New Delhi: Narendra Modi was Saturday appointed Prime Minister by President Ram Nath Kovind after he was unanimously elected NDA parliamentary party leader at a meeting in which he asked its members to work without discrimination, stressing on the need to win over the trust of minorities. In an impassioned 75-minute speech in Parliament's Central Hall that Modi began after bowing to the Constitution, he struck a note of inclusion, asking the MPs to take along everyone, and said minorities were made to leave in an "imaginary fear" and they have to break this "deception". He said they should take everyone along, including those who have not voted for the ruling alliance and have been its trenchant critics. After meeting Kovind, he said his government will leave no stone unturned to fulfill the aspirations and dreams of the people who have given it a massive mandate, multiplying its responsibilities. "Exercising powers vested in him under Article 75 (1) of the Constitution of India, President Kovind, today appointed @narendramodi to the office of Prime Minister of India," official Twitter account of Rashtrapati Bhavan posted on Saturday. Exercising powers vested in him under Article 75 (1) of the Constitution of India, President Kovind, today appointed @narendramodi to the office of Prime Minister of India pic.twitter.com/xrs5jgCGkF President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) May 25, 2019 The President has asked him to begin process of forming the new government and he will soon inform him about the date of oath-taking ceremony, Modi told media. In the general election, he led the BJP-led NDA to a landslide victory with the alliance winning 353 seats, including an unprecedented 303 by the BJP. All its key allies, including Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U)'s Nitish Kumar, Shiv Sena's Uddhav Thackeray, LJP's Ram Vilas Paswan and Akali Dal's Parkash Singh Badal, were present as BJP president Amit Shah announced Modi's name as the alliance leader after formalities were done amid massive cheers from the MPs. A NDA delegation then met Kovind and Modi staked his claim to form the government. In his address to NDA members, Modi said his government will now begin "a new journey to build a new India with new energy". Reaching out to minorities, he slammed the opposition for making them live in an "imaginary fear" and asked the MPs to win their trust and work without any discrimination, including on the basis of faith or caste. "Our mantra should be 'sabka saath, sabka vikas and sabka vishwas' (with all, for everybody's development and having everyone's trust)," he said. "They (minorities) cannot be handed over to them (opposition), who benefit because we keep quiet," he said, accusing his rivals of exploiting them during elections as part of their votebank politics. He said the poor were deceived all these years but his government managed to break through this "deception" and improved their lot, and asked the NDA MPs to similarly smash through the deception around minorities. "Minorities were deceived, like the poor," the Prime Minister said, adding it would be good if their education, social and economic standards were lifted all these years. "We have to break through this deception. We have to win their trust... It is a big responsibility that we have to fulfil. Those who vote us are ours and those who did not are also our. Even our most trenchant opponents are ours. We cannot believe in any discrimination," he said. Invoking the 1857 War of Independence against the British rule, he said all communities had then fought together and called for replicating a similar unifying spirit for good governance now as India readies to celebrate the 75 years of Independence in 2022. "The Constitution is supreme for us. Whatever form of worship we follow at home but outside there cannot be a bigger God for us than Bharat Mata (Mother India)," he said, likening the country's 130 crore citizens to 130 crore 'Gods' who should be served by the ruling alliance with a similar spirit. Minorities, especially Muslims, are seen to be strongly opposed to the BJP due to their wariness over its Hindutva ideology. "We stand for those who trusted us and also for those whose trust we have to win... We have to take everyone along to take India to new heights in the 21st century," Modi said. With speculation rife over who will join his Council of Ministers, Modi said he was yet to go through the details of NDA MPs and asked them to not trust media reports, adding they are aimed at creating confusion and often put out with "bad intentions". Many "Narendra Modis" have cropped up in the country, giving out ministerial positions to MPs, he said wryly and added newspaper reports do not make ministers. Responsibilities will be given as per norms, he stressed. Modi said elections often divide and create gulf but 2019 polls united the people and society. There was a pro-incumbency sentiment in this election, he said. "We ran the government for poor people between 2014-19 and I can say the poor elected the government this time," Modi said. With the BJP having had an uneasy relation with some of its allies during the last five years, he underscored his party's commitment to take allies along and noted that he is making this comment despite the saffron party winning 303 seats, more than the majority mark of 272. Invoking the late BJP stalwart Atal Bihari Vajpayee for making coalition politics successful, he called for the NDA to work with cohesion for the country's development and said his slogan for the alliance is "national ambition and regional aspirations". Asking MPs to work with him, he said they should shun arrogance as it is the people who elected them. He also asked them to avoid falling to temptation of publicity in the media. Keep yourself updated on Lok Sabha Elections 2019 with our round-the-clock coverage -- breaking news, updates, analyses et all. Happy reading. Flash After receiving the letter of appointment as the country's next prime minister on Saturday, Narendra Modi said he will continue to work for the welfare of his countrymen during his second consecutive term as the premier. He said his new government will strive to fulfill the aspirations of the people of India, after getting such a strong mandate in the just-concluded general elections. While Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won in a record 303 parliamentary constituencies, the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) together garnered 353 constituencies out of the total 542 that went to polls. Earlier in the day, President Ram Nath Kovind appointed Modi as the prime minister after receiving letters of support from the ruling NDA. "Exercising powers vested in him under Article 75 (1) of the Constitution of India, President Kovind on Saturday appointed Narendra Modi to the office of Prime Minister of India," said the official Twitter account of the President of India. Another tweet from the president said, "The president requested Narendra Modi to advise him about the names of others to be appointed members of the Union Council of Ministers, and indicate the date and time of the swearing-in-ceremony to be held at Rashtrapati Bhavan (President House)." YSRC president and AP Chief Minister-designate Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy (R) and MP Vijayaasai Reddy (L) with BJP national president Amit Shah in New Delhi on Sunday. Vijayawada: Trouble could be in the offing for TD supremo N. Chandrababu and his former cabinet colleagues with Chief Minister-designate Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy asserting that his government would dig out all the scams that might have taken place during the tenure of the TD government by conducting department-wise reviews. In a conversation with reporters in Delhi after meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah, Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy said that a large scam took place in the form of selectively leaking information regarding the location of the new capital to enable Mr Naidus benamis buy land. He further said that the Heritage group had bought 14 acres of land that was spared from land pooling. Mr Reddy reiterated that there was insider trading in capital selection. The Chief Minister-designate said that the land parcels belonging to Mr Naidus benamis were exempted from land pooling, and said that sensational revelations would unfold as the YSRC digs deeper into the scam. He said that the cases filed against him were a political conspiracy and that he had never interfered in governance while his father Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy was Chief Minister. He said he was living in Bengaluru at the time and visited Hyderabad only to meet his parents. I never spoke to any government officials, he said. There will be a department-wise review, and white papers will be released after a detailed study on the irregularities identified in the previous regime. We want to ensure corruption-free governance, Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy said. He added that the completion of the Polavaram project was vital for the state and that he would explore all means to complete the project and even go for reverse tenders if required. Prime Minister Narendra Modis speech at the meeting of members of Parliament from the BJP and its alliance partners on Saturday, May 25, was an extremely evocative speech and has the capacity to alter the flow of Indian politics in the majoritarian direction. The only scepticism is if he, more than anyone else, believes or follows even a word of what he said. But before one turns judgmental, it must be noted that Mr Modi should be applauded for displaying boldness in his address. At a macro level he made possibly the most reassuring declaration he has ever made unambiguously his government would not discriminate between those who had voted for the BJP and its allies, and those who did not. He, in fact, said it was natural for the elected MPs of his party, especially after such a resounding victory, to thump their chests and look down upon those easily identifiable as those who did not vote for them. This, Mr Modi said, is a liberty which elected representatives cannot take. They must work for all irrespective of their political convictions, Mr Modi concluded. The first test of how true he will be to his words in his second tenure will be when he draws up his council of ministers. Will he, for one, include Maneka Gandhi in his team despite her warning to Muslims that if they did not vote for her, they could not expect her to help them if she won? She had also delivered another speech which goes against the democratic spirit and what Mr Modi said: When the election comes and this booth throws up 100 votes or 50 votes, and then you come to me for work, we will see. Ms Gandhi is the not the only one who has spoken against any particular community or those who are known for views against the BJP or the government. Instead of trying to win them over, as Mr Modi prescribed, many ministers and parliamentarians advised critics to leave for Pakistan or elsewhere. Would such leaders, many of who were part of the council of ministers till the end, be left out of Mr Modis new team or will he again accommodate them to placate the core electoral constituency? Ms Gandhis first threat was directed at a community, but the second was far more worrying. The Election Commission of India and the government retained the systemic possibility of identifying people, with use of intelligent guesswork based on micro-level profile of voters, who did not vote for candidates of a particular party. In the paper ballot era, voters were guaranteed that their choice would remain secret because ballot papers from various booths were mixed up and churned in big drums before counting. After the introduction of EVMs in every constituency from 2004, voting breakup in every booth an average of around 1,000 voters is available publicly in the Form 20. Candidates and their booth agents, especially of parties which have a cadre and are politically connected after the polls are over, can make a fair guess in identifying the people who did not vote for them. If Mr Modi is true to his words, he must roll back the governments decision of not going in for the totaliser machines before the EVMs were tabulated. These totaliser machines can be connected with up to 14 EVM machines and the votes can be electronically mixed, ensuring the secrecy of ballot and will structurally prevent government welfare schemes bypassing those who did not vote for it. While at the macro level Mr Modi pledged that he would now go on to secure sabka vishwas, or everyones trust, at the micro level the Prime Minister advised habitual motormouths to control their desire for publicity. But advice is not enough. If any MP or leader chooses to be indiscreet and vitiates the atmosphere, Mr Modi and his party must immediately initiate action and mete out punishment which is visible. He cannot continue remaining silent as was his wont during the first term. For instance, in 2014, Niranjan Jyoti was not sacked from the ministry. Instead, Mr Modi mounted a defence in the Lok Sabha: She is a new minister, we know her social background, she is from a village... Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu, then parliamentary affairs minister, provided further defence and mentioned her social background as a factor. Certainly, no action was taken against her because she had significant support among Nishads. Will Mr Modi be now more reassured and bolder to take action against offending ministers or legislators? Mr Modi made two other promises which, if fulfilled, would make his government much more representative and inclusive. Unlike before, when he was dismissive of coalition partners arguing they were driven by the glue of winnability, implying that the BJP could sideline them if it did not require additional numbers, he stressed on the importance of coalitions. He assured the nation that he would factor in regional aspirations. But it was his unbending attitude on the issue which caused friction, leading to the eventual parting, with N. Chandrababu Naidu of the Telugu Desam Party. These words are easy to say, difficult to live up to. For starters, the BJPs hegemony within the NDA is greater than in 2014 and it would require a fundamental change in his attitude towards them. Take, for instance, his advice to those aspiring to become ministers. While there is no denying that the ministry is the Prime Ministers prerogative, his words indicate his comfort with the power this mandate has vested on him. Would the council of ministers be more consultative and ministers be given more liberty to initiate policy? Or would the centralised style of governance, that was a feature of the first tenure, be the norm even now? There will be political problems in continued accommodation of allies as there are sharp divergences between the BJP and its partners on several sensitive national issues, including handling of the situation in Kashmir. More than anyone else, Mr Modi will face the sternest test in following his own words. The writer is the author of Narendra Modi: The Man, the Times and Sikhs: The Untold Agony of 1984 Prime Minister Narendra Modi, addressing his newly-elected MPs on Saturday, made a clutch of promises or commitments. The most significant of these, from which others flow, is an extension of an earlier, well-known and well-remembered, but unmet, promise of sabka saath, sabka vikas. To this, the PM has now added vishwas, or trust. Thus, the new coinage is sabka saath, sabka vikas, sabka vishwas. The question naturally arises: Is Mr Modi really planning to build a new house a new India? Is he about to turn over a new leaf? Some scepticism is in order. If the new slogan is pursued in right earnest, the BJP will begin to resemble the Congress, moving away from its RSS moorings. This is because the expression which denotes trust is, in essence, the compact of a secular state with its citizens. By definition, in a secular state, all citizens have equal value. However, the idea of a secular state is anathema to the BJP-RSS. Indeed on May 23, the day of the verdict, at his party's headquarters, the PM made fun of secularists and decried secularism in his speech to thank party workers. But he praised the Constitution, full throttle. This is a contradiction in terms. However, ordinary people will be interested in the PMs real goals, for which policy instruments are put to work. Here the formula of Jayaprakash Narayan serves us well. JP had enunciated that any government should be given 100 days in which its opponents should withhold criticism. This is to give an incoming government leeway to get used to its surroundings and formulate its ideas and begin work on them. In Mr Modis first term, governance was at a discount. There is an approximately four per cent drop in economic growth in the past five years (if the revised yardstick for measuring growth is kept in view) in spite of a favourable global economic climate, in contrast with the hostile international environment his predecessor Manmohan Singh had to suffer. The 130-odd schemes of direct benefit to the poor, of which BJP leaders speak, barring a few, arouse scepticism, not unlike the so-called Gujarat model of development that was spoken of five years ago, but later came to attract ridicule. Addressing his new MPs, the PM spoke of balanced development in the country again something which belongs to the Congress era since the early years of Independence. It is a good idea, indeed a necessary one, if development is to be dispersed to all parts of India and to all sections of society. Mr Modis new-found emphasis is laudable and fits with his current view that not only those who voted for us are ours, but also those who sharply opposed us. Before judging, we should give the government at least a hundred days. For the BJP, the 2019 Lok Sabha election verdict is one of positive politics to carry forward Prime Minister Narendra Modis mission to create a New India. BHUPENDER YADAV, the BJPs national general secretary, in an interview with YOJNA GUSAI, says that the 2019 mandate was against vote-bank and caste-bank politics. What is the message of the 2019 Lok Sabha election verdict for your party and for the nation? The nation has voted for positive politics, to carry forward the idea of a New India and to strengthen democracy. The verdict and the mandate are an acknowledgement of the garib kalyan policies of the Narendra Modi-led NDA government, a transparent and effective government, which proved that development and national security are its priorities and the Modi governments dedicated efforts to bring the country out from policy paralysis mode. The verdict is a validation of the Modi governments hard work and an approval to carry forward its development work in the second tenure. The entire campaign was focused on Mr Modi. Do you think the mandate proved that the negative campaign against Mr Modi was rejected by the people? Certainly no campaign can run on negativity. The entire election campaign was for pro-incumbency. Allegations of anti-incumbency got rejected. Voters dont get easily swayed by what political parties say. Voters these days are smart enough to do a comparative analysis and review of an incumbent government or its leaders and then only they vote. The Indian voter is a matured voter who has kept democracy strong for all these years. The verdict proved that voters rejected the Oppositions lies and favoured Mr Modi. Will nationalism be an integral part of all the poll campaigns of the BJP from now? Nationalism and development are not different concepts. When national interest is at the core of your decisions and development initiatives, it is nationalism. When you rise above from self-interest and your priority is national interest, it is nationalism. How can you talk about the development of the country but the first thought in your mind that comes is how to benefit yourself? There is no contradiction between nationalism and development. One cannot define nationalism just emotionally. It also needs to be the mission of your life. The BJP also won handsomely in Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh and Rajasthan, states that your party lost to the Congress last year. Does this mean that there was strong anti-incumbency against your partys state leadership then? Assembly elections are different from general elections. I would not like to comment on what went wrong during the Assembly polls but as far as the organisation and mandate goes, these states also benefited from Mr Modis popularity and his governments hard work. The mandate shows that the voters not only rejected the Opposition campaign agai-nst the Narendra Modi-led NDA government but also rejected some political parties. Has the mandate shrunk the Oppositions space in Indian politics? In a democracy, the Opposition has a major role to play. In a democratic system, one cannot disregard or refuse the role played by the Opposition. As Mr Modi himself said, his governments only motive is garib kalyan and that the country should be run by consensus. He said that his government will work with everyone, no matter what was said during the election campaign. Your party president Amit Shah had been saying that the BJP will win more than 300 seats and the verdict proved it. Under Mr Shahs leadership, the party not only got 10 crore members but also various cells and departments and a robust organisational structure throughout the country. In a systematic and scientific manner, even our cadre at the booth level was directly connected with the Central leadership. It was this teamwork and the organisational strength which carried to the people our partys message and the people-centric initiatives of the Modi government. Both the organisation and the government got the peoples mandate for working in national interest. In the NDAs earlier tenure, some of your allies had accused the BJP of one-upmanship within the alliance. This is not true. We have always followed the gathbandhan dharma. We always take along our allies. As compared to the NDAs last tenure, more allies have joined us this time. Will more allies be joining the NDA fold? I would not like to comment on this. The Opposition parties had accused the BJP of trying to garner support on religious lines. We dont believe in vote-bank politics but in the peoples politics. Our party and the government always worked on taking along people and to carry forward the good work of the government. However, there are still some parties who are based on dynasty politics and play caste-based and vote-bank politics. But if you see the verdict, people have rejected most of these parties and totally rejected dynastic politics. Are you saying that caste politics from the Indian political system is in decline now? India has its own unique social equation where everyone is given representation. In this social equation, everyone gets opportunity to grow. Therefore, in our definition of social justice, we do not believe in putting one group against another but in taking along everyone together. Our motto is Sabka saath sabka vikas and through this we will achieve sushasan (good governance). West Bengal was perhaps the only state where the BJP had a bitter fight with the ruling Trinamul and your party gained significant numbers. West Bengal has rejected the violence and hate politics of the Trinamul. Not only the BJP, cadres of other Opposition parties were also the victims of the Trinamuls hate politics. Not just these elections, even in the panchayat polls, the Trinamul used violence as a tool against its opponents. But people of the state gave both the Trinamul and its chief Mamata Banerjee a strong message that their style of politics will not be tolerated. In a conversation with NDTVs Sonia Singh, and narrated in her book Defining India: Through Their Eyes, the Dalai Lama dropped a political bombshell that given the election madness sweeping through the country largely went unnoticed. The Dalai Lama said: In 2014, when Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Delhi for talks with Prime Minister Modi, I requested a meeting with him. President Xi Jinping agreed, but the Indian government was cautious about the meeting, so it didnt happen. The question is why did Narendra Modi think it not fit that the meeting between the Dalai Lama and the Chinese President take place? Does the government believe the Tibetan peoples foremost leader should not have a dialogue with Chinas President? Or was Mr Modi miffed that the meeting was made possible without his intercession? Did the two directly concerned parties miss a historical opportunity to begin a dialogue due to Indias pettiness? India does have a role to play in Tibet, and a truly autonomous Tibet might well be in Indias interests and enhance its security. Mind you, the dispute over Arunachal Pradesh began as a dispute with the Tibetans, though the government-in-exile has now repudiated that claim. The Chinese claim of Tawang and surrounding areas is largely based on a claim made by the present Dalai Lama in the late 1940s when he wrote a letter to the government of newly-independent India laying his formal claim to it. Despite a historical political identity entwined with China, Tibet has traditionally looked towards India for economic and spiritual sustenance. Tibet has also had a long history of struggle with China and this Dalai Lama is not the first one to seek refuge in India. The British had an active policy to create a buffer against China in the form of an independent Tibet. The Chinese representative in Lhasa watched the Younghusband expeditions exertions in Tibet passively; an immediate consequence of this was an assertion of Tibets independence. Almost immediately after their civil war triumph in 1949, the Chinese Communists reasserted control over Tibet, which had by then enjoyed over four decades of relative independence. Since then, India has tried to head off the Tibet problem by accepting its annexation into the Peoples Republic of China. In the years since the Chinese Communists tried to solve the Tibet problem by attempting to wipe out Tibetan nationalism and Buddhism with Maos Communism. It didnt succeed. This policy has now been replaced by creeping Hanisation and massive doses of economic development. These too have worked only partially for the Chinese, but they seemed to do better with this than with the Maoist iron hand. Though Tibet is now relatively passive, it remains a dry tinderbox and the Chinese dread the likelihood of any spark that may set off a fire. For India too, the policy has worked partially. Nearly 150,000 Tibetan refugees now live in India, and India has willy-nilly become the fulcrum of a worldwide struggle by the Tibetans to regain their nation. In short, the Tibet issue, though dormant now, is still very much alive and whether India likes it or not, it is being played out in its front yard. Central to this sustained struggle has been the international stature of the Dalai Lama, who has become the symbol of many ideals and images. The mix of new age spiritualism, ethics, ecological values and politics has won for the Dalai Lama many influential and wealthy Western adherents to Tibetan Buddhism and supporters of Tibets cause. Macleodganj, the headquarters of the Tibetan government-in-exile, is a magnet today that draws large numbers of young Westerners seeking a new meaning to and purpose in life. It draws top political personalities like Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the US House of Representatives, as well as top Hollywood stars like Richard Gere and Uma Thurman. True, the Dalai Lama has become many things to many people but what should be relevant to us is that he has emerged as a man of great stature and influence. Presidents and Prime Ministers vie to receive him and the pictures that get transmitted the world over electronically remind the world that there is still a Tibetan nation yearning to be free and peacefully struggling for it. This is an extremely powerful image. Both China and India should worry about a post-Dalai Lama period. We can be certain that it is the present Dalai Lamas stature that keeps the lid on Tibetan militancy. After him, the political power of the next Dalai Lama will almost certainly be challenged. The chosen leadership of the exiles will not go unchallenged. The Chinese will almost certainly try to foist their own incarnation and will try to legitimise it with all the power available to them. It is unlikely that they will succeed, but it will certainly obfuscate the situation and preclude any future compromise on the issue of the spiritual leadership of the Tibetan Buddhists. While the spiritual leadership may be contested, it is almost inevitable that a new generation of Tibetan exiles will stake claim for the temporal leadership of the Tibetan nationalist movement. If this is contested by the regency around the India-based incarnation, we will almost certainly see a competition for the hearts and minds of young Tibetans and this will inevitably lead to more assertive postures as the factions jockey for power. Such internal struggles often result in greater militancy. On the other hand, we may see a duality of leadership emerging among the Tibetan exiles, a spiritual leadership that tends to the soul and a militant leadership that leads the struggle for attainment of political goals. It is due to the Dalai Lamas foresight and sagacity that the contours of such a dual leadership is emerging with the second tallest Buddhist ecclesiastical figure, Ugen Thinley, the Karmapa, and the just re-elected Sikyong (Prime Minister) of the government-in-exile, Lobsang Sangay. Both now enjoy considerable stature both among emigre Tibetan groups and within Tibet. The splintering of the exile leadership into two or even more factions would be a desirable objective for the Chinese. From the Indian perspective the rise of an alternate religious leader in the interim would well prevent the splintering of the Tibetan Buddhist movement. This will not be without consequences for India. People who have closer ethno-linguistic links to Tibet than to the plains populate the entire Himalayan region from Ladakh to Arunachal Pradesh. Geographically, much of Ladakh is an extension of the Tibetan Changthang and the main language spoken is a Tibetan dialect. The Tawang tract in the other end was, till it was annexed by India in the early 1950s, under the temporal control of the Dalai Lama in Lhasa. The Bhutias of Sikkim are also a Tibetan race speaking a Tibetan dialect. The term Tibet derives from Tho Bhot, the original denotation for Tibetans. It is not difficult to see the relationship between Tho Bhot and the Bhutias. The new post-Communist China thus reserves the highest premium to internal harmony while it is embarked on the rapid transformation of its economy within the window of opportunity its current demographics offers. Two decades from now, China will be an ageing nation and hence it feels that it must make the best of the present opportunity. This is the dominant mood among Chinas top leaders, and they would be extremely loathe to let the ambitions of a relatively small number of Tibetans distract them from the goals they have set for China. China has shown that it can contemplate two or more systems within one nation, as is now the case with Hong Kong, Macau and on offer to Taiwan. This is essentially a common economic system with a fairly generous allocation of administrative power, as we see in the case of Hong Kong. What system can the Chinese offer the Tibetans? The Dalai Lama is increasingly speaking about a Buddhist way of life in Tibet within China. Did we thwart this with our short-sightedness? The writer, a policy analyst studying economic and security issues, held senior positions in government and industry. He also specialises in the Chinese economy. The deaths came after police special forces intervened Friday to stop a 'massive prison break.' (Photo:AP) Acarigua: Wracked with pain and anger, dozens of families gathered in front of a morgue in the Venezuelan town of Acarigua on Saturday after 29 inmates died in rioting at a police station jail. "It seemed there was a massacre of these children in the police station," 50-year-old Zuleyma Ponte told AFP. "My son was killed. Whose fault is it? It's the lack of supervision, the lack of serious government," he said. Also Read: Nearly 23 inmates dead with clashes with police in Venezuela The deaths came after police special forces intervened Friday to stop a "massive prison break," according to Oscar Valero, public security secretary for Portuguesa state. The prisoners received the officers with "a hail of gunfire" while detonating three grenades that wounded 19 police, Valero told reporters. As the clash raged, family members near the station said they heard detainees shouting, "Don't let us die." "What we are asking for is, please, just give us our boys. They're not coming back, so give their bodies to their families and investigate those responsible," said Aliris Perez, a 34-year-old teacher whose 24-year-old brother died in the violence. Perez, who was close to the station when the riot occurred, said he heard several explosions as "many authorities" arrived at the site. Carlos Nieto, the head of a prisoner rights NGO, said the clashes broke out when special forces attempted to rescue visitors who had been taken hostage Thursday by the leader of the inmates. An official of the National Service of Medicine and Forensic Sciences told VPI online television on Saturday that work in the morgue was delayed as they waited for supplies from the capital Caracas, about 350 kilometers to the east. "They're sending us supplies, gloves, gowns, autopsy boots and scalpels, all of which we didn't have," said the official, whose name wasn't given. Eight autopsies have already been carried out, the official said. Violence and overcrowding are common in the approximately 500 preventative detention centers in Venezuela. The penal code says defendants should not spend more than 48 hours in these centers, but in practice they function as prisons, and it's often unclear who is responsible for them. In the Acarigua police station, there were about 500 inmates in a space built for 60, according to an internal police report seen by AFP. Bloody clashes and accidents often occur in the facilities. In March 2018, 68 inmates died in a fire at a police jail in the northern city of Valencia, and in August 2017, a riot at a facility in the southern Amazonas state left 37 prisoners dead. More than 400 people are believed to have been killed in Venezuelan jails since 2011, while human rights organizations also say they face a lack of food and medicines -- like much of the country -- while the facilities are beset by corruption. Following the bloodshed in Acarigua, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights expressed its "special concern for the high levels of violence in Venezuelan prisons," and called for authorities to "protect the life and security of people under its custody." Amnesty International Americas director Erika Guevara-Ross blamed the Venezuelan government, writing on Twitter that, "because these people were under the custody of the state... the government of (President) Nicolas Maduro is principally responsible for these deaths." Noting the arrest of key opposition leaders in Venezuela, the US State Department hoped that the latest round of talks will focus on the departure of Maduro. (Photo:AP) Caracas: Representatives of Maduro-led Venezuelan government and opposition will hold the second round of talks in Norway's capital Oslo next week in an attempt to resolve the ongoing political crisis in the Latin American country, Norwegian Foreign Ministry said on Saturday. "We announce that the representatives of the main political actors in Venezuela have decided to return to Oslo next week to continue a process facilitated by Norway," the ministry said in a statement. "We reiterate our commitment to continue supporting the search for an agreed-upon solution between the parties in Venezuela." Shortly after the announcement, Maduro took to his official Twitter handle to express his gratitude to the Norwegian government for providing a platform for dialogue between Venezuela's opposing forces, reported TASS news agency. Gallery: Venezuelans suffer in Guaido vs Maduro "I thank the Norwegian government for its efforts on facilitating dialogue about peace and stability in Venezuela. Our delegation is heading to Oslo, ready to work on a comprehensive agenda and move towards the signing of agreements," Maduro tweeted. Noting the arrest of key opposition leaders in Venezuela, the US State Department hoped that the latest round of talks will focus on the departure of Maduro. "The United States supports the desire of the Venezuelan people to recover their democracy and bring the illegitimate Maduro regime to an end. Previous efforts to negotiate an end to the regime and free elections have failed because the regime has used them to divide the opposition and gain time," the statement read. "Free elections cannot be overseen by a tyrant. As we have repeatedly stated, we believe the only thing to negotiate with Nicolas Maduro is the conditions of his departure. We hope the talks in Oslo will focus on that objective, and if they do, we hope progress will be possible," it added. It should be noted here that the US has opposed Maduro ever since he was sworn-in for the second term in January, after an election that has since been termed by most of the international communities as 'rigged.' Maduro, in turn, 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. Hours after Saturday's announcement by the Norwegian government, Guaido took to his official Twitter handle and reiterated that the opposition will be satisfied with nothing short of the removal of Maduro from the office, reports Sputnik. "We pursue all options with responsibility," he tweeted. "Our route is very clear: an end of usurpation, [creation of] interim government and free elections, and will pursue it in all areas of struggle, committed to URGENT changes that our country needs," Representatives of the Venezuelan government and the opposition had held a similar round of talks in Norway on May 16. Maduro had hailed the talks as 'positive.' The Japanese government has said that North Korea's recent test of short-range missiles violated the UN resolutions. (Photo:AP) Tokyo: United States President Donald Trump on Sunday said he was not "disturbed" by the short-range missile tests recently conducted by North Korea, unlike "his people and others". "North Korea fired off some small weapons, which disturbed some of my people, and others, but not me. I have confidence that Chairman Kim will keep his promise to me, and also smiled when he called Swampman Joe Bidan a low IQ individual, and worse. Perhaps that's sending me a signal?" the president wrote on Twitter. The remarks made by Trump, who is on a four-day state visit to Japan, came as a major blow ahead of his meetings with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, which are set to begin in a few hours. Also Read: Donald Trump arrives in Japan as trade talk looms The Japanese government has said that North Korea's recent test of short-range missiles violated the UN resolutions, a determination that national security adviser John Bolton had also agreed with in Tokyo on Saturday during a briefing with reporters before Trump arrived in Japan. Bolton was quoted as saying by Al Jazeera that North Korea on May 4 and 9 tested short-range ballistic missiles, ending a pause in launches that began in late 2017. During his meeting with Abe, Trump is also expected to reflect on a possible summit between Abe and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as an additional push toward resolving North Korea's missile and nuclear threats. The two leaders are to discuss North Korea as well as trade, security, and tensions with Iran. 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. (Photo:AP) Guizhou: Lauding Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the efforts made by his government to enhance the Indian economy, Mu Degui, a Member of the Standing Committee of CPC Guizhou Provincial Committee, asserted that in Modi's second tenure, China looks forward to setting up several businesses in India to help the local economy grow. When asked whether Modi's re-election as Prime Minister will improve India-China relations, Degui, while speaking to ANI, exuded confidence that the two countries will do good business in the near future. "We have noticed that after Prime Minister Narendra Modi assumed office, he has made a lot of efforts to enhance the Indian economy and improve livelihood of the people. The Prime Minister relentlessly focused on good governance and progress of India," he said. "India and China have enjoyed long-term friendship. With Prime Minister Modi at the helm, China will seek peaceful methods to achieve common goals," he added. Also Read: Trump, Imran Khan, other leaders congratulate PM Modi after he gets majority 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 the 300 mark while storming back to power for the second consecutive term. Further expressing his desire to work with India, Degui said that China regards India as a "model" it can learn from. "We know that India is a major economy. We acknowledge the tremendous achievement it has made in the area of Information Technology. We regard India as a model we can learn from. We want to work with India and set up businesses there to help the local economy to grow," he said. "We are trying to promote direct flights to New Delhi and Bangalore so that the two sides could do business well," he added. Notably, Guizhou is a province in south-west China which, in recent years, has fought poverty and established itself as the country's data hub. Guiyang City in the province at present is hosting a 'Big Data Industry Expo 2019' showcasing China's might in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Big Data. More than 26,000 participants from 55 countries and regions are participating in the event. As China's first big data pilot zone, Guizhou has attracted heavyweight players, including Apple, Qualcomm, Huawei, Tencent, Alibaba and Foxconn, to establish cloud computing and big data centers as well as regional headquarters. The operation was carried out in the Deh Bala district of the said province on Friday. (Representational Image) Nangarhar: At least four terrorists, including a local ISIS member, were killed in an operation carried out by Afghan Special Forces in Nangarhar province, local media reported on Saturday. According to Afghanistan's Interior Ministry, the operation was carried out in the Deh Bala district of the said province on Friday. Six other ISIS terrorists sustained injuries during the operation, reported Sputnik. Also Read: ISIS boat reportedly sets off from Sri Lanka, Kerala coast on high alert Nangarhar lies 120 kilometres east of capital Kabul. The province witnesses' scenes of clashes between the security forces and ISIS terrorists from time to time. This has forced more than 9000 families living in the province to flee to safer places. Afghanistan is suffering from an unstable political, social, and security situation due to the activities of the Taliban and ISIS. The Afghan National Defence and Security Forces (ANDSF) regularly conduct joint offensive operations to combat terrorism across the country. Flash A man, believed to be behind the blast that injured scores in the southern French city of Lyon, was still unidentified and police operation was underway to determine his whereabouts, Paris prosecutor Remy Heitz said on Saturday. The suspect appeared in security camera footage partially masked with dark sunglasses and a cap, making hard for investigators to identify him, Heitz told reporters. He was wheeling a bicycle to Victor Hugo street, a pedestrian popular street where he had left a bag outside Brioche Doree bakery at 17:27 local time (1527 GMT). One minute later, the package which contained screws, batteries and remote triggering device, exploded. Paris prosecutor confirmed that 13 people were suffering injuries. Eleven victims were evacuated to hospitals. "A first appeal for witnesses has been launched. All the testimonies are being examined. New photographs of the individual will be released soon," he said. "All the means have been deployed to allow the perpetrator's identification and his arrest," he said, adding that no claim of responsibility has so far been made for the blast. His counter-terrorism section has opened an investigation into "attempt of assassination in relation with terrorist enterprise". Earlier on Saturday, Justice Minister Nicole Belloubet said it was too early to say whether the blast was a "terrorist act". "Anti-terrorism division of the Paris prosecutor office has opened an investigation for criminal and terrorist conspiracy. But, it is necessary to await the results of the on-going investigation," Belloubet told BFMTV news channel. "In the light of these results we can then qualify this act," she added. Following the explosion whose motive remained unidentified, Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said he "sent vigilance instructions to all prefects to enhance the security of public sites and sporting events, cultural and religious". France remains top target of terrorist cells due to its military intervention in Iraq, Syria and the Sahel region. A wave of attacks, claimed by the Islamic State, had broken the calm several times in France. The bloodiest terror attack took place in Paris on November 2015, when a series of explosions and shootings left 130 victims. Pakistan is ready to hold talks with the new Indian government to resolve all outstanding issues, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said. (Photo: File) Islamabad: Pakistan is ready to hold talks with the new Indian government to resolve all outstanding issues, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said. Addressing an Iftar dinner in Multan on Saturday, Qureshi said both India and Pakistan should sit on negotiation table to solve issues for the sake of prosperity and peace of the region, state-run Radio Pakistan reported. His remarks came two days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi Thursday led his Bharatiya Janata Party towards a super-sized victory for a second term in office. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday 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. 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 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 general elections. The results of India's general elections are very significant for Pakistan as the new government in New Delhi will determine the course of Indo-Pakistan ties, which were pushed to a new low after the Pulwama terror attack. Just a day before the announcement of results, 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. He conveyed to her Pakistan's desire to resolve all issues through 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. Keep yourself updated on Lok Sabha Elections 2019 with our round-the-clock coverage -- breaking news, updates, analyses et all. Happy reading. Pope Francis says every child is a gift that changes the history of a family. (Photo:AP) Vatican City: Pope Francis reiterated on Saturday that abortion is unacceptable, saying its use amounted to the hiring of a "paid killer". "Is it lawful to eliminate a human lift to resolve a problem? It is lawful to hire a paid killer to resolve a problem," Francis asked during a conference at the Vatican on the use of abortion when the unborn child is found to have a serious illness. "No human being can ever be incompatible with life," he said, adding: "Every child is a gift that changes the history of a family... and this child needs to be welcomed, loved and cared for." Also Read: Missouri follows Alabama; passes law that would ban abortion after 8 weeks In cases where the child may not live for very long, medical care is not wasted but by gaining time, allows parents to prepare for the death. "That child will remain in their lives forever," he said. Pope Francis used similar "paid killer" remarks in relation to abortion in October 2018, sparking a sharp reaction in medical circles. Imran Khan, who has been seeking to improve Pakistan's strained relations with neighbour Iran, said he was concerned about the rising tensions in the Gulf' (Photo:File) Islamabad: Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan warned against the risk of conflict in the region, following a visit to Islamabad by Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif as tensions between Washington and Tehran escalated. Strains have increased between Iran and the United States, which is a firm backer of Tehran's regional rival Saudi Arabia, in the wake of this month's attack on oil tankers in the Gulf region that Washington has blamed on Iran. Tehran has distanced itself from the bombings, but the United States has sent a aircraft carrier and an extra 1,500 troops to the Gulf, sparking concerns about the risks of conflict in a volatile region. Also Read: Iran foreign minister Javad Zarif visits Iraq to discuss tension with US Imran Khan, who has been seeking to improve Pakistan's strained relations with neighbour Iran, said he was concerned about the "rising tensions in the Gulf", but did not specifically name the United States or Saudi Arabia. US President Donald Trump sends 1,500 troops to Middle East as tensions with Iran continue to rise. Tensions between the US and Iran are rising as Trump sends 1,500 troops to the Middle East and pushes through the sale of billions of dollars' worth of arms to Saudi Arabia. "He underscored that war was not a solution to any problem," Khan's office said in a statement late on Friday, citing the premier. "Further escalation in tensions in the already volatile region was not in anyone's interest. All sides needed to exercise maximum restraint in the current situation." Washington has been seeking to increasingly tighten sanctions against Iran, as relations continue to worsen under President Donald Trump. At the end of the two-day visit to Pakistan, Zarif told Iranian state-run newswire IRNA that US allegations against Tehran were increasing tensions. Also Read: Show respect, Iran tells US; rejects talks "These actions are also a threat to global peace and stability," he said. Earlier this month, four tankers, including two belonging to Saudi Arabia, were bombed near the United Arab Emirates' Fujairah emirate, one of the world's largest bunkering hubs, located just outside the Strait of Hormuz. Washington has accused Iran's Revolutionary Guards of carrying out the attacks, and the Trump administration has declared a national security-related emergency that would clear the sale of billions of dollars' worth of weapons to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other countries, bypassing congressional approval. Pakistan's relations with Iran have also been strained in recent months, with both sides accusing each other of not doing enough to stamp out militants allegedly sheltering across the border. Two wind farms in Karnataka and Gujarat present fresh evidence of how such green energy sources have turned out to be the killing fields for birds. With an installed capacity of more than 32,000 MW, India is the world's fourth largest producers of wind energy which plans to generate 60 GW by 2022. But the massive scale-up target may be counter-productive to the birds, particularly the migratory ones and raptors, suggests a new study. The new evidence comes from two commercial wind farms in Samakhiali region of Kutch in Gujarat and Harapanahalli of Davanagare district of Karnataka. Indian ornithologists found carcasses of more than 50 birds including globally threatened Dalmatian pelican and near-threatened painted stork at the two sites in three years as winged visitors die after colliding with the rotating blades of the wind turbines. The numbers would have been more if we were able to do a daily survey. But our survey frequency was once in 40 days. We studied the Kutch unit for three years and Davanagere unit for a year, Selvaraj Ramesh Kumar, lead researcher from Bombay Natural History Society, Mumbai told DH. The Kutch region is a stopover site for birds migrating through Central Asian Flyway that makes it a bird-rich area with 174 species of birds. Spread over an area of 120 sq km area, the Gujarat wind farm comprises about 200 turbines, of which 59 were chosen for the study. On the other hand, Located in Hyarada Block-C Reserved Forests, the Davanagere wind farm has 24 wind turbines spread over an area of 56 sq km, all of which were used in the study. Carcass surveys were conducted at Samakhiali between October 2011 and July 2014 during which 47 bird carcasses belonging to at least 11 species were found. In Harapanahalli wind farm, searched were conducted between January 2014 and February 2015 during which seven carcasses from three species were found. This also has ecological implications as several birds of prey species (raptors) are killed. Raptors have very low reproduction rates and they sit on top of the food chain in the avian world. So there are consequences for the ecology, said V Anoop, a researcher at Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History, Coimbatore who is a member of the study team. The ornithologists observe that wind farms must take up bird studies before setting up the wind turbines to find out the suitability of the site. While scientists abroad carried out several studies on the impact of wind farms on the avian fauna, similar research in the Indian context is few. The latest study has been published in the May 10 issue of the journal Current Science. Flash Commanders of Iranian Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) on Saturday vowed to respond "firmly" to the U.S. possible military threats. The United States should not "miscalculate" the state of affairs in the region, Gholam Ali Rashid, commander of the Khatam al-Anbia Central Headquarters, was quoted as saying by Tehran Times daily. "In line with defending the Iranians' interests, we are prepared for any situation," Rashid added. The capability of the Iranian armed forces and Iran's regional influence are two elements for power that Iran possesses, he said. "If America and its Western and regional allies today do not dare to conduct a direct military confrontation against our country, it is due to the willingness of the Iranian people and the youth to resist and make sacrifices," he noted. Rashid said earlier that "we do not welcome war in the region ... but we are men of war and will stand against any aggression to defeat the enemy." On Saturday, an advisor to the chief commander of the IRGC said that Iran has two new "top secret weapons" and may use them to sink U.S. warships. "In case of the smallest foolish act by the enemy in the Gulf waters, they will find out what we will do to them," Morteza Qorbani said. "The Americans should not play these games" and bring their warships to the region, Qorbani warned. The IRGC may use its weapons to sink the U.S. warships "with everything and everyone on board," Qorbani added. Besides, IRGC spokesman Ramezan Sharif dismissed the U.S. deployment of military forces to the region, saying that the U.S. measure does not intimate Iran. "With hype and propaganda, the Americans (merely) attempt to stay relevant in public opinion," Sharif was quoted as saying by Press TV. However, sending an aircraft carrier from one geographical location to another and the talk of moving forces from one place to another will not intimidate the Iranians, Sharif added. Washington said earlier this month that it was dispatching an aircraft carrier strike group and a bomber task force to the Middle East region to counter "threats" from Iran. The announcement came shortly after the U.S. administration designated the IRGC as a terrorist organization. U.S. President Donald Trump also announced that he was sending 1,500 more troops to the Middle East region. Last week, IRGC said in a statement that Iran was working at the maximum capacity for a "full confrontation" with the Iranian enemies including the United States. The weather this holiday weekend isnt cooperating, so you might want to curl up in front of the fireplace (yes, even on Memorial Day weekend) with a good book and we have a reading list for you. Politicians love to memorialize their accomplishments, ambitions, priorities and passions in books. They want posterity to remember them. So, for the political junkies among us, we have compiled a list of our favorite political books, listed by author and titles: President Donald Trump: The chaos theory of governance: Blow everything up and throw some temper tantrums. Presidential candidate Joe Biden: The women whose hair I have smelled. Sen. Mike Lee: The deep Green New Deal symbolism of Ronald Reagan riding a velociraptor while firing a machine gun. Congressman Rob Bishop: The secrets to maintaining a deep, dark tan, contrasting perfectly with coiffed white hair and a white vested suit ensemble. Sen. Mitt Romney: How to avoid boredom in ones senior years run for the U.S. Senate. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi: The dilemma: How to impeach a president while protecting my vulnerable swing-state members. Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: How to drive House leaders nuts with socialist fantasies. Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders: How to win respect after being everyones crazy socialist uncle. Utah House Speaker Brad Wilson: The long and winding road to tax reform. Utah Senate Pres. Stuart Adams: The 10 most exciting moments in Utah Senate history (snore...). Presidential candidate Beto ORourke: Five exercises that will prepare you to gesticulate wildly in political speeches. Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, Jr.: Strategies to return to the governors mansion after 11 years away. Likely gubernatorial candidate Greg Hughes: Why Utah needs a brawler who gets things done, not a soft heart. Announced gubernatorial candidate Spencer Cox: From Fairview to the governors mansion nice guys finish first. Gov. Gary Herbert (two books): How to be a really effective lame duck and How to clear the field for your handpicked successor. Presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg: How having an unpronounceable last name makes you unforgettable. Congressman John Curtis: All I really need to know I learned in Provo. Congressman Ben McAdams: Tip-toeing on a knife edge How to be a Democrat in a Republican district. Congressman Chris Stewart: The seven miracles required to regain control of the House. Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson: County government even funner than I expected. Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupski: The art of keeping the city council happy. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell: Survival tips from the consummate Washington political insider. Utah Democratic Party Chair Daisy Thomas: Creative ways to pursue relevancy. Utah Republican Party Chair Derek Brown: How to rejuvenate a moribund political party. Former congresswoman and current CNN political commentator Mia Love: CNN isnt all fake news really! Former congressman and current Fox News political commentator Jason Chaffet****z: Top 10 ways to attack the deep state, as learned from Sean Hannity. Attorney General Sean Reyes: Lessons learned from nearly being a presidential appointee. Frank Pignanelli: The top 10 bar hangouts for aging political wind bags. LaVarr Webb: The politics of raising chickens. Last week we were visited by a brave young woman from Zimbabwe. Infected with HIV at birth, orphaned by AIDS at age 10, almost killed by tuberculosis at age 12, then by a teen suicide attempt triggered by ostracism and despair, Loyce Maturu credits her survival to the help and medicines brought to her village by the Global Fund. Now a strong advocate, Loyce flew into Utah to visit the offices of Sen. Romney (on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee) and Rep. Curtis (on the House Foreign Affairs Committee) to educate and motivate them to support the Global Fund. Started in 2002 at the height of the AIDS epidemic, the Global Fund is a worldwide consortium of philanthropists, private service organizations, and over 60 donor countries combining their resources to combat the three deadliest infectious diseases: tuberculosis, AIDS, and malaria. In the past 17 years the Global Fund has had great success, decreasing the death rate by one-third and saving 27 million lives. But more remains to be done. In 2017 TB, AIDS and malaria killed over 2.9 million people around the globe. This is more than 20 times the number killed that year in all of the current wars and armed conflicts. These deaths from infections are all the more regrettable because we have the science and the medicines to prevent, treat and control these scourges. The Global Fund is able to save a life from malaria with a $3 bed net, save a life from tuberculosis with $20 of antibiotics, or keep an HIV patient alive and thriving with a daily pill costing just 20 cents. Every three years the donor nations meet to re-commit to supporting the Global Fund. This October there is another opportunity for the United States to again step up and continue to lead this effort with both financial and moral leadership. The Global Fund fulfills humanitarian goals, has efficient and transparent processes, helps strengthen a countrys own health infrastructure, protects local economies and thus lessens the chances of regional conflicts. It has always had strong bipartisan support in Congress. This year that support in Washington is threatened. Despite his State of the Union pledge to defeat AIDS in America and beyond, the president is now trying to slash this funding. To put the American contribution to the Global Fund in perspective, the $1.56 billion per year represents much less than one-tenth of one percent of the U.S. budget, and amounts to only $4.73 for each U.S. citizen. So, for the price of a fancy coffee, my tax share could be invested in saving another 16 million lives in the next three years. What is now needed is the heroism to stand up to the administration and demand that the U.S. continue its strong leadership role in the fight against these diseases. Sen. Romney, Rep. Curtis, please make a stand to save 16 million lives. In the ongoing battle for survival between humans and microorganisms, the president, the secretary of state, and the world need to be told which side we are fighting for. Loyce continues to demonstrate heroism, fighting each day to stay alive. She continues to fight for the lives of others. She is dependent on the generosity of the world through the Global Fund to continue to bring lifesaving medicine to her village. That supply depends upon our congressional leaders to fight for her life, and to fight for the lives of 16 million men, women and children not yet reached. She, and they, now need Sen. Romney and Rep. Curtis to demonstrate such heroism. A new Church News video shows how members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints welcomed and embraced President Russell M. Nelson during his ministry tour to the South Pacific. Sister Wendy Nelson, who accompanied her husband on the tour, reflected on the warmth and love of the people they visited in the the South Pacific. The tour included stops in Hawaii, Samoa, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Tonga and Tahiti. "So they welcome you in ways that you've never been welcomed before," Sister Nelson said. "They're saying, 'President Nelson, we welcome you home.'" "I've been going in and out of these islands now since 1976," President Nelson said. "I know some of them and I know their parents and I know their grandparents. They feel like I'm part of the family. ... I love these people. "We want to just say to the people that we love them, we're glad that you're members of the church, we're glad you love the Lord, and we just want to be with you." NEW YORK CITY Chaplain Barry Black doesn't shy away from sharing one of his favorite scriptures: "Jesus Lives," the shortest in the Bible, and good for 5 cents. Luke 17:32 also stands as a favorite: "Remember Lot's wife." Good for another 5 cents. And then there are the Proverbs from the Old Testament, a rich source of spiritual wisdom, but also a gold mine for a young boy seeking short verses after receiving a challenge from his mother: For every scripture you learn, Barry, I'll give you a nickel. A nickel might not seem like much, but to a young child growing up in Baltimore in the 1950s it was enough for "the big Snickers," he says. He got so good at it that his mother had to cap him at 25 cents a week. The mother's wisdom in that moral training came sharply into focus when two young friends knocked on his door one day and invited him to come with them "to get back at someone." His was a decision that would change his life and, in his words, bring him "true freedom." He declined their invitation. He had previously memorized Proverbs 1:10: "My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not." He said that scripture clearly echoed in his mind. He saw later on the news the killing that occurred that day and the following arrests of those two same friends. He followed the trial that came and the lifelong incarceration that would be their sentence, keenly aware of the freedom the scripture had earned him. He carried the wisdom of his mother and scripture into the Navy, where he would rise to rear admiral and become the Chief of Navy Chaplains. And since 2003, into the halls of Congress where he serves as the U.S. Senate Chaplain, a champion of religious freedom and this year's recipient of the Canterbury Medal for that distinguished service. He is the first African-American and first Seventh-day Adventist to hold the position of Senate Chaplain, and he had a simple message for the guests dressed in black tie and gowns who came to the Pierre Hotel in New York City Thursday to pay tribute to him and hear his words: "The Supreme Court declared that history and tradition make it clear that the framers (of the Constitution), while maybe wanting a separation of church and state, did not intend a separation of God and state. We need the spiritual." Lawmakers in Congress respect him on that. It is his charge to open each Senate session with a prayer, and to serve as a spiritual advisor for those senators who seek him out for his wisdom wisdom gained not just from his military and seminary experiences, but from those quiet moments memorizing verses for "the big Snickers." Separation of church and state is invoked regularly as society moves further toward secularization. But such comes at great risk as this aim fails to acknowledge something greater than oneself. Benjamin Franklin knew this, and he was cited by Chaplain Black as he received the Canterbury Medal. On June 28, 1787 the Constitutional Convention was at an impasse, but Franklin believed he had a solution: I have lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth: that God Governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without his aid? We have been assured, Sir, in the sacred writings, that except the Lord build the House they labour in vain that build it. I firmly believe this; and I also believe that without his concurring aid we shall succeed in this political building no better, than the Builders of Babel. I therefore beg leave to move that henceforth prayers imploring the assistance of Heaven, and its blessings on our deliberations, be held in this Assembly every morning before we proceed to business, and that one or more of the Clergy of this City be requested to officiate in that Service." Since they first met in 1789, a prayer has opened each session of the House of Representatives and the Senate, including (notes Chaplain Black) on the day that the establishment clause was written, promising that Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of a religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. The Canterbury Medal is named for the cathedral in Canterbury, England, where Thomas Becket was martyred by King Henry II for defending religious freedom. Last year's recipient was Rabbi Dr. Meir Soloveichik, director of Yeshiva Universitys Zahava and Moshael Straus Center for Torah and Western Thought, who noted that the gathering in New York put away the lie that we are all divided. Chaplain Black went right to scripture to instruct that "righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people." He then called religious liberty "a national security issue," an effort to protect against the consequences of sin, which is a destroyer of nations. It is not often that one attends such a gathering as this, with scripture freely quoted and the focus placed on God and an individual's right to bring their faith into the public square. "I literally owe my life to the freedom that came from those nickels that motivated my siblings and me to get supernatural power inside of us," Chaplain Black said that night, recounting his journey and the key decision to not walk with his friends toward destruction. The wish of freedom for all is a wish he carries every day in Washington. And he carries it as he opens the Senate with prayer. Cookie banner We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from. To learn more or opt-out, read our Cookie Policy. Please also read our Privacy Notice and Terms of Use, which became effective December 20, 2019. By choosing I Accept, you consent to our use of cookies and other tracking technologies. LAYTON For all its country-living appeal, no one ever said farming was easy. At least, no one who has ever tried it. "Yeah, we love what we do. But it is tough, said Tyson Roberts, who owns Roberts Family Farms in Layton. Utah has been so dry the past few seasons, farmers across the state were hoping for water this year. However, all the snow and seemingly constant rain this season is proof there can be too much of a good thing. "It's either too much or too little water, but really, we're at the mercy of mother nature, and that's how agriculture is, said Roberts. Several different kinds of vegetables are grown at Roberts Family Farms, but right now, the sweet corn is normally about a foot high. Saturday afternoon, the tallest crops may have been only 3-4 inches tall. "It's struggled being cold and wet. It's hard to grow, said Roberts. "It'll probably produce a crop, but it'll be a smaller cob. Less desirable at a farmers market." That's a challenge when you rely on farmers markets for your livelihood. We make our income out of about 14 weeks out of the whole year, so we rely on a consistent harvest throughout the fall and if we can't plant at the right times in the spring, then we're not going to have a harvest throughout all the farmers markets, said Roberts. One bad week at a farmers market could mean the difference between making money and losing money that year." It's not just crops that are affected. Farmers who raise animals, like cows and goats, are also feeling the impact of a wetter season because of the hay needed to feed those animals. It has been so wet this spring, farmers have had a difficult time cutting hay. "Our hay should've been cut a week ago. I walked out into our field today and it is just sopping wet from the top to the bottom, said Ron Gibson, who owns a farm in Weber County. Gibson is also the president of the Utah Farm Bureau and says going from extremely dry last year, to all the rain and snow this year, has made it challenging for farmers to plan budgets and take out loans for equipment. "We don't know what the good or the bad are going to be. We're always on an average when you talk to a banker, and things have been really tough in our industry over the last five years, said Gibson. Planting seeds has also been difficult this season. The rain has caused many fields to be full of mud. Basically, on my farm, I have until about the 10th of June to do everything, said Gibson, talking about his corn and onion crops. Weve got very little of that done and I still have until the 10th of June. Were compressed into this little box to get things done and thats how a lot of farmers across the state feel. Were grateful for the water because its our lifeblood. Weve got to have it. But, its a real challenge to get through right now. Its not too late to catch up this season, and as farmers have said often, theres always hope for a better season next year. "They'll make it. They might have a really tough year, but most farmers can make it through tough years, said Roberts. Were a resilient bunch. SALT LAKE CITY Former Utah Supreme Court Justice Ronald E. Nehring died Friday from complications due to cancer at age 71. Nehring served on the state's high court from 2003 until his retirement in 2015. "Ron was a judges judge, said Utah Supreme Court Chief Justice Matthew Durrant. He treated all who appeared before him, and all with whom he worked, with unwavering dignity and respect. He had a rock-solid commitment to justice. His opinions were always thoughtful and elegantly written. He was the kind of person, the kind of judge, we all should aspire to be. Nehring, a native of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, graduated with a degree in history from Cornell University, where he earned All-America honors in track and field. He earned his law degree at the University of Utah. Nehring began his professional career with Utah Legal Services and was a shareholder with the Salt Lake City firm of Prince, Yeates and Geldzahler as a 3rd District Court judge. He was serving as the presiding judge when Gov. Mike Leavitt appointed him to the Utah Supreme Court. Associate Chief Justice Thomas Lee said Nehring touched the lives of many people for the better. Justice Nehring was a paragon of civility, professionalism, judgment and good humor. He was one of our best and brightest. He lived life to the fullest, from his early days an accomplished athlete to his time as one of our most effective judges, he said. His thoughtfulness, humor and constant reminder to do justice, inspired me to want to be a better version of myself, said Justice Deno Himonas. Nehring also served as chairman of the Board of District Court Judges, a member of the Supreme Court Advisory Committee on the Rules of Professional Conduct, and was a member of the Utah Judicial Council. Nehring leaves behind his wife, Kristina, and three children. LOGAN Local police agencies and the FBI planned to work through the night Saturday to investigate the disappearance of a 5-year-old girl who might have been with her uncle when she went missing. Elizabeth Shelley was last seen at 2 a.m. on Saturday and was discovered missing from her home on Logan's west side at about 10 a.m. Her 21-year-old uncle, Alex Whipple, who had been at the house that night, was also gone, according to police. Police located Whipple on foot Saturday afternoon and took him into custody, according to Logan police post on Facebook. Logan Police Capt. Tyson Budge said Whipple is "not being that cooperative" and is considered a suspect in Elizabeth's disappearance. "The fortunate thing is we have all of the adults accounted for," Budge said. "The obvious conclusion is that she's in a lot of danger." Regarding the girl's uncle, Budge said, "Right now we're pretty focussed on Alex." According to the Facebook post from police Saturday night, "Officers are seeking additional search warrants and we are continuing to search for 5-year-old Elizabeth Shelley." "It is unknown what type of shirt she was wearing, but is believed at this point she was wearing either blue jeans or a teal colored plaid skirt. She is 3 feet 6 inches tall with shoulder length curly brown hair with choppy bangs and brown eyes," Logan police wrote on Facebook. Logan police, the Cache County Sheriff's Office, Cache County Search and Rescue and FBI are involved in the investigation. Police suspended a volunteer search operating from Bear River Head Start on Saturday evening. Police are asking residents in the area between 300 South to 100 North and 300 West to 600 West who have video surveillance, including smart doorbells, to check their videos and cameras for the hours of 2 a.m. to noon on Saturday. "All of us are still hoping we're going to find Elizabeth alive," Budge said. Anyone with information may call 435-753-7555. Contributing: Sean Moody KATHMANDU, Nepal Apa Sherpa has stood on top of the world more times than all but one other person. Now the Utah resident wants to make sure no one feels compelled to follow in his footsteps. As a boy growing up in Nepal, Sherpa dreamed of becoming a doctor, but poverty and lack of education steered him to a far more dangerous path: Working as a guide on Mount Everest, carrying climbing equipment and helping foreign mountaineers scale the world's tallest peak. Now retired in the U.S. and living in Draper, Sherpa returns every year to his roots in the foothills of the Himalayas to provide financial assistance to village schools and try to show children from the Sherpa minority group that they have options in life. "Sherpas take big risks in the mountains to earn a living for their families because they are unable to take up any other jobs," the 59-year-old said. "My main goal is to ensure children in the future don't have to take up climbing like we did." Sherpa tribespeople were mostly yak herders and traders living deep within the Himalayas until Nepal opened its borders to foreigners in the 1950s. As adventurers began arriving to conquer the country's famous peaks, the Sherpas with their mountain experience found themselves in demand as guides and porters. To this day they are an indispensable part of Nepal's climbing industry, which brings in $300 million to the country each year. But advocates say Nepal's estimated 350,000 Sherpa remain marginalized, with many living in remote, impoverished villages connected to the rest of the country only by footpaths and small airstrips. Access to schooling beyond the primary level is rare. The Apa Sherpa Foundation, set up in 2012, has been seeking to change that, paying teacher salaries in several villages to ensure schools remain open and providing hot lunches, computers, books, pens and warm clothes to motivate children to attend classes. "Most people in the area have now realized the value of educating their children and they do their best to send their children to school," Sherpa said. "But many schools face difficulties, so we try and help them whatever way possible." When Sherpa was growing up, the school in his village, Thame, offered education only up to the second grade. He continued his studies in another village for two more years, walking the mountain trails for six hours each day, but had to drop out when his father died and he had to take on the responsibility of feeding his family. By the age of 12 he was working on climbing expeditions. At age 30, he summited Everest for the first time. He repeated the feat almost every year after, going on to become one of Everest's greatest guides and earning the nickname "Super Sherpa." When he retired in 2011, he jointly held the record for having climbed the 29,035-foot peak 21 times with fellow Sherpa Phurba Tashi. Another Sherpa, Kami Rita, now holds the record alone, having reached the summit 24 times, two of them this season. "Everyone said 21 was a good number," Sherpa noted of the timing for his retirement, which fulfilled a longstanding promise to his wife. Sherpas are the first to reach Everest each climbing season and the last to leave. They set up the camps, carry the equipment and cook the food for climbing parties. Most importantly, they fix the ropes and ladders over the crevasses and icefalls that enable mountaineers to scale the peak. The work has earned the Sherpas prestige, as well as income far above average wages in Nepal. Experienced guides like Sherpa who take climbers all the way to the top of Everest make $10,000 or more, while porters or cooks at mountaineers' camps average between $3,000 and $5,000 during their three months of work. That's a huge amount compared to Nepal's $1,035 annual per capita income. Sherpa himself was able to move to Utah in 2006 so that his children could have a better education. But Sherpas also bear the largest brunt of the danger and death that go hand in hand with the industry. In 2014, 16 Sherpa guides were buried by an avalanche on Everest as they carried supplies. The following year, another 10 were among those killed when an earthquake triggered an avalanche that tore through Everest base camp. After the 2014 disaster, Sherpas refused to work, prompting the government to introduce new rules for better wages, increasing insurance payouts and improving rescue operations for Sherpas. Sherpa himself had many near misses, having survived blizzards, frostbite, inadequate oxygen supplies and the deaths of fellow mountaineers. Given a choice, he said, many Sherpas would probably never take up the work. In the past few weeks, members of his foundation and trekkers have hiked to six schools to drop off supplies. They also distribute supplies to monasteries. As Buddhists, Sherpas often send their children to live and study at monasteries, a tradition that also relieves parents of the burden of having to feed and educate them at home. In addition to making sure children have access to school, there is also the issue of ensuring teachers are hired. Of the eight teachers the government says are needed at the village school in Thame, it says it can only afford to hire three. Sherpa's foundation helps to pay the salaries of another five teachers who have not been formally hired. "It is really difficult to find qualified teachers to move to remote villages and we don't have enough money to pay all their salaries," said Khagendra Shrestha, the chief education officer for the district in charge of Thame. Sherpa's foundation mostly collects funds from donations, talks, dinners and screenings. Last year, it raised $80,000. It also has sponsorship from the outdoor equipment supplier Thule thanks to Sherpa's fame. "Apa's vision was that he wanted the children to have a choice through education," said foundation board member Valerie Littleton. "He is very passionate about giving back to the country he loves." LOGAN The search for missing 5-year-old Elizabeth Shelley has been expanded to the Hyrum area and more than 200 people are assisting with the operation, according to a Facebook post Sunday from Logan police. The operation has been aided by search and rescue support from several other counties, the update states. "We continue to work leads that have come forward," it states. FBI agents and Cache County law enforcement agencies worked through Saturday night serving search warrants, following up on leads and expanding the search area. The girl was last seen at 2 a.m. on Saturday and was discovered missing from her home on the west side of Logan at about 9:30 that morning. Her uncle, Alex Whipple, 21, who had been at the house that night, was also gone. Whipple was located by police on Saturday afternoon and taken into custody on unrelated warrants. Whipple has been uncooperative with police and is considered a suspect in Elizabeth's disappearance, Logan police said. Logan Police Capt. Tyson Budge said police have "several locations where we believe we've found some evidentiary items that will help link Mr. Whipple to this case." Police are asking residents of southwest Logan, Nibley, Hyrum or Mount Sterling to watch for suspicious items on their property. If they find anything, police ask that they not touch it and call 435-753-7555 immediately. Police are also asking residents who have video surveillance cameras or smart doorbells and reside between 300 South to 100 North and 300 West to 600 West to check their videos and cameras for the hours of 2 a.m. to noon on Saturday. Elizabeth was last seen wearing a red tank top and blue jeans. She is 3 feet 6 inches tall, weighs about 40 pounds and has shoulder-length brown hair with bangs. She has brown eyes. Budge said searchers will continue to look for her until dark and then continue to follow up leads. "We're still just trying to locate her. We have evidence to believe that he is the reason that she is missing," Budge said of Whipple. Logan police, the Cache County Sheriff's Office, Cache County Search and Rescue and FBI are involved in the investigation. Contributing: Sean Moody 11 hours ago 2 Semiconductor Stocks To Own For 2022 Yesterday we wrote about how attractive Micron (NASDAQ: MU) is looking as we close out 2021, with the likes of Mizuho and Citi both calling it a top pick for the coming year. But theyre certainly not alone in attractive semiconductor names, and as was pointed out by the latter, business conditions for the industry havent been this attractive since 2000. Read Article From left, Alan Hernandez and Refugio Esquivel ready the newly installed pipe to be buried at the construction site on Zulek Street, just outside Clovis. CLOVIS - Fifty-foot steel pipe segments, arriving four at a time on trucks from Dallas, are now being installed in the ongoing construction of the Eastern New Mexico Water Utility Authority's interim groundwater project that broke ground in Februa... Roswell, New Mexico. 1947. Mention of the place, the year thats all it takes. Even those only casually interested in reported UFO phenomena know at least parts of the story that follows. Those for whom the mysteries surrounding UFOs hold mo... Israeli fire attacks injure 2 Palestinians in Gaza Civilians sustained moderate injuries from Israeli fire. Two Palestinians were reportedly injured by Israeli gunfire early Sunday in the Gaza Strip, according to local residents. SOLDIERS OPENED FIRE Israeli soldiers opened fire on two youths near the security fence in the southern Gaza Strip, the residents said. Archive photo A Palestinian medical source said the two sustained moderate injuries and were rushed to hospital for treatment. There was no comment from the Israeli military on the report. Three French men sentenced to death in Iraq An Iraqi court sentenced three French men to death on Sunday after finding them guilty of joining Islamic State. Iraq is conducting trials of thousands of suspected members of Islamic State, including hundreds of foreigners, with many arrested as the groups strongholds crumbled throughout Iraq. MEMBERS OF DAESH The French trio were extradited to Iraq in February and military sources at the time said that 14 French citizens were among 280 Iraqi and foreign detainees handed over by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). They were sentenced to execution after it was proven that they were members of the terrorist Islamic State organization, said one court official, who declined to be named because he was not authorized to speak to the media. Iraq began court proceedings against the 14 French suspected Islamic State members in March, legal sources said. All three convicted Frenchmen rejected the ruling and asked to be tried in France, but judges ignored their request, a court-appointed lawyer said. Voting begins for European Parliament elections EU citizens in 21 countries go to the polls on Sunday, the last of four days of voting in European Parliament elections that will shape the blocs future. A total of 21 countries of the European Union hit the ballot boxes to vote for the European Parliament (EP) elections on Sunday. The voting process is between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. The unofficial results are expected to be made public by tonight. FINAL PHASE OF ELECTIONS The citizens of Germany, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Croatia, Spain, Sweden, Italy, Greek Cypriot administration, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia and Greece will vote in the final phase of the elections. Between May 23 and 25, the people of the UK, the Netherlands, Czechia, Ireland, Slovakia, Malta, and Latvia went to ballot boxes to cast their votes. The election regulations are organized in line with the domestic laws of the member countries. About 400 million votes are eligible to cast ballots in the EP elections, making it the second largest democratic election after India. This years competition will be between eight different groups within the parliament. The EP is composed of a total of 751 seats. The EP elections are held every five years, 2014 elections drew merely 42% of the voters. Operating as the legislative body of the union, EP, along with the European Union Council, confirms and approves the union's laws and budget respectively. Athens, Greece - 26 May 2019: Drug therapy for patients with stable heart failure can be simplified by stopping diuretics, according to late breaking results from the ReBIC-1 trial presented today1 at Heart Failure 2019, a scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). "Heart failure patients have many pills to take for their heart failure and for comorbidities such as diabetes and hypertension," said principal investigator Dr Luis E. Rohde, of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil. "Withdrawing one drug when it is no longer necessary should make it easier to take the ones that are needed." "Patients don't like using diuretics because they feel they have to stay at home to use the bathroom and they get cramps," he added. "Patients would welcome being able to stop this medication." Diuretics are commonly prescribed for symptom relief in patients with heart failure. The drugs get rid of the excess fluids (congestion) which cause shortness of breath, swollen legs, coughing, and weight gain. Once the symptoms have resolved, patients are maintained on a low dose due to concerns that symptoms may return. Observational research has shown that long-term diuretic use is associated with a worse prognosis. The ReBIC-1 trial examined the safety and tolerability of withdrawing the diuretic furosemide in outpatients with stable chronic heart failure. The trial was conducted by the Brazilian Research Network in Heart Failure (ReBIC), which includes 11 tertiary care university hospitals in Brazil. Eligible criteria were: no or mild symptoms (defined as New York Heart Association functional class I to II), reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (45% or below), no heart failure-related hospital admission within the last six months, and receiving low-dose furosemide (40 to 80 mg per day) for at least six months. A total of 188 patients were randomly allocated to maintain or withdraw furosemide. Patients in the withdrawal group received a placebo pill. Both patients and investigators were blinded to the treatment allocation. The trial had two coprimary outcomes: 1) patient reported dyspnoea using a visual analogue scale at four time points across 90 days; and 2) the proportion of patients maintained without additional diuretics during the 90-day follow-up (on top of the randomly allocated diuretic or placebo). There was no difference between groups in the self-perception of dyspnoea during the 90-day follow-up period. Also, 72 patients (75.3%) in the withdrawal group and 78 patients (83.9%) in the maintenance group were free of furosemide reuse during follow-up (p=0.16). Senior author Dr Andreia Biolo, of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, who presented the results in Athens, said: "The results show that patients with stable heart failure who stop diuretics do not have more dyspnoea than those who continue taking the drug. Withdrawal also does not lead to increased reuse of diuretics - around 20% of patients in both groups needed a top-up, presumably for symptom relief." Dr Rohde said the findings indicate that diuretics can be safely discontinued in heart failure patients meeting the trial's eligibility criteria. "Most patients we see in the heart failure outpatient clinic fulfil the trial criteria and could benefit from this strategy," he said. No extra follow-up is needed for patients who quit taking diuretics, noted Dr Biolo. "Patients can be followed-up in the usual way," she said. "And, as we do now, patients should be educated to seek medical help if they become breathless, get oedema, or have sudden weight gain which indicates fluid retention." ### Authors: ESC Press Office Tel: +33 (0)4 8987 2499 Mobile: +33 (0)7 8531 2036 Email: press@escardio.org Follow us on Twitter @ESCardioNews The hashtag for Heart Failure 2019 and the World Congress on Acute Heart Failure is #heartfailure2019. Funding: Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq, Brazil). Disclosures: None. References and notes 1 The abstract 'Furosemide Withdrawal in Stable Chronic Outpatients with Heart Failure: a Double-blind, Multicenter, Randomized Trial' will be presented during the session Late breaking trial II - Chronic heart failure on Sunday 26 May at 08:30 to 10:00 EEST in the Trianti lecture room. About Heart Failure and the World Congress on Acute Heart Failure Heart Failure and the World Congress on Acute Heart Failure are annual congresses of the Heart Failure Association (HFA) of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). About the Heart Failure Association The Heart Failure Association (HFA) is a branch of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). Its aim is to improve quality of life and longevity, through better prevention, diagnosis and treatment of heart failure, including the establishment of networks for its management, education and research. About the European Society of Cardiology The European Society of Cardiology brings together health care professionals from more than 150 countries, working to advance cardiovascular medicine and help people lead longer, healthier lives. Information for journalists attending Heart Failure 2019 Heart Failure 2019 and the World Congress on Acute Heart Failure will be held 25 to 28 May at the Megaron Athens International Conference Centre in Athens, Greece. Explore the scientific programme. The first-ever international collaborative report has compared the experiences of multiple-birth babies and their families to single-birth families Having multiple-birth babies can be a time of wonder and excitement, however, according to the first-ever international collaborative report released today, these babies and their families can face serious disadvantages compared to parents of single-birth babies. Led by Twins Research Australia based at the University of Melbourne, the report identifies common challenges facing these families, including greater risk of pregnancy complications and premature birth, infant development delays and special needs, as well as financial, psychological and social support obstacles. Researchers are calling for urgent action in the areas of research, education, policy and practice to ensure health services and professionals can better meet the needs of multiple-birth families. Over the last 40 years, multiple births in Australia have almost doubled with 9056 multiple-births in 2017, compared to 4740 in 1975. This is a 91 per cent increase. Murdoch Children's Research Institute Honorary Fellow Christie Bolch said the report showed that health knowledge, services and practices have not kept pace with this rise. "Twins - plus triplets and above - bring many special experiences. But at every point of contact in our health system these families experience disadvantage, and this is not well recognised," Dr Bolch said. "There is a pressing unmet need for adequately funded resources for parents of young multiples to address their unique challenges such as increased social isolation, anxiety and depression, inadequate bereavement support when one or more babies do not survive, and caring for infants with special needs." University of Melbourne Director of Twins Research Australia John Hopper said adequate support must be provided to ensure all children receive the best start in life. "These findings demonstrate where our knowledge is lacking - such as the challenges of staggered discharge for the families of multiple-birth babies, the long-term costs to a family when multiples are born prematurely and the factors that contribute to developmental delays," Professor Hopper said. "We also show how to close these gaps through better research to understand the physical and mental health concerns of these families, improved education for health professionals and parents, and robust polices to address the financial disadvantage experienced." Strategies identified in the report include extended recovery services, special care and postnatal ward policies, as well as better training about the heightened support needs of families with multiples, and structured, multiple-specific early parenting education programs. ### The full report, Multiple perspectives: What support do multiple-birth families need to live happy and healthy lives? is now available. This is a collaboration of Twins Research Australia, the Twins and Multiple Births Association - UK, the Australian Multiple Birth Association and the International Council of Multiple Birth Organisations. Sunday, May 26, 2019 The fake slowed down image of Nancy Pelosi speaking made me realize how prevalent the use of software is to create false images passed off as legitimate images. In my profession as a forensic document examiner I am seeing this more frequently. I have three #legal #forensic document cases from #attorneys involving what is called a #cut-and-paste #signatures. Traditionally, these signatures were cut from a legitimate document that a person had signed then pasted onto another document. A photocopy was made of the manufactured document. The photocopy was then presented as a copy of an original document. During the past few years Ive had examples in which the cut-and-paste was performed using software such as Photoshop or GIMP. Legitimate documents were scanned into the computer. Using software, the signatures were lifted from the scan of the legitimate document then placed onto a document the person did not sign. In several cases the person did not do a very good job placing the cut signature onto the new document. In this manner I showed that although the signature was legitimate, the document itself was not legitimate. In the three #legal cases mentioned above, the person performing the cut and paste became a little more creative than just lifting a signature from a document and placing it onto another document. Manipulating the size and shape of the signatures is a simple task using software. The result is that the two signatures appeared to be written by the same person yet are not duplicates of each other. I was able to overlay one signature on top of the other than adjust the height or the width of the signature to determine whether they were identical. Usually small artifacts on the page will be lifted along with the signature. When these artifacts coincide in the overlay, it is apparent that one is a copy of the other. When both are photocopies, maybe they are both false documents with both signatures having been lifted from a third unknown document. Other techniques Ive seen are placing the cut signature at a different orientation to a signature line than in the source signature. This gives the illusion that the signatures were executed at different times since the relationship to the signature line differs in each document. Knowing the source of your document is very important. If you question whether a photocopy is legitimate, ask the source of the photocopy, How do you know this is legitimate?. When you continue to have questions about the authenticity of a photocopy, ask to see the original document. Check to make sure the signature is ink from a pen rather than printed using toner or ink jet. Modern color photocopiers can be so good that the photocopied signature may appear to be legitimate. You may need to examine the signature with a microscope to determine whether it is a photocopy or signed in ink with a pen. AUSTIN Teachers will see a boost in compensation and property owners will get relief from escalating taxes under legislation that sailed through the House and Senate on Saturday night, but lawmakers dont know how they are going to pay for the multi-billion dollar plan past 2020. A final version of House Bill 3 passed with no opposition in the Texas House 139-0 and 31-0 in the Senate Saturday night, marking a major win for the Republican-led state Legislature and a personal victory for Rep. Dan Huberty, R-Humble, who shepherded the bill through. We are truly transforming school finance in Texas, Huberty said moments before the bill passed and lawmakers lined up, offering him hugs. If signed by Gov. Greg Abbott, who has called it a historic measure to improve education in Texas, the bill would commit $4.5 billion more for education and $5 billion more for property tax relief over two years, relying on a robust Texas economy for the funding. For subscribers: In Texas education funding plan, more teacher compensation isnt necessarily pay raises The bill would include increases compensation for teachers, school counselors, nurses and librarians however that could mean either pay raises or additional contributions toward health insurance premiums. The plan has funding for full-day pre-K programs for low-income students as well as increased funding to identify children with dyslexia. It increases the basic amount of funding per student by about $1,000 to $6,160. The plan's passage comes after Huberty, Sen. Larry Taylor, R-Friendswood, and other lawmakers have tried for years to substantially increase education funding, with little luck. Lawmakers have also pushed for property tax reforms, but negotiations over how to address both those issues fell apart in 2017. Critics of the legislation, who applaud the states dedication to the states 5.4 million students, are concerned the lack of a dedicated funding plan could spell trouble in future years. Texas Take: Get political headlines from across the state sent directly to your inbox Its going to cost $13.3 billion in two years and we may not have it, said Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, D-San Antonio, who nevertheless voted for the bill. In the future, we need to figure out how were going to pay for this bill, said Rep. Roland Gutierrez, D-San Antonio, who proposed to House members that they consider casino gaming and legalizing and taxing marijuana to raise money in future years. This is a lofty bill. Its a good bill. Remember, members, this is a game of inches. To cover some of the extra costs, lawmakers plan to tap $300 million a year in revenue from the Texas Permanent School Fund, as well as the proceeds from a new state sales tax on internet commerce. That tax is estimated to yield $550 million over the next two years. Republican leaders promised to deliver on school funding and property tax reform throughout the five-month legislative session, with the House going so far as to order Styrofoam coffee cups imprinted with The Time Is Now for education reform. The education bill would reduce school property tax rates by an average of 8 cents per $100 of a homes value in 2020 and by 13 cents in 2021. For the owner of a $200,000 home, that would amount to a decrease of about $160 in 2020. To tamp down future property tax increases, the bill limits school districts to a 2.5 percent per-year increase in tax levies, unless they get voter approval for a higher increase. Additional property tax reforms approved Saturday night by both the House and the Texas Senate cap the amount cities and counties can raise property tax revenues from year to year. Currently the local governments can hike taxes as much as 8 percent per year before voters can attempt to force an election to roll back that rate. Senate Bill 2 would lock cities and counties in at 3.5 percent per year. If they seek a larger property tax increase, voters would automatically have an election to sign off or reject it. The bill passed 21-9 in the Senate and in the House, 88-50. There are exemptions that would allow cities and counties to tax higher after a declared national disaster such as Hurricane Harvey. While Senate Bill 2 wont lower property taxes, it does slow the rate at which they will grow. "This is the tax relief Texans deserve," State Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, said. He sponsored the bill in the Senate. The measure was sponsored by Rep. Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, in the House. No issue has been more central to the rise of Lt. Gov. Dan Patricks political career than property taxes. Sixteen years ago, before he was elected to office, Patrick led 300 people to a hearing in Austin calling for property tax reform similar to what he and Bettencourt have been working on ever since. Bettencourt called Patrick a founding father of the effort. This is an absolutely astounding accomplishment, Bettencourt said. The bill goes beyond capping the amount governments can raise taxes. It includes reforms about the appraisal notification process for homeowners to make it clearer who is raising their taxes and how to fight it before new tax rates are adopted a reform House Speaker Dennis Bonnen has long championed. AUSTIN At the request of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, lawmakers quietly budgeted $100 million for a border surge that several lawmakers said would send the national guard south to help the federal government process immigrants. The last-minute addition to the spending bill which also doles out billions of dollars for Hurricane Harvey relief, constructing new psychiatric hospitals and funding special education has Democrats up in arms in the closing days of the legislative session. With the president asking for billions of dollars to build his wall, why do Texas taxpayers have to after we have already spent $1.6 billion over the last two sessions spend another $100 million? said Jose Menendez, D-San Antonio. It came in last-minute. I would like to hear some explanation. Now the spending is being removed from the bill, said Rep. John Zerwas, R-Richmond, chairman of the House appropriations committee. It came in kind of late, it wasnt well communicated to other members of the House, said Zerwas, who confirmed that Abbotts office requested the funds. Texas Take: Get the latest news on Texas politics sent directly to your inbox every weekday The change would need the approval of both the Republican-led House and Senate, which have awarded $400 million a year for state border security efforts over each of the past four years. Abbotts office didnt respond to a request for comment about the surge funds, first reported by the Dallas Morning News. Abbott's staff told lawmakers the Trump administration requested help processing male immigrants at certain points along the U.S.-Mexico border, said Zerwas and Rep. Mary Gonzalez, D-Clint. Border apprehensions spiked this spring, with U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials announcing that for the second month in a row, more than 100,000 people were apprehended at the border in April. Last year, Abbott sent an extra 1,000 National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border in response to President Trumps request to boost border security. Earlier this month, Abbott indicated he was again coordinating with federal officials on the issue. I worked with the President & Sec. of Homeland Security this week on new tactics to secure the border, Abbott tweeted on May 8. Texas is providing ~ a billion dollars to send National Guard & DPS officers to the border. Abbott was apparently referring to about $800 million for border security that is included in the states budget. The supplemental spending bill known as Senate Bill 500 would give Abbotts office an extra $100 million for surge operations necessary to secure the border. The money would come out of the states rainy day fund. The bill makes clear that Abbott should seek reimbursement from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Gonzalez, one of a handful of lawmakers who negotiated a compromise on Senate Bill 500, said the money was a shock and hadnt been discussed before the legislation was made public. Its wrong to tie these dollars to Hurricane Harvey and special education, she said. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dennis Bonnen didnt respond to requests for comment. AUSTIN The state is budgeting nearly $200 million to start constructing a new psychiatric hospital in San Antonio that would replace the crumbling, decades-old campus where patients are currently treated. It is expected to cost roughly $323 million to replace the state hospital with a 300-bed facility at the same South Side site. The initial funding is part of a budget compromise that has yet to receive approval from the Legislature but is expected to do so. The state would have to offer up more money in the next legislative session to complete the hospital replacement, which has been in the works for years. I think this will certainly commit the state to starting the process. It would be very difficult for them to leave half the hospital unfinished in two years, said Dr. Steven Pliszka, chairman of the psychiatry department at UT Health San Antonio. Texas Take: Get the latest news on Texas politics sent directly to your inbox every weekday San Antonios current facility includes numerous buildings, some that date back to the late 1800s. While living spaces are clean, the dated buildings are crumbling in places, with sloping floors and narrow hallways. A 2014 structural analysis found that, overall, 80 percent of the facility was in critical condition. The new design calls for grouping patients into smaller units, separated by open-air courtyards that let in natural light. The two-story, V-shaped building would have at its center large rooms for occupational therapy and exercise, according to design plans released this year by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission. The new hospital is part of a broad plan to update the states 10 aging psychiatric hospitals and meet growing patient need. Wait lists for a bed can be long; in January, some 700 patients were waiting. Adding to the demand are forensic patients, who are housed at state hospitals after being found temporarily incompetent to stand trial or not guilty of a crime by reason of insanity. The number of forensic patients who remain hospitalized for over a year has more than tripled since 2005, according to state data. Pliszka said San Antonios mental hospital is facing the same pressure. Nothing has changed as far as the demand for services. We will definitely be at status quo until the new hospital is built or until we make other changes in the overall system, he said. AUSTIN Retired educators will receive a bonus check of up to $2,000 this year, under a bill the Legislature passed Sunday that will invest over $1 billion into shoring up the state pension fund for Texas teachers. They have been waiting a long time and Im happy we can deliver for them, said Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, who sponsored Senate Bill 12. Over 420,000 former school district employees are covered by The Teacher Retirement System of Texas one of the largest pension funds in the country but they havent received a cost of living increase in over a decade. Many retired teachers depend almost entirely on their pension, since they dont receive Social Security checks. With an average monthly pension check of roughly $2,000, retirees say its time for a boost, especially as the costs for their health care plan continues to soar. Texas Take: Get the latest news on Texas politics sent directly to your inbox every weekday SB12 makes the pension fund actuarially sound and also provides retirees a much needed supplemental paycheck, said Tim Lee, Executive Director of the Texas Retired Teachers Association. My members consider this a big win and the relief cannot come soon enough. Retirees are set to receive the so-called 13th check this fall if Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signs the bill into law, which he is expected to do. The Senate passed the bill Sunday, and the House will take it up next. Under the plan, active teachers and school districts will eventually pay more into the pension plan, which could eat into the pay bumps educators are expecting under the Legislatures sweeping school finance reform plan. By the start of the 2023 school year, teachers will start contributing 8.25% of their salaries, instead of the current 7.7%. It means a teacher with a $50,000 salary would pay about $275 more. For subscribers: In Texas education funding plan, more teacher compensation isnt necessarily pay raises School districts will ultimately pay 2% of payroll, instead of the current 1.5%. And those who havent been paying the full contribution will be forced to, including San Antonio ISD. The change is expected to cost the San Antonio district $12 million over the next two years. The state will also gradually raise its contribution to the Teacher Retirement System from 6.8 to 8.25% of active teacher payroll. Together, the changes will help rein in the pension plans unfunded liability of roughly $46.2 billion. While not an issue right now, it means the fund doesnt have enough money set aside to pay the pensions it has promised current employees. Allie Morris covers politics and policy in Austin. Read her on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | amorris@express-news.net | Twitter: @MorrisReports With the news that a sixth child has died in U.S. captivity in the past eight months, Sen. Lindsay Grahams eased deportation legislation but with reports of thousands of immigrants in solitary confinement for no legal reason, and President Donald Trumps new immigration reform executive order, its now clear that immigration policy must address humanity, not just legality. After a decade of low numbers, immigration is on the rise at the southwest border. In February, migration at the U.S.-Mexico border reached an 11-year high with 76,535 people either apprehended or deemed inadmissible by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, or CBP. That high mark didnt last long, though. In March, migration increased by 35 percent, reaching upward of 103,000. April was more of the same the CBP report released May 8 shows an increase to just over 109,000. The crisis cited by Trump and his allies is not fake. Seven months into the 2019 fiscal year, migration at the southwest border totals 531,711. Thats already more than the number for the entirety of 2017 and 2018, putting 2019 on pace to be the busiest year at the southern border since 2008. Since 2009, the total number of migrants has not surpassed 600,000 for a single year, but 2019 will most likely break that mark by the end of May. Migration across the southwest border, while increasing month to month, is still, since 2007, far lower than 1983 when immigration began to reach more than 1 million. Between 1983 and 2006, immigration at the southwest border remained in the millions for all but five years, topping out in 2000 at 1.643 million. However, a big part of the issue is that Trumps fearmongering and racist denunciation of our neighbors has caused a steep increase. People are rushing toward the border out of fear fear that they will not be able to come to America because Trump will shut down the border, asylum-seeking, the opportunity for a better life, and the American dream itself. Appealing to his base, President Trump presents bigoted individual biases and opinions. He paints a picture criminalizing and dehumanizing immigrants. But at this juncture of history, immigration is no longer a question of politics. It is, rather, a question of humanity. The Texas contenders in the 2020 Democratic presidential field Julian Castro and Beto ORourke have made immigration a major focal point. In April, Castro declared in an article he wrote for Medium that the United States needs to end this draconian policy and return to treating immigration as a civil not a criminal issue. He points out that most people do not come to America with malicious intent, rather, people are running to America to escape poverty, corruption and repression in their home countries. ORourke challenged Trump head-on in February during dueling rallies, telling the U.S. he is going to show the country the reality of the border a vibrant, safe, binational community that proudly celebrates its culture, history, diversity and status as a city of immigrants. Castro is calling for comprehensive immigration reform to repair our existing legal immigration system ... to ensure our policy works for people. He wants to develop a legal pathway to full and equal citizenship, protect Dreamers, their parents, and people under protected status, and end the immigration backlog a promise Trump has failed to deliver on. Under Trump, the American symbol is beginning to transform into a facade of racial and financial privilege. His rhetoric surrounding immigration, claiming that Hispanics are drug dealers, criminals and rapists, even though some are good people paves a dangerous road for American ideals. Over 25 million immigrants contribute to the U.S. workforce, and they typically hold jobs that fuel our economy. Immigrants build our roads and cities, they farm and make our food, they make America possible. Our response to people wanting to live a better life shouldnt be anger, insensitivity or discrimination. The United States should not be forcing people to live in tents and cages while they wait for asylum and refuge as if they were criminals and animals. Immigration is one of the most pressing issues in America, testing Americas humanity. The United States is a beacon of hope, but until we solve the core question of values, the Trump base may define the issue. Robert Weiner was spokesman for the Clinton and Bush White House Office of National Drug Policy, the U.S. House Government Operations Committee and House Narcotics Committee. John Black is policy analyst at Robert Weiner Associates and Solutions for Change. FAIRFIELD Solemn memories of those lost or buried at sea served as the backbone for Saturdays To Those in Peril on the Sea ceremony at the Russell Memorial at South Benson Marina. Around 75 peopleincluding many veterans, scouts, police, fire, town and state officials took part in the memorial service, which included a color guard and a ceremonial wreath laid in the water. 2019 seems to be like a great year for Ayushmann Khurrana. With some great films lined up, Ayushmann has got the audience super excited. Continuing with his busy schedule, Ayushmann has now started shooting for his next Bala along with co-stars Yami Gautam and Bhumi Pednekar. The actor kicked off films first shoot schedule in Kanpur today and shared pictures of his trip to Kanpur. He shared the same saying, New Beginnings, Bala. In another post, the Badhaai Ho actor wrote, Hum Kanpur Jayengey, further adding in another one, Hum front profile mein bhi Kanpur Jaayengey. We are guessing that Ayushmann is quite excited about the film. For the unversed, Ayushmann will play the role of a man who balds maturely while Bhumi will be seen as a small-town dusky tone girl who is at odds with the society for being obsessed with fair skin. The film reportedly also stars Saurabh Shukla, Jaaved Jaaferi, and Seema Pahwa in important roles. Bala is produced by Dinesh Vijan and helmed by Amar Kaushik. The film is expected to hit the screens in September 2019. Other than Bala, Ayushmann will also feature in Article 15 and Dream Girl in which he stars opposite Nushrat Bharucha. Appu & Shivanna Dance To Tagaru Puneeth Rajkumar and Shivrajkumar were seen dancing to the latter's hit song Tagaru at Yuvarajkumar's Sangeet ceremony. The entire family had a great time. Kannada actor Srimurali, Dheeran Kumar and other also were spotted at Yuvarajkumar's Sangeet. The Women Had A Blast All the ladies in Dr Rajkumar's family flaunted the beautiful henna on their hands. As the rituals were only conducted in the presence of family, Yuva Rajkumar's mother, sisters and cousins posed before the camera as they showed off the mehendi designs on themselves. Haldi At Appu's Residence The Haldi ceremony started from Gajanuru and later was held at Puneeth Rajukumar's residence in Bangalore. The pictures from today have gone viral on the social media. Fans are waiting to see more pictures from the vibrant events. Wedding At Palace Grounds The wedding is currently taking place at Palace Grounds Bangalore. Shivrajkumar's daughter's wedding also took place here. According to the reports, some of the most prominent Sandalwood stars and politicians will be attending the wedding. Watch the space for more latest updates from Yuva Rajkumar's wedding. GUIYANG, China, May 25, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Located in southwest China, Guizhou province has long been considered a less-developed area due to its remoteness and isolation. However, it has been on a fast lane to build itself into China's big data valley since it hosted the first China International Big Data Industry Expo in 2015. In merely four years, the Expo has become an important annual event in the big data industry with a focus on the latest trends and win-win cooperation. The 2019 China International Big Data Industry Expo ("Big Data Expo") kicks off on May 26 China time in Guiyang, the capital city of Guizhou province. Focusing on "innovative development and digital future", the expo features high-end dialogues, forums, contests, exhibitions and other colorful events, which spotlight the latest technical innovations and provide an international platform for presentation of hi-tech companies. "I have been familiar with Guizhou for quite a while. The development of big data as an industry here is now part and parcel of the province's makeup," said Prof. Reiner Dudziak at the Bochum University of Applied Sciences in Germany, who is also a judge at the German division of the 2019 China International Big Data Fusion Innovation and Artificial Intelligence Global Competition, in an interview with Huanqiu.com, an official media partner of the Big Data Expo. The 2019 Big Data Expo is expected to witness two breakthroughs: the introduction of guest country of honor mechanism and the Shubo (the Chinese name of "Big Data Expo") Corridor. The guest country of honor will hold thematic activities to showcase its achievements in big data development and promote cooperation in big data industry. Shubo Corridor, running through the Yunyan District, the Guanshanhu District and the Baiyun District of Guiyang City, covers a total area of 74.56 square kilometers. The corridor will be equipped with a digital water curtain and screens and inductive floor tiles to showcase famous people and companies in the big data industry. Attending the Expo are 156 international companies from 25 countries including Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States, India, Singapore, Israel, and Canada. Global big names in the industry including Google, Dell and Pivotal have booths at the expo. Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OO0PzVWOwhI A government college teacher has been arrested in Jharkhand for allegedly writing an 'objectionable post' on Facebook two years ago in support of a beef party in Chennai Jamshedpur: A government college teacher has been arrested here for allegedly writing an "objectionable post" on Facebook two years ago in support of a beef party in Chennai, police said on Sunday. Jeetrai Hansda, a contractual faculty member in the Jamshedpur Co-operative College, was apprehended from a village in Sakchi area of Jamshedpur on Saturday night, an officer said, adding that the teacher had been evading arrest. "Hansda has been booked under various sections of the IPC and the IT Act, and the process to forward him to judicial custody is currently underway," Rajeev Singh, the officer-in-charge of Sakchi police station, told PTI. The teacher, a resident of Parsudih here, had allegedly written a post in support of a beef party organised by the IIT-Madras students, prompting the Akhil Bharatiya Vishwa Parishad (ABVP), the student's wing of the RSS, to file a complaint against him, the officer said. The beef fest was organized at IIT-Madras in 2017 in protest against the restrictions imposed on cattle trade by the Union government. The student's union had demanded the sacking of Hansda. The post was then deleted, the officer added. Asked for a reaction, Kolhan University vice-chancellor Shukla Mohanty said Hansda was a guest faculty member of the Graduate School College for Women when he posted the message on Facebook. He was later absorbed as a contractual teacher in the women's college. "A show-cause notice was served to Hansda after receiving a complaint about his objectionable Facebook post, He then apologised," Mohanty said, adding that Hansda had joined as a contractual faculty member in the Co-operative College recently. After the serial bomb blasts in Sri Lanka, Kerala was put on alert, especially after NIA investigations revealed that IS operatives had planned attacks in the state. The Indian Coast Guard deployed its ships and maritime surveillance aircraft around the Lakshadweep and Minicoy Islands territory and borders with Sri Lanka after an intelligence report said 15 Islamic State terrorists had set off from Sri Lanka for the Lakshadweep islands on boats. Authorities in coastal areas of Kerala have been put on high alert following the report, police sources said. Coastal police stations and police chiefs have been alerted about suspicious vessels. The sources said, though, such alerts are "usual practice", this time they have a specific information about the number of terrorists. The coastal police department said it has been on alert since 23 May after the intelligence input came from Sri Lanka. "We have been on alert since the Sri Lankan attack. We have alerted fishing vessel owners and others venturing into the sea to be cautious," a coastal police department official told PTI. After the serial bomb blasts in Sri Lanka, Kerala was put on alert, especially after NIA investigations revealed that IS operatives had planned attacks in the state. Intelligence agencies believe that a considerable number of Keralities still have ties with the IS. Sri Lanka witnessed a deadly terror attack on 21 April when eight blasts rocked the island-nation, killing over 250 people. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack. Heat wave warnings have been issued to Telangana, Odisha, and the Delhi-NCR regions as temperatures are expected to rise over the next two or three days. Heat wave warnings have been issued to Telangana, Odisha, and the Delhi-NCR regions as temperatures are expected to rise over the next two or three days. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has asked people to avoid exposure to direct sunlight. In Telangana, the IMD said that isolated pockets in the state will experience heat wave conditions from Sunday to Tuesday. On Saturday, Ramagundam in Telangana recorded the highest maximum temperature of 45.2 Celsius followed by Khammam with 45 and Hyderabad at 42.2 Celsius. Parts of Telangana have been experiencing heatwave conditions for around a month with the mercury crossing the 40 Celsius mark in several areas. As many as nine IMD stations recorded maximum temperatures above 44 Celsius in Odisha on Saturday. Titlagarh and Bolangir in the western region of the state recorded temperatures of 46.5 Celsius and 46.3 Celsius respectively. Other towns where the temperature crossed 45 Celsius are: Talcher (45.7 Celsius), Jharsuguda, and Sambalpur (both 45.2 Celsius). Sonepur, Hirakud, Bhawanipatna and Angul recorded temperatures of 44.8 Celsius, 44.5 Celsius, 44.3 Celsius, and 44.1 Celsius respectively. The temperature in the state capital Bhubaneswar soared to 39.5 Celsius while neighbouring Cuttack recorded 40.5 Celsius. The IMD office has cautioned the people of the western regions of the state that similar weather will continue till Monday. Heat wave conditions are very likely to prevail at some places in the districts of Sundergarh, Jharsuguda, Sambalpur, Deogarh, Angul, Bargarh, Sonmepur, Bolangir and Nuapada, the IMD office was quoted by PTI as saying. Additionally, dry and hot weather conditions have also been recorded over most parts of Delhi, Noida, Gurugram, Faridabad, and Ghaziabad over the weekend. The dry weather conditions have caused a significant rise in day temperatures over Delhi and NCR on Saturday. "Delhis Palam Observatory recorded its maximum temperature at 39Celsius, followed by Safdarjung 37.5Celsius, Gurugram 37.5Celsius and Faridabad 37.3Celsius," Skymet Weather reported. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah will be felicitated by the Gujarat unit of the party in Ahmedabad on Sunday following the massive victory in the Lok Sabha election. Ahmedabad: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah will be felicitated by the Gujarat unit of the party in Ahmedabad on Sunday following the massive victory in the Lok Sabha election. During his first visit to his home state after the poll results, Modi will seek the blessings of his mother Hiraba Modi at her residence in the city. State BJP president Jitu Vaghani said Modi and Shah will reach Ahmedabad Sunday evening and will visit the party office in Khanpur area where they will be felicitated. "Our own Narendrabhai, who belongs to the entire country and the world, will visit his home state tomorrow along with our national president, who successfully managed the world's largest political party in a way that it made inroads in states where it was not present and won the election massively," Vaghani said. "Both Modi and Shah will reach Ahmedabad airport at 5pm, and will be received by party leaders, supporters and heads of various religious and social organisations. Modi will garland Sardar Patel's statue near the airport. From there, they will start for Khanpur office. They will be felicitated by the state unit of the BJP and later they will address a gathering of supporters at JP Chowk near the office," he added. Modi will leave for Delhi the next morning, after which he is scheduled to visit his Lok Sabha constituency, Varanasi. "Will be going to Gujarat tomorrow evening, to seek blessings of my mother. Day after tomorrow morning, I will be in Kashi to thank the people of this great land for reposing their faith in me," the prime minister tweeted Saturday morning. He had met his mother on 23 April before casting his vote. The BJP won all 26 Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat, repeating its 2014 performance. The BJP-led NDA is in the process of preparing invites for global leaders for Narendra Modi's swearing-in ceremony, which is likely to be organised on 30 May on an even bigger scale than the 2014 one. The BJP-led NDA is gearing up for the ceremony at which Narendra Modi will be sworn in as the Prime Minister of India for a second term. The party is in the process of preparing invites for global leaders for the ceremony, which is likely to be organised on 30 May on an even bigger scale than the 2014 one. In keeping with the government's "neighbourhood first" and "Act East" policies, invitations are likely to be sent out to countries part of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), along with member States of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). Moreover, some reports said Pakistan may not be invited to Modi's swearing-in this year. In 2014, the then prime minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif had attended the event. Additionally, leaders of the P5 countries the US, Russia, UK, France and China are also likely to be invited. Japan, Germany and Israel, as well as Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which are prominent members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), may also be sent invitations. Members of the BIMSTEC group are likely to be invited, as well. Presidents of the US, Russia and China Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping are some of the world leaders who are likely to be invited. However, reports quoted government officials as saying that the invitations will only be issued after the Prime Minister's Office decides on it. They called the speculation around the invitations as "premature", but said a decision was likely soon. Sri Lanka president Maithripala Sirisena has already indicated his willingness to attend Modi's swearing-in ceremony. An official at Sirisena's office confirmed the news to The Hindu. "It is confirmed. The president spoke to Mr Modi yesterday," the official was quoted as saying by the newspaper. News18 reported that sources in the Sri Lankan establishment confirmed that Sirisena's visit was aimed at balancing ties with India after his recent visit to China. His attendance at Modi's swearing-in ceremony would send out a strong message of Sri Lanka being keen on keeping its momentum in ties with India, the sources added. In 2014, top leadership of all seven member nations of the SAARC, along with Mauritius, attended Modi's oath-taking ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. What is the text of the Prime Minister's oath? I, ___, do swear in the name of God/solemnly affirm that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India as by law established, [that I will uphold the sovereignty and integrity of India] that I will faithfully and conscientiously discharge my duties as the Prime Minister for the Union and that I will do right to all manner of people in accordance with the Constitution and the law, without fear or favour, affection or ill-will. I will not directly or indirectly affirm, communicate or reveal to any person or persons any matter which shall be brought under my consideration or shall become known to me as the Prime Minister for the Union except as may be required for the due discharge of my duties as such Minister. The results of India's general elections are very significant for Pakistan as the new government in New Delhi will determine the course of Indo-Pakistan ties, which were pushed to a new low after the Pulwama terror attack. Islamabad: Pakistan is ready to hold talks with the new Indian government to resolve all outstanding issues, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said. Addressing an iftar dinner in Multan on Saturday, Qureshi said both India and Pakistan should sit on a negotiation table to resolve issues for the sake of prosperity and peace of the region, state-run Radio Pakistan reported. His remarks came two days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday led his Bharatiya Janata Party towards a super-sized victory for a second term in office. Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan on Thursday 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 had tweeted in both English and Urdu. 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 won the general elections. The results of India's general elections are very significant for Pakistan as the new government in New Delhi will determine the course of Indo-Pakistan ties, which were pushed to a new low after the Pulwama terror attack. Just a day before the announcement of results, 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. He conveyed to her Pakistan's desire to resolve all issues through 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 14 February. 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 26 February. 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. A close aide of Union minister Smriti Irani in Amethi, village head of Baraulia in Uttar Pradesh Surendra Singh, was shot dead in the early hours of Sunday. Union minister Smriti Irani on Sunday helped carry the body of her close aide in Amethi, Surendra Singh, who was shot dead late on Saturday, for his final rites. Unidentified miscreants had opened fire on the former Baraulia village head while he was asleep on the veranda outside his home. The incident took place hours after Singh held a victory rally for the newly-elected MP in Amethi. Singh is believed to have worked closely with Irani and was part of the BJP team that did the ground work in Amethi ahead of the elections. Irani reportedly identified him as a key party worker. Singh had quit the post of village head to participate in the BJP election campaign. #WATCH BJP MP from Amethi, Smriti Irani lends a shoulder to mortal remains of Surendra Singh, ex-village head of Barauli, Amethi, who was shot dead last night. pic.twitter.com/jQWV9s2ZwY ANI (@ANI) May 26, 2019 The news of Singh's murder comes days after Irani was declared the winner of the Lok Sabha election from Amethi. She wrested the traditional Congress bastion from Rahul, winning by a margin of 55,120 votes. Director General of Uttar Pradesh Police OP Singh said seven suspects had been detained for questioning in connection with the murder Motive behind murder unclear The motive behind his murder is unclear at the moment. The police are looking into multiple angles, including whether it is a case of old enmity and whether miscreants took advantage of the election climate to settle old scores. Singh was killed in the jurisdiction of the Jamo Police Station. Reports said investigators have not ruled out political rivalry as a motive. The situation on the ground is peaceful and an investigation is underway, but police teams have been deployed in Amethi's Barauli village to stave off any untoward incident. The BJP worker's son told reporters that his father used to campaign 24/7 for Smriti Irani. "After she became an MP, a 'vijay yatra' was held. I think some Congress supporters didn't like it. We have suspicions on some people," he said. A relative, Chandrapal Singh, claimed: "This is a political murder. This is a fallout of political rivalries related to his tenure as village head and the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections." After he was shot at, Singh was taken to a district hospital for treatment, where doctors referred him to a Lucknow hospital. He succumbed to his gunshot wounds at the trauma centre of the Lucknow hospital. The police are conduction searches and speaking to villagers, as part of the investigation, News18 reported. Baraulia was in the news during campaigning for the Lok Sabha election, as Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had accused Irani of distributing shoes to villagers in a bid to insult party chief Rahul Gandhi. Locals claim Singh was involved in this exercise of distributing shoes. 'High-level probe should be ordered' Expressing grief over Singh's death, Uttar Pradesh deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya said: "The death of a party worker is indeed very sad and unfortunate. He was a hard worker. Even if his killers are hiding below the ground, they will be caught. The whole of Amethi is sad." Senior BJP leader Rita Bahuguna Joshi, who won from the Allahabad Lok Sabha seat, called the killing "unacceptable". "Such an act in a democracy is completely unacceptable. There is no place for such things. The perpetrators will be punished," she told ANI. BJP convenor for the Amethi Lok Sabha seat Rajesh Agrahari said: "Considering that the Congress is disappointed, especially after the defeat of its party president in Amethi, a high-level probe should be ordered, and the guilty should be punished." "Surendra Singh was a popular and active grassroots-level leader and a close aide of MP Smriti Irani. He and other party leaders were actively involved in the distribution of shoes," he added. Former Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar had adopted Singh's Baraulia village in September 2015, as part of the Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana, a scheme launched by the Centre for rural development. Rs 15 crore was sanctioned for the development of the village. Reports said the circulation of large sums of money is an angle investigators are looking into. With inputs from agencies Master sculptor Ramkinkar Baij was mentored in Shantiniketan by Nandalal Bose and Rabindranath Tagore. Born on 26 May, 1906 in Bengal's Bankura district, Ramkinkar's art was fearless, unapologetic. A kurta frayed at the edges, Chinese straw hat on his grey curls, fingers gliding impatiently over a sheet of paper in his hands: Ramkinkar Baij was 69 when filmmaker Ritwik Ghatak fascinated by the seminal sculptor-painter followed him around for four days in 1975, hoping to make a film. Ghataks death the next year meant the film was never finished, but remnants of their interaction still live on. In a conversation recorded by Ghatak, Baij or Kinkar da, as he was known to close associates says, of leaving home to pursue art at Shantiniketan: I could barely stomach that life. Its not just about earning two square meals a day, its a lot more. Kinkar da was born into a barbers family in Bengals Bankura district on 26 May 1906. The "crazy" (as Ghatak calls Baij in his documentary), disobedient genius was one of four siblings. He was spotted by Ramananda Chatterjee, editor of the Calcutta-based magazine Modern Review, making striking posters for the Non-Cooperation Movement. Shortly after, in 1925, Chatterjee inducted a teenage Ramkinkar into Shantiniketan's Kala Bhavan, where he worked under the tutelage of the legendary Nandalal Bose, and Rabindranath Tagore himself. "When you observe something, grab it like a tiger by the nape of the neck. And then, never look back. Those were his (Tagore's) last words to me," the artist says, enacting the words to Ghatak. And he honoured the bards diktat till his last breath. Never one to care about others opinions, fame, or money, Baij's being was all about his art. From sculptures to oil paintings, portraits to miniatures, the artist could master any medium with unfathomable ease. While his entire body of work is foundational to modern Indian sculpture, 'Santhal Family' (1938) and 'Mill Call' (1956) stand out as specifically telling of the man himself. In 'Santhal family', the then 32-year-old artist infused life into the structures of an east Indian tribal family marching forward, their possessions on their heads. The artwork came at a time when commissioned busts and portraits of viceroys were the norm. Later, in 'Mill Call', the artist again depicted a Santhal family, rushing to work after hearing the mill siren. In both instances, his subjects made of stone seem to be in motion, breathing as though they were flesh and blood. These works are testament to Baijs artistic sensibilities Indian, but also generously accommodating of the Western aesthetics of Cubism, Fauvism, Expressionism and Surrealism. His protagonists, however, were almost always Indian. "He would often look at the work of his contemporaries and say, They all look like statues. How long will they stand still? Why aren't they moving? For him, his work, much like his life, was all about movement," renowned sculptor and Baijs protege KS Radhakrishnan explains. For his mentor, inspiration was hidden in everyday life in the tunes of a Bhatiali song, in the lilt of the flowing Khoai river, in the rustle of fallen leaves. Baij had already retired by the time Radhakrishnan started at Kala Bhavan. "It was Sarbari Roy Choudhury, who was heading the sculpture department in 1974, who urged me to befriend Kinkar da, Radhakrishnan recalls. But it wasn't easy to walk up to him and strike a conversation. He was enigmatic, always in his zone. Roy Choudhury had a secret tip though, for getting through to Kinkar da: "Water lilies!" Radhakrishnan says. "Sarbari da asked me to visit him with a bunch of these, saying the trick might just work. I turned up at his door with a freshly picked bunch. When he saw me, we didn't exchange a word. He just asked me to come in." *** Baij's complete disregard for validation didnt fare too well with authorities. In 1979, his Tagore bust in Balatonfured, Hungary, was in the eye of a political storm, when a Bengal minister, Jatin Chakraborty, threatened to have it uninstalled on the grounds that the inward looking, armless bust barely resembled the icon. (In 2017, BJP leader Siddhartha Bhattacharya raised similar allegations against Baij's sculpture of Mahatma Gandhi in Guwahati.) Baij dismissed the Tagore bust controversy which occurred mere months before he breathed his last by saying, "Let them destroy it. Who cares? I never asked them to install it." Baijs famous Buffalo/Fish sculpture at Shantiniketans Birla Girls Hostel has an equally irreverent origin story: When the commissioning authorities expressed reservations over the sexually evocative figures of water nymphs being installed in a place of study, the artist changed the tiles of his sculpture to resemble a buffalo with a fish-tail splashing water (bearing an obvious sexual connotation) a sly dig at his would-be censors. This is why Baij stood out in the crowd he thwarted the rules flamboyantly, but only after he had quietly mastered them. His art was incendiary, like art is meant to be. "He drew straight from life. But what he saw in the field, and what he created in his studio were very different. As you see in his work 'Harvesting' it has no heads; it's only arms and legs symmetrically aligned, thrashing stacks of paddy. He independently recreated what he saw," Radhakrishnan says. Baij forced the Indian eye to appreciate beauty beyond the British aesthetics of anatomical realism. He sculpted with concrete and pebbles, discarding unaffordable plaster of Paris, and moulded them with armature. The artist painted on bedsheets too, as canvases were mostly beyond his means. "Whatever little money I get from my pension, I use that to buy food. I hang my oil paintings upside-down from the roof to stop the rain from leaking into the house. It's oil, so the water won't damage them," Baij explains to Ritwik Ghatak on camera, as he nonchalantly slides one of his paintings under the roof to stop a drip. "Now, the canvases had to be taken down and sent off for the exhibition. So what do I replace them with?" he asks, breaking into a laugh. When Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru commissioned Baij to sculpt the Hindu mythological figures of Yaksha and Yakshi (which now stand guard at the gates of the Reserve Bank of India in the capital), the artist decided to carve them out of sandstone found in Himachal's Kullu Valley. After three rounds of generous monetary grants that were spent solely on transporting the stone to Delhi via special train wagons, Baij was barely convinced with the piece. It was only on the advice of Rajkumar Jaitley, a former student, that Baij decided to finally end the project. *** Baij's initial struggle with his identity is evident from the various names he used to author his early artworks. While some bore his original surname, Pramanik, an artwork from the 1920s carried the signature of Ramprasad Das. And perhaps it was while on his quest for the self that Ramkinkar's reactive approach to his surroundings transformed into art, which stood in stark contrast to the delicate nature of his celebrated peer Benode Behari Mukherjee's works. In 2012, six years after Baijs birth centenary, Radhakrishnan hosted an exhibition on the maverick artists works at the National Gallery of Modern Art in Delhi. Fellow artists and students of Baij, A Ramachandran and R Siva Kumar (who currently heads Kala Bhavan), helped curate the event. "It really was long due for Ramkinkar to be reaching out to people. People say all kinds of things about him. The retrospective show was to tell everyone who he really was," Radhakrishnan says. The exhibition displayed a collection of 350 artworks, which included his oil painting of a Santhal family, a bronze sculpture of a famine-stricken mother and child, and borrowed pieces from private collections, such as his painting 'Girl With a Dog'. His controversial sculpture, 'Sacrifice', depicting three men carrying a human-headed goat for offering on Kali Puja, was also a part of the retrospective. However, a substantial part of his repertoire had to be left out owing to either logistical handicaps, or because they were in shambles after severe neglect. "If people can remember Gandhi and Nehru, they can remember Ramkinkar Baij too. He was a great man," A Ramachandran says. He believes that the world needs many more years to "truly realise how profound Ramkinkars contribution to Indian art was". Ramachandran narrates how Baij would ask his students to go out and sketch, and says, He was very conscious of the underlying spirit of every object. Western art is not the only method of approach. Ramkinkar really believed in the Indian traditions he had copied many Indian sculptures too. Baijs art, like its creator, was unapologetic about its roots and colours. He "disturb(ed) political establishments as his monumental works celebrate human drama," says Soujit Das, professor at Kolkata's Government Art College, and an alumnus of Kala Bhavan. "One should revisit Ramkinkars work to understand how dissent has been intrinsic to his expression," he adds. As artists in India struggle to keep this spirit of dissent alive, they are often met with aggressive pushback. They seem "too scared to express themselves," Radhakrishnan observes. Indeed. Perhaps, as Baij knew, the trick lies in laughing at leaking roofs and critics alike. Kejriwal asserted that all the work done by the AAP in Delhi has been due to the support of party workers and they should take pride in it. New Delhi: Motivating disheartened AAP workers after the party's crushing defeat in the Lok Sabha polls, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday asked them to humbly accept people's verdict and concentrate on the Assembly elections slated for next year. Kejriwal, addressing party workers in west Delhi's Punjabi Bagh, said anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare told him that "when one comes into politics or public life, one should have the ability to endure humiliation". "We have to bear humiliation at times and I am proud of my workers for humbly accepting that insult," he said. "Now, you go to the people of Delhi and tell them that the big election has ended and small elections are going to come, and in these elections, cast your vote on the basis of 'kaam' (work) and not 'naam' (name)," he said. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) lost on all seven Lok Sabha seats in the national capital by huge margins of votes. Kejriwal said the party has not deviated from its principles of honesty and hard work which is its biggest strength. "All of us are as honest as we were on 26 November, 2013 when the party was formed. I am proud to say we have not deviated from the values of the party. Several CBI raids were conducted against me, Manish Sisodia (deputy chief minister) and Satyendra Jain (health minister), but corruption of not even a single paisa was found. You all should be proud of it," he said. The chief minister asserted that all the work done by the AAP in Delhi has been due to the support of party workers and they should take pride in it. "I can say with confidence that we got 54 per cent votes in the last assembly elections and this time we would win by more votes," he said. Sisodia also asked AAP workers to start preparing for the 2020 assembly elections. "The assembly elections next year will not be fought by any individual MLA or councillor. It will be contested by Team Kejriwal and our slogan will be 'ladenge, jeetenge' (we will fight and win)," he said. In the recently-conducted polls, Ashok Chavan lost to BJP's Prataprao Govindrao Chikhalikar by a margin of 40,000 votes from Nanded seat. Maharashtra Congress chief Ashok Chavan on Saturday resigned from his post in view of his partys dismal performance in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The grand old party managed to win only one of the 48 Lok Sabha constituencies in Maharashtra. Submitting his resignation, Chavan told ANI: "We all ought to submit our resignation to the Congress president Rahul Gandhi. As for me, I have submitted my resignation and now it is up to Rahul Gandhi to take a call on whatever reshuffle and changes he wants to make. We fully authorise the Congress chief to take a call on this." Ashok Chavan,Maharashtra Congress Chief: I have submitted my resignation & now it's up to Congress President Rahul Gandhi to take call on whatever reshuffle & changes he wants to make. We fully authorise him to take call on this. I will be meeting Rahul Gandhi soon. (25.05.19) pic.twitter.com/4dzhH0QFd9 ANI (@ANI) May 26, 2019 On being asked who should take responsibility for Congress' dismal performance in the general elections, Chavan said, "Rahul Gandhi is not to be blamed for what happened in the Lok Sabha polls. He is the leader of our party and I do not endorse that he is responsible for this debacle in polls. It is the collective responsibility of all people like us, who are heading the party in various states." Chavan also said he will soon meet Rahul to discuss the performance of the party in Maharashtra. In the recently-conducted polls, Chavan lost to BJP's Prataprao Govindrao Chikhalikar by a margin of 40,000 votes from Nanded seat. Congress candidates like former Union minister Sushilkumar Shinde and Mumbai unit chief Milind Deora lost in their respective seats. BJP-Shiv Sena coalition swept the polls in Maharashtra, managing to win 41 seats together. The NCP managed to retain its tally from 2014 by winning five seats while one seat went to AIMIM. Congress' chiefs of party units in Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Odisha too have offered to resign from their post accepting responsibility for Congress' poor performance. The DMK won 23 seats and the front (Secular Progressive Alliance) it leads won 37 of the 38 seats in Tamil Nadu and the lone seat in Puducherry (Congress), as well. Chennai: DMK president MK Stalin on Saturday said no single state can be ignored by the government at the Centre and asserted that India did not have Hindi-speaking states alone. Buoyed by his party's performance in the Lok Sabha election, the Dravidian party chief for the first time said his party would take the initiative to oppose the BJP, albeit without naming it explicitly, in other states by working with outfits in those regions. "The DMK will take constructive measures to replicate the Tamil Nadu model (of propping up secularism and DMK's victory in polls) in other states as well by coordinating with forces committed to communal harmony," he said in an open letter to party cadres. On a day when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was elected leader of the NDA, Stalin said this was the time to support and embrace people of all identities, states, adding "the days that Hindi speaking states alone was India has vanished." The future was all about "constructive politics that centred around the states," the DMK chief said. "No single state can be ignored, whichever party took over reins of power at the Centre," Stalin asserted. The DMK's voice will reverberate in Parliament and state Assembly to protect the people's interests, he said. The DMK won 23 seats and the front (Secular Progressive Alliance) it leads won 37 of the 38 seats in Tamil Nadu and the lone seat in Puducherry (Congress), as well. DMK will continue its "journey of victory," to protect people's interests, he said. The historic win of his party-led front in the Lok Sabha polls showed the "secular approach", of the people which was nurtured by Dravidian stalwarts including reformist leader Periyar EV Ramasamy. The people's verdict in Tamil Nadu showed that Dravidian movement a reference to the DMK and a pointer to the Dravidian ideology which includes secularism and social justice can never be decimated, he said. WIth regard to the AIADMK's jibe that despite good showing in the polls, DMK's goal has not been realised, he said it was a "reflection of the frustration of the ruling party and political rivals". The DMK had vowed to return to power in the state by winning the bypolls to all the 22 Assembly seats and strongly pitched for a government led by Congress president Rahul Gandhi at the Centre. Apart from emerging as the third biggest party in the Lok Sabha, the DMK has wrested 12 seats from the AIADMK pushing its total strength in the Assembly to 101, Stalin said. The DMK retained Tiruvarur in the by-elections and totally won 13 constituencies in the Assembly bypolls while the ruling AIADMK won 9 segments warding off the probability of threat to its government. The AIADMK's strength has now risen to 123 while 118 members are enough for a simple majority in the 234-member House. Stalin credited the DMK's victory to party workers and support of allies including the Congress. According to YSRCP sources, Jaganmohan Reddy invited Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekhar Rao for his swearing-in ceremony to be held in Vijayawada on 30 May. New Delhi: YSR Congress Party leader Jaganmohan Reddy who is set to take oath as the new chief minister of Andhra Pradesh on Sunday arrived in the national capital and met Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The meeting was held at Modi's residence at Lok Kalyan Marg. Reddy presented the prime minister with a bouquet and shawl. Delhi: YSRCP chief Jaganmohan Reddy met Prime Minister Narendra Modi today. V Vijaya Sai Reddy and other leaders of YSRCP were also present. pic.twitter.com/227596XZEx ANI (@ANI) May 26, 2019 Reddy, whose party achieved a landslide victory, winning 151 seats in the 175-member Assembly and 22 out of the 25 Lok Sabha seats in Andhra Pradesh, discussed providing outside or issue-based support to Narendra Modi's government, sources said. During his election campaign, the chief minister-designate Reddy had mentioned that his party would support whosoever promises Special Category Status to Andhra Pradesh. On Saturday, Reddy went to Hyderabad where he met Governor ESL Narasimhan and Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, popularly known as KCR. The two leaders discussed the latest political developments and decided to work together for the development of Telugu states. Party sources said that Jagan invited KCR for his swearing-in ceremony to be held in Vijayawada on 30 May. Meanwhile, N Chandrababu Naidu had submitted his resignation to Governor Narasimhan on Thursday after he lost the polls. The 14th Andhra Pradesh legislative Assembly was dissolved on Saturday after the notification in this regard was issued by Governor ESL Narasimhan. The YSRCP got an absolute majority in the Assembly, ousting N Chandrababu Naidu-led Telugu Desam Party (TDP) from power in the state. Narendra Modi-led NDA swept the elections and won 352 out of 542 seats in the 17th Lok Sabha elections. As per official numbers, the BJP secured 303 seats, 22 more than its 2014 figures. How can the Opposition pick itself up from this shattering defeat in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections? The rest of us who are not in politics will likely never fully understand the meaning of a loss of this magnitude. The problems of defeat start with the personal. The loss of confidence in oneself and the shame of the knowledge that others are looking at you differently are not things that most of us face on this scale. Our defeats and losses at work are mostly personal, and if others know, it is because we told them. For India's Opposition leaders, however, it is in the most public sphere. There is also the matter of having to face the adversary who has trounced you. In war, there is death or surrender for the defeated. In politics, the defeat is already in the past. It is over and done with. It is the present that must be engaged with, and you have to work with the person and people who till yesterday you were abusing and being abused by. But the argument has ended and you have been humiliated. Where to from here? The defeated leaders will not be short of advice, particularly from the media, on what went wrong and what they should do now. Some of this will be useful, but most will not. The fact is that 30 or 40 years of experience in writing is not a substitute for 35 minutes spent addressing a rally and the signals a crowd sends out. Nobody understands the deep causes of defeat and victory better than the defeated. The defeated have been to all the battlefields. They have looked into the eyes of their soldiers and those of their opponents'. They have knowledge that is based on reality and lived experience. So with that understanding, and without wanting to give advice, let us see what the Opposition could do in terms of steps. In the 1950s, when Pakistani general Ayub Khan made himself the president of the country, he had said he had first written an Appreciation, apparently a military term that figures out the position one is in. That would be a good first step, in my opinion. It is fun to assess victories (students of military history spend hours studying maps of Julius Caesar at Pharsalus or Alexander at the Jhelum). It is probably excruciating to assess a defeated position, yet it must be done. State by state, candidate by candidate, there should be an assessment (not judgement) of the present and where things stand. There should be, in this Appreciation, an honest and unemotional estimation of the opponent. Perhaps the sharpest tool that a leader and a manager has is transparency. The saying goes that sunlight is the best disinfectant. Openness would be encouraging to troops and supporters totally demoralised by the gloating of the victorious. It would bring the defeated together in spirit if they confront the reality of what they were defeated by and where they stand now. Then there is the issue of accountability (not blame). I think it would be easy for a leader to step down and go away. Perhaps that may be the right thing to do, but it should be part of a sequence in which there is transparency first. Stepping down without the critical steps required to start bringing the shattered side back together would be akin to throwing a tantrum and an act of ego. This moment requires selflessness. There is not much else the Opposition could have done in this election. A missed tie-up here or there and a wrong candidate in some or other constituency are not reasons why this election ended the way it did. A hammering of this magnitude cannot be avoided through tactics or even strategy. There is something deeper that needs to be addressed. Everything that the Opposition was faulted for for instance, not being aggressive, taking it easy, going on vacations, not seeking alliances all of this was addressed. They were still defeated not for want of awareness or effort. Higher forces were at play. Another measure that must be taken is gathering allies and friends. The Opposition has sympathy from civil society, which means groups such as NGOs that fight some of the same issues that are in the domain of politics. Many of these are grassroots organisations that have been struggling for decades for their cause. They will be of some value in both the assessment and in the rebuild of the Opposition. Defeated parties, particularly the older ones, should go back to their founding principles and examine how far or close the party is currently to them. There was something within that made the party attractive to Indians at one point. How can that or a version of that be reintroduced into India's politics? It is a good question that will require some reflection and wisdom. The Opposition must also keep up the spirit. Civil society groups and NGOs, which in our part of the world have tasted defeat far more than success, do this through song. Volunteerism comes from a sense of purpose, but work should be fun and energising. The last thing in this piece of non-advice is to begin a routine. A routine is a wonderful thing. Just getting up and getting to work at a particular time and organising oneself can work small miracles. A routine lays out the small steps that we must take, and it gives us the confidence that we are moving forward. At the NDA meeting at the Parliament Central Hall, Narendra Modi urged BJP leaders and allies to work on getting rid of fear and distrust among minorities and make no distinction among castes and communities. The Central Hall of the Parliament of India has been a mute witness to numerous historic events, both pre-Independence and post-Independence. On Saturday evening, it saw a new chapter in its history unfold, something that will serve as a vital point of reference to all those analysing the changing course of polity under the leadership of Narendra Modi. For the first time since Independence, a party, the BJP which has a very comfortable majority of 303 in the 543-member Lok Sabha committed itself to the philosophy of a coalition dharma, inviting leaders and elected members of all pre-poll allies to attend the ceremonial process of electing Modi the leader of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). This is in contrast to the May 2014 meeting at Central Hall, which was an exclusive BJP affair, with other NDA members kept out of it. In his address, the prime minister-elect spoke at length about the significance of the occasion. He mentioned the numbers his party won in the 17th Lok Sabha election and then went on to speak about what his coalition partners mean to him and his politics. His thrust was that no matter how big a party becomes, or how big it grows and how big a majority it gets on its own, it can't satisfy regional aspirations and can't have an all India spread solo. The BJP now has 36 regional allies. On Saturday, Modi coined a new acronym 'NaRa', clubbing the 'national ambitions' of the national party and the 'regional aspirations' of regional parties. The seating arrangements on the dais and in the front rows were made with this thought in mind. On the dais with Modi were bigger allies Ram Vilas Paswan (LJP), Nitish Kumar (JD-U), Prakash Singh Badal (Shiromani Akali Dal), Uddhav Thackeray (Shiv Sena) and Edappadi K Palaniswami (AIADMK), as well as BJP stalwarts Amit Shah, LK Advani, MM Joshi, Sushma Swaraj and Nitin Gadkari. Smaller allies from the North East and other parts of the country occupied the front rows. After winning an even bigger mandate this year than in 2014, Modi added two new words to his 2014 catchphrase for politics and governance 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas'. He asserted that this and 'NaRa' had helped the BJP, the coalition as well as the government win the confidence of minority communities, particularly Muslims. During his first landing at Parliament House, he had appeared conscious of the fact that his party did not have the vishwas of around one fifth of India's total population the support of Muslims and sections of Christians. Now, as a leader of a party that is the first in 48 years to secure a successive term with full majority, he would not be pleased with a situation wherein they did not have the support of this section of the population a second time around. Therefore, moments after he was declared the prime minister-elect for the next five years, Modi took the initiative of appealing to the minority communities. Rather than asking the minority communities to trust them, Modi urged his own party men, his own alliance partners 353 NDA MPs in the Lok Sabha, around 120 MPs in the Rajya Sabha, the chief ministers of 16 BJP-ruled states, Opposition leaders from NDA ranks in other states and other important coalition leaders to start working to bust the Opposition-inspired misbelief of fear and distrust among the minorities against the BJP and NDA. "Jinhone hume vote diya woh bhi hamare hain. Aur jo harae ghur viroid hain, woh bhi hamare hain (those who voted for us are ours, and those who have been our virulent opponents are also ours)," Modi declared. His message was that as a ruling party and government, no one should make any distinction between 'us and them', and all concerned must take this up as priority. Neither talking about tokenism, nor indulging in any symbolism, Modi, with his speech, only aimed to instil a sense responsibility among his people, making their task for the next five years clear. His argument was that the way they had succeeded in delivering to the poorer sections of society and succeeded in "chhal me chhed" (punching a hole in deceit), they will succeed in similar endeavor for minorities. "Unfortunately, the way they (Congress and its allied parties) played politics of deceit with the poor over poverty, they played similar politics of deceit with minorities. Instead of giving them the status of an equal in socio-economic development, they used minorities as a vote bank, played politics of chicanery and deviousness, created a false sense of fear among them, created an imaginary sense of fear psychosis (against the BJP), made them live in an atmosphere of fear, put their lives under constant pressure and threat and kept them away from development. Why couldn't they provide minorities education and other means to move ahead? Their belief in vote-bank politics didn't let them do anything tangible for the community," Modi said. To add a sense of sincerity to his appeal, he likened his new endeavor with India's first war of Independence in 1857, when people from all castes and communities came forward with the belief of oneness against British colonialism. Modi called to have the spirit of 1857 revived. Towards the end of his term as the Chief Minister of Gujarat, Modi had organised a 'Sadbhawana' fast and yatra. His model of governance had ultimately succeeded in winning the support of a section of the Muslim community, which was evident in the results of several municipal polls and Assembly elections post 2007 when sections of Muslims voted and supported the BJP. Modi is keen to bring that community support to the national level within the folds of inclusiveness. In the past five years, his social schemes and their on-ground delivery made no distinction between castes and communities. For instance, the Modi government first tried to win the support of Muslim women through the triple talaq legislation and other measures, such as making a provision for single women to embark on Haj. Now, Modi wants to address the concerns of entire minority community. "Hume chhal me chhed (punching holes in deceit) karna hai; hume unka vishwas jitna hai (we have to win their confidence)," he said, putting the onus on his elected representatives at the Centre and in states. The minority communities must be listening to him intently. The Khanpur office was earlier the Gujarat BJP headquarters, and Modi had stayed here for a long time during his days as the general secretary of the party's state unit. Narendra Modi on Sunday will visit the BJP's Khanpur office in Ahmedabad, on his arrival at the city. The office was earlier the Gujarat BJP headquarters, and Modi had stayed here for a long time during his days as the general secretary of the party's state unit. In 2012, Narendra Modi, then Gujarat chief minister, had returned to power in the state. Outside the BJP office in Khanapur, amid slogans like "ek mat gujarat, bhajap sarkaar" (Gujarat will vote as one for the Bharatiya Janata Party), there was a slogan of "PM-PM". In that election, the BJP had won 116 out of 182 seats, while the Congress won 60 seats. Modi, in his speech after the victory, had spoken about dreaming big, and about the determination to realise the dream of a transformed India. He had punched holes in the conventional wisdom of Delhi-based political pundits and had emphasised on his development model. The entire election was fought on the plank of development. Gujarat has endorsed the plank of development and has voted accordingly, he said. Modi went on to say that the victory did not belong to him, but to six crore Gujaratis and Indians who aspire for prosperity and development. At this speech, the chants of "Delhi-Delhi" didnt leave much to the imagination about Modi's plans. This was before his speeches as a prime ministerial candidate took the national media by storm, the first of these being the speech he delivered at the Vibrant Gujarat Summit, where representatives of more than 121 countries were in attendance. Yet another significant event which took place at the Khanpur office was the speech that Modi delivered after being elected as chief minister in 2007. Back then, the "Modi-Modi" chant was first made by the crowd at a rally held in front of the office. Keeping the national audience in mind, Modi had spoken in Hindi. In March 1995, former Gujarat chief minister Keshubhai Patel, along with Modi and Shankar Singh Vaghela, had worked together to mobilise grassroots workers to tilt the balance in favour of the BJP in the state, and get the party its first major political win in March 1995. However, after a split in the BJP camp, when Vaghela took 45 MLAs to Khajuraho before the vote of confidence in September 1995, Modi was shifted to Delhi. He got the opportunity to interact with the central leadership, which took note of his perseverance. Khanpur is a part of the old city of Ahmedabad, and is a Muslim-dominated locality. The Gujarat BJP had shifted its office from Khadia to Khanpur, in 1984. When Modi moved from the RSS to the BJP in 1987, he began living in this office and stayed there till 1995. Initially, the office was just one room, which was later enlarged to two rooms. Later, a portion of the upper floor, and then the entire upper floor, were constructed. All this happened in a span of 19 years. In those years, Modi, it is reported, would visit all major newspaper offices in Ahmedabad. These offices were located nearby, and the Gujarat Samachar's office was bang opposite the BJP's office. Modi, in those years, was known for having maintained good relations with the media and introducing new technology in the BJP office. P Chidambaram got emotional while appealing to Congress president Rahul Gandhi not to step down from his post, claiming that the party's cadres in the southern states will commit suicide. New Delhi: P Chidambaram got emotional while appealing to Congress president Rahul Gandhi not to step down from his post, claiming that the party's cadres in the southern states will commit suicide. During the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting held on Saturday, all leaders urged Rahul to continue as the party president, even as he remained firm on his decision to resign, sources said. Addressing the media after the CWC meeting, Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said Rahul has been authorised to restructure the party following its dismal performance in the recently held general elections. When party leaders asked UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi to intervene and dissuade Rahul from resigning, she said it was up to Rahul to decide whether to step down or not, sources added. However, his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was of the view that no decision should be taken in haste. She, sources claimed, also said if Rahul decides to resign, it would mean that he fell into BJP's trap. While the newly-elected Wayanad MP expressed his intent to discontinue as the party president, sources said he asserted that he would continue to fight for Congress' ideology and work for the party. When the 48-year-old scion of the Nehru-Gandhi family remained adamant on discontinuing as the party president, the CWC leaders rose to oppose his offer stating that he was not the one to be blamed for the party's drubbing. The CWC members also praised their leader's aggressive approach in the run-up to polls, and said there were shortfalls in others, sources said. Priyanka, it is learnt, said that during the campaigning, basic issues were not discussed and the ruling government succeeded in suppressing those. The leaders, on the other hand, were of the view that the media only showed what the government instructed them to. They even accused the Election Commission of working under the government's control, sources added. During the CWC meet, former prime minister Manmohan Singh, Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh and Karnataka's former chief minister Siddaramaiah were also present, among others. For many outsiders, Congress party chief Rahul Gandhi losing the seat his family has held for decades was the biggest shock of Indias election, which was won, as expected, by Prime Minister Narendra Modis ruling alliance. Amethi: For many outsiders, Congress party chief Rahul Gandhi losing the seat his family has held for decades was the biggest shock of Indias election, which was won, as expected, by Prime Minister Narendra Modis ruling alliance. But for many voters in Amethi, a sleepy town in Indias most populous state of Uttar Pradesh, it was no surprise. They said that as Rahul criss-crossed the country trying to stop Modis Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from retaining power, he all but ignored the constituency that had elected a member of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty including his father, mother and uncle at all but two votes since 1980. Many Amethi residents said they voted for Smriti Irani, a dogged minister in Modis cabinet, because they had very little access to Rahul and demands for infrastructure such as flyovers were not met fast enough. Meanwhile Irani, a former TV actress, practically camped out in the constituency she lost to Rahul in the last election in 2014. Rahul used to work for the development of Amethi, but in the past five years there was hardly any progress in the area, Sidharth Pratap Singh, a college student told Reuters about the three-time Amethi lawmaker. After 2014, most projects announced by him failed to take off and voters gradually started drifting towards Irani. Although Rahul won the second seat he contested in the southern state of Kerala, Congress lay decimated nationwide. It won only 52 seats, compared with the BJPs tally of 303, according to official vote count. Indian election rules allow candidates to contest from two seats in one election. Campaign shortcomings In Uttar Pradesh, where millions of first time voters took part in Indians mammoth multi-week trip to the ballot box, many young people were looking for progress and change. Balram Kashyap, another college student speaking to Reuters in and around a library in Amethi, pointed to narrow roads pitted with pot-holes and overflowing, open drains as some of the signs of the towns poor infrastructure. The place desperately needs a flyover to ease traffic congestion, he said. Rahul Gandhi time and again assured us it would get built. But he couldnt keep his word. Local Congress workers denied Amethi was ignored by Rahul, saying he had spent about 35 days in his constituency since May 2014, when Modi first came to power. But they admitted there were shortcomings in their campaign in Amethi, and the Congress chief of the area resigned on Friday, taking responsibility for the defeat. Other than falling short in projecting our work, we also failed to counter jingoistic sentiments and communal polarisation - factors that helped the BJP take control of Amethi, said Brajesh Tiwari, a local Congress worker. Many analysts say Modi mainly rode a wave of nationalism after tension with old foe Pakistan shot up following a deadly militant attack in Kashmir in February. In response, Modi sent warplanes into Pakistan after that, leading to aerial clashes between the two countries. Amethi has been electing Rahul Gandhi for a long time, so it made perfect sense for young voters like us to give the BJP at least one chance, said Sanjay Singh, who is in his final year of college. Uttar Pradesh DGP OP Singh said the murder of Surendra Singh, considered a close aide of Amethi MP Smriti Irani, seemed to be a case of family or personal enmity prima facie. Amethi: A former village headman of Barauli in Amethi, Surendra Pratap Singh, was shot dead by unidentified assailants late on Saturday. Amethi is the constituency from where BJP leader Smriti Irani won the Lok Sabha election recently, defeating Congress chief Rahul Gandhi. Amethis Superintendent of Police Rajesh Kumar said a few suspects have been detained by the police in connection with the murder of the 50-year-old former village head. "The police received information that some people had opened fire on the Surendra Pratap Singh. They reached the spot soon after and took the victim to the district hospital along with his family members. Singh was then referred to the Lucknow Trauma Centre as he had sustained bullet injuries (where he succumbed to his gunshot wounds). The police are investigating the case, and soon, the culprits will be behind bars," he said, adding that investigators have not ruled out political rivalry as a motive behind the murder. Uttar Pradesh's Director General of Police (DGP) OP Singh said six to seven suspects had been detained for interrogation in the case, also pointing out that Singh had a strained relationship with the police. According to reports, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath has also asked the police to crack this case in 12 hours. "Prima facie, it seems to be a case of family or personal enmity, but it is too early to jump to conclusions. The DGP's office is monitoring the matter, and the police will crack the case soon," he added. Singh was considered a close aide of Irani and had campaigned for her extensively during the Lok Sabha elections. He is believed to have played a vital role in Irani's exercise to distribute shoes to the residents of Barauli village, which was an attempt to ridicule former Amethi lawmaker and Congress president Rahul Gandhi. The news of Singh's murder comes days after Irani was declared the winner of the Lok Sabha election from Amethi. She wrested the traditional Congress bastion from Rahul, winning by a margin of 55,120 votes. Did Vijay Yatra trigger Singh's killing? Abhay Pratap Singh, the son of the deceased, has alleged that many Congress supporters were outraged by the fact that his father had played a key role in Irani's win from Amethi. He said Singh had worked very closely with the BJP leader for the past five to six years. "We have suspicions on a few people. My father carried out a 'Vijay Yatra' after Smriti Irani ji won the elections. I think some people who were Congress supporters did not like this," he claimed. The victim's cousin Dheerendra Pratap Singh said he had received the news of the former Barauli village head's death from other family members, adding that he had rushed to his cousin's house after he was shot at around 3 am (on Sunday). "By the time I reached, the family members had taken Surendra to hospital and nobody knew who shot had him. He had returned at night after celebrating the win of Smriti Irani ji and was sleeping in the veranda, where he was sprayed with bullets. This is what I know through the family. This could be a case of a political rivalry," he alleged. Irani's representative in Amethi Vijay Gupta claimed Singh was targeted by "enemies because he had worked very hard" for the BJP leader in the constituency. "Didi (Smriti Irani) has been informed about this, and she has expressed her condolences. The BJP family stands with the grieving family and will try its best to get justice," he added. Meanwhile, the district police have deployed a heavy posse of forces in Barauli to prevent any kind of unrest in the wake of Singh's murder. Political rivalry in Uttar Pradesh during Lok Sabha elections Last Friday, Vijay Yadav alias Pappu, was shot dead outside his house allegedly by three unidentified persons at Salarpur village in Ghazipur district. The 44-year-old was a district panchayat member and also a private contractor. Protesting against his death, Ghazipur MP-elect Afzal Ansari participated in a sit-in protest last Saturday and demanded a compensation of Rs 1 crore for his family, also accusing the police of inaction. On 14 May, unidentified men had attacked Congress' Raebaraeli Sadar MLA Aditi Singh while she was on her way to the district panchayat's office, where a no-confidence motion against panchayat head Avadhesh Singh was scheduled. Aditi Singh had later alleged that Avadesh Singh's henchmen, armed with iron rods and bricks, had attacked her vehicle, due to which the driver lost control and her car overturned. A day later, Shiva Singh, a close aide of BJP leader Dinesh Singh, who contested against Congress leader Sonia Gandhi from Raebaraeli, was murdered. The district administration had said both were separate incidents and had dismissed speculations of a gang war resulting from poll rivalries. Senior political commentator Vivek Vikram Singh said the former village head's murder in Amethi did not look like a case of poll rivalry, claiming it could be a matter of personal enmity instead. "This region does not have a history of bloodbath due to election rivalry. Surendra Singh was a gem of a person who worked very hard during the election for Smriti Irani. He has always been known in the area for his humble nature. This incident has outraged BJP workers in the district," he added. The Amethi Police have yet to register an FIR in connection with this case. BJP's Keshav Prasad Maurya also tweeted on the BJP worker's death. ( ) Keshav Prasad Maurya (@kpmaurya1) May 26, 2019 With inputs from Asgar Naqvi The author is a Lucknow-based freelance writer and a member of 101Reporters.com Dhinakaran alleged that the votes of AMMK supporters were not registered and claimed that there are instances where no votes were cast for his party. Chennai (Tamil Nadu): Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) leader TTV Dhinakaran on Sunday said that he will file a complaint before the Election Commission regarding non-registration of votes in the polling booths during the Lok Sabha elections. "It is very strange that many of our supporters had voted for our party but, their votes have not been registered, there are instances where no votes were cast for our party. How is it possible? Election Commission has to clarify. We are collecting the details of booths and we will file a complaint at the Election Commission later," AMMK chief told media persons. He, however, claimed he cannot approach any court as he has no evidence to ascertain his claim. AMMK could only muster an estimated vote share of 5 percent in the Parliamentary elections and Assembly by-polls, whose results came to the fore on 23 May. The DMK-led alliance in the state, which includes the Congress, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), Communist Party of India (CPI) and Communist Party of India (Marxist) along with several other smaller parties, routed rival All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) by winning 37 out of 39 Lok Sabha seats. DMK, alone, was able to sweep the state by winning 23 seats, with a vote share of 32.76 percent. The AIADMK, which partnered the BJP for the general elections, managed to win just one Lok Sabha and won nine seats in the by-polls. Reuters Amazon.com Inc shareholders overwhelmingly rejected a proposal that the company stop selling facial recognition technology to government agencies, while a resolution to audit the service drew more support, a regulatory filing on Friday showed. Some 2.4 percent of votes were in favour of the ban. A second proposal that called for a study of the extent to which Amazons Rekognition service harmed civil rights and privacy garnered 27.5% support. Amazons sale of the technology to law enforcement in Oregon and Florida has put the company at the centre of a growing U.S. debate over facial recognition, with critics warning of false matches and arrests and proponents arguing it keeps the public safe. Amazon has defended its work and said all users must follow the law. These and other Amazon resolutions by shareholders faced an uphill battle to winning majority support, with Amazons board recommending against them and founder and Chief Executive Jeff Bezos controlling 16% of the stock and voting rights. Calculation of support was based on the total votes for, against and abstaining. The tallies excluded broker non-votes. Law enforcement in the United States have used facial recognition for years, and vendors of the technology have abounded, including Frances Idemia, Japans NEC Corp and newer entrants like Israels AnyVision and Microsoft Corp, which has called for regulation in recent months. Now, members of the U.S. Congress are looking into the rights impact of the technology. Amazons marketing of facial recognition has resulted in intense scrutiny, and researchers have said its technology struggled to identify the gender of individuals with darker skin, prompting fears of unjust arrests. Among other issues shareholders considered before Amazons annual meeting on Wednesday was a request to make it easier for investors to call a special meeting, which garnered 35.3% of votes. A proposal that the company report how it plans to deal with climate change received 29.8% of votes. Nearly 7,700 employees had signed a letter of support of the climate resolution, in a sign of rising worker activism at Amazon. Reuters Swiss drugmaker Novartis on Friday won U.S. approval for its gene therapy Zolgensma for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), the leading genetic cause of death in infants, and priced the one-time treatment at a record $2.125 million. The Food and Drug Administration approved Zolgensma for children under the age of two with SMA, including those not yet showing symptoms. The approval covers babies with the deadliest form of the inherited disease as well as those with types where debilitating symptoms may set in later. This is potentially a new standard of care for babies with the most serious form of SMA, said Dr. Emmanuelle Tiongson, a pediatric neurologist at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles who has provided Zolgensma to patients under an expanded access programme. The job now is trying to negotiate with insurers that this would be a long-term savings. Novartis executives defended the price, saying that a one-time treatment is more valuable than expensive long-term treatments that cost several hundred thousand dollars a year. Novartis touched off a debate over what gene therapy is worth last year, estimating its treatment would be cost-effective at up to $5 million per patient. A review in April by an independent U.S. group, the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER), concluded Novartis value estimate for Zolgensma was excessive. But on Friday, ICER said that based on Novartis additional clinical data, the broad FDA label and its launch price, it believed that the drug fell within the upper bound of its range for cost-effectiveness. Novartis said it was offering health insurers the option of installment payments for Zolgensma as well as refunds if the treatment does not work and upfront discounts for payers who commit to standardized coverage terms. Novartis Chief Executive Vas Narasimhan has much riding on Zolgensma, describing it as a near cure for SMA if delivered soon after birth. But data proving its durability extends to only about five years. The therapy uses a virus to provide a normal copy of the SMN1 gene to babies born with a defective gene. It is delivered by infusion. A rival to Biogen Novartis is expecting European and Japanese approval later this year. Zolgensma will compete with Biogen Incs Spinraza, the first approved treatment for SMA. The disease often leads to paralysis, breathing difficulty and death within months for babies born with the most serious Type I form. SMA affects about one in every 10,000 live births, with 50 percent to 70 percent having Type I disease. Spinraza, approved in late 2016, requires infusion into the spinal canal every four months. Its list price of $750,000 for the initial year and $375,000 annually thereafter was also deemed excessive by ICER. Some neurologists see gene therapy becoming the preferred treatment for newborns with severe SMA, while acknowledging that families may choose to wait for long-term safety and efficacy data for Zolgensma. Novartis is looking into whether the death of one severely ill baby treated with Zolgensma was related to the therapy. Most families will want to do the gene therapy since it avoids the frequent spinal taps, said Dr. Russell Butterfield of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. Butterfield has received payments from Biogen for consulting. The FDA said it approved Zolgensma based on clinical trials involving 36 patients aged 2 weeks to 8 months. The agency said patients treated with Zolgensma showed significant improvement in developmental motor milestones such as head control and ability to sit up. The most common side effects of Zolgensma are elevated liver enzymes and vomiting. The FDA is requiring Zolgensmas label to include a warning that acute serious liver injury can occur. With additional studies underway, Novartis said it has so far treated more than 150 patients with Zolgensma, which was acquired with its $8.7 billion purchase of AveXis last year. Wall Street analysts have forecast sales of $2 billion by 2022, according to a Refinitiv survey. Spinraza sales hit $1.7 billion last year, and are seen rising to $2.2 billion in 2022. Roche is developing risdiplam, an oral drug, for the condition and plans to file for approval later this year. The Associated Press Balis airport has returned to normal operations after some flights were canceled on Friday night following an eruption of the Mount Agung volcano that spread ash over the south of the Indonesian island. The national disaster agency said the eruption lasted 4 minutes and 30 seconds and spread lava and incandescent rocks about 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) from the crater. Nine villages experienced thick ash fall. But the agency said it wasnt raising the alert level for the volcano and its exclusion zone remains a 4-kilometer (2.5-mile) radius around the crater. No evacuation was necessary, said spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho. Bali airport spokesman Arie Ahsanurrohim said nine flights between Bali and Australia were canceled on Friday night. Six postponed flights for Qantas and Virgin Australia would operate on Saturday, he said. Agung became active again in 2017 after more than a half century of slumber following a major eruption in 1963. Tens of millions of European voters will vote Sunday as 21 countries choose their representatives in a battle between the nationalist right and pro-EU forces to chart a course for the bloc. Brussels: Tens of millions of Europeans will vote Sunday as 21 countries choose their representatives in a battle between the nationalist right and pro-EU forces to chart a course for the bloc. Greece, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Lithuania and Cyprus were the first to open their polling stations at 0400 GMT and France, Germany, Italy and the rest followed over the next two or three hours. Seven EU member states had already voted, but no official results can be published until rest of the union has taken part. The European Parliament will give an estimate at 1815 GMT and provisional results will begin to emerge from 2100 GMT. Eurosceptic parties opposed to the project of ever-closer union hope to capture as many as a third of the seats in the 751-member Strasbourg assembly, disrupting the pro-integration consensus. The far-right parties of Italian deputy PM Matteo Salvini and France's Marine Le Pen will lead this charge, and anti-EU ranks will be swelled by the Brexit Party of British populist Nigel Farage. France's President Emmanuel Macron has taken it upon himself to act as figurehead for the centrist and liberal parties hoping to shut the nationalists out of key EU jobs and decision-making. "Once again Macron is daring us to challenge him. Well let's take him at his word: On 26 May, we'll challenge him in the voting booth," Le Pen told a rally in France on Friday. 'Extremists are mobilising' Meanwhile, the mainstream parties are vying between themselves for influence over the choice of a new generation of top European officials, including the powerful president of the European Commission. And Brussels insiders are closely following the turnout figures, fearing that another drop in participation will undermine the credibility of the EU parliament as it seeks to establish its authority. Britain and the Netherlands were first to vote, on Thursday, followed by Ireland and the Czech Republic on Friday with Slovakia, Malta and Latvia on Saturday, leaving the bulk of the 400 million eligible voters to join in on Sunday. At the last EU election in 2014, Slovakia had the lowest turnout of any country, at less than 14 percent, and centrist president Andrej Kiska is worried that the far-right is poised to profit. "We see that extremists are mobilising, we see a lot their billboards and activities all over Slovakia. We can't let someone steal Europe from us. It's our Europe," Kiska told reporters. But the right and the far-right have not had everything their own way so far. In the Netherlands, the centre-left party of EU vice president Frans Timmermans won the most votes and added two seats to the Socialists and Democrats (S&D) bloc in parliament, according to exit polls. A day later, the S&D's centre-right rival the European People's Party (EPP) was buoyed by exit polls suggesting that Prime Minister Leo Varadkar's pro-EU Fine Gael party was in the lead in Ireland. Jobs fair If Britain leaves the European Union on 31 October, the latest deadline for Brexit, then its MEPs will not sit for long in the EU parliament but could still play a role in the scramble to hand out top jobs. Thursday's votes from Britain won't be counted until after polls close in Italy, but Farage's Brexit Party appears on course to send a large delegation to a parliament it wants to abolish. Macron is pinning his hopes on his Renaissance movement joining with the liberal ALDE voting bloc and other centrist groups to give impetus to his plans for deeper EU integration. But much will depend on who gets the top jobs: The presidencies of the Council and the Commission, the speaker of parliament, the high representative for foreign policy and director of the European Central Bank. The 29 EU leaders have been invited to a summit dinner on Tuesday to decide how to choose the nominees, and Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel is expected to back the lead EPP candidate Manfred Weber for the Commission. Macron and some other leaders oppose both Weber, a German conservative MEP with no executive experience, and the idea that the parliament should get to choose one of its own for Brussels' prime post. But whichever way the leaders' council leans, there will be no immediate decision. Instead, Council president Donald Tusk will take note of how the debate went and draft the nominations before a 21 June EU summit. United States president Donald Trump on Sunday said he was not 'disturbed' by the short-range missile tests recently conducted by North Korea, unlike 'his people and others'. Tokyo: United States president Donald Trump on Sunday said he was not "disturbed" by the short-range missile tests recently conducted by North Korea, unlike "his people and others". "North Korea fired off some small weapons, which disturbed some of my people, and others, but not me. I have confidence that Chairman Kim will keep his promise to me..." the president wrote on Twitter. The remarks made by Trump, who is on a four-day state visit to Japan, came ahead of his meetings with Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, which are set to begin in a few hours. North Korea fired off some small weapons, which disturbed some of my people, and others, but not me. I have confidence that Chairman Kim will keep his promise to me, & also smiled when he called Swampman Joe Biden a low IQ individual, & worse. Perhaps thats sending me a signal? Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 26, 2019 The Japanese government has said that North Korea's recent test of short-range missiles violated the UN resolutions, a determination that national security adviser John Bolton had also agreed with, in Tokyo on Saturday during a briefing with reporters before Trump arrived in Japan. Bolton was quoted as saying by Al Jazeera that North Korea on 4 and 9 May tested short-range ballistic missiles, ending a pause in launches that began in late 2017. During his meeting with Abe, Trump is also expected to reflect on a possible summit between Abe and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as an additional push toward resolving North Korea's missile and nuclear threats. The two leaders are to discuss North Korea as well as trade, security, and tensions with Iran. By Catherine Lagrange LYON (Reuters) - Police hunted on Saturday for a man who left a bomb in a pedestrian shopping street in the central French city of Lyon on Friday that wounded 13 people, including a 10-year-old girl. By Catherine Lagrange LYON (Reuters) - Police hunted on Saturday for a man who left a bomb in a pedestrian shopping street in the central French city of Lyon on Friday that wounded 13 people, including a 10-year-old girl. Ninety police investigators supported by 30 scientific officers and technicians as well as local police were searching for the man, who was seen on security cameras at around 5.30 p.m. on Friday, anti-terrorism prosecutor Remy Heitz told reporters in Paris. The man was seen leaving a paper bag in front of a bakery. The package exploded about a minute after he left. French police were able to track the movements of the man, who appeared to be around 30 years old, for 10 minutes before the attack and are still trying to identify him. The man, who had a bicycle, was wearing sunglasses and a cap. There has been no claim of responsibility yet for the bomb, Heitz said, calling for witnesses to help police find the suspect. On Saturday evening, police released additional photos of the suspect riding the bicycle. A source close to the investigation said traces of DNA were isolated from the remnants of the bomb. Police found the attacker used triacetone triperoxide or TATP, a powerful homemade explosive. The case is being handled as a terrorism investigation given the circumstances of the attack, committed in broad daylight, and the use of an explosive device capable of hitting a large number of people with screws and metal balls packed into a bag, he said. Police found pieces of remote detonator and white plastic fragments that were probably part of the device, Heitz said. Eleven of those wounded in the explosion, including the 10-year-old girl, were hospitalized. Authorities have boosted surveillance and protection of public areas after Islamist groups carried out a string of attacks around France that killed dozens of people and wounded hundreds in the past few years. Following the Lyon bomb, the Interior Ministry called for local authorities to raise surveillance and security in and around public areas and public events all over the country. Army patrols were reinforced in Lyon. The police chief for the region that includes Lyon banned demonstrations in the northern part of the city. (Reporting by Catherine Lagrange in Lyon; Additional reporting by Emmanuel Jarry, Inti Landauro and Caroline Paillez in Paris; Editing by Alexander Smith and Frances Kerry) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan spoke to Prime Minister-elect Narendra Modi over the phone and expressed desire for India and Pakistan to work together. Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan on Sunday spoke to Prime Minister-elect Narendra Modi over the phone and expressed desire for India and Pakistan to work together for betterment of their people. Dr Mohammad Faisal, spokesperson for Pakistan's Minister of Foreign Affairs, tweeted that Khan congratulated Modi on the BJP's electoral victory in the Lok Sabha elections. "PM (Khan) expressed his desire for both countries to work together for betterment of their peoples," Faisal said in his tweet. "Reiterating his vision for peace, progress and prosperity in South Asia, the prime minister said he looked forward to working with Prime Minister Modi to advance these objectives," Faisal further said. Earlier on the same day, Pakistan's foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that Pakistan is ready to hold talks with the new Indian government to resolve all outstanding issues. Addressing an iftar dinner in Multan on Saturday, Qureshi said both India and Pakistan should sit on a negotiation table to resolve issues for the sake of prosperity and peace of the region, state-run Radio Pakistan reported. On Thursday too, Khan had 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 had tweeted in both English and Urdu. In April, Khan had said he believed there may be a better chance of peace talks with India and settle the Kashmir issue if Modi's party won the general elections. The results of India's general elections are very significant for Pakistan as the new government in New Delhi will determine the course of Indo-Pakistan ties, which were pushed to a new low after the Pulwama terror attack. Just a day before the announcement of results, Qureshi and his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj on Wednesday had exchanged pleasantries on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Council of Foreign Ministers' meeting in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. He conveyed to her Pakistan's desire to resolve all issues through dialogue. With inputs from PTI The Centre has told the Supreme Court that there was no question of either registration of an FIR or investigation by CBI in the Rafale fighter jets deal. New Delhi: The Centre has told the Supreme Court that there was no question of either registration of an FIR or investigation by CBI in the Rafale fighter jets deal as the apex court had already concluded that there was no reason for intervention by it on the "sensitive issue". The Centre, which sought dismissal of petitions seeking review of the 14 December, 2018 last year verdict which gave a clean chit to the government on procurement of 36 fighter jets from French firm Dassault, said CAG report "belied" the main arguments of petitioners regarding alleged "exorbitant price" of the jets. In its 39-page written submissions filed in the top court, the Centre has said that petitioners and former union ministers Yashwant Sinha, Arun Shourie and activist advocate Prashant Bhushan have not made out any ground which would justify review of the "well reasoned" 14 December judgment last year. "Especially, once this court had come to the conclusion that on all the three aspects i.e., the decision making process, pricing and Indian offset partner, there is no reason for intervention by this court on the sensitive issue of purchase of 36 Rafale fighter aircrafts by the Indian Government, there is no question of either registration of FIR much less any investigation by the CBI," the government said. A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi had on 10 May reserved its verdict on the pleas seeking review of the 14 December judgement in the Rafale case. The apex court, in its verdict, had said there was no occasion to doubt the decision-making process in the procurement of 36 Rafale jets and dismissed the petitions seeking an investigation into alleged irregularities in the Rs 58,000 crore deal. Besides Sinha, Shourie and Bhushan, review petitions have also been filed by AAP lawmaker Sanjay Singh and lawyer Vineet Dhandha. In its written submissions, the Centre has said in the garb of seeking review of the verdict and placing reliance on "some press reports and some incomplete internal file noting(s), copies of which were obtained unauthorisedly and illegally", the petitioners cannot seek to re-open the whole matter since scope of review petition is extremely limited. "The review petition, it is therefore submitted, is an attempt to get a fishing and roving inquiry ordered, which this court has specifically declined to go into based on perceptions of individuals," it said. The Centre also said the petitioners have not disclosed any new evidence in the review petition "except that they have now based their case on some unauthorisedly accessed documents copied from the secret files of the Ministry of Defence." It said files and documents were made available to the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) who took about two years to complete its study and finalise its report. "The report of the CAG does not support the main argument of petitioners which has been perpetually repeated before this court that the cost of each aircraft under 36 Rafale contract is Rs 1,000 crore higher than what it would have been under the MMRCA bid," the Centre said. "The basic price of the aircraft has been informed to the Parliament as approximately Rs 670 crore at prevailing exchange rate of November, 2016; without associated equipments, weapons, India Specific Enhancements, maintenance support and services," it said. It also said for the overall aircraft package, "the CAG has held that the contract was concluded at a price which is 2.86 per cent lower than the audit aligned price." The government reiterated that it has no role in the selection of Indian offset partner which is a commercial decision of Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM). It said monitoring of progress in the government to government process by Prime Minister Office (PMO) cannot be construed as interference or parallel negotiations. Regarding the petitioners' claim that government had suppressed and concealed material facts from the apex court, the Centre said these allegations are devoid of merit. "It is submitted that the IGA for 36 Rafale procurement is between the two sovereign nations and the implementation of the project which is on schedule is being closely monitored by both the Governments. The adequate safeguards are built into IGA for ensuring smooth implementation of the project," it said. "The training of Indian Air Force personnel is underway in France. Any attempt to bring this procurement under cloud may result into delay in implementation of the project and would affect the operational preparedness of Indian Air Force," the Centre said. Sinha, Shourie and Bhushan had earlier alleged in the apex court that the Centre "wilfully and deliberately" misled the court in the Rafale fighter jet case and this amounted to "wholesale fraud". On the scope of judicial review, they had said apex court has consistently held that where the allegation is of corruption, procedural violations and mala fide decision making, the court will be well within its right to exercise the jurisdiction. A team of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) visited Kumar's official residence in Kolkata on Sunday evening to serve the notice, officials said. New Delhi/Kolkata: The CBI has summoned former Kolkata police commissioner Rajeev Kumar on Monday for questioning in connection with the Saradha ponzi scheme case, officials said. A team of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) visited Kumar's official residence in Kolkata on Sunday evening to serve the notice, officials said. The 1989-batch IPS officer has been asked to be present at the Salt Lake office of the agency on Monday in connection with the investigation into the chit fund scam, an officer said. The CBI has also issued a lookout notice against Kumar. All the airports and immigration authorities have been alerted to prevent him from leaving the country and intimate the agency about any possible move, officials said. The agency wants custodial interrogation of Kumar in connection with the chit fund scam as he was heading the special investigation team (SIT) of the West Bengal police to probe the case before the CBI took over, the officials said. The CBI had told the Supreme Court that custodial interrogation of Kumar was necessary, saying he was not co-operating in the probe and he was "evasive" and "arrogant" in answering the queries put to him during questioning. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who was appearing for the CBI, had said Kumar was the incharge of investigation by the SIT and had allowed the release of mobile phones and laptops, which were seized from the accused and contained crucial records of alleged involvement of political functionaries in the scam. Mehta had said the seized mobile phones and laptops were not even sent for forensic examination and material evidence were destroyed in the case The apex court had asked the CBI last month to furnish evidence for seeking custodial interrogation of Kumar in the Saradha case, saying it has to be satisfied that the agency's request was "bona fide" and not for "political purposes". The court had on 17 May withdrawn protection given to Kumar from any arrest and had asked the CBI to proceed as per law. It gave a week's time to Kumar to approach the competent court for anticipatory bail. Kumar had again approached the top court last Monday, seeking extension of the protection and saying the courts in West Bengal were not functioning due to a lawyers' strike. This petition was rejected, following which Kumar had approached a Kolkata court with an anticipatory bail. In January, the Centre and the state government had faced an unprecedented standoff after a CBI team, which reached the residence of Kumar for questioning, had to retreat after the police refused to let it enter and detained its officers. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee came in the defence of Kumar and started a sit-in to protest against the Centre's move. The Supreme Court had on 5 February had prevented the agency from any coercive action against Kumar and directed him to appear and co-operate in CBI questioning at a "neutral place". He was questioned by the CBI for nearly five days in Shillong from 9 February. The ponzi scheme scam was over Rs 2,500 crore by the Saradha group of companies, which had duped lakhs of customers promising higher rates of returns on their investment, the CBI has alleged. Similar modus operandi was adopted by other ponzi companies like Rose Valley operating in West Bengal, Odisha and North Eastern states where gullible investors were duped, it said. The Supreme Court had ordered a CBI probe in which the agency has allegedly detected collusion of scheme operators, police personnel, politicians among others, the officials had said. China should hold talks with Tibets spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, US Ambassador to China Terry Branstad told Chinese officials during a trip to the Himalayan region where he criticised Beijing for interfering in religious freedom Beijing: China should hold talks with Tibets spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, US Ambassador to China Terry Branstad told Chinese officials during a trip to the Himalayan region where he criticised Beijing for interfering in religious freedom. Branstad visited Tibet last week, the first such trip by a US ambassador since 2015, amid escalating trade and diplomatic tension between the two countries. His visit followed the passing of a US law in December that requires the United States to deny visas to Chinese officials in charge of implementing policies that restrict access to Tibet for foreigners, legislation that was denounced by China. Branstad met Chinese government officials and Tibetan religious and cultural figures, and raised our long-standing concerns about lack of consistent access to Tibet, the US Embassy in Beijing said in an emailed statement on Saturday. He encouraged the Chinese government to engage in substantive dialogue with the Dalai Lama or his representatives, without preconditions, to seek a settlement that resolves differences, an embassy spokeswoman said. He also expressed concerns regarding the Chinese governments interference in Tibetan Buddhists freedom to organise and practise their religion, she said. Beijing sent troops into remote, mountainous Tibet in 1950 in what it officially terms a peaceful liberation and has ruled there with an iron fist ever since. The Dalai Lama fled to India in early 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule, and Beijing still brands him a dangerous separatist. China says its leaders have the right to approve his successor, as a legacy from Chinas emperors. But the 83-year-old Nobel peace laureate monk, who lives in exile in the northern Indian hill town of Dharamshala, has said that his incarnation could be found in India after he dies, and that any other successor named by China would not be respected. Tibetan tradition holds that the soul of a senior Buddhist monk is reincarnated in the body of a child on his death. Tibets Communist Party secretary, Wu Yingjie, told Branstad how China had made huge achievements in guaranteeing according to law religious freedom and traditional culture in Tibet, the official Tibet Daily newspaper said late on Saturday. Wu added that he sincerely welcomed more American friends to visit the region. Chinas Foreign Ministry said last week that China hoped the ambassador would not take any prejudices with him on the trip. In December, China criticised the United States for passing the Reciprocal Access to Tibet Act, which seeks to promote access to Tibet for US diplomats and other officials, journalists and other citizens by denying US entry for Chinese officials deemed responsible for restricting access to Tibet. The US government is required to begin denying visas by the end of this year. Marijuana is a hot sector, with some analysts projecting massive growth for the plant's demand. The hype surrounding the burgeoning pot market, however, is likely to lead to the typical Wall Street response -- a bubble. Already some are warning that marijuana companies are pushing a little too hard for growth, potentially overpaying for acquisitions. If you like the idea of jumping on the marijuana story but are too concerned to buy a company growing the drug, then you should look at Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) and Innovative Industrial Properties (NYSE:IIPR), two suppliers to the industry that sidestep some of the concerns of owning a marijuana grower. But which, if either, is the better option? How they are similar What sets Scotts and Innovative apart from a typical marijuana stock is that they don't actually grow plants or sell cannabis products. They provide plant growers with what they need to do that. In the case of Scotts, that means hydroponic supplies. Hydroponics have long been the core technology underpinning grow houses, even when marijuana wasn't legal. This is a relatively new division for the company, which really only started expanding in the space in 2016 via its "project focus." After a series of acquisitions, the hydroponic division is now called Hawthorne, with the last major acquisition (Sunlight Supply) pushing Scotts into the top position in the industry. Innovative Industrial Properties is a bit more complex. It is basically a start-up (it IPO'd in 2016) real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns the specialized industrial properties in which marijuana is grown. However, it didn't just happen to own a bunch of grow houses; it has been largely buying these properties from marijuana growers and then leasing them back to their former owners. This is something of a financing transaction for the growers, who use the cash they raise to invest in their businesses. As competition heats up and banks continue to avoid the legal implications of marijuana, Innovative is not only a landlord but a valuable source of investment capital for pot companies. Although Scotts and Innovative go about supporting the marijuana industry in different ways, their stories are roughly similar. They both offer investors a way to gain exposure to the marijuana market without the need to invest directly in a marijuana stock. Moreover, because they provide services to more than one company, their businesses are inherently more diversified than any single pot stock. But they aren't magic bullets; they both come with risks. How they are different The biggest risk for Scotts today is the leverage it took on to build the Hawthorne division. To be fair, the company's core lawn care business is still the larger operation, representing around 80% of revenues when you look at a full 12 months of results (lawn care is seasonal, so 12 months of results is more telling than any single quarter). That said, over the past five fiscal years, long-term debt has grown from around $490 million to $1.9 billion. As of the most recent quarter, long-term debt stood at roughly $2 billion. That massive jump pushed long-term debt from a reasonable 40% to a worrying 75% of the capital structure as of the latest quarter. To be fair, Scotts appears to be handling the debt load reasonably well, covering the interest expenses roughly five times over in the latest quarter. However, an asset writedown last year related to the acquisitions that built Hawthorne (specifically the Sunlight deal) pushed trailing interest coverage down to just two times in late 2018. There are two takeaways from this. First, Scotts appears to have gotten caught up in the marijuana hype and spent more than it should have for an important acquisition. Although it believes the hydroponic assets it owns give it an industry-leading position, there's a risk that the purchase prices bake in a lot of positive expectations. If those aren't met, more write-offs could be in the cards. And second, with so much debt, disruptions to the company's income and cash flow could quickly turn the leverage taken on into a heavy burden. Unless you are willing to watch Scotts Miracle-Gro's balance sheet and business very closely, you should probably avoid the now-debt-laden company. When Innovative Industrial buys an asset, which it funds with debt and stock sales just like any other REIT, it gets a physical asset and a tenant. On the whole, that means that a problem with any individual renter can be solved by simply jettisoning the lessee and replacing it with another company. That's an inherently strong position. And at this point, Innovative's debt is roughly a third of the capital structure, though it is likely to rise over time as the portfolio grows. On the whole, Innovative looks like the better option of the two pot industry suppliers here. However, it isn't risk-free. The company owns just 19 properties, so it is very small. It is also expanding aggressively, buying eight properties in the first four months of 2019. So there's a risk of an overstep as the REIT looks to continue its expansion efforts. Moreover, investors need to think carefully about the backstop of owning property. While there is inherent value in that, the assets Innovative owns are highly specialized. The only replacement tenant that would want to occupy one of its assets "as is" would be another marijuana company, which means that there could be material costs to repurpose an asset if it becomes vacant and Innovative can't find a pot company to fill it. Investors still need to monitor tiny and fast-expanding Innovative very closely. Not for the risk averse To be honest, most investors should probably avoid the marijuana industry. It's very new, it still faces legal uncertainty, and Wall Street's sky-high expectations have a habit of not being met (that's true for almost all "hot" sectors). That said, the massive increase in debt at Scotts is a troubling development that should make most investors think twice about jumping aboard its stock. Yes, it has its lawn care business to backstop the Hawthorne division, but that doesn't change the fact that it has leveraged its future to pot. Innovative Industrial Properties, owning physical assets that can be repurposed (even at high cost), seems like a more secure option in the space. But, again, it isn't risk-free, since the REIT is small and still growing rapidly. You'll need to watch it closely if you decide to buy -- so only more aggressive types should be looking at it. WHEN our loved ones join the military, we know that wearing the uniform could cost them their lives. Military family members do all kinds of calculations about the potential price of serving this nation. We run the numbers and wargame the risks. We bargain with God and make deals with the devil hoping our service member never becomes a casualty. But what most of us dont know is that when our family members sign up, they sign away some of their rightsand ours. Under whats called the Feres Doctrine, members of the Armed Forces and their families are prohibited from filing claims against the government for death or injury arising from military service. But it doesnt just apply to military settings or deaths in the field. The Feres Doctrine also shields military medical providers from malpractice suits by troopsand their dependents. Feres has been around since a 1950 Supreme Court ruling, but military recruiters never tell the families that it applies to them, too. Tricia Radenz found out in the worst way possible. On June 9, 2009, her 11-year-old son, Daniel, hanged himself at home. Galveston, TX (77553) Today Thunderstorms likely this evening. Then a chance of scattered thunderstorms overnight. Low near 70F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 60%.. Tonight Thunderstorms likely this evening. Then a chance of scattered thunderstorms overnight. Low near 70F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 60%. RTHK: Parasite takes Palme d'Or at Cannes South Korea's Bong Joon-ho has won top prize at the Cannes film festival for Parasite, a dark comedy about social and economic inequality. Performances from Bong stalwarts including Lee Jeong-eun and Song Kang-ho, as the patriarch of a clan of scammers who latch onto a rich family, blew away audiences at Cannes. The director called Song his "alter ego" and ushered him onto the stage as he picked up the prize. With a series of critical and commercial hits behind him, Bong is one of South Korea's best-known faces, winning multiple awards at home and tellingly making inroads into Hollywood - a rarity for an Asian auteur. But up till now, major international prizes had eluded him. His Netflix-produced sci-fi action adventure "Okja", starring Tilda Swinton, was a global hit after missing out on the Palme d'Or at Cannes in 2017. (AFP) This story has been published on: 2019-05-26. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. TODAY Patriotic Concert 2019, 4 p.m., Jefferson High School, 575 Washington St., Jefferson. Patriotic musical salute featuring the Athens Classic City Band. Event will include an armed services flag presentation and veteran recognition. Free. Information: https://www.facebook.com/events/323661258269576/. MONDAY Memorial Day Service, 9 a.m. Brownsville Pioneer Cemetery, 35707 Kirk Ave. Hosted by American Legion Auxiliary 133 and Travis Moothart Memorial Post. Corvallis American Legion Post 11 Annual Memorial Day Service, 10 a.m., Crystal Lake Cemetery, 1945 SE Crystal Lake Drive. Information: N. Jones, 541-760-3109. Memorial Day Service, 10 a.m., IOOF Cemetery Road, Lebanon. Fire Chief Gordon Sletmoe will be the guest speaker. Hosted by Lebanon American Legion Post 51, which will have an honor guard to present and retrieve colors. Memorial Day Service, 10:30 a.m., Crawfordsville Union Cemetery, Highway 228, near Bush Creek Road. Hosted by American Legion Post 133. Memorial Day Service, 11 a.m., Linn County Veterans Memorial, Timber Linn Memorial Park, 900 Price Road SE, Albany. Presented by the Linn County Veterans Memorial Association. Information: 541-990-7715 or https://albanyvisitors.com/event/memorial-day-service/?instance_id=14449. Memorial Celebration, 2 p.m., Benton County Veterans Memorial, National Guard Armory, 1100 NW Kings Blvd., Corvallis. Live music begins at 1:30 p.m. Commander Timothy Reidy of the Navy ROTC will give the keynote speech. Harry Lagerstedt, who served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, will be given the flag of honor. The program will be moved indoors in case of inclement weather. Memorial Day Program, 2:30 p.m., Imagine Coffee, 5460 Philomath Blvd., Corvallis. Corvallis Scout Troop 3 and the O.K. Chorale, a 24-voice four-part choir will present a family-friendly, audience participation event. Free. Parking at Bi-Mart. Memorial Day concert: "A Day of Remembrance," 7 p.m., LaSells Stewart Center, 875 SW 26th St., Corvallis. The Willamette Valley Concert Band, directed by Mike Bevington and special guest director emeritus Richard Sorenson, will perform. Donations accepted. Proceeds will help mid-valley music students attend summer music camps. Information: jddlove@cat-tummy.com. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 US intel chief warns Barr not to imperil national security by releasing classified documents Iran Press TV Sat May 25, 2019 07:48PM The United States intelligence chief has warned Attorney General William Barr not to release "highly-sensitive classified information" amid the Trump administration's efforts to get to the origins of the so-called Russia probe. Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats urged Barr to stick to the "long-established standards," further vowing to "faithfully execute mission of providing timely, apolitical intelligence to the president and policymakers." President Donald Trump has granted Barr new investigatory powers to make public classified documents related to the Justice Department's inquiry in the wake of the outcome of the so-called Russia probe. "Much like we have with other investigations and reviews, the Intelligence Community (IC) will provide the Department of Justice all of the appropriate information for its review of intelligence activities related to Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election," Coats said in a statement. "As part of that process, I am confident that the Attorney General will work with the IC in accordance with the long-established standards to protect highly-sensitive classified information that, if publicly released, would put our national security at risk." The president has ordered his administration's intelligence agencies "to quickly and fully cooperate" with the attorney general, asserting that it is not a "payback" to allegations of collusion between him and Russian ahead of the 2016 presidential election. "We're going to find out what happened and why it happened," Trump told reporters outside the White House Thursday. "Let me just tell you: It's not payback; I don't care about payback. I think it's very important for our country to find out what happened." The Trump administration claims that US Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report cleared the American head of state of wrongdoing and that there are no further questions to be answered. This is while Democrats believe Trump has committed obstruction of justice with some calling for his impeachment. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Report: U.S. Naval Seaman Admits Wanting To Pass Classified Info To Russia May 25, 2019 A U.S. naval seaman has been sentenced to three years in a military prison after admitting he sought to share classified information about U.S. nuclear-powered warships with Russia. The Associated Press reported on May 24 that Petty Officer Second Class Stephen Kellogg wanted to expose waste in the U.S. Navy. Jeff Houston, of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, told AP that Kellogg, 26, tried to make contact with Sevmash, a major manufacturer of Russian nuclear submarines. Authorities learned of his plans after arresting Kellogg on August 27 for being drunk as he sought to board a flight from San Diego, California, to New York City. Court records said Kellogg had bought a one-way plane ticket and planned to meet a friend from high school who is a journalist in New York. Kellogg worked as an electrician and had classified information relating to the capabilities of the Navy's nuclear propulsion systems. Kellogg also allegedly told a roommate that he planned to defect to Russia, had written an e-mail to an address associated with Sevmash, and called the company six times. Based on reporting by AP Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/report-u-s-naval- seaman-admits-wanting-to-pass-classified- info-to-russia/29962365.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 Attorney General Barr May Expose Top Secret CIA Source Close to Putin Report Sputnik News 03:58 25.05.2019(updated 04:16 25.05.2019) US intelligence community officials set off alarms saying Attorney General William Barr's complete exposure of the intelligence that led to the Mueller probe into Trump-Russia collusion will compromise CIA sources, including those foreign assets at the very top. The order issued recently by US President Trump which allows Attorney General William Barr to declassify all intelligence that justified the infamous Mueller probe has CIA officials very worried, according to a report by The New York Times. Dan Coats, the Director of National Intelligence, said the agency will provide the Attorney General with any information he requests, but also warned that declassifying such information will put US national security at risk by inevitably revealing some assets the agency relies upon. "I am confident that the attorney general will work with the [intelligence community] in accordance with the long-established standards to protect highly-sensitive classified information that, if publicly released, would put our national security at risk," Coats said Friday. Trump who stands accused by House Democrats of lacking transparency due his stonewalling of numerous ongoing House investigations granted the Attorney General the power to declassify intel. Trump defended his decision by saying: "What are we doing, we are exposing everything," "We are being transparent." Of particular importance is a source said to be close to Russian President Vladimir Putin. The unnamed top secret source reportedly was the first to have tipped the CIA about alleged Russian interference in the 2016 US elections. "Long nurtured by the CIA, the source rose to a position that enabled the informant to provide key information in 2016 about the Russian leadership's role in the interference campaign," the Times writes. According to the report, the mysterious source provided evidence that Putin himself was behind the hacking of Hillary Clinton's email server. Clinton, the former State Secretary had installed the server in her home in violation of security regulations. The intelligence provided by the source was so secret that it was even excluded from President Obama's daily briefings. Then-CIA director John Brennan personally brought the information to the White House. Disclosure of such a source if this person really does exist will, naturally, mean the CIA can no longer rely on them. Some note, however, that while this is not nearly enough to prove Putin's involvement in the email server hack, proving that this source did exist might at least give allegations by Democrats some degree of political credibility something that Trump would understandably not like to do. Observers note that the only scenario in which Trump would willingly push for exposure of the alleged Kremlin source is if there is no source at all. This will arguably inflict a crippling blow to the entire "Russian meddling" narrative, alleviate all rumours of Trump's collusion with Russia and smear the Democrats' reputation, sending Trump's approval rating into the sky. But this remains to be seen, as Attorney General Barr rummages through classified information. In the meantime, the Democrats decried declassification of the intel as "politicization" of intel. "The president now seems intent on declassifying intelligence to weaponize it," Adam Schiff, a Californian Democratic Representative, said in an interview. "We are going to expose any abuse, any politicization of intelligence," he said. In the meantime, the CIA expressed concerns about revealing the names of US nationals who "oversee assets," according to the Times. "If the president of the United States asks for a name, it would be hard not to provide a name," said John Sipher, a former CIA official who worked on Russia operations for the agency. US President Trump ordered Attorney General Barr to expose the intelligence that led to the Mueller probe into Trump's collusion with Russia on alleged election meddling in 2016 the Kremlin itself has denied involvement repeatedly. According to Trump, the Administration exercised absolute transparency during the probe, as Mueller conducted hundreds of interviews. After the probe found no proof of collusion, the Democrats launched a number of separate investigations into Trump, once again issuing numerous subpoenas to his aides. This time, Trump exercised a presidential privilege, blocking the subpoenas, and sparking allegations of lack of transparency. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Mexican military helicopter crashes, killing five crew Iran Press TV Sat May 25, 2019 08:10PM A Mexican military helicopter engaged in fire-fighting operations has crashed in central Mexico, killing five members of the Navy crew. The MI-17 helicopter came down on Friday about 89 km north of the town of Jalpan de Sierra in the state of Queretaro, where it had been working to help extinguish a forest fire, the Navy said on Saturday, without specifying any reasons for the crash. It was unclear whether an inspector for the national forestry commission or other crew members were aboard the aircraft. The Navy added that a reconnaissance team found debris from the helicopter early on Saturday morning, after operations had to be suspended during the night due to adverse weather conditions. On Friday evening, officials, including President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, held a minute's silence for the crew. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Hamas condemns normalization of ties with Israel, US-led Bahrain conference Iran Press TV Sat May 25, 2019 01:22PM The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas has condemned attempts by certain Arab countries to normalize ties with Israel as well as a forthcoming conference in Bahrain in support of a controversial proposal by the United States. Ismail Radwan, a senior member of Hamas, urged the people of Bahrain to stand against Manama's normalization of relations with Tel Aviv, and pressure the ruling Al Khalifah regime to cancel the June 25-26 conference in the Bahraini capital. He was speaking at an anti-occupation protest near the fence between the besieged Gaza Strip and the occupied Palestinian territories on Friday. "The deal of the century will be trampled on by Arab and Muslim nations. Our people are utterly determined to continue the Great March of Return protests through peaceful means. A clear indication of their resolve is participation in the demonstrations despite soaring temperatures and the Ramadan fast," Radwan said, referring to a plan proposed by the administration of US President Donald Trump for "peace" between Palestinians and the Israeli regime. The top Hamas official then called on Palestinian Authority (PA) officials to stop security coordination and negotiations with the Tel Aviv regime, and work toward national unity. Radwan also referred to the regular Great March of Return protests in Gaza against Israeli occupation. The Palestinian official said the protest movement would eventually break the Israeli siege on Gaza and disappoint the Trump proposal. Meanwhile, the West Bank-based Fatah party also said Washington's political and economic pressure will not force Palestinians into accepting its controversial Middle East plan. Fatah spokesman Osama Qawasmi described it as a big mistake for Trump to think that Palestinians would give up their inalienable rights under pressure. Senior PA official Saeb Erekat also condemned plans to hold the US-sponsored Bahrain conference, saying the PA as well as businessmen and economic activists, have refused to take part in the conference. Trump's so-called "deal of the century" has already been dismissed by Palestinian authorities ahead of its unveiling at the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan and the formation of the new Israeli cabinet, most likely in June. 'Bahrain workshop seeks to offer financial bribe to Palestinians' Meanwhile, an international relations advisor to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said no Palestinian faction either approves of or will participate in the upcoming Washington-led conference in Bahrain. "I tell our brothers in the Arab world that have attended the 30th Arab League Summit in Tunisia, and its previous edition in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. We would have decided to participate in the Bahrain economic workshop if it had been an Arab-Palestinian meeting or a Palestinian-Islamic event. However, it starts with the economic aspect before the political one in order to offer financial bribe to Palestinians. We reject it and will not sell our cause," Nabil Shaath said. Speaking in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah on April 16, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh lashed out at the Trump initiative, asserting that it was "born dead." Shtayyeh noted that negotiations with the US were useless in the wake of the country's relocation of its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem al-Quds, which Palestinians consider the capital city of their future state. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address US military helicopter destroyed after 'hard landing' in Afghanistan Iran Press TV Sat May 25, 2019 09:38AM A US military helicopter has been destroyed after a "hard landing" in Afghanistan that left all passengers and crew onboard injured. Colonel David Butler, a spokesman for US Forces Afghanistan, said a CH-47 Chinook helicopter "hit the ground hard on the way to drop passengers off" during a mission in the country's southern province of Helmand on Saturday. Butler said the helicopter had been totally destroyed during the landing, adding that, "both Afghan and US personnel were injured but all are stable and expected to recover." The American official ruled out the possibility of any "hostile fire or enemy contact" in the incident. Chinooks are the workhorse aircraft for foreign forces in Afghanistan and are used to transfer troops and supplies across the country. The incident comes as a wave of assaults by the Taliban militants has forced the Afghan and American militaries to make far greater use of air transport to move troops and supplies. Inadequate training and poor planning have, however, led to frequent crashes. The war-wracked country has been struggling to stop scores of deadly attacks by the Taliban militant group almost across the country over the past months. The Taliban's five-year rule over at least three quarters of Afghanistan came to an end when the United States and its allies invaded the country on October 7, 2001 as part of Washington's so-called war on terror; but ever since, the group has been involved in widespread militancy. Many parts of the country remain under militant control despite the years-long presence of US-led foreign forces in the country. Daesh, which has already been defeated in Syria and Iraq, has also taken advantage of the chaos in Afghanistan and established a foothold in the country's eastern and northern regions. The administration of President Donald Trump is now negotiating with the Taliban in an attempt to discourage the group from attacking US troops. The Taliban have stepped up attacks on security installations in their so-called spring offensive amid direct talks with the United States, rejecting calls by the US's chief negotiator Zalmay Khalilzad to lay down their arms. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Solutions acceptable to Palestinians required for Palestine peace: Qatar Iran Press TV Sat May 25, 2019 02:40AM Qatar has refuted US President Donald Trump's controversial proposal for peace between Palestinians and the Israeli regime, saying the demands of the Palestinian people need to be considered in any such plans. Qatar's Foreign Ministry said in a Friday statement that economic development needed for peace in Palestine could not be achieved without "fair political solutions" acceptable to Palestinians. The statement was referring to the Trump's so-called "Deal of the Century" plan set to be unveiled next month. The White House will lay out the first part of Trump's so-called peace plan when it holds an international conference in Bahrain in late June. "Tackling these challenges requires sincerity of intent, concerted efforts from regional and international players and appropriate political conditions for economic prosperity," the statement added. "These conditions would not be achieved without fair political solutions to the issues of the peoples of the region, especially the Palestinian issue, in accordance with a framework acceptable to the brotherly Palestinian people," it added. Trump's plan has been dismissed by Palestinian authorities ahead of its unveiling at the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan and the formation of the new Israeli cabinet. Speaking in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah on April 16, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh lashed out at Trump's initiative, asserting that it was "born dead." Shtayyeh noted that negotiations with the US were useless in the wake of the country's relocation of its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem al-Quds, which Palestinians consider the capital city of their future state. Doha's opposition to the US' plan is significant given that the "Deal of the Century" was expected to encourage investment in the West Bank and Gaza Strip by Arab donor countries - including Qatar - before grappling with thorny political issues at the heart of the conflict. Qatar, a close US ally and home to its largest Middle East air base, has poured millions of dollars into the impoverished Gaza Strip over the past year to boost its ailing economy, and this month pledged an additional $480 million to support both Gaza and the West Bank. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Russian troops helping Venezuela amid US threats: Envoy Iran Press TV Fri May 24, 2019 11:16PM Russia says its troops and military experts in Venezuela are helping the Latin American state prepare itself and maintain its combat readiness in the face of the US' "threat of the use of force". "The Venezuelan government has been in a state of anxious anticipation since the US has repeatedly threatened to use force against the country," Russian ambassador to Caracas Vladimir Zaemsky told AFP in an interview in Moscow. He said "in these conditions they need to be sure that the weapons they have are in a functioning state." According to Zaemsky, Russian military experts are there to train the Venezuelans "in maintaining combat readiness of their equipment and teach them how best to use it." The Russian envoy said the troops are legally allowed to be there under an agreement signed between the two countries in 2001. Back in March, a Russian Air Force Antonov-124 cargo plane and a smaller Ilyushin Il-62 passenger jet brought nearly 100 military personnel to Caracas. US President Donald Trump says "Russia has to get out" of Venezuela and warned that "all options" were on the table to force Russia out of the region. Russia has dismissed the US threats, defending its move in dispatching military "specialists" to Venezuela. In recent months, tensions have increased between Caracas and Washington with the US imposing sanctions on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro as well as his government. In January, the US took the lead in recognizing opposition leader Juan Guaido as Venezuela's president after the head of the opposition-ruled Congress named himself the country's interim chief executive. The US has several times threatened to take military action to oust Maduro's government since the deepening of the politico- economic crisis in the country last year. A small number of renegade soldiers led by Guaido staged an attempted coup d'etat against Maduro's government last month. But the bid quickly failed, and many of the putschists have taken shelter at foreign embassies in Caracas. Others have been arrested or gone into hiding. Peaceful resolution of crisis In his interview with AFP, the Russian ambassador said despite the country's military presence in Venezuela, Moscow believes in a peaceful way of resolving the crisis, through "dialogue and the search for compromise". He said Moscow welcomed mediation efforts undertaken by Norway, where both the Maduro government and the opposition sent delegations. "It is very good that these talks are taking place," Zaemsky said. But he blamed US-backed Guaido and an opposition "influenced by radicals" for stalling the dialogue in Venezuela. Back on May 17, President Maduro declared the beginning of negotiations with the US-backed opposition in the Norwegian capital, Oslo, in an effort to resolve the political stalemate. "The talks have begun nicely to move toward agreements of peace, agreement and harmony, and I ask for the support of all Venezuelan people to advance on the path of peace," Maduro said while addressing some 6,500 troops. Norway, which referred to the talks as "exploratory discussions," started the mediation to bring to an end a months-long crisis. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Yemeni Gov't Forces Take Key Houthi Positions in South-West - Reports Sputnik News 17:20 25.05.2019(updated 17:38 25.05.2019) BEIRUT (Sputnik) - The Yemeni government forces took control of key Houthi rebel positions in the southwestern province of Taizz and killed at least 13 Houthi fighters, pro-government Saba news agency reported on Saturday, citing a military source. "The army units attacked the positions of the Houthis in the north of the city of Taizz [in Taizz province] and took control of the Al-Jahim station and the nearby buildings, which are one of the most important lines of defence of the Houthis in the north of the city," the source from the 170th Air Defense Brigade said. According to the source, the Yemeni forces targeted buildings where the rebels were stationing, destroying them completely. At least 13 Houthi militants were killed. Yemen, a small nation in the south of the Arabian peninsula, has been engulfed in an armed conflict between the government forces, led by President Abdrabuh Mansour Hadi, and the rebel Houthi movement for several years now. A Saudi-led coalition has been carrying out airstrikes against the Houthis at Hadi's request since March 2015. The conflict has resulted in a massive humanitarian crisis in the war-torn country. According to the United Nations, the war in the crisis-hit country claimed over 7,000 lives, but many organizations put the number even higher. In addition, the organization estimates that almost 20 million Yemenis lack access to healthcare, and nearly 18 million do not have clean water or access to sanitation. The fighting has contributed to the world's worst cholera outbreak, with some 10,000 suspected cases every week. According to the World Health Organization, some 65 percent of the population needs medical attention. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address NATO Adopts New Strategy to Counter "Russia's Nuclear Threat" Report Sputnik News 08:44 25.05.2019 Moscow has repeatedly denied plans to attack any NATO member state and insists that the alliance has continued to allege that Russia poses a threat in order to increase its military presence along Russia's borders. The German newspaper Die Welt am Sonntag has quoted NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg as saying that the alliance's new military strategy was adopted this week in response to what he described as "Russia's nuclear threat". Stoltenberg noted that "sometimes, it's necessary to hammer out new military concepts" to maintain NATO's security. The strength of the alliance is "that we are able to change when necessary", he said, adding that NATO's new military strategy is "about significantly improving our military capabilities in difficult times" rather than "appeasing US President Donald Trump". In April, Trump said that he would like to see NATO members pay at least 2 percent of their gross domestic product on defence a shift from Trump's speech last year when he told NATO leaders to increase defence spending to 4 percent of GDP, adding that the US pays 4.3 percent of its GDP on defence. Stoltenberg's remarks come after he told officials at the Cyber Defence Pledge Conference in London on Thursday that NATO won't hesitate to use all means necessary to respond to cyberattacks, moving forward. He noted that NATO officials have agreed that a cyberattack could in the future trigger Article 5 of the bloc's founding treaty, which dictates that an attack against one member can and will be treated as an attack against the whole of the military alliance. Stoltenberg spoke after UK Foreign Minister Jeremy Hunt's speech at the conference, in which the latter specifically accused Russia of perpetrating cyberattacks on the infrastructure of several countries in a bid to find vulnerabilities. Moscow has repeatedly denied allegations that it has carried out such attacks against other states. Russia has repeatedly expressed its concerns regarding an increased NATO military presence in Europe, including the alliance's eastward expansion. The Kremlin has underscored that Russia poses no threat to other nations, but will not ignore actions which endanger its interests. According to Moscow, the alliance continues to allege that Russia poses a threat in order to expand its military clout along Russia's borders. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Continued U.S. Support for Democracy in Venezuela Press Statement Morgan Ortagus, Department Spokesperson / May 25, 2019 Washington, DC The United States supports the desire of the Venezuelan people to recover their democracy and bring the illegitimate Maduro regime to an end. Previous efforts to negotiate an end to the regime and free elections have failed because the regime has used them to divide the opposition and gain time. Free elections cannot be overseen by a tyrant. As we have repeatedly stated, we believe the only thing to negotiate with Nicolas Maduro is the conditions of his departure. We hope the talks in Oslo will focus on that objective, and if they do, we hope progress will be possible. We wish to note that today marks the 17th day since the arrest and disappearance of Edgar Zambrano, First Vice President of the Venezuelan National Assembly, the country's last remaining democratic institution. Since his detention, Mr. Zambrano has had no contact with his family or his attorneys, and his location is unknown. Today also marks more than two months since the imprisonment of Roberto Marrero, an attorney and chief of staff to Interim President Juan Guaido. They are but two of the 800 political prisoners the Maduro regime held as of May 20. We join supporters of democracy in Venezuela throughout the world in condemning their illegal imprisonment by the Maduro regime and in demanding their immediate release. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Italy's EU Parliament Vote Could Change Country's Balance of Power By Sabina Castelfranco May 25, 2019 Italians cast ballots Sunday for European Parliament in what is seen as a test for Italy's two parties and the leaders of the country's ruling coalition government. The vote's outcome is expected to have an impact on domestic politics and on Italy's future role in the European Union. The European Parliament election will be a test for Italy's ruling coalition government, and in recent weeks the two campaigning deputy prime ministers, Matteo Salvini, leader of the League Party and Luigi Di Maio, leader of the 5-Star Movement, have been voicing differing positions to woo voters to their respective camps. Political tension between the two leaders has increased and the outcome of Italy's vote is expected to affect the dynamics within the government. Today's Italian government is much different from 2014, when the last election for the European Parliament was held. At that time, the Italian government was led by Matteo Renzi, head of the Left Democrats party, a strong believer in Europe. The scenario completely changed in Italy after the current government was formed following the March 2018 general elections with both deputy prime ministers calling for serious changes in EU policies and more independence for choices made by individual countries. League leader Salvini has said, "we are working for a new European dream." Salvini recently said, "Today for many citizens, for many people, the European Union represents a nightmare, not a dream. We are working to return employment, family, security, environment, the future of youth to the centerfold." Salvini added that his objective is to win and change the rules of Europe. Observers will be watching carefully to see what changes will emerge from the vote, with the main question being how will it affect the balance of power between the two ruling parties in the coalition. The election's outcome likely will determine whether or not stability in the current political landscape can be maintained. While criticism of the EU has been voiced by the League, and the 5-Star Movement, Italy one of the founding nations of the bloc still supports membership and the single currency a possible exit by Italy is not anticipated, despite strong calls for national sovereignty to come first. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address At least 25 Soldiers Killed in Boko Haram Ambush in Nigeria - Reports Sputnik News 02:41 26.05.2019(updated 03:03 26.05.2019) MOSCOW (Sputnik) - At least 25 soldiers and several civilians were killed in an ambush organized by the Boko Haram militant group in northeast Nigeria, Reuters said, citing two security sources. "They ambushed and surrounded the vehicles of both the soldiers and the civilians and opened fire on them", the sources said. According to the sources, cited by Reuters, the Boko Haram militants opened fire on the soldiers while they were escorting a group of evacuees from a village in Borno state, a hotbed of the militant group's activity. Nigeria has been plagued by suicide attacks and kidnappings by Boko Haram, which has reportedly pledged allegiance to the Daesh terrorist group, in the northern part of the country since 2009. It began in Nigeria and expanded into the neighbouring countries. Nigeria along with Niger, Cameroon, and Chad are engaged in military operations combating the militants. in February, 66 people were killed in several settlements of northern Nigeria's Kaduna state as a result of attacks by criminal elements, according to the state's Governor Samuel Aruwan. According to figures from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), more than 20,000 people have been killed in Nigeria over the past nine years as a result of the Boko Haram insurgency. * Daesh (ISIS/IS/ISIL), Boko Haram are terrorist groups banned in Russia and a number of other countries. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Norway Announces New Round of Oslo Talks on Venezuelan Crisis - Statement Sputnik News 02:22 26.05.2019(updated 02:37 26.05.2019) MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Norway's Foreign Ministry announced that his country would host another round of talks between the main political actors involved in the ongoing Venezuelan political crisis next week. "We announce that the representatives of the main political actors in Venezuela have decided to return to Oslo next week to continue a process facilitated by Norway", the ministry said in a statement on Saturday. The ministry reiterated its commitment to continue supporting the dialogue between the parties involved in the Venezuelan political crisis and commended the Venezuelan parties for their efforts in the dialogue. Oslo hosted talks last week between envoys of Venezuela's opposition leader Juan Guaido and representatives of President Nicolas Maduro in a bid to broker an end to the crisis in the Latin American country. Venezuela has been mired in crisis since January when Guaido proclaimed himself the country's interim president. Washington and its allies endorsed Guaido and called on Maduro to step down. In addition, the United States seized billions of dollars in Venezuelan oil assets. Maduro has accused the United States of trying to orchestrate a coup in order to install Guaido as its puppet and take control over Venezuela's natural resources. Russia, China, Cuba, Bolivia, Turkey and a number of other countries have voiced their support for constitutionally-elected Maduro as the only legitimate president of Venezuela. Notably, Norway was among the EU countries that have not endorsed Guaido as the Venezuelan interim president. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Local Daesh Commander Killed in Raid in Eastern Afghanistan - Reports Sputnik News 00:11 26.05.2019(updated 01:44 26.05.2019) MOSCOW (Sputnik) - A local Daesh* commander and four militants were killed in a raid carried out by the Afghan Special forces in Nangarhar province in the east of the country, local media reported on Saturday. The operation was carried out in Deh Bala district on Friday, the Interior Ministry said, cited by the Khaama Press News Agency. Six more Daesh sympathizers were injured during the raid. Afghanistan is suffering from an unstable political, social and security situation due to the activity of the Taliban movement and the Daesh terrorist group. The Afghan National Defence and Security Forces regularly conduct joint offensive operations to combat terrorism across the country. The Taliban, which has been engaged in a years-long conflict with Kabul, opposes Daesh because they are not willing to give up areas that they control to those who have come from other regions or abroad. The IS-K (a branch of the Daesh terrorist organization) has carried out numerous attacks in Kabul, sparking protests in the capital that pushed the government to begin a crackdown on the terrorist group. The IS-K has recently decreased the number of their attacks on Kabul and instead have focused more on empowering their strongholds in remote provinces. Kabul has secretly agreed to join efforts with the Taliban in the fight against their common enemy, the IS-K, after the terrorist group extended its control over the country's northeastern Kunar province, provincial governor Abdul Satar Mirzakwal has told Sputnik. "We agreed with the Taliban to jointly push back IS-K, who recently seized new areas in the Kunar province. We asked the Taliban for help [in fighting] against IS-K. The fighting is ongoing and IS-K is being pushed back", Mirzakwal has said. The Afghan government has covertly agreed with the Taliban to avoid attacking its forces in the regions where they are fighting the IS-K. According to the governor, Daesh terrorists are not committed to any human or Islamic values, unlike the Afghan government and the Taliban, and therefore must be eradicated. * Daesh (ISIS/IS/ISIL), IS-K, Taliban are terrorist groups banned in Russia and a number of other countries. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address US judge orders Trump to stop building border wall Iran Press TV Sat May 25, 2019 03:41PM A US federal judge has ruled that the administration of President Donald Trump must temporarily halt the use of some funds from the Defense Department for a wall on the US-Mexico border. Haywood Gilliam, a US judge in Oakland, California, made the ruling on Friday, saying the Pentagon money was not specifically authorized by Congress for construction of the barrier. "The position that when Congress declines the Executive's request to appropriate funds, the Executive nonetheless may simply find a way to spend those funds 'without Congress' does not square with the fundamental separation of powers principles dating back to the earliest days of our Republic," the judge wrote in the order. In all, the Pentagon is expected to shift about $6 billion to help build a border wall, including about $3.6 billion from military construction projects, some of which will be delayed. The ruling compounds Trump's frustrations with federal court orders blocking his initiatives for curbing illegal immigration, a policy area he will focus on in his 2020 re-election campaign. Trump has made toughening immigration policies a central tenet of his presidency and has vowed to build a wall along the US-Mexico border to combat illegal immigration and drug trafficking. In February, after a protracted political battle and a government shutdown, Congress approved $1.38 billion for construction of "primary pedestrian fencing" along the border in southeastern Texas, well short of Trump's demands. To obtain the additional money, Trump declared a national emergency in February and his administration said it planned to divert $601 million from a US Treasury Department forfeiture fund, $2.5 billion earmarked for Department of Defense counter-narcotics programs and $3.6 billion from military construction projects. The National Emergencies Act allows the president to utilize the armed forces and construction powers to build a border barrier. Democratic lawmakers in Congress, more than a dozen states and two advocacy groups had asked Gilliam to block the transfer of military funds to prevent the wall construction. They argue the Trump administration cannot use funds Congress has specifically denied and cannot construct a barrier that was not authorized, nor can the administration work outside the geographic area identified by Congress. "This is a win for our system of checks and balances, the rule of law, and border communities," the American Civil Liberties Union tweeted. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address US Judge Rules Trump Can't Use Emergency Declaration Money For Wall - Reports Sputnik News 04:41 25.05.2019(updated 06:00 25.05.2019) A federal judge in California has blocked President Donald Trump from building sections of his long sought after border wall with money secured under his declaration of a national emergency, AP reported. On Friday US District Judge Haywood Gilliam Jr. halted the administration's efforts to redirect military-designated funds to build sections of wall on the Mexican border. His order applies to two planned projects to add 51 miles of fence in two areas, according to AP report. "In short, the position that when Congress declines the Executive's request to appropriate funds, the Executive nonetheless may simply find a way to spend those funds 'without Congress' does not square with fundamental separation of powers principles dating back to the earliest days of our Republic" Gilliam wrote in the ruling. Gilliam issued the ruling after hearing arguments last week in two cases. California and 19 other states brought one lawsuit; the Sierra Club and a coalition of communities along the border brought the other, AP report says. Earlier AP reported that a federal judge was expected to decide on Friday whether to block the White House from spending billions of dollars to build a wall with money secured under Trump's declaration of a national emergency. While the order prevents the Defence Department from providing $1 billion in funds for the project and questions the use of another $1.5 billion, it does not reportedly prevent the authorities from seeking funding from other sources. The judge said that the authorities planned to use the funds to start building wall sections as soon as Saturday, local media reported. The indictment reportedly concerned the Texas and Arizona segments of the border. Meanwhile, the US Senate Armed Services Committee has approved a mark-up of the fiscal year 2020 defense spending bill, which includes a provision to provide $3.6 billion to replenish the Department of Defense for its support to address the immigration crisis on the United States' border with Mexico. An increasing number of migrants from Central America have reportedly been arriving to the US southern border in recent months, prompting US President Donald Trump to declare a national emergency in order to secure funds to build a border wall. On Wednesday, Acting Secretary of Defence Patrick Shanahan approved a request by the Department of Homeland Security to provide assistance to help house the heavy flow of asylum-seeking migrants apprehended at the US-Mexico border. Shanahan had previously told reporters that this would be the last request the Defense Department would approve. The Trump administration has been making efforts to stop illegal migration into the United States, even threatening to close the southern border or impose tariffs on Mexican vehicles imported into the United States. The construction of the wall on the US-Mexican border was one of Donald Trump's main campaign pledges. The US president, however, has been struggling to find financing for the wall as Congress has refused to allocate billions of dollars from the budget at Trump's request. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address US City of Baltimore Under Attack by NSA Cyber Weapon Report Sputnik News 03:26 26.05.2019 The cyber weapon was developed by the US tech spying agency to break into foreign computers, but now the US itself is under attack by the malware, and tech experts say it's the handiwork of the NSA. Guess which list unites North Korea, Iran, China, Russia, Israel and the United States? These are all the nations that have not signed the Paris Call for Trust and Security in Cyberspace Emmanuel's Macron's effort to stop cyber-attacks in peacetime. The US's National Security Agency (NSA), often portrayed in the media as the most technologically advanced intelligence agency in the world, and routinely resorts to hacking and cyber-attacks in order to steal the information they need. To do so, tech geniuses on government payrolls write "tools" malware programs designed specifically to strike at vulnerabilities found in operational systems, including the US-made Windows OS family. And then these programs get leaked. In 2017, an unidentified group of hackers named Shadow Brokers published EternalBlue NSA-made very powerful program capable of taking control of computers run on the Windows operational system. Anonymous NSA operators, cited by The New York Times, say it took the agency a year to find a flaw in Microsoft security to build the malware upon. Needless to say, once the flaw was discovered, NSA did not go out of its way to inform the software giant about it. In fact, it was only after the malware was published online that they contacted Microsoft and told them about the vulnerability. Now the NSA-written malware is rampaging Baltimore, Maryland. The exact geography of the affected computers is undisclosed as Microsoft is trying to keep the lid on the outbreak, but it is likely that other cities were affected as well, the Times report says. The malware is capable of paralyzing hospitals, airports, rail and shipping operators, ATMs and factories. Local US governments that use aged software and hardware are particularly vulnerable to EternalBlue attacks, according to the Times. On 7 May, Baltimore city workers were hit with a classic ransomware attack. The malicious software locked the workers out of their computers and displayed a message written in remarkably poor English. "We're watching you for days and we've worked on your systems to gain full access to your company and bypass all of your protections," the note on the screen warned against calling the FBI and demanded $100,000 in Bitcoin as ransom. "We won't talk more, all we know is MONEY!" the note said. "Hurry up! Tik Tak, Tik Tak, Tik Tak!" According to The Baltimore Sun report, poor spelling does not necessarily indicate a foreign attacker: domestic hackers use it to deceive both victims and investigators. Earlier in February, Allentown, Pennsylvania was also hit with an EternalBlue-based attack. It cost the city $1 million to remedy and $400,000 for new defences, according to the Times. In September, the malware hit San Antonio, Texas, locking the local sheriff's office. The Times reported that EternalBlue has become the favourite tool of the trade for government hackers. The 2016 WannaCry attack, attributed to North Korea and 2017 NotPetya attack, blamed on Russia, is said to be all based on EternalBlue. Iran has been accused of hacking airline networks in the Middle East, and China is said to have targeted Middle Eastern governments using the same tool. The NSA tries to deflect flak for the Shadow Brokers leak and release of EternalBlue in the world, making an analogy with a Toyota truck initially designed for peaceful use but converted by Middle Eastern militants into a weapon of war. Microsoft officials reject that analogy, saying EternalBlue was designed as a weapon from the start. "These exploits are developed and kept secret by governments for the express purpose of using them as weapons or espionage tools. They're inherently dangerous," says Tom Burt, Microsoft's Vice President of Customer Security and Trust. "When someone takes that, they're not 'strapping a bomb' to it. It's already a bomb." Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Xi meets Brazilian VP amid China's push for greater presence in US 'backyard' Iran Press TV Sat May 25, 2019 07:49AM Chinese President Xi Jinping has met with visiting Brazilian Vice President Hamilton Mourao, as Beijing seeks to widen its presence in Latin America amid ongoing trade tensions with the United States. During the meeting in Beijing on Friday, Xi hailed Brazil's commitment to developing a strategic partnership with China and called for building bilateral ties into a model for solidarity and cooperation among developing countries, on that could contribute to global peace and prosperity as well. "Both sides should continue to take each other as an opportunity and partner for their own development, and to respect, trust and support each other, and build the relationship between the two countries as a model of cooperation between developing countries and an important power facilitating world peace and development," Xi told Mourao at the Great Hall of the People in the Chinese capital. The Chinese head of state said the partnership has been developing steadily with fruitful results since they established diplomatic ties 45 years ago and would see more progress in the coming years. "Cooperation between China and Brazil is bound to usher in a broader future," the Chinese president said, adding that there were "broad prospects" for cooperation between Beijing and Brasilia. Brazil willing to invest in New Silk Road Xi also reiterated China's support for accelerating Brazil's growth, calling for closer cooperation and common development under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The BRI plan, also known as the One Belt One Road project and championed by the Chinese president, aims to link China by sea and land with southeast and central Asia, the Middle East, Europe and Africa, through an infrastructure network on the lines of the ancient Silk Road. Mourao, for his part, underlined the importance of the Sino-Brazilian relationship and lauded China as a comprehensive, strategic and reliable partner. "Brazil is willing to facilitate the synergy of its investment partnership projects with the Belt and Road Initiative and expand cooperation in areas including trade, science and technology, and innovation," Mourao said, adding that Brazil welcomes more investments from China. Unlike Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who often blasted the Chinese influence on Brazil's economy during his presidential campaign, Mourao has taken a more pragmatic approach towards his country's top trading partner and has sought to maintain commercial ties with Beijing. Brazil will host this year's summit of the BRICS group of countries -- made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa -- in November. Chinese influence in Latin America rising Xi has accelerated China's concerted diplomatic push in Latin America, a region that has for long been regarded by the United States as its "backyard." World Bank data suggests that until 20 years ago, the US accounted for nearly 57 percent of exports by Latin American countries and 49 percent of their imports. This is while trade with China in either direction remained in the low single digits. By 2017, however, the US share of the imports and exports had declined significantly, and China had established itself as a strong number two, accounting for 10 percent of exports and 18 percent of imports, with both numbers on the rise. The BRI is expected to boost those number greatly. American officials have repeatedly expressed concern about China's growing influence in the region. The rivalry comes amid US President Donald Trump's trade war with China, which has seen him impose unusually heavy tariffs on imports from the country. Since then, the two sides have exchanged tariffs on more than $360 billion in two-way trade. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Tibetan Re-Education Camp Journal Tells of China's Tactics Now Used on Uighurs By Yeshi Dorje May 25, 2019 At the Sog County "reform through re-education center" in Nagchu Prefecture of the Tibetan Autonomous Region, "Those who the officials didn't like would be captured and tortured with electronic devices. When they become unconscious, [the torturers] would splash water on their faces until their victims regained their consciousness. After doing that for a long time, they would use a black rubber tube as well as electronic baton to torture people. The bruised bodies of the prisoners turned blue and black, and people become half-dead. For some [strange] reason, their bones were not broken." This description of daily life comes from a two-part journal written by a former inmate of one of the camps that was obtained by the Tibetan Service of the Voice of America, and some organizations of exiled Tibetans. The author, believed to be a Tibetan monk, was put in the re-education camp in July 2017 after studying at an unnamed Tibetan Buddhist institute in Qinghai Province, on the Tibetan Plateau in northwest China. Tibet, then Xinjiang Cultural anthropologist, historian and University of Colorado professor, Carole McGranahan, the author of "Arrested History: Tibet, the CIA and Memories of a Forgotten War," reviewed the journal and found it an "authentic recounting of what it is like to be a prisoner in a re-education camp in Tibet." "The details given correspond to our understanding of what such re-education centers look like, and these re-education camps, detention camps, internment camps are found not only in Tibet but right now, [in] 2019, there are also many in which Uighurs Uighur Muslims are prisoners in Xinjiang as well. So we are seeing this in both Tibet and Xinjiang," she told VOA. The Tibetan journal recounts brutal practices that continued into 2017, but by that time, Chen Quanguo the camp's top administrator, had moved on, appointed by Beijing as party secretary of the Xinjiang Autonomous Region in 2016. Since then, under his administration, hundreds of thousands of Uighur Muslims have been imprisoned in similar re-education centers as security and surveillance in the region has been tightened using methods Chen employed in Tibet, such as setting up security stations in every intersection in the cities and passport confiscation, according to the South China Morning Post. "Tibet is the precursor to what is happening," McGranahan said. "The Chinese architect of the Uighur 're-education' or concentration camps is Chen Quanguo. Where was he before Xinjiang? In Tibet from 2011-2016, in charge of surveilling, policing and oppressing Tibetans. "Global Islamophobia is enabling current Chinese Communist abuse in Xinjiang, but we need to connect what is happening in Xinjiang with what has happened in Tibet since the 1950s," McGranahan continued. "The logics, structures, and tactics of oppression are similar, and similarly devastating." Human rights activists have called for the imposition of international sanctions on Chen, according to Human Rights Watch. Calls to the Chinese Embassy in Washington asking for comment went directly to a voicemail system that hung up before messages could be left. Pema Gyal, a Tibet researcher at Tibetan Center for Human Rights and Democracy, says the journal makes it possible to compare treatment at the re-education camps for Tibetans with what is known of the Xinjiang camps for Uighurs. "This diary shows there are many similarities between the re-education centers in Tibet and Xinjiang," Pema Gyal says. "This shows the way political re-education campaigns about minorities carried are exactly the same [in those two regions]. Like in Xinjiang where young women are reportedly raped, the monk's journal [entries show] many nuns were raped in the Tibetan re-education centers." Camp saga begins The journal's saga begins with the author being accused of breaking the law by studying in Qinghai [Province] and forced to leave the Tibetan Buddhist study center on July 1, 2017. "My parents and siblings were warned that if I did not return voluntarily, they would face imprisonment, their children would be barred from attending schools, and the family would not be allowed to collect yartsa gunbu, or caterpillar fungus. Under such circumstance, I had no choice but to come back." According to traditional Chinese medicine, the fungus enhances male virility and is the primary income for Tibetan families in many parts of Tibet. The yartsa gunbu from Sog is prized. "Before I was taken in, a Tibetan man from the National Security Office told me, 'You are going to a school, not to a prison,'" the journal writer recorded. He was allowed only his clothes and toiletries. "As I entered [the re-education center] some women in military uniform came down. When they saw the National Security officer, they all sat. When the man spoke to them, they said in unison, 'Yes sir, yes sir.' I thought that was rather strange." Everyone in military uniforms He soon learned that the woman in the military uniform were detained Tibetan nuns. While being forced to stand still near a wall before he was to taken to the prison authority's office to register, he saw from the corner of his eyes more men and women in military uniforms. "They also looked at me from the corners of their eyes." After three motionless hours, he was taken to the prison director's office. "He scolded me. 'Stupid,' he yelled. 'Where did you go and what did you study,' he asked. I told him the name of the place in Qinghai where I studied and what I studied. He asked me many other questions, including whether I saw His Holiness the Dalai Lama's photos or [listened to his] audios and if I had brought back any of them with me. I replied to his questions. He was very angry, punched on his desk and cursed me." The monk had to pay 150 yuan for a military uniform he was required to wear, then was taken to a prison cell already housing six inmates. One of them was the cell leader who wrote down the monk's name and asked him some procedural questions. "'Do you trust the Communist Party?'" he asked me. "I didn't give an answer right away. I saw from the corner of my eyes that the others [in the cell] were signaling me to answer. Then I said, 'Yes.'" 'Fire of anger burned inside' The monk was then given three days to learn the Chinese national anthem and two other Chinese songs, including a song, the "Sun and Moon Are Brothers Who Share the Same Mother" made famous by the Tibetan soprano Tseten Dolma during China's Cultural Revolution. Failure meant facing "severe consequences," he wrote. "After a few days, I realized that the lives in this place was far from that of a school. This was not a school at all. Aside from a few laypeople, the majority of them (inmates) were monks and nuns who had studied in Qinghai." The food in was barely edible "It smelled dusty and contains dust, dead bugs, and pieces of rocks." If one person disobeyed authorities or tried to help elderly inmates who collapsed from exhaustion or were injured by torture, authorities punished all the inmates by cutting rations. "So, even though the fire of anger burned inside, no one would let the smoke come out their mouth," he wrote, using a traditional Tibetan aphorism. "This eventually caused many people developing heart diseases." The daily political indoctrination classes were "designed to mainly denounce us, and to denounce His Holiness the Dalai Lama. It taught us some random legal education, too, but nothing useful. They sometimes acted as children. A big nation denouncing an old lama living so far away was both sad and laughable." Nuns tortured, raped The journal writer described the torture of nuns who "became unconscious. The prison guards would compete among themselves to get them first and take them away. Who knows what they did to them. I heard that some young officers were seen pressing nuns under them in their bedrooms." The Tibet Center for Human Rights and Democracy has called this rape. Chinese authorities released the journal keeper after almost four months of detention. But his freedom of movement remained restricted, at least during the time he wrote his journal. "After we were released, some of us have to go to local police station every day to register. Some people have to go every three days and some once a week. When we go to police station, we are ordered to clean their offices, outside building, wash their clothes and dishes. We are not allowed to go to the monastery to live, neither are we allowed to visit other families to perform rites for them. We are banned from traveling to other counties, other prefectures or other cities. Our IDs are kept at the National Security Office." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Bolton says US open to talking to North Korea, won't change position Iran Press TV Sat May 25, 2019 06:34AM US security adviser John Bolton has called on North Korea to return to talks but ruled out a change of position, after Pyongyang said it will suspend the negotiations unless Washinton changes its "arbitrary and dishonest" stance. Bolton said Saturday the administration of President Donald Trump was still open to talks with Pyongyang on the same terms that caused his high-profile meeting with the North's Kim Jong-un in February to collapse. "Trump has held the door open for Kim, the next step is for Kim to walk through it," he said at a press roundtable. The two leaders abruptly ended their latest summit in Vietnam's capital, Hanoi, after failing to reach an agreement on the next steps. Trump walked away from the summit, claiming that Kim had insisted on the removal of all sanctions on North Korea. Pyongyang however rejected that account, stressing that it had only asked for a partial lifting of the bans. Following the failure of the summit, the North repeatedly warned that it was considering ending talks on denuclearization and resuming its nuclear and missile tests over what it described as "the gangster-like stand" of the US. Pyongyang eventually announced on Friday that the talks will never be resumed unless Washington "comes forward with a new method of calculation." Earlier this month, Kim observed the test fire of two long-range and several short-range ballistic weapons and ordered the military to "keep full combat posture to cope with any emergency." An unidentified spokesman for the North's foreign ministry said the underlying cause of the breakdown is "the arbitrary and dishonest position taken by the United States, insisting on a method which is totally impossible to get through." 'Missile tests violated UN resolution' Bolton, however, accused the North on Saturday of violating a UN Security Council resolution aimed at halting its nuclear and missile programs. "The UN resolution prohibits the launch of any ballistic missiles," he said. North Korea's test firings included short range ballistic missiles and so there was "no doubt" it was a violation, he added. This is the first time that an American official is openly regarding the missile launches as a violation. Trump, who has often touted a rosy relationship with Kim, had played down the tests, saying he remained hopeful for a deal to compliment North Korea's "great economic potential." US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also noted that the tests did not violate the testing moratorium because the missiles were not capable of reaching the US mainland. 'Kim should meet Japanese PM' Bolton also called on Kim to meet with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. He said that a summit between Abe and Kim "could be substantive assistance to that." Currently, a meeting is scheduled to be held between Abe and Trump on Monday. North Korea's nuclear program and bilateral trade are at the top of the agenda for the summit. Trump on Friday arrived for a four-day official visit to Tokyo amid rising tensions between the two countries over trade exchanges. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address France Admits Polynesia Was Forced to Undergo Dangerous Nuclear Tests Sputnik News 17:33 25.05.2019 From 1966 to 1996, some 193 nuclear tests were carried out by France around the islands of French Polynesia, including Bora Bora and Tahiti. In a historic first, France has officially acknowledged that French Polynesians were forced into accepting almost 200 nuclear tests conducted over a 30-year period, as the French parliament issued the admission in a bill reforming the status of the collectivity of 118 islands in the South Pacific, reports The Telegraph. The parliamentary bill acknowledges that the islands were "called upon", or "strong-armed" into accepting the tests for the purposes of "building (its) nuclear deterrent and national defence". The legislation also says the French state will "ensure the maintenance and surveillance of the sites concerned" and "support the economic and structural reconversion of French Polynesia following the cessation of nuclear tests". According to MPs this move should make it easier for the local population to request compensation for illnesses caused by radioactive fallout, such as cancer and others. Patrice Bouveret of the Observatoire des armements (Armaments Observatory), an independent organisation tasked with gauging the impacts of nuclear testing carried out by France in Polynesia since 1984, hailed the bill: "It recognises the fact that local people's health could have been affected and thus the French state's responsibility in compensating them for such damage. "Until now, the entire French discourse was that the tests were 'clean' that was the actual word used and that they had taken all due precautions for staff and locals." The expert also deplored the lengthy 23 years it had taken France to officially recognise its responsibility. Scepticism was also voiced by Polynesian MP Moetai Brotherson, who claimed there were no specific steps towards financial reparation cited in the bill. Polynesian MP Maina Sage insisted the reform was "recognition of clear acts of compensation" and "the fact that this should translate into support on a sanitary, ecological and economic level." Last year, French Polynesian President Edouard Fritch confessed the population of the islands had been lied to for years by its leaders regarding the dangers of nuclear testing. "I'm not surprised that I've been called a liar for 30 years. We lied to this population that the tests were clean. We lied," filmed footage showed Fritch as saying. France carried out 193 nuclear tests from 1966 to 1996 around the paradise islands, including Bora Bora and Tahiti, famously captured on canvass by Paul Gauguin. Bowing to decades of pressure, in 2010 the French government offered millions of euros in compensation for the government's 201 nuclear tests in the South Pacific and Algeria. While this resulted in 1,500 cases of compensation for military and other personnel at the Polynesian nuclear sites, a clause suggesting the tests were of "negligible risk" for the rest of the population made it impossible for them to apply, despite disproportionate rates of thyroid cancer and leukemia among Polynesia's 280,000 residents. To date, only a few dozen have received compensation, despite compelling figures, such as cancer rates standing at 30 per cent above average. Three years earlier, declassified defence ministry papers exposed the tests as more toxic than previously acknowledged amid reports that the whole of French Polynesia had been hit by levels of plutonium due to the testing. Tahiti, the reports claimed, was exposed to 500 times the maximum accepted levels of radiation. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iran envoy elaborates on roadblocks of Iran-US talks IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency New York, May 25, IRNA -- Iranian permanent representative to the UN in an article elaborated on the impediment for Iran-US negotiations, saying the US administration is determined to hurt Iranians. "This month, Trump said that the United States "is not looking to hurt Iran." On May 20, however, he claimed that Iran's "economy continues to collapse very sad for the Iranian people." This is clear evidence that the United States is determined to hurt the Iranian people, a crime under international law," Majid Takht-e-Ravanchi said: The full text of Takht-e-Ravanchi's article which was published by US media 'The Washington Post' is as follows: On May 2, the United States stopped granting waivers for the importation of Iranian oil. The decision was yet another step in the U.S. economic war against Iran. The "maximum pressure" policy is designed to disrupt the Iranian economy and force Iran to enter negotiations on the United States' terms for a new nuclear deal, substituting for the existing accord that was negotiated with the Obama administration and five world powers in 2015. Iran rejected the latest U.S. action as illegal, as it did last year with the U.S. withdrawal from the nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA. Iran regards the withdrawal as a violation of international law, including United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231. In fact, Iran's decision to remain in the nuclear deal, despite the U.S. withdrawal, was prompted by requests from European nations to give them enough time to compensate Iran for what it has lost as a result of the United States unilaterally abrogating its commitments and leaving the accord. My country has patiently waited for a year, but no tangible economic recompense has been forthcoming. Iran was left with no other option than to cease performing some commitments such as observing limits on stockpiles of low-enriched uranium and heavy water for two months, while still giving the remaining JCPOA members, and particularly Europe, time to finally and fully adhere to their commitments under the accord and make up for Iran's losses. Our argument is basically that we cannot and no one reasonably can be expected to unilaterally honor a multilateral agreement. The United States' approach toward Iran has no clarity or cohesiveness. Instead, the policy is driven by an obsessional antagonism. It is no secret that a number of U.S. high officials and certain leaders in the Middle East are pushing President Trump to adopt a hard-line policy toward Iran, even calling for "regime change." This group has presented what we call "fake intelligence" to "prove" that Iran is responsible for all of the Middle East's problems thus the urgency to confront us at any cost, including through military means. The recent dispatching of a U.S. naval armada to the Persian Gulf is a response to the same fake intelligence, supported not by members of Congress or U.S. allies. Recently, I informed U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres about the need to establish a security structure in the Persian Gulf. Yet, let me be clear here: While Iran does not desire war in the region, neither with the United States nor with any other country, we will stand firmly against any act of aggression against our country. Contrary to the views of some of his close associates, Trump appears not to want a war with Iran. But his approach toward us is contradictory at times threatening us, at others calling for dialogue. The United States' proposal on dialogue with Iran faces three major hurdles. First, history shows that genuine talks cannot be productive if they are coupled with intimidation, coercion and sanctions. A dialogue can succeed if both sides accept the principle of mutual respect and then act on equal footing. Second, the Trump administration does not speak with a united voice on the need for a dialogue with Iran. Those who are eager to provoke a conflict are working to sabotage the possibility of useful and meaningful dialogue. Finally, Trump's sudden withdrawal from the JCPOA nuclear deal last year with no good reason and to the disapproval of almost the entire international community stirs concerns that any future deal might face the same fate, with no guarantee to the contrary. This month, Trump said that the United States "is not looking to hurt Iran." On May 20, however, he claimed that Iran's "economy continues to collapse very sad for the Iranian people." This is clear evidence that the United States is determined to hurt the Iranian people, a crime under international law. Under these circumstances, how could any rational nation trust a U.S. offer of dialogue? The U.S. policy of maximum pressure against Iran has failed. None of the Trump administration's unjust demands has been met, and I can assure you that pressure will not work. So, what has the maximum-pressure policy accomplished? It has isolated the United States in the international arena and created yet more division between America and its allies. The policy has also stoked resentment toward the United States among Iranians from all walks of life. Yes, the illegal sanctions have hurt the Iranian people, but the sanctions have not changed Iran's policies. Throughout history, Iranians have always resisted the imposition of others' will and have survived for millennia. That is self-evident to any historian. The language of threats and intimidation is anathema to Iranians, who have always demonstrated that respect begets respect. 9376**1416 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Recent US anti-Iran claims extremely dangerous: Zarif IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Islamabad, May 25, IRNA -- Foreign Minister of Iran Mohammad Javad Zarif has warned that recent US claims against the Islamic Republic of Iran are extremely dangerous for the world peace. In an interview with IRNA just before his departure to Tehran at the conclusion of his two-day Pakistan visit on Saturday, Zarif said such dangerous moves should be encountered. He was of the view that the US is leveling baseless allegations against Iran to justify its aggressive policy towards the Islamic Republic. The Iranian top diplomat believed that such a step would only heighten tensions in the Persian Gulf region. Zarif commenting on the US decision to increase its number of troops in the Persian Gulf said that such moves pose a serious threat to our region. "These actions are also a threat to global peace and stability," he viewed. Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif arrived in Islamabad on Thursday evening to hold talks with Pakistani leadership on bilateral relations and regional situation. During the visit, he also met with Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan, his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Speaker of National Assembly Asad Qaiser. It is pertinent to mention that this was Zarif's tenth visit to Pakistan since he became Iranian foreign minister in 2013. 272**6125 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Zarif says why should I answer Pompeo's phone call with insulting language? ISNA - Iranian Students' News Agency Sat / 25 May 2019 / 14:49 Tehran (ISNA) Iran's Minister of Foreign Affair, Mohammad Javad Zarif said that it's impossible to go for a diplomatic dialogue to resolve recent tensions with the United States and criticized US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's insulting language. Three years ago, when Iran's military captured 10 U.S. sailors after they strayed into Iranian waters, U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif jumped on the phone in minutes and worked out the sailors' release in hours. Could a similar crisis be so quickly resolved today? "No," Zarif said in a recent interview with Reuters. "How could it be averted?" "Pompeo makes sure that every time he talks about Iran, he insults me," Zarif said. "Why should I even answer his phone call?" Following Iran's counteraction with decreasing its commitments within the Joint Comprehensive Pland of Action (JCPOA), US President Donald Trump announced he is willing to open a dialogue with Iran. Since then, his administration officials, such as Pompeo have referred to the new stance in any opportunity. In a recent exclusive interview with CNN, Zarif accused Washington of walking out first on the JCPOA, the 2015 deal designed to limit Iran's nuclear capabilities in return for the lifting of sanctions. "We acted in good faith," Zarif said of the deal, which was signed by the US, Iran, Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia. "We are not willing to talk to people who have broken their promises." "Iran never negotiates with coercion. You cannot threaten any Iranian and expect them to engage. The way to do it is through respect, not through threats," the Iranian top diplomat added. He also stressed that Iran refuses Trump's offer of talks unless US shows 'respect' through fulfilling its obligations under Iran's nuclear deal. End Item NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iran envoy to UN says under current circumstances, how could any rational nation trust U.S. offer of dialogue? ISNA - Iranian Students' News Agency Sat / 25 May 2019 / 11:43 Tehran (ISNA) Iran's ambassador to the United Nations, Majid Takht Ravanchi in an article to Washington Post said that the U.S. policy of maximum pressure against Iran has failed. Here is the full text of the article by Majid Takht Ravanchi: On May 2, the United States stopped granting waivers for the importation of Iranian oil. The decision was yet another step in the U.S. economic war against Iran. The "maximum pressure" policy is designed to disrupt the Iranian economy and force Iran to enter negotiations on the United States' terms for a new nuclear deal, substituting for the existing accord that was negotiated with the Obama administration and five world powers in 2015. Iran rejected the latest U.S. action as illegal, as it did last year with the U.S. withdrawal from the nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA. Iran regards the withdrawal as a violation of international law, including United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231. In fact, Iran's decision to remain in the nuclear deal, despite the U.S. withdrawal, was prompted by requests from European nations to give them enough time to compensate Iran for what it has lost as a result of the United States unilaterally abrogating its commitments and leaving the accord. My country has patiently waited for a year, but no tangible economic recompense has been forthcoming. Iran was left with no other option than to cease performing some commitments such as observing limits on stockpiles of low-enriched uranium and heavy water for two months, while still giving the remaining JCPOA members, and particularly Europe, time to finally and fully adhere to their commitments under the accord and make up for Iran's losses. Our argument is basically that we cannot and no one reasonably can be expected to unilaterally honor a multilateral agreement. The United States' approach toward Iran has no clarity or cohesiveness. Instead, the policy is driven by an obsessional antagonism. It is no secret that a number of U.S. high officials and certain leaders in the Middle East are pushing President Trump to adopt a hard-line policy toward Iran, even calling for "regime change." This group has presented what we call "fake intelligence" to "prove" that Iran is responsible for all of the Middle East's problems thus the urgency to confront us at any cost, including through military means. The recent dispatching of a U.S. naval armada to the Persian Gulf is a response to the same fake intelligence, supported not by members of Congress or U.S. allies. Recently, I informed U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres about the need to establish a security structure in the Persian Gulf. Yet, let me be clear here: While Iran does not desire war in the region, neither with the United States nor with any other country, we will stand firmly against any act of aggression against our country. Contrary to the views of some of his close associates, Trump appears not to want a war with Iran. But his approach toward us is contradictory at times threatening us, at others calling for dialogue. The United States' proposal on dialogue with Iran faces three major hurdles. First, history shows that genuine talks cannot be productive if they are coupled with intimidation, coercion and sanctions. A dialogue can succeed if both sides accept the principle of mutual respect and then act on equal footing. Second, the Trump administration does not speak with a united voice on the need for a dialogue with Iran. Those who are eager to provoke a conflict are working to sabotage the possibility of useful and meaningful dialogue. Finally, Trump's sudden withdrawal from the JCPOA nuclear deal last year with no good reason and to the disapproval of almost the entire international community stirs concerns that any future deal might face the same fate, with no guarantee to the contrary. This month, Trump said that the United States "is not looking to hurt Iran." On May 20, however, he claimed that Iran's "economy continues to collapse very sad for the Iranian people." This is clear evidence that the United States is determined to hurt the Iranian people, a crime under international law. Under these circumstances, how could any rational nation trust a U.S. offer of dialogue? The U.S. policy of maximum pressure against Iran has failed. None of the Trump administration's unjust demands has been met, and I can assure you that pressure will not work. So, what has the maximum-pressure policy accomplished? It has isolated the United States in the international arena and created yet more division between America and its allies. The policy has also stoked resentment toward the United States among Iranians from all walks of life. Yes, the illegal sanctions have hurt the Iranian people, but the sanctions have not changed Iran's policies. Throughout history, Iranians have always resisted the imposition of others' will and have survived for millennia. That is self-evident to any historian. The language of threats and intimidation is anathema to Iranians, who have always demonstrated that respect begets respect. End Item NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Putting end to political considerations necessary for protection of civilians in armed conflict: Iran envoy to UN ISNA - Iranian Students' News Agency Sat / 25 May 2019 / 10:16 Tehran (ISNA) - The Security Council can show its seriousness in protecting civilians by putting an end to a policy based on political considerations, Iran's ambassador to the United Nations emphasized. Ambassador and permanent representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran to UN, Majid Takht Ravanchi made the remarks before the meeting of Security Council on "Protection of civilians in armed conflict". Here is the full text of Majid Takht Ravanchi's statement: In the Name of God, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful Madam/Mr. President, I thank the Indonesian presidency of the Council, particularly H.E. Ms. Marsudi, honorable Minister for Foreign Affairs of Indonesia for organizing this meeting. I also thank the briefers for their input and associate myself with the NAM statement delivered by Venezuela. It is a source of grave concern that civilians still account for the vast majority of casualties in armed conflicts. The worst aspect of this issue is that most of the victims are of the most vulnerable civilians: women and children. Recalling that 2019 marks the seventieth anniversary of the adoption of four Geneva Conventions, a question arises as to why we still face as confirmed by the Council "the erosion of respect for International Humanitarian Law" despite these and other important legally binding instruments. Citing certain examples from our own region, I will try to briefly answer this question. According to the UNSG report, in 2018 in Afghanistan, not only have the civilian casualties increased but also the civilian casualties resulting from the use of air-launched weapons increased by 61 per cent -- the highest number in a single year since 2009. What has been this Council's reaction to such a violation of IHL by the U.S. and NATO forces? Nothing. In Syria, where in accordance with our obligations and religious teachings we accord the highest priority to the protection of civilians, a United Nations assessment mission to Raqqah in April 2018 found that "nearly 70 per cent of buildings in the city were destroyed or damaged and that essential services, such as water, electricity and health care were absent or severely limited." Did this Council hold the U.S. and its partners accountable for such a clear violation of IHL? No. In Gaza, during the Great March of Return (between 30 March 2018 to 29 March 2019), Israel brutally killed nearly 280 civilians, including 56 children, and wounded nearly 32,000 others, over 3,000 of whom were children. Both the UNSG report and this Council have been completely silent on these crimes. This year, the inhumane blockade of Gaza by Israel -- as the clearest violation of IHL and a crime against humanity has entered its 12th year. Has this Council done anything to bring it to an end? No. Lastly, according to the UNSG report, the civilian casualties have increased in Yemen throughout 2018, with a devastating impact on children. On 9 August 2018, in one incident alone a school bus in the market of a densely populated area in Dahyan was deliberately targeted by Saudi Arabia. The attack left 52 civilians dead, among them 40 children, and 79 wounded, including 56 children. It was "the single worst attack since 2015". What was the reaction of this Council? Complete silence! Only through these few examples, one can easily understand why there is an erosion of respect for IHL. To conclude, I would like to cite two examples from the recent UN publication entitled: "Building a Culture of Protection". According to the publication, "In 2015, the Israel Defense Forces were initially listed but removed prior to the report's publication [and] in 2016, the Saudi-led coalition, which had been listed for grave violations in Yemen, was removed from the listing following political pressure". The conclusion is: respect for IHL continues to erode because criminals are not held accountable; because they continue to commit these crimes with impunity; and because they are emboldened to disregard IHL and to commit more brutalities. The Council can show its seriousness in protecting civilians which is a legal obligation and a moral imperative as well , by putting an end to a policy based on political considerations. I thank you, Madam/Mr. President. End Item NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iraq, Iran stress security cooperation to prevent war in region Iran Press TV Sat May 25, 2019 08:37PM Iraq and Iran have stressed on cooperation between the two neighboring countries to prevent a war that could jeopardize stability in the Middle East region. The common stance was reiterated during a Saturday meeting between Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in Baghdad. The media office of the Iraqi premier said on its Facebook page that during the meeting, the two officials discussed the recent regional developments, especially with regards to an international nuclear agreement on Iran's nuclear case. The two elaborated that the deal, technically known as the JCPOA and signed in 2015 between Iran and world powers, should be preserved in the face of the United States' unilateral withdrawal from the agreement. Abdul-Mahdi and Zarif reiterated that both Iran and Iraq have been affected by US sanctions on Tehran, which began following the US government's withdrawal from the JCPOA last year, while stressing that a potential military conflict between the US and Iran over the issue could have far-reaching consequences for the entire Middle East region. The two said there was a need for increased security cooperation between Iran and Iraq to defuse the current tensions and increase regional stability. The report said that parts of the meeting was dedicated to a review of efforts in Iraq and Iran to follow up on the agreements signed during a recent trip of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to Iraq and a last year visit by Abdul-Mahdi to the Iranian capital Tehran. The Iranian foreign minister also discussed regional developments and bilateral relations during a meeting with Iraqi President Barham Salih. Relations between Iran and Iraq have expanded rapidly over the past few years despite a continuous campaign of pressure on Baghdad by US government and allies in the region. Iran has also played a major role in restoring stability in Iraq by helping the Arab country in its large-scale battle against terrorism since 2014. Iraqi government has mostly sought to avoid evade US sanctions on Iran, arguing its economy and security is heavily linked to ties with its neighbor. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iran slams as politically-motivated France's extradition of Iranian engineer to US Iran Press TV Sat May 25, 2019 10:36AM Iran has denounced as politically-motivated a French court's verdict to extradite an Iranian engineer to the United States over accusations of importing American technology for military purposes. The condemnation came on Saturday after the court in Aix-en-Provence, southern France, approved the extradition of Jalal Rouhollahnejad to the US to face charges of "attempting to illegally import US technology for military purposes on behalf of an Iranian company." The Iranian non-governmental Center for Civilian Drones along with a number of knowledge-based firms working in the field of aerospace said in a joint statement that the French court's verdict was politically-motivated and against the principles of the Iran nuclear deal as well as other international rules. Rouhollahnejad was detained on February 2 at Nice airport as he got off a plane coming from Tehran. The US judicial officials claimed that the Iranian engineer might have been seeking to import high-power industrial microwave systems from the US to be later used for military purposes in Iran. The Iranian aerospace firms said in the statement that high-power industrial microwave systems are modern non-military technologies used for detecting Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) flying in sensitive sites like airports. "So the technologies have no military use. They are also not under the US sanctions," the statement said, adding that it is among the basic rights of any country to use such technologies within the regulations of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to protect its airspace and provide security for sensitive sites like civilian airports. "Such a move will have serious repercussions for the French tradesmen and specialists working in Iran," the statement warned. Rouhollahnejad's lawyer also said the US arrest warrantw as politically-motivated and stressed that he would continue to refuse extradition from France. US judges claim that the 41-year-old engineer acted on behalf of a company linked to Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), which was blacklisted by the US President Donald Trump's administration last month. A decree by the French prime minister is still necessary for the extradition to go ahead. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iran FM: Increased US military presence 'very dangerous' Iran Press TV Sat May 25, 2019 10:32AM Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says the US decision to deploy additional troops to the Middle East is "extremely dangerous" and threatens international peace and security. Zarif made the remarks on Saturday, a day after the Pentagon announced 1,500 troops would be sent to the Middle East in what officials described as a "force protection" measure against alleged Iranian threats. US President Donald Trump also claimed the deployment is "mostly protective." Zarif dismissed the US claims against Iran as "fabricated allegations to justify beefed up US military presence in the region." "The Americans have made such allegations to justify their hostile policies and to raise tensions in the Persian Gulf," the Iranian foreign minister added. "Increased US presence in our region is extremely dangerous and it threatens international peace and security, and this should be addressed," the official IRNA news agency quoted Zarif as saying. The decision was announced only a day after Trump said he did not think additional American troops were needed in the Mideast. Tensions have escalated since the US sent an aircraft carrier and B-52 bombers to the region in response to intelligence reports suggesting an imminent attack. Iran has dismissed the alleged intelligence as fake and slammed the deployments as a psychological warfare. Trump on Friday also cited "threats from Iran" to justify the sale of billions of dollars' worth of weapons to Saudi Arabia, the UAE and other countries without congressional approval. Since taking office, the president has expressed an array of conflicting positions toward Iran, ranging from wanting dialogue with Tehran to threatening the country "the official end". Zarif said on Friday the remarks reflected Trump's real attitude toward the Iranian people, as opposed to his more usual claims that his administration cared about the Iranian people. He also said, "Iran will see the end of Trump, but he will never see the end of Iran." Trump unilaterally pulled the US out of a multilateral deal with Iran last year and reimposed sanctions on the country. He has recently ratcheted up pressure on Iran by halting a waiver for other countries to import crude oil from the Islamic Republic. Major General Gholamali Rashid said talking about security and stability in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz is not possible without considering the interests of the Iranian nation, including the export of oil. 'Slightest stupidity' will cost US its warships Another Iranian military official called on the US to move cautiously in the Persian Gulf. "America...is sending two warships to the region," General Morteza Qorbani, an adviser to Iran's military command, told the Mizan news agency. "If they commit the slightest stupidity, we will send these ships to the bottom of the sea along with their crew and planes using two missiles or two new secret weapons," he said. An assistant to Iran's army chief Brigadier General Hassan Seifi also called on "rational Americans and experienced US commanders" to rein in Washington's "radical elements". NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iran to 'stand firmly against any act of aggression': Envoy to UN Iran Press TV Sat May 25, 2019 06:36AM With the US building up its military presence in the Persian Gulf, Iran's ambassador to the UN says the country "will stand firmly against any act of aggression" even though it does not seek war. In an opinion piece published in The Washington Post on Friday, Majid Takht-Ravanchi said some officials in the Trump administration were pushing the US president to adopt a hard line toward Iran based on "fake intelligence". "The recent dispatching of a US naval armada to the Persian Gulf is a response to the same fake intelligence, supported not by members of Congress or US allies," he wrote. "While Iran does not desire war in the region, neither with the United States nor with any other country, we will stand firmly against any act of aggression against our country." On Friday, President Donald Trump announced that the US would deploy about 1,500 American troops to the Middle East for "mostly protective" reasons. The decision came even as Trump earlier rejected any "need" for additional troop deployments in the Middle East after reports claimed the Pentagon was considering sending up to 10,000 troops to the region. A US senator also said the administration was bypassing Congress to proceed with 22 arms deals worth some $8 billion with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, citing perceived threats from Iran. According to Takht-Ravanchi, the United States' policy toward Iran, while having no clarity or cohesiveness, is driven by "an obsessional antagonism". "It is no secret that a number of U.S. high officials and certain leaders in the Middle East are pushing President Trump to adopt a hard-line policy toward Iran, even calling for 'regime change'. "This group has presented what we call 'fake intelligence' to 'prove' that Iran is responsible for all of the Middle East's problems thus the urgency to confront us at any cost, including through military means." Contrary to the views of some of his close associates, Takht-Ravanchi wrote, Trump appears not to want a war with Iran, but "his approach toward us is contradictory at times threatening us, at others calling for dialogue." Washington's proposal on dialogue with Iran faces three major hurdles, the Iranian ambassador said. "First, history shows that genuine talks cannot be productive if they are coupled with intimidation, coercion and sanctions. A dialogue can succeed if both sides accept the principle of mutual respect and then act on equal footing. "Second, the Trump administration does not speak with a united voice on the need for a dialogue with Iran. Those who are eager to provoke a conflict are working to sabotage the possibility of useful and meaningful dialogue. "Finally, Trump's sudden withdrawal from the JCPOA nuclear deal last year with no good reason and to the disapproval of almost the entire international community stirs concerns that any future deal might face the same fate, with no guarantee to the contrary," he said. Takht-Ravanchi touched on some of Trump's contradictory messages, citing his remarks earlier this month that the US "is not looking to hurt Iran" and later saying Iran's "economy continues to collapse very sad for the Iranian people." "This is clear evidence that the United States is determined to hurt the Iranian people, a crime under international law. Under these circumstances, how could any rational nation trust a US offer of dialogue?" the ambassador said. He also said Trump's so-called maximum pressure campaign against Tehran has "failed" to achieve its objectives and rather "isolated" Washington from its allies in the international arena. "The US policy of maximum pressure against Iran has failed. None of the Trump administration's unjust demands has been met, and I can assure you that pressure will not work," he said. "So, what has the maximum-pressure policy accomplished? It has isolated the United States in the international arena and created yet more division between America and its allies. The policy has also stoked resentment toward the United States among Iranians from all walks of life," he added. Last year, Trump unilaterally pulled the US out of the 2015 nuclear deal, officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and unleashed the "toughest ever" sanctions against Tehran despite international objections. Since then, Washington has been trying to coerce the other parties to the JCPOA into following its lead and scrapping the multilateral accord. On May 8, the first anniversary of Washington's exit from the JCPOA, Iran announced its decision to stop exporting excess uranium and heavy water for a 60-day period. Takht-Ravanchi stressed that Iran's decision to remain in the JCPOA "was prompted by requests from European nations to give them enough time to compensate Iran for what it has lost as a result of the United States unilaterally abrogating its commitments and leaving the accord." After waiting patiently for one year, Iran was left with no other option than to cease performing some of its commitments while giving the remaining JCPOA members time to fulfill their end of the bargain, he noted. "Our argument is basically that we cannot and no one reasonably can be expected to unilaterally honor a multilateral agreement," the Iranian envoy to the UN said. Takht-Ravanchi said, "Throughout history, Iranians have always resisted the imposition of others' will and have survived for millennia." "That is self-evident to any historian. The language of threats and intimidation is anathema to Iranians, who have always demonstrated that respect begets respect," he added. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iranian FM Arrives In Baghdad For Talks Amid Tensions With U.S. By RFE/RL May 25, 2019 Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has arrived in Baghdad for talks with his Iraqi counterpart and other officials amid heightened tensions between Iran and the United States. Zarif will meet with Iraqi Foreign Minister Mohamed Alhakim, President Barham Salih, and Prime Minister Mohammed al-Halbousi during his two-day visit that began on May 25, the official IRNA news agency said. Iraqi TV aired footage of Zarif upon arrival in Baghdad while being received by the Foreign Ministry's undersecretary, Nizar Khairallah. A spokesman for Iraq's Foreign Ministry said Zarif will discuss the situation in the region and ways of finding common ground. Zarif's visit comes a day after U.S. President Donald Trump announced the deployment of 1,500 additional military personnel to the Middle East. Trump's announcement on May 24 was later followed by a statement from U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that the administration planned to sell $8.1 billion in weapons to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Jordan to "deter Iranian aggression." Earlier in May, the United States sent an aircraft carrier and B-52 bombers to the Middle East in response to a still-unexplained threat from Iran. Zarif said the U.S. move to send troops to the region "was extremely dangerous[for] international peace." Shortly after Zarif's arrival in Baghdad, Iraq's parliament speaker, Mohamad Halbousi, said that his country is ready to mediate between the United States and Iran if it is asked to do so. "We are ready to mediate to solve the crisis between Washington and Tehran if we are asked for that," said Halbousi in comments carried by state TV. He added that there has been "no official request for such mediation." Iraq maintains close ties with both Washington and Tehran. Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi said earlier this week that Baghdad will send delegations to the United States and Iran to help end tensions between the two countries. He added that Baghdad is neutral in the conflict. Tension between the United States and Iran have escalated ever since the Trump administration withdrew from a 2015 international nuclear deal with Iran last year and imposed strict sanctions aimed at crippling Iran's economy. Iran announced earlier this month that it would stop implementing some key provisions of the deal, citing the U.S. exit and the sanctions With reporting by AP and dpa Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/iranian-fm -arrives-in-baghdad-for-talks-amid-tensions -with-u-s-/29962910.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 Iran Can Sink US Warships With 'Secret Weapon' - Military Official Sputnik News 09:54 25.05.2019(updated 17:51 25.05.2019) The statement comes after US President Donald Trump did not rule out earlier that the Pentagon may send 1,500 more troops to the Middle East, following the deployment of a carrier strike group and a bomber task force to the region. The goal is to contain what Washington describes as an alleged Iranian threat. Iran has signalled its readiness to use its "secret" weaponry in order to sink US warships which were earlier delivered to the Persian Gulf region. "America [] is sending two warships to the region. If they commit the slightest stupidity, we will send these ships to the bottom of the sea along with their crew and planes using two missiles or two new secret weapons," General Morteza Qorbani, an adviser to Iran's military command, told the semi-official Iranian news agency Mizan. The statement comes amid mounting US-Iran tensions which exacerbated earlier this month, when the US imposed more anti-Iran sanctions and sent an aircraft carrier strike group, a squadron of B-52 bombers and a battery of Patriot missiles to the Middle East. Iran, for its part, suspended some of its obligations under the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Meanwhile, 76 retired US generals, admirals and ambassadors have signed an open letter to US President Donald Trump, urging him against instigating a war with the Islamic Republic. "A war with Iran, either by choice or miscalculation, would produce dramatic repercussions in an already-destabilised Middle East and drag the United States into another armed conflict at immense financial, human, and geopolitical cost," the letter reads. The letter comes after Trump said that Washington would deploy some 1,500 additional troops to the Middle East. The US President, however, said earlier that Washington hoped that the situation would not come to war. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, for his part, underscored that Tehran does not intend to wage war with the US, but will continue to resist Washington. US-Iran tensions sparked in May 2018, when Washington unilaterally withdrew from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, also reinstating sanctions on the Islamic Republic. On 8 May, 2019, Iran announced its own decision to partially discontinue its obligations under the nuclear agreement. Tehran gave the other signatories 60 days to ensure that Iran's interests were protected under the agreement; otherwise, the Islamic Republic is ready to take further steps on scrapping the deal. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Ex-US Military Chiefs, Ambassadors Sign Letter Warning Trump Against War With Iran Sputnik News 07:08 25.05.2019 Despite US president Trump's statement that he has no intention of waging war with Iran, the US continues to expand its military presence in the Middle East. In the most recent development, Trump recognized that the Pentagon would send 1,500 more troops to the region, following the deployment of a carrier strike group and a bomber task force. Amidst rising tensions between the two countries, 76 US retired generals, admirals and ambassadors have signed an open letter to US president urging him against forging a war with the Islamic Republic. "We write to you to express our deep concern about the current escalation with Iran in the Arabian Gulf. The mutual animosity between the United States and Iran, the accelerated deployment of an aircraft carrier strike group and B-52 bombers to the region, and reports of Iranian preparations for attacks on U.S. military and diplomatic facilities are highly concerning and make for a potentially deadly confrontation. A war with Iran, either by choice or miscalculation, would produce dramatic repercussions in an already destabilized Middle East and drag the United States into another armed conflict at immense financial, human, and geopolitical cost," the letter reads. Referring to their own experience as "national security professionals with extensive careers in the U.S. armed forces and diplomatic service," the signatories noted that the lack of communication between the two countries "during a time of heightened rhetoric only increases the possibility of a miscalculation resulting in unintended military conflict." "Washington and Tehran are talking past each other and taking actions the other views as dangerously provocative at best and the beginning of forceful action at worst," the letter reads. In the letter, the high-ranking ex-US officials recognize Trump's "reported desire to avoid war with Iran." At the same time, they considered the economic means which Trump has used to those of a military nature and concluded that the latter "proved ineffective in changing the regime's behaviour." "While economic sanctions against Iran have had the beneficial effect of reducing financial support for Hezbollah in Lebanon, these, as well as military threats against Iran have thus far proved ineffective in changing the regime's behaviour and have likely reaffirmed the beliefs of Tehran's hardline elements that compromise with the United States is impossible," the letter reads. The signatories, citing the fact that Donald Trump as US president and commander-in-chief has "considerable power at your disposal," have called on him to " immediately reduce the dangerous levels of regional tension." "Crisis de-escalation measures should be established with the Iranian leadership at senior levels of government as a prelude to exploratory diplomacy on matters of mutual concern. The protection of U.S. national interests in the Middle East and the safety of our friends and allies requires thoughtful statesmanship and aggressive diplomacy rather than unnecessary armed conflict." Tensions between Iran and the US sparked following US withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as the 2015 nuclear deal, in May 2018. Washington ramped up pressure on Tehran, designating the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a foreign terrorist organization and deploying a carrier strike group and a bomber task force with nuclear-capable B-52 bombers to the Middle East. Tehran reciprocated by designating the US Central Command (CENTCOM) terrorists, and announcing that it will suspend some of its voluntary obligations under the JCPOA. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Bolton Claims US Has 'Deep, Serious' Intel on 'Iran Regime Threat' - Reports Sputnik News 04:25 25.05.2019(updated 06:03 25.05.2019) US National Security Adviser John Bolton said at a press roundtable in Tokyo ahead of a four-day state visit to Japan by US President Donald Trump that recent attacks on oil tankers and pumping stations were a "manifestation of concerns" about Iran, Reuters reported Saturday. Bolton claimed that Washington has "deep and serious" intelligence on the threat posed by Iran but declined to provide any details. On 12 May, four oil tankers, including two Saudi vessels and a UAE-flagged ship, were targeted by a mysterious attack near the UAE's exclusive economic zone. Although no one has claimed responsibility for the sabotage, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo claimed on Tuesday that it was "quite possible" that Tehran was behind it. The attack comes as tensions have further escalated between the United States and sanctions-battered Iran after the former boosted military presence in the Gulf region earlier in May, deploying a bomber task force and an aircraft carrier to the region. Meanwhile, Pompeo confirmed in a press release on Friday that the United States had approved $8.1 billion in arms sales to Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in an effort to deter the alleged threat posed by Iran. Pompeo said this move would be a "one-time event." He emphasized that these arms transfers were critical for partners of the United States in the region to be able to provide for their own self-defence and to back US forces. On Friday, US President Donald Trump said that Washington would deploy some 1,500 additional troops to the Middle East. Trump, however, said earlier that Washington hoped that the situation would not come to war. The Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said that Iran does not intend to wage war with the United States, but will continue to resist Washington. US-Iran tensions sparked last year when the United States unilaterally withdrew from the JCPOA and reimposed sanctions on the Islamic republic. On 8 May, Iran announced its own decision to partially discontinue its obligations under the nuclear agreement. DPRK Missile Tests Violate UN Resolution, Talks Still Possible Bolton also commented on the recent North Korean missile launches, saying that Washington would not change its position from the one outlined at the last summit in Hanoi. "The UN resolution prohibits the launch of any ballistic missiles [] Trump has held the door open for Kim", Bolton said at a press roundtable in Tokyo. The second summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, which was held in Hanoi in February, concluded with no agreement signed, and denuclearization talks between the two countries reached a deadlock. Washington demands that Pyongyang completely dismantle nuclear facilities in the country in order to get sanctions relief, while North Korea wants a portion of restrictions lifted before denuclearization begins. Earlier in May, North Korea tested multiple ballistic missiles from a location in the country's northwest. They flew eastward, over Japan, to distances in excess of 186 miles. Several nations condemned the missile tests, saying that Pyongyang violated UN Security Council resolutions. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iranian FM Met With Iraqi PM to Discuss Middle East Situation - Baghdad Sputnik News 03:31 26.05.2019 MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif met with Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi in Baghdad to discuss the situation in the Middle East amid rising tensions between the Teheran and Washington, the Iraqi government said. "[Iranian] Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif met with [Iraqi] Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi on Saturday evening in Baghdad. The two sides discussed bilateral relations as well as the development of the situation in the region and world", Iraqi government wrote on the Telegram. Tensions have been soaring high between Tehran and Washington since May 2018 when US President Donald Trump, a long-time critic of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, pulled out of the agreement in earlier this month. In turn, Tehran has announced that it had partially discontinued its commitments under the landmark Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) accord and gave Europe 60 days to ensure Iran's interests were protected under the agreement. The EU has reportedly expressed concern over Tehran's intention to stop fulfilling a number of obligations under the Iranian nuclear deal. Meanwhile, in less than a year Washington unveiled massive batches of sanctions against the Islamic Republic, targeting the country's finance, transport, military and other spheres. Moreover, the United States has reinforced its presence in the Middle East with an aircraft carrier strike group, Patriot missiles, and B-52 bombers. On Friday, Trump said that Washington would deploy some 1,500 additional troops to the Middle East. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Haftar-Led Libyan Army Advancing South, East of Tripoli General Command Sputnik News 08:24 25.05.2019(updated 08:25 25.05.2019) BENGHAZI (Sputnik) - The Libyan National Army (LNA) led by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar has advanced to the south and east of Tripoli, the LNA General Command press service director Khalifa Obeidi said. "The Libyan army and its units are advancing from all the positions to the south and east of the capital of Tripoli [in the direction of the capital] with the support of the Libyan Air Force," Obeidi said. Khaftar's forces, backed by the parliament installed in the east of Libya, began their offensive to recapture the city from the forces loyal to the rival western Government of National Accord (GNA) in early April. The GNA forces responded by launching their own offensive against the LNA. Since then, clashes in the vicinity of Tripoli have been continuing. According to the World Health Organization, the number of people killed in the clashes exceeded 450 people while over 2,100 people sustained injuries. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Moscow Sees No Obstacles for Pakistan to Develop Own Missile Program - Ministry Sputnik News 12:04 25.05.2019(updated 12:05 25.05.2019) MEXICO CITY (Sputnik) - Pakistan has every right to develop its own missile program provided that it complies with relevant international obligations, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said, commenting on Islamabad's latest launch. "Countries that develop their missile programs should act in accordance with relevant international obligations. We do not see any obstacles for Pakistan to develop its missile program," Ryabkov said. The diplomat recalled that there were certain export control regimes and other obligations as part of international treaties. "We are against measures that could lead to an escalation of the situation, including in such a sensitive region as South Asia, but in this case we believe that every state has a sovereign right to take care of its own security," he added. On Thursday, Pakistan conducted a successful test launch of the Shaheen-II surface-to-surface ballistic missile, which is capable of carrying both conventional and nuclear warheads, according to the Pakistani Armed Forces' spokesman, Maj. Gen. Asif Ghafoor. Pakistan's test launch follows the recent escalation of tensions between Islamabad and New Delhi, two nuclear-armed rivals, in which the sides exchanged a series of airstrikes in the disputed Kashmir region. The new standoff broke out in the region in the wake of a deadly attack on Indian military personnel in Kashmir on February 14, claimed by the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist group. Both India and Pakistan are de facto nuclear powers since they conducted their first nuclear tests in 1974 and 1998 respectively. The countries, however, are not parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Russia launches advanced nuclear-powered icebreaker to navigate in Arctic Iran Press TV Sat May 25, 2019 05:50PM Russia has launched a nuclear-powered icebreaker at the Baltic Shipyard in St. Petersburg in an apparent attempt to boost its ability to tap the Arctic's commercial potential. The icebreaker, dubbed the Ural, was floated out from the Baltic dockyard in the northwestern port city on Saturday, during a float out ceremony with hundreds of people in attendance, Russia's TASS news agency reported. The ship, designed to be crewed by 75 people, is one of a trio, codenamed Project 22220, that when completed will be the largest and most powerful icebreakers in the world. "Today we are floating the third ship, or the second serial one of Project 22220 - the Ural. They are the ships from new generation icebreakers of that class that we pin our hopes on in exploration of the Northern Sea Route. It is a principally new ship," said Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov at the ceremony. The advanced icebreakers are powered by a new module nuclear reactor, which is far more powerful than those mounted on previous vessels of Project 22220, said Baltic Shipyards Director General Alexei Kadilov. He said that these ships were also equipped with a brand-new Russian-made electric propulsion system. "And the most important thing is a new turbine which will provide 40-year operation for the icebreaker," Kadilov added at a presser on Saturday. The two other icebreakers, dubbed the Arktika and the Sibir vessels, are currently under construction at the Baltic Shipyards. After being put into service, the trio will keep navigation in the Arctic open all year round, capable of breaking through ice up to three meters thick to make way for convoys of ships. They are also expected to help ensure transportation of hydrocarbons from the Yamal and Gydan peninsulas to Asia Pacific. "Chernobyl on ice" In May last year, Russia also unveiled the Akademik Lomonosov, a brown-and-mustard-painted floating nuclear power station, to meet its increasing electricity needs in its bid to develop oil resources in remote Arctic regions. The floating power plant was also built in St. Petersburg. The head of state nuclear power firm Rosatom, Alexei Likhachev, at the time hailed the Akademik Lomonosov as "a new world first," which "underlines the undoubted leading role of Rosatom and the Russian nuclear energy sector on the global agenda." The 144-by-30-meter facility holds two reactors with two 35-megawatt nuclear reactors that are similar to those used to power the new icebreakers. The floating power station, or as it is called the "Chernobyl on ice", can produce enough electricity to power a town of 200,000 residents. Last summer, it was towed to the port of Pevek in the autonomous Chukotka region in country's extreme northeast. However, the Akademik Lomonosov was not built to supply sufficient power to the 5,000 living in Russia's northernmost town. The floating station is expected to give enough power to far-flung sites established deep into the Arctic responsible for finding oil and gas there. According to the US Geological Survey, the Arctic holds oil and gas reserves roughly equivalent to 412 billion barrels of oil, around 22 percent of the world's undiscovered oil and gas. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Moscow agrees to send military specialists to Republic of Congo to service weapons Iran Press TV Sat May 25, 2019 08:48AM Moscow is deploying its military specialists to Congo to provide service for Russian-made military hardware and equipment in the sub-Saharan African country. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov made the announcement on Friday, a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Congolese counterpart Denis Sassou Nguesso met in Moscow and signed a contract to deploy Russian military specialists to Congo. "Much of this hardware can be still used if there is proper maintenance and these people, who are sent there, will service the munitions," he added. Russia's Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin said although the contract was new, it "continues the very beautiful story that was once started called military-technical cooperation." He further explained that the Russian advisers will help Congo's military with the upkeep of armored vehicles, rocket artillery and helicopters. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the specialists were already on the ground there, according to Russian news agency, Interfax. Moscow has donated hundreds of weapons and sent more than 200 trainers to Central African Republic (CAR) earlier this year. Earlier in January, the CAR's Defense Minister Marie-Noelle Koyara said he does not rule out full-fledged Russian military bases on top of an existing training facility. Moscow had also signed a military deal with the CAR last August to step up training of CAR's armed forces. Russia has delivered light arms to the CAR's security forces last year and said it had deployed 175 military and civilian instructors to train them. This happened after Moscow received an exemption from a United Nations arms embargo to deliver arms to CAR in December 2017, to help the government fight against militants there. Russia's growing military presence in Africa has prompted concern among the Western countries, particularly the US which has already a significant military presence in the continent. US National Security Adviser John Bolton had previously accused Russia and China of using "corrupt" and "predatory" practices to gain an economic advantage over Washington in Africa. China has already provided many countries in Asia and Africa with billions of dollars in aid and loans for roads, railways, ports and other major infrastructure projects. It has also set up its first overseas military base in Djibouti in 2017, where the US also has its main base of operations in Africa. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Latakia chemical attack claim won't affect Syria's anti-terror fight: Damascus Iran Press TV Sat May 25, 2019 02:18PM Syria has dismissed "fabricated" claims about the use of chemical weapons by government troops in its western coastal province of Latakia. The Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates said such allegations will not affect the fight against terror. "All this media hype will have no effect on Syria's anti-terrorism operations. The Syrian government reiterates that such claims are part of a systematic campaign of lies to implicate Syrian army in using chemical warfare," Syria's official news agency cited an unnamed source at the ministry as saying on Saturday. "This is nothing but a desperate attempt by some Western states and their mater, the United States, to ease pressure on the crimes of terrorists in Idlib. It is an obviously pathetic attempt to delay the advance of Syrian military forces." On Tuesday, the US Department of State claimed that it had seen signs that Syrian government troops may have used chemical weapons laced with chlorine near the village of Kabana, which lies in an area of the Jabal al-Akrad region, on May 19. The United States has warned it would respond to any possible chemical weapons attack by Syrian government forces with retaliatory strikes, stressing that the attacks would be stronger than those conducted by American, British and French forces last year. On April 14, 2018, the US, Britain and France carried out a string of airstrikes against Syria over a suspected chemical weapons attack on the city of Douma, located about 10 kilometers northeast of the capital Damascus. Washington and its allies blamed Damascus for the Douma attack, an allegation rejected by the Syrian government. Western governments and their allies have never stopped pointing the finger at Damascus whenever an apparent chemical attack takes place. Syria surrendered its stockpile of chemical weapons in 2014 to a joint mission led by the United States and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which oversaw the destruction of the weaponry. It has also consistently denied using chemical weapons. Terrorists readying for chemical attacks in Hama, Idlib Meanwhile, local sources have reported that foreign-sponsored Takfiri terrorists in Syria's west-central province of Hama as well as the northwestern province of Idlib are preparing false-flag attacks to frame government troops and invent pretexts for possible foreign acts of aggression on the country. The sources, requesting not to be named, said members of the Jabhat Fateh al-Sham Takfiri terror outfit, formerly known as al-Nusra Front, have held numerous meetings with militants from the so-called Turkistan Islamic Party, Jaysh al-Izza (the Union of Glory) and Western-backed White Helmets, who have been accused of cooperating with Takfiri militants and staging false-flag gas attacks, in order to use chlorine gas in their attacks. The source added that terrorists of Belgian, French and Moroccan nationalities are instructing the Takfiris on the use of chemical of the toxic gas. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Syrian Army Repels Attack of Some 200 Militants, Armored Vehicles in Hama - MoD Sputnik News 22:05 25.05.2019(updated 23:22 25.05.2019) Syrian forces repelled on Friday evening the attack of Hayyat Tahrir al-Sham terrorist group (formerly al-Nusra) in the Syrian province of Hama, the Russian centre for Syrian Reconciliation reported Saturday. According to the Russian military, at least 50 militants were killed and one tank with 5 SUVs was destroyed. "About 200 militants, two tanks, an infantry fighting vehicle, 13 all-terrain vehicles with heavy machine guns took part in the attack on the Syrian government forces. The attacking militant groups were scattered and retreated", the Russian military reported. On Saturday, militants from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group which emerged after the dissolution of Al Nusra shelled Syrian Hama province with 20 projectiles, killing at least 4 people and injuring 7 civilians, according to the Russian centre for Syrian Reconciliation. The terrorists have launched an offensive in the Idlib demilitarized zone, attacking positions of the Syrian government forces near the settlements of al-Hairat and Mgair in the north of Hama province. "On the morning of 25 May 2019, militants of the Hayyat Tahrir al-Sham terrorist group from the Idlib de-escalation zone opened fire from multiple launch rocket systems at Ain al-Qrum and Al-Suqaylabiyah in the northern part of Hama province. 20 missiles have been fired. At least four civilians were killed in the attack, seven people were injured", the statement said. Earlier, the Russian centre for Syrian reconciliation said that more than 800 militants, at least seven tanks, three infantry fighting vehicles and 15 pickup trucks with heavy machine guns arrived in the southwest of the Idlib de-escalation zone. The illegal armed groups are bringing reinforcements, weapons and military equipment to the town of Kafr Nabudah in Hama province. The reconciliation centre called on all illegal armed groups to refrain from military provocations and follow the path of peaceful settlement of the crisis in the war-torn country. Over the past few days, terrorists have made at least three large-scale attempts to attack government forces in the north of Hama province. Tanks, armoured vehicles and multiple launch rocket systems were used in the assaults. All the attacks have been successfully repelled by Damascus. The Idlib province is the last major stronghold of terrorists and armed rebels in Syria. In September 2018, ceasefire guarantors Russia and Turkey agreed to set up a 9-12 mile deep demilitarized zone, in Idlib which would be cleared of heavy weapons and militants. However, despite progress in the withdrawal of weapons and fighters from the area, remaining militants regularly commit ceasefire violations by shelling nearby provinces. "Over the past day, terrorists attacked Safsafa, Mamuhiyah, Nahshabba, al-Areim, Dubb al-Zarur, Kinsabba, Bshafa in Latakia province, Mgair, Herbet al-Arus, Al-Suqaylabiyah, Ain al-Qrum in Hama province", the Russian military said Saturday On Tuesday, US Department of State spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said that the US was collecting information regarding an alleged chemical weapon attack that reportedly took place in Syria over the weekend and warned the Syrian government that it would quickly respond if use of chemical weapons by Damascus was confirmed. The statement was made several days after the Russian Defence Ministry's Syrian reconciliation centre warned that terrorists were preparing a provocation with the use of chemical weapons in the Syrian province of Idlib. Damascus denied reports about the chemical attack. The Russian Defence Ministry's spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov has told reporters that Jabhat al-Nusra terrorists were the only "sources" and "eyewitnesses" of the alleged chemical attack. *Nusra Front, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham are terrorist groups banned in Russia and many other countries. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Syrian Army Destroys Terrorists' Rocket Launchers in North of Hama - Source Sputnik News 20:36 25.05.2019 BEIRUT (Sputnik) - The Syrian government forces responded with fire to constant shelling from the north of Hama province and destroyed terrorists' missile launchers in the region on Saturday, a source familiar with the situation on the ground told Sputnik. "Now, the battles are static. The terrorists on a daily basis shell the city of Skalbia and its neighborhoods. Nearly every other day civilian victims of attacks get buried. The army responds to the attacks with fire. Today, it destroyed terrorists' rocket launchers," the source said. According to the source, terrorists are concentrating forces near the town of Kafr Nabudah. The government forces, in turn, are strengthening their positions in anticipation of new attacks. Over the past few days, terrorists have made at least three large-scale attempts to attack the government forces in the north of Hama province. Tanks, armored vehicles and multiple launch rocket systems were used in the assaults. All the attacks have been successfully repelled by Damascus. In early May, terrorists increased attack frequency in the Syrian provinces of Hama, Aleppo and Latakia. They have also attempted to attack Syrian army positions in the region. Government forces have taken retaliatory measures boosting attacks on terrorists in the province of Idlib. Syrian forces are targeting Nusra Front* terror group depots, artillery positions and observation posts. Syria has been in a state of civil war since 2011, with forces backing the country's leader, President Assad, fighting numerous opposition groups backed by Western states, as well as militants and terrorist organisations. *Jabhat al-Nusra (Nusra Front) is terrorist organization banned in Russia and many other countries. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Chemical Attack Claims Aimed at Curbing Syrian Anti-Terrorism Efforts - Damascus Sputnik News 01:40 25.05.2019 DAMASCUS (Sputnik) The Syrian Foreign Ministry said on Saturday that "fabricated" claims about the alleged use of chemical weapons by the country's military were aimed at impeding the progress of its ongoing anti-terrorist operations. "There is nothing but another last-ditch attempt by western countries that obey to their master the United States to ease pressure on their terrorist slaves in Idlib. And it is an obviously pathetic attempt to delay the advance of the [Syrian] military in these regions", the statement, conveyed via a state-run TV broadcaster, read. On Tuesday, the US Department of State claimed that Washington saw signs of an alleged chlorine attack in northwestern Syria last Sunday. Washington also issued another warning to the Syrian government, saying that if it used chemical weapons, the United States and its allies would produce a quick and appropriate response. While Damascus has denied the claims, the Russian Foreign Ministry insisted that the United States used information received from unreliable sources, including those affiliated with terrorist groups. The statement continued by calling the US claims of a chemical attack in Syria "fabricated and having nothing to do with reality, "saying they threatened the Syrian government and its people. The Foreign Ministry argued, however, that this information "noise" would not prevent the Syrian military from continuing its fight against terrorism and its efforts to purge the country's soil of terror groups. Notably, last week, the Russian Defence Ministry said that terrorists of the Nusra Front group were preparing provocations in the northwestern Idlib province in an attempt to implicate the Russian military in the use of chemical weapons against civilians. *Nusra Front is a terrorist organisation banned in Russia and many other countries. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address UN Condemns Rampant Abuse in Syria's Daraa Governorate By Lisa Schlein May 25, 2019 The U.N. human rights office condemns rampant human rights violations in Daraa Governorate in southwest Syria by both government and so-called non-state actors. The agency accuses both parties of flaunting the reconciliation agreement implemented 10 months ago. The reconciliation agreement between the Syrian Government and armed rebel groups was supposed to bring peace to Syria's Daraa Governorate, which is located near the Jordanian border. Following the agreement last July, most people who had been displaced by the conflict returned to their places of origin. But their hopes for a better more secure life has been shattered. The U.N. human rights office says civilians rushed home without knowing what decisions affecting them had been made in the deal. Spokeswoman Marta Hurtado says her agency fears the agreement may not have been in full conformity with international law. This, she says, appears to have opened the floodgates to widespread abuse. "The U.N. Human Rights Office has received a number of worrying reports of human rights violations and offenses by state and non-state actors, including executions, arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances, looting and seizure of property. Access to adequate housing, water, education and other basic needs also remains difficult for many," she said. Hurtado says efforts by members of armed groups and civilians to take positions in government entities have been violently rebuffed. She says U.N. monitors have documented 11 cases where people wanting to participate in civilian local councils or military or security forces have been killed. She adds they appear to have been targeted killings. She says the U.N. also has received reports that at least 380 people have been arrested or detained, some reportedly on suspicion of terrorism. Hurtado says 150 were released after a few days in detention. The others, she says, have been subjected to enforced disappearances. She notes many families in Dar'a have limited or no information about the fate of their missing relatives. The U.N. human rights office is urging the government to take all necessary steps to protect the human rights of all people in areas under its control. It says the authorities must ensure that individuals arrested in connection with the armed conflict or on criminal charges receive a just and fair trial. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address U.S. senators reintroduce draft bill on Taiwan's global recognition ROC Central News Agency 2019/05/25 17:06:51 Washington, May 24 (CNA) Four United States senators reintroduced a draft bill on Thursday to ensure Taiwan's international recognition, amid China increased efforts to limit Taipei's international participation and poach its diplomatic allies. Senators Cory Gardner, Marco Rubio, John Cornyn and Chris Coons reintroduced the draft Taiwan Allies International Protection and Enhancement Initiative Act, or the TAIPEI Act, which will require the U.S. government to engage with governments all over the world in a bid to support Taiwan's diplomatic recognition and strengthen unofficial ties with Taiwan. The draft bill, which was first introduced in September 2018, states that 90 days after its enactment and every 180 days, "the Secretary of State or a designee of the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report on actions taken by the United States to reaffirm and strengthen Taiwan's international alliances around the world." Taiwan's diplomatic allies have shrunk to 17 countries as China has lured the Gambia, Sao Tome and Principe, Panama, the Dominican Republic, Burkina Faso, and El Salvador since President Tsai Ing-wen () of the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party took office in May 2016, the draft bill notes. The draft legislation authorizes the U.S. State Department to downgrade the U.S.' ties with any government that takes adverse actions with regard to Taiwan, and allows the State Department to suspend or adjust U.S. foreign assistance to governments that take actions unfavorable to Taiwan. According to the draft bill, the U.S. government should help Taiwan gain participation in international organizations, either as a member or an observer, and should express its support for Taiwan's international participation when it interacts with Beijing. The draft TAIPEI Act also aims to continue Washington's commitment to ensuring Taiwan's security by conducting "regular transfers of defense articles to Taiwan that are tailored to meet the existing and likely future threat" from China. The draft bill also mentions the Taiwan Travel Act, which was signed into law by U.S. President Donald Trump on March 16, 2018 to encourage mutual visits between Taiwan and the U.S. officials. "The United States should use every tool to support Taiwan's standing on the international stage," Gardner said in a joint statement issued by the four senators who sponsored the bill. "This bipartisan legislation demands a whole-of-government approach to stand up to China's bullying tactics, and will send a strong message to nations that there will be consequences for supporting Chinese actions that undermine Taiwan." In the statement, Rubio said he was proud to join his colleagues in reintroducing the legislation that was a reaffirmation of the commitment to the U.S.-Taiwan relationship and would allow the State Department to take diplomatic action against governments that alter diplomatic relations with Taiwan in favor of China. "China's efforts to isolate Taiwan by bullying and pressuring countries, especially in our own Hemisphere, cannot go unanswered," Rubio said. Coons, meanwhile, said there was strong, bipartisan support for Taiwan's free-market democracy and its diplomatic relationships around the world, and the bill confirmed that. "Taiwan is a success story in its region, and both now and in the future, the United States must continue to emphasize the strength of U.S.-Taiwan ties and maintain the status quo regarding Taiwan's place in the international community," Coons said. (By Chiang Chin-yeh and Frances Huang) Enditem/pc NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Turmoil Deepens With May's Exit in Britain By Henry Ridgwell May 24, 2019 Theresa May became Britain's prime minister in 2016 after the country's vote to leave the European Union prompted the resignation of her predecessor, David Cameron. Now, three years later, May has announced her own resignation, saying she bitterly regretted failing to deliver a Brexit deal. "I believe it was right to persevere even when the odds against success seemed high," she said in a speech given outside her official residence in London. "But it is now clear to me that it is in the best interests of the country for a new prime minister to lead that effort." Her voice cracking, the prime minister struggled to hide her emotions. "I will shortly leave the job that has been the honor of my life to hold the second female prime minister, but certainly not the last. I do so with no ill will, but with enormous and enduring gratitude to have had the opportunity to serve the country I love." Three attempts May tried three times to get a parliamentary majority to back the Brexit deal she had negotiated with Brussels. But her Conservative Party had seen enough. The party will choose a new leader after June 7, a process that could take two months or more. Analyst Fabian Zuleeg of the European Policy Center told VOA via Skype that "the difficulty for any new leader is that the majorities in the House of Commons have not changed." More than a dozen Conservative members of Parliament are expected to put their names forward to replace May. Most are demanding a tougher line with Brussels. "The chances that the EU will substantively reopen the withdrawal agreement are pretty much zero," he said. "Given how unpopular that deal has proven to be in the U.K., I think the chances of no deal are very high." Many leadership candidates say Britain must walk away with no deal if the EU doesn't budge from its terms among them former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, now the front-runner in the race to replace May. May will still be in office for U.S. President Donald Trump's state visit to Britain at the beginning of June. It's likely to be her final act on the global political stage. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Britain set for new PM after May quits, as Brexit impasse remains Global Times Source:Xinhua Published: 2019/5/25 17:12:45 The search to find a new prime minister started in Britain on Friday just hours after Theresa May announced she was resigning. A tearful May announced she would resign on June 7 as leader of the Conservative Party, and as prime minister who has been entasked with Brexit from the very first. May's resignation had been anticipated, but was still a dramatic moment in British politics. Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt became the first front-line politician after May's resignation speech to throw his hat into the ring in a contest that has already thrust one of Hunt's predecessors, Boris Johnson, into the spotlight. Johnson is slated as the favorite to win by most bookmakers. COUNTDOWN STARTS May shared her speech with millions as camera crews from around the world captured her dramatic resignation announcement in front of the iconic door to 10 Downing Street. With May's proposal for a fourth time to bring her under-fire Brexit deal to Parliament for a vote in tatters, a deal hated as much by many of her own MPs as by those on the opposition benches, she had run out of time. Her own backbench MPs had held a secret ballot to vote on whether she should effectively be shown the door. The letters were in sealed envelopes, ready to be opened Friday if she declined or refused an invitation to finally step down. Next week sees US President Donald Trump paying a state visit to Britain, and also commemorations to mark the anniversary of the World War II D-Day landings. The timetable agreed upon means she will still be at the forefront of those events as Britain's prime minister. May will remain in a caretaker role until the new prime minister takes over sometime in the late summer, depending on the length of the campaign to succeed her. In her speech May said she had done her best to implement the decision of the people of Britain to leave the European Union (EU). She said she had done everything she could to convince MPs to back her deal. "It is now clear to me that it is in the best interests of the country for a new prime minister to lead that effort." TOP CONTENDERS The race that offers the keys to 10 Downing Street as the prize starts officially on June 10. But a list of likely contenders has already emerged, with some hopefuls having already stated their intentions to run. Conservative politicians at Westminster will vote on a long list of candidates, before they whittle it down to two. The top two contenders will then campaign around the country as thousands of grassroots Conservative members vote for their favorite. May herself had been on a shortlist along with Andrea Leadsom, leader of the House of Commons who resigned this week saying she could not support May's withdrawal plan. Former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, who also served two terms as Mayor of London and has widespread support in the shire counties among ordinary party members, is clearly the favorite to succeed May. Bookmakers Ladbrokes on Friday listed Johnson as the favorite to win the race with odds of 5/4, the highest among other candidates. By Friday night, at least 14 contenders have emerged as a possible successor to replace May, with seven of them being senior front-bench members of May's cabinet. BREXIT FUTURE With May's withdrawal deal dead in the water, the unfinished task will be handed to the new prime minister. For now, nothing is certain except that May's successor will have to pick up the pieces in the hopes of resolving an issue that has been dividing the country. "It will be for my successor to seek a way forward that honors the result of the referendum," May said in her resignation speech. "To succeed, he or she will have to find consensus in Parliament where I have not." "Such a consensus can only be reached if those on all sides of the debate are willing to compromise." The EU has extended the date until Oct. 31 for Britain to reach an agreement on a withdrawal deal that will pave the way for its departure from the world's largest trading bloc. The current law on the British statute books is that Britain would leave on that date without a deal, unless a new arrangement is in place by then, which means that whoever gets the keys to Number 10 after May will also get the keys to the future of Brexit, as well as the future of the country itself. A new prime minister may seek to extend the October deadline to buy more time, or may even seek the revocation of Article 50, the Brussels mechanism that kick-started the process that leads to an exit from the EU. Former Conservative party chairman Grant Shapps said the contest to replace May should be between someone who voted Remain and someone who voted Leave. In a speech on Friday in Switzerland, Johnson gave a strong hint of the Brexit outcome if he wins. "We will leave the EU on Oct. 31, deal or no deal. The way to get a good deal is to prepare for a no deal." It would pave the way for a clash between Johnson and a Remainer in the final stage of the race. Shapps speculates the contest could come down to Remain-voting Jeremy Hunt facing down either Johnson or Dominic Raab, who were both Leavers. However, in Brussels, there have already been signals that the Brexit deal they negotiated with May will not be changed. The hope is that changes in the European Parliament landscape, resulting from the current elections for Members of European Parliament, could open the door to compromise that might offer the prize May failed to win in her 1,000 or so days as prime minister. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Theresa May's Resignation Raises Chances of British General Election By Jamie Dettmer May 25, 2019 The resignation announcement Friday by the country's Conservative prime minister Theresa May has increased the likelihood of Britain having to hold a general election this year, say analysts and lawmakers. That would add even more uncertainty to the country's chaotic departure from the European Union. Within hours of May's tearful announcement, moderate Conservative lawmakers who want Britain to remain either in the European Union or closely tied to it, warned they might have no choice but to withhold support for her successor, if it turns out to be Boris Johnson, the former foreign secretary and political maverick, who has the backing of many in the Brexit wing of the party. Theresa May's successor who will be chosen in a party vote by the end of July will almost certainly face an immediate confidence motion in the House of Commons brought by the opposition parties. Johnson, who's considered the frontrunner in a leadership contest that could see as many as 16 contenders, staked out in a speech Friday a hardline Brexit position, saying at a conference in Switzerland that Britain should leave the EU on October 31, whether parliament finally approves May's contentious exit deal with Brussels or not. The next prime minister must "put Brexit to bed," he said. Johnson's main rivals, foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt, interior minister Sajid Javid and health minister Matt Hancock seem determined not to be outflanked by Johnson in the leadership race and have also issued hardline statements. "We need to deliver Brexit, and I will deliver Brexit, and we need to move this country forward, taking all the opportunities that Brexit brings," Hancock said Saturday in announcing his candidacy. May's fate was sealed when the British House of Commons declined three times to approve her Brexit Withdrawal Agreement a deal vehemently opposed by a third of her own parliamentary party on the grounds it would keep Britain subservient to EU regulations and rules and prevent it from negotiating trade deals bilaterally with non-EU countries. Brussels has refused to reopen negotiations on the deal, which EU officials say is the best they can offer. Some pro-EU Conservatives, who want a second Brexit referendum, signaled they might withhold backing for a Johnson government. "I will support any Conservative PM who is sober and responsible to recognize that we can only leave the EU with an agreement," Guto Bebb, a Conservative lawmaker told The Times newspaper. A long-odds contender to succeed Theresa May, Rory Stewart, the international development minister and a party centrist, said Saturday he wouldn't be prepared to serve in a cabinet led by Johnson. He told Sky News: "I sat down with Boris Johnson two weeks ago and he said to me he would not be pushing for a policy of 'a no-deal' Brexit. I left the room feeling that we had an understanding. I now understand, from what he said yesterday, he is going to try to crash us out of the European Union at the end of October... that is not being straight with people." Britain's fractious Conservatives are ruling as a minority government, and they rely on the support of a Northern Irish party to give them a working majority of just five in the House of Commons. A handful of Conservative standouts could trigger a chain of events leading to an early election the Conservatives are unlikely to win. On Sunday the results of a European parliamentary election Britons voted in on Thursday are likely to highlight the highly dangerous electoral landscape for the Conservatives. Pollsters predict Britain's storied ruling party will record the worst ever electoral performance with the newly-formed hardline Brexit Party of Nigel Farage topping the poll followed by the pro-EU Liberal Democrats. Britain's main opposition Labour Party, which has also split over Brexit, is also likely to fare poorly, say pollsters. Moderate Conservatives and Johnson's longtime political rivals are scrambling to stop him succeeding Theresa May. Aside from the Brexit issue, they say his chaotic private life and serial relationships as well as his political unpredictability and inconsistency are dangerous liabilities. They also doubt he has the work ethic needed by a prime minister. As mayor of London he served two terms in the post he handed off day-to-day management to a deputy and was faulted for casualness when it came to the drudgery of administration and oversight. EU diplomats are also concerned about Johnson's unpredictability and habitual populist showmanship. "You never know what you are going to get with Johnson," says an EU official. Another accused Johnson of basic political dishonesty, pointing to his repeated claims during the 2016 Brexit referendum campaign that Britain could easily pull off a favorable trade deal with Brussels after leaving the EU. Notoriously Johnson announced during the campaign: "My policy on cake is pro having it and pro eating it." Johnson is seen by some as being as divisive as Brexit itself. But his supporters say Johnson, a favorite of party activists, has the star quality the party needs to win elections and curb the populist threat from Nigel Farage, an adept political campaigner. They also claim he has the political creativity to break the Brexit deadlock that has turned traditional British politics upside down and might even have the ability to persuade hardline Brexiters to accept a compromise and something short of their objective to break completely with the EU. But Brussels is already warning that it won't tolerate a bid by May's successor, whoever it is, to seek any changes or serious tweaks to the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement concluded with May after two years of haggling. Analysts say May was handed a thankless and near impossible Brexit task, although some blame her for missteps that added to the disarray, and that whoever succeeds her will also struggle to unite the Conservatives and persuade Brussels to start afresh to craft a new deal able to secure British parliamentary approval. May was broken by Brexit, serving one of the shortest terms of any recent British prime minister. Commentator Daniel Finkelstein argues that May's successor will have to explore alternatives to May's approach and will have no option because of the parliamentary arithmetic to "seek a new deal from the EU and use a genuine determination to leave without a deal as a way of wringing concessions" from Brussels. If that fails the new leader will have to dare the House of Commons to accept a no-deal exit and trigger an election, if it fails to endorse a sharp break from the EU. But an election would be a high risk endeavor for the Conservatives given the Brexit schism in the party and most pollsters say the result would be another hung parliament and most likely a Labour-led coalition government. The unfolding high-stakes political drama in London is alarming Brussels and the national leaders of EU member states. They fear May's departure will increase the risks of Britain messily crashing out of the bloc. "What can someone else do that she did not do?" asked Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the European Commission, during an interview with a German broadcaster. "My working hypothesis is that the British will quit on October 31," he added. EU officials have joined a chorus of warnings coming from the Continent urging Conservative hopefuls not to seek half-membership in the bloc and expect any changes to the deal they agreed with May last November. They say the problem wasn't Theresa May and that with her departure the fundamental difficulties remain a deadlocked British parliament, a split down the middle among British voters over Brexit and the need for Brussels to ensure the integrity of the EU and not to compromise the basic foundations of the bloc. "A hard Brexit appears to be a reality that is near impossible to stop," a Spanish government spokeswoman said Friday. "On the European side there is absolutely no intention to reopen the withdrawal agreement," said Guy Verhofstadt, the European parliament's lead negotiator in Brexit talks. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address UN Maritime Tribunal Rules Russia Must 'Immediately' Release Ukrainian Sailors, Ships By RFE/RL May 25, 2019 A UN maritime tribunal has ruled that Russia must "immediately" release 24 Ukrainian sailors and three Ukrainian naval vessels captured by Russia in November. The Hamburg-based International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea delivered its ruling on May 25 on the case Ukraine brought against Russia. Russia seized the ships in November near the Kerch Strait bridge, which connects the Russian mainland to the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea. Relations between Russia and Ukraine have been tense since Moscow annexed Crimea in March 2014 and began providing military, political, and economic support to separatist formations waging a war against Kyiv in parts of eastern Ukraine. Tribunal President Jin-Hyun Paik said that judges decided Russia must "immediately" return the three ships to Ukraine's custody and release the sailors and allow them to return to Ukraine. Ukraine's new president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said that Russia could send a positive signal by adhering to the ruling. "Russia's fulfillment of the order...could be a first signal from the side of the Russian leadership of real readiness to stop the conflict with Ukraine," Zelenskiy said on Facebook. "In this way, Russia could take a step toward unblocking talks and resolving in a civilized way problems that it created," he added. Reacting to the ruling, the Russian Foreign Ministry said the UN Convention on Law of the Sea could not be applied to what it termed the "dispute about the Kerch Strait incident," in a statement cited by Interfax. Nineteen of the 20 judges voted in favor of the ruling, with only the Russian voting against. The tribunal's decisions are legally binding, but it has no power to enforce them. The tribunal called for both Russia and Ukraine to report back on their compliance by June 25. Correspondents say the ruling is unlikely to definitively end the question of allowing Ukrainian ships full access to the Sea of Azov, which Russia has been restricting since a bridge across the Kerch Strait was completed. But Ukraine is hoping the victory will provide legal weight in its fight against Russia, which has boycotted the proceedings, saying the court has no jurisdiction. Ukraine has denied Russia's charge that the Ukrainian ships had entered Russian territorial waters illegally. The European Union, NATO, and other international bodies have called on Moscow to release the ships and the detained sailors. With reporting by AFP, AP, and Interfax Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/un-tribunal-sea-ukraine- russia-ship-seized/29962293.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 In Ukraine, Poroshenko's Bloc Rebrands Itself Ahead Of Parliamentary Elections By Current Time May 25, 2019 The political party of former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has changed its name in a bid to rebrand itself ahead of key parliamentary elections. The Petro Poroshenko Bloc was renamed to European Solidarity at a party congress on May 24. "The key to unity and victory is a renewed party and renewed leadership," Poroshenko told the gathering in Kyiv. When Ukraine will hold its next parliamentary elections is unclear. The new Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced at his inauguration on May 20 that he would dissolve parliament and call snap elections in July. He has also called for that election to be held based entirely on voting for parties, rather than single candidates, arguing that the current system in which some seats are filled in contests between individual candidates favors corruption. But at an emergency session of the Verkhovna Rada on May 22, only 92 lawmakers voted to discuss that proposal -- far short of the majority, 226 votes, needed to put it on the agenda. The next parliamentary elections had been set for late October. As he starts his term, early elections are a chance for Zelenskiy to strengthen his position and sideline allies of Poroshenko. Zelenskiy, 41, defeated Poroshenko by a wide margin in a presidential runoff vote on April 21. Ukrainians largely faulted Poroshenko for failing to tackle corruption and lower living standards. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/poroshenko-s-bloc -rebrands-itself-ahead-of-parliamentary -elections/29962566.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 Russia Ordered to Release Ukrainian Sailors and Ships By VOA News May 25, 2019 A United Nations tribunal has ordered Russia to immediately release three Ukrainian naval ships and two dozen sailors, who were captured in a November confrontation off the Crimean Peninsula. The Germany-based International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea issued the order Saturday after a hearing earlier this month. The seizures occurred during a November 25 confrontation in the Kerch Strait, which separates Crimea from mainland Russia. It was the first open military clash between Russia and Ukraine since Moscow's 2014 annexation of the Crimean Peninsula, which is generally regarded as an illegal action. Ukraine maintains Russia stopped its ships in the Black Sea as they were returning to the Ukrainian port city of Odessa. Ukraine argues its ships were immune to such seizures under the Law of the Sea. Russia contends the vessels were trying to enter the Azov Sea through the Kerch Strait in defiance of Russian orders to stop because it had temporarily closed the waterway. Russia has charged the crew with violating its border and argues the tribunal does not have jurisdiction over the issue because of an exemption for military activity. Russia did not attend the hearing or Saturday's tribunal session. The Hamburg tribunal's rulings are legally binding, but it lacks the power to enforce them. It gave both sides until June 25 to report on compliance with its order. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Dublin, May 20, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Successful Medical Writing" conference has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering Success in the pharmaceutical industry depends on the speed and efficiency of new drug approvals. This process largely relies on the quality of documentation submitted to the regulatory authorities, and a high standard of medical writing plays a vital role in ensuring success. This intensive practical medical writing course will benefit participants by enabling them to achieve this standard. Aims and objectives This intensive and interactive course combines lectures with practical exercises to provide a thorough introduction to the basics of medical writing that goes beyond the usual overview' courses. It will provide in-depth training in general writing and data presentation skills, and specifically in the kind of documents most frequently encountered in clinical research. Participants will learn both the theoretical and practical aspects of writing for regulatory authorities as well as the sensible use of international guidelines, standards and useful writing tips. Many illustrative examples will be used, drawn from the seminar leaders' wide experience of the pharmaceutical industry Topics to be covered: Gain practical advice to help enhance your writing skills Writing the content of the Clinical Study Report and applying the ICH E3 Guideline Develop your confidence in using statistics Improve your data presentation skills with use of tables, graphs and flowcharts Best practice to ensure you are kind to your reader Who Should Attend: This three-day course will be of interest to all those in the pharmaceutical industry who prepare research reports and documentation intended for regulatory authorities. Although the focus of the seminar is on clinical research documentation, many of the principles will also apply to other types of reports, including pre-clinical, CMC and veterinary documentation. The practical training will benefit not only those new to medical writing, but also those wishing to perfect their existing writing skills, including full-time medical writers and those who only occasionally write research documentation or regulatory submissions. Agenda: Programme Day One Overview of Writing: Substantive & Technical Aspects Improving readability - being kind to your reader Punctuation specifics Verb force and tense Paragraphing and word order Verbosity Prepositions Abbreviations Text review, edit or rewrite The Clinical Study Report (CSR) General aspects CSR templates Opening chapters and synopsis Investigational plan Results - efficacy Results - safety More on the CSR and improving readability Programme Day Two CSR - Post-scripts: After the Main Text Quality Control Designing Tables Table types Elements of table design Statistics for Medical Writers Statistical basis of clinical studies Misuse of p-values Primary vs. secondary efficacy variables Developing confidence in confidence intervals Programme Day Three The Common Technical Document Introduction to clinical submission dossiers Purpose and types of clinical summary documents Writing the clinical overview and the clinical summary Recent regulatory developments: really a common technical document? Writing publications, including abstracts Publications vs clinical study reports Consort guidelines for reporting randomised controlled clinical trials Maximising acceptance Understanding instructions to authors Advanced data presentation Graphs, plots, charts and diagrams Design and use of flowcharts Just how perfect does your document have to be? How important is perfect' grammar? Suiting language to the audience Is word order really important? Quality vs time Final checks - proofreading Writing tips and tools Working with co-authors and reviewers General discussion and end of course For more information about this conference visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/e771j Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research. ST. JOHNS, May 24, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- World Wildlife Fund Canada welcomes the decision by Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) to reduce the total allowable catch (TAC) of Atlantic mackerel, an important forage fish species in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, the coast of Nova Scotia, the Bay of Fundy and the waters surrounding Newfoundland. However, this reduction is not low enough to ensure the long-term health of the population. The 2019 total allowable catch is a reduction of 20 per cent from 2018, but DFO scientists state that the spawning stock biomass of Atlantic mackerel has gone down significantly over the past 20 years. In April of this year, WWF-Canada recommended that the TAC of Atlantic mackerel be set at zero for the 2019 fishing season because a low spawning stock biomass, low recruitment and catches reliant on one year class highlight the vulnerable state of the Atlantic mackerel stock. Sigrid Kuehnemund, WWF-Canada vice-president of ocean conservation, said: The decision to reduce the total allowable catch for Atlantic mackerel by 2,000 tonnes is a step in the right direction but does not go far enough to promote the rebuilding of this precarious stock. In the most recent stock assessment, DFOs own scientists clearly indicated that strong action is needed to reduce fishing mortality to rebuild the stock. This decision leaves both the Atlantic mackerel population and their predators important species like Atlantic bluefin tuna and Atlantic cod vulnerable to serious harm, which can result in long-term loss of fishing opportunities throughout Atlantic Canada and Quebec. About Atlantic mackerel Atlantic mackerel play an important role in the marine ecosystem, providing food for predators such as Atlantic bluefin tuna, Atlantic cod, whales and seabirds. Atlantic mackerel are found in marine waters throughout Atlantic Canada and Quebec; they spawn in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence. Atlantic mackerel are a source of protein and omega-3 fatty acids; however, in Atlantic Canada, they are fished mainly for use as bait in the lobster fishery. The Atlantic mackerel stock is currently in the critical zone and has been for several years. According to DFO, being in the critical zone means that serious harm is occurring to the stock. At this stock status level, there may also be resultant impacts to the ecosystem, associated species and a long-term loss of fishing opportunities . Based on the most recent stock assessment, the recent recruitment of young mackerel to the fishery is the lowest on record. About World Wildlife Fund Canada River City TV announced last week its live video coverage of the tornado that touched down in Danville on April 15, 2018, has been named Best Use of Live Video in the Social Media category in the 40th Annual Telly Awards. The citys government access channel also picked up an award for Best Use of Social Video in the general news and information category. The Telly Awards honors excellence in video and television across all screens and is judged by leaders from video platforms, television, streaming networks, production companies and including Vice, Vimeo, Hearst Digital Media, BuzzFeed and A&E Networks. River City TV is pushing the boundaries for video and television innovation and creativity at a time when the industry is rapidly changing, said Sabrina Dridje, managing director of the Telly Awards. We are so excited to be recognized by the Telly Awards for our dedication to providing the citizens of our region timely information on happenings in our community through our live social media presence, said Mark Aron, multimedia manager for the city of Danville. To stand alongside media giants such as CNN and other major news outlets and affiliates around the world in accepting these awards is humbling. The announcement caps a year-long celebration of the 40th anniversary of The Telly Awards. River City TV is the city of Danvilles government and educational access channel and has been in operation since 2005. In recent years, the channel has expanded its operations to include a large social media presence with close to 20,000 followers on Facebook. The full list of the 40th Annual Telly Awards winners can be found at www.tellyawards.com/winners. Ever since that morning in November 2013 when news broke that state Sen. Creigh Deeds was fighting for his life in a Charlottesville hospital after being attacked by his mentally ill son Gus, who later killed himself, Virginians have known the state faces a dire mental health care crisis. Health care professionals had known for years prior to that tragedy, but there was little impetus to reform a rickety system. In the wake of the Deeds family tragedy, the extent of the systems failures shocked the public and forced political leaders in Richmond to finally tackle that difficult task. An investigation revealed shortcomings at the level of local community service boards, which proved utterly incompetent and unable to find prompt psychiatric hospital care when Deeds brought his son to a medical facility near his home in Bath County the day before the attack. No available beds could be found, anywhere, in private or state facilities. And how was that determined? By a social worker calling a list of hospitals asking about bed availability in the connected age of the internet, there was no complete, online list of open beds in the commonwealth. The younger Deeds assessment at intake was rudimentary, at best, because of short staffing. The cause of short staffing? Poor pay and the inability to attract and retain qualified mental health professionals at the local level, especially in rural areas. In short, Virginias was a broken system. In the years since, Deeds has chaired a statewide panel exploring ways to reform that system in the near term and to rebuild it from the ground up in the long term. But the hurdles, long known and in plain sight, have stubbornly remained in place: money and will power. Just in the last several weeks, though, there have been developments that would indicate a modicum of success moving forward but that also underscore the extent of the challenge mental health care professionals in Virginia face. On May 9, the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association (VHHA) announced that hospitals in the state would be adding 200 badly needed psychiatric beds to meet a growing need for inpatient care. Also, just last week, mental health professionals told legislators on the Joint Subcommittee to Study Mental Health Services that psychiatric care for children in the commonwealth is just as broken as the system for adults. But most distressing of all, over the past four years, admissions to hospitals for psychiatric care have jumped by 10 percent, putting a strain on a system hardly able to keep ahead. When VHHA officials announced the creation of additional psychiatric beds, they stressed their move was just a drop in the bucket compared to the needs of the overall system. Hospitalization of patients for mental health care, they stressed, should be a last resort, that ideally a comprehensive statewide mental health care system would provide a variety of outpatient services at the local level to keep people out of hospitals. Virginia, unfortunately, just isnt there. According to Virginia Department of Health data as compiled by The Roanoke Times, voluntary and involuntary admissions for mental health care in 2015 totaled 50,145 with only 2,192 of those in state facilities. The numbers increased each succeeding year; in 2018, the total number of admissions was 54,854 with 5,356 of those at state psychiatric facilities. (Ironically, the data start with 2015 because thats the year the state went live with an online, real-time bed registry, an early success of the Deeds commission.) So thats one rare bit of semi-good news on the care front. Now for the bad news. Last week, the public learned of the depth of the problems plaguing the states care system for children. And the revelations are shocking. According to Nina Marino, director of child and family services for the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, at least a tenth of Virginia children have experienced a major depressive episode. Of those, 63 percent about 48,000 children did not receive any treatment at all. Of those who did, only 20 percent received treatment on a consistent basis. Part of the problem is that Virginia ranks 41st in the nation for the number of mental health providers for children and adults. Low pay, in both state and private jobs, simply is not conducive to attracting trained professionals or retaining those who do sign up but who leave for higher-paying jobs in other states. Another part of the problem is that the state only has one one facility specializing in mental health care for children and adolescents. Thats a 48-bed psychiatric hospital in Staunton where admissions have risen from 615 in 2088 to 1,053 in 2018. Also, in 2008, only 27 percent of children were readmitted to the system for additional care, but in 2018, fully 42 percent were. Virginia, we must do better. We know, in broad terms, what needs to be done increase the availability and quality of local, outpatient care while addressing the cost and availability of inpatient care but we seem to lack the will to do what needs to be done. It shouldnt take another high-profile tragedy like that that befell the Deeds family to move us forward. https://www.amazon.com/Pig-Wars-Half-Elven-Sisters-Magic-ebook/dp/B09HR9PJFT Magic, violence, and a little romance. What do you do with an... George Russell has admitted the Azerbaijan Grand Prix was the worst overall weekend for Williams so far in the 2019 campaign. Things started off horrifically for Russell in FP1, when he ran over a loose drain cover that destroyed the whole underside of his FW42 chassis, forcing the rookie out of the rest of Friday's practice sessions. Robert Kubica was the next to add to Williams' woes, when the Pole crashed into the barriers at the tight Castle Section in the first qualifying session on Saturday. Both of the drivers were able to finish the race - albeit in the final two places - and were two laps down on eventual race winner Valtteri Bottas, with Russell branding it the "worst weekend" since he's been driving in Formula 1. "(Sunday) was slightly better. Overall, Baku has probably been the worst weekend of the year for us," the Briton told reporters in Baku. "Our Baku set-up didn't work as we anticipated. So, all our eyes are on Barcelona now and hopefully we will be closer to the pack." Williams are rock-bottom of the constructors' standings as we approach the fifth race of the season in Barcelona in two weeks time, with the former world champions yet to score a single point this term. Mattia Binotto has denied that Sebastian Vettel got preferential treatment that resulted in Charles Leclerc being stranded near the back of the Monaco grid. "No, not at all," said the Ferrari boss when asked if it was a move to favour Vettel. "We have got two full teams, one per driver, so we didn't compromise at all." The question followed Ferrari's seemingly inexplicable decision to not send the young Monaco local out for a second run in the initial Q1 session. Leclerc was openly furious, revealing to the media that he asked Ferrari if the strategy was right not once but twice. "We replied 'No, we have the data' and believed it would be good enough and it wasn't," said Binotto. He said the mistake is a symptom of Ferrari taking extra risks to make up for the deficit to Mercedes. "Of course people can say Ferrari is not allowed to make such mistakes. But we are in a position to catch up. To do that, we have to take risks," said Binotto. He denied that Ferrari needs to make changes not just to its processes, but also its personnel. "We have the right people in the right job," said the Italian. Vettel agrees. "I don't think it's fair to criticise the team like that," said the German. "Criticising is always easy. "When you are not in the shape you would like it is more difficult than when you have more margin. That is the situation the others are in and they have worked hard for it," added Vettel. "We have to accept the situation we are in, start again and work even harder." Lewis Hamilton has defended his silence until now about the death of Niki Lauda. Lauda, the F1 legend and Mercedes team chairman, died late on Monday and Hamilton immediately posted a tribute on social media. But he then sat out his duties at the FIA press conference on Wednesday, causing Lauda's contemporary John Watson to brand Hamilton's decision "pathetic". "It was very, very difficult at the beginning of the week," Hamilton said after winning pole position at Monaco in the car fitted with a red Halo in tribute to Lauda. "I don't feel like I have to conform to how everyone operates. I took my time and coming here on Wednesday I didn't feel like it was the time to do that," he said. Hamilton said he spent some time in recent days talking not only with his boss Toto Wolff, who owned and ran Mercedes with Lauda, but also Lauda's wife Birgit. "I was really in touch with Niki a lot through this past eight months," he said. "We would be sending videos back and forth and it was always difficult because some days he looked good and he was really perky and 'I'm coming back, I'm coming strong and I'll be at this race'. "And then there's other days where he had immediately lost a lot of weight." Hamilton said Lauda was instrumental to his decision to quit McLaren at the end of 2012. "I had always talked about how Ross (Brawn) was the convincing element in me coming to the team, but Niki was the one that brought it to me and got it across the line," he said. "So he was part of the process of changing my life. If I hadn't had the call all that time ago, I would be a one time world champion and probably 22 wins, and I sit here a five time world champion and definitely feel like I owe him a lot." Kimi Raikkonen says it is possible he will keep racing beyond the end of his current contract. Having debuted in 2001, the Finn says reaching the 300 grand prix mark this weekend in Monaco is "just a number". But only Michael Schumacher, Jenson Button, Fernando Alonso and Rubens Barrichello had marginally longer careers. And if 2007 world champion Raikkonen races to the end of his 2020 contract with Alfa Romeo, he will top the list outright. He was asked in Monaco if the new and as-yet unpublished rules for 2021 will determine whether he signs another contract. "No. You never know what happens after a big rule change, but usually the big teams stay ahead," Raikkonen, who turns 40 in October, said. "Of course it would be nice if everything would close up a bit, not only for us drivers but also for the sport. But honestly, nobody knows." As for the chances that Raikkonen will race into the new era in 2021, he said: "My contract expires next year, so we will see what happens after that. "It depends on how it goes and whether I am still interested in going on." SKODA, a member of the Volkswagen Group, has introduced the SUPERB iVa plug-in hybrid version of its flagship SUPERB and the CITIGOe iV, the companys first production battery-electric vehicle. The SKODA iV sub-brand covers both the development of the brands own family of electrified products as well as a special ecosystem for mobility solutions. As part of the companys 2025 Strategy, SKODA AUTO will be investing a total of 2 billion in the development of electric vehicles and new mobility services over the next five years. This is the companys largest investment program to date. SKODA SUPERB iV PHEV. Like all of the SUPERB models, the SKODA SUPERB iV will be produced at the Kvasiny plant. The SUPERB iV is the first SKODA model to feature a plug-in hybrid drive. The SUPERB iV is powered by a 1.4 TSI gasoline engine delivering 115 kW (156 PS) and an 85 kW electric motor. The maximum power output is 160 kW (218 PS). The SKODA SUPERB iV fulfills the Euro 6d-TEMP emissions standard; the cars CO 2 emissions are below 40 g/km. The 13 kWh battery enables an all-electric, zero-emission range of up to 55 km (34 miles) in the WLTP cycle and can be charged using a standard household plug socket, a wall box, or while driving using the gasoline engine as well as brake energy recovery. When used in combination with the gasoline engine, the range is 850 km (528 miles). Furthermore, the SUPERB iV is equipped with the latest generation of infotainment system. CITIGOe iV EV. The SKODA CITIGOe iV is the Czech manufacturers first all-electric vehicle. Its electric motor delivers 61 kW with 210 Nm maximum torque. The battery in the chassis floor measures 1.1x1.7x0.3 m and comprises 168 cells. The 36.8 kWh lithium-ion battery allows for a range of up to 265 km (165 miles) in the WLTP cycle. The battery can be charged to 80% in 1 hour at a 40-kW DC fast charger using a CCS (Combined Charging System) charging cable. The CITIGOe iV can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 12.5 seconds. Its top speed is 130 km/h. Series production of the environmentally friendly city speedster will begin in the second half of 2019. Probably the most intense section of the river is the deceptively named Pillow Rock a section that begins with a 30-foot drop, after which youll paddle directly toward a house-size boulder, says PJ Stevenson, the marketing director of Adventures on the Gorge. Then you launch into another stomach-churning drop. Its 10 seconds of pure whitewater chaos, she says. That is, assuming the Gauley is gushing when youre in town. In the springtime, the flow of the river varies from a trickle to a torrent, depending on how much water the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is releasing from the Summersville reservoir. The engineers announce their plans for the day every morning, and rafting companies can make predictions based on rainfall, Stevenson says. With the Gauley, you never really know what youre going to get, she says. New River You can always count on the New River for a heart-pumping ride in the spring, says Haynes Mansfield, marketing director of ACE Adventure Resort. Thats because the New River is a broad, free-flowing river that reliably swells when the snow melts, turning it into a giant roller coaster, he says. When three executives from the freshly minted Kontoor Brands paid a visit last week, they came dressed in denim and steeped in optimism. They were bullish about their company, which was part of a more familiar company, VF Jeanswear, before it was spun off last year. They see sales ticking up and new possibilities for their marquee brands, Wrangler and Lee, which will remain separate. And most encouraging, they see a bright future in Greensboro, which they have embraced warmly and unequivocally as their hometown. They say they like it here because of Wranglers deep roots in Greensboro. They also consider this city a good place to live and raise a family, with reasonably priced housing and manageable traffic. And they not only want to be in Greensboro, they want to be part of Greensboro. Kontoors CEO and president, Scott Baxter, said in an interview that his company, which employs a workforce of 17,000 internationally, 1,200 in North Carolina, is firmly committed to being a strong corporate citizen here. That means executives taking leadership roles in community life, Baxter said. Gildan Activewear donated 2,800 T-shirts to cover the initial county residents who participated in the inaugural 2018 program. This years kick-off events will be at 9 a.m. Saturday, June 1, in each section of the county. To register for the program, visit the following areas: Eden Chamber of Commerce, 678 S. Van Buren Road; Madison-Mayodan Recreation Department, 300 S. Second Ave in Mayodan; Reidsville Parks & Recreation Department, 201 N. Washington Ave.; Reidsville YMCA, 504 S. Main St.; Reidsville Chamber of Commerce, 140 S. Scales St.; and Stoneville Town Hall, 101 Smith St. For information, call 336-612-8034. Rockingham library offers 3D printing Rockingham County Public Library users now have the ability to make three-dimensional objects in plastic using a design that is uploaded from a digital computer file. Any 3D drafting software may be used to create a design as long as the file can be saved in an .stl, .obj, or .thing, file format. Patrons wishing to use the 3D printer must have a library card in good standing. Tam's appetite and level of activity fell suddenly towards the end of last month. The animal is under constant observation by veterinarians. Iman, the last female specimen in Malaysia, is also ill. Kota Kinabalu (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Malaysia is in danger of losing its last male Sumatra rhinoceros: Elder Tam (photo) has stopped eating since April and his health is deteriorating rapidly. The alarm was raised by Christina Liew, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment of the State of Sabah (in the northern region of Borneo). "Tam's appetite and activity level suddenly dropped towards the end of last month," Liew said last week. "Veterinarians are monitoring it 24 hours a day. Tests are underway, but it appears that one or more of its internal organs are not working well." In August 2008, forest rangers captured the male rhino in the Kretam palm oil plantation in Tawau. In the past, this area was jungle. Before the capture of Tam, a group of members of the Sabah Wildlife Department (Swd), SOS Rhino and WWF-Malaysia had spent a week feeding and making friends with the animal, to gain his trust and convince him to enter in a box. Tam was taken to the Tabin Nature Reserve, where he has lived ever since. At the time of his capture, it was thought that the rhino was about 20 years old. Augustine Tuuga, director of the SWD, says that "today Tam is in old age for a Sumatran rhino". If Tam died, he would leave the female Iman as the last specimen of his species in Malaysia. In June 2017, another female named Puntung was shot dead. Puntung was captured in 2011, while Iman was captured in 2014. "Hopes of finding a partner for Tam were broken when we found out that Puntung had cysts throughout the uterus. Even Iman, on the other hand, suffers from massive uterine fibroids. These diseases are the reflection of too few rhinos and insufficient reproductive success in the last decades of the last century, "explains the minister. "Since 2011 - concludes Liew - all the efforts made in Malaysia to save species from extinction have focused on the application of advanced reproductive technology, including IVF attempts and collaborations with Indonesia. To date, these have not been successful ". Tyler Sizemore / Hearst Connecticut Media Find out how much Greenwich town employees earned in 2018 by searching the database below. Members of the Greenwich Police Department dominate the top of the list when extra-duty work is factored into the total earnings. When not considering the police side-job money, members of the Greenwich Public Schools and other high-ranking town officials zoom up the list. Read more: Greenwich employees earning $100K triples in a decade as salaries grow WASHINGTON - Members of both parties criticized President Donald Trump's handling of North Korea on Sunday after the president tweeted that he has "confidence" in Kim Jong Un and quoted North Korean state-run media's assessment that former Vice President Joe Biden is a "low IQ individual." Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., a military veteran who sits on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, cited the Memorial Day holiday in taking issue with Trump's message. "It's Memorial Day Weekend and you're taking a shot at Biden while praising a dictator," Kinzinger tweeted. "This is just plain wrong." Another Republican, Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa, said she "certainly wouldn't trust" Kim. Ernst, who is also a veteran and serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said she was disturbed by North Korea's recent missile test and by Trump's reaction. "I think Japan does have reason to be concerned, and I am concerned as well," she said on CNN's "State of the Union." "We need to see North Korea back off of those activities, and we need to take a very strong stance on that." The issue arose after Trump, who is on a state visit to Japan, tweeted that North Korea's recent missile tests were not of concern, contradicting a recent statement by national security adviser John Bolton. "North Korea fired off some small weapons, which disturbed some of my people, and others, but not me," the president tweeted. "I have confidence that Chairman Kim will keep his promise to me, & also smiled when he called Swampman Joe Biden a low IQ individual, & worse. Perhaps that's sending me a signal?" South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, who is running for the Democratic presidential nomination, said that when Trump met with Kim last year in Singapore and this year in Hanoi, Vietnam, "he was handing North Korea something that country needed, which was legitimacy." "And the way diplomacy works - the way deals work - is you give someone something in return for something," Buttigieg said on ABC's "This Week." "It hasn't worked at all." On CNN, Ernst added that she understands Trump "has a job to do in negotiating, but we do need to push back on North Korea and make sure that they are following U.N. guidelines." White House press secretary Sarah Sanders defended the president's comments Sunday. In an appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press," Sanders was asked by host Chuck Todd whether Americans should "be concerned that the president of United States is essentially siding with a murderous, authoritarian dictator over a former vice president in the United States." Sanders disputed that characterization. "Chuck, the president's not siding with that," she said. "But I think they agree in their assessment of former Vice President Joe Biden." Pressed on whether Trump is taking Kim's word about Biden, Sanders said the president "doesn't need somebody else to give him an assessment of Joe Biden. He's given his own assessment a number of times." As for North Korea's missile tests, Sanders said, "Some of the activity that's taken place, as you can see from the president's Twitter, isn't something that's bothering the president. He still feels good about the relationship that he has and about Chairman Kim's commitment that he made to the president." Biden is leading early polls for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination and has become a prime focus of attacks by Trump and other Republicans. Biden's campaign on Sunday pointed to a statement it made last week in response to remarks by North Korea's state-run news agency that Biden has a low IQ, which itself was a response to Biden's criticism of the regime. In that statement, Biden spokesman Andrew Bates said Trump has "been repeatedly tricked in to making major concessions to the murderous regime in Pyongyang while getting nothing in return." "Given Vice President Biden's record of standing up for American values and interests, it's no surprise that North Korea would prefer that Donald Trump remain in the White House," he said. Others argued that Trump is acting strategically in his dealings with the authoritarian regime. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a close Trump ally, said that he was "glad the president is engaging" Kim and that the president was "trying to give North Korea some space to come back to the table and end this." "Like every other president, he's trying hard to stop the advance of nuclear armament in North Korea," Graham said on "Fox News Sunday." He added: "I'll give Trump the space he needs to deal with Kim. But I'll remind the president: You have to deliver on this. This is one of the signature issues of your administration." - - - The Washington Post's Paige Winfield Cunningham and Simon Denyer contributed to this report. A timeline of the Huawei ban: what happened so far and what to expect Last Friday the US Commerce Department added Huawei to the Entity List, aka the blacklist. Essentially, this meant that US companies are banned from exporting hardware and software to Huawei. The full impact of this became clear just days later. Over the weekend Google suspended Huaweis access to its services Huawei can still use Android AOSP, but not the Play Store or other Google-run services. Existing devices will keep working and even receiving security updates. On Monday, the US decided to delay the ban by 90 days. A few days earlier Huawei announced that it has stockpiled chips and vital components enough to last it three months. Its not clear if this means that the company can continue selling phones in the short term. The Honor 20 and 20 Pro were announced on Tuesday, but a release date has not been set. That same day the Huawei Mate 20 Pro was pulled from the Android 10 Q beta program, so major OS updates are on hold (again, security updates should continue to be released). On Wednesday, ARM cut ties with Huawei. The companys Kirin chipsets use ARM cores for both the CPU and GPU (Cortex and Mali), ARM designs are also used in the companys 5G network chips. On Thursday, TSMC announced it will continue fabbing Huawei chips. Also, a source told the BBC that the Kirin 985 isnt affected by the ban, at least not directly. Indirectly, theres no phone to put it in (the Mate 30 would likely have been the debut of the 985 chip). If the US takes Huawei off the Entity List in the next few weeks, everything should return to normal. Well, not quite Huawei will certainly step up its efforts on reducing its dependence on US hardware and software. Its already working on an OS in house. If the ban remains in place for longer, Huawei will certainly be hurt and it may be hard to recover its rivals will quickly take over any lost market share outside of China. Huawei will lose revenue. And if this takes several months to resolve, Huaweis business outside of China may be over. Clearly, the company will keep operating in its home country. However, its smartphone, laptop and network equipment business abroad may not recover. Heres a quick rundown of other companies that stopped shipments to Huawei. The company may find some local alternatives (e.g. BOE displays), but it will be hard to replace everything. EE is launching the first 5G network in the UK on May 30, but it abandoned plans to sell Huawei 5G phones. Vodafone similarly paused pre-orders for the Huawei Mate 20 X (5G). Japanese carriers KDDI, NTT Docomo and SoftBank have delayed the launch of new Huawei phones (by the way, SoftBank owns ARM). Huawei was kicked out of the SD Association, meaning it cant release new models with a microSD slot. It does have its own NM card format, but those are manufactured by Toshiba and Toshiba just stopped shipments to Huawei. Panasonic also suspended trade with Huawei. Intel, Qualcomm, Xilinx and Broadcom have also halted shipments to Huawei. This hurts not just the companys smartphone business, but its PC and server operations as well. Memory maker Infineon was reported to have cut ties with the smartphone maker too, but the company has denied that. Huawei is protesting the US Commerce Departments decision and claims it has backup plans in place. However, a lot happened in the span of a week and it has hurt not just Huawei but its US partners too. What happens next will be one for the history books. This week politics spilled over into the world of technology quite suddenly and somewhat unexpectedly. Last week the US put Chinese Huawei on a ban list and this week we felt the consequences as Google suspended Huawei's license to use Android. Google later revoked the ban for 90 days but that still doesn't give Huawei a real way of using its Android. The issues get further complicated. A trade war encompasses a huge spectrum of businesses and the US has a huge network of partners. UK-based chip design giant ARM had to cut ties with Huawei, effectively ending the Chinese company's Kirin development. The Honor 20 and Honor 20 Pro were made official but it later turned out that they didn't get Android certification and may not launch soon. Additionally, the Huawei Mate 20 Pro was pulled from the Android Q beta program. Tough times for Huawei, which issued a few comments on the situation. Huawei said that the US is using the trade war to bully it and that it's working with Google to resolve the matter. Huawei has also issued a statement that it understands that partners, such as ARM, are caught up in the ugly situation. Huawei is reportedly in talks with Aptoide to provide a replacement for the Google Play store and its services. Moving outside the US-China drama. The Redmi K20 will come with a notch-less screen, a 7th-gen under-display fingerprint scanner, a triple camera and a 4,000mAh battery. The Samsung Galaxy S10 series smartphones received a software update that has improved the results from Night mode photos. Speaking of photos, the Honor 20 Pro managed to tie the OnePlus 7 Pro for an overall score of 111 on DxOMark. Meanwhile it was revealed that Samsung has readied its own 5x zoom camera that it will likely premiere in the Samsung Galaxy Note10 this fall. Sony detailed its mobile plans, listing the markets it will be focusing on and those it will be leaving behind. The latter include Canada, India and Australia. Those were the bigger stories of the week. See you in seven days! Huawei reportedly in talks with Aptoide to find replacement for Google Play Store Huaweis situation puts the future of Huaweis smartphone business at risk, but it is not going down without a fight. Honor 20 and Honor 20 Pro go official with quad cams, flagship Kirin 980 chipset The Honor 20 Pro main camera has the widest aperture of any phone - f/1.4. It lets in 60% more light than an f/1.8 aperture. Oppo K3 brings full-screen display and SD710 for $230 The phone arrives with 6/64 GB memory or 8/128 GB variant that brings the price up to $275. Redmi K20 shown off in an official image with gradient design and triple camera It will be unveiled on May 28 with Snapdragon 855 SoC, 48MP primary camera, and a 4,000 mAh battery. Honor 20 Pro gets 111 score in DxOMark test, matches the OnePlus 7 Pro There are only two phones ahead of it - the Huawei P30 Pro and Samsung Galaxy S10 5G. United States pushes South Korea to ditch Huawei products Local carrier LG Uplus should not be allowed to serve in sensitive areas, US State Official claims. Huawei Mate 20 Pro pulled from the Android 10 Q beta program It's not clear if it will be reinstated during the 90-day delay in the ban on Huawei trading with US companies. Haiti - Mother's Day : Vibrant tribute from Prime Minister to all Haitian mothers As part of the celebration of Mother's Day, acting Prime Minister Jean-Michel Lapin delivered a message of circumstance that we invite you to read Message from acting Prime Minister Lapin : "Mother's Day is a special time when women in general and moms in particular get all the attention. Mankind celebrates mothers for their love, kindness, courage and the many sacrifices they make for the happiness of their children and their families. They are honored because the mother is considered both an educator, a counselor, a manager, a protector of her children. The mother is also considered as the pillar of the family, the first social cell that feeds a nation. Because I recognize these strong values that underpin the great importance of the mother, I would like to take this pleasant opportunity to pay tribute to all the mothers of Haiti and especially to tell them how much I am sensitive to the remarkable work they do every day. These brave Haitian moms who fight most often with very little means to support their families are examples and models for our girls. I want to wish them a beautiful Mother's Day and I hope they will be surrounded by love by their families. I am aware of the great suffering that hinders hope because of the difficult situation that is the reality of Haiti. And it is aware of this reality, with a special thought for Haitian mothers, that I am remain available for Parliament. I know that Haitians and Haitians expect a lot and I especially know that it is my duty to rise to the height of their requirement. If the Parliamentarians were to decide, I would be proud to contribute to better conditions for a celebration that is the size of the Haitian mother. To all the mothers of Haiti, I renew my respects and my affections. Happy Mother's Day !" Jean-Michel Lapin Prime Minister HL/ HaitiLibre Published on 2019/05/26 | Source The government wants to revise the law so parents no longer have the right to corporal punishment of their children, a spokesman said Thursday. The current law allows parents to discipline their children as they see fit. Advertisement Only a handful of countries like Japan still allow parents to punish their children physically. But in March the Japanese government announced a plan for a debate to decide whether that should be banned. Korea in principle bans guardians from inflicting "physical or psychological pain" on children. But habitual abusers sometimes cite the right to discipline their children under the separate civil law. The planned revision aims to clear up the legal quandaries. Fifty-four countries have banned corporal punishment of children. Sweden was the first in 1979. By William Schwartz | Published on 2019/05/25 In 2015 a South Korean right-wing group claims that some six hundred demonstraters in the Gwangju Uprising were actually North Korean special forces operatives. This conclusion was arrived at through digital facial analysis software. So begins the search for the titular "KIM-GUN", one distinctive young man from those pictures whose apparently unknown identity is used as proof of concept for the conspiracy theory. Advertisement "KIM-GUN" isn't really actually about the conspiracy theory. Director Kang Sang-woo does well to use a lot of the right wingers' original footage here, because the sheer bombastic and absurd nature of the claims is obvious without a rebuttal really being all that necessary. Mind, I still liked the rebuttals. One normal citizen points out that if several hundred North Korean operatives had snuck into Gwangju then South Korean Intelligence either incompetently failed to notice them or equally incompetently failed to warn anybody actually in Gwangju that they were under attack from a legion of spies. But by and large "KIM-GUN" isn't really a political documentary at all. It's mostly just a nostalgic look at the Gwangju Uprising through the framing device of, who was that guy? Does anyone remember? Imagine being shown a picture of someone you briefly knew socially or saw in the background for maybe a week or so during a highly charged emotional period of your life. That's what "KIM-GUN" amounts to, is interviews and anecdotes along these lines. This creates a bitter contrast against the right wing propaganda that makes up the earlier part of the documentary. When ex-army officials points to pictures of masked guerrillas and question the use of masks, and ask why these supposed democratic activists are afraid of showing their faces, this betrays an alarming notion of legitimacy. To these career soldiers, anyone wearing a proper pressed uniform is the good guy. Anyone who can explain where their gun came from is a good guy. What a person actually does with their uniform or their gun is besides the point, and has no moral relevance. It doesn't take much imagination to imagine what legitimate reason a person might have for covering their face up. This is spelled out all too clearly when, after much investigation, director Kang Sang-woo is able to get three witnesses who all saw "KIM-GUN" together in the same movie theater. The casual way which they discuss what must have been several succeeding moments of abject terror is...more than a little frightening. Pretty much anyone that age or older in Gwangju today has some variation on that life-changing story. They all lived through that moment, which bitterly challenged their assumptions about the power of justice and righteousness when faced against overwhelming military force. More than anything else, though, the documentary is just filled with regret. Not like, regret that they could have or should have acted differently, but a more generic regret about innocence lost. This retrospective vision on the inherently tragic nature of history is, curiously enough, completely absent from the right wingers who see violence as an ends rather than a means. Review by William Schwartz ___________ "KIM-GUN" is directed by Kang Sang-woo. Release date in Korea: 2019/05/23. @@334022725 Published on 2019/05/26 | Source 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. Advertisement 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. 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. Published on 2019/05/26 | Source Novelist Shin Kyung-sook has released a new work following a hiatus of four years due to a plagiarism scandal. Advertisement She published a medium-length novel in the summer issue of literary magazine "Quarterly Changbi" on Thursday. In 2015, Shin was accused of plagiarizing "Patriotism" by Japanese author Yukio Mishima for her short story "Legend", published in 1996. Shin admitted her mistake a week later. "The last four years was a long and painful period in my life, and I looked back over my 30-year writing career, going back to the very beginning", Shin wrote. "A momentary carelessness in my youth caused a serious mistake in my writing. It was forgotten in my memory and a long time had passed. My petty pride as a writer made it difficult for me to acknowledge it quickly". She added, "Writing is the only thing I can do, so by continuing to write step by step, I will repay my debt to everyone who had high hopes in me and whom I let down". In the new story, which is told in the first person, the unnamed narrator receives a farewell message from a friend living in Germany. The friend, who had married and settled in the foreign country after going there to study, told her that she is battling cancer. The narrator leaves for Germany to meet the friend. The piece appears to be a tribute to Shin's long-time friend, the poet Heo Su-kyoung, who passed away in Germany in October last year of gastric cancer. A SOUP concocted by an amateur cook is to be sold in shops across Britain. Richard Normans spicy carrot and red lentil recipe won the Big Broth, an annual competition organised by homelessness charity Centrepoint. It was chosen by a panel of judges during a live cook-off held at the charitys headquarters in London. The recipe will be produced by soup specialists Yorkshire Provender in September with the 400,000 pots going on sale nationwide. A share of proceeds will go Centrepoint. Mr Norman, 54, from Catslip, near Nettlebed, was encouraged to enter the contest by his wife Julie while the couple were shopping at the Waitrose store in Henley in March. She read about it in the supermarkets newspaper and said he should put himself forward as he is a keen cook. Mr Norman picked up the basic recipe some years ago but has adapted it to add more flavour. For the competition he had to submit his recipe with photos of the finished soup. He then learned he had been shortlisted for the final and was invited to the training kitchen at Centrepoint in Tottenham Court Road, where he and the other four finalists had to make theit entries for the judges. When he was announced as the winner, his rivals applauded him. Each finalist was presented with a silver ladle for taking part. The judges included the Telegraphs food writer William Sitwell, chefs Chantelle Nicholson, Thomasina Miers and Ching-He Huang. Mr Norman, a professional dog walker, said: They were very kind and asked gentle questions about where I had got the idea from. It wasnt terrifying like it is on those reality television shows. We were all called back up soon afterwards and William Sitwell gave a little speech and then announced me as the winner, which was an amazing feeling and, I have to say, somewhat unexpected. Im not a competitive person so Id have been happy for anyone to have won it. All of us entrants were a bit middle-aged and doddery so we got on fine! Having said Im not competitive, I know the last winner raised 7,000 for Centrepoint with a red pepper and chorizo soup and I hope to raise more as I think my recipe has more popular appeal. Ive been making it for quite some time but the original recipe was a bit bland and Ive adapted it over the years to be a lot more tasty. The main benefit is that you can make it all year round because carrots are always in season whereas ingredients like asparagus are very expensive at certain times. Its gluten-free, vegan, cheap to make and really does fill you up, which is why we always take it with us when we go away for the weekend in our motor home. The proceeds will help Centrepoint to house young homeless people and train them to find a job to support themselves. Mr Norman said: I go up to London early in the morning to pick up dogs and you see vast numbers of homeless people in shop doorways and on the streets. Its terrible that in Belgravia, Chelsea and Kensington, some of the richest parts of London, there should be such an awful problem. Centrepoints work is so valuable because some young people dont have the best start in life and it can give them the guidance to face adulthood and a better future. More generally, Id love to see a programme that teaches people who are struggling financially to cook recipes such as this. You can make enough to cover three meals for the price of a frozen pizza and its a lot more nutritious. I can make a huge batch for little more than a couple of quid and its got to be far better than the convenience food that many people eat. Mr Sitwell said: Each recipe had its own story and signature taste but when it came down to deliberations it was clear that Richards soup was the standout. The salsa side was different and experimental and the taste brought with it a comforting warmth. Richard Utting, events director at Centrepoint, said: Were excited for Richard. His winning recipe will help us to raise money for vulnerable young people one bowl of soup at a time. The other judges were Belinda Williams, founder of Yorkshire Provender, Natalie Bloxham, who appears on ITVs This Morning, chef and social media star Ben Lebus and and reality TV star Spencer Matthews. SOUTH HOLSTON LAKE I almost started talking about Sweetie Pie Beach. And then, in the course of interviewing everybody I could find on South Holston Lake, I knew nobody would know where that meant. But, believe me, this is a magical place in Washington County, Virginia a beach with actual sand on South Holston Lake in the Cherokee National Forest. There are no roads or trails getting there; its accessible only by boat. Sweetie Pie Beach has just enough sand to tickle your toes while listening to waves pound the lakeshore from the wakes of passing boats. But, does it really have that name? To me, it does. My daughter coined Sweetie Pie Beach a decade ago when she was 8 years old a time when little girls say all kinds of cute things and, really, can do no wrong. Today, this is where I still tell my wife I am headed for an afternoon. Sweetie Pie Beach. Its not far from Little John Cove. BRISTOL, Tenn. Tattoo artists and enthusiasts gathered this weekend along State Street for Bristols first tattoo festival. Justin Brown, a Mobile, Alabama, native, has been serving the Twin Cities as a tattoo artist for more than two years. He operates the Bristol Tattoo Company in the 500 block of State Street. Brown had started tattooing at friends shops and conventions, including in Florida, he told the Bristol Herald Courier during the State Street Tattoo Fest on Saturday at The Foundation. Florida became too hot and stressful, so he and his family decided it was time to move north, to Johnson City, Tennessee. The tattoo artist worked for a while in Johnson City, and a real estate agent suggested his family consider moving to Bristol. Brown found a place he could call home in Bristol and fell in love with the downtown area, he said. Brown said he has found success working on State Street. A friend of Browns, Scotty Whitaker, is a local resident and has been traveling to and organizing tattoo conventions for years. The pair decided it was time to host a tattoo festival in Bristol, which Brown said has been under consideration for about two years. Support Local Journalism Your subscription makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} After finding a venue, The Foundation above 620 State Street, contacting tattoo artists from around the country and working with local officials, Brown and Whitaker were able to host Bristols first tattoo festival this weekend. About 70 tattoo artists, with a majority from out of town, gathered at the venue, where they were able to show off their portfolios and tattoo guests interested in some new ink. A few bands, a pin-up contest and a magician added to the festivities, Brown said. Brown said he hopes the new festival becomes an annual event. He noted that it gives people an opportunity to meet tattoo artists from around the country, including California, Pennsylvania, Florida and Ohio. A number of local artists from the Tri-Cities region, including Heathur Sawyer of Feel Good Ink in Gray, Tennessee, and Chris Martinez of Pioneer Tattoo in Elizabethton, Tennessee, also participated. This is something different for downtown Bristol, Brown said. Artists this weekend created both color and black-and-white tattoos. The State Street Tattoo Fest continues today from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Brown said Ragged Sally will perform at 3 p.m., and tattoo artists will be working throughout the day. The tattoo festival coincided Saturday with the Bristol Wing War, which was held on Piedmont Avenue between State Street and Cumberland Street, and featured chicken wings, beer and music. Local restaurants competed to see who has the best wings in town. 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. Sabrina Kennedy Brown laughed in the early summer sun, the wind blowing her blond curls, as the waters of South Holston Lake lapped at her dock on Painter Creek. I have a sense of peace when Im here, Brown said. Even if its complete chaos down here, even if there are 450 people down here, to me, its still comforting. Its been about 30 summers since Brown started pacing the Painter Creek dock, visiting her boyfriends parents Dee and Shirley Brown, who had owned the marina in Sullivan County, Tennessee, since 1972. Today, at 49, after marrying that boyfriend and later buying the marina, Brown is in charge of 350 boat slips plus a restaurant called Painter Creek Grille. She is the owner and operator with her husband, Dee Dee. Hes retired, so she has help running this sprawling site from her two sons, a cousin and a family of enthusiastic employees. When Brown says, Im just a simple, little, ol girl from McDowell County, West Virginia, that phrase actually has a meaning as deep as South Holston Lake. So many of Painter Creeks customers hail from the Virginia-West Virginia border, refugees of the coal counties, and Brown says she can relate to how this lake is their playground. At one point in time, half of our customers the majority of our customers were from the coalfields, Brown said. But thats not the case now. I think a lot of the customers that were from back home moved here just like me. Water Safety Tips Make sure you have proper safety equipment, like a working fire extinguisher and life jackets, before you get on the water. Pack enough water to stay hydrated. Wear sunscreen. Keep your head on a swivel. Pay attention to those around you. Even though you may be doing what youre supposed to be doing, somebody else might not be. If youre going to drink alcohol, bring a designated driver. Source: Tyler Sheets, conservation police officer for the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries Painter Creek sits near the center of South Holston Lake, a 24-mile-long reservoir, measured from the most northern navigable channel on the South Fork of the Holston River near Alvarado, Virginia, to the 69-year-old South Holston Dam in Sullivan County, Tennessee. Its a beautiful lake. Its very clean. Its clear. Its deep. Its surrounded by gorgeous mountains, said Laurel Marina & Yacht Club manager Ken Robinson. Its also big enough so that it doesnt get boring but small enough that you wont get lost on it. Really crowded Each summer, thousands find this two-state water hole, spanning 7,580 acres, just a few miles east of both Abingdon, Virginia, and Bristol, Tennessee. We do get some tourism down here, said Tyler Sheets, a conservation police officer for the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. But a lot of this is just local people who like to come out and have a good time. Especially now. Memorial Day is usually really crowded, said boater John Hill, 73, who has a Chris Craft docked at Sportsmans Marina near Abingdon. Five marinas line the lakeshore, each offering a different experience, based on their unique locations. Friendship is among the most remote. Were kind of tucked away in a corner. Were off the main channel, and were down in a cove, said Chris Koserski, manager of the Friendship Resort & Marina in Sullivan County. The Koserski family bought the marina in 1989, and the family patriarch, Peter Koserski, 71, constructed much of what you see today. Dad built all the slips. The slips that were there have been junked and have been replaced, said Chris Koserski, 40. For Friendship, springtime means cleaning boats, changing oil on motors and providing simple maintenance, Koserski said. Nearby, Laurel Marina & Yacht Club stands along U.S. Highway 421, near a public boat access ramp. With 459 slips, its the largest marina on the lake; its also the only one owned by a chain Suntex Marinas. The magic to filling boat slips is being that family-friendly environment, Robinson said. We want them to come out here and leave their stress and leave their work behind. Robinson, 63, spent 18 years as the owner/operator of a marina in Arkansas. Looking for a retirement job, he found Laurel last year. Its just something that gets in your blood, Robinson said. Its all about having family fun and introducing families to the boating lifestyle. Great lifestyle Support Local Journalism Your subscription makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} Travis Richards talks all about that boating lifestyle as the owner of Sportsman Marina. Prior to buying the only marina on the Virginia side of South Holston Lake in 2007, Richards spent a few years as a roadside dealer, selling ski boats and pontoons. Now, he said, having this marina is a great lifestyle. It just seemed like having a marina kind of fits the mold of being able to take care of my 300 people. I can sell you a boat. I can service your boat. I restore your boat. I can feed you a hamburger. I can get you a cold beer. I can get you whatever you need with this kind of lifestyle. But during the off-season, for a marina owner, this lifestyle can be a bear. Last winter, Richards shoveled snow off the roofs of his buildings. Then, in March, he dealt with flooding waters, when relentless rain caused the lake to crest about 6 feet higher than the normal summer pool elevation of 1,729 feet. A lot of cleanup. We went through about three pressure washers, Richards remembered. But, were ready to go. Were ready for another great season. Sportsmans customers include John Hill, 73, and his wife, Vivian, of Marion, Virginia. Right now, we just go out cruising on the lake, John Hill said. We dont go very fast. Cranking up some beach music, the Hills take a slow ride on their 40-foot-long, 1985-model Chris Craft, a cruiser that could be considered a houseboat. Inside, youll find a bedroom plus a couch, a kitchen and a bathroom. I have always liked this boat model, said John Hill, who bought the boat in Florida. Its nice inside. Its comfortable. We spent a week on our boat before. Often, youll find the Hills dropping anchor in Sullivan Countys slice of South Holston Lake. I like the Tennessee side better, because all the land around it is public land, John Hill said. You can go into little coves, and youre not interrupting anybody or getting too close to their house. Lake View Down in Tennessee, Lake View Dock sits more than 20 miles downstream from the upper reaches of the lake in Virginia. Its the closest marina to South Holston Dam. And were the only one on this end of the lake, said owner John Slagle. Theres a certain appeal to this end of the lake, Slagle added. There are a few more coves you can sneak up and hide in. Lake View Dock was built in 1949 a year before the completion of the impoundment by the Tennessee Valley Authority. For 58 years, this marina has belonged to the Slagle family. John Slagle, 56, has been on staff for 35 years but actually worked here when he was as young as 12, helping folks load their boats. Comparing South Holstons winding and skinny Virginia side to the wide waters of Tennessee, Slagle said, Its really two different lakes. A break between the two sides according to Slagle happens somewhere around Painter Creek Marina. The Virginia side is beautiful. There are beautiful homes there, said Brown. But I dont think you can find as much privacy on the Virginia side. The lake is bigger on the Tennessee side. There are more places to go and park. In the past few years, Slagle says hes seen more boats on the lake, and he figures that may be due to the fact that nearby Boone Lake has been drawn down for dam repairs in Tennessee. But, South Holston Lakes popularity may not be all about Boone. Its an incredible resource, and its been marketed to where people see it and recognize it as pristine, Slagle said. The water is crystal clear. And, come Memorial Day, this lake is where thousands will want to make a splash. Memorial Day is really big, Slagle said. We work all winter to get ready for Memorial Day. 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. EMORY, Va. Retiring Emory & Henry College President Jake Schrum is headed to Decatur, Georgia, this summer, leaving behind a strong legacy at the small liberal arts college. President of the college since 2014, Schrum gave his final farewell during his commencement speech earlier this month and was honored by faculty and staff as part of the colleges Service Day to the Community. A native of Texas, Schrum had a long career in college administration before finding himself in Southwest Virginia at E&H. Schrum was born and raised in Sugarland, Texas, where he learned the value of hard work on the family cattle and crop farm. After high school, he set off for college, first at Southwest University in Georgetown, Texas, and then at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. His next stop was in New England, where he went to graduate school at Yale Divinity School, where he became an ordained Methodist minister, and then he was off to Harvard. In between graduate schools, Schrum realized his true calling. Originally, he thought he would work as a counselor, but after a short time he realized he wanted to work as an administrator helping students and schools achieve their goals. Support Local Journalism Your subscription makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} After completing his studies, Schrum soon found himself president of Texas Wesleyan University in Fort Worth for nine years. Then he went back to Southwestern, where he was president for 13 years. After 22 years as a college administrator, Schrum retired. During an innocent conversation with his wife, Schrum said that if he ever returned to college administration, there were only two schools hed consider Wofford, in South Carolina, and Emory & Henry. Soon after, Schrum found out that both schools were searching for new leadership, and he wound up at E&H. During his tenure, Schrum enacted several significant changes. He was instrumental in developing the School of Health Sciences, which has attracted a number of students and faculty for both undergraduate and graduate degrees. Schrum also installed the Ampersand Program, a strategic overlay process meant to encourage students to connect with their passions. Part of that philosophy gave birth to Affinity Groups, specialized to attract prospective students from any discipline. Affinity Groups are one way Schrum has addressed the ever-increasing challenge of attracting new students. If a prospective student participated in high school marching band, that student may wish to continue in marching band, but not major in music. E&H solved that conundrum with the Affinity Groups, allowing students to pursue anything they have a passion for, regardless of intended majors. Recruiting students has been a major focus of his presidency. When asked what the E&H experience means for students, he said, We are peddlers of hope. We have a pervasive spirit of generosity. Schrum also said that the character of the students is smart, full of promise and unencumbered by cynicism. That character led Schrum to coin a new word, empurage, which he debuted during his retirement speech. It is a combination of the words empathy, purpose and courage and encompasses all that is in the hidden curriculum at Emory and Henry College, he said. Schrum is retiring to a custom-built home in Decatur, with his wife, Jane, and their beloved Cavalier King Charles spaniel, Wallace. Washington County COVID positivity rate breaks record Weeks after a cyberattack knocked offline the Md. Department of Health's COVID dashboard, county-level data used to track the virus trickles back. The new Open Doors USA college and youth program called "Open Doors Fortify" is off to a fast start. "We are excited about what God has done through this new outreach to students," says Open Doors USA College & Youth Director Kate Yates. "There is such enthusiasm among the students I have met in the last few months. They have a passion to reach out to persecuted believers in prayer and in other tangible ways. It has been a joy to interact with them." At a recent youth event in Nashville, a total of over 300 students committed to pray and advocate for persecuted Christians, who are the most oppressed faith group in the world. Students can link arms and hearts with suffering Christians through two new programs -- United in Christ and Change for Change. United in Christ offers the opportunity to encourage Christians in war-torn Iraq through the use of social media. Young people are urged to record a video message of hope and prayers for believers in Iraq, which is ranked No. 4 on the Open Doors 2014 World Watch List of the worst persecutors of Christians. The messages are posted on Instagram, Facebook or YouTube with the hashtag #UIC2014. Open Doors facilitates distributing the posts to the proper places. "Christians face severe persecution and violence in Iraq," says Yates. "Though there were more than 1.5 million Christians living there in 2003, Open Doors now estimates that only 330,000 believers remain. The United in Christ outreach program sends a message of hope to Christians, especially young Christians, in Iraq." An Open Doors field worker says: "It's heart warming that so many young people are praying for Iraq. We can't wait to show persecuted Christians the videos so they can see they are not forgotten by their fellow followers of Jesus." To watch the videos from around the world, go to www.uic2014.org. The Change for Change campaign asks students across America to give up something they value or usually purchase for one month and donate the money to help support persecuted Christians in the nearly 60 countries where Open Doors works. Students can sacrifice coffee, soft drinks, snacks or hobbies for a week and contribute that money toward the ministry of Open Doors. Supporters then can send a check with the funds saved to: Open Doors USA, 1956-J University Blvd. S #255, Mobile, AL 36609. 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. Personally, I know we make a difference. We know that when they come here, you can interrupt and protect their trauma journey, which impacts what happens to them in the future, said Adrienne Opdyke, executive director for the CAPC. Connecting with more than 300 vulnerable children and linking them to the proper resources, the CAPC lessens a childs ACE score. Similar to Smith at the Guardian ad Litem office, Opdyke has seen a constant uptick in the number of cases in which they handle, particularly within the last five years. Substance abuse has provided a major impact in the increase of the problem. A parent searching for substances can put their children at higher risk of sexual abuse. Also, a using parent is not protecting and not watching and is unaware of what is happening to their children, increasing physical abuse as well, says Opdyke. The executive director says they have also seen the prevalence of sexting and pornography in children increasing, and children are being preyed upon on social media. Andhra Pradeshs chief minister-designate, YS Jaganmohan Reddy, on Sunday met Prime Minister-elect Narendra Modi in New Delhi. Reddy said it would have been a wonderful moment for his YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) had the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) got only 250 seats. He added but the NDA won 353 seats. So they [NDA] do not need us. They are strong, he said after meeting Modi. Reddy said he had prayed to God not to give more than 250 seats to any party to allow him to seek special category status for Andhra Pradesh in lieu of support for the government formation at the Centre. The YSRCP swept the national and assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh. It won 151 seats in the 175-member assembly. Outgoing chief minister N Chandrababu Naidus Telugu Desam Party (TDP) bagged 23 seats while the Janasena Party got one seat. The YSRCP won 22 out of Andhra Pradeshs 25 Lok Sabha seats. The TDP got the remaining three. Reddy, who will be sworn in as the chief minister on May 30, said his party could only request and not demand or command the special category status. The demand was a key poll plank of the YSRCP. The TDP pulled out of the NDA government last year over denial of special category status to Andhra Pradesh. The status is normally given to disadvantaged states, which get concessions like tax breaks. Also Read| Jagan meets Andhra Governor, stakes claim to form government Reddy, who urged Modi to be magnanimous towards Andhra Pradesh, also met BJP president Amit Shah. Reddy called Shah and sought his support as well. There is very little we can do in demanding and commanding. But yes, we did explain to the Prime Minister why the status is so important for us, he said. Today, we might not get it. We have to be at somebodys mercy but I will remind him again and again. Reddy said the states debt burden was at Rs 97,000 crore when Telangana was carved out of it in 2014. In the past five years, the debt has swelled to Rs 2.58 lakh crore. Andhra Pradesh sought special category status saying the creation of Telangana disadvantaged it when the state was bifurcated in 2014. Reddy said Modi gave him a patient hearing. He listened to the whole thing and was positive. That is a good sign. From here, we are hoping that things would come out positively in better shape, he said. Actor Arjun Kapoor has expressed that he is happy with the presence of step-sisters Janhvi and Khushi Kapoor in his life. Talking about the two in an interview, the actor said that he did it for his father, filmmaker Boney Kapoor. The Indias Most Wanted actor told CineBlitz in an interview, Where my sisters are concerned, and the bond that all of you have been able to witness for the last year, and the evolution of it, I think it is still a continuous process on a daily basis. There is a discovery of each other and we are at a very nascent stage in that. When you are 32 and you have two new people enter your life, you also have to give it time. He added, You cannot just start believing that things are hunky-dory and absolutely normal. You have to discover each other and spend time with each other. We have been very lucky that we got time to spend, whether it was Janhvi or Khushi, and also weve had our own individual spaces. Because we are not living together, we are not in each others faces. This allows us to get to know each other at a steady pace. I am very happy that I have them in my life. I did it for my dad. Arjun and Janhvi made their first joint appearance on screen on Karan Johars chat show Koffee With Karan in its sixth season. Arjun is currently rumoured to be dating Malaika Arora and the two are regularly spotted on lunch and dinner dates, events and parties. The two also went to Maldives on a vacation. Indias Most Wanted | Public Review Also read: Omung Kumar on his film PM Narendra Modi: He is a hero figure and that is what I have portrayed Addressing the rumours of their wedding, Arjun recently told PTI, I am not getting married. If I am getting married I will speak about it openly. There is no reason for me to hide it. It is not something I can hide from people. If I am not hiding anything now, why will I hide my marriage? I am working now, I am not in the zone to get married. I dont care about what the world has to say. Follow @htshowbiz for more Actor Arjun Rampal and girlfriend Gabriella Demetriades are set to welcome their first child. The actor hosted a fun-filled baby shower for the South African model who later shared pictures from the party on Instagram. Gabriella shared a group picture from the party with the caption, Love ya all. Filmmaker Abhishek Kapoor of Kedarnath fame can also be seen in the picture. The mommy-to-be is seen dressed in a white silk dress while the father-to-be is in black and white formals. Glimpses of Arjun playing DJ at the party were shared by Gabriella on her Instagram stories. The actor is seen engrossed in choosing the right party numbers for the bash. She also shared several pictures with her friends, food and cakes. A picture shows Arjun and Gabriella posing with the cake which is white as per the theme of the party. Gabreilla seems to be in a joyful mood as she poses candidly with her friends. Gabriella Demetriades and Arjun Rampal at her baby shower. (Instagram) Gabriella Demetriades with her friends at the party. (Instagram) Gabriella Demetriades poses for candid pictures with her friends. (Instagram) Food served at the party. (Instagram) Gabriella Demetriades with a friend. (Instagram) Arjun had announced the news of Gabriellas pregnancy on Instagram by sharing a picture with the caption, Blessed to have you and start all over again....thank you baby for this baby. Gabriella is seen sitting on the floor with her baby bump visible in the silk dress while Arjun holds her head in his arms. Also read: Arjun Kapoor on sisters Janhvi Kapoor, Khushi Kapoor: I am very happy that I have them in my life. I did it for my dad Arjun has two daughters named Mahikaa and Myra with his estranged wife, Mehr. They had announced their separation in a statement in May last year. Informing about Mehrs reaction to Arjuns girlfriends pregnancy, her friend had told Mumbai Mirror in a report that though she and Arjun are yet to get a divorce, she is well aware that Arjun has moved on in life. The friend had said in the report, They are still working on the financial terms of the separation. Mehr is a wonderful mother and wants to do what works best for her children. Follow @htshowbiz for more After facing a crushing defeat in the Lok Sabha elections, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) now seems to be facing clashes with its disgruntled legislators. Disgruntled Chandni Chowk MLA Alka Lamba on Saturday claimed that she has been sidelined by the party again, even as AAP convener and chief minister Arvind Kejriwal directed all party MLAs to intensify their public outreach programmes for the 2020 Assembly polls. Lamba claimed that she was removed from the partys MLA WhatsApp group after she praised Naveen Patnaik for winning a fifth term as the chief minister of Odisha. The WhatsApp group Lamba talked about also includes party chief Arvind Kejriwal. A screenshot of the group shared by Lamba revealed that after the partys general elections drubbing, Kejriwal wrote to all AAP MLAs asking them to pull up their socks. From today, from now, all legislators will have to do a lot of hard work read Kejriwals message which was in Hindi. Assembly elections in Delhi are scheduled to be held early next year. The same screenshot also purportedly shows Lamba being removed by AAPs North East Delhi candidate Dilip Pandey from the group. Why am I being held responsible for the partys loss in the Lok Sabha elections. Action should be taken against those who took decisions sitting inside closed rooms, Lamba said. I am sometimes added to the group, sometimes removed. It would have been better if a meeting was held to introspect, look at the shortcomings and move forward, she said. Contacted, the AAP, however, said that it did not want to comment. She is an attention seeker, said Saurabh Bhardwaj, the partys spokesperson. On Kejriwals message to all AAP MLAs, he said, Some MLAs had raised a point that some people are unhappy about few local works in their area. To that, the CM had asked them to meet such people with humility, assure them of speedy work and apologise for inconvenience. Dilip Pandey, who lost his deposit as AAPs candidate from north east Delhi, did not respond to repeated requests for a comment on the matter. With just a week left for the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) Civil Services Examination (CSE) 2019 that will be conducted on June 2, 2019, it is the time for revision. Everything that you must have read in last few months or even an year needs to be revised to brush up your mind. Experts say that it is better to revise the already read stuff than to start new chapters in the last week. Revision is very important to keep everything afresh in your mind for the exam day. Go through the notes that you have prepared, the highlights that you need to focus on and the study materials you have prepared or got from your teachers. Read magazines, current affairs and stay updates with the news. Mostly, reading newspaper daily is a must for all aspirants, says Dr M Rahman of Adamya Aditi Gurukul, Patna. Moreover he advises to solve sample sets and attempt online or offline test series in this last few days to prepare your mind for the exam. Analysing previous years questions is also important to get an idea of pattern and nature of the questions. Test series of some authentic institutions or platforms have been proven very effective for many of the candidates who have cleared the exam. This also helps to check the level of your preparation for the exam. However, the actual questions asked in the exam can be much easier than the questions asked in test series. Candidates should not be disheartened if they score less in the tests, he added. UPSC CSE preliminary exam is the first level of exam that you need to cross to qualify for the main examination. It is an objective type exam consisting of two papers and carries a maximum of 400 marks. However, the marks obtained in the preliminary examination will not be counted for determining the candidates final merit. To qualify for the main exam, candidates must score qualifying marks (as determined by the commission) in the General Studies Paper I and a minimum of 33% in the General Studies Paper II (CSAT). For each wrong answer, the candidate loses one-third (0.33) of the marks assigned to that question. Here is the list of books for every subject that is useful for preparation, as suggested by Dr M Rahman. UPSC Prelims 2019: List of books 1. History- Ancient India: Ram Charan Sharma 2. History- Medieval India: Satish Chandra 3. History: Modern India: Bipan Chandra 3. NCERT Books of History from Class 8 to 12. 5. Indias struggle for Independence- Bipan Chandra 6. Geography- NCERT Books of Class 7 to 12 7. Geography: Mahesh Kumar Barnwals Geography- A comprehensive study 8. Indian Polity- M Lakshmikanth 9. Economics- By Lal and Lal 10. Economic Survey (relevant year) by Ministry of Finance, Government of India 11. Science- NCERT books for class 9-10. 12. India Yearbook (relevant year) 13. Indian Art and Culture by Nitin Singhania UPSC Prelims: Magazines to read Pratiyogita Darpan Drishti magazine Yojna SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON A 15-year-old from Kasba peth died after he fell from a height of 15 feet during parasailing in Raigad on Saturday morning. Vedant Ganesh Pawar, a Class 10 student, was parasailing along with his father at the Murud beach when the incident occurred, police said. Assistant police inspector Kishore Sali said that the victim was parasailing along with his father when he accidentally rolled up the parachute instead of opening it. He got entangled in the parachute and fell down sustaining serious head injured. His father fell on him and as a result Vedant sustained more injuries. He was rushed to a local hospital, but he died during treatment, he said. According to PSI Sali, Vedant was Pawars only son. The victims mother is posted as a constable with the Shivajinagar police station while his father runs a courier business. The family is in a state of shock. Vedant along with his parents and grandparents had come to Murud for a picnic. His father has sustained a fracture in the leg and has been admitted to a hospital, he said. Meanwhile, the parasail operator Sagar Chaulkar has been booked under Sections 304 A (causing death by negligence), 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) and 338 (causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) of the Indian Penal Code. We have booked Chaulkar for negligence which led to the death of the young boy. Generally the revelers who opt for parasailing dont wear helmets. Helmets are mandatory while doing these sorties. In this case, the owner told them about the helmets, but did not insist. If they had worn helmets, this tragedy could have been averted.It is the first case of its kind reported in Murud, he said. Raigad superintendent of police, Anil Paraskar said that a case of negligence had been lodged against the parasailing service provider and confirmed the death of the 15-year-old. by Shafique Khokhar The meeting of the Inter-religious Movement for Tolerance takes place every year during Ramadan, the holy month of Islam. Activists of all religions have reiterated the need to create a country of peace. Lahore (AsiaNews) - Creating "bridges" between religions and expressing the unity of people against those who spread hatred, extremist ideas and kill in the name of religion: with these goals the interreligious movement for tolerance (Rwadari Tehreek) organized its annual meeting two days ago. Activists of various faiths marked the occasion by sharing the meal that interrupts fasting the iftar, the evening meal held at sunset during Ramadan, the holy month of Islam. The meeting was attended by lay leaders of all religions: Christians (Catholics and Protestants), Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Baha'is. This is an event that is celebrated every year at this time to strengthen the bonds of friendship between religious communities, in the promise to respect each other. Samson Salamat, president of the movement, said: "Every year during Ramadan Rwadari Tehreek organizes similar gatherings and events to enhance in different parts of the country which is a display of unity against all those who are spreading hate and extremism and killing people though different forms of terrorism, using religion or sect as a tool. Today, we once again pledge to continue our struggle for a peaceful Pakistan, free from all kinds of biases and discrimination, extremism and terrorism and demand from the government to take appropriate action as per National Action Plan against all those who are a threat to peace and humanity". The Islamic leader Allama Asim Makhdoom thanked the group for "organizing this beautiful iftar dinner with the aim of bringing all religions together for [building] peace, harmony and coexistence". "I would like to point out - he added - that Pakistan was not made for Muslims, Christians or Hindus. It was created for the human being and when we talk about humanity it means that we are all equal and with the same dignity ". The religious concluded: "This meeting is a clear message to all those who want to separate us. There is no such powerful force that can divide us, because we believe in love and harmony. May Allah bless us all and give us more courage to fight terrorism and extremism in our country ". In his first address to party workers after the partys drubbing in the Lok Sabha elections in Delhi, the Aam Aadmi Partys national convener and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday said the party failed to convince voters in the general elections but he believes that in the 2020 assembly polls in Delhi the AAP would break all records. Kejriwal on Sunday addressed a gathering of party workers in West Delhis Punjabi Bagh which was attended by nearly a thousand party workers from across the city. Many of them were office bearers and members of the partys block level, ward level and district level units. Some participants claimed they were associated with the party since the Anna Hazare-led India Against Corruption movement in 2011. As Kejriwal started his speech with How is the Josh? (A popular line from a Hindi movie released earlier this year), many in the crowd cheered some of them broke into a smile, others repeated the line. On the seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi, the AAP candidates failed to secure second place. It stood third behind the Congress. Also, three AAP candidates lost their deposit. The party secured a vote share of 18.10% in Delhi. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which won all seven seats got over 56% votes. The party workers convention Sunday, in the words of the senior AAP leaders such as Manish Sisodia, Gopal Rai and Sanjay Singh who had joined Kejriwal on stage, was a morale booster. We had fielded the best candidates. But the results were not in our favour. There was no negativity against the AAP. Then why did this happen? Most people told us that this was the election between [Narendra] Modi and Rahul [Gandhi]. This was not Kejriwals election, Kejriwal said, addressing himself in the third person. He further said, We failed to convince Delhi residents on why they should vote for us in the general elections. Lets admit that... But then think about it. It is the AAP government which offered power subsidy, water subsidy, access to good schools, health care and numerous services to the Delhi residents. Had they [the people of Delhi] voted the BJP or the Congress to power in 2015 (year of the previous assembly election in Delhi), even they know that they would never have got these benefits. So, in 2020, be confident that people will vote us to power. My heart says we will break our record of 54%. In the 2015 assembly elections in Delhi, the Aam Aadmi Party had won 67 out of 70 seats in Delhi and set a new record. In the same election, AAPs vote share was 54%. This is the second time the party contested the general elections. In 2014, the party had fielded candidates in all seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi and polled around 33% votes. Kejriwal ended his speech by asking the party workers to smile before they leave the venue and start preparing for what he called battle 2020. In a multi-state operation, the special operation group (SOG) of Rajasthan police arrested 11 office-bearers of the Adarsh Co-operative Society Limited(ACCSL) on Saturday for allegedly siphoning off more than 1,400 crore of investors funds. The raids by the special operation group were carried out in Gurugram, Sirohi in Rajasthan, Ahmedabad in Gujarat and Mumbai; 11 office-bearers, including the societys ex-chairmen Virendra Modi and Kamlesh Choudhary and present chairman Ishwar Singh Sindhal were picked up. The arrested accused have been identified as Virendra Modi (ex-chairman of ACCSL), Kamlesh Choudhary (ex-chairman of ACCSL) Ishwar Singh Sindhal (chairman of ACCSL), Priyanka Modi (ex-MD of ACCSL), Vaibhav Lodha (senior vice-president of ACCSL), Sameer Modi (CFO ACCSL), Rohit Modi (asst MD of ACCSL), Bharat Modi (director of Aditya Mega Project Pvt Ltd), Lalita Rajpurohit (Ex-MD ofACCSL) and Vivek Purohit (director in six companies of ACCSL). Director general of police (DGP), SOG, Bhupendra Singh Yadav said the company was running Ponzi schemes, duping over than 20 lakh depositors. The Ahmedabad-based Adarsh Credit Cooperative Society had started its operations in 1999. A first information report (FIR) was registered at Jaipur SOG police station against the society under section 406 (criminal breach of trust), 409 (criminal breach of trust by banker or businessmen), 420(cheating), 467 (forgery of valuable security), 468(forgery for purpose of cheating), 471(using forged document as genuine), 477 (falsification of accounts) and 120(B) (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) on December, 2018. Prima facie in investigation it was observed that the deposits collected from the investors of the credit society were used for the benefit of a few members belonging to one family through two mediums. First medium was that the company invested in shell companies and firms and another was that Mukesh Modi did ex-gratia payment (sum of money paid when there was no obligation or liability to pay it) of 270 crore in company of his son-in law and his wife, said Yadav. Mukesh Modi is managing director in ACCSL who was arrested by Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) in December 2018. During investigation it was found that that the Modi family and their aides invested 99% of the money obtained through 20 lakh depositors in 187 loan accounts of shell companies. When the accounts of Adarsh Co-operative Society Limited (ACCSL) were checked, it was found that the value of the properties of shell companies was shown multiple times higher than the actual amount. The properties were not even kept on mortgage, Yadav said. No pledge form was taken from the shell companies, . The SOG director general of police added that these 187 accounts have outstanding dues of 1468.22 crore. In investigation, it was also revealed that in last three years around 720 crore was transferred by Mukesh Modi to a firm identified as Mahaveer Consultancies owned by Modis wife and son-in-law. The amount was transferred describing the owner of Mahaveer Consultancies as advisors. But when checked, it was found that no services were provided by the firm. Also and ex-gratia payment of 270 core was done which is against company by-laws. There are around 309 branches of the Adarsh Co-operative Society Limited in Rajasthan and around 10 lakh investors were duped of 8,000 crore. Prime Minister-elect Narendra Modi on Sunday vowed to further enhance Indias position at the world stage and set the goal of regaining the countrys rightful position in the global order over the next five years. The coming five years will be important in Indias history as was the period between 1942 to 1947. If we see the five years before Independence, they were crucial to revive the Indian spirit and energise people to fight the external forces and come out of problems, Modi said at a felicitation ceremony organised at the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) office in Ahmedabad. Modi arrived in Ahmedabad for the felicitation in his home state of Gujarat three days after the BJP swept back to power with 303 seats in 543-member Lok Sabha. The BJP improved its tally of 282 seats it won in the 2014 national elections. Modi, who will be administered the oath of office for his second term along with his new council of ministers on May 30, said his second term in office is an opportunity to awaken the public and work for new achievements. We must work as one society with one purpose in one direction to regain the rightful position of India in the world order, said Modi. In the past, our country had that place. I am sure India will regain its importance in the world order. Modi said that the massive mandate given to the BJP showed that people wanted a strong government in Delhi. He added he was always sure that the BJP will get more than 300 seats no matter what the pundits said. In this election, many pundits failed. After the sixth phase of polling [on May 12], I had said that we will get more than 300 seats. Many people made fun of me. During the whole election, it was noticed that the people were voting to make the government strong, said Modi. He urged the BJP cadres to remain humble after the landslide victory. Modi and BJP president Amit Shah asked the crowd at the ceremony to chant Bharat Mata ki Jai so loudly that the chants are heard in West Bengal, where their party registered its best performance in national polls. The BJP won 18 out of 42 seats in the state after a bitter campaign and regular war of words with the states ruling Trinamool Congress and chief minister Mamata Banerjee. Modi recalled his days as Gujarat chief minister. He added that though people in other parts of the country did not know him in 2014 when he first became the Prime Minister, they knew Gujarat very well for its development. Modi referred to a video on the social media in which a woman from West Bengal kept saying Modi, Modi.When asked why she said, I had visited Gujarat and found development there, I want the same in Bengal. Modi earlier began his speech by remembering the 22 victims killed in a fire at a coaching centre in Gujarats Surat on Friday. Till yesterday [Saturday], I was in two minds whether to come for this felicitation function or not. On one hand, there was duty and on the other hand, there was compassion for those who died in Surat. No amount of words can reduce the grief of the families who have lost their children in that tragedy, he said. On the other hand, I had to thank the people of the state and also take blessings of my mother as my duty. Modi met his mother, Heeraben, after the felicitation ceremony on Sunday to seek her blessings in Gandhinagar, where she lives with her younger son. Modi spent about 20 minutes with his mother before leaving for his overnight stay at the Raj Bhavan. He was scheduled to leave for his Lok Sabha constituency of Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh on Monday The BJP planned to welcome Modi and Shah with much fanfare but kept the felicitation ceremony low-key in view of the Surat tragedy. There were no firecrackers as planned earlier. The Congress said the event was by no means a simple one. In a state that saw deaths of 22 children just two days ago, the function should have been avoided. The fire tragedy highlighted the failure of the BJP government in the state where the party has won all 26 Lok Sabha seats in back to back elections, Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi said Police on Sunday arrested the second accused for the alleged murder of three children of a family in Bulandshahar district of Uttar Pradesh. Bulandshahar assistant superintendent of police said Imran, alias Goonga, was arrested on Sunday and raids are underway to arrest the third accused, Salman, who is absconding. Bullet-riddled bodies of the three children were recovered from a tube well in village Dhaturi of Salempur area on Saturday. The family of the children had lodged a complaint against Salman Malik, Bilal and Imran alias Goonga in Nagar Kotwali police. During interrogation, Bilal, who was arrested on Saturday, confessed to the crime. Barely twelve days after the last phase of general polls in Maharashtra, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis held an initiative to review the drought scenario across 139 talukas in 22 districts of the state through a conference- call. Over six days, he spoke to 27,449 government officials and village-level public representatives, to understand drought-related grievances. The Chief Ministers Office (CMO) since then has been tracking whether each of those grievances has been addressed by officials concerned and the district collectorates. Next week, all BJP legislators, senior functionaries, on the back of a triumphant win in the polls, have been asked to get back to work for the next big poll battle. They will visit drought-prone areas to oversee implementation of government measures and to engage with people. With 50% of the state reeling under a serious drought, this is the number one priority for the BJP as it faces Assembly polls later this year. In October, sans the Modi factor, the Fadnavis-led government will seek a referendum on its five-year term. While the partys top brass is now confident of a favourable outcome, they are not taking any chances. How else do you think a favourable hawa is created ? The party leaders have to take the governments decisions, they have to be seen on ground, said a senior BJP functionary, who did not want to be named. In many ways, this initiative is indicative of how the BJP merges its governments efforts with its organisational structure to reach out to the people. Beyond communication and electoral strategy, its the reach of the partys organisation and administrative programmes that ensured BJPs win in the state. At the partys headquarters, the work to analyse electoral data will also begin next week too. Every polling booth will be graded, as per our voting percentage. For instance, A grade will go to booths where for instance, out of 1,000 people, 600 voted and out of this, 60% voted for us. And, then on basis of this data, we can work out a strategy for every constituency, among others, said Sunil Karjatkar, BJPs general secretary (organisation). Fadnavis, who will head the poll campaign, has already given a clear indication that saffron allies will contest polls together, by visiting Sena chief Uddhav Thackerys residence, Matoshree soon after poll results were announced. Both parties retained their 2014 polls tally this time, and together picked up 50.88% of the states vote share. There is no reason to upset the alliance at this stage. The election at the time of a severe drought and uncertainty of rains cannot be taken for granted. Things (campaign and strategy) will get momentum post the monsoon session of the state legislature, said a senior BJP minister, who did not want to be named. Despite getting only six Lok Sabha seats in 2014, the Opposition managed to win 83 of the 288 Assembly seats that year. The party may also go in for an organisational as well as cabinet reshuffle ahead of the next polls. With the two terms of both the party state president, Raosaheb Danve and city president Ashish Shelar coming to an end, the party may go in for fresh faces. The CM may be pressurised to go in for a cabinet reshuffle, to accommodate senior leaders likely to join the saffron alliance like former leader of Opposition, Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, and former NCP minister, Jaydutt Kshirsagar (who joined Sena) besides placating BJP leaders like city chief Ashish Shelar. However, there is no confirmation on this. And, Fadnavis has avoided a reshuffle for the last two years. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The Tripura unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party has alleged that a person who died on Sunday allegedly due to injuries suffered a day earlier was a victim of attack by opposition parties in the state. The man who was found with injuries from Banikya Chowmuhani, barely six km from Agartala, died on Sunday, said the police. He was identified as one Shibu Das.The case is under investigation, said a police officer. The BJP said Shibu was a supporter of the party and held the opposition parties responsible for the crime. The opposition parties triggered violence in the state after Lok Sabha polls results were announced. Two of our party activists were killed in the violence. We suspect CPI(M) cadres committed the crime, said BJP spokesperson Nabendu Bhattacharya. The Communist Party of India (Marxist), or the CPI(M), denied the allegation. Many of our supporters have been attacked. No arrest has been made yet , said CPI(M) leader Bijan Dhar. Bullet-riddled bodies of three children were found in a tube well in Dhaturi village of Salempur area in Bulandshahr district on Saturday morning. The deceased kids, identified as Aasma (8), Aliba (7) and Abdullah (8), had gone missing while playing outside their house on Friday evening. Ajay Kumar, public relations officer (PRO) of senior superintendent of police (SSP), Bulandshahar, said the bodies of the children were found in a tube well on Saturday morning. They were all shot in their head. Police have sent the bodies for post mortem and an investigation is underway. One Salman Malik , who is resident of the same village, has been named as the prime accused for the murders by the childrens families. Several teams have been formed to nab the accused. Family enmity could be the reason behind the brutal killings of the children, police said. Ajay Kumar said the families of the deceased, who are related to each other, have accused three persons, including Salman Malik, for committing the murders, in their FIR. Meanwhile, SSP N Kolanchi has suspended Nagar Kotwali inspector Dhruv Bhusan Dubey and head constable Ashok Kumar for showing negligence in the case. The PRO said that the deceaseds family members had gone to the Nagar Kotwali police station and told head constable Ashok Kumar about the missing children but he didnt take the complaint seriously and also did not inform inspector Dubey about it till next morning. When inspector Dubey came to know about the missing kids next morning he did not bother to investigate the case, said Ajay Kumar. According to the family members of the deceased, the children were playing outside their house on Friday evening and suddenly went missing. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has issued a notice asking immigration authorities at airports and other exit points across the country to stop former Kolkata Police commissioner Rajeev Kumar if he tries to leave the country, according to officers of the agency aware of the development. The officers said the lookout notice was issued after the agency through its independent sources learnt that Kumar was planning to proceed on study leave abroad. Later in the day, a team of four officers from the economic offences wing of CBI asked Kumar to appear before the agency at Salt Lake on Monday. The CBI team visited the official bungalow of the former Kolkata Police commissioner but the guards informed them that Kumar had vacated the house and moved into a nearby complex that also houses the office of the deputy commissioner of police (south). They served the notice at the complex. Kumar, however, was not present there. The West Bengal government on Sunday reinstated Kumar as additional director general in the criminal investigation department (CID), from where the Election Commission of India removed him before the polls. The CBI team went to the CID office in Alipore and served a second notice. In view of the withdrawal of Model Code of Conducts,... the Governor is pleased to direct Rajeev Kumar to resume duty, the government notification said. The development comes days after the Supreme Court on Friday dismissed Kumars plea seeking protection against his arrest in the Saradha chit fund case. Also read: Supreme Court refuses to entertain Bengal cop Rajeev Kumars request for time, his arrest shield ends today The court asked CBI to proceed as per the law in the case. Kumar was in charge of West Bengal Polices Special Investigation Team (SIT) that probed the alleged scam before CBI took over the case in 2014. He is accused of tampering with the evidence in the case. CBI has sought Kumars custodial interrogation to unearth a larger conspiracy even as the former Kolkata Police commissioner has called the action against him political vendetta. The investigating agency told the apex court that Kumar allowed the release of mobile phones and laptops that contained crucial records of the alleged involvement of politicians in the scam when he was in charge of the SIT. The custodial interrogation of Kumar is necessary as he is not cooperating with the probe. He [Kumar] was evasive and arrogant in answering queries put to him during his questioning [in February], a CBI officer said on condition of anonymity. The CBI officer added that they will soon approach a concerned court and seek an arrest and search warrant against Kumar. He added Kumars arrest is imminent. CBIs action against Kumar led to a standoff between the Centre and West Bengals Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) government in January. A CBI team was detained when it went to question Kumar in Kolkata while Banerjee sat on a sit-in protest calling the agencys action political vendetta. Also read: Proof in hand, CBI hints at Mamata confidant Rajeev Kumars arrest after 6 days HT this month reported that CBI claims to have found at least five calls between Kumar and an employee of the Saradha Group, who reported to the mastermind of the alleged scam, Sudipta Sen. Another top CBI official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told HT that the agencys investigators were inching closer to establishing that the officer was involved in tampering with evidence in the case. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has alleged that several TMC leaders were involved in the alleged scam and that it prompted Kumars alleged interference into the probe. The TMC has maintained that the BJP was using CBI to settle political scores. Former TMC leader Mukul Roy was questioned in the case before he joined the BJP. Banerjee and the TMC linked the CBIs efforts to question Kumar in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls to the BJPs efforts to make inroads into the state. The BJP managed to register its best-ever performance in the state in Lok Sabha elections by winning 18 out of the 42 seats. It won just two seats in 2014. The Supreme Court handed over the probe in the case to CBI to look into alleged collusion of scheme operators, police personnel and politicians. At least 1.7 million depositors were duped to the extent of ~3,500 crore in the scam. In April 2013, Saradha founder Sudipta Sen wrote an 18-page confessional letter to CBI, in which he admitted that he had paid large sums of money to several politicians, businessmen, journalists, and others. The companys modus operandi was to lure investors to deposit money in its schemes with glossy brochures and the promise of abnormally high returns. The Supreme Court on February 5 prevented CBI from any coercive action against Kumar and directed him to appear and co-operate in questioning at a neutral place. Kumar was questioned for nearly five days in Shillong in February. Kumar reported to the Union home ministry on May 16 after the Election Commission of India transferred him following violence in Kolkata during BJP president Amit Shahs rally. Kumar served as additional director general (Criminal Investigation Department) before his transfer. Nearly wiped out from the Lok Sabha, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Sunday began its two-day brainstorming politburo meeting to seek answers of its recent debacle in the 2019 national elections. The party will discuss, among other things, why its mass movements are not resulting into votes. The CPI(M) in the recent years had organised the biggest farmers movement, the Long March, in Maharashtra. It also organised quite a few movements in Rajasthan over water issues, loan waivers and other farm issues. A few months ago, it held a massive rally at the heart of Kolkata where thousands of CPI(M) supporters came to cheer for the party that faces existential crisis in West Bengal. In spite of all these movements, the Lefts popular support didnt translate into votes. The CPI(M) reached a new historic low with just three seats, with no MP from Bengal for the first time. The partys politburo will also discuss the reasons why the Left bloc had to bite the dust in Kerala and West Bengal, and if issues such as Sabarimala ruined the Lefts chances in Kerala. CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury may face criticism for not being able to turn the tide in Bengal even after the party allowed a seat sharing agreement with the Congress in the state. Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief Sukhbir Singh Badal expelled former Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) president Manjit Singh GK from the party two days after he questioned the partys leadership for the partys poor show in the Lok Sabha elections in Punjab. Rajya Sabha MP Balwinder Singh Bhunder confirmed the development and said that the Delhi court had directed to investigate the corruption charges against GK under Section 409 (criminal breach by public servant) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). He said, Its a very serious issue, so the party decided to expel him. Sukhbir Singh Badal acted on the recommendation of the core committee of the Delhi unit of SAD, which passed a resolution seeking GKs expulsion during its meeting on Friday, citing the recent court judgment against him in a case of alleged financial irregularities to the tune of around 51 lakh. The party under the leadership of GK won the DSGMC elections in 2017 without using Sukhbirs pictures during the campaign which did not go well with the high command. A party leader, seeking anonymity, said GK has been criticising Sukhbir since Punjab assembly elections in 2017. The party leader privy to the development further added that around 35 members of the core committee had signed the resolution around four months ago, which was passed in its meeting on Friday. Senior DSGMC member Avtar Singh Hit, who is also a member of the SAD core committee in Delhi, said the resolution has been passed unanimously. He said, The DSGMC has also admitted that financial irregularities were made. We have to face people and thats why we have taken strong note of it. HT had accessed the copy of the resolution wherein core committee members also alleged that GK embezzled 60 lakh from a web channel and prepared fake bills worth 13.65 lakh in the name of DSGMC. MOVE TO COVER UP DEFEAT IN PUNJAB: GK Hitting out at the SAD, GK said the resolution against him is a move to cover up the partys debacle in Punjab and an attempt to stop him from questioning the party high command over the issue. In an interview with HT last year, GK had stated that Akalis were facing a crisis of credibility among Sikhs. He said the party lost badly despite the Modi wave in these elections. We have lost the Panthic seat of Khadoor Sahib for the first time. The SAD leadership failed to corner the Congress and take political advantage of Congress leader Sam Pitrodas statement on the 1984 riots. A former Amethi village head who campaigned for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Smriti Irani in the Lok Sabha elections has been shot dead, police said on Sunday. Irani attended the last rites of the 50-year-old and promised swift action against those involved in the killing. Irani defeated Congress president Rahul Gandhi in Amethi, his partys traditional stronghold, in the general elections that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) swept, winning 353 of the 542 seats in the Lok Sabha. BJP leader Surendra Singh, a former head of Barauliya village who actively participated in the partys campaign in the constituency, was shot by bike-borne assailants outside his house on Saturday night, the police said. He was declared dead at a hospital later. The police initially said they were looking into the possibility of personal enmity as the motive for the crime but the family of the deceased alleged that it was a political killing. Rajesh Kumar, the superintendent of police in Amethi, said: Singh was shot dead while he was sleeping in a verandah outside his house in Barauliya. Kumar said the incident could not be ruled out to be a political murder. All aspects are being probed. There can be old enmity as well, he said. Inspector at Jamo police station in Amethi, Rajeev Singh, said that in an FIR in the case, the victims brother said he spotted a Congress supporter near the scene of the crime. Director general of police OP Singh said seven suspects were detained in connection with the murder. We have found vital clues We are confident of solving the case in the next 12 hours. Three companies of PAC [Provincial Armed Constabulary] have been deputed, he said. Irani, who was a minister in the Narendra Modi-led council of ministers in the first term of the National Democratic Alliance government, reached Amethi on Sunday afternoon and attended the last rites of the slain BJP leader. Irani and Uttar Pradesh minister Mohsin Raza helped carry the body of the deceased on their shoulders during the funeral. I have vowed before Surendra jis family that I will do everything it takes, even if it means going to the Supreme Court, to ensure punishment to those behind the killing, Irani said. The victims son, Abhay Pratap Singh, said he spotted his father lying near his cot when he rushed out of the house after a gunshot rang out. I immediately realised that my father has been shot at. I rushed him to the district hospital in Rae Bareli from where he was referred to the King Georges Medical University (KGMU), Lucknow, where the doctors pronounced him dead, he said. My father was a very humble man and had no enmity with anyone, he said, adding that he recently had an argument with some Congress supporters. The brother of the deceased, Rajendra Singh, alleged it was a political killing. He said his brother wielded influence in his village as well as in adjoining areas, which led to his murder. Irani asked party workers to exercise restraint after attending the funeral. My request to all party workers is that we should exercise restraint. She said Singh was killed so that Amethi could be terrorised and disintegrated. Congress spokesperson Zeeshan Haider said: It is a law and order issue... Instead of making political allegations, the [UP] government should act, nab the accused, and give them the harshest of punishments. Haider said Irani was indulging in politics over the killing. Prime Minister-elect Narendra Modi told Pakistan PM Imran Khan on Sunday that peace and progress in the region were linked to trust and an environment free of violence and terrorism. Modi made the remarks when Khan telephoned him to congratulate him on the Bharatiya Janata Partys (BJP) victory in the general elections and spoke of his desire for both countries to work together for the good of their people. This was the first contact between the top leadership of the two countries after tensions sparked by the suicide attack in Kashmirs Pulwama by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed that killed 40 Indian troopers on February 14. India retaliated with an air strike on a JeM facility at Balakot in Pakistan and this was followed by an aerial engagement along the Line of Control during which an Indian combat jet was shot down and its pilot captured and briefly detained by Pakistan. A statement from Pakistans foreign office said Khan spoke to Modi and congratulated him on the BJPs electoral victory. Khan expressed his desire for both countries to work together for the betterment of their peoples, the statement said. Khan reiterated his vision for peace, progress and prosperity in South Asia and said he looked forward to working with Modi to advance these objectives. Also read: Mandir, Mandal and Markets: How BJP reversed post-2014 setbacks Modi, according to a statement from the external affairs ministry, stressed that creating trust and an environment free of violence and terrorism were essential for fostering cooperation for peace, progress and prosperity in our region. Modi also thanked Khan for his telephone call and greetings and recalled his initiatives in line with his governments neighbourhood first policy. Modi also referred to his earlier suggestion to Khan to fight poverty jointly. An Indian official familiar with the developments, who didnt want to be named, said too much shouldnt be read into the telephonic contact between the two leaders as Pakistan still had not done enough to rein in cross-border terrorism. A second official, who too didnt want to be identified, noted the Pakistani premiers call came three days after the BJPs win, reflecting the current lack of warmth in bilateral relations. India and Pakistan have not had any structured dialogue for more than a decade following the 2008 Mumbai attacks by the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba. Seven men were arrested in connection with the attacks in Pakistan but none of them have been prosecuted so far. India has linked any resumption of dialogue between the two countries to Pakistan cracking down on cross-border terror. Modi and Khan are expected to come face to face at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Bishkek on June 13-14 but Indian officials have so far ruled out the possibility of a bilateral meeting. Also read | Analysis: Coalition with JD(U) costs BJP its vote share in Bihar SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The Madhya Pradesh government has decided to test skills of school teachers in about 700 schools by making them appear for an examination similar to class 10 and class 12 board exams after about 30% of the students in these schools failed in the MP Board of Secondary Education (MPBSE) examinations, an official from the school education department said. Results of Class 10 and Class 12 board examinations were declared on May 15 and as many as 700 government schools across the state registered below 30% result. In all, 3500 teachers of these schools will take the examination on June 12. This was decided after a review meeting over poor board exam results especially of class 10. The teachers will be graded according to their performance in the examinations and if they fail, penalties will be imposed, school education principal secretary Rashmi Arun Shami said. This is to fix the accountability of teachers and check the capability of teachers, she said. District education officer, Bhopal, Dharmendra Sharma said, The district committee of the department will set the question paper similar to the question papers prepared for the board examination in the past five years. This will check the level of knowledge of teachers. He said teachers could face demotion or even forced retirement if their performance was extremely poor. Under the rules, a teacher can be forced to take voluntary retirement if he or she is above 50 years of age or have completed 20 years of service. As many as 61.32% students cleared the class 10 and 72.37% students cleared class 12 MPBSE examinations, the results of which were declared on May 15. The result of class 10 came down by 5 percentage points as compared to last academic year even as the students were required to clear examinations of five out of six subjects from 2018. Initially, the school education officials blamed insufficient time teachers could devote to teaching as they were engaged in election duties during 2019 November-December assembly elections and later in 2019 general elections for a dip in the pass percentage of students in class 10 exams. We will review it with the officers of school education and we are also planning a course correction to improve the situation in the next academic year on the pattern of CBSE, Ajay Gangwar, secretary, MP board for Secondary Education said. MP Teachers Association general secretary Ashutosh Sharma said, Teachers have no problem in taking a test but the government should have also given ample time to teachers to upgrade themselves. Most of the teachers are engaged in official work and worked more than their duty hours. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON An Indian Air Force (IAF) team comprising computer forensic experts is in France to probe if documents or designs were stolen or copied during the break-in at the Rafale project management team office in the European country last Sunday, said a senior defence ministry official who did not want to be named. The team will get first hand feedback about the incident from France, the official said. The office in question oversees the implementation of the project for 36 Rafale multi-role fighters, which India is acquiring. According to preliminary reports, three rooms were accessed. French plane-maker Dassault Aviation has an office complex in Saint-Cloud and the five-member Indian project management team operates from the same premises. The Rafale project team is headed by a Group Captain-rank officer who looks after several issues, including the production timelines and training of Indian personnel who have to be trained for maintenance and flying operations of the plane. India has ordered 36 Rafale jets from France in a deal worth ~59,000 crore, which is at the centre of a political controversy in the country. The first Rafale jet, manufactured by Dassault Aviation, is expected to be handed over to IAF in France in September, before the first batch of four fighter jets fly to India next April. India and France signed the deal for two Rafale squadrons (36 planes) in September 2016 as an emergency purchase to arrest a worrying slide in IAFs capabilities. The squadrons will be based at Ambala in Haryana and Hasimara in West Bengal, covering the northern and eastern fronts. All 36 fighter planes will arrive by September 2022. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) governments decision to enter into a government-to-government deal with France to buy the fighters was announced in April 2015. This replaced the United Progressive Alliances decision to buy 126 Rafale aircraft, 108 of which were to be made in India by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, using parts imported from France. PM Modi meets his mother at her residence in Gandhinagar Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets his mother Heeraben Modi at her residence in Gandhinagar and seeks her blessings. Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets his mother Heeraben Modi at her residence in Gandhinagar and seeks her blessings. #Gujarat pic.twitter.com/qWEwnJo1Y9 ANI (@ANI) May 26, 2019 PM Modi arrives at his mothers residence Gujarat: Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives at his mother Heeraben Modis residence in Gandhinagar. Gujarat: Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives at his mother Heeraben Modi's residence in Gandhinagar. pic.twitter.com/Khpl5FHy7k ANI (@ANI) May 26, 2019 During the whole election it was noticed that people were voting to make government strong: PM Modi Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Ahmedabad: This election many pundits failed, after 6th phase of polling I had said that we will get 300 plus seats. Many people made fun of me. During the whole election it was noticed that people were voting to make government strong, reports news agency ANI. I saw a video on social media in which a woman from Bengal kept saying Modi, Modi: PM Modi PM Modi in Ahmedabad: I saw a video on social media in which a woman from Bengal kept saying Modi, Modi.When asked why? She said I had visited Gujarat and found development there, I want the same in Bengal but when that woman was asked for whom she voted, she didnt say anything. PM Modi in Ahmedabad: I saw a video on social media in which a woman from Bengal kept saying 'Modi, Modi'.When asked why? She said "I had visited Gujarat&found development there, I want the same in Bengal" but when that woman was asked for whom she voted, she didn't say anything. pic.twitter.com/i2YcDfDH1s ANI (@ANI) May 26, 2019 The coming five years have to be years of Jan Bhagidari and Jan Chetna: PM Modi The coming five years have to be years of Jan Bhagidari and Jan Chetna: PM Modi. We have to further enhance Indias position at the world stage: PM Modi We have to utilise these five years to solve issues of the common citizens. These have to be five years of all-round development. We have to further enhance Indias position at the world stage: PM Modi. Was in constant contact with state government regarding Surat fire incident: PM Modi I was in constant contact with the state government regarding the Surat fire incident: PM Narendra Modi, reports news agency ANI. Big mandate brings big responsibilities: PM Modi This big mandate brings big responsibilities. It is important to remain humble and grounded in the wake of such a massive win: PM Modi. People of India are at the forefront of this campaign: PM Modi Within the first three days of campaigning I was convinced that the BJP or NDA arent fighting the elections. The people of India are at the forefront of this campaign: PM Modi. Vote in 2019 is a pro-incumbency vote and a positive vote: PM Modi The vote in 2019 is a pro-incumbency vote and a positive vote: PM Modi It is historic to see such a big mandate being given: PM Modi After sixth phase of polling itself I had said that its 300 plus for us. When I said it, people mocked me. But, the results are for everyone to see. It is historic to see such a big mandate being given. The people had decided that they want a strong government again: PM Modi In the run-up of 2014 polls, people of India got to know about development strides Gujarat made: PM Modi In the run-up of the 2014 polls, the people of India got to know about the development strides Gujarat made: PM Modi Families who lost their children, lost their future: PM Modi PM Modi in Ahmedabad: Since yesterday I was in dilemma whether to attend the programme or not. One side it was kartavya and on other side it was karuna. Families who lost their children, lost their future. I pray that god gives power to the families of those children. PM Modi in Ahmedabad: Since y'day I was in dilemma whether to attend the programme or not. One side it was 'kartavya' & on other side it was 'karuna.' Families who lost their children, lost their future. I pray that god gives power to the families of those children. #SuratFire pic.twitter.com/DqgRagrHRs ANI (@ANI) May 26, 2019 It is from the BJP office here in Khanpur that I learnt the Sanskars of a Sangathan: PM Modi It is from the BJP office here in Khanpur that I learnt the Sanskars of a Sangathan. I remember coming among you all in 2012, after our party was blessed with the peoples mandate: PM Modi. I am here for a Darshan of the people of Gujarat: PM Modi I am here for a Darshan of the people of Gujarat. The blessings of the states citizens have always been very special for me: PM Narendra Modi. I am back to a place with which I have a very old bond: PM Modi I am coming back to the land that has nurtured me. I am back to a place with which I have a very old bond: PM Modi. State Government is further strengthening disaster management infrastructure across Gujarat: PM Modi The fire tragedy in Surat has saddened us all. We stand in solidarity with the bereaved families. May Almighty give them strength in this hour of grief. The State Government is further strengthening disaster management infrastructure across Gujarat: PM Narendra Modi We should pay condolences to 22 children who lost their lives in Surat fire tragedy: Amit Shah BJP President Amit Shah in Ahmedabad: People have come here to welcome us, but today, we should pay condolences to the 22 children who lost their lives in Surat fire tragedy. We should pray to God for them and their families. BJP President Amit Shah in Ahmedabad: People have come here to welcome us, but today, we should pay condolences to the 22 children who lost their lives in Surat fire tragedy. We should pray to God for them & their families. pic.twitter.com/I1nPqMNAED ANI (@ANI) May 26, 2019 Shout loud so that the voice reaches West Bengal: Amit Shah BJP President Amit Shah in Ahmedabad: After winning 26 seats (in Gujarat) Narendra bhai has come here, please shout loud so that the voice reaches West Bengal. BJP President Amit Shah in Ahmedabad: After winning 26 seats (in Gujarat) Narendra bhai has come here, please shout loud so that the voice reaches West Bengal. pic.twitter.com/ij3CUuPTXD ANI (@ANI) May 26, 2019 Prime Minister Narendra Modi to address first rally after in Gujarat shortly Prime Minister Narendra Modi to address first rally after in Gujarat shortly. Prime Minister Narendra Modi pays tribute to Sardar Patel in Ahmedabad Prime Minister Narendra Modi pays tribute to Sardar Patel in Ahmedabad. Gujarat: Prime Minister Narendra Modi pays tribute to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's statue near the Ahmedabad Airport. BJP President Amit Shah and Gujarat CM VIjay Rupani also present. pic.twitter.com/QdP1FinnCd ANI (@ANI) May 26, 2019 PM Modi arrives at Ahmedabad airport Gujarat: Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives at Ahmedabad airport. Gujarat: Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives at Ahmedabad Airport (Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport). pic.twitter.com/xGzuakPmTY ANI (@ANI) May 26, 2019 PM Modi, Amit Shah to address public meeting at JP Chowk Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah will address a public meeting at the JP Chowk, reports IANS. PM Modi will leave for Delhi the next morning PM Modi will leave for Delhi the next morning, after which he is scheduled to visit his Lok Sabha constituency, Varanasi. PM Modi, Amit Shah will visit party office in Khanpur area State BJP president Jitu Vaghani said Modi and Shah will reach Ahmedabad Sunday evening and will visit the party office in Khanpur area where they will be felicitated, reports PTI. PM Modi will seek blessings of his mother During his first visit to his home state after the poll results, Modi will seek the blessings of his mother Hiraba Modi at her residence in the city. PM Modi, Amit Shah to be felicitated in Ahmedabad Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah will be felicitated by the Gujarat unit of the party in Ahmedabad on Sunday following the massive victory in the Lok Sabha election. A roosters crowing annoyed a woman to such an extent that she walked into a police station in Maharashtras Pune district and demanded action against the bird and its owner, an official said on Sunday. In her application submitted at the Samarth police station on Friday, the woman, a resident of Somwar Peth area here, said her sleep was getting disturbed due to the cocks crowing at dawn every day in front of her house, he said. We have received the womans application. When we checked, we found she does not stay at the house, which belongs to her sister. She had come to her sisters house for a few days and left the place after submitting the application, he said. When the police approached the womans sister, the latter downplayed the incident, claiming her sibling was a little eccentric, he said. The official said no formal complaint was registered so far in the matter. (This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.) Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Mukul Roy, who played a crucial role in the partys victory in Bengal, said on Sunday that West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee was only trying to grab headlines by talking of quitting as chief minister the day before. It was a drama. Trinamool Congress (TMC) is all about Banerjee. Others dont matter. It was like Banerjee talking of quitting and she herself not accepting it and then finally announcing it before the media. She will not quit till voters show her the door. She cant live without power, Roy, who was once Banerjees second-in-command, said. TMC was formed only to oppose the Communist Party of India (Marxist). It has served its purpose. Regional parties are losing relevance, if you go by Lok Sabha results across India, Roy said. On Sunday, police arrested Bharat Biswas, a pool car driver, in connection with the murder of Santu Ghosh at Chakdah in Nadia district on Friday night. While the main suspect Laltu Das could not be traced, at least 35 people were injured in political clashes across Bengal since Saturday night. Violence was reported in the districts of Birbhum, Jalpaiguri, Cooch Behar, West Midnapore and South 24 Parganas. Several party offices of the TMC were taken over by BJP workers. Mukul Roy said his party does not support such activities. Two state ministers also got into trouble on Sunday. North Bengal development minister Rabindranath Ghosh was allegedly heckled at Dinhata where he went to vacate a local TMC office that BJP workers forcefully captured after the party won the Cooch Behar seat. BJP workers also heckled forest minister Binay Krishna Barman at Ghokshadanga in Cooch Behar and threw stones at his car. Five men were injured when TMC and BJP supporters clashed at Gopinathpur and Kharar areas in West Midnapore on Sunday morning. A TMC office was ransacked at Gopinathpur, alleged party leader Shankar Dolui. A TMC worker was also injured in the districts Narayangarh area but local BJP leader Antara Bhattacharya said her party was not involved in the incidents. At Panskura in East Midnapore, TMC leader Nandakumar Mishra alleged that a party office was set on fire by BJP workers on Saturday night. Pintu Senapati, BJP leader in Panskura claimed the arson had resulted from infighting in TMC. At Gopalpur in Birbhum, 10 men were injured in a clash. The violence took place when villagers raided the home of local TMC leader Buddhadeb Kaibarta who allegedly controlled allotment of jobs under the 100-day employment scheme. Five BJP supporters were injured at Kanksa in West Burdwan. At Paharpur in Jalpaiguri, three men were injured and TMC accused BJP for the attack. Five more were injured at Deocharai in Toofanganj area. At Surkabari in Cooch Behar, BJP claimed that their local leader Mohammed Ali was attacked by the TMC. Clashes took place at Jibantala in South 24 Parganas and Gangarampur in South Dinajpur. A panchayat member and four TMC workers were injured at Sandeshkhali and Basirhat in North 24 Parganas. An 88-year-old man in Boko, nearly 70 km west of Guwahati, was found dead Sunday morning days after he told his family that he was anxious about the likelihood of being sent to a detention centre if he failed to prove he is an Indian citizen because his name did not figure in the National Register of Citizens (NRC). Neighbours who found Asraf Alis body lying inside a school campus, 200 metres from his hut in Sontoli in Boko said he ended his life by taking poison. But police said there was so sign of poisoning. Ali had a voter ID which showed his age as 88. His financial condition was also poor. There were no injury marks on his body. No suicide note or poison bottle was found near him, said Kamakhya Misra, in-charge of Sontoli police outpost. We gathered that he was called for a NRC hearing recently. But we cant say for sure whether his death is connected with that. The body has been sent for post mortem to find out whether death was natural or due to other causes, he added. Ali was among the 40 lakh people (among 3.29 crore applicants) whose names are missing from the draft National Register of Citizens (NRC) published last year. Also read: Be brave, keep law in mind: SC says NRC must come by July 31 The NRC is being updated in Assam, under monitoring of the Supreme Court, with the intention of weeding out illegal immigrants. The final list is to be published before July 31 this year. Reports in local media attributing Alis neighbours stated that he had recently visited a NRC centre in Rangia, located nearly two hours away, for a hearing to include his name in the draft. Asraf isnt the first person who reportedly committed suicide in Assam due to non-inclusion in NRC. According to data compiled by independent researcher Abdul Kalam Azad, 23 people had reportedly taken their lives over the issue till date since 2015 when the updation process started. Most victims were from poor background. This list is not exhaustive. The list Ive prepared is based on news reports and personal verification of incidents, mainly in Brahmaputra Valley. It doesnt include such incidents, if any, from Barak Valley, said Azad. At present there are nearly 900 people in six detention centres meant for those declared foreigners by 100 tribunals set up for the purpose. Persons whose names have appeared in the first NRC published in 1951 or in subsequent voter lists till March 24, 1971 (the day Bangladesh came into being) and their descendants are eligible for inclusion in the new NRC. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Gujarats chief secretary, J N Singh, on Sunday admitted to limitations in fighting the fire in Surat on Friday that left 22 students at a tuition centre dead. He said bitter lessons have been learnt and the government will conduct a fire safety audit of all the commercial buildings in the state to ensure no such incident happens in the future. The fire call was received at 4.03 pm and the first vehicle reached the incident site at 4.07 pm. But it took some time for bigger vehicles to reach the spot because of the traffic. And there were reports of water pressure not being enough for dousing flames. There were some limitations of the fire brigade, Singh said. He said urban development secretary Mukesh Puri has been asked to conduct a detailed inquiry into the fire. Singh added that Puri will submit a detailed report to chief minister Vijay Rupanis office on Monday. Preliminary probe revealed that use of highly inflammable materials and tyres, which doubled up as chairs in the coaching class, caused the fire to spread rapidly, Singh said. The fire spread very quickly because highly inflammable materials, such as flex, were used... The ceiling (of the coaching institute) was just five feet high. Since one cannot sit on a chair in such a room, the owner used tyres instead of chairs for the students, the chief secretary told reporters here. We are examining ... whether any proper permission was taken for construction. And, if permissions were not given, who was responsible for this, Sharma said. Preliminary investigations suggest a short-circuit caused the blaze, he added. Singh said officials have since Friday inspected 9,925 commercial buildings. He added that no commercial building will be allowed to run without fire safety clearances. In Surat alone, 123 commercial establishments were found to be lacking firefighting equipments, Singh said. He added notices were being issued to the building owners to meet the fire safety norms. As many as 22 students aged between 15 and 22 were killed and 15 survived with critical injuries after jumping from the third and fourth floors of the Taxshilla building, which housed the coaching centre. All the dead were cremated on Saturday. Meanwhile, authorities said two fire department officials had been suspended. Bharat Butani, 26, owner of Smart Design Studio, which tutored students in arts and crafts, was arrested, while builders Harshul Vekaria and Jignesh Paliwal remain on the run. On Sunday, the Surat police arrested two absconding builders in connection with the fire tragedy. The police booked them and the owner of the design studio, where the fire broke out, Bhargav Butani after the incident. Bhutani, who had jumped from the building, was arrested on Saturday. At least 739 people were rendered homeless and forced to take shelter in relief camps across Tripura due to heavy rain and thunderstorms since Friday, an official said. However, there was no report of any casualty. North Tripura, Unakoti and Dhalai districts have been affected, the head of the State Disaster Management Authority, Sarat Das, told PTI. The State Emergency Operations Centre (SEOC) in a report said, out of the 739 people, who are sheltered in various relief camps, 358 people are from Unakoti district and 381 from North Tripura district. A total of 1,039 houses were damaged due to heavy rainfall. A total of 40 rescue boats were pressed into service by the state revenue department to evacuate the people from affected areas, he said. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and Tripura State Rifles (TSR) have also joined the rescue operations, Das said. A number of trees and electric posts were also uprooted due to blustery winds, officials said. In Unakoti district, the water level of Manu river has crossed the danger mark on Saturday afternoon. The MeT department here predicted that rain and thundershowers with gusty winds will continue in the state on Sunday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid a visit to his mother in Gandhinagar on Sunday and sought her blessings after the BJPs massive victory in the Lok Sabha elections 2019. PM Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah arrived in Gujarat on a two-day visit. The PM addressed his first rally on Sunday after the poll victory. He was welcomed by a huge crowd at the rally venue in Ahmedabad. The celebrations in the prime ministers home state, which has voted for the BJP in all 26 Lok Sabha seats, were muted due to the Surat fire tragedy in which 22 students were killed. Also Watch | PM Modi visits Ahmedabad post landslide win in LS polls Earlier on Sunday, PM Modi offered floral tributes to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patels statue near the Ahmedabad airport. The BJP-led NDA swept the Lok Sabha elections winning 349 of the 542 seats for which polls were held and notched up almost 45 per cent of the votes across the country. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be sworn in for his second term at 7 pm on May 30 at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Also read | Mandir, Mandal and Markets: How BJP reversed post-2014 setbacks SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The Maldives is expected to be the destination of Prime Minister Narendra Modis first foreign visit after leading the Bharatiya Janata Party to a sweeping victory in the general election, signalling Indias support for democratic reforms in the Indian Ocean archipelago. The trip to Male will be first of a string of diplomatic engagements for Modi during June, with the Indian premier also set to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in the Kyrgyzstan capital of Bishkek during June 13-14 and the G20 Summit at Osaka in Japan during June 28-29. An Indian official familiar with developments said Modi is expected to make a bilateral visit before the SCO Summit though an official announcement would be made at the appropriate time. The Maldives state broadcaster Public Service Media reported the country would be the destination for his first overseas visit following his re-election. Other media outlets in the Maldives reported Modi is expected to visit during June 7-8. A spokesperson for the Maldives Presidents Office, Ibrahim Hood, did not deny the visit. Also read: PM Modi embraces Maldives as new leader takes office, China out of favour PM Modi was the only head of state invited to attend President Ibrahim Solihs inauguration in November. This was also Modis first visit to the country since assuming office in 2014 as he had called off a trip in the early days of his first term in office because of the suppression of opposition activists by former president Abdulla Yameen. Solihs first visit to India late last year was hailed as the beginning of a new era in bilateral relations after the traditionally close ties were strained under pro-China administration of Yameen. In a phone call to Modi to congratulate him on his electoral victory, Solih stated his administrations resolve to build on the already positive foundations of cooperation and constructive engagement between our two governments and conveyed his optimism that the two leaders can meet in person, in the near future, to discuss the way forward for our mutual foreign relations. During his visit to Bishkek for the SCO Summit during June 13-14, Modi is expected to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Modi and Xi are expected to discuss dates for the next informal summit between the two countries. China has also reached out to India against the backdrop of its trade war with the US. The SCO Summit will also bring PM Modi face to face with his Pakistani counterpart Imran Khan though there are no indications as yet that the two leaders will hold a bilateral meeting. The G20 Summit will provide Modi an opportunity to interact with top world leaders, including US President Donald Trump. A meeting of leaders of BRICS states and the third Russia-India-China Summit are also expected to be held on the margins of the G-20 Summit. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The rise of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the post-2014 phase has often been seen as a threat to liberal values by a section among both anti-BJP political parties and civil society. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, at least three candidates; Atishi in East Delhi, Kanhaiya Kumar in Begusarai and Prakash Raj in Bangalore Central became a mascot of sorts for people subscribing to this view. One could also add Bhopal to this list, where the BJP fielded Pragya Singh Thakur, who is facing terror charges. Digvijaya Singh from the Congress was her opponent on this seat. All these seats were won by the BJP in 2014. The BJP has won all these seats in 2019 as well. In two of these seats, Begusarai and East Delhi, the BJPs vote share has actually increased between 2014 and 2019. To be sure, part of the increase in BJPs vote share in Begusarai could be due to the return of Janata Dal (United) to the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Bihar. In Bhopal and Bangalore Central, there has been a marginal decline in BJPs vote share, though it continues to be more than 50%. Among the anti-BJP candidates in these four seats, Digvijaya Singh has garnered the highest vote share. He is followed by Kanhaiya Kumar, Atishi and Prakash Raj. While Atishi and Kumar were fielded by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Communist Party of India (CPI), Raj contested as an independent. In terms of increase in vote share compared to 2014, the Congress has made the biggest gain in Bhopal, where it has increased its vote share by around five percentage points between 2014 and 2019. In Begusarai, the CPI has increased its vote share from 17.8% in 2014 to 22% in 2019. To be sure, the 4.2 percentage point increase in the CPIs vote share is an underestimate here because it contested the 2014 elections in an alliance with the JD(U). In East Delhi, the AAP has suffered a 15 percentage point decline in vote share between 2014 and 2019. Because Prakash Raj contested as an independent, all of his vote can be considered to be a net gain over 2014. These trends actually correspond to a larger pattern. The increase in vote share of the candidates/parties who became liberal mascots in these four seats is inversely related with the share of urban population in these seats, suggests an HT analysis. A parliamentary constituency-wise ranking by share of urban population by How India Lives using the 2011 census shows that East Delhi (15) was the most urban seat among these followed by Bangalore Central (27), Bhopal (53) and Begusarai (327). This explanation holds for BJPs vote shares in Indias metropolitan centres as well. Contested vote share of the BJP in Lok Sabha seats situated in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai has been significantly higher in 2014 and 2019 than what it was in 2009. In Delhi and Kolkata seats, this figure has increased by 10 percentage points or more between 2014 and 2019. Even though the BJPs contested vote share has come down marginally in Mumbai between 2014 and 2019, it continues to be more than 60%. The party did not contest any seats in Chennai in 2019. The BJP has also performed better in terms of contested vote share in seats, which are among the top 10% by urban population in 2009, 2014 and 2019 elections. Prior comparisons cannot be made because of delimitation in 2008. These figures capture the basic political dilemma facing those who attack the BJP of being illiberal. Because of better education and modernity, cities should have a higher proportion of liberal voters. Yet, the BJP performs better in the most urbanised seats in India. One of the senior BJP leaders of Bihar and states health minister, Mangal Pandey played a key role as the party in-charge in its emphatic victory in Jharkhand, where the BJP won 12 out of the 14 Lok Sabha seats while fighting a united Opposition. Earlier, Pandey had steered the party in the assembly polls to a phenomenal return to power in Himachal Pradesh. In an interview to Subhash Pathak, he says Jharkhand had overcome the era when political parties used to exploit the peoples sentiments in the name of a separate state from Bihar. Excerpts: How could you make the Jharkhand contest almost one-sided? After successive defeats of the BJP in the states bypolls, I was given an impression that it was difficult to retain all 12 Lok Sabha seats in Jharkhand. Soon after I was made the in-charge, I started following the action plan stipulated by BJP chief Amit Shah and relied on achievements of the Central and state governments to win over people. Leaders of our coalition partners, including All Jharkhand Students Union , Janata Dal United (JDU) and Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) helped us carry the positive message to the masses. Was there any special strategy after the BJPs debacle in the recent bypolls? After assuming the charge of Jharkhand, I held rounds of meetings with party workers from booth to the state level. My 30 years of experience of working with the party helped me identify issues. My efforts lifted morale of the workers, who finally delivered the good for the party and the nation. The opposition led by the Congress was united and trying to play it up against the state government. Did you expect such a landslide? There was a basic different between 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Contrary to 2014 polls, all opposition parties like Congress, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and Jharkhand Vikas Morcha-Prajatantrik (JVM-P) got united and sought to project the alliance like a major force. Sensing their strategy, BJP put all its resources to apprise the masses about the schemes of central and the state governments, ensured they were implemented on time and their benefits reached the last person. People were made to realize that the BJP was the only party that could cater to the present needs of the country. Did Pulwama attack on CMPF convey and Balakot air strike help the BJP override the oppositions unity? It is for the first time that nationalism grew up as a major political issue, when people began crying for all out war against terror and national security, rising above all caste, social and sectarian lines. A perception was built among the people that the nation is first for one and all. And it worked to mobilize the electors in support of the BJP and the NDA. In the BJPs wave, political stalwarts of Jharkhand like JMM chief Sibu Soren and JVM-P president Babulal Marandi were swept aside. What does it signify for Jharkhand? JMM founder Shibu Soren should have taken retirement from active politics, as he had crossed the age. And his defeat in his stronghold of Dumka made it amply clear. The way Babulal Marandi faced massive defeat in Koderma, it seems people made him to take voluntary retirement. People of Jharkhand also taught a lesson to Congress. They are unwilling to accept a non-resident Jharkhandi to head the party. Yoga guru Baba Ramdev asserted that in order to contain population growth, the government should bring in a law whereby third-borns should be bereft of voting rights. He also batted for a pan-India ban on manufacturing, sale, and purchase of liquor. Indias population should not be more than 150 crores in the next 50 years as we are not prepared or ready to bear more than that. This is only possible when the government makes a law that third child would not be allowed to vote, neither contest election nor he/she enjoys any type of privileges and facilities given by the government, Ramdev said while addressing a press conference here on Sunday. Then people will not give birth to more children, no matter which religion they belong to, he added. He also demanded a complete ban on cow-slaughter and said that it is the only way out to reduce the conflict between cow smugglers and gau rakshak (cow protectors). There should be a complete ban on cow slaughter and it is the only way out to end the conflict that we see between cow smugglers and gau rakshak. For those who want to eat meat, there are several other types of meat which they can eat, he said. Further, he pressed for a country-wide ban on liquor. In Islamic countries, liquor is banned. If in Islamic countries it can be banned then why not in India? This is the land of sages. There should be a complete ban on liquor in India, the Yog guru said. Ramdev also spoke about Patanjali Ayurved Limiteds Managing Director, Acharya Balkrishna, receiving the UNSDG 10 Most Influential People in Healthcare Award on behalf of Patanjali Group of Institutions in Geneva yesterday, and termed it a moment of pride. Acharya Balkrishna was invited to represent India. In the context of global health, how lifestyle diseases can be treated with Yoga, Ayurveda and traditional Indian methods, Patanjali has contributed towards this. So, Acharya Balkrishna was awarded by UNSDG. We are proud, he said. Patanjali Ayurved is a company producing a range of Ayurvedic medicinal and personal care products, among other consumer items. Popular yoga guru Baba Ramdev co-founded the company along with Balkshrina. (This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.) YSR Congress (YSRC) president and Andhra Pradesh chief minister-designate YS Jaganmohan Reddy met n Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday and discussed the issues of special category status to Andhra Pradesh . He also discussed the states financial situation and sought central funds during the meeting with Modi at his 7, Lok Kalyan Marg residence, news agency PTI reported. During his election campaign, Reddy whose YSRC stormed to power on Thursday bagging 152 of the states 175 assembly seats and 22 of the states 25 Lok Sabhahad said that he would support the party at the national level which promises to grant special category status to Andhra Pradesh Shortly after the meeting, Modi tweeted that the had a fruitful interaction. Had an excellent meeting with Andhra Pradeshs CM designate @ysjagan. We had a fruitful interaction on several issues pertaining to APs development. Assured him all possible support from the Centre during his term. pic.twitter.com/u7bwPGI4t6 Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 26, 2019 The special category status has been a contentious issue which led to the Telegu Desam Party (TDP) pulling out of the National Democratic Alliance(NDA) in March 2018. TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu had accused the BJP of reneging on a promise to confer special category status on the state . The BJP had cited the 14th Finance Commissions report to say that Andhra Pradesh could not be granted special category status. Also read| I wanted to resign as chief minister, but party didnt agree: Mamata in her first press meet post LS results On Saturday morning, Reddy was unanimously elected YSRC legislature party leader at the party headquarters in Tadepalli in Amaravati. Later, he met Governor ESL Narasimhan in Hyderabad and hand over the resolution of the YSRC legislature party. The Governor congratulated him and formally invited him to form the new government. According to party leaders, Reddy will be sworn in as Andhra CM at Indira Gandhi Municipal Stadium in Vijayawada at 12.23 pm on May 30, as per the muhurtam fixed by the Visakha Sarada Peetham seer, Swamy Swaroopanandendra Swamy. Also read| God has punished Chandrababu Naidu, says Jagan Mohan Reddy after poll victory Reddy also went to Pragati Bhavan, the official residence of Telangana CM K Chandrasekhar Rao, where he was accorded a grand welcome. Reddy invited KCR and leaders of Telangana Rashtra Samithi for his swearing-in ceremony. Earlier, Reddy told the legislature party meeting, This is a historic win, which would be written in golden letters in the annals of the state... It has proved that God will not forgive those who indulged in...corruption, he said, adding the YSRC should focus on living up to the faith reposed by the people. With just four seats in the Lok Sabha elections 2019, the Sharad Pawar-led NCP has failed to make any progress in the state. After its reversal in 2014, the party has failed to bounce back in this poll and is now facing a bigger battle for survival in the upcoming Assembly elections scheduled within six months. Political experts believe that reviving the partys position in the Assembly elections would be an uphill task for its leadership, considering its present position. Another challenge the party is likely to face is to refrain its legislators and other senior leaders from switching to ruling parties. Only this week, the party lost its Beed MLA Jaydutt Kshirsagar, who joined Shiv Sena. Ranjitsinh Mohite Patil, former Rajya Sabha MP has already joined BJP. His father and NCP stalwart Vijaysinh Mohite Patil is also likely to join BJP soon. NCP leaders believe that their hobnobbing with BJP for four years and later criticising them over issues was rejected by the people. A section of NCP leaders are also of the view that the people have voted BJP and its allies in the name of Hindu Nationalism, which overshadowed every other issue and it will be difficult for them to fight that. On Friday, the state NCP chief Jayant Patil has expressed suspicion over electronic voting machines (EVM). He said that the poll results are shocking and even their candidates have doubt over the counting process. Our defeat in the polls is understandable, but the defeat in all polling booths is hard to believe. Even our candidates are expressing doubt over the counting process. We are studying the poll results, he said. Since 2009, the partys vote share in the Lok Sabha is reducing every election. In this poll, it has come down to 15.5% from 16.12% in 2014, which is not a good sign for the party. In 2009, the vote percentage of the party was 19.28%. Meanwhile, Pawar has decided to resume his tour of drought-affected areas from Saturday. In the two-day tour, he will be visiting drought-hit villages of Satara and Pune district, said a senior NCP functionary. His tour assumes significance, considering it would become a poll issue in the coming state Assembly elections. Pawar has already toured many districts of the state where he interacted with villagers and has also met CM Devendra Fadnavis with a charter of demands for mitigation measures. With the poll result, people have questioned our credibility. They have rejected our strategy of hobnobbing with BJP leaders, including the top brass for four years, and just a year before general polls start, criticising the same people. For us, its high time to introspect, said a senior NCP leader, requesting anonymity. Patil said, The BJP-Sena combine got the lead in 225 Assembly segments in this polls, but we are confident that the people of Maharashtra knows whom to elect to Delhi and whom to vote for in the state. It is a fact that NCP has maintained its tally of 2014, despite an adverse situation. This means, the coming state Assembly elections will also be very tough for them. However, the NCP leadership is capable of tackling such a scenario. They can maintain its tally of 2014 and even get more than that as you must be aware of that NCP chief is again resuming his drought tour, said political analyst Pratap Aasbe. Currently, NCP has 41 seats in the state Assembly, which is 21 less than its tally in 2009 (62 seats). The positive side of the story for NCP is that it is now in a better position than Congress and can bargain for better number of seats for contesting the state Assembly polls together. NCP can also emerge as a bigger party than Congress in Maharashtra, said another analyst, Abhay Deshpande. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) under the leadership of Narendra Modi has swept India once again. This election has confirmed that the BJP has replaced the Congress as the main aggregator of different castes and communities under the umbrella of Hindutva. And that BJP has consolidated its position as the central pole of the Indian polity. Even without the detailed data of the elections, we can safely draw some inferences. First, Modi is the most formidable mass leader India has seen since independence. His popularity and credibility are at their zenith and that opposition committed hara-kiri by targeting him personally. Second, this is an unequivocal victory of Hindutva; a modern vision of Hindu unity cutting across the caste and regional divide. And nowhere is it seen better than in Uttar Pradesh where the United Spectrum of Hindu Votes has decimated the formidable alliance of the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). The sole purpose of the SP-BSP alliance was to consolidate the Muslim votes. They couldnt imagine the counter-consolidation of the Hindus. Third, this is the vindication of what is famously called Shekhawat doctrine. It formulated the expansion of the social base of the BJP beyond the traditional urban upper caste constituency and localisation of Hindutva. The straitjacket of Hindi, Hindu, Hindustan was abandoned and the Hindutva narrative was adapted according to the regional and caste-specific imagination. What began in the 1990s was picked up again by Narendra Modi and Amit Shah and scaled up. Gujarat, Karnataka, Bengal and Uttar Pradesh are the shining example of the success of this strategy. Fourth, Modi transformed BJP from the party of urban middle-class into the party of the poor and neo-middle class. And herein lies the main reason behind this unprecedented full-majority second term. Also read | Decoding Lok Sabha polls in 10 questions The unparalleled delivery of public goods to the poor and the villagers and massive expansion of the social security coverage endeared him to the masses and destroyed the opposition charge of Ambani-Adani ki sarkar. The numbers of beneficiaries of toilet construction, housing for poor, gas cylinders, electrification, health coverage under Ayushman Bharat, pension coverage, banking coverage etc runs into tens of millions and there was no way that the opposition strategy of creating mahaul, an atmosphere of negativity, was going to work. The use of Aadhar and Direct Benefit Transfers ensured that, for the first time, the poor got the benefits they were entitled to. And the direct income support to the farmers under the PM-Kisan consolidated the rural poor as an unassailable fortress of Modi. All this while, the opposition was busy funding rootless propagandists and comedians on social media thinking that they will succeed in creating the mahaul, perception, against the Modi government. The BJP successfully converted the vantage point of the election from caste to class and blunted the appeal of the caste-based regional parties. One of the main reasons behind the caste politics is the absence of the universal provision of the public goods leading to competing mobilisation behind caste leaders to ensure that the state works for their respective communities. And Modi has just undermined that model. He made universal service delivery and efficient administration a major plank of the campaign. This will lead to long-term change in both political discourse and ground politics. Fifth, the credit must be given to Amit Shah and the party organisation he so painstakingly built. It has once again shown that elections cant be won without boots on the ground and that no amount of hiring of foreign experts, consultants and social media trends can match the disciplined army of the party cadre. It is not surprising that today that the BJP is the only major cadre-based party. It also ensures intra-party competition with constant churning of talent in the party structure, unlike the feudal enterprise that other parties have become. Sixth, the opposition was leaderless and clueless. It was under the delusion that 2014 was a black swan event and Modi could never repeat his victory. They failed to understand that the fundamental shifts in an increasingly young, aspirational and urban India. Their political strategy was trapped in the 1990s framework and remained wilfully blind to the inroads BJP has made in the Dalit, tribal and Other Backward Classes. Bengal is the prime example of this subaltern consolidation behind BJP against the oppressive rule of the Trinamool Congress. And last, people refused to give their mandate to an unstable coalition of the warring regional satraps and have indicated their clear preference for political stability and decisive leadership at the Centre to deal with issues like national security. The anarchist politics adopted by the opposition of targeting each and every institution by vicious propaganda and patronising far-left demagogues has backfired. One hopes that better sense will prevail this time around. (The writer is an assistant professor at Shri Ram College of Commerce, Delhi University) The ruling Congress sacrilege pitch against the Badal family did not find much resonance among voters as Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal won from the Ferozepur constituency with the highest margin of 1.70 lakh in Punjab while his wife and Union minister Harsimrat Kaur scored a hat-trick from Bathinda. While Sukhbir defeated his nearest rival Sher Singh Ghubaya of the Congress in all assembly constituencies of the Ferozepur seat, Harsimrat led in five of the nine assembly segments, including Lambi, Bhucho Mandi, Bathinda (urban), Bathinda (rural) and Budladha. She trailed in Talwandi Sabo, Maur, Mansa and Sardulgarh. Of these, Lambi, Maur, Talwandi Sabo, Bhucho Mandi and Sardulgarh segments are predominantly rural. The election outcome indicates that electors in the state did not vote on the basis of religious issues, say political observers. The issue of sacrilege of religious scriptures did not yield any poll dividends trend in the state, against what was expected by some political analysts. The main political players Congress and the SAD-BJP alliance failed to touch upon public-oriented issues in Punjab, said Dr Jagrup Singh Sekhon, head of the department of political science at Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU) and state coordinator of Lokniti, a social science research programme of New Delhi-based Centre for the Study of Developing Societies. There was hardly any taker for the SADs campaign against the Congress on the issues of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots and the Operation Bluestar either, he added. During its poll campaign, the Congress led by chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh trained guns at the Badals on the issue of 2015 desecration and police firing during the Akali regime in Punjab to corner the family as well as their party. Not only the CM repeatedly urged people to vote against the Badal couple, the Congress even organised a rally for party president Rahul Gandhi at Bargari, the epicentre of sacrilege. Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi also addressed a rally in Bathinda to take on the Badals. Even the partys star campaigner Navjot Sidhu raked up the issue to consolidate the Sikh votes, but to no avail, another political expert said. There may be an undercurrent on the issue of the 2015 sacrilege incidents but it did not become an election issue. Even other contestants such as Punjab Ekta Party chief Sukhpal Singh Khaira attacked the Badals on the same issue but could not convert the same into votes, he said. The Congress stooped low to defame us but voters rejected their propaganda, Harsimrat said. Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath was watching television late in the night, after campaigning for the general election had already begun. A woman rooting for Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on the programme: We have a message for Yogi. He should control the menace of stray cattle, which is destroying our crop. The chief minister, who shared this story in an informal conversation with journalists, said he immediately summoned senior officials to his Kalidas Marg official residence and directed them to organise a video conference the next day with district administrators. The state government issued directives to the districts that all stray cattle were to be moved to cattle shelters, for which funds had already been released. Also Read | 3 pathways to BJP victory in Lok Sabha elections 2019 Four lakh cattle abandoned cows and buffaloes were moved to the shelters. Had we not taken urgent steps, people would have been unhappy, Adityanath said. That was just one of the challenges the UP government confronted on the administrative level farm distress, erratic power supply and the execution of the many central welfare schemes were some of the others even as it battled the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)-Samajwadi Party (SP) combine on the political and electoral front. The first instalment of 2,000 under Modis farm income support scheme PM-Kisan, which offers 6,000 a year to small and marginal farmers in three instalments reached more than 10 million people within weeks of its notification. Many also received the second instalment in their bank accounts. The execution of Prime Ministers flagship schemes also helped in neutralising whatever negative image of the state government was built by the opposition. The government ensured there was no discrimination in the selection of beneficiaries, a senior official said. Also Read | Ready to face polls if ruling coalition dissolves Karnataka government: BS Yeddyurappa Informally discussing the BJPs victory in Gorakhpur, his pocket borough, Adityanath admitted that he had been concerned over poor management of the election in the initial days. I then decided to take command (of the campaign) in my hands instead of changing the candidate as some people had suggested, he said. Not only did he avenge the humiliating defeat in his stronghold last year to a candidate backed by the BSP and SP, he also led the BJP to victory in all nine seats in the division. It is the first time in 40 years of Gorakhpurs political history that a Bhojpuri film star, Ravi Kishan, who does not belong to the Gorakhpur mutt headed by Adityanath , has been elected to the seat. At the booth level, the blueprint of management was laid out by party president Amit Shah. This, coupled with prompt administrative action by the government on public grievances, helped the BJP win 62 seats (of the total 80) and muster 50% vote share despite the challenge posed by the SP-BSP-Rashtriya Lok Dal alliance. The BJP also toppled the Congress bastion of Amethi, the pocket borough of party president Rahul Gandhi, who was defeated by Union minister Smriti Irani. At the end of it all, Adityanath baiters who had been demanding a change in the states leadership had been silenced and the knives sheathed. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 25) The legislative session ends on June 7th, along with the shift to a new Congress. This leaves legislators in a race against time to pass key economic bills of the Duterte administration, as these bills would have to go through the entire legislative process all over again once the 18th Congress takes over on July 22. Once of these bills include the Private Services Act, which would lift the foreign ownership limits in the telecommunication and transport sectors. "It can address the issues on water, air, transportation, and power. Sapul lahat doon sa (It will hit) Public Service Act, which is very old," Senate President Vicente "Tito" Sotto III told reporters. Congress is also working on passing the bill which would increase excise taxes on alcohol and tobacco, which would fund the Universal Health Care Act. READ: Finance and Health departments renew call to pass sin tax law The second tranche of the administration's tax reform program, the Tax Reform for Attracting Better and High-Quality Opportunities (Trabaho) bill, is also still pending in Congress. Speaking to CNN Philippines Business Roundup, Asian Institute of Management Associate Professor Emmanuel Leyco said that the upcoming administration-allied Congress might make passing these laws easier. "Well, in terms of passing the law with the majority now with the president, legislation is going to become easier. It will be faster," Leyco said. However, he added that legislation such as the Trabaho bill should not be rushed. "One of the major issues that were cited by the business sector was that the benefits they are currently enjoying right now will be removed and they say, if that is removed, they will have no reason to stay in the country. So they will just stay out," Leyco said. He added that it falls upon the 18th Congress to pass laws that would benefit the economy in the long-run, not just until the end of the administration. "I am hoping that the new legislative body will put priority on the competitiveness, on the stability and the long term benefit, long term direction of our economy... You have to consult with all stakeholders and make sure that the steps that are being taken right now is not just for the temporary 1-2 years," Leyco said. CNN Philippines correspondent Rex Remitio contributed to this story. As the Communist Party of India (Marxist) politburo is set on Sunday to start its postmortem of the partys performance in the 2019 national polls, a rift in the Kerala unit of CPI(M) has emerged over whether Sabarimala spoilt the Lefts chances in the state, with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan stating that it did not turn Left voters away. In September 2018, the Supreme Court had permitted women of all age groups to enter the shrine, overturning an at least three-decade-old custom that prevented women of menstruating ages 10 to 50 years from paying obeisance at the temple. Both the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party organized protests surrounding the decision. The ruling Left Democratic Front government, however, supported the top courts verdict and even assisted women in making the pilgrimage. Read| Ready to face polls if ruling coalition dissolves Karnataka government: BS Yeddyurappa However, a section of the CPI (M) felt that by doing so, the Left lost its base among the Hindu voters. In this Lok Sabha poll, the CPI (M) slid to its lowest ever tally of three seats, winning just one Alappuzha in Kerala. At least three CPI (M) leaders said that in an internal report, a section of the state unit has maintained that the Sabarimala issue hurt the sentiments of a section of the Hindu voters. It was very evident in the run up to the poll. We couldnt get enough Hindu voters as many people felt as if we are antiHindu, said a senior CPI (M) leader of Kerala. A Delhi-based central leader of the party also admitted that Sabarimala had some impact in the Lefts prospect in the state. A day after the 2019 results, CPI (M) state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan presented the preliminary report, which is likely to be discussed in the upcoming politburo meeting. The politburo will conduct a critical analysis on why the party fared so badly in the national polls. Also read| Near sweep for Congress; CPM left with one SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The new Lok Sabha has nine per cent more Members of Parliament (MPs) with criminal charges against them, according to a study conducted by National Election Watch (NEW) and Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), which are NGOs working for electoral and political reform. Of the total winners in 2019, 233 parliamentarians (43%) have declared criminal cases against them as compared to 185 (34%) in the Lok Sabha elected in 2014 and 162 (30 per cent) in 2009, say the findings based on the scrutiny of affidavits of 539 MPs. The remaining three MPs could not be analysed due to unavailability of clear and complete copies of their affidavits on the Election Commissions website, claimed the body. Similarly, the number of crorepati winners too has gone up. From 443 (82%) in 2014, Lok Sabha 2019 has 475 (88%) parliamentarians, whose average assets are more than 1 crore. There were only 315 (58%) crorepatis in 2009. Expressing concern over the growing number of politicians with criminal antecedents, Major General (retired) Anil Varma of the association said 159 (29%) new MPs have serious criminal cases related to rape, murder, attempt to murder, kidnapping, crime against women against them. This figure was 112 in 2014 and 76 in 2009. There is an increase of 109 per cent in the number of MPs with declared serious criminal cases against them, said Verma, adding that newly elected Congress MP Dean Kuriakose from Idukki constituency in Kerala has 204 criminal cases against him. Of the 11 winners with cases related to murder (section 302 IPC), three are from Uttar Pradesh. They are BJP candidate Ajay Kumar from Kheri, Atul Kumar Singh from Ghosi and Afzal Ansari from Ghazipur, both of BSP. Thirty MPs have attempted murder charges against them. Party-wise, however, BJP tops the list with 116 out of 303 newly-elected MPs having criminal charges against them followed by Congress with 29 out of 52, DMK 10 and All Indian Trinamool Congress 9. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena alliances near sweep in the Lok Sabha polls in Maharashtra was not only in the number of seats but also in their lead margins over their opponents. The BJP-Sena maintained their seat tally of 2014 polls by winning 41 out of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in the polls held this year. However, the data released by the Election Commission of India (ECI) shows that in 16 of these seats, the saffron allies won with a margin of more than two lakh votes. This includes 9 urban seats 5 in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) and 4 others made up of Pune, Maval, Nashik and Nagpur. In MMR, the saffron allies scored big in Mumbai North, Mumbai North East, Mumbai North West, Thane and Kalyan. The 7 rural constituencies where the BJP-Sena candidates won with a victory margin of more than two lakh are Akola, Dhule, Jalna, Latur, Raver, Jalgaon and Ahmednagar. The rise in the winning margins ranges from 8,859 votes (Pune constituency, where the BJPs margin was 3,15,769 in 2014 as opposed to 3,24,628 in 2019) to 1,26,017 votes (Jalna constituency, where the BJPs margin was 2,06,798 in 2014 as opposed to 3,32,815 in 2019) Out of these 16 seats, the BJP won 12 seats while the Sena won the remaining 4 seats. With Assembly polls slated in October, these victory leads add to the Oppositions troubles. The Congress-NCP opposition won only 5 seats in the 2019 polls. The Congress managed a win in 1 seat while the NCP maintained its hold over 4 seats. An independent candidate backed by the NCP also won, in Amravati. To add to the oppositions woes, the defeat margin of Opposition candidates has also increased, barring two seats Mumbai North East and Nagpur. The rise in the defeat margin ranges from 8,859 votes (in Pune constituency) to 1,30,846 lakh votes (in Thane constituency). Political analyst Abhay Deshpande said, In urban areas, the narrative set up by Prime Minister Narendra Modi got more support and the aspirational class fully supported him because they didnt see any credible alternative to him. In contrast, in the rural areas, there was a lot of unrest against the government considering drought and many other issues. But here, the Opposition parties failed to convert that unrest into votes and the poll results indicate the same. Maharashtra Congress chief Ashok Chavan blamed the Prakash Ambedkar-led Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) for the oppositions poor performance in the polls. While looking at the winning margin of BJP-Sena candidates, you should also look at the number of votes secured by VBA candidates in the Lok Sabha elections. Now by declaring to contest all 288 Assembly seats, it has become very clear that Prakash Ambedkar wants to divide opposition votes, said Chavan. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The decision to join hands with the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections has paid off for the Shiv Sena. By securing wins on 18 seats, the Sena managed to remain politically significant in Maharashtraespecially ahead of the Assembly polls. The Uddhav Thackeray-led partys performance, a repeat of 2014, has come primarily due to its decision to ally with BJP, observers said. The BJP and Sena won 41 of the 48 seats. The BJP bagged 23 seats. The synergy between the top leadership of the party is looking better than it was in 2014 after the BJP won a complete majority for the first time. The optics also show that all is well within the alliance after the mammoth victory of the BJP in 2019. CM Devendra Fadnaviss move to go to MatoshreeThackerays residenceon Thursday to celebrate the win, shows the two saffron parties would remain together. Thackeray is set to go to New Delhi on Saturday to meet BJP president Amit Shah and PM Narendra Modi. Analyst Pratap Asbe said, Sena is now seen as the B-team of the BJP. But had they gone alone, their situation would have been really bad, he said. Although Sena benefitted by their alliance with the BJP, the strike rate the proportion of constituencies the party wins for a given set of constituencies has dropped from 90% in 2014, to 78.26%, as four veterans, including a minister in the Modi cabinet, lost. Union minister for heavy industries Anant Geete lost to NCPs Sunil Tatkare in Raigad. Five-term MP Anandrao Adsul was defeated by independent candidate Navneet Rana in Amravati. Three-term MP from Shirur, Shivaji Adhalrao Patil, was also defeated by NCPs Amol Kolhe. Kolhe was a Sena deputy leader, who quit the party, to join NCP . In a shock for the party, four-time MP Chandrakant Khaire lost to Imtiyaz Jaleel of AIMIM from Aurangabad by 4,492 votes. Khaire, who was in a four-cornered fight in the constituency, was primarily hurt by Harshwardhan Jadhav, a Sena MLA, who quit the party during the Maratha agitation. He contested independently and polled 2,83,798 votes, to hurt the chances of Khaire. The Sena also lost Satara, where NCPs Udayanraje Bhonsale trounced Narendra Patil. The NCP, according to the results, caused more damage to Sena candidates than the Congress. NCP and Sena candidates were against each other on 11 seats. NCP managed to win four of the seats. The Congress and Sena were against each other on nine seats, but Congress did not win any. The Sena made inroads in Kolhapur, snatching it from NCP, by winning the seat after attempts in 2009 and 2014. According to Sena leaders, the result is positive for the party despite the loss in its traditional strongholds. Assembly segments are being analysed, whether our vote bank has changed or there was any polarisation of some kind. Those upsets have really shocked the party leadership, otherwise our tally would have been 22, a senior functionary said. A senior Sena leader, however, dismissed anti-incumbency as a factor for the losses for four veterans of the party. Sometimes there are freak reasons for defeats. We are looking into it so that we are better prepared for the Assembly polls, he said, requesting anonymity The partys vote share has increased to 23.29%, from 20.82% in 2014. Our vote share has gone up, and our assessment shows that a sizable chunk of youth, including first-time voters, have voted for the Sena, said Anil Desai, party secretary and Rajya Sabha MP. He attributed the reason behind young voters gravitating towards Sena, to the rise of Thackeray scion, Aaditya. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON With time, people can adapt to societal diversity and actually benefit from it, according to a study. Whenever people feel insecure for economic reasons and society around them changes, it becomes tempting for politicians to blame immigrants for these feelings of insecurity, even 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. According to the findings published in the Journal of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 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, those problems are introduced. Its important for our political leaders to set the right tone, so proper integration can occur, said Douglas, professor of Sociology and Public Affairs at Princetons Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. 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 arent 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 analysed 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, but 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. When it comes to immigrants, political leaders and others have a choice. They can either mobilise 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. Follow more stories on Facebook and Twitter Over 600 people, mostly children, have been tested HIV positive in Pakistans Sindh province, raising concern among health authorities who sought support of WHO to cope with the alarming number of cases. A ten-member team of experts from World Health Organisation will visit Pakistan within few days to ascertain causes of spreading HIV/Aids in Larkana region of Sindh, Prime Ministers Special Assistant on Health Zafar Mirza said in a press conference on Sunday. The health authorities have requested the WHO to provide 50,000 HIV testing kits and send rapid response team to the area. Mirza in a letter written to WHO said that most alarmingly, of over 600 cases that have surfaced so far, 500 are children between 2 months to 12 years old, the Nation reported. He said the federal government is in touch with the provincial health department to provide assistance to overcome the alarming situation. He said reused syringes and unsafe blood transfusion are apparently the main cause of spreading the virus. Last month, provincial health authorities were alarmed when the number of HIV-positive cases rose to 39, which included over a dozen children. According to an inquiry by the health authorities, most of the infected children had visited a private clinic of a local paediatrician named Muzaffar Ghangar, who himself is an AIDS patient, in Ratodero for other ailments. Ghangar, who is also employed at a public hospital in Ratodero, is accused of infecting more than 50 patients, mostly children, by repeated use of single contaminated syringe. The doctor has been arrested and is currently under police custody. (This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.) Despite a growing ABB campaign Anyone But Boris former foreign secretary Boris Johnson remains the favourite to replace Prime Minister Theresa May, as more leading lights of the Conservative party threw their hats in the ring. Potential contenders have until June 10 to formally declare their intention to contest the leadership election, triggered by Mays announcement that she will leave 10 Downing Street on June 7, after what the news media said she was broken by Brexit. The eight contenders so far, all current or former cabinet ministers, are (two women, six men): Andrea Leadsom, Esther McVey, Boris Johnson, Michael Gove, Dominic Raab, Rory Stewart, Jeremy Hunt and Matt Hancock. Johnson and Gove have been allies in the pro-Brexit camp before the 2016 referendum, but fell out during the leadership contest to replace David Cameron, who resigned as prime minister soon after the vote to leave the European Union. Brexit is the main plank, with candidates making their pitch on Sunday television, radio and newspapers on the shape they think it should take, and would push for, as prime minister: hard or soft Brexit, another election or another referendum, how they would get round the key issue of backstop for Northern Ireland, and so forth. The campaign against Johnson is driven by his claim that he would ensure that the UK leaves the EU on October 31 with or without a deal; an influential section of moderate Conservative MPs and members are in favour of leaving with a deal instead of the economically harmful no-deal scenario. Those keen to stop Johnson include two cabinet ministers: justice secretary David Gauke and international development secretary Rory Stewart; the former wrote in the Observer on Sunday that candidates who fail to acknowledge the enormously harmful effects of crashing out of the EU will fuel populism. Gauke wrote: All those that do have such aspirations have a responsibility to set out their approach to Brexit, which is anchored in the hard realities of the situation. We should not pretend that leaving the European Union without a deal will be anything other than enormously harmful to our economy, weaken our security relationships and threaten the integrity of the union, he wrote. In the first round of the leadership contest, 313 Conservative MPs will vote on the candidates, with those with the least being eliminated until two with the most votes remain. The two will then face an election with over 1.25 lakh members of the party voting. The process is expected to spill over into July, when the new prime minister will take over. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Pakistan is ready to hold talks with the new Indian government to resolve all outstanding issues, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said. Addressing an Iftar dinner in Multan on Saturday, Qureshi said both India and Pakistan should sit on negotiation table to solve issues for the sake of prosperity and peace of the region, state-run Radio Pakistan reported. His remarks came two days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi Thursday led his Bharatiya Janata Party towards a super-sized victory for a second term in office. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday 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. 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 wins the general elections. The results of Indias general elections are very significant for Pakistan as the new government in New Delhi will determine the course of Indo-Pakistan ties, which were pushed to a new low after the Pulwama terror attack. Just a day before the announcement of results, 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. He conveyed to her Pakistans desire to resolve all issues through 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. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 26) In the middle of pardoning underclassmen of the Philippine Military Academy during their graduation rites Sunday, President Rodrigo Duterte threw in a joke that the cadets were being pardoned for cases such as rape and drug use. After his speech in Baguio City, he was approached by his aide who handed over a folder which contained a document freeing the cadets from punishment -- a yearly tradition in the military school. "I, Rodrigo Roa Duterte, President of the Republic of the Philippines and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines -- ano ba kasalanan ninyo? Okey lang. Mga kasalanan niyo, okey lang [what wrong things did you do? It's okay ] -- hereby pardon all outstanding punishments for the underclassmen 2CL, 3CL, and 4CL of the Cadet Corps Armed Forces of the Philippines," the President said. He then asked the underclassmen who committed the violations. When no one came to the fore, the President said, "Para ring pulis ha. Natuto na kayo sa pulis, ayaw mag-admita [You are like the police. Youve learned from the police not to confess], he said. While signing the pardon, Duterte cracked jokes on the cadets' supposed cases. "The number one is for rape. P*******a. Ang number two is drugs with rape with robbery. Para sa Muntinlupa 'to. Pangatlo, multiple rape of the women of Baguio, the beautiful ones," he said. [Translation: The number one is rape. Son of a b***h. Number two is drugs with rape with robbery. This one is for Muntinlupa. Third, multiple rape of the women of Baguio, the beautiful ones.] The graduating batch of cadets, whose valedictorian is a female Ilocos Native, laughed at the rape jokes. Duterte also said he will let these violations slide since there is a need for "good and capable" soldiers. Well, anyway Ill pass you this time because I need good and capable soldiers and I know that one or two is bound to happen. Pero patawarin ko kayo [I will forgive you], he said. The President is not a stranger to vulgar remarks against women. His jokes against women first gained notoriety in 2016, when he cracked the controversial "Dapat mauna ang mayor" rape joke about a detained Australian missionary. China should hold talks with Tibets spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, U.S. Ambassador to China Terry Branstad told Chinese officials during a trip to the Himalayan region where he criticised Beijing for interfering in religious freedom. Branstad visited Tibet last week, the first such trip by a U.S. ambassador since 2015, amid escalating trade and diplomatic tension between the two countries. His visit followed the passing of a U.S. law in December that requires the United States to deny visas to Chinese officials in charge of implementing policies that restrict access to Tibet for foreigners, legislation that was denounced by China. Branstad met Chinese government officials and Tibetan religious and cultural figures, and raised our long-standing concerns about lack of consistent access to Tibet, the U.S. Embassy in Beijing said in an emailed statement on Saturday. He encouraged the Chinese government to engage in substantive dialogue with the Dalai Lama or his representatives, without preconditions, to seek a settlement that resolves differences, an embassy spokeswoman said. He also expressed concerns regarding the Chinese governments interference in Tibetan Buddhists freedom to organise and practise their religion, she said. Beijing sent troops into remote, mountainous Tibet in 1950 in what it officially terms a peaceful liberation and has ruled there with an iron fist ever since. The Dalai Lama fled to India in early 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule, and Beijing still brands him a dangerous separatist. China says its leaders have the right to approve his successor, as a legacy from Chinas emperors. But the 83-year-old Nobel peace laureate monk, who lives in exile in the Indian hill town of Dharamshala, has said that his incarnation could be found in India after he dies, and that any other successor named by China would not be respected. Tibetan tradition holds that the soul of a senior Buddhist monk is reincarnated in the body of a child on his death. Chinas Foreign Ministry said last week that the government welcomed Branstads visit, but that China hoped the ambassador would not take any prejudices with him on the trip. In December, China criticised the United States for passing the Reciprocal Access to Tibet Act, which seeks to promote access to Tibet for U.S. diplomats and other officials, journalists and other citizens by denying U.S. entry for Chinese officials deemed responsible for restricting access to Tibet. The U.S. government is required to begin denying visas by the end of this year. Voter turnout at European Parliament elections has dropped steadily over the years, hitting a record low of 43 percent at the last poll in 2014. As the May 23-26 elections for the European Unions assembly wind up, here is an overview. - Staying away - In 1979, at the first direct election for representatives to the European Parliament, just 38 percent of voters stayed away. Since then voter turnout for the five-yearly election has progressively fallen, with a record 57 percent of voters abstaining in 2014. At the same time, however, the powers of the parliament have increased. Having had limited scope in 1979, Euro-MPs can now co-legislate in some areas alongside national ministers in the EU Council. - EU distant - In almost all EU countries more people vote at national general polls than for the European Parliament. The gap is on average 25 percentage points across the bloc, Sciences Po university professor Olivier Rozenberg told AFP. EU citizens feel less close to the European elections than polls at their national and local levels, the Jacques Delors Institute think-tank said in a 2014 report. In a September 2018 survey, 48 percent of Europeans said they believe that their voice counts in the EU, according to the Eurobarometer polling body. This rose to 62 percent for their own countries, its survey found. - Compulsory vote scrapped - In 1979 voting was compulsory in three countries -- Belgium, Italy and Luxembourg -- of the nine that made up the precursor to the European Union, the European Economic Community. The three accounted for a quarter of the blocs voters. That proportion dropped to about five percent as new members joined and Italy dropped the obligation to vote in the 1990s, which probably played a major role in the decline in overall voting rates at the European elections, the Jacques Delors Institute said. In the forthcoming elections, voting is compulsory in five countries: Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece and Luxembourg. This is not a guarantee of turnout however, as many voters choose to not cast ballots anyway. While abstention is weak in Belgium and Luxembourg at between 10 and 15 percent, in Greece it was 40 percent at the 2014 poll, and 56 percent in Cyprus. - Record abstention in the east - Slovakia posted the highest abstention rate of 87 percent at the 2014 poll. Ten of the 12 countries with the lowest turnouts were from the former communist bloc in the east, young countries that are the most recent to join the EU. Voting in these nations is a little less sacred than in other European countries, Rozenberg said. For us (western countries) voting is synonymous with democracy, while this link is less clear in Eastern countries where there are still memories of non-pluralist elections, he said. Politics in eastern countries is also more fluid, with parties regularly changing names and alliances. That does not favour partisan identity and therefore the vote, Rozenberg said. - Founding countries not spared - With the exception of Belgium and Luxembourg, the EUs founding members have also seen higher numbers of voters snubbing the European Parliament polls. In France and The Netherlands, abstention reached around 60 percent in 2014, from 40 percent in 1979. In Italy it was at 43 percent from 14 percent over the same period, and in Germany it was at 50 percent from 34 percent. The stay-away rates have nonetheless stabilised since 2004 in France and Germany. This can be explained by an awareness among people that the European Union is part of the problem and perhaps of the solution of the various challenges facing Europe, Rozenberg said. JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. You should upgrade or use an You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.You should upgrade or use an alternative browser DaBaby isn't playing around. Following his posting of a critical beatdown, he put on a mallrat, DaBaby issued additional PSAs warning against entering his personal bubble. If you haven't the video or the edit provided by DaBaby himself, here's your chance. Please be advised, the video contains a wee bit of blood and enough imprudent behavior to go around. As you certainly noticed, DaBaby is simply going about his business in the Louis Vuitton store when a heckler spots up from distance hurling insults. The rest of the encounter is pretty self-explanatory, up until the point at which DaBaby is fully-engaged in the fight itself, and loses the camera, only to recover it seconds, minutes later... it's hard to say. The above video can be viewed on DaBaby's Instagram until it expires in 20-odd hours. The Charlotte native identifies exactly the type of person he'd like to see less of in this world. "N----s love to play with me, and play victim, then call the police," he set out to describe before declaring himself "back in business" and relapsing into his pillow for a quick siesta The bloody tussle in question is the second of its kind in as many weeks. You might recall seeing/hearing about a photo request turned hostile. There's no sense in repeating the grim details, as DaBaby has clearly outlined his intentions every step of the way. Make like a thief in the night, and please go unnoticed when DaBaby is within your grasps. [Via] Harriet Tubman is one of the most important women in the history of the United States of America. After being born into slavery, she made approximately thirteen missions to rescue over seventy slaves, becoming one of the nation's heroes. When Barack Obama introduced his intentions to have Tubman on the $20 bill, many people rejoiced. Andrew Jackson, who is currently on the $20 bill, was a slave owner himself and he went to great lengths to prevent Native Americans from frequenting his land. The Tubman $20 bill was supposed to be re-designed by 2020 but according to President Donald Trump and Steven Mnuchin, it just isn't a priority for right now. Ann Ronan Pictures/Print Collector/Getty Images People are outraged after it was announced that Harriet Tubman would be taking a backseat until at least 2026. Mnuchin, the treasury secretary, noted that Trump is more focused on other moves, foregoing the decision to feature a woman on an American banknote for the first time in 150 years. "Right now, I am focused on the security features of the US currency," said Mnuchin during a congressional hearing on Wednesday. According to The Guardian, he added, "Its not a decision that is likely to come until way past my term, even if I serve the second term for the president, so I am not focused on that at the moment." Instead, the $10 and $50 bills will be redesigned to prevent the exchange of counterfeit currency. Understandably, people are not happy about the decision to delay Harriet Tubman's $20 bill. What do you think? https://twitter.com/_/status/1131259177656102915 When it comes to picture-perfect Instagram families, no one fits the bill quite like Gabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade's blended family. "I saw motherhood and parenthood with very realistic eyes," said Union during a recent sit-down with Oprah Winfrey for an OWN special titled Oprah at Home with Gabrielle Union, Dwyane Wade & Their New Baby. "It looked hard. I wanted a life of flitting around the country and lack of responsibility and all that. Parenthood is about sacrifice, being consistent, and being present. Then he got full custody. I signed up for the boys quicker than I signed up for him." Wade, who has full custody of sons Zaire Blessing Dwyane, 16, Zion Malachi Airamis, 11, Xavier Zechariah, along with nephew, Dahveon Morris, 17, recently celebrated the birth of his first daughter and only child with Union. Born via surrogate in 2018, baby Kaavia is the newest addition to the Union-Wade household after the couple's longtime struggle with infertility and multiple miscarriages. "There are all different ways you can become parents. Everyone's journey is different," says Union, fiercely protective of her family's unique dynamic. "Everyone's journey to surrogacy is different. There's all kind of different routes to that, whether the couple opts to share that with you, should be on them." To see the cutest snaps of the Union-Wade gang, check out our latest Instagram gallery below. Welcome To The World "We are sleepless and delirious but so excited to share that our miracle baby arrived last night via surrogate and 11/7 will forever be etched in our hearts as the most loveliest of all the lovely days. Welcome to the party sweet girl!" captioned Union alongside a picture of herself and her husband cradling their newborn daughter. https://www.instagram.com/p/Bp7vTN0niqW Activism A long-time supporter of community-based activism, Wade is committed to sharing and spreading his passion for change with his sons Zaire and Zion. https://www.instagram.com/p/BuXZBcfnQL6 A Family Affair Dwyane and Gabrielle made sure to bring the whole family abroad when celebrating the wedding of Wade's father and his new bride. https://www.instagram.com/p/Bmq8fbvgNFt Merry Christmas Nothing says "Christmas" like family time, matching pajamas and some festive decor. https://www.instagram.com/p/BOFr2kEhtPd The Wade 5s Families who dress up for Halloween together, stay together. https://www.instagram.com/p/_qEdWPlCCZ Happy Easter Dressed in their Sunday best, Gabrielle and Dwyane celebrate Easter alongside their baby daughter Kaavia. https://www.instagram.com/p/BwiPAvUHyjS Photoshoot "Family Time," captioned Wade of this snap of herself, daughter Kaavia and stepson Zaire. https://www.instagram.com/p/BtZPXainZDx #Allstar Dad While Wade is undoubtedly a beast on the court, it's clear that Union cherishes his skills as a family man the most. https://www.instagram.com/p/BtW6Pw5n_F4 Daddy's Girl Clearly, Kaavia has Wade and Zaire wrapped around her tiny little finger. https://www.instagram.com/p/Bsiq6hkHpiD 2019 Miami Vice If you're not having themed family photo shoots, you're not doing it big like the Union-Wade household. https://www.instagram.com/p/BsGeTL4Hds_ Meek Mill has taken to social media in the aftermath of his mere expulsion from the grounds of the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Las Vegas. Inevitably the first order of business demanded that Meek Mill's issue a written statement condemning the insolence of the hotel's administration. After following through with the procedure, Meek Mill posted the very same footage that was initially offered to TMZ - along with the following account of what transpired. "Cosmopolitan hotel/casino going to extreme racist levels to keep too many black entertainers and black people .... they said they gone lock me up.. Im like for what Ive been once to a party with jayz ....." he wrote as a caption to his Instagram video. https://twitter.com/_/status/1132416792775733248 https://twitter.com/_/status/1132418921720500225 From there, Meek Mill issued a proviso to his fellow Black Americans concerning his plans for a boycott, with immediate effect. Meek illustrated the double standard by reminiscing over a past visit, where he was allowed to enter the main lobby, on account of being an invited guest to a Jay-Z party. In this instance, Meek Mill did not have Jay-Z to usher him in, and thus he was treated differently, let alone in a deplorable manner. The reference to Jay-Z is significant if only to remind folks of the pressure tactics employed by the former Roc-A-Fella mogul when he effectively turned the hip-hop community against Cristal in 2006. Don't underestimate a quiet person with untapped fervor such as a recently-politicized Meek Mill. Meek Mill was recently denied entry at Las Vegas Cosmopolitan Hotel & Casino. TMZ reports that the Philadelphia rapper and activist along with his entourage pulled up to the hotel at around 3:30 Pacific time on Saturday to attend a DJ Mustard show when security told them that they would be able to enter the premises. When questioned as to why Meek could not enter, the security guard's response was simply, "I don't know why." Meek Mill's lawyer Joe Tacopina spoke to TMZ about the incident, stating that the guard asserted that the decision "came from way higher up" than his position. Tacopina would soon pen a letter to the Cosmopolitan in which he accuses the hotel of maintaining "a list of African American recording artists who should be denied access for no other reason than their culture and skin color. TMZ, who obtained a copy of the letter, reports that Tacopina went on to threaten legal action against the hotel and casino. "Such course of conduct constitutes discrimination per se, in violation of state and federal law, and exposes you to significant monetary damage," writes Tacopina. "[...] we urge you to promptly issue an apology to Mr. Williams and grant him immediate access. In the event you fail to heed this one and only warning, we intend to pursue all legal recourse against you." According to sources, the only other time Meek Mill was at the Cosmopolitan Hotel was nearly 5 years ago when he and Nicki Minaj attended a Jay-Z event. Belgium-bred rapper Woodie Smalls has unleashed a new offering in the form of his "Pending" track, the latest to bud from a growing catalog of formidable selections. The cut arrives as the second output of Smalls' since signing on with the TopNotch indie label. Over the past year, Woodie Smalls has steadily creeped into international waters, touring alongside The Underachiever and landing a coveted slot on the COLORsS YouTube channel with his "Tokyo Drift" track. "Pending" follows behind the previously-released "SidelInes" and for fans of Smalls', serves as a continuation of his renaissance while offering a splendid introduction to a solid talent. Quotable Lyrics Bright new future, I picture it gotta be on some different shit Took a little pause, got back to it Never would've thought that we would split Doing just fine by the end of it Time to cool off with a dip in a backyard water park that's only a short drive from Houston. If you don't want to brave the beach crowds this Memorial Day, Chadillac's Backyard Waterpark offers a refreshing alternative. This hidden Texas gem is nestled in the woods, right next to a swimming hole in Conroe. Chadillac's Backyard Waterpark first opened its doors at 16038 Crowley Road in Spring 2017. The cool retreat offers diving platforms, a 50-foot slide, rope swing, volleyball court, concert stage and games including beer pong and horseshoes. Best thing about this backyard treat---guests can have their own Texas barbecue and even camp at the property overnight. The Galveston Island Beach Patrol warned Sunday of rough surf and unusually strong currents. A red flag warning was in place for strong rip currents at Galveston beaches, according to the organization's website. Adults who knew how to swim were recommended to stay in water no more than waist deep. Children and those who could not swim were suggested to stay along the surf line. RELATED: Search crews find body of missing swimmer near Galveston The Beach Patrol serves as the city's lifeguard service. A red flag warning was also in place Saturday and was possible to continue on Monday. "We do worry about it when it's a holiday, because there's so many more people in the rough surf," said Peter Davis, chief of the beach patrol. Meteorologists predicted such conditions heading into the Memorial Day holiday weekend, when Galveston is a population destination. "Rip currents can be deadly," the National Weather Service Houston/Galveston branch tweeted on Sunday. The U.S. Coast Guard meanwhile reported the death of a man who went swimming in the San Luis Pass, which is known to be dangerous and where swimming is prohibited. His body was found about 8 a.m. STAY INFORMED: Text CHRON to 77453 to receive breaking news alerts by text message | Sign up for breaking news alerts delivered to your email here. Anne Brescia sat beside her only child, Anthony, as he lay unconscious in a hospital bed at age 16. Just a few months before, he was competing in a swim meet; now cancer was destroying his brain. Brescia couldn't save her son. But she was determined to bring him home. Anthony Gabriel Brescia-Connell was not conscious for his voyage from Boston Children's Hospital to his home in Medford, Massachusetts, where he died on March 3, 2011, surrounded by his family and beloved stuffed animals. He may not have heard the parting blessings before a doctor turned off his portable ventilator and let him die naturally. But having the choice to take Anthony home, away from the beeping hospital monitors, "meant the world to me," his mother said. Anthony's journey was made possible through swift and unconventional efforts by the hospital staff, including a critical care transport team accustomed to rushing kids to the hospital to save their lives, not taking them home to die. The experience galvanized Harriett Nelson, a nurse on that team who helped arrange the trip. It inspired her to conduct pioneering research on and advocate for "pediatric palliative transport" - a rare but growing practice that aims to give families choice, control and comfort at the end of life. Palliative transport lets families move critically ill children from the hospital intensive care unit to their home or hospice, with the expectation they will die within minutes to days after removing life support. It means "having parents go through the hardest thing they'll ever know - in the way they want to do it," Nelson said. Boston Children's has sent 19 children to home or hospice through palliative transport since 2007, she said. These final journeys - also offered by the Mayo Clinic, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and Kentucky Children's Hospital - can involve elaborate planning, delicate transfers and even long helicopter rides. In some cases, families took a child far from home for a last-ditch effort to save their lives. At the Mayo Clinic, palliative transport has helped culturally diverse families carry out end-of-life wishes for their dying children. In one case, a newborn girl rode 400 miles by ambulance to return to her Amish community, where she was extubated and died in her parents' arms, in the company of her 11 siblings. In another, an 8-month-old Native American girl traveled 600 miles by air and ground ambulance to her rural tribal reservation, where she could participate in end-of-life rituals that could not be done in the hospital. These trips, which can cost thousands of dollars, are typically offered free to families, paid for by hospitals or charities. Most children are taken home, where they transition to receiving care from hospice staff. Some go instead to hospice facilities. Megan Thorvilson, a pediatrician and palliative care specialist at Mayo, said palliative transport aims to address a gap between families' preference and reality. Most parents of terminally ill children would prefer that their child die at home, but most of these children die in the hospital, most commonly in the intensive care unit. Most pediatric ICU deaths happen in a controlled way, following the removal of life support, she said. That means there may be time to move the child to an alternative location to honor a family's wishes. Transporting children on life support is risky. At a palliative care conference, a nurse from Children's Hospital of Philadelphia described the difficulties staff faced in trying to fly a 10-year-old girl home to Michigan. After she was rolled on her side several times to be transferred between vehicles, the child died before the plane could take off. And dying at home is not what every family wants. "We do sometimes overly romanticize the death at home," Thorvilson acknowledged. Some parents would much rather have a child die in the hospital, with familiar nurses at the bedside for medical and emotional support. Some would rather keep this traumatic experience away from where they live. Brescia, however, said she couldn't bear to return home without her son. A biologist who used to run an electron microscopy lab, Brescia wasn't sure whether she and her husband, Brian Connell, would ever have children. Fertility treatments didn't work. But on June 23, 1994, seven days before Brescia turned 44, she gave birth to a baby boy. "Anthony is the love of my life," said Brescia, who is now 68. "The OB/GYN put him on my chest and I really thought that my heart was going to burst." The mother-son bond was especially close: Brescia home-schooled her son for most of his life. Anthony grew to be 6 feet tall, full of curiosity. He loved identifying mushrooms, studied Arabic and oceanography, and aspired to go to MIT. He was an avid swimmer, competing on a team in Belmont, Massachusetts. One day in late 2010, while racing the backstroke, he became disoriented in the pool and was disqualified. A neurologist prescribed rest. But over the next two weeks, Anthony grew only more tired and began to lose his balance. On Dec. 20, he was taken to Boston Children's Hospital and diagnosed with a brain tumor. The disease "came out of nowhere," Brescia recalled. "He went from looking incredibly healthy and swimming like a healthy kid" to living at the hospital. At his bedside, she told him she'd bring him home to celebrate Christmas and eat stuffed shells. His condition deteriorated quickly. The tumor could not be surgically removed. Anthony pushed through radiation and chemotherapy with the hope of going home, but the treatments failed. By late February 2011, the tumor began pressing on his brain stem, and fluid was building up in his brain. Anthony was unconscious, relying on a ventilator to breathe. Brescia connected with the hospital's palliative care team. "I want to bring him home tomorrow," Brescia told staff. "I was scared to death he was going to have another incident," she recalled. "I didn't want them to do any more invasive procedures to reduce the pressure on his brain." Staff from the ICU, palliative care and transport teams scrambled to honor her request. The critical care transport team arranged for the use of its ambulance, a mobile ICU the size of a small bus. The night before the trip, Brescia said goodbye in the privacy of Anthony's hospital room. "I don't want to lose you," she told him, holding his hands. "I'm going to let go. I want you to go where you need to be." On March 3, 2011, Brescia and her husband boarded the bus along with Anthony, a chaplain, two doctors, Nelson and a nurse from the ICU. They rode 10 miles to the family's home, where Anthony was laid on a hospital bed in his living room, surrounded by his stuffed animals, on his favorite flannel sheets. A pastor held a service for Anthony, and close family gathered to say goodbye. Then Brescia signaled for a doctor to disconnect the ventilator. Anthony seemed to be at peace, Brescia said. After he died, she climbed into the bed with her son and held onto him for a while. The death was still traumatic. But "it was really a gift to bring him home," she said. "It was a significant act of compassion and kindness and love on the part of the Children's staff." After Brescia's experience, Nelson was inspired to offer the choice to more families. First, she interviewed Brescia and other parents about whether palliative transport had a positive effect. All nine parents said it had. One family described holding a celebration when they brought their newborn baby home, even though he was about to die. They took family photos and used the nursery they had set up, establishing a brief sense of normalcy for four days before he died. In her 14 years on Boston Children's critical transport team, Nelson has found that parents benefit from palliative transport for various reasons: At home, they're away from the noise of the hospital. They have control over who can visit. They feel more comfortable. And they don't feel rushed after their child dies. Nelson created a protocol that allows the hospital to offer palliative transport in a more routine way. Now, when children come to any of the hospital's four ICUs, Nelson said, "we have the power to say, 'You have a choice when it comes to the end of life.' " The practice appears to be spreading. After Lindsay Ragsdale, the physician who is director of the palliative care team at Kentucky Children's Hospital in Lexington, presented her protocol for palliative transport at a conference last year, staff from 20 hospitals asked her to share her checklist, she said. Mayo's Thorvilson, who has worked closely on a half-dozen palliative transports, said it's possible these last-minute trips from ICU to home could be avoided by earlier referrals to hospice, which might get kids home sooner. But when children with complex illnesses get sick, she said, "sometimes it's hard to know whether this is just another bump in the road, or whether this is the natural end of the child's life." "There's something really unique about a child dying," she said. "Everyone's heart breaks, and we want to be able to do all that we can to be able to support the family in the midst of the tragedy." Eight years after Anthony's death, his bedroom remains untouched, his socks still folded in his top drawer, swimming trophies on the cabinet, slippers under his chair. Pictures of him adorn every room in the house - on the fridge, the kitchen table, the living room stereo. Looking through photos one recent morning of her son fishing and blowing out birthday candles, Brescia struggled to hold back tears. "I couldn't cure him," she said. "I failed to protect him from a tumor - that's how you feel. They did all they could. It wasn't enough. Bringing him home was the best I could do." --- This report was produced by Kaiser Health News, which publishes California Healthline, an editorially independent service of the California Health Care Foundation. KHN is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente. WARNER, N.H. - Kirsten Gillibrand had been answering questions in the overflowing basement of a small-town bookstore for 45 minutes or so when a staffer told her it was time to go. She thanked her audience for coming. Then she made a plea. "I need 65,000 individual donors to reach the debate stage," the Democratic presidential candidate and New York senator said, asking anyone who liked what they heard to donate even a dollar or two. "I don't have to be your first choice, or even your second choice," she said. "But I need your support." Many of those listening cocked their heads in surprise. One woman, who had been nodding along with many of Gillibrand's answers and shooting looks of approval at her husband, whispered to her neighbor: "She doesn't have enough? Really?" Gillibrand, the senate successor to Hillary Clinton, the outspoken firebrand from one of the most populous and most Democratic states in the country, is still racing to reach a threshold that a dozen others - including little-known entrepreneur Andrew Yang and motivational speaker Marianne Williamson - already say they have reached. Her difficulty testifies to the complications faced by many candidates in the sprawling and multifaceted field numbering nearly two dozen. It also demonstrates the limitations of a perceived niche candidate, even one representing a high-profile social movement that helped fuel voter turnout less than a year ago. Gillibrand, the 52-year-old married mother of two sons, gained national notice as an early ally of the #MeToo movement fighting sexual harassment. But as she has tried to expand that thrust into a line of policy positions, she's found the arena crowded. Four senators running for president - Kamala Harris of California, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Gillibrand - cite their success in winning statewide elections as proof that a woman can reach heights no woman has before. All rail against sexism and gender pay gaps. All press for a woman's right to choose. The issues on which Gillibrand hoped to build her campaign - reproductive rights, paid family leave and gender pay equality - are no longer distinguishing ones. Now, they are mainstream, invoked by female and male candidates alike. "I think it is really different for someone to say 'We need to do something about the fact that most moms don't have child care,' and hearing Elizabeth Warren talking about her experience feeling like she was going to have to choose between her future and her children," said Ilyse Hogue, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, who heralded the amplifying effect of so many prominent women talking about those issues. A recent example came after Alabama passed a near-ban on abortions. Gillibrand went to Atlanta to speak to women's leaders about the topic, protested outside the Supreme Court, and released a "family bill of rights" that incorporated her abortion rights and family leave plans. But she was hardly the only candidate to emerge as an advocate: Harris called for lawmakers to "check their hypocrisy." Warren vowed that "we will fight this." Klobuchar called it "unconstitutional." As one New York-based strategist put it - although on the condition of anonymity to protect political relationships - "It's one thing to emphasize the woman part when you're running against all men. It's another thing when you're running against a lot of very qualified women who are also moms and more." Gillibrand's path to the Democratic nomination always seemed likely to include potholes. She was criticized for being inauthentic after rapidly reversing positions when she was appointed to the Senate in 2009 to replace Hillary Clinton, who became secretary of state; Gillibrand had previously served as a House member representing a conservative district. After adopting more liberal positions on issues such as gun control and immigration, and winning statewide races in 2012 and 2018, Gillibrand has since said she is "ashamed" of her old stances. Her #MeToo legacy is also complicated; Gillibrand's former deputy chief of staff resigned in protest over the senator's handling of a sexual harassment accusation in her own office. Fellow Democrats criticized Gillibrand when, putting the #MeToo movement ahead of party loyalty, she became the first senator to call for the resignation of Sen. Al Franken of Minnesota after women complained that he had touched them inappropriately. Harris called for Franken's resignation shortly after Gillibrand, but only Gillibrand appears to be facing blowback from Democratic donors. "The question is, is that #MeToo message believable? We don't know until the people vote," said Hank Sheinkopf, a New York-based political consultant. "But it's not working now. Why? Because there's too many things going on in the environment." During a recent trip to New Hampshire, voters did not question or dismiss Gillibrand's record. Instead, they knew nothing about it. When asked what they knew about the senator, the first 15 voters questioned on her six-stop trip said some variation of "nothing" or "very little." "I don't know anything about her," said Jackie Wood, chairman of the Auburn County Democrats, who caught Gillibrand at a Derry coffee shop. "I know her by name only, and just kind of in the background of the massive list," said Lori Kyer, who works with the Planned Parenthood Action Fund and is volunteer supervisor at Manchester's Planned Parenthood Health Center. Gillibrand raised $3 million in the first quarter of the year, less than many other candidates. But her campaign account includes far more because she transferred $9.6 million from her existing Senate fund. Money is not limiting her campaign nearly as much as invisibility is. In a May Washington Post-ABC News poll, less than 1% of Democratic voters volunteered Gillibrand's name when asked who they currently support in the presidential contest. Her solution is simple, Gillibrand said: "Building up my own name recognition." "It is very early, and I think there's an enormous advantage if you have 100% name recognition," she said, alluding to fellow candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden. "There is an advantage if you have more coverage." Her team is putting Gillibrand in meet-and-greet settings, confident in her ability to win voters over with wit, energy and a strong handle on policy positions. In her six New Hampshire stops, that strategy yielded dividends. While many voters said before her events that they did not know much about Gillibrand, they said afterward that they were impressed with her - in particular her command of a variety of issues and her passionate defense of families and reproductive rights. "I clearly didn't know enough," said Randy Hanson, who teaches history at Colby-Sawyer College and asked Gillibrand's staff whether she could schedule an appearance there. He said he was inspired to donate to her campaign. Gillibrand's early campaign mixes earnest appearances like those with more attention-grabbing ventures. Expanding beyond her gender proposals, she rolled out a plan that would give students two free years of state college for every one year of public service, including work in the medical, education and renewable energy fields. She also advocates giving voters $200 in "Democracy Dollars," federally funded vouchers they could donate to a candidate of their choice. (The candidates receiving them would have to agree to cap all donations at $200 per person.) She adopted a campaign slogan of "Brave Wins," which she uses to cast herself as a foil to President Donald Trump. Gillibrand regularly calls Trump a coward - a juxtaposition she attempted to cement by holding her official announcement rally outside a Trump-branded hotel in New York City. Lately, Gillibrand has also embraced more lighthearted moments. She arm-wrestled a voter in Iowa, played beer pong in a Nashua bar and traded dresses with drag queens at a gay bar in Des Moines. In New York, she downed a couple of whiskeys during a sit-down conversation with drag queen Marti Gould Cummings, who quizzed her on policy, her efforts on behalf of the LGBTQ community, and whether she prefers Beyonce or Lady Gaga. ("That's impossible," Gillibrand said.) Gillibrand is also the only member of the 23-person field whose stump speech includes the word "jiggle," which she uses to describe the arms of women who helped her politically active grandmother stuff envelopes with campaign mailings back in the day. Gillibrand's grandmother was one of the first prominent women in Albany-area politics. "I wanted to be just like them," Gillibrand says at almost every stop, before wiggling her arm back and forth. "And sure enough . . ." That story is part of Gillibrand's explanation of her motivations - in particular, her drive for women's rights. "I didn't know her backstory at all in terms of some of the role models she's had in her life," said Emmy Wyatt, a Bedford resident who saw Gillibrand in Derry. "I do find that powerful, because then that tells me that it's a value that was put in her as a child, let's say - service and leadership." Campaign aides say they are fairly certain that Gillibrand will ultimately meet the Democratic National Committee's criteria for the debate stage in June. Beyond that, the candidate remains upbeat. In New Hampshire, a young woman wearing a feminist T-shirt asked Gillibrand how she plans to ascend. "Beyond my record, beyond my experience, beyond my electability? Hmmm, I don't know," Gillibrand said with a wry smile. "I'll try to break through." A previously unknown photograph of Harriet Tubman, the abolitionist leader known as the Moses of her people, is on display for the first time in Washington. The photograph, on view at the Smithsonians National Museum of African American History and Culture, is significant because it shows a young Tubman casually seated in a chair wearing an elegant dress with an elaborate bodice and full skirt. Other surviving photographs of Tubman show her looking stern or pensive and, in her later years, frail and wan. What this photograph does is humanize Harriet Tubman, said Lonnie G. Bunch III, the founding director of the museum. The photograph shows her stylish and in the vibrancy of her youth. Tubman, whose original name was Araminta Ross, was born into slavery in Dorchester County, Maryland, in the early 1820s. She would later come to be known for her work guiding enslaved people to freedom via the Underground Railroad, a loosely connected network of abolitionists who monitored safe houses where fugitives were sheltered on their journey north to free states. In 1849, Tubman escaped to Philadelphia. (An offer of a $100 reward for her capture was published in the Cambridge Democrat.) Soon after, she began to make trips back to the South to help others on their trek to freedom. She also became friends with Frederick Douglass, the abolitionist leader. During the Civil War she worked as a scout and spy for the Union Army, providing intelligence and continuing her work liberating enslaved people. After the war ended in 1865, she settled in Auburn, New York, where she remained prominent as a womens rights activist and died in 1913. In 2016, then-Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew proposed that Tubman replace Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill. The proposal has stalled under the Trump administration. The photograph of Tubman, which is believed to have been taken in the late 1860s, was acquired by the museum two years ago, part of a leather-bound album owned by Emily Howland, a Quaker schoolteacher who worked in Arlington, Virginia. The album was originally compiled as a gift for Howland and contained 49 images from the 1860s. It included portraits of Lydia Maria Child, an abolitionist and womens rights activist, and John Willis Menard, the first black man elected to the House of Representatives. Conservators for the Library of Congress cleaned the photographs and repaired the album so it could be displayed. Bunch said he and his colleagues had been hearing about the portfolio for years and, when it came up for auction, they joined forces with the Library of Congress to buy it. We thought we knew everything we were going to know about Harriet Tubman, Bunch said. This inspires us to keep looking. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. In July 1866, a New York newspaper reported on a "grand gathering" of Union veterans in Salem, Illinois. Gen. John A. Logan, head of the fraternal group the Grand Army of the Republic, made a speech, railing against the defeated Confederates and urging rights and protections for freed slaves. He also angrily noted that "traitors in the South have their gatherings, day after day, to strew garlands of flowers upon the graves of Rebel soldiers." He was bothered by reports that in towns across the South, women were decorating the graves of dead Confederates. Two years later, he proposed the same idea. On May 5, 1868, Logan ordered the first nationwide public holiday on May 30, then known as "Decoration Day," to honor war dead. A national day honoring American men and women who have died while serving in the military has been observed ever since. Officially, Memorial Day started in Waterloo, New York; that's according a 1966 law signed by President Lyndon Johnson. And there was definitely a local observance of war dead there in 1866. But here's the thing - there's no evidence Logan was inspired by or even aware of Waterloo's observance when he pitched his plan. Contemporaneous coverage doesn't credit Waterloo either. In 1868, the New York Times said: "The ladies of the South instituted this memorial day. They wished to annoy the Yankees; and now the Grand Army of the Republic in retaliation and from no worthier motive, have determined to annoy them by adopting their plan of commemoration." So if the South had "their gatherings, day after day," as Logan once complained, who in the South started it? The answer to that is complicated; according to the Department of Veterans Affairs, there are more than two dozen cities, mostly in the South, that claim to be the "birthplace of Memorial Day." There's Macon, Georgia, and Richmond, Virginia. And Columbus, Mississippi, which claims women there decorated the graves of both Union and Confederate soldiers on April 25, 1866, inspiring the poem "The Blue and the Gray," which was published in the Atlantic the next year. Yale historian David W. Blight has a different theory. African Americans invented Memorial Day, he has lectured, in the spring of 1865 in Charleston, South Carolina, when they reinterred the bodies of Union prisoners-of-war and decorated their graves. There's no evidence, however, that this commemoration led to others or was more than a one-off event. More recently, historians have argued that who did it first isn't what's most important; it's who originated the celebrations Logan learned about, was annoyed by and subsequently co-opted. That's the thesis of a 2014 book "The Genesis of the Memorial Day Holiday in America" by Daniel A. Bellware and Richard Gardiner. They trace it back to a woman named Mary Anne Williams in another city named Columbus - Columbus, Georgia. In March 1866, she sent an open letter to newspapers, saying that women in her area had been cleaning and decorating the graves of "our gallant confederate dead," but that they thought "it is an unfinished work unless a day be set apart annually for its especial attention." She suggested April 26, the day Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston surrendered the Army of Tennessee near Durham, North Carolina. The letter was picked up in papers across the South and arrangements were made in a number of towns and cities, Bellware and Gardiner said. In Columbus, Mississippi, they got the date wrong, celebrating a day earlier - thus its claim of being the birthplace of Memorial Day. But the honor really belongs to the Columbus in Georgia, Bellware and Gardiner said, because that's where Williams came from, and because it was all of the Confederate grave-decorating across the South that drew Logan's attention and - temporary - disdain. With this in mind, in 2016, the mayor of Columbus, Georgia, signed a resolution proclaiming that it, too, is the "true" birthplace of Memorial Day. Harris County has an $80 million backlog of uncollected civil court fees dating back to the 1980s, new District Clerk Marilyn Burgess said, prompting her office to launch an aggressive collection effort. Burgess said she was shocked when an employee told her shortly after her election in November that the county had stopped attempting to collect the fees in 2011 a revelation that surprised the countys auditor. She has since launched a new collection effort, but only expects to successfully recoup about $20 million, from the past three years of billing. Its important to the county, because if we collect that, thats $20 million less that Commissioners Court has to assess in property taxes from the taxpayer, Burgess said. An influx of millions would provide a boost to the county court system, which is still struggling to recover from Hurricane Harvey and is looking for ways to pay for a long-delayed new family courthouse. Burgess, a certified public accountant, said her office will regularly bill those owing new fees going forward, to ensure the county does not again fall behind. About 83 percent of the uncollected fees, she explained, are assigned to non-lawyers. Of this group, most are fees assigned in family-court cases while some are from county suits against delinquent property taxpayers and other civil matters. The remaining 17 percent are fees owed by attorneys for filings, such as appeals. The district clerk maintains records for the countys 94 criminal and civil courts, in addition to summoning jurors. The office also is responsible for collecting court fees, which can range from less than $10 to several hundred dollars; such fees totaled $44 million last year. Most people pay fees assigned by the court, relieving Harris County of the need to mail a bill, Burgess said. According to Burgess, an account manager informed her in November that he had told his supervisors that the district clerks office was failing to collect certain categories of civil court fees. The departments accounting system shows the district clerk mailed invoices for these fees eight times from 2001 to 2011, but not again until January, when Burgess took office, she said. About one-third of fees owed to the district clerk remain unpaid from 2017, for example. Starting with the most recent bills, Burgess said her staff will work to collect fees as far back in time as possible. At a certain point, she said, labor and postage become more expensive than what the county could hope to collect. Right now, were doing pretty good with what were collecting, but were in 2018, Burgess said. When the payments stop coming, we wont go any further back. Chris Daniel, the district clerk from 2011 until this year, said that because judges assign fees directly to parties, an additional invoice from the district clerk is unnecessary. His office relied on the countys third-party collection agency, the law firm of Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson, to pursue unpaid fees. The county can recoup the entire fee that way, with the law firm levying a surcharge on the party that owes the fee rather than the county spending its own money on collection efforts. The county loses money when it tries to collect on its own after the fact, Daniel said. Burgess said her office will refer new unpaid fees to a collection firm after 75 days. The new clerk also had to adjust her strategy after angering some lawyers. Her office in January mailed letters to law firms asking for updated contact information for clients so the district clerk could mail out bills. Some attorneys objected to the practice based on many of the fees being several years old. They had little interest in helping the government track down former clients. That may be utilizing client information in a manner that is not favorable to the client, and therefore the client would have to give express permission, said attorney Scott Rothenberg. What client in their right mind would say, Hey, go ahead? In a May 3 message to attorneys, Burgess said the district clerks office had abandoned that effort and would instead send invoices to law firms only for current fees. Michael Post, the county auditor, said he was surprised to learn last week of the uncollected $80 million. Though the auditors office is an independent regulator that oversees each county department, Post said no one in the district clerks office had mentioned the uncollected fees since he took office in 2017. I wouldnt have ever dreamt this would happen, Post said. The auditors office is required by law to inspect the books of the district clerk annually, Post said; however past audits examined only whether staff deposited collected fees in the appropriate accounts. Auditors never investigated whether the district clerk collected all the fees that the county was owed. Post, who can order additional audits at his discretion, said his office will consider investigating whether county departments that collect revenue, such as the toll road authority and tax assessor-collector, are doing so appropriately. I want to know, what are the eight things this department should be billing? Post said as he scribbled a hypothetical set of numbers on his offices whiteboard. And then make sure that theyre billing Then wed have a document that we can measure against. County Budget Officer Bill Jackson said he welcomes Burgess aggressive collection plan. An additional $20 million would not significantly benefit the countys $1.6 billion general fund, however, the sum could help address needs in the criminal justice system. If shes able to collect that, I would certainly suggest to Commissioners Court that some of that go right back into her operations, he said. Jackson said the county should regularly monitor how well departments collect revenues they are owed. Charles Bacarisse, who served for 13 years as district clerk, a tenure that ended in 2008, described collecting fees as a source of frustration. He said each new district clerk would be wise to develop new strategies, as small unpaid sums can accumulate over time. Its always worth doing your job, Bacarisse said. Its never done. The challenge is to continue to innovate I welcome her enthusiasm for the job ahead. zach.despart@chron.com www.twitter.com/zachdespart After a relatively tame 2018 hurricane season in the year after Hurricane Harvey swept through southeast Texas, forecasters believe major storm activity could be near or slightly above normal in the coming months. The National Hurricane Center predicted Thursday that a near-normal Atlantic hurricane season is most likely this year, meaning a likely range of nine to 15 named storms (winds of 39 mph or higher), of which four to eight could become hurricanes (winds of 74 mph or higher), including two to four major hurricanes (category 3, 4 or 5; with winds of 111 mph or higher). Hurricane season begins June 1. A near-normal season, of course, could still be hazardous for southeast Texas residents, who are two years removed from Hurricane Harvey, a Category 4 storm that dumped 51 inches of rain in some parts of Greater Houston. That storm damaged 100,000 homes and left around 80 people dead in Texas, most in the Houston-Galveston area. Matt Lanza, a forecast meteorologist in Houstons energy sector and the managing editor of the website Space City Weather, said National Hurricane Center predictions are careful not to forecast with certainty. While the likelihood of a near-normal hurricane season was assessed at 40 percent, the chance of a season slightly above or below normal was judged to be 30 percent. Theres a lot of hedging in there. Thats kind of the reality with these sort of things; hurricane forecasting is not a perfect science yet, Lanza said. Its a good incentive for people to not let their guard down despite a normal to below-normal potential season. Experts generally agree that the ongoing El Nino event, in which surface temperatures become warmer than normal in the equatorial Pacific Ocean, portends a quieter hurricane season. But Phil Klotzbach, a research scientist for Colorado State Universitys Tropical Meteorology Project, said the intensity of El Nino is subject to debate, and the phenomenon might not suppress hurricane development as much as it did in 2018. What (El Nino) does is basically it changes the circulation of the tropics in such a way that you get strong westerly winds that shear and tear apart hurricanes in the Atlantic, and especially in the Caribbean, Klotzbach said. The magnitude of the El Nino definitely plays a role; its not just that you hit this magical threshold and nothing happens. Current Atlantic Ocean temperatures are also relatively warm, setting up a scenario where the competing influences of a warmer Atlantic and warmer Pacific could make the difference between an active or tame hurricane season. The temperatures tend to be slightly above normal across the tropical Atlantic right now, said John Nielsen-Gammon, a Texas state climatologist at Texas A&M University in College Station. That would slightly favor an active season. Climate change is also a significant factor when evaluating storms in the Gulf Coast region, past and present. Higher water temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico mean that storms as big as Harvey in 2017 have an energy source of sorts to rely on. Even as the surface temperatures cooled as Harvey made its way back into the Gulf, the deeper water temperatures were warm enough to sustain its force. However, experts warn that the temperatures in the Gulf do not typically correlate with an active or inactive hurricane season. Hurricanes over the Gulf form from varying processes. Some, like Hurricane Ike in 2008, form like a typical hurricane off the coast of western Africa and make their way across to the Gulf. Other storms, like Harvey in 2017 or Michael, a Category 5 storm that devastated Florida in 2018, spin up in the Gulf itself. What really determines whether you actually get a hurricane forming in the Gulf in a given year is not so much the sea surface temperature but whether you happen to get the right kind of upper level disturbance moving out of the Gulf and organizing the thunderstorms, Nielsen-Gammon said, adding that those types of storms are far less predictable. Whether the Houston-Galveston region is better prepared to handle a storm of a Harvey magnitude two years later remains to be seen. Harris County residents last November approved a $2.5 billion bond package to build over 230 projects designed to mitigate flooding, from widening bayous and channels to excavating storm retention basins. Much of that work, however, is in preliminary stages. Fort Bend County has budgeted $3 million for an 18-month study of potential drainage improvments. Galveston County leaders have focused for months on the possibility of a coastal barrier system proposed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that would include 71 miles of dunes, gates, and levees. But construction on any such barrier is still years away and would require a massive amount of federal money. The slow movement of these major flood mitigation projects adds up to a region that has not changed much since Harvey made landfall. The rainfall flooding like a Harvey, its an evolving, ongoing thing where maybe were a little bit better off than we were a couple years ago, but I dont know that the average Houstonian or southeast Texan is really going to notice it at this point, Lanza said. nick.powell@chron.com A man Houston police tried to stop for a seat belt violation is in critical condition after he allegedly hit an officer with his car and then collided with two other vehicles, authorities said. The man was said to be in surgery and unidentified mid-day Sunday. He is expected to face charges including felony aggravated assault on a public servant. The officer's name was not released. Houston Police officers were conducting seat belt checks around 9:30 a.m. Sunday at the intersection of the U.S. 59 feeder road and Bellaire Boulevard, Cmdr. Kevin Deese said. "Being it Memorial Day weekend ... we're always concerned with traffic fatalities," Deese said. An officer saw the man without his seat belt on and stepped into a lane of traffic to give him the signal to stop, which he did, Deese said. Police say that he paused, then accelerated and hit the officer. The officer got into his vehicle and pursued the man, who drove north on the feeder road and passed through the intersection at Hillcroft without stopping, Deese said. He clipped one vehicle at the rear, Deese said, then was t-boned on the driver's side by a pickup truck and spun into a traffic light pole. The driver could face up to life in prison for the charge of assault on a public servant, said Sean Teare, chief of the vehicular crimes division for the Harris County District Attorney's Office. Teare said they also accepted charges for evading in a motor vehicle and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. "As I've said numerous times, cars can be and are deadly weapons," Teare said. "And in this case it was used as a deadly weapon." It was an example of the repercussions that follow when people didn't wear seat belts, Teare said. "Wear your seat belts," he said. "Don't drink and drive. Be safe. Those are the messages for this weekend. Because this is one of the great weekends in our country every year, but its also one of the deadliest." Cody Duty/Houston Chronicle Emergency response crews located the body of a missing 29-year-old swimmer Sunday morning near Galveston, according to a U.S. Coast Guard news release. Jose Hernandez, known as Abel, was with friends drinking when they saw him go out into the water of San Luis Pass, Galveston Island Beach Patrol Chief Peter Davis said. Three hours after appearing to kill a bill to give tax breaks to yacht buyers, the Texas House had a change of heart Friday and re-voted to keep it alive. Just after 4:30 p.m., the House voted 74 to 68 to kill the proposal that would have capped sales taxes on yachts as large as 115 feet at $18,750. That would reduce sales taxes by more than $60,000 on a $1 million boat. But three hours later, the Texas House announced that it was taking the unusual step of reconsidering the defeated bill and voted 82 to 55 to pass the tax cut after all. House Bill 4032 had already passed the Senate 25 to 6. With the identical bills passing both chambers, it now goes to Gov. Greg Abbott who will decide whether the bill to sign it into law. State Rep. Ryan Guillen, D-Rio Grande City, said he knows critics see the bill as a tax break for yacht buyers, but the real goal is to boost the states sagging boating industry. He said since 2010 when Florida capped sales taxes on boats at $18,000, the Texas boating industry has suffered. He said people are buying their big boats in other states and docking them there, helping those states take business away from the Texas coast. We are trying to revive the coastal economy, Guillen said. Texas Take: Get political headlines from across the state sent directly to your inbox U.S. Coast Guard data shows the number of total boat registrations in Texas dropped from 2016 to 2017 by about 10,000 registrations to 565,000. That is 6th most in the nation. Florida has the most registrations with 918,000. Guillen said wealthy boat buyers are going to get their tax break anyhow by going to other states. He said Texas needs to provide a similar break to give buyers incentives to purchase in Texas instead and create jobs here. The Texas Marine Industry Coalition has told legislators the bill is about saving maritime jobs. The bill would result in Texas losing over $2.3 million in sales tax over the next two years, but Guillen said the resulting jobs created would benefit the state more. In just a few years were going to see the industry improve because of this bill, Guillen said. 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. At 8.25 percent, sales tax on a $3 million purchase amounts to $247,500 in sales taxes. But under Guillens proposal, that tax bill would drop to $18,750. During the last few years of his life, former Texas Gov. Mark White took it upon himself to rally his fellow Texans to a cause that had long been dear to his heart. He wanted us all to pay more attention to our shared Texas past, particularly to such iconic sites as the San Jacinto Monument, the Alamo and Goliad. He also worried about the Battleship Texas, owned by the people of Texas and worthy of veneration, even though the ship is not part of early Texas history. With his trademark bonhomie, White importuned elected officials. Journalists. Business leaders. Folks he ran into at the grocery store. He emphasized that our historical monuments deserve our support. We have neglected our obligations, financial and otherwise, he insisted. The 107-year-old Battleship Texas, berthed within site of the San Jacinto Monument, may be a sort of historic anachronism, but on this Memorial Day weekend its altogether appropriate to acknowledge the ship as part of our shared past as Texans and as Americans. And, on this particular Memorial Day, we are pleased to report good news about the vessel that has been in our keeping for more than seven decades. Just last year, former Congressman Ted Poe noted in the Chronicle that the Battleship Texas survived extensive tours in World War I and II, but Mother Nature has proved to be a much more worthy opponent. As has the Texas government. Poe was right. Despite numerous repairs and restoration efforts over the years, the proud ship that participated in D-Day has been succumbing to the ravages of saltwater and pollution. For years, shes been rusting away, and lawmakers have been unwilling to provide the resources required to save her. Until now. As of this writing, the Legislature is within hours of appropriating $35 million to float the ship to dry-dock, replace the rusting hull and float it back to its permanent berth. The appropriation is contingent on additional legislation sponsored by state Sen. Robert Nichols, R-Jacksonville, that will allow a qualified nonprofit foundation to take charge of the ship, a national historic landmark. The money will allow the Battleship Texas to survive, but knotty and interesting questions remain, beyond the critical repairs. For example, How do you bring the whole thing to life? Thats the question Bruce Bramlett, executive director of the Battleship Texas Foundation, has been asking. He muses about holograms or re-enactors that would allow visitors to experience, not just the old, gray ship herself, but daily life aboard ship at duty stations or in the chow line, the barbers chair, the medics office. In addition to holograms, lasers might help visitors experience the ships four-inch guns in action. The trickier question involves the ships final berth. Its not likely to be the Houston Ship Channel and, in fact, shouldnt be. Bramlett likes to tell the story of a little boy who came aboard the ship, noticed the San Jacinto Monument nearby and exclaimed, No wonder the Texans won! The story may be apocryphal, but it illustrates the historically misleading proximity of the two monuments. More important, one of the worlds busiest ship channels and the adjacent industrial sites is not an appropriate place for visitors. The recent ITC fire and the even more recent barge collision and ensuing gasoline spill underscore the sites vulnerability. Bramlett predicts that the historic battleship will end up at Galveston or Corpus Christi. Both cities can offer locations that would attract many more visitors than the current site. Questions about the future of the Battleship Texas remain, but fortunately the most basic question Will the ship survive? is no longer one of them. An old governor, we believe, would have been pleased. So should the people of Texas. Perhaps its always like this with cultural tsunamis. Things move along at a predictable pace, with battle lines shifting as one side gains momentum and then another, year after year until suddenly everything changes. Isnt that how it felt in 2015, no matter where you stood on the issue of gay marriage? After nearly 20 years of fighting, suddenly the pieces fell into place and what had seemed preposterous a decade before became all but inevitable. The Supreme Court ruled, and right away gay rights even the right to be married were taken as a legal necessity. The fighting hasnt stopped, and perhaps never will. But the disputes have moved to the margins, where wayward county clerks and offended florists fight a rear-guard retreat. Were seeing something similar this spring as America experiences another seismic shift, this time over abortion. The stakes are far higher than in the gay rights debate. Despite gay-marriage opponents preposterous handwringing over the end of Western Civilization, that fight was about legal recognition of intimate relationships, about a piece of paper and the dignity that goes with it. Essential things, of course, but the abortion debate involves questions of life and death. Except for slavery, our nation has never fought over such a high-stakes issue. The abortion debate pits the future lives of unborn children against the right of already living women to control their own bodies the most important possession any of us ever have. No surprise, then, that weve been fighting over the limits of abortion rights ever since the Supreme Court ruled nearly 50 years ago that the Constitutions right to privacy means pregnant women can decide whether to remain so. That war has taken dramatic turns recently. Like the Supreme Courts gay-marriage decision, this shift seems sudden despite all the reasons it shouldnt. This year, at least eight states passed laws that would vastly curtail the right to abortion. Those new laws are so strict that, if upheld by the courts, Roe v. Wade will either be gutted or overturned. In many states the right to abortion will be meaningless. Alabamas new law effectively outlaws all abortions, with the slimmest of exceptions and includes prison terms of up to 99 years for doctors who perform them. Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri, Mississippi and Ohio all have passed laws that outlaw ending a pregnancy once a doctor can hear a fetal heartbeat, which usually happens at six to eight weeks. Many pregnant women learn of their pregnancy either just before, or just after, that deadline. A similar heart-beat law was considered in Austin this session, but lawmakers wisely let it die. But Texas joined many other states in passing other restrictions. None of the laws have taken effect yet, but there is no reason to conclude anything other than a hostile reception in the federal courts will prevent them from codifying a new reality by Christmas. *** Its tempting to see these laws as just a new round of testing the limits of Roe v. Wade. But thats a mistake. They are the vanguard of a movement that has finally put itself within striking distance of unraveling abortion rights altogether. Its true, of course, that Republican-dominated legislatures have prodded the limits of Roe v. Wade ever since the decision came down in 1973. The most serious threat came after Pennsylvania passed its abortion control law in 1982. When abortion clinics sued, they set up what looked like a slam-dunk opportunity for abortion foes to see Roe overturned. By the time the case reached the Supreme Court, eight of its nine justices were Republican appointees. The sole product of a Democratic president was Byron White and he had voted against Roe nearly two decades before. When hundreds of thousands gathered in Washington in April 1992 for what was then the largest pro-choice rally in history, the mood was somber. I remember it well. I was in college studying political science when I decided to ride shotgun with my favorite professors graduate assistant to see protest politics in person. I left with two lifelong impressions: Among the marchers there had been something Id never encountered before: a kind of sisterhood that emanated from a profound sense of generosity toward one another, something Id witness a few years later at the Million Man March. The other was the pronounced feeling they were facing imminent defeat. Few seemed confident that abortions would be legal that time next year. Days after the march, a divided Supreme Court surprised nearly everyone with its ruling in Planned Parenthood v. Casey . What arose out of a mess of conflicting opinions was a bare-majority support for Roes central holding: Women have the right early in pregnancy to decide whether to remain pregnant or not. Beyond that simple holding, the justices were hard-pressed to agree on much else. But the court did change the rules. Going forward, the test for whether a state had violated the right to abortion would no longer have anything to do with trimesters. Instead, states could regulate abortion at any point after the fetus was viable largely understood then to be around 22 weeks and before that, could impose restrictions only if they did not place an undue burden on a woman seeking an abortion. Naturally, what followed was a stream of state restrictions aimed at testing the meaning of undue burden. These restrictions tended to cut away at abortion rights, but did not seek to eliminate them. This approach culminated in 2016s Whole Womens Health v. Hellerstedt , a case out of Texas. By then many states had been reduced to just two or three and in some cases just one abortion provider, thanks to ever-tightening rules. But opponents wanted to go further. In Texas, lawmakers here had passed two laws that, under the guise of boosting medical standards for clinics and abortion doctors, made abortions much more difficult to obtain. In a major victory for abortion rights, the Supreme Court saw through the ruse and ruled 5-3 that the restrictions offered few if any medical benefits and imposed an undue burden. Finally, pro-choice advocates exclaimed, the right to choose appeared to be here to stay. That case came down in June 2016. Four months later, Donald Trump happened, and everything changed. Trump had campaigned that hed appoint justices to overturn Roe. Judging by the two men hes placed on the bench, its a promise hes kept. Things didnt really change, however, until Judge Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed. By replacing Justice Anthony Kennedy, the courts swing vote on abortion as late as 2016, Kavanaugh was in a position to drastically alter the courts posture. Will he really vote to overturn Roe? Its impossible to say, but little in his long record suggests he wont. Kavanaugh, for instance, has often praised the late Chief Justice William Rehnquist, who dissented in Roe and again in Planned Parenthood, writing in 1992 that Roe should be overturned. In Kavanaughs confirmation hearings, senators asked him dozens of times about his stance on abortion. He didnt tip his hand. Many voices seeking to minimize the threat his nomination posed to Roe noted that as a judge he had issued opinions consistent with Roe, and had stated that it was settled law. This was significantly misleading. As even Kavanaugh readily conceded, lower-court judges have no choice but to follow precedents such as Roe and Planned Parenthood v. Casey. But as a justice, the only thing holding him back will be his respect for the precedent set by those two earlier cases. How much value hell place on that precedent is impossible to say for sure. But lawmakers in Alabama and the other states are clearly hoping the answer is very little. The author of the Alabama bill has admitted as much, and even the governor who signed it into law said its probably unconstitutional. They hope the challenges the ACLU filed suit Friday will give the justices a chance to re-interpret the Constitution and let states like his make abortion a crime. Thanks to Trumps success in naming Kavanaugh to the bench, they sense victory. Such expectations have been upset before. The courts 1992 decision, by the narrowest of margins, to uphold Roe, is the best example. And Chief Justice John Roberts may well prove reluctant to create the enormous upheaval in the social order that overturning Roe would trigger. Whatever bets youre willing to make about how the court will come down, this much is true: The long-running war over abortion took a tremendous turn this spring. Not in a generation has it looks so likely that abortion rights will be either gutted or eliminated altogether.That probably feels sudden, but of course its not. Its exactly what Trump promised. . For women, and for everyone, its time to strap in. Its going to get bumpy. Lindenberger is deputy opinion editor at The Houston Chronicle and a member of its editorial board. 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. iciHaiti - Security : At least 100 dead by bullets in 3 months! According to the (partial) last report of the National Episcopal Justice and Peace Commission ("Komisyon Episkopal Nasyonal Jistis ak Lape" - JILAP), of the Roman Catholic Church in Haiti, at least 100 people were shot dead from January 1 to end of March 2019. Data for the months of April and May are being analyzed. It should be noted that JILAP in these surveys does not collect information on those wounded by bullets whose number could be much higher than those killed. At the St-Luc Hospital admitted to having received during this period 40 gunshot wounds, at the Bernard Mevs Hospital where no figures are available on the number of wounded by bullets, we are talking about a worrying situation, as for the General Hospital reported that it is common to admit two wounded by bullets a day, even if some day there is non ... without providing data compiled. TB/ iciHaiti 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. Imperial Valley News Center Continued U.S. Support for Democracy in Venezuela Washington, DC - The United States supports the desire of the Venezuelan people to recover their democracy and bring the illegitimate Maduro regime to an end. Previous efforts to negotiate an end to the regime and free elections have failed because the regime has used them to divide the opposition and gain time. Free elections cannot be overseen by a tyrant. As we have repeatedly stated, we believe the only thing to negotiate with Nicolas Maduro is the conditions of his departure. We hope the talks in Oslo will focus on that objective, and if they do, we hope progress will be possible. We wish to note that today marks the 17th day since the arrest and disappearance of Edgar Zambrano, First Vice President of the Venezuelan National Assembly, the countrys last remaining democratic institution. Since his detention, Mr. Zambrano has had no contact with his family or his attorneys, and his location is unknown. Today also marks more than two months since the imprisonment of Roberto Marrero, an attorney and chief of staff to Interim President Juan Guaido. They are but two of the 800 political prisoners the Maduro regime held as of May 20. We join supporters of democracy in Venezuela throughout the world in condemning their illegal imprisonment by the Maduro regime and in demanding their immediate release. Imperial Valley News Center Proclamation on Prayer for Peace, Memorial Day, 2019 Washington, DC - Whether on the battlefields of Bunker Hill, on the beaches of Normandy, in the jungles of Vietnam, or in the mountains and deserts of the Middle East, brave Americans of every generation have given their last full measure of devotion in defense of our country, our liberty, and our founding ideals. On Memorial Day, we humbly honor these incredible patriots and firmly renew our abiding commitment to uphold the principles for which they laid down their lives. As a free people, we have a sacred duty to remember the courageous warriors who have made the ultimate sacrifice to ensure that our great country would endure. It is our responsibility to strive to ensure that their noble acts of dedication to our country and the cause of freedom were not in vain and to comfort the families they have left behind, who bear the heartbreak of their loss. We must ensure that the light of our Republic, and all for which these most honorable Americans willingly died, continues to shine forth brightly into the world. As President Lincoln said in 1863 during the dedication of the Gettysburg National Military Cemetery: It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. As we approach the 75th anniversary of D-Day, we proudly commemorate those heroic and honorable patriots who gave their all for the cause of freedom during some of historys darkest hours. Thousands of selfless members of our Armed Forces perished on the beaches of Normandy. They bravely gave their lives to pave the way for the Allied liberation of Europe and ultimately victory over the forces of evil. Their historic sacrifices and achievements secured the future of humanity and proved Americas strength in defending freedom and defeating the enemies of civilization. Those who rest in the hallowed grounds of our countrys national cemeteries laid their lives upon the altar of freedom. Today, as we unite in eternal gratitude for the sacrifices of these extraordinary Americans, let us also offer a prayer for lasting peace. Let us renew our steadfast resolve to work toward a peaceful future, in which the horrors of war are a distant memory and our families, our communities, and our Nation need no longer confront the sorrow and pain of losing our beloved sons and daughters. In honor and recognition of all of our fallen heroes, the Congress, by a joint resolution approved May 11, 1950, as amended (36 U.S.C. 116), has requested the President issue a proclamation calling on the people of the United States to observe each Memorial Day as a day of prayer for permanent peace and designating a period on that day when the people of the United States might unite in prayer. The Congress, by Public Law 106-579, has also designated 3:00 p.m. local time on that day as a time for all Americans to observe, in their own way, the National Moment of Remembrance. NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim Memorial Day, May 27, 2019, as a day of prayer for permanent peace, and I designate the hour beginning in each locality at 11:00 a.m. of that day as a time when people might unite in prayer. I further ask all Americans to observe the National Moment of Remembrance beginning at 3:00 p.m. local time on Memorial Day. I also request the Governors of the United States and its Territories, and the appropriate officials of all units of government, to direct the flag be flown at half-staff until noon on this Memorial Day on all buildings, grounds, and naval vessels throughout the United States and in all areas under its jurisdiction and control. I also request the people of the United States to display the flag at half-staff from their homes for the customary forenoon period. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-fourth day of May, in the year of our Lord two thousand nineteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-third. DONALD J. TRUMP Imperial Valley News Center Department of Justice Announces Third Annual Attorney Generals Award for Distinguished Service in Policing Washington, DC - Attorney General William P. Barr Monday announced the third annual Attorney Generals Award for Distinguished Service in Policing. The Attorney Generals Award recognizes individual state, local or tribal sworn, rank- and-file police officers, deputies and troopers for exceptional efforts in community policing. The awarded officer(s), deputy(ies) or troopers will have demonstrated active engagement with the community in one of three areas: criminal investigations, field operations, or innovations in policing. Law enforcement officers put their safety and lives on the line every day for our protection," Attorney General William P. Barr said. "They have a noble calling, and we are grateful to every officer in this country. But some officers have gone above and beyond the call of duty and deserve to be recognized for particular acts of valor and dedication. Today I am pleased to announce the third annual Attorney Generals Award for Distinguished Service in Policing, which recognizes the accomplishments of outstanding state and local officers who have proven themselves to be some of the nations finest." President Donald J. Trump established clear directives for the Department of Justice with three Executive Orders demonstrating his strong support of the law enforcement community. These Executive Orders commit the Department to working in tandem with state and local law enforcement to restore the rule of law, reduce violent crime, dismantle criminal gangs, and combat the growing drug epidemic. Today the Department of Justice continues to support the Presidents directive to honor law enforcement officers by announcing the third annual Attorney Generals Award for Distinguished Service in Policing. Within each category, an award will be given to law enforcement agencies serving small, medium, and large jurisdictions: Small: Agencies serving populations of fewer than 50,000 Medium: Agencies serving populations of 50,000 to 250,000 Large: Agencies serving populations of more than 250,000 By distinguishing and rewarding these efforts, the Department strives to promote and sustain its national commitment to policing and to advance proactive policing practices that are fair and effective. With the Attorney Generals Award for Distinguished Service in Policing, the Office of the Attorney General recognizes that the nations more than 18,000 law enforcement agencies, individual officers, deputies, and troopers are working hard to keep our communities safe. The application for nominees can be found at: https://www.justice.gov/ag/policing-award Imperial Valley News Center Attorney General William P. Barr Joins President Donald J. Trump in Awarding the Medal of Valor to 14 Public Safety Officers Washington, DC - President Donald J. Trump and Attorney General William P. Barr Wednesday awarded the Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor to 14 recipients two posthumously who exhibited exceptional courage in saving and protecting others and whose heroic actions went above and beyond the call of duty. The Medal of Valor, authorized by the Public Safety Medal of Valor Act of 2001, is awarded by the President to public safety officers nominated by the directors of their employing agencies and recommended by the Medal of Valor Review Board. The Department of Justices Bureau of Justice Assistance oversees the Medal of Valor. The work that first responders do every day is heroic, and each one of them deserves our gratitude, said Attorney General William P. Barr. Even among these selfless public servants, some have distinguished themselves through exceptional acts of valor. Today, the men and women of the Department of Justice are proud to join with President Trump in honoring 14 first responders who did just that, including two who gave their lives in the line of duty. These brave Americans exemplify what serving as a first responder is all about: selflessness, poise, and sacrifice. Todays recipients of the Medal of Valor include the following officers: Fallen Officer Sergeant Verdell Smith Sr., City of Memphis Police Department, Tennessee, for giving his own life to save the lives of civilians in the path of a driver speeding recklessly through a crowd Fallen Officer Brent Thompson, Dallas Area Rapid Transit Police Department, Texas, for giving his life while engaging a mass shooter at a protest march and saving the lives of countless civilians and fellow officers Lieutenant Xavier Torres, Retired; Sergeant Seth Chapman; Sergeant Terry Smith Jr., Retired; Sergeant Thomas Avila III; and Sergeant Rocky Wenrick; Corporal Andrew Rodriguez Jr., Retired; and Senior Officer Carlos Plascencia, Azusa Police Department, California; and Detective Manuel Campos, Irwindale Police Department, California, for placing themselves in mortal danger and saving the lives of civilians and fellow officers during a mass shooting incident on Election Day, 2016 University Law Enforcement Officer Alan Horujko, Ohio State University Police Division, for risking his life to save the lives of several civilians from a driver who sped through a crowd and then emerged from his car to attack pedestrians with a knife Senior Trooper Nicholas Cederberg, Oregon State Police, for placing himself in the line of fire and suffering life-threatening injuries in order to bring a murderer to justice Fire Captain Dustin Moore and Firefighter Paramedic Andrew Freisner, Lenexa Fire Department, Kansas, for risking their lives to rescue a family from a burning apartment building These 14 recipients represent a proud tradition of service, one that has been ennobled by their valiant actions, said Office of Justice Programs Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Matt M. Dummermuth, whose office oversees BJA. We stand in awe of these extraordinary public servants and are inspired by their courageous example. Public safety officers report to work each day knowing full well the risks inherent in the jobs they undertake, yet they do not shrink from their duty, said BJA Director Jon Adler. By standing tall in the face of danger, these brave men and women have done their communities an immeasurable service and they have done their profession tremendous credit. Including todays awardees, a total of 139 medals have been presented since the first recipients were honored in 2003. More information about the award and todays recipients, the Medal of Valor Review Board members and the nomination process can be found here: www.ojp.gov/medalofvalor. Justice Department Observes National Missing Childrens Day Washington, DC - The Department of Justice recognized 17 law enforcement officers from California, Florida, and Texas, as well as two firefighters from Tennessee, for their efforts to find missing children and bring child sexual predators and child pornographers to justice. Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General Ed OCallaghan, Office of Justice Programs (OJP) Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Matt Dummermuth, and Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) Administrator Caren Harp presented the awards during the Departments National Missing Childrens Day ceremony. Those recognized today epitomize the dedication of law enforcement officers, investigative officials, and private citizens who make a difference in the lives of children every day, said Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General Ed OCallaghan. Their vigilant and selfless actions remind us of our responsibility to protect children and bring to justice those who attempt to exploit them. The Department of Justice is proud to honor these champions of justice and public safety. The ceremony, hosted by OJJDP, included recognition of Madison Dozier, a fifth grader at Reiley Elementary School in Alexandria, Kentucky, this years National Missing Childrens Day poster contest winner. The following awards were presented: Attorney Generals Special Commendation: This commendation recognizes the extraordinary efforts and significant investigative or program contributions of an Internet Crimes Against Children task force or affiliate agency, or an individual assigned to either. Recipient: Detective Lorraine Szczepanik of the Broward County Sheriffs Office and South Florida Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, whose timely investigation into a person suspected of viewing and sharing child pornography online led to the discovery of thousands of images and videos of child victims, as well as online conversations that led to the identification of three additional child pornographers. Missing Childrens Law Enforcement Award: This award recognizes the extraordinary efforts of law enforcement officers who made a significant investigative or program contribution to the safety of children. Recipients: Six members of the Round Rock, Texas, Police Department; three special agents from the San Antonio FBI Field Office (Austin and Laredo Resident Agencies); and a Texas Ranger from Austin collaboratively investigated and tracked down a suspect who kidnapped two missing sisters, ages 7 and 14, from their home in Round Rock. The sisters were found unharmed 700 miles away when the suspect was pulled over following issuance of an AMBER Alert and other alerts in Texas, New Mexico, and Colorado. Missing Childrens Child Protection Award: This award honors the extraordinary efforts of law enforcement officers who made a significant investigative or program contribution on behalf of missing, abused, or victimized children. Recipients: Detective Christie Hirota and five other members of the Sacramento Valley, California, High Tech Crimes Task Force led an investigation that resulted in the arrest, just 48 hours after receipt of the initial report, of a foster parent who abused his foster children and produced child pornography. Missing Childrens Citizen Award: This award honors the extraordinary efforts of private citizens for their unselfish acts to recover missing or abducted children safely. Recipients: Firefighters Aaron Woods and Michael Webb of the Blount County, Tennessee, Fire Department led a seven-hour portion of a 22-hour search across 2,000 acres of rugged, wooded terrainon foot and by airto find a six-year-old boy and his dog less than 24 hours after they were reported missing. Other speakers at the ceremony included John F. Clark, president and chief executive officer of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, and Yvonne Ambrose, founder of the Desiree Foundation Against Sex Trafficking. President Ronald Reagan proclaimed May 25, 1983, the first National Missing Childrens Day in memory of Etan Patz, a six-year-old boy who disappeared from a New York City street corner on May 25, 1979. Missing Childrens Day honors his memory and the memories of children still missing. Although Etans killer was convicted in February 2017 for the 1979 murder, Etans case remains active with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children because his body was never found. In 2018, there were 424,066 missing children entries in the FBIs National Crime Information Center. Additional information about National Missing Childrens Day is available online. Justice Department Seeks to Intervene in Private Class Action to Enforce Prohibition on Unlawful No-Poach Agreements Durham, North Carolina - The Department of Justice announced that it has filed an unopposed motion to intervene in a private antitrust class action challenging alleged agreements between Duke University (Duke) and the University of North Carolina (UNC) not to compete for each others medical faculty. At the same time, the Department joined the parties proposed settlement agreement for the limited purpose of obtaining the right to enforce an injunction designed to prevent the maintenance or recurrence of any unlawful no-poach agreements. If approved by the court, the settlement would give the United States the right to enforce an injunction and certain compliance and reporting requirements against Duke. The case is Seaman v. Duke University and Duke University Health System, Case No. 15-cv-00462, in the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina. Under the terms of the proposed settlement, Duke is prohibited from entering, maintaining, or enforcing unlawful no-poach agreements for five years. The settlement, if approved by the court, also requires Duke to implement rigorous notification and compliance measures to preclude its entry into these types of anticompetitive agreements in the future. Dr. Seamans class action challenged alleged anticompetitive conduct occurring at the intersection of two important sectors of the U.S. economy: healthcare and higher education, said Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim of the Justice Departments Antitrust Division. Todays filings, along with the Statement of Interest we filed in March, make clear that the Antitrust Division will use all of its enforcement and advocacy tools to ensure that labor markets across the economy are free from anticompetitive conduct and that workers receive the benefits of robust competition for their labor. On June 9, 2015, Dr. Danielle Seaman, an assistant professor at Duke University School of Medicine, filed a class action alleging that Duke and UNC agreed not to permit lateral hiring of faculty between the universities. Her complaint further alleged that the universities agreement violates Section 1 of the Sherman Act by eliminating competition for faculty, restricting their mobility, and suppressing their compensation. In 2018, the court certified a class comprised of faculty members with an academic appointment at the Duke or UNC Schools of Medicine. In March 2019, the Departments Antitrust Division filed a Statement of Interest in this lawsuit addressing the proper application of the antitrust laws, including the standard for judging the legality of alleged no-poach agreements under the Sherman Act. In April 2019, the litigants announced an agreement to settle the case. The Department sought to intervene in the litigation for the limited purpose of joining the proposed settlement and thereby obtaining the right to enforce any injunctive relief entered by the court against Duke. I would like to thank our colleagues at the United States Attorneys Office for the Middle District of North Carolina for their assistance, said Assistant Attorney General Delrahim. In addition, we commend the litigants for working cooperatively with us throughout the resolution of this matter, including for agreeing to permit the United States to seek to intervene in this settlement. Permitting the United States to become part of this settlement agreement in this private antitrust case, and thereby to obtain all of the relief and protections it likely would have sought after a lengthy investigation, demonstrates the benefits that can be obtained efficiently for the American worker when public and private enforcement work in tandem. Duke is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina. It has several schools and institutes, including the Duke University School of Medicine. Physician Pleads Guilty to Drug Charge Clarksburg, West Virginia - A Morgantown, West Virginia, physician pleaded guilty to obtaining controlled substances by fraudulently writing prescriptions using colleagues Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) numbers and presenting stolen drivers licenses to pick up fraudulently prescribed controlled substances from Morgantown area pharmacies for his personal use, announced Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Departments Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Bill Powell of the Northern District of West Virginia. Chad Poage, D.O., 35, pleaded guilty to one count of acquiring or obtaining possession of a controlled substance by misrepresentation, fraud, forgery, deception or subterfuge before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael John Aloi of the Northern District of West Virginia. Poage was an orthopedic surgeon who worked in a practice with locations in Morgantown and Fairmont, West Virginia. As part of his guilty plea, he admitted that, from November 2015 to March 2018, he wrote 30 fraudulent prescriptions for a total of approximately 1,330 50-milligram tablets of Tramadol, 420 5-milligram tablets of Diazepam, and 50 30-milligram tablets of acetaminophen-codeine no. 3, all for his own use. Poage further admitted that on each of the 30 prescriptions, he either wrote colleagues DEA registration numbers without their authorization or wrote the prescription out to a patient knowing that he would pick up the prescribed medication for his own use. Poage admitted that on multiple occasions, he presented stolen drivers licenses when picking up fraudulent prescriptions from pharmacies. The DEA, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General and West Virginia State Police investigated the case, which was brought as part of the Appalachian Regional Prescription Opioid (ARPO) Strike Force, under supervision by the Criminal Divisions Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Northern District of West Virginia. Trial Attorney Patrick Mott of the Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Wagner of the Northern District of West Virginia are prosecuting the case. The ARPO Strike Force is made up of prosecutors and data analysts with the Health Care Fraud Unit of the Criminal Divisions Fraud Section, prosecutors with the U.S. Attorneys Offices in the region and special agents with the FBI, HHS-OIG and DEA. Since its inception in October 2018, the ARPO Strike Force has charged 60 defendants in 11 districts. The Health Care Fraud Unit, in general, maintains 14 strike forces operating in 23 districts, and has charged nearly 4,000 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $14 billion. In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers. The unemployment rate is historically low, which is a good thing, but it does mean extra challenges if you're hiring and trying to retain top talent. That''s why it's the perfect time to double down on your development as a boss, and make sure you're offering the kind of leadership that makes the best employees want to stick around. A few years ago, I wrote a sort of "best boss behaviors" checklist. More than 1 million people have read it, and it's spawned more than a few imitators. (I'm flattered.) But enough time has passed, conditions have changed a bit, and it's time for an updated list. So without further delay, here are 17 key things that the best employees secret wish their bosses would do. 1. They want you to articulate worthwhile goals. This is Rule No. 1. Employees have lots of options. If you're paying market rate, that means they can do just as well from a financial perspective somewhere else. The single most important thing you can give them is a sense of purpose they can believe in. 2. They want you to know what the heck you're talking about. You don't need to be the subject matter expert on everything. In fact, you shouldn't be; you should be recruiting the best people in each specialty. However, you do need to have a certain level of competency in everything -- enough to let your employees know you're trying to understand their needs, and you have enough respect to make the effort. 3. They want you to respect their time. You can and should ask for big things. It's your job to motivate people toward that bigger goal we talked about in Rule No. 1. But at the same time: People have lives. They need work schedules that work for them, and they need bosses who display empathy and respect their time. 4. They want you to set priorities. When everything is a priority, nothing is. Your best employees want to know what you think is most important -- so they know what to make a priority as well. Related: They want you to make decisions and stick with them. 5. They want you to tell them the truth. Have you ever worked somewhere that the people in charge hoarded information like it was a state secret, and parceled it out on their schedule? In almost every case, that's the wrong tactic. It can only engender mistrust, and leave your employees wondering what else you're not telling them. 6. They want to hear what you think. When they do things that are praiseworthy, they need to hear it. And when they fall short, they need to hear that as well -- so they're not in the dark about how they're doing. However, six words: Praise in public, correct in private. 7. They want you to say please and thank you. Politeness is the magic elixir. Even when you're telling employees to do something and there's no room for debate, it costs you nothing to say "please." Likewise, one of your goals as a leader is to build a culture of gratitude, and that starts as you. So say "thank you," often. Bonus points for also making it a habit to say, "You're welcome." 8. They want you to ask good questions. If you ask your employees smart questions in a non-annoying way, it tells them two things: One, you're engaged and you care. And second, you're on top of things. The message they want to take away is that they don't have to worry that they'll give their all to a project only to have it fall apart because you, as the boss, weren't effectively motivating the other people on their team. 9. They want you to hire the best. Hiring and retention are likely the two most important things you do as a boss. Your employees want to know that you're always looking to improve the team, and they also want to take pride in knowing that the fact that they're there, in and of itself, means that somebody thinks they're amazing. 10 They want you to take the blame. As the boss, you're the leader. You're the captain of the ship. And that means that while people might fail at their individual areas of contribution, if the team fails it's on you. Your employees need to know that you'll take the blame for the team if it ever comes to that, rather than throwing your people under the bus. 11. They want you to have a sense of humor and proportion. They don't want a comedian, necessarily, but they do want a boss who can laugh and who can make light of bad situations. And even when humor isn't really appropriate -- for In almost every business, there are times when it feels like the wheels are going to fall off -- your team needs a leader who can keep his or her head, 12. They want you to communicate effectively. Say what you mean, clearly and convincingly. Know what you're talking about. And back it up with action. 13. They want you to be a model of ethics. Be aggressive. Move forward. Don't get caught up in bureaucratic trivia. But at the same time, there are rules of society we all have to follow. By the leader by your example. 14. They want you to celebrate wins. Anything worth doing involves a series of smaller milestones. When you hit them, your team wants you to acknowledge them. Even if they sometimes suggest humbly that they don't think it's a big deal that they hit Milestone #4 out of 400 -- do it. They appreciate it, even if they don't feel like they can show it. 15. They want you to strive for excellence. This harkens back to Rule No. 1. Anything worth doing is worth doing well. 16. They want you to pull the team together. Truly, you're the only person in a position to do this; everyone else should be focused largely on his or her individual role. So do it, and do it well. 17. They want you to make more leaders. South Korean director Bong Joon-ho has won the Palme dOr prize at the Cannes Film Festival for his social satire Parasite. The dark comedy centres on an impoverished family of hustlers who move into the home of a wealthy entrepreneur, his wife and two children. They worm their way into the other familys lives and then strange things start to happen. It is the first Korean film to ever win the Palme and the second straight victory for an Asian director, following last years award for Shoplifters by Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda. Two years ago, Mr Bongs film Okja was booed at Cannes when the Netflix logo appeared on screen. Netlfix later withdrew its films from the festival after organisers ruled that all entries needed French theatrical distribution. Cannes 2019: What the critics are saying Show all 20 1 /20 Cannes 2019: What the critics are saying Cannes 2019: What the critics are saying The Dead Don't Die Jim Jarmusch's The Dead Don't Die opened Cannes Film Festival to mixed reviews. The Independent's Geoffrey Macnab wrote that the cast including Bill Murray, Adam Driver and Steve Buscemi gave "strangely listless and deadpan performances". The two-star review continued: "Tilda Swinton brings some comic vim to her role as a samurai-like undertaker with a broad Scottish accent while Caleb Landry Jones and Danny Glover are good value as they take a stand against the undead in the local convenience store, but neither the satire nor the slapstick here are as sharp as you would like them to be." AP Cannes 2019: What the critics are saying Rocketman Dexter Fletchers Elton John biopic Rocketman had its world premiere at Cannes. While The Telegraph awarded the film with five stars, most other publications were more muted. The Independent's Geoffrey Macnab called the film "a rousing and emotional affair with an operatic sweep". However, he added: "At times, Rocketman risks turning into a chronicle of woe. Much of the film focuses on the years when Elton was abusing alcohol and drugs. He was miserable in his own life and took out his unhappiness on those closest to him. This doesnt make him very good company. It can become tiresome to hear him say yet again how much he hates himself. However, Fletcher films even the darkest scenes in a very flamboyant fashion and manages to leaven matters with some ironic humour." Paramount Cannes 2019: What the critics are saying Sorry We Missed You Ken Loach, two-time winner of the Palme d'Or, returned to the festival with Sorry We Missed You. "Late in his career, Loach retains the ability to make heart-wrenching and very topical dramas that expose the grimmer aspects of contemporary British society," wrote Geoffrey Macnab in a five-star review for The Independent. "Scripted by his regular collaborator Paul Laverty, this is another of Loachs films about decent people trying to do the best for themselves but being defeated by a system in which 'everything is out of whack.'" Other publications were equally positive about the film. Sixteen Films Cannes 2019: What the critics are saying Pain and Glory Geoffrey Macnab described Pedro Almodovar's Pain and Glory as "the kind of indulgent and self-absorbed film that only a director with such a glittering career behind him would be allowed to get away with". The four-star review continued: "Its about a filmmaker looking back on his past, mulling over his life and relationships. Imagine a Spanish version of a Bergman or Woody Allen film about love and loss and you will come close to its essence. Its a wonderfully evocative affair with a subtle, soulful performance from Antonio Banderas." Sony Pictures Cannes 2019: What the critics are saying Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Probably the biggest film of the festival, Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood, was met with almost unanimous praise. "Quite simply, I just defy anyone with red blood in their veins not to respond to the crazy bravura of Tarantinos film-making, not to be bounced around the auditorium at the moment-by-moment enjoyment that this movie delivers and conversely, of course, to shudder at the horror and cruelty and its hallucinatory aftermath," wrote Peter Bradshaw in The Guardian, awarding the film full marks. Variety was slightly more damning, with Owen Gleiberman writing: "By the end, Tarantino has done something thats quintessentially Tarantino, but that no longer feels even vaguely revolutionary. He has reduced the story hes telling to pulp." Sony Cannes 2019: What the critics are saying The Lighthouse Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson star in Robert Eggers's follow-up to The Witch. Titled The Lighthouse, the two-header won over critics, with both The Telegraph and Guardian awarding the film five stars. "The film is shot in inky black and white, on grainy 35mm film, and presented in a series of rigorously composed square frames," wrote Kevin Maher in The Times. "It has the feel of a newly discovered artefact from FW Murnau (Nosferatu) and is certainly one of the most beautiful-looking movies at the festival. If it has a palpable flaw, its that the style sometimes overwhelms. More head than heart. The final image is so breathtaking, however, that you can forgive even this." Erik Chakeen Cannes 2019: What the critics are saying Parasite Bong Joon-ho was last at Cannes with the Netflix film Okja. His return with Parasite was met with critical acclaim. Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian described the film as "a luxuriously watchable and satirical suspense drama". He added: "It runs as purringly smooth as the Mercedes driven by the lead character, played by Korean star Song Kang-ho. Parasite is a bizarre black comedy about social status, aspiration, materialism and the patriarchal family unit, and people who accept the idea of having (or leasing) a servant class." CJ Entertainment Cannes 2019: What the critics are saying Les Miserables Director Ladj Ly's debut turned heads at Cannes. Nicholas Barber of the BBC wrote that the "racially charged urban drama about the hostility between police and civilians" is "impressive" but lost momentum in the middle. However, Barber concluded: "Just when you think that the story is drifting towards an obvious ending, there is an explosion of savage action which, although highly implausible, is so shocking, exciting and politically fascinating that it blasts the film into a different level." BAC Films Cannes 2019: What the critics are saying Portrait of a Lady on Fire Few films received praise equal to Portrait of a Lady on Fire. The film website IndieWire awarded French filmmaker Celine Sciamma's film an "A" grade. Critic David Ehrlich wrote: Portrait of a Lady on Fire is a profoundly tender story about the process of self-discovery and becoming... The film is paced at the speed of a world thats lit by candlelight, the sex is sensual without being provocative, and the third act will frustrate anyone hoping for a more radical takedown of heteronormative structures." Pyramide Films Cannes 2019: What the critics are saying Beanpole Russian talent Kantemir Balagov may be just 27 years old, but the director has already won over critics from across the world. "The first sounds, over the black of the opening titles, are of tiny, gasping breaths catching in a throat," wrote Variety's Jessica Kiang of Balagov's second feature film. "It could be a death rattle or an asthma attack or the last throes of a strangulation, but it is undoubtedly a human in distress. And its a very close analogy for how Beanpole, the slow, ferocious, and extraordinary film from Balagov, can make you feel. You quite often have to remind yourself to breathe." Non-Stop Production Cannes 2019: What the critics are saying Atlantics French-Senegalese director Mati Diop was the first black female director to ever compete for the Palme dOr. Her film, Atlantics, won positive reviews, with Screenrant's Allan Hunter writing: "Constantly intriguing, Atlantics successfully blends its disparate elements of love story, ghost story and female empowerment into a distinctive, involving drama." Cannal Plus interactions Cannes 2019: What the critics are saying Port Authority Danielle Lessovitz's Port Authority went down well with audiences. The Hollywood Reporter described the film as "a boy-meets-trans girl romance about identity and belonging around the New York underground ballroom scene". Their critic David Rooney wrote of the film: "There's a disarming gentleness to Port Authority, echoed in composer Matthew Herbert's subtle score, that makes this story of love, family and self-discovery quite satisfying." Cannes Film Festival handout Cannes 2019: What the critics are saying The Wild Goose Lake Diao Yinan's first film since Black Coal, which won the Golden Bear at Berlin Film Festical in 2014, received mixed reviews. Peter Bradshaw wrote in the Guardian that The Wild Goose Lake is "a movie showcasing similar flourishes of brilliance, violent impacts and setpiece bravura but also some of the same slightly stolid, opaque style that made me a little agnostic about that 2014 hit". One fan was Tarantino himself who is reported to have "cried" at the film's premiere. Bai Linghai Cannes 2019: What the critics are saying Adam Another directing debut, this one from French actor and screenwriter Maryam Touzani. The Hollywood Reporter's Deborah Young described Adam as "a bright addition to Cannes' Un Certain Regard section". She added: "With great delicacy, Touzani shows how Moroccan society censures a woman who gives birth outside marriage not a terribly original theme, but here it is made heartrending by the superb performances of Lubna Azabal and Nisrin Erradi in the lead roles." Cannes Film Festival handout Cannes 2019: What the critics are saying The Climb Michael Angelo Covino's debut The Climb, described as depicting a "bromance" by numerous outlets, was met by rave reviews. "The Climb is a fantastic film about frenemies, bringing craft and intelligence to what easily could have been a hackneyed, boring bit of cringe comedy," wrote Jason Gorber for SlashFilm. "Instead theres genuine heart at the connection between these two, foolish and friendly and flawed in equal measure. With bravura cinematic flourishes that never get in the way of the character moments, this remarkable film clambers its way into your heart as you find yourself rooting even for these decidedly awkward individuals." Cannes Film Festival handout Cannes 2019: What the critics are saying The Whistlers Corneliu Porumboiu's noir suspense thriller The Whistlers was compared to Neil Jordans Mona Lisa and Orson Welles The Lady from Shanghai by The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw. "Porumboiu gives us a knotty, twisty, nifty plot thats quite involved but hangs together well, and theres an amusing juxtaposition of gloomy, rainy Bucharest and the sunny terrain of La Gomera," he continued. "We also get a neat and unexpected coda. An elegant and stylishly crafted piece of entertainment." Vlad Cioplea Cannes 2019: What the critics are saying Joan of Arc (Jeanne) Bruno Dumont's sequel to Jeannette: The Childhood of Joan of Arc, simply titled Joan of Arc, received equally as negative reviews as its 2017 predecessor. "Enthusiasts of the prolific Dumont will surely get something out of this latest effort as perhaps will Joan of Arc movie adaptation completists," wrote Jordan Mintzer in The Hollywood Reporter. "But beyond that niche, many will find watching the 137-minute movie akin to being burnt at the stake." Cannes Film Festival handout Cannes 2019: What the critics are saying Young Ahmed The Dardenne brothers' latest effort, "a taut study of a devout 13-year-old Muslim", marked a rare misfire for the directing duo. On the aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes, the film sits following the festival screening as their lowest rated work yet. Charles Bramesco of Little White Lies wrote: "The Dardennes have often settled on not-knowing in their work, only here, that acceptance of uncertainty plays like a concession that they're in over their heads." Cannes Film Festival handout Cannes 2019: What the critics are saying Frankie Despite starring Isabelle Huppert, Ira Sachs' Frankie has divided critics like no other film at the festival. Whereas The Guardian awarded the film a squalid one star, The Hollywood Reporter called Huppert "magnetic" in the starring role. IndieWire concluded: "It's like an elegant bracelet that's modest enough to go unnoticed, but nevertheless reveals a quietly exquisite beauty to those who are willing to lean in and look closer (even if they have to squint)." Cannes Film Festival handout Cannes 2019: What the critics are saying A Hidden Life Terrence Malick made his return to Cannes with A Hidden Life. While critics have been harsh on the director's more recent works, he's impressed many with his latest effort. "It may not have the stellar Hollywood casts of his last couple of films, but it has the driving sense of purpose," wrote Nicholas Barber for the BBC. "It even has a proper screenplay, instead of hours of sleepy improvisation. The fact that it is gorgeous to look at is a bonus." Cannes Film Festival handout The festivals second-place award, the Grand Prize, went to French-Senegalese director Mati Diops Atlantique. Diop was the first black female director in competition at Cannes. Belgian brothers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne shared the best director for Young Ahmed. Best actor went to Antonio Banderas for Pedro Almodovars Pain and Glory, while best actress was won by British actress Emily Beecham for Little Joe. Celine Sciammas period romance Portrait of a Lady on Fire was the Palme pick for many critics this year, but it ended up with best screenplay. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events In the festivals 72-year history, only one woman has won the top prize. Jane Champions film The Piano shared the award with Chen Kaiges Farewell My Concubine in 1993. Additional reporting by AP and Reuters The Strokes first UK gig in four years was blighted by sound issues, according to disgruntled fans who attended All Points East festival in Londons Victoria Park. The American band headlined the festival on Saturday night (25 May) in what was supposed to be a triumphant comeback, but many complained they could barely hear what songs were being played. Festival-goers were filmed chanting turn it up in videos shot by fans, while one complained: If you want to replicate the experience of going to @allpointseastuk put your laptop volume on 50% and stand two rooms away. 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'. The Strokes performed tracks from their debut record Is This It, along with its follow up Room On Fire. The show closed with a rowdy performance of their most famous song, Last Nite. Yet the sound was reportedly so poor that one compared the show to underwater karaoke, and some even said they had requested refunds from the festivals organisers. Another video showed people leaving the festival at 10pm, commenting: #AllPointsEast is a waste. People leaving at 10pm because of sound issues. Unbelievable, this is the atmosphere you've created #AllPointsEast this event should be boycotted by all proper music fans. Disgraceful sound quality all day with The Strokes gig completely ruined, wrote another. The Independent has contacted an All Points East representative for comment. All Points East continues tonight (Sunday 26 May) and will be headlined by Christine and The Queens. The Strokes have always been a distorted kind of band. But their performance at All Points East on Saturday quite unintentionally takes this to a new level. So muffled is the sound quality for the bands headline set at the east London festival that during what should be a mighty opening triptych three scorching tracks from their 2006 album First Impressions of Earth the audience begins to boo. Frontman Julian Casablancas, dressed in a half-unbuttoned black silk shirt, silver necklaces adorning his exposed chest, is preternaturally unfazed but even he seems momentarily rattled. As The Modern Age kicks in from the bands seminal debut album, 2001s Is This It the sound remains woefully inadequate, Casablancass languorous vocals almost inaudible above the songs jagged, syncopated riffs. And yet, by a potent combination of charisma and force of will, the post-punk revivalists win the crowd back anyway. 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'. If anyone could pull off such a feat, its The Strokes. Emerging from downtown New York at the turn of the century, a maelstrom of amphetamine thrills, arty insouciance and yesterdays clothes, the five-piece rewired rock and roll. Theirs was a sound indebted to The Velvet Underground, Television and Tom Petty: snotty, sneering, sexy. From Casablancass woozy howl to Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond Jrs retro guitar riffs, they inspired a legion of identikit bands and rejuvenated an ailing indie scene whose flag-bearers at the time were Starsailor and Travis. Since then, weve been told that guitar music is, if not extinct, in its death throes. But try telling that to The Strokes, who are in the midst of a self-proclaimed global comeback, or to the 40,000-strong crowd who have turned up to watch not only them, but a day-long bill of admirably diverse rock: Courtney Barnett, The Raconteurs, Anna Calvi, Interpol, Johnny Marr. The Strokes, though, are the main event, and despite the glaring technical issues, they are clearly having a ball. In fact, theyre more animated than they have been in years, breezily playing off each other. At one point, Hammond Jr jumps into the crowd. Even the notoriously sullen Casablancas drops his hunch during debut single Hard to Explain to hop around the stage. He has been instructed not to say anything sarcastic, he tells us, but he nearly breaks that rule. I gotta say... he begins. Oh f**k it, Ill keep my thoughts to myself. The set is an exercise in nostalgia newer material is scant, and the bands latest EP, 2016s Future Present Past, doesnt get a look in. But it is fervent, not phoned-in, a nostalgia delivered with such vigour that it rejuvenates a grumbling crowd. By the time Last Nite rings out, Casablancass mic has all but given up. But the crowd havent. They step in, providing a chorus of tuneless, impassioned growls. Casablancas doesnt seem to mind. You guys know the words better than me anyways, he says, and offers up a graceful bow. If guitar musics supposedly endangered, no ones told The Strokes nearly two decades on from their game-changing debut, they are still a mighty force. We know this for sure. Moby has issued a public apology to Natalie Portman days after she claimed he had been creepy with her when she was younger. In his new memoir Then It Fell Apart the follow-up to his 2016 memoir Porcelain the 53-year-old alleged that he and Portman briefly dated when she was 20. But, in an interview with Harpers Bazaar UK, Portman said she remembered their relationship very differently and that there were many factual errors and inventions in Mobys writing. I was surprised to hear that he characterised 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, Portman said. He said I was 20; I definitely wasnt. I was a teenager. I had just turned 18. Five celebrities who were sacked for controversial tweets Show all 5 1 /5 Five celebrities who were sacked for controversial tweets Five celebrities who were sacked for controversial tweets Katie Hopkins Katie Hopkins was sacked from LBC in May 2017 for appearing to call for genocide in a tweet following the Manchester terror attack that killed 22. "We need a final solution," she wrote. The radio station's statement read: "LBC and Katie Hopkins have agreed that Katie will leave LBC effective immediately." Getty Five celebrities who were sacked for controversial tweets Kevin Hart Kevin Hart may not technically have been sacked from hosting the Oscars in 2019, but the actor-comedian stepped down after refusing to apologise for resurfaced homophobic tweets. I chose to pass. I passed on the apology, he said, repeating that the issue of the tweets had been addressed in the past. Getty Five celebrities who were sacked for controversial tweets Roseanne Barr In May 2018, Roseanne Barr's hit sitcom Roseanne was cancelled by ABC after she ranted about former Barack Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett on Twitter. The actor compared Jarrett to Planet of the Apes and linked her to the Islamist organisation Muslim Brotherhood. ABC moved ahead with a spinoff, titled The Conners, which Barr was not invited to be a part of. AFP/Getty Five celebrities who were sacked for controversial tweets James Gunn Despite being reinstated as director of Guardians of the Galaxy vol 3, James Gunn was initially let go by Disney in August 2018 after coming under fire for old jokes he made joking about 9/11 and paedophilia on Twitter. AFP/Getty Five celebrities who were sacked for controversial tweets Danny Baker Broadcaster Danny Baker was sacked from his 5 Live show after tweeting about the royal baby using a photo of a chimpanzee. He was accused of racism after seemingly mocking Meghan Markles racial heritage in a now deleted post that featured an image of two people holding hands with a small monkey dressed in a suit. BBC Moby initially hit back at Portmans comments, saying that he was confused about her denial of their relationship and insisted that they did date. However, he has now issued a public apology to the actor, and accepted that criticisms of his claims are very valid. Alongside an image that depicted the words From Moby, an apology, the musician said he recognised that it was truly inconsiderate of him not to inform Portman about her inclusion in the book or to not fully respect her reaction. I have a lot of admiration for Natalie, for her intelligence, creativity, and animal rights activism, and I hate that I might have caused her and her family distress, Moby wrote. I tried to treat everyone I included in Then It Fell Apart with dignity and respect, but nonetheless it was truly inconsiderate for me to not let them know before the book was released. So for that I apologise, to Natalie, as well as the other people I wrote about in Then It Fell Apart without telling them beforehand. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events The dance music star concluded the post by noting that he should have acted more responsibly and respectfully when he first met Natalie, given their almost 14-year age difference. In Then it Fell Apart, Moby also claims to have dated a pre-fame Lana Del Rey in 2006, when she would have been 20 and he was 40. It is a hot, sunny day in Manchester and 14-year-old Carmen King is dressed in full black funeral garb, complete with veil and thick white face paint. Its pretty warm, she says of her outfit. But then, if adults dont get it sorted, its only going to get hotter anyway. The year nine student was one of some 4,000 children, teenagers and young people who flooded into the city centre on Friday to protest against climate change. They themselves were among an estimated 1.5 million-plus youngsters doing the same in hundreds of towns and cities across the world: in London, Paris and Berlin, of course, but, crucially, in the provinces too, in places like Manchester where the battles for hearts and minds are often truly won. They went on strike from school classes and university lectures, as they have done one Friday a month since February, to demand adults do just one thing: save the planet and their futures. Manchester Climate Protests Show all 5 1 /5 Manchester Climate Protests Manchester Climate Protests A youth strike against climate change takes place in Manchester on 24th May 2019 Colin Drury Manchester Climate Protests A youth strike against climate change takes place in Manchester on 24th May 2019 Colin Drury Manchester Climate Protests A youth strike against climate change takes place in Manchester on 24th May 2019 Colin Drury Manchester Climate Protests A youth strike against climate change takes place in Manchester on 24th May 2019 Photography by Colin Drury Manchester Climate Protests A youth strike against climate change takes place in Manchester on 24th May 2019 Colin Drury No ones here because they enjoy protesting, said Carmen, one of six friends and an adult mentor from the citys Z-Arts drama school who donned mourning attire to symbolise the death of Earth. Id rather be at school well, probably but this is too important. Whats the point of going to lessons when were not going to have a future if things dont change? How did her teachers feel about her absence, I wondered? Pretty mixed, she noted. Some think we shouldnt be here. But then I think they shouldnt have allowed the planet to be destroyed. Well, touche. This was pretty much the gist of things during three hours of demonstrations and a mile-long march: that previous generations had allowed the planet to be brought to the brink of climate calamity, and now this generation was demanding politely and with good humour, it should be said a national emergency be declared to address the issue. This isnt going to go away and were not going to stop putting the pressure on for real structural change because we have no other choice, said Emma Greenwood, 15, vegan, feminist, and the coordinator behind the Manchester protest. I think, as young people, were realising the power we have if we come together and form a global community, and Ive no doubt that well keep doing this as long as it takes to get the action thats needed to finally address climate change. Student protesters turn out to make their point on a sunny Friday afternoon in Manchester (Colin Drury) Nationally the strikes have been coordinated by the UK Student Climate Network and come partially in response to a UN report in October, which stated the worlds carbon emissions needed to be halved within 12 years to prevent some of the severest effects of global warming flooding, droughts, mass displacement becoming inevitable. But, because this months protest coincided with exam season, there were some expectations that numbers may be down. They decidedly were not. Theres actually a physics GCSE today, which pretty much means no year 11s turning up at all, said Emma, a youth MP for her home town of Bury. But this is still the biggest turnout yet. She thought about it for a second. Ironically, that might be to do with the weather, she conceded. No one wants to protest when its raining. But I do think we have momentum on our side. Talking to her to reminded me a little bit of an interview I once saw with James Van Der Beek. The star of Dawsons Creek (bear with me) was asked if he and the rest of the cast, being in their late 20s, had to dumb down to play the shows famously sophisticated high school students. No, he joked, with these kids, you have to step up. So, too, with many of those at Fridays protest. In conversation, many offered considered and thought-out policies, which they believed would help decarbonise the UK economy: subsidies for renewable energy companies, integrated public transport with Europe to reduce flight numbers, citizens assemblies and the reversal of Brexit (inevitably mentioned) were all among ideas suggested. Young protestors strike against climate change in Manchester (Colin Drury) So, too, were demands for votes at 16 and a complete overhaul of education to place climate crisis at the heart of all learning, from early years to FE colleges. So we grow up with the tools and the skills needed to deal with the disaster were inheriting, said Adam Haigh, a 19-year-old archaeology student from Cumbria. The demo itself saw a series of youngsters standing on a bench in the citys St Peters Square and making open mic-style speeches to the crowd. Style varied from rundowns of how individuals could reduce their own carbon footprint to take-downs of politicians, fossil fuel industries and, well, just adults in general. Greta Thunberg, the Stockholm teenager whose own one-girl protest outside the Swedish parliament helped spark this whole movement, was namechecked, of course. So were the suffragettes, as another inspiring movement. It was probably quite warm in the polar bear outfit (Colin Drury) One lad kept his moment on the makeshift stage simple. Climate change has to go, he said, then, quite literally, dropped the mic. Perhaps the youngest speaker was Kirby Brown, a 10-year-old from Widnes. She read a poem shed written. I just wanted to say I like the planet and Id like it to be looked after a bit better, she told me afterwards. Mum Claire was there too. She asked if she could have the day off to come and I thought it was too important to say no, Ms Brown said. Its the last day before half term anyway, and I think doing this has far greater educational value than anything shed learn in class today. Actually, Im very proud of her for wanting to come. As we spoke, a teenager passed by carrying a placard that seemed to echo the sentiment: No school today is better than no planet tomorrow, it said. Others signs were just as pointed: The seas are rising, said one. And so are we. And thats how it felt too. Like these now monthly strikes are still just the beginning of something defining, of a shift to a new way of thinking. Not everyone has felt that way, of course. Headteachers and government ministers, including education secretary Damian Hinds, have previously lectured these youngsters that the best way to tackle climate change is to stay in classes and learn new skills. But these particular teenagers were not for buying the line and neither was Kate Lewis, a 53-year-old mother of three standing near the back. I just wanted to come down and, as an oldie, show my support, the Unite union official said. The energy of these kids is so infectious. You look at this and it does make you positive about what can be done. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events If felt, all in all, like the future may be in good hands. Maybe, said 18-year-old student Vivian Macdonald as things started to come to a close around 2pm. But I was thinking about the future a while ago, about how Id like to have children and grandchildren, and I suddenly realised how maybe those options wouldnt be open to me if global warming carried on getting worse. That was what started me wanting to take action, and I think a lot of people feel like that. Thats why this is important. Its a fight for the future. Michael Gove has announced his bid to be the next prime minister, setting up a repeat of the bitter 2016 clash that derailed Boris Johnsons last campaign. I can confirm that I will be putting my name forward to be prime minister of this country, the environment secretary said, speaking outside his London home. I believe that I'm ready to unite the Conservative and Unionist Party, ready to deliver Brexit, and ready to lead this great country. Mr Gove who will set out his detailed pitch later today is expected to argue he has a proven record running government departments, which makes him more capable of delivering Brexit. His decision to run is the biggest threat to Mr Johnson, the overwhelming favourite, and will electrify a contest that threatened to become a procession. It will revive memories of the extraordinary twist in 2016, when Mr Gove was Mr Johnson's campaign chairman only to declare he was unfit to be leader and launch his own doomed candidature. 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 Since then, Mr Gove has rebuilt his reputation as an energetic, pro-green environment secretary and impressive Commons performer on Brexit, in stark contrast to Theresa May. He is expected to argue he has a better track record than Mr Johnson, who was a controversial foreign secretary, and argue he is a unity candidate. Mr Gove will also argue that, while his rival was the main face of the Vote Leave campaign, he was entrusted with some of the key TV debates which would also feature in a general election. However, he will struggle to beat Mr Johnson if he reaches the final choice to be made by the Europhobic Tory membership having stayed loyal to the prime ministers Brexit deal, which they loathed. Furthermore, Tory MPs who appear ready to swing behind Mr Johnson in order to save their seats at an election, will be aware that Mr Gove has terrible poll ratings with the public. The other six names in the crowded field are: Jeremy Hunt, the foreign secretary, Rory Stewart, the international development secretary, Matt Hancock, the health secretary, Andrea Leadsom, the former Commons leader, Dominic Raab, the former Brexit secretary, and Esther McVey, the former work and pensions secretary. The last three, all Brexiteers, have already matched Mr Johnsons pledge to crash the UK out of the EU on 31 October if necessary, if the EU refuses to renegotiate. Mr Gove will be under pressure to follow suit while both Mr Hancock and Mr Stewart have spoken out against a no-deal Brexit. Meanwhile, Philip Hammond warned that MPs will topple any new Tory prime minister trying to force through a crash-out Brexit and sensationally threatened to join the revolt himself. The chancellor refused three times to rule out joining the no-confidence vote that Labour has vowed to table if a hardline Brexiteer wins the race. Mr Hammond said any new leader trying to push through a no-deal exit on 31 October would immediately face the prospect of having to leave office. It would be very difficult for the prime minister who adopted no-deal as a policy to retain the confidence of the House of Commons, he said just minutes after Dominic Raab made that exact threat. Michael Gove has insisted he can bring people together as Conservative party leader despite his reputation for betraying both David Cameron and Boris Johnson. The environment secretary, speaking at the Hay Festival for a BBC Radio 4 podcast, admitted that he understood why people ask whether they could trust him as prime minister. But he claimed that he had evolved as a politician in the three years since the EU referendum. He also said he had changed his mind about his own abilities, having previously said he was incapable of leading the country. I have been through a variety of experiences, Mr Gove said in an interview with Nick Robinson. I led, some people may lament this, but I lead the campaign to leave the European Union and that involved going up head to head with David Cameron and others in the debate formats that we had. And being tested during that campaign, having had time to reflect when I was on the backbenches and then coming back into government. Who is standing to be the next prime minister? Show all 3 1 /3 Who is standing to be the next prime minister? Who is standing to be the next prime minister? Boris Johnson - 157 votes PA Who is standing to be the next prime minister? Michael Gove - 61 votes Getty Who is standing to be the next prime minister? Jeremy Hunt - 59 votes PA I think that Ive evolved as a politician, but, obviously, well see in the course of the next few days and weeks who people think has what it takes. Asked about his decision to oppose Mr Cameron during the EU referendum campaign, he said: I knew that when I campaigned for Leave it was going to be strain on friendships, but if you believe something passionately and that moment of decision comes you cant shirk it. I felt i had to follow my heart, I put a lot on the line. Following the referendum result and Mr Camerons resignation, he initially backed Boris Johnson for the Tory party leadership, only to enter the contest himself. Who is the real Michael Gove? asked Mr Robinson. Is it the man who stabs Boris Johnson in the back and David Cameron in the front or is it he courteous man on TV and radio? Mr Gove replied that he had consistent opinions throughout his life. You can always discern a lot from someones record but the real thing is the people with whom you have worked, I have deliberately set out to bring people together, he said. He also insisted that he could be trusted: I know that three years ago that was the subject of scrutiny and criticism, I can understand why people ask the question all I can ask is, talk to people who know me best. I wont give my own testimonial. Mr Gove refused to be drawn on whether the UK would leave the EU deal or no deal on 31 October, but said he believed that Britain would be better off reaching a deal. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events I have also said that if we did have a no-deal Brexit, there would have been some real problems for particular sectors of our economy and particular sectors of farming, he said. We would be able to get through it but it would ultimately be better off to reach an agreement and leave in an orderly way. During the interview Mr Gove also admitted there were comparisons to be drawn between the Tory leadership contest and the TV series Game of Thrones. He said his favourite character was Tyrion Lannister, a dwarf who eads a small band of followers and rallies his forces to victory in the battle of the Blackwater. The interview took place just hours after Mr Gove announced his bid to be the next prime minister, although it was arranged several months ago. I can confirm that I will be putting my name forward to be prime minister of this country, the environment secretary said, speaking outside his London home. I believe that Im ready to unite the Conservative and Unionist Party, ready to deliver Brexit, and ready to lead this great country. Other candidates include Jeremy Hunt, the foreign secretary, Rory Stewart, the international development secretary, Matt Hancock, the health secretary, Andrea Leadsom, the former Commons leader, Dominic Raab, the former Brexit secretary, and Esther McVey, the former work and pensions secretary. Philip Hammond has warned that MPs will topple any new Tory prime minister trying to force through a no-deal Brexit and sensationally threatened to join the revolt himself. The chancellor refused three times to rule out joining the no-confidence vote that Labour has vowed to table if a hardline Brexiteer succeeds Theresa May. Mr Hammond said any new leader trying to push through a no-deal exit on 31 October would immediately face the prospect of having to leave office. It would be very difficult for the prime minister who adopted no-deal as a policy to retain the confidence of the House of Commons, he said just minutes after Dominic Raab made that exact threat. Asked if he would support a no-confidence motion, Mr Hammond told the BBCs Andrew Marr it was hypothetical, pointing out he had never voted against his party in 22 years. But he added: I dont want to start now having to contemplate such a course of action. EU elections 2019 Europewide results Show all 9 1 /9 EU elections 2019 Europewide results EU elections 2019 Europewide results European People's Party group MEPs: 182 Vote share: 24.2% EU elections 2019 Europewide results Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats MEPs: 147 Vote share: 19.6% EU elections 2019 Europewide results Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe group MEPs: 109 Vote share: 14.5% EU elections 2019 Europewide results GreensEuropean Free Alliance MEPs: 69 Vote share: 9.2% EU elections 2019 Europewide results European Conservatives and Reformists MEPs: 59 Vote share: 7.9% EU elections 2019 Europewide results Europe of Nations and Freedom MEPs: 58 Vote share: 7.7% EU elections 2019 Europewide results Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy MEPs: 54 Vote share: 7.2% EU elections 2019 Europewide results European United LeftNordic Green Left MEPs: 38 Vote share: 5.1% EU elections 2019 Europewide results Non-Inscrits and other parties Non Inscrits (MEPs not affiliated with a parliamentary grouping): 6 Vote share: 0.8% Other parties: 29 Vote share: 3.9% The warning follows Boris Johnsons threat to carry out a crash-out Brexit in the autumn in October, if necessary, which rival Tory candidates have quickly copied. The chancellor dismissed their claims of trying to renegotiate a better deal before than as a figleaf, pointing out there would be no time, even if the EU was willing. The EU will not renegotiate the withdrawal agreement Im quite clear about that. They wouldnt be able to because of their own political fragility, he said. Mr Hammond added: In fact, the negotiation is a figleaf to do what is in fact a policy of leaving on no-deal terms. And he warned: A prime minister who ignores parliament cannot expect to survive very long. The chancellor declined to say which of the eight candidates now running to be Tory leader he would back. Others are expected to join the race. He said he wanted to hear their plans to win a general election against Corbyn, their plans for the future. On a no-confidence vote, he warned it would be a dangerous strategy to be boxed in with commitments you find it very difficult to deliver on. Asked again if he could vote against the government on such a motion, the Chancellor said: It would challenge not just me, but many of our colleagues, and I hope we will never get to that position. Earlier, Mr Raab, warned MPs would be unable to stop him carrying out a crash-out Brexit if he wins the Tory leadership race, vowing to be resolute. The former Brexit secretary ruled out a further Article 50 delay, vowing: I will not ask for an extension. And he added: Its very difficult for parliament now to legislate against a no-deal, or in favour of a further extension, unless a resolute prime minister is willing to acquiesce in that and I would not. As many as 10 Conservative MPs could defect to Change UK if Tories elect a hardline Brexiteer planning to take the UK out of the European Union without a deal, the breakaway partys interim leader has said. Heidi Allen told The Independent that the election of a figure like Boris Johnson or Dominic Raab would be serious wake-up time for MPs who fear a no-deal Brexit. With Tories currently eight seats short of a working majority in the House of Commons, the loss of even a handful of MPs could make it impossible for the new leader to form a functioning government, even with a continued deal with the Democratic Unionists. Ms Allen one of three MPs to quit the Conservatives over Brexit in February said that with both Tories and Labour maybe set to be led by figures from their extreme wings, the political landscape was shifting sand, with a real possibility of realignment towards the centre. On the Tory side I know if Boris or Dominic Raab or a character of that Brexit persuasion is chosen, that's serious wake-up time for a lot of my colleagues on the Tory benches and they don't hide that, she said. Which MPs defected to form Change UK? Show all 12 1 /12 Which MPs defected to form Change UK? Which MPs defected to form Change UK? Change UK Details on the individual MPs are in the following photos Reuters Which MPs defected to form Change UK? Heidi Allen Anti-Brexit MP for South Cambridgeshire resigned from the Conservative party on February 20 PA Which MPs defected to form Change UK? Chuka Umunna MP for Streatham since 2010 and prominent People's Vote supporter PA Which MPs defected to form Change UK? Anna Soubry The prominent anti-Brexit MP for Broxtowe resigned from the Conservative party on February 20 PA Which MPs defected to form Change UK? Luciana Berger MP for Liverpool Wavertree since 2010, resigned from the Labour Party over bullying and anti-semitism PA Which MPs defected to form Change UK? Sarah Wollaston Anti-Brexit MP for Totnes resigned from the Conservative party on February 20 PA Which MPs defected to form Change UK? Joan Ryan MP for Enfield North resigned from the Labour party on February 19 citing its tolerance of a "culture of anti-Jewish racism" PA Which MPs defected to form Change UK? Ann Coffey MP for Stockport since 1992 Chris McAndrew / UK Parliament Which MPs defected to form Change UK? Gavin Shuker MP for Luton South since 2010 Getty Which MPs defected to form Change UK? Chris Leslie MP for Nottingham East since 2010 PA Which MPs defected to form Change UK? Mike Gapes MP for Ilford South since 1992 PA Which MPs defected to form Change UK? Angela Smith MP for Penistone and Stocksbridge since 2010 With the leadership question undecided, no talks about defections are presently under way. But asked how many could potentially switch, she replied: I'd say it was somewhere between half a dozen and 10. After a European election campaign in which her Remain-backing party is expected to have performed poorly, with polls regularly placing them below 5 per cent support, she did not rule out alliances and collaboration with like-minded MPs in other parties or even ditching the Change UK name. Describing the name as something that was dreamt up in 24 hours after the Electoral Commission barred the use of The Independent Group, she said: Am I obsessed with Change UK being the name and the banner that goes forward? No what I am obsessed with is good quality moderate centre-ground MPs finding a way to work together. Proposals for a joint Remain ticket in the European elections came to nothing, but Ms Allen said she very much hopes to explore options for cooperation with other centrists in the Commons, not only on the fight against Brexit, but also issues like health and welfare. I cant describe it, Im not sure what it will look like, but some kind of alliance, pact, collaborative coalition working? Yes, thats absolutely my goal, she said. Look at Europe coalition politics is normal there, whether its formalised in parties working in pacts or its independents who come together over issues. I genuinely dont have a set view on that. All I do know is that the old-fashioned clumpy big parties where you are almost brain-washed and robotic, thats not how the modern world is. Resurgent Liberal Democrats are expected to have taken the bulk of Remain votes when the European ballots are counted on Sunday evening, with opinion polls suggesting they will outstrip Tories and could even overtake Labour for second place. Deputy leader Jo Swinson said that the party was in a very strong place to build up its position as Sir Vince Cable hands over to a new leader, following local elections in which they picked up more than 700 seats. And she made clear she was ready to work with other moderates to see off a huge threat to liberal values from intolerant nationalism. It was absolutely the case that there are numbers of Tories uncomfortable with the idea of a leader committed to no-deal, she told The Independent. The question is whether or not they will stand up and be counted at some point, she said. I personally think they will, whether that is through defections or quitting the whip to sit as an independent. Home affairs spokesperson Sir Ed Davey expected to be Ms Swinsons main rival in the race to succeed Mr Cable said there were quite large numbers inside and outside parliament unhappy with the choice between a hard Brexit nationalistic right and a neo-Marxist Corbyn agenda. If that remains the choice provided, no one will be surprised if there are people wanting to explore options, he said. Every Lib Dem will be up for exploring options, but what that actually means in terms of parties is a question for way down the line. He said: Politics has never been so uncertain, so volatile, so difficult to read and nor has there been in my lifetime so much at stake. The next few weeks could see a new Tory prime minister trying to take us out of the EU without a deal. I think Lib Dems need to focus on stopping that and joining forces with Conservatives, Labour, Greens, SNP, whoever, to prevent that disaster for our country. A citizens committee has voted to ban the sale of bombs to Saudi Arabia after hearing expert evidence they are illegal in protest at MPs refusal to investigate the controversy. The unique inquiry involving MPs, human rights investigators, former defence chiefs, lawyers and academics ruled the exports of Paveway bombs must stop with immediate effect. It was staged amid growing anger that the Commons committee to investigate arms sales has refused to hold an inquiry into trade with the Saudis, despite a finding it is causing significant civilian casualties in Yemen. Lloyd Russell-Moyle, a Labour MP who set up the citizens committee, hailed its verdict and said only intense political pressure on civil servants prevented them reaching the same conclusion. And Dr Anna Stavrianakis, an expert on UK arms export policy at the University of Sussex, said: The parliamentary system of scrutiny is broken. Recommended Workers refuse to load Saudi weapons ship in protest over Yemen war We heard from Brigadier John Deverell, former defence attache to Riyadh, who said no amount of humanitarian aid absolves the UK of complicity in Yemen. The witnesses, who included campaigners speaking from Yemen, had told of routine and systemic attacks on civilians by Saudi Arabia using government-licensed exports of British bombs. They came to the conclusion that exports of the most commonly used bombs used by the Saudi Royal Air Force were illegal, Mr Russell-Moyle told The Independent. 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 The civil servants in the department for international trade would also come to this conclusion if they were not under such intense political pressure to approve. Last month, a government employer responsible for arms licensing was heard likening his job to that of Nazi officials following orders. Im doing what Im told and doing my job, but Im uncomfortably aware of Adolf Eichmann who said the same thing, he told visitors at an arms fair in Farnborough. Mr Russell-Moyle has called for the committee on arms export control (CAEC), drawn from four other select committees defence, foreign, trade and international development to be replaced by a new body with an elected chairman. Its an open secret within CAEC that it is broken and has been prevented from holding the government to account, he said. The citizens committee said the licence for the Paveway bombs, produced by Raytheon UK, allows unlimited transfer to Saudi Arabia without the government, or public, having to be informed. They were described as the principle air to surface missile used by Saudi, with fragments found in lots of civilian sites. The court of appeal will rule by the summer whether the UK government is meeting its own commitment not to supply weapons where there is a clear risk of use in violations of international humanitarian law. In February, a House of Lords inquiry condemned the governments refusal to curb arms sales to Riyadh worth a staggering 4.7bn since the brutal war in Yemen began in 2015 for being on the wrong side of international humanitarian law. The race to be the next prime minister has descended into open warfare after the chancellor threatened to join fellow Tories in toppling any leader pursuing a no-deal Brexit. Philip Hammonds extraordinary intervention came after Dominic Raab predicted MPs would fail to stop him taking the UK out of the EU without a deal on Halloween night, if he won the contest. Rival candidate Rory Stewart who also hinted at joining a no-confidence vote against his own government to block no deal warned Brexiteers it would ruin Britains 400-year reputation for economic competence. The clashes overshadowed Michael Goves entry into the race as potentially the biggest threat to Boris Johnsons march to power, in a repeat of the bitter 2016 battle that derailed his last campaign. I believe Im ready to unite the Conservative and Unionist Party, ready to deliver Brexit, and ready to lead this great country, the environment secretary said. Mr Gove will face intense questions about his stance on the contests key controversy whether the winner is ready to crash out of the EU in October, even if that means defying the will of the Commons. Theresa May gets emotional during her resignation Show all 13 1 /13 Theresa May gets emotional during her resignation Theresa May gets emotional during her resignation Reuters Theresa May gets emotional during her resignation REUTERS Theresa May gets emotional during her resignation PA Theresa May gets emotional during her resignation REUTERS Theresa May gets emotional during her resignation Prime Minister Theresa May makes a statement outside at 10 Downing Street in London, where she announced she is standing down as Tory party leader on Friday June 7. PA Theresa May gets emotional during her resignation REUTERS Theresa May gets emotional during her resignation REUTERS Theresa May gets emotional during her resignation REUTERS Theresa May gets emotional during her resignation AFP/Getty Theresa May gets emotional during her resignation REUTERS Theresa May gets emotional during her resignation REUTERS Theresa May gets emotional during her resignation AP Theresa May gets emotional during her resignation AFP/Getty Images Mr Raab sought to outflank Mr Johnson by arguing MPs would fail to repeat their success, under Theresa May, in passing a law to force a request to extend the Article 50 deadline. Its very difficult for parliament now to legislate against a no deal, or in favour of a further extension, unless a resolute prime minister is willing to acquiesce in that and I would not, he insisted. Shami Chakrabarti, Labours shadow attorney general, described the comments as terrifying, adding: It will be terrifying for a lot of viewers at home. Mr Hammond then refused three times to rule out joining the no-confidence vote that Labour has vowed to table if a hardline Brexiteer reaches No 10. The chancellor said any new leader trying to push through a no-deal exit on 31 October would immediately face the prospect of having to leave office. He described support for a no confidence motion as hypothetical, but added: I dont want to start now having to contemplate such a course of action. Pressed again, on the BBCs Andrew Marr Show, Mr Hammond said: It would challenge not just me, but many of our colleagues, and I hope we never get to that position. Mr Stewart, the international development secretary, tweeted: A no-deal Brexit would in a single day undermine 400 years of our reputation for economic stability and competence. On another day of huge drama, even before the race officially gets under way: * Jeremy Hunt, the foreign secretary, led an early list for the number of backers among Tory MPs with 28, ahead of Mr Gove (23), Mr Johnson (22) and Mr Raab (19). * Mr Hammonds parliamentary aide, Huw Merriman, described a Final Say referendum to break the gridlock as inevitable. * Andrea Leadsom, the former Commons leader, confirmed her candidature, vowing: In order to succeed in a negotiation, you have to be prepared to leave without a deal. * Esther McVey, the ex-work and pensions secretary, also insisted 31 October would be Brexit day, saying: We are coming out then and if that means without a deal then thats what it means. * David Gauke, the justice secretary, warned any would-be leader that a general election before Brexit was resolved would put Jeremy Corbyn in No 10. * Tory organisers warned it could take until 28 June to whittle down the long list of candidates to just two, before the final choice is made by members a week longer than expected. Mr Raabs comments followed the Institute for Governments verdict that it will be a near impossible task for MPs to stop a prime minister who is determined to leave the EU without a deal. The Commons was able to pass a law to block no deal when Ms May threatened it, by passing a motion when her Brexit deal was put before MPs. But if, as expected, the EU refuses to negotiate new terms with the incoming prime minister, the Commons could be shut out of the process in the countdown to Halloween. However, the new prime minister will be challenged to prove that they have a Commons majority within days of taking office, in late July. Following defections to Change UK, the working majority of the Conservative-Democratic Unionist Party alliance is just six meaning only four Tories would need to switch sides for a no confidence vote to succeed. If the new leader failed at the hurdle, and no alternative government is confirmed by the Commons within 14 days, there would be a general election. Activists in Latin America, home to some of the worlds toughest restrictions on abortion, have denounced draconian new laws in places such as Alabama, warning they could result in the deaths of women. Campaigners in Honduras, one of five nations in Latin America with complete bans on abortion, and which also prohibits emergency contraception, have urged the government of president Juan Orlando Hernandez to make it legal for women to obtain the day after pill, and known by the acronym PAE. The emergency contraceptive pill is essential to avoid a pregnancy when you have unprotected sex, when condoms fail or in cases of rape, said Ana Falope, a Honduran womens rights activist and leader of Hablemos lo que es, the name of the legalisation campaign, and a commonly used phrase that translates as lets call it what it is. This emergency contraceptive is completely safe, has no side effects different from regular contraceptives, it does not affect womens fertility and does not cause cancer. This has been indicated by the World Health Organisation, which also believes that PAE should be available to all women. Activists say they have been dispirited by recent events in the US, where a succession of states have passed laws banning or restricting abortion, part of a campaign to try and force the Supreme Court to reconsider 1973s Roe v Wade ruling that gave women the right to a safe and legal abortion. 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 Emboldened by Donald Trumps appointment to the top court of two conservative justices, Neal Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, and the presidents own statements that the issue of abortion should be left to individual states, activists in 15 states have pushed through laws restricting abortions after six weeks, what some refer to as heartbeat laws. In Alabama, meanwhile, legislators passed a near total ban on abortion earlier this month that only allows exceptions to avoid a serious health risk to the unborn childs mother and if the unborn child has a lethal anomaly. Paula Avila Guillen, director of Latin America initiatives at the New York-based Womens Equality Centre, told The Independent she had spent years working in countries with either total or partial bans on abortion. She said it was frustrating activists would now have to direct their fight for a womans right to choose to the US as well. Ilhan Omar accuses religious fundamentalists of ignoring women over anti-abortion laws I used to live in a country that had a total ban, she said. I have visited the women who get sent to jail. I have met the relatives of those women who die as a result of an unsafe [illegal] abortions. She added: Its frustrating. But it also gives me fire to carry on the fight. Women in the US will see what its like in El Salvador and Honduras. I think it will also create solidarity. Campaigners say Honduras suffers from one of the highest rates of sexual violence in the hemisphere, and that half of sexually active young women face obstacles to obtaining modern contraceptives. PAE is fundamental for all women, but it is especially important for those who have been victims of sexual violence, said Julissa Rivas, another Honduran activist. We should unmask the myths and unite so that the ministry of health revokes the agreement that prohibits the trade of the PAE in our country, so that it guarantees the reproductive rights of all women in Honduras and protects them from preventable traumas as victims of a rape. Activists say PAE was available up until 2009, when the government of Manuel Zelaya was ousted in what he and his supporters termed a coup. It is still available on the black market, reinforcing a class divide between middle class urban women and poorer women in rural areas with reduced access to contraception. Rape survivors in the US are being denied abortions due to financial barriers, invasive police intervention and a dearth of abortion providers, campaigners have warned. Abortion rights activists argued that the procedure is already very difficult to access for huge numbers of Americans particularly people of colour and those on a low wage. Opponents of abortion across the US have become increasingly emboldened in their efforts to roll back womens reproductive rights since Donald Trump entered the White House in January 2017. Legislation to restrict abortion rights has been introduced in 16 states this year. Oriaku Njoku, the executive director of an organisation in Georgia which helps low-income women access abortion, said her colleagues had encountered rape victims who wanted to terminate their subsequent pregnancy. You can use medicated funds in cases of rape and incest but there is a lot of bureaucracy so it is hard to get it, said Ms Njoku, of Atlanta-based Access Reproductive Care-Southeast, which works in six different states in the south. Most people opt not to do that. You have to have a police report. It is too complicated. People do not have time to wait for all this paperwork. 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 After you have had an abortion, they test to see who the father is with DNA testing. It is a whole process. The police have to go to the hospital to get products of conception [placental or foetal tissue]. It is really invasive. We come across people choosing not to do this a lot. There is also the problem that women who are rape survivors cant afford it and they do not know where to go. They could be living with their abuser or rapist. Or not feeling like they have the support. They could be talking to someone who has this twisted mindset. People are shamed or coerced into carrying their pregnancy to full term. Ms Njokus comments came after Georgia governor Brian Kemp signed the controversial heartbeat abortion ban into law this month giving the southern state one of the most restrictive laws in the US. The legislation, which has provoked outrage among womens rights groups, bans abortion once cardiac activity can be detected in an embryo. This can be as early as six weeks at which point many women do not yet know they are pregnant. The 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. It is not scheduled to come into effect until 1 January and is expected to face challenges in the courts and potentially be postponed. Anti-abortion activists hope challenges will lead to the US Supreme Court reversing Roe vs Wade the landmark Supreme Court decision that legalised abortion nationwide in 1973 especially with new conservative justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh sitting on the court. Ms Njoku argued that a lack of trust towards the police among black communities due to police brutality also led to people choosing not to report instances of sexual assault and therefore not being able to access abortion. She noted that some women might not even be able to access abortion, despite having become pregnant through incest. She said the cost of getting an abortion in the US where healthcare is privatised and a national health service does not exist varies from state to state but can quickly skyrocket the further a woman moves along in her pregnancy. Ms Njoku said: It is about $500 for a first-trimester abortion but the price goes up every week. The most expensive Ive seen is $22,000 for a later term abortion. She was around 24 weeks along. But people barely even have $500. Folks barely have savings when they are living paycheck to paycheck. There is also a pay gap between women of colour and white women. Roe v Wade made abortion legal but not acceptable for people in many communities in the US. Rural people, low-income people, and people of colour struggle to access abortion. They are struggling every day and then you add on the unexpected cost of an abortion. Its always been bad here. In Mississippi, there is only one abortion provider. There are three independent abortion providers in Alabama. We have been seeing independent abortion clinics closing every year due to a lack of funding and all the restrictions placed. Access Reproductive Care-Southeast, which carries out its work in Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Florida and Mississippi, provides financial support, logistical help and advice around abortion. Ms Njoku continued: We drive them to get abortions, we help provide someone to watch their kids, we give them somewhere to stay out of state. We try to do what we can to eliminate barriers. The campaigner said women who lived in rural communities often struggled to access abortions due to poor internet access. This was often compounded, she said, by women not having any friends or family they can confide in who are in favour of abortion and therefore not having anyone who would be willing to drive them on what could be a four-hour journey to an abortion clinic or a two-hour drive to a bus stop. They came across a woman in the south of Georgia who was not able to get anyone she knew to drive her to Atlanta for an abortion due to them objecting to the procedure it took her a total of two weeks to find childcare and a lift. She had already been to the coastal city of Savannah but had been refused an abortion because she was too far along. Ms Njoku said anti-abortion activists were trying everything to reverse womens abortions rights adding that they were just throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing what sticks. She added: They feel emboldened because they feel they have support from administration. Even the fear that is being created is starting to be a barrier to care for people. People have been calling our hotline thinking they would have to travel from Georgia to another state. Some people are scared and ask if they should cancel their appointment. Recommended Thousands protest abortion bans across America We are reassuring people they can stay inside their home state. There is no other type of healthcare where people have to go through hoops and obstacles to access basic healthcare. If they are going to overturn Roe, abortions are not going to stop. No matter what, we are going to be here to provide for our community. Ms Njoku, whose organisation is run and led by black people living in the south, said she had encountered racism from anti-abortion activists while carrying out her work with people asking dont black lives matter as she goes into clinics, and offering to adopt babies. More than a dozen other states have passed or are considering versions of Georgias law. Kentucky, Mississippi and Ohio have also approved bans on abortion once a foetal heartbeat is detected. Alexa Kolbi-Molinas, an American Civil Liberties Union lawyer, said: There are already large swathes of this country and thousands of people for whom the right to have an abortion is just an illusion. Since 2011, politicians have passed more than 400 medically unnecessary and politically motivated restrictions. These laws affect people of colour, people struggling financially and young people. It is important to keep the focus on what is the reality for women already. She will be challenging Alabamas new law mandating a near total ban on abortion, which the governor signed into law last week. Under the law, doctors would face 10 years in prison for attempting to terminate a pregnancy and 99 years for carrying out the procedure. The abortion ban, which has been branded a death sentence for women, would even criminalise performing abortions in cases of rape and incest. A Californian man was killed in a suspected shark attack in waters off the coast of Maui, Hawaii, on Saturday. The 65-year-old man, who has not been named, was reportedly swimming about 60 yards off the beach on the Kaanapali Shores area in western Maui. A witness in a neighbouring hotel reportedly raised the alarm and rescuers sent a jet ski and helicopter to find the man. They reportedly performed CPR, but he was pronounced dead at the scene. His extensive injuries were consistent with a shark attack, KHON2 News said. Endangered sharks being served up in British fish and chip shops Show all 6 1 /6 Endangered sharks being served up in British fish and chip shops Endangered sharks being served up in British fish and chip shops Scalloped hammerhead shark Scalloped hammerhead shark fins were among those found being sold by an Asian food retailer in the UK. These sharks are endangered, and in parts of the Atlantic Ocean, their populations have declined by over 95% in the past 30 years. Istock/Janos Endangered sharks being served up in British fish and chip shops Spiny dogfish In the samples of takeaway fish and chips sampled, spiny dogfish made up 90% of those sold under the names huss, rock salmon and rock eel. Doug Costa, NOAA/SBNMS Endangered sharks being served up in British fish and chip shops Shortfin mako shark Another vulnerable species found in the dried shark fins tested in the British Asian wholefood retailer was the shortfin mako shark. Istock/Alessandro De Maddalena Endangered sharks being served up in British fish and chip shops Blue shark Blue shark was also found on sale in UK shops. This species is not as vulnerable as the others but is still listed as "Near Threatened" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature Istock/Howard Chen Endangered sharks being served up in British fish and chip shops Nursehound Around a quarter of the sharks being sold in UK fishmongers were nursehounds, another relatively safe species that is nevertheless classified as near threatened. Mario Antonio Pena Zapateria Endangered sharks being served up in British fish and chip shops Misleading names in fish shops The scientists behind the study investigating the prevalence of endangered shark meat on sale concluded that shops must stop selling these species under "umbrella terms" that hide their true origin. Istock The attack is the sixth shark-bite case of the year in Hawaii and the first to result in a fatality since 2015, according to the Department of Land and Natural Resources. Only five fatal shark attacks have been recorded since 1995 in Hawaii. Shark expert Michael Domier told KHON2 News: Your chances of getting attacked by a shark and even surviving is less than one in 12 million. In 2015 a woman was killed by a tiger shark while swimming off Maui. The species of shark which killed the man has not yet been confirmed. Sharks kill about six people a year on average around the world, according to the International Shark Attack File (ISAF). In 2018 four people died from shark attacks. Many more people are injured and killed on land while driving to and from the beach than by sharks in the water, the ISAF notes. Shark bites globally are on a slow, gradual rise, a direct result of the increasing number of people in the water. But fatality rates worldwide have been on the decline for decades, the site says. The sombre truth is that most of the worlds shark populations are in decline, or exist at greatly reduced levels, as a consequence of overfishing and habitat loss, the website says. Fisheries kill about 100 million sharks and rays annually. As the abortion rights debate continues, some prominent right-wing American Christians have shared an ominous warning: that conflict over abortion access may lead to a new civil war. With restrictive abortion bills passing around the US - like the Alabama abortion ban and foetal heartbeat bills, which restrict elective abortion at the about six weeks into pregnancy - America seems divided on a woman's right to choose. Both lawmakers and influential Christians sources have reinforced this narrative. Charisma magazine, a spiritual Christian magazine, ran six or so articles on the potential of an imminent, abortion related civil war in America. These articles include a profile of pastor and author Michael L Brown, who blames what he describes as a coming civil war on militant abortionists. In this profile, Mr Brown told the Christian magazine: A civil war is coming to America, only this time, it will be abortion, rather than slavery, that divides the nation. Supreme Court strikes down abortion restrictions Show all 23 1 /23 Supreme Court strikes down abortion restrictions Supreme Court strikes down abortion restrictions Abortion rights activists hold placards outside of the US Supreme Court ahead of an expected ruling on abortion clinic restrictions on June 27, 2016 in Washington, DC. Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Supreme Court strikes down abortion restrictions An abortion rights activist holds placards outside of the US Supreme Court before the Court struck down a Texas law placing restrictions on abortion clinics on June 27, 2016 in Washington, DC. The US Supreme Court on Monday struck down a Texas law placing a raft of restrictions on abortion clinics, handing a major victory to the "pro-choice" camp in the country's most important ruling on the divisive issue in a generation. Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Supreme Court strikes down abortion restrictions WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 27: Pro-life activists pray on the steps of the United States Supreme Court on June 27, 2016 in Washington, DC. In a 5-3 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down one of the nation's toughest restrictions on abortion, a Texas law that women's groups said would have forced more than three-quarters of the state's clinics to close. Pete Marovich/Getty Supreme Court strikes down abortion restrictions WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 27: Texas abortion provider Amy Hagstrom-Miller looks on as Nancy Northup, President of The Center for Reproductive Rights speaks to the media outside of the U.S. Supreme Court on June 27, 2016 in Washington, DC. In a 5-3 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down one of the nation's toughest restrictions on abortion, a Texas law that women's groups said would have forced more than three-quarters of the state's clinics to close. Pete Marovich/Getty Supreme Court strikes down abortion restrictions An abortion rights activist holds placards outside of the US Supreme Court before the Court struck down a Texas law placing restrictions on abortion clinics on June 27, 2016 in Washington, DC. The US Supreme Court on Monday struck down a Texas law placing a raft of restrictions on abortion clinics, handing a major victory to the "pro-choice" camp in the country's most important ruling on the divisive issue in a generation. Getty Supreme Court strikes down abortion restrictions Texas abortion provider Amy Hagstrom-Miller wipes a tear as she walks down the steps of the United States Supreme Court with Nancy Northup, President of The Center for Reproductive Rights on June 27, 2016 in Washington, DC. In a 5-3 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down one of the nation's toughest restrictions on abortion, a Texas law that women's groups said would have forced more than three-quarters of the state's clinics to close. Pete Marovich/Getty Supreme Court strikes down abortion restrictions Abortion rights activists cheer after the US Supreme Court struck down a Texas law placing restrictions on abortion clinics, outside of the Supreme Court on June 27, 2016 in Washington, DC. In a case with far-reaching implications for millions of women across the United States, the court ruled 5-3 to strike down measures which activists say have forced more than half of Texas's abortion clinics to close. Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Supreme Court strikes down abortion restrictions Abortion rights activists cheer after the US Supreme Court struck down a Texas law placing restrictions on abortion clinics, outside of the Supreme Court on June 27, 2016 in Washington, DC. In a case with far-reaching implications for millions of women across the United States, the court ruled 5-3 to strike down measures which activists say have forced more than half of Texas's abortion clinics to close. Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Supreme Court strikes down abortion restrictions WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 27: Abortion rights activists Morgan Hopkins of Boston, left, and Alison Turkos of New York City, celebrate on the steps of the United States Supreme Court on June 27, 2016 in Washington, DC. In a 5-3 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down one of the nation's toughest restrictions on abortion, a Texas law that women's groups said would have forced more than three-quarters of the state's clinics to close. Pete Marovich/Getty Supreme Court strikes down abortion restrictions Abortion rights activists cheer after the US Supreme Court struck down a Texas law placing restrictions on abortion clinics, outside of the Supreme Court on June 27, 2016 in Washington, DC. In a case with far-reaching implications for millions of women across the United States, the court ruled 5-3 to strike down measures which activists say have forced more than half of Texas's abortion clinics to close. Getty Supreme Court strikes down abortion restrictions WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 27: Abortion rights activists Morgan Hopkins of Boston, left, and Alison Turkos of New York City, celebrate on the steps of the United States Supreme Court on June 27, 2016 in Washington, DC. In a 5-3 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down one of the nation's toughest restrictions on abortion, a Texas law that women's groups said would have forced more than three-quarters of the state's clinics to close. (Photo by Pete Marovich/Getty Images) Getty Images Supreme Court strikes down abortion restrictions Abortion rights activist Morgan Hopkins of Boston, celebrates on the steps of the United States Supreme Court on June 27, 2016 in Washington, DC. In a 5-3 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down one of the nation's toughest restrictions on abortion, a Texas law that women's groups said would have forced more than three-quarters of the state's clinics to close. Pete Marovich/Getty Supreme Court strikes down abortion restrictions Abortion rights activists embrace after the US Supreme Court struck down a Texas law placing restrictions on abortion clinics, outside of the Supreme Court on June 27, 2016 in Washington, DC. In a case with far-reaching implications for millions of women across the United States, the court ruled 5-3 to strike down measures which activists say have forced more than half of Texas's abortion clinics to close. AFP/Getty Images Supreme Court strikes down abortion restrictions Abortion rights activists hold placards outside of the US Supreme Court ahead of a ruling on abortion clinic restrictions on June 27, 2016 in Washington, DC. In a case with far-reaching implications for millions of women across the United States, the court ruled 5-3 to strike down measures which activists say have forced more than half of Texas's abortion clinics to close. Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Supreme Court strikes down abortion restrictions In a case with far-reaching implications for millions of women across the United States, the court ruled 5-3 to strike down measures which activists say have forced more than half of Texas's abortion clinics to close. Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Supreme Court strikes down abortion restrictions Abortion rights activists cheer after the US Supreme Court struck down a Texas law placing restrictions on abortion clinics, outside of the Supreme Court on June 27, 2016 in Washington, DC. In a case with far-reaching implications for millions of women across the United States, the court ruled 5-3 to strike down measures which activists say have forced more than half of Texas's abortion clinics to close. AFP/Getty Images Supreme Court strikes down abortion restrictions Abortion rights activists cheer after the US Supreme Court struck down a Texas law placing restrictions on abortion clinics, outside of the Supreme Court on June 27, 2016 in Washington, DC. In a case with far-reaching implications for millions of women across the United States, the court ruled 5-3 to strike down measures which activists say have forced more than half of Texas's abortion clinics to close. / AFP / MANDEL NGAN (Photo credit should read MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images) AFP/Getty Images Supreme Court strikes down abortion restrictions Abortion rights activists cheer after the US Supreme Court struck down a Texas law placing restrictions on abortion clinics, outside of the Supreme Court on June 27, 2016 in Washington, DC. In a case with far-reaching implications for millions of women across the United States, the court ruled 5-3 to strike down measures which activists say have forced more than half of Texas's abortion clinics to close. / AFP / MANDEL NGAN (Photo credit should read MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images) AFP/Getty Images Supreme Court strikes down abortion restrictions Abortion rights activists embrace after the US Supreme Court struck down a Texas law placing restrictions on abortion clinics, outside of the Supreme Court on June 27, 2016 in Washington, DC. In a case with far-reaching implications for millions of women across the United States, the court ruled 5-3 to strike down measures which activists say have forced more than half of Texas's abortion clinics to close. AFP/Getty Images Supreme Court strikes down abortion restrictions Pro-choice activist, Alissa Manzoeillo, of Washington, D.C. waits for rulings in front of the U.S. Supreme Court on June 27, 2016 in Washington, DC. A ruling is expected in Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt, a Texas case the places restrictions on abortion clinics, as well as rulings in the former Virginia Governor's corruption case and a gun rights case. Pete Marovich/Getty Supreme Court strikes down abortion restrictions Abortion rights activists cheer after the US Supreme Court struck down a Texas law placing restrictions on abortion clinics, outside of the Supreme Court on June 27, 2016 in Washington, DC. In a case with far-reaching implications for millions of women across the United States, the court ruled 5-3 to strike down measures which activists say have forced more than half of Texas's abortion clinics to close. Supreme Court strikes down abortion restrictions Abortion rights activists hold placards outside of the US Supreme Court ahead of an expected ruling on abortion clinic restrictions on June 27, 2016 in Washington, DC. AFP/Getty Images Supreme Court strikes down abortion restrictions Abortion rights activists hold placards outside of the US Supreme Court ahead of an expected ruling on abortion clinic restrictions on June 27, 2016 in Washington, DC. AFP/Getty Images Candice Keller, a Republican lawmaker from Ohio, made comparisons to the Antebellum era, where the North and South were at odds over the right to own slaves. Ms Keller said, in a comment to the Guardian: Whether this ever leads to a tragedy, like it did before with our civil war, I cant say. Similar sentiments were echoed by Matt Shea, a Republican legislator from Washington known for his initiative to criminalize abortion. Recommended Violence against abortion clinics at highest rates since 1999 Mr Shea said, when asked if the two sides could unite for their country, I dont think we can, again, because you have half that want to follow the Lord and righteousness and half that dont, and I dont know how that can stand. At this current point, is abortion based civil war likely in America? Perhaps not. Robert Evans, journalist and host of It Could Happen Here, a podcast which explores potential scenarios for a new American civil war. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events Mr Evans said that the Christian right generate a lot of the extremist language in mainstream politics. However, theres more talk about violent insurrection from the white nationalist right than the Christian right, because theres less faith in politics. As for faith in politics, the Christian right is relying on potential legal challenges coming from the abortion restriction bills, as the end goal is to have the Supreme Court overturn Roe V Wade. A white supremacist rally was organised in Dayton, Ohio - but the handful of attendees were drowned out by hundreds of counter-protesters. The event, organised by the Ku Klux Klan affiliated group Honorable Sacred Knights of Indiana, only attracted nine people to support their cause. Of the nine, only one was unmasked. The group waved confederate, Ku Klux Klan, and American flags, and raised a sign with a phone number on it. The white nationalist group spoke little, according to local news station WHIO-TV, and when they did, counter-protesters, including the local NAACP chapter and church groups, sang hymns and played instruments while chanting anti-racist slogans, drowning them out. Other groups opposing the white supremacist rally included Antifa members, New Black Panthers, and college students. America unmasked: The images that reveal the Ku Klux Klan is alive and kicking Show all 11 1 /11 America unmasked: The images that reveal the Ku Klux Klan is alive and kicking America unmasked: The images that reveal the Ku Klux Klan is alive and kicking America unmasked: The images that reveal the Ku Klux Klan is alive and kicking America unmasked: The images that reveal the Ku Klux Klan is alive and kicking America unmasked: The images that reveal the Ku Klux Klan is alive and kicking America unmasked: The images that reveal the Ku Klux Klan is alive and kicking America unmasked: The images that reveal the Ku Klux Klan is alive and kicking America unmasked: The images that reveal the Ku Klux Klan is alive and kicking America unmasked: The images that reveal the Ku Klux Klan is alive and kicking America unmasked: The images that reveal the Ku Klux Klan is alive and kicking America unmasked: The images that reveal the Ku Klux Klan is alive and kicking America unmasked: The images that reveal the Ku Klux Klan is alive and kicking One counter-protester, Micah Naziri, 42, carried a rifle and wore a red hat that says Make racists afraid again, a riff on Donald Trumps red Make America Great Again hats. Mr Nazari was concerned that armed members of the Honorable Sacred Knights may try to intimidate and terrorise minority members of the community. Im not here to shoot anybody, its an anti-fascist statement, he said. City officials estimated that between 500 and 600 people were in the rally area. Dayton spent approximately $650,000 on security costs for public safety, as officials were concerned about both concealed and open carry of firearms. The safety measures were necessary, city manager Shelley Dickstein said, because the world has changed greatly. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events Dayton police chief Richard Biehl said he was very pleased with security regarding the rally, noting that no one was arrested, and no use of force incidents and no injuries were reported. This clearly was a safety challenge for our city and our community, he added. In a tell-all interview with Anderson Cooper, Donald Trumps former friend Howard Stern said the president needed to seek psychotherapy for what Stern calls a traumatising childhood. Mr Trump and Stern had been long-time friends prior to the Trump presidency, with Stern often interviewing the now-president about the business endeavours of the Trump Administration. In Sterns interview with Cooper, the two discussed Mr Trumps childhood, presidency, and everything in between. Stern told Cooper: From what I know of Donald and his relationship with his father, it sounds traumatic. It sounds like the father was very domineering, the father expected a lot of him, and there was military schooling. 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 The president, who grew up in Forest Hills, Queens, attended a private military boarding school. Stern continued: I can assure you hes been traumatised. Donald, his level of narcissism is so strong. He has trouble with empathy, we know that. I wish hed go into psychotherapy, Id be so proud of him if he did. Cooper asked Stern what he thinks of Mr Trump being in the White House, given the pairs history. Stern replied: First of all, its unbelievable to me. Ive documented my thoughts about how this whole candidacy even came about - this was a publicity stunt. Stern attributes Mr Trumps presidential run to an attempt to drive up falling ratings for Mr Trumps show The Apprentice. Stern claims that as Mr Trump was denied a raise, he went along for the ride. Whats a better way to get NBCs interest? Ill run for president. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events Cooper then asked Stern if he thought Donald Trump enjoyed being president, which Stern gave a definitive no to. But he added: I think he enjoyed winning the presidency. He likes to win. As Facebook cracks down on white nationalist content, a left-wing artist was caught in the crosshairs after the network said her MAGA hat-inspired artwork violated community guidelines. Kate Kretz, a Maryland-based artist, refashions Donald Trumps infamous Make America Great Again hats into traditional symbols of white supremacy and hatred, such as the Ku Klux Klan hood and a swastika armband. Ms Kretz does not create this art because she believes in white supremacy, but rather to both call out wearers who claim the hats to be innocuous, and to sound the alarm that history is repeating itself, she wrote in a blog post. After Ms Kretzs MAGA swastika armband was taken down by Facebook, she appealed the removal decision and reposted the image with the caption: This is not hate speech. This is an art piece addressing hate speech. Facebook didnt respond to Ms Kretzs appeal in a timely manner, but did respond to the republication of her art by freezing her Facebook account, leaving her unable to post or interact with her followers. Inside a Make America Great Again rally in Chattanooga, Tennessee Show all 16 1 /16 Inside a Make America Great Again rally in Chattanooga, Tennessee Inside a Make America Great Again rally in Chattanooga, Tennessee Anti-Trump protesters gather outside of the rally Getty Inside a Make America Great Again rally in Chattanooga, Tennessee A supporter of the president waiting for the rally Getty Inside a Make America Great Again rally in Chattanooga, Tennessee Anti-Trump protesters wield picket signs Getty Inside a Make America Great Again rally in Chattanooga, Tennessee A Trump supporter outside of the Mckenzie Arena in Chattanooga prior to the President's appearance Getty Inside a Make America Great Again rally in Chattanooga, Tennessee Anti-Trump protesters gather outside of the rally with signs Getty Inside a Make America Great Again rally in Chattanooga, Tennessee A t-shirt for sale at the rally Lucy Gray Inside a Make America Great Again rally in Chattanooga, Tennessee A crowd gathers in waiting for the rally Lucy Gray Inside a Make America Great Again rally in Chattanooga, Tennessee A Trump memorabilia stand outside of the rally EPA Inside a Make America Great Again rally in Chattanooga, Tennessee Trump supporters cheer as the President arrives to the rally AP Inside a Make America Great Again rally in Chattanooga, Tennessee President Trump stands with Lee Greenwood as he sings 'God Bless the USA' to commence the rally Reuters Inside a Make America Great Again rally in Chattanooga, Tennessee A supporter listens as President Trump speaks EPA Inside a Make America Great Again rally in Chattanooga, Tennessee President Trump addresses supporters AP Inside a Make America Great Again rally in Chattanooga, Tennessee President Trump thanks Senate candidate Marsha Blackburn after her speech EPA Inside a Make America Great Again rally in Chattanooga, Tennessee Supporters of the president wield signs during the rally Getty Inside a Make America Great Again rally in Chattanooga, Tennessee Trump supporters cheer during the rally AFP/Getty Inside a Make America Great Again rally in Chattanooga, Tennessee President Trump exits the stage AP As an artist, Ms Kretz uses social media as a platform to maintain her livelihood, and to be booted from the platform can be detrimental. Ms Kretzs ban comes after Facebooks recently adopted policies on white nationalism as the company was criticised for being historically lax on white supremacist content. Recommended Judge who mocked Donald Trump in court is suspended without pay I understand doing things for the greater good, Ms Kretz told local news station WUSA-TV. However, I think artists are a big part of Facebooks content providers, and they owe us a fair hearing. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events A petition to restore Ms Kretzs Facebook account is available to sign. It is important for artists who we agree or disagree with to be able to show their work, the petition notes. For now, Ms Kretzs artwork is accessible on her website. When it comes to humour, politicians are often the butt of jokes. This can be a problem, however, if the jokes are delivered by a judge. That seemed to be the message of a ruling this past week by the Utah Supreme Court, which approved a six-month suspension, without pay, for Judge Michael W. Kwan of Taylorsville Municipal Justice Court, after he made politically charged comments in his courtroom about President Donald Trump. The Supreme Court said in its ruling Wednesday that the comments along with an online posting in 2016 critical of Mr Trump violated judicial rules on independence, integrity and impartiality. The court noted that Judge Kwan, who was appointed to the municipal court in 1998 and subsequently re-elected by voters, had previously been disciplined for inappropriate political comments. It is an immutable and universal rule that judges are not as funny as they think they are, the court said. 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 The court added: Every time a judicial officer engages in misconduct, he or she spends the goodwill of the judiciary as a whole. Here, we readily conclude that Judge Kwan has been spending our goodwill. Greg Skordas, Judge Kwans lawyer, said the judge acknowledged the Utah Supreme Courts findings. But he said the judge liked to make people who appeared before him feel comfortable through levity. His motives are pure, Mr Skordas said. Judge Kwan isnt the first judge to be accused of violating the axiom that the judiciary should be separated from politics. A federal judge in San Antonio was suspended in 2016 from conducting naturalisation ceremonies after telling new US citizens that they should go to another country if they did not like Mr Trumps presidency, the San Antonio Express-News reported. President Trump had also publicly lodged his own complaints about judges partisanship, particularly those who had ruled against his administration. In explaining Judge Kwans suspension, the Utah Supreme Court described a January 2017 exchange between the judge and an unidentified individual in his courtroom who was proposing that they paid court fines with money from their tax return. You do realise that we have a new president, and you think we are getting any money back? Judge Kwan asked. I hope, the person said. You hope? Judge Kwan said. I pray and I cross my fingers, the person replied. Prayer might be the answer, Judge Kwan said, cause, he just signed an order to start building the wall and he has no money to do that, and so if you think you are going to get taxes back this year, uh-yeah, maybe, maybe not. But dont worry, there is a tax cut for the wealthy so if you make over $500,000 (393,000) youre getting a tax cut. The Utah Supreme Court also outlined blunt, and sometimes indelicate, criticism that Judge Kwan posted on his LinkedIn profile and private Facebook page in 2016 and 2017. Fox News' Judge Napolitano says Donald Trump committed obstruction of justice and should be indicted According to the Utah Supreme Court, three days after President Trump was elected, Judge Kwan posted: Think Ill go to the shelter to adopt a cat before the President-Elect grabs them all. Welcome to governing, Judge Kwan posted in January 2017. Will you dig your heels in and spend the next four years undermining our countrys reputation and standing in the world? Judge Kwan added in the Facebook post: Will you continue to demonstrate your inability to govern and political incompetence? The Utah Supreme Court said Mr Kwan had also violated judicial rules when he lost his temper after a member of the courts administrative staff had been promoted without his involvement. Mr Kwan then threatened to suspend the clerk, the Utah Supreme Court said. Judge Kwan agreed that his actions against the clerk were improper and violated judicial rules, according to the Utah Supreme Court. And the court said Judge Kwan also acknowledged that his courtroom exchange was an inappropriate attempt at humour. But with regard to the Facebook posts, Mr Kwan had argued that he was exercising his free speech and that the six-month unpaid suspension was too severe. Judge in Tennessee faces repercussions after posting racist memes The Utah Supreme Court said Mr Kwan had acknowledged that at least one of his online posts violated the judicial code of conduct enough to warrant the punishment. The court noted that it had publicly reprimanded Mr Kwan twice in the past: once, in 2005, for an explicit reference to President Bill Clintons extramarital affair, and another, in 2016, for his service as president of the OCA Asian Pacific American Advocates, a non-profit organisation that criticised political candidates. The Utah Supreme Court said Kwan had acknowledged after those cases that a judge should not engage in activity inconsistent with the independence, integrity, or impartiality of the judiciary. We note that previous endeavours to help Judge Kwan correct this behaviour have not been successful, the court said. And we regretfully conclude that a sanction less severe than suspension without pay will suffer the same fate as our prior attempts. The New York Times Europes green parties have made major gains across the continent in this weeks EU elections in a Green wave, according to results released overnight on Sunday. In Germany, Die Grunen jumped into second place with 20 per cent, solidly beating the historically dominant social democrats, while in France, Les Verts came from nowhere to pull off a surprise third place behind Emmanuel Macrons outfit. Exit polls out of Ireland also show its Green Party surging, particularly in Dublin, while preliminary results in the French-speaking and bilingual parts of Belgium show Les Ecolos well up and potentially coming first in Europes capital. Greens also surged into second place in Finland ahead of the social democrats, and unexpectedly appear to have won seats in Portugal despite no pollster registering significant support for their party. Some of the biggest gains came in the UK, where the Green Party of England and Wales more than doubled their seat haul from three to seven, off the back of a pro-Remain position.. Gains for the parties, which are generally pro-EU, environmentalist, and left-leaning, appear to have mostly been concentrated in urban areas and amongst younger voters. An exit poll in France had Les Verts topping the votes of the 18-24 age group with 22 per cent, well ahead of the other parties. In Germany, the same age group showed 34 per cent voting Green with the next largest party, Angela Merkels CDU, on 11 per cent. Early EU-wide projections suggest the Greens could be on course to form a parliamentary group about equal in size to Matteo Salvinis new far-right outfit though it is too early to tell whether that will be borne out. Ska Keller, a German Green MEP and co-convenor of the Green group in the European parliament, said she was very happy about the result. For us its a big task and a great responsibility to now put [voters] trust into concrete action to concrete climate protection, into promotion of the social Europe, as well as democracy in the rule of law here into practice in the European parliament, she said. Its fantastic to see that the trust has been given to us and this is not a thing of just one country, but we can really see it all over the European Union from the results that we already know, of course: that the Green Wave has really spread all over Europe. That, for us is a very fantastic result. Philippe Lamberts, the other co-convenor of the group, told reporters: We can see that with an uptick in nationalism and populism, that to forge a stable European union the Greens are going to be indispensable. Greta Thunberg inspires climate activists everywhere: In pictures Show all 12 1 /12 Greta Thunberg inspires climate activists everywhere: In pictures Greta Thunberg inspires climate activists everywhere: In pictures In the protest that started a movement, Greta skips school to sit outside of the Swedish parliament in Stockholm in order to raise awareness of climate change on 28 August 2018 Getty Greta Thunberg inspires climate activists everywhere: In pictures Greta speaks at the World Economic Forum in Davos on 25 January AFP/Getty Greta Thunberg inspires climate activists everywhere: In pictures Greta stages a protest at the World Economic Forum in Davos on 25 January Reuters Greta Thunberg inspires climate activists everywhere: In pictures Greta speaks at the House of Commons in London on 23 April PA Greta Thunberg inspires climate activists everywhere: In pictures Greta addresses to the occupation at Marble Arch in London on 21 April AFP/Getty Greta Thunberg inspires climate activists everywhere: In pictures Greta meets the pope on a visit to Rome Reuters Greta Thunberg inspires climate activists everywhere: In pictures Greta speaks at the senate in Rome on 18 April Reuters Greta Thunberg inspires climate activists everywhere: In pictures Greta addresses a debate of the EU Environment, Public Health and Food Safety committee at the European Parliament in Strasbourg on 16 April AFP/Getty Greta Thunberg inspires climate activists everywhere: In pictures Greta receives the Special Climate Protection Award at the German Film and Television awards in Berlin on 30 March AFP/Getty Greta Thunberg inspires climate activists everywhere: In pictures Greta attends a children's climate protest in Berlin on 29 March AFP/Getty Greta Thunberg inspires climate activists everywhere: In pictures Greta addresses a children's climate protest on 1 March in Hamburg Getty Greta Thunberg inspires climate activists everywhere: In pictures Greta attends a meeting for the Civil Society For rEUnaissance at the EU Charlemagne Building in Brussels on 21 February AFP/Getty We have begun to see that all of our competitors are beginning to speak about ecological policies and Green policies and so things have changed You all know that when citizens have a choice they often if not always opt for the original option and not any copycats. The gains for the ecologists come amid anti-climate change protests across Europe, including persistent student strikes hitting schools in a number of EU countries. Close EU Elections: UK results map Nigel Farages Brexit Party has claimed victory in the European parliamentary elections, taking 29 seats and topping the poll in ten of the UK's 11 regions. On a grim night for the Conservatives and Labour, the pro-EU Liberal Democrats emerged as the other big winners, with leader Sir Vince Cable saying it was proof that the Lib Dems are the biggest, strongest voice of Remain. Theresa May said it was a "very disappointing night" for the Conservatives and once again urged MPs to find a solution to the Brexit crisis. "Some excellent MEPs have lost their seats, some excellent candidates missed out," she said. "But Labour have also suffered big losses. It shows the importance of finding a Brexit deal, and I sincerely hope these results focus minds in Parliament" Cliffs of Dover lit up in Brexit protest Show all 5 1 /5 Cliffs of Dover lit up in Brexit protest Cliffs of Dover lit up in Brexit protest Campaign group Led By Donkeys projected this statement by Nigel Farage on the Cliffs of Dover on the evening of April 4 @ByDonkeys / Twitter Cliffs of Dover lit up in Brexit protest Campaign group Led By Donkeys projected this statement by former Brexit secretary Dominic Raab on the Cliffs of Dover on the evening of April 4 @ByDonkeys / Twitter Cliffs of Dover lit up in Brexit protest Campaign group Led By Donkeys projected this message to the EU on the Cliffs of Dover on the evening of April 4 @ByDonkeys / Twitter Cliffs of Dover lit up in Brexit protest Campaign group Led By Donkeys projected this message on the Cliffs of Dover on the evening of April 4 @ByDonkeys / Twitter Cliffs of Dover lit up in Brexit protest Campaign group Led By Donkeys projected this message on the Cliffs of Dover on the evening of April 4 @ByDonkeys / Twitter Boris Johnson, widely considered the frontrunner in the race to replace Ms May, said voters had delivered the Conservative party with a "final warning". He urged his colleagues to deliver Brexit and "deliver Brexit and set out our positive plans for the country." At the same time Labour edged closer to support for a second Brexit referendum, after voters in Remain strongholds deserted the party and voted for the Liberal Democrats. In early-morning messages after seeing the party slump to third place with a 14 per cent share of the vote, both Jeremy Corbyn and shadow chancellor John McDonnell said that the issue of EU withdrawal must be put to a public vote which could come in a general election or a Final Say referendum. Mr McDonnell tweeted: Cant hide from hit we took last night. Bringing people together when theres such a divide was never going to be easy. Now we face prospect of Brexiteer extremist as Tory leader and threat of no deal, we must unite our party and country by taking issue back to people in a public vote. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events If you would like to see how the EU election results night unfolded, please see what was our live coverage below: Millions of Europeans are casting their votes on Sunday the last of four days of voting in the Wests biggest democratic exercise. Twenty-one countries go to the polls today, after voting has already closed in seven nations, including the UK. The results will begin to emerge after 10pm on Sunday night. Polls indicate the European Parliament could become more fragmented than ever, with a wave of populist and nationalist representatives expected to gain seats, many of which oppose their countries membership to the bloc. However, mainstream parties are tipped to hold onto power in the 751-seat legislature that sits in both Brussels and Strasbourg. European election 2019 UK results Show all 9 1 /9 European election 2019 UK results European election 2019 UK results Brexit Party European election 2019 UK results Liberal Democrats European election 2019 UK results Labour European election 2019 UK results Greens European election 2019 UK results European election 2019 UK results Plaid Cymru European election 2019 UK results Scottish National Party European election 2019 UK results Change UK European election 2019 UK results UKIP As many as a third of all seats up for grabs could go to far-right and nationalist parties, but it remains to be seen as to whether they will be able to form a coherent opposition group in parliament. The success of such groups, which want to see the EUs power slashed and returned to national governments, could significantly alter the blocs economic and foreign policy direction. The single largest party represented in the European parliament is expected to shift from Angela Merkels Christian Democrats to Italian deputy prime minister Matteo Salvinis Northern League a populist anti-immigration party. I dont want to see a right-populist Europe that wants to destroy the idea of togetherness, said Manfred Weber, the lead candidate of the Christian Democrat centre-right EPP group. In France, a tight competition is underway with president Emmanuel Macrons pro-European En Marche party vying for votes against far-right leader Marine le Pen. Mr Macrons popularity has waned against the backdrop of the populist yellow vest movement. He has called the elections the most important since 1979 because the Union is facing an existential risk from nationalists seeking to divide the bloc. Britains protracted exit from the union, which led to Theresa Mays resignation this week, has delivered an unexpected election process for the country which now has a departure deadline of 31 October. Polls indicate the anti-EU Brexit party, led by Nigel Farage, could emerge as the most popular single party, with Ms Mays Conservatives and Jeremy Corbyns Labour Party predicted to suffer backlash over their handling of Brexit. In Austria, Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said on Sunday he hopes the elections will strengthen the centre rather than parties on the far right and left. Recommended 9 things to watch out for in the European parliament elections results Austria is one of the countries where the vote also has importance to national politics, serving as a first test of support ahead of a national election in September following the collapse of Mr Kurzs governing coalition a week ago. In Belgium, a general election is taking place alongside the European vote, while Lithuanians will vote in the second round of their presidential election. Spaniards in Catalonia are voting in European elections that include two high-profile separatist leaders who are running from jail and self-imposed exile. Former Catalan regional president Carles Puigdemont and his ex-No 2 Oriol Junqueras are both running on competing tickets of separatist parties for the European Parliament. Mr Junqueras is in jail in Madrid while on trial on charges that include rebellion for his part in Catalonias attempt to secede from the rest of Spain in 2017. Mr Puigdemont is wanted in Spain and fled to Belgium. Both have been allowed to run as candidates, but would face legal hurdles to actually become European Parliament members if elected. Polls and recent election results show the 7.5 million residents of the wealthy Catalonia region are roughly split by the secession issue. It is highly unpopular in the rest of Spain. Hungarys prime minister says he hopes the European Parliament election will bring a shift toward political parties that want to stop migration. Viktor Orban said on Sunday after casting his vote at a school near his Budapest home that the issue of migration, which he believes is stoppable, will reorganise the political spectrum in the European Union. In Slovakia a far-right party that has 14 seats in the countrys parliament is expected to win seats in the European legislature for the first time. The Peoples Party Our Slovakia openly admires the Nazi puppet state that the country was during the Second World War. Party members use Nazi salutes, blame Roma for crime, consider Nato a terror group and want the country out of the European Union. The party received a boost in April after Slovakias Supreme Court dismissed a request by the countrys prosecutor general to ban it as an extremist group whose activities violate the Constitution. Sunday promises to be a long night for election watchers the last polls close at 11pm (10pm BST) in Italy, but the European Parliament plans to begin issuing estimates and projections hours earlier with the first official projection of the makeup of the new parliament at 11.15pm (10.15 BST). As the dust settles on four days of elections, European leaders will begin the task of selecting candidates for the top jobs in the EUs headquarters in Brussels. The leaders meet for a summit over dinner on Tuesday night. Current European lawmakers terms end on 1 July and the new parliament will take their seats in Strasbourg the following day. Three Frenchmen have been sentenced to death in Iraq after being found guilty of joining Isis. The trio were among 13 French citizens handed over to Iraq in January by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, officials said. They were sentenced to execution after it was proven that they were members of the terrorist Islamic State organisation, one court official said. All three convicted Frenchmen rejected the ruling and asked to be tried in France, but judges ignored their request, a court-appointed lawyer said. Appeals have been made against the convictions. 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 Iraqi president Barham Saleh had said during a February visit to Paris the 13 would be prosecuted in accordance with Iraqi laws. The French government has so far categorically refused to take back Isis fighters and their wives. Foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian referred to them as enemies of the nation, saying they should face justice either in Syria or Iraq. It was not immediately clear how France, which abolished the death penalty nearly four decades ago, will react to the sentencing of its citizens. French authorities have repatriated a handful of children and plan to continue on a case-by-case basis. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events Human rights groups and advocates of the men in France say it is not certain they committed crimes in Iraq, or if they were even ever in the country. They also doubt the impartiality of the courts, which have handed down hundreds of death sentences to Iraqi suspects in trials that run for just a few minutes. Iraq has detained or imprisoned at least 19,000 people accused of connections to Isis or other terror-related offences, and sentenced more than 3,000 of them to death, according to an analysis by the Associated Press last year. Additional reporting by agencies Ballots are counted in the local government and European elections at the RDS in Dublin (Niall Carson/PA) Counting in Irelands local government elections will continue into a third day as the last few remaining seats remain up for grabs. Fianna Fail so far appears to be on course to remain the biggest party at local government level in Ireland. Fine Gael has gained seats, but the biggest surge will be enjoyed by the Green Party with its major gains. Meanwhile, Sinn Fein has suffered huge losses on councils nationwide. Expand Close Former UFC fighter Paddy Holohan won a seat on Dublin County Council for Sinn Fein (Niall Carson/PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Former UFC fighter Paddy Holohan won a seat on Dublin County Council for Sinn Fein (Niall Carson/PA) Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald described the local elections as a challenging weekend. We were always very conscious that we were operating from a very high base because we had a Sinn Fein surge five years ago, she added. I am disappointed, we are all disappointed, that very many hardworking councillors who have served their community with great integrity and honour, are now not going to be returned to council. We are going to have to reflect on that, I imagine there is a number of factors and we need to learn. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said the results of the local elections showed a mixed picture. Our vote is up and we are going to gain seats but not as many as we had hoped for a few weeks ago, he added. Notwithstanding that, it is the first time in 20 years that a party in government has actually gained councillors and thats not a small thing. I am very pleased in my own constituency that it looks like we picked up two gains. There was a time when I was the only Fine Gael councillor in Dublin West, we now have four or five depending on the count. There are around 100 seats to be filled across the country. The first new councillor to be elected was independent Thomas Welby to Galway County Council. He topped the poll with 2,140 votes in the Connemara North local electoral area, despite not putting up any election posters. I said Ill canvass on the doors and go plastic-free and it went down very well, he told Irelands state broadcaster, RTE News. Expand Close Sinn Fein leader Mary-Lou McDonald (Niall Carson/PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Sinn Fein leader Mary-Lou McDonald (Niall Carson/PA) Irish voters went to the polls on Friday to elect 949 councillors across 31 local authorities. Some of the notable candidates included UFC fighter Paddy Holohan who won a seat on South Dublin County Council as a Sinn Fein councillor. Ms McDonald congratulated the Greens on their surge, saying it would be churlish not to acknowledge that. For our part, I want to say firstly to all of our candidates who fought campaigns for weeks and months and to their families, a very big thank you, and to all of our activists and everyone who came out and voted for Sinn Fein, she said. I want to say particularly to those who wont be returned to the council chambers, who have served their community with great pride and great commitment, I want to say to them, theyll be back, I have no doubt, and itll be our objective from Monday when we recover to win all of those seats back. These are very tight contests in many constituencies, last seats will be won or lost in handfuls of votes, thats the nature of local elections. Meanwhile, the plebiscite papers will be counted on Monday. Garda moved in at a Dublin election count after protesters confronted Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy. The scene came on Sunday evening as Mr Murphy attended the local government count at the RDS. The minister has received criticism recently after saying that young people and workers should be excited about co-living plans. Expand Close Eoghan Murphy surrounded by gardai after a confrontation by housing rights protesters as the counting of votes continues in the European elections at the RDS in Dublin (Niall Carson/PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Eoghan Murphy surrounded by gardai after a confrontation by housing rights protesters as the counting of votes continues in the European elections at the RDS in Dublin (Niall Carson/PA) At one proposed development in Dublin, 42 people would be required to share a communal kitchen. Protesters shouted Murphy, out, out, out as the Fine Gael man watched election workers count votes. Party colleagues, security and garda officers moved to form a barrier between Mr Murphy and the protesters. There are more than 10,000 adults and children without a home and living in temporary emergency accommodation in Ireland. Irelands housing crisis has sparked a number of demonstrations, mostly recently Raise The Roof earlier this month in Dublin which was attended by thousands. Activists made a series of demands, including the construction of more public housing, an end to evictions, more robust rent controls and a right to housing formally inserted into the states constitution. I think it's quite legitimate to go up and ask a questionPeter Dooley They also criticised support levels for homeless members of the Traveller community and asylum seekers living in Direct Provision centres. People Before Profit candidate and co-founder of South Dublin Renters Union Peter Dooley said he just wanted to ask Mr Murphy a question. They (ministers) are shielded, they have guards protecting them at the moment, he told the Press Association after the protest. A couple of minutes of discomfort of asking him a simple question about anti-eviction bills, and keeping people secure in their homes, was the simple question I asked him. He wasnt willing to answer that question. A lot of people are struggling in private rented accommodation under constant threat of eviction, rents (in Dublin) are the highest in Europe, and the crisis is getting out of control. I think its quite legitimate to go up and ask a question. A two-foot long ballot paper is slowing counting in the Ireland South European election count centre, where outgoing Fine Gael MEP Sean Kelly looks set to become the first candidate to take a seat. Mr Kelly said he was hopeful of retaining his seat and described it as encouraging to be there or thereabouts. An RTE/TG4 exit poll predicted Mr Kelly will top the poll with 16% of first preferences, followed by Sinn Feins Liadh Ni Riada and Fianna Fails Billy Kelleher, both of whom are on 13%, while the Green Partys Grace OSullivan is on 12% of first preference votes. Over the last decade I have worked hard to ensure that your interests have been represented at the highest level in Europe. You can watch the video below to hear my key priorities for the next five years if I am returned to the @Europarl_EN following the #EUelections2019 pic.twitter.com/xGd5XZZsJO Sean Kelly MEP (@SeanKellyMEP) April 27, 2019 We put in a hard campaign, a long campaign. Sometimes people say people dont notice whats going on in Europe, but I think if I do well its an example to everybody that if you work hard people will notice, Mr Kelly said on his arrival at Cork count centre on Sunday evening. More than 200 staff began sub-sorting ballot papers at the centre in Nemo Rangers GAA Club on Sunday morning. But, with more than 750,000 papers to be counted, first count results from the constituency are not expected until Monday. Indications are it may take at least four days for the count to be completed. Expand Close Liadh Ni Riada (Niall Carson/PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Liadh Ni Riada (Niall Carson/PA) Sinn Fein candidate Liadh Ni Riada said she was hopeful of retaining her MEP seat, but she said she did not consider herself a shoe-in. Youre never fully confident, and youre just hopeful. Thats exactly the position Im in now, she said. Its not over until all the votes are counted. She added: Im not putting my eggs in one basket and thinking that Im a shoe-in. Well have to wait and see. It is set to be a worrying few days for the Greens Grace OSullivan, Independents 4 Change candidate Mick Wallace and Fine Gaels Deirdre Clune who will most likely battle for the last seat. Mr Kelly said he believed Fine Gael was very much in contention to retain two seats, despite exit poll results showing the partys candidates, outgoing Ms Clune and first-time EU candidate Andrew Doyle, potentially being in difficulty. Transfers have a big bearing on a constituency and particularly when you have 23 candidates where there is going to be a whole pile of transfers and if they fall the right way theyre going to push up candidates quite a lot, Mr Kelly added. Ms OSullivan said she had worked very hard and that she was hoping she would get that surge in the end. She added that there was a lot of green washing going on by other parties during the elections, but she believed voters had seen through this. Of all of the three European election constituencies, transfers will be most important in Ireland South. It could see Fianna Fails Malcom Byrne or Fine Gaels Mr Doyle surge past other candidates. Bord na Mona is considering growing medicinal cannabis on Irish bogs as part of ambitious plans to repurpose the organisation. The semi-State company has made "a significant multimillion-euro investment" in a number of new climate-friendly projects to try and replace jobs that will be lost as it phases out environmentally unsustainable peat harvesting across the midlands. Its analysis suggests potential exists for it to create up to 800 jobs in the midlands from the new projects. "The growth of medicinal cannabis is being considered to see if it fits with the company's new low-carbon, sustainable business model," said a Bord na Mona spokesman. Planting trials for medicinal herbs are already underway on an area of reclaimed bog at Bord na Mona's Mountlucas wind farm in Co Offaly. Plants including yarrow, plantain, marshmallow and vervain were planted in the last 10 days. Bord na Mona hopes that the herbs will be used to supply the health and pharma sectors, it is understood. "The herbs themselves are species typically grown on peatland. The trials will test if they can be produced in a sustainable commercial way for supply to the pharma or broader health sectors," said a company spokesman. Medicinal cannabis - for which there is a rapidly growing multibillion-euro market - was not included in the planting trials because a licensing and regulatory process must first be undertaken nationally before it can be grown commercially. Other projects chosen for the 'Brown to Green Strategy' include an ongoing aquaculture pilot project with Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM) that has developed a trial fish farm with 300,000 perch and trout. The 'closed loop' fresh water facility at Mountlucas did not require any concrete or plastic because of the naturally impermeable soil in the cutaway bog. "There is a potential market globally of tens of billions of euros for low carbon freshwater fish as a food source," said the spokesman. It has also partnered with a maple syrup company from Vermont to tap birch trees growing on Irish bogs. "In February and March we used the same technology as is used to tap a maple tree to extract sap from wild birch trees to be pasteurised for use as a health product similar to coconut water but with lower calories. The trials were encouraging and took 20,000 litres from one hectare in Longford." Birch grows very well in rehabilitated bog and it is completely organic because pesticides have never been used in the area, said the spokesman. The company is going through a period of profound change at the moment, he said. That involves moving away from the traditional businesses, accelerating the decarbonisation process and reorienting the company more towards renewable energy and resource recovery. The company is also developing a stream of new business projects that can be co-located with renewable energy assets such as wind and solar farms that it hopes to develop on Irelands bogs, he said. As part of this the company is also looking at developing energy parks on the sides of motorways that pass through Bord na Mona bogs where electric vehicles can recharge using renewable energy generated nearby. Bord na Mona said that the key criteria for each of the new projects is that they use the companys existing assets, are environmentally sustainable, support sustainable employment and support the development of a low-carbon economy in the midlands. There is a big push on these projects because there is such an urgency for the company and the region to replace employment. We have a window until the middle part of the next decade to achieve a managed transition out of high carbon activities and to turn Bord na Mona into a low-carbon company, said the spokesman. The new projects are only at the trial stage to see if business cases can be developed for scaling them into commercial enterprises, he said. But we are getting good results so far. It is a challenge to go from trials to bring these ideas to business form but we are getting great support from the Government and other state agencies. Dublin businesses are set to get a boost from plans to turn several of the city's key bus routes into 24-hour services. This follows a Cork pilot scheme which benefited bars and restaurants in the city. "It serves two of the main employment areas in Mahon so obviously more people are using public transport to get to work," Anne Graham, CEO of the National Transport Authority told the Sunday Independent. "But in the evening it's actually serving people going into town. So what we've heard is businesses, restaurants and pubs in Cork city are doing very well as a result of this." Plans are now under way for buses in Dublin to run through the night, with the 41 route earmarked as the first to offer additional services. "We know there is a demand for 24-hour services within Dublin city so we're hoping to commence at least one service this year in Dublin Bus," Graham said. The route which goes to the airport would help provide transport for visitors as well as airport staff. The first 24-hour route is planned to begin before the end of the year with more to follow. "We haven't got the routes worked out yet, but we are planning that we would extend these on the key routes around the city," said Graham. In Cork, the extra buses run every hour after midnight. "But we've got to a stage where we might actually have to increase the frequency because some of those buses are actually operating full," Graham said. The NTA has come under fire from some Dublin residents for its BusConnects proposals. Graham admitted its was quite a radical plan. "As a city we're probably providing a very high level of bus corridors and bus priority," she said. "But because our city has developed to being very low density, the bus is the most effective and most efficient means of providing services." Some buses under the new plan may be offered to private contractors. Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe didn't have a very bright picture to paint when he addressed the Global Tax Policy conference in Dublin last week. Having raked in a record 10bn in corporation tax last year, you might think he would be upbeat. Instead, he warned that change was coming on the issue of corporation tax and the digital economy. Naturally he emphasised how Ireland is all up for change - at the forefront of change, in fact. He even outlined the eight different corporation tax initiatives Ireland has introduced in recent years which have done away with the so-called Double Irish and companies that are stateless for tax purposes. He also suggested that the spin-out of the Double Irish structure, known as the "single Malt" because it involves Malta, would soon be on the way out too. But there was a somewhat downbeat tone to his speech as he used it to set out his red lines on what sort of compromises or future structure he would like to see when it comes to taxing the profits of digital economy multinationals in the future. Red lines are all very well when you have some leverage. Ireland has very little. Donohoe warned against the risks of having some countries go ahead and develop new methods for capturing taxes on digital profits without global agreements. But he also suggested that global agreement on these issues will be very hard to reach. Ireland's position seems to be that corporate tax should be paid where value is created in accordance with the arm's length principle. But the Government wants to see a rather wide definition of where value is created. Donohoe wants it to recognise that some value "may arise in scale, from brands or from access to markets". In other words if millions of consumers use a digital platform to buy something in Germany, rather than the company pay corporation tax in Germany, it should also take account of where its operations are located, its marketing and branding and this presumably involves its intellectual property. Taxing companies where the consumer transaction takes place would benefit bigger economies and hit Ireland quite hard. Donohoe also wants to see any agreed outcome follow the "well-established principle of aligning taxing rights with value creation" and it should cause "as little disruption as possible to the long-established international corporate tax framework." So, he wants change, but not too much change. Ireland has some allies in the EU who share a similar view, but it also has powerful EU member countries who want action right now, including France. The Irish position has always been that the OECD is the best place to resolve these issues because the EU could shoot itself in the foot by making its tax rules too uncompetitive, resulting in a loss of foreign direct investment. There is a certain logic to that position but the problem is that the mood music is changing in the US. The arrival of US president Donald Trump, and his appetite for trade wars and putting "America first", brings a whole new uncertainty. Ireland has limited its reputational damage in recent years by making concessions when it was absolutely necessary. But it is still referred to, somewhat controversially, as a tax haven. Tens of billions in intellectual property has been shifted by mainly US multinationals to Ireland in recent years. It has helped bring in extra corporation tax and the Government has become worryingly dependent on it. The minister has laid out his views quite clearly at the conference but bigger forces are stacking up against him. The boys in Green Reit aren't hanging around on sale The board of 1.1bn property giant Green Reit isn't hanging around when it comes to the sale of the company or its assets. Its shares are up 11pc since it put itself up for sale just five weeks ago. It was reported during the week that it set a deadline of June 12 for indicative bids for the company or its assets. It is understood that there has been plenty of interest from a number of prospective buyers. The mechanics of the deal are interesting because it's a bit like selling a house with a small farm attached. You can offer the two together as one lot, or offer the house and farm separately, and then see which option delivers the best outcome. Anyone bidding for individual assets will have to compete with others on each asset. Alternatively, make a bid for the company and you must compete only once. The new owner could then sell off what it didn't want. But bids to buy assets are clean and straightforward. Bidding to buy a PLC can be arduous, expensive and uncertain. The company with the contract to manage Green Reit is owned primarily by Stephen Vernon and Pat Gunne. Their contract was renewed for a further three years beginning last July. That management contract is terminated once all of the assets of the group are sold. If there are new owners of the company through a takeover, the contract can be terminated with 12 months' notice. They have done well out of Green having received a total of 78.3m in cash and stock between flotation in 2013 and December 2017. Performance fees at the management company peaked at 20.9m for the year to June 2015. Its base fees are determined at a 1pc charge on the net asset value of its properties. No matter what happens now, they have done very well. First look inside Quinn Insurance Public hearings of the Central Bank inquiry into alleged regulatory breaches at Quinn Insurance will begin this week. It all seems like a long time ago. The inquiry is looking at whether two former executives of Quinn Insurance, Kevin Lunney and Liam McCaffrey, were in breach of insurance regulations between 2005 and 2008 when the insurer collapsed into administration. The bill left behind from the collapse has already hit 1.2bn and could yet hit 1.6bn by the time the administration is fully wound up. This is money retrieved from the Insurance Compensation Fund which is covered by all of us through an insurance levy of 2pc. Just to jog people's memories further, Sean Quinn paid a penalty of 200,000 - yes 200,000 - as part of a settlement with the Central Bank back in 2008. The company paid a fine of 3.25m and a later fine of 5m was waived in the public interest because it would essentially have come out of the insurance levy anyway. Lunney and McCaffrey challenged the Central Bank's inquiry through the courts back in 2016 but lost, which cleared the way for the inquiry to proceed. The public hearings will seem a little historic when questions are asked about who did or didn't do what 13 years ago. They may not make for comfortable listening for the Central Bank and its former role either. Nevertheless, regardless of the outcome for the two men, it should provide the first real insight for the public into the operations of the insurer during those crucial years. There are other legal cases involving the insurer's administrators and its former auditors, but nothing has been aired in the open so far. These few days of public hearings will be the first real glimpse of how the company was run despite a bill of 1.2bn we are all paying for its collapse. London based specialist alternative asset manager Gresham House Asset Management (GHAM) is planning new forestry and renewable projects after taking over management of 10,000 acres of Irish forests. GHAM wants to win a slice of an Irish market that it believes is worth billions of euro, said CEO Tony Dalwood. The asset manager also plans to open an Irish office to grow its asset management business both here and in Europe, he said. "There is a massive opportunity in Ireland for renewables and also in forestry, which is often found in and around wind farms," he said. "In our UK woodlands assets we have added value over the last ten years by identifying wind or hydroelectric opportunities for clients and we hope that opportunity potentially exists within the Irish forestry asset class." Afforestation - the planting of new forests - is "absolutely part of the long term plan", Dalwood said. "Our intention is to grow in Ireland by raising and managing more forestry assets and by investing in similar types of renewable projects in Ireland as in the UK, such as battery storage alongside wind and solar energy." The plans follows the acquisition - revealed in last week's Sunday Independent - of a 10,000-acre portfolio of mature Irish forests by AXA IM - Real Assets. It bought the portfolio from forestry consultancy Veon Ltd for an undisclosed sum on behalf of clients. London stock exchange-quoted GHAM has been appointed by AXA as exclusive asset manager to the huge portfolio of mature Irish forests on a long-term contract. "The forestry deal is just the beginning of what we want we want to do to build capability and bring investment into Ireland," said Dalwood. "We want to build asset management capability in Ireland and almost a year ago I was introduced to this opportunity by Deloitte. We are the largest forestry asset manager in the UK, with over a billion pounds worth of assets under management with timber and forestry and so it was natural for us to build on that with this opportunity." The portfolio - historically very large by UK and Irish standards - is divided across 185 Irish estates. 'While last Friday's referendum may well have put divorce on the radar of more Irish couples, it can be a very expensive move. There are ways to keep the costs of divorce down though' (stock photo) The financial fallout of divorce means many couples simply cannot afford to. The legal bills could run into the tens of thousands. The divorce settlement itself could cost one - or both partners - much more than that. The housing crisis has compounded the problem. One spouse will often agree to move out of the family home as part of a divorce settlement - but then struggle to find an affordable place to live. "The cost of housing in Dublin today is a real challenge for people trying to find a place after they divorce," said Muriel Walls, partner with the family law firm Walls and Toomey. So while last Friday's referendum may well have put divorce on the radar of more Irish couples, it can be a very expensive move. There are ways to keep the costs of divorce down though. Here's how. Look at alternatives If reconciliation is an option, try to save the relationship. Otherwise, explore if nullity - where a judge rules that a marriage never existed - is an option. If not, consider separation. Bear in mind that if nullity is not an option and you decide not to divorce - but simply to lead separate lives, you will not be able to remarry. Furthermore, your spouse could still be entitled to claim a share of your estate after you die - though a judge can extinguish a spouse's succession rights when granting a decree of judicial separation. Limit the legals Should you wish to hire a solicitor, before approaching one, try to come to an agreement on as much of the elements of a divorce as is possible - particularly if you and your spouse are on good terms. This should speed up the divorce and help keep bills low. "The more clients are in contact with their solicitor, the more costs there will be," said Ciara Matthews, managing partner of Gallagher Shatter. "Be clear when giving instructions to your solicitor - and provide the necessary documentation [to your solicitor] in good time." Be honest on money It can be hard to focus on finances when going through the emotional roller-coaster of divorce, but the ability of each spouse to provide a clear picture of their financial position is often key to keeping costs down. The failure of one or both partners to be upfront about their finances - and to provide all the financial information requested by their solicitor within a reasonable time - is one of the main reasons for delays in proceedings. Such delays usually push up legal costs. When applying to the courts for a divorce, an affidavit of means - a document which lists an individual's assets, income, debts, pension entitlements and day-to-day expenses - must usually be filed by both partners. This is an important document which helps the courts ensure that any spouses and dependent children are properly catered for after the divorce. You must usually provide your solicitor with a range of documents to support the information laid out in your affidavit of means - such as a year's bank and credit card statements, and details of any pension and investments. "Often you are months trying to get the clients to provide that information," said Walls. "So to keep the costs of a divorce down, do your financial disclosure and do it well. "That should save you several hours of legal time. If you don't give paperwork after you've been asked for it a number of times, you'll probably end up with a court summons - which will add to the costs." Do it yourself You don't have to hire a solicitor to get a divorce. You can bring divorce proceedings on your own, thereby saving on legal costs. However, the DIY option will usually only be suitable if you have a good grasp of divorce legislation - and if the couple are in full agreement about how they wish the divorce to proceed. Such full agreement will usually only be in place when a divorce is straightforward - which often isn't the case. "If a couple have no children - or if the children are adult children, if both partners are working, and if there are no properties [owned by either or both partners] - or if any issues over properties have been resolved, you could do a divorce yourself as long as you put a bit of study and research in," said Roddy Tyrrell, solicitor with lawyer.ie. "You don't need to hire a DIY divorce company. You need to know what you're doing if taking divorce proceedings yourself though - and if the divorce is in any way complex, steer away from the DIY route completely." Should you and your spouse have difficulties agreeing on anything, the DIY route is unlikely to work. Remember, if you're reluctant to hire a solicitor because you can't afford one, you may be eligible for legal aid from the Legal Aid Board. Get a mediator Mediation is a way for a couple to negotiate the terms of their divorce agreement without going through a solicitor. In doing so, mediation can help a couple to come to a divorce agreement for a fraction of what it would cost with a solicitor. "Even if you don't agree everything through a mediator, you could agree on certain aspects [of a divorce agreement] - such as the children," said Walls. The State's Mediation Service - available through the Legal Aid Board - is free and is not means-tested. There are also some community bodies that offer free mediation services. You can also hire a private mediator. Some private mediators charge by the hour or session; some charge a fixed rate. Expect to pay anything from 100 to 200 upwards per couple, per session for a private mediator. It would not be unusual for a couple to have between five and seven mediation sessions - though this will vary, depending on the couple. "For mediation to work, everything must be put on the table," said Tyrrell. "There must be full disclosure of finances and no exaggeration. You should approach mediation with an expectation that two people have separate lives to live." Be realistic The quicker a divorce agreement can be reached, the less costly it is likely to be - though it's important too to take the time that is necessary for a fair agreement to be reached. "The courts don't strive to punish one partner and reward another," said Matthews. "If people are very practical and realistic in terms of their approach to a divorce, it can help to keep costs down. If you can adapt a mindset early on where you have an open mind about the divorce, and are willing to be flexible and to look at things from different angles, you can save a lot of the costs of the contentious part of proceedings." By contrast, costs are likely to run high if either partner unrealistically expects to get the lion's share of a divorce settlement - and gets involved in indefensible arguments before the courts. This can lead to a situation where either or both partners become entrenched on one, or a number of, issues - which makes it harder to arrive at a settlement quickly, and in turn pushes up costs. Such stalemate can be common in unamicable divorces. Property - and other wealth - is usually at the heart of such stalemate, according to Tyrrell. "When people become entrenched, there's usually serious money involved," said Tyrrell. "They may have two properties and be fighting about who gets the more valuable home. There might be a difference of 300,000 in equity between one home and another. That's usually what the fight is about." Difficult as it may be, one of the best ways to limit the financial fallout of divorce is to stop it turning ugly. Ugly divorces will cost more - and leave you and your partner with less money to get on with your own lives after the divorce. So if you can't get stay amicable for the sake of love or children, do so for the sake of money. The chief executive of one of the world's best-known shared-living companies has criticised the Government's guidelines for the concept. Housing minister Eoghan Murphy last year amended planning guidelines to introduce the model to the Irish market, under which multiple self-catered bedrooms share living spaces and kitchens. Murphy attracted high levels of criticism last week after he said that young people should be "excited" to pay less rent for less space, in reference to the model. Now shared-living company Roam - which has locations in London, Bali, San Francisco, Tokyo and Miami - said that it was "open" to setting up here, but added that the way it had been implemented in Ireland was wrong. "Part of why we haven't found a property that's a good match yet is that we haven't seen the quality and thoughtfulness necessary to not only make the trade-off between smaller personal studios and better shared spaces work, but a superior experience," founder and chief executive Bruno Haid said. "A lot of it feels indeed rushed and optimised for the developer's interest, and not the tenant's. So we can relate to the criticism current schemes are facing." Roam's properties differs to the projects that have been proposed in Ireland in that it offers business travellers access to luxury co-living spaces with maid service across all of its locations for $1,800 (1,610) a month. This means that clients can travel across the world to its five locations while only having to pay a single fee. Customers are also offered "flexible leases", which give customers a full-furnished bedroom with a desk and an en-suite bathroom. Each facility also has co-working spaces that include a media centre, pool, shared kitchens and event space. "Our legislative preference is to build upon already existing rules for hotels and serviced apartments and open them for long-term stays, if people prefer this topology of buildings," Haid said. "But just removing established standards from the bottom of the housing market to address growing inequality is not necessarily a good policy to address more systemic issues." Roam is not the only company exploring shared living in Ireland. Richard Barrett's Bartra Capital intends to make it a main part of its residential supply stream and has lodged applications for both Castleknock and Dun Laoghaire in Dublin. The group also intends to reapply for another such development in Rathmines in the capital. The Sunday Independent reported in January that UK co-living company The Collective purchased its first site in Dublin as part of its plans to expand into Europe and the US. Weekly rates in the UK start at 290 (329) and rise as high as 325, depending on the length of the lease required. Valuable sales opportunities often lie closer to home than people realise. Ireland is home to hundreds of multinational companies, many of which have supply chain requirements that could be met by Irish firms. In some cases, it may be as simple as facilities management, while in others it could be a component or service for sale to company sites across the world. In 2012 Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland came together in a joint initiative to assist Irish companies in taking advantage of these opportunities. The Enterprise Ireland Global Sourcing team works with colleagues in IDA Ireland to identify multinational companies based here that may have sourcing requirements that could be fulfilled locally. These companies are then matched with Enterprise Ireland-backed companies that are potential suppliers. The Global Sourcing team's focus is on developing relationships with multinationals across a range of sectors such as ICT, pharma/biopharma, medtech, financial services, engineering and energy. The aim is to ascertain what the multinational companies' needs might be. In some cases, all procurement might be carried out at HQ level and local opportunities will not arise. In others, the Irish entity may have a degree of autonomy in this regard. Once a need is identified, the database of Enterprise Ireland-supported companies is searched in order to find potential matches. Shortlists are compiled, profiles are sent to the multinational and then confidential introductions are arranged, where appropriate. After that, it's up to the companies to discuss the opportunity. This activity also lays the groundwork for Global Sourcing-run events. IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland work together on identifying a cohort of Irish and multinational companies who could benefit from attendance. One highlight of this activity is a two-day trade mission to multiple locations in Ireland. Similar in nature to the overseas trade missions that Enterprise Ireland organises for Irish companies, these events offer invaluable access to sourcing and procurement teams in global multinationals, while at the same time providing those multinational companies with direct access to potential local suppliers. This year's trade mission took place on May 15 and 16 in Dublin and Cork and featured more than 400 prearranged one-to-one meetings between 188 Irish suppliers and 96 multinational companies. A facilitated open networking session provided hundreds of further informal meeting opportunities. The trade mission is an important platform for raising awareness of the capabilities of innovative Irish SMEs across a range of sectors and is the culmination of intensive activity carried out during the previous six months. A key feature is the organisation of the informal networking sessions. These utilised a system, with multinational companies hosting clearly identified pod tables and Irish companies able to stop by for a brief introduction. The feedback from these sessions was overwhelmingly positive, with companies reporting that the less formal setting allowed for the development of multiple connections which might not otherwise have been made. Indeed, one key multinational attendee reported that he had met 42 individuals from Irish SMEs over the two hours of informal networking in addition to his prearranged meetings. The trade mission isn't the only event organised by the Global Sourcing team. Where a multinational company indicates a particular need, a thematic sourcing event can be organised in which Irish companies come to pitch their offerings. In other cases, a group of multinational companies with similar needs are brought together to meet a number of Irish companies. The prize on offer to Irish SMEs who succeed in winning business from multinationals based here is considerable. Regardless of the size of the initial contract, it can provide an entry point to the customer's global supply chain. In addition, these relationships offer a reference point for future business with global clients; being able to say you supply a multinational here in Ireland can act as a powerful recommendation to buyers around the world. Gerard Fenner is a senior executive for global sourcing at Enterprise Ireland The US Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating whether Boeing properly disclosed issues tied to the grounded 737 Max jetliner, according to people familiar with the matter, as regulators intensify their scrutiny of the company following two deadly crashes. Officials in the SEC's enforcement division are examining whether Boeing was adequately forthcoming to shareholders about material problems with the plane, said the sources. The agency is also reviewing the aircraft manufacturer's accounting to make sure its financial statements have appropriately reflected potential impacts from the problems, the people said. The regulator's investigations often don't lead to allegations of misconduct. Still, the probe deepens the crisis facing Boeing since a 737 Max crashed in Ethiopia on March 10 last year. That wreck, which followed a deadly October crash in Indonesia, prompted regulators around the world to ground the jet. Boeing and the SEC declined to comment. Mike Scott had a milestone birthday in December, but The Waterboys frontman is not letting it get to him. "I'm 60," he says, "going on 17." He certainly looks trim. No alcohol in 30 years, no cigarettes and lots of running in Herbert Park near his south Dublin home all help. As, he adds, does the business of being a father to a pair of children aged six and two. "Fatherhood keeps you on your toes," he says, with a grin, "and it's helped with creativity, too. I'm always making stories up for them, making little songs up, so even when I'm not doing Waterboys stuff, I'm writing - it's a constant flow." Today, the Scot, who has made Ireland his home for many years, cuts a striking, flamboyant figure in a busy Dublin hotel, with his long, greying hair peeping out from under the Stetson hat that has become something of a trademark of late. He's proud of the new Waterboys album - a lucky 13th - that the accompanying PR bumf describes as "genre-defying". "I don't care what kind of style of music it is. I hate being pigeon-holed, being put in a box. The whole concept of genres is something that has crept up on us over the last 30 or 40 years - if you think about Beatles records like Revolver, what would you do if you tried to impose genres on that? "I've always made records the same way. I just go where the songs seem to direct me." Where the Action Is sounds unmistakably like a Waterboys album, but there are unexpected flourishes, too. It's not the sound of a band happy to dash a new album that's a mere rehash of what they have done before. Scott seems stunned by the idea that any musician would release music without taking the utmost care. One of the songs, 'Out of All this Blue', was written for the previous album - and it shares a name with it, too - but despite labouring over it in 2017, Scott was unhappy with it. He worked on it constantly for this album until it met his expectations. "I'll go back to anything if I think I can make it good," he says, "but I'd never want to release something if I knew in my heart that it wasn't as good as it could be." He cites the example of one of his early songs, 'Medicine Bow', from breakthrough third album This is the Sea. "That was the first time that I wrote a middle-eight and I can still remember how good that feeling was. I'd known the song was missing something. I could have easily said, 'Oh come on - it's good enough'. But I had a strong intuition not to go there. And now I love middle-eights. You never stop learning." Video of the Day Unlike many of his contemporaries, Scott is as happy to talk about his old music as he is about the new material. "I don't feel removed from what I wrote in the past. I find it easy to bring myself back there to the way I was when I made those records. When I play old songs live, I can still sing almost all of them in the same keys. I can still find the same feeling. "At the same time, I feel like my musical capacity has evolved a lot. I hear a lot of my earlier song-writing as two-dimensional. Perhaps not the lyrics, it's more the music. But some of the [old] songs still feel three-dimensional to me, like 'All the Things She Gave Me' from the second album and 'The Whole of the Moon'. But some of them feel two-dimensional and I find it not so satisfying playing them." Scott meets Review the evening before the latest Waterboys tour kicks off in Derry. He says he loves the business of touring, and quips that the experience now is a far cry from when he was a 22-year-old fronting his first band, Another Pretty Face. "It was 1980 and we did 25 gigs in 26 days supporting Stiff Little Fingers. I was completely inexperienced and I burnt out my voice. I panicked a bit, but it came back quickly. I'm very careful with it now and it's easy to forget how delicate the vocal cords can be and how physical it is [to sing professionally]." Scott is sometimes thought of as a musician's musician and he's certainly a songwriter that others look up to. He says one of the things that gives him the most pleasure is when new generations are inspired by his work. "Adam from The War on Drugs is a big fan and he did 'A Pagan Place' for several years as part of his stage show. And there's a band called Dawes I'm a fan of them and then they covered 'Fisherman's Blues' out of nowhere. I'd just heard that Tame Impala are big Waterboys fans. Who knew? I love that kind of stuff. "And I find huge inspiration in what other people are doing. I'll borrow or adapt things - I don't like to rip off. Sometimes I'll take something that's actually in someone's songs, but I'll always credit it. On this album, on the track 'In My Time on Earth', I credit this great bunch of musicians, the Illumination Band. I loved what they were about and got in touch with them." Scott won an Ivor Novello song-writing award for one of The Waterboys' most emblematic songs, 'The Whole of the Moon', and he says he has always applied a rigorous concentration when he feels he has something special in his head. "Sometimes a potential title will come to me or a bit of melody. I'll use any scrap to get going. I write on piano and guitar. I work at home in my little studio now and I work fast because I know I have a few hours before I have to pick my daughter up in a few hours. It concentrates the mind." While some songs have taken years to satisfy him, other's have been lightening quick. "'A Pagan Place' the lyric for that came to me as quickly as it took to write the words down. One line would suggest the next line and so on. They're golden moments - they don't happen that often, although I think most songwriters have had that experience. "And they can happen at any stage. Thirty years ago, I came home drunk and I went to sit at the piano and this song, 'Love and Death', just came to me in one go." It would eventually appear on the Dream Harder album in 1993. If his last album featured love songs inspired by his wife, the controversial Japanese artist Megumi Igarashi - aka Rokudenashiko -Where the Action Is goes back in time to his formative years as a musician living in London in the 1970s. "It's now been so long since those times, it's almost historic," he says. "What happened in those days now seems of interest to me in a way that it didn't when it was just 10 years ago. Now, when I look back, I think, 'My God - what an amazing time. And it takes time passing to realise that.'" Meanwhile, a follow-up album is almost in the can, although he says that as it's so different to what he has done previously, he may release it under a different moniker. "It's got The Waterboys on it, but maybe it should be The Waterpeople. It's a left-field, oddball, mash-up, part comedic record." The hotel is filling up. Scott has talked a lot - and he's conscious of his voice. Derry - and a UK tour - await. He has to go. "I'm fitted with software - and have been since I was a teenager - that makes me want to be the best," he says, "that makes me want to write better songs than anyone else and have a better band than anyone else. "I've never been fitted with software that makes me want to be more famous or more successful than anyone else. And that's never changed." The Waterboys headline the Fever Pitch festival, Galway, on June 1. 'Where the Action Is' is out now The referendum to ease restrictions on divorce has passed, with 82.1pc overall voting 'Yes' and 17.9pc overall voting 'No'. The final results came in from Galway City in the early hours of the morning. The referendum on divorce was put to voters along with the local and European elections on Friday. An exit poll for RTE and TG4 had predicted that 87pc have voted in favour of the referendum with 12pc voting against, and 1pc refusing to answer or saying they don't know. The margin of error is 3pc. The referendum proposed reducing the length of time before a couple can divorce from four years to two and also recognises foreign divorces. The divorce regime had not changed in more than 20 years when the ban was first lifted. The Minister for Culture, Josepha Madigan, said: "I think it's a really strong endorsement from the Irish people for the referendum and it demonstrates their kindness and their understanding of the situation people find themselves in when they are separating or divorcing. I think there's a deep well of kindness in the Irish people. "It wasn't about rocking the system. It was about humanising it. I think the people have shown they have a solidarity with people going through marital breakdown, through separation and divorce." Ms Madigan proposed cutting waiting times for divorce, steering a private members bill through the Dail soon after she got elected which culminated in Friday's referendum. She said the referendum was proof that one person can make a difference. The result means the Government can now introduce legislation that will allow couples to divorce sooner rather than later. Currently, a couple must live apart for four out of the previous five years in order to apply for a divorce. The explicit constitutional prohibition on a person remarrying in the State who has obtained a foreign divorce that is not recognised under Irish law will be removed. It will still be prohibited for a person to remarry in Ireland unless their foreign divorce is recognised under Irish law. The Minister for Justice, Charlie Flanagan, has said that he intends to propose laws to make the rules regarding foreign divorces more consistent. Supporters of the referendum said parting couples could be stuck in limbo while waiting to finalise their separation in divorce, a period in which could increase hostility. Critics of the proposal warned that the changes could ultimately lead to "quickie divorce" in Ireland. Green Partys Ian Carey celebrates with his wife Ciara and their children Molly [2] and Art [6 mths] at the Citywest Count Center, after he was elected in the Swords ward in the Fingal Local elections. Photo: Frank McGrath OF the three sprawling European election constituencies in Ireland, only Dublin was able to return a first preference result at 10pm on Sunday - and no new Irish MEP has yet been confirmed. The Green Party's Ciaran Cuffe topped the poll with 63,849 first preferences in Dublin, but did not make the quota of 72,790. However, he is expected to get over the line early on Monday, while two of his party colleagues are in the running to take seats in Ireland's other two constituencies. The first count is not expected in Ireland South or Midlands North West until some time on Monday, with the unwieldy ballot papers in both constituencies among the issues being blamed for the slow returns. In Dublin, Mr Cuffe was followed closely by Fine Gael's Frances Fitzgerald with more than 59,000 first preferences, while an RTE exit poll that indicated that Fianna Fail's Barry Andrews could struggle to get a seat seems to have been slightly off. He took 51,420 first preferences and will be hopeful of getting the third seat in the four-seat constituency. Dublin Expand Close MEP Mairead McGuinness with her friend Deirdre O'Hea at the Castlebar count centre for the Midlands-Northwest. Pic:Mark Condren / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp MEP Mairead McGuinness with her friend Deirdre O'Hea at the Castlebar count centre for the Midlands-Northwest. Pic:Mark Condren Earlier, Mr Cuffe, posed briefly for pictures after arriving at Dublin's count centre in Simmonscourt. But when asked was he celebrating yet, he said he did not want to tempt fate. "I'll wait until I see what is going on until I do any cheering," he said. "I don't want to tempt fate, I'm here to have a look at the spoiled votes, if things go well, I'll be celebrating when the count comes in, but for the moment I am just here to have a look." The RTE/TG4 poll indicates that the councillor will win the seat with 23pc of the vote. The exit poll put Fine Gael TD Frances Fitzgerald on 14pc, while Fianna Fail's Barry Andrews and Independent TD Clare Daly are both on 12pc. Sinn Fein's Lynn Boylan will struggle to retain her seat as early indications put her on 10pc. Ms Fitzgerald said it was "interesting" that some of her transfer votes went to Mr Andrews. "It seems that in European elections the transfers go across the whole wide variety of candidates," she said. "It does seem as if the left haven't done well in these elections and maybe people are voting more centrist. I think that would be a reflection of that if that is the case. "Climate change is very on the agenda and I think ... people wanted to give a message about climate change and that's very clear." Addressing questions about the possibility of an early general election, Ms Fitzgerald said there are a lot of factors at play including the "very uncertain" situation in British politics. "I think there's a lot of challenges out there, stability is important," she added. Former SDLP leader Mark Durkan has conceded he is unlikely to win a seat in the European Parliament. Mr Durkan ran as a Fine Gael candidate in the Dublin constituency. An RTE exit poll predicted his vote share was just 5pc "I'm not in here believing I am going to defy the gravity of the exit poll," he said. "But I don't regret running, I've enjoyed the conversations with people across Dublin, I've enjoyed it as an experience. "I've enjoyed listening to the arguments and the ideas of other candidates as well, I have huge respect for a range of other candidates." Ireland South A two-foot long ballot paper is slowing counting in the Ireland South European election count centre, where outgoing Fine Gael MEP Sean Kelly looks set to become the first candidate to take a seat. Mr Kelly said he was "hopeful" of retaining his seat and described it as "encouraging to be there or thereabouts". An RTE/TG4 exit poll predicted Mr Kelly will top the poll with 16% of first preferences, followed by Sinn Fein's Liadh Ni Riada and Fianna Fail's Billy Kelleher, both of whom are on 13%, while the Green Party's Grace O'Sullivan is on 12% of first preference votes. "We put in a hard campaign, a long campaign.... Sometimes people say people don't notice what's going on in Europe, but I think if I do well it's an example to everybody that if you work hard people will notice," Mr Kelly said on his arrival at Cork count centre on Sunday evening. More than 200 staff began sub-sorting ballot papers at the centre in Nemo Rangers GAA Club on Sunday morning. But, with more than 750,000 papers to be counted, first count results from the constituency are not expected until Monday. Indications are it may take at least four days for the count to be completed. Sinn Fein candidate Liadh Ni Riada said she was hopeful of retaining her MEP seat, but she said she did not consider herself a shoe-in. "You're never fully confident, and you're just hopeful. That's exactly the position I'm in now," she said. "It's not over until all the votes are counted." She added: "I'm not putting my eggs in one basket and thinking that I'm a shoe-in. We'll have to wait and see." It is set to be a worrying few days for the Green's Grace O'Sullivan, Independents 4 Change candidate Mick Wallace and Fine Gael's Deirdre Clune - who will most likely battle for the last seat. Mr Kelly said he believed Fine Gael was "very much in contention" to retain two seats, despite exit poll results showing the party's candidates, outgoing Ms Clune and first-time EU candidate Andrew Doyle, potentially being in difficulty. "Transfers have a big bearing on a constituency and particularly when you have 23 candidates where there is going to be a whole pile of transfers and if they fall the right way they're going to push up candidates quite a lot," Mr Kelly added. Ms O'Sullivan said she had worked "very hard" and that she was hoping she would "get that surge" in the end. She added that there was a "lot of green washing going on" by other parties during the elections, but she believed voters had seen through this. Of all of the three European election constituencies, transfers will be most important in Ireland South. It could see Fianna Fail's Malcom Byrne or Fine Gael's Mr Doyle surge past other candidates. Midlands North West Sitting MEP Mairead McGuinness looks likely to top the poll in the hotly contested Midlands North West seats. Ms McGuinness said she hopes that if she is successful, transfers will go to her running mate, former Rose of Tralee Maria Walsh, for the second seat. "I'm a cautious person and I take nothing for granted," Ms McGuinness said on Sunday evening at the count centre in Castlebar, Co. Mayo. "I got a strong cross party vote in my view, as people have said to me that they're not Fine Gael voters but they like what I do. "If I get through on first count, I'll be relieved, it's a bit surreal as well when you hear it. "What they're saying here about transfers is that 40pc will go to Maria, I'd be happy with that. Obviously I would like it to be 100% but that's not how politics works." When asked about how she felt about the possibility of heading back to Brussels to "hang around" with Nigel Farage, Ms McGuinness said she would rather "eat razor blades" than work with the Brexit Party leader. The RTE/TG4 poll indicates the sitting MEP should retain her seat with the quota likely to be around 20%. If Fine Gael are successful for the first two seats, the battle for the other two seats will come down to a fight between Independent MEP Luke 'Ming' Flanagan, Green Party candidate Saoirse McHugh, Sinn Fein MEP Matt Carthy and Independent Peter Casey. Mr Carthy polled at 15pc with Ms McHugh 12pc ahead of incumbent Independent Mr Flannagan at 10%. Ms Walsh polled at 10pc but could overtake Mr Flanagan when Ms McGuinness has her transfers distributed. Ms McHugh has become an unexpected contender for the seat, following a much-praised TV debate appearance, and the "Green wave" of new support for Green Party candidates, with commentators speculating that the electorate has put climate change as a top priority in this election. Ms McHugh has said in a number of interviews that she would be prepared to leave the Green Party should they ever go into coalition with Fine Gael or Fianna Fail. Fianna Fail have polled poorly in the constituency, with candidates Brendan Smith and Anne Rabbitte on 9% of the exit poll vote between them. The party lost the seat in the 2014 election after Pat "The Cope" Gallagher failed to be re-elected after two terms at the European Parliament. Electoral officers say they are expecting the first count to be declared in Castlebar on Monday afternoon. The constituency covers counties Cavan, Donegal, Galway, Kildare, Leitrim, Longford, Louth, Mayo, Meath, Monaghan, Roscommon, Sligo, Westmeath and Galway city. Green Party candidate in the South constituency, Grace O'Sullivan greeted by supporter Ed Davitt at the count centre in Nemo, Cork. Pic Daragh Mc Sweeney/Provision FINE Gael, Fianna Fail, Independent Mick Wallace and the Greens are battling for the final two berths in the European Parliament election in the sprawling Ireland South constituency. Experts warned that in the absence of detailed tallies and with a first count not expected before Monday, it is impossible to predict the destination of the final two seats. Expand Close Mick Wallace. Photo: Collins / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Mick Wallace. Photo: Collins However, sitting MEP Deirdre Clune now faces an uphill battle to defend the Strasbourg berth she defied the odds to win in 2014. Early indications are that sitting MEPs Sean Kelly and Liadh Ni Riada as well as former Junior Minister Billy Kelleher of Fianna Fail are poised to take the first three seats. Mr Kelly, a former GAA President, is expected to top the poll. However, count staff at the Nemo Rangers GAA complex in Cork have faced a number of challenges. Expand Close Choppy waters: Deirdre Clune returning to Baltimore Harbour after visiting Cape Clear Island. Photo: Michael OSullivan / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Choppy waters: Deirdre Clune returning to Baltimore Harbour after visiting Cape Clear Island. Photo: Michael OSullivan These range from the sheer size of the poll - roughly 750,000 votes in the constituency with an electorate of 1.4 million - to the size of the ballot paper itself which has 23 candidates. The ballot paper is almost 60cm long. Special count boxes had to be brought in because the ballot papers were too long for the normal boxes used in general and local elections. Handling the oversized ballot papers also delayed count staff. Expand Close Billy Kelleher. Photo: Tony Gavin / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Billy Kelleher. Photo: Tony Gavin Counting proper only began after 4pm yesterday because sorting and sub-dividing the papers from the 12 counties took longer than anticipated. A further headache for count staff is the estimated 40,000 spoiled or disputed ballot papers - a far higher proportion than normal. One count official said the destination of the fifth and final seat may not be determined until Thursday. The fourth and fifth seats are set to be decided in a tight transfer battle between Fine Gael's Deirdre Clune, Green Party's Grace O'Sullivan, Independent Mick Wallace and Fianna Fail's Malcolm Byrne. Labour's Sheila Nunan has polled well but faces a challenge to stay in the hunt for the final two seats and will require transfers to fall very kindly for her. It is the first European Parliament election not contested by former MEP Brian Crowley, who retired on health grounds, since 1994. A limited tally of Cork ballots indicated that the Green Party's Grace O'Sullivan is set to benefit from being "transfer friendly" with other parties - and will benefit further from her Waterford base attracting transfers from candidates in the eastern part of the giant constituency. "I am hopeful. But there is a long way to go," Ms O'Sullivan said as she visited the Cork count centre. Having polled 26,000 votes in the 2014 European Parliament election, the Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) graduate is on course to reflect the 'Green Wave' that has seen a surge in support for the Green Party. Mick Wallace, who also visited the Cork complex, admitted he was "absolutely wrecked" from campaigning across the 12 county constituency over the past month. "I don't have a clue how it is going to go, to be honest. It is going to be very close. I heard that Fianna Fail are doing better than the exit poll showed. That would be problematic for me because Malcolm Byrne is obviously a competitor with me for the fifth seat." "If he does better, it makes it more difficult for me. But if I'm elected, I'm elected - if I'm not, then I'm not." Liadh Ni Riada also visited the count centre with Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald TD. She said it was difficult to predict the outcome of the ballot given the sheer size of the vote and the total absence of tallies. Fianna Fail's Billy Kelleher TD said it had clearly been a good election for the party and leader Micheal Martin. "I got the sense on the doorsteps that people were very positive to the Fianna Fail campaign and our party message," he said. Mr Kelleher acknowledged that geographic elements of the constituency will prove crucial. One Fine Gael analyst expressed concern that Ms Clune could suffer from late count eliminations where the candidates are largely from the south east - and may favour each other on geographic grounds. The constituency was expanded since 2014 and now encompasses 12 counties. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar with MEP Mairead McGuinness and junior minister Helen McEntee. Picture at a canvass in Kells earlier this month. Photo: Gerry Mooney MAIREAD McGuinness has said her party colleague Maria Bailey's personal injury claim impacted on Fine Gael's election campaign and she's glad she dropped it. Outgoing MEP Ms McGuinness is on course to top the poll and retain her European Parliament seat in the Midlands-North-West constituency. She said she "took nothing for granted" on the likely result that is not likely to be announced until tomorrow at the earliest. She said she is relieved but it's "a bit surreal as well until you hear it". Ms Bailey has said she is dropping her legal action against the Dean Hotel in Dublin after she fell from a swing in 2015. The hotel denied liability. Expand Close Defiant: Maria Bailey insists she has done nothing wrong and was entitled to take the same legal action as anyone else. Photo: Gerry Mooney / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Defiant: Maria Bailey insists she has done nothing wrong and was entitled to take the same legal action as anyone else. Photo: Gerry Mooney Asked if revelations about the case had inflicted damage on Fine Gael during the last week of the elections Ms McGuinness replied: "It wasnt said directly to me but I did get some emails about that. So it did impact". She said she had a recent public meeting with businesses in Meath and insurance is a "major issue". Ms McGuinness said: "I am glad she dropped the case. I know there were people who said that to me having listened to her decision. Look Im sure its very tough for her as well but Im glad the case is dropped." She said she didn't think there would be repercussions for Ms Bailey from Fine Gael. "I dont think were going to do anything to Maria Bailey. I mean I think that in politics we all learn hard lessons on occasion." But she did note the timing, pointing to the impact insurance costs are having on businesses and referencing Rathbeggan Lakes which she called: "a wonderful enterprise and theyre closing their doors because of the insurance issue." Ms McGuinness said he has written to EU Commissioner Margrethe Vestager asking her to extend her investigation into the insurance industry here beyond the motor sector "right across the board particularly into public liability". She said businesses need to be able to get reasonable quotes from a a number of companies "rather than going to several agents who go to one company for a quote. Im troubled that that might be the case at the moment." Green part Ciaran Cuffe pictured at the count centre in the RDS. Picture; Gerry Mooney This is what happens when the cliched 'protest vote' turns positive. The Government did not get a good kicking in the local elections but neither did the Opposition win the day. Fine Gael and Fianna Fail were engaged in an almighty game of spin last night as both parties tried to claim victory. Expand Close POLL TOPPER: The Green Partys Ciaran Cuffe at the RDS count centre. Photo: Gerry Mooney. Photo: Gerry Mooney / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp POLL TOPPER: The Green Partys Ciaran Cuffe at the RDS count centre. Photo: Gerry Mooney. Photo: Gerry Mooney However, the RTE exit poll, tallies and early results suggest that Leo Varadkar and Micheal Martin are destined to be stuck in purgatory (confidence and supply) for some time to come. Senior figures in the two largest parties were last night predicting they would make gains - but ultimately admitted that the changes from 2014 will be inconsequential. Interestingly, Fine Gael is talking up its gains in rural Ireland while Fianna Fail is pointing to the inroads it is making in Dublin. It's always possible to find an upside if you look hard enough. But when Varadkar and Martin sit down in the coming days with their key strategists to carry out the post-mortem, they will be focused on problems rather than the positives. There are plenty of lessons to be learned ahead of a general election which admittedly is now much further away than it was last Friday morning. Firstly, they will take solace in the fact there was no noticeable 'protest vote' in this election. A switch towards green politics suggests a positive electorate. Voters didn't feel reliant on the 'establishment' parties - but neither did they turn to the likes of Sinn Fein or the more extreme left-wing parties. Instead, they gave the very middle-class Green Party a chance at a time when "save the planet" is a becoming a mainstream slogan. Green leader Eamon Ryan conceded part of the party's surge was down to David Attenborough's documentaries. Fine Gael and Fianna Fail are now set to try to out-green each other in a race to position themselves as eco-friendly ahead of the next election. For Leo Varadkar, the situation must be somewhat confusing. One of the very few memorial moments from the campaign was the Taoiseach being verbally attacked by farmers for being a vegan. He's not, but that didn't seem to stop the idea seeping into the national psyche. In reality, Varadkar had simply claimed to have reduced his intake of red meat as part of an effort to lower his carbon footprint, something Green voters should approve of. Varadkar did make a conscious effort to try to piggyback on the 'green wave' in the final weeks of the campaign. The Government leaked chunks of its as-yet-unpublished Climate Action Plan in a bid to show it is taking the issue seriously. Journalists were also advised that the Taoiseach would be making a significant speech at an event in Dublin on May 16. Editors and correspondents from all the main outlets showed up to hear Varadkar tell us: "Climate change is the greatest challenge facing humanity today." He added: "We need to make changes now, before it is too late. They will not be easy. They will require us to change how we heat our homes, how we travel, whether we travel, and how our electricity is produced. Every individual, family, community and business will have to change." Yet there was no solid policy announcement and perhaps as a result many individuals and families changed their vote. Fianna Fail was less conscious that the environment was going to be so crucial on polling day. The party had to rewrite part of its European manifesto after Ireland South candidate Malcolm Byrne refused to sign up. The Wexford councillor wrote to party chiefs saying the first draft did not give sufficient priority to tackling climate change. But the energy around the Green Party should not be overstated. While the shift is substantial, it remains to be seen whether it is sustainable. One minister admitted to the Sunday Independent that he transferred to the Green Party as a safe option. The same minister argued that many ordinary voters who went Green drove to the polling station in their 4x4s. So Varadkar and Martin must look further if they are to figure out a way of retaking the narrative. A number of senior Fine Gael sources were last night conflicted about the result. One noted: "We changed leader to win elections. That's not said with vengeance, but the idea was Leo Varadkar was going to romp home." That point wasn't lost on Martin who provocatively pointed out that the Exit Poll puts Fine Gael at a lower level than was achieved by Enda Kenny in 2014. Expect to hear other Fianna Fail representatives repeat that line a lot. But Fine Gael sources were quick enough to argue that Martin hasn't exactly covered himself in glory either. One senior figure pointed to recent comments from ex-British prime minister Tony Blair who suggested any opposition party should be able to win local elections. "Jeremy Corbyn can't win the local elections in Britain and Micheal Martin can't win in Ireland," the Fine Gael source said. This was Martin's fourth election as leader. He has helped bring Fianna Fail back from the black hole they fell into along with the country's finances in 2011. But he has still not etched out a clear road to power. The Cork TD will have one more chance whenever the next general election takes place, probably within 12 months. His parliamentary party would expect him to stand aside after that election if he isn't Taoiseach. Five years ago Fianna Fail got 267 local authority seats. Twenty-eight of those councillors went on to become TDs and senators in 2016. Party strategists were last night predicting new councillors in Finglas, Dublin's inner city and Dundrum. If that comes to pass it will give Martin a much improved base in the capital where the party is weak. But overall the picture suggests they are in a holding pattern. Their local election manifesto could easily be viewed as a first draft of what they will offer voters at the general election. Substantial sections related to policies that are the responsibility of a government rather than county councils. For example, they promised to increase garda numbers to 16,000, protect the post office network and launch a national cycle way strategy. The key area of emphasis in the document, though, is housing. Fianna Fail says it will double home building to 40,000 units a year, reform tax and planning system for REITs and launch a tenant purchase scheme. Clearly, Martin believes housing is where the next election will be fought. And despite the general greening of politics that will now take place, Fine Gael sources are of a similar mind. TDs who have spent the past six weeks on the doorsteps say housing was the singular issues that united every generation. It is no longer just an issue for young people hoping to get on the property ladder. "The reason to vote Fine Gael used to be to fix the economy. Now it's fixed so they take that as standard and want a bit extra," a minister said. "The view is that we just don't get it on housing." That is the biggest message brought back to Government Buildings once the final votes have been counted. Varadkar and Martin will now have some time to prepare for that general election. Expect to see them ramp up political attacks over the summer and the negotiation of a Budget in October will go down to the wire - but as a result of these elections neither man will be rushing to force the public back to the polls. At various times over the past two years, Fine Gael and Fianna Fail have flirted with collapsing the government but always pulled back. On the other hand, Sinn Fein has consistently sought to try cause an election by placing motions of no confidence in ministers. This strategy of constant combat has not been rewarded so it may be time for Mary Lou McDonald to tone it down. Today it is clear the two main parties are not the powerhouses that they once were - but Varadkar and Martin are lucky the opposition is fragmented. Rather than a two-and-a-half party system, we now have a political landscape made up of two 'big parties' and three smaller ones: Sinn Fein, Labour and the Greens. The potential for new coalitions is growing. An early test will be a series of by-elections on foot of TD departures for Brussels. They have to be held by November. It's not exactly back to the drawing board for the two men battling to be Taoiseach but whoever learns the lessons of this outing will be in poll position. The Labour Party failed to make a comeback and Independents experienced mixed fortunes in the European and local elections. Labour was poised to secure just 6pc of the vote in the local elections and the big hitters sent out to secure the party seats in Europe failed to deliver. Expand Close Sorting ballot papers in the RDS. Photo: PA / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Sorting ballot papers in the RDS. Photo: PA Alex White, a former minister, trailed behind the Social Democrats' Gary Gannon in the Dublin constituency at 5pc, according to an RTE TG4 exit poll. Former Labour TD Dominic Hannigan clocked 3pc in the Midlands North West, as did the party's third candidate, Sheila Nunan, in Ireland South. The Labour vote share in the local elections was put at 6pc. The party won 51 seats in the last local elections in 2014 but this weekend many sitting councillors look in danger of losing their seats. Labour Senator Aodhan O Riordain yesterday raised a possible union of Greens, Social Democrats and Labour following the local elections but played down question marks over Brendan Howlin's future leadership of the party. "We haven't had a great day," he conceded but he pointed to tallies that suggested that Labour would gain seats in some counties. The party had to contend with a Green surge and "scrap" for seats with the Social Democrats, who performed better than expected. The Social Democrats were predicted to have won 2pc of the vote in the local elections, with expected gains in Galway city and Wicklow. While Gannon was one of the most talked-about Euro candidates on Twitter, it was not enough to secure him a seat. The SocDems' other talked-about candidate, Ellie Kisyombe, also battled for a council seat in Dublin's north inner city. Originally from Malawi, she lives in the direct provision system while awaiting the outcome of her asylum application, but she faced controversy over alleged inconsistencies in her 'back story'. "The battle is still on but for me... I've got the best of you and I love you very much," she tweeted yesterday. The Independents4Change fared well in Europe on the strength of Clare Daly TD, who was predicted to get 12pc of the vote, which put in her with a shout for a seat in Dublin. Her long-standing ally Mick Wallace, the Wexford TD, fared slightly less well in Ireland South at 10pc in the polls, although he was still in with a shout. Solidarity/People before Profit took 4pc across the local elections but made a negligible impression in the European elections, running three candidates it described as "activists of a new generation". Sitting Independent MEP Luke 'Ming' Flanagan battled the Green surge that propelled his rival Saoirse McHugh in Midlands North West. Peter Casey, the millionaire who campaigned on immigration, failed to replicate his unexpected popularity in the presidential campaign, trailing in with 7pc. Assorted Independents, who were so much a feature of the last local elections, seemed less dominant in this one. Of the single-issue candidates, Matt Shanahan, who campaigned for cardiac and hospital care in the south-east, was reported to be topping the poll in his ward in Waterford. All smiles: Pamela Rendi-Wagner, leader of Austrias Social Democrats Party (SPO), poses yesterday for a selfie during a campaigning event ahead of the European Parliament elections in Vienna. Photo: REUTERS/Lisi Niesner Voters in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Malta and Latvia cast ballots yesterday in the European Parliament elections in which resurgent nationalists are challenging traditional parties that want closer ties among EU countries. The stakes for the European Union are especially high in this year's vote, which is taking place in all of the EU's 28 nations on different days from last Thursday to today. Voters are electing 751 lawmakers, with each nation apportioned a number of seats based on its population. Anti-immigrant and far-right groups are hoping to gain ground in the European Parliament and use it to claw back power from the EU for their national governments. Moderate parties, on the other hand, want to cement closer ties among countries in the EU. "We stand at a crossroads - that is, whether the EU is going to be stronger and more integrated or, quite the contrary, a process of its weakening is to begin," said Zuzana Caputova, Slovakia's president-elect. A Slovak far-right party that openly admires the country's wartime Nazi puppet state could win seats in the European Parliament for the first time. Its members use Nazi salutes, blame the Roma minority for crime, consider NATO a terror group and want to leave the western military alliance and the EU. Polls in Slovakia favour the leftist Smer-Social Democracy party, the senior member of Slovakia's current coalition government, to win the most votes. But the polls also suggest that the far-right People's Party Our Slovakia will win seats in the European legislature for the first time. In neighbouring Czech Republic, a centrist party led by populist Prime Minister Andrej Babis is expected to win the most votes, despite the fact that Babis is facing fraud charges involving the use of EU funds. Babis wants his country to remain in the bloc but is calling for EU reforms. Meanwhile, the Czech Republic's most ardent anti-EU group, the Freedom and Direct Democracy party, is predicted to capture its first seats in the EU legislature. Britain and the Netherlands have already voted, and the rest of the EU nations will vote today. Official results will be released tonight after all polls close. The legislature affects Europeans' daily lives in many ways: cutting smartphone roaming charges, imposing safety and health rules for industries ranging from chemicals and energy to cars and food, supporting farming and protecting the environment. Voting in the Netherlands may have already produced a surprise. An Ipsos exit poll forecasts a win for the Dutch Labour Party, and predicted that pro-European parties would win most of the Netherlands' seats instead of right-wing populist opponents. In Germany, Angela Merkel is facing a battle to serve out her fourth and final term. Her chosen successor Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer has pressured the chancellor to consider making way if her Christian Democrats lose more support in the European vote. The bigger risk may come from the Social Democrats. A poor result could push Merkel's reluctant coalition partner to bring down the government, especially if the party loses control in the city-state of Bremen - a traditional SPD stronghold - where voters are also selecting a new administration. Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron faces a tight race with nationalist Marine Le Pen in a rematch of the 2017 presidential race. If he loses, it could undermine his grand plans for tighter EU integration. More than six months of Yellow Vest protests have pushed Macron to backtrack on key reforms and offer tax cuts and subsidies in an effort to appease protesters. A bad result tonight may further push him toward even more expensive concessions. And in Spain, Pedro Sanchez's Socialists have a chance to grab control of Madrid's regional government for the first time in 24 years, a feat that could help propel the acting prime minister toward a second term and make him a political force beyond Spain. A win today would also play into a broader plan by Sanchez to leapfrog Italy in Europe's pecking order. The euro area's fourth-largest economy has traditionally lacked the political clout in Brussels of number three Italy, but Sanchez and some of his aides think Rome's euro-sceptic turn means it's time for Spain to punch above its economic weight. Austrian voters get their first chance to weigh in after Chancellor Sebastian Kurz's government toppled following a lurid video that compromised his nationalist coalition partner. A strong showing would bolster Europe's youngest leader as he faces the risk of a no-confidence vote tomorrow. For the embattled Freedom Party, the ballot will be a test of their ability to deflect the scandal by blaming the video on a conspiracy by foreign operatives. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is projected to dominate the election just as he has done with every ballot in the past decade. The real question is what happens afterwards. If the illiberal leader formally joins the far-right, he may feel emboldened to remove the remaining checks on his power to create the closest thing to authoritarian rule inside the EU. Overall, the European Parliament's traditional political powerhouses are expected to come out with the most votes. But the centre-right European People's Party and the centre-left Socialists and Democrats look set to lose some clout and face their strongest challenge yet from an array of populist, nationalist and far-right parties. Those parties hope to emulate what President Donald Trump did in the 2016 US election and what Brexiteers achieved in the UK: to disrupt what they see as an out-of-touch elite and gain power by warning about migrants massing at Europe's borders ready to rob the continent of its jobs and culture. The traditional parties warn that this strategy is worryingly reminiscent of pre-war tensions, and argue that unity is the best buffer against the challenges posed by a world in which China, the US and Russia are all flexing their economic and military prowess. A new 'green dream' has emerged in Ireland this weekend and its rising star, Saoirse McHugh, has a message for the Government. The 28-year-old Achill Island native has warned that politicians need to stop shifting the responsibility for the climate crisis on to individuals as a way to avoid tackling big business. Citing consumer-focused movements such as a reduction in meat and dairy consumption and the drive for paper straws, McHugh said, "they [the Government] are pushing the responsibilities downwards", before adding, "we need to address the entire system". She explained: "There are 100 companies in the world who are responsible for 70pc of greenhouse gas emissions - so while I think personal action is good, sometimes I think there is too much emphasis on it." She continued: "I really would like to focus on the fact that it's not down to individual choices. I think that's what damages a lot of environmental movements - that people feel burdened. I am crippled with guilt in every aspect of my life and it's an awful way to live - what we need to do is tackle the biggest polluters." Ms McHugh, a first-time candidate, was last night in contention to take one of the four Midlands North West seats behind Fine Gael's Mairead McGuinness and Sinn Fein's Matt Carthy. An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar speaks to the media at the European election count in the RDS Simmonscourt. TAOISEACH Leo Varadkar has opened the door to a general election in the coming months saying, "I'm certainly not ruling it out". Mr Varadkar said he won't be dissolving the Dail in the coming days or weeks but indicated it may happen before this year's budget. With the Dail summer recess due to kick in, that raised the possibility of a general election at the end of June. Asked whether he would go to the country rather than hold a number of Dail by-election, The Fine Gael leader told RTE "I can't rule it out" and that a number of factors were at play that could lead to an election, including the political landscape in the UK and the possibility of opposition pulling the plug on the government here. "If I'm the one to seek a dissolution I have to bear in mind other factors not just the result of these elections but also what's going on across the water in relation to Brexit and the need to have a stable government," he said. "Brexit is going to go on for a long time I believe, UK politics is going to be consumed by it. Expand Close An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar answers questions from the media at the local election count at City West. Photo: Tony Gavin 25/5/2019 / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar answers questions from the media at the local election count at City West. Photo: Tony Gavin 25/5/2019 "Also take into account other factors like getting through a budget in September/October and by-elections possibly happening in that period as well. "So not ruling it out but, as I say, not a prospect in the next couple of days or weeks anyway," he added. With more than half of the 949 seats filled in the local elections, Fianna Fail is on course to remain the biggest party at local government level in Ireland. Fine Gael is hopeful of gains, but the biggest surge is being enjoyed by the Green Party. Meanwhile, Sinn Fein is suffering significant losses Finnish voters cast their votes during the European Parliament elections in Helsinki, Finland May 26, 2019. Emmi Korhonen/Lehtikuva/via REUTERS Finnish voters cast their votes during the European Parliament elections in Helsinki, Finland May 26, 2019. Emmi Korhonen/Lehtikuva/via REUTERS An election official arranges ballots for the European and local elections at a polling station in Athens, Greece, May 26, 2019. REUTERS/Costas Baltas Linus Ludvigsson votes at a polling station during the European Parliament elections in Lund, Sweden Sunday, May 26, 2019. (Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency via AP) Voting is taking place today across Europe in an election expected to further dent traditional pro-EU parties and bolster the nationalist fringe in the European Parliament, putting a potential brake on collective action in economic and foreign policy. Polls opened at 7 a.m. (Irish time) in the east of the bloc and will finally close at 11 p.m.in Italy. Seven states have already voted, with 21 joining in on Sunday in what is the worlds biggest democratic exercise after India. Expand Close Finns vote during the European Parliament elections in Helsinki, Finland May 26, 2019. Emmi Korhonen/Lehtikuva/via REUTERS / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Finns vote during the European Parliament elections in Helsinki, Finland May 26, 2019. Emmi Korhonen/Lehtikuva/via REUTERS Right-wing populists top opinion polls in two of the big four member states - Italy and supposedly exiting Britain - and could also win in a third, France, rattling a pro-Union campaign championed by centrist President Emmanuel Macron. However, exit polls in some countries that have already voted have given pro-EU parties some comfort. The Dutch Labour party, all but written off, looks to have finished first, helped by the visibility of having the EU socialists lead candidate, current EU deputy chief executive Frans Timmermans. In the Netherlands pro-Union parties scored 70pc, up three points on the last European Parliament vote in 2014, and left the upstart anti-immigration party of Thierry Baudet fourth on 11pc.. The Dutch also turned out in bigger numbers, albeit at just 41pc, reinforcing hopes in Brussels of reversing a 40-year trend of declining turnout that critics cite as a democratic deficit that undermines the legitimacy of European Union lawmaking. Expand Close Finnish voters cast their votes during the European Parliament elections in Helsinki, Finland May 26, 2019. Emmi Korhonen/Lehtikuva/via REUTERS / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Finnish voters cast their votes during the European Parliament elections in Helsinki, Finland May 26, 2019. Emmi Korhonen/Lehtikuva/via REUTERS An exit poll after Fridays vote in deeply pro-EU Ireland pointed to an expected Green Wave. Across the bloc, concerns about climate change and the environment may bolster the pro-EU Greens group and could mean tighter regulations for industry and for the terms the EU may set for partners seeking trade accords. Britain also voted on Thursday and a new party focused on getting out of the EU was forecast by pre-vote opinion polls to come top, but there has been no exit poll data. Attention there has focused on the resignation of Prime Minister Theresa May. Results will be out late on Sunday, when all countries have voted The challenges facing the European project include unprecedented transatlantic slights from a U.S. president who fetes Europes populists, border rows among its own members over migrants and an economy hobbled by public debt and challenged by the rise of China. But parties seeking collective action on shared issues such as trade, security, migration or climate change should still dominate, albeit with a smaller overall majority. Europeans are preparing to remember events that shaped the Union. It is 75 years since Americans landed in France to defeat Nazi Germany and since Russian forces let the Germans crush a Polish bid for freedom, and 30 since Germans smashed the Berlin Wall to reunite east and west Europe. But memories of wars, hot and cold, have not sufficed to build faith in a united future. Mainstream parties pushing closer integration of the euro currency zones economy are struggling to capture the imagination of a public jaded by political elites. Expand Close Finnish voters cast their votes during the European Parliament elections in Helsinki, Finland May 26, 2019. Emmi Korhonen/Lehtikuva/via REUTERS / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Finnish voters cast their votes during the European Parliament elections in Helsinki, Finland May 26, 2019. Emmi Korhonen/Lehtikuva/via REUTERS Matteo Salvinis League in Italy may pip the Christian Democrats of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the blocs power broker, to become the biggest single party in the 751-seat chamber. Right-wing ruling parties in Poland and Hungary, defying Brussels over curbs to judicial and media independence, will also return eurosceptic lawmakers on Sunday. Expand Close An election official arranges ballots for the European and local elections at a polling station in Athens, Greece, May 26, 2019. REUTERS/Costas Baltas / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp An election official arranges ballots for the European and local elections at a polling station in Athens, Greece, May 26, 2019. REUTERS/Costas Baltas The results should be clear by late on Sunday, with exit polls in Germany at 1600 (Irish time) and France at 1800 (Irish Time) setting the tone before the final end of voting, in Italy at 2100 (Irish time), sees the Parliament publish its own seat forecast. The result will usher in weeks of bargaining among parties to form a stable majority in the Parliament, and among national leaders to choose successors to European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and other top EU officials. Many expect a clash as early as Tuesday, when leaders meeting in Brussels are likely to snub Parliaments demands that one of the newly elected lawmakers should run the EU executive. Gerard Taylor has been missing from his home in Sandyford since May 25 Gardai in south Dublin are appealing for help in tracing a missing 55-year-old man. Gerard Taylor has been missing from his home in Sandyford since yesterday, May 25. Mr Taylor was last seen at 9am on Saturday morning. He is described as 6ft in height, medium build with grey hair and blue eyes. When last seen he was wearing a navy blue jacket with a hood, green trousers and a navy blue cap. Any information on Gerards whereabout should be report to Dundrum Garda Station on 01 - 6665600 or via the Garda Confidential Line 1800 666 111. Irish people increase their pre-drinking rates after the age of 30 instead of slowing down, according to a new study. Pre-drinking, pre-loading or pre-gaming was defined as having a couple of drinks at home before going out. It is generally seen as a pursuit of the cash-strapped young party-goer but an international research paper has revealed that Ireland is one of the few countries where the custom increases after the age of 30. This comes in the wake of a series of reports highlighting the culture of binge drinking in Ireland. The latest research carried out on over 64,000 respondents from 27 countries - comprising mainly European states, along with the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Brazil - has just been published in the Alcohol and Alcoholism journal. The estimated percentage of pre-drinkers per country ranged from 17.8pc in Greece to 85.6pc in Ireland which topped the table. While the highest rates of pre-drinking are among 16-to-21-year-olds in Ireland, the habit falls off among Irish revellers in their 20s. But it starts to rise again among drinkers in their early 30s. "While we noted a decline in pre-drinking probability among respondents in all countries after 21 years of age, after the age of 30 this probability remained constant in some countries, or even increased in Brazil, Canada, England, Ireland, New Zealand and the United States," said the authors. The study, headed by Dr Jason Ferris from the University of Queensland, stated that pre-drinking is "often motivated by the higher cost of alcohol in licensed venues, many people also choose to pre-drink to achieve rapid intoxication, or to facilitate socialising with friends". The authors added: "The practice has become an issue of increasing global concern due to evidence linking pre-drinking with higher levels of alcohol use and intoxication and increased risk of adverse alcohol-related consequences such as blackouts, assault, injury or arrest." Although they didn't record the volume of alcohol taken at pre-drinking occasions or motivations, the authors suggested there could be different reasons behind the practice for the younger and older age groups. They noted: "We might expect that young drinkers are more likely to pre-drink to save money and get intoxicated in unsupervised environments, while some adults in their early 30s may enjoy the opportunity to socialise with friends in a quiet environment." This latest research comes in the wake of a WHO report which revealed that Irish teetotallers have more than halved over the past three decades - while binge drinkers have sharply risen. The alarming figures show Ireland is currently No.5 in the planet in the global drinking rankings with just over 13 litres of pure alcohol a year per adult consumed in Ireland in 2017. The new pre-drinking study used data from the Global Drugs Survey to compare the percentage of pre-drinking by sex and from the ages 16 to 35 years, across the 27 countries. The researchers also focused on the influence of sex on pre-drinking with the results showing a large variation between the 27 countries. The authors of the study said pre-drinking is a worldwide phenomenon but varies substantially by sex and age between countries. "Policy-makers would benefit from increased understanding of the particularities of pre-drinking in their own country to efficiently target harmful pre-drinking behaviours," said the authors. The scene of the crash in upstate New York PIC Brooke Kelly Selby. An Irishman (33) and a woman have been killed by an alleged drink-driver in a two-vehicle crash in upstate New York. Three other people travelling in the same car, all aged in their mid-twenties, were seriously injured in the incident. Their nationalities have not yet been confirmed by authorities. The tragic incident occurred on Saturday afternoon approximately 30km north of Albany, New York in an area called Clifton Park, at an intersection on State Route 9 and Ushers Road. State police responded to the incident just before 3pm. Local media report that a southbound vehicle travelling on State Route 9 veered from its lane and struck an eastbound vehicle, with the five passengers, which was stopped for a traffic light on Ushers Road. New York State Police have confirmed that two people were killed in the crash. NYS Police and the Jonesville Fire Department are currently on the scene of a two vehicle crash that happened near the intersection of Route 9 and Ushers Rd. in Clifton Park. State Police say there are 2 fatalities and 3 others were taken to Albany Med. One driver is in custody. pic.twitter.com/BNetKi9ure Jamie DeLine (@JamieDeLineNews) May 25, 2019 It is understood the deceased man is from the west of Ireland and both deceased were living in New York. They are both in their early thirties. The three other people in the car were rushed to Albany Medical Center for treatment. They sustained serious but non life-threatening injuries. According to Clifton Park Town Justice James Hughes, a man (58) has been charged with one count of manslaughter, two counts of vehicular homicide and a count of drink-driving due to his involvement in the crash. The man was also transported to Albany Med after he complained about chest pains, but was charged once he was cleared at the hospital. He is currently remanded at Saratoga County Jail without bail and is due in court on May 29 at 4pm. The Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed to Independent.ie that they are aware of the incident and are ready to provide consular assistance if requested. A majority of creche providers snubbed a study intended to inform the Government about the scale of fees and costs associated with childcare in Ireland. The survey was commissioned by the Minister for Children Katherine Zappone more than two years ago but has still not been published, despite growing concern from parents and employers' groups about rising childcare fees and lack of spaces. Only one in five childcare providers shared their fees and costs with the surveyors. Of the 4,504 contacted, only 852 responded, the Department of Children has confirmed. The study by the consultancy firm, Crowe, was described by the Minister as a "critical" part of the Government's efforts to reform childcare in Ireland, as researchers examine the factors driving Ireland's high childcare costs. The low engagement from the industry has been described as disappointing. Fees have increased by 11 a week over two years, according to official figures, with parents now in Ireland paying an average of 177 per child or 708 a month. Ireland is consistently ranked as one of the most expensive countries in Europe for childcare. The industry body, Early Childhood Ireland, which represents more than 3,000 members, said the response was "disappointing" but may be explained by the fact that it coincided with another yearly study conducted by Pobal. Parents in Ireland spend 28pc of the average wage on childcare compared to the EU average of 12pc, according to the latest report by the National Competitiveness Council. But Irish parents are still better off than parents in Britain, where the corresponding figure was 36pc. The Minister introduced subsidies to make childcare more affordable. However, one couple told the Sunday Independent that even with the subsidy, fees for their two children attending a north Dublin creche increased this year by 120 to 1,450 a month. The cost of full-time childcare increased by 4 a week last year and by 7 in 2017, according to the annual price survey published last year by Pobal. In Cork city, fees rose more than 15, while childcare prices were highest in Dun Laoghaire in south Dublin where parents can expect to pay 308 for a child per week. The number of childcare places available fell by 31pc last year. Early Childhood Ireland said it encouraged its members to take part in the Crowe survey, promoting the study internally and at an event: "It should also be borne in mind that community and private childcare providers have stringent regulatory requirements which require regular, complex reporting to State bodies. "It may be that coming as it did, at the same time as the Profile (Pobal) survey, that our members simply couldn't find the time to complete an additional survey." Reports emerged last week of a severe shortage of creche places for babies and toddlers because of the success of the free pre-school programme for three to five-year-olds. Screening is a vital element of our health service. It aims to identify healthy people at risk of a disease before symptoms appear. Early detection generally means early treatment, when there is a much better outcome or chance of survival. Screening programmes are unique amongst health services in that they identify a whole population of apparently well people and test them to see if they are at risk of a specific disease or, in some cases, already have signs of that disease. Organised screening services currently offered include screening for newborns and four population-based programmes - CervicalCheck, BowelScreen, BreastCheck and Diabetic RetinaScreen. Approximately 1.5million people in Ireland are eligible for these programmes, supplied and operated by the HSE National Screening Service. It is important to understand that a screening test is not the same as a diagnostic test, i.e. a test which is offered to people with symptoms or to those identified to be at risk, and assesses whether they already have the disease or a test can be used to monitor disease progress and response to treatment. Like all medical tests, screening tests carry a degree of inaccuracy. Screening will not always pick up changes or signs of a disease (a false negative result) and in some cases it will pick up changes or signs which turn out to be benign (a false positive result). People can also develop the disease in between negative screenings. Like all medical tests, these limitations need to be balanced with the benefits of screening. Screening in Ireland has saved many lives, and in the case of cervical screening in particular, has contributed to reducing the rates of cervical cancer among women in Ireland. CervicalCheck commenced in 2008, when the incidence of cervical cancer in Ireland was increasing. By 2010, just two years after the programme began, this trend changed and the rates of cervical cancer in Ireland decreased by 7pc year on year between 2010 and 2015. To date, CervicalCheck has provided over three million cervical screening tests and detected over 100,000 abnormalities. It is estimated that regular cervical screening can prevent 75pc (or 3 out of 4) of cervical cancer cases. Coupled with the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, cervical screening has the potential to eliminate HPV in Ireland; the underlying cause of cervical and other related cancers. Like all screening tests, cervical screening has limitations. It will not prevent all cases of cervical cancer and unfortunately some women will still develop cervical cancer despite regular screening. We know that for every 1,000 women screened through CervicalCheck, about 20 will have abnormal cervical cells. About 15 of these 20 women will have these cells detected through screening, while about 5 out of these 20 women will not and may develop cervical cancer. The past year has been very difficult for women who have used CervicalCheck, particularly those women and families who were affected by the issues surrounding the cervical cancer audit process. As highlighted by Dr Gabriel Scally, these system-wide failures impacted hugely on women and their families and learnings and improvements must take place. As the new Clinical Director of CervicalCheck, I and the hugely dedicated CervicalCheck team are absolutely committed to and focused on delivering the improvement and changes necessary that have been outlined in Dr Scally's report and to continuing to support women and families impacted. Unprecedented demand The unprecedented demand for cervical screening in 2018 has led to very regrettable delays in the processing of tests and many women continue to experience significant anxiety as they await their results. We are doing our utmost to reduce these delays and we are making steady progress. Notwithstanding this, we recognise the distress these delays are causing and we remain resolute at processing all outstanding tests as a matter of priority. Once sufficient progress has been made, we can advance our planning for the implementation of HPV primary screening; a more effective method of cervical screening. Despite these very real difficulties, and the general limitations of screening, we must not forget the huge benefit that screening brings to our population in terms of improving health outcomes and ultimately saving lives. Last Monday was United Nations World Bee Day. This was a call to stop and look at the small, colourful insect unobtrusively making its pollen-gathering way through gardens and parks in much reduced numbers. Ten years ago, I noted hundreds, if not thousands, of humming bees on a sward near house building, gorging on red-and-white clover. They were mainly honey bees, workers from wild nests, some solitary toilers and at the edges, bumbles (Bombus hortorum), those casually calming creatures, diligently going about their business kitted in strip of black, yellow and white, which love to dive into flower bells and burrow beneath the silken folds of rose petals. But bumbles make up just 1pc of the Earth's seriously declining bee species of about 25,000. They are closest to our hearts, though, especially regal queens that must begin new colonies each spring and feed the workers that emerge until they set out to find food for her majesty. Then there are the hairy-footed species which don't make honey, the solitary fellows, the plasterers which line their nests, miners that go underground and leaf-cutters which protect their homes with pieces of rose leaves. The UN has already warned of the imminent collapse of many wild species including thousands of bee types, 37pc of which have declined with 9pc facing extinction. Alison Benjamin, author of a forthcoming book, The Good Bee: A celebration of bees - and how to save them, has written that a bee visiting a flower is "an act of nature playing out for more than 100 million years". Flowering plants evolved with bees. As the bee goes from flower to flower (collecting nectar to fuel her flight and pollen to feed her family) she moves pollen from stamen to pistill (male to female plant part) so that the plant can produce seeds. Benjamin quotes the poet Kahlil Gibran's beautifully described symbiotic relationship: "To a bee a flower is the fountain of life and to the flower the bee is a messenger of love." The role of bees in agriculture is pivotal: they pollinate trees whose oxygen we breathe and which mitigate the climate crisis and also the flora that feeds other insects, birds, mammals in the food chain which produces fruits, vegetables, seeds and fodder. In the past 70 years farming has become highly industrialised, eliminating wildflower meadows that provided food and habitat for bees, replacing them with vast tracts of monoculture for silage making. There are signs, however, that pitfalls are being recognised with the EU banning the use of neonicotinoid pesticides - a toxic substance that caused the disorientation and deaths of countless numbers of bees. Herbicide bans are needed now. Tests have shown that pollinated crops have produced bumper harvests. Bavaria, in Germany, is leading the way. Almost two million people signed a bee-saving petition demanding 20pc of farmland become bee-friendly within six years. Urban places are also crucial and local authorities must halt spraying in public parks. If they think 'weeds' are unsightly, remove by hand and hoe - and be guided by those who use the parks. Remember, in saving bees, we are saving ourselves. A regular reader with whom I share a passion for Saabs - mostly those 96 V4s of the 1970s - wrote recently and asked for advice about small SUVs/crossovers. After consulting a colleague, Philip Hedderman, Motoring Editor of The Herald, who breathes petrol rather than air, we came firmly down on the side of the Seat Arona. That's not to say cars like the Hyundai Kona, Kia Stonic and the new Volkswagen T-Cross were dismissed lightly but the Arona comes in at a reasonable price, has surprisingly good space front and rear, is very well-built and has just enough pep in its small petrol engines to keep you interested. It will also hold its value well. The Seat designers are much more adventurous than their colleagues in the wider Volkswagen group. I feel there is just a touch of the sportiness and style I loved about the old Saabs with the marque. Across the water, What Car? gives the Arona a very rare five stars, while Autocar puts it at the very summit of the small SUV/crossover category, with the latter's road test editor Matt Saunders saying it is a "polished, mature all-rounder (that) goes straight to the top of the class". It's worth checking out. Remember your next petrol car could be your last, as the electric snowball is really going to start rolling down that hill. Another small car with SUV pretensions is the Ford Fiesta Active, which I had been looking forward to driving, as the ordinary hatchback version is without doubt one of the best cars on the market for driving dynamics. With extra height and some bits of shoulder padding around the edges and a few driving options - but not full AWD - the Fiesta Active does make a nice bridge for people who want a bit more comfort and ease of access but without going the whole SUV gamut. We certainly began to warm to it during the week-long test and when I saw that the well-equipped car was coming in at little over 21,000 - especially with its very impressive Frozen White paint job - I thought it was almost a contender for the Spray purse. The 1.0L EcoBoost 100PS petrol engine is lively enough and there are some nice touches around the cabin. Yet the car is let down by the very tight space in the back and a feeling that it is the first go at what will eventually be a very desirable car. At the moment, there is a bit of mish-mash of styles. I'll give it a few years and come back to it. However, I think the Fiesta, in this Active mode, will gradually take a larger share of the market. I make rare enough visits to the tyre shops, but noticed that the rubber on the front wheels of our seven-year-old Hyundai i10 was beginning to show a lot of wear. Nothing illegal, but not enough tread to have total peace of mind for another year. Living in Phibsborough, it was only right that we went around to Dalymount Tyre Services. A small, but totally professional crew, gave good advice, a speedy service and I left feeling we had been well-treated and that we were safer. In general, the country is very neglectful about the state of our tyres. They are the only things that keep us in contact with the road. Look after them and they will look after you. You can't take risks with them, so buy from proper sources and beware of people offering second-hand tyres or very cheap deals. As with everything, if it seems too good to be true it usually is. Bobby Gillespie, singer with Primal Scream, perhaps the most debauched rock and roll band of the last few decades, thinks everyone needs to calm down a bit. Gillespie caused outrage when he appeared on Newsnight recently and said, among other things, that Madonna was "a prostitute" for appearing at the Eurovision in Israel. Gillespie, it should be said, did stress that he has nothing against prostitutes. What was interesting about it all was Gillespie's reaction to the furore caused by his comments. "Everything is emotional," he said in an interview last Friday, "There's no critical thought. Why not put your energy towards something you should be angry about, like Tory austerity?" He talked about the "intolerant culture" we now have and said he believed there was such a thing as a "digital lynch mob". When a guy who has made a career out of whipping young - and not so young - people into a frenzy, is appealing for everyone to be less emotional and more rational, and to focus less on online culture wars and fits of outrage and more on actual real politics and economic policies, it's fair to say we may have reached a tipping point in the politics of feeling. No one is talking about Tory austerity in the UK right now. Politics right now in the UK is largely about how everyone is feeling. For example, we had Theresa May's emotional resignation speech last Friday, which seemed to lead to a brief bounce in her popularity. May, often viewed as a closed, unreadable, secretive, austere figure, seemed to enjoy a brief bounce in popularity last Friday as she finally gave in to the spirit of the age and broke down in tears for the cameras. You were tempted to think that if only she'd shown some more feelings before now, things might have worked out better for her. But she didn't. Theresa May refused to participate much in the politics of feelings, and when she did, like with her Dancing Queen moment, it didn't really work. May approached her premiership, and its defining issue of delivering Brexit, as a thinking matter, not a feeling matter. She dealt with the impossible arithmetic of her Brexit deal as a kind of a Rubik's Cube, where trying to get all the sides lined up together can seem impossible. Each time she tried to get one side lined up that threw out another side. But she struggled grimly on, with a touching belief that logic and sense would win out at the end of the day. The UK didn't want to crash out. It wanted to leave with a deal. This was the deal on offer. So take the deal. It's a no-brainer. Except, unfortunately for her, it wasn't always brains that were engaged. Of course you could argue that Theresa May could have done a bit more to bring the troops along with her, rather than the slightly hectoring tone she employed. She didn't ever manage to enthuse people with a compelling story around Brexit. Clearly she subscribes to Bobby Gillespie's disapproval of the fact that everything is emotional. But the problem is that Brexit was a feeling. No one even knew what it was when they voted for it, and arguably they still don't. It was about a rather vague notion of taking back control. It was primarily an emotional howl based on a simple compelling narrative of nostalgia and resentment. And it's only going to get more emotional. Because there is a massive clamour afoot now to get Boris made PM. Boris, we're being told, is the only man who can save the Tories and who can see off Farage. As The Daily Telegraph put it last week, "Who else, ask Boris's fans, can change the mood in a shopping centre by entering it? Or make an audience smile before starting to speak?" Boris is the one who can give the party some energy again, we're told. Boris is the man who will change the whole feeling around the Tories. You may recall that the last time the Tories based a strategy around neutralising Farage, we got Brexit. This time we're probably getting Boris. Boris, who will face exactly the same impossible situation Theresa May faced. Boris, who will not get a better deal from Europe. Boris, who does not demonstrate the same sense of duty as Theresa May. Last Friday, Boris praised May for her stoicism, and you sensed it was something of a dig. Stoicism, to Boris, is probably a dull, lifeless kind of thing, the opposite of feeling, the opposite of reacting to everything, the opposite of electrifying a shopping centre. There may come a time when Theresa May's plodding sense of duty will seem like a golden era of politics compared to Boris's shopping-centre energising. May's obsession with details, and the specifics of things, may some day very soon seem like very desirable qualities next to Boris's tactic of, "Just get on with it and to hell with the details". Boris will be exciting, but politics is just as much about dull details and the specifics of things. But maybe the truth lies somewhere between thinking and feeling, between Theresa and Boris. In his book Nervous States: How Feelings Took Over the World, William Davies paints a picture of a world where "knowledge becomes more valued for its speed and impact rather than its cold objectivity, and where emotional falsehood often travels faster than fact". He points to how feelings like nostalgia, resentment, anger and fear have disrupted the status quo. But Davies does not believe that cold hard facts are the best way to combat the high emotion that has driven the rise of populism. He argues that centrists, rather than waiting for everyone to calm down and look at the cold hard facts, need to "dig deeper into our emotional and physical selves in search of the common world. If those committed to peace are not prepared to do this work of excavation, then those committed to conflict will happily do so instead." This was, for example, very much how Emmanuel Macron defeated the far-right in France. He recognised the right were giving people a narrative they could emotionally engage with and he did the same. He told a story, he used symbols, nostalgia for France's past. He evoked empire and kings and greatness and epic history. He campaigned in poetry and theatrical set pieces. If the RTE/TG4 exit poll is anything to go by, the Green Party has had a great election. As much as the rise in environmental awareness has been driven by science and facts, overwhelmingly it is a feeling. It's about young people rising up, about images of sea creatures strangled by plastic, it's about David Attenborough, and Netflix. And it's about a very powerful narrative. Maybe the other political parties here have a lesson to learn from the Greens. That you can take the tools of populism and use them for good. The Greens were really the only party with a compelling story to tell in these elections, and, like Brexit, it was a narrative based on fear, anger, and indeed nostalgia. But above all, it was based on something that many political parties do not offer young people - hope for the future. And maybe that is how the forces of darkness will be beaten at their own game. With a bit of feeling. Green parties are set to poll strongly when European Parliament results are revealed this evening, beneficiaries of growing public concern about climate change. The Green parties can claim to have prioritised the issue longer than others, especially in Europe. It is rather a shame that this public concern seems to be greatest in Europe, responsible for just one-tenth of worldwide greenhouse gas emissions and which has made greater efforts towards decarbonisation in recent times. Emissions continue to rise rapidly in the United States, responsible for one tonne in six, more than all the European countries put together and currently led by Donald Trump, who believes that climate change is a hoax, dreamt up by the Chinese to damage America. China, which is responsible for one tonne in four, has recently begun to make a greater decarbonisation effort but its emissions have accounted for much of the global increase for several decades. Emissions in Ireland account for about 0.13pc of the world total, or one tonne in every 770. Since the earth has just one atmosphere, the benefit of any effort made in Ireland is by way of being seen to make it. If Ireland switched itself off entirely on January 1, China alone would have fully offset the impact on the world's emissions by January 3. There will be no success for anyone unless every significant country, including the climate-denying Trump's USA, change course soon. Ireland, like all the other EU countries, needs to do whatever it can at reasonable cost, but the problem is global. Last year, worldwide emissions rose yet again, by about 1.7pc according to the International Energy Agency. But in Ireland emissions fell, due to the closure for several months of the Moneypoint coal-fired power station. This will prove to be a temporary respite, since the station, the largest in Ireland, is back up and running, and will not close until 2025. The peat-fired power stations in the Midlands produce even more emissions per unit of electricity than Moneypoint (the three together are one-third its size) and are not due to close until 2030. It will be interesting to see if the Government will accelerate these closure dates when the new climate change policy is revealed shortly. If it does, Ireland will have made very substantial progress in decarbonising electricity - large costs have been incurred in subsidising wind farms and Ireland already has high wind-power penetration. Natural gas stations will still be needed to keep the lights on, since wind is weather-dependent and unreliable. The Government could decide to offer subsidies also to solar farms, but they are weather-dependent too. One way or another, there will be a need for gas stations through the energy transition and the Government's target of 70pc renewable electricity has been described by industry experts as ''ambitious'', which is polite of them. Per unit emissions from gas stations are just half those from coal (peat is even worse) so their replacement with gas is low-hanging fruit. One necessary adjunct is a terminal to import liquefied natural gas, since domestic output from the Corrib field will tail off inside the next five or six years. Eventually it may be possible to substitute with nuclear (not popular with Green parties) but the critical period of transition to a low-carbon power system in Europe will need gas for several decades to come. Ireland's reliance on coal has been declining but was never Europe's highest, nor is the planned phase-out Europe's slowest. The coal champion is Poland, where 80pc of electricity is generated in coal plants. The government of Poland has just awarded 1.4bn in subsidies to a company which will build, by 2023, the country's largest-ever coal plant at 853 megawatts, almost as big as Moneypoint. The day Moneypoint closes, some smiling politician will be cutting the tape on a new Polish plant of around the same size and with an expected life of 25 or 30 years. Such a shame Ireland does not possess its very own atmosphere. While politicians wrestle with the phase out of the Irish coal and peat plants, the Industrial Development Authority has been busy attracting data centres to this country. There are now more than 50 and Ireland is set to host about 25pc of the entire European capacity in data centres. Ireland's population share is just over 1pc, so there is something interesting going on. Data centres do not employ very many people and they consume piles of electricity. The company which runs the national grid, and which tries to keep the electricity market in balance, EirGrid, has been forecasting that a very large increase in overall electricity demand will have to be met if the data centre boom is to continue. There are good reasons why data centres might wish to choose Ireland - they save on cooling costs as against more southerly locations and Denmark is popular for the same reason. But 25pc of European capacity looks suspiciously high. A possible clue is that EirGrid and ESB Networks have been making noises about the need for costly grid reinforcements to meet the extra demand, and it is not clear that the data centres will be picking up the tab. In which case, the costs will be postalised across the general electricity tariff paid by consumers and other businesses. They will also face extra costs to subsidise more renewable electricity. These extra costs will make firms less competitive (electricity prices for Irish firms are already high by European standards) and will inhibit jobs growth. It would be helpful if the Government could commission a cost-benefit analysis on the data centre issue before any further commitments are undertaken - the Department of Public Expenditure has a team of people experienced in this kind of work. The Government also has ambitious targets for the transport sector, especially for the move to electric cars. There is every reason to expect, eventually, a car fleet with a high percentage of electric vehicles, but there are serious Exchequer implications. Subsidies for electric cars are very generous. This does not matter too much so long as take-up stays low, but they will have to be withdrawn once large numbers of people take the plunge. There is another headache. Fuel tax (petrol and diesel) is a big revenue source and electricity for cars cannot be dyed green, as is the case for non-automotive diesel, taxed at a lower rate. If the car fleet goes electric, fuel tax revenue will take a hit. There will have to be some alternative system of charging for road use, possibly congestion charges. There is also a challenge for ESB Networks. The distribution network in urban areas is not capable, according to the Irish Academy of Engineering, of supporting widespread overnight charging without costly reinforcement and somebody will have to pay. The problem is apparently less acute in rural Ireland, but there could be costs running into the billions eventually. The EU countries, collectively and individually, have a responsibility to plot a cost-effective course through the transition to a low-carbon economy. It is all very well for Dail Eireann to declare a climate emergency but there are some serious policy issues which have not been addressed. Theresa May's successor will almost certainly be a stronger advocate of Brexit than she is. Nor is the next British prime minister likely to be any better disposed towards Ireland. That means, among other things, that the nationalist community in the North faces the prospect of living in a state in which English nationalism is on the rise and embodied in the leader of the UK. If clear favourite Boris Johnson takes the role, both parts of this island could face real trouble. The Government, and the Taoiseach in particular, need to rethink their approach to Brexit to take account of the changed situation. All plausible scenarios need to be considered. The worst-case scenario, which is very bad, needs deep consideration. Honesty about how the current juncture has been arrived at is also needed. Mrs May was, above all, the victim of her own ineptitude. She misread her party and her fellow EU leaders at almost every turn. She miscalculated unerringly. She communicated abysmally. Her greatest mistake was to fail to see how the backstop would play out. In the 18 months since the Irish and EU side put the backstop on the Brexit negotiating table it has dominated both the talks and British politics. It is the reason the current impasse has been reached. The Withdrawal Agreement May signed up to with the EU dealt with only three substantive issues. Of these, neither Britain's exit bill nor the matter of the rights of EU citizens living in the UK and vice-versa was a deal-breaker. It was the third issue - the Northern Ireland backstop - which Westminster refused to swallow over three separate votes. May's attempt last week to bring it back to parliament - yet again - led to the evaporation of whatever authority she had left. By last Friday she was forced out. There should be no surprise the backstop has created such a furore. If it were ever to take effect it would change the status of Northern Ireland, taking it out of the UK's single market and tying it to the legislative and legal order of the EU. This is a perfectly good technocratic solution to ensuring that there can never be any change whatsoever to the way the Border on this island works. But solutions designed by technocrats, who sometimes have limited appreciation of the wider consequences of their proposals, can turn out badly. The European Commission's failure to see the risks of bringing Ukraine closer to the legislative and legal order of the EU's single market in 2014 was such an error. The risk that the backstop would bring about a crisis, and lead inexorably to a no-deal Brexit with all its damaging consequences, was always considerable. Demanding that there be absolutely no change to the Border for all time, and claiming that any change whatsoever was a catastrophe for the Good Friday Agreement, were high-risk positions to take. The later position also came with the downside that any appearance of compromise could be construed as putting peace at risk. Painting oneself into a corner when the stakes are so high is never a good idea. The backstop gambit was not only risky. It also came with costs. On this island it has deepened division and distrust between the two traditions. Though it may be an inconvenient truth which is simply ignored south of the Border, political unionism is united against the backstop. It is not only the dunderhead element in the DUP which sees it as an attempt to annex the North. In a speech last weekend, Danny Kennedy, the Ulster Unionist Party's candidate for the European Parliament election said: "Unionist concerns around the backstop are just as valid and are afforded equal protection under the Good Friday Agreement as those of our nationalist neighbours about a hard land Border." His party, which opposed Brexit in the 2016 referendum, argues with impeccable logic that because the backstop involves changing the status of Northern Ireland without the consent of its people, it is a breach of the Good Friday Agreement. One of the tragedies of Brexit is that it was always going to unsettle the North's fragile political arrangements, no matter what the outcome. Despite the damage it has already caused and the growing likelihood that it will bring about a no-deal Brexit and a Trumpian prime minister in London, the Irish and EU position is that the Withdrawal Agreement concluded with Mrs May is the only way Britain can exit the EU smoothly. The private positions of diplomats from across the EU are as strong on that point as the public positions of their governments. As such, the Government has limited reason to fear a loss of support from the rest of the EU 26 as the next cliff edge approaches on October 31. Its greater problem may be the exact opposite. Even if Leo Varadkar wished to offer a concession on the backstop, so much political capital has been invested in it by EU leaders that backing down would be resisted, by some at least. Backing down to Boris Johnson, when they would not do so for Theresa May, would generate even more resistance. Finding a compromise has proved so difficult because Northern Ireland can only be in one market at a time. Binary choices are always hard to deal with in any negotiation. With opinion in Britain so polarised on the backstop issue, things have gone from bad to worse. The most obvious change to the Withdrawal Agreement that could change the dynamic in Westminster is to time-limit the backstop. A five-year limit, combined with the current transition period up to the end of 2020, would guarantee zero change to the Border until 2025. A lot could happen in six-and-a-half years, including a united Ireland. If the alternative is a no-deal Brexit in five months, which would, among many other bad things, mean a hard Border immediately, then it may be the least bad outcome from this whole fiasco. As this column has argued before, a greater role for the Irish Government in guaranteeing rights in Northern Ireland could be sought in return for such a concession. That could help assuage the legitimate fears of the nationalist community. Giving the people of Northern Ireland a choice in a referendum on whether they want to be in the EU's single market or the UK's single market is another option. Such a vote would certainly be divisive, but it would ensure that the principle of consent in the Good Friday Agreement is respected. It may be that all of this is unnecessary. If prime minister Johnson backs down on his pledge to renegotiate the backstop and then gets Mrs May's deal through parliament, the huge gamble that is the backstop will have paid off. But that is looking less likely than ever. The backstop has already contributed to the polarisation of British politics and the deepening of divisions on this island. Sticking to it rigidly appears more likely than ever to bring about a no-deal Brexit. The consequences of that will be dire. Irish politics has traditionally been described as a "two and a half party" system. Since the demise of Labour, the contest has been on to fill the role of the half party. For a time, it looked as if Sinn Fein was poised to step up and take the mantle. It even passed a motion at a special ard fheis to pave the way for coalition. Now it seems that the party has lost the chance to play that role even before it got to the final audition stage, with the Greens overtaking them in both the local and (if the exit poll is to be believed, and there's no reason not to think it accurate) European Parliament elections. The result is what's shaping up to be a disastrous weekend for Sinn Fein, and for Mary Lou McDonald personally. The Dublin woman is still sometimes referred to as the party's "new" leader, and, when the previous one was in the job for nearly 40 years, she does still feel like a novice; but she's been at the helm for over a year now, more than long enough to make her mark, and there's a definite feeling that the party has yet to get out of the starting blocks under her guidance. Her first set of results as leader couldn't have been worse. In Dublin, EU election candidate Lynn Boylan's vote looks to have plummeted, despite topping the poll last time. In the South constituency, Liadh Ni Riada's vote also looks to be on a similar downwards trajectory. More worryingly for the party in the long term, Sinn Fein has not only failed to make advances in the local elections, but is actually going backwards. Mary Lou says it was always going to be difficult to hold on to the gains the party made in the councils five years ago, when SF won an extra 105 seats, going up 7.8 per cent in the process; and that's undoubtedly true. But the bald truth is that the protest vote on which SF always relied is simply going elsewhere right now, specifically to the Greens, who are also taking votes from the hard left, and winning it back again may not be all that straightforward. In a way, SF has lost its brand identity. The Greens are more militant on economics, and, at a time when even a Fine Gael Taoiseach is regularly bashing the Brits to popular acclaim, with SF cheerleading from the wings, the party's claim to be the One True Republic's purest defender has been diluted. It could be that courting FG in the hope of a coalition after the next election has fatally undermined its radical credentials. They took their eye off the ball, and took supporter's' votes for granted. For that, Mary Lou can be personally blamed, not least for spending so much of her time talking about Northern Irish issues. That may have slowed any chance of changing SF's traditionally transfer-toxic reputation. It's now more than 20 years since the Belfast Agreement. If the party is still stained by the shadow of that violent conflict, it can only be because it keeps choosing to be so by apologising for the murderous Provisional IRA campaign, rather than seeking a way to move beyond that poisonous legacy. The party's attempts to distance itself from past Euroscepticism has proved equally inept. SF now tries to pitch itself as a "eurocritical" party, broadly supportive of the EU but keen for reform, which is a crowded space in the political marketplace. The real fight now in Europe is between full-blooded Eurosceptics, of the Brexit Party variety and passionate euro-federalists. Voters here have decisively picked their side. Concurrent fears about the effects of climate change mean that the Greens have been the beneficiaries. Supporting their candidates ticks two boxes at once. It's a protest vote, and simultaneously a vote for the EU establishment. SF lost out on both scores. There is, of course, an element of virtuous posturing about voting Green. It's unlikely to cost voters anything, because Greens are rarely in a position to implement their anti-growth, anti-business, anti-farming economic policies. Only in the topsy-turvy world of post-Brexit European politics could the rise of the Greens be seen as a victory against populism. The heady mixture of heightened emotion and simplistic solutions to complex problems that the Greens champion is every bit as populist as the right-wing variety. It just happens to appeal to a different demographic. But the surge by Greens at both local and European level will undoubtedly prompt the larger parties to make more effort to court the young climate change vote in the next general election. By tomorrow morning, the main parties will already be thinking about the next Dail. Could a FG/Green coalition be on the cards, saving Leo from the moral dilemma of having to get into bed with SF? It definitely looks to be a possibility, and it would tick so many of Leo Varadkar's boxes that he's probably already drawing up a list of giddy initiatives to woo the eco-warriors his way. The Greens are bound to grimly remember, though, that, the last time they went into coalition, it took the party a decade to recover. The same thing happened to Labour. SF was always wary of falling into the same trap, but may now be ruing that they may have lost the chance to take that risk, meaning they will have taken a hit for "selling out" without first getting the chance to put a price on the sell out. What do they do now - shift back to the hard left, which now regards the party with even greater suspicion than before? Sit tight and hope that the Greens disappoint their new supporters as much as the party has in the past? Mary Lou doesn't even have the luxury of hunkering down and rethinking the party strategy's from scratch, in the way that Fianna Fail had to do after 2011, because she's not her own woman. SF has to look, Janus-like, in two directions. What works in the North doesn't necessarily work in the South, but, in any conflict, one side has to win. If the European election results confirm anything, it's that Irish voters respond to clearly defined messages. Peter Casey chimed with voters in the presidential election because they could see a place for him. But what would be the point of him pottering about in Brussels, making the occasional speech? The same goes for Clare Daly and Mick Wallace. Transfers may well find one or both Brussels-bound, but they'll probably end up being much more isolated there than they are in the Dail. They'll be free-floating, anchorless, and that didn't do much good in the end for Ming Flanagan, whose previous huge support has evaporated in Midlands-North West. Name recognition was supposed to be crucial in such geographically wide constituencies, but the bigger lesson here seems to be that it's more important to define one's role. SF has lost that clarity, so it's being punished, and it's being punished more severely than others because it's lost the greatest sense of purpose. It doesn't know any more if it's a party of government, or of protest; an anti-establishment popular movement, or a new Labour Party with some republican knobs on. Parties can survive bad election results. What they can't survive is not knowing who they are. There is a story about an enthusiastic American who took a phlegmatic English friend to see the Niagara Falls. "Isn't that amazing?" exclaimed the American. "Look at that vast mass of water dashing over that huge cliff!" "But what," asked the Englishman, "is to stop it?" My father, Claud Cockburn, used to tell this fable to illustrate what, as a reporter in New York on the first day of the Wall Street Crash on October 24, 1929, it was like to watch a great and unstoppable disaster taking place. I thought about my father's account of the mood on that day in New York as Theresa May announced her departure as prime minister, the latest milestone - but an important one - in the implosion of British politics in the age of Brexit. Everybody with their feet on the ground has a sense of unavoidable disaster up ahead but no idea of how to avert it, least of all May's likely successors with their buckets of snake oil about defying the EU and uniting the nation. It is a mistake to put all the blame on the politicians. I have spent the last six months travelling around the UK, visiting places from Dover to Belfast, where it is clear that parliament is only reflecting real fault lines in British society. Brexit may have envenomed and widened these divisions, but it did not create them and it is tens of millions of people who differ radically in their opinions, not just an incompetent and malign elite. Even so, May was precisely the wrong political personality to try to cope with the Brexit crisis. Not stupid herself, she has a single-minded determination amounting to tunnel vision that is akin to stupidity. Her lauding of consensus in her valedictory speech announcing her resignation was a bit rich after three years of rejecting compromise until faced with imminent defeat. Charging ahead regardless only works for those who are stronger than all obstacles, which was certainly not the case in Westminster and Brussels. Only those holding all the trump cards can ignore the other players at the table. This should have been blindingly clear from the day May moved into Downing Street after a referendum which showed British voters to be split down the middle, something made even more obvious when she lost her parliamentary majority in 2017. But, for all her tributes to the virtues of compromise, she relied on the votes of the DUP in Northern Ireland - which of course had strongly voted to remain within the EU. Her miscalculations in negotiating with the EU were equally gross. The belief that Britain could cherry pick what it wanted from its relationship with Europe was always wishful thinking unless the other 27 EU states were disunited. It is always in the interests of the members of a club to make sure those who leave have a worse time outside than in. The balance of power was against Britain and this is not going to change, though Boris Johnson and Dominic Raab might pretend that what has been lacking is sufficient willpower or belief in Brexit as a sort of religious faith. These are dangerous delusions, enabling Nigel Farage to sell the idea of "betrayal" and being "stabbed in the back", just like German right-wing politicians after 1918. Brexiteers who claim to be leading Britain on to a global stage are extraordinarily parochial in their views of the outside world. The only realistic role for Britain in a post-Brexit world will be, as ever, a more humble spear-carrier for Trump's America. In this sense, it is appropriate the Trump state visit should so neatly coincide with May's departure and the triumphant emergence of Trump's favourite British politicians, Johnson and Farage. Just how decisive is the current success of the Brexiteers likely to be? Their opponents say encouragingly that they have promised what they cannot deliver in terms of greater prosperity so they are bound to come unstuck. But belief in such a comforting scenario is the height of naivety because the world is full of politicians who have failed to deliver the promises that got them elected, but find some other unsavoury gambit to keep power by exacerbating foreign threats, as in India, or locking up critics, as in Turkey. I think Britain is entering a period of permanent crisis not seen since the 17th Century. Brexit was a symptom as well as a cause of divisions. The gap between the rich and the poor, the householder and the tenant, the educated and the uneducated, the old and the young, has grown wider and wider. The Wall Street Crash in 1929 exposed the fragility and rottenness of much in the United States. Brexit may do the same in Britain. In New York 90 years ago, my father only truly appreciated how bad the situation really was when his boss said to him in a low voice: "Remember, when we are writing this story, the word 'panic' is not to be used." Independent 'Next time you are walking around Dublin, notice how long it takes for pedestrian lights to change to green' (stock photo) Sir - I've lived in many different cities, but Brighton and Dublin have got to be my two favourites. They are perfect sized cities and they have lots of similarities. The reason I'm writing is to let you know that if somebody in Brighton suggested cutting down trees to widen a city centre road, there would be uproar and loud laughter as they would look at it as a joke. It just wouldn't be entertained. What they would do there is close a car lane to create a bus lane. Yes, of course, this is an inconvenience to drivers (and I say this even though I make a living driving around Dublin) but we will at some stage have to realise that we have to be more pedestrian friendly, more bus friendly and more cyclist friendly. Hopefully, we realise this sooner rather than later. Next time you are walking around Dublin, notice how long it takes for pedestrian lights to change to green. Similar pedestrian lights in Brighton change twice as quickly - in the pedestrians' favour. And, yes, this makes driving around Brighton city centre a nightmare - but it's done that way on purpose, to put people off bringing their cars into the city centre. City-centre traffic should be for public transport and service vehicles. That's it. This may sound extreme, but we should be growing new trees in the city centre - not cutting them down and by so doing destroying the beauty of our city. David Hennessy, Dublin 2 Insurance hike shuts our children's centre Sir - I manage an Early Years Nature Centre on the path of the beautiful Wild Atlantic Way in Co Clare. The age range is 2.8 years up to 13 years old. The children adore it here. Like so many services, our insurance is hiked each year - even though we have never had a claim to warrant same. With school soon out, we were preparing for our annual summer camp for the younger age group - until I was informed that insurance hikes meant the camps would cost an extra 500. The result is that, to the disappointment of all - particularly the children - we will not host the camps this summer. Any three-year-old child attending our service knows that their actions have consequences. After all, we tell them all to "hold on to the swing rope tight, just in case you fall". Nora Custy, Manager, Teach Spraoi Nature Kindergarten, Toonagh, Co Clare Broadband is vital for West of Ireland Sir - I have come back from a trip to Ballinamore in Co Leitrim for the Bealtaine Festival in the local library. The town was looking great, with a new seat celebrating John McGahern in the rounded square where the trees were overflowing with leaves on a sunny day. Another plaque was on a building nearby where the late Gus Martin was born. But it is a shame to see many shops and pubs closed in many towns and villages - and it's made all the worse when few journalists say anything positive about broadband being brought to the West of Ireland. It is only when one drives through the towns and villages of rural Ireland that one realises the desperate need for broadband - these are lovely places and we must do all we can to keep them alive and thriving. Surely we cannot have a two-tier society, where children growing up are not given access to new technologies while the rest of us can enjoy them. No matter the cost, in today's world broadband is as necessary as water and electricity - especially for students who will be left behind in applying for jobs and getting work at home in Ireland. It would also keep rural Ireland alive where many could work from their homes, the technology helping them to start a new business. I would not mind paying a little more tax from my modest pension so that this can happen - but I really feel the technology companies are not paying enough in corporate taxes. We have given them space to set up here, providing them with all the supports - so we should ensure they pay their share of tax. Why should some of our citizens have to continue fighting for what the rest of us already have? Mary Guckian, Ringsend, Dublin Private sector gets rich at our expense Sir - The competence of this Government is shown by the Minister for Finance saying the roll out of rural broadband requires input from the public purse of 3bn - while the initial input of the private investors will be 200m. For that they get ownership of this vital national communications facility. Is this the best deal possible? Successive government policies enriched the private sector at the expense of the common good. With deepening crises in health, housing and homelessness, and the reckless negligence of projects such as the National Children's Hospital and broadband, we are fast approaching a national emergency. The Corrib gas field was handed to Shell by a Fianna Fail government under terms which you would have difficulty believing - terms which lead me to believe little or no revenue has found its way to the public purse. Anyone in doubt of the urgency for a major rethink should look at the Ireland National Debt Clock. In February 2016, this indicated 199bn; it now reads 221bn. A staggering rise in gross national debt of 22bn in less than three years. Joe Brennan, Ballinspittle, Co Cork Time to be 'hands on' about housing Sir - The National Housing Conference in Dublin Castle last week highlights why so many people are confused and frustrated by the lack of awareness around homelessness and the housing deficit. Many taking part clearly came from the world of architecture and planning. While I don't doubt their value, where were the other agencies required to bring about solutions? There is no general understanding of the difference between the lack of housing and homelessness. The structural causes for the lack of housing and the social causes underpinning homelessness continue to be conflated, thus confusing the public debate. This allows various government agencies off the hook and adds to the frustration and disillusionment among the general populace that a solution to either problem will ever be found. Until those with hands-on experience and those who can put bricks and mortar together are involved in the "debate", the problems will only grow. Alice Leahy, Bride Road, Dublin 8 Biden was the only one to speak truth Sir - I read with interest Patrick Cockburn's article (Sunday Independent, May 19) in which he traces the unintended consequences of the failure of the "experts in world affairs" at the CIA to recognise that the wars which the West became embroiled in since the Iranian revolution were proxy wars between Sunni and Shia Muslims - in which the US and its allies "fatally underestimated the religious motivation of their adversaries". In Cockburn's 2015 book The Rise of the Islamic State, he mentions the one US politician who got it right when, with undiplomatic frankness, VP Joe Biden gave Washington's real view of its regional allies when speaking at Harvard's Institute of Politics on October 2, 2014. He said that Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the UAE "were so determined to take down Assad and essentially have a proxy Sunni-Shia war, what did they do? They poured hundreds of millions of dollars and tens of thousands of tonnes of explosives into anyone who would fight against Assad except that the people supplied were unintentionally Isil". Hugh Duffy, Cleggan, Co Galway Polls show people now want change Sir - Over three-quarters of the poll in last Friday's referendum on divorce have given an overwhelming thumbs-up to the Government in acknowledging that ultra-conservative values do not reflect modern Ireland. People want change and it is way overdue. Abortion and divorce are not the only areas people want changed. Maurice Fitzgerald, Shanbally, Co Cork Making marriage work for 50 years Sir - It was sad last week to hear that, after 50 years and 960 marriages, the Knock Marriage Introductions is to close. Donations from dioceses across the country supplemented client subscriptions to keep the service alive, but the country is a different place from when Knock Marriage Bureau (as it was originally known) was established in 1968. Farmers, female teachers, guards and nurses were high on the list of those hoping to meet someone. Many of the couples who met felt safe and secure being able to talk to someone in confidence at the end of a phone. Emigration was rife and people found it hard to find a suitable companion when Fr Michael Keane set up the agency, and the initial aim was to introduce returning emigrants to women at home. Many happily married couples in Ireland and overseas owe their marriage success to the Knock agency - and I wonder will the online dating agencies have the same success in putting happy marriages together? Murt Hunt, Ballyhaunis, Co Mayo Abortion advice 'too late in day' Sir - The headline on Eilis O'Hanlon's article (Sunday Independent, May 19) read 'Abortion campaigners should resist the urge to politicise personal tragedy'. That could be described as coming rather late in the day. Prior to the referendum one side did politicise the personal tragedy of the Savita Halappanavar case - with the support of practically all of the media in Ireland. Ms O'Hanlon states "it's also best not to make arguments from the hardest of all cases", but isn't that what happened leading up to the referendum? Ms O'Hanlon concludes "it's about creating the best, most compassionate system possible, but it doesn't ultimately change the parameters of the abortion argument". I'm not sure what she means, but if she is saying that abortion is acceptable even if it results in the abortion of "wanted babies" and "healthy babies" so that women have "bodily autonomy" she is right in saying that it does not change the "parameters of the abortion argument". Now that the consequences are becoming visible, it may prove somewhat embarrassing for those who ensured beforehand that such possibilities were not debated or even acknowledged. Is it possible that people will now wake up to the fact that there was actually no debate on the vital issue of abortion but an orchestrated campaign to ensure that it was legalised here? Mary Stewart, Ardeskin, Donegal Town Language letter doesn't make sense Sir - John Hyland's letter on the Irish language in the South (Sunday Independent, May 19) is about as far from reality as it is possible to go. The demand for Irish language rights in Northern Ireland merely advocates the same rights enjoyed by Welsh and Scottish Gaelic speakers in their countries. As for suggesting Protestants will suffer discrimination if a Language Act is passed, that is rubbish. Some of the most enthusiastic promoters of the Irish language were Protestant, starting with Dr Douglas Hyde, the first President of Ireland. Tom Cooper, Templeogue, Dublin 6 CIE Tours drivers do the country proud Sir - Regarding Brendan O'Connor's article which you featured on the front of last week's Sunday Independent, it is really disappointing that you decided to use CIE Tours drivers and guides as an example of "fake sincerity" towards our North American tourists. CIE Tours have been in business for 87 years and are the leaders in bringing tourists from North America to Ireland. Our quality system (which we implemented over 30 years ago) shows us on the 30,000+ detailed customer questionnaires which our customers complete at the end of their tour that our drivers and guides rate consistently at 98pc customer satisfaction. Our guides are extremely professional, knowledgeable and proud of their country, its culture and heritage. This is what our customers are telling us, and have been for many years. What you described in your article may have been the case 40 or 50 years ago, but I can assure you is not the case today. It was disappointing for many of our American customers to read your article last Sunday morning, when they are bringing much-needed money and jobs to many rural parts of Ireland which do not have many other options other than tourism. Stephen Cotter, Chief Operations Officer, CIE Tours International, Dublin 1 Tourism is nothing without Americans Sir - I'm a driver/guide with CIE Tours International and an approved Failte Ireland tour guide and I'm currently out on a nine-day tour of our beautiful country with 38 Americans. Last Sunday morning I was shocked when one of my guests handed me the Sunday Independent and in a very upset tone asked me to read the article above mentioned. His quote to me was this: "Is this what you really think of us Americans?" This article makes us Irish out to be fraudsters, conning the good American visitors who contribute so much to the economy of this country - and more importantly to me and my colleagues in CIE Tours, it depicts us as not being genuine as ambassadors for this country. Remember, Ireland's tourism industry would be nothing if it wasn't for the Americans who come to visit. Please take this comment seriously. We are dedicated CIE Tour drivers and guides and we work hard on our tours to show Ireland in a beautiful, positive light to all our visitors no matter where in the world they are from. Murt O'Shea Driver and Tour Guide, CIE Tours International This toxic threat to our wildflowers Sir - In understanding the threat to bees, butterflies and the wiping out of wildflowers, I am dismayed by the "lazy man's attitude" of local authorities and those charged with keeping grass growth along roads and in housing estates safe, neat and aesthetically trimmed. It is clear that toxic weedkiller is being extensively used along grass margins, at the base of stanchions, posts, and buttresses that support road-traffic warning signs, directional signposts and safety crash barriers on all grades of our roadways. This attacks our ecosystem and savagely confronts our biodiversity, but it also defeats its prime purpose by leaving ugly swathes of dead vegetation which will be replaced by unsightly weeds and moss. All this can be avoided if time is taken to properly clip this seasonal overgrowth by using eco-friendly methods. Michael Gannon, Thomas Square, Kilkenny If you care about climate get a meter Sir - May I appeal to city dwellers who claim to care for the planet. Please do not pretend you care about climate change while you refuse water metering. We in the Drummindoo Scheme have all our houses metered and can account for every gallon. By so doing, we have cut usage by 50pc by eliminating leaks. Paddy Geraghty, Westport, Co Mayo A former business manager of the late comic book legend Stan Lee has had his initial court appearance in Arizona, where he was arrested after fleeing from California. Keya Morgan appeared on Sunday in Maricopa County Superior Court on a charge of being a fugitive of justice. Expand Close Stan Lee with Keya Morgan (Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Stan Lee with Keya Morgan (Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP) Court documents show Los Angeles police alerted authorities in Phoenix that Morgans mobile phone was being used in north Scottsdale. Police say the 43-year-old Morgan was found in a house with his mother and arrested without incident. It is unclear when Morgan will be extradited to California, where he is facing charges including theft, embezzlement, forgery or fraud against an elder adult, and false imprisonment of an elder adult. Lee died in November at the age of 95. Los Angeles County prosecutors say Morgan sought to capitalize on the Marvel Comic masterminds wealth and exert influence over Lee even though he had no authority to act on his behalf. Lee died last November at age 95. Prosecutors say Morgan pocketed more than 262,000 US dollars (206,000) from autograph-signing sessions Lee did in May 2018. Video of the Day Morgan at one point also took Lee from his Hollywood Hills home to a Beverly Hills condominium where Morgan had more control over Lee, according to California authorities. Lees daughter said in a request for a restraining order last year that Morgan was manipulating the mentally declining Lee, preventing him from seeing family and friends, and trying to take control of his money and business affairs. Alex Kessel, an attorney for Morgan, has said his client has never abused or taken advantage of Lee. Vogue Williams and Spencer Matthews attend the Paul Costelloe presentation during London Fashion Week February 2019 at the Simpsons in the Strand on February 18, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Eamonn McCormack/BFC/Getty Images) Vogue Williams pictured with husband Spencer Matthews as they celebrated Your Smile Direct reaching 10,000 Smiles at a brunch in Layla's Roof Top Restaurant in the Devlin Hotel, Ranelagh, Dublin. Picture: Brian McEvoy Vogue Williams says Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, welcoming baby Archie into the world has made her broody for a second baby. The 33-year-old beauty already has son Theodore (six months) with her husband Spencer Matthews - whose brother James is married to Pippa Middleton, the sister of Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge - and has said that since the arrival of royal baby Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor earlier this month, shes started to want another baby of her own. She said: I love the fact that the royal baby has arrived. Who doesnt love a royal baby? Its made me broody to have more. And Vogue says shes learned a lot of valuable lessons since giving birth to Theodore, as she regrets going back to work so soon, and thinks there were too many people coming to visit the tot at once. Expand Close Vogue Williams' baby son Theo. Picture: Instagram / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Vogue Williams' baby son Theo. Picture: Instagram She added: At the start it is very overwhelming with so many coming to see the baby. Next time I will probably do things a little differently. I would take four months off and I wouldnt just have everybody coming in because it was like a revolving door. Lessons learned for next time, though they might not be as interested in the next baby. The blonde beauty met former Made In Chelsea star Spencer when they both competed on Channel 4 show The Jump in 2017 - which he went on to win - and says that although they were party animals when they first met, theyve calmed down now they have a family. Speaking to the Sunday Mirror newspaper, she said: We dont really go out much during the week with friends because we are so busy with work and our family. That is all that there is time for at the moment. We used to go out two or three times a week to restaurants and wed have a big night out at the weekend. Now Spencer certainly isnt interested in it any more because he doesnt drink. Libya's navy confirmed this weekend that it rescued three boats carrying a total of 290 Europe-bound migrants off the country's Mediterranean coast - a day after a German aid group released video showing a sinking raft packed with dozens of migrants, with some people scattered in the sea. Libyan coast guards first reported finding a sinking rubber boat with a collapsed hull last Thursday, leaving most migrants in the water and hanging onto barrels and what was left of the boat. The three boats carried mostly Arab and African nationals as well as 14 Bangladeshis, who were handed over to Libyan police after receiving humanitarian and medical aid. Meanwhile, rockets hit a luxury hotel in Libya's capital, Tripoli, last Friday in an attack the internationally recognised government blamed on eastern forces trying to capture the city. The attack targeted the Rixos hotel, where lawmakers opposing the offensive by troops loyal to Khalifa Haftar have been meeting. Last Wednesday, Hifter had said in a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron that he could not work toward a ceasefire because he had no one with whom to negotiate. Hifter opened a military offensive on the Libyan capital of Tripoli in early April despite commitments to move toward elections in the North African country. He has received tacit support from Donald Trump in phone calls from the US president. As voters in all 28 European Union countries elect a new shared parliament, here are some key races to watch in the battle to fill the 751 seats in the European Parliament: ITALY Italys anti-migrant, anti-Islam interior minister, Matteo Salvini, has been campaigning hard to boost his right-wing League party to become number one in Italy and possibly Europe. Mr Salvini has been using his hard-line credentials to expand a parliamentary group of European populists that already includes far-right politicians in France, Germany and Austria. He is promising to restore sovereignty over key issues like immigration to national capitals, thwarting the EUs drive toward closer integration of its members. Expand Close Matteo Salvini has promised to restore sovereignty to EU members over issues like immigration (Maurizio Brambatti/ANSA/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Matteo Salvini has promised to restore sovereignty to EU members over issues like immigration (Maurizio Brambatti/ANSA/AP) In Europe, the populists will find it difficult to deliver on their transformation promises. But Mr Salvini is also looking to capitalise on the outcome of the European elections to boost his power at home in the Leagues uneasy populist ruling coalition with the left-wing 5-Star Movement. Mr Salvini could use European electoral gains to leverage his position in the government and pass policies important to his base of northern Italian entrepreneurs, like a flat tax or the high-speed train connecting Lyon, France, with Turin. Most analysts believe he is unlikely to seek an early election in Italy, even with a big victory on the European stage. The 5-Star Movement, on the other hand, could decide to pull the plug on the coalition government. FRANCE France is looking at an epic battle between pro-EU centrist President Emmanuel Macron and anti-immigration, far-right flagbearer Marine Le Pen in the European Parliament vote, a duel over Europes basic values. A loss for Mr Macrons Republic on the Move party would cripple the French leaders grand ambitions for a more united Europe. He wants EU countries to share budgets and soldiers and work even more closely together to keep Europe globally relevant and prevent conflict. For Mr Macron, Ms Le Pen represents the leprosy of nationalism that is eating the EU from within. For Ms Le Pen, the race is a battle to preserve European civilisation from the threat of massive immigration and uncontrolled globalisation. As far-right parties court the youth vote, Ms Le Pen is counting on 23-year-old Jordan Bardella to lead her National Rally party to victory, then revamp the EU from within. Ms Le Pens party, then called the National Front, won Frances European parliamentary elections in 2014, but now she is looking beyond home territory. She has travelled to numerous European capitals recently to lend support to populist candidates, with the goal of enlarging their parliamentary group. France has 34 lists of candidates in the European election, but Mr Macron crushed Frances traditional right and left parties in 2017 when he won the presidency, and they are still struggling. GERMANY Germanys governing parties look likely to lose some ground in the European Unions most populous country, while the environmentalist Greens and the far-right Alternative for Germany parties are eyeing gains. The vote is shaping up to be a particularly tough test for the centre-left Social Democrats, the junior partners in Chancellor Angela Merkels governing coalition. They have been struggling badly in polls and there is widespread speculation that a poor performance could hasten the end of Mrs Merkels coalition government. Expand Close The poll results could put domestic pressure on Angela Merkel (Markus Schreiber/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The poll results could put domestic pressure on Angela Merkel (Markus Schreiber/AP) For Mrs Merkels conservative Christian Democratic Union, it is the first test for new leader Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer since Germanys longtime chancellor gave up her partys leadership last year. The Greens have been soaring in polls, partly at the Social Democrats expense, and hope to convert that support into votes. And Alternative for Germany hopes to strengthen its presence in the European Parliament, adding to its strong contingent in Germanys national legislature. Many of Germanys 96 seats in the European Parliament are also likely to go to a variety of fringe parties. HUNGARY Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban describes the European Parliament vote as decisive for Hungary and Europe, an opportunity for populist and anti-migration forces to have a larger say in setting the agenda in Brussels. While his partys victory in Hungary is unquestioned, where the allegiances of Mr Orban and his right-wing Fidesz party will lie after the election on the European scene is far less certain. Fideszs membership in the centre-right European Peoples Party, currently the largest group in the EU legislature, was suspended in March because of concerns about the state of Hungarys democracy. So Mr Orban has spent the past few weeks hosting far-right, nationalist and populist politicians at his new office in Buda Castle. Expand Close Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban casts his vote in Budapest (Szilard Koszticsak/MTI/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban casts his vote in Budapest (Szilard Koszticsak/MTI/AP) He said he wants to stay in the centre-right bloc while getting the EPP to co-operate more closely with nationalist and populist parties like Matteo Salvinis League in Italy. That notion has been emphatically rejected by leading politicians from the EPP, including Germanys Angela Merkel. If Mr Salvinis populists do well on Sunday, Mr Orban could leave the EPP and try to get some of the partys more right-wing members to join Mr Salvini in a new, more radical alliance. While Hungary has largely stemmed migration, Mr Orbans opposition to migrants still bears fruit, and pollsters expect Fidesz to win as many as 14 of Hungarys 21 seats in the EU parliament. BRITAIN Britain was not supposed to take part in the European Parliament elections at all, but had to organise a last-minute campaign when its planned March exit from the EU was postponed. The polling on Thursday came amid intense political turmoil sparked by the countrys 2016 referendum to quit the EU. Embattled Prime Minister Theresa May will now step down as Conservative Party leader on June 7 after failing to deliver Brexit. Both Britains Conservatives and the Labour Party are predicted to be heading for an electoral pasting in the European vote due to the chaos over Brexit. Expand Close Nigel Farages Brexit Party is likely to have done well in the poll (PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Nigel Farages Brexit Party is likely to have done well in the poll (PA) The Brexit Party, led by Nigel Farage, has appeared to gain strength in recent voter surveys. Mr Farage said he hopes to have the shortest possible tenure as a European Parliament politician because he wants Britain to leave the EU as quickly as possible. The UK has 73 seats at the European Parliament, and its MEPs would lose their jobs when their country leaves the EU. AUSTRIA Sundays European Parliament vote in Austria has been upended by the sudden collapse of Austrias governing coalition in a scandal that has tarnished the far-right Freedom Party. It will serve as a first test of support ahead of an early national election expected in September. Heinz-Christian Strache quit last weekend as vice chancellor and Freedom Party leader after a leaked video showed him appearing to offer favours to a purported Russian investor during a boozy meeting on the Spanish island of Ibiza two years ago. Expand Close Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurzs governing coalition collapsed amid scandal involving his deputy Heinz-Christian Strache (Michael Gruber/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurzs governing coalition collapsed amid scandal involving his deputy Heinz-Christian Strache (Michael Gruber/AP) Chancellor Sebastian Kurz then called for a new election and is now running an interim government with experts replacing the Freedom Partys ministers. The European Parliament election should offer clues as to whether the popular Mr Kurzs conservative Peoples Party will benefit from the scandal. However, regardless of the result, Mr Kurz is expected to face a small opposition partys no-confidence motion in parliament on Monday, and it is unclear whether he will keep his job. A powerful earthquake has struck a remote part of the Amazon jungle in Peru, causing buildings to collapse and knocking out power to some areas. The magnitude 8 quake was felt as far away as neighbouring Colombia and Ecuador. It was centred in a vast nature reserve 57 miles east of the small town of Yurimaguas. Helping limit damage was the earthquakes depth, at 70 miles below the surface, according to the US Geological Survey. Earthquakes that are close to the surface generally cause more destruction. Expand Close Debris on the ground after the earthquake in Yurimaguas, Peru (Firefighters of Peru via AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Debris on the ground after the earthquake in Yurimaguas, Peru (Firefighters of Peru via AP) President Martin Vizcarra called for calm before travelling to the zone with members of his cabinet to survey the damage. He said first reports indicate a bridge had collapsed and several homes and roads had been affected. Its a quake that was felt throughout the entire Amazon, said Mr Vizcarra, who was scheduled to host a regional summit on Sunday in the capital with the presidents of Bolivia, Colombia and Ecuador. A preliminary survey by authorities found that six people were injured and 27 homes were damaged across seven provinces. Three schools, three hospitals and two churches were also affected. In Yurimaguas, a number of old houses collapsed, and the electricity was cut, according to the National Emergency Operations Centre. The quake also woke up people in Lima, who ran out of their homes in fear. It was a really long quake, said Maria Brito, who lives on the fifth floor of an apartment building in the capital. It couldve been worse, and luckily its over. Peru lies on the Pacifics so-called Ring of Fire. On August 15 2007, a similarly sized quake struck near Lima, killing more than 500 people. A general view of the bridge that connects the Russian mainland with the Crimean peninsula, across the Kerch Strait. Photo: REUTERS/Pavel Rebrov A UN maritime tribunal ruled yesterday that Russia must immediately release three Ukrainian naval vessels captured by Russia in November and free 24 detained sailors. The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea issued its order at its Hamburg headquarters following a hearing earlier this month. Russia stayed away from the hearing and yesterday's session. The confrontation in the Kerch Strait, which links the Sea of Azov with the Black Sea, marked a flashpoint in the simmering conflict over Russia's 2014 annexation of the Crimean Peninsula. Russia seized Crimea in a move that Ukraine and most of the world view as illegal. The Kerch Strait separates Crimea from the Russian mainland. Russia, which did submit a memorandum to the tribunal, has argued that the rights Ukraine claims in the case don't apply because they are covered by an exception for military activity. Kiev's lawyers contest this claim, saying Russia has previously described the arrest as a law enforcement operation. The tribunal sided with Ukraine on that point. However, President Jin-Hyun Paik said that "the tribunal considers it appropriate to order both parties to refrain from taking any action which might aggravate or extend the dispute". He said that Russia must return the ships to Ukrainian custody and allow the servicemen to go home. But the tribunal "does not consider it necessary to require [Russia] to suspend criminal proceedings against the 24 detained Ukrainian servicemen and refrain from initiating new proceedings," he added. Kiev had called for legal proceedings to be ended. The tribunal's decisions are legally binding, but it has no power to enforce them. It called for both sides to report back on their compliance by June 25. Paik said Russia "was given ample opportunity to present its observations" in the case. The tribunal made its decision by a 19-1 vote, with a Russian judge dissenting. Olena Zerkal, Ukraine's deputy foreign minister for European integration, said on Facebook: "We expect that Russia will quickly and fully fulfil the tribunal's order." Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban smiles before casting his vote at a polling station in Budapest(Szilard Koszticsak/MTI/AP Hungarys prime minister has said he hopes the European Parliament election will bring a shift towards political parties that want to stop migration. Viktor Orban said after casting his vote at a school near his Budapest home on Sunday that the issue of migration, which he believes is stoppable, will reorganise the political spectrum in the European Union. Expand Close A member of the election commission carries a ballot box during the European elections in a polling station in Budapest,(Zoltan Balogh/MTI /AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp A member of the election commission carries a ballot box during the European elections in a polling station in Budapest,(Zoltan Balogh/MTI /AP) Mr Orban, whose Fidesz party had its membership suspended in the centre-right European Peoples Party, the largest political bloc in the EU parliament, because of concerns about Hungarys democracy, said Fidesz would want to stay in the EPP only if it can influence the groups future strategy. Mr Orban recently met Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, but has not committed to joining the more radically nationalist alliance that Mr Salvini has been forming. Fidesz is expected to win up to 14 of Hungarys 21 seats in the EU parliament. Expand Close People queue to cast their votes at a polling station in Antwerp, Belgium (Virginia Mayo/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp People queue to cast their votes at a polling station in Antwerp, Belgium (Virginia Mayo/AP) In Belgium, voters were heading to the polls in national and regional elections as well as the EU elections on Sunday. Polls opened at 8am (0700GMT) and the first estimates and exit polls were expected by 6pm (1700GMT). In the national elections, Belgians are looking to end months of political limbo after the biggest party in the governing coalition quit over Prime Minister Charles Michels support for the UN migration pact. Mr Michel has steered a caretaker government doing only day-to-day business since December, but with the countrys eight million voters choosing from more than a dozen parties, it is likely to prove difficult for him to quickly form a stable coalition. Expand Close Prime Minister of Bulgaria Boyko Borissov (Rick Findler/PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Prime Minister of Bulgaria Boyko Borissov (Rick Findler/PA) Meanwhile, Bulgarians are voting in the European Parliament elections after a series of scandals overshadowed the debate on key issues of the EUs future. Voters were casting ballots for their countrys 17 seats in the 751-member European Parliament. The vote is seen as a test for the centre-right party of Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, which suffered a setback after senior officials were involved in corruption scandals. Latest surveys showed only three parties, belonging to mainstream European political groups, passing the election threshold the ruling GERB party, the Socialist party, and the liberal MRF. Projections suggest the nationalist and far-right vote will be split between several smaller parties, which could prevent them from capturing seats in the EU legislature. Expand Close Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (Michael Gruber/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (Michael Gruber/AP) Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said he hoped the European Parliament elections would strengthen the centre rather than parties on the far right and left. He told reporters in Vienna on Sunday that he hopes his centre-right Peoples Party would retain first place in the race for seats in the EU legislature. The vote has turned into a first test of support ahead of a national election in September following the collapse of Mr Kurzs governing coalition a week ago in a scandal surrounding the now-departed leader of the far-right Freedom Party, which was his junior coalition partner. Regardless of the result, Mr Kurz faces a no-confidence vote brought by the opposition in parliament on Monday. He said he expects the Freedom Party and the Social Democrats to back it, which would bring him down. Spanish caretaker Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said he hoped the outcome of Sundays European and local elections will lead to more political stability for Spain as he attempts to form a government. Mr Sanchez called on all the political forces to open a horizon of political stability after he voted with his wife in Madrid on Sunday morning. He added that the elections are to decide the future of progress and well-being for the entirety of our country and Europe. Expand Close A man picks ballot papers at a polling station in Bascara, Spain,(Emilio Morenatti/AP)) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp A man picks ballot papers at a polling station in Bascara, Spain,(Emilio Morenatti/AP)) Voter opinion polls point to a victory for Mr Sanchezs Socialist Party in the European elections. Elections are also taking place for administrations in all Spains cities, including deciding on a second term for the female mayors of Madrid and Barcelona, and 14 of its 19 regions. Mr Sanchezs Socialists won national elections in Spain on April 28, but fell short of winning an outright majority and will need to earn the support from rivals in Parliament to stay in power. Expand Close A woman wearing a tradtional hat casts her vote in the European elections in the black forest city of Gutach, southern Germany (Patrick Seeger/dpa/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp A woman wearing a tradtional hat casts her vote in the European elections in the black forest city of Gutach, southern Germany (Patrick Seeger/dpa/AP) The centre-right German candidate to head the European Commission said he hoped voters would back a Europe of stability and a united and ambitious continent. Manfred Weber, whose European Peoples Party group hopes to retain its status as the biggest in the European Parliament, said after voting in his native Bavaria on Sunday: I dont want to see a right-populist Europe (that) wants to destroy the idea of togetherness and Im also against a Europe which is in the hands of the left. Ska Keller, a German Green who heads her groups European election slate, said in Berlin that the European Union should lead the way in climate protection. We need social cohesion, we need to strengthen democracy in Europe and I hope that this will meet with much support. An exit poll showed Germanys governing parties losing significant ground in the European Parliament election, with big gains for the Greens and a much smaller increase for the far-right. The ARD television exit poll put support for Chancellor Angela Merkels centre-right Union bloc at 28% and showed their coalition partners in Berlin, the centre-left Social Democrats, dropping to a dismal 15.5%. Five years ago, those parties took 35.4% and 27.3% respectively of the vote. It showed the Greens easily taking second place with 22% double their result five years ago. The far-right Alternative for Germany was seen with 10.5% support, better than its showing in 2014 but less than it scored in Germanys last national election in 2017. Expand Close Slovak president-elect Zuzana Caputova casts her ballot for the European elections in Pezinok, near Bratislava, on Saturday (Vit Simanek/CTK/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Slovak president-elect Zuzana Caputova casts her ballot for the European elections in Pezinok, near Bratislava, on Saturday (Vit Simanek/CTK/AP) Peoples Party Our Slovakia, a far-right party that has 14 seats in Slovakias parliament, is expected to win seats in the European legislature for the first time. The party openly admires the Nazi puppet state the country was during the Second World War. Party members use Nazi salutes, blame Roma for crime, consider Nato a terror group and want the country out of the alliance and of the European Union. It received a boost in April after Slovakias Supreme Court dismissed a request by the countrys prosecutor general to ban it as an extremist group whose activities violate the Constitution. Turnout in Slovakia at the previous vote in 2014 was 13%, the lowest in all EU countries. The polls favour the leftist Smer-Social Democracy party, the senior member of the current coalition government, to top the voting with about 20%. Meanwhile, a European Parliament spokesman said turnout for the pivotal election is nearing 51% for 27 nations, according to preliminary figures. Jaume Duch Guillot said the figure, which excludes Britain, is the highest in at least 20 years and reverses years of steady decline. Mr Guillot said it is a very significant increase in turnout for the very first time since the first European elections took place in 1979. In France, far-right, nationalist leader Marine Le Pen declared victory in the election over pro-EU French President Emmanuel Macron. French polling agencies are projecting that Ms Le Pens National Rally will come first in France, followed by Mr Macrons centrist Republic on the Move party. Ms Le Pen said the expected result confirms the new nationalist-globalist division in France and beyond. She immediately expressed hope the election could foreshadow her partys victory in Frances 2022 presidential election. Ms Le Pen was beaten handily by Mr Macron in Frances 2017 presidential vote. Somebody probably just took a peek inside, said the associate with hardly a glance in my direction. The clipboard he was holding apparently had his attention, as he checked it and then looked at the overhead racks as if searching for a particular item. Convinced, I slid one of the boxes near the buggy I had previously procured. Then, by using leverage and the low height of the buggy to my advantage, I was able to load it myselfwrestling with it less than 15 feet from the associate, who offered no help. Note that this item ideally requires two people to handle. Along the same time period, I was purchasing an item at another Lowes location approximately 30 miles away. As I made my way through the outdoor section, I saw five Lowes employees sitting with laptopsthree seated at a round table, two in lawn chairs. Five Lowes employees lost in laptop oblivion. It was an amusing scene considering the foot traffic at a typical Lowes during springtime. After quickly locating my one item, I mentioned the spectacle to the cashier checking me out. Oh, theyre from corporate, she said. They come in here like that. When they walk by, I speak to them and they wont even acknowledge me. So revealing. Nestled in the hills just outside of Washington, D.C. sits a quiet piece of land that serves as the final resting place for over 400,000 American patriots. These men and women all served our nation with many of them having made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. I will never forget the first time I laid eyes on Arlington National Cemetery. The vast expanse of white grave stones stand as silent guardians of our service members. It is both beautiful and tragic. It is truly humbling and somber to try and understand the sacrifice that is embodied by this land. This Memorial Day weekend, as we remember and honor the lives of our fallen service members, I find myself contemplating my time spent at Arlington and reflecting on my most recent visits. Unfortunately, I have been to too many interments at Arlington for soldiers who were stationed at Fort Bragg and lived in our community. However, I carry with me every day their memory and look to honor them in the work I do for our district in Congress. The British university awarded the sultan the honorary degree in 1993. Almost 120,000 people have signed a petition asking the university to rescind the award. Bruneis legislation now imposes the death penalty for offences such as sodomy, adultery and rape, which sparked international outrage. Celebrities have called for a boycott of nine hotels owned by the Sultan. Bandar Seri Begawan (AsiaNews/Agencies) The Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah (pictured), returned an honorary degree he received from the prestigious University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. The decision follows an international backlash caused by the small countrys decision to impose the death penalty on offences such as sodomy, adultery and rape. Reacting to the new legislation, international celebrities, like British musician Elton John and US actor George Clooney, have called for a boycott of nine hotels owned by the Sultan. The new Sharia-based legislation adopted by Bruneis monarch also includes the amputation of hands and feet for thieves. The changes were announced on 3 April. Urged by human rights organisations and gay activists, the United Nations condemned the legislation. In an attempt to contain media criticism, the sultan stated in early May that the death penalty would not be imposed in the implementation of the Penal Code changes. Starting in late April, almost 120,000 people signed a petition asking the University of Oxford to rescind the honorary law degree awarded in 1993 to the Sultan. The university said yesterday that the monarch decided on 6 May to return the award, as it reviewed the case. 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 a statement. Through a letter dated 6 May 2019, the sultan replied with his decision to return the degree. I had a hankering to meet the enemy. When I was a child, my Great Grandfather Papa Shoe would tell me of the Iron Curtain surrounding Russia. Every afternoon, he listened to the Rev. Carl McIntire on WGTL radio rail against the Communists. Despite being told, the Russian-Reds are our enemy, I would lie in bed at night, with a broken heart for the Russian children locked behind an Iron Curtain. I could never imagine the Iron Curtain wasnt real. I had witnessed the concrete wall being built in Berlin on the news with Walter Cronkite, and he never lied. Theyre building the Berlin Wall to keep the East Berliners locked-in, Daddy would say. The Germans have caused the world a lot of problems. Theyre our enemy. My Daddy read books about Hitler, and told me how they walled Jews in ghettos and concentration camps. The Germans killed six million people, Daddy would say. I grew up constantly reminded of the walls that separated me from the bad guys. The problem was that Miss Margaret Hartsell taught 3rd grade geography at Coltrane Webb school, and Dr. Broadus Jones his copies of the National Geographic in his waiting room. To experience complex and extreme emotional content for an adrenaline rush is why people love to watch horror movies. And sometimes, people simply want to face their fears but not in real life, of course. But do you also think that horror movies are too terrifying to be real? Well, sometimes thats not the case. A lot of them are inspired from real life incidents. Here is a list of horror films that will become scarier after knowing theyre based on real life! Also Read: Ghost-Hunter Lorraine Warren Passes Away, Heres Her Real-Life Story That Inspired Conjuring! #1 Veronica The movie is so scary to even finish. And just imagine it is based on a real life incident. Its a story about a Spanish teenager who uses an Ouija board to connect with the dead, but the consequences are of course disastrous. At the end of the movie, youll be shown the real life pictures of the girl and youll be spooked for life! #2 A Nightmare on Elm Street A Nightmare on Elm Streets director Wes Craven got the idea from a real story that he read in the newspaper. In 1980s there was an epidemic of people dying in their sleeps during nightmares. Wes Craven read about this happening to a boy who was too petrified to fall asleep, in a newspaper article. He told his parents he was afraid that if he slept, the thing chasing him would get him, so he tried to stay awake for days at a time. When he finally fell asleep, his parents thought this crisis was over. Then they heard screams in the middle of the night. By the time they got to him, he was dead. He died in the middle of a nightmare. Here was a youngster having a vision of a horror that everyone older was denying. That became the central line of 'Nightmare on Elm Street, he shared. He then made A Nightmare on Elm Street, a story about a serial killer called Freddy Krueger who kills people in their dreams. #3 Open Water What happens when your boat leaves you behind in an ocean? No, you dont fall in love like Rohit and Sonia from Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai. The reality is quite different. In 1998, Tom and Eileen Longergan were scuba diving at the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, when they were left behind by their boat after someone messed up with the head count. Nobody ever heard from them again. People believe they were eaten off by sharks. #4 Eaten Alive Twitter A story about a mentally disturbed man who would feed people to his crocodile, Eaten Alive is based on real-life story of bootlegger Joe Ball, who owned a Hotel in Texas during early 1990s. It is said that he had relations with a lot of women who went missing. It is believed he fed them off to his pet alligators. #5 The Exorcism of Emily Rose The Exorcism of Emily Rose is a story of a woman called Anneliese Michel possessed by a demon. She first started noticing the symptoms of possession when she was 17 years old. The symptoms became scary with time. At 27, she had undergone 67 exorcisms in 10 months. Eventually, she stopped eating and died of starvation in 1976. #6 When Stranger Calls Based on a real life unsolved murder case of 13-year-old Janett Christman in 1950, it is a story about a babysitter who is getting mysterious calls from a person who is inside the house with her. #7 Poltergeist Poltergeist, a story of a family who bought a haunted house at the Native American burial ground, is based on Hermann family from New York. The family claimed that the house was haunted by a poltergeist who would made objects fly through their home. #8 The Texas Chainsaw Massacre slantmagazine.com The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a story about a group of people who take lift from a family and they shouldnt have. They end up being cannibals. The movie is based on real life killer called Ed Gein, also known as the Butcher of Plainfield, who not only killed many people but also robbed the graves of recently buried women. It is said that Ed Gein was attached to her mother and hardly spoke to anyone apart from her, and when she died, she spiralled. #9 The Exorcist Based on the real life story of Roland Doe, a 14-year-old teenager who began exhibiting strange behaviour after being possessed by a demon in 1949, the film revolves around the real life exorcism. #10 The Strangers The Strangers is an amalgamation of tarrying true stories, including that of director Bryan Bertinos personal experience. As a kid, I lived in a house on a street in the middle of nowhere. One night, while our parents were out, somebody knocked on the front door and my little sister answered it. At the door were some people asking for somebody that didn't live there. We later found out that these people were knocking on doors in the area and, if no one was home, breaking into the houses, he said. The film concentrates on the mindset of people who commit crimes. #11 The Amityville Horror The Amityville Horror is based on real life incidents in a house that still exists. It is said that in Nov 1974, Ronald DeFeo Jr. stole his fathers shotgun and killed the entire family. He claimed that voices he heard in the house made him do so. The man is still in prison. The house was then purchased by Lutz family, who also witnessed spooky incidents. #12 The Haunting in Connecticut The Haunting in Connecticut based on the incidents surrounding Snedeker family, who moved into a haunted house, where Ed and Lorraine Warren performed exorcism. #13 Annabelle and Annabelle: Creation The spooky doll in the movie is called Raggedy Ann Doll in real life and is there at Ed and Lorraine Warren's Occult Museum in Monroe, Connecticut. The real life doll isnt as scary as the one shown in the movie, but it is said that this doll had terrorised its owner. #14 The Conjuring and The Conjuring 2 The two films revolve around two different stories one of a house in which the family experienced paranormal activities including moving of furniture, opening and closing of doors etc and the other one in which a woman called Janet claimed she was being possessed by a demon which lived in her house in London in 1977. Paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren found out that spirits were preying on them. Another day, another dead sea animal with a stomach full of human trash. A seven-foot male dolphin washed ashore at Fort Meyers beach in Florida a week ago, and during the necropsy a two-foot plastic shower hose was discovered inside the animal. "Your actions can make a difference - secure and properly dispose of trash, take part in coastal cleanups and share information on how to reduce marine debris with others," the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission posted on Facebook. This is the second stranded dolphin dolphin to be found in the area with a belly full of garbage in a month. On April 23, a baby rough-toothed dolphin had two plastic bags and a piece of balloon in its stomach. The dolphin was found emaciated and in poor health, and biologists decided to "humanely euthanise" it. Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission/Facebook In Italy, a young sperm whale, who did not even have teeth, was found dead with several kilograms of plastic in its stomach. Fatal amounts of garbage have been found in dead sea animals around the world in recent years. In March, the world was shocked when a dead whale washed ashore in Philippines with close to 45.35 kilograms of plastic in its stomach. Ever since the Easter Sunday terror attacks in Sri Lanka, last month parts of southern India have been on an alert. But now the Indian Coast Guard has deployed its ships and maritime surveillance aircraft in the region after intelligence report said that 15 Islamic State terrorists had set off from Sri Lanka for the Lakshadweep islands on boats. BCCL/ REPRESENTATIONAL IMAGE Based on the inputs, Coastal police stations and police chiefs have been alerted about suspicious vessels. PTI, quoting an unnamed source reported that though, such alerts are "usual practice", this time they have specific information about the number of terrorists. "We have been on alert since the Sri Lankan attack. We have alerted fishing vessel owners and others venturing into the sea to be cautious," a coastal police department official told PTI. BCCL/ REPRESENTATIONAL IMAGE Kerala and Tamil Nadu had been on alert since the serial bomb blasts in Sri Lanka which killed over 250 people. Though it was claimed the Islamic State, it was a local outfit National Thowheed Jamath (NTJ) that carried out the bombings. Further probe revealed that there were links between the NTJ and Islamist groups in Tamil Nadu. Some youths who had left Kerala to join ISIS in Syria too had visited Sir Lanka in the past and used to follow the preaching of Zaharan Hashim, the leader of NTJ and the mastermind of the Easter Sunday attacks. Even Riyas Aboobacker, a youth from Kerala who was arrested by NIA recently for his alleged links with ISIS used to follow the preaching of Hashim and was planning suicide attacks in Kerala. Almost everyone expected Congress and BJP to draw a blank in Andhra Pradesh during the 2019 elections given that it was a two-horse race between TDP and YSRCP. But no one expected them to do this badly. Representational Image As the numbers show, NOTA or None of the above category got more votes than the two national parties in both the Lok Sabha and assembly election in the state this time. NOTA accrued around 1.5% of votes on the 25 Lok Sabha seats, while BJP got just 0.96%. Congress did only marginally better at 1.29%. The result was no different for the 175 assembly seats with NOTA getting 1.28% of the votes, BJP 0.84% and Congress 1.17%. AFP Such was the decimation that all candidates of the two parties lost their deposits on both Lok Sabha and assembly seats. This includes BJP state president Kanna Lakshminarayana who contested on the Narasaraopet Lok Sabha seat and Congress state president N Raghuveera Reddy who finished third in the Kalyandurg assembly constituency. Congress, seen as the party that bifurcated Andhra Pradesh, was routed in the 2014 elections and had received 2.8% of the vote share then. Neighbours can't be angry with each other for too long, perhaps this is the spirit that can bring India and Pakistan closer once again. A fresh start in this regard has been made by Pakistan PM Imran Khan who called up PM Modi this evening. According to reports, Mr Khan congratulated Mr Modi on his remarkable electoral win in world's largest elections. The Pakistan PM also urged that both the countries to work together for the betterment of their people. "The Prime Minister thanked the Prime Minister of Pakistan for his telephone call and greetings," ministry of external affair (MEA) said. reuters Recalling his initiatives in line with his government's "neighbourhood first" policy, Modi referred to his earlier suggestion to Khan to fight poverty jointly, the MEA said. PM spoke to PM Modi today and congratulated him on his partys electoral victory in Lok Sabha elections in India. PM expressed his desire for both countries to work together for betterment of their peoples. 1/2 Dr Mohammad Faisal (@DrMFaisal) May 26, 2019 Reiterating his vision for peace, progress and prosperity in South Asia, the Prime Minister said he looked forward to working with Prime Minister Modi to advance these objectives.2/2 Dr Mohammad Faisal (@DrMFaisal) May 26, 2019 "He stressed that creating trust and an environment free of violence and terrorism were essential for fostering cooperation for peace, progress and prosperity in our region," it added. Pakistan's foreign office spokesperson Mohammad Faisal in a tweet said that Imran Khan reiterated his vision for peace, progress and prosperity in South Asia, and said he looks forward to working with Prime Minister Modi to advance these objectives. afp Imran Khan had on May 23 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 will determine the course of India-Pakistan ties, which were strained after the Pulwama terror attack in February. 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 election. The MEA said Modi also received telephone calls from former president of the Maldives Mohamed Nasheed and former prime minister of Nepal Madhav Nepal on his victory in the recent general election. "Former president Nasheed congratulated the Prime Minister on the historic mandate and noted that the relationship between the Maldives and India had deepened in recent times," the MEA said. With TOI inputs A picture is worth a thousand words. And this picture of Smriti Irani not only holds true to every word, but also sends out an extremely powerful message, one thats powerful enough to break the shackles of patriarchy and write a new definition of women empowerment. Irani, a newly-elected member of parliament from Amethi, a Congress bastion for decades, flew to her constituency after her very close aide, who helped her win Lok Sabha Elections, was shot dead. Irani attended his funeral and turned pallbearer for his mortal remains, something that women have been barred from doing for centuries. #WATCH BJP MP from Amethi, Smriti Irani lends a shoulder to mortal remains of Surendra Singh, ex-village head of Barauli, Amethi, who was shot dead last night. pic.twitter.com/jQWV9s2ZwY ANI (@ANI) May 26, 2019 In India, women generally do not participate in funerals. Sati may be gone now, but the misogyny and sexism that Indian women face during deaths and funerals doesnt seem to be going anywhere. In popular dialogues of gender equality, no one talks about sexism surrounding deaths. We comfortably accept it because its tradition. The fight to attend funerals of loved ones is rough in this country. The society does not allow women to grieve the way they want to. Men, on the other hand, have had this freedom, or privilege, for centuries. Religious interpretations based on idle talk are often cited to keep women at bay. In traditional Hindu families, women are not allowed to attend funerals. The traditions run so deep that daughters are not allowed to attend their mothers funeral. The scenario is men carrying bodies, and these men are mostly strangers. Smriti Irani has smashed norms and given a new glimmer of hope who are fighting for their rights and challenging every tradition that does not allow them to be treated as equals. This is what women in power should do and must do break customs, question traditions and be a beacon of hope for millions of other women who are in this fight for equality. Social and religious norms are the need of hour and there could not have been a better way for female minister to lead the change in a fight against discrimination thats easily accepted. You may choose to disagree with Irani and the party she represents on the basis of ideologies and sensitivities, but Iranis act in Amethi has certainly written a new chapter for women. While praises are being showered at BJP MP Smriti Irani for defeating Congress president Rahul Gandhi, there is a shocking news for her. Her close aide, Surendra Singh, who worked really hard to ensure her win has been shot dead in Amethi. According to reports, Singh, who was a former village head of Baraulia in Amethi, was shot by unidentified assailants at his residence late Saturday night. Singh was rushed to a Lucknow hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. Baraulia village was in news during campaigning in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections, as Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had accused Irani of distributing shoes to the residents in order to insult Gandhi. Some locals had claimed that Singh was involved in the distribution of footwear. Amethi: Surendra Singh, ex-village head of Baraulia, was shot dead by unidentified assailants at his residence, last night. Amethi SP says, "He was shot around 3 AM. We've taken a few suspects into custody. Investigation on. It can be due to an old dispute or a political dispute" pic.twitter.com/VYPy9jYDCR ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) May 26, 2019 According to the police, the motive of the murder is still unclear but said that two suspects have been detained in connection with the incident and further investigation was underway. On Sunday, Irani met the family of Singh and also took part in his last rites. Shenzhen is known as the "world's factory" for a reason, and that's because pretty much everything is made there. Of course, that goes double for electronics. An estimated 90 percent of the world's devices are manufactured there, everything from TVs to phones. Reuters 1. The start of it all Until about 30 years ago Shenzhen was a small market town of little importance, with a population of just about 30,000 people. It was only in 1980 that the (newly transformed city) was designated China's first Special Economic Zone (SEZ). The move was an effort to attract international investors by offering them subsidies and beneficial policies. 2. Let the cash roll in Thanks to its booming electronics trade, Shenzhen is China's richest city by far, with the highest per capita GDP in the country. It's average income is at least 50 percent higher than that of other major locales like Beijing and Shanghai. Shenzhen is also eighth on the list of world cities with the most billionaires. Reuters 3. Development continues Shenzhen is also home to the Ping An International Finance Centre, recognised as the second-tallest building in China and the fourth-tallest in the world. The city is also home to China's first stock exchange. It was set up in 1990, a year before the stock exchange in Shanghai. 4. A powerhouse of industry Shenzhen is China's version of Silicon Valley, hosting a number of major tech companies like Huawei, Tencent, smartphone brand ZTE, drone manufacturer DJI, and many more. Flickr 5. Steady growth Aside from the foreign investment, Shenzhen also began courting local talent by providing entrepreneurs with monetary benefits for doing business there. As such, most of the young and educated labour began congregating there, where newer jobs and career opportunities were beginning to form, fueling an economic boom. 6. Investment and innovation In the 80s, there was an outpouring of new devices in the tech sector in the US, Europe, and Japan,with everything from colour televisions, to telephones, to Walkmans selling like hot cakes. And thanks to those subsidies and the abundance of labour, foreign companies found the decision to manufacture in China at a profit an easy one to make. Flickr 7. Shop till you drop In Shenzhen now lies the world's largest electronics market named Huaqiangbei. Though it's almost impossible to get around without knowing the language, it's possible to find here everything a maker, developer or engineer would need. You can find everything from processors, to motherboards, to batteries, and more, and all for incredibly cheap. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appointed a decorated Indian Army officer as the new Force Commander of the United Nations mission in South Sudan. Lieutenant General Shailesh Tinaikar, 57, will succeed Lieutenant General Frank Kamanzi of Rwanda who completes his assignment on May 26, states a UN press release. AFP/UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres The decorated Indian Army officer "has had a long and distinguished career with the Indian Armed Forces spanning over 34 years," a statement by the UN Spokesperson said. Tinaikar graduated from the Indian Military Academy in 1983 and is currently serving as the Commandant of the Infantry School since July 2018. He previously served as the Additional Director General of Military Operations at the Army Headquarters from 2017 to 2018. From 2012 to 2017, he commanded a division, a recruit training centre and a brigade. Tinaikar was awarded the Sena Medal and the Vishisht Seva Medal for distinguished service. From 1996 to 1997, he served in the United Nations Angola Verification Mission III, and from 2008 to 2009, in the United Nations mission in Sudan. He holds a Master of Philosophy (M.Phil) in Defence and Strategic Studies from The University of Madras. Born in 1962, he is married and has one child, states the UN press release. India, the fourth largest contributor of uniformed personnel to the UN peacekeeping missions, currently contributes more than 6,400 military and police personnel to the UN peace operations in Abyei, Cyprus, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Lebanon, the Middle East, South Sudan and the Western Sahara. Civilians continue to make up the vast majority of causalities in conflict. Only last year, more than 22,800 civilians died or were injured in just six countries. We have the rules and laws of war. We all now need to work to enhance compliance. pic.twitter.com/xp4ubxutt7 Antonio Guterres (@antonioguterres) May 23, 2019 The UN mission in South Sudan, a country born in July 2011, has 19,400 personnel deployed with it as of March 2019. More than 3,800 have sacrificed their lives in the name of peace. The @UN thanks its #peacekeepers for their service and sacrifice and acknowledge the countries that contribute them. #ServingForPeace https://t.co/EhSfabUYMg pic.twitter.com/NLo7xHOkiv UN News (@UN_News_Centre) May 25, 2019 India is the second highest troop contributing country to UNMISS with 2,337 Indian peacekeepers, second only to Rwanda with 2,750. In addition, India currently contributes 22 police personnel to UNMISS. When it comes to coping with the loss of a loved one, let's just say people have different approaches. Letting go of the memory can be extremely difficult and so, there are some who devise ways to deal with it. Like this Australian woman who finds comfort in a cardboard-cut out of her late husband. She's actually travelled the world with it. Michelle Bourke and her husband Paul had always dreamed of travelling the world together. Unfortunately those plans came to an end when Paul died of cancer in 2016. Michelle world came crumbling down, but then, she mustered the courage and made sure to fulfill the dream one way or another. She has taken 'Paul' to the USA, Paris, London, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and Singapore. And also has another trip planned in August too theyre going to Hong Kong, Scotland, Wales, London and Paris. Michelle has two children with Paul and is the stepmom to his two sons from a previous marriage. Paul was diagnosed with melanoma, a type of skin cancer in 2008, and even though he went into remission, in 2010, he developed a non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. When is comes to goof ups on live TV, Pakistan news channels rule the roost, and over the years they have produced some of the most hilarious bloopers. Now again, a confused Pakistani news anchor has left everyone ROFL-ing after he misquoted Prime Minister Narendra Modi's victory speech post the Lok Sabha election results. During his speech PM Modi had uttered the word 'abhinandan' and this particular new anchor thought that the PM was talking about IAF officer Abhinandan! To refresh your memory, Abhinandan Varthaman was captured by Pakistan on February 27 after his MiG 21 Bison crashed inside Pakistan when he shot down enemies F-16 fighter jet and later released on March 1. Modi praised the party workers and congratulated them for their hard work and used the word Abhinandan. The clip soon went viral on Twitter and triggered a bevy of memes on the channel's goof up. People started wondering if they were also looking for people named Asha and Akansha, just because PM Modi used those words during the speech! #1 They must be googling to find out who are these Asha aur Akanksha and what have they done Nav (@navimav7) 24 May 2019 #2 hey @ARYNEWSOFFICIAL #abhinandan in hindi means greetings. Change the person who manages your India desk. #Idiots Siddharth Tiwari (@CybertronSid) 24 May 2019 #3 I find that incredibly funny Aakash Raj Razdhan (@Ateendriyo) 25 May 2019 #4 So who are Manavi, Asha and Aakanksha and what's their story? Deepika (@ahlade) 25 May 2019 #5 Dear Braindead Pakistan Media, 'Abhinandan' doesn't necessarily mean Wing Commander Abhinandan, it's a Hindi word that means "Congratulations". pic.twitter.com/qVxUgGuc6M Sir Jadeja fan (@SirJadeja) 25 May 2019 After the landslide victory PM Modi has become the first non-Congress leader to become Prime Minister for two successive tenures and will lead the 17th Lok Sabha. The 17th Lok Sabha has to be constituted before June 3 and the process to form a new House will be initiated when the three Election Commissioners meet the President in the next few days to hand over the list of newly-elected members. While you are out there haggling for the melons worth not more Rs 200, there's someone in Japan who went and bought two Melons worth a whopping Rs 31.6 lakh! Two melons from the Japanese city of Yubari have fetched a record price of 5 million yen, or Rs 31.6 lakh in the first auction of this year's agricultural season in the country. Source/Japan Times The Yubari melons are a specialty fruit harvested in Yubari, Hokkaido, a city in Japan. The melons are considered a status symbol in the country. The two cantaloupe variety-melons, characterised by their orange pulp and sweetness, were part of around 1,000 pieces of Yubari-brand melons auctioned at the wholesale market in Sapporo, states reports. The melons will be on public display from Saturday to May 29. Source/Twitter "We received an honorable price and a high evaluation of Yubari farmers. We want to protect the melon as our citys asset to revitalize the city, Yubari Mayor Tsukasa Atsuya said. This variety of melon is considered to be of especially good quality because it is grown and ripened during a long period of sunny weather, reports Japan Times. Auctions of agricultural products in Japan traditionally start around this time of the year. The auction is mainly to show encourage farmers of Yubari melons and they go under the hammer with much fanfare. We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form In San Jose, Protesters Call for Preservation of Abortion Rights by Text: RR Photos: Aria Barajas Sunday May 26th, 2019 3:10 AM "If You're Against Abortions Have a Vasectomy" and other placards at protest in San Jose on May 21. Photos by: Aria Barajas, ProBonoPhoto. Please credit the author. Non-commercial use only. A demonstration in San Jose was one of about 500 across the nation to protest restrictive changes to abortion law. Rapid action demonstrations popped up in response to Alabamas sweeping ban on abortion without exceptions for rape or incest. Georgia, Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio and Utah have also posed challenges to Roe v. Wade, the decision that legalized abortion over four decades ago. Demonstrators rallying outside San Jose City Hall carried signs calling for the preservation of abortions rights. They decried attempts by supporters of the abortion bans to challenge the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark decision. Days after Triple MG boss Ubi Franklin was revealed to be expecting his 4th child from his 4th baby mama, the music executive was revealed to also be owing the said baby mama N4million. With this still on, another Nigerian lady has taken to social media to accuse the music executive of being a cunny man while sharing her experience with him. According to the lady, when she met Ubi upon meeting her asked her to loan him 20,000 pounds but she used her Igbo sense to get rid of the Triple MG boss. The lady further blamed the 4th baby mama for parting with her man. Read her post below; Veteran musician, Charles Oputa, popularly referred to as Charly Boy has revealed that Mugabes fate will befall President Muhammadu Buhari. According to the veteran musician, Governor Rochas Okorocha should be thanked for this impending end for Buhari. Governor Rochas few days ago unveiled the statue of President Buhari. He had unveiled the statutes of former South African president, Jacob Zuma and ex-president of Sierra Leone, Sir Elleaf Johnson. Also Read: Olamide Is All About The Money Timeout Drags Olamide Management Skills Charly Boy pointed out that the two statues Rochas previously unveiled were that of formers, who resigned and lost election after the unveiling. The musician thus expressed his gratitude to the outgoing Governor of Imo state. The Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi has said that his ultimate ambition is to make heaven when he dies. The former Rivers state governor said this during the Thanksgiving and birthday celebration organized and celebrated at St. Gabriel Chaplaincy, Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria, Durumi, Abuja. The minister who will be turning 54 on May 27, during his testimony, spoke of how he struggled with little or no money while growing up. And also told of how he prayed for a Nigeria, where people would have to struggle less to survive. Amaechi who announced his commitment to helping the poor in the church said among other things that he would be donating ten bags of rice every month for the next three years. Social media personality, Timeout, has condemned popular indigenous musician, Olamide, over how he handles upcoming artistes who work with him. Timeout has called out YBNL boss over the claims that he let upcoming act, Lyta go because he found another record label and he was getting jealous of other artistes in YBNL. Also Read: Uncall My Name, You B*tch Actress, Daniella Okeke Threatens Stephanie Otobo Olamide revealed that only Fireboy has contracted with YBNL, while he is just helping others. Timeout revealed that the YBNL boss indeed helps upcoming artists but if the act is not bringing in the expected returns, he drops them. See his post below: A Nigerian man identified as Femi Onasanya has revealed a rare moment, a Nigerian police officer, found his lost phone, kept it and returned it after. The man who spoke via Twitter on Saturday with the handle @femibimbo while sharing the photo of the honest police officer said he lost his Android phone at Abeokuta, Ogun state. The police officer who he says is attached to Atan-Ota police division of the state, found it a d kept it And when his director called, he answered the call and returned the phone. See post Outgoing governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha, he described the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the last general election, and Senator representing Imo West Senatorial zone, Senator Hope Uzodinma as a useless politician. The Imo governor in a statement signed by the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Mr. Sam Onwuemeodo, said within one week, Chief Hope Uzodinma, the governorship Candidate of All Progressives Congress (APC), in Imo State, has had series of interviews in almost all the national newspapers. And his target in all the interviews was Governor Rochas Okorocha. He has also invaded the social media with his insults on the governor. Interestingly enough, the kind of courage and boldness Chief Uzodinma displayed or exercised in all his media outings against Governor Okorocha only showed that he has no shame. And he could do worst things if he has the opportunity. Okorocha started further that Chief Uzodinma contested the governorship election in the State with the ticket of APC and he could not win in his own Oru East local government. He could not win in any of the 27 LGAs in the State, and never came second or third in all the LGAs but only came fourth and he has the audacity to be granting interviews and talking balderdash. He has only confirmed that he was only used as tool to destroy Imo APC. And they have promised him Ministerial appointment and that is the reason behind his current media Campaigns and to be listened to, he has to be insulting Governor Rochas Okorocha. Chief Uzodinma and co told the world that governor Okorocha had finished politically, that they were the ones holding the ace of APC in the State. And today, Nigerians have seen or known who holds the franchise of APC in Imo and in the Southeast. It added that at least, the outcome of the 2019 election spoke volume. It showed that like Governor Okorocha had said, Chief Uzodinma didnt contest the 2019 governorship election in the State to win. He only came to be a tool in the hands of those who wanted to kill APC in Imo and South-East in general for reasons best known to them. The 2019 poll also showed that Ugwumba Uche Nwosu is loved by Imo people to a very large extent and he was the most popular governorship Candidate. He won the 2019 election with the real votes of Imo people but INEC decided to announce someone with fictitious figures winner. Chief Uzodinma could not produce even one House of Assembly member. But Ugwumba Nwosu produced about eleven House of Assembly members, two Federal House of Representatives members and one Senator for Okigwe zone on the platform of Action Alliance, (AA). And all those who won election on the tickets of APC are all Governor Okorochas men. The truth is that falsehood does not endure. But truth endures. Even at the moment, only Governor Okorocha has the capacity to rebuild APC in Imo and in the South-East generally with the support of the AA Chieftains led by Ugwumba Uche Nwosu. In case men like Hope Uzodinma do not know, Governor Okorocha will outlive them, outlive their mischievous politics and their gang up. In their effort to destroy Okorochas politics, they messed up the entire State with their Collaborators. Chief Uzodinma should pursue his Ministerial appointment with decency and leave Governor Okorocha alone. Mischief does not pay at all. Green Party candidate Ciaran Cuffe has topped the poll in the Dublin constituency. Mr Cuffe received 63,849 first preference votes but fell short of the quota of 72,790. Frances Fitzgerald (FG) polled in second (59,067) ahead of Fianna Fail's Barry Andrews (51,4120). In the four-seat constituency, Clare Daly is in fourth after the first round after receiving 42,305. Sinn Fein's Lynn Boylan is in fifth with 39,387. "It has been an extraordinary 48 hours as those close to me will know," Mr Cuffe told RTE, just minutes after topping the poll "I think what we are seeing this evening on the first count is looking good and it reflects the extraordinary success we have seen for Green candidates running for local authorities up and down the country. "It is looking as though we will have a Green voice for Ireland in Brussels for the first time this century." Tony Bosco Louth was eliminated after finishing last and his votes will be redistributed. Mark Mullan was eliminated after the second count. Labour candidate Alex White admitted he needs "a miracle" to get elected. He was speaking after the fourth count where he was on 18,350 votes in seventh place. Count 6 Andrews 51997 Boylan 40045 Brien 11370 Cuffe 64853 Daly 43400 Durkan 16733 Fitzgerald 59448 Gannon 21002 Gilroy 8511 Higgins 11434 ODoherty 8661 White 18942 ELIMINATED: HARROLD, Rita (SPBP) RYAN, Eilis (WP) MURPHY, Eamonn KELLY, Hermann McNIFFE, Aisling MULLAN, Mark LOWTH, Tony Bosco Fianna Fail is on course to retain its position as the largest party on Cork City Council with Fine Gael a close second after the green wave swept Sinn Fein aside over the weekend. Fianna Fail had secured six of the 16 seats which had been filled by 9pm. Fine Gael is on four, the Greens had three and were on course for a fourth, the Independents had two, with Sinn Fein, which had eight seats going in to the election, left with just one seat. Some of the high-profile casualties, including Sinn Feins Chris OLeary, a former lord mayor who spent 17 years on the council, blamed a combination of poor turnout in key areas, and the management of local electoral area (LEA) boundary changes linked to the city boundary extension as factors in their losses. Green Party activist Lorna Bogue won the partys first seat on Cork City Council since 2004 on the second count in the south-east LEA, with 2,265 votes, or 14% of the vote. Party veteran, former councillor, TD, and senator Dan Boyle rode the green wave to take the partys second seat on the fifth count in the south-central ward later, with 1,524 votes. With their colleague Colette Finn taking the third seat in the south-west LEA, and Oliver Moran also poised to win a seat on the northside, Mr Boyle said they hope to revisit issues that have caused controversy over the life of the last council, including the flood defence plans for the city. We want to have a better approach towards the whole idea of how we approach keeping the heritage of the city quay walls and to show that we are not beholden to State agencies like the OPW that we can come up with separate and different approaches and revisit issues that have caused controversy, he said. We wont do so in a confrontational way. We will do it in a consensual way and we will try to make it at city council that works together. Mr Boyle said they will push for the continuation of the dHondt system, which sees the mayoral chain rotate, rather than a return to the pact system. Sinn Feins vote collapsed, with high-profile casualties including Mr OLeary and Mick Nugent in the north-east LEA, who topped the poll in 2014 with 1,206 votes, but who saw his vote slump to just 668 after the first count late on Saturday night. Chris O'Leary Party sources said they were hit by the perfect storm: A swing to the Greens, a low-turnout in key working-class areas, turnout in the low to mid-20% in some districts, and the various LEA boundary changes linked to the city boundary extension which takes effect next week. There were also signs of recovery for the Labour Party, which was wiped out in 2014, with John Maher set to take a seat in the north-west LEA. Fianna Fail topped the poll in the citys two LEAs north of the river, with former lord mayor, councillor Tony Fitzgerald, taking the first seat in the north-west on the fifth count, with 1,684 votes, and councillor Ken OFlynn topping the poll in the north-east LEA on the sixth count. But with long-serving councillor Tim Brosnan in danger in the north-east LEA, party leader Micheal Martin admitted that while Fianna Fail performed well nationally, and in Cork county, it could have better managed the various geographic issues linked to the city boundary extension, and the placement of candidates to replace some of the retirements. We are at close to 27% as opposed to 23% in the exit poll. We had a good day overall but we didnt maximise it in the city overall, he said. He also took a swipe at the accuracy of RTEs exit poll which he said had again understated Fianna Fails performance. In the six-seater south-east LEA, the only one to declare final results, former Fine Gael lord mayor, councillor Des Cahill, topped the poll with 2,275 first-preference votes after the first count, the highest vote in the city. Fianna Fail county councillor Mary Rose Desmond made her own bit of history by becoming the first county councillor to be elected to the expanding city council on the sixth count. When Independent councillor Kieran McCarthy and Fianna Fails Terry Shannon retained their seats on the eighth count, Fine Gael county councillor Deirdre Forde was deemed elected without reaching the quota. Sitting county councillors Joe Harris and Diarmaid O Cadhla were both eliminated during the count here. Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr Mick Finn, with his supporters after getting elected In the south-central LEA, Lord Mayor, councillor Mick Finn, with 1,753 votes, topped the poll for his second election in a row to retain his seat just before 1am on Sunday, with Fianna Fails Sean Martin retaining his seat on the ninth count and Fine Gaels Shane OCallaghan taking the fourth seat on the 11th count. Its been difficult for some past lord mayors obviously Catherine Clancy lost her seat in the last election, Brian Bermingham nearly lost his so to top the poll and retain mine is great, said Mr Finn. He also described the Green Party now as a force at local level. There was a long wait for results in the citys largest LEA, the seven-seat Cork City South-west, which has expanded to include Ballincollig. Togher-based Fianna Fail councillor Fergal Dennehy topped the poll to retain his seat with 2,055 votes, 22 ahead of Ballincollig-based veteran Fine Gael county councillor Derry Canty, who were both elected on the sixth count. The count is continuing. The Green Party has won an unlikely seat on Cork County Council. Alan O'Connor (35) who worked in the Natural History Collections at the National Museum in Dublin, had just completed a teacher training course. "I didn't have a campaign," he disclosed, "five or six of us had set up an East Cork Green Group a few years ago. At that point, we didn't think a county council seat would be realistic and there were no expectations to get one." The small group along with family and friends, however, succeeded. "No one else was putting their name forward and I just opted to be the candidate," he said. Mr O'Connor from Carrigtwohill along with Independent Sean O'Connor, a former Cobh town councillor and county councillor, were both elected without reaching the quota on the eight count. They joined four outgoing councillors to complete the Cobh Municipal District. The loss of a Sinn Fein seat was also a notable factor in the revamped Cobh area where the four. Kieran McCarthy who had held his Sinn Fein seat in 2014 was expelled from the party a year later but, after becoming an independent, did not contest the 2019 election. The SF candidate Louise Murphy did not repeat Mr McCarthy's success and the loss was one of nine party seats in Cork county. However, FF's Cllr Padraig O'Sullivan repeated his poll-topping performance and along with Cllr Anthony Barry (FG) the pair were both elected on the first count. It was the third count before FG's Sinead Sheppard crossed the line with Labour's Cathal Rasmussen retained his seat on the sixth count. Update: The Green Party has won a second seat on Cork County Council on the 10th count in the Midleton local electoral area. Liam Quaide, a psychologist, joins Cobh LEA councillor Alan O'Connor to make it a double success for the Greens. In a nail-biting contest, Quaide ad 107 votes to spare over Ms Griffin and was elected without reaching the quota. Ms Griffin had been aiming to win a second FF seat in the restructured local election area which increased from six to seven seats. Five councillors, seeking re-election, were all returned to County Hall. With FF's outgoing councllor Michael Aherne not seeking re-election, the party's newcomer and the youngest candidate in the field James O'Connor (21) secured the party seat on the sixth count. The Trinity College second-year business and economics student indicated his "top priority" was serving the electorate and admitted he will "rearrange" his college schedule. Meanwhile's Sinn Fein's Danielle Twomey, was returned on the sixth count also. Meanwhile, Mary Linehan Foley, in her second election, was overwhelmed at topping the poll and being elected on the first count along with the country's longest-serving politician Noel Collins (Ind) and FG's Michael Hegarty, returned for a seventh successive time. The Midleton district which incorporates Youghal was, for the first time, a seven-seater and FG's outgoing councillor Susan McCarthy was also returned. Sinn Fein's sitting MEP Matt Carthy believes his Midlands North West vote haul may be up to 2% lower than Friday's exit poll suggested and that he will be in a "dog fight" for the final two European seats. Mr Carthy admitted he is concerned about the situation as he separately said he believes Fine Gael MEP Mairead McGuinness and Independent MEP Luke Ming Flanagan are likely to take the first two of the four seats on offer. Speaking to the Irish Examiner from the local elections Monaghan count centre before he travels to the Midlands North West count centre in Castlebar, Co Mayo, tonight, Mr Carthy said it is far from clear how the constituency race will pan out. However, he said based on the small number of tallies he has seen so far, he is concerned the exit poll overstated his first preference support and that this could unexpectedly drag him into a four-way battle for the final two seats. "I entered the race expecting to be in the running for one of last two seats. It's just based on anecdotal evidence I've seen so far, but I think I'll be on 2% less than the exit poll. I'll be in a dog fight for the final two," he said. It is widely expected Ms McGuinness will surge home in the first two counts. However, initial reports suggest her transfers may split between Fine Gael running mate Maria Walsh and Mr Flanagan. This would be a surprise development that, if proven correct and coupled with a likely stronger than expected poll result for Mr Flanagan, will help to push the Independent MEP into a safer than expected position. Of the two remaining seats, Mr Carthy, Ms Walsh, Greens candidate Saoirse McHugh and Independent Peter Casey and are also in the running, with the exit poll on Friday suggesting Ms McHugh was just ahead on first preferences. Update: Julija Nedilskaja has been found safe and well. Earlier: Gardai 'very concerned' for safety of missing 14-year-old girl Gardai and the parents of a 14-year-old girl who is missing in Galway are said to be "very concerned" for her safety. Julija Nedilskaja is missing from her home in Knocknacarra, Salthill, since Friday. She was last seen when she left her school on Taylors Hill, Galway at around midday. She is described as being 5' 9" in height, of slight build with long dark blond hair and brown eyes. When last seen she was wearing her school uniform, a navy skirt, a navy jumper with the school crest and a blue shirt and black runners. It is not likely that Julija is still wearing these clothes, Gardai say. Gardai are asking anyone who may be able to assist in locating Julija to contact Salthill Garda Station on 091 - 514720, the Garda Confidential Line 1800 666 111 or any Garda station. Green Party leader Eamon Ryan has refused to rule a future coalition with either Fianna Fail or Fine Gael, even though leading members of his party do not trust them. Speaking this morning, Mr Ryan said his party will be willing to work with whoever will implement their agenda. His comments on Newstalk come in the wake of MEP hopeful Saoirse McHugh saying she would quit the party if it jumped into bed with either of the big parties. Mr Ryan said a decision on coalition would be made if a programme for government can be agreed with other parties. Every party increasingly in our system vote to agree internally to go into power or a Programme for Government. I think that is the point when you make a decision to do it or not. But there are a lot of my colleagues who would say Fine Gael don't get it or Fianna Fail don't get it, he said. Speaking to the Sunday Business Post, Ms McHugh said she would quit the party if it went into coalition with Fianna Fail or Fine Gael. She said she would leave the Green Party if it opted to go into coalition with either Fine Gael or Fianna Fail after the next general election. I think Fianna Fail and Fine Gael dont believe in the widescale system change thats needed, and I think they would do untold damage to the environmental movement, she said. As it stands, they have shown repeatedly with the groups they sit within Europe that they would prefer individual action over system change and we do need system change. Responding to internal Green Party divisions, Former Minister Lucinda Creighton branded Ms McHugh's comments as very naive and premature as it looks increasingly like she may miss out on the last seat. Commenting on the relatively poor showing by Fine Gael in Dublin, Ms Creighton hit out at her former constituency colleague and rival, Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy over his controversial co-living proposal. Ms Creighton said comments by Mr Murphy that young people ought to be excited by it were ill-judged. Kerry County Council is being asked to set out its policies for emerging technologies after it gave the go-ahead for a controversial battery storage plant near an electricity substation in Sliabh Luachra. Residents already mobilising against plans for huge wind turbines near their homes and villages lodged an appeal against the decision to An Bord Pleanala but it was deemed to be a day late. Sliabh Luachra Wind Awareness group is awaiting a written explanation from An Bord Pleanala on why the appeal was deemed late and is to take a judicial review of the council decision. The Sliabh Lucahra heartland, an area rich in culture running east of Killarney along the Kerry/Cork/Limerick border is being turned into an industrial minefield, and an experimental area for emerging technologies, the residents claim. Protestors, many in yellow safety jackets, held a demonstration outside the May monthly meeting of Kerry County Council in Tralee earlier this week. Redfaze Ltd wants to develop 40 lithium-ion battery storage units, equipment and transformers in Ballynahulla, around 3km from the village of Ballydesmond and in the catchment of the Munster Blackwater. The compound will be less than 700 metres from some houses, and residents fear explosions and toxic fumes and smog. Noise emission from the transformers is also a concern. As well as conservationists and parents of young children, objectors include horse breeders and trainers who fear for their bloodstock business. Kerry County Council found that the compound would not seriously injure the amenities of the area and would not be prejudicial to public health and safety. It attached a number of conditions including that in the event of noise complaints an acoustic specialist will be brought in to ascertain the cause of the noise and abate the nuisance. Battery storage compounds, involving lithium-ion batteries, partner with wind farms, capturing surplus energy from wind farms during high winds and releasing it back into the power stations when the turbines are slack. This technology is in its infancy, said Fred O'Sullivan, Sliabh Luachra Wind Awareness group spokesman, adding that the batteries are prone to self-explode, and that in Australia, such storage units must be underground and 10 miles from buildings. The group is already taking a judicial review of a giant windfarm spread 8km across several townlands between Ballydesmond and Gneeveguilla near Killarney, which has been granted An Bord Pleanala permission. The council in Kerry is coming under increasing pressure to review its policies with regard to energy. Now a major producer of wind energy, with hundreds of wind turbines and planning for more, the county's wind strategy is based on a setback guideline of 500 metres established in 2006 when turbines were half the size they are now. Yet another attempt to have a minimum setback distance of up to 1.5 kilometres of peoples homes failed at Council level on Monday. The people of rural Ireland do not have a voice when it comes to wind energy, the final meeting of the current council in Kerry was told. The council will outline its procedures and policies with regard to emerging technologies to the new council. A man in his late 30s has died following a road collision in Co Wexford. The man, who was the sole occupant of his car, died after his car collided with another vehicle at Raheenaskeagh in Oulart, Gorey at around 8.30am this morning. Four secondary school students investigating ways of growing crops in space are to have their project tested on a low gravity flight. The team from Skerries Community College in Dublin will be the first ever Irish teenagers selected for the flight due to a unique partnership between the Irish Composites Centre (IComp) at University of Limericks Bernal Institute and Project PoSSUM (Polar Suborbital Science in the Upper Mesosphere). Students were asked to design an experiment for testing on a parabolic flight and the Skerries team hope to address some of the challenges associated with developing sustainable sources of food for long term space exploration. The project will investigate the feasibility of fine water mist absorption in microgravity. The students, who won this year's BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition, are Sam Enright, Cliodhna OReardon, Evanna Niall and Adam Kelly. Team captain Sam Enright said: We are delighted. It is never something we imagined we would be doing, making an experiment to go into space on this microgravity flight and to learn insights into that. We went through a lot of ideas and because the brief was very specific, focusing on environmental impacts, we settled on growing plants, which is something that is going to be terrifically relevant to the future of space exploration and is completely necessary if you want to go to Mars or any further distances. So that is what motivated us. We were thinking about what would change versus what would stay the same in microgravity. The problem is going to be that you cant just get out a watering can to water plants on a space station in some sort of modified gravity, compared to what they evolved for on Earth. So we thought if you had some sort of mist-system to spray water and we investigated soil, rather than plants, because that is going to be more necessary and maybe could be an approach that hasnt been looked at as much. PoSSUM will fly microgravity flights in Ottawa, Canada at the National Research Council (NRC) involving different experiments, including the Irish one. The initiative was led by Dr Norah Patten, Project Manager at IComp. Counting is under way in the European elections where the Greens could pick up as many as three seats. However, it will be at least 10pm before the first Irish MEPs are elected as all countries must wait until polls close across Europe to announce the results. In Ireland South a 2ft ballot paper, featuring 23 candidates could slow up the count. In that constituency an RTE exit poll has predicted that Fine Gael's Sean Kelly will top the poll with 16% of first preferences, this is followed by Sinn Fein's Liadh Ni Riada and Fianna Fail's Billy Kelleher both on 13%, while Grace O'Sullivan of the Green Party is on 12% of first preference votes. However, in all of the three European constituencies transfers will be crucial and could see Mick Wallace, Malcolm Byrne or Deirdre Clune leap-frog other candidates in the South. In Dublin Green candidate Ciaran Cuffe, who has already been elected to Dublin city council, looks likely to top the poll, while sitting MEP Mairead McGuinness is expected to lead the poll in Midlands North West. Fianna Fail look set to be without an MEP in the Midlands North West constituency despite fielding two candidates Fianna Fail deputy leader Dara Calleary said lessons would have to be learned from the poor performance but said he is still hopeful two seats can be won in the South and one in Dublin. "It's a bad result for us in terms of the European Elections," he told Newstalk this morning. At local level, Fianna Fail are on course to remain the largest party while there have been significant losses for Sinn Fein. However, the story of the local elections has been the surge in support for the Green Party who could increase their seats from 12 to at least 30 across the country. Congratulating the Green Party, Business Minister Heather Humphreys said the vote is a "clear message" that the public want to see more action on climate change. However, she said "it will require big decisions and that won't be universally popular" adding that "big changes in lifestyle" would also be required. Speaking on Newstalk Ms Humphreys said Minister Richard Bruton will be publishing a climate action plan soon but said this would require cross-party support and cooperation. Asked about the possibility of a General Election, she said: "As far as I am concerned this Government is not focused on a General Election. The focus at the moment is Brexit and we need to be focused on that." Counting to elect 949 council seats across 31 local authorities is continuing today, while counting of the plebiscites to introduce directly elected mayors in Cork, Limerick and Galway will get underway tomorrow. Marjorie Brennan meets Kenny's Bookshop owner Tomas. Tomas Kenny is the third generation of his family to work at Kennys Bookshop in Galway. The show was originally situated on High St in the city centre. It is now based at Liosban industrial estate on the Tuam Rd, just outside the city, where it also has an art gallery. It has a wide range of services beyond selling books on site and online, including library supply, bookbinding, the handling of archives and book valuation. It also supplies books of Irish interest to the US Library of Congress. Kennys has been in business for nearly 80 years, What is your connection to the original owners? Des and Maureen Kenny started the business in 1940. They had six children, of whom five are still in the business one became a teacher. They all lived in Galway, which was also unusual at the time, in terms of emigration and so on. The eldest, Tom, is my father, and he runs the art gallery we have here. Myself, my sister and a cousin are the third generation who work here. My dad, and his brother Des, they read more than anyone I know, probably three or four books a week. Dad is 75 and still here five days a week. Is it true you were the second bookshop in the world to go online? Yes, the first was in San Francisco and that has gone out of business so we are the oldest surviving bookshop website in the world, as it were. It was pretty basic for the first few years and we didnt put a huge amount of effort into it but by the time we closed the bookshop in town, we were selling more books online than we were in the shop. Not only that, but in the shop in November, you might not sell a book until midday, while it is remarkably consistent online. You come into work here in the morning, there will be a few hundred orders and emails to answer. It is a lot easier from a staff point of view to plan. While the shop we had in the city was fabulous, there was something like 20 rooms there and it was a 15th century building. The overheads to run it were savage. We miss it but we are happy where we are now. Was the move difficult for the family? I spent more of my life in that shop than in my home so it was difficult. But we work with family and staff who have been here a long time and it is the people that make the place. We are very lucky that we have a shop that is bigger than it used to be. We can stock more books and we have very specialised shelving that takes in enormous amounts of material. It has brought opportunities to us. How do you compete with Amazon? We could never hope to compete with them in terms of the most popular bestsellers, which they are selling for less than we can buy them for, never mind shipping and everything else. But once you go beyond that, we would be cheaper than Amazon for the vast bulk of things, especially second-hand books, slightly older books or what publishers would call long-tail books, those that were published three or four years ago. We also sell on Amazon as a third-party seller. It is expensive to sell on Amazon, as they take a huge cut. If we sell on our website, we dont have to pay that percentage to Amazon and so we just take it off the price, so its cheaper. We have around 100,000 second-hand books that can be delivered anywhere around the world for less than 5. Do you see any particular trends in Irish books? Tramp Press sent me out a proof of the Emilie Pine book Notes to Self and I thought it was the best book I had read in years. Im sure many were in the pipeline already but it seems to have kickstarted a significant trend in memoir/commentary. When I started working, there were a number of very prominent Irish writers, all of whom were mostly male and already well-established. It is brilliant to see the amount of Irish writing by women in every field now. Also the number of books being published indigenously. If you were an Irish literary fiction writer in the past, you had to go to the UK, Faber and Faber, Picador or wherever. Tramp and other independent presses have done such a good job of creating an indigenous market and selling that on. Many famous writers have passed through Kennys bookshop, who had the greatest impact on you? We were lucky as Galway is a popular destination and we had a fairly constant parade of people. Walter Macken was our uncle and Kate OBrien would come into the shop a lot too. Brendan Behan also used to drop in. He came in once half-cut, or fully cut, and said to my granny: Mrs Kenny, there are two places I cant pass, a pub and a bookshop, and she said: For Gods sake, come to the bookshop first. Two of those three died young in a very short space of time and we realised we had no mementoes of them, so we started taking pictures of authors who came in we have thousands of them now. When I was younger Id walk around and look at them and think: He was here, she was here. Two stand out for me Edna OBrien, because she was just amazing and really lovely. The other is John McGahern. My granny started the shop and she was from Mohill in Leitrim, near to where John was from. Hed say very little, was very gentle, but was very obliging and a lovely man. [section][options][type]ONE_COLUMN[/type][parallax]SophieToscanDuPlantierHomeWestCork_large.jpg[/parallax][customcssclass]header[/customcssclass][/options][content][column1][title]Ian Bailey trial: The latest chapter in tragedy which has captivated nation for over two decades[/title][/column1][/content][/section] [section][options][type]ONE_COLUMN[/type][color]gray[/color][fontsize]17px[/fontsize][/options][content][column1] Ian Bailey will be tried for murder in his absence next week and the trial in a Parisian courthouse will be the latest chapter in a story that has captivated Ireland since Sophie Toscan du Plantier was found murdered in the west Cork village of Schull in 1996. [section][options][type]TWO_COLUMN[/type][fullheight]true[/fullheight][/options][content][column1][timgfull]Sophie1immersive_large.jpg[/timgfull][sticky][timgfull]zzzSophieToscanDuPlantierBoatingHolidayCREDITDeathInDecemebr_large.jpg[/timgfull][/sticky][/column1][column2][subhead]On 23 December 1996 the body of Sophie Toscan du Plantier was found about 200 yards from her holiday home in Schull, west Cork. She had been battered to death. The scene suggested that she had been running for her life from her home when the assailant attacked her in the most brutal manner.[/subhead]Ian Bailey, an English journalist who had been living locally since 1991, was one of the first to report on the discovery. Pretty soon, he came under suspicion himself.Since then Mr Baileys name has been inextricably linked to Ms du Plantiers through a series of reports, inquiries and investigations. That has culminated with the forthcoming murder trial in Paris.Bailey has always proclaimed his innocence. He has initiated a number of actions based on his entitlement to the presumption of innocence. Ms du Plantiers family have been central to the campaign in France to bring Mr Bailey to trial. The French justice system is now doing so under an ancient law which allows for the prosecution of anyone in relation to the death of a French citizen.No charges were ever brought against Ian Bailey in this jurisdiction in relation to Ms du Plantiers death. Now the French are putting him on trial. Absolutely nothing has emerged to even suggest that the French prosecutorial authorities have uncovered more evidence than the gardai.[timgfull]zzzPierreLouisBaudleyVignaudsSonOfSophieToscanduPlantierUSEONCEONLYdec16_large.jpg[/timgfull][style=color: #5a5a5a; font-size: 17px] Sophie Toscan du Plantier with her son Pierre. Reproduced with kind permission of du Plantier family[/style][/column2][/content][/section] [section][options][type]THREE_COLUMN[/type][align]center[/align][/options][content][column2] Garda Investigation [section][options][type]TWO_COLUMN[/type][/options][content][column1] DPP analysis of garda investigation [section][options][type]TWO_COLUMN[/type][align]center[/align][/options][content][column1][timgfull100=Sophie's parents lay flowers at the scene of her death in 2004]duPlantierFamilyFlowersAtScene2004_large.jpg[/timgfull100][/column1][column2][timgfull100=Sophie pictured while she lived in Schull]SophieToscanduPlantiernew_large.jpg[/timgfull100][/column2][/content][/section] [section][options][type]TWO_COLUMN[/type][/options][content][column1] Libel action Garda review of Garda Investigation [section][options][type]THREE_COLUMN[/type][/options][content][column1][timgfull100]zzzFrenchPoliceWestCorkSophieToscanduPlantier2011_large.jpg[/timgfull100][/column1][column2][timgfull100=Ian Bailey, his partner Jules and solicitor, Frank Buttimerl]IanBaileyJulesThomasandFrankButtimerNov2014_large.jpg[/timgfull100][/column2][column3][/column3][/content][/section] [section][options][type]TWO_COLUMN[/type][/options][content][column1] Extradition hearings [section][options][type]TWO_COLUMN[/type][/options][content][column1] Recordings Tribunal [section][options][type]ONE_COLUMN[/type][height]400px[/height][parallax]IanBaileySchullMay2019DanLinehan_large.jpg[/parallax][/options][content][column1][/column1][/content][/section] [section][options][type]ONE_COLUMN[/type][/options][content][column1]On 4 November 2014 Ian Baileys High Court action against the state opened. It was expected to run for six weeks.The hearing was in front on a jury. The option had been open to Bailey to opt for a judge only. A decade earlier, he had brought his libel action to the Circuit Court in front of a judge only, where the limit to any award was 38,000. If he had brought that action to the High Court, and won, he could have received damages of many multiples of what was available in the Circuit court. But back then little had emerged about the garda investigation. The DPP analysis was not known publicly. Marie Farrells credibility as a witness was not questioned.Now all had changed. Now, Bailey quite obviously hoped that public sympathy in some quarters for his case might be reflected in a jury room.The six week schedule turned out to be very wide of the mark. The hearing ran for 64 days over five months one of the longest in the history of the state and involving 90 witness.On 30 March 2015 the jury delivered its verdict. It found against Bailey on the two conspiracy allegations they were asked to consider whether gardai had conspired to implicate him in the murder of Ms Du Plantier and whether there was a garda conspiracy to obtain false statements from Marie Farrell.The jury was not asked to consider any wrongful arrest because it had taken place outside a specified legal period. [/column1][/content][/section] [section][options][type]TWO_COLUMN[/type][/options][content][column1][timgfull=A composite image of Jules Thomas, Ian Bailey and Marie Farrell]JulesThomasIanBaileyMarieFarrellComposite_large.jpg[/timgfull][/column1][column2][/column2][/content][/section] [section][options][type]TWO_COLUMN[/type][/options][content][column1] GSOC complaints [section][options][type]ONE_COLUMN[/type][/options][content][column1] A timeline of events that rocked a nation 1991 1993 1996 December 20: December 23: 1997 January 11: January 20: January 21: January 24: February 4: February 10: April 17: September 29: December 18: 1998 January 27: March 9: 2000 July 7: September 22: 2001 August 18: November: 2002 January: December 19: 2003 March: December: 2004 March: 2005 April: 2006 April: 2007 May 1: November: 2008 June: July: 2009 June: 2010 February 19: April 23: December: 2011 March 18: October: 2012 March 1: Sept: October: 2013 May 10: 2014 April: October: November 4: 2015 March 30: 2016 July 27: August: December 23: 2018 August 3: 2019 February 26: May 20: [section][options][type]FOOTER[/type][/options][content][column1] irishexaminer.comBack to Irish Examiner[/column1][/content][/section] I can't rule it out, he said. The final results in the local and European elections were not yet announced and already Leo Varadkar is refusing to say a General Election in the short run is possible. The Taoiseach earlier opened the door to an election this year saying factors like Brexit and the Budget could take matters out of his hands. That's a judgement to be made at a later date. The by-elections have to be held within a six-month period, they have to be held by the end of November. "But there are other factors at play. Obviously the instability across the water [in Britain] in relation to Brexit and also whether we can get the votes to get a budget through, so that's something that has to be considered in the next couple of weeks, he said on radio. Cue considerable head scratching by TDs, party strategists and media alike. Given the risks with Brexit as well as the mandate needed to pass October's budget, he said there would need to be a decision whether to hold the by-elections or to go to the country. Several TDs are in the running for potential seats, including Fine Gael's Frances Fitzgerald, Fianna Fail's Billy Kelleher as well as Independents Clare Daly and Mick Wallace. Election count centres are one of the few times where access to the normally elusive elite is relatively easy and handlers and advisors were being sought out for clarity. What did the Taoiseach mean? Is it happening? Huddled around phones and computers to rehear the interview, journalists were parsing and analysing every word he said, trying to figure out what it meant. A senior Fine Gael source texted me to say that the timing of an election will depend on events. If it was about the best window for the party we'd have gone this time last year. Will depend on the 4 Bs Brexit, Broadband, Budget and by-elections. In one way it said a lot but in another, it said very little. Was an election on or not? A short time later, the Taoiseach arrived at a strangely deserted RDS count centre and appeared on RTE television. Seeking to clarify what he meant about the chances of a General Election, presenter Ray Kennedy pressed him on the matter. The Taoiseach said beyond the next few days and weeks, he could not rule out an election, citing the various matters that could cause it. In a script remarkably similar to the text I received shortly before, Varadkar told the nation that the timing of the election will be driven by many matters, some out of his hands. Once his TV duties were done, Varadkar faced a media scrum and top of the agenda was the same issue. If this had been about what was best for Fine Gael, we would have gone to the country this time last year, when we were at 35%. So it has never been about that, it has been what is best for the country, he said. The results today don't change that. There are other factors at play. Brexit and how that pans out. Rural Ireland and our plans for broadband, getting a budget through and of course there will be by-elections within six months, he told us. All of those things have to be taken into account. But I am also very aware that the ending of this Dail may not be my decision. Fianna Fail could pull the plug on this Government at any time if they chose to, he added. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar pictured casting his vote in the European and Local Elections and the Divorce Referendum at Scoil Thomais, Laurel Lodge, Castleknock this afternoon. Picture Colin Keegan He was asked why he could not commit beyond a few days. In the context of the current Dail and a minority government, where we only have a quarter of the seats, that is just the reality of this. Of course, anyone in government would prefer to be in with a stable majority, but that is the way it is, he said bluntly. When pressed further about his own preference, he was equally clear. This is all about ensuring we have a functioning government. So as long as the government can function and function well and get our job done and get our agenda through, then there is no need for an election. But if that becomes a problem, then obviously that changes things, he said. Taking a step back, of course such talk by a Taoiseach about a General Election looming cannot be ignored, but a cynic would argue he has done so in order to distract from a fairly ordinary day at the ballot box for Fine Gael. While Varadkar made the claim that Fine Gael has gained in seats at local level, it has failed to retake the mantle of being the largest party from Fianna Fail. The claim about the gain in seats, too, must be remembered in the context that Fine Gael lost 105 seats in 2014, so it was starting from a lower base. Also, it has failed to live up to its own boasts that it would gain 50 seats. Primarily, Varadkar and his Dublin-centric cabinet have been seeking to woo rural voters in recent months and weeks, with announcements to beat the band complete with money and goodies. A succession of opinion polls put Fine Gael in the mid-30s in Dublin yet the RTE exit poll - which has a margin of error of 3% - had Fine Gael on 15%, just 1% ahead of Fianna Fail on 14%. One interpretation is that Dublin voters have fallen out of love with Leo and such a drop in support has sent a stiff breeze up the backs of many a Fine Gael minister and strategist. Were such a scenario repeated at a General Election, Fine Gael will quickly find itself back on the opposition benches in Leinster House. Where did it go wrong for them? For much of the period since Varadkar became Taoiseach in June 2017, Fine Gael has consistently polled up to 10 points higher than Fianna Fail, and the bedrock of that gap has been the party's strong standing in Dublin. The party has endured a torrid 2019 so far, with controversies relating to the National Children's Hospital, the National Broadband Plan and Cervical Check badly damaging the Government's credibility. Also during the campaign, the story about Dun Laoghaire TD Maria Bailey's personal injuries legal action against a hotel has knocked the party even further. Varadkar himself confirmed that the Bailey saga did have a negative impact on the doors and she is to be brought into the principal's office for a scolding this week. Ultimately, Varadkar has a big call to make in the coming days. Does he risk running up to 4 by-elections, possibly lose them all, and continue to cling on? Or does he, despite a significant slide in his poll ratings and the ongoing Brexit quagmire, forego the by-elections and go to the people for the big one. Not a gambler, Varadkar will only go if he thinks he can win. As he cannot be sure of that, the country has now been plunged into an unwelcome period of unnecessary uncertainty. Newly appointed Communications Minister Paul Fletcher must ensure that he takes the politics out of the portfolio and ensure that telecommunications becomes bipartisan, based on the national interest, well-known telecommunications consultant Paul Budde has told iTWire. Asked for his reaction to Fletcher's appointment, Budde said he was perhaps the best qualified in government to take on the telecommunications portfolio. Fletcher was named Minister for Communications, the Arts and Cyber Safety when Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced his cabinet on Sunday. "I know him from his Optus days and greatly respected his views on the market," Budde said. Fletcher has already said that the completion of the rollout of the national broadband network would be one of his main priorities. When construction of the NBN was begun in 2009, the Labor Party was in power and it envisaged fibre being rolled out to the premises for 93% of the populace, with the remaining 7% to be supplied with connectivity through either wireless or satellite. The rollout became a political issue when the Coalition Government, that took power in 2013, decided to change the technology of the network to what it called a multi-technology mix. The MTM includes fibre-to-the-node, HFC cable, satellite, and wireless, apart from fibre-to-the-premises which is being provided only to new dwellings. As the MTM plan and the connections provided have come under increasing criticism, fibre-to-the-distribution-point, which considerably reduces the copper lead-in to premises what the network builder NBN Co calls fibre-to-the-curb has been introduced as well. The rollout of the NBN is scheduled to be completed in 2020 but residents and businesses will have 18 months and three years respectively to connect after they are notified that they are in a position to do so. "He has some healing to do but if he does this in a balanced way he can unite the industry behind him," Budde added. The telecommunications industry lobby group, Communications Alliance, also welcomed Fletcher's appointment. CA chief executive John Stanton said Fletchers commercial experience in the communications sector and deep knowledge of the industry would be key attributes as the government engaged on a wide-ranging array of necessary reforms. During his period as Parliamentary Secretary for Communications, from 2013-15, Paul worked closely and constructively with industry and other stakeholders on a package of red-tape reduction initiatives," Stanton said. I think Paul recognises, better than most, that a balance needs to be struck between the imposition and costs imposed on industry and consumers by additional layers of regulation, compared with the benefits that can be generated. We look forward to working with the new minister. Stanton paid tribute to the contribution made by outgoing communications minister Mitch Fifield to the sector during his time in office. Mitch maintained a strong focus on the interests of telecommunications consumers and on improving coordination and execution in the broadband supply chain, he said. Mobile industry lobby group, the Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association, said it welcomed Fletcher's appointment and "looks forward to working together in a productive relationship that supports Australias ongoing development and leadership in mobile telecommunications". AMTA chief executive Chris Althaus said in a statement: The mobile industry is an enabler of economic growth and the rollout of 5G will deliver even more significant economic and social benefits, enhancing productivity, GDP and employment opportunities to name a few, so it is crucial that the government maintains its focus on this opportunity. We congratulate Paul Fletcher and very much look forward to working with the Minister who brings a wealth of direct portfolio experience and knowledge to his new role as Communications Minister. This is an important time for industry and government collaboration, as we need to ensure a clear path for network deployment and allocation of spectrum is developed to enable an effective 5G future that will benefit Australian business and society while keeping Australia at the forefront of next generation mobile telecommunications. AMTA also thanks and acknowledges outgoing Minister Fifield for his contribution to the Communications portfolio and congratulates him on his appointment as Australias next ambassador to the UN. Newly appointed Communications Minister Paul Fletcher says one of his key priorities will be completing the rollout of the national broadband network. Fletcher was appointed as Minister of Communications, Cyber Safety and the Arts in the new Coalition Government, the portfolios for which were announced on Sunday. A former senior executive with telco Singtel Optus, Fletcher takes over from Mitch Fifield who finds no place in the ministry. Regarding Fletcher's appointment, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said: "As the national broadband network nears full rollout and social media becomes an even more prominent front in the fight to keep Australians safe, Paul Fletcher, as Minister for Communications, Cyber Safety and the Arts, brings extensive experience and insight to the task." In a statement, Fletcher said he was deeply honoured to be appointed to the post. "I have worked extensively in the communications sector since the mid-nineties as a policy adviser, as a senior executive at Optus for eight years, as a consultant serving the sector, and more recently as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Communications from 2013 to 2015," he said. "The communications sector serves a vital human need for people to communicate with each other and makes a critical economic and social contribution to our nation. As Minister I will aim to take forward policy settings which maximise this contribution. With many parts of the communications sector facing profound and continuing change, sound policy settings will be more important than ever." Fletcher said in 2013, "we inherited a shambles from Labor with barely 50,000 premises connected to the fixed network. Today 9.28 million premises around Australia are able to connect to the NBN and almost 5.3 million premises are connected". "Another priority will be to continue the Morrison Governments work to make the Internet a safer place for the millions of Australians who use it every day." He said he was also delighted that his portfolio included responsibility "for Australias vibrant and critically important arts sector". "Australias performers and creative artists are world renowned and make a profound contribution to our national identity," Fletcher added. Heres where a little practice can really set you apart. Work on a firm handshake, better eye contact, and speaking in complete sentences while using proper grammar. After the interview, email them a thank you and also mail a hand-written one. Good social skills can take time to develop. Learn to speak and to write effectively. Itll serve you well. Young people are too casual. Look how they dress. Fifty-five percent of interpersonal communication is body language. Tone of voice is 38% and your actual words comprise only 7%. If youre not dressed appropriately, youve put yourself at a distinct disadvantage when compared with those who are. Avoid shorts, flip-flops and t-shirts. Youre trying to make a good impression, so dress up not down. Sit up in your chair. Dont slouch. You may think all this appearance and communication skills stuff is superficial and has no bearing on whether you can perform the work. And while that may be true for some jobs, the employer is weighing those things as they make hiring decisions. Another way to look at it from the employers perspective is this: if you dont care enough to dress appropriately or act appropriately, why should they care about hiring you? They dont owe you anything. In the American context, at least, modern conservatives should be understood as conserving a set of truly revolutionary ideas and practices. One such idea is that government is both necessary and dangerous. As James Madison put it in a post-presidency speech in Virginia, the essence of government is power; and power, lodged as it must be in human hands, will ever be liable to abuse. By power here, Madison and other Founders meant coercive power the capacity of government to force people at the point of a gun to comply with its commands. Whether republican or tyrannical, all governments possess such power. Again, its necessary. But it ought to be used sparingly, only for tasks that cant be accomplished through market transactions, charitable activity or simple persuasion. Thats the case that my colleagues and I at the John Locke Foundation, and at other like-minded organizations in North Carolina and beyond, seek to make every day in our programs, articles, interviews and public appearances. Our work is usually devoted to specific applications. We advocate liberating North Carolinians to make choices for themselves about how best to educate their children, improve their health, pursue economic opportunity and build the families and communities in which they live their lives. Whether the stakes in a particular dispute we discuss seem big or small to you, keep in mind that the broader principle couldnt be more momentous: everything need not be political. Minimize government. Maximize freedom. John Hood is chairman of the John Locke Foundation. Follow him on Twitter @JohnHoodNC Within moments of Trump becoming president, references to confronting climate change disappeared from the White House website. Luber says the stifling effect became apparent at his own agency when one of his bosses asked him to refrain from using the phrase. Can you find some other way to talk about it? Call it extreme weather, Luber recalls being told. I thought this was ridiculous and refused. Not long after, Luber was given a termination notice based on anonymous and, he says, fabricated charges against him. The allegations included submitting falsified timecards, writing a book without authorization, and showing up late and hung over for a speech. The CDC backed off after the watchdog group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility came to Lubers defense and The New York Times started looking into the effort to fire him. Luber, however, was not able to stop the CDC from quietly folding his 18-person program into a much larger section of the agency that studies asthma. He had protested that this was contrary to the wishes of Congress, which appropriated funds specifically for climate study. He also warned that researchers assigned to the new division would inevitably get diverted to other projects. The threat of development The Journal, in its May 13 editorial (We are destroying our future), stated that humans are destroying the natural environment. We threaten many plant and animal species with extinction. You called for drastic action to prevent this, though not specifying what action that should be. One reason you gave for this loss of biodiversity is the destruction of natural habitats through human activities such as farming and logging. But theres another activity that deserves mention, and it hits very close to home: development. Consider one local charismatic species: the wood thrush. It has a glorious, ringing song. As its name implies, the wood thrush lives in the woods. But as we fell our trees to make way for housing developments and other things, we eliminate the places the wood thrush needs to survive. What wood patches remain are often too small to support succcessful nesting. Not surprisingly, there arent as many wood thrushes around as there used to be. Wood thrush numbers have declined by at least half in the last few decades. Climate change gets all the press, but we cant neglect old-fashioned development. Perhaps the Journal can suggest specific action to limit such habitat loss. The Lagos state police command have arrested a private security guard employed by the management of the Lagos State Polytechnic (LASPOTECH), Ikorodu, Cletus Wilson, for allegedly murdering his colleague, John Okoro, and attempting to flee with his body parts. According to reports, Cletus who secures the Computer Engineering Faculty of the polytechnic, had tricked his colleague, John, into the bush within the school premises where he first used a metal object to hit his head. Confirming that John was unconscious, Cletus slaughtered the deceased and then chopped off his hand. He was about to run with the body part when he was apprehended by his colleagues. The management of the school immediately alerted the police along Ikorodu-Sagamu road and Cletus was arrested. Confirming the incident, the divisional police officer in charge of the police station, Adekunle Omisakin, said the suspect will be charged to court immediately after investigations into the matter have been concluded. Carthage College honored a group of pioneers with a symbolic ceremony on Saturday. The schools inaugural graduating class of nursing students received the schools first nursing pins in front of college officials, local health-care professionals and proud family and friends at the Todd Wehr Center. The 13 seniors receiving their pins will graduate today with Bachelor of Science of Nursing degrees. Seven years ago, Carthage considered starting a nursing program as a response to a growing need of health-care professionals. With the demographic of Americans age 65 and older reaching a historic proportion, more than 1 million jobs in the next three years will be needed to fulfill adequate care of those individuals, according to Carthage president John Swallow. The 13 of you are making Carthage history as our first graduating class of nurses, and I couldnt be happier, Swallow told the seniors. You are needed. With the launch of the nursing program, you helped Carthage re-energize our responsibility to society and its varied challenges. Carthages nursing program was created in 2015 and was awarded a five-year national accreditation status by the Commission of Collegiate Nursing Education in December 2018. The program has approximately 200 students. Being the first group of graduates, there is an awful lot of work that goes into it, said Frank Hicks, Carthage professor and director of nursing. It really was a team effort. No matter how much experience you have, until it all comes together you never know how its going to work out. Sometimes it works well. Sometimes you have to make tweaks. Whats really fulfilling is having these students as freshmen and seeing them as seniors and the amount of growth that has occurred. Theyre taking on the role of the professional and really going to go forward and represent Carthage and the profession of nursing very well. Kenosha resident Samantha Nichols served as president of Carthages Nursing Student Council. As a testament of pairing career choice with opportunity, Nichols graduates today and begins work on Tuesday at Froedtert South. Being part of the first class is such an honor, said Nichols, who will become her familys third generation of nurses. Im excited for the next chapter. Ive been working for two years a student intern. This transition is a long time coming. I feel like Ive been waiting in the wings ready to start. Hailey Rothstein, also a member of the schools inaugural nursing class, was presented with the Future Nurse Leader of the Year Award by the Wisconsin Nurses Association. The Schaumburg, Ill., native was one of five nursing students across the state to receive the honor. Its crazy to think the group of us that started freshman year are now here, Rothstein said. Speaking for the 13 of us, emotions are at an all-time high. I think were all ready to get into the practice of helping people and do what we set out to do. With roughly 30 percent of nurses expected to retire in the next five to 10 years, the job outlook has never been brighter for nurses. Hicks said about half of his graduating students already accepted job offers. Im just thrilled to be a part of it, Hicks said. The Kenosha community has just opened its arms to this program, and I couldnt be happier. Its been a labor of love. 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 concept of receiving a well-rounded, liberal arts education is steeped in history in the U.S. a reality that is evident locally with such venerable institutions as Carthage College. But in other parts of the globe, this cornerstone within the American higher education system is just starting to bear fruit particularly in such nations as Vietnam, where conditions have improved in recent years. Dam Bich Thuy, founding president of Fulbright University Vietnam, sat down with Carthage President John Swallow on Saturday for a one-on-one conversation about the state of higher education in the Asian nation. Thuy was selected as this years commencement speaker at Carthage. While the concept of liberal arts has long been woven into the fabric of American higher education, Swallow said it can be caught up in confusion. One thing we are challenged with as Americans is, What is the liberal arts? Swallow said as he asked Thuy for her take on the concept. At Fulbright University Vietnam, Thuy said students are intermingling skills-based learning with the coursework that also dips into liberal arts. The goal, Thuy said, is to give the students an understanding and ability to engage in critical thinking by debating, articulating their thoughts and asking questions. Courses are designed to be truly interdisciplinary, Thuy said, pointing to one example: Vietnamese students enrolled in Engineering 101, for example, would be required to also take such humanities courses as psychology and sociology with an emphasis on how the concepts can be applied directly into the profession. As part of the exercise, Thuy said students meet with elder citizens and develop products that could benefit that subset of the Vietnamese population. It is not pushing a product, Thuy said of the philosophy behind the exercise. It has to be something more than just a product. It has to be something a user needs. A history lesson While relations between the U.S. and Vietnam have improved in more recent times, the portrait was starkly different a half-century ago. Thuy said Fulbright University Vietnam has used history instruction as a prism for students to peer more deeply into conflicts between nations. Case in point: Thuys students watched an episode of Ken Burns documentary on the Vietnam War. At the end of the episode, Thuy said many were sobbing and physically moved by the narrative they watched. Recounting the conversation, Thuy said the students relayed to her, We never knew the Americans suffered so much. We only thought the Vietnamese suffered. Speaking to the importance of critical thinking, Thuy said, You need to see things from a different lens especially for history. There are so many interpretations of history. In many respects, Thuy said Fulbright University Vietnam is akin to a start-up and is making refinements as needed to continue its evolution. Regardless of where higher education is headed in Vietnam, Thuy recited a quote about its transformative powers: Education is the best way to heal the past, she said. Love 7 Funny 1 Wow 2 Sad 5 Angry 167 Unapproved CBD products may not be as safe as they seem 269 Shares Share In recent years, a flood of cannabis and cannabis-derived products like CBD have entered the market often claiming to cure or treat an array of health issues and ailments. These products are everywhere, but there is little scientific evidence to support the hype that surrounds them. As a doctor, Im deeply concerned at where this industry is heading and the potential risks to patients and consumers. I urge my peers to take this issue seriously and stand with me in addressing these growing concerns. As doctors, we strive to alleviate suffering Most people are unfamiliar with my chosen specialty, known as physical medicine and rehabilitation medicine. My peers and I are called physiatrists. Together, we seek to restore the functional abilities and enhance the quality of life of people that face a wide range of physical, psychological or emotional disabilities. Doctors refer their patients to me after other treatments have proven unsuccessful. By the time patients arrive at my office, theyre often at their wits end, suffering from the physical and psychological toll of chronic pain. In recent years, many have asked me whether cannabis and cannabis-derived products like CBD would help them. These patients rightfully turn to me and ask, Doctor, what should I do? Silence is no way to help patients The reality is that patients are being misled. As of yet, there is no clear and convincing evidence about the safety and efficacy of most cannabis products and its up to doctors to let our patients know. Last year Epidiolex, a drug used to treat a narrow spectrum of seizures, became the only pharmaceutical formulation of purified, highly concentrated CBD to be approved for use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). As with all prescription drugs, there are serious potential side effects, including liver toxicity, significant drug interactions, behavioral side effects such as suicidal behavior and ideation, as well as somnolence and sedation. These risks can be managed if the person is under a doctors supervision. But the risks cannot be properly monitored if no doctor is involved which is typically the case when a person purchases an over-the-counter CBD product. A local budtender might recommend these CBD products enthusiastically, but does the budtender realize that the product might be contaminated with heavy metals, pesticides, fungicides, rodenticides, insecticides, molds, E. coli, or fungus, just to name a few? Labels can be misleading In 2015 the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) published a research paper demonstrating that in 23 percent of samples tested, THC levels were higher than indicated on the product label, which could put people at risk of experiencing other adverse events. Sixty percent contained THC below the level claimed on the product label, which could leave the patient unable to achieve the desired medical benefit. 41 percent had no detectable levels of CBD. Upon evaluating more than ten thousand cannabis products, the State of California discovered that 18 percent failed tests for potency and purity. And Oregon released a report earlier this year that noted the state has failed to keep up with mandatory inspections, reaching only three percent of its dispensaries, and admitting that its poor testing potentially exposes consumers to multiple contaminants from cannabis products. Bogus medical claims Many producers of products containing CBD are making unfounded medical claims regarding their products ability to cure or alleviate many diseases and conditions. The FDA has very strict regulations on such activity and has issued warnings to some organizations that are selling CBD products. Unfortunately, enforcement is rare. And products with very high CBD concentrations are widely available. Some of these businesses continue to operate illegally and perpetuate their false claims in plain sight so consumers have little to no protection. To my physician peers: Its time we speak up! Words shared by a friend have long stuck with me: What made the most noise was when the doctors said nothing. If the medical community is not speaking up about the significant risks associated with unregulated and untested CBD products, its not surprising that consumers feel that these products must be safe. Fellow physicians and allied health care professionals, we cant wait any longer. We must speak up, loudly and often, and warn the public about the potential risks they face. I propose we place a hold on the sale and marketing of over-the-counter and internet-based CBD products. Lets be willing to stand up to our patients pressure for us to endorse CBD products until after robust clinical trials are completed. Lets put public health and safety ahead of commercial interests. Lets put our patients first. Kenneth Finn is a physiatrist. Image credit: Shutterstock.com 646 Shares Share A commencement speech to the graduating class of 2019, Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine, May 10, 2019. In less than 30 minutes, you will all finally be physicians! (cheering) And this summer youll be set loose on your very own patients. (laughter) How exciting is that? Maybe a little nerve-racking. During your career (depending on specialty and work ethic) you may care for more than 100,000 patientsonly a few will live in your heart forever. You will join them on a sacred journey for two. Trust them. They will guide you from nervous new doctor and teach you how to be a healer. As a new intern, I was assigned to Emily. She had idiopathic bronchiectasis (a fatal lung disease) and refused to take her meds so the transplant team signed off on her case. They abandoned us. We were both 25. Sobbing uncontrollably with her oximiter alarm shrilling, she looked to me for help. I didnt know how to help her die. So I snuck my dog, Happy, into her room for midnight excursions. With her portable oxygen tank rolling behind us, wed hold hands and disappear across the hospital parking lot into a blanket of grass and gaze at the stars where shed share her grief of never giving birth or finding her soul mate. Emily and I became soul sisters on an adventure of a lifetime until the day, in her bedroom sitting beside her body wrapped in a Mickey Mouse blanket, I signed her over to the morgue. Emily has never left my side. Patients like Emily will hold your hand and lead you to places where there is no algorithm, no attending, where you have no earthly idea what youre doing. All youve got is each other. After Emily, Harold stumbled awkwardly into my heart. A loner who distrusted technology (and doctors), he lived in the woods caretaking a wildlife sanctuary with no electricity. No phone or car. But he had great health insurance (through his employer). His ex-girlfriend recommended me. So hed hitchhike to my office3 hours each way. One day he came in, his back covered in nodules. I excised one, sewed him up, gave him a kiss on the forehead, a slip for a chest X-ray, and an appointment to return next week. It was metastatic lung cancer. He chose chemo, moved to the city, got a cell phone, and quickly spiraled to his death. I got him back to his cabin. He died the next day. His ashes now food for the forest he so lovedwhere I visit him each fall. I think Emily kind of helped me with Harold. Youre never really alone. Some patients follow you forever. Its weird that I only remember one patient from med schoolVeronicaend-stage kidney disease. I still see her alone in her crib in that dark hospital room where Id lift her up and sing her to sleep in a rocking chair. My peds attending walked by (and this landed in my permanent record), and he said, Dr. Wible, you are a doctor when your patients need a doctor and a mother when they need a mother. Im proof you dont need to maintain professional distance. I prescribe professional closeness. You can be a doctorand be the real you. Is it legal to kiss dying patients? I dont care. I do whats right for patients. You will stray from evidence-based guidelines to do the samebecause what patients truly need has no ICD or CPT codes and never requires a prior authorization. As an intern do something so epic it cant fit into an EMR. Our biggest threat to patient relationships is what I call assembly-line medicine. Im a womb-to-tomb, till-death-do-us-part physician. My dream of being a small-town family doc doing house calls was way too big for my little cubicle. If your dream is bigger than your cubicle, leave your cubicle. You can practice medicine your wayas an employee, a business owner, or an entrepreneur. If youre freaking out over your debt or end up hating residency, dont despair. You can launch your own practice with one or two years of post-graduate trainingand if you register it as a nonprofit, you can totally get your loans forgiven! (laughter) Doctors I know are doing this now! As a physician employee in a big-box clinic, I was so miserableeven suicidal. Then I did something really crazyI asked my patients for help. I invited them to design their own ideal clinic. I invited them to write my job description for me. And I promised to do whatever they wanted (as long as it was basically legal). They shared 100 pages of their most creative ideas. We adopted 90% of their feedback and opened our community clinic one month later without any outside fundingwhere Ive never turned any patient away for the last 14 years for lack of money (clapping) and this is the first ideal clinic designed entirely by patients. My patients saved my careerand my life (cause I was thinking of working at Starbucks and doing something totally differentbut I probably wouldnt have gotten the job because I was overqualified). Luckily my patients came to my rescue, and I want to assure you that your relationships with patients will save you from lawsuits. (Patients dont sue doctors they love.) Ive been running a physician suicide hotline since surviving my own close call. Several docs told me their suicides were actually averted by a patient thank you card! Keep your thank you cards. Read them often. On your worst night, those letters may save your life. After speaking to thousands of suicidal physicians who survived, I noticed one trait they share (very unusual among doctors)they asked for help. The most common phrase I hear: I would have been one of your statistics, but you called me back right away. Theyre shocked that I called them back. I ask, When youre on call, do you respond right away? Why not do that for each other? In your last few minutes as a medical student, take a good look at the person to your right and left. Hold hands for a minute please (aw so cute! laughter) Im asking you to please be on call for each other. Look, listen, and feelnotice when a doctor is struggling. Look up at all your beautiful, proud parents celebrating you today. Promise to watch over each other so no parent ever gets a call from the police telling them their child has died in residency. I was tasked with delivering a few uplifting words todayand theyre coming! (laughter) For now, though you might want to keep holding hands. This is tough to hear, but so important for your future. A med student in the Army Reserve told me she was less stressed in Afghanistan during active sniper fire (than med school!). Heres why: She had total trust in her comrades. She knew if killed by enemy fire, she would be brought home, covered in an American flag, and honored with a proper burial. They had her back. In med school, she never knew who would stab her in the back. Trying to change that culture here starting with your generation. We are brothers and sisters in medicine. Protect and defend each other. If a resident is being pimped with esoteric questions, say, I dont think any of us know the answer. Lets look it up together. Please do that. When in doubt, hold hands. Be like the preschoolers on the wooded path by my house each morning. Theres so cute. Almost makes me want to have kids, but not really (laughter). Its much easier to have you as my kids, already diaper-trained and everything, youre already know how to bathe, tie your shoes. Ive just never really been into the young kid thing. Looks really difficult. Anyway, I dont know if youve heard of this, getting rope trained. Theres a rope they hold on to and they each put one hand on the rope so they learn how to walk in a line equally spaced and they are the cutest thing in Oregon with all their tiny colorful raincoats and little tiny rain boots. When one kid slows down to look at a mushroom, they all stop to look. Thats what we should be doing. Stick together. Hold hands. Ive taken hundreds of doctors on hot springs retreats, soaking together in the bubbling Lithium-infused water under the stars in the ancient Oregon forest where Harold once lived (where his ashes are). We go out on a cliff overlooking the Breitenbush Riverso amazing! Wild how Harolds kind of helping me heal doctors now. Weirdly, more than once a doctor at the retreat has told me, I dont know why Im here. I dont even like doctors. I think that was Harolds opening line during our first office visit. Took me years to deconstruct that comment from a physician. Why do doctors dislike doctors? Hurt people hurt people. Wounded healers wound each other. Most people dont bond over codes, crash carts, and stillborns. Bonding over trauma creates trauma bonds (leading to maladaptive drug and alcohol use to numb the pain). Befriend each other by doing stuff normal people do. Go on a hike and cook dinner together. As interns, the best way to prevent trauma bonds is to first bond over your hopes and dreams. Now to celebrate My #1 recommendationalways keep your umbilical cord plugged into your dream. Reflect back on medical school. Remember how you felt on your favorite rotation or with that attending who inspired you to go for your dreams. Maybe you have a patient like Emily or Harold or Veronica who touched your heart. Go back to those precious moments, and ask yourself these 3 questions: 1) Do you ever feel so excited you cant wait to get to work Monday morning? 2) Are you having so much fun at work you would do it for free? 3) Do you love your job so much you never want to retire? Raise your hand if you answered yes to any of these questions. Oh good! Your dreams are still alive. (Turning to the professors) You kept their dreams alive! What a great crew of teachers. To those of you who raised your hands. Seemed to be the majority. I want you to realize you are very fortunate to still have passion for your career (which you should have when you graduate medical school). During a keynote in Vegas, I asked those same questions to 4,000 doctors. Everyone was laughing (to hide the pain of losing their dreams). I can still answer yes to all three questionsand so could about 20 doctors (out of 4,000). May you be one of those 20 doctors to create such an amazing life in medicine, youll never need a vacation. Inspired by a Zen poet, Ill conclude with this: Physicians who are masters in the art of medicine make little distinction between their work and their play, their labor, and their leisure, their mind and their body, their education and their recreation, their love and their religion. They hardly know which is which and simply pursue whatever they do with excellence and grace, leaving others to decide whether they are working or playing. To them, they are always doing both. May you be blessed on your journey. Congratulations! Pamela Wible pioneered the community-designed ideal medical clinic and blogs at Ideal Medical Care. She is the author of Physician Suicide Letters Answered and Pet Goats and Pap Smears. Watch her TEDx talk, How to Get Naked with Your Doctor. She hosts the physician retreat, Live Your Dream, to help her colleagues heal from grief and reclaim their lives and careers. Image credit: Pamela Wible The collapse of the Sinn Fein vote in Kilkenny has benefited Fine Gael, says Minister John Paul Phelan. The Junior Minister was at the Kilkenny local election count late on Saturday evening. Speaking about the tallies from today's first day of the local election count Minister Phelan said it looks like Sinn Fein might lose all their seats and the winners will be Fine Gael who will take two seats and one independent. "If Fine Gael can go from seven to nine it will be a good day's work," Minister Phelan said. He went on to say that it looks like first time candidate Joe Lyons won't be beaten in the Callan Thomastown area, and while it will be very tight in the Kilkenny city area for the last seat he hopes Martin Brett will benefit from being well known and being transfer friendly. It will be along wait for a finish in Kilkenny city, he said. Earlier in the evening Cllr Mary Hilda Cavanagh was elected in the Castlecomer area. Minister Phelan paid tribute to the only woman in the history of the state who will serve 50 years on a council, during this term. He spoke to her to congratulate her on her re-election. By John Stringer. Alex Braae at The Spinoff has a good piece on the Christian parties, in The Bulletin. GREAT opening line Christian political parties are like Wellington buses you wait for ages and then two turn up at the same time. Bishop Brian Tamaki has confirmed he too will be launching a political party, reports... It follows months of high profile stunts which hinted towards further interest in politics. Bishop Tamaki says he will outline his plans at a press conference today, and says his party will focus on values that are being eroded by politicians. He also said it is a privilege and a responsibility to seek to represent the New Zealand people, which certainly doesnt rule out the possibility of him being a candidate. The attempt to distance the new party from Destiny Church made the press conference farcical. Most of the questions, naturally, went to Brian Tamaki, instead of the partys new leader Hannah Tamaki, who said she didnt want to discuss politics at the launch OF A NEW POLITICAL PARTY. Thats an entree of the political naivety that will abound around this latest christian political iteration. That would be in contrast to Destinys last effort at getting a political party off the ground. Destiny NZ, which stood in 2005 and got 0.6% of the vote, was always kept slightly at arms length from the general business of the church... The problem for Coalition NZ as its called, an obvious play on the 1996 Christian Coalition the most successful attempt of this constituency to get into parliament (4.33%) is, even Christians keep Destiny well-and-truly at arms length. They consider it unrepresentative of what most Kiwis consider Christianity to be (in any of its NZ forms). A case of Westboro v Waitakiri. ...Given a large share of Destinys congregation is Maori, it stands to reason that will be an electoral focus. However, as Mr Tamaki is an intensely polarising figure, he might struggle to attract pretty much any votes at all from outside his church. Interesting, like NZFs commando raid on Maori seats? Will Shane Jones make a tip for a Maori seat with Labour acquiescence to maintain NZF post-Winston? So, compression amongst Maori voters as well as Christians. Its ever diminishing slices of minority voting cake. The timing is remarkable, given National MP Alfred Ngaros heavy hints he is planning on launching a Christian values party as well. While a large number of New Zealanders hold various Christian faiths, most of them dont necessarily vote for religious parties. This is a disaster for Alfred Ngaro, timing wise. And with Simon Bridges cold waterboarding any Botany coat-tailing this week, it seems this baby is well and truly stillborn before any immaculate conception. But, its early days yet. There will be plenty of chats around Last Supper tables, yet. The Spinoff, conservative columnist Liam Hehir absolutely savaged the idea as more likely to lead to the complete political marginalisation of conservative Christianity within New Zealand politics. This is the real threat of Brian Tamaki II (2005, 2020), the electorate will have had Capill, Craig, Tamaki. Three strikes and youre out. It also leaves the New Conservatives somewhat out in the cold. Their deputy leader Elliot Ikilei said he wasnt concerned about the new entry taking their turf. Despite not being a Christian party, we are the only party who has universal values that Christians hold to. But for a party that is aiming for the 5% threshold, a few thousand votes could make a big difference. That is the same HUGE mis-assumption conservative groups always make, that they hold the monopoly on christian values; that people of that perspective will vote according to their particular party branding. Even in 1996, many Christians did not support the Christian Coalition despite being a reasonably broad coalition of conservative voters made up of two quite different Christian parties (Christian Heritage, Christian Democrats) forced together by NZ church and christian leaders. The pool has to be grown over time around a core of distinctive issues of moment. Smacking is done and dusted. Abortion is on the rise as a social human rights issue (tick); euthanasia is hot (tick); gay marriage has flown the coop; religious freedom (Folau) coupled with free speech is hot (tick); legal prostitution is done, cannabis reform is hot (tick) etc. Whats left? State funding for Religious Schools? ...Despite all three parties (well, one party, one soon to be party and one highly possible party) having significant struggles ahead to get a few percent, they each have something advantageous in their favour. Alfred Ngaro has an MPs resources. Brian Tamaki has a congregation. And the New Conservatives already have a party infrastructure in place. So each has elements that could push their vote into the thousands, rather than the hundreds... You actually need about 130,000 votes, depending on the voter turnout (ie 2017 was up 6.5% on 2014). This makes it harder for niche parties as they are drawing from a finite pool. 2,605,854 votes 2014; 5% would be 130,292 It could also leave National, once again, left bereft when it comes to support parties..... Thats what makes Simon Bridges comments re a Ngaro accommodation somewhat bemusing. One understands he has to stand by brand-National, but if he does so, 2020 is simply a repeat of 2017, National bogged down on a plateau of 42-44% and no ally. OR if NZF trips below 5%, a fist fight between National v Lab/Greens. An ally of some description makes sense. The rest of Alex Braaes The Bulletin is here: https://thespinoff.co.nz/the-bulletin/23-05-2019/the-bulletin-christian-and-conservative-party-field-gets-crowded/ Share this: Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Reddit WhatsApp More Pinterest Print Tumblr When China sneezes, the world catches a cold My regular column is available to subscribers on www.thesundaytimes.co.uk This is an excerpt. It is said that we owe to Metternich, the distinguished 19th century diplomat, one of the most famous phrases used about the global economy. In an era when Europe dominated the world economy, he came up with: When France sneezes. Europe catches a cold. That was easily adapted, with the rise of the United States, to: When America sneezes, the world catches a cold. It remains true today. The sneezing fit that began in Americas housing market in the 2000s gave us the global financial crisis of 2008-9. There is, however, another country we should worry about in the sneezing stakes, highlighted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is in latest economic outlook. Chinas rise is not new, but it is still easy to understate its importance to the world economy. Chinas gross domestic product at market exchange rates is about two-thirds of that of America, and ranks as the second biggest economy in the world. The EU, if counted as a single economy, slots in between the two. On a purchasing power parity basis, adjusted for relative prices, Chinas economy is the biggest in the world and more than 20% bigger than America. On that basis, incidentally, the EU economy is 7.5% larger than the US. The OECD, which revised down its growth forecast for the world economy to what it described as a sub-par 3.2% - its forecasts for Britain are for 1.2% growth this year and 1% next, on the assumption of a smooth Brexit cited weak import growth in China as a key factor in the downturn in world trade. Amid Donald Trumps trade war with China, which has taken its toll on trade flows between the two countries both export and import volumes are showing annual percentage falls in the mid-teens there is plenty of collateral damage. Chinas reduced appetite for imports is hitting Europe, and in particular the export powerhouse of Germany, as well as Japan and other Asian economies. It is being felt in Britain. Though it is easy to mock Britains export performance in China Germany sells four times as much exports have been rising, to 18.5bn for goods and 23.1bn for goods and services last year. China is still a smaller export market for Britain than Ireland, along with America, Germany, the Netherlands and France, but the value of exports to China last year was almost three times the level a decade earlier. China is, of course, a prime source of imports for Britain, 44bn last year for goods alone, and last years goods and services deficit with China was a chunky 22bn. But the Chinese economy matters for exporters, could matter much more in the future, and it matters a lot for some now. Jaguar Land Rovers 3.6bn loss for 2018-19 including special factors, was for a range of reasons. High among them was the drop in sales as a result of what it described as the backdrop of a weaker China market. That, as far as JLR is concerned, is putting it mildly. Last month it saw sales in Britain up 12.1% on a year earlier, with US sales up 9.6%. But sales in China were down by a staggering 45.7% on a year earlier, contributing to an overall fall in sales of 13.3%. The White Houses additional tariffs on Chinese imports will cost the average American household $831 (660 a year), according to research from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The OECD is not alone in calling for an easing of trade tensions, which are taking their toll, to put the global economy back on track. There is a wider point, also highlighted by the OECD. As it says: The post-World War II process of globalisation driven by multilateral agreements that allowed ever-increasing trade openness is being challenged. When Brexit and Trumps election victory happened within a few months of each other in 2016, it represented a lurch towards protectionism. The US president was explicit on taking over; protection will lead to great prosperity and strength. In each case, however, the tide of globalisation had already begun to ebb. It is not clear, even as the economic costs of trade wars rise, that attitudes will change. After many decades in which the growth in world trade had been seen to lead global economic growth, the period since the crisis has seen trade struggle to keep up. Protectionism had increased before Trump came and along with other factors such as the availability of export credit, reduced trade growth. The US president was more explicit but was going with the flow, particularly towards China. Attitudes to globalisation, meanwhile, had shifted. The boost to consumers from cheap Chinese imports, which at one time used to be seen as a key practical benefit of globalisation, gave way to concern, though many years too late, about the loss of traditional manufacturing jobs. Where do we go from here? It would be naive to think that an outbreak of sweetness and light between America and China is on the cards, even if the current trade dispute is would down. Google has been forced to restrict Huaweis access to some of its apps and updates. The battle for control of the 21st century knowledge economy is joined. For China, which had already seen a growth slowdown from an average of 9.5% a year since the late 1970s to roughly 6% now, this is the first serious challenge to tis rise. The poster-boy of globalisation is adjusting to a world of de-globalisation. The assumption by Western countries that a richer China would become less addicted to unfair trade practices and appropriating the intellectual property and technology of others, may now never be tested. China, naturally protectionist and suspicious of the West, will have been reinforced in that view by Americas tactics under the Trump. If protectionism comes naturally to the leader of the free world, why should the leader of a traditionally closed world be any different? As we have seen in the negotiations between America and China, son far at least, replacing subtle Western pressure on China with the sledgehammer has not paid dividends. Meanwhile, under the Made in China 2025 programme, China will seek to match or exceed US standards across a range of advanced manufacturing sectors, including aviation, artificial intelligence, robotics and chip manufacturing, and will thus have less need of the West. It does not need to be like this. In his recent book The Third Pillar, the former Indian central bank governor and candidate for next Bank of England governor Raghuram Rajan, writes: There is a dialogue to be had which can reduce concerns on all sides, though the rise of a new power, challenging an earlier hegemony, is always difficult. That dialogue becomes much harder if China suspects the developing world is ganging up as well as if China becomes more repressive politically. That looks to be where we are at. Nobody wins trade wars and, to be fair, insufficient attention was paid to the fact that there are costs as well as benefits from globalisation. There are plenty of costs in the current deep global trade tensions, and it is hard to see any benefits. By Fox News, May 25, 2019 Newly declassified intelligence shows that Palestinian terror group Hamas had to introduce austerity plans due to lack of funding from the Iranian regime. State Department officials say the intelligence that was shared exclusively with Fox News reveals Tehrans diminishing resources and influence within the region, prompting cutbacks among groups backed by the regime. Kendallville, IN (46755) Today Cloudy. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 32F. ESE winds at 10 to 20 mph, decreasing to less than 5 mph.. Tonight Cloudy. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 32F. ESE winds at 10 to 20 mph, decreasing to less than 5 mph. Auburn, IN (46706) Today Cloudy. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 32F. E winds at 10 to 15 mph, decreasing to less than 5 mph.. Tonight Cloudy. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 32F. E winds at 10 to 15 mph, decreasing to less than 5 mph. (ST. JOSEPH, Mo.) Recent rainfall has closed more than 85 roads in northwest Missouri and the Missouri Department of Transportation says more roads are susceptible to flood waters this weekend. MoDOT has crews working to reopen roads and repair washed out culverts. The dangers of flood waters rising quickly can sometimes prevent crews and other emergency services from being able to place barricades across the roadway. MoDOT reminds motorists it only takes six inches of water, or less, to lose control of your vehicle and possibly be swept into rising flood waters. Any time there is water over the roadway, there may be unseen damage to the road surface below. Stay alert and do not drive through water over a roadway or around construction barricades. MoDOT encourages all motorists to turn around and don't drown. To report a roadway with water on it, call MoDOT's 24-hour customer service line at 888-ASK-MODOT (1-888-275-6636). For updated road closure information, visit MoDOT's traveler information map by clicking here. Fire damaged the Wisconsin Precision Casting Corp. plant in Lake Geneva today after a blaze broke out inside the plant while it was vacant. Plant general manager Tony Ansorge said the fire damaged a small area known as the wax room, but officials expect the plant to resume normal operations by May 28. We should be back up and running, Ansorge said. The castings manufacturing plant at 300 Interchange North employs about 90 people to produce castings of plastic, metal and other materials. One firefighter was treated at a local hospital after suffering heat exhaustion and breathing difficulty. Lake Geneva fire and police officials said the fire was discovered about 6:30 a.m. when a police officer in the area spotted smoke coming out the roof at Wisconsin Precision Casting. When the officer approached the plant, he saw heavy smoke inside a lower level doorway. Several area fire departments provided assistance, including hazardous materials teams. The business was closed at the time of the fire. Police Lt. Edward Gritzner said firefighters were able contain the fire to a relatively small section of the plant. Ansorge said the plant is more than 100,000 square feet in size, but the wax room is a small area about 25 feet long. It is where workers create wax patterns for steel castings. 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. On a recent spring day, bulldozers leveled the low-slung Holiday Auto Plaza in Palms, home to several repair shops. Just another unremarkable commercial building being swept away except for the intriguing turn that its replacement might mark for L.A.s housing crisis. The Venice Boulevard site is currently zoned for 46 residential units. But because the plot is near a major bus stop, its developer can now plan much bigger: an eight-story building with 79 units, eight of them reserved for extremely low-income households. A half-mile away on Overland Avenue, another developer is leveling an auto repair shop and 17 existing homes on land zoned for 110 units. Hes building 168 market-rate homes and 19 extremely low-income units. Walk across the street and down two blocks, theres another similar project. Across Los Angeles, developers are flooding the city with such proposals, taking advantage of a new city program that allows for larger projects near transit if developers keep some units affordable for people with lower incomes. Advertisement New units proposed near transit (Jon Schleuss / Los Angeles Times) Since the Transit Oriented Communities, or TOC, program launched in September 2017, developers have proposed more than 12,000 units, including at least 2,300 homes kept affordable for lower-income households, according to city data through the end of 2018. Its busy, said Laurie Lustig-Bower, a commercial real estate broker with CBRE. A significant amount of my business has been these density-boosting projects. Given the newness of the program, most of the resulting projects havent broken ground and none have yet opened, according to the city. And the number of new units pales in comparison with the 500,000 additional below-market homes Los Angeles County needs, according to the California Housing Partnership. But affordable housing advocates praise the program for making a dent and reserving many of the coming below-market homes for the very poorest. And as projects rise, Los Angeles is making further progress toward its goal of putting housing in central locations near bus and rail lines. The two biggest problems we have is our housing crisis and our traffic woes, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said in an interview. TOC is an incredible weapon to help us address both. Protecting the displaced Not everyone is a fan. Some homeowner groups criticize the streamlined process for increased-density projects. And some low-income advocates, though supportive in general, have raised concerns that to build new projects some developers are demolishing older rent-controlled buildings that can be a haven of lower-cost housing. Garcettis office said that although more study is needed to determine the path forward, the mayor supports establishing a right of return for tenants, particularly those with low incomes, when rent-controlled or income-restricted homes make way for new projects, regardless of whether theyre TOC. We need to ensure the lives of the people who are being displaced are not sacrificed and traded for affordable housing for other tenants in need, said Larry Gross, executive director of the Coalition for Economic Survival. These peoples lives are going to be thrown into a tailspin. Under TOC, developers are allowed to build with fewer parking spots and can increase housing units by 35% to 80%, depending on how close a project is to a major transit stop. As the number of allowed units rises, so does the requirement for some to have below-market rents or mortgages. Developers can receive additional breaks on things such as project height and how close they can build to the property line. No public hearings are required, and the city has little discretion to deny a project if it follows TOC guidelines. Its created a more predictable process, said Jessica Lall, chief executive of the Central City Assn., a downtown business group. She credited the planning department with going bold in crafting the program. Its delivered units faster, at a time we are facing a huge housing shortage. The zoning relaxation grew out of Measure JJJ, a 2016 ballot proposal that labor and low-income advocates said would create more affordable housing and well-paying home-building jobs. Most of the debate leading up to the vote focused on ballot language that required developers to pay union-level wages and build some below-market units if they received zoning changes or general-plan amendments. As opponents predicted, requests for those changes dropped sharply. But the measure also instructed the planning department to craft a program to boost affordable housing within one-half mile of major transit stops. It was to be modeled after an existing state law that lets developers build up to 35% more units regardless of proximity to transit. Beyond setting that minimum density bonus, it left many of the specifics to the department. The idea was to use the zoning code to make it profitable for companies to provide low-cost homes without public funding, which has been on the decline. Beyond an increase in density, developers say TOC is profitable for them because, unlike zone changes and general plan amendments, JJJ kept union-level wages optional. Instead, it instructed the planning department to provide additional incentives if developers compensated workers at that level and, according to the planning department, only one TOC developer has taken advantage of those incentives. Its impossible to know whether construction would be greater if JJJ failed and TOC never was created, in part because developers, trying to get ahead of the restrictions on zoning changes and amendments, flooded the city with proposals before the vote. The citys lack of historical data tracking also makes it difficult to judge TOCs full effect. But the bottom line for now is TOC last year helped lead to more market-rate and affordable units proposed through the planning department than in 2017 and developers are setting aside homes for the poorest Angelenos in a way they werent before. A rise in low-income proposals City data show the largest category of affordable-housing proposals at least 947 homes is for extremely low-income households, or those with incomes of $20,350 or less for an individual or $29,050 for a family of four. Prior to JJJ, thats a category the city didnt even incentivize through zoning. It becomes an important homeless prevention strategy, said Laura Raymond, director of the Alliance for Community Transit-Los Angeles, a coalition of low-income community groups behind JJJ. The city has also partnered with the nonprofit People Assisting the Homeless, known as PATH, so it can contact developers and encourage them to rent below-market units to people already on the streets. Local political officials cited the flood of projects as one reason to oppose the controversial Senate Bill 50, which failed earlier this month. That bill would have allowed four units on land now zoned for only single-family homes, and in some cases much larger projects. Revenge of the suburbs: Why Californias effort to build more in single-family-home neighborhoods failed TOC, on the other hand, can be used only on land where at least five units are currently allowed. Qualifying developments are scattered throughout Los Angeles. But the neighborhoods with the most units proposed are Koreatown, Westlake, Palms and Sawtelle all areas with access to light rail or the subway. Ken Kahan, president of California Landmark Group, is building on the Venice Boulevard site where an auto repair building previously stood. He said the reason for using TOC is simple: more money. In one instance, he even rejiggered a project already under construction in Sawtelle to add more units. If TOC was not economically more profitable, developers would not do it, Kahan said. The city has come up with a procedure to provide more housing and more affordable housing without using city coffers. Some of the popularity of TOC projects probably is from developers who shifted already-planned projects from one program category to another. But TOC last year did help boost the total number of units proposed that need sign-off by the planning department. In 2018, the number of market-rate units proposed through any sort of entitlement application rose 20% from 2017, when TOC largely did not exist, while the number of below-market units increased 2%. Those increases may understate the scale of TOCs effect on overall proposals; the data dont include TOC projects that only asked for density and parking breaks and didnt need planning approval. A crisis of affordability The lack of affordable housing in Los Angeles, and elsewhere across the state, has grown into a full-blown crisis. More than half of California tenants pay rent that experts deem unaffordable. Home prices, meanwhile, have surged 80% since 2012, according to Zillow. Economists generally agree the root cause for both is that for decades too few homes were built relative to population and job growth. Opposition from existing residents is cited as a major factor. Research indicates that any increase in supply helps hold down costs on a regional level, while UC Berkeley researchers found below-market homes are most effective at limiting displacement of low-income families. Some building proponents argue that even adding a luxury development helps bring down costs in a neighborhood, because well-off households will move there and free up older units. Not everyone agrees thats the case. The L.A. Tenants Union, which opposed JJJ, worries that the increase in mostly market-rate apartments will convince nearby landlords that they, too, can charge top dollar. Tracy Jeanne Rosenthal, a co-founder of the L.A. Tenants Union, called TOC a scam for allowing the demolition of old rent-controlled apartments in exchange for income-restricted units that revert to market rents in 55 years. She said whats needed is political will for an investment in public housing, rather than tinkering around the edges. The housing department says that all rent-controlled units leveled for TOC projects must at a minimum be replaced with the same number of income-restricted affordable units or homes subject to rent control. In some cases, all the non-income-restricted units would be rent controlled, which means landlords set initial rent but then face limits on annual increases for as long as a tenant stays. Through 2018 developers have filed TOC applications with the planning department to build 19 new units for every demolished unit, rent controlled or not. The ratio for below-market units is 3.4 new homes for every unit lost. Gross called those ratios positive. But he said developers should do more than just give displaced rent-controlled tenants the relocation assistance they are entitled to. That money can evaporate quickly, particularly when longtime residents are suddenly forced into todays high-cost rental market. There needs to be a commitment to ease and mitigate the impact better, Gross said. You are pushing people out onto the streets to build housing for people already on the streets. An artists rendering depicts a 38-unit apartment building in Toluca Lake proposed under the Transit Oriented Communities program. (R&A Architecture + Design Inc.) Some residents are up in arms for other reasons. On Tuesday evening, about 80 people packed the auditorium at Toluca Lake Elementary School for a contentious meeting. Representatives of a developer had agreed to present plans for a four-story, 38-unit TOC project with ground-floor retail and four of the units reserved for extremely low-income households. Most of those in attendance appeared to be opposed. They spoke of a lack of parking and the loss of a village-like atmosphere and their post office, which would be demolished. One man called the design pedestrian. A woman said the project would alter the character of the neighborhood and the village beyond recognition. The crowd clapped in response. Gary Benjamin, a consultant for the project, said the reduced on-site parking would be supplemented by an adjacent surface parking lot the developer owns. And he said the developer tried to make the project fit the village, in part by reducing the height of the roof in places. Benjamin said the developer isnt opposed to making some reasonable changes to respond to feedback. But he also noted that a goal of TOC was to shield projects from endless debate as long as they follow specific guidelines. As long as you comply the property should just be approved, he said. We need the affordable units and we need housing supply. Times staff writer Jon Schleuss contributed to this report. andrew.khouri@latimes.com Follow me @khouriandrew on Twitter The 72nd Festival de Cannes featured new films by Quentin Tarantino and Terrence Malick, opened with Jim Jarmuschs The Dead Dont Die and ended with the Palme dOr going to Parasite, a thriller directed by South Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-ho. Now that this years edition is complete, Times critics Justin Chang and Kenneth Turan reflect on what the festival got right and what could have been better. KENNETH TURAN: Cannes 2019 is now firmly in the rear-view mirror, and as we watch it recede into history, it seems, at least to me, to have been something of an unusual year. On the one hand, the event did not seem as jammed with people as it has been in the past, not necessarily a bad thing, but the quality of films across the board felt surprisingly good. A personal favorite, Pedro Almodovars Pain and Glory, even won best actor for star Antonio Banderas. Bong Joon-ho won the Palme dOr for his movie Parasite at the Cannes Film Festival. (Ian Langsdon/EPA-EFE/REX) Advertisement FULL COVERAGE: Cannes Film Festival JUSTIN CHANG: Many of us were half-hoping, half-expecting that Pain and Glory would earn Almodovar his first Palme dOr at long last, but as good as the movie is, it simply wasnt to be. In any case, who could argue with Bong Joon-ho winning the top prize for his splendid dark comedy-thriller, Parasite? Between that decision and the second-place Grand Prix for Mati Diops lovely and atmospheric debut, Atlantics, Id say Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritus jury did an overall excellent job. Throughout the festival, I also kept hearing chatter about low turnout this sales agent who didnt come this year, those executives who couldnt be bothered. Certainly, some of the press screenings seemed less packed than usual, though that may have had something to do with the festivals rejiggered schedule, which seemed to put all of us on different tracks. The glorious exception to that, of course, was the first screening of Quentin Tarantinos Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, where we all lined up early and packed ourselves in like sardines so as not to miss the event of the festival. And if Tarantinos epic of 1969 Los Angeles wasnt the best thing I saw at Cannes this year, it was nonetheless a happy, moving surprise, and one that I look forward to revisiting soon. TURAN: Its funny you should use the word revisit about this unexpected film intertwining the real and the fictional, because seeing it again is on my mind too. Though its got a chunk of classic Tarantino ultra-violence and an already controversial plot point, it also has a warmth and emotion Ive never felt from this director before, as well as affection for the film, TV and music of the era that the director knows so well. The other film I am eager to see one more time was one of Cannes little-known surprises, an animated version of the celebrated Italian childrens book The Bears Famous Invasion of Sicily, a first film by Lorenzo Mattotti, a well-known illustrator with numerous New Yorker covers to his credit. With bold, vibrant visuals complementing a fable plot filled with wonderful high spirits, this is a transporting film that Im hoping gets the American distribution it deserves. FULL COVERAGE: Cannes Film Festival The French animation I Lost My Body won the top prize in Cannes Critics Week sidebar and was acquired for worldwide distribution by Netflix. (Festival de Cannes) Read Justin Changs Cannes Film Festival diary 2019 CHANG: This appears to have been an unusually strong festival for animation overall. I was glad I made time for I Lost My Body, Jeremy Clapins harrowing and lovely French film about a severed hand truth be told, one of the more compelling movie protagonists Ive seen all festival that goes on a journey in search of its maimed owner. It won the top prize in the International Critics Week sidebar. (And, like Atlantics, was acquired by Netflix for most territories worldwide just as the festival wrapped.) Another highlight, for me and many others, was Robert Eggers feverishly brilliant horror-comedy The Lighthouse, playing in the parallel Directors Fortnight program. Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson are beautifully matched as a pair of sea dogs succumbing to madness and isolation on the Maine coast. Like Eggers The Witch, this early 20th-century Gothic is a marvel of obsessive period detailing, and its shot on 35-millimeter film to boot as transporting an evocation of old movies past, in its way, as Tarantinos. Willem Dafoe, left, and Robert Pattinson star in The Lighthouse, director Robert Eggers follow-up to The Witch. (Eric Chakeen / A24) ALSO: Robert Eggers, director of the smart and scary The Lighthouse, sees comfort in horror TURAN: I surprised my horror-averse self by being taken by The Lighthouse as well. And I also went for yet another animated film, the completely gorgeous if inevitably downbeat The Swallows of Kabul, set during the Taliban rule of Afghanistan. The competition film whose cinematic energy most won me over was Ladj Lys debut feature, Les Miserables, which won the jury prize (shared with Kleber Mendonca Filho and Juliano Dornelles for Bacurau). Its set in the same Parisian suburban neighborhood the Victor Hugo novel is (and the one Ly grew up in) and things have, if anything, gotten worse. The film follows a dicey three-man anti-crime squad through the unbearable tension of patrolling a neighborhood constantly on the edge of chaos. A tough, street-smart film that deftly balances thrills and social engagement, it was picked up almost immediately for American markets by Amazon. A scene from Ladj Lys prize-winning debut feature Les Miserables. (SRAB Films/Rectangle Productions/Lyly Films) CHANG: I hope Les Miserables gets the audience it deserves, and I hope the same for the recently Fox Searchlight-acquired A Hidden Life, the new World War II drama from the always divisive Terrence Malick: I thought it was a wondrous return to form and have not encountered more disagreement on any movie all festival. Interestingly, Malick and Tarantino are two of five Palme dOr winners who had films back in competition this year, not all of them good. Ken Loach served up more Loachian misery-by-the-yard with Sorry We Missed You. The great Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne disappointed with Young Ahmed, a tense but unrevealing portrait of a radicalized Muslim youth plotting an act of violence not that it stopped them from winning a directing prize from the jury to go along with (deep breath) the two Palmes, two acting prizes, one Grand Prix and one screenwriting prize that their films have won before at this festival. Still, Id gladly watch Young Ahmed again than sit through one more vile, butt-shaking minute of Mektoub, My Love: Intermezzo, Abdellatif Kechiches 3 1/2-hour ode to the female posterior. If Kechiche hadnt already sold his Palme to help finance this unaccountably bloated undertaking, Id suggest he be forced to give it back. Abdellatif Kechiches Mektoub, My Love: Intermezzo landed in Cannes with a resounding thud. (Festival de Cannes) ALSO: Abdellatif Kechiches Mektoub, My Love: Intermezzo is the disaster of the Cannes Film Festival TURAN: To go from the banal to the sublime, something that Cannes does all the time, I wanted to put a word in for The Cordillera of Dreams, an elegant film by Chiles master documentarian Patricio Guzman, a work that continues his exploration of the aftermath of Augusto Pinochets savagely autocratic rule. That film appeared in my favorite Cannes section, Cannes Classics, which also features new restoration of landmark works. This year, I thoroughly enjoyed Gilles Grangiers old-school but offbeat 125 Rue de Montmartre, a film little known even in France because it came out in 1959, when everyone was talking about the New Wave. CHANG: I didnt spend nearly enough time investigating the other programs and sidebars this year, although I am glad that I made time to see Beanpole, a beautifully bleak drama of post-World War II Leningrad that earned its gifted 27-year-old filmmaker, Kantemir Balagov, the directing prize in Un Certain Regard. Viktoria Miroshnichenko and Vasilisa Perelygina give breathtaking (in every sense) performances as two women who have forged an unbreakable bond even as their lives have been irretrievably shattered. Speaking of women and unbreakable bonds, Id like to mention Celine Sciammas Portrait of a Lady on Fire, starring Adele Haenel and Noemie Merlant as 18th-century Frenchwomen whose brief encounter turns to love. This gorgeous, contemplative movie was so well received in competition here that many thought Sciamma had a decent shot at becoming the first female director since Jane Campion to win the Palme. As with Almodovar, it wasnt meant to be not yet, anyway. RELATED: Justin Changs Cannes Film Festival diary 2019 Adele Haenel in a scene from Portrait of a Lady on Fire. (Cannes Film Festival/Lilies Film) justin.chang@latimes.com kenneth.turan@latimes.com Food Bowl, our monthlong food festival, is almost over. Heres a rundown of some of the stuff you should check out this week before May is gone: MAY 27: ONE DAY AND NIGHT IN BANGKOK BY WAY OF L.A. Everson Royce Bar will throw a party with Gaggan Anand of Gaggan in Bangkok. The event will include curry, fried chicken, natural wine and tropical drinks on E.R.B.s patio. 2 to 8 p.m. at Everson Royce Bar. More info at: lafoodbowl.com/events/one-day-night-in-bangkok-by-way-of-la. Advertisement MAY 28: OUTSTANDING IN THE FIELD LOS ANGELES RIVER Alex Weiser of Weiser Family Farms, Neal Fraser of Redbird, Zach Pollack of Alimento and Austin Cobb of the Strand House will cook a four-course, family-style dinner together at the Los Angeles River. There will be a cocktail hour before dinner, and a portion of the proceeds will benefit River L.A. $265, 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Los Angeles River. Tickets and more info at: lafoodbowl.com/events/outstanding-in-the-field-los-angeles-river. MAY 28: FRIED CHICKEN NIGHT Why not have an event celebrating women who make amazing fried chicken? Danielle Sobel of Pacifique, Kuniko Yagi of Pikunico, Kat Turner of Highly Likely and Nyesha Arrington are coming together to make fried chicken. Ramona sparkling wine spritzers and Kikori cocktails also will be served. $45, 7 to 9:30 p.m. at Pacifique. Tickets and more info at: lafoodbowl.com/events/females-who-fry-chicken. MAY 29: THE IMMIGRANT DINNERS Momed is hosting its Immigrant Dinner series. An immigrant friend of the restaurant will cook and share his or her family recipes for the dinner. 5 to 9:30 p.m. at Momed. More info at: lafoodbowl.com/events/the-immigrant-dinners-2. MAY 30: EMILIA-ROMAGNA: THE FOOD CAPITAL OF ITALY Giammario Villa and Michelin-starred guest chef Luigi Fineo will host an event that celebrates the food and wine of Emilia-Romagna. $90, 7 to 9 p.m. at the Italian Cultural Institute. Tickets and more info at: lafoodbowl.com/events/emilia-romagna-the-foodie-capital-of-italy. MAY 31: GUSH PARTY Angela Dimayuga, creative director of food and culture for the Standard hotels, will host the first GUSH party in Los Angeles. The GUSH lesbian intersectional party series originated in New York City and features femme-identifying, interdisciplinary queer, trans, nonbinary people of color. Croft Alley will supply drinks and Vietnamese street tacos for the party. 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. at Mmhmmm at the Standard. Tickets and more info at: lafoodbowl.com/events/gush-party-mmhmmm-at-the-standard-hollywood. The May gray is expected to break on Memorial Day, with clearer skies and cool temperatures arriving across the Los Angeles region, according to the National Weather Service. Drizzly weather has marked the earlier part of the weekend, with scattered showers across Southern California. But meteorologists are not expecting the sogginess to continue. Mondays forecast high will be in the mid-60s, with temperatures pushing into the 70s later in the week. Were getting to the end of the precipitation, said Kathy Hoxsie, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard. There was a slight chance of thunderstorms in the mountains Sunday night, with a possible dusting of snow at higher elevations. The overnight snow level could move down to 5,000 feet or lower if colder air moves in. Advertisement Last week, heavy rain dumped on the city, closing a long stretch of beaches from Malibu to Dockweiler State Beach near El Segundo. Lightning strikes were reported in Ventura County and San Fernando Valley; hail poured down on Ontario and Yucaipa. That sloshy weather may seem uncharacteristic of Los Angeles, but Hoxsie said that depends on the point of comparison. This isnt rare for Los Angeles, Hoxsie said. It doesnt happen every year, and weve certainly had dry springs as of late. But if you look back more than a couple of years, May has been wet across the whole state. Its just part of spring, she added. The skies will clear in time for Memorial Day commemorations being held throughout Southern California. Here is a sampling of events scheduled for Monday: Canoga Park: The San Fernando Valley community will hold its 29th annual Memorial Day parade, starting at 8 a.m. The route is along Sherman Way, from Topanga Canyon Boulevard east to Mason Avenue. San Pedro: A Memorial Day tribute will be held at the battleship Iowa in San Pedro from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Active, retired and reserve military members receive free general admission to the Battleship Iowa Museum. Yorba Linda: A wreath-laying ceremony followed by a panel discussion with POW wives from the Vietnam War will be held at the Nixon Library. The events run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Long Beach: The Queen Mary will conclude a three-day Salute to Service with reenactments, demonstrations and lectures aboard the historic vessel. The event is from noon to 8 p.m. Admission is free to active and retired military members, veterans and first responders. Inglewood: The city of Inglewood will hold its 71st annual Memorial Day Service, starting at 11 a.m. at City Hall. Lake Forest: Mission Viejo Mayor Greg Raths, a retired U.S. Marine Corps colonel, will be the featured speaker at a program beginning at 11 a.m. at El Toro Memorial Park. Glendale: A program featuring a wreath laying, patriotic music and a rifle and cannon salute will run from 1 to 3 p.m. at Forest Lawn Glendale. The San Francisco Police Officers Assn. is calling on Police Chief Bill Scott to step down after he apologized for his officers raid of a journalists home. It is time for Chief Scott to go. Theres no other way around it, union leaders wrote in a statement released Saturday, one day after Scott issued the public apology. The statement described the chiefs public concession as a pathetic, deceitful and shameful display of self-preservation, finger pointing, and political kowtowing. Scotts apology, issued Friday, represented an abrupt reversal from just a few days ago, when he voiced suspicions that journalist Bryan Carmody committed a crime by obtaining a leaked report detailing the circumstances surrounding San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachis death and selling it to local news outlets. Advertisement Police officers with a sledgehammer arrived at Carmodys home on the morning of May 10. They handcuffed the reporter before seizing his notebooks, hard drives and phones in the hopes they might reveal his secret source. The search took about six hours. Since news of the search broke, journalists and 1st Amendment advocates have voiced their outrage that a journalist could be searched in such a manner. The California Constitution includes whats called the Shield Law, which protects journalists from being held in contempt for refusing to identify their sources. It also bars police from executing search warrants for materials covered by the law. The San Francisco Police Officers Assn. said Scott oversaw and ordered the investigation and raid of Carmodys home, and that he knew of Carmodys status as a member of the press. Grizzly bears are expanding their range in the northern Rockies, spreading from remote wilderness into farmland as a legal fight plays out over proposed hunting. New government data from grizzly population monitoring show that the bears in the Yellowstone region of Montana, Wyoming and Idaho expanded their range by about 1,500 square miles over the last two years. They now occupy almost 27,000 square miles, a range that has grown 34% in a decade. That means more bears on private lands where they can encounter humans and attack livestock, said Frank van Manen with the U.S. Geological Survey. Advertisement Run-ins with bears are happening in agricultural areas where the fearsome animals hadnt been seen for decades, raising tensions in communities over the grizzlys status as a federally protected species in the U.S. outside Alaska. Not all grizzly bears are livestock killers, but of course it only takes a few to do potentially quite a bit of killing, Van Manen said. Wyoming and Idaho officials proposed grizzly hunts last year, but they were blocked by a judges ruling. Government attorneys on Friday asked an appeals court to overturn part of that ruling. The case could take months or even years to decide, even as theres no end in sight to the trend of bears getting into more conflicts at the periphery of their range. An estimated 700 bears live in the Yellowstone National Park area. Biologists say thats a conservative figure and doesnt include grizzlies that are outside a designated monitoring area thats centered on Yellowstone. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service contends that the animals no longer need federal protection. State officials say hunting would give them a tool to better manage their numbers, but that it would be limited to sustainable levels. In his ruling that blocked hunting, U.S. District Judge Dana Christensen said in part that officials had not given enough consideration to how lifting protections for Yellowstone bears would affect other grizzly populations in the Rockies. The government conceded that point in Fridays court brief, saying officials already had started working on the topic and would explain the effect that lifting protections would have on other bears. But U.S. Justice Department attorneys challenged the judges further contention that a comprehensive review of the entire listed species was needed. That would require officials to look more closely at the status of other bear populations, beyond the effects of a decision to lift protections in and around Yellowstone. The attorneys said such a detailed review exceeds whats required under federal law. Environmentalists argue that its too soon to lift protections first imposed in 1975, especially because conflicts between humans and bears remain a prime cause of bear deaths. Also, Yellowstone bears are isolated from other populations, which has raised questions about their long-term genetic health. For us its never been a numbers game, said Andrea Santarsiere with the Center for Biological Diversity. For grizzly bears to really be recovered, we need to see those populations connected. A coalition of American Indian tribes wants Congress to protect grizzlies permanently. They say the animals are sacred and play a role in many ceremonies and traditions. Yellowstone became a refuge for the species last century after hunting and trapping killed off bears across most of their range. The park remains a grizzly stronghold. But younger, male bears search for territory of their own outside the park, with females soon following behind, Van Manen said. A similar dynamic has played out in northwestern Montana, home to more than 1,000 grizzlies. The area includes Glacier National Park and the vast Bob Marshall Wilderness. Bears in recent years have attacked livestock dozens of miles outside those wild areas, on the open plains of central Montana where ranches and cropland occupy the landscape. Officials on Saturday warned some Tulsa residents to prepare to head to higher ground because old levees holding back the swollen Arkansas River are stressed and more rain is expected for the flood-weary region. The river was four feet above flood stage on Friday and was already causing flooding in parts of Oklahomas second-largest city, including in south Tulsa, where the murky brown water had inundated low-lying neighborhoods and crept right up to the River Spirit Casino Resort, which closed for the weekend. City officials said at a news conference Saturday that people living west of downtown should consider leaving for higher ground, even though the levees arent currently considered to be in danger of failing. If an evacuation becomes necessary, it would need to happen quickly, officials said. Mayor G.T. Bynum said the levees were built in the 1940s and havent had to hold back this much water since 1986. Officials also said they dont expect the river to recede in Tulsa until Wednesday at the earliest, pushing back their initial estimate by three days. Advertisement The level of risk you have in staying there is very high, Bynum said. Thats an unnecessary risk. About 55 miles southeast of Tulsa, the small town of Braggs was completely surrounded by water and without power, according to Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management spokeswoman Keli Cain. Cain said its not clear how many of the towns approximately 260 residents evacuated before the flooding, but water rescue teams deployed to assist there, as well as in other areas of Muskogee, Wagoner, Rogers and Nowata counties. Officials in Muskogee and Wagoner counties urged voluntary evacuations of low-lying areas along the Arkansas River, where water could be seen up to roofs, as well as along the rising Verdigris River. Cain said that across the state, 87 people have been injured in the flooding, which has not yet peaked. Storms have buffeted the central Plains and Midwest all spring, inundating the ground and leaving rain with nowhere to go but into already bloated waterways. The regions most recent spate of bad weather and flooding has been blamed for at least nine deaths. The National Weather Service updated its peak flooding prediction, and said it now expects the river to reach 41 feet near Fort Smith by late Tuesday night. That level would be 3 feet higher than its previous record, which was set in 1945. This would cause near catastrophic flooding in Fort Smiths low-lying neighborhoods and business district, it said. Additional storms are possible in Arkansas, Oklahoma and Kansas over the next week, according to the latest forecasts. In Indiana, officials said Saturday that water levels had dropped slightly on a rain-swollen creek in the north of the state where a 4-year-old boy was swept away Thursday. The boy, Owen Jones, had not been found. In Indianapolis, site of Sundays Indianapolis 500, the forecast calls for an 80% to 90% chance of rain, with thunderstorms expected throughout the day. That means a lot of uncomfortable waiting for IndyCar drivers and teams, track and series officials, broadcast partner NBC and about 250,000 fans. Written by ACM *Strasbourg/EUParliament/Angelo Marcopolo/- More and more Astonishing Facts reveal that things are even More Nasty than what the siuation appeared to be at First Sight, in that, already Scandalous Affair of an ISIS' Chieften accused to have BeHeaded 20 Persons at Homs (Syria), but who was given, nevertheless, ... "Refugee" Status in Greece, including even some Travel and Air-Flight Documents (See Infra), before he was finaly Arrested in Hungary : - Known as "F.Hassan", (according to some: "Farhood Hassan"), "he has Used Various, Different and Fake Names", during his Recent Trips to several Other EU Countries, told "Eurofora" the vice-President of EU Parliament, Livia Jaroka, Hungarian Center-Right MEP from the Governing "Fidesz" Party of popular Prime Minister Victor Orban, (See also Infra). + Moreover, he was found in possession of a kind of "Passport", with which he could Travel in 10 EU Member Countries, even to Canada, etc., under a special deal between the EU and UNO, it seems. ++ In Addition, he was even equiped with a Special kind of Bank "Credit Card", havig as unique "Identification" only a special Number, attributed to him, (again, it seems, after an agreement between the EU, UNO and controversial Millionaire Soros' dealings). That Card was Regularly credited with about 600 each Month, while, at the same moment, working Hungarian People's lower, basic Salary was around 500 ... And, even in Greece, this represented the current Salaries or Pensions of many Hundreds of Thousands of People, (after recent Restrictions), being also much Higher than those "Young People"s lowest Salaries, around 400-450 ! +++ But, Nobody Knew yet, in the rest of Europe, also the Fact that this "Hassan" had even got a Family Appartment, in the Capital of Greece (Athens), and at a ...Cosy quarter, such as "Kypseli" (alias : "Beehive"), as "Eurofora" found in reliable Greek sources... Comparatively, other Asylum Seekers are staying either in more or less awfull "Camps" at the Islands, or in some far away Provinces, perhaps in Collective Facilities (as also often even in Germany, even with kids), some times in Pre-Fabicated Small Houses, (some of which are fully equiped, however, with Kitchen, Fridge, and even ... "Air Conditioning" : a "Lux" in Greece and Other EU Countries), the Problem of Housing reportedly being one among the Hardest to solve yet, in general. - It's "EuroJust" who had managed to Find out the Truth about "F.Hassan"'s real dealings in Syria, thanks also to a Video showing him take a Leading part in the atrocious BeHeadings of some 20 Members of the Family of a Man at Homs, who Refused to Obey to ISIS' Deadly Terrorists. ------------------------ But, unfortunately, he's not alone, in this kind of Scandalous Cases of bloody Jihadists Disguised into Fake "Refugees" : - F.ex., among many and various Other such Examples, it seems to be also the case of Moroco's "Mourad T", according to the American "Gatestone Institute", (until recently Directed by the well-known former US Ambassador to the UNO, and currently National Security Advisor at the White House, John Bolton), who, according to Recent Findings by Polish Prosecutors, participated at a Meeting, (on 2014 , at Edirna, in Turkey), of High-Profile Islamist Terrorists, including Abdelhamid Abbaoud, responsible for the November 2015 Terrorist Attacks in Paris, which Killed about 130 Civilian People and Wounded another 300. Despite that, Mourad T. had managed to go, through Turkey, to EU Member Greece, Cross the Balkans, Hungary, Austria, Czech Republic, until Poland, pretending to be a ..."Syrian Refugee", (according to a Wiena certificate, while even his Age had been Falsified, in order to Pretend to be an underage Youngster or "Child", (as Many others, notoriously, did too), up to the moment that Police found "Photos of potential Targets and an improvised Explosive Device" in his Flat, knowing that he had personaly served in order to "Identify Venues for Attacks in Europe" ! --------------------------------------------------- But, Meanwhile, what about Hungary's main role ? Jaroka, (who is a beautiful Lady of Roman origin with a strong Fighting Spirit, a Daughter and a Son, as well as a PhD on Social Anthropology from London's University College), was firmly supported by experienced EU Parliament's President, and former EU Commissioner, Antonio Tajani (a ChristianDemocrat/EPP MEP from Italy), recently, when some Political Adversaries, had repeatedly attempted to Cut her Speech and Hinder her from Replying, (with Crystal-clear Facts versus illfounded Accusations of some "Sociaists" a.o.) against the Popular Government of Victor Orban, including vis a vis the Roma Minority. -------------------------------------------- After having served always as a fully-fledged, stable and popular Member of the mainstream ChristianDemocrat/EPP Group (the Biggest in EU Parliament), winning a Record-High and Long series of Elections, Victor Orban's "Fidesz" Party recently Decided to exceptionally "Suspend" its Membership at the EPP, for a Period of Time, in a written Agreement with its Presidency, which was endorsed by its Political Committee on March 22, 2019, giving Time for the EU Elections, (Comp. a relevant exchange of "Eurofora" with EPP's Secretary General, at: ..., etc), and for more Thought over the Future Orientation of the EPP and Fidesz in the following, Post-Electoral Political Landscape of Europe, where Various, uncertain yet, Changes are expected, in general, at Many Other Parties and Countries. Final Decisions are due to be taken after a relevant Report, on both EPP's and Fidesz' Future, that willl be Drafted by formers EU President and Belgian Prime Minister, Van Rompoy, f. EU Parliament's President (current Chairman of the "Adenauer" Foundation) Hans Ghert Poettering, and f. Chancellor of Austria, Wolfgang Schussel. - With Victor Orban, you know, some things are special : F.ex., if you Push him too much, then he sticks to his People, and his People gathers around him, even More ! That's why, it's Better to take some Time, and do things propely, since, After the (EU) Elections, some issues might become easier to solve, than before", enigmatically Advised "Eurofora", with a Smile, the Experienced long-time EU Parliament's vice-President, himself a ChristianDemocrat/EPP Top Politician, from Nearby Baden-Wurtemberg, Rainer Wieland. - For Orban himself, it seems that the Main thing will be the Future Political Orientation of the EPP, in the New Context of the 2019-2024 EU Parliament : Will it remain faithful to its initial Strategy on the Issue of Mass Asylum Seekers/Irregular Migrants, and defend Europe's Christian roots, while also respecting Member States' national sovereignity, or will it be pushed, by a "Left-leaning" Minority, towards a slipery slope of Center-Left ? All Other matters, particularly raised by those who accuse Hungary on certain points of Internal Policies, asking for this or that reform, (as also against Poland, and some Other Central-Eastern Countries, etc), would be Either Inaccurate, or could be Solved, in one way or another. Until now, all Electoral Results have shown that Victor Orban is, in fact, the Most Popular Head of State/Government in the ChristianDemocrat/EPP Family. >>> Crystal-clear, UNHCR, IMO, a.o. Official Data prove that, indeed, it's the Defense of Western Balkans' Route, notoriously Initiated by the Hungarian Prime Minister, almost From the Beginning of 2015, which was the 1st to Succeed to Rapidly Start a Radical Drop in the Numbers of that Huge "Tsunami" of Mass Asylum Seekers/Irregular Migrants, already Long Before a subsequent, Controversial EU - Turkey Deal, (still Costing + 3 Billions in full Grants each Year to EU's Budget, in Addition to Visas' and other Turkish Claims). => The Original, May 2016, "Eurofora"s Factual Analysis, in this regard, is an Historic, Landmark piece of investigative Journalism, which deserves to be re-Published asap, until everyone has seriously examined and acknowledged the Truth on this Key Issue of European History, (See, f.ex.: http://www.eurofora.net/newsflashes/news/unpopulareuvisafreefor80millionsturksuseless.html, etc). (../..) Earlier this month, I spent a day in Marseilles, videotaping 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 explain. 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), Ill., a small prairie town with a population hovering around 5,000. The Midwestern Marseilles nestles in LaSalle County alongside the Illinois River, smack dab in the middle of flyover country between Chicago and Peoria. 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, Marseilles cant support a high school anymore; its teenagers travel downriver to Ottawa. Just as there are all-but-mandatory venues in Iowa and New Hampshire where candidates are expected to appear, why not make Marseilles, Ill., one as well? Advertisement Back in the day, Marseilles manufactured corrugated boxes for Nabisco. But that factory was shuttered in 2002, and only the empty, abandoned building remains, its eight-story hulk still looming above Main Street. Although the U.S. economy has bounced back from the Great Recession, the good times here look to have ended and never come back. Not too surprisingly, this is Trump country. In 2016, LaSalle County 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 deplorables. They had reason to do so. Now, 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 civic-minded Illinois bikers, many of them Vietnam veterans, is the only one in the nation erected to commemorate those who have died in the campaigns, skirmishes, protracted wars and nasty mishaps that have involved U.S. forces in various quarters of the Greater Middle East since the 1960s. Think about it: Anyone 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 great American public space of the Mall in Washington D. C. Any American wanting to honor the sacrifice of those who fought and died in the series of more recent conflicts that have lasted longer than World War II, Korea and Vietnam combined must travel to a town where the nearest public transportation is a Greyhound bus station in Ottawa and the top restaurant is Bobaluks Beef and Pizza. Critics might quibble with the aesthetics of the Marseilles Middle East memorial a knock-off of the far more famous Vietnam Wall but its effect is palpably honest and heartfelt: a series of polished granite panels listing the names of those killed in this countrys forever wars going all the way back to the sailors gunned down in June 1967 in the Israeli attack on the USS Liberty. The panels 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. (The run takes place June 15 this year.) 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 penchant for using that term in connection with U.S. military actions 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. 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 well-being of the United States is another matter entirely. Terms that might more accurately convey why these wars began and why they have persisted include oil, dominion, hubris, the refusal among policymakers to own up to their own stupendous folly, and the collective negligence of oblivious citizens. Some might add to the list an inability to distinguish between our own interests and those of putative allies such as Saudi Arabia and Israel. During the several hours I spent at the wall, 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 is an out-of-the-way burg. Touristy its not. Which, when you think about it, makes it exactly the right place to commemorate conflicts that Americans would like to ignore or forget. With the campaign for the 2020 presidential election now heating up, allow me to suggest that should change. Just as there are all-but-mandatory venues in Iowa and New Hampshire where candidates are expected to appear, why not make Marseilles, Ill., one as well? Let the dozens of candidates competing to oust Donald Trump from the White House schedule at least one campaign stop at the Middle East Conflicts Wall, press entourage in tow. Enter the Fray: First takes on the news of the minute 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 deeper meaning of such a 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 various administrations, including the present one that seems to be itching for yet another conflict in the Middle East. They should 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 or citing the Gospel of John (Greater love hath no man ). On the other hand, apt comparisons to Vietnam are not just permitted but encouraged. Im betting that the good bikers of Illinois will happily provide a mic and a podium. If they wont, I will. Andrew J. Bacevichs most recent book is Twilight of the American Century. His previous book was Americas War for the Greater Middle East. A longer version of this essay is posted at TomDispatch.com. Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinionand Facebook To the editor: Hen Mazzigs piece serves as an important corrective to the oft-repeated lie that Israel consists of white Ashkenazi Jews. This lie has allowed intersectionality extremists to falsely paint the conflict as one between white Europeans (Jews) and dark-skinned natives (Palestinian Arabs). In fact, hundreds of thousands of Jews once lived in the Arab world but were driven out or killed when Israel declared statehood. Everyone knows the story of the Palestinians, but most people have never heard of the many Jews forced out of their homes in the Arab world. These Jews were welcomed into Israel. There is simply no way to resolve this conflict when the basic facts and the Jews basic right to live in their ancient homeland in peace are buried underneath ignorance and lies. Sara Miller, New York Advertisement .. To the editor: Massig talks eloquently about the experience of Mizrahi Jews who were forced to flee their homes in Iraq and other Muslim countries and found refuge in Israel. But it is striking that he never mentions the historical experience of another Middle Eastern people, the Palestinian Arabs, which is at the heart of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. He decries the characterization of Israeli policy as apartheid. But thats a characterization hard to avoid given Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus remarks that Israel is not a state of all its citizens, but only of the Jews. In referring to Israels Jews, Massig says an indigenous people have reclaimed their land, but seems completely oblivious of that other indigenous people, the Arabs, who were the majority in Palestine from the 7th to the 20th century. Mazzig might want to consider how much his story, and that of other Jews exiled from their millenniums-old homelands in Iraq and Tunisia, mirrors that of Palestinian Arabs. David L. Saffan, Santa Barbara .. To the editor: It isnt just Israels Mizrachi and Ethiopian Jews whose remarkable stories repudiate the Israel is a European colonial enterprise falsehood. European Jewish history does too. First, genetic studies confirm the ancestral ties of Ashkenazi (European) Jews to the Levant. If people indigenous to the Middle East are to be deemed people of color, this necessarily applies to European Jews too. Second, Jews in Europe were oppressed and subjugated, not privileged. The Romans who destroyed Judea brought 100,000 Jewish slaves to Europe; it was they who built Romes Colosseum. For 2,000 years, European Jews were confined to ghettos, expelled and massacred, culminating in the Holocaust. Israel is the very antithesis of white supremacy. Rather, an indigenous people has reclaimed its ancestral homeland and turned it into a thriving liberal democracy. Stephen A. Silver, San Francisco Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook To the editor: It was very sad that Jason Rochester of Roswell, Ga., lost his wife and the mother of his son to President Trumps cruel and xenophobic immigration policies. However, since Rochester voted for Trump because of his anti-choice position, the story brings into focus a point sorely missed in the abortion debates, which are being framed almost exclusively as an attack on womens bodies, health and welfare. For decades, Republican politicians have cynically used this wedge issue to manipulate voters, almost always against their own economic and personal interests. Tragically, this family is playing out this practice. They seem to feel uniquely victimized. Is it possible they might now see that their single-issue, ill-informed choices at the voting booth will also have tragic consequences for countless women imperiled by making abortion illegal? Advertisement Constance Mallinson, Woodland Hills .. To the editor: There is a reason this mans wife is barred from reentering the United States. Rochester voted for Trump, and now Trump is doing what he said hed do to protect our borders. Rochesters wife broke the law on multiple occasions by sneaking into the United States. While I feel for the parents having to raise a son in different countries, she is reaping the consequences of her actions. Many Americans, myself included, do not have problems with immigration done the right way. They do have a problem with the illegal type, so, at least in your articles, call a spade a spade and identify those actions. There are many out there who follow the legal immigration process and are grateful for it, but those who overstay their visas or cross the border illegally should be punished. Susan Moore, La Habra .. To the editor: As an Evangelical Christian, Rochester should have been appalled by Trumps actions toward women and immigrants. This man now has to face the fact that his vote helped take his wife from him. That is how important a vote is. Tim Ashford, Lomita Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook The White House on Sunday brushed aside congressional Democrats concerns about Atty. Gen. William Barr being handed extraordinary powers to declassify sensitive intelligence as part of a probe into the origins of the investigation into Russian efforts to sway the 2016 election. Reflecting his anger over unflattering depictions of his actions in the report by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, including several episodes that might have constituted obstruction of justice, President Trump has authorized the attorney general to investigate the investigation. Trump and his allies have long insisted that the FBI improperly spied on his campaign. Democrats already have accused Barr of trying to put the best possible face on Muellers findings and say they fear he will selectively release documents in an effort to undermine public confidence in the nations intelligence agencies and Muellers investigators. Muellers report itself documents activities during the 2016 presidential campaign that caught the attention of U.S. law enforcement and intelligence agencies, including information passed along by Australian officials concerning a Trump campaign advisor, George Papadopoulos, who told an Australian diplomat that Democratic emails had been stolen by the Russians before the hacking of the Democratic National Committees computer system became public knowledge. Advertisement When Republicans had the majority in the House, Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Tulare) spent nearly two years investigating the same issues without producing evidence to back up Trumps claims. White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders insisted Sunday that the administration is not prejudging Barrs findings, but expressed confidence, without offering proof, that he would be able to document outrageous corruption at the FBI. Im not going to get ahead of what the final conclusion is, but we already know that there was a high level of corruption that was taking place, Sanders, in Tokyo with the president on a state visit to Japan, told NBCs Meet the Press. Questioned by host Chuck Todd about whether Barr could be trusted not to cherry-pick information, Sanders defended the decision to give Barr declassification powers that have traditionally been jealously guarded by intelligence agencies. Thats the reason that hes granted the attorney general the authority to declassify that information to look at all the documents necessaryso that we can get to the very bottom of what happened, she said. Once again, we already know about some wrongdoing. Congressional Democrats have sharply questioned whether the administration is acting in good faith. Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Burbank), who presently chairs the House Intelligence Committee, said the presidents decision, announced on the eve of the Memorial Day weekend, allowed Trump and Barr to weaponize law enforcement and classified information against their political enemies. Trump allies denied that the presidents actions in any way undermined the core missions of the intelligence community. Were not compromising national security here, said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who has emerged as one of Trumps staunchest congressional defenders. Graham, interviewed on Fox News Sunday, said that he believed Barr can be trusted not to manipulate information in the presidents favor. The people who are worried about this are worried about being exposed for taking the law into their own hands, said Graham, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee. Trump himself defended Barrs review, saying before he left for Japan that it was not meant to avenge himself on political opponents. Its not payback I dont care about payback, he told reporters. I think its very important for our country to find out what happened. The push by the White House to investigate those who investigated the president comes against the backdrop of across-the-board resistance by Trump to congressional oversight. At least a dozen separate battles are playing out over congressional subpoenas of documents and individuals on matters including the Mueller report and Trumps tax returns. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco so far has resisted calls by some Democratic lawmakers to open impeachment proceedings against the president, especially if he continues to reject Congress authority to carry out investigations of the presidents conduct and finances. She argues that impeachment remains premature, although she has accused Trump of a cover-up. An early backer of impeachment, Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) said Sunday she believed that Pelosi eventually would relent. I think its moving toward that, she said on CBS Face the Nation, adding that the traditional congressional oversight process isnt working. The chairman of the Democratic caucus, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York, defended Pelosis go-slow approach, saying that for now, investigating Trump methodically yet aggressively was the best approach, while simultaneously working to advance the Democrats legislative agenda. Democrats can sing and dance at the same time, just like Beyonce, he said on NBC. We will not overreach. We will not over-investigate, he added. On the Republican side, however, there was increasing willingness to echo Trumps call for drastic punishment of law enforcement figures who helped move the investigation forward. Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, interviewed on ABCs This Week, said the origins of Muellers investigation were suspect because statements by FBI agents during the 2016 campaign sounded a whole lot like a coup. She was referring in part to texts critical of Trump that were exchanged by two bureau officials, including former agent Peter Strzok, who was removed from the Mueller probe when the messages came to light and subsequently forced out, and lawyer Lisa Page, who has also left the FBI. It could well be treason, Cheney said. Cheneys comments drew an irate riposte on Sunday from Preet Bharara, who was fired by Trump as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. Legal experts have pointed out that the Constitution says treason consists of levying war against the United States or giving aid and comfort to its enemies. Elected officials keep making casual, ignorant, idiotic accusations of treason. Just saw Liz Cheney do it, Bharara wrote on Twitter. Read the Constitution. laura.king@latimes.com @laurakingLAT Though its never a sure bet that California voters will sign off on a tax increase, the odds improve when the money is promised to schools. Less clear, though, is what happens if two school tax measures are on the same ballot now a distinct possibility for next years statewide election. Asking voters to weigh in on how to pay for education is hardly new, from the creation of the California Lottery in 1984 to the 1988 ballot measure that created strict constitutional funding formulas. A nonpartisan statewide poll released last month found that 59% of likely voters believe current public school funding isnt sufficient. And while K-12 education is getting more money than ever before, a variety of long-term problems have left many California school districts in financial distress. Californias education funding is at a record high. So why are schools short on cash? With that in mind, the California School Boards Assn. is strongly hinting it may draft a November 2020 ballot measure asking voters to impose $11 billion in new taxes for schools specifically, a tax hike on corporate income over $1 million and on personal incomes above $1 million. A CSBA spokesman said additional details of the proposed taxes are still being hashed out. Advertisement Weve reached an inflection point, Mike Walsh, the groups immediate past president, said in a recent online video. People are energized like no time in recent memory. Its worth noting that some of the same high-income earners are still paying the higher rates extended by Proposition 55 in 2016 money that was also promised to help improve schools. At the same time, a different $11-billion tax increase, written by self-styled reformers such as the League of Women Voters and an alliance of liberal community groups, has already earned a spot on next years ballot. Also promised as a way to ensure smaller class sizes and better-paid teachers, as well as to help other government services, it would remove most commercial property from the strict tax limits established by 1978s Proposition 13. Limiting the property tax break to residential owners is a fight thats been brewing for decades. Gov. Gavin Newsom said this year that he hopes to negotiate some sort of truce through a broader tax overhaul to head off the initiative, but theres been no sign of compromise on the horizon in Sacramento. Nor is there any indication that lawmakers are poised to boost school spending to the levels that education groups demand. Last week, as many as 2,500 people traveled to the Capitol to call for more cash for K-12 schools. But though the state budget is flush with a tax windfall, most of that revenue is assumed to be part of a short-term phenomenon thus it wouldnt boost education over the long haul. Voters next year will be asked to help improve education in ways other than taxes. Legislators are considering a pair of multibillion-dollar bond measures for K-12 schools and higher education. If approved, the state would have to pay back that borrowing out of general tax revenue. Neither proposal, though, is likely to draw organized political opposition. But the tax initiatives certainly would. And if theyre both on the ballot next year, theyll probably share something in common besides education: vocal, well-funded opposition by the business community. Powerful groups already poised to fight the property tax measure would no doubt lump the two initiatives together, arguing they would amount to a double-barreled attack on the states business climate and push more companies to pack up and move somewhere else. What happens next is unclear. The large and boisterous crowd that marched at the state Capitol last week helped reinforce the idea that California schools are at a crossroads. Whether thats a good enough reason for new taxes, though, is another question. john.myers@latimes.com Follow @johnmyers on Twitter and sign up for our daily Essential Politics newsletter The Burbank Police Department is seeking the publics help in identifying a suspect in the shooting death of 21-year-old Christian Guevara early Saturday morning in a Burbank residence, authorities said on Sunday. Initial details of the investigation were first reported in a statement on Saturday by police department spokesman Sgt. Derek Green, but the victim was not initially identified. Detectives have interviewed several people and developed some leads. However, a suspect has not yet been identified. According to reports, Guevara was attending a party at the residence in the 4000 block of West Clark Avenue, where the shooting took place. It is believed that upwards of 50 people were at the home at various times throughout the night, Green said on Sunday. Many of those people have yet to be identified and likely have information that would help investigators. At around 2:35 a.m. on Saturday, Burbank police officers responded to Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center after a man was brought into the emergency room suffering from a gunshot wound. The victim, Guevara, was transported to a local trauma center, where he died, Green added. A GoFundMe page was set up over the weekend to help the Guevara family. By Monday afternoon, more than $5,400 had been raised. Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the Burbank Police Department at (818) 238-3000. mark.kellam@latimes.com Twitter: @LAMarkKellam One is a buttoned-up Iowan divorcee trying to figure out who she is, the other a mysterious and fiery New Yorker who wishes to start over. Theyre the only characters in The Roommate, a coming-of-age story, of sorts, about two women in their 50s who help each other embark on a journey that will change them both, if not necessarily for the better. The dark comedy that churns thoughts of reinvention, boldness and adventure makes its West Coast premiere starting Tuesday at South Coast Repertorys Julianne Argyros Stage. Its directed by South Coast Repertory founding artistic director Martin Benson. The Roommate was written by the fast-rising playwright Jen Silverman, who in the past year has seen her plays performed at the Actors Theatre of Louisville, the InterAct Theatre in Philadelphia and for a workshop at the Playwrights Horizons Theater School in New York City. In discussing the premise of the show, Silverman said she has seen a significant number of plays, movies and television shows where the female characters were structurally positioned as the central character but werent exactly driving the narrative. Instead, the women were reactive to whatever the male characters were doing. She also observed that older actresses were playing roles where they were waiting for their children to come home, sitting around talking to their friends about some man or learning that their husbands were sleeping with younger women. Younger characters were taken seriously, yet mothers and grandmothers played the dull and old-fashioned roles, she said. I wanted material to offer them where they were seen as powerful women and not the problem, Silverman said by phone from New York City. I really wanted to challenge myself and keep true to these characters, who I wanted seen as strong and were living out dangerous possibilities. What happened were some beautiful surprises. Her journey to Iowa, where the play is centered, was a literal one, following from her busy younger years and more recent academic and career moves. This year, Silverman has upcoming world premieres at the Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company in Washington, D.C., and the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park in Ohio, as well as a New York premiere at The Playwrights Realm at the Duke. Shes received grants or fellowships to create new plays through some of the most prestigious theater organizations in the country, including Connecticuts Eugene ONeill Theater Center and the Yale Institute for Music Theatre. Silverman, a Brown University graduate, earned her masters in fine arts from the Iowa Playwrights Workshop and also studied at the Playwrights Program at Juilliard. Growing up, her scientist parents relocated the family to countries including Finland, Sweden and New Zealand. Silverman said the moves influenced her work as she grew interested in how peoples worlds and cultures collided. When she lived in Iowa City for three years during graduate school, Silverman said she enjoyed meeting people who were either transplants like herself or who grew up on family farms and had roots in one place. After she left, she found herself missing the Midwest and knew shed write a play centered there. Indeed, The Roommate, set in a sleepy Iowa town, follows two 54-year-old women at a crossroads in life. Sharon, played by seasoned South Coast Repertory actress Linda Gehringer (Going to a Place where you Already Are, The Language Archive, All My Sons) is chatty, practical, an Iowan and an empty-nester. She takes in roommate Robyn, played by Tessa Auberjonois (Mr. Wolf, A Wrinkle in Time, Crimes of the Heart) to make ends meet and quickly learns that the woman who arrived from the Bronx is holding a lifetime of secrets. Both are driven to self-transformation and find themselves learning they share more similarities than differences, Silverman said. I think everyone wants to start over, Sharon says at one point in the play. Its one of the messages Silverman said she wishes to share with audiences, along with the reminder that its not too late to be what you might have been and that second chances do happen. Its never too late to transform your life, Silverman said. The possibilities are endless. * IF YOU GO What: The Roommate When: Jan. 3 to 22 Where: South Coast Repertory, 655 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa Cost: Ticket prices vary Information: (714) 708-5555 or visit scr.org. kathleen.luppi@latimes.com Twitter: @KathleenLuppi A modest museum in Old Towne Orange is celebrating its two-year anniversary by presenting five new exhibitions and gearing up for some ambitious plans in its future. The Hilbert Museum of California Art at Chapman University has just opened Scenic View Ahead: The Westways Cover Art Collection; Magical Visions: The Enchanted Worlds of Eyvind Earle; A New Hope: The Star Wars Art of Robert Bailey; Sunlight and Shadow: A Gift of California Art from the Collection of Jim and Lynne Doti and Character References: The Art of the Animation Drawing. Scenic View Ahead highlights original artworks commissioned by the Automobile Club of Southern California for its member magazine cover between 1928 and 1981. Originally titled Touring Topics, the auto club changed the magazines name to Westways in 1934. For decades, the magazine was one of the few publications showcasing fine arts on the West Coast, and put a spotlight on the artistic movements of the time plein air painting, California Impressionism and California scene painting. Artists in this exhibit include Alson Clark, John Frost, Donna Schuster, Maynard Dixon, Rex Brandt of Corona del Mar, Phil Dike, William Pajaud, Neil Boyle and Jake Lee. A 1957 Westways magazine cover by Corona del Mar artist Rex Brandt is on display at the Hilbert Museum of California Art at Chapman University. Brandt created a series of covers contrasting scenic views of the American West with scenic views in other lands. (Courtesy of Hilbert Museum ) A version of the Westways cover art collection exhibited at the Irvine Museum between October 2014 and January 2015. But the paintings currently on view at the Hilbert were selected and curated by Hilbert Museum director Mary Platt and registrar Emily Valdez. A master possibly overlooked Eyvind Earles Three Noble Horses is among his works exhibited at the Hilbert Museum of California Art at Chapman University. Earle is best known for his work on Disneys Sleeping Beauty. (Courtesy of Hilbert Museum ) Magical Visions offers a rare look at the paintings, drawings, prints, poems and scratchboard etchings of Eyvind Earle. He was an accomplished landscape painter and respected Disney artist, whose best known work appears throughout Sleeping Beauty (1959). Earle gave the animated movie a magical, medieval look. He also did backgrounds and illustrations for Peter Pan (1953), Lady and the Tramp (1955) and Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Bloom, which won the 1954 Academy Award for best short subject (cartoons). Earle died in 2000, but his work can still be seen in the Sleeping Beauty Castle dioramas at Disneyland. On view at the Hilbert are more than two dozen of his original oil paintings and serigraphs, which celebrate natural landscapes, yet are also mystical, primitive, serene and nostalgic. The Earle Family Trust recently donated eight of Earles paintings to the Hilbert Museum, and five of them are on view. It was his dream to work at Disney, said Ioan Szasz, curator of the Earle exhibit and CEO of Eyvind Earle Publishing, based in Monterey. Szasz knew and worked with the artist for 13 years, and is the caretaker of his artistic estate. When he was creating a serigraph (silkscreen print), he was controlling the process, said Szasz, who also runs Gallery 21 in Carmel, featuring Earles work. But when he was painting, there was someone or something else controlling him to create. He said there was a driving force making him do that. One of the highlights of the exhibit is Three Noble Horses, an oil painting from 1993 that features a red, white and blue horse, each in a majestic pose, against a blue and green speckled background. A gift from the Earle Family Trust, its now part of the Hilbert Museums permanent collection. Other shows A New Hope: The Star Wars Art of Robert Bailey is also part of the current exhibition at the Hilbert Museum in Orange. (Courtesy of Hilbert Museum ) Also on view at the Hilbert is A New Hope, featuring graphite pencil drawings by Robert Bailey, an English illustrator whos an official Lucasfilm artist. He has drawn 12 scenes from the original Star Wars trilogy. Sunlight and Shadow spotlights a dozen paintings that are part of a gift of 17 donated by Jim Doti, former president at Chapman, and his wife, Lynne Doti, a retired economics professor at the university. The collection includes works by Brandt, Franz Bischoff, Millard Sheets, Emil Kosa Jr., Jack Laycox and Irv Wyner. Character References is a mini-exhibit focusing on the lively and often impromptu drawings of animation artists from Disney Studios and Warner Bros. Artists include Chuck Jones, Tim Burton and Jeff DeGrandis. The location of the Hilbert Museum on 167 N. Atchison St. was meant to be temporary, with an eventual move to the Packing House on Palm Avenue and Cypress Street but administrators decided to stay put. Hilbert Director Platt says the staff and benefactors, Mark and Jan Hilbert, like the current space, and plan to expand into the Partridge Dance Center next door over the next five years, effectively tripling its space. Its been a great ride, said Platt, who previously directed communications and media relations at Chapman for 13 years. Shes served as director of the Hilbert for a year. Ive really enjoyed it. Its an adventure every day. If You Go What: Five new exhibitions of California art When: Through Oct. 13; hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays Where: Hilbert Museum of California Art, 167 N. Atchison St., Orange Cost: Free Information: (714) 516-5880 or hilbertmuseum.com. RICHARD CHANG is a contributor to Times Community News. Minerva Alvarez learned to cut fabric as a middle-schooler in her native Cuernavaca, Mexico. She began making simple dresses in class and soon elevated to creating elaborate quinceanera designs. Its the style I enjoyed the most. It was the prettiest, with much more detail, with much more love, said Alvarez, who runs Shelsyes Bridal in downtown Santa Ana. Nearby, Sandra Cerpas honed her craft as a youngster with the help of nuns in her church in Michoacan, Mexico. The church would offer free tailoring classes in exchange for small donations. We would take fruit or honey to learn, said Cerpas, who operates Cassandras Bridal. Alvarez and Cerpas are business owners who run quinceanera shops on 4th Street, a commercial district that for years catered largely to Spanish-speaking Mexican immigrants. The women order their dresses in bulk from designers and companies in Mexico, Germany and New York City. They also design and make their own gowns. They sketch and stitch patterns, build paper models, cut fabric and piece together layered dresses with elaborate ruffles. Its a work of art that requires craft, skill and time. As artist Saskia Jorda who in a 2013 art installation explored quinceanera tailoring traditions through interviews with shop owners in downtown Santa Ana phrased it, Its like each one had their secrets. This skill set and tradition has been slowly disappearing from downtown Santa Ana, which for years hosted a cottage industry for the dresses intended for Latinas celebrating their 15th birthdays. Quinceanera shops lined 4th Street by the dozen. Now, theyre either moving to other parts of the city, or outside of the county, as trendy restaurants, bars and clothing boutiques continue to set up shop in a rapidly gentrifying neighborhood. When we say support artists, we think of visual artists at galleries, but theyre also artists, says Marilynn Montano, who is documenting business closures in downtown Santa Ana. Theyre also makers. Thats a craft. (Photo by Kevin Chang / Staff Photographer) Marilynn Montano, who works as a barista in the downtown area, documents the closure of long-time businesses including quinceanera boutiques by posting photos of the empty shops on Instagram. In one photo, she features a young woman wearing a quinceanera dress, posing in front of an empty boutique. A yellow, handwritten sign declares the shops moved to Huntington Park. I started to document them because in a couple years, this is just going to be a memory to someone, said Montano, 25. We dont consider these quinceanera shops, the people who make these dresses, as also artists, Montano said. When we say, `Support artists, we think of visual artists at galleries, but theyre also artists. Theyre also makers. Thats a craft. District once likened to plazas in Mexico Downtown Santa Ana, particularly the area around 4th Street, has in the past been likened to vibrant shopping plazas in Mexico. As the Mexican immigrant population surged in the 80s, 4th Street known as Calle Cuatro reflected the demographic shift. Between 1960 and 1980, the citys foreign-born population grew from 7% to 30%, according to the 2017 book Latino City: Urban Planning, Politics, and the Grassroots. Now more than 78% percent of the city of 334,000 is Hispanic or Latino. Travel agencies specializing in airfares to Mexico and Latin America, jewelry stores, shoe and clothing shops became the norm downtown, wrote Cal State Fullerton associate professor Erualdo Gonzalez, the author of Latino City. Bridal stores, widely recognized for selling quinceanera dresses, boomed. In 2014, the demand for such business was so high that of the people that are here now that I know, almost all of them were ex-employees of bridals, and now they have their own store, one quinceanera shop owner recalled in the book. I counted all of them on 4th Street one day, something like 30, 35, she said. But the dress shops have gradually become less visible in recent years. A young woman wearing a quinceanera gown poses in front of a closed shop in downtown Santa Ana. (Photo courtesy of Marilynn Montano) In the 90s, Artists Village began taking shape near 1st Street and Broadway when Cal State Fullertons Grand Central Art Center moved downtown. Bars and restaurants followed. By 2011, a slew of changes contributed to downtowns mixed identity. The E. 4th Street area known as Fiesta Marketplace was re-branded as East End, and with that came the Frida Cinema, Native Son Alehouse and an artisan food hall, 4th Street Market. Downtown developer Ryan Chase said he rebranded the area to broaden its appeal beyond its core Latino clientele. We have been here To Alvarez, the struggle to stay afloat goes beyond the gentrification narrative often told in Santa Ana, where its new versus old. She doesnt see herself in competition with los Americanos. Alvarez said she had one of her best sales years in 2018, when she was delivering about 10 dresses a week. Shed just like to feel her line of work is as valued as the newer bars and restaurants. Residents in the past have protested the number of alcohol licenses. Hopefully the city can help us because we have been here longer than those who are just arriving, Alvarez said. Julie Castro-Cardenas, acting assistant to the city manager, said the city is conscious about the culture of the community. We certainly have an ear to all residents, Castro-Cardenas said. We dont cater to one group. We are intentional about having a balance. Castro-Cardenas said that about four years ago the city created a downtown liaison position between merchants and City Hall, a job she claims has been plagued by high turnover. She also noted a 2017 resolution the city adopted in support of worker cooperatives businesses owned by workers who share the profits. And in December, the city approved $100,000 each for the Santa Ana Business Council, which supports 4th Street businesses, and Downtown Inc., which manages the areas restaurant association. Like Santa Ana, cities nationwide are grappling with how to address displacement and preserve their cultural districts. In San Francisco, for example, the Board of Supervisors in May passed legislation to establish clear definitions of cultural districts in order to provide funding for them. To Gonzalez, author of Latino City, solutions need to go beyond cultural preservation. You have to put front and center the class element, he said. A princess-style quinceanera dress is popular dress at Shelsyes Bridal, located along 4th Street in Santa Ana. (Photo by Kevin Chang / Staff Photographer) Upscale Mexican restaurants or expensive bridal boutiques would jibe in a culturally Mexican district, but Gonzalez questioned whether they would serve the areas working class. Gentefication which happens when professional, college-educated Latinos return to and invest in their neighborhoods is a class issue, he said. And the way the models are being divided across cities, its going to be favoring pockets, Gonzalez said. Garnering attention for the district On a recent Friday, Alvarez displayed a layered quinceanera dress she designed to reflect the popular Mexican charro style. The dress was embellished with fuchsia sheer ruffles below a silk-like, white fabric decorated with pink stitched flowers, stems and horseshoes. Gold-colored buttons on the embroidered corset completed the cowboy look. Alvarez sketched the design using inspiration from other styles. Shop owner Minerva Alvarez shows off a Mexican charro-styled quinceanera dress, one of the more popular dresses at Shelsyes Bridal in Santa Ana. (Photo by Kevin Chang / Staff Photographer) We can make them in different colors, she said. Alvarez began working at a 4th Street bridal store when she was about 19 years old, just two months after she left Mexico. She began running the shop after the owner left her the business when he moved out of state. Alvarez said she is reinventing her business. She hopes to partner with high school students to help her with social media marketing. Shes also planning a grand re-opening, where young women will model custom dresses. She recently moved to a new 4th Street location after the property owner sold the space she rented. What would be the most helpful would be more publicity, Alvarez said. Montano, who has also been an anti-gentrification activist, challenged herself and others to think differently when it comes to the way they shop. Instead of going to Macys for a gown or dress, a Latina-owned quinceanera boutique would be an alternative, she said. Im pretty sure you can ask them for some other type of dress for a different occasion, she said. Think creatively because these people, if you dont support them, of course theyre going to go away. We also need to put our money where our mouth is, Montano said. Alejandra Molina is a contributing writer for Arts & Culture at Voice of OC. She can be reached at molina.alee@gmail.com. Authorities have opened an arson investigation after at least five vehicles were burned or vandalized early Monday in downtown Huntington Beach. Police received reports of vehicles on fire in three downtown locations within an hour, said Huntington Beach police Lt. David Dereszynski. The first was at about 2:20 a.m. in the 400 block of 16th Street, with others reported at about 3 a.m. in the 500 block of 19th Street and 3:20 a.m. in the 300 block of 14th Street, police said. Residents of 16th Street said they woke to the sounds of exploding tires and bursting glass as a Ford Escape was engulfed by flames at the corner of 16th and Orange Avenue. Linda Jochem said she heard a popping, popping, popping noise that she initially thought was gunfire. Travis Warren, a neighbor in the same apartment complex, said he called 911 at 2:23 a.m. after he was awakened by the noise. From the window of his second-floor apartment he saw the burning Escape, which was parked near his pickup. On 19th Street, a Toyota Camry burned while parked outside a home in the 500 block. The cars owner, Randy Coe, said he was asleep when he heard noises and a small explosion outside. He raced to his front yard and saw the sedan in flames. I was sick to my stomach, especially when I found out it was our car, he said. Firefighters extinguish a blaze in a stake bed truck in the 300 block of 14th Street in Huntington Beach. Other vehicles also apparently were set ablaze early Monday in other parts of the downtown area. (OnScene.TV) Video taken in the 300 block of 14th Street showed the cab of a small stake bed truck ablaze as firefighters responded. Neighbors said the truck belonged to a landscaper who lives on 14th Street. A nearby Nissan Pathfinder appeared to have been broken into, and nail polish was splattered around the interior. Wavy lines of white paint streaked the passenger window, and a message written on the inside of the windshield read, Hi mom Im bad! Angela Clark, a resident of Olive Street, said that when she headed out to go to work later Monday morning, she found that someone had torched the passenger seat of her Subaru Impreza and ransacked the glove box. She said she could see the car, which was parked across from her apartment, from her window but hadnt noticed anything unusual as she was getting ready for work around 7 a.m. A fire in Angela Clarks Subaru Impreza was still smoldering in the passenger seat when she went to leave for work Monday morning. (Courtesy of Angela Clark) But she went to get in the car to leave, the fire was smoldering, she said. We were four months away from paying it off, Clark said. She also could see city workers washing away white firefighting foam where the landscaping truck had been parked on nearby 14th Street. All the vehicles apparently were unoccupied at the time the incidents occurred, authorities said. The investigation is continuing, and no one has been arrested, police said. Los Angeles Times staff writer Hannah Fry contributed to this report. julia.sclafani@latimes.com UPDATES: 2:25 p.m.: This article was updated with additional details and comments. This article was originally published at 8:25 a.m. Not every soldier who is lost falls on a distant battlefield. Some come home, alive and seemingly sound, only to later succumb, a casualty to hidden wounds. With Memorial Day tomorrow, I thought of this pair of stories. Though more than 20 years have passed, I still remember clearly the day the first one was printed, because I did something that I'd never done before: I took my telephone, which would not stop ringing, and put it in my desk drawer and closed the drawer. I had already used it, for a difficult conversation with a bereaved mother, and needed to write the second column. Pvt. McLynn Craig made it back from Vietnam, but the Chicago streets did him in. Now his body lies unclaimed, waiting for somebody to help him home to his final rest. Craig, 48, a former Marine, was found dead under a stairwell on the West Side in the middle of December. Cause of death: pneumonia. Since being recovered, Craig's body has been at the Cook County medical examiner's office. "He was very nice, an educated young man," said Reatha M. Holder, a social worker at the Veterans Affairs West Side Medical Center, who tried to encourage Craig to enter programs and get off the street. "But he was too proud to seek help," she said. "Others from the lounge tried to get him to seek help from the VA, because he was eligible." "The lounge" is Carol's Lounge, a tavern at 3858 W. Madison, where Craig used to work as a handyman. "We all knew him, but we didn't know much about him," said Quentin Black, the manager at the bar. "He came from the Southhe has ties with people down there. He was in the Marines. He served two tours in Vietnam. He worked maintenance on a flight crew. He was a bright man, kind of worldly for his young life." Black said that Craig used to sleep in the bar for a while. "But he took to the streets. Everything he owned was on his back," said Black. "He was proud." Holder has tried to locate his family. His mother, Lena Mae Craig, is thought to live in Montgomery, Ala. He has children in Chicagotwo sons and a daughter, who is blind. But nobody seems to know their names or where to find them. The medical examiner's office was going to release Craig's body to be buried in a pauper's grave at the potter's field in Homewood. But Holder intervened, hoping someone would come forward and claim him. "He was helpful to everybody," she said. "I just couldn't understand how he could let himself become a homeless veteran." Originally published in the Sun-Times, Jan. 9, 1998 As concerned strangers were making plans Friday to bury McLynn Craigthe ex-Marine who became homeless and died huddling under a West Side stairway in Decemberthe sad news was being relayed to his mother in Alabama. "They were neighbors of ours here in West Chathama fine family, a wonderful young man," said Grethyal Gooch, 63, who read about Craig in Friday's Sun-Times. "I was stunned. I called his mother. She was very distraught. They'd never been able to find him." Lena Mae Craig said her son took to the streets for reasons she didn't understand. "That was just something he wanted to do," she said from her home in Gadsden, Ala. "He was evidently dealt a bad something. I don't know. He's been like this for three years, sleeping and staying in taverns and doing work for food." She said Craig, who was 48 and served two tours in the Marines and then one in the Navy, could have come home anytime to the people who loved him. "He has a blind son, 25 years old. I just told him (the news)," Craig said. "He loved his father to death. He has a sweet daughter, in Rock Falls. She's going down to ID his body at the morgue. He has two sweet children that love him and a mother and two sisters and a brother." Her only indication of what might have kept her son from seeking help was his bitterness toward the government. "He said the government was rotten and he didn't want anything to do with it," Craig said. "He didn't want any help, didn't want to go into the hospital." She said her son did not live in the streets because of any mental problems. "He was too smart in the head for that. He was in the Marines," she said. "The Marines are not dumb people." Nor do they neglect their own. Throughout the day Friday, Marines -- active, retired and reserve, as individuals and as representatives of groups such as VietNow -- called the newspaper offering burial help. But it seems that Craig will be shipped home for burial in Alabama. "I want him shipped here," his mother said. "I want him here." My 4-year-old grandson, Judah, won a betta fish in July in a contest of skill and daring at the Orange County Fair. OK, Im not certain what kind of contest it was. Anyway, Judah named his pet Nacho Cheese Sauce. Uh, dont ask. Were not certain if Nacho is a boy betta or a girl. Presumably, well never find out. Mother Nature has devised a scheme whereby the betta population is controlled. Betta males are notorious for attacking fellow males and fighting to the death. Dude, if Im a betta male and you swag before me its on! Females are pretty much anti-social. Our betta guy seems rather mellow, but I avoid flexing near his bowl. So, it appears that Nacho C. Sauce will be living alone in his bowl with just a few plastic rocks to keep him (or her) company. He seems down with that. Nacho now, for a reason I dont understand, resides with Judahs grandma and grandpa (that would be Hedy and me). I dont know how that happened but Nachos become our grand-fish. He lives in a small bowl in the living room, next to a large window. Our little buddy, weve discovered, loves sunshine. And hes a bit of an exhibitionist. He preens a lot. Its been my observation that hes not a fan of darkness. When I turn out the lights at night, he sorta sits there glum-faced (if indeed that can be called a face), staring into space. Ive done my homework on betta fish. Its a species also known as the Siamese fighting fish in the gourami family and is native to the Mekong basin of Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand. Theyre highly territorial and aggressive. Ive tried to impress upon Nacho in the strongest possible terms that hes living in my house. Im lord of this domain. Im not sure he gets that. Im in the midst of convincing Mr. Sauce that Im alpha male here Big Dog. He, by definition, is betta. Beta. Numero Two. My ace in the hole? I outweigh him by about 10,000 to one. Prior to Nachos arrival at our home, my past experience with OC Fair-bred goldfish led me to believe that the lifespan of a fairgrounds fish is days. Judahs mother, our daughter Melissa, never won a fish with a lifespan longer than the run of the fair. Those goldfish were trundled home in plastic baggies, lived briefly, and ended up as floaters. They were unceremoniously tossed into the toilet and, well, given a flush into eternity. They then experienced what I imagined was an incredible journey down a maze of underground pipes and tunnels (much like the sewers of Paris) with a final kerplunk near the River Jetty. Alas, Nacho is still with us two months since leaving the fairgrounds. Thats a record in our family. Betta, Im told, live three to five years in captivity. This is beginning to look like a long-term relationship. That begs the question. How old was Nacho when Judah carted him off? He could have been six weeks or six years. Major difference. Well, Nacho old chap, we might as well get to know each another. I never realized that fish are smart and have personalities. Check this out: Whenever I walk over to Nachos bowl, he comes over to my side and begs for food. Truly. His mouth begins to move in a glub-glubbing fashion. (Of course he could be experiencing cramps from swallowed air.) Nacho possesses a healthy appetite and sometimes jumps for his food. I think thats called breaching in the lingua franca of the orca. Tiny Nacho can breach with the best of them. By the way, he swims and frolics in the finest Arrowhead Mountain Spring Water available. Im growing attached. I see a tank in his future. Just a second, I need to check something. Hey Nacho buddy, are you all right? Just taking a moment off? Are you floating on your side because you want to get papas attention? Nacho? Hedy, is the bathroom in use? JIM CARNETT, who lives in Costa Mesa, worked for Orange Coast College for 37 years. Memorial Day has become a company holiday, an excuse for a three-day weekend, an opportunity for retail sales promotions and the beginning of the summer season. We have forgotten what it is all about. Unfortunately, with less than 1% of the population in the military and the total number of veterans shrinking every day as we lose our greatest generation of World War II veterans, the general population doesnt have a personal connection to Memorial Day. Memorial Day was started after the Civil War when, because of the horrific number of casualties, most of the country had experienced a loss of a family member or a friend during the fighting. In 1971, Memorial Day was officially declared a national holiday during the Vietnam War. We honor on this day the men and women who have died while serving in the U.S. military. For those of us who have served in combat, Memorial Day has special meaning. Combat changes a person, and you never forget the men around you who did not make it home. Sometimes, when memory gets foggy, you may forget what someone looked like or maybe a complete name, but the ones closest to you are always there. Memorial Day forces us to remember them and their sacrifice. I remember one person, Ronald Natalie. He was a 21-year-old supply clerk who was stationed with me at battery headquarters in Pleiku, Vietnam. I was the executive officer in the battery, and he was a SP4 and one of the enlisted in the HQ platoon. I dont remember if he was drafted or volunteered. He was a pleasant man from the Midwest Monroe, Mich., I believe, and he had many friends. I never had a close relationship with Natalie but saw him often during daily operations. What I remember vividly is his last day before the ambush. Natalie came to me and asked for permission to go to a distant fire base by Jeep to say goodbye to some of his friends. I thought it was a bad idea with less than two weeks to go before he shipped home, but I could not dissuade him from going so I insisted that he take our most experienced combat soldier, our motor pool sergeant, who was on his third tour in Vietnam and was maybe 22 years old. I remember telling them to stay alert, stay sober and dont get on the highway late. If you leave late, you might miss the road-clearing detail that sweeps the highway for stragglers or broken equipment before dark. After that sweep, Charlie or the Viet Cong, owns the road. Unfortunately, they left late, and traveling fast hoped to catch up with the sweeper gunships. At about 5 p.m., I received a call that my Jeep was involved in an ambush about 20 miles south of Pleiku, and an infantry unit from the 4th Division was heading out in choppers to find a missing GI who was blown out of a Jeep during the ambush. I asked if we should organize a rescue effort by road and was told to wait at the Pleiku hospital for details. I organized two vehicles to transport us out of Artillery Hill, where the battery was located across the town to the hospital on the other side. We arrived and waited in the back of the emergency room near the pad, where the choppers land. While we waited, a medevac arrived with a Special Forces team wounded in action across the border. It was chaos as the medical team tried to save those that they could and triage the rest. After watching for some time as the doctors performed surgery there in the emergency room to save several severely wounded, I wandered off into the building and directly behind the receiving room was an alcove with bodies stacked on gurneys for processing. It must have been a busy day. Only the feet were visible and each had a dog tag wired to a toe. A few hours later after dark a chopper came in with my sergeant and the body of Natalie. They had found him on the side of the highway where he fell. I was asked to identify the body and was taken to a shed near the chopper pad where bodies were stored until they could be processed. My medic and I pulled Natalies body out for identification but it was impossible to recognize him since he took a direct hit from a rocket-propelled grenadeor RPG. My medic told me to find his dog tags and search his uniform and pockets for identification, and together we completed the task and agreed that this was Natalie. We collected our exhausted sergeant and headed back to the battery across town. We were on edge because it was dark, and the trip was outside the wire and we were a small detachment with little firepower to defend ourselves except for our M16s. We arrived safely and everyone in our unit wanted information. My sergeant was emotionally drained and devastated by what had happened. He held himself responsible and broke down in tears pleading with me to send him home. This was his third tour, and he had seen enough. He was damaged, and all I could do was assure him that he made the right decisions and he could not have saved Natalie. In fact, a colonel called me that night and praised the actions of our sergeant. I was told that he was some soldier, and we should be proud of him. He had performed superbly but all I could do was tell him that I would try to get him home early. Unfortunately, there was nothing I could do and he was still in the country serving out his tour when I left a few months later. Memorial Day, to me, is all about Natalie and the sacrifice he made in 1970. I had many men wounded during my tour, and I am sure that several did not survive. It is Natalie whom I remember. I have always felt responsible for his death because I let him go despite my gut feeling that it was a mistake. I did learn from that mistake and demanded for the rest of my tour that anyone short sit tight, stay bored and go home in one piece. I was lucky and survived Vietnam, but he did not. My life has been full with a wife who loves me, children I am proud of and grandchildren I can enjoy at the end of my life. Natalie lost his life and missed that opportunity. I will always remember him every year on Memorial Day. CHASE WICKERSHAM is a U.S. Army veteran who served in Vietnam and Director of Goodwill of Orange Countys Tierney Center for Veteran Services. Support our coverage by becoming a digital subscriber. Roger Federer entered a refurbished Court Philippe Chatrier for his first French Open match since 2015, greeted by the sun peeking through the clouds and the full-throated support of spectators in their designer sunglasses, straw hats and sweaters tied over their shoulders. Were it permitted, perhaps some ticket-holders would have embraced Federer right then and there, delivering a kiss on each cheek, as if reunited with an old friend at a sidewalk cafe. Alas, the welcome was limited to wild applause and enthusiastic chants of his first name Roh-zher! Roh-zher! before and during a 6-2, 6-4, 6-4 victory against Lorenzo Sonego of Italy on Sunday. The match lasted a mere 101 minutes yet Federer found enough time and space to sprinkle in some tremendous shot-making. The reception I got today was crazy. Was really nice to see a full stadium for a first round like this, Federer said, comparing the atmosphere to that of a final. Advertisement I feel, he said, that the public missed me. And I missed them, as well. His presence at the years second Grand Slam tournament was the highlight of Day 1, which included losses by multiple major winners Venus Williams, Angelique Kerber and Svetlana Kuznetsova, along with victories for Sloane Stephens, Garbine Muguruza, Marin Cilic and Kei Nishikori. Kerber has been dealing with an injured foot and was beaten 6-4, 6-2 by Anastasia Potapova. That was the opening match in the largely rebuilt main stadium, a structure of concrete and glass that is expected to have a retractable roof by the 2020 French Open and now features padded beige seats instead of plastic green ones. Across the way, 2016 champion Muguruza inaugurated the new 5,290-seat Court Simonne Mathieu, which is surrounded by greenhouses displaying tropical plants, with a 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 victory over Taylor Townsend of the U.S. Later in that same spot, the 38-year-old Williams, a seven-time Grand Slam titlist and the 2002 runner-up in Paris, exited in the first round for the fourth time in the past seven years at Roland Garros. She was broken in seven of her nine service games during a 6-3, 6-3 loss to No. 9 seed Elina Svitolina. Federer, the owner of 20 Grand Slam titles, will turn 38 in August and, frankly, who knows how many more of these he has left? Not getting any younger, he noted. The guy certainly appeared delighted to make his return to a tournament he won a decade ago, completing a career Grand Slam, but sat out each of the past three years. In 2016, he was sidelined by a back problem, ending his then-record streak of 65 consecutive appearances at majors. Federer then skipped the entire clay-court circuit in each of the past two seasons to focus on preparing for grass and hard courts. Not since a quarterfinal loss to Stan Wawrinka four years ago had Federer competed at Roland Garros, which is why he described himself Sunday as quite tense at the start. Didnt seem that way, though. More like someone who never went away. He led the 73rd-ranked Sonego, who was making his French Open debut, 4-0 after less than 15 minutes, then went up a set and 4-0 in the second after 40. There are times when you recognize that he makes the difficult things look easy. Its incredible, Sonego said. All you can do is hope he messes up now and then, because otherwise, its really hard. Federer gave the folks what they wanted, providing a live-and-in-person highlight reel of his full and considerable repertoire. There was the ace at 121 mph (195 kph) to begin his first service game, and the ace at 110 mph (178 kph) to conclude it. The drop-volley winner on the run. The serve-and-volley putaway. The sprint for an up-the-line winner off a delicate drop shot by Sonego that was so good, and so apparently hard to reach, that an Italian fan gushed, Bravo! Bravo! in praise of her countryman before Federer got to the ball. In the important moments, he raises his level and turns into a computer, Sonego said. He never makes the wrong choice. Really, the lone blip for Federer came when he double-faulted to get broken for the only time, eliciting an admonishing slap of racket strings from him and a collective Awwwww of dismay from his thousands of admirers. That was part of a three-game, dozen-minute surge for Sonego, who got within 4-3 in the second set before ceding it. By the end, Federer had won the point on 25 of 30 trips to the net and put together a ratio of 36 winners to 15 unforced errors. While so much of the title speculation is focused on Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic both play Monday Federer enjoys the unusual-for-him position of lowered expectations. Its nice to be an outsider, he said with an almost imperceptible shrug. Thats how I feel, anyhow. Just see how it goes, you know. This is not a show Im putting on; this is the truth: I really dont know how far I can go in this event. A third horse died in nine days at Santa Anita when Kochees could not be saved by surgery Sunday morning after sustaining an injury Saturday during the sixth race. He was vanned off the course, and a splint was applied. He stayed overnight in his stall with the hope his condition could be stabilized. Because the injury to his left front leg was not a compound fracture, surgery was an option. It would have ended his career but saved his life. However, when surgeons discovered the horse had lost blood flow to the leg, the decision was made to euthanize. Kochees, a 9-year-old gelding, was running in his 49th race, a $10,000 claiming race over 5 1/2 furlongs. He was pulled up by jockey Mario Gutierrez while leaving the far turn and entering the top of the stretch. His career started Jan. 4, 2013, at Santa Anita, and he had won 11 races. It was the 26th death at Santa Anita in either racing or training since the meeting opened Dec. 26. It was the third horse death for trainer Jerry Hollendorfer. Advertisement The Hall of Fame trainer had the first death Dec. 30 when Psychedelicat, a 4-year-old gelding, was injured and later euthanized in a $16,000 claiming race. But it was the 18th death that of Breeders Cup winner Battle of Midway, who was injured in a timed workout Feb. 23 that turned the fatalities into a national referendum on horse safety. Battle of Midway was also trained by Hollendorfer. Hollendorfer, who was also part-owner of Kochees, could not be reached for comment. It appeared that Santa Anita had turned the corner on equine fatalities after Arms Runner was euthanized March 31 following a fall on the dirt portion of the downhill turn course. The next fatality was May 17 when Commander Coil was injured during a gallop on the training track. Spectacular Music, an unraced 3-year-old gelding, was pulled up on the backstretch May 19 and vanned off after sustaining a pelvic injury. There was the hope the horse could be saved, but the next morning his condition had worsened and he was euthanized. The sport has spent the last two months in a desperate attempt to repair its image. Protesters have shown up sporadically at Santa Anita, including Sunday at the Huntington Drive entrance. Sign up for our horse racing newsletter Belinda Stronach, president and chief executive of the Stronach Group, proposed a group of safety reforms at the California tracks of Santa Anita and Golden Gate Fields, including a reduction in race-day Lasix and eliminating the use of the riding crop except in situations where safety was concerned. Lasix, or Furosemide, is primarily used to treat exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage, which occurs when horses bleed from the lungs when running. She wanted to extend those rules to other TSG tracks in Florida and Maryland but so far has been unsuccessful. The reform measures did not have a direct correlation to the breakdowns but were designed to gain public confidence and demonstrate that the sport is moving forward and is serious about horse and rider safety. Were going to be judged over the short-term, Stronach told The Times in Baltimore before the Preakness Stakes on May 18. All eyes are on us. And we will continue to be judged about how we continue safety reforms. Thats definitely our goal to do everything we can when it comes to horse and rider welfare. In addition, TSG, Churchill Downs Inc., the New York Racing Assn. and many independent tracks such as Del Mar, Los Alamitos and Keeneland announced a series of reform measures that included no Lasix for 2-year-olds starting next year and the regulation that all stakes races in 2021 will be run without race-day Lasix, including the Triple Crown races. I do it every time: overschedule a visit to Portland, Ore. Leave it to a New Yorker to make one of the countrys most laid-back cities seem like a giant escape room with a gantlet of back-to-back appointments. Thankfully, I saved time for a vacation afterward. I craved a respite where I could withdraw. We could go to Antelope, my husband, Ronnie, joked, referring to the small central Oregon town taken over for a few years in the 1980s by the Rajneeshee community, subject of the documentary Wild Wild Country. As tempted as I was to drop out and join a cult, I had my eye on an even farther-flung part of the state: the northeastern corner just south of Washington and west of Idaho. I couldnt wait to leave workday stress in the rear-view mirror. Advertisement Day 1: Off the radar I built our journey around this alert on Minam River Lodges website: Please look forward to being unplugged! No cell, no internet? Just what I needed. Like most hideaways, the lodge is not easy to get to. From Portland, we flew into Walla Walla, Wash., and picked up a rental car. For two hours and 20 minutes, we drove past hay-covered fields and on twisting fir-flanked roads until we arrived in Enterprise, Ore. (Lou Spirito For The Times) Ironically, the next thing we had to do on this first day of a road trip was ditch the car. It was a requirement; the only ways to access the lodge are by a half-day on horseback, a four-hour hike or a 20-minute small plane flight. We chose the small plane, so we parked our car at a Cessna hangar in Enterprise. The pilot loaded our bags atop rolls of sod and kegs of beer, which he would drop at the ranch along with us. Without much ado, we took off, bounding over imposing ridges. After we landed on a small grass airstrip, a tractor took us to the main house. This former hunting lodge is set on 126 acres in the Eagle Cap Wilderness, but it was apparent we wouldnt be roughing it. Our room on the second floor was all rustic luxe, one wall of windows revealing expansive mountain views and dozens of horse and hiking trails. Most everything in the room was made of wood, burlap, stone, metal and leather. The king-size bed faced the windows. I looked forward to waking up to that view. But that would have to wait until morning. Now, it was time for happy hour. We wandered down to the lobby, noticing fellow guests easing into Adirondack chairs on the large deck off the dining room. In the kitchen, chef Carl Krause busily prepped for a 6 p.m. dinner. I stopped to watch him and gathered he was not just some camp cook. He exuded the quiet, centered competence of a kitchen Zen master. I would soon learn that sustainability rules his kitchen; he sources as much locally as he can. When the dinner bell rang, 16 of us took places around a long, sturdy table, eager for the family-style feast. We passed platters of pillowy gnocchi tossed with butternut squash and soft shreds of brisket; zucchini rounds sprinkled with aromatic hazelnut dukkah; green salad with creamy sunflower spruce dressing; braised collard greens; and shortcake with whipped cream and peaches. Dinner, accompanied by a Pinot Noir from Oregons Willamette Valley, was worth the trek alone. We moved back to the deck after dinner to finish the wine and were surprised when two of our dining companions grabbed guitars. They happened to be professionals from a band called J. Moses and the Ragged Sunday. Their folksy rock serenade, against the backdrop of the moonlit mountain range, eased us into bedtime. Full moon rising over J. Moses and the Ragged Sunday as they serenade the guests of Minam River Lodge. (Hernan F. Rodriguez) Day 2: Woodland creatures Whats the subway like? Wes, our guide, asked as we loped on horseback the next morning. I was atop a chestnut steed named Tony after finishing a breakfast as epic as the previous nights dinner. Wes pointed out a bald eagle swooping past. I told him that he would encounter more dangerous wildlife on the subway than in these glorious surroundings, but he corrected me. We also have wolverines, antelope, elk, deer, cougars, black bears, he said, causing me to look over my shoulder when we stopped at a clearing for lunch. After a four-hour ride, we returned to the lodge, grateful for the hot tub secluded in a thicket. Riders pause for a break on a ride near Minam River Lodge, which is surrounded by protected wilderness and is accessible only by 8.5-mile hike, horseback ride or a charter flight to its airstrip. (Evan G Schneider) Ronnie and I sat in it until pruney, then relaxed on the deck until it was time for another spectacular meal from Krause. The night again ended with live music and moonlight. Day 3: Perspective Renewed and rebooted, we reluctantly bade farewell to Minam River Lodge after a rousing morning hike. Back in Enterprise, we drove 10 minutes to check into the Barking Mad Farm B&B. We knew we would like it the minute we noticed the quote on the breakfast room wall: There has never been a sadness that cant be cured by breakfast food. The 42-acre farm was full of wildlife: a motley crew of piglets; braying brood of goats; meandering cows; grazing bison; and a coop full of chickens. The 1910 farmhouses most striking asset: 360-degree views of the Wallowa Mountains to the south and the Seven Devils to the east. They provided an impressive eyeful, but the best was yet to come. Fifteen miles down the road is the Wallowa Lake Tramway, a gondola that carries riders 3,700 feet to the peak of Mt. Howard. During the 15-minute ride, the views became increasingly expansive as formidable crags gave way to an eagle-eye view of the shining, crescent-shaped lake. At the summit, we embarked on an easy 2-mile hike to take in an even more spectacular panorama. When we descended, we drove a few minutes to the other side of the lake to explore downtown Joseph. Main Street is only six blocks long, but theres quite a bit to browse. An array of bronze sculptures depicting scenes of Western life lines the stretch, most notably Attitude Adjustment, a cowboy steadying a bucking rodeo horse. View of Main Street in Joseph, Ore. (Hernan F. Rodriguez) Youll also find a lumber mill, a hardware store and a bronze foundry alongside art galleries, vintage shops, clothing boutiques, artisanal food stores and restaurants. Were known as Little Switzerland, the cashier at Arrowhead Chocolates told me. Each September that parallel is celebrated during the towns Alpenfest. Arrowheads chocolate-covered toffee certainly highlighted the similarity. Day 4: Next stop: Hell After Cessna, horseback and tramway, we were eager to get back to the actual road part of this trip. When our wheels hit the Hells Canyon Scenic Byway we felt as though we were on the set of a car commercial, winding our way through mountain passes for three hours. We teetered between Oregon and Idaho time zones, stopped for cattle and curled along the mile-long Snake River, which divides the mighty, dauntingly named canyon. At our destination Hells Canyon Dam we parked and piled into a jet boat with a dozen others. Within a few minutes we soared across the river, the limestone canyon rims rising on either side of us. At points we jumped and jetted through Class II, III and IV rapids; in other sections, we glided along glassy water. We stopped at a grassy clearing for lunch, explored a cabin museum and spotted brown bears near the banks. A black bear sighting in Hells Canyon from a jet boat excursion on the Snake River. (Hernan F. Rodriguez) Such beauty caused me to wonder about the name. Why Hells Canyon? Perhaps as the deepest gorge in North America at 8,000 feet, Hells Canyon alludes to the notion that anyone unfortunate enough to plunge its depths would surely reach the netherworld. Back in the car, shaking off the adrenaline, I thought if that was hell, then heaven could wait. Day 5: Eastern promise The towering cupola of the Geiser Grand Hotel marked the center of Baker City, a little more than two hours southeast of Hells Canyon Dam. The hotel, a grande dame opened in 1889, is a lovingly restored beauty decked out in mahogany, sparkling chandeliers and a stained-glass ceiling. The city is named for Edward D. Baker, Oregons first senator. It was founded in 1870 and grew into an important trading, ranching and mining hub, becoming the largest city between Salt Lake City and Portland. More than 100 historic buildings, including the Art Deco Baker City Tower, make up Main Street and its surroundings. Dining room of the Historic Geiser Grand Hotel in Baker City. (Hernan F. Rodriguez) Baker City was also a significant encampment for pioneers as the first town established along the Oregon Trail in northeastern Oregon. The National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center is worth a stop for history buffs. The site, built around remaining ruts carved by pioneer wagons, features a replica wagon encampment, pioneer artifacts and exhibits about the areas Native American communities. Our stop included that dose of history; a walk down Main Street, trawling the clothing boutiques, art galleries, restaurants and coffee houses; and a hearty steak dinner at the Geiser Grand. The next morning, as we set off for the 2-hour drive back to Walla Walla, Ronnie asked, What are we doing when we get back to the city? I recalled those chaotic first few days in Portland. No plans, I answered. Lets keep it that way. If you go THE BEST WAY TO WALLA WALLA, WASH. From LAX, Alaska, American, Delta and United offering connecting service (change of planes) to Walla Walla. Restricted round-trip airfare from $318, including taxes and fees. Enterprise, Ore., is a six-hour drive from Portland or two hours 20 minutes from Walla Walla Regional Airport. WHERE TO STAY Minam River Lodge, Eagle Cap Wilderness, Ore.; (541) 508-1373. Wall tents from $195, double rooms from $245, cabins from $395. Minam River Lodges 2019 season runs until Oct. 14. Barking Mad Farm B&B, 65156 Powers Road, Enterprise, Ore.; (541) 886-0171. Doubles from $105. Geiser Grand Hotel, 1996 Main St., Baker City, Ore.; (888) 434-7374. Doubles from $109. WHERE TO EAT Terminal Gravity, 803 S.E. School St., Enterprise, Ore.; (541) 426-0158. Brewpub featuring excellent pale ales and solid pub grub. Valis Alpine Restauran, 59811 Wallowa Lake Highway, Joseph, Ore.; (541) 432-5691. Hungarian cuisine tucked into Little Switzerland. Desserts are a highlight. Palm Court, 1996 Main St., Baker City, Ore.; (888) 434-7374. Dine under the Wests largest stained-glass ceiling within the classic Geiser Grand Hotel. Beef, sourced from local ranches, is the specialty. TO LEARN MORE Travel Oregon travel@latimes.com @latimestravel I just had to respond to Chasing After Edward Abbey (Christopher Reynolds, May 19). Abbeys Desert Solitaire is one of the most accurate depictions of nature I have ever read. Also super photo of Arches National Park by Reynolds. I was pleased to see the Travel section could devote that much space to show its magnitude. Those large photo spreads add a lot to the section. Thank you. Spencer Covert Santa Ana Advertisement I enjoyed reading Reynolds piece on Abbey. Like Reynolds, I fell in love with his writing when I was in my 20s, although I never met him. I did work as a seasonal National Park Service ranger at Natural Bridges National Monument, a tiny park south of Arches, in 1980. I enjoyed reading Abbey that summer and exploring the fantastical parks, rivers and wild lands of the Colorado Plateau. I recently pared down my Abbey library, setting aside for donation a few volumes that were less inspiring to me, but keeping several of his essay collections, including The Journey Home. Who can forget stories such as Disorder and Early Sorrow, in which he describes an ill-fated off-road trip in Big Bend National Park, destroying his fiancees new Ford convertible and his relationship along the way? On a lighter note, Reynolds story has inspired me to think about a road trip down my own memory lane in southeastern Utah, where I spent a glorious summer in Gods (and Abbeys) country. Sam Atwood Claremont Better views Thanks for Sara Cagles two travel pieces (Where Blooms Are Still Wild, On the 101, a Trove of Treasures, May 19). We go to southwestern Colorado two or three times a year because my kids live there. May I note that she missed some of the best scenery and drives We skip Vegas and spend the night in St. George, Utah. The next day, veer right to Hurricane and drive through Zion National Park, a stunning drive. Better yet, skip St. George and spend the night at the lodge in the national park. Then connect to U.S. 89 north, parallel to Interstate 15, but who wants to drive on an interstate when you are in that gorgeous country and can take the much more scenic 89? (If you must go on I-15, there are lots of speed traps.) If you are in a hurry, take 89 straight to Interstate 70. Better to turn off 89, go right on Utah 12 and visit Bryce Canyon National Park. Or drive through if you are in a rush. Stay on 12, a beautiful drive, and go to Capitol Reef National Park, one of my favorite parks. Drive through it if you must. Stop and pick apricots at the honor orchards. Go to Hanksville and turn onto Utah 24. Dont neglect the vineyards near Fruita. Forget about Crested Butte. If you must see that area, take I-70 to Glenwood Springs, a beautiful drive along the river and through the canyons. Head south to Carbondale. You are not far from Aspen, but skip it. Go south on Colorado 133 to Redstone and Marble. Really interesting old towns with lots of specialty shops worth seeing. Visit Redstone Castle. Gorgeous drive down through Paonia and Hotchkiss. Like Switzerland. Some nice wineries there. When you come out on U.S. 50, you can turn left to Gunnison if you must. Better to turn right and stop at Black Canyon of the Gunnision National Park not far before Montrose. From Montrose, go south to Ridgway, but do not stay on U.S. 550. Take Colorado 62 and 145 and get ready for what is, in my opinion, the most scenic drive in the country, Ridgway to Dolores. Spectacular views of the San Juan Mountains. You will go right past Telluride, and one would be crazy not to spend some time there. It is a one-street old cowboy town, perhaps one of the best ski resorts in the country in the winter, a fun place to visit in the summer with every kind of festival: hang gliding, mushroom, jazz, chamber music, wine. If you have four-wheel drive, it is the best four-wheeling in the country, 600 miles of old mining trails way up into the mountains. By the way, the best wildflowers are at the high elevations up there. After spending a few days (or weeks) there (the highlight of the whole trip), return to 145, go through Lizard Head Pass, Rico (nice backwoods hotel and restaurant), stunning scenery. From Cortez, take U.S. 160 indicated. Stop at Kayenta, Ariz., one of the oldest continuously inhabited towns in North America (dates to about 1100). But at Cameron, Ariz., dont go to Flagstaff. Get on Arizona 64 and go to the Grand Canyon. Stay at the lodge on the South Rim if you make reservations way in advance. And I completely disagree with the U.S. 101 venture. Take Interstate 5 to Interstate 580, then Interstate 680, then north to Napa wineries. Go on the Silverado Trail (not California 29) to Calistoga. California 128 is a beautiful drive to Geyserville (skip Healdsburg). Cloverdate, Boonville, Navarro and the Redwoods National and State Parks. You come out just south of Mendocino. Drive California. 1 along the coast to Albion, Elk, Timber Cove, Jenner, turn inland on Calfiornia 116 into the heart of the Sonoma and Russian River wineries. To go to Duncans Mills and Guerneville, work your way through vineyards to U.S. 101. Or stay on 1 down the coast through Bodega Bay, Point Reyes National Seashore, over the Golden Gate and back home on 101, with lots of interesting stops along the way. Roger Johnson San Clemente Open house Readers might be interested to know that the Owens Valley Radio Observatory will be holding an open house from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. June 8. The observatorys website states: Tour of one of the worlds premier radio observatories, learn how radio telescopes work, find out about current astronomy projects. Water will be available. Directions: Just north of Big Pine, turn east off Highway 395 onto Highway 168. Go 2 1/4 miles, then turn left onto Leighton Lane. Go 4 miles north and through the gate. Follow the sign toward the big telescope. For more information, visit bit.ly/owensvalleyradioobservatory Cynthia Falter Rancho Palos Verdes travel@latimes.com @latimestravel For generations, families on both sides of the Pakistan-Afghanistan border worked together to till the fields of wheat, corn and rice that spread across the rugged plains. With no physical boundary between the countries, the families joined forces every year to desilt the canal that irrigated the lands. They shared not only ethnic and blood bonds, but also the harvests from the fertile soil. But a year and a half ago, the cross-border farming came to a stop. The Pakistani army began erecting a chain-link fence topped with coils of razor wire. Syed Gul, a Pakistani farmer who owns 20 acres that straddle both sides near the Pakistani town of Kharlachi, cannot access the Afghan side, and Pakistani soldiers have told him not even to approach the land that lies inside Pakistan because getting too close to the fence would constitute a security breach. Advertisement The land has been made barren since the government fenced the border, said Gul, 55. The barrier is part of the Pakistani governments response to long-standing criticisms that it has failed to control the movement of militants across the porous border. Its border management plan, launched in 2017, calls for a divider along all 1,600 miles of the frontier, with backing by closed-circuit television cameras and drone footage, along with hundreds of checkpoints. The army said in January that about 560 miles of fence had been completed at a cost of about $460 million. The region, which consists of 10,400 square miles of tribal land, was once considered a haven for Al Qaeda, the Taliban and other militant outfits. Some 3 million civilians have been displaced there over the past decade. The area has been relatively calm since the army launched an offensive beginning in 2014 that it said cleared out the insurgents. Islamabad says the fencing will disrupt militants plotting terrorist attacks in Afghanistan and Pakistan. But in an impoverished and undeveloped region, where farming and illicit cross-border trade were among the only sources of income, the fence has upended lives. Guls Pashtun ethnic group has seen both sides of the border as its homeland for centuries. Pashtuns moved freely across it during the British colonial era, even after the 1893 Durand Line agreement formally demarcated the boundary. We never considered it a border between two countries, Gul said. People did not seek verbal permission from the officials patrolling the border when they needed to work in their fields on the Afghanistan side. A Pakistani soldier is seen near a fence erected along the Afghanistan border. (Handout) Pakistanis from certain tribes living along the border once needed only a red pass issued by the Pakistani tribal affairs department in the city of Peshawar that allowed unlimited movement back and forth across the border. The pass was gradually withdrawn in the 1970s and 1980s, but since then most Pakistanis crossed into Afghanistan without visas. I got on the bus with my friends in Peshawar and went to Kabul by bus to watch Indian movies in the cinema, recalled Ziaul Haq Sarhadi, a 65-year-old trader in Peshawar. The fence has cut off thousands of families who share the same culture, traditions, language, religion and land. Many people in Pakistans tribal region sold their lands inside Afghanistan when the border management plan was introduced. We sold 100 acres of land in Paktika a border province in eastern Afghanistan at a throwaway price, said Dilawar Wazir, a resident of Pakistans South Waziristan tribal district. Official trade between the two countries has also fallen, harming Afghanistans landlocked and war-battered economy. Pakistani exports to Afghanistan, which amounted to $2.6 billion in 2010-11, fell to $1.4 billion last year, according to government statistics. Ibrahim Shinwari, a small businessman living in the Khyber tribal district, said Pakistans border plan has left 2,500 people jobless in the border town of Torkham, formerly a major transit terminal for goods between the two countries that was also used by U.S.-led international forces to bring supplies into Afghanistan. Six out of nine restaurants in Torkham have closed, he said, and the daily flow of vehicles crossing in and out of Afghanistan has slowed from the thousands to the hundreds. No more is the place buzzing with economic activity as it once did, Shinwari said. All that hustle and bustle has died down into economic depression. Azmat Hayat, former director of the Area Study Center at the University of Peshawar, said that before the U.S. invaded Afghanistan in 2001, the border was ignored. The Durand Line is a reality because of the changing geostrategic situation in the region, Hayat said. Traditions are also dying, with families on either side of the border unable to celebrate festivals together or visit the houses of sick or deceased relatives on the other side to offer condolences. It has brought an end to family relations, said Nadir Manan, a Pakistani who said he couldnt attend the recent wedding of his niece in Afghanistan. Pakistans former ambassador to Afghanistan, Rustam Shah Mohmand, called the fencing disastrous and said it violated more than a centurys worth of agreements between the countries to allow free movement, particularly of families with historical ties to the land. The government cannot stop cross-border movement of terrorists by erecting the fence, Mohmand said. It just cuts off families and will cause acrimony between the two countries. Ali is a special correspondent. Facing a looming deadline, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu struggled to form a new government Sunday, and his party began preparing the nation for the possibility of new elections. Last month, Netanyahu and his natural allies on the right came out on top in a hotly contested race in which he faced political novice Benny Gantz, a former army chief of staff, running in partnership with centrist Yair Lapid, a former minister of finance. Under Israeli law, Netanyahu was then tasked to form the next government by President Reuven Rivlin. But with no coalition agreement signed and less than three days left to form the government, Netanyahu may find himself unable to do so. On Sunday, Likud legislator and Netanyahu ally Miki Zohar submitted a bill to dissolve the Knesset, which, if successful, would bypass Rivlins right to then nominate the leader of another party, likely Gantz, to make his own attempt to form a new government. Advertisement Israeli citizens do not vote for individual candidates but for political parties, and Netanyahus Likud and Gantzs Blue and White party came in nearly even, with 36 seats for Likud and 35 for Gantzs party out of 120 in the Knesset, Israels parliament. To form a government, Netanyahu has been seeking the support of smaller parties that won seats, including ultra-Orthodox Jewish religious parties and the secular nationalist Yisrael Beitenu party of Avigdor Lieberman, his former defense minister. Publicly, the reason given for the current stalemate is an intractable conflict between Lieberman and the religious parties regarding a law on the military draft of ultra-Orthodox young men, most of whom are currently exempt from Israels universal draft of high-school graduates. While Netanyahu may still find a last-minute solution to keep power, a raft of political and legal crises have brought him close to the May 29 deadline with a shrinking range of options. The central issues of the recent election -- his legal entanglements, new legislation that could transform Israels democracy and equality among citizens -- appear the principal obstacles bedeviling his political future. Netanyahu has been fighting off indictments since February, when Atty. Gen. Avichai Mandelblit announced his intention to formally charge the prime minister with fraud, breach of trust and bribery, pending a hearing scheduled for October. Netanyahu, while campaigning, promised he would not support any legislation that could provide him with immunity while in office or otherwise lessen his legal burden. But once he won, Netanyahus first steps were exactly those he promised not to undertake, including his failed attempt, two weeks ago, to insert into any coalition agreements, which are signed contracts, a commitment to support a bill granting legal immunity to the head of the government and another bill that would allow the Knesset to override Supreme Court decisions. The draft bills appeared designed to retroactively grant Netanyahu almost absolute protection from legal prosecution, and have thrown Israel into an uproar that has included an emergency summit of top Israeli lawyers and jurists calling on the public to save the rule of law. Late Saturday night, tens of thousands of Israelis rallied in central Tel Aviv in the first opposition protest since the April 9 elections, a protest organized by opposition parties and civil society groups. Speakers returned again and again to the theme of Netanyahus attempts to weaken Israels democratic space, in the words of Ayman Odeh, chairman of the Arab-Jewish Hadash party and one of the evenings speakers. Red hats in the form of traditional Turkish fezes were handed out to the crowd. And to further draw a parallel to events underway in a favorite nearby vacation spot for Israelis, Yair Lapid exhorted rally-goers not to allow Netanyahu to turn Israel into Turkey under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose rule has brought a significant rollback of civil liberties. We will not let you be Erdogan, we will not have a Turkish dictator here, we will not let you destroy the country! Lapid said. What does he think, that well sit here quietly? That hell destroy the courts and well be silent? Using a common nickname for Erdogan, the sultan, Gantz declared, We will not let Israel become the private mansion of a sultan or a royal family. Using refrains familiar to Americans, candidate Netanyahu had been able to fend off the claims by referring to the investigations into his activities as part of a left-wing witch hunt aimed at toppling his rule. But having won and immediately moved to secure legal immunity from the charges, Netanyahu now appears more vulnerable to the accusations. The notion of a looming sultanate under Netanyahu echoed throughout the evening, with left-wing Meretz party leader Tamar Zandberg calling the efforts at legal immunity a disgrace. No one is above the law, she said. We do not have a king in Israel. We do not have a czar or a sultan. In the crowds thronging the square in front of Tel Avivs opera house, a different word was repeated: fear. I am very afraid, said Amos Morris- Reich, a professor who had driven down from Haifa with friends to join the rally. This is not just talk any more, but a real threat to our democratic institutions and to our Supreme Court. It is impossible not to be afraid. Late Sunday, a subdued Netanyahu posted a video in which he said he was engaged in a final effort to avoid unnecessary elections and was inviting potential coalition partners to a meeting to discuss a new compromise. Following the session, ultra-Orthodox parties appeared to have accepted his proposal, which was quickly rejected by Lieberman. Tarnopolsky is a special correspondent. Netanyahu says Trump named Irans Revolutionary Guard a terrorist group at his request On paper, Libya should be booming. Its one of the worlds top 10 countries in oil reserves. It has more than a thousand miles of coastline on the Mediterranean. And it serves as a vital conduit linking Africa, Europe and the Middle East. But since the Arab Spring revolutions in 2011, when rebel forces, augmented by NATO airstrikes and enforcement of a no-fly zone, toppled the countrys longtime ruler, Col. Moammar Kadafi, the northern African nation has lurched from one crisis to another. Rather than Libya having money to burn, rival Libyan fighters have done little more than use it to burn each other and the country along with them. Advertisement 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 [own] money, said Ghassan Salame, the United Nations envoy to Libya and a Lebanese (and therefore no stranger to civil wars), in a bitter talk he delivered at the New York-based International Peace Institute on Wednesday. Whats happening now? Last month, Khalifa Haftar, who served under Kadafi as a general but eventually sought to overthrow him, launched an all-out offensive to wrest Tripoli, the capital, from the U.N.-recognized Government of National Accord. But his self-styled Libyan National Army, despite having made significant gains in eastern and southern Libya, has been stymied in attempts to enter the capital, home to more than 2.5 million people, by armed factions loyal to the GNA. As the fighting stretches into its eighth week, it threatens to plunge the country into yet another all-out civil war, its third since Kadafi was ousted and later killed in October 2011. Meanwhile, more than 75,000 Tripoli residents have fled their homes, and hundreds have been killed. The capitals southern outskirts have become ravaged front-line areas, and on Friday, the GNA accused Haftars forces of launching a rocket attack on a luxury hotel in the city center used for government meetings. How did we get to this point? The groups that rose in 2011 had little in common other than hatred of Kadafi. Once he was shot to death after being captured in a drainage pipe in the coastal city of Surt, militias that had been organized along tribal or ideological lines turned on each other. With no true national actor among them (politics is a local affair in Libya, a result of Kadafi playing off different sides so a clear challenger would never emerge), the country fractured into a vicious free-for-all. Criminal and Islamist groups, including Al Qaeda and Islamic State, operated in full view of a government unable (and often unwilling) to do anything about them. In 2014, Haftar emerged as a figure who could dislodge the Islamists from eastern Libya and the city of Benghazi, where militants had attacked a U.S. diplomatic outpost two years earlier, killing Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three of his staffers. It took years to do so, but, crucially, Haftar also managed to seize petroleum infrastructure in the east and keep the oil flowing. In the meantime, a rival government arose in the east and appointed him as the head of the Libyan National Army, which includes a core of Kadafi-era officers and soldiers as well as a number of other armed groups, including Salafists. To stanch further bloodshed, the sides agreed to create an interim government, the GNA, led by Prime Minister Fayez Sarraj, an engineer by profession. But the GNA has proved weak, and had until recently made little progress toward holding elections and strengthening state institutions. It is also seen as beholden to four armed factions that have entrenched themselves in the inner workings of the state and its finances. With the east and southern parts of the country already in his hands, Haftar decided that, rather than work with the GNA, he would take the capital and claim power for himself. So who is fighting him? The four major factions controlling the capital, known as the Tripoli Protection Force, have mounted the main defense. They are what is known as the Tripoli Revolutionaries Brigade, the Nawasi Battalion, the Abu Salim Central Security Forces and the Bab Tajoura Brigade. (The names reflect the tribal and location-conscious nature of their formation.) Theyve been joined by groups from western Libyan cities such as Zintan and Misurata; the latter are known to be especially fierce fighters. Also with them are Islamists seeking to pay back their losses at Haftars hands. Its hard to say who the good guys are. The cast of characters on both sides includes fighters and commanders sanctioned by the U.N. or indicted by the International Criminal Court. Does Haftar have international support? The GNA has U.N. recognition, and, at least outwardly, countries have given it their support. But in reality, Haftar has received funds, weapons and materiel, as well as logistical support, from the United Arab Emirates, France, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Russia and others. The GNA has received assistance including funds from Qatar and weapons from Turkey. Last week, there were reports of a delivery of mine-resistant vehicles to the GNA from Turkey. Libya, said Salame on Wednesday, is a textbook example of foreign interference today in local conflicts. Between six and 10 countries are permanently interfering in Libyas problem, he said. Whats the reaction of the U.S.? In a word, confused. The recent flareup pushed the U.S. to remove a contingent of its troops from Libya, and U.S. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo issued a statement in April saying a political solution was the only way to unify Libya. There is no military solution, he said. We have made clear that we oppose the military offensive by Khalifa Haftars forces and urge the immediate halt to these military operations against the Libyan capital, he said. But that sentiment was later torpedoed by President Trump, who in a phone call to Haftar lauded the strongmans significant role in fighting terrorism and securing Libyas oil resources. It was followed by a statement from acting U.S. Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan, who said that Washington needed Haftars support in building democratic stability there in the region. Haftar is also naturalized U.S. citizen, not to mention a onetime CIA asset. That pushed a number of lawmakers last week to send a letter to the Justice Department asking to investigate Haftar for alleged war crimes. For Tripoli residents, snatches of normality in a life disrupted - The vice presidential candidate for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has urged the governor-elect for Zamfara state to work for the people - Peter Obi advised Bello Matawalle and other PDP candidates declared winners of the National and State Houses of Assembly to see their victory as a challenge to work hard and to uplift Zamfara - According to Obi, God has a reason for making Matawalle to have the mandate of the people of the embattled state at the moment Peter Obi, the vice presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the February election, has urged the Zamfara governor-elect, Bello Matawalle to work for the people. Obi gave the advice in a statement issued by his media office on Saturday, May 25, in Abuja. He advised Matawalle and other PDP candidates declared winners of the National and State Houses of Assembly elections by the ruling of the Supreme Court to see their victory as a challenge to work hard and to uplift Zamfara. He said that God must have a reason for making Matawalle to have the mandate of the people of the embattled state at the moment. Obi said that the fallout from Zamfara should teach politicians a lesson that God has the final say on who gets what position. The former Governor of Anambra told those who emerged victorious in Zamfara that the current security situation in the state had thrown up a huge challenge for them. He said that being a beneficiary of the rule of law they should do everything humanly possible while in office to uphold the sanctity of the judiciary as a critical component of democratic rule. He also praised the Judiciary for always being there to right the wrong of politicians, saying that it was the reason the system created separation of powers. Obi urged politicians to see the fallout from Zamfara as a reason to believe in the supremacy of God in all their struggles for political power and positions. Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that Governor Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara state has described the Supreme Court ruling which sacked all candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state as the will of God. READ ALSO: NAIJ.com upgrades to Legit.ng: a letter from our Editor-in-Chief Bayo Olupohunda Yari told APC supporters at the state government house in Gusau on Saturday, May 25, that the party in the state did its best to ensure it did not lose the state to the opposition party but could not succeed. He said what happened is the will of Allah and urged all members of the party as well as other citizens of the state to remain calm, peaceful and law abiding. INEC announces Buhari as 2019 election winner, Nigerians react | Legit TV Source: Legit.ng - A human rights group has petitioned the UN and United States of America over terrorists' attacks in Nigeria and West Africa - The group said more can be done to totally shut out activities of the Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) - According to the group, terrorism is a global threat that needs proactive measures and the best available way is by launching a global coalition A London-based human rights group, Global Amnesty Watch, has called on the United Nations and United States of America to join forces with Nigeria to confront terrorism in West Africa. The rights group said terrorism is a global threat that needs proactive measures and the best available way is by launching a global coalition. In a statement signed by John Tom Lever, GAW's head African Regional Affairs, the group said while the exploits of the Nigerian Army is leading the way in the sub-region, more can be done to totally shut out activities of the Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP). Also commending the Nigerian Government in the fight against terrorism in north east region of Nigeria, the group said the resurgence of ISWAP around Lake Chad means continuing conflict for Nigeria and neighboring states. It also said that majority of civilians are often caught in the crossfire between the terrorists and the troops. The statement said: The Global Amnesty Watch believes that the situation is the Lake Chad basin requires urgent intervention from organizations such as the United Nations to join forces with Nigeria to confront the challenge that activities of ISWAP present." GAW also alleged that necessary authorities have not given the nefarious activities of ISWAP in Nigeria and the West African sub-region the needed attention in the world. READ ALSO: FG's N500bn social programmes failed in the north - Aisha Buhari laments This is on the heels of the fact that the United Nations General Assembly had adopted the Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy on 8 September 2006 as a unique global instrument to enhance national, regional and international efforts to counter terrorism by addressing the conditions conducive to the spread of terrorism, putting in measures to prevent and combat terrorism and to build states capacity to prevent and combat terrorism. The Global Amnesty Watch consequently wonders why such measures have not been extended to the Nigerian authorities in combating the activities of ISWAP in Nigeria and the West African Sub-region. The Global Amnesty Watch thinks that the United Nations will be failing in its obligations if it fails to curtail ISWAP which operates mostly around Chad, Niger and Cameroonian borders to threaten the life of the civilian population," the group's statement said. Warning that ISWAP is gaining ground, and influence, around the Lake Chad Basin area, spreading out from Nigeria into Chad and Niger, GAW called the attention of the world to the urgent need for support to Nigeria in the fight against terrorism. The world must treat the ISWAP threat as a matter of great importance due to the strategic role of Nigeria in the West African sub-region. The United Nations as a matter of urgency must assemble a Coalition of Forces from member countries of the United Nations to join forces with the Nigerian military in curtailing the activities of ISWAP that is threating the relative peace and tranquility in Nigeria and the West African sub region. The Multinational Joint Task Force in the region needs to be strengthened as recent events have shown that ISWAP is still very much around the Lake Chad Basin and without a UN Coalition of Forces, the countries are unlikely to curtail ISWAP fighters at the borders of these countries," GAW said in the statement. The group further called for a Global Coalition against acts of terrorism in the Lake Chad Basin to put an end to the nefarious activities of Boko Haram and ISWAP terrorists. PAY ATTENTION: Download our mobile app to enjoy the latest news update Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that a professor of Islamic studies at the Kwara state university (KWASU), Sulieman Jamiu, has said that the statement by former President Olusegun Obasanjo on the fulanisation and Islamisation of Nigeria is inciting. The university don who also doubled as the deputy vice chancellor (academics) of KWASU said this in Kwara during the Ramanda lecture organized by the university of Ilorin, The Nation reports. Professor Jamiu said he was shocked by the statement, considering the fact that it was taken by a former president and the place the statement was made, saying it could encourage violence. NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng. We have upgraded to serve you better Obasanjo bombs Buhari again, says FG is empowering Boko Haram | Legit TV Source: Legit.ng Emerging report has claimed that there is rising tension around Dutse Uku, Cele Bridge and Rikkos in Jos North local government area of Plateau state. Youths in the areas were said to be burning down houses. Daily Trust reports that a witness said men of Operation Safe Haven had been deployed to the areas to calm the situation. Legit.ng notes that witness said: "Presently security agents are stationed between Dutse Uku and Anguwan Damisa; there are also men of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and the Nasarawa Gwom police division. READ ALSO: New radio station is not only for Fulani herdsmen - NBC According to report, a discovery of a corpse in a well in March had sparked tension in the area when youths began to mobilise to launch reprisals before they were later dispersed by security agents. Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that three persons and about 319 cattle have been killed in fresh violence which erupted in different parts of Bassa local government area of Plateau state. The state police spokesperson, Tyopev Terna, said the 319 cattle were killed in Billi and Ariri districts of the local government areas. The cattle were reportedly killed a day after three people were killed, one was injured and two cattle rearers went missing in Maiyanga and Rotsu villages. Terna said: The Plateau state police command, Jos, received information on 29/04 /2019 at about 0800hrs to the effect that unknown gunmen attacked Maiyanga area of Miango district.As a result, one Jummai Jah f 25yrs and Emmanuel Ishaya m 37yrs were killed. PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigerias #1 news app "A 7 months old girl, Tabitha, survived with a neck injury and is receiving treatment at Enos Hospital at Miango. The information also emphasised that Monday Audu of Rotsu village also in Miango district was shot and matched (macheted) to death." NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng We have updated to serve you better Buhari should put an end to banditry, unrest in Zamfara - Nigerians cry | Legit TV Source: Legit.ng About 20 people gathered Sunday at McKeen Park in South Side Easton to honor those who gave the ultimate sacrifice, including the mayor of a Utah town and those who fought in the Normandy invasion. The annual Memorial Day program, held by the Rice-Ebner American Legion Auxiliary No. 588, began at 1 p.m. at McKeen Park. Remarks were offered by Timothy Reilly, commander of Post No. 588, and Easton Mayor Sal Panto Jr. Reilly discussed the fate of 39-year-old Major Brent Taylor, a husband and father of seven, whom he called an inspiration to millions. Taylor just before Election Day 2018 posted on Facebook while serving in Afghanistan: As the USA gets ready to vote in our own election Tuesday, I hope everyone back home exercises their precious write to vote. And that whether Republicans or Democrats win, that we all remember that we have far more as Americans that unites us than divides us. Taylor, the mayor of Odgen, Utah, was on his fourth deployment. He never made it home. Taylor was killed in Afghanistan Nov. 3, 2018 during an insider attack near Kabul, The New York Times reported. Reilly told the small crowd Taylor did not need to serve the military and like all U.S. veterans of the Global War on Terrorism, he chose to serve the military. Even though many fallen heroes from previous wars have been conscripted into service, there is always a way out for those committed to avoiding such danger, Reilly said. June 6 will mark the 75th anniversary of the Normandy invasion. American Legion National Commander Brett Reistad is expected to lead the delegation to the shores of France in tribute of thousands of allied heroes who gave their lives to liberate a continent, Reilly said. "Labels that we hurl today like Democrat, Republican, red state and blue state matter little when facing mines and machine gunfire while charging a beach, he said. "Politics are irrelevant to a family that hears, We regret to inform you. " Reilly urged others to be supportive of families who lost a loved one while serving the country. Nobody can replace these fallen heroes, he said. but we can offer shoulders to cry on and assurances that their loved ones sacrifice will not be forgotten. Panto said Memorial Day is a time to remember not just those died, but those who served and who continue to serve. He thanked the Rice-Ebner American Legion Auxiliary for continuing the tradition each year. The program also included the Pledge of Allegiance, singing of the National Anthem, and other patriotic musical selections by the St. Josephs Mens Choir. It ended with a reading of a poem titled, In Flanders Fields, which was written during World War I by Canadian Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae. Betty Rush, president of the Legion, read, We are the dead; short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved and were loved, and now we lie In Flanders fields. The reading was followed by placing of a wreath adorned with red, white and blue flowers and ribbon as guests bowed their heads in remembrance. Chaplain Diane Pierzga led the benediction. The tribute ended with the playing of the TAPS, a gun salute, and singing of God Bless America by the St. Josephs Mens Choir. Scroll through the top of this page for scenes from the Rice-Ebner American Legion Auxiliary No. 588 Memorial Day Ceremony. Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @pamholzmann. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. The former boyfriend of a pregnant woman is accused of breaking into her Easton home and beating her. Dawyne Aljammal Duval, of Philadelphia, is charged with aggravated assault, simple assault, burglary, criminal trespass and criminal mischief in the crime. Police said the incident began just before 2 p.m. this past Saturday at a home in the first block of South West St. Officers found a broken window on a locked front door and could hear a woman screaming inside, police said. Duval tried to leave through a back door of the home, but was taken into custody by police. The woman was found bruised and bleeding, telling investigators she believed she was pregnant, police said. Duval, whom the victim described as a former boyfriend, allegedly kicked her, kneed her, and hit her with a chair and a bag full of metal objects during the assault. The victim was taken to an area hospital for treatment; its unclear how far along in the pregnancy she is or what led to the altercation. Duval was arraigned by a district judge, who set bail at $50,000. He has an active state warrant for failure to return to a halfway/parole residence in Philadelphia, police said. He is being detained at Northampton County Prison on that warrant. Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @pamholzmann. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. Pennsylvania State Police are investigating a hit-and-run accident involving a tractor trailer along I-80 in Stroud Township, Monroe County. State police in Stroudsburg said the accident happened at 1:20 p.m. this past Wednesday. Taylor A. Farley, 19, of East Stroudsburg was driving a 2006 Toyota Corolla at mile marker 305. The highway in that section allows for two lanes of travel for eastbound traffic and another two lanes of travel for westbound traffic. Police said Farley was headed east in the right lane and slowed down due to heavy traffic in front of him. The driver of a tractor trailer in back of Farley hit the back bumper of the Toyota, switched lanes and passed Farley before continuing down the highway. Farley was not injured and wearing a seat-belt at the time of the accident. The car sustained minor damage, according to police. Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @pamholzmann. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. Ricketts Glen State Park, a bucket-list destination for hikers, waterfall enthusiasts and others, will mark its 75th year as a state park from 2:30-3:30 p.m. Sunday, May 26. The state park near Benton in northeastern Pennsylvania has an international reputation for its Glens Natural Area, a national natural landmark. The Falls Trail is a 7.2-miles loop of sometimes slippery, always steep, rocky, physically challenging path and stairs leading past 21 named waterfalls, ranging in height from 11 feet to the towering, 94-foot Ganoga Falls. Along the trail stands Midway Crevasse, a narrow passageway between large blocks of Pocono sandstone and conglomerate that have been split apart along natural fractures that cut across the layering of the bedrock. The fractures were formed by the tremendous stresses that were placed on the rocks when they were buried under other sedimentary layers. Smaller blocks, partly covered by leaf litter, cover the ground surface from the crevasse to a bedrock ledge about 100 feet upslope to the north. The blocks have split off this ledge and moved down the gentle slope to their present position, Midway Crevasse. The trail there follows one of the more prominent spaces between the transported blocks. Ricketts Glen also features a range of other trails, totaling 26 miles, that are the primary feature of the 13,050-acre park in Columbia, Luzerne and Sullivan counties. Robert Bruce Ricketts, who rose from the rank of private to colonel in the U.S. Army over the course of the Civil War and commanded artillery Battery F of the Grand Army of the Potomac in the Battle of Gettysburg, in 1868 bought and leased more than 80,000 acres in the area of todays state park. Fishermen exploring the lower reaches of Kitchen Creek discovered some of the waterfalls. Subsequent explorations revealed many additional waterfalls along the two branches of Kitchen Creek that cut through deep gorges and then united at Waters Meet to flow through a glen among giant pines, hemlocks and oaks. Colonel Ricketts built trails to the area of the waterfalls, which came to be known as the Glens Natural Area. A member of the Wyoming Historical and Geological Society, Col. Ricketts named many of the waterfalls after American Indian tribes. He also named waterfalls for his friends and family. (More history of the area will be revealed in a guided tour of the site where the town of Ricketts once stood at 5 p.m. Saturday, May 25, and again at 10 a.m. Monday, May 27.) The lower glen came to be called Ricketts Glen. Many of the magnificent trees in this area are more than 300 years old. Diameters of almost four feet are common and many trees tower to 100 feet in height. The area is the meeting ground of the southern and northern hardwood types, creating an extensive variety of trees. After his death, Colonel Rickettss heirs sold 48,000 acres to the Pennsylvania Game Commission. Another 12,000 acres surrounding the Ganoga Lake, Lake Jean and Glens area was approved as a national park site, but those plans were scrapped as the U.S. entered World War II. Ricketts heirs in 1941 sold 1,261 acres, including the Falls and Glens area, to Pennsylvania to create a state park. They sold another 10,000 acres to the state from 1943-49. Recreational facilities opened in 1944. The Glens became a registered national natural landmark in 1969, and a state park natural area to be protected and maintained in a natural state in 1993. Ricketts Glen offers 120 tent and trailer camping sites, 13 cabins, a youth group tent-camping area, 2 picnic areas with tables and charcoal grills, 12.5 miles of trail open for horseback riding, and a 245-acre lake. The state park also is known for its exceptional diversity of bird life, from 23 varieties of warblers to bald eagles, which is to why it is included in the official Audubon Susquehanna River Birding and Wildlife Trail, which connects some of Pennsylvanias finest birding and wildlife viewing sites, as well as important historical and natural areas. According to the Flora of Ricketts Glen Project, 362 species of plants identified within the park as of May 23. The project is run by George Chamuris of the Department of Biological and Allied Health Sciences at Bloomsburg University. Ricketts Glen is one of 121 state parks managed statewide by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. 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. IN THE space of a few weeks Sean Byrnes, aged 14, has been honoured by the gardai with a national youth award and by Mayor James Collins. Oh, and he also completed his fifth Regeneron Great Limerick Run. Sean, who has spina bifida and hydrocephalus, has a powerful motto all things are possible. Dont let it be about your disability, let it be about your ability, says Sean, from Caherconreafy, Pallasgreen. Mayor Collins was so impressed with Sean after meeting him at the start line of the Great Limerick Run that he invited him to City Hall. Sean was accompanied by proud parents Fiona and John; Roger Corcoran, vice principal of Scoil Na Trionoide Naofa, Doon, and representatives of Mid-West Spinabifida & Hydrocephalus Association, Limerick Michael Coughlan, chairperson, Bill Purcell, Arelene Hickey and Seans youngest supporter Ben Hickey. Ben completed his first Regeneron Great Limerick Run 10k and raised 140 to support Seans vision to start Limericks first hand trike club to share and pass on the positive experience he has had in the past five years. Sean completed his fifth Great Limerick Run on his hand trike with mum Fiona at his side. He showed his Garda Youth Award trophy to Mayor Collins. Sean said it was a privilege to be selected from over 400 nominations from across Ireland to be one of the 22 finalists was truly an honour. To be acknowledged by An Garda Siochana and my principal Miss Casey for activities I take part in as part of a healthy balanced lifestyle was amazing, said Sean. Dad, John said it was another memorable day for Sean since he participated in his first Great Limerick Run 10k at the age of nine on his hand trike. Coincidentally he met then Mayor Michael Sheahan back then. Who would have thought five years on it gets better year after year. Sean wants to encourage, inspire others with disabilities and challenges to get up and try something new be adventurous and have fun! Each trike costs 1,500 to 2,000, said John. Seans aim to purchase five hand trikes to get the club up in motion. You can support Sean by logging onto https://www.idonate.ie/ rglr10ksean He has already raised almost 1,800. Sean thanked everyone who has donated to date and helping him to help others. Mayor Collins said Sean is a truly remarkable young man. As soon as I heard of his remarkable journey and achievements, I invited Sean and his family to come in, so that this office could officially thank and congratulate him. I think the story of Sean Byrnes and his hand trike club plan is an inspirational one, said Mayor Collins, who presented Sean with a signed copy of Treaty Triumph. Yesterday, billionaire politician and businessman, Ned Nwoko and his team arrived Asaba, Delta state in three private jets convoy to attend the 27th May Children's Day event organised and hosted by his new wife, actress Regina Daniels. He flew to his home state in company of his cute daughters and some of his political aides, members of Coalition of Nigeria Entertainers, media team and Young Enterpreneurs. See more photos below... The Department of State Services has warned those behind the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra to have a rethink or be prepared to face the consequences of their action. According to the service, it is prepared to maintain adequate security across Nigeria, saying it will not allow any person or group to obstruct the freedom of law-abiding citizens. Spokesperson for the DSS, Peter Afunnaya, said this in a telephone interview with Punch, in Abuja, on Friday. He was reacting to the May 30 sit-at-home order given by the IPOB in the South-East. Afunnaya said, The service will not condone people taking the law into their hands and obstructing the freedom of others. The constitution is clear on the fundamental human rights of people and no person should deliberately infringe on the rights of anyone outside the laws of the land. The service in the line of its mandate will ensure that adequate security is maintained in all parts of the country and people who take the law into the hands or cause the breakdown of law and order should be ready to face the consequences. He explained that for the avoidance of doubt, the warning applied to all subversive elements operating under any guise. Meanwhile, the sit-at-home order by IPOB has continued to generate mixed reactions from some residents of Enugu State. It may look like an "f," but that's actually a "long s" in "Congress." If you've ever had the pleasure of looking at a centuries-old manuscript, like an original handwritten copy of the U.S. Bill of Rights or a first-edition printing of John Milton's epic poem "Paradise Lost," you may have stumbled over an unfamiliar letter: the long s. To modern readers, the long s (written as '') might make you think you're catching misspellings or typos like "Congrefs" instead of "Congress" or "Loft" instead of "Lost." Look closer though and you'll notice that, unlike an f, the character either has no crossbar or only a nub on the left side of the staff. Though it may seem more like an f, the letter is just another variation of the lowercase s. Where did the long s come from and why has this character largely disappeared? John Overholt, a curator at Harvard University's Houghton Library, told Live Science that the long s originated in handwriting and was later adopted in typography when printing became widespread in Europe during the Renaissance. Related: Why do people hate Comic Sans so much? The long s can be traced back to Roman times, when the lowercase s typical took an elongated form in cursive writing in Latin. According to librarians at the New York Academy of Medicine, people were using the long s at the beginning and middle of words by the 12th century. The long s and the more familiar short s represent the same sound, and the rules for using long s versus short s varied over time and place, Overholt said. Some of the rules written in English included not using the long s at the end of a word ("success" becomes "ucces") and not using the long s before an f ("transfuse" becomes "transfue") and always using the short s before an apostrophe. Overholt said that while there may have been consistent standards for using the long s, these rules were also a little arbitrary, like the rules that govern capitalization. "There's a generally agreed upon practice in a given time and place for what constitutes standard capitalization, but it's changed significantly over time within the English language, and today, for example, the rules in English and German are distinctly different," Overholt said. (In German all nouns, not just proper ones, are capitalized, so that "nature" becomes "Natur," for example.) The long s started to be seen as antiquated in the late 18th century, Overholt said, and it began disappearing. Different sources blame different people for the death of the long s. In France, publisher and printer Francois-Ambroise Didot abandoned the long s in his new more modern typeface around 1782. Soon after, the English bookseller and publisher John Bell omitted the long s in his editions of Shakespeare's texts, reasoning that it would prevent confusion with the letter f and keep the lines of the text more open visually. The end of the long s was quite abrupt in English printing, occurring around 1800, but the character lingered a little longer in the U.S. Outside of manuscripts and antique books, you might only encounter the long s in German, where it lives as one half of the "Ezett," or double s character (written as ''). Originally published in Live Science. This excerpted story is provided courtesy of The Columbia Paper, which can be seen online at www.columbiapaper.com Canaan pleased with Route 22 plans CANAAN Columbia County Clerk Holly Tanner came to the Town Board May 14 meeting with a presentation on compliance with federal identification requirements when securing a driver's license in New York state. The town received some good news on May 17 when the state officially announced repairs will begin on a 3.5-mile section of Route 22 from one-half mile south of state Route 295 to three miles north of Route 295 in the town. At the meeting, Councilperson Brenda Adams brought the board and public up to date on the status of an upgrade for state Route 22 in Canaan and New Lebanon. The good news is that a project for repaving sections north and south of the state Route 295 intersection is being put out to bid. Securing the go-ahead was helped along by many local leaders, including Michael Tucker, president and CEO of the Columbia Economic Development Corporation. Milling the road surface is part of the project, though that process will not go as deep as a long-lasting repaving requires, according to local officials. Confirmation of the project came in a press release from state Department of Transportation Acting Commissioner Marie Therese Dominguez, who said that work will begin soon on a $500,000 project to resurface and improve the 3.5-mile section of the two-lane highway. Potholes and crumbling pavement along other stretches of Route 22 have led to pleas for repairs from local officials and residents. State Sen. Daphne Jordan, R-Halfmoon, said in the release that the announcement was "welcome news." Assemblyman Jake Ashby, R-Castleton, also quoted in the release, said he had worked with "New Lebanon Supervisor Colleen Teal to improve the conditions on Route 22 and am proud that our work is coming to fruition." Adams said that the work on Route 22 is expected to begin in mid-June. Peter Flierl United High School senior Alejandra Aguirre has received commendations from the College Board for her performance on her Advanced Placement (AP) Spanish Language and Culture exam in 2018. Trevor Packer, Senior Vice President of AP and Instruction for the College Board, indicated that Aguirre's superior performance on the exam fell into a select category. AP exams are scored on a scale of 1 to 5, where a 5 is equivalent to a grade of A in the corresponding college course. Aguirre not only received the top score of 5; she was also only one of only 100 students in the world to earn every point possible on the AP Spanish Language and Culture Exam, receiving the maximum score on each portion of the exam. READ MORE: Laredo College President's awards announced "This outstanding accomplishment is likely a direct reflection of the top-quality education being offered at United High School," Packer said. "We applaud Alejandra's hard work and also the AP teacher responsible for engaging students and enabling them to excel in a college-level course." Aguirre will attend La Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon in Monterrey Mexico and plans to study veterinary medicine. "I have a strong work ethic which has helped me grow academically and personally," Aguirre said. "I wasn't shooting for a perfect score on my test, but my AP teacher Ms. Maria A. Brewer, along with my friends and family, encouraged me to do my best. I would like to offer Mr. Aleman, his administration, my A.P. teacher Ms. Brewer and the rest of the United High School faculty and staff a round of applause. Together, they created a network of support that fosters both academic and personal success. My experience goes to show that working hard and having a great support group can produce results that exceed all expectations." The San Marcos Police Department officer critically injured by a suspected drunk driver is from Laredo, authorities said. Officer Claudia Cormier attended the Vidal M. Trevino School of Communications and Fine Arts. READ MORE: Video shows elderly woman sucker punched outside H-E-B In a recent news conference, San Marcos Police Chief Chase Stapp said Cormier wanted to be a police officer most of her life. "She grew up in Laredo, came to Texas State to go to school, earned her bachelor's degree and began working as a dispatcher for us in 2007," he said. "She tested to be a police officer multiple times. She had everything that it took, but she just needed to pass the physical agility test. "She got better every time and never lost hope. She finally was successful in doing that. I've seen her determination and dedication." Cormier responded to a traffic hazard report at about 9:45 p.m. Saturday on mile marker 202 of Interstate 35 near the McCarty Overpass, police said. Dispatch then received 911 calls saying that an officer had been struck by a 2000 Ford Expedition in the same area. Responding officers found Cormier with severe life-threatening injuries. Authorities identified the driver of the Expedition as Neil Sheehan, 58. He was arrested and charged with intoxication assault on a public servant and failure to slow causing serious bodily injury. He is out on bond. Cormier lost her leg because of the severe injuries she sustained, according to police. Stapp said Cormier has a long road to recovery, but Cormier assured him that she will be back. "Claudia is extremely driven. She is courageous. She is going to get through this," the chief said. At VMT, her teachers remember her as bright, lively, talented and well-liked by her classmates, the Laredo Independent School District said in a statement. "Laredo ISD hopes Ms. Cormier recovers completely from her injuries. LISD sends her our warmest thoughts and prayers," the statement reads. People wanting to help may do so through an account at Randolph Brooks Federal Credit Union for donations. RBFCU members can make a donation by online transfer or at their nearest branch using the account number 208695903. READ MORE: Laredo mother reunited with fallen son's badge, uniform 33 years after his death Members of other banks can complete a transfer using the routing number 314089681, the account number 208695903, and listing the account as a deposit account, police said. San Marcos Police is also taking donations by cash or check at the San Marcos Police Department in-person or by mail to Brenda Pisana, 2300 I-35, San Marcos, TX 78666. BRUSSELS - Europeans dealt a blow to the continent's traditional center-left and center-right politicians in elections for the European Parliament on Sunday, depriving them of a majority for the first time in favor of a fractured slate of pro-EU lawmakers, with small gains for the far-right. Voters turned out in droves - the highest participation in 25 years - for the opportunity to take a shot at the parties that have steered Europe's consensus-driven policies for decades. Far-right leaders were on track for their best Europe-wide result ever, but it was only an incremental gain over their result from 2014, suggesting that despite years of tumult, voters might not be ready to give up on the European Union, or to embrace leaders who want to weaken it from within. Voters boosted Greens and other pro-European Union leftists, showing that voters who abandoned traditional parties were searching for new blood, but not a full-scale political revolution. The vote followed a tumultuous period for the 28-nation, border-erasing European Union. In the five years since the last elections for European Parliament, the continent has been rocked by repeated terrorist attacks, a refugee crisis, Britain's decision to leave the bloc and the lingering pain of the global financial crisis. In France, far-right leader Marine Le Pen bested President Emmanuel Macron's party in a repeat of her 2014 win. She delighted in what she called "the erasure of the old parties" and said the vote "confirms the new divide between nationalism and globalization." But her 23.5% vote share was lower than it was in 2014, a warning sign that she might have hit a ceiling despite months of national protests against Macron and his pro-business policies. With more than 400 million eligible voters, the European Parliament elections are the second-largest exercise in democracy in the world, behind India's national elections. After decades of slipping participation, turnout this year was sharply higher - about 51%, up from 42.6% in 2014. The spike indicated new passions - and new anxieties. The mixed results echoed across Europe, where a rollicking brigade of far-right campaigners built momentum in opinion polls and delivered modest results. In the Netherlands, one far-right party supplanted another, with no overall gain. In Germany, the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) party won a smaller share than it did in national elections in 2017. Across the continent, euroskeptic forces captured about 24% of the legislature's 751 seats, initial results indicated, up only slightly from 2014, when they captured 22%. The biggest wellspring of far-right support appeared to be Italy, where Interior Minister Matteo Salvini's League party vaulted into first place after a year in which he campaigned across the country on a fierce platform of turning back migrants and weakening the European Union. But his plans for a European-wide raid of fellow euroskeptics will now have to be scaled back. Most of his potential partners made small gains, if any. They were never expected to take a majority of Parliament; now it's unlikely they'll be strong enough to be a blocking minority. Instead, Greens and other pro-environment, socially liberal parties might have been the surprise of the election, surging to second or third place in France, Germany, Finland and elsewhere. The result is a European Parliament in which the centrist parties failed to reach a majority for the first time, and will have to draw support from lawmakers with less orthodox views of how to run Europe. The centrists dropped from 53% of Parliament to 43%. In Germany, where the Greens surged to second place, according to initial results, party co-leader Robert Habeck told broadcaster ARD that concern for the planet's future had "played a dominant role" in the campaign, and that voters were punishing the government for its "hesitancy" in confronting the issue. The legislature has a voice in some of the biggest issues facing the European Union. It approves senior EU officials, signs off on Europe's massive budget and delves into gritty lawmaking, as in the sweeping data privacy rules that went into effect last year and whose reach extends far beyond European borders. In Italy, the Western European country that has most clearly thrown its support behind populism and the far right, the projected results confirmed the rise of Salvini's League. Projections suggested that the league had earned 34% of the Italian vote, doubling its showing in last year's national elections. Those results, well ahead of other far-right parties in a Pan-European coalition, figure to bolster Salvini's role as a nationalist torchbearer inside the bloc. After polls closed, Salvini posted a photo of himself on Twitter - standing in front of a bookshelf with a "Make America Great Again" ball cap - in which he held a sign saying, "No. 1 Party in Italy. Thank you." The outcome shows how the league has surged ahead of its coalition partner, the Five Star Movement, which entered the government last year as the most popular party but has since seen its support plunge. Projections indicated that the anti-establishment Five Stars had slumped to a third-place finish behind the revamped center-left Democratic Party. Analysts suggested that Salvini might use the victory to reshuffle the government in his favor, pulling it further to the right - or even drop out of the coalition and use new elections as a bid to become prime minister. But Salvini indicated early Monday that he would return to work "serenely," without "internal showdowns." In France, the vote was seen as a referendum on the leadership of Macron, who came to power in 2017 with an avowedly pro-European agenda. But Macron's popularity has plummeted since his election, notably in the ongoing "yellow vest" protest that portrays the young president as out of touch with the concerns of ordinary people. But the results were not the crushing defeat for Macron some had predicted. He finished a single percentage point behind Le Pen. Le Pen fared worse than she has in previous elections, and Macron's result confirmed that his centrist party had definitively supplanted the traditional party structure of center left and center right. In Germany, the electorate split among smaller parties, with the two governing parties that have traditionally dominated the country's politics appearing to continue their downward slide. Chancellor Angela Merkel's center-right Christian Democrats were comfortably ahead in forecasts released by broadcasters after polls closed. But the party appeared to have fallen about 7 percentage points from the last vote, in 2014. Losses were far heavier for Merkel's long-suffering coalition partners, the center-left Social Democrats, who appeared to have fallen to third place, increasing pressure on leaders to ditch the coalition. The vote appeared to have been a disappointment for Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany party. Initial results showed it taking just over 10% of the vote - well ahead of its performance in the 2014 European election, but below the nearly 13% the party captured in the last national election, in 2017. In the EU's other German-speaking nation, Austria, early forecasts showed the country's main far-right party losing ground in the aftermath of a scandal that brought the government crashing down last weekend. The Freedom Party was in a distant third place, well below what polls had suggested the party would win before the controversy broke. And in Britain, which voted despite plans to leave the bloc in October, Euroskeptic leader Nigel Farage was poised to repeat his 2014 poll-topping performance in the hard-fought campaign. The results add to the woes of Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservative Party, which just forced her to resign as party leader. The election also unsettled national politics elsewhere. In Greece, left-wing Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras called for snap elections after results showed him bleeding support to a center-right rival. - - - Witte reported from Berlin, Harlan reported from Rome and McAuley reported from Paris. The Washington Post's Quentin Aries in Brussels and Karla Adam in London contributed to this report. Spokane, Wash. Nearly two decades after the Aryan Nations' Idaho compound was demolished, far-right extremists are maintaining a presence in the Pacific Northwest. White nationalism has particular resonance along the Idaho-Washington border, where the Aryans espoused hate and violence for years. The neo-Nazi group was based near Hayden Lake, Idaho, starting in the 1970s, and eventually was bankrupted in a lawsuit brought by local activists and the Southern Poverty Law Center. Its compound was seized. But a series of incidents in recent weeks show far-right sentiments never really left the conservative region. In the county that is home to Hayden Lake, for instance, Republicans last month passed a measure expressing support for U.S. entry of a prominent Austrian far-right activist who was investigated for ties to the suspected New Zealand mosque gunman. In 2018, at least nine hate groups operated in the region of Spokane and northern Idaho, including Identity Evropa, Proud Boys, ACT for America and America's Promise Ministries, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. The center does not track how many members belong to each group. These new far-right activists are more scattered than the ones who used to gather at the Aryan Nations by the dozens, experts say. "It is no longer necessary to go to a compound in Hayden Lake, Idaho," said Kristine Hoover, director of the Gonzaga Institute for Hate Studies in Spokane. With the proliferation of social media, groups "form in dispersed locations" and gatherings are "more covert," she said. In late April, a self-described "American Nationalist" named Brittany Pettibone appeared at a meeting of Kootenai County, Idaho, Republicans to ask for help to bring her boyfriend, Martin Sellner, to the country from Austria. Pettibone, 26, said Sellner wants to marry her and live in Post Falls, Idaho. Pettibone was a big promoter of the hoax known as "Pizzagate," telling her online followers Hillary Clinton and other high-profile Democrats were involved in satanic rituals and child sex trafficking tied to a Washington, D.C., pizza restaurant. Sellner is a leading figure in the extremist "identitarian" movement, which espouses a white nationalist ideology and has swept over Europe amid an influx of migrants and refugees. He has confirmed he exchanged emails with the suspected New Zealand shooter, who donated money to Sellner's group. But Sellner denies involvement in the attack. Despite his background, the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee passed a resolution urging the federal government to allow Sellner into the United States. The resolution said the government revoked Sellner's travel privileges "for political reasons," and demanded those privileges be reinstated. Faced with criticism for giving Pettibone a platform, Kootenai County GOP Chair Brent Regan blamed the press. "In its lust for scandal, the media has stretched the committee's simple act of kindness into headlines that are too bizarre to be fiction," he wrote in a recent op-ed. Also last month, The Guardian published internet chats from 2017 in which a Washington state legislator and three other men discussed confronting "leftists" with a variety of tactics, including violence, surveillance and intimidation. The messages prompted Washington House Democrats to demand that the Republican lawmaker, Rep. Matt Shea of Spokane Valley, be reprimanded for a history of far-right speech and activities. While Shea did not propose violence, he did not speak up when violence was proposed, Democrats said. House Republican Leader J.T. Wilcox of Yelm responded that Shea should not be punished before investigations are completed. The House, led by Democrats, will conduct an independent investigation of the lawmaker. Shea, who rarely speaks to reporters, did not return numerous messages from The Associated Press. He has served in the state House since 2008, introducing bills to criminalize abortion and roll back gun laws and pushing for eastern Washington to secede from the rest of the state. The military veteran attracted international attention in 2018 after a document he wrote laid out a "biblical basis for war" against people who practiced same-sex marriage and abortion, and instructed: "If they do not yield, kill all males." In a third case, a nationwide arrest warrant was issued in May for a Stevens County, Washington, man who allegedly tried to extort members of his right-wing militia group through anonymous written threats backed by insinuations they came from a Mexican drug cartel. James "Russell" Bolton, 51, faces at least six charges of extortion and attempted theft after he was arrested recently in West Virginia. Bolton has led a militia group called the Stevens County Assembly. Stevens County detectives believe he was responsible for a series of anonymous threatening letters delivered to members of the group. Letters purported to come from a Mexican cartel and demanded large sums of cash in exchange for protection. Hoover, the Gonzaga professor, said it is a mistake to consider the above as separate incidents. "These are movements," Hoover said. "They have interconnectedness over the internet." San Antonio police say a college party at an apartment complex catering to students near the Loop 1604 campus of The University of Texas at San Antonio ended in gunshots and one young man dead Sunday morning. Officers at the scene say the man, later identified by the Bexar County Medical Examiner's Office as Delvin Scott, 20, had already died when they responded to The Maverick Creek Villas, 15651 Chase Hill Blvd., about 3 a.m. for a call of gunshots at a party there. This year marks the 10-year anniversary of Texas A&M University-San Antonio as a stand-alone university. It has been 19 years since the first students walked into leased portable buildings on the Palo Alto campus attending what was then known as the Texas A&M University-Kingsville System Center-San Antonio. The public push in 1996 by my father, the late Texas Sen. Frank Madla Jr., and the passage of legislation in 2003 creating a general academic teaching institution on the South Side of San Antonio would be the genesis of the campus we have today. His untimely death in 2006 prevented him from witnessing the growth and expansion of the university over the ensuing years. I have been blessed to be part of the A&M-San Antonio family for the past 19 years as a Texas A&M University-San Antonio Foundation board member and community supporter. As such, this anniversary has been an opportunity for me to review and reflect on many of the discussions, correspondence, newspaper articles and events surrounding the creation of Texas A&M-San Antonio. It also has been an opportunity to reflect on all the students I have met or mentored and graduates who are pursuing a better life by way of higher education. When Dad left the family farm to make a life on the South Side of San Antonio, he was teaching civics in the Edgewood Independent School District. This experience in one of the poorest school districts in our community motivated him to run for political office. When he won a House seat in 1972, he became the first person to represent his South Side District who actually lived in the district. His comment to his constituents and neighbors the night of that successful election was simple: Your problems are now my problems. As a teacher, one of the problems he witnessed was lack of access to higher education for students in less affluent areas of our community. It was never a surprise that Dads political career would be defined by his advocacy for education and children living in underserved areas of our city. As I reviewed correspondence and newspaper articles collected over the years, I was reminded that bringing A&M-San Antonio to the South Side was neither a smooth political journey nor a guarantee. There were arguments in favor of and against it. There were real concerns and plenty of misinformation. There were concerns about having another public university in our community competing for state funding. There were concerns about duplication of curriculum. There were roadblocks, such as politicians whose loyalties mitigated their support, at least publicly. There were community leaders and education leaders who were slow to support. Local newspaper articles, such as one on Sept. 11, 2005, with the headline, Is the city smart to pursue an A&M campus? Lets do the numbers, voiced skepticism. Through it all, Dad stayed focused. He garnered support from people who shared his vision. He drew inspiration from those who already had been working on equalizing access to education in Texas. And he continually educated detractors on the long-term benefits a second public university would bring to our community. In the end, he simply refused to give up or compromise on his principles. Since its inception, A&M-San Antonio has graduated 10,784 students, and today 74 percent are first-generation graduates. These are impressive numbers for such a young university. More important, these impressive demographics represent real people. Real lives. These alumni are now working in our community and beyond, earning a family-supporting wage, paying taxes, and encouraging and serving as examples to the next generation. In our community and across the state, I have met A&M-San Antonio graduates who are teaching our children, working in our banks, running nonprofits and attending medical school. One is even representing our interests in the Texas Capitol as a state representative. I congratulate A&M-San Antonio on its 10-year anniversary and commend all the staff, educators and administrators who have and continue to make this university a quality experience. Frank L. Madla III, M.D., is a San Antonio physician. A woman who denied she had any knowledge of being in possession of counterfeit money was told by a judge last week: You expect me to believe that (when) you don't even believe it yourself? Helen Nevin, of 67 Farnagh, Longford initially pleaded guilty to being found with a fraudulent 50 note at Centz, Athlone Road, Longford on April 21 2018. However, when the defendant opted to have her case dealt with at District Court level instead of the higher Circuit Court, she insisted she had no knowledge of having the money in her possession. I was with my sister Mary Ann and to me I thought it was real money, she said. I dont know where I got it from. It must have been some shop. I wouldnt go in with no dud 50 note. Judge Seamus Hughes said Ms Nevins explanation for being caught with the counterfeit money was simply not plausible. Helen, you are a very nice person and you expect me to believe that? Judge Hughes asked. Sure, you dont even believe it yourself. Do you know I can give you 12 months in prison? Ms Nevin, though, continued to repeat her denials of what had occurred. I dont know. All I know is there had to be 50s in my purse. I had three of them and 100 as well. Asked about Ms Nevins previous record, Sgt Mark Mahon said Ms Nevin had 18 prior convictions, 14 of which were for theft related offences. In defence, solicitor John Quinn said notwithstanding that record, his client was doing her best to steer clear of any garda attention. In fairness, she (Ms Nevin) has kept out of trouble for a long number of years, he said. Ms Nevin followed that up by once again insisting her innocence, adding: I have never done duds in my life. Judge Hughes expressed his concern over Ms Nevins version of events and hinted at what would likely unfold should he be seen to exercise his discretion in the case. You know, you will probably go back to your house this evening and have a good laugh at Judge Hughes with your friends and say: See how he believes my lies. In determining his ruling, Judge Hughes fined Ms Nevin 250 for the Section 6 charge while a second Section 34 charge was taken into consideration. Before Ms Nevin left the court, Judge Hughes jokingly asked her if she had any further counterfeit notes in which to account for the services of Mr Quinn. You cant give Mr Quinn any of those 50s to pay his fee? Judge Hughes quipped. Is there any more under the pillow case? Longford Town supporter's club PRO, Longford Town FC photographer and GOAL activist, Mr Tiernan Dolan takes part this week in My Longford Life. 1. What's your idea of a perfect day or perfect weekend in Longford? An early morning splashing session in the Mall pool with fellow Longford Splashers, followed by a canal stroll at Clondra with good friends, followed by lunch in Mc Partlands. That evening, watching De Town win in the City Calling Stadium with a creamy pint of Guinness in Clarkes to celebrate a fine win. 2. Who has made the greatest contribution to Longford in your lifetime - and why? Dr Petit. An outstanding,old world, caring doctor, brilliant yet humble. Always had patience with her patients and no interest in material goods.Fought for better conditions for the most vulnerable in Longford. 3. What's your first Longford memory? Watching the passenger trains coming and going and enjoying the clinking and clanking of the freight trains during shunting sessions. Station staff were always friendly and welcoming. I also remember buying sweets or wafer ice cream in Donlon's, Dublin Street. 4. What's your favourite part of the county - and why? The lake shore of Lough Gowna, Aughnacliffe to Derrycassin. The wooded roads around Crieve and the Mall Walk in Longford town is also a credit to all involved. 5. Do you have a favourite local writer or author (or artist or musician)? Longford is oozing with contemporary literary talent - Belinda Mc Keon, John Connell , Darragh Coady.Pat Hourican/Bernard Canavan are excellent artists. Michael Tighe playing Mise Eire on the mouth organ. Full credit to Mary Carlton Reynolds and her library staff for promoting all of the above. 6.What about a local walk - or view? There's little to compare to a walk at dawn in May through the dewy fields of Crieve ; lazy, contented bullocks chewing their cud, a light mist hovering, a thousand and one birds chirping their magical chorus, and the sun slowly rises- the bump of Cairn Hill to the north, the cathedral spire peeping over the trees to the west. Longford is a tiny piece of heaven on earth. 7. What do you think gives Longford its unique identity? Though probably the poorest county in Ireland, Longford's people are the most generous. In terms of supporting charities , volunteering and looking out for one an other, we still possess a fantastic sense of community. 8. What do you think is the biggest challenge facing Longford today? The greatest challenge facing Longford is restoring a sense of security. Feuding/anti social behaviour/drug abuse/bullying is a social cancer. 9. If you had the power to change one thing in, or about Longford, what would it be? It would be fantastic to see more Gardai patrol the streets with judges supporting the hard work of the diligent Gardai. If this happened, it'd be like a long spell of warm sunny weather and it would lift our communal spirit. Music Generation has announced that Longford is among five new counties in Ireland to participate in its most recent phase of development. Over the coming years, Music Generation Longford will offer new opportunities for hundreds of children and young people ages 0 to 18 to access high-quality, subsidised vocal and instrumental tuition in their local communities. Planning for the roll-out of Music Generation Longford is already underway, with the next step in the set-up process involving recruitment of a Music Generation Development Officer to oversee programme development. Initiated by Music Network in 2010, Music Generation is Irelands National Music Education Programme, co-funded by U2, The Ireland Funds, the Department of Education and Skills and Local Music Education Partnerships (LMEPs). Locally, Music Generation Longford will be led by Longford and Westmeath Education and Training Board (ETB) in partnership with Longford County Council and with support from Creative Ireland. Music Generation Longfords goal will be to develop a range of affordable and accessible ways for children and young people to engage in performance music education. This will include the coordination of music tuition services within the county, working in partnership with schools, community music groups and tuition centres in the formation of choirs, ensembles, access programmes, composition projects, songwriting initiatives and more, across a broad range of musical genres and styles. To achieve these aims, Music Generation Longford will receive up to 200,000 annually from the Department of Education and Skills. This funding will be matched on a 50/50 basis by income generated locally. Responding to the news Christy Duffy, Chief Executive of Longford and Westmeath ETB, commented: Were delighted to have been awarded this fantastic opportunity to develop the infrastructure for performance music education in County Longford. We have a wonderfully rich musical tradition here and a great number of passionate and energised partners are to be thanked for their commitment to working together to ensure that this tradition continues long into the future. Were now very much looking forward to working in partnership with Longford County Council and Creative Ireland in progressing our plans as part of Music Generation, and to realising our ambitions for musical access and creativity for the children and young people of Longford. Welcoming the announcement on behalf of Longford County Council, Chief Executive Paddy Mahon, said: We look forward to working in partnership with Longford and Westmeath ETB and communities to deliver Music Generation in Longford. Music Generation will transform the approach to music education in Longford and is a wonderful opportunity for children and young people to develop their musical potential and innate artistry. It will provide access to music for children and young people and create rich and diverse ways for them to engage in vocal and instrumental tuition delivered by skilled professional musicians, across all musical genres and styles. Director of Services at Longford County Council Barbara Heslin commented that the inclusion of County Longford in the Music Generation programme will give the young people of Longford the opportunity to realise their full creative talents and help Longford build on its strong musical tradition. Music Generation is a fantastic initiative that has the potential to transform the lives of young people in particular and Longford County Council is delighted to be a key partner working with Longford and Westmeath ETB and others to help ensure the successful implementation of the programme, she said. Already there have been two extraordinarily successful phases of development for Music Generation, enabled through philanthropic donations by U2 and The Ireland Funds and through the ongoing commitment of the Department of Education and Skills and LMEPs. Since its establishment the programme has grown to reach 25 areas of Ireland and currently creates some 48,500 opportunities annually for children and young people to access music tuition. In December 2017 Government announced its commitment to support the nationwide roll-out of Music Generation as part Creative Youth a Creative Ireland plan to enable the creative potential of every child and young person. Ultimately, this plan will see Music Generation partnerships formed in all remaining areas of the country by 2022, including Longford, where programming is expected to commence later in 2019. Rosaleen Molloy, National Director of Music Generation, said: Im thrilled that Longford is joining this next phase of development for Music Generation. Longford has demonstrated enormous ambition and great commitment in setting out its vision for music education within the county. We look forward to working together over the coming months and years to realise this vision, which will bring about truly transformative outcomes for Longfords next musical generation. NEW YORK, May 26, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Boston Scientific Corporation (Boston Scientific or the Company) (NYSE: BSX) and certain of its officers. The class action, filed in United States District Court, for the Southern District of New York, and indexed under 19-cv-03642, is on behalf of a class consisting of all persons and entities who purchased or otherwise acquired Boston Scientific securities between February 26, 2015, and April 16, 2019, both dates inclusive (the Class Period), seeking to recover damages caused by Defendants violations of the federal securities laws and to pursue remedies under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the Exchange Act) and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder, against the Company and certain of its top officials. If you are a shareholder who purchased Boston Scientific securities during the class period, you have until June 24, 2019, to ask the Court to appoint you as Lead Plaintiff for the class. A copy of the Complaint can be obtained at www.pomerantzlaw.com . To discuss this action, contact Robert S. Willoughby at rswilloughby@pomlaw.com or 888.476.6529 (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll-free, Ext. 9980. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address, telephone number, and the number of shares purchased. [Click here to join this class action] Boston Scientific was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Marlborough, Massachusetts. The Company develops, manufactures, and markets medical devices for use in various interventional medical specialties worldwide. Within the Companys Urology and Womens Health business segment it develops, manufactures and sells devices to treat various urological and gynecological disorders, including transvaginal surgical mesh products indicated for POP. At the beginning of the Class Period, the Company reported worldwide net sales of Urology and Women's health products of $535 million for the year ended December 31, 2014, equal to approximately seven percent of its consolidated net sales for that year. In July 2011, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a Public Health Notice update regarding complications related to the use of Urogynecologic Surgical Mesh for pelvic organ prolapse and stress urinary incontinence. By February 24, 2015, over 25,000 product liability cases or claims related to transvaginal surgical mesh had been filed against Boston Scientific, as well as cases in the United Kingdom. Nevertheless, Boston Scientific continued to deny these allegations concerning its products. On February 24, 2016, in its annual report for fiscal year 2015, Boston Scientific disclosed that a putative class action had been filed against it alleging, inter alia, that the Company had used counterfeit or adulterated resin products imported from China in their vaginal mesh implants, resulting in personal injury. The Company also disclosed that Boston Scientific was in contact with the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Southern District of West Virginia regarding its alleged use of counterfeit imports from China. On May 13, 2018, CBSs 60 Minutes aired a story highlighting the Companys alleged use of counterfeit imports in its surgical mesh products. In response, Boston Scientific stated that it has extensively tested the [plastic] resin to confirm its composition, safety, and performance. The complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Companys business, operational and compliance policies. Specifically, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) Boston Scientifics surgical mesh products indicated for the transvaginal repair of POP were unsafe; (ii) accordingly, Boston Scientifics continued marketing and sales of these devices in the United States was unlikely to be sustainable; (iii) separately, the Company had sold vaginal mesh implants containing counterfeit or adulterated resin products imported from China; (iv) the foregoing conduct subjected the Company to a heightened risk of regulatory scrutiny and/or government investigations; and (v) as a result, the Companys public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times. Finally, despite years of denials by Boston Scientific in response to questions concerning the safety of its vaginal mesh products, the apparent full extent of the Companys misstatements was revealed on April 16, 2019, when the FDA announced that it had ordered the manufacturers of all remaining surgical mesh products indicated for the transvaginal repair of pelvic organ prolapse . . . to stop selling and distributing their products in the U.S. immediately. The FDA stated that the manufacturers, Boston Scientific and Coloplast, have not demonstrated a reasonable assurance of safety and effectiveness for these devices, as required to continue marketing the devices in the United States. According to Jeffrey Shuren M.D., director of the FDAs Center for Devices and Radiological Health: In order for these mesh devices to stay on the market, we determined that we needed evidence that they worked better than surgery without the use of mesh to repair POP. That evidence was lacking in these premarket applications, and we couldnt assure women that these devices were safe and effective long term[.] On this news, Boston Scientifics stock price fell $2.90 per share, or 7.67%, over the following two trading sessions, closing at $34.91 per share on April 17, 2019. The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Paris, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 80 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomerantzlaw.com . CONTACT: Robert S. Willoughby Pomerantz LLP rswilloughby@pomlaw.com The planning for Interstate 73 and U.S. 220 around Martinsville will be part of the agenda Tuesday when the Henry County Board of Supervisors meets. The agenda for the meeting includes a resolution on the route to be considered by supervisors, when they gather at 3 p.m. at the county administration building in Collinsville. The Martinsville City Council will consider a similar resolution when it meets next week as well. These dual resolutions was an idea introduced by consultant Rob Catron of Alcalde and Fay and the I-73 Coalition, who addressed both legislative bodies in late April to update them on the status of planning for the corridor through Henry County and northward. The evaluation of routes around Martinsville have evolved to a path west of the existing U.S. 220/U.S. 58 intersection in Ridgeway. Thats primarily because the Army Corps of Engineers said it would not permit either of two eastern paths because of environmental concerns, meeting notes state. The western route also allows for more immediate repairs to the U.S. 220/58 bypass intersection that could provide relief to traffic issues long before I-73 becomes reality, the consultants have said. After the earlier meeting with City Council, Martinsville Mayor Kathy Lawson said the western route just makes more sense because its not going through wetlands. Its not going through a cemetery. Lawson said she feels that the connector road from the North Carolina line to the existing U.S. 58 would benefit the area. Catron told both legislative bodies in April that a new interstate is going to be years down the road. However, fixing 220 and making it a passable road thats good for commerce is doable. He said a proposed safety improvement to the U.S. 220/220 bypass would be to get rid of left turns, which created the main causes of wrecks. The resolution the supervisors will consider is to endorse formally that course of action. Also at the meeting, supervisors will: Consider final appropriation of the 2019-2020 budget. Consider a joint proclamation with Martinsville to establish Relay for Life Days in county and city. Hear from the Economic Development Corporation. Consider the approval of a variety of contracts. And enter into a closed session for unstated matters. 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Each Memorial Day is a solemn occasion to honor those who gave their lives in service to our country. Each Veterans Day is a time to pay tribute to all who serve and have served in the nations military. Their father, Delfo Del Barabani, was an able teacher. A World War II Army veteran, the elder Barabanis life outside the family home was devoted to two things: his church and veterans causes. His tireless work for decades in the city of Chicopee and regionally for the American Legion earned the elder Barabani, who died in 2015 at the age of 92, almost iconic status in the Western Massachusetts veterans community. As far back as I can remember there was total involvement in veterans affairs, says the now 75-year-old Del Barabani Jr., who will mark his 76th birthday tomorrow. As a kid, his Saturdays meant an hour of getting to watch TV at American Legion Post 353 in Willimansett while his dad prepared to open the bar and before he had to go to catechism class. Paul Barabani, who is 68, says one of his earliest childhood memories from the 1950s is riding in the family car to pick up a 16mm film in Springfield and then get the ice cream from Rivers Ice Cream on Grattan Street to take to the movie nights his father would run each week at the Soldiers Home in Holyoke. Both his parents, he notes, were regular volunteers at the Soldiers Home where he would, much later in life, land as its superintendent for almost five years. It was an integral part of (our fathers) life away from home. He was either at church or at the Legion, says Del Barabani Jr. Today, the Barabani brothers continue their fathers legacy, serving as president (Paul) and vice president (Del) of the Friends of the Massachusetts Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Agawam, a nonprofit group that works to honor those who have served, comfort their families and to enhance the eternal resting places of thousands of men and women buried there, including their father. State statistics show there are just over 12,500 veterans and their spouses now buried at the state Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Agawam. Of those, 22 are members of the military who died while on active duty and five who were killed in action. In this photo from Memorial Day 2016, World War II vet Hubert DAmbrosio, of Springfield, sits a spell at the service. This image won second place in the News Feature Photo category in the New England Newspaper and Press Associations Better Newspaper Competition. Staff-Shot Neither Barabani brother ever intended to take on these latest duties, but both are hopeful they can mentor others, particularly family members of veterans buried in Agawam, to take over and continue the groups efforts. Paul Barabani will say that his eldest brothers path in life most mirrors their fathers in terms of service to country and church. But, both say there was never any overt pressure from their dad to follow his path, either to join the military or to help causes which support and honor veterans. It becomes part of who you are, Del Barabani explains. In 1965, having graduated from high school and not finding a job with which he was happy, Del Barabani Jr. enlisted in Army and was bound for Vietnam. Back home, younger brother Paul, then in high school, had a front-row seat to watch as one of Americas most unpopular wars took a toll on the homefront: I saw the impact, especially on our mother, of his being in Vietnam. I think she wore black for the entire year he was goneIt disrupted her entire life. Just a few short years later, with Vietnam still raging, Paul Barabani was a student at the University of New Hampshire when in late 1969, there were two lotteries conducted for the draft. He drew number 7, and he had to confront the decision of how to fulfill his responsibility. His brother-in-law suggested the Army National Guard, Paul Barabani says, and he enlisted, never expecting his service to last longer than the basic requirement. Del Barabani completed three years of active duty with the Army, while Paul Barabani wound up completing a 32-year career in the National Guard. He also worked for the U.S. Veterans Affair Medical Center in Northampton for five years and was superintendent of the Soldiers Home in Holyoke for nearly five more years. It was in 2015, while their father was living out his final days at the Soldiers Home that their connection to the cemetery friends organization was made. Del Barabani Sr. had worked with two other veterans, Henry Jennings and William Craven, and a Gold Star mother from Chicopee, Joyce Chretian, to launch a memorial walkway fundraising effort to assist the cemetery. The group had no succession plan, however, and Del Barbani Jr. says he found himself enlisted at his fathers bedside. Its something my father started that is worthy of being continued, says Del Barabani of the group. Today, there are nearly 1,000 bricks on the walkway, and more are added all the time. For a $100 donation, donors may have three lines inscribed in honor of someone, whether they are buried in the Agawam cemetery or not. While the seven current directors of the friends group are all veterans, Paul Barabani says, My vision is to not have it be a veteran-oriented organization. Instead, he hopes to see more family members of the veterans buried in Agawam become part of the organization: Their loved ones are interred there. These are the people who have a stake in the cemetery. The mission of the friends group is very simply to honor those who served and are interred there and to support their families and enhance the burial ground, Paul Barabani says. We want to do what we can to make the cemetery an honorable place for their loved ones. Every six months for example, the group holds a dedication ceremony honoring those who have made donations for the commemorative granite bricks for the walkway. The most recent event, held earlier this month, honored 25 people. The group also helps cover the costs of an annual luncheon to honor the cemeterys volunteers. Paul Barabani says the friends group is currently working to help the cemetery staff and the Wreaths Across America effort, organized locally by the regional chapter of the Military Order of the Purple Heart, deal with challenges ranging from a need for off-site parking to coping with safety issues. The friends group most recently succeeded in enlisting cemetery neighbor Six Flags New England as an event sponsor with plans to offer a coupon for reduced admission to the park in exchange for purchasing a wreath for $15, he says. Begun in 2012 with 150 wreaths, last winter, more than 7,000 wreaths were placed throughout the cemetery by an army of volunteers. State statistics show there are just over 12,500 veterans and their spouses now buried at the Agawam cemetery. Of those, 22 are members of the military who died while on active duty and five who were killed in action. Veterans of World War II just over 3,700 compose the largest group of those interred by war period, followed by Korea, just over 2,500, and Vietnam, just over 2,250, veterans. On average over the past two years, according to state statistics, there are between 60 and 70 burials each month at Agawam. Just last week, more than 200 volunteers turned out to place flags at the graves of veterans there. Tomorrow at 1 p.m., the cemetery at 1390 Main St. will host a public Memorial Day ceremony. Cynthia G. Simison is assistant to the publisher and managing editor of The Republican. She may be reached by email to csimison@repub.com. Editors note: To learn more about joining the Friends of the Massachusetts Veterans Memorial Cemetery at Agawam, you can visit the groups Facebook page or send email to agawamfriends@gmail.com. The group will hold its quarterly meeting on July 10 at 6 p.m. at the Agawam Senior Center, 954 Main St., Agawam. LONGMEADOW -- Police are warning residents that thieves have jacked up two different cars and stolen wheels recently. The cars targeted are 2018 and 2019 Honda Accords. Both had expensive sport wheels, police said. "In both cases, residents woke up to find their vehicles sitting on jacks with the wheels missing," police said. Residents are recommended to park vehicles in garages when possible and use locking wheel lugs if they have vehicles that may be targeted. They are also advised to use driveway lighting to deter thieves, police said. Anyone who sees anything suspicious or has any information about the thefts is asked to call police at (413) 567-3311. WEST SPRINGFIELD Evangelist Franklin Graham, who preached at The Big E grounds Saturday, said he offers hope to the troubled and brings people to Jesus just as his father, Billy Graham, did in decades of revivals. Jesus is not dead, Franklin Graham told a crowd of more than 5,600 at the Xfinity Arena amphitheater. He is right here tonight. Graham quoted from the Gospel of John, where Jesus tells an inquiring man named Nicodemus how to be born again in a relationship with God. There may be many here like Nicodemus, Graham said. You are religious. But you dont have that relationship with God. You can have that relationship with God. Graham exhorted the crowd for half an hour to obtain the new birth of Christian faith. Worshipers in the crowd held their hands out and open in front of them, and their eyes shut in prayer. As Graham told reporters before the start of the revival, Saturday night wasnt about politics and he wasnt in progressive Massachusetts to win political converts.. Dont expect a political rally, Graham said. We are here with a simple message. Its a message of hope. Graham did open his sermon with a prayer for the nation. We know our country is in trouble, he said. The politics. There is too much hate. It used to be enough just to disagree with somebody. We know only God can solve this countrys problems. The crowed cheered and offered an amen for the last part. But most of Grahams message was centered on the spiritual, not the civic. And his themes were familiar to this church-going crowd: Sin, grace, repentance and salvation. You can be cleared of sins here tonight, Graham said. Dont leave here unless you are sure. Graham suggested that possibly some in the crowd came with an addiction, problems in school or maybe an unwanted pregnancy. He brought his seven-city "Decision America Northeast Tour " to the Eastern States Exposition grounds, reaching an area of the country were polls show religious commitment has flagged in recent years. We feel good about being here," Graham said. I was here in 2016 as part of a 50-city tour of state capitals. I sensed that I needed to come back. Graham, also head of Samaritans Purse worldwide relief and evangelistic organization, said he and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association worked with more than 260 Springfield-area churches. The crowd, drawn from churches and by roadside signs, came from across Western Massachusetts, Connecticut, and eastern New York State. They filled the bleachers and, with lawn chairs and strollers, carpeted the apron area in front of the stage. Musician Dennis Agajanian and Christian band Crowder performed during the revival. Grahams appearance in West Springfield was not without controversy. Local clergy wrote an open letter to The Republican criticizing Grahams comments about Muslim immigration and criticizing gays, lesbians and others. I love everybody. I dont agree with everybody, Graham said. We love everyone and we want everyone to join us. But Graham touched on sexuality as he ran though a list of sins, asking everyone to acknowledge that they are sinners. If you say you dont lie, youre lying now, Graham said. Now listen. Any kind of a sexual relationship outside of marriage is a sin against God. He said a marriage is between a man and woman and the crowd cheered. The crowd offered a loud amen when Graham said, Gods laws dont change. Gods standards dont change." He compared abortion to the biblical prohibition against murder. God will forgive you, Graham said. Jesus will forgive you. He took all the abortions to the cross. He said in the press conference that he has a good relationship with those of the Islamic faith. He said he and Samaritans Purse works on relief missions in Muslim countries around the world. From the stage , Graham said there are many religions, including his own Baptist faith. But there is only one Gospel, he said. There are many religions. They cant save you. Only Jesus can save you. During the press conference, Graham defended in his recent statements in support of President Donald Trump. I didnt campaign for Trump, Graham said. I stayed away from that. But Trump won the election. Here is no denying that. He is our president. Every American has a duty to support our president. Because if he succeeds, we all succeed. If he fails, we all are in trouble." His father, Billy Graham, had relationships with presidents and expressed regret about Richard Nixon, saying hed been used as cover during Watergate. He felt betrayed, Franklin Graham said. But they remained friends for the rest of (Nixon)'s life. My father preached his funeral." The event closed with Graham, as his father did countless times, offering an altar call asking folks to stand come forward and dedicate their lives to Jesus. You, back in the bleachers. I see you, Graham said. By standing. You are saying youre a sinner. A third of the crowd stood. Their eyes closed. ""I cant save you, OK," Graham said. Only Jesus can save you. Volunteers handed out books and met with people individually. People hugged. People cried. As the crowd settled back down, Crowder returned to the stage to perform I Saw the Light and Ill Fly Away. Authorities are investigating the overnight death of a Springfield man, while he was being held by Holyoke police, as an unattended death. James Leydon, spokesman for District Attorney Anthony Gulluni, said 29-year-old Daniel Allende of Springfield was being held in a Holyoke police lockup after he was arrested for operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol and possession of a Class A substance (heroin). He had been arrested at about 2:35 a.m. Saturday. At 7:21 a.m. Allende went into what Leydon called, medical duress. Holyoke police officers, firefighters and emergency medical personnel initiated CPR and deployed an automated defibrillation unit in an effort to resuscitate Allende. He was then transported him to the Holyoke Medical Center where he was pronounced dead. State Police detectives attached to the District Attorneys Office and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner are conducting an investigation into Allendes death. Gulluni and Holyoke Police Chief Manny Febo offered their condolences to the Allende family. SPRINGFIELD Carlos Santiago has family in law enforcement, so naturally he wanted to follow that path. This is a good first step, he said. Nate Jurkowski graduated from high school a few years ago without a real idea about what to do beyond going to college. While taking a year off from school to sort things out, a friend suggested he become a cop. From a young age, I always enjoyed the thought of policing, (but) it was one of those things I never thought I would be able to do, he said. Both Santiago, 20, and Jurkowski, 22, are now cadets in the Springfield Police Department. Both have their sights set on becoming Springfield police officers, and each sees their involvement in the cadet program as giving them a leg up on the competition for limited space inside a future class at the Springfield Police Academy. Cadets duties include a lot of clerical functions and assorted grunt work. But it is considered a great way to introduce people to what the job is about. This is a great job to network and see where you want to end up in a law enforcement career, Santiago said. You can probably talk to half the officers here and they were either a cadet or their best friend at the academy was a cadet, Jurkowski said. That list includes the departments acting commissioner, Cheryl C. Clapprood. She started as a cadet in 1979, and credits the program with showing her what police work was all about and encouraging her to pursue it as a career. It was a great insight into whats done at the Springfield Police Department because I had no idea, she said. You got to see who is who and the behind-workings of the police department, she said. And then I really knew it was something I wanted to do. Its a good program to see if (a police career) is something for you or not. The department will conduct its cadet entrance exam June 29. The deadline to register is June 15. The program is open to people who are between 17 and 23 years old and citizens of Springfield and the U.S. Each applicant must be a high school graduate, about to graduate or have a high school equivalency certificate, and have a valid drivers license. Applicants must pass a physical fitness exam equal to what is required for a Massachusetts police officer. Also applicants must enroll in a college program and earn either an associate or a bachelors degree in criminal justice before completion of the cadet program. In addition to school, cadets work 37 hours a week at the police station, where they earn $12.24 per hour and get paid vacations and sick days. There are currently 16 cadets, and the department accepts up to 24. Clapprood said the program is not for everyone. Some people sign up as cadets but over time find police work is not right for them. Id rather lose them as cadets than lose them after you invest an academy in them, she said. Santiago and Jurkowski each has completed an associate degree at Holyoke Community College, and each is now working toward a bachelors degree in criminal justice at Westfield State University. Santiago has been a cadet for about 18 months, while Jurkowskis two-year anniversary is in August. Each is looking forward to serving three years, and for one simple reason. Cadets who serve three years, and who pass the state Civil Service exam for police officers, move to the top of the list when it comes time to hire new officers. Acceptance in the police academy is based on passing the Civil Service test. But when arranging the list, the city gives preference to Springfield residents, then veterans, said department spokesman Ryan Walsh. Cadets have to be from Springfield, so a Springfield cadet basically jumps to the top of the list and is basically guaranteed a spot in the academy, he said. Santiago and Jurkowski said they each took the Civil Service test in March and anticipate having done well. But being guaranteed a spot for completing three years as a cadet, they said, is a powerful incentive. Thats why its good for younger kids 18 or 19 years old," Jurkowski said. By the time youre 21 or 22, as long as you have the test passed, youll have the three years in and youll be in. Cadets assist with fingerprinting and processing arrest warrants, restraining orders and towing orders. Jurkowski and Santiago each work in the records department. We do a lot of paperwork, and we also do a lot of stuff to help the officers on the street. We do warrant checks, we enter missing persons, enter stolen vehicles, stolen articles such as laptops, phones, and all that, Santiago said. Its not just getting coffees and paperwork, Jurkowski said. Cadets sometimes go to the scenes of shootings and car accidents to assist with photos and evidence collection, he said. I mean youre right there with the officers at the scene taking photos and documenting evidence, he said. So its more than just simple paperwork. Santiago said another advantage of being a cadet is getting to know and getting known by the departments supervisory officers. We encounter a lot of gold badges, a lot of higher ranks, he said. Were really respectful to them and they are respectful toward us. If they ever needed anything that we can assist with, we always offer to help. Clapprood said that when she was a cadet 40 years ago, she could not fathom that one day she would be in charge of the department. Still, she said, I may be prejudiced but I still think the ex-cadets make the best cops. For more information on the cadet program, or on how to apply, go to the departments website. HOUSTON -- The Red Sox will activate utility player Brock Holt from the injured list on either Sunday or Monday, manager Alex Cora said. Holt, who has been out since April 6 with injuries to his eye and shoulder, is flying to Houston on Saturday and will be evaluated during the teams game against the Astros. Bostons medical staff will decide if Holt is ready to be activated for Sundays series finale. Cora wouldnt reveal what kind of move the team would make to accommodate Holts return. The Sox have 13 pitchers on the roster and are likely to option a reliever to make room for Holt. Holt originally went on the IL with a scratched cornea in his right eye after being poked in the eye by his son, Griff. Once the eye issue was corrected, Holt suffered a shoulder impingement that kept him out longer. Holt appeared in eight rehab games for Pawtucket and Portland since restarting his assignment May 15. Eovaldi impresses in bullpen Right-hander Nathan Eovaldi threw a bullpen session Saturday afternoon at Minute Maid Park. It was his second bullpen since undergoing surgery to remove loose bodies from his right elbow April 23. Eovaldi threw all of his pitches in the session. Cora was impressed. That was good. Really good, Cora said. Like Ive been saying all along, this guy, physically, is on another level. Eovaldis next step will likely be either a multi-inning simulated game or a rehab stint. Hes coming along quickly. Well map it out, Cora said. That was fun to watch. One of two men accused of using a blowtorch to break into Target stores in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Connecticut in order to steal roughly $180,000 in electronics is planning on pleading guilty in federal court this week. Elijah Aiken, of Pennsylvania, has a hearing scheduled in a Worcester federal court Tuesday. His lawyer notified a federal judge that Aiken plans to plead guilty to one count of conspiring to transport stolen goods and two counts of interstate transportation of stolen goods, according to filings on file in court. Elijah Aiken and Akbar Aiken both were charged in federal court in connection with the break-ins. Authorities said the two men conspired with others, who have not been named, to break into several Target stores using portable blowtorches to cut through metal loading dock doors in the back of stores. Once inside the Target stores, Aiken and his co-conspirators stole electronic devices valued at hundreds of thousands of dollars, including cellular phones and computer tablets, according to an earlier issued press release by the U.S. Attorneys Office. The goods were sold to buyers in New York, authorities said. Investigators said the thieves broke into stores in Easton and Westborough, Massachusetts, and in Pennsylvania, New Hampshire and Connecticut. Investigators believe the thieves stole a total of $180,000 in electronics from Target stores. The two men stole $154,000 worth of merchandise from Massachusetts Target stores in Westborough and Easton, according to an affidavit on file in court. Apple devices were the items mostly stolen from the stores, investigators said in court records. Federal records show 15 iPads were taken from the Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, on Dec. 6, 2014. A second theft, in Torrington, Connecticut, was reported a few days later. Fifty iPads worth $22,000 were taken from the Target store. Police there discovered another 17 iPads in a shopping cart behind the store. A blowtorch was located in the woods near the Connecticut Target. Later that month, the suspects broke into Target stores in Massachusetts. The thefts continued into 2015. A break-in at a Target store on Jan. 11, 2015 in Hooksett, New Hampshire, gave police evidence leading them to the suspects, records said. A rental car was spotted in the area. Investigators checked the records on the rental car and found fingerprints inside the vehicle. The following month, on Feb. 4, 2015, Southington, Connecticut police responded to a break-in at Target and spotted two people running from the building. Another rental car was also located. Inside the car was a receipt for a blowtorch, records show. Aiken and another person were found hiding in the snow near the Connecticut store. A fight in the center of Oxford Saturday left a 15-year-old boy shot and a teen under arrest on attempted murder and firearms charges. Oxford Police Chief Anthony Saad said in a video posted by WCVB that officers were called to the center of town around 4:30 p.m. for a report of a fight with shots fired. A 15-year-old boy was found with a gunshot wound near the town library. A 17-year-old male was then found and arrested on assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, attempted murder and firearms charges. The 15-year-old boy was taken to UMass Memorial Medical Center for treatment. He is expected to live. Investigators determined the fight began in front of St. Roch Parish on Main Street. After the suspect shot the boy, he ran behind the church and along with railroad tracks, police said. The 17-year-old suspect was caught by police. Authorities from the Massachusetts State Police and police dogs were called to the area to search for the gun. Police located a spent shell casing in the grass, Saad said. Investigators also located a handgun believed to have been used in the shooting. The name of the suspect was not released because of his age, police said. by Thom Forbes @tforbes, May 24, 2019 From a corporate communications standpoint, it was apparently like manna -- with a few slabs of roast beef in between -- from heaven. A line in a story in The Information last week suggested that Arbys was among the many chains interested in Impossible Foods meat alternatives. VegNews Anna Starostinetskaya picked up on the irony a week later. Under its motto We have the meats, Arbys has long focused on creating meat-forward menu items and several of its marketing campaigns were created to poke fun at vegetarians. However, as demand for meat-free foods grows, competing chains have begun to embrace plant-based options, she wrote, citing the information in The Information. advertisement advertisement Fortunes Laura Stampler takes the story from there. When Arbys president Rob Lynch looked at his newsfeed Wednesday morning, he saw a headline that made him wonder if he was having a meat-sweats-inducing nightmare. It was the piece in VegNews. Please, please, please say it isnt so! he quickly queried colleagues, who reassured their boss no one was exploring plant-based options, Stampler writes. The next step: the fast food chains PR team barraged journalists with Arbys no-meatless-at-Arbys gospel. Lynch said Arbys embracing the meatless craze would muddy the restaurants all-about-the-meat image, which has been fundamental to its financial upswing, Stampler adds. You have to stand for something, Lynch said, with animal-byproduct patriotism. Weve turned this brand around by making big, high quality, meaty, abundant sandwiches. Thats who we are. Food & Wines Mike Pomranz also got a nudge from a flack at Arbys, along with the statement: Contrary to reports this week, Arbys is not one of the restaurant companies interested in working with Impossible Foods. The chances we will bring plant-based menu items to our restaurants, now or in the future, are absolutely impossible. Frankly, its a bit of an odd move for Arbys -- in part because they didnt need to comment, Pomranz observes. Someone claiming you are looking' to do something isnt as definitively inaccurate as saying you actually did something. But its also a bit odd that Arbys would snuff out the idea of plant-based options entirely because the brand has shown a willingness to forge ahead with unexpected products before. Yes, theyve always been meats, but Arbys rolled out venison nationwide and served duck and elk sandwiches. This isnt a company thats shied away from new and unexpected items. Holly Van Hare, the editor of The Daily Meal, writes that this may be the only time in restaurant history that a chain has gone out of its way to completely disavow a vegetarian option -- though if anyone would do it, its Arbys. Though there are ways to order meatless from their meat-heavy menu, Arbys has historically had some beef with vegetarians. They once released a marketing campaign specifically to poke fun at them, launching a vegetarian support help line 1-855-MEAT-HLP for vegetarians to call when they found themselves craving Arbys meat. But this time, their snub to anything plant-based doesnt seem to be just a marketing stunt. Hmmmm. Avi Dans April Forbes profile of Arbys Lynch, the P&G and Taco Bell veteran who joined the company as CMO in 2014 and was recently named president, contains a telling paragraph. The success of We Have The Meats can be attributed as much to the ironic tone of the advertising, not taking itself too seriously. It paid off with tons of free publicity when Daily Show host Jon Stewart made the chain the butt of many jokes over the years, and Arbys played along. The article in VegNews also mentioned Subway, Dunkin, Wendys and Papa Johns as also being interested in Impossible Foods offerings. But among that group, Dunkin so far is the only company to publicly express plans to explore adding meatless proteins to its menu. Subway sells a vegan patty sub in the United Kingdom, while Wendys tested a black bean burger a few years ago, but the product died and never went national, points out Joey Morona for cleveland.com. For now, Cleveland-area fast-food diners can find Impossible meat at Qboba and Wahlburgers. Burger King plans to sell Impossible Whoppers by the end of the year. Little Caesars is also testing an Impossible Supreme Pizza, which could eventually come here if all goes well, Morona adds. Thats not a lot a of options for Cleveland vegetarians, alas, but as Marketing Dailys Karlene Lukovitz reports this morning, sales of plant-based meat alternatives are growing at a much higher rate that those for traditional meat products. Advertisement "It is perhaps precisely because pacemakers so successfully and immediately address cases of heart block that we have previously failed to devote more attention to prevention of this important disease," said senior author Gregory Marcus, MD, MAS, a UCSF Health cardiologist and associate chief of cardiology for research in the UCSF Division of Cardiology. "In addition to the prevention and treatment of myocardial infarction and heart failure, effective treatment of hypertension and maintenance of normal blood sugars may be useful prevention strategies."This is the first community-based study to evaluate the possible association between common modifiable cardiovascular risks and heart block occurrence requiring pacemaker implantation. In the JAMA Network Open study, Marcus and his colleagues used the Mini-Finland Health Survey, which was designed to represent the country's population aged 30 and over, and consisted of an in-home interview and clinic examination on various health subjects. They studied 6,146 Caucasian patients enrolled from 1978 to 1980, then reviewed the patients' hospital records from 1987 to 2011 to determine heart block incidents.Over an average follow up of 25 years, 58 patients developed AV block. The researchers found that older age, being male, higher systolic blood pressure, higher fasting glucose, history of myocardial infarction and history of congestive heart failure independently increased the likelihood of occurrence.Of those factors, two directly modifiable risk factors were identified: every 10 millimeter increase in systolic blood pressure resulted in 22 percent greater risk, and every millimeter increase in fasting glucose resulted in 19 percent greater risk. Taking into account the prevalence of these modifiable risk factors in the population and assuming causal relationships, they estimated that 47 percent of AV blocks in the 58 patients would have been avoided with ideal blood pressure and 11 percent with normal fasting glucose.The authors note that the study occurred in a solely Caucasian population and advised caution in applying findings to other populations."Given the prevalence of heart block in the adult male population, as well as the multiple risks associated with pacemakers, it would be worthwhile to pursue further research on this connection," said Marcus, who holds the Endowed Professorship of Atrial Fibrillation Research in the UCSF School of Medicine. "This new information also may help persuade hypertensive individuals to receive and continue their prescribed treatments."Source: Eurekalert HARTFORD The imminent failure of majority Democrats in the General Assembly to muster enough support for the full legalization of marijuana means the states cannabis market, estimated at nearly $1 billion, will stay underground for the time being. Advocates, stunned by what appears to be a collapse of support over the last few weeks, are left to regroup and consider future strategy, including a possible amendment to the state Constitution. The consumer landscape wont change. A glut of high-potency marijuana makes black-market prices half the cost of legal cannabis in Massachusetts. But the outlaw industry also poses hazards for consumers, who dont know who is growing it or what they are buying. There are no legal protections for buyers or sellers. And of course, the state doesnt get a cut. Those without Connecticut cannabis connections can drive to one of the 18 Massachusetts retail outlets, pay their taxes to our neighboring state, and return home with their purchases though crossing state lines remains an infraction even though possession of less than one-half ounce is not a misdemeanor. Those with local dealers are saving up to 50 percent of the costs in Massachusetts, advocates of retail sales estimate. One-eighth of 1 ounce of dried cannabis flowers 3.5 grams which sells for about $60 in Massachusetts (including taxes of 20 percent), now fetches about $30 on the street in Connecticut, the advocates said. Connecticut growers and sellers face the legal risks that still exist for trafficking, along with the possibility of getting burglarized or robbed. This black market is big, and its forcing people into forming criminal organizations, said Joseph Raymond of the New England Craft Cannabis Alliance, who has advocated for the full-legalization bills before the General Assembly this year. The realities of the marketplace could have changed drastically had state lawmakers bought into the paradigm of legal sales and support, as written in the pending legislation, for urban communities impacted by decades of drug law enforcement and racially disparate incarceration. Political bureaucracy garbage While the legalization initiative supported last year during Gov. Ned Lamonts successful election campaign was approved by three legislative committees, balking lawmakers are now on the verge of letting it die on the vine for this session, which ends at midnight June 5. Raymond blames senior Democratic leaders who dont want to jeopardize lawmakers in swing districts. It really saddens me that they put a carrot in front of us this session and just wasted our time, Raymond said. But it does allow us to see what Democrats need to be taken out of office by a grassroots effort. This is like the worst political bureaucracy garbage weve seen in the four or five years some of us have invested in it. Meanwhile, irreparable damage is being done to vulnerable communities. They are going to recreate the Roaring Twenties in Connecticut. If approved, Connecticut would be the first state to enact full legalization without a voter-driven resolution or proposition on a statewide ballot forcing legislators to act. Its likely that no Republicans would vote for the bill. For many middle-of-the-road Democrats, the issues are thorny as they fear vulnerability in their 2020 re-election races. A hard push by an organization of African-American pastors, seeing more addiction in cities, swayed some lawmakers in recent days. Weve had nine states now where voters have made marijuana legal and certainly that shows that theres popular support in state after state, said Karen OKeefe, director of state policies for the Marijuana Policy Project. During an interview in the state Capitol, OKeefe acknowledged that for some elected officials, its a heavy lift to act favorably on cannabis, even though a Sacred Heart University Poll showed 70 percent support statewide. A vote in the Pacific islands Its easier when you have the opportunity to ask voters directly, since theyre supportive, and politicians tend to be a lot more cautious and behind-the-times when it comes to marijuana policy, OKeefe said. Weve got 80 to 90 percent support nationwide for medical marijuana and we still only have 33 states with medical-marijuana laws. In the continental U.S., only the Vermont legislature has approved even a partial legislation program, allowing residents to grow a few plants on their properties. Lawmakers there are still grappling with a retail model, including licensure, distribution and growing regulations. Legislators in the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands, a U.S. possession in the Pacific Ocean, approved full legalization last fall. OKeefe stressed that marijuana on the illicit market keeps consumers in the dark on its origins, how workers were treated and whether the cannabis was dosed with pesticides or even heavy metals. The Massachusetts products, like Connecticuts nationally known medical cannabis programs require extensive laboratory testing. She said under a legal cannabis model, prices go down eventually, as supply meets demand. Initially the costs for consumers might be a little bit higher, like Massachusetts, when you have a very limited supply, but in time it should be way better for consumers both in terms of having a tested, safe product; and knowing theyre not going to have someone pull a gun on them when theyre buying cannabis, she said. She added that even though prices are low on the underground market now, they can rise because of the risks and lack of economies of scale. A reeferendum push Rep. Josh Elliott, D-Hamden, one of the chief proponents of the legislation in the General Assembly, said he would consider forcing the question as a constitutional amendment. Another statute could put a non-binding question on a statewide ballot, although Elliott doubts that would affect lawmakers. I just dont see how its possible getting this through the legislature with the bill as it is, because every time it seems like were close, people start backing off, Elliott said recently outside the House chamber. Without full legalization, growers and sellers cannot perform legitimate business practices, even something as basic as creating bank accounts. I think there are many more people who are willing to go through with the constitutional amendment route, because it takes the legalization out of their hands, Elliott said. Giving it over to the voters means we can do the right thing. ... The problem with this is that it ends up being a four-to-six year timeline in getting it done. A simple majority this year in the House and Senate, followed by another simple-majority approval in the 2021 legislature, could put legalization to a full statewide vote in 2022. Piecemeal approach Both Raymond, the cannabis activist, and Elliott said that just to keep momentum on the issue, they could accept partial passage of the existing legislation, such as the establishment of a commission within the state Department of Consumer Protection, which runs the 7-year-old medical cannabis program for 33,490 patients. One of those against both a constitutional amendment and a partial approval of the existing legislation is Rep. Steve Stafstrom, D-Bridgeport, co-chairman of the Judiciary Committee, where much of the legislation originated. Stafstrom said he hasnt given up on the longshot chance to bring it to the floor of the House during the last few days of the 2019 session. Some estimate yearly tax revenue at $170 million, plus $22 million for towns and cities that host dispensaries or growers, should retail sales to adults over 21 become law. Im not sure it makes a whole lot of sense to put particular pieces in place without an overall package, Stafstrom said outside a bustling House chamber. Thats been part the struggle this year with the bill is there are a lot of different moving pieces to this, and from the outside looking in, its easy to say Look its a no-brainer, legalize it. Or Its a no-brainer dont legalize. Stafstrom sees major progress in the bills that passed in committees, including procedures for the expungement of criminal records for possession of marijuana, and new investments in impacted communities, after decades of enforcement that affected urban, minority communities at disparate rates. I would much rather make sure we put it together right, figuring how to get the votes on the entire package and then run it as one big package whenever it is time to run it, he said. The conversations every year before this was should be legalize it or not. We never got past that. This year, we got past that first hurdle to how were going to do it. kdixon@ctpost.com Twitter: @KenDixonCT When government doesnt listen, people push back. Much like the yellow-vested protesters in France marching against excessive government taxation, Connecticut citizens have donned red vests and joined NotollsCT.org to protest proposed tolling of our highways. We can all agree that we need to adequately maintain and improve our infrastructure to ensure safe passage on our roads and encourage economic development, but tolls are not the answer. Our state is at a crossroads, seeking to balance the budget and fund large road and rail infrastructure projects. There is significant disagreement, however, on how to responsibly manage costs and raise sufficient capital to achieve these goals. Connecticut tolls were removed in the 1980s for safety reasons after a horrific crash in Stratford on Interstate 95 took seven lives. The Legislature increased the gasoline tax to compensate for the lost revenues. Unfortunately, Connecticut has now spent itself into a fiscal crisis and is looking for a bailout through new taxes and tolls equate to taxes! Some in our government call tolls an additional revenue stream, but I call them highway robbery! Toll proponents led by Gov. Ned Lamont and Democratic legislative leaders, are pushing hard to establish tolls in our state as evidenced by House Bills 7202 and 7280. Plans call for up to 80 toll gantries stretched every six miles across the states major arteries, including Interstate 84, 91, 95 and Route 15. As one legislator stated: We are in effect, picking the pockets of Connecticut motorists every 6 miles as they travel to work, school, malls and beaches. As a concerned citizen and small business owner, I joined NoTollsCT.org to send our government a message that most Connecticut residents dont want tolls. Multiple polls reflect this. The following are of particular concern to me in my case against tolls in Connecticut: 1. Tolls are an extremely regressive form of taxation. They hurt people most who can afford them least the working class. Estimates show the average commuter using tolled roads would incur up to $2,200 annually in additional taxes, effectively handing your annual income tax returns back to the state of Connecticut. 2. Tolls are no longer part of our culture in Connecticut. Its one of the few remaining redeeming qualities about the Nutmeg State that differentiates us from neighboring states. 3. Tolls will infringe on our privacy and liberty and drastically change how, when and where we travel, causing economic hardship and a chilling effect on commerce. Is this really what we want? When Lamont ran for governor, he pledged to limit tolling to commercial vehicles. Shortly after he was inaugurated, he changed his position to include tolling cars. Governor Lamont lied to us. He lied to get elected and blatantly misrepresented his position, violating the public trust. Tolling Connecticut highways is nothing short of a money grab by Lamont and our Legislature to compensate for decades of fiscal mismanagement. Accordingly, Connecticut has a revenue problem because it has a spending problem. It appears that the tolling question will be decided in a special legislative session this summer as the Governor doesnt have the votes to push it through in the current session ending at mindnight June 5th. Join me at NoTollsCT.org. Sign our petition and volunteer to help take back our streets! As author Margaret Mead once said, never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. Jeffrey R. Heyel is a Connecticut Civil Rights Attorney and Adjunct Professor of Business at the University of New Haven. He is a Danbury resident. Connecticut did itself a favor this year when it put its beleaguered tourism slogan out of its misery. Still Revolutionary was plastered for seven years on tourism materials and at state attractions, but it never had much of a ring. Who wants to be still anything? The word mostly suggests someone offering a disgusted look that says, Youre still here? Gov. Ned Lamont, though, may have reason to tweak the slogan rather than trash it. In reaction to a growing number of anti-abortion laws passed around the country, particularly in the South, Lamont seems to be going for something along the lines of Still Not a Theocracy. Lamont published an open letter Monday to businesses owned by women in a growing number of states that have sharply limited abortion rights, including Alabama, whose governor has signed an outright ban on most cases. Lamont is making a push for Connecticuts business climate not based on taxes or regulations but on whether the state will get involved in your health care decision-making. Businesses owned by men should also take heed, provided they ever want to have women in their employ (or even if they dont). This is not the first time weve tried something like this. Dannel Malloy went after Indiana in 2015 when that state enacted a law that legitimized homophobia; he barred state-funded travel there and called the governor, some guy named Mike Pence, a bigot. Later, Connecticut took in a Syrian refugee family that had been refused settlement by Pence, each time playing up the contrast in state government value systems. They were both the right thing to do, even if the political implications dont reflect it. Pence today is one fast-food-burger-clogged heartbeat away from being president, while Malloys home state couldnt wait to get rid of him last year. Nonetheless, the state should do more of this, for reasons both moral and economic. The Indiana law prompted a huge and immediate backlash, to the point that the Republican majority quickly passed an amendment making clear that business owners would not be allowed to discriminate when providing services, even though the law didnt have any other purpose. Even states that consistently vote Republican dont get ahead by pushing religious law. Its common practice to see Lamonts move in reverse, where Southern governors swing through town promising lower taxes along with more pleasant winter weather. And its true that getting by is generally cheaper in, say, Arkansas. But cost of living is only one of many factors that go into a person business owner or otherwise deciding where to put down roots. For instance, having a governor like Mike Pence is enough to convince at least some would-be movers that maybe Connecticut isnt so bad. The latest wave of legislation will only exacerbate that trend. Again, the numbers dont yet reflect this. Southern states are gaining residents while Connecticuts population continues to stagnate. But the further this Pence-friendly trend goes, the starker the differences become between states that allow people to make their own health care decisions and those that dont. The current wave of anti-abortion legislation is designed to be challenged and to go to the Supreme Court, where backers hope to overturn the ruling that makes the procedure legal nationwide. If that happened, states like Alabama would be free to ban abortion, while Connecticut could keep its laws as they exist today. Connecticut wants to capitalize. If you are as concerned as we are about this issue, we would urge you to relocate your operations to a state that supports the rights of women and whose actions and laws are unwavering in support of tolerance and inclusivity, Lamont and Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz said in their letter. Connecticut needs to play to its strengths. Cost of living is not it. A refusal to treat half the population as second-class citizens is, and we should make sure everyone knows it. Hugh Bailey is editorial page editor of the Connecticut Post and New Haven Register. He can be reached at hbailey@hearstmediact.com. The recent media coverage about immigration led my wife to say to me, You could have been a dreamer. Perhaps! But it did remind me of my memories of leaving Cuba and coming to the United States as a 4-1/2-year old, before Fidel Castro assumed power. My mother, younger brother and I were coming to New York City to live with my father. I remembered him only because of a photo my mother kept showing me. We flew from Havana to Miami, a flight I recall because of the tiny yellow rectangular boxes the two flight attendants handed out to other passengers. Those sitting in the seats across the aisle opened the boxes, tossed the white shiny squares into their mouths, and appeared to roll them around with their tongues. As they chewed their cheeks kept popping out and in from their faces. I wanted to taste whatever those white squares were and extended my arm hoping one of the flight attendants would give in to my smile. But my mother waved her away. And as the Chiclets were being handed out, she said to me, No, no para ti. (Not for you.) In Miami, we stayed overnight in a hotel room with a high ceiling and a bed with a gold metal headboard. That evening as my mother cuddled my baby brother, Pedro Jesus, she cried. It was the first of two times I ever saw her cry. She had married my father, a traveling merchant marine from Puerto Rico, 16 years her senior. He had wooed her into marriage and seen her often enough to father my brother and me. Before then she had rarely traveled beyond Guantanamo, our birthplace. On the train ride from Miami to New York City we sat in a four-seater, my mother on one side, and me on the other. A story she later told was about a conductors kindness to us. She said he had gone out of his way to find a blanket to cover her and my brother while she breast-fed him. Throughout our journey, she spoke of my father. Were it not for that photo he would have been a faceless Papito. Despite the time he and my mother spent apart before we came to the United States, he remained devoted to her until his passing. In my twenties, when the coroner came to take him, she threw herself on him sobbing, mi amor, mi amor. It was the second and last time I saw her cry. Finally, we got off the train at some station in New York City. Years later my mother said we had arrived on a frigid Thanksgiving Day. I was wearing short pants, but I dont remember feeling cold. But I do remember recognizing him immediately and running into his arms. As I think back to that November day, my father, a laborer, poor, and illiterate, was attired in a manner he could have passed himself off as a captain of industry in a lineup with the likes of the Rockefellers and Vanderbilts of that era. Dressing up for him was a form of showing respect. At our dinner table he always wore a white shirt and tie. I dont know why some events from that journey are a blank and the ones I have shared are so vivid. No matter how much I try, there is not one strand of memory I can recall of how we got from Guantanamo to the airport in Havana, nor of getting to or from our hotel in Miami or how we went from the train station in NYC to our apartment in Spanish Harlem. I guess when it comes to the frames of memory our minds store, some are tucked away deep inside of us never to resurface while other frames live on inexplicably, never to be forgotten. Writers often take events from their lives and fictionalize them. If I were to do that, I would have conjured up an imaginary escape with drama and intrigue as we fled incognito across the Cuban countryside. And on the flight to Miami the attendant would have yielded to my smile and sneaked a yellow packet of Chiclets to me ... past my mothers closed eyes. As to the possibility of my being a dreamer, thats a story for another day. Juan A. Negroni, a Weston resident, is a consultant, bilingual speaker and writer. He is the chairman and CEO of the Institute of Management Consultants. Email him at juannegroni12@gmail.com How to Absorb the Marine Corps into the Army and Navy For decades, the U.S. Marine Corps has attempted to tweak its force structure to enhance performance within a constrained... NEW YORK CITY -- From a warren of desks in a downtown Manhattan office building, the small team of social workers and counselors takes calls from veterans who either won't go to the Department of Veterans Affairs or are bewildered on where to turn for help. This is the Rapid Response Referral Program of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, an effort to combat what Navy Reserve Cmdr. Jeremy Butler, IAVA's chief executive officer, calls the "navigation" problem for veterans trying to find the right fit in a vast and disjointed support system. In addition to the VA and other government agencies, there are traditional veterans service organizations and more than 40,000 support groups registered as nonprofits with the Internal Revenue Service, according to the Institute for Veterans and Military Families at Syracuse University. Over the last year, IAVA has had 235 contacts, an uptick of 50%, to the referral program from "at-risk" veterans, said Lindsay Rodman, a former Marine legal officer who served in Afghanistan and now is director of legal strategy and communications at IAVA. Related content: Admittedly, it's a small sample, she said at the IAVA's Manhattan office last month, where Military.com met with members of the referral team. "It's anecdotal. We're not talking about thousands of people," Rodman said, compared with the more than 2,000 daily calls to the VA's 24-7 Veterans Crisis Line. The 600-plus responders at three call centers have handled more than 3.5 million calls since the Crisis Line was set up in 2007, according to a blog post last year by Veterans Crisis Line director Matt Miller. "We don't have the capacity, [but] you can see trends even at our level," Rodman said, referring to the estimated 20 veterans who die by suicide daily, according to the VA, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the National Institute of Mental Health. 'A Whole Lot of Death' Former Army Sgt. Eric Donoho, who deployed to Iraq with his unit from the 25th Infantry Division in 2006 and now volunteers with IAVA, said he almost became another statistic in the grim toll when he sat alone in his Indiana home in December 2015 with a Glock in his mouth. During his tour, he said he survived the detonations of two improvised explosive devices and one EFP, or Explosively Formed Penetrator, the highly lethal devices that the Pentagon says were supplied by Iran to militia proxies in Iraq. He was later diagnosed with PTSD and a mild traumatic brain injury. While in Iraq, his unit received word that its tour was being extended to 14 months, Donoho said. "There was a whole lot of death in a very short period of time that surrounded me, so finding out that we were being extended in this way just prolonged that feeling -- am I going to make it through this?" he said. Later, "things were just foreign to me" in civilian life, he said. His family relocated from Alaska to Indiana. "My wife and I were arguing more than we were talking. I wasn't inspiring her; I wasn't inspiring my kids." He began to think they'd be better off without him. In December 2015, Donoho said, "I sat down at my kitchen table, and I pulled out my Glock and I was determined to take my own life." He said mixed feelings of shame and responsibility overwhelmed the thought of suicide. How could he let his wife and kids come home and find him on the floor, the victim of a self-inflicted violent death? He said he put the Glock back in the safe and went to pick up his kids. 'A Fractured System of Care' For the IAVA's referral team, it can come down to getting an at-risk veteran to call the VA Crisis Line or trying to get at the root of underlying issues, said former Army Staff Sgt. Dennis Higgins, an IAVA case transition manager who served five tours in Iraq and two in Afghanistan. He hears from veterans who say, "I want treatment for X or Y or Z, but I don't want to go to the VA," Higgins said. "It's an Impossible task, knowing everything that's out there" among the various groups offering help, and "each group seems to exist in its own bubble," he said. Reserve, active and National Guard soldiers and family members participated in a multi-component, joint-training opportunity at McCrady Range. The Garrison, 81st Readiness Division and South Carolina National Guard Suicide Prevention Program Managers conducted the joint-training to include Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training and Suicide-to-Hope. (Michael Mascari, 81st Readiness Division) Hannah Sinoway, IAVA's chief of services who oversees the referral program, said veterans "can be bounced around a fractured system of care" among the "thousands upon thousands" of groups that claim to offer services. Many of the calls to the Rapid Referral Team involve financial problems, Sinoway said. "They'll say, 'I have an eviction notice,' but usually when they get to that point, there are underlying factors that got them there," she said. Ashley Wegman, a senior veterans' transition manager with IAVA, echoed Sinoway, saying that a majority of the referrals initially cite financial concerns, "but when you dig deeper, you find compounding concerns." There are mood disorders, the loss of relationships or "they may have had exposure to the suicide of someone they know or have seen on the media," she said. 'Parking Lot' Suicides Get Congress Involved The recent focus at the VA, in Congress and at the White House has been on veterans who take their own lives at VA facilities, the so-called "parking lot suicides." Within five days in April, three veterans died by suicide at VA facilities -- one in Decatur, Georgia; another in Atlanta; and a third at an Austin, Texas, VA clinic. On April 29, bipartisan House members held a news conference ahead of a hearing of the House Veterans Affairs Committee on "Tragic Trends" in veteran suicides. At the news conference, Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio, announced that yet another veteran had died outside a VA facility hours earlier -- this time at the Cleveland VA Medical Center. "I am heartbroken," she said. "The fact that 20 veterans a day take their own life -- over 7,000 a year -- is a tragedy. With seven incidents of veteran suicide on VA property in 2019 alone, 25 in the last 18 months, it's critical we do more to stop this sustained national crisis." At a Senate Veterans Affairs Committee hearing April 10, Dr. Richard Stone, the executive in charge of the Veterans Health Administration, gave the same statistics on total deaths by suicide in the last 18 months at VA facilities, but he said VA staff had intervened about 240 times in recent years outside VA hospitals and clinics, saving lives. Stone echoed VA Secretary Robert Wilkie in stating that at least 14 of the daily suicides involve veterans who never had contact with the VA or sought VA mental health services. House leaders have called for legislation on additional funding for more research on suicides and monitoring at VA facilities. At a House hearing April 29, Stone said the fact that deaths are occurring outside VA hospitals "with help just a few feet away is deeply troubling." Community Help In coordination with the Department of Health and Human Services and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Wilkie has pressed a whole-of-government approach on outreach to alienated veterans and initiated a "Mayors' Challenge" and "Governor's Challenge" to get states and localities more involved. The VA needs community help in bringing down the daily suicide rate among veterans that has persisted for years, Wilkie said in a statement last week announcing a pilot program on outreach to alienated veterans. "We recognize that, just as suicide has no single determining cause, no single agency can prevent veteran suicide," he said of the pilot program to test a "community-focused public health model to prevent veteran suicide." The VA's media outreach campaign stumbled last year, according to a December report by the Government Accountability Office. The VA failed to spend millions available for outreach and cut back on messaging, the report states. Of $6.2 million in funding for media outreach, only $57,000 was spent. Shame and Love The outreach wasn't there for former Army Sgt. Danny O'Neel, who said he found himself at one point pacing the VA parking garage, consumed with rage at the system and himself. There had been a mix-up with his appointment for treatment of PTSD and suicidal thoughts, he said. The doctor or the counselor were not available that day, or the scheduler had the date wrong. Something. O'Neel, who had two tours in Iraq and survived close-quarters combat against Shiite militias in East Baghdad's Sadr City, said he thought about ending his life in the garage. That would show them. He had hit bottom before. He said he overdosed on prescription meds. "I woke up in the hospital and I wasn't dead," he said. It was a combination of shame and love that brought him back from the brink at the hospital, and it was that same feeling that led him out of the parking garage, he said. All through his struggles, his wife, Faun, had stood by him. "She was the one person in the world who gave me unconditional love, [and] I was trying to take myself away from her," O'Neel said. The help at the VA can occasionally come by happenstance. Former Senior Airman Dan Lawson said his own VA parking lot experience took place at the Biloxi, Mississippi, Veterans Affairs Medical Center in January. There was that persistent pain in his shoulder from the time he fell off the fuel truck ladder in Saudi Arabia, and then there were his thoughts about "eating a bullet. I was in a very dark spot, chasing the rabbit down the hole pretty deep," he said. He couldn't bring himself to walk through the entrance. Brandy Fulton, a licensed practical nurse at the Biloxi VA Medical Center, spotted his hesitation. Lawson said he told her he needed something from the car. He said he wasn't sure he was coming back, but Fulton went with him to the car and spoke with his wife. They walked back through the door together. Lawson said Fulton told him: "We got you now. We're going to take care of you." Lawson and O'Neel were among several veterans who agreed to go on record about their struggles with PTSD and their efforts to avoid becoming another statistic. In 2017, more than 47,000 Americans died by suicide, and there were an estimated 1.4 million suicide attempts, according to the American Foundation of Suicide Prevention. The suicide rate for veterans is about 1.5 times that of adults who were never in the military, according to VA data. Taking on the Outreach Challenge The VA has at least one "suicide prevention coordinator" at each of its 170 hospitals nationwide. Julianna Hallows is one, working out of the Fort Harrison VA Medical Center in Montana, the state with the highest overall suicide rate in the nation, according to the CDC and the Montana Department of Health and Human Services. Her outreach can involve eight-hour road trips to reach members of the Assiniboine and Nakota tribes on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, she said in a May 16 interview. Hallows, a licensed mental health counselor, said she also goes to schools, community centers and elsewhere to spread the message that it's not a sign of weakness or admission of fault to seek help, whether it's from the VA or outside groups. "There are many avenues out there" for mental health treatment, she said. "We need to take a really integrated approach" to the crisis in veterans suicides that involves families, friends and the community, Hallows said. The message is, "Hey, we're here to help you if you let us," she said. She also brings personal insight to the issue. As a teenager, Hallows said she suppressed her own suicidal thoughts. One of the things she has to contend with, she said, is Montana's culture of self-reliance. The "pick yourself up by the bootstraps" mentality is admirable in many ways, she said, but it can also reinforce the stigma that some veterans feel is attached to those who seek help. The evidence is scant thus far, but Hallows sees signs of progress. She said calls to the VA Crisis Line from Montana from at-risk veterans used to average 100 to 200 annually, but last year the number was about 450. At the Michael DeBakey VA Medical Center in Houston, suicide prevention coordinator Elizabeth Kleeman was on her way May 16 to a community task force meeting on outreach. "We want our face to be out there; we want to be known," she said. "We want people to see us as a support system," and not a cumbersome and indifferent government bureaucracy. In her job, she sometimes deals with referrals from the crisis line and other departments in the hospital. She carries a pager and, sometimes, employees in other clinics -- radiology, cardiology or elsewhere -- will sense something amiss about a veteran receiving treatment. They'll say, "Maybe you ought to come down here and talk to him," she said. As she sees it, "we have a social responsibility to be out there" in the community in a coordinated effort that would finally begin to bring down veteran suicide rate. Nonprofits Take Up the Slack Retired Army Col. Mark Bertolini was Danny O'Neel's commander in the 3-67 Armor unit of the 4th Infantry Division during their deployment to Iraq from December 2005 to December 2006. "Just a great NCO," Bertolini said of O'Neel. Bertolini, O'Neel and about 80 others from the 3-67 were in Houston recently for an "Operation Resiliency" gathering, funded by the nonprofit Independence Fund in coordination with the VA. It was the second gathering for Operation Resiliency, following one for members of the 82nd Airborne Division. Bertolini said the 3-67 lost nine soldiers in the fighting in East Baghdad, and another soldier died by suicide while there. Since the unit returned to the States, at least 14 more members of the 3-67 have died by suicide, he said. One was a major, a company commander, who "was ready to retire just a few short weeks of finishing up his career in the Army," Bertolini said. "That one really jolted me," he said. "I knew him very well. He was always a very positive guy, very upbeat and so forth." "So when that happened, for me that was really something you have to worry about because, if it will take out one of our more senior people who was always in a good mood, then you have to worry about everybody else," Bertolini said. The major didn't leave a note, he said. "The only thing I could pinpoint is I'm afraid he just didn't want to retire. I'm afraid he was afraid of life after the Army, maybe. To me, that seems to be something that was probably weighing on him a bit." Before Bertolini retired himself, "That's all I knew my whole life, being in uniform. It's tough for anyone," even for those with a plan for transition, he said. He has come to believe, he said, that "the best way to tackle that is some peer mentorship folks to talk to who have already done it, made the transition. And let people know that there is life after being in the Army or the service." At the Houston gathering, Bertolini said he stressed that "we all had battle buddies down range and, now that we're back, it shouldn't change. If we have any concerns or issues, you can talk to them." "The challenge we put out to everybody was try to get hold of six guys from the unit that didn't make it [to Houston], so we're trying to work toward that," he said. Abuse in Military Can Lead to Downward Spiral Seaman James Richards joined the Navy in 1989 and said he was the victim of military sexual trauma by other sailors. He said his abusers were never punished. After that, "life just fell apart," he said. "I tried to block out what happened," but the trauma haunted him. He was in and out of the VA medical center in Clarksburg, West Virginia. He was occasionally homeless and spent time in prison for theft, he said. He decided to end it and posted his thoughts on Facebook. County deputies came and took him to the VA again, Richards said. He doesn't remember exactly how but, somewhere along the way, he contacted or was contacted by the nonprofit group Stop Soldier Suicide. Andrew Roberts from Stop Soldier Suicide began helping him to get disability benefits and checked up on him regularly, Richards said. He now lives in Indiana near a daughter, he said. "He's stayed with me the whole time," Richards said of Roberts. "I get more calls from him than my family. I'm more at ease now." Former Army Capt. Brian Kinsella, co-founder of Stop Soldier Suicide, said the group is now focused on enhancing outreach digitally. "A big part of our ability going forward is through digital client acquisition," he said. "If we continue going down the route everyone's going down" through traditional media outreach, too many veterans in need will be missed, especially those who say "I don't need or want any help" from the VA. Veterans, their families and friends can reach a mental health professional at the VA's Veterans Crisis Line at 800-273-8255, press 1 for assistance. Or text 838255. Editor's Note: This story has been updated to correct the name of Senior Airman Dan Lawson. -- Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com. 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. 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Summary of all keyboard shortcuts Social Media You can follow us on different types of social media by clicking the links below: May 28: Davis went unclaimed on waivers, per Matt Ehalt of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). Hed have the option to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency if he chooses. May 26: The Mets have designated outfielder Rajai Davis for assignment, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com tweets. His 25-man roster spot will go to outfielder Michael Conforto, whos back after a stint on the seven-day concussion injured list. This marks a quick and unceremonious end to Davis time on the Mets 40-man roster, though theyre hopeful hell stay in the organization, per DiComo. New York selected Davis from Triple-A Syracuse on Wednesday, and the 38-year-old went on to belt a three-run home run in his first plate appearance with the team that night a 6-1 win over the Nationals. Davis totaled another six trips to the plate in his ensuing three appearances, collecting one hit. Davis bat has never been his main selling point, as he has largely mustered below-average offense across several stops since his major league career began in 2006. But Davis has often been an asset as a defender and especially as a base runner, having picked up 415 stolen bases in the majors. Despite his age, Davis has continued to show off his speed at Syracuse this season with 14 steals, and hes only a year removed from swiping 21 bags with the Indians. While its unfortunate for Davis that hes entering DFA limbo, swapping him for Conforto is a massive upgrade for the Mets. Conforto batted a tremendous .271/.406/.521 (150 wRC+) with nine HRs in 180 PA before going on the IL. It proved to be a short absence for the 26-year-old Conforto, whose return is especially important to a Mets team that has recently lost notable offensive pieces Jeff McNeil, Brandon Nimmo and Robinson Cano to injuries. Dave Coverly spends a good part of his workday on a futon in his Ann Arbor home, just sitting and thinking. Writing down random thoughts. Pairing those thoughts together in unlikely combinations. Considering the potential of absurdist humor. On a recent day, Coverlys random thoughts included musing about the Hans Christian Andersen tale of the Emperors New Clothes, as well as his familys health insurance premium. With that, Coverly mentally flashed on the image of a naked king meeting with his insurance agent. Youre not covered, the agent intones. Bingo! Another Speed Bump cartoon is born. Published in hundreds of U.S. newspapers, including MLives comic pages, Speed Bump is a single-panel cartoon known for its quirky punch lines. There is no reoccurring story line, which means Speed Bump features a wide variety of topics and characters, from humans to animals to aliens. The formula is putting two things together to make a new thing, and the humor comes from the surprise of that, Coverly said. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesnt, said Coverly, who has degrees in philosophy and creative writing. "Some people tell me, I always read your cartoons but I dont always get them. Cartooning is 80 or 90 percent thinking of the idea, Coverly added. Theres a saying that a good drawing cant save bad writing, but good writing can save a bad drawing. Coverly should know. This year, he marks the 25th anniversary of Speed Bump, which means hes produced more than 9,000 cartoons since 1994. That puts him in an elite group of cartoonists, both in readership and longevity. The National Cartoonist Society named Coverly their 2009 Cartoonist of the Year -- the Oscar award of the cartooning world -- and Speed Bump won the organizations award for best newspaper panel in 1995, 2003 and 2014. Being a syndicated cartoonist is a dream career, Coverly says, one he credits as much to dumb luck as to talent, work ethic and burning ambition. That ambition goes back to his childhood in Plainwell, north of Kalamazoo. Coverly says he was fascinated by cartoons as a boy, and got a push from a high school teacher who gave him old copies of the New Yorker. Coverly didnt get many of the magazines cartoons, but he created scrapbooks of his favorites, studying the elements that made them work. Coverly honed his cartoon skills at Eastern Michigan University, where he worked at the college newspaper, and after graduating he started freelancing editorial cartoons for several newspapers. By 1994, Coverly was working on a graduate degree in creative writing at Indiana University, while shopping a proposal for a cartoon strip. His Holy Grail, he said, was syndication. Thats where luck stepped in. The brother of Creators Syndicates founder loved one of Coverlys cartoons and convinced the syndicate to offer Coverly a contract. But that particular cartoon came via a defunct magazine, and the syndicate didnt have Coverlys contact information. By luck, six months later they found a postcard Coverly had sent to pitch his work, and Coverly got the call he had long been awaiting. Speed Bump started in April 1994 with eight newspapers. A few months later, Coverly had another stroke of good fortune: Gary Larson retired his Far Side cartoon, leaving newspapers across the country with a hole in their comic section. And Speed Bump was a single-panel cartoon the same size as the Far Side and with a similar sensibility. Coverly picked up 108 more newspapers that way, which created a tipping point -- once he was in that many newspapers, it became easier to sell Speed Bump to others, Coverly said. I started making a living at it. In 1996, he and his wife, Chris, moved their family to Ann Arbor, a place close, but not too close, to their extended families in the Kalamazoo area. They bought a house on Ann Arbors west side with a third-floor finished attic that Coverly turned into a home studio. For the past 23 years, Coverly has spent time in the studio also almost every day. Mondays, he creates his Sunday cartoon. Tuesdays and Wednesdays -- his longest and busiest days -- he churns out the other six cartoons for the week. Thursday through Sunday, Coverly works on his other projects. In addition to Speed Bump, he writes and illustrates childrens books; assemblies various anthologies of this work; produces cartoons for greeting cards and other merchandise, and he does illustrations for Barkbox, a monthly subscription service providing dog products and services. In time for Speed Bumps silver anniversary, one publisher is about to release 25 Years of Speed Bump"; a second is publishing a collection of cat cartoons, Cats Are People, Too," and a French publisher is issuing a series of Speed Bump books for the European market. As for non-Speed Bump books, the childrens book How to Care for Your Pet T-Rex was published this month. Coverly illustrated the story, which was written by Ken Baker. Coverly, who is 55, says hes never going to retire." I love that feeling when I get an idea," he said. The trick is thinking of something that nobody else has thought of -- and doing that for the rest of your life." Its a good thing he has a talent for cartooning, he added. I suck at everything else. So its worked out. HOLLY TWP, MI -- Dad or Pops. Wife, Mother, Nurse and Grandmother. Free Spirited. Superman. Always Our Hero. Those are some of the words etched onto the more than 40,000 marble headstones covering the rolling hills at Great Lakes National Cemetery in Holly Township. Marie Aljets set a few flowers down in front of one of the markers emblazoned with her late husbands name and one message: Beloved Husband And Father. Gregory V. Aljets, Maries husband of nearly 49 years, died July 14, 2018. The U.S. Army veteran was 69 years old. The pair met in high school, both attending Grosse Pointe South, and married when they were 20 years old. Drafted into service in 1969, Gregory left two weeks after their nuptials and was shipped to Fort Knox, Tennessee and then over to Vietnam where he was, in part, a driver and bodyguard for a major general during his two-year tour of duty. While he was back home in May 1970 for a break, Marie and Gregory traveled to Hawaii for some rest and relaxation. Catching a glimpse of the news one day while on their trip, Marie pointed out to her husband that Major Gen. John Dillard Jr.s helicopter had been shot down in Vietnam and killed. (Gregory) would have been shot down, she said. It was just sort of a weird thing that it wasnt meant to be. She described her husband as a kind man who wrote letters home often -- which Marie still holds onto -- in which Gregory expressed a sense of fear when soldiers were alerted to an impending attack and had to climb into a bunker. His fear had at least one breaking point amid his time overseas. He said youre supposed to get permission to shoot or something and there was some kind of a snake, chuckled Marie. He said I didnt get permission, I just shot it. Jim Hess, a U.S. Army veteran and architect of Great Lakes National Cemetery who served as the keynote speaker for the 14th annual Memorial Day ceremony on Sunday, May 26, discussed coming back from Vietnam and feeling some shame, at the time, with people hurling slurs at him and his fellow veterans. Marie said Gregory felt those arrows as well, being spit upon and having harsh language shouted his way. These guys did not want to wear a uniform, did not want to wear a hat because people were outright rude, she noted. Youre not a baby killer. It wasnt him. It wasnt the guys or the womenIt was just the way it was. He eventually found a job as a mechanic and later went on to work at General Dynamics. A bit of gear head on the side, Gregory restored a Corvette and a 1969 Plymouth Roadrunner that he spotted in a yard in northern Michigan. Despite some health woes including diabetes and heart bypass surgery, Gregory continued working on the vehicles. He pulled the engine (in the Roadrunner), had stroke in between all that, said Marie. The doctor said youll never get back to it. Thats what got back into. When he began having trouble with his legs, Gregory decide to sell off the vehicle he and Marie would take for cruises on summer evenings. He said I cant see it sit here, she pointed out. He was a really good guy. Marie noticed a change, as Hess noted in his speech, around 10 years ago on the way Vietnam veterans were being recognized. One guy that I worked with came up and thanked him for his service. I said Scott, youre the first person to do that, she said. He always wore his hat thenSo many people came up, young, older, and that Im so glad he got to see. GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- Just days after controversy erupted over U.S. Rep. Justin Amashs support of impeachment proceedings for President Trump, the congressman has set a town hall meeting for Grand Rapids. Amash, R-Cascade Township, will meet with constituents from 5:30-6:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 28 at Grand Rapids Christian High School, 2300 Plymouth Ave. SE. The meeting will be in the DeVos Center for Arts and Worship. Staff for Amash announced the town hall meeting Saturday, May 25. The congressman came under scrutiny May 18 when he posted a series of Tweets to outline his support for impeachment proceedings. As such, he is the only Republican congress member to do so. The following days brought an announcement from the wealthy DeVos family about no longer supporting him financially. 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. Amash made his comments about impeachment, he said, after carefully and completely reading the redacted Mueller report. The report was the culmination of an investigation into whether Trump or his aides colluded with Russia in efforts to influence the 2016 election outcome. Mueller found no collusion, but left open the question whether Trump obstructed justice. IONIA COUNTY, MI A 44-year-old West Michigan man died Saturday after an off-road vehicle rolled over and landed on his chest, according to Michigan State Police. The Ionia man was one of two passengers ejected from the ORV during the crash, according to a news release issued by MSP. He was not identified by police. The crash happened around 9:45 p.m., Saturday, May 25, in a field off Hayes Road north of Charles Road in Ionia Countys Ronald Township. The 45-year-old male driver of the ORV was arrested following the crash and was lodged at the Ionia County jail for operating an ORV while intoxicated causing death, the release reads. The drivers name was withheld by police pending arraignment. Troopers from the MSP Lakeview Post responded at around 9:45 p.m. Saturday to the crash reported near Hayes Road. Upon investigation, troopers found that a Honda ORV occupied by three people had rolled over and ejected two passengers, according to the release. The 44-year-old male passenger, who was sitting in the front seat, was airlifted to a trauma center in Grand Rapids where he was later pronounced dead from injuries sustained in the crash, the release reads. An unidentified female passenger also was injured in the crash. She was taken to a local Ionia hospital further treatment. Ronald Township fire, Life Ambulance and Air Care assisted troopers at the scene. CASS COUNTY, MI A 30-year-old Indiana man was hospitalized Sunday morning after a hit-and-run crash in southwest Michigan, according to the Cass County Sheriffs office. The crash happened around 8:30 a.m., Sunday, May 26, on U.S. 12 near Sunset Boulevard in Cass Countys Porter Township, according to a news release issued by the sheriffs office. The man was identified as Erick Prouty of Bristol, Indiana, the release reads. The crash remains under investigation. Deputies responded Sunday morning on a report of a hit-and-run crash in Porter Township. Upon arrival, deputies determined that Prouty was traveling in a vehicle heading westbound on U.S. 12 near Sunset Boulevard when an eastbound vehicle illegally attempted to pass traffic, according to the release. Prouty, who was traveling along a curve in the road, attempted to maintain control of his truck. He was unable to do so and was forced off the roadway. The passing vehicle did not stop, the release reads. A witness did stop, however, to help Prouty out of his vehicle. Prouty was taken to a local hospital by ambulance. He was wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash, the release reads. Porter Fire Department and SEPSA Ambulance assisted deputies at the scene. Anyone with information relating to the crash is asked to contact the Cass County Sheriffs office at 269-445-2481. BERRIEN COUNTY, MI A 53-year-old Indiana man was seriously injured Saturday after he crashed his bike in southwest Michigan, according to the Berrien County Sheriffs office. The man was identified as Daniel Francis, 53, of Shelby, Indiana, according to a news release issued by the sheriffs office. The crash happened around 6:30 p.m., Saturday, May 25, on eastbound I-94 near Exit 4 toward U.S. 12/Niles in Berrien Countys New Buffalo Township. Francis suffered life-threatening injuries and was not wearing a helmet at the time of the crash, the release reads. The crash remains under investigation. Deputies and medical responders were dispatched at 6:36 p.m. Saturday to eastbound I-94 on a reported of a vehicle crash with unknown injuries. Upon arrival, deputies found that a motorcycle had crashed. Francis, the driver and the bikes sole occupant, was found unconscious. Witnesses reported that Francis attempted to exit but was going too fast and failed to negotiate the sharp curve of the exit, according to the release. The motorcycle veered off the roadway and crashed into a ditch, ejecting Francis from the bike. Francis was taken to Spectrum Health Lakeland hospital to seek treatment for serous life-threatening injuries, the release reads. New Buffalo police, New Buffalo Township fire and Medic 1 assisted Berrien County Sheriffs deputies at the scene. OTSEGO TOWNSHIP, MI A 25-year-old man died early Sunday morning after he crashed into a parked car following a high-speed chase with police, according to the Allegan County Sheriffs office. The crash happened shortly after midnight Sunday, May 26, on 102nd Avenue east of 12th Street in Allegan Countys Otsego Township, according to a news release issued by the sheriffs office. The mans identity is being withheld until sheriffs deputies can notify his family. The crash remains under investigation. Drugs and alcohol are believed to be factors in the crash, the release reads. Sheriffs deputies just before midnight on Saturday, May 25, attempted to stop a vehicle on 102nd Street near 16th Street in Otsego Township. The vehicle fled from the stop at a high rate of speed, according to the release. As deputies attempted to catch up, the 25-year-old man crashed his vehicle into an unoccupied vehicle parked near 12th Street. The 25-year-old male driver was injured in the crash and later died from his injuries on the way to a local hospital. He was pronounced dead by hospital staff upon arrival, the release reads. Michigan State Police assisted Allegan County Sheriffs deputies with the investigation. The Plainwell Department of Public Safety, Plainwell EMS and the Otsego Police Department assisted deputies at the scene. FLUSHING, MI - Flint Southwestern High School celebrated their 2019 prom on Saturday, May 25. The Hollywood-themed prom was located at Signature Chop House. Family engagement coordinator for Flint schools Pamela Miller has been helping the class of 2019 fundraise their prom for more than 3 years. This was my crew, Miller said. Its bittersweet. I might not never see them again, thats the bitterness of it. The sweet is to see them go to the next chapter of their life. I have a bond with all of them. Theyre my babies. Miller later announced Zameer Wallace and Alexis Speaight as prom king and queen. It feels great to come out and have fun with my friends for the last time, Wallace said. Its a night to remember." To view photos from the evening click the gallery above. If you are viewing this article through Facebook, click this link. US Attorney General William Barr is expected to seek advice from the intelligence community on how best to declassify data regarding what prompted the Russiagate probe a prospect that has caused some panic among its proponents. The attorney general will do everything to protect sensitive intelligence data and would thus take suggestions from US intelligence officials as he plans to go on with the investigation of corruption at the FBI and the DOJ, White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders, told NBCs Meet the Press. Also on rt.com Trump directs AG Barr to declassify data on what prompted Russiagate probe We expect that the attorney general will consult with them on matters that he needs that guidance and advice from them, she said. Certainly they work in lock step on a number of things. I dont see this to be any different. Earlier this week, President Donald Trump granted Barr authority to declassify materials related to what triggered the Russiagate investigation and ordered the heads of the intelligence agencies to cooperate with him on the matter. Trump vowed to ensure that all Americans learn the truth about the probe. He also repeatedly stated since April that he planned to declassify everything. Such a prospect apparently did not sit well with some parts of the US political establishment and the mainstream media who have been previously eagerly promoting the Russiagate narrative and demanded that the Mueller report, which found no collusion, be declassified. Both the New York Times and the Washington Post rushed to publish articles which argued that Barrs investigation would pose a risk to some important CIA assets, in Russia in particular. The Washington Post, especially, seemed to be unable to simply let the Russian meddling narrative go as it said in its piece that the attorney general threatens to expose US intelligence sources and could distort the FBI and the CIAs roles in investigating Russian interference in the 2016 elections. Prominent Democrat Russiagaters did not trail far behind either. Mark Warner (D-Virginia), the deputy head of the Senate Intelligence Committee, was decidedly quick to condemn the fact that Trump gave sweeping declassification powers to an attorney general, who allegedly already showed that he has no problem selectively releasing information in order to mislead the American people. The House Intelligence Committee chair Adam Schiff (D-California) even said in his tweet that the disclosure would somehow help Trump to prevent the public from learning the truth about his obstruction of justice and would be conducive to information cover up. Notably, just weeks ago, the Democrats called for a vote to hold Barr in contempt of Congress after the Justice Department refused to hand them over an unredacted copy of the Mueller report on the supposed collusion between the Trump election campaign and Russia. The nearly-three-year-long investigation beginning with FBI surveillance in 2016 and ending with Special Counsel Robert Mueller's submission of his report in April this year failed to turn up conclusive evidence of wrongdoing by Trump. The latest developments have seemingly put some of the US intelligence agencies somewhat on the defensive. Also on rt.com This was treason: Trump hints at long jail sentences over FBI spying on his campaign While Barr said he believes spying did occur on the Trump campaign, the FBI Director Christopher Wray told a Senate panel spying would not be the term he would use and suggested referring to his agencys actions as instead. If you like this story, share it with a friend! Israels President Reuven Rivlin lashed out at Berlins top anti-Semitism chief for his defeatist attitude towards protecting local Jews against the rise of hate crimes. The criticism from Tel Aviv was provoked by Felix Klein, who told local media that he cant recommend Jews to wear kippahs anywhere at any time in Germany. Unfortunately, I have to say so, Klein said, lamenting the spike in hate crimes in the country. On Sunday, his comments were met with a strong rebuke from Israels President Reuven Rivlin, who was deeply shocked by the German officials words. It is Berlins responsibility to secure the safety and protect religious rights of the local Jewish community, he said, calling Kleins approach a capitulation to anti-Semitism. We will never lower our gaze and will never react to anti-Semitism with defeatism and we expect and demand our allies act in the same way. Felix Kleins statement sparked controversy in Germany as well. Bavarias Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann stressed that everyone can and should wear kippahs wherever and whenever they want. He argued that bowing down to the hatred of Jews fuels extreme right-wing views. The US envoy to Berlin, Richard Grenell, known for actively weighing in on internal debates in Germany, took a similar view, saying that Jews should be encouraged to wear kippahs, not advised against it. The office of the commissioner for combating anti-Semitism was created in 2018 as part of an effort to tackle the upswing in crimes against Jews across Germany. According to the government, violent attacks on Jews grew more than 60 percent last year. Some 43 people were injured during that period. Also on rt.com Beatings, harassment & bullying: Germanys anti-Semitic hate crimes soar by 10% Think your friends would be interested? Share this story! Israels ultra-Orthodox party has called on former defense minister Avigdor Lieberman not to drag Israel into civil war by refusing to back down on a bill that would include Haredi men in the mandatory military draft. We are calling on Lieberman not to drag Israel into civil war, Shas said in a statement that accused the ex-minister of not telling the truth about the draft law and using it as an excuse to topple the right-wing government. Their criticism echoes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus earlier sentiments on the issue. Also on rt.com 1,200 hidden cameras seized from Israeli polling stations as Netanyahu defends Likud move Netanyahu has until Wednesday to form a coalition government after Aprils elections left his Likud Party short of enough seats. Yisrael Beiteinu chair Lieberman has said he would only form a government with Likud if the bill about ultra-Orthodox conscription was passed in the Knesset. Ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students are currently able to defer from the Israel Defense Forces draft. Shas said Liebermans unwillingness to change a comma or word in the law makes it clear that he is not interested in any substantive solution or discussion, but all he wants is to obstruct the establishment of a government. Also on rt.com To prison but never to the army! Jerusalem police crush ultra-Orthodox Jews protest (VIDEOS) Netanyahu believes Lieberman doesnt really want to enter a government with him and that hes trying to anger the ultra-Orthodox parties so that they wont compromise on the contentious military draft bill, which would force a new election, Haaretz reports. Likud claims its an attempt to turn the debate into a war over religion, saying that the ultra-Orthodox may have been willing to compromise, but now are too angry to back down. Lieberman denies this, writing on Facebook that his party "said in a clear and public manner that we would only support Netanyahu as the candidate to form the government, and that it rejected every offer it got from other parties. Also on rt.com Thousands of Israelis protest immunity bill that would shield Netanyahu from indictment (PHOTOS) He said that Likud should be pressuring the main opponent of the bill, United Torah Judaism's Yaakov Litzman. The bill passed its first of three readings in the last Knesset in July. It places eventual financial penalties on religious schools that fail to send a quota of yeshiva students to the military. The religious parties want the bill to be softened. Lieberman quit Likud in November after Netanyahu agreed to a ceasefire with Hamas, and the PM reportedly believes his former defense minister is taking a tough stance on the draft bill because Netanyahu wouldnt agree to change his Gaza policy when the pair met after the elections. Like this story? Share it with a friend! Foreign deployments have seemingly taken a heavy toll on the German Army, which has been already struggling with personnel shortages as hundreds of soldiers return from the missions physically or mentally crippled, a report says. As many as 800 soldiers of the German Armed Forces, or Bundeswehr, have been deemed unfit for further military service after being deployed to Afghanistan, Mali and some other countries, the German daily, Bild reports, citing data from the defense ministry. They are currently undergoing a special program, which includes medical treatment and training aimed at helping them reintegrate into civilian life. A further 1,400 servicemen already completed their rehabilitation, according to the ministry. Also on rt.com Half of Germanys potential army recruits unfit, lack motivation or have no citizenship reports However, almost 280 servicemen returned from their missions abroad suffering from various mental disorders last year alone, Bild reports. Since 2015, 28 members of the German military had to be retired early due to mental health problems. Germany has expanded its military presence abroad over recent years. Nowadays, more than 3,300 Germans are serving away from home. The most significant military contingent is still stationed in Afghanistan, where Germany has 1,175 soldiers. Berlin also deployed a total of 1,012 soldiers to Mali as part of an EU training mission and a UN peacekeeping operation. Other foreign destinations include Syria and Iraq, where Germans serve as part of the US-led coalition and train Iraqi forces. However, this active foreign engagement might yet prove to be too costly for the Bundeswehr, which already struggles to fill its ranks. Troop shortages have become so pronounced that Berlin even mulled the idea of bringing back conscription in 2018 seven years after it was abolished. However, the Bundeswehr still plan to further increase its numbers, which should reach 203,000 by 2025. To do that, the German Armed Forces would need some 21,000 new recruits as the Bundeswehr had about 182,000 uniformed soldiers in early 2019. And it is seemingly ready to stop at nothing to achieve this goal. One of the personnel replacement options that the German military actively pursued for quite some time involved an elaborate and intensive social media campaign aimed at German teenagers, which prompted them to join the army in record numbers. Also on rt.com German army targets children with glossy ads amid chronic personnel shortage Another unconventional idea suggested by the German Chief of Defense Erberhard Zorn in December 2018 was centered around recruiting people from other EU nations to the ranks of the Bundeswehr. The bright prospects of fast troop replenishment faced an obstacle in the form of the German law, though. Germanys own military act, passed back in 1956, still requires recruits to be German citizens. Think your friends would be interested? Share this story! Iran has proposed signing a non-aggression pact to its neighbors, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said. At the same time, the country is ready to defend itself from any attack, be it an economic war or a military one. Tehran has offered to sign a non-aggression pact with its neighbors in the Gulf, Zarif said on Sunday during a joint press conference in Baghdad with his Iraqi counterpart Mohamed al-Hakim. Iran's top diplomat did not name an exact list of the countries eyed in the document, yet stressed that Tehran seeks to build balanced relations with all Gulf states. At the same time, Zarif cautioned that the country is ready to defend itself if attacked, by any means necessary. We will defend against any war efforts against Iran, whether it be an economic war or a military one, and we will face these efforts with strength. Tensions have been high in the region over the past weeks, as the ongoing standoff between the US and Iran got even more heated. Washington has ramped up its warlike rhetoric against Tehran, accusing it but providing no hard evidence of plotting attacks on US citizens in neighboring countries. Also on rt.com Pentagon claims Irans Revolutionary Guards behind ship sabotage off UAE coast as Abu Dhabi mum Apart from that, several Saudi tankers were damaged under shady circumstances at a UAE port and the blame was squarely put on Iran. Tehran maintained it was not involved in inflicting the minor damage on the vessels, blaming the incident on some sort of Israeli mischief instead. Following the incident with the tankers and a drone attack on a Saudi pipeline, attributed to Yemen's Houthi rebels, Riyadh accused Iran of seeking to destabilize the whole region and vowed to confront it with all strength and determination if attacked. Tehran, on its part, has repeatedly stated that its not plotting to attack anyone, yet is more than capable of retaliating and even defeating the US and its allies in the Middle East. Also on rt.com Iran will not surrender even if bombed Rouhani Like this story? Share it with a friend! As the issues of legality and morality of abortions consume the national debate in the US, Pope Francis has thrown his weight behind the pro-life side of the argument, comparing the procedure to hiring an assassin. The pontiff, who is known for his outspoken aversion to the practice, tore into the proponents of abortion as an inalienable human right. Speaking at an anti-abortion conference in Vatican on Saturday, he argued that there is no excuse for taking away a human's life even in cases when the fetus has a debilitating medical condition and the newborn might die at birth or shortly after. Also on rt.com Redacted Tonight takes on corporations claiming to support women & funding abortion ban enthusiasts "Is it licit to throw away a life to resolve a problem? Is it licit to hire a hitman to resolve a problem?" Francis asked, stressing that a sick fetus should be provided with all possible care, as should the parents, who need to be prepared to cope with their loss. "Taking care of these children helps parents to grieve and not only think of it as a loss, but as a step on a path taken together." Francis, as the head of the Roman Catholic Church, has not shunned away from controversial comparisons before. Last October, he spoke along the same lines, equating abortion with "resorting to a contract killer to solve a problem." Before that, he compared the practice with a version of the Nazi eugenics program. While the Vatican's rhetoric might sound extreme to pro-choice activists who fight against blanket bans on abortions, Francis has reaffirmed the Catholic Church's centuries-old opposition to the practice, which it considers a mortal sin. READ MORE: Strongly pro-life but supports exceptions: Trump weighs in on raging abortion law battle The strong-worded remark from Francis comes at a time the issue is grabbing the headlines in US media after half a dozen states passed restrictive anti-abortion bills or are prepare to do so The strictest abortion bill in the nation was signed into law by Alabama governor Kay Ivey last week. It makes the procedure a class-A felony, outlawing all abortions, including in the case of incest and rape, but makes an exception if the mother's life is at stake. Doctors who violate the ban face 10 to 99 years in prison. The bill sparked an outcry and mass protests led by pro-choice activists, and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Planned Parenthood on Friday filed a lawsuit to challenge it. Earlier this month Ohio, Georgia and Mississippi passed "fetal heartbeat" laws, which prohibit abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, around the time when a fetus' heartbeat can be detected. Only the Georgia law included exemptions for rape and incest. The bills, while applauded by pro-life activists, have spawned numerous legal challenges and are likely to be contested. On Friday, a federal judge in Mississippi blocked the respective anti-abortion law, granting preliminary injunction after hearing the argument from the Center for Reproductive Rights. Missouri has become the latest state to pass a bill outlawing abortions after eight weeks and envisioning 15-year prison terms for doctors who perform them. Louisiana lawmakers are scheduled to vote on the state's own heartbeat abortion ban on Tuesday. Think your friends would be interested? Share this story! US President Donald Trump brushed off the North Korea hawks on his team, saying he was not at all disturbed by the news of renewed muscle flexing by Pyongyang. The launch of some small weapons by North Korea worries some of my people, and others, but not me, Trump tweeted on Saturday during his trip to Japan. Pyongyang test-fired short-range ballistic missiles in early May, ending its two-year pause in missile launches. Not surprisingly, the news startled the North Korea hawks in Washington. Also on rt.com Kim 'sending me a signal'? Trump joins in N. Korea's mocking of 'Swampman Joe Bidan' The president appeared to shrug off their fears, saying he is confident that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will keep his promise to me not to fire long-range ballistic missiles and conduct nuclear tests. By doing so, Trump continued his line of insisting that the leaders remain cordial and enjoy mutual understanding, despite signs that relations between the two nations have soured. Donald Trumps message came as a rebuff to foreign policy hardliners like his national security advisor, John Bolton, and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Bolton earlier told reporters in Tokyo that there was no doubt that Pyongyangs recent missile tests violate international law. The official said that, unlike Trump, he takes much of what North Korea says with a grain of salt. Also on rt.com 'Fool of low IQ': North Korea roasts Biden after presidential hopeful attacks Kim Jong-un Talks between Washington and Pyongyang fell apart during the Trump-Kim meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam in February. North Korean diplomats said this happened because the US refused to partially lift sanctions in exchange for additional assurances that the nation will not conduct any more long-range missile tests. North Korea later said that the talks cannot resume until the US changes its approach and stops making impossible demands. The officials had even made a specific request for Mike Pompeo to be taken off the negotiating team. The White House refused, insisting that Pompeo will continue to lead the talks. Think your friends would be interested? Share this story! Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders took a swipe at neoconservative Bill Kristol for his foolish advocacy of the Iraq war, and questioned whether he had apologized to the country for it yet. Sanders was responding to a tweet Kristol sent that said, #Never Sanders, and linked to a New York Times article about the longtime Vermont senators opposition to war. Have you apologized to the nation for your foolish advocacy of the Iraq war? Sanders tweeted, adding he makes no apologies for opposing it. Sanders record of opposing wars like Vietnam and Iraq, and US meddling in Nicaragua, has recently been highlighted by the media as the 2020 presidential primaries approach. NBCs Meet the Press came under fire last week for tweeting, Sanders said he won't apologize for supporting anti-Vietnam War efforts and voting against the war in Iraq, which sparked ridicule among social media users and inspired Sanders to release a video in which he stood by his anti-war stance and promised to do everything to prevent a war with Iran. Kristol tweeted his never Sanders diss after the former Burlington mayor introduced a petition to prevent military action against Iran without congressional approval, something that likely upset Kristol, who has been calling for regime change in Iran for over 13 years. Kristol refused to apologize over his comments, instead calling on Sanders to engage in a "real debate on US foreign policy." A co-founder of the neoconservative think tank the Project for the New American Century (PNAC), Kristol called for regime change in Iraq in 1998 in a series of articles and a letter to then-President Bill Clinton. Following 9/11, PNAC encouraged the George W. Bush administration to overthrow Saddam Hussein. Kristol ardently supported the war in Iraq, which he claimed would be a two-month war and repeatedly argued for sending more troops there to rectify the failing invasion. During the 2006 Lebanon war, Kristol suggested the US take the opportunity to strike Irans nuclear facilities, asking, Why wait? If you like this story, share it with a friend! While nuclear power plants in the US are retiring as they face stiff cost competition from cheap and abundant natural gas, America has also been struggling to keep its leadership on the global nuclear power market. The United States must protect its longstanding leadership on nuclear energy globally, Senators Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-Rhode Island) wrote in an op-ed to CNBC. The US lawmakers believe that reviving nuclear energy in the US and developing new and advanced reactors will raise the share of clean energy generation in America on the one hand, and reestablish US leadership on the global market, on the other. Also on rt.com Floating nuclear power plant to light up China If the US does not reassert global leadership in this sector, others will. Russia and China today account for more than 60 percent of new nuclear plants under construction worldwide, Senators Crapo and Whitehouse said. Given the mounting challenges of climate change and geopolitical and national security threats, we cannot afford to allow rival nations to define the nuclear energy landscape, the Senators wrote. In the US, nuclear power plants come under pressure from competition from low natural gas prices, growing renewable power generation, and limited growth in overall electricity demand, the EIA said in May last year, noting that the future of nuclear power will depend on natural gas prices and potential carbon policies. Also on rt.com Russia & China to ink deal for construction of two nuclear reactors Last year, nuclear electricity generation accounted for 19.3 percent of all US utility-scale power generation, preceded by natural gas with 35.1 percent and coal with 27.4 percent, and followed by renewables including hydropower with 17.1 percent, EIA data shows. Despite the fact that several nuclear power plants have closed since 2010, last years US nuclear electricity generation beat the previous record from 2010, as some plants commissioned uprates to boost generation capacity while facilities overall reduced the time for maintenance or refueling, the EIA said in March 2019. However, the 2018 record in nuclear electricity generation is unlikely to be beaten in the coming decades, because only two reactors are expected to come online in the near future, Georgias Vogtle Units 3 and 4 in 2021 and 2022, respectively. The new capacity from those two reactors will not be able to offset the closings of 12 reactors by 2025 based on the currently announced retirements, the EIA said. According to Senators Crapo and Whitehouse, the immediate replacement of nuclear power in the US generation mix comes mostly from fossil fuels, predominantly natural gas. This means more fossil fuels, less clean energy, and a big step backward for emissions reductions and climate change, they argue. Outside the US, America must reassert its leadership in nuclear power generation technology, said the Senators who co-chaired the Atlantic Council Task Force on US Nuclear Energy Leadership, which issued this week the report US Nuclear Energy Leadership: Innovation And The Strategic Global Challenge. US leadership is under strain, challenged by the continuing and premature closure of US nuclear plants, the decline of our domestic nuclear fuel-cycle capabilities, and the ambitious domestic and international nuclear energy programs of Russia and China, according to the report. The recommendations of the report include: expand the US civilian nuclear fleet and industry, support new technologies research, and encourage and facilitate exports. The current Administration has already passed two bipartisan acts to boost nuclear civilian power technology and generation, the Nuclear Energy Innovation Capabilities Act (NEICA) and the Nuclear Energy Innovation and Modernization Act (NEIMA). In March this year, Senators reintroduced another bipartisan legislation, the Nuclear Energy Leadership Act (NELA). Also on rt.com Putin vows to launch first Russian-built nuclear plant in Turkey in 2023 The Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), the policy organization of the US nuclear technologies industry, welcomed the introduction of the bill, with president and chief executive officer Maria Korsnick saying: This legislation sends an unmistakable signal that the United States intends to re-commit itself as a global leader in clean, advanced nuclear technology. State-owned and state-sponsored developers in rival nations especially China and Russia are developing next-generation nuclear technology. For the American nuclear industry to compete globally, we must have significant collaboration among the federal government, our national labs and private industry to accelerate innovation, Korsnick said. This article was originally published on Oilprice.com At least two people have died after a tornado ripped through a trailer park and destroyed a hotel in El Reno outside Oklahoma City, officials in the US state have said. The suspected twister struck El Reno during a powerful storm on Saturday night. A number of people are reportedly missing and several people have been hospitalized. Videos show the damage done to the American Budget Value Inn as emergency crews searched for survivors in the rubble and debris left in the tornados wake. Cars were overturned and trailers at a nearby park were damaged. El Reno Mayor Matt White told a news conference early Sunday that his community absolutely experienced a traumatic event. Were doing a search and rescue right now, he said, adding, We have all hands on deck. Like this story? Share it with a friend! Both Caracas and Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido have confirmed they sent their representatives to Oslo for talks scheduled to begin next week, a second such attempt at dialogue within two weeks. As the Venezuelan government and the opposition remain deadlocked, with Western-backed, self-proclaimed 'interim president' Guaido failing to enlist enough support from the military to overthrow President Nicolas Maduro last month, the parties appear to be turning to diplomacy. Also on rt.com Maduros minister secretly meets with Guaidos representative STALIN in Norway reports Both Guaido and Maduro confirmed on Saturday that their respective delegations will meet in Oslo next week. It was reported that high-ranking officials from the Maduro government and close aides to Guaido have already arrived in the Norwegian capital. The confirmation came several hours after Norway announced it would host the negotiations, a follow-up from an earlier round of secretive talks held last week at an undisclosed location in the Norwegian capital. At the time, Norway's NRK broadcaster reported it was the second time Maduro and Guaido representatives sat down for talks, which would mean the parties are now gearing up for a third round. READ MORE: My daughter could die: US sanctions hit Venezuelan girls medical treatment While there is little information on the outcome of the previous rounds, it has been confirmed that the opposition delegation would be led by the same lawmakers National Assembly Vice President Stalin Gonzalez, former Caracas area Mayor Gerardo Blyde, and former Transport Minister Fernando Martinez Mottola. In a statement on Saturday, Guaido said the opposition would insist on the "cessation of usurpation, transition and free elections." Maduro thanked the Norwegian government for its role in the peace-making effort, adding that the delegation from Caracas has departed to Oslo "with a willingness to work on the agreed comprehensive agenda and to advance the conclusion of good agreements." The Venezuelan government delegation would consist of Information Minister Jorge Rodriguez and Miranda state Governor Hector Rodriguez, who took part in an earlier round of talks, and would also include Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza. The secretary of the Venezuelan National Human Rights Council (HRD), Larry Devoe, is expected to show up as well, AFP reported, citing anonymous officials. Even as the Venezuelan opposition seems to accept the idea that talks with Maduro may be the preferable way out of the crisis, its backers in the US State Department have been quick to dismiss any solution short of ousting Maduro, stating that the only subject worth discussing is "the conditions of his departure." "We hope the talks in Oslo will focus on that objective, and if they do, we hope progress will be possible," spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said. The US was the first country to recognize Guaido, which dozens of its allies took as a nod to do the same. Washington has refused to rule out a military invasion in Venezuela, insisting that "all options" should remain on the table. In the meantime, it has been choking the Venezuelan economy with a barrage of crippling sanctions, estimated to have cost the Latin American country $130 billion since 2015. On Monday, Maduro proposed holding snap elections to restock the National Assembly, currently led by Guaido, which functions as a parallel legislature to the Constituent Assembly staffed by Maduro allies. to RT newsletter to get stories the mainstream media wont tell you. A view on May 26, 2019, of a building destroyed by the powerful tornado that hit El Reno, Oklahoma. EPA-EFE/TORREY PURVEY American Legion Post 160 holds its annual ceremony on top of a foggy Mount Greylock. Members of Adams American Legion Post 160. All past commanders who attended Sunday's service. A toast to lost comrades. The Adams American Legion Post 160 is celebrating 100 years. Veterans share in a toast to fallen comrades midway up the mountain. Although folks were enjoying sunny weather in North Berkshire County Sunday morning, the fog was yet to break on Mount Greylock. Past commander Don Sommer reads a few words to begin the ceremony. Although it was foggy atop the mountain Legion members noted weather has been far worse in previous years. Laying wreaths inside the rotunda. Dennis St. Pierre, past commander of Berkshire County District 1 and American Legion Post 125, is the guest speaker. PreviousNext Adams American Legion Holds Mount Greylock Ceremony Dennis St. Pierre speaks at the War Memorial. ADAMS, Mass. A caravan of Legionnaires and veterans from posts throughout the county made its way up a foggy Mount Greylock early Sunday morning. For American Legion Post 160, this was at least its 85th pilgrimage to the summit to lay a wreath at the War Memorial for fallen comrades. "When someone passes families hold a celebration of life. Our fallen comrades are family, therefore, Memorial Day is our celebration of life," Dennis St. Pierre, guest speaker and past commander of Berkshire County District 1 and North Adams American Legion Post 125 said. "We know firsthand these stories, these losses. Our charge is to keep making this accent not just today but every day. St. Pierre thanked members for attending the ceremony at the "top of Massachusetts" and paused on the military history of the mountain itself. "This beacon shines bright over all of our fallen comrades, brothers and sisters, moms and dads, dear friends and more," he said. "A place where the famed 10th Mountain Division once trained ... They trained on our Thunderbolt Ski Trail where now there is a new generation of skiers ... most of whom are children of war veterans, protect and maintain our mountain." St. Pierre went through the history of Memorial Day and said since its inception after the Civil War many more have bravely sacrificed in the name of freedom. "The line between oppression and freedom is drawn by the graves of our fallen comrades. Those who left native shores to the unknown waters of war leaving fanfare and familiarity for the rounds of gunfire and the fog of bombs," he said. "Those back home saw the conflict from afar ... while others stormed into the shadow of war undoubtedly afraid and aware of what was being asked of them but never hesitating." St. Pierre spoke directly to his fellow veterans and asked them to take a moment to remember fallen comrades not only as soldiers but as friends and in many cases family. "Remember their heroics that have impacted lives stretching from east to west from the north to the south. Examples of what it takes to keep the American flame from going out," he said. "But do not forget the man. Do not forget the woman. Celebrate their lives because these memories and stories are not just part of our military history but part of the foundation of the American spirit and the heart of our great nation." After a ceremony and firing squad, a memorial wreath was set in the rotunda of the tower, originally built on the state's highest peak as a memorial to Massachusetts servicemen killed in World War I. Breakfast was then served at the Bascom Lodge. Earlier in the morning during the drive up the mountain, the group stopped near a small waterfall to share in a toast to all passed veterans. During the break, Post 160 historian John Bordeau said the Adams American Legion has always been involved with the Veterans War Memorial Tower. The 93-foot granite tower topped by a beacon was built between 1931 and 1932 and dedicated in 1933. As early as the summer of 1932, the Adams post wanted to be involved because it was in Adams, he said. "They decided they wanted to be involved with ceremonies at the tower a year before it was even dedicated ... as soon as they turned the light on we had a little ceremony in town." Past commander Don Sommer agreed and said post 160, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary, was pivotal in the first reconstruction of the monument. live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Chandan Taparia Nifty managed to hold its support of 11,650-11,666 and rallied around 200 points to head towards 11,850. It managed to record a highest daily close on May 24 after hitting life-time high of 12,040 on May 23. It formed an Inside Bar on the daily chart and a Bullish Gap up candle on the weekly chart, which indicates that bulls are holding the tight grip in the market. Now it has to continue to hold above 11,750 to extend its move towards 12,000-12,040 while support is seen at 11,666-11,650. India VIX fell down 41 percent in the last week from 28.08 to 16.55. During the week, it made a 44-month high of 30.18 but after the election outcome, it fell down drastically to 16.55. Decline in VIX suggests that now short-term stability and formation of a higher base is seen in the market. For Nifty options, maximum Put open interest (OI) was at 11,000 followed by 11,500 while maximum Call OI was at 12,500 followed by 12,000. Put writing was at 11,700 while minor Call writing was seen at 12100, then 12,200. Option band signify a higher trading range of 11,600-12,100. Bank Nifty has been making higher lows from last six consecutive sessions and closed the week with the decent gains of around 6 percent. It made a life-time high of 31,705 on election outcome day and gave the highest daily and weekly close above 31,200. We have seen buying interest in most of the private and PSU Banks and a follow-up buying could lead them for fresh breakout territory. Now Bank Nifty has to hold above 30,500 to extend its move towards the recent high of 31,705 then a fresh rally towards 32,000 and 32,250 while major support exists at 30,250 that has provided major support for the last entire week. Stock specific positive price setup is in ICICI Bank, DCB Bank, SBI, Bank of Baroda, UltraTech Cement, Grasim, Divi's Labs, Hero Motocorp and L&T. Now, mid and smallcap stocks are also showing a sign of momentum to catch the rally after a long consolidation. (The author is Associate Vice President | Analyst-Derivatives at Motilal Oswal Financial Services Limited.) 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 Hindu can never be fundamentalist, senior RSS leader Manmohan Vaidya said on May 25. Vaidya, general secretary (sar-karyawah) of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, was speaking at 'Devarshi Narad Jayanti Samaroh' organized by Vishva Samwad Kendra, an RSS wing, to felicitate journalists. "The word 'kattar' has come from the English word fundamentalist. Some of our people also used it without thinking. There is this word (that some people use), 'kattar Hindu'. A Hindu cannot be kattar, because a Hindu can never be fundamentalist," Vaidya said. Terms such as Hindu fundamentalist were coined by "those opposing Hindutva and forces working to break the nation," the RSS leader claimed. "Sometimes the swayamsevaks (volunteers) of the Sangh are also called kattar. Swayamsevaks can never be kattar," he said. Quoting from the book "The way of Indian life" by Sister Nivedita, Vaidya said Bruno (16th-century Italian philosopher Giordano Bruno) was the first to propose that Sun is stable and Earth revolves around it, but he was burnt alive for blasphemy, while astronomer Galileo was jailed (for similar reasons). "Sister Nivedita says if Bruno had been in Bharat, he would not have been set on fire, Galileo would not have been jailed and Jesus Christ, says one school of thought, would not have been crucified (had he been in India). Whether he would have got followers or not is another matter," the RSS leader added. Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a telephonic conversation with his Pakistani counterpart Imran Khan on May 26, during which he called for creating trust and an environment free of violence and terrorism for fostering peace and prosperity in the region. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said it was Khan who called up Modi. "The Prime Minister thanked the Prime Minister of Pakistan for his telephone call and greetings," it said. Recalling his initiatives in line with his government's "neighbourhood first" policy, Modi referred to his earlier suggestion to Khan to fight poverty jointly, the MEA said. "He stressed that creating trust and an environment free of violence and terrorism were essential for fostering cooperation for peace, progress and prosperity in our region," it added. It said Modi also received telephone calls from former president of the Maldives Mohamed Nasheed and former prime minister of Nepal Madhav Nepal on his victory in the recent general election. "Former president Nasheed congratulated the Prime Minister on the historic mandate and noted that the relationship between the Maldives and India had deepened in recent times," the MEA said. He stressed the importance of close cooperation to fight the forces of extremism and radicalisation in the region, it added. On his part, Modi thanked Nasheed for his felicitation and reiterated his commitment to continue fostering a strong, mutually beneficial and all-round partnership between the two countries. The MEA said Madhav Nepal warmly congratulated Modi on leading his party and alliance to a grand, historic and landslide victory. He also expressed the confidence that India's emergence as a front-ranking world power would qualitatively uplift the entire region. Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) president Prem Singh Tamang, popularly known as PS Golay, will take oath as the new chief minister of Sikkim on May 27, a Raj Bhavan source said on May 26. The 51-year-old Golay will be administered the oath of office by Governor Ganga Prasad at a function at Paljor Stadium at 10 am on May 27, the source said. Some ministers are likely to be sworn in along with Golay, who was elected as the leader of the SKM legislature party on May 25 night. The SKM supremo, accompanied by the 17 newly-elected legislators of his party, on May 25 had called on the Governor and staked claim to form the next government in Sikkim. Prasad had reportedly told the SKM delegation to wait for his decision as he sought legal opinion on the matter as Golay had been convicted to a year's imprisonment in a corruption case in 2016 and had served the prison term, sources said. After getting the legal opinion, the Governor invited Golay to form the next government, the Raj Bhavan source added. The SKM, founded in 2013, won a slender majority in the 32-member Sikkim legislative assembly by bagging 17 seats against 15 won by the SDF. Golay did not contest the assembly polls to devote all his time to campaign for his party. Amid rumblings within the party after a disastrous performance in the Lok Sabha polls, Congress chief is said to have accused three senior leaders of placing their respective sons above the party while his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has alleged the entire top-brass left him alone to fight it out against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, party sources said. Narrating inside details of the crucial Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting, which was held on May 25 to assess the party's poll rout, the party leaders said Rahul Gandhi did a lot of 'plain-speaking' in his surgical analysis of the role of several party leaders while himself offering to quit as the party president. He also said he does not want any other member of the Gandhi family to succeed him, virtually ruling out Priyanka as well for the top party position. Party sources said the top leadership is working out possible strategies for its future course of action, even as there are rumblings within the Congress over the turn of events at the CWC meeting. The meeting was held in the backdrop of the Congress winning just 52 Lok Sabha seats and drawing a nought in 18 states and Union Territories. Gandhi himself lost from the family bastion of Amethi in Uttar Pradesh, though he won from Wayanad in Kerala. Stating that Priyanka lost her cool more than once during the four-hour long CWC deliberations, a party leader present there said the AICC General Secretary in charge of Eastern Uttar Pradesh said, "All those responsible for the party's defeat are sitting in this room". When some party leaders were trying to convince Rahul Gandhi to take back his resignation, which he had offered taking moral responsibility for the Congress debacle, Priyanka is learnt to have intervened saying, "Where were you when my brother was fighting all by himself and alone?" Priyanka sat through the meeting, looking visible anguished, and interjected twice at least, while saying on one occasion, "No one supported Congress President in taking forward the narrative of Rafale and 'chowkidar chor hai'." Rahul Gandhi, who left the meeting abruptly and was adamant there on not continuing as the Congress president, also ticked off three senior party leaders -- former union minister P Chidambaram, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath and Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot -- saying they placed their sons before party interests. Chidambaram's son Karti and Nath's son Nakul managed to win the Lok Sabha elections from their respective seats, but Gehlot's son Vaibhav lost. CWC sources said that when former Guna MP Jyotiraditya Scindia urged Gandhi to strengthen the state leaderships of the party, the party president quipped looking at Chidambaram, saying that "Mr Chidambaram threatened to resign if a ticket was denied to his son." About Kamal Nath who was absent from the CWC meeting, Gandhi said, "Mr Nath said how could he be CM if his son was not fielded." Taunting Gehlot the Congress Chief said the Rajasthan CM spent seven days campaigning for his son in Jodhpur neglecting the rest of the state. Gandhi is learnt to have voiced his disappointment at the state of affairs in the party when he said to the CWC why can't anyone else be Congress Chief. Sources said Priyanka also urged her brother not to resign saying it would be like "falling into BJP's trap". Rahul Gandhi also expressed his displeasure at not being supported in the Rafale campaign and is said to have asked the party leaders present in the meeting how many of them backed him in building the corruption narrative against Prime Minister Modi. When some leaders raised their hands to say that they spoke about Rafale, Gandhi is said to have dismissed them. Disgruntled Aam Aadmi Party legislator Alka Lamba has announced that she would leave the party next year. "My journey started with you in 2013 will end in 2020. My best wishes will be with the dedicated revolutionary ground workers of the party, hopefully you will remain a strong alternative in Delhi. The last six years have been memorable and I have learnt a lot from you," the Chandni Chowk MLA said in a tweet. She did not say whether she would quit AAP before or after the assembly election due in Delhi next year. Lamba has been at odds with the party for some time now. On May 25, Lamba sought accountability from AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal on the crushing defeat of the party in Lok Sabha polls following which she was removed from the official WhatsApp group of the party lawmakers. AAP did not win any of the seven parliamentary seats in Delhi. Sharing screenshots on Twitter where it can be seen that she was removed by AAP's North East Delhi candidate Dilip Pandey from the group, Lamba lashed out at Kejriwal and said why is she being held responsible for the party's loss in Lok Sabha elections. Hinting at Kejriwal, she said action should be taken against those who took all decisions "sitting in a closed room". "I have always been telling the party what you (Kejriwal) are telling them now. I am sometimes added to the group, sometimes removed. It would have been better if a meeting was held to introspect, look at the shortcomings and move ahead, she said. This is the second time that Lamba has been dropped from the WhatsApp group. Previously, she was dropped in December last year when she raised objection to AAP's resolution to revoke Rajiv Gandhi's Bharat Ratna. However, she was added before the campaigning for Lok Sabha polls started and was expected to campaign for the party. But Lamba refused to campaign for the party and even refrained from participating in Kejriwal's roadshow after she was asked to walk behind his car during the event. In April, Lamba engaged in a bitter Twitter spat with AAP's Greater Kailash MLA Saurabh Bharadwaj, who had taunted her to resign from the party. Following the spat, Lamba addressed a large crowd outside Jama Masjid and said the party was repeatedly demanding her resignation. She alleged that the party leadership was "weakening" her and said she is being accused of attempting to switch over to the Congress. Alka Lamba won the Chandni Chowk assembly seat for the first time in 2013. Before joining Kejriwal, Lamba was part of the Congress women wing. At least eight candidates have joined the fray to battle it out to take over the reins from British Prime Minister Theresa May as the UK's ruling Conservative Party leadership contest gets underway. May had announced her resignation earlier this week and is set to formally step down as Tory leader and PM on June 7, after a three-day state visit to the UK by US President Donald Trump. The formal segment of the party leadership contest will then kick off on June 10, but prospective candidates have already begun laying out their bids for the top job. While hard Brexiteer Boris Johnson, the former foreign secretary, is seen as the frontrunner to succeed May, the contest still remains wide open to at least seven other contenders. UK environment secretary Michael Gove became the latest Tory MP to announce his intention to challenge Johnson on Sunday. "I can confirm that I will be putting my name forward to be prime minister of this country. I believe that I'm ready to unite the Conservative and Union Party, ready to deliver Brexit, and ready to lead this great country," he told reporters outside his home in London on Sunday. Gove's decision is reminiscent of the 2016 leadership race, when he was accused of betraying Johnson by withdrawing his support for him and choosing to contest himself. It led to Johnson withdrawing his bid and Gove went on to lose out in the party ballot, resulting in May being chosen for the post. Among some of the other contenders eyeing Downing Street include the former Brexit secretary, Dominic Raab, and former Commons leader Andrea Leadsom both of whom confirmed their leadership bids in different Sunday newspapers. They joined UK foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt, international development secretary Rory Stewart, health secretary Matt Hancock, and former work and pensions secretary Esther McVey, in the battle for the leadership. All the leadership contenders must make their position on Brexit clear to their electors the 313 Tory MPs who choose a shortlist and the 124,000 party members who will have the ultimate say on the final two contenders who will go head to head in the race. A dividing line has emerged between candidates such as Johnson, who say the UK must be ready to leave the EU on 31 October without a deal, and those who oppose a such no-deal Brexit like Stewart who has said that he would not serve in the Cabinet of someone explicitly pushing for a no-deal Brexit". The Opposition Labour Party also remains divided over the issue, with one section still pushing for a second referendum on the final Brexit deal and the other calling for a common Customs Union with the European Union (EU). "I think the responsibility is on all of those opposition parties to come together with us and some Conservative MPs to block a 'no deal' and if that means going back to the people, yes let's go back to the people," said Labour's shadow chancellor John McDonnell. Meanwhile, May is set to continue as Prime Minister while the leadership contest takes place. Tory MPs have until the week beginning June 10 to put their names forward, and any of them can stand as long as they have the backing of two parliamentary colleagues. The candidates will then be whittled down by votes of MPs until two remain, and in July a postal ballot of all Tory party members will be held to decide the winner. The last leader elected by the Tory party membership was David Cameron in 2005. May was chosen unopposed in 2016 after Leadsom withdrew her candidature at the last minute. Ren Zhengfei, Founder, Huawei Chinese telecom giant Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei has brushed aside a US ban against his company, saying the Trump administration -- which is urging European allies to cut their business ties with the tech giant -- is "not powerful enough" to make others to follow its orders, as he flaunted his close links with the 10 Downing Street. Escalating the bruising trade war with China, the US Department of Commerce recently blacklisted Huawei over security concerns and barred American companies from installing the telecom equipment. Earlier in the week, US President Donald Trump said there is a possibility of including the Huawei issue in the ongoing trade negotiations with China. In a recent interaction with the Chinese official media, 74-year-old Ren, whose daughter and CFO of Huawei Meng Wanzhou has been arrested in Canada to face prosecution for violations of American sanctions against Iran, said the US ban will not affect the roll-out of its 5G technology. "I used to have afternoon tea at 10 Downing Street. They asked me how I learned to accompany the rest of the world, and I said it was afternoon tea. So they greeted me with afternoon tea on Downing Street," he said pointing to his links with the British Prime Minister's Office. "We have communicated with leaders from different countries. Each country has its own interests. The US campaign will not be powerful enough to ask everyone to follow them," he said. However, as per UK media reports, Britain is still reviewing its 5G telecom and may allow Huawei to supply "non-core" 5G components, such as antenna masts. The British government was also under pressure from internal reports highlighting concerns over implications of using Huawei 5G network. As the British government dithered, a top Chinese diplomat in London has warned that there could be "substantial" repercussions for Chinese investment in the UK, if Huawei were to be banned from Britain's 5G network. In an interview to the BBC, Chen Wen, the Chinese charge d'affaires in London, said Beijing had already "witnessed some conscious moves" in that direction. She further said the UK economy would be damaged by the message any ban on Huawei sent out to international and Chinese companies. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on May 26 spoke to his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi and expressed his desire for both the countries to work together for the betterment of their peoples, the Foreign Office said. Khan also congratulated Modi on his party's electoral victory in the Lok Sabha elections, Foreign Office spokesman Mohammad Faisal said in a tweet. Reiterating his vision for peace, progress and prosperity in South Asia, Prime Minister Khan said he looks forward to working with Prime Minister Modi to advance these objectives, he said. Khan expressed his desire for both countries to work together for betterment of their peoples, he added. Prime Minister Modi on May 23 led his Bharatiya Janata Party to a landmark victory for a second five-year term in office, winning 302 seats in the 543-member Lok Sabha. French and Italian-US auto giants Renault and Fiat Chrysler are set to announce talks on an alliance, with a view to a potential merger, informed sources said on May 26. Renault and FCA are likely to unveil the move "within hours, perhaps tomorrow (Monday), before the (Paris) bourse opens," one of the sources told AFP on condition of anonymity, adding an eventual "merger" was on the agenda. The same source added a statement would cover "the possibility of a convergence between the two groups" which "will be studied" with a view to a potential merger. A Renault board meeting is scheduled for 8:00 am (0600 GMT) on May 27. Renault's current major partnership is with Japan's Nissan, in which it holds 43 percent. Nissan in turn owns 15 percent of its French partner Renault but the imbalance in the relationship has led to frictions, highlighted by the arrest of former Renault and Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn in Tokyo. The Financial Times reported on May 25 that the Renault-FCA discussions were at an "advanced" stage and could lead to "extensive cooperation". The Wall Street Journal said the talks were "wide-ranging" and could include Renault and Fiat Chrysler "joining large portions of their businesses". However, The New York Times took a more cautious line, saying the discussions were in early stages, the specifics unclear and "could still collapse". Contacted by AFP, neither Renault nor Fiat would comment. The Financial Times, quoting multiple people informed on the talks, said: "The agreement may ultimately lead the carmaker (Fiat-Chrysler) to join the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance in the future," if Japanese auto major Nissan could be won over. Such an alliance would become the world's biggest, a title Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi currently vies for with Germany's Volkswagen. Following his arrest, former Renault and Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn was bailed for a second time on April 25 and is now preparing for trial on four charges of financial misconduct ranging from concealing part of his salary, to using Nissan funds for personal expenses. The reports did not spell out the level of any involvement by Nissan in the current Renault-FCA discussions although one FT source said it was absent. Early this year, rumours circulated that Renault was interested in Fiat-Chrysler after its hopes for a full merger with Nissan or even French competitor PSA were dashed. May 25, 2019 Boeing 737 MAX Crash Reveals Severe Problem With Older Boeing 737 NGs The fleet of Boeing 737 MAX planes will stay out on the ground longer than anticipated. Boeing promised a new software package to correct the severe problems with its Maneuver Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS). The delivery was supposed to be ready in April. A month later it has still not arrived at the Federal Aviation Agency where it will take at least a month to certify it. The FAA will not be the only one to decide when the plane can come back into the flight line. Other country's agencies will do their own independent review and will likely take their time. The 737 MAX incident also revealed a problem with older generations of the 737 type of plane that is only now coming into light. Simulator experiments (video) showed that the recovery procedures Boeing provided for the case of a severe mistrim of the plane is not sufficient to bring the plane back under control. The root cause of that inconvenient fact does not lie with the 737 MAX but with its predecessor, the Boeing 737 Next Generation or NG. This was known in pilot circles for some time but will only now receive wider public attention: The Boeing 737 Max's return to commercial airline service is reportedly being further delayed by the Federal Aviation Administration. US government officials told The Wall Street Journal's Andy Pasztor that the FAA is evaluating the emergency procedures for not only the Max but also the older generations of the 737 including the [once] hot-selling Boeing 737 NG. According to the officials, the broadened evaluation will take a look at how pilots of all 737 variant are instructed to respond to emergency situations. Here is a detailed explanation why the FAA is now looking into the pilot training for older 737 types. The 737 NG (-600/-700/-800/-900) was the third generation derivative of the 737 and followed the 737 Original (-100/-200) and Classic (300/-400/-500) series. The first NG flew in 1997. Some 7,000 were build and most of them are still flying. Two technical modifications that turned out to be a problem during the recent incidents occurred during the redesign of the 737 Classic into the New Generation series. In the NG series a new Flight Management Computer (FMC) was added to the plane. (The FMC helps the pilots to plan and manage the flight. It includes data about airports and navigation points. It differs from the two Flight Control Computers in that it has no control over physical elements of the plane.) The FMC on the NG version has two input/output units each with a small screen and a larger keyboard below it. They are next to the knees of the pilot and the copilot They are located on the central pedestal between the pilots right below the vertical instrument panel (see pic below). The lengthy FMCs did not fit on the original central pedestal. The trim wheels on each side, used to manually trim the airplane in its longitudinal axis or pitch, were in the way. Boeing's 'solution' to the problem was to make the manual trim wheels smaller. 737 NG cockpit with FMC panels and with smaller trim wheels (black with a white stripe) bigger 737 Original-200 cockpit with larger trim wheels (black with a white stripe) bigger The smaller trim wheels require more manual force to trim with the same moment of force or torque than the larger ones did. Another change from the 737 Classic to the 737 NG was an increase in the size of the rear horizontal flight surface, the stabilizer. The stabilizer at the rear of the plane can be turned around a central pivot point. The natural nose up or nose down characteristics of an airplane change during a flight depending on the speed at which the airplane flies. The stabilizer can be moved during a flight by a jackscrew (vid) which is turned by either an electric motor, or via cables from the hand-cranked trim wheels in the cockpit. Trimming the airplane keeps it level at all flyable speeds. At the rear end of the stabilizer is the elevator surface (blue arrow in the pic below). The elevator is moved by the column or yoke the pilot uses to control the plane. During a flight the pilot, or an automated stabilizer trim system (STS), will electrically trim the stabilizer so that no additional force on the column is required for the plane to stay at its flight level. In case of a mistrim of the stabilizer, the plane puts its nose up or down and the pilot will have to push or pull his column to move the elevator to counter the mistrim of the stabilizer. Depending on the position of the stabilizer and the speed of the airplane this can require very significant force. In some cases it might be impossible. The size of the stabilizer increased from 31.40 square meter on the Classic to 32.78 sqm on the NG and MAX. Meanwhile the size of the elevator, the primary control surface the pilot can use to counter a mistrimmed stabilizer, was kept at its original size of 6.55 sqm. It is therefore more difficult for the pilot of a 737 NG or 737 MAX plane to use the elevator to counter a mistrimmed stabilizer than it was on the earlier 737 Classic series. In 1961 a mistrimmed stabilizer on a Boeing 707 caused the crash of an airplane. All on board died. The root cause was a malfunction in the electrical switch the pilot normally uses to electrically move the stabilizer. The switch stuck in an ON position and the motor moved the stabilizer to its most extreme position. The plane's nose went up until it aerodynamically stalled. The pilots were unable to recover from the situation. The type of incident where an electric malfunction drives the stabilizer into an extreme position is since known as a 'runaway stabilizer'. To get a type rating for Boeing planes the pilots have to learn a special procedure to diagnose and correct a runaway stabilizer situation. The procedure is a so called 'memory item'. The pilots must learn it by heart. The corrective action is to interrupt the electric circle that supplies the motor which drives the jackscrew and moves the stabilizer. The pilots then have to use the hand-cranked trim wheels to turn the jackscrew and to bring the stabilizer back into a normal position. 737 stabilizer jackscrew - bigger [The MCAS incidents on the crashed 737 MAX were not of the classic runaway stabilizer type. A runaway stabilizer due to an electric malfunction is expected to move the stabilizer continuously. The computerized MCAS operated intermittently. It moved the stabilizer several times, with pauses in between, until the mistrim became obvious. The pilots would not have diagnosed it as a runaway stabilizer. Only in the end are the effects of both problems similar.] A third change from older 737s to newer types involved the manuals and the pilot training. If due to a runaway stabilizer event the front end of the stabilizer moves up, the nose of the airplane will move down and the plane will increase its speed. To counter that the pilot pulls on his column to move the rear end of the elevator up and to bring the plane back towards level flight. As the plane comes back to level the aerodynamic pressure on the mistrimmed stabilizer increases. Attempts to manually trim in that situation puts opposing forces on the jackscrew that holds the stabilizer in its positions. The aerodynamic forces on the stabilizer can become so big that a manual cranking of the trim wheel can no longer move the jackscrew and thereby the stabilizer. Until the introduction of the newer 737 types Boeing's pilot manuals for the 737 included a procedure that described how to overcome the situation. It was counterintuitive. If the stabilizer put the plane in an extreme nose down position the pilot was advised to first pull the column to decrease the speed. He then had to push the column forward to lower the aerodynamic forces that blocked the jackscrew. Then the manual trim wheel could be turned a bit while the plane continued to dive and again increased its speed. The procedure had to be repeated several times: pull column to decrease speed; push column to decrease the aerodynamic force on the stabilizer and its jackscrew; trim manually; repeat. The technic was known as the rollercoaster maneuver. Excerpt from an old 737-200 manual - via The Air Current - bigger Recently some pilots used a 737 NG flight simulator to test the procedure. They simulated the runaway stabilizer case at a height of 10,000 feet and use the rollercoaster maneuver to recover from the mistrim. When they finally had the stabilizer back into a correct trim position they found themselves at 3,000 feet height. The maneuver would thus help only when the plane is already at a significant height above ground. Both of the recent 737 MAX crashes happened shortly after the start. The rollercoaster maneuver would not have helped those flights. But should a runaway stabilizer incident happen on a 737 NG at its normal flight level the maneuver would probably be the only chance to recover from the situation. The crashes of the two 737 MAX revealed a number of problems with the design of the MCAS system. Several additional issues with the plane have since become known. There may be other problems with its 737 MAX that no one yet learned of. The rather casual FAA certification of the type was clearly not justified. But the problems described above are 737 NG problems. The 380 or so existing 737 MAX are currently grounded. But some 7,000 737 NG fly about every day. The record provides that it is a relatively safe airplane. But a runaway stabilizer is a well known electrical malfunction that could by chance happen on any of those flights. The changes from the 737 Classic to the 737 NG make it more difficult, if not impossible, for the pilots to recover from such a situation: The smaller manual trim wheels on the 737 NG make it more difficult to trim a runaway stabilizer back into a regular position. The larger stabilizer surface makes it more difficult to counter a runaway stabilizer by using the elevator which was kept at the same size. 737 NG pilots no longer learn the rollercoaster maneuver that is now the only way to recover from a severe mistrim. Simulator sessions demonstrate (video) that a runaway stabilizer incident on a 737 NG can no longer be overcome by the procedures that current Boeing manuals describe. It is pure luck that no NG crash has yet been caused by a runaway stabilizer incident. It is quite astonishing that these issues only now become evident. The 737 NG was certified by the FAA in 1997. Why is the FAA only now looking into this? The second 737 MAX crash revealed all these issues to a larger public. Except for MCAS the trim systems on the NG and MAX are similar. The Ethiopian Airline flight 302 did not experience a runaway stabilizer, but the multiple engagement of MCAS moved the stabilizer to a similar extreme position. The pilots cut the electricity to the stabilizer motor and tried to re-trim the plane manually by turning the trim wheels. The aerodynamic forces on the stabilizer were impossible to overcome. The pilots had not learned of the rollercoaster maneuver. (Not that it would have helped much. They were too low to the ground.) They switched the motor back on to use manual electrical trim to re-trim the aircraft. Then MCAS engaged again and put them into the ground. All NG and MAX pilots should learn the rollercoaster maneuver, preferable during simulator training. There are probably some 50,000 pilots who are certified to fly a Boeing NG. It will be an enormous and costly effort to put all of them through additional training. But it will be more costly, for all involved, if a 737 NG crashes and kills all on board due to a runaway stabilizer incident and a lack of pilot training to overcome it. Such an incident would probably keep the whole NG fleet on the ground. Pilots, airlines and the public should press the FAA to mandate that additional training. The FAA must also explain why it only now found out that the problem exists. --- Previous Moon of Alabama posts on Boeing 737 issues: Additional sources with more technical details: Posted by b on May 25, 2019 at 21:20 UTC | Permalink Comments The picture instantly went viral, racking up more than 1.2 million likes and 142,000 shares. When Ford was finally able to tell DeSimone the touching story, he said, It's people like this who make me proud to be an American soldier. And from www.theweek.com, a story entitled, The Homeless Veteran Hero, tells about Staff Sgt. Royal who served 10 years in the Army. It was that battlefield training that helped the homeless Seattle veteran save a friend's life one summer night. Royal was just a few blocks away when an argument escalated outside a bar, and an unidentified man shot the homeless man he was fighting with. The victim ran down the street before collapsing. Royal quickly came to his aid. The bullet had struck the man's femoral artery and Royal knew he had to act fast. He used a belt as a tourniquet to stop the bleeding and the man was transported to a nearby hospital. The man survived thanks to Royals quick thinking and medical training, but he didnt stick around for any accolades. His only comment was, "I'm just glad I was there." Historical and cultural milestones are flying past us almost as fast as machine-gun bullets, but I hope we can slow down long enough to savor the significance of the 75th anniversary of D-Day. How do you plan to mark the event? If youre a reader, I highly recommend Alex Kershaws brand-new book, The First Wave: The D-Day Warriors Who Led the Way to Victory in World War II. Its a genuine page-turner, with vivid details of the obstacles and inspirations surrounding the heroes who risked their lives in a military campaign of unprecedented scale. Do you enjoy listening more than reading? If you Google Complete broadcast day D-Day, youll be led to the Internet Archives free recordings of the CBS and NBC coverage of the invasion. You may have assumed that such broadcasts were lost in the ether; but, yes, you can actually stream or download the tentative network news reports (designated in Eastern War Time), analyses and speeches that anxious Americans listened to between their soap operas and swing music. Image credit: UNI New Delhi, May 26 (UNI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday received telephone calls from Pakistan PM Imran Khan, Former Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed and Former Nepal PM Madhav Nepal, congratulating him on his stupendous victory in the general elections. PM spoke to PM Modi today and congratulated him on his partys electoral victory in Lok Sabha elections in India. PM expressed his desire for both countries to work together for betterment of their peoples, tweeted spokesperson of Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Pakistan, Mohammad Faisal. Faisal said Mr Khan reiterated his vision for peace, progress and prosperity in South Asia and hoped to work with Mr Modi in this direction. Reiterating his vision for peace, progress and prosperity in South Asia, the Prime Minister said he looked forward to working with Prime Minister Modi to advance these objectives, Faisal said. The Prime Minister thanked PM Khan for his telephone call and greetings. Recalling his initiatives in line with his governments neighbourhood first policy, Prime Minister Modi referred to his earlier suggestion to the Pakistan Prime Minister to fight poverty jointly. He stressed that creating trust and an environment free of violence and terrorism were essential for fostering cooperation for peace, progress and prosperity in our region, according to a statement issued by the Prime Minister's Office. Former Maldives President Nasheed congratulated the Prime Minister on the historic mandate and noted that the relationship between Maldives and India had deepened in recent times. He stressed the importance of close cooperation to fight the forces of extremism and radicalisation in the region. Modi thanked him for his felicitation and reiterated his commitment to continue fostering a strong, mutually-beneficial and all-round partnership between the two countries for peace, security and development in the region. Mr Madhav Nepal warmly congratulated the Prime Minister on leading his party and alliance to a grand, historic and landslide victory. He expressed the confidence that Indias emergence as a front-ranking world power would qualitatively uplift the entire region. Thanking Mr Nepal for his warm wishes, the Prime Minister expressed his earnest desire to further strengthen and deepen the historically friendly and multifaceted ties between India and Nepal. On Saturday, the Prime Minister received telephone calls from Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman, Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel, UK PM Theresa May and former Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa. US President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister of Australia Scott Morrison and King of Bhutan Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck have also congratulated Mr Modi on his victory. What they said about Painter It is with great sorrow that we acknowledge the passing of a true law enforcement professional. Sheriff Gary Painter served with the utmost distinction throughout his career as both a United States Marine and law enforcement official -- serving as an example to all who wear the badge. He exemplified those traits most desired in our public servants; honor, courage, selflessness. His leadership will be missed, but his indelible legacy shall live on through those he inspired -- myself included. --Chief of Police Seth Herman He was a great man, family man, served his country and God. He served the citizens of Midland County as their sheriff for over 30 years. He was a friend to all who met him. This town, this state and this country lost a very special man. --Midland County Chief Deputy Rory McKinney A true Texas gentleman, who tipped his hat to every lady he met has passed away. Sheriff Gary Painter leaves behind a family, a nation, a state and a community to move on to meet his Heavenly Father. Gary was a loving family man who believed in service to others. By serving this nation by joining and forever more becoming a Marine to his service to this community through law enforcement, he showed me what true dedication means. I saw this larger than life Texas lawman literally run toward danger and control the situation on 11-15-12 when the chaos would have overwhelmed anybody else. I have seen him become personally involved in many causes larger than himself only to step back to allow others the credit. I had the honor of Sheriff Painter personally taking me through the detention facility from start to finish. He was proud of what he had to work with but more importantly the people he worked with. I was truly impressed at the respect this man had from each and every person under his command. I was even more impressed by the respect he held for each and every one of them. His legacy will be in many areas but the one that stands out to me is the legacy of a first rate Sheriffs Office that is trained and ready to serve us, the citizens of Midland County. More for you County: Painter passes away Sunday morning Gary has been there for me on numerous occasions, as I know he has for countless others, I now stand, with many, to honor his legacy in a way that honors his service as well as his family and their loss for the rest of my life. We have lost a treasure, God has gained one heck of a Sergeant at Arms. --Midland County Judge Terry Johnson The Midland County District Attorneys Office wishes to honor the life of Midland County Sheriff, Gary Painter. Sheriff Painter gave his all to his family, his country, and the citizens of Midland County. From his service in the Marine Corps to patrolling Midland County late at night, Sheriff Painter continued to give his all to his final days. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, the Midland County Sheriffs Department, and the entire community. --Midland County District Attorney Laura A. Nodolf "Sheriff Gary Painter was one of the old-school sheriffs who personified law and order in the community. He didn't pull any punches just to be politically correct. He treated all people the same no matter their station in life. He was kind and thoughtful in times of need, and hard as steel when dealing with true criminals. His word was his bond. It was obvious to anyone that worked with Gary that he lived for the three priorities in his life -- to serve his God, to serve his family and to serve the citizens. The loss of Sheriff Painter is the end of a law enforcement era. Rest in peace, Gary." Teresa J. Clingman, former Midland District Attorney Sheriff Gary Painter will be remembered by West Texans as a patriot of integrity and valor. Thank you, for serving Midland County unconditionally for 34 years. Sheriff, youve left behind a HUGE pair of boots to fill. God bless his family and loved ones during this difficult time of loss. Suzanne and I will continue to pray as our community mourns. U.S. Rep. Mike Conaway "Sheriff Painter was a good, Christian man who courageously served his community and made an enormous contribution to ensuring a safer Permian Basin region. He will be greatly missed, and our thoughts and prayers are with his family during this difficult time." State Rep. Tom Craddick Gary Painter was a preeminent public servant. From the moment he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 1966, he began a lifetime commitment to serve and protect others first, around the world and then back home throughout his distinguished law enforcement career in Midland County. Sheriff Painter was a dedicated member of the TxDMV Board since August 2016, and I have tremendous respect for his professionalism, insight and wise counsel. He was a good man and will be deeply missed. The TxDMV Board and staff extend our heartfelt prayer and sympathy for the Painter family. --Department of Motor Vehicles (TxDMV) Board Chairman Guillermo Trevino Today, we are saddened at the passing of Sheriff Painter. The Sheriff's Office and our organization have a long-remembered history together. We shall miss him and his guidance. We lift up our Midland County Sheriff's Office and all Law Enforcement, before St. Michael, our defender in battle. May the Lord bless our beloved sheriff at the EOW (end of watch), and our Midland County Sheriff's Office. --Stop DWI organization Midland Memorial Hospital struggled in two of five categories, according to the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Guide. When it came to the categories practices to prevent errors and doctors, nurses and hospital staff, there were no scores above average, seven scores were below average and five times MMH declined to report. JAMES DURBIN Whether its the Leapfrog Group, Medicares Hospital Compare or the Texas Health Care Information Collection, the reporting and ranking of hospital quality data can vary broadly from one agency to the next. Variations in sample size, data collection timeframes (data are often several years old) and the particular philosophies of the various reporting entities make it challenging for consumers to understand and compare quality data. Quality and patient safety are of paramount importance at Midland Memorial Hospital, and we choose to devote our limited resources to the pursuit of the quality and safety improvement initiatives that most directly benefit the patients we serve. In the coming weeks, we plan to share more of the details of our story with the community, highlighting a wide variety of quality initiatives that have improved the care we provide to our neighbors, as well as those areas where we are challenged and still striving to get better. Kunduz, Afghanistan, May 26 (Xinhua): Three Afghan police officers and seven Taliban militants were killed, and seven police and six militants wounded following clashes in Afghanistan's northern province of Kunduz, a local official said Sunday. In one incident, clashes erupted after militants attacked a security checkpoint in Zakhil, a neighborhood in Police District 3 of provincial capital Kunduz city in early hours of Sunday, Esmatullah Muradi, provincial government spokesman, told Xinhua. "The police officers fought back the attackers and the gunfight claimed the lives of two police officers and four attackers," he said. In a similar incident at the same time, one police officer and three Taliban militants were killed in Saychinar area of Chahar Dara district, on outskirts of the city, the official added. Fighting rages across the war-torn country and clashes between security forces and Taliban have been continuing in more than 20 out of the country's 34 provinces since early April when the Taliban launched an annual rebel offensive. Fighting between government forces and Taliban fighters often intensifies in spring and summer, the period locally branded as the fighting season of the year. It soon could be against the law to smoke in the car if a child is present. The Senate is the last stop for a plan that would ban the act. State Sen. Julie Morrison, D-Deerfield, said the idea is all about safety. Her proposal would ban smoking, even with the windows down, if theres anyone younger than 18 in the car. Police could write tickets for up to $250 for violations, but they couldnt stop vehicles just for smoking. The problem in (passing this plan) in previous years was that this was an opportunity for law enforcement to stop vehicles as kind of a gotcha, Morrison said this week. This takes that out. Some lawmakers say the idea is too much. I hate smoking. I will vote all day long to tax cigarettes and vapes, as high as we can set them, to try and convince people not to smoke, said state Sen. Laura Murphy, D-Des Plaines. But I really think that this is an overreach. The Illinois House approved the proposal in March. Wives can sue their spouses for ... Pakistan Rangers Education System Jobs 2019 in Lahore Cantt Latest Pakistan Rangers Education System Education Posts Lahore 2021 Qualified and well educated candidates for the positions of English Teacher, Computer Teacher, General Subjects Teacher, Subject Teacher, Bio Lab Assistant, Physics Lab Assistant, Chemistry Lab Assistant, Librarian, Clerk, Computer Operator, Administrative Incharge, Driver, Mali required for Pakistan Rangers Education System in Lahore. How to Apply on Pakistan Rangers Education System 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. The Texas sun shined bright Saturday for an event honoring a holy San Antonio meal: tacos and tequila. The Texas Taco, Tequila and Music Festival drew food lovers to the Nelson Wolff Stadium with two stages of live music, more than 30 taco vendors, craft drinks, wrestling and art, according to its Facebook page. Los Lonely Boys, The Suffers and Baby Bash were among the performers at the event. RELATED: San Antonio parties hard at Metalfest 2019 The next Texas Taco, Tequila and Music Festival will take place on June 8 in Spring, where The Suffers and Baby Bash will perform as well. The Lone Star Neighborhood Association paid tribute to military servicewomen and servicemen with an artsy Memorial Day weekend parade. Bikers, vintage cars, a band and Southwest School of Art students in elaborate costumes were among participants who snaked along Lone Star Boulevard on San Antonio's South Side. Ann FitzGibbons, one of the parade's organizers, told the Express-News that the parade normally begins with a military tribute "and then we start getting wacky and wild." ON EXPRESS-NEWS.COM: 'Wacky and wild' parade hits the streets of San Antonio's South Side View the gallery above to see some of the best scenes from Saturday's parade. UPDATE: Phelix Kelly was a 37-year-old black man who died May 25 from a gunshot wound at 3600 Swingle Rd., Houston. ORIGINAL STORY: Houston police are investigating the death of a man found fatally shot on a roadway in southeast Houston, according to Metro Video. A person driving westbound on Swingle at around 4 a.m. Saturday noticed something in the middle of the road and stopped. The man found a male who had been shot at Swingle and Leitrim. Police were trying to determine if there were any witnesses or information as to what happened, Metro Video reported. Amanda Eller ventured into a dense forest in Hawaii on May 8, confident her three-mile hike would finish so quickly that her phone and water were unnecessary. She left behind her wallet and her keys, hidden in her car's tire well for when she returned. A physical therapist and yoga instructor who lives on Maui, Eller knew the terrain from a previous hike and veered off the trail for a quick rest. But when she got up to resume, she was turned around, and in a quixotic search for the trail, Eller fractured her leg. She ate insects in the 16 days she was missing in the Makawao Forest Reserve - a disappearance that triggered a massive search drawing hundreds of volunteers, even after authorities scaled back their efforts early on. Eller was found alive Friday, sunburned and smiling. A helicopter search team contracted by her family spotted her four miles from her car, gaunt after surviving on plants and water, a friend told KITV. She was airlifted to a hospital. "She figured it out, she was smart, she was strong, she was prepared. We said that in the beginning and it was absolutely true," said her father, John Eller, according to KITV. John Eller said his daughter "took a good fall," and got lost after looking for a way back, he told reporters outside a hospital in a video posted by Maui 24/7. "They found her in a deep ravine, basically unable to get out, as I understand it," he said. "The rescuers had to be airlifted out as well, because it was so tumultuous," he added. Eller detailed her survival to The New York Times in an interview. She fractured her leg and tore her meniscus on the third day, her friend said, as rescue efforts ramped up in the jungle thick with creeks, ravines and brush. Eller used ferns and leaves for warmth when the temperature plummeted, and one night, slept in a wild boar's den. She ate moths and wild strawberry guavas, her mother Julia Eller told Maui News. She could identify those. Other plants were risky and unknown meals. A flood took her shoes, leaving her barefoot and crawling. "I wanted to give up," she told the Times. "But the only option I had was life or death." A battalion of searchers worked day after day to bring Eller back, repelling from cliffs and combing streams for signs of life. Aggressive boars were killed and their intestines inspected for human remains. Her family offered a $50,000 reward, up from $10,000 in the days after Eller's disappearance, and hired a helicopter crew to search for her by air. That effort was Eller's salvation Friday. Searchers Troy Helmer, Javier Cantellops and Chris Berquist spotted the missing hiker from air, foraging for food. "It was unbelievable, dude," Cantellops told CNN. "Seeing her for the first time in a long time was just unbelievable. It was nothing short of elation." Her mother, Julia Eller, said her injuries were all treatable, including severe sunburn. "She lost quite a bit of weight, as you can imagine, being lost for that amount of time," Eller said, Maui News reported. "But she was able to survive it. She had the right skills and did the right things to buy time so that we had a chance to find her." Photos posted to Facebook show her ankles swollen and legs covered in large, blistered wounds. Maui County Mayor Michael Victorino thanked searchers for their efforts in statement, calling it a "truly a community collaboration." Cantellops appeared on cable news and on Facebook to describe the search effort. His photograph with Eller, eyes wide open and lips blistered, triggered waves of relief for volunteer searchers. "Amanda Eller you are one tough ass woman!!!" Cantellops wrote on Facebook. "We are all blown away at your barefoot resilience!!!" It's been a whirlwind week in Canaan, New Hampshire, with television cameras descending on the town of fewer than 4,000 after news of a cafeteria worker being fired for giving a student a free meal garnered national media attention. Bonnie Kimball claimed that she had lost her job when a supervisor caught her giving food worth $8 to a student whose account had no money. She received an outpouring of support after the story went viral, including a job offer from celebrity chef Jose Andres, and the contractor that employed her offered to rehire her. But now the school district has withdrawn its support for Kimball after the student's mother shared information with the New Hampshire Union Leader suggesting Kimball lied and engaged in a "cover-up." Kimball had served lunch in the cafeteria of Mascoma Valley Regional High for nearly five years, according to the Valley News, when she was fired March 29. The Union Leader reported, based on her account, that the termination came in response to a manager catching her giving one meal to a student who had no money in his lunch account. After an outpouring of public support for Kimball, the president of the Cafe Services subsidiary that employed her, Brian Stone, said in a May 17 statement to The Washington Post that the company would offer to rehire her. That same day, Kimball told the Associated Press she wasn't interested in taking the job back, alleging that the company, Fresh Picks Cafe, had offered her her job back "so that it could keep its contract [with the school district]." But the mother of the student who got the free lunch from Kimball has now told the Union Leader that Kimball has been dishonest. She said that her son, a 17-year-old, was supposed to bring his own lunches. "I have three children, and they are all well-cared for and well-fed," the mother told the Union Leader. "She did not get fired for feeding a hungry child." The woman, who the Union Leader did not name to protect her privacy, also shared Facebook messages from Kimball to the teenager attempting to cover up her account given to the news media. "We will prolly get written up," Kimball wrote, according to the messages cited by the Union Leader, "but we can make it look good. Lol." Stone said that the teenager received free food from Kimball for three months, not just one meal. The student's mother told the Union Leader that she did not know why Kimball was giving her son free food. "We have nothing to do with her outside of the school system," she told the paper. Kimball rejected the student's mother's claims of a coverup, the Union Leader reported. After the story went viral, Kimball started a GoFundMe account that has raised $8,498 as of May 24. A representative for GoFundMe, who had previously verified the account, told The Washington Post, "GoFundMe will honor refund requests by donors. To date, we have not received any requests for refunds." When first reached for comment May 17, a Cafe Services representative told The Post that "the information as reported is untrue" but declined to elaborate. The school district superintendent, Amanda Isabelle, confirmed that district policy is to provide lunch to every student, regardless of their ability to pay. On May 20, Stone, the president of the Cafe Services subsidiary that employed Kimball, released a video statement explaining that while he had not commented on the matter before out of "respect for the privacy and confidentiality of our employees," he wanted to correct the record. "This student hadn't been charged for anything for the previous three months," Stone said. "This employee was dishonest and was let go for not following procedures." Isabelle, the school district superintendent, wrote in a May 22 Facebook post that the district was "rescinding its demand that the employee be rehired." "We have been overwhelmed by a crush of national and international media interest in this incident," Isabelle wrote, "but I do not believe we have yet seen a full and complete retelling of the facts." In a separate statement sent to The Post, Stone said he hoped the attention on the story could be directed instead to organizations such as Friends of Mascoma, which supports nutrition in the area. He closed his video statement with a call for a return to normal. "We'd like to get back to the business of feeding kids," he said, "because that's what we love to do." A drive-by shooter fired into a north Houston home Saturday night, injuring an elderly woman, police said. The woman was with family at home on the 800 block of Yorkshire Street, police said. She was struck in the leg around 11 p.m. and taken to a hospital, where she was expected to recover. Houston Police found several spent firearm casings in the road, Lt. C. Bruce said. It appeared the home was shot at several times. Officers on Saturday night were trying to figure out if anyone saw anything and why the alleged crime occurred. "They're conducting their investigation and interviewing the various individuals to see what actually transpired," Bruce said. Retired Army Medical Corps AMC Officers Jobs For Rawalpindi Latest Pakistan Army Army jobs Posts Rawalpindi 2021 Medical, health, mbbs, doctors and dedicated retired personnel for the positions of Army Medical Corps AMC Officers required for Pakistan Army in Rawalpindi Punjab 2019. How to Apply on Pakistan Army 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 deputy with the Bexar County Sheriffs Office was arrested Saturday on public corruption charges related to bribery and smuggling heroin and Suboxone, which is often used to treat opioid addiction, into the Bexar County Jail. Armando Trevino, who has been employed by the Bexar County Sheriffs Office for five years, faces charges of bribery and possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, Sheriff Javier Salazar announced at a news conference. At Salazars side Saturday night was Christopher H. Combs, special agent in charge of the FBIs San Antonio office. The agency worked with the sheriffs office on the case. Trevino, 30, is a corporal. He has been smuggling the drugs into the facility for several years and an investigation into his actions has been going on for some time, Salazar said. On ExpressNews.com: San Antonios sheriff delves deeper into dealing with problem employees himself Hes been on our radar, Salazar said. Hes very resourceful. He went to great lengths to conceal his crimes. A deputy with the public integrity unit learned that Trevino was planning to meet with a civilian Saturday to get drugs and officers set up surveillance. They saw Trevino do just that at a gas station near Broadway and Loop 410, Salazar said. Trevino was in uniform at the time and had a weapon. It was pretty clear to everybody that he was on his way to work to smuggle these drugs into the Bexar County Jail, but we placed him under arrest before that could be completed, Salazar said. Authorities also arrested the civilian, Rudy De La Cruz, who is facing the same charges. De La Cruz, 33, is not employed by the Sheriffs Office. Trevino is the latest in a string of deputies arrested this year. A Bexar County jailer turned himself in to authorities Friday afternoon after being indicted this week for allegedly pushing an inmate last year. Detention Deputy Markese Djuan Shands is charged with official oppression, according to the sheriff's office. He turned himself in at 3:30 p.m. on a warrant that was issued for the indictment, officials said. Less than two weeks ago, a Bexar County jailer was arrested and another was fired after an inmate died following a medical incident. Detention Deputy Mishal Mathew was arrested and charged with tampering with a government record. Probationary Deputy Lucio Camacho was terminated but is not facing charges because there is no evidence he falsified records. During Saturdays press conference, Salazar highlighted his efforts to root out bad actors. Its infuriating, Salazar said. Its insulting and its an affront to the other 1,500 deputies I have in this agency that just want to come to work and protect and serve and do a great job and provide for their families. Folks like this are totally disrespecting everybody that wears that badge, he added. madison.iszler@express-news.net There is one day with special meaning when it comes to the military. Memorial Day. It is the day this country honors those who lost their lives while serving in the military. Thats today. To be sure, many holidays and other days commemorate our military and those who have served. We even have days for the causes and engagements for which they fought. These range from the broad but direct, Veterans Day in November, to other days in which martial influences are broadly invoked. Think of Independence Day, VE and VJ days, D-Day on June 6, Armed Forces Day and Flag Day. But none is quite the same as Memorial Day. Today we honor those who sacrificed everything while in the military, whether these be combat deaths or not. The numbers are sobering. According to the Veterans Administration, of the 41.89 million who served from 1775, in the American Revolutionary War, to 1991, the first Persian Gulf war, 651,031 died in battle, with another 308,800 military deaths in-theater and 230,254 non-theater. As of August, total deaths in battle and otherwise in Operations Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan) and Operation Iraqi Freedom number 1,947 and 4,410 respectively. The military oath goes like this: I, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed. When our soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines die while serving, they will have borne true faith and allegiance in ways unfathomable to many of us. They will have sworn faith and allegiance, knowing death is a risk for those who serve. And yet our men and women continue to enlist. This nation, it is clear, is divided along many lines, political and otherwise. We have even disagreed on which wars should be waged. But we are in accord that those who serve in those wars and in the military generally and give their lives deserve a particular honor no matter what we thought of the conflicts in which they fought. They deserve to be remembered always. So, today we will decorate gravesites or honor in our own ways those who served and died for us. Our flags will wave. Our thoughts will go out to loved ones and others who didnt come home. And we will remember them with appreciation and the knowledge that what they did was for country which is another way of saying for us. Thats Memorial Day. Memorial Day is a national holiday honoring those who died serving our nation. As we enjoy the blessings of family and friends, let us all take a moment to recollect the reason for this day. Today, we honor the men and women who sacrificed their lives so that we may enjoy the freedoms we hold so dear. I ask you to unite with family and friends in a national moment of remembrance at 3 p.m. to reflect on the sacrifices made in defense of our values. Let us remember our history and see our present so that the thousands of Americans who have served and lost their lives to war, from days past to present, will not be forgotten. Their courage and sacrifice will always be remembered and honored across this great state, this great nation and, most importantly, in our hearts. Eliseo Al Cantu Jr., chairman, Texas Veterans Commission Worth of life in jail Re: Ignored to death behind bars, Opinion, May 12: I dont know how many responses you received on this commentary by Josh Brodesky, but you should have received many, and hopefully the municipality responded as well. What happened to this woman is utterly appalling and shameful to sit in a cell for months, lose 136 pounds and die in the custody of law enforcement, nurses and doctors over a $300 bond turns my gut. That is what this womans life was worth to the Bexar County Jail. What do we tell families who have loved ones with mental illness? At any cost, do not allow your loved ones to be taken into the Bexar County Jail! Ray Baird One nation divided From George W. Bush to Donald Trump, Republicans have played the anti-abortion card. Abortion is, without question, the most emotional political and moral issue facing the nation today. The language of the debate is passionate and the conflicting, irreconcilable values so deeply felt. Nothing like it has separated our society since the days of slavery. Slavery dealt with the whole country, while the anti-abortion issue is the work of Republican religious extremists. No comparison! On one side are crusaders who argue on religious and moral grounds. On the other side are people who contend that abortion is the right of women to have control of their bodies. Republicans continue to use abortion to divide the country. Ron Lowe, Harlingen By Lambert Strether of Corrente A new study by Philipp Frey of Autonomy, a UK think tank, The Ecological Limits of Work: on carbon emissions, carbon budgets and working time, has garnered significant press coverage, but the headlines (Much shorter working weeks needed to tackle climate crisis study, or Climate crisis: UK should dramatically cut working hours to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, study says, or PAY DAY Working a NINE-HOUR WEEK could be the key to saving us all, experts say) have tended to frame the study as recommending management innovations like the four-day week here the Sun, correctly (!), busts the frame with NINE-HOUR rather than working through the more radical thinking behind Freys study. First, I will consider shorter working days and weeks as a managment technique, and show that such reforms do have beneficial effects for the cllimate crisis, and then Ill look at what I think Freys study is really showing. Considering the four-day week as a management technique, heres a successful case study. Perpetual Guardian of New Zealand: What if a strategy existed to increase employee engagement and productivity, resulting in higher customer satisfaction and increased revenue? What if that strategy required implementing a four-day workweek while paying employees as if they were working five? According to Perpetual Guardian, a New Zealand financial services company that implemented the four-day week, it not only works but it also has the potential to become the new working standard. The process Perpetual Guardian undertook to design, test and eventually implement this four-day model is documented in a white paper published earlier this year. Most of the process improvements came from staff managing themselves differently, said Lockhart. Its about becoming more aware of how they were spending their time. On the day Barnes PR firm arranged for him to share the research results on local morning television, his phone rang for the rest of the day, according to Lockhart. Barnes shared how employee engagement scores had significantly increased while stress levels droppedall while employees were maintaining productivity levels in four work days instead of five. It started to travel around the world, as people woke up. We got media requests from Sydney, Europe and then the U.S., said Lockhart. We gave up counting how many media stories weve had when we got to 4,500. The four-day week has now become Barnes full-time job. We dont sell the program; it is a philanthropic effort and weve had people from all over the world asking to learn more. (Heres another knowledge economy company, Portcullis Perpetual Guardian is a financial services company that also went to a four-day week, with success, and apparently with the same desire to share the good news.) So, the idea is to leave pay levels the same, decrease time at work, and maintain productivity with process improvements. It seems that the four-day week can indeed benefit the climate: But when [the State of Utah] implemented the shorter workweek [for state workers in 2008], the goal was to cut energy use by 20 percent and save the state money and those big savings havent come through yet. So far, energy use has been reduced but only by 13 percent. Each of Utahs 900 government buildings is unique. State energy managers have to figure out how to turn everything off on Fridays especially the massive heating and air conditioning units But the good news, for everybody, is that the reduction in Friday commuters and the energy savings in buildings have cut down the carbon dioxide pumped into the local air. Unfortunately, Utah abandoned the effort after three years, mostly (it seems) because citizens wanted the state offices open five days a week, but also because the energy targets werent being met (but never mind the externalities, like less pollution due to less commuting.) Now, to be fair, there seems to be a little too much hand-waving in the relationship between working hours and carbon emissions. For example, in this CEPR study from 2006, Are Shorter Work Hours Good for the Environment? A Comparison of U.S. and European Energy Consumption: However, the relationship between energy consumption and work hours could be more complicated. For example, workers (or families) with less leisure time may dry their laundry by machine rather than drying it on a clothesline. They may not take the time to walk or bicycle to work, but rather drive. These behavioral changes in response to increased work hours would cause energy efficiency to decline as work hours increased. On the other hand, they may have their clothes professionally laundered, or take a cab. While these decisions would increase energy consumption, they would also increase hours worked in the economy, so the effect on this measure of energy efficiency is indeterminate. Finally, they may pay professionals to paint their homes rather than do it themselves. While this would consume the same amount of much energy, it would increase hours worked, thereby increasing this measure of energy efficiency. Of course, as people leave their homes to work, energy savings at home might balance the extra energy consumed at work. Any net effect of work hours on energy consumption is not easy to predict . It does seem reasonable that hacking commute time down by 20% would save a lot of energy. And it also seems reasonable that something would be saved on HVAC, etc., as Utah showed. As for consumption, I dont know. I did a good deal of painting around the house when I didnt have any money. But that doesnt mean Id take up the practice again if I had more leisure time. That said, rigor had not improved much when CEPR did a second study, in 2013: A number of studies (e.g. Knight et al. 2012, Rosnick and Weisbrot 2006) have found that shorter work hours are associated with lower greenhouse gas emissions and therefore less global climate change. The relationship between these two variables is complex and not clearly understood , but it is understandable that lowering levels of consumption, holding everything else constant, would reduce greenhouse gas emissions. When you think about it, its pretty amazing that we know more about the relationship between the Antarctic Ice sheet (say) and the climate crisis than we know about the workplace and the climate crisis. But that is where we are. The 2013 CEPR paper concludes: This paper estimates the impact on climate change of reducing work hours over the rest of the century by an annual average of 0.5 percent. It finds that such a change in work hours would eliminate about one-quarter to one-half of the global warming that is not already locked in (i.e. warming that would be caused by 1990 levels of greenhouse gas concentrations already in the atmosphere). Numbers which might be worth thinking about as a tranche in a multileveled approach to reducing carbon emisisons, but might not be, in the absence of more rigorous modeling. (For example, people might drive recreationally in their newly freed-up leisure, so we really wouldnt be hacking 20% out of drive time.) With that, lets turn to the Autonomy study (which is well worth reading in full). Here is the key portion (Im using an image because there are charts and an equation): Summarizing, working backwards from a sustainable GDP per capita, we can come to a sustainable level of hours worked to produce that GDP; and it turns out that level is a lot lower than todays norms. Its as if Frey, rather than setting a thermostat for comfort level, set it for the sustainable amount of carbon emitted, and as it turns out, the house is pretty cold. The Sun was right: NINE HOURS. Think about that. Frey writes: I would thus argue that the climate crisis calls for an unprecedented decrease in the economic activity that causes GHG emissions, and this confronts us with, to adapt Paul Lafargues phrase, the necessity to be lazy. If ecological sustainability requires an overall decrease in material consumption , a vast expansion in terms of leisure time and thus an increase in time prosperity would be less of a luxury and more of an urgency. Im not sure about that, because I wont be able to get the debt collectors off my back with my new-found time prosperity. From CEPRs 2013 paper: It is worth noting that the pursuit of reduced work hours as a policy alternative would be much more difficult in an economy where inequality is high and/or growing. In the United States, for example, just under two-thirds of all income gains from 19732007 went to the top 1 percent of households. In this type of economy, the majority of workers would have to take an absolute reduction in their living standards in order to work less . The analysis in this paper assumes that the gains from productivity growth will be more broadly shared in the future, as they have been in the past. Of course, the robots and automation might come to the rescue; but perhaps not. Perhaps the Chinese will crack AI and remove labor from the production of commodities altogether, as David Harvey says somewhere. But perhaps not. * * * In summary, it seems clear that the management technique of cutting back work hours has merit from the climate perspective and should be pursued (albeit with some added rigor on causality). It also seems clear, as Frey urges, that capital accumulation that is, after all, what goes on in the workplace must slow and/or change (toward investment that takes the labor out of production, and especially away from financialization). Thats a heavier lift, but the clarity of Freys exposition makes the lift slightly less heavy. SpaceX just launched 60 satellites for its Starlink Constellation. Internet service providers should be very worried. Universe Today (a Starlink satellite train). So much for astronomy? Wow these 60 Starlink @spacex satellites are going to be bad for astronomy. They just flew over Brighton, looking like a train of satellites covering 25 degrees (outstretched hand) of the sky. Clearly visible with your unaided eyes looking a bit like a laser pointer beam. pic.twitter.com/ijniYczLQi Das Baskill (@DrDasB) May 26, 2019 Why Silicon Valley Loved Uber More Than Everyone Else The Altantic Sofar Sounds house concerts raises $25M, but bands get just $100 TechCrunch Samsung deepfake AI could fabricate a video of you from a single profile pic CNET (Furzy Mouse). What could go wrong? In Baltimore and Beyond, a Stolen N.S.A. Tool Wreaks Havoc NYT Mississippi Rivers Morganza Spillway Expected to Open For 3rd Time in History Weather Underground Climate crisis more politically polarizing than abortion for U.S. voters, study finds Grist Memorial Day Syraqistan US To Send 900 Troops To Middle East To Counter Iran Defense One Brexit Europe taking the Green route as voters seek action RTE The European Left in Disarray Jacobin Modern monetary theory offers insights into the eurozone FT (Furzy Mouse). As long as they spell the name right China? Tech cold war: how Trumps assault on Huawei is forcing the world to contemplate a digital iron curtain South China Morning Post India New Cold War The West and Russian-Chinese Relations: Stages of Denial Valdai Discussion Club Russias Dirty Oil Crisis Is Worse Than Almost Anyone Predicted Bloomberg. Hmm. Assange RussiaGate American Hustle Foreign Affairs. A reasonably balanced article (not paywalled), and note well the source. Well worth a read. Five takeaways from Barrs new powers in spying probe The Hill Trump Transition Democracy and Its Discontents Adam Tooze, NYRB 2020 Health Care Gunz Boeing 737 MAX Boeing 737 MAX Crash Reveals A Severe Problem With Older Boeing 737 NGs Moon of Alabama Class Warfare Slow Thought: a manifesto Aeon Antidote du jour (via): See yesterdays Links and Antidote du Jour here. By Jack Barkenbus, Visiting Scholar at the Institute for Energy & Environment, Vanderbilt University. Cross-posted from Alternet. The electric vehicle revolution is coming, but it wont be driven by the U.S. Instead, China will be at the forefront. My research on EVs, dating back a decade, convinces me that this global transformation in mobility, from petroleum-fueled vehicles to electric ones, will come sooner than later. The shift is already happening in China, which is the worlds largest automobile market, with 23 million cars sold in 2018. As Western countries approach peak car ownership, there are still hundreds of millions of Chinese families that dont own a car at all much less two or more. Many of them are buying electric cars. By 2015, electric vehicle sales in China had surpassed U.S. levels. In 2018, Chinese sales topped 1.1 million cars, more than 55% of all electric vehicles sold in the world, and more than three times as many as Chinese customers had bought two years earlier. U.S. electric vehicle sales that year were just 358,000. A key element of an electric vehicles price is the cost of its batteries and China already makes more than half of the worlds electric vehicle batteries. Battery prices continue to fall; industry analysts now suggest that within five years it will be cheaper to buy an electric car than a gas- or diesel-powered one. Forecasts predict the Chinese producing as much as 70% of the worlds electric vehicle batteries by 2021, even as the demand for electric car batteries grows. Huge Government Backing China has a fledgling, but ambitious, automobile industry. It has never been able to match the efficiency and quality of established automakers at making gas-powered vehicles, but electric vehicles are easier to build, giving Chinese firms a new opportunity to compete. The Chinese government, therefore, has chosen to highlight electric vehicles as one of 10 commercial sectors central to its Made in China effort to boost advanced industrial technology. Government efforts include using billions of dollars to subsidize manufacturing of electric vehicles and batteries, and encouraging businesses and consumers to buy them. The government is also aware that electric vehicles could help solve some of Chinas most pressing energy and environmental concerns: Massive air pollution chokes its major cities, national security officials are worried about how much oil the country imports and China is now the nation contributing most to global climate change emissions. New Companies Scores of Chinese auto-making companies have formed to profit from these subsidies. A major player is BYD, which stands for Build Your Dreams, headquartered in Shenzhen. More than a decade ago, billionaire investor Warren Buffett bought about a quarter of the company for US$232 million a share that is now worth more than $1.5 billion. The companys initial plans to export vehicles to the U.S. proved premature and fizzled. BYD instead started to focus mainly on the Chinese auto market, as well as building electric buses for the global market, which it now dominates. If BYDs electric car plans falter, though, there are plenty of other Chinese firms ready to pick up the slack. Further Support In addition to the government subsidies to ensure BYD and its competitors have lots of customers, new government regulations are kicking in. The Chinese government now requires all automakers who sell in China, whether domestic or foreign firms, to make a certain percentage of their sales electric, through a complex crediting formula. The mandate will get stricter over time, perhaps requiring each company to make at least 7% of their sales electric by 2025. Major foreign car companies have large investments in China and can hardly afford to abandon the market. Volkswagen, for example, now sells 40% of its output in China, which is a main reason the company is pushing hard to develop electric vehicles. Chinas domestic automakers have largely not yet engaged in the export market. Electric vehicle industry analyst Jose Pontes says there are three reasons for their reluctance: First, the Chinese market is big enough to absorb their current production. Second, many car companies in China are utterly unknown in the West, so customers would be wary of buying from a strange brand. And third, their cars do not yet comply with strict safety regulations in the U.S. and Europe. However, all of those obstacles can be overcome with time and money. Its possible Chinese electric car companies could enter the low- to middle-income market in the West, as Volkswagen did 60 years ago. If or when that happens, inexpensive, efficient electric cars may spread through the West from China, surpassing Tesla and other American and European electric vehicle efforts. Only Western government attempts to protect domestic automakers with tariffs and other trade barriers could derail this development. (Natural News) Theres no doubt about it: Surgery is scary. Anyone who knows they will be going under the surgeons knife in the near future likely has concerns, and with good reason. Post-operative complications like blood loss, nerve damage and infection are actually quite common. One of the most dangerous and even life-threatening of these complications is infection. As reported by Natural Health 365, of the 50 million people who undergo inpatient surgery each year, about 300,000 will develop infection at the incision site, while many more will develop systemic infections like sepsis and pneumonia. There is good news for those about to undergo surgery, however. A study published in the peer-reviewed journal Gastroenterological Research and Practice in 2017, found that taking a multi-strain probiotic (a formulation with no less than three different strains of bacteria) before surgery reduces the risk of postsurgical infection both localized and systemic by a whopping 70 percent. (Related: Anesthesiologists spread dangerous infections during surgery because they dont wash their hands.) Massive reduction in postoperative infection The researchers, who are all associated with Lanzhou University in China, set out to determine the effects of taking probiotics before surgery to prevent postoperative infection in patients undergoing colorectal resection. To do so, they undertook a meta-analysis of all randomized controlled studies that had investigated this connection. Nine studies, with a combined total of 1,146 patients, were included in the final analysis. The team found that a combination of three or more probiotic bacterial strains was beneficial in reducing the total number of postoperative infections, both at the surgical site and other, nonsurgical site infections. The researchers reported: It should be noted that the formula, dose, and treatment duration of the probiotics vary considerably between studies, because there was no data to establish an optimal prophylactic treatment. We analyzed the different formulas of probiotics for postoperative infection; the results indicated that a combination of multi-strain bacteria (at least three) has the significant effect on total infections, SSI, and NSSI after colorectal surgery. As noted by Natural Health 365, multi-strain probiotic supplementation reduced the incidence of pneumonia by 75 percent, urinary tract infections (UTIs) by 61 percent and life-threatening sepsis by 56 percent. And these benefits were obtained without any adverse reactions or effects. This was not the only study or analysis to determine that probiotic supplementation reduces the risk of surgical infection. Natural Health 365 reported: An additional review published in December in the Journal of Clinical Medicine strongly supported the protective effect of probiotics. After assessing numerous studies involving over 3,000 patients who had undergone major abdominal surgery, the authors reported that probiotic supplementation was associated with a significant decrease in surgery-related complications. Specifically, they noted decreases in infections at the site of the surgery and fewer systemic infections such as pneumonia, sepsis and urinary tract infections. In addition, supplementation was linked to a shorter duration of antibiotic therapy, shorter duration of post-operative fevers and shorter hospital stays. Increase your consumption of probiotics In addition to supplementing with a multi-strain live probiotic for several weeks before undergoing surgery, it would also be wise to increase daily consumption of probiotic-rich foods. These include: Yogurt: Live bacteria can be killed in the processing of yogurt, so be sure to choose an unsweetened, natural brand with live or active cultures. Kefir: It may look like a cauliflower, but kefir is actually a culture formed by lactic acid bacteria and yeast. It improves bone health, clears up digestive problems, and most importantly protects against infection. Other probiotic foods include sauerkraut, tempeh, kimchi, miso, kombucha, pickles, buttermilk and certain cheeses, including gouda, mozzarella and cottage cheese. Learn more at Nutrients.news. Sources include: NaturalHealth365.com NCBI.NLM.NIH.gov Healthline.com Healthline.com (Natural News) Many countries around the globe are making an effort to reduce their plastic waste to save wildlife and humans from its detrimental effects. In fact, Thailand and Vietnam are just some countries that are taking a page (or a leaf for this one) from Mother Natures playbook to combat plastic waste. Banana leaves are natures answer to plastic waste problems Data from a study by non-profit group Ocean Conservancy in 2015 revealed that both Thailand and Vietnam are two of the five countries that comprise at least 60 percent of plastic waste in the worlds oceans. In a bid to reduce their plastic waste production, supermarkets in both countries are starting to make the switch from single-use plastic bags to banana leaves, considered Mother Natures natural packaging. Last March, a Facebook post from Perfect Homes Chiangmai revealed that Rimping Supermarket in Chiangmai, Thailand, has started wrapping produce in durable banana leaves. The eco-friendly post received more than 7,000 positive reactions and a whopping 17,000 shares in the social media platform. On the other hand. some stores in Vietnam have also started using banana leaves as an alternate means of packaging. In a report that appeared in VnExpress, one Lotte Mart outlet in Ho Chi Minh City has also started wrapping vegetables with banana leaves. Representatives from the supermarket chain shared that if the trial goes well, the practice will be rolled out to other Lotte Mart stores. They also expressed their hopes to use environmental wrapping for other products, such as meat. To date, consumer response to the eco-friendly switch has been positive. Hoa, a local shopper, shared that seeing vegetables wrapped in sustainable banana leaves makes him more willing to buy in larger quantities. Shoppers like Hoa believe that this initiative can help locals become more aware of various means of protecting the environment. (Related: Biodegradable, compostable polymer films show promise for developing more eco-friendly packaging materials.) Aside from Lotte Mart, other stores that have started using banana leaves as plastic alternatives include Saigon Co.op, which use them in outlets in Ho Chi Minh City, Phan Thiet, Tam Ky, Tay Ninh, and Quy Nhon. Meanwhile, the Big C chain started using banana leaves in Hanoi last April 1. Banana leaves are a promising sustainable packaging choice for Thailand because the trees are common throughout the region. Trees in Thailand can yield leaves that are as large as nine feet in length. Around the globe, more people are starting to use banana leaves to cover different kinds of foods. Since these are sturdy, they are ideal for packaging fresh produce which sells quickly. Stores in Vietnam have also started looking into other eco-friendly food packaging options. At Lotte Mart, customers can buy boxes made of sugarcane waste, eggs wrapped in paper instead of plastic, and paper straws. At Big C, customers can use biodegradable shopping bags made out of corn powder. Other Asian countries have taken measures to reduce the use of plastic bags. In South Korea, disposable bags have been banned while Taiwan charges a fee for the use of plastic bags. In 2008, China banned thin plastic bags. This reduced the countrys usage by 66 percent, which then reduced the number in use by a whopping 40 billion. Tips for reducing plastic waste Single-use plastics harm aquatic life. These even affect us, as we unknowingly consume fish and seafood tainted with microplastics. If you want to make a difference, listed below are some tips that can help reduce your plastic waste production. Always bring a reusable shopping bag. Keep a tote bag or a reusable shopping bag in your purse to eliminate the need for plastic bags. Keep a tote bag or a reusable shopping bag in your purse to eliminate the need for plastic bags. Dont use plastic straws. Skip the straw, or buy reusable straws made of bamboo, glass, or stainless steel and always bring them with you. While dining at restaurants, let servers know that you dont need plastic straws. Skip the straw, or buy reusable straws made of bamboo, glass, or stainless steel and always bring them with you. While dining at restaurants, let servers know that you dont need plastic straws. Get reusable cutlery. When ordering take-out, tell servers that you dont need plastic cutlery. If youre taking the food home, you can just use the silverware that you already own. When ordering take-out, tell servers that you dont need plastic cutlery. If youre taking the food home, you can just use the silverware that you already own. Start using refillable, reusable water bottles. Single-use plastic bottles are another source of plastic waste, and switching to reusable water bottles can help make a difference. Help reduce plastic waste by refusing single-use plastic products and using refillable water bottles and tumblers for your daily cup of coffee. Sources include: EcoWatch.com VNExpress.net 4Ocean.com Twelve people and one dog have been displaced following a two-alarm fire at a home in Hunters Point that has been contained early Sunday morning, according to fire officials. Approximately 70 firefighters were at the scene of the blaze first reported at 4:04 a.m. in the 1500 block of Innes Avenue. A second alarm was called at 4:16 a.m., Lt. Jonathan Baxter said. The fire was kept mostly to the three-story, single-family structure, but also spread to another building nearby, Baxter said. Baxter said nobody was injured. Residents are advised to avoid the area and the American Red Cross is helping those displaced. It has been three years since the kidnapping of Vallejo teen Pearl Pinson and her whereabouts are still a mystery. Her family is hoping for new leads in the case as they hold a vigil Saturday to keep her story in the light. Pinson was just 15 years old when she was abducted as she was on her way to the bus stop. Witnesses reported seeing a man drag her across a pedestrian bridge near Lewis Avenue over Highway 780. The only suspect in her disappearnce was killed in a shootout with police in Southern California the next day. "Everybody in my family, we just all want her home; we want to know what happened to her, if shes even OK," Pearl's sister, Rose Pinson, said in March. Rose said she hasn't gone a single day without thinking of her missing sister. Tips on the case have stopped over time, Solano County Sheriffs Detective Sean Mattson said. Mattson believes suspect Fernando Castro was responsible for Pearls kidnapping. Investigators and Pearls family hope the People article published in March will generate new leads. New Haven Unified School District teachers and administrators left a 10-hour bargaining session Sunday night with no settlement agreement in sight, according to both camps. This would suggest that the teachers' strike that began May 20 appears headed to continue. Classes are scheduled to resume Tuesday, after the Memorial Day holiday. "We're probably going to be back on strike next week, but that's not what we want to do," said New Haven Teachers Association president Joe Ku'e Angeles said in a video posted Sunday night on the union's Facebook page. The district administration's news release Sunday night made no mention as to when negotiations might pick up again. A district spokesman could not be reached immediately Sunday night for further comment. In the teachers association video, Ku'e Angeles said board members - before they "walked out abruptly" Sunday night - said they would be back at the bargaining table at 9 a.m. Monday. Ku'e Angeles said he wasn't so sure the talks will resume so soon. "The conversation has not moved" over the weekend, he said. The school district's "last, best, and final offer" is for a 1 percent raise for 2019-2020, as part of the teachers' salary schedule, and a one-time 3 percent payment. A new amendment to that added a 0.5 percent on-the-schedule pay raise for teachers for every additional $1 million in state funding for 2019/20, up to an additional 1 percent raise applied to the salary schedule. The New Haven Teachers Association, meanwhile, are seeking a 10 percent raise over the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 school years. The teachers say the district has plenty of money for the raises they seek, contending the district has a multi-million-dollar budget surplus. They also say district managers are set to receive pay hikes of up to 6 percent. District officials assert that their current offer would cost the district about $5 million over three years, and would keep New Haven teachers as the highest paid teachers in Alameda County. District administrators contend that declining enrollment and budgetary deficits will preclude the district from collecting the estimated $20 million over three years needed to meet the teachers' demands. District administrators Sunday night released a list of potential cuts that could be made if "any increase beyond the district's last, best and final offer" is adopted. The cuts, ranging from eliminating 25 classified positions, trimming an undetermined number of teachers, eliminating some or all district assistant principals and closing a school, could cost as much as $7.8 million. Ku'e Angeles had seen those numbers, he said in the video, and called them "a scare tactic note to the community." He said it might be time to ask the current board members to resign, to recall them or call for a vote of "no confidence." "You can't bring this thing to an end?" Ku'e Angeles said of district officials. "Something is very much wrong." The New Haven Unified School district employs approximately 585 teachers at its 11 schools in Union City and Hayward. Approximately 11,000 students attend those schools. A Northern California man who died after being attacked by a shark while swimming in Hawaii was pulled ashore missing a leg, according to a witness. Shark warning signs were posted Sunday in the Ka'anapali Beach Park area on Maui where the man, identified as 65-year-old Thomas Smiley, died a day earlier. Relatives told NBC's Sacramento affiliate KCRA that Smiley was an optometrist from the Sacramento suburb of Granite Bay. Dr. Gary Taxera, a life-long friend of Smiley's, told NBC he was in shock when he heard the news. "I almost fell where I was standing. I actually had to sit down," Taxera said, adding that Smiley will be "sorely missed." Smiley was swimming about 60 yards from shore when the attack happened, according to authorities. Witness Allison Keller told Hawaii News Now that the man appeared unconscious as rescuers pulled him from the water and performed CPR Saturday morning. "As we got closer, I saw some blood on his stomach and then I got looking a little bit more and his wrist, it looked like the skin on his wrist was just torn off," Keller said. "And then I got looking closer and his entire left leg from his knee down was just missing." The last fatal shark attack in Hawaii was in 2015, when a snorkeler off Maui was killed. Lawyers for President Donald Trump said Saturday they've reached an agreement with congressional leaders to delay the handover of banking documents from Trump accounts, NBC News reports. Trump records from Deutsche Bank and Capital One are being sought by the House Intelligence and Financial Services committees amid probes of alleged foreign influence on U.S. elections. The agreement was first reported by CNN; it was subsequently confirmed by NBC News. On Wednesday a federal judge ruled that the banks could hand over the documents sought under congressional subpoenas. But leaders of those committees made a deal with Trump's team to halt the court-approved handover while the case is appealed by the president's lawyers. In exchange for hitting the pause button, committee leaders secured a commitment from the lawyers to stick to a fast-tracked appeals process. UPDATE: By Tuesday morning, seven people had died and at least 33 others were wounded. Latest report here. ______________________________________________________________ Five people are dead and at least 28 others have been wounded in shootings across the city of Chicago over the Memorial Day weekend so far. The weekend's deadliest shooting happened when at least four people were shot in the 1300 block of West Hastings just after 6 a.m. on Sunday morning, according to police. When officers arrived at the scene, they found two men, a 27-year-old and a 26-year-old, who had suffered gunshot wounds. Both men were taken to Cook County Hospital, where they were pronounced dead. Police say that two women, who were seated in a black sedan at the scene, were also shot. A 31-year-old woman was shot in the hip, and a 25-year-old woman was shot in the left arm. Both women are in good condition at Mount Sinai Hospital. After the shooting, police recovered multiple weapons, and a possible suspect is in custody in connection with the incident. Police say that two other persons of interest are also being interviewed by detectives in connection with the shooting. Earlier in the weekend, just after 10 p.m. Saturday in the 400 block of North 77th Street, two men were standing on a sidewalk when a person in a passing vehicle fired shots, striking both victims. A 43-year-old man was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center in critical condition with multiple gunshot wounds, and he later died from his injuries, police said. Another victim, a 31-year-old man, was also taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, and he was listed in stable condition with a gunshot wound to his left leg. A few hours later, another man was shot and killed in the 1300 block of West Hastings, according to police. Authorities were responding to a large group disturbance near the scene when shots rang out, and when they reached the man, he was unresponsive on the sidewalk, police said. The man was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. A 25-year-old woman was also shot, and she's in stable condition at Stroger Hospital with a gunshot wound to her arm. A fatal shooting was also reported just after 6:30 p.m. on Saturday afternoon, according to police. A 29-year-old man was standing on a porch in the 100 block of West 109th Place when a person walked out of a gangway and opened fire, striking him in the chest. The man was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center, where he was later pronounced dead in the first fatal shooting of the weekend. No suspects are in custody in the shooting. City officials, including Mayor Lori Lightfoot, have announced how they plan to keep Chicagoans safe on Memorial Day, and throughout the summer. NBC 5s Regina Waldroup has the details. Here are the rest of the weekends shootings: Note: No suspects are in custody unless otherwise noted. Friday: On Friday afternoon, a 24-year-old man was walking northbound in the 6100 block of South Maplewood when he heard gunshots and felt pain, according to police. The man was shot in the upper back, and he was later taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he is listed in serious condition. In the 1500 block of South Sawyer at approximately 9:44 p.m., two people were walking on a sidewalk when they heard gunshots. A 15-year-old boy was taken to Stroger Hospital with a gunshot wound to his right leg, and a 27-year-old man was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital with a gunshot wound to his left leg. Both victims are in stable condition, according to police. Just before 11 p.m. in the 300 block of North Lake Shore Drive, a 20-year-old woman riding in the backseat of a Nissan sedan when a person in a white SUV pulled up alongside the vehicle and opened fire. The woman was shot in the right hand, and was driven to Northwestern Medical Center in stable condition, according to authorities. In another shooting late Friday night, a 25-year-old man was at a gas station in the 5400 block of West Diversey when a man walked up to him and opened fire, striking him in the face, according to Chicago police. The man was rushed to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where he was listed in critical condition. No suspects are in custody in the case. Saturday: In the 300 block of North Cicero at approximately 12:01 a.m., a 31-year-old man was standing on a sidewalk when he heard gunshots. The man was taken to West Suburban, and was later transferred to Stroger Medical Center in stable condition with gunshot wounds to his right arm and right leg, police said. A 26-year-old man was walking down an alley in the 1400 block of East 70th Street at approximately 12:40 a.m. when a man walked up to him and opened fire, police said. The victim was struck in the left shoulder and left leg, and was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he is listed in stable condition. Just after 2 a.m. in the 7400 block of South Langley, a 45-year-old man was walking on a sidewalk when he heard shots and felt pain in his buttocks, police said. The man was taken to St. Bernards, where he is listed in stable condition. Three people were hurt in a shooting Saturday morning in the citys Brighton Park neighborhood. Just after 2 a.m., the victims were in a sedan traveling southbound when a person in a black SUV pulled up alongside their vehicle and opened fire. A 42-year-old man was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital with multiple gunshot wounds, and he was listed in critical condition. A 19-year-old woman, who was also shot multiple times, was listed in critical condition at Mount Sinai. A 17-year-old girl was also taken to Mount Sinai, where she was listed in stable condition. No suspect is in custody, and Area Central Detectives are investigating. In the 7600 block of South May at approximately 3:51 a.m., a 33-year-old man was standing on a sidewalk when a person in a black sedan opened fire, striking him in the abdomen and left arm. He was taken to an area hospital in stable condition, police said. Chicago police responded to a call of a person with a gun in the 800 block of North Leclaire Avenue at approximately 10:48 a.m., and when they arrived they found evidence of a shooting. A short time later, officers learned that a 29-year-old man had been shot in the left ankle, and had transported himself to West Suburban Hospital. The man is in good condition, and police are investigating the shooting. Sunday: A 31-year-old man is facing attempted murder charges after he allegedly dragged an Illinois State Police trooper with his vehicle during a traffic stop, authorities announced Sunday. According to state police, 31-year-old Steven Gouveia has been charged with Attempted First Degree Murder and possession of cannabis after the incident, which took place on Wednesday morning on the Interstate 290 eastbound ramp at Damen Avenue. Police say that a state trooper was conducting a traffic stop on the ramp when he was nearly hit by Gouveias vehicle. The trooper ordered Gouveia to stop, but the 31-year-old allegedly tried to flee the scene, and the officer was briefly dragged by the vehicle before putting it into park. Gouveia resisted arrest, according to authorities, and was placed into custody. The state trooper suffered non-life threatening injuries, and was treated and released at a local hospital. Gouveia has been ordered held without bond in connection with the incident. A U.N. maritime tribunal ruled Saturday that Russia must immediately release three Ukrainian naval vessels it captured in November and free the 24 sailors it detained. The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea issued its order at its Hamburg headquarters following a hearing earlier this month. Russia stayed away from both the hearing and Saturday's session. Ukraine's new president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said that Russia could send a signal of "real readiness to stop the conflict with Ukraine" by complying with the order. Russia didn't immediately specify what it would do, but made clear that it still believes the tribunal is the wrong place to address the dispute. The confrontation in the Kerch Strait, which links the Sea of Azov with the Black Sea, marked a flashpoint in the simmering conflict over Russia's 2014 annexation of the Crimean Peninsula. Russia seized Crimea in a move that Ukraine and most of the world view as illegal. The Kerch Strait separates Crimea from mainland Russia. Russia had argued that the rights Ukraine claims in the case don't apply because they are covered by an exception for military activity. Kiev's lawyers contest this claim, saying Russia itself previously described the arrest as a law enforcement operation. The tribunal sided with Ukraine's argument on that point. But tribunal President Jin-Hyun Paik said both parties should "refrain from taking any action which might aggravate or extend the dispute." He said Russia must return the ships to Ukrainian custody and allow the servicemen to go home. The decision was a 19-1 vote, with a Russian judge dissenting. The tribunal "does not consider it necessary to require (Russia) to suspend criminal proceedings against the 24 detained Ukrainian servicemen and refrain from initiating new proceedings," Paik added. Kiev had called for legal proceedings to be ended. The tribunal's decisions are legally binding, but it has no power to enforce them. It called for both sides to report back on their compliance by June 25. Zelenskiy said when he took office on Monday that the main goal of his presidency is to bring peace to eastern Ukraine, where government troops have been fighting Russia-backed separatists for five years in a conflict that has left at least 13,000 dead. On Saturday, Zelenskiy said on Twitter that "Russia's fulfillment of the order ... could be a first signal from the side of the Russian leadership of real readiness to stop the conflict with Ukraine. In this way, Russia could take a step toward unblocking talks and resolving in a civilized way problems that it created." "We'll see what path the Kremlin will choose," he added. The Russian Foreign Ministry didn't address details of the order to release the ships and sailors. It underlined in a statement its argument that the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea's dispute resolution procedures can't be applied to this dispute. In subsequent arbitration proceedings at the tribunal, "we intend to consistently defend our position, including the lack of jurisdiction," it said. Jim Heintz contributed to this report. Thirty-three people were displaced after a vacant house collapsed in Waterbury and forced several homes nearby to be evacuated early Saturday morning. First responders were called to 1009 Baldwin Street around 12:30 a.m. after getting a report of a building collapse. Police said the building that collapsed was a vacant multi-family home. Six houses on Baldwin Street and Madison Street, between Madison Street and Laval Street, were evacuated for the residents' safety. The 33 displaced residents were tended to by the American Red Cross at a fire station on Baldwin Street. They were allowed back into their homes later Saturday morning, according to police. The city building inspector, CL&P and Eversource responded to the scene to ensure the gas and electric were disconnected. A demolition team arrived at 3 a.m. and demolished the home that collapsed, police said. Nobody was injured during the incident. The cause of the collapse is unknown. To help make sure you stay informed on the most shared and talked about stories, each Saturday and Sunday we'll revisit 5 stories from the previous week, including the most recent updates. You're Going to Need a Bigger Boat A research group that tags and tracks sea life said Monday for the first time, it has tracked a great white shark in Long Island Sound. The shark, named Cabot, is 9-feet, 8-inches long and roughly 533 pounds, according to OCEARCH. The group said a GPS tracking device on the shark sent a ping from off the Greenwich shoreline just before 9 a.m. A day later, Cabot was tracked on the south side of Long Island. The researchers said they are digging deeper into their data to try and determine whether the shark was on the north side or south side of Long Island. See more on the shark here. A ocean research group says it received a GPS signal from a tagged great white shark in Long Island Sound on Monday. Cadet Commencement The Coast Guard Academy held its 138th graduation in New London on Wednesday. U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton gave the keynote address and told 240 new graduates they will help lead the way in "reasserting American leadership in the Arctic." Eight Connecticut residents were among the graduates. For more on the commencement, click here. National Security Adviser John Bolton spoke to the graduating cadets at the Coast Guard Academy in New London on Wednesday. When Bears Attack A bear was euthanized after it attacked and killed a dog in Burlington Monday, according to the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. Local and State police responded to the scene. State police said the bear got aggressive toward an officer and was euthanized on scene. See more on the incident here. A bear was euthanized after it attacked and killed a dog in Burlington Monday, according to the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. Son and Hero An East Haven High School student saved his mother's life after she suffered a heart attack while the family was in upstate New York for a wresting tournament. Enzo Bunce said he used what he had learned about CPR in health class and reacted quickly when his mother collapsed. For more on his heroic actions, click here. An East Haven High School wrestler performed CPR on his mother and saved her life when she suffered a heart attack just before one of his matches. Burial Battle The family of a Connecticut woman who died in January 2018 is still waiting to bury her, because of some red tape. Tessa Pascarella wanted a "green" burial, according to her family. Green burials are designed to have less of an impact on the environment. They are legal in Connecticut, but Pascarella's family has run into multiple road blocks to laying her to rest. See the details on their struggle here. 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. Three kids were transported to the hospital after an irritant was found in the air near the dance floor at the hotel where a Stonington prom was being held on Saturday and police said Wednesday that they determined that a Stonington High School student accidentally discharged pepper spray. Two officers were working the Stonington senior prom at the Mystic Marriott when they got a report of an irritant that was found near the dance floor around 9:45 p.m., according to police. The irritant was found because some kids started to cough. Three kids were transported to the hospital, treated and released, school officials said. Police said no criminal charges are expected because the student did not intend to harm anyone at prom. Inside Amazon's 855,000-square-foot warehouse on East McCarty Lane in San Marcos, man and machine work together daily to fulfill the millions of customer orders they're responsible for each year. The Austin American-Statesman reports beyond secured doors and metal detectors, employees assemble packages using ever-evolving machinery and sorting technology. Amazon has built itself into a $900 billion company, largely through this flagship service: fast delivery. Now, it's aiming to fulfill orders at an even speedier pace, saying earlier this month that it is investing $800 million to make one-day delivery possible for Amazon Prime members. Amazon's network of warehouses -- including the one in San Marcos -- will be responsible for achieving the objective. Groundwork to meet the ambitious goal already is being laid at the facility just 30 miles south of Austin. "Fulfillment is the core business that Amazon started with," said Eli Pabon, general manager at the San Marcos warehouse. "We've grown as a company over time and really expanded to become a very broad business, but customer fulfillment ... still absolutely is the core of our business." In 2016, Amazon opted to build the warehouse in San Marcos in exchange for an $11 million tax-incentives package from Hays County and the city of San Marcos that required the online retailer to create and maintain at least 350 permanent full-time jobs. Today, the facility has more than 1,500 full-time workers -- making it the city's second-largest employer behind Texas State University. At peak demand times, the warehouse can employ around 2,000 people. Amazon has opened more than 100 warehouses in North America, employing more than 125,000 full-time workers combined. Its San Marcos center is one of more than 25 to feature a robotic fulfillment process, according to Pabon. Amazon also has warehouses near San Antonio, Dallas and Houston, and the company staffs thousands more Texas workers at corporate offices and through its ownership of Austin-based Whole Foods Market and other branches. Inside the San Marcos center, robotic devices underneath specialized product shelves transport the shelves into sorting positions -- zooming past each other, pivoting and zigzagging their way to employees. Workers then take the products out of the shelves and place them into yellow bins that move along a conveyor belt to the packaging department. Eventually, artificial intelligence technology sorts packages to corresponding delivery trucks. The San Marcos center mostly mails out smaller items, such as books or hand-held electronic devices. Since Amazon opened in San Marcos three years ago, the e-commerce giant's presence has boosted housing and business growth around the fulfillment facility, San Marcos Chamber of Commerce spokeswoman Samantha Brown said. The company has also invested thousands of dollars in local education programs focused on robotics and hosted robotics camps for students. "When you have an anchor like Amazon, other businesses look at your community," Brown said. While Amazon's impact in San Marcos has grown during the past three years, so have the ambitions of its competitors. Arkansas-based Walmart, Target, with corporate headquarters in Minneapolis, and other blue chip firms have sought to eat away at Amazon's dominance by offering their own quick delivery and slate of online products and services. Still, Amazon has continued to push the boundaries in terms of speed. Updated technology is expected to be installed at the San Marcos facility soon, a company spokeswoman said, although Amazon hasn't said if hiring at the warehouse will increase because of the new one-day delivery initiative. The company's business strategy "is focused on meeting customer demand, and that includes hiring," the spokeswoman said. Amazon's rapid-paced culture, however, has been the subject of employee scrutiny, with workers throughout the years highlighting in media reports experiences of working through bathroom breaks, being under constant surveillance and having unrealistic quotas to fill. Even after Amazon in October raised minimum wage for all U.S.-based employees to $15 per hour, some staff members said certain bonuses or stock grants were cut. While warehouse employees are required to meet performance goals, the company also inserted procedures that allow the concerns of employees to be addressed, according to Terasita Lazaga, who has worked as an associate at the San Marcos center for the past 18 months. "It is fast-paced, but ... at the beginning of our shift and after our first break, the safety standards are always talked about," Lazaga said. "The standards are there." Amazon said it will phase out its current associate stock grant program this year for a new direct stock purchase plan the company said will provide workers with higher cash compensation. The initiative could answer concerns employees have had with the stock grant program, as well as with not immediately seeing a profit when the company's value rises. Average salary at the San Marcos center now ranges from $15 to $17.80, depending on experience, according to Amazon. In February, the San Marcos warehouse became one of 23 fulfillment centers in North America open for public tours. Amazon began offering warehouse tours years ago to let shoppers and other members of the public see the operation for themselves. If any local customer is worried about how Amazon fulfills orders, Pabon said, they now have an option. "Come see it," he said. "If you want to know what goes on here, I encourage anyone who wants to learn about this place to come see it. We'd love to have you." Zainab Altameemi stood in the outdoor pool of the Trotter Family YMCA in west Houston on a recent Monday, donning a black burkini, a swimsuit that covers her hair and entire body. The Houston Chronicle reports Altameemi's swim instructor, Kirby, was trying to get her to float on her back. A skeptical, hesitant look appeared on her face. The Iraqi refugee has been taking swimming lessons since January, along with half a dozen other refugee women. For many of the women, coming from more conservative societies in Iraq and Syria, this is one of the first times they've had the opportunity to learn to swim. But the classes, organized by Interfaith Ministries of Greater Houston volunteer Chloe Krane, mean more than just learning to swim: they signify the women overcoming their fears and building a thriving, independent life in a new country. "It's the first step here in America," said Sonobar Badeel, one of the students and a refugee from Iraq. The salty, blue-green waters of the Mediterranean Sea lapped up onto the sandy shores in Alexandria, Egypt, getting dangerously close to Altameemi's toes when she was vacationing there a few years ago. She thought she would try to swim for the first time, peering out to see her husband fully immersed in the water -- and in joy. But her fear stopped her. Altameemi, 35, is from Baghdad, but moved to Egypt with her parents in 2001 for her father's job. By the time her dad had finished his work stint four years later, Iraq was embroiled in the war with the United States and was no longer safe -- so Altameemi stayed in Egypt, eventually getting married and having two children. Life in Egypt wasn't easy, and going back to Iraq wasn't an option. "In Egypt, the day-to-day life was hard," she said in Arabic. "Schools were expensive, cost of living was expensive and work was hard to find." Houston, where Altameemi came with her family as refugees in 2016, is the polar opposite. Schools are better, the opportunities for her now-three children -- ages 11, 7 and 18 months -- abound and there is support. "Here, you feel like you're a person, you have a character, you can learn -- even if you get older," she said. When Krane brought up her swimming lessons idea to the women in the empowerment group she heads, Altameemi thought, "No way." But when she thought of the approaching summer season, and how much her kids enjoy swimming, she reconsidered. Plus, she said, "It's something just for me. I like to learn, I feel joy." The group of women desperately clung to the wall of the pool as they stood in the shallow end during their first class. Panicked, each woman tried to encourage another one to let go of the wall in between nervous laughs. Eventually, Badeel was the first one to let go -- and she said it felt like the greatest achievement. "It was so hard the first day, but then it was just an incredible feeling," she recalled, beaming. Fear, and subsequently courage, are not unfamiliar to Badeel. The 36-year-old is from the Iraqi village of Bashiqa, less than 20 miles northwest of Mosul. She and her family are Yazidis, the ethno-religious minority that was persecuted by ISIS. "We didn't plan to leave Iraq at all," Badeel said. "We had a life there. My husband and I were teachers, we bought land and were planning to build a house." But then ISIS took over Mosul in 2014, and was on its way to Bashiqa's large Yazidi population. Yazidis were being murdered, the women raped and taken as sex slaves, the children sacrificed or trained to be child soldiers. It was a nightmare. For two weeks, Badeel and her husband didn't sleep, patrolling their home to protect their children. They fled to Kurdistan in 2014, and came to the U.S. two years later. When she resettled in Houston in 2016, Badeel and her husband were depressed and hopeless. But Badeel started to see it as a fresh start to build a safe, happy life for her family. And although she had fears, she was driven to overcome them. There are other refugee women, Badeel said, who are too scared to even leave their homes -- and they are shocked to see Badeel going out on her own. When she's in the water, the burdens are lifted off her shoulders and worries escape her mind. "I don't want my kids to be afraid of anything, whether it's swimming or anything else," Badeel said. "When kids see that we're not afraid, they're not even going to think of a reason to be scared." Badeel and Altameemi never thought to try to swim in Iraq. "It's not acceptable for women to go to the pool back in Iraq," Badeel said. "Their place is in the house, whether or not they're married." Going from a society where swimming is unacceptable for women, to one where it's normal, highlighted for Badeel and Altameemi the opportunities they have in the U.S. They know that they'll be able to achieve so much more. Badeel, for instance, is studying to re-validate her teaching certificate to teach elementary school. She has seven years of experience in Iraq. Altameemi wants to master English for more independence. "I need it to go to the doctor, to buy groceries, anything," she said. After that, she wants to learn computer skills, like how to use Excel. It isn't to say that there haven't been, and won't be, challenges in adjusting to a new country. Money can be tight, visas and citizenship issues are headache-inducing and lack of community is isolating. But, Zainab said, "when someone is determined, even if they're scared, they can learn." Back at the pool, Zainab and the other women walked out of the shallow end and buckled flotation devices around their waists. "Bismillah" -- which means "In the name of God," -- Zainab said as she lowered herself into the deep end. Texas moved a big step closer to arming more teachers and school personnel as a way to help prevent future campus shootings, under a bill sent to Gov. Greg Abbott. The measure approved Wednesday night by the state Senate changes the 6-year-old school marshal program that had limited the number of armed marshals, and instead opens campuses to as many as local school districts feel they need. The bill was among several school security measures pushed by Gov. Greg Abbott after a gunman killed eight students and two substitute teachers at Santa Fe High School near Houston on May 18, 2018. Abbott, a Republican, is expected to sign the bill into law. None of the changes the Republican-controlled Legislature has advanced include any new restrictions on gun purchase or ownership . Texas isn't alone in its push to arm more educators. Florida recently approved increasing the number of armed teachers in response to the February 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school in Parkland that killed 17. The Texas school marshal program was created shortly after the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, but was slow to take hold. Schools are not required to have armed marshals and many larger districts employ their own police or contract with local law enforcement. Texas had less than 40 certified school marshals across more than 1,000 public school districts in early 2018. Applications rose sharply after the Santa Fe school shooting and the number of school marshals is now close to 200. Marshals receive 80 hours of training, including practice in "live shooter" scenarios. Current law limits the number of school marshals to one per 200 students or one per building. The measure approved Wednesday removes those caps. The marshals would still have to keep their guns locked away from students. An effort to let marshals carry concealed weapons wherever they go was not included in the bill and may not pass, said Sen. Brandon Creighton, an author of the school marshal expansion bill. Gun rights advocates say the marshals will save lives. But teachers groups and gun control activists worry that more guns on campus, even concealed weapons, will lead to potentially lethal accidents. Critics have also suggested that it could lead to more violence against African American students because of inherent biases. According to the Giffords Law Center, there have been more than 65 reported incidents of mishandled guns at schools in the last five years, ranging from a teacher's gun falling from his waistband to a security guard leaving a weapon on a bathroom counter. "Arming teachers is not the way to fight school violence," said Clay Robison, spokesman for the Texas State Teachers' Association. Even with more school Abbott had listed school security as a top priority for the legislative session that convened in January and ends on Monday. Other school safety measures being considered by lawmakers include money spent to "harden" campuses with metal detectors, vehicle barriers, new security doors, shooter alarms systems and myriad other safety measures. Another bill making its way to Abbott is designed to get more mental health counselors into schools and to create "threat assessment teams" that would help identify potentially dangerous students before they act. School districts would also be required to draft campus emergency plans that would be filed with the state. Detectives were asking the public for help locating a Colorado woman who suffers from depression, flew to Los Angeles and was believed staying in a Malibu motel. Jennifer Michelle Lorber, 30, arrived in Los Angeles Thursday and was last seen about 11 p.m. staying at a motel in the 22000 block of Pacific Coast Highway, detectives said. Lorber suffers from depression and her family is concerned for her wellbeing, detectives said. She is described as white, 5 feet 1 inch tall, 100 pounds, with long brown hair and brown eyes. She was driving a white 2018 Toyota Rav4 rental car with a Washington license plate BJM8505. Anyone with information on Lorber's whereabouts was asked to call Sgt. Mike Rodriguez in the Missing Persons Unit at 323-890-5500 or Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (8477). Southern California's mercurial spring weather is expected to bring another day of substantial rainfall Sunday, along with unseasonably cold temperatures and a light dusting of snow in the mountains above Los Angeles. NBC4 Meteorologist Fritz Coleman said there was dime-sized hail, lightning strikes and flood warnings Saturday in parts of Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, namely the Tehachapi and the northern slope of the Ventura County Mountains. Sunday should bring a "light to moderate" rain event that should be gone by early Monday morning around 3 a.m to 4 a.m, Coleman said. But before a dry Memorial Day, Sunday expects to provide consistent rain, he said. "Memorial Day will be partly cloudy," the meteorologist said, before warning, "It will not be warm." The storm is bringing colder than average temperatures, with downtown Los Angeles expected to have a high of 61 degrees on Sunday. Coleman said the out-of-season part of the storm is the low snow levels, with snow levels down to about 5,500 feet. From 6 a.m. Sunday through 3 a.m. Monday, elevations of 6,500 feet are forecasted to get about 2-6 inches of snow, while elevations of 5,500 should get about an inch of snow over the same time period. The rainfall should vary from about a tenth of an inch of rain in Malibu to about half an inch of rain in San Bernardino, Coleman said. Things should dry out in time for Monday's Memorial Day holiday, when the skies are expected to be at least partly sunny. No further rain is forecasted in the Los Angeles area next week, when temperatures are expected to hover in the 70s. An Afghan security forces raid against Taliban fighters in eastern Nangarhar province mistakenly killed at least six civilians, including a woman and two children, provincial officials said Saturday. Attahullah Khogyani, the provincial governor's spokesman, said 10 insurgents were also killed in the Friday night attack in Sherzad district. The civilians' vehicle was exiting the area right after the raid and security forces thought that Taliban fighters were trying to escape, so they opened fire and mistakenly killed the civilians, Khogyani said. Ajmal Omer, a provincial councilman, said villagers carrying the victims' bodies in a procession in the provincial capital of Jalalabad demanded justice for the victims' families. Both Taliban and Islamic State group fighters are active in eastern Afghanistan, especially in Nangarhar. The U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said Saturday it was concerned about the heavy toll on civilians in the conflict during the holy month of Ramadan, and urged parties to do more to prevent casualties. It condemned the insurgents for incidents in which civilians have been deliberately targeted and said that during the first week of Ramadan, the Taliban killed six civilians and wounded 28 others in a premeditated attack against a non-governmental organization in Kabul. The statement said the U.N. mission is looking into the attack inside a mosque in the capital of Kabul during Friday prayers. Two people, including the prayer leader, were killed and 16 others were wounded. "Deliberate and indiscriminate attacks against civilians can never be justified and amount to war crimes," said Tadamichi Yamamoto, the Secretary-General's special representative for Afghanistan. "An attack in a mosque, especially at a time of prayer during Ramadan, is particularly heinous," Yamamoto was quoted in the statement. The U.N. mission said recent airstrikes against anti-government targets in southern Helmand and eastern Kunar provinces killed as many as 14 civilians. In the May 20 and 22nd attacks in the Greshk district of Helmand and the Chawki district of Kunar, the civilians killed included four women and eight children, and 12 other civilians were wounded, the U.N. said. Meanwhile, the Taliban claimed responsibility for Friday's attack on an armored vehicle belonging to Romanian NATO forces at Kandahar air base. Five Romanian NATO soldiers were injured. Separately, Col. Dave Butler, U.S. Forces Afghanistan spokesman, said a NATO helicopter had a hard landing due to mechanical failure in southern Helmand province. "There was no hostile fire or enemy contact involved," he said in a statement. Both Afghan and U.S. personnel were injured but were all in stable condition and expected to recover, he said. He said the aircraft was destroyed. Taliban insurgents are active in Helmand and control several districts in the province. Walt Disney World is footing the bill for employees who want to attend the University of Central Florida, the company announced Thursday. The offer is part of Disneys Aspire program, which provides free tuition to eligible employees and cast members. UCF, the states largest university, is the latest addition to the initiative, which launched in August 2018. More than 53,000 Florida-based employees are eligible for the UCF offerings, according to a statement from the company. There are 34 undergraduate and masters degree programs for interested employees to choose from. Disney Aspire covers the cost of tuition, application fees and books, according to the official website. Those costs can be applied to a college degree, a high school diploma or a vocational skill. Since its launch, Disney Aspire has enabled thousands of Cast Members to dream bigger and reach higher, George A. Kalogridis, president of Walt Disney World Resort and a UCF alumnus, said in a statement. Adding UCF to this prestigious network of schools will provide our Cast Members with even more options to create the futures they imagine. Forty percent of Walt Disney Worlds workforce consisting of 85,000 full-time and part-time hourly employees are currently enrolled in the program. Disney Aspire was born with a $150 million investment to help Disney employees to gain confidence and grow in their careers, the statement said. 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. Heres a look at some of the stories you may have missed last week: Alleged Craigslist Roommate Attacker Withdraws 'Stand Your Ground' Defense A Miami-Dade man accused of brutally beating his new roommate after meeting her on Craigslist is withdrawing his Stand Your Ground defense. Byron Mitchell, 39 withdrew the defense at a hearing Thursday. Hes charged with attempted felony murder in the February 2016 incident that left Danielle Jones in a coma for several weeks. Click here for more on the story. Byron Mitchell, who is charged with attempted felony murder in the February 2016 incident that left Danielle Jones in a coma, withdrew his Stand Your Ground defense. NBC 6s Claudia DoCampo reports. Pee in the Pool: Survey Reveals Disturbing Trends A new survey finds 40 percent of adults admit theyve gone to the bathroom in a swimming pool but thats not the worst information uncovered. Click here for more details on the study. A new survey finds 40 percent of adults admit they've gone to the bathroom in a swimming pool, but that's not the worst information uncovered. Video: Shirtless Florida Man Steals FHP Cruiser to Set Off 149 MPH Chase A shirtless Florida man stole a Florida Highway Patrol troopers car and led a chase reaching nearly 150 mph on the Turnpike. The incident began when a trooper noticed a shirtless man who appeared to need medical assistance on the side of Floridas Turnpike FHP. When the trooper went to speak to a Road Ranger, the suspect saw an opportunity, jumped behind the wheel and drove away. For more on this story, click here. A Florida man stole an FHP cruiser and then led law enforcement on a high-speed chase on the Turnpike. Should You Toss or Keep Those Food Items After Best By Date? It may be a common discussion at your home trying to figure out what to do with food that is past the Use By or Best By dates. Experts say many of us are tossing out food that is safe to use well beyond those dates. Click here to test your food safety knowledge with a short quiz. It may be a common discussion at your home trying to figure out what to do with food that is past the Use By or Best By dates. Take a Sneak Peek Inside the Worlds First Guitar-Shaped Hotel Have you seen it? It towers over Hollywood at 35 stories high and glistens in the sun its the worlds first guitar-shaped hotel. The out-of-this-world hotel at the Seminole Hard Rock wont be opening for a couple of months, but the public is getting an inside look at what they can expect during a stay at this unique spot. Click here for more on this hotel. NBC 6s Andrea Martinez gives us a sneak peek at the new, guitar-shaped Hard Rock Hotel in Hollywood. Three people from New York City and two from Nevada were killed in a wrong-way wreck on Interstate 40 in northwestern Arizona, authorities said. The victims from New York were: 57-year-old Tsun Tong Chan, 54-year-old Wai Kam Ngai and 21-year-old Ching Kwong, the Arizona Department of Public Safety said Saturday. The Nevadans killed in the crash Friday southwest of Kingman were 82-year-old Harold Wayne Wickham and 90-year-old Ella Wickham, both of Laughlin. Harold Wickham was driving an eastbound sedan in the westbound lanes when it collided with the other car and that he died at a hospital, officials said. The other victims died at the scene. The crash remains under investigation. What to Know A gunman allegedly wounded his ex-girlfriend and killed another man in a Manhattan apartment early Sunday morning The man shot his 26-year-old ex-girlfriend and a 27-year-old man inside an East River Houses building, the NYPD said The woman, who was shot in the leg, was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment and is expected to survive, police said Police are searching for a gunman who allegedly wounded his ex-girlfriend and killed another man in a Manhattan apartment early Sunday morning. The man shot his 26-year-old ex-girlfriend and a 27-year-old man, identified by police as Damian Coleman, of Manhattan, inside an East River Houses building on East 102nd Street, near the FDR Drive, in East Harlem just before 5:30 a.m., the NYPD said. Police described Coleman as a male acquaintance of the 26-year-old woman. Coleman, who was shot in the stomach, was pronounced dead at the hospital. The woman, who was shot in the leg, was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment and is expected to survive, the NYPD said. Police are now searching for the 31-year-old gunman, who fled on foot on 1st Avenue after the shooting. The shooting stemmed from a dispute inside the apartment, according to police. An innocent bystander was hurt in a shooting in a Brooklyn subway station and police are asking for help looking for two suspects. The 27-year-old woman was injured on her foot when two men opened fire at another person on Tuesday at 11:20 p.m. in the Franklin subway station, the NYPD said. She was taken to Kings County Hospital in stable condition, police said. Police were looking for two men in their late teens to early 20s. Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). A suspected purse snatcher who was running from police jumped off the Brooklyn Bridge, law enforcement sources said. The suspect was critically injured in the fall, the sources told NBC 4 New York. The chase and jump temporarily closed all Manhattan-bound lanes of the bridge. Traffic remained backed up even after they reopened. The man was suspected of stealing a woman's purse in Brooklyn, the sources said. He took off in a car, then crashed on the Brooklyn Bridge. He got out of the car and kept running from police, then jumped off the bridge near Pearl Street in Manhattan, the sources said. What to Know Police want the public's help finding missing student Junior Parker, 21, who they say is autistic He was last seen running down the West Side Highway in Manhattan after running away from Stuyvesant High School about 9 a.m., cops said Parker was last seen wearing a t-shirt with white lettering, a blue denim jacket, and blue jeans UPDATE: Police say 21-year-old Junior Parker has been found safe. A New York student with autism has gone missing, and police say he was last seen running on the West Side Highway. NYPD School Safety tweeted Friday afternoon that it needed the public's help finding 21-year-old Junior Parker. He went missing from Stuyvesant High School. Police said it was reported that Parker was last seen on Friday leaving the school at 345 Chambers Street on the West Side just before 9 a.m and running southbound on the nearby West Side Highway. A mobile command center had been set up outside Stuvesant High School Friday evening along with at least 10 schools safety vans and cars. A police source told NBC 4 Parker was traced via surveillance video taking the E train in the Oculus. Police lost him after that. NYC Department of Education deputy press secretary Miranda Barbot said the NYPD immediately responded and was conducting a full search with the department's support. After a student left the building, the door alarm was activated and we are closely monitoring the situation," Barbot said. Parker normally travels on a yellow school bus, police said. Cops said he was not "travel trained." He was last seen wearing a t-shirt with white lettering a blue denim jacket and blue jeans. Anyone with information is asked to call police. She was one of the first African-American women to serve overseas in the U.S. Army. On Monday, 97-year-old Indiana Hunt-Martin will be featured in the National Memorial Day Parade, along with other members of her battalion. Hunt-Martin served in the little-known unit known as the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, along with 843 others. They were all women and all African-American. In 1945, they deployed to Birmingham, England. Their mission: to sort through the millions and millions of letters and packages intended for American GIs serving overseas. "We worked on the mail. You should have seen the pile; oh gosh, boxes falling apart," recalled Hunt-Martin, now a resident of Laurel, Maryland. Born in Lyons, Georgia, in 1922, Hunt-Martin moved to Niagara Falls, New York, with her family as a small child. She graduated from Niagara Falls High School in 1940 and worked at the Carborundum Company before joining the Womens Army Corps (WAC) on Sept. 15, 1944, because she wanted to help in the war effort and she needed a good job. "Usually the only jobs we could get were cleaning jobs, babysitting ... You could not work in the stores or banks or anything," Hunt-Martin said. The members of the 6888th faced racism here in the U.S. Hunt-Martin recalls taking the train to Fort Oglethorpe in Georgia for basic training: "We rode all the way to Washington, D.C. In Washington we had to change trains, because from there down, you didn't ride in the same trains as the whites." And she remembers the air raids: "That was right outside of London; we could see the bombs when the Germans were bombing." Hunt-Martin was honorably discharged from the U.S. Army in November 1945. After the war, she worked for the New York State Department of Labor for more than four decades before retiring in 1987. Hunt-Martin saved mementos from her time serving overseas, including items given to her by soldiers coming back from the front lines. She also still has part of her uniform which still fits. As for whom she'll be thinking about on Memorial Day: her brothers and her nephew. "I always thought about them on Memorial Day and all the other soldiers that didn't make it back," she said. "It's a day to remember, I can tell you that, 'cause those boys gave their lives for our country," she said. "They should be getting medals; they should be getting something." Hunt-Martin, who has a daughter and a grandson, still keeps in touch with other surviving members of the 6888th. They're all featured in a new documentary. A Hawaii woman has been found alive in a forest on Maui island after going missing more than two weeks ago. "The last 17 days of my life have been the toughest days [of my] life, and it's been a really significant spiritual journey that I was guided on," Amanda Eller said in a Facebook video, according to NBC News. "There were times of total fear and loss and wanting to give up, and it did come down to life and death and I had to choose," she said. "And I chose life." Eller was found injured in the Makawao Forest Reserve, the Maui News reported Friday. "I was crying tears of joy," Eller's mother, Julia, said. "I never gave up hope for a minute. I knew that we would find her." The physical therapist from the Maui town of Haiku went missing on May 8. Her white Toyota RAV4 was found in the forest parking lot with her phone and wallet inside. Hundreds of volunteers have searched for her since. Eller's parents had offered a $10,000 reward to encourage people to find her. Javier Cantellops said he was searching for Eller from a helicopter along with Chris Berquist and Troy Helmers when they spotted her about 3:45 p.m. near the Kailua reservoir, according to Maui Police Department spokesman Lt. Gregg Okamoto and the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Cantellops told the newspaper that she was in the bed of a creek with waterfalls on either side. He told CNN he saw Eller waving her hands at the helicopter. "It was unbelievable, dude," Cantellops said. "Seeing her for the first time in a long time was just unbelievable. It was nothing short of elation." Eller was in an area with thick vegetation, he said. "That vegetation is so thick, it's a miracle that we saw her," Cantellops told CNN. The Maui Fire Department brought Eller to a hospital for evaluation, Okamoto said in a statement. Her mother told the Maui News that Amanda Eller survived by staying near a water source and eating wild raspberries and strawberry guavas. She even ate a couple of moths, Julia Eller said. Her daughter tried to catch some crawfish, but she was "not very successful," Julia Eller said. "She lost quite a bit of weight, as you can imagine, being lost for that amount of time," Julia Eller said. "But she was able to survive it. She had the right skills and did the right things to buy time so that we had a chance to find her." Amanda Eller suffered a leg fracture, abrasions on her ankles and a severe sunburn, but Julia Eller told the Maui News that her daughter's spirits were good. "And all of those things are treatable," Julia Eller said. A photo was posted to a Facebook page tracking the search, showing a smiling Eller with what appeared to be injuries to her face and dirt on her clothing. The photo shows Eller surrounded by Cantellops, Berquist and Helmers. Maui County Mayor Michael Victorino said he's grateful for the efforts of family, friends, volunteers and first-responders. "This search and rescue was truly a community collaboration of Maui County first responders, family, friends and community volunteers," Victorino said in a statement. "I extend my deepest appreciation for everyone involved in searching for and locating Amanda. Your work, determination and sacrifice has helped return her to her loving family. God bless them all." Iraq offered to mediate in the crisis between its two key allies, the United States and Iran, amid escalating Middle East tensions and as Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers steadily unravels. Iraqi foreign minister, Mohammed al-Hakim, made the offer Sunday during a joint news conference in Baghdad with visiting Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif. "We are trying to help and to be mediators," said al-Hakim, adding that Baghdad "will work to reach a satisfactory solution" while stressing that Iraq stands against unilateral steps taken by Washington. In recent weeks, tensions between Washington and Tehran soared over America deploying an aircraft carrier and B-52 bombers to the Persian Gulf over a still-unexplained threat it perceives from Tehran. The U.S. also plans to send 900 additional troops to the 600 already in the Mideast and extending their stay. The crisis takes root in President Donald Trump's withdrawal last year of the U.S. from the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers that capped Iran's uranium enrichment activities in return to lifting sanctions. Washington subsequently re-imposed sanctions on Iran, sending its economy into freefall. Trump has argued that the deal failed to sufficiently curb Iran's ability to develop nuclear weapons or halt its support for militias throughout the Middle East that the U.S. says destabilize the region, as well as address the issue of Tehran's missiles, which can reach both U.S. regional bases and Israel. Zarif, who was been on a whirlwind diplomatic offensive to preserve the rest of the accord, insisted that Iran "did not violate the nuclear deal" and urged European nations to exert efforts to preserve the deal following the U.S. pullout. Speaking about the rising tensions with the U.S., Zarif said Iran will be able to "face the war, whether it is economic or military through steadfastness and its forces." He also urged for a non-aggression agreement between Iran and Arab countries in the Gulf. The Shiite-majority Iraq has been trying to maintain a fine line as allies Tehran and Washington descended into verbal vitriol. The country also lies on the fault line between Shiite Iran and the mostly Sunni Arab world, led by powerhouse Saudi Arabia, and has long been a battlefield in which the Saudi-Iran rivalry for regional supremacy played out. The mediation offer by al-Hakim, Iraq's foreign minister, echoed one made Saturday by Mohamad al-Halbousi, the Iraqi parliament speaker. Al-Hakim also expressed concern for Iran's spiraling economy. Iranians make up the bulk of millions of Shiites from around the world who come to Iraq every year to visit its many Shiite shrines and holy places and their purchasing power has slumped after Trump re-imposed the sanctions. "The sanctions against sisterly Iran are ineffective and we stand by its side," al-Hakim said. Meanwhile, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani suggested the Islamic Republic could hold a referendum over its nuclear program. The official IRNA news agency said Rouhani, who was last week publicly chastised by the country's supreme leader, made the suggestion in a meeting with editors of major Iranian news outlets on Saturday evening. Rouhani said he had previously suggested a referendum to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in 2004, when Rouhani was a senior nuclear negotiator for Iran. At the time, Khamenei approved of the idea and though there was no referendum, such a vote "can be a solution at any time," Rouhani was quoted as saying. A referendum could provide political cover for the Iranian government if it chooses to increase its enrichment of uranium, prohibited under the 2015 nuclear deal. Earlier last week, Iran said it quadrupled its uranium-enrichment production capacity though Iranian officials made a point to stress that the uranium would be enriched only to the 3.67% limit set under the deal, making it usable for a power plant but far below what's needed for an atomic weapon. Rouhani's remarks could also be seen as a defense of his stance following the rare public chastising by the supreme leader. Khamenei last week named Rouhani and Zarif relative moderates within Iran's Shiite theocracy who had struck the nuclear deal as failing to implement his orders over the accord, saying it had "numerous ambiguities and structural weaknesses" that could damage Iran. Khamenei, who has final say on all matters of state in Iran, did not immediately respond to Rouhani's proposal of a referendum. The Islamic Republic has seen only three referendums since it was established in 1979 one on regime change from monarchy to Islamic republic and two on its constitution and its amendments. Also in Tehran, acting commander of the country's powerful Revolutionary Guard said any negotiations with the U.S. would be fruitless. Gen. Ali Fadavi said it would be like having "negotiations with Satan." Meanwhile, Yemen's Iranian-allied Houthi rebels launched a bomb-carrying drone Sunday targeting another airport in Saudi Arabia. Col. Turki al-Maliki, a spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition fighting against the Houthis, said that the military intercepted and destroyed the drone targeting its Jizan Regional Airport. Saudi state TV published images of debris it said belonged to the drone. The rebels have attacked another airport multiple times and a critical Saudi oil pipeline in recent days amid the heightened tensions between the U.S. and Iran. Associated Press writer Bassem Mroue and Jon Gambrell contributed to this report. Pianist Lim Dong-hyek speaks during a press conference in Seoul, Friday. Courtesy of Warner Music Korea 'Happiness from music comes with pain' By Anna J. Park Lim Dong-hyek, one of Korea's most beloved and talented pianists, has released his fifth album on Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 2. It is his first album in nearly four years, following his previous recording of Chopin's 24 Preludes and other works released in late 2015. As the Chopin album received critical acclaim from Gramophone with a pick as "Editor's Choice," his new album has garnered attention from classical fans around the world. The new album is the 34-year-old pianist's first piano concert recording, and Lim said it had to be Rachmaninov. "Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 2 exhibits all the elements of his musical greatness. It's so Russian; it's a feast of continuation of overwhelmingly beautiful and heart-throbbing melodies," Lim told reporters at Warner Music Korea in southern Seoul, Friday. "In playing the concerto, I didn't attempt any excessive interpretations. Some might say it could sound somewhat flat or lacking a marked personality. But this piece itself requires a lot of emotions and sentiments already, and trying to put too much into it might end up sounding too mushy. I don't like artificial attempts to be unique for the sake of individuality. That's why I didn't add any extreme interpretations," Lim said of his album. Lim spent a considerable amount of his youth in Russia. He moved to Moscow at the age of 10, and studied at the Moscow Central Music School and the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory. He continued his studies later in Hannover, Germany, and at the Julliard School in the U.S., but Rachmaninov's music always lingered within him. "I grew up listening to Rachmaninov's music. To me, his works come natural to me, without any distances," he said. The piano concerto was recorded in London with the BBC Symphony Orchestra. The other works of the album, Rachmaninov's Symphonic Dances, were recorded in Berlin with legendary pianist Martha Argerich. The piano duo with Argerich, one of the greatest pianists of our time, was possible as Lim has maintained a close relationship with her for the past two decades. They first met in 1999 at a piano competition as a contestant and a juror, and since then Argerich has been Lim's supporter, mentor and friend on his music journey. Earlier this month, the two pianists held a duo concert at the Seoul Arts Center in Seoul. They played the Symphonic Dances together, along with other works. Lim recounted Argerich showed great satisfaction and happiness after the concert. "We had an amazing concert last year on the Rachmaninov's Symphonic Dances in Hamburg, Germany. Martha told me this Seoul performance felt better to her than the one in Hamburg. She told me she loved the performance, audiences and everything," Lim said. "She is a very warm and considerate person. She cares a lot about people." It was because of that concert with Argerich in early May in Seoul, his newest album has been released exclusively in Korea this month. The album will be released internationally and digitally in September. Lim only stayed in Korea for a few days during this visit. Now residing in Berlin, he has a series of upcoming concerts next month in Brussels and Hamburg. The busy pianist said he still gets the most comfort and happiness from music. "There is obviously pain and suffering, which comes from music. But at the same time, I receive so much comfort and consolation from music all the time. It's a package; happiness from music comes with pain. You need to take care of the pain on your own," Lim said. For his next discography, Lim said he'd like to record Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 1 and No. 2 with the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra someday. "There's my true self in Chopin's music. I played Chopin so many times, and I think I'd be so honored to record the zenith of Chopin with the Warsaw Philharmonic, whose members know Chopin's repertoires more than any other orchestra," he said. He also expressed a hope to create a music festival someday. "I wish to have my own music festival. I will gather all my favorite musician friends, and we will play and enjoy together. That will be so much fun," he said with a big smile. Democratic leaders in Congress have argued that impeaching President Donald Trump is a political mistake as the 2020 election nears. Most of the candidates running to succeed him seem to agree, for now. Fewer than one-third of the 23 Democrats vying for the nomination are issuing calls to start the impeachment process, citing evidence in special counsel Robert Mueller's report they believe shows Trump obstructed justice. Most others, including leading contenders Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders, have found a way to hedge or search for middle ground, supporting investigations that could lead to impeachment or saying Trump's conduct warrants impeachment but stopping short of any call for such a proceeding. The candidates' reluctance, even as more congressional Democrats start pushing their leaders in the direction, underscores the risky politics of investigating the president for "high crimes and misdemeanors." Impeachment matters deeply to the party's base but remains unpopular with most Americans. White House hopefuls may win praise from liberal activists by pressing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., for an impeachment inquiry, but those who fall short of insisting are unlikely to take heat from early-state primary voters more focused on other issues. "People talk about it and people have opinions about it, but health care is much more salient to them," Sue Dvorsky, a former head of the Iowa Democratic Party, said in an interview. "I just don't see Democratic activists here all worked up about impeachment. They trust Pelosi." The 2020 candidates are facing pressure from the left to take a harder line on impeachment as the Trump administration's stiff-arming of subpoenas leaves House Democrats fuming and a growing number of lawmakers urge Pelosi to initiate an inquiry constitutionally required to remove Trump from office. Leah Greenberg, co-founder of the progressive group Indivisible, described the absence of louder calls for impeachment from the candidates as "a real gap in leadership." "What we're seeing is, some Democrats would prefer to keep the topic focused on places where they're most comfortable and some Democrats would prefer to play pundits on this," Greenberg said in an interview. Tom Steyer, a California billionaire, has run television ads and held town halls across the country as part of a campaign calling for Trump's impeachment. He suggested that candidates who haven't yet endorsed impeachment "have a political problem telling the truth about this." Steyer said that if the public saw televised, unfiltered hearings that showed "exactly how bad this president is and exactly who he's surrounded himself with and how corrupt he really is," Democrats and Republicans alike would "reject that kind of behavior." Steyer declined to enter the 2020 presidential race himself. The administration's blockade of congressional investigations and Mueller's report detailing possible obstruction action have yet to push any new Democratic candidates off the fence. Former Vice President Joe Biden, the current front-runner, said last month there is "no alternative" but impeachment if the administration keeps stonewalling congressional investigations. But Biden has notably stopped short of urging Pelosi to move forward. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who's running second in most polls, told CNN this past week "it may be time to at least begin the process" which could result in impeachment. But he warned in the same interview that Trump could try to exact political gains from any impeachment effort. Pete Buttigieg said last week that Trump "deserves impeachment," but the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, stressed that he would defer to Pelosi on the timing for taking any formal steps. New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker told The Associated Press on Friday that Trump's refusal to cooperate with Congress amounts to "undermining the Article I branch of the government's ability to conduct its constitutional mandates." But he gave Pelosi wide leeway. He acknowledged that "she's feeling the frustration from Democrats in the House" and said that "should getting cooperation from the administration not work, I know she'll increasingly be considering her options." Even California Sen. Kamala Harris, who said after the release of Mueller's report last month that "Congress should take the steps towards impeachment," is emphasizing her pessimism that Senate Republicans would act on impeachment if the matter came before them. The most vocal pro-impeachment candidates are Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, former Texas Rep. Beto O'Rourke and former Obama housing chief Julian Castro. Two others, Massachusetts Rep. Seth Moulton and California Rep. Eric Swalwell, also have supported the start of the impeachment process. Moulton and Swalwell are among four candidates could vote on impeachment, as current House members. Pelosi and other House leaders have signaled clearly that they want to pursue investigations into Trump, including two lawsuits where they scored victories this past week, rather than start a consuming and politically uncertain impeachment process. If the House did vote to impeach Trump, the Constitution requires a two-thirds majority of the Senate to support conviction in order to remove the president from office. Given the slim likelihood of that, it's no surprise to Democrats outside the nation's capital that impeachment isn't gaining steam among the candidates. "The people I talk seem to be more interested in what the next president is going to do to make their lives better rather than what they think about impeachment," New Hampshire state Rep. David Morrill said in an interview. Associated Press writer Thomas Beaumont contributed. What to Know The initial announcement last week was met with social media blowback. The Botswanan government later said it would issue no more than 400 elephant hunting permits a year. Elephant hunting is already legal in Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia and South Africa. The Botswanan government has enlisted a public relations firm with deep ties to Hollywood to push back against the bad publicity generated by the southern African nation's decision to lift its ban on elephant hunting. 42 West, a firm mostly known for its work with celebrities and the film industry, notified the U.S. Justice Department last week that it will be working with Botswana's tourism ministry, according to a filing made under the Foreign Agents Registration Act. The firm will be paid $125,000 over the next two months with the possibility of more work to come for developing talking points and a communications plan that "articulates Botswana's policy on elephant hunting" that will be delivered to "key U.S. and other Western audiences," according to its filing. That puts 42 West in an awkward spot. Big-game hunting is a deeply divisive issue, particularly in Hollywood, and numerous celebrity activists have spoken out against killing the world's largest land mammal for sport, including some calls for a tourism boycott of Botswana. Among the firm's clients is actress Meryl Streep, who has been a vocal opponent of the sale and importation of ivory, which in 2014 she called a "product of horrific cruelty to elephants, who could very well become extinct within decades if we don't act now." Allan Mayer, a principal with 42 West who is leading the effort, declined to comment on Friday. Streep publicist Leslee Dart, a 42 West co-CEO who is named in the filing, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Botswana has been a relatively safe refuge for elephants on a continent where illegal poaching and habitat loss has sent their numbers into sharp decline. The country is home to an estimated 130,000 African elephants about a third of all that remain. After its initial announcement on Thursday was met with social media blowback, the Botswanan government clarified on Friday that it plans to issue no more than 400 elephant hunting permits per year. Elephant hunting is already legal in Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia and South Africa. With a population of just over 2 million people, Botswana has more space than some of its more densely populated neighbors for elephant herds to roam. Still, the government said there have been a growing number of conflicts between elephants and humans especially farmers. Groups lobbying in favor of trophy hunting, such as U.S.-based Safari Club International, have long argued that the fees paid by well-heeled American and European hunters provide essential revenue for cash-strapped African governments to fund anti-poaching and conservation programs. A licensed two-week elephant hunting safari can cost more than $50,000 per person, not including airfare, according to advertised rates. The African elephant has been classified as threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act since 1978. Though President Donald Trump has decried big-game hunting on Twitter as a "horror show," his administration has reversed Obama-era restrictions on the importation of elephant trophies from Zimbabwe and Zambia. Elephants have long been hunted for their hides and tusks, either for taxidermy trophies or ivory used for carving and jewelry making. Botswana's hunting ban was put in place under a previous president, Ian Khama, an outspoken conservationist. But the current president, Mokgweeti Masisi, has advocated for reopening the nation to hunting, and the decision to lift the ban comes ahead of general elections in October. Masisi raised eyebrows earlier this month when he gave stools made of elephant feet to regional leaders while hosting a meeting on the animals' fate. The American talk show host Ellen DeGeneres tweeted Tuesday: "President Masisi, for every person who wants to kill elephants, there are millions who want them protected. We're watching. #BeKindToElephants." ___ Associated Press writer Cara Anna contributed to this report from Johannesburg, South Africa. A mother, father and son were injured, with the mother in critical condition, after a log ride malfunctioned at an amusement park in Riverside, California on Saturday, authorities said. The incident occurred at around 4:47 p.m. at Castle Park amusement park in the 3500 block of Polk Street, Brian Guzzetta of the Riverside City Fire Department said. The mother had facial injures that were not life threatening, Riverside police said. Castle Park said the ride's water pump experienced a mechanical failure. The ride has been shut down, but the park remains open, Guzzetta said. Castle Park said it is also investigating the cause of the incident. "First and foremost--our thoughts and prayers are with the guests involved. Safety is our number one priority and we have begun conducting a full investigation." To help make sure you stay informed, each Sunday we'll revisit five stories from the previous week and capsulize them in this digest. Today's collection highlights some of the positive news events that happened this week. 1. SDPD Welcomes Youngest Recruit: 5-Year-Old Officer Liam Get ready for a tug on your heart strings. San Diego Police Department welcomed its shortest police officer - a 5-year-old boy who would love to wear a badge. NBC 7s Danica McAdam reports on the event which the local Make-A-Wish chapter said was a first. San Diego welcomed its shortest police officer, as a 5-year-old boy wished to become a cop. NBC 7s Danica McAdam has more on the story, which the local Make-A-Wish chapter said was a first. 2. 'Happy to Be Home:' Sailors Aboard USS Spruance Reunite With Family, Meet Children for First Time After seven months apart, U.S. Navy sailors returned home to roaring applause from family members excited to reunite with their loved ones. Servicemembers aboard USS Spruance returned to Naval Base San Diego Monday morning after a long deployment -- some even returning to meet their children for the first time. See the reunions here. After seven months away, USS Spruance returned to Naval Base San Diego, and the servicemembers aboard reunited with their families and some even met their children for the first time. 3. A Sure Sign of Spring: Jacaranda Trees Are in Bloom It may still be raining and evening snowing in Southern California as we enter Memorial Day Weekend but you can't keep the Jacaranda trees dormant for long. NBC 7 photojournalist Angelos Papazis captured the trees in bloom in Balboa Park this week. This video shot by NBC 7 Photographer Angelos Papazis shows the Jacaranda trees in bloom around Balboa Park a sure sign of Spring in San Diego! 4. San Diego Spots Land on List of 100 Best Restaurants in America for a 'Big Night Out' If youre planning a very special big night out, four San Diego restaurants have just been named among the 100 best restaurants in the nation for just that. Online restaurant reservation website, OpenTable, released a list Tuesday of the 100 Best Restaurants in America for a Big Night Out. See the restaurants in this article from The Scene. 5. Jimmy Fallon Shares His Favorites This one is from NBC 7's Catherine Garcia. She got the chance to sit down with Jimmy Fallon from "The Tonight Show" to talk about some of his favorites - everything from shows to 80s music. Watch the interview below. NBC 7s Catherine Garcia sat down with the host of the Tonight Show and learned how important 80s music is to the comic and how hes incorporated it into his YouTube channel. After formally being installed on Tuesday, Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory celebrated his first Sunday Mass as the first African-American leader of Washington, D.C.'s Catholic community. Celebrating the Mass at the Cathedral of Saint Matthew the Apostle in downtown Washington, Gregory formally took over leadership of the Archdiocese of Washington's "Mother Church," remaining outside the doors of the cathedral at the start of Mass and knocking on the door to be let in. Gregory was welcomed by Monsignor Ronald Jameson, the cathedral's rector, and Gregory venerated a crucifix before sprinkling holy water and processing down the aisle. According to the Archdiocese, Gregory was joined by the Archbishop Charles G. Palmer-Buckle of Cape Coast, Ghana, Washington auxiliary bishops Mario E. Dorsonville, Roy E. Campbell, Jr. and Michael W. Fisher. Gregory spoke of the joy with which he is beginning his service as archbishop during his homily, saying, "there is an excitement in this moment for me and I pray a spirit of hope for all of you, but there is also a realistic sense as well." "We are beginning something new," Gregory said. "We are establishing a new friendship and a new relationship that we all pray will be fruitful and filled with joy. Together we will face our future and we pray this morning that it will indeed be a future blessed by God Himself. Gregory also asked for trust and prayer from the faithful. "As I knocked on the door of St. Matthews Cathedral, I sought entry not into a building, but into the lives of the people of the Church," Gregory said. "I pray that you will let me in so that together we can strengthen one another, encourage one another, and together wait in hope for the return of the One we seek most of all." After the Mass concluded, Gregory greeted the faithful who attended the service as they left the cathedral. As I knocked on the door of St. Matthews Cathedral, I sought entry not into a building, but into the lives of the people of the Church. -#ADWArchbishop Gregory #homilytweet pic.twitter.com/B5Kk6m8J4q DC Archdiocese (@WashArchdiocese) May 26, 2019 Gregory is the seventh Archbishop of Washington and previously served as the archbishop of Atlanta. He was named to lead the capital's Catholics by Pope Francis in April to succeed Cardinal Donald Wuerl, who led the archdiocese for 12 years and resigned in 2018 after facing criticism for his handling of child sexual abuse cases while archbishop of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Gregory was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1947. He became the President of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in 2001, and shortly after adopted a "zero-tolerance" abuse policy to respond to sexual abuse scandals in the Catholic Church. Gregory takes over after an embarrassing year for the Washington archdiocese, with its former archbishops at the center of a national spotlight over child sex abuse. Theodore McCarrick, who led the Archdiocese of Washington before Wuerl, was revealed to have allegedly sexually harassed both juveniles and adults while a priest in New Jersey and New York. He was removed from the priesthood after the Archdiocese of New York found an accusation of sexual abuse credible and is the first U.S. cardinal to be removed from the priesthood over sex abuse allegations. Wuerl resigned as archbishop of Washington in October 2018 after he was accused of covering up claims of sexual abuse against other priests, including McCarrick, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Burlington Police arrived at Roosevelt Park in Burlington, Vermont after multiple calls reporting a large fight and possible gunshots. Around 3 a.m., police dispatch received calls from neighbors of a large group fighting in Roosevelt Park. As law enforcement began to arrive, more calls came in reporting possible gun fire. Police found numerous people loitering in the park and recovered a .40 caliber shell casing. Officers interviewed witnesses and learned two women fought and had been surrounded by a group that contributed to the disorder. The women were identified as Aubrie Cora, 20, and Paris Laplant, 20. The pair allegedly made an arrangement to converge at the park to fight. After some time during the altercation, Laplant backed away and entered a vehicle belonging to Chadd A. Quirk, 22, of Burlington. Quirk allegedly fired a single round into the air from the drivers window. Quirk, Laplant and another female fled the scene. Officers tracked down Quirks vehicle at Laplants residence in South Burlington and arrested Quirk. Quirks criminal history includes 11 charges with no convictions and dozens of police incidents as an arrestee and person of interest. The Burlington Police department ask the public for assistance regarding any information about the incident at Roosevelt Park. They are asked to call Officer Chang of the Burlington Police at 658-2271 or call 911. Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker has re-filed legislation aimed at toughening penalties for child rapists. The Republican governor pointed to the case of Wayne Chapman, a 71-year-old convicted child rapist. The state's highest court earlier this month ruled Chapman can no longer remain civilly committed based on the state's sexually dangerous person law because two mental health professionals ruled he is not sexually dangerous. The Supreme Judicial Court rejected arguments from Baker and Democratic Attorney General Maura Healey who said juries or a judge should decide whether the mental health professionals were correct. Baker's bill would mandate that any disagreement among experts would result in a trial at which a judge or jury could hear evidence about whether a person remains sexually dangerous and make a decision about release. Police arrested a man in Vergennes, Vermont after a call was placed of an unwanted person at a residence on Saturday morning. Officers contacted Robert McFev, age 53, of Burlington, Vermont at the apartment of a former girlfriend where he previously lived. An officer found the victim severely injured from an assault by McFev while in the presence of her juvenile son. The officer deployed a taser to prevent McFev from continuing to injure the victim. The female was transported to the UVM Health Center in Burlington for treatment of her injuries. She is listed as serious but stable condition. McFev is charged with first degree of aggravated domestic assault, offense in the presence of a child and burglary. McFev was lodged at the Chittenden County Correctional Center with no bail. He will be arraigned at the Addison County Superior Court on Tuesday, May 28th. The Massachusetts Senate debated a proposed $42.7 billion annual state budget Tuesday as nursing home advocates, college students and others crowded Statehouse corridors appealing to legislators for additional funding. Senators were expected to consider hundreds of amendments to the spending plan over several days. The budget will then have to be reconciled with a version passed earlier by the House. As lawmakers filed into the chamber to begin the session, nursing home administrators, staff, residents in wheelchairs and family members, numbering in the hundreds, gathered to call attention to the plight of many of the facilities around the state. The Massachusetts Nursing Care Association said nearly 30 nursing homes have closed recently, while many others are in similar danger. Five nursing homes owned by New Jersey-based Skyline Healthcare in southeastern Massachusetts announced plans to close last month amid financial problems, leaving about 300 residents and their families in search of care. Cape Cod resident Mary Ann DeMello brought her husband, Frank DeMello, a retired schoolteacher who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's several years ago and is now at a nursing home in Wareham. In an interview, DeMello described the staff at the home as "very caring people, even though they are understaffed and underfinanced." The reductions have been so severe, she said, that there are no recreational activities for residents on the weekends and staff members are often unable to promptly address her husband's needs because they're caring for too many patients at once. "It's very emotional," DeMello said, fighting back tears. "I still want the best for him." The association says nearly seven in 10 nursing home residents rely on the state's Medicaid program for their care, but the state's formula for reimbursing the homes is based on 2007 costs, when more patients were still able to pay for care on their own. The result, the group says, is a funding gap of $38 per patient, per day. "You can't keep nursing home rates at 2007 levels," said Democratic Sen. Harriette Chandler, of Worcester. "We don't live at 2007 levels." The House added $35 million in rate increases for nursing homes, while the Senate's budget includes $15 million in emergency funding for the hardest hit facilities. Advocates are pressing the Senate to approve a series of amendments, including several proposed by Senate Republican leader Bruce Tarr, aimed at stabilizing the facilities, which care for about 150,000 people in Massachusetts. Higher education was also emerging as a flashpoint in budget talks, with the Senate proposing a one-year freeze on tuition and fees charged by the University of Massachusetts system. University officials have warned such a freeze would result in major budget cuts. A small group of UMass students has been staging daily sit-ins since last week, demanding that legislators increase the level of funding for the system. A budget amendment proposed by Democratic Sen. Jo Comerford, of Northampton, would add $10.2 million for UMass to stave off potential cuts. Sen. Jamie Eldridge, an Acton Democrat, joined other Democrats on Tuesday in calling for a "robust discussion" of possible tax changes to raise additional revenue for underfunded programs. Legislative leaders have said they would be open to considering new taxes at a later point in the current two-year session, and the Senate recently formed a task force to study ways of reforming the state's tax code. The Senate budget does contain two smaller tax proposals, one targeting pharmaceutical companies that sell opioid medications in Massachusetts, the other an excise tax on e-cigarettes and vaping supplies. South Korean director Bong Joon-Ho (L) reacts on stage next to French actress Catherine Deneuve after he was awarded with the Palme d'Or for the film "Parasite (Gisaengchung)" on May 25, 2019 during the closing ceremony of the 72nd edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France. (Photo by CHRISTOPHE SIMON / AFP) South Korean director Bong Joon-ho's raucous social satire ''Parasite,'' about a poor family of hustlers who find jobs with a wealthy family, won the Cannes Film Festival's top award, the Palme d'Or, on Saturday. The win for ''Parasite'' marks the first Korean film to ever win the Palme. In the festival's closing ceremony, jury president Alejandro Inarritu said the choice had been ''unanimous'' for the nine-person jury. The genre-mixing film, Bong's seventh, had arguably been celebrated more than others at Cannes this year, hailed by critics as the best yet from the 49-year-old director of ''Snowpiercer'' and ''Okja.'' ''It's the 100th anniversary of the cinema in Korea this year. To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Korean cinema, I think the Cannes Film Festival has offered me a very great gift,'' Bong told reporters after the ceremony. South Korean director Bong Joon-ho (L) poses with his Palme d'Or (Golden Palm) for the movie 'Parasite' with South Korean actor Song Kang-ho (R) during the Award Winners photocall at the 72nd annual Cannes Film Festival, in Cannes, France, 25 May 2019. EPA Korean director Bong Joon-ho (R) reacts after winning the Palme d'Or (Golden Palm) for the movie 'Parasite' with South Korean actor Song Kang-ho (C) during the Closing Awards Ceremony of the 72nd Cannes Film Festival, in Cannes, France, 25 May 2019. The Golden Palm winning movie will be screened after the closing ceremony. EPA South Korean director Bong Joon-ho (C) winner of the Palme d'Or (Golden Palm) for the movie 'Parasite' on stage during the Closing Awards Ceremony of the 72nd Cannes Film Festival, in Cannes, France, 25 May 2019. The Golden Palm winning movie will be screened after the closing ceremony. EPA Kent Memorial Library and the House of Books will on June 1 at 2 p.m. co-sponsor a book talk and signing with author Martha Hall Kelly, who will discuss her new book Lost Roses. The program will take place at Kent Town Hall, 41 Kent Green Boulevard. A native New Englander, Kellys debut novel Lilac Girls, became a New York Times bestseller the week it was published in April 2016. The novel is historical fiction, based on the true story of 72 Polish women who were imprisoned and experimented on at Ravensbruck Concentration Camp and how Caroline Ferriday, an American philanthropist and former actress brought them to the U.S. for rehabilitation and the trip of a lifetime. She had been researching the story for over ten years. Following Lilac Girls, there will be two prequels, including Lost Roses, which is the first prequel, released in April. The story takes place during World War I and tells the story of Carolines mother Elizas fight to help Russian refugees displaced by the revolution there. The second prequel takes place during the Civil War and tells the story of Carolines ancestors, the philanthropic Woolsey women, staunch abolitionists who tended to wounded soldiers on the Gettysburg battlefield. Kelly will answer questions at the program. For information and RSVP, call 860-927-3761. A view of Art Busan 2018 / Courtesy of Art Busan By Kwon Mee-yoo Poster for Art Busan 2019 ISPOR the professional society for health economics and outcomes research (HEOR), examined the issue of patient access and biosimilars this afternoon at its ISPOR 2019 annual conference with the session [W20], "Improving Patient Access to Life Saving Therapies: What Needs to Be Done to Fulfill the Promise of Biosimilars?" Discussion leaders for the workshop session included: Delphine Courmier, PhD, MBA; Amgen; Thousand Oaks, CA, USA Cate Lockhart, PharmD, PhD; Biologics and Biosimilars Collective Intelligence Consortium; Greenbank, WA, USA Steven Simoens, MSc, PhD; KU Leuven; Leuven, Belgium Jacqueline Vanderpuye-Orgle, PhD; Parexel; Glendale, CA, USA Biosimilars hold the promise of reducing healthcare costs and improving patient access to life-saving biologics. In Europe, robust market competition has resulted in savings to healthcare systems. However, tremendous variation exists across countries in the adoption of biosimilars. Professor Simoens provided an overview of the current biosimilars landscape in Europe, including the gaps and challenges that exist, such as the choice of analytical approach, managed entry agreements, and the use of value-added services. Dr Vanderpuye-Orgle discussed the factors that may contribute to suboptimal adoption of biosimilars in the United States, including approval process and payer expectations. Dr Lockhart noted studies show that physicians' concerns regarding biosimilars include insufficient guidance on switching, evolving standards of care, and patient-level outcomes. She also pointed out that patients worry about manufacturer quality, long-term safety and efficacy, and imperfect understanding of rapidly evolving concepts. Dr Courmier outlined the manufacturer perspective of biosimilars. ISPOR is recognized globally as the leading professional society for health economics and outcomes research and its role in improving healthcare decisions. ISPOR 2019 is the leading global HEOR conference and draws nearly 4000 healthcare thought leaders and stakeholders, including researchers and academicians, assessors and regulators, payers and policy makers, the life sciences industry, healthcare providers, and patient engagement organizations. Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease that damages the insulating sheaths of nerve cells of the central nervous system. People with the disease can lose vision, suffer weak limbs, show degenerative symptoms and exhibit impaired cognition. While multiple sclerosis has 17 approved therapies to modify the disease, none is able to halt disease progression. Thus, researchers use a mouse model called experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, or EAE, to discover disease mechanisms that may translate into treatments for patients with multiple sclerosis. Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham now report in the journal JCI Insight how dysregulated neutrophils cause damage in a severe, mouse model form of EAE called atypical EAE, which attacks cerebellum brain tissue. These findings contribute to our understanding of the pathobiology of brain-targeted EAE and document the detrimental role of neutrophils in autoimmune neuroinflammation." Etty "Tika" Benveniste, Ph.D., and Hongwei Qin, Ph.D., senior authors of the study Benveniste and Qin are professor and associate professor in the UAB Department of Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology. Much evidence from neutrophils points to their detrimental impact in multiple sclerosis. Neutrophils are the most common white blood cells in the body, but their exact function in multiple sclerosis is unclear. Their normal, healthy function is to protect humans, as neutrophils speed to sites of infection or inflammation, aided by their ability to crawl out of the bloodstream and into affected tissues. In everyday life, people encounter them as the most prevalent cells found in pus, as an infection clears. Several strands of evidence from previous studies at UAB and elsewhere formed the groundwork for this current study. These include 1) UAB researchers and others have shown that brain-targeted, atypical EAE is predominantly a neutrophil-driven disease; 2) dysregulation of a cell-signaling pathway called JAK/STAT is associated with multiple sclerosis and EAE; and 3) a cytokine called granulocyte colony-stimulating factor is known to have a detrimental role in multiple sclerosis, as it correlates with neurological disability and lesion burden in patients. In their experiments, the UAB researchers artificially dysregulated the JAK/STAT signaling system by using mice with a deleted Socs3 gene. Socs3 is a negative regulator of the JAK/STAT pathway; in the absence of Socs3, the JAK/STAT pathway is overly active and promotes inflammation. As a result, mice with Socs3 deletion in their myeloid cells have a severe, brain-targeted, atypical form of EAE that is associated with cerebellar neutrophil infiltration and over-activation of STAT3, one of the seven STAT proteins that function in the JAK/STAT cell signaling pathway. Using this model, the researchers found that neutrophils from the cerebellum of mice lacking Socs3 showed a hyper-activated phenotype and produced excessive amounts of reactive oxygen species, chemically active compounds that can damage cell structures. However, if mice were given treatments to neutralize the reactive oxygen species, the onset of atypical EAE was delayed and disease severity was reduced. The mechanisms causing these changes were an enhanced STAT3 activation in Socs3-deficient neutrophils, a hyper-activated phenotype in response to granulocyte colony-stimulating factor, and an increased production of reactive oxygen species after neutrophil priming by granulocyte colony-stimulating factor. Furthermore, when compounds were given to mice to neutralize granulocyte colony-stimulating factor, the incidence and severity of atypical EAE was significantly reduced. The researchers also sequenced messenger RNA in the Socs3-deficient neutrophils after stimulation by granulocyte colony-stimulating factor to identify the cell-signaling pathways and proteins that were most differentially affected. "Overall, our work elucidates that hypersensitivity of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor/STAT3 signaling in Socs3-deficient mice leads to atypical EAE by enhanced neutrophil activation and increased oxidative stress, which may explain the detrimental role of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor in multiple sclerosis patients. Furthermore, the work suggests that both granulocyte colony-stimulating factor and neutrophils may be therapeutic targets in MS," Qin and Benveniste said. Financial Services Commission Chairman Choi Jong-ku announces the government's decision to reject Kiwoom and Viva Republica's internet bank proposals at a press conference in Seoul, Sunday. Yonhap By Park Hyong-ki The Financial Services Commission (FSC) has rejected applications for opening new internet banks from both Kiwoom Securities and Viva Republica, FSC Chairman Choi Jong-ku said Sunday. The reasons given were Kiwoom's proposal for Kiwoom Bank was not innovative enough, and Viva's Toss Bank raised concerns over governance and financing. "Kiwoom's business proposal wasn't economically viable and innovative. Viva has issues concerning its proposed bank's governance and capital structures," the chairman told the press. "We will begin accepting additional applications in the third quarter of this year." This came unexpected as Choi had signaled the FSC could select up to two applicants to launch internet banks here, after K bank and Kakao Bank. He also said the regulator did not see Viva Republica, which runs the peer-to-peer Toss payment application, as a nonfinancial company. The FSC's rejection means neither Kiwoom nor Viva will get the chance to further unveil their action plans at the Korea Federation of Banks this Tuesday. If either of them had been chosen, they could have officially launched the third internet bank in January next year after the regulator checks and approves their network systems. Daou Kiwoom Group, which owns Kiwoom Securities, the first online brokerage here, had been up against Viva Republica for the elusive approval. Viva's consortium almost collapsed following Shinhan Financial Group's decision not to back Toss. In March, Shinhan decided to back out of its partnership with Viva following a disagreement over Toss' business model. Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance, Cafe24 and Korea Credit Data left the consortium as well. Shinhan had wanted to create a bank that everyone can easily use, while Viva wanted a bank for low-income earners. Kiwoom formed a consortium with KEB Hana Bank and SK Telecom, forging ties in various fields ranging from retail and video streaming to credit rating analysis and artificial intelligence. Viva, meanwhile, attracted investors such as Altos Ventures and Goodwater Capital at the last minute to replace Shinhan Financial and Hyundai Marine. The startup proposed to hold a majority 60 percent in the envisioned Toss Bank, which raised concerns over governance and capital structures. Viva said its governance was suitable, and that it would not become "another bank," and could provide tailored services using its own credit model for small businesses and low-income earners. Analysts say providing differentiated yet innovative services will be the key to standing out in the crowd of mobile banking applications. "Future mobile banks will need to offer a niche service to set themselves apart from other banking applications," said Lee Tae-kyu, an analyst at Korea Economic Research Institute. In March, three consortia submitted their applications for internet banking licenses. A consortium called Anyband Smart Bank was rejected in early May due to lack of documents showing it had partners or capital to finance an internet bank. (Newser) Authorities are desperately searching for a 4-year-old Indiana boy who was carried away by a flooded creek on Thursday, CBS News reports. A witness saw Owen Jones get pulled downstream by Deer Creek in Delphi and told authorities, triggering a search by drone, boat, and sonar. But it switched to a recovery effort around noon on Friday, authorities say. Owen was likely playing in Riley Park, where the creek passes through, when rain-swollen water and a strong current caught him by surprise. story continues below "It wouldn't be uncommon to find people wading or swimming in the water here, Lt. Dan Dulin tells WLFI. "I feel like it's probably just the kids misunderstood or just didn't realize how the conditions today or yesterday were different than what they saw the last time." With the water level down about a foot since Friday, Dulin says the search will continue "whether it's by foot or small boat or kayak." Meanwhile, people have gathered to comfort the family as they brace for the news. "More than anybody else theyre looking for a quick resolution, says Dulin. "They understand the situation that we have." (In related news, a wife's tragic drowning led to charges against the husband.) (Newser) Police arrested a Massachusetts man Saturday in the case of a teenage girl who was dropped off at a hospital to die, NBC News reports. Carlos Rivera, 47, allegedly spent last Sunday and most of Monday at his apartment with the victim, 13-year-old Chloe Ricard, and a 16-year-old girl, before dumping Chloe off at a Lawrence hospital Monday afternoon. She was pronounced dead shortly after her 4:47pm arrival. Rivera is now facing charges of distributing Class B drugs to a minor, as well as committing indecent assault and battery on a child under 14 and a person over 14. How he allegedly met the girls is unclear, but a source tells ABC News he knew them before Sunday. Chloe's cause of death hasn't been revealed despite an autopsy conducted this week. story continues below That leaves Chloe's stepfather Brian Dolan, and mother Deborah Goldsmith-Dolan, trying to pick up the pieces. Brian says Deborah burst out crying when police messaged him at around 4am Saturday about the arrest. The capture of Rivera brings "a little justice, a little peace," he tells the Boston Herald, but to "throw her off [at] the door of the hospital like a bag of trash, I'm still in awe about that. If they knew the kid was dead, they should have dialed 911that's all. Have some compassion." Brian also says his family will confront the accused at his arraignment on Tuesday, right before attending Chloe's funeral. "That's going to be real tough," he adds. "My wife's still beside herself." (Read more about what happened to Chloe.) (Newser) A powerful magnitude 8.0 earthquake struck a remote part of the Amazon jungle in Peru early Sunday, collapsing buildings and knocking out power to some areas but causing only one reported death. The quake struck at 2:41 a.m. and was centered in a vast nature preserve 57 miles east of the small town of Yurimaguas, the AP reports. Helping limit damage was the earthquake's depth, at 70 miles below the surface, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Earthquakes close to the surface generally cause more destruction. A preliminary survey by authorities found that six people were injured and 27 homes damaged across seven provinces. Three schools, three hospitals and two churches were also affected. story continues below President Martin Vizcarra called for calm before going to survey the damage. "It's a quake that was felt throughout the Peruvian jungle," said Vizcarra, who was scheduled to host a regional summit Sunday in the capital with the presidents of Bolivia, Colombia, and Ecuador. The chief of the National Emergency Operations Center said one person died when a rock fell on a house in the Huarango district. In Yurimaguas, a bridge and several old houses collapsed, and the electricity was cut, according to the center. Images on social media showed residents in several parts of the country panicked as the quake shook buildings. The quake also awoke people in Lima, who ran out of their homes in fear. "It was a really long quake," said Maria Brito, who lives on the fifth floor of an apartment building in the capital. (Read more earthquake stories.) (Newser) The German government's top official against anti-Semitism says he wouldn't advise Jews to wear skullcaps in parts of the country, the AP reports. Felix Klein was quoted in an interview with the Funke newspaper group published Saturday as saying that "my opinion has unfortunately changed compared with what it used to be" on the matter. He said: "I cannot recommend to Jews that they wear the skullcap at all times everywhere in Germany." He didn't elaborate on what places and times might be risky. Germany's main Jewish leader said last year that he would advise people visiting big cities against wearing Jewish skullcaps. story continues below Government statistics released earlier this month showed that the number of anti-Semitic and anti-foreigner incidents rose in Germany last year, despite an overall drop in politically motivated crimes. Israel's president reacted strongly to the announcement: "The statement of the German government's anti-Semitism commissioner that it would be preferable for Jews not wear a kippa in Germany out of fear for their safety, shocked me deeply," said Israeli President Reuven Rivlin on Sunday, per the AP. He added that "we will never submit, will never lower our gaze and will never react to anti-Semitism with defeatismand expect and demand our allies act in the same way." (Read more anti-Semitism stories.) Sorry! This content is not available in your region U.S. President Donald Trump shouts an answer to a reporter's question on the tarmac after arriving aboard Air Force One during a refueling stop on his way to Japan at Joint Base Elmendorf, Alaska, U.S. May 24, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/ U.S. President Donald Trump said Sunday that he is not disturbed by the latest missile launches by North Korea and still has confidence that the country's leader Kim Jong-un will keep his denuclearization promise. "North Korea fired off some small weapons, which disturbed some of my people, and others, but not me," Trump tweeted while on a state visit to Japan. "I have confidence that Chairman Kim will keep his promise to me," he said. North Korea carried out two firings into the East Sea over a less than one-week period early this month, including two short-range missiles, in an apparent show of frustration over the stalled denuclearization talks with the U.S. There have been inconsistent assessments from Seoul and Washington over how to classify the missile firings. While the South Korean military has yet to officially define the missile types, Pentagon earlier called them ballistic missiles banned under the UNSC resolutions. During a press conference in Tokyo on Saturday, U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton said that there was "no doubt" the missile tests violated UNSC resolutions, though he said the U.S. remains willing to hold talks with North Korea and that it's up to its leader, Kim Jong-un, to "walk through" that door. Tensions have risen after the U.S. government said it seized a North Korean cargo ship on suspicion of shipping coal and other goods in violation of U.N. and U.S. sanctions on the regime. North Korea's foreign ministry on Friday blamed Washington for the failure of the Hanoi summit and urged the U.S. to change its negotiation approach with "a new method of calculation" if it wants to keep the dialogue alive. Trump is set to visit South Korea late next month as part of his trip to Asia to discuss the denuclearization of North Korea and alliance issues with South Korean President Moon Jae-in. In the same Twitter, Trump also responded to the North's recent criticism on former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden. "(I) also smiled when he (Kim) called Swampman Joe Bidan a low IQ individual, & worse. Perhaps that's sending me a signal?," Trump said. At a campaign launch in Philadelphia a week earlier, Biden slammed Kim and Russian President Vladimir Putin "dictators and tyrants." (Yonhap) An employee arranges JUUL products at a convenience store in Yongsan, Seoul, Friday. / Yonhap By Lee Suh-yoon In a move to warn the public of the potential health risks of e-cigarettes, the health ministry is planning to conduct an independent assessment of the chemical components in JUUL products with the consumer safety watchdog. "As we did when heat-not-burn (HNB) IQOS e-cigarettes were first introduced, we will soon request the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety to conduct a study of JUUL e-cigarettes," Jung Young-gi, a ministry official, confirmed over the phone on Sunday. "We will check for the different types and levels of toxic substances present in these products." The substance breakdown, as well as product assessments on toxicity and dependency, will be made open to the public to raise awareness of possible risks. Currently, cigarette packages in Korea only specify the levels of tar and nicotine content. The World Health Organization advises companies to reveal the detailed components of tobacco products to government authorities, but this has yet to be enforced in Korea. Earlier this year, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said it would come up with its own assessment methods for cigarette products, planning to evaluate 20 substances for e-cigarettes. JUUL's e-cigarettes come with plug-in liquid "pods" in flavors like cucumber and mango. Shaped like a thin USB flash drive, it's known for delivering effective nicotine hits. JUUL dominates close to three-quarters of the e-cigarette market in the U.S. JUUL was released in stores across Korea last Friday and is likely to gain a firm foothold as consumer trends shift from smoking to vaping. According to a recent survey of smokers by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, 37 percent of 3,221 respondents said they switched to e-cigarettes over the past year for odor and health reasons. Though nicotine intake is comparable between vaping and smoking, some studies have shown e-cigarettes expose one to fewer toxic chemicals and carcinogens than smoking conventional cigarettes. Still, the increased use of e-cigarettes raises new public health issues. JUUL was roundly bashed in the U.S. last year for spreading vaping among teenagers attracting minors with its sleek design, fruity flavors and addictive nicotine punch. The resulting crackdown by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) forced the company to pull some flavors off store shelves and shut down social media promotion accounts. To address such concerns, the ministry said it will crack down on stores selling e-cigarettes to minors starting this month, as well as boost monitoring of illegal online sale channels. "The use of these new types of cigarettes by teenagers can lead to nicotine addiction and health hazards, as well as habitual smoking," Jung said. "It's important that we prevent teenagers from using any kind of cigarette in the first place." New Delhi: After leading hisA YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) to a thumping victory in both the Lok Sabha and Assembly polls in Andhra Pradesh, Chief Minister-elect Jaganmohan Reddy on Sunday promised aA corruption-free government in the southeastern state. The YSRCP chief, who is scheduled to be sworn-in as the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh on May 30 in Vijayawada, also assuredA initiate a probe into the alleged financial irregularities in the construction of new state capital Amaravati, the Polavaram project and other schemes launched by former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu. Reddy saidA a white paper in this regard would be released after reviewing the works of each department in the state. Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, the Andhra Pradesh CM-elect said he would take oath alone and his cabinet would be in place in a week or 10 days, adding that his priority would be implementing his party's poll promise of "nine large-scale welfare programmes". "I have promised to my people and I have a big responsibility to fulfil those. So, I cannot take any chance. With the blessings of the god, I will work towards that direction. In 50 days after taking oath as chief minister, I will chalk out a plan of action," Reddy was quoted as saying by media. Jaganmohan was in the national capital to call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah to discuss the issue of special category status and financial help to the Rs 2.58 lakh crore debt-ridden state. On his meeting with PM Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah, Reddy said, "Today was the first meeting with PM. God willing I'll probably meet him maybe 30, 40, 50 times over these 5 years. I'll make it a point to remind him every time, of Special Category Status...As long as we keep reminding, things will change". Andhra CM designate Jagan Mohan Reddy: Today was the first meeting with PM. God willing I'll probably meet him maybe 30, 40, 50 times over these 5 years. I'll make it a point to remind him every time, of Special Category Status...As long as we keep reminding, things will change. pic.twitter.com/QRzSHsQ8V0 a ANI (@ANI) May 26, 2019 Asked if his government would probe the alleged irregularities in the construction of the new state capital and other schemes launched by the previous government, Reddy said, "It is a Catch 22 situation. We have to look into the scams.... These are not ordinary scams. They are going to be sensational scams". Accusing Naidu of misleading people about the place where the new capital would come up in order to buy himself land at lower rates, the CM-elect said, "This is an inside story. This is something like insider trading. He has bought vast expanses of benami land. This scam does not stop there. He forced people to sell under land pooling and exempted his own benami land". Reddy, however, added that he has nothing personal with Naidu. Andhra CM designate Jagan Mohan Reddy: One thing I can tell you I have nothing against Chandrababu Naidu. My duty is that of a custodian. Today I'm going to promise you our govt will be revolutionary.Within 6 months-1 yr I'll make sure this govt stands as exemplary to the country pic.twitter.com/wCxOVdlCaz a ANI (@ANI) May 26, 2019 With regard to the multi-purpose Polavaram project on the Godavari river, he said, "We will probe if there was any scam in the implementation of the project. This project has to be completed as per the timeline and there is no other option". The state did not have the mandate to complete the project but there was a necessity to finish the work, he stated. "If there is a need to involve the central government to call for reverse tenders (for the Polavaram project), that will also be done. We do not mind. All I want is that the Polavaram project should be completed in a time-bound manner," Reddy added. Since the Centre declared it as a national project in 2014, an amount of Rs 11,210 crore has been spent on the Polavaram project. The Centre has reimbursed Rs 6,727 crore to the state government, according to the official data. The project aims to irrigate 2.91 lakh hectares, generate 960 MW of power, and fulfil the water needs of industries and 540 villages in Andhra Pradesh. Asserting that the YSRCP-led government would be "transparent and corruption-free", Reddy said, "We will not only clean the system and show how it is cleansed, but we will also show how to stop scams". "We will bring in reverse tendering. If scams are found in a project, we will identify and cancel that work and increase the pre-qualification criteria so that a greater number of people can participate. We will give projects to those who quote less. Everything will be transparent. We will monitor all projects," he added. The YSRCP chief said his government will be "revolutionary" and will set an example in the country. "Within six months or a year, I will make sure that this government will stand as an exemplary one in the country. I will ensure that there is no corruption and clean up the entire system," he added. On being asked about the 32 cases lodged against him, Reddy claimed that those were filed by the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the Congress, adding that the huge verdict in the Assembly polls in favour of his party was a clear indication that the cases were false. "The cases were filed after my father's (former chief minister, late Y S Rajasekhara Reddy) death and after I left the Congress. The petitioners in the cases are none other than the TDP and the Congress," he said, adding that everyone in Andhra Pradesh knew about it and that's why people had given this verdict. Reddy's party has won 151 of the 175 Assembly and 22 of the 25 Lok Sabha seats in Andhra Pradesh, the elections for which were held on April 11. Reddy was unanimously elected as the leader of the YSRC Legislature Party on Saturday. (Witn inputs from agencies) New Delhi: Auto industry body SIAM Friday expressed hope that the new government would take initiatives to revive growth in all consumer goods, including automobiles. "With the new government in place, I am hopeful that India will soon be on the path of economic growth, leading to revival of the demand cycle for all consumer goods including automobiles," Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) President Rajan Wadhera said in a statement. SIAM expects the government to accord priority industry status to the auto industry, he added. Echoing similar sentiments, SIAM Director General Vishnu Mathur said: "As of now, the industry is going through a difficult period with a slowdown in demand across all segments. We hope that initiatives by the new government will help revive the demand." The industry also looks forward to working with all concerned ministries for a smooth transition to BS-VI, he added. Domestic passenger vehicle (PV) sales dropped by 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 sales declined for the sixth straight month in April to 2,47,541 units as against 2,98,504 units in the year-ago month. It is the worst dip in PV 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. Agartala: At least 739 people were rendered homeless and forced to take shelter in relief camps across Tripura due to heavy rain and thunderstorms since Friday, an official said. However, there was no report of any casualty. North Tripura, Unakoti and Dhalai districts have been affected, the head of the State Disaster Management Authority, Sarat Das, told PTI. The State Emergency Operations Centre (SEOC) in a report said, out of the 739 people, who are sheltered in various relief camps, 358 people are from Unakoti district and 381 from North Tripura district. A total of 1,039 houses were damaged due to heavy rainfall. A total of 40 rescue boats were pressed into service by the state revenue department to evacuate the people from affected areas, he said. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and Tripura State Rifles (TSR) have also joined the rescue operations, Das said. A number of trees and electric posts were also uprooted due to blustery winds, officials said. In Unakoti district, the water level of Manu river has crossed the danger mark on Saturday afternoon. The MeT department here predicted that rain and thundershowers with gusty winds will continue in the state on Sunday. New Delhi: A 25-year-old Muslim man has claimed that he was attacked while on his way home after offering namaz at a mosque in the Sadar area of Gurugram. According to reports, on May 25, Mohammed Barakat Alam was returning from evening prayers when he was set upon by a gang of four to five people who knocked off his skullcap and ordered him to chant "Jai Shri Ram". When he refused, they manhandled him, NDTV reported. "I was returning from namaaz when a man came up to me and told me I was not allowed to wear my cap. I refused to remove it but then he hit the back of my head and removed it and started cursing me," he told NDTV. Alam said he is from Begusarai in Bihar, which voted for BJP leader Giriraj Singh to parliament over CPI and former Jawaharlal Nehru University student leader Kanhaiya Kumar. The incident came a day after three Muslims, including a woman, were mercilessly thrashed in Madhya Pradeshs Seoni for allegedly carrying beef in an auto. The incident that took place within 24 hours after the verdict of the Lok Sabha elections is a brutal reminder of the terror of cow vigilantism. According to latest media reports, five men including chief a fringe right-wing organisation, have been arrested following the incident. The police sprang into action only after the video of the incident went viral on social media. Among the politicians, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen Asaduddin Owaisi was one of the few leaders who took note of the incident. Slamming the incumbent government, Owaisi retweeted the video. Tagging the Prime Ministers Office, Owaisi wrote, This is how Muslims are treated by Vigilantes created by Modi voters welcome to a New India which will Inclusive and as @PMOIndia said Secularism Ka Niqaab (sic). News Nation cannot independently verify the authenticity of the video. The Gurugram incident occurred on the day Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during a speech from Parliament's Central Hall, asked National Democratic Alliance (NDA) leaders, lawmakers and Chief Ministers to seek the trust of minority communities who had been "made to live in fear". One of the men called me with an offensive word and told me that skullcap was not allowed in this area. When I told him that I was returning from a mosque, he slapped me. He also asked me to chant Bharat Mata Ki Jai and Jai Shri Ram. When I refused, he threatened to feed me pork, Alam told The Hindu. He had come to Gurugram earlier this month to learn tailoring. Alam claimed that the man allegedly picked up a stick and hit him and also abused him. He said as he cried for help, other people from his community rushed to help him, when the assailants fled. "We have received a complaint about the incident and registered an FIR under sections 153, 147, 149, 323 and 506 in the city police station. We have also conducted medical examination of victim," said Gurguram City ACP Rajiv Kumar. While section 153 of the IPC pertains to causing enmity between people of different religions, sections 147 and 149 define offences of riots and unlawful assembly respectively. Sections 323 and 506 deals with offences of causing hurt and criminal intimidation. "We are also scanning the CCTV footage of the area to identify the accused. Effort are on to nab them," ACP added. For all the Latest Crime News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: The Board of Secondary Education, Rajasthan (BSER or RBSE) is expected to announce the RBSE class 10 results soon. If speculations are to be believed then the board will not release 10th results before June. Soon after the formal declaration of the results, the scorecards will be available on the official website of the board i.e. rajeduboard.rajasthan.gov.in. Alternatively, the candidates can also check the results by clicking on the link given below. CLICK HERE FOR RBSE CLASS 10 RESULTS 2019 For the convenience of the students, we have mentioned the steps through which the candidates can check the results: Step 1: Visit english.newsnationtv.com/board-results and click on the Rajasthan Board class 10 result article Step 2: Click on the right link Rajasthan Board12th Arts Result 2019 Step 3: Enter your Roll Number and other details in the space provided Step 4: Submit to View your result In 2018, the board released class 10 result on June 11 in which 79.86 per cent students passed in class 10. The pass percentage among regular students was 80.13 per cent and among private students was 14.55 per cent. The Board has already released the result for class 12 board exams. Rajasthan board releases Science and Commerce results together and Arts result separately. This year Science and Commerce stream result was announced on May 15 and Arts stream result was May 22. In Science stream, 92.88 per cent students passed. In Commerce stream, 91.46 per cent students passed and in Arts stream, 88 per cent students passed. In the Varistha Upadhyay exam, 82.67 per cent students passed. By Yi Whan-woo North Korea criticized the latest military exercises between South Korea and the United States, saying it should faithfully implement a cross-border agreement aimed at easing tensions and trust-building. The North was also critical of the South's plan for humanitarian aid, saying "It is merely aimed at manipulating public opinion" and it instead should focus on "resolving fundamental problems." Pyongyang's criticism is believed to be a bid to press Seoul to convince the U.S. to ease economic sanctions. "The South Korean military, in spite of the joint military agreement, has not ceased its bad habit of military provocations and has continued drills with the U.S.," the Korean Central News Agency (KNCA) said Saturday. It referred to 19-1 Dong Maeng, the down-scaled version of the annual Key Resolve exercise, and also a joint air exercise held from March to April. "The South's joining of such exercises aimed at pre-emptive attacks on us is another act of betrayal," the KNCA said. "Such an arms race shows the South in fact does not want cross-border reconciliation or peace. It should divert away from such a mindset and try to faithfully implement the joint military agreement." In its latest edition, Sunday, the North's propaganda weekly Tongil Sinbo remained cynical over Seoul's decision to donate $8 million to North Korean children and pregnant women via international aid agencies. "Putting out such issues as humanitarian assistance and exchanges at the forefront, without regard to more fundamental issues, means the South intends to show off and to manipulate public opinion rather than improving inter-Korean relations," it said. The magazine accused Seoul of "reversing its previous promises" and continuing to pursue hostile acts, such as joint military exercises with "foreign forces." "Would secondary, trivial humanitarian support and non-political cooperation and exchange set things right?" it asked, insisting Seoul faithfully implement the fundamental issues proposed in the North-South declarations. New Delhi: All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi on hit out at Narendra Modi for his remark that minorities were living in a fear and that his party MPs should work towards breaking the deception, terming it hypocrisy and contradiction the BJP had been practicing for the last five years. If Muslims seriously live in fear can the PM tell us, out of the 300 odd MPs, how many Muslim MPs he has in own party who got elected from Lok Sabha? This is the hypocrisy and contradiction which the PM and his party is practicing from last 5 years, Ani news agency quoted Owaisi as saying. Referring to the presence of Dadri lynching accused at Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanaths election rally, the AIMIM chief asked Modi whether he will stop gangs killing Muslims in the name of cow vigilantism. If PM agrees minorities live in fear, he should know people who killed Akhlaq were sitting in front bench of electoral public meeting.. If PM feels Muslims live in fear, will he stop gangs, who in name of cow are killing, beating Muslims, taking our videos and demeaning us, the Hyderabad parliamentarian exploded. Addressing newly elected MPs of the BJP and NDA partners in Delhi on Saturday, the prime minister-elect had advised them to win over the trust of minorities and work without discrimination. In his 75-minute speech, Modi had said minorities were forced to live in an imaginary fear for years and that they now have the task to break this deception. During the five years of Narendra Modi government, incidents of lynching in the name of cow protection and attacks on Muslims increased many folds. In the most recent incident, three Muslims including a woman were reportedly thrashed and forced to chant jai shree ram in Madhya Pradeshs Seoni for allegedly carrying beef in an auto. The incident, that took place within 24 hours after the BJPs landslide victory in the Lok Sabha elections, was a brutal reminder of the terror of cow vigilantism. According to media reports, five men including chief of a fringe right-wing organisation were arrested following the incident. New Delhi: Motivating disheartened AAP workers after the party's crushing defeat in the Lok Sabha polls, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday asked them to humbly accept people's verdict and concentrate on the assembly elections slated for next year. Kejriwal, addressing party workers in west Delhi's Punjabi Bagh, said anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare had told him that "when one comes into politics or public life, one should have the ability to endure humiliation". "We have to bear humiliation at times and I am proud of my workers for humbly accepting that insult," he said. "Now, you go to the people of Delhi and tell them that the big election has ended and small elections are going to come, and in these elections, cast your vote on the basis of 'kaam' (work) and not 'naam' (name)," he added. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) lost on all seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi by huge margins. Kejriwal said the party's biggest strength is that it has not deviated from its principles of honesty and hard work. "All of us are as honest as we were on November 26, 2013, when the party was formed. I am proud to say we have not deviated from the values of the party. Several CBI raids were conducted against me, Manish Sisodia (deputy chief minister) and Satyendra Jain (health minister), but corruption of not even a single paisa was found. You all should be proud of it," he said. The chief minister asserted that all the work done by the AAP in Delhi has been due to the support of party workers and they should take pride in it. "We got 54 per cent votes in the last assembly elections and I can say with confidence that this time we will win by more votes," he said. Kejriwal congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi for winning a second term and hoped the Centre would work with the Delhi government for the betterment of the national capital. He lauded his party's volunteers for working hard for the Lok Sabha election campaign. "The AAP and you, the volunteers, ran the best campaign. You cared neither for day nor night. You forgot your families and left jobs to help run the best campaign we could. I salute the volunteers who gave their 'tan, man, dhan' (body, mind and resources) to this campaign," Kejriwal said. The chief minister urged the volunteers to go to the people of Delhi and ask them if schools would have transformed, mohalla clinics made and doorstep delivery of services started if they had voted the BJP to power four years ago. "Tell people that if, God forbid, the BJP were to come to power in Delhi in 2020, the government hospitals will go back to their pathetic conditions, electricity and water prices would go back up and school infrastructure would again be in a crumbling state," he said. Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia also asked AAP workers to start preparing for the 2020 assembly elections. "The assembly elections next year will not be fought by any individual MLA or councillor. It will be contested by Team Kejriwal and our slogan will be 'Ladenge, Jeetenge' (we will fight and win)," he said. AAP's Raghav Chadha, Dilip Pandey, Atishi -- who contested the Lok Sabha polls, minister Imran Hussain, party MLAs and office bearers also present at the gathering. New Delhi: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday called his Indian counter Narendra Modi to congratulate him on his landslide victory in the Lok Sabha Elections 2019 and expressed his desire to work with Delhi. "PM spoke to PM Modi today and congratulated him on his partyas electoral victory in Lok Sabha elections in India.A PM expressed his desire for both countries to work together for betterment of their peoples," Mohammad Faisal, spokesperson for Pakistan's foreign ministry, tweeted.A PM spoke to PM Modi today and congratulated him on his partyas electoral victory in Lok Sabha elections in India. PM expressed his desire for both countries to work together for betterment of their peoples. 1/2 a Dr Mohammad Faisal (@DrMFaisal) May 26, 2019 "Reiterating his vision for peace, progress and prosperity in South Asia, the Prime Minister said he looked forward to working with Prime Minister Modi to advance these objectives," he said in another tweet. Imran spoke to PM Modi after he led his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to a landslide victory for a second five-year term in office, winning 303 seats in the 543-member Lok Sabha.A While speaking to his counterpart over the phone, PM Modi recalled his initiatives in line with his governmentas neighbourhood first policy. "Recalling his initiatives in line with his govtas neighbourhood first policy, PM Modi referred to his earlier suggestion to the Pak PM to fight poverty jointly," tweeted ANI. The prime minister also stressed on creating an environment free of violence and terrorism.A MEA: PM Modi in his telephonic conversation with Pak PM Imran Khan stressed that creating trust and an environment free of violence and terrorism were essential for fostering cooperation for peace, progress and prosperity in the region. https://t.co/pZrZunmAs8 a ANI (@ANI) May 26, 2019 "PM Modi in his telephonic conversation with Pak PM Imran Khan stressed that creating trust and an environment free of violence and terrorism were essential for fostering cooperation for peace, progress and prosperity in the region," the agency reported.A 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. Just a day before the announcement of results, Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj 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. 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. With PTI Inputs New Delhi: Two days after his resounding victory in this Lok Sabha polls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accompanied with BJP president Amit Shah and Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, on Sunday started his day-long visit to Gujarat. Modi, who reached the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmeadabad this evening, addressed the party workers at BJP headquarters in Khanpur area today. During his first visit to his home state after the 2019 poll results, Modi, along with Shah, was felicitated by the Gujarat unit of the party. Post that, the prime minister arrived at his Gandhinagar residence and sought blessings from motherA Heeraben Modi as his BJP-led NDA swept to power with a spectacular performance for a second term in office.A The NDA returned to power with a massive majority in the Lok Sabha elections with the BJP alone bagging 303 of total 542 seats contested.A On Monday, Modi will be flying to Varanasi, the Lok Sabha seat he retained in this election by a margin of 4.79 lakh votes. Here are the Highlights from PM Modi's Gujarat visit: 09:11 pm:A Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets his mother Heeraben Modi at her residence in Gandhinagar and seeks her blessings. 08:54 pm:A Modi arrives at his mother Heeraben Modi's residence in Gandhinagar. Gujarat: Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives at his mother Heeraben Modi's residence in Gandhinagar. pic.twitter.com/Khpl5FHy7k a ANI (@ANI) May 26, 2019 08:14 pm: Prime Minister Modi to meet his motherA Heeraben Modi at her residence shortly. 08:09 pm: Prime Minister Narendra Modi waves at BJP supporters outside the party office in Ahmedabad. BJP President Amit Shah also present. 08:00 pm:A WATCH | People turn on flash lights of their mobile phones after Prime Minister Modi concludes his address in Ahmedabad. #WATCH People turn on flash lights of their mobile phones after Prime Minister Modi concludes his address in Ahmedabad. pic.twitter.com/p8drFCM6pn a ANI (@ANI) May 26, 2019 07:58 pm:A The coming 5 years will be very important for India, like the period 1942-1947: Modi. 07:54 pm:A Last night, President of India invited me to be the next Prime Minister and today I have come here to take your blessings: Modi. 07:52 pm:A We have to utilise these 5 years to solve issues of the common citizens.We have to further enhance Indiaas position at the world stage.The coming five years have to be years of Jan Bhagidari and Jan Chetna: PM Modi. 07:51 pm:A I saw a video on social media in which a woman from Bengal kept saying 'Modi, Modi'. When asked why? She said "I had visited Gujarat and found development there, I want the same in Bengal" but when that woman was asked for whom she voted, she didn't say anything: Narendra Modi. 07:46 pm:A After 6th phase of polling, I had said that itas 300 plus for us. When I said it, people mocked me. But, the results are out for everyone to see: PM Modi. 07:42 pm:A In 2014, the country got an opportunity to know Gujarat and the development model of the state came in front of everyone: PM Modi. 07:40 pm:A I am coming back to the land that has nurtured me. I am back to a place with which I have a very old bond: PM Modi in Ahmedabad. 07:36 pm:A I am here for a Darshan of the people of Gujarat. The blessings of the stateas citizens have always been very special for me, says PM Modi. 07:33 pm:A Since yesterday, I was in dilemma whether to attend the programme or not. One side it was 'kartavya' and on other side it was 'karuna.' Families who lost their children, lost their future. I pray that god gives power to the families of those children: Modi on Surat fire incident. 07:32 pm:A I was in constant contact with the state govt regarding the Surat fire incident: Narendra Modi. 07:30 pm:A The fire tragedy in Surat has saddened us all. We stand in solidarity with the bereaved families. May Almighty give them strength in this hour of grief. The State Government is further strengthening disaster management infrastructure across Gujarat: PM Modi in Ahmedabad. 07:26 pm:A After resounding victory of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led NDA in this Lok Sabha polls, PM Modi addresses his first public gathering on home turf Gujarat. WATCH LIVE: 07:10 pm: Shah expressed sorrow over the Surat fire incident, which left at least 20 children dead and several others injured on Friday. 07:09 pm: After winning 26 seats in Gujarat, Narendra bhai has come here, please shout loud so that the voice reaches West Bengal: Shah. 07:08 pm: BJP's victory march was started from Gujarat, says Amit Shah. 07:07 pm:A BJP president Amit Shah addresses public meeting at Ahmedabad, Gujarat. WATCH LIVE: 06:42 pm:A "On landing in Ahmedabad, paid tributes to the great Sardar Patel. An icon of modern India, his contribution towards nation building is monumental," tweeted PM Modi. On landing in Ahmedabad, paid tributes to the great Sardar Patel. An icon of modern India, his contribution towards nation building is monumental. pic.twitter.com/wRwrWDrqjy a Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 26, 2019 06:36 pm: WATCH | PM Modi's road show in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. 06:26 pm:A PM Narendra Modi and BJP National president Amit Shah pay floral tributes to Sardar Patel at Ahmedabad airport in Gujarat. Chief Minister Vijay Rupani is also present. 06:24 pm:A PM Modi pays floral tributes to Sardar Patel at Ahmedabad airport in Gujarat. 06:07 pm:A Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives at Ahmedabad Airport (Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport). New Delhi: After a thumping victory in the recently concluded Lok Sabha Elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be in Gujarat on evening to seek the blessings of his mother. On , he will be in Varanasi to thank the people for his thumping victory. YSR Congress Party president and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister designate Y S Jaganmohan Reddy is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the national capital on . Reddy, whose party stormed to power with a landslide victory in Andhra Pradesh on , is likely to discuss providing outside or issue-based support to the Modi government in the meeting, sources said . Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is scheduled to be elected as the leader of the BJD's legislature party at a meeting today. Patnaik, who led the party to a thumping victory for the fifth time in a row, will meet the newly-elected MPs and MLAs. Patnaik will meet the party MLAs at the party state headquarters in the afternoon. Patnaik along with some ministers will take oath on May 29 at a simple ceremony in Raj Bhavan. Here are the LIVE updates: 18:10 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Gujarat: Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives at Ahmedabad Airport. 18:10 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Narendra Modi to take oath as PM on 30th May at 7pm, at Rashtrapati Bhavan. Members of Union Council of Ministers to also take oath. 16:17 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Election Commission says 'model code of conduct has ceased to be in operation with immediate effect after results of Lok Sabha elections and Legislative assemblies in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha and Sikkim.' 16:10 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Today was the first meeting with PM. God willing I'll probably meet him maybe 30, 40, 50 times over these 5 years. I'll make it a point to remind him every time, of Special Category Status...As long as we keep reminding, things will change: Reddy 16:09 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Andhra CM designate Jagan Mohan Reddy: One thing I can tell you I have nothing against Chandrababu Naidu. My duty is that of a custodian. Today I'm going to promise you our govt will be revolutionary.Within 6 months-1 yr I'll make sure this govt stands as exemplary to the country. 13:43 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In BJP National Vice President and former Chhattisgarh CM Raman Singh met party leader Nitin Gadkari today in Delhi. 13:29 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In President of Sri Lanka Maithripala Sirisena congratulated PM Narendra Modi, in a telephonic conversation, on Saturday. 13:29 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammad bin Salman congratulates PM Narendra Modi, in a telephonic conversation. 13:27 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In TTV Dhinakaran, AMMK: It's very strange that many of our supporters had voted for our party but their votes have not been registered, there are instances where no votes were cast for our party. How can it be possible? EC has to clarify. I can't go to court as I have no evidence. 13:27 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Son of Surendra Singh, ex-village head of Barauli, Amethi who was shot dead: My father was a close aide of Smriti Irani&used to campaign 24/7. After she became MP, Vijay Yatra was carried out. I think some Congress supporters didn't like it,we have suspicions on some people. Son of Surendra Singh, ex-village head of Barauli, Amethi who was shot dead y'day: My father was a close aide of Smriti Irani&used to campaign 24/7. After she became MP, Vijay Yatra was carried out. I think some Congress supporters didn't like it,we have suspicions on some people pic.twitter.com/JKeWj2RsMo ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) May 26, 2019 13:26 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Delhi: Amethi MP & BJP leader Smriti Irani leaves for her constituency, she will meet the family of Surendra Singh, ex-village head of Barauli, Amethi who was shot dead last night. Delhi: Amethi MP & BJP leader Smriti Irani leaves for her constituency, she will meet the family of Surendra Singh, ex-village head of Barauli, Amethi who was shot dead last night. pic.twitter.com/NnIdRWRjvk ANI (@ANI) May 26, 2019 13:25 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In JD(S) working president MS Narayanrao issues circular to all leaders, spokespersons and MLAs of the party asking them to not participate in TV debates and give any statements to media. 13:25 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Chennai Central MP and DMK leader Dayanidhi Maran: Edappadi K Palaniswami must take moral responsibility for the defeat of AIADMK in Lok Sabha elections, the party managed to win on one seat in general elections because of money power. Palaniswami must tender his resignation. 13:24 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Odisha: Newly elected BJD MPs met CM and party chief Naveen Patnaik, today in Bhubaneswar. 12:59 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Newly elected BJD MPs meet Odisha Chief Minister and party chief Naveen Patnaik in Bhubaneswar. Newly elected BJD MPs meet #Odisha Chief Minister and party chief Naveen Patnaik in Bhubaneswar Y: ANI Follow LIVE updates here: https://t.co/ohxYht39wV pic.twitter.com/0t1uINCmW2 News Nation (@NewsNationTV) May 26, 2019 12:58 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Bengaluru: Mandya MP Sumalatha Ambareesh meets BJP leader SM Krishna, she says, "It is my duty is to meet everyone and thank them." Former Karnataka CM and BJP leader BS Yeddyurappa also present. Bengaluru: Mandya MP Sumalatha Ambareesh meets BJP leader SM Krishna, she says, "It is my duty is to meet everyone and thank them." Former Karnataka CM and BJP leader BS Yeddyurappa also present. Y: ANI Follow LIVE updates here: https://t.co/ohxYht39wV pic.twitter.com/qftD42YSwc News Nation (@NewsNationTV) May 26, 2019 12:03 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Narendra Modi called on Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu today. 12:02 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In YSR Congress chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy met PM Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Sunday. 11:59 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Delhi: YSRCP chief Jaganmohan Reddy met Prime Minister Narendra Modi today. V Vijaya Sai Reddy and other leaders of YSRCP were also present. 07:23 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is scheduled to be elected as the leader of the BJD's legislature party at a meeting today. Patnaik, who led the party to a thumping victory for the fifth time in a row, will meet the newly-elected MPs and MLAs. Patnaik will meet the party MLAs at the party state headquarters in the afternoon. Patnaik along with some ministers will take oath on May 29 at a simple ceremony in Raj Bhavan. 07:12 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In YSR Congress Party president and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister-designate YS Jaganmohan Reddy is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the national capital on . Reddy, whose party stormed to power with a landslide victory in Andhra Pradesh on , is likely to discuss providing outside or issue-based support to the Modi government in the meeting, sources said . New Delhi: Narendra Modi was unanimously elected NDA parliamentary party leader at meeting at Parliaments Central Hall in national capital Delhi on Saturday. Addressing newly elected MPs of the BJP and NDA partners, the care taker prime minister advised them to win over the trust of minorities and work without discrimination. In his 75-minute speech, Modi stressed on the need of inclusiveness, asking his MPs to take along everyone, including his trenchant critics and those who have not voted for the ruling coalition. Modi said that for years, minorities were forced to live in an imaginary fear and that they now have the task to break this deception. He also asked his MPs to refrain from making unnecessary remarks for publicity and end the VIP culture. "MPs should shun the VIP culture, they should stand in queues wherever required, like other citizens," he said. During the meeting of BJP-led National Democratic Alliance lawmakers, Modi also snubbed his own party lawmakers Pragya Singh Thakur, key accused in Malegaon terror attack. She was fielded from Bhopal against Congress leader Digvijay Singh. Thakur had triggered a row after he praised the assassin of Mahtma Gandhi, who is regarded as father of the nation. The remarks during electioneering prompted the BJP to gag her and serve a notice, seeking her response on her controversial comments. Reacting to her remarks, Modi had said that he will never be able to forgive Thakur for her remarks against Gandhi. These kinds of statements made about Gandhiji are condemnable and cannot be allowed in a civilised society. She may have apologised, but I shall never forgive her (Thakur), Modi had said. In the general elections, Modi led the BJP-led NDA coalition to a landslide victory with the alliance winning 353 seats, including an unprecedented 303 by the saffron party alone. All its key allies, including Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U)s Nitish Kumar, Shiv Senas Uddhav Thackeray, LJPs Ram Vilas Paswan and Akali Dals Parkash Singh Badal, were present as BJP president Amit Shah announced Modis name as the alliance leader after formalities were done amid massive cheers from the MPs. President Ram Nath Kovind has appointed Modi to the office of the Prime Minister of India. The president has asked him to begin process of forming the new government and he will soon inform him about the date of oath-taking ceremony. New Delhi: Rahul Gandhi has reportedly told party that he wont change his decision to step down as Congress president, even as the Congress Working Committee (CWC) unanimously rejected his resignation offer in the aftermath the party's drubbing in the Lok Sabha elections under his leadership. According a report published in a website called NDTV.com, Rahul Gandhi told the 52-member Congress Working Committee that he would like to quit as Congress chief but continue working as disciplined soldier of the party. We have to continue our fight. I am and will remain a disciplined soldier of the Congress and continue to fight fearlessly. But I do not want to remain the party president, Rahul Gandhi reportedly said during the CWC meeting that ran for nearly four hours. However, CWC members, including Sonia Gandhi, his sister Priyanka Gandhi and former prime minister Manmohan Singh, told him to give his decision a second thought. They, however, also said that his personal wish should also be respected. According to the report, when Rahul Gandhi said that he wont change his decision, the Congress leaders asked him If not you then who? On this, some leaders suggested his sister Priyanka Gandhis name. Dont drag my sister into this, Rahul Gandhi told them, adding that It is not necessary that the president should be from Gandhi family. Manmohan Singh then tried to talk him out by saying that victory and defeats are part of life and there was no need for him to step down. The Congress chief, however, remained firm on his decision. Priyanka Gandhi then asked him to give the party some time for an alternative plan. After the meeting, Rahul Gandhi left the party office without speaking to reporters. He even skipped the press conference addressed by Congress leaders after the meeting. The Congress party performed miserably in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections under Rahul Gandhis leadership. The party could only manage to win 52 of the total 542 seats, just eight more than 2014, which was its worst ever performance in the general elections. To add insult to the injury, the Congress chief also lost from Amethi a traditional stronghold of the Gandhi family. New Delhi: Days after the BJP's thumping victory in Amethi in the recently concluded Lok Sabha Elections, Smriti Irani's close aide and former head of Baraulia village, Surendra Singh, was shot dead by unidentified assailants at his residence on Saturday night. Baraulia village is within the Jamo police station limits. According to reports, unidentified miscreants on motorbikes opened fire on the Baraulia village head after he returned from a function and he was asleep outside his home. Intensive investigation underway. We've found vital clues.7 people detained for questioning. We're confident of solving the case in the next 12 hours. 3 companies of PAC are deputed, no law and order situation, OP Singh, UP DGP said. Surendra Singh was part of the BJP team that worked on the ground in Amethi ahead of the elections. Irani reportedly identified him as a key party worker. The police are ascertaining the actual motive behind the murder and have detained two persons. They are also trying to establish into past enmities, not ruling out political rivalry. Singh was taken to the district hospital for treatment, where doctors referred him to a Lucknow hospital. He succumbed to his gunshot wounds at the trauma centre of the Lucknow hospital. Reacting to the incident, Surendra Singh's son said, "My father was a close aide of Smriti Irani and used to campaign 24/7. After she became MP, Vijay Yatra was carried out. I think some Congress supporters didn't like it,we have suspicions on some people." Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had accused Smriti Irani of distributing shoes to the residents in order to insult Rahul Gandhi. Locals claim that Surendra Singh was considered close to Irani and he was involved in the distribution of footwear, according to news agency PTI. BJP convenor of Amethi Lok Sabha seat Rajesh Agrahari told PTI, Considering the fact that the Congress is disappointed, especially after the defeat of its party president in Amethi, a high-level probe should be ordered, and the guilty should be punished. Surendra Singh was a popular and active grassroots level leader, and a close aide of MP Smriti Irani. He and other party leaders were actively involved in distribution of shoes, he added. Former Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar had adopted Singh's Baraulia village in September 2015. Rs 15 crore was sanctioned for the development of the village. Reports said the circulation of large sums of money is an angle investigators are looking into, according to Firsrpost report. Smriti Irani on Friday won the Amethi parliamentary seat by overtaking Congress chief Rahul Gandhi with a margin of 55,120 votes. Irani polled a total of 4,67,598 votes. Amethi is considered a stronghold of the Congress party since years. Gandhi has been winning on the seat since 2004. Despite the poor performance of the party in 2014 general elections at the Centre, the Congress president had defeated Irani on the seat with a margin of 1,07,903 votes. New Delhi: An organisation of actors andtechnicians of West Bengal on Saturday threatened to launch anagitation, if the due wages of around 180 of its members, whoare working in four Bengali TV serials, are not paidimmediately. Their wages are due for several months and the cumulative amount has become Rs 1.33 crore, West Bengal Motion Picture Artists Forum, the apex body of television and filmartists and technicians in the state, said. Holding a joint press conference here, the Fourm's Working President Prosenjit Chatterjee and General Secretary Arindam Ganguly said even after the four Bengali serials,themed on mythology, were handed over from one producer toanother, the wages due to the artistes and techniciansremained unpaid. After taking over the four TV serials, the newproducer assured them that their wages remained safe with the channel, but they did not get it. "It very painful to the technicians and artistes,particularly those who are not so popular but contributeequally to the serials. If the issue is not resolved soon, we will resort to agitation," Chatterjee and Ganguly said. The previous producer of the four TV serials also didnot deposit Rs 20-25 lakh deducted as TDS from the salary ofthe technicians to the government, the two office bearers ofthe Forum claimed. In 2018 also there was a stalemate for non-payment ofwages of TV serial artistes and it was resolved followingintervention of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Chatterjee said they were also thinking about takingup the issue with the state government, if it was not resolvedsoon. The producer of the four TV serials could not becontacted. New Delhi: IPS officer Anuj Sharma, currently posted as AGD & IGP Operation, has been reappointed as the Kolkata Police Commissioner. The development comes days after he was removed from the post by the Election Commission of India. The poll panel had taken the decision after BJP leaders alleged that free and fair elections would not be possible in the city under him. Dr Rajesh Kumar, Additional Director General of Police (ADG), Pollution Control Board, was made the new Kolkata top cop. The poll body also named Avannu Ravindranath, DC (Airport Division) of Bidhannagar, as the new superintendent of police (SP) of Birbhum, appointed Srihari Pandey, DC KAP, 3rd Battalion, as the SP of Diamond Harbour and , Natarajan Ramesh Babu, ADG and IGP, Operations, as the Bidhannagar police commissioner. Sharma was present with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee when she started her dharna to protest a CBI action against the then Kolkata police commissioner in connection with its probe in the Saradha scam. Sharma had replaced Kumar in mid-February. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the ruling Democratic Party of Korea are calling for punitive measures to be taken, after Rep. Khang Hyo-shang of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party disclosed the contents from a telephone conversation between leaders of Korea and the United States in early May. / Yonhap By Yi Whan-woo The government and the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) are demanding stern punishment against a Liberty Korea Party (LKP) lawmaker who recently disclosed the contents of a classified telephone conversation between the leaders of Korea and the United States. The case troubles the main opposition party particularly because it has emphasized the Korea-U.S. alliance and national security while criticizing President Moon Jae-in's push for inter-Korean cooperation. Citing an unnamed source at the Korean Embassy in Washington, D.C., LKP lawmaker Khang Hyo-shang disclosed Moon asked U.S. President Donald Trump over the phone in early May to visit Korea immediately after his visit May 25-28 trip to Japan. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs sees the leakage as a grave crime, saying it violates the law banning confidential diplomatic information and can undermine the credibility of Korea's diplomacy. The ministry also says such a crime is caused by lax discipline and therefore those responsible should be punished heavily to prevent it from happening again. The DPK filed an appeal to the prosecution to look into Khang. It is separately asking the LKP to expel Khang from both the party and the National Assembly, saying Khang risked Korea's diplomatic trust with a traditional ally for his own political interest. "We're taking the case very seriously," Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha told reporters, Saturday, after returning from France. "I feel heavy responsibility for the ministry losing public trust." The embassy official went to the same high school as Khang. The foreign minister said "It is hard to rule out the possibility" the embassy official leaked the diplomatic details intentionally to Khang. New Delhi: AirAsia I5 - 588 flight from Bagdogra has been cordoned off by the CISF at the Kolkata airport after a threat call was received at the Bengaluru Airport on Sunday. All 179 passengers have been deboarded. The aircraft is in isolation bay, according to news agency ANI. Air Asia I5 - 588 flight has been cordoned off by the CISF at the Kolkata airport after a threat call was received at the Bengaluru Airport. All 179 passengers have deboarded, aircraft is in isolation bay. More details awaited. pic.twitter.com/nYmwnUVlb0 a ANI (@ANI) May 26, 2019 "The plane was escorted to a remote bay for a thorough check by the bomb disposal squad," the official told PTI, adding it turned out to be a hoax call as the authorities could not find any explosive material inside the plane. "On 26.05.2019, around 1805 hrs, emergency was declared at Kolkata Airport after a threat call received at Bengaluru Airport for Air Asia I5-588 flight from Bagdogra to Kolkata. Emergency was called off at 1925 hrs. 187 passengers on board including crew members," a statement issued by the Kolkata Airport said. "All the security checks are being carried out as per procedure. All passengers disembarked safely," it said.A The carrier's Bengaluru office received an anonymous call saying there was something suspicious inside its Kolkata-bound Bagdogra plane which could harm the passengers, the city airport official said. "The Bengaluru office of Air Asia then informed our officials in Bagdogra, but by that time the flight had already taken off and was about to reach Kolkata. We were informed by the senior official at Bagdogra airport and an emergency was sounded immediately," he said. A huge team comprising CISF's Quick Response officers and bomb disposal personnel, doctors and fire brigade officers cordoned off the area for safe landing of the flight, the official added. "There was nothing inside the plane. I believe it was a hoax call. All the passengers are safe and sound," he said. AirAsia could not be contacted as calls to their city office went unanswered. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: A team of the CBI on Sunday reached the residence of former Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar over the Saradha Chit Fund scam and handed over a letter,A asking him to be present at the CGO Complex in Kolkata CBI office on Monday.A The CBI team reached his residence to serve the notice after it reportedly tried to contact him over phone. but they could not contact him. CBI official Manish Upadhya led the team of four officials, who later reached the DC South Kolkata. This came hours after Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) issued a look-out notice against former Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar for his alleged connection with the multi-crore Saradha scam. The apex investigating agency has alerted all airports and immigration authorities not to allow the IPS officer to leave the country for a year and to detain him if he tries to travel abroad. The CBI wants custodial interrogation of Kumar, a 1989-batch IPS officer, in connection with Rs 2500 crore Saradha ponzi scam. He is accused of tampering of evidence and attempting to protect certain politicians from an investigation into the scam. He was heading the Special Investigation Team of West Bengal Police to probe the case before CBI took over. The SIT was formed by the Mamata Banerjee government in 2013. In 2014, the top court transferred the case to the CBI. Saradha chit fund scam: CBI team reaches at the office of the Deputy Commissioner of Police in Park Street, Kolkata. The team had earlier gone to the residence of Kolkata Police Commissioner, looking for Rajeev Kumar. pic.twitter.com/TaWKc2OSSv a ANI (@ANI) May 26, 2019 The CBI had told the Supreme Court that custodial interrogation of Kumar was necessary as he was not cooperating with the probe and he was aevasivea and aarroganta in answering queries put to him during his questioning by the agency. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who was appearing for the CBI had said Kumar was the in-charge of investigation by the SIT and had allowed the release of mobile phones and laptops, containing crucial records of alleged involvement of political functionaries in the scam, which were seized from the accused. Mehta had said the seized mobile phones and laptops were not even sent for forensic examination and material evidence was destroyed in the case The top court had last month asked CBI to furnish evidence for seeking custodial interrogation of Kumar in the Saradha case, saying it has to be satisfied that the agency's request was abona fidea and not for apolitical purposesa. The top court on May 17 had withdrawn protection given to Kumar from any arrest and had asked the CBI to proceed as per law. "We have withdrawn the protection given to Rajeev Kumar vide order dated February 5,a the bench headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi had said but gave a week's time to Kumar to approach competent court for anticipatory bail. Kumar had again approached the Supreme Court on May 20 seeking extension of protection claiming that the courts in West Bengal were not functioning due to lawyers' strike. RELATED This petition was rejected following which Kumar had approached a Kolkata court with an anticipatory bail.? In the last week of January, the Centre and West Bengal government faced an unprecedented standoff after a CBI team which reached the residence of Kumar, then Kolkata police commissioner, for questioning him had to retreat after local police refused to let it enter and detained its officers. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee came in the defence of Kumar and started a sit-in to protest against the Centre's move. The Supreme Court on February 5 had prevented the agency from any coercive action against Kumar and directed him to appear and co-operate in CBI questioning at a "neutral place". He was questioned by the CBI for nearly five days at its office in Shillong from February 9 onwards. The Saradha group of companies duped lakhs of customers promising higher rates of returns on their investment, the CBI has alleged. Similar modus operandi was adopted by other ponzi companies like Rose Valley operating in West Bengal, Odisha and North Eastern states where gullible investors were duped, it said. The Supreme Court had ordered a CBI probe in which the agency has allegedly detected collusion of scheme operators, police personnel, politicians among others, the officials had said. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: One Maoist, was an accused in the killing of BJP MLA Bhima Mandavi in Chhattisgarhs Dantewada in April, was gunned down in an exchange of fire with the District Reserve Guard near a forest area of Hiroli on Sunday, said Dantewada Superintendent of Police Abhishek Pallava. The skirmish took place in the jungles of Hiroli under Kirandul police station area when a squad of police's District Reserve Guard (DRG) was out on anti-Maoists operation, Dantewada Pallava told news agency PTI. As the police team was advancing through Hiroli, around 450 km from Raipur, the exchange of fire broke out between the two sides, he said. After the Maoists fled, the body of Guddi, a member of Local Organisation Squad of Malangir Area Committee of Maoists, was found. A revolver with six rounds was also recovered from the spot, Pallava said. He was suspected to be involved in around 40 cases of Maoists violence, including the killing of BJP MLA Bhima Mandavi and four security personnel. Mandavi and the policemen died when an improvised explosive device (IED) blew up their vehicle near Shyamgiri village in Dantewada on April 9. Guddi was carrying a reward of Rs 1 lakh on his head. Commandos of the recently set up women platoon of DRG, `Danteshwari Ladake' (fighters of goddess Danteshwari), also took part in Sunday's encounter with Maoists, the police officer said. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Smriti Irani, BJP MP from Amethi, on Sunday lend a shoulder to the mortal remains of Surendra Singh, ex-village head of Barauli, Amethi, who was shot dead on Saturday night. Speaking at the funeral, Irani said: I have taken an oath before Surendra Singh ji's family, the one who fired and the one who ordered it, even if I have to go the Supreme Court to get the culprits a death sentence, we will knock the doors of the court."A A A Smriti Irani, BJP MP from Amethi: I've taken an oath before Surendra Singh ji's (ex-village head Barauli who was shot dead y'day) family, the one who fired & the one who ordered it, even if I have to go SC to get the culprits a death sentence, we will knock the doors of the court pic.twitter.com/eyvEi4mmeU a ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) May 26, 2019 In the first incident of post-poll violence in Uttar Pradesh, Singh, a close aide of Irani, the newly elected MP from Amethi Lok Sabha constituency, was shot dead by two men, with the police not ruling out the possibility of it being a "political murder". Singh (50), a former head of Baraulia village, was shot at around 11.30pm on Saturday, said Additional Superintendent of Police Daya Ram. Singh was referred to a Lucknow hospital but he succumbed during treatment, Ram said. Speaking to reporters in Lucknow, UP DGP Om Prakash Singh said, "We have come to know about old enmity. We are also finding out if there was any political enmity. In initial investigation, we have got some vital clues." #VIDEO | BJP MP from Amethi, Smriti Irani, lends a shoulder to mortal remains of Surendra Singh, ex-village head of Barauli, who was shot dead by unknown assailants yesterday. @smritiirani READ MORE: https://t.co/rpAofnToQC pic.twitter.com/lYvbSI4lxP a News Nation (@NewsNationTV) May 26, 2019 "UP police teams are conducting a very intensive investigation. We have taken seven persons in custody, and they are being intensely interrogated. We have also got important evidence through electronic surveillance. I am hopeful that in the next 12 hours, we will solve the case," the DGP said. He said they are looking into a number of possible angles that could have led to the killing. Expressing grief over Singh's death, Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya said, "The death of a party worker is indeed very sad and unfortunate. He was a hard worker. Even if his killers are hiding below the ground, they will be caught. The entire Amethi is sad over the incident." UP minister Rita Bahuguna Joshi said there's no place for violence in a democracy and demanded strict action against the killers. Mohsin Raza, the in-charge minister for Amethi district, visited Singh's home and consoled his family members. "As per information received, Singh was attacked in his sleep. This is a very heinous and disgusting incident," he said. Abhay Singh, son of the former village head, told reporters, "I think some pro-Congress anti-social elements did not like our celebration following BJP's win from Amethi. They were upset. And, yesterday night, this unfortunate incident took place." Irani defeated the Congress president on Amethi seat, for long a Gandhi family bastion. A For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: An 18-year-old boy was injured in small arms firing by the Pakistan Army along the Line of Control (LoC) in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday, the police said. The incident took place around midnight at the Nowshera sector prompting retaliation from the Indian Army. Mohammad Ishaq (18) was hit by a bullet from the Pakistani side while he was sleeping inside his house at village Pokharni. He was immediately evacuated to a hospital in Rajouri and his condition was said to be stable, the official said. He said cross-border firing between the two sides lasted for few hours till about 2.30 am. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Los Angeles: Exposure to flower pesticide may increase blood pressure in children and put them at the risk of hypertension, a study has found. Researchers at University of California San Diego in the US found a link between higher blood pressure and pesticide exposures in children especially heightened pesticide spraying period around the Mothers Day flower harvest, a holiday with one of the highest sales of flowers. The study, published in the journal Environmental Research, involved boys and girls living near flower crops in Ecuador. According to the researchers, 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 Jose R Suarez, an assistant professor at UC San Diego. The team assessed 313 boys and girls, ages four to nine, residing in floricultural communities in Ecuador. The children were examined up to 100 days after the Mothers Day harvest. We observed that children examined sooner after the Mothers Day harvest had higher pesticide exposures and higher systolic and diastolic blood pressures compared to children examined later, said Suarez. 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, he said. 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, researchers 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, he added. Tokyo: An insulating layer of gas beneath Plutos icy exterior may be protecting a subsurface ocean from freezing, scientists claim. The team from the Hokkaido University in Japan conducted computer simulations covering a timescale of 4.6 billion years, when the solar system began to form. In July 2015, NASAs New Horizons spacecraft flew through Plutos system, providing the first-ever close-up images of this distant dwarf planet and its moons. The images showed Plutos unexpected topography, including a white-colored ellipsoidal basin named Sputnik Planitia, located near the equator. Due to its location and topography, scientists believe a subsurface ocean exists beneath the ice shell which is thinned at Sputnik Planitia. However, these observations are contradictory to the age of the dwarf planet because the ocean should have frozen a long time ago and the inner surface of the ice shell facing the ocean should have also been flattened. Researchers at Tokushima University in Japan and the University of California, Santa Cruz in the US, considered what could keep the subsurface ocean warm while keeping the ice shells inner surface frozen and uneven on Pluto. The team hypothesised that an insulating layer of gas hydrates exists beneath the icy surface of Sputnik Planitia. Gas hydrates are crystalline ice-like solids formed of gas trapped within molecular water cages. They are highly viscous, have low thermal conductivity, and could therefore provide insulating properties. The research, published in the journal Nature Geoscience, showed the thermal and structural evolution of Plutos interior and the time required for a subsurface ocean to freeze and for the icy shell covering it to become uniformly thick. They simulated two scenarios: one where an insulating layer of gas hydrates existed between the ocean and the icy shell, and one where it did not. The simulations showed that, without a gas hydrate insulating layer, the subsurface sea would have frozen completely hundreds of millions of years ago; but with one, it hardly freezes at all. Also, it takes about one million years for a uniformly thick ice crust to completely form over the ocean, but with a gas hydrate insulating layer, it takes more than one billion years. The simulations results support the possibility of a long-lived liquid ocean existing beneath the icy crust of Sputnik Planitia. The most likely gas within the hypothesised insulating layer is methane originating from Plutos rocky core. This theory, in which methane is trapped as a gas hydrate, is consistent with the unusual composition of Plutos atmospheremethane-poor and nitrogen-rich. Similar gas hydrate insulating layers could be maintaining long-lived subsurface oceans in other relatively large but minimally heated icy moons and distant celestial objects, the researchers conclude. This could mean there are more oceans in the universe than previously thought, making the existence of extraterrestrial life more plausible, said Shunichi Kamata of Hokkaido University who led the team. For all the Latest Science News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: At least three people were killed and seven six injured in two separate incidents of explosions in Kathmandu on Sunday. The first incident happened in Sukedhara area of the national capital, killing two persons and injuring seven others. Another person was killed in an explosion in city's Anamnagar area, police said. The injured were shifted to hospital where they are undergoing treatment. Police official Shyam Lal Gyawali said: We have three fatalities in two incidents of explosions but the nature of (the) blasts is under investigation. I heard a big noise and rushed to the spot to find the walls of a house had developed cracks due to the impact of the blast, 17-year-old student Govinda Bhandari told news agency Reuters at the site of the first blast. Gyawali, the police official, said they suspect the blasts may have been the work of a splinter group of former Maoist rebels who are opposed to the government for arresting its supporters. A pamphlet from the group has been found at the site of the first blast, Gyawali told the news agency. This is a breaking news story. More details will be added soon. Please refresh the page for the updated version. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Tokyo: US President Donald Trump took to Twitter on Sunday to express his aconfidencea in North Korean leader Kim Jong Un despite Pyongyangas recent weapons tests and deadlocked nuclear talks. Trump, currently in Japan on a trip aimed at improving ties with Washingtonas close Asian ally, also suggested that Kim was sending him a asignala through a North Korean state media commentary on Joe Bidenain which the former vice president was labelled an aimbecilea and a afool of low IQa for criticising Kim. aNorth Korea fired off some small weapons, which disturbed some of my people, and others, but not me,a Trump wrote on Twitter, apparently referring to weapons tests in early May. Hours before Trump landed on Saturday, his hawkish National Security Advisor John Bolton told local media there was ano doubta Pyongyangas recent missile tests had violated UN Security Council resolutions but insisted Washington is still ready to resume talks. But Trump tweeted: aI have confidence that Chairman Kim will keep his promise to me, & also smiled when he called Swampman Joe Bidan [sic] a low IQ individual, & worse. Perhaps thatas sending me a signal?a North Korea fired off some small weapons, which disturbed some of my people, and others, but not me. I have confidence that Chairman Kim will keep his promise to me, & also smiled when he called Swampman Joe Biden a low IQ individual, & worse. Perhaps thatas sending me a signal? a Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 26, 2019 North Korea is one of the top issues on the agenda as Trump meets with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Pyongyang fired two short-range missiles on May 9 following an earlier drill on May 4 -- the first in 18 months. The North had not launched any missiles since November 2017, shortly before once-reclusive Kim embarked on diplomatic overtures. In a historic first, Trump met with Kim in Singapore in June 2018, and again in Hanoi in February at a meeting that ended abruptly with no deal.A For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. By Lee Min-hyung Civic groups are calling on the Korean government to demand the U.S. government share its confidential documents regarding the 1980 pro-democracy uprising in Gwangju. According to the May 18 Memorial Foundation, Sunday, a group of civic organizations regarding the democratic movement are taking part in an online petition on the Cheong Wa Dae website to make this demand to the U.S. to uncover the truth behind the brutal military crackdown on civilians. They urged the government to send an official request to the U.S. government to release undisclosed documents that may possibly include detailed accounts on harsh military crackdowns such as a helicopter shooting down on pro-democracy protesters. Last week, the organizations held a joint press conference in Gwangju, prompting the Korean government to disclose 10 documents on the uprising written by major U.S. government and military bodies, such as the Department of State and the Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command. More than 1,000 residents of Gwangju and South Jeolla Province also participated in the event. "The U.S. should promptly unveil the undisclosed documents on the Gwangju Uprising and reveal the truth behind what happened," they said in a joint declaration. It remains unknown whether the U.S. government will comply with their request, but they believe the Korean government should make more active efforts to get it do so, citing the example of the Argentinean government. In a 2016 agreement between Argentine President Mauricio Marci and former U.S. President Barack Obama, the U.S. handed over declassified U.S. military intelligence documents to the Argentina government. The documents included detailed military records about Argentina's military junta. The wholesale and retail entities formed by restructuring Batelco will start offering services at attractive prices in next few weeks, said Transport Minister. The Minister also pointed out that June will see the launch of fifth-generation services in the Kingdom. Some companies have already announced these services, and I think this will stimulate using new information technologies such as IoT and industrial intelligence, said Kamal bin Ahmed Mohammed, the Minister of Transport and Telecommunications. Bahrain was one of the first countries to launch the fifth-generation service on a global basis. The Minister was speaking during a seminar organized by Bahrain Technology Companies Society (BTECH) the 5th generation technologies and the Internet of things. The seminar was held during the societys Ramadan meeting at the Radisson Diplomat Hotel. For his part, the President of University of Bahrain (UoB), Dr. Riyad Hamza, confirmed that the University will play a major role in providing youth with practical qualifications and basic skills in various fields, especially in the ICT sector A researcher has issued a high wind warning for Sheikh Isa bin Salman Bridge. The research done at the University of Bahrain instructs motorists to reduce their speed to a maximum of 80 kilometers per hour to avoid risks during periods of high winds on the bridge. Reducing speeds will avoid accidents, as the high winds may cause difficult driving conditions resulting in losing control, the report warns citing several accidents on the bridge. The report also calls for placing more warning signs on the bridge to alert unsuspecting drivers of the danger. The landmark bridge connects Manama to the Muharraq Islands. The study, Abdulredha Hussain said, was conducted after learning about the accidents reported on the bridge. Conclusions were made based on a virtual simulation experiment. The simulation recorded the movement on the bridge during winds. Two high-ranking academics from the United States are the latest recruits to join the American University of Bahrain (AUBH) in preparation for its opening in September 2019. Dr. Greg G. Hall, an expert in the field of Architecture, will be assuming the role of Dean of College of Architecture and Design and interim role of Dean of Academic Operations. Dr. Mark D. Shermis, a prominent scholar in Psychological Studies, will undertake the duties of Provost, responsible for AUBHs academic affairs. Dr. Susan E. Saxton, Founding President of AUBH expressed her enthusiasm: We are extremely happy to welcome Dean Hall and Provost Shermis to the AUBH team, both highly acclaimed professionals in their respective fields with decades of practice in delivering an American-style education. Huge incentives, including salary support for the first three years, are on the offer for employers to recruit from the Bahraini talent pool, said Labour ministry. The move expected to give a big boost to Bahraini job market was announced by Jameel Humaidan, the Labour and Social Development Minister and Board of Directors Chairman of the Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA). Announcing the move, the Minister said the mechanism as part of the National Employment Programme will encourage companies to enroll more Bahrainis on their payroll. The National Employment Programme was launched by His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa and His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister. The new mechanism aims to promote the employment of Bahraini graduate job seekers in a set of professions in the private sector, the Minister said while announcing the plan. The programs are for recruiting Bahraini university graduates in a set of profession identified by the ministry in private sector enterprises. The Ministry will alert companies about the offer when an employer applies for new work permits in one of the professions identified by the ministry as suitable for Bahraini job seekers. Upon receiving the alert, the company will get a two-week window to identify a suitable candidate from the talent pool of Labour Ministry. Recruiting from the pool will make the company eligible for the incentives offered. Exxon Mobil has evacuated all of its foreign staff from Iraqs West Qurna 1 oilfield and is flying them out to Dubai, three sources said yesterday. Production at the oilfield was not affected by the evacuation and work is continuing normally, overseen by Iraqi engineers, Iraqi oil officials said. Production is managed by Iraqi engineers anyway, the foreigners are advisers. We have a closed circuit television link with them (foreign staff ) and can communicate with them whenever we need, said an official at Iraqs South Oil Company. Staff were evacuated in several phases late on Friday and early on Saturday, either straight to Dubai or to the main camp housing foreign oil company employees in Basra province. Those in the camp were en route to the airport on Saturday morning, the three sources - an employee at a security company contracted by Exxon, an Iraqi oil official, and a staff member of a foreign oil company - said. RTHK: Trump continues to tweet his confidence in Kim US President Donald Trump took to Twitter on Sunday to express his "confidence" in North Korean leader Kim Jong-un despite Pyongyang's recent weapons tests and deadlocked nuclear talks. Trump, currently in Japan on a trip aimed at improving ties with Washington's close Asian ally, also suggested that Kim was sending him a "signal" through a North Korean state media commentary on Joe Biden -- in which the former vice president was labelled an "imbecile" and a "fool of low IQ" for criticising Kim. "North Korea fired off some small weapons, which disturbed some of my people, and others, but not me," Trump wrote on Twitter, apparently referring to weapons tests in early May. Hours before Trump landed on Saturday, his hawkish National Security Advisor John Bolton told local media there was "no doubt" Pyongyang's recent missile tests had violated UN Security Council resolutions but insisted Washington is still ready to resume talks. But Trump tweeted: "I have confidence that Chairman Kim will keep his promise to me, & also smiled when he called Swampman Joe Bidan [sic] a low IQ individual, & worse. Perhaps that's sending me a signal?" North Korea is one of the top issues on the agenda as Trump meets with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Pyongyang fired two short-range missiles on May 9 following an earlier drill on May 4 -- the first in 18 months. The North had not launched any missiles since November 2017, shortly before once-reclusive Kim embarked on diplomatic overtures. In a historic first, Trump met with Kim in Singapore in June 2018, and again in Hanoi in February at a meeting that ended abruptly with no deal. (AFP) This story has been published on: 2019-05-26. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. By Steven L. Shields Everything happens for a reason. Except when it doesn't. Anyone can retrospectively make up a reason to fit their particular belief system. For Christians, such a rationale proposes a God who is in control of every individual's life; belief in a God who has a personal plan for everyone. The teachings of Jesus Christ do not support such an unhelpful definition of God. The relation between God and human is the other way around. The Bible teaches that each human has free will. We can choose one way or another. Some Christian groups in the past have taught that we are each predestined. Such an idea means that free will is a figment of the imagination; that no matter what one does they cannot change the outcome; or that individual choices are exactly what God knew we would do. I'm different from many Christians. In my Christian thinking, nothing could be so ridiculous. What about mass shootings? Senseless violence? Rape? War? My marriage ended in divorce. I was told that it happened for a "reason." I was told God had a future "reason" for the divorce. I was told that a loving God often puts us through trials and tests to strengthen our faith. Others said that I wasn't faithful enough, so God allowed the relationship to fall apart. Or, even worse, that because of faithlessness, God allowed Satan (evil embodied) to destroy my marriage. There is a cause for everything. Actions cause a reaction. But when Christians say they happen for a "reason" they are not looking at the cause; they are trying to come up with some way to explain life that fits their beliefs about God. When something horrible happens, they try to explain all this through faulty rationale, as if God were the "great chess player in the sky," toying with our lives. I cannot believe "God's will" extends to every single event, every single moment that happens in human existence. Such declarations are evasions because humans won't take responsibility for personal or group actions. Nothing happens for some future altruistic reason. You'll be blessed. This one is a favorite. It proposes that if one chooses Jesus over other faith-traditions, God will bless you with the desires of your heart. Many well-known preachers promote something called the "prosperity gospel." Such an idea says that God wants "you" to be rich, and enjoy material wealth and goods. Somehow these preachers have conflated Jesus's saying that he brings "abundant life" with monetary achievement. Indeed, how does society define success? By measuring the wealth of a person or organization. Consumer tendencies are incompatible with the teachings of Jesus Christ. He demands of his followers lives of sacrifice; they must have a willingness to give everything away for the love of others. In a well-known exchange recounted in the gospel of Matthew, Jesus meets a wealthy man who wants to know how to enter God's kingdom. The man says he has kept all the commandments. Jesus replies that he must sell all that he has and give the money to the poor. The rich man cannot do this and sulks away disappointed. Many Christians believe that if you pray for something, and have enough faith, God will grant your wish. Few Christians, apparently, have enough faith to achieve this special granting. Victims of the notion that "everything happens for a 'reason'" will disagree. My congregation's prayer list is filled with requests from people wanting miracles. They ask for "intercessory" prayer. They want me and others in the congregation to intercede with God and beg for people to be cured of scientifically incurable diseases. I think there is value in prayer when it is properly approached. But my heart breaks for people who cannot reconcile their understanding that by being Christian, God will bless them physically and materially. Humans are not good at dealing with our mortality. We hear stories of miraculous cures, but when we look at the numbers, such miracles are rare. Even famous faith healers who conduct revival meetings in Christian circles are only successful after generous donations. If they really had such power to cure diseases, they ought to be walking the wards of every hospital, placing their hands on the sick, curing them, and making hospitals redundant. Nothing happens for a "reason," and Christians are not any more or less blessed than anyone else in the world. We each choose a faith system (or none) that meets our needs. Steven L. Shields has lived in Korea for many years, beginning in the 1970s, again in the 1990s and into the 2000s. He served as copy editor of The Korea Times in 1977. He is a retired clergyman and vice president of the Royal Asiatic Society-Korea Branch. He can be reached at slshields@gmail.com. President Donald Trump is defending his unprecedented decision to give his Justice Department chief unfettered access to the countrys deepest foreign intelligence secrets amid an outcry from the spy community and a veiled warning from the US intelligence czar. The president said Attorney General Bill Barr needed unilateral power to declassify any top secret material to get to the roots of the 2016-2018 investigation into whether his election campaign colluded with Russia. Barr will be able to see how this hoax, how the hoax or witch hunt started, and why it started, Trump said. It was an attempted coup or an attempted takedown of the president of the United States. It should never ever happen to anybody else, so its very important. But politicians and former intelligence community leaders said Trump and Barr are threatening to expose the countrys most protected sources of secrets on Russia to mount a political attack on a legitimate investigation that exposed a serious threat to the United States. By James M. Dorsey Mounting tension between the Trump administration and Iran is likely to shed light on U.S. dynamics shaping today's geopolitical environment. Looming large is the figure of U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton, a proponent of a muscular U.S. foreign policy in which the U.S. employs military force to impose its will and fortify its superpower status as the playground shifts from a unipolar to a multipolar world. At first glance, President Donald Trump, viscerally opposed to the 2015 international agreement that curbed Iran's nuclear program, appears to be allowing Bolton to drive the administration's "maximum pressure" campaign against Iran. In the latest unprecedented move, it was Bolton rather than the Pentagon who announced the accelerated deployment of an aircraft carrier strike group to the Gulf in what the national security adviser framed as a warning to Iran. In many respects, Trump and Bolton share a common worldview that is aligned with the way men like Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu and the crown princes of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, Mohammed bin Salman and Mohammed bin Zayed, define their countries' national interests. In a book acclaimed by conservatives, Israeli philosopher Yoram Hazony provided the tacit theoretical underpinnings of what goes beyond the worldview of Trump, his associates and Middle Eastern leaders. Hazony argued that nationalism is a defense against imperialism redefined as the tyranny of universal values and liberal international organizations like the United Nations, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and the International Criminal Court. He provides the basis for what amounts to a tacit agreement on shared values by autocrats, authoritarians and illiberals that also include the presidents of Russia, China and Turkey, Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and the prime ministers of India and Hungary, Narendra Modi and Victor Orban. Hazony's theory, fuelled by mounting international criticism of Israeli policy toward the Palestinians, resonated because it harked back to right-wing anti-imperialism and rejection of universal values and standard-setting international institutions that restrict what countries can do, primarily within their own borders. Embracing Hazony's theory, however, does not stop men like Trump, Bolton, Xi, Bin Salman, Bin Zayed and Erdogan from imposing their will on others as part of what they see as a national interest. In America's case, columnist Gideon Rahman argues that Trump and Bolton are harking back to an era when the United States brutally pursued its interests without regard for others. Theirs is an understanding that the U.S. is in the longer term unlikely to be able to compete against a China that eventually outstrips it economically and militarily. "The Trumpian view is that the U.S. has gone soft and risks ruin if it is too scrupulous when dealing with ruthless adversaries such as ISIS (the Islamic State) or, even, with Russia and China," Rahman said. He could just as well have included Iran as an example. If there is a silver lining in all of this, it is that the jury is out in answering the question of who ultimately drives U.S. policy toward Iran or for that matter Venezuela: Trump, who despite his bluster is perceived to want to avoid military entanglements, or Bolton to whom the military appears to be a magic wand. The question is also whether the evolution of the North Korea crisis suggests that other crises like Iran could evolve similarly even if there are no indications as yet of that potentially being the case and despite the fact that Trump at one point declared his willingness to meet with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. Trump appeared to initially follow Bolton's inclinations when he threatened North Korea to respond with "fire and fury" if it did not denuclearize and mocked North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as "Little Rocket Man." Just months before joining Trump's administration, Bolton had argued in favor of military strikes against North Korea in a Wall Street Journal op-ed. "Given the gaps in U.S. intelligence about North Korea, we should not wait until the very last minute. That would risk striking after the North has deliverable nuclear weapons, a much more dangerous situation," Bolton said. Yet, Trump has since held two inconclusive, if not failed summits with Kim, declared that "we fell in love," and rejected Bolton's advice to tighten the North Korean sanctions regime. Similarly, Trump, frustrated that U.S. efforts led by Bolton to oust Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, has privately half-joked that his national security adviser is seeking to drag him "into a war." For now, Trump appears to be more on board with Bolton's hard-line toward Iran than his approach toward Venezuela and North Korea. While it is unclear whether Iran could prove to be the exception to the president's anti-war inclinations, it could, in a twist of irony, be Saudi Arabia that proves to be a moderating influence. Despite being a proponent of regime change in Tehran, Prince Mohammed's interest in the short and medium term is likely to be destabilization of the Iranian regime rather than immediate replacement with a government capable of returning the Islamic republic to the international fold and quickly reclaiming its place in global oil and gas markets. The sanctions on Iran give the kingdom the time to in the short-term establish itself as a major gas trader and within six years as a key gas exporter. If that Saudi interest prevails, it would jell with Trump's aversion toward war. Iranian journalist Ahmad Hashemi argues that "Venezuelization" or destabilization of Iran may prove to be Trump's compromise formula. "Donald Trump is anything but a warmonger. He doesn't want Iraq and Afghanistan-style regime change because another costly war in the Middle East goes against his "America first" policy," Hashemi said. The failure of Bolton's effort to overthrow Maduro could prove to be a watershed and, possibly, the straw that broke the camel's back. Dr. James M. Dorsey is a senior fellow at Nanyang Technological University's S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, an adjunct senior research fellow at the National University of Singapore's Middle East Institute and co-director of the University of Wuerzburg's Institute of Fan Culture. Four high school seniors earned associate degrees from Salem Community College on May 22, weeks before they will graduate from Salem County Vocational-Technical School. The graduates are: Hannah Gibbs of Pittsgrove -- Associate in Science with honors in Biology/Chemistry; transferring to University of the Sciences in Philadelphia. Hailey Hinton of Pedricktown -- Associate in Arts in Liberal Arts; transferring to Stockton University. Rachel Seykot of Elmer -- Associate in Science with high honors in Biology/Chemistry; transferring to Clarion University of Pennsylvania. Briana Williams of Pennsville -- Associate in Science with honors in Biology/Chemistry; transferring to Becker College in Worchester, Mass. The four SCC graduates will receive their diplomas from SCVTS on June 19. Since 2001, 31 other SCVTS seniors have graduated from SCC. Whatever you thought of the series finale of Game of Thrones," know that you wont have to spend Sunday night without the show ... at least not yet. In other words, your watch has not ended (unless you are still very mad from the series finale and want nothing to do with it). Thats thanks to the HBO documentary Game of Thrones: The Last Watch, a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the shows final season. (**Regular warning about Game of Thrones spoilers**) When is Game of Thrones: The Last Watch? The documentary about the making of the show will air from 9 to 11 p.m. Sunday, May 26, on HBO (also available on HBO Now and HBO Go), after a rerun of the series finale, The Iron Throne. To make the film, director Jeanie Finlay embedded on the Game of Thrones set in Northern Ireland. HBO says the documentary delves deep into the mud and blood to reveal the tears and triumphs involved in the challenge of bringing the fantasy world of Westeros to life in the very real studios, fields and car-parks of Northern Ireland. Vladimir Furdik as The Night King.HBO For the last season, the crew had to build a set for Kings Landing, even though scenes depicting the Westerosi seat of power were usually filmed in Dubrovnik, Croatia. You see, a certain Mother of Dragons decides to incinerate the city, and the production could not exactly destroy Dubrovnik. While there were certainly a lot of unexpected quirks that came with the eighth and final season of Game of Thrones" ahem, coffee cup, *cough* water bottle the documentary is not likely to cover those, considering the fact that they happened recently and were products of vigilance from fans on social media. (And maybe not something that HBO wants to harp on.) However, we can probably expect a detailed look at the construction and planning of crucial developments, such as the Battle of Winterfell. After all, even though a recent petition to redo the whole season of the show with new writers drew 1.5 million signatures, Game of Thrones requires an enormous amount of work. Director David Nutter in "Game of Thrones: The Last Watch."HBO Tears and table reads In the Last Watch trailer below, you can see Kit Harington, who plays Jon Snow, getting emotional at a table read for the final season. In the clip, David Nutter, one of the directors who worked on the series, calls Game of Thrones a dream job that saved" his life. Nutter directed a total of nine episodes of the show, including three episodes this season: Winterfell, The Last of the Starks and fan favorite A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms," a pre-battle delight written by Bryan Cogman in which Brienne of Tarth is knighted as Ser Brienne of Tarth. Have a tip? Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at akuperinsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @AmyKup or on Facebook. Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. Moon's income-led growth is not working President Moon Jae-in's core economic policy of driving up household income as the key impetus for economic growth is failing to achieve the intended results. The latest Statistics Korea reports on the household incomes of the first quarter of this year show there are some serious problems with Moon's "income-led growth" policy, which was designed to spur spending to revive the economy. The latest surveys show that the incomes of some households have actually been decreasing in the last few months. All in all, a lot of working families are heavily struggling with reduced income amid soaring taxes owing to the wide range of social programs imitated by the Moon administration that have put the increasing tax burden on citizens. Statistics Korea reported last week that income of the bottom 20 percent bracket dropped in the January-March period. The monthly average of the people in this group decreased to 1.25 million won ($1,054), a 2.5 percent year-on-year drop. This is barely enough to cover the most basic expenses for families. It is worrisome that the household income for the bottom 20 percent group has been declining consecutively for the past five quarters. One of the biggest reasons for the drop is that many people in this age group work in small businesses or hold irregular positions, which have been hit by Moon's swift push to raise the minimum wage. This has led to pay cuts and loss of job that have barely sustained the livelihoods of low-income earners and the elderly. Households in the top income range were making 9.92 million won in the same period, down 2.2 percent from a year ago. This is the first drop since the first quarter of 2015. Amid the slow economy, all income groups are making less. The reduced paychecks are a real problem for all working families because prices and taxes are only getting higher. With stagnant or reduced wages, more people are voicing their disappointment at President Moon's economic incompetence. Many office workers also feel that taxes have risen noticeably compared with the previous Park Geun-hye administration, and are becoming increasingly concerned about how to support their families in these harsh economic conditions. The main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) slammed the Moon administration after the Statistics Korea report was published on May 23. It's time for Moon to accept criticisms that he has not done enough to truly improve the lives of the middle class and the people in the bottom income group. After two years, it has become increasingly clear that the income-led growth model is not bearing fruit. With limited time left in office, Moon must stop fixating on policies that are not working and make the necessary adjustments. Now is the time to make a major policy shift and focus on measures to create quality jobs and boost the corporate sector. Authorities are investigating a fatal shooting in Newark that left one man dead. Essex County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Thomas Fennelly said the shooting broke out shortly before 11 p.m. Saturday. The victim was taken to University Hospital where he was pronounced dead around 3:30 a.m. The incident happened along 18th Street and Madison Avenue. Fennelly said no additional information was immediately available. The investigation is ongoing. Karen Yi may be reached at kyi@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @karen_yi or on Facebook. Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. Hundreds of residents packed Liberty State Park on Sunday to celebrate the services of the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard for New York Fleet Week. Traffic was at a virtual standstill in the surrounding area for much of the day, as hundreds of people came out for the events fourth year in Jersey City. The day-long event included a certified 5K race, a One Mile Fun Run, and a Youth City Challenge Obstacle Race in the morning. Later in the afternoon, USN and USMC helicopters landed in park, giving residents a peek inside the aircraft after landing. Various military vehicles were also on display. Performances were also had by the the U.S. Fleet Forces Brass Band;" the U.S. Marine Corps Battle Color Detachment and Silent Drill Platoon; the U.S. Coast Guard Silent Drill Team; as well as the 369th Experience Band, in conjunction with the World War I Centennial Commission. Authorities are searching for two gunmen who fired at least 30 shots in a drive-by shooting that injured 10 people outside a North Trenton bar early Saturday morning, city officials said. The gunmen opened fire around 12:25 a.m. at a crowd enjoying the start of Memorial Day weekend outside Ramoneros Liquor & Bar, formerly J&J Liquor & Bar and the Stokes bar. None of the injuries were fatal, officials said. Speaking at a press conference at police headquarters in Trenton, Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo J. Onofri said a dark-colored sport utility vehicle traveled down Middle Rose Street to Brunswick Avenue from Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. The vehicle stopped at the corner of Middle Rose Street and Brunswick Avenue, at the side of Ramoneros Bar, and at least two suspects fired weapons from the vehicle into a crowd of people gathered in the area, Onofri said. This was an expansive crime scene, he said. The citys new police director, Sheilah Coley, said authorities dont have a motive yet but are exploring the theory that it was a gang related. There are gangs in Trenton, she said. They happen to be associated with neighborhoods and sometimes there are neighborhood conflicts. This might very well be a part of that friction. The victims, five men and five women, were taken to Capital Health Regional Medical Center in Trenton by first responders. One person was taken to the hospital in a private vehicle. None of the victims were identified but Onofri gave reporters information regarding their ages, injuries and condition. Male, 36, two gunshot wounds to the right hand, stable condition Male, 29, gunshot wound to the lower abdomen, critical but stable condition Male, 29, gunshot wound to the right calf, stable condition Male, 32, gunshot wound to the right ankle, stable condition Male, 30, gunshot wound to the buttocks, critical but stable Female, 29, gunshot graze wound to the right thigh, stable condition Female, 23, gunshot wound to the left thigh, stable condition Female, 27, gunshot wound to the left knee, stable condition Female, 33, gunshot graze wound to the right calf, stable condition Female, 25, gunshot wound to the buttocks, stable condition Two of the women have since been released from the hospital, Onofri said. Eight of the victims were Trenton residents. The investigation into the shooting is on going. Police said they may have a suspected vehicle, and are continuing to review multiple videos from the crime scene. Trenton Mayor Reed Gusciora said the shooting is "indicative of gun violence that is throughout America. Ultimately, its going to have to be the federal government to step up to the plate, he said. Gusciora said local authorities are stepping up to the plate, and commended Coleys efforts in her short tenure. Trenton cannot become a tale of two cities: one that is moving toward progress in economic development and improvements in education, while at the same time an unsafe environment for young people due to gun violence, Gusciora said during the press conference. As long as there are people with evil intentions, police are prepared to protect our citizens and pursue justice. There have been five homicides in Trenton in 2019. Gusciora said three of them have been solved and police are close to solving another. Violent crime is down over the past two years in the Capital City, he added. We will make sure the city is secure that the residents are safe that the neighborhoods are safe, Gusciora said. Ramoneros Liquor & Bar in Trenton where 9 people were shot early this morning. May 25, 2019 (Patti Sapone | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com) Patti Sapone | NJ Advance Media Coley said Ramoneros Liquor & Bar, located in the North Trenton neighborhood of the city, has had violations in the past for not following Alcoholic Beverage Control Division laws, but that it wasnt a place known to be frequented by violent people. This is the second shooting in the city in nearly a year thats wounded 9 or more people. In June 2018, gunfire at the Art All Night festival wounded or injured nearly 30 people and one man, a suspected gunman, was fatally shot by responding police officers. There are many neighborhoods people feel safe and secure in Trenton, Gusciora said. Yes, we need to address socio-economic problems where many young people have given up hope. We have to address the underlying causes of why someone would pick up a gun and join a gang. Reporter Cassidy Grom contributed to this story. Reach her at cgrom@njadvancemedia.com Follow her at @cassidygrom. Olivia Rizzo may be reached at orizzo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @LivRizz. 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. In many ways, Jonathan Xie is a typical young man from New Jersey: a recent high school graduate who played in a school band, worked at a retail store and was active on social media. But instead of run-of-the mill selfies, the 20-year-old from Basking Ridge allegedly live-streamed videos of himself wearing a ski mask and railing against Israel and the U.S. government on Instagram. His YouTube account included a playlist of 114 videos many of them terrorist propaganda, authorities claim. Xie was arrested by the FBI on Wednesday, leaving neighbors in the wealthy Somerset County community where he resided with his parents dumbfounded as law enforcement officials carried boxes from his family home and news helicopters circled overhead. Authorities claim the young man, who had no obvious cultural or religious ties to the region, became fixated on joining an extremist faction of Hamas, the Palestinian fundamentalist group designated a terrorist organization by the United States. Xie said little during his first public court appearance on Wednesday, and his parents declined to speak with the media. He is now being held on federal charges of providing material support to a designated terror group, making false statements and transmitting threats against Jews and Trump Tower. Experts in counterterrorism and online extremism told NJ Advance Media that the facts alleged in Xies case follow a familiar pattern. Its absolutely consistent with the current threat environment we find ourselves in, said John Cohen, a former high-ranking federal counterterrorism official who now serves as a senior advisor at the Rutgers University Institute for Emergency Preparedness and Homeland Security, after reviewing the federal complaint in Xies case. U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito, whose office brought the charges, called Xie a homegrown violent extremist, a term that has come to apply to people from many walks of life who, instead of belonging to some clandestine terror cell, typically become radicalized in isolation. Rather than highly trained fighters from far-flung places, homegrown extremists are typically disaffected, mentally unwell individuals who self-connect with an extremist or terrorist cause primarily from what they view online, Cohen said. The 2017 Ridge High School yearbook includes this photo of Jonathan Xie, who was arrested by federal authorities Wednesday. New Jerseys Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness has consistently ranked such extremists the top terror threat to New Jersey in recent years. Jon Lewis, who studied homeland security at Rider University and now serves as a research fellow at the George Washington Universitys Program on Extremism, said that while the paths they follow to radicalization often overlap, there is no common profile for potential extremists. He pointed to the example of John Walker Lindh, better known as The American Taliban, who was released this week after serving 17 years in prison following his capture in Afghanistan. Lindh, who was raised Catholic in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. and California, converted to radical Islam as a teen and joined the cause of the Taliban. Lewis cautioned that its early in criminal proceedings and the government has not yet presented its evidence against Xie, but said the details of the complaint may point to a person who fell down a rabbit hole of terrorist propaganda and emerged a true believer who, authorities say, openly discussed intentions to carry out an attack. Federal prosecutors say Xie came onto their radar in January, when an unidentified person who interacts online with him tipped them off about his activity on social media and in group chats. They later obtained video recordings of Xie ranting on Instagram railing against "Zionism and the neo-liberal establishment and brandishing a handgun, according to charging documents. They determined he wired a $100 donation to a faction of Hamas and exchanged e-mails with the group asking how he could join, the documents say. They claim he attempted to join the U.S. Army to learn how to kill" and weighed whether to do a lone wolf." And he allegedly visited President Donald Trumps skyscraper in Manhattan under the eye of FBI surveillance, posting a poll on Instagram that asked his followers: should I bomb Trump Tower? The explosive allegations raised an obvious question: How did a young man from New Jersey end up apparently converting to a radical interpretation of Islam and deciding, seemingly over the course of just a few months, authorities allege, to become a political soldier who was not afraid to die"? Today, in so many of our cases you just have someone online whos just interested," said Lewis, whose group tracks the domestic activities of the Islamic State as well as other other religious extremist organizations. Its very difficult to say with authority what that first step is, but once that door is opened, its wide open," he said. "Its very easy to find more information that furthers those beliefs that youre developing. Authorities said that while Xie presented a clear and present threat, law enforcement intervened before he anything happened. A federal prosecutor disclosed during a court hearing they believed he intended to carry out an attack on pro-Israeli demonstrators at a May 31 event in Times Square in New York, where Xie wanted to shoot everybody. Lewis said the primary charge against Xie legally, an attempt to provide material support and resources to a foreign terrorist organization is an increasingly common and effective tool for prosecutors seeking to apprehend individuals before they may strike. Anything that can be proven that you did to provide support to a group designated a terror organization, whether you sent $10, or $10,000 worth of bitcoin, or bought a plane ticket to join Hamas, its all material support," he said. In Xies case, after allegedly wiring $100 to Al-Qassam Brigades, authorities say he chatted online with an FBI undercover operative, helping and encouraging them to donate money as well. The false statement charges stem from his statements on the Army application that he had not associated with anyone engaged in terror activities, authorities said, and the single threat charge resulted from a number of the comments he made on social media. Cohen, the Rutgers professor, said his group is increasingly focused on working with law enforcement and faith and community leaders to develop strategies to intervene before troubled or radicalized individuals carry out their threats of violence. People will read the (federal prosecutors) announcement and say, Oh, he sent $100, big deal, Cohen said. The goal here is to prevent a person whos been deemed high risk from conducting an attack. Staff writers Cassidy Grom and Karen Yi contributed to this report, which also contains material from the Associated Press. 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. New Jersey residents took full advantage of the gloriously sunny Memorial Day weekend, heading to the beach and state parks in droves. So much so that they shut them down for a few hours. Quite a few state parks and beaches were filled to capacity and had to be closed off to the public for a few hours Sunday morning, according to a Facebook post from the New Jersey State Parks, Forests and Historic Sites. Closed areas included Island State Beach Park, Wharton State Forest, Bass River State Forest, Hopatcong State Park and Wawayanda State Park. Some places like Island Beach State Park opened after a few hours of being closed. Social media posts showed the extent of crowds and traffic on the otherwise gorgeous day. Of course it was a fun memorial day for our furry friends too. And for Gov. Phil Murphy, too. Look who just showed up at the Jersey Shore Food Truck Festival @MonmouthPark. Its Gov. Phil Murphy. Wonder what food truck he tried? @GovMurphy pic.twitter.com/YTGTW29sq1 Pete Genovese (@petegenovese) May 26, 2019 Disha Raychaudhuri may be reached at disha@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @Disha_RC. Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. New Jersey State Police say a boat struck a navigational marker in Barnegat Bay, injuring three people. Police spokesman Alejandro Goez told the Asbury Park Press that the vessel hit the marker shortly after 10:30 p.m. Friday near the Thomas A. Mathis Bridge in Toms River. The 58-year-old male operator of the boat and a 77-year-old man were taken to Community Medical Center with minor injuries. A 54-year-old woman was airlifted to Jersey Shore Medical Center with injuries not deemed life-threatening. Goez says all three were expected to be treated and released. A fourth passenger was uninjured. When Roseanne Scotti opened the New Jersey office of the Drug Policy Alliance, the war on drugs was starting its fourth decade and the prevailing government attitude toward addiction was that punishment was the best way to cure it. There was something monumentally wrong about that, yet few understood that this horrendous public policy was spawned by political demagoguery or acknowledged its catastrophic consequences: mass incarceration, racial injustice, untreated addictions and wasted lives. Out of this morass came Scotti, a Temple-trained lawyer from a small but formidable non-profit, who changed our states drug policies and our criminal justice system by changing hearts and minds with evidence-based arguments. Count the ways. She helped spearhead the medical marijuana campaign, bringing relief to thousands in ceaseless pain, and dragged Chris Christie into the effort to expand it. She helped make needle exchanges a staple in HIV prevention and the overall harm reduction strategy. She led a coalition that helped eliminate the racist school-zone mandatory minimum sentencing law. She fought to make naloxone more accessible, saving countless lives, one of the many legislative gains achieved in collaboration with Sen. Joseph Vitale. She championed the Good Samaritan Law, by getting Christie to stop thinking like a prosecutor and start thinking like a parent. She railed against our unjust bail system and helped turn it into a national model. Scotti and deputy director Meagan Glaser also spent 17 years saving people that few others deemed worthy of saving, because they believed that no one should be imprisoned for having a disease in a civilized society. And she has also been our most eloquent voice in pursuit of pot legalization, parole reform and safe injection sites. But on Friday, the DPAs New Jersey office shut down because of a lack of funding. In a state that will likely set a record for opioid-related deaths for a fifth straight year one that needs our best and brightest public health advocates to get a handle on our addiction epidemic that is an appalling loss. We have also lost a beacon in the fight against the still-raging war on drugs, a public policy that has yielded nothing but misery. There will be a big hole in the policy debate going forward if Roseanne and her colleagues dont figure out a way to reconstitute their efforts, Sen. Declan OScanlon (R-Monmouth) said. Even on issues where I disagreed with the DPA, their input was challenging, substantive and better informed my position. DPA advocacy was always guided by compassion and human rights, but grounded in science and health. The original fight is the best example: Our first focus was needle exchange, Scotti said. At the time, three people a day were infected by HIV in our state, half of them from contaminated syringes. Syringe access programs (SAPs) were a tough sell in 2006. But Scotti, who spent years researching the Philadelphia needle exchange at Penn, convinced enough people that these facilities save lives, money, and provide a gateway to recovery; there were seven federal studies that showed clean needles reduce HIV transmission. Eventually, she even got Christie to fund our five SAPs. There have been many victories since. Bail reform stands out: Violent crime has cratered even as the rate of pretrial detentions has dropped by 44 percent in the two years since the system changed. And in her final backward glance, Scotti says, At the end of the day, we got a few things done. A grateful state is in her debt. Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion. Follow on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and find NJ.com Opinion on Facebook. By Paul J. Stankard As a 14-year-old in the mid-1950s, I crafted a duck boat to paddle and glide on a shallow pond in the swamp near my home in rural Massachusetts, attuning myself to the subtle hum of nature. My father, an introverted and detail-oriented chemist, was impressed with my hand skills, and I was proud. I had never been able to impress my father with academic accomplishments, but I loved working with my hands and came to value his appreciation for my hand skills. I had done poorly in school because of dyslexia, a reading disorder that most people had never heard of at the time. My family moved to southern New Jersey, where I attended Pitman High School, still struggling with my studies. One day, while visiting the guidance counselor, I picked up a brochure about Salem County Vocational Technical Institute. My father assured me that industrial glassblowers were in high demand, and he drove me to the then-modest facility for a visit. I was mesmerized when I saw young men working at bench torches, melting and reshaping glass. I enrolled the following September and proudly graduated in the class of 1963. I didn't fully understand it at the time, but I was entering a continuum of glass making going back centuries; South Jersey was one of the world hubs of development in scientific glass, a key factor in the scientific and commercial development that boomed after World War II. During my early career, I was committed to learning scientific glass blowing, but I was equally interested in the South Jerseys decorative art glass tradition, particularly the beauty of the highly prized Millville Rose paperweight. The Millville Rose was a conceptual interpretation of a glass rose suspended in clear glass, often crafted by master furnace workers expressing their creative side at the end of the day. I prospered in scientific glassblowing, but after ten years I refocused my career to sculpt detailed floral designs based on the native flowers that had been my childhood fascination. Looking back, I appreciate how the hand skills and technical foundation acquired at Salem Technical Institute, coupled with the South Jersey glass-art tradition, gave me a distinctive advantage in my art making career. Both my career and Salems program have evolved since those early days. The institute, which later became Salem Community College, has educated hundreds of enthusiastic students into professional glassmakers who have experienced a wide range of working processes, both in scientific glass and glass art. This collective knowledge and enthusiasm creates pulsating synergy, much the same as Silicon Valley developed a collective culture of innovation and creativity in technology. The glass program is a remarkable study in advancing and building on a collective vision. One very visible indicator of the programs success is the fact that from its humble beginnings on the second floor of an old hospital, it moved to a 13,000-square-foot space in Alloway Township, 12 miles from the college campus in Carneys Point and has now outgrown that venue. College President Michael Gorman is relocating the Glass Education Center to the main campus. A new 20,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility will honor long-time benefactors Samuel and Jean Jones, and will house the Paul J. Stankard Glass Studio/Lab, scheduled to open in September. Salems legacy served me well. My floral glass art has attracted interest among collectors and museums around the world, and I would eventually receive two honorary doctorates, one from Rowan University, and an honorary associates degree in glass art from Salem Community College. I enjoy lecturing and demonstrating at glass-centric cultural centers and museums. My glass floral designs are represented in more than 75 museums worldwide. But an equally important part of my legacy has been teaching young students in the Salem glass program and eventually assuming the role of artist in residence. Now that I am 76, I'm receiving "old-man" awards my term for lifetime achievement recognitions. The 2018 Distinguished Alumnus Award from the New Jersey Council of County Colleges represents my commitment to excellence and self-directed learning. These are achievements facilitated by Salem and the fact that my father who passed away in 1976 but lived long enough to see my budding success had the foresight to encourage me to enroll in the glass program at Salem Community College. Paul J. Stankard is an internationally acclaimed artist, writer and pioneer in the studio glass movement, best known for his paperweights. He is a longtime Mantua Township resident. Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion. Follow on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and find NJ.com Opinion on Facebook. By Zia Mian, Alan Robock and Sharon Weiner On May 23rd, the New Jersey General Assembly approved Resolution 230, urging the federal government to pursue a broad range of measures to reduce the danger of nuclear war and to join the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. California and some American cities have already adopted similar resolutions to call for action in Washington on nuclear weapons. Heres why. It has been understood since the U.S. destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War II that the explosion of a single nuclear weapon can destroy an entire city. One modern U.S. warhead exploding over a large city would on average kill half a million people. The U.S. has about 4,000 warheads in its operational stockpile, including about 1,000 ready to launch within minutes. Plans include options to use these nuclear weapons first in a conflict. President Barack Obama wanted to declare a no-first-use policy but was told that it was a bad time. Scientific work has shown that, beyond the already catastrophic scale of death and destruction from blast, fire and radiation at the target, the environmental effects from the soot produced by cities set ablaze by nuclear attack could have global effects lasting for more than a decade. These include destruction of the ozone layer and growing seasons shortened by late and early frosts. Large-scale nuclear war could destroy modern civilization and condemn billions to starvation and death. Most people assume that if something hasnt happened, it wont happen. But that is psychology, not reality. Some of those who have spent their careers managing U.S. nuclear weapons believe that we have been extraordinarily lucky that nuclear weapons have not been used since Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The nuclear age has been marked by many crises, close calls, nuclear threats, and faulty warning and command-and-control systems. The U.S. and Russian hair-trigger launch posture in combination with fear, misperception, accident or false warning could trigger a nuclear war. The future of civilization depends on the unpredictable psychologies of the people commanding the U.S., Russian, United Kingdom, French, Chinese, Israeli, Indian, Pakistani and North Korean nuclear weapons. In the U.S. system, the president has sole nuclear launch authority. It would take only a moment to issue the order, and a few minutes later, the nuclear missiles would fly. Hard-won nuclear arms control agreements are being dismantled. In 2002, President George W. Bush quit the 30-year-old ABM treaty that limited ballistic missile defenses in order to avoid a futile and dangerous offense-defense arms race. Last month, the Trump Administration gave six months notice that the U.S. will exit the 30-year old Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty, which eliminated thousands of medium and intermediate-range land-based nuclear missiles. The last and most important nuclear-arms-control treaty is New START, which limits the long-range missiles and warheads with which Russia and the U.S. can attack each other and allows rigorous on-site inspections to verify those limits. It will expire in 2021. It could be extended for an additional five years by executive agreement but the Trump Administration has not been interested in discussing that option. The future looks bleak as the U.S. is currently in the beginning stages of a plan to modernize its entire nuclear arsenal. There are to be new long-range land-based nuclear missiles, new ballistic-missile submarines, new bombers and air-launched cruise missiles, modernized warheads and an upgraded nuclear weapons production infrastructure. The Trump Administration is building smaller nuclear warheads that will lower the threshold for use. This plan is scheduled to be completed in the 2040s. Over these coming 30 years, the cost of modernization, maintenance and operation of these weapons is expected to be at least $1.7 trillion. Once completed, these programs will ensure nuclear weapons remain at the center of U.S. national security policy for the rest of the century. Most of these programs are just starting, however, so there is time to reconsider before much more money is spent. It is important to remember that the U.S. is bound by the 1970 Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty to work in good faith for nuclear disarmament and to achieve this goal. Assembly Resolution 230 specifically calls on the U.S. to actively pursue a verifiable agreement among nuclear-armed states to eliminate their nuclear arsenals. The U.S. could make an effort to start such talks. One new road to the goal of ending the nuclear danger was created in July 2017 at the United Nations, when 122 countries agreed to a treaty on the prohibition of nuclear weapons. The new treaty has so far been signed by 70 countries. It offers a set of principles, commitments, and mechanisms for eliminating nuclear weapons. The U.S. has been opposed. Assembly Resolution 230 seeks to shine a bright light on the need for the United States to pursue alternatives to nuclear modernization and using nuclear weapons first. It also calls for supporting the new prohibition treaty. By such actions, the United States could begin to pursue a less dangerous future and help the effort to free the world from nuclear weapons. Andrew Zwicker and Frank von Hippel also contributed to this story. Andrew Zwicker is a member of the state Assembly, chairman of its Science, Innovation, and Technology Committee and head of the Science Education Department at Princeton Universitys Plasma Physics Laboratory. Frank von Hippel is emeritus professor in Princeton Universitys Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. Zia Mian is co-director of Princeton Universitys Program on Science and Global Security. Alan Robock is distinguished professor in Environmental Sciences at Rutgers University. Sharon Weiner is a visiting scholar at Princeton Universitys Program on Science and Global Security and has worked in Congress, the Pentagon and the White House. 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. I was on the floor of the state Assembly Thursday for the big vote on expanding the states medicinal marijuana program. The bill passed overwhelmingly with bipartisan support, but not before the Republicans raised an interesting question. That came when Assemblyman John DiMaio of Warren County questioned why the bill continues to impose the state sales tax of 6.625 percent on medicinal marijuana. I dont believe we should be taxing medicine, DiMaio said. He went on to say that there are many people who dont want to use prescription drugs for pain relief and would prefer cannabinoids. Its immoral to tax their medicine, he said. Immoral or not, that tax stayed in the bill, which greatly widens the access to medical marijuana as compared to current law. DiMaios effort to amend it failed in a vote that went along party lines. The final bill passed by a 65-5 margin. A similar margin is expected when it comes before the state Senate, presumably this week, at which point it would go to Gov. Phil Murphy for his signature. But the question lingered in my mind: Why would the state tax medicinal pot but not other legal pain-killers? I soon got an answer, though I found it hard to believe. The answer came from Assemblywoman Nancy Munoz, a Union County Republican who is a nurse in real life. Munoz told me the Murphy administration does indeed intend to tax prescription pain-killers. I told her she must be mistaken. That would be crazy. She agreed it was crazy. But she wasnt mistaken. In short order her aide, Mark Doherty, dug out a copy of the budget and showed me the line item listed under Major Taxes as Opioid Assessment. That tax on prescription opioids is expected to bring in $21.5 million in the coming fiscal year, which begins July 1. You dont tax legal drugs, she said. I have patients who are in unbelievable chronic pain, people who actually function very well with their opioids. I have elderly women with crushed vertebrae. You cant fix this, but they can function with the drugs. When she discussed this with the administration, Murphy said, she was told that the money raised by the tax would go to fund programs to reduce opioid abuse. There are two problems with this, she said. One: Theyre going to tax a legitimate drug, a legal drug, to fix the problem with bad behavior of others? Two: The revenue does not go to fund treatment. Its listed in the budget as going into the General Fund. Once money goes into the General Fund, there is no limitation on how its spent. Munoz said she was told by the Murphy administration that the tax will be imposed solely on the manufacturers and distributors of opioids, not the consumers. Have you ever seen a tax that wasnt passed on to consumers? she asked. Youre not likely to in this case. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo tried that trick last year with a similar tax, but a court ruled that violates the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution. The bill enabling the tax has not yet been passed, so we still dont know what the lawmakers have in mind for New Jerseyans who need prescription opioids. The Murphy administration didnt respond to my call for comment, but state Senate Budget Committee chairman Paul Sarlo did. The Bergen County Democrat said that at the moment most people have such a negative view of the drug manufacturers that this tax should be a popular one. Of all the revenue-raisers that might be easier to do because theres so much anger toward the manufacturers, he said. Thats an argument. Im not defending it. When I asked him whether the cost would be passed on to consumers, he replied, Im sure the manufacturers will find a way to do that. Im sure they will, too. It would be great if the state could tax the people pushing illegal opioids into bankruptcy. But that goal wont be achieved by taxing legal pain-killers. If these guys really need the money so bad, then they might as well find a way to legalize adult-use marijuana in this budget. There arent enough votes for that at the moment. But it would bring in three times as much money, all of it from willing consumers. Actually, many of those willing consumers will be getting their medicinal-marijuana cards right after the governor signs that medicinal-marijuana bill into law. I suspect the vast majority of them wont mind paying a sales tax equal to the tax they pay when they buy beer or wine. But when it comes to prescription medications, the government has already made a big enough mess. No need to make it any worse. BELOW - STOP FUNDING THE ADDICTION-INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX: Perhaps the most trenchant critic of the current system of treating drug addiction is psychologist Stanton Peele, who was until recently living in Morristown. Many conservative commentators - including the late William F. Buckley - have argued that the War on Drugs has actually led people to move from relatively harmless drugs like marijuana to hard-core drugs like heroin and now Fentanyl. Its easy to demonize the big pharmaceutical companies for selling legal drugs that sometimes end up on the black market. But that doesnt attack the real problem, which comes from synthetic drugs that can be made relatively easily in undergrounds labs. In this case, the administration is just looking to make a quick buck by demonizing the drug sellers. But this is an exceptionally dumb move for a state that is home to quite a few such companies. Do we want some of our best employers headed for other states with lower taxes and less regulation? Apparently so. The government's move to restrict parents' rights to physical punishment of their children, has triggered a public debate. In Korea, the expression "rod of love," refers to the old practice of parents hitting their children to discipline them and correct their behavior. The expression underlines that there is no harm intended and that parents do this only out of love for their children. Several ministries announced together a package of measures to better protect the rights of children during a meeting presided by Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon on May 23. Among the measures under consideration was banning parents by law from hitting children for the purpose of physically disciplining them. For this, the government is considering the revision of the Civil Act which allows parents the right to discipline their children, including using physical punishment. The clause for physical punishment was first included in 1960 and has remained unchanged since. It is more than time to get rid of it as it has often been used to justify physical punishment of children. The move has triggered some opposition from parents who believe that it is sometimes necessary to use physical punishment or it is not the state's job to govern parenting methods. However, the rising cases of domestic child abuse in Korea have highlighted the need to better protect children. Physical violence should never be allowed at home under any circumstances. It should also be noted that many countries outside Korea ban physical punishment of children. This is the course we must also follow if we are to become a country that truly respects children's rights and dignity. In this regard, the government should also look into banning physical punishment completely at schools as well. A South Jersey Times editorial (Tweaking Obamacare to save it still a worthy goal, May 19) about freshman U.S. Rep. Andy Kims efforts to strengthen the Affordable Care Act was commendable, but I think it improperly credited fellow Rep.Chris Smith, R-4th Dist,, with getting it about the ACA. (Smith this month voted in favor of legislation sponsored by Kim, D-3rd Dist., to reverse some of the Trump administrations attempts to weaken the ACA.) Over the long haul, Smith has not gotten it about Obamacare. Consider his statements before the ACA was passed and until recently, taken from the Congressional Record and statements from his office : Obamacare is a crippling blow to both healthcare in America and our economy. Not only will Obamacare erode and undermine the quality of healthcare in America, it will ... drag down the economy, hurt businesses, and destroy jobs. Government bureaucrats may construe a patients age, prognosis and medical outcomes as factors precluding coverage of a vast array of services, from knee and hip replacements to expensive interventions to combat cancer. (This comes off as a coy reference to death panels.) The ACA would lead to the end of employer-based healthcare. It will also lead to a significant degrading of healthcare delivery in our country. Generally, none of these predictions became true. Smith voted to repeal or weaken the ACA without a replacement many times before admitting in 2017 that it was helping people. Then, he was silent as his Republican Party almost acted to potentially remove health coverage from 23 million Americans. Republicans still want to repeal the ACA, and the Trump administration is trying to invalidate the law in court. Smith never got it, and his words and actions dont inspire confidence that he will fight to protect your health care. Greg DeLuca, Robibinsville Refer to boosted China tariffs as Trump tax I dont know about you, but Im getting pretty tired of all this winning. Dont call it a tariff war or a trade war. Lets call it exactly what it is: A Trump tax on Americans. Say youre a U.S. importer of goods from China, and increased tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump on these items are in place. You, as an importer, must pay these costs to the U.S. treasury. If youre in business to make money, what do you do: accept the loss, or pass along the increase as price hike to your customers? Thats why I call it The Trump Tax on Americans. Chinese manufacturers arent paying these tariffs, the way Trump lies and tells you they are. Americans are paying for the tariffs, including his hypnotized political base. Trump now sees that his tax is harming farmers, because the Chinese have put retaliatory tariffs on what farmers sell there. So, now his plan is to redirect $16 billion from U.S. taxpayers to the farmers, so they feel less of the pain he inflicted on them. To me, it looks like Trump wants to buy back some of the voters hes lost. In the end, the Trump Tax on Americans becomes a double tax. You pay more at the store for the products from China. Then, the boosted tariff revenue from the Treasury gets diverted to give farmers relief from worthless Trumpian tax policy. Guess who zero pain? The 1 percent of the wealthiest Americans who, over time, will receive 87% of the savings from the 2017 Trump tax reform law. I don't know about you, but I'm really tired of all this "winning. Roy Lehman, Woolwich Township Send a letter to the editor of South Jersey Times at sjletters@njadvancemedia.com ARLINGTON, Va. Those massive campaign rallies featuring Donald Trump? Michael Glassner organized them. Trumps unexpected path to the Republican presidential nomination and the White House? Glassner was behind that too. Glassner, of Mendham, was one of the first hires of the nascent Trump campaign four years ago. This time, hes chief operating officer of Trumps re-election campaign committee, working to repeat a victory that few expected. He had momentum with the media and with the crowds that were turning out that I thought was unstoppable, which turned out to be true, Glassner, 55, said an interview at Trumps Washington-area campaign headquarters, in an office building across the Potomac River with spectacular views of the nations capital. Glassner said he noticed that during those rallies, where people lined up for hours to get in and then decided to vote for the first time in years. A lot of Republicans were wrong about him from the beginning until the present," he said. They dont understand the support the American people have for him and the connection he has with them. Theyve never understood that. And I saw that from day one." Unlike other presidents, who didnt begin their re-election efforts until after the midterm elections, Trump started running for a second term once he was inaugurated. He raised $98 million for his re-election through March 31. President Barack Obama didnt reach that level of fundraising until September of the year before his 2012 re-election effort. This is the new model of how presidential re-election campaigns will be run going forward because the amount of money thats required is enormous," Glassner said. It shows this man is really a visionary. The decision was made by this president and his family to keep this campaign operational. Hes broken molds before. He broke it again. Glassner isnt the only New Jersey resident filling a prominent role in the Trump campaign. Bill Stepien, senior political adviser, helped Chris Christie win two terms as governor before serving as national field director during the first Trump campaign and then as political director in the White House. By contrast, Glassners Jersey political connections primarily are limited to being the first spouse of the borough of Mendham. His wife, Christine Serrano Glassner, was elected mayor last year, becoming the first woman to hold the post. Serrano Glassner served as a Trump delegate to the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland and a member of the convention rules committee. They met while working on Bob Doles 1996 presidential campaign. Glassner had been working for Dole going back to his days as a student at the University of Kansas. The campaign also was where Glassner met Lewis Eisenberg, chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and Doles finance co-chair. Eisenberg hired Glassner as chief of staff. He was my New Jersey rabbi, Glassner said of Eisenberg. Glassner remained in contact with Dole, and the former U.S. senator eventually became the only former Republican presidential nominee to attend the 2016 convention and endorse Trump. Glassner and Dole watched the proceedings from the Trump family box there. He said, Im a party man,'" Glassner quoted Dole as telling him. "When the Republicans chose Trump, 'Thats who Im for. ' Glassner also played prominent roles in the George W. Bush and John McCain campaigns. In the latter campaign, he was in charge of vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palins operation. Palin also endorsed Trump. Glassner had met Trump at fundraising events, and as a New Jersey resident, certainly knew who he was, before becoming one of his first hires, attracted to a campaign totally different than had ever been done before." It wasnt a popular move at the time. I got a lot of negative reaction from everybody that I knew in the business," he said. "I was ridiculed by all. Whos laughing now? Glassner said Trump was ready to defy the odds in 2020 just as he did in 2016. Most pollsters are asking the wrong people the wrong questions," Glassner said. There are people who dont want to tell pollsters that they are supporting this president. I think theres a huge body of unregistered or lapsed voters who are not being polled that support this president. I think that has always been the case. They dont know how to talk to them but I think he does. Thats also why, he thought Trump would win the first time. Thats really the only way Ive ever been able to approach campaigns," he said. "You cant do this and work 80 hours a week and think youre going to lose. I never have. Every campaign Ive been in, I expected to going to win. You cant get out of bed otherwise. It really makes life a lot easier if you assume youre going to win. Was I happy on Election Night? Extremely. Was I surprised? Not at all. As was the case four years ago, Glassner isnt going to be the guy standing in front of the television cameras or tweeting about successes. Instead, hell continue to play a behind-the-scenes role in piloting the campaign. I keep my head down and I do my job," Glassner said. "Im not trying to be famous, I just want to help him be a success. That formulas worked for me and I find its been a fantastic experience, much more fun than all the other campaigns Ive worked for. 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. KANSAS CITY Yankees manager Aaron Boone provided updates on a trio of injured players who seem closer than ever to making returns before Sundays series finale against the Royals at Kauffman Stadium. James Paxton, LHP Injury: Left knee inflammation Out since: May 4 The latest: Paxton could start Wednesday against the Padres in the Bronx, Boone said. The 30-year-old was able to perform a bullpen session, long toss and fielding practice without incident at the teams training complex in Tampa on Saturday. On Friday, Paxton threw 55 pitches in a simulated game and said he still felt some pain in his knee, which has inflammation around its MCL. Paxton will wear a brace when he gets back to the Bronx for the foreseeable future. Hoping that hes in line now to join the rotation, Boone said. Hell fly back to New York (Sunday) but well all get together to make sure hes ready to join us and make that call. Didi Gregorius, SS Injury: Tommy John surgery Out since: All season The latest: Gregorius hit a home run for High-A Tampa while this post was being written. He was playing as the DH after playing seven innings at shortstop on Saturday. Boone said Gregorius will likely join Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Tuesday and stay there for at least a week. Dellin Betances, RHP Injury: Right shoulder impingement Out since: All season The latest: Betances will likely throw off a mound either Monday or Tuesday, Boone said. If that goes well, considering hes a reliever, Betances shouldnt take all that long to return. The last time Betances threw off a mound, though, he didnt feel great, he said, and the Yankees shut him back down. Brendan Kuty may be reached at bkuty@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BrendanKutyNJ. Find NJ.com Yankees on Facebook. UPDATE: Police identified the man pictured above as James Webster, 31. Authorities issued a warrant for his arrest in connection to the fatal shooting in St. Roch, said NOPD spokeswoman Danielle Miller. New Orleans police are looking for a person of interest in connection to a homicide in the St. Roch neighborhood Saturday (May 25). Authorities believe the man, shown in a photo distributed by police, may have valuable information about the fatal shooting in the 2200 block of North Galvez Street, but he is not wanted in connection with the crime, police said. Police said the pictured man possibly goes by the nickname Jeezy and that he frequents the area near the crime scene. Around 1:25 p.m., officers arrived on the scene to find a man lying on the sidewalk in front of a house, NOPD spokeswoman Danielle Miller said. He had at least one gunshot wound to his torso and was pronounced dead on the scene, Miller said. Authorities have not named the victim, but another woman at the scene who identified herself as the mans aunt said he is Kendrick Mays. 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 Mays was in his 20s and a devoted father to his young girl, according to Ann Mays, 52. He was always cracking a joke, all the time. He just always made you smile, she said. Anyone with any information regarding the pictured man should contact Homicide Detective Patrick Guidry at 504-658-5300. People with information that can help solve crimes are asked to call Crimestoppers at 504-822-1111 or toll-free at 1-877-903-STOP. Staff writer Michelle Hunter contributed to this story. Olivia Prentzel covers breaking news and criminal justice for NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune. Reach her at oprentzel@nola.com or find her on Twitter @olivepretzel. Man shot dead in St. Roch neighborhood, New Orleans police say A pair of bald eagles appears to have returned to Algiers, and residents say this is at least the fourth year the eagles have nested in a tree near Skelly Rupp Stadium. Eric Songy, chair of the Algiers Neighborhood Presidents Council, said he spotted the pair at their nest Sunday (Feb. 19) near Wall and Vespasian boulevards. Eagles mate for life and tend to use the same nesting area. Songy said studies show eagles usually return to their nests in October, and they will add twigs to that nest each year as it expands up to 9 feet wide. Songy said "it would be awesome" if a university or organization could get together to put a camera on the stadium to view the eagles. "This is the fourth year they've nested here and raised chicks from this particular nest," Songy said Monday. Residents struggle to view the eagles in the nest each year as the nest gets deeper, Songy said. He said last year they were spotted in Bocage, and former Sen. David Heitmeier told Songy he spotted an eagle in his backyard in English Turn. Songy has looked for the neighborhood's eagles since November 2016, and said "they're all up and down" the Mississippi River. Residents have also told him that eagles have made a nest in Belle Chasse, English Turn and Pontchartrain Park. Eagles were also spotted in Gretna in 2015. Residents in 2007 said they spotted an eagle's nest along the levees in the Nine Mile Point area. A 2007 article in The Times-Picayune Louisiana had 50 pairs counted in 1990. That number rose to 246 in 2002, and biologists in 2015 said the state had more than 350 nests. Killing, trapping or disturbing a bald eagle is illegal under federal law. Authorities advise people to photograph eagles and their nests from afar so as not to disturb them. The American Legion Auxiliary Unit No. 2 of Council Bluffs collected 305 purses for its Fill the Purse campaign that benefits veterans and shelters. I think everybody loves purses because they always fit and everyone has extras, said Danette Hein-Snider, who brought the project to the Auxiliary. Hein-Snider said a relative in her family has volunteered to serve in every military conflict since the Revolutionary War and that she is part of a Gold Star Family as an immediate member of a fallen service member who died while serving in a time of conflict. Hein-Snider said donating filled purses is a good way for community members to aid veterans. The group collected personal care items, hygiene necessities and monetary donations that will be donated to Micah House, Phoenix House, New Visions Homeless Services (Mohms Place) and Veterans Affairs. Anything I can do for the military, Im going to do it, Hein-Snider said. The project was promoted by word of mouth, the Legions monthly newsletter and food nights that were open the community. There has been a big out pour from the community, said Ann Goldapp, a member of the Auxiliary. This year, the American Legion is celebrating its 100th year in supporting veterans and the community with more community involvement ahead. Some projects include: A partnership with Victory Apartments in Omaha, visiting veterans at the Omaha Veterans Administration Hospital, donations for special projects and scholarships to area high schools. The Auxiliary is always looking for new members, said Maren Palmer, president. In addition to community service projects, the American Legion Family of Rainbow Post No. 2 is celebrating the 100th year of the American Legion on Oct. 12, but the planning is still in progress, said Palmer. Connie Hornbeck is passionate about education and the impact education can have on peoples lives. Hornbeck, a Missouri Valley native who now lives in Logan, has served on the Iowa Western Community College Board of Directors since 1995, the year she was approached by then-IWCC Director Donna Barry and asked if she would consider applying to fill Barrys seat. I researched what Iowa Western does, and it meshed well with my aspirations, Hornbeck said. Very well, one would think. Shes now served on the board of the local community college for nearly 24 years. She serves Iowa Westerns District 8, which includes Logan-Magnolia, Missouri Valley, Tri-Center, West Harrison, Woodbine and a portion of the Boyer Valley districts. Hornbecks passion for education goes well beyond the IWCC boardroom. She has a long history of public service for education, particularly community colleges. She served on the Iowa Association of Community Colleges Trustees board for more than 14 years and the Midwest Higher Education Commission for 25 years beginning as a founding commissioner. IACCT serves the 15 community colleges of Iowa. In the 2016-17 college academic year, the community colleges served over 132,694 credit students and more than 214,800 noncredit students for nearly eight million hours of education. In addition, she has served on committees, initiatives and the board of the national Association of Community College Trustees since 2013 and was, last November, elected and sworn in as ACCT board chair for the 2019 fiscal year. ACCT is a non-profit educational organization of governing boards, representing more than 6,500 elected and appointed trustees who govern over 1,200 community, technical and junior colleges in the United States and beyond. The organizations work affects more than 11 million students annually. Serving as a chair of the national organization allows Hornbeck to take a broader approach to what she termed in her inaugural remarks as the increasingly vexing issue of growing numbers of our population who are incarcerated and cut off from education and the prospect of being able to rejoin our society as productive and tax-paying members. Hornbeck noted there are currently 2.3 million incarcerated Americans, only 6% of whom, as adults, have completed their education beyond high school. There is a clear opportunity to help more incarcerated individuals earn a post-secondary credential, which can greatly improve their ability to find a job upon re-entry and help fill current and projected employee gaps, she said. Hornbeck said that while some community colleges already partner with correctional facilities, many incarcerated students face financial barriers to enrollment. Since 1994, incarcerated students have been banned from receiving Pell Grants to pay for the cost of post-secondary education but, since 2016, the ban was partially lifted through the Department of Educations Second Chance Pell pilot program that allowed 39 participating community colleges to offer post-secondary education programs inside correctional facilities and provide Pell Grants to participating students. Hornbeck recalled a comment that her father, who served as a Missouri Valley Police Officer, shared with her: I can put a man in jail, but I dont have to judge him. Turning back to her call for increased education opportunities for those who are incarcerated, she noted that statistics show a 43% reduction in recidivism for those with training. Thats a benefit to taxpayers, Hornbeck said. These people can receive training that can help address our skills gap. Our streets will be safer. Education is honorable, and helping these people is transformational. She said that Iowa Central Community College in Fort Dodge is the only Iowa community college included in the Second Chance Pell pilot program, but noted that Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds is on board with providing additional training for the incarcerated. Hornbeck graduated from Morningside College with a bachelors degree in English and political science and a minor in philosophy. Outside her work with community colleges in Iowa and beyond, Hornbeck is president and CEO of CJ Futures Inc. in Missouri Valley. She is also the founding incorporator of Senior Futures Inc., a charitable organization providing free chore services to low income senior citizens to enable them to live in their own homes. Gwen Fisher doesnt just know Spanish because she went to college. She lived in Spain for more than three decades. Little wonder, then, that she is bringing an added dimension to the Spanish program at St. Albert High School, where she is teaching for her seventh year. Im proud of the program we built up, she said. Fisher has more than 100 students and expects those in advanced courses to speak only Spanish during class. Students can earn up to 16 advanced-placement credits during high school through Iowa Western Community College. The students work very hard, she said. Im known for having very high expectations, and I think thats how theyve reached the level they have. Fisher encourages students to take standardized proficiency exams to try to earn Seals of Biliteracy, which are now offered in 32 states and the District of Columbia, she said. Iowa has participated since April 2018, when Gov. Kim Reynolds signed off on it. The seal means a person is proficient in two or more languages, one of which must be English, she said. Students understand that learning another language and learning it well can lead to scholarships and employment, Fisher said. Were in the 21st century, and its a global economy, she said. Many of them understand that. They do definitely want to have something that goes beyond a transcript. The classes are not just about learning Spanish vocabulary, though. Theyre also about learning the culture of Spanish-speaking countries, Fisher said. Fishers students have taken field trips to Museo Latino in Omaha and a language fair at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. They have competed in a Spanish Quiz Bowl at Central College in Pella and finished second this year, with first-place wins in two categories. Weve had many first prizes, second prizes, she said. For Dia de los Muertos Day of the Dead, a Mexican holiday for showing love and respect for lost loved ones and celebrating life the students make altars and set up a display in the schools main lobby, Fisher said. Its a way for the whole school to learn about each others cultures, she said. Fisher has her students engage in role playing and do Google activities and media production. One group of students has been working on a video of a cooking demonstration this spring. She has also had the students Skype with people in Spanish-speaking countries. Every couple years, Fisher takes a group of students to a Spanish-speaking country, she said. Theyve gone to Spain several times and to Puerto Rico once. I share stories, I know people from Spain, she said. I give them a choice they want to go where I was. St. Albert also has a Spanish Club that provides more opportunities for students to learn about culture, Fisher said. One way they do that is by celebrating Las Fallas, a spring Festival of Fires that celebrates St. Jose (St. Joseph), the patron saint of carpentry. Revelers prepare for the event by building giant cardboard or paper mache statues some several stories tall to be featured in parades and displays. On the last day of the festival, all but one of them are burned. At St. Albert, members make smaller figures that fit inside a classroom, Fisher said. Its hands-on learning, she said. Thats how I try to teach all the cultural things. We also do cooking classes as well with the Spanish Club. The students finish their celebration by taking the statues apart so they can burn them in a container (and thus comply with local ordinances). However, they were unable to burn them on the appointed day in March this year because it was too windy, Fisher said. I promised them wed burn it sometime, she said. Fisher grew up in a small town in New Hampshire and completed her undergraduate studies at Plymouth State University in New Hampshire. She went to Spain her last year of college and decided to stay there. She also earned a certificate in translation. It was a shock for me to come back (to the States) after all those years, she said. The Midwest also is very different than where Id grown up. In Europe, people encounter more diversity when they travel, since the nations are smaller and closer together, Fisher said. Here, you travel state to state; and there, youre going country to country, she said. Ive been to 17 different countries. Fisher wanted to find a way to share those experiences and see students perspectives broaden, she said. Im thankful that Dr. Schweitzer and the school board supported the program and the program is what it is today, she said. Teaching is my passion. I think my passion for the subject is contagious. Fisher would like to see Spanish integrated into trade classes, customer service training, etc. My vision is that this is a lifetime tool, so that would be something important to add to the curriculum. 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 model promotes LG Electronics' Mobile Conference event which will be held on June 15 in Seoul using the firm's 5G network-enabled smartphone. / Courtesy of LG Electronics Tech firm to hold mobile conference to listen to consumer voice By Baek Byung-yeul LG Electronics will improve communication with its smartphone customers to boost its struggling mobile device business, the firm said Sunday. The company's software upgrade center will hold the LG Mobile Conference on June 15, inviting 30 consumers to its office near Seoul Station to hear their concerns. LG has been desperately seeking to boost smartphone sales as it has continued to lose its market share. According to data by Singapore-based industry tracker Canalys, LG sold 4.8 million smartphones in North America in the first quarter, a 24 percent drop year-on-year. Its overall smartphone business saw a deficit for 16 straight quarters as of the first quarter. However, LG experienced signs of a rebound in the business recently thanks to increasing sales of the first fifth-generation (5G) network-enabled smartphone V50 ThinQ, which cracked the 100,000 sales mark only about a week after its release. While the firm has been receiving positive responses from V50 ThinQ users, LG decided to hold the event to find areas for improvement by seeking direct feedback from them. "The event is designed to listen to the voices of consumers who experience any inconvenience while using LG smartphones, and suggestions they want to propose," a company official said. The firm said it plans to hold the event twice a year to reflect consumers' proposals to improve the brand awareness and the quality of its mobile devices. During the conference, the firm will discuss five aspects of its smartphones with participants the camera, user experience, audio, new features and after-sales service. "Through the event we will try to build consumer trust, so they know LG smartphones will continue to work well long after their purchase," said Lee Seok-su, head of the firm's software upgrade center. Consumers can apply for the event through the firm's smartphone apps such as the Quick Help app or the LG SmartWorld app until June 2. "Compared to Samsung Electronics' Galaxy smartphones, the firm has weaker brand awareness," an LG smartphone consumer said. "LG phones also have been criticized for their relatively poor camera performance. I hope LG can make improvements after meeting with customers." According to the United States original 1950 urban classifications, rural America is crushing it. Its home to about as many people as urban America, and its growing faster. So why do headlines and statistics paint rural areas as perpetually in decline? Because the contest between rural and urban America is rigged. Official definitions are regularly updated in such a way that rural counties are continually losing their most successful places to urbanization. When a rural county grows, it transmutes into an urban one. In a way, rural areas serve as urban Americas farm team: All their most promising prospects get called up to the big leagues, leaving the low-density margins populated by an ever-shrinking pool of those who couldnt qualify. Imagine how unfair a sport would seem if one team automatically drafted the others best players the moment they showed any promise. Thats essentially what happens when we measure rural areas as whatevers left over after anywhere that hits a certain population level is considered metropolitan. It distorts how we see rural America. It skews our view of everything from presidential politics to suicide to deaths caused by alcohol. Officially, the years since 2010 have marked a turning point for rural counties. For the first time, they have lost population. Their share of the U.S. population hit an all-time low of 14 percent. But those startling statistics are due entirely to changes in county definitions, according to a paper presented to the Rural Sociological Society by Ken Johnson of the University of New Hampshire, Daniel Lichter of Cornell University and John Cromartie of the Agriculture Department. Any attempt to make a clean break between urban and rural will look arbitrary, as Kentucky lawyer Amanda Kool writes in the Daily Yonder, a publication focused on rural news and issues. Bracken County, where she lives, has about 8,000 people. Hay trucks and Amish buggies often disrupt her commute. And yet, because of commuting patterns, Bracken was designated as part of the Cincinnati metropolitan area in 2003. There are places on the outer edge of big metropolitan areas where youd swear you were in a rural area, Johnson said. But because many residents commute to a central city, theyre considered part of that metro area. A few years after every census, counties like Bracken are reclassified, and rural or nonmetropolitan America shrinks and metropolitan America grows. At least on paper. The character of a place doesnt necessarily change the moment a city crosses the 50,000-resident mark. The sprawling, diverse segment of the United States that has changed from rural to urban since 1950 is the fastest-growing segment of the country. Culturally, newly urban areas often have more in common with persistently rural places than with the biggest cities. Most notably, in 2016, Hillary Clinton would have won only the counties defined as urban when the metropolitan classification began in 1950, while Donald Trump would have won every group of counties added to metropolitan after the initial round. What might be described as rural culture and values will have faded some, but theyre more alive in places that have recently urbanized than in places that have been more highly urbanized for longer, said University of California at Davis legal scholar Lisa Pruitt. About 6 in 10 U.S. adults who consider themselves rural live in an area classified as metropolitan by standards similar to those used above, according to a Washington Post-Kaiser Family Foundation poll conducted in 2017. And 3 in 4 of the adults who say they live in a small town? Theyre also in a metro area. This report focuses on the widely used definitions from the Office of Management and Budget, with metropolitan statistical areas labeled as urban and unclassified areas, as well as the smaller towns officials call micropolitan areas, labeled as rural. But the issue transcends technicalities. Any which way you look at it, rural is everything thats not a city. If you go every single decade and you keep winnowing out the ones with the best prospects for growth, when you get to the post-2010 period youre getting to some pretty disadvantaged rural areas, Cornells Lichter said. Theyre not likely to experience much in-migration. Youre not going to see a lot of growth. While theres no easy answer for the definitional issues, we can be sure the narrative of rural economic malaise and population decline is an oversimplification, Lichter said. Were misrepresenting whats really happening in rural areas. * * * Rural America today is a different place than in 1950. Its much smaller and has lost its midsize towns and the counties that surrounded bigger cities. The areas left after seven decades of reclassification tend to be defined by their history of clawing resources, such as copper, timber or winter wheat, from the open country, and their present of clawing a living from an older population and a shrinking economy. Those kinds of areas have been losing population for a long time. When they leave, they leave behind an older, aging population with no reproductive potential, Lichter said. Its very hard to see how these places are going to recover, he added. Such places include much of the Great Plains, Appalachia, the Mississippi Delta and other regions where little industry developed beyond farming, mining and logging. Many followed a trajectory similar to Lincoln County, Wyo., home of Kemmerer, the Fossil Fish Capital of the World. Once a thriving mining town where retailer James Cash Penney opened his first store, Kemmerer is reeling. The owner of a nearby coal mine went bankrupt, and a potential sale fell through last month. Even before the mine faltered, Lincoln Countys population growth slowed dramatically from 2010 to 2017, the most recent year for which we have data from the Census Bureau. Contrast that with Wyomings two metro areas, Cheyenne and Casper, which added more people than the rest of the state combined. Both of Wyomings fast-growing metro areas were once defined as rural areas. But because they grew, they no longer count as rural America in the official statistics. Because Lincoln county has struggled, its still counted as rural. Ben Winchester, longtime rural specialist at the University of Minnesota Extension, bristles at the suggestion that rural Americas fate is sealed. Its been demonstrated that immigration has slowed population loss, and his work has shown that folks in their 30s and older are moving to rural areas. Rural America is only doomed to decline if you define it so restrictively that its not allowed to grow. Defined more broadly, and when judged by metrics beyond population growth, rural America is holding its own. Everybody just continues to use these historical notions of what rural is, Winchester said. Weve got a diverse economy. Weve got people moving in. Were not all farmers. Were starting nonprofit groups left and right. * * * If rural Americans complain of being left behind, it might be because they literally are. In government statistics, and in popular conception, rural is defined as whats left after you have staked out all the cities and their satellites. It makes rural areas look poorer, whiter, older and more prone to alcohol-related death or suicide than under broader definitions. Statistics such as these affect everything from Medicare reimbursement to the larger perception that the nations breadbasket is also a basket case. Yes, rural communities have problems, Winchester said. We hear about them all the time. But that cant be the only way to define rural, he added. The nation has long fretted about the fate of its rural margins, but after the 2016 election the discussion took on a different tenor. Rural women like rural and white working-class folks more generally have become downright toxic in my world, the world of progressive elites, Pruitt wrote in the University of Toledo Law Review. Pruitt actually has a foot in both worlds. Before she became a widely cited scholar in California, she grew up in one of the least-populated counties in Arkansas. Policymakers disdain for rural people has prevented them from seeing and solving the challenges rural Americans face, Pruitt said. At one time, she said, farm life or rural living was seen as integral to the American narrative, but thats hardly the case any longer. The Washington Posts Emily Guskin and Scott Clement contributed to this report. On Monday, we will all gather with family and friends and be thankful for the often shared three-day weekend. Of course, Memorial Day is more than just sharing laughs with loved ones. It is also about remembering those soldiers who have given the ultimate sacrifice for their country. The first known Memorial Day observance was in Boalsburg, Pa., in October 1864, and it continued each year thereafter. By 1865, the practice of decorating soldiers graves from the Civil War had become widespread. There were events in 183 cemeteries in 27 states in 1868, and 336 in 1869. The northern states quickly adopted the holiday; Michigan made Decoration Day an official state holiday in 1871. By 1870, the remains of nearly 300,000 Union dead had been buried in 73 national cemeteries, located mostly in the South, near the battlefields. The most famous was Gettysburg National Cemetery in Pennsylvania and Arlington National Cemetery, near Washington. In 1882, the name of Decoration Day was formally changed to Memorial Day in memory and honor of those who gave their lives fighting for the country. Its often been reported that the red on the American flag was as a reminder of the blood spilled on the countrys journey to become and maintain its status as an independent nation. Instead, it represents hardiness and valor, according to the Continental Congress that adopted the red, white and blue. And those admirable traits are worth remembering regardless of military service on this solemn Monday. While first and foremost, the day commemorates those military members who have passed on, its possible to expand the base of those being honored. Whether its soldiers securing a building in the Middle East, firefighters responding to a call or police officers on a routine patrol, all put their lives on the line in pursuit of a greater calling protecting more lives than just their own. They all leave their families, whether for hours or months at a time, in hopes of making the world a better place. Everything comes with a cost. Even a life of service to the community that doesnt require physical risk, for instance, takes away from time spent with family members and friends or in pursuit of a hobby. Thats what we all must never forget, particularly on Memorial Day: Sacrifices of all kinds are made every day. Many people in everybodys lives who strived to serve and improve the world are no longer physically with them and too many to count have made the ultimate sacrifice. But tomorrow, of all days, its a time to solemnly honor a life of service well lived. American Legion Rainbow Post No. 2 will hold three Memorial Day ceremonies Monday at different locations in Council Bluffs. The three stops are now its regular routine on the holiday. All are a reminder of the sacrifices others have made for their country and that freedom is not free, in the words of a popular American Legion slogan. First, American Legion members will gather at 9 a.m. Monday at Veterans Circle at Walnut Hill Cemetery (just uphill from the reception hall), where members will read the names of veterans who have gone on. Then, the American Legion Honor Guard will raise the flag. Next, at about 9:30, the honor guard will head to the Kinsman Monument at Fairview Cemetery. An American Legion official will present the Memorial Day Address at this location. Finally, the crew will drive to Thomas Jefferson High School and gather around a World War I Monument that stands in front of the original front entrance of the oldest part of the building, which has been permanently closed off. This is the third year for this stop the newest addition to the proceedings. At each site, the honor guard will present the colors, the chaplain will offer a prayer and a firing squad will fire a salute. All of the ceremonies are open to the public. The Samsung Galaxy Fold had been available in the US through a pre-order system at Best Buy. However, this retail giant has reportedly been sending emails to its customers advising them that these transactions have been revoked. Many affected consumers are being sent a US$100 savings code by means of compensation. Working For Notebookcheck Are you a techie who knows how to write? Then join our Team! English native speakers welcome! News Writer (AUS/NZL based) - Details here The US retail chain Best Buy is suspending its pre-order system for the Samsung Galaxy Fold. Customers have reportedly received emails informing them that their opportunities to purchase this ground-breaking new device had been revoked. The company cites the OEM's continuing work on rectifying the phone's apparent structural deficiencies in making this decision. Best Buy has also noted that Samsung has not yet announced a new release date for the flexible phone. Its customers who have been affected by this cancellation have also reported that they have been offered savings codes worth US$100 by way of an apology for the cancellation. The chain has also invited these consumers to sign up to be notified when it can renew the availability of pre-orders for the relevant product. This can be done by visiting the product page for this device and clicking on the "Notify Me" button. However, this development remains a potential blow to the hopes of a timely re-launch date for the Samsung Galaxy Fold. Gettyimagesbank A committee of the World Health Organization's decision-making body included gaming disorder in its new international classification of diseases (ICD-11) on Saturday, underscoring growing global concerns about gaming addiction. The move could help health professionals prevent and treat the problems stemming from the disorder. Committee B of the World Health Assembly unanimously approved the 11th revision of the ICD, which is set to be submitted to the plenary committee meeting for adoption by member states on Tuesday. ICD-11 will come into effect on Jan. 1, 2022, according to the WHO. The ICD is the basis for identification of health trends and statistics globally and the international standard for reporting diseases and health conditions. It is also used by health insurers whose reimbursements depend on ICD coding. CURTIS To ranchers and agricultural college students, the 2019 Aggie of the Year in Curtis would be considered a top hand. Damian Wellman of Prairie View, Kansas, was named the Aggie of the Year by the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture in an awards ceremony in May. Wellman, a third-year livestock management major, is serving his summer internship at a ranch in Wyoming, the ideal spot for an avid horseman. Aggie of the Year honors are announced each May in recognition of a students campus involvement, achievement, leadership and contributions to the NCTA student body, said Ron Rosati, NCTA dean. This years recipient has made a significant impact since stepping onto the NCTA campus, Rosati said. His personal growth, confidence, leadership and work ethic have been apparent to everyone. One nomination letter said Damian Wellman is reliable, always doing whatever is necessary, whenever necessary. Wellman served as a resident assistant for two years, is active with the NCTA ranch horse team and competed on regional contests, and also worked as an employee of the NCTA Farm, said Jennifer McConville, associate dean. Refraction causes fish to look like they are in a different location than they really are. When you launch an arrow, you need to aim a few inches lower than it looks like you should. It does take some getting used to. When I met up with these guys, Closman had just arrowed a carp that weighed about 35 pounds in the backwaters of Fremont Slough. He took off and put up a pretty good fight as I hauled him in. It was fun, he said. Blackman and the Anthony cousins were prowling the shorelines looking for more carp. The wind was causing a lot of wave action so it was tough to see fish. Ive been hunting or fishing since I was about four years old, so bow fishing was just a natural step for me, Closman said. A longnose gar is probably the most exciting thing Ive gone after, but I want to hunt alligator gar someday. I like walking up or down a creek, stalking the fish, Tyler Anthony added. I remember the first fish I ever took with an arrow. I guess you never forget the first time you do something that you love. If you havent ever tried it, do it. You will like it. These days to come, now that we have last made the great assault of the European fortress, will be filled with anxiety, tears and heartaches, but overshadowing this will be the confidence that the worlds Allied forces, supreme in battle equipment that free peoples have provided them, will triumph. The days may be dark and the road long, but shining in the distance, as clear as the sun that shines over the homes of our fighting men, is the day of victory. We can only hope and pray that the days of decision will soon be over and those loved ones far across the sea will be home again. Their safety and their lives are in the hands of military leaders in whom we have the greatest confidence. This nations prayers, and all the mighty arms that a free people can provide them, go with them. We can only pray that those arms, and the power and the faith of these fighting men, will be enough. Already these men who landed in the darkness on the strange shores of Nazi-held Europe have shown that the German aggressor is not undefeatable, that he can be made to shed his blood as he has made so many others do in the dark days of the past. By Baek Byung-yeul A poster for the cube satellite design contest. / Courtesy of the Ministry of Science and ICT Indianapolis 500 Honorary Starters Matt Damon and Christian Bale talk about their upcoming release FORD v FERRARI at a press conference held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum on May 25, 2019. The 20th Century Fox film is the remarkable true story of visionary American car designer Carroll Shelby (Damon) and the fearless British driver Ken Miles (Bale). The release date for the film is November 15, 2019. Close The first concert in the New Pal "Music on Depot" Summer Concert series occurred on Friday May 24th. The Gordon Bonham Blues Band took the stage from 7pm till 9pm. New Palestine will host 3 more concerts on the 4th Friday of June, July and August and the annual Summer Fest happens June 21st and 22nd. Close U.S. farmers are stuck in quagmire as they face difficult decisions in the coming weeks. Muddy fields and rainy forecasts continue to slow spring planting of corn and soybeans, leaving farmers far behind schedule across much of the Midwest. Even if they can get crops into the ground, late-planted corn and beans often suffer from lower yields, which could reduce U.S. harvests this year. Meanwhile, signals from Washington, D.C. have been confusing, as farmers have been trying to navigate low prices due to ongoing trade wars. This week, rumors floated that there would be another $16 billion bailout paid to farmers this year, with the government paying $2 per bushel for soybeans, 63 cents per bushel for wheat, and 4 cents per bushel for corn. If payouts were made this way, farmers might find that soybeans are far more profitable and increase soybean acreage wherever possible, adding to a glut of beans. However, the U.S. Department of Agriculture warned, we want to be clear that the program is being designed to avoid skewing planting decisions one way or another, possibly signaling that payments would be made on county-wide averages, not an individual producers production. Exoskeletons have long been the stuff of science fiction, featuring prominently in "Elysium," "Halo," "Metroid," "Starship Troopers" and of course "Iron Man." But theyve been catching on in real life and increasingly used at factories, especially at already highly automated automotive plants. Now ArcelorMittal, one of Northwest Indianas largest employers, is looking at potentially deploying exoskeletons at its Coatesville facility in Pennsylvania to cut down on injuries from lifting, pulling, pushing and other physical exertion. The Luxembourg-based steelworker is looking at using backX, shoulderX and legX exoskeletons from the California-based robotics company SuitX. As a company, we must constantly look for ways to send ourselves home the way we came in, said Ed Frey, general manager of eastern plate for ArcelorMittal USA. As part of that, sprains and strains are among the top categories we could improve. Exoskeleton mechanisms can provide a barrier of protection strategically based on the situation. The new tech used at ArcelorMittal Coatsville wont necessarily be rolled out company-wide. Renault Samsung's plant in Busan / Yonhap JA: Do the Blackwells scare you as much as they do me? MK: I know what it says about me that I'd begun to miss the Blackwells after writing about them first in "Those Who Wish Me Dead" and then again when I was working on the script for that film. It was while working on the script that I began to think about just how oddly family-oriented they are for sociopaths. They care about nothing but one another. The family bond is very deep. This came back to mind a few times, and I wondered what it would be like to be the son of the LeBron James of contract killers. What would that kid turn out like? What if he took on the family business? I decided to try Dax for a chapter and see if I found him interesting. Once he arrived on scene, he wasn't leaving. JA: How did you get up to speed (sorry about the pun) about the type of driving Abby is capable of? MK: A combination of reading, research, and having a lot of experience being a very bad driver. I totaled my mother's car on a double-S curve within a few weeks of getting my license, while testing my Abby-style reflexes. The Drama Group in Chicago Heights continues its 88th season with the delightful, fast-paced whodunnit, The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940. Performances will be held at the Drama Groups Studio Theatre, June 7 through 16, after which the cast and crew will fly to Hastings, England, to perform at the Stables Theatre. Not a musical at all and hardly a murder mystery, this campy farce satirizes show biz archetypes as the creative team responsible for a recent Broadway flop, in which three chorus girls were murdered by the mysterious Stage Door Slasher, assemble for a backer's audition of their new show at the Westchester estate of a wealthy angel. The house is replete with revolving bookcases, secret passageways and a German maid who is apparently four different people, all of whom figure diabolically in the comic mayhem that follows when the slasher strikes again. 708-738-1440 or www.dramagroup.org Meg does all of the fabric shopping, sewing, photography, accounting and selling, but her family pitches in to help as well. Her father, Chris, created the wooden displays she uses at craft shows to display the products. Her two sisters are big supporters as well. And mother Heather is there to help every step of the way. Shes good at math, and so shes good at figuring out the sizes, Heather said. Also shes very good at figuring out the most efficient way to make things; she makes them in bulk. Business venture a labor of love Heather is proud of Segards hard work and the work she did to get the shop started. She says the business venture is all Segards idea. She did all the research, Heather said. It wasnt our idea at all, shes the one who did the research and said I think maybe I could start an Etsy shop. Having your own business as a teenager is possible, Segard said. She balances schoolwork, family and friends with time to make her product. I dont take the easy way out on certain things, Segard said. Make your product well, and be honest. Last year, Ostojic was selected among Best Schools' World's 50 Smartest Teens, and she is a three-year recipient of the National Center for Women and Information Technology's Aspirations in Computing Award. Goldman, of Lake Central High School, is a senior with plans to double major in computer science and data science at the University of Notre Dame. He was recognized by the governor for his scholarship in technology. Goldman received perfect math scores on both the ACT and SAT, and placed first in computer programming concepts last year in the Business Professionals of America's state and national competitions. The Lake Central senior has developed his own customized merchandise e-commerce platform, according to the governor's news release, and is working to develop specialized software allowing humans to interact with collaborative robots through the use of virtual reality headsets. The two other STEM Team recipients come from Scottsburg Senior High School in southern Indiana and Carmel High School, north of Indianapolis. VALPARAISO Poorly made private infrastructure is to blame for a water main bursting at an apartment complex in South Haven, according to a county engineer. Porter County Engineer Mike Novotney told the county stormwater management board last week's incident at the Anderson Crossing Apartments, which led to residents being evacuated and utilities being shut off, was years in the making. Earlier last week, when the dilapidated storm sewers in South Haven were being replaced as part of a county project in that area, faulty PVC piping was discovered. It is not suited for the pressure a water main has. The pipes were essentially being held together because of the soil and could have failed at any time. The pipes were installed by the original owners of the apartments many years ago, but nothing was done since then. When the new owners bought it in 2011, they rehabbed the buildings. They did quite a bit of work, he said. But they did not do any water main rehabilitation at the time. To make matters worse, the utilities in the area intersected around each other. Novotney described it as a spaghetti bowl, which is why the burst led to so many utilities being shut off in the area. "The defendant is competent," Soverly said. "He knows what's going on. He's simply trying to manipulate his way through the system." Defense attorney Cipriano Rodriguez said committing Phillips to a mental facility would have no bearing on whether he eventually goes to trial. He asked Vasquez to order Phillips be placed at the state hospital in Logansport. Vasquez said Phillips previously had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder and noted two out of three doctors found him incompetent to stand trial. "We have a total guessing game," he said. The judge said he appreciated prosecutors' arguments, but he was not in a position to override the opinion of two doctors. "This case cannot go forward at this point," he said. He ordered Phillips committed to the state facility and set a status hearing for July 26. Sparks' trial is set for July 29. James Millin, who serves as police chief of Niles, Michigan, which opted out early on recreational marijuana, had said the community wants to see what the state regulations look like before considering allowing shops to open their doors. "They don't want to put the cart before the horse," Millin said. "I think it's a matter of time." There were 417 communities statewide on the opt-out list as of Friday afternoon. Hoosiers can partake in Michigan, just don't bring it home This initial hesitation by communities is not deterring state officials, who are wrapping up work on the guidelines for the dispensaries and plan to have them available in a few weeks, Harns said. This positions the state to begin accepting applications for recreational marijuana sales by September or October, which would be a few months ahead of the Dec. 6 deadline, he said. The law requires that applications be acted upon within 90 days of filing, he said. "We're just moving ahead at a pace that makes sense to us," Harns said. Georgia had a love of education and for helping others, particularly children. She volunteered for the Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) in Lake County where she advocated for abused and neglected children. She also loved spending time at the Nazareth Home in East Chicago, IN every week - always saying, "I'm going to go hold the babies." The Nazareth Home is a place for at-risk children and Georgia loved providing them with love and support - often using her educational background to help them to develop their speech and language milestones. Even while vacationing in Florida, Georgia routinely volunteered at the Immokalee Schools where she provided reading and writing assistance to elementary-aged students. Georgia was a bright light. She was kind-hearted, compassionate, outgoing, loving, caring, sweet, funny, and incredibly strong. She was taken far too soon but her family and friends find great comfort in knowing that she was greeted in Heaven by her loving parents, her in-laws Victoria and Chester Sobolewski, and her many Aunties and Uncles that filled her childhood with love and laughter. Georgia's bright light will continue to shine through all of those who loved her. A visitation will take place on Thursday, May 30, 2019 from 4:00-8:00 p.m. with a scripture service at 6:30 p.m. at ELMWOOD FUNERAL CHAPEL located at 11300 West 97th Lane (1/2 block west of US 41/Wicker Ave. at 97th LN.) St. John, IN. We hope attendees will consider sharing a special story about Georgia at the service. The funeral Mass will take place on Friday, May 31, 2019 at 10:00 a.m. directly at St. John the Evangelist Church-Day Chapel located at 11301 West 93rd Ave., St. John, IN. In lieu of flowers, we kindly ask for donations in Georgia's memory to the Nazareth Home. https://www.nazarethhome.com/index.php/donation -form or contact the Ministry Support Center at 219-947-8500. For more information www.elmwoodchapel.com or 219-365-3474. Crossing the line separating Indiana and Illinois sometimes means dealing with different laws and customs. Readers are asked to share ideas for this weekly feature. This week: Plastic bag tax. Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker has recommended Illinois lawmakers require retail customers pay a 5-cent tax on each plastic bag they're provided to take home store purchases. His goal is to reduce plastic bag waste and raise up to $23 million in new revenue that Illinois could use to balance its budget. If enacted, Chicago residents could get double-taxed on their plastic bags. A 2017 city ordinance imposes a 7-cent tax for each plastic bag used by a Chicago retail customer. In contrast, local governments in Indiana are prohibited by state law from assessing a plastic bag tax, under a 2016 statute enacted by now-Vice President Mike Pence, a Republican. No Indiana communities had enacted a plastic bag tax or ban prior to House Enrolled Act 1053 taking effect. But members of the Republican-controlled General Assembly said at the time they wanted to be sure that businesses wouldn't required to adjust their operations to follow different rules in different communities. Thank you! You've reported this item as a violation of our terms of use. Error! There was a problem with reporting this article. This content was contributed by a user of the site. If you believe this content may be in violation of the terms of use, you may report it. Report Abuse Log In to report Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 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. Joseph Yun, former chief U.S. envoy on North Korea, in the same discussion, agreed. Chinas ultimate goal is to get the U.S. out of their back door, he said. The Chinese are not expecting U.S. forces to go home any time soon, but they view the American military presence with deep suspicion dating from the Korean War when Chinese troops rescued North Korea from oblivion just as the Americans believed they were winning it all. Given the historic hostility of the Chinese toward the Americans in Korea, Beijings approach toward denuclearization is quite different from that of Washington. Nobody believes North Korea will completely denuclearize before we begin a peace process, Yun said, meaning a step-by-step, action-for-action routine that would definitely include lifting of sanctions as demanded by the North. And given Chinas influence as North Koreas only real ally, the source of most of its fuel and half the food it badly needs, Xi Jinping has another reason not to join the U.S. in calling first and foremost for denuclearization. While the trade war rages, Xi has to be happy to see the Americans distracted by a never-ending dispute with his friend Kim Jong-un. All of which means, when Trump and Xi meet next month at the G20 summit in Osaka, they should have a lot to talk about. North Koreas nuclear program may not be on the formal agenda but will be on everyones mind however much the assembled potentates wish it would just go away. Donald Kirk has been a columnist for Korea Times, South China Morning Post many other newspaper and magazines. He wrote this for InsideSources.com. The opinions are the writer's. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 By Kwak Yeon-soo Steelmaker POSCO's 63,000 employees and executives working in 55 nations will participate in an annual week-long volunteer event for their local communities, the company said Sunday. This year, POSCO rolled out a slogan for its volunteer efforts in Korea and overseas, "Share the Talent, Change My Town." Events will include offering free school supplies in China, medical volunteering in India and repairing old orphanages in Indonesia. In Thailand, POSCO-South Asia employees will build an infirmary and a library at an elementary school, while POSCO-Thainox will take part in providing aid kits to soldiers and plant trees for the environment. In Korea, employees and executives at offices and factories in Seoul, Pohang and Gwangyang contributed to restoring the coast's ecosystem and enhancing energy efficiency in residential areas. They also fixed agricultural machines, cleaned up the environment and participated in painting murals. POSCO International will offer free English classes in Incheon while POSCO Engineering & Construction will introduce a construction academy for students. These activities are part of the event called "POSCO Global Volunteer Week" designed for the steelmaker's corporate social responsibility, the company said. "Community service is now more than a part of corporate social responsibility," POSCO Chairman Choi Jeong-woo said. "POSCO employees will have the opportunity to share their knowledge and skills to help other members of society prosper." The programs around the globe began on Friday and will run through June 1. The 11 airmen survived because of the ingenuity and bravery of the areas indigenous people, known as Dayaks, who sheltered the Americans soon after they crashed into Borneo, and later hid them from Japanese troops until their final rescue by an Australian-British-New Zealand special forces team in June 1945. This amazing rescue was hardly foreordained. As Heimann relays in her book, Japanese forces which had occupied Borneo in 1941 seeking its rich oil deposits soon came to Lung Barang, demanding the Dayaks assistance in capturing the airmen. The Dayaks instead outsmarted the Japanese, leading them on fruitless searches through the impenetrable Borneo rainforest, always careful to stay far from where they had sheltered their American charges. When Japanese pressure intensified, tribespeople used even more elaborate ruses to divide and confuse their pursuers. Why did the Dayaks at great personal risk decide to help the Americans? Why would an indigenous people still largely isolated from the war decide to choose sides and invite the almost certain Japanese reprisals? Asia Kate Dillon wandered into a coffee shop near Brooklyns Prospect Park looking like a fallen angel taking a personal day: Black shirt, black jeans, black sneakers, black liner circling each eye. Dillon, who gave eye-catching performances as Lucifer off-off-Broadway and as a white supremacist on Orange Is the New Black, broke out as Taylor Mason, a nonbinary hedge fund wunderkind on the Showtime series Billions. Hello, Im Taylor, the character says when first meeting the funds boss, Bobby Axelrod (Damian Lewis). My pronouns are they, theirs and them. Dillon, 34, identifies as nonbinary, too, with the same preferred pronouns, a gender identity the Billions role helped them clarify. And Dillon has recently taken on a new role. In John Wick: Chapter 3 Parabellum, currently in theaters, the actor plays The Adjudicator basically the head of international assassin HR enhancing the action franchise with a nonviolent, nonbinary, high-glamour authority figure. On a recent afternoon, Dillon ordered a half-mug of coffee , also black, and reclined barefoot in the pillow-dotted loft above the shop. With warmth and openness and far more hand gestures than youll see from the actors taciturn characters, Dillon discussed soft power, killer costumes and how to show skin and emotion on camera. These are excerpts from the conversation. PARIS Blaise Gauquelin, the Central Europe correspondent for Le Monde, called his editor at the papers Paris headquarters one day last fall to pass along something of interest: One of the two French businessmen who controlled the 75-year-old daily was selling part of his stake to a Czech billionaire named Daniel Kretinsky. The news sent a tremor through the newsroom of the august national publication. Le Mondes journalists looked into Mr. Kretinsky and noted that he had built his fortune largely on power plants and coal mines across Europe. He also owns part of a pipeline that brings Russian gas through Slovakia to the West. Why would an international energy magnate be interested in an anti-Kremlin newspaper that had invested heavily in covering climate change? Mr. Kretinskys earlier foray into French media, the purchase of the center-left newsweekly Marianne for 5 million euros last year, contributed to the staffs wariness, given that his first big move was to install the conservative commentator Natacha Polony as editor. Mr. Kretinsky, 43, has had a rapid rise under the tutelage of two of the most successful privatization barons in the post-communist Czech Republic and Slovakia, Patrik Tkac and Petr Kellner. His main business, EPH, comprises more than 50 companies and has annual revenue of 6 billion euros. Lorraine Michelle Cink and Brian Robert Greene are to be married May 26 at the Lighthouse at Chelsea Piers. Bettina Yiannakourou, who was ordained by the Celebrant Foundation and Institute, is to officiate. The bride, 39, is a senior creative producer for Marvel.com in New York and a host of various Marvel programs and Marvel Studios red carpet events. She is also the author of Marvel Powers of a Girl (Disney Publishing, 2019). She graduated with honors from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. She is the daughter of Patricia A. Cink and Duane E. Cink of Bakersfield, Calif. The brides mother is an antiques dealer in Bakersfield. Her father, who worked in Bakersfield, retired as a supervising accountant for Texaco. The groom, also 39, is a New York-based television writer and producer who has written for shows such as Cash Cab, Total Request Live, Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, Pawn Stars, Impractical Jokers and Vice Live. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania. Did the people who brought you baby powder and baby shampoo also bring you the opioid crisis? That will be the question before an Oklahoma judge starting Tuesday, as the first civil trial takes off on the long, nationwide runway of trials against prescription opioid manufacturers, distributors and sellers. Oklahoma is squaring off against Johnson & Johnson, the New Jersey-based, family-friendly giant, which produces a fentanyl patch. On Sunday, another defendant in the case, Teva Pharmaceuticals Ltd., the Israel-based producer of generic medicines, including opioids, settled with Oklahoma for $85 million. Details of how the state will allocate the money have not yet been finalized. In a statement, the company said, The settlement does not establish any wrongdoing on the part of the company; Teva has not contributed to the abuse of opioids in Oklahoma in any way. There is great interest in the case, which originally included Purdue Pharma, and not only from lawyers in nearly 1,900 federal and state lawsuits who want to see how the evidence and legal strategies resonate. [What you need to know to start the day: Get New York Today in your inbox.] In a letter and in emails, the leader of Nxivm tried to distance himself from the branding ritual that had led some members to break away from the cultlike group. But the ceremonial branding of some women involved in Nxivm followed a script created by the leader, Keith Raniere, and a handful of select followers who had promised complete obedience to him, according to four recorded conversations introduced last week as evidence in his racketeering and sex trafficking trial. Do you think the person who is being branded should be completely nude and sort of held to the table like a sort of, almost, like a sacrifice? Mr. Raniere asked the actress Allison Mack in one recording. He went on to outline his vision for how womens bodies would be arranged before being branded: legs spread straight, like feet being held to the side of the table, hands probably above the head, being held almost like tied down. BANGKOK Prem Tinsulanonda, an army commander in chief who served as prime minister of Thailand and later became the head of the influential Privy Council of the king, died on Sunday in Bangkok. He was 98. His death was confirmed by Chai Chidchob, a senior lawmaker in the National Assembly, which observed a minute of silence in Mr. Prems honor. Without facing a general election, Mr. Prem held the prime ministers post with the backing of the king from 1980 to 1988, shuffling cabinets five times and weathering two coup attempts. He left much of the day-to-day administration to bureaucrats, weakening the influence of political parties and the military. The first two years of the Trump administration have brought us horror story after horror story about our government : children separated from their families, men and women detained without due process, communities punished because of their faith. These horrors may seem new, but in fact these abuses and in particular the law that authorizes them have been part of our constitutional order since the founding of this country. In many ways, America is just beginning to reckon with slavery and Jim Crow segregation. But at least we have reformed the laws that allowed these abuses. We have overruled the Dred Scott and Plessy v. Ferguson court decisions, banishing the doctrines of overt racism and separate but equal from our law, if not from our society. No government would cite these doctrines to justify its actions today. But we have not yet fully dismantled the legal infrastructure that permitted abuse of Native Americans. On reservations starting in the mid-19th century, the United States established military-run detention camps where the executive branch held limitless power. In these camps, children were forcibly separated from their families and sent to federally run boarding schools that used violence to kill the Indian in him, and save the man, as Capt. Richard Henry Pratt, founder of Carlisle Indian Industrial School, put it in 1892. Native Americans were incarcerated for practicing their faith. Naming ceremonies were forbidden for children, whose hair was cut at the schools, where they were also forced to practice Christianity. That the rise in incidents was in Germany made the government report all the more concerning. But anti-Semitism is on the rise all across Europe, as well as in the United States. France reported an increase of 74 percent in anti-Semitic acts in a single year, with 541 incidents reported in 2018, including widely viewed videotaped insults shouted at the French Jewish intellectual Alain Finkielkraut during one of the Yellow Vest protests. In Britain, nine Labour members of Parliament quit their party in part over the cloud of anti-Semitism hanging over the party leader, Jeremy Corbyn. In the United States, attacks on synagogues by white-supremacist gunmen have led the growing list of assaults on Jews. The Anti-Defamation League reported that these attacks more than doubled from 2017 to 2018, to 39 , part of a total of 1,879 anti-Semitic incidents. There has also been a marked rise in the political weaponization of anti-Semitism by both left and right, often played out in debates on criticizing or supporting Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not helped matters by finding common cause with nationalist leaders like the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban or President Trump so long as they do not support a Palestinian state. A tally of incidents does not tell the full story. To a degree, the numbers reflect the way hate speech, intolerance, anger and once-taboo themes have found their way into the open on social media or via populist movements, allowing hatred of Jews to come out of the shadows. But far-right and far-left politicians have often learned to project themselves as defenders of Jews while drawing on blatantly anti-Semitic tropes, as Mr. Orban has done in Hungary. Among the Muslims of Europe, and among some leftists, a resentment of Israel often crosses into hostility to all Jews. What is clear is that these strains of anti-Semitism from the right, from the left and from radical Muslims have morphed into a resurgence of a blight that should have been eradicated long ago, and that is causing serious anxiety among Europes Jews. A CNN poll last November on the state of anti-Semitism in Europe found that a third of respondents said they knew little or nothing about the Holocaust. Nearly a quarter said Jews had too much influence in conflict and wars; more than a quarter said they believed that Jews had too much influence in business and finance. A 2015 survey by the Anti-Defamation League found that 51 percent of Germans believed it was probably true that Jews still talk too much about what happened to them in the Holocaust. These are the stereotypes that make anti-Semitism an especially pernicious form of bigotry, a grand conspiracy theory in which Jews spread evil in their countries through some illusory subterfuge, whether controlling capital, or the media, or whatever. This is not an Oresteia for classicists, Ms. McLaughlin a playwright, actor and old friend from college told me later in New York. She was understating. For one thing, her version, which runs through June 2, is a swift two hours and 20 minutes instead of the dawn-to-dusk event it would have been back in the day. (She estimates that the three plays lasted three hours each, with breaks and a now-lost satyr play filling out the run time.) Her version is also performed unmasked. But those are superficial alterations. To understand how powerfully urgent this new telling is, and how it speaks to our time in a different voice, you have to look to the reasons Aeschylus wrote his version and Ms. McLaughlin wrote hers. There werent Tonys back then, but Aeschylus did win first prize for The Oresteia at the Dionysia dramatic competition in 458 B.C. (According to some sources, Sophocles came in second.) The Dionysia was fundamentally a religious festival, and theres no reason to think the playwright was anything but a man of literal faith in the gods. In his version of the Orestes tale, the immortals play a crucial role, both inciting the tragedy and trying to corral it. Humans are their pawns. The goddess Artemis basically blackmails Agamemnon, who insulted her, into sacrificing his daughter as expiation. In turn, his wife, Clytemnestra, kills him; their son Orestes, egged on by Apollo, kills her; and the vengeful Furies drive Orestes mad. Its only then, near the end of the third play, that Athena enters with a novel proposition. Instead of further killings, she suggests, why not have a trial? Let a jury of humans men, that is decide human fate. Aeschylus, writing at the start of the Greek Classical Age, was describing what he saw as the recent emergence of organized justice from the spilled guts of vendetta. Though officially a tragedy, his Oresteia, in that sense, has a happy ending. But these kinds of nuanced arguments are usually not the stuff of campaign rallies. And if the overall economic numbers remain strong, the Democratic nominee will be looking for a pathway to defeat Mr. Trump that is distinctly different from those taken the last two times an incumbent president lost. Historically, when a president seeks re-election, it amounts to a referendum on the state of the economy. The last two one-term presidents were undone by economic slowdowns; they battled jobless rates of 7.4 percent (George H.W. Bush) and 7.5 percent (Jimmy Carter) on Election Day. The unemployment rate currently stands at 3.6 percent. Image Michael Bennet at an event in Washington. Credit... Yuri Gripas/Reuters Moreover, voters appear to be more positive about the economy than they have been in many years. In polling by Gallup this spring, the share of Americans who described the economy as excellent hovered near its highest levels since 2000, and only 13 percent of Americans mentioned economic issues as the nations most important problem. That helps explain why the candidates are avoiding frontal assaults on the economy. Most prefer to change the subject to longer-term problems than to get wrapped up in debates over the Obama economic record or budget deficits. The challenge that Trump could run into in 2020 is that people dont measure the quality of their economic life in the jobs numbers they see, said Jacob Leibenluft, who worked in the Obama White House and was a senior policy adviser on Hillary Clintons 2016 campaign. If you look at what Trump has done from a policy perspective, theres very little to suggest that hes addressed the acute problems that people feel in their economic lives. Indeed, Democratic base voters like those who showed up at campaign events recently in New Hampshire tend to latch onto problems deeper than what macroeconomists normally talk about when evaluating the economy. It came six years, almost to the day, after El Reno was hit by another EF-3 tornado. On May 31, 2013, an unusually wide tornado barreled through the area and killed eight people. El Reno is a working-class, largely rural suburb of nearly 17,000 people about 25 miles west of Oklahoma City. Cattle graze in the greenery on the sides of the highways, beneath billboards for oil field services companies. More than a few residents keep horses in their yards. The skyline of El Reno is dominated by grain silos, the tallest structures in a town whose history traces back to the establishment in 1874 of Fort Reno, a frontier Army post. Tornado sirens blared in the town at 10:27 p.m. on Saturday, the mayor said. Four minutes later the tornado struck, damaging the southeastern section of the town near Interstate 40. A television news reporter, Aaron Brilbeck of the local CBS affiliate, KWTV News 9, showed the power of the storm as it came through the town, posting on Twitter: The hotel across the street from us was leveled. Victims are being pulled from the rubble. At a convenience store called Domino across the street from the motel, the assistant manager, Jeffrey Pointer, said the evening had started quietly, with just a sprinkle of rain. But then it started pouring, he said. The rain was blowing sideways. You couldnt see anything. The wind blew so hard that the windows started shaking. The power cut off, Mr. Pointer said, and an emergency generator kicked on. Then, as quickly as it had started, the roaring wind abated, leaving only rain in its wake. The phones in the store started ringing, he said, with callers asking if everyone in the store was all right. Then people started walking in the door, drenched. Some had no shirts, Mr. Pointer said. Some were injured. He said a man came to him with his arm bleeding. He said: Can you call me an ambulance? Im hurt real bad, Mr. Pointer said. At the Skyview trailer park, neither Mr. Gawhega nor his aunt, who was asleep in the trailer at the time, was injured. The mobile home was pushed onto its side. The trip to Iowa was Mr. Bookers fourth of this campaign, evidence of the need for a strong showing in this first caucus state for any hope of a successful run through to South Carolina, where Mr. Booker is hoping for a victory. The entrance of former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. into the race puts added pressure on Mr. Booker, especially competing for black voters a major piece of the Democratic constituency in the South, and a group that has largely supported Mr. Biden in early polls. On the trail, Mr. Booker is still campaigning with an ebullient style, recording selfie videos for voters and cracking self-deprecating dad jokes at every stop. He even broke briefly into song during an interview, singing a few bars of My City of Ruins by Bruce Springsteen. But stuck in the low single digits in both national and early state polls, with a middling small-dollar fund-raising operation, he has started to sprinkle his unity-themed stump speech with some slight contrasts to other Democratic candidates. Im one of those Democrats to say we need to start doing things that make peoples lives better, because Democrats have done things that have made peoples lives worse, Mr. Booker said at a house party in Newton, referring to the 1994 crime bill that Mr. Biden supported while he was in the Senate, and which experts say contributed to mass incarceration. President Trump and the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, agree in their negative assessment of former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., the White House press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, said on Sunday. Ms. Sanders, in an interview on NBCs Meet the Press, also defended the presidents approach to efforts to denuclearize North Korea and deflected questions about whether Mr. Trumps declaration of treason had predetermined the outcome of a review of the Russia investigations roots. On Saturday, Mr. Trump seemed gratified that North Koreas state media had described Mr. Biden, the Democratic candidate he views as the biggest threat to him in 2020, as a fool of low IQ. North Korea fired off some small weapons, which disturbed some of my people, and others, but not me, Mr. Trump wrote as he was traveling in Japan. I have confidence that Chairman Kim will keep his promise to me, & also smiled when he called Swampman Joe Biden a low IQ individual, & worse. Perhaps thats sending me a signal? WASHINGTON The strange objects, one of them like a spinning top moving against the wind, appeared almost daily from the summer of 2014 to March 2015, high in the skies over the East Coast. Navy pilots reported to their superiors that the objects had no visible engine or infrared exhaust plumes, but that they could reach 30,000 feet and hypersonic speeds. These things would be out there all day, said Lt. Ryan Graves, an F/A-18 Super Hornet pilot who has been with the Navy for 10 years, and who reported his sightings to the Pentagon and Congress. Keeping an aircraft in the air requires a significant amount of energy. With the speeds we observed, 12 hours in the air is 11 hours longer than wed expect. In late 2014, a Super Hornet pilot had a near collision with one of the objects, and an official mishap report was filed. Some of the incidents were videotaped, including one taken by a planes camera in early 2015 that shows an object zooming over the ocean waves as pilots question what they are watching. Wow, what is that, man? one exclaims. Look at it fly! No one in the Defense Department is saying that the objects were extraterrestrial, and experts emphasize that earthly explanations can generally be found for such incidents. Lieutenant Graves and four other Navy pilots, who said in interviews with The New York Times that they saw the objects in 2014 and 2015 in training maneuvers from Virginia to Florida off the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt, make no assertions of their provenance. It was meant to be part of a social media tribute on Memorial Day weekend. On Saturday afternoon, the United States Army posted a video on Twitter featuring a scout in fatigues who said his service gave him the opportunity to fight for something greater than himself, making him a better man. In its next tweet, the Army opened the floor and asked: How has serving impacted you? The post was shared widely and received thousands of responses. But many were probably not what the Army was looking for. Instead, the call-out provided what some felt was a rare platform to spotlight the darker consequences of military service for soldiers and their families, as tweet after tweet described lifelong health complications, grief over loved ones lost, sexual assaults gone unpunished and struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. The public just doesnt hear about it, said Brandon Neely, 38, a former Army specialist who posted about his PTSD. They dont hear about the guys, these veterans, that dont sleep, have night sweats, are irritated. Some guys get really bad anxiety, depression. RIO DE JANEIRO Shooting from helicopters, armored personnel carriers or at close range, police officers in Rio de Janeiro have gunned down 558 people during the first four months of the year the highest number in this period since the state began keeping records more than two decades ago. This recent spike comes after years in which the federal and local authorities put in place policies that significantly diminished police killings. But as the country dove into a deep economic and political crisis in 2014, resources for security programs dried up. Criminal gangs reclaimed lost territory in Rio, and across Brazil violence exploded: More than 51,500 people were killed last year. Voters went to the polls in October and gave their support to candidates who promised to fight violence with violence by relaxing gun ownership rules and allowing the police to fire on armed suspects. The number of people killed by the police in Rio de Janeiro jumped in 2018 to a high of 1,538, according to state statistics. If killings continue this year at the current pace nearly five a day that record will be beat. PESHAWAR, Pakistan Pakistani troops clashed with protesters on Sunday near the border with Afghanistan, leaving at least three people dead and scores wounded, officials said. The violence broke out as several hundred people, including two Parliament members, were protesting for the rights of Pakistans Pashtuns in the North Waziristan region. They fought with security officials at a military check post. A military spokesman described the violence as an assault by members of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement, or P.T.M., but the protesters disputed that. That movement has galvanized many Pashtuns in recent years with its protests against extrajudicial killings, disappearances and displacements of members of the community in the wake of military operations against the Taliban and other militants. Most of the Taliban and their leaders, past and present, have been Pashtuns. Leaders of the Pashtun movement say they are exercising their right to protest peacefully. But the military sees the movement as being propped up by foes of the state and accuses neighboring Afghanistan and India of trying to stir up unrest with support of the movement in areas straddling the Afghan border. MANILA Militants linked to the Islamic State attacked a group of soldiers on the southern Philippine island of Jolo, setting off a clash that left two children dead, the military said on Sunday. Six militants from the insurgent group, known as Abu Sayyaf, were also killed in the gun battle on Saturday in a remote village near the town of Patikul, in Sulu Province, the military said. Five soldiers and two civilians were wounded. The soldiers had been sent to the area, where local Islamist insurgencies have long battled the state, to discuss development projects with village elders. While those discussions were underway, they were attacked by about 30 Abu Sayyaf militants. Capt. Jaime Abibas of the Philippine Armys Special Forces unit said the troops had held off the militants and tried to protect villagers who were caught in the crossfire. SYDNEY, Australia Prime Minister Peter ONeill of Papua New Guinea resigned on Sunday, as a flood of high-level defections from his governing party led him to step down after almost eight years in power. Mr. ONeill told reporters in Port Moresby, the capital, that there was a clear need for change. He said he had handed over leadership of the Pacific nation to Julius Chan, who has served as prime minister twice before, though the opposition party said it would soon form its own government, suggesting the next few days could be defined by uncertainty and shifting alliances. By resigning, Mr. ONeill clears the field for members of his still significant support base to also contest for leadership this week, said Jonathan Pryke, director of the Pacific Islands program at the Lowy Institute in Australia. Political instability in the resource-rich and strategically placed country is nothing new; it has often shaken Papua New Guinea since it gained independence in 1975. But Mr. ONeills departure comes at a sensitive moment, with China and the West fighting for influence across the Pacific. Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2019 > Wider Implications of Sanctions Sanctions imposed by the USA on oil exports from Iran and Venezuela have implications far beyond the more obvious and immediate ones. One short-term and obvious implication is that economic problems of Iran and Venezuela will increase. This can also have political implications within these countries, particularly in Venezuela where people are suffering from very severe economic problems and there is a huge political crisis as well, including the US-backed efforts to overthrow the existing elected government. Another short-term implication is that some other oil exporters, most notably the USA and Saudi Arabia, will earn much more from their oil exports. From the point of view of oil importing developing and poorest countries, the sanctions will reduce their options and increase their economic difficulties. However from the point of view of those concerned more deeply with world peace and committed to it, there are some wider medium and longer-term implications which are even more worrying. These sanctions are obviously very unjust to the countries concerned and also very arbitrary. If the USA persists in such arbitrary use of sanctions to inflict economic harm on those regimes it perceives to be unfriendly and to reap unfair rewards for itself and its cronies, then acceptance of its leadership of the world economy will also be harmed. Alongside, acceptance of the American dollar as the world currency is likely to be questioned more and more. This will be accentuated by the likely tendency of countries facing sanctions (or threatened with sanctions), or forced to buy more expensive oil, to trade oil and gas in other currencies. At this point, the main question will be whether the currency crisis can be resolved in a peaceful way. This is a question that has to be faced at some point anyway, but the possibilities of its peaceful resolution in conditions of stability will be reduced by arbitrary actions like sanctions and the bitterness created by this. The author is a freelance journalist who has been involved with social movements and initiatives. BRUSSELS Populists and nationalists who want to chip away at the European Unions powers increased their share in Europes Parliament after four days of continent-wide elections, but it was not the deluge that many traditionalists had feared. When the vote counting is done, the populists are expected to get around 25 percent of the 751 seats, up from 20 percent five years ago, figures released by the European Union showed on Sunday. But a higher than usual turnout suggested that pro-European voters were also more motivated than before. [5 Takeaways From the European Elections.] Taken together, the results indicated that the struggle over the future direction of the bloc more integration among European countries, or less would only intensify. BRUSSELS With more than 400 million Europeans across the 28 countries of the European Union entitled to vote in the European Parliament elections that end on Sunday, the poll is, next to India, the largest democratic exercise in the world. But since these elections began 40 years ago, when the bloc was only 15 countries, turnout to vote for the Parliament the blocs only directly elected branch has decreased every five years. Turnout was among the key indicators: Would it decline below the 42.6 percent of 2014, or would Europeans respond to calls from both populists and mainstream politicians who suggested that this election was important for the future of Europe? [Follow our coverage of European election results.] Over all, preliminary figures later on Sunday showed that for 27 nations, excluding Britain, turnout was nearing 51 percent, according to the European Parliament spokesman, Jaume Duch Guillot, the highest in at least 20 years. Turnout was also higher this year than five years ago in key countries like France, Germany, Poland and Spain. It was roughly the same in Italy and marginally higher in Slovakia, where traditionally less than 20 percent of eligible voters bother to vote. In France, turnout was projected to break 50 percent for the first time since 1994. DUBLIN Ireland has voted overwhelmingly to ease restrictions on divorce, taking another step toward liberalizing a Constitution that was once dominated by the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. Official figures released this weekend showed that 82 percent of voters in referendum on Friday approved the change, with all areas of the country voting strongly in favor. The results come on the heels of other major social shifts in the country: a 2015 vote to legalize same-sex marriage making Ireland the worlds first nation to approve marriage equality by popular vote and a referendum last year that repealed Irelands ban on abortion in almost all circumstances, including rape and incest. In October, the nation voted overwhelmingly to remove a ban on blasphemy from the Constitution. Divorce was banned in Ireland by a 1937 Constitution strongly influenced by the Catholic hierarchy, and an attempt to overturn the ban in a 1986 referendum was soundly defeated by a 3-to-2 margin. The country made divorce legal in 1995, after a referendum deciding the issue with just over 9,000 votes of 1.63 million cast. Will Buechner had little chance. Two other officers were shot and injured. And a community soon became galvanized in a mighty wave of heartfelt emotions. Auburn University honored Buechner, a proud alumnus who more than once wore his uniform while serving in protection of the schools campus and activities, by quickly agreeing to Auburn Mayor Ron Anders request to allow the funeral to be conducted inside Auburn Arena. It is the only funeral ever conducted in the arena. Perhaps as many as 3,000 filled the seats inside; hundreds of them in first-responder uniform as peace officers, firefighters, paramedics and others from throughout the region attended to pay their respects. Officers from Mississippi were there. Officers from Georgia were there. The New York Yankees sent a beautiful stand of flowers. There was a clear signal sent to the rest of the world from this attendance, itself, that a first-responder brother willing to risk his life and make personal sacrifices for public service is never alone. Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2019 > Increasing Pressure on Iran and the threat of War by Archishman Raju Recent moves from the American establishment have a sinister character. They have steadily been putting pressure on Iran in seeming preparation for an attempted regime change war. The Trump Administration withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, a deal between the US and Iran, and put renewed sanctions on Iran in May last year. These renewed sanctions have had a significant effect on Irans economy with the Iranian President recently comparing the misery of the sanctions to the misery during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s. On April of this year, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard was declared by the US as a foreign terrorist organisation, the first time that the United States has ever named part of another government as a foreign terrorist organisation. Trumps current National Security Adviser John Bolton has long wanted war with Iran (and other countries), and seems to have lobbied successfully for these increasing pressures. He spearheaded, along with his uneasy partner Mike Pompeo, a failed coup attempt in Venezuela and botched negotiations in North Korea (for which the North Koreans directly blamed Pompeo and Bolton), and now their sights have turned on Iran. Bolton has several times made it clear that he wants regime change in Iran and has issued a continuous set of warnings and threats to Tehran. Trump has shifted in his rhetoric, but of late has clarified, once publicly, that he does not want war with Iran. While this may be reassuring for the moment, it is merely another example of political disunity and confusion in the American White House. The United States blamed Iran for attacking Saudi and UAE oil tankers, reminiscent to many of the Gulf of Tonkin incident in which the US used an imaginary incident to escalate war on Vietnam. It has been a stock American tactic to invent imaginary reasons for full-scale attacks on countries, exemplified most recently in the Iraq war. A war in Iran would not be like the Iraq war. The Iranian military is well prepared for a US attack. In 2002, the Pentagon simulated a possible war with Iran and it led to approxi-mately 20,000 US casualties in a single day. The simulation went so badly that the Pentagon had to stop it. However, not only is Iran considerably bigger and stronger than Iraq, the world situation has changed substantially from 1964 or even 2003. China has risen as a global player and presents a significant economic challenge to the US, recently being discussed as a a civilisational challenge in the Western press. The leaders of Russia, Iran and Turkey met in February, primarily to discuss Syria but also to discuss an alliance which would have seemed unlikely some years ago. Russia recently intervened both in Syria and in Venezuela and it will not merely watch any move in Iran from the sidelines. Moreover, even though the US has tried to fund internal dissent and promote regime change in Iran, and the sanctions are likely to fuel the Opposition, the political leader-ship of Iran is relatively stable. On the other end, the US itself stands more politically divided than at any other time in recent memory. Indeed, several analysts have recently said that the US is more politically divided than it has been at any point since the civil war. The US is spending almost as much as the next eight countries combined on its military according to a recent report, even as many of its own people live in extreme poverty, according to the UN. There is an opioid epidemic going on in the country, with drug overdoses sharply increasing and a failed prison system jails more people than any other country in the world (disproportionately African American). The wealthiest country in the world is not able to provide its people with adequate housing, medical care or employment. Moreover the American people have found to be, in recent polls, overwhelmingly against further pointless wars but their voices fall on deaf ears in the foreign policy establishment of the US. All of this prompts the question: what right does a country, which cannot manage its own affairs, and has enough problems of its own, have to preach to others how they should manage theirs? Many are seeing the actions of the US as gasps of a dying empire. Precisely because this is true, one must be wary of the possibility of violence that comes with it. India has had an old relationship with Iran, and even as the situation in West Asia grows in complication, we must defend Iranian national sovereignty and call for peace and detente. Not only should we openly condemn any attempts to promote war with Iran but even more so, we should reject the unilateral sanctions the US has put on Iran. The historical moment calls for an increased cooperation based on relations of mutual respect between developing countries, and this should be supported by all peace-loving people. Archishman Raju is a Research Fellow in Physics and Biology at the Rockefeller University. He is a member of the Saturday Free School in Philadelphia, the US. Kebingungan dan kesulitan mencari dan bingung ketika memilih situs judi slot online gacor di tahun 2021? Sekarang anda sudah berada di situs slot gacor yang tepat untuk bermain judi slot online. 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Our neighbours in Pakistan follow a different principle. . . . But we have been opposed to this principle from the beginning because, if we were to adopt it, there could be no true equality in the country. Some sections of society would be considered full citizens and others would lack that status. It would once again bring to the fore the divisive tendencies which have always existed in Hindu society. If we accepted the principle of domination of one religion, India would be divided into a thousand fragments and become weak. Jawaharlal Nehru What a sea change India has undergone since Jawaharlal Nehru passed away 55 years ago! The divisive forces that he never tired of warning us about, have become immensely stronger than they were five-and-a-half decades ago. They now control the levers of power of a country of 1300 million people, known throughout history as one of the most diverse countries in the world. And if these divisive forces are not neutralised and removed from power, ere long India may find itself divided into a thousand fragments, caught in the toils of a ceaseless and sanguinary strife and its rich heritage of diversity destroyed. Throughout his life, Nehru cautioned us again and again against the monster of communalism, especially majority communalism. He was aware that communal-minded people existed in his own party, the Congress. Writing as far back as 1923, he was forthright in saying: Many a Congressman was a communalist under his national cloak. But the Congress leadership stood firm and, on the whole, refused to side with either communal party, or rather with any communal group . . . Jawaharlal consented to the partition of India but in his heart of hearts he believed that partition would not last long. India would be reunited. Dr Rafiq Zakaria, in his A Study of Nehru, notes that in a letter dated July 9, 1948, to the Nawab of Bhopal, Nehru wrote: Partition came and we accepted it because we thought that perhaps that way, however painful it was, we might have some peace to work along our own lines. Perhaps we acted wrongly. It is difficult to judge now. And yet, the consequences of that Partition have been so terrible that one is inclined to think that anything else would have been preferable. That Partition has come, and brought in its train other vast changes. There can be no going back now to India as it was before the Partition. Organic changes have taken place in India which prevent that going back. Then comes a telltale passage: Nevertheless, all my sense of history rebels against this unnatural state of affairs that has been created in India and Pakistan. I cannot see it continuing for long as it is. (Italics mineB.D.G.) He has not explained what lay behind his belief that Partitionthe unnatural state of affairswould not continue for long. Zakaria calls Nehru a prophet of secularism who, despite Partition, never wavered in his opposition to the two-nation theory. An unshakable conviction about the necessity of secularism in a plural country like India marked Nehru out from many of his contemporary Congress leaders except Mahatma Gandhi. His showdown with Purshottamdas Tandon, the then Congress President, in 1950, has to be seen in the context of his uncompromising attitude to the question of communalism. When there was a surge of anti-Hindu violence in Pakistan, a difference of opinion arose between Patel and his associates like Tandon on the one hand and Nehru on the other. Nehrus stand was that irrespective of how Pakistan treated its minority Hindu population, it was Indias constitutional obligation to ensure the security of Indian Muslims. It was not dependent on how Pakistan treated its Hindu minority. Tandon, ideologically close to Patel, had his own views which were antithetical to Nehrus. It was an ideological question that transcended personal relations. So Nehru had to launch a battle against his own party President. Eventually, Tandon had to resign from the presidency of the party. It is no secret that Nehru had differences with Patel on the communal question. Nehrus biographer, Sarvepalli Gopal, in the second volume of his Jawaharlal Nehru, A Biography, notes (p. 38) that Patel responded as warmly and for a time a personal cordiality surmounted differences on policy. They aired, for example, healthily and in the open, their divergence of priorities on the communal issue. Nehru was concerned about the recrudescence of Hindu communalism in the form of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, while Patel attached more importance to the failure to check the immigration of Muslims from Pakistan. But other difficulties cropped up, wearing away at their decision to work together. ...Though Nehru did his best to keep him informed, Patel resented the necessity of many decisions having to be taken without consulting him, while Nehru was irritated by the inevitable delay in action in the ministries under Patels charge. This clearly establishes how strong was Nehrus concern for recrudescence of Hindu communalism in the form of the RSS. Also, that on this question, he was prepared to lay aside all his personal affection and regard for the Sardar and stand by his principles and convictions. The paragraph quoted above also gives an insight into the Sangh Parivars adoration of Patel and their pathological hatred for Nehru. Still earlier, in a letter to Mohanlal Saxena dated September 10, 1949, Nehru wrote: Gandhijis face comes up before me, gentle but reproaching. His words ring in my ears. Sometimes I read his writings and how he asked us to stick to this or that to the death, whatever others said or did. And yet those very things we were asked to stick to, slip away from our grasp. Is that to be the end of our lives fallout? All of us seem to be getting infected with the refugee mentality or worse still, the RSS mentality. That is a curious finale to our careers. There is no denying the fact that many of the Congress stalwarts of the freedom movement were acutely conscious of their Hindu identity whereas Nehrus commitment to secularism was firm and unwavering all through. It is the failure, not only of the Congress but of all those who swear by secularism, to prevent the spread of the communal poison by the RSS and its affiliated organisations. They worked silently at the grassroots level, winning over people to their ideology. Today they have become a mortal danger to the secular and democratic polity of India. Faced with their challenge, even the Congress has chosen to adopt a line of soft Hindutva to counter the BJP in the ongoing elections. Nehru would never have compromised on the question of Hindutva vis-a-vis secularism. If the Congress wants to be worthy of the legacy of Jawaharlal Nehru, it has to wage an uncompromising, principled and long drawn out battle against communalism. Nehru knew, more than anyone else among his comrades, that compromising with basic principles of a party ultimately leads to the adulteration of the principle itself.and the enervation of the party in the long run. The Congress made its first compromise with Nehruvian principles when, back in 1991, it jettisoned Nehrus policy of a mixed economy in which public and private sectors would work side by side but it is the public sector that will control the commanding heights of the economy. It led to the adoption of the policy of Liberalisation, Privatisation and Globalisation. This policy saw the thriving of monopoly capitalism, crony capitalism to be more precise, engulfed the UPA Government in a number of scams and culminated in the loss of power of the Congress and the coming to power by rank communalists. Let not the Congress commit the second mistake of trying to counter the hard Hindutva of the Sangh Parivar with the soft Hindutva of its own. It will lead the Congress to further disaster. Let us conclude with Jawazharlal Nehrus own ringing words which sound prophetic at this critical juncture of the nations life: The future is dark, uncertain. But we can see part of the way leading to it and can tread it with firm steps, remembering that nothing that can happen is likely to overcome the spirit of man which has survived so many perils. Remembering also that life, for all its ills, has joy and beauty, and we can always wander, if we want to, in the enchanted woods of nature. Let us hope the people of India will tread with firm steps the path to their future and the dark clouds that have overcast Indias sky will be driven away. The author was a correspondent of The Hindu in Assam. He also worked in Patriot, Compass (Bengali), Mainstream. A veteran journalist, he comes from a Gandhian family and was intimately associated with the RCPI leader, Pannalal Das Gupta. Health officials emphasize that vaccination is the best and most effective way to protect against measles and that the majority of people with infectious, communicable diseases, like measles, listen to doctors' advice to not travel. But for those who insist on traveling, federal authorities can use the list, which is managed by the CDC. Officials in Rockland County, New York, and New York City, at the epicenter of measles outbreaks since last fall, say they have advised several infected individuals against traveling. Earlier this spring, Rockland health officials, who have had 238 measles cases since last October, consulted with CDC about placing two infectious individuals on the list to prevent them from flying to Israel for the Passover holiday, a county spokesman said. "It served as an effective deterrent," said spokesman John Lyon. "They did not travel." In New York City, which has 523 cases in the nation's largest outbreak, the health department advised two individuals - "who were not immune to measles" and had been exposed to the virus - against flying during the disease's 21-day incubation period. The private, employee-owned McCarthy is based in St. Louis and is ranked by Engineering News Record as the 20th-largest domestic general contractor. About 150 years old, McCarthy counts 3,700 salaried employees and craft professionals. The companys Omaha workforce peaked this year at about 90 workers, Sawall said, and he expects to reach at least 100 this summer. Thats up from about 35 employees assigned to the office in mid-2017. At that time, Sawall projected that the workforce would double within five years. Growth happened at a quicker clip than anticipated, Sawall said in a recent interview. He projects the Omaha office to maintain its size or see moderate growth in the future. The World-Herald reported the companys move about two years ago into a 10,000-square-foot local office, which now is to be replaced by the under-construction 15,000-square-foot facility that includes a single-story office building, warehouse and adjacent construction yard. A 29-year-old Omaha man died Friday night after the car he was driving careened off Interstate 80 and crashed into a creek in Cass County, Nebraska, the Cass County Sheriffs Office said. Nyigillo Oyet was taken by ambulance to Bryan Medical Centers west campus in Lincoln, where he was pronounced dead. The crash was reported at 9:22 p.m. Friday. Witnesses told deputies that they saw a 2007 Lincoln MKZ weaving in the Interstates eastbound lanes before going into the median, and briefly onto the inside shoulder of the westbound lanes. The car veered back into the median, according to the witnesses, narrowly missing a bridge rail before becoming airborne and crossing over the creek and into the opposite embankment. The car was partially submerged when it landed on its top. Passersby tried unsuccessfully to locate any victims, but Nebraska State Patrol troopers found Oyet the cars lone occupant still in his seat belt, the Sheriffs Office said in a press release. We will set a marker for remembrance of this great civil rights leader, a reminder of the need for the protection of human dignity and a celebration of the possibilities brought about by one mans courage, Fortenberry said. Fortenberry quoted Standing Bear in his original Ponca and also offered the English translation of I am a man, God made us the same. He expressed the inherent dignity and rights of all people regardless of color or ethnicity, Fortenberry said. The Lincoln lawmaker noted that Nebraska is sending a statue of Standing Bear to be installed in the U.S. Capitol. Whats in a name. Rep. Adrian Smith, R-Neb., spoke at the same hearing in favor of his proposal to rename the Homestead National Monument of America. Smith talked of how the site honors those who claimed land under the Homestead Act and helped settle the country. Does an adults lack of a bachelors degree mean he or she has no hope for serious employment? In the Omaha area, that neednt be so in many cases, provided the individual receives proper training. A new national report explains why. The study, by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia and Cleveland, analyzed the economies of 121 U.S. metropolitan areas and ranked them on how well they provide job opportunities for such adults. The Omaha area scored relatively well: 35th out of the 121. The study analyzed each metro area for its number of opportunity jobs those that dont require a bachelors degree and typically pay above the national median wage of $37,690. Nationally, such jobs account for 21.6%. The figure for the Omaha area is considerably higher: 26.3%. This doesnt mean its easy to connect workers with employment in all cases. But the findings do indicate that the Omaha area has considerable potential to address its underemployment problem through outreach, cooperation between businesses and educational institutions, plus strategic investments in workforce training. These are the most plentiful opportunity jobs in the Omaha-Council Bluffs metro, according to the report: Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2019 > India without Nehru From N.C.s Writings The following piece, which appeared under the New Delhi Skyline in Mainstream, was written two days after Jawaharlal Nehrus demise on May 27, 1964. It was published on May 30, 1964. As the golden flame licked up the funeral pyre, an unforgettable scene ended near the banks of the Jumna and under the shadow of the Red Fort. It was an emotional experience without precedence, to watch this mightiest demons-tration of love and respect that this great country has paid to any man. For Jawaharlal Nehru was, for the vast mass that is engulfed in sorrow today, not just a symbol of freedom, he was part of their very personality: it is difficult for this entire generation of ours to think of India without him; whatever we felt and learned, made us happy or sad, our hopes and our frustrations, were all inextricably interwoven with him. As the millions came to join in his final journey through the streets of Delhi, new and old, they were as yet too stunned to feel the pangs of his loss in full measure. An indescribable sense of the coming void, of an existence in which Nehru would no longer be there seemed to have gripped them. The expression often used in his life-time that he could feel the pulse of the nation, could be understood in the fullest measure when one watched with awe the vast sea of humanity that accompanied him for miles in the gruelling summer sun. A sense of personal loss was writ large on every face, young and old. The remarkable initiative shown by the vast concourse of men and women in mourning could hardly be missed as the cortege was carried from the Prime Ministers House to the open space beyond Rajghat. The Army and the Police could not manage the solid phalanx that thronged the eight-mile route: but spontan-eously, the people with an amazing sense of dignity befitting the poignant occasion, made way for the entire funeral procession to pass while they themselves were wending their way to the cremation ground. The realisation that Nehru was in broken health had come months back. In fact, it began with his serious illness in the summer of 1962, just two years ago, when the most agile among political figures was laid up in bed for more than a month. Since then came the severest ordeal in his whole careeras also of free Indiathe armed attack by the Chinese. In fact, the blow came with the Chinese breach of faith five years ago, because he had made the friendship with China the sheet-anchor of his foreign policy. For any leader anywhere else in the world, placed in similar circumstances, Pekings diabolic attack would have been a killing blow. The fact that Nehru could not only survive the shock but found his own bearings as also of the nations to a large measure testified to his tremendous will power and steadfast devotion to the principles and ideals he has always striven to hold aloft. No wonder that in Delhi today many felt that if any single factor had killed this fearless fighter for peace, amity and understanding among nations, it was the perfidy of Peking. New Delhi is comforted in its hour of grief by the unique demonstration of friendship and solidarity that has been conveyed from all parts of the world. Cold War barriers have gone in paying homage to the man who had always fought it with unwavering faith in a world without war. If the West has paid generous tribute to his memory, Moscow has not lagged behind, and in the Capital today there is the recognition of Khrushchevs expression of sorrow at the loss of a good friend; his ready pledge of support to the present government has been widely noted. After Nehru Who? The question that has been debated for years has left the country no wiser. It is an extraordinary phenomenon that though Nehrus departure was for long not unexpected, the nationNew Delhi particu-larlywas never more unprepared. The grim fact that Nehru, unlike Gandhiji, did not groom anybody to succeed him, has left New Delhi in an uncanny suspense. The Titan has left behind a brood of dwarfs, none of whom can aspire even to that national eminence which was the hallmark of the Congress High Command when freedom came to this land. Under the shade of the mighty banyan tree, no other plant did grow in stature or stamina. It was therefore but inevitable that the milling crowds that attended the memorable funeral were mostly beset by the inexorable question-markwho will lead the government of this country, keeping it together and strong? This was indicated by the common people constantly flocking in clusters round the different leaders, Right and Left, all along the journey to the cremation ground. Who knows on whom the mantle will fall, or snatched by whom? In the highest circles, the debate began within a few hours of the passing away of the leader. Actually, it started with the arrival of the Congress President late in the evening. Sri Kamaraj met Sri Lal Bahadur Shastri that very night. Since then, brisk lobbyings have been going on in the Capital in practically all circles. Sri Nandas supporters have been meeting in their own conclave, and so have Sri Shastris. Reports have come of Sri Morarji Desais talks with Sri Jagjivan Ram. Ententes and alignments of the most diverse character are being talked about. An interesting development has been a wide demand from a large number of Congress MPs that the choice of a new leader should not be confined to close arrangements among the top few. As one of the rank-and-file members remarked, Palace intrigues will not do, no longer shall we accept a fait acompli by the High Command. Though it looks like a democratic demand, it is said to have been inspired by Sri Morarji Desai. Three names have been heard as the likely contenders for Nehrus successionSri Nanda, Sri Shastri and Sri Morarji Desai. Of these, there seems to be little prospect for Sri Desai on his own wangling a majority either in the Working Committee or in the Parliamentary Party. How-ever, he might strike some agreement with some other important group as that of Sri Jagjivan Ram, who commands a good number of supporters, at least the bulk of the Scheduled Caste MPs. It is significant that some of the Congress Left leaders are not totally averse to strike a deal with Sri Morarji Desai as a means of edging out Sri Shastri. It is understood that if Sri Desai does not become the Prime Minister, he wants, as price of an entente, the assurance that he would get back his old portfolio, namely, Finance. But this raises the question of Sri T.T. Krishnamacharis future, for though he has no group following in the Congress as such, he does enjoy Sri Kamarajs patronage. While fortunes may change unexpectedly in the next few crucial days, the indications available on the eve of the Congress Working Committee meeting placed the chances of Sri Shastris success as better than those of Sri Nanda. Apart from a large body of UP and Bihar membersthe biggest single bloc in the Congress Parliamentary PartySri Shastri is assured of the support of Sri Kamaraj and Sri Atulya Ghosh. It is learnt that Sri Sukhadia also supports this alliance. Sri Biju Patnaik, who originally belonged to this group, has walked over to Sri Desai, it is learnt. An incident showing up the strained relations was provided by the announcement of the portfolios of Sri Nandas Caretaker Cabinet: Sri Shastris supporters did not conceal their annoyance at Sri Nandas holding the External Affairs portfolio together with the Home. According to one report, there is a possibility that Sri Nandas supporters, as a last resort in solving any possible deadblock, may press for Smt Indira Gandhi to be the Prime Minister. But it is not yet clear that she will persuade herself to accept the proposal, nor that it would automatically lead to the ending, or at least the freezing, of all group wrangles. It appears that Sri Shastris supporters also want to enlist her for the Cabinet of their choice and may vote for her to be the new Foreign Minister. However Smt Vijayalaxmi Pandits name is also being mentioned as a possible candidate for the External Affairs portfolio, though her chances are rather slim. The choice of the Prime Ministership is bound up with the question of selecting the Cabinet. For, the Congress President as also whoever is the possible choice would like to have an unanimous election. Under the circumstances, there is a strong tug-of-war among the groups to strengthen their own representation in the composition of the Cabinet. If Sri Shastri wins, there is hardly any chance for Sri Desai being taken into the Cabinet, though Sri S.K. Patil might have a chance. There is a lurking doubt if Sri Jagjivan Ram would find a place in a Shastri Cabinet, unless there is a last-minute understanding. If Sri Nanda wins, then both Sri Jagjivan Ram and Sri Krishna Menon may be brought back: and Sri Desai too may not be left out. But Sri Patil is not likely to be acceptable for Sri Nandas team. Whatever be the final selection, observers in the Capital fear that despite all show of unanimity, a Cabinet led by any of the groups in todays context, will have powerful critics inside the Congress Parliamentary Party itself. This will no doubt be a strain on its stability. Should we have UP projected in the Centre? was the ominous question heard even in the funeral procession. Meanwhile, powerful vested interests are not just passive spectators. Their mighty lobbies have been at work and if they could manage to have their say even under Nehru, how much more demanding they must be today. In the Capital, there are even talks of large-scale air-freighting of solid cash on the day the common humanity was saying a tear-choked goodbye to their beloved leader. Man-eaters are at large, and they carry Morarjibhai on their book. But how many among the powers-that-be in New Delhi can fight the man-eaters? A minor episode that must strike New Delhis press corps as not only interesting but significant is the hand-out released by the I&B Ministrys Press Information Bureau on the day after the Prime Ministers passing away. The Bureau has done excellent work to help the journalists in covering the momentous event. Entitled Jottings from Jawaharlal, the 11-page hand-out contains very good passages from Nehrus speeches and writings. As many as 34 passages have been chosen, but none of these contain even the breath of any reference to socialism, while portraying the life and work of the man who gave the concept of socialism to the national movement and made it the official goal of the government. A straw in the wind? To forget the message of Nehru so soon after his departure may be the anxious objective of a handful of Big Money, but not certainly of the teeming millions who formed the never-failing companion of Jawaharlal Nehru. (Mainstream, May 30, 1964) Multiple food pantries have been set up through various organizations, including the Food Bank for the Heartland. United Way of the Midlands The United Way of the Midlands is taking donations and helping to deploy volunteers to sites in need. To volunteer, visit uwmidlands.galaxydigital.com. United Way also is helping flood victims in Nebraska and southwest Iowa through its 211 Helpline. To donate, visit unitedwaymidlands.org/floodrelief or text FLOODRELIEF to 41444. Nebraska Strong The State of Nebraska has set up a website that allows people to make donations to specific communities and counties. The site also connects donors to some of the major charities involved in the cleanup. nebraska.gov/nebraska-strong/ Nebraska Humane Society Pet licenses Licenses, required for dogs, cats and mini pigs in most areas of Douglas and Sarpy Counties, are available at the Nebraska Humane Society, 8929 Fort St. Licensing is also available online, by mail or at participating veterinarians offices. License fees and rules vary according to place of residence. In Omaha, dogs are $52.25 (unaltered) and $27.25 (altered); cats, $52.25 (unaltered) and $14.25 (altered); mini pigs, $35. In Waterloo, dogs/cats (unaltered) are $16.25 and dogs/cats (altered) are $6.25. In Sarpy County cities, dogs/cats (unaltered) are $16.25 and dogs/cats (altered) are $6.25. Bellevue requires mini pig licenses at $35. In unincorporated Sarpy County, dogs are $15.75 (unaltered) and $11.75 (altered). Cats do not require licensing. 402-444-6716; nehumanesociety.org Agile Training Employers arent just looking for people who possess the right job skills. Theyre searching for those who know how to adapt and work as a team. MCCs agile students will participate in team-based activities and small-group projects and exercises to develop skills that can be added to their resumes. Agile training teaches students best business practices and shows them how to adapt based on customer needs and market conditions. The courses will be offered at the Center for Advanced and Emerging Technology on the Fort Omaha Campus. Agile 101 will be held Tuesdays, July 30 to Aug. 13. Agile for Developers Training will be offered Aug. 16. Community Mural Painting on Pavement Become a part of something bigger. This class will have participants plan, design and eventually paint a mural on a concrete stage and walkway at the Kroc Center Amphitheater, 2825 Y St. The class will seek community input, learn the artistic and technical sides of designing a mural and be part of creating something that will last for years. If youve ever wondered who created all of the beautiful murals around town and are curious about how they are done, this class will teach you how to do it, Shepherd said. Not only that, you will see how it these murals can greatly impact the community. The class will meet Saturdays at the Kroc Center, June 15 to Aug. 10, from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. The fee is $150. By contrast, one birth-control pill, taken daily by more than 100 million women worldwide, contains 35,000 nanograms of estrogen. Thats equivalent to eating 3,431 pounds of beef from a hormone-implanted animal daily. To put it another way: its the annual beef consumption of 59 adults. Are there hormones in your cabbage? 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Will always be with you to fight injustice: Rahul Gandhi to media After poll debacle, Rahul Gandhi comes down heavily on senior leaders India oi-Deepika S New Delhi, May 26: After the Congress's poor show in the Lok Sabha polls 2019, party chief Rahul Gandhi has lashed out at some senior leaders for putting the interests of their sons ahead of the party's interests, at the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meet on Saturday. The party's highest decision-making body met to review the reasons behind the poll debacle and discus as to why it's poll narrative failed to convince the people. As per reports, Rahul blamed the senior leaders for pushing for tickets to their sons. in fact he took the names of Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot, and Madhya Pradesh CM Kamal Nath for insisting tickets for their sons, even when he was opposed to the idea. He also mentioned veteran leader P Chidamabaram in this contest. Rahul Gandhi insists he wants to quit top job in Congress Rahul's outburst came after Jyotiraditya Scindia pointed out that local leadership of the party needs to be strengthened. Snapping at this Gandhi said: "Shall be strengthen local leadership in states so that the CMs can pressurize the party for giving tickets to their sons?" Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot's son Vaibhav Gehlot contested the parliamentary polls from Jodhpur and was defeated, while Madhya Pradesh CM Kamal Nath's son Nakul Nath and Chidambaram's son Karti Chidamabaram registered victory from Chhindwara and Sivaganga constituencies respectively. Rahul also accused the party leaders of not taking forward the issues that he had raised in the campaign to build a strong narrative against Narendra Modi, according to Times of India. Rahul specifically mentioned the Rafale deal and the slogan "chowkidar chor hai", asking for a show of hand by CWC members who had followed his suit. Within the party, murmurs of dissent are cropping up over taking responsibility for the party's performance. Some its leaders have already sent in their resignations, including Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Raj Babbar and Odisha Congress president Niranjan Patnaik. Manish Tewari frontrunner for Congress party leader in Lok Sabha Congress leader H K Patil also resigned as the president of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Campaign Committee on Friday. On May 23, when the BJP surged back to power with a massive mandate, the Congress was left with just 52 seats in the 542-member Lok Sabha - up from the 44 seats it picked up in 2014 in its worst ever performance. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Sunday, May 26, 2019, 10:44 [IST] Here is why BJP and Jagan Reddy are wooing each other After win, Jagan Reddy says Will remind PM Modi 40, 50 times' on Andhra special status India oi-Madhuri Adnal New Delhi, May 26: The YSR Congress Party Chief Jaganmohan Reddy on Sunday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah in New Delhi. YSR Congress Party chief discussed several issues with PM Modi, including the special category status for Andhra Pradesh. "Today was the first meeting with PM. God willing I'll probably meet him maybe 30, 40, 50 times over these 5 years. I'll make it a point to remind him every time, of special category status...As long as we keep reminding, things will change," Jagan Reddy said in a press conference after the meeting. Earlier in the day, Jaganmohan Reddy met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the national capital and reportedly invited him for his swearing-in ceremony as new Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh on May 30. The meeting assumes importance as the YSRCP chief during the election campaign had said his party would support whoever promises Andhra Pradesh the Special Category Status. Jagan meets Modi after massive win, discusses Andhra special status, finances Reddy will take oath as the new Chief Minister of the state on May 30 at Indira Gandhi Municipal Stadium in Vijayawada. Earlier on Saturday, he was unanimously elected as the leader of the YSRC legislature party. In a spectacular performance, Reddy's party had won 151 of 175 Assembly and 22 of the 25 Lok Sabha seats in Andhra Pradesh, the elections for which were held on April 11. The special category status has been a contentious issue which led to the Telegu Desam Party (TDP) pulling out of the National Democratic Alliance(NDA) in March 2018. TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu had accused the BJP of reneging on a promise to confer special category status on the state . The BJP had cited the 14th Finance Commission's report to say that Andhra Pradesh could not be granted special category status. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Sunday, May 26, 2019, 17:29 [IST] Int'l travellers who test COVID positive at the airport will not be allowed to go to their destinations Who is Firhad Hakim? Know Kolkata's New Mayor Age, Education, Family and Other Details AirAsia flight makes emergency landing at Kolkata airport after threat call India oi-Madhuri Adnal New Delhi, May 26: Air Asia I5 - 588 flight has been cordoned off by the CISF at the Kolkata airport after a threat call was received at the Bengaluru Airport. All 179 passengers have deboarded, aircraft is in isolation bay. A total of 179 passengers were on board the aircraft. All the passengers have been offloaded at the Kolkata airport. The Bomb Detection & Disposal Squad (BDDS) has arrived at the airport and are checking the aircraft. The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) has cordoned the aircraft. Several fire tenders are also present at the spot. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Sunday, May 26, 2019, 19:40 [IST] Creating terrorism-free environment key for regional peace: Modi to Pak PM India pti-PTI New Delhi, May 26: Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a telephonic conversation with his Pakistani counterpart Imran Khan on Sunday, during which he called for creating trust and an environment free of violence and terrorism for fostering peace and prosperity in the region. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said it was Khan who called up Modi. "The Prime Minister thanked the Prime Minister of Pakistan for his telephone call and greetings," it said. Recalling his initiatives in line with his government's "neighbourhood first" policy, Modi referred to his earlier suggestion to Khan to fight poverty jointly, the MEA said. "He stressed that creating trust and an environment free of violence and terrorism were essential for fostering cooperation for peace, progress and prosperity in our region," it added. It said Modi also received telephone calls from former president of the Maldives Mohamed Nasheed and former prime minister of Nepal Madhav Nepal on his victory in the recent general election. "Former president Nasheed congratulated the Prime Minister on the historic mandate and noted that the relationship between the Maldives and India had deepened in recent times," the MEA said. He stressed the importance of close cooperation to fight the forces of extremism and radicalisation in the region, it added. On his part, Modi thanked Nasheed for his felicitation and reiterated his commitment to continue fostering a strong, mutually beneficial and all-round partnership between the two countries. The MEA said Madhav Nepal warmly congratulated Modi on leading his party and alliance to a grand, historic and landslide victory. He also expressed the confidence that India's emergence as a front-ranking world power would qualitatively uplift the entire region. PTI Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2019 > Secularism: A Heritage to Defend by D.R. Goyal You do not have to be an idol-worshipper to remember Nehru today. Every day something happens that compels your mind to recall a man exerting every nerve to pull his countrymen out of the morass of superstition, to debunk the bullock-cart mentality and to instil in them the confidence that they could shape their own destiny. He was a man far above his peers, loved and adored by the millions, respected and honoured the world over as the passionate voice of peace and freedom; a man who could claim willing suspension of all disbelief and scepticism from his people. But he was a man who struggled and fought out of his system the temptation of becoming a Caesar because he believed that would spell disaster for the India to the building of which the best men of his generation had dedicated themselves. Thus he came to be known as the maker of modern India, the promoter of the scientific temper and a secular outlook, the builder of democratic traditions and structure, the single-minded campaigner for peace and social justice. And what kind of tribute is being paid to him now? Nehru is fast being relegated to the position of a god in the pantheon, good enough for incense-burning but not for emulation. His guide and mentor, Gandhi, had earlier been pushed into that crowdironically during the life-time of Jawaharlal himself. The self-styled Gandhians had drained the life out of the Mahatmas thought and kept it as a memento. Nehru allowed it to happen. Now it seems Nehrus memory is being overtaken by a kind of nemesis. Those who claim copyright over his thought and legacy are making no better use of it than do school-boys of stray quotations for competition essays or elocution contest speeches. How would Nehru feel in the midst of the thick fragrant smoke of the numerous havans and yagnas and poojas that fill the Indian air today? These practises are not new to this country. For centuries have we wallowed in superstition and allowed our destiny to be a plaything in the hands of astrologers, sooth-sayers and charlatans. Nehru seemed to be Indias leap out of that darkness and the whole country appeared to rejoice in joining his great adventure of shaping the future through human endeavour. With Nehru gone we have fallen back into the old pit of darkness. No more are the stream of history, the clash of world forces, the factors of socio-economic development, etc., subjects of discussion in high quarters, among the decision-makers and wielders of power. The country has yet to hear a strong voice raised against this conspiracy of antediluvianism while every ounce of credibility that the high and mighty possess is being pressed into its service. One is reminded of Jawaharlals speeches during the 1962 election campaign. It had been declared by the pundits and priests that the eight-planet conjunction was a malevolent sign and that yagnas should be performed to avert the impending calamity. People all over the country, gripped by fear created by such propaganda, were being persuaded to join what were called Ashtagraha yagnas. Nehru made it a point to debunk it in all his election speeches, so that the campaign became, simultaneously with winning votes, education of the common man to be free from superstition. The attitude might have cost the Congress a few seatsat least one defeated candidate did mention it as a factorbut the people were given a protective dose against the onslaught of obscurantism. Even when the highly emotive question of ban on cow-slaughter was thrust into the election arena in the very first general election after independence, he did not quail before it but placed it squarely in perspective. The agitation for the ban on cow slaughter is based on sentiment, he said and added, The question is whether India is a political or a religious nation. How many self-styled inheritors of the Nehru legacy have the courage to adopt that attitude? Nehrus unreserved repudiation of ritual and superstition did not succeed in curing the society of these weaknesses, but it did have a salutary effect: people dared not flaunt them as virtuesas they do now. To preach atheism was none of his business; he was no philosophical crusader. He was only doing his duty as a secular leader to keep a multicultural, multi-religious nation free from unnecessary and unwarranted tension. Under his influence political leaders and members of the administration generally refrained from flaunting their distinctive religious marks and people generally tended to come closer to each other as Indians and as human beings. When ritualism gets encouragement by association with it of powerful politicians, it no longer remains a private affair confined to the holy precincts of shrines; it goes ahead and enters police stations and even courts of justice. Inevitably the defenders of civic peace and dispensers of justice begin to be identified with religion and the spirit of secularism takes flight. And we come across situations where one community feels closer to the administration while another feels alienated. That is not the kind of free India which Tagore or Gandhi or Nehru had visualised. It was Nehrus way, in fighting communalism, to catch the bull by the horns. Communalism, he knew from experience, was the creed of cowards. When challenged in the open it could not stand up. Those who today talk of the difficulties on account of an interim regimes softness to communal elements and seek to use it as an alibi for failure to tackle the problem, would do well to contemplate in what circumstances Nehru had to lead the country. He had inherited an administrative machine from the British which had become used to looking upon the countrys population as blocks of religious communities rather than as a nation. The bloodshed which accompanied Partition had warped the thinking of large masses of people besides creating the gigantic problem of rehabilitating the uprooted. His own colleagues had lost their Gandhian moorings and started toying with the idea of providing a Hindu chauvinist base to nationalism. Encouraged by all these developments, the RSS was dreaming of a takeover. Golwalkars speech at the Ramlila grounds in December 1947 had the ring of Hitler on the eve of his last putsch. In the upper echelons of the Sangh there were serious discussions on plans for a takeover. It was no idle dream. There were active links between the RSS top brass and a section of the Congress leadership and bureaucracy. The latter had been led to believe, through subtle suggestions and innuendos, that the Muslims had hatched a conspiracy to blow up the Capital and continue aggression till they established control over the whole of India. It was a fantastic cock-and-bull story but many important Cabinet colleagues of Nehru believed it and went to the extent of recommending that the RSS be allowed to become part of the Congress. While his colleagues were thus planning to meet the communal challenge through compromise, Nehru put his foot down. Earlier to that he had personally rushed into the midst of a frenzied mob which was looting and burning shops in Connaught Place. He did it in disregard of security advice and in the teeth of opposition by the bureaucrats. What he did gave a new orientation to many in the police and the administration generally. If the Prime Minister of the country risks his very life to protect the minorities, those who hoped and wished to work with him had to take secularism seriously. While there was Jawaharlal at the head of the administration, there was Gandhi among the people fighting furiously against mass anger and frustration. Gandhi actually fell victim to the poison which he was struggling to purge out of the system. The victim could as well have been Jawaharlal. There were many attempts on his life. The martyrdom of the Mahatma shocked the nation into sanity. Nehrus voice began to be heard with greater attention as realisation dawned of the kind of disaster communal thinking could bring in its train. People changed because Nehru stood firm and faced the calamity with courage. He said: Great as this man of God was in his life, he has been great in his death, and I have not the shadow of a doubt that by his death he has served the great cause as he served it throughout his life... He would chide us if we merely mourn. That is a poor way of doing homage to him. The only way is to express our determination, to pledge ourselves anew, to conduct ourselves in a befitting manner and to dedicate ourselves to the great task which he undertook and which he accomplished to such a large extent. He declared the resolve to root out the evil: It is clear... that this happening, this tragedy, is not merely the isolated act of a mad man. This comes out of a certain atmosphere of violence and hatred that has prevailed in this country for many months and years and more especially in the past few months. That atmosphere envelopes us and surrounds us and if we are to serve the cause he put before us we have to face this atmosphere, to combat it, to struggle against it and root out hatred and violence. What the present-day leadership has to face are tragedies of much smaller magnitude but call for the same measure of courage and clarity. The slow-motion response to Moradabad reminds us that our leaders have moved far from Gandhi and Nehru. This is what we are up against. (Mainstream, November 15, 1980) The author, who was an editor of this journal for a few years in the 1960s, was a noted writer, journalist and crusader against communalism. Rout for Alka Lamba, but she has some serious advise for the Congress Disgruntled AAP MLA Alka Lamba to leave AAP in 2020 India oi-PTI New Delhi, May 26: Disgruntled Aam Aadmi Party legislator Alka Lamba has announced that she would leave the party next year. "My journey started with you in 2013 will end in 2020. My best wishes will be with the dedicated revolutionary ground workers of the party, hopefully you will remain a strong alternative in Delhi. The last six years have been memorable and I have learnt a lot from you," the Chandni Chowk MLA said in a tweet. She did not say whether she would quit AAP before or after the assembly election due in Delhi next year. AAP's Sanjay Singh meets SP Chief Akhilesh Yadav Lamba has been at odds with the party for some time now. On Saturday, Lamba sought accountability from AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal on the crushing defeat of the party in Lok Sabha polls following which she was removed from the official WhatsApp group of the party lawmakers. AAP did not win any of the seven parliamentary seats in Delhi. Sharing screenshots on Twitter where it can be seen that she was removed by AAP's North East Delhi candidate Dilip Pandey from the group, Lamba lashed out at Kejriwal and said why is she being held responsible for the party's loss in Lok Sabha elections. Hinting at Kejriwal, she said action should be taken against those who took all decisions "sitting in a closed room". "I have always been telling the party what you (Kejriwal) are telling them now. I am sometimes added to the group, sometimes removed. It would have been better if a meeting was held to introspect, look at the shortcomings and move ahead, she said. This is the second time that Lamba has been dropped from the WhatsApp group. Previously, she was dropped in December last year when she raised objection to AAP's resolution to revoke Rajiv Gandhi's Bharat Ratna. However, she was added before the campaigning for Lok Sabha polls started and was expected to campaign for the party. But Lamba refused to campaign for the party and even refrained from participating in Kejriwal's roadshow after she was asked to walk behind his car during the event. In April, Lamba engaged in a bitter Twitter spat with AAP's Greater Kailash MLA Saurabh Bharadwaj, who had taunted her to resign from the party. Following the spat, Lamba addressed a large crowd outside Jama Masjid and said the party was repeatedly demanding her resignation. She alleged that the party leadership was "weakening" her and said she is being accused of attempting to switch over to the Congress. Alka Lamba won the Chandni Chowk assembly seat for the first time in 2013. Before joining Kejriwal, Lamba was part of the Congress women wing. PTI For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Sunday, May 26, 2019, 13:18 [IST] Widespread rain, thunderstorms likely over Kerala, Karnataka in next five days Lightning 'biggest natural killer' in India: All your FAQs answered Thunderstorms with moderate to heavy rainfall predicted over Chennai Heavy rain, thunderstorms hits Tripura, over 700 people homeless India oi-PTI Agartala, May 26: At least 739 people were rendered homeless and forced to take shelter in relief camps across Tripura due to heavy rain and thunderstorms since Friday, an official said. However, there was no report of any casualty. "North Tripura, Unakoti and Dhalai districts have been affected," the head of the State Disaster Management Authority, Sarat Das, told PTI. The State Emergency Operations Centre (SEOC) in a report said, out of the 739 people, who are sheltered in various relief camps, 358 people are from Unakoti district and 381 from North Tripura district. Weather forecast today: Heavy downpour likely in Kerala as Southwest monsoon advances A total of 1,039 houses were damaged due to heavy rainfall. A total of 40 rescue boats were pressed into service by the state revenue department to evacuate the people from affected areas, he said. "The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and Tripura State Rifles (TSR) have also joined the rescue operations," Das said. A number of trees and electric posts were also uprooted due to blustery winds, officials said. In Unakoti district, the water level of Manu river has crossed the danger mark on Saturday afternoon. The MeT department here predicted that rain and thundershowers with gusty winds will continue in the state on Sunday. PTI For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Sunday, May 26, 2019, 9:08 [IST] 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 PM Modi likely to address rally in Punjab on January 5, may share stage with Amarinder PM Modi undertakes road journey from Kanpur to Lucknow due to bad weather: Official It is a historic win says L K Advani India oi-Oneindia Staff By Anuj Cariappa New Delhi, May 26: Veteran BJP leader L K Advani expressed his happiness over BJP's massive victory in 2019 general elections and termed it as "historic". Advani, who attended the NDA meeting in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi was elected as the leader of the BJP-led alliance, said all those who participated in the elections are "delighted" by the results. Talking to reporters outside Parliament building, he said, "I am very happy this is a historic mandate. Everyone (from NDA) who came here participated in this election is really happy." BJP's thumping win in Lok Sabha polls; Modi, Shah meet LK Advani, MM Joshi On Friday, both Modi and BJP president Amit Shah had visited Advani's house to sought his blessings after the party's massive victory in the Lok Sabha election. Modi had touched Adavni's feet. The Modi-led BJP won 303 seats out of 542 in general elections. Advani had not contested general elections this time after he was not given ticket on the grounds of age limit of 75 years. The veteran BJP leader, in a statement on Thursday, congratulated Modi for steering the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) towards an "unprecedented victory" in the elections. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Sunday, May 26, 2019, 10:04 [IST] Basavaraj Bommai: Another leader with origins in Janata Parivar, who made it big outside the party No DCMs, no Vijayendra: What the Bommai Cabinet looks like Karnataka coalition on edge? Two Congress MLAs meet BJP leader SM Krishna India oi-Deepika S Bengaluru, May 26: Is Karnataka government on edge? The alliance between strange bedfellows the Congress and JD(S) in Karnataka has been in survival mode since it was cobbled together last May. And now, speculation is rife in the Grand Old Party that two Congress legislatures- Ramesh Jarkiholi and Sudhakar reportedly met BJP leader SM Krishna on Sunday. This comes hours after the JD(S) issued a circular asking its spokespersons to refrain from interacting with media. However, Jarkiholi maintained that it was a coutesy call. Speaking to reporters he said, "It was not a political meeting. We wanted to wish SM Krishna Ji after BJP won 25 seats in Karnataka. It was a courtesy call." Karnataka rebel Roshan Baig hails PM Modi's 'minorities' remark With JD(S) leaders expressing their disappointment over the results openly, the party held a meeting and has asked the leaders and members to stay away from the media. A letter in this regard states: "It was decided in the legislative committee meeting of the party that members or leaders should not take part in the debates held by media and also should not give any statements to them. Thus, no one is allowed to give any statements to the TV or the print media. You cannot take part in the TV debates as party spokespersons. Party stresses that you should follow this order." Earlier, JD(S) state president AH Vishwanath said, "Unlike other parties JD(S) has not made a list of spokespersons authorised to take part in TV debates. As a result, even those who are not authorised by the party are taking part in these debates representing the party. So, we have instructed the party members not to represent JD(S) in TV debates, till the party finalises a list." Sumalatha meets S M Krishna Meanwhile, Mandya MP-elect Sumalatha Ambareesh met Karnataka BJP president BS Yeddyurappa and party leader SM Krishna as a mark of thanks giving. She she thanked BJP leaders for extending support to her during the election campaign. "I wanted to first thank the BJP for its support. I am individually meeting everybody who extended their support to me," Sumalatha said after meeting BS Yeddyurappa at his residence. "An independent MP cannot officially join any party but since the BJP backed me officially, I can extend issue-based support but I will take the opinion of the people of Mandya who have elected me and then take a decision," Sumalatha said when asked if she would join the BJP. BJP storms Karnataka, but South India remains unconquered frontier Sumalatha created a record by becoming the first ever woman independent MP elected in Karnataka. The desperate coalition between the Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular) has been in survival mode since it was cobbled together last May. This has spelt disaster for both parties in the Lok Sabha elections. The BJP has won 25 of 28 Lok Sabha seats in the state, with one seat each going to the Congress, the Janata Dal (Secular) and an independent. Thursday's results have revived apprehensions that the state government might fall because of the likelihood that disgruntled MLAs will switch to the BJP. 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 Karnataka rebel Roshan Baig hails PM Modi's 'minorities' remark India oi-Deepika S Bengaluru, May 26: Karnataka Congress rebel Roshan Baig has heaped praise on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for "assuring social unity" and eliminating the "fear psychosis that has been induced over the years". The senior Congress leaders remarks come in the backdrop of Prime Minister Modi's statement that minorities had been cheated by the opposition and that it must stop. "Pleased with PM @narendramodi's statements in Central Hall about the minorities of India. Elated that he has assured social unity even before swearing in, a good first step at promoting the idea of ONE India & eliminating the fear psychosis that has been induced over the years," Baig said in a tweet. No Operation Lotus, here is how BJP plans to form government in Karnataka "I'm hopeful that he'll walk the talk and develop an inclusive India. Optimistic because he did not make this speech as a part of some election gimmick to attract a "vote bank", but instead, made these assuring statements after winning. Welcome change in Indian politics," he added. Earlier, Baig had called Congress general secretary KC Venugopal a "buffoon", 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. Narendra Modi, who met the new batch of MPs at the Parliament Central Hall on Saturday said that the minorities have been cheated by the Opposition for generations and now it is time to win them over. Interesting trend in Karnataka, same party leading in assembly, Centre for the first time in 2 decad He also asked the MPs to take everyone along and that the minorities have been made to live in an "imaginary fear" all this while and they have to break this "deception". He said they should take everyone along, including those who have not voted for the ruling alliance and have been its trenchant critics. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Sunday, May 26, 2019, 12:35 [IST] LS mandate opportunity for country to regain its place in world, says Modi India pti-PTI Ahmedabad, May 26: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said people's mandate in the Lok Sabha elections has given an opportunity to the country to regain its lost position in the world order. Speaking at a felicitation event here organised by the Gujarat BJP unit, he urged the cadres to remain humble after the landslide victory. "I can see that the next five years will be very crucial, both in the context of India and the world. And fortunately, we are now having a full majority government, that too having support of strong NDA allies," he said. The next five years will be as important as the period between 1942 to 1947, he said. [Meet the youngest Lok Sabha MP from Odisha, Chandrani Murmu] "This is an opportunity for the country to regain its lost position in the world order. And, I have no doubt that we will achieve it. This is a big opportunity to awaken people's conscience and take the country forward. It is time to make a vow to make India a problem-free country," Modi said. The prime minister addressed the gathering at JP Chowk outside the BJP office in Khanpur area, its former state headquarters before it shifted to Gandhinagar. It now houses the party's city unit office. Modi reminisced that he had spent many years in this small office during his initial days as a politician. He had last addressed a gathering at JP Chowk when BJP won the 2012 Assembly polls, he recalled. The Lok Sabha results stunned all the political pundits, Modi said. "During the campaigning for the sixth phase, I had, for the first time, said we will cross 300 seats. At that time, many people made fun of my statement... I saw during the campaigning that people were keen to reinstate this government. People wanted to strengthen the government. They knew that their votes will provide guarantee of security and bring prosperity," he said. "This is a pro-incumbency vote. A vote to reinstate the present government. In the beginning of the poll campaign, I had told it is not BJP or its candidates who are contesting, it is the people who are contesting the polls... The word 'wave' is too small to describe the poll results this time," he said. The BJP leader also remembered the victims of the devastating fire in Surat two days ago, and said he was in a dilemma as to whether he should address such a gathering in the immediate aftermath of the incident that claimed 22 lives. "Till yesterday, I was in two minds whether to go for this felicitation function or not as on one hand, there was 'kartvya' (duty) and on the other hand, there was 'karuna' (compassion) for those who died in Surat. No amount of words can reduce the grief of the families who have lost their children in that tragedy," he said. "On the other hand, I had to thank the people of the state and also take blessings of my mother as a duty," the prime minister added. The function was kept simple in the wake of the tragic incident in Surat, he noted. Remembering his days as Gujarat chief minister, Modi said though people in other parts of the country did not know him in 2014, they knew Gujarat very well for its development. "People knew what is Gujarat and how it is ahead on many parameters. The fragrance of Gujarat and its development reached the people before I reached out to them. Gujarat's development was at the core of people's mandate to us in 2014, as people had a feeling that the country would see similar development," he said. Speaking earlier, BJP president Amit Shah said it was Modi who ended 'gundaraj' (reign of criminals) and corruption in Gujarat as chief minister from 2001 to 2014. "There is a reason why people reposed immense faith in Narendra bhai. He had visited numerous villages, trained many party workers and finally made Gujarat a BJP fortress. He started Gujarat's journey of development in 2001 and took it to the country after 2014," he said. "There was a time when Gujarat was known for curfews and riots. People faced difficulty in taking out Rath Yatra (chariot processions taken out by temples). All that vanished after Modi became CM. He ended Gujarat's water problems and provided electricity in rural areas," Shah added. PTI Mamata Banerjee's offer to quit as Bengal CM nothing but drama: Mukul Roy India pti-PTI Kolkata, May 26: BJP leader Mukul Roy on Sunday described Trinamool Congress (TMC) president Mamata Banerjee's offer to quit as the West Bengal chief minister following her party's drubbing in the Lok Sabha polls as nothing but a drama to stay in the news. Banerjee would never step down from the chief minister's post as she was more keen on relishing the powers of the chair, he said. "Mamata Banerjee offering to quit is nothing but a drama. She said all these only to stay in the news headlines. To whom did she submit her resignation? She herself is the party (TMC). Has anybody seen her resignation papers? "I think she submitted the resignation to herself and then rejected it on her own," the BJP leader mocked while speaking to reporters here. "She (Banerjee) is more keen on relishing the powers of chief minister and will never resign unless the people of West Bengal use their democratic rights to throw her out," Roy, who was Banerjee's right-hand man before joining the BJP, said. The TMC supremo had Saturday said she had offered to quit as the West Bengal chief minister at the party's internal meeting in view of its drubbing in the Lok Sabha polls at the hands of the BJP, but her offer was rejected by the party. Reacting to Banerjee's statement that she would continue to attend Iftar parties without caring for the appeasement jibes as she was "ready to be kicked by the cow that gives milk", Roy said the TMC chief should come clean on whether she was calling the Muslim community "cow". "I will also like to request the people of the Muslim community to think on this," he said. On Banerjee's reiteration that she would never allow implementation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in West Bengal, the BJP leader claimed that she had no idea about it or the Citizenship Amendment Act. "In the country, first the Citizenship Amendment Act will be implemented and then the NRC will come into place," he said. Keeping up his attack on the TMC, Roy said the party would soon be relegated to "history" as it was born only to oppose the CPI(M) in West Bengal and had no philosophy or idea about the country's economy or industry. "Only history books will mention that there was a party called the TMC. The process of the TMC going into extinction has already started," he said, alleging that the Communist Party of India (Marxist) had helped the party improve its vote share in the Lok Sabha polls. Roy also rubbished reports that BJP activists were forcibly occupying TMC party offices after the poll results and handing those over to the Left parties. Asked to comment on the claims made by several BJP leaders that the Assembly polls in West Bengal would be held in another six months, Roy declined, saying it depended on the will and wisdom of the people. West Bengal witnessed a saffron surge as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 18 of its 42 Lok Sabha seats, up from only two in the 2014 parliamentary polls. The TMC won 22 seats, down from 34 in 2014. PTI Will always be with you to fight injustice: Rahul Gandhi to media Manish Tewari frontrunner for Congress party leader in Lok Sabha India oi-Hardeep Singh Bedi New Delhi, May 26: Amid the poll debacle, the Congress has started looking for the new party leader in the Lok Sabha. Congress leaders want either Rahul Gandhi or Sonia Gandhi to take up the responsibility but they also maintain that the duo won't agree for it. It is notable that both Sonia and Rahul had not become party leader in the Lok Sabha in 2014. The Congress had appointed Scheduled Caste (SC) leader from Karnataka Mallikarjun Kharge as party leader and Captain Amarinder Singh as deputy leader in the Lok Sabha. CWC rejects Rahul Gandhi's offer to quit as Congress President Since Kharge has faced first defeat in Gulbarga and Captain Amarinder Singh is the Chief Minister of Punjab, therefore the party needs new faces for these posts. According to the sources, the Congress is looking for someone who is fluent both in English as well as in Hindi. Since most of the Congress MPs have been elected from Kerala and Punjab, therefore, Hindi will be a problem. A source tells One India that many leaders in the Congress are now questioning Hindi speaking ability of Kharge. According to the sources, the names of Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor and Anandpur Sahib MP Manish Tewari are being considered for the post of party leader in the Lok Sabha. "As far as the experience and exposure is concerned there is no match of Tharoor but the Congress is unlikely to make him party leader in the Lok Sabha because of his lifestyle and the habit of expressing independent views. His alleged involvement in the death of his Sunanda Pushkar is also the main reason that he is unlikely to be selected for the post," says a source. Tharoor has worked with the United Nations and held various important posts before quitting the UN in 2007. His third wife Sunanda was found dead in room number 345 of the Leela Palace hotel in Chanakyapuri, New Delhi, On January 17, 2014. In May 2018, Tharoor was charged with abetment to suicide of his wife and marital cruelty under sections 306 and 498A of the Indian Penal Code. If convicted, Tharoor could serve up to 10 years in jail. The fall of Gandhi bastion: Why Rahul lost from Amethi? According to the sources, Mainsh Tewari is the frontrunner for the post as he is also suave, experienced and fluent in English as well as Hindi. He was Union Minister of State, Minister of Information and Broadcasting and a Member of Parliament from Ludhiana from 2009-2014. Currently, he is the spokesperson of the Congress party. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Sunday, May 26, 2019, 9:19 [IST] 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 PM Modi likely to address rally in Punjab on January 5, may share stage with Amarinder PM Modi undertakes road journey from Kanpur to Lucknow due to bad weather: Official Modi meets Venkaiah Naidu ahead of first visit to Gujarat after poll victory India oi-PTI New Delhi, May 26: A day after being appointed prime minister for a second term, Narendra Modi on Sunday called on Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu. Sources described it as a courtesy call. Modi reached the vice president house here to meet Naidu this morning. Will BJP form government in Madhya Pradesh: Chouhan has this to say Modi was on Saturday appointed prime minister by President Ram Nath Kovind after he was unanimously elected NDA parliamentary party leader at a meeting in which he asked coalition members to work without discrimination, stressing on the need to win the trust of minorities. In the general election, he led the BJP-led NDA to a landslide victory with the alliance winning 353 seats, including an unprecedented 303 by the BJP. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Sunday, May 26, 2019, 12:27 [IST] 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 PM Modi likely to address rally in Punjab on January 5, may share stage with Amarinder PM Modi undertakes road journey from Kanpur to Lucknow due to bad weather: Official Modi set for first bilateral visit after election victory, likely to visit Maldives on June 7 India oi-Deepika S New Delhi, May 26: After swearing-in for the second term, Narendra Modi will go to Maldives for his first bilateral foreign visit. He is likely to visit Maldives between June 7 - 8. President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has congratulated Modi on the electoral win recently secured by the Bharatiya Janaata Party and the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). In November last year, PM Modi had visited the Maldives to attend the swearing-in ceremony of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih after he surprisingly defeated Abdulla Yameen in the presidential polls. Modi meets Venkaiah Naidu ahead of first visit to Gujarat after poll victory During President Solih's visit to India in December, New Delhi had announced financial assistance of USD 1.4 billion to Male. However, the President's Office stated that they have not been officially informed of a visit by the Indian Foreign Ministry. The BJP led by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-BJP president Amit Shah duo - has secured 302 seats in the 17th Lok Sabha. Meanwhile, the Congress, the main Opposition party, managed to increase its vote share from 2014 only by a handful of votes, with a final tally of 52 votes. There will be no Leader of Opposition in the upcoming Lower House for a second consecutive term. 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. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Sunday, May 26, 2019, 15:40 [IST] Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2019 > Remembering Jawaharlal Today by C.N. Chitta Ranjan The following article, by the first editor of Mainstream, appeared six years after Jawaharlal Nehrus death in this journals May 23, 1970 issue. Born on September 29, 1921 in Ooty, C.N.C., as he was known to his friends and admirers, passed away at Delhi on August 2, 1990. A veteran journalist, he worked in the Indian Express (Madras) in the 1940s; he joined The Hindustan Times in Delhi in 1960, and edited Mainstream when it was launched from the Capital in September 1962. In 1963 he joined Patriot as its Assistant Editor and also became the editor of Link. Thereafter in 1970 he was the Resident Editor of National Herald (Lucknow) before becoming the editor of that daily in 1976. At the time of his death he was the Joint Editor of India Press Agency (IPA). Although the situation in 1970 in the country was quite different from the one prevailing today, the similarity of the contents of this article with the present scenario in India is indeed striking. When last week Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on behalf of the people of India squarely accepted the grim challenge posed by communal reaction and declared that these enemies of the nation would be relentlessly fought at every level, history was repeating itself; for, she was speaking the language of Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru whose uncompromising commitment to secularism and democracy is her own heritage as much as the nations. When the Prime Minister referred to the naked fascism visible behind Jana Sangh President Atal Behari Vajpayees provocative and mischievous speech which could only be interpreted as a green signal for communal gangs to continue and intensify their inhuman activities against the minority communities, chiefly the Muslims, she was unconsciously echoing words used by her great father over two decades ago. Cherished Values Not long after the murder of the Mahatma, Jawaharlal described the dark forces of communalism as the Indian version of fascism, and expressed his determination to prevent them from attacking the secular base of Indian democracy. When Smt Indira Gandhi compared Sri Vajpayees gesticulations to those of Hitler, she obviously had much more in mind than the Jana Sangh leaders waving of arms. Like her father, she saw clearly the threat to all cherished values of the country enshrined in the Constitution in these gestures and the diabolical words that accompanied them. Jawaharlal Nehru was among the first of the national leaders during the years of the freedom struggle to understand the true character and aims of the parties of communal reaction among both Hindus and Muslims. He often undere-stimated their strength, no doubt, but he was never in doubt about what precisely they stood for, whose interests they were frantically trying to protect at the cost of national unity and cohesion. Vested Interests He saw clearly enough that both Hindu and Muslim communalists in those years were in fact henchmen of British imperialism whose game they were playing to further the petty interests of a handful of affluent persons in either community. Communalism to him was the most obnoxious expression of the struggle of vested interests in collusion with the alien power to prevent awakening among the masses of India to which the National Congress under the leadership of Gandhiji had directed all its energies. In the early thirties, Hindu communalism was represented by the Hindu Mahasabha whose offspring is the present Jana Sangh. Of the Mahasabha, Nehru said that it not only hides the rankest and narrowest communalism but also desires to preserve the vested interests of a group of big Hindu landlords and the princes. He firmly held that the activities of the Hindu communal organisations have been communal, anti-national and reactionary. It is a fact of history that Nehru did not spare the Muslim communalists who supplemented the work of the Hindu communalists. Most of them, he declared once, are definitly anti-national and political reactionaries of the worst kind. In the early thirties he noted that the Hindu reactionaries as well as the Muslim communalists represented no more than a handful of vested interests subservient to the colonial power, and that neither had much hold over the masses of the country despite their obvious capacity to foment trouble taking sinister advantage of religious differences. He was indeed categorical that there is no essential difference between the two types of communalism. One important difference he did note, however. This was that the communalism of a majority community must of necessity bear a close resemblance to nationalism than the communalism of a minority group. This was especially true of India, for the Hindus are largely confined to this country and in religious terms they have little affinity with the world outsidea proposition which is obviously not true of minorities like the Muslims, the Christians and others. It is easy for the Hindu communalists to pretend that they are genuine nationalists taking advantage of the fact that the roots of other religions lie outside the country. This point is of importance in the present context, for todays Hindu communalists, led by the Jana Sangh and RSS, are precisely making this claim to nationalism for themselves and constantly casting doubts on the loyalty to the country of the minorities on the strength of the wider association of the religions of the latter. The purpose of the Hindu communalists now, as it was before independence, is to prevent the socio-economic status quo from erosion by the modern ideas of equality and democracy. While this was equally true of the Muslim communalists, whose symbol paradoxically enough came to be the irreligious and ultra-modern Jinnah, Nehru and some other national leaders realised that the greater danger to national purpose was posed by the communalism of the majority community. They realised that minority communalism could be effectively curbed only if majority communa-lism was eliminated. Hence the leadership Gandhiji and Jawaharlal gave in the struggle against the dark forces of communalism beginning with the ones entrenched in the upper classes of the majority community. There is no doubt that they did succeed to a great extent in reducing the strength of Hindu communalism despite the consistent efforts of the British administrators to encourage it. Grim Consequences In the case of Muslim communalism, however, the efforts of the national leaders were not so successful, the main reason being the back-wardness and utter poverty of the majority of Muslims which the Muslim League was able to exploit to the full and in the most cynical manner. It was only when partition actually took place accompanied by the most unprecedented blood-letting and misery for millions of families, both Hindu and Muslim, that the grim consequences of a communal attitude etched themselves on the minds of both Hindus and Muslims. At the time of partition the leaders of India more than the leaders of Pakistan were on trial; Pakistan had been carved out on foundations of hatred, and religion was used as a cloak to build a state whose sole purpose then was to satisfy the enormous vanity of a handful of arrogant individuals led by Jinnah. India, however, had different traditions imbibed over a far longer period. The national leadership and the people as a whole were firmly committed to establishing a secular democratic state in which all citizens would have equal rights and all religions would have their place without any one of them being permitted to influence the administration. To the rulers of Pakistan the killing of the Hindu minority was not something altogether abominable; at any rate the philosphy on which they had chosen to found their new state precluded violent reaction to communal orgies. Not so India; to the leaders of this country, the message of hatred and murder that the vast numbers of Hindu refugess brought from across the border was something that had to be fought fiercely and subdued. It did not, rightly, occur to them that the Hindu refugees or their friends this side of the border were justified in wreaking vengeance on innocent Muslims, men, women and children, living their own lives here as citizens of free India. It is no accident that there was no parallel in Pakistan to the healing missions undertaken by Mahatma Gandhi in areas where minorities were under attack by organised hooligans, or to the great personal risks that Jawaharlal took by rushing into the midst of frenzied, armed mobs to prevent the butchery of innocent members of the minority community. The difference in attitude stemmed from the difference in purpose in establishing a free state. Secular Forces In the years before freedom it was Mahatma Gandhi who led the secular forces in the country despite his preference for communicating with the Hindu masses in the language of the shastras and the epics which the ignorant and the illiterate could comprehend easily. His concern for the safety of all minorities and for all the oppressed sections even within Hindu society was manifest not merely in his words but in his actions. But, after the attainment of independence, it was left to Jawaharlal Nehru to lead the secular democratic forces in the struggle against communal reaction. This he had to do in the face of sniping from his own ranks often: for example, it is no secret that Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, whom the Hindu communalists of today appear to have adopted as one of their apostles, thought in terms of packing off Muslims from this country in retaliation for the misdeeds of the Muslim majority in Pakistan against the Hindu minority there. Jawaharlal put his foot down against such tendencies and insisted that it was the sacred duty of the majority community to protect and look after the interests of the minorities who had become citizens of this country, irrespective of the behaviour of the neighbouring country. The people were with Jawaharlal and he succeeded in isolating the communalists in his own camp and establishing understanding with secular forces outside his party. A little after independence Nehru said: We in India have suffered from communalism. It began in a big way from the Muslim League. The result was the partition of India. The Muslim League type of communalism is now more or less outside India. Some odd, foolish individual may indulge in it here, but that does not count and nothing can happen in India today from that source. But that poison has, by some reverse process, entered other peoples minds and we have Hindu and Sikh communal organisations as communal as the Muslim League ever was..... If you examine the gospel of communalism even under the cloak of nationalism you will find that it is the most dangerous thing and breaks up that essential and fundamental unity of India without which we cannot progress. Non-Communal Approach At that time he noted, too, that communal elements had infiltrated the Congress and pleaded that Congress candidates must be chosen with particular care so that they might represent fully the non-communal character and approach of the Congress. As for the Jana Sangh and other communal organisations, they were trying to frighten the Muslims and exploit the vast number of refugees who had suffered so much already. He uttered a clear warning to the communal organisations whose echo was heard in the Lok Sabha the other day from Srimati Indira Gandhi; Nehru said: So far as I am concerned and the Government I lead is concerned, I want to make it perfectly clear that communal forces will not be given the slightest quarter to sow seeds of dissensions among the people. It is no accident that during the fifties, although there were engineered communal incidents here and there, the communal organisations were more or less ineffective. It is no accident either that the minorities in the country came to look upon Nehru as their greatest protector. It was only during the last years of his life, when his powers were waning and opportunists in power were able to strike deals behind his back, that the communal organisations, notably the Jana Sangh and RSS, began to gain strength once again. Since his death these forces have become increasingly arrogant and violent. And they have been joined by organisations like the Shiv Sena which owe their growth to tolerance and even encouragement from certain Congress-men in office and from vested interests which see in such groups effective instruments to mount an offensive against the progressive policies and attack parties and individuals wedded to socialist ideas. It is not just by chance that in Bombay, Ranchi and elsewhere the communal organi-sations have been making open attempts to divide the working class on communal lines and destroy trade union solidarity. Smt Indira Gandhis chin-up acceptance of the challenge of communalism is undoubtedly heartenng, but it will amount to little unless the administrative machinery is purged of the communal elements that have infiltrated over the years, firm action is taken to put down poisonous propaganda by the communal organisations and their publicity sheets, and all forward-looking parties and individuals are swiftly moblised at all levels to give a determined fight to reaction in all its forms. Let us remember Nehrus warning which is as relevant today as it was when it was uttered. Communalism bears a striking resemblance to the various forms of fascism that we have seen in other countries. It is in fact the Indian version of fascism. We know the evils that have flown from fascism. In India we have known also the evils and disasters that have resulted from communal conflict. A combination of these two is thus something that can only bring grave perils and disasters in its train. The warning is timely in the wake of Ahmedabad, Chaibasa and Bhiwandi. But the struggle against the fascist threat posed by the Jana Sangh, RSS, Shiv Sena and the rest has now to be much more broadbased than it ever was in Nehrus time; the roots of the poison tree have to be cut and destroyed, and this calls for a dedicated national effort. In this task, the Prime Minister obviously has the capacity to provide the leadership, but what we need are leaders in every village and every mohalla who will make the elimination of the communalists their first task. Let this battle against communalism be turned into a massive national crusade as the nation pays its homage to the memory of Jawaharlal Nehru this week on the sixth anniversary of his passing away. (Mainstream, May 23, 1970) We don't have even 2 minutes to waste, must strive religiously for self-reliant nation: PM Modi PM Modi likely to address rally in Punjab on January 5, may share stage with Amarinder Narendra Modi to take oath along with new ministers on May 30 at Rashtrapati Bhavan India oi-Madhuri Adnal New Delhi, May 26: PM-elect Narendra Modi to take oath as Prime Minister once again on 30th May at 7pm, at Rashtrapati Bhavan. Members of Union Council of Ministers will also take oath. The President will administer the oath of office and secrecy to the Prime Minister and other members of the Union Council of Ministers at 7 pm on May 30, 2019, at Rashtrapati Bhavan, a tweet said from President of India official handle. An NDA delegation led by BJP President Amit Shah handed over a letter to the President stating that Narendra Modi had been elected as the leader of the BJP Parliamentary Party. Ahead of the swearing-in ceremony, several media reports have claimed that preparations are underway to invite world leaders, including the leaders of permanent five UNSC members, countries of South East and West Asia. However, the official sources in the government have denied such reports as mere speculations. News agency ANI reported government sources as saying yesterday. PM Modi was on Saturday elected as the leader of newly elected NDA MPs. He will now call on President Ram Nath Kovind to stake his claim to form the government. After this, he will be sworn in as the next prime minister. Will always be with you to fight injustice: Rahul Gandhi to media Rahul Gandhi insists he wants to quit top job in Congress India oi-Oneindia Staff By Anuj Cariappa New Delhi, May 25: Congress President Rahul Gandhi Madde it clear that he was keen on quitting the top post in the party following the disastrous show in the just concluded Lok Sabha elections. Rahul Gandhi made his intent clear even as the party passed a unanimous resolution expressing full faith in his leadership. While he remained defiant, party workers would try and convince him to stay on. However, if Rahul continues to insist, then they would ask him name his successor. CWC rejects Rahul Gandhi's offer to quit as Congress President Even if he quits the top job, he would continue to work for the party. Rahul had said that he took full responsibility for the party's defeat. Following the meeting held on Saturday, the party passed a resolution which read, "Congress President, Shri Rahul Gandhi in his address to the CWC offered his resignation, as the party president. The CWC unanimously and with one voice rejected the same and requested the Congress President for his leadership and guidance in these challenging times. The CWC unanimously called upon the Congress President, Shri Rahul Gandhi to lead the party in its ideological battle and to champion the cause of India's youth, the farmers, the SC/ST/OBC's, the minorities, the poor and the deprived sections." For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Sunday, May 26, 2019, 9:45 [IST] Will always be with you to fight injustice: Rahul Gandhi to media Rahul Gandhi gives adjournment notice on giving unhindered access to pasture lands in Ladakh 'Do you work for govt?' Rahul Gandhi asks reporter; BJP calls him entitled brat Word 'lynching' practically unheard of before 2014, 'Thank You Modi-Ji': Rahul Gandhi Hindu and Hindutva are not different things: Suresh Bhaiyyaji Joshi Resignation not the solution: Kerala Congress on Rahuls offer to quit India oi-Oneindia Staff By Anuj Cariappa New Delhi, May 26: Coming out in support of the AICC chief, Congress leaders in Kerala said there was no need for Rahul Gandhi to resign in the wake of the party's poll debacle. Gandhi had offered to resign as the Congress received a severe drubbing in the Lok Sabha polls. The Congress party had faced simvoilar defeats earlier also and has bounced back, Opposition leader in the state Assembly Ramesh Chennithala told reporters here. Rahul Gandhi insists he wants to quit top job in Congress "No need for Rahul Gandhi to resign..Gandhi's resignation is not the solution. There is need to further stregthen the party and regain the faith of the people for which he needs to lead the party," Chennithala said. People had thronged Gandhi's meetings, but it could not converted into votes and hence the party set up needs to be stregthened further, he said. AICC general secretary Oommen Chandy also echoed similar views and said the party chief should continue. Manish Tewari frontrunner for Congress party leader in Lok Sabha While the Congress improved on its 2014 tally of 44, it could win just 52 Lok Sabha seats this year. In 18 states and Union Territories, the party could not open its account. In Kerala, the Congress managed to get 15 out of the total 20 seats, while its alliance partners secured four. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Sunday, May 26, 2019, 10:12 [IST] Int'l travellers who test COVID positive at the airport will not be allowed to go to their destinations Who is Firhad Hakim? Know Kolkata's New Mayor Age, Education, Family and Other Details Saradha scam: Look-out notice issued against former Kolkata top cop Rajeev Kumar India oi-Deepika S New Delhi, May 26: A look out notice has been issued against former Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar, an accused in the multi-crore Saradha chit fund scam. According to the lookout notice, Kumar is not allowed to leave the country for a year and will be detained and handed over to CBI if he tries to use airport or seaport to travel abroad. All airports and immigration authorities have been alerted by the CBI this week to prevent him from leaving the country and intimate the agency on any possible move, they said. The agency wants custodial interrogation of Kumar, a 1989-batch IPS officer, in connection with Rs 2500 crore Saradha ponzi scam as he was heading the Special Investigation Team of West Bengal Police to probe the case before CBI took over, they said. The CBI had told the Supreme Court that custodial interrogation of Kumar was necessary as he was not cooperating with the probe and he was "evasive" and "arrogant" in answering queries put to him during his questioning by the agency. Setback for ex-Kolkata top cop as SC declines protection from arrest Following his removal as ADG CID of Bengal by the Election Commission after violence broke out during BJP chief Amit Shah's rally in the state, Kumar is now an officer of the ministry of home affairs in Delhi. Earlier on Friday, Kumar failed to get any relief from the Supreme Court which declined to entertain his petition seeking extension of protection from arrest in the multi-crore scam. Kumar has been accused of destroying crucial evidence in the case. It was on this ground that the CBI urged the top court to modify its February order and let it arrest Kumar. Subsequently, the court passed the May 17 order. Section 144 CrPC invoked in Lucknow in view of Christmas, New Year UP 2021: Poll-bound state sees corpses floating in Ganga, violence in Lakhimpuri and Kashi's revival Shaadi at gunpoint: Youth stalks Bhojpuri actress Ritu Singh, forcer her to marry India oi-Deepika S Varanasi, May 26: A high drama prevailed at a hotel in Robertsganj after a young man barged into the room of a Bhojpuri actress with a pistol and tried to intimidate her into marrying him. One person sustained a bullet wound and a senior police officer narrowly escaped being shot at before the accused, Pankaj Yadav (25) of Jaunpur, was overpowered and arrested. According to a report published in The Times of India, Yadav who belonged to Jaunpur broke into the room of Bhojpuri film actress Ritu Singh, with a pistol and threatened her to marry him. Crew members of a Bhojpuri film unit from Mumbai were staying in the hotel for the shooting of a film. Marriage between man and transgender valid says Madras HC in pathbreaking verdict According to the report, Yadav fired at a local youth Ashok after he intervened. Ashok sustained bullet injury on his waist and was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital. Hotel staffers then informed the police. Bhojpuri actress has lodged FIR against stalker. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Sunday, May 26, 2019, 13:06 [IST] How MPs spent on their 2019 Lok Sabha election campaign In new Punjab Cabinet all ministers are crorepatis In the Goa assembly all 40 MLAs are crorepatis 14 with criminal record and 28 crorepatis in new Rajasthan Cabinet Valued at Rs 6,60,19,46,757 Kamal Naths son Nakul is richest MP India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, May 26: Valued at Rs 6,60,19,46,757, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister's son, Nakul Nath is the richest MP in the 17th Lok Sabha. Nakul Nath, who won the elections from Chhindwara in Madhya Pradesh has declared moveable assets worth Rs 6,18,41,72,757. His immovable assets are valued at Rs 41,77,74,000 says a report by the Association for Democratic Reforms. Second on the list is Vasanthakumar H of the Congress, who won the elections from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu. His moveable assets are valued at Rs 2,30,49,30,444 and moveable assets at Rs 1,87,00,00,000. His total assets are worth Rs 4,17,49,30,444. Congress factionalism behind raids against Kamal Nath aides? Third on this list is D K Suresh of the Congress, who won the elections from the Bangalore Rural constituency in Karnataka. His total assets are worth Rs 3,05,59,16,927. His moveable and immoveable assets are valued at Rs 33,30,03,790 and Rs 3,05,59,16,927 respectively. Out of the 539 Winners analysed, 475 (88%) are crorepatis. Out of 542 Winners analysed during Lok Sabha 2014 elections, 443 (82%) Winners were crorepatis. Out of 543 Winners analysed during Lok Sabha 2009 elections, 315(58%) Winners were crorepatis. Out of 301 Winners from BJP, 43 (84%) out of 51 Winners from INC, 22 (96%) out of 23 Winners from DMK, 20(91%) out of 22 Winners fielded by AITC, 19(86%) out of 22 Winners fielded by YSRCP, and 18(100%) Winners from SHS have declared assets worth more than Rs. 1 crore. The average of assets per Winner in the Lok Sabha Elections 2019 is Rs 20.93 Crore. Among major parties, the average assets per Winner for 301 BJP Winners is Rs 14.52 Crores, 51 INC Winners have average assets of Rs 38.71 Crores, 23 DMK Winners have average assets worth Rs 24.51 Crores, 22 YSRCP Winners have average assets worth Rs 54.85 Crore, and 22 AITC Winners have average assets of Rs. 6.15 crores. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Sunday, May 26, 2019, 8:48 [IST] Watch: Smriti Irani lends shoulder to mortal remains of close aide Surendra Singh, who was shot dead India oi-Madhuri Adnal New Delhi, May 26: Union minister Smriti Irani on Sunday helped carry the body of her close aide in Amethi, Surendra Singh, who was shot dead late on Saturday, for his final rites. Unidentified miscreants had opened fire on the former Baraulia village head while he was asleep on the veranda outside his home. The incident took place hours after Singh held a victory rally for the newly-elected MP in Amethi. Singh is believed to have worked closely with Irani and was part of the BJP team that did the ground work in Amethi ahead of the elections. Irani reportedly identified him as a key party worker. Singh had quit the post of village head to participate in the BJP election campaign. #WATCH BJP MP from Amethi, Smriti Irani lends a shoulder to mortal remains of Surendra Singh, ex-village head of Barauli, Amethi, who was shot dead last night. pic.twitter.com/jQWV9s2ZwY ANI (@ANI) May 26, 2019 The news of Singh's murder comes days after Irani was declared the winner of the Lok Sabha election from Amethi. She wrested the traditional Congress bastion from Rahul, winning by a margin of 55,120 votes. BJP leader Smriti Irani's close aide Surendra Singh shot dead in Amethi Director General of Uttar Pradesh Police OP Singh said seven suspects had been detained for questioning in connection with the murder. The motive behind his murder is unclear at the moment. The police are looking into multiple angles, including whether it is a case of old enmity and whether miscreants took advantage of the election climate to settle old scores. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Sunday, May 26, 2019, 16:36 [IST] Madhya Pradesh: Ruckus in school over 'religious conversion' of eight students in Vidisha; rioting case filed Will BJP form government in Madhya Pradesh: Chouhan has this to say India oi-Oneindia Staff By Anuj Cariappa Bhopal, May 26: BJP national vice president Shivraj Singh Chouhan Saturday said his party was not interested in bringing down the Kamal Nath government in Madhya Pradesh but cannot help if it falls on its own. The BJP had won 28 out of 29 Lok Sabha seats in the state in the just-concluded general polls and there has been speculation about the longevity of the Congress-led government in the state which is in power due to the support of BSP, SP and Independent MLAs. "The BJP doesn't believe in any kind of horse trading, but there are contradictions within the Congress. We are not interested in bringing down the (MP) government but BJP can't help if it falls on its own," Chouhan told reporters at a meet-the-press event here. Saffron leadership concerned over Digvijaya's friendship with Chouhan, Tomar "After the ticket distribution, a BSP candidate joined the Congress. Possibly, Mayawati ji can take this seriously or something happens within (the Congress). I am telling you the truth, if we wanted, we would not have allowed (Congress) to form the government," he said. During the Lok Sabha elections, the BSP's Guna candidate Lokendra Singh had opted out of the race and joined the Congress extending support to Jyotiraditya Scindia. Later, in a tweet, BSP supremo Mayawati threatened to withdraw support to the Kamal Nath government. These four states will decide BJP's fate in 2019 LS polls In the 2018 Assembly polls, the Congress had emerged as the single-largest party with 114 seats, two short of the simple majority mark of 116 seats, in the 230-member Assembly. The Congress then formed the government in the state with the support of two BSP, one SP and four Independent MLAs. The BJP, in power since 2003, had got 109 seats. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Sunday, May 26, 2019, 10:21 [IST] Taliban will be judged by deeds, not words: Boris Johnson ahead of G7 meet Want closer ties with India says UKs frontrunner for PM International oi-Oneindia Staff By Anuj Cariappa London, May 26: Britain's frontrunner in the prime ministerial race, Boris Johnson, wants an "even closer" partnership between India and the UK after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "emphatic" victory. Johnson is the former foreign secretary in the Cabinet led by Theresa May, who is set to formally resign on June 7 triggering a leadership contest for the new Conservative Party leader who will take over from her as British prime minister. The 54-year-old pro-Brexiteer is seen as leading the race for his decisive within the influential Brexit wing of the party and has often spoken out in favour of closer India-UK trade relations once the UK has left the European Union (EU). 'India lucky to have him:' Trump congratulates PM Modi over phone "Congratulations Narendra Modi on your emphatic victory in Indian Election results 2019. A strong endorsement for your optimistic vision of New India," Johnson said in his message for Modi soon after the results of the NDA's landslide victory on Thursday. "Let's look forward to an even closer partnership between UK-India in the years ahead," he said. The Indian elections continue to resonate in the UK, with senior politicians and entrepreneurs effusive in their praise for the world's largest democratic exercise. "Narendra Modi's victory in the Indian elections this week is not only the biggest democratic mandate of any leader in the world, in a subcontinent with more than 900 million eligible voters it's also a vindication of the relationship that successive British prime ministers, led by David Cameron, have built up with the fastest growing country in the G20, said Lord Jitesh Gadhia, an Indian-origin peer in the House of Lords. Leading NRI entrepreneur Gopichand P Hinduja welcomed the "momentous and resounding election victory" and called on the re-elected Indian government to connect more with the non-resident Indian community. Modi wins election: Wishes pour in from across the world The Co-Chairman of the multi-billion transnational Hinduja Group valued at over 22 billion pounds in this year's 'Sunday Times Rich List', said: "This is a vote for economic stability, aspiration for young India and vindication of his strong leadership in his first term in office. "India's global NRI community are an integral part of this growth story they are India's unpaid Ambassadors and should be able to invest on par with resident Indians. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Sunday, May 26, 2019, 10:33 [IST] Adaptive Security Market 2019 | High Growth at a CAGR of 12.7% along with IBM, CISCO SYSTEMS, DELL TECHNOLOGIES, RAPID7, INTEL SECURITY, CHECK POINT SOFTWARE TECHNOLOGIES, SYMANTEC CORPORATION till 2023 https://marketprognosis.com/sample-request/16361 https://marketprognosis.com/discount-request/16361 https://marketprognosis.com/enquiry/16361 The global adaptive security market is expected to witness a CAGR of 12.7% over the forecast period (2018 - 2023). The adaptive security system is an integrated design of software and hardware, to give security at the core of infrastructure against remote devices and cloud-based environment. Adaptive security systems operate against the principles of the traditional security systems. The adaptive security systems, instead of relying on pre-programmed virus definitions that need frequent updates, study the behavior of a suspicious activity that could be a potential threat and take necessary preventive measures to eliminate any such threats. Enterprises have been adopting prevention strategy to keep track of such undetectable threats increasingly in order to protect organizations data, networks, and applications. Need for security compliances and regulations as well as the need to secure IT resources from advanced cyber-attacks are some of the major factors driving the adaptive security market over the forecast period.Detailed Sample Copy of Updated Analysis @Note: If this link doesnt work in Internet Explorer, kindly try copy pasting it in other browsers.Key Developments in the MarketFebruary 2018 - Cisco collaborated with Rackspace to help deliver advanced security for multi-cloud environments. Both the companies are well known for being involved in a strategic partnership for the past 20 years, aimed at providing high levels of security for Cisco clients. However, with this turn, Cisco is expected to be delivering Rackspace customers advanced protection against evolving sophisticated threats in their multi-cloud environment.The major players include IBM CORPORATION, CISCO SYSTEMS INC., DELL TECHNOLOGIES INC., RAPID7 INC., INTEL SECURITY, CHECK POINT SOFTWARE TECHNOLOGIES LTD, SYMANTEC CORPORATION, and TREND MICRO, INC., amongst others.Reasons to Purchase this ReportCurrent and future adaptive security market outlook in the developed and emerging marketsAnalyzing various perspectives of the market with the help of Porters five forces analysisIdentifying the segment that is expected to dominate the marketIdentifying the regions that are expected to witness the fastest growth during the forecast periodIdentify the latest developments, market shares, and strategies employed by the major market players3-month analyst support, along with the Market Estimate sheet (in Excel)Request Discount on this repots @Note: If this link doesnt work in Internet Explorer, kindly try copy pasting it in other browsers.North America Holds the Largest Market ShareNorth America is expected to retain its position as the most significant market for adaptive security solutions over the forecast period. The strong presence of several market incumbents, coupled with recent security threats in the region, is expected to drive the adoption of these solutions further. According to the recent annual budget plans of Trumps government, the United States has earmarked more than USD 19 billion for cybersecurity-related initiatives. This was majorly due to the increasing number of cyber-attacks on a number of healthcare, electricity, and business sector organizations in the country.The total number of cybersecurity incidents reported by federal agencies in the United States has drastically increased from 5,503 in 2006 to 77,183 in 2015. In 2016, United States businesses sector was estimated to have recorded the highest number of data breaches of approximately 45% of the total number of data breach incidents reported in the country, followed by medical/healthcare sector at 35% and education sector at 10%. It is estimated that in more than 41% of such cases the penetration level was classified as unknown, which means that the traditional security could not wholly identify the impact of the breach. These high rates of unknown data breach sources are encouraging the North American countries to strengthen their security systems allowing a significant number of opportunities in the adaptive security market.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 Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2019 > Nehru for Today - selected speeches, interview & writings May 27 this year marks Jawaharlal Nehrus fiftyfifth death anniversary. On this occasion we are reproducing the following excerpts from the speeches and writings of Nehru that are of exceptional relevance today. I have long been of opinion that the Hindu Mahasabha is a small reactionary group pretending to speak on behalf of the Hindus of India of whom it is very far from being representative. None the less misapprehensions have been created by their high-sounding titles and resounding phrases and it is time that these misapprehensions are removed. Nothing in recent months has pained me quite so much as the activities of the Mahasabha group culminating in the resolutions passed at Ajmer. Going a few steps further, the Arya Kumar Sabha, which is presumably an offshoot of the Hindu Mahasabha, has proclaimed its policy to be one of elimination of Muslims and Christians from India and the establishment of a Hindu Raj.1 This statement makes it clear what the pretensions of the Mahasabha about Indian nationalism amount to. Under cover of seeming nationalism, the Mahasabha not only hides the rankest and narrowest communialism but also desires to preserve the vested interests of the group of big Hindu landlords and the princes. The policy of the Mahasabha, as declared by its responsible leaders, is one of cooperation with the foreign government so that, by abasing themselves before it, they might get a few crumbs. This is a betrayal of the freedom struggle, denial of every vestige of nationalism and suppression of every manly instinct in the Hindus. The Mahasabha shows its attachment to vested interests by openly condemning every form of socialism and social change. Anything more degrading, reactionary, anti-national, anti-progressive and harmful than the present policy of the Hindu Mahasabha is difficult to imagine. The leaders of the Mahasabha must realise the inevitable consequences of this policy of their lining up with the enemies of Indian freedom and most reactionary elements in the country. It is for the rest of India, Hindu and non-Hindu, to face them squarely and oppose them and treat them as enemies of freedom and all that we are striving for. It is not a mere matter of condemnation and dissociation, though of course there is to be both these, but one of active and persistent opposition to the most opportunist and stupid of policies. [Speech delivered at the Banaras Hindu University on November 12, 1933published in The Bombay Chronicle, November 15, 1933; reprinted in Recent Essays and Writings (Allahabad, 1934), pp. 45-46] I am glad that the remarks I made at Banaras regarding the Hindu Mahasabha have galvanised a number of people and made them think furiously. This thinking has even taken the form of personal denunciation of me.2 This personal aspect is unimportant and will pass because the question is far too important and vital to be considered in relation to personalities. I hope to say something in reply to the criticisms later. But I should like to point out that my criticisms related to the Hindu Mahasabha chiefly because I was addressing a purely Hindu audience. There was no point in my tracing Muslim or other non-Hindu communalism there as the average Hindu is sufficiently aware of the feelings of others. It is always difficult to appreciate fully the weaknesses of oneself or ones own community. As I have stated, my remarks against communalism and anti-national activities apply in an equal measure to all communal organisations in IndiaMuslim, Hindu, Sikh, etc. There seems to be a race between them as to which can be more communal than the other. For a long time past I had remained quiet on the subject because I wished to ignore this aspect of Indian public life and hoped that national activities would gradually divert peoples attention from it. But matters have come to such a pass that I felt silence on the subject was in itself a compromise and acceptance of this evil. We all know of the amazing communal and reactionary outlook and activities of the Muslim communalists in India. These require no publicity but there is a misapprehension in some quarters that Hindu communalists are of a greyer colour and not quite so black as the others. This notion is thoroughly unjustified as the attitude of the Hindu Mahasabha and the many other Hindu organisations, specially in north India, connected or unconnected with the Mahasabha, has conclusively demonstrated during the last year. The statements and evidence before the Joint Select Committee in England as well as numerous speeches and resolutions chiefly in the Punjab show this.3 Leading members of the Hindu Mahasabha and other communalists have deliberately advocated cooperation with British imperialism in the hope of getting some odd favour. This attitude is both anti-national and reactionary, and even from the narrow point of view of Hindus, foolish and shortsighted. There seems to be some mystery about the resolutions passed by the Arya Kumar Sabha at Ajmer. My reference to a certain resolution has called forth denials, although the denial does not tell us exactly what the resolution was. This can easily be verified and I shall be very glad indeed to learn that my information was wrong. I received a copy of that resolution apparently from some official of the Sabha for my information. This resolution was also received by others and Dr Mahomed Ullah Jung4 has given publicity to the text of it.5 I shall be glad if the Arya Kumar Sabha will publish their resolutions and if it appears that we have been victims of a hoax, I shall gladly and willingly express my regret to the Arya Kumar Sabha. But apart from this my main criticism would hold as it is based specially on the activities of Hindu communalists during the last many months. [Interview at Allahabad, November 21, 1933; from The Leader, November 23, 1933] Q: How far is the communal problem due to economic causes? JN: This question perhaps is not properly framed (I am partly responsible for that), in the sense that the communal question is not fundamentally due to economic causes. It has an economic background which often influences it, but it is due much more to political causes. It is not due to religious causes; I should like you to remember that. Religious hostility or antagonism has very little to do with the communal question. It has something to do with the communal question in that there is a slight background of religious hostility which has in the past sometimes given rise to conflict and sometimes to broken heads, in the case of processions and so forth, but the present communal question is not a religious one, although sometimes it exploits religious sentiment and there is trouble. It is a political question of the upper middle classes which has arisen partly because of the attempts of the British Government to weaken the national movement or to create rifts in it, and partly because of the prospect of political power coming into India and the upper classes desiring to share in the spoils of office. It is to this extent economic, that the Mohammedans are on the whole the poorer community as compared with the Hindus. Sometimes you find that the creditors are the Hindus and the debtors the Mohammedans; sometimes the landlords are Hindus and the tenants are Mohammedans. Of course, the Hindus are tenants also, and they form the majority of the population. It sometimes happens that a conflict is really between a money-lender and his debtors or between a landlord and his tenants, but it is reported in the press and it assumes importance as a communal conflict between Hindus and Mohammedans. Funda-mentally this communal problem is a problem of the conflict between the members of the upper middle-class Hindus and Moslems for jobs and power under the new constitution. It does not affect the masses at all. Not a single communal demand has the least reference to any economic issues in India or has the least reference to the masses. If you examine the communal demands you will see that they refer only to seats in the legislature or to various kinds of jobs which might be going in the future... Q: In your answer to the fourth question, regarding the communal problem, you suggested, I think, that the religious clement was a small part of it and that it was not primarily economic, but that it resolved itself into political jealousy, political ambitions. How do you see it resolving in the light of the national movement? Do you feel that the central national aim would be so big that it would bring all the parties together? JN: No. First of all I said that the communal movement was not religious, but that does not mean, of course, that there is not a religious background in India, and sometimes that is exploited. It is political mainly. It is also economic in the sense that the political problem largely arises because of the problem of unemployment in the middle classes, and it is the unemployment among the middle classes that helps the communal movement to gain importance. It is there that the jobs come in. To some extent the growth of nationalism and the nationalist spirit suppresses the communal idea, but fundamentally it will go when economic issues and social issues come to the forefront and divert the attention of the masses, and even of the lower middle classes, because these issues really affect them, and inevitably then the communal leaders would have to sink into the background. That happened in 1921, at the time of the first noncooperation movement, when no communal leaders in India dared to come out into the open. There was no meeting held and there was no reference to them in the papers. They disappeared absolutely because there was such a big movement on other issues. As soon as a big political movement starts the communal leaders come to the forefront. They are always being pushed to the front by the British Government in India. Therefore the right way to deal with the communal question is to allow economic questions affecting the masses to be discussed. One of the chief objections to the India Act is that, because it divides India into seven or eightI am not sure how manyseparate religious compartments,6 it makes it difficult for economic and social questions to be brought up. Of course they will come up, because there is the economic urge behind them, but still it makes it difficult. Q: Do you not think caste comes into the communal question at allBrahmin against non-Brahmin? That is a matter we know so well in Madras. JN: I do not think the communal question is affected much by caste. In south India, of course, the question of caste comes in, and it has given rise to great bitterness. I was thinking more of Hindu versus Moslem. I am not personally acquainted with conditions in the south in recent years, but it used to be more a question of non-Brahmin versus the vested interest. Taking the depressed classes, they really are the proletariat in the economic sense; the others are the better-off people. All these matters can be converted into economic terms, and then one can understand the position better. I do not think the Brahmin and the non-Brahmin question as such is very important now. There is a very large number of non-Brahmins in the Congress. In the Congress the question does not arise. It has some importance in local areas in the south, because of various local factors, but I do not think the question of Brahmin and non-Brahmin comes into the communal question at all. [Excerpts from a discussion with the India Conciliation Group, at its meeting of Februay 4, 1936published in the Bombay Chronicle, May-June, 1936; reprinted in India and the World (London, 1936), pp. 226-262] Dr Ansaris greatest contribution was in regard to the Hindu-Muslim question. We should sink our petty differences in the cause of the nation. We are fighting among ourselves for trivial causes and are overlooking bigger and more vital issues. We should study contemporary history to understand what is happening in Palestine, Egypt, Sumatra, Java, Indo-China or Syria. The exploitation of the people in these countries differs only in degree, though in some countries the people are not as enslaved as we in India. But everywhere they are forming united fronts to win their freedom. The questions of seats in the legislatures and offices do not affect the masses of Hindus and Muslims whose interests are one and the same. The big questions staring India as well as the world in the face are poverty and unemployment and these are common to both Hindus and Muslims. The only remedy for these problems is a socialist order. The solution cannot be different whether it be in the case of Muslims or Hindus. India should find her own solution in the light of the world experienceof socialism. Substituting Indian capitalists in the place of British capitalists will not alter the lot of India. A properly constituted and democratically elected constituent assembly alone can formulate the constitution of India. The Congress will not stop its fight till success is achieved and we shall not rest content till our goal is reached. [Address lo Young Muslim Brotherhood, Bombay, May 17, 1936from The Bombay Chronicle, May 18, 1936] ...I am only telling you that socialism when it is applied to India, will have, I think, to fall within the wide framework of socialistic theory. The manner of its application, the speed of its application and the measures for its application, will, however, have to depend on Indian conditions. They will have to depend on Indian industrial conditions, Indian cultural conditions and, to some extent, on what may be called the genius of the Indian people. All these will have to be taken together. Therefore it is impossible for anyone now to state which particular shape, form or colour the future socialist organisation of India will take. You can generally say what its probable shape or form or colour might be. But as to the exact form or as to how long it will take to get into that form, nobody can say anything definitely now. It will be foolish to be dogmatic about it because you cannot know. None the less, if we really want to understand and prepare ourselves for that socialist India, we have to think hard and deep. We have to see it in connection with our present struggle for freedom and independence. If you isolate it from that, you function in the air. Today, the hunger and poverty of the Indian people are inevitably driving them to socialistic thought. Why do you talk of socialism to me, young men and women all over the country? Not because a few odd persons have been delivering speeches about it but because of the growing middle class unemployment in the country. Because of that, you are forced to examine the problem and to think. Because you think of it and examine it, you are driven in the direction of accepting socialism. So, there is a growing urge to socialism and that will go on increasing. But remember this, that the dominant urge in India today, the dominant urge in any country that is a subject country, inevitably must be the nationalist urge. Whilst I tell you socialism is not an anti thing, nationalism, I think, is an anti thing fundamentally. I do not want to be anti anything, unless it be solid, constructive and health-giving. The fact remains that essentially the background of nationalism is anti-foreign. It derives its strength not so much from love but from dislike. It is to some extent a racial matter, although we may not think on racial lines. I want to tell you I dislike nationalism. But I do like nationalism so far as India is concerned, situated as it is today, because nationalism for us means that it takes us in the direction of our freedom and of our own growth physically, mentally, morally and spiritually. For us, nationalism is a releasing force, and therefore, it is good. But nationalism in a country like Germany today or Italy is not a force which takes one to freedom. It confines and restricts. It is a narrowing thing. It is not an enlarging thing. Therefore nationalism in Europe today has become a bane and a curse. Therefore, progressive people of Europe today feel insulted if you call them nationalists and they ask you, Do you think we are narrow-minded, bigoted people, fascists or nazis? Nationalism is a confined and excessively narrow creed there. But it is a definitely different thing here in India. But still, the fact remains that the background of nationalism is not so much, I think, an active positive feeling as a negative feeling. You know that in the past eighteen or twenty years, we in India have had a unique experience, the experience of a great and inspiring leader dinning into our ears the doctrine of nonviolence, peace and goodwill and love for our opponent. That continuous dinning and teaching has inevitably produced a certain atmosphere in the country. It has not wholly got rid of the background of nationalism, viz., the anti element in it, but has reduced it to a minimum. Ordinarily a nationalist movement like ours, if we had not that continuous pressure from our leader in the direction of peace and goodwill, would have resulted in something terribly racial, anti-foreign, devouring and consuming us and perhaps occasionally giving us a certain energy to go ahead, but ultimately making us much smaller men. And the solution of the problem would have, quite apart from the moral issue, become much more difficult; because it is difficult to solve problems by accumulating violence and hatred. Although we have functioned as a nationalist movement and our nationalism has been of a fairly intense variety, yet it has led to relatively little of the bitterness that is the natural line of nationalism elsewhere. But I cannot say that we have escaped those hatreds and bitternesses altogether. We have them still in our hearts and sometimes they come out, if not against our opponents, at least against our own colleagues. The problem before us is, nationalism being the dominant urge of the country and socialism being, according to you and me, the right path to tread to solve the problems which face us, how to combine the two? We cannot have one of the two alone, because nationalism alone does not solve the problem and to follow socialism alone will be to ignore the vital issue before the country and the vital urge which moves millions in the country. We have to combine the two. Socialism has inevitably to push nationalism forward in its political garb. That is the common aspect between socialism and nationalism. Both like political independence. But nationalism, more or less, stops there, while socialism wants to go ahead. Socialism, if it is wise, presses forward with its ideas and turns nationalism in its direction. At the same time it does not combat with nationalism because the first tremendous step is common to both. Socialism wants to cooperate with nationalism, cooperate not only with the socialist elements and others who are friendly to socialism but even with anti-socialist elements in that nationalism. Without that proviso, there can be no cooperation, because there is no common ground left. [Excerpts from a speech at Madras, October 8, 1936from The Hindu, October 8, 1936] We talk about a secular state in India. It is perhaps not very easy even to find a good word in Hindi for secular. Some people think that it means something opposed to religion. That obviously is not correct. What it means is that it is a state which honours all faiths equally and gives them equal opportunities; that, as a state, it does not allow itself to be attached to one faith or religion, which then becomes the state religion. Where the great majority of the people in a state belong to one religion, this fact alone may colour, to some extent, the cultural climate of that state. But nevertheless the state, as a state, can remain independent of any particular religion. In a sense, this is a more or less modern conception. India has a long history of religious tolerance. That is one aspect of a secular state, but it is not the whole of it. In a country like India, which has many faiths and religions, no real nationalism can be built up except on the basis of secularity. Any narrower approach must necessarily exclude a section of the population, and then nationalism itself will have a much more restricted meaning than it should possess. In India we would have then to consider Hindu nationalism, Muslim nationalism, Sikh nationalism or Christian nationalism and not Indian nationalism. As a matter of fact, these narrow religious nationalisms are relics of a past age and are no longer relevant today. They represent a back-ward and out-of-date society. In the measure we have even today so-called communal troubles, we display our backwardness as social groups. Our Constitution lays down that we are a secular state, but it must be admitted that this is not wholly reflected in our mass living and thinking. In a country like England, the state is, under the Constitution, allied to one particular religion, the Church of England, which is a sect of Christianity. Nevertheless, the state and the people there largely function in a secular way. Society, therefore, in England is more advanced in this respect than in India, even though our Constitution may be, in this matter, more advanced. We have not only to live up to the ideals proclaimed in our Constitution, but make them a part of our thinking and living and thus build up a really integrated nation. That, I repeat, does not mean absence of religion, but putting religion on a different place from that of normal political and social life. Any other approach in India would mean the breaking up of India. Acharya Vinoba Bhave has recently been saying that politics and religion are out-of-date. And yet we all know that Vinobaji is an intensely religious man. But his religion is not a narrow one. He has, therefore, added that the world today requires not that narrow religion or debased politics, but science and spirituality. Both these, at different levels, are uniting and broadening factors. Anything that unites and broadens our vision increases our stature and is good and creative. Anything that narrows our outlook and divides us is not good, because it prevents us from growing and keeps us in a groove. Ultimately even nationalism will prove a narrowing creed, and we shall all be citizens of the world with a truly international vision. For the present, this may be beyond most peoples and most countries. For the us in India, we have to build a true nationalism, integrating the various parts and creeds and religions of our country, before we can launch out into real internationalism. Without the basis of a true nationalism, internationalism may be vague and amorphous, without any real meaning. But the nationalism that we build in India should have its doors and windows open to internationalism. [Foreword to Dharam Nirpeksh Raj by Raghunath Singh (1961)] 1. The report of the resolution passed by the Arya Kumar Sabha, the youth wing of the Arya Samaj, was later found to be incorrect. 2. In a letter published in The Leader of November 20, 1933, Bhai Parmanand attributed Jawaharlals criticism of the Mahasabha to the fact that owing to his early training and upbringing abroad he is incapable of thinking as a Hindu. 3. On July 31, 199, they protested that the governments decision on the communal problem was unjust to the Hindus and the separation of Sind was an ex-parte judgement. 4. A resident of Allahabad. 5. In a letter to the editor published in The Leader of November 20, 1933. 6. The Act of 1935 divided the total number of seats allotted to the Federal Assembly into several categories like general seats, general seats reserved for scheduled classes and separate electorates for Sikhs, Mohammedans, Anglo-Indians, Europeans and Indian Christians. A former Oregon attorney was arraigned last Friday in Multnomah County Circuit Court on 92 counts stemming from accusations of aggravated theft, forgery and other charges after authorities say she stole money held in trust for her clients. Earlier this month, Lori E. Deveny, 53, pleaded not guilty to a 24-count federal indictment accusing her of defrauding her clients for nearly a decade. The money came from insurance proceeds that were supposed to be paid to her clients, according to a federal indictment. That indictment says Deveny defrauded clients from April 2011 through May 2019 by way of mail, wire and bank fraud, aggravated identity theft, money laundering and the filing of false tax returns. Deveny is accused of stealing money she held in trust for clients and using it to pay off credit card debt and loans and to support a lavish lifestyle that included numerous big game hunting trips to Africa, taxidermy costs that resulted from those trips, other vacations, her husbands photography business, home remodeling and expensive cigars, according to investigators from the Internal Revenue Service and the FBI. The money came from insurance proceeds that were supposed to be paid to her clients, according to the indictment. The federal indictment says Deveny defrauded clients from April 2011 through May 2019 by way of mail, wire and bank fraud, aggravated identity theft, money laundering and the filing of false tax returns. Investigators say Deveny forged client signatures on settlement documents she sent to various insurance companies, transferred funds without authorization to personal accounts and lied to clients that the insurance companies were to blame for any delays in settling claims. Many of Devenys clients never received the insurance payouts they were owed. Deveny was booked into the Multnomah County jail system Friday and released later that day. --Tom Hallman Jr. thallman@oregonian.com; 503 221-8224 @thallmanjr Update: 18-year-old identified as victim in SE Portland shooting Portland police are investigating an apparent shooting in Southeast Portland on Saturday night in which one man died. According to a news release, officers responded to a report of a shooting in the 600 block of Southeast 162nd Avenue around 8 p.m. and found an injured man in the parking lot of the Springtree Apartments. Officers called for medical help, but the man died at the scene. Portland Police would not confirm whether they had identified any suspects but said that detectives from the departments homicide division and forensic evidence division were investigating. On Sunday morning around 8:15 a.m., Portland Police Lt. Tina Jones said the department was still working with the Multnomah County medical examiner and that they could not yet release the identity of the victim, his cause of death, and whether anyone else was involved. Jayati Ramakrishnan; 503-221-4320; jramakrishnan@oregonian.com; @JRamakrishnanOR Visit subscription.oregonlive.com/newsletters to get Oregonian/OregonLive journalism delivered to your email inbox. SUNDAY Game of Thrones: The Last Watch: Airing a week after the series finale of Game of Thrones, this special promises to give an inside look at the making of the final season. (9 p.m. HBO) MONDAY The Hot Zone: Julianna Margulies stars in an adaptation of Richard Prestons best-seller about the deadly Ebola virus and what happened when it made its way to the U.S. in 1989. (9 p.m. National Geographic Channel) TUESDAY Running With Beto: A documentary that follows Beto ORourkes rise from relative obscurity into a nationally known political figure. (8 p.m. HBO) Animal Kingdom: The drama about a seriously dysfunctional, crime-prone family returns for Season 4. (9 p.m. TNT) WEDNESDAY MasterChef: Another batch of home cooks face the fire of Gordon Ramsay and his fellow judges as Season 10 begins. (8 p.m. Fox) Archer: 1999: Season 10 of the animated series is a spoof of space dramas. (10 p.m. FXX) THURSDAY Lip Sync Battle: Big Bird turns up to compete with Jason Schwartzman. (10 p.m. Paramount Network) FRIDAY Deadwood: The Movie: The long-awaited TV movie that picks up the characters from the memorably foul-mouthed HBO Western series, and brings then together to celebrate South Dakotas statehood. Returning for the movie are Ian McShane, Timothy Olyphant, Molly Parker, Paula Malcomson, John Hawkes, Ken Dickens and more. (8 p.m. HBO) Good Omens: Michael Sheen, David Tennant and Jon Hamm star in a six-part series based on Neil Tennant and Terry Pratchetts book about angels, demons, and the prospect of a pesky Armageddon. The impressive cast also includes Benedict Cumberbatch, who plays Satan. (Amazon Prime Video) When They See Us: Michael K. Williams, Vera Farmiga and Felicity Huffman (whos been in the news recently for non-acting reasons) star in a limited series from Ava DuVernay, dramatizing the true-life case of five teenagers of color who were convicted of raping and assaulting a female jogger in Central Park, in 1989. The case led to a national controversy about race and the justice system and only became more heated when the convicted suspects were later exonerated. (Netflix) -- Kristi Turnquist kturnquist@oregonian.com 503-221-8227 @Kristiturnquist Visit subscription.oregonlive.com/newsletters to get Oregonian/OregonLive journalism delivered to your email inbox. Oregons largest tax-revenue windfall in history presents leaders with an unprecedented opportunity to show Oregonians that they can make smart fiscal choices with the unexpected bonanza. Already, theyre blowing it. In giving an updated forecast to legislators earlier this month, state economist Mark McMullen marveled that the state is poised to collect $1.4 billion in personal income tax revenue more than his office projected at the time the 2017-2019 budget was adopted. Such an extraordinary surge, he noted, is truly a seismic event. Legislators should feel that same respect for the rarity of this surplus and demonstrate the leadership and wisdom on how to use it. They should adopt the common-sense proposal Oregon Gov. Kate Brown outlined last month and dedicate the vast majority of this windfall to Oregons crushing public employee pension deficit. Normally, under Oregons kicker law, the state must refund excess revenue to taxpayers when personal-income tax collections exceed projections by more than 2 percent. In theory, the law is meant as a check on legislative largesse. In reality, it demands an absurd level of precision in economic forecasting, has done nothing to curb wasteful spending and inhibits the states ability to put away excess funds for the future. The state can retain the kicker only when a two-thirds majority in both chambers of the Legislature approves such a move to cope with an emergency. And Oregon is solidly in one of those emergencies. The $27 billion unfunded liability in Oregons Public Employees Retirement System threatens both the budgets of public employers across Oregon and the long-term health of the pension system itself. Because of that chasm between the pension funds expected assets and promised payouts to retirees, public employers are having to make larger and larger contributions to the pension fund. That means school districts, city bureaus, state social service agencies and 900-plus public employers are devoting taxpayer dollars to paying off this debt rather than to providing the education, facilities and services the public relies on. The problem? Legislative leaders arent even trying to make the case to Oregonians and their colleagues that using the kicker for PERS is the only justifiable use of these funds beyond returning it to taxpayers. While Brown has rightly advocated for refunding up to $100 to each family with the remainder going to PERS, neither Senate President Peter Courtney nor House Speaker Tina Kotek has expressed much enthusiasm, questioning the proposals political viability. Certainly its not an easy sell to tell Oregonians that they should get only part of a kicker rebate. But the PERS deficit is a shared responsibility that simply will not go away and is taking its toll in layoffs, reduced services and higher taxes. Considering how public employers are struggling even in the strongest Oregon economy in history, alarm bells should have gone off long ago. But somehow, our leaders arent hearing those alarms. In fact, Kotek has introduced her own bill to spend half of the kicker on bridge repairs, a diesel engine replacement program and conversion of the states fleet to zero-emissions vehicles. While these are all good causes, none of these are forcing public safety layoffs, community center closures, college tuition hikes, reduced street maintenance or other program cutbacks across the state the way that escalating PERS contributions are and will continue to trigger. Devoting windfall funds and other sizable pots of money to PERS is even more important considering the Legislatures best answer for dealing with the PERS unfunded liability is largely a financial sleight of hand. Senate Bill 1049, passed last week by the Oregon Senate, achieves short-term reductions in public employers required contributions by stretching out the schedule for paying off $25 billion of the liability and passing on the burden to future taxpayers. Its similar to the idea of refinancing a home mortgage that is, if your mortgage were $25 billion and you lower your own costs by shoving that burden onto your kids to pay off when they grow up. Instead of entirely paying down the deficit by 2035, taxpayers wont pay it down until the 2041-2043 biennium. Assuming, of course, that theres no downturn in the economy. That, however, is not a safe assumption. State economists have warned that the economy has been slowing and a recession is possible as soon as 2020. The massive kicker announced last week also should raise some alarm bells considering that larger kickers tend to come at the end of long economic cycles and the last record kicker came just before the 2007 recession. Considering that senator after senator patted themselves on the back for voting for the bill and refusing to kick the can down the road, its ironic that by reamortizing the liability, thats exactly what they did. Credit Sen. Sara Gelser, D-Corvallis, for calling them out on this fundamental deceit. We are pushing this cost off to future legislatures, to other Oregonians hoping that at some point in the future we will come back and find something that is politically feasible, she said. That doesnt make sense to me because that is how we got to this place right now. It should be said that the bill isnt all bad. It includes a controversial but critical change that diverts a portion of retirement contributions from their individual 401(k)-type accounts to the pension fund, a move that will help ease how much employers have to pay PERS. Oregon is one of only two states that dont already require public employees to contribute to their own pensions. But its too small on its own and does little to reduce the massive unfunded liability thats drowning our state. Oregonians and our leaders must recognize that the bill for this exorbitant debt will come due one way or another. Lets do our best to pay it while we have the economy on our side. -The Oregonian/OregonLive Editorial Board Editorial Agenda 2019 Transform education for students benefit Keep Oregon solvent Work toward more evenhanded justice in Oregon Put Portland on the right track ________________________ Read more about the editorial board's priorities for 2019. Ben Cannon Cannon is executive director of the Higher Education Coordinating Commission, the state entity overseeing the states network of postsecondary educational institutions. This month, the Oregon Legislature completed its work on a historic, trajectory-changing set of investments in Oregons youth. The strategies supported by the Student Success Act will result in thousands more Oregonians who complete high school ready for college or career. While we celebrate this landmark act, we should not forget that young people will need postsecondary opportunities after they cross the high school graduation stage. Whether they enroll in college, university, a trade school, an apprenticeship program, or go directly to work, success over a lifetime requires Oregonians today to continue their learning beyond 12th grade. The Student Success Act did not include new higher education investments. Current and future Oregon children deserve fully supported education pathways from preschool through family-wage careers. Over 90 percent of higher wage job openings will require a postsecondary credential or training for job candidates to be competitive, according to 10-year projections from the Oregon Employment Department. Oregonians from low-income families who enroll in our public colleges and universities as young adults are at least four times more likely to be high-income earners by their mid-30s than those who do not enter college as young adults. And finally, we should recognize the states interest in supporting the thousands of Oregon adults who are enrolled today in the states public colleges and universities today, many of them in career-oriented programs. For all the progress that the Oregon Legislature has made this session on funding for early learning and K-12 education, its most recent budget proposals would result in double-digit tuition spikes at many of our colleges and universities and a state financial aid system that cant keep pace with rising college costs. Oregon students who benefit from this years investment in our pre-kindergarten-12 education system should not graduate from high school only to find they cannot afford to attend a public higher education institution without accruing major debt. Oregonians only have to look across the Columbia River to see a more hopeful future. Earlier this month the Washington Legislature passed groundbreaking new investments in higher education, including a guarantee that all students under the states median income ($92,000 for a family of four) will qualify for state grants that cover up to the entire tuition cost of a community college or four-year university. By contrast, Oregon is on track to spend about one-fifth the amount that Washington will spend on need-based grants. As a result, Oregon grants top out at just $3,300 for a full-time student, and the state falls short of being able to fund awards for about 40,000 low-income students per year. We encourage legislators to join the Higher Education Coordinating Commission and our partners in upcoming months to build upon the Student Success Act by developing a plan for ensuring that every Oregonian has the opportunity to access the transformational benefits of postsecondary education. But first, in the remaining weeks of the 2019 Legislative session, our elected officials should do everything possible to ensure that the Oregons 2019-21 budgets dont leave a generation of college students further behind. By Alejandro Queral Queral is executive director of the Oregon Center for Public Policy. The Marlboro Man hung up his spurs and Joe Camel was put out to pasture long ago, but marketing by tobacco companies hasnt gone away. Not by a long shot. In Oregon alone, Big Tobacco spends some $115 million a year peddling its deadly product, according to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. Barred by law from certain forms of advertising, tobacco companies have also turned to social media to lure young audiences. Cigarettes and other tobacco products take a heavy toll on the health and finances of people in our state, especially low-income Oregonians. Reducing this burden alone is a very good reason to support the tobacco tax package proposed by Gov. Kate Brown. Tobacco killed nearly 8,000 Oregonians in 2016, making it the number one cause of preventable death in the state. Most worrisome, tobacco is already laying claim to future casualties: according to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, more than 15,000 high school students in Oregon already smoke. Besides its impact on health, tobacco use also comes with a steep financial cost. The costs of health care due to tobacco use in Oregon surpassed $1.4 billion in 2013, data from the Oregon Health Authority show. Family finances suffer too. A household with one smoker who consumes one pack per day may spend about $2,200 a year a significant sum, especially for low-income families. How can Oregon slow down the health and financial ravages of this deadly product? Raise the price and invest the revenue in prevention, cessation, and health care. Gov. Browns proposal would up the cigarette tax by $2 per pack and raise taxes on other forms of tobacco. While the main goal of the plan is ensure that the Oregon Health Plan has enough resources to provide health coverage to low- and moderate-income Oregonians, the governors plan also devotes a portion of the new revenue to tobacco prevention and cessation efforts. Cynically, tobacco companies may claim that tobacco taxes are regressive because they disproportionately impact the poor. But it is low-income communities who would benefit the most from an increase in tobacco taxes. Low-income people are more likely to smoke, and that is no accident. They are often the target of advertising campaigns by the tobacco industry. Not only are children from these communities bombarded with ads selling a highly addictive product, they are also more exposed to tobacco products. Researchers have found that communities with high rates of poverty have higher densities of tobacco retailers. And these products are not your grandpas Lucky Strikes. From cookies 'n cream e-cigarettes to wild berry cigars, these tobacco products target young people with years of addiction ahead of them. Raising the price of tobacco has a deterrent effect. Our organization, the Oregon Center for Public Policy, estimates that a $2 increase in the cost of a pack of cigarettes would prompt between 52,000 and 86,000 current smokers to quit, based on our analysis of data from the Oregon Health Authority and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As valuable as deterrence is, its not the most significant piece of the governors proposal when it comes to tobacco use. The best way to address tobacco consumption is preventing people from getting hooked in the first place and helping those who smoke quit. Oregons Tobacco Prevention and Education Program employs counter-marketing strategies and cessation-support interventions proven to work. Additional funding will enable the state to help more people. The governors tobacco tax package is good for our state, protecting funding for the Oregon Health Plan while cutting down the number of smokers. With the legislative session entering its final phase, lawmakers should not delay further in enacting this important bill that will save lives and improve the health of Oregonians. As board president of the Oregon Consumer League, I applaud Representative Brad Witt for his recent opinion piece outlining why he voted against House Bill 2509. Our organization has worked to protect Oregon consumer rights for over 50 years and firmly agrees with Rep. Witt that the paper bag fee portion of this plastic bag ban bill will hurt Oregonians. The paper bag fee is a grocery tax and grocery taxes are regressive. While some might argue that a five-cent fee is insignificant, for consumers struggling to make ends meet, the fee is no small thing. While the bill has protections for those on social assistance programs, many people on fixed incomes, including many seniors, do not qualify for those programs. The bill also has no ceiling on this fee which means there is nothing stopping these grocery stores from raising the price of paper bags any time they choose. The increased costs at each shopping trip will hurt Oregonians and our organizations question is, why? Rep. Witt is correct that banning plastic bags, which we support, does not require consumers to pay more for their groceries. We are against policies that burden the consumer solely to line the pockets of big corporations and we believe this paper bag fee will do just that. We thank Brad Witt for standing with consumers. Oregon senators should follow his lead and work to remove the paper bag fee from HB 2509. Steve Weiss, Portland ASTORIA Residents of Oregons Clatsop County can remember when it was rare to see a bald eagle. The raptors are now being blamed for killing lambs on northern ranches, The Daily Astorian reported. Brownsmead rancher Ben Parker has lost four lambs and suspects the same eagle is responsible. She has flown so low he has felt the wind from its wings. "She comes right down overhead," he said. The raptors were once on the brink of extinction but they recovered enough by 2007 to be removed from the federal endangered species list in Oregon. Now they're found in nearly every county. "It's basically almost an explosion," said Neal Maine, a wildlife photographer based in Gearhart. State and federal reports say predation of livestock by eagles is rare on the North Coast. Many people don't report it or are not sure it's a bald eagle that did the killing. "It gets a little murky," said Russell Hunter, a veterinarian who practices in Knappa and investigates livestock deaths. "The predation is real and it's emotional and it's a little bit hard to determine how much of it is going on." An animal may die in a field from other causes but be found with an eagle or coyote eating it. Bald eagles remain a protected species. Eagles can be hazed with if a rancher obtains a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service permit. None have been issued to ranchers, but the agency has received inquiries. "(Bald eagles) are demonstrating increasing tolerance for human activity in parts of Washington and Oregon as their increasing numbers and increasing human populations create more overlap between human-occupied and eagle habitats," said Jason Holm, an agency spokesman. Parker is keeping his sheep inside the barn for now. He is experimenting with scarecrows and flags. He has retained the carcass of a gutted 2 1/2-month-old lamb that he spotted with an eagle on top of it. Federal biologists will determine if the eagle killed it. Neighbor Ed Johnson has lost three lambs this spring. Johnson uses guard dogs to protect sheep from coyotes and roaming domestic dogs. Multiple people have spoken to Dirk Rohne, a Brownsmead dairy farmer and Port of Astoria commissioner, about eagle predation. "The bald eagles impacting livestock is a new one," he said. "I can't say anyone was talking about that until this year." On a positive note, he said, eagles appear to have taken a major bite out of Brownsmead's invasive nutria population. Johnson says issues with eagles come in cycles. When runs of smelt runs are strong in the Columbia River, he doesn't see as many eagles. When runs of the forage fish are low, more eagles appear, he said. "It kind of depends what's around to eat and unfortunately, sometimes it's lambs," he said. Eagle predation has not become a major financial problem for Brownsmead sheep ranchers. They expect some loss each year to predators. "I've got nothing against the eagles," Johnson said. "They're beautiful. But at times there would be seven or eight of them sitting around waiting for a little action." Hes not interested in spending $100 on a hazing permit and more money on explosives or other noisemakers. Johnson said it takes time to get the permit and the eagles have not been a problem every year. -- The Associated Press Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2019 > Mayawati - Narendra Modi Face-off Dont complain about the snow on your neighbours roof, when your own doorstep is unclean. Confucius Prime Minister Narendra Modi mounted atKushinagar, Deoria in UPa furious attack on BSP supremo and former UP Chief Minister Mayawati for shedding crocodile tears over the incident of gangrape of a Dalit woman in Rajasthans Alwar and demanded her partys withdrawal of support to the Congress Govern-ment in Rajasthan if she was at all serious.1 Mayawati said that the Prime Minister played dirty politics over the gangrape incident, adding that her party would take a political decision if strict action is not taken by the Rajasthan Government.2 The Prime Ministers magnanimity in his profession of supreme sacrifice for the beleaguered Dalits of India may be recalled here and now. He thundered at Hyderabad on August 7, 2016: Shoot me, not my Dalit brothers. No Prime Minister, let us emphasise, ever before him went to this extent for the Dalit with such soul-stirring commitment for Dalit and tribal communities. But events since his declaration at Hyderabad have proved without any shadow of doubt that his declaration was merely a vacuous vapouring. The BJP governments in various States, for example, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, etc. or their allies treated his declaration as nothing more than a toilet paper. A poet and a novelist, Ms Meena Kandasamy, wrote in The New York Times on May 15, 2019 that Indian courts have consistently acquitted most perpetrators of massacres of Dalits. Conviction rates in violent crimes against Dalits and indigenous tribes are a mere 23.8 per cent and 16.4 per cent compared with 40.2 per cent in general criminal cases.3 The low rates of convictions and high rates of acquittals in cases of atrocities against the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes speak volumes in terms of the attitudinal approach of the rulers and their lack of will to protect the rights and dignity of the SCs and/or STs across India. Dalit Awakening and Assertion: An Undesirable Feature? According to Jignesh Mevani, an Independent Gujarat MLA, the low rates of convictions and high rates of acquittals have actually emboldened the perpetrators of violence against Dalits and tribals in the State. .... Atrocities against Dalits and tribals are on the rise across the country. The chief reasons for the rise in crimes against the SCs and STs is the continued agrarian crisis and economic distress where people are channelising their anger towards the Dalits and tribals. The rise of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Rastriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) combine has strengthened the Brahminical ideology. They see the rise of youth Dalit leaders like Chandrashekhar Azad and me as Dalit aggression.4 The ruling establishment, social aristocrats and supremacists had never been accustomed to hear discordant voices and dissent from the underdogs. The light of education has made them aware and they have raised their voices against wrongs, injustices and inequality. According to a prominent English daily, atrocities on Dalits in Gujarat have been rising steadily in the last two decades with the State witnessing a 72 per cent increase in the number of registered cases between 2003 and 2018. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat in eleven of these 15 years (2003 to 2014).5 In 2018 as many as 1545 cases were registered under the Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, as compared to 897 cases registered across the State in 2003. Against this rise in cases, the conviction rate in atrocities cases is less than five per cent in the three years from 2014-2016 where figures are available.6 Alongside physical aggression, persecution, atrocities and denial of justice and outraging dignity, the light of education amongst Dalit and tribal communities is on rise with predictable consequences. Ms Kandasamy further added that the Prime Minister and his Hindu nationalist colleagues time and again tried to defer the Dalit dream by adding hurdles to college and university admissions, withholding scholarships and deferring the award of degrees to Dalit students. New national tests have created increased difficulties for Dalits wanting to get into schools of medicine and dentistry. Remember, the great Greek philosopher Plato said: We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light. The government of the day is clearly opposed to the light reaching the Dalit and tribal students and spreading far and wide. The scholarship for meritorious research scholar Rohit Vamula, who committed suicide in Hyderabad Central University, was in arrears. The government did not release his scholarship for over a year as a measure of torture and harassment for his bold uprightness. There is little doubt that this government is most oppressive and cruel to the Dalit and tribal communities. The Prime Minister wanted Mayawati to withdraw her Bahujan Samaj Partys support to the Congress Government in Rajasthan over the gangrape of the Dalit woman. Why is he blind to the government in Bihar which patronised Brajesh Thakur, an accused of massive sex scandal involving 17 shelter homes in Bihar including Muzaffarpur? The Bihar Welfare Minister had to resign under mounting public uproar and pressure. The case is under CBI investigation and sub judice before the Supreme Court. The accused Thakur, on Supreme Court orders, has been lodged in jail at Patiala, Punjab, far away away from Bihar, to forestall his malefic influence on the investigation and trial. The BJP is a coalition partner in the Govern-ment of Bihar. The righteous nationalist party continues blissfully to travel in the same boat with the Bihar ruling party nonetheless. Stop Bloodless Killing of Scheduled Caste/Tribe Officers and Employees Every day in one corner of the country or the other incidents of deplorable discrimination, injustice or atrocities, with no hope or scope for remedy per se, keep occurring. The case of Jagmohan Singh Raju, a meritorious Scheduled Caste [Punjab] IAS officer of Tamil Nadu cadre, is an unprecedented instance of discrimination and hostility against Indias socially disadvan-taged and discriminated. Raju qualified in the IAS exams conducted by the UPSC right at the age of 22 years yielding an enviable advantage for him to travel right up to Secretary-ship of the Government of India. Intractable social factors usually lead SC/ST candidates to start late for IAS and other All-India/Central Services, resulting in their early retirement. Rajus empanelment as the Additional Secretary has been held up because some vague, anonymous complaints before the Vigilance Commissiona known and usual tactic in the corridors of bureaucracy to frustrate and harm an SC/ST officer from travelling higher up. Such complaints, of course, receive prompt and avaricious attention of officers who work almost invariably in tandem with the anonymous complainants. Raju has fallen into this capricious vortex. The National Commission for Scheduled Castes [NCSC] observed in the context: The Commission is concerned that if such a senior Scheduled Caste officer has to face discrimination and injustice, leading to impediment to his career by delay in empanelment, demoralising him, as well as the petitioner having to unnecessarily bear the stigma of an officer under investigation by the CVC, then what is the recourse of the thousands of ordinary government servants belonging to the Scheduled Castes?7 Injustice and discrimination at the hands of the public authorities erodes the faith of the community in the system. Raju was quoted in the media as saying that earlier he believed that caste-based discrimi-nation was a myth. Now he must have realised how ignominious ones caste, belonging to the lowest end of the pyramid, can be. They, one and all, fervently agree and believe that they are destined without exception to suffer indignity, discrimination and injustice for their caste anywhere and everywhere under the sun in India. Failure to discharge even handed justice and equal treatment has brought down every institution and authority, not excluding the Prime Ministers Office, in the esteem of the Scheduled Castes and Tribes. Why doesnt the Prime Minister clean up the Dalit-tribal slaughter house in Gujarat? A survey, the first of its kind, of 1589 villages across Gujarat, involving 98,000 Dalits, was carried out by a prominent Gujarati NGO, Navsarjana Trust, in collaboration with the Robert F Kennedy Centre for Justice and Human Rights, University of Maryland/Kroc Institute at the University of Notre Dame and Dartmouth College/University of Michigan, USA. A leading national English daily highlighted the salient features of the survey with a screaming headline Vibrant Gujarat? 98 per cent Dalits have to drink tea in separate cups.8 The surveys findings in essence were that for millennia, the practice of untouchability has marginalised, terrorised and relegated a section of Indian society to a life marked by humiliation and indignity. The survey identified 98 forms of untouchability prevalent in Gujarat. The lynching in public view at Una with police as witness was one of these practices.9 Sensitivity to the underdogs and vulnerable is not the hallmark of the privileged countrymen and its rulers. Dalit women buyers, to cite just one instance of untouchability, are not allowed to touch vegetables before payment. After payment is made by putting money on a specified place, the seller flings vegetables from a respectable distance to the hollow of her saree. During the study, the researchers did not find a single village free of the curse of untouchability. The most prosperous and developed State of India boasts of 12,500 Dalit villages and the survey covered 1655 or 11 per cent of the total population.10 The report bemoaned that 97 per cent of the respondents in Mahatma Gandhis own home State were denied entry into the temple. Undoubtedly, the nearer the temple, more remote the god, goes the proverb. Gujarats CEPT University scholars were drafted to study the survey report. In 2013 they found that the untouchability practices identified by the Navsarjan report were mere perceptions. According to one commentator, The CEPT study also subtly justified several instances of untouchability by attributing it to social transactions and social norms. Thanks to the media clout of Modi, he did not have to face a media trial for the CEPT study that justified caste violence as perceptions. 11 Since independence the country never witnessed bankruptcy of the dimension demonstrated by the highest office of the nation. The Prime Minister, there is little doubt, has forfeited his credibility of 300 million Dalits and tribes of India. This is indeed a grave situation never known to India before. Atrocities have shown no sign of decline, rather the persecution of Dalits and tribals is on an alarming rise. And the most unfortunate fact is that there is no honesty to admit the truth and rededicate themselves to redeem their promises. The BJP Sankalp Patra 2019 maintains a stoic silence on this burning issue save and except pattering platitudes. Footnotes 1. News 18, May 12, 2019, Dont Shed Crocodile Tears. 2. May 12, 2019 17:58 IST | Times Now Digital. 3.The New York Times,May 15, 2019, Indias Most Oppressed Get Their Revenge. 4. The First Post, May 1, 2019, Atrocities on Dalits and tribals up by 70 per cent in Gujarat between 2003 and 2018; conviction rate below 5 per cent in Modis first 3 yrs. as PM. 5. Ibid. 6. Ibid. 7.The Wire,06/Apr/2019, PM Asked to Take Action Against Central Vigilance Commissioner for Caste Discrimination. 8. The Times of India, December 8, 2009. 9. http://naradanews.com/2016/07/dalit-crimes-in-gujarat-una-incident-just-tip-of-the-iceberg/ 10. Ibid., December 7, 2009, No Temple entry for Dalits in Gujarat. 11. Ibid. The author, a retired IAS officer and former Vice-Chancellor, B.R. Ambedkar University, Muzaffarpur, Bihar, may be reached at biswasatulk[at]gmail.com A Republican lawmaker said Sunday that he is concerned about President Donald Trump's sharing of a heavily edited video that spliced together several verbal pauses by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. Rep. Will Hurd, R-Texas, said that by sharing the video, Trump has escalated the debate over disinformation, which is "something that gets at the heart of our democracy." "You shouldn't disseminate information that you know is ultimately doctored," Hurd said when asked about the video during an interview on CBS's "Face the Nation." Trump shared the video Thursday night on Twitter, ratcheting up tensions in his spat with Pelosi amid accusations from Democrats that the White House is stonewalling congressional investigations into the president's personal finances, businesses and other matters. "PELOSI STAMMERS THROUGH NEWS CONFERENCE," Trump wrote in his tweet, quoting the chyron from Fox Business Network, which aired the video Thursday night on "Lou Dobbs Tonight." In a response on Twitter on Thursday night, Pelosi said Trump was "distracting from House Democrats' great accomplishments #ForThePeople, from his cover-ups, and unpopularity." Trump's tweet came on the same day that The Washington Post reported on the rapid spread of other distorted videos of Pelosi that have been altered to make her sound as if she is drunkenly slurring her words. While none of the clips were "deepfakes" - realistic-looking fake videos crafted with the help of artificial-intelligence technology - Hurd said Sunday that they were nonetheless concerning. He added that lawmakers need to do a better of job of battling deepfakes and other disinformation as technology quickly transforms the U.S. political landscape. "There's a lot of things that's concerning with that video of Speaker Pelosi, and it was just slowed down to make it seem like she was having a hard time speaking," Hurd said. "This wasn't even a deepfake. . . . In this case, at least we had the original to compare the two and recognize that it was doctored." Hurd predicted that "within months, we're going to be able to see this deepfake technology continue to grow." "We're not prepared," he said. "We have old laws to decide how you handle disinformation. You have leaders that don't understand how this technology can be used in the future. ... We can't be promoting this stuff, and if you can't tell the difference between a doctored piece of information and not, that's troubling as well." Rudy Giuliani, Trump's personal attorney, tweeted a link to one of the altered videos of Pelosi last week with the note, "What is wrong with Nancy Pelosi? Her speech pattern is bizarre." The tweet was later deleted. Giuliani later said in a text message that he deleted the tweet because someone had a raised a question about it "and since I wasn't sure I deleted it." --- The Washington Post's John Wagner and Drew Harwell contributed to this report. 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. Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2019 > Investigating Narendra Modis Eligibility by Prem Singh Narendra Modi has been a recipient of consistent acceptance and support from various corners/ sources which favour his eligibility as the Prime Minister. Although after five years of his tenure as the Prime Minister, a lot of people have come out of the lure of Modi, yet an unreal aura is being created about his future prime ministerial role, as if it is a certain occurrence. Whether or not the voters are in agreement with this aura will be revealed on May 23, 2019, when the results will be announced. The truth is that Team Modi, corporate houses, the RSS/BJP, National Democratic Alliance (NDA), mainstream media, and above all blind and independent Modi supporters stand firm in the certification of his eligibility. Narendra Modis own voice, however, echoes the highest in the chorus of Narendra Modis eligibility. This tremendous urge for Modis eligibility cannot be without reason. It is also not easy to unravel the underlying complex reasons behind this phenomenon. Yet the main reasons can be attempted to be culled out. Those weak souls have been kept apart from these analyses, who still believe the preposterous notions built around Modi as if he is some kind of an incarnation. The ordinary working masses have also not been included, as they are cursed to follow the narrative prepared by the class exploiting them. In this write-up an attempt has been made to investigate those people who endorse Modis eligibility despite the compen-dium of false statements (including those pertaining to his marital status as well as educational qualifications), lies, ignorance, superstition, hatred constantly demonstrated by him. These are the very same people who are educated, successful and empowered spread over the country and abroad. Or at least are moving on that path. Lets begin with the corporate houses. Modis use of the vast wealth of corporate houses in his last election campaign, his use of government funds for his image-building projects as a Prime Minister, advertising for Jio SIM, joining of Neerav Modi in the delegation at the World Economic Forum, misusing the state machinery in aiding Vijay Mallya and Mehul Choksi to flee the country, making the law which helps in keeping corporate funding to political parties covert, implementing demonetisation to break the financial backbone of small traders and small farmers, imparting anticipatory eminent status to Reliance Jio Institute which exists only on paper at the moment, ignoring the public sector undertaking aircraft maker, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), which has over 60 years of experience in aircraft manufacturing and instead making the Reliance Defense Limited a partner of the French company Dassault with the intention of grabbing the Rafael deal, direct appointment of private sector experts with the rank of Joint Secretary in various government departments, accelerating the unregulated privatisation process in every region including public sector undertakings... are enough evidences to expose that Modis eligibility for the corporate houses is axiomatic. It is sufficient proof of Modis eligibility even in the eyes of the RSS/BJP that none of its leaders can oppose Modis corporate-based policies. Because the RSS/BJP are satisfied that Modi has made a central office costing around Rs 1000 crores in Delhi, the headquarters in Nagpur is bursting with prosperity and enjoys coverage in the national-international news, and also because unprecedented wealth has been arranged both for present and future security. The RSS thinkers are absolutely aware that in Modis reign, they are the only people who are beneficiaries of government posts and government sponsored awards. The entire Sangh Parivar has accepted that the lotus of cultural nationalism blossomed in the slopes of corrupt and vulgar capitalism under the leadership of Modi. This is the same RSS/BJP which extracted resignation from L.K Advani from the presi-dency of the party for he called the late Muhammad Ali Jinnah as secular while travelling in Pakistan. But it is the same party which didnt even raise an eyebrow regarding Modis extraordinary visit to Pakistans Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif without any official programme. Because they understand that Modi did not go to meet Nawaz Sharif for Muslim appeasement. He must have gone to further the interests of some big businessmen! Modis educated, successful and empowered supporters are people who are deeply intoxi-cated with the idea that Modi has cured Muslims forever. When Modi talks about destroying Pakistan and terrorists, then in their cons-ciousness, just like Modi, are Indian Muslims. They have learned from Modi, which they are unknowingly infecting in their children too, that living in constant hatred for Muslims is the achievement of Hindutva in life, and that is also true patriotism. These people are the blind supporters of Modis eligibility. There should be no need to say that this middle-class section, which has had education, employment and business facilities in the Congress Raj, has become very prosperous during the neo-liberalisation period. Lets engage a little bit in what Narendra Modi himself thinks about his eligibility? Here in his interview to a film actor, Modi said that he would sometimes go to the forests for a few days. There he used to engage in conversations with himself. His jumla, What is mine, I will walk away picking up my bag when there will be time, has gained currency. By such occurrences he perhaps tries to show that his personality preserves a sense of renunciation (vairagya). Discussions pertaining to renunciation can be found in contemplations around the world including India. The renunciation of Shamshan Ghat is famous. Certain occasions and situations lead to the realisation of insipidness of life. In this state the person drifts away from worldliness and is oriented toward self-realisation (recovery of true self). Though he soon returns to worldly life, but such momentary sense of renunciation and efforts at self-realisation are not always meaningless. The person tries to see life renewed and lived by rising above his shortcomings and weaknesses. It seems that Narendra Modis soul-searching has not led him towards self-realisation; rather it has made him more and more self-indulged. Otherwise, if a person states a wrong fact, interpretation, or utters a bitter word for someone, it bothers him and he becomes restless to rectify his mistake. Given the opportunity, the person tries to correct his mistake at his level. Not so with Modi. After propagating ignorance, frenzy and hatred, he starts organising the next opportunity with the same enthusiasm. Of course, in his own eyes his eligibility is above doubts and suspicions. That is why his anger is directed at those who raise doubts and suspicions over his credibility. Modi has infected this virtue in his supporters too well. Both (Modi and his supporters) believe in replacing those who suspect and question him. Modi is the first person to be an admirer of his own merit. His success is that he has emerged as the biggest event manager to propagate his qualities. It goes without saying that this function of propagating his qualities is integral to his corporate character. In such narcissism Modi might be, and quite erroneously, led to believe that the corporate houses are his toys, while the truth is that he himself is a pawn of those corporate houses. Literature, especially the European novel, is replete with such narcissistic heroes. In spite of all their self-grandeur, they are actually mere toys of the status quo. The culmination of these heroes is characterised with depression and suicides. However, just as Modis eligibility for corporate capitalism is axiomatic, it is the same for Modi he is the axiom of corporate capitalism. An important source of the acceptance of Modis eligibility is international politics and diplomacy. Countries with economic, political and military domination, such as America, Russia, England, France, Germany, China, keep full knowledge of the leaders of the worldbe they in power or opposition. It is not that these countries do not know about Modis knowledge of history and science. They are very much aware of the communal fascist history of Modi. In 2005, the US banned Modis entry into the country due to the 2002 Gujarat communal riots which the Americans termed as a trampling of religious freedom. After the 2002 riots, Britain broke official affiliation with the Modi Govern-ment of Gujarat for 10 years. Many other countries strongly condemned Narendra Modi for the riots. But soon after Manmohan Singh the search for a natural leader of corporate capitalism led them to Modi, who was already running a special laboratory of neo-liberalism in Gujarat, and in this way he had become the first choice of some of the countrys corporate houses. A foreign delegation met the prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi, in Delhi. After he became the Prime Minister, the US restored his visa. President Barack Obama called him to address the joint session of the Congress and provided him with a private dinner. At the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Obama accepted to become a special guest on the Republic Day of India. The next story is known to all. Prime Minister Narendra Modi opened up various sectors, from retail to defense, for hundred per cent Direct Foreign Investment (FDI). In fact, an agenda of these neo-imperialist powers is to destroy the spirit and heritage of opposing imperialism from India. These powers know that if the power remains entrenched in the RSS and Modi, they can achieve this goal much easier and faster. This specific dimension of Modis eligibility in the eyes of neo-imperialist powers is significant and worth considering. This discussion, which examines Modis eligibility, will remain incomplete if it ignores the role of the progressive and secular camp. Without elaborating on this subject, it can only be said that the anti-corruption movement under the aegis of India Against Corruption (IAC) spoiled the entire socio-political scenario before the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. This entire story has been captured in the book Bhrashtachar Virodh: Vibhram Aur Yatharth (Vani Prakashan, 2015). The movement, which was launched with the aim of destroying the alternative resistance to neo-liberalism in order to promote it to the next phase, also brought the leader (Narendra Modi) in the next phase. In that noise of ideo-logical nihilism, the official Communists had seen a Lenin in the NGO don, named Kejriwal, and had gathered to make him an alternative to Modi. (Before Modis call for a Congress-free India, the players of the anti-corruption move-ment had written the Congress obituary on their behalf.) In this way the struggle of alter-native also entered the next phase! In the main-stream Indian politics it was decided that the battle is now between neo-liberalism and neo-liberalism. That means there is no fight with neo-liberalism. Whatever the quarrel is, it is about caste, religion, region, family and person. Or, to get maximum share in the neo-liberal loot of the countrys resources and labour. Thats happening in the whole country. It is right to say that Modi is a mere pawn in the hands of the corrupt and vulgar capitalist forces. But, in this form, he represents the ruling class of India. The author teaches Hindi at the University of Delhi and is the President of the Socialist Party (India). Oslo, Norway (PANA) - One-in-three girls or women will experience physical or sexual violence in her lifetime, and the risk multiplies during a conflict or natural disaster, the Executive Director of UNICEF told delegates attending the first-ever Ending Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) in Humanitarian Crises Conference on Friday, in the Norwegian capital, Oslo Khartoum , Sudan (PANA) - President of The Sudanese Transitional Military Council, Lieutenant General Abdul Fatah Al Burhan, left for the United Arab Emirates, on a one-day state visit, his second trip abroad in less than 48 hours Visit heaven: I'd like to visit heaven so I can my grandma. I want to visit her because I miss her. She was very nice, and I miss her a lot. Davis Nourie Grade 2, Stevenson Warm in Arizona: I'd like to visit Arizona because it won't be cold. The weather will be nice and warm. In the winter of the United States where I live it is very, very cold. That's why I want to live in Arizona. Keyairah Horton Grade 3, Sheridan Romantic place: I would like to visit Paris because it is the most romantic place. I would like to bring my girlfriend. Last, I would like to visit the Eiffel Tower. Logan Coffey Grade 2, Schneider See old friends: If I would have to choose one place to go, it would be my old town because I have not seen my friends for three years. It's sad to see your friends all alone. I would love to go to Olney. Halle Blakney Grade 5, Prairieland South Africa: I love South Africa just because it is so different there, and the languages and food are so cool. Also, I got my brother there, and I had some very special memories there. Kate Prevo Grade 4, Prairieland Bonjour, Paris: I would like to go to Paris. I think it would be cool to be at the top of the Eiffel Tower. I would also go to Paris to learn to speak French. Bonjour. I would want to learn French so I could speak to French people. One last thing is food. I would like to go to Paris to try French food. Khloe Dittmar Grade 3, Prairieland Lakers fan: Los Angeles, here we go! I want to go to Los Angeles because I like the Lakers. If I could go to L.A. I would want to go to a Lakers game. It would be fun to see Lonzo Ball and LeBron James. I'm pretty sure the Lakers will win. Joseph Bishop Grade 2, Prairieland Grandparents' house: If I could visit any place in the world I'd go to Grandma and Grandpa's. My grandparents live about two hours away from us. I like to play with them so much in their big yard. I like helping my grandpa water the corn they grow. Cassidy Giosta Grade 1, Prairieland Bangladesh is best: I would like to go to Bangladesh because there are so many huge parks and dogs and cats and so many snakes. There is a big mosque there with lots of fans because it's hot there. I would like to go there because there's my grandma and my uncle. I love my country, Bangladesh! Mahir Muzaddid Grade 1, Oakland College visit: For some reason I really want to visit a college. I'd want to go to a college because when I'm older, I'm looking forward to going. I also want to see what a day in college might look like. Kahlijah Grandberry Grade 4, Oakdale New Mexico: My favorite place to visit is New Mexico because my mom was born there and grew up there, and I personally think it's a cool place because I like hot weather. And I like deserts, and I don't know why. I think it's because I like snakes and lizards. Maxwell Edwards Grade 3, Oakdale Play at Grandma's house: I like to visit my grandma's house because she has troll dolls and I like to play with them with my sister Mia. Myanna Smith Grade 2, Oakdale Hooray for Hollywood: I want to visit Hollywood, Calif. I want to go in the sand. I want to eat the good food there. I would drink pop. Claudia James Grade 4, Northpoint Meet princesses: I want to visit Disneyland. I want to meet princesses. I would like to eat mac and cheese with Ariel and Belle. Carley Johnson Grade 3, Northpoint Charming China: I would like to visit China because I think that it is beautiful and peaceful. I think it has lovely music! I think all of the creatures are so cute! Mazie Carter Grade 2, Mulberry Camping in Alaska: I would like to go to Alaska. I would go camping. I would also pan for gold! I would be rich! I would buy myself a Lamborghini, except I could not get that in Alaska. I really want to go to the first frontier! Blake Petersen Grade 2, Jefferson Park Summer in Florida: It would be very nice to visit Florida. First, a good time to visit Florida is during my summer vacation because it would be nice and hot. If I go to Florida, I definitely would know that it would be hotter than where I live in Illinois. Surabhi Chincholikar Grade 2, Grove See Cardinals play: I want to go to St. Louis because I want to see the Cardinals play. If I saw them play I would hope they would win, but if they didn't win I would be sad. Griffin Kuntz Grade 1, Grove Mexico's traditions: I want to go to Mexico because of the different traditions. Also, the language. Also, the different music. Amelia Nalewajka Grade 1, Epiphany Fishing in Texas: I want to visit Texas because my cousin lives in Texas. I have been to Texas. When I went to Texas I went fishing. Parker Dabbs Grade 1, Corpus Christi Seeing turtles: I like when we went to Wisconsin Dells. When we arrived the first things I saw were sea turtles. They were amazing. They were really fast. We had an opportunity to pet them. When I petted a turtle, they were so cute and the shell was beautiful. Jazmin Ventura Grade 4, Cedar Ridge Fun at the beach: I want to go to the beach to swim and find seashells and make sandcastles and get a suntan. Bellamy Bray Grade 3, Cedar Ridge Namesake city: I would like to visit Paris, Brooklyn and Dallas. I'm going to Dallas in June, but that's it. It would be cool to go to Brooklyn because that's my name. These are my places I'd like to visit. Brooklyn Caffey Grade 3, Calvary Beaches and volcanoes: I would like to visit Hawaii. I want to visit Hawaii because it is very warm. I can go to the beach. I would surf on the waves, build sandcastles and make sand stew. I can also see the volcanoes erupt. I'll stay away from the volcanoes and use binoculars to see Volcano National Park. Owen Henderson Grade 3, Benjamin Fun in London: I would like to visit London! I think London would be a good place to visit. First, I would try their candy. Next, I would try to speak the queen's English. Then I would live in a mansion. After that, I would get an English dog. Last, I would have fun. I would love it. Alexis Eckhardt Grade 2, Benjamin Lego and Disney: I would like to go to Legoland or Disneyland. They would both probably be awesome! At Legoland I would see all the Legos. At Disneyland I would play with my family there. I would go with my family to either place. Edie Stauter Grade 2, Jefferson Park With no major navigable bodies of water, McLean County and much of east-central Illinois are landlocked. Yet that was decidedly not the case several million years ago when a great river mightier than the mighty Mississippi even ran through this part of the state. The ancient waterway, known as the Teays River, formed long before 2 million years ago. It drained the midsection of the eastern half of the U.S. before it was altered and then buried by a series of advancing and retreating continental ice sheets. Over many eons, the Teays (pronounced taze) shaped and reshaped the landscape on a monumental scale and then disappeared long before human beings ever arrived in North America so its deep, cool waters and wide valleys are known to us only through the geologic and hydrologic record. The rivers headwaters were in whats now western North Carolina, near the village of Blowing Rock along the Blue Ridge Parkway. The Teays flowed north through Virginia and West Virginia, continuing into Ohio before taking a turn west through Indiana and Illinois. The river entered present-day Illinois near the Vermilion County community of Hoopeston. It headed west past whats today Paxton in Ford County and then ran southwest through Champaign-Urbana, Mahomet and Monticello (see accompanying map). From there it tacked northwest to Clinton, its valley spanning some 15 miles at that point in its long journey. It then crossed the southwestern corner of McLean County and the village of McLean before heading west to Delavan in Tazewell County, where it met the ancestral Mississippi River which was then well east of its present-day course. The Mississippi was but a major tributary of the Teays, which then continued east and south until reaching the Mississippi Embayment, a finger of the Gulf of Mexico that once followed the current Mississippi River valley all of the way into Illinois. Subsequent glacial advances and meltwater during the ice ages of the Pleistocene Epoch marked the end of what was one of North Americas truly great waterways. The first of perhaps three glaciations, or glacial periods, blocked the Teays River and created Tight Lake, a massive body of water covering large sections of southern Ohio and parts of Kentucky and West Virginia. This long-gone Great Lake (about 70 percent the size of Lake Erie) was named for geologist William G. Tight, who in the early 20th century began piecing together the many clues left behind by the river. Tight, who taught at Denison University in Granville, Ohio, is also credited with naming the river, which comes from an unincorporated community in Putnam County, W.Va. This village sits in an unglaciated, now riverless, valley that millions of years ago wouldve been the main channel of the Teays. As the massive Pleistocene ice sheets, measuring a mile thick or more, scoured the Midwestern landscape, the mighty rivers valley and those of its tributaries were filled with ground-up rock, gravel, clay, sand, silt and sediment. Thus the bedrock valley of the Teays in much of the Midwest is still there, its just buried under several hundred feet of glacial drift. Today, the Teays is much more than a geological curiosity. The rivers buried bedrock valley is one of the largest and most important sources of ground water in the state of Illinois. The Mahomet Aquifer, as its known today, provides more than 200 million gallons of water every day to communities, industries, commercial enterprises and farmers across 15 counties in east-central Illinois. Aquifers, contrary to popular belief, are not true underground rivers or lakes. Rather, water in the Mahomet Aquifer resides between the granular deposits of sand and gravel and flows in a trickle, generally a few feet a day. Water pulled from this aquifer does not date to the Teays River, however. Rather, it started as rainfall or snowmelt that seeped through the ground until it collected in the ancient river bed. Nonetheless, the Mahomet Aquifer would not exist if not for the titanic geologic forces of rock, ice and water that gave birth to this colossal, now-buried river valley. Discovery of the Mahomet Aquifer helped geologists piece together the route of the Teays through Illinois. As early as the 1880s, a shaft sunk by a coal mine outfit in the Urbana area inadvertently hit the great aquifer a discovery that led to the operators to mine not coal but water. Yet it wasnt until later, in the mid-20th century, that scientists with the Illinois State Geological Survey and Illinois State Water Survey began examining in detail hundreds of well logs spanning the Illinois-Indiana state line westward to the Illinois River, enabling them to map the aquifer. Dr. Leland Horberg of the University of Illinois geology department discovered that wells above this area had to penetrate deeper than elsewhere to reach bedrock, and that the rock itself sloped downward to create a V-like shape, evidence of a buried riverbed millions of years old. Horberg named this formation the Mahomet Valley, because it was near that Champaign County community that three wells reached one of the deepest points of the buried channel. It was only a matter of time before scientists concluded with certainty that the Mahomet Bedrock Valley (as it was formally known) was actually the lower section of the Teays River. Although there is nothing in the present landscape to suggest the existence of a prehistoric and long-buried valley, noted a newspaper account from 1952, the river is gaining increasing notice from scientific prospectors engaged in a new gold rush the search for precious water for the homes, the agriculture, and the industry of Central Illinois. And indeed, thats just what has happened in the ensuing decades. Today, the Mahomet Aquifer is the primary source of drinking water for some 120 municipalities and 750,000 people. Communities that rely on the aquifer range in size from the cities of Champaign and Urbana to the small village of McLean. Much of the water pumped out of the aquifer is used for industrial, commercial and agricultural purposes. The sweeping pivot irrigation systems one sees in Mason and Tazewell counties (and even in southwestern McLean County) are dependent on the aquifer. In the coming years, this aquifer will likely become more important as large communities currently relying on surface water reservoirs, including Bloomington, Danville, Decatur and Springfield, look to it as a means to improve water quality and meet increased demand. Today, the Mahomet Aquifer Advocacy Alliance, an informal association of local governments and interested parties, works to protect this invaluable natural resource through monitoring and research, legislative advocacy and public education. Bill Kemp is the librarian at the McLean County Museum of History in Bloomington. He can be reached at BKemp@mchistory.org. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 1 Sad 0 Angry 1 BLOOMINGTON Next to gravestones and Memorial Day flowers, a Bloomington teen spends his free time adding extra markers to honor fallen veterans. Its just the least I can do, said 17-year-old Tom Brady. These men have sacrificed more than I will ever know and its just a way to give back to those who did so much to make our country the way it was. The family of every U.S. military veteran can submit discharge papers and request a grave marker in either marble or a more durable bronze to be placed next to a headstone, instead of one or inside a mausoleum. Tom has spent the last two years traveling to several rural cemeteries in McLean County and beyond, placing about 16 grave markers to help out his dad, state Rep. Dan Brady, a funeral director at Kibler-Brady-Ruestman Memorial Home, Bloomington. Hes been a big help to our business side of things because hes reliable, he is thorough and hes respectful and I know how to get a hold of him, Brady said. He does a good job. Tom, a junior at Normal Community High School, said the smaller cemeteries that are a little more weathered give him the opportunity to find little pieces of history that might otherwise be overlooked. You find those stones that are tucked away and these are the older stones, he said. I once found a Civil War captain who died in the Siege of Petersburg. His death date was January of 1865. Most of the grave markers he sets are marked with the names of veterans of the Vietnam or Korean wars, along with a few of the last remaining World War II veterans. Its just hard to process that we think theres like no history around here, but when you actually go and find out there are people who actually fought in the Civil War from this county, thats just really awe-inspiring to see, Tom said. As a member of the 10th Illinois Cavalry and the 21st Infantry regiments, which perform battle reenactments, visiting cemeteries and placing grave markers has only fed his love of history. I just feel like its kind of my job to kind of preserve the history as people in my generation dont care much for it and they kind of find it boring, Tom said. The elder Brady said taking on this project also has helped Tom with his Asperger syndrome, a condition on the autism spectrum. (The project) helps him organize; it helps you process things, obviously, Dan Brady said. It helps you understand all the things you have to do when you file claims and you get to do some interactions with people so it helps his social skills. After all the paperwork and waiting for the federal government to send the marker, Tom spends about an hour and a half putting it in place with a concrete base attached, clearing away any mud and replacing the grass. But the best part isnt digging holes and spending time outside, Its really just honoring the people who fought in those wars and were veterans, and just giving back to them is really the greatest thing at the end of the day. Contact Kelsey Watznauer at (309) 820-3254. Follow her on Twitter: @kwatznauer. 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. Labrockington, of Bloomington, recently pleaded guilty to two marijuana charges. In exchange, the state agreed to dismiss drug and weapons charges that could have sent him to prison for more than three decades. His sentencing hearing is set for June 26. His lawyer, Jennifer Patton, has asked the McLean County drug court team to consider Labrockington for the program that provides drug treatment and assistance with housing and employment. Labrockington is among about 4,000 McLean County offenders charged with a new offense within two years of a previous conviction, according to data given to the county's Criminal Justice Coordinating Council by the Stevenson Center for Community and Economic Development at Illinois State University. Researchers examined criminal cases filed between 2002 and 2018 involving a total of 19,518 offenders. In a 2017 series in The Pantagraph, Labrockington and two other young offenders talked about their criminal records and their plans to avoid future contact with the justice system. Their efforts have had mixed results. Leon Ford was 18 in the fall of 2016 and was determined to complete a two-year term of probation for his role in taking a car that didn't belong to him. He credited his mother with keeping him on track. Ford moved to Nevada in 2017, with no new criminal charges filed against him in McLean County. Jody Gardner was not so lucky. Three days after his 19th birthday, Gardner was shot multiple times in the entryway of a Normal apartment complex. His friend, Reggie Hart Jr., 20, also was killed. Gardner had moved into his own apartment and was attending Heartland Community College, his great-great grandmother Irene Gardner recently said. Nothing seemed amiss when she cooked his favorite meal of chicken and macaroni and cheese for the birthday dinner he shared with Hart, she said. But things can happen when teens leave home, Gardner said of her grandson's trip to see Christopher Harrison, the 18-year-old charged with killing the two men. "It's so dangerous out there, so many guns," said Gardner, who cared for her grandson most of his life, starting with his rescue by Chicago police from a dumpster when he was just 3 days old. The family is hoping for answers as the Harrison murder case unfolds, even if that leads to accusations of misconduct by the victims, said Gardner. "If he was wrong, he was wrong. You still want to know what happened," she said. Labrockington was just a few days shy of his one-year anniversary of being released from prison for residential burglary when he was charged in December 2018 with delivery and possession of marijuana. He posted bond, but was arrested again after he picked up a dozen new drug charges before his May 10 plea deal. While Labrockington was in jail, the state filed armed habitual criminal and unlawful use of weapons charges against him. Those charges were later dismissed; Labrockington denied having any connection to the handgun mentioned in charges. His lawyer, Patton, declined to talk specifically about the case. But on the issue of drug court and its potential to help addicts, Patton said defendants with the most to lose often reap the greatest benefit from the community-based program. "Drug court offers people with a life of crime the chance to address their problems in a setting other than prison. It holds people accountable while helping them with jobs and housing," she said. Prosecutor Jeff Horve also declined to talk specifically about the case, but he explained factors the state considers when putting together a plea agreement and recommendation for drug court. "The first consideration is public safety. Then we look at the type of drugs and the level of dealing that's involved," he said. A distinction must be made between those who sell drugs to support an addiction, and those peddling drugs as a business, said Horve. He said first-time drug offenders in McLean County are likely to receive a community-based sentence. Drug court, he said, "is for individuals with ongoing, unsolved substance abuse issues. " Labrockington served several months in the state's impact incarceration, or boot camp, program an option the state provided for his five-year sentence for residential burglary, his first felony at age 18. A six-year sentence followed in 2009 for possession of a stolen vehicle and fleeing police. Younger offenders face bigger hurdles to stay out of trouble after a felony conviction, according to a 2018 study by Loyola University's Center of Research Research, Policy and Practice. McLean County was one of five counties included in the Loyola study that looked at defendants charged within three years of their last offense. Sixty-seven percent of McLean County's repeat offenders were between the ages of 17 and 25, according to the data. Labrockington is aware of the challenges he must overcome to persuade a judge he deserves a chance at probation. The goals he had two years ago of getting a job and staying clean and sober have not changed. This time, he said, his motivation has. "My biggest motivator is my 1-year-old son. It's a completely different ball game this time," Labrockington said in a recent interview. Life would be different on probation, he said, as ties with old friends with bad habits must be broken. "It's not just leaving them behind, but replacing them with a different group of people," said Labrockington. Support groups at the jail have led to new, positive connections, he said. Michelle Cook, director of Jobs Partnership, a Twin City program that helps offenders with re-entry challenges, acknowledged younger men and women often have a difficult time breaking ties with people who may lure them back into criminal activity. "We work on helping people 'get real.' We ask them if they're ready to 'get real' with us, with God and themselves. I tell them, 'I can't want this more than you do.' That's always a risk with younger offenders who have to decide if they're really ready to change," said Cook. Cook recently met with Labrockington at the McLean County jail. They talked about his possible return to the program that previously helped him find a job after a stint in prison. "We will double down on him," Cook said of the plans for Labrockington if he avoids prison. "When people return, it's like they are starting over again," said Cook. It's likely Labrockington will be required to check in daily with a mentor and attend weekly classes in addition to his obligations for drug court. Contact Edith Brady-Lunny at (309) 820-3276. Follow her on Twitter: @pg_blunny 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. Editor's note: This is the first in a series, "Stories of Honor," that recognize the service and sacrifice of military personnel from Central Illinois. To make a nomination, go to pantagraph.com/storiesofhonor NORMAL Mike Heuer was still in high school when he enlisted in the Illinois Army National Guard as a way to get college tuition money. I'm a Central Illinois farm kid, said Heuer, of Normal. I thought I was going to shoot rifles and go live in the woods. That was nearly 25 years ago, when so-called weekend warriors seldom, if ever, were sent overseas. Instead, Heuer, initially part of an infantry unit based in Pontiac, became a CH-47 Chinook helicopter pilot. He has been deployed three times to Afghanistan as a member of Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 238th Aviation Regiment in Peoria, and works full time for the National Guard as a tactical operations officer. A chief warrant officer, he also is an instructor pilot, instrument evaluator, aviation safety officer and part of the aviation life support equipment team. In his spare time, he is learning to become a commercial airline pilot. Getting my wings pinned on after graduating from flight school at Fort Rucker, Ala., was one of the highlights of his career, he said. Homecoming from his deployments were memorable, too, particularly his return shortly before Christmas 2013, his second deployment. He had appeared previously in The Pantagraph's Holiday Spectacular at the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts, doing a father-daughter dance with his girls. In 2013, his return home was kept a secret from his daughters, Grace and Sydney, now 14 and 12. His wife, Kara, made up a story about why she couldn't take the girls to the show. Instead, she drove to pick up her husband in Peoria. They snuck me into the BCPA and held me in the dressing room, Heuer recalled. Then, near the end of the program, they asked the audience to welcome him home from Afghanistan. The girls rushed into his arms. Heuer said his service wouldn't be possible without the support of his family. He and Kara have been married for 17 years. Kara Heuer said, The tough part is living in a town that is not a military town. People just don't get it. People complain about their husband being gone for two days on a business trip. But after three long-term deployments, a two-week training stint, that's like nothing to me, she said. Not that she doesn't miss him. He can fix anything. When he's gone and something breaks, it's call an uncle, call a dad or pay someone to fix it, she said. Heuer's first deployment was from January to November 2009 to Forward Operation Base Salerno, a time when there was still a lot of combat going on. We did a lot of 'deliberate assaults,' taking a chopper full of Rangers to storm a house and take back who they were after, he said. We did that night after night. The second deployment, from April to December 2013, was more about moving mail and people and food and bringing back equipment from bases that were being eliminated as the U.S. presence was decreasing, he said. On the third deployment, from October 2017 to June 2018, we were back to deliberate assaults every night but the biggest change was the Afghanis taking the lead, said Heuer. He has completed more than 3,000 accident-free flying hours, including more than 700 flight hours in combat. He has three air medals, a senior Army aviator badge, two NATO service medals, an Afghanistan campaign medal and a combat action badge. He is an awesome husband and father and has made a career out of serving our country, said Kara Heuer. Contact Lenore Sobota at (309) 820-3240. Follow her on Twitter: @Pg_Sobota Love 6 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 1 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. For families with school kids of all ages, spring is a time when thoughts wander toward getting away for the summer, but we still focus on necessary spring cleaning. In some small businesses, particularly in the retail sector, spring signals the approach of a period of slowing down a little bit. However, at the Illinois Small Business Development Center (SBDC) of McLean County at Illinois Wesleyan University, we like to think of it as a time to engage in some business spring cleaning. Here are a few things you might want to put on your to-do list: Write or modify your business plan Initially, your business plan should contain a brand statement, target-customer demographics, goals, strategies to reaching those objectives, and timelines. Now, whens the last time you reread your business plan? Give it another critical look and consider whats changed since it was developed. What modifications are necessary to make the plan relevant and up-to-date? Reorganize the physical office Every plan for every type of spring cleaning begins with some version of purge! De-clutter, empty, shred, get rid of everything that you dont need or havent used in a while. Try to locate within reach the remaining equipment and supplies that you use most. Things that you rarely use can be stored or located at a distance, or at least put somewhere that makes sense based upon frequency of use. Dont forget to purge and organize your paper files. You can always archive older documents in a closet or dry storage somewhere. Tidy up your virtual office Every second you waste looking for a computer document you cant find, you are wasting precious time that you could be doing something that would help you move forward with your goals. You should be able to find a document in five seconds, not five minutes. (Weve all found an old file when we werent looking for it anymore!) Take as much time as you need, now, to create a file folder structure that will make it intuitive to quickly file a document and fetch it when you need it. Strategically plan the rest of the year Look at the calendar for the rest of the year. When are the key events, programs, holidays, and opportunities? Go back to the business plan and match up the calendar with your business priorities, goals, and timetables. If youre an entrepreneur or small businesses owner interested in using the spring and summer to make some progress in your long-range thinking and planning, the SBDC can provide no-cost tools, resources, and confidential services to help you do just that. Contact us for an appointment. Bussone is director of the Illinois Small Business Development Center of McLean County, based at Illinois Wesleyan University. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2019 > Mayawati Demolishes Modis Aura The tumultuous two-month long campaign for the general election is drawing to a close. The scathing remarks about Prime Minister Narendra Modis political persona by the leader of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Mayawati, has taken the election campaign to a stunning crescendo. The Midnights Children (like myself) never witnessed an election campaign of this sort. Modi set its rich baritone by making this an election all about himselfand the inevitable blowback has come. Plain decency probably prevented Rahul Gandhi from saying such things as Mayawati has done. But Mayawati is known to be a tough politician who generally keeps her dignified self out of controversies, but, if provoked, is also capable of giving it back to her detractors where it hurts them most. After all, she showed true grit to rule the lawless region of Uttar Pradesh with an iron hand and give a sense of destiny to the impoverished millions of Dalits facing caste bigotry. Two days ago (on May 12), toward the end of a brilliant interview of Nitin Gadkari, which was in the nature of a tour dhorizon of all that has gone so horribly wrong during the past five years in our countrys political economy, Karan Thapar asked the Minister about Modis campaign style. Thapar said, He (Modi) is not campaigning on his five-year track record in office, he is not campaigning by raising issues that matter to people like education, health, employment, rural distress... So would you yourself, while campaigning, make personal comments about someones father or tell stories, would you ever do this? This was a rare moment when the ebullient Gadkari, who is never lost for words or wits, was caught flat-footed and felt diminished. He gently replied, I dont want to make any comment on it. But fortunately my feeling is this is the time for Indian democracy that we should speak about policies, decisions, reforms. There are a lot of issues of development, infras-tructure development, defence policies, this is the time. For sure, Gadkari, by far the most outstanding minister in the Union Government, made his distaste known about the Modi-style politics. The point is, Modi descended to an abysmally low level through this election campaign, even denigrating a late national leader and former Prime Ministersomething entirely reprehensibleand all of that to settle scores with the deceased leaders son who happens to be the Opposition leader challenging him today. If nothing else, what Modi said about Rajiv Gandhi was unworthy of anyone who claims to have practised upasana, leave alone the Prime Minister of the country. How could any good Hindu possibly denigrate a departed soul? It is a sacrilegious act. Gods must have come out to the ramparts to watch the mayhem below. Modi should have anticipated the great danger that his opponents, who have been subjected to his verbal assaults and taunts almost on a daily basis in these past several weeks, might at some point retaliate. And he forgot that being the PM, he had much more to lose in a mud-slinging match. Isnt there an old saying that the pot doesnt call the kettle black? The Bible cites Paul the apostle as saying that those who live in glass houses should not throw stones! As Gadkaris cutting remark showed, even within the BJP and the RSS, there must be whole lot of leaders who feel uncomfortable and even ashamed, perhapsabout the campaign trail that Modi chose to take. As for the Opposition parties, they never wanted this sort of personalised campaign when such grave national issues demanded their attention and needed to be seriously debatedKashmir, rural distress, jobs, governance, Rafale deal, majorita-rianism and so on. But Modi thought he was being clever by half by resorting to the diversionary tactic and insisting that the general election should be about him. Such megalomania ultimately proved his undoing. It prompted him to cross all limits and resort to bluff about his own geniusthat he used to send e-mails a full decade before Internet came into vogue or that he knew rocket science on cloudy days far better than any Air Marshal who flew aeroplanes, etc. Sure enough, ridicule followed like night after the day. And a lady opponent just hit him below the belt. Mayawati has conclusively demolished the aura built around Modi. Yet, the most significant thing Mayawati said was probably not about Modis family life or alleged perversions, but about her own partys standing in the coming fateful days and weeks as the domestic politics reaches crossroads. The BJP spin doctors have been whispering that in the event of the ruling party failing to secure majority to form the next government, it could count on many opportunists and time-servers such as the Telengana Rashtra Samithi, Biju Janata Dal, YSR Congress Partyand the BSP led by Mayawati. With one stroke, Mayawati has smashed that canard. When she exhorted the people not to vote for such as person, she added, This would also be their real respect to the deserted wife of Modiji. The bottom line is, Mayawati underscored that she will never contemplate a political alliance with Modi. Of course, Mayawati is an experienced politician with a track record in national politics much longer than Modis. She must be sensing from the tremors in the Hindi heartland she crisscrossed in recent months that the prospect of another Modi-led government at the Centre is fast receding. Ambassador M.K. Bhadrakumar served as a career diplomat in the Indian Foreign Service for over 29 years, with postings including Indias ambassador to Uzbekistan (1995-1998) and to Turkey (1998-2001). It is becoming highly likely that Donald Trump will be impeached. But it is just as likely he will not be removed from office. In the byzantine world of D.C. politics, House Democrats are fervidly divided on whether to start impeachment proceedings, even with proponents knowing full well the Senate Republicans will either ignore what the House does or vote against conviction. Meanwhile, the Trump White House is doing everything possible to ignore Congress, from outright ridicule, to ignoring subpoenas, to denying routine requests for information, to forbidding aides to appear on Capitol Hill, to refusing to make a deal on infrastructure. It is a power struggle, with the executive branch determined to become more powerful than the legislative branch, not what the Founding Fathers intended. Trump openly is taunting Congress and inviting impeachment, knowing that Senate Republicans will protect him. He will then claim he was exonerated and run again for president in 2020, just as he falsely claimed the Mueller report found him innocent of obstruction of justice. It did not. Oddly, most members of Congress have not even read the Mueller report although it was read aloud on the House floor to get past Trump administration efforts to quash it and prevent open testimony in Congress about it. Game of Thrones intrigue and corruption have nothing on politics along the Potomac, except that reputations are being slaughtered, not bodies. You think there was and is no Russian collusion? Get this: Washington imposed economic sanctions on Russian oligarchs for helping the Russian attack on U.S. elections in 2016 and beyond. The Trump administration exempted Oleg Deriposka, a billionaire buddy of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. Deriposka is also a Trump supporter and former business partner of (jailed) Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort who owed the Russian $17 million. The House voted overwhelmingly to reinstate sanctions against Dariposka. But under the urging of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., the Senate let the exemption stand and said Deriposka could continue to do business in the U.S. About the same time, David Vitter, a lobbyist and former GOP member of Congress ousted after a tawdry sex scandal, told McConnell that a Deriposka-connected company would build a huge $200 million aluminum plant in McConnells home state. Not long after that, the Senate approved Vitters wife for a lifetime seat on the federal bench despite huge cries that she is unqualified. The new Judge Vitter is a staunch Louisiana anti-abortion activist who refuses to say whether she agrees with the landmark school desegregation decision Brown v. Board of Education. Yes, the Trump administrations agenda is to get as many anti-abortion judges in place as possible, pass slews of strict state anti-abortion laws and ultimately overturn Roe v. Wade, which has made abortion legal since 1973 and is supported by seven out of 10 Americans. Trumps goal is to make as much money as possible as president and ride the carefully choreographed anti-abortion wave into a second term with the support of his solid base. Trumps problem is that he is running afoul of actual laws aimed at preventing people from using the presidency to become as wealthy as all the other autocrats around the world. And the number of friendly court decisions he can count on is finite, no matter how much court-packing he does. Thus, he is running out the clock, using every delaying strategy he and his henchmen (such as Attorney General Bill Barr) can devise. Trump is also bad-mouthing every Democrat and the one or two Republicans who get in his way and desperately trying to prevent his tax and accounting records from being seen despite the clear intent of the law that they be made public. (And the confidential IRS memo that Trump has no right to keep the documents out of congressional hands.) Democrats are torn between not wanting to let Trump get away with making a precedent-setting mockery of the presidency and the rule of law and not playing into his hands by starting an impeachment process they cannot win, even if they convince a reluctant public that impeachment is necessary to save the Constitution. If impeachment dominates the political arena, Democrats hopes of talking about income inequality, health care and other economic concerns of most American families go unrealized. If the public doesnt want Trump impeached, Democrats will pay the price at the polls. Game of Thrones is over but, honestly, you couldnt make up the serious stuff that is unfolding in your nations capital. Contact McFeatters at amcfeatters@nationalpress.com. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Imagine walking into your doctors or dentists office for an appointment and being refused service because theres something about you the receptionist just doesnt like. All the receptionist has to do is cite a religious objection, and her rights trump yours. Earlier this month, President Donald Trump announced a 440-page plan to protect health care workers who oppose certain medical procedures on religious or moral grounds. Medical facilities that dont comply with the protections could be denied federal funds. The rules make lots of room for discrimination against the LGBT community. Anyone in the service line, from receptionists, lab workers, nurses to doctors, can opt out. The result could be a denial of service to those seeking access to reproductive health care, sexual-reassignment surgery or other procedures all at the whim of health practitioners personal beliefs. This not a new idea. Civil rights legislation allowing health care workers to avoid some kinds of service based on religious belief has been around since the 1970s. But the scope of the administrations plan is a worrying step backward. After denying a patient care, a health care worker would not be obligated even to suggest alternatives for treatment. Cutting off access so broadly is dangerous and comes with broader consequences that could revive the so-called religious exception from the 1950s and 60s, when people were allowed to discriminate if they didnt want to serve mixed-race couples. In Texas, the state legislature has weighed a bill that would allow any state-licensed professional, from doctors to plumbers and electricians, to deny service to individuals based on religion. The bills sponsors tout it as promoting religious freedom, but the clear purpose is to permit denial of service to LGBT Texans. Nearly 1,000 businesses have objected, saying the legislation would likely put Texas on a boycott target list. A top leader of VisitDallas, a promotional organization, said the negative impact on tourism alone would be around $100 million. Individuals, especially in rural areas, would be helpless if denied service because of a nurse or physicians personal objection. Alternative service providers arent always close by and often are scarce. Even in less dire circumstances, the discrimination allowed in this legislation would promote a segregation of services that runs directly contrary to civil rights reforms achieved over the past six decades. But Texas is just following the leader in the White House. Theres little doubt that Trumps plan will face a court challenge, as would the one in Texas if it became law. If Texas doesnt want to undergo the nightmarish boycott experience of North Carolina when, in 2017, it placed restrictions on transgender peoples access to public restrooms, legislators will kill this bill quickly. Its bad for business, bad for tourism and marks a startling regression to a long bygone era of legally sanctioned bigotry. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 President Trump's Iran policy appears to be careening between diplomacy and belligerence. One day Trump tweets, "I'm 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 doesn't want war because Iran knows it will lose. That's why Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei made clear via a government Twitter account "no war is to happen." Trump's goal is not to start a war. His administration has three objectives: First, restore deterrence and contain Iran's expansionism across the Middle East. Second, roll back Iran's gains and force it back within its borders. And third, give Iran's 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 Obama's 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." It's working. Bloomberg News reports that "Iran's oil shipments tumbled this month after the U.S. ended sanctions waivers. ... So far, not a single ship has been seen leaving Iran's oil terminals for foreign ports." The new sanctions are forcing Tehran to cut funds to its terrorist proxies. According to The Post, "Iran's 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 "Iran's 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 Iran's 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 don't come to the table, then what is our strategy? Does Trump really want to bring about the collapse of the Iranian regime? It's 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. Follow Marc A. Thiessen on Twitter, @marcthiessen Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) An American climber who fulfilled his dream of climbing the highest mountains on each of the seven continents died of probable altitude sickness on the way down from Mount Everest, mountaineering officials said. Don Cash became ill at the summit and was treated there by his two Sherpa guides, Pasang Tenje Sherpa, head of Pioneer Adventure, which provided the guides, said Friday. "When he was on the top he just fell. The two Sherpas who were with him gave CPR and massages," he said. "After that he woke up, then near Hillary Step he fell down again in the same manner, which means he got high altitude sickness." Altitude sickness is caused by low amounts of oxygen at high elevation and can cause headaches, vomiting, shortness of breath and mental confusion. The Press Trust of India news agency reported Friday that two more Indian climbers died on Mount Everest together with an Austrian while descending from the summit this week. Also, the U.K.-based climbing company 360 Expeditions said that an Irish climber died Friday while attempting to climb Everest. They were part of hundreds of foreigners and their Sherpa guides attempting to scale Everest and other Himalayan peaks during the popular spring climbing season, when only a few windows of good weather each May allow them the best chance of success. Cash, 55, from Utah, had a long-held dream to climb the seven summits the highest mountains on the seven continents his daughter Danielle Cook posted on Facebook on Wednesday. Santa Bir Lama, the president of the Nepal Mountaineering Association, said Cash's body was still near Hillary Step. "Many others who are at the summit are still there. When the Sherpas come down, then they can bring his body down," he said. Pasang Tenje Sherpa said Cash's brother had sent him a message thanking the Sherpa guides, Norbo and Tenzin, for their help. "Please tell Norbo and Tenzin our family's deep appreciation for their heroic effort to save Don," he quoted the message as saying. "Give them our love and prayers, and we are glad they are safe." 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 seven summits club. In January, he wrote, he climbed Mount Vinson Masif, Antarctica's tallest peak. Cash is survived by his wife Monette and their four children, the Salt Lake Tribune reported. A former business manager of comic book legend Stan Lee has been arrested on elder abuse charges involving the late comic book icon. Los Angeles police say Keya Morgan was taken into custody in Arizona early May 25 on an outstanding arrest warrant. Morgan was charged earlier this month with felony allegations of theft, embezzlement, forgery or fraud against an elder adult, and false imprisonment of an elder adult. Lee died in November at 95. He was a legendary writer and creator at Marvel Comics. Stan Lee's former business partner Keya Morgan was arrested on charges of elder abuse. Lee and his family alleged in the past that Morgan had mishandled the comic creator's money and physically abused him. https://t.co/CHnf910T43 pic.twitter.com/3YjXgrYtm9 Complex (@Complex) May 25, 2019 From Deadline.com: Morgan took control of Lees business affairs in February 2018 and allegedly isolated the Black Panther co-creator from his family and friends. Morgan has been accused of embezzling or misappropriating $5 million of assets, according to documents filed in Los Angeles Superior Court in 2018. Morgans attorney, Alex Kessel, has said his client never abused or took advantage of Lee. Officials confirmed that an Ohio man who was attacked by a bull while at a gas well in Erie County has died. The Erie Times-News reported Sunday that 69-year-old Clovis Stephens, of Dorset, Ohio, in Ashtabula County, died Saturday afternoon at UPMC Hamot. Stephens died of multiple blunt-force trauma, Erie County Deputy Coroner John Maloney said. The property owner told authorities he saw his bull near a pickup truck alongside the well. When he went to investigate what was happening, he found his bull standing over Stephens. Stephens returned to his truck after the owner pulled the bull away from him, however, he was unable to recover from his injuries. The Erie Times-News reported that the bull also attempted to attack its owner. The owner shot the bull. A Harrisburg man is charged with homicide after police say he lay in wait for someone to rob, then fatally shot his target. Dajoure Doughty, 23, is charged with criminal homicide and robbery, according to a criminal docket. The shooting happened early the morning of May 16. Corey Crishon, 38, was walking home after buying a few things from a store in the area of 16th and State streets, police said. Crishon was confronted by Doughty, who was armed and laid in wait for someone to rob, according to police. Crishon also was armed with a concealed weapon for which he had a valid permit, police previously said. Crishon tried to protect himself but was shot multiple times, police said in a news release. Crishon fled towards the local store and fell to the ground until police arrived. Crishon was taken to a local hospital where he died as a result of his injuries, according to police. Doughty was taken to a local hospital and successfully treated for multiple gunshot wounds, police said. Crishon was the father of three children and worked for the state as a janitorial supervisor. His shift ended late at night, and he usually stopped by his neighborhood City Gas station to pick up a tobacco produce or play a Pennsylvania skills game before going home. He was a father that always pushed his kids to do well in school and sports, said his adopted mother, Cathy Terry Pitts. He wasnt into the streets or gangs. He was just a father trying to raise his kids the best way he knew how. Anyone who has information regarding the shooting is asked to contact the Harrisburg Bureau of Police at 717-558-6900 or submit the information through CrimeWatch. Not long ago, David Rothkopf of USA Today, fired off a list of irregularities that the Trump Administration has foisted on the American people: Hush money to mistresses to help swing an election felony violations of campaign finance laws. Seeking and embracing the help of an enemy to win an election. Repeatedly obstructing justice to cover up those crimes. Profiting from the presidency. Lying to or misleading the American people on average 10 times a day. Celebrating Nazis as very fine people. Upwards of 20 allegations of sexual harassment. A massive, decades-long record of income tax fraud. Hypocrisy. Vulgarity. Deceit. This is our President. This is the heir to Washington and Lincoln. After Mueller, the Presidents mud puddle is murkier than ever. No collusion; no obstruction, says the President, even though the report documents 10 separate instances of obstruction. Mueller also indicted 26 Russians, three Russian companies and numerous aides with direct connections to Trump who are now looking at jail time. There is also the matter of Trump Tower Moscow a billion dollar deal that Russian operatives dangled over Donald Trump just months before he was elected President. In fact, the report documented over 100 interactions with Russian operatives before, during and after the election and it must give thinking Americans pause. The Presidents supporters bark on cue at his MAGA rallies like trained seals as he tosses them fish-falsehoods. They shout lock them up when the President attacks his own FBI. They believe it is case closed because the Presidents hand-picked attorney general says so. Democracy is hard. It is not for those willing to accept banalities and deception without question. It is entrusted to those who are expected to provide their thoughtful, informed consent to our elected leaders. Some of us take these responsibilities seriously. I read the entire Mueller Report and still cant shake the nausea that it stirred in me. The rampant abuse of power, the continuous obfuscation, the unwillingness to provide real answers to the tough questions and the flat-out deception by the President and his top aides provides the strongest case for impeachment in our history. Recent actions by the President have only added to that drumbeat. Without exception, every President has undergone Congressional scrutiny. Given the aberrations and complete disregard for the law and precedent that this President has shown, it is absolutely mandatory that the Congress performs its oversight duties. The latest Trump tantrum is the worst. He wants no more action on infrastructure, consumer issues, immigration or even the federal budget until all investigations cease. This legislative extortion puts him above the checks and balances of our Constitution and above the law and is likely an impeachable offense in and of itself. But there is much more. Ignoring Congressional subpoenas is a crime. And, since the court of public opinion matters in our Republic, whipping the uninformed into a frenzy is tantamount to jury tampering. Citizens are entitled to know what transgressions this President has committed and what he may be hiding. I was hoping that the President would show some maturity in accepting the Mueller Report findings. He could easily have said, I stand by my statements that I did nothing wrong and I will cooperate with any further questions the Congress or the American people may have. Instead, he and his minions are whitewashing the Mueller Report, calling for investigations of the investigators, and pushing the government toward a Constitutional cliff by withholding evidence. The President, by arrogance or ignorance, is forcing the hand of Congress who must act in the interest of duty and history. This is where political reality creeps in. Speaker Nancy Pelosi made it very clear that impeachment is a gut-wrenching process that has not turned out well for either party in the past. Even if the House of Representatives passes articles of impeachment, it is highly unlikely that Republicans will vote to convict. The Democrats run the risk of the President flaunting a Not Guilty sign at rallies next year, stirring up an already malleable base. But since the President and his administration have chosen to defy and stonewall the Congress we have arrived at a moment in history that cannot be ignored. It is not a decision that Democrats should make lightly but it is the only chance of uncovering the truth and protecting future generations from charlatans. The process may lead to exoneration or it may lead to conviction, but it is time to launch a formal impeachment inquiry. Mark S. Singel is a former Democratic Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania. He and Republican Charlie Gerow can be seen at 8:30 a.m. each Sunday on CBS21s Face the State. Why dont we stop talking about banning assault weapons since it seems to be clearly a non-starter? Lets start talking about making the manufacture and ownership of a rifle with a pistol grip and magazines with capacities over six rounds for all weapons available to the general public, illegal. I agree with gun owners that owning a rifle with a pistol grip is really cool, but absolutely non-essential for sport shooting or hunting. It is also really cool to own a nine millimeter handgun with a magazine capacity of 13 or more rounds. Again, absolutely unnecessary. The Wild West was tamed with a Colt revolver. And the fool who thinks his pistol grip rifle will sustain his freedom against the Federal Government is simply delusional. You are aware that the federal government owns tanks and Apache helicopters, right? Think about it. When the police officer from your community, who you may know, knocks on your door and says, I guess you heard, the Supreme Court reversed itself on the private ownership of guns. If you are not an active member of the National Guard, (todays militia) you must surrender your weapons to me. What are you going to do? Shoot him or her? Be serious. Dennis Miner, Susquehanna Township, Dauphin County There they go again. The radical leftists in the Democrat Party are ramping up talk about impeaching the President again. This is nothing new. They were calling for his impeachment even before he was sworn into office. Rememberer the famous, were going to impeach the mother*#*#er, brought to us by Democratic Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib? It wasnt exactly a high point in civil discourse, but it revealed the agenda and mindset of the left. The most difficult question for the far left Democrats is, What is the impeachable offense? For months Nadler, Schiff and company told us they had mountains of evidence that President Trump and his campaign team had colluded with the Russian government to effect the outcome of the 2016 election. That mountain shriveled to less than a molehill in light of the Mueller report. Now Nancy Pelosi says that the President is engaged in a coverup. Of what? And what evidence, even if its shy of a mountain, does she have to support her claims? The truth is that Speaker Pelosi is stuck between the political dog and fire hydrant. She has to appease the far left wing of her party while at the same time keeping the lid on any move to actually begin impeachment proceedings. Ms. Pelosi is smart enough to know that actually taking action to impeach President Trump would spell political disaster for the Democrats. Shes as much as said so. The argument about collusion was lost long ago. Simply hating the president isnt grounds for impeachment. So the pro-impeachment forces are left to cobble together some theory of obstruction of justice to make their case. Without a law school dissertation on the subject, simply said, theres not much there. High crimes and misdemeanors is a pretty high bar. Although weve impeached two Presidents, neither was removed from office. When Republicans impeached Bill Clinton, voters rallied to his defense. There wasnt enough evidence to convict him and remove him from office, but he did get disbarred as a result of his conduct. What rises to that level currently is subject to great scrutiny. Some Democrats believe that by having a faux impeachment hearing, dragging in Trump advisors and lawyers and even Mueller himself for a televised show will work for them. But they cant do it. Despite their bluster, even Nadler knows that the law in this area is well settled. Congress cant force the Presidents personal advisors to testify before them. Theyve tried before. They failed each time. Just ask Barack Obama or Bill Clinton or Jimmy Carter, not to mention two Bushes and Ronald Reagan. For nearly half a century this issue has been litigated with the same result. Separation of powers is a constitutional doctrine that not only makes sense, but holds the tripartite system together. The White House cant compel Members of Congress to appear in the Oval Office, either. On a practical level its equally clear. Longtime Democratic pollster and strategist Doug Schoen says its absurd for congressional Democrats to pursue this course. Even if they could get the litany theyd like, it wont produce any Perry Mason moment when some surprise utterance opens up what had been hidden all along, says Schoen. He and other more cooler-headed Democrats are no doubt looking at polling data and what it suggests for 2020. A Marist poll shows that opposition to impeachment among Republicans is sky high. Better than 90 percent are opposed. No real shocker there, although the margin is too overwhelming not to give some attention. Further down in the survey is the bad news for pro-impeachment Democrats. Independents dont support impeachment either. The margin is nowhere as wide as it is among Republicans, but with this vitally important section of the electorate, theres no appetite for impeachment. Even Democrats are tepid in their support for impeachment. Nearly a quarter of those surveyed oppose bringing impeachment charges against the president. The entire impeachment discussion is in the context of how it will impact next years race for the White House and control of Congress. When the Democrats gained control of the House last year, voters were asking them to do something. A quick review of the legislative accomplishments of this sessions Congress doesnt reveal much that ordinary Americans are chatting about over the breakfast table. Thats a big problem for them next year. The Democrats who won the seats that gave them the majority hail from districts that are more purple than dark blue. They know they cant tilt too far to the looney left and save their seats. And they know theyve got to have something to show voters come election time. Impeachment proceedings wont allow them to do any of that. Nobodys more aware of that than Nancy Pelosi. Thats why shes willing to verbally harangue but not so anxious to actually let the left move forward. Charlie Gerow is the CEO of Quantum Communications. His column appears weekly in PennLive opposite Mark Singel. Charlie and Mark can be seen each Sunday at 8:30 a.m. on CBS-21s Face the State. Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2019 > Is Modi Really the Divider-in-Chief of India? by Ram Puniyani Time is one of the most influential global newsmagazines. It recently came out with an issue with Modi on the cover (May 20, 2019), with the title Indias Divider in Chief raising the question Can the worlds largest democracy survive another five years of Modi? Time had carried a major article at the start of the Modi era, placing him as Modi, the Reformer, and arguing that he was the best hope for economic reforms in India. The article in the middle of the heated campaign for the Lok Sabha elections punched political buttons across. It was very critical of Congress President Rahul Gandhi but that did not stop him from tweeting it. However, Modi acolytes pounced on the writer, Aatish Taseer. Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson Sambit Patra stated that Taseer was a Pakistani and nothing better could be expected from a Pakistani. This is typical of the BJP, creating and boosting the enemy image of Pakistan. Other BJP followers vandalised Taseers Wikipedia page adding that he was the PR manager for the Congress. Taseer is no Pakistani national. His father was Salman Taseer, Governor of Punjab, who was shot by his bodyguard for supporting the case of Aasia Bibi, a Christian, who was charged under blasphemy laws. He was killed for his liberal values. His mother is well-known Indian columnist, Tavleen Singh, while Aatish himself is an American citizen. Wish truth mattered for the ilk of Patra! Interestingly Patra commented that the Time magazine earlier had also carried anti-Modi articles. Hardly. The Time cover story in 2015 on Modi was headlined: Why Modi matters. Even in the current issue the second lead story portrays him as being a pro-reforms leader. What Taseer has written is well known. He writes of lynchings in the name of the cow, the beating of Muslims, the targeting of Dalits... marginalising Muslims on the one hand and subduing Dalits on the other. The last five years have seen two major challenges to democracy. Complete and total centralisation of power of the government in PM Modis hands. The extent to which this has happened was revealed by Modi himself when he boasted as to how he had prevailed upon experts to order the Balakot strike. He claimed that the experts wanted to postpone it to bad weather, clouds and rain but that he in his wisdom told them to go ahead as the clouds in the sky would help the Indian fighter jets escape detection by Pakistans radars! The point is not how ludicrous this claim is but that the Prime Minister of India can boast of taking all decisions personally. That all major decisions are indeed taken by him is well known by now. Autonomous institutions are being trampled and controlled by Modi who has his fingers in every pie. Equally or more damaging is the division which he is sowing among different religious communities. His not reprimanding the cow vigilantes, his acceptance of Cabinet colleagues who spew poison against religious minorities, who drape the dead body of a lynching accused in the tricolour, or honour the accused on bail, gives clear encouragement to the criminals pursuing the Hindu nationalist agenda. His selection of Adityanath Yogi, who is known for his foul language against Muslims in particular, as the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh; his selection of the terror accused in the Male-gaon blasts, Pragya Thakur, as a Lok Sabha candidate in these elections all together pose a threat to democratic India. The Indian Constitution represents the unity of India. Modis Cabinet colleague, Anant Kumar Hegde, openly says that the Indian Constitution should be changed. The media has buckled under the pressure created by the BJP. This is well expressed by Tejaswi Surya when he said, If you are with Modi, you are with India. If you are not with Modi, then you are strengthening the anti-India forces. Criticism of the ruling government has been classified as anti-national. As such the divider-in-chief title sits well on the persona and ideology of Narendra Modi. It is the first time that a Hindu nationalist Prime Minister is ruling the country with a full majority. Earlier the BJP-led governments did initiate some moves in this direction but as they were dependent on the support of rag-tag combi-nations, they never implemented the Hindu nationalist divisiveness to this extent. The writer uses the term poisonous religious nationalism for the current scenario prevailing here. (Courtesy: Secular Perspective) The author, a retired Professor at the IIT-Bombay, is currently associated with the Centre for the Study of Secularism and Society, Mumbai. A line of workout pants at Lululemon, which has four stores in the Philadelphia area. Lycra makes the elastic fiber that gives athletic and performance wear a certain stretch-quality. Read more China-based clothing giant Shandong Ruyi Investment Holding says it will run the U.S. apparel and advanced textiles business it acquired from Koch Bros.' Invista group as an independent firm, Lycra Co., to be based in Wilmington, Del. The owner is also preparing Lycra for an initial public offering (IPO), Bloomberg reports, citing an interview with Kelvin Ho, chief strategy officer at Ruyi. Ho said a public listing would provide top bosses with extra incentives to boost Lycras performance. Lycra will be based near the DuPont Co. labs where the synthetic fibers uses were developed by DuPont before it sold much of its former fabrics business to Invista in 2001. Shandong Ruyi agreed to buy the business for $2 billion in 2017, and said Thursday it has completed the deal, more than a year after the announcement. Lycra is named for one of its best-known brands, a spandex fabric developed in the 1950s for clothing and hygiene-products makers, and used in popular stretch products such as yoga pants. Other Lycra brands include Coolmax, Thermolite, Elaspan, Supplex, Tactel and Terathane. The company employs 3,000 at eight factories, four R&D labs and 17 offices spread among 13 countries. That includes 90 at Lycras Wilmington headquarters and its Newark, Del. R&D lab. The business will be run by chief executive Dave Trerotola, who earlier headed Invistas apparel division. In a statement, Trerotola said Lycra was fortunate to be purchased by Ruyi, whose experience he said would help Lycra develop new fibers for customers. Ruyi Group has bought a series of foreign brands since 2016, including Aquascutum, Maje, Claudie Pierlot and Sandro. The company, based in Jining, Shandong province, say it is the largest textile and apparel manufacturer in China. Invista still owns DuPonts former nylon business, operates factories near its Texas headquarters and in Kansas and other states and foreign countries, and maintains a lab at the mostly shuttered, 750-acre former DuPont nylon plant in Seaford, Del. As a publicly-traded company, Lycra would join Wilmington-based Chemours (chemicals), Malvern-based Endo (pharmaceuticals), Philadelphia-based Axalta (paint), and other former DuPont Co. businesses as independent public companies now based in the Philadelphia-Wilmington area. DowDuPont plans to split into three companies this Spring, of which two -- CorTeva Agrisciences (pesticides and GMO crop seeds) and a reconstituted DuPont Co. (industrial enzymes, food additives, and electronics, construction and automotive materials) -- will also be based in the Wilmington area. Eileen Brown, a 53-year-old Philadelphia woman, was fatally stabbed Saturday night in a residence in the Cramer Hill neighborhood of Camden, according to police. Brown, who was found a block from Von Nieda Park, had multiple stab wounds, police said. No arrests had been reported. Last month, activists and community members gathered at Von Nieda Park to decry gun violence in Camden and remember two teenagers Sinecere Howard, 17, and Shirleen Caban, 19 who were shot and killed in the park on Easter morning. Authorities ask that anyone with information on Browns stabbing call Camden County Prosecutors Office Detective Brad Redrow at 856-225-8643 or Camden County Police Detective Sean Miller at 856-757-7042, or send an email to ccpotips@ccprosecutor.org. The Who lead vocalist Roger Daltrey and lead guitarist Pete Townshend perform at Citizens Bank Park in South Philadelphia on Saturday, May 25, 2019. Read more The Whos show at Citizens Bank on Saturday happened almost 50 years to the day after the British Invasion band celebrated the release of Tommy across town in the cozier confines of the original Electric Factory at 22nd and Arch Streets. In the half-century since, Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey have most assuredly gotten old, despite their hopes expressed in My Generation in 1965. Their band mates Keith Moon and John Entwistle werent so lucky dying in 1978 and 2002, respectively but the twin front men have carried on in fits and starts, saying never again, more than once, but always coming back for more. >> READ MORE: Roger Daltrey on Tommy, The Who and saving Pete Townshend from sycophantitis And thank goodness for that. Saturdays holiday weekend performance in South Philadelphia served as a two-hour-plus reminder of the majesty and brute force of the bands body of work and Townshends sui generis songwriting accomplishments. And if anything, it was more powerful and impressive for being unafraid to expose the imperfections that have inevitably revealed themselves with the passage of time. The show opened with seven songs and 35 minutes of that 1969 deaf, dumb, and blind boy rock opera Tommy, the abridged version. Daltrey toured Townshends first magnum opus in its entirety just last year, and then as now, the rock opera was realized with the help of the Philadelphia Chamber Orchestra, featuring violinist Katie Jacoby and cellist Audrey Snyder. That was a Daltrey solo show, however, and this was a full-on Who performance. So lets just say that an engaged, gregarious, and at times downright goofy Townshend makes a world of difference. Before the Overture was through, the 74-year-old guitarist had already whipped the crowd into a frenzy with trademark windmill power chords. And although the Who principals have never been besties friction and Townshends vast insecurities have fueled their art it did seem that the septuagenarians (Daltrey is 75) might actually like as well as need each other these days. (Speaking of seventysomethings, J. Geils Bands Peter Wolf was terrific in a rousing R&B-infused opening set.) The idea of two chummy Whos seemed plausible, anyway, from the grin on Townshends face when dodging Daltreys theatrically twirled microphone. Like, Whoa, this is kind of fun! And also from a two-song section alone together, with just Townshends manically strummed acoustic and Daltreys weathered voice, a little hoarse but strong enough. They did Tea & Theatre, from 2006s Endless Wire, the tune of most recent vintage in the 24-song set list and also Wont Get Fooled Again, a warhorse effectively rearranged to encourage crowd participation and save Daltrey the strain of hitting notes he cant reach anymore. Townshend talked frankly of his own vocal limitations before Eminence Front "I dont know how my voice is going to be. (The answer: Not great, but good enough.) And the band also had a couple of false starts, which Townshend teasingly blamed on Zak Starkey, the son of Ringo Starr, whos a more effective Moon replacement than Kenney Jones was. The generous-spirited set was creatively constructed. The rarely played Imagine a Man, from 1975s Who By Numbers, made excellent use of the orchestra. Behind Blue Eyes was chamber rock, with the aid of Jacoby and Snyder. And the groups explosive beginnings were nodded to with Substitute and I Can See for Miles, with the core four of Daltrey, Townshend, Starkey and bassist Jon Button. The show built to a formidable climax with seven songs from 1973s Quadrophenia, Townshends meisterwerk that made its case gracefully as the high point in orchestral rock history. He handled Drown on acoustic guitar by himself, and Daltrey came back with renewed vigor to bellow Love, Reign Oer Me. But of course, there was another de rigueur number. It would not be a Who show without a stadium that was nearly full thanks to deeply discounted last-minute tickets, going for as little as $10 on StubHub of baby boomer rock fans shouting, Its only teenage wasteland! on Baba ORiley. That communal catharsis was taken over the top with the aid of Jacoby, the Hockessin, Del., native and Philadelphia School of Rock graduate who took center stage for a showstopping violin solo while wearing a Bryce Harper jersey. Townshend managed a little leap in the air as he came crashing down on the evenings final chord. This is the band," he exulted. "That is the orchestra. And this is Philadelphia! Paradiso, one of the earlier destination restaurants on the East Passyunk Avenue strip in South Philadelphia, will close June 1 after nearly 15 years, chef-owner Lynn Rinaldi told me Saturday. A deal is in place with a restaurateur she declined to identify to purchase the assets, including the building at 1627 E. Passyunk Ave. This will mark a new beginning for Rinaldi, who said she did some soul-searching about her future after severely breaking an ankle late last year, which took her off her feet for three months. She and her former husband, Corey Baver, recently closed Izumi, their Japanese restaurant up the block at Tasker Street. It will become a BYOB called River Twice later this summer. Rinaldi, who grew up at 12th and Tasker Streets, went to the Restaurant School, and operated a cafe for nine years at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, was 40 in 2004 when she took the leap to open an upscale restaurant on a commercial strip studded with mom-and-pops such as Marras and Tre Scalini. Her father shook his head at his first peek at the shell of Bobs Arcade, a longtime furniture and appliance store. She proceeded anyway. With its elegant appointments, including a polished granite bar, Paradiso (in critic Craig LaBans words) exudes modern elegance. Rinaldi sounding a lot like Terry Berch McNally, a contemporary who recently closed London Grill in Fairmount said she would turn up again in the restaurant business, just not on her feet for 10 or 11 hours a day. Heres a backgrounder on Rinaldi from 2015. Chef Joncarl Lachman, who celebrates his Dutch heritage with Noord, the Northern European BYOB in South Philadelphia, has branched out to Center City with the bruncherie Winkel at 1119 Locust St. Its a redo of the space that last housed More Than Just Ice Cream, and gets Lachman back into the morning game. (He was an early partner in The Dutch in Pennsport.) Opening is Monday, May 27. Winkel (shop) is also a Dutch treat, if you will, with weekday breakfasts (menu here) featuring Benedicts and pancakes as well as such dishes as an Uitsmijter ham and cheese sandwich; a house-smoked fish of the day; a rabbit, white bean, and chive frittata; and shakshuka (a popular dish from the shuttered Neuf). Weekday lunch (menu here) includes sandwiches and salads, including huzaren salade, a traditional Dutch potato salad. Weekend brunches (menu here) are a fixed-price $25. Dan Rodriguez, formerly of Noord and High Street on Market, is chef de cuisine. Lachman and husband Bob Moysan have worked with the spaces high ceilings and added an open kitchen looking out to the 70 seats. A side space, to be ready in several weeks, will be used for Rival Bros. coffee and grab-and-go. The dining rooms signature piece is Moysans enormous print of an old Citroen parked on a street in Amsterdam. Artist Maria Beddia created graphics of Dutch expressions. The space will be available for private parties and pop-up events in the evening. Hours are 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekends. No reservations. An abortion rights advocate holds a sign at the Capitol in Jackson, Miss., expressing opposition to a new state law that prohibits most abortions. The rally in Jackson was one of many around the country to protest abortion restrictions that states are enacting. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) Read more As abortion becomes increasingly inaccessible in parts of this country, a Dutch physician is defying the U.S. Food and Drug Administrations order to quit providing abortion pills using the internet and the mail. The doctor, Rebecca Gomperts, has for years run Women on Web, a Netherlands-based nonprofit that ships mifepristone made in India to women in countries where abortion is illegal. Last summer, she launched Aid Access to provide the same pills to U.S. customers. Aid Access claims to be growing quickly, with more than 21,000 U.S. orders in the last six months, according to the Guardian newspaper. The organization filled between a third and half of the requests, despite shutting down for 10 weeks after the FDA sent a warning letter on March 9. The warning letter said Aid Access was violating U.S. law and endangering customers by selling misbranded and unapproved new drugs." In response, the organizations Idaho-based lawyer, Richard Hearn, who is also a physician, sent a letter to the FDA on May 16. Because access to medical abortions in the U.S. has been so restricted by the FDA," he wrote, women have been forced to attempt to exercise their right to abortion by way of the Internet. Aid Access resumed service the next day. The FDA declined to discuss its next step. We cannot comment on a potential future action at this time, the agency emailed, but we remain very concerned about the sale of unapproved mifepristone for medical termination of early pregnancy on the Internet, because this bypasses important safeguards designed to protect womens health. The abortion-pill regimen, which is effective through the first nine weeks of pregnancy, actually involves two drugs. Mifepristone, sold in the U.S. by Danco Laboratories and branded Mifeprex, disrupts the pregnancy, then misoprostol triggers uterine contractions and expulsion of the grape-size fetus. The FDA requires women who want the regimen to make two visits to the doctor, and they cant get mifepristone from pharmacies. It can only be dispensed in clinics or medical offices by specially certified health-care providers. Aid Access, in contrast, provides pills after a woman consults online with the prescribing doctor and gets a blood test. She receives instructions for taking the drugs, what to expect, and when to see a doctor if a problem occurs. Numerous other international websites ship abortion pills without prescription or any medical oversight. Thats why a group of researchers who support abortion rights created Plan C, a website with a report card that rates such websites on product quality, price, and shipping time. "The combination of very safe and effective medication abortion, and the pervasiveness of global commerce, make Internet access virtually unstoppable, said public health researcher Elisa Wells, codirector of Plan C. She believes the proliferation of ultra-restrictive state abortion laws is fueling demand for online abortion pills. Earlier this month, Plan Cs web traffic spiked from 1,000 hits a day to eight times that many after Alabamas governor signed a law that bans abortions in almost all cases, including rape or incest. Governors in Kentucky , Mississippi , Ohio, and Georgia have recently approved bans on abortion once a fetal heartbeat is detected, which can happen in the sixth week of pregnancy, before many women know theyre pregnant. Missouris governor on Friday signed a law outlawing abortions after eight weeks. Other states are considering similarly restrictive measures. Although the laws are not being enforced because of legal challenges, abortion foes hope this sets the stage for the U.S. Supreme Court to revisit and even overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 case that legalized abortion nationwide. Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2019 > Hyper-Nationalism Records Victory COMMENTARY The BJP/NDA alliance has stormed back to power with flying colours, belying all the expectations of a fragmented Opposition to be within striking distance of power. Undoubtedly, Pulwama and Balakot were effectively exploited by Narendra Modi in the penultimate stage of the election campaign to whip up hyper-nationalism to a pitch where all inconvenient issues for the NDA Governmentunemployment, loss of jobs, farmers distress, rural indebtedness, demonetisation, GST and Rafalebecame of secondary importance to the electorate. There are two other factors which have to be taken serious note of. First, there is no denying the fact that the highly polarising propaganda carried on by the BJP and other organisations of the Sangh Parivar during the past five years has been successful to a great extent. The otherisation of the Muslims has been most manifest in the Hindi belt. The soft Hindutva line pursued by the Congress had no chance of success before the relentless assault of hard Hindutva. Secondly, it has to be recognised that Narendra Modi has been able to build a larger-than-party image of himselfan image that Atal Behari Vajpayee acquired for himself during the first NDA rule. Many people voted for the BJP then because they wanted to vote for Vajpayee. Though Modi is a very different personality, he has been able to project a macho image of himself which has surpassed that of the BJP. Many voted for the BJP because they were swayed by Modis campaign speeches that every vote for BJP will go straight into my account. In Delhi, the splitting of votes between the Congress and Aam Admi Party helped the BJP win all the seven seatssomething that could and should have been avoided by them by being more accommodative of each others demands. In West Bengal, the BJP has made massive inroads18 out of 42, against just two last time. The votes the BJP polled were largely negative and to a small extent positive. The negative vote was an expression of intense aversion for Mamata Banerjee and Trinamul CongressMamata for her perceived impression of being a Muslim appeaser and the TMC because of indulging in the same vices that the CPI-M acquired during 34 years of Left Front rule. The CPI-M can certainly take credit for swinging a large percentage of Left votes to the BJP. The CPI-M campaign line was that its main battle was against the BJP at the Centre and against the TMC in Bengal. The TMC had to be defeated and dislodged from power anyhow. Since the Left voters knew full well that the CPI-M cannot defeat the TMC, they voted en masse for the BJP. The result is that the CPI-M failed to open an account in Bengal. It has drawn blank. For the first time since 1952, there will be no Left representative from Bengal in the Lok Sabha. The CPI-M seems bent on liquidating itself. An unmistakable feature in West Bengal this time is the fact that the TMC has won in seats having a high concentration of minorities. The path ahead is strewn with difficulties. The secular Opposition led by the Congress will have to wage a consistent and unremitting ideological-political struggle against communal fascism, against the divisive policies that the BJP is pursuing overtly and covertly. There is one silver lining, though. The BJPs influence is still limited to the Hindi belt in the North. It has not been able to strike root in the South. The results of voting in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Telangana underline that fact. Full unity of all the Opposition parties may never be possible. There will always be people like Naveen Patnaik who cannot see beyond Odisha and prefers to take a non-committal position and wait till a new government is formed at the Centre, then bargain with it to get a better deal for Odisha. India does not figure in his political thinking. Then there are others with inflated egos who agree to join an alliance only if their claim to prime ministership is conceded. The task of unifying and consolidating secular-democratic parties, organisations and individuals falls squarely on the shoulders of the Congress. May 23 B.D.G. Shaun McLaughlin, an interventional radiology resident at Penn, was just commissioned as a flight surgeon in the Pennsylvania Air National Guard. Read more Even as a boy, Shaun McLaughlin dreamed of joining the military. His grandfather, a World War II veteran, was against it. I fought so you wouldnt have to, he said. It would be years before the boy would know how close his grandfather a man who never talked about jumping from a burning plane and spending six months in a German prisoner of war camp had come to dying in that war, how easily young Shaun and his father might never have existed. William McLaughlin, who was a tool and die maker at RCA for 30 years, told his grandson to focus on school. They can take away all my medals, he said, but they cant take away your education. The younger McLaughlin listened to his "grandpop." Now 34, he's a doctor in his fourth year of six in a combined interventional radiology residency and fellowship program at Penn Medicine. But he also listened to his heart. He joined the Pennsylvania Air National Guard because of the man who told him to stay in school. This month, Shaun McLaughlin was commissioned as a flight surgeon with the 111th Attack Wing based at the Horsham Air Guard Station as his pediatrician wife, Jillian, and 4-month-old son, Sawyer, looked on from the front row. He will care for plane and drone pilots and crews. Ultimately, he hopes to join a Critical Care Air Transport Team and serve aboard airborne intensive care units that fly critically wounded military personnel back to the United States. He might help those members of the military do what his grandfather and so many from the World War II generation did: Work hard, build a thriving family, and move forward. If you look at that generation they were something else, McLaughlin said. Their service, he said, paved the way for us to have a remarkable life here in America. Bonding over doughnuts and ice cream Education was what brought the two McLaughlins closer. The son of a doctor, Shaun McLaughlin had grown up in Mountain Top, near Wilkes-Barre. He came to Drexel University to study computer science, decided that wasnt for him and switched to biomedical engineering with an eye toward medical school. He liked the idea of taking care of people. People trust you with their lives, and I think theres something sacred about that, he said. He lived with his grandparents in Broomall during his last two years at Drexel. Shaun McLaughlin studied late into the night and soon learned his grandfather had night terrors, a sign, the grandson thought, of post-traumatic stress disorder. The older man would come downstairs at midnight or 1 a.m. and the two would talk. Over Entenmanns doughnuts and ice cream, William McLaughlin started opening up about his combat experiences, although he never did talk about his months as a POW. This was a man who had not discussed the war with anyone, including his wife. Regina McLaughlin, now 91, met him at a church dance several years after the war, derailing her plans to become a nun. He was wonderful, wonderful, she said. The best thing of all is he was great with his mother. She did not even know he was a veteran when they married in 1954, and it would be years before she found out hed been a POW. They had five children, who produced 16 grandchildren. I knew nothing, she said. Shaun, she said, knows more about it than I do. William McLaughlin told his grandson that he had not been drafted like his two brothers because the government wanted men like him to keep producing war supplies. He had always wanted to work on airplanes, though, and he applied to be released from his job so he could enlist in the Army Air Corps. He trained to be an aviation gunner on B-24s. He was stationed in Italy, where many of the crews were targeting Hitlers oil fields. He manned the planes Martin top turret. He proudly told his grandson that he knew every nut and bolt on that turret gun and could get it to work in any conditions. The day it was shot down Dec. 6, 1944 McLaughlins plane was on its seventh run. It was heading, along with its squad, for oil fields in Czechoslovakia when it met resistance from a group of German ME-109s. McLaughlin thought his crew took out two of the German planes before it went down. He was called away from his gun to help get the bomb bay doors open so the crew could parachute out. He kicked the jammed doors open, and those who could bailed out. He admitted that he was scared, that he prayed. William McLaughlin, broke both ankles when he hit the ground. Five of the 11-man crew died. Shaun McLaughlin didnt get much more out of him before he died, at age 90, in 2010. Shaun knew that his grandfather prayed for forgiveness during his nearly daily visits to church after the war. He assumed that having served on a bomber weighed heavily on his heart. One helluva shot About four years ago, when his grandmother was moving, she found a leather suitcase with her husbands war mementos in the attic. Last year, Shaun dived into the records. He learned that his grandfather had recommended several of his crew for military medals. He found a remarkably mundane letter, handwritten in capital letters, delivered from the POW camp, Stalag Luft 1. The imprisoned William McLaughlin told his family in West Philadelphia that their wandering son was OK, that he had been reading, playing cards, and developing a taste for German brown bread. He wanted a turkey dinner when he got home. Love to all and Ill be seeing you, he wrote. A letter from a crewmate said a German officer had called McLaughlin one helluva shot. The grandson saw that Slovakian researchers had contacted his grandfather, wanting his history. He hadnt replied, but Shaun McLaughlin did. They sent him a fuzzy, black-and-white picture of his grandfathers crumpled plane in Devinska Nova Ves, Slovakia. McLaughlin searched German records and found the name of the German pilot who downed his grandfathers plane: Maj. Karl Rammlet. He read about conditions in the POW camps, which were brutal but far better than those in concentration camps. He checked all the public records he could find about his grandfathers crew. By then, Shaun McLaughlin, who wears one of his grandfathers dog tags, had already decided to join the guard. The Army rejected him because of an old shoulder injury, the result of his own brush with death as a teenager on a dirt bike. The Air Force took him. His research into his grandfathers service left him with a greater appreciation for how different America might have been if men like his grandfather had not stopped Hitler. It strengthened his resolve to serve, and honor William McLaughlins legacy. My grandfather and all those guys survived because people took care of them. I want to give some of that back, he said. As he was commissioned, he felt humbled and honored. He thought of the sacrifices his grandfather had made. Even the fact that he could raise his right hand for the oath was cause for reflection. There was a time when that shoulder injury had made raising his arm impossible. He worries that the history of men like his grandfather will be lost. He wants his son to know who his great-grandfather was. Its my family story, he said. This is the Laurel Hill Cemetery grave of Second Lieutenant Benjamin Hodgson, who was killed with Custer at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. After the fight, his remains were temporarily buried on the battlefield, then returned to his hometown of Philadelphia. Read more Some soldiers held dark premonitions ahead of the battle, imagining their own deaths. An Army scout began giving away his belongings once he understood the size of the Indian village. Second Lt. Benjamin Hodgson, the son of a Philadelphia oil merchant, foresaw how he would survive. Should he be wounded or knocked from his horse, he told friends, he planned to grab the stirrup of a passing rider. He would then be pulled to safety. All but the last held true. Hodgson, Benny to his friends, was shot down on the Little Bighorn River on June 25, 1876, five days short of his 28th birthday, lost in the merciless clash of forces that lives in the American imagination as Custers Last Stand. Eight soldiers from Philadelphia were killed at the Little Bighorn. Seven are buried on the battlefield. Hodgson lies on a hilltop in Laurel Hill Cemetery, a few miles from his family home in Kensington. A fresh U.S. flag adorns his grave. So does a worn, red-and-blue guidon, a replica of the one that flew the day Lt. Col. George Custer led Hodgson and more than 260 others to annihilation at the hands of Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse. On Memorial Day, the nation pauses to remember and honor members of the military who gave their lives in service to the nation. But what of men like Hodgson, who fought not in defense of country, but to dispossess native peoples of their land and their lives? I dont think American soldiers who oppressed Native Americans should be honored, any more than Confederate soldiers should be honored for defending slavery, said Oklahoma attorney Brett Chapman, a descendant of Ponca chiefs White Eagle and Horse Chief Eagle. The excuse that American soldiers were just following orders during the Indian Wars is an excuse that is no longer acceptable. They knew what they were doing. That question of responsibility looms now in Washington, as President Donald Trump considers Memorial Day pardons for American military personnel accused or convicted of war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan. It resonates in Hodgsons hometown, where native peoples speak against the modern consequences of colonization, opposing the renovation of Columbus Square, which they want renamed, and the use of stereotypical Indian imagery to promote the East Passyunk neighborhood. Hodgson was born in Philadelphia on June 30, 1848, the son of Mary and Joseph Hodgson, the latter a prominent businessman. He graduated from West Point in 1870, was commissioned as a second lieutenant, and assigned to the Seventh Cavalry. He was small in physical stature, but his wry wit made him popular in the regiment and a personal favorite of Custer, historian Nathaniel Philbrick wrote in The Last Stand: Custer, Sitting Bull, and the Battle of the Little Bighorn. By April 1876 he was at Fort Lincoln, in Dakota Territory, preparing for the Sioux Expedition. The mission was part of a larger government strategy to subjugate the Indians, to force nomadic Sioux, Cheyenne, and Arapaho peoples onto reservations and make them accept a stationary life of farming. The more Indians we kill this year, Gen. William T. Sherman wrote in 1867, the less will have to be killed the next war, for the more I see of them, the more convinced I am that they all have to be killed or be maintained as a species of paupers. On June 22, Custer led the Seventh Cavalry out of Fort Lincoln to pick up the trail of Sitting Bull, believed to be camped near the Little Bighorn. Time was pressing. The nations Centennial International Exhibition was scheduled to open in Philadelphia on July 4, and Custer and several of his officers wanted to be there. A quick success in battle, and Custer would arrive not only on time but to the acclaim of his countrymen, author Evan Connell wrote in Son of the Morning Star. It was also an election year, and Custer foresaw, Connell said, that he would ride in triumph through the streets of Washington, like Alexander through Persepolis. Hodgson had his own vision, Connell wrote, where the stirrup of a fellow trooper would be his lifeline. When bullets and arrows flew an estimated 675 soldiers, scouts, and civilians challenging a village of about 8,000, including 1,500 to 1,800 warriors some reeling troops splashed back across the river. James Donovan, author of A Terrible Glory: Custer and the Little Bighorn, provides a comprehensive account of Hodgsons fate: As the lieutenant plunged into the river, his horse was shot from under him. Hodgson, wounded, tried to stand, his blood reddening the water. He grasped for the stirrup of a passing trooper and missed. For Gods sake, Hodgson cried, dont leave me here I am shot through both legs. He grabbed hold of Pvt. William Morris stirrup with both hands, towed through the river toward the high bank on the opposite side. On the flats below the bluff, Hodgson was shot in the head and killed. Villanova University history professor Paul Rosier said that Custer had no right to be on Sioux land that was protected by treaty and that the Army attack was dishonorable. But individual soldiers, then and now, have little control over their assignments in the service. Look at the nations divisive war in Vietnam as an example, he suggested. We should hold the politicians and military leaders accountable for these conflicts, said Rosier, author of Serving Their Country: American Indian Politics and Patriotism in the Twentieth Century. Hodgsons body was retrieved by friends and brought home to Philadelphia. His Laurel Hill grave site lies a steep 15-minute walk from the gatehouse. His headstone includes a broken column, symbolic of a life cut short. Chapman thinks the grave should feature something else as well: an explanatory plaque, to offer a native perspective on the U.S. soldiers who went looking for trouble and found it. They largely believed in the mission, which was fully rooted in white supremacism, as that was the foundation of the Indian policy of the United States, he said. A full and fair understanding of history will help Americans understand Native Americans. The Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania, whose offices have been in Philadelphia for centuries, is moving to St. John's Episcopal Church in Norristown. Read more Ever since 1784, the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania has been headquartered in Philadelphia, most recently leading its 134 churches from offices adjacent to the denominations cathedral in University City. This fall, however, the diocese, which represents 40,000 parishioners in the five-county Philadelphia area, will move its administrative base to the suburbs to a Norristown church that was closed nearly four years ago. The new headquarters will be St. Johns Episcopal Church, a Gothic-style cathedral steps away from the Montgomery County courthouse. The diocese also will set up a satellite office in Philadelphia at St. Stephens Episcopal Church, another congregation that had earlier closed its doors but is now reopened as a community resource center. The Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral in University City will remain the worship center of the diocese. Officials of the diocese and Cathedral Close Inc., the entity that operates the cathedral and the adjacent building, were unable to reach an agreement that would extend their five-year lease. Before settling in University City, Episcopal offices had been in Society Hill and Germantown. We were not able to take on even the slightest [rent] increase, diocesan officials said in a statement. This move will help the diocese save a significant amount of money, provide more life and stability for St. Johns and extend our ability to focus on ministry. The new location also has ample space for meetings, is easily accessible, and has free parking. Bishop Daniel Gutierrez maintained that the move was not just financially prudent, but one that he expects to inject new life into two churches that were shuttered in the wake of dwindling membership and resources. St. Johns closed in 2015 and St. Stephens in 2016, before the bishop joined the diocese. For St. Stephens, located at 10th and Ludlow Streets, Gutierrez has defined a community-oriented mission with no Sunday services in a busy Center City neighborhood; he envisions it also partnering with nearby hospitals and becoming a training center for deacons. At. St. Johns, the bishop touts the benefits of being headquartered at a church that is centrally located in the region, with a growing and diverse population that he says could be a launching pad" for a nimble church equipped to serve into the future. I decided to open [them] because I have belief in the transformative power of Jesus Christ," Gutierrez said. "I have this profound belief that people in this day and age are bombarded by messages of negativity and loneliness and [are experiencing] a lack of community. We have a message that offers hope. " In the first confrontation between police and MOVE, on Aug. 8, 1978, Officer James Ramp was shot and killed. His body and that of a wounded officer were removed. Here, Delbert Africa was kicked and beaten by police officers. Read more Janet Holloway Africa and Janine Phillips Africa, two members of MOVE, the radical back-to-nature group, were freed on parole early Saturday morning, becoming the third and fourth activists from the organization to be released after spending more than 40 years in prison. Their release, first reported by the Guardian and confirmed to The Inquirer by their lawyer Brad Thomson on Saturday afternoon, comes more than a year after both womens petitions for parole were denied. Their legal team last year filed federal petitions challenging the parole boards decision after two other members from MOVE were released in 2018. In a brief interview, Pam Africa said Janet and Janine, who were released from SCI Cambridge Springs, located in Western Pennsylvania, just got home and were giving them a minute. Thomson, who represented the women alongside Bret Grote from the Abolitionist Law Center, said Jane and Janine were staying with friends in the Philadelphia area and will be making a public appearance in the near future. I can say on their behalf that they are excited to be released and to be able to be with their community and loved ones outside of prison, Thomson said. They are appreciative of all the support that they have received over the years throughout the area and around the world. Janet and Janine both of whom took the last name Africa in the 1970s when they joined the black liberation group were imprisoned in 1978 and sentenced to 30 to 100 years after a standoff at MOVEs Powelton Village compound, where members of the group lived for years in a communal setting. During the standoff, Philadelphia Police Officer James J. Ramp was killed and 18 police officers and firefighters were injured. Members of MOVE maintained during the trial and after that they did not fire any shots. Ultimately, five men and four women were sentenced for the incident. They have since been referred to as the MOVE Nine. In many ways, the 1978 police standoff has been overshadowed by the MOVE bombing, during which the city dropped a bomb on the Osage Avenue compound, destroying the block and killing 11 MOVE members, including five children. No city employee faced criminal charges in connection with the May 1985 deaths. Thomson said Saturday that both Janet and Janine lost children who were killed during the bombing. By the time the infamous incident happened, however, the MOVE Nine had already been jailed. None of us believed it, Debbie Africa, a member of the MOVE Nine, told The Inquirer last year. When the officers came to tell us, we actually said, Get away from our door, because its not true. Debbie Africa, now in her 60s, was granted parole last year, becoming the first of the group to be released. Months later, Michael Africa Sr., Debbies husband, was also released. The pair had not seen each other for close to 40 years. Debbie had given birth to their son while in jail four decades ago. According to Thomson, Janet and Janine, now both in their 60s as well, had a parole hearing in early May, and were granted parole roughly a week ago, nearly a year after they were denied. It was the definition of arbitrary, Thomson said of the decision last year to grant Debbie parole, while denying Janet and Janine. Identical recommendations were being characterized as positive [for Debbie] but negative for the other two. Two members of the MOVE Nine, Phil Africa and Merle Austin Africa, died in prison. Along with Debbie and Michael Sr., the women, along with their attorneys, will press for the release of the three remaining members of the MOVE Nine. A suspected twister hit El Reno, which is just west of Oklahoma City, on Saturday night as a powerful storm system rolled through the state.; Read more EL RENO, Okla. (AP) A tornado leveled a motel and tore through a mobile home park near Oklahoma City overnight, killing two people and injuring at least 29 others before a second twister raked a suburb of Tulsa more than 100 miles (160 kilometers) away, authorities said Sunday. The first tornado touched down in El Reno, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) west of Oklahoma City, late Saturday night. It crossed an interstate and walloped the American Budget Value Inn before ripping through the Skyview Estates trailer park, flipping and leveling homes, Mayor Matt White said at a news conference. "It's a tragic scene out there," White said, adding later that, "People have absolutely lost everything." He said the city established a GoFundMe site, the City of El Reno Tornado Relief Fund, for affected families. Several other businesses were also damaged, though not to the same extent as the motel. The two people who were killed were in the mobile home park, White said. He did not provide additional details about them. The 29 people who were injured were taken to hospitals, where some were undergoing surgery. Some of the injuries were deemed critical, he said. The National Weather Service gave the tornado an EF3 rating, meaning it had wind speeds of 136-165 mph (219-266 kph). Personnel who investigated the damage said the tornado began around 10:28 p.m. Saturday and lasted for four minutes. The tornado was about 75 yards wide at its widest point and was on the ground for 2.2 miles (3.5 kilometers). The tornado was spawned by a powerful storm system that rolled through the state the latest in a week of violent storms to hit the flood-weary Plains and Midwest that have been blamed for at least 11 deaths, including the two killed in El Reno. Early Sunday, another tornado destroyed several buildings and downed trees and power lines in the Tulsa suburb of Sapulpa, which is 110 miles (177 kilometers) northeast of El Reno. Pete Snyder, a hydrometeorological technician with the weather service in Tulsa, said crews were assessing damage to determine the tornado's rating. The area also experienced damage from strong straight-line winds, he said. The Sapulpa Police Department said on its Facebook page that it hadn't heard of any deaths and that only a few minor injuries had been reported. Residents wandered around after sunrise to survey the damage, carefully avoiding fallen utility poles that blocked some streets. Among the buildings that were destroyed was a historic railroad building built in the early 1900s that the Farmers Feed Store had been using for storage. A furniture store's warehouse was also destroyed. In El Reno, emergency crews sifted through the rubble at the trailer park and motel, where the second story collapsed into a pile of debris strewn about the first floor and parking lot. Tweety Garrison, 63, told The Associated Press that she was in her mobile home with her husband, two young grandchildren and a family friend when she heard the storm coming and immediately hit the ground. Moments later, she heard her neighbor's mobile home slam into hers before it flipped over and landed on her roof. Garrison said the incident lasted five to 10 minutes and that she received a tornado warning on her phone but the sirens didn't go off until after the twister hit. Her 32-year-old son, Elton Garrison, said he heard the wailing tornado sirens and had just laid down at home about a half-mile (1 kilometer) away when his phone rang. He recognized his mother's number, but there was no voice on the other end when he answered. "I thought, 'That's weird,'" he said. Then his mother called back, and delivered a chilling message: "We're trapped." He said when he arrived at his parent's home, he found it blocked by debris and sitting with another trailer on top of it. He began clearing a path to the home so that he could eventually lift a portion of an outside wall just enough so that all five occupants could slip beneath it and escape. "My parents were in there and two of my kids, one 9 and the other 12. ... My main emotion was fear," said Elton Garrison, who has lived in El Reno for about 26 years. "I couldn't get them out of there quick enough." He said he wasn't alarmed by the warning sirens when he first heard them at home. "We hear them all the time here, so it didn't seem like a big deal. ... I heard a lot of rain with the wind. But when it kind of got calm all of a sudden, that's when it didn't feel right." He said his parents had only recently recovered after losing their previous home to a fire a few years ago. "Now this," he said, before expressing gratitude that everyone inside his parents' home had emerged without serious injury. In the next breath, he added: "Items can be replaced. Lives can't." The storm is the latest to hit the flood-weary central U.S. and dumped yet more rain in the region's already bloated waterways. In Tulsa, authorities advised residents of some neighborhoods on Sunday to consider leaving for higher ground because the Arkansas River is stressing the city's old levee system. Downriver and about 100 miles (161 kilometers) southeast of Tulsa in Arkansas' second-largest city, Fort Smith, residents were preparing for what meteorologists are predicting will be the worst flooding in recorded history. ___ Associated Press writer David Aguilar in Detroit and Jamie Stengle in Dallas contributed to this report. Members of the Philadelphia Community Tap Project tap dance on a stage in the middle of the street during National Tap Dance Day in Brewerytown Saturday afternoon. Read more Shania Thomas and Micaela Hickey huddled Saturday afternoon in the shade on the corner of Girard and West College Avenues, and with a phone outstretched in their hands, pointed their toes and paused. Seconds later, a choreographed routine lit up the small screen before them, and the women, both 21, simultaneously swung a leg behind them, their black shoes clicking and clacking in rhythm. In step with the choreography on their phones, they waved their arms and jumped, sliding across the sidewalk, trying to nail down every detail before they and their red-laced tap shoes took the Brewerytown stage. Like about four dozen others who had gathered at the intersection on the warm, sunny afternoon, Hickey and Thomas, a current and former member, respectively, of Temple Universitys Temple Tappers, had come to celebrate and to dance. Saturday marked the 30th anniversary of National Tap Dance Day, and the Philadelphia Community Tap Project had organized a party. The Philadelphia-based service organization since 2016 has been throwing an annual free street festival on various corners across the city, where anyone from beginners to experts are encouraged to take the stage. Saturdays was based in fast-changing Brewerytown, after past years in Passyunk Square and City Hall. Organized by Pamela Hetherington, the tap projects executive director and founder, the goal of the event was to spotlight tap dancing, something that Hetherington, 39, and others consider a forgotten art. Long gone are the days when tap-dancing performers graced movie screens, street corners, and even some dance studios, Hetherington laments. Instead, ballet, hip-hop, and modern dance, among other styles, have gained and maintained popularity. Which is why Hetherington, who grew up in Northeast Philadelphia, started the Philadelphia Community Tap Project 10 years ago. She saw a void that needed to be filled and figured if she built a structure for tap dance, people would eventually come. She calls it her own personal version of Field of Dreams. And come Philadelphians have. On Saturday afternoon on the Brewerytown stage, there was 44-year-old Tweety Klevence and her 14-year-old son, Maximus, who have been dancing together since Maximus was 5. Tweety tap-danced with Maximus in her stomach until she gave birth, and swears he came out tap-dancing, she said Saturday, laughing. Its my favorite place, to be on stage with him, Tweety said. And now that hes grown, and Im on stage and I look at him and how hes progressed, I forget that Im on stage and just look at him in awe. Then, there was 6-year-old Anna Feiro and her 7-year-old friend Charlotte Weeks, who met at the Bache-Martin public school in Fairmount and joined Hetheringtons dedicated tap dance studio, Sound Space Performing Arts, in Brewerytown together. They arrived Saturday in coordinated sequin skirts before taking the stage to perform alongside Hetherington. Later in the day, Charlottes 2-year-old sister, Charis, slipped her feet into a pair of oversized tap shoes and shuffled across the stage, set in the middle of the street. As groups rotated in and out, and teachers yelled out commands, passersby and drivers paused for a while to watch. What kind of dance is this? one man asked as a band played. A car pulled over beside the intersection to take a picture. Another man rested on the curb to watch for several minutes. Before he left, he threw a couple of dollars on the stage, and then carried on. Many of Saturdays performances and lessons were led by Hetherington or Jaye Allison, Hetheringtons tap-dance teacher when Hetherington was just 10. She was this little, skinny girl trying to keep up with these bigger teenagers, and I wouldnt let her not be in that class," Allison said. Weve never not been in touch. Its that kind of community that has always been important to Hetherington. You all have to work together to make the sound, she said as she stood and watched a group of dancers learn on stage. I think when people put on the shoes, they realize the joy of making music with your body." Meanwhile, for Allison, who teaches at Hetheringtons studio and runs her own dance company, JADA, reviving tap dance is equally as important because of its history. Its something that burgeoned in this area, Allison said. If this is where it started, why would we forget it? Its more American than coffee is. She continued: Philadelphia forgets how important it is to the world. Pat Neshek went on the IL after struggling against the Cubs on Thursday. Read more Pat Nesheks stint on the injured list could be lengthy after an MRI revealed inflammation in his right shoulder. The reliever returned to Philadelphia this weekend for testing after feeling discomfort while playing catch before Fridays game. Its probably going to be a little bit before he throws, Kapler said. Nesheks injury occurred a day after he allowed two homers against the Cubs. He had refused to enter a game two nights earlier after he said Kapler did not give him enough time to warm up. Neshek joins relievers David Robertson (elbow soreness), Tommy Hunter (forearm strain), and Victor Arano (elbow inflammation) on the injured list. Robertson and Hunter are progressing from their injuries, but are still weeks away from returning. Arano seems to be even further. He will visit orthopedist Neal ElAttrache on Monday in Los Angeles. Debbie Africa, smiles next to Alia Africa, (granddaughter) and Mike Africa, son, during her first public appearance at the Faith Immanuel Lutheran Church, in East Lansdowne, Pennsylvania. Tuesday, June 19, 2018. The first MOVE member was granted parole, after 38 years in prison. Read more It was a strange sendoff for Debbie Africa, as Janine and Janet Africa helped her pack, talked about the future, and quietly tried to make sense of their diverging fates. On Saturday, Debbie Africa left the State Correctional Institution Cambridge Springs and, after 38 years, became the first of the MOVE Nine to be released on parole. She also said goodbye to two women she's been incarcerated with for four decades. Both were denied parole last week, for reasons Debbie Africa can't understand. "Although I felt excited and overwhelmed and happy," Debbie Africa said, "I still felt incomplete, because I left prison and my sisters Janine and Janet didn't. We came in on the same charges. We had the same everything. But when it came time to get out of prison, they didn't do that the same. It's a bittersweet victory for me." With an electronic monitor around her ankle and her son, Michael Jr., born while she was at the House of Correction, at her side, Africa, 62, made her first public appearance Tuesday at a news conference in the basement of the Faith Immanuel Lutheran Church in East Lansdowne. Along with eight other members of MOVE, often described as a radical back-to-nature group, she was convicted of murder and sentenced to 30 to 100 years in prison after a 1978 standoff at its Powelton Village compound, where Philadelphia Police Officer James J. Ramp was killed and 18 police officers and firefighters were injured. At the trial and since, MOVE members have maintained that they did not fire any shots. None of the three women were found to have possessed weapons. That incident came seven years before the infamous bombing of the MOVE compound on Osage Avenue that left 11 dead. Debbie Africa heard about that event in her prison cell. "None of us believed it," she said. "When the officers came to tell us, we actually said, 'Get away from our door, because it's not true.' It was devastating." But nothing, she said, was worse than giving up her son just three days after he was born. She also has a daughter, Michelle, who was just 2 years old at the time. "That was the hardest thing I've ever had to do and then feeling that emptiness," she said. She said her constant belief in MOVE's values had kept her strong. Michael Jr. was raised by MOVE members, and continues to believe in what he describes as a prescient environmental ideology. His father, Michael Africa, is incarcerated at Graterford Prison, and will be considered for parole in September. Michael Jr. said having his mother stay with him in his home outside Philadelphia has started to make him realize just how much he missed. "I saw her feet. I noticed this was the first time I ever seen her feet before," he said. "A friend of mine said to me, 'You are learning at almost 40 what babies learn about their parents.'" Debbie Africa, now a grandmother of nine, said she had sought parole nine times since 2008. This time, she had help from a group of legal advocates including Brad Thomson, a Chicago-based lawyer with the People's Law Office. He submitted thick packets for each woman with dozens of letters of recommendation, certificates of achievement, "exemplary" conduct reports and other supporting materials, including a review of their records by Martin Horn, a former Pennsylvania corrections secretary. The parole board's decision to release Debbie Africa, whose legal name is Debbie Sims, cited her positive adjustment and a recommendation from the District Attorney's Office. The decisions for Janet (Holloway) and Janine (Phillips), however, cite negative recommendations from the prosecutor. A spokesperson for District Attorney Larry Krasner said Krasner had provided positive recommendations for all three women. A representative for the parole board declined to provide clarification, noting that communications to the parole board are confidential. Two members of the group have died in prison. The others, ages 58 to 72, remain eligible for parole. "They all have similar stories in terms of being mentors, deescalating conflict within the prison," Thomson said. Robert Holbrook, a juvenile lifer who was released four months ago, worked on the case as a paralegal with the Abolitionist Law Center. He's hoping Debbie's husband, Michael Africa Sr., will be the next to come home. "He was a mentor to a lot of us young guys coming through," he said. "He would help us navigate prison culture and maintain a positive outlook, as we unfortunately grew up in prison." The couple have communicated only in letters for 40 years. Michael Jr. said he hopes the peaceful life his family longed for will be possible at last. "We're on the path now to make our family whole." To help stem the spread of the much-feared spotted lanternfly, Pennsylvania officials are encouraging businesses that transport anything in and out of 13 quarantined counties to get free online training on the pest, and a resulting permit, said Shannon Powers, a spokeswoman with the state Department of Agriculture. Powers said thats a pretty broad segment of businesses that operate in the state. The state began requiring the permits in May. As of Dec. 8, 1,285 companies had them. The state is now ramping up its efforts, and fines for noncompliance could start in about six months. Powers did not have an example of the fine structure and said it had not yet been determined how fines would be enforced. Its possible that businesses that fail to train their employees will have their spotted lanternfly permits revoked, making it difficult for them to do business. Theres a significant danger to commerce in Pennsylvania because the insect is such a good hitchhiker. It hops onto anything, Power said. The spotted lanternfly, Lycorma delicatula, is native to China, India, and Vietnam. It was first discovered in 2014 in Berks County and has spread to other counties in Southeastern Pennsylvania. The pest has recently been spotted in Center City and shows no sign of stopping its spread. The insect has the potential to destroy crops such as grapes, hops, and hardwoods, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Quarantined counties include Berks, Bucks, Carbon, Chester, Delaware, Lancaster, Lebanon, Lehigh, Monroe, Montgomery, Northampton, Philadelphia, and Schuylkill. Businesses can get training through a self-paced online course designed by the Penn State Extension and the state Agriculture Department. Usually, an owner, manager, or supervisor takes the test, and the business will receive permits for company vehicles. The person who took the test must then train other employees. The test teaches the importance of stopping the spotted lanternfly, as well as its life cycle and habits. It also offers education on the quarantine, how to find and destroy the creatures, and best practices. Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2019 > India Painted Saffron: Challenges Ahead POLITICAL NOTEBOOK The May 23 parliamentary election results have handed a decisive and landslide victory to the NDA coalition (which has won 355 seats). The BJP by itself has secured 300 seats. A highly divisive, communal and jingoistic propaganda by the BJP has won the hearts of the voters. India is now very clearly a majoritarian democracy. The UPA has got 90 seats and the Indian National Congress has won 51 seats. (These are the latest figures that are available and could change since the final tally is yet to come.) This victory will fill the sails of the BJP and its hardliners with much wind. Pragya Singh Thakur, the admirer of Mahatma Gandhis assassin besides being one of the accused in the Malegaon blast case, has emerged victorious in Bhopal with a margin of 3.37 lakh votes, defeating Digvijay Singh, the former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh. This is normalisation of the most reactionary forces with mass public approval. (The electorate has also endorsed Giriraj Singh of the BJP, who has been one of the most foul-mouthed BJP stalwarts against secularism, by giving him a resounding victory in Bihars Begusarai where he defeated the CPIs Kanhaiya Kumar by a huge margin whereas the RJDs Tanvir Husain came third; but the vote-shares of both Kanhaiya and Tanvir together fell far short of Girirajs 2,75,899 votes.) In 2014 the democrats and discerning observers from the liberal intelligentsia totally missed the Modi wave; again in 2017 there had been firm predictions that the BJP would face defeat in the UP Assembly elections (but those failed to materialise). And now once again in 2019 we have just witnessed a huge disconnect from the ground realities. When will the secular and progressive democrats realise that they are in a minority in a society where the mass of citizens and the electorate is deeply anchored and enamoured by reactionary ideas? It is high time we recognise that the India of today has changed beyond recognition and the people who have spoken through the elections arent pure as they are under the mesmerising sway of authoritarian ideas. It goes without saying that the results are a big setback for the Opposition parties from across the country that had been keen to work out a post-poll alliance. Indias parliamentary democracy has been hugely weakened in the absence of a large Opposition in Parliament. This election demonstrates that the march to oblivion of the official Left continues. [The CPI-Ms vote-share in West Bengal was 22.96 per cent in 2014; it has now shrunk to 6.77 per cent in this election.] Instead of having taken the lead to forge a national united front of all secular-democratic parties to counter the communal forces, the Left shunned all links with the Congress. There have been interminable theoretical debates on the Left about the character of the ruling BJP and also the spin that the Congress and BJP are two sides of the same coin. Even if they did not say so officially, the Left supporters in droves have voted for the BJP in West Bengal to defeat the TMC, which had been infected by the disease of arrogance of power. The old malaise of anti-Congressism is still alive and kicking in the CPI-M; now a one-time socialist professor politician has also decided to declare the death of the Congress. The electoral defeat of the Congress and all secular forces is a massive blow that demands introspection and rethinking. The Congress and other parties too will need to reinvent so that a vibrant mass organisation can emerge in the foreseeable future. The CPI, which is currently on the verge of extinction, should seriously consider forging a long-term cooperation agreement with the Congress on the trade union front and for active cooperation among cadres as well as to evolve a common think-tank for strategic planning in the years ahead. If necessary the CPI should be prepared for abandoning all truck with the CPI-M which is confined to the prison-house of hardline politics, even tying the hands of the open-minded and congenial CPI General Secretary. We are now staring at raw fascism at work at the level of the state and hence the democratic space for functioning is likely to shrink in the near future. Simultaneously social movements and NGOs, human rights groups and platforms will increasingly come under fire while the independent media will encounter greater threats as will the academia. To face such reality in the times ahead new social alliances would have to be built not to fight elections but ensure the safety of individuals and for the defence of democratic rights as also the Constitution and to harness public opinion in an anti-democratic environment. May 23 Analyst Tim Hartmann Leads as 20 Remain in Winamax SISMIX Main Event May 25, 2019 Will Shillibier In a tournament made up predominantly of Frenchmen, and held for the first time this year in Spain, it is a German that tops the chip counts at the end of Day 2 of the Winamax SISMIX Main Event. After making it through Day 1a and enjoying two days off, Tim Hartmann soared to the top of the standings during the middle of the day and cemented his status there with a series of eliminations late on to take 15,070,000 through to Day 3 with just 20 players remaining. "There were three or four hands towards the end," said Hartmann. "But they were all pretty standard. One where I turned a flush and he turned a straight. Things like that." Hartmann knocked out Winamax Team Pro Adrien Delmas before the bubble, as Delmas, Guillaume Diaz, Adrian Mateos and Leo Margets were eliminated before the bubble. Delmas ran ace-nine into the ace-queen of Hartmann, while Mateos ran nines into pocket kings and failed to catch up. Former Champion Through to Day 3 Bruno Lopes However, there is one Winamax Team Pro through to Day 3. 2016 SISMIX Champion Bruno Lopes bagged at the end of the day, although is short with 12 big blinds. He says that considering what's happened in the past, that's not a problem. He explained to our French colleagues that the year he won, he was short with 12 big blinds at the end of Day 1. "My wife was coming the next day," said Lopes. "So I knew I wanted to bag so that I could have the other Day 1 off. I had 12 big blinds and folded ace-jack to an open! "So I bagged up 12 big blinds and went on to win the tournament!" Lopes will be hoping that lightning strikes twice if he is going to be in with a chance of taking home 120,000 and an unprecedented second Winamax SISMIX title. Here are the remaining payouts: Place Payout 1 120,000 2 85,000 3 61,500 4 44,000 5 32,000 6 24,000 7 17,990 8-9 14,000 10-11 11,000 12-14 8,350 15-17 6,500 18-20 5,300 Day Recap With 430 players remaining at the start of the day, it was always going to be a hectic flurry of activity once the cards were in the air. And so it came to pass, with play just two eliminations off the money by the first break. The money bubble eventually broke when Laurent Prudhommes ace-nine butted heads against the pocket jacks of Winamax SISMIX High Roller winner Jon Ander Vallinas. Vallinas duly flopped top set to send Prudhomme to the rail and burst the bubble. With a fast six-max structure and players continuing to fly out the door, the chip lead was elusive and ever-changing. It wasn't until a spell on the feature table that Hartmann emerged as a contender. By the dinner break, just 61 remained with Hartmann third in chips behind Aliaury Legait and Matthieu Rodriguez. Hayg Badem had his spell at the top after picking off an outrageous bluff from High Roller champion Vallinas who bet all three streets with seven-deuce only to get called by the top pair of Badem. But back came Hartmann, who by now was back on feature. He was lucky to river trips to oust Alexis Hernandez, and even more fortunate when the perfect turn card saw all the chips go in the middle to eliminate Anthony Boyer. There was still time for the German to add a third elimination in quick succession to seal his chip lead and is well clear of Morgan Aceto (12,785,000), who is the only other player in the eight-figure category. Other big stacks include Milos Babovic (8,270,000), Hayg Badem (7,995,000), Jeffrey van de Heuvel (6,475,000) and Gregory Luttke-Grech (6,000,000). Play resumes at 12:30 pm on Sunday 26th May and will play down to a winner. PokerNews will be on hand throughout the day to bring you all the action! 376 SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard The Trump administration must temporarily halt the use of some Defense Department funds for a border wall with Mexico, a judge ruled on Friday, because the money was not specifically authorized by Congress for construction of the barrier. The order blocks the use of $1 billion from the Department of Defense in Arizona and Texas, out of $6.7 billion that Trump administration said it planned to direct toward building the wall. The position that when Congress declines the Executives request to appropriate funds, the Executive nonetheless may simply find a way to spend those funds without Congress does not square with the fundamental separation of powers principles dating back to the earliest days of our Republic, Haywood Gilliam Jr, a U.S. judge in California, wrote in the order. Separately, Gilliam denied a preliminary injunction against the border wall sought by a coalition of sixteen states, but said they could move forward with their case. Spokespeople for the Department of Homeland Security, Pentagon and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Trump has said the wall is needed to address a crisis of drugs and crime flowing across the border into the United States. The ruling adds to Trumps frustrations with federal court orders blocking his initiatives for cutting illegal immigration, a policy area he will focus on in his 2020 re-election bid. In February, after a protracted political battle and a government shutdown, Congress approved $1.38 billion for construction of primary pedestrian fencing along the border in southeastern Texas, well short of Trumps demands. To obtain the additional money, Trump declared a national emergency and his administration said it planned to divert $601 million from a Treasury Department forfeiture fund, $2.5 billion earmarked for Department of Defense counternarcotics programs and $3.6 billion from military construction projects. The House of Representatives, more than a dozen states and two advocacy groups asked U.S. District Court Judge Haywood Gilliam in Oakland, California to block the transfer of funds to prevent the wall construction. They argue the administration cannot use funds Congress has specifically denied and cannot construct a barrier that was not authorized, nor can the administration work outside the geographic area identified by Congress. This is a win for our system of checks and balances, the rule of law, and border communities, the American Civil Liberties Union tweeted. The wall funding faced another court challenge on Thursday, in a case brought by the House of Representatives in a federal court in the District of Columbia. The lawmakers have said the diversion of $6.1 billion in Defense Department funds violates the separation of powers doctrine laid out in the U.S. Constitution. (Corrects to show in final paragraph Washington hearing occurred on Thursday, not Friday.) (Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware; Additional reporting by Makini Brice; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Grant McCool) 498 SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard In a tweet last March, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez responded to the elitist assaults on her that attempt to diminish and discredit her intellect and governing abilities based on her working-class roots and identity: I find it revealing when people mock where I come from, & say theyre going to send me back to waitressing, as if thats bad or shameful. Its as though they think being a member of Congress makes you intrinsically better than a waitress. Ocasio-Cortez here addresses a much larger tendency in U.S. culture, one which, as a culture and society, we talk about much less than, say, we do racism or sexism. Dont get me wrong, the practices and ideologies that devalue and attribute inferiority to people on the basis of skin color and sex are alive and all-too-well in U.S. life, deeply ingrained in both our institutions and, frankly, in the minds of many. But we do talk about it as a culture, even if not enough and not in the most productive ways. And these practices and ideologies are subject to scrutiny and redress in the legislative arena, even if that legislation is highly contested and thus far grossly insufficient to remedy and combat the deeply-rooted prejudices, indeed hatred, informing social and economic practices of discriminating against women and people of color. And a good number of Americans, whether or not they fully walk the walk, agree that racism and sexism have no place in a society that aspires to an egalitarian ideal. Much less questioned is the practice of devaluing people, economically and culturally, based on what, occupationally speaking, they do in the world. Few challenge whether the burger-flipper at McDonalds deserves as much payis worth as muchas the CEO, whether the school custodian deserves as much as the principal, whether the postal carrier or grocery store clerk deserves as much as a lawyer or doctor, and so on. Because of our nations dominant belief in meritocracy, these inequities make sense, even though McDonalds could not produce wealth without the burger-flippers and the school could not run without the custodian. And these economic valuations carry with them social and cultural valuations of people as well. On the whole, U.S. culture looks down on the working class, attributing inferior intellectual ability and simply less importance to working-class people. Obviously, sexism and racism play a role here too. Womens work and women workers have historically been devalued because women have been seen as physically and intellectually inferior; and people of color, obviously, have been labeled as intellectually inferior and often less than human and thus undeserving. Ocasio-Cortez, though, is taking on this less-talked about form of supremacist or hierarchical thinking, which at times is referred to as classism, an ism of which she is often the victim in her congressional seat. Donald Trump, for example, recently attacked the Green New Deal she proposed as the craziest thing. But look at how he presented it, linking it to her previous employment: The Green New Deal, done by a young bartender, 29 years old. A young bartender, wonderful young woman. He doesnt assess the Green New Deal on its merits. And he certainly doesnt assess Ocasio-Cortez on the content of her character and intellect, which is formidable. Rather, he dismisses the ideas based on her working-class identity and history, as do others. She is just a waitress, just a bartender. Therefore, her ideas must have no worth because those people are less intellectually able. Addressing this discrimination, this hatred, really, is important for challenging the anti-egalitarian elements of U.S. culture. Im brought back to Kurt Vonneguts classic 1969 novel Slaughterhouse-Five, as Vonnegut really puts his finger on this damaging ideological hateand self-hatredanimating U.S. politics and culture. His character Howard Campbell, an American who has become a Nazi propagandist, writes a monograph about American culture, in which he diagnoses the hatred of those who make less moneya hatred that is also internalized. The monograph reads: America is the wealthiest nation on earth, but its people are mainly poor, and poor Americans are urged to hate themselves. To quote the American humorist Kin Hubbard, It aint no disgrace to be poor, but it might as well be. It is in fact a crime for an American to be poor. Every other nation has folk traditions of men who were poor but extremely wise and virtuous, and therefore more estimable than anyone with power and gold. No such tales are told by the American poor. They mock themselves and glorify their betters. The meanest eating or drinking establishment, owned by a man who is poor, is very likely to have a sign on its wall asking this cruel question: If youre so smart, why aint you rich? There will also be an American flag no larger than a childs handglued to a popsicle stick and flying from the cash register. This passage captures something we see with Trump, which he didnt create but which he plays on and perpetuates. We see it in his mocking of Ocasio-Cortez being a bartender; we see it when he mocks a journalist with a disability; we see it when he mocks losers; and we see it in his everyday cruelty, racism, and sexism. He hates those losers living on the lower rungs of our world, those who make less money and have less power, influence, and glory. He fuels peoples internalization of these values. So the question is: how can a leader in a representative democracy represent those he hates? If you believe someone is intellectually inferior, will you advocate for them to have an affordable college education? Will you seem them as deserving? If you loathe groups of people and deride them, will you devote energy to making their lives sustainable and better? I think we see the answer is no. Trump cannot represent the interests of workers because he has disdain for them, as he does for women and people of color. We need to say it, though. 2.5k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard Chuck Todd took Sarah Sanders apart for saying that Trump sided with North Korea against former vice president Joe Biden. Todd asked on Meet The Press, Can you explain why Americans should not be concerned the president of the United States is essentially siding with a murderous authoritarian dictator over a former vice president of the United States? The presidents not siding with that, Sanders replied. I think they agree in their assessment of former Vice President Joe Biden. The presidents focus in this process is the relationship he has and making sure we continue on the path towards denuclearization. Thats what he wants to see, and thats certainly what the people in this region want to see and are hopeful that the president is right and that relationship is what helps move us further down that path. Todd followed up, The president of the United States takes the North Korean dictators word about Joe Biden? What happened to speaking with one voice on American foreign policy? Is the president not setting up trying to have world leaders sort of pick which political party they should side with? I dont understand what message the president is sending here. Sanders weakly replied with an attack on the Obama/Biden administration with a false claim that Trump is cleaning up Obamas messes. Video: WATCH: Trump and Kim Jong Un agree on their assessment of Biden #MTP #IfitsSunday "I think if anybody needs help with an assessment it's Joe Biden and whether or not he should be trying to get an upgrade when he failed to do the job in the number two slot." pic.twitter.com/g7px0CicZ0 Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) May 26, 2019 Chuck Todd Hit On Trumps Biggest Weakness The question that Sarah Sanders couldnt answer is why is the President Of The United States continually siding with dictators who want to harm the country and attacking his fellow Americans? If the Trump campaign is going to run on the love of other world leaders, they are going to have to run on having the support of the worst most oppressive regimes in the world. Trumps international pals include Russia, Saudia Arabia, and North Korea. Trump keeps siding with people who want to harm the United States against people who want to protect it. This is not a complicated argument, and Sanders had no answer, but to revert to the same old, weak sauce attacks on Obama that Fox News has been putting out there for a decade. For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group. Follow Jason Easley on Facebook 10.9k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard President Trump is funneling $62 million of taxpayer funded farm aid to a foreign, Brazilian owned meatpacking company, which is owned by two billionaire majority GOP donor brothers who just so happen to be under investigation by the Department of Justice after the brothers admitted to bribing politicians to obtain benefits for their businesses. This company just so happens to donate to Republicans 79% to 21% for Democrats overall, and in 2018, they spent 96% to Republicans, with a paltry 4% to Democrats. They produce chicken under Pilgrims Pride Corp, as well as other units. With money set aside to help farmers who are suffering from Trumps trade wars, the drain the swamp president is spending $62 million of taxpayer money to JBS USA, whose parent company is Brazil-based JBS S.A., which is the largest meatpacking company in the entire world. That is to say, that money we are all subsidizing to help farmers is being spent to subsidize a big business that just so happens to donate almost entirely to Republicans. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) busted President Trump for giving $62 million in taxpayer farm aid to a corrupt foreign company. In a May 23 letter that her office sent to PoliticusUSA, Senator Baldwin asked why money that is supposed to be helping struggling U.S. farmers is going to a foreign company: Allowing taxpayer funds to support foreign agricultural companies, particularly corrupt foreign companies, at a time when farmers in Wisconsin and across the country are suffering from pain caused by your trade wars is outrageous and Im calling on you to explain how you allowed this to happen. Baldwin noted that her state of Wisconsin has lost 1,480 dairy farms since Trump took office, losing 90 dairy farms in April alone. The DOJ investigators visited Brazil in December of 2018 to question the shareholders of J&F Investimentos, which is the holding company of JBS SA, after brothers Joesley and Wesley Batista admitting to bribing politicians. Reuters reported that a source familiar with the probe told them that Justice Department investigators questioned the Batista brothers and forbade them from leaving the country. That sounds 2016-familiar. Because Donald Trump has taken foreign help to win an election before, and his people are actively trying to do it again with the Ukraine, it should also be filed that Brazil is run by an authoritarian populist who is often compared to Donald Trump, Jair Bolsonaro. Bolsonaro also trash talks vulnerable groups. They say hes the Donald Trump of South America, Trump bragged during a speech to the Farm Bureau on January 14, 2019. Chuck Todd observed today on his show that it appears as if Trump is trying to have world leaders sort of pick which political party they should side with? Im pretty certain the authoritarians already know and have aligned themselves with Trump against the west and its idea of democracy, just as Russian President Vladimir Putin wanted. The Russian money funneled into U.S. politics looks to have been laundered through the NRA and Rusal, the Russian oil company. It would not be a stretch to investigate if this meatpacking company, known for bribing politicians and for donating almost exclusively to Republicans in the last cycle, is serving as a front for Brazils authoritarian leadership to help Trump and Republicans in 2020 or there is some sort of quid pro quo going on that would explain them getting $62 million in taxpayer money meant to help U.S. farmers suffering from Trumps trade wars. Trump and Republicans need all of the help they can get. Donald Trump and his Republican Party cant win elections without cheating. They take help from hostile foreign countries whose values deeply oppose our own. It would be a mistake to ignore this red flag in the lead up to 2020. In 2016, Trump didnt have his hand on the lever of government and he still managed to make deals with foreign countries about U.S. policy. Imagine what he can do with his hands directly on the lever and absolutely zero respect for law or love of country or the ideals upon which this country was founded. This is the exact opposite of draining the swamp; in fact, there has never been such a corrupt president in the White House before. 5.8k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard Pete Buttigieg said that it is time for America to ignore Trumps distractions and talk about what they want instead of Trump. Pete Buttigieg On Canceling The Trump Horror Show Transcript via ABCs This Week: PETE BUTTIGIEG: Its a continuing horror show right now in Washington. And you have a president who has turned the entire thing into a reality show. Weve got to completely change the channel, and make sure that we respond to all of the the distractions and the nonsense coming out of the White House, not just by calling him to account, but by returning consistently to the question of how American lives are shaped by those decisions. RADDATZ: You talk about changing the channel, how do you do do that with President Trump? It it works for him. BUTTIGIEG: It does, but part of how it works for him is he provokes us in ways that make it very hard for us to do anything but respond in kind, the nicknames, the tweets, the insults. And what weve got to remember is that the more were talking about him, the less were talking about voters. When the conversation is about voters, were going to win. Voters want a raise. They want health care. On almost all of the issues, the American people are with us. It is precisely for that reason that the only way the Republican Party can retain power in the White House is if the conversation is about something completely different, like the shenanigans of the current president. Video: Pete Buttigieg to @MarthaRaddatz: "It's a continuing horror show right now in Washington. And you have a president who has turned the entire thing into a reality show. We've got to completely change the channel" https://t.co/LqbnX8uTU4 pic.twitter.com/aezhrOO1t6 This Week (@ThisWeekABC) May 26, 2019 Buttigieg was right. If the conversation in 2020 is about you instead of him, Democrats will do very well in the election. If Trump is able to distract and manipulate his way through the campaign, Democrats will struggle to break through. Washington is a horror show under Trump. It is also a do nothing executive branch that is being enabled by Republican Senate majority to do less than the bare minimum of governance. The election needs to be about healthcare, wages, Trumps failed trade war, and other issues that matter in the lives of people. Impeachment is a nice thought, but it plays into Trumps hands by giving him a distraction that allows him to make the election about himself. The way to beat the Trump horror show is to not allow it to hijack the 2020 election. For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group. Follow Jason Easley on Facebook Sharjah English School, a not-for-profit school, has received a glowing report from a team assigned to inspect accredited British schools overseas (BSO) by the UK Department for Education. The BSO report characterised SES as an outstanding school, stating that it is very effective and standards across all areas are high. Commenting on the report, SES Principal John Nolan said: We are very proud that the BSO team from the UK Department for Education has recognised the extremely hard work of our staff, pupils and families, who have created a truly unique educational experience. Sharjah English School is one of a few not-for-profit schools in the UAE, and we aim to foster a true community environment where pupils feel happy and thrive. The report comes on the back of our record-breaking GCSE and A Level results in 2018 the best in Sharjah and the Northern Emirates and it is another milestone in our efforts to create excellent opportunities for all our students. The report highlighted the high level of academic attainment, and the inspectors were particularly impressed to find students disciplined, confident and articulate, noting that even the youngest students behave responsibly. The leadership was praised as effective and distributed with an outstanding principal who has succeeded in creating a small school ethos with a strong community feel. Overseas schools that describe themselves as British are subject to the UK Governments voluntary inspection scheme. The UK Department for Education (DfE) inspects schools based on a common set of standards that British schools overseas can choose to adopt. Parents of students at British schools overseas can see how the schools standards measure up to the standards for independent schools in England. Inspection teams approved by the DfE and monitored by Ofsted are available to inspect British schools overseas; the inspectors produce inspection reports that are made available to parents and prospective parents. Partager et informez vous aussi...... 0 shares Share Tweet LinkedIn 6.1k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard Article Updated To Reflect The Dispute About the Trump Quote Update # 3: Bremmer admits that he made it up: My tweet yesterday about Trump preferring Kim Jong Un to Biden as President was meant in jest. The President correctly quoted me as saying it was a completely ludicrous statement. I should have been clearer. My apologies. ian bremmer (@ianbremmer) May 27, 2019 This means that no outlet will ever trust Bremmer again. Trump endorsed murderous North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un for president over former vice president Joe Biden. Trump says Kim Jong Un would be a better president than Joe Biden Iam Bremmer tweeted: President Trump in Tokyo: Kim Jong Un is smarter and would make a better President than Sleepy Joe Biden. ian bremmer (@ianbremmer) May 26, 2019 Daniel Dale of The Toronto Star says the quote is fabricated: This quote is fabricated. As often, no idea what Bremmer is doing. https://t.co/gMQoo3c3i1 Daniel Dale (@ddale8) May 26, 2019 Trumps quote has been part of a package where Trump has taken the side of the North Korean dictator over the former vice president of the United States. Trump has tweeted: North Korea fired off some small weapons, which disturbed some of my people, and others, but not me. I have confidence that Chairman Kim will keep his promise to me, & also smiled when he called Swampman Joe Biden a low IQ individual, & worse. Perhaps thats sending me a signal? Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 26, 2019 Sarah Sanders got shredded by Chuck Todd for Trumps support of Kim Jong-un over Biden, and the big problem for Republicans is that Trumps behavior reinforces the belief that he puts his country and democracy last. The White House thought that they were getting a great publicity tour for Trump, but the president has sabotaged it all and reminded the American people of why he should not be elected to a second term. For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group. Follow Jason Easley on Facebook 4.1k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard Deputy White House Press Secretary Hogan Gidley said that Trump wants a media that is compliant and complicit with whatever he says. The White House wants the media to be complicit and compliant Gidley said on Fox News, When he leaves a meeting with Nancy Pelosi and all they do is mischaracterize his demeanor, and take whatever she says lock, stock, and barrel. I mean, it would be so nice if we had a complicit compliant media the way the Democrats do, but we dont. Video: Ask Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama how complicit and compliant the media was with them. Trump doesnt want a questioning free press Speaker Pelosi will always have more credibility than Trump because she is not a compulsive liar. Pelosis account of the meeting was also backed up by people who attended the meeting. Nancy Pelosi didnt need to put the people who work for her on the spot on national television to vouch for her sanity. The administration wants a media that doesnt question what they say. The White House wants a press that acts like a publicity department that reprints what the president says as unquestioned truth. The concept is very authoritarian and undemocratic. It is the presss job to question the president and the administration. Trump doesnt want to be questioned. Donald Trump wants a press that will be complicit and compliant in his crimes and lies. For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group. Follow Jason Easley on Facebook Get the SC business stories that matter. Our newsletter catches you up with all the business stories that are shaping Charleston and South Carolina every Monday and Thursday at noon. Get ahead with us - it's free. Charleston County Council Chairmen Elliott Summey speaks during the unveiling of the Charleston County Sheriff's Office fallen officer memorial Friday, May 10, 2019. The memorial honors the lives of fallen officers dating back to the early 1900s. Brad Nettles/Staff This April 1865 photo shows the graves of Union soldiers who died at the Race Course prison camp in Charleston, which would later become Hampton Park. On May 1 of that year, former slaves gave the fallen a daylong funeral. Tony Bartelme, senior projects reporter for The Post and Courier, has earned national honors from the Nieman, Scripps, Loeb and National Press foundations and is a four-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Twitter: @tbartelme Signal: 843-412-2283. Gregory Yee covers the city of Charleston. He's a native Angeleno and previously covered crime and courts for the Press-Telegram in Long Beach, CA. He studied journalism and Spanish literature at the University of California, Irvine. Thomas Novelly is a political reporter based in Charleston. He also covers the military community and veterans throughout South Carolina. Previously, he wrote for the Courier Journal in Kentucky. He is a fan of Southern rock, bourbon and horse racing. Syndicated and guest columns represent the personal views of the writers, not necessarily those of the editorial staff. The editorial department operates entirely independently of the news department and is not involved in newsroom operations. A still image from a film by Bill Morrison, with music by Michael Gordon, part of a trilogy to be shown May 26 at Memminger Auditorium. Charleston, SC (29403) Today Partly cloudy skies. Low around 60F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies. Low around 60F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. On May 9, I underwent a second surgery in follow-up of the double mastectomy I had in December 2018. The surgery went well. With each day that passed I felt better than the day before. However, approximately four days after surgery, I was hit with sudden nausea and back pain. Thankfully, the surgeon who called to check on me recognized the symptoms as abnormal and had me back in immediately for a check-up. Upon the completion of his exam he realized the portion of the surgery he did most likely was not the culprit causing my discomfort, and the second surgeons team was called over. Following blood tests and a CT scan, I was back in surgery within a day to fix the problem. To rectify the situation, a stent was placed from my left kidney to my bladder, and voila, I woke up from the emergency surgery an entirely different person! As with any surgery, one must take it easy for quite some time before getting back into a normal routine. For me, it was two weeks of doing almost next to nothing! I was told that any walking I was going to do would be for "their purpose, not mine." Meaning, I was walking to visit the bathroom or the kitchen, and that was that! Thankfully, those first two weeks are almost over, so I can have the reins loosened just a little. Many people have stopped over to visit while I have been recuperating, and while most people were there to visit, one came on a mission. After she came through the door and said a simple, "Hi", she walked over to my desk and grabbed a notebook and a pen. Then, she proceeded to hand me both and asked me to write her resignation letter. It was probably a good thing that I was not overly medicated, as I was able to give a few pointers to her prior to writing. ADVERTISEMENT First and foremost, leaving on a positive note rather than a negative one will give you a better chance at getting an employment reference letter should you ever need one down the line. So cut the excuses out, do not mention what you disliked, and be mature, professional and polite. Quitting your job is not easy, so take a deep breath and put some thought into it. Giving a two-week notice is standard practice when leaving current employment. However, if there are specific reasons that do not allow this common courtesy, be prepared to discuss them after you have turned in your letter. If your new job is more appealing than the one you are leaving, that is great! But you do not have to brag about it. Oftentimes you will have coworkers who are ready to find new employment or are actively looking as well. If their opportunity has not presented itself, dont be a braggart. Make sure you write more than just an "I quit" on a sticky note and leave it for your boss. Writing a formal resignation letter (remember it will go in your personnel file) is a good idea. And really, you dont need to make a laundry list of excuses as to why you are resigning. A simple letter saying that you are putting in notice and what your last day of work is will suffice. And lastly, dont forget to say goodbye. Once your boss knows your intent to leave, take the time to bid farewell to your coworkers. Let them know you are leaving but will stay in touch because chances are, they have become your friends. PQ We have to be able to grow with the times and do this very responsibly be fiscally responsible. ... I want to think ahead. I want to study whats going on ... and just to make sure were doing things that will last long into the future and and that were thinking of technology, and thinking of ... what our visitors and residents need. Doyon Ahn Morato Senators took their time talking to Brian Bamba and Doyon Ahn Morato during the nominees confirmation hearing Thursday for the A.B. Won Pat Guam International Airport Authority Board of Directors. The airport is in the midst of a long-standing legal battle involving the multimillion-dollar retail concession space that is contracted with Lotte Duty Free. DFS Guam challenged that contract and for years they have been tied up in lawsuits and countersuits. Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Error! There was an error processing your request. Brian Bamba is the managing director of IP&E Holdings, Marianas Acquisition Corp., IP&E Palau, and Fujita Properties. I feel that my experience in the private sector where I lead over 300 employees enables me to contribute to the policy leadership at the airport. My colleagues serve thousands of customers daily and our business plays a very vital role in the quality of life we enjoy here on the island and the region. And I think the same can be said about the airport, the nominee said. Im also experienced in large-scale capital improvements as well as complex commercial transactions and disputes, similar to what the airport is experiencing today. Senators asked whether his employment or his business, Three Chiefs Brewing LLC, based in California, could pose a conflict of interest. He said he didnt believe it would become an issue. He said hes transparent with his current employments business and will appropriately address any situation that pops up. At the hearing, former Sen. George Bamba testified in support of his son. The elder Bamba said his son is very qualified to serve on the GIAA board. He said the nominees background in business would be an asset to the board. Additionally, his son has a keen interest in playing a role in the community, such as philanthropic and charity work because he understands that different aspects in a community are intertwined. Ramona Jones testified in support of her childhood friend Morato. Jones said Moratos architecture and graphics art background can be an asset to the GIAA board. Morato said shes excited to participate in the plans to operate, improve and grow GIAA. Morato shared her familys history the move from South Korea to Guam in search of a better life. Her dad was a structural engineer who worked with a South Korea firm that worked with the Guam military following the Vietnam War. Morato said having been raised in Guam she has a keen desire to see the island grow. As an entrepreneur, she started Zories Only Guam, which creates greeting cards based on colloquialisms and idiosyncrasies. She also is the operations manager for Alaska-based construction company North Wind Group, which recently opened an office on Guam. Senators asked her what she would do to make the airport a more pleasing experience for visitors and residents. We have to be able to grow with the times and do this very responsibly be fiscally responsible, Morato responded. I want to think ahead. I want to study whats going on and just to make sure were doing things that will last long into the future and and that were thinking of technology, and thinking of what our visitors and residents need. Considering the issues that GIAA is embroiled in, senators asked Morato if she would act in the best interests of the people of Guam and not act out of loyalty to the governor who nominated her, or even to her special interests. Morato responded that, should she be confirmed, she would follow her own set of rules. Morato said she was surprised when the governor nominated her. "In the Guam Womens Chamber (of Commerce), I argued with her and disagreed with her quite a few times. So after she appointed me, I asked why." Morato added, One of the things she said is because I know youre not a yes person. She knows I will question when we need to question to make sure Im making the right decision always. A POST-NATIVE PERSPECTIVE Over the first half of my two-week Christmas break, I spent every day in the garden attending to chores that in years past would have been com Read more SEEKING SOVEREIGNTY: Ray Wong, one of the leaders of localist group Hong Kong Indigenous, leaves a court in Hong Kong on Sept. 23 with nine other defendants after pleading not guilty to charges relating to Mongkok riots during the Lunar New Year. John Walker Lindh, the American Taliban, was released from prison last week. He served 17 years of his 20 year sentence. He got out of jail early because he received good conduct credits. The First Step Act the jailbreak legislation pushed by the Trump administration, the Heritage Foundation, and prominent GOP Senators like Charles Grassley and Lindsey Graham expands the credits that Lindh used to get out of jail. However, as I understand it, this expansion hasnt been implement yet. Thus, First Step did not cause or contribute to Lindhs early release. However, once implemented later this year, the First Step expansion will enable thousands of other violent felons, including terrorists and sex offenders, to be released early. Thus, it is only happenstance that Lindh did not benefit from First Step. Sen. Tom Cotton has proposed legislation that would prevent the early release for good conduct of Americans convicted of terrorism. He explained: 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. Supporting radical Islamist groups like ISIS is savage behavior, not good behavior. Our bill would make convicted terrorists ineligible for early release. Cottons logic seems unassailable. The more a prisoner is committed to terrorism, the more likely he will behave himself in prison so as to become free to engage in new terrorist acts. From all that appears, Lindh remains committed to terrorism. As recently as 2015, he wrote that ISIS is doing a spectacular job. It seems odd, to say the least, that he could be deemed in good behavior. Maybe he participated in some of the evidence-based rehabilitation programs that Team Leniency endlessly touts. I hope the Trump administration, the Heritage Foundation, Sens. Grassley and Graham, and the rest of the center-right leniency gang will have the decency to support Sen. Cottons No Leniency for Terrorists legislation. PR-Inside.com: 2019-05-26 21:09:23 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 525 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 LAGOS, NIGERIA / ACCESSWIRE / May 27, 2019 / It is no secret that Interswitch, an African fintech company with business presence in 5 African countries and operational access to another additional 16 countries, has been building a Blockchain As A Service (BAAS) platform kicked off by their partnership with Microsoft to create a blockchain based supply chain financing platform. The pan African fintech giant has been looking to co-create other crucial parts of their blockchain ecosystem and had been on the lookout for a blockchain solutions company that embodies competence, agility, technical ability, market knowledge, and experience as well as a shared passion for Pan-Africanism.Enter KuBitX. After considering a myriad of interests from a number of tech companies, Interswitch chose to partner with KuBitX Limited, a Pan African blockchain solutions company registered in Malta and with two live blockchain related products: namely a digital assets marketplace where tokenised assets can be issued and exchanged, as well as a payments and remittances solution (KuBitX PROW) that leverages blockchain technology to make instant international transfers of value at insane speed and extremely low cost.After some due diligence and productive collaboration discussions, Interswitch and KuBitX have now officially entered a technical and business partnership to co-create a Blockchain services platform for everyone.KuBitX recently secured topnotch technical talents and financial backing to help expand operations and ensure that quality African technology projects can get due exposure to the globe via its 24/7 digital assets Exchange. KuBitX is also working to use its KuBitX PROW to empower young freelancers in Africa to be able to export their creative services cross border without the fear of how they will be remunerated in their local currency. The KuBitX PROW will ensure that travel and tourism within Africa will no longer be tedious and heavily reliant on cumbersome currency changes at black market rates. A user of the app will simply be able to fund his wallet from one country and technically spend the same in other countries where KuBitX have set up in conjunction with Interswitch.KuBitX is on a quest to take blockchain to the grassroots, to solve important African socio-economic problems that can best be addressed using exponential technologies without the need for complexity. The company ethos is about education, adoption and inclusion and it has made the right steps so far in ensuring that its products are relatable to most of its target market.Africa, with its teeming resourceful and internet savvy youth population, as well as an impressive mobile device penetration, is ready to create and enjoy the next set of useful technological innovations. This has already been demonstrated with the "invention" of mobile money over 17 years ago, almost two decades before the likes of Mastercard started to look into it.KuBitX is a shining light in Africa and one to look out for as they continue to take innovative solutions to the grassroots (in emerging economies) using their combination of creativity, market exposure, technical know how and business experience from working with top multinationals across the globe.Media Contact:Name: Victor OlorunfemiEmail: victor.olorunfemi@kubitx.com Website: https://kubitx.com/ TG Group: https://t.me/kubitx_officialSOURCE President Muhammadu Buhari is a likable human. The near-general consensus of those who have met him is that the man exudes a certain child-like atmosphere of innocence and simplicity that endears him to many people in informal conversations. That, for me, is quite perceptible even from the very few television interviews he has granted since 2015. But frankly, that is where it all ends. For his legion of aides and supporters, it does not end there. The claim is that Mr Buhari is an amazingly funny man whose many jokes can make a mess of Trevor Noahs legendary status in the comedy world, should there be a head-to-head appraisal of the duos comic outputs. So the president is very, very funny; or so goes the narrative. But anyone who truly understands the basic elements of comedy would know that Mr Buhari is not quite funny. Rather, what we have always had in place of his numerous pseudo-comedic stunts are embarrassingly unpresidential gaffes too numerous to mention here. To my mind, Mr Buhari has been fed with this You are damn funny compliment for so long that he believes himself to be a better version of my good friend, Kenny Blaq. But the foundation of this illusory belief in a phantom comic prowess is not difficult to locate. Shall we? First, until 2014, the only picture of Mr Buhari in the head of an average Nigerian voter (especially people of my generation, the Under-30s, down South) was that of a no-nonsense, brutal, draconian, and unsmiling dictator. Of course, this is traceable to his first coming as military head of state in 1983, alongside Tunde Idiagbon. A tale that may after all be apocryphal even had it that Idiagbon only smiled once in a year! And although Idiagbon was largely considered the engine room of that dictatorial regime, Mr Buhari was the face. Quite understandably, upon Mr Buharis resolve to return as a civilian president, first in 2003, there was this very urgent need to humanize the General: to make people see him less as a soul-less sadist whose only way of getting things done is through the agency of force. And, again, to show that he has blood flowing in his vein, that he is after all human; because this is a democracy. If Mr Buharis failure to get to power between 2003 and 2011 had anything to do with strategy, outside other failed political calculations, his publicists failure to actualize this humanization agenda would be a major (strategic) reason. It perhaps explains the huge resources expended on re-branding the president in 2015. Aside from the presidents dictatorial antecedent, one other phenomenon that fuels this President Buhari is funny narrative is the cringe-worthy activities of his fawning aides. I have read a number of essays describing in detail the soul-lifting effects of Mr Buharis numerous jokes. It is pointless re-imagining how much this would be said to the president himself on a per-second basis, especially when you watch how they all smile sheepishly at the Federal Executive Council meeting-even on occasions when the president simply yawns. In communication, the Status Conferral Theory works not exactly in this manner but all you need to situate it in this immediate context is a little dose of mischief: a president who effortlessly drops bland, humorless jokes surrounds himself with fawning aides who praise him for being Africas funniest president. So he is conferred with and acquires the status of a comedian and considers himself better than Ali Baba. Of course, to sustain this myth, the president must supply fresh jokes every other day. The results, expectedly, are what we have today: gaffes, gaffes, gaffesand more gaffes! To be sure, that capacity for effortless humor helps in politics and leadership, as Volodymyr Zelensky has perhaps shown us recently in Ukraine. It is also not for nothing that a significant number of comedians who have run for US Senate are said to have been elected. In fact, the US has a rich history of presidents who have deployed wit and humour brilliantly in their engagement with the public. Abraham Lincoln, who had to combat civil war and slavery, deployed that capacity in a way many found endearing. No matter how much cats fight, there always seem to be plenty of kittens, was Lincolns response to the growing concerns around the fierce debates at the Congress and how they could affect political aspirations. A veteran of the stage, Ronald Reagan was on his part comedy personified. He was even reported to have extended his comic hand to the revered Queen. Once, while on a horse ride with Queen Elizabeth through the English countryside, the queens horse farted violently and an embarrassed Queen quickly apologised. But Reagan, famous for returning drafts of speeches to his speechwriters after adding his jokes to it, fired back, putting the Queen on a more delicate edge: Im glad you told me, or I would have thought it was the horse. Such hilarity! There are contemporary examples too in the American presidential context and whats perhaps dominant is the spontaneity of the jokes. But again, the president does not necessarily need to be funny. US 24th president Grover Cleveland, according to a few historians, was one. Even here, the closest to Comedian-In-Chief we have had in this republic is Olusegun Obasanjo. Although he may not be a professional comedian, very few of his traducers would deny that Obasanjo indeed had capacity to make people laugh. Poor health would not make us really know the stuff Umaru Yaradua was made of and Goodluck Jonathan, for all his flaws, never showed pretense in that area. But not for Mr Buhari. When asked about the orgy of violence and death across Nigeria penultimate week, the president remarked that the IGP already loses weight and that shows he is working. Many felt it would have been funny if it was not unfortunate. That faux comedic outing showed clearly what was not really hidden about the president before now: that he is not funny. Who cracks a joke about weight loss when the nation burns and kidnapping becomes the default headline material in the media? In a way, that outing also exposed, yet again, a fundamental flaw: the president lacks empathy. On a lighter note, has the president thought through the deeper implication of that weight loss remark? For, by that statement, the president may have shown that weight loss represents performance and is the ONLY criteria with which Nigerias Next Level ministers would be selected. Now, where is the place of pot-belly as an added accumulation in service in all this? Or, more importantly, the place of grey hair/aging as a sign of hard work and an undying resolve to illuminate Nigeria? Or what other criteria would speak for Nigerias hardworking minister of Works, Power, and Housing, Babatunde Fashola? Is that an automatic Take a bow verdict for someone like, say, Education Minister Adamu Adamu, an otherwise brilliant man whom not a few folks believe should be redeployed? Again, if Mr Buhari goes ahead with the weight loss plan, I think my beloved Oyo State may be the worst hit in the next dispensation. As we say in local parlance, we may eventually be left in the lurch, in OYO (On Your Own). Why? Whether by actual performance or Mr Buharis new-found weight loss criterion, it is unlikely that our present representative in the federal cabinet (Adebayo Shittu) would return. Sadly, the man who suffered loss in the last elections and whom party stalwarts are pushing for the ministerial job (the Constituted Authority) goes about with a very, very, very robust midriff pot too. See? To avoid another ethnic bickering, Mr Buhari may have to shelve that weight loss idea. Away from platitudes, one very point must be made clear: Mr Buhari isnt quite as funny as being projected. It is ordinarily no crime not to be funny but that consciousness must be established, especially if in the position of leadership at a trying time like ours. And for the ordinary Nigerian who craves quality leadership, the president is not under any pressure to entertain us. He only needs to lead us well. Finally, rather than failed attempts at inappropriate, humorless, cringe-worthy, and witless comedy, SATIRE SATURDAY would implore the president to channel the same energy toward showing empathy when it matters most. If he acts otherwise, he would have shown that he only considers the job of leading 200 million violently divided people a comic performanceand then Nigeria, with her numerous horrifying news, a huge comedy stage. Should that be the case, Nigerias story would not be comical. For now, one hopes that he would put a halt to this Macabre Dance because anything otherwise would be tragic. And his famed sense of humour notwithstanding, even the president would not find the result funny. Oladeinde tweets via @Ola_deinde Its getting clearer now, why I was born. I just saved a life who would have possibly died midair in the aircraft I was a passenger in. I was on seat 14F of BOEING 737-500 of AZMAN AIR from Kano to Lagos. Suddenly, his head dropped. A passenger on the seat to my far left on the other side of the aisle. The Indian man sitting beside him screamed and called the attention of the air officials. The Indian said it seems the man passed out. We were still several thousands of miles above sea level. Far from Lagos our destination. As it is with my nature, I was listening to some music with my earpiece on board this flight. I was rocking myself head forward and backwards, my hands slightly moving up to the powerful music of SHOW US MERCY by Will Adiks. The movements to the unconscious passenger got my attention. I removed my earpiece. In five powerful long strides, I got to the dying patient. To the air hostesses, I am Dr James King. I want to take over. He is deteriorating fast. The air hostess said, Ok sir. Go ahead. And she gave me way. I quickly checked his pulse around his radial artery. It was small volume, irregularly irregular rhythm. I shouted, Any doctor, nurse or paramedic here? No response. All the other passengers on board were staring at me with a forlorn look. As if there was an impending danger to all of them. I turned to the immaculately dressed three air hostesses around me. We can save this life together. His life depends on us now. I turned to one of the hostesses, Can you please get us all the medical boxes and kits in this aircraft. Advertisements She responded, Ok sir and walked fast away. I asked two other male passengers to help me lift the dying man from his seat to the aisle between the aircraft seats, so I can have more space to start my intervention on him. We placed him on the ground. I immediately positioned him supine and also freed his respiratory airways by tilting his head back a bit. James King I again asked, please can I have any cloth or anything to support his neck. The air hostesses removed their top suits and handed them to me. I was encouraged. I folded two of them and placed them under the neck of the dying man. At this point, the dying man was already having rolling up eyes, all white. I listened to his apex heartbeat. It was very weak and faint. I knew in seconds, he would be dead if I dont do something fast. I commenced CPR (Cardio-pulmonary resuscitation) on him. He responded favourably. Then he began to convulse uncontrollably. At the top of my voice, I shouted: Can someone get me Diazepam please? An air hostess ran somewhere to get it. It was 30 minutes before landing. If nothing was done fast he will die in less than 10mimutes. I repeated CPR again. And again. And again. I listened to the heart using my stethoscope. Some mild activity commenced. I turned to the chief air hostess, please call Murtala Mohammed Airport and tell them to arrange an ambulance before our landing. She said, Right away and began to rush toward the cockpit to inform the pilot to do so. When I was sure the patients ventilation improved a bit, I quickly withdrew 5mg of Diazepam and gave him straight intramuscular on his buttocks. Returned to the supine position again. Commenced CPR. Checked his radial pulse. I then announced to everyone that I am buying time. He will survive. I was on the floor of the aircraft kneeling around him. Monitoring every single thing I can pick from his reflexes. The chief air hostess came back. I asked her, How many minutes do we have more to land? She said, in five minutes. I again announced to everyone on board, He will survive. Then there was a loud sudden noise in the aircraft. Then we landed on the runway. Three men/passengers carried him. We evacuated him very fast out of the plane. At the foot of the plane, there was no ambulance waiting. I was visibly angry and now shouting at the top of my voice to all the airport officials. In a rage, I said to them, This is wickedness. We did all our best with Gods help to keep this man alive for 30 minutes and you people could not even get us a waiting ambulance? Someone suggested that he should be taken in one of the Toyota Hilux vans. I said, No, it will kill him before we get anywhere. I screamed, Any clinic in the airport? That was when their brains came back to default reset and they chorused, Yes. I said to the men still carrying him, lets go. That was when we rushed him to the clinic in the photo of this post that is close to the arrivals of the Murtala Muhammed Airport. I explained everything I did and the medications given to the doctor on call. She took over. Then I walked out and looked up to heaven and said, I know you were involved in this. Thank you, Lord. I actually came to Lagos for an absolutely FREE Medical outreach thats poorly funded to sick and abandoned prison inmates at Kirikiri Prison. We are all born to save lives. Thank you. Dr James King first published the above narration on his Facebook Page. He gave PREMIUM TIMES permission to republish. On Tuesday, an official of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) announced that the agency has received the larger part of the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF). His statement added a new layer to the momentum trailing the release and launch of the fund. Uchenna Ewelike, the technical adviser to the overseeing director of the NHIS, at an event held to celebrate the achievements of the outgoing 8th assembly, said the scheme received N6.5 billion from the BHCPF and would soon commence disbursement to states. He later clarified to PREMIUM TIMES that a total of N12.7 billion had been released on far. He clarified how the NHIS will manage and disburse the funds in an interview with this paper on Thursday. What is BHCPF? The BHCPF is the fundamental health funding provided by the National Health Act. It was only included in the budget last year for the first time since the Act was signed in 2014. It provides for not less than one per cent of the Consolidated Revenue for health funding. When passing the 2018 budget in May, the National Assembly earmarked N55 billion for the BHCPF, as stipulated by the Act. Funding from donor organisations and other sources also forms part of the BHCPF. Only 25 per cent of the 2018 fund has, however, been released so far. Following the flag off of the BHCPF by President Muhammadu Buhari in January, health minister Isaac Adewole has in the past few weeks been moving from state to state, launching the pilot scheme of the programme which started with four states Osun, Niger, Abia and Katsina. The ministerial train was in Abia on Friday and the next stop will be Katsina to complete the first phase of the launching. How NHIS Will Disburse the Fund Mr Ewelike explained the role NHIS will play in the disbursement of the fund. The BHCPF was mostly meant for providing adequate care and services at the Primary Health Care (PHC) level, mostly for the vulnerable population so as to reduce out-of-pocket expenses. The National Health Act created three gateways for the disbursement of the fund. The NHIS is supposed to receive 50 per cent while the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) gets 45 per cent. The remaining 5 per cent was meant for outbreaks and emergency responses. Money will flow from the CBN to NHIS to NPHCDA to NCDC (Nigerian Centre for Disease Control) down to the PHCs, said the health minister in an interview with the medium last year. Mr Ewelike said N12.7 billion (25 per cent) was the total sum total released so far. The NHIS received 6.5 billion while N5.8 billion went to NPHCDA with the NCDC receiving N327million, he told PREMIUM TIMES. Mr Ewelike said the NHIS has developed an implementation guideline for disbursement. The NHIS is just a gateway in the sense that the money passes through the scheme to the PHC level. We are planning to disburse through the State Social Health Insurance Schemes who will now pay the PHCs directly. The official said the health ministry is responsible for selecting states eligible to access the fund. It is intended for the 36 states and the FCT but because the act made provision for a counterpart funding of N100 million, some of the states are yet to comply. Advertisements Mr Ewelike said the gateways and fund-flow are designed for accountability mechanism. If you pay money you cannot monitor, it will go to waste. This accountability mechanism is already enshrined in the law. Some states yet to comply Minister Fourteen states are yet to show interest in the BHCPF, said Mr Adewole, while appearing before the Senate plenary on Tuesday. The minister said 22 states including the four pilot state have complied with criteria for assessing the fund. Kebbi, Jigawa, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Gombe, Rivers, Borno, and Zamfara are the states yet to comply. Others are Ondo, Benue, Taraba, Nasarawa, Ogun and Sokoto. Apart from the N100 million counterpart funding, Mr Adewole listed other criteria states must meet to access the funds to include the establishment of State Primary Health Care Development Board and State Health Insurance Scheme. Not Enough Even though the release and launch of the BHCPF have generated an air of optimism with the health minister describing it as the game changer, health experts have some reservations. They say the fund is not enough to go round the states. Oladipo Ladipo, the Chairman of the National Advocates for Health, described the 25 per cent released so far as a drop in the ocean, shortly before Mr Ewelike made his announcement on Tuesday. Concerns were also rife chiefly because the fund has not yet been made a Statutory Transfer, meaning there is no guarantee of its continuity and the amount to be released is at the discretion of the president. The Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH), at the weekend, undertook its first surgery to remove brain tumour using a machine that drills the skull bone to gain access to the tumour. It is the first Trans-labyrinthine approach to a posterior fossa tumour. We used the C-Arm machine to drill the skull bone so as to see what is behind even while facing the front of the head. In the past, we had to open the brain which was always risky and led to deaths because the brain is delicate, Origoya Binitie, the lead neurosurgeon in the operation, told the News Agency of Nigeria in Jos. He said that the tumour had been in the woman for three years before the surgery. Half of her face was affected and she could not hear with the ear affected, he explained, adding that the operation was a combined effort by neurosurgeons, Ear-Nose-Throats (ENT), surgeons and the Anaesthetists. Mr Binitie, who described tumour as an abnormal growth of tissue largely outside the brain stem, said that the new approach helps the surgeons to navigate around the head to see all sides at the same time. In the past, we used X-rays to ascertain the position of every part of the head; that involved moving the X-ray machine up and down to, and from, the theatre. That process usually takes a longer time and will not give us the position of a bone or the tissue in real time. But with the new machine, it is very quick and saves more than two hours. With the new device, we can easily get the picture in motion. While the X-ray is static and one must wait for results, the new device is a kind of video where one can see the picture in motion, instead of static motion. The new device is also more accurate, can tell you exactly where you are and saves cost because you spend less time on anaesthesia which minimises the money you pay for that particular service. We can also ease our job by taking the picture up, down, front, back or sideways, he explained. Mr Binitie, first neurosurgeon in northern Nigeria, who had been in service since 1974, said that the cost of such operation was around N300,000 in JUTH. But it costs several millions of naira in other hospitals and even more when done outside Nigeria, he said. The expert said that there were a total of 90 neurosurgeons in the country, adding that more were being trained to meet rising demands. JUTH is one of the few centres training neurosurgeons in Nigeria. Six are currently being trained and are at various stages of the programme, he said. Mr Binitie commended the management of JUTH for its efforts to improve services through acquiring modern equipment like C-Arm that would ease surgery and enable the hospital to break new grounds. Speaking on the C-Arm device, Edmund Banwat, Chief Medical Director of JUTH, said that it cost N32 million, adding that more equipment was being acquired to improve service delivery and break new grounds. Mr Banwat said that a German NGO, Christofell Blind Mission (CBM), recently donated an operating microscope to be used by the ophthalmology (eye) department. He said that the hospital was undertaking a free eye surgery for children which would end in September, adding that children requiring glasses would equally receive them. Parents should take advantage of this opportunity to correct any defect in the eyes of their children, he told NAN. Mr Banwat, however, decried the poor funding of teaching hospitals, saying that much funds were required to purchase equipment, meet infrastructure needs, as well as for training and research. We have several needs and want to improve services and break new grounds, but we cannot meet these needs with the budget we currently run. What we have is mostly an envelope system; what comes out of the appropriation is not encouraging at all. Advertisements With more funds, we can operate optimally and provide quality service. The medical sector keeps moving and changing, with new grounds broken every day. We cannot afford to be left behind, he said. JUTH is the main tertiary hospital in Plateau State, North-central Nigeria. It, like many other public hospitals, suffers from inadequate funding which has led to insufficient personnel and equipment. An 82-year-old woman was among 43 victims of Vesico Vagina Fistula (VVF), operated upon by medics of Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH), during a two weeks medical outreach in Mangu, Plateau State. VVF is an abnormal fistulous tract extending between the bladder (vesica) and the vagina which allows the continuous involuntary discharge of urine into the vaginal vault. Vaginal fistulas can be upsetting and embarrassing because they leak and cause bad smells. The most common cause of VVF is usually an injury to the bladder at the time of birth. The 82-year-old woman had lived with the uncontrollable urine leakage for more than 50 years before undergoing the surgery that halted it, Edmund Banwat, Chief Medical Director of JUTH, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), on Sunday in Jos. He said that other victims included a nine-year-old girl who also went under the knife to halt the urine leakage that had been her lot for years. Mr Banwat said that the medical outreach was carried out in conjunction with Safe Motherhood Partners, a group of professionals, adding that 48 women came out of which 43 undertook the surgery to repair the VVF. Generally, that surgical operation costs more than N200,000 per one, but we undertook it free, the professor told NAN. He attributed the medical condition to obstructed birth or labour, but suspected harmful cultural and traditional practices in the case of the nine-year-old girl. In the case of the nine-year-old girl, we suspect she may be a victim of harmful cultural practices like genital mutilation, he said. The Chief Medical Director said that JUTH was creating more awareness on the disease so as to check its prevalence and mobilise those already affected to seek prompt medical attention. Medical statistics obtained by NAN indicated that the incidence of VVF has continued to be high in Nigeria in spite of awareness of VVF worldwide. There are between 400,000 to 800,000 women currently living with VVF in Nigeria, a figure believed to be the highest in the world. Available records also indicate that nearly 20,000 new cases occur annually, with 90 per cent untreated. (NAN) President Muhammadu Buhari inherited an energy crisis in Nigeria when he took charge of the country in May 2015. Now elected for a second term of four years, it is safe to assume that the policies he worked with would not change significantly. Mr Buhari took over an upstream sector gasping for breath: even as crude oil prices were crashing down as he took the oath of office, there were problems that were self-inflicted by the previous administration, which were wrestling with the sectors legacy challenges. Operations in the oil fields of the Niger Delta had not entirely recovered from the historic MEND attack of February 2006, which had reset the dynamics in the region around the distinctions between licence to and freedom to operate. The state hydrocarbon company, NNPC, was owing cash calls in a way that effectively disabled work programmes of operating companies. And by insisting on operatorship without the wherewithal to do so (competencies, governance, processes and funding), the NPDC, the operating E&P arm of the NNPC, had strangled investment in assets that Shell & Co. had sold to five Nigerian independents since 2012. At the time Buhari came in, those companies had lost three years worth of aggressive investment to boost production. Midstream, the lresident met proposals to diversify the gas market from export-led to an inclusive, part export, part domestic beneficiation, which could establish an industrial economy with huge absorptive capacity. A crucial part of the challenge here was that a disproportionate percentage of construction of the midstream infrastructure was financed by the state. And Project delivery had been consistently suboptimal. Downstream, Buhari met a huge refining gap that ensured that over 90 per cent of petroleum products in demand were imported and a commercial model that entitled NNPC to take 445,000 barrels of crude oil per day of oil, while it was expected to beneficiate no more than 20 per cent of it. Millions of litres of gasoline were being imported at a cost significantly higher than what the government instructed the retailers to sell and as such the state was saddled with billions of dollars in subsidy claims by importers. In the power sector, Mr Buhari met rolling blackouts, with power generation averaging 4,000MW, mostly controlled by private actors; transmission averaging 5,000MW, still run by the state and distribution averaging 3,000MW, in the hands of the private sector. Nigerias Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola. [PHOTO CREDIT: Energy Mix Report] On the new presidents table were frames of ideas around the Petroleum Industry Bill, which was first presented in parliament in 2008. This set of laws had benefited from a robust national debate over the years; in its current form it engages every opportunity and threat in the hydrocarbon value chain, from state ownership and dispensing of oil and gas acreages, through community entitlements and responsibilities, to streamlining in the downstream of sales, distribution and proceeds of petroleum products. Efforts and Results Mr Buharis government deserves credit for easing the bottlenecks in the cash calls for upstream work programmes and removing NPDCs chokehold on Nigerian independents, allowing a more vibrant upstream segment. Investments have streamed into many Brownfield projects. There is an uptick in drilling activity, a marker of the health of the industry, even if several actors remain cautious. The CEO of NNPC has been allowed a free hand, even though the president himself was the minister of petroleum throughout the tenure. Discussions have picked up around Financial Investment Decisions for new field projects, especially in deep-water, but while the momentum is higher with this administration than the former government, the old habits of sitting on proposals and approvals for pecuniary gains have not gone away and it is largely because, in the absence of structured, legislated reforms, individuals still see themselves as the processes! A significant let down of Buharis administration is the cold shoulder the president gave the passage of the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill, the first of the four Petroleum Industry Bills. Mr Buharis Ministry of Petroleum Resources has crafted National Oil and Gas Policy documents, but in the absence of an act of parliament reforming extant hydrocarbon laws and operational norms, with these policies at its heart, the documents have gone nowhere. In Mr Buharis first term, there was private sector equity investment in LESS THAN 250Million standard cubic feet per day capacity new gas processing plant for the domestic market. Project delivery timelines have not improved. None of the gas pipelines under construction by NNPC, before Buhari came in, will be completed before this current term of his presidency ends. The private sector is, largely, not keen on midstream infrastructure, and has not been sufficiently incentivised to change its mind. The president has not been able to work the downstream sector anywhere close to the little he has achieved upstream. The revamp programme for the refineries was a spectacular failure. It has been a hard sell to convince investors to put money in the revamp without getting equity, then allow NNPC (which ran down the facilities in the first place) to operate the refineries after the revamp, and then hope they could make their returns from the sale of the products. Mr presidents idea of reducing the billions of dollars lost to subsidising the cost of gasoline import has been to appoint NNPC as the sole importer of the fuel. The state hydrocarbon firm itself admitted it had incurred some $2 billion in under-recovery, the Buhari administrations code name for subsidy, in the 11 months between January and November 2018. The government has now set aside $1 billion for under-recovery in the 2019 budget, a lame, wooden, uninspiring document that is filled with less hope than an apologia. Mr Buharis Ministry of Power has worked to untangle some of the knots created by the incoherent running of the industry by the previous administration. The messy regulatory issues around Aba Power Plant, the access to meters, the retrieval of power equipment lying at the ports for several years. Still, it is incredible that the president was not in a hurry to appoint commissioners to run the National Electricity Regulatory Commission, the sectors regulator. The NERC Chairman was appointed only in April 2018. But the big-ticket item remains adequate power supply. The Transmission Company is owned and operated by the government. At the end of Mr Buharis four years, the volume that can be transmitted on the Nigerian power grid reliably and safely is 5,500MW. More than this, the grid collapses. Unlike petroleum, Mr Buhari has a minister in charge of the power sector, who has been pushing the principle of incremental power, as a bold overhaul of the sector appears elusive. A key part of the problem here is that the regulators are challenged by what they interpret as the presidents body language; No tariff increase. The minister has chosen a bully pulpit approach to engage investors, in the absence of a feisty, robust regulatory commission. To Mr Buhari, a cost reflective tariff means higher payment for the poor and so for four years, the several segments of the electricity value chain have been underfunded. A crisis always presents an opportunity for transformation. In his first term as president, Mr Buhari will be remembered as wasting opportunities to solve Nigerias energy crisis. Mr Akinosho is Publisher Africa Oil+Gas Report The insecurity across the country continued last week with dozens of people killed and kidnapped in different states. While the nation is yet to resolve the Boko Haram insurgency and banditry in the northern part of the country, kidnapping for ransom is becoming a norm across all states. Kidnapping has been commercialised by its practitioners with citizens and foreigners being abducted almost everyday. About 36 people were killed by bandits, terrorists and kidnappers while at least 27 people were kidnapped in different states including Edo, Kaduna and Osun. In this report, PREMIUM TIMES reviews major attacks across Nigeria last week. Only confirmed attacks reported in the media are included. Sunday Last Sunday, gunmen operating near Okada junction along the Benin-Lagos highway killed Kelvin Izevbekhai, a lecturer at the Igbinedion University, Okada, in Edo State. The states police commissioner, Mohammed DanMallam confirmed that the victim was killed when he attempted to escape from the bush his kidnappers took him to, alongside other passengers travelling in the same bus with the lecturer. While the police succeeded in rescuing four other passengers from the bush, none of the kidnappers was caught. On same day, a pastor of the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA), and 14 others were confirmed abducted in a remote village called Anguwan Kuli, along the border of Sabua Local Government Area in Kaduna. The Kaduna police spokesperson, Yakubu Sabo, said the worshippers were accosted by the armed men on their way from a church service. The abductors of the victims are demanding N30 million ransom. In Ekiti, three individuals, Kehinde Olowoafara, Taiwo Olowoafara and Ayo Oladele were kidnapped. While Mr Oladele has been freed after paying N5 million ransom, the twins are yet to regain freedom as their abductors keep demanding N6 million each for the duo to be released. Also, the Boko Haram drove into Gubio Local Government Area, attacked a camp housing the Nigerian Army 5 Brigade and the 159 Task Force Battalion, Borno State, leaving at least one soldier killed and three others injured. Boko Haram Terrorists used to illustrate the story. Six soldiers were still missing as of Tuesday night when the report was made public. Monday Two officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), identified as Bayegunmi and Abioye, were kidnapped in Iwaraja, Oriade Local Government Area of Osun State. The FRSC spokesperson, Bisi Kazeem, confirmed their kidnap. They were freed after their families reportedly paid N1.8 million to the kidnappers on Wednesday. Hours after the kidnap of the FRSC officials, two villagers were abducted in a nearby village in the same state. The head of hunters in Ibokun, Amusa Dunsin, and a woman, Tayo George, were kidnapped by unknown gunmen in Obokun Local Government Area of Osun State. They were released two days after the five communities paid N1.5 million to their kidnappers as ransom. Tuesday Advertisements Bandits killed 34 people in an attack on three communities in Dan Musa, Faskari and Batsari local government areas of Katsina State. According to residents, 11 persons were killed in an attack on Sabon Layin Galadima community of Faskari local government, while five persons were killed at Mara Zamfarawa village in Dan Musa LGA with many animals rustled. Also, the bandits reportedly attacked farmers on their farmlands in the afternoon in Yar Gamji village of Batsari LGA, killing 18 people with 10 others missing. Residents angered by the killings, embarked on a protest to the state capital with some of them setting tyres on fire. Thursday Salisu Muazu, a popular northern filmmaker was kidnapped on Thursday evening on Kaduna-Jos express way. Sani Muazu, the victims elder brother, said they were traveling together with two other persons at the time of the incident. He said the kidnappers are demanding N10 million ransom to free the victim. We were returning from a conference in Kaduna when we were stopped and robbed by some armed men around Jengre village They robbed us and I was able to escape, yet they went away with my younger brother Salisu and two other guys we gave a ride. They got in touch this morning (friday) seeking a N10m ransom to process their release. Governments Efforts The federal government, which is in charge of security agencies, has put in place various security measures to check the crime rate. The police launched Operation Puff Adder to check the rampant cases of kidnapping across the country. Many kidnappers have been arrested and some victims freed during the operation. Apart from police officers, the government has also deployed soldiers and air force officials and aircraft to tackle banditry in the North-west states. Nigerian security forces, in collaboration with those of neighbouring countries, are also battling to defeat the Book Haram in the North-east. Despite the efforts, however, many Nigerians continue to fall victims to the armed criminals. Although legislative activities at the Senate were not much this past week, the lawmakers considered and passed many bills. The health minister was present at the upper chamber following the Senates invitation on May 9. Below are some major activities from the Senate in the past week: Tuesday: -The Minister of Health, Isaac Adewole, appeared before the Senate in plenary to discuss the poor state of teaching hospitals and other tertiary health institutions across the country. During the session, the minister explained that Nigerian teaching hospitals will not function optimally until adequate attention is given to primary and secondary healthcare facilities. Health Minister, Isaac Adewole -He also listed 14 states that are yet to access the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF). He listed the states yet to access the fund as Kebbi, Jigawa, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Gombe, Rivers, Borno, and Zamfara. Others are Ondo, Benue, Taraba, Nasarawa, Ogun and Sokoto. Wednesday: -A lawmaker, Andrew Uchendu, raised alarm about killings in Rivers State. He led the debate on a motion about killings in the country. He said the killings in Rivers had taken a new dimension as killers no longer only take lives but dismember and burn their victims. During the debate, another senator, Victor Umeh, accused the Zamfara State Governor, Abdulaziz Yari, of abandoning citizens in his state amidst insecurity. Mr Umeh said the governor has fled the North-west state to live in Abuja due to insecurity. -The lawmakers also passed some house bills which were brought for concurrence. Thursday: -Among the many bills passed by the Senate on Thursday was a bill to convert the Yaba College of Technology (YABATCH) to City University of Technology. Yaba College of Technology, Yabatech 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. -The Senate also passed five bills seeking the establishment of tertiary institutions. The bills are Mines and Geological Studies, Guyuk, Adamawa State Bill, 2019 sponsored by Ahmad Abubakar and Federal College of Education (Technical), Aghoro, Bayelsa State Bill sponsored Foster Ogola. Others are Federal University of Aquatic Studies, Ogbaru, Anambra, State sponsored by Stella Oduah and Federal University Uga Bill sponsored by Andy Uba. Moses Ezekiel wobbled out of the forest on his old, rickety motorcycle. Dressed in African wax fabric, Mr Ezekiel looked exhausted and tired. The time was few minutes past 12 on a Sunday afternoon in the autumn of May. The midday sun shone brightly, burning the skin with mild intensity. Mr Ezekiel told PREMIUM TIMES that farmers like him rest on Sundays, but he and a few others chose to work for the day to ensure a better harvest for the year. The 43-year-old would soon complain bitterly about the poor condition of life of farmers in the various agricultural settlements surrounding Ilaro, Ogun State. We work from morning till evening almost every day here but there is very little to show for it, Mr Ezekiel said. Some of us come here even on Sundays. But our products are bought at very poor prices by those who re-sell in bigger markets. This is because most of our people know little about wholesale, retail and other financial issues. Again, those of us who know do not have good means of marketing our produce. Ilaro is a town in Yewa South Local Government Area of Ogun State. It is home to numerous banks, companies, a popular federal polytechnic, among other important institutions. Although Mr Ezekiel said he has no accurate data, he gave a rough estimate of local farmers known through various informal groups in and around the town to be over 200. This, he said, excludes others who help them on their farms during harvest. But, according to him, many of these farmers live in penury because they realise very little from the sale of their produce. The situation is even worse for farmers in smaller villages outside Ilaro, he said. He added that neither monetary support nor any other financial literacy scheme has been extended to them across the communities surrounding the town. Another farmer who identified himself as Baba Funlola confirmed Mr Ezekiels position in a separate chat with PREMIUM TIMES. Baba Funlola Farm products are poorly priced. Baba Funlola Farm products are poorly priced. Our goods are bought at poor prices and the government does not care about our welfare, he noted. Like Mr Ezekiel, Baba Funlola identified the poor understanding of financial issues and lack of access to financial services as a part of the underlying causes of their poverty and frustration. These are some of the issues identified as stumbling blocks by the Central Bank of Nigeria in its financial inclusion strategy. CBNs Financial Inclusion Policy In 2012, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) adopted the National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS). The NFIS was built on four strategic areas of agency banking, mobile banking/mobile payments, linkage models and client empowerment. Four priority areas were identified for guideline and framework development and they included Tiered Know-your-Customer (T-KYC) regulations, Agent Banking regulations, National Financial Literacy Strategy and Consumer Protection. Central bank of Nigeria building A major aspect of the strategy is its focus on the end-users of financial services. The end-user, the CBN said, refers to the target adult population in the country, including Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), farmers, artisans and all economically active people particularly those in the informal sector. Financial inclusion is designed to support them to engage in economic activities, manage risks and improve their standard of living, the apex bank explained. Farmers who spoke to PREMIUM TIMES across selected Ogun communities, however, said that no such initiative has been extended to them. The closest to such initiative was when a group of anonymous individuals approached them and told them to create a group with which their unnamed organisation would support the farmers in their farming activities, said Mr Ezekiel. He added that the nature of the support was unknown, just as the identity of the individuals. We have seen numerous people like that in the past and they most often do not show up after so many talks, he explained. We do not take them seriously anymore. Poor Pricing; poor market Nike, a middle-aged farmer, cultivates okra and other seedlings on a small farm in Ona Egbo community in Yewa South Local Government Area. She told PREMIUM TIMES that although she sometimes sells the produce to other traders who resell in big markets, her farm primarily serves as a source of food for her family. I really dont sell my produce because they (traders) hardly buy at good prices, Ms Nike said, refusing to give her last name. It may not be economically profitable to do so except you understand the market very well. Nike Its harvest time on Okra farm. In the revised edition of its policy document released in October 2018, the CBN noted that MSMEs-including farmers-often face a mix of challenges including constrained access to markets and poor skills which impacts the viability of their businesses. Also, low financial literacy affects their ability to make bankable proposal and access finance on favourable terms, the bank said. In Papalanto, a community located in Ewekoro Local Government Area along the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway, farmers who spoke to PREMIUM TIMES complained of poor pricing. They agreed that financial literacy initiatives that would enable them to have a sound understanding of the market can help improve their conditions. An elderly farmer who cultivates tomatoes, cassava, maize and other produce in Elewu-lekan village attributed poor pricing to the conditions of the farm produce offered for sale. Tomatoes, for instance, is perishable, the farmer who identified himself as Baba said. Only cassava and maize are better and not delicate to handle. Perishable farm products are often priced badly because those who re-sell in Sayedero, Lusada, Ayetoro, Lafenwa and other big markets know we would want to sell to them before they get damaged. Mr Ezekiel on his part told this newspaper that a particular bag of cassava now sells for N1,500, an amount he said was poor considering the efforts put into planting the produce. If we have a better knowledge of things and government comes in, we will have better pricing and make more money, he said. John Ayoola, a development and finance analyst, said financial sector development contributes immensely to poverty reduction. This is felt largely through its impact in accelerating economic growth and direct benefits to the poor, he explained. The CBN, commenting on same concern, said evidence shows that appropriate financial services can help improve household welfare and spur small enterprise activity. There is also macroeconomic evidence to demonstrate that economies with deeper financial intermediation tend to grow faster and reduce income inequality, the bank said in its strategy document. Advertisements Mr Ayoola opined that financial exclusion, on the other hand, drives poverty. Financial Exclusion As Driver of Poverty According to the results of the 2018 Access to Financial Services (A2F) Survey conducted by Enhancing Financial Innovation and Access (EFInA), mobile money usage was predominant amongst already financially included populations while cash transaction continued to hold sway among subsistence farmers and business owners in rural areas. Across the villages and farm settlements visited by PREMIUM TIMES, most of the farmers interviewed admitted that they never owned bank accounts. All of them said they do not use any account for transactions but rather deal with cash. In Ilaro, two farmers who said that they once owned and operated bank accounts said that the accounts have become dormant due to non-usage. There gave various reasons for not operating bank accounts. I am unlettered and will need serious education before I can operate one (bank account), said Anjuwon Babatunde, an elderly farmer who spoke to our correspondent in Lisa Village, Ifo Local Government Area of the state. Mr Babatunde, who spoke in Yoruba, argued that bank accounts are best enjoyed when the holder is learned enough to operate it without major assistance from any third party. He made reference to reported cases of credit card fraud and related crimes as a possible cause of fear. Mr Ezekiel on his part said he has never operated a bank account because of the time of harvest and the volume of transactions he does when it is time to harvest. He said: I dont do business every day; our transaction has its peculiar time. I harvest and sell my produce annually. So I dont operate a bank account and I dont do any kind of transfer. I dont know if I need it. I deal with cash. Baba Funlola on his part argued that there was no basis for opening an account because of the small quantity of produce they sell to retailers and the cash involved. How much is the money that one would need to take to the bank? he asked. I can handle the money, whether it is N50,000 or N80,000. Sometimes the money is not even up to that, he added. But Bamigbola Aliu, another farmer who spoke to PREMIUM TIMES in Gbokoto Tuntun village, agreed that running a bank account could make their works as farmers easier. Mr Aliu, who admitted that he does not operate an account, said he knows that owning an account is the ideal practise as it also promotes a culture of disciplined spendings. Bamgbola Aliu (Baba Sobiu) making a point in Gbokoto Tuntun. I dont have any account but I know it is the best. I dont operate account because I dont have money to open one, he said. He argued that farmers who ignore the benefits of owning accounts do so out of ignorance. He narrated how he once lost a major client because he had no account with which transfers could be made after they agreed on a particular transaction. When you handle cash, you would likely spend recklessly and remain poor, said Mr Ayoola. Account ownership instils in the holder, a certain culture of disciplined spending because you have to consider so many things before making frivolous withdrawals. Messrs Ezekiel and his friends said they embraced thrift collection in lieu of operating bank accounts. Thrift Collection as Alternative The CBN in its Financial Inclusion Newsletter of December 2018 said the NFIS drive has met numerous brick walls over the years. In 2016, data from the CBN showed that 58.4 per cent of Nigerias 96.4 million adults were financially included comprising 38.3 per cent banked, 10.3 per cent served by other formal institutions and 9.8 per cent served by informal service providers. In 2020, Nigeria plans to have 70 per cent of its adult population in the formal financial services sector and 10 per cent included in the informal sector. But as more and more Nigerians remain financially excluded from the ecosystem, especially in rural communities, traditional alternatives remain the only option for many. We participate in Ajolocal contributions-whenever there is need to address any major financial responsibility, Mr Ezekiel told PREMIUM TIMES. With that, I bought a land and bought my motorcycle and I still find solutions to financial issues at home. Thats all we have. Moses Ezekiel No access to financial services for rural farms. Baba Funlola, on his part, said he has raised his children and recorded numerous achievements by participating in thrift contribution and other traditional means of raising and keeping money. When asked if they prefer the traditional thrift system to keeping their money in banks, they said that they would operate with banks if they see more reasons to do so, the benefits it would yield and the financial implications. For now, since we dont have big money to keep in the bank, we make do with Ajo and other traditional means of keeping and raising funds for projects, Mr Ezekiel said. The local contribution culture is not however without its flaws. Sad Experiences Mr Aliu told this newspaper that he stopped participating in local contributions and savings when he was disappointed by a thrift collector. I stopped being a part of thrift contribution four years ago, he began, forcing a bland smile. I had contributed my own weekly contributions for several months until it was my turn to be selected as beneficiary. Then tragedy struck: people who had collected stopped making contributions. Some of them were nowhere to be seen. Others came with many excuses. It was pathetic. That experience made me stop. It was a sad experience. Bamgbola Aliu (Baba Sobiu) making a point in Gbokoto Tuntun. As a solution to rural exclusion, the CBN suggested that there is a need to provide a framework that enables community-based financial institutions to play a more effective role in serving the most unserved and underserved. Institutions such as savings and credit cooperative organisations (SACCOs), farmer societies or non-bank microfinance institutions can play a greater role in reaching the most underserved, both by geography and demographic characteristics. The bank added that a framework shall be developed to enhance greater access to capital and increase their ability to extend more financial services to the excluded groups. Mr Aliu opined, however, that based on his and other farmers (sad) experience in the hands of thrift collectors, farmers groups and other related credit organisations, there would be the need for extant monitoring and regulation to ensure that the mandate of financial inclusion is realised. Baba Sobiu I do not operate a bank account but it is the best Thrift collectors failed me in the past. A farmer who declined to have his name in print at Ola Adura community of Ogun State buttressed Mr Alius point. He added that many farmers and other rural dwellers have had bad experiences with thrift collectors and other related co-operative societies. He said they are discouraged to be part of the financial ecosystem because of governments failure to provide access. For example, in this community, we do not have any ATM, not to talk of a bank, he said. I will have to travel to Papalanto or Ifo if I need to make a withdrawal. Is that an encouragement? Mr Aliu added that although many have done good things with funds raised from thrift contribution, he was not so lucky. He stressed that he would be interested in opening accounts if he had enough money and there is access to additional financial services that could be of help to him. For now, I dont see or know of any, he said, his voice low-pitched. Access Still A Major Impediment In its National Financial Inclusion Requirement document released in October 2018, the CBN noted that the requirement for financial products should be simple enough to bring such services within easy reach of all segments of the population. It added that services should be broad enough to enable access, choice and usage and specifically include but not limited to payments, savings, credit, insurance, pension and collective investment products. Financial products, the CBN added, should be designed to meet the needs of clients taking into cognisance income levels and nearness to clients to be served through proper and appropriate distribution channels. But PREMIUM TIMES checks in some of the villages visited showed that access is still a major factor constituting a setback for inclusion. Outside of their faint understanding of payments and savings products, others like credit, insurance, pension and collective investment products are largely unknown to farmers. For example, many of the communties like Apomu, Ola Adura, some parts of Ibogun, Oja Odan and others do not have an ATM present for peoples use. Narrow path to Oja-Odan The road to Ona-Egbon In December, the CBNs Financial Inclusion Steering Committee said it would brace up for 20 per cent financial exclusion because the rate reduced from 41.6 per cent to 36.8 per cent. But PREMIUM TIMES checks revealed that so much need to be done to ensure that this is realised. Efforts to speak to officials of the CBN were futile at the weekend. On the way out, Mr Ayoola advised that the government must not rest in its effort to deepen financial inclusion in the country, especially in rural areas. He called for sustained financial literacy schemes and the creation of more and more access points by financial service providers across the value chain. Some villagers forced out of their homes last week by Nigerian soldiers said they lost at least 11 persons, mostly children, between Saturday and Sunday in their makeshift homes in Damboa village of Borno State. Last week, the Nigerian military ordered the residents of Sabongari, a community 150km west of Maiduguri, to evacuate the agrarian village ahead of a special military operation. The army said the operation was targeted at Boko Haram insurgents in the neighbourhood. The evacuation led to an outcry by the residents who complained that they were not given time to gather their belongings and prepare for life in an IDP camp in Damboa, their local government headquarters. According to the accounts of many evacuated residents, they were taken in 15 buses to Damboa and dumped them in an abandoned primary school. The residents said they have been left hungry and without shelter. Since they brought us here and dumped us in this place, no government official has come to attend to us, except one NGO and some youth from Damboa Youth Development Association (DYDA) who came to offer food and water, said one of the evacuated villagers who asked not to be named for security reasons. Many of the displaced residents of Sabongari, a predominantly Muslim community, said they had given up their fasting due to the lack of food. They said Saturday was their worst day as they recorded the death of 10 children to injuries caused by heavy rainfall. Yesterday, at about 5.30 p.m., there was rainstorm and most us in the primary school camp remained under the heavy rain all through, said Muhammad Ali, a local farmer. The rainstorm reportedly pulled down some walls of the dilapidated primary school, which fell on some children. We have buried 10 children from the age of eight years downwards, including newly born infants who died as a result of hunger and by being beaten by the rain. Nine of them died yesterday and then one died this Sunday morning, Mr Ali said. PREMIUM TIMES was unable to verify the claims at the time of this report. Shootings Mr Ali also said that a child was killed while a woman got injured in her leg after they were hit by stray bullets allegedly fired by soldiers during the rain. When it was seriously raining we started hearing the sounds of gunshots from the soldiers at the outskirts of the town. A woman was hit by a bullet in the leg and a ten years old boy got killed, he said. We never knew why they were shooting but our people have fallen victims of the shots fired by the soldiers. Modu Bashir, a local commercial driver, said the soldiers were shooting in celebration of arresting two Boko Haram fighters, one of whom was an amir (commander). There was an ambush on soldiers near Azir village, which later resulted in an exchange of gunfire, said Mr Bashir. Some Boko Haram fighters were killed and two of them were arrested. But we saw four soldiers that were killed and three others injured and they were taken to Damboa General Hospital. That is what I can confirm as an eyewitness. No Support From Government The displaced persons said neither the Borno State Government nor their local government council had offered any assistance since their arrival. Advertisements PREMIUM TIMES asked the Executive Chairperson of Borno state emergency management agency (SEMA), Yabawa Kolo, whether the government was aware of the situation in Damboa. Yes, we are aware of the situation concerning the people from Sabongari, she said. There was an arrangement that the chairman of the local government will lead a team of officials to go and deliver rice and sugar for them, which I believe they have done as at Friday. But the displaced residents said they were yet to receive any assistance as of Sunday morning. They said the caretaker chairman of Damboa local government, Muhammadu Danladi, brought a small quantity of sugar to Damboa for distribution to those who were fasting, but the item was only shared to party supporters within the town. Though many of us could not observe the fasting due to lack of food and water, the few who managed to go on with the fasting depend on the handouts of donations put together by traders in the market. The villagers said the soldiers had put them in a very difficult situation. They said they believe the evacuation had nothing to do with Boko Haram. We have been living peacefully in Sabongari until the soldiers came with this unfounded story of Boko Haram plotting to attack Sabongari. All efforts to get a response from the military failed as the army spokesperson at the 7 Division, Ado Isa, did not reply text messages and calls put across to his phone line. Nigerias former President and IITA Goodwill Ambassador, Olusegun Obasanjo and Oyo State Governor, Abiola Ajimobi, on Saturday commissioned two key projects at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) Ibadan an Agricultural Transformation Building dedicated to research and delivery of innovations to farmers across Nigeria in particular and Africa in general. The second project is a 10.5Km ring road in Africas biggest international agricultural research center. The construction of the building commenced in 2017 with a foundation laying ceremony officiated by former Nigerian heads of government, Yakubu Gowon, and Mr Obasanjo; and the President of the African Development Bank, Akin Adesina, as part of projects initiated to mark the 50th anniversary of IITA. The building, which was funded by the African Development Bank through a Nigerian project Agricultural Transformation Agenda Support Programme (ATASP) comprises 22 offices, 8 large laboratory spaces, a conference room, and a utility facility. The 10.5Km road on the other hand covers part of the perimeter fence of the 1000-hectare campus of IITA. The road was constructed by the Oyo State government as part of efforts to support agricultural research. Mr Ajimobi said the support given to IITA was in realization of the importance of agriculture to Oyo State, and the contribution of IITA to agricultural development in the state. Today Oyo state is the best place to invest and promote agriculture because we have IITA located in the state, he said. Nteranya Sanginga, IITA Director General, said the rejuvenation of IITA facility in Nigeria was crucial for the institutes sustained efforts to transform agriculture on the continent. We are excited to see a state in Nigeria showing the example by supporting infrastructure in an international agricultural research center. This is not common, and we commend the government and people of Oyo State, he said. Dr Sanginga also commended the government of Nigeria and the AfDB for their support towards the construction of the building, adding that it would accelerate the pace of research and accommodate the best/critical human and material resource needed to bring transformation to the agricultural sector. The event also witnessed the presentation of the Oyo State Agricultural Transformation Policy Framework. Concerned by the poor performance of agriculture, Governor Ajimobi last year requested IITA to produce a policy document that would provide direction to the transformation of agriculture in the state in the next 25 years. Based on this request, IITA worked with the Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research (NISER), the state ministry of agriculture, and the Oyo State Agricultural Development Programme to produce the framework. Alfred Dixon, IITA director for development and delivery, said the framework situated Oyo State agriculture in context and examined the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to Oyo States key agriculture value chains. It also goes further to forecast the implication of policy intervening scenarios for government, he added. Dr Dixon said that Oyo state can capitalize on the policy framework to attract private capital in the agricultural space. It clearly defines what Oyo state needs to do to improve its agricultural productivity and achieve Zero Hunger, he added. He commended members of the Oyo state Government, NISER and IITA for their hard work in drawing up the policy document. May I also take this opportunity to thank His Excellency, Governor Ajimobi for giving us the opportunity to coordinate this effort, he added. In his remarks, Mr Obasanjo tasked Governor Ajimobi, IITA and NISER to work towards ensuring that recommendations in the policy framework were implemented by the incoming administration. Our problem is not policy formulation but implementation, he said. He commended Governor Ajimobi for supporting IITA and called for the extension of innovations generated from research stations to farmers. He noted that there was a gap between research institutions and the ordinary smallholder farmers. Advertisements And we need to close that gap to bring about agricultural transformation, Mr Obasanjo said.. The Managing Director of News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Bayo Onanuga, has denied allegations of fraud made against him by some unions in the agency. In a letter to the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, on Sunday, Mr Onanuga said he is ready to face the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) or Independent Corrupt Practices and other related Offences Commission (ICPC) over the petition. The petitioners, who signed off as Concern (sic) NAN Joint Union, levelled sundry allegations against Mr Onanuga, including diversion of fund from the agency to his personal use. But Mr Onanuga dismissed the petitioners as faceless. The NAN boss said the unions behind the petition were an illegal creation of the four unions in the agency. He urged the minister to call the signatories of the petition to a meeting on Monday so that he could confront them with facts. I was shocked to read the allegations levelled against me by NAN Joint Union, an illegal creation of the four unions in the agency. More shocking was the description of my tenure by the signatories to the letter as the worst and I the most corrupt manager in the history of the agency. The descriptions are the most uncharitable, most wicked about my three-year tenure. Mr Onanuga said he met the agency almost comatose but has run it with financial prudence, denying myself and my office of my entitlements, brutally cutting costs, all to ensure that it survives and fulfils the mandate for which it was set up 43 years ago. In all, I see the petitions as an attempt to rubbish the good work I have done in the agency. I am ready for a probe. The EFCC or ICPC should be invited to check the records. Since I assumed duty as Managing Director, I have never dipped my hands into the Agencys coffers. I have demonstrated financial discipline by reducing waste, all because I believe the agency must survive first to fulfil its core business of news gathering and distribution. All the past three years, the unions have never accused me of financial impropriety. It is painful that at the end of my tenure, they suddenly cooked up the malicious and actionable allegations. All records are available to support my submission and I hope the signatories to the petition will be ready to defend their libellous allegations, Mr Onanuga stated. The lies are designed to block my re-appointment. I wish them good luck. I believe the petitioners are afraid of impending reforms in the Agency and are doing everything possible to thwart efforts to make NAN compete favourably with its peers, he added. It is simply wicked to accuse me of diverting the income to my personal use. The audited accounts will clear all issues around this. One of the signatories to the petition, Suleman failed the last promotion exam. He wanted me to promote him, nevertheless. I refused. He now wants a pound of flesh. As far as I know, all those who passed the tests were promoted. We also promoted those who fell on the borderline. Allegation of intimidation is baseless. The faceless group that calls itself CONCERN (SIC) STAFF OF NAN, accused me of sabotage, alleging that my PMNEWS breaks news before NAN. This is again groundless. PMNEWS subscribes to NAN and had been a subscriber for many years. PMNEWS also gets its news from a variety of sources, he added. Mr Onanuga was the Managing Director of Lagos-based PMNews and The News until his appointment in 2016 to head NAN. The police in Lagos said a 42-year-old man, Enifeh Omomo, allegedly committed suicide after killing his wife and their six-year-old son at their Ikorodu residence. The spokesperson of the police in the state, Bala Elkana, said in a statement that the Ikorodu divisional police station had received a distress call on May 24 at 8 a.m about the incident. On May 24, at 8.00a.m. Ikorodu Police Station received a distress call that one Enifeh Akupa Omomo; 42, of No. 12, Eruga St., Aga-Ikorodu, allegedly killed his wife, Mrs Faith Omomo; 38 and his six-year-old son, Glorious Omomo, and thereafter committed suicide in his one-room apartment. When homicide detectives visited the scene, the corpse of the suspect was found hanging on a rope, tied to the ceiling fan, while corpses of his wife and son were found on the floor. Bodies of the deceased persons were evacuated to a General Hospital for autopsy. An investigation is ongoing, he said. In a similar development, Mr Elkana said the command had arrested a Lagos State Polytechnic security guard for allegedly killing his colleague on duty. Mr Elkana said on May 24 at 7.00 a.m., operatives of Shagamu road Police Station in collaboration with the Chief Security Officer of Lagos State Polytechnic, Ikorodu arrested one Cletus Williams, a security guard with the Polytechnic, for killing his colleague, Okoro John, while they were on night duty. The suspect used a sharp knife to slash the throat of the victim and also chopped off his right wrist. Homicide detectives from State Criminal Investigation Department Yaba are investigating the case to ascertain the motive behind the killing. The knife used for the murder has been recovered and the suspect will soon be charged to Court for murder, he said. (NAN) A woman has been arrested for allegedly trying to smuggle drugs into prison. The details of the arrest were provided by the prison authorities in a statement. Read the full statement below: The Intelligence Unit of the Nigerian Prisons Service (NPS) attached to Kano Central Prison has intercepted a female visitor, Rifkatu Anthony, for attempting to smuggle 39 wraps of Indian Hemps into the prison. The suspect from Badawa Quarters in Kano metropolis cleverly concealed the hard drug in harmless packs with the intention to deliver them to inmates in the prison. Upon interrogation, Ms Anthony feigned ignorance of the Illicit substance in her possession claiming that the items were given to her by one ThankGod for delivery to the prison inmates. The Controller of Prisons, Kano, Magaji Abdullah, had commended the officers and men of the command for their untiring efforts in ridding the service of the menace of trafficking. Recently, the Controller General of Prisons, Jaafaru Ahmed, approved the the dismissal of prison personnel for aiding trafficking (smuggling) and illicit drugs into the prison yard for prisoners. The action of the controller general was part of a concerted effort by the administration to continue to maintain discipline and ensure that inmates in prison custody were only handled by those with the required rectitude to do so. There is no gainsaying that exposing inmates to the use of hard drugs is an anathema to the reformation goal of the Prisons Service as it does not only precipitate health complications but also constitutes security risk to innocent lives in and around the prison,, the statement noted. Mr. Jaafaru therefore, warned that any officer caught aiding or failing to apprehend smugglers will be shown the way out of the service as they have no business being in a character reformation agency. He had assured the public that the management of the NPS would remain irrevocably committed to sustain the peace and calm now existing in prisons across the country in order to enhance reformation and rehabilitation of offenders in prisons custody. A lawmaker, Ahmed Lawan, has promised to maintain a cordial relationship between the legislature and the executive if elected president of the ninth Senate. He said this while speaking to journalists in Abuja on Saturday. The lawmaker, who is the preferred candidate of the All progressive congress (APC) for the position, said he believes an unhealthy relationship between the two arms of government will only make the country suffer more. Mr Lawan is the current Senate Leader and is thus among the leadership of the outgoing Senate. The relationship between the leadership of the eight assembly and the executive has not been rosy as both parties have openly disagreed over issues. In terms of the relationship between the executive and the legislature, I believe that you can have two relationships, Mr Lawan said. The first is a negative one, the other one is a positive one. If you choose to fight, the two arms suffer and the country suffers even more. Because it is not possible for you to fight and yet get something done for the country. I dont belong to the school of thought of encouraging fighting between the two arms of government. I can tell you I was in opposition for 16 years from 1999 to 2015. I argued and opposed positions that I felt was supposed to be opposed. But I knew the limits of my opposition when the issues before us were issues that would make life better for Nigerians. The other side is working together and not fighting. That has to be explained. When you have to work together you would disagree and by design of the constitution, the legislature has been given some functions that would naturally make the executive sit up or feel uncomfortable. There would be a day when the executive would send something that could be in colour white and the legislature would see it as grey because our perspective are meant to be different from time to time for the benefit of Nigerians, he said. The lawmaker further pledged his loyalty to President Muhammadu Buhari and his administration. He said he would, however, not run a rubberstamp Senate if elected. He also vowed to do the bidding of majority of senators on any issue brought before the upper legislative chamber for consideration. There is nothing like rubberstamp. Of course, I wont deny it. I am a President Buhari man. I am. I believe in him, I believe in my party because of the ideals it stand for. But then if you believe in someone, if that person has an issue that he thinks can be better carried out in a certain way other than the way he wants, cant we say I am suggesting this is how it should be. That is to demonstrate that you are really with that person. Because if you allow the direction that may not be right to be followed , the end of it would be catastrophic and that is not showing support. My support for the president must not be misconstrued as going to make the National Assembly a rubberstamp assembly. I supported previous administration that was PDP on issues that I felt was in the national interest and I opposed vehemently those issues that should not be supported. He maintained that the outcome of the Supreme Court verdict on the elections in Zamfara State would not affect his chances of emerging as Senate President on June 8 when the 9th National Assembly would be inaugurated. He said he has spoken to 98 per cent of all the senators-elect and they are happy with his aspiration. Although the APC has picked Mr Lawan as its preferred candidate for the office of the senate president, another member of the party, Ali Ndume, has declared interest in the race. A former Gombe State governor, Danjuma Goje of the APC, is also believed to still be in the race. The police in Anambra State have arrested suspected members of a four-man kidnap gang. The suspects allegedly wear military uniform to deceive and kidnap unsuspecting members of the public. Three of them, including a lance corporal in the Nigerian army, were wearing military uniform and vests when they were nabbed by the police on Friday after allegedly abducting one Uchenna Ezeonu in Ekwulobia, Anambra State, the police said. The suspects, Obasi Peter, Benjamin Nicholas and Ojiegbe Obinna, were arrested alongside three suspected accomplices. Confirming the arrest, police spokesperson, Haruna Mohammed, said the victim was rescued unhurt. On the 24th May, 2019, at about 11am, there was a distress call along Isuofia road in Aguata council area that three persons in military uniforms abducted one Uchenna Ezeonu of Omeke village around Ekwulobia roundabout and whisked him away to unknown destination. Following the distress call, Police Operatives attached to operation Puff Adder in conjunction with Joint Patrol teams rushed to the scene and cordoned off the entire area in search of the hoodlums along the bush path by Uyo-Eke market road. Consequently, three suspects in military attires who abducted the victim were rounded up and arrested inside the bush. He gave their names as Ojiegbe Obinna (in full military uniform), Obasi Peter and Benjamin Nicholas m (all in military vests) as well as Okoye Ugochukwu. According to the spokesman, preliminary investigation revealed that one of the suspects, Ojiegbe Obinna, a lance corporal, serves with the Nigerian Army and was deployed to 101 Special Forces Battalion, Maiduguri, Borno State. He was subsequently handed over to Onitsha Military Cantonment for discreet investigation while the remaining two suspects in military vest were discovered to be fake soldiers with their accomplice, he added. He assured that the case was being investigated. Bolanle Ambode, wife of the out-going governor of Lagos State and Chairperson of the Committee of Wives of Lagos State Officials (COWLSO), has handed over to the wife of the governor-elect, Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu. Mrs Ambode at the ceremony in Ikeja on Sunday urged Mrs Sanwo-Olu to take the committee to greater height. She lauded the vision of the founding mothers of the committee, which was to complement the efforts of the government in critical areas that were women and children friendly. Mrs Ambode remarked that the committee, under successive leaderships had continued to pursue a lofty vision. According to her, this has led to remarkable improvements in the lives of women, girls and children in vital areas of health, empowerment and education. She thanked members of the committee for their support over the past four years, lauding her predecessors for their advice and words of wisdom. Mrs Ambode wished Mrs Sanwo-Olu the best and implored members of COWLSO and women in the state, to extend same measure of love, support and cooperation to Mrs Sanwoolu. My dear sister, the incoming first lady of our great state as you settle down to this office, I wish you all the best. Very importantly, learn to enjoy the journey you are about to embark upon. Always remember where you are going but never forget where you are coming from. I wish you good health, divine protection and guidance for great successes, Mrs Ambode said. Mrs Sanwo-Olu commended Mrs Ambode for taking COWLSO to an enviable height, promising that she would not deviate from the ideals of the committee. I thank my big sister, Mrs Bolanle Ambode for the great steps she has taken to move the committee to its current level. I thank her for the words of encouragement that I should not be scared about the challenges of that office. I will do my best, God helping me, to move COWLSO to the next level, said Mrs Sanwo-Olu. Highlight of the event was the presentation of charity grants to 29 orphanages and the less privileged. (NAN) WHAT TO EXPECT: Carlos Mencia got his big break with a performance on Comedy Central Presents in 2002, which was shortly after the release of his first album Take a Joke America. After guest appearances on Moesha and The Shield, Mencia wound up landing his own show Mind of Mencia on Comedy Central in 2005. His career was on the rise until Mencia was accused of plagiarism by several known comedians and he has kept a lower profile the last decade. Indiscriminately discriminating has always been a major part of his act and no group is safe from his rants. Mencia brings his loud and boisterous persona to the Tropicana Saturday to the delight of fans who have stuck with him through thick and thin. In the winter, the winds that blow from the west create a gully. It then creates ponding there, Wildwood Crest Mayor Don Cabrera said. Cabrera said these issues developed over time. Not only was this aesthetically unpleasing, but the ponding of water caused issues. The work was completed in early May. Now, the borough is getting ready for the tourist season. +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 Were putting out the walkways, wooden platforms and the permitted smoking areas, Cabrera said. The project was paid for by the town, since the Army Corps of Engineers was not ready to use funds for the project yet. Part of this grading that we did was part of the (Army Corps) 2021 project. ... Between 2021 to 2023, wed like to be paid. Theyre open-minded and willing to cooperate with Wildwood Crest, Cabrera said. Still, it was an approved project. The project has been approved by both the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Brian Cunniff, the boroughs public information officer, said in a statement. On Tuesday, at a House hearing, Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., dragged the political discussion to a new low, calling Carson despicable, saying he will rip apart families and be throwing children on the street. Carson calmly reminded Maloney that there are hundreds of thousands of children in need of decent housing whose parents are here legally. Carson exposed the hypocrisy of New York Democrats bleeding-heart rhetoric about public housing. The de Blasio administration, he said, allowed conditions in public housing to deteriorate so badly that 83 percent of units pose health threats, with toxic lead paint, mold, broken elevators and no heat in winter. In January, HUD sent in a federal monitor to take over. In many cities, Democratic politicians grandstand that they welcome illegals with open arms. These pols magnanimity is at the expense of the very people who elect them, taxpayers and American families who depend on public schools, housing and other services. Place one newly arrived migrant child who speaks no English and has no school experience in a classroom and the bulk of a teachers focus has to be on that one child. The other kids lose out. 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. The 2019 China International Big Data Industry Expo ("Big Data Expo") kicks off on May 26 China time in Guiyang, the capital city of Guizhou province. Focusing on "innovative development and digital future", the expo features high-end dialogues, forums, contests, exhibitions and other colorful events, which spotlight the latest technical innovations and provide an international platform for presentation of hi-tech companies. "I have been familiar with Guizhou for quite a while. The development of big data as an industry here is now part and parcel of the province's makeup," said Prof. Reiner Dudziak at the Bochum University of Applied Sciences in Germany, who is also a judge at the German division of the 2019 China International Big Data Fusion Innovation and Artificial Intelligence Global Competition, in an interview with Huanqiu.com, an official media partner of the Big Data Expo. The 2019 Big Data Expo is expected to witness two breakthroughs: the introduction of guest country of honor mechanism and the Shubo (the Chinese name of "Big Data Expo") Corridor. T he guest country of honor will hold thematic activities to showcase its achievements in big data development and promote cooperation in big data industry. he guest country of honor will hold thematic activities to showcase its achievements in big data development and promote cooperation in big data industry. S hubo Corridor, running through the Yunyan District, the Guanshanhu District and the Baiyun District of Guiyang City, covers a total area of 74.56 square kilometers. The corridor will be equipped with a digital water curtain and screens and inductive floor tiles to showcase famous people and companies in the big data industry. Attending the Expo are 156 international companies from 25 countries including Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States, India, Singapore, Israel, and Canada. Global big names in the industry including Google, Dell and Pivotal have booths at the expo. SOURCE Huanqiu.com SYDNEY, May 26, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Nevro Corp. (NYSE: NVRO), a global medical device company that is providing innovative, evidence-based solutions for the treatment of chronic pain, today announced a series of data presentations supporting the use of the Company's HF10 therapy for patients with chronic pain. Results will be presented at the International Neuromodulation Society (INS) meeting being held this week in Sydney, Australia. This year, 26 abstracts on HF10 therapy will be presented at INS, including ten prospective studies; ten retrospective studies; one clinical study design presentation, and five mechanism of action studies. Eight of the prospective studies and four of the retrospective studies will also be presented on the podium. The broad range of research investigates both new and established pain areas, programming techniques with HF10 therapy, and preclinical studies to understand the unique mechanism of action with HF10 therapy. "Nevro is committed to expanding the field of neuromodulation with our growing body of clinical evidence that supports the use of HF10 therapy," said D. Keith Grossman, Chairman, CEO and President of Nevro. "The results of these studies demonstrate that our best-in-class therapy can significantly improve the lives of patients suffering from various forms of debilitating chronic pain." Details of the presentations and schedule (dates/times AEST) include: Monday, May 27, 2019 16:50-17:00 A Prospective Clinical Trial to Assess High Frequency Spinal Cord Stimulation (HF-SCS) at 10 kHz in the Treatment of Chronic Intractable Pain from Peripheral Polyneuropathy Vincent Galan, MD 17:00-17:10 Spinal Cord Stimulation at 10 kHz for the Treatment of Chronic Focal Neuropathic Post-Surgical Pain Mayank Gupta, MD 17:10-17:20 Spinal Cord Stimulation at 10 kHz for the Treatment of Chronic Pain of the Upper Extremities: Results of a Prospective, Multicenter, Post-Market, Observational Study Kasra Amirdelfan, MD 17:30-17:40 High frequency spinal cord stimulation (HF-SCS) at 10 kHz for the treatment of chronic pain resulting from spinal cord injury Professor Sam Eldabe, MD Tuesday, May 28, 2019 17:00-17:10 Effects of Spinal Cord Stimulation on Chronic Refractory Painful Gastroparesis: A Retrospective Case Series Analysis Leonardo Kapural, MD PhD 17:10-17:20 Treatment of chronic abdominal pain with 10 KHz Spinal Cord Stimulation: Efficacy results from a 12 month prospective, multicenter, feasibility study in a series of patients with diverse pain etiologies Leonardo Kapural, MD, PhD 17:40-17:50 Pulse Dosing of 10 kHz Paresthesia-Independent Spinal Cord Stimulation Provides Same Efficacy with Substantial Reduction of Device Recharge Time Mayank Gupta, MD 18:10-18:20 Prospective, Open Label, Pilot Study: One Year Results Of 10kHz Spinal Cord Stimulation (SCS) For Neuropathic Back Pain in Non-Operated Patients: The Maiden-Back Study Dr. Ganesan Baranidharan, MBBS Wednesday, May 29, 2019 8:30-9:00 Prospective 12 Month Outcomes of Multi-Center Trials of 10 kHz Spinal Cord Stimulation in the Treatment of Arm and Neck Pain (Australian & North American Centers) Kasra Amirdelfan, MD and Dr. Paul Verrills, MBBS 17:10-17:20 Spinal Cord Stimulation at 10 kHz For Chronic Intractable Leg Pain: Australian Experience Dr. Richard Sullivan, MBChB 17:20-17:30 Spinal Cord Stimulation at 10 kHz for Treatment of Chronic Head Pain Dr. John Salmon, MBBS 17:50-18:00 Electropsychophysical Characterization of High-kHz Epidural Spinal Cord Stimulation Dr. Paul Verrills, MBBS Clinical Posters A Prospective, Multi-Site, Clinical Trial of the Senza Spinal Cord Stimulation (SCS) System in the Treatment of Chronic Pelvic Pain Sean Li, MD High Frequency Spinal Cord Stimulation at 10 kHz for the Treatment of Focal, Chronic, Post-Surgical Neuropathic Pain Dr. Bart Billet High Frequency Spinal Cord Stimulation (HF-SCS) at 10 kHz for the Treatment of Neuropathic Limb Pain from Painful Diabetic Neuropathy Charles Argoff, MD A Multicenter Real-World Review of 10 kHz Spinal Cord Stimulation Outcomes for the Treatment of Chronic Trunk and/or Limb Pain in USA Dawood Sayed, MD Spinal Cord Stimulation at 10 kHz for Treatment of Elhers Danlos Syndrome Dr. John Salmon, MBBS Cluneal Nerve Stimulation at 10 kHz for the Treatment of Chronic Neuropathic Pain Dr. Peter Courtney, MBBS Improved Chronic Widespread Pain and Motor Function using High Frequency Spinal Cord Stimulation (HF-SCS) at 10 kHz: A Case Study Dr. Vahid Mohabbati, MBBS Spinal Cord Stimulation at 10 kHz for Chronic Intractable Pain: A Prospective Case Series in a Real-World Community Practice Dr. Geoff Speldewinde, MBBS Spinal Cord Stimulation at 10 kHz for Treatment of Chronic Pain in a Compensable Setting Dr. Gavin Weekes, MBBS Pre-clinical and MoA Posters 10 kHz Electrical Stimulation of the Spinal Cord Suppresses Laser-Evoked Afferent Neural Hyperactivity Zack Kagan, Ph.D Comparing the Firing Patterns of Superficial Dorsal Horn Neurons Evoked by Robotically Automated and Human Manual Brushing and Von Frey Hair Stimulation Dongchul Lee, Ph.D Electrical Activity Evoked by 10 kHz Spinal Cord Stimulation on Superficial Dorsal Horn Neurons in Neuropathic Pain Rats Dongchul Lee, Ph.D Differential modulation of spinal dorsal horn neurons by various spinal cord stimulation strategies Kwan Lee, Ph.D High Frequency kHz Spinal Cord Stimulation (SCS) Modulate Spinal Dorsal Horn Neurons in Neuropathic Pain Rats Kwan Lee, Ph.D About Nevro Corp. Headquartered in Redwood City, California, Nevro is a global medical device company focused on providing innovative products that improve the quality of life of patients suffering from debilitating chronic pain. Nevro has developed and commercialized the Senza spinal cord stimulation (SCS) system, an evidence-based, non-pharmacologic neuromodulation platform for the treatment of chronic pain. The Senza System and Senza II System are the only SCS systems that deliver Nevro's proprietary HF10 therapy. Senza, Senza II, HF10, Nevro and the Nevro logo are trademarks of Nevro Corp. Investor Relations: Juliet Cunningham Vice President, Investor Relations [email protected] SOURCE Nevro Corp. Related Links http://www.nevro.com Kolkata, May 25 : BJP candidate Saumitra Khan, who emerged victorious from West Bengal's Bishnupur Lok sabha seat in spite of not being able to campaign in most parts of his constituency following a court order, said the "false cases" lodged against him by the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress government failed to stop him as he rode on people's blessings and a potent Modi wave across Bengal. Speaking to IANS, the Trinamool Congress-turned-BJP leader, who defeated his Trinamool rival Shyamal Santra by more than 78,000 votes, said the ruling party's downfall in the Lok sabha polls was a result of common people's "protest and outrage against its misrule" in West Bengal. After Khan joined the BJP, he was named in a number of cases related to taking money from people on the pretext of securing government jobs for them, and for being involved in illegal sand mining. The Calcutta High Court then barred him from entering the Bankura district, under which falls six of the seven Assembly segments of his parliamentary constituency, for ensuring free and fair polls, keeping in mind his political clout in the area. Khan thus could personally campaign only in the Khandaghosh Assembly segment, which comes under East Burdwan district. "Immediately after I left Trinamool Congress and joined the BJP (in January), false cases were filed against me. They (state administration) tried to prove in the court that there can be law and order issues if I enter the constituency as I am an influential person. Eventually, I was barred by the court from entering Bankura. So my wife Sujata campaigned for me," he said. "I am the son of the soil in Bishnupur. I am born and brought up here. So people know me very well. They understood that a genuine person was being falsely accused and heckled. They did not like it. They supported me because they knew that the relationship between Bankura district and me was that of a mother and a son. "Trinamool thought that they would be able to win over the people of Bishnupur by bringing someone from outside. But the locals here love me like their son. They blessed me wholeheartedly," said Khan, who won from Binshnupur in 2014 on a Trinamool ticket after switching allegiance from the Congress. "The 2019 elections were in favour of Modiji's mantra 'Sab ka sath, sab ka vikas' (development for all). Looking at the progress of the country under the leadership of Narendra Modi, the people of Bengal also want the BJP to come to power here," he noted. Soon after defecting from Trinamool Congress, three separate criminal cases were filed against Khan on charges of cheating, illegal sand lifting and keeping unlicensed weapon in three different police stations in Bankura. The Calcutta High Court granted him interim bail but directed him not to enter the Bankura district. The Supreme Court refused to vacate the order. But Khan was still confident as people's support was on his side from the first day. "Initially I felt a little helpless. But looking at the people's overwhelming support and adequate backing by the BJP leaders, I felt increasingly confident about winning," he said. Terming the Trinamool Congress as a "dynastic party", Khan accused it of unleashing terror on the people of the state. He also took indirect potshots at Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee's nephew and perceived heir Abhishek Banerjee, saying there was massive discontent within the party centreing around its future leadership. He also claimed that many Trinamool MLAs, between 50 and 60 by his estimation, were ready to desert the party and join the BJP following the 2019 poll results. "Trinamool Congress was formed to oust the Left parties from power in Bengal. But later it turned into a dynastic party. Neither the leaders, nor the activists could accept that. "There is massive discontent within the party. Even yesterday, five-six local MLAs told me that they are ready to leave the party and join the BJP. At least 50 to 60 MLAs are ready to join Modiji's brigade from various parts of the state. Apart from the senior leaders, thousands of Trinamool activists will also join us," he added. Khan's wife Sujata, who campaigned for her husband for 18-20 hours daily for close to one-and-a-half month, said the public support was overwhelming. "I do not have a political background. So when I first started campaigning, I was worried thinking whether I would be able to win the hearts of 15-20 lakh voters of Bishnupur. But the kind response I got from the women and young generation from the very first day, I was confident that we would win the seat," she told IANS. Kolkata, May 25 : Amid violent political clashes continuing even after poll results came out, West Bengal Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi on Saturday appealed to the people to maintain peace. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, however, accused the BJP of inciting violence in areas where they were elected in the Lok Sabha elections. In a statement, Tripathi conveyed "thanks to the people of West Bengal for participating in the festival of Lok Sabha election of the largest democracy of the world" and appealed to them "to maintain peace in accordance with rich culture of Bengal and unitedly work for the prosperity and progress of the state and the nation". His appeal came at a time, when a slew of violent incidents were reported on Saturday across districts leaving several injured. Banerjee hit out at the BJP, which had made enormous strides in the state, winning 18 seats as against two in 2014. "BJP is (playing) a one-sided scandalous game. They are torturing people not only in Bengal but also in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and other places wherever they have been elected. We cannot tolerate all this. I urge oppositions to work together and be with the people so that tortures can be stopped," she said. However, allegations of creating violence against workers of her Trinamool Congress were reported across districts. As many as 12 persons were injured in a clash between the Trinamool and the BJP activists at Deganga in North 24 Parganas, police said, adding that two accused have been arrested. In another incident, a local BJP leader was allegedly beaten up by Trinamool supporters at Charkol village in Birbhum's Nanur, an area infamous for political violence while Trinamool activists accused the BJP workers of vandalising several vehicles in the area. BJP supporters also alleged that party's booth president at Salboni in West Midnapore district sustained injures after he was beaten up by Trinamool workers. Trinamool, on the other hand, accused BJP workers of ransacking a Trinamool workers' union office in Bankura where party's veteran and state Minister Subrata Mukherjee lost to BJP's Saubhas Sarkar in the Lok Sabha polls. Jammu, May 26 : A teenager was injured on Sunday in small arms firing by Pakistan army on the line of control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district. Police sources said 18-year-old Muhammad Ishaq was injured when Pakistan army resorted to unprovoked small arms firing on the LoC in Nowshera sector of Rajouri district. --IANS New Delhi/Mumbai, May 26 : The downtrend in air passenger traffic might continue unless the new government takes steps to reduce air fares via rationalisation of jet fuel taxes and infrastructure creation to spur capacity at major airports. Industry experts warn that unless these crucial steps are implemented, the sector would continue to see a slide in passenger traffic numbers. Lately, high fares caused by capacity constraint and slowdown in economic activity has subdued passenger traffic. The growth rate of the high frequency indicator is usually 1.3-1.4 times the gross domestic product (GDP) growth of the country. "Besides, economic revival and pick-up in tourism demand, the government needs to address India's aviation infrastructure requirements and other matters (like tax on ATF), which have constrained the performance of airlines," Kinjal Shah, Vice President and Co-Head, Corporate Sector Ratings, ICRA, told IANS. As a case in point, the monthly air passenger traffic on a year-on-year basis fell for the very first time in the last six year. India's passenger traffic growth rate was in double digits for over 50 months. However, in April, the air passenger traffic declined (-) 4.50 per cent to 1.09 crore in April from 1.15 crore reported for the corresponding month of the previous fiscal. The last monthly Y-o-Y de-growth in the domestic passenger traffic was recorded in June 2013. "This trend is expected to persist for some time, until capacity situation is corrected... the available capacity (in April) came down by six per cent month-on-month, and this will further come down in May," said Anshuman Sinha, Principal, Transportation and Automotive at A.T. Kearney. "Fares will remain high until more capacity is added, and until that situation balances itself, downtrend in passenger traffic is expected to continue." As per the Directorate General of Civil Aviation data, January-April passenger traffic grew 2.53 per cent to 4.64 crore from 4.53 crore ferried during the corresponding period of the previous year. "Higher ATV (average transaction value) and lower flight options due to capacity constraints has led to low passenger numbers at airports," said Rajnish Kumar, Co-founder, ixigo. "Recent negative growth in passenger traffic is a reflection of how price sensitive the Indian consumer is. Previous strong demand seen in passenger traffic was primarily being driven by promotional offers, sales being offered by airlines." Kumar blamed the current capacity constraint on the grounding of aircraft by Jet Airways which ceased operations from April 18. This impacted 14 per cent of the total industry capacity. "This (Jet Airways grounding) has resulted in a shortage of 180 slots which have in turn driven up air fares and impacted the overall passenger travel growth," Kumar said. In addition, while Jet's demise has been cited as the trigger for decline in passenger numbers; other airline were quick to absorb the market share or passengers of the erstwhile carrier. The current situation allowed other airlines to induct Jet's grounded aircraft, hire some of its pilots along with crew and come out with robust plans for capacity expansion. (Rohit Vaid can be contacted at rohit.v@ians.in) New Delhi, May 26 : Four key economic issues -- GDP figures from CSO, fiscal deficit numbers from CGA, Jalan panel report on RBI surplus and RBI circular on NPA resolution -- are awaiting formation of government as the Modi 2.0 is faced with a slowdown, slack in demand, consumption and investment. Battered by a severe slowdown, the Indian economy is expected to grow slower at 6.3 per cent in the January-March quarter of fiscal year 2018-19, clocking the lowest expansion in six quarters, said sources. The full year and Q4 GDP growth reports are awaited from CSO. The concerns about a slow-down in economy could continue well into FY20 and will be immediately felt in the Q1 period, sources said. The GDP growth has been falling consistently from July-September quarter of FY19. The year (2018-19) began with a GDP growth of 8 per cent in Q1 period only to slow down to 7 per cent in the second quarter. In Q3, it was 6.6%. On another key macro stat, the government had pegged its fiscal deficit target for 2018-19 at 3.4 per cent for which was revised upwards from the earlier 3.3 per cent. At the end of February, the fiscal deficit is at Rs 8,51,499 crore had crossed 134 per cent of the budget estimate which translated into 4.52 per cent of GDP. The figures for FY19 is awaited from Controller of Government Accounts (CGA). The other key report is RBI's revised circular which is expected now after the government formation. In the report, the RBI is likely to adopt a more accommodative approach towards resolution of stressed assets when it issues a revised circular sometime in the next few days, following the February 12 circular quashed by the Supreme Court. Sources said the major contention in the February 12, 2018, circular that got challenged in the court leading to its quashing, will be done away with in the new circular. Instead, banks will be given more time to identify and qualify an account as bad debt and also be given more time to resolve the same. The RBI is likely to retain the main contours of its February 12, 2018 circular while making the referral to National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) non-compulsory, sources told IANS. It might, however, be guided by suggestions earlier given by the Indian Banking Association (IBA) for debt resolution for classification of Non-Performing Asset (NPA) 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 the 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. On April 2, the Supreme Court struck down a February 12, 2018 circular of the RBI that asked banks to initiate insolvency process against companies even if there was a day's delay in payment of dues. Bimal Jalan panel on RBI's capital size is likely to submit report by June. The high-level panel looking into appropriate capital reserves the RBI should maintain will hold at least two more meetings before finalising the report. (Anjana Das can be contacted at anjana.d@ians.in) Chennai, May 26 : The 2019 Lok Sabha polls in Tamil Nadu is clearly that of DMK President M.K.Stalin show, given the campaign, alliance strategies that were followed, said political analysts. They also said about 11 per cent of the voters are in favour of third alternative to AIADMK and DMK. "Stalin has emerged as a political leader in the state in his own right and also cemented firmly his place as a party leader. He had followed a fine strategy, shifting gear from being anti-Chief Minister K.Palaniswami to anti-Modi and continued that in a sustained manner," Jhon Arokiasamy, political analyst told IANS. "The second step was stitching up an electoral alliance embracing all partners and finally announcing Congress President Rahul Gandhi as the prime ministerial candidate. During the campaign, leaders of alliance parties were used judiciously depending on the vote base in a constituency," Arokiasamy said. A sustained campaign against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP over the past couple of years by the opposition against the various projects and other policies moulded the public opinion. The BJP leaders said the sustained campaign against their party was the main reason for the DMK-led alliance's victory. According to Arokiasamy, Tamil Nadu poll battle arena was clearly drawn - Prime Minister Narendra Modi vs Rahul Gandhi. "The minority vote consolidation in favour of DMK-led alliance wouldn't have happened if the Congress was not part of the alliance or Gandhi was not announced as Prime Ministerial candidate which led to DMK's massive victory," Arokiasamy said. With this victory, Stalin passed the acid test and cemented his position as a leader in his own right. The DMK-led alliance routed rival the AIADMK-led alliance winning 37 out of 39 Lok Sabha seats that went to the polls on April 18. The Election Commission cancelled polling in Vellore. The AIADMK alliance got about 30 per cent vote share. The AIADMK on its own suffered a drastic slide in vote share this time. In 2014, the party on its own won 37 Lok Sabha seats with a vote share of 44 per cent. This plunged to 18.48 per cent now. The DMK-led front got about 52 per cent vote share in 2019. The DMK secured 32.76 per cent of votes, up from 23.6 per cent it got in 2014. The DMK and Stalin hammered in the anti-Tamil Nadu stance of the BJP-led government starting from Hindi imposition, loss of jobs due to demonetisation, employing north Indians in large numbers in railway and postal departments, rise in fuel prices, alleged failure of Modi to keep his 2014 poll promises and water crisis for irrigation and drinking. "Tamil Nadu has bucked the national trend and voted for Congress in the past. The state voted for Congress in the Lok Sabha polls held after the Emergency. The people voted for Rajiv Gandhi (1989) and now for Rahul Gandhi," political analyst Raveendhran Dhuraiswamy told IANS. "On his part, Chief Minister Palaniswami retained power winning nine seats in the assembly by-elections. Palaniswami also contained Dhinakaran's influence and has brought some sort of an order within the party," Arokiasamy added. "In the assembly seats people voted for AIADMK while the same section voted for DMK-led alliance in the Lok Sabha polls," Arokiasamy said. The by-elections for 22 assembly seats were held owing to disqualification of 18 AIADMK law makers for anti-party activities by Speaker P. Dhanapal and the four vacancies arose due to the deaths and conviction of a member in a legal case. Arokiasamy said Stalin has emerged as a leader in his own right with this victory after the death of DMK President and former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi. Stalin's stature among at the national level must be up by several notches given the massive victory he pulled off in Tamil Nadu while the other opposition parties in their states suffered a severe drubbing at the hands of BJP-led alliance, Arokiasamy said. Meanwhile the Lok Sabha voting trend also shows about 11 per cent voter of Tamil Nadu have voted in favour of a third alternative. The percentage would slightly go up if one takes into account the vote share of the independents and NOTA (None of the Above option). What is interesting is that about 11 per cent of the votes polled was secured by three parties of which two made their debut (Makkal Needhi Maiam-MNM and Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam - AMMK) in the recent Lok Sabha polls. The Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK) floated by movie director Seeman has been contesting elections for quite some time. "There is a sizeable number of voters who want an alternative to AIADMK and DMK," Arokiasamy said. Arokiasamy said actor-politician Kamal Haasan floated MNM (vote about 3 per cent) has attracted the urban voters positioning the party as the third alternative while NTK (vote share about 3 per cent) attracted good traction among the rural voters with its anti-BJP and Tamil Nationalism stand. The AMMK party secured about five per cent. "Haasan's MNM has made a good beginning and Seeman has attracted the rural youth. It is Dhinakaran who has come as a cropper for the hype he had created before the poll," Dhuraiswamy said. According to Dhuraiswmay, the future of MNM, NTK and AMMK depends on the strategy they would take in the future. "The MNM may go for alliance in the future while the NTK has announced it will go it alone in the coming elections," Dhuraiswamy said. New Delhi, May 26 : With Prime Minister-elect Narendra Modi is all set to be sworn in for the second consecutive term and to choose his Cabinet, speculations are on as to who will be the new Agriculture Minister. Radha Mohan Singh, who headed the ministry in the first Modi government, is unlikely to be given the charge again, BJP sources said, adding that his tenure was not so impressive and the government faced a lot of criticism by the opposition parties on this front. The Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) defeat in the Assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh late last year were also seen as the repercussion of the farming community's anger. With Modi, having, on many occasions, surprised the country by his choice of several key appointments including Ram Nath Kovind as NDA's presidential candidate and Hardeep Singh Puri and K.J. Alphons as Ministers, Ashok Gulati is a name which may figure when Modi names his ministers and allocates them portfolios. If sources are to be believed, Gulati's name is being considered by Modi for the next Agriculture Minister. A well-known agricultural economist, Gulati is a former chairman of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP), the government's advisory body on food supplies and pricing policies, where he was instrumental in hiking minimum support price of several food grains. He was also assigned responsibility to advise the government on pricing policies of 23 agri-commodities. Currently Infosys chair professor for Agriculture at the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER), Gulati is also a member of the Task Force on Agriculture set by the Prime Minister under the NITI Aayog and the Chairman of the Expert Group on Agriculture Market Reforms. He was an active member of the High Level Committee set up by the NDA government to restructure and reorient the Food Corporation of India in order to improve its operational and financial efficiency. Having graduated from Shri Ram College of Commerce and done his Masters in Economics and PhD from the Delhi School of Economics, Gulati was the youngest member of the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council in the tenure of Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Mumbai, May 26 : There is an ungrudging admiration and near-total unanimity among political circles that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is the chief architect of the Bharatiya Janata Party-Shiv Sena victory in Maharashtra. Considered the blue-eyed boy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Fadnavis, 49, not only commandeered a repeat performance of 23-18 Lok Sabha seats (in 2014) for the BJP-Sena in 2019, but also strengthened the alliance's prospects for a similar sweep in the state Assembly elections, due in October. Armed with data and statistics, leading his team of backroom 'trouble-shooters' and aggressively attacking the Opposition while deflecting their multi-pronged invectives, he hugely succeeded in averting any electoral fallout. One example: Fadnavis thumbed the nose at the 56-party Opposition 'Mahagathbandhan' saying what was needed was a '56-inch chest' -- and the May 2019 elections outcome has proved him correct. However, till February, uncertainty loomed over which way the ruling alliance was headed with an obstinate Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray vowing to have no truck with the BJP in any future elections, embarassing it with a daily dose of poisonous darts fired through party's mouthpieces 'Saamana' and 'Dopahar Ka Saamana', and even attempting to seize the 'Hindutva' card with a visit to Ayodhya in November. Fadnavis, aided by his trusted lieutenants like ministers Chandrakant Patil and Girish Mahajan, finally bottled the fickle Sena 'genie' into a pre-poll alliance. Surprisingly, he even extracted a bonus wish from the Sena -- an alliance in the upcoming Assembly elections -- and then generously granted the Sena most of its known (and probably some unknown) conditions for the alliance -- and the two parties were half-way home! "The instructions were simple and clear -- the alliance is necessary for both the parties. It must be done at any cost," revealed a senior party leader, preferring anonymity. After his flock was ensnared and safe, the challenge of fighting 'external' forces, or the Opposition started, with Fadnavis personally leading the most aggressive charge. At one point during the campaign, he boomed at a public rally "that the Pawar family would be wiped out from Maharashtra politics" and at another, even talked of bagging an incredulous 45 of the state's 48 parliamentary seats. Well, the alliance fell partly short of that target, but retained its 2014 tally of 41 seats even in 2019, in what he described as "not a Modi-wave, but a silent Modi-Tsunami" that flattened the Opposition. More than half-way into the campaign, an unexpected knight in shining armour appeared on the political arena, in the form of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) President Raj Thackeray. His nearly a dozen rallies in different parts of the state served to somewhat unnerve the ruling alliance for its potential damage, but Fadnavis and his warriors hit back with equal vigour. Raj Thackeray's famous line "laav re video" (play the video), which sought to expose the ruling BJP at the state and Centre, finally proved to be a flop show and after the elections, his estranged cousin Uddhav Thackeray responded to it mockingly: "Laav re fatake" (light the fire-crackers). Modi himself addressed around a dozen rallies in the state compared to Congress President Rahul Gandhi's less than half-a-dozen, and with few other national leaders coming to aid the Maharashtra battle. For the BJP-Sena alliance, silent blessings came in the form of the Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangh-All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen alliance called the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi -- an unprecedented experiment of the Dalit-Muslim factor in the state. As it has turned out, the VBA ate away more than 42 lakh votes across the state and instead of denting the BJP-Sena support base, it has hit the Opposition's prospects in at least 16 constituencies. Though VBA President Prakash Ambedkar himself lost, the AIMIM managed to get its Aurangabad Central MLA Imtiaz Jaleel Syed elected from Aurangabad Lok Sabha seat. Syed knocked out veteran Shiv Sena leader and four-time MP Chandrakant Khaire to bag the Aurangabad Lok Sabha seat by a narrow margin. However, all the damage-control measures by the alliance could not prevent the Sena from losing five of its seats, including Raigad, where its sole Union Cabinet minister Anant Geete was felled by NCP's Sunil Tatkare, and the BJP forfeiting its Union Minister of State for Home Hansraj G. Ahir to the Congress' Suresh N. Dhanorkar in Chandrapur -- seats which were acounted for in Fadnavis' original calculations. Stunned by the VBA factor, the Congress -- in an early-bird initiative -- invited them to form an alliance with it in the Assembly elections, with rumours that even Raj Thackeray's MNS may take a political plunge now. Little wonder, the state's first BJP -- and the second Brahmin -- Chief Minister has done justice to Modi's laurels, who had once said: "Fadnavis is a gift to the people of Maharashtra", and later a slogan became popular: "Desh me Narendra, Pradesh me Devendra." (Quaid Najmi can be contacted at q.najmi@ians.in) New Delhi, May 26 : Posts containing fake news continued to flourish on social media platforms after the end of the Lok Sabha elections that saw the Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) returning to power with a massive win. Celebrations followed the results that pave the way for Modi to become the Prime Minister of the country for the second consecutive term. Some distributed ladoos to celebrate the victory. A few others spread fake news. A post claiming that "Welcome Modi Ji" has been written on all the city buses of London soon started doing the rounds on social media platforms. The claims were found to be fake by fact-checking platform BOOM. The images used for the posts originated in 2015, when a bus named "Modi Express" was launched by the Indians living in the UK, the fact checkers found. Some even circulated a video on Facebook that claimed that a Gujrati man got so elated with Modi's re-election that he showered cash on people in Milton, Canada. The caption that accompanied the video claimed that the man made a lot of profit after the share market responded positively to Modi's re-election. BOOM traced the viral video to the Instagram account of a Detroit, US based man. It found that the video, originally shot in New York, was uploaded much before the election results in India were declared and it had nothing to do with the celebration of BJP's victory. On May 23, the day the results of the Lok Sabha polls were declared, a video that showed Modi with his mother went viral on Facebook. While social media users claimed that the video was shot after BJP's landslide victory in the elections, fact checking website Alt News traced the video to 2014. BOOM also found that following the victory of the BJP, a quote that was falsely attributed to Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan in the past resurfaced on WhatsApp. "I would leave India if Modi becomes the PM of this country," the actor was falsely quoted as saying in the post that demanded that the actor should now "apologise or leave the country as PM Modi is back". BOOM traced the quote to a fake tweet and fake news report that celebrated the 2018 April Fool's Day with the false information. These posts, however, are only the tip of the iceberg. Many more fake posts are doing the rounds on social media with some even falsely claiming that six lakh votes polled in favour of Congress President Rahul Gandhi in Kerala's Wayanad mysteriously disappeared from the records. According to BOOM Founder Govindraj Ethiraj, the spread of fake news reached an "all-time high" in the run up to the 2019 general election. The flow of fake news after the election results suggests that the tide of misinformation on social media is unlikely to stop any time soon. "The biggest challenge to fighting fake new is that over 300 million of the 550 million smartphone and broadband users in the country are low on literacy and digital literacy and are especially gullible," leading tech policy and media consultant Prasanto K. Roy earlier told IANS. Latest updates on Howdy Modi Houston New Delhi, May 26 : In a strong signal to US President Donald Trump who is urging European allies to put pressure on or even block Huawei, the Chinese conglomerate's Founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei has stressed that the US campaign against the company would not be powerful enough to call on everyone to follow them. Petrified at the Chinese dominance in the field of 5G - a technology that has the potential to grow from approximately $528 million in 2018 to $26 billion in 2022 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 118 per cent - Trump has imposed fresh restrictions on Chinese telecom giant Huawei in the US, followed by several American tech giants like Google, Qualcomm and Intel announcing to cut business ties with Huawei. In a lengthy discussion with the Chinese media, Zhengfei denied that restrictions imposed by the US on its products and supplies will affect the roll-out of 5G technology. "I used to have afternoon tea at 10 Downing Street. They asked me how I learned to catch up with the rest of the world, and I said it was the afternoon tea. "Therefore, they received me with afternoon tea at Downing Street. We have been communicating with leaders of different countries. Every country has their own interests. The campaign of the US will not be powerful enough to call on everyone to follow them," the Huawei CEO told the media. As tech giants cut their ties with Huawei, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) - the world's largest contract chipset maker - would continue to deliver critical semiconductors to Huawei Technologies. "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," said a beaming Zhengfei. "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," he added. The company believes in 1+1 policy - half of its 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. These relationships won't be destroyed by a piece of paper from the US government," Zhengfei told the Chinese media. Anticipating a US backlash, the company's subsidiary HiSilicon which makes the Kirin chipsets for Huawei phones, has been reportedly stockpiling components and is confident about a steady supply of most products. Another critical front where Huawei can see its market share slip significantly if it does not get Google's support for myriad of products like Maps, Search, YouTube and Play Store, without which, the life can't be imagined. "Google is a good company - a highly responsible company. They are also trying to persuade the US government to solve this problem. We are both finding solutions and discussing possible remedies," said the Huawei ECO. To mitigate the effects of the Google Android ban, Huawei has reportedly been working on its custom HongMeng operating system but it is in early days. "We will certainly be able to continue serving our customers. Our mass production capacity is huge, and adding Huawei to the Entity List won't have a huge impact on us. We are making progress in bidding worldwide. "Our growth will slow down, though not by as much as everyone imagines. In the first quarter of this year, our revenue grew 39 per cent over the same period last year. This rate may continue decreasing towards the end of this year. But the US ban will not lead to negative growth or harm the development of our industry," he hoped. The company currently has 26 centres of expertise for R&D globally, over 700 mathematicians, 800 physicists and 120 chemists working at Huawei. "My children prefer Apple products over Huawei. Does it mean that they don''t love Huawei? Of course not. "We cannot simply say that one is patriotic if they use Huawei products and they are not if they don't use Huawei products. Huawei products are ultimately commodities. People use them if they like them. Politics should be left out of it," he noted. New Delhi, May 26 : Impacted by a consumption slowdown, India's economy faces another peril, that of rising trade protectionism, which, along with tensions in the Middle East, will hamper merchandise exports and widen the trade deficit, as it did in April. The fact that India has had a trade deficit since 1988 might not come as a surprise, for unlike its east Asian neighbours, the country relies more on internal consumption for its economic growth. But a wider trade deficit, at this time, will come as a double whammy for the economy which already faces slowdown in internal consumption. The trend seems to continue with April data showing a widening gap. However, the data from 1988 to 2018 shows that overall trade balance as a percentage of the GDP has come down substantially. "The data clearly suggest that the trade deficit is primarily on account of imports of intermediary products and not the finished goods," Export Promotion Council of India Chairman Mohit Singla told IANS. "The trend also suggest that slowly, we are moving away from non-renewable energy to renewable energy sources, which depicts, that in time to come, our import bill owing to import of oil will be much less." Singla also said that "due to sustained efforts of the government", finished products have been replaced by intermediary products which will definitely reduce India's trade deficit. According to Madhavi Arora, Lead Economist, Edelweiss Securities, global growth is likely to remain patchy, implying weaker exports demand and weaker manufacturing production. "With India's exports now more demand and income sensitive, slower global growth will hit exports growth as well. With trade losing its shine as an engine of global growth, some economies are also looking inward to spur up domestic demand. "Besides, to give boost to exports, the country needs to work on its competitiveness, thus implying focusing on improvement in productivity of all factors of production rather than simply relying on exchange rate as a lever for exports boost," she said. In April, India's merchandise exports inched up 0.64 per cent, on a year-on-year basis to $26.07 billion from $25.91 billion in the corresponding month of last year. On the other hand, imports grew by 4.48 per cent to $41.40 billion, from $39.63 billion reported in the corresponding month of 2018. Segment-wise, oil imports in April were $11.38 billion, which was 9.26 per cent higher in dollar terms, compared to $10.41 billion in April 2018. Additionally, the trade deficit during the month under review widened to $15.33 billion as against the deficit of $13.72 billion in April 2018. Nonetheless, on an overall basis, India's exports including merchandise and services in April are estimated to have grown by 1.34 per cent to $44.06 billion over April 2018. Commenting on April's data, Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) President Ganesh Kumar Gupta said that $26.07 billion with a growth of 0.64 per cent "is not at all encouraging as almost all the labour-intensive sectors, including leather and leather products, gems and jewellery, engineering goods... dominated by MSMEs, are into negative territory". "These sectors are still facing the problem of liquidity besides various other challenges, including the global trade war, protectionism, fragile global conditions and constraints on the domestic front," Gupta was quoted as saying in a statement. Besides, he expressed his concerns on the rising trade deficit primarily on account of swelling crude and gold import bills. In addition, the FIEO chief opined that with rising trade tensions between US and China, the global trade scenario may further worsen, putting more pressure on Indian exports in months to come. (Rohit Vaid can be contacted at rohit.v@ians.in) Jaipur, May 26 : In Rajasthan, the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) has shown its value to the BJP by turning the tables on the Congress in the Lok Sabha election even at a time when the state is under Congress rule. The RSS has an excellent work record in the western belt of Rajasthan which comprised crucial Lok Sabha seats including Jodhpur and Barmer. Its different units including Kisaan Sangh, Mazdoor Sangh and a separate unit active in border villages have been active on the ground for the last several years contributing to social causes irrespective of caste barriers and as a result, they won the favour of the local masses. Also their gestures of organising inter-caste marriages and cow welfare, among many others, made their workers earn the people's trust. Eventually, it was not a tough contest for the RSS when Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's son was fielded from Jodhpur against Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat who also has an RSS background and romped to victory. The organisation was firmly determined to show its strengths, virtually making it a Chief Minister versus RSS contest in Jodhpur. Surprisingly, all caste equations were neutralised on these seats when Jats, considered rivals of the Rajputs, also voted for Shekhawat who won by around 2.7 lakh votes. Similar was the story of the Barmer seat which witnessed Congress' Manvendra Singh fielded against the humble Kailash Chaudhary who was a farmer leader and yet again an RSS worker. Here too, Chaudhary won by 3.23 lakh votes brushing aside all caste equations by garnering votes of Rajputs too. As RSS workers were silently working on booth analysis and campaigning for their candidates across the state, Chief Minister Gehlot many a time openly criticised the working of the RSS during his press conferences and public gatherings during the election. Twice in May, Gehlot attacked RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, advising him to merge with the BJP and "play politics on the front foot". In one of his tweets, he said: "The RSS must do politics on the front foot. The Congress is strong enough to fight back. Let's fight it out in the open. Let's see who has what policies, what programmes and what ideals. Let's say what we want and then let the people decide. Politics from behind the curtains is not in the interest of the country." "The way RSS leaders are giving covert support to the BJP, indulging in politics and enjoying its benefits while staying behind the scenes, it would be better if the Sangh announces itself as a political party. They should take my advice very seriously, discuss it and come forward," Gehlot had said. "It seemed the Rajasthan Chief Minister had got an inkling that his son was losing the battle in his home turf and hence he came out openly against us," says a senior RSS worker. In fact, the RSS after witnessing the BJP's defeat in the Assembly election in December, became proactive right from January and worked on a clear strategy. The workers of around 4,000 RSS 'shakhas' in the state proactively went door to door surveying the electorate and classified them in four different categories. The last category which constituted of Congress loyalists was altogether ignored and all emphasis was given to the other three categories to ensure they voted for the BJP. Their clear plans changed the fortunes of the saffron party which did result in record voting and record victories in many seats in the state. And the direct consequence of its efforts resulted in the drastic rise in BJP's vote share which was an increase of around 20 per cent as compared to the 2018 Assembly polls. The BJP's vote share was 54.5 per cent as compared to 38.8 per cent in the Assembly polls. The ground work of booth workers and RSS teams read the pulse of voters and drew them out of their houses to vote in big numbers. Also, fresh voters' names were added in voting lists with their support. As a result, 68.22 per cent voting was recorded in the first phase of polling held on April 29 for 13 seats, while in the second phase on May 6, around 63.78 per cent voting was registered on 12 seats. Overall, 66.12 per cent voting was recorded which was the highest voter turnout in the state in the last 67 years. In 2014, 63.10 per cent voting was recorded. As RSS was quite active in western Rajasthan, a few seats witnessed over 70 per cent polling in some belts as people supported the BJP due to the social work being done since the last many years and they came out in large numbers to vote. The RSS has also been working thoroughly in Bhilwara, where BJP candidate Subhash Baheria clinched victory by over six lakh votes. The unit has been quite active with their 'path sanchalans' and their cow research centre has been drawing accolades by people of all castes and creeds in this belt. Another BJP candidate from Chittorgarh, C.P. Joshi, who won by record margin of over four lakh votes, is yet again a soldier of the RSS army who is expected to get a decent berth in the Union cabinet. Advertisements congratulating him were released a day before the counting was done which left the opposition stunned and surprised over his confidence. New York, May 26 : An Indian has been charged with allegedly transporting illegal immigrants who crossed from Canada to the US, according to officials. Jawant Singh, 30, who was caught by a Border Patrol agent with the help of a Customs and Border Protection Agency helicopter, was accused in a federal court in Syracuse, New York, of transporting two illegal immigrants for $2,200, federal prosecutor Grant Jaquith announced on Thursday. The helicopter spotted several people crossing the St Lawrence River into the US and entering a vehicle, according to court documents. The border agent then stopped the vehicle and Singh was arrested. People illegally immigrating from Canada to the US is a twist to the perceptions that President Donald Trump's America is hostile to immigrants and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Canada welcomes them. Singh, who is from Philadelphia, was produced before Federal Magistrate Judge David Peebles, who ordered him detained. (Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in and followed on Twitter @arulouis) Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 26) No official trips to Canada for now. This, according to a memorandum issued by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, saying department secretaries and heads of agencies, government-owned and controlled corporations, and government financial institutions cannot issue travel permits to Canada. The memo was dated May 20. Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo confirmed the memo, adding heads of government agencies were told to "reduce official interaction with representatives of the Canadian government." In his statement, Panelo said the action was in line with the government's stance on "diminished diplomatic relations" with Canada after the failure to reclaim garbage shipped to Manila six years ago. On May 16, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teddy Locsin Jr. announced on social media that recall letters were sent to the ambassador and consuls stationed in Canada after it missed the May 15 deadline to pick up the trash. The Canadian government said it is "disappointed" by Ambassador Petronila Garcia's recall. Duterte then ordered the return of the garbage at the Philippines' expense.<> On May 22, Canadian officials said they contracted a shipping company to bring back the trash, and that Canada would shoulder the cost. A statement from Environment and Climate Change Canada, a Canadian government agency which gives information on how to protect and conserve the country's natural heritage, said the removal of the garbage would be completed by the end of June. Panelo and Environment Undersecretary Benny Antiporda said the deadline was unacceptable. Amethi, May 26 : A close aide of Union Minister Smriti Irani was shot dead by unidentified assailants in Uttar Pradesh's Amethi district, police said on Sunday. According to Additional Superintendent of Police Daya Ram, said Surendra Singh, the former chief of Baraulia village, was killed near his residence on Saturday night. Amethi, May 26 : A close aide of Union Minister Smriti Irani was shot dead by unidentified assailants in Uttar Pradesh's Amethi district, police said on Sunday, adding that two people have been arrested. According to Additional Superintendent of Police Daya Ram, Surendra Singh, the former chief of Baraulia village, was killed by the bike-borne assailants while he was sleeping outside his house on Saturday night. Singh succumbed to his injuries while on his way to a hospital in Lucknow. Ram added that an investigation has been launched into the incident. Chennai, May 26 : Actor-filmmaker Raghava Lawrence said that he would reconsider his decision to direct the upcoming Akshay Kumar-starrer horror-comedy "Laxmmi Bomb" if the makers give him the respect he deserves. A week after Lawrence walked out of the project citing lack of respect, he posted a statement on Twitter on Sunday, saying: "I had tweeted about stepping out of 'Laxmmi Bomb' a few days back. Post my tweet, both Akshay Kumar sir's fans and my fans have been requesting me to do this film. I'm overwhelmed with their genuine love. But trust me, I'm equally upset for the past one week as you are." He said that he was very "thrilled" to do this film as he waited a long time for this opportunity. Lawrence also revealed that the makers are meeting him and he will think about directing the project if he's assured respect. "The producers are coming to Chennai to meet me. It's completely in their hands now. If I am given proper self-respect for the job, then I'll think about it. Let's see after the meeting. Wanted to share this message to all fans who were genuinely concerned," he added. In "Laxmmi Bomb", Akshay plays a character that will be possessed by a ghost of a transgender. The film also features Kiara Advani. Srinagar, May 26 : After two days of official clampdown and separatist called protests, life on Sunday started limping back to normal in the Kashmir valley. Authorities had imposed a clampdown in the Valley after the killing of top militant commander Zakir Musa on Thursday. Curfew-like restrictions, closure of all educational institutions, cancellation of scheduled exams and a virtual Internet blackout followed Musa's killing in Dadsara village of Tral area. Musa was not only the most wanted militant commander in Kashmir, but had become an icon of homegrown militancy after the death of Burhan Wani on July 8, 2019. Official measures to maintain law and order were defied at dozens of places by angry youth who pelted stones at the security forces. Separatists called for a protest shutdown and life remained literally paralysed for two days after the Tral area gunfight. Separatists have appealed people to return to their normal daily routine from Sunday and also confirmed that there would be no shutdown. Despite being a public holiday, markets opened after two days in Srinagar city and other towns in the Valley on Sunday. Public transport also started moving as usual both in Srinagar and all other districts of the Valley. To facilitate people move about without any hardship, authorities did not impose restrictions anywhere. Dubai, May 26 : A Dubai-based Indian boy has ranked among the top 100 regional finalists for the Google Science Fair global contest for his project to make street lights smarter, the media reported. Shaamil Karim, a grade 11 student at the Indian High School Dubai, was selected from thousands of entries, Gulf News reported on Saturday. His project detects if a car or person is passing by and makes the next street light brighter and the previous light dimmer, saving energy. Karim, a 15-year-old computer whizkid who originally hail from Chennai, said his father was his inspiration to come up with a solution for power wastage. "We were at a park late at night and all the lights were switched on. My dad said, 'Can't we do something about this?' I decided to do my project to make street lights smart," he told the Gulf News. Karim added that his project would be around 63 per cent cheaper than infrared-based sensors. The global 20 finalists are expected to be announced this month. Islamabad, May 26 : Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan will arrive in Islamabad on Sunday on a three-day visit to Pakistan, the government announced. "The visit is in continuation of high-level exchanges between the two countries, which have acquired an increased momentum since Prime Minister Imran Khan's visit to China in November 2018 and his participation in the 2nd Belt and Road Forum in Beijing in April 2019," Foreign Office spokesman Muhammad Faisal said. According to Faisal, Wang will call on President Arif Alvi and Imran Khan, reports The News International. A number of MoUs and agreements will be signed during the visit. The Chinese Vice President will also inaugurate projects to enhance bilateral cooperation. "The visit of the Vice President underscores the vitality of the time-tested and all-weather relationship between Pakistan and China. "It would reinforce the strength of bilateral ties and impart further impetus to the growing, multi-faceted cooperation between the two countries in diverse fields," Faisal added. Srinagar, May 26 : A large number of people took to the streets on Sunday against the alleged detention and thrashing of two boys by the Army in Jammu and Kashmir's Badgam district. The protesters alleged that during demonstrations that erupted in the aftermath of militant commander Zakir Musa's killing, the Army detained some youths belonging to Dharmuna village at an Army camp. Family members of one of the two boys handed over to them on Friday alleged that both had been ruthlessly beaten by the soldiers. One of the injured boys, Fazil Fayaz Malik, 14, of Soibug village was referred to the Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) and was operated for a head injury. "He has been put on life support facility. His condition is critical," a doctor said. Locals have also alleged that when they approached the Army camp earlier seeking the release of the detained boys, they were told that they had been handed over to the police. A police official said that they were now holding only three boys. Defence Ministry spokesman Colonel Rajesh Kalia told IANS that the Army was ascertaining details of the allegation and would soon come up with the facts. Amethi, May 26 : UP Minister Mohsin Raza said on Sunday that the state government will ensure such stringent punishment for the assailants of BJP MP Smriti Irani's aide in Amethi that no one will dare to target party workers in future. "No one will dare to harass and target our workers. We will ensure strict punishment for the killers. At the moment we are all with the family of the deceased," he told reporters. Mohsin Raza and Smriti Irani not only attended the cremation of the deceased Surendra Singh but also carried the body of the deceased on their shoulders. Senior police officials from Lucknow also reached Amethi to supervise the investigation. Barauliya, the village to which the deceased Surendra Singh belonged, is said to be a BJP stronghold and sources say that the BJP got votes from here even when Rajiv Gandhi held the Amethi seat. Surendra Singh, interestingly, had joined the Samajwadi Party on the eve of 2017 Assembly elections but returned to the BJP soon after. Singh was preparing to contest the panchayat elections scheduled to be held later this year and this could have been a motive behind the murder, some said in Amethi. New Delhi, May 26 : Heads are expected to roll in the Congress following the party's dismal performance in the just-concluded Lok Sabha elections where it won just 52 seats, just 8 more than what it managed in 2014. A party source told IANS: "Many General Secretaries and state unit chiefs could face the heat as the party will fix responsibility for its poor performance." The Congress Working Committee (CWC) on Saturday authorised Rahul Gandhi -- whose offer to step down as the Congress President was unanimously rejected by CWC members -- to make a complete overhaul and detailed restructuring of the party at every level. According to the source, the Congress President was quite forthright at the CWC meeting, not sparing even some senior leaders of the party. Gandhi is believed to have said that Congress Chief Ministers Ashok Gehlot and Kamal Nath were eager to give ticket to their sons although the party President was not very keen on the idea as he felt that they had a bigger role to play in campaigning. While Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath's son Nakul Nath successfully contested from his father's stronghold Chhindwara, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's son Vaibhav Gehlot tasted defeat in Jodhpur. The source said that Gandhi also referred to veteran Congressman and former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram for pushing for a Lok Sabha ticket for his son Karti Chidambaram from Sivaganga in Tamil Nadu. Karti Chidambaram is one of the eight Congress candidates who emerged victorious in Tamil Nadu. The Congress President reportedly told the CWC that these senior leaders had put the interests of their sons before the interests of the party. Gandhi is learnt to have said that Chidambaram was even willing to walk out of the party if his son was denied a Lok Sabha ticket. However, when Gandhi offered to step down as the Congress President on Saturday, Chidambaram got emotional and broke down in front of the CWC members. The source said that Chidambaram reportedly told Gandhi that 12 crore people had voted for the party and that "south India believes in you. How can you say you don't want to remain President?". New Delhi, May 26 : As the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government is set for its second term in office, realty players want the government to resolve the liquidity crisis in the industry at the earliest. In the upcoming full budget, developers say the government should give industry status to the realty sector and introduce single-window clearance for projects. Anuj Puri, Chairman of Anarock Property Consultants, said: "It (new government) inherits major issues that the real estate industry is still grappling with, and require immediate attention. The issues include a surfeit of stalled or delayed housing projects, a huge pile-up of unsold stock across cities (paradoxically juxtaposed against a huge housing deficit), property prices that remain unaffordable for the large part of population, and the ongoing liquidity crisis of developers. "The real estate industry is hopeful that the government will redress and resolve the liquidity crisis the sector is facing," said Niranjan Hiranandani, President of the National Real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO). A strong and steady government should bring about stability with remedial actions without much delay, he added. The liquidity crisis became apparent after infrastructure lending major IL&FS in September defaulted on few of its commercial papers, which impacted several segments, including the real estate business. Although the goods and services tax (GST) rates were lowered for the under-construction properties recently, the market players advocate few more changes and streamlining of the GST. "As far as the GST is concerned, we feel reduction in rates is lucrative for buyers, but input tax credit (ITC) should be given to developers," said Pradeep Aggarwal, Chairman of Signature Global India. Aggarwal is also the Chairman of Assocham National Council on Real Estate, Housing and Urban Development. In February 2019, the GST Council lowered tax on the under-construction properties to 5 per cent from 18 per cent, and affordable housing projects to 1 per cent from 8 per cent, with effect from April 1. This rate cut, in effect, did away with the ITC or refund given to builders on taxes paid on inputs. Honey Katiyal, CEO of Investors Clinic, said the ITC's inclusion in the GST umbrella for under-construction properties would increase developers' profit share, and added stamp duty and registration charges should also be brought under the GST ambit. "The relaxation in GST with inclusion of the ITCs for developers along with addition of stamp duty and registration charges will help bridge the demand-supply gap," he said. The single-window clearance for projects is another long-standing demand, and realtors say they expect the new government to take steps on that front. "This process will create a positive environment as delay in clearances result in increased cost, which reflect on homebuyers. The single-window system will help in speeding up the clearance process, while minimising documentation. It will benefit both the sector and the homebuyers," Katiyal said. The industry status for the sector is also being demanded for long. The government accorded industry status to the affordable housing segment in 2017, and developers feel it should be extended to the entire sector. The industry or infrastructure status helps players get loans on easy rates from banks compared with financial institutions or private equity funds. It also means easing of cap on banks' lending to a particular industry. "After the affordable segment has been awarded the infrastructure industry status, we are hopeful the government will award the industry status to the entire realty segment," said Abhishek Kulkarni, Chairman and Managing Director of Million Sqft Realty. As the market saw several measures, like the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code and the GST, in the past few years, with the NDA returning with even bigger mandate than 2014, sector players expect further reforms. New Delhi, May 26 : Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday telephoned his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi to congratulate him on his victory in the parliamentary elections. Thanking Khan for the congratulatory message, Modi referred to his earlier message to Pakistan to fight poverty jointly, an External Affairs Ministry statement said. Modi stressed that creating trust and an environment free of violence and terrorism were essential to foster cooperation for peace, progress and prosperity in the region. Amritsar, May 26 : Outgoing Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, who failed to win the Lok Sabha battle from Amritsar, termed it a privilege to forge ties with the people of the Sikh holy city with which he has a family "connect". "I once again felt the surge of the kind of electricity that mass contact with people and the rough and tumble of ground level electioneering brings. "But the permanent connect that I have been able to make with people of the holy city has been worth every moment of the 21 days I got to campaign in the city and its nine rural and urban 'halqas'," the diplomat-turned-politician wrote on Facebook on Sunday. Tracing his roots, Puri, who lost to sitting Congress MP Gurjit Singh Aujla by 99,626 votes, said the election has only reiterated the connect that he had with the city. "A connect established by my grandfather Sardar Sujan Singh who was wounded in the Jallianwala Bagh carnage in 1919 and later by my father who sought refuge in Guru Nagri after he took the last Frontier Mail from Lahore to escape the ravages of partition." Remembering his experience as a first-time politician, Puri said: "The welcoming smiles, the warm hospitality, the brotherly embraces, the enthusiastic handshakes, youngsters touching my feet...and those thousands of selfies (the digital age expression of affection!) clearly communicated that the people (not politicians) of Amritsar never looked at me as an outsider." "Elections come and go but I want to assure every 'karyakarta' and every citizen of Sri Amritsar Sahib, that the bond we now have will be everlasting and permanent. I will keep coming back home to Amritsar to be with them. I am as much a part of their lives as they are of mine," he added. New Delhi, May 26 : Rahul Gandhi on Sunday took back his offer to quit as the Congress President, a proposal he made during the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting on Saturday following the partys dismal show in the Lok Sabha elections, party sources said. The sources added that responsibility will be fixed for the party's debacle in the general elections and actions will unfold in the next 10 days. Gandhi had offered to step down from the party President's post at the CWC meeting, taking responsibility for Congress' embarrassing defeat in the Lok Sabha polls. However, his offer was unanimously rejected by the CWC members though Gandhi had insisted on its acceptance. Party sources said that Gandhi took back the offer to resign in the wake of the views expressed by the CWC members. New Delhi, May 26 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday received telephone calls from former Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed and former Nepali Prime Minister Madhav Nepal congratulating him on his victory in the parliamentary elections. An External Affairs Ministry statement said that Nasheed congratulated Modi on the historic mandate and noted that the relationship between Maldives and India had deepened in recent times. He also stressed the importance of close cooperation to fight the forces of extremism and radicalisation in the region. Modi thanked him for his felicitation and reiterated his commitment to continue fostering a strong, mutually beneficial and all-round partnership between the two countries for peace, security and development in the region. The statement said that Madhav Nepal congratulated Modi for leading his party and alliance to a "grand, historic and landslide victory". He expressed confidence that India's emergence as a front-ranking world power would qualitatively uplift the entire region. Thanking Nepal for his wishes, Modi expressed his earnest desire to further strengthen the historically friendly and multifaceted ties between India and Nepal. Kathmandu, May 26 : Three people were killed and five others were injured in two separate explosions in Nepal's capital Kathmandu on Sunday evening, the Nepal Police said. The police has not confirmed whether these were bomb explosions or cylinder blasts. Caracas, May 26 : The President of Venezuela said his delegation was preparing to travel to Norway for a fresh round of negotiations with the opposition. "I thank the Norwegian government for its efforts to facilitate dialogue about peace and stability in Venezuela. Our delegation is heading to Oslo, ready to work on the comprehensive agenda prepared and move towards signing agreements," Nicolas Maduro tweeted on Saturday. The tweet also included a video where he and First Lady Cilia Flores were seen holding a meeting with Vice President Delcy Rodriguez and the delegation which will represent the government in the meetings in Norway, headed by Communications Minister Jorge Rodriguez. He will be accompanied by Foreign Affairs Minister Jorge Arreaza and Hector Rodriguez, the governor of Miranda state, Maduro said, reports Efe news. The message by Maduro, who had attended a public event earlier in the day, came after opposition leader Juan Guaido - recognized as the interim president of the country by more than 50 countries - announced that he was accepting Norway's mediation offer. In a statement, the Norwegian government announced that the two parties would return to Oslo next week to continue the process initiated by the country. "We reiterate our commitment to continue supporting the search for an agreed-upon solution between the parties in Venezuela," it said. Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ine Eriksen SAreide said in the statement that "Norway commends the parties for their efforts and appreciates their disposition". Venezuela has witnessed extreme political tensions since January when Maduro was sworn in for another six-year term after winning elections which were termed fraudulent by the opposition. In response, Guaido declared himself the interim President. The political crisis has deepened since and a number of countries, including Norway, have been trying to encourage mechanisms to find a solution through negotiations. Although until now the opposition has refused to accept more talks with the government, calling it an attempt to buy time, Guaido announced that he would accept Norway's mediation provided it resulted in an end to the "usurpation" of the presidency by Maduro, a transitional government as well as free and fair elections. New Delhi, May 26 : The Delhi police have arrested one person in connection with the murder of an 11-year-old boy whose body was recovered from under a flyover in the capital's Khajuri Khas area on Saturday night, the police said on Sunday. The deceased was reported missing for the last 12 days. "The boy was reported missing on May 14 by his family members who live in the Nehru Vihar area. On Saturday night we recovered his boy. A youth living in the neighbourhood has been arrested in connection with the case," said Atul Kumar Thakur, Deputy Commissioner of Police (North-east Delhi). The arrested person has been identified as Danish Ali (28). During interrogation, Ali confessed to the crime in question and told the police that he had picked up an argument with the deceased boy who had told him not to sit in front of his house. The police have not ruled out the chances of sexual assault before the murder and are waiting for the post-mortem report to confirm their suspicion. "Ali is claiming that he killed the boy just because the latter told him not to sit in front of his house. However, we doubt his claims and are waiting for the post-mortem report to ascertain whether the deceased was sexually assaulted before being killed," said a senior police officer, who did not wish to be identified. New Delhi, May 26 : Rahul Gandhi on Sunday took back his offer to quit as the Congress President, a proposal he made during the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting on Saturday following the party's rout in the Lok Sabha elections, party sources said. A party source told IANS: "Rahulji has taken back his proposal to resign as the party chief today." The source added that responsibility will be fixed for the party's debacle in the general elections and action will unfold in the next 10 days. Many party General Secretaries and state unit chiefs could face the heat, the source said. Gandhi offered to step down from the President's post at the CWC meeting, taking responsibility for Congress' embarrassing defeat in the Lok Sabha polls in which it won just 52 seats. However, his offer was unanimously rejected by the CWC members though Gandhi had insisted on its acceptance. Party sources said Gandhi took back the offer to resign in the wake of the views expressed by the CWC members who wanted him to remain at the helm of the country's oldest political party. The CWC has authorised Gandhi to make complete overhaul and detailed restructuring of the party at every level. According to the source, the Congress President was quite forthright at the CWC meeting, not sparing even some senior leaders of the party. Gandhi is believed to have said that Congress Chief Ministers Ashok Gehlot and Kamal Nath were eager to give ticket to their sons although the party President was not very keen on the idea as he felt that they had a bigger role to play in campaigning. While Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath's son Nakul Nath successfully contested from his father's stronghold Chhindwara, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's son Vaibhav Gehlot tasted defeat in Jodhpur. Gandhi said that Ashok Gehlot campaigned in Jodhpur for a week, ignoring the other tasks of the party. The source said that Gandhi also referred to veteran Congressman and former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram for pushing for a Lok Sabha ticket for his son Karti Chidambaram from Sivaganga in Tamil Nadu. Karti Chidambaram is one of the eight Congress candidates who won in Tamil Nadu. The Congress President reportedly told the CWC that these senior leaders had put the interests of their sons before the interests of the party. Gandhi is learnt to have said that Chidambaram was even willing to walk out of the party if his son was denied a Lok Sabha ticket. Amethi, May 26 : A former village head known to be close to newly-elected BJP MP Smriti Irani was shot dead here early on Sunday, leading to the arrest of seven suspects even as the MP pledged to find out the killer "even if he is hiding in hell". An anguished Irani told the media after the cremation of Surendra Singh, the victim, that she will also knock on the Supreme Court's door to ensure that the culprits got death sentence. Irani rushed to Amethi from New Delhi and took part in the funeral of Surendra Singh, a former head of Barauliya village who was shot by bike-borne assailants outside his house, along with Uttar Pradesh Minister Mohsin Raza and scores of party supporters. Both Raza and Irani helped carry the body of the deceased on their shoulders. Singh was taken to the district hospital in Amethi after the attack and then referred to Lucknow. He succumbed to his injuries while on his way. The post-mortem of the deceased was carried out in Lucknow after which the body was brought to Amethi for cremation. Director General of Police O.P. Singh said that seven suspects had been detained in connection with the murder who were being interrogated. He said the police had got crucial leads. Three companies of the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) had been deployed in Barauliya village where the murder took place. BJP sources said that Singh had actively worked for Irani during the general elections. Police teams conducted raids in adjoining villages to trace the accused. Surendra Singh's son Abhay told reporters: "We could not see the perpetrators but it is clear that Congress workers are behind this. My father was actively campaigning for Smriti Irani and the BJP." The brother of the deceased, Rajendra Singh, also termed it a political killing. He said his brother wielded considerable influence in his village as well as in the adjoining villages and this led to his murder. Minister Raza, who is in-charge of Amethi, said the killers would be arrested within 24 hours. Raza added that the government will ensure such stringent punishment for the assailants that no one will dare to target BJP workers in future. "No one will dare to harass and target our workers. We will ensure strict punishment for the killers. At the moment we are all with the family of the deceased," he told reporters. Senior police officers from Lucknow reached Amethi to supervise the investigation. Barauliya, the village to which Surendra Singh belonged, is said to be a BJP stronghold and sources say the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) got votes from here even when Congress President Rajiv Gandhi held the Amethi seat. Surendra Singh, interestingly, had joined the Samajwadi Party on the eve of the 2017 Assembly elections but returned to the BJP soon after. The deceased was preparing to contest the panchayat elections scheduled to be held later this year and this could have been a motive behind the murder, some said in Amethi. On May 24, a Samajwadi Party member of the zila panchayat, Vijay Yadav, was shot dead in Ghazipur. Hyderabad, May 26 : AIMIM President Asaduddin Owaisi on Sunday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was only paying lip service by saying minorities live in fear as he and his party BJP had been "practicing hypocrisy" for five years. A day after the Prime Minister stated that minorities live in fear and called for removing it, Owaisi said Modi was not giving a message but "stood exposed with the hypocrisy and contradictions". If Modi stops gangs which are killing and beating Muslims in the name of cows, the fear among minorities will go away, he told reporters here. Referring to the latest incident of beating up of a Muslim in Madhya Pradesh by cow vigilantes, Owaisi said the BJP's victory had further emboldened these organisations and nobody could stop them. The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief said as the Prime Minister who takes oath on Constitution, Modi should know that right to life is for human beings and not for animals. "If the Prime Minister understands this basic thing of Constitution that right to life is for the human being, I am sure the fear will go away but BJP does not appreciate fundamental rights. "If the PM seriously feels minorities live in fear, will he stop all these gangs who in the name of cow, kill and beat Muslims, take out videos and demean us," said Owaisi terming these gangs as "bhasmasur". Noting that those who killed Akhlaq in the name of cow-killing were sitting on front bench in BJP public meetings, he also sought to remind Modi that one of his newly-elected MPs (Sadhvi Pragya Thakur) called Nathuram Godse a nationalist and she was also an accused in Malegaon blast in which six Muslims were killed. "If the Prime Minister seriously believes Muslims live in fear, I hope the RSS and the BJP will stop saying Muslims are appeased. If they are living in fear, will the PM ensure that the minority character of Jamia Millia Islamia and Aligarh Muslim University will not be disturbed," he asked. Agartala, May 26 : The India-Bangladesh District Magistrate-Deputy Commissioner level meeting would be held here on Monday to discuss border-related issues including crime as well as terrorism, an official said on Sunday. "District Magistrates of three Tripura districts and their Bangladeshi counterparts would meet here tomorrow (Monday). The one-day meet would discuss border-related issues including crimes, human trafficking, infiltration and terrorist activities," North Tripura District Magistrate C.K. Jamatia told IANS. Jamatia, who will lead the Indian delegation, said that border fencing, joint patrolling of the Border Security Force and Border Guards Bangladesh and setting up of more "Border Haats" (markets) would also be discussed in the meeting. Apart from District Magistrates of Tripura's Dhalai, Unakoti and North Tripura districts and Deputy Commissioners of Bangladesh's Rangamati, Khagrachari and Moulvibazar districts, senior officials of the BSF, the BGB, the Customs, the Geological Survey of India, as well as Superintendents of Police of both the Indian and Bangladeshi districts would also be present at the meet. Tripura, which is surrounded by Bangladesh from three sides, shares 856-km border with India's eastern neighbour. All of this, except a nearly 20-km-stretch, is fenced. Bengaluru, May 26 : South Indian actress Sumalatha Ambareesh on Sunday thanked the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for supporting her in winning the high-profile Mandya Lok Sabha constituency in Karnataka. "Sumalatha met our state President B.S Yeddyurappa and senior leader S.M. Krishna to personally thank them, other party leaders and cadres for their support," a BJP official told IANS. Sumalatha, 55, widow of Kannada film star and former Congress leader M.H. Ambareesh, won the seat - considered a JD-S bastion - by a margin of 1,25,876 votes, defeating the ruling Janata Dal-Secular candidate Nikhil Kumaraswamy, the son of Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy and grandson of party supremo and former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda. Mandya also recorded the highest voter turnout in the southern state with 80.24 per cent of the 13,72,308 votes polled. Sumalatha secured 7,03,660 and Nikhil 5,77,784. Asked if she would join the BJP, which won 25 of the state's 28 Lok Sabha seats, Sumalatha said she would decide on May 29 after consulting the people of Mandya who overwhelmingly voted for her as the daughter-in-law of the district. "As May 29th is also the birthday of my husband (Ambareesh), I will go by the opinion of my people on whose demand I contested and won with their support. I will abide by their decision as the development of the district and their welfare are my utmost concern as they were of Ambareesh," she told reporters. Sumalatha however said there was no provision for an Independent to join a party but she can extend issue-based support to the BJP. Ambareesh also represented Mandya thrice, twice as JD-S member (1996-99, 1999-2004) and then as Congress member (2004-2009). He was also a Minister in the UPA-1 government from October 2006 to February 2007. Ahmedabad, May 27 : Indicating that Bharatiya Janata Party is eyeing to conquer West Bengal, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday that the people in the eastern state are wishing for a Gujarat-like development. Modi recalled that ever since the 2014 elections, the story of Gujarat's development initiatives had reached all corners of the country even before he reached various places for campaigning. "I watched a social media interview of an elderly woman in West Bengal where she kept on repeating Modi-Modi. But when asked who she will vote for, she said she will vote for the communists. "When she was asked why, since she wanted Gujarat like development, she said this is Bengal, we can't say all this publicly, you never know what happens to you," Modi said during his first speech in Gujarat after the 2019 landslide victory in the Lok Sabha battle. The BJP, dramatically, improved its Lok Sabha tally in the state from two seats in the 2014 elections to 18 seats this time from the total 42 seats. Modi, who arrived here along with BJP President Amit Shah, was speaking at a thanks-giving public function near the old BJP headquarters in Ahmedabad's Khanpur area. While concluding his speech, he asked the people to raise the slogan "Bharat mata ki jai" and asked them to be louder, saying, "I and Amitbhai have to work there, our voice has to reach Bengal." Similarly, the party chief Amit Shah also asked people to raise the slogan. "Arey bhai, you sound too low after such a huge victory! Raise the slogans loud enough so that it echoes in West Bengal." The Assembly elections in West Bengal are scheduled in 2021. The Keshales-Papushado-directed action film about two female assassins who fight a male-dominated crime syndicate has finally completed the male team (led by Paul Giamatti) with another star from a hit series: Ivan Kaye, famous for his menacing presence and intense portrayal of King Aelle of Northumbria (the protagonists arch-enemy and nemesis in 'Vikings'), is likely to join the antagonists and if so, he brings powerful support to the syndicate that threatens the battle-hardened heroines. On Thursday, the actor himself has given his honorary social media promotion team TeamIvanKaye/Ivan Kaye Fans green light to share this information publicly and has posted a link to a news article on his official Facebook page "Ivan Kaye Fans". With a height of 6'4" (1,93 m), dark curls, a strong build and ample experience with awe-inspiring parts in historical and action settings alike, Kaye is well-suited to pose a serious threat to the badass female fighters portrayed by actresses known for 'Game of Thrones' (Lena Headey), from the Marvel Universe (Karen Gillan, Angela Bassett) and from other cult enterprises of the fantasy, sci-fi and action genres. As the film is described as having "bold humor" (Variety, 22 May 2019) and Ivan Kaye has experience playing gangsters who combine a menacing presence with comical qualities, his character Yankee could well be shaped along these lines. From photo posts that Kaye dropped on his social media on Tuesday hinting at a head cast being made for him, it is at least clear that his character will not stay undamaged throughout the story. This brilliant casting choice for a supporting part serves to stress the films promising prospect. It is going to be spectacular. Ivan Kaye has a packed schedule this summer dividing his time between filming Amazon's series pilot for an adaptation of Stephen King's 'The Dark Tower' in Croatia and 'Gunpowder Milkshake' in Germany. Kaye returns to the action genre after a series of historical productions, most recently starring as Lord Scrope in David Michod's much anticipated 'The King' that is expected to be released later this year. In 'Gunpowder Milkshake' he plays Yankee. He is represented by Denton Brierley. Digdev Eliminates The Need For Bot Traffic With Reliable Data DigDevDirect, a multi-channel data and digital marketing services agency, is based out of Deerfield Beach, Florida. With extensive utilization of data and email marketing packages for small to large businesses, DigDev has been providing quantitative solutions to companies for more than a decade. The audience reach is coupled with intensive data sourcing from the most reliable data points such as federal records, shipping records, postal records, annual reports of public companies and much more. Media Direct representative, As a small or medium business owner you are constantly looking for ways to increase the footfall to your website and drive more traffic. The first option that may tempt you would be to utilize bot traffic, but is that going to get you a real conversion? With DigDev Direct you get to utilize email and data appending services to customize campaigns to effectively execute your vision and goals. DigDev helps you to initiate an online conversation with potential and existing customers along with fully-utilizing offline communication channels. This help to generate a higher response rate, increase traffic to your website without the need for bots, achieve quality results and higher ROI, etc. For more information regarding this feature, please contact Dennis John at djohn@digdev.com. About DigDev Direct DigDev Direct utilizes a multi-channel marketing platform to cater to high-level services for customer acquisition and retention. Each channel comes with highly targeted strategies whether it be search engine optimization, pay per click, email marketing, mobile, data appending or more. Sunshine Coast Health Center - Drug Rehab and Alcohol Treatment Clinic in British Columbia We are very excited to be working with Jack Hirose & Associates on this upcoming mental health summit for Canada. Sunshine Coast Health Centre (SCHC), considered one of the best private drug, alcohol, PTSD, and trauma treatment programs in British Columbia, Canada, is pleased to announce its sponsorship of the upcoming Canadian Mental Health Summit to be held November 22, 2019, in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The conference will allow Canadian mental health professionals to share current treatment and research over three days in the beautiful city of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Its goal is to provide practical, useful and stimulating workshop choices that allow front line professionals to enhance their skill set and ultimately help their clients overcome a variety of mental health issues. "We are very excited to be working with Jack Hirose & Associates on this upcoming mental health summit for Canada," explained Casey Jordan, Chief Marketing Officer. "This conference will bring together 12 internationally renowned experts for 15 full day workshop options." According to the conference website, "Over the past 20 years, our annual conference has trained over 10,000 frontline mental health professionals. Our world renowned line up of guest presenters will address imperative topics such as: The 10 Best-Ever Anxiety and Depression Management Techniques, CBT Strategies: Core Skills and Competencies to Treat Your Most Challenging Clients!, Attachment Focused EMDR: Healing Developmental Deficits and Adults Abused as Children, Post-Traumatic Growth: Leading Clients on a Journey of Resiliency and Healing, Treatment and Management of Personality Disorders, Harnessing the Transformative Power of Mindful Acceptance (ACT), Failure to launch: Overcoming Delays in Independence, Advanced Motivational Interviewing, Mindfulness-Based CBT, Grief Therapy and Quest for Meaning, Dialectical Behaviour Skills Training (DBT) for Mental Health Professionals, Stopping the Noise: Practical Strategies to Help Clients with Panic, Generalized Anxiety, Phobias and OCD." Full information on the Summit can be found at http://www.jackhirose.com/workshop/cmhs-2019/. SPONSORSHIP AS A LEADING CANADIAN TREATMENT CENTRE Here is background on this release. Sunshine Coast Health Centre is one of the top drug rehab and alcohol treatment centres in BC and Canada. The Centre is an innovative and effective program and has adopted a non 12 step approach to help men recover from addiction as well as trauma and PTSD. The upcoming conference indicates that they are extremely grateful to have aligned with an organization that supports and values quality training for mental health professionals. Among the innovations at Sunshine Coast Health Centre are a PTSD therapy program (https://www.sunshinecoasthealthcentre.ca/ptsd-therapy-program/) and a trauma treatment program (https://www.sunshinecoasthealthcentre.ca/trauma-program/). Treatment is provided at its best-in-class facility located in Powell River, BC, although intake and post-treatment interactions occur throughout Canada at major cities. Interested persons are urged to reach out to the Centre for a confidential consultation. ABOUT SUNSHINE COAST HEALTH CENTRE Sunshine Coast Health Centre is a 47-bed drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility exclusively designed for men, officially opened on the 15th of March 2004. The Centre has a philosophy of care that goes beyond just addiction to include personal transformation based on three key therapeutic principles: interpersonal relatedness, self definition (autonomy & competence), and intrinsic motivation. The Centre offers both drug rehabilitation and alcohol treatment near Vancouver, BC, but serving patients across Canada, particularly British Columbia and Alberta and cities such as Calgary, Edmonton and Red Deer. Sunshine Coast Health Centre uses a form of drug rehabilitation based on the research of Viktor Frankl and methodology of Paul T.P. Wong, namely 'Meaning Centered Therapy'. Danville summer preschools. Learn and Play Montessori champions the award-winning Montessori Method for teaching young children. The company is announcing a new post about Danville summer preschools ready to enroll children of various personalities for the summer season. Learn and Play Montessori, a top-performing preschool in the Bay Area at https://www.learnandplaymontessori.com/, is proud to announce a new post in time for summer, 2019. Learning styles could vary among individual children. The post investigates and explains the selection of Danville summer preschools might vary in teaching methods. It can be essential to find a team of skilled teachers flexible enough to support the educational development of an individual child. "Parents in affluent communities such as Danville, Dublin, and San Ramon understand that each child has a specific personality and way of doing things. Finding an educational environment flexible enough to manage different learning styles can be a key to success," explained Harpreet Grewal, director of Learn and Play Montessori. "Our summer school program is open and ready to support a learning path right for individual children." The Bay Area community can review the new Learn and Play Montessori blog post on summer preschool options in Danville, California, at https://www.learnandplaymontessori.com/blog/unlike-public-schools-danville-montessori-does-not-close-in-summer/. Summer break is coming up soon, and parents might need to find daycare options for young children. Choosing the right fit for a preschooler might include finding a flexible curriculum for different learning styles. Parents interested in touring a top Danville summer preschool teaching the Montessori Method can book a visit at https://www.danvillepreschool.com/. THE BEST DANVILLE SUMMER PRESCHOOLS PASS THE PERSONALITY TEST' FOR BAY AREA PARENTS Here is the background for this release. Personality tests have been used as a standard method to help students determine the right college placement. College counselors can scrutinize a list of questions and to help place young people in compatible careers. An introverted biology student with interest in cell mutation might find lab research a good fit. An extrovert passionate about history and government might do well in the political arena. In early education, the personality of a young child can play a part in choosing the best preschool. Engaged teachers can spot personality types at a very young age. A four-year-old student might gravitate towards a quiet reading room while another preschooler prefers to play in the sand outside with classmates. The best Danville summer preschool can support various personalities in one nurturing environment. From June through August, many schools close for summer break. Parents searching to fill in the months with a quality early-education program can learn about Danville summer preschools that support individual learning. For these reasons, Learn and Play Montessori announces a new blog post for the Bay Area community. ABOUT LEARN AND PLAY MONTESSORI Learn and Play Montessori aims to be one of the best Montessori schools in the greater San Francisco Bay Area. Whether parents are looking for a Montessori School in Danville, a Blackhawk preschool or a top-rated Montessori School in Dublin / San Ramon, Learn and Play has a campus for their child or children. Bay Area parents searching for Walnut Creek preschool options could find the right fit in Danville. All schools use the famed Montessori method, offering programs from childcare to daycare, preschool to kindergarten, in not only Danville, Fremont, Dublin or San Ramon but also in nearby towns such as Alamo, Blackhawk, Diablo or San Ramon on the I-680 corridor as well as Walnut Creek. Learn and Play Montessori Media Relations https://www.learnandplaymontessori.com/ North Texas Property Management serves the needs of landlords and investors with single-family home property management services in Plano and nearby towns. The newly revised staff page helps locals learn more a team of top-notch property managers. North Texas Property Management, an expert group of property managers for residential homes in Plano, McKinney, and Allen, is proud to announce a revision to its staff page. Property management, after all, is a people business and the company is proud to showcase its key property managers. On the revised page, the community can learn more about the North Texas team's background and experience. Potential investors in single family homes in the communities north of Dallas could be interested in the skills and strong work ethic of a person tasked with managing a property. "Many companies will say they are like one big family, and our property management team is truly family-oriented. They also have a history of being diligent, hard-working people," explained Jason Marascio, CEO of North Texas Property Management. "The updated page provides a personal resume' of each property manager so investors can get to know them better and learn how to find the best property manager not only in Plano but also in McKinney and Allen, Texas." Interested persons can review the newly updated staff page for North Texas Property Management at https://www.ntxpm.com/our-staff/. The staff page can provide essential details that may be of interest to potential investors. A best-in-class team can display backgrounds in the mortgage, real estate, and leasing industries. To review general issues about property management in North Texas cities including Plano and Richardson, please go to https://www.ntxpm.com/plano/. NORTH TEXAS INVESTORS LEARN THE HARD WORKING HISTORY OF A TEAM OF TOP PROPERTY MANAGERS Here is the background on this release. If a Texas property owner chooses to rent out a home, properly vetting prospective tenants can be a priority. A thorough understanding of a renters' history, including paying on time and caring for a property can be critical in decision-making. A landlord may not only see a rental property as an investment. It may be a retirement property that was once a personal family home. If full-time supervision is too time-consuming, a landlord may decide to interview a top-notch property management team to take over. The same scrutiny for renters could apply to vet the right property manager. A background in the real estate and leasing industry could be a big plus. Accolades in real estate management and a long-time work ethic could also be essential qualities. For these reasons, North Texas Property Management announces an update to the staff biography page. Investors can review each member of the company and evaluate individual talents related to managing properties. Backgrounds include real estate, the mortgage industry and managing single-family home rentals. A passionate, friendly, hardworking team of property managers could be the right fit for a Texas property investor. ABOUT NORTH TEXAS PROPERTY MANAGEMENT North Texas Property Management Company is a top-rated property management company servicing the needs of rental property owners in the North Dallas area of North Texas. The company's property managers manage residential rental properties in Plano & McKinney and Richardson & Allen, as well as other communities in the North Dallas area, for real estate investors and rental property owners who want a property management company that will take the burden off of them of physically and financially caring for, maintaining, and managing their rental homes. Web. http://www.ntxpm.com/ Tel. 214-227-7669 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 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 ETFs function like a mutual fund scheme and have underlying assets of government-owned companies. Illustration: Dominic Xavier/Rediff.com The finance ministry is planning to launch an exchange traded fund (ETF) consisting of stocks of PSU banks and financial institutions this fiscal and will soon appoint an advisor to explore its feasibility, according to an official. After the resounding success of CPSE ETF and Bharat-22 ETF, the government is looking at diversifying the ETF basket by including stocks public sector banks and financial institutions. "We will be soon appointing advisor to suggest on launching an ETF with PSU bank scrips. The advisor will also look into the feasibility of including stocks of financial institutions and insurance companies into the basket," the official told PTI. The plan to launch a bank ETF comes on the back of the government seeing huge investor demand for two existing ETFs. It has raised Rs 32,900 crore through two tranches and an additional fund offer of Bharat-22 ETF, and Rs 38,000 crore in five tranches of CPSE ETF in the domestic market. "We expect balance sheet of PSU banks to strengthen going forward and an ETF would provide risk-averse investors an option to hold shares of multiple banks through a single financial instrument," the official said. Currently, there are two state-owned insurance companies -- General Insurance Corp of India and New India Assurance Co Ltd -- and 19 public sector banks that are listed on exchanges. Besides, financial institution IFCI is also listed on the exchanges. The government currently has two exchange-traded funds -- CPSE ETF and Bharat-22 ETF -- listed on domestic exchanges. ETFs function like a mutual fund scheme and have underlying assets of government-owned companies. The finance ministry has also started consultations with global investors for launching CPSE-scrip based ETF in overseas market. The official further said that the government does not intend to launch in the domestic market any new ETFs comprising stocks of public sector companies since in most of these companies government holding is nearing 51 per cent. Bharat-22 ETF, which was launched in 2017-18, has 16 central public sector enterprises covering six sectors, three public sector banks and three private sector companies where the government holds minority stake. CPSE-ETF comprises shares of 11 companies -- ONGC, Coal India, Indian Oil Corp, Power Finance Corp, REC, Bharat Electronics, Oil India, NTPC, NBCC (India), NLC India and SJVN Ltd. The government has budgeted to collect Rs 90,000 crore through CPSE disinvestment in the current fiscal as against Rs 84,972 crore mopped up in 2018-19. Since much of the voting was on religious lines, Mamata's rural focus became irrelevant. Namrata Acharya reports. Ever since coming to power, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has been holding frequent administrative review meetings, which most government officials and district-level political leaders dread. In roll call-like sessions, she often lashed out at top government officials and party workers over the progress of development works in full glare of the media. The review meetings hold key to Mamata's style of administration, showing her strong connect with the rural masses. Till November 2018, she had done 430 such meetings. In nearly eight years of the Trinamool Congress regime in West Bengal, rural areas have been the focus of successive budgets by the state government. Yet, the party faced a major defeat in the countryside while it retained urban seats. According to analysts, since much of the voting in this elections was on religious lines, Mamata's rural focus became irrelevant. Departments that saw massive increase in fund flow in the last eight years in the state include agriculture, panchayats and rural development, minority development, health, school education, land reforms and refugee relief and rehabilitation, among others. At the same time, in some of the job-creating sectors like commerce and industry and information technology, the relative increase in fund allocation has remained low. Bengal's budget for agriculture stood at Rs 315 crore in 2012-2013 when state Finance Minister Dr Amit Mitra presented the first budget of the TMC government. By 2019-2020, the allocation rose to nearly Rs 6,086 crore. About a month before the NDA government at the Centre announced a yearly dole of Rs 6,000 to farmer, West Bengal announced Rs 5,000 annually per acre to farmer, along with a life insurance scheme of Rs 2 lakh. The scheme cover around 720,000 farmers in the state. In February this year, Mamata announced that the state would bear the full premium burden for the Bangla Fasal Bima Yojna, the state's own version of the Prime Minister Fasal Bima Yojna. Earlier, the state used to pay 80 per cent of the premium, with the rest being borne by the Centre. Despite this, the TMC suffered a defeat in the agriculture-rich constituencies of Hooghly, and Bardhaman-Durgapur. Minority development has been another area of major focus for the TMC government -- something which the BJP in the state made a major political issue about, as it blamed the TMC for appeasement politics. For minority development and madarsa education, Bengal's budget increased from Rs 570 crore in 2012-2013 to about Rs 4,017 crore in 2018-2019. Some of the projects aimed at Muslims include construction of boundary wall at graveyards, involving a fund of Rs 563 crore so far, construction of Haj House, with a project cost of Rs 100 crore, setting up of a Minority Bhavan -- a single window facility for the minorities for all government schemes -- in each district of the state. The state has also set up Aliah University, a minority education institution, spread over 20 acres on a budget of Rs 257 crore. However, the most politically contentious scheme of the TMC government remains that of providing financial assistance to imams and moazzins, about 63,378 in number. The most successful welfare scheme of the TMC government has been the Kanyashree project, which also won several accolades, including one from the UN and replicated by other states. Under the scheme, the state provides a one-time grant of Rs 25,000 once a girl reaches the age of 18 and continues her studies. The state also provides annual scholarship for unmarried girls aged 13 to 18 years enrolled in classes 8 to 12. Also, the government provides free school bags, books, uniform and bicycles to students between classes 9 and 12. Little surprise, the TMC's budget allocation for school education rose from Rs 2,713 crore in 2012-2013 to Rs 27,541 crore in 2019-2020. Upbeat by the success of Kanyashree, the TMC later launched Rupashree, which doles out grants for the wedding of women. Some of the state government's other popular schemes include Yuvashree (financial assistance for the unemployed), and financial assistance to folk artists. In the area of food security, Bengal has been a top performer, as the government provides 5 kg of rice/wheat per month at the rate of Rs 2 a kg to the poor. Among other success stories is the state's sanitation campaign--Mission Nirmal Bangla (launched in 2013, much before the central government started building toilets under Swach Bharat Mission). The state has built more than 6 million toilets in last eight years in rural areas. Notably, when Mamata Banerjee came to power in 2011, reforms in government hospitals was one of the key agendas. Some of the flagship schemes include setting up of fair price shops by the government. According to government data, till October 2019, a discount of a staggering Rs 1,304 crore was availed against 47 million prescriptions. Swasthyasathi, the state government's mass health insurance scheme, has hogged much attention during Banerjee's election campaign. Launched much before its counterpart at the national level, Ayushman Bharat, under Swasthysathi the state provides insurance cover up to Rs 150,000 and up to Rs 500,000 in assurance mode. Banerjee had accused Modi of 'hijacking' the states health insurance scheme, and taking credit by distributing pamphlets bearing Modi's name under the scheme. While initially the state collaborated for joint implementation of Swasthyasathi and Ayushman Bharat, later it pulled out of the national scheme. Banerjee's sore areas have been lack of industry and jobs in the state, forcing a large number of youth to migrate outside West Bengal. For 2018-2019, the budgetary allocations in commerce and industry was about Rs 1,304 crore and for IT was Rs 248 crore -- even lower than the budgetary allocation for minority development. While the TMC had lost its rural grip, it was able to maintain its seat tally, as it won urban seats like Dum Dum, North Kolkata, Jadavpur, South Kolkata and Barasat. Surely, Mamata Banerjee's rural bet didnt pay off well. IMAGE: British Prime Minister Theresa May turned emotional while announcing her resignation last week. Photograph: Simon Dawson/Reuters At least eight candidates have joined the fray to battle it out to take over the reins from British Prime Minister Theresa May as the United Kingdom's ruling Conservative Party leadership contest gets underway. May had announced her resignation earlier this week and is set to formally step down as Tory leader and PM on June 7, after a three-day state visit to the United Kingdom by United States President Donald Trump. The formal segment of the party leadership contest will then kick off on June 10, but prospective candidates have already begun laying out their bids for the top job. While hard Brexiteer Boris Johnson, the former foreign secretary, is seen as the front-runner to succeed May, the contest still remains wide open to at least seven other contenders. May had announced her resignation earlier this week and is set to formally step down as Tory leader and PM on June 7, after a three-day state visit to the UK by United States President Donald Trump. The formal segment of the party leadership contest will then kick off on June 10, but prospective candidates have already begun laying out their bids for the top job. UK environment secretary Michael Gove became the latest Tory MP to announce his intention to challenge Johnson on Sunday. "I can confirm that I will be putting my name forward to be prime minister of this country. I believe that I'm ready to unite the Conservative and Union Party, ready to deliver Brexit, and ready to lead this great country," he told reporters outside his home in London on Sunday. Gove's decision is reminiscent of the 2016 leadership race, when he was accused of betraying Johnson by withdrawing his support for him and choosing to contest himself. It led to Johnson withdrawing his bid and Gove went on to lose out in the party ballot, resulting in May being chosen for the post. Among some of the other contenders eyeing Downing Street include the former Brexit secretary, Dominic Raab, and former Commons leader Andrea Leadsom both of whom confirmed their leadership bids in different Sunday newspapers. They joined UK foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt, international development secretary Rory Stewart, health secretary Matt Hancock, and former work and pensions secretary Esther McVey, in the battle for the leadership. All the leadership contenders must make their position on Brexit clear to their electors -- the 313 Tory MPs who choose a shortlist and the 124,000 party members who will have the ultimate say on the final two contenders who will go head to head in the race. May's announcement to resign has increased the chances of the UK exiting from the European Union without any deal on October 31 -- the deadline set by EU leaders. A no-deal Brexit would face fierce opposition in the parliament, including from the ruling Conservative Party lawmakers who backed staying in the EU. Some of the PM hopefuls have said they will seek to negotiate changes to a draft divorce agreement struck with the EU last year but would be ready to go with a no-deal Brexit if refused. The EU has already made it clear that it will not renegotiate the terms of the deal. A dividing line has emerged between candidates such as Johnson, who say the UK must be ready to leave the European Union on 31 October without a deal, and those who oppose a such no-deal Brexit like Stewart who has said that he would not serve in the Cabinet of someone 'explicitly pushing for a no-deal Brexit'. The Opposition Labour Party also remains divided over the issue, with one section still pushing for a second referendum on the final Brexit deal and the other calling for a common Customs Union with the EU. "I think the responsibility is on all of those opposition parties to come together with us and some Conservative MPs to block a 'no deal' and if that means going back to the people, yes let's go back to the people," said Labour's shadow chancellor John McDonnell. Meanwhile, May is set to continue as prime minister while the leadership contest takes place. Tory MPs have until the week beginning June 10 to put their names forward, and any of them can stand as long as they have the backing of two parliamentary colleagues. The candidates will then be whittled down by votes of MPs until two remain, and in July a postal ballot of all Tory party members will be held to decide the winner. The last leader elected by the Tory party membership was David Cameron in 2005. May was chosen unopposed in 2016 after Leadsom withdrew her candidature at the last minute. A blog about business, strategy and applying science to the benefit of society. We are passionate about liberty and free enterprise. IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP president Amit Shah and senior leader Rajnath Singh arrive at Parliament House, in New Delhi, on Saturday. Photograph: Atul Yadav/PTI Photo Bharatiya Janata Party allies Janata Dal-United and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam are likely to be part of the new government while it will also reflect the saffron party's inroads into states like West Bengal and Telangana, sources said on Sunday. A JD-U leader said the Bihar party expects at least one Cabinet berth in the government which will be sworn in on May 30. The party may also get one more berth in the Council of Ministers. The Rashtrapati Bhavan said on Sunday that Narendra Modi will be sworn in as Prime Minister on Thursday for his second term. Though there has been no official word on likely faces in the new government, many leaders are of the view that most key members of the previous dispensation will be retained. There has been speculation that Arun Jaitley, who held the finance portfolio in he previous government, may opt out due to health reasons but people close to him have insisted that he has been doing well after undergoing treatment. The government on Sunday stepped in to insist that reports regarding his heath condition are false and baseless. 'Reports in a section of media regarding Union Minister Shri Arun Jaitley's health condition are false and baseless. Media is advised to stay clear of rumour mongering,' its principal spokesperson Sitanshu Kar tweeted. Rajya Sabha MP Swapan Dasupta, who is associated with the BJP, said Jaitley is off all medication now and is recovering his strength. He is still meeting officials, Dasgupta said. 'Questions about Arun Jaitley health understandable. He is recovering from a bout of heavy medication. But he is still in terrific form and his wit is firmly intact. Needs a little rest to get back his strength. All our good wishes,' Dasgupa tweeted. A number of senior faces from the outgoing cabinet including Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, Nirmala Sitharaman, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Piyush Goyal, Narendra Singh Tomar and Prakash Javadekar are expected to figure in the new cabinet. Speculation has been rife that BJP president Amit Shah, who won the Lok Sabha election from Gandhinagar with a massive margin, may also join the government. Shah has refrained from commenting on the matter. Another BJP ally Lok Janshakti Party president Ram Vilas Paswan, sources said, has pushed for induction of his MP-son Chirag Paswan in the government. His party LJP won six seats in the polls. Ram Vilas Paswan, one of the most veteran parliamentarians, was a Cabinet minister in the last government. Though the AIADMK, which was also not part of the previous government, has won only one seat, it may be given a ministerial berth as it is in power in Tamil Nadu and a key Dravidian ally of the BJP. The BJP put up its best ever show in West Bengal and Telangana these elections, winning 18 (from two in 2014) and four seats (from one in 2014) respectively in the two states. This may result in the party giving a greater representation to these states in the government. He also said he does not want any other member of the Gandhi family to succeed him, virtually ruling out Priyanka as well for the top party position. IMAGE: Congress president Rahul Gandhi and former president Sonia Gandhi at the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting, in New Delhi, on Saturday. Photograph: Kamal Kishore/PTI Photo Amid rumblings within the party after a disastrous performance in the Lok Sabha polls, Congress chief is said to have accused three senior leaders of placing their respective sons above the party while his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has alleged the entire top-brass left him alone to fight it out against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, party sources said. Narrating inside details of the crucial Congress Working Committee meeting, which was held on Saturday to assess the party's poll rout, the party leaders said Rahul Gandhi did a lot of 'plain-speaking' in his surgical analysis of the role of several party leaders while himself offering to quit as the party president. He also said he does not want any other member of the Gandhi family to succeed him, virtually ruling out Priyanka as well for the top party position. Party sources said the top leadership is working out possible strategies for its future course of action, even as there are rumblings within the Congress over the turn of events at the CWC meeting. The meeting was held in the backdrop of the Congress winning just 52 Lok Sabha seats and drawing a nought in 18 states and Union Territories. Gandhi himself lost from the family bastion of Amethi in Uttar Pradesh, though he won from Wayanad in Kerala. Stating that Priyanka lost her cool more than once during the four-hour long CWC deliberations, a party leader present there said the All India Congress Committee General Secretary in charge of Eastern Uttar Pradesh said, "All those responsible for the party's defeat are sitting in this room". When some party leaders were trying to convince Rahul to take back his resignation, which he had offered taking moral responsibility for the Congress debacle, Priyanka is learnt to have intervened saying, "Where were you when my brother was fighting all by himself and alone?" Priyanka sat through the meeting, looking visible anguished, and interjected twice at least, while saying on one occasion, "No one supported Congress president in taking forward the narrative of Rafale and 'chowkidar chor hai'." Rahul, who left the meeting abruptly and was adamant there on not continuing as the Congress president, also ticked off three senior party leaders -- former union minister P Chidambaram, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath and Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot -- saying they placed their sons before party interests. Chidambaram's son Karti and Nath's son Nakul managed to win the Lok Sabha elections from their respective seats, but Gehlot's son Vaibhav lost. CWC sources said that when former Guna MP Jyotiraditya Scindia urged Rahul to strengthen the state leaderships of the party, the party president quipped looking at Chidambaram, saying that 'Mr Chidambaram threatened to resign if a ticket was denied to his son'. About Kamal Nath who was absent from the CWC meeting, Gandhi said, "Mr Nath said how could he be CM if his son was not fielded." Taunting Gehlot the Congress Chief said the Rajasthan CM spent seven days campaigning for his son in Jodhpur neglecting the rest of the state. Gandhi is learnt to have voiced his disappointment at the state of affairs in the party when he said to the CWC why can't anyone else be Congress Chief. Sources said Priyanka also urged her brother not to resign saying it would be like 'falling into BJP's trap'. Rahul also expressed his displeasure at not being supported in the Rafale campaign and is said to have asked the party leaders present in the meeting how many of them backed him in building the corruption narrative against Prime Minister Modi. When some leaders raised their hands to say that they spoke about Rafale, Gandhi is said to have dismissed them. The government on Sunday said reports on the deteriorating health of outgoing Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley are false and baseless, and advised the media to stay clear of rumour mongering. Amid speculation on the state of Jaitley's health, Government Spokesperson Sitanshu Kar took to Twitter to clear the air. 'Reports in a section of media regarding Union Minister Shri Arun Jaitley's health condition are false and baseless. Media is advised to stay clear of rumour mongering,' Kar tweeted. While Jaitley remained unreachable despite several attempts, his office said he is resting at home. Sources aware of his condition had on Friday stated that Jaitley is unlikely to be part of Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi's Cabinet due to his ill health, which may require him to travel to either the United Kingdom or the United States for treatment. Jaitley, 66, has become 'very weak', they had said. He was admitted to AIIMS last week to undergo tests and treatment for an undisclosed illness and was discharged on Thursday, but did not attend celebrations at the BJP headquarters that evening after the party's emphatic victory in the general election. Jaitley's friend and media baron Rajat Sharma took to Twitter to dispel rumours. 'Everyone is discussing my friend @arunjaitley's health, some out of genuine concern and some for loose talk. Let me share with you that I met him last evening, he is recovering well and is working behind the scenes,' Sharma tweeted. 'Friends and family have convinced him to stay away from public interaction to avoid infection. I am glad he has finally agreed', Sharma added Rajya Sabha MP Swapan Dasgupta tweeted that he met Jaitley on Sunday afternoon and presented a copy of his book to him. After meeting Jaitley, Dasgupta tweeted, 'Questions about @arunjaitley health understandable. He is recovering from a bout of chemo. But he is still in terrific form and his wit is firmly intact. Needs a little rest to get back his strength.' Hours later, Dasgupta deleted the tweet and posted a series of fresh tweets along with a picture of himself with Jaitley. 'Correcting earlier tweet: Questions about @arunjaitley health understandable. He is recovering from a bout of heavy medication. But he is still in terrific form and his wit is firmly intact. Needs a little rest to get back his strength. All our good wishes,' he posted on Twitter. 'Actually he is off all medication now. Just recovering his strength and working as usual. He is still meeting officials,' Dasgupta added. Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das Sunday called on Jaitley. 'Had a courtesy meeting with Hon'ble Union Minister @arunjaitley this evening,' Das tweeted while posting a picture of the meeting. Union Minister Suresh Prabhu also tweeted, 'We all wish @arunjaitley a speedy recovery.' Doctors treating Jaitley have advised him to go to the UK or the US for treatment, sources said. Jaitley, whose health has been on a decline ever since he underwent a kidney transplant in May last year, will take a call in the next few days on the issue. He has not attended office for the last three weeks and has rarely been seen in public. He, however, has been writing blogs and tweeted on Modi's victory on Thursday. He neither attended the Cabinet meeting called on Friday that recommended dissolution of the 16th Lok Sabha nor the Saturday meeting of the BJP parliamentary party that elected Modi as its leader. Sources said he, however, met all the five secretaries in his ministries at his home on Friday in what was described as a routine meeting. Jaitley has been the most important leader in Modi's Cabinet and has often acted as the chief troubleshooter for the government. He had undergone surgery in the US on January 22 for reported soft tissue cancer in his left leg, an illness that deprived him from presenting the Modi government's sixth and final Budget of its current term. Railway and Coal Minister Piyush Goyal was the stand-in finance minister and presented the interim Budget for 2019-2020. Jaitley returned to India on February 9 after undergoing skin grafting. He is believed to had undergone some kind of medical procedure again when he visited the US last month 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. Nearly 137 public meetings in UP... Virendra Singh Rawat reports from Lucknow. Photograph: PTI Photo This election season, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Ajay Singh Bisht aka Yogi Adityanath addressed more rallies in the state than all of the Opposition leaders combined. Bisht addressed nearly 137 public meetings in UP, which is more than the rallies addressed by the top leaders of the Congress, Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party. While Congress President Rahul Gandhi addressed about 20 rallies/roadshows in UP, his sister and party general secretary for eastern UP Priyankha Vadra addressed about 40 public meetings, apart from roadshows. SP President Akhilesh Yadav addressed more than 50 rallies while BSP president Mayawati addressed nearly 25 public meetings. The leaders of the two parties, which had tied up for a pre-poll alliance in UP, also addressed 21 joint rallies in the state, some of which also featured their partner Rashtriya Lok Dal President Ajit Singh and his son Jayant Chaudhary. Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi and Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Anilchandra Shah also gave ample time to the country's most populous and the politically significant state during electioneering. Modi addressed 29 rallies apart from a roadshow in his parliamentary constituency, Varanasi. Shah addressed about 28 rallies and two roadshows across the state, including Lucknow, from where Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh was the BJP candidate. America - Land of the Free, Home of The Brave, means something to each individual who lives in America. To me, this statement hits closer to home, because of the long history of veterans in my family. My familys journey started in Italy and ends in America. As immigrants, America was a place to be free and was considered a land of opportunity. My great-great grandparents believed in America as the land of the free. They passed that on to their children, who served bravely to ensure that America would remain free. Their example of service inspires me today to serve my community and help those in need. Two of my great-grandfathers served in World War II. My Great-Grandpa Robinson served in the Army Air Corps and flew a B17. The day after one of his flights, the plane he usually piloted was shot down. It landed with a hole the size of a tank in its side, but some of his friends did not survive. He then chose to go on secret missions. Had he not made that choice, he may not have come back from the war, and I would not be here today. Each day my Great-Grandpa Fragione in Florida, who also served in World War II, acts as the glue to our family. At the age of 98, he is still cooking and taking care of his wife of nearly 72 years. He deserves the respect of his country and his family, because he worked hard to be a father and provide for his family. After serving in the army as a combat engineer, he returned to CT and was an iron worker. He even built the stairs at Torrington High School. My great-uncle and grandfather served during the Vietnam War and my uncle served in Afghanistan. I have a lot of respect for the men in my family on both sides that have served our country proudly. They taught me that you have to work hard towards a goal and contribute to society. You cannot sit back and expect everything to be handed to you. You have to work for your goals to get far in life. I choose to become a nurse and continue my familys example of service. Due to the brave men and women who have served our country, we are free to dream big and choose our path in life. That is how most older Americans see America as America - Land of the Free, Home of The Brave, to that, I agree with them. Abigail Fragione is the first place winner of the Torrington Veterans Memorial Committees 11th annual Memorial Day essay competition, which is open to all high school students in Torrington. The winners of the 2019 competition include Fragione, who received a prize of $100. She is a sophomore at Torrington High School. The second place winner is Conrade Avallone, a junior at THS. He received a prize of $75. The third place winner is Margaret Schyner, a junior at THS, who received a $50 prize. The honorable mention goes to Ashlyn Bernard, a juniro at THS. She received a pen made by U.S. Marine Corps veteran Tony Bouchino, owner of As the Wood Turns, valued at $25. All the winners will be recognized and presented their awards during Torrington's Memorial Day Ceremony on Monday after the parade. Its always helpful to note precisely when things got weird. Im going to say it was the Night of the Pickle, May 15, 2019. Thats when Gov. Ned Lamont showed up at the House Democratic caucus to importune them about tolls. He brought the press, which is highly unorthodox. You bring the press when the optics are on your side, when you are fighting to have land set aside as a Connecticut Sloth Refuge. You bring the cutest baby sloth you can find and cradle it in your arms as you implore the lawmakers to stop holding up the funds needed to protect this little guy and his family. Tolls are not a baby sloth. Theyre like the opposite. Sign up to get Colins newsletter delivered to your inbox, for free. The governor acknowledged the failure of tolls to be cute and furry by saying he had put some of you in a pickle. Then Ned made it really weird. He promised to raise a lot of money for the pickled re-election campaigns of lawmakers who get attacked for supporting tolls. Were going to be raising money for this caucus, said Ned. Im going to have the business guys coming in ... Labor is going to be there standing up for you, and Im going to be standing up for you. Business guys! They really are the best, arent they? And to have a governor who can rub a lamp and make business guys come in, well, you cant put a price on that. As for labor, well, Lamont doesnt have a great relationship with labor at the moment, and most of the people he was talking to have a better one. Lamont promising labor support to Democratic legislators is like me promising Mookie Betts I can get the Red Sox to support him. The whole escapade was a little off. I guess its not exactly illegal for the governor to march into a caucus and promise lawmakers a whole bunch of campaign money if theyll do this one thing for him. But its weird! Usually you would have those sort of conversations one-on-one and behind closed doors, not in some vast Moonie wedding of vote-buying. Anyway, what good did the Night of the Pickle do? Tolls were subsequently taken off the table until a future special session, which means the votes arent there. Lamont promptly issued a 24-page draft of his toll bill, so legislators would know exactly what they wouldnt be debating or voting on any time soon. Lamont seems adorably clueless about the whole slap-and-tickle process of getting legislators to do stuff. This month he was also stung by the revelation that he had dangled the idea of keeping tolls off the Merritt Parkway as a bit of catnip for Fairfield County legislators. There are so many things wrong with this, we may not have enough space for all of them. First, keeping tolls off the Merritt would flood it with traffic. Second, he was courting the votes of Republican legislators, who wouldnt vote for tolls even if you gave every single one of them a jetpack. Third, he somehow thought this was not going to come out, because he confided it to Livvy Floren, a Greenwich Republican and an old friend. And, well, golly, remember the surprise engagement party for Digby Lovejoy and Bunny Pierpont at the Round Hill Club? People knew how to keep a secret back in the day. Now that it has come out, new questions arise. The Merritt Parkway is not just any old road. Its an internationally famous work of parkway design, and the greater Greenwich area is full of wealthy and well-connected folks who are not going to let us slap some butt-ugly toll gantries over it. At minimum, they will have to be pastel gantries with Lacoste crocodiles on them. I would be remiss in writing about Greenwich and weirdness if I did not briefly mention that rookie Democratic Sen. Alex Bergstein of Greenwich publicly announced last week that she is in love with the woman who originally showed up with her at the Capitol at the beginning of the session as some kind of paid (out of Bergsteins pocket) assistant. Bergstein denied that the woman, Nichola Samponaro, was doing legislative work, but this claim is somewhat undermined by an email from Bergsteins estranged husband, Seth, who discussed ways of compensating Samponaro and said that ideally the Senate Democrats would hire her and another Bergstein aide. If not, wrote Seth Bergstein, then we need to hire them and pay them through Technopulp or Bergstein LLC or a new entity. Reader, I extensively researched Technopulp, but I am not going to explain it here due to time and space constraints. Anyway, it no longer matters because Bergstein and Samponaro are in love. They announced it on Instagram! Nobody is working for anybody anymore, so just forget about it. But well always have Technopulp. I have found that, when considering personal expenses I have no way of meeting, its pleasurable to say aloud, Lets just pay it through Technopulp. I leave you with two thoughts. One, dont put knotty or naughty things in emails! Do I have to say this every week? Two, dont tell Livvy Floren anything, ever! OK, three thoughts. When people find each other in a permanent and wonderful way, other people should chip in and buy them a present. Something that would harmonize stylistically with their new life in Greenwich. It rhymes with pantry. Colin McEnroes column appears every Sunday, his newsletter comes out every Thursday and you can hear his radio show every weekday on WNPR 90.5. Email him at colin@ctpublic.org. Sign up for his newsletter at http://bit.ly/colinmcenroe. Azamat Shambilov is one of few outsiders to have visited Tajikistan's Kirpichniy prison before it became the scene of a deadly riot this week. As the head of Penal Reform International's (PRI) office for Central Asia, Shambilov has visited the prison in the Vahdat district just outside Dushanbe earlier this year. During a weekly talk show aired by RFE/RL's Tajik Service, Shambilov said that one of the facility's major issues was the lack of separate cells. Instead, prisoners were being held in large groups -- of up to 200 people -- in big barracks, Shambilov said, calling it a "legacy of the Soviet Gulag." "Imagine a huge room with four rows of bunk beds. [Tajikistan] should introduce the system of separate prison cells," Shambilov said during the May 23 segment of The World And Us. Shambilov said Tajik authorities had begun to gradually demolish old buildings at the Vahdat facility and were constructing new sites, including a three-story building for 200 inmates and a teahouse. PRI was granted access to the prison owing to an agreement signed with the Tajik government in September, Shambilov explained. It marked the first time in 15 years an organization like PRI had been granted access to the facility. The prison came under international attention after Tajik authorities said that 29 inmates and three guards were killed during a riot that broke out there on May 19. Officials have claimed that the violence was instigated by four inmates -- alleged members of the Islamic State (IS) extremist group -- who wanted to create chaos, free several of the fellow members of various militant groups from their cells, and escape. According to the authorities, five inmates were stabbed to death by the rioters, while 25 inmates alleged participants of the disturbances were killed in the effort to quell the violence. The government's account cannot be independently verified. The violence at the Vahdat facility was the second prison riot in Tajikistan in six months. Dozens of people were killed in violence in a maximum-security prison in the northern city of Khujand in November. Government sources told RFE/RL at the time that suspected IS supporters convicted of religious extremism and terrorism were behind the unrest in Khujand. A website linked to the IS group claimed at the time that one of its fighters was responsible for starting that riot. Following the November violence, Tajik authorities fired several prison officials, while several others went on trial on negligence charges. Some 30 inmates from the Khujand prison were tried behind closed doors for their alleged participation in the November riot. Right activists and critics, however, say that firing or charging several prison officials is not the solution to the prison system's problems. In April, a lawyer at the Coalition Against Torture In Tajikistan, a local nongovernmental group, said the government should address serious issues like widespread allegations of mistreatment of prisoners. "Prison authorities must know that any violation of inmates' rights would be known to the general public sooner or later, even if this mistreatment takes place behind the walls of prisons," the lawyer said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Tajikistan has long been criticized for alleged mistreatment of prisoners and below-standard prison conditions. Just weeks before the May 29 riot, the head of the Kirpichniy facility, Dilovar Ismoilov, had warned that the violence in Khujand should serve as a wake-up call to prison officials in Tajikistan to "obey the law and order." "The riot in Khujand adds to the responsibilities of the heads of the prison systems. The officials must put more serious efforts to prevent such riots," Ismoilov told RFE/RL's Tajik Service on April 12. Rehabilitation Program Shambilov said Tajik authorities should to take concrete measures and invest more funds to improve the situation. He also emphasized the need to conduct adequate training for prison workers. He also said that prisons in Tajikistan and elsewhere in Central Asia need to work out special programs for prisoners convicted on terrorism and extremism-related charges to rehabilitate them. "First of all, we must understand that not all of the inmates convicted on such charges are violent extremists and terrorists. In Central Asia, one can easily end up in prison for distribution of extremist literature or audio," he said. "Many young people mistakenly end up in prison. It's important to determine the level of the risk, to determine to which degree this person is involved in extremist and terrorist organizations," Shambilov added. Shambilov said it's important to include the families of such convicts in the process of their rehabilitation and reintegration back to society. Thousands of people are serving long-term sentences in high-security prisons in Central Asia on terrorism and extremism charges. Among its some 1,500 inmates, the prison in Vahdat holds many people convicted of membership in banned extremist groups as well as political opposition figures. Banker-turned-politician Gitanas Nauseda won Lithuania's presidential runoff election after his opponent Ingrida Simonyte conceded. Nauseda, 55, had around 74 percent of the vote, according to election authorities after a quarter of the ballots were counted. Simonyte, 44, a lawmaker and former finance minister, had around 26 percent. Lithuanians headed to the polls on May 26 after the May 12 first round failed to produce a clear winner. Nauseda will succeed Dalia Grybauskaite, who has served the maximum of two 5-year terms as Lithuania's head of state in the Baltic country bordering Russia, which is a member of the European Union and NATO. The election campaign was dominated by voters' anger over economic inequality and corruption. Nauseda pledged to maintain a strict tone toward Russia, saying he would not travel to Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin unless the country withdraws from Ukraines Crimea region. NATO increased its assets in Central and Eastern Europe, including in Lithuania, following Russia's seizure of the Crimean Peninsula in March 2014. Vilnius faces tense relations with Moscow. The Baltic country has arrested and charged several people in recent months accused of spying for Russia. The Lithuanian president has limited powers, but is in charge of foreign policy and is the countrys representative at EU summits. The president also appoints ministers, judges, the military chief, and central bank head, usually with the approval of parliament or the prime minister. Based on reporting by AP, dpa, and AFP Violence in Tajikistans Vahdat prison on May 19 left 32 people dead -- 29 prisoners and three prison guards. Among the prisoners killed during the riot were two prominent members of the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan and Behruz Gulmurod, whose father, Gulmurod Halimov, was a former commander in Tajikistans elite police commando unit before leaving for the Middle East where he joined the Islamic State (IS) militant group and became the IS war minister. It was the second prison riot just over six months. A riot in a prison in the northern Tajik city of Khujand in early November 2018 left at least 23 people dead. Some say the figure could be more than twice that. In both cases, Tajik authorities blamed imprisoned IS members for starting the violence. IS did claim one of its fighters was responsible for the November riot, but IS has not publicly made any statement about the Vahdat prison violence. Tajik authorities have not allowed any independent organizations the opportunity to investigate what happened at the Vahdat or Khujand prisons. Some have questioned the accuracy of the information released by the Tajik government concerning both the prison riots. RFE/RL's media-relations manager, Muhammad Tahir, moderated a discussion on the prison riots. From Kazakhstan, we were joined by Helene Thibault, who is currently teaching humanities and social science at Nazarbaev University, but prior to that spent time doing research in Tajikistan. From Washington, our friend Steve Swerdlow, Central Asia researcher for Human Rights Watch, took part in the discussion. From Prague, Salimjon Aioub, the acting head of RFE/RLs Tajik Service, known locally as Ozodi, participated. I had some things I wanted to say also. Listen to the podcast above or subscribe to the Majlis on iTunes. Pakistan's Health Minister said nearly 700 people, most of them children, have tested HIV positive in a city in the countrys south. Authorities say the HIV outbreak in Rato Dero city started when local doctor Muzaffar Ghangharo, who has AIDS, infected patients in early April. Ghangharo was arrested this month after hundreds of people tested positive for the virus. Police were investigating whether Ghangharo knowingly spread the disease to others. "Some 681 people, of which 537 were children from two to 12 years of age, had been tested positive for HIV until yesterday in Rato Dero," Health Minister Zafar Mirza told a press conference in the capital Islamabad on May 26. He said 21,375 people had been screened in Rato Dero, adding that the increase in the number of patients testing positive for HIV was "a matter of grave concern." Mirza said one cause that was being investigated was the use of unsterilized syringes. "Initial investigations reveal that used syringes are being repacked, which may not only grow significantly the number of HIV cases but also other diseases," he said. Pakistan has registered over 23,000 HIV cases nationwide. Based on reporting by AFP and AP Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, spoke for the first time since a military standoff earlier this year. Khan congratulated Modi on his recent election victory, the countries said in separate statements. Pakistan's Foreign Ministry said in a statement on May 26 that Khan reiterated "his vision for peace, progress, and prosperity in South Asia and he looked forward to working with Prime Minister Modi to advance these objectives." India's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Modi "stressed that creating trust and an environment free of violence and terrorism were essential for fostering cooperation for peace, progress, and prosperity in our region. It was the first time the two leaders spoke since the archrivals were on the brink of war in February. That month, a suicide attack by a Pakistan-based militant group killed at least 40 paramilitary police in Kashmir. India then launched air strikes inside Pakistan, prompting it to respond in kind. India has long accused Pakistan of using militant proxies in Kashmir. Islamabad denies the claim. India and Pakistan have a history of bitter relations since they each gained independence from Britain in 1947. The two nuclear-armed rivals have fought three wars, two of them over the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, where the two sides still regularly exchange fire. Based on reporting by AFP and AP Human Rights Watch (HRW) says the recent arrest of a Russian activist shows the authorities unwillingness to rein in abusive tactics by the state-affiliated television station NTV. In a statement on May 24, the New York-based human rights watchdog said that NTV, owned by the Russian-state gas company Gazprom, is notorious for harassing human rights activists and political opposition members and broadcasting smear campaigns against them. The statement by Hugh Williamson, the Europe and Central Asia director at HRW, came days after Roman Udot, a board member of the independent Golos (Voice) election-monitoring group, was arrested by police in Moscow. Williamson said the move stemmed from an incident in March 2018, when NTV reporters descended on Udot at a Moscow airport and peppered the activist with questions on camera. During the heated exchange, Udot used aggressive language toward the reporter, calling out the stations earlier efforts to get at him through his mother. He then filed a privacy complaint with the police, he said. Meanwhile, police opened a criminal case against Udot for threatening the reporters life. The case was suspended while Udot was on an extended trip abroad. But when he returned to Russia earlier this month, he filed a request to reopen the case to tell his account of what happened. And on May 20, Udot was questioned, detained, and placed under house arrest by the authorities. If convicted, he faces up to two years in prison, according to HRW. NTV -- and the Russian authorities -- began targeting Golos in 2011 for its monitoring of the countrys parliamentary elections, Williamson said. Six years ago, Golos became the first NGO to be fined under the controversial 2013 law requiring all NGOs that receive foreign funding and engage in political activity to register as "foreign agents." At the time, Golos said it was being targeted for uncovering widespread violations in the 2011 parliamentary elections and the 2012 presidential vote, which handed Vladimir Putin a third presidential term. NTV has since broadcast films smearing Golos staffers with misrepresenting the facts or falsely portraying them as paid agents of foreign powers, Williamson said. To get footage, NTV reporters have aggressively stalked Golos activists, including Udot, and their families and interfered with their privacy. He quoted Golos as saying that law enforcement may be sharing surveillance data with the TV station. At least two Golos activists relocated because of their ordeal. Udot chose not to, and his ordeal continues, Williamson added. Thousands of Serbian anti-government protesters marched in the streets of Belgrade for a 25th consecutive Saturday on May 25. The marches have been going on since early December in reaction to an assault on an opposition leader. The demonstrators soon added more demands, including the resignation of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic. Most people think the focus of economic development is on bringing in new businesses and new jobs. As unemployment rates plunge and competition for millennial workers increases, this has led to an increasingly important question: Who fills those jobs? And how do you convince them to stay? Recruiting talent has become a much bigger piece of the economic development puzzle. More managers are seeing that jobs now follow people, not the other way around. The Roanoke Regional Partnership, an economic development organization, has made a concerted effort to recruit talent to the region. After collaborating with its eight localities, the business community, tourism officials, colleges and universities, and professional organizations such as the regional chambers and Roanoke-Blacksburg Technology Council, the partnership is developing new and creative ways to recruit talent, ranging from new college graduates to professionals with several years of experience. The partnership has launched the Get2KnowNoke brand to focus on bringing talent to the region. Along with it came the Get2KnowNoke summer internship program. The partnership also has taken on the Experience conference and programming for young professionals. It hosted or participated in about 20 college programs over the last six months as well. Erin Burcham, the director of talent solutions for the partnership, has been behind a lot of the efforts. She said that a great way to recruit people is to build on personal relationships, and she serves as a funnel for students of the 25 nearby college and universities to make their way to the area. As a region, we must be proactive in attracting and retaining talent for economic growth and sustainability, she said. It is so important as our technology companies expand and grow in the Roanoke region to have the right talent available. Burchams position was created in 2017 as the need for talent began to grow in economic development. Executive Director Beth Doughty said the response has been incredible and overwhelming so much so that she also plans to add another talent-related job. As I always like to say, talent is the currency of the 21st century, Doughty said. Recruiting culture AECOM, a national engineering firm, is searching for about 25 employees for its Roanoke office, which has approximately 175 people at the top of the Wells Fargo tower. So it was a prime candidate to take part in the partnerships college visits, hosting a group of students from James Madison University. The company also participated in a career event at Virginia Tech, where AECOM Associate Vice President Joey Caldwell spoke to students about working in the industry. The goal wasnt to collect resumes and hand out business cards but to have a conversation with students about their future and offer advice. We cant just walk into a recruiting booth at a recruiting fair and have that be it, Caldwell said. We have to build personal relationships. Having a conversation with the students felt less like a job interview, and Caldwell said it helps build trust when company representatives are not there just to grab resumes. Roanoke-based Delta Dental, which has about 300 employees, also participated in the college recruiting visits. Kathy Claytor, vice president of human resources, said it allowed the students, upperclassmen from James Madison to get a tour of the company and see the employees and office culture in person. The company has kept up with them since their visit, she said, giving feedback on how to apply for internships and new job openings. Delta Dental gets a lot of resumes, Claytor said, but the company is very intentional about its hiring and wants to focus on specific people who fit in with the culture and the Roanoke Valley. A lot of younger hires are interested in office culture now, she said, and they want to have a mission-focused job that serves a greater purpose. So Claytor makes sure to talk about the companys charitable efforts and how part of its mission is to give everyone access to dental care. This is a very tight labor market, she said. Top talent is in high demand. The responsibility is put on the employer to differentiate themselves and highlight their culture, mission and benefits. With regional unemployment rates falling to the lowest points in about two decades, recruiting new talent becomes even more important, especially for science, technology, engineering and math-related jobs. In March, the Roanoke unemployment rate was at 3%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In early 2010 after the Great Recession, it hovered above 8% and has steadily declined. National numbers have been going down as well, making it tougher for everyone to get the best hires. Having dedicated people like Burcham to bring together potential employees with business managers makes recruiting easier. Multiple employers in the Roanoke region have said that office culture is one of the main recruiting draws, especially for millennials. Silicon Valley is famous for bringing a casual office vibe allowing a relaxed dress code, providing gourmet coffee machines and office beer taps, and offering creative benefits such as unlimited vacation days to encourage work-life balance. So companies wanting to lure away top talent to smaller places like Roanoke have to up the ante in recruiting methods and be intentional about hiring to find the right people who fit in with the culture. PowerSchool recruiter Madison Brown said one of the biggest challenges the education software company has with recruiting is losing talent to big tech companies like Amazon and Google, many of which have office locations in Washington, D.C. So PowerSchool in Roanoke has to do some different things to stand out from the crowd, especially in the tough hiring market right now, she said. Last month, in conjunction with the partnership and the technology council, PowerSchool hosted a pingpong tournament and an open house, showing off its new modern downtown office along with providing food and drinks to make the event feel low key, more akin to a party than a formal gathering. It highlighted a fun, exciting vibe to the growing business. Burcham said similar events can be planned for other companies looking to hire. Nicus Software recently moved into a new office in Roanoke and is installing a gourmet coffee machine in its lobby. New hires will notice a room stocked with Nerf guns for staff to play with when things get too stressful. Nicus marketing director Amy Robertson said it takes a lot of small but thoughtful efforts from office happy hours to free popcorn to get people to come in and to stay, especially when the company has to compete for the best talent. But you have to back it up, she said. You have to be cool people. Nicus was in Salem for many years before it relocated downtown, and its move has been a sort of coming-out party for the growing company. Robertson is involved with networking groups like the Roanoke-Blacksburg Technology Council and hopes to partner with other organizations and schools for hiring. CEO John Clark said a lot of the new recruiting efforts arent revolutionary; it is just about being very intentional about attracting, retaining and developing employees. The company wants to find employees who fit with the office environment and who also would enjoy the Roanoke Valley. Our No. 1 asset is the people, Clark said. Its the people, not the software. Staying in the Roanoke Valley Some regional companies focus on selling the benefits of living in the Roanoke Valley to recruit and retain employees. The Roanoke Regional Partnership launched Roanoke Outside several years ago to help brand the region as a place for outdoors enthusiasts. That, combined with a low cost of living, safe neighborhoods and new breweries and restaurants and transportation options, all can be used as economic development tools help to attract talent. Experience is a series of events that focuses on leadership and development for young professionals, culminating in an annual conference. The Experience conference launched in 2015 and was recently adopted by the partnership. This years event is June 6-7. It has developed different tracks as well. Experience Leadership has hosted events ranging from financial planning to a creative leadership program at the Taubman Museum of Art over lunch hours. Experience Outdoors hosts meetups highlighting the regions outdoor amenities, such as an introduction to mountain biking. The events allow young professionals to network and also enjoy different aspects of the region. We view it as a great way to engage young professionals in the region and make them aware of regional assets lifestyle and professional, Burcham said. It is also a great platform to encourage connectivity to peers and regional leaders as mentors. Burcham said these events are particularly effective because people with no ties to the region are more likely to stay if they have friends here. Attending the Experience conference in 2017 is what led Steve Ambruzs to locate his business, Downshift, in Roanoke. Ambruzs, who went to Virginia Tech, was planning to open a retail shop in Charlottesville, but after attending the Experience conference in Roanoke he changed his mind and opened his boutique bike shop and cafe at 416 Campbell Ave. S.W. The people I met were into developing the community and outdoors focused, he said. It won me over 100%. At the conference, he also met Kelsey Harrington, who would go on to become the general manager at Downshift. After he decided to move to Roanoke, he said it was easier to find affordable retail space and to buy a home than other places he had been looking. Downshift has now been open since 2017. By Michael Sutphin and John Bush Sutphin and Bush are members of the Blacksburg Town Council. Since Virginia Tech made headlines for surpassing its student enrollment goals, theres been an understandable tension in Blacksburg. The university had a target of 6,600 incoming freshmen, but it overshot that number considerably. The official release from the university puts the incoming student population between 7,500 and 7,585 students, but this assumes a higher-than average percentage of students who accepted this spring will not enroll in the fall. If this melt rate is the same as previous years, the incoming class will have approximately 7,625 students, or 1,025 over Virginia Techs admissions target. Thats a lot of students 1,340 more than last years incoming class and almost 800 more than the universitys largest-ever freshman class in 2017. For comparisons sake, The Edge student apartments adjacent to campus has about 910 bedrooms. While the town has known about Virginia Techs plans for growth for years and has planned accordingly, this recent news exceeds the growth rate we expected. Town and university officials meet regularly to discuss the impact of enrollment projections on transportation, infrastructure, and housing. Regarding the latter, the town commissioned the 2015 Downtown Blacksburg Housing Study and the 2018 Downtown Strategy Study, both of which looked into the impact of enrollment growth on Blacksburgs housing market. Since 2014, more than 1,500 beds of student housing have been built in town, and an additional 3,000 have been approved by the town but not built yet. The construction of denser student housing at Sturbridge and Terrace View means that some buildings will go offline during construction. This further constrains the housing market. The university and the town must take a hard look at what sort of growth rate we can sustain. When enrollment growth outpaces the development of new student housing, students begin looking for places to live outside of traditional, purpose-built student apartments. This typically means neighborhoods and single family residences. As in any college town, this can lead to lifestyle conflicts between students and long-term residents, but it also means that housing prices go up. For years, first-time homebuyers have had difficulty finding a place to live in Blacksburg because of competition from student housing rental owners. Because rental income from three or four students often exceeds the amount that a family will pay for a mortgage on a starter home, prices have climbed. Student enrollment growth does not occur in isolation. When the university adds students, it also adds faculty and support staff who also need housing, town services, and a reliable transportation network. With hundreds of extra people comes hundreds of extra cars, especially if freshmen are no longer required to live on campus. Over the years, traffic congestion has become a problem at peak times along Main Street and Prices Fork. While the town has taken steps to address these issues, the unexpected increase in students complicates matters. The town has planned for the expansion of Blacksburg Transit, but creating new routes and securing the funding for new buses takes more than three months notice. Likewise, the Virginia Department of Transportation has plans for a $63 million Western Perimeter Road that will relieve congestion on campus by linking Southgate Drive and Prices Fork Road. That project is currently not funded and a future construction date has not been set. As Virginia Tech alumni, we also understand that much of the learning that takes place in college happens outside of the classroom. Students and their families are paying big bucks to attend Virginia Tech, but how does their experience change when they live in a study lounge converted into a room for three? When the university waives the requirement for freshman to live on campus, these students miss an important part of the educational experience. Plus, returning students have already found housing accommodations for the upcoming year, limiting the options available to freshman in a town with a high rental occupancy rate. Students have already taken note of long lines at dining centers, limited parking, and a shortage of classroom space. But what can be done? Since we learned about Virginia Techs over-enrollment, town and university officials have met on several occasions to consider ways to minimize the negative impacts on the town. Town staff are in discussions with the New River Apartment Council, owners of large student housing complexes, and Virginia Techs Division of Student Affairs to coordinate housing needs. Blacksburg Transit has also made preparations for the influx of new students. These efforts will be for naught unless Virginia Tech puts measures in place to ensure that it does not over-admit students in the future and works diligently to accommodate as many of the additional students on campus as possible. Along those same lines, if the university wants to grow at a fast pace, it needs to build more campus housing at a similar pace. Virginia Tech has already begun site work on a 200,000-square-foot residence hall where the University Club once sat, but this building will only house 596 students. Thats well below the number of the students over-enrolled this year, and those students will be arriving this fall, not in the two years needed to construct the new building. While Virginia Tech and Blacksburg have been partners in numerous ways and even received accolades for town-gown relations, we need to do better. The university should view the town as an equal partner when planning for significant student, faculty, and staff growth. Without that necessary partnership, there will be unnecessary divisions between town residents and the university community. There are mechanisms in place to facilitate communication between the town and university, and they need to be taken seriously and fully utilized. Growth is not bad, but when it occurs in an unplanned, unsustainable fashion, it causes problems for communities and the surrounding region. Blacksburg needs a vibrant university community just as much as Virginia Tech needs a strong and healthy town, both in terms of quality of life and the tax base necessary to provide a level of service that residents expect. Lets ensure we continue to have both. Methodist churches from the Roanoke and New River valleys are trying to raise $50,000 to buy solar panels for people in hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico. The idea came after the Raleigh Court United Methodist Church in Roanoke sent a mission team to Puerto Rico last year to help with re-building. Yes, more than a year after Hurricane Maria hit the island in September 2017, theres still clean-up and rebuilding to be done. Characterize the federal governments response to a stricken Puerto Rico however you like adjectives are just words, but the numbers are more telling. Shortly before the Category 5 Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico, the Category 4 Hurricane Harvey hit Texas. Harvey knocked out power to more than 300,000 customers in Texas, according to Utility Dive website. Maria knocked out power to virtually all of Puerto Rico about 1.5 million customers. Harvey killed 106 people in the United States. The official death toll on Puerto Rico is now 2,975. Thats just shy of the number of people killed in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. And yet . . . the federal government sent more resources to Texas than to Puerto Rico five times as many meals, four times as many tarps, three times as many personnel. President Trump attributed the difference to the fact that Puerto Rico is an island surrounded by water, big water as if this were a nation that never mounted the D-Day invasion or put men on the moon and brought them back. More likely the difference is Texas is a state (a big and important one, too) and Puerto Rico isnt. If Puerto Rico were a state, it would be bigger than 21 others. Instead, Puerto Rico exists in a legal twilight zone. Its residents are Americans, whose men were subject to the military draft when there was such a thing. Its residents dont pay federal income tax, either, but neither do they qualify for certain federal benefits at the same rates as other Americans. When its convenient to the mainland, we count Puerto Ricans as full and fellow Americans; when its not, we dont. Trump has to answer for the disproportionately weak response to Puerto Ricos hurricane devastation, but both parties in Washington have a lot to answer for in general, going back more than a century. Republicans have always been clearer than Democrats about how to resolve Puerto Ricos political status. Starting with their 1940 party platform all the way up to the one Trump ran on in 2016, Republicans have officially endorsed statehood and then done absolutely nothing toward making that happen. Democrats, by contrast, spent 172 words in their 2016 platform talking about Puerto Ricos political status and still couldnt say clearly what it should be. Which is the greater failure? Does it matter? In Washington, politicians are still arguing over how much aid Puerto Rico should get to recover from the hurricane. Its a good thing Puerto Rico is not completely dependent on politicians. Instead, thousands of linemen from about 60 private utilities across the country arrived in Puerto Rico to rebuild the power grid including 70 from American Electric Power. That got the lights back on after 11 months, the longest blackout in U.S. history although the islands electrical system remains fragile. Thats because the first priority was getting the electricity back on not building a brand-new power grid that could better withstand a storm. There are short-term goals and long-term goals. Power restoration was the short-term goal. Puerto Ricos long-term goal is a lot more ambitious: It wants to generate 40% of its energy from renewables by 2025 and 100% by 2050. Puerto Rico doesnt call that a Green New Deal, but thats exactly what it is. On the mainland, the Green New Deal has become political shorthand and a political lightning rod. For Puerto Rico, though, its more a matter of economic necessity. Before the hurricane, virtually all the islands energy had to be imported 98% from petroleum, natural gas and coal, in that order. Only 2% came from renewables. Thats a lot of money going off the island, and a local economy that wasnt creating much to replace it. Solar and wind energy isnt free, but renewables are becoming a lot cheaper which make the economics a lot more appealing. For Puerto Rico, the conversion to renewables isnt an ideological preference but a bottom-line calculation. Im pretty sure that this will be, by leaps and bounds, the quickest transition to renewables thats ever happened anywhere on the planet, P.J. Wilson, president of the Solar and Energy Storage Association of Puerto Rico, told the website Vox. However, Puerto Ricos goals are complicated by money and technology. Puerto Ricos in debt (mainlanders havent been the only ones to mismanage the island). The power lines are old and unreliable, no matter what kind of energy is flowing through them. There also are politics aplenty involved. The islands utility company owes $9 billion, but the cost of a modern smart power grid (like the ones Virginia utilities are getting ready to install) is estimated at $17.6 billion. Theres a bankruptcy judge in New York involved, a federal Oversight Board in Washington, and a whole capital of rival politicians who would like to experiment upon Puerto Rico the way they have ever since the United States acquired it from Spain in 1898. Not surprisingly, the Trump administration takes a dim view of Puerto Ricos green energy goals; it wants to see the islands utility buy more natural gas from the Appalachian shale fields than rely on the sun and wind the island already has. Many Puerto Ricans, though, arent waiting on the politicians. Spurred on by the nearly year-long blackout, theyre now installing so many rooftop solar systems that the companies that make them are having trouble keeping up with the demand. One German company told the Miami Herald that Puerto Rico is definitely the biggest single market, truth be told, in the sovereign United States. It is a market that actually ranks up there with some European markets. The switch to solar energy has been so rapid that the Puerto Rico may soon generate 18% of its energy from renewables a stunning ninefold increase since Maria. Irony: On the mainland, rooftop solar is considered a luxury and is associated with affluence. In Puerto Rico, its associated with poverty and is considered self-reliance. But some help from fellow Americans would be nice. Seven months from Election Day, angst over the program is pitting the Medicare Advantages vulnerable Democratic backers against the partys more liberal members, many of whom hail from safe districts. Weve strongly encouraged the administration that this is the wrong time to do this, particularly with whats already happened with the Medicare cuts and the [Affordable Care Act], Rep. Ami Bera, a California Democrat who faces a tough race in November, told CQ Roll Call last week. Thats one reason Bera and nearly 60 House Democrats signed a letter urging the Department of Health and Human Services to maintain this years spending levels into the next fiscal year. A dramatic breakthrough in the development of diamond synthesis technologies, which occurred during the last five years and is also accompanied by a significant decrease in production costs, has caused a lively debate in the industry on what kind of niche in the market can be occupied by synthetic diamonds. To date, there are two main positions. The first is that the synthetic market and the market for natural diamonds are different markets, they should not intersect, synthetics will never replace natural diamonds, and in the best case will be in the rank of expensive imitation jewelry. Proponents of the second position argue that synthetics are a direct competitor to natural diamonds able to oust natural analogues in the foreseeable future, at least in the category commonly called "Indian goods". For obvious reasons, diamond mining companies adhere to the first point of view, while the second is supported by producers of synthetic diamonds. The arguments of each of the parties are numerous and, in many ways, speculative, but for the time being we will leave aside their appeals to environmental and ethical issues, as well as their incantations that true love cannot be synthetic, and look at the task in historical retrospect. The first thing that comes to mind is the situation in the market for industrial diamonds. Before World War II, the market for natural industrial diamonds was equal in value to the market of gem-quality diamonds, their scope of application was continuously and rapidly expanding, and the prospects were cloudless. The first synthetic diamonds were obtained in 1953. It took about four decades for synthetics to dominate the market, leaving a symbolic share of a few percent to natural diamonds. In terms of price-quality ratio, synthetics have now won a complete victory in the market for industrial diamonds. Of course, one can argue that a drill bit is not an engagement ring, and the roller for processing turbine blades is not suitable to be part of a necklace. Of course, this is a fair argument. The consumer audience is different, and strictly speaking, industrial diamonds do not fall within the concept of precious stones. But we should not forget that Indian goods (diamonds of the -9 size-and-weight group) became classified as gem-quality diamonds only after synthetics replaced them in machinery, and before that they firmly held their place in the category of industrial diamonds. A natural industrial diamond could become a polished diamond due to the development of synthesis technology - a logical paradox that theoretically permits a reversible process. Let us consider an example closer to the luxury market. In 1908, Mikimoto received a patent for a technique permitting to cultivate round pearls. And today, the share of natural pearls in the market is about 3%, while all the rest is occupied by cultivated pearls. Not that this market is fully synthetic, but it is unconditionally hand-made. However, there is nothing tragic about it and consumers are not upset, as the price-quality ratio suits them perfectly and Chinese (mostly) pearl farms are flourishing. Companies used to be engaged in pearl fishing vanished and are now recalled in legends: the development of technology changed the beneficiary of the market. This is an instructive example, but still we should agree that it is not very convincing for the diamond industry, as there are too many differences between pearls and diamonds. And finally, we will touch on the problem that can serve as the most complete analogue of the current situation in the diamond market. It will be about synthetic corundum and beryl. At first glance, this topic is just a balm for the soul of apologists propounding natural diamonds! Indeed, synthetic rubies were first obtained at the end of the 19th century, and synthetic emeralds in the 1930s. Since those gray-haired days, the technology of synthesis has been continuously improved, its prime cost has fallen, but synthetics have not forced natural emeralds and rubies out of the market (as well as sapphires, alexandrites, etc.). At first glance, here it is, a bright and convincing example of the market division: the noble "nature" in stones is one thing, while cheap synthetics are another. In a civilized trade (in the absence of fraudulent attempts to pass off synthetic colored stones for natural), these markets do not intersect. It would seem that the point of view of mining companies triumphs, and the whole problem boils down to the organization of a control system (administrative and gemological) permitting to avoid accidental and (or) deliberate mixing of stones of natural and synthetic origin. Alas, this is a superficial conclusion. Although the market for colored stones is structured much worse than the market for diamonds, and for this reason it is difficult to analyze it, there is still some tentative analogue of De Beers and ALROSA present on this market, which is the Gemfields Group, and we will take our bearings from the data posted on its official website (www.gemfieldsgroup.com) in further arguments. Today, Gemfields controls about a third of the global emerald market and up to 40% of the global ruby market, which is an ample sample to extrapolate the findings to the market as a whole, especially given the fact that the remaining market share is blurred between many dozens of small producers. Gemfields sells emeralds and rubies at auctions, and the prices set in the course of such trading accurately reflect the market situation. Gemfields emerald auctions are divided into two types depending on the quality of rough stones sold. High quality (HQ) rough gems are bought mainly by Israeli and Belgian partners, while Indians buy commercial quality (CQ) rough. The distribution by prices and volumes is the following: HQ rough is sold at an average of $ 64.6 per carat, CQ rough at an average of $ 4.19 per carat; HQ rough sales do not exceed 10% of total sales but generate up to 70% of revenue. Gemfields sells rubies at mixed auctions, but the price-quality-sales ratio shows the same pattern: sales of premium rubies account for only 2% of the total, but bring more than 80% of the total revenue, the average premium price is $ 800 per carat; the average price of the remaining rubies is $ 6.25 per carat. These proportions resemble the diamond market: small-size cheap rough accounts for up to 80% in ALROSAs production, but the main revenue comes from high-quality large-size rough. The media claim that since the beginning of auction sales of Gemfields (2009), the market price for rough emeralds went up more than tenfold. The statement is true, but only in relation to HQ rough, whereas prices for CQ rough remained surprisingly stable. The same dependence is characteristic of rubies. The steady growth of prices for high-quality rough emeralds and rubies is quite understandable these gems are produced in very small quantities. But what determines the price of low-quality, mass, "Indian" rough? By a strange coincidence, its prices almost exactly coincide with the lower limit of wholesale prices for hydrothermal synthetics in the course of several years. Low-grade rough emeralds and rubies flow to Southeast Asia. This region is also the main consumer of hydrothermal synthetics used in jewelry. The buyer is the same. Therefore, at this point there is no separation, but a convergence of the markets for natural raw materials and synthetics. This is where prices get balanced. Synthetics do not force out Indian type natural raw materials from the market, because the buyer is simply not ready to pay for it more than the high-quality synthetics cost. It should be noted that the process has an objective basis, since the Indian goods of rubies and emeralds are subjected to intensive refinement (including impregnation with polymers, annealing, healing of cracks with Pb2O3, etc.), after which such stones can be considered natural only by very big enthusiasts. The problem is that no one can change the initial characteristics of rough gems coming from genuine natural deposits, while the quality and cost of rough from synthetic deposits are adjustable. Over the past five years, the growth rate of synthetic diamonds has tripled, and the cost has fallen by half, and it is clear that this is far from being the limit. The buyer of synthetic rough diamonds and the buyer of small-size rough from ALROSA is the same. If the analogy with the market of colored stones is correct, then such a convergence of the markets for synthetic diamonds and natural "Indian goods" - and in the future for any rough stones 2 grainers and below in size - is inevitable. And synthetics will be the price driver in this case. In such conditions, the refusal of ALROSA to work on the synthetic market seems to be a strategic mistake, the consequence of which will be the complete loss of control over pricing in relation to the major part (in carats) of its own goods. A very deplorable decision, especially given the fact that currently Russia has very promising producers of gem-quality synthetic diamonds, whose entry into the ALROSA Group would have much more effective consequences than the financially senseless acquisition of Smolensk-based Kristall. Sergey Goryainov, Rough&Polished The Gemstones by SOKOLOV brand has been popular for over 25 years. The aim of this company is to supply any kind of gem studs to the Russian market including the unique ones except diamonds of any cut. The product range by the Sokolov Company is very wide and the company a leader in the Russian jewelry market. The Sokolov Company made its difficult way searching for an optimal business model. They encountered many challenges on this way: they set up their own cutting and polishing operation, started their advertising unit and creative a photo and design studio. Earlier, much attention was paid to the companys website (www.gemstone.ru), but at present, they focus mainly at the work in the interactive social media. The headquarters of the company is in St. Petersburg, their office and showroom have been operating in Moscow since 2005, and their office and a store were opened in Kostroma in 2008. Pavel Sokolov, the CEO and founder of the company, tells the R&P about how challenging it is to be an entrepreneur in the jewelry business. You are among few professional mineralogists who came to the jewelry production from the scientific sphere. How did it happened? I am a member in good standing of the Russian mineralogical society and over twenty years, I have done academic work and has been a lecturer at the chair of mineralogy at the geological faculty of the St. Petersburg State University. In 1988, my friends and I set up a daughter company at the Centre of the Experimental Research, Studies and Social Initiatives under the USSR Academy of Sciences. Later on, this company was transformed into a Sokolov Company. Since 1994, we have been working in the jewelry business only. Did you always get the craving for beauty? From childhood: I have been polishing stones since school days at the Club of the Young Geologists under the Palace of the Pioneers loated in the Anichkov Palace. I developed a liking for mineralogy and working the stone by hands agate, green malachite . The Club of the Young Geologists was set up back in 1948. After graduating the University, I had been training there for eight years. There was a stone cutting circle it is still functioning and I help it with great pleasure and provide stones for the circle. In the mid-60s, the meetings of the young geologists used to be held and I took part in the first two meetings. Since then, eight world meetings of the young geologists have been held, the all-Russia skills competitions are held regularly, where the young geologists from the Ural region win half of the prizes. At present, the Gemstones by Sokolov Company buys, cuts and polishes and sells the calibrated and exclusive studs made of natural emeralds, sapphires, rubies and all other jewelry stones, as well as of the south sea pearls and fresh-water ones of various hues, and also agate cameos. The company sells and buys rough natural gems to be polished and synthetic rough stones malachite, turquoise, corals, and lapis lazuli. The firm has 30 employees and 5 of them are professional gemologists. We have 5 cutters who have been in cutting and polishing all their lives and they deal with the unique stones only. They are rare professionals to do this job. In Russia, there are not enough cutters and polishers on the whole: there are about 300 thousand gemstone cutters in India, several tens of thousands in China, and in Russia, one can hardly find half a thousand cutters and polishers, at best. I do not take into account diamond cutters and polishers in this sector, specific and peculiar features are required. There is a remarkable thing. In Russia, there are 3 colour gemstone cutting and polishing centres: in the Great Urals region (from Ekaterinburg to Chelyabinsk), in Moscow and St. Petersburg. A very strong school of cutters and polishers is in Kiev (the Ukraine). In all the centres, the cutters are mainly men, and in St. Petersburg only, the women cutters prevail. This is a historically established situation. Ten years ago, my children and their partners set up a full-cycle jewelry manufacturing company - MOUSSON ATELIER from designing to packaging. The GEMSTONES by Sokolov provides the MOUSSON ATELIER Company with the jewelry studs of any complexity. What are the major challenges in your business? It was always difficult at the customs many companies find customs to be a sensitive point, the customs clearance could have been a little bit easier. The world economic crisis also brings new challenges all the time. So, all this keeps us busy. You take part in JUNWEX do you think this to be useful? I think our participation in the JUNWEX events is rather beneficial. I believe it is important to the business to show our new collections to the buyers and colleagues, and also to see what other companies do, and to talk to our colleagues. By the way, the name of our company originated at one of the JUNWEX. Once I was mulling over the name of our company and asked Valeriy Budny, who answered in less than no time Nothing to think about. Gemstones by Sokolov. And so it happened. Please tell us about your stone collection. Well, the gemstones have accumulated since my school and student days. But it was not a collection those were just souvenir stones. Quite recently, my dream has come true. Now, I have a unique collection of Kazakhstan landscape stones (many thanks to Felix Ibragimov). And what is your favourite gem? Now, probably, it is spinel. Do you give jewelry to your wife and daughter as your presents? I make presents to all the women of our big family, of course, more often - to my wife. What are your plans for the future? I connect my plans for the future with the MOUSSON ATELIER Company. As for me personally, I travel a lot all over the world. Four years ago, my friends from Montreal arranged a gemological tour to Myanmar (Burma). Now, I often go there and to Vietnam to the jewelry spinel and corundum deposits. Here, I am back to geology - but after gaining some jewelry business experience. A group of specialists from the St. Petersburg State University works together with me. And we have already discovered new peculiarities of forming these deposits that were not known earlier. In 2007, our company joined the International Colored Gemstone Association (ICA) that unites the worlds leaders in mining, stone working and gemstone trading. For the last 6 years, I am a member of the ICA board of directors. Please tell us about this Association what is its line of activities, how does it operate? The Association has been existing since 1980s. Its philosophy is the business at a speed of thought, as Bill Gates said. I joined this Association in 2007 and some time ago, I was its Ambassador in Russia. The Association consists of about 700 members from 48 countries. If I need, for example, anything from Uruguay, where I do not know anybody, I would address the Director or Ambassador in Uruguay or an ICA member in this country, call him and tell what I need and I know for sure that this person - whom I do not know personally - would try to help me immediately. He would either do it himself or find me a partner. Probably, one should love stones very much to connect all the life with them? I like the stones very much, practically all of them. Each stone has its own beauty. Both cut and uncut crystals, sapphires, spinel stones one can find something wonderful in every stone. And what is the wonder in a diamond? This is an incredibly beautiful stone that I worship. A cut and polished diamond has a rather attractive feature, diamond sparkling, thanks to a high optical characteristic - a dispersion of refractive index - that is 0.044. Actually, that of a demantoid is even higher and makes 0.057. There exist another diamond analogue - sphene - a rare yellow and green stone featuring a dispersion of refractive index of 0.051 As a rule, every jewelry piece is studded with a diamond. There are two reasons: first, one may use any coloured gem in a jewelry piece, but if it has no diamond, its price is lower. Second, diamonds make jewelry look more beautiful. When you look at a diamond in a cloudy weather, it looks just like a glass. But in certain light with many spotlight sources there will be a kaleidoscope of colours. Galina Semyonova, Rough&Polished IV International Economic Forum of the Amber Industry will be held on June 20 - 23, 2019, in Svetlogorsk, Kaliningrad Region. Amberforum is one of the main events of the amber industry in Russia. The exhibition will feature amber products from 50 manufacturing companies from different countries, as well as exclusive works from museum collections. The one of a kind auction of unique amber weighing more than 1 kilogram will take place during the forum. An exhibition and sale of designer amber jewelry will also take place. The forum will be attended by business representatives from Russia, Europe and Asia. They will discuss the innovative development and promotion of the amber industry. Visitors will be able to watch and participate in recreational activities of the special project AmberShow: art installations, photo exhibitions, contests, concerts and educational tours. It was centered in a vast nature preserve 57 miles east of the small town of Yurimaguas. Buildings collapsed and power knocked out in some areas. A bridge had collapsed and several homes and roads had been affected. Three schools, three hospitals and two churches were affected too. Ricardo Seijas, chief of the National Emergency Operations Center, said one person died when a rock fell on a house in the Huarango district. At least six people were injured. Images circulating on social media showed residents in several parts of the country panicked. The mayor of Lagunas, Arri Pezo, told local radio station that the quake was felt very strongly there. In the capital, Lima, people ran out of their homes. People feared aftershocks. In a tweet, President Martin Vizcarra called for calm and said that authorities were checking the affected areas. Its a quake that was felt throughout the Peruvian jungle, said Vizcarra, who was scheduled to host a regional summit Sunday in the capital with the presidents of Bolivia, Colombia and Ecuador. Earthquakes are frequent in Peru, which lies on the Pacifics so-called Ring of Fire. It comes just two months after a quake with magnitude of 7.1 struck southern Peru. The judge of the Northern District of California said the President couldnt disburse the funds without congressional approval. It ruled this after a Lwsuit was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of the plaintiffs, the Sierra Club and Southern Border Communities Coalition. It not prevent the Trump administration from using funds from other sources to build the projects. Construction on the projects affected by the ruling could have begun as early as Saturday, according to the ruling. The decision comes more than three months after Trump declared a national emergency to divert billions of dollars from the Pentagon for the construction of the border wall. If the administration begins illegally diverting additional military funds, well be back in court to block that as well, Dror Ladin, an ACLU staff attorney, said in a statement. The federal judge who partially blocked President Trumps plans to build a border wall along the United States-Mexico border previously donated almost $30,000 to former President Obama, other Democrats, and a political action committee. Gilliam made the donations prior to serving as a U.S. District judge. The incident lasted around five to 10 minutes. It remains unclear how many people were injured. The deadly storm comes just days after the area was hit by widespread flooding. The police department in nearby Union City, Okla., confirmed in a Facebook post that serious injuries and fatalities occurred. The identities of the victims has not been revealed. The tornado is believed to have touched down in the area of Highway 81 and Interstate 40. Overturned cars and twisted metal could be seen.The American Budget Value Inn was heavily damaged by the storm. At the motel site, multiple people remained unaccounted for. The mayor described the scene at the mobile home park as horrific, and decimated. Late Saturday, the National Weather Service office in Norman, Okla., sent out a Twitter message warning Oklahoma residents of an approaching tornado. Earlier Saturday, President Trump approved an emergency declaration to assist Oklahoma after flooding damaged more than 1,000 homes. Storms have ravaged central U.S. states over the last week. Heavy rain has also spurred major flooding in several states. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 26) Two cadets of the Philippine Military Academy's Mabalasik Class of 2019 have been suspended and will not march at the graduation ceremonies Sunday. This, according to PMA Pubilic Information Officer Chief Major Reynan Afan who spoke to media before the graduation rites in Baguio City began. "As always, our cadets are cadets until the very last day of graduation. Hangga't hindi sila nakakamayan ng Presidente, sila ay nasa ilalim ng mga batas ng Philippine Military Academy [Until the President shakes their hand, they are under the rules of the Philippine Military Academy]," Afan said. He said cadets must follow these rules, and should there be any violations or infringements, appropriate action must be taken. The PMA academic board issued the decision two days ago. Afan did not explain what the violations were, or name the cadets involved. Because of the incident, only 261 cadets of the Mabalasik Class will participate in the graduation rites Sunday. President Rodrigo Duterte will be attending the event, and he is expected to speak at the ceremony. The story of Thelma Smith, a 102-year-old woman facing eviction, has garnered widespread attention, most notably from former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, and has prompted an investigation into whether the notice to terminate Smiths lease complied with Los Angeles Countys interim rental protections approved last fall. Many people have inquired about ways to help with monetary or legal assistance. A handful have offered her a place to stay. Several shared similar stories, including a 90-year-old veteran who was forced to move without moving expenses when his building was torn down and a mother and son who will be forced to leave their residence because the landlord failed to pay the mortgage. Some have tweeted and emailed support for Smith. Advertisement It may be legal but to do it to a 102-year-old who has been a loyal tenant for 30 years is diabolical. This situation is symptomatic of where we are at as a society. Just because the landlord has a legal right in this case, doesnt make it morally right. This is so saddening. Smiths situation has drawn so much attention because of her age, but it illustrates a reality that many renters face in L.A. County. Smiths landlords said they were ending her month-to-month lease at the Ladera Heights residence because their daughter is graduating from law school. The dwelling is needed as her principal place of residence, the notice of lease termination said. Under the city of Los Angeles Rent Stabilization Ordinance, a landlord can legally end a lease agreement with a tenant to accommodate a relatives housing needs. According to the law, if the units are of comparable housing, the last person who moved in would be the first person forced to leave. That regulation is meant to protect low-paying tenants from being targeted. But in unincorporated areas of L.A. County, including Ladera Heights, the law is weaker. They use this law to target long-term, low-paying tenants, said Larry Gross, executive director of the Coalition for Economic Survival. Smiths story has also stirred debate over whose rights deserve ultimate protection when it comes to rental agreements. Many voiced support for the landlord, insisting that the property owner should have ultimate authority over the residence. What the heck? Its the landlords property. She is renting the property, she does not own it. The owner has the right to ask the tenant to vacate the property Others pushed back, arguing that tenants especially the elderly deserve stronger protections. In a moral society, evicting a 102-year-old tenant of 30 years would fall under the category of things you cant do. How does one have the heart to tell a 102-year-old person to get out? If you dont like the laws, just change them. Smith, a widow, worked for years with the Sugar Ray Robinson Youth Foundation and connected with public figures like Schwarzenegger and Elizabeth Taylor along the way. She recently celebrated her birthday in the home where she has spent three decades. More than 1,000 people attended a mass wedding banquet in Taiwans capital to celebrate the marriage of same-sex couples after a landmark decision legalizing the unions. Taiwan became the first place in Asia to recognize same-sex marriage last week following a vote by the islands legislature. LGBT couples clad in flowing white gowns and matching suits gathered in Taipei on Saturday evening to walk down a red carpet flanked by cheering supporters. Taiwans state Central News Agency reported that more than 1,600 guests were in attendance, including 20 same-sex couples who recently tied the knot. Never did we give up hope that we would one day get married, said Janet Hsu, a 38-year-old civil servant who married her partner. Advertisement They and other pairs were honored in a gala that featured an emcee who wished them 100 years of happiness. A drag queen also performed with a group of scantily clad men. The banquet seated 160 tables and served nine courses of traditional Taiwanese food, according to the Central News Agency. Taiwan split with mainland China amid a civil war in 1949. Chinas ruling Communist Party considers the island part of its territory. Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. British Environment Secretary Michael Gove on Sunday became the eighth lawmaker to enter the race to succeed Prime Minister Theresa May, as other contenders staked out uncompromising positions on Brexit. Gove said Sunday that I can confirm that I will be putting my name forward to be prime minister of this country when May steps down as Conservative leader on June 7. Other candidates for the top job include former Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt and ex-House of Commons leader Andrea Leadsom. The current favorite is former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, whom Gove backed in the 2016 Conservative leadership contest before deciding to run for the job himself. Advertisement The winner of that race was May. She announced her departure Friday, admitting defeat in her three-year quest to deliver Brexit after failing three times to get her Brexit deal though Parliament. Her successor as party leader will be selected by Conservative lawmakers and party members, and will automatically become prime minister. The leadership contest is dominated by candidates vowing to take Britain out of the European Union even if there is no divorce deal in place. On Sunday, Raab joined Johnson, Leadsom and another candidate, Esther McVey, in vowing to leave on the EU-set deadline of Oct. 31, deal or no deal. I will not ask for an extension, Raab said. I would fight for a fairer deal in Brussels ... and if not I would be clear that we would leave on ( World Trade Organization) terms in October, he told the BBC. Most businesses and economists think leaving the EU without agreed terms and a transition period would cause economic turmoil and plunge Britain into recession. But many Conservatives think embracing a no-deal Brexit may be the only way to win leave"-supporting voters back from the newly-formed Brexit Party led by Nigel Farage. Any attempt to take Britain out of the EU without a deal will be fiercely resisted by Parliament, and could see pro-Europeans leave the Conservative Party. Parliament has voted very clearly to oppose a no-deal exit, Treasury chief Philip Hammond said Sunday. It would be very difficult for a prime minister who adopted no deal as a policy ... to retain the confidence of the House of Commons, he told the BBC. Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Britains governing Conservative Party was all but wiped out in the European Parliament election as voters sick of the countrys stalled European Union exit flocked to uncompromisingly pro- Brexit or pro-EU parties. The main opposition Labour Party also faced a drubbing in a vote that upended the traditional order of British politics and plunged the country into even more Brexit uncertainty. The big winners were the newly founded Brexit Party led by veteran anti-EU campaigner Nigel Farage and the strongly pro-European Liberal Democrats. With results announced early Monday for all of England and Wales, the Brexit Party had won 28 of the 73 British EU seats up for grabs and almost a third of the votes. The Liberal Democrats took about 20% of the vote and 15 seats up from only one at the last EU election in 2014. Labour came third with 10 seats, followed by the Greens with seven. The ruling Conservatives were in fifth place with just three EU seats and under 10% of the vote. Advertisement Scotland and Northern Ireland are due to announce their results later. Farages Brexit Party was one of several nationalist and populist parties making gains across the continent in an election that saw erosion of support for the traditionally dominant political parties. Conservative Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said it was a painful result and warned there was an existential risk to our party unless we now come together and get Brexit done. The results reflect an electorate deeply divided over Britains 2016 decision to leave the EU, but united in anger at the two long-dominant parties, the Conservatives and Labour, who have brought the Brexit process to deadlock. Britain is participating in the EU election because it is still a member of the bloc, but the lawmakers it elects will only sit in the European Parliament until the country leaves the EU, which is currently scheduled for Oct. 31. Farages Brexit Party was officially launched in April and has only one policy: for Britain to leave the EU as soon as possible, even without a divorce agreement in place. Farage said his partys performance was a massive message for the Conservatives and Labour, and he said it should be given a role in future negotiations with the EU. If we dont leave on Oct. 31, then the scores you have seen for the Brexit Party today will be repeated in a general election and we are getting ready for it, said Farage. But the election leaves Britains EU exit ever more uncertain, with both Brexiteers and pro-EU remainers able to claim strong support. Labour and the Conservatives, who in different ways each sought a compromise Brexit, were hammered. The result raises the likelihood of a chaotic no deal exit from the EU but also of a new referendum that could reverse the decision to leave. The Conservatives were punished for failing to take the country out of the EU on March 29 as promised, a failure that led Prime Minister Theresa May to announce Friday that she is stepping down from leading the party on June 7. Britains new prime minister will be whoever wins the Conservative party leadership race to replace her. The favorites, including ex-Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab and former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, have vowed to leave the EU on Oct. 31 even if there is no deal in place. Most businesses and economists think that would cause economic turmoil and plunge Britain into recession. But many Conservatives think embracing a no-deal Brexit may be the only way to win back voters from Farages party. Labour was punished for a fence-sitting Brexit policy that saw the party dither over whether to support a new referendum that could halt Brexit. Labour foreign affairs spokeswoman Emily Thornberry said the party needed to adopt a clearer pro-EU stance. There should be a (new Brexit) referendum and we should campaign to remain, she said. ___ For more news from The Associated Press on the European Parliament elections go to https://www.apnews.com/EuropeanParliament ___ 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. Iraq offered to mediate in the crisis between its two key allies, the United States and Iran, amid escalating Middle East tensions and as Tehrans nuclear deal with world powers steadily unravels. Iraqi foreign minister, Mohammed al-Hakim, made the offer Sunday during a joint news conference in Baghdad with visiting Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif. We are trying to help and to be mediators, said al-Hakim, adding that Baghdad will work to reach a satisfactory solution while stressing that Iraq stands against unilateral steps taken by Washington. In recent weeks, tensions between Washington and Tehran soared over America deploying an aircraft carrier and B-52 bombers to the Persian Gulf over a still-unexplained threat it perceives from Tehran. The U.S. also plans to send 900 additional troops to the 600 already in the Mideast and extending their stay. Advertisement The crisis takes root in President Donald Trumps withdrawal last year of the U.S. from the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers that capped Irans uranium enrichment activities in return to lifting sanctions. Washington subsequently re-imposed sanctions on Iran, sending its economy into freefall. Trump has argued that the deal failed to sufficiently curb Irans ability to develop nuclear weapons or halt its support for militias throughout the Middle East that the U.S. says destabilize the region, as well as address the issue of Tehrans missiles, which can reach both U.S. regional bases and Israel. Zarif, who was been on a whirlwind diplomatic offensive to preserve the rest of the accord, insisted that Iran did not violate the nuclear deal and urged European nations to exert efforts to preserve the deal following the U.S. pullout. Speaking about the rising tensions with the U.S., Zarif said Iran will be able to face the war, whether it is economic or military through steadfastness and its forces. He also urged for a non-aggression agreement between Iran and Arab countries in the Gulf. The Shiite-majority Iraq has been trying to maintain a fine line as allies Tehran and Washington descended into verbal vitriol. The country also lies on the fault line between Shiite Iran and the mostly Sunni Arab world, led by powerhouse Saudi Arabia, and has long been a battlefield in which the Saudi-Iran rivalry for regional supremacy played out. The mediation offer by al-Hakim, Iraqs foreign minister, echoed one made Saturday by Mohamad al-Halbousi, the Iraqi parliament speaker. Al-Hakim also expressed concern for Irans spiraling economy. Iranians make up the bulk of millions of Shiites from around the world who come to Iraq every year to visit its many Shiite shrines and holy places and their purchasing power has slumped after Trump re-imposed the sanctions. The sanctions against sisterly Iran are ineffective and we stand by its side, al-Hakim said. Meanwhile, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani suggested the Islamic Republic could hold a referendum over its nuclear program. The official IRNA news agency said Rouhani, who was last week publicly chastised by the countrys supreme leader, made the suggestion in a meeting with editors of major Iranian news outlets on Saturday evening. Rouhani said he had previously suggested a referendum to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in 2004, when Rouhani was a senior nuclear negotiator for Iran. At the time, Khamenei approved of the idea and though there was no referendum, such a vote can be a solution at any time, Rouhani was quoted as saying. A referendum could provide political cover for the Iranian government if it chooses to increase its enrichment of uranium, prohibited under the 2015 nuclear deal. Earlier last week, Iran said it quadrupled its uranium-enrichment production capacity though Iranian officials made a point to stress that the uranium would be enriched only to the 3.67% limit set under the deal, making it usable for a power plant but far below whats needed for an atomic weapon. Rouhanis remarks could also be seen as a defense of his stance following the rare public chastising by the supreme leader. Khamenei last week named Rouhani and Zarif relative moderates within Irans Shiite theocracy who had struck the nuclear deal as failing to implement his orders over the accord, saying it had numerous ambiguities and structural weaknesses that could damage Iran. Khamenei, who has final say on all matters of state in Iran, did not immediately respond to Rouhanis proposal of a referendum. The Islamic Republic has seen only three referendums since it was established in 1979 one on regime change from monarchy to Islamic republic and two on its constitution and its amendments. Also in Tehran, acting commander of the countrys powerful Revolutionary Guard said any negotiations with the U.S. would be fruitless. Gen. Ali Fadavi said it would be like having negotiations with Satan. Meanwhile, Yemens Iranian-allied Houthi rebels launched a bomb-carrying drone Sunday targeting another airport in Saudi Arabia. Col. Turki al-Maliki, a spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition fighting against the Houthis, said that the military intercepted and destroyed the drone targeting its Jizan Regional Airport. Saudi state TV published images of debris it said belonged to the drone. The rebels have attacked another airport multiple times and a critical Saudi oil pipeline in recent days amid the heightened tensions between the U.S. and Iran. ___ Karimi reported from Tehran, Iran. Associated Press writers Bassem Mroue in Baghdad and Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed to this report Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Police say a mother shot and killed her 5-year-old daughter before killing herself in upstate New York. The Times Union of Albany reports that the bodies of 27-year-old Caitlin Melville and her daughter were discovered Friday inside a house in Guilderland, near Albany. Police said in a news release Saturday they do not know the motive for the shootings. Its unclear when the deaths occurred. Authorities did not release the childs name but said she was a kindergartner at Westmere Elementary School. Advertisement The Guilderland school district said in a statement Saturday that a team of counselors, school psychologists and social workers would be sent to the school to provide support to grieving students and teachers. ___ Information from: Times Union, https://www.timesunion.com Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Joe Biden, holding the first large-scale rally of his 2020 presidential campaign, Saturday issued a broad call for national unity, denounced President Trump as the divider in chief and plunged into a challenging new phase of competition with his Democratic rivals. A career politician who came to Washington in a less polarized era, Biden promised to work across the partisan aisle defying skeptics within his own party who worry that Bidens old-school style is outdated and not confrontational enough to defeat Trump. They say Democrats are so angry that the angrier a candidate can be, the better chance he or she has to win the Democratic nomination, Biden told the sun-drenched crowd in Philadelphia. Well, I dont believe it. I believe Democrats want to unify this nation. Citing his record of 36 years in the Senate and eight as Barack Obamas vice president, Biden said, Compromise is not a dirty wordLets stop fighting and start fixing. Advertisement The rally, staged in front of the Philadelphia Art Museum with the downtown skyline as a backdrop, drew a crowd of 6,000, according to estimates by event security officials. That is the biggest audience Biden has drawn so far, but did not match the door-busting crowds that attended kick off rallies by Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Kamala Harris of California, which numbered more than 10,000. For nearly the entirety of Bidens speech, a protester blew a whistle, but Biden brushed it off with good humor and repeated his promise to not speak ill of his Democratic rivals. The Philadelphia rally capped a three-week introductory phase of the Biden campaign that began with an announcement video and a series of smaller events in Iowa and other early-voting states. The roll out has surpassed the expectations of supporters and rivals alike, who were unsure how a 76-year-old white man would be received by a Democratic Party that seemed to be yearning for diversity and a fresh face. But since his announcement, Biden has sprinted to a big lead in the polls, flexed his fundraising muscle to set a first-day record, and made his inaugural campaign visits in Iowa and other early-voting states with uncharacteristic, gaffe-free discipline. He has kept his focus on Trump, ignored the 22 other Democrats who are his primary rivals, and talked about policy mostly at a high level of generality. The next phase will be more politically risky, as he will begin rolling out more detailed policies on subjects expected to include climate change and healthcare. And the first debates among Democratic candidates loom at the end of June. Biden will be forced to drop his above-the-fray approach to engage his rivals more directly. His selection of Philadelphia also the site of his campaign headquarters signifies the importance of Pennsylvania in Bidens strategy and message to Democratic primary voters. Biden was born in Scranton to a blue-collar family and represented the neighboring state of Delaware in the U.S. Senate. Biden argues he is the best equipped among the 23 Democratic declared candidates to beat Trump and win back the industrial states of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin that Hillary Clinton lost in 2016. Trump, who is holding a rally Monday in Pennsylvania, also sees the state as pivotal to his reelection chances and views Biden as a the biggest threat among the Democratic candidates. The rally drew both enthusiastic Biden supporters and people who were still trying to decide whom to support in 2020. Bidens challenge will be to draw in people such as Lauren Greenberg, an 18-year-old from the Philadelphia suburbs, who likes Biden for his connection with the Obama administration, but wishes a woman would be nominated and would prefer it if his policies were more progressive. I want to see someone who represents me in office, said Greenberg. But I will support any Democrat against Trump. As he moves into a phase of offering a more specific agenda, Biden will be walking a tightrope between offering policies that are liberal enough to satisfy the partys base without going so far that it tarnishes his brand as a center-left Democrat who can appeal to swing voters. The challenge he faces became clear recently when reports surfaced that he was preparing a middle of the road policy on climate change. He was pummeled with criticism from the left. His campaign insisted the reports were inaccurate. He plans to give a major speech on the issue before the end of May. In his rally speech, he made clear that his pitch to Democratic primary voters would be not on specific policies but on his ability to beat Trump. As long as Donald Trump is in the White House none of these things are going to get done, he said. In expressing his optimism about building bridges to Republicans, Biden struck a note that has brought some criticism from progressives who believe he is too trusting of a party that labored to obstruct all the Obama administration tried to do even before Trump came on the scene. But his message appealed to swing voters such as Mike Ehrgott, an accountant from the Philadelphia suburbs who attended the rally. Hes not confrontational. Hes willing to work with people of all parties, said Ehrgott, a former Republican who switched parties after Trump won the GOP nomination in 2016. We cant run this country from the far right or the far left. The latest from Washington More stories from Janet Hook 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. CLIFTON PARK, N.Y The driver as well as the two people killed in a motor vehicle crash that occurred at the intersection of state Route 9 and Ushers Road on Saturday afternoon were identified by state police on Sunday. Dickie R. Winn, 58, of Cohoes was arrested and charged with aggravated vehicular homicide, two counts of vehicular manslaughter, and driving while intoxicated. Winn was charged after the vehicle he was operating left its lane of travel and struck a vehicle stopped for the traffic light at the intersection of Route 9, authorities said. The deceased were identified as 33-year-old John A. Heneghan, and 32-year-old Caitlyn J. Holtzman, both of New York City. Julia Staples, 24, Luke ODoherty, 25, and Enda Crowley, 25, were transported to Albany Medical Center with serious but non life-threatening injuries. Winn was arraigned in Clifton Park Town Court and remanded to Saratoga County Jail without bail. He is due back in court at 4 p.m. on May 29. Anyone who may have witnessed the accident, or has any information, is asked to contact SP Clifton Park at (518) 583-7000. Researchers at Tokyo Institute of Technology have found a simple, yet highly versatile, way to generate "chaotic signals" with various features. The technique consists of interconnecting three "ring oscillators," effectively making them compete against each other, while controlling their respective strengths and their linkages. The resulting device is rather small and efficient, thus suitable for emerging applications such as realizing wireless networks of sensors. Our ability to recreate the signals found in natural systems, such as those in brains, swarms, and the weather, is useful for our understanding of the underlying principles. These signals can be very complex, to the extreme case of the so-called "chaotic signals." Chaos does not mean randomness; it represents a very complicated type of order. Minute changes in the parameters of a chaotic system can result in greatly different behaviors. Chaotic signals are difficult to predict, but they are present in lots of different scenarios. Unfortunately, the generation of chaotic signals with desired features is a difficult task. Creating them digitally is in some cases too power consuming, and approaches based on analog circuits are necessary. Now, researchers in Japan, Italy, and Poland propose a new approach for creating integrated circuits that can generate chaotic signals. This research was the result of a collaboration between scientists from Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech), in part funded by the World Research Hub Initiative, the Universities of Catania and Trento, Italy, and the Polish Academy of Sciences in Krakow, Poland. The research team started from the idea that cycles that have periods set by different prime numbers cannot develop a fixed phase relationship. Surprisingly, this principle seems to have emerged in the evolution of several species of cicadas, whose life cycles follow prime numbers of years, to avoid synchronizing with each other and with predators. For example, if one tries to "tie together" oscillators with periods set to the first three prime numbers (3, 5 and 7), the resulting signals are very complicated and chaos can readily be generated. The design started from the most traditional oscillator found in integrated circuits, called the "ring oscillator," which is small and does not require reactive components (capacitors and inductors). Such a circuit was modified so that the strengths of ring oscillators having three, five and seven stages could be controlled independently, along with the tightness of their linkages. The device could generate chaotic signals over a wide frequency spectrum, from audible frequencies to the radio band (1 kHz to 10 MHz). "Moreover, it could do so at a rather low power consumption, below one-millionth of a watt," explains Dr. Hiroyuki Ito, head of the laboratory where the prototype was designed. Even more remarkable was the discovery that totally different types of signals could be generated depending on the slightly different characteristics the individual prototypes. For example, the researchers recorded trains of spikes quite similar to what is found in biological neurons. They also found situations in which the rings "fought each other" to the point of almost completely suppressing their activity: this phenomenon is called "oscillation death." "This circuit draws its beauty from a really essential shape and principle, and simplicity is key to realizing large systems operating collectively in a harmonious manner, especially when it enriched by small differences and imperfections, such as those found in the realized circuits," says Dr. Ludovico Minati, lead author of the study. The team believes in its future ability to be a building block for many different applications. They will work on integrating this circuit with sensors to, for example, measure chemical properties in the soil. Additionally, they will create networks of these oscillators on single computer chips interconnected in manners that resemble biological neural circuits. They hope to realize certain operations while consuming many times less power than a traditional computer. Using paper stickers to collect pathogens on surfaces where antisepsis is required, such as in food processing plants, is easier, and less expensive than swabbing, yet similarly sensitive. The research is published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology, a journal of the American Society for Microbiology. "The porous structure of paper seems able to collect and accumulate [bacterial] contamination," said first author Martin Bobal, technical assistant, Christian Doppler Laboratory for Monitoring of Microbial Contaminants, Department for Farm Animal and Public Health in Veterinary Medicine, The University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria. "This requires mechanical contact, for example by hand, or by splashed liquids." In the study, the investigators, who specialize in monitoring cheese production, chose to target the organism Listeria monocytogenes, a pathogen that commonly contaminates raw milk and other raw dairy products, including soft cheeses such as Brie, Camembert, and Feta. They used qPCR, a method of quantifying DNA samples to determine the numbers of these bacteria, as well as of Escherichia coli. Surfaces in food processing plants must be cleaned regularly. Unlike swabs, artificially contaminated stickers provided a record of contamination that took place over at least two weeks, despite washing, flushing with water, or wiping with Mikrozid, an alcohol-based disinfectant, to simulate cleansing practices. "Recovery [of DNA] from the stickers was rather variable, at around 30%, but did not distinctly decrease after 14 days of storage," the report stated. "This suggests the possibility of sampling over two weeks as well." In a proof of concept experiment, the researchers placed stickers at multiple locations that frequently undergo hand contact -- such as on light switches and door handles -- for one to seven days. Both bacterial species were detected repeatedly from these stickers. Unlike stickers, swabbing is impractical on complex surfaces, such as door handles, light switches, and other fomites (objects likely to be contaminated with, and spread infectious organisms) and does a poor job of taking up bacteria from dry surfaces, according to the report. "In the food production facility, conventional swabbing as a standard method can only expose a momentary snapshot," the investigators wrote. "For example, it is not possible to reconstruct information about yesterday's status after cleansing has been performed. In addition, when moistened swabs or contact-plate sampling methods are used, they bring with them growth medium into a supposedly clean environment, making subsequent disinfection necessary." The investigators showed that plain paper stickers could trap not only bacterial pathogens and related DNA, but dead, and viable but non-culturable pathogens, which also can pose a threat to public health. "A major advantage of stickers is in handling: they are easy to distribute and to collect," the authors concluded. "We put the stickers directly into the DNA-extraction kit's first protocol step. We did not encounter any inhibition or loss of information during DNA-extraction, nor during qPCR," said Mr. Bobal. Immediately following the last argument, the judges will have a brief discussion about the judicial branch of government and how it fits into a representative democracy. Attendance at the hearings is free, and the public is encouraged to attend, Lockemy said. He said he expects some members of the S.C. General Assembly to attend to answer questions about the legislative branch of governments role. Lockemy, a Dillon native, will preside over the hearings. He said the court of appeals is following the lead of the South Carolina Supreme Court by holding court in other locations throughout the state. It means a lot, Lockemy said. We decided at the court of appeals that we would like to bring the sessions that we hold to various parts of the state. And the first stop were going to make is in the Pee Dee. We plan to be going in the Upstate in the fall. Lockemy added the purpose of holding the hearings throughout the state is to show the public what happens in the hearings. >> Equipment. The state set aside $40 million to buy new voting machines to replace the dinosaurs now being used. Lawmakers finally agreed to spend $29 million on a child support enforcement computer system, something long required by the federal government. (Were the only state without the right system and have wasted lots of money and time trying to get it on the cheap.) >> Gimmick. Lawmakers agreed to send $50 to each taxpayer who files a tax return. Cost: $67 million. Impact per household: $4 per month. Spin: Its nothing more than a political bribe to make you think youre getting something when you probably wont feel it at all. >> Reserves. Lawmakers fully funded state reserve funds, adding $37 million to rainy-day pots that now total $569 million. With summer weather getting more erratic and a trade war affecting the economy, its wise to keep reserves topped up in case something unexpected happens. So what does all of this spending tell us? Mostly, it shows the state is finally ponying up for long-ignored needs everything from schools to buildings to things we should have done a long time ago. Thank goodness there was a surplus this year to help jumpstart the state. Now its time for tough discussions to pass real and comprehensive tax reform so that we can keep up with existing needs and not get behind the eight ball again so that we have to wait a generation before doing what we should have done in the first place. Andy Brack is editor and publisher of Statehouse Report. His new book, We Can Do Better South Carolina, is available in paperback and e-book via Amazon. Have a comment? Send to feedback@statehousereport.com. While we are excited about success that young people who grew up in Florence are having in the performing arts, we might look back a century. In the early years of the 20th century Sophie Kuker of Florence hit the big time in New York I dont know that it would have been referred to as Broadway then or not but dont look her up under that name. She took the stage name of Virginia Howell. Ive never seen anything to confirm this, but I suspect she changed it because Sophie Kuker sounded too much like Sophie Tucker. Her given name was from her Aunt Sophie. She might have had access to a third name when she married Charles C. Benton in 1914 in Ohio. They were divorced later. She also left word that she preferred to be remembered as Sophie Kuker rather than Virginia Howell. And she was born in Timmonsville but moved to Florence as a kid. Unfortunately, there seem to be no records of her having performed here as a child, although there have been community theater-type productions here since the 19th century. The greatest attention she seems to have gotten here was when she appeared at the Opera House, familiar to veteran Florentines as the Colonial Theater, in a touring company performing Why Women Sin. Members of San Franciscos Chinese Six Companies held a news conference for the Chinese language press to protest the effort to name the Chinatown Central Subway Station in honor of long-time neighborhood activist and City Hall insider Rose Pak, who died in 2016. Rose Pak is not seen as a respectful person in Chinatown, said Hop Wo Benevolent Association member Steve Ball. We use one persons name and then another group has another name. We dont want any name on the station. It should just be Chinatown Station, Ball said, adding that if the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency puts Paks name up opponents will launch a ballot initiative against the naming. Pak was a long time foe of the benevolent association, which pretty much ruled the roost in Chinatown prior to Paks ascent in the early 1980s. And while the Chinese Six Companies are respected, Pak and the Chinese Chamber of Commerce were the real powerhouse at City Hall while she was alive. 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. Without Rose Pak, there will be no Central Subway, said David Ho, a political operative who worked with her. These people were too chickens to even think about attacking her while she was alive and now they attack her after her death, Ho said. Longtime China Six member Mel Lee said, Personally I have no problem with naming the station after her, but it has divided the community and that is not healthy. San Francisco Chronicle columnist Phillip Matier appears Sundays and Wednesdays. Matier can be seen on the KPIX-TV morning and evening news. He can also be heard on KCBS radio Monday through Friday at 7:50 a.m. and 5:50 p.m. Got a tip? Call 415-777-8815, or email pmatier@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @philmatier Midmorning rain did not dampen spirits at the eighth annual Myanmar New Years Water Festival in Union City. On Sunday, crowds swelled to a few hundred as the Bay Areas Myanmar community and other locals came to celebrate the Thingyan (pronounced thin-jen) festival, also called the Burmese New Years Festival. Myanmar, a land of more than 130 ethnic groups, was formerly called Burma. For Fremont resident Rosie Chu, 26, who was born in Mandalay in Myanmar but moved with her family to the U.S. at 8 months old, the celebration is an important way of creating community. When you come to America, its hard to remember your identity, she said. Theres pressure to fit in, and when my parents moved here, people werent so welcoming to other cultures. This is so much more than just an event for me. The festival started with a ceremony for elders with men and women wearing traditional longyi a type of sarong inspired by the Indian lungi. Speeches and dances followed. A traditional dance called the yein took place with friends Monalisa Lam and Stacy Huang, both 18 and from Fremont, participating. The pair, part of a larger group of dancers, said they met once a week for practice over the past two months. Guests at the event included Myanmars ambassador to the U.S., Aung Lynn, who said he was happy to see the Myanmar culture maintained and flourishing in the San Francisco Bay Area. The last census in 2010 pegged the Burmese population in the Bay Area at around 7,000. Union City Police Chief Jared Rinetti, who was there with his wife and three children, said the New Years festival showcased the Bay Areas diversity and traditions that make this city and this country special. Carlos Avila Gonzalez / The Chronicle Water holds special significance in the Myanmar New Years festivities, considered to be symbolic for washing away sins and starting fresh. Sai Lao Kham, a performer onstage portraying Thagyamin (pronounced ja-min), a spirit from the heavens, was there to shower blessings and wish the crowd well. He said water signifies purification. 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. Attendees flocked to 15 food booths that sold Burmese cuisine such as mohingya, a fish chowder, and Shan-style rice, which is rice cooked with fish flakes, turmeric and garlic oil. No restaurants or food trucks were allowed as vendors. Instead, organizers got a one-day permit and community members came together to cook and sell the food. Its literally our aunts, mothers and grandmothers who are making the food, said Moe Mra San, a spokeswoman for the One Myanmar Community, organizers of the festival. The organization, together with a cohort of groups, including the Myanmar Muslim Association, Burma Refugee Family Network and the Theravada Dhamma Society, put on the event. The event is a fundraiser for its community and cultural center in Union City, a place that offers citizenship and language classes, among other activities. The Myanmar New Year began April 13. The festival is usually a four- or five-day affair. Shwanika Narayan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: shwanika.narayan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @shwanika Diane Lundquist got on her bike for a ride the other day and wound up pedaling into one of those Oakland moments that are, unfortunately, too common. I was riding along Skyline Boulevard near the Chabot Equestrian Center around 2:30 in the afternoon when I heard this car coming up behind me, Lundquist said of her Monday afternoon ride. Usually, Im worried about getting run over, but as the car passed I heard this sound and then felt something hit me in the bum. The car was a white Mercedes coupe. Im wondering what the hell happened, and then I realized Id been shot in the butt, Lundquist said, most likely by a pellet gun. Fortunately, I wasnt going fast so I didnt crash. She immediately stopped, checked herself and found the wound where she had been hit. Fortunately, it wasnt bleeding badly. Im sure it will make a lovely bruise, she said. She called 911 to report the attack, and the dispatcher asked if she needed medical attention. She told the dispatcher, I dont think so. There was no slug in my bum, but there was definitely a hole, Lundquist said. The dispatcher told her to stay put while they sent someone to the scene. An hour later, she was still sitting by the side of the road. It wasnt feeling too safe a single woman by the roadside, wondering if the car might come back. And it was cold, Lundquist said. Finally, she called her partner, who picked her and the bike up and took them home. Then she called the police nonemergency line. They said they had higher priorities, but that they would send someone out to take a report, Lundquist said. And they did, sending a squad car to her home with two very sympathetic police officers. Twelve hours later, at 2:30 in the morning, to take a report. She was back riding again Friday, and I didnt get shot, she said. Lundquist sent in an email complaint Thursday night and got a call from police internal affairs, which took another report the next day. We contacted Oakland police several days ago, intending to ask why it took so long. They said theyd get back to us. Were still waiting. Thorny Rose: Members of San Franciscos Chinese Six Companies held a news conference for the Chinese language press to protest the effort to name the Chinatown Central Subway Station in honor of longtime neighborhood activist and City Hall insider Rose Pak, who died in 2016. Rose Pak is not seen as a respectful person in Chinatown, said Hop Wo Benevolent Association member Steve Ball. We use one persons name, and then another group has another name. We dont want any name on the station. It should just be Chinatown Station, Ball said, adding that if the Municipal Transportation Agency puts Paks name up, opponents will start a ballot initiative against the naming. Pak was a longtime foe of the benevolent association, which pretty much ruled the roost in Chinatown prior to Paks ascent in the early 1980s. And while the Chinese Six Companies are respected, Pak and the Chinese Chamber of Commerce were the real powerhouse at City Hall while she was alive. 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. Without Rose Pak, there will be no Central Subway, said David Ho, a political operative who worked with her. These people were too chickens to even think about attacking her while she was alive, and now they attack her after her death, Ho said. Longtime Chinese Six member Mel Lee said, Personally I have no problem with naming the station after her, but it has divided the community, and that is not healthy. In dissent: As we reported, the San Francisco Civil Service Commission voted 3-1 Monday to bump up San Francisco supervisors pay by 12% $15,016 and roughly three times the pay hike being given to other city workers. Commissioner Doug Chan cast the single no vote. Chan wasnt available to comment for the original story, but he did email us his reasons for voting against the raise. Every Supervisor who ran for the office knew the pay-scale for his or her service to the city, Chan said in an email. Nobody runs for public office because of the salary. Either you want to be a public servant or you do not. I voted against the pay raise because the self-serving presentation was rife with conflict, he said of a survey of what officials in other counties and cities are paid that was prepared by the boards budget and legislative analyst. All of the analysts who reviewed the Board of Supervisors pay (perhaps at the behest of the board or not), did so in their capacity as city contractors or employees serving at the pleasure of the board. That may represent an inherent conflict of loyalties, Chan said. And, I note, Chan said. that nowhere in politics has the salary been raised commensurate with any improvement in the quality of the public decisions rendered. Thats a thought. San Francisco Chronicle columnist Phillip Matier appears Sundays and Wednesdays. Matier can be seen on the KPIX-TV morning and evening news. He can also be heard on KCBS radio Monday through Friday at 7:50 a.m. and 5:50 p.m. Got a tip? Call 415-777-8815, or email pmatier@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @philmatier Three teenage boys were arrested in San Mateo County on suspicion of burglary, evading police and fleeing the head-on collision they were involved in, officials said. On Friday afternoon, sheriffs deputies noticed a black BMW sedan moving erratically around the area of Highway 1 and Second Street in Montara, a small coastal town north of Half Moon Bay. A deputy pulled over the car and walked toward the vehicle, but before he could reach it, the driver who turned out to be 14 years old sped away, going north toward Pacifica. The deputy followed the vehicle and found it had gotten into a head-on collision with a green Toyota carrying a mother, father and their daughter. The crash happened on Highway 1, a short distance from where they were pulled over. One of the teens was on the ground with an injured hand, while his two companions had fled the scene by foot. They were found nearby in the area of Gray Whale Cove near the highway. Detective Rosemerry Blankswade, a spokeswoman for the San Mateo County Sheriffs Office, said there was no high-speed chase preceding the crash. The deputy was trying to find them again, she said. He didnt even have a chance to say, Im in pursuit. The driver of the Toyota was not injured, but two passengers including the girl suffered minor injuries, Blankswade said. The teens, some of whom suffered major injuries, were treated at a hospital then booked at Juvenile Hall. When deputies searched the car, they found a large quantity of stolen property from various burglaries connected to at least three victims. The suspects and suspect vehicle matched the description from several other auto burglaries in the area and we will be working with other law enforcement agencies to see if they are related to these suspects, the Sheriffs Office said in a statement. 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. Arrested were a 14-year-old boy from San Francisco, a 16-year-old boy from Antioch and a 16-year-old boy from Daly City. The teens were arrested on suspicion of vehicle burglary, possession of burglary tools, resisting arrest, conspiracy to commit burglary, hit-and-run with major injuries and evading a police officer. Kimberly Veklerov is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kveklerov@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kveklerov By IANS SAN FRANCISCO: Elon Musk has dismissed media reports that claimed that his Electric Vehicle (EV) company Tesla has gone as far as the office washrooms to cut costs from. A report by Electrek said that "teams at several Tesla facilities are going to some extremes in attempts to cut costs, including skipping on ordering office supplies - even toilet paper". The web-portal also tweeted the story to which Musk replied on Saturday: "This is complete nonsense." Replying to Musk, Electrek Editor-in-Chief Fred Lambert said: "I wish it wasn't true too, but reliable employee sources are reporting it. You can shoot the messenger all you want." ALSO READ: Elon Musk to undergo trial for calling British cave rescuer 'paedophile' The report of Tesla's cost-cutting plan affecting toilet paper supplies at work comes after Musk announced earlier in May that he would personally examine and review every expenditure at Tesla, no matter how small. The new cost-cutting initiative involves examining every payment, including "parts, salary, travel expenses, and rent". Referencing to the loss of $702 million that the automaker suffered last quarter, Musk said the step is "extremely important". Currently, Tesla's market value is $61 billion and Musk has an estimated net worth of $20.1 billion, making him the 80th richest person in the world. Gurbir Singh By Express News Service Narendra Modis overwhelming win has pushed the burning issues around agrarian distress on the back burner; but once the victory euphoria dies down, these will be pushing for recognition again. A crash in prices of farm produce and the demand for remunerative prices, and waiver of back-breaking loans are some of the issues staring the new government in the face. The interim budget recognised the distress by hiking the allocation for agriculture from `56,000 crore to over `1.4 lakh crore, taking the outlay to a record 5.2 percent of the budget. Among the highlights of the farm budget was the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi, an income support scheme that promised the transfer of `6,000 a year in three tranches. This is inadequate, as it translates to a meagre `500 per month for a farmer. CRISIS OF PLENTY The farm crisis today is a crisis of plenty. Repeated successful harvests and the lack of a proper market mechanism has ensured prices have collapsed. Food grain production in 2017-18, for instance, was a record 285 million tonnes compared to 275 MT and 252 MT, in the two previous years respectively. But farmers were selling 30-50 percent below the Minimum Support Price, and often below their cost of production. This led to a bottomless pit of indebtedness. In 2017, the best year in Indian agriculture, farm loans grew 20 percent, and 58 percent of our population or 600 million Indians dependent on farming struggled to make ends meet. Before the record harvests, since 2015, India has witnessed two major droughts, and severe crop losses due to unseasonal rains. The farmer has been left without any investible surplus for the next crop. Reliable estimates put the farmers suicide rate at around 45 a day, a heavy toll indeed. The droughts could have been managed had there been more investment in improving the irrigation system. Despite all talk of farmers support, the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana, designed to provide irrigation infrastructure, has been underfunded; and even the latest interim budget has provided just `100 crore rise over last year. Indias dairy and livestock sector is also fractured and crying for a solution. After Brazil, India is the second largest beef exporter at 1.9 million tonnes annually. The Dalwai Committee Report points out livestock has been the biggest contributor to the agricultural growth in the 2004-14 period. However, a virtual ban on the sale and trade in aging cattle has paralysed livestock renewal and shutdown what was a thriving leather export industry. In recent months, further chaos has been triggered in western UP where farmers saddled with aging cattle, are letting them loose by dead of night. These heads have invaded thousands of fields in search of fodder, leading to widespread agitation among farmers who are catching roaming cattle and interning them in government buildings as a form of protest. MINIMUM INCOME SCHEME If the new government is serious about implementing its old promise of doubling farm incomes by 2022, a possible starting point is the implementation of the National Commission of Farmers, also known as the M S Swaminathan Commission, which came out with a series of reports in 2006. Debated intensely but hardly implemented, the Commissions core proposal is to give farmers a minimum support price at 50 per cent above the cost of production, classified as C2 by the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP). More immediately, the new Modi government can also take a leaf out of the Congress manifesto. The Congress Nyunatam Aay Yojana or NYAY in short promised a minimum guaranteed income of `12,000 a month to the poorest 25 crore. Projected to cost the exchequer `3.6 lakh crore, some have dismissed the scheme as too costly and unworkable. However, if the existing rural subsidy schemes in force are dovetailed into a workable, direct transfer to the minimum income scheme, farm distress can be tackled. MGNREGA, or the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, was promulgated in 2005 as a Right to Work measure that guarantees 100 days of paid work to those suffering the vagaries of flood or drought. It was received with skepticism; but over the years all governments have adopted it, and the scheme has seen the disbursal of nearly `5 lakh crore since inception. A minimum income support plan too is therefore a good starting point for the new government. National Commission of farmers is the need of the hour If the new government is serious about implementing its old promise of doubling farm incomes by 2022, a possible starting point is the implementation of the National Commission of Farmers, also known as the M S Swaminathan Commission, which came out with a series of reports in 2006. Debated intensely but hardly implemented, the Commissions core proposal is to give farmers a minimum support price at 50 per cent above the cost of production, classified as C2 by the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices. Jacob Cavitt was one of the stars of the show Saturday at a new fishing event designed to bring youngsters and their parents to the outdoors. The 8-year-old caught a 24-inch, 5-pound rainbow trout from the shore at Lake Siskiyou at Kids Fishing Day, hosted by the Department of Fish and Wildlife, Mount Shasta Rotary and the Boys and Girls Club of the Siskiyous. The event drew about 150 youngsters and their parents from across Northern California San Francisco, Oakland, San Rafael, Hollister, Auburn and Redding. Many camped at nearby Camp Siskiyou Resort. The DFW has held 10 youth fishing clinics in the Bay Area this spring. Two more are planned in early summer for the Sacramento region, June 6 at Hagan Community Park and July 6 at Howe Community Park. Free fishing days are set statewide for July 6 and Aug. 31, when adults are not required to have fishing licenses. Our goal is for children and their parents to get outdoors and have a great time out fishing, said Monty Currier, an environmental scientist with a specialty in fisheries for the DFW. The DFW provided free loaner rods, rigged and ready to fish, plus free bait. Saturday, local volunteers, including from Rotary and the Siskiyou Fly Fishers, provided a shoreline assist for the youngsters. The DFW also stocked the lake twice, and Rotary released trophy-size trout grown out over the past five months in a trout pen program. Despite wild weather across most of Northern California over the weekend, Saturday was gorgeous, with blue skies and a hint of a breeze at midmorning. North Shore was lined with youngsters. Jacob, visiting from Auburn, had figured out how to cast on his own and set sail with a lure called a Kastmaster. A big trout struck, his rod pulsed and danced, and Jacob hung on for the ride. As he retrieved the big fish, it came to the surface and left a swirl as big as a washtub, while the other youngsters in the area let out cheers and ran to the site. The fish jumped once, and Jacob kept reeling, and eventually brought the big trout to shore. Later he added with a grin, Its my biggest fish. Tom Stienstra is The Chronicles outdoor writer. Email: tstienstra@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @StienstraTom The president and vice president of the San Francisco Police Commission defended Police Chief Bill Scott on Sunday, one day after the head of the police union called for his resignation over a police raid on a journalist. At issue is the May 10 search of the home, office and phones of freelance journalist Bryan Carmody, who received a leaked report containing details on the February death of Public Defender Jeff Adachi. Armed with a sledgehammer, police raided Carmodys home in an effort to uncover his source. Scott initially defended the raid, which used warrants approved by two judges, saying it was a legitimate search of Carmodys property. He suggested the freelance journalist who sold the report to three television stations was part of a criminal conspiracy to steal the death report. But the chief apologized a few days later after the raid was derided by leaders including Gov. Gavin Newsom and Sen. Kamala Harris. In an interview with The Chronicle, Scott admitted the search was probably illegal and called for an independent investigation into the raid. Still, Tony Montoya, president of the citys Police Officers Association, wrote a searing letter Saturday calling for his resignation. It is time for Chief Scott to go. Theres no other way around it, he wrote. His apology to the media was clearly meant for him to save face as opposed to accept responsibility for his own actions. Shameful. Police Commission President Robert Hirsch and Vice President Damali Taylor said in a statement on Sunday that Scotts apology was the mark of a leader, and he is a chief who has shown himself to be a person of high integrity. Chief Scott did what is rare for police chiefs: he apologized to the citizens of San Francisco. He did so completely and unequivocally, they said in the letter. Under Scotts leadership, the commissioners said in the letter, police use of force in the city has gone down, and body cameras are now consistently used throughout the department. The chief has shown himself to be committed to reform and has done a lot to lead SFPD in the right direction. We would like to see him continue the great reform work he has started, the letter continued. The two commissioners are the latest voices to weigh in on the controversial raid, which has spurred questions about due process and set off a national debate about freedom of the press. The death report included details that Adachi was with a woman who wasnt his wife in a Telegraph Hill apartment when he collapsed on Feb. 22 at age 59. While initial reports said he died of a heart attack, the medical examiner later ruled that his death was caused by a mix of cocaine and alcohol, combined with an existing heart condition. Adachi, a longtime critic of law enforcement, often clashed with the department over issues such as use of force. His supporters believed that whoever leaked the report intended to smear his reputation after he died. The commissioners could not be immediately reached for further comment. It was not clear whether they spoke for the entire seven-member commission. Trisha Thadani is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: tthadani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @TrishaThadani New York City has banned it and so has Washington, D.C. Making a right turn against a red light is illegal at all traffic lights in Manhattan and at 101 lights across the country's capital. Now, a movement is bubbling up in San Francisco to introduce a similar law with the aim of reducing pedestrian fatalities. Fourteen people have died on San Francisco streets this year and "more than the lion's share were pedestrian deaths," said Amanda Eaken, a San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency board member. At a meeting of the SFMTA Board this week, Eaken asked the board to think about whether it's safe to allow drivers in the city to make right turns against red lights. She brought up the issue in light of the city's Vision Zero goal of eliminating all traffic fatalities by 2024. "I was thinking about this idea that you're waiting to cross the street and then you get the little walk man and he says go. And there's this signal I believe that sent, that it's safe to be here at this time and in this place, but it's truly not always safe to a pedestrian in that place when you have right turning cars and left turning cars moving across that space." Ed Reiskin, San Francisco's director of transportation, agreed the issue should be explored. Right turns on red are already prohibited at some San Francisco intersections and clearly marked with signage. For decades, in many states it was illegal, but in the 1970s, some states and municipalities changed their laws to save fuel by decreasing the time cars idle at an intersection in response to the 1973 gas crisis, according the the U.S. Department of Energy. A turn on red became even more widely legal across the country in 1975 when the Energy Policy and Conservation Act required states to adopt the law to receive federal assistance in developing mandated conservation programs. But, according to USA Streets blog, studies show making right turns on red lights "increases pedestrian crashes by 60 percent and bike crashes by 100 percent, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found in the 1980s." "The biggest thing I think about is my 11- and 12-year old daughters walking home from school and crossing Divisadero," Eaken told SFGATE. "I try to teach them to cross the street safely but if cars are allowed to run out into the street at a time when we say it's safe, but fundamentally it's not safe, that's not safe." Daniela Jampel and Matthew Schneid met in college at Cornell, and both later earned law degrees. They both got jobs at big law firms, the kind that reward people who make partner with seven-figure pay packages. One marriage and 10 years later, she works 21 hours a week as a lawyer for New York City, a job that enables her to spend two days a week at home with their children, ages 5 and 1, and to shuffle her hours if something urgent comes up. Hes a partner at a midsize law firm and works 60-hour weeks up to 80 if hes closing a big deal and is on call nights and weekends. He earns four to six times what she does, depending on the year. It isnt the way theyd imagined splitting the breadwinning and the caregiving. But hes been able to be so financially successful in part because of her flexibility, they said. Im here if he needs to work late or go out with clients, Jampel said. Snow days are not an issue. I do all the doctor appointments on my days off. Really, the benefit is he doesnt have to think about it. If he has to work late or on weekends, hes not like, Oh my gosh, whos going to watch the children? The thought never crosses his mind. American women of working age are the most educated ever. Yet its the most educated women who face the biggest gender gaps in seniority and pay: At the top of their fields, they represent just 5% of big company chief executives and a quarter of the top 10% of earners in the United States. There are many causes of the gap, like discrimination and a lack of family-friendly policies. But recently, mounting evidence has led economists and sociologists to converge on a major driver one that ostensibly has nothing to do with gender. The returns to working long, inflexible hours have greatly increased. This is particularly true in managerial jobs and what social scientists call the greedy professions, like finance, law and consulting an unintentional side effect of the nations embrace of a winner-take-all economy. Its so powerful, researchers say, that it has canceled the effect of womens educational gains. Just as more women earned degrees, the jobs that require those degrees started paying disproportionately more to people with round-the-clock availability. At the same time, more highly educated women began to marry men with similar educations, and to have children. But parents can be on call at work only if someone is on call at home. Usually, that person is the mother. This is not about educated women opting out of work (they are the least likely to stop working after having children, even if they move to less demanding jobs). Its about how the nature of work has changed in ways that push couples who have equal career potential to take on unequal roles. Because of rising inequality, if you put in the extra hours, if youre around for the Sunday evening discussion, youll get a lot more, said Claudia Goldin, an economist at Harvard University who is writing a book on the topic. To maximize the familys income but still keep the children alive, its logical for one parent to take an intensive job and the other to take a less demanding one, she said. It just so happens that in most couples, if theres a woman and a man, the woman takes the back seat. Women dont step back from work because they have rich husbands, she said. They have rich husbands because they step back from work. Its only in the last two decades that salaried employees have earned more by working long hours. Four decades ago, people who worked at least 50 hours a week were paid 15% less, on an hourly basis, than those who worked traditional full-time schedules. By 2000, though, the wage penalty for overwork became a premium. Today, people who work 50 hours or more earn up to 8% more an hour than similar people working 35 to 49 hours, according to a sociology paper using Current Population Survey data by Youngjoo Cha at Indiana University, Kim Weeden at Cornell University and Mauricio Bucca at the European University Institute. Overwork is most extreme in managerial jobs and in the greedy professions, a term coined by sociologist Lewis Coser in 1974 to describe institutions that seek exclusive and undivided loyalty. (Rose Laub Coser, a sociologist and his wife, also used it to describe the expectations of motherhood). But overwork (or at least time in the office or online, regardless of whether much work is getting done) has become increasingly common in more jobs, whether its accounting, information technology or any job in which someones manager stays late or sends emails on weekends and expects employees to follow suit. Technology is one reason for the change, researchers say; workers are now more easily reachable and can do more work remotely. Also, business has become more global, so people are working across time zones. A big driver is the widening gap between the highest and lowest earners, and increasingly unstable employment. More jobs requiring advanced degrees are up-or-out make partner or leave, for example. Even if they arent, work has become more competitive, and long hours have become a status symbol. The reward to become the winner is a lot higher now than in the past, Cha said. You have to stick out among workers, and one way is by your hours. For Jampel and Schneid, both 35, two more equal and less time-intensive jobs werent an option, they said. For one, theyre hard to find in corporate law: At the end of the day, these jobs are client service jobs, so if youre not responding to your clients, someone else might be more responsive to them, said Schneid, who does commercial real estate law. Also, they would be leaving money on the table both now and later, because by putting in long hours now, hes setting himself up for higher future earnings. If he had a 40-hour-a-week job and she had her current half-time job, they would be working 60 hours a week total but earning significantly less than he now earns working 60 hours, they said. Being willing to work 50% more doesnt mean you make 50% more, you make like 100% more, she said. The trade-off between time and money is not linear. It took a long time to get myself to the point of accepting that. Theres no gender gap in the financial rewards for working extra long hours. For the most part, women who work extreme hours get paid as much as men who do. But far fewer women do it, particularly mothers. Twenty percent of fathers now work at least 50 hours a week, and just 6% of mothers do, Cha and Weeden found. There has always been a pay gap between mothers and fathers, but it would be 15% smaller today if the financial returns to long hours hadnt increased, they found. New ways of organizing work reproduce old forms of inequality, they wrote in another paper. Men and women with law and business degrees have similar jobs right out of college, other research has found but a decade later, women earn significantly less. Its explained by the fact that they work shorter hours and take more breaks. Today, a smaller share of college-educated women in their early 40s are working than a decade ago. There are many ideas about how to close the gender gap things like paid parental leave and anti-bias training. Women could negotiate more; men could do more housework. But most are band-aids, Goldin said they probably help, but they dont address the deeper problem, and leave individual families to figure out their own compromises. Its this system we put in place in the era of Mad Men and were stuck with, and were sort of hammering away at in small ways rather than taking the whole thing down, she said. Certain changes would lighten parents demands at home, like universal public preschool, longer school days, free after school care and shorter school breaks. But the ultimate solution, researchers say, is not to make it possible for mothers to work crazy hours, too. Its to reorganize work so that nobody has to. The most effective way to do that, Goldins research has found, is for employers to give workers more predictable hours and flexibility on where and when work gets done. One way that happens is when it becomes easier for workers to substitute for one another. The change is unlikely to happen, researchers say, unless workers start to demand it. Companies benefit from always-on workers; they wont change just to be humane. They have to risk losing valuable employees if they dont including men. When women are the only ones who switch to jobs with predictable hours or take advantage of flexibility, it just hurts their careers more. There are signs that things could change. Younger men say they want more equal partnerships and more involvement in family life, research shows. Women are outperforming men in school, but employers are losing out on their talents. And people increasingly say they are fed up with working so much. It may mean rearranging jobs, but youd think thered be a lot of money in it, said Nicholas Bloom, an economist at Stanford University who studies companies management practices. Firms have enormous incentive to really design jobs so they can access these highly educated people who want to work 40 hours a week and not 80. The arrangements that the Schneid-Jampel family settled on are the best they could have hoped for, given the way things are, they said. But he feels overstretched between relentless pressure at work and time away from his family. I think Id be happier in life if I was home more with my children and if I didnt have the same stress at work, he said, but I think this was the best decision for our family. Jampel feels angry that the time she spends caregiving isnt valued the way paid work is. No one explains this to you when youre 21, but in retrospect, it was not a smart decision to go into debt for law school, she said. She said she feels lucky that shes found substantive, interesting part-time work. He feels lucky that he found a firm that doesnt require him to do all his hours at the office. But if they could rewrite their lives? They wish they could have had better options. Claire Cain Miller is a New York Times writer. Express News Service BENGALURU: Wreaths were laid, The Last Post played, followed by traditional memorial band tunes, as they called to rest upon four of their own martyrs. The Old Boys Association of St Josephs Boys High School, which is one of the oldest alumni associations in the city, marked their 100 years of existence by honouring the post-independence martyrs who were part of their association. The Old Boys, as they are known, relish a history of sending their own to the armed forces to defend the country. It started with the First World War, until recent battles in independent India. The numbers tally to 360 old boys, who served in various battlefields across the world, some being just teenagers. They recalled the association with pride about their alumna. On Saturday, on one of their last events for their centenary year, the association inaugurated two plaques in the St Josephs Boys High School. One at the war memorial, and another in the school, with names of four Indian Alumni - Capt John A Dalby, from 5 field regiment, who was martyred on November 18, 1962 at Jaswanth Garh, during the Sino-Indian War; Major Uday Shankar Ghosh, 13 Sikh Light Infantry, martyred on June 26, 1989 in The Indian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka; Major Palecanda Atul Deviah, 6 Field Regiment, in operation Meghdoot at Siachen Glacier; and Major Sylvester Rajesh Rathnam, 21 JAT, martyred on August 2, 2002, in operation Parakrama in Kupwara, Jammu and Kashmir. Families of the martyrs gathered with the Old Boys and friends at the Memorial Service that was celebrated by the archbishop of Bengaluru, Peter Machado, before paying their respects to the martyrs at the school campus. While the pipe band from the Madras Engineering Group and Centre played Slow March. Families and friends mourned their beloved as the Sappers played the Last Post and the Rouse at the memorial. Families of martyrs find closure in Old Boys ceremony It has been a long and heartbreaking journey for me. As Johns oldest daughter I will be eternally grateful to all of you for assisting me to find closure after 58 years, said Cheryl Dalby, daughter of late Captain John Albert Dalby, SM, 5 Field Regiment. He was martyred on November 18, 1962, at The Jaswant Garh - Sela Sector in NEFA during the Sino-Indian war. She was addressing the Old Boys Association, St Josephs Boys High School, honouring four Old Boy martyrs on Saturday, at the school campus. To Cheryl, like the families of other martyrs of the institute, the traditional memorial service was a means of getting closure. EL RENO, Okla. A tornado leveled a motel and tore through a mobile home park near Oklahoma City overnight, killing two people and injuring at least 29 others before a second twister raked a suburb of Tulsa, authorities said Sunday. The first twister touched down in El Reno, about 25 miles west of Oklahoma City, late Saturday. It crossed an interstate and walloped the American Budget Value Inn before ripping through the Skyview Estates trailer park, flipping and demolishing homes, Mayor Matt White said at a news conference. Several other businesses were damaged. Its a tragic scene out there, White said. People have absolutely lost everything. The two people who were killed were in the mobile home park, White said. Everyone at the motel was accounted for. White did not identify the victims. The 29 people who were injured were taken to hospitals, where some were undergoing surgery, the mayor said. The thing about El Reno is we are more than a community, we are a family. ... Were going to overcome this. Its so devastating to see the loss out there, he said. National Weather Service personnel were assessing the damage, but the agency gave the twister an EF-2 rating, which means it had wind speeds of up to 135 mph. The tornado was spawned by a powerful storm system that rolled through the state the latest in a week of violent storms to hit the flood-weary central U.S. that have been blamed for at least 11 deaths, including the two killed in El Reno. The system spawned a second tornado that destroyed several buildings and downed trees and power lines early Sunday in the Tulsa suburb of Sapulpa, which is 110 miles northeast of El Reno. The Sapulpa Police Department said only a few minor injuries were reported. Residents wandered around after sun-up to survey the damage, carefully avoiding fallen utility poles that blocked some streets. Among the buildings that were destroyed was a historic railroad structure and a furniture stores warehouse. In Tulsa, Oklahomas second-largest city, authorities advised residents of some neighborhoods to consider leaving for higher ground because the Arkansas River is stressing the citys old levee system. Downriver and about 100 miles southeast of Tulsa in Arkansas second-largest city, Fort Smith, authorities said Saturday that up to 200 people already had evacuated their homes due to flooding, which is expected to worsen in the coming days. In El Reno, emergency crews could be seen Sunday sifting through the rubble at the trailer park and motel, where the second story collapsed into a pile of debris strewn about the first floor and parking lot. Tweety Garrison, 63, said she was in her mobile home with her husband, two young grandchildren and a family friend when the storm hit. Garrison said she received a tornado warning on her phone but the sirens didnt go off until after the twister hit. Tim Talley and Sue Ogrocki are Associated Press writer. LOS ANGELES A former business manager of Stan Lee has been arrested on elder abuse charges involving the late comic book great. Keya Morgan was taken into custody Saturday in Arizona on an outstanding arrest warrant after being charged by Los Angeles County prosecutors this month. Morgan faces felony charges including theft, embezzlement, forgery or fraud against an elder adult, and false imprisonment of an elder adult. A misdemeanor count also alleges elder abuse. Authorities say Morgan sought to capitalize on the Marvel Comics masterminds wealth and exert influence over Lee even though he had no authority to act on his behalf. Police say Morgan pocketed more than $262,000 from autograph signing sessions Lee did in May 2018. Authorities say Morgan at one point also took Lee from his Hollywood Hills home to a Beverly Hills condominium where Morgan had more control over Lee. Lees daughter said in a request for a restraining order last year that Morgan was manipulating the mentally declining Lee, preventing him from seeing family and friends, and trying to take control of his money and affairs. Attorney Alex Kessel has said Morgan never abused or took advantage of Lee. Kessel said Saturday that he had been in contact with prosecutors to arrange for Morgan to surrender Tuesday. It is unfortunate that the DA and police did not honor our commitment to surrender next week and arrested him, Kessel said in an email. Lee died in November at age 95. Morgan made a court appearance Sunday in Arizona, but it was not immediately clear when he will be extradited to California. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 26) When the graduation ceremony for the more than 260 members of the Philippine Military Academy Mabalasik Class 2019 was held on Sunday, one thing stood out as unusual. Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana took the task of distributing the diplomas, a role traditionally taken on by the Commander-in-Chief or the President. When Lorenzana was asked after the ceremony on the reason why he had to assume the function of the President, his brief response to CNN Philippines was: Inaantok daw siya [He was sleepy]. Lorenzana did not explain why the President seemed sleepy. This is the first time throughout PMAs modern history that the President has delegated this role. Tradition na kasi na Commander-in-Chief ang guest at namimigay ng diplomas sa graduates, a mid-level military officer, who asked not to be named, told CNN Philippines. [Translation: It's been a tradition that the Commander-in-Chief as the guest of honor gives out the diplomas to graduates.] First time 'yon, the officer, with the rank of lieutenant colonel and also a PMA alumnus, added. But another senior officer, who also requested anonymity, said this is a non-issue. Not big deal naman, the officer, a member of PMA Class 86, said. The institution, deemed as Asias first and premier military school, also tried to veer away from the issue. As per practice, it is the prerogative of the most senior officer or presider of the ceremony to delegate the task to the next senior who was at that time the SND (Secretary of National Defense), Major Reynan Afan, PMA acting information officer, in a text message to CNN Philippines. We do greatly appreciate the Presidents thoughtful presence in our commencement exercise, Afan added. During the 2017 and 2018 PMA graduation rites, President Duterte personally handed out the diplomas to the graduates even taking time to briefly speak to each one of them, especially if they come from his hometown, Davao City. The President would be overheard giving inspirational quotes, fatherly advice or cracking jokes to each graduate, to the delight of their families watching from the bleachers. When asked if any of the post-martial law era Presidents had also passed the duty of distributing diplomas to PMA graduates during their incumbencies, Afan replied, Well have to look into that. By Express News Service CHENNAI: In what could be a major breakthrough, Central Crime Branch (CCB) has stumbled upon a major racket wherein Bangladeshi nationals being brought to India through Nepal and from there to Chennai under fake passports and Aadhaar cards. Police said the CCB busted the fake passport and Aadhaar card racket in the city with the arrest of four Bangladeshi nationals. CISF personnel at Chennai airport secured Zia-ul-Haq (19), who came to board a Dubai-bound flight, on suspicion and investigation revealed that he was a Bangladeshi national. He was handed over to the passport wing of CCB on Friday afternoon. Based on the information from Zia-ul-Haq, sleuths with the help of Thoraipakkam police raided a house at Thoraipakkam where three other men were allegedly making fake passports and Aadhaar cards. They were identified as Ras Al Hussain, Sadiq Hussain and Jahangir Hussain. All four were natives of Bangladesh, officials said. They had reached Chennai to board flights separately to Dubai, but their plan was foiled. The men helped Bangladeshi nationals to enter India through Nepal. They prepared Aadhaar cards as if they were natives of Bihar and Odisha and then travelled to Chennai for work, police said. Preliminary investigation showed the gang used to bring in at least 10 Bangladeshi nationals from Chennai to Dubai with fake passports, the sleuths said. Police said they are investigating on why the gang chose Chennai airport for its operation. While nabbing of the four Bangladeshi men was just a tip of the iceberg, we are enquiring if they were sending men to find work in the Gulf countries or exchanging them as cheap labour. We are looking into the aspect of sending manpower to terrorist groups. The men were remanded to judicial custody. SAN FRANCISCO Standing in front of a group of potential donors in a well-appointed home, Chesa Boudin began a stump speech that would perhaps only fly in what was once the epicenter of the counterculture. I was in diapers when my parents left me with the baby sitter to participate in an armored car robbery, he said. They never came home. Boudin, 38, is campaigning for an unlikely role for someone whose parents, operatives in the 1960s radical left-wing group the Weather Underground, went to prison for their roles as getaway drivers in a botched stickup that left three men including two police officers dead. He wants to be the district attorney. Boudin now works as a public defender, representing poor clients in criminal cases. His platform includes reducing mass incarceration, diverting mentally ill and drug addicted offenders away from prison, being tougher on police misconduct and closing jails. We really need to set a reset button as a country, he said. The fact that more than 50% of Americans have an immediate family member either currently or formerly incarcerated tells you a lot about just how defining a feature of American culture incarceration has become. Boudin has perhaps the most storied background among the growing number of political figures whose direct experience with the U.S. criminal justice system has fueled their desire to change it. In President Donald Trumps administration, Jared Kushner, whose father served time in federal prison, was a key proponent of the First Step Act, an overhaul bill that passed last year. Among prosecutors elected in recent years, Kim Foxx in Chicago, Rachael Rollins in Boston and Aramis Ayala in Orlando, Florida, have all said that having family members who were incarcerated shaped their view that the system needed reform. (Ayala met and married her husband, David, after he served time for drug conspiracy and counterfeiting.) And Boudin joins candidates across the country who have promised to completely re-imagine how the country deals with matters of crime and punishment. But the dynamics are different in San Francisco, with its progressive politics and its history as a safe place for radical thinking. Many view the race as an opportunity to see how far efforts to overhaul the system can go. There is a perfect constellation of political forces in San Francisco that will support a bold, progressive district attorney, said Anne Irwin, a former public defender in the city who is now the director of Smart Justice California, an advocacy group that has endorsed Boudin and his main opponent, Suzy Loftus. It is not as if the city has been a bastion of tough-on-crime policies. The current top prosecutor, George Gascon, has taken steps to divert young adults from prison, and San Francisco was the first city to clear old marijuana convictions. One study concluded that if the United States could match San Franciscos rates then mass incarceration would be eliminated. In a measure of the citys liberal politics, all of the four candidates in the district attorney race are, in one way or another, arguing for reducing incarceration even more. Loftus, a former prosecutor and the former president of the Police Commission, an oversight board, is also running on a platform of overhauling the justice system. Rhetorically, there is little daylight between Boudin and Loftus. But the citys establishment has lined up behind Loftus, including Gov. Gavin Newsom, Mayor London Breed, Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Sen. Kamala Harris, a Democrat who is running for president and whose own record as San Franciscos district attorney is being attacked from the left. Boudin, on the other hand, is racking up endorsements from grassroots liberal groups in the city, and has emerged as a darling among national activists, who see him as the candidate most willing to tear down the system. He has attracted support from prominent criminal justice system critics like Shaun King, who founded the influential Real Justice PAC and has over 1 million followers on Twitter, and Larry Krasner, the lawyer who made a career with civil rights suits against the police and then became the top prosecutor in Philadelphia. Boudin was just 14 months old when his parents committed the robbery in New York that sent them to prison. He was raised in Chicago by Bill Ayers, the founder of the Weather Underground, and his wife, Bernardine Dohrn, a lawyer, who was also an operative in the group. Growing up in that household, he was immersed in the world of leftist politics and groomed to be an overachiever: Yale. Rhodes Scholar. Yale Law School. I lived in parallel worlds, he once wrote. My family taught me radical politics from the beginning, but I also learned to prove myself in elite institutions. When he published a memoir of his time crisscrossing Latin America, where he worked as a translator in Venezuela and visited prisons in Chile and Bolivia, The New York Times critic called him radical royalty. He thought his legal career might focus on immigration, but a fellowship in the San Francisco Public Defenders Office led to a full-time job. He has disavowed, but sought to understand, his parents embrace of violence in pursuit of social change. There was a tremendous amount of political energy and activity during that time, he said, and they were caught up in it. And I think they were led astray and they ended up participating in some things which I know they regret. But he has another inheritance: His grandfather, Leonard Boudin, was a famous civil rights lawyer, who taught him how to fight for good causes using the system. More than anything, he said, it was his experiences visiting his parents in prisons that formed his political views. By his own guess, Boudin has spent more than 140 days and nights inside maximum security prisons. It shaped my life in ways that made me think about these issues since before I can remember, Boudin said. My earliest memories are going into prisons. Going through metal detectors, getting searched by guards. His mother, Kathy, was released on parole in 2003 and now teaches at Columbia University, specializing in criminal justice issues. A typical visit to see his father, David Gilbert, at a prison in upstate New York, goes like this: Go into prison Friday morning, leave Sunday morning, Boudin said. Its the only time he gets to take a shower for as long as he wants. Its the only time that he gets to open doors and walk in and out of rooms without having to get permission. Its the only time he gets to eat the food he likes. And of course its the only time that we get to really spend quality one-on-one time. Sleep, watch the Warriors game. Go for a walk. He knows how incarceration affects families. My whole life Ive thought of myself as a victim of my parents crimes, he said. The true victims are the people who were killed. And theres the rest of us who were third-party victims. On a recent morning, Boudin hung out at a bus stop, handing out flyers to commuters. He met a man who overlapped with him at Oxford, who wanted to talk about criminal justice reform. The next day, walking the streets of Chinatown, he heard from store owners who complained about a surge in shoplifting. The city should ensure that more police and prosecutors speak their language, he says in response to those concerns, and crime victims should receive restitution and be able to participate in the process through restorative justice programs. A historic low in violent crime has made such conversations possible. But residents have other concerns: In the center of the city, where the Tenderloin district bleeds into the tourist-filled Union Square section, its hard to walk the streets without being offered drugs or, if you are a man, approached by a prostitute. Auto burglaries are rampant, and it is common to walk the streets and see car windows smashed in. Were lucky in San Francisco that were in a position where the thing people are talking about is auto burglaries, Boudin said. In such a climate, the talk is more about reducing incarceration than reducing crime, making it a challenge for Boudin to distinguish himself from his opponents. Incarceration is our most expensive outcome with one of the highest failure rates, Loftus wrote in a candidate questionnaire. California invested in incarceration as the predominant public safety strategy and it was a failure. That is why Boudin is stressing his personal story. Im the only candidate who has visited a loved one behind bars, that still does that, he said. Im the only candidate who has ever defended somebody accused of a crime. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. Lea Suzuki / The Chronicle San Francisco firefighters contained a fire at an apartment building early Sunday in the Bayview district that displaced 21 residents, officials said. The fire was reported around 4 a.m. on the 1500 block of Innes Avenue. It spread to adjacent buildings, but firefighters contained the blaze by 5 a.m., the department said. By Express News Service CHENNAI: Around 50kg of Pseudoephedrine, a synthetic drug, 500 grams of heroin and six kg of ganja were seized in three different instances on Saturday. Narcotics Control Bureau, Chennai Zonal unit, nabbed a man from Mylapore and seized 50 kg of the synthetic drug from his godown at Choolaimedu. The arrest was based on a tip off the team received from Delhi and Mumbai. On May 20, the Delhi Zonal unit of NCB seized 25 kg of pseudoephedrine and arrested three persons, while two managed to escape. One of them was traced in Mumbai and was arrested there and another 25 kg of the same drug was seized from him, said an NCB source. However, the kingpin was still at large. Based on information that he is in Chennai, the team nabbed him, the source said. The team suspect the five were planning to smuggle the drugs to Malaysia. Meanwhile, the Narcotics Intelligence Bureau, CID, arrested a 39-year-old man of Rajasthan on charges that he was supplying heroin in the city. Police said J Raju Ram Vioshoi would smuggle the drugs by bus through Madhya Pradesh and would supply it in the city. The police laid a trap and caught Raju red-handed. Police said Raju worked in a bazaar at Broadway. He moved to the city three years ago. In another seizure by city police, two persons, including a woman, was arrested for having six kg of ganja in two different incidents. R Lakshmi, 40, of Annanagar was arrested by T P Chatram police and four kg of ganja was seized from her. P Subramani, 50, was arrested from Virugambakkam and two kg of ganja was seized from him, police said. By Express News Service CHENNAI: A Government Order (GO) dated August 11, 2017, stating that scholarship will be given only to the extent of rates fixed by the fee structure panel, that too for students admitted under the free seats under government quota with effect from 2017-2018, has been set aside by the Madras High Court. Vacation judge RMT Teekaa Raman, who quashed the GO, also held that students studying in private colleges under the management quota are also entitled for the scholarship provided by the State government to students of Adi-Dravidar community studying engineering in government and government-aided colleges. The judge was passing orders on a writ petition from 114 students of Bharathiyar Institute of Engineering for Women in Salem to quash the August 2017 GO of the Adi-Dravidar and Tribal Welfare Department. The students also wanted the court to decide whether students admitted in private engineering colleges under management quota are also entitled to the scholarship. Relying on an earlier order passed by a division bench of the High Court, which had held that even students of private colleges are entitled for such scholarship, the judge allowed the present petition. The State, with a view to helping students belonging to the Adi-Dravidar community, had issued an order dated January 9, 2012, providing scholarship to students studying in government and aided institutions. The government made certain amendments to the GO in August 2017 stating that the scholarship will be granted only to the extent of rates fixed by the fee structure committee for free seats under the government quota with effect from the 2017-2018 academic year. Aggrieved, the petitioner students moved the High Court. Google Street View Both directions of state Highway 17 in unincorporated Santa Clara County are currently closed after a solo-vehicle crash resulted in at least one pole blocking the roadway and one arrest, according to the California Highway Patrol. The CHP said the crash was reported at 12:49 p.m. in the southbound direction at Idylwild Road. Although the CHP couldn't confirm that any wires were down, PG&E was enroute to the scene as of 1:50 a.m. One woman was arrested but no further information on the arrest was provided. There is no estimated time of reopening for either direction. 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 Fire Department crews are on the scene of a two-alarm fire in Hunters Point early Sunday morning, according to fire officials. The blaze was first reported at 4:04 a.m. in the 1500 block of Innes Avenue, and a second alarm was called at 4:16 a.m., Lt. Jonathan Baxter said. Approximately 70 firefighters are at the scene battling the blaze that is located at a three-story, single-family structure and has spread to another building nearby. Baxter said nobody has been injured. A primary search as of 4:30 a.m. has found no victims, but firefighters were getting ready to do another to make sure nobody was still inside. Residents are advised to avoid the area. 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. Himanshu Joshi By Express News Service Retracing the steps of a historical personality is an oft-repeated trope in travel writing. The technique not only enables the author to describe his experiences but also helps in giving a historical perspective to his travelling. But, while a skilful author can take his writing to a higher level by perfecting the synergy between the past and the present, in the hands of a less than adept writer this can become a tiresome repetition. Kief Hillsberys The Tiger and the Ruby falls in the former category. Hillsbery has excellent control over his art. He skilfully manages to marry the two streams to come out with a book that sustains high interest all through the over 250 pages. The life of Nigel HalleckHillsberys ancestor who lived a somewhat mysterious life as a British clerk in the mid-nineteenth century Indiais the crux of the story. Hillsbery focuses on his ancestors life through his travels and, in the process, brings to fore the life and times of that part of British India about which not much has been writtenat least from the perspective of an ordinary clerk in East India Company. The Tiger and the Ruby By: Kief Hillsbery Publishers: Penguin Books Pages: 260 Price: `399 Hallecks ship reached India in the winter of 1841 and he joined the East India Company as a clerk. During his years as a Company employee, he travelled to places as varied as Dhaka in the East to Jalandhar in the north-west via Patna in Bihar. He worked with the Lawrence brothersJohn and Henryin the latter part of his stay in India. The two brothers were staunch advocates of working with the natives and developing good relations with them. Halleck, it seems, agreed with that philosophy. Over the years Halleck travelled to regions now in Pakistan and Afghanistan with an Afghan friend, Shah Shuja, whose family was ousted as rulers of Afghanistan. On his leave, Halleck travelled towards Nepal, before visiting his family in England for the last time in 1850. He never went back to England and reportedly died in Nepal. He returned to India, ostensibly to join the Company but did not do so. What he did in the intervening years before his death is what adds suspense to the book. Hillsberys success is that he takes the reader along with him, looking for clues, searching for Halleck in remote Nepalese villages. He successfully makes the reader a co-traveller and as anxious to find what happened to Halleck. The various streams of thoughts that navigated British rulers through their stay in India are well elucidated in the book. It makes an interesting read when the author explains the change in policy of East India Company vis-a-vis how to rule in India with a change of Governor Generals. The conflicting thought processes that jostled with each other for primacy and the lead figures that helmed the groups make for a revealing lesson in Indias past. A good measure of Afghan and Nepal affairs that Hillsbery describes during his quest, adds to an understanding of the political intrigue that was at play in the mid-nineteenth century. The 1857 war of Independence also figures in detail in the book. The eye-opener though is the description of political past of Nepal, a kingdom that remained closed to outsiders till almost the 20th century. More fascinating is the link that Hillsbery establishes between Afghans, Nepalese and the English. Revealing more would be a spoiler.After a long time, an excellent travel book has been published, one that will not be out of place in resting in the shelf with works of past masters like Pico Iyer, Paul Theroux and Colin Thubron. UNION CITY (BCN) When the teachers union and officials of the New Haven Unified School District go back to the bargaining table Sunday morning a tag-team of pickets will be outside of the Alameda County Office of Education at 313 West Winton Ave. in Hayward. New Haven Teachers Association says members will take shifts picketing over the Memorial Day Weekend and continue until an agreement is reached and will be joined by teachers union members from Oakland, Fremont and Hayward. "These three local teacher unions and California Teachers Association chapters (at) Campbell High School, Antioch, Pittsburg, San Mateo Elementary, Belmont Redwood Shores, San Ramon Valley, and Richmond have donated over $10,000 to a strike fund for NHTA members," the NHTA said in a news release. They also said an online "Financial Hardship Fund" has been started on GoFundMe. Teachers are seeking a 10 percent raise over the next two school years, while the district has offered a 1 percent raise for next year and a one-time 3 percent payment. The district is also offering a permanent 0.5 percent increase if it's able to secure an additional $1 million in revenue, and another 0.5 percent if it can add yet another $1 million, according to district officials. The district maintains that declining enrollment and budgetary deficits prevent it from reaching the estimated $20 million over three years needed to meet the teachers' demands. Negotiations are set to resume at 9 a.m. The school district includes roughly 11,000 students at two high schools, two middle schools and seven elementary schools in Union City and parts of Hayward. 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 police have arrested a suspect in a shooting death Saturday afternoon near the intersection of Golden Gate Avenue and Hyde Street in the city's Tenderloin, officers said Saturday on social media. The shooting was reported approximately 3 p.m. Officers recovered a firearm they believe was used in the shooting. No other information about the victim, or circumstances of the shooting, was immediately available. Homicide investigators had taken over the case by late Saturday afternoon. Anyone who witnessed the shooting, or who may otherwise have information about it, is asked to call the SFPD anonymous tip line at (415) 575-4444 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. Attention boaters - be especially safe and careful on the Delta on Sunday, as law enforcement officials will be nearby. The Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office will host various local, state and federal agencies in "Delta Blitz," a concentrated boating safety, education and enforcement campaign Sunday on Delta waterways. The Contra Costa sheriff's Marine Services Unit will lead this effort on Memorial Day weekend, often considered the beginning of the summer boating season. Boaters can go to the California Division of Boating and Waterways website (www.dbw.ca.gov) for information on boating safety and the California Boater Card, proof of having successfully taken an approved boating safety course and passed its exam. After a San Francisco police officers' union official on Saturday leveled blistering criticism of Chief William Scott's Friday apology for the May 10 police raid of a freelance journalist's home and office, a department spokesman defended the chief's actions, and said a second investigation of police handling of the raid has been requested. Police Department spokesman Officer Robert Rueca said on Saturday that the City/County of San Francisco's Department of Police Accountability will examine how the raid on journalist Bryan Carmody's home and office has been handled on all levels, including by the department's command staff and by Chief Scott himself. "Chief Scott has made it abundantly clear that transparency and accountability are paramount in this criminal investigation," Rueca said in a statement Saturday. Scott had said on Friday that an outside agency will take over the police department's criminal investigation into the case, which stems from a leaked police report that contained details of the Feb. 22 death of San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi. Police want to know how Carmody received the report, which he then sold to three local television stations. Among the leaked report's findings was that Adachi had collapsed in the company of a woman who was not his wife. On May 15, Scott said he was confident that a search warrant obtained to search Carmody's home and office was legal and in compliance with the Shield Law, which prohibits law enforcement from forcing journalists to reveal their sources. But on Friday he apologized for the raid. That apology drew the ire of the San Francisco Police Officers' Association, who on Saturday called for Scott to resign. Both directions of state Highway 17 in unincorporated Santa Clara County are currently closed after a solo-vehicle crash resulted in at least one pole blocking the roadway and one arrest, according to the California Highway Patrol. The CHP said the crash was reported at 12:49 a.m. Sunday in the southbound direction at Idylwild Road. Although the CHP couldn't confirm that any wires were down, PG&E was enroute to the scene as of 1:50 a.m. One woman was arrested but no further information on the arrest was provided. There is no estimated time of reopening for either direction. San Francisco police arrested a man Saturday afternoon suspected in the shooting death of a near the intersection of Golden Gate Avenue and Hyde Street in the city's Tenderloin, officers said Saturday. Police Officer Robert Rueca said the suspect was arrested after a chase from San Francisco across the Bay Bridge into West Oakland, where the suspect ended up in a crash. Officers recovered a firearm they believe was used in the shooting, Rueca said. The shooting was reported approximately 12:44 p.m. The victim was sitting in a car near Golden Gate and Fell, Rueca said. Police arrived to find the victim with gunshot wounds. He was taken to a nearby hospital, where he died later Saturday afternoon, Rueca said. The suspect, whose name was not shared by police Saturday, was booked on suspicion of homicide. Anyone who witnessed the shooting, or who may otherwise have information about it, is asked to call the SFPD anonymous tip line at (415) 575-4444. Sonoma County plans to spend $37 million to rehabilitate and preserve more than 51 miles of county roads in 2020 and 2021. The $37 million includes $24 million from the county's general fund budget, $10 million in state gas tax revenue, $2 million from the county's transient occupancy tax and $1 million in one-time funding. Board of Supervisors Chair David Rabbitt said the board will have improved 433 miles of county roads primarily with discretionary general funds between 2013 and 2021. The county typically dedicates more general fund money for roads than any other county in the state. The two-year plan includes major rehabilitation work on 40 miles of roads, and pavement preservation treatment on an additional 11 miles. The county's 2014 long-term road plan calls for improving 700 miles of county roads, dramatically improving the roads most traveled and roads vital to the county's economy, agriculture, recreation and tourism activities. The county has 1,369 miles of roads and 328 bridges -- the largest road network in the Bay Area. The victim of a fatal stabbing in Gilroy early Friday morning has been identified as 29-year-old Johnathan Arroyo Rivera of Gilroy. Officers responded just after midnight Friday morning to the 500 block of Stoney Court, where they found a man suffering from at least one stab wound. He later died from his injuries. Police are trying to determine the motive and circumstances surrounding the stabbing, and said no suspects have been identified. Gilroy police detectives are actively working this investigation. Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Eric Cryar at (408) 846-0350. Callers may remain anonymous. A 14-year-old and two 16-year-olds were arrested and booked into juvenile hall Friday afternoon after property from several reported burglaries was found in their car after it was involved in an accident, a San Mateo County Sheriff's spokeswoman said. At about 2:45 p.m. Friday, sheriff's deputies pulled over a black BMW they saw was driving erratically in Montara, said Detective Rosemerry Blankswade in a news release. The BMW stopped, but as a deputy approached the driver's window, the car took off, headed north on Highway 1 toward Devil's Slide. Deputies soon came upon a head-on collision involving that same BMW. And the three occupants were in custody within a short time. The suspects were taken first to a nearby hospital and then to San Mateo County juvenile hall. The driver of the BMW is a 14-year-old boy from San Francisco; the 16-year-old male passengers are from San Francisco and Daly City. Among the other charges these youths could face include vehicle burglary, conspiracy and evading a police officer, all felonies, and possession of burglary tools, resisting arrest and driving without a license, all misdemeanors. Sunday will be mostly cloudy and breezy with a chance of rain. Highs will be in the mid to upper 50s. West winds will be 20 to 30 mph, with gusts of up to 45 mph, decreasing to 35 mph in the afternoon. Sunday night will be mostly cloudy. Lows will be in the lower 50s. West winds will be 10 to 20 mph. Monday will be mostly cloudy. Highs will be near 60. West 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. SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) San Francisco police arrested a man Saturday afternoon suspected in the shooting death of a near the intersection of Golden Gate Avenue and Hyde Street in the city's Tenderloin, officers said Saturday. Police Officer Robert Rueca said the suspect was arrested after a chase from San Francisco across the Bay Bridge into West Oakland, where the suspect ended up in a crash. Officers recovered a firearm they believe was used in the shooting, Rueca said. The shooting was reported approximately 12:44 p.m. The victim was sitting in a car near Golden Gate and Fell, Rueca said. Police arrived to find the victim with gunshot wounds. He was taken to a nearby hospital, where he died later Saturday afternoon, Rueca said. The suspect, whose name was not shared by police Saturday, was booked on suspicion of homicide. Anyone who witnessed the shooting, or who may otherwise have information about it, is asked to call the SFPD anonymous tip line at (415) 575-4444. 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. A 14-year-old and two 16-year-olds were arrested and booked into juvenile hall Friday afternoon after property from several reported burglaries was found in their car after it was involved in an accident, a San Mateo County Sheriff's spokeswoman said. At about 2:45 p.m. Friday, sheriff's deputies pulled over a black BMW they saw was driving erratically in Montara, said Detective Rosemerry Blankswade. The BMW stopped, but as a deputy approached the driver's window, the car took off, headed north on Highway 1 toward Devil's Slide. Deputies soon came upon a head-on collision involving that same BMW. One juvenile was found on the ground nearby with an injured hand, and two others were found near Gray Whale Cove State Beach a short distance away, Blankswade said. The three juvenile suspects in the car were taken first to a nearby hospital and then to San Mateo County juvenile hall. It was unclear whether anyone in the Toyota suffered injuries in the head-on collision. But among the charges at least one of the youths face, Blankswade said, is hit and run with major injuries, which is a felony. A search of the BMW revealed a significant cache of stolen property, and at least three owners had been identified by Friday. The suspects and the BMW matched the descriptions related to several other reported vehicle burglaries in the area. The driver of the BMW is a 14-year-old boy from San Francisco; the 16-year-old male passengers are from San Francisco and Daly City. Among the other charges these youths could face include vehicle burglary, conspiracy and evading a police officer, all felonies, and possession of burglary tools, resisting arrest and driving without a license, all misdemeanors. 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) After a San Francisco police officers' union official on Saturday leveled blistering criticism of Chief William Scott's Friday apology for the May 10 police raid of a freelance journalist's home and office, a department spokesman defended the chief's actions, and said a second investigation of police handling of the raid has been requested. Police Department spokesman Officer Robert Rueca said on Saturday that the City/County of San Francisco's Department of Police Accountability will examine how the raid on journalist Bryan Carmody's home and office has been handled on all levels, including by the department's command staff and by Chief Scott himself. "Chief Scott has made it abundantly clear that transparency and accountability are paramount in this criminal investigation," Rueca said in a statement Saturday. Scott had said on Friday that an outside agency will take over the police department's criminal investigation into the case, which stems from a leaked police report that contained details of the Feb. 22 death of San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi. Police want to know how Carmody received the report, which he then sold to three local television stations. Among the leaked report's findings was that Adachi had collapsed in the company of a woman who was not his wife. On May 15, Scott said he was confident that a search warrant obtained to search Carmody's home and office was legal and in compliance with the Shield Law, which prohibits law enforcement from forcing journalists to reveal their sources. But on Friday he apologized for the raid. That apology drew the ire of the San Francisco Police Officers' Association, who on Saturday called for Scott to resign. On Saturday, Kat Anderson, the interim executive officer of the Pacific Media Workers Guild journalists' union, said Carmody is indeed entitled to the same Shield Law protections as is any other journalist. Freelancers, she said, have the same protections as do employees of a newspaper or a television news station. As for Scott's apology, Anderson said the chief seems sincere, and that he both supports the investigation and wants to respect journalists' rights in doing so. "He's admitted fault, and he says the police will learn from this," Anderson said of Scott. "I believe Chief Scott is highly motivated to do the right thing." 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. Away from the humdrum of Indias election scenario which has beset national focus for seven weeks, it is good to review events and trends which may pose challenges to the new government earlier than we can imagine. Its the Persian Gulf which is drawing the worlds attention and for good reason. A shooting war in the region between the US and Iran wont remain restricted to just those countries. It will expand faster than one can imagine and endanger international commercial shipping, movement of energy resources and even air travel causing quite a bit of turbulence in the international system, resulting in rise in energy prices. It will send the world economy and especially the economies of high energy-dependent nations into a difficult-to-control spiral. That is exactly the picture which the US probably wants to project as part of its escalating psychological warfare and virtual gunboat diplomacy. A parallel to the build-up to the strategic disaster of Gulf War II in 2003 appears to be again on the boil, commencing with the USs decision to declare the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)Irans armed force for foreign operationsa terror entity. It then led to the strengthening of the sanctions against Iran which include withdrawal of concessions granted to eight nations, including India, to continue the energy trade with Iran for six months. That forced Iran to place on notice the five other nations involved in the July 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, also known as the Iran Nuclear Deal, to re-cement the deal or face gradual withdrawal of Iran from the agreement. Its a classic case of brinkmanship when a powerful nation adopts coercive strategy and speaks differently at various levels of leadership. While President Donald Trump denies any intent of going to war, his National Security Adviser, John Bolton continues to be the hawk while making pronouncements. These include the decision to move the USS Abraham Lincoln, one of the most advanced ships of the US Navy, along with its carrier strike group, and a task force of four nuclear-capable B-52 bombers to the Middle East, purportedly to respond if there was any attack on US interests in the Middle East. It was followed up by sending a Patriot missile battery and an amphibious ship capable of transporting Marines. Bolton apparently played a similar role in Gulf War II as an Under Secretary of State and reportedly did not regret the obvious mistakes which became evident. With Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also supporting the coercion underway and claiming that it was his advice to Trump which led to the US reneging on the Iran Nuclear Deal, there are real fears of false flag events and actions which could create an uncontrollable situation. I do think war is not a possibility and my belief is not because of Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarifs proactive diplomacy. What Iran and the US are involved in is a modern gunboat diplomacy played out through cyber, proxy, fake information and advanced levels of military brinkmanship. If another missile lands on the US Embassy compound or building in Baghdad, as it did a few days ago, no one is going to be asking where it came from and no one is going to investigate. However, the US for all the current idiosyncrasies, does have a pragmatic military leadership and its voice on war waging and winning capability will have to be heard. In 2003, in the lead up to Gulf War II the perception in the military was that an unfinished task of 1990 had to be completed. The involvement in Afghanistan then was just 18 months old. The sheer impossibility of victory in such a hybrid war overseas had not sunk in, with revenge for 9/11 still hanging in the Damocles mode. Sixteen years down the line, the US military has studied hybrid asymmetric war more widely. Its commanders who will be tasked to deliver also know the meaning and sensitivity of culture which it has taken pains to study; the Shia propensity to view martyrdom and self-sacrifice, and withstand depravation is phenomenal. A war by the US at the instigation of others without clear-cut outcomes and identified interests is unlikely to deliver dividend. It is not a war which the US people will back and it does not meet Trumps core philosophy of America First. Over a hundred thousand US troops could interminably be embroiled in a war the US is unprepared for. The economy of the US is improving, unemployment is low and the mainland is secure; that is enough to assure Trump a second term if he can play that correctly. He need not involve the US in what is assuredly an unwinnable war which could actually see the IRGC more powerful at the end of the endeavour. Its even unsafe to trigger a war in the Middle East when the ISIS still remains in networked state and could revitalise. For Indias new government there is much at stake; from steep oil prices to threats against the diaspora in the Gulf; from Chah Bahar to potential denial of access to Afghanistan. Indias stance has to be one of self-preservation, best interests and even-handedness. However, either way this is a situation from which emerging with any level of advantage is almost impossible. atahasnain@gmail.com By PTI AHMEDABAD: After leading the BJP to a massive victory in the Lok Sabha polls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met his nonagenarian mother Heeraben on Sunday and sought her blessings. She lives with the PM's younger brother Pankaj in 'Vrindavan Bungalows' in Raysan village near Gandhinagar. Ahead of his swearing-in on May 30 as prime minister for his second term, Modi arrived here and attended a felicitation event at the JP Chowk in the Khanpur area in the evening. Modi spent about 20 minutes with his mother, touching her feet and seeking blessings. He is scheduled to stay at the Raj Bhavan for the night. He will leave for his Lok Sabha constituency Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh Monday morning. By PTI KOLKATA: A Kolkata-bound Air Asia flight from Bagdogra made an emergency landing at the city airport Sunday evening after a threat call was received at the airlines' office at Bengaluru airport, a senior official said. The aeroplane carrying 179 passengers and six crew members was cordoned off for safe landing at the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport here. "The plane was escorted to a remote bay for a thorough check by the bomb disposal squad," the official told PTI, adding it turned out to be a hoax call as the authorities could not find any explosive material inside the plane. "On 26.05.2019, around 1805 hrs, emergency was declared at Kolkata Airport after a threat call received at Bengaluru Airport for Air Asia I5-588 flight from Bagdogra to Kolkata. Emergency was called off at 1925 hrs. 187 passengers on board including crew members," a statement issued by the Kolkata Airport said. "All the security checks are being carried out as per procedure. All passengers disembarked safely," it said. The carrier's Bengaluru office received an anonymous call saying there was something suspicious inside its Kolkata-bound Bagdogra plane which could harm the passengers, the city airport official said. "The Bengaluru office of Air Asia then informed our officials in Bagdogra, but by that time the flight had already taken off and was about to reach Kolkata. We were informed by the senior official at Bagdogra airport and an emergency was sounded immediately," he said. A huge team comprising CISF's Quick Response officers and bomb disposal personnel, doctors and fire brigade officers cordoned off the area for safe landing of the flight, the official added. "There was nothing inside the plane. I believe it was a hoax call. All the passengers are safe and sound," he said. Air Asia could not be contacted as calls to their city office went unanswered. Ocean Beach has long been one of San Francisco's most popular destinations. Whether to surf, sunbathe, picnic, or just take a walk along its 3 miles of shoreline, people have headed to the city's biggest beach for well over a century. San Franciscans' outings to Ocean Beach became a more popular regular occurrence after 1883, when the Park and Ocean Railroad established a line from Haight and Stanyan along H Street (now Lincoln Way) that went almost to Ocean Beach and then turned north along the western edge of Golden Gate Park. Before the rail line, people made regular outings to the beach in hack or buggy. BAGHDAD Iraq offered Sunday to mediate in the crisis between its two key allies, the United States and Iran, amid escalating Middle East tensions and as Tehrans nuclear deal with world powers steadily unravels. Iraqi foreign minister, Mohammed al-Hakim, made the offer during a joint news conference in Baghdad with visiting Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif. By IANS AMETHI: BJP leader Smriti Irani reached Amethi on Sunday afternoon to meet the family of Surendra Singh, a former village head who was shot dead early on Sunday. Irani met the family members of the deceased and attended the cremation. Surendra Singh's son Abhay told reporters: "We could not see the perpetrators but it is clear that Congress workers are behind this. My father was actively campaigning for Smriti Irani and the BJP." #WATCH BJP MP from Amethi, Smriti Irani lends a shoulder to mortal remains of Surendra Singh, ex-village head of Barauli, Amethi, who was shot dead last night. pic.twitter.com/jQWV9s2ZwY ANI (@ANI) May 26, 2019 The brother of the deceased, Rajendra Singh, also termed it a political killing. He said that his brother wielded considerable influence in his village as well as in adjoining villages and this led to his murder. The post-mortem of the deceased was carried out in Lucknow after which the body was brought to Amethi. A large number of BJP leaders were present outside the post-mortem house and in Amethi. Uttar Pradesh Minister Mohsin Raza, who is in charge of Amethi, said the killers would be arrested within 24 hours. READ | 6 detained after former village head and close aide of Smriti Irani shot dead in Amethi Director General of Police (DGP) O.P. Singh said that seven suspects had been detained in connection with the murder and were being interrogated. He said the police had got crucial leads in the matter. Three companies of the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) had been deployed in Barauliya village where the murder took place. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has directed the DGP to ensure the arrest of the killers at the earliest. Surendra Singh was shot dead while he was sleeping outside his house. The assailants came on motorbikes and sprayed him with bullets. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The Chabad of Staten Island, Meiers Corners, held a Lag BOmer celebration on Thursday, despite the hate speech written on the wall of the Yeshiva. Lag BOmer, a Jewish holiday which celebrates Jewish unity and pride across the world, is traditionally celebrated with parades, marches and bonfires. The holiday also marks the anniversary of the death of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, who escaped the persecution of the Roman conquest of Jerusalem 2,000 years ago. In reference to the aforementioned persecution of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, Rabbi Mendy Katzman, the associate director of Chabad of Staten Island, said that 2,000 years later, were dealing with the same thing. We are having attacks on our synagogue, people are writing synagogue of Satan. But were still going to go out and be prideful and stand strong, Rabbi Katzman added. The hate speech written on the synagogue wall was discovered early Thursday morning on the eve of the Jewish holiday. Dozens attended the celebration, which included a bonfire, a bounce house, cotton candy, and storytellers. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A New York man has been identified as the motorcycle driver who died after his vehicle collided into a car in New Jersey, according to a report by NJ.com. Jesse Dunn, 38, of Unionville, N.Y., was killed Saturday night after his Kawasaki motorcycle crossed Loomis Avenue and struck the front of a Hyundai Elantra in Wantage, N.J. according to the report. NJ.com reported that it is currently unclear why Dunns vehicle crossed over from the southbound to northbound lane, and the incident remains under investigation. No charges have been filed in the case, NJ.com reported. STATEN ISLAND, NY. -- Rhode Island State Police have arrested two men -- one from Brooklyn, another from Staten Island -- for allegedly possessing 94 pounds of marijuana in their car, according to authorities. Police pulled over a vehicle -- driven by 28-year-old Junjie Li, of Brooklyn, who was traveling with passenger, Zhong Ming Khang, 49, of Staten Island -- on Interstate 95 in West Greenwich Saturday for a seat belt violation, according to Rhode Island State Police. Colonel James M. Manni, superintendent of the Rhode Island State Police and director of the Department of Public Safety, said the two men were arrested after troopers seized 94 pounds of a substance believed to be marijuana from their car during a traffic stop. The marijuana was stashed in one-pound vacuum-sealed bags in the trunk of the vehicle, according to police. They also seized $6,165 in cash and a set of nunchucks, police said. Li and Kuang were each charged with possession of marijuana with intent to deliver, and possession of more than five kilograms of marijuana, police said. Li also was charged with possession of a weapon other than firearm, and he was issued a citation for no seat belt use by the front-seat passenger, police said. Both men were processed at the Hope Valley Barracks, Richmond, R.I. and ordered held without bail at the Adult Correctional Institutions pending formal arraignment on Tuesday, police said. FOLLOW TRACEY PORPORA ON FACEBOOK and TWITTER 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! By PTI NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a telephonic conversation with his Pakistani counterpart Imran Khan on Sunday, during which he called for creating trust and an environment free of violence and terrorism for fostering peace and prosperity in the region. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said it was Khan who called up Modi. "The Prime Minister thanked the Prime Minister of Pakistan for his telephone call and greetings," it said. Recalling his initiatives in line with his government's "neighbourhood first" policy, Modi referred to his earlier suggestion to Khan to fight poverty jointly, the MEA said. ALSO READ: Imran Khan should ensure terror wiped out completely from Pakistan: Rajnath Singh "He stressed that creating trust and an environment free of violence and terrorism were essential for fostering cooperation for peace, progress and prosperity in our region," it added. It said Modi also received telephone calls from former president of the Maldives Mohamed Nasheed and former prime minister of Nepal Madhav Nepal on his victory in the recent general election. "Former president Nasheed congratulated the Prime Minister on the historic mandate and noted that the relationship between the Maldives and India had deepened in recent times," the MEA said. He stressed the importance of close cooperation to fight the forces of extremism and radicalisation in the region, it added. ALSO READ: Maldives likely to be Modi's first destination for bilateral visit after poll victory On his part, Modi thanked Nasheed for his felicitation and reiterated his commitment to continue fostering a strong, mutually beneficial and all-round partnership between the two countries. The MEA said Madhav Nepal warmly congratulated Modi on leading his party and alliance to a grand, historic and landslide victory. He also expressed the confidence that India's emergence as a front-ranking world power would qualitatively uplift the entire region. "I have a lot of feelings, as evidence by my performance so far," Rogers said to screams of appreciation. Those feelings are expressed on Rogers' most recent record, Heard It In A Past Life. The album has continued to add to her solid fan base the Melbourne leg of her Australian tour was moved from the Forum to cater for demand. With a strong four-piece band behind her, she more than lived up to the expectation. Fallingwater and Light On were particular highlights. Maggie Rogers performs at Festival Hall. Credit:Jarrod Meadows Much has been made of the songwriter's Pharrell Williams connection. Rogers still gets questions about the time she made the star cry with her song Alaska at a university masterclass. Landholders across Queensland who have cleared land assuming they didnt need permission from their local council are being warned they face massive fines after a far-reaching court judgment. The ruling in the Queensland Court of Appeal applies to one-fifth of the total land area of the state - roughly the size of Malaysia - and half of all land in the south-east. Land clearing is a major driver of animal extinctions. The court this month ruled that the clearing of land marked "Category X" - described as exempt areas on state vegetation maps - is subject to local councils planning schemes, where they exist, and may require a development permit. Unlawful land clearing can carry penalties of up to almost $600,000 per breach, although local governments have a patchy record of enforcement. On Saturday, after Ms Herron's "horrifically" assaulted body was found in Royal Park by dog walkers, Assistant Commissioner Luke Cornelius, took the unprecedented and highly significant step of fronting a press conference and naming what killed her . Four women in less than 12 months have been found dead in public places; such a shocking toll that even hardened homicide police say they are angry. That a man has been charged so quickly for allegedly bashing 25-year-old Courtney Herron to death in what police describe as a "horrendous" act of extreme violence is some, small comfort in a city in which so many women have fallen victim to violence - so much so that both the lord mayor and the Police Minister say they are afraid alone at night. As the ripple effect of yet another woman found slaughtered radiated though a city where women want to feel safe, but are continually shown evidence that we can't, Mr Cornelius got in fast with a message we absolutely needed to hear. Loading Women, it is not your fault that you are victims of violent crime. Not if you are out alone. Not if it's night. Not if you are homeless, as Ms Herron is said to have been in recent times. Never. At last, we heard it from the top. "There have been instances in our recent past where women have been attacked and they have been attacked by men," he said. "The key point is [that] this is about men's behaviour, it's not about women's behaviour." He went further: "Every time I hear about a woman being attacked for me as a man it gives me some pause for reflection about what it is in our community that makes men think it's OK to attack women, or take what they want from women." She said Kopika's behavioural issues had partly developed due to a lack of socialisation with other children. Ms Fredericks said on May 14, Kopika, who is almost four, was able to attend her first playgroup since she's been in detention. "There is another little girl who is in the same facility, she would be just over one," Ms Fredericks said. "While they had some of the kids that came off Nauru, they were released to the community; that had quite a detrimental effect on Kopika's behaviour. Apart from that they have no interaction." The children were sent to a paediatrician last week who highlighted the health issues. "She was growing baby teeth. Due to the lack of calcium basically they have grown through decayed, they haven't properly formed," Ms Fredericks said. Supporters of the family rally outside Peter Dutton's electorate office in January. Credit:Matthew Melvin - AAP Ms Fredericks believes it's been a direct result of the conditions. "Four of the teeth need to be in-filled to stop further infection. "She is going to have to go under general anaesthetic. Two of the teeth are dead. While she has been suffering with the teeth, her mouth swells, she doesn't eat." Priya and Nades have been fighting their deportation to Sri Lanka in the High Court. They say their past family links to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam puts them in danger. But the High Court dismissed their application for it to review the case. Before the election, then-opposition leader Bill Shorten said if Labor won, he would have their case examined for ministerial intervention. If the whole community want to keep this precious family in their community, I think thats a good idea, not a bad idea. Im promising to reopen the matter and promising to give it consideration, he told The Project. Victoria's Commissioner for Children and Young People Liana Buchanan said she has been deeply distressed by some of the reports raised regarding Tharunicaa and Kopika. In November last year, Australias Childrens Commissioners and Guardians agreed that children should not be in detention as a result of their immigration status. She said over recent months, the commission's concerns over children in immigration detention had escalated due to reports by visitors and advocates. "These concerns include the adequacy and timeliness of medical treatment for Tharunicaa, and the impacts of detention on any children in immigration detention at MITA," she said. She said the commission had received a verbal commitment from Home Affairs that it would provide detailed information and give her direct access to children in immigration direction. "So that I can be assured that their wellbeing is being safeguarded to the extent possible in that environment. The commission is proceeding on that expectation," she said. Unhappy families: Camilla and Bill Franks. Credit:Shakespeare What terrible things happened in the brief two year period before their relationship became irretrievably broken in May 2011 we may never know, but fashion designer Camilla Franks and her father Bill Franks seem determined to document the fallout down to its last detail. Forget about airing the dirty laundry, these feuders have basically scaled the Paddington Town Hall and erected a rotating digital billboard! As revealed in this place earlier this year, the stoush comes down to the ownership of the high-profile Camilla fashion empire and a number of Vaucluse apartments. Bill Franks was unceremoniously walked from the Camilla HQ in 2011, when he was allegedly found to have transferred almost $1 million from the companys accounts to another outfit called BNC Investments, which he controlled. (He denies these allegations.) Frankly speaking, Labor paid price for credits plan Its always satisfying to debunk a widely held belief, but Im not buying Ross Gittins support of The Australia Institutes conclusion that franking credits wasnt a vote-changing issue (Lets be frank, tax plan shouldnt be credited with Labors demise, May 25-26). I may have a Pollyanna-esque view of Australians notions of fairness, but many well-off retirees do regard their tax treatment as undeservedly generous and so saw no reason to punish Labor. However thats not the case with middle and lower-income superannuation pensioners, who tend to live in low rather high-income electorates, and whose tax treatment is not generous at all, but rather is onerous. - Geoff Walker, Glebe Labor and the commentators still just dont get it: fear and greed. Scott Morrison was about to get a black eye for demonising the so-called wealthy part age pensioners for cutting their pension rate severely. Then along came Labor and proposed to also cut franking credit income on their superannuation income as well this could well be another $10,000 per annum. Again no other section of the community had such a proportionate effective tax on what was not a lot of income to start with. Morrisons cuts were forgotten and the mind focused on yet another assault on pensions it was not the franking credit refunds it was the bottom line. - Tom Caldwell, Coffs Harbour Perhaps as a self-funded retiree I should be celebrating Morrisons victory. In previous years I have received around $5000 in franking credits upon submitting my tax return. However, I voted Labor in the hope that the burden of around $6 billion of franking credits paid by taxpayers, such as my three working children and their spouses, would be better spent on education, health and other social benefits. During the election campaign there were many retirees saying they stood to lose substantial sums of money in franking credits. They all failed to say what the value of their share portfolio was in many cases likely to be many hundreds of thousands of dollars. The holders of wealth should use that wealth to fund retirement not be further subsidised by taxpayers. - Ian Mortimore, Hastings Point Is it too much to hope that all those senior Australians, who will now keep their franking credits refunds, will honour Bob Hawke whose government brought in superannuation and franking credits on dividends, by making a donation to Inala or the Exodus Foundation? - Audrey Butchart, Wahroonga Listening time for two countries Pundits and Herald letter writers have attempted post mortems of the federal election with varying degrees of success (A tale of two countries, May 25-26). Some have been using blunt scalpels but Matt Wade is convincing about the widening gap between constituencies with increasingly different demographic profiles. I was surprised that Scott Morrisons negativity on Labors economic credentials went largely unanswered. It was a Labor government that shielded Australia from the worst effects of the GFC, and it was the Coalition government which doubled the deficit during its term in office. It supports Brandolinis law, which I recently encountered , that the amount of energy necessary to refute bullshit is an order of magnitude bigger than to produce it. - James Moore, Kogarah Peter Hartchers column analyses the election results, noting the Muppet Show factor and the drop in primary votes for the major parties (The party we loathed least wins, May 25-26). Another, as yet unexplored feature, is the high number of informal votes. In my electorate of Lindsay the informal vote was almost 11 per cent. It cant be that voters are numerically challenged, so why is that they have become so disengaged or truculent towards the candidates? - Paul Ryan, Emu Plains Just got back from walking up the back paddock to look for my ponies who hadnt appeared as usual to say hello over the fence. After following their escape route, I found them galloping around blindly, joyfully, in the valley mist like Scomo voters after a win, startled by their own success, knowing how good is it? but not sure what to do with all that freedom to run. Small circles, staying close to their herd, the younger ones darting out occasionally and snorting with their heads in the air, while the more canny of them kept their heads down, grazing quickly, wondering how long it could possibly last. - Catriona Fraser, Goolmangar Spoils of victory Congratulations to Arthur Sinodinos, next ambassador to the US (PM reshuffles cabinet, smh.com.,au, May 26). And it creates the vacancy needed for ousted senator Jim Molan, to soothe the Liberal factions. - Fergan OSullivan, Artarmon Deficit of capital Seriously, John Ruddick (Our safest Liberal leader since Menzies must spend his capital, May 25-26)? US-style constitutional protection of free speech, ABC privatisation, an 18 per cent company tax rate, serious personal tax cuts? Whos talking platitudes now? - Ian McNeil, Ainslie (ACT) How good? Really good So sad that some Australians are turning How good is Australia? into a negative / sarcastic catchcry. Wake up, people. Look around you ... at the bigger picture. Were still the lucky country! On the flip side, your heartwarming story (Yiayia next door a suburban saviour, May 25-26) left a huge smile on my face, and that of my whole family, Thank you. We could all do with more happy stories like this in the media. Embrace the endless positives in this amazing country of ours, and watch the ripple effect. - Jade Louelin, North Bondi Miraculous weather this weekend! How good is climate change! - Matthew Flattery, Willoughby Archibalds reality check Adding to the review of the Archibald (Profusion of Portraits, Spectrum, May 25-26), I would like artists to stop painting themselves from photographs and the mirror and I would like artists to stop letting us know that they painted from one sitting only and finished off from photographs. If the Vogel Literary Award wasnt awarded this year, perhaps the Archibald prize should be withheld for similar reasons. I hope this doesnt sound too pompous but the Archibald doesnt seem to be as exciting as it used to be. - Jane Waddy, Gladesville The costs of prevention Lives lost to bushfires across the entire country between 1901 and 2011 came to 825. Whereas the Medical Journal of Australia concluded last year that in Sydney alone 197 premature deaths were caused by hazard reduction burning between 2001 and 2013. This places the health impacts of hazard reduction burning at rather the extreme end of inconvenient (Letters, May 25-26). Is the intention to save lives or property? - James Buckman, Enmore Remember when autumn meant clear days of perfect weather? Not any more, every clear day in autumn and spring is now turned into a hazardous toxic haze that has the potential to kill those who are vulnerable. Many years ago backyard burning was banned because it caused a smoke hazard. This has been replaced by a misguided idea that bushfires can be prevented by burning every bit of bush possible, without any regard to peoples health or the contribution to greenhouse gases. This smoke does not just finally disappear, it stays in the atmosphere. There will be some areas that need controlled burns, but at the moment, the RFS appears to be out of control with no accountability. - Geoff Ross, Bayview Blue skies from here Well done ABC for the probable appointment of the politically impartial David Speers to replace Insiders host Barrie Cassidy (Rocked Sky may delay Speers defection to ABC, May 25-26). How about addressing political imbalance at the ABC further by appointing the underutilised Tom Switzer as host of Q&A when Tony Jones departs for China? - Jill Clarke, Pymble Fixing a faulty fifty You should save your $50, David Astle (The scourge of Muphrys law, Spectrum, May 25-26). The blame for the faulty fifty lies with the Reserve Bank of Australia and Note Printing Australia, the note printers, not the coin minters. - Paul Talbot, Bonnet Bay Redefining physics I rolled my eyes on reading Geoffrey Alexanders letter (May 25-26). The article referred to should have said redefined rather than recalibrated but if the substance of the article was not understood by any physics teacher then that teacher should probably not be teaching physics. - Rob Watson, Tyagarah Mays poisoned chalice By PTI PATNA: Despite receiving a drubbing in the just held Lok Sabha polls, the Chhattisgarh Congress has drawn consolation by wresting the Naxal-hit Bastar seat, reserved for Scheduled Tribe candidates, which it never won in the past. Congress nominee Dipak Baij defeated BJP's Baiduram Kashyap by a margin of 38,982 votes in Bastar. Prior to the Lok Sabha elections, the Congress was hopeful of faring well and winning seats reserved for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe candidates as it won the Assembly polls last year with a thumping majority, uprooting the BJP which ruled the state for 15 years. However, in the Lok Sabha polls to 11 seats in the state, the results of which were declared last Thursday, the Congress managed to win only two seats - Korba and Bastar. But, the party is happy to have improved its tally from the previous record of winning just one seat in the state in the last three Lok Sabha polls. "We performed well in Bastar and Kanker - both reserved for tribal candidates. Though we won only Bastar of these two, the loss margin in Kanker was just 6,914 votes. Despite a strong 'Modi wave', the Congress has improved its tally in Chhattisgarh to two seats," state Congress spokesman Shailesh Nitin Trivedi told PTI. "It is significant that the party has won a reserved Lok Sabha seat for the first time since the formation of Chhattisgarh in November 2000. The credit goes to Congress' pro-tribal and pro-farmer measures taken in just two months of formation of its government in the state," he said. Prior to polling in Bastar Lok Sabha seat, ultras last month killed BJP MLA Bhima Mandavi and four security personnel in the region, which has been struggling with Naxal menace for the past three decades. A group of prominent Australians has united in calling for a stop to the national war memorial's planned expansion, saying the $498 million project is unjustified. Novelists Tom Keneally and Richard Flanagan, author and speechwriter Don Watson, Australia's first female premier Carmen Lawrence, historians and a group of ex-senior public servants and diplomats are among 83 signatories to an open letter saying the money could be better spent. An artist's impression of the planned $498.7 million redevelopment of the Australian War Memorial. Among the opponents are 24 Australians awarded the highest national honours, former Australian War Memorial director Brendon Kelson, former deputy director Michael McKernan, and five of its ex-staff. Leading architects and journalists joined them in opposing the overhaul. Historians Mark McKenna, Stuart Macintyre, Marilyn Lake, Carolyn Holbrook and Henry Reynolds, and former Australian Human Rights Commission president Gillian Triggs, are among those who signed the letter. Brussels: Europeans have voted in an election expected to further dent traditional pro-EU parties and bolster the nationalist fringe in the European Parliament, putting a potential brake on collective action in economic and foreign policy. Right-wing nationalists who want to slash immigration into Europe and return power to national governments are expected to make gains, though mainstream parties are tipped to hold onto power in the 751-seat legislature that sits in both Brussels and Strasbourg. French President Emmanuel Macron Credit:AP Proponents of stronger EU integration, led by French President Emmanuel Macron, argue that issues like climate change and reining in immigration are simply too big for any one country to tackle alone. Macron, whose country has been rocked in recent months by the populist yellow vest movement, has called the elections "the most important since 1979 because the [European] Union is facing an existential risk" from nationalists seeking to divide the bloc. Brussels: Mainstream European Union parties are holding their ground against the assault from populists in elections for the bloc's Parliament, according to the first set of exit polls. With voting still going on in some countries, the parties who rally against foreigners, want to rein in the EU and despise the cozy relationship between centrist groups, aren't performing as well as some establishment politicians feared. Far-right National Party leader Marine le Pen, escorted by her bodyguard Thierry Legier, after she declared victory in the European Parliament election over pro-EU French President Emmanuel Macron. Credit:AP Instead, it's the Liberals and the Greens set to post the biggest gains in the first EU-wide test of public opinion in five years. Turnout looks set to be the highest for two decades as voters respond to the populist threat. The big exception looks to be France where President Emmanuel Macron talked up this election as a straight choice between those who are for or against the EU. His party has been defeated by Marine Le Pen's euroskeptic National Rally, according to exit polls. London: The prospect of a 'no-deal' Brexit was fast becoming the central battle of the race to succeed British Prime Minister Theresa May on Sunday, as Environment Minister Michael Gove became the eighth candidate to declare. May said on Friday she was quitting over her failure to deliver Brexit, potentially opening the way for a new leader who could seek a more divisive split with the European Union and lead to confrontation with the bloc or a possible parliamentary election. Bookies say Dominic Raab is the second favourite behind Boris Johnson. Credit:Bloomberg Setting out their pitch to the Conservative Party's largely pro-Brexit membership who will decide the outcome of the contest, four of the leadership hopefuls have said Britain must leave the EU on October 31 even if this means a no-deal Brexit. "I will fight for a fairer deal in Brussels ... if not I will be clear we will leave on WTO terms in October," former Brexit minister Dominic Raab, who bookmakers rank as the second favourite to win, told BBC TV. House Democrats, under the leadership of Democrat Speaker Nancy Pelosi, are slowly marching themselves toward the opening of an impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump. What seemed out of the question earlier in the year now seems, if not inevitable, increasingly difficult to resist. Pelosi will not say anything like that at this point. She will continue to try to communicate to both sides of her divided party, nodding to hard-liners by suggesting that Trump's actions constitute potentially impeachable offences while bowing to vulnerable members in swing districts by speaking cautiously about impeachment itself. "We're not at that place," Pelosi said at a Thursday news conference, when the question of impeachment came up. That caution came after she noted that the investigations currently underway in the House could lead to "a place that is unavoidable in terms of impeachment". She also asserted that the White house "is just crying out" for impeachment, which she likely sees as a trap. Williamstown, Kentucky: It is one of the world's classic stories. A gigantic ark gets built with the help of a higher power, a symbolic refuge from the depravity of humankind. It is a huge, grandiose structure constructed out of wood that is perhaps larger than anything comparable in the world. Then heavy rains begin to fall, inundating the earth around it. And that's when the lawyers are called. Rain damage has caused havoc at the Ark Encounter theme park in Kentucky. Credit:AP Genesis, this is not. Not in 2019, not in the United States. Port Moresby: Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O'Neill announced his resignation on Sunday after seven years in the top job following weeks of high-level defections from the ruling party. O'Neill told media in Port Moresby that he had handed over leadership of the Pacific nation to Sir Julius Chan. ONeill had resisted calls to resign for weeks but stepped down on Sunday, saying recent movements in Parliament showed a "need for change", ABC News reported. Prime Minister Scott Morrison greets Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea Peter O'Neill ahead of talks on defence and law enforcement in Sydney, last year. Credit:AAP Opponents of O'Neill said on Friday they had mustered enough support in parliament to oust him over a range of grievances including a gas deal with France's Total TOTF.PA, which critics have questioned. PHILIPSBURG:--- As the last foreign dignitaries and business delegates have left the island, the organizers officially closed Saint Martin / Sint Maarten Annual Regional Tradeshow (SMART). It is estimated that in total 450 visitors took part over the three consecutive days of trade activities, sumptuous dinners, and festivities, with delegations attending from destinations ranging from China to Montserrat. The official ending was marked by a spectacular farewell party at KKO (Kakao) Beach in Orient Bay last Thursday, featuring amongst others, rum, cigar and champagne bars and a large variety of high-end hors d'oeuvres. For the first time in its 17-year history, SMART featured a farewell firework display as part of the closing ceremony. Earlier, co-organizing officials Valerie Damaseau (Vice President of the Collectivite of Saint Martin) and Stuart Johnson (Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication of Sint Maarten) thanked all officials present in a farewell speech. The officials underlined the importance of SMART for the economic future of the island. The organizers are elated about the large and diverse turnout, as well as grateful for the appraisal of changes to the traditional SMART formula. To make the tourism event as relevant as possible to the economy at large, the number of vendor spots (non-tourism related companies) was increased from 10 to 30. Receiving extra press coverage was the inclusion this year of a green room concept for initiatives that would make the island more self-sustainable. On Wednesday, 95 visitors were voluntarily "kitchen-napped" to an undisclosed location to enjoy the island's large culinary offerings. Their unknown destination turned out to be the Orient Bay square, where all restaurants cooperated in providing SMART groups their best four course meals available. An arts and craft market and musical band welcomed visitors on arrival, thereafter Dutch and French side officials led by French side Vice President Valerie Damaseau took over host-manship by heading the tables. The organizers hailed SMART 2019 as an example of what can be achieved if both sides of the island, private and public sector, stand as one. By doing their part many companies, most notably Sonesta Maho Beach Resort Casino & Spa, Mount Gay Rum, Maduro Travel, Xaro, Winair, Air Antilles, Showme Caribbean, KKO beach, SST, Rainforest Adventure Park, Scoobidoo, Donut Dreams, 12 Meter Regatta and all of Orient Bay square's restaurants have provided tremendous support to this initiative with limited means. In addition, the organizers were extended unwavering binational governmental support. The sum of all this collaboration resulted in a hugely successful business card event showing the island is ready to cater to its visitors again like never before. Most of all, the event organizers extend their thanks to the visitors coming from as far away as Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Japan, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States. Just as important, were the large number of Caribbean destinations who came to SMART with one or more delegates. SMART hopes all 31 nations subscribing will return for its 2020 edition. In view of the fact that SMART 2019 was oversubscribed for the capacity available at the Sonesta convention center and many had to be turned away, the partners recommend companies interested in SMART 2020 to preregister as of today via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . This way, participants will be kept updated as to when early bird registering starts later this year. (CNN) President Donald Trump tweeted Sunday he doesn't view North Korea's short range missile tests as disturbing, a view deeply at odds with his Japanese hosts and in conflict with statements made a day earlier by his national security adviser. "North Korea fired off some small weapons, which disturbed some of my people, and others, but not me," Trump wrote on Twitter. This is a major blow ahead of his meetings with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, which are set to begin in a few hours. The Japanese government has said North Korea's recent test of short range missiles violated UN resolutions a determination that national security adviser John Bolton agreed with in Tokyo on Saturday during a briefing with reporters before Trump arrived in Japan. In his tweet, Trump went on to say he smiled when North Korea called former Vice President Joe Biden a low IQ individual. "I have confidence that Chairman Kim will keep his promise to me, & also smiled when he called Swampman Joe Bidan (sic) a low IQ individual, & worse. Perhaps that's sending me a signal?" This story was first published on CNN.com, "Trump plays down North Korea's missile test, putting him at odds with Abe." By Express News Service In a freewheeling interview with Manish Anand, Vinay Sahasrabuddhe argued that Modi has been a victim of misperception created by a section of the media and intelligentsia. How do you decode the 2019 Lok Sabha verdict? I believe it is a watershed verdict in the electoral history of India. Never before has identity politics been pushed to the periphery so convincingly. Theres a new phrase which has taken the centre stage and which has everything to do with emerging aspirational India and that is about development nationalism. PM Narendra Modi, in one of his speeches, has elaborately explained Is Swachh Bharat not nationalism? Is Make in India not nationalism? People kept on asking us whether its (poll plank) development or nationalism, as if theyre anti-thesis of each other. I believe we can take legitimate pride in our national identity if were a developed country. And if were to be a developed country, the journey has to begin from when we take pride in our national identity. Without that, how can you work for the nation? In that sense, I think this is a watershed verdict that has changed the grammar of Indian politics. The BJP has been able to improve its vote share from 32 per cent to 37.5 per cent. Where does the party go from here? One factor is clear that the BJP has emerged as the central pole in Indian politics. Earlier, when we started our journey with the Jan Sangh, we were confined to a particular section of society. Now, we have come a long way and theres no section of society which doesnt look at the BJP as its own party. Were rightly described as a cadre-based party with a mass following. Is the BJP a beneficiary of the leadership vacuum in the Opposition? I dont think that its (leadership) vacuum, but (lack of) a sense of purpose which the Opposition could have worked with. They didnt come up with an alternative narrative. When we were talking of performance and development, I dont recall the Congress coming up with different model of development citing some examples from their track record, which I think should be huge since they had been in power for about 55 years and are still in power in seven states. But the Congress, unfortunately, failed to provide an identifiable and distinct model of development. Theyre still in the old days of capitalism, socialism and things like that. The world has moved beyond. In our society, all such labels have become meaningless. Had the Congress and Opposition truly worked on a distinct narrative encompassing all issues which are critical for the people of the country... this perception about vacuum wouldnt have existed. After all, their vote share is not very insignificant even now. Congress continues to be a Grand Old Party with four states under its rule. PM Modi has said he would not take decisions with ill-will. What do you make of it? Unfortunately, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and this government have been painted with the brush of prejudices... This is not the first time he has spoken. In fact, in one of his speeches in Parliament, he had said that we are human beings and may commit mistakes but our intentions should not be doubted. He has repeated that and that much of confidence and trust we must allow him and the BJP. Modi also said that two decades of the politics of secularism is now on the margins. Whats your comment? First of all, the presumption that a particular section of society has not been able to use its tactical vote base to stop a party from winning elections is a contestable proposition. The practicality of judgment to decipher whats good and wrong with rationality is with every section of society. That they would behave in a particular way when it comes to voting is just not possible. Having said that, I think Ambedkars formula for marginalised sections that of economic empowerment is equally applicable to others. Not for no reason had he appealed to the young members of the Scheduled Castes that they had to become job creators through economic enterprise. This is applicable for the minority community as well. Besides, this government has done wonderful work for economic empowerment of the Muslims and other marginalised sections. The liberal voice within the intelligentsia has a lot of apprehensions with the kind of mandate the BJP has got. Whats your message for them? I would only say that please remove your blinkers and look at the performance of the Modi government and do justice to whatever the government has done. Unfortunately, PM Modi is more sinned against than sinning and he has been a victim of misperception wantonly created by a section of the media and intelligentsia. Which is why, a certain section is not doing justice to the work he has done and resolutely achieved in his first term. I believe if one does an objective performance audit of the government, there would be many things one would find worth praising. The 2019 mandate has also pushed dynasty-based political outfits to the margins. How do you look at their positions? The point they have perhaps missed is the changing contour of Indian politics. If today youre continuing with discussions that Jatavs or Vokkaliggas would vote this way, this is abysmally wrong... Such identity based political outfits should be working for every strata of society and every geographical region. Youve been party in-charge for Madhya Pradesh. Will the Kamal Nath government stay in power? The Kamal Nath government came to power with a wafer-thin majority. The performance of this government isnt satisfactory, whether its waving the farm loans or giving unemployment doles. Law and order situation is also not good. Their performance doesnt create confidence in the minds of the people. That is why people have given a resounding mandate to the BJP (in the Lok Sabha polls). Anything can happen. Has Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakurs victory vindicated the BJPs stand on the issue of Hindu terrorism? It was a symbolic fight in the face of vote bank politics which created a case in which Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur was implicated. The Congress, particularly Digvijaya Singh, in their pursuit to gain from vote bank politics, sought to put the blame on other sections of society for terrorism. Out of this mindset, they created the slogan of Hindu terrorism and Pragya Thakur went through the kind of ordeal which is an example of how innocent people were tried in fabricated cases... Her decisive win has busted the conspiracy of Hindu terrorism. Whats your wish list of reforms in agriculture? The Prime Minister and his government are acutely conscious that so much of reform works which are already in the pipeline would improve the situation in agriculture. The sector requires many more reforms in the field of irrigation, agri-based businesses which are already on the agenda of the government. The BJPs Sankalp Patra talks of Rs 100 lakh crore investment in infrastructure and Rs 25 lakh crore in agriculture. Are these figures realistic? These are matters of detail. It may happen in phases as well. The manifesto is for five years and there is every reason to believe that practical calculations must have gone behind the figures mentioned in the Sankapl Patra. Would there be changes in the BJP after the massive verdict? Change is the only constant in human life. With the installation of the new government, there would be some changes within the BJP as well. Youre heard within the party on foreign policy issues. What are your expectations? We have said in so many words in our manifesto that India has been asking for greater democratisation of world bodies, including the United Nations so that the voices of the developing countries gain more prominence. In the last five years under the Modi government, India has marched ahead on development diplomacy in the field of international solar alliance and climate change and it may continue doing so. GEORGETOWN/ PHILIPSBURG:--- Lion Claudio Buncamper MJF of the Sint Maarten Lions Club was elected as the incoming 2nd Vice District Governor-elect for District 60B for 2019/2020 at the recently held District 60B Convention in Georgetown, Guyana. His one year term as 2nd Vice District Governor officially starts on July 1st, 2019. After having held many position in the club such as Board member, Treasurer, Secretary and ultimately Club President, Lion Claudio moved on to holding two key positions on the District level, which are Zone Chairman for 2B and Region 2, Chairman. The Sint Maarten Lions Club under his the leadership as Club President won the prestigious 2013/2014 Lions Club of the District Award for District 60B. Unselfish humanitarian work was instilled in Lion Claudio from a very young age when in 1983 at the age of 14 along with 15 other young boys and girls became a charter member of the Sint Maarten Leo Club. Many community projects were executed by the Leos in those days and Claudio was very instrumental in particular bringing about the Drug Awareness programs among the youths during the 80s. Marches against drug abuse were organized by the Leo Club and not to forget the information evenings for parents and youths about the danger of drug use along with projects such as painting the homes of several elderly throughout the community. Lion Claudio hails from a Lions family where his father the late Anthony Buncamper served for many years as the Secretary of the Sint Maarten Lions Club and his late mother Jane Buncamper Harms served as the then St. Maarten Lioness Club President. At a very young age Claudio not only showed much interest in giving humanitarian service to the community but also during his travels as a young Leo to several Cabinet and Convention meetings with his parents and other Lions of the Sint Maarten Lions Club, he gained much experience not only about the Leo Movement but learned a lot about the service which Lions rendered to their respective communities. As a young Leo, Claudio served on several District Leo Committees and with the experience gained on District level he was able to guide the St. Maarten Leo Club into executing many worthwhile community projects in particular youth programs. After Claudio returned from his studies in the US he immediately rejoined the Leo Club and continued to serve the Sint Maarten community. In 1999 the Sint Maarten Club was happy to welcome Claudio to the Lions movement. The Sint Maarten Lions Club is very proud of the fact that today through the Leo movement it has produced many excellent Lions. With his election as 2nd Vice District Governor, Lion Claudio adds to the list of former Leos who have made it to the top not only in the Lions Club but also on District level. With Lion Claudio presumably being installed in May 2021 as District Governor of District 60B, he will be the fourth (4th) District Governor that the Sint Maarten Lions Club will have produced, something not yet achieved by any Lions Club in Multiple District 60. He will also be the second District Governor produced by the St. Maarten Leo Club as his brother, Past District Governor Claudius Tony Toontje Buncamper also came from the Leo Club thus making history as the Sint Maarten Lions Club will then have produced two brothers making it to the top as District Governor. As part of the Sint Maarten Lions Club 50th Anniversary celebration in 2020/2021, the club will be hosting the Multiple District 60 Convention in May 2021 with over 400 Lion & Leos visiting St. Maarten from across the Caribbean region whereby Lion Claudio will presumably be elected as District Governor for District 60B at the Convention on St. Maarten. Lion Claudio is a graduate of Johnson & Wales University in Providence Rhode Islands. In June 1991, he graduated Magda Cum Laude in Hotel Restaurant and Institutional Management. He started to work at Windward Islands Airways as a customer service agent in August 1991. Over the years Lion Claudio worked in various positions at Winair and became Manager of Customer Service Department in 1999. In 2001, Lion Claudio was promoted to Director Customer Services and Marketing & Sales as holds that position up to present. In 2006 Lion Claudio married Mariapina Buncamper-Orias and has two children, Claudine Buncamper and Claudio Buncamper Jr. PHILIPSBURG:--- On Friday, May 24, 2019, historian Rosemarijn Hoefte, who is currently Senior Researcher at the Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast and Caribbean Studied (KITLV) and the President of the Association of Caribbean Historians (ACH), together with Tara Inniss ACH Secretary from the University of the West Indies-Cave Hill, met with SIMARCs President Ellinger Paul and Director Jay Haviser, to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two institutions to stimulate and facilitate cooperation and collaboration in the promotion and development of Caribbean History and Heritage. Meeting at the new SIMARC office on St. Maarten, the representatives from both organizations agreed to support their mutual interests in the field of heritage education and research. Prof. Hoefte emphasized that both organizations share an interest in pan-Caribbean history and culture and we value the work of community-based organizations. The two entities are meeting ahead of the 51st Annual Meeting of the Association of Caribbean Historians at the University of Curacao from May 26-30, 2019. Paying a courtesy call to long-time colleague, Jay Haviser who is also President of the International Association for Caribbean Archaeology (IACA), Prof. Hoefte brought greetings from the over 50 year old professional organization of Caribbean Historians and commended SIMARC on its enduring commitment to protecting and preserving the archaeological heritage of St. Maarten and neighboring islands, in the wake of the 2017 Hurricane Irma which devastated the island and destroyed the SIMARC facility storing a number of important artifacts and papers documenting St. Maartens heritage. At the signing, Dr. Haviser emphasized the importance of Country St. Maarten to be more formally integrated and active with international and regional cooperation programs regarding the preservation of heritage in the Caribbean. An evocative new photo from the International Space Station shows what it's like to fly along the line between darkness and daylight on planet Earth. Expedition 59 astronaut Christina Koch posted the eerie view on Twitter May 20 from one of the windows of the station; the view includes a glimpse of one the orbiting complex's solar arrays. Below, night gradually gives way to daylight as clouds streak above the Earth's surface. "A couple times a year, the @Space_Station orbit happens to align over the day/night shadow line on Earth," Koch wrote with the posted photo. "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." Koch added the hashtag #nofilter, which means the photo wasn't pretreated with any filters before posting. Related: Earth Day 2019: These Amazing NASA Images Show Earth from Above While Koch was enchanted, former NASA astronaut Mike Fossum 's reply showed that some astronauts prefer different views of Earth. "This was my least favorite time on orbit because our view of my favorite planet was at its worst always distorted by low angles of light," he said . "Couldn't wait for clear days and clear nights to capture images! But enjoy your journey through the Shadowlands!" Koch is expected to spend nearly a year in orbit , which will give her the second-longest spaceflight of any American astronaut. Also this week, Koch a former National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration employee sent greetings to a NOAA conference expressing her love of looking at the planet that the agency is dedicated to studying. "From here," Koch said of her perch in orbit, "we have an amazing view of our home planet, Earth. Looking outside the window of the ISS is a humbling and inspiring experience. It really brings into focus how important it is that we treasure this planet that we have." Koch also paid tribute to employees in NOAA's Global Monitoring Division , which studies greenhouse gases, the carbon cycle, recovery of ozone in the stratosphere, and changes in clouds, aerosols and surface radiation. Before joining the astronaut corps, Koch worked at GMD's Baseline Observatory in Utqiagvik (formerly known as Barrow), Alaska and at the American Samoa Observatory, where she served as station chief. Koch said in her message she also worked "hand in hand" with GMD when she spent a winter at AmundsenScott South Pole Station earlier in her career. SpaceX's new array of Starlink communication satellites has even the most jaded of satellite observers agog with excitement as they move across the sky. On Thursday evening (May 23), SpaceX launched 60 Starlink satellites into orbit on a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The satellites are in good health and are the first of a planned 12,000-satellite megaconstellation to provide internet access to people on Earth. The satellites, which are now orbiting at approximately 273 miles (440 km) above the Earth, are putting on a spectacular show for ground observers as they move across the night sky. Related: SpaceX's 1st Starlink Megaconstellation Launch in Photos! A train of SpaceX Starlink satellites are visible in the night sky in this still from a video captured by satellite tracker Marco Langbroek in Leiden, the Netherlands on May 24, 2019, just one day after SpaceX launched 60 of the Starlink internet communications satellites into orbit. (Image credit: Marco Langbroek via SatTrackBlog To the eye, the 60 satellites appear as a "moving train" of moderately faint stars generally in the magnitude +4 to +5 range, although some observers have reported that a few of the satellites in the train have appeared brighter than this. A magnitude of +6 is generally considered to be the threshold of naked eye visibility under a dark, clear sky. Related: Magnitude: The Sky Brightness Scale Explained Initially, the satellites were seen to be stretched out in a straight line measuring roughly 5 to 8 degrees in apparent length. Your clenched fist held at arm's length is roughly equivalent to 10 degrees, so the satellite train currently measures roughly just less than a fist in length as it moves across the sky. With time, however, as the satellites revolve around Earth at 90 minute intervals, they should appear less "bunched" together and may actually get a bit fainter as they are slowly raised to their operational orbits of 342 miles (550 km). Where to look! If you would like to try and see the Starlink satellites for yourself, you are going to need to consult an online satellite pass calculator that will provide a custom viewing schedule for your hometown. One such website is CalSky here . In the box asking you to find a satellite by name or number, simply type in Starlink and hit the go! button. Another site you can use is N2YO.com , which has already emblazoned the top of its page with the link " Watch Starlink satellites crossing your sky! " Both CalSky and N2YO.com automatically picks up your coordinates for satellite sightings. A second flight #Starlink tonight over Poland #SantaClaus #SpaceX #Science #Polska #Poland 25.05.2019 ... 22:15 UTC time pic.twitter.com/0KUhCTEKwcMay 25, 2019 See more Snap an amazing photo or video of SpaceX's Starlink satellites? Let us know! You can send views and comments for a story or gallery to spacephotos@space.com. For those in the Greater New York City area, for instance, the best time to look for the Starlink train passing by on Sunday night (May 26) is predicted by both sites to be in the range from 10:09 to 10:20 p.m. EDT, going from southwest to northeast. There are other predicted passes on Monday (May 27) at around 4:46 a.m. (NW to SE), 9:35 p.m. (SW to NE) and a nearly overhead pass on Tuesday at 4:07 a.m. EDT. Considering the fact that the satellites are all generally faint, it is best to try and position yourself in as dark a location as possible, far from any bright lights that otherwise could hinder your view. Scanning the sky with binoculars will certainly help. A lot depends on just how the angle of reflected sunlight strike the satellites in the hours just after sunset or before sunrise. Too much of a good thing? The 60 satellites launched this week merely represent the beginning of a SpaceX campaign aimed at launching as many as 12,000 such spacecraft during the next several years. While the internet community will benefit, the astronomy community is already raising red flags over potential interference with astronomical observations. Notes John Bortle, a noted comet observer and a long-time assiduous amateur astronomer: "The word is that SpaceX plans to launch thousands of such mini satellites. Without doubt if the program is successful it will spur others to follow suite, perhaps attempting it even earlier. Depending on orbital inclination, it could utterly ruin astrophotography as after dusk and before dawn the satellites stream across the sky progressively spreading along their orbit." Some scientists have already expressed concern about the sheer number of bright satellites in the night sky. That number will swell, as companies like OneWeb, Amazon and Telesat are planning megaconstellations of their own. I know people are excited about those images of the train of SpaceX Starlink satellites, but it gives me pause.Theyre bright, and there are going to be a lot of them. If SpaceX launches all 12,000, they will outnumber stars visible to the naked eye.May 25, 2019 See more Last year, a New Zealand Company, Rocket Lab, received flak for placing what amounted to a giant mirrored "disco ball" into space, called Humanity Star . That satellite's sole purpose, according to Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck was to simply remind skywatchers that "humanity is capable of great and kind things." But not a few astronomers were annoyed by the idea of having yet another bright satellite disrupting their view of the night sky. Humanity Star only remained in orbit for a few weeks. The Starlink satellites however, could remain in orbit for up to five years. By PTI NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to travel to the Maldives early next month, in his first bilateral visit after retaining power in the Lok Sabha polls, according to diplomatic sources and Maldivian media reports. Bhutan was the first country Modi had visited in 2014 after becoming prime minister. Diplomatic sources said the prime minister is expected to travel to Male in the first half of June, while the Maldivian media reported that the visit will take place between June 7-8. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj visited the Maldives in March, the first full-fledged bilateral trip from India to the island nation after the government of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih came to power in November last year. ALSO READ: President Ramnath Kovind appoints Narendra Modi as Prime Minister Modi visited the Maldives in November to attend Solih's swearing-in ceremony, signalling the importance India attaches to the island nation, where China has been trying to expand its influence. Last week, Solih congratulated Modi for his "resounding electoral victory". The relations between India and the Maldives deteriorated after the then President Abdulla Yameen imposed emergency on February 5 last year. ALSO READ: We are here for all, says conciliatory Modi after bowing before constitution India had criticised his decision and asked his government to restore the credibility of the electoral and political process by releasing political prisoners. The emergency had lasted for 45 days. Solih became president in November after he defeated Yameen in the presidential polls. World Autism Awareness Day, recognized internationally on April 2, was originally designated by the United Nations in 2007 in an effort to end stigmatization and discrimination against those with autism. April 2 fits in with the UNs Agenda for Sustainable Development, which promises to leave no one behind, according to Wincalendar.com. The whole month of April is internationally recognized as Autism Awareness Month, which began in 2007, originated by the Autism Society. People all over show their support by wearing the color blue and lighting blue lights outside their homes, or even around their town. Autism, or autism spectrum disorder (ASD), refers to a broad range of conditions characterized by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech and nonverbal communication, according to Autism Speaks, the largest autism science and advocacy organization. According to the Centers for Disease Control, autism affects an estimated 1 in 59 children in the United States today. In 2013, the American Psychiatric Association merged four distinct autism diagnoses into one umbrella diagnosis of ASD. They included autistic disorder, childhood disintegrative disorder, pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS) and Asperger syndrome, according to Autismspeaks.org. At Westhill, students have taken the crisis into their own hands and created a chapter of Best Buddies, a non-profit national organization that emphasizes relationships with intellectual developmental disability (IDD) and mentally disabled students, says president Nikki Newcomer (19). There are approximately 10 IDD students in the chapter, and about 20-30 non-IDD students, including Newcomer, Vice President Malina Lasiki (20), and Secretary Talia Kumon (20) plus their advisors Ms. Denisse Winne and Ms. Jenny Rivera, both teachers at Westhill. Best Buddies at Westhill has been around for a very long time, and each year at the end of the school year, they host a Best Buddies Ball where alumni joins current best buddies members, and the buddies of course, to connect and have a great time. Ms. Jenny says the non-IDD students interact with the autism students so they dont feel left out [and] how they interact so well with the autism students, its really unbelievable. The group used to meet every Tuesday after school, however they moved their meetings to take place during connection time. Some of the events that they do are holiday parties, after school meetups, cookie painting, card decorating, and much more. Vice President Lasiki says her best memory of Best Buddies was the party they threw at the end of last year in the courtyard. We had so many people come, even kids whove graduated because Best Buddies had such a big impact on them, she said. We danced, sang, ate and hung out together. It was such a great time for everyone! Their outside-of-school events include the recent Best Buddies Ball, which took place on March 31 in Weatogue, Conn., and the Best Buddies Friendship Walk, the number one walk in the country raising awareness and funds to support inclusion for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, according to bestbuddiesfriendshipwalk.org. This year the Best Buddies Friendship Walk will be taking place at Quinnipiac University on October 29. Being a student, everything seems all about you, people are very self-centered, and when you join a group like Best Buddies, you really learn to step away from yourself and try and analyze things from a different perspective, says Newcomer. A lot of people do not go out of their way to see what it is like to live with a disability like they do, and when you are in Best Buddies you really have that first hand experience to see what it is like ... they are some of the happiest people you can ever meet and it really gives you just a better perspective on life because if they are this happy and enjoying their lives so much, why cant everyone else, especially if they are struggling a lot more than I am. Nikki tells us that the Best Buddies Ball at the end of her freshman year (2015) is her best memory out of her four years in the program. I did not go to every event my freshman year, I went to a few, because I was nervous, I was the only freshman, and then I went to the ball and I got to see everybody, my brother, his friends, all the seniors and everyone was interacting and having the best time ever, and I really felt like I could open up and be a part of that and that was when I really realized the beautiful thing that Best Buddies is, she said. For students who wish to get involved, you can locate one of the Best Buddies members to join the group, participate in the upcoming Friendship Walk in October, or even a small donation to the cause can go a long way. Madison Thibodeau is a Staff Writer for The Westword at Westhill High School. WILTON Police have admitted an officer used poor judgment when he threw a ball at a turkey that had taken refuge this month in the rafters of the Wilton High School field house. The incident occurred on May 10, after students had lured the turkey in and officials had difficulty in getting it out. The turkey stayed in the rafters for two days before being caught with a net by a wildlife removal company. The police department issued a statement Thursday, saying the video of the incident was reviewed. A review of our officers response did confirm that the officer used poor judgment in their attempt to resolve the issue, by throwing a ball in the direction of the turkey, the statement said. It was found that the officers actions were not malicious or intended to cause harm to the turkey, rather an attempt to persuade the turkey to move from its current location. When the departments shift supervisor arrived at the school, he instructed the officer to stop and called the wildlife company, the statement said. Our officers are tasked with responding to myriad different types of calls for services during the course of their shifts and careers. Many of these calls are general service-oriented calls that go beyond the scope of their roles as law enforcement officers or anything that was taught to them in the police academy. Despite that, our officers embrace the opportunity to serve the community of Wilton and solve problems, whether it is assisting a victim of a crime or assisting in an issue such as wildlife removal from a building, the statement continued. We encourage our officers to be innovators in their attempts to solve community problems they are tasked with responding to. We also accept accountability when our actions can be improved. In the current incident the department and the officer recognize that the act of throwing a ball in the direction of the turkey was poor judgment. The appropriate course of action when confronted with a similar incident has been reviewed with the officer. The turkeys stay was not without consequence. Gym classes had to be rescheduled or moved outside and bird droppings had to be cleaned up. Most of the gym was sanitized before students returned. The mild-mannered, wonkish Sen. Michael F. Bennet, D-Colo., can get really steamed. His anger these days often is directed at the Republican Party, which he doesn't hesitate to say has become "demented." Republicans are blocking progress on issues for which there is 70 percent or more consensus - as there is on immigration, climate change and a host of other issues. "It is pathetic and unacceptable and ridiculous, but we have to salvage this exercise in self-government," he told me during an interview on Friday near the Capitol. Bennet was a relatively late entry to the Democratic presidential race, largely because of his diagnosis and treatment for prostrate cancer. "I'm feel great," he said. (The lanky, freckle-faced senator looks younger than 54.) "I've spent the last couple of years writing this book about the state of our broken politics." Bennet said no other candidate is quite saying what he is or has the same analysis. "I believe that we have been tyrannized for the last 10 years by the Freedom Caucus in this country. ... They immobilized the Republican Party. They immobilized the Democratic Party. They immobilized this exercise in self-government." He added, "We will not make progress unless we overcome them." He also said that this isn't a permanent state of affairs. "Part of the element of overcoming these guys is promoting an agenda that will be popular with the broad majority of Americans." To accomplish this, Bennet said, "we have to end political gerrymandering in this country. We have to end it. And (Americans) have to understand what it has cost them to have politicians who get to choose their voters instead of voters getting to choose politicians." He argued that the ethos in Washington has to change, and that voters look at politicians and think they "have perfected the act of doing nothing and blaming the other side." In particular, Bennet argued, Democrats "have to run and win in red states." He pointed to the Democratic senators who lost reelection bids in 2018 - Claire McCaskill of Missouri, Joe Donnelly of Indiana and Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota. They were the sort of senators we'd want to have in government. "And we lost them!" he said with obvious frustration. Rather than dismantle the filibuster to fix the Senate, Bennet said that Democrats have to be competitive in those states. The way Democrats do that, Bennet argued, is to "give them something to be for." His agenda centers on what he thinks is the core economic dilemma. "The fundamental problem in America now is that we've had no economic mobility for 40 years. Ninety percent of Americans have not seen a pay increase, or a meaningful pay increase, over 40 years. And all of the economic growth has gone to the wealthiest people." For Bennet, the fundamental question is: "How do we create shared prosperity in this country, so when the country grows everybody benefits?" Bennet doesn't lack for solutions to economic stagnation and immobility, but he cautioned that "It is not one thing - it's a million things." On his list are anti-trust enforcement, infrastructure spending, reviving unions, redoing the tax code, transitioning to a digital economy, improving worker training and leading a coalition of nations to push back on China's mercantilism and effort to create surveillance states. "We're doing none of that (now)," he said. Bennet points to the 2013 immigration-reform bill that got 68 votes in the Senate as a model of good lawmaking, complete with full hearings and open amendments in the Judiciary Committee and on the floor. It was good policy and still polls better than anything President Donald Trump has come up with, he pointed out, adding, "There is no reason we cannot do that on lots of other issues. We've done that on no other issues." His center-left politics is not as widely represented in the presidential field, though it matches the sentiments of a good chunk of the Democratic electorate. He's one of the most experienced candidates - having served as the Denver schools superintendent, as chief of staff to former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (who is also running for the Democratic nomination), and in the Senate since he was appointed in 2009 to the seat held by Ken Salazar, who left to serve as interior secretary in the Obama administration. At the local level, Bennet says people understand that we're "engaged in an exercise of pluralism." In state and local government, Bennet argues that "People have to contend with opposing points of view but with an electorate that says, 'You've got to get something done.'" That experience convinced him that what passes for business-as-usual inside the Beltway would never be tolerated in local or state government. He likes to quote Mayor John Hamilton of Bloomington, Indiana, who wrote a Washington Post op-ed in opposition to the 2017 Republican tax cuts: "If I asked the city council to approve tripling our local debt to give hundreds of thousands of dollars per year to a few hundred of our most prosperous residents, they would ask me what I was smoking. Preposterous, they would say." Nevertheless, Bennet observed, that's exactly what we did at the federal level. The Colorado senator remains optimistic about our ability to fix out politics. He predicts there will be a reaction to Trump and to celebrity politics. "I don't accept the world in which his kind of politics is the politics we deliver to the American people." We are acting like a weak country, Bennet maintains, as though we are too weak to respond to a refugee problem, too weak to compete with China, too weak to invest in the next generation. Bennet said emphatically, "We are strong country with weak leadership." On foreign policy, Bennet observed that while China's economy has been expanding at a furious rate, it has been expanding its influence around the world with it's Belt and Road Initiative. "They are supporting a surveillance state." Our best option, he said, is for us to "forge strong alliances with people all over the world" and to offer an alternative to China's mercantilist trade practices and China's surveillance state model. He also pointed to the crisis at our border. "We could be working with all of Latin America to help restore the rule of law and to help create thriving democracies that can support the kind of economies that can overcome the violence." On the Middle East, he argued that we have been doing things to make matters worse. The Iraq war, he says, was "one of the worst mistakes America ever made." Not only did we upset the balance of power, but the volatility that was created allowed Iran to exploit the violence, he argued. He recalls that his vote in favor of the Iran nuclear deal was a tough one politically, because he would have benefited from distancing himself from President Barack Obama. In the end, he said, he felt it was the right thing to do, but wasn't sure that the deal, for example, could move the timeline for an Iranian nuclear breakout from two-three months to a year. Bennet can be passionate when discussing the damage done to American politics recently and is equally optimistic about our ability to recover. He brings substance, sincerity and seriousness. He's not, however, a celebrity politician, and will find it challenging to fight through a field of about two dozen candidates. That in and of itself describes the dilemma of our political times: The more sober and experienced the candidate, the harder time he will have breaking through. Perhaps we get the politics we deserve. A man is fighting for his life after being stabbed in east London. Police and paramedics were called to St Pauls Way, in Mile End, at about 4.30pm on Sunday. They found two men suffering stab injuries, with one of them - aged 23 - taken to hospital in a life-threatening condition. The second victim, thought to be in his 20s or 30s, was also taken to hospital but his injuries were said to be less serious. Cordons were in place at the scene on Sunday evening as officers investigated. The road was closed in both directions, with the 309 bus service diverted. No arrests have been made, with the Met asking anyone with information to call 101 quoting reference CAD 5291 of May 26. Alternatively, call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. By Express News Service PATNA: In a shocking incident, a middle-aged man killed his two minor sons and then committed suicide at his house in Bihar's Sheohar district on Saturday. According to local sources, Gauri Shanker Paswan,45, had been quarreling with his parents and had a tiff with them on Saturday afternoon. In the evening, Paswan went into the room in his house where his two minor sons were sleeping. "He took a sword killed them on the spot and immediately hanged himself from the ceiling", villagers told the police. Local police said three bodies were recovered from the room and mentioned that primarily the incident appeared to be a fallout of a family feud. The bodies were sent for the postmortem to Sheohar hospital. A 17-year-old boy has become the fourth person to be charged with murdering a teenage girl in east London. Jodie, 17, died after she was stabbed in the back while she listened to music with friends at Harold Hill, east London on March 1. On Sunday detectives said a fourth person had been charged with murder and with possession of a prohibited weapon, a stun gun. He was first arrested on March 10 and initially released under investigation. People lay floral tributes near to where 17-year-old Jodie Chesney was killed / REUTERS The teenager is due to appear before the Barkingside Magistrates Court on Monday. Police have already charged 20-year-old Manuel Petrovic, a 16-year-old and 19-year-old Svenson Ong-a-kwie with murder. Family members father Peter, stepmother Joanne and sister Lucy of murdered teenager Jodie Chesney speaking at New Scotland Yard in London. / PA A trial date has been set for September 2 at the Old Bailey Two other people arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender a 50-year-old man and a 38-year-old woman have been released under investigation. A graffiti vandal who was jailed after spraying his distinctive tag across the Tube network today tells how he turned his life around to become a photographer documenting the Bakerloo line. Harry Finn-Conway, 29, was handed a 12 month prison sentence in 2012 over an estimated 80,000 of criminal damage. His distinctive "Zerx" tag became notorious and an investigation found it had been plastered across buildings in the capital and the London Underground. But since his release from prison he has become a prolific portrait photographer with a particular focus on the underground network. He told the Standard about his progression from tagging Bakerloo line trains late at night to capturing its daily motions for a new photography book. Bakerloo Photography Book 1 /14 Bakerloo Photography Book Bakerloo - A photography book about the Bakerloo Line and its inhabitants @harryfconway Documenting a piece of a London history, that has already begun to fade @harryfconway 'Bakerloo is a self published photo book shot solely on expired 35mm film @harryfconway Finn-Conway has taken portraits depicting the humdrum normality of commuters pressed against each other, to the more colourful characters he has met along the way @harryfconway Bakerloo line trains are the oldest on the network, dating back to 1972 @harryfconway TfL are planning on rolling out a single design for the Piccadilly, Bakerloo, Central and Waterloo & City lines from 2024 @harryfconway Greg, known as the tube punk @harryfconway The photo on the front of the book shows a passenger with seven TfL tattoos when Conway asked the man why he had inked the symbols on his body he said he just loves the Tube @harryfconway Finn-Conway produced the book following a crowdfunding campaign @harryfconway He raised 10,000 on Kickstarter, and officially launched the book at the Photographers Gallery @harryfconway Harry F Conway Kate Moore Once I was released from prison, I went straight into university," he said. "I had a BA course waiting for me at the London College of Communication. "[After] Id finished that course, I kind of just worked dead-end jobs and I spent a lot of time going up and down the Tube. Finn-Conway studied photography and he said he decided to use his mundane train journeys for his next project. He had been released from prison after serving three months of his sentence. Harry Finn-Conway with his book 'Bakerloo' / Kate Moore Finn-Conway said he immediately found new interests away from tagging through taking pictures. Id left that life in the past and Id left graffiti behind me," he said. "I didnt have so much of an excitement for that anymore. "Whereas, getting a film developed and seeing whose picture Id captured, it kind of felt like Christmas. He has since spent three years capturing passengers on the Bakerloo line, ending up with over a thousand prints which he has edited down into a book. Bakerloo studies the Tube line and its inhabitants / @harryfconway Finn-Conway said he chose the Tube line as his subject because of its lasting history. The trains are the oldest on the network, dating back to 1972. However, TfL are planning on rolling out a single design for the Piccadilly, Bakerloo, Central and Waterloo & City lines from 2024 so its iconic brown interior will change. Finn-Conway felt it was important to capture this moment on the line before it was refurbished. He added: "I realised that theyd be taking those trains away in a few years, it seemed like a part of London was leaving. Its not one of these shiny new carriages, with all the mod cons. Its this dirty old train, where you can see footprints on the wall," he added. Finn-Conway captures portraits of people on the line / @harryfconway "My main thinking was, I need to make a book out of this. I need to document London history. Finn-Conway has taken portraits depicting the humdrum normality of commuters pressed against each other, to the more colourful characters he has met along the way. The book even features a photo of Noel Gallagher. "It was just one of those random encounters," he said. "What I loved about it was that he was just sitting next to a young family that was going on their day out and it wasnt like he had a limo or anything special." The book is shot on 35mm film / @harryfconway He added: "Youre all sitting on the same dirty seats that people have put their feet all over and there is something very beautiful about that equality on the tube. "Were all next to each other and no-ones better than anyone, you know everyone is equal." The photo on the front of the book shows a passenger with seven TfL tattoos when Conway asked the man why he had inked the symbols on his body he said he just loves the Tube. He said: I can be a bit jaded about the gentrification in London but I can also see it as now is the time to document these old characters that are slowly fading from London. "Now is the time to get them in a frame and get them in front of a camera. Finn-Conway produced the book following a crowdfunding campaign. He raised 10,000 on Kickstarter, and officially launched the book at the Photographers Gallery. Bakerloo is available to buy here and follow Finn-Conway's work on his Instagram. D ominic Raab has delivered his pitch to become the UK's next prime minister, vowing to keep a no-deal Brexit on the table. The former Brexit secretary laid out his vision on Sunday as Michael Gove confirmed he would be joining the race to succeed Theresa May as Conservative Party leader. Mr Raab told the BBC that negotiations with the EU need to be more "resolute" than before. He said while he does not want a no-deal Brexit, Britain is in a weaker position if it is not willing to walk away from negotiations. But Chancellor Philip Hammond warned that the next PM would be defying Parliament if they took the UK out of the EU with no deal. Chancellor Philip Hammond warned against defying Parliament over Brexit / REUTERS Mr Hammond told the BBC's Andrew Marr show: "I think it would be very difficult for a prime minister who adopted no-deal as a policy - we are leaving with no deal as a matter of policy - to retain the confidence of the House of Commons." He added: "How will they govern if they have defied Parliament on such an important issue?" Some eight ministers have announced they will stand for the leadership following Mrs May's announcement that she will step down on June 7. Speaking from his London home, Mr Gove said he will join an already crowded field after Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt and ex-Cabinet ministers Dominic Raab and Andrea Leadsom threw their hats into the ring. Theresa May was pictured smiling with her husband Philip as they left church on Sunday / Getty Images He said: "I can confirm that I will be putting my name forward to be prime minister of this country. "I believe that I'm ready to unite the Conservative and Unionist Party, ready to deliver Brexit, and ready to lead this great country." Tory leadership candidate Dominic Raab has vowed to keep a no-deal Brexit on the table / PA As the Tory battle for Downing Street intensifies, Mr Gove's intervention is likely to cause concern to current front-runner Boris Johnson. A spectacular fall out between the two former allies in the 2016 leadership contest helped destroy both men's chances of the top job. Environment Secretary Michael Gove is the latest Tory to enter the leadership race / AP Mr Gove is posing as a self-styled "unity candidate". Mr Raab said on Sunday it is important to deliver Brexit before the next general election. He said: "We are scheduled for 2022 and I think it's very important we get Brexit delivered before we go back to the polls." When asked how to stop the Conservative Party falling apart and an early general election being called, he said the party needs to come together, sort out Brexit, then tackle the other issues people are concerned about. TODO: define component type apester He said he will push to renegotiate the Withdrawal Agreement. Mr Raab said previous negotiations with the EU had not been "resolute" enough and no-deal should have been left on the table. He said: "We were not resolute enough and we took no-deal off the table. "I don't want a WTO Brexit. Theresa May announced she will resign as Tory leader on June 7 / AFP/Getty Images "We put ourselves in a much weaker position in terms of getting a deal if you are not willing to walk away from a negotiation - it doesn't focus the mind of the other side." He added: "I would fight for a fairer deal in Brussels with negotiations to change the backstop arrangements, and if not I would be clear that we would leave on WTO terms in October." Earlier Tory leadership contender Esther McVey told Sky's Sophy Ridge on Sunday that there will be no further extensions and the UK must prepare for a no-deal Bresit. She said Britain will leave the EU on October 31, with or without a deal. Esther McVey said the UK must prepare for no-deal / PA "October 31 is the key date and we are coming out then, and if that means without a deal then that's what it means," she said. "We won't be asking for any more extensions. "If Europe wants to come back to us, the door is open if they want a better deal. "Time is limited, we have to make sure we are ready to leave." Mr Hunt has claimed his business background would help resolve Brexit. He told The Sunday Times: "If I was prime minister, I'd be the first prime minister in living memory who has been an entrepreneur by background. "Doing deals is my bread and butter as someone who has set up their own business." Health Secretary Matt Hancock said he was running for leader because the party needs to look to the future and attract younger voters. Meanwhile, Chief Secretary to the Treasury Liz Truss has said she will not stand for the leadership. She told the Sunday Telegraph she will back a contender who supported Leave in the 2016 referendum. Labour has said it will trigger a Commons no-confidence vote in the new prime minister when they take office. The new Tory leader looks set to take over as prime minister at the end of July after Mrs May finally laid out a timetable for her exit from Downing Street. The timetable for the contest will see nominations close in the week of June 10, with MPs involved in a series of votes to whittle down the crowded field to a final two contenders. M ichael Gove has insisted he has "evolved" as a politician since saying he was "incapable" of being Prime Minister. The Tory leadership contender said he was now ready for the top job as the battle for Downing Street hotted up. His comments came as the crossfire over a no-deal Brexit dominated the fight for the Tory crown after Theresa May announced her departure. Mr Gove claimed he had gained more experience since remarking he was incapable of being PM. He told BBC Radio 4 podcast, Political Thinking with Nick Robinson: "I've changed my mind. In those three years I have been through a variety of experiences. Leadership contenders: top Tories have thrown their hat in the ring after Mrs May announced exit / AFP/Getty Images "I led, some people may lament this, but I led the campaign to leave the European Union and that involved going up head to head with David Cameron and others in the debate formats that we had. "And being tested during that campaign, having had time to reflect when I was on the backbenches and then coming back into government. "I think that I've evolved as a politician, but, obviously, we'll see in the course of the next few days and weeks who people think has what it takes." As Tory Brexit tensions increased, Philip Hammond said talk of a renegotiation before the end of October was a "fig leaf for a policy of leaving on no-deal terms". Philip Hammond, right, warned against defying Parliament over Brexit / REUTERS He told BBC1's The Andrew Marr Show: "That policy has a major flaw in it ... and that is that Parliament has voted very clearly to oppose a no-deal exit. "A prime minister who ignores Parliament cannot expect to survive very long." Asked if whether he would vote against the Government over no-deal withdrawal if he was a backbencher in the autumn, he said: "I would certainly not support a strategy to take us out with no deal." On whether he would vote against the Government in a confidence motion in the circumstance of no deal, Mr Hammond said: "It's a hypothetical question because I don't know what the confidence motion is. Michael Gove confirms he will enter the race to become the Conservative leadership race He added: "I'm saying this is a very difficult situation. It would challenge not just me, but many of our colleagues, and I hope we will never get to that position." Leadership contenders Boris Johnson, Dominic Raab, Andrea Leadsom and Esther McVey have said they would be prepared to quit with no deal on October 31 if necessary. Mr Gove said he would set out his stance on no deal in the coming days, but that he agreed with Mrs May on the need for compromise in politics. Mr Raab said he would prefer a deal, but Britain had to show it was prepared to walk away in negotiations with the EU. He told the BBC: "I would fight for a fairer deal in Brussels with negotiations to change the backstop arrangements, and if not I would be clear that we would leave on WTO terms in October. "We need to go out and be absolutely resolute in the way we weren't last time. It is achievable, but it will need some goodwill on the other side too." He added: "I will not ask for an extension. Of course, if Parliament legislates that then we would be in a difficult position." Mr Gove's intervention in the race is likely to cause concern to current front-runner Mr Johnson. A spectacular falling-out between the two former allies in the 2016 leadership contest helped destroy both men's chances of the top job. The new Tory leader looks set to take over as prime minister at the end of July after Mrs May finally laid out a timetable for her exit from Downing Street. The timetable for the contest will see nominations close in the week of June 10, with MPs involved in a series of votes to whittle down the crowded field to a final two contenders. Tory Party members will then decide who wins the run-off. The health secretary pitches why Tory hardliners should vote for the Withdrawal Agreement Bill, telling BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "It's different to before. Not only will some of the details be different... but also the process is different. "Because if you want as an MP to leave the EU and deliver on the result of the referendum, no matter what the details you want to see on the terms of the future relationship, you need to vote for this legislation and then have the debate in the committee stages later on exactly what the details are." B oth the Tories and Labour are braced for a fierce Brexit backlash when results for the European elections begin to filter through tonight. Ballots are being counted across the country, with results to be announced from 10pm going into the early hours of Monday. Opinion polls have suggested Nigel Farage's Brexit Party could be on course for victory in the European contests. The Liberal Democrats, on the opposite side of the Brexit divide, are also expected to pick up votes. Nigel Farage's Brexit Party could be on course for victory / PA The European elections took place almost three years after the UK voted to leave the EU because of Theresa May's failure to get her Brexit deal through Parliament. The results are set to be a damaging blow for the Tories after a distinctly lacklustre campaign. TODO: define component type apester Prominent Conservative MEP Daniel Hannan said he feared the party was facing "total wipeout" and would be left without any European representation at all. The Brexiteer, who has been a member for South East England since 1999, said he suspected the party would be left with "zero MEPs" following the poll. Loading.... By 10pm on Sunday, all 28 EU member states will have finished voting, meaning results can be announced. North East England is expected to be the first to declare, after 2014's results came in at 10.15pm. Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn / Adrian Dennis/AFP/Getty Images and Will Oliver/EPA At about 11pm, Yorkshire and the Humber is likely to be the second region to declare. London is set to declare after 2am on Monday. The vast majority of the UKs seats will have been allocated by about 11am on Monday. Dogs at European election polling stations - In pictures 1 /18 Dogs at European election polling stations - In pictures Two happy looking dogs outside a polling station on Thursday morning Martin Crewe/PA Riloh an eight-year-old golden retriever waits patiently for her owner Natasha Collins-Daniel as she casts her vote at a polling station in Bristol Ben Birchall/PA MJ voting in Edgware lois @__5107 Magic waits outside a polling station in Twickenham Karen McAllister Guybrush at Woodseats Sheffield Double Six polling station @monkeyjellyfish Norman does his bit for democracy in Oxford Chris Dale Abbie outside a polling station Finnbar Wallace/PA Exercising my dogmocratic to participate in #dogsatpollingstations @Jackmaltese2017 Bertie outside a polling station James Barton/PA Henry the labradoodle outside the polling station at Spike Island in Bristol, Claire Hayhurst/PA Reggie, a three-month-old Cockerpoo puppy, behaves himself outside a polling station in Chester-le-Street, County Durham Tom Wilkinson/PA Dogs were seen by polling station signs across the UK Neil Jenkins/PA Henry Woofington in Hapton, Lancashire @Smit186 Riloh an eight-year-old golden retriever wags her tail as her owner Natasha Collins-Daniel returns from casting her vote in Bristol Ben Birchall/PA However, it will take until Tuesday afternoon for the full picture to be completed, when Northern Ireland declares its three seats. 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. Mr Farage, who is standing in the South East constituency, had 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." In a polling day video message, Mr Corbyn had warned "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 can't last very long. And so, get ready for a general election." But in a sign of Labour's 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". Writing in The Observer, deputy Labour leader Tom Watson also said the party was "braced with a sense of despair" and blamed Labour's ambiguous position on a second Brexit referendum for losing votes. R escued hiker Amanda Eller has spoken from her hospital bed describing through tears how she faced a choice between life and death. Ms Eller, 35, was found alive more than two weeks after she went missing while hiking in Maui, Hawaii. She told reporters on Saturday the last 17 days had been toughest days of her life. Its been a really significant spiritual journey, she said. Amanda Eller, 35, went missing while hiking on Maui, Hawaii / Javier Cantellops It did come down to life and death and I had to choose, and I chose life. I wasnt going to take the easy way out, even though that meant more suffering and pain for myself. Ms Eller, a physical therapist, went missing on May 8. Her vehicle was found in the forest car park with her phone and wallet inside. Hundreds of volunteers joined the search for her with Ms Ellers parents offering a reward to encourage people to find her. Ms Eller was found in a deep ravine between two waterfalls / Javier Cantellops Javier Cantellops said he was searching for Ms Eller from a helicopter along with Chris Berquist and Troy Helmers when they spotted her near the Kailua reservoir, according to Maui Police Department spokesman Lt Gregg Okamoto. Mr Cantellops told told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser she was in the bed of a creek with waterfalls on either side. He told CNN he saw Ms Eller waving her hands at the helicopter. Amanda Eller with family and friends after her rescue. / SARAH HAYNES A FINDAMANDA "It was unbelievable, dude," Mr Cantellops said. "Seeing her for the first time in a long time was just unbelievable. It was nothing short of elation." Ms Eller was in an area with thick vegetation, he said. "That vegetation is so thick, it's a miracle that we saw her," Mr Cantellops said. The Maui Fire Department brought Ms Eller to hospital for evaluation. "I was crying tears of joy," said Ms Eller's mother, Julia. "I never gave up hope for a minute. I knew that we would find her." Julia Eller, mother of Amanda Eller said she cried tears of joy when her daughter was found. / AP She told the Maui News that Amanda survived by staying near a water source and eating wild raspberries and strawberry guavas. She even ate a couple of moths, Julia Eller said. Her daughter tried to catch some crawfish, but she was "not very successful", her mother said. "She lost quite a bit of weight, as you can imagine, being lost for that amount of time," Mrs Eller said. "But she was able to survive it. She had the right skills and did the right things to buy time so that we had a chance to find her." Ms Eller suffered a leg fracture, abrasions on her ankles and severe sunburn, but Mrs Eller told the Maui News that her daughter's spirits were good. Kumar Vikram By Express News Service NEW DELHI: Reaching out to his opponents and minorities, Narendra Modi on Saturday said although the NDA had got a huge mandate from the people, his government would also work for those who had not voted for the BJP. We will work to win over the hearts of people who dont believe in our thinking, he said in his speech to newly elected NDA lawmakers. Modi, who was appointed prime minister-elect by President Ram Nath Kovind after being chosen as the leader of the NDA earlier in the day, spoke about the poor and minorities and said that the BJP emerged the winner with a thumping majority in the just-concluded Lok Sabha polls only because of the huge participation of all people. During my campaign I felt many a time that neither I or the BJP were fighting these elections. It felt like it was being fought by the people. When journalists asked me then why am I campaigning, I told them that I was just going around thanking them. 2019 elections was a pilgrimage for me, Modi said. Modi also talked about people belonging to minority community saying that they have been often targeted for political benefits. The minorities have not been allowed to grow We have to promise to end this illusion of fear and gain their trust. We have to break that barrier, he said. Modi said his government will begin a new journey to build a new India with new energy and asked the NDA MPs to work without any discrimination on the basis of religion or caste. Asserting that winning the trust of the people should be the aim of the elected representatives, Modi said, Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas aur Sabka Vishwas is our new mantra People have accepted us due to our seva bhav. One has to prepare oneself to be always ready to help people even when we move through the lanes of politics and power. Modi also talked about regional aspirations, saying, NDA is moving forward on two tracks. One on regional aspirations and the second on national ambitions. One is energy and the other synergy. Modi also spoke about women participation, both as contestants and voters. This is for the first time in independent India that such large number of women MPs are sitting in the Parliament. This has been made possible due to women power, he said. His address came on a day when a video surfaced showing three persons being beaten by suspected cow vigilantes for allegedly carrying beef in Madhya Pradesh. Police in the Congress-ruled state arrested the five alleged assailants as well as the victims of the attack. Intermixed with the musical selections will be dramatic readings by members of StageWorks, written by the Pen-to-Paper writing group. Support Local Journalism Your subscription makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} Gary Misch, himself a Navy veteran, will be sharing a poem he wrote about the Battle of Midway. I wrote two of the stories that will be shared, said Cecere. The first is about my grandmother, who was a double-gold-star mother. She explained her story What I Found in the Attic is about her two uncles, Anthony Cecere, a U.S. Air Force pilot who was shot down on January 1, 1945, 52 days after his younger brother, Cosmo Cecere, who was in the U.S. Army, had been killed in battle. My grandmother, Maria Lucia Cecere, was honored in every parade they had in Utica, New York, every year after that, Cecere said. One of the other writers, Sally Humphries, wrote about an experience she had at the Dallas Airport. At the departure gate she and others saw a white coffin draped by an American flag being put on her plane, Cecere said. The captain announced they were escorting the remains of a soldier to Washington, D.C. who had been missing for 70 years. By PTI NEW DELHI: Narendra Modi will be sworn in as the Prime Minister on May 30, the Rashtrapati Bhavan said Sunday. "The President will administer the oath of Office and secrecy to the Prime Minister and other members of Union Council of Ministers on 30.05.2019 at 07.00 p.m.," a communique from the Rashtrapati Bhavan said. On Saturday, Modi was elected as the leader of the NDA and President Ram Nath Kovind asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to decide the council of ministers and the date of his swearing-in ceremony. The president also appointed Modi to the office of Prime Minister of India, a communique issued by the Rashtrapati Bhavan said. Kovind requested Modi to advise him about the names of others to be appointed members of the Union Council of Ministers; and indicate the date and time of the swearing-in ceremony to be held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, it said. After taking office, Modi is expected to travel to the Maldives early next month, in his first bilateral visit after retaining power in the Lok Sabha polls, according to diplomatic sources and Maldivian media reports. A Morrill native, he was very active in 4-H while growing up, including livestock, photography, decorative arts and horticulture, as a member of the Panhandle Livestock Club in Scotts Bluff County. We are very excited to have Nathan join our ranks in Extension in the Nebraska Panhandle, Whittier said. He has already proven his prowess for 4-H and youth development through his early career as a graduate student and youth himself. His local roots give him an immediate connection and appreciation for the Panhandle culture. Nathan will be a great addition to the Scotts Bluff, Kimball and Banner county 4-H team. Rices agricultural background includes working on ranches in western Nebraska and he maintains close ties to the areas ag sector. Looking ahead to his role as Educator, Rice said he would love to help new 4-H members with any kind of activity, whether traditional or new. This includes livestock projects, especially learning how to feed them and apply nutritional plans, as well as other traditional project areas such as photography and cooking. GERING A tractor safety course for 14- and 15-year-old youths who work on farms is scheduled for June 18 and 19 at Legacy of the Plains Museum in Gering. Gering is one of 12 towns across Nebraska where tractor safety courses will be provided by members of the Central States Center for Agricultural Safety and Health in the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Public Health. The course provides extensive training on tractor and all-terrain vehicles safety with a variety of hands-on activities. Instilling an attitude of safety first and respect for agricultural equipment are primary goals of the Nebraska Extension Tractor Safety & Hazardous Occupations Course for those 14 and 15 years old who work on farms. Those under age 14 are not eligible to take the course. Federal law prohibits children under 16 years of age from using certain equipment on a farm unless their parents or legal guardians own the farm. However, certification received through the course grants an exemption to the law allowing 14- and 15-year-olds to drive a tractor and to do field work with certain mechanized equipment. We will also have military recruiters on hand as well for anyone interested, Strang said. Robbins said the Young Eagles will be up and running in the morning. We invite young people to come out and sign up for a free plane ride, Robbins said. We have four or five aircraft giving rides. New will have his experimental plane on hand for visitors to see. He built the plan from a set of plans, not a kit. It took me 7 years to build, New said. Ive been flying it for 15 years. In addition to experimental aircraft, there will also be certified planes and plenty of pilots to talk about flying and aircraft. Robbins is also encouraging any pilot in the outlying areas of the Panhandle and northern Colorado to fly in and join in the festivities. If you fly in, well give you a ticket and get you a breakfast, Robbins said. There will be a pancake breakfast hosted by the Scottsbluff Kiwanis, meals at the Flight Deck Restaurant and food vendors. Airport Appreciation Day takes place on Saturday, June 1, from 7:30 a.m. to noon at the Western Nebraska Regional Airport. Submit Your News We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form One of those daughters is club secretary and treasurer Misty Sigle, who said she grew up in the club and now brings her children out every Memorial Day weekend. The minute they see the rocks, they know thats where were going, she said. The property is owned by the City of Bridgeport, and the club pays a 10-year lease to use it. Weve got some of the best targets in the state of Nebraska on this range, Eichthaler said. Weve not asked anyone to help with the buildings, or the well, or the awning. We take care of the place and mow it a couple times a year. Around the range are new benches and firing lines, crafted and constructed by 17-year-old Morrill resident Riley Harris. The club worked last Saturday to install all of the components. The old range was falling apart, he said. If you sat on a bench, itd wobble over, so I figured that I would do some fundraising to provide something that was safer for the kids. The work was five months and 536 man-hours in the making. Harris kept records and hopes it will help him earn his Eagle Scout award. SCOTTSBLUFF As a young man fresh out of high school in 1963, Ben Trevino wanted to learn about mechanics so he joined the Army. The Army told Trevino they could train him as part of his basic training, so he decided to enlist in the military at the age of 19 in the midst of the Vietnam War. After completing nine weeks of basic training in May 1965, he was stationed at Fort Leonardwood where he learned about wheeled vehicle mechanics. Then he was transferred to Fort Knox to learn about tanks before finally going to Fort Mead in Maryland. Since Maryland was close to Washington, D.C., he was able to take in the sights. I got to see the White House. They took us in to see the rotunda, Trevino said. I took pictures of the Washington Monument and as you get closer, you can see that big statue of Abraham Lincoln. It looks like hes staring right at you. It gives you chills, goosebumps. After heading back to base, Trevino and the rest of his regiment were ordered to turn in their M-14 rifles for the newest rifle, an M-16. Everybody had to turn them in. That kind of gave you an idea where we were going next, Trevino said. I said, I think were going to Vietnam' and sure enough, we went as a unit. Nebraska is a major producer of dry beans, with growers planting anywhere from 120,000 to 200,000 acres of beans annually, ranking third in the U.S. in total production. The majority of the production is concentrated in western Nebraska, centered in Scotts Bluff, Box Butte, and Morrill Counties of the Panhandle with Scotts Bluff County being the 7th largest bean-producing county in the U.S. Furthermore, Nebraska is the number one producer of great northern beans in terms of market class. Nebraska has grown the great northern bean for almost 100 years. Its history can be traced back to Chester Brown a Morrill, NE farmer in the early 1920s. Thinking it would be successful due a similar climate, elevation, and other growing conditions, he brought back great northern beans into the North Platte Valley after a visit to Idaho. The dry bean industry was then born as others saw his successes, encouraging them to adopt this crop and insert into their farming operations as well. These modest beginnings additionally served as a catalyst for the cultivation and marketing of this market class which continued to spread throughout the 20th century with Nebraska becoming the world leader the production of the great northern bean. Starkville High School 2019 Salutatorian Soul Park, left, and Valedictorian Hannah Jian turn their tassels after officially graduating from SHS. Park will attend Columbia University, and Jian will go to Emory University. By IANS NEW DELHI: Rahul Gandhi on Sunday took back his offer to quit as the Congress President, a proposal he made during the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting on Saturday following the party's dismal show in the Lok Sabha elections, party sources said. The sources added that responsibility will be fixed for the party's debacle in the general elections and actions will unfold in the next 10 days. READ| Rahul blames party trio of placing sons before party; Priyanka says he was left to fight alone Gandhi had offered to step down from the party President's post at the CWC meeting, taking responsibility for Congress' embarrassing defeat in the Lok Sabha polls. However, his offer was unanimously rejected by the CWC members though Gandhi had insisted on its acceptance. Party sources said that Gandhi took back the offer to resign in the wake of the views expressed by the CWC members. 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A number of 2,156,745 electors voted in the urban area and 1,466,533 persons cast their votes in the rural area.According to BEC, 20.96 percent of the citizens cast their vote in Bucharest Capital City. In District 1 the voter turnout was 24.40pct, in District 2 - 21.30pct, in District 3 - 18.31pct, in District 4 - 21.42pct, in District 5 - 19.34pct, and in District 6 - 22.78pct.The BEC website is posting real time results. Save Romania Union (USR) Deputy Dan Barna on Sunday urged electors to go to vote, saying he has great trust in Romania. "I voted for competence and honesty in Europe. This is a moment when Romanians can say their opinion, whichever their opinion might be, they can express it now, which is why my message is very clear and explicit: come to vote. (...) The more you are, the more today's Romania, Romania as it is now, will be able to voice its opinion and it will be acknowledged. Come to vote, we have great trust in Romania!" stated Dan Barna, upon his exit from the polling station.He said Romanians in the Diaspora are sending "a very good message" by showing up at the polling stations."Related to the Diaspora, I already saw the pictures, I saw the images in Munich and that hundreds of metres long line, on several rows. This is a very good message they are sending, in my opinion, for they are showing us that Romanians, wherever they are at this point, still want to get involved in the decision regarding the future of our country. (...) The fact that Romanians in the Diaspora go to vote, the fact that the Romanians in the Diaspora call home and send their relatives to vote shows that we are starting to care," said the USR leader.Electors who showed up at the polling station in Sibiu, where Dan Barna went to vote, also waited in a line.Dan Barna voted in Sibiu alongside the USR candidate for the European Parliament elections, Nicolae Stefanuta. European Commissioner Corina Cretu, who runs in the elections to the European Parliament on the Pro Romania list, on Sunday stated, upon her exit from the polling station, that she voted while hoping for a new beginning. "I voted hoping in a new beginning. I am glad to be part of the Cluj-Napoca organisation. I came here to vote (...) for a better future for Romania, so that we can strengthen our prestige and respect in the European Union," said the European Commissioner.Asked if she also voted in the referendum, Corina Cretu said "it's the normal thing to do.""The ballots for the referendum are only meant to force the Romanian state apply certain laws that already exist," she said.The European Commissioner came to the polling station accompanied by Ioan Rus, a former minister in several governments, and by the representatives of Pro Romania Cluj."I voted while hoping in a solid restructuring of a new and true European left in Romania," Ioan Rus said, in his turn. Since the start of the voting process this Sunday, Ministry of Internal Affairs (MAI) staff have imposed 11 sanctions - six warnings and five fines worth a combined 2,900 lei, Ministry spokesperson Monica Dajbog announced. Police are currently investigating six offenses."There haven's been any special public order incidents in the six hours since the start of the voting process. Up until now, MAI staff have conducted checks into 48 complaints regarding vote-related crimes and offenses; 23 thereof have not been confirmed," Dajbog said.The MAI spokesperson mentioned that in the Ciocanesti commune - Dambovita County, there has been a complaint about several members of a political party transporting voters to the polling stations, but following investigations this turned out to be a false alarm."Constanta police were informed about a woman attempting to introduce several ballot papers into the ballot box. A criminal investigation file was drawn up. In Targoviste city, a citizen filed a complaint for being hindered by the president of the polling station to exercise his right to vote. Police drew a criminal file in this case, for preventing the exercise of electoral rights. A similar case in Brasov is also being investigated," Dajbog said.She specified that voting at the Jilava Penitentiary was temporarily interrupted for yet another check into whether the persons who expressed their intention to vote are not subject to final court rulings banning them from voting."Investigations are underway in Braila and in Bucharest after two voters complained that they had been handed already stamped ballot papers. Targoviste police were informed by the president of a polling station that two young people had told him they had been allegedly offered money to vote. A criminal file for voter corrupting was drawn in this case. During the hearing, the youth said this had actually been a joke," Monica Dajbog informed. The Ministry of Internal Affairs (MAI) received more than 570 alerts on potential multiple vote cases and following checks, the Ministry sent the Special Telecommunications Service a notification about the possibility of error in the way the voters' ballot-casting options are being selected, Ministry spokesperson Monica Dajbog announced on Sunday. "In the first five hours of the ballot casting process there have been more than 570 alerts on possible multiple vote cases. According to the legal provisions, these alerts reach the MAI because they are potential criminal offenses. Individual checks on site have proven that a significant number of these alerts were not confirmed, the rest are being investigated; this situation points to possible errors in the operation of the poll tablets by the polling station operators. With this in mind, the Ministry of Internal Affairs has notified this situation to the Special Telecommunications Service, pointing also to the possibility of error in the selection of the voters' options - for casting ballots in one or in both voting processes," Dajbog said. Mayor of the eastern city of Iasi Mihai Chirica and independent candidate in the elections to the European Parliament George Simion cast their ballots on Sunday morning immediately after the opening voting at local polling station 201. "By voting at the opening of the polling stations, I want to show that we have to wake up earlier. For 30 years we have expected others to do the work for us. Every citizen in Romania must take responsibility for the vote. We invite everyone to turn out to vote, to vote responsibly, to think before using this stamp that decides the future. We hope for a better future," Mayor Mihai Chirica said at the polling booth.He was followed in the polling station by independent candidate for the European elections George Simion, who voted on additional lists."I voted in Iasi, the city of the three major unions, to have a great Romania in Europe and great in the world. At the same time, I vote in Iasi to slap the political parties," said Simion. National chairman of the opposition National Liberal Party (PNL) Ludovic Orban said on Sunday that the vote is the "strongest weapon" available to every citizen, adding that the result of the poll will be surprising and clearly indicating that "things have fundamentally changed" in Romania. "I am convinced that today will be a victory of the Romanians, a victory of the Romanians of good faith, well-educated Romanians, of the Romanians with common sense who earn their living honestly, of the Romanians who really want the best for Romania. This victory of the Romanians will, in my view, mean that those who are at rule today will no longer have any legitimacy to keep power. (...) I am convinced that the result of the poll will be a surprise to everyone and clearly indicated that things have changed fundamentally in Romania and that citizens no longer want what has happened in the last two years to happen again in Romania," Orban said after voting at a section in Dobroesti, Ilfov County.Orban underscored that the "true holders of the public power" in Romania are the citizens, and the exercise of this power is done by voting."The vote is the strongest weapon available to every Romanian citizen. I am convinced that the Romanians have understood that;, I am convinced that the Romanians will not let themselves be manipulated, will not be intimidated, and will exercise their right to vote, both in the referendum and in the elections to the European Parliament. I am convinced that the referendum will pass, that the presence quorum will be met and that people will express their will in this referendum, because I am convinced that the overwhelming majority of Romanian citizens want the Romanian leadership to be honest, fair people, and also want anyone committing corruption crimes to be punished, and the leadership to be unable to find solutions to get rid of punishment by adopting ordinances or laws," he said.Orban mentioned that he exercised his constitutional right to vote both in the referendum convened by the President of Romania and in the elections to the European Parliament. Rajesh Kumar Thakur By Express News Service PATNA: A gang of seven unidentified motorcycle-borne miscreants, looted Rs 16.5 lakh at gunpoint from Bihar's Hajipur based LPG Cylinder distribution agency in Vaishali district. The LPG distribution agency is owned by two-time Muzaffarpur BJP MP Ajay Nishad. The loot was carried out around 7 pm on Sunday when the staffs of the agency were counting cash inside the agency office. Speaking to TNIE, Vaishali Superintendent of Police (SP) MS Dhillon said, "Around 7 masked criminals arrived at the agency office in Hathisarganj colony under the Hajipur Town PS limits and took all the staffs captive at gunpoint. The staffs were locked inside the office and a bag containing cash around Rs.16.5 lakh was looted away". The miscreants, before escaping with the cash, locked the staffers from the outside the office. They also took away the hard disks and cameras of CCTV in order to keep police groping in dark. Dhillon added that a massive manhunt has been launched to nab the miscreants, who were likely to be aged between 20 and 30. "The police have started a scientific investigation into this loot of cash and will soon nab the criminals," he said. Prime Minister Viorica Dancila stated on Sunday, at the "Jean Monet" High School in Bucharest, that she voted for Romania and Romanians, for a team to represent our country in the European Parliament, not one that stands against Romania, mentioning that she made the decision not to vote in the referendum after seeing that President Klaus Iohannis "politicised" this voting through his statements. "I voted for Romania and for Romanians, I voted for our representation in the European Parliament, a representation of some people who don't go there to answer, but to support, through arguments, Romania's standpoint. I voted for a team that can represent Romania in the true meaning of the word, not one to stand against Romania in the European legislation, in the amendments that it [the team] files should also be found Romania's priorities. I believe in Romania, I believe in Romanians and I believe that a worthy representation is what Romanians want. Today, I voted for a strong Romania, a powerful member state will lead to a strong European Union," Viorica Dancila stated.The PM added that she didn't vote in the referendum and accused President Iohannis of politicising this voting through his statements."Today, I only voted in the European elections. I said I will vote in the referendum and, being a person of balance, I believed that I have to take into account all the arguments and vote in the referendum. I've seen the last public interventions of Mr President Iohannis and this thing made me change my mind. When you condition the elections by a better Government, be it for a referendum or for the elections to the European Parliament, but more for the referendum, I cannot vote against my own Government. So I think he politicised this, I think it should have left the referendum without linking it to certain electoral issues, political aspects or presidential elections," Dancila also stated. President Klaus Iohannis said May 26 is an important day and urged Romanians to vote. "This is an important day and I am not telling this just to you, journalists, but all Romanians: Come to vote!", he told the journalists, before casting his own ballot.Upon his exit from the polling station at the "Jean Monnet" High School in Bucharest, where he voted, Iohannis urged Romanians again to show up at the polling stations."Come to vote, my dear Romanians! Come to vote today, when the power is all yours. Today, we decide together how Romania will look tomorrow. It does count, your vote really counts! Today, my dear Romanians, you make a decision for the following months, for the following years. These are the first elections from a longer cycle. This is the beginning of a new series of elections and today you can start to change Romania. I voted. In the electoral campaign I discovered that we had more vote mobilization initiatives than we ever had before. This makes me very happy and I want to thank all those who initiated such mobilization campaigns, be them simple citizens, companies and NGOs. Do come, dear Romanians, to vote! Don't let others decide for you," he said.When he reached to the polling station, several persons were waiting in line to exercise their right to vote, and the head of the state also waited in line, after greeting the members of the polling station's committee."I am glad to be here with you," he told those waiting in line. More than 32,000 Romanians in the diaspora voted by 10.00 am Romania's time, in the elections to the European Parliament and the national referendum called by the Romanian President, according to data provided by the Central Electoral Bureau. Abroad, the vote started in New Zealand on Saturday 10.00 pm, Romania's time, while on Sunday, at 10.00 am, Romania's time, there are tens of countries with polling stations open.The vote in the 441 polling stations abroad will take 33 hours to compete, between May 25 10.00 pm -May 27 7.00 am (Romania's time), when polling stations will close on the Western coast of the United States of America (Los Angeles, San Francisco, Sacramento, Seattle, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Portland) and Vancouver (Canada), informs the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on its website.Romanians and community electors who are abroad in the day of the vote can cast their vote in both polls at any of the polling stations, between 7 am - 9 pm (local time). Electors who are inside the polling station at the hour when they are supposed to close will still be allowed to exercise their right to vote.The polling stations opened outside the country borders are for Romanian citizens who have their domicile or residence abroad. Moreover, in these polling station they can also vote the citizens from other European Union member states who registered with the special lists to vote for the Romanian members in the European Parliament.Voters abroad need to show their diplomatic passport, electronic diplomatic passport, working permit, electronic working permit, simple passport, electronic simple passport, temporary simple passport, identity card, temporary identity card, electronic identity card, identity bulletin.They cannot vote with their travel title and there are no voter cards.The list of the polling stations abroad and their addresses can be found on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Website: http://www.mae.ro/node/48090.In order for all the Romanian citizens abroad to enjoy best voting conditions, in both the elections to the EP and referendum, the authorities sent 4,000,500 ballots in the 441 polling stations, for both the European elections and the national referendum. National leader of the Hungarian Democratic Union of Romania (UDMR) Kelemen Hunor said on Sunday that he had voted for a strong European Union where the voice of the Hungarian community would be heard, and recommended urged citizens to go out and vote. "I voted for a strong European Union, where the voice of the Hungarian community will be heard. We need a strong representation, and that is why today I voted for a strong presence in the European Parliament. I voted likewise in the referendum, and as promised, as I announced from the very beginning, I am urging all enfranchised citizens to go to the ballot box, go out and vote, because today is the day when we cannot be tired or disappointed, in any way, we have to turn out and vote. So I am urging everyone to go out and vote in the European elections today," said Kelemen.Kelemen cast his ballot at the polling station set up at the Town Hall of Carta, his hometown. The Ministry of National Defence (MApN) sent on Sunday a message of congratulations on the occasion of the Day of Romanians Everywhere. "It's okay to be different, it's okay to have varied opinions. You and I serve the country in different ways and it's okay as long as we serve the same country, Romania. No matter what job we have and wherever we are in this great world, far apart, today is our day! The Day of Romanians Everywhere! Each of us is an ambassador of Romania at the place he goes to. Be proud! Be brothers!", reads the message posted by the National Defence Ministry on Facebook.MApN also points out that although they have various professions, all Romanians serve the same country."I'm a serviceman ... I'm somebody's hero and someone else's 'mercenary'. I am actually the same person. I too wake up in the morning with pain, thoughts and hopes, I too do my job as best I can, I too have kids to keep in school and a family to provide for. I too need you - teacher, doctor, cleaning lady - I too was a student, and I too will be a retiree one day. Are we that much different? Because we have different jobs, we have different lives. Because we have different lives, we have different experiences. Because we have different experiences, we have different opinions," MApN's message reads further.The Day of Romanians Everywhere is celebrated since 2015 on the last Sunday of May. By ANI NEW DELHI: On the 20th anniversary of the Kargil war, IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa would fly the 'missing man' formation tomorrow at Bhatinda to honour Squadron Leader Ajay Ahuja whose plane was shot down during the war. The IAF Chief was commanding the 17 Squadron based in Srinagar and Squadron Leader Ahuja was his Flight Commander. Ahuja was awarded Vir Chakra posthumously for his gallantry 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 17 Squadron before it was forward located to Srinagar. The 'missing man' flypast is an aerial salute to honour the fallen colleagues. Squadron Leader Ahuja's wife Alka and his son Ankur are expected to be present during 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 and Kashmir. He had parachuted on the ground but was tortured to death by Pakistani troops. On May 28, the IAF Chief will fly in a helicopter formation from Sarsawa near Saharanpur to honour the IAF personnel who laid down their lives after their chopper was shot down by Pakistani Stinger missiles. Western Air Commander Air Marshal R Nambiar and 14 Corps Commander Lt Gen YK Joshi would also take part in the flying effort. If companies like his and Knichels cant provide a low-cost, quick-turnaround alternative to custom cabinets, Goldstein says, the net impact will be a reduction in consumer choice and a reduction in jobs. The cabinet industry isnt alone in bringing a trade case against China. The ITC is investigating alleged dumping of two dozen Chinese products, from ceramic tile to crawfish tail meat. Dan Ikenson, a trade expert at the Cato Institute, thinks the flood of complaints has more to do with politics than economics. This case, like many cases brought against China in the past year, is taking advantage of the anti-China sentiment that seems prevalent right now, he said. Its not unusual, he adds, for one segment of an industry to wield trade laws against a rival segment in this case, the ready-to-assemble cabinet industry. In doing so, the domestic industry is really going after the pocketbooks of builders and rehabbers. Their customers have choices, and they dont want them to have choices, Ikenson said. More rumors floated down the Mississippi River. Leyba expanded the local militia and ordered up the small garrison from Ste. Genevieve. On May 25, 1780, St. Louisans celebrated the Catholic feast of Corpus Christi by relaxing in the common fields, picnicking on wild strawberries. British officers and their warrior allies watched the frolic from nearby woods and figured their stealth had held. Shortly after noon the next day, the British force of perhaps 600 caught a few farmers outside the line before its screaming charge from the north was stopped cold by heavy musket fire from the trenches and steady blasts from five cannon in the tower. Stunned by the defenders readiness, the warriors never reached the trenches and, after a few more half-hearted feints, retreated. The Americans in Cahokia brushed off a smaller attack. Prudently, Leyba kept his force of 300 from charging after the warriors, who returned upriver in a hurry. Accounts of casualties vary wildly. The British claimed to have killed 68 in and near St. Louis. Leyba reported 21 killed and 25 taken away as prisoners. Later research suggests only six were buried in the St. Louis churchyard, although others were buried in the outlying countryside. Now unemployed, Bess can live where he wants, no longer burdened by the residency debate that seems to be sweeping both the city where the mayor wants to get rid of the residency requirement and the county where Councilman Tim Fitch wants to add one. For many public employees, the thought of having to sell a house and move just to keep a job is daunting. Not so, for Bess. The same is true for Michael Flatley. Hes John Flatleys son. The same year that Forward Invest bought Besss house, Flatley became a city police officer. He needed to live in the city. He does, in Gary Besss old house. Its a nice, ranch-style, red-brick home that backs up to the River Des Peres, just a 15-minute walk from Ted Drewes on the citys South Side. According to city records, the house is still owned by Forward Invest, which means it is owned by Forward Assist, a nonprofit whose seed money came from another charity whose job is to help federal prisoners re-enter society when their sentences are finished. The crowd of students, healthcare workers and Missouri Democrats vowed to fight the bill in the courts and at the ballot box. Police in Logan, Utah, are continuing their search for a missing 5-year-old girl but they warned the case is "not going to end well." Elizabeth Shelley was last seen at home by her mother on Saturday at 2 a.m., according to Logan City Police Captain Tyson Budge. Eight hours later, police were alerted that the girl was missing. Also missing from the home that morning was 21-year-old Alexander Whipple, Elizabeth's uncle, who police say is the main suspect in the case. He had come to the family's home for a visit on Friday night and was last seen around the same time as his niece. Whipple was located Saturday and arrested on a warrant for a probation violation, police said. He was booked into Cache County jail and was being held Sunday on $25,000 bond. Elizabeth was not with him when he was found, police said. In a post on Facebook, Logan City police called Whipple "uncooperative" and said that FBI and local agencies had been working to finish search warrants and follow up on leads. They said they could not release all details relevant to the investigation but that the search for Elizabeth was ongoing. "This is something Congress had been blocking for months, and now they have gone around Congress to complete the sales," CNN's Phil Mattingly said, and that's something lawmakers never like. "Saudi Arabia's support on Capitol Hill has really wilted over the course of the last 10 or 11 months, and that is bipartisan," Mattingly said. "You're going to see lawmakers consider a number of ways to try and stop this from happening in the future." 4. Congress & Iran And that's not the only foreign policy flashpoint on Capitol Hill. Lawmakers are also concerned about the President's plan for Iran -- last week he approved sending an additional 1,500 troops to the region. "You've seen steps be taken in the last week where the administration finally came down to Capitol Hill to explain the escalation and the movement of a combat strike group and everything else that's been going on in the Persian Gulf," Washington Post reporter Karoun Demirjian said. By PTI KOLKATA: Soon after the Election Commission lifted the model code of conduct, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Sunday reinstated 11 IPS officers, including Rajeev Kumar, to their old posts. Kumar, who was removed by the poll body from the post of Additional Director General of West Bengal CID, was reinstated by an order issued by the state home and hill affairs department. Kumar was embroiled into a controversy in the Saradha chit fund scam. He was relieved from his duty by the EC following violence in the city during BJP president Amit Shah's roadshow. According to the order issued by the state government, Rajesh Kumar, who was made the Kolkata Police Commissioner by an EC directive, was sent on "waiting for posting order", while his predecessor Anuj Sharma was named in his place. The EC had ordered the transfer of Sharma from the post of Kolkata Police Commissioner to the position of ADGP and IGP (Operations) of the state police. Natarajan Ramesh Babu, who was appointed the Commissioner of Bidhannagar Police by the EC, was transferred from the post and sent on "waiting for posting order". Gyanwant Singh, the earlier Bidhannagar police commissioner, who was transferred by the EC as Director of the Directorate of Economic Offences, was brought back to his old post, the order stated. Devendra Prakash Singh, the DIG Midnapore Range, was named as the new Commissioner of Police of Barrackpore Police in place of Sunil Kumar Choudhary. Choudhary, who was made the CP of Barrackpore Police by the Commission, was sent on "waiting for posting order". Shyam Singh was reinstated as the Superintendent of Police of Birbhum in place of Avvaru Ravindranath, who was made the new DC, Zone II (airport division) under the Bidhannagar Police Commissionerate. Amit Kumar Singh who was appointed as the Superintendent of Police of Coochbehar district by the EC was transferred by the state government and put on "waiting for posting order". Abhishek Gupta, the Commanding Officer (CO) of Specialised India Reserve Battalions (SIRB) was appointed the new Superintendent of police of Coochbehar district, the order said. The model code of conduct, which came into force on March 10 when the Lok Sabha election was announced, ceased to be in existence, the Election Commission said on Sunday. In an instruction to the cabinet secretary and chief secretaries of state governments, the commission said the model code has been lifted with immediate effect. And its only the Bible. Theres no rush of legislation to include the Quran or any other denominational text in these classes. Any references to Judaism presumably are limited to its intersections with Christianity, since promoting Christianity is the clear goal of these measures. Other states have approved or are considering laws like the one Missouri legislators debated last month, to require the words In God We Trust to be displayed in public schools. While less religion-specific than the Bible-study classes, its a clear message to non-religious students that their tax-funded schools devalue their personal beliefs or desire to have their classroom instruction be kept free of religious indoctrination. The Supreme Courts landmark 1963 ruling in School District of Abington Township v. Schempp said teaching religion in public schools is unconstitutional unless its presented objectively as part of a secular program of education. Promoters of these new laws are clearly violating that standard in what appears to be an attempt to get sued, so they can relitigate. The American Civil Liberties Union and others may soon grant their wish. These are the most-read letters from last week. The sight of a tohora/southern right whale such as Matariki in Wellington harbour wasnt just a fluke or a one-off a report released today by the Department of Conservation (DOC) confirms their population status is continuing to improve. The latest Marine Mammal Threat Classification Report (MMTCR) has revised the threat status of tohora from Threatened Nationally Vulnerable to At Risk Recovering since the last report in 2013. The data show theres been genuine improvement in the population of southern right whales with ongoing growth rates of 7 per cent per year, says Dr Dave Lundquist, a marine mammal biologist with DOC who led the expert panel which produced the report. The population size of the Southern right whales/Tohora is estimated to be more than animals. This growth rate reflects the continued recovery of the population after industrial whaling was ended, says Dr Lundquist. Alongside tohora, New Zealand sea lions/rapoka and Hectors dolphins have also changed to a better conservation status though their populations are still a long way from being out of danger. Rapoka has moved two categories from Nationally Critical to Nationally Vulnerable. This is largely a reflection of an apparent stabilisation in population size at the Auckland Islands since 2009 and increases in other breeding locations Moutere Ihupuku/Campbell Island, Rakiura/Stewart Island and the mainland during this time. The population of NZ sea lions/Rapoka is estimated to be in the 5000-20,000 mature individuals category. The population trend, previously assessed in 2013 as declining over 70 per cent in three generations, is considered to have slowed with population estimates stable or increasing at some locations. The trend is now assessed as a 30-50 per cent decline over three generations. The change in conservation status for Hectors dolphins (from Threatened Nationally Endangered to Threatened Nationally Vulnerable) is because abundance estimates demonstrate there are more dolphins around the South Island than previously thought, rather than any actual improvement in the species. The change is a result of improved data on population estimates, rather than actual improvement to the status of the species. The population is estimated at approximately 15,000. While the situation appears to have improved in some locations for Hectors dolphins due to protection measures in place, the dolphins are still exposed to risk in much of their habitat outside those protected areas, says Dr Lundquist. The data show theres been genuine improvement in the population of southern right whales with ongoing growth rates of 7 per cent per year, says Dr Dave Lundquist, a marine mammal biologist with DOC who led the expert panel which produced the report.The false killer whale moved from Not Threatened to At Risk Naturally Uncommon. Previous assessments for this species were largely based on what we know from the stranding record and this change is a result of more knowledge indicating the population is likely to be naturally small. However, the data on the species remains poor. Marine mammals are still susceptible to impacts from human activities, so we need to be vigilant in reducing and mitigating these effects, says Dr Lundquist. The MMTCR shows that 30 marine mammal species are listed as Data Deficient. We dont know much about many of the marine mammal species that live in New Zealand waters. Wed like to see more research in this area so we can better understand the threats facing these creatures and design work to mitigate them, says Dr Lundquist. The NZ Threat Classification System (NZTCS) is a tool to assess the conservation status of species in NZ. DOC administers the system on behalf of New Zealand, by convening and supporting expert panels of scientists to conduct assessments of groups of species, approximately every five years. The assessments are a desktop exercise to review the state of knowledge about the size of populations and expected trends over the next three generations, or 10 years, whichever is longer. The expert panels evaluate information that is available at the time; they do not specifically survey or monitor populations, nor do they commission such work. Bay of Plenty If you love working out doors and in a small team then we have the role for you. We are needing someone who has either maintenance... View or Apply on GoodWork.co.nz Shankkar Aiyar By Narendra Modi has demonetised the National in the Indian National Congress. The grand old party has scored a duck in nine states and has won just one seat each in nine other states. Effectively, in 18 states, that is over half the states, the Congress has been reduced to a bit player. In the three states where it won polls in winter, its score is 2 in Chhattisgarh, 1 in MP and 0 in Rajasthan. In urban India it was defeated in seven of seven seats in Delhi, six of six in Mumbai, three of four in Bengaluru. On May 18, 1936, Jawaharlal Nehru, addressing Congressmen, said, We have largely lost touch with the masses and, deprived of the life-giving energy that flows from them, we dry up and weaken and our organisation shrinks and loses the power it had. Half a century later, on December 28, 1985, Rajiv Gandhi asked, What has become of our great organisation, and cited the existence of brokers of power and influence, who dispense patronage to convert a mass movement into a feudal oligarchy as the bane of the Congress. The observations rang true on May 23, 2019 as nine of its heavy-weights, each a former chief minister Sheila Dikshit, B S Hooda, Harish Rawat, Ashok Chavan, Sushil Kumar Shinde, M Veerappa Moily, Naban Tuki, Mukul Sangma and Digvijay Singh were trounced in the elections. If it were not for the DMK-assisted victories in Tamil Nadu, the Congress tally in 2019 would have dipped below the 2014 mark. The enormity of the Congress defeat is reflected in the magnitude of the BJPs victory. The BJP won over 50 per cent of the vote share in 14 states and bagged 49 per cent of the votes in Uttar Pradesh and Tripura and 40 per cent of the vote share in Bengal. There were tactical and strategic blunders. The biggest blunder of the Congress campaign was the coining and usage of the slogan Chowkidaar chor hai stemming from the controversial Rafale purchase deal. As a Sikh businessman, a Congress supporter to boot, waiting in the lounge of a TV studio put it, Modi monetised every abuse that came his way and converted it into votes because nobody bought the idea that Modi was personally corrupt. Barring Congress spokespersons none of the senior leaders or the leaders of the alliance partners was willing to endorse or utter the slogan. Never one to lose an opportunity, Modi converted it to his advantage, creating a common Mai bhi chowkidaar identity for his followers. The four-letter barb consolidated and expanded public affiliation of the public for Narendra Modi. What could be more ignominious than the fact that the affiliation overwhelmed every kind of distress and anger which defined the political landscape? Congress should have known better. In 2008, following the cash for votes scandal, attempts to paint Manmohan Singh as a party to the corruption failed. Even when the slogan was flailing, Rahul Gandhi persisted with it. Agility is essential for victory in war. Post the formation of the BJP and its muscular stance on nationalism, the Congress has struggled on issues of national security particularly when to shut up and when to speak. It praised the Air Force for the surgical strike but its leaders couldnt resist airing conspiracy theories. It was silent for five years on surgical strikes done during its tenure and then suddenly decided to go public with a number without adequate backup. The Congress, by design and accident, honed in on the issue of joblessness and agrarian distress as the cornerstones of its campaign against the Modi regime. It yielded dividends in the assembly elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and handsomely in Chhattisgarh. The obsession to taint Modi, perhaps an attempt to right the wrong of the past, retribution for the gali gali mein shor hai slogan during the Bofors days, derailed the campaign and the party lost the wedge and leverage to garner votes. The grand idea of the party was the income support scheme called Nyay. It got lost in the maelstrom of sloganeering. The manifesto had some decent ideas reservation of 33 per cent of jobs for women at the Centre, the skills training idea of an apprentice scheme funded by CSR funds, higher allocation for education and health, a better GST were all drowned in the obsession to chant Chowkidaar chor hai. Electoral success demands last-mile connectivity. The Congress was voted out of power in Tamil Nadu in 1967, in West Bengal in 1977, UP and Gujarat in 1989, in Bihar in 1990, Tripura in 1992, in Odisha in 2000, and has been dependent on NCP in Maharashtra since 1999, and was out of power in MP and Chhattisgarh for 15 years these states account for over 325 Lok Sabha seats. Yet the party has paid scant attention to rebuilding the organisation. Market share in business or politics demands a product and dealerships. The Modi campaign, in its marketing and management of logistics, would have done a Philip Kotler and a Jeff Bezos of Amazon proud. Blending the glue of development, nationalism and aspiration with the Hindutva hardener, Modi has redrawn the political landscape. India knew imperialism, colonialism, communism, capitalism and socialism. Modi has introduced Indias voters to a new ism, Modi-ism. In 2014, Sanjay Nirupam, a Congress candidate from Mumbai, summed up the state of that party by stating that even if Narendra Modi had contested on a Congress ticket, he would have lost. In 2019, a WhatsApp forward doing the rounds in Mumbai read: If Rahul had contested from BJP, even he would have won. It captures the decimation of the Congress equally succinctly. The question is, can Rahul Gandhi find answers for the existential dilemmas of 1936 and 1985, which continue to haunt the Congress in the new millennium? Shankkar Aiyar Author of Aadhaar: A Biometric History of Indias 12 Digit Revolution, and Accidental India shankkar.aiyar@gmail.com With growing reports of gang tensions, drug crime and shootings, National can reveal the number of serious harm cases before the courts has increased by 25 per cent since the election, Leader of the Opposition Simon Bridges says. Serious harm cases include rape, sexual assault, murder, manslaughter and drug crimes, says Simon. As a former Crown Prosecutor, husband and father, I find these figures completely unacceptable. Our communities are now being directly affected by a Government that is more focused on reducing prison numbers than reducing serious crime in our communities. The statistics show crime is increasing and cases arent moving through the courts as quickly. Slow moving justice has the biggest impact on victims and thats not fair on people who have already been through serious trauma. Despite the fact that more serious crimes are happening at the same time the prison population is decreasing. Labours soft on crime approach means fewer serious offenders are being held to account. We also know there are fewer Police on the beat than was promised. Nationally, cases of serious harm are up 25 per cent, in Auckland 20 per cent, Waitakere 35 per cent, Wellington 32 per cent and Christchurch 40 per cent. The Government has taken its eye off reducing crime and is focusing on just getting numbers in prison down. Im hearing from the frontline that youth offenders in particular are being caught by Police for serious offending, and are sometimes back on the street within hours, committing more serious offences. The focus National had on early intervention and stopping crime before it happens just isnt there under this Government. The Government isnt doing its job properly if there are more serious and violent offenders in our communities. Being safe in your home and community is a key part of wellbeing, says Simon. National is tough on crime and we put victims at the heart of our criminal justice system. Minister for Children Tracey Martin has announced $153.7 million for helping young people leave state care and youth justice system and transition into adulthood. Young New Zealanders leaving the care system will be supported as they move to adulthood and independence. The Wellbeing Budget contains funding to build a new nation-wide Transition Support Service which is expected to help around 3,000 young people over the next four years after it starts on July 1. It is time to recognise the special responsibility we have for the young people leaving the states care, says Childrens Minister Tracey Martin. For too long they have been left to fend for themselves with little support, in a way we would never accept for our own children when they leave home. For these young people, the transition to adulthood often comes early, abruptly, and with little in the way of a safety net. It has been a huge hole in our system of care that young people didnt have this support. Its time to fix that. The Wellbeing Budget is investing $153.7 million over four years for Oranga Tamariki to build the transition service for young people leaving the care and youth justice system. The service was originally proposed by the Modernising Child, Youth and Family Expert Panel in 2015. The Modernising Child, Youth and Family Expert Panel that examined the care system in New Zealand identified young people leaving care or a youth justice residence are at risk of poor life outcomes, are likely to have high health needs, insecure or inadequate housing and are less likely to engage with education and employment than their peers. While most young people may receive help from their parents well into their twenties, young people leaving care or a youth justice residential placement tend to receive relatively little financial or social support after they leave the placement. Many also suffer from the enduring effects of childhood trauma and are less ready than their peers to live independently. Young people have said that when they leave care at age 18, they are at a vulnerable age and are too young to be left without support. Wellbeing outcomes for young people aged 18 to 20 who have left care or a youth justice residence are significantly poorer than for young people who have had no contact with Oranga Tamariki. These care or youth justice-experienced young people are: between 20 and 80 times more likely to be involved in serious offending, and between nine and 20 times more likely to be involved in low-level offending five to seven times more likely to be on a benefit three to seven times more likely to access mental health services 12 to 30 times more likely to access substance abuse services two to four times more likely to be hospitalised half as likely to achieve a tertiary qualification. These disparities in outcomes continue as these young people grow older. The Minister said that making the investment now reduced the risk of personal cost to the young people and would help break the cycle of families needing state care. Nearly 30% of children in care have parents who had also been in care. The new services include: 175 new specialist transition support staff by year four providing day-to-day support to individual young people as they transition out of care 60 supported accommodation places by year four for young people who need a stepping stone to make a successful transition to independent living $25 million over four years to support arrangements for young people to continue to live with their caregiver beyond the age of 18 $9 million over four years to provide advice and assistance to individual young people transitioning from care to independence, up to the age of 25. The Minister said that young people who have been in the care or youth justice systems had had a difficult start to life and it was wrong that support for them ended when they turned 18. Teenagers leaving care should have the right to expect what any young person would want - knowing there is someone to turn to if they need help; a warm bed to sleep in; some help and encouragement when it is needed, says Tracey. This service will provide that, both by allowing young people to stay longer with their caregivers and providing specialised transitions support workers whose job is to help this group. Sadly, we also know what happens without this kind of support. Those young people who have left the states care and protection have in the past ended up with worse outcomes in nearly every key area including health, housing and incomes. The Minister said that young people were engaged with in the design of the transition service, which would largely be provided by NGOs, iwi and Maori organisations. This was a deliberate decision. The service is voluntary and we want young people to engage with it. Oranga Tamariki hasnt generally worked with 18-25 year olds, but its community partners already have a youth focus and capability to work with this group. Close to 40 transition workers will be on the ground available to work with eligible young people leaving the care system from 1 July. This workforce will grow to 175. The Transition Worker role will enable a more gradual and supported transition from care. They will work alongside the social worker while the young person is in care helping to coordinate the support and encouraging the young person to have more say and increasing responsibility about what they want. As a young person leaves care the Transition Worker will be the key support relationship, maintaining contact with young people until they are 21 and helping them to access the advice and assistance they need to become independent. From 1 July, young people who have been in care or custody of Oranga Tamariki for a continuous period of at least three months after the age of 14 years and 9 months can remain living with a caregiver after they turn 18 or they can return to living with a caregiver until they turn 21. This is voluntary for both the young person and the caregiver. Where they both agree, Oranga Tamariki will: One of the highlights of the Easter Jazz Festival was the Jazz Sunset Cruise on board the Kewpie. For three evenings over Easter, lovers of Dixie jazz were able to step back into days gone by and enjoy a scenic sunset cruise across the Tauranga Harbour. I joined the Kewpie on the Friday evening, stepping on board the historic boat while the sun was still above the horizon, the harbour perfectly calm and blue. Twin City Stompers Skipper Brandon Stone has used kauri to beautifully restore the 52-foot solid kauri classic cruise boat. As you come on board, you can feel the wood, and for a moment connect with its past. What I really like is that its irreplaceable in terms of its age and character, and is one of the oldest working boats in New Zealand, yet fully renovated, says Brandon. Since it was launched in 1953, its probably travelled the equivalent of around the globe three or four times in terms of sea miles, and had more people travel on it than any other boat in service in New Zealand. The crew of the Kewpie welcomed aboard about 50 passengers on each of the Easter cruises for the unique, unforgettable sunset experience. Iconic Hawkes Bay art deco jazz band, the Twin City Stompers, created the ambience of yesteryear, as the Kewpie set sail down the harbour. With Ross Culver on double bass, Kelvin Roy on bass, trumpet, horns and vocals, and Wendy Caldwell on clarinet, tenor sax, soprano sax and vocals, they are a Tauranga Jazz Festival favourite. Originally forming in the mid-1990s, they take their name from the twin cities of Hawkes Bay Napier and Hastings. The Twin City Stompers, who have performed at the 50th, 51st and 52nd Tauranga Jazz Festivals, also played at Tauranga Airport, and at the Little Big Markets on Easter Sunday on the Tauranga waterfront. Their music was perfect for the Kewpie, says Brandon, with live Dixie music playing on board for an early evening sunset. We boarded the Kewpie at The Strand, with Tauranga's National Jazz Festival manager, Mandy Ryan welcoming everyone at the jetty. Soon with music playing, we left and headed down the harbour, going under the harbour bridge, past the marina, past the shipping channels and found ourselves taking in the sights of the port. We glided along to Pilot Bay, past the statue at the entrance and across to Matakana Island. On our return the sun was setting. And the music played. Brandon was delighted with how the sunset cruises went. We thought it was very successful, says Brandon. We were over-subscribed, it was a booked out event. Next year were looking at putting on two vessels the Kewpie and the Bay Explorer which has a bigger capacity and room for a larger ban as well. Alan Thomson, John Taylor and Linda Murray enjoying the sunset cruise on board The Kewpie He has received tremendous feedback from the public who came aboard, despite the cruise on Easter Sunday beginning with rain. It just rained at the start, and then was magical after that, says Brandon. People were downstairs chatting and having a drink at the bar. After the Jazz Festival was over I asked Mandy what she thought of some of the newly introduced features of the festival like the Vintage Parade, Jazz at the Movies and the sunset cruise. There were more people down town on Saturday than Sunday, says Mandy. They arrived for the vintage parade at 11am then stayed on in town. We think there were about 12,000 plus on Saturday. There were about 35 cars from the Bay of Plenty Vintage Car Club. They loved it and want to be part of it next year. And they have ideas for what theyd like to do next year. It was also the first time for Jazz at the movies, it was a collaboration with Rialto and it seemed to sell well. Weve always collaborated with the bars and cafes down town but its great to be collaborating with other groups too that are now joining in like Bay City Swing, Rialto, Hotel Armitage and BOP Vintage Car Club. As well as national musicians playing down town there were also plenty of local bands. Mandy thinks this is partly due to there being a lot of jazz musicians now living in Tauranga. I was very happy with the whole festival, says Mandy. Ive received so many emails from people saying thank you so much we had such a wonderful time. People from Northland, from down south, thanking the Jazz Society for putting on the Jazz Festival. Im going to start working on new ideas for next time but well be building on what weve started now. She plans to meet with Brandon and look at what options they have with including the Bay Explorer boat alongside the Kewpie next year. The Twin Stompers were perfect for playing on board the Kewpie, as they dont need power or a PA system. Thats the beauty of them being a self-contained band, says Mandy. They have their instruments, and they use a megaphone for their vocals so you can put them into some unique places where you couldnt put other bands. I asked Mandy what were some of the more special moments she experienced during the Jazz Festival. There were so many highlights, says Mandy. I saw the first Jazz Sunset Cruise off and that was a special feeling. It had been a beautiful day on the Friday and it was a beautiful evening with the sun going down and the full moon coming up. It couldnt have been more spectacular. There were so many good concerts. I was lucky enough to see a bit of every concert. From a jazz perspective it was all jazz. Hollie Smith on the Sunday night was a sold out show in the Addison Theatre. That was so popular and it was good to see people coming out to hear her and see her go back to her roots in jazz. After Easter, the Kewpie sailed on for a few weeks taking people on one hour scenic cruises around the harbour. Both the Bay Explorer finished up their summer seasons at the end of April. Theyll be back again at the end of October. For now, over winter, theres maintenance, restaffing, staff training and marketing. And for me dreaming about going on a Dixie Jazz sunset cruise once again. Authors of sweet or clean romance share about their lives and their stories. Much of the action centers around the lives of the Gibbs and Webb families, next door neighbors in Grover's Corners. The Stage Manager, played by recent MSHS graduate Luke Sage, introduces the audience to the members of these families: Doc Gibbs, (Cooper Billings), Mrs. Gibbs, (Riana Rutherford), George Gibbs (Brock Davidson), and Rebacca Gibbs (Morgan Duty). We also meet Mr. Webb (Ryley Sawyer), Mrs. Webb (Lily Gray), Wally Webb (Tyler Wolfe), and Emily Webb (Natalia Garcia). Along the way, we meet the other denizens of Grover's Corners. The cast has labored hard and fast on a very different, if not quiet and underplayed theatrical style, said Necessary. I am proud of them. Our Town is truly, every American small town. Of course, this is the finale for recent graduates Luke Sage, Riana Rutherford, Natalia Garcia, and Morgan Duty. I will miss them. My experience with the Hurricane Players will forever be close to my heart, said Luke Sage. I am so glad to be part of such a great group of people as the ones that surround me every day. Mr. Necessary has helped me tremendously in my acting career, and I will be forever grateful. What a great play to go out on, the great Our Town. Its important to keep your pets vaccinated; it protects your pets and people, as well, he said. Rabies is most commonly transmitted by a bite, but may also be transmitted by saliva or brain tissue of a rabid animal coming into contact with eyes, mucous membranes or open wounds. Holt said last weeks encounter is a reminder of how important it is to vaccinate pets against the rabies virus. And also, dont handle unfamiliar animals, Holt said. If they are stray cats or dogs, its best not to try to handle them. You can always contact animal control so they can take care of it. For more information, call the local health department at 276-228-5507. To reach Millie Rothrock, call 228-6611, ext. 35, or email mrothrock@wythenews.com. MORE ON RABIES What is rabies? Rabies is a deadly disease that only affects mammals and is caused by a virus that attacks the nervous system. Once a person or animal starts showing clinical signs of rabies, survival is rare. Who gets rabies? SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Two people were shot early this morning by an unknown assailant who opened fire on the victims vehicle on northbound Interstate 81 in Syracuse, according to police. Officers arrived near South Salina Street near Calthrop around 2:40 a.m. regarding a shooting. Police learned that a male victim, 23, was driving his car north on I-81 when an unknown vehicle pulled up next to him. Someone in that vehicle opened fire, shooting multiple times into the car, said police spokesman Sgt. Matthew Malinowski. The victim was shot multiple times. Also, a 19-year-old woman in the back of the vehicle was shot. Both were taken to Upstate University Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, police said. Information about the suspect is limited, Malinowski said. Police are asking anyone with information to call the department at (315)442-5222 or use departments SPD Tips app. The app can be used anonymously, and phone calls can be confidential. (CNN) Twenty students were killed and 17 more are being treated for injuries after a fire tore through a commercial building in Surat, in the Indian state of Gujarat. The victims were attending classes in a tutoring center on the third and fourth floor of the building when the fire spread, Surat police commissioner Satish Kumar Sharma told CNN. "Several students who were attending tutorial classes at the time either jumped out or fell from the windows on the fourth floor while trying to escape the fire," Sharma said. At least one person who jumped or fell was killed, while others are receiving hospital treatment. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who declared victory in the country's general elections Thursday, wrote on Twitter that he was "extremely anguished" by the fire. "My thoughts are with bereaved families. May the injured recover quickly," he said. "Have asked the Gujarat Government and local authorities to provide all possible assistance to those affected." This story was first published on CNN.com, "20 students killed in Surat tutoring center fire." By Express News Service VISAKHAPATNAM: Ending suspense over the result of Vizag North Assembly segment following objections raised by YSRCP, the Election Commission (EC) on Friday declared that Ganta Srinivasa Rao of TDP was elected by a margin of 1,944 votes from the constituency. Earlier, there was high drama on Thursday night with YSRCP nominee K K Raju raising objections regarding discrepancy in the number of slips in two VVPAT units at polling station no. 42. As four EVMs did not open, the election staff took up the counting of VVPATs. During the process, YSRCP nominee raised objection over a difference in VVPAT slips. In a complaint lodged with the election officer, the YSRCP nominee said there were errors with regard to counting of VVPATs. He said there was a difference in the number of votes polled in EVMs as per Form 17 C and slips in VVPAT units. ALSO READ | Narendra Modi's swearing-in likely on May 30, world leaders may be invited The same was brought to the notice of the election officer concerned but nothing was done, he alleged. He urged the election officer, in view of discrepancies in the counting of VVPATs, repoll should be ordered in polling stations 42, 64, 162, 244 and 259. Till a decision is taken in this regard, the result should be put on hold, he said. Following objections raised by the YSRCP, the officials put the result on hold and sought clarification from the Election Commission in this regard. Later, in the afternoon, the Election Commission rejected the objections and cleared the election of Srinivasa Rao and declared him elected. Speaking to media persons after receiving the election certificate, an elated Srinivasa Rao said his election was special in view of special circumstances in the State. He thanked the people of the constituency for reposing faith in him and promised to work for the development of the constituency. Meanwhile, protesting against ECs decision, YSRCP leaders, led by party city president Vamsi Krishna, submitted a memorandum to joint collector Srijana, reiterating the partys demand for repoll in five polling booths where there were discrepancies in VVPATs. YSRCP senior leader Botsa Satyanarayana also met Election Commissioner GK Dwivedi in Amaravati and submitted a memorandum to him. In context: Nvidia is hoping to keep AMD from piggybacking off its branding scheme by filing for a trademark for 3080, 4080, and 5080. Nvidia isn't making any claims to the numbers outside of PC graphics, though the trademark is still under review suggesting that attempting to reserve the numbers could be deemed too broad. Still, a pending trademark could be enough to deter AMD from using the confusing RX 30xx branding. In what we can assume is a move to head off AMD's rumored RX 3080 branding for Navi, Nvidia has filed to trademark the numbers 3080, 4080, and 5080. Over the last couple of years, AMD has developed a penchant for mimicking Intel's branding nomenclature with its Ryzen processors and chipsets. Rumors have suggested for quite some time that AMD would employ a similar tactic with Nvidia, one-upping the RTX 20xx series with its own RX 30xx branding. Veracity of the rumors aside, it would seem Nvidia isn't taking any chances, opting to preserve the branding for its Turing successors. Branding is important, and AMD has been anything but consistent with its own Radeon branding, at times choosing to be needlessly confusing. Nvidia isn't exactly innocent here either, pivoting from the recognizable GTX to RTX, begging confusion with AMD's RX series. Both Navi and Turing cards using a similar branding would be confusing, especially to the uninformed buyer, and Nvidia certainly doesn't want its flagship cards eclipsed by Navi under the guise that higher numbers equate to better performance. It's worth noting that while Nvidia has filed, the trademark is still under review by the European Union Intellectual Property Office. It's possible that the numbers could be too broad or common for a trademark. Nvidia has a "super" announcement inbound for Computex, while AMD has a slew of summer events coming up through which we should learn all about Navi and more. About 30 percent of food in the United States goes to waste. This is about $161 billion worth of food per year. Of this waste, about 20 percent is blamed on consumers' confusion over expiration dates printed on the packaging. Date Labels On Food Packaging Date labels are not required on packaged foods. The FDA says there is no precise science for a sell-by-date, but food manufacturers currently use a range of terms such as "use before," "sell by," "expires on." Now, the agency is taking action to address confusions on date labels on food products in an effort to ensure consumers do not throw out food until these are absolutely no longer inedible. 'Best If Used By' Phrase In Food Date Labels On May 23, FDA issued a letter to the food industry to propose switching to "best if used by" phrase in date labels. The agency is not mandating the use of the phrase. It was simply supporting an industry shift toward an alternative phrasing for clarity. "We expect that over time, the number of various date labels will be reduced as industry aligns on this 'Best if Used By' terminology," said Frank Yiannas, FDA's Deputy Commissioner for Food Policy and Response. "This change is already being adopted by many food producers." More Autonomy For Consumers The phrase indicates that consumption of the food within a recommended period is an issue of quality and not safety. It also conveys the idea that the products do not have to be thrown away after the indicated date as long as they are stored properly. Use of the phrase will likewise give consumers more autonomy when it comes to deciding when food has gone bad. The agency reminded the public that most food products can still be safely eaten regardless if they are past the marked date. These food products, however, may no longer be as tasty as when eaten before the recommended consumption date. 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The planned launch of a Long March rocket this week might have ended in failure a first for China's space agency since 2017. According to amateur footage, the three-stage Long March 4C rocket took off from northern China's Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center on Thursday, May 23, at 6:45 a.m. local time. The mission was meant to place a remote-sensing satellite into orbit. The state news agency Xinhua confirmed the launch failure 12 hours later. China's Space Agency Suffers First Launch Failure Since 2017 The report revealed that the first and second stages of the rocket worked normally. The third stage, however, encountered some issues. Xinhua did not divulge further details about what went wrong, but debris from the rocket and the satellite fell on the ground. China's launches are rarely publicly announced. Sometimes, indirect means such as NOTAMS (the notices filed with aviation authorities to warn about potential hazards) reveal when a launch is imminent. Prior to Thursday's launch, the space agency's last failure happened in July 2017. The second attempt to launch the Long March 5 rocket, which was crucial to the country's space exploration objectives, lost thrust shortly after liftoff and crashed into the ocean. Investigators reported that the failure was caused by a turbopump glitch in the first stage of the rocket. A similar event also occurred in August 2016. The Long March 4C rocket, which was meant to carry a Gaofen-10 satellite, experienced a failure. The launch was followed by radio silence from the people involved. The China Great Wall Industry Corp. only confirmed the loss of the satellite two weeks later. Yaogan Satellites The payload, meanwhile, is a new satellite designated Yaogan-33. According to Space News, Chinese state media often say that the Yaogan series satellites are used for "electromagnetic environment surveys and other related technology tests." However, experts believe that the objects are actually optical and synthetic aperture radar satellites used for military reconnaissance purposes. China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, the main contractor for the Long March rockets, is yet to issue a comment. However, the company previously stated that it plans to have more than 30 launches this year. 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. A 10-year-old boys leg is torn off as a result of an attack by a suspected bull shark. Worldwide, swimmers account for 30 percent of attack incidents. Shark Attack On May 25, a young boy was swimming with his sister at a restricted section in Noumea, New Caledonia when he was attacked by a shark. The childs father jumped into the water to try and save his son, but by then the shark had already torn off the boy's leg, and he had also suffered injuries to the abdomen. The current condition of the child is unknown. New Caledonia is a French overseas territory where shark attacks are quite common. According to witnesses, the shark that attacked the child was likely a bull shark. Bull Sharks Bull sharks are common, aggressive, and often live near high-population locations such as tropical shorelines. Along with great white sharks and tiger sharks, bull sharks are one of three shark species most likely to attack humans. As such, many experts find bull sharks to be the most dangerous shark in the world. Bull sharks are fast predators that will eat anything from fish to dolphins and even other sharks. While humans are often not a part of their menu, they end up attacking humans inadvertently or merely out of curiosity. Global Shark Attacks In 2018, the International Shark Attack File investigated 130 alleged human-shark interactions, 66 of which were confirmed to be unprovoked attacks while 34 were provoked attacks, or attacks that happened when the human initiates the contact in one way or another such as when people attempt to feed sharks or touch them. In general, the total number of unprovoked shark attacks declined in 2018, as the annual average number of unprovoked shark attacks from 2013 to 2017 was 84. The United States had the most unprovoked shark attacks with 32 confirmed cases, 16 of which occurred in Florida. Again, this shows a downward trend in shark attacks compared to 2017 when there were 53 incidents in the country. As the human populations continue to increase and so does the interest in outdoor recreational activities, human-shark incidences are expected to rise. That said, shark populations are greatly in decline because of factors such as habitat loss and overfishing. Furthermore, the average annual human fatalities from unprovoked shark attacks are six, while humans kill 100 million sharks and rays every year. 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. By Express News Service VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister-designate YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Sunday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the latters residence and invited him for his swearing-in ceremony to be held in Vijayawada on May 30. Jagan was received warmly and both congratulated each other on their stupendous victories in the recently concluded elections. ALSO READ | Jagan Mohan Reddy meets CM K Chandrasekhar Rao, invites him for swearing-in AP CM designate Jagan Mohan Reddy presenting a shawl to PM Modi. (Photo | EPS) In the meeting, which lasted for a little over an hour, the focus was reportedly more on state development than on political issues. It is learnt that Jagan has sought the Centres help in improving the financial situation of the state, which is in shambles. Special Category Status to the State, the main demand of the YSRC was also raised. The Centre had denied special status to the State and instead has offered a special package after the 2014 elections. A request was also made to expeditiously complete the Polavaram Project. It appears that Jagan asked the Prime Minister to expedite division of assets between Andhra and Telangana listed in Scheduled IX and X of the AP Reorganisation Act and also resolve other issues between the two states. ALSO READ | Officials gear up to make Jagans swearing-in ceremony a huge hit The newly elected MP P Mithun Reddy said the Chief Minister-designate had submitted a representation listing the states issues to the Prime Minister. Later, Jagan called on BJP president Amit Shah at the latters residence and discussed various issues related to the State. Following his meeting with Shah, he went to the AP Bhavan, where he is expected to hold informal interactions with cadre, non-cadre officials and well-wishers. During his election campaign, the chief minister-designate Reddy had mentioned that his party would support whosoever promises Special Category Status to Andhra Pradesh. On Saturday, Reddy went to Hyderabad where he met Governor ESL Narasimhan and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao. The two leaders discussed the latest political developments and decided to work together for the development of Telugu states. Party sources said that Jagan invited KCR for his swearing-in ceremony to be held in Vijayawada on May 30. Naidu had submitted his resignation to Governor Narasimhan on Thursday after he lost the polls. The 14th Andhra Pradesh legislative assembly was dissolved on Saturday after the notification in this regard was issued by Governor ESL Narasimhan. The YSRCP got an absolute majority in the Assembly, ousting N Chandrababu Naidu-led Telugu Desam Party (TDP) from power in the state. Narendra Modi-led NDA swept the elections and won 352 out of 542 seats in the 17th Lok Sabha elections. As per official numbers, the BJP secured 303 seats, 22 more than its 2014 figures. When you move from England to south Louisiana, there's a bucket list of food items to try from boiled crawfish to boudin to drive-thru daiquiris. But the humble snoball is often overlooked. Aileen Bennett has looked at snoball stands with a childlike curiosity since she moved to Lafayette 16 years ago. "I love that it hasn't disappeared and been taken over by corporations," she said. "They're in front yards with traffic cone signs to designate them. They're all so different." Although she has long admired the south Louisiana snoball stand, Aileen had never tasted the snoball until recently. She tried her first six in as many hours during our great snoball adventure through some of Acadiana's most beloved spots. She quickly learned not to say "snow cone" and that including a "w" in the word "snoball" is optional, depending on whose stand you're visiting. Snoballs are certainly nothing new to me as a Lafayette native, but our adventure taught me a few things as we visited places I'd never been and tasted some seriously creative versions of snoballs. I couldn't believe how outrageous some have become. A stuffed snoball once meant just ice cream inside of a traditional snoball. Now, it's common to find cheesecake and fruit and candy stuffed inside of snoballs. I was pleasantly surprised by the ones we tried, but I still don't see how a slice of cheesecake inside of a snoball can be called refreshing. Call me old-fashioned. But Aileen was less surprised by the over-the-top snoballs than she was by the stands that have charmed her for years. She couldn't believe how patiently people waited for snoballs in one case almost 30 minutes. "People will wait for so long for a snoball," she said. "They would never do that at McDonald's or a Starbucks, but they just sit and wait patiently in their cars. It's a glimpse into a different time. It's one of these things caught between the past and the future." A 9-year-old boy was killed Saturday in what authorities are calling an unintentional shooting by his brother, according to Baton Rouge Police spokesman Sgt. L'Jean McKneely. The boy, Chaz Carpenter, died after he was shot inside a Lanier Drive home about 6:30 p.m. Saturday, McKneely said. His 11-year-old brother was arrested and booked into the Juvenile Detention Center on a count of negligent homicide. +2 Baton Rouge child dead after apparent accidental shooting on Lanier Drive, officials say Two boys under age 13 were handling a gun inside a home on Lanier Driver when it discharged, killing one of them early Saturday evening, autho McKneely said the shooting remains under investigation. Long a bastion of anti-abortion sentiments, Louisiana is part of a wave of red states passing some of the most restrictive abortion laws in years. Republican Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey last week signed legislation that would ban most all abortions in that state. Ohio and Georgia are among several states that passed bills to forbid the pregnancy ending procedure once the heartbeat of a fetus is detected, usually at six weeks and often before women are aware they are pregnant. Republican Missouri Gov. Mike Parson on Friday became the latest governor to sign a fetal heartbeat law. Louisiana legislators on Tuesday are almost certain to pass similar fetal heartbeat legislation. Gov. John Bel Edwards, a Catholic U.S. Army veteran and the only Democratic chief executive in the South, said he most likely will sign that bill into law. Also on tap for a final vote next week in the Louisiana House is a measure that would ask voters statewide if they want to add a line to the states Constitution saying it does not provide for abortions or abortion funding. Should the new conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court overturn Roe v Wade, which has protected a womans right to an abortion for the past 46 years, the power to decide whether abortions can take place in a particular state returns to that state. Edwards doesn't have to sign that bill to get the issue on the Oct. 12 ballot. With bipartisan support Louisiana already has passed significant hurdles to obtaining an abortion. But the procedure is still legal and accessible at three clinics in Baton Rouge, New Orleans and Shreveport. Barring changes from the U.S. Supreme Court that could take months or years, that access is likely to endure. Abortion is still legal in Louisiana, and every other state where these pre-viability bans have been introduced," said Katie Caldwell, clinic coordinator at the abortion clinics in New Orleans and Baton Rouge. Our clinics will continue to operate, even if these (latest) restrictions go into effect. Patients have been calling the clinics to inquire whether abortion is still legal and whether theyll be able to come in for appointments, Caldwell said a direct result of restrictive abortion legislation and national media attention on them. Playing the long game Galvanized by the prospect that President Donald Trumps new appointees will tilt the Supreme Court in their favor, anti-abortion groups and lawmakers throughout the South and Midwest are passing laws aimed at directly challenging Roe v. Wade like Alabama's new ban. But bills like fetal heartbeat are aimed at making abortions more difficult to obtain, rather than banning the practice outright. Advocacy groups and clinics swiftly filed lawsuits blocking the laws. During his recent call-in radio show, Ask the Governor, Edwards fielded several questions about his stance on the proposed fetal heartbeat legislation, Senate Bill 184. It is my expectation the bill will come to my desk and I will sign it, he said. That is consistent with my position on these issues, really for a lifetime, but in eight years as a legislator and four years as governor. Edwards also noted the courts will have the last say. Louisianas fetal heartbeat measure is written specifically to not go into effect immediately. Hoping to avoid more costly litigation Louisiana is already defending more than 30 laws and hundreds of regulations lawmakers amended SB184 go into effect only if the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upholds the Mississippi law. Louisiana Senate overwhelmingly passes two anti-abortion measures "Ladies and gentlemen, that is a hop and a skip from the Handmaids Tale, State Sen. JP Morrell, D-New Orleans, said. Theres no reason for us to spend our resources right now, Louisiana Solicitor General Liz Murrill told lawmakers in a recent committee hearing. One of the challenges is to a 2014 Louisiana law. The U.S. Supreme Court in coming months could hear and decide the constitutionality of the law requiring abortion providers to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, based in New Orleans, has ruled that, in Louisiana at least, that the distance patients would have to travel, if nearby abortion physicians are unable to find a hospital willing to give them admitting privileges, is not too onerous of a hurdle to obtaining an abortion. Its just one of many laws restricting access to the clinics. Already, unless a woman lives near the states three largest cities, they must drive sometimes hours to get the mandatory counseling, then the procedure 24 hours later, said Amy Irvin, executive director of New Orleans Abortion Fund. As weve said for many years now these restrictions impede access, Irvin said. For many women they impose too much of a burden. Other lawsuits have challenged a mandatory three-day waiting period for getting abortions and a decision by former Gov. Bobby Jindal's administration to yank funding for Planned Parenthood following the release of heavily-edited videos that purportedly show Planned Parenthood staffers talking about the sale of fetal tissue. Mississippis fetal heartbeat law, on which Louisianas proposal relies, was temporarily blocked by a federal judge Friday. Here we go again, wrote U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves, who held last year that the states 15-week ban was unconstitutional. Mississippi has passed another law banning abortions prior to viability. Reeves was nominated by Democratic President Barack Obama and sits in Jackson, Miss. Last year, he found the law banned a legally allowed procedure at 15 weeks, which is before a fetus is viable outside the womb, usually around 23 or 24 weeks. 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 Federal judge blocks Mississippi's six-week abortion ban what that means for Louisiana Louisiana is likely to pass its own so-called fetal heartbeat bill that will only go into effect if courts uphold the Mississippi law. Benjamin Clapper, the executive director of the Metairie-based anti-abortion group Louisiana Right to Life, said most of the practical impacts of the high-profile fetal heartbeat bill in Louisiana, and the constitutional amendment, all depends on the courts. Clapper argues it should be a states choice to offer access to abortion. If Roe v Wade is overturned, the state already has a 2006 law on the books that would ban abortions. The constitutional amendment House Bill 425, which is up for a final vote on Wednesday is first and foremost a statement of principle, Clapper said. The amendment would say the state Constitution does not protect a right to abortion or require funding for abortion. The amendment, if approved by voters this fall, would short circuit court arguments that because the Constitution was silent on the issue, abortions are legally allowable regardless of the hurdles to access approved by a Legislature, a stance that prevailed most recently in Kansas. Drawing backlash Even as state lawmakers overwhelmingly approve abortion restrictions, not everyone agrees. On the corner of Poydras Street and St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans on Wednesday, about 200 people hoisted handmade signs in the air, chanting My body! My Choice! Katrina Rogers, who attended the rally, said lawmakers stance doesnt consider the struggles of the working poor who cannot afford to care for more children. Banning abortions would only spark more dangerous and clandestine operations. We know that Roe v Wade was not the beginning of abortion in America, and we know the end of Roe v Wade will not be the end of abortion in Louisiana, Rogers said. Abortion rights advocates have also held several protests at the State Capitol in Baton Rouge to voice their outrage at the laws. Earlier this month, 10 abortion rights protesters were arrested on misdemeanor charges of criminal damage to property and disturbing the peace before being released on summons. Ellie Schilling, a lawyer representing abortion providers who routinely testifies at the Capitol, pointed to several less high-profile bills also making their way through the process that add to Louisianas substantial body of law that she says make it more difficult for clinics to operate. House Bill 484 by state Rep. Raymond Crews, R-Bossier City, would require clinics to keep records for much longer and is scheduled Monday for a vote in the Senate. House Bill 133 by Rep. Frank Hoffman, R-West Monroe, would change how the state regulates medically-induced abortions and is scheduled for a Senate vote on Wednesday. Schilling said HB133, should it pass and only five legislators have voted against it, would require women to get the drug from abortion clinics instead of OB-GYNs. Every year more restrictions are added and its certainly what has caused the clinics to dwindle to only three, Schilling said. The number of clinics dropped from seven a decade ago and the number of abortions decreased from 10,211 in 2014 to 8,076 in 2017, according the Louisiana Department of Health. Political conundrum Louisiana residents are generally more opposed to abortion than people nationally, according to surveys. A 2016 poll from LSUs Public Policy Research lab found about 55% in Louisiana think abortion should be illegal in most or all cases, while 40% think it should be legal in most or all cases. Nationally, Gallup polls show about half are against abortion, in most cases, and 18% believe abortions should be illegal. But in Louisiana more than 80% support some restrictions on access to abortions, only a quarter think it should be illegal in all cases, the LSU poll found. Gov. Edwards stance has been clear for years. One of his first ads in the 2015 gubernatorial campaign highlighted the decision he and his wife made not to abort their first child. As a state representative Edwards supported anti-abortion legislation and voted for the bill that would require admitting privileges for doctors performing abortions. His position is squarely at odds with his national partys approach to abortion rights. Stacey Abrams, a rising star in the Democratic Party after narrowly losing Georgias governorship, said last week she was a little annoyed with the governor of Louisiana, the New York Times reported. But Edwards is not out-of-step with many Louisiana Democrats. The fetal heartbeat bill is being carried by state Sen. John Milkovich, a Shreveport Democrat who has routinely brought access to abortion restrictions. State Rep. Katrina Jackson, D-Monroe, is carrying the constitutional amendment and was the chief sponsor in 2014 of the measure that would require admitting privileges. When asked whether the national outcry against anti-abortion efforts in Louisiana will change the national partys support for Edwards as he runs reelection this fall, the Democratic Governors Association communications director David Turner pointed to the groups past statements, which said Edwards race is the organizations top priority. The only incumbent Democratic governor in the Deep South, Edwards is running for re-election this year against Congressman Ralph Abraham and businessman Eddie Rispone, both Republicans. Both of those candidates also say they support the constitutional amendment and fetal heartbeat bill. Advocate staff writer Jessica Williams and the Associated Press contributed to this report. Purchases made via links on our site may earn us an affiliate commission Ramkrishna Badseshi By Express News Service KALABURAGI: Ignore the prevailing heatwave and get ready for school. This is what the government is telling five to 18-year-old children in the Hyderabad Karnataka region where the temperature refuses to drop below 40 degrees Celsius, over the last fortnight. On Saturday, the temperature was 430Celsius in Kalaburagi. It was a scorching 44.5 degrees Celsius four days ago, the third highest in the country. The government has changed timings of offices to a more tolerable 8.00 am to 1.30 pm for government employees of the H-K region during April and May, but has neglected health care of schoolchildren. While PUC classes have already begun, primary and high schools are set to reopen on Wednesday (May 29) in the state including in the H-K region comprising Bidar, Kalaburagi, Yadgir, Raichur, Koppal and Balarri districts. The Department of Public Instruction has started special enrolment of children drive from May 20-31. Processions are held in villages to motivate parents to send their children to schools. Enrolments will be made from June 1-30, sources in the department said. As per Heatwave Action Plan 2018 prepared by the state government, when the maximum temperature reaches 40 degrees Celsius in plains and 30 degrees Celsius in hilly regions, the region should be declared Heatwave region. Risks to health from heatwave is extensive and consistent, it has been observed from around the world. Excessive exposure to high temperature can even take lives. What DHO says When The New Sunday Express contacted District Incharge Health Officer Dr Sharanabasavappa Ganajalkhed, he said it will be better for the government to postpone the school reopening day in the region by a few days. If it is not possible, the government should take measures by not allowing children outside the school from 11.00 am to 3 pm, providing ventilators and fans, and storing sufficient drinking water and so on. But the fact is that most schools either do not have fans or there is a shortage of power. Apart from this, the district is facing acute water scarcity and the district administration is providing water through tankers to villages of the district. Telangana government issues circular The Telangana government on Friday issued a circular rescheduling the date of reopening of schools from June 1 to 12 this year. Poor Mexico! goes an old saying. So far from God, so close to the United States. Sometimes it seems that capital punishment is an issue that will split the country, and the Louisiana Legislature forever, but though the pros and the cons, for the most part, talk past each other, minds can be changed. Perhaps the most spectacular example would be Albert Pierrepoint, the British executioner who rose to the top of his profession and was tapped to dispatch Nazis in Germany after World War II. A few years later, after his retirement, Pierrepoint wrote his autobiography and revealed he had become an abolitionist. As his former assistant observed, When you have hanged more than 680 people, it's a hell of a time to find out you do not believe capital punishment achieves anything. Ah, well. Better late than never. Britain's official hangman in the Victorian era, James Berry, had experienced a similar epiphany. Berry, after executing 131 people, took to drink, phrenology and evangelism, and campaigned for an end to capital punishment. In an equally startling conversion, GOP state legislators are turning against capital punishment. A group called Conservatives Concerned about the Death Penalty notes that, when it was established in 2013, death penalty reform was still largely seen as a liberal concern. Today it is very much a bipartisan cause. This year so far Republican legislators have filed repeal bills in Kansas, Wyoming, Kentucky, Montana, Missouri. Colorado, New Hampshire, Washington and Louisiana. Many of these Republican legislators, state Sen. Dan Claitor, of Baton Rouge, among them, have had a change of heart. Claitor, who filed a bill that would put a constitutional amendment on the ballot to abolish capital punishment, used to be a prosecutor in New Orleans under Harry Connick, and if he had any doubts about executing people in those days, you can bet he kept them to himself. As a former superintendent of State Police, Terry Landry, of New Iberia, was not always against capital punishment either. But he sure is now that he is a Democratic State Rep., his repeal bill having become an annual fixture of the legislative calendar. The bill he filed this year didn't fool with a vote of the people but sought to ban executions for crimes committed on or after August 1. Nobody expected either Landry's bill or Claitor's to make it into law, since legislators seem more gung-ho for executions than the public, which polls show is more or less evenly divided these days. While Landry and Claitor were filing their bills, Rep. Nicholas Muscarello was showing no inclination to join Conservatives Concerned about the Death Penalty. Muscarello's concern is that we cannot get our hands on the drugs we need to dispatch murderers, purportedly because drug manufacturers and pharmacists fear a backlash if they are identified as a source of the compound used for fatal injections. Louisiana's death row currently houses 70 inmates, and has become the place where the condemned go to linger until they die of natural causes. Three have succumbed over the last two years, while we have only executed three others in the last 20, the most recent in 2010. In the last 15 years, five death row inmates have been exonerated, so perhaps it is just as well we don't rush executions. We may pick up the pace if we can find pharmacists and drug companies willing to co-operate, but, if we were really keen to clear the death row backlog, we would have found a way to do so. There is more than one way to skin a cat, as our rabidly pro-execution Attorney General Jeff Landry is fond of pointing out. Perhaps more people are getting the message that maintaining the death penalty is a ruinously expensive and racist exercise riddled with errors and of no apparent deterrent value. It no doubt satisfies a thirst for retribution but is an offense against Christian morality. Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord. Or, as the Republican abolitionists have it on their website, capital punishment runs afoul of conservative commitments to limited government, fiscal responsibility and a culture of life. As for the culture of death, Pierrepoint's long immersion in it left him convinced that in what I have done I have not prevented a single murder. Email James Gill at Gill1407@bellsouth.net. Former Seven West Media executive John Fitzgerald is now looking after the accounts of small businesses in Sydney's western suburbs, despite facing multimillion-dollar fraud allegations from the broadcaster which are being investigated by the police. Mr Fitzgerald is listed as the Parramatta franchisee for Shoebox Bookkeeping, a small business accounting and tax advisory service, the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age have learned. Kerry Stokes assured investors he was "watching the till" after scandals rocked his broadcaster Seven West Media. Credit:Philip Gostelow "John and Michell Fitzgerald are the husband and wife team behind Shoebox Bookkeeping Parramatta. Collectively, they have over 10 years of experience in bookkeeping and small business. They ran their own bookkeeping business for many years, which gives them an insider's knowledge of what it is like to own your own business," says the Shoebox Bookkeeping web site. "John and Michell are committed to helping small business and tradies get and keep their bookkeeping and BAS up to date." It was a business brainwave that came while having a cuppa and Pod Star co-founder Kirsten Williams says traction is only growing. "It is actually a business that is made from a mission and the mission isnt about getting rich." Kirsten Williams and Mark Denning, founders of Pod Star reusuable coffee pods brand. Instead, it's all about harnessing Australian consumer's appetite for a war on waste to let them have their capsule coffee machines without the stress over empty pods. The global market value of tea and coffee pods jumped from $22 billion in 2017 to $42.4 billion in 2019, according to Fior Markets. Millions of pods are disposed of in Australia each year. However much to Ms Holgate's dismay, attendees were forbidden from taking electronic devices including phones into the event. "I had this white dress on... it had one of those slip pockets," Ms Holgate said. "I dont know how it happened, my mobile phone jumped out of my handbag, into that slip pocket ... just as I got through security and handed my bag in." Tony said Pass me your phone, Ill take the photograph. I said Tony, no, I think I would like two leaders not just one. Christine Holgate In what Holgate describes as "a miracle", Mr Xi arrived at the room and Mr Abbott beckoned her to meet him. "Tony turns to the president and says She wants a photo with you, she has her phone in her pocket," Ms Holgate said. "Now forgive me Aussies, anyone who has Asian blood will understand what I did next. Tony said Pass me your phone, Ill take the photograph. I said Tony, no, I think I would like two leaders not just one. So I passed the phone to Alan Joyce and Alan Joyce took the picture." The following week, Ms Holgate visited China with the Blackmores board, where team members had distributed the photo widely. At Shanghai Pharmaceutical, a local chemist retailer which sells Blackmores products in China, the photo of Ms Holgate with Mr Abbott and Mr Xi was blown up to "the whole size of the whole wall". Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott with Christine Holgate, chief executive of Australia Post and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 in the photo taken on Ms Holgate's smuggled iPhone. Credit:Alan Joyce That year Blackmores sales in China reached $50 million and the following year they surged to $500 million."Was it the photograph or was it wearing a piece of green?" Ms Holgate asked the audience. Speaking at the expo with Chinese fortune cookies provided at the entrance and a koala mascot dressed in Australia Post livery, Ms Holgate outlined her advice to small businesses looking to export to China and South East Asia. Push for small business exports Australia Post's research shows 60 per cent of Australian businesses which sell online don't sell overseas. Of those that do export overseas, only 15 per cent sell to China with most selling to the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand. Loading "If I am frustrated about anything its that there are incredible opportunities not just in China," Ms Holgate said. "We are in the best possible space and yet we still dont have enough Aussie companies really expanding in the region." With Australia Post's revenue from letters continuing to plunge, falling 10 per cent to $1.1 billion for the second half of 2018, ecommerce is increasingly important for the post office as well as small businesses. Annette Carey, Australia Post's executive general manager for for international services, said exports from Australian businesses are "absolutely critical" to Australia Post. "You have domestic ecommerce and Australia Post has a really strong network," she said. "We are using that internationally as a hook with our Australia Post Global business and strategy to integrate into our Australia Post Global platform to offer us the best lines in China." The G20 leaders in Brisbane in 2014. Credit:AP Ms Holgate said while the China Australia Free Trade Agreement is "very important" it doesn't assist small businesses with the restrictions going through China's ports. "Health products, food products trust me you cannot get those products simply into the retail market," Ms Holgate said. "To sell into the retail market often they say you have to test your product on animals. There is a fantastic opportunity in the retail market but the biggest opportunity is through the free trade zones." Ms Holgate warned small businesses not to discount their products. "Do not fall in a trap to the wonderful Chinese distributor who wants to invest in your business because he is just going to buy your stock and discount it," she said. "You fall into a world of pain. Don't make the same mistakes some of us have already done. Keep your price at a premium." Australia Post's international services executive general manager Annette Carey with chief executive Christine Holgate at the expo. Credit:Justin McManus Ms Holgate recommended small businesses engage Chinese university students studying in Australia. "You don't have to spend a fortune on consultants," she said. "We are small and medium businesses, we have to use our cash carefully. Just go down to the local university and you will find fantastic young people with all the skills and knowledge. Don't waste your money on marketing agencies get yourself some students who know how to use WeChat." She also plugged Australia Post's joint venture with China Post as a simple way to export to China. Loading "We are the only company in Australia that has a joint venture with the Chinese government," she said. "We now have customs inside the warehouses and the ports. This is a significant benefit to anyone trying to bring product into the country." Lessons from Blackmores Ms Holgate recommended businesses look to poach staff from Austrade and said when she was at Blackmores she recruited the head of Austrade for China. "Steal from Austrade and EFIC [Export Finance and Insurance Corporation] and your business will go a long way," she said. "These organisations are full of very good people." Ms Holgate established Blackmores as a wholly owned foreign entity ('WOFE') to enter China, a structure she descried as "worth the pain". My honest view was you have to persevere and stay there and keep investing in the challenging times as well as the good times. Christine Holgate "I personally am not into big joint ventures, not in life or business, it is hard enough being married to someone," she said. "Imagine how hard it is having a JV in a foreign country. Going the WOFE route is the route to go." Ms Holgate also touched on the challenges Blackmores faced when in 2016 the Chinese government tightened restrictions on health and food products, including the company's infant formula, with little warning or notice. "That was an interesting moment in time," she said. "My honest view was you have to persevere and stay there and keep investing in the challenging times as well as the good times." Nine months after an investigation began into claims of bullying at Bondi Beach Public school there is no sign of a resolution, with students, parents, teachers and the accused principal in limbo. While the NSW Department of Education's Employee Performance and Conduct (EPAC), investigates, the school has had six relieving principals, according to the head of the school's P&C, Rob Keldoulis. Bondi Beach Public has been waiting nine months for an investigation into its principal to finish Credit:Quentin Jones "There's no long-term planning that can happen," he said. Mr Keldoulis wrote to the department last August, raising the concerns of current and former staff members who felt bullied by the principal. Were you quick to adapt to working in English rather than Spanish? I had to be. I guess your brain gets into survival mode or something. It was like I was learning a new superpower and how to use it. I always saw actors like Penelope [Cruz]. I could tell how hard it was for her at the beginning to feel and to act in English, because it's a different part of your brain. I always thought, "I have to get good at that. I have to be able to be able to feel and not to think about what I'm saying." I just want to feel it. I always tell my agents, "I'm doing classes, but I want to go to meetings now, and I want to audition now." "No, but your accent " "I don't care about the accent. I don't care. I want to do it, and I don't want to audition for Maria, and Juana, none of that. I want to audition for the same parts everyone else is auditioning for. And I'll make the difference. I'll make them change their minds." At the beginning, it was a disaster. Nobody understood what I was saying. Even myself couldn't understand the context of what I was reading. I remember little phrases like "I beg your pardon?" or stuff like that. I had no clue what I was saying. But I knew emotionally what the scene was about. So my feelings were in the right place; my mouth was going somewhere else. How do you mix putting yourself out there with being particular about the parts that you want to play? There are two things. First, what they think that you can bring to the table, what you can bring to the character to offer, and what you can really offer. But sometimes they already make a decision before you ever get there. And once you get there, there is another step: You don't look how I was imagining you. Because some of them, they don't even bother to google your photo. "Oh, but you're blonde, and green eyes, and so white. Are you Cuban? Cuban from where? From Miami?" "No, from Cuba." "You're Cuban, you're from Cuba?" Like all those kind of steps of being labelled, or being put in just the image they have in their heads. The next step is that you get in the room for the audition. Then you can try to do your best and convince them that maybe that part that was not written for someone with an accent, or Latina, just someone in the world. It doesn't matter from where. You can play that, and you can do something special, and you can make that part remarkable and something different. So it is something that, every day, I still have to do it. It's a puzzle. How often do you get back to Cuba? It depends on how busy I am that year. Some years I've only been once. So it always depends. I'm on the phone with my parents all the time. I'm in touch with my people always. I don't feel I'm disconnected or even not being there. Probably you pay more attention when you're not there. Lea Seydoux, from left, Ana de Armas, Naomie Harris and Lashana Lynch during the photo call of the latest installment of the James Bond film franchise, currently known as 'Bond 25'. Credit:AAP Have you adapted to living in LA? I like LA. It was tough at the beginning, because it can feel very lonely. It's hard to meet people. Everything happens in a house. So if you don't know anybody who invites you to the house, you're not anywhere. But now I have my friends, a great group of people. But also there are a few things that I don't adapt to. As a human being, you always want to fit in. You don't want to be pointed out. Until the day you realise that you're just different you cannot be from the same colour. They're all grey and you're pink. And that's your strength. The best thing I have is that nobody's me. You don't have to try to fit. You have to just be yourself and do what you have to do. Why would you want it to be someone else that already exists? You can't. It's taken. Be you, and do what you've got. Is there anything about the lifestyle in LA that you embraced that you hadn't experienced before? There is something about LA that's all this healthy life, but in a good way. There is this nice routine in the mornings when you go get a juice, go for a walk with your dog, or go for a hike. In Cuba, I grew up with so many trees, and by the ocean, and walking a lot. It was something so regular for me, like so ordinary, that you forget what you're seeing. It's just your every day. I remember when I moved from Cuba to Spain, all I wanted to have was a very clean, new apartment with new windows, and airconditioned. Because [in Cuba] all I had was a balcony with messy plants hanging around me, and it was hot. So you always want what you don't have. I realised how much I miss that nature, and I can see how here people really appreciate that. Do you look for certain kinds of roles or take each one as they come? So far, I've done the best with what I've got. Of course I see projects that I really want to do, and the parts that I really would love to play, and I can get to that. I want to do everything and beyond. I want to create some impact. Until now, I've been always the wife or the girlfriend of the lead actor in a movie. I've learnt a lot, and I really enjoyed it, and I played it because I really wanted the part. But there's more than that. There are great female roles that are not only reacting or creating the situation for him to be the hero. I want to show how strong and smart women are. We go through so much. We need to see that on screen. Those female parts, not many, but they are out there, and I have to find some. I want that chance. Do you have a career masterplan? I don't think about that. I just don't want to do that to myself. I don't want to create that anticipation and expectations to myself. Because I know for sure, because they've never done it, my parents are not waiting for me to come back home with a trophy or anything to prove. So the only one that can get in my head is just me, and I don't want to do that. Whatever happens, happens. OUR FAVOURITE BOND GIRLS Ana de Armas is following in the footsteps of many memorable women who have wooed 007. Here are 10 who lead the way. Almost a decade since stepping down from the helm of the labour-hire giant his father, Frank Hargrave, started, self-professed investor-surfer-skier Greg Hargrave appears to be making a fresh start. The former Skilled Group chief executive, who went on to lead the family office-backed hedge fund Qato Capital, has put a broom through his commercial portfolio, stepping down as a director of the hedge fund in February and the family investment office Larkfield Nominees in late March. He also appears to be pruning his property portfolio. Though the papers aren't yet lodged with the state land titles office, property types reckon the bearded, art-collecting businessman might have nabbed $14.5 million last week offloading his five-bedroom penthouse set across a full floor inside Melbourne's coveted 35 Spring Street. Ads for the "sky mansion" showed an initial asking price of $16.5 million to $18 million and a stint on the high-end rental market, where he was charging about $8500 a week for the apartment, which has Kerry Phelan interiors. By Express News Service BENGALURU: As much as they would have disliked it, cameras captured Karnataka Congress MLAs Ramesh Jarkiholi and Dr Sudhakar at BJP senior leader SM Krishna's residence on Sunday. At a time when the Congress-JDS coalition government in the state is struggling to keep afloat, the two disgruntled legislators visited Krishna and were seen talking to BJP MLA R Ashoka. The meeting came on the say Mandya MP-elect Sumalatha Ambareesh and BJP state President BS Yeddyurappa too visited the senior Vokkaliga leader. While Yeddyurappa deemed it a coincidence, both Jarkiholi and Sudhakar insisted that theirs was only a courtesy visit to SM Krishna. Miffed over being dropped from the coalition cabinet, Ramesh Jarkiholi has been at the forefront of gathering a team of disguntled Congress MLAs. Sudhakar who was denied the chairmanship of state pollution control board after being appointed, also has dropped hints of considering quitting from the Congress time and again. "SM Krishna is a senior leader and we only visited to inquire about his health. No other issues were discussed. I will let you know if I am resigning," said Jarkiholi when asked if he was considering jumping ships. He insisted that he had a 'team' that he needed to discuss with before announcing his next move. The Congress-JDS coalition is placed precariously after BJP won another assembly seat- Chincholi- in the recently concluded bypoll taking its tally to 105. Another wave of rebellion or dissent is expected to cause much damage to the coalition. Students who have positive relationships with teachers, a good attitude towards homework and strong attendance in year 10 are more likely to finish year 12 than students who struggle in those areas, research has found. Effort, challenge and participation in clubs in year 10 are also linked to completing school, according to the report, Supporting School Completion, by the NSW Department of Education's Centre for Education Statistics and Evaluation. Birrong Girls has high expectations of its students. Credit:Louise Kennerley In NSW, only 61 per cent of the most disadvantaged students finish year 12 by age 19, compared with 89 per cent of the most advantaged. Completion rates were boosted significantly when the school leaving age was increased from 15 to 17 in 2010. The centre's research analyses feedback from more than 10,000 students who participated in the Tell them From Me survey in 2013 in year 10, and links them with their year 12 outcome two years later. Having been raised on a large chook farm, Andrew Taubman of Queens Park is well placed to vouch that "eggs (C8) are surprisingly translucent, so that when bright lights are shone through them to detect eggs with blood spots, which many consumers find distasteful, double yolks are easily visible in this process." Andrew also solves the conundrum of so many double-yolkers - it's due to the genetics of individual chooks, just like twins tend to run in human families. "Once youve found one in a carton, you are more likely to find a second." Still, the idea of a Wonka-esque "bad egg" scale, preferably one also large enough for detecting "bad eggs" of the human variety, does amuse Granny (who readily admits she was not raised on a chook farm). To answer to Richard Stewarts (C8) question about mint, Peter Miniutti of Ashbury states "there are over a dozen different species of mint with spearmint (mentha spicata) and a hybrid of peppermint (mentha piperita) being the most common in Australia." While he can't help with any information on spearmint plants, Michael Afaras of Henley is "reliably informed that because of over-harvesting by the Wrigley's chewing gum people in the early 90s, arrowmint became extinct." Barry Harrod of Fig Tree Pocket sent in a tribute for the late Niki Lauda. "What a guy! 42 days after his horrific accident he returned to racing. 42 years later he had a lung transplant. If nothing else it confirms that the computer named Deep Thought was correct - the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe and everything really is 42." Many moons ago at a Pink Floyd concert, Steven Onley of Marsfield recalls that "rather than the conventional background music as the crowd entered the venue, they played the sound of running water (C8). This resulted in a lot of people heading back outside again not long after taking their seats for a pit stop." "We can now all breathe a sigh of relief after scientists decided to recalibrate the weight of one kilogram," writes Jack Dikian of Mosman. "I, for one, had long suspected there was something wrong with the bathroom scales." As well as promising to build the line a project first committed to but abandoned by the former Labor government in 1998 Mr OFarrell also pledged to create a new body to advise on where and how to spend significant money on major projects, Infrastructure NSW. And though the first chairman and chief executive of Infrastructure NSW Nick Greiner and Paul Broad were careful not to criticise the governments endorsement of a multibillion-dollar rail line in public, in private they were less deferential. "There were quite a few comments at the time ... from Nick Greiner and Paul Broad, about the investment of money, said Les Wielinga, the head of the states main transport agency between 2009 and 2013. I think they favoured more of a road basis rather than a rail basis. Hundreds of people line up at Chatswood to ride on the first driverless trains. Credit:Edwina Pickles It is part of the achievement of Ms Berejiklian, Mr Wielinga, and others including the secretary of Transport for NSW, Rodd Staples, that they played the internal politics well enough to push the project past the powerful infrastructure advisers. "In terms of government, if I didn't have Barry's support, I wouldnt have been able to convince my colleagues," Ms Berejiklian said of the former premier. "There wasn't a culture in NSW about spending money on public transport," she said. "The Labor Party built toll roads, but there wasn't a culture of public transport and that's what I wanted to change." But Ms Berejiklian also confronted significant choices about how to build the line. Prior to the 2011 election, she had promised to construct the line to Rouse Hill as a regular extension of the train network. Had Ms Berejiklian delivered on her promise, it would have meant commuters on the new line would have been able to get direct services to the CBD. It also would have meant the line would have run Sydneys regular double-deck trains, with plenty of seats. But in June 2012, Mr OFarrell and Ms Berejiklian announced a break with that pre-election promise. Releasing a 50-year transport "masterplan", they said the line would be built as a stand-alone metro. The result would be fewer seats, and the requirement for commuters to change trains at Chatswood if they wanted to get to the city at least until a connection through the city was opened by 2023 or 2024. (That line is now under construction). But the expectation was that metros would ultimately deliver a more reliable and frequent service. Tony Williams and wife Jacqui on board a metro train on Sunday with their daughters, Annika, left and Liesl. Credit:Edwina Pickles Last week Ms Berejiklian told the Herald she made the decision to build the north west rail link as a metro "within weeks" of becoming transport minister in 2011. "From the day I became the Minister and I started having access to all the expert advice and all those reports it was apparent to me that the metro was the best way to go," she said. "Do I stick to my guns and do what we'd promised, with the double-deck system? Or do we embark on a brand new metro. And I knew that there was absolutely no question we had to embark on the metro. History will show that was one of the most important decisions made in this state as far as infrastructure is concerned, because it started us off on this metro journey." When that decision was announced, however, it was subject to criticism that the benefits of introducing a metro-style operation might not outweigh the negatives. Passengers board the metro train at Tallawong Station on Sunday. Credit:Edwina Pickles Transport experts such as the former director-general of rail in Sydney, Ron Christie, criticised the focus on the metro system as coming at the expense of operational improvements to Sydneys existing heavy rail network, which will continue to move the vast majority of commuters. Another concern was the governments decision to dig tunnels for the line too small to accommodate double-deck trains would limit the future flexibility of the rail system. And transport bureaucrats highlighted the potential overcrowding problems at Chatswood Station when commuters disgorged from the metro onto full north shore trains. (This issue remains to be managed). The governments response has been to say that it should be judged on how things turn out. Transport Secretary Rodd Staples in the operations control centre for the metro line at Rouse Hill. Credit:Wolter Peeters "I have great respect that there are lots of different views on how the money should have been spent," said Mr Staples, who as project director for Sydney Metro can be credited as the architect of the scheme. "The judgment of that is probably five, 10, 15 years away when people reflect back on the way the city is running and how the systems are working together. Personally, I am really confident we will be judged well." Loading For Mr Staples, the lines opening marks the culmination of a difficult journey. Under Labor he was responsible for delivering the so-called CBD Metro a project cancelled by former premier Kristina Keneally at a cost of about $400 million. He admits to questioning whether he would see this project through. "I was very doubtful that we would be here today. But nonetheless I and many others were determined to give it our best shot," he said. When Ms Berejiklian and Mr Staples, as well as Transport Minister Andrew Constance, talk about the Northwest Metro, they tend to state that it is the start of a program. The second stage, which is due to open by 2024, comprises a line from Chatswood, under Sydney Harbour to the CBD and Sydenham in the south, and Bankstown in the west. Another metro line from Westmead to the CBD should also be built next decade. The complex system controlling Metro Northwest is the next generation of technology from Hong Kongs South Island line, which opened in 2016 and is operated by MTR, the company running Sydneys newest addition. Sonya Gates and son Ryan, who queued for several hours to ride the metro trains on Sunday. Credit:Edwina Pickles Engineers also drew on lessons from fully, or partially, automated lines around the world such as Pariss Metro Line 1, Singapores Mass Rapid Transit system, and parts of Londons Jubilee line. The new metro line offers commuters the latest in modern railway design and technology from driverless trains, to glass-screen doors on station platforms. Unlike the citys existing suburban trains, commuters can gaze out the front of the metro trains onto the rail tracks, or out a window at the back. Yet it will require commuters to adjust their expectations of riding on trains, and how they navigate the citys public transport network. More people will have to stand. A metro carriage has seating for about 63 passengers, compared with 110 on a Waratah carriage, the newest in Sydney Trains fleet. (In all, the six-carriage metro trains have seating for 378 passengers, and standing room for 774). Mathew Hounsell, a researcher at the University of Technologys Institute for Sustainable Futures, said Sydney under went a significant change when its population ballooned from 3.5 million to 4 million, and road speeds dropped to similar levels as those on the public transport system as they became more clogged. That encouraged more people to travel on buses and trains. Now, he said, the metro line offers another big change. Liquidators confirmed last week she has still not paid and they have been unable to serve a creditor's petition on her, believing she had been in China. But the Herald last week photographed Ms Howe leaving her eastern suburbs apartment block in a white BMW. 'She never paid' Businessman Johan L.E. rented his Xikang Road property in Shanghais Jingan District to Ms Howe in July 2018 for her to use as a showroom and artists residence. Johan was particularly keen to have Ms Howe on the lease after she introduced him in person to a prominent Australian designer who Ms Howe said would work on plans for the renovation of his property to accommodate for her business needs. Johan said he met with Ms Howe at the St. Regis Hotel early in the month to hammer out the details. He agreed to contribute 532,000 - or more than $100,000 - towards the total cost of the renovation after Ms Howe signed a contract agreeing to contribute 1,000,000 of her own. But Johan would never see a return on his investment. The before and after photos of the Xikang Road property Ashleigh Howe leased from Johan L.E. She never paid, she just swallowed it, he said. She took the entire amount. Renovations would proceed on his property just long enough to see the kitchen, bathroom and living room gutted before the contractors working on his house stopped turning up as Ms Howe had not paid them, Johan claimed. And then, he said, the rent failed to come through. Ms Howe did not respond to questions regarding the money and renovations put to her lawyer. She always said: Well pay you, well pay you, well pay you, blah blah blah, Im travelling, Johan said. Shes got a long list of excuses. Johan commenced legal proceedings against Ms Howe in November, pursuing her for 610,350 in alleged damages. She did not appear at the court hearing date in January, he said. It would be nice to get the money paid back, but I feel sorry for her life, given the situation." The before and after photos of the Xikang Road property Ashleigh Howe leased from Johan L.E. 'It was a shambles' Meanwhile, Ms Howe was busy assembling a team of staff based in Shanghai to help get her businesses off the ground, including her art school Look Learn Do. Look Learn Do came from an ambition of mine where I felt that there was a real lack of creative practice and play in the development [of] young children in China, Ms Howe explained in a video posted to the schools website, which has since been taken down. In the Western world, growing up in Australia, were really fortunate that the environment and our social engagements are a big part of our development. In China historically, because of the landscape, that hasnt been possible. A number of those Ms Howe had brought on to work for her from mid-2018 said the trouble started almost immediately, and no site for the school was ever formally secured. It was a shambles, one former employee said. Loading If you ever asked Ashleigh where the space was she would say, Oh were signing the lease today, were signing the lease tomorrow, another said. Visits from local police to their Shanghai office, and issues with visas and pay were also not uncommon, they said. In November, frustrated staff made a phone call to the Melbourne-based accountant they believed they had been communicating with via an email carrying the domain name of another family business, Global Education Advisory, regarding arrears with their pay. The phone call was the first time the accountant had heard of the email address. By the end of the month, almost all of Ms Howes staff had walked away from their roles. Travel ban The most recent action brought against Ms Howe in Shanghai on March 21, 2019, was over unpaid commission to a recruitment agency. Ms Howe was sued by her former business development manager in Shanghai, Chen Xiqing, in July for illegal termination of labour, after he was dismissed without notice via an email. Ms Howe was ordered by a Shanghai court to pay compensation, but refused and appealed. After mediation, the court ordered Ms Howe to pay 42,000 in salary by September 21. But within days of the appeal verdict, the Shanghai Yangpu court ruled again, issuing a travel ban on Ms Howe, and giving the reason that: Without any proper reasons the person subject to enforcement rejected to implement the reconciliation agreement. This exit ban is still listed on Chinese court websites nationally, stating: The entity subject to enforcement - Shanghai Aima Shili Real Estate Consulting has refused to fulfil its obligations as determined by legal documents, and the court in accordance with laws has restricted its legal representative Howe Ashleigh Margaret from leaving the country. An outsourcing company that provided finance administration services for Aima Shili told the Herald they were also looking for Ms Howe over unpaid fees. We dont know what happened ... there are quite a lot of due commissions unpaid, the Shanghai company said. They had never met with her in person and only occasionally received replies to emails. Despite the exit ban against her name, Ms Howe has reached out to at least one other artist this year, inviting them to be a part of her business. A police officer almost lost consciousness when a man allegedly choked him as he went to the aid of his partner during a violent overnight confrontation in Brisbane's north. Two police officers stopped at Osborne Street in Mitchelton next to a group who had been asked to leave a nearby licensed premises just after midnight. Police alleged the group of five people became hostile towards the officers and attacked the female senior constable, 35. Members of the group then allegedly assaulted the 36-year-old male constable when he went to help her. Police alleged a man from the group almost choked the senior constable unconscious. Australia has made great strides in recognising its disadvantaged and its minorities, but it cannot be a complete commonwealth until it recognises the most disadvantaged and overlooked of all. Our first peoples are humanity's longest continuing civilisation and confer a unique status on our country, and also a unique responsibility. Loading Yet they are excluded from Australia's success. They live in a parallel land of Third World conditions, when they could be included as the completing third part of our unique nation. The three parts as Noel Pearson of Cape York brilliantly explains them: "There is our ancient heritage, written on the continent and the original culture painted on its land and seascapes. Thon Chipuowuop says the media is wrong to categorise African-Australian children as troubled or at risk. "I dont feel involved in those things," the 17-year-old from South Sudan said. "The media includes us all in those things, but it doesnt affect me. Back row (L-R): Asmiret Tesema, Lin Jong, Buku Khamis, Veronica Walakona, Asmiret Tesema, Celine Moody, Jummy Quaye, Paskazia Muhindo. Front/crouching: Nyandeng Pawuoi, Atong Riak. Credit:Joe Armao Thon hopes to study medicine and become a doctor when he leaves school. He is also considered by his peers to be somewhat of a leader among them. Thats why he was picked as one of 30 students to take part in the Western Bulldogs GOAL mentoring program. A gunman remains on the run after shooting a man in Melbournes north on Sunday evening. Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the non-fatal shooting in Tullamarine about 5pm. Emergency services were called to Broadmeadows Road after reports that a man had been shot in the leg. Senior Constable Adam West said crews arrived to find a man, believed to be in his 20s, with a gunshot wound. Investigators believe that a number of other people who may have been in the area at the time of the shooting fled before police arrived on scene. Manoj Viswanathan By Express News Service KOCHI: Has the BJP reached a stagnation point in its growth trajectory in Kerala? The results of the Lok Sabha election, where the party failed to raise its vote share, points to the need for the party to look beyond its traditional vote base in Kerala. The partys vote base grew from 6.4 per cent in 2009 to 14.9 in 2014. However, despite the Sabarimala issue, the partys vote share grew only by 0.5 per cent, which was worrying. The BJP was hoping to raise its vote share beyond the 20-per cent mark and win Thiruvananthapuram and Pathanamthitta seats exploiting the sentiments of the Ayyappa devotees who were hurt by the incidents at Sabarimala. Though the role of the BJP-RSS workers in foiling attempts to facilitate entry of young women to the hill shrine was appreciated by the devotees, it failed to convert the support into votes. According to a senior leader, a section of the Hindus, who vowed support to the efforts to protect the traditions and practices voted for the Congress candidates to ensure the defeat of the CPM. Based on a directive from BJP president Amit Shah, the BJP in Kerala had initiated steps to win the confidence of the Christian community in Kerala much before the elections. Though the leaders held talks with the Church representatives and Minister of State for Tourism Alphons Kannanthanam sanctioned funds for certain churches, they failed to win the confidence of the community. There are some apprehensions among the Christian community, which we need to address. The party has been trying to reach out to them and the Orthodox community had indicated their willingness to support us. However, it did not happen. There are issues like blocking of NGO funding and the request to facilitate the visit of Pope Francis to India. Even Kannanthanam did not get the support of the community. Some of the demands of the community will be met by the new government to dispel the misgivings, said BJP spokesperson B Gopalakrishnan. Many Hindu families had parted ways with the CPM after the Sabarimala incident. They decided to teach the Pinarayi government a lesson and voted for the UDF to ensure the defeat of LDF candidates. Though BJP candidates could not win, we are happy to see the rout of the LDF. Cases were slapped on around 35,000 devotees for participating in the Sabarimala agitation. Around 10,000 people were arrested and more than 100 people were put in jail for more than a month. We are happy that the electorate in Kerala has given a befitting reply to the LDF for the atrocities against devotees, said Sabarimala Karma Samithi general convenor SJR Kumar. Just over eight degrees in the city now, although it feels like 4.7, according to the bureau's apparent temperature reading. We're in for a cold week. It's already snowing in Ballarat, 3AW reports. Big day coming up newswise. The man accused of Courtney Herron's murder will appear in Melbourne Magistrate's Court later today. Tim Pallas will also hand down the Victorian state budget. Check back to our homepage or keep an eye out for news alerts for more. That's it from us today. We'll be back from 6am tomorrow. Stay warm, folks. We'll leave you with this winter wonderland by Karl Gray at Dinner Plain: A former police watchdog criticised for his prolific use of telephone intercepts while investigating misconduct in the force has been appointed to lead a key integrity agency responsible for scrutinising covert and coercive powers. The Office of Police Integrity, which was disbanded in 2012, was accused of operating like the "Stasi" for its intrusive surveillance under the directorship of Michael Strong - a claim he dismissed as an "outrageous slur". Michael Strong during his stint as OPI director. Credit:Justin McManus Mr Strong's selection as Victoria's new Public Interest Monitor is expected to inflame tensions with the Liberal Party, which shut down the OPI and denied him a role with the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission established under the former Baillieu government. The Age can reveal the appointment of Mr Strong was made by the Andrews government in January, without any public statement about his ascension to the important integrity role that includes remuneration of almost $500,000. The amendment to the constitution is as simple as the proposal. We are asking Australians to approve a new provision that enables the federal Parliament to create a new representative body that will be known as the Voice to Parliament. It is an enabling provision similar to how the High Court of Australia was set up, the Australian population voted on a provision that proposed a High Court be created but the legislation was passed three years later. Post-Uluru there has been two years of work conducted on what the Voice might look like. The work ahead now is to agree to the amount of detail that is required for Australians to feel fully informed when voting at the ballot box. The full blown Voice design can be legislated for after a successful referendum. The deferral of this detail is a common constitutional and political strategy around the world. Loading Changing the constitution is no mean feat in Australia. There are two key reasons that Indigenous people, via the dialogues that led up to the May 26 meeting, are seeking constitutional reform. First, the insecurity of Indigenous peoples status in the machinery of government when it comes to laws and policies and institutions. It is a area of public policy that is constantly and continually interrupted and disrupted from one political party to the next, from one three year term to the next, and constantly the subject of experimentation by bureaucracy and governments as new policy trends and buzz words develop and tested on Indigenous communities. This state of disruption means that peoples lives and communities and the programs and policies that impact upon them are constantly chopping and changing. People on the ground have little control over the longevity of programs and policies. The Voice to Parliament reform is intended to bring security and certainty to peoples lives that we believe will manifest in better outcomes for communities. Being constitutionally enshrined, the Voice will be sustainable and durable well beyond political timetables. It means that Indigenous empowerment and active participation in the democratic life of the state is not dependent on which political party is in power. Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size The Uluru Statement from the Heart outlines the path forward for recognising Indigenous Australians in the nation's constitution. It was endorsed with a standing ovation by a gathering of 250 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders on May 26, 2017, following a four-day First Nations National Constitutional Convention held at Uluru. The consultation process that led to the statement was unprecedented in Australian history for its scale. A Referendum Council, appointed by then-prime minister Malcolm Turnbull and recently departed Labor leader Bill Shorten, was tasked with charting the next steps for constitutional reform in 2015. Over a six month period, it engaged more than 1200 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander representatives in a dozen regional dialogues across the country. The Uluru Statement is addressed to the Australian public. Credit:Fairfax Media Those discussions culminated with Indigenous Australians "from all points of the southern sky" reaching a consensus position on constitutional recognition for the first time. The statement itself is 12 paragraphs and has been noted for its succinct and powerful wording. Unlike historic documents of Indigenous aspirations that came before it and were addressed to the Parliament, the Uluru Statement from the Heart is directed to the Australian public. Advertisement It asks Australians to change the constitution to allow Indigenous Australians a voice in the laws and policies that are made about them. Throughout the consultations, delegates overwhelmingly rejected symbolic recognition in the form of a simple acknowledgement in the constitution, as had been advanced by the "Recognise" campaign. The statement instead lays out their vision for substantive and structural reform that will make a difference in their communities. Loading What is the Voice? The Uluru Statement proposes three key elements for sequential reform:"Voice, Treaty, Truth". The first and most significant of these is the Voice: the proposal for a First Nations Voice to Parliament enshrined in the constitution. This would be an advisory body of First Nations traditional owners to advise Parliament on policy affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The Voice would offer a way to include Indigenous Australians' cultural authority in matters of law that affect them, and constitutionally guarantees them a say in their own affairs. The precise model for the Voice - including whether its members are elected or selected - has yet to be designed. The Morrison government has set aside funds for a "co-design" process to take place with First Nations leaders. However, proponents of the idea have suggested the Voice would sit separately to Parliament and its advice would not be binding. Advertisement Loading The Australian constitution must be amended to allow Parliament to legislate for such a body. The statement's second recommendation is a Makarrata Commission. "Makarrata" is a concept belonging to the Yolngu people in Arnhem Land, and means to come together after a struggle to heal divisions of the past. Since the 1980s, "Makarrata" has frequently been used as an alternative term to "treaty". A Makarrata commission would oversee agreement making between the Australian government and Indigenous people, and facilitate the statement's final proposal: truth-telling. What does the artwork mean? The Uluru Statement is an artwork as well as a political document, following in the tradition of documents such as the Yirrkala Bark Petition and Barunga Statement. The artwork was led by senior Maruku artist and Uluru traditional owner Rene Kulitja, and painted by Mutitjulu artists Christine Brumby, Charmaine Kulitja and Happy Reid. Advertisement Lead artist Rene Kulitja (third from left) supervises artists Christine Brumby, Charmaine Kulitja and Happy Reid. Credit:Clive Scollay Two Tjukurpa creation stories of the Anangu people, who are the traditional owners of Uluru, are represented in the painting. One is the story of Kuniya (top left), the woma python with eggs from the north-east, and Liru (bottom right), the poisonous snake from the south-west, who are involved in a fight to the death at the Mutitjulu Rockhole, which then shapes Uluru's landscape. The second is that of the Mala people, represented by rufous hare-wallaby prints, who were holding a ceremony atop Uluru when they became involved in a dispute with men who approached from the west. Those men went away and created Kurpany, the Devil Dingo, represented by the dog prints. Loading Ms Kulitja said Uluru's power comes from the Tjukurpa stories that converge there. "This painting shows all the stories of Uluru and the statement is placed at the centre where the power resides," she said. Surrounding the statement are signatures of more than 250 delegates who came to historic consensus at Uluru. Many signatories also wrote the name of the nation they belonged to, so over 100 different first nations are represented on the artwork. Advertisement Who are the key people involved? Megan Davis, a Cobble Cobble woman and constitutional law expert, gave the Uluru Statement its first public reading at a ceremony after the convention. She was a member of the 16-person Referendum Council and led much of its work, presenting its final report to Parliament in June 2017. She also sat on Julia Gillard's 2010 expert panel on constitutional recognition. Human rights advocate and Alyawarre woman Pat Anderson was co-chair of the Referendum Council and a key spokesperson, consulting with hundreds of Indigenous people to deliver the statement. She has worked as an administrator in Indigenous health, authored the Bringing Them Home Report on the Stolen Generations, and was last year honoured with the NAIDOC Lifetime Achievement Award. Lawyer and activist Noel Pearson has long lobbied for recognition, consulting with parliamentarians and constitutional conservatives to navigate what reform could look like. His Cape York Institute, a public policy organisation, has been instrumental in mapping and advocating possibilities for changing the constitution. Megan Davis, Pat Anderson and Noel Pearson with a piti holding the Uluru Statement from the Heart. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Ms Davis, Ms Anderson and Mr Pearson were principal designers of the constitutional dialogues that delivered the Uluru Statement, but many other Indigenous Australians will be prominent in pushing the campaign forward. Wangkumarra and Barkindji man Sean Gordon is a businessman and chair of non-profit organisation Uphold & Recognise. He quit the Liberal Party in 2017 over Malcolm Turnbulls rejection of the statement. Advertisement Labor's expected new leader Anthony Albanese is under growing pressure to appoint more women to senior roles to his shadow cabinet, after the party looks set to have a male leader and deputy leader. Victorian right faction MP Richard Marles is all but assured of the deputy leadership of the party, after the other remaining challenger, Clare O'Neil, pulled out of the race on Sunday, citing a lack of internal support. Anthony Albanese is expected to be the only nominee for Labor leader when the deadline passes on Monday. Credit:Wolter Peeters Mr Marles confirmed on Sunday afternoon he would nominate for the deputy leader. "I am fully aware of the responsibilities of this office. And particularly at this moment in time," he told reporters in Melbourne. While Mr Marles' supporters describe him as consultative and well-respected within the caucus, some Labor women are furious that the two most prestigious positions in the party will both be filled by men. In the new-look Parliament, the most important senator isn't likely to be Mathias Cormann or Penny Wong, but a little-known Centre Alliance member wielding the balance of power. As a clear picture of the post-election Senate firms up, it looks as though Rex Patrick, a former businessman, submariner and one-time adviser to Nick Xenophon will have a deciding vote - along with colleague Stirling Griff - on every piece of contentious government legislation. Centre Alliance senators Rex Patrick and Stirling Griff during Question Time in the Senate last year. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen For the first time, Patrick has detailed how he will negotiate with the government - with a play book developed from watching one of the Senate's most effective crossbenchers. The method: rigorous due diligence, deep-set good faith, and, every now and then; beer. Labor frontbencher Clare O'Neil has announced she will not run for deputy leader of the Labor Party after having "honest" conversations with her colleagues, paving the way for fellow Victorian right faction MP, Richard Marles, to take the prestigious role. Ms O'Neil, who is Labor's spokesperson for financial services and justice, had emerged in recent days as one of the frontrunners for the deputy leader role. Anthony Albanese, who is poised to be elected leader of the party, is from the left faction, necessitating his deputy come from the right. Labor MP Clare O'Neil has ruled out running for deputy leadership of the party. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Ms O'Neil has been canvassing support amongst colleagues, but on Sunday, told the ABC's Insiders that she did not have enough support. "I'm not going to run," she said. "I have spent the last three or four days having incredible conversations with my colleagues about whether this is a position that I might be able to take on. They have been in every regard respectful, they have been honest. It has never been suggested to me that a 38 year-old woman shouldn't aspire and reach for that position," Ms O'Neil said. The Queensland secretary of the left-wing Maritime Union of Australia has broken ranks with the CFMMEU, of which it is a part, to urge Labor to put climate action ahead of coal jobs. Bob Carnegie said Labor and the union movement must take a stand on climate change for the sake of future generations and that the ALP's new party leader must make its position clear to voters ahead of the next federal election. Bob Carnegie has broken ranks with the CFMMEU over Labor's climate change policy direction. Credit:Glenn Hunt "We've only got one world and we've got to at least try to take care of it," he said. Mr Carnegie, whose maritime union merged with the Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union last year, said the fractured union movement must unite, saying divisions over the Adani coal mine had harmed Bill Shorten's electoral chances. By Express News Service THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Navy and the Coast Guard have intensified vigil in the Indian Ocean close on the heels of reports that Islamic State terrorists from Sri Lanka might be heading towards Lakshadweep islands. Navy sources said they were maintaining high level of vigilance ever since the Easter Day blasts rocked the island nation. Extra surveillance has been put in place on the basis of information that suggested the possibility of IS intrusion, sources said. Since the blasts happened in our neighbourhood, we have been maintaining caution. Now, because of the information we have got, we have beefed up surveillance, Navy sources said. The Kerala Police and its coastal police wing have been on their toes after they came across inputs from various agencies that suggested there were possibilities of the movement of a 15-member IS team from Sri Lanka to Lakshadweep. Information in this regard was passed on to the coastal police SHOs and district police chiefs by Coastal ADGP Tomin J Thachankary on Thursday. Thachankarys circular said the terrorists were heading towards Lakshadweep and Minicoy islands in a white boat. The Navy, meanwhile, said they did not have any specific info on the matter. We dont have any specific info and hence we cannot conduct a search on any specific boat. The information we have got is that there are possibilities of people coming in a boat. Thats an unactionable intelligence. But we are maintaining a high level of surveillance and caution, the Navy sources said. About 290 people were killed and several hundreds injured in eight high-intensity blasts that rocked Sri Lanka. The investigators have found two local groups were responsible for the blasts, while the IS also claimed responsibility for the deadly attacks that have ushered in fears of a fresh bout of sectarian violence in the country that is slowly recovering from the trauma of civil war. It says everything about Scott Morrison and his reborn government that the big theme of his new ministry is deliberately humdrum. While Labor promised vast reform at the federal election, the Coalition offered more of the same with a pledge to keep improving. And it won. Scott Morrison's new ministry is deliberately humdrum. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen The result is a new ministry that is all about management rather than bold new agendas, about keeping existing programs under control before embarking on any new ones. Expectations are high for the National Disability Insurance Scheme and the delivery has already been marked by anger and disappointment when people miss out on the services they need. Stuart Robert has a significant challenge in fixing this. Opposition transport spokeswoman Jodi McKay is firming as the front-runner in the contest for the NSW Labor leadership, with almost half the shadow cabinet publicly backing her. However, supporters of water spokesman and Kogarah MP Chris Minns, who is also contesting the leadership, are quick to point out that the month-long campaign is still in its infancy. Strathfield MP Jodie McKay and Kogarah MP Chris Minns will begin their first full week of campaigning for the Labor leadership as the party prepares for the historic vote. Credit:Kate Geraghty, Janie Barrett "It's very early days," Summer Hill MP Jo Haylen, who is backing Mr Minns, said. "There are a lot of MPs who haven't publicly declared how they will vote and the branch members are only just starting to get engaged." In India, Narendra Modi won his re-election largely on the strength of his appeals to Hindu nationalism and anti-Muslim sentiment. In Australia, incumbent Scott Morrison ran against the high cost of climate action, including in lost jobs, and won a stunning upset. In the UK, Trump surrogate Nigel Farage looks like he and his Brexit Party will be the runaway victors in the European elections. In Brazil and the Philippines, the political appeal of Bolsonaro and Duterte seems to be inversely correlated to their respect for human rights and the rule of law, to say nothing of modern ethical pieties. President Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi hug outside the White House. Credit:AP The common thread here isn't just right-wing populism. It's contempt for the ideology of them before us: of the immigrant before the native-born; of the global or transnational interest before the national or local one; of racial or ethnic or sexual minorities before the majority; of the transgressive before the normal. It's a revolt against the people who say: Pay an immediate and visible price for a long-term and invisible good. It's hatred of those who think they can define that good, while expecting someone else to pay for it. When protests erupted last year in France over Emmanuel Macron's attempt to raise gas prices for the sake of the climate, one gilets jaunes slogan captured the core complaint: "Macron is concerned with the end of the world," it went, while "we are concerned with the end of the month." This is a potent form of politics, and it's why I suspect Trump will be re-elected next year barring an economic meltdown or foreign-policy shock. You may think (as I often do) that the administration is a daily carnival of shame. You may also think that conservatives are even guiltier than liberals and progressives of them-before-us politics: the 1-percenters before the 99 per cent; the big corporations before the little guy, and so on. Nutson's Weekly Auto News Review - May 19-25, 2019 AUTO CENTRAL CHICAGO - May 26, 2019: Every Sunday Larry Nutson, Executive Producer and Chicago Car Guy along with senior editor Thom Cannell from The Auto Channel Michigan Bureau, give you The Auto Channel's "take" on this past week's automotive news, in easy to "catch up" with news summaries. LEARN MORE: Links to millions of the past 25 year's automotive news, articles, reviews and archived stories residing in The Auto Channel Automotive News Library. Want more automotive content than our million plus pages?, TV viewers can watch The Auto Channel, TACH-TV Network On Amazon TV, Google TV, HULU, ROKU, and Old Fashioned "Free and Clear" OTA (Over the air) TV in Boston and South Florida as well as local cable systems. Nutson's Weekly Automotive News Digest - Vehicle news and back stories in easy to digest nuggets. * In ongoing news about Tesla, Elon Musk told employees Tesla has just ten months to hit break even, despite the new infusion of cash from the latest share and debt sale, and ordered a hard clampdown on costs. And, Federal safety investigators have concluded that the Autopilot system was on when a Tesla plowed in to a semi trailer in Florida, killing the driver. The National Transportation Safety Board has now linked three fatalities to accidents involving Teslas operating on Autopilot. * Tesla stock had a wild ride on Wall Street this week as Elon Musk asserted the company has a agood chancea??? in the second quarter of exceeding the record level of deliveries to customers set in the final quarter of 2018. He also claimed they have over 50,000 new orders this quarter. Stock closed Thursday up 1.4% at $195.49. Analysts worry that Tesla cannot deliver the numbers they claim for the quarter or even for the year. Musk continues under the scrutiny of the SEC for loose talk on social media and e-mail blasts. * Alabama's new law sharply restricting abortions has provoked a backlash in the form of a call for consumers to boycott the state and the goods produced by them, including vehicles made in the state by Mercedes, Hyundai and Honda. Other Southern states passing new anti-abortion laws, including Georgia, also host foreign-owned auto plants. * Pre-trial hearings began this week in Tokyo against former chairman of Nissan, Renault and Mitsubishi, the worldas largest automotive conglomerate, Carlos Ghosn. The once-influential auto exec has been in and out of Japanese custody on a variety of charges for many months facing accusations of a variety of financial misdeeds. Ghosnas defenders assert the charges are part of a conspiracy by [unidentified] Japanese actors to wrest more of the auto business control away from the Europeans.A * From Reuters, German prosecutors hit auto supplier Bosch with a 90 million euro fine for standing by while Volkswagen used its technology to cheat on diesel emissions testing. The fine closes the investigation of Bosch's role in the scandal, authorities said. * AutomotiveA News reports that General Motors faces pushback over its request that U.S. regulators waive some automobile safety standards to make it possible to deploy a ride-sharing fleet of driverless cars without steering wheels or other human controls. GM first made the request for a two-year temporary waiver on features like mirrors, dashboard warning lights and turn signals designed for a human driver. Several groups, including car dealers and insurers, raised questions posted publicly this week pressing NHTSA to demand more data, require additional safety provisions or deny the petition outright. The National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies said driverless vehicles without human controls should not be permitted on public roads until data proves the cars are safe.A * General Motors' app-based car sharing service known as Maven is exiting some markets after nearly three years of expansion.A The purpose behind the contraction is to shift "some of the offerings to focus on markets where we have the most current demands or growth potential," according to a spokesman. NYC and Chicago are two of the cities that will be cut. * Fiat Chrysler is recalling over 208,000 minivans in North America because they could lose power-assisted steering or engines can stall. The recall covers certain Chrysler Pacifica minivans from the 2017 through 2019 model years. All have systems that stop the engine for traffic lights and restart it when a driver presses the gas pedal. * Ford is eliminating about 7,000 salaried jobsaabout 10% of its global white-collar workforceaas pressures mount on automakers to keep pace with massive technological shifts amid signs global car demand has peaked. Eliminating the positions will save Ford about $600 million a year, Chief Executive Officer Jim Hackett wrote in a memo to employees. The majority of the cuts will be completed by May 24 in North America, and by the end of August in other markets including Europe, China and South America. * A Chevy dealership in Jefferson City, Missouri took a direct hit from a tornado Wednesday as a line of violent storms crossed the countryas midsection causing flooding and wind damage. A Riley Chevrolet spokesperson told Automotive News that "all employees are safea??? but 750 vehicles on the lot were damaged. The dealership has been in the same family since 1936. The Riley Chevrolet and Toyota dealerships will be closed entirely while they assess damages, but theyave vowed to rebuild. * The Mecum Auction did well in Indianapolis this past week with a66 and a67 Cobra Roadsters leading the way, selling at $2.42 million and $2.86 million respectively. Four other cars went for over $1 million. The top 10 sellers included seven U.S.-built muscle cars, including the Cobras. Three display engines were also auctioned bringing between 150- and 225-grand. Mecumas Indy sales topped a record $70 million.A * Our friend Larry Edsall at ClassicCars.com told us this week that Jay Leno will be on The Price is Right TV game show Monday in honor of their aDream Car Week.a??? Contestants will play for different exotic vehicles during the week including: Porsche 719 Boxster, Tesla Model 3, Land Rover Range Rover Velar S, and Maserati Ghibli. Leno will be there to join host Drew Carey if someone wins Mondayas Jaguar F-Type convertible. * The Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving, Inc. has new owners. Stig Investments, Inc., a group of entrepreneurs who are racing enthusiasts and automobile collectors, announced it has finalized its purchase of the performance racing school. In conjunction with the purchase, the new owners and FCA US LLC announced that the school will continue as aThe Official Performance Driving School of Dodge//SRT.a??? Since 2015, the schoolas fleet of nearly 100 vehicles is exclusively Dodge//SRT products, including Dodge Challenger and Charger SRT Hellcat models, the 840-horsepower Challenger SRT Demon a the industryas first and only street-legal production drag car and most powerful muscle car ever a as well as the Viper ACR. * According to the Associated Press, NASCAR announced a $2 billion merger agreement with International Speedway Corporation (ISC).A The deal is expected to close by the end of 2019. ISC is a leading promoter of motorsports activities, currently booking more than 100 racing events annually as well as numerous other related activities. International Speedway Corp owns 12 tracks that host NASCAR races, including Auto Club Speedway, Chicagoland Speedway, Darlington Raceway, Daytona International Speedway, Homestead-Miami Speedway, ISM Raceway, Kansas Speedway, Martinsville Speedway, Michigan International Speedway, Richmond Raceway, Talladega Superspeedway, and Watkins Glen International. * We mourn the passing of former Formula One driver and three-time world champion Niki Lauda, who died at the age of 70. The Austrian diedA this week eight months after receiving a lung transplant. Lauda, who won titles in 1975, 1977 and 1984, was hugely admired, respected and liked within F1 after a remarkable career during which he won two titles for Ferrari and one for McLaren and came back from an horrific accident that left him severely burned and injured in 1976. He competed in 171 races and won 25. He also actively pursued business interests including his own airline and went on to have senior roles in F1 management, most recently as non-executive chairman at the hugely successful Mercedes since 2012, where he helped bring Lewis Hamilton to the team. * Today, Sunday, is the biggest day in motor sports. A Start your day with the Monaco Grand Prix at 9:10 a.m. on ESPN, then turn to NBC, which will broadcast the Indianapolis 500 for the first time, starting at 11 a.m. Cap the day off with Nascar's Coca-Cola 600 on Fox at 6 p.m. * Have a safe and fun filled Memorial Day weekend holiday as we officially enter the summer season of outdoor activity and backyard barbecues. By Express News Service BHUBANESWAR/DHENKANAL: The State Government has initiated steps to bring back the body of Kalpana Dash, Odishas first woman mountaineer who conquered Mt Everest twice. She had breathed her last at the Balcony area of the Everest while descending after conquering it for the second time on Thursday. Condoling her death Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said I am saddened to learn about the demise of Kalpana Dash while descending from Mt. Everest. Her legacy in mountaineering will inspire generations of young women in the State. My condolences to the bereaved family. Sports and Youth Services Department Secretary Vishal K Dev said, Kalpana Dash had repeatedly brought accolades to the State and with her loss Odisha has lost one of its finest. We have written to the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu and are in touch with them regarding the search and rescue operation since the expedition season is coming to an end on May 27. The entire expenses of bringing back the body will be borne by the State Government, said Dev and added that her family has been assured all support. Meanwhile, the Embassy, in a communication to the Government, stated that search and recovery operation will be launched on Friday night through a local professional agency. At least 10 Sherpas will be climbing the Everest to bring her body back. Kalpana was part of a three-member team on this expedition. The 50-year-old had scaled the Everest from Nepal end along with Kanchimaya Tamang of the Himalayan Kingdom and Liamu Mank of China at around 12.55 pm. Das fell ill during the descent and died near the Balcony area. The three-member team was led by veteran mountaineer Pemba Dheeraje Sherpa. After reaching the peak, she had trouble walking because of which Sherpas were helping her come down. When they reached the Balcony at a height of 8,600 metres, her breathing stopped. This was communicated to her family members and relatives on Whatsapp. She had first scaled the peak in 2008. Kalpana had climbed different peaks in India, Nepal, Europe, South America and Australia also. The balcony is the last camp before the Mt Everest summit and which is situated at a height of 8,600 metres. It will not be an easy task to bring back the mortal remains, minimum seven to eight professional Sherpas are needed to do the job, said mountaineer Ganesh Jena. Few Americans realize the extent to which foreign intelligence services are stealing our most important secrets, right here at home, right under our noses. James M. Olson, former chief of the Central Intelligence Agencys counterintelligence (CI) operation and now a Texas A&M professor, gets right to the point in his new book, To Catch a Spy: The Art of Counterintelligence (Georgetown University Press, $29.95 hardcover). Olson teaches in the Bush School of Government and Public Service at A&M. His first book, Fair Play: The Moral Dilemmas of Spying (2007), was a fascinating look at 50 potential espionage scenarios. His new book focuses on catching American residents who are spying for foreign countries. Too many Americans are sadly willing to betray us by selling out or by playing fast and loose with our security, Olson writes. They are doing grave damage, sometimes irreparable damage, to our country. They must be stopped. Olson goes into depth on the three major foreign intelligence threats to the U.S. China first, then Russia, then Cuba. This is our moment to pause and really reflect on how these four years have changed us, she said. None of us are the same person we were as freshmen. Weve grown into new people with new dreams and aspirations. Throughout the rest of your lives I hope we can all take a moment to stop and breathe and enjoy new friends or a dog, the weather, a flower, anything that can get you to slow down for just a moment. No matter if the students are still friends with those they started high school with or if they found a new group of friends somewhere along the way, Paholek said, she hopes each of the 473 BHS graduates maintain those relationships while also reaching out and establishing more relationships in the future. The Arrowmoon District of the Boy Scouts of America now has its first all-girl troop. Scouting BSAs new chapter is chartered by the Kiwanis Club of College Station, which gave Troop 1102 a $1,000 donation at a recent ceremony at the College Station Hilton. Chris Scotti of College Station serves as chair for the Arrowmoon District, which oversees troops in Brazos, Caldwell, Anderson, Madisonville, Navasota and Richards counties. He said the district had been working for several months to create an all-girl troop, and in cooperation with Bryan-College Station families and the Kiwanis, those plans came to fruition this month. And we are thrilled to have them, Scotti said. This year marked a change in the childrens Scouting program with what is termed family scouting, which has allowed all-girl troops to be chartered in the Scouts BSA program. In past years, co-educational opportunities have been available to a specified capacity, with BSA programs such as Venturing, Sea Scouts and Exploring, which cater to both boys and girls. Now, however, girls will be able to complete all aspects of the Boy Scout program via all-female troops, allowing them to eventually become Eagle Scouts. This school helped me and countless others break out of their shells and reach their full potential, she said. This school isnt here for us to just earn our credits, fill the attendance quota and leave. That would be too easy. The teachers and staff have ensured that we work on our personal growth as much as our grades. The graduates amassed a collective total of 4,100 college credit hours with an average of 49 credits per student. They notched more than 205 college acceptances, received almost $1.7 million in grants and scholarships and completed more than 16,000 hours of community service. For the rest of their lives, the students of the class of 2019 are linked by Fridays graduation, the schools valedictorian Vivian Didsbury said. Take a moment to feel this minute, she said, noting Bryan Collegiate sets itself apart not just because of its programs, but because of its community created by the faculty, staff and students. Theres a room in my heart that will forever hold the memories Ive made here. The journey after high school will not always be easy, Rueschhoff told the graduates, adding there will be difficulty, challenges and failing along the way as they chase their goals. R Pridhvi Raj By Express News Service The Telangana verdict in the Lok Sabha elections proves one point beyond any reasonable doubt. The voters have come of age unlike in other states. They know the very purpose for which Assembly and Parliament elections take place and they have the ability to differentiate chalk from cheese. By electing 88 of 119 TRS candidates to the Assembly in 2018 elections, the people had declared their faith in TRS. They felt that it is the right party among those on the menu card since it has a powerful leader in K Chandrasekhar Rao unlike in Congress and the BJP. Now that the exercise is over, the people had to use their wisdom in choosing who should represent them in Lok Sabha, which they seemed to have done on right lines to a large extent. ALSO READ | Kavitha lost Nizamabad to TRS Rajya Sabha MP's son, What will she do now? The TRS has won nine seats though it is a regional party apparently because of a growing feeling among the people that there might be a hung Parliament this time and in which case KCR might play a role at the national level in formation of the next government. But in the rest of the constituencies (barring Hyderabad where election of MIM was fait accompli even before the schedule was announced), the people seemed to have a doubt over anti-BJP and anti-Congress formation taking shape and preferred Congress in three and BJP in four constituencies as they happened to be national parties which alone could form the government. The TRS loss, was also apparently on account of lack of effort by the pink party in shoring up support from those who might have been in a fix over whom they should support - TRS or national parties in addition to federal front concept not having many takers in the fast-changing patterns in political kaleidoscope at national level which led to people beginning to look at the BJP or the Congress. At least four ministers seemed to have taken it easy convinced that KCRs magic would make the party nominees win the elections hands down. For instance, in Endowments Minister A Indrakaran Reddys Nirmal segment, BJP candidate for Adilabad Soyam Bapu Rao secured a majority of over 14,000 votes. In fact, the TRS ended up third in this segment, with Congress jockeying itself up to second position. Similarly in Sanathnagar segment, represented in the Assembly by Minister T Srinivas Yadav, BJP candidate for Secunderabad Lok Sabha seat G Kishan Reddy secured a majority of over 14,000 votes. In fact it is Srinivasa Yadavs son Sai Kiran who was pitted against Kishan Reddy in the Lok Sabha election on TRS ticket. In Excise Minister V Srinivasa Gouds Mahbubnagar segment, BJP candidate for Mahbubangar Lok Sabha DK Aruna secured a majority of over 4,000 votes while in Transport Minister V Prashant Reddys Balkonda segment, BJP candidate for Nizamabad D Arvind secured a majority of over 11,000 votes. Having satisfied that returning KCR for a second term in the Assembly elections was enough, in several constituencies, the voters seemed to have looked to Congress, with its manifesto capturing their attention. The minimum income scheme of Rs 72,000 per year, 34 lakh jobs in the public sector, law against hate crimes and so on seemed to have found traction with them. Though the Congress had no great leadership in the Sate, yet people helped the party develop green shoots after its debacle in the 2018 Assembly elections. The party, had won three Lok Sabha seats, lost two seats narrowly and had given a good fight in about eight. Similarly, the BJP too sprang from the shadows of its humiliating defeat in the assembly polls in which it won only one seat, lost security deposits in 103 of the 119 seats. The sudden resurgence of the saffron power which helped the party corner four Lok Sabha seats is attributed mainly to the Modi wave as people seemed to have decided that preferring BJP to the TRS was a better bet as Modi was all set to capture power, piggybacking on gains that he had logged in with raids on terror hideouts in Pakistan to avenge Pulwama killings and his heady potion of Hindutva-laced development. The results have left a lot of home work for the three parties to ace electoral tests in future. TRS has to work to retrieve its lost ground while the Congress and BJP, make fresh inroads into TRS bastions. School administrators, on the other hand, asked for flexibility on how to use additional funding in their schools so they could address local priorities. Bonnen said he preferred to allow them that discretion. The final proposal would require school districts to use a portion of their increase in per-student funding on salary increases and benefits for teachers, librarians, nurses and counselors, with a smaller amount designated for raises for all employees, as administrators see fit. They are expected to prioritize raises and benefits for teachers with more than five years of experience but otherwise would have flexibility on how to offer salary increases. HB 3 also includes several Senate proposals to help lower school district tax rates over the next two years and beyond. It would limit the growth in tax revenue; school districts with property values growing 2.5% or more would see tax rates automatically lowered to keep revenue growth in line. The bill also mandates a study on potential sources of money for future school district tax cuts and their anticipated impacts on taxpayers, schools and the state. Voices for Children and the College Station Police Department will co-host a community fishing event at Stephen C. Beachy Central Park Pond from 7 to 11 a.m. on Saturday. Family Fish known previously as Father Fish is a free morning of fishing and other activities, as well as breakfast tacos from Fuzzys and Shipleys donuts for the first 150 attendees. Additionally, the College Station Fire Department will be on hand to demonstrate to children how to escape a burning home through the use of a smoke-filled blow-up house. According to a Voices for Children release, event organizers hope the event will further Voices for Childrens mission of improving the lives of children in foster care through powerful volunteer advocacy, ensuring that each child is placed in a safe and permanent home. Voices for Childrens mission is to recruit, train and support volunteers to be Court Appointed Special Advocates for abused and neglected children. Jodie Chesney died of stab wounds in a London park on March 1, 2019. She was London's 18th homicide victim, police said.(Facebook) 17-Year-Old Latest to Be Charged With Murder in Stabbing Death of Girl Scout A 17-year-old boy has been charged with the murder of British girl scout Jodie Chesney, who was stabbed to death. The Metropolitan Police said in a statement that the teenagernot identified by name due to privacy lawsis the fourth person charged in connection with the 17-year-old girls slaying. Three others have been charged with Chesneys murder: 20-year-old Manuel Petrovic, 19-year-old Svenson Ong-a-kwie, and a 16-year-old male from Romford, not identified by name. Police said the latest male to be charged, from Barking, was also found to be in possession of a stun guna prohibited weapon in the UK. Detectives launched a murder investigation after a stabbing in a park on the evening of March 1 led to the young womans death. Chesney was killed in what has been called an unprovoked attack. Jodies friends have told us there was no altercation, her father, Peter Chesney, said. My daughter was just sat in a park, minding her own business. She was smart, her friends were nice people and they are all in bits too. They [the suspects] were sat near to Jodie and her friends and probably would have heard her laughter. They then left and came back and stabbed Jodie in the back. What kind of kudos is there in stabbing a 17-year-old? A post-mortem revealed she died of shock and hemorrhage. The newly charged suspect was first arrested on March 10 and then released under investigation, police said. He will appear in custody at Barkingside Magistrates Court on Monday. Police said a trial date has been set for Monday, September 2. Jodie was the nicest person, her father said. Everything about her was thoughtful and kind. She wouldnt have done anything to deserve this. They have destroyed something beautiful. Jodie needs justice and we need justice. Final Instagram Message Chesneys final Instagram post was reportedly a happy birthday message to her father just hours before she was stabbed to death. The Mirror reported that her boyfriend, Eddie Coyle, held her in his arms as she lay dying in Harold Hill park on what was said to be her fathers birthday. Before falling victim to the deadly stabbing, the teen shared a selfie of her and her father and captioned it: Happy birthday dad :) According to the Mirror, Jodie Chesney, her boyfriend, and a friend were hanging out in the park when they were approached by a group of people wearing balaclavas. At one point Chesney was stabbed with such force the blade broke off inside her body. Chesneys grandmother posted an appeal on Facebook, cited by the BBC, in which she called the stabbing an unprovoked attack. This was our youngest granddaughter. How have we come to this point where kids cant have a walk in a park without suffering an unprovoked attack? If anyone knows anything about this please contact the police with information. We dont want anyone else to go through what our family is suffering right now. This has to stop, there are too many young people having their lives cut short by needless violence. Shocked With the Amount of Blood A woman at the scene who tried to save her life was shocked by the amount of blood, her husband told the BBC. Teresa Farenden heard screams in the park and rushed to give first aid. Her husband said when his wife got to the scene she asked if everything was alright and one of the boys said, No, my girlfriend has been stabbed.' The woman told the Mirror, People are scared to help, but all I was thinking with my mothers instinct was I need to help.' Her boyfriend did everything he could. When I came over she was on her back so I moved her onto her side. Then the boyfriends friend came over with some kitchen roll. Then there was another girl and a man came over in a van to help and took his coat off to keep it on the wound and keep it compressed as much as they could, Farenden said. I think he was the dad of one of the boyfriends friends. I was just trying to keep her legs in the recovery position because she was heavy, like a dead weight. Just as the ambulance crew turned up, she had gone. It was devastating, she continued. National Emergency Chesney was the first teenage girl to die in a homicide in London this year, and the 18th murder victim recorded in the capital in 2019. Met Police Commander Dave Musker was cited by Sky News as saying, Every death or injury is a tragedy and will have a lasting impact on those who knew and were close to the victims. The public play a key role in helping to both prevent and detect crime in London. West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner David Jamieson called knife crime a national emergency and called for more resources to deal with the problem. Detective Chief Superintendent Mark Payne from the West Midlands Police homicide team called on parents and teachers to help tackle the problem. Knife crime and violence is not an issue we can tackle on our own, he told Sky News. We need help from partners, parents, schools and the wider community to tackle this growing issue. We all need to be having heart-to-heart conversations with children in an attempt to steer them away from knives and help prevent more lives from being ruined. Relatives of prisoners killed during clashes at a police detention center in the town of Acarigua, in the Venezuelan state of Portuguesa, wait outside a hospital's morgue to be handed the bodies of their loved ones, on May 25, 2019. (Marvin Recinos/AFP/Getty Images) 29 Killed in Clashes at Venezuelan Detention Center NGOs say killings linked to inner fighting between government-backed gangs, police BOGOTA, ColombiaTwenty-nine inmates were killed and 19 policemen were injured May 24 at a police detention site in the state of Portuguesa, Venezuela, in an armed conflict attributed to gangs that operate with government support. The regions security secretary, Oscar Valero, said the violence was the result of inter-gang conflict as police tried to control a mass escape attempt. NGOs monitoring the countrys prisons, however, say it was the result of one-sided clashes between a special response unit sent in to quash a mutiny, and pranesarmed criminal gangs who run drug and extortion rackets from inside Venezuelas prisons. The gangs operate with support from the police and are sometimes associated with colectivosarmed paramilitary groups loyal to Venezuelan regime leader Nicolas Madurowho run entire neighborhoods and quash public protests through violence and intimidation. The NGOs say Venezuelas justice and prison ministries should be held accountable for the disaster. The state always has an excuse but who gets the arms inside? said Humberto Prado, director of the Venezuelan Prison Observatory. The state must answer to the families of the victims because they were killed under their watch. Its the latest mass killing in the countrys penitentiary system, following a fire during a police jail riot in the city of Valencia in 2018 that killed 68, and riots at a similar facility in the state of Amazonas in 2017, which left 37 dead. Massacre The incident was sparked on the evening of May 23, when the criminal gang operating within a police cellblock in the town of Acarigua kidnapped two women visiting the prison and held them for ransom. A video shared on social media shows the gangs leader, his face partially obscured by a bandana, demanding changes to prison regulations and waving a handgun and two grenades while his distressed victims plead for dialogue. NGOs and activists allege that when the special response unit arrived to resolve the disturbances on May 24, they engaged in a shootout with the pranes, leaving almost 30 inmates dead. They believe one of the pranes grenades was seized by security forces and used against the inmates, causing most of the casualties. Images shared with The Epoch Times show rows of naked corpses lined up in the prison yard and piled on top of each other in squalid prison cells. The massacre is one in a series of mass killings caused by disturbances in Venezuelas overcrowded prisons in recent years, as its penitentiary system, consistently denounced by human rights groups, has fallen into further demise because of the countrys economic and political collapse. Under Maduro, a free-falling economy, rolling blackouts, water, and basic goods shortagesalongside a boom in crimehave caused 3.4 million people to flee the country. Between 1999when Maduros predecessor Hugo Chavez was electedand 2014, 6,470 murders were registered by the countrys prison system. The ministry in charge of prisons no longer releases statistics, but organizations monitoring the penitentiary system say killings are becoming more common as prison overcrowding increases and the gangs operating them gain power. Over half of Venezuelas 105,000 inmates are currently held in more than 500 inadequate pre-detention centers and some are stuck there for up to five years as a failing judicial system doesnt sentence them, he says. Inmates are killed not only by police, but as they do not have food or are not treated for illnesses, said Carlos Nieto, director of A Window to Freedom, a nonprofit monitoring conditions in Venezuelas jails. The facility in Acarigua has a capacity of 60, but Nieto says it held 542 inmates at the time of the clashes. Deteriorating Situation As the Venezuelan state has weakened it has devolved further power to armed groups such as colectivos to maintain control of the country. This phenomenon is particularly acute within prisons, says Keymer Avila, a criminology professor at the Central University of Venezuelas Institute of Penal Sciences. There is a form of withdrawal from the state to give the functions of the government over to inmate leaders, Avila says. Given the lack of institutionality and formal and legal interventions that impose limits, only the rule of force is applied. Owing to the large illicit market that operating the countrys prisons has become, and the growing power of the pranes, observers expect more such killings to follow. Sadly its a situation that will continue happening all the while the Venezuelan authorities do not call for order and take responsibility for the serious situation that is the penitentiary system in Venezuela, Nieto said. 6-Month-Old Found in Critical Condition Next to Dead Bodies at Motel A six-month-old baby was found in critical condition next to two dead adult bodies in a motel. Authorities said the child was in the room alone for many days before they reached him. The Michigan State Police found 26-year-old Jessica Bramer of Grand Rapids and 28-year-old Christian Reed of Marne dead in a motel room in Whitehall Township on May 24, reported Fox17. The police said the infant was found in dire need of medical attention and was still being treated at a hospital in Grand Rapids as of Saturday afternoon, according to Holland Sentinel. Authorities said the baby was found in dire need of medical attention and it is believed that the infant was alone in a room for a period of days. The two deceased were identified, but the cause of death is still unknown. https://t.co/QaUoFgGYAp WWMT-TV (@wwmtnews) May 25, 2019 It is believed that the infant child was alone in the room for a period of days (before being found). The 6-month-old child remains in critical condition at Helen DeVos Childrens Hospital, Michigan State Police said. The forensic autopsies on the two dead bodies were done at Western Michigan University but no immediate cause of death was found. The toxicology outcome is not yet known. Police said the motel where the dead bodies were found was the same place where a man shot another man in January, packed his dead body in a cars trunk, and then killed himself. Police have asked those who know Jessica Bramer and Christian Reed to get in touch with Detective Sergeant Denise Bentley at (616)-866-4411. Another Family Lost In another case, a man and a toddler were found dead at a residence at the Maple Valley on Thursday, reported Kiro7. The King County Sheriffs Office said it is investigating the case as a possible murder-suicide. Police were called to the home for domestic violence and found a woman and a two-year-old unresponsive toddler. They gave the child CPR but were unable to revive him. The childs 30-year-old father was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Adult male & toddler age child found dead in Maple Valley home says @kingcosoPIO investigators on scene now we are live @ 6AM @KIRO7Seattle pic.twitter.com/cGm0gmI24u Ranji Sinha (@RanjiKIRO7) May 24, 2019 Newborn Baby Girl Found in Thai Field Covered With Bug Bites, Doing Fine Now Warning: Photos of the girl may be distressing to some viewers. In Thailand, a newborn baby girl was found covered in mosquito and ant bites after she was dumped in a field, 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 exposed to the elements in the field. Officials said the child didnt sustain serious injuries, but added that her forehead had been bitten all over 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. Epoch Times reporter Jack Phillips contributed to this report. 88,000 People Sign Petition to Keep Doctor From Being Fired After Reportedly Asking Muslim Woman to Remove Veil More than 88,000 people so far have signed a petition to stop a UK doctor from being fired after he reportedly asked a Muslim woman to remove her veil. Dr. Keith Wolverson told the Daily Mail that he has been rather fearful of the consequences after he was reported to the General Medical Council (GMC) and would be subjected to a discrimination inquiry. In May 2018, Wolverson was working his shift at the Royal Stoke University Hospitals walk-in clinic when he was approached by a woman wearing a full-face veil. She wanted him to treat her 5-year-old daughters sore throat. Wolverson said that the womans voice was muffled by the veil and he couldnt understand her. The doctor then asked if she could remove it. The woman complied, but when she told her husband, he complained to the hospital. Wolverson said that he has treated a number of Muslim women without any incident and has asked them to remove their veils. He said they usually do so without any problems, according to the Mail. Its very difficult for anyone outside the medical profession to understand what this means to a doctor, Wolverson, 52, told the paper. It was about communication. I think its really difficult to communicate appropriately and accurately if one cant see the facial movements as well. Its a similar thing to asking a patient to remove a crash helmet. Its not about culture, its about clarity, the Daily Mail quoted him as saying. Adding that there was no sign the woman was upset over the matter, Wolverson said it is a threat of unimaginable proportion. These matters usually take about a year, during which one cant get any locum work because one is obliged to declare that one is being investigated, and no one will touch you while it is going on, he said. So I knew my life would be on hold for months, and my 23-year career could be left in ruins. After first experiencing waves of fear, the doctor said that he is now going to fight for his reputation. Wolverson said that he thinks that speaking out publicly will further his cause. I thought, Im not going to be a victim here. I can feel sorry for myselfor I can be that decent, honorable Englishman that stands and fights, the way I had been brought up, he said. I chose the latter option to right what was, to me, an enormous miscarriage of justice. A slight on an honorable and decent mans character that his career and professional reputation may never recover from. After receiving some 60,990 signatures on a petition, he said he is absolutely bowled over by the response, The Independent reported. I would like to get as many people as possible to sign this petition and save this mans reputation, the petition organizer on Change.org, signed as Rhaegwyn WelshDragon5517, said. I believe he acted in the best interest of the child involved and there was no racist or religious discrimination in his actions. Thousands back GP who was forced out after asking Muslim woman to remove veilhttps://t.co/q4Lg1pinT2 pic.twitter.com/24lJvwpiiS Daily Mirror (@DailyMirror) May 20, 2019 Meanwhile, the Doctors Association called on the United Kingdoms GMC to issue better guidelines about doctors and patients. It is of utmost importance that the religious wishes of our patients are respected, a spokesperson told The Independent. However, evidently there are some circumstances where removal of a niqab or burqa is necessary for medical assessment and treatment. Wolverson noted that he will now face a hearing, which will decide his fate. The trouble is, Im a freelance doctor and if you get reported to the GMC you dont get any offers of work, he explained. Yes I want to carry on, yes I will carry on, but it is academic until the inquiry is over. Brady Bunch Cast Reunites After Iconic House Is Renovated The Brady Bunch house renovation is done and ready for someone to move in. HGTV said it would totally restore the famed home in Studio City, California, last November. Designers and Property Brothers stars Drew and Jonathan Scott were tasked to restore the property. According to the website, the brothers were trying to recreate the shows 70s vibe. The pair also received help from The Brady Bunch cast Barry Williams (Greg), Maureen McCormick (Marcia), Christopher Knight (Peter), Eve Plumb (Jan), Mike Lookinland (Bobby), and Susan Olsen (Cindy). The Brady Bunch house renovation is complete, and here are the pictures! pic.twitter.com/xzlTdifO2K Mike Sington (@MikeSington) May 25, 2019 HGTV said the Brady actors gathered at the home this week to film an upcoming special about the renovation process. This whole show is filled with so much love, the crew, everybody behind it its a work of love, McCormick told the Today show. One of the nice things about the show will be the sentimentality of it, the nostalgia, Williams said. Because when were going in the rooms, were reflecting on what happened and the scenes that we played. Theyre very specific about what goes into the house, they are trying to make it look exactly like the set, down to the wallpaper, Plumb added. From the outside, the house looks completely the same. On the Today show, the cast said that the actors rarely get back together. The last time was about 15 years ago, one cast member said. Dont Paint Walls These Colors Recently, the Property Brothers revealed two basic wall colors are not recommended if one is looking to sell a home. Yellow walls dont really sell these days, said Jonathan, 41, to their client in the episode Condo Dreams, according to Realtor.com. Later on, the two said their team has to get rid of that angry 90s red, according to the news website. They ended up getting rid of the entire wall. Jonathans twin brother also panned the home-seller for keeping skeleton and skull decor year-round. I dont think most buyers want to see skulls everywhere, so we want to get rid of some of that, Drew said. Meanwhile, Jonathan said its not wise to make the television the main attraction of a room. Im never a huge fan of a TV being the main focal point of a room, he said after seeing a flat-screen TV in the center of the living room. Id love to see a better focal point, he added. Chinas Largest Chipmaker to Delist From NYSE Amid Heightened US-China Trade Tensions Chinas biggest chipmaker announced it would delist from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), amid intensifying tensions between the United States and China following recent U.S. sanctions against Huawei. Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC), in a statement on its website on May 24, said it notified the NYSE of its intention to delist its American depositary receipts on June 3, meaning the last day of trading will fall on or about June 13. The move would mark the end of a 15-year run as a public company in the United States. The company will continue to be traded on the Hong Kong stock exchange. In the announcement, SMIC said a number of considerations led to its decision, including limited trading volume of its ADSs [American depositary shares] relative to the worldwide trading volume. Another reason was the significant administrative burden and costs of being able to list on the NYSE. Following the delisting, SMIC said trading of its ADSs will move to the over-the-counter market. On May 24, SMICs ADSs tumbled to more than 6 percent to about $5.15 a share before closing at $5.24. In Hong Kong, the SMICs shares dipped more than 4 percent and closed at HK$8.42 ($1.07). The timing of the SMICs decision has since drawn much speculation about whether it was made in response to escalating trade tensions between the United States and China, which recently spilled into the technology sector. On May 15, U.S. administration effectively blacklisted Chinese telecom giant Huawei on national security grounds, barring the company from acquiring components and technology from U.S. firms without government approval. Since then, a number of key Huawei suppliers, including UK-based chip designer ARM and Google, have suspended business with the company. SMIC denied that its decision is related to the U.S. action against Huawei. An unidentified spokesperson from SMIC told CNBC: SMIC has been considering this migration for a long time and it has nothing to do with the trade war and the Huawei incident. However, Qin Peng, Chinese political and economic analyst, said SMICs decision was an act of self-protection. In a Twitter post on May 24, Qin said SMICs delisting is to insulate itself from the effects of possible U.S. sanctions against the company, thus ensuring it remains a viable chipmaker for the Chinese regime. SMIC SMIC is a state-backed semiconductor foundry headquartered in Shanghai. The company creates semiconductor chips, which are used to power virtually all computers and electronic devices. China, which is heavily reliant on foreign imports for semiconductors, has aimed to domestically produce 70 percent of its semiconductor needs by 2025, under its ambitious industrial policy Made in China 2025. According to its website, two of SMIC biggest shareholders as of April 2018 were Chinas state-run Datang Telecom Technology and state-backed China Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund, the former having about a 16 percent stake and the latter roughly a 15 percent stake. Beijing set up the investment fund in 2014 to boost the local semiconductor industry. A 2018 report by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), citing SMICs own website, said the company received $400 million from the fund in 2015. Regional governments have also provided financial support. According to the USTR report, SMIC received $111 million from Beijings municipal government in 2015 to finance a fabrication plant in Chinas capital in 2015, and obtained at least $750 million from the Shanghai municipal governments semiconductor fund in 2016. There have also been previous U.S. warnings about Datang Telecom Technology. Washington-based think tank The Jamestown Foundation, in a 2008 briefing on Beijings espionage efforts against the United States, referred to a 2001 U.S. court case indicting two Chinese nationals and one Chinese-American for stealing software trade secrets from U.S. telecommunications equipment company Lucent Technologies, and then conspiring with Datang to form a joint venture. Two of the Chinese were former employees of Lucent. Jamestown, citing court documents, said that Datangs board of directors approved the joint venture by providing $1.2 million in funding. A superseding indictment filed by the U.S. Department of Justice in April 2002, showed that Lucent wasnt the only victim of the espionage since the stolen trade secrets contained proprietary technologies from four other companies that had license agreements with Lucent. Charges against two of the accused were eventually dropped after the technology firm the trio founded agreed to pay a $250,000 fine. The other defendant fled prosecution. Larry M. Wortzel, a commissioner of U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC), also warned about Datang, as well as Huawei and Chinese tech giant ZTE, in a congressional hearing in 2012. They benefit from a background network of state research institutes and government funding in programs that have affiliation or sponsorship of the [Chinas] Peoples Liberation Army, Wortzel said, citing a report by U.S. defense company Northrop Grumman. Last April, ZTE was brought to the brink of collapse after the United States banned it from doing business with U.S. suppliers. The sanctions were imposed in response to the company breaking a previous court agreement it made after pleading guilty to violating U.S. sanctions against Iran. In July, President Donald Trump lifted the ban after the company agreed to pay a $1 billion fine and submit to U.S. compliance oversight. Chip Technology Despite state-backing, SMIC lags behind competitors in developing advanced chip technology. SMIC lags approximately two generations behind in process technology and wafer size, a huge disadvantage in this rapidly evolving industry, the USCC in an August 2015 report. Since then, SMIC has been playing catch-up. In the first quarter of this year, the companys revenue from 28 nanometer (nm) process technology, the companys most advanced chip technology, accounted for only 3 percent of quarterly earnings of $669 million, according to a May 11 article by Taiwans Liberty Times. The 3 percent was a reduction from 5.4 percent in the final quarter last year. As chips become smaller in size, they deliver more performance-per-watt, meaning that they run at faster speeds while consuming less power. In contrast, the 28 nm technology chips made up 20 percent of total first-quarter earnings for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the worlds largest chipmaker, according to the Liberty Times. TSMC also has advanced its chip processing technologies to 16 nm, 10 nm, and 7 nm, all of which combined to account for 42 percent of quarterly earnings which totaled $7.1 billion. In 2017, China imported about $260 billion worth of semiconductorsmore than the value of crude oil imported by the country. Deadly Tornado Touches Down in Oklahoma, Hotel Leveled Officials are going door to door to assess damage after a deadly tornado ripped through Oklahoma late Saturday night. See the blue ball in the circled area? That is debris being lifted as radar confirmed a tornado hitting the south side of El Reno, OK. pic.twitter.com/qesdgd8FE9 Marc Weinberg (@MarcWeinbergWX) May 26, 2019 Multiple people have been injured after the tornado touched down in El Reno and tore through a mobile home park, Fire Chief Kent Lagaly told CNN. Two fatalities have since been confirmed by local authorities and police late Saturday night. El Reno saying they continue to look for trapped survivors. Asking public to please stay away to avoid confusion and let emergency crews work. #okwx Mireya Garcia (@mireya_g) May 26, 2019 Lagaly said that authorities had been going door to door to see if people needed help. A hotel next to the mobile home park also suffered serious damage, Lagaly said. Oklahoma Citys KWTV-TV reported that a hotel in the community had been leveled be the deadly tornado. Im in El Reno. I was just in a tornado. Im ok but the hotel across the street from us was leveled. Victims are being pulled from the rubble @NEWS9 pic.twitter.com/IjZI3Jcvgk Aaron Brilbeck (@AaronBrilbeck9) May 26, 2019 Thirty-four people were in the American Budget Value Inn, according to CNN affiliate KFOR. First responders are working to get people out. @4sightAerial view of tornado damage in El Reno trailer park behind the American Budget Value Inn @kfor Appears to be at least an EF2 according to our storm tracker @F5Video pic.twitter.com/nKxCxZMrmT TARA (@TCBLUME) May 26, 2019 The hotel American Budget in El Reno after the earlier tornado that came through town. @OKCFOX pic.twitter.com/guakWanf2E Anthony West (@antdwest) May 26, 2019 Half of the roof is missing from this home in El Reno. @OKCFOX pic.twitter.com/kkbIoGpDxq Anthony West (@antdwest) May 26, 2019 The Mayor Matt White told a press conference that the scene at the mobile part was horrific. We ask you to pray for us, pray for the first responders. The main thing is we have to stick together. I know people want to helpwe want your help, he said. He asked people not to tie up 911 at this time as the rescue effort was not over yet. Mayor Matt White: Our community is very resilient to this. We ask you to pray for us, pray for the first respondersthe main thing is we have to stick together. I know people want to help. We want your help. Just asks for time to assess, says daylight will help @kfor pic.twitter.com/Tj6vDKB0jR Lili Zheng (@lilizhengTV) May 26, 2019 Severe weather is not expected through the rest of Sunday morning, according to the National Weather Service in Norman. 1:00 AM Update strong storms producing very heavy rain continue to move east across central Oklahoma. Widespread severe weather is not expected this morning. pic.twitter.com/FVJyy3KYKb NWS Norman (@NWSNorman) May 26, 2019 With reporting by CNN. Then-Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn testifies before a committee hearing on 'Current and Projected National Security Threats to the United States' at the Hart Senate Office Building in Washington on March 12, 2013. (JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images) FBI Informant Fed Media Lies to Smear Flynn, Defamation Lawsuit Alleges Cambridge academic Stefan Halper, who was de facto outed as an FBI informant, is being sued for allegedly spreading lies to media about a supposed relationship between retired Gen. Michael Flynn and Halpers Russian-born former colleague, Svetlana Lokhova. Lokhova is a Cambridge graduate and UK-based historian with a focus on documenting Russian espionage during the Soviet era. Until she was egregiously defamed by Halper and his co-conspirators in 2016, 2017, and 2018, Lokhova enjoyed an untarnished reputation in the community in which she lived and worked, states the complaint filed in a federal court in Virginia on May 23. Shes asking for over $25 million in damages. According to the lawsuit, Halper fed falsehoods about Lokhova and Flynn to the media, including The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and MSNBC, in order to drum up a narrative that Flynn had a nefarious relationship with Russia. Flynn was a campaign adviser, and later, national security adviser, to President Donald Trump. The Flynn-Russia narrative was used by Trumps opponents to further allegations that his campaign colluded with Russia to influence the 2016 election. Those allegations proved unsubstantiated after multiple investigations by Congress, the FBI, and special counsel Robert Mueller. Since late 2016, legacy media outlets, one after another, ran articles that apparently left many people with the impression that Lokhova was a Russian spy who somehow got access to a high-level meeting in 2014, at which she approached Flynn, who was then the head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, engaged him in a relationship, or possibly an affair, on behalf of Russian intelligence. The articles drew on unidentified sources, which the lawsuit alleges were Halper and Christopher Andrew, Cambridge professor and official historian of MI5, the United Kingdoms domestic counterintelligence and security service. History With Cambridge Lokhova has known Andrew since 1999, when she met him during her studies. Andrew became Lokhovas long-term, academic mentor and co-author, the complaint states. During her Masters studies in the early 2000s, she traveled to Moscow and collected public information from the Russian state archive that holds pre-1952 documents of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. She used the materials for her Masters dissertation on the founder of the Soviet intelligence service, Felix Dzerzhinsky. In 2004, she moved on to finance, working for Morgan Stanley, Citibank, and others. Her last gig was at Troika Dialog UK, a branch of an investment bank with substantial business ties to Russia. She left in April 2012, alleging harassment and discrimination, a claim that ultimately earned her over $2 million in compensation (pdf). Days after she left, Troika Dialog was taken over by Sberbank, a large Russian state-owned bank. It was in 2012 that Andrew invited Lokhova to join the Cambridge Intelligence Seminar (CIS), an ongoing series of meetings for intelligence community members, academics, and researchers co-convened at the time by Halper, Andrew, and Sir Richard Dearlove, former head of the UKs MI6 intelligence service. Meeting Flynn In January 2014, Dearlove and Andrew invited Lokhova to attend a group dinner with Flynn. Dearlove had no concerns with Lokhova, the complaint states. Dearlove would never have allowed Lokhova to attend an event with General Flynn if Dearlove had had any concerns with Lokhova. The purpose of the dinner was to promote the program that was to become the Cambridge Security Initiative (CSI), a group chaired by Dearlove that Lokhova was later invited to as a fellow. Approximately 20 people attended the dinner and, at the end, Andrew invited Lokhova to give a presentation about materials from the Soviet archive. She showed a picture of a postcard sent by Joseph Stalin. There was a picture of an erotic statue on the postcard and Flynn asked Lokhova to send him the materials to use as an icebreaker during his conversation with Russian officials, with whom he interacted as part of his job. They were never alone together during the conversation, according to the complaint. Andrew asked Lokhova to stay in touch with Flynn, in the hope that Flynn might speak again at the Seminar or do business with CSI, the complaint says. She said she sent him several emails with Andrew copied in on all of them. She continued to participate in the CIS and CSI activities. Neither Dearlove, nor Halper, nor Andrew nor anyone else ever raised any concerns about Lokhova, the complaint says. In fact, Andrew offered to co-author with her a book based on the Soviet archive documents. He introduced her to his literary agents and she was offered over $200,000 in advance from two publishers. In January 2016, Andrew invited her to a dinner with Halper to discuss the book, but she considered Halper a loathsome character who was, up until that point, purposefully avoiding her, the complaint says, adding that she declined. Andrew wasnt happy and, in April 2016, walked away from the book deal. Ludicrous Rumor At around the same time, Lokhova was told by a colleague at Cambridge that Halper was, behind her back, asking pointed questions about who Lokhova was meeting with, where and when. Two months later, Andrew told Lokhova that ludicrous rumors were circulating about her familys links to Russian intelligence. That same month, Halper left CIS. He said it was for personal reasons, but the complaint alleges it was because he was called upon by the FBI to snoop on the Trump campaign, which he did. After Trumps election, Halper set about seed to the media defamatory stories about Lokhova, the complaint alleges. Financial Times On Dec. 17, 2016, The Financial Times ran a story on claims by three CIS members, including Dearlove and Halper, that they cut ties with the CIS because Russians were trying to co-opt the group. Halper apparently reneged on his previous justification and claimed he actually resigned because of unacceptable Russian influence on the group. The Financial Times has been unable to independently substantiate their claimsand no concrete evidence has been provided to back them, the paper noted. Halpers and Dearloves names were indeed removed from the list of CIS convenors sometime between September and October 2016, but Dearloves was back on the list by Feb. 4, 2017, and has remained there since. Halpers misrepresentations and propaganda in the FT article were designed to seed the false narrative about Lokhova and stoke fears and paranoia about Russian subversion of the West and meddling in the 2016 presidential election, the complaint alleges. Sunday Times of London On Feb. 19, 2017, Andrew published an article in the Sunday Times of London, in which he said that Flynn asked Lokhova to travel with him as a translator to Moscow on his next official visit and that Flynn signed an email to Lokhova as General Misha. Halper and Andrew knew these statements were false, the complaint says. Neither Halper nor Andrew ever heard General Flynn ask Lokhova to travel with him to Moscow as a translator or otherwise. Moreover, Andrew was copied on Lokhovas email communication with General Flynn. General Flynn never signed a single email, General Misha. After the article, rumors started to spread online that Lokhova was a Russian agent and honey trap sent by Moscow to seduce Flynn. The Wall Street Journal In March 2017, Lokhova learned from a colleague that two Wall Street Journal reporters were asking around about a purported affair between Lokhova and Flynn. The complaint alleges the unsubstantiated claim was spread by Halper. The paper ended up running an article on March 17, 2017, that didnt explicitly make the claim, focusing instead on the fact that Flynn didnt file a report with the Defense Department about meeting Lokhova in 2014. Senior officials are indeed supposed to report when approached by unknown foreigners, but, in this case, it seems it was Flynn who approached Lokhova and asked her for an inconsequential favor. Two people who attended the Cambridge dinner and are associated with the event said that Ms. Lokhova approached Mr. Flynn at the start and that the two sat next to each other, the article claimed. Those two people were Halper and Andrew, the complaint alleges, further stating that Halper didnt attend the dinner, she didnt approach Flynn at the start, and didnt sit beside him. The complaint includes a picture that Lokhova took at the dinner that indicates Flynn didnt sit beside her. In fact, it would have been a faux pas for them to sit together, since the dinner was a formal event with a seating order and Lokhova was likely the most junior participant, while Flynn was the guest of honor. The article also repeated Andrews alleged falsehoods from his Sunday Times article, and incorrectly claimed that Lokhova worked for Sberbank. The Guardian, Others On March 31, 2017, The Guardian ran an article following the Flynn-Russia narrative, with the subhead US and UK officials were troubled by Moscow contacts and encounter with woman linked to Russian spy agency records. The article assumes that Lokhova was granted access to archives of Russian intelligence, which she denies, and of which no evidence has been found. The article also repeated Andrews alleged falsehoods from his Sunday Times article and, upon publication, further fed the rumors that Lokhova was a spy. The Daily Mail and The Telegraph piled on with articles on March 31 and April 2, 2017. MSNBC analyst Malcolm Nance even went as far as calling Lokhova a Russian Intel asset in a tweet, and MSNBC aired a segment with Nance that referred to Lokhova as Russian intelligence officer. The New York Times A year later, after blogger Jeff Carlson pointed out that theres a decent chance Halper was an FBI spook, The New York Times ran an article on May 18, 2018, de facto outing Halper as such. Carlson became an Epoch Times contributor later that year. The New York Times piece again repeated the alleged lies spread by Halper about the 2014 CIS dinner, this time with stronger language. According to people familiar with Mr. Flynns visit to the intelligence seminar, the source was alarmed by the generals apparent closeness with a Russian woman who was also in attendance, the article said. The concern was strong enough that it prompted another person to pass on a warning to the American authorities that Mr. Flynn could be compromised by Russian intelligence, according to two people familiar with the matter. Lokhovas complaint rebukes the article on several points. The NYT Article falsely implied that Halper was at the dinner with General Flynn in February 2014. He was not. The Article misrepresented that Halper was alarmed by the generals apparent closeness with Lokhova. Halper was not alarmed about anything. No closeness was apparent to anyone at the dinner because Lokhova was never close to General Flynn. There was no basis for any belief that Lokhova had compromised General Flynn, let alone on behalf of Russian intelligence, and no warning was passed to American authorities. This is all a concerted lie concocted by Halper and [New York Times reporter Adam] Goldman/NYT. The paper didnt even attempt to contact Lokhova for comment, the complaint states. NBC That May, Lokhova was contacted by NBC producer Anna Schecter, who promised to set the record straight on Lokhovas story and right a wrong. As a woman, and a professional woman, I shudder at the notion of a fallacious story about sleeping with Flynn and spying no less not just told around Cambridge but given to the press and reported as fact, Schecter told Lokhova, according to the complaint. I and my team in the investigative unit will take this story and its important implications very seriously and I believe our agencies (FBI and CIA) will be better for the fact that we shine a bright light on an unreliable and loose-lipped informant prone to inventing stories. That didnt pan out. Schecter later told Lokhova she believed her, but said a colleague at NBC with 25 years intelligence experience was laughing and saying that everyone at the CIA knows Flynn had an affair with Lokhova. Schecter sounded distressed, and said she was being pressured by her colleagues, the complaint says. Halper, Andrew, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Sunday Times of London, NBC News, and MSNBC didnt respond to requests for comment. A spokesperson for The Guardian declined to comment. Halper Halper has links to the CIA and MI6. He also served in the Nixon, Ford, and Reagan administrations. Halper met with Carter Page, a volunteer adviser to the Trump campaign, at a Cambridge symposium held on July 11 and 12, 2016. Page had just returned from a trip to Russia a few days prior and said he remained in contact with Halper for a number of months after that. Pages trip became the core subject of the Steele dossiera collection of unsubstantiated claims about Trump-Russia collusion put together by former MI6 agent Christopher Steele that was paid for by Hillary Clintons 2016 presidential campaign and the Democratic National Committee. The dossier was used by the FBI as the core evidence to obtain from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court a warrant to spy on Page several weeks before the presidential election On Sept. 2, 2016, Halper also contacted George Papadopoulos, another Trump campaign aide, and offered $3,000 and a paid trip to London to write a paper about a gas field in the Mediterranean Sea. Papadopoulos accepted the offer and flew to London, where he met Halper and his assistant. On Aug. 31 or Sept. 1, 2016, Halper also met with Trump campaign co-Chairman Sam Clovis in Northern Virginia and offered help to the Trump campaign with foreign policy, The Washington Post reported. Halpers concern about Lokhova is portrayed as feigned in her complaint, since he seemed to have shown no concern for about two years after the 2014 Flynn meeting, only showing concern after Flynn started to aid Trump. In fact, Halper appears himself to be rather close to Russian intelligence, having invited Vladimir Trubnikov, former director of Russian intelligence, to teach at CIS at least twicein 2012 and in 2015according to the complaint. Trubnikov obliged him both times. Between 2012 and 2017, Halper was paid more than a $1 million by the Office of Net Assessment, a strategy think tank that falls directly under the U.S. secretary of defense. Adam Lovinger, an analyst at the think tank, raised alarm about the contracts to Halper, but was punished for it, according to his lawyer. Flynn Flynn was one of the most consequential post-9/11 intelligence officials in the world. Mike Flynns impact on the nations War on Terror probably trumps any other single person as his energy and skill at harnessing the Intelligence Community into a focused effort was literally historic, wrote then-Brig. Gen. John Mulholland in Flynns 2007 performance review. At the time, Flynn headed intelligence at the Joint Special Operations Command. Mulholland, himself a former special forces officer, called Flynn easily the best intelligence professional of any service serving today. In 2014, however, he was forced into retirement over disagreements with the Obama administration. More than a year ago, Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to two FBI agents about conversations with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak that took place when former President Barack Obama imposed additional sanctions on Russia in December 2016. He also pleaded guilty to lying about asking Russia to vote against or delay the vote on a U.N. Security Council resolution. Finally, he pleaded guilty to lying about his foreign lobbying disclosures regarding the extent to which his work benefiting the Turkish government was overseen by that government. Foreign lobbying paperwork violations are seldom prosecuted. Flynn said the work started in August 2016; he shut down his lobbying firm in November 2016. In March, Flynn asked a federal judge to delay his sentencing to give him more time to continue in his cooperation with a case in Virginia against two of his former associates, who face charges for concealing that they lobbied in the United States on behalf of Turkey. Flynn has extensively cooperated with government prosecutors on multiple investigations and further cooperation will give him yet more grounds to ask for a lenient sentence. Even before the delay, the prosecutors were asking for a lenient sentence, including no prison time, while the defense wanted no more than a year of probation and community service. By Express News Service HYDERABAD: A day after arrest of the United Kingdom-based Braunwald Hospitals Chairman Narendra Vikramaditya Yadav by both Rachakonda and Cyberabad police, his wife Divya Rawat tweeted out to TRS working president KT Rama Rao, seeking his intervention against alleged abuse of power and harassment by Telangana police. Responding to her, KT Rama Rao said justice will prevail and also asked her to contact his office in case further help is needed. He also requested the Director General of Police and Rachakonda Commissioner to look into the allegations. Divya Rawat, a CO-accused in both cases, had tweeted, On one side and KTR welcomes foreign companies to Telangana to venture, when they come to do business they are harassed like us. Ill let my fellow people in England to stay away from business in India. (sic) Responding to her, KT Rama Rao wrote, Request DGP Telangana and Commissioner Rachakonda to look into this matter. The lady is complaining of abuse of power. Divya Ji, let me assure you that justice will prevail. We work without any fear or favour. If you need any further assistance you can contact my office. He tweet received mixed responses. While some netizens supported her, some of them slammed her and her husband for not paying salaries to their employees. Narendra Vikramaditya Yadav was arrested by Rachakonda police last week, on charges of cheating more than 100 employees by not paying them salaries.Yadav, along with Divya Rawat, is also accused of using bouncers against employees who had approached them for salaries. On Friday Cyberabad police arrested him on charges of allegedly confining a UK citizen in a room at Petbasheerabad.Inquiries revealed that a case of cheating and forgery had been registered against Narendra in 2013 in Noida. If she has any grievances against the police, she can always approach us. Being an accused, she is making allegations on social media. We only request her to cooperate with the investigation and submit her version of events. the police said. Banned from surgeries In 2014, the Medical Council of India punished Yadav for professional misconduct and banned him from performing surgeries for 5 years. Police officials said that despite the ban, Yadav performed surgeries. Divya, 2nd accused in the cases registered at Rachakonda and Cyberabad and as per records, she left for UK on April 28 Water is released from the Keystone Dam into the Arkansas River northwest of Tulsa, Okla., on May 24, 2019. (Tom Gilbert/Tulsa World via AP) Flooding Leads to Oklahoma and Arkansas Evacuations TULSA, Okla.Officials on Saturday warned some Tulsa residents to prepare to head to higher ground because old levees holding back the swollen Arkansas River are stressed and more rain is expected for the flood-weary region. The river was four feet above flood stage on Friday and was already causing flooding in parts of Oklahomas second-largest city, including in south Tulsa where the murky brown water had inundated low-lying neighborhoods and crept right up to the River Spirit Hotel and Casino, which closed for the weekend. City officials said at a news conference Saturday that people living west of downtown should consider leaving for higher ground, even though the levees arent currently considered to be in danger of failing. If an evacuation becomes necessary, it would need to happen quickly, they said. Mayor G.T. Bynum said the levees were built in the 1940s and havent had to hold back this much water since 1986. Officials also said they dont expect the river to recede in Tulsa until Wednesday at the earliest, pushing back their initial estimate by three days. The level of risk you have in staying there is very high, Bynum said. Thats an unnecessary risk. Flooding Leads to Oklahoma and Arkansas Evacuations https://t.co/ivmitFwg22 CBN News (@CBNNews) May 25, 2019 Storms have buffeted the central Plains and Midwest all spring, inundating the ground and leaving rain with nowhere to go but into already bloated waterways. The regions most recent spate of bad weather and flooding has been blamed for at least nine deaths. Downriver in northwestern Arkansas, between 100 and 200 residents had already evacuated their homes in the states second-largest city of Fort Smith, which is about 100 miles (160 kilometers) southeast of Tulsa. Karen Santos, a spokeswoman for the city of roughly 80,000 people, said at least one house along the river had been completely submerged. Laurie Driver, a spokeswoman for the Army Corps of Engineers, said the increased release of floodwater from upriver dams would affect Arkansas levee systems, which also havent been tested for as much water as is expected. When youre in territory youve never been in before, youre not sure if the levees are going to be breached or not, Driver said, though she added that most were in good shape. The National Weather Service said it expects the river to reach 41 feet (12 meters) near Fort Smith by early Monday morning, which would be 3 feet (0.91 meters) higher than its previous record, which was set in 1945. This would cause near catastrophic flooding in Fort Smiths low-lying neighborhoods and business district, it said. Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson declared a state of emergency Friday night to free up state agencies to do what they can to assist flooded areas. .@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 Additional storms are possible in Arkansas, Oklahoma and Kansas over the next week, according to the latest forecasts. In Indiana, officials said Saturday that water levels had dropped slightly on a rain-swollen creek in the north of the state where a 4-year-old boy was swept away Thursday. The boy, Owen Jones, has not been found, though crews were on Deer Creek in Delphi searching for him. Meanwhile, weak-to-moderate tornadoes touched down Friday in Iowa and Kansas. The one in Iowa flipped some mobile homes and damaged rooftops, trees and outbuildings in and around Frytown, south of Iowa City, but didnt injure anyone, Cedar Rapids TV station KCRG reported. The weather service said it was an EF-1 tornado, with winds of 110 mph. The tornado also disrupted Iowa City West High Schools graduation ceremony Friday evening, forcing students, their families and staff to seek shelter inside the Carver-Hawkeye Arena as tornado warnings sounded. NEW VIDEO: A tornado hit southwest of Iowa City and prompted a tornado warning moments ago. Here was the view from @Brenenden23 A tornado warning remains in effect until 7:45 p.m. CT east of Iowa City #IAwx pic.twitter.com/rFdx3Rah2Y WeatherNation (@WeatherNation) May 25, 2019 In Kansas, an EF-0 twister damaged trees near Douglass, in the southeast of the state, Television station KWCH reports. No one was injured. Florida Bail Agents Raid Miami Home Over $750 Bond, Sparking Criticism A lawyer speaking on behalf of a Florida man whose house was stormed by bail enforcement agents over a $750 bond has called the incident a state-sponsored home invasion. Faudlin Pierre, attorney for Donald Colas, was cited by The Miami Herald as saying his client intends to sue over the May 5 raid, which was supervised by the police. The guy didnt appear for a traffic ticket, its not like the guy was a murderer, Pierre told Miami Herald. What gives these individuals, who are just basically hired contractors, to go into a third partys home and destroy other peoples property? Bail enforcement agentsalso known as bail bondsmenwere looking for Colass cousin Berlin Gabriel, a fugitive who skipped bail after being arrested for driving with a suspended license. In Florida, as in many other states, suspects can get a bail bondsman to post a large fraction of their bond on their behalf, allowing the suspect to pay a relatively small portion of their bail and walk free. If the defendant skips bail and does not make a court appearance, the agent or Bail Bond Agency stands to lose money. Colass house was the bail-skipping defendants last known address, according to court documents cited in the media outlets report. Colas insisted, however, that his cousin hadnt lived there in 20 years. The agents reportedly cited a Supreme Court opinion from 1872 which gives bail enforcement agents the right to gain access by force, if necessary, to the homes of defendants who skip bail. A video posted online by Miami Herald shows the agents using pry bars to gain entry to the house after Colas refused to let them in. Colas is heard in the footage telling the agents that Gabriel is not at the home, while agents insist on searching the premises. A police supervisor was reportedly present at the scene. Police were called to the property three times that night but allegedly left each time after determining no laws had been broken. Gabriels family members reportedly paid off his debt to the bail agency a couple of days after the incident. How Do Bail Bonds Work? According to the Florida Department of Financial Services, bail bond agents use their own money or collateral to post bail for defendants and in exchange they are promised money or other things of value for doing so. Crystal Ignatowski of Surety Solutions explains the process in a blog post: For example, John is arrested. The court set Johns bail at $10,000. John wants to be released from jail but he does not have $10,000 in cash, so he seeks help from a Bail bondsman to post a Bail Bond for him. The bondsman requires $1,000 to post a Bail Bond for John, thus releasing him from jail. Ignatowski writes that in the hypothetical example, if the defendant appears in court, the bondsman keeps the $1000 as a fee for profit. If the defendant skips bail and the judicial process is interrupted, the bondsman must pay the court the outstanding amount$9,000 in the hypothetical examplefrom their own pocket. In Florida, bail bond agents are governed by the following laws: Chapter 648, Florida Statutes and Chapter 69B-221, Florida Administrative Code. Crime in the United States Violent crime in the United States has fallen sharply over the past 25 years, according to both the FBIs Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) and the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS). The rate of violent crimes fell by 49 percent between 1993 and 2017, reported the FBIs UCR, which only reflects crimes reported to the police. The violent crime rate dropped by 74 percent between 1993 and 2017, according to BJSs CVS, which takes into account both crimes that have been reported to the police and those that have not. From 1993 to 2017, the rate of violent victimization declined 74 percent, from 79.8 to 20.6 victimizations per 1,000 persons age 12 or older, the U.S. Department of Justice stated (pdf). Both studies are based on data up to and including 2017, the most recent year for which complete figures are available. The FBI recently released preliminary data for 2018. According to the Preliminary Semiannual Uniform Crime Report, from January to June 2018, violent crime rates in the United States dropped by 4.3 percent compared to the same six-month period in 2017. While the overall rate of violent crime has seen a steady downward drop since its peak in the 1990s, there have been several upticks that bucked the trend. Between 2014 and 2016, the murder rate increased by more than 20 percent, to 5.4 per 100,000 residents, from 4.4, according to an analysis of FBI data. The last two-year period in which the rate soared so quickly was between 1966 and 1968. Supreme Court Halts Judge-Ordered Redistricting in Ohio, Michigan WASHINGTONThe Supreme Court has granted emergency stays halting forced congressional redistricting statewide in both Ohio and Michigan that was ordered by U.S. district court judges who found that boundaries of electoral districts had been improperly drawn. The emergency orders were granted while the Supreme Court separately considers whether state electoral maps in North Carolina and Maryland were gerrymandered, or unfairly manipulated for partisan advantage. The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the two different legal challenges on March 26 and is expected to rule on those cases next month. This means ahead of the presidential and congressional elections in 2020 that the electoral maps of four states in allOhio, Michigan, North Carolina, and Marylandcould change dramatically, leading to upheaval and grief for both political parties. The applications, granted May 24, on the cusp of the Memorial Day weekend, were submitted to Justice Sonia Sotomayor, acting in her capacity as the Supreme Courts Circuit Justice for the Sixth Circuit, which includes both Ohio and Michigan. The orders didnt explain the courts rationale for acting in the two cases. No justices filed dissents opposing the stays. Granting these stays implies the Supreme Court will hear these cases. The lower court ruling concerning Ohio had required the state to have a new electoral map in place by June 14. That three-judge panel also indicated it could make a new map on its own with assistance from a judicial officer known as a special master. The lawsuit that led to the order was brought by the Ohio A. Philip Randolph Institute and other left-leaning activist groups. Randolph was a socialist labor leader who died in 1979. The judgestwo appointed by Democratic presidents, and one appointed by a Republican presidentwere equally emphatic that Democrats were treated unfairly in Ohios redistricting process. We are convinced by the evidence that this partisan gerrymander was intentional and effective and that no legitimate justification accounts for its extremity The 2012 map dilutes the votes of Democratic voters by packing and cracking them into districts that are so skewed toward one party that the electoral outcome is predetermined. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, a Republican, previously denounced the panels ruling, describing it as a fundamentally political act that has no basis whatsoever in the constitution. In the lower court ruling pertaining to Michigan, a panel of three federal judges in Detroit ordered the Wolverine States electoral map be redrawn because of what the judges unanimously called an unconstitutional political gerrymander of historical proportions that caused severe constitutional violations. The redistricting in Michigan was approved by the GOP-controlled state legislature in 2011 and signed into law by the then-Gov. Rick Snyder, a Republican, in time for the 2012 elections. The judges found the redrawn boundaries ran afoul of the First and 14th Amendment rights of the voters who initiated the legal action. Judges and courts should not be in the business of drawing legislative boundaries, U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-Mich.) said after the panel ruled. The Supreme Court has never struck down an entire state map for partisan gerrymandering. Traditionally, conservative members of the Supreme Court tend to favor treating redistricting as a political question that should be left to lawmakers who have been elected to make this kind of decision. Liberal justices tend to be more open to intervening in the map-drawing process to correct perceived injustices. In the 435-seat U.S. House of Representatives, Democrats currently hold 235 seats and Republicans hold 198. There are two vacancies. Republicans hold 12 of Ohios congressional seats; Democrats hold the remaining four. Michigans 14 congressional seats are divided evenly between the two parties. Of North Carolinas 13 seats, eight are in Republican hands. Three are held by Democrats. There are two vacancies. Of Marylands 8 seats, seven are in Democrat hands. One is held by a Republican. Lara Trump on Being a Trump in the Era of Fake News, Socialism, Border Crisis, Lead-up to 2020 Just what has it been like to be a part of the Trump family, both before and after Donald Trump came down the escalator at Trump Tower in 2015and to be part of the Trump 2020 campaign? Epoch Times senior editor Jan Jekielek sat down recently with Lara Trump, who is a senior adviser for the Trump 2020 campaign, to discuss what President Trump meant by not accepting two tracks, the Trump administrations successes, the endless investigations against him, media bias, the womens vote, border security, socialism, and whats in store for 2020. They also discussed Laras personal work around upgrading standards for dog-breeding facilities, aiming to ultimately vanquish puppy mills. Jan Jekielek: The Mueller investigation is over. There was no collusion. The attorney general found there was no obstruction. Yet all sorts of investigations continue and, recently, the president actually walked out from a meeting on infrastructure after having been accused of a cover-up. What do you make of all this? Lara Trump: I think its pretty clear to most people whats going on here. Sadly, our country was put through the Mueller investigation for a little over two years. It was really an awful thing for our country. We all knew, at the campaign and in our family, that there was no collusion with Russia. The idea of it actually was so crazy, when we all first heard about it and that that was even something that people were considering. It feels very good to have that done and behind us, and for the report to showas we all knewthere was no collusion. But sadly, I think, when you look at the Democrats, and you look at what they are running on and their platform in many cases, I think they know they cant beat this president in the 2020 election. So what are their options? Theyre still upset that he won. Theyre still upset that Hillary Clinton didnt win in 2016. So the options are: investigate him, say that youre going to impeach him, try to hurt all the people around him in an effort to distract him, and keep him from doing more things that are very positive for this country. Look at what this president has been able to do, despite the fact that there was a two-year investigation going on about him and his campaign, despite the fact that every single day in Washington, there are obstructionists, people that will do anything they can to go in the opposite direction of this president, sadly, working against the American peopleand hes accomplished so much. We have a booming economy. We have the lowest unemployment in the history of this country. We have manufacturing jobs by the hundreds of thousands that have now come back to the United States, as promised by this president, and our former president said he would never be able to do that. So when I look at it as an American citizenand I think when so many people look at what has happened and the reason that these investigations, which are so nonsensical, such a waste of time and money, are still going onI think its because the Democrats have nothing else to run on. And how else are they going to defeat this president than to try and take him down in some way that they think theyre going to find, I dont know what they think theyre going to find continuing to investigate, but theyre hopeful that theres something in his past that they can use to take him down. Its not going to work. And I think the American people are seeing through it, and I think theyre sick and tired, quite frankly, of all this nonsense. Theyre ready to move on and for all of the people that we send to Washingtonin Congress, and in our governmentto work together for the American people. Mr. Jekielek: One term that Ive heard, I think Steve Moore actually told me this, is death by a thousand cuts. Is that the strategy? Ms. Trump: I guess thats part of their strategy. I think they [think that] if they continue to say negative things about this president and try to portray our family in a negative light and the people that are close to him negatively, then maybe the American people at some point are going to buy into the idea that hes a bad guy, that were awful people, and that hes done something wrong. Sadly for them, I think the American people are more interested in things that impact their everyday lives. Theyre more interested in the fact that they have a job now, when maybe they didnt have a job before, or full-time instead of a part-time job, or higher-paying job at that, that they saved money on their tax returns this year. Those are the things, I think, that people are paying attention to. I think many people have tuned out the nonsense, and I think you see it when you look at the ratings of many of the news outlets out there. And I use the term news outlets very loosely for some of them, but there is one, in particular, that has a much higher ratingalmost double the rating of the others. And its because I think thats what people want to hear. They want to hear about the things that are going to affect them every day. They dont want to hear about the nonsense. Mr. Jekielek: So, the president has called this a hoax, hes called it a witch hunt, and hes called itand you were talking about this harassment of himself and the family. He said that Don Jr. has basically been put through hell through this process. We had an article recently about how a number of people have just been dragged through the mud through the Mueller investigationpeople who were completely innocent of anything. How is this all playing out for your family? Ms. Trump: Well, nothing prepares you for this. Certainly, nothing will prepare you everI dont thinkfor being part of the First Family. Especially for me: I came from a very normal background. I was raised in North Carolina in a middle-class family. I never dreamed of living in New York [and] certainly never dreamed I would be part of a family like this. But its very challenging, its hard when you know the truth, when you know that people are good, and you know that theyve done nothing wrong, and yet theres a narrative out there that continues to portray them in a different way. Whether youre talking about my father-in-lawthe presidentor youre talking about Don, my brother-in-law, or my husband, or even me, its happened to all of us. And its very upsetting when you know someones heart, and you know theyre good, and you know theyre just out there trying to do the best thing possibleespecially when it comes to the president. He didnt need to do this job. His life is a lot harder now because hes our president. Everyone liked Donald Trump before he decided to run as a Republican, and now, you see the difference. So it is challenging, but I think at the end of the day, we all know were doing this for the right reason. We all know that the president is fighting for the American people. And I always tell him, and I say to people all the time, I think you will go down in history as one of the greatest presidents weve ever had. Hes honest and maybe sometimes to a fault, but sometimes you need to hear the truth, and, sometimes, its not great. And, sometimes, you need somebody to stand up and say, we can do better, and we need to start fighting for ourselves. And thats what this president has done. So they can try all they want to harass all of us, and malign all of us, and write negative stories about us all day long. But we sleep well at night because we know were good people, and we know were doing the right thing. Mr. Jekielek: So whats it like being Donald Trumps daughter-in-law? I mean maybe before the presidential run? And then have things changed at all? Ms. Trump: Well, as I mentioned, I did not grow up in New York City and this sort of higher society town. I grew up in North Carolina, going to public schools my whole life, and come from a very normal background. Its always intimidating, I think, to meet who might be your future in-laws. Certainly, when their last name is Trump, its a lot scarier. I was very nervous before meeting my then-boyfriend Erics dad and mom, and I was so pleasantly surprised, immediately, at how my father-in-law interacted with me and the way he made me feel. Because anyone whos been around Donald Trump knows that hes a great guy, but hes so much more of a normal guy than anyone in his place should really ever be. I mean, he enjoys the simple things in life, and one of the things that we did was we shared an ice cream together at the U.S. Open, and he chatted with me and wanted to know about me, and I felt very relaxed, pretty quickly after meeting him. So I knew that that meant something, because you dont always feel that with people. Eric and I got married five years ago, and I officially became part of this family, and they were always happy to welcome me with open armsevery member of his family. And I do say that they all are down-to-earth people. I can say that because I come from a background where I can say that. I dont know that I wouldve fit in with a family that was any different. Now, certainly, being his daughter-in-law and the fact that hes in the White House as our president, it makes me so proud to know that this man that I have always known is a great father, is obviously the business leader and mogul that weve always known in this country, is using everything that hes learned throughout his career to benefit the American people. I couldnt be prouder to work as part of his campaign team. I did it in 2016 by default, in some crazy twists of fate. He asked me to stay on board and Im honored to do it, and Im honored to call him my father-in-law. Its a great thing. Mr. Jekielek: The man seems to never sleep, at least to some of us. Does he get a chance to spend any time with your kids, or with your child? Ms. Trump: Not as much time as hed like. It was a lot easier when he was here in New York, but obviously being that hes in Washington, D.C., and we dont live down there, he certainly doesnt get to see our son as much as hed like. But we do all get together for all the holidays, oftentimes down at Mar-a-Lago, and its very relaxed. The first thing he always asks me when I see him is how our son is doing, Hows Luke? That kid is the best, and he loves him so much, and, Show me some new pictures. Hes like any grandparent and wants to know the things hes up to and what hes doing now. It is so nice when we do have time to get together, because all of our lives seem to have gotten even crazier than they were before, across the board, with our family. Mr. Jekielek: Is there something that you were surprised to learn, or maybe the American people would be surprised to learn, about him that isnt out in the open? Ms. Trump: Well, I just wish people knew the Donald Trump that we all know, and its not the hardened guy that everybody tries to make him out to be on television. He loves his family. Hes one of the greatest storytellers and joke tellers Ive ever met. Dinners with our family are pretty funny because hes constantly just keeping us all in stitches laughing. Its actually incredible to see that he hasnt changed, that hasnt changed about him. And Im pleasantly surprised to know that, because, I think for some people, you would go to Washington, and you would be under the constant scrutiny and attacks like he is every day, and perhaps that would change. Its so nice that it hasnt with him. He is still the same funny guy that weve always known. And I just wish people knew how much he cared, and cared not just about our family, but hes always cared about this country, and about this country being the best, and doing the right thing for everyone in this country. He talked about it for many years before he ran for president. When I hear stories in the media about him doing anything other than what is right for the people of this country and doing what he knows is going to help people, its very frustrating, because I know his heart and I know thats not true. I just wish people got to see that side of him more. Mr. Jekielek: The president, according to some people Ive spoken withHUD Secretary Ben Carson and Lynne Patton, who also works at HUD these dayshave talked about how much hes sacrificed to be able to actually do this. Have you yourself found that youve had to make a lot of sacrifices to be in your role as a campaign person, and a very prominent campaign person? Ms. Trump: I think it sort of all happens in such a way that you maybe dont realize it, but certainly, our lives are very different now. We all have Secret Servicethese are amazing people that literally stop their lives to work and make sure that youre safe every day. But thats been a change, a big change in our lives, for all of us. We are obviously living in a city New York City can feel challenging at times, if Im being fully truthful. Oftentimes, I will walk into a restaurant or a workout class, or whatever it might be, and I dont know who in there likes us, who doesnt like us, who has bought into the narrative that were awful people, that were trying to scam the country or get rich off of the presidency, or whatever theory theyve put out there about all of us. I try to ignore it, but its certainly always in the back of my mind. I dont want to say that weve sacrificed, because its such an honor to be in a role where I can talk to the president of the United States. I get to work for his campaign. I get to go out there and talk about the great things hes doing for this country, but its certainly different, and its certainly been a huge change in a very short amount of time. Itll be interesting and, I think, welcomed at the endhopefully, six-plus years from nowwhen this is over, to maybe get back to some more normalcy. But you know, if you call it a sacrifice, I guess some people could look at it like that, but I really see it as an honor. Mr. Jekielek: Lets jump back to talking about the media. You know, in one recent example, the president said he was very calm leaving this meeting with Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Chuck Schumer. In the media, we were told he was raging and so forth. Very different stories. Another thing I came across recently Michael Avenatti was charged with defrauding Stormy Danielsall sorts of issues with him. I was looking at a clip of Avenatti being described as the savior of the country by some media pundits. Were seeing this kind of stuff. Weve even had an op-ed recently in which one of our columnists wrote that, basically, many journalists feel empowered to tell stories that arent entirely truthful, because they fit the particular narrative they believe in. Can you speak to all of this? Ms. Trump: Well, I worked in the media for a number of years. I was a producer with the television show Inside Edition. And I remember understanding, to a degree, that that sort of thing happenedthat there was manipulation of stories to fit a certain narrative. And it was very innocent at Inside Edition. I mean, these were not like crazy hard-hitting news stories, but nonetheless, I knew that it happened. It wasnt until I was on the other side of that, that I really realized what was going on there. Its sad when you see it, but its even worse to think that these are the people that we are trusting to disseminate information across our country, and they have a responsibility to tell the truth to the public. And what they are doing by manipulating things to fit their narrative, and oftentimes that narrative is very anti-Trump and seemingly anti-American in some cases. Its very odd. Its so detrimental to this country. I mean, the trust in the media is at an all-time low right now. I dont think its ever been worse in this country. And theres a reason for that. People are starting to see, Well, wait a minute, I was at that rally and thats not how the president said that. Thats not what he meant whenever he did that. So its happened for a lot of people, and then you look at things like the #WalkAway movement [and] Brandon Straka, who has done incredible things. That was something that he first noticed, and he said, Wait a minute, theres something thats off here. I think there are a lot of Americans that are waking up and realizing that the media is not always telling you the truth, but its shameful that people would consider doing that. Its shameful that someone would call themselves a journalist and then turn around and manipulate something to fit their narrative, knowing full well that that was not the way it was meant to be, that that was not the intention of a statement. And its very frustrating when you know the truth when it happens to you, when it happens to someone close to you. But as a whole for our country, I think its so bad, and I give the president a lot of credit for calling it out, because a lot of people wouldnt. A lot of people would just try to play along with their game and try to fit into what they wanted, but not this president. He said, Enough is enough. You guys are doing something wrong. And thats why he calls it fake news. Theres something to that. Its sad to see, but I hope that at a certain point, the public in this country demands better from our media and from our journalists. And Im not sure how that will happen, but I think its very necessary because its really scary the direction that were headed right now. Mr. Jekielek: So you actually called it, moments ago, anti-American. Can you expand on that a little bit? Ms. Trump: Well, when you look at things like, for example, the way that what has happened at our southern borderthe immigration problem that we have, the illegal immigration problem in this countryis presented in the mainstream media. Barack Obama, under his administration, started the family separations, and all of a sudden, it became Donald Trump is locking kids in cages, which, first of all, is not the case. Thats a ridiculous thing to say. This was all started under the Obama administration, but nobody cared about it then. Then, you have the media portraying the president negatively, portraying people coming across our southern border as people that we should be helping: Lets let them into our country. Unfortunately, we cannot just continue to have an open border at our southern border because it doesnt work. We are poised to have over a million people come into this country right now. So guess what that means? It disproportionately impacts people like the African-American communities, Hispanic communities, people in low-income communities. And, unfortunately, when you buy into the media narrative and you say, Well, lets let all these people in, thats going to hurt your fellow Americans. That is going to hurt people in this country, and we have to take care of people in our country first. And then if we can help other people, we absolutely should. The president has always had that vision and operated under that assumption. But, unfortunately, when you have the media twisting things around and making things seem like something that theyre not, its very detrimental, and people dont get the truth, and they dont get the full picture. So I do think you can call that anti-American, because youre hurting your fellow Americans at the end of the day, when you are automatically going to believe that and subscribe to what they want you to believe. Mr. Jekielek: You mentionedsomething just struck meyou mentioned a number of the things that the administration has accomplished, such as record employment or record low unemployment, and a number of other things. How much is this, in your view, something where theres in the headlines, you just constantly see attack, problem, this is wrong, thats wrong, investigation, cover-up, and you dont get to see any of those things? Ms. Trump: Well, you never get to see any of those things, sadly. Thats why I almost feel like a broken record sometimes repeating it, but I think its necessary to do because, sadly, the majority of our media is obsessed with the scandalous, salacious nonsense thats out there, and trying to further a narrative that this president is a bad guy, or that hes done something wrong, or that we should impeach him, which all is just complete garbage. And you dont hear about the great things that hes doing in this country every single day. You dont hear about the way that he is positively impacting peoples lives, and the new ways that this administration has tackled problems that have never been tackled before that had been totally ignored. Look at the fact that this president has now had two meetings with Kim Jong Un of North Korea; no president has ever done something like that. The denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula could happen, and it could happen under this president. But you know hell never get credit for it because the media always takes whatever he does and spins it around. But you should hear about more of the good things that are out there. You should hear about more of the things that impact your everyday life. Here at the campaign, we said, Nobodys talking about this. Well talk about it. So we started actually what we call the real news. I do a weekly update, where I let people know about the great things that the administration has done in that week, and its things that you probably would never hear about otherwise, because we feel like its really important and its something that people want to hear about. So its sad to see, but not that surprising. Mr. Jekielek: Youll certainly hear about them on this program and in The Epoch Times, because we like to take a fair and balanced approach to these questions. So tell me a little more about what you do with the campaign. I know that you have the show that youre doing for the campaign, but what else are you involved in now? Ms. Trump: I feel like Im involved in everything, in a way. So I remained at the campaign in 2017, after my father-in-law was inaugurated. We never really shut the campaign down, which is unusual and I dont think has actually ever happened before, but the president felt very strongly that the movement that had started behind him, he wanted to continue; he wanted people to still feel like the campaign was here and have a place to go. So I remained here with a very small group of people at the time. Weve done everything that maybe we didnt know we should have done in the previous campaign because we were all very green. None of us had ever been involved in politics. We feel very streamlined now. Im a senior adviser to the campaign, so anything from dealing with the finances to our television show we do. I obviously do a lot of media appearances and speaking engagements. We have recently done a lot of hiring at the campaign. Were gearing up for 2020. Were hiring state directors all around the country and really getting our teams in place. In terms of money, we have done some really epic fundraising. The first quarter of this year, we raised $30 million. Half of that, by the way, donated by women, which were very proud of. So, I mean, I really have a bit of a hand in everything. I work day-to-day with Brad Parscale, our campaign manager, with Ronna McDaniel, the chairwoman of the RNC, and were firing on all cylinders. So whatever the day calls for, Im sort of ready to do it. And we tackle it every day as it comes. Mr. Jekielek: So lets talk about women, actually. And this is especially I think suburban womenthat was a demographic that President Trump had a challenge with, in 2016. How are you addressing speaking with women? Its very interesting to hear that half of the donors are women. Ms. Trump: Well, I think there was always an assumption that Donald Trump wasnt going to have women vote for him. And I knew that wasnt right in 2016. Because I knew so many women, who would just randomly come up to me and say, I love Donald Trump. I want him to be our president. So, in 2016, I made a concerted effort to get a group of women together, and we traveled all across this country. Lynne Patton, who you just mentioned, was one of them; Katrina Pierson, who remains with the campaign now; Diamond and Silk, who everyone knows; and one who we will not mention. We all traveled this country, and the turnout that we saw, was that halfif not more than half of the people that would come to the many rallies that we didwere women, and so I said, Something is going on here. Somebody is missing something. And you look at these fundraising numbers that we have now. By the way, in 2016, only about a quarter of our donations came from women. Now, were at half of our donations coming from women. I think women out there are made to feel like if you are not voting alongside the Democratic Party, that theres something wrong; if you are supporting Donald Trump, you cant talk about it. And really, its a shame. Its really sad to see that. But when I look at these fundraising numbers, and I just feel, when Im traveling through an airport, or I go to speak somewhere, or I go home to North Carolina, the number of women that come up to me and have really positive things to say about our president would shock all these people that say that Donald Trump is going to lose with women, that he cant win. So I have always said that the women problem is not a real problem. And I do think its important for us at the campaign to get out there and remind peoplemen and women alikeabout what this president has done for them over the past now-2 1/2 years, and as we approach the election, it will be four years. Because oftentimes, you miss it, or you forget about it, or you get used to making that little bit more money or whatever it might be. Whether its men or women, I think we just need to make sure that were reinforcing what this president has done, what he can do in the future for this country. Ive always said that women will vote for Donald Trump in much bigger numbers than the pollsters will ever report, because theyre happy to go into a voting booth and vote for Donald Trump and never tell a soul. Theyre not going to tell that pollster on the way out that they voted for him. Mr. Jekielek: The fundraising numbers, thats fascinating to me. I mean thats a big shift. Is there something specific, you think, that accounts for that? Ms. Trump: I think there probably were a lot of women in 2016 who werent sure they liked Donald Trump. The Democrats in the media did everything they could to make him seem like a horrible guy, that anyone would be crazy to vote for him. So maybe some of them bought into that idea, and maybe they voted for him, but they didnt want to donate to him. Im not sure. But I think results speak louder than words, than empty words from talking heads on TV, quite frankly. When you see that things are changing in this country and theyre getting better for you or better for people you know, that means something. I think there are a lot of women out there that are sick and tired of the nonsense. Theyre sick and tired of hearing that if youre a woman, you should be voting Democrat. And theyre sick and tired of people telling them how they should think and how they should feel. The question that I got oftentimes in 2016 was about the fact that Hillary Clinton was a woman, and wouldnt I want a woman to be president? Well, of course, I would, but I want the right person to be president. I want the best candidate out there to run this countryman or woman. So I just think a lot of women are tired of all of the identity politics and all the pandering that you constantly see out there; maybe theyre standing up and theyre saying, you know what, not only are we going to vote for him, were also donating to him, because we really want him back in office. Mr. Jekielek: Now that were talking about the campaign, I remember that at the State of the Union, the president talked about how America will never be a socialist country. I know this is something youre very passionate about. It actually has a big part to do with why The Epoch Times was founded; its very important to us, as well. How big do you think this will be an issue for 2020? Ms. Trump: Well, I think youre seeing it play out already. I think when you look at the Democrat field, the candidates that have now come forward, it feels like there are about a hundred of themI think there are 23. There are so many of them that are running on an almost socialist or fully socialist platform; thats terrifying to me as an American citizen. This country was founded on free market, free economy, capitalism. Thats why we are the biggest economy in the world. Thats why we have always been the strong country that we are, and thats why people flock to this country every single day. You dont have to look very far to see why socialism doesnt work and why it would be detrimental to our country. You look at Venezuela as the most recent place where they tried to implement socialism. Obviously, it has been an epic failure. People are starving to death in Venezuela. They want to get out they cant. Theyre eating dog and cat food to survive. Ninety percent of the population lives below the poverty line there. Its really scary stuff, and this country was founded on less government, not more government. When you look at socialism and what it means, its more government across the board. Its almost government running everything in your life. And so for people out there that dont fully understand it, I always encourage them to do some research, look at the countries that use socialism: the USSR, Cuba, China. These are not countries we want to mimic in the United States of America. But you see so many candidates out there proposing all this free stuff, free education, free health care to people, and its very tempting when you dont have the facts and you dont understand the implications of that long term for this country. So I think this election, of any election, is going to be about a free country like we have now and like we have always had, or a socialist, almost communist-run, country, like so many of these candidates are frighteningly trying to propose. I think that as scary as that is, I think its going to be a very clear way to look at things. And I think people either want to continue in the direction that weve always gone in this country, or maybe theyre bamboozled a little bit by all the bells and whistles on the other side. But at the end of the day, I dont think Americans can get behind socialism. I dont think they want a country run with full government control of everything we do: where people tell you when you can have a medical procedure, where you have to go, when you can get certain food. Its really crazy that we are at this place, but I think the American people are going to stand up, and I think theyre going to vote against socialism. Mr. Jekielek: And what do you make of the fact that in this millennial demographic, especially, there seems to be this interest or even support, at least on paper? Ms. Trump: Well, apparently, its very cool. You have people like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in the Democratic Party, whos become sort of the face of the Democrats, who were always alongside Bernie Sanders, who is sort of like the grandfather of socialism in this country. Hes what we all associate with [socialism]. Thats always what I assume, I just assume its a lack of education. Its a lack of experience in the world, but it is frightening to see the number of millennialsGeneration Z, the younger people in this countrywho will be voting possibly in the next election, and the way that I feel theyve had the wool pulled over their eyes in a way by these really cool talkers, and that some of these ideas sound really nice, but ultimately cannot be paid for by the United States. Mr. Jekielek: Is talking about this stuff, educating about it, exposing it, and explaining a part of this strategy for 2020? Ms. Trump: It absolutely is for us, I think in so many cases, because it is not out there in the way that I wish it was out there. Whether youre talking about socialism or whether youre talking about the positive things this president has done for this country, I think it is incumbent upon us, as the campaign, as Republicans, to make sure that we get the word out. There are great people out there who are allies of ours, like Turning Point USACharlie Kirk and his group who go around to college campuses, where, sadly, they have become bastions of liberal ideology. And even professors now, some of the stories I hear from college students is terrifying that their professors are encouraging them to have a liberal mindset and not encouraging freedom of thought and exchange of ideas anymore. Its just, Heres the way it is, and this is how you should think of things. But there are great people out there who are going around, whether its on college campuses, or Candace Owens of Blexit, who is doing incredible work within the black community to make sure people understand that its OK to leave the party of the Democrats. Its OK to become a Republican. Its OK to support this president because he supports you, and everything youve heard out there is not true. So we do have a lot ahead of usa long road to gobut we have some great allies out there and were very lucky. I do think thats part of the strategy. Its about just getting the word out and reminding people about how their life has changed over the past couple of years. Mr. Jekielek: So what are, in your mind, the big issues for 2020 that youll be focusing on? Ms. Trump: Well, I hope it wont be the Mueller report, because were all so done with that. But if the Democrats have their way, thats what itll be on. I think so much of it is going to be about the economy. The economy in this country cannot be ignored. The fact that people are back to work and making more money cannot be ignored. And I think overall, its asking yourselfin many ways, its very Reaganesqueis your life better now than it was before Donald Trump took office? And I think for the majority of people in this country, its so much better. And we have to make sure that they ask themselves that question. Obviously, immigration and health care, I think, are two big things that the people want to see happen. Sadly, if the Democrats stopped playing politics all the time and stopped playing games, and instead wanted to do something positive and work together with our president we could have had those things done already. And infrastructure as the most recent example. But I think they are all things that impact peoples lives, that will impact the future of this country. And I certainly think those are things that are going to be real key factors in 2020. Mr. Jekielek: So speaking of which, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders recently talked about how there cant be two tracks, and that was after the president actually stepped out of this meeting on infrastructure. What was his reasoning behind that? Ms. Trump: Well, lets look at the fact that, like an hour before Nancy [Pelosi] and Chuck [Schumer] were at the White House, they had a meeting about impeaching him. How can you, in good conscience, work with people who want whats worst for you, who want your downfall, who want you out of office? It doesnt work. And the president said that, I think, when he came out. He was very clear that [he] did not sit down with them because theyre still playing games. Theres still so much that they want to do thats negative for this country [and] to him personally. You cant in good faith negotiate with people and sit down with people and get things done when you have that sort of animosity there, when you know that they just want whats worse for you. And it sadly seems like they want whats worse for the country because if they were serious about making anything happen, we could have done it a long time ago. I think he was right to do that. I mean, they need to shut down these nonsensical, costly investigations that no one in this country cares about. Were all done. We all want to move on. We want to get down to work in this country, and then, I think theres an opportunity possibly to move forward. But when youre playing games, when youre not there, and youre really not going to be taken seriously if you just had a meeting with your Democratic colleagues about how to impeach the president. I give him a lot of credit for walking out on that one. I wouldnt have stayed for that one, either. Mr. Jekielek: Lara, I actually wanted to ask you lets switch gears a little bit because I know theres an issue that youre very passionate about, which is getting rid of puppy mills. This is something that Ive seen you talk about a number of times. I just wanted to find out how that effort is going. are you having some success with this? Ms. Trump: Yeah, well, I will say that we are. The USDA [Department of Agriculture] did something really incredible, which is, for the first time in over 30 years, it proposed updating some of the standards that the dog-breeding facilities in this country are beholden to. They said, Lets make life a little bit better for these dogs. The hope is that we never have puppy mills anymore. Puppy mills really are a way to describe a dog-breeding facility that is very subpar, that the dogs are never let out of their cages, that theyre bred out of control, that theres a lot of disease, a lot of issues. And, sadly, those dogs end up in pet stores oftentimes, they become your family pet, and then, you get a vet bill for $8,000 because they have these inherent genetic issues. So we hope to end that because its not right for the consumers in this country who think theyre getting a great family dog. Its not right for the dogs. So the USDA proposed changing some of those rules very recently, and I think the comment period was extended a week. I think its closing very soon, and Im happy to report that about 75 percent of the comments were all very supportive of the rule. So it looks like it will ultimately get passed. But its a challenge you do have people selling dogs online. Thats a whole other space that hasnt been tackled yet. But there are good breeders out there, and they shouldnt be punished, and they shouldnt have the moniker of puppy mill when theyre doing things the right way. So were hopeful that by raising these standards and making life a little better for these dogs, that the bad ones go away and the good ones remain, and we can all do the right thing for the dogs in the meantime. We are having some success, but its always a challenging road in Washington, D.C., dealing with anything. And I do this as a private citizen. Im not a lobbyist; this is not part of what I do. So, on my spare time, I really work hard on that and so many other things. You know there was a program that the VA started, Pets for Vets, so it was pairing shelter dogs with returning veterans, to help assist them with PTSD. The dogs ultimately needed a home; the veterans needed some support. Its a great fit, a win for everybody. So there are a lot of avenues that were going down for animals, and trying to do the right thing. Mr. Jekielek: That sounds like a wonderful initiative. So, do you have any final words? Anything important that we havent talked about yet? Ms. Trump: I think the American people really should take the time to look at the results that this president has delivered for this country, as we move towards an election season; I guess were fully underway now. I would just encourage people to take a minute and check in with themselves and check in with their lives and ask yourself: Is life a little bit better now for me? Do I have a brighter outlook for my child down the line? Did I find a better job, or am I getting more money every day or every couple of weeks in my paycheck? And if those things are the case, you can thank Donald Trump. You can thank his administration, because he has cut regulations, and hes breaking down these trade barriers that weve had for decades in this country, and hes doing the right things. Whether youre talking about moving the American embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, like so many presidents before him promised, or sitting down with Kim Jong Un of North Korea to possibly denuclearize the Korean Peninsula, hes fighting for the American people every day. Hes fighting to do the right thing. And I wish more people saw that, and I wish he got more credit for it. But I think people feel it. And at the end of the day, as someone who works with his campaign and as a family member, thats the most important thing to me. And it never gets old, by the way, when people come up to me and say, Please tell your father-in-law to keep fighting, tell the president we love him. It means so much to all of us. And youd be surprised, even here in New York, I hear it very often. So I would just encourage people to check in with themselves and reflect on their lives. And just remember that this is a guy that has a much tougher life now because hes our president, but hes fighting for all of us every day. This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity. American Thought Leaders is an Epoch Times show available on Facebook and YouTube. Massive 8.0 Magnitude Earthquake Hits Central Peru A massive 8.0 magnitude earthquake has been reported in central Peru in the early hours of Sunday, May 26. The quake struck at 2:41 a.m. local time at a depth of 115 kilometers (71 miles) in Pacaua Samiria National Reserve Park, just 80 kilometers (50 miles) north-west of Lagunas in Loreto, Peru, according to the United States Geological Survey. Lagunas has a population of just over 9,000 people. Related Coverage Rare Deep-Sea Fish Known as Omen of Earthquakes Appears in Peru No tsunami warning has been issued and there have been no reports of injuries or fatalities at the time of publishing. The deep-sea oarfish, said by the Japanese to be the omen of earthquakes and tsunamis, was recently found in fishing nets off the coast of Peru. The Japanese word for this fish, ryugu no tsukai, means messenger from the palace of the dragon king. According to folklore, the fish rise from the depths to the surface and beach themselves when an earthquake is coming. So when reports surfaced of an oarfish caught in fishing nets off the northern coast of Peru, it caused a stir locally, especially after it was posted to a popular Twitter account that reports on natural disasters. Pez remo aparece en Peru causando temor de inminente terremoto entre Chile y Peru : https://t.co/wnoHByR0uA pic.twitter.com/8qtEzXA8cX ALERTA DE EMERGENCIA (@ALERTADESISMO) February 10, 2019 Many local media reports in February said that two oarfish were found in the town of Mancora, near the border with Equador. The species is not commonly seen in Peru. The oarfish, which can reach over 30 feet in length, is thought to be behind some of the sea serpent myths of the west. They had also been spotted before the the 2011 Fukushima earthquake in Japan. Teeth to the Dragon King Myth? Rachel Grant, a lecturer in animal biology at Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge, said that although the link has not been confirmed by science, it is theoretically possible that oarfish deaths could be a signal of earthquakes to come. When an earthquake occurs there can be a build-up of pressure in the rocks which can lead to electrostatic charges that cause electrically-charged ions to be released into the water, she told Euro News in 2017. This can lead to the formation of hydrogen peroxide, which is a toxic compound. The charged ions can also oxidise organic matter which could either kill the fish or force them to leave the deep ocean and rise to the surface. There is no scientific evidence at all for the theory that oarfish appear around big quakes, Uozu Aquarium keeper Kazusa Saiba told CNN. But we cannot 100 percent deny the possibility. Saiba said one possible explanation is subtle changes in the earths crust ahead of an earthquake might cause the current to stir and push creatures at the bottom to the surface. Professor Shigeo Aramaki, a seismologist at the University of Tokyo, dismissed the fears of social media users as nothing according to the South China Morning Post. Im not a specialist in fish, but there is no academic literature that has proven a scientific link to the behavior of animals and seismic activity, he said. I see absolutely no reason for concern and I have seen no updated reports of increased seismic activity in this country in recent weeks. Kiyoshi Wadatsumi, a specialist in ecological seismology, told Japan Times in 2010, Deep-sea fish living near the sea bottom are more sensitive to the movements of active faults than those near the surface of the sea. With reporting by Epoch Times writer Simon Veazey. From NTD.com Stan Lee (L), and Keya Morgan arrive at the world premiere of "Avengers: Infinity War" in L.A., Calif., on April 23, 2018. (Jordan Strauss/Invision/File via AP) Stan Lees Former Manager Arrested on Elder Abuse Charges LOS ANGELESA former business manager of Stan Lee was arrested Saturday on elder abuse charges involving the late comic book legend. Keya Morgan was taken into custody in Arizona on an outstanding arrest warrant after being charged by Los Angeles County prosecutors earlier this month. Morgan faces felony charges including theft, embezzlement, forgery or fraud against an elder adult, and false imprisonment of an elder adult. A misdemeanor count also alleges elder abuse. Authorities say Morgan sought to capitalize on the Marvel Comic masterminds wealth and exert influence over Lee even though he had no authority to act on his behalf. Police say Morgan pocketed more than $262,000 from autograph signing sessions Lee did in May 2018. Authorities say Morgan at one point also took Lee from his Hollywood Hills home to a Beverly Hills condominium where Morgan had more control over Lee. Lees daughter said in a request for a restraining order last year that Morgan was manipulating the mentally declining Lee, preventing him from seeing family and friends, and trying to take control of his money and business affairs. Attorney Alex Kessel has said Morgan has never abused or taken advantage of Lee. Kessel said in an email on Saturday that he had been in contact with prosecutors to arrange for Morgan to surrender on Tuesday. It is unfortunate that the DA and police did not honor our commitment to surrender next week and arrested him, Kessel said in an email. Lee died in November at the age of 95. Morgans bail has been set at $300,000. He will eventually be extradited to Los Angeles to face the charges. Elder Abuse According to the U.S. National Institute on Aging, Abuse can happen to anyoneno matter the persons age, sex, race, religion, or ethnic or cultural background. Each year, hundreds of thousands of adults over the age of 60 are abused, neglected, or financially exploited. This is called elder abuse. Likely targets are older people who have no family or friends nearby and people with disabilities, memory problems, or dementia. Abuse can happen to any older person, but often affects those who depend on others for help with activities of everyday lifeincluding bathing, dressing, and taking medicine. People who are frail may appear to be easy victims, the agency says. According to a fact sheet (pdf) from the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC), the overall rate of violent crimes against the elderly have decreased from 1995 to 2015. However, assault against older adults are still underestimated. People age 65 and older experience the same crimes as the rest of the population, including financial victimization, neglect, and physical, sexual, or emotional abuse. However, older adults may be less likely to recover from their victimization, and are often sought out because of their age and decreased likelihood of reporting, according to OVC. The World Health Organization defines elder abuse as a single or repeated act, or lack of appropriate action, occurring within any relationship where there is an expectation of trust, which causes harm or distress to an older person. The WHO notes that this type of violence constitutes a violation of human rights and includes physical, sexual, psychological, and emotional abuse; financial and material abuse; abandonment; neglect; and serious loss of dignity and respect. The most common forms of elder abuse, according to the WHO, are psychological abuse (15.7%), followed by financial abuse (6.8%), neglect (4.2%), and physical abuse (2.8%). Storm Hannah Uncovered a 4,500-Year-Old Prehistoric Forest, Locals Link It With Mythical Sunken Kingdom Storm Hannah, which struck Wales and left a trail of devastation behind on April 27, also revealed the fossilized remains of a 4,500-year-old prehistoric forest that lay buried under sand and water. The forest of Borth covered two to three miles on the Welsh shore of Cardigan Bay. It was buried under layers of peat, sand, and seawater around 4,000-6,000 years ago, according to The Daily Mail. The storm and a low tide uncovered fossilized tree stumps of pine, alder, oak, and birch trees. @WendyJLewis Mythical Sunken Kingdom of Wales rises again: Storm Hannah unearths petrified prehistoric forest that inspired ancient legend of the Lost Hundred after thousands of years buried on a Welsh beach via https://t.co/Csrmt8C6Eq https://t.co/6OaMF93KPp Fremen65 #Brexit (@fremen65) May 22, 2019 The trees really are stunning. Its breathtaking that these trees were part of a Bronze Age forest that extended almost to Ireland but have not been seen for thousands of years, Wayne Lewis, an amateur photographer, told Daily Mail. Lewis was roaming around the beach when he first saw the fossilized forest. It first emerged in 2014, but was then partially recovered, and usually, you are only able to see the tips of the tree stumps. It seems it has been uncovered again recently. I dont know for sure, but it is probably due to a combination of Storm Hannah with the 80 mph+ winds last month, and the tides have been very low, making more of the forest visible, he said. Links With Mythical Sunken Kingdom The prehistoric forest has been linked with the 17th-century legend of a sunken civilization called the Cantrer Gwaelod, or the Sunken Hundred, according to the BBC. The legend says that the land stretching across 20 miles was fertile once upon a time, and was protected by flood gates. Legend says that the land was lost to floods when Mererid, the priestess of a fairy well, neglected her duties and the well overflowed. Some people claim that even today they can hear the ringing bells of the drowned church of Cantrer Gwaelod. Many other archaeological objects have also been uncovered from the area in recent yearsincluding fossilized animal- and human-footprints, and human tools. Scientists Uncover Fossils From Day of Asteroid Strike That Wiped Out Dinosaurs A heap of fossils discovered under the rocky North Dakota landscape may shed light on what happened the day an asteroid struck our planet, wiping out the dinosaurs and nearly all life. The mass-extinction event also resulted in whats known as the Chicxulub Crater, located on the southern side of the Gulf of Mexico. The event is cited as the most cataclysmic event ever to befall planet Earth. A motley combination of land and sea fossils were found bundled together at a single site near Tanis. The team of scientists from the University of Kansas, who excavated the site, included Robert DePalma, a Ph.D. student in geology who works at the Natural History Museum. DePalma said huge standing waves, called seiches, carried various organisms inland and deposited them. This was not caused by a tsunami, DePalma said; rather, it was the result of seismic waves from the seaway, and occurred just minutes after the asteroids impact. A tsunami would have taken at least 17 or more hours to reach the site from the crater, but seismic wavesand a subsequent surgewould have reached it in tens of minutes, said DePalma. It is believed that the seismic waves radiating outward from the impact zone caused walls of water 10 meters high (33 feet) that carried a jumble of both aquatic and terrestrial life inland. Although several fish species were found, including some new species, there were no dinosaur fossils at the site in Tanis. Epoch Times reporter Michael Wing contributed to this report. Topshop Says It Will Close All US Stores British fashion chain Topshop is planning to close all 11 of its U.S. stores after its parent company filed for bankruptcy protection. Arcadia Group, the London-based owner of the chain, said it is facing poor market conditions in the retail sector. The company blamed online competition such as Amazon and discount-retailers like TJMaxx for weak sales. 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, Arcadia CEO Ian Grabiner said in a statement to CNN. This has been a tough but necessary decision for the business. Topshop owner Sir Philip Green to close 23 stores https://t.co/Z0pES7g28U BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) May 22, 2019 The firm opened its first U.S. store in New York City about a decade ago. It has stores in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston Las Vegas, San Diego, Atlanta, and Miami. Its not clear when the stores will be shuttered. According to Fox Business, about 800 people are employed at these stores. Whats more, the firm said it is to close 23 stores in the United Kingdom, which will impact 520 jobs, the BBC reported. There has been an increasing switch from in-store to online shopping and an aggressive discounting environment as retailers compete for customers [and] high levels of product returns, the companys U.S. representatives, Daniel Francis Butters and Ian Colin Wormleighton, were quoted by Fox Business as saying. In another sign of traditional retailers struggles, Topshop plans to close all 11 of its US stores as its parent company seeks to restructure after filing for bankruptcy protection https://t.co/8BZI3EwKVR CNN (@CNN) May 24, 2019 Arcadia said it will focus on driving its digital growth, marketing, and revenue. The firm also operates other brands. More Stores Close Topshops woes arent the only signs of struggle among bricks-and-mortar retailers. Payless ShoeSource in February filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and is shuttering its remaining stores in North America. The filing came a day after the shoe chain began holding going-out-of-business sales at its North American stores. The company, based in Topeka, Kansas, updated the number of stores it is closing to 2,500, up from the 2,100 it cited on Friday, Feb. 15, when it confirmed it was planning to liquidate its business. It reiterated that stores will remain open until at least the end of March and the majority will remain open until May, The Associated Press reported. The debt-burdened chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection a first time in April 2017, closing hundreds of stores as part of its reorganization. At the time, it had over 4,400 stores in more than 30 countries. It emerged from restructuring four months later with about 3,500 stores and eliminated more than $435 million in debt. The challenges facing retailers today are well documented, and unfortunately, Payless emerged from its prior reorganization ill-equipped to survive in todays retail environment, said Stephen Marotta, Payless ShoeSources chief restructuring officer, at the time. The Associated Press contributed to this report. President Donald Trump waves as he arrives at the Haneda International Airport in Tokyo on May 25, 2019. (Koji Sasahara, Pool/AP Photo) Trump Dismisses Concerns About North Korea Missile Launches President Donald Trump on May 26 said hes not disturbed by recent missile launches by North Korea and is confident that the countrys leader, Kim Jong Un, would keep his promises. North Korea fired off some small weapons, which disturbed some of my people, and others, but not me. I have confidence that Chairman Kim will keep his promise to me, Trump wrote on Twitter. The president made the comments during his state visit to Japan, a key ally in the effort to denuclearize North Korea. Last year in Singapore, Trump became the first sitting U.S. president to meet with a leader of North Koreas communist regime. At the summit, North Korea agreed to peaceful relations with the United States and South Korea, committed to completely denuclearize, and promised to repatriate the remains of U.S. troops. In February, Trump cut short a second summit with Kim in Vietnam after the two leaders couldnt agree on the terms of a deal. Trump is expected to discuss concerns about North Koreas nuclear and missile programs with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during his stay in Tokyo. In his Twitter message, Trump took pleasure with Kim disparaging Joe Biden, a contender in the Democratic primary for the 2020 election. The president wrote that he smiled when Kim called Swampman Joe Biden a low IQ individual, & worse. Perhaps thats sending me a signal? Trump regularly uses nicknames to tag his adversaries. Swampman is a new nickname for Biden, who Trump previously referred to as sleepy Joe or SleepyCreepy Joe. Trump has called Kim Little Rocket Man. National security adviser John Bolton said on May 25 that North Koreas recent missile launches violated a United Nations Security Council resolution. Earlier this month, Kim oversaw the first flight of a previously untested weapon: a relatively small, fast missile that experts believe will be easier to hide, launch, and maneuver in flight. The United States is seeking the complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization of North Korea. To achieve this goal, Trump imposed crippling sanctions on the communist regime. Trump and other U.S. officials have also suggested that North Korea will have a prosperous future once it gets rid of nuclear weapons. Prior to the recent launches, Pyongyang hadnt tested any missiles since the first Trump-Kim summit. Pyongyang also hasnt carried out any more nuclear weapons tests. Earlier this month, the United States seized a North Korean coal transport vessel after the communist regime tested two short-range missiles. North Korea was engaging in a scheme to export coal to foreign buyers by concealing the origin of the ship, Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers said at the time, adding that it allowed the country to evade sanctions. It was the first time the United States seized a North Korean vessel for violating sanctions. On the morning of May 9, South Korean officials said missiles were fired from Kusong, located in the northwestern part of North Korea. They traveled about 260 miles toward the east, the Yonhap News Agency reported. Reuters contributed to this report. Epoch Times writer Jack Phillips contributed to this report. Sameer Bawa By What would you expect from a team of five chefs who have just come back from an exploratory trip to the main cities of Punjab? Well, generally I would have said, oodles of love from the people of Punjab, considering those extra kgs they accumulated around the waist! But thankfully, the team also brought back original recipes of some very popular Punjabi dishes that have stood the test of time and incorporated them in the recently launched Noor-e-Punjab menu at select Punjab Grill outlets in Delhi and across India. I got the opportunity to try out some dishes from the Noor-e-Punjab menu. I started with the Malai Lassi. A thick and perfect churn of curd, sugar and pistachios topped with peda and malai. While it can act as natural anaesthesia if I have it after lunch, it was cold and refreshing, and set me up for the meal as I had gone in to try the menu during dinner time. For starters, we chose the Karele di Tikki. Crunchy bitter gourd mixed with mashed potatoes and masalas, seared on the griddle and topped with chutney and curd before serving hit the right note. I also sampled other starters. In Sigri kukkad, the chicken was well-marinated and char-grilled to perfection, and squeezing a lemon on it, made it spicy and tangy. The Ambarsari chaamp tasted fine, but if I compare it to the preparations I have personally tried in Amritsar where the flattened mutton is pounded and shallow fried in desi ghee, then this one lacked the robustness. The barrah kebab could have been marinated and cooked for a longer duration. The trick is to ensure that the clay oven is very hot so that meat gets cooked properly to the core without being burnt. For the mains, I chose the Kheema Matar Masala, Baingan da Bhartha, Dhaba Dal with some Ambarsari Kulche topped with big blobs of butter and we absolutely loved it! The bhartha and dal felt homely and balanced other dishes. The Kheema Matar spiced just right, you could just have it with a kulcha or a slice of bread. But my pick of the evening were the Crisp Kulchas served with a thick and tangy chutney. The taste instantly took me on a nostalgia trip to the small lanes of Amritsar where I have explored many a kulcha artists, daily doling out near perfect kulchas. I may come back for brunch one of these days to just gorge on the kulchas. We wrapped up the evening with Gud ka Halwa that reminded me of Kadha Prasad, and I quite enjoyed the aromas and flavour. Overall, a satisfying meal. I had my eyes on the Tari Waala Kukkad and Mutton Kharoda Curry, which sounded interesting, but these would have to wait till next time. The general service orientation of the staff at almost all Punjab Grill outlets is high and it was warm and efficient as usual at the Janpath outlet as well. At: Punjab Grill Janpath, Ambience mall, Kalaghoda, BKC, Shantiniketan and Chennai outlets, till June 15, 2019. Woman Uses Over 130,000 Yuan Coins to Pay for New Car When a big purchase is just pocket change for some, most people wouldnt think of the literal meaning of the phrase. One woman bought a new car using mostly coinsthe money she earned as a food vendor. The employees at the car dealership in Hebei Province, China had to spend three days counting all the coins, according to Chinese online-news outlet Pear Videos. The woman bought the car for a total of 190,000 yuan ($27,500). She used more than 130,000 coins, each worth one yuan ($0.14), to make the purchase. The dealership did not disclose the customers identity. Cold Hard Cash for a Car Footage recorded by smartphone users in the car dealership show piles of coins on the floor, with employees sorting and rolling them with pieces of paper. An unidentified employee, whose hands were blackened by handling the coins, told Pear Videos about the customers purchase and background. She wanted a Passat, the price was about 190,000 yuan and 130,000 of it was coins, the employee told Pear Videos. The remaining money was transferred to us. The customer sells food. The one yuan coin is used very similarly to one dollar in the United States. The employee described the customers difficulty in buying a car with so many coins. This customer went to many other dealerships, asking if they would accept the coins [as payment], he told Pear Videos. Even the banks were reluctant to help. She also went to banks asking if she could change the coins into cash or deposit them, he said. The customer was really anxious to buy a car, so we said wed accept that form of payment, the employee told Pear Videos. We counted 10,000 coins on the first day, and 50,000 on the second day. The employee said that the manager even requested extra workers to count and sort the coins. It took three days to complete the daunting task. Woman Wakes up After Spending 27 Years in a Coma, Her Son Never Gave up Hope A woman came to after she spent 27 years in a coma following a car accident. Her doctor recalled the moment she began to speak again. Munira Abdulla was injured in 1991 while driving her son home from school in the United Arab Emirates. The boy, Omar Webair, was 4 years old at the time, and she was 32. Abdulla suffered a serious brain injury, while the boy escaped mostly unscathed, NBC News reported. The woman was treated in the U.A.E., the United Kingdom, and Germany. However, doctors never thought she would wake up. Abdulla finally emerged from her coma in June of last year, and her family went public with the story in April of this year. Never Gave Up Hope Omar, her now 32-year-old son, told The Sun newspaper in May that he never gave up hope. I just never, ever gave up hope. The only thing you have is hope, he said. I slept by my mothers side every night in hospital dreaming that she would wake up. She is my mother and, like most people, you would do anything and everything you can for her. When I was younger, it was not easy to stay with her at hospital because of school and so on, he continued. But since around 2008, Ive been working during the day and staying in the next bed with her at night. Omar added: On weekends I would do her laundry, go shopping for her and so on. I felt like nobody could care for my mother like me Most doctors never thought she would wake up, they always said it was not in their hands to help her wake up, they can only give her the best quality of life possible. After an interview with her doctor Dr. Friedemann Mueller, NBC reported that she regained consciousness after several months of therapy. Its not like waking up in the morning, he said. It was a process over weeks as reactions and vocalizations increased and improved. Meanwhile, Omar said he was optimistic when he heard his mother making noises, but doctors couldnt make out the words. According to the BBC, Omar recalled what had happened. There was a misunderstanding in the hospital room and she sensed I was at risk, which caused her a shock, he told the news outlet. She was making strange sounds and I kept calling the doctors to examine her, they said everything was normal. Then, three days later, I woke up to the sound of someone calling my name. It was her! Soon, Abdulla pronounced her sons name clearly and greeted people. She was calling my name. I was flying with joy, Omar was quoted by USA Today as saying. For years, I have dreamt of this moment, and my name was the first word she said. When we realized that she was talking with us, we were ecstatic, Mueller said. Mueller noted that he has treated other patients who, after spending weeks or months in a coma, regained consciousness. However, the doctor said that 27 years in an incredibly long time, and added that such cases are extremely rare. None [of] us had ever experienced that someone wakes again after 27 years, he said. Doctors at the Schon Clinic in Germany took a holistic approach to Abdullas treatment. They used a combination of physical therapy, medicine, operations and sensory stimulation, according to Deutsche Welle. Omar said that his mothers story revealed a lesson in life: Never give up hope. I shared her story to tell people not to lose hope on their loved ones, he said, according to USA Today. Dont consider them dead when they are in such a state. NORWALK Community members will get two shots on Tuesday, May 28 to learn more about the Norwalk Public Librarys plans for expansion and give their thoughts on the proposals. The draft plans call for an approximately 60,000-square-foot building that would include a curated collection of over 104,500 titles, the restoration of the original Carnegie Library, outdoor seating, comfortable reading areas, a maker space area, technology center with iMacs and a 300-seat auditorium. About 6,000 square feet would be set aside to be designed by Connecticut Public through a partnership to create a Southwestern Connecticut Media and Innovation Center that was unveiled earlier this year. The expanded offerings will aim to serve as a community anchor in the Wall Street neighborhood and the city as a whole, the draft plans detail. The goals of the plan call for creating a library that is a destination, community anchor and the intellectual heart of the town and designing a building that is intentionally inclusive, interactive and innovative. One of the main goals is provide flexible space to accommodate a variety of needs, from meeting space to independent study areas to technology centers. Throughout the three story renovation, about 350 seats are proposed for readers and learners of all ages. The plans break the library down into eight zones, each of which has its own unique characteristics street zone, welcome and service zone, adult zone, childrens zone, teen zone, community zone, CPTV zone and support zone. Some zones, such as the CPTV zone will be sectioned off from others, while other zones, such as the community zone will be made to be accessible even after main hours are closed so that way community groups can still use the space for meetings safely. Throughout the plans, there is goal of providing abundant charging stations so people can utilize their own devices or library devices throughout. The next step in this process is to collect public comment on the drafts and integrate the comments into the plan before approval by the Library Board. The opportunities for public comment will take place at the Main Library Auditorium at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 28. To access a copy of the draft plans, visit norwalkpl.org. kelly.kultys@hearstmediact.com NORWALK One of the best ways the citys Department of Public Works can address flood-related issues is to hear firsthand from the residents experiencing it. Thats why the department is hosting a public forum and listening session on Tuesday, May 28. The goal of the forum is to share what areas the city has already begun addressing and let residents know the upcoming schedule of maintenance and other preventative work being done, according to a statement from the city. Residents are also encourage to attend to share their opinions and concerns about flood-related issues. A partnership between residents and the City is the best way we will be able to address flooding promptly. We need their help identifying issues. I hope the public will join us at this special forum and let their voices be heard, said Norwalk Mayor Harry Rilling in a statement. These problems cannot be solved overnight, and we are doing everything we can to address the causes of flooding in Norwalk proactively. We take these issues seriously and welcome feedback from the public. Anthony Carr, the citys new chief of Public Works and Operations, told members of the Public Works Committee of Common Council this month that the area along County Road near Andrews Field hadnt been flagged as a floodprone area until residents began speaking out and sharing their experiences at public meetings. After that, Carr said public works staff members began exploring drainage in the area and cleaned out over 23,580 feet of pipe and removed over 130 tons of material. County Street was flagged as issue by some folks who attended the meeting, Lisa Burns, the citys principal engineer, said. It hadnt been identified as an issue through our customer service database or anything like that when we had the three big storm events so pretty much the Public Works team kicked into gear. Carr said he wants to hear from other residents in case there are other areas the city is missing. Its an opportunity for the public to come in in affected neighborhoods, or not affected neighborhoods, and just voice their opinions how they feel about flooding, how theyve personally been impacted, he said at the committees May meeting. The public forum will begin at 6 p.m. in the Community Room at City Hall. Those who cannot attend can watch a replay that will be posted on norwalkct.org or on Government Access Channel 79, which is available to Altice cable subscribers. The city asks that residents who have flooding and drainage problems report them to Norwalk Customer Service Center through phone at 203-854-3200 or email at customerservice@norwalkct.org. There is also a Customer Service Click & Request smartphone app that pictures and statements can be sent to as well as an online portal at bit.ly/NorwalkCAR. kelly.kultys@hearstmediact.com Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party is preparing for the possibility of repeat elections while he scrambles to form a government by Wednesday's deadline. Six weeks after Netanyahu won re-election in a tight vote April 9, two parties he needs for a government remain at odds over the drafting of ultra-Orthodox Jewish men into the army. If former Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman insists that coalition partners commit to a military draft law, then new elections are a possibility and the Likud will meet Tuesday to begin getting ready, a party spokesman said by text message. If Netanyahu can't form a coalition by Wednesday with at least 61 seats in the 120-member Knesset, President Reuven Rivlin could give another party the chance. Past negotiations have often taken the full six weeks, with brinkmanship rising as the deadline approaches. The Likud's proposal of another election round "is part of the brinkmanship," said Shmuel Sandler, political scientist emeritus at Bar Ilan University. "One of the rules is you pass the ball to the other side," so Liberman now will have to decide how important the draft law is to him. Netanyahu's efforts are complicated by a looming indictment on corruption charges. The attorney general last week postponed until October a hearing where Netanyahu can plead his case to avert criminal charges. Public debate during the coalition talks has focused on possible maneuvers to shield Netanyahu from prosecution, forcing the Orthodox draft issue to the sidelines. Military service is obligatory for Jewish men in Israel, but tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox men receive exemptions by claiming to be full-time Torah scholars. On his Facebook page, Liberman said he backs Netanyahu for prime minister but insists on drafting ultra-Orthodox men into the army. Ya'akov Litzman, leader of the United Torah Party, won't hesitate to go to new elections to preserve the Orthodox exemption from the army, Israel National News reported. Ynet reported that Likud had authorized legislator Miki Zohar to submit a draft law later Sunday to dissolve parliament. It would be the first time a party leader tapped to form a coalition had failed to do so, the Israel Democracy Institute said in a report. Fresh elections would be expensive and would extend the "hold" Israel has been in since the Knesset was dissolved last December, the IDI said. However, it wouldn't be the "end of the world," the institute said, noting that other democracies including the U.K. and Greece have held back-to-back elections in the past. DARIEN After Pearl Harbor, Charles Chick Scribner wasnt old enough to enlist on his own and his father, who had fought in World War I and saw first hand what war does to young men, wouldnt give permission. So Scribner and one of his brothers walked down the draft commission and volunteered to be drafted, his son, Don, recalled Sunday. They said why dont you move our names up on the list? Scribner got his wish and served as an Army radio operator in India and the Naga Hills in Burma, where he monitored Japanese activity in the area and relayed the information. After his service he came back to Darien, had a career as a glassblower at Machlett Laboratories in Stamford, and spent 50 years as a volunteer with the Noroton Heights Fire Department, as many years with Troop 53 and 35 as a leader and commissioner, and raised a family with his late wife, Mary. They had four children. Many Scribner family members were among the crowd that gather Sunday to unveil a street sign at the corner of Fairfield Avenue and Chestnut Street in Noroton Heights reading Chick Scribner Way. At the corner sits 46 Fairfield Ave., the house Chick was born in 95 years ago. He lives up the block now. A second sign is at the corner of West Avenue and Fairfield. The program to name streets for local veterans is new, an initiative of Middlesex Middle School history teacher Lucy Berry. One of her students, Charlotte Ward, read a poem she wrote titled The Sacrifices They Made. First Selectman Jayme Stevenson read a proclamation declaring Sunday Chick Scribner Day. Don Scribner told the crowd that his father reminds him of George Bailey in Its a Wonderful Life. Success, he said, should not be measured by wealth, but how many lives you touch in a positive way ... Chick Scribner is the richest man in town. Thank you all, I love every one of you, Chick Scribner told the crowd before a red cloth was pulled from the street sign to cheers. The purpose of the street sign program is to honor Darien wartime veterans by adding their names to existing signs in town. One new name will be put on an existing street sign every Memorial Day, Veterans Day and Fourth of July. NORWALK For many of Dean Vaccaro and Mark Jacksons Roton Middle School students, the sights on their annual scavenger hunt are familiar, but their significance is unknown. Cadey Mettler and Abby Ortolano both go regularly with their parents to Calf Pasture Beach, and have seen the Shea-Magrath Memorial. The cannon on Norwalks Green was also somewhat of a landmark. I go to Calf pasture beach semi often and for the cannon, I pass it a lot. I kind of was just like, Oh, its just sitting there. But now Im like, Oh, its there for a reason, Mettler said. Like Cadey was saying, I didnt really know what it meant at first. And after I actually know it was there because of World War I, Ortolano added. Mettler, Ortolano and the rest of Rotons seventh-grade students, were part of a Memorial Day project in recent weeks, to visit at least five monuments to veterans throughout the city. In the process, they were asked to take photographic evidence of their trip, as well as answer a series of questions on each monument and its origins. One reason (for the project) is to raise awareness for these monuments around town. Oftentimes people drive by them, theyve seen them but really dont know what they are, said Vaccaro, who started the project roughly a decade ago and has more recently partnered with Jackson on it. The other reason is we very much believe in citizenship education, and just to help bring about in students pride in their hometown and pride in the men and women whove served our country and made the ultimate sacrifice. In addition to monuments at Calf Pasture Beach and the Green, the list of stops this year includes the Memorial Wall at City Hall, students could visit the monument to Spc. Wilfredo Perez jr., near the Maritime Aquarium, the Civil War soldier monument at the corner of Washington Street and Martin Luther King Drive, the East Norwalk Historical Cemetery, or the Civil War cannon in Rowayton, the last of which was new to the list this year. Every year we try to tweak it, because we discover new monuments all the time, Jackson said. Were always updating it and changing it so that we encompass not just little localized parts of Norwalk, but the whole city. Each stop along the way, students are asked to consider the importance of the monuments and of Memorial Day. I think its important because its important to know more about the town were from and the people who have fought for our country and our town, said Prudie Phillips. Students compile their written responses and their photo evidence for a grade. Theres no formal presentation, but Vaccaro said the project roughly culminates at the citys Memorial Day Parade, on Monday, at which many of the students will be in attendance, and many will gather at the end near the cannon. According to Vaccaro, the project is a favorite among students, many of him will stop to recount the lessons they learned about Norwalks heroes, even years after they attended Roton. Years later, when I see students, they may not remember a specific chapter of a book, but they remember this project, Vaccaro said. justin.papp@scni.com; @justinjpapp1; 203-842-2586 This technology upgrade represents a significant investment on behalf of NCs Market Reporting Service towards maintaining active price discovery within the region directly benefiting producers in Nebraska and other Midwestern states as well as the beef cattle production and marketing chains throughout the United States. Producers unable to attend the unveiling of the NC MRS apps during the NC Midyear Meeting can obtain information by contacting the NC MRS office at the number listed above. Nebraska Corn Board extends District 5 application deadline The Nebraska Corn Board is seeking applicants for its District 5 region, which includes Buffalo, Dawson, Hall, Howard and Sherman counties. The position was reopened in an effort to seek candidates from the district. Current director, Tim Scheer, a farmer from St. Paul, will not seek reelection at the end of his term limit on June 30. Express News Service By BHOPAL: Five self-styled gau rakshaks, including their leader Shubham Singh Baghel, have been arrested in Seoni district of Madhya Pradesh for allegedly thrashing three persons, among them a Muslim man and woman, on suspicion of possessing beef. The shocking incident happened in Dundaseoni area of Seoni district on May 22. Shubham Singh Baghel| twitter Three persons, identified as Dilip Malwi (24), Sama Ansari (33) and Tausif Khan (20) were on the way from Kanhiwara to Dundaseoni in an auto-rickshaw, when a group of men led by Baghel, the self-styled district chief of Ram Sena and his aides stopped the vehicle and found a packet full of meat inside the vehicle. The pictures of Baghel with newly elected BJP MP from Bhopal Pragya Singh Thakur are doing the rounds on social media. Alleging that the packet contained beef, Baghel, who has been externed from Seoni district for involvement in criminal cases in the past, and his aides thrashed the two men, Tausif and Dilip near Mandla Road. The accused recorded a video of the thrashing and uploaded it online. After the video went viral, the cops arrested all five men, Baghel (25), Yogesh Uike (19), Dipesh Namdev (31), Rohit Yadav (22) and Shyam Lal Dehriya (43) on Friday. All of them were produced before the court in Seoni and sent to judicial custody. Meanwhile, newly elected BJP MP from Bhopal Pragya Singh Thakur condemned the incident of thrashing of the two men and woman on Facebook and demanded stern action against all the accused. Former MP CM and BJP national vice president Shivraj Singh Chouhan too condemned the incident and said that those responsible should be dealt sternly under relevant law. The trio who were assaulted were also booked by the police. All three, including the woman were arrested and booked under provisions of Madhya Pradesh Gau Vansh Pratishedh Adhiniyam (the anti-cow slaughter law), said SP of Seoni district Lalit Shakyawar on Saturday. The examination of the seized meat by a veterinary expert prima facie established that it was bovine meat. Samples are being sent to Hyderabad for further analysis also, the SP added. Alpha Sigma Chapter No. 3812 ESA International met for its final 2018-19 meeting on May 6 at First Christian Church. Before the meeting, Deb Ahrens provided a strawberry pie for members to enjoy. Following dessert, Ahrens installed new officers for the coming year: Phyl Kostbahn, president; Joyce Contrell, vice president; Bonnie Fisher, recording/corresponding secretary; Peggy Jess, treasurer. Each officer was presented with a flower pin wheel. Membership will be meeting at St. Pauls Lutheran Church for the coming year. Chaplain Bonnie Fisher read A Prayer for Mothers in honor of Mothers Day. A report on Aprils style show was given. After all expenses, a donation of $2,376 was made to Easter Seals. A reminder: the Nebraska ESA Convention is scheduled for May 31 through June 2 at St. Pauls Lutheran Church, 1515 S. Harrison. Registrations are continuing. Call Bonnie Fisher at (308) 384-8499 with questions. Shannilee Crammer reported the Wood River garage sale will be Aug. 3. Alpha Sigma will be located in the Community Center. The topic of a possible second garage sale in Grand Island will be discussed at a later date. Catholic Daughters Court Queen of Peace No. 2227 attended a Mass on May 14 at Blessed Sacrament for the installation of new members, Anita Graff and Barbara Budler. After Mass, Regent Gayle Spary opened the meeting. It was reported that a couple of Roses for Baptism are scheduled in the next couple of weeks and the schedule is open until August. Also, one was given at Resurrection Church. Thank-you notes were read from Mary Irwin and Barb Seier for cash donations Irwin for her school loan and Seier for the loss of school supplies when her basement was flooded. Totus Titus that was scheduled in June has been canceled for this year. Spary read a letter from First Vice Regent Vicki Feist, who has resigned as a national officer. She also read from the state newsletter that the state is in need of a deputy director for this area. Spary reported a resolution at state convention passed. All members of Nebraska State Catholic Daughters of the America are being called to action by praying daily for the end of all human trafficking. Members discussed what to do for Father Marty Egging and Father Joe Kadaprayil on Priest Appreciation Day. The next meeting will be a pot luck to celebrate the start of summer. It will start at 6:30 p.m. June 11. Grand Knight Mark Volkl called to order the monthly meeting of St. Leos Knights of Columbus on May 20 at the parish hall. Father Mark Maresh started the meeting with a prayer. Greg Hamik reported on the Special Olympics track meet. Deputy Grand Knight Brent Keenportz reported on the Nebraska State Council meeting, April 24 through 26 in Kearney. Nationally, the Knights of Columbus has donated 1,000 ultrasound machines the last seven years across the United States. The Knights handed out prayer cards on Mothers Day. Father Mark Maresh will be celebrating his 25th anniversary on June 9, beginning with a 4 p.m. Mass at St. Leos. The council made a donation towards the meal for Father Maresh. Deacon Bill Buchta, field agent with the Knights, reported that at the state convention it was announced the average member of the Knights of Columbus has $144,000 of life insurance. Bob Golka reported the 4th Degree of the Knights will provide an honor guard for Father Mareshs 25th anniversary celebration. The Knights will be assisting with bingo at the Hall County Fair and State Fair Bingo. Prayers were said for those in special need of prayers, especially those with health concerns in the parish. Johnny Korinek, who died in 1968 in Vietnam, lives on through some of the relatives he never met. Jody Church, who came from Omaha with her family, found the name of her late uncle Saturday on the American Veterans Traveling Tribute Wall. Church never met her uncle, because she was born in 1971. But she thinks her oldest son looks a lot like him. The boy, who turns 12 in July, also shares his first name. Members of the family, including young John, etched the name of Johnny Korinek on pieces of paper Saturday. Jody was accompanied by her husband, Jason, their two sons and Jasons parents, Clyde and Marilyn Church of Grand Island. Jody Churchs mother, who was Johnny Korineks sister, is Esther Johnson, 76, of Friend. My mom misses him. He was a good brother, Jody said. When Jody was 18, a doctor from North Platte who had treated Korinek in Vietnam came to visit the family in Friend. The two men had bonded because they were both Nebraskans. In Vietnam, the soldier had talked about growing up in Friend and how he missed his family, she said. The Grand Island Public Schools took a big risk going to the academy system, but after a partial first year it looks to be a success. The National Career Academy Coalition honored Grand Island Senior Highs Academy of Freshman Exploration with National Model Status. This is a high achievement and is the first time a freshman academy in the U.S. has earned the status. The designation means that from the experts perspective, the freshman academy has been well-organized, well run and has gathered valuable input from all of the stakeholders, including faculty, parents and students. The highlight of the freshman academy was when all of the freshmen were taken to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus for a visit. That was an outstanding idea that gave the students a glimpse of college life and could be a big inspiration to them in the future. Of course, though, this has been the easy year in GISHs transition to the academy system because only the freshmen were involved. This next school year will be the big test because all of the approximately 2,200 GISH students will be in the academy program. So far, however, it looks good. A lot of positive developments have taken place. ALTON John Holmes was a 25-year-old married farmer. Norman Thompson was three years removed from graduation at East Alton-Wood River High School. Clovis Madoux was the ripe old age of 30. All three were Madison County residents who lost their lives on D-Day, the massive Allied offensive that turned the tide of World War II. Thursday, June 6 marks the 75th anniversary of the bloody action in 1944 that was a seminal moment in the European Theater. Holmes, Thompson, and Madoux were among several dozen area men on the beachfronts of Normandy that day, part of a plan by Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower to land enormous Allied forces in western Europe. An estimated 156,000 men, 50,000 vehicles, 13,000 planes, and 5,000 ships and landing craft were involved in Operation Overlord, which focused on five beaches along Normandy. Omaha Beach was the deadliest of the five, largely because of an imposing German defense. Some 3,000 barricades were placed along the beach, which was littered with mines and mortars. Well-positioned machine gun nests instantly opened fire as the Allies stepped off their Higgins boats and other transports. Some 100,000 troops made it ashore by nightfall. Within five days, over 326,000 soldiers and 100,000 tons of equipment had landed as the beachhead became a key drop-off point for Allied supplies. Eleven months later, the war in the European theater was over. But it came at a tremendous cost, including the lives of many area men. Madoux, a Worden resident who was a staff sergeant in the 1st Infantry Division, had actually enlisted ten days before the attack on Pearl Harbor, where his brother, an electricians mate, was later stationed. He had been wounded in the invasion of Sicily, and served in the North African campaigns. Madoux was one of thousands who fell on Omaha that day. Following his funeral that Sept. 16, he was buried in Valley View Cemetery in Edwardsville. Holmes, a staff sergeant in the 29th Infantry Division, lived in Alton and farmed in Old Kane. He had enlisted on Sept. 28, 1940, and was killed in action on Omaha. Like many others, his family suffered the sad fate of not knowing he was dead or alive. Finally, his wife, a bus ticket agent, received the sorrowful news six weeks after the invasion. Thompson was a sergeant and radio operator in the Air Transport Command who had joined the service on March 10, 1943. A Hartford resident who had worked at Western Cartridge in East Alton, he died after the crew of his C-47 was reported missing over nearby Utah Beach. The Alton Evening Telegraph reported that the letter from Thompson, dated three days before D-Day, indicated that he was in good health. Thompson would have turned 21 on June 9 just three days after the landing. One survivor was James Lambeth, now 95, a retired farmer from Plainview who was a private in the 37th Amphibious Combat Engineers. He recalled the eerie quiet on Omaha Beach before landing. We had no idea what we were getting into, said Lambeth. Everything on the beach seemed quiet, and all you could see were the puffs of smoke and the shells hitting. But just as the ramp on our landing craft went down, they opened up on us with machine guns. It was kind of like shooting ducks in a barrel. Lambeth managed to jump off his Higgins boat and made it ashore with the help of the mine detector he was wearing. Minutes later, an artillery shell exploded near him, piercing his body with five severe shrapnel wounds. One caused permanent nerve damage in his right arm. The English Channel was filled with blood and bodies and body parts, floating everywhere, Lambeth recasomberly. Those who were on the beach lay wounded, and their moaning could be heard everywhere. The number of surviving veterans of D-Day is dwindling rapidly, as are numbers of World War II participants overall. According to the National World War II Museum, an average of 348 World War II veterans die each day in the United States. Though the term D-Day is today synonymous with the victorious war effort, it actually had practical meaning. The D stands for day, as the planned invasion date was unknown, and dependent on the weather. The offensive was originally planned to land on June 5, but a storm stranded the troops in the choppy waters of the English Channel, leaving them soaked and seasick. Like many others, the soft-spoken Lambeth rarely mentioned his war experiences. All of us had such terrible memories and nightmares of our time in the war, he remarked. I found it extremely difficult to talk about them for many years. Now, I am glad to take the opportunity and help others learn what we went through, he said. I am proud of my country and service, and what I was able to contribute to the American victory. Tom Emery is a freelance writer and researcher from Carlinville, Ill. He may be reached at 217-710-8392 or ilcivilwar@yahoo.com. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) New York, United States Sun, May 26, 2019 10:05 947 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa8739f1214 2 People Mario-Batali,chef,Sexual-assault Free US celebrity chef Mario Batali pleaded not guilty Friday to a charge of indecent assault and battery stemming from accusations that he groped a woman in a Boston restaurant in 2017. Reporters flocked around Batali, who has been accused of sexual assault by several women, as he arrived at Boston Municipal Court. He made no comment before or after his arraignment. The Seattle-born chef, 58, was released on his own recognizance and ordered to stay away from the alleged victim. The next hearing in the case was set for July 12. Batali has faced a series of allegations since December 2017, but this was the first time he has been formally charged. The case dates back to the first half of that year. The accuser reportedly met the chef while they were dining separately at the same Boston restaurant, the Towne Stove and Spirits, not far from Batali's restaurant Eataly. Seeing that the young woman was trying to take a picture of him, Batali asked her to join him for a selfie. Once she was beside him, the chef allegedly kissed and groped her. The name of Batali's accuser does not appear in the indictment, according to The Boston Globe. Read also: Disgraced US chef Mario Batali surrenders restaurants But the charges mirror allegations made in a civil case against Batali filed by a Massachusetts woman named Natali Tene, 28, who was claiming damages for an unspecified amount. Tene's lawyer, Eric Baum, confirmed she is the accuser. "Mario Batali abused his celebrity status... while taking the photograph, Mario Batali groped her breasts, buttocks and genitals and kissed her repeatedly without consent," Baum said in a statement. "He must be held accountable criminally and civilly for his despicable acts." 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," he told CNN. The first charges Batali faced were published by the specialized site Eater in December 2017, as the #MeToo movement was gathering steam. More accusations followed against the once-prestigious chef, known for his red ponytail and orange Croc shoes. Those allegations led him to apologize publicly for making "many mistakes," to take a sidelined role at his businesses and to leave "The Chew" television program aired on ABC. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin John Miller and Caroline Humer (Reuters) Zurich and New York, United States Sun, May 26, 2019 11:00 947 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa8739f3bbc 2 Health gene-therapy,drugs,Novartis,health,#health Free Swiss drugmaker Novartis on Friday won US approval for its gene therapy Zolgensma for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), the leading genetic cause of death in infants, and priced the one-time treatment at a record $2.125 million. The Food and Drug Administration approved Zolgensma for children under the age of two with SMA, including those not yet showing symptoms. The approval covers babies with the deadliest form of the inherited disease as well as those with types where debilitating symptoms may set in later. "This is potentially a new standard of care for babies with the most serious form of SMA," said Dr. Emmanuelle Tiongson, a pediatric neurologist at Children's Hospital Los Angeles who has provided Zolgensma to patients under an expanded access program. "The job now is trying to negotiate with insurers that this would be a long-term savings." Novartis executives defended the price, saying that a one-time treatment is more valuable than expensive long-term treatments that cost several hundred thousand dollars a year. Novartis touched off a debate over what gene therapy is worth last year, estimating its treatment would be cost-effective at up to $5 million per patient. A review in April by an independent U.S. group, the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER), concluded Novartis' value estimate for Zolgensma was excessive. But on Friday, ICER said that based on Novartis' additional clinical data, the broad FDA label and its launch price, it believed that the drug fell within the upper bound of its range for cost-effectiveness. Novartis said it was offering health insurers the option of installment payments for Zolgensma as well as refunds if the treatment does not work and upfront discounts for payers who commit to standardized coverage terms. Novartis Chief Executive Vas Narasimhan has much riding on Zolgensma, describing it as a near cure for SMA if delivered soon after birth. But data proving its durability extends to only about five years. The therapy uses a virus to provide a normal copy of the SMN1 gene to babies born with a defective gene. It is delivered by infusion. A rival to Biogen Novartis is expecting European and Japanese approval later this year. Zolgensma will compete with Biogen Inc's Spinraza, the first approved treatment for SMA. The disease often leads to paralysis, breathing difficulty and death within months for babies born with the most serious Type I form. SMA affects about one in every 10,000 live births, with 50 percent to 70 percent having Type I disease. Spinraza, approved in late 2016, requires infusion into the spinal canal every four months. Its list price of $750,000 for the initial year and $375,000 annually thereafter was also deemed excessive by ICER. Some neurologists see gene therapy becoming the preferred treatment for newborns with severe SMA, while acknowledging that families may choose to wait for long-term safety and efficacy data for Zolgensma. Novartis is looking into whether the death of one severely ill baby treated with Zolgensma was related to the therapy. "Most families will want to do the gene therapy since it avoids the frequent spinal taps," said Dr. Russell Butterfield of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. Butterfield has received payments from Biogen for consulting. The FDA said it approved Zolgensma based on clinical trials involving 36 patients aged 2 weeks to 8 months. The agency said patients treated with Zolgensma showed significant improvement in developmental motor milestones such as head control and ability to sit up. Read also: Gene-editing damages DNA more than previously thought: Study The most common side effects of Zolgensma are elevated liver enzymes and vomiting. The FDA is requiring Zolgensma's label to include a warning that acute serious liver injury can occur. With additional studies underway, Novartis said it has so far treated more than 150 patients with Zolgensma, which was acquired with its $8.7 billion purchase of AveXis last year. Wall Street analysts have forecast sales of $2 billion by 2022, according to a Refinitiv survey. Spinraza sales hit $1.7 billion last year, and are seen rising to $2.2 billion in 2022. Roche is developing risdiplam, an oral drug, for the condition and plans to file for approval later this year. A push for screening Novartis, Biogen and Roche, as well as patient advocates and neurologists, say babies with SMA who receive treatment before symptoms emerge stand the best chance of near-normal development. They are lobbying to make SMA screening standard for newborns in every market. "Babies (with SMA) are losing motor neurons from the day they are born, so the ability to treat them as early as possible is the way you get maximum value out of the therapy," David Lennon, who heads Novartis' AveXis unit, said in a recent interview. Dr. Laurent Servais, a child neurologist in Liege, Belgium, called any delay in implementing newborn SMA screening "completely unethical." Servais helped oversee a screening pilot program sponsored by the three companies. Southern Belgium is now screening 60,000 newborns annually, half the country's total births. Taiwan has also begun testing babies for SMA. But widespread adoption has a long way to go. In the United States, only six states have begun active and routine SMA newborn screening since the federal government recommended it in 2018. Patient advocates estimate it could take until 2022 for the testing to be implemented nationwide. In Europe, it may be even slower. England recommended against newborn screening in February and will not consider it again before 2021, a spokesman for Public Health England told Reuters. SMA advocates in Germany do not expect action on screening until late 2021. "It's astonishing," said Inge Schwersenz, of the German Society for Neuromuscular Diseases. "But we can't do anything to speed it up." By PTI ISLAMABAD: Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan arrived in Islamabad Sunday on a three-day official visit to Pakistan during which he will hold talks with President Arif Alvi and Prime Minister Imran Khan on a host of bilateral issues including the smooth development of the USD 60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Wang, 70, is a member of the ruling Communist Party of China's (CPC) powerful Politburo Standing Committee. He is also a member of China's Parliament, National People's Congress and the Central Foreign Affairs Commission, a key foreign affairs body of the CPC. He was received at the airport by Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and other high officials. During the visit, Vice President Wang will call on President Alvi and have a separate meeting with Prime Minister Khan. Pakistan and China will sign MoUs and agreements and inaugurate projects to enhance bilateral cooperation in a broad range of areas, state-run Radio Pakistan reported on Sunday. His visit underscores the vitality of the time-tested and all-weather relationship between Pakistan and China. Wang's visit will reinforce the strength of bilateral ties and impart further impetus to the growing, multi-faceted cooperation between the two countries in diverse fields, it said. The visit is in continuation of high-level exchanges between the two countries, which have acquired an increased momentum since Prime Minister Khan's visit to China in November last year and his participation in the 2nd Belt and Road Forum in Beijing in April this year. Last week, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lu Kang in Beijing said that Vice President Wang's visit to Pakistan will further deepen high-level exchanges, friendship and mutual trust between the two countries. He said the visit will also advance the development of China Pakistan Economic Corridor besides bilateral cooperation across the board. Lu said China and Pakistan are all-weather strategic cooperative partners and iron friends, and firmly support each other on issues concerning each other's foreign interests. He said Pakistan has been a priority on China's diplomacy and now both the countries have witnessed a sound momentum in their cooperation and frequent high level exchanges. Lu said both the countries are deepening the mutually beneficial cooperation and conducting close coordination in international and regional affairs. The CPEC, which connects Gwadar Port in Pakistan's Balochistan with China's Xinjiang province, is the flagship project of BRI. After visiting Pakistan, the Chinese leader will also visit Germany and Netherlands. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (Xinhua) Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina Mon, May 27, 2019 01:07 947 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa873a03c8b 2 Art & Culture Museum,Rijksmuseum-Boerhaave Free The Rijksmuseum Boerhaave in Leiden from the Netherlands was declared as the European Museum of the Year in 2019, on Saturday. The results was announced at the closing ceremony of the European Museum of the Year Awards (EMYA) on Saturday evening in Bosnia and Herzegovina's (BiH's) capital Sarajevo. "The exceptional public quality of this museum results from its artful approach to communicating science. Important and beautiful objects are interpreted using the latest technologies and the personal stories of those driven by a passion for the pursuit of knowledge. The result is science with a human face, inspiring curiosity and amazement as well as engaging a wide public in debates on important scientific and ethical questions issues of our time." EMYA website reads. Read also: Top 10 most visited museums in the world During the closing ceremony, Head of the European Union (EU) Delegation to BiH Lars-Gunnar Wigemark said the conference is one of the most important events that return Sarajevo to the map of European center. "The conference has gathered museums from different parts of Europe, and museums are places where we are not only learning about the past but also giving us an insight into the present and the future," Wigemark concluded. During the four-day conference "European Museum of the Year", experts from more than 100 European museums gathered in Sarajevo, exchanged experiences and discussed the role of museums. The "War Childhood Museum" from BiH had the role of the host, together with the European Museum Forum, worked on the implementation of the event themed "Innovation in European Museums". Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Sun, May 26, 2019 21:05 947 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa873a023eb 2 Lifestyle Sephora,beauty,#beauty,inclusive Free Sephora has announced a manifesto to become more inclusive. The beauty retailer has unveiled "We Belong to Something Beautiful," a campaign and manifesto that aims to encourage celebrating differences and living fearlessly, WWDreports. "Sephora believes we have a role to play in building a more connected beauty community where everyone can belong," the brand's Chief Marketing Officer Deborah Yeh told the publication. The campaign will see Sephora publish the manifesto online, in major newspapers across the US and via email. The company is also hosting a nationwide workshop focusing on inclusivity on June 5, for which it will close its US stores, distribution centers and headquarters. Read also: The skincare tools that took off in 2018 The move comes as the brand prepares to open its new Times Square boutique in the heart of New York. Video clips posted to Sephora's Instagram account Stories show the colorful We Belong to Something Beautiful' motto displayed in-store. Inclusivity has been a major topic of discussion within the beauty industry over the past few years, with countless major brands making a very public effort to increase the diversity of the products they offer. Earlier this month, the skincare brand Obagi snapped up actress Priyanka Chopra to front its new Skinclusion' initiative, which aims to open up the discussion about the need for inclusion and diversity when it comes to skincare, highlighting awareness of "unconscious biases," while Dove Haircare teamed up with Kelly Rowland in February to launch a single that aimed to boost self-confidence among girls. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Josa Lukman (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sun, May 26, 2019 18:18 947 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa8739ffc00 1 Books Book,Literature,writers-block,writing-advice,bentara-budaya Free The phrase theres nothing new under the sun might be discouraging for some writers but it is the truth. Many writers struggle to bring out something new from a topic that has been written about countless times by numerous people. As it turns out, the key to this writers block lies in how you approach the topic at hand. In a discussion held at Bentara Budaya Jakarta on May 16, author Ruhaeni Intan and journalist Mawa Kresna shared their experiences in offering a fresh perspective on a common subject. The discussion is the second event in the run-up to the Jakarta International Literary Festival set to be held by the Jakarta Arts Council in August. Ruhaeni Intan, 24, is an avid writer, whose works have been published on websites such as mojok.co and tirto.id. Her debut novel, Arapaima, revolves around a young woman working at a shop selling decorative fish, where the owner of the shop keeps an arapaima fish, a predatory fish native to the Amazon River in South America. That particular fish made waves in East Java because an owner let one loose at the Brantas River [in East Java], she said about the inspiration behind the novel, which was released a few months ago. When I heard the news, I didnt know what the fish looked like, but I finally saw one when visiting a shop in Jakarta, As a young writer, Ruhaeni said she had felt the pressure of presenting something fresh and intriguing for her readers. I was born in Pati, Central Java, a small town wedged between mountains and the sea. However, I dont even know enough about my hometown to write about it, she said. I also cant write about major historical events because of how distanced it is from me. If I wanted to know more about what happened, I would read a history book rather than a novel. For those reasons, Ruhaeni decided to write about something she was familiar with. Nonetheless, she dared aspiring writers to explore topics not commonly brought up. Indonesia is very huge and theres a lot more than historical anecdotes. There are the small and not-so-small things we can write about. Why should we write about something thats been written about numerous times? Aquatic: Ruhaeni's debut novel, Arapaima, published several months ago by publishing house Buku Mojok. (Buku Mojok/-) Meanwhile, Yogyakarta-born Mawa Kresna said that in the case of journalism, the problem of finding new things to write about was especially pronounced as they also had to compete with deadlines and other journalists. Kresna founded beritajogja.id in 2012, after which he worked as a freelance journalist for merdeka.com and Rappler. In 2016, he joined Tirto.id and mainly focused on agrarian issues, diversity and human rights. The journalist said when someone was struggling with writers block when attempting to write about something thats been done before, the only thing that could save the article was the writing style. When former Jakarta governor Basuki Tjahaja Ahok Purnama was about to be released after serving a prison sentence for blasphemy in January, Kresna understood that he should cover the event from a new perspective. Every journalist tried their best to get an exclusive interview with him but none were able to [do that], Kresna recalled. Many journalists turned to Ahoks supporters to write feature pieces on the release. Because I dont work in a fast-paced rhythm like other media outlets, I was at a loss on what to do because the supporters had been interviewed and the articles had been published. From there, I tried to find a way to tell the story about the supporters waiting for Ahok to be released. Kresna was reminded of an article in The New York Times titled How to Tell a Mother Her Child is Dead by Naomi Rosenberg, in which the article was written in the second person point of view, putting the reader inside the narrative. I started to wonder whether we could involve our readers by putting them inside the supporters shoes. I asked my editors and they gave me the green light; I met them during the night, slept beside them in front of a [nearby] shop-house and stayed with them until noon. Previously, Kresna explored first-person perspective when covering the Surabaya church bombings in May 2018. He compiled accounts from many people into one narrative. Methods like these are rarely used by Indonesian journalists. I dont think its because theyre incapable but rather that they simply dont have the space to do it, said Kresna, who received an award from the International Labor Organization in 2016 for his piece on domestic workers. If theyre given more time to write, I think they can write more than just hard news that resembles features or vice versa. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sun, May 26, 2019 13:42 947 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa8739fb129 4 City BNN,crime,drugs,drug-network,aceh,narcotics,crystal-methamphetamine,drug-courier,drug-trafficking Free The National Narcotics Agency (BNN) discovered 35 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine hidden inside a truck carrying vegetables from Aceh enroute to Jakarta in a raid in Cilegon, Banten, on Saturday. The officers also arrested three suspects, Muazir, Riski and Ridwan. BNN eradication division deputy head Insp. Gen. Arman Depari said investigators initially received a tip off that a load of crystal methamphetamine would be transported to Jakarta using a truck from Medan, North Sumatra. "The investigations were led to a yellow and blue Colt Diesel truck with the plate number BK 9434 EN carrying vegetables such as cabbages," Arman said on Saturday as reported by Warta Kota. BNN officers then followed the truck from Lampung until it crossed over from Bakauheni Port to Merak Port in Banten. The team then intercepted the truck on Jl. Raya Jakarta-Merak and searched its cargo. "The team found 35 bags of sabu-sabu [crystal methamphetamine] in the back of the truck. The sabu-sabu weighed 35 kilograms, he said. BNN investigators then arrested the trucks driver, Muazir, as a suspect. They also questioned the drivers assistant, who is currently only a witness in the case. Muazir told investigators that he received the crystal methamphetamine from Riski based on order from Ridwan, who lives in Langsa in Aceh. From that information, we coordinated with the Langsa Narcotics Agency and arrested Riski and Ridwan in Tanjung Putus in Gampong Jawa subdistrict in Langsa, Arman added. Investigators searched Ridwan and Riskis houses where they confiscated cars, motorbikes and Rp 268 million (US$18,617) in cash, among other items. "We confiscated them because we suspected the belongings were the results of the narcotics trade. We will also look into possible money laundering," Arman said. He added that the truck, the 35 kg of crystal methamphetamine and the truck driver were taken to BNN's headquarters in Cawang, East Jakarta. (ami) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Agus Maryono (The Jakarta Post) Banyumas Sun, May 26, 2019 11:31 947 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa8739f5ae7 1 National National-Police,Jakarta-riots,election-protest,Prabowo-reject-KPU-result Free A police officer has been injured after a group of unknown assailants fired at the National Police's Mobile Brigade headquarters (Mako Brimob) in Purwokerto, Banyumas regency, Central Java, early on Saturday. A bullet shot from a car passing in front of the headquarters clipped the policeman's head, Chief. Brig. Imam Santoso. Banyumas Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Bambang Yudhantara Salamun and Central Java Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Agus Triatmaja confirmed the shooting had taken place and that an investigation was underway. "It is still under investigation," Agus told the press on Saturday. Imam was taken to Wijayakusuma Hospital in Purwokerto at 2.30 a.m. on Saturday, the hospital confirmed. Imam received stitches for his wound and returned home Saturday afternoon. (ggq) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sun, May 26, 2019 17:18 947 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa8739feb18 4 City Car-Free-Day,Thamrin,jakarta,Jakarta-riots,post-election-riot,residents Free Some Jakartans returned to the Jl. MH Thamrin area for the weekly Car Free Day event on Sunday morning, including in front of the Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) building, which was the main site of postelection protests on Wednesday. "I came here just like usual. Its all fine here," said a resident named John in front of the Bawaslu building on Sunday as reported by Antara. He said the main thoroughfare of Jl. MH Thamrin and the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle were already safe enough so he did not feel worried about going there to work out with his friends, just like on any Sunday. Kebon Kacang, Central Jakarta resident Odang Hermawan also joined the crowds on Sunday morning to walk around with his family. "It's safe now, so I come here to walk around. I want to see the latest situation directly as I only saw it on television in the last few days, he said. Residents flocked to the closed Jl. Sudirman and Jl. MH Thamrin on May 26 like they usually do on Car Free Day every Sunday. Many people make use of the no-car rule to exercise by jogging or riding bicycles, while others take pictures on their phones while casually strolling along the streets. Security authorities temporarily closed some parts of Jl. MH Thamrin on Tuesday, particularly in front of Bawaslu building where election protests started and escalated into riots, forcing some buildings in the area to close for safety reasons. (ami) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Mon, May 27 2019 Moke, also called sopi or tua menu in certain areas of East Nusa Tenggara Timur (NTT), is not just any drink. It has become part of the regions deeply rooted culture since bygone times. After being previously banned from distribution, it was Governor Viktor Bungtilu Laiskodat who decided in September last year to buy moke from local distillers and reprocess it to give it a more appropriate alcohol content and sell it as a new product labeled Sophia. The Jakarta Posts correspondent in Maumere, Hengky Ola Sura, presents his findings in this Special Report. Mans Belang felt proud when he learned that Viktor Laiskodat decided to legalize moke. This 30-year-old man has just finished his masters degree studies. His parents are only moke-producing farmers. Born on Solor Island, East Flores regency, Mans has every reason to take pride as he and four siblings have been able to pursue their education thanks to moke. His father, Daniel Keda Belang, is a skilled palm sap tapper and moke maker in Lamawalang village, West Solor district. 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 Sun, May 26, 2019 12:06 947 db1d47cf6ffbed4060cffaa8739f7681 4 News Belawan,Belawan-port,mudik,#mudik,Idul-Fitri-2019,idul-fitri-exodus Free Belawan Port in North Sumatra is expected to welcome an increased number of ship passengers during this years Idul Fitri holiday. M. Lutfi Israr Sutan, the head of the Medan Begawan branch of state-owned ship operator PT Pelayaran Nasional Indonesia (Pelni), said high airfares were among the reasons why passengers were opting to travel by ship for the upcoming mudik (exodus) period. Lutfi predicted that the number of passengers arriving at Belawan Port would increase by 10 to 15 percent during the Idul Fitri holidays compared to the low season. He said that of the 3,880 ship tickets available, 1,922 tickets had been sold since Wednesday, as quoted by tempo.co. Lutfi also said there would be an increased number of passengers traveling from Belawan to Tanjung Priok Port in North Jakarta during the upcoming holidays. Read also: Indonesians flying abroad as domestic airfares rise [This year], up to 200 passengers will travel from Belawan to Tanjung Priok, he said, adding that usually the Belawan-Tanjung Priok route only carried around 75 people. Last year, Batam in Riau Islands was the most popular destination for ship passengers traveling from Belawan Port. In terms of ticket prices, Lutfi said fares had not been changed. For the Belawan-Tanjung Priok route, economy class tickets are priced at Rp 422,000 (US$29.15), while 1A class tickets are priced at Rp 1,300,000 per person. As for the Belawan-Batam route, ticket prices start from Rp 230,000. (jes/kes) Ad Legacy Research 6,828 Interested This Week New Year Special: #1 Crypto Expert Says HURRY before 1/1/22 This could be the most profitable event in crypto history. And it only happens once. If you miss it, there are no second chances. By UNI BEIRUT: Insurgents from the Ansar Allah movement, known as the Houthis, repelled an attack from the Yemeni government forces in the southwest of the country, local media reported. According to Al Masira, a Houthi broadcaster, the rebels repelled the attack in the city of Taiz simultaneously from three directions. Yemen, a small nation in the south of the Arabian peninsula, has been engulfed in an armed conflict between the government forces, led by President Abdrabuh Mansour Hadi, and the rebel Houthi movement for several years now. A Saudi-led coalition has been carrying out airstrikes against the Houthis at Hadi's request since March 2015. The conflict has resulted in a massive humanitarian crisis in the war-torn country. By PTI ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is ready to hold talks with the new Indian government to resolve all outstanding issues, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said. Addressing an Iftar dinner in Multan on Saturday, Qureshi said both India and Pakistan should sit on negotiation table to solve issues for the sake of prosperity and peace of the region, state-run Radio Pakistan reported. His remarks came two days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi Thursday led his Bharatiya Janata Party towards a super-sized victory for a second term in office. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday congratulated Modi on his electoral triumph and expressed a 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. 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 general elections. The results of India's general elections are very significant for Pakistan as the new government in New Delhi will determine the course of Indo-Pakistan ties, which were pushed to a new low after the Pulwama terror attack. Just a day before the announcement of results, 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. He conveyed to her Pakistan's desire to resolve all issues through 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 aerial combat and captured an IAF pilot, who was handed over to India. Oh Gemini, the celestial twin. We never know quite what to expect when it comes to this two-sided sign, and that certainly makes for some exciting fashion choices. that Just when we thoughtNadine Coyle video was the greatest gift the Gemini sign had blessed us with, the following people graced the Earth and weve been envying their wardrobes ever since. Image credit: David Shankbone, via Wikimedia Commons Marilyn Monroe View this post on Instagram A post shared by Marilyn Monroe (@prettynormajeane) on May 17, 2019 at 11:10am PDT There are few people more iconic than Marilyn Monroe and thats due in no small part to her classic sense of style that pretty much dominated the 1950s. Although she could wear a tailored dress and heels like no other, she was also just as fluent in downtime dressing. Theres a reason why shes plastered across the bedroom wall of teenage girls (and boys) the world over. Paul McCartney View this post on Instagram A post shared by The Beatles (@thebeatles) on Apr 10, 2019 at 7:16am PDT As of one of fashions most iconic aesthetics, theres no way we couldnt include Paul McCartney on this list; before Love, Actually brought black turtleneck mania into the 21st Century, there was The Beatles in all their thick-fringed glory. If theres one thing that counts when it comes to fashion its timelessness, and Paul McCartney has proven time and time again that hes one for the ages. Prince View this post on Instagram A post shared by Prince (@prince) on Apr 3, 2019 at 12:56pm PDT That Pantone hasnt yet named a shade of purple Prince (or at the very least Purple Reign) is a travesty. Prince did more for the colour purple than Kylie Jenner did for over-lined lips. Peasant blouses, sequins, flares, ruffles, fringing, the greatest selection of co-ords weve ever seen theres pretty much not a single trend floating around today that we havent already seen Prince not only wear but command. Neil Patrick Harris View this post on Instagram A post shared by Neil Patrick Harris (@nph) on Dec 21, 2018 at 12:26pm PST As someone whos written many a best-dressed list, Neil Patrick Harris holds a special place in my heart for his refusal to stick to the tried-and-tested black suit and tie formula favoured by so many men. Also, his Halloween costumes are probably one of the only good things to come out of winter. Lauryn Hill View this post on Instagram A post shared by @vegan_hadash on May 18, 2019 at 9:07pm PDT If you think youre being fashion-forward when you wear your silky headscarves, clashing prints, and statement hoop earrings then I hate to break it to you, but Lauryn Hill did it first. Finished off with a slick of red lipstick and some sparkling eyeshadow, she was the 90s icon we have to thank for pioneering so many of our favourite trends today. Macklemore View this post on Instagram A post shared by Ben Haggerty (@macklemore) on Apr 19, 2019 at 5:14pm PDT Crisp candy-coloured shirts, dandy pinstripe blazers, panama hats no, Im not referring to Berts choice of attire for his day out with Mary Poppins. Im talking about Macklemore. Whether hes head to toe in canary yellow or biker leathers, theres pretty much no look he cant pull off, plus he scores bonus points for reigniting a love for thrift shopping in the hearts of every teenager in 2012. Kristin Scott Thomas via GIPHY Look, I dont mean to disregard the French, but Kristin Scott Thomas in Four Weddings and a Funeral actually invented berets. And head-to-toe black. And smoking (although we dont recommend you emulate her in this instance). Off screen, her wardrobe is just as enviable, with tailored suits and statement ball gowns aplenty. Plus, no one rocks a pixie cut quite like her in short, when we grow up shes exactly who we want to be. Stevie Nicks via GIPHY Stevie Nicks is the DGAF cool girl I wish I was: breezy and billowy, draped in scarves and fringing, more hats than Philip Treacy. Stevie Nicks was basically young Donna Sheridan before ABBA had even finished their vocal warm up, and with summer on the horizon, its time we all whipped out our bell bottoms and tucked a flower behind our ear to pay homage to the original boho queen. North West View this post on Instagram A post shared by Kim Kardashian West (@kimkardashian) on May 2, 2019 at 12:42pm PDT black fur cape Say what you want about Kanye. Think what you will about Kim. But North West is off-limits, unless you want to discuss how a child whos barely in Key Stage 1 has a better wardrobe than all of us. We shouldve known when she toddled through LA draped in aa la Sansa Stark that she wasnt here to mess about, and her commitment to statement earrings, tiny shades and coloured snake print has only cemented her status as an official One To Watch. Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen via GIPHY If we ever need to exemplify the meaning of signature style, the Olsen twins would take pride of place on our flipchart. Was their attempt at camp for the Met Gala remotely successful? No. Can we fault their commitment to their aesthetic? Also no. Long sleeves, long hemlines, and long hair in every shade of black and beige with the odd lace ruffle thrown in for good measure may not be everyones cup of tea, but theres no denying they do boho-grunge better than anyone else. here Come back next month for our roundup of Cancers most fashionable, and in the meantime you can see previous signs Lead image credits: Stevie Nicks: Lauryn Hill: On 15th April 2019 smoke filled the air of Paris as the Notre Dame a cathedral that took centuries to build was engulfed in flames. The fire was later contained, but the cathedral's roof and one of its spires collapsed. Much of its artwork was destroyed. 14 million visiting it per year It is undeniable that this event was a tragedy.The cathedral was one of Pariss landmarks, with over. Many Parisians and people around the world were left devastated by its assumed loss. 870 million had already been raised for its restoration However, the events after the fire have also shown us some pretty tragic truths about the state of the world we live in.Two days after Notre Dame had first started burning, Eight-hundred-and-seventy-million pounds pledged by some of France's wealthiest invididuals, as well as other millionaires and organisations around the world. So, is it really right that this money has been pledged to save a cultural building when there are arguably much more significant issues at hand in the world right now? Image Credit: Digital341 // Pixabay The cathedral - just like other landmarks that have been destroyed through wars or fires in the past - should be rebuilt. That is out of the question. But the speed at which this amount of money was given towards what is essentially a building is shocking. after the French State decided not to support the cathedral financially any longer The cathedral desperately needed repairs before the fire, and the French Ministry of Culture, which is responsible for its regular maintenance, repairs and renovation, had already for quite some time been reaching out for financial aid Why is it that a cathedral, which nobody wanted to donate this sort of money to previously, is now receiving millions and millions of pounds when there are other tragedies in the world? Notre Dame is not the only landmark that was ever in need of donations. There have been others, such as the fire of the Brazil National Museum a fire which destroyed the building and its ancient artefacts entirely. Yet, the latter has not even received a fraction of what has been donated to the cathedral so far. 72 people died. mere 3% of what was raised for Notre Dame in two days. It is essential to consider is that during the Notre Dame fire, despite its impact on people's lives, nobody was injured or killed. When Grenfell Tower burned down in June 2017,According to an official government report, money raised in the nearly two years since the tragedy is a 2,100 people were killed, 1,300 are still missing, 4,400 were seriously injured and 200,000 survivors are still in need of humanitarian assistance. The Disasters Emergency Committee, has since October 2018, been appealing for donations for the victims of the earthquake and tsunami that hit Indonesia. As a result of these natural disastersAgain, only approximately 3% of what was donated to Notre Dame in two days was given to these people in six months. 26 people own the same as the 3.8 billion people who make up the poorest half of humanity. 3.4 billion of these people subsist on less than 5 a day. This list could go on and on. We live in a time where species are going extinct, and every year nearly 100,000 people across the globe will die of something as simple as an infected wound or the flu because they do not have access to medical care. Shockingly, Closer to home, France is experiencing upheaval and riots by the gilets-jaunes movement a working-class movement against wealth inequality in France. Protestors have been fighting against tax increases from the poor, but now have to face the harsh truth that they live in a society where the elite can afford to donate these vast amounts of finances towards a building. So while the act of donating to a destroyed landmark - an arguably important landmark - should still be seen as an act of kindness, the readiness to give such large sums in such a short time should be questioned. In a world where there is more at stake, in a country where there's upheaval over income inequality, this act of generosity should maybe not have gone to a cathedral. By PTI PORT MORESBY: Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O'Neill resigned on Sunday following a string of high-profile political defections that threatened his leadership. O'Neill -- who had been in power since 2011 -- handed over the reins to veteran politician Julius Chan, who has twice been prime minister. "I will be stepping down as prime minister in the coming days, when I visit the governor-general... (to) pave way for a new government," O'Neill told reporters in the capital, Port Moresby. "We have agreed for a change of direction, that leadership of the government will be now handed over to Sir Julius Chan, who is a veteran leader and one of the founding fathers of our nation." Chan, 79, who was prime minister from 1980-82 and 1994-97, said his government would not be a lame-duck administration. "We are not just going to be a caretaker government, we will work. The transformation of PNG. I don't intend to be a lame duck. We will move this country forward," he told reporters. O'Neill, 54, had avoided a vote of no confidence earlier this month after the defections of his defence, health and forest ministers. His People's National Congress Party had a small majority in parliament and he faced repeated closed-door requests from party allies to step down. O'Neill was under pressure following the signing of a multi-billion-dollar deal for a liquefied natural gas (LNG) project with France's Total and US firm ExxonMobil earlier this year. The LNG project would almost double PNG's gas exports. But James Marape, who had led the government in parliament and was also the finance minister, resigned citing the failure of the government to ensure national firms and locals benefit from the contract. Local communities had complained bitterly about not benefiting from similar deals in the past. Marape said in a separate press conference Sunday the opposition could rally 63 out of 111 members of parliament on their side. Uncertainty ahead PNG's parliament is due to sit on Tuesday, with O'Neill's resignation -- and whether it is formalised by a visit to the governor-general -- possibly changing the dynamics ahead of a possible vote of no confidence. "By offering to resign, it basically resets that question," said Shane McLeod, a PNG specialist at the Australian thinktank the Lowy Institute. "The question is: what will parliament be voting on on Tuesday? Will it be moving a vote of no confidence in the current prime minister? Will it be voting on a vacant role of prime minister? Will it be something else? It's just a bit uncertain." McLeod said it was possible O'Neill's announcement could have been a way to win back MPs who had deserted his government for the opposition. One of the companies involved in the LNG project was Australia's Oil Search. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Sunday his nation had a "special relationship" with PNG, and he thanked O'Neill for being a "passionate servant" of his country. "PNG is our closest friend and neighbour, there is just a small body of water that is between us and PNG," he told reporters in Canberra. "And I will look forward to working with the prime minister of PNG in the same way I have enjoyed such a strong friendship and relationship with Peter O'Neill." O'Neill's long tenure in office had brought unusual stability to PNG's fractious politics. Yet it was also marred by rampant corruption, high levels of crime and large-scale investments that ran up public debt but showed little benefit for ordinary Papua New Guineans. The country has one of the highest poverty rates in the world, and a little over one in ten Papua New Guineans have access to reliable electricity. O'Neill was accused of micromanaging and of looking out for his own interests. One of the marvels of 2020s oversize slate of Democratic candidates is its relative youth. Boasting 37-year-old Pete Buttigieg and 46-year-old Beto ORourke, the lineup this time around makes last cycles hopefuls look positively ancient. Yet another marvel is that young voters themselves dont seem to care. Tracking with his long-standing support among young people, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., carried 41% of 18-to-29-year-old Democratic primary voters, according to a recent Emerson poll. Former Vice President Joe Biden got 11%. Meanwhile, two teenagers are running the presidential campaign of 89-year-old former Sen. Mike Gravel, D-Alaska. And young people are warming to socialism and, crucially, socialist policies across the board. No wonder it has been such a hard primary for candidates such as ORourke, who seemed to hop into the race banking on a boost from a boyish, punky flair that seemed to fizzle as fast as it flared. How do we explain the affinity of young voters for old socialists even with so many newer models on the market, and when so many strategists counsel against voting left or gray (much less both)? The answer has to do, I think, with track records, radical critiques of American politics, generational alienation and a sense of political identity. Older politicians have more opportunities to build track records, and those might be more important to the young than to voters of other ideologies and age brackets. Why? Strong left-leaning track records shared by Sanders as well as Gravel offer two major benefits. First, they bespeak a certain authenticity. When Sanders showed it was possible to rake in young votes with staunchly leftist policies, plenty of center-oriented Democrats began to show interest in things such as Medicare-for-all. Roast young lefties for naivete if you must, but they seem to realize that a fight such as universal health care is going to require somebody truly invested in the idea, whos willing to take enormous flak over it and suffer a few defeats without giving up. In short, endurance counts. Johnnies-come-lately inspire much less confidence on that front. As 18-year-old Henry Williams, who is co-running Gravels campaign, told me of his boss: I think what we started to realize was this guy is where left activists are. He was where we are now a decade ago. He was trying in a time where American politics wasnt ready for him. Aside from authentic commitment, candidates with long track records suggest they have developed a personal politics with a deeper historical scope they dont think the problems in American life began when Trump was elected. Nor do they believe that, before that moment, America was already great. If your belief is that whats rotten in American politics stems from capitalism itself, then those sudden explanations of what went wrong dont make sense. The explanations that ring true go back decades, and the people who have borne witness to them over time tend to be older. (At the same time, millennials did not grow up in the clutches of the Cold War, and so todays Russia panic doesnt translate, for them, into a phobia of socialism, the way it might, perhaps, for their older counterparts.) Its also important to remember that the alienation between millennials and their parents generation baby boomers, largely is genuine and laced with resentment. Among the young there exists a real faith that boomers squandered opportunities to care for the environment, embraced austerity politics at the expense of needier generations and created a deregulated financial system that has left millennials saddled with debt and grim prospects. Facing the world were left with, why would todays up-and-comers look for solutions among the scads of boomer and boomeresque candidates cluttering the field? Finally, youth is most attractive when you dont have it. For all the attention paid to Buttigieg and ORourke, younger candidates pitches to their peers are destined to be met with a little well-earned skepticism. If polls are any indication, young people have a concrete set of policy interests action on climate, universal health care and free college for all they hope to achieve with their 2020 votes, and the politicians making serious efforts to achieve them happen to be, likely for a variety of reasons, a little long in the tooth. As more committed, young politicians such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez gain the halls of power, there will be more opportunities for the socialist-leaning young to vote for their own though I suspect the very same characters who are unsatisfied with their voting habits now will be just as disappointed then. Expat health insurance: an alternative in the offing PHUKET: As the debacle over mandatory health insurance for expats staying in Thailand on Non-Immigrant O-A retirement visas continues to unfold, Bangkok Insurance Brokers Co Ltd (BIB) Managing Director Eric Dohlon, based in Phuket, is continuing his push for healthcare policy coverage for all retirees in Thailand and he is making good progress. immigrationhealth By Chris Husted Sunday 26 May 2019, 10:00AM Bangkok Insurance Brokers Co Ltd (BIB) Managing Director Eric Dohlon. Photo: Chris Husted BIB cooperates with 18 Thai-registered insurance companies, Mr Dohlon explained. We will initially choose one insurance company to issue the group policy. When there is sufficient volume of members, more companies will be asked to join, he said. Mr Dohlon told The Phuket News last Friday (May 17) that he now has one company ready and more than 2,000 signatures from potential applicants to support the policy, which aims to overcome one of the biggest obstacles older people face when seeking health insurance: pre-existing conditions. Pre-existing conditions is normal for people reaching retirement years, Mr Dohlon said. Somewhere along the way most older people have suffered one medical condition or another, and this is taken into account when insurance companies calculate their premiums. For people in advanced years, blood pressure conditions were among the most common, he pointed out. The risk of not declaring pre-existing conditions can be critical, Mr Dohlon noted. It does not have to be related in order for the insurance provider to void the policy, and this can happen at the most inopportune time, he said. A retiree being taken to hospital for injuries sustained in a motorbike accident might see their policy coverage cancelled literally while they are at the hospital awaiting medical care, all because the retiree did not declare something as simple as high blood pressure in their policy application, Mr Dohlon explained by example. Mr Dohlon pointed out that all seven companies offering policies vetted and approved by the Office of the Insurance Commission to support the new health-insurance requirement all require applicants to detail their pre-existing medical conditions in order for coverage to be approved. The policies are being offered through a special website set up at longstay.tgia.org. Since the announcement, the race to provide health insurance coverage to expat retirees is on, Mr Dohlon noted. There are at least 10 other companies waiting for their policies to be approved so they can be added to the website, he said. STEP BY STEP Mr Dohlons approach is a step-by-step solution, he explained. This is the only way this can be solved, he said. First, I need to get a quote from an insurance company. Thai Health Insurance Co Ltd has offered me the best conditions so far. They are offering me a discounted premium, based on the total number of group members, he explained, noting that the larger the group, the higher the premium savings. Second, I have to collect at least 100 applications, then Ive got my group policy started, and then I can then I add people in ones, twos and threes but I need the first 100 to start the policy, Mr Dohlon explained. Over 2,000 persons have submitted their names confirming an interest in joining this group policy. After the total number of group members reach 500 persons, we can negotiate more favourable conditions for the group members, including covering certain medical conditions that will normally be excluded from cover, Mr Dohlon said. Then high blood pressure will be covered, diabetes will be covered, and so on, he added. The need to policies to includes pre-existing conditions is vital, concurs Swedish retiree Bo Jonsson, who lives in Phuket. Mr Jonsson is already at the forefront of the push for the Swedish government to provide at least state-subsidised healthcare insurance for expat retirees in Thailand to the same level of coverage that the retirees are entitled to in Sweden and while living anywhere in Europe. As such, Mr Jonsson serves as Chair of the Thailand Federation of Swedish Associations, known simply SAMS, the acronym for its name in Swedish. Health insurance premiums skyrocket for elderly people seeking, and pre-existing conditions is the most important, Mr Jonsson said plainly, pointing out that one insurance company would only offer coverage at B148,000 each for himself and his wife for just one year. That was four years ago, when I was 80, and so far for nothing. Why would we spend this on just one year when we can put this much money aside each year so it is there when we need it? he asked. CREDIT CARDS To this, Mr Dohlon offered another potential solution: credit cards. Banks love credit cards, and I will be approaching several major banks to ask if they are interested in creating specific types of credit cards to help solve this problem, he said. Under the new credit cards, people will be able to deposit B440,000 in a fixed account with a credit card issued linked specifically to that account, with the credit cards only valid at hospitals, he explained. That way your money will be sitting in a fixed-deposit account, earning the best money it can while in Thailand, and you will be covered. Now doesnt that make sense? And thats just one solution. There are other alternatives, he added. Regarding future expansion of the proposed health policy itself, Mr Dohlon pointed out that once the policy was created, it could be further expanded to cover people in higher age brackets. When the group membership grows, we can negotiate to increase age limits. Both increasing the age limit on application and renewals, he added. An important feature of all Thai Health Insurance policies is that they are valid worldwide, not just Thailand only. Even the cheapest health insurance policy sold in Thailand is valid worldwide. Details of the group health policy will be posted on our website ASAP (insurance-in-thailand.com) and emails sent to all persons that confirmed their interest in joining the group, he said. Industry-leading PropertyGuru Thailand Property Awards celebrates 14 years of excellence The long-running and most respected real estate awards programme brings prestige to the kingdoms top destinations including Phuket. propertyconstructioneconomics By Sponsored Sunday 26 May 2019, 12:00PM Thailands largest and most prestigious annual event for the real estate sector will once again return to celebrate what the countrys finest developers and leaders can offer. The kingdoms real estate industry has become one of the leaders in the Asean region, with its evergreen appeal, and strong condominium, resort and niche segments such as senior living, co-working spaces, and smart home development. Whilst Bangkok today offers world-class skyscrapers and integrated communities, and major zones like the Eastern Economic Corridor represent the vast opportunities available for small or large business ventures, popular investment and tourist destinations like Phuket has remained on the radar of international tourists, serial investors and property-seekers, largely because of the islands stock of resort, hotel residences, and increasingly mixed-use retail and lifestyle facilities. Even with the advent of e-commerce in our country, it is exciting that there is always high demand for retail space in locations like Greater Bangkok, Pattaya, and Phuket, said Mr. Prayoth Benyasut, Deputy Permanent Secretary, Office of the Permanent Secretary, of the Ministry of Commerce, who was the guest of honour at last years PropertyGuru Thailand Property Awards annual gala dinner. There is confidence in the built environment in Thailand that makes entrepreneurs, consumers and business owners choose our country. On behalf of the Thai Ministry of Commerce, I encourage Thai developers to always champion sustainable growth to allow related industries to progress even further, he added in his keynote address. This year, developers from Phuket and key investment hotspots in the country are invited to participate at the 14th Annual PropertyGuru Thailand Property Awards, which will be presented on Friday, 9 August 2019 at the Athenee Hotel, a Luxury Collection Hotel in Bangkok. Supported by global brands such as platinum sponsor Hitachi Elevators & Escalators, official airline Thai Airways, and official portal partner DDproperty.com, Thailands leading property site, the glittering gala will be presenting more than 45 honours including awards for Best Developer, Best Boutique Developer, special awards include Real Estate Personality of the Year, Special Recognition for Public Facilities, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Design and Construction, Sustainable Development and Building Communities. Around 600 guests and VIPs are expected to join the gala, which is exclusive for shortlisted developers, sponsors and partners. Led by Suphin Mechuchep, Managing Director of Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL), the panel of judges of the Thailand Property Awards comprises accredited professionals and experts within the industry. Judging is conducted fairly and with utmost integrity, with the process entirely surpervised by BDO, one of the worlds largest and award-winning networks of accounting and auditing firms. Nominations are now open for registration until 7 June 2019. Visit www.asiapropertyawards.com for the full list of categories and criteria. Phuket Opinion: Diving in PHUKET: It has been a long time coming, but were finally heading in the right direction. Maya Bay has been closed since last year to allow the marine ecosystem there to recover from heavy damage caused by tourists ploughing through the bay year after year. opinionmarinenatural-resourcesenvironmenttourism By The Phuket News Sunday 26 May 2019, 11:30AM Foreigners give the thumbs-up during a DMCR marine conservation exercise. Photo: DMCR The main marine parks in the area, such as those at the Similan and Surin islands, are now closed for their annual recovery during the tourism low season, coinciding with the arrival of the southwest monsoon, which makes sea conditions dangerous anyway, and the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) is calling for Marine Rangers to volunteer to keep watch over other coral reefs popular for tourist visits. The corals within easy reach of Phuket have taken a battering over the years. The DMCR itself only two years ago estimated that overtourism had killed some 75% of the corals that once surrounded Koh Hei, literally called Coral Island in Thai, just offshore southeast of Phuket. That incredible amount of damage was done in just 10 years, DMCR officials said. (See story here.) But now it appears that the tide is turning. The understanding that tourists will no longer come if there is nothing to see is finally sinking in. Another huge turning point not to be underappreciated is the move by officials to include foreign expertise in helping to save corals in the region. Many Phuket dive operators for decades have helped lead the fight to preserve the stunning beauty that lies beneath our waters. Of course there have been some Thai groups that have also led the charge and here Go-Eco Phuket (click here) deserve special mention for their outstanding efforts but in the early days, the number of foreigners in Phukets dive industry publicly reporting those fouling the seas and destroying our corals easily outnumbered the dwindling number of Thais who even wanted to work in the dive industry. That, too, has changed. To all those in Phuket's marine tourism industry, and particularly Phuket's dive operators, who have played a part in promoting this positive attitude towrds preserving our marine environment, take a bow. Your perserverence is paying off. We look forward to the DMCR receiving bountiful support for the Marine Rangers project. That said, we also offer a word of caution for an agency that has at times been overzealous in its efforts to protect the corals. To this we call for full transparency in all complaints levied against individuals and companies that will soon stand accused of breaking coral-protection laws, and for the right of those accused to defend themselves to be upheld. But all this needs to be public and in the open. We can no longer have such matters privately resolved behind the tinted windows of some local government office. Those days must also sink beneath the waves. Silicon Valley investor Roger McNamee has gone from being one of Facebooks earliest financial backers to one of the companys harshest critics. Hes gone so far as to call the social media giant a danger to democracy, and has written a book published earlier this year called Zucked: Waking up to the Facebook Catastrophe. Its a startling evolution for someone who was an early investor, served as a mentor and sounding board for CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and also recommended the hiring of Sheryl Sandberg as company COO. At the Collision tech conference in Toronto, McNamee talked to the Star about his change of heart, why he thinks shutting Facebook down is a completely rational thing to do, why Toronto should be wary of Googles Sidewalk project, and why big tech companies are similar to the robber barons only worse. Toronto Star: How are you enjoying Toronto so far? Roger McNamee: Its really interesting to be here, because you guys are at the centre of something thats a huge issue right now, and thats how companies treat consumer data. Should there be limits to the rights of corporations to gather data and exploit it? And what rights should consumers, what rights should communities, and what rights should governments have? Weve operated in this world where those questions didnt get asked. And we largely, in North America, operate where the business community has been unrestrained, where smart people are free to grab whatever they can grab. For a long time, that seemed like a perfectly reasonable approach. But it feels less reasonable all the time now. Read more: Ex-Facebook exec recommends Zuckerberg step down as CEO Justin Trudeau introduces digital charter to combat hate speech, misinformation Opinion | Heather Scoffield: Canada tries to ride the median in quandary over big tech TS: Are we at the robber barons stage with the big tech companies? RN: Were way past that. These guys look like the robber barons, but theyre global. The robber barons were never global. But its the same principle. And I think a lot of the same techniques will work. You have to limit what they can do you have to take away some things that they have historically been able to do, and you have to actively promote alternative business models. TS: At what point did you make that transition from a believer to a critic? RN: I thought Facebook was different. They werent founded on the principle of breaking the law, the way that YouTube was, or Uber, or Airbnb, or on taking advantage of the ignorance of either customers or suppliers, the way Spotify, Uber and Lyft and the fintech companies work. And so I missed some signals, and Im really embarrassed about that. Until 2016, then I started to see them. Over the course of 2016, I got progressively more concerned. I finally reached out to Mark and Sheryl in October 2016, nine days before the election. I reached out as a friend, trying to warn them. I spent three months trying to persuade them that they needed to do what Johnson and Johnson did after the Tylenol poisoning they need to protect the people using the product, they need to co-operate with investigators. And they just werent interested. TS: At what point do the moral and philosophical objections become a business risk. Are we already at that stage with the antitrust suits in Europe? RN: I wish we were, but investors have shown no concern about this at all. Whats weird is that we can see what the black swan is. The government of Sri Lanka had no choice after an act of terrorism. The only way they could protect themselves was to shut down Facebook and Google, so they did. And thats now on the table. And you can easily see a country in the European Union doing the same thing, if faced with the same choice. I think it becomes viral. If a first country does it, why wouldnt the adjacent country do the same thing? Platforms have no one to blame but themselves. Their total lack of co-operation has essentially left countries with no choice. I view the hierarchy as having three things. If you want to prevent election interference, privacy violations, public health problems and restore your economy, shutting down these companies is a completely rational thing to do. Failing that, ending their business model is a completely rational thing to do. You roll it back to zero. You get back to the only thing thats allowed is what the data was originally given for. The third choice would be to simply tax the advertising at 95 or 100 per cent, to change the incentives. TS: Publishers have a responsibility to make sure the information they produce is accurate. How has Facebook avoided that, given the amount of information thats produced on their platform? RN: In the U.S. theres a law that was intended to protect a brand new industry from nuisance litigation, which has been interpreted over the last 20 years to be a safe harbour from all kinds of things. But the problem with that interpretation is that by definition, that means theyre a common carrier, which means that they shouldnt be allowed to do things like scan emails, which Google does, and which presumably Microsoft does also. That should in fact be a felony as it would be if you were a postal service or a telecom company. And we should have these conversations, because weve essentially allowed these companies to behave as though theyre little tiny startups with no damage, as opposed to undermining civilization as we know it. TS: Do you still have any stake in Facebook at all? And if so, why? RN: I do. I chose not to sell my stock when I became an activist, because I didnt want to be accused of speaking out against a company whose stock I had just sold. So I chose to hang onto it. I recently sold some, and I expect to sell the rest of it, because that issue is no longer relevant. Ive been out in the market for more than two years, and whatever impact Im going to have, Ive long since had. At the beginning, I thought there was a risk that by speaking out I would harm the stock, and I wanted to be taking the same risk that the employees were taking, but obviously nobody cares what Im saying. TS: How much of a problem is the dual-class share structure, which basically assures that Mark Zuckerberg will be able to maintain control as long as he wants? RN: The silver lining of the dual class is that if Mark has an epiphany, and decides that he wants to be the hero in his own story, he could get rid of that business model today. He has the moral authority and the voting authority to do that. Same thing with Larry (Page) and Sergei (Brin) at Google. In the absence of that epiphany, the dual class structure is simply a way of evading accountability. And it has been a perfect evasion of accountability. TS: Since youve become a critic, and particularly since your book was published, how has your relationship been with Mark and Sheryl? RN: What relationship? I havet heard from either Mark or Sheryl since Oct. 30, 2016. And I havent heard from anyone at Facebook since February of 2017. TS: Does that disappoint you, on a personal level? RN: Obviously. I came to them as a friend. And I spent three months without saying a word to the outside, just talking to them. Then I spent months, just making sure I understood what I was talking about. And then I started to speak on the outside. I dont how I could possibly have been more reasonable. This interview has been edited and condensed. Read more about: Warning: This story contains graphic descriptions of violence. EDMONTONBradley Barton will face a new manslaughter trial in the death of Edmonton Indigenous woman Cindy Gladue after he was acquitted of the same charge and found not guilty of first-degree murder in 2015, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled Friday. Lawyers and Indigenous advocates have had a mixed response to the courts decision. For some, the Supreme Court decision is a positive step forward, opening the door to a fairer trial. Critics say the court case was riddled with racist and sexist myths surrounding Gladues identity as an Indigenous woman and maintain the decision doesnt go far enough in bringing about full justice for Indigenous women in the legal system. Its a good decision, its not perfect, said Julie Kaye, an adviser for the Institute for the Advancement of Aboriginal Women, which acted as an intervener in the case. Kaye said she had hoped the Supreme Court would go further by ordering a retrial on the first-degree murder charge as well. The decision does strongly condemn the use of some of the racist and sexist stereotypes that were allowed to enter the trial, she said. But even on that, it doesnt go far enough in terms of addressing the level of dehumanization and the level of indignity that was perpetrated against (Gladue). Gladue was found dead at the Yellowhead Inn in Edmonton in 2011 after bleeding out in a bathtub due to an 11-centimetre wound to her vaginal wall. The Crown had argued Barton had used a sharp object with intent to seriously harm or kill Gladue. Barton said the wound was inflicted from consensual rough sex. Albertas Court of Appeal first ordered a new trial in 2015, saying the trial judge erred in instructing the jury and allowed evidence to be heard about Gladues sexual history that opened the door for stereotypes that could have clouded the judgment of the jurors. During the first trial, Gladue was referred to as a prostitute 25 times, and as a Native 26 times. Read more: Grisly court case heard at the Supreme Court could redefine sexual consent Edmontonians closely watching landmark cases as a potential turning point for Indigenous peoples Edmonton lawyer who made a career as a voice for Indigenous women being recognized Barton appealed the lower courts decision to the Supreme Court, which, in its 4-3 ruling on Friday, said allowing Gladues sexual history to be presented as evidence violated whats commonly known as the rape shield, a section of Canadas Criminal Code that largely prohibits presenting a persons sexual past to a jury unless it has been preapproved by a judge. The law aims to protect women in court proceedings from two stereotypes called the twin myths. These are the misconceptions that a victim of sexual assault who consented to sexual activity in the past is likely to have consented to the sexual activity at issue, and that a woman is less worthy of being believed because of her past sexual history. Allowing Gladues sexual history to be presented as evidence biased the jury because it suggested that Gladue was more likely to consent to the sexual activity that caused her death or that the complainant was less worthy of belief, the Supreme Court said. The ruling was upheld by justices Michael Moldaver, Suzanne Cote, Russel Brown and Michael Rowe. Those who dissented justices Rosalie Abella, Richard Wagner and Andromache Karakatsanis argued the entire initial trial was unfair due to the way the use of negative stereotypes were permitted when referring to Gladue and the way her sexual history and misconceptions about Indigenous women working in the sex trade were allowed to influence the jurys decision. This left the jury with an essentially unchallenged version of the accuseds interactions with the victim, the dissenting justices wrote in the decision. For Rhonda Spence, an Edmonton-based activist who has been closely involved with the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls movement, the failure of the Supreme Court to come to a majority agreement on the unfairness of the trial means full justice for Gladue was not met by Fridays decision. As an Indigenous woman who is continuously fighting for our women and our girls that have been exploited and exposed to violence on many different levels, Im just horrified, Spence said. There is no justice, and again, today just cements that. Barton wont be retried on first-degree murder, the Supreme Court judges said, because theres no reason to believe that the errors at the original trial tainted the verdict on that charge. Gladues case has been called potentially precedent-setting because the outcome has implications around whether a person can consent to sexual activity when there is an objective likelihood of serious harm or death. Kaye said shes not yet sure if that issue was settled in Fridays decision. When the Alberta Court of Appeal was hearing arguments for a retrial, it brought up case law out of Ontario looking at incidents where a person died during a consensual fist fight. It was determined that consent couldnt be given for acts in which that kind of harm was intended and caused, but there was little legal direction as to how issues of consent may apply to cases of sexual assault where harm or death is caused. There is also the concept of global consent, or the idea that consenting to one form of sexual activity means the person consented to all sexual acts that occurred. Gladue had spent two nights with Barton. During the trial, evidence from the first evenings encounter was brought in as evidence that she consented to the second evenings activities. Kaye said the decision does prove that there is no such thing as implied consent. I think it does in some ways strengthen what we already have in terms of laws of consent It is reinforcing that consent has to be given at every stage, within every act, Kaye said. In what was a first in Canadian courts, Bartons trial also saw Gladues preserved pelvic tissue brought in as evidence and referred to as a specimen. The Institute for the Advancement of Aboriginal Women argues that was dehumanizing, disrespectful and discriminatory. Kaye said she hoped Fridays Supreme Court decision would have touched on that. I dont think it goes far enough in terms of accounting to the level of violence that Indigenous women experience by the system itself, Kaye said. ... It wasnt just Barton that acted violently against Cindy, it was also the legal system, and both of those need to be held to account. Fridays ruling did, however, state that the trial judge failed to properly alert the jury to be cautious of forming discriminatory attitudes due to Gladues prior sexual history and race. Kaye said many of the rulings arguments were influenced by work that interveners in the lower court case the Institute for the Advancement of Aboriginal Women (IAAW) and the Womens Legal Education and Action Fund did to bring this aspect of the trial to light. This was a small victory for Muriel Stanley Venne, president and founder of the IAAW and a human rights activist for some 40 years. She said she felt Indigenous womens voices were heard through this ruling by allowing 16 different advocacy groups and lawyers to act as interveners in the decision. I view it as opening a door to doing a great many things different, Venne said of the decision, adding she hopes it will mean that in the future, courts will take into consideration how Indigenous people often suffer in the justice system. She says the outcome of this case will reveal what value the Canadian justice system places on the lives of Indigenous women. This is the most important case that will happen in my lifetime, Venne said. Nadine Yousif is a reporter/photographer for Star Edmonton. Follow her on twitter: @nadineyousif_ Read more about: VICTORIALivestock and cattle will soon help fight wildfires in British Columbia as the province looks to create a targeted grazing program. The B.C. government will give $500,000 to the BC Cattlemens Association, the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development said in a statement Saturday. The association will develop partnerships and investigate how to use the cattle to manage fine fuels. These include cured grass, fallen leaves, needles, small twigs and any other fuels that ignite readily and are rapidly consumed by fire. The province will work with local governments, the ranching sector and Indigenous communities on the project. Its an intriguing model that Im hopeful will become a mainstay in our efforts to protect our communities and resources from fires, as well as supporting B.C. ranchers and B.C. beef, Agriculture Minister Lana Popham said in a statement. Its not a solution, but a powerful tool when combined with other methods, like prescribed burning and selective tree harvesting, the government said, noting wildfire prevention programs in southern Europe and parts of the U.S. already successfully use livestock in this manner. Read more: B.C. communities, First Nations eligible for more funds during floods, wildfires Spring rain needed in B.C., as low snowpack and drought readings raise concern What you need to know about B.C.s 2019 wildfire season so far Targeted grazing is low-carbon and cost effective, it said, while supporting local food production and giving ranchers new opportunities. Its one example of what were doing to reduce the threat of wildfires, while supporting the ranching sector and maintaining wildlife habitat in our province, said Doug Donaldson, minister of forests, lands, natural resource operations and rural development. In 2018, there was a record-setting area burned by wildfires in the province, according to the BC Wildfire Service. More than 2,100 fires consumed roughly 1.35 million hectares of land up from the previous record of more than 1.2 million hectares in 2017. Read more about: VANCOUVERThe lawyers for Jamie Bacon say a judge has declared a mistrial in a murder plot case. Lawyer Kimberly Eldred says in an statement that Justice Catherine Wedge of the B.C. Supreme Court declared a mistrial Saturday night after the jury informed her it could not reach a unanimous verdict. The jury began its deliberations Thursday evening. Bacon was charged with one count of counselling to commit murder in the Dec. 31, 2008, shooting of Dennis Karbovanec. Karbovanec was not killed in the shooting. The defence says the case will return to court June 14 to schedule further proceedings. Read more: Judge stays charges in Surrey Six slayings in B.C. Two B.C. men guilty of six counts of first-degree murder in Surrey Six slayings A violent end for oldest of B.C.s notorious Bacon brothers Read more about: MONTREALGeorges Awaad answers the phone with a polite Hello, but he could just as easily answer in Arabic, French, Japanese, or any of the other 15 languages he speaks. At the age of 20, the Montreal linguistics student can already speak 19 different languages, most of which he taught himself through a combination of internet videos, music and conversation with friends. Im a very auditory person, so I try to expose myself as much as possible to the language, by listening to music, videos, films if I find them, and by listening to conversations and having them with friends, he said in a phone interview. He also speaks Mandarin, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, German, Russian, Hebrew, Romanian, Swedish, Georgian, Armenian, Cantonese, Korean, Esperanto, and Dutch. Awaad, whose first language is French, said he learned early in life that he liked the sound of different languages, but his interest really began around age 10, when he asked his Arabic-speaking grandparents to help him improve his skills. I told my parents I really loved learning with my grandparents and they told me, You know, there are places online if you want to learn more languages, Awaad said. His parents pointed him to Google Translate, and he was instantly hooked, he said. Awaad may just speak more languages than any other student in Canada, according to online language learning platform Babbel. Babbel, along with the Student Life Network, launched a search earlier this year to find Canadas most polyglottic, or multilingual, student. Awaad emerged the clear winner, impressing the judges with two rounds of video submissions displaying his linguistic prowess, which were judged by native speakers of each language. As a team of hundreds of linguists from all around the world, we are extremely impressed by Georges command of languages, especially for someone so young, Ted Mentele, Babbels Editor in Didactics, said in a statement. Despite his achievement, Awaad doesnt believe he has any exceptional skills when it comes to learning languages. His secret, he says, is that he finds it fun. I think its more that Im passionate about it, he said. Its easier for me to put in the effort to learn them because I really love them ... It doesnt feel like work. Awaad finds it hard to pinpoint exactly what he loves the most about languages. At first, he says, he just loved the different sounds and inflections they made. But as he got older, he came to appreciate how they allowed him to make new connections and explore new cultures in a fuller way. As an example, he says he was able to serve as his familys translator during a trip to Japan. Hes also made plenty of new friends in his quest to find people to converse with. It started to show me just how much learning a new language can open your mind and heart to so many other people around the world and new cultures, he said. You can understand the world so much better and on a much deeper level. Awaad says some of his favourite languages to learn have been Mandarin and Georgian, partly because their structures are so different from English and French. His plans for the future include completing a linguistics degree at McGill University before eventually getting a Masters and PhD. Hes also hoping to pick up more languages along the way. Currently, hes working on a project to document a Mayan language spoken in the north of Guatemala and southern Mexico, and says hes already starting to pick up the words and phrases as he goes. I think this one is next on my list, he said. By ANI COLOMBO: The bank accounts of five terror suspects, who were arrested a day earlier for close links with Islamist extremist group National Thawheed Jammath (NTJ), had funds of Rs 100 crore, a senior police official said. The five suspects were arrested in Horowpathana on Friday on suspicion of having links with the outlawed NTJ and its leader Zahran Hashim, who was behind the Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka, The Daily Mirror reported. The official also said those among the arrested were a development officer attached to the Horowpathana Divisional Secretariat, a teacher of a government school in Horowpathana, two teachers of an Arabic college in Kiwulekada and a resident of Kebithigollewa. ALSO READ: Five suspects linked to Easter bombing mastermind arrested Police said the suspects had delivered extremist sermons in Anuradhapura and Trincomalee. They had received armed training at the Horowpathana jungle two years ago with the participation of several other individuals, the police added. The April 21 bombings took place at various locations across the country. At least 250 people lost their lives while over 500 were injured in the terrorist attacks, which have been widely condemned. Local terror group NTJ, which is an ISIS-affiliate, claimed responsibility for the bombings that targeted three luxury hotels and three churches in Sri Lanka on April 21. Meanwhile, Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena on Wednesday extended by a month the state of emergency imposed in the wake of the deadly blasts, citing "public security. The emergency law gives police and the military extensive powers to arrest, detain and interrogate suspects without court orders. KINSHASA, Congo - Authorities in western Congo say at least 30 people are dead and another 200 are missing after a boat sank on a lake. Simon Mboo Wemba, the mayor of Inongo, told The Associated Press on Sunday night that many of those aboard the boat that sank on Lake Mai-Ndombe were teachers. The mayor says they had travelled to collect their salaries by boat because roads in the region are so poor. It was not immediately known how many people were aboard the boat when it hit bad weather late Saturday. But officials estimate several hundred were on board. More than 80 people survived. Boats in the vast nation of Congo are usually overloaded with passengers and cargo, and official manifests dont include all those aboard. TOKYO - Seemingly contradicting his national security adviser , President Donald Trump on Sunday played down North Koreas recent missile tests and said they were not a concern for him. The comments tweeted during his trip to Japan were sure to unnerve leaders of the U.S. ally that is directly threatened by short-range weapons from its Asian neighbour. While America is not, there are tens of thousands of U.S. troops in Japan and South Korea. Trump also said North Koreas Kim Jong Uns criticism of Joe Biden , the former vice-president who is among the Democrats running for the White House in 2020, made him smile. The remarks were the latest example of Trumps willingness to publicly undermine his senior advisers, flout democratic norms and side with totalitarian leaders. North Korea fired off some small weapons, which disturbed some of my people, and others, but not me, Trump tweeted in one of his early morning messages. Some of his people appear to include national security adviser John Bolton, who told reporters at a briefing Saturday before Trump arrived in Tokyo that a series of short-range missile tests by North Korea this month violated U.N. Security Council resolutions. There is no doubt about that, said Bolton, citing the May 4 and May 9 tests that ended a pause in launches that began in late 2017. Trump ignored a shouted question Sunday about whether he agreed with Boltons assessment and his press secretary did not seem to back up Bolton. Spokeswoman Sarah Sanders, said in an interview with NBCs Meet the Press that we know that the activities at no point that took place over the last several weeks have been a threat to the United States or our allies. She said Trump still feels comfortable and confident in the relationship that he has with Chairman Kim. Trump and other administration officials have tried to play down the significance of the tests, insisting they do not violate an agreement Trump reached with Kim for a moratorium on launches. The moratorium was focused, very focused, on intercontinental missile systems, the ones that threaten the United States, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a recent television interview. That raised alarm bells in Japan, where short-range missiles pose a serious threat because of the countrys proximity to North Korea. Also within range of such missiles are the roughly 28,000 U.S. troops stationed in South Korea and the 54,000 American forces in Japan, in addition to family members and civilian Department of Defence employees. I find them very disturbing and certainly wouldnt trust Kim Jong-un, said U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa. She told CNNs State of the Union that Japan does have reason to be concerned. And I am concerned as well. We need to see North Korea back off of those activities. And we need to take a very strong stance on that. Ernst said the U.S. needs to ensure that North Korea follows U.N. guidelines. We cant continue to let them further develop any type of weapon systems. Unlike several other leaders in the region, Abe has yet to meet with Kim, leaving Japan to rely on the U.S. as an intermediary and advocate with North Korea. Abe recently offered to meet Kim without preconditions in an effort to restore diplomatic ties. Trump in his tweet said he had confidence that Chairman Kim will keep his promise to me, while at the same time embracing Kims recent attacks on Biden, whose name he misspelled. Trump said he smiled when Kim called Swampman Joe Bidan a low IQ individual, & worse. Perhaps thats sending me a signal? Trump asked. Trump later offered a new tweet with the correct Biden spelling. North Korea this week past called Biden a fool of low IQ and an imbecile bereft of elementary quality as a human being after Biden accused Trump of cozying up to dictators and tyrants such as Kim and Russian President Vladimir Putin during his campaign launch speech. Bidens campaign would not comment on the record Sunday, but a spokesman for his campaign, Andrew Bates said this past Wednesday that given 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. ___ Associated Press writers Darlene Superville and Mari Yamaguchi contributed to this report. KATHMANDU, Nepal - Security forces in Nepal were on high alert Monday amid a general strike called by an outlawed communist group suspected in a series of explosions that killed four people and wounded seven more in the capital. Schools and main markets remained closed on Monday in Kathmandu while traffic was thin during rush hour. The group had called for a nationwide general strike to pressure the government in releasing their detained members. Police official Shyam Lal Gyawali said authorities were investigating Sundays blasts. The first two explosions occurred within minutes apart in two Kathmandu neighbourhoods, while the third one was a few hours later. Police said they suspect that a group that once split from the ruling Communist party was responsible for the blasts because its members have been protesting the arrests of their supporters. The first explosion occurred in northern Kathmandu, killing two people and wounding five, police said. The second blast was in a house in the central part of the city, killing one and wounding one. Police believe the men in the house are linked to the outlawed group, which is known for violence. They said they found pamphlets from the group at the second explosion site. The areas around the two blast sites were quickly closed by police and the wounded were taken to hospitals. Police said a third explosion wounded two people who they believe were members of the group transporting the explosive device. The splinter communist group split from the Maoist party, which fought government troops from 1996 to 2006, when its members gave up their armed revolt to join a peace process and mainstream politics. ISLAMABAD - The Pakistani military said Monday militants attacked an army post in a troubled region bordering Afghanistan where ethnic tensions have recently flared up with minority Pashtuns, triggering a shootout that killed a soldier. It remained unclear who was behind the attack late Sunday on the Makki Garh security post in North Waziristan. Five soldiers were also wounded in the clashes. Just hours earlier, authorities said a minority Pashtun group led by two lawmakers attacked another army post in the same region, the Khar Kamar post, setting off a shootout that killed three activists. According to the army, lawmakers Ali Wazir and Mohsin Dawar were seeking to pressure authorities to release terror suspects arrested recently in North Waziristan. Wazir and Dawar represent a Pashtun rights group that has denounced what it says is the militarys excessive use of force against tribesmen in the region. Wazir and eight others were arrested in the Khar Kamar incident. Dawar said they attacked no one and claimed their convoy was targeted by the security forces while travelling to a planned protest rally in the area. The military later said troops found five bullet-riddled bodies about a mile away from the Khar Kamar post, but it was unclear who the victims were and who killed them. Elsewhere, security officials arrested three suspected militants in two raids in eastern Punjab province, foiling possible attacks, the provinces counter-terrorism department said Sunday. In the first raid, in the district of Dera Ghazi Khan, a man was arrested for suspected links to the Islamic State group, the agency said. Grenades and funds for terrorism financing were seized during the operation. In the second raid, two members of the outlawed Sunni Lashkar-e-Jhangvi militant group were arrested for planning to target minority Shiites. Last week, Punjab police as part of an ongoing crackdown on terror groups arrested six people for collecting funds for outlawed militant groups in the province. ___ Associated Press writer Asim Tanveer in Multan, Pakistan, contributed to this report. PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea - Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter ONeill has resigned after seven years on the job. His announcement Sunday follows weeks of high profile defections from his government to the opposition. ONeill said in a news conference in the capital of Port Moresby that recent movements in parliament have shown a need for change. He handed over his leadership to a former prime minister and current member of parliament, Sir Julius Chan. On Friday, one of O Neills key coalition allies abandoned him. The opposition bloc has since been saying it has 62 lawmakers in its camp, which would give it a majority in parliament. The resignation will be formalized when ONeill visits the governor-general, the official representative of Queen Elizabeth II. LONDON - Britains governing Conservative Party was all but wiped out in the European Parliament election as voters sick of the countrys stalled European Union exit flocked to uncompromisingly pro-Brexit or pro-EU parties. The main opposition Labour Party also faced a drubbing in a vote that upended the traditional order of British politics and plunged the country into even more Brexit uncertainty. The big winners were the newly founded Brexit Party led by veteran anti-EU campaigner Nigel Farage and the strongly pro-European Liberal Democrats. With results announced early Monday for all of England and Wales, the Brexit Party had won 28 of the 73 British EU seats up for grabs and almost a third of the votes. The Liberal Democrats took about 20% of the vote and 15 seats up from only one at the last EU election in 2014. Labour came third with 10 seats, followed by the Greens with seven. The ruling Conservatives were in fifth place with just three EU seats and under 10% of the vote. Scotland and Northern Ireland are due to announce their results later. Farages Brexit Party was one of several nationalist and populist parties making gains across the continent in an election that saw erosion of support for the traditionally dominant political parties. Conservative Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said it was a painful result and warned there was an existential risk to our party unless we now come together and get Brexit done. The results reflect an electorate deeply divided over Britains 2016 decision to leave the EU, but united in anger at the two long-dominant parties, the Conservatives and Labour, who have brought the Brexit process to deadlock. Britain is participating in the EU election because it is still a member of the bloc, but the lawmakers it elects will only sit in the European Parliament until the country leaves the EU, which is currently scheduled for Oct. 31. Farages Brexit Party was officially launched in April and has only one policy: for Britain to leave the EU as soon as possible, even without a divorce agreement in place. Farage said his partys performance was a massive message for the Conservatives and Labour, and he said it should be given a role in future negotiations with the EU. If we dont leave on Oct. 31, then the scores you have seen for the Brexit Party today will be repeated in a general election and we are getting ready for it, said Farage. But the election leaves Britains EU exit ever more uncertain, with both Brexiteers and pro-EU remainers able to claim strong support. Labour and the Conservatives, who in different ways each sought a compromise Brexit, were hammered. The result raises the likelihood of a chaotic no deal exit from the EU but also of a new referendum that could reverse the decision to leave. The Conservatives were punished for failing to take the country out of the EU on March 29 as promised, a failure that led Prime Minister Theresa May to announce Friday that she is stepping down from leading the party on June 7. Britains new prime minister will be whoever wins the Conservative party leadership race to replace her. The favourites, including ex-Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab and former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, have vowed to leave the EU on Oct. 31 even if there is no deal in place. Most businesses and economists think that would cause economic turmoil and plunge Britain into recession. But many Conservatives think embracing a no-deal Brexit may be the only way to win back voters from Farages party. Labour was punished for a fence-sitting Brexit policy that saw the party dither over whether to support a new referendum that could halt Brexit. Labour foreign affairs spokeswoman Emily Thornberry said the party needed to adopt a clearer pro-EU stance. There should be a (new Brexit) referendum and we should campaign to remain, she said. ___ For more news from The Associated Press on the European Parliament elections go to https://www.apnews.com/EuropeanParliament ___ Follow APs full coverage of Brexit at: https://www.apnews.com/Brexit BRUSSELS - A yellow vest protest march was taken over by black-hooded demonstrators and turned violent in Brussels, forcing authorities to detain a few hundred people. The yellow vest demonstration was intended to be against social injustice on the day of European Parliament elections. But it degenerated into disorder, with some protesters pelting buildings and smashing barricades. Police intervened to disperse the violent demonstrators. Brussels police spokeswoman Ilse Van de Keere said around 350 people were briefly detained but were released later Sunday. Police on horseback patrolled the historic centre and scuffles broke out in different areas. CAIRO - The U.N. mission in Libya says two local TV reporters detained by forces loyal to a commander who is on the offensive to capture the countrys capital, Tripoli, have been released after three weeks in captivity. Libyas Alahrar TV station said commander Khalifa Hifters self-styled Libyan National Army detained two of its journalists, Mohamed al-Qarg and Mohamed al-Shibani, earlier this month. The TV station, which backs the U.N.-supported government in Tripoli, said the journalists were released on Friday. The U.N. said late Saturday that it welcomed their safe return to their families in the western city of Zintan. Hifters forces are locked in weeks-long fighting to take Tripoli against militias loosely allied with the U.N.-supported government. The fighting has reportedly killed at least 510 people, including combatants and civilians. BAGHDAD - Iraq offered to mediate in the crisis between its two key allies, the United States and Iran, amid escalating Middle East tensions and as Tehrans nuclear deal with world powers steadily unravels. Iraqi foreign minister, Mohammed al-Hakim, made the offer Sunday during a joint news conference in Baghdad with visiting Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif. We are trying to help and to be mediators, said al-Hakim, adding that Baghdad will work to reach a satisfactory solution while stressing that Iraq stands against unilateral steps taken by Washington. In recent weeks, tensions between Washington and Tehran soared over America deploying an aircraft carrier and B-52 bombers to the Persian Gulf over a still-unexplained threat it perceives from Tehran. The U.S. also plans to send 900 additional troops to the 600 already in the Mideast and extending their stay. The crisis takes root in President Donald Trumps withdrawal last year of the U.S. from the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers that capped Irans uranium enrichment activities in return to lifting sanctions. Washington subsequently re-imposed sanctions on Iran, sending its economy into freefall. Trump has argued that the deal failed to sufficiently curb Irans ability to develop nuclear weapons or halt its support for militias throughout the Middle East that the U.S. says destabilize the region, as well as address the issue of Tehrans missiles, which can reach both U.S. regional bases and Israel. Zarif, who was been on a whirlwind diplomatic offensive to preserve the rest of the accord, insisted that Iran did not violate the nuclear deal and urged European nations to exert efforts to preserve the deal following the U.S. pullout. Speaking about the rising tensions with the U.S., Zarif said Iran will be able to face the war, whether it is economic or military through steadfastness and its forces. He also urged for a non-aggression agreement between Iran and Arab countries in the Gulf. The Shiite-majority Iraq has been trying to maintain a fine line as allies Tehran and Washington descended into verbal vitriol. The country also lies on the fault line between Shiite Iran and the mostly Sunni Arab world, led by powerhouse Saudi Arabia, and has long been a battlefield in which the Saudi-Iran rivalry for regional supremacy played out. The mediation offer by al-Hakim, Iraqs foreign minister, echoed one made Saturday by Mohamad al-Halbousi, the Iraqi parliament speaker. Al-Hakim also expressed concern for Irans spiraling economy. Iranians make up the bulk of millions of Shiites from around the world who come to Iraq every year to visit its many Shiite shrines and holy places and their purchasing power has slumped after Trump re-imposed the sanctions. The sanctions against sisterly Iran are ineffective and we stand by its side, al-Hakim said. Meanwhile, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani suggested the Islamic Republic could hold a referendum over its nuclear program. The official IRNA news agency said Rouhani, who was last week publicly chastised by the countrys supreme leader, made the suggestion in a meeting with editors of major Iranian news outlets on Saturday evening. Rouhani said he had previously suggested a referendum to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in 2004, when Rouhani was a senior nuclear negotiator for Iran. At the time, Khamenei approved of the idea and though there was no referendum, such a vote can be a solution at any time, Rouhani was quoted as saying. A referendum could provide political cover for the Iranian government if it chooses to increase its enrichment of uranium, prohibited under the 2015 nuclear deal. Earlier last week, Iran said it quadrupled its uranium-enrichment production capacity though Iranian officials made a point to stress that the uranium would be enriched only to the 3.67% limit set under the deal, making it usable for a power plant but far below whats needed for an atomic weapon. Rouhanis remarks could also be seen as a defence of his stance following the rare public chastising by the supreme leader. Khamenei last week named Rouhani and Zarif relative moderates within Irans Shiite theocracy who had struck the nuclear deal as failing to implement his orders over the accord, saying it had numerous ambiguities and structural weaknesses that could damage Iran. Khamenei, who has final say on all matters of state in Iran, did not immediately respond to Rouhanis proposal of a referendum. The Islamic Republic has seen only three referendums since it was established in 1979 one on regime change from monarchy to Islamic republic and two on its constitution and its amendments. Also in Tehran, acting commander of the countrys powerful Revolutionary Guard said any negotiations with the U.S. would be fruitless. Gen. Ali Fadavi said it would be like having negotiations with Satan. Meanwhile, Yemens Iranian-allied Houthi rebels launched a bomb-carrying drone Sunday targeting another airport in Saudi Arabia. Col. Turki al-Maliki, a spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition fighting against the Houthis, said that the military intercepted and destroyed the drone targeting its Jizan Regional Airport. Saudi state TV published images of debris it said belonged to the drone. The rebels have attacked another airport multiple times and a critical Saudi oil pipeline in recent days amid the heightened tensions between the U.S. and Iran. ___ Karimi reported from Tehran, Iran. Associated Press writers Bassem Mroue in Baghdad and Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed to this report DAMASCUS, Syria - Syrian government forces regained control of a northwestern village on Sunday, just days after losing it to militants, state media and an opposition war monitoring group said. State TV said troops captured Kfar Nabudah before noon from militants, including members of al-Qaida-linked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group. The oppositions Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also reported that militants lost control of the village. The latest round of violence erupted late last month, wrecking a cease-fire brokered for the area by Russia and Turkey and raising fears of a wider government offensive. Some 180,000 people have already been displaced inside the rebel-held area that straddles most of northwestern Idlib province and parts of neighbouring Hama. The U.N., the U.S. and others have called for an end to the violence. Government forces first captured Kfar Nabudah on May 8, then lost it on Wednesday. The village is located on the southwestern edge of Idlib, the last major rebel stronghold in the country. The Observatory said Syrian government forces carried out scores of airstrikes, and used barrels bombs and artillery shells to retake the village. It said the latest round of Kfar Nabodah fighting killed 28 militants, and also 16 troops and pro-government gunmen. The initial capture of the village facilitated government troop advances to the west and north, leading to the fall of several villages. The Observatory, which tracks Syrias civil war, now in its eighth year, said that 766 people, including 226 civilians have been killing since April 30. By AFP BRUSSELS: Europeans headed to the polls in their tens of millions Sunday as turnout surged in an election billed as a battle between the nationalist right and pro-EU forces over the future of the union. Each previous EU election since the first in 1979 has seen turnout fall, but initial figures from across the 28-nation bloc suggested this year's culture clash has mobilised both populists and those who oppose them. "I guess that some marginal parties will be less marginal tonight," European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker said as he cast his vote in his native Luxembourg. In the Polish seaport of Sopot, European Council chief Donald Tusk expressed confidence that voters would not back what he called "radical political movements, eurosceptics". "The first priority, not only for this institution, is to save the EU as a project, not only at this time but in the long term, and I'm sure that they will manage," he told reporters. Greens gaining ground Eurosceptic parties opposed to the project of ever closer union hope to capture as many as a third of the seats in the 751-member assembly, disrupting Brussels' pro-integration consensus. The populists were expected to make some progress, but exit polls also predicted a good showing for the Greens who, in Germany for example, were poised to beat the score of the main socialist parties for the first time The far-right parties of Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini and France's Marine Le Pen will lead the populist charge, and anti-EU ranks will be swelled by the Brexit Party of British populist Nigel Farage. French President Emmanuel Macron has taken it upon himself to act as figurehead for the centrist and liberal parties hoping to shut the nationalists out of key EU jobs and decision-making. "Once again Macron is daring us to challenge him. Well let's take him at his word: On May 26, we'll challenge him in the voting booth," Le Pen told a rally on Friday. It was not clear which side was carrying the day, but the battle seems to have motivated French voters, with 19.26 percent turning out, 3.5 percentage points up from the same time in 2014. Turnout was also markedly higher in Germany, Spain, Poland, Hungary, Romania and several more member states, but remained comparable to 2014 in Italy. German conservative Manfred Weber, lead candidate for the centre-right EPP group in the EU parliament hailed the high turnout, declaring: "European democracy is very much alive." 'Extremists are mobilising' Meanwhile, the mainstream parties are vying between themselves for influence over the choice of a new generation of top EU officials, including the powerful president of the European Commission. Turnout will be closely scrutinised in case another drop in participation undermines the credibility of the EU parliament as it seeks to establish its authority. Britain and the Netherlands were first to vote, on Thursday, followed by Ireland and the Czech Republic on Friday with Slovakia, Malta and Latvia on Saturday, leaving the bulk of the 400 million eligible voters to join in on Sunday. At the last EU election in 2014, Slovakia had the lowest turnout of any country, at less than 14 percent, and centrist President Andrej Kiska voiced concern that "extremists are mobilising". Poland's right-wing government, led by Law and Justice (PiS), has been accused of breaking European law by undermining the independence of the judiciary, but Polish voters still say they support EU membership. The right and the far-right have not had everything their own way. In the Netherlands, the centre-left party of EU vice president Frans Timmermans won the most votes and added two seats for the Socialists and Democrats in parliament, according to exit polls. The S and D's centre-right rival the European People's Party (EPP) was buoyed by exit polls suggesting that Prime Minister Leo Varadkar's pro-EU Fine Gael party was in the lead in Ireland. Jobs fair Even if Britain leaves the European Union on October 31, the latest deadline set for its Brexit date, its MEPs could still play a role in this summer's scramble to hand out top jobs. Thursday's votes from Britain will not be counted until after polls close in Italy, but Farage's Brexit Party appears on course to send a large delegation to a parliament it wants to abolish. Macron is pinning his hopes on the liberal ALDE voting bloc -- which confirmed Sunday it would accept the French leader's movement into its ranks in Strasbourg -- to give impetus to his plans for deeper EU integration. But much will depend on who gets the top jobs: the presidencies of the Council and the Commission, the speaker of parliament, the high representative for foreign policy and director of the European Central Bank. EU leaders have been invited to a summit on Tuesday to decide the nominees. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is expected to back Weber for the Commission, but Macron and some others oppose choosing a parliamentarian. The European Parliament will give a voting estimate at 1815 GMT and provisional results will begin to emerge from 2100 GMT. BAGHDAD - For years, Karar Hussein has sold sweets in his shop near the entrance to one of Shiite Islams holiest shrines, accepting whatever currency was offered to him by his clients, many of them religious tourists from neighbouring Iran. But lately, when Iranian pilgrims ask about prices, he tells them he can only sell if they pay in Iraqi currency. They often walk out, disappointed. Hussein and many other shop owners in Baghdads northern Shiite holy neighbourhood of Kadhimiya have seen sales drop sharply over the past year since President Donald Trump began re-imposing sanctions on Iran, home to the largest number of Shiite Muslims around the world. The value of Irans currency, the rial, has decreased almost fourfold, pushing the price of nearly everything beyond the reach of ordinary Iranian consumers in Iran and abroad. Standing in his shop wearing jeans and a T-shirt, 27-year-old Hussein said his sales have dropped 30% since last year, but he still prefers not to be paid in Iranian rials because the currencys value keeps depreciating. Their currency is crashing, he said. Millions of Shiites from around the world come to Iraq every year to visit its many Shiite shrines and holy places, including the holy cities of Najaf and Karbala in southern Iraq and the central city of Samarra, home to the revered golden-domed al-Askari shrine. They bring large amounts of money into the country, where tourism is the second biggest source of income for state coffers after oil exports. Since the fall of Saddam Husseins government in 2003, Iranians have made up the majority of religious tourists to Iraq, although tens of thousands come from other countries. But tensions have been rising recently in the Middle East between the United States and Iran and there have been concerns that Iraq, whose government is allied with both Tehran and Washington, would become caught in the middle, likely increasing pressures on Iraqs tourism sector. A favourite tourist destination is the Kadhimiya district in north Baghdad, typically bustling with Iranians shopping for clothes, sweets and trinkets. The area is home to the al-Kadhimayn shrine, known for its two domes and four minarets draped with gold and contains the tombs of Imam Moussa al-Kadhim and his grandson Mohammed al-Jawad, two of Shiite Islams most revered figures. On a recent afternoon in Kadhimiya, hundreds of Iranian pilgrims entered and left the shrine, passing by scores of shops on both sides of a pedestrian street leading to the holy site without buying anything. Money is a big problem for us. This is really hurting us, said Iranian citizen Hussein Fazeli, as he left the shrine. Fazeli, who brings pilgrims from Iran to Iraq, said the number of Iranian visitors has dropped because many cannot afford to travel now. Speaking in broken Arabic, Fazeli said Iran will end up victorious no matter how long the crisis takes, adding that Trump will go, and Iran will stay. Irans currency has been declining steadily for years but the drop has accelerated in recent months after Trumps decision to pull out of the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and re-impose sanctions. Mohammed Saadi Hadi, who inherited his tiny clothes stand outside the al-Kadhimayn shrine from his father, says sales have dropped by 70%. Prayer gowns for women now cost four times what they cost last year in Iranian currency. He used to sell 60 gowns a day but today he sells less than 10. Thamer Jabbar, owner of a perfume store, said Iranian tourists now not only abstain from buying, but some of them bring with them items such as saffron spice and stone rings to sell in Iraq, hoping to make up for some of their trips cost. Jabbar, 38, said his best days were after Iran and world powers signed the nuclear deal in 2015, which led to the lifting of sanctions on Iran and the release of billions of dollars of frozen assets. On a good day then, Jabbar would sell $700 worth of perfume. Today I barely sell anything to an Iranian tourist. Perfumes in Iran have become cheaper, he said. JUNEAU, Alaska - Alaska state officials are warning people about a brown bear that charged a man at Juneaus Salmon Creek Trail. The Juneau Empire reports the bear emerged from the brush and charged at the man twice last Sunday as he was running along the trail. The man was not hurt in the encounter about 1 1/2 miles from the trailhead. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game says in a report that the bear ran into the woods, turned around and went back on the trail after charging and roaring at the man. The Division of Wildlife Conservation has posted signs at the trailhead, warning about the bear. The division says it found the report of the encounter credible. KEY WEST, Fla. - Divers off the coast of Florida can now visit an underwater art museum. Divers finished placing a series of artworks on a sunken ship Saturday about seven miles (11 kilometres) south of Key West in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. The project consists of 24 large photo illustrations created by Austrian artist Andreas Franke. They were placed on the Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg, a former U.S. Air Force missile tracking ship that was intentionally sunk 10 years ago to create an artificial reef. Franke calls it the Plastic Ocean Project and said he wants it to draw attention to the need to eliminate plastics in the worlds oceans. On Monday, divers plan to unfurl a giant American flag on the 523-foot long (159-meter-long) ship to commemorate Memorial Day and the tenth anniversary of the ships sinking. LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - The Medical Center of South Arkansas of El Dorado plans to start construction next month on a $3.5 million cancer centre. The cancer centre building is part of a $15 million investment in El Dorado health care, an outlay that began last year with renovations at the 166-bed hospital, said CEO Scott Street. The medical centre will partner with Landmark Cancer Centers of Grapevine, Texas, to operate the cancer centre, which will be on the first floor of a three-story 50,000-SF medical office building, Street said. The building also will house the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences regional health education centre. The cancer centre is expected to open in the summer of 2020, the Arkansas Business reported. A contractor hasnt been announced. Street said the renovation project is part of the hospitals goal of making the medical centre a destination for health care. He wants to bring back services that the hospital once had, and to introduce services it has lacked, such as urology and neurology. All of the ologies you can think of were currently recruiting for, Street said. The hospital is seeking to hire 12 doctors. Last year, it added seven physicians to its staff of 680 employees. The hospital hopes that by bringing subspecialists back to south Arkansas, it will keep residents and our future patients from having to travel to Little Rock and other locations for care, he said. The nearest cancer centre is several hours away for El Dorado patients, Street said. But its difficult finding doctors to hire because of a physician shortage in those subspecialties; its also hard to persuade them to practice in a small community. His strategy to recruit doctors, Street said, is to try to find a connection with a family member of a prospective recruit. Some type of family ties always is a good recruiting tool, Street said. The second thing is you obviously highlight the positive things in your market, such as the Murphy Arts District. About six months ago, the hospital started renovating its patient rooms, which had not been updated more than once or twice since the 1960s, Street said. The renovations include adding state-of-the art equipment to every room. The hospital is working on one patient wing at a time, and the project, estimated to cost $9 million, will take about two years to complete. McInnis Brothers Construction Inc. of Minden, Louisiana, is the contractor. Other work around the hospital included spending $550,000 to renovate the lobby and cafe to bring a modern decor to the hospital. Street said a fireplace was added to the lobby to create a warm, inviting atmosphere for those who visit. He said the lobby and cafe renovations were recently completed. The hospital also recently opened its Robert C. Tommey Conference Center, which cost about $250,000 and seats more than 100 people. Street said the space had been an unfinished area. The rest of the money for the hospitals renovation project will be used to buy equipment for its surgery suites and an MRI machine. Street said that while the hospitals patient volume has increased this year, hes concerned about the rise in the medical centres uncompensated care. In 2018, the hospitals uncompensated costs were more than $6.5 million, the most ever, Street said. We realize health care is expensive for a lot of reasons, he said. Hospitals have to do a better job of being not only more transparent, but also trying to cut costs and pass those reduced costs on to patients. He said hes focused on hiring enough health care providers to avoid having to rely on expensive contract labour. The hospital has 10-20 openings in its clinical areas. We are constantly trying to reduce costs, Street said. ___ Information from: Arkansas Business, http://www.arkansasbusiness.com An AP Member Exchange shared by the Arkansas Business. WAILUKU, Hawaii - A Hawaii woman who was found alive in a forest on Maui island after going missing more than two weeks ago said she at times struggled not to give up. Amanda Eller told the New York Times that despite these moments, she told herself the only option I had was life or death. I heard this voice that said, If you want to live, keep going. And as soon as I would doubt my intuition and try to go another way than where it was telling me, something would stop me, a branch would fall on me, Id stub my toe, or Id trip, said Eller, 35, a physical therapist and yoga instructor. So I was like, OK, there is only one way to go. Eller was found injured Friday in the Makawao Forest Reserve. Eller, who is from the Maui town of Haiku, went missing on May 8. Her white Toyota RAV4 was found in the forest parking lot with her phone and wallet inside. Hundreds of volunteers searched for her. Ellers parents offered a $10,000 reward to encourage people to find her. Eller told the Times that she had intended to go on a short trail walk. She went off the path at one point to rest, and when she resumed hiking, she got turned around. I wanted to go back the way Id come, but my gut was leading me another way and I have a very strong gut instinct, Eller said. So, I said, my car is this way and Im just going to keep going until I reach it. She said she kept trying to get back to her car but wound up going deeper into the jungle. During her ordeal, she fell off a cliff, which led her to fracture her leg and tear the meniscus in her knee, a friend, Katie York, told the Times. After the fall, she struggled to walk, Eller said. She also had trouble finding food. I was getting so skinny that I was really starting to doubt if I could survive, Eller said. Finally, after 17 days of wandering, she saw a helicopter that had been sent to find her. I looked up and they were right on top of me, Eller told the Times. I was like, Oh my God, and I just broke down and started bawling. Javier Cantellops said he was searching for Eller from a helicopter along with Chris Berquist and Troy Helmers when they spotted her about 3:45 p.m. Friday near the Kailua reservoir, according to Maui Police Department spokesman Lt. Gregg Okamoto and the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Cantellops told the newspaper that she was in the bed of a creek with waterfalls on either side. He told CNN he saw Eller waving her hands at the helicopter. It was unbelievable, dude, Cantellops said. Seeing her for the first time in a long time was just unbelievable. It was nothing short of elation. Eller was in an area with thick vegetation, he said. That vegetation is so thick, its a miracle that we saw her, Cantellops told CNN. The Maui Fire Department brought Eller to a hospital for evaluation, Okamoto said in a statement. Her mother, Julia, told the Maui News that Amanda Eller survived by staying near a water source and eating wild raspberries and strawberry guavas. She even ate a couple of moths, Julia Eller said. Her daughter tried to catch some crawfish, but she was not very successful, Julia Eller said. She lost quite a bit of weight, as you can imagine, being lost for that amount of time, Julia Eller said. But she was able to survive it. She had the right skills and did the right things to buy time so that we had a chance to find her. Amanda Eller suffered a leg fracture, abrasions on her ankles and a severe sunburn, but Julia Eller told the Maui News that her daughters spirits were good. And all of those things are treatable, Julia Eller said. ___ Information from: The Maui News, http://www.mauinews.com TUCSON, Ariz. - The Global SuperTanker, the worlds largest firefighting aircraft, is ready for the upcoming wildfire season. The Arizona Republic reports that the Boeing 747-400 series passenger jet converted for firefighting recently underwent maintenance at Pinal Airpark outside Tucson. The retrofitted aircraft has been used to fight wildfires in California, Chile, Israel and elsewhere. The plane can dump up to 19,200 gallons (72,678 litres) of water or retardant in just six seconds and fly as low as 200 feet (61 metres) above the ground to do its work. It can be refilled in just 13 minutes. The SuperTanker proved indispensable in 2018 helping battle some of the most devastating wildfires in California history. Its a force multiplier, chief pilot Cliff Hale said. When you need to build containment lines fast, having that very large capacity can really help the guys out on the ground. Hale was a captain with now defunct Evergreen Airlines when he came up with the idea to turn a 747 into a tanker. An early version of the SuperTanker was first used during a 2009 fire in Alaska that burned more than 500,000 acres (202,347 hectares). That first SuperTanker was destroyed for salvage after Evergreen went bankrupt. Scott Olson, now vice-president of maintenance for Global SuperTanker, later found a new plane. Olson and his team added four outlets to the belly of the plane that could dump 9,200 gallons (34,825 litres) of liquid, along with a sprayer tank system. Hale calls the pressurized tank system the worlds largest and fastest squirt gun. The SuperTanker was deployed in Israel in 2016 and in Chile in 2017. It currently has contracts in California, Oregon and Colorado. Costs can run as much as $250,000 a day CHESAPEAKE, Va. - Authorities say 10 people have been shot - one fatally - when gun violence erupted at a holiday weekend party in Virginia. Chesapeake Police Department spokesman Leo Kosinski said via email that the total number of people shot was 10 and that one of those victims has died. Few other details were released. Police were called to the Chesapeake neighbourhood of Holly Cove just before 10 p.m. on Saturday after receiving reports of traffic congestion and people refusing to move vehicles. WAVY.com has quoted a spokesperson with Sentara Norfolk General Hospital as saying that that facility was treating eight patients with gunshot wounds, all male. Investigators have not released any suspect information. They say tipsters could receive a cash award if their information leads to an arrest. SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The California Legislature faces key decisions this week, including trying to reign in police use of force, prevent rent spikes, and alter labour laws affecting workers in the gig economy. Friday is the deadline for the Assembly and Senate to pass or reject bills that originated in each chamber. If they survive, they will be considered by the opposing chamber before lawmakers adjourn in September. Some of the measures facing key votes: GIG ECONOMY Companies like Uber and Lyft helped create the so-called gig economy. Legislation pending in the Assembly could set a clearer standard for who, exactly, is an independent contractor with a gig and who has the rights of a full-fledged employee. Backed by labour unions, the bill, AB5, could expand rights and benefits to workers now labeled independent contractors, in turn upending some industries. It comes amid a state Supreme Court ruling and a wave of protests that are pressing policy makers to look at the fine print of workers rights as the nature of work changes. The details, though, are bound to be subject to plenty more political wrangling this session. HOUSING Legislators have said repeatedly the state is in the midst of a housing crisis. But the biggest housing bill of the session, which would have overridden local zoning rules in some areas to allow for the construction of more homes, appears to be dead for the year but could be considered next year. The Assembly has voted to reduce some of the red tape around building accessory dwelling units, or granny flats and casitas. Two other measures are awaiting Assembly votes this week: AB1482 would cap the size of rent increases for some tenants, while AB1481 would require landlords to provide a reason for evicting tenants. SHOOTINGS BY POLICE Police would be empowered to use lethal force only if its necessary to prevent death or serious harm to themselves or others under a pending Assembly bill. Thats a change from the current standard that lets officers kill if they reasonably fear they are in danger. The bill, AB392, once was vehemently opposed by police. But it is now supported by key law enforcement groups after it was amended last week. The organizations are also backing another bill, SB230, which requires that every officer be trained in ways to avoid using deadly force. The police groups say the two bills will go further than any other state legislation to minimize the use of force in our communities. PRIVACY The state adopted a sweeping privacy bill last year. Now, lawmakers and lobbyists are ironing out the details. The Senate has already stalled a bill that was a priority for privacy advocates, which would have allowed consumers to take companies to court for a range of violations of the states new law. Several bills are awaiting a vote in the Assembly that would create exemptions to the privacy law, such as AB 846 for customer loyalty programs and more broadly for security purposes, such as in AB 1416. As Alexa and Echo devices pop up in more homes, another measure, AB1395, would put limits on how companies can use data collected through smart speakers. TRUMP REACTION Democratic lawmakers argue President Donald Trumps administration is cutting away at health, environmental and workplace safety protections. Their plan is to keep in place federal rules that pre-date Trump. SB1, which is awaiting a vote in the Senate, says many federal standards in place before Trump took office would still be enforceable under state law even if the federal government changes its policies. SURPRISE MEDICAL BILLINGS What you pay for health care varies by your insurance carrier, giving people incentives to only seek treatment at hospitals that are in-network. The result can be some surprisingly high bills for people unaware a hospital is outside of their network. AB1611 seeks to change this situation. It would ban hospitals from charging out-of-network prices to people who have health insurance. The California Hospital Association opposes the plan, arguing hospitals and health insurance companies should have the freedom to negotiate their own rates. HEALTH INSURANCE RATES Premiums for small businesses and people who buy health insurance on the individual market are regulated by the state. But premiums for people who get insurance in some larger groups through their employers are not. That could change under AB731. It would require some large-group insurance plans to be regulated similar to small-group plans. Supporters say the bill would protect more people from exorbitant premium increases. Americas Health Insurance Plans and the California Association of Health Plans say the bill would drive up premiums and encourage employers to move to self-insurance, which is not regulated by the state. ___ Associated Press journalists Adam Beam and Don Thompson contributed to this story. AUSTIN, Texas - Texas embattled elections chief who wrongly questioned the U.S. citizenship of tens of thousands of voters was on the brink of losing his job Sunday, while Republican lawmakers prepared to head home hoping to save their own in 2020. Secretary of State David Whitley appeared set to go down without a public fight in the final hours of an unusually quiet session of the Texas Legislature, where a weakened GOP majority this year showed little appetite for partisan battles over signs their grip on the Capitol is slipping. Whitley, a former top aide of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, cant stay in office unless the state Senate confirms his nomination before the session ends Monday. But his prospects were dimming by the minute as Democrats continued blocking a vote on his confirmation, as they have done since February. That was after Whitleys office rolled out a bungled scouring of voter rolls that flagged nearly 100,000 voters as potential noncitizens. President Donald Trump seized on the news out of Texas to renew his unsubstantiated claims of widespread voter fraud, but within days, it became clear the data used was deeply flawed. The botched search reignited tensions over voting rights in Texas, and Whitley angered Democrats when he went on to say at his confirmation hearing that it was irrelevant how he would personally define voter suppression. The clock has not run out yet, but the reality is that most Democrats felt that, whether intentional or not, it was a personal affront to Democrats in the state of Texas, Democratic state Sen. Royce West said. Not understanding or appreciating voter suppression as an issue that we have consistently been on guard against, his lack of understanding on that, frankly, solidified our resolve to make certain we dont put a person in there who is not sensitive to those types of issues. Another Democrat, Sen. Judith Zaffrini, said: The mistake he made had such a negative impact on the people we represent, and really all Texas voters. A spokesman for Whitley did not immediately return a message seeking comment Sunday. His confirmation wasnt the only tension point quietly playing out behind the scenes, rather than in full view of the Texas Legislature. On Sunday, hours before a deadline to approve a new Texas budget, GOP leaders scrubbed spending another $100 million for new surge operations on the U.S.-Mexico border that was requested by Abbott. The 11th-hour proposal ruffled Democrats, who have questioned the billions of dollars the state has spent this decade on patrolling the border. Texas already spends $800 million on border security every two years. Republican state Rep. John Zerwas, the Texas Houses top budget writer, said Sunday a decision was made that the additional money would have been redundant. The about-face appeared to be another example of Republicans coming off their worst election in a generation in Texas choosing not to dig in their heels over divisive issues. Rancorous battles over immigration, abortion and LGBT rights also didnt erupt like past years, including 2017, when the Legislature was upended by a bathroom bill targeting transgender people. Instead, Abbott and GOP leaders this year focused on a school finance overhaul that pours an extra $4.6 billion in classrooms , along with giving teachers $1.6 billion in raises . This was an extraordinary session in terms of the prosperity of the state and doing some things that we havent been able to do before, Zerwas said. Lawmakers also were set to approve several school safety measures Sunday in response to the May 2018 shooting at Santa Fe High School near Houston that killed 10 and wounded 13 others. Those bills included up to $100 million to harden campuses with security measures and boosting mental health resources for schools and students. One measure that didnt survive was allowing appointed school marshals to carry their weapons around students. They must instead keep their firearms locked away. That irked some gun rights advocates. A gun-free zone is an open invitation to a mass shooter, said Republican Sen. Bob Hall. We have missed an opportunity to make our schools safer. ___ Follow Paul J. Weber on Twitter: www.twitter.com/pauljweber ___ Follow Jim Vertuno on Twitter: https://twitter.com/jimvertuno Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada did not agree on everything when they ruled on the heart-rending case of Cindy Gladue, a 36-year-old Indigenous woman and mother of three who bled to death in an Edmonton motel room in 2011. A majority of the court, four judges in all, decided that Ontario trucker Bradley Barton must face a new trial for manslaughter in her death. The other three judges would also have ordered a trial, but on a charge of murder as well as manslaughter. But the whole court did agree that the justice system failed Gladue badly by not upholding proper procedures around so-called rape shield laws. And if one thing comes out loud and clear from the top courts 91-page ruling, it is this: judges and lawyers need much better training in the laws dealing with sexual assault. The ruling describes how the 2015 trial that acquitted Barton of both murder and manslaughter was tainted by a breathtaking lack of knowledge of even the most basic sexual assault laws not just by the trial judge, but by Crown lawyers, who were supposed to protect Gladues interests and seek justice for her. This case, along with others that have shone a spotlight on failures by the justice system, underscores the pressing need to pass a private members bill that would make sexual-assault law training mandatory for all lawyers who wish to become federal judges. Rona Ambrose, former interim leader of the Conservative party, introduced the bill, known as C-337, back in 2017. The House of Commons passed it unanimously, but it has been allowed to languish in the Senate despite two motions from the Commons urging senators to pass it. If it isnt passed before Parliament rises for the summer, it will die on the order paper. Cindy Gladues tragic case underscores why that cannot be allowed to happen. The Supreme Court laid out the many ways that existing rape shield laws were not properly applied when Barton was tried. The laws are meant to ensure that a jury is not prejudiced against a victim because of evidence of prior sexual behaviour being introduced into court without a separate hearing to see if it is relevant first. Instead, not only was a hearing not held, but Gladue was repeatedly referred to as a prostitute and native throughout the trial, rather than by her name: Ms. Gladue. Neither the Crown nor the trial judge objected. Instead of helping the jury recognize and set aside biases against Indigenous peoples and sex-trade workers, the trial judge did not intervene. Instead, wrote Supreme Court Justice Michael Moldaver, inflammatory terminology was frequent, and was gratuitously used. Further, Barton was allowed to testify about his prior sexual history with her. And the trial judge did not advise the jury that they were not bound to accept Bartons evidence, in Moldavers words, simply because he was the only witness to the sexual activity in question who was alive to testify. This in turn may have led the jury to believe that she had consented to the so-called rough sex that Barton said had inadvertently led to her death. The accused cannot equate silence, passivity, or ambiguity with the communication of consent, Justice Moldaver reminded trial judges. Sadly, Gladues case is one of a long list of recent trials in which judges have demonstrated they dont understand basic elements of our sexual assault laws. That lack of knowledge leads to miscarriages of justice, as well as expensive and lengthy appeals. Most tragically, it costs victims any scrap of dignity they may still have. As Justice Moldaver wrote of Cindy Gladue: The criminal justice system did not deliver on its promise to afford the laws full protection, and as a result, it let her down indeed, it let all of us down. This cannot be allowed to happen again. An important first step would be to ensure that all lawyers who aspire to become federal judges are properly trained in handling sexual assault cases. The Senate should get out of the way and let Bill C-337 become law. By Associated Press BAGHDAD: For years, Karar Hussein has sold sweets in his shop near the entrance to one of Shiite Islam's holiest shrines, accepting whatever currency was offered to him by his clients, many of them religious tourists from neighbouring Iran. But lately, when Iranian pilgrims ask about prices, he tells them he can only sell if they pay in Iraqi currency. They often walk out, disappointed. Hussein and many other shop owners in Baghdad's northern Shiite holy neighbourhood of Kadhimiya have seen sales drop sharply over the past year since President Donald Trump began re-imposing sanctions on Iran, home to the largest number of Shiite Muslims around the world. The value of Iran's currency, the rial, has decreased almost fourfold, pushing the price of nearly everything beyond the reach of ordinary Iranian consumers in Iran and abroad. Standing in his shop wearing jeans and a T-shirt, 27-year-old Hussein said his sales have dropped 30% since last year, but he still prefers not to be paid in Iranian rials because the currency's value keeps depreciating. "Their currency is crashing," he said. Millions of Shiites from around the world come to Iraq every year to visit its many Shiite shrines and holy places, including the holy cities of Najaf and Karbala in southern Iraq and the central city of Samarra, home to the revered golden-domed al-Askari shrine. They bring large amounts of money into the country, where tourism is the second biggest source of income for state coffers after oil exports. ALSO READ: Pakistan urges all stakeholders to demonstrate peace and tolerance amid US-Iran tensions Since the fall of Saddam Hussein's government in 2003, Iranians have made up the majority of religious tourists to Iraq, although tens of thousands come from other countries. But tensions have been rising recently in the Middle East between the United States and Iran and there have been concerns that Iraq, whose government is allied with both Tehran and Washington, would become caught in the middle, likely increasing pressures on Iraq's tourism sector. A favorite tourist destination is the Kadhimiya district in north Baghdad, typically bustling with Iranians shopping for clothes, sweets and trinkets. The area is home to the al-Kadhimayn shrine, known for its two domes and four minarets draped with gold and contains the tombs of Imam Moussa al-Kadhim and his grandson Mohammed al-Jawad, two of Shiite Islam's most revered figures. On a recent afternoon in Kadhimiya, hundreds of Iranian pilgrims entered and left the shrine, passing by scores of shops on both sides of a pedestrian street leading to the holy site without buying anything. "Money is a big problem for us. This is really hurting us," said Iranian citizen Hussein Fazeli, as he left the shrine. Fazeli, who brings pilgrims from Iran to Iraq, said the number of Iranian visitors has dropped because many cannot afford to travel now. ALSO READ: Donald Trump warns Iran of destruction if it seeks fight with US Speaking in broken Arabic, Fazeli said Iran will end up victorious no matter how long the crisis takes, adding that "Trump will go, and Iran will stay." Iran's currency has been declining steadily for years but the drop has accelerated in recent months after Trump's decision to pull out of the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and re-impose sanctions. Mohammed Saadi Hadi, who inherited his tiny clothes stand outside the al-Kadhimayn shrine from his father, says sales have dropped by 70%. Prayer gowns for women now cost four times what they cost last year in Iranian currency. He used to sell 60 gowns a day but today he sells less than 10. Thamer Jabbar, owner of a perfume store, said Iranian tourists now not only abstain from buying, but some of them bring with them items such as saffron spice and stone rings to sell in Iraq, hoping to make up for some of their trip's cost. Jabbar, 38, said his best days were after Iran and world powers signed the nuclear deal in 2015, which led to the lifting of sanctions on Iran and the release of billions of dollars of frozen assets. On a good day then, Jabbar would sell $700 worth of perfume. "Today I barely sell anything to an Iranian tourist. Perfumes in Iran have become cheaper," he said. In the coming weeks, thousands of students in Canada will walk across convocation stages with pride and celebration for their hard-earned accomplishments. Many of them will also carry an understanding sense of anxiety about the cost of their education and what the future will bring. (And perhaps hope that their commencement speaker will be as generous as Robert F. Smith was last week, when he announced at Atlantas Morehouse College that he would cover the debt of each graduate.) If we are going to support Canadians through the lifelong learning journey of our rapidly changing job market, there must be a focus on affordability. While Ontarios provincial government might have you believing that they, too, are concerned about affordability for students, the approach thus far has been more hurtful than helpful. Premier Doug Ford started by mandating freedom of speech and expression policies on campus, and later, dictating that non-tuition ancillary fees must have opt-out options. (This created confusion for student leaders over what should be deemed essential and non-essential). Then there were poorly thought-out changes to funding frameworks and sweeping OSAP changes that left students in precarious positions this spring as they try to plan for their academic futures. Then the uncertain environment for research support. As collective bargaining units prepare for negotiations, there is further worry of provincial meddling. Students, faculty, administrators and surrounding communities alike are anxious, but the group taking the biggest hit is students. To student leaders not only completing their degrees, but coming out of an exhausting battle to protect student rights and services: you are the real heroes. It has always been students at the forefront to ensure post-secondary education is accessible and inclusive and that institutions service the needs of students first. There is also an essential role played by student media who work to hold both university administration and student unions accountable many, if not all, of them with the help of non-tuition ancillary fees. These changes put their operations at risk, along with a wide array of peer support groups that collectively help all students find a home away from home and navigate the transition. Before this provincial government took office, post-secondary institutions were proactively grappling with important issues like transforming mental health supports for students, strengthening policies and support on response to sexual violence on campus and fostering a culture of inclusion. But its difficult to be aspirational when you are forced to be reactive. The first and most unfortunate thing we lose with a government prioritizing cuts over innovation is the ambition and ability to solve the issues that will face us tomorrow. We need an education and training sector that can adapt to the rapidly changing needs of our workforce. And we need a government that can play the role of convenor and help facilitate this change rather than distracting from necessary work. The provincial government would be wise to slow down and take the time to fully understand the complex challenges facing the post secondary education and training sector before issuing its edicts. In the absence of provincial leadership, the federal government has taken a promising approach to prioritizing future skills and training needs in Canada, with investments like the The Future Skills Centre (to test approaches to prepare Canadians with skills for new and emerging economies) and the Canada Training Credit (to help eligible workers cover tuition and training expenses as needed). In 10 and 20 years time our country will be a very different place. Our post secondary and training sector must be ahead of the curve for our workforce to adapt and flourish. This can be achieved with strong public and private partnerships, respectful collaboration with unions and visionary leadership. But it cannot be achieved without the support of the provincial government, and its understanding that a solid and affordable education is essential to get our future workers in any sector off on the right foot. Tiffany Gooch is a Liberal political strategist based in Toronto. She is a freelance contributor for the Star. Follow her on Twitter: @goocht Read more about: If Premier Doug Ford is wondering why his support has collapsed in public opinion polls, he need look no further than the town of Clinton, an hours drive north of London in the heart of lush Huron County farmland. There he will find chartered accountant Paul Seebach, also a certified financial planner and proprietor of a financial services firm that bears his name. Last June, he voted for the local Progressive Conservative incumbent, Lisa Thompson, now education minister. It almost looks like they just werent ready to be in government, the 59-year-old tells the Star. He refers to a backlash over sex education, funding of autism treatment, class sizes and a spring budget that first appeared benign but now has Ford and his cabinet ministers on the defensive daily over revelations of a stream of cuts to municipal and health unit funding, stem cell and artificial intelligence research, childrens aid, tree planting, flood protection and more. The cuts include $177 million to the City of Toronto this year, sparking a war of words between Mayor John Tory and Ford, who has twice been booed by crowds recently and is dealing with the departure of four key staff members. Wasaga Beach Mayor Nina Bifolchi, a long-time Conservative, took the extraordinary step of writing a personal letter to Ford last week. Warning she is fearful for the future of the Progressive Conservative Party and concerned about the future of Ontario over cuts to municipal funding, Bifolchi says its time for the premier to slow down and listen to Tories like her. When long-time Conservatives start to question the direction that were going in, thats fearful to me, she says. Seebach says he is tiring of the governments fumbles of sensitive, high-profile issues something pollster John Corbett said has disappointed many voters who wanted a firm, steady hand in the premiers office. Rob Leone, a former Progressive Conservative MPP from Cambridge, acknowledges smooth handling of challenging files has not been the governments strong suit, but notes its not unusual for a premier and a government making tough decisions to slide in popularity. The communication of whats happening is in need of a revision, said Leone, who has a doctorate in political science, teaches at Niagara University in Lewiston, N.Y., and is a consultant with Earnscliffe Strategy Group in Toronto. Seebach describes the review and reform of the previous Liberal governments sex education curriculum, which Ford deemed too graphic, as totally screwed up. Only minor tweaks were made after students, parents and opposition parties fought to keep the modernized lessons in place. Hell do something and then hell back off, like autism it was just handled terribly and then they backed off, Seebach commented of changes in funding for treatment that initially infuriated families of children on the spectrum. Its the same in education, and now theyre going to give money back in a bid to make sure no teachers lose their jobs as a result of larger class sizes, and to help school boards find administrative savings, the veteran accountant adds on the telephone from his busy office. My biggest thing would be they dont seem to have a plan. Obviously, he (Ford) wouldnt be your first choice to be premier. Recent polls suggest Seebach is not alone in that view. While Ford won a solid majority of seats in the legislature with 40.5 per cent of the popular vote, a poll released Thursday by Mainstreet Research put his PCs back to third place at 22.4 per cent behind interim Liberal leader John Fraser at 39.9 per cent and NDP Leader Andrea Horwath at 24.2 per cent. Fords net favourability rating (calculated by subtracting the proportion of those who disapprove from those who approve) is -53.5 per cent, almost 20 points lower than Wynnes -35.3 per cent last April prior to the June 7 election in which her party was decimated and reduced to just seven seats, below the threshold for official party status and the taxpayer funding that comes with it. We have never seen an incumbent premier reach these depths in popular opinion with barely a year into his mandate, said Mainstreet president Quito Maggi, whose poll surveyed 996 Ontarians on May 20 and 21. The survey has a margin of error of +/- 3.1 per cent and is accurate 19 times out of 20. Another poll released the week of May 20 by Pollara Strategic Insights puts his PCs at 30 per cent, slightly behind Andrea Horwaths New Democrats at 31 per cent, the Liberals under interim leader John Fraser at 26 per cent and Mike Schreiners Greens at 11 per cent. The survey found 64 per cent of respondents disapprove of the government, with 30 per cent approving and six per cent unsure. Of those who voted for Conservative candidates last June, 70 per cent said it was to get rid of the Kathleen Wynne Liberals and just 21 per cent said they like Doug Ford. Fords base support across Ontario is about 25 per cent, said Corbett, whose firm will release another poll in June. What swept him into power was the extra 15 per cent or so of fiscal Conservatives and principled Conservatives who were just sick of Kathleen Wynne and would have voted for the dogcatcher. Indeed, Fords core supporters appear to be standing firm with him. Dougs doing the right thing because you have to make these cuts. There is no money, says Rexdale resident Sandra Pavan, who has volunteered on campaigns for Rob Ford and later Doug Ford for almost 20 years. The 71-year-old office worker and grandmother is annoyed at critics who are jumping down his throat and describes him as having a heart of gold. Give him time, adds Pavan, who also rejects criticism of the way Ford tried to make his friend, veteran Toronto police superintendent Ron Taverner commissioner of the Ontario Provincial Police despite the fact the OPP could be called on to investigate the government. Knowing the Fords there is no way they will turn around and pull favours, Pavan said. There are other people that play games. The Fords dont. An Environics Research poll released this week found 75 per cent of respondents believe Fords PCs are on the wrong track. Among PC voters from last June 37 per cent said the government is on the wrong track and 61 per cent put Ford on the right track. It took a few years for the Wynne government to get that high on the wrong track number and even that was at the end of 15 years in government, Environics vice-president Derek Leebosh told the Stars Robert Benzie. Ford dismissed the Environics poll, conducted for the Canadian Union of Public Employees, calling it biased. But its right track/wrong track findings were similar to Pollaras. The premier said last week the only poll that counts is on election day and insists he gets glowing reviews from average voters in his travels. When Im out there, I talk to people in the factories, and Im out there almost every single day in factories, I hear nothing but positive remarks the number one comment I hear is keep going, he told a news conference in Ajax. Our budget was reasonable, it was responsible and most of all it was thoughtful, Ford added. We have some people on the far right saying you should have cut more, people on the far left you cut too much. So were right down the middle on it. From her office in Wasaga Beach, Bifolchi is urging Fords own MPPs, whom she knows are getting feedback on local concerns, to speak to the premier particularly with the October federal election a few months away. People do need to be aware. The general population doesnt necessarily differentiate between provincial and federal. Theres a federal election coming this year and I think both the provincial and federal representatives need to keep that in mind. Federal Conservative insiders have privately told the Star they worry concerns about the Ford government which canvassers are hearing as they go door-knocking will hurt their support in the October election. Ford is also facing a fight from Toronto Mayor Tory, a former PC leader who has started a petition against public health cuts and won support from former PC health minister Dennis Timbrell, who served in the government of Bill Davis in the 1970s and early 1980s. Calling public health services a bedrock that should not be subject to retroactive cuts, Timbrell had some words of advice for Ford, with whom he sympathized for inheriting a multibillion dollar deficit and hefty provincial debt. It took 30 years to get to where it is and resolving it isnt going to happen overnight, either. Read more about: 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. JACKSONVILLE For a brief moment in time, all the moon and stars aligned. Nothing broke down and I had my dad to help and we were just able to go, go, go until we got it done, farmer Doug Coop said. Starting last Thursday morning, he said they barely shut off the tractor until they got their planting done about five days later. Except for a small window in April, that was their best shot to get corn planted before more rain that was forecast to hit the already waterlogged fields. Coop said the situation this spring is unprecedented in his experience and the more veteran farmers hes talked to say theyve never seen anything like it. A USDA crop progress report released this week reported 2.4 days suitable for fieldwork in Illinois for the week ending May 19 and less than one day the week before. Just 24% of corn in Illinois had been planted by May 19, compared to 95% on the same date in 2018. For the week ending May 12, only 11% of Illinois corn had been planted. For soybeans, 9% had been planted compared to 79% the same time last year and just 3% the week before. Allan Worrell, farm manager with Worrell Land Services, said the lack of planting progress is the number one issue for farmers this spring and described it as unprecedented. Above normal precipitation going back to November put farmers behind on fall preparation in the fields, combined with spring precipitation falling on already saturated soil is the culprit. We were kind of behind before we started this year, Worrell said. According to National Weather Service data, 2010 was the last 12-month period with as much precipitation in west-central Illinois. The rain not only impacted planting, but also shut down barge traffic on the flooded Illinois and Mississippi rivers affecting the transport of fertilizers and grain and caused erosion in placed farmers have never seen it before. Farmer Jon Freeman has seen erosion this year in areas where he has terraces and dry dams, as well has washing out flat ground that has not had an issue in the past. Customers at his seed business have even had grass pastures wash out. Its just amazing the amount of damage weve had. Freeman said. Dale Hadden, whose farm also has a cattle operation that typically calves in March, described 2019 so far as frustrating. Problems started in the fall, followed by the harsh cold and snow this winter, and then a wet and cool spring. Weve had pastures that have actually flooded back there the first part of May and then just this past week, Hadden said. Weve put them out on grass got them out of the calving areas with their babies and weve had to go drive these cows and calves back up to high ground because the creeks have gotten out of their banks and went out into the pasture areas. Those are issues that, while we deal with every so many years, this year weve had to deal with them multiple times. It seems like we cant catch a break. TRADE Trade disputes, surplus from recent years with exceptional yields, swine flu and reduced demand grains from foreign pork producers have all had impacts on commodity prices for area farmers. If theres any silver lining to this weather, its that hopefully it will help drive the market back up a little bit. But for the past 18 to 24 months, for commodity prices, its really been a perfect storm of things to drive the prices down for us farmers, Coop said. Though it may not be enough to raise prices to where they need to be to make a good profit. Even though it looks like we could have smaller crops this year, worldwide theres still a surplus, said farmer John Potter. On Thursday, the USDA announced it would provide assistance to farmers again this year with $16 billion in aid, which it said was in line with the estimated impacts of retaliatory tariffs. A federal aid package provided billions of dollars in assistance to farmers last year after President Donald Trumps administration pursued tariffs against China that have since led to a back-and-forth for negotiations and retaliation. Worrell said the payments can help farmers cashflow, but he doesnt think theres any dispute that tariffs have hurt the agriculture industry. The aid is welcome, but seen as a short-term solution. The long-term resolution we need is we need markets, Coop said. We need global markets to sell our crops to and if we dont include China or Asia in that market, it makes it very, very tough for us. Worrell said the trade war also raises questions about losing long term export potential if China permanently takes its business elsewhere after the dispute is resolved. There is concern that South American farmers could fill the void while tariffs are being volleyed between the U.S. and China, though its possible that there are other markets that would pick up American agriculture products in place of China, Freeman said. But farmers need free trade with global markets. The scary part of it is, it takes a lot to get trade, it doesnt take much to lose it. And I hope we havent lost that China market, he said. ALMOST SUMMER Despite a wet fall, cold winter and weary spring, Potter is feeling guardedly optimistic. And hes not alone. Many farmers have been pulling long hours in the last week and a half to get in as much of their crops as possible. I think to be a farmer you have to have a little optimism, Potter said. The crops that we do have in, the ones that are up look OK, so hopefully we will have a decent growing season. As graduation approached last year, the list ofoften-absent students at Albert Einstein High School in suburban Maryland was long. More than 175 seniors repeatedly missed classes, many in courses required for their diplomas. Most students at the Montgomery County school graduated anyway. They crossed the stage because of a phenomenon that goes widely unnoticed in Maryland's largest school system: Students can pass classes they often miss. Some have forgone weeks of learning and yet earned credit in their courses and graduated, according to internal documents obtained by The Washington Post and a video of commencement. Records from Einstein High provide telling details about what students miss: One senior skipped algebra 36 times last spring. Another racked up 47 unexcused absences in English. Still another was gone for more than half a semester of chemistry. Roughly 40 percent of Einstein's Class of 2018 missed large chunks of instruction last school year, not showing up for some classes 10 to more than 50 times in a semester, documents show. The extent of the absenteeism at Einstein raises questions among some educators about the integrity of grades and diplomas in a school system regarded as among the nation's best. The issue arises as diploma scandals have roiled school systems in the District of Columbia and nearby Prince George's County, Maryland, where investigations have been conducted and changes made. But the absenteeism also touches on broader questions nationally about the value of attendance and the push to award diplomas. Rising graduation rates have been touted across the country as badges of school success. With graduation season underway in Montgomery County's 25 high schools, questions persist about what should be required to earn a diploma. "If 40 percent of the kids were absent to that degree, are we OK with it as a community?" said Christopher Lloyd, president of the Montgomery County Education Association, the teachers union. "And if the answer is, no, what in the world is happening?" Lloyd described the numbers as shocking but said they also reflect policy changes that have made it easier to pass courses, recover from failing grades and be out of class - even though schools routinely say students must attend classes. In Montgomery, educators in a string of high schools have told The Post that attendance practices are lax, vague or inconsistent. Some say they feel pressured to give makeup work, extend deadlines, excuse assignments or find other ways to help repeatedly absent students pass - and that the problem is not just a matter of seniors' losing interest as their high school days wind down. The Einstein documents obtained by The Post create an unusual snapshot of absenteeism - with absences noted student by student, course by course - providing far more detail than is offered by state data and showing that scores of diplomas were at risk if students failed to earn credit. Montgomery school officials did not dispute the veracity of the records but said many students face pressures outside the classroom. Einstein students who received diplomas passed required classes, they said. Schools Superintendent Jack R. Smith said that time in a classroom seat is not a state requirement and that there is "no evidence of wrongdoing on the part of anyone" at Einstein. "We want kids in school," Smith said. "We're working hard to make school a place they can be, both through engagement and through removing barriers to getting there, whether it's transportation, whether it's food, whether it's changing schedules because they have a child or they're responsible for younger siblings or they have to work." Smith said school officials "hold our diploma very important as a critical indicator of real success in school." School officials said attendance issues are not limited to the Kensington school. County data show that unexcused absences were abundant among last year's seniors. The data show that some 1,800 graduates countywide last June had at least 20 unexcused absences in at least one class. And that was in one 90-day semester. Some schools stood out: At John F. Kennedy High, 33 percent of the senior class hit the 20-absence mark. AtNorthwood High, it was 36 percent. Gaithersburg and Watkins Mill high schools posted rates of more than 40 percent. Montgomery school officials emailed the Einstein families about The Post's story in advance of publication, emphasizing that documents were "leaked" and describing efforts to tackle absenteeism and engage students. The Einstein email acknowledged that some staff members felt uncomfortable and pressured as administrators communicated about protocols that were new and that allowed students multiple opportunities to show their academic gains before graduation. School system administrators said they found no grade manipulation. School system officials emphasized in interviews that unexcused absences do not directly factor into course grades. That's part of the system's "standards-based" approach, which focuses on student learning, not attendance, they said. They also said there is no numerical limit on unexcused absences. "If I can go to class 40 percent of the time and earn a B," that would not automatically lead to failure, said Jennifer Webster, director of school support and improvement for Montgomery high schools. "It's about the grade. It's not about the number of absences." She said the school system has moved away from a punitive approach. "What we are committed to is intervening for students who have excessive absences, so that's where we've put our energy," she said. But many Montgomery educators argue that attending classes and learning go hand in hand. They criticize Montgomery's approach: Warnings go out at three unexcused absences in a class and again at five, when students and parents are notified that an attendance intervention plan should be developed. Counselors or administrators are involved. If attendance does not improve, the policy says, students are "in danger" of failing a course. The records obtained by The Post for Einstein include only students who have at least 10 unexcused absences in a course - twice as many as the policy's threshold. "The policy is intentionally nebulous - for the purpose of graduating students," said a county teacher who, like many other educators, spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation. "When these students graduate, what are we saying? The diploma means nothing, and you don't even have to show up?" Montgomery County's graduation rate - 88.4 percent in 2018 - has been strong for years, with some high schools exceeding 95 percent. Einstein's rate was 83.7 percent last year. Longtime Einstein Principal James Fernandez, who recently announced his retirement, declined to speak about absences or related issues, school system officials said. Frederick Hess, director of education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, a Washington think tank, said Montgomery's problems suggest a broader phenomenon. "My best guess is you'd see a lot of this pattern because it suits everybody's needs," he said. "Kids want to graduate. [School] district leaders are under pressure to raise graduation rates. Teachers don't want to be called out for causing problems or failing lots of students. There are lots of incentives to push kids through to graduation and very few to ask hard questions or keep them back." Montgomery was once tougher with attendance, but its old "loss of credit" policy was scrapped in 2010 amid concerns that it took a particular toll on students of color, led to some students giving up and was at odds with the system's move to standards-based grading. Now, the school system says it focuses on attendance intervention plans, and some educators use a special grade - E3 - to convey that a student is failing because of absences. Leah Michaels, head of the English department at Richard Montgomery High in Rockville, said state and county data suggest an attendance crisis. "The school system's attendance policy is vague and not consistently applied from one school to the next," she said. Montgomery school system officials underline the many reasons students miss classes: family and economic stresses, child-care duties, jobs that cut into time for school. Some parents may be less aware of the need to submit notes to excuse the missed time; students 18 and older can write their own notes. At Einstein last year, about 40 percent of students were from low-income families, and 17 percent were English-language learners. One graduate of Einstein's Class of 2018, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of concerns about retaliation if he spoke publicly, said his chronic absenteeism partly reflected financial struggles. He came to the United States from El Salvador as a child and has tried to pick up work - cutting grass, shoveling snow - to help his father support their family. "I just wanted to take myself off of his plate - to work for myself," the student said. The student said high school, including chances to make up for failing grades in "credit recovery" programs, gave him "the stuff I needed." Now, he is pursuing an associate degree. But one of his classmates considered the school's approach more damaging. He said that being frequently absent was viewed as a "victimless crime" at Einstein. "It's not," the student said. "Kids are being cheated out of why they're at school." The student, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the issue's sensitivity, said he wasn't "wishing other people not graduate" but thought students who missed too much class would suffer in the long run. He wondered what a diploma means. "My high school diploma is worth as much as this other kid's even though the kid came to school once a month and I came to school every day," he said. - - - School systems throughout the country take varying approaches to absences, but experts say chronic absenteeism can threaten student success and undermine efforts to reduce achievement gaps that leave black and Hispanic students lagging. Missing even five days in a high school semester increases the likelihood of failing a class or not graduating, said Elaine Allensworth, director of the University of Chicago Consortium on School Research. "You can't do the work if you're not there; you fall behind if you're not there," she said. "Even students with strong test scores, they miss class and they fail." Robert Balfanz, a Johns Hopkins University research professor, said high school students with frequent absences are more likely to drop out, and those who manage to get to college are less likely to finish. "You pay the price somewhere," he said. Researchers say there is a strong link between poverty and absenteeism, and many of the Montgomery high schools with high rates of absenteeism have greater percentages of economically disadvantaged students. Maryland education officials have recently intensified their focus on chronic absenteeism, which they define as being absent for 10 percent or more of school days for any reason, excused or not. Every Maryland public school is rated - with one to five stars - using a formula that includes chronic absenteeism as one factor. Data posted in December show eight of Montgomery's 25 high schools had rates of 30 percent or higher. At Magruder High School in Derwood, 43 percent of high school students were chronically absent, the county's highest. This was hard to fathom for Cynthia Simonson, a data-minded Magruder parent who is a vice president of the countywide council of PTAs. She had never seen numbers on the topic, she said, even though she routinely pores over school system reports. She wondered whether the problem was seniors' skipping school, but when the issue came up at a January PTSA meeting, an administrator told parents that absences among freshmen were a particular concern, she said. "I was surprised," Simonson said. "What explains that many kids being out that many days?" Montgomery officials said they have been studying student engagement, with a focus on chronic absenteeism. Though Maryland has one diploma, its school systems handle absences differently. In Worcester County, home to Ocean City, students fail a class after they accumulate 11 unexcused absences, a spokeswoman said. Procedures in Prince George's County call for zeros for class work given on days that students skip. Baltimore city schools do not factor unexcused absences into student grades, with the idea that grades reflect mastery of content, not student behavior. The state is considering whether to create a minimum attendance standard to "ensure equity across the state and the integrity of the Maryland high school diploma," said Justin M. Hartings, president of the Maryland State Board of Education. In Montgomery, several principals have expressed concerns about the difficulty of improving attendance, said school board Vice President Patricia O'Neill. While she did not have details about Einstein, she said, excessive absenteeism leaves her wondering about grades. "It seems incongruous that you could pass high school math and not be there," she said. The documents obtained by The Post show that 115 Einstein seniors were frequently absent in math courses and that at least 88 missed senior-year English classes required for a diploma. Others were often out during science, social studies, art, physical education or Advanced Placement classes that may - or may not - have been required for graduation. The combined effect for one semester: more than 13,700 class periods missed. "The accountability piece for student attendance is gone," said Russell Rushton, who was head of the math department at Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda until his retirement last June. Rushton recalled that at his high-performing high school, 23 seniors in his classes were at risk of failing because of absences last spring. Many had more than 20 absences, passing only after doing significant makeup work, he said. Many teachers argue that most absences are not related to extenuating circumstances. Rather, they assert, many students miss classes because they see few consequences. Some teachers see the fallout in the Montgomery County graduates who arrive at Montgomery College unprepared every year. Nearly 70 percent of those students in 2018 needed to take remedial classes in math and 37 percent in English, college officials said. Teachers may deny credit for assignments on days when students have unexcused absences. But Brian Donlon, a social studies teacher at Richard Montgomery High, said that in his experience, few students end up failing their classes after being frequently absent, because teachers are encouraged or pressured to extend deadlines and accept late makeup work. He and other teachers also question the role and rigor of credit recovery programs that allow students to make up for failing a course. "Kids are not having authentic learning experiences, because they are in and out of school so much," Donlon said, "and we are not preparing them for the next level, whether college or a job, because we are allowing them to engage in a level of absenteeism that won't work at their next endeavor. They are being set up for failure." Teachers at three county high schools said they find the situation so dispiriting that graduation ceremonies leave them conflicted. Though they commend students who worked hard to earn diplomas, they feel frustrated watching frequently absent students cross the stage. One remembers catching a colleague's eye and exchanging a knowing glance. "How'd that happen?" the teacher remembered wondering. - - - The Washington Post's Jennifer Jenkins contributed to this report. - - - At a glance: 40 percent: The proportion of students at Albert Einstein High School in Montgomery County, Maryland, who missed class from 10 to more than 50 times in a semester and still graduated last year By UNI MOSCOW: The United States hopes that participants of the upcoming next round of talks between Caracas and Venezuelan opposition in Norway would concentrate exclusively on conditions of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's resignation. On Saturday, the Norwegian Foreign Ministry said that Oslo would host a second round of consultations between main Venezuelan actors next week. The first meeting between Maduro's representatives and the opposition was held in Norway on May 16. ALSO READ: Venezuela negotiators return to Norway for crisis talks "Free elections cannot be overseen by a tyrant. As we have repeatedly stated, we believe the only thing to negotiate with Nicolas Maduro is the conditions of his departure. We hope the talks in Oslo will focus on that objective, and if they do, we hope progress will be possible," the State Department said in a press statement, published on its official website late on Saturday. After Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido illegally proclaimed himself interim Venezuelan president, contesting Maduro's victory in last year's presidential election, the United States immediately backed Guaido's claim and urged Maduro to step down. Caracas and Moscow, which has supported the Venezuelan president in this crisis along with numerous other countries, have repeatedly expressed concerns that Washington might resort to military options to remove Maduro from power. For two and half years, Mexican drug kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman has lived in solitary confinement-with nearly no ability to communicate with the outside world. Now, with Guzman allegedly showing symptoms of distress and sleep deprivation, his defense team had several requests for U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan earlier this month: two hours of outdoor exercise every week, the same food and drink as other inmates, permission to buy six bottles of water a week and earplugs. "This deprivation of sunlight and fresh air, over an excessive 27-month period, is causing psychological scarring," CNN reported the letter said. It called the conditions "cruel and unusual punishment" in violation of the Eighth Amendment. Federal prosecutors were not convinced. According to new court filings obtained by CNN, the government opposed all of the above and alleged the request was part of a ploy to escape from prison or silence cooperating witnesses. Jeffrey Lichtman, one of the lawyers on Guzman's defense team, called the prosecution's response, due Thursday, "literally hysterical." The high-profile prisoner has had no prison infractions since his arrest, he said, "yet now, by simply asking for some bottled water and some fresh air he is accused of plotting a daring prison escape despite zero supporting evidence." In February, federal prosecutors secured a conviction against the Sinaloa Cartel boss for running the drug trafficking enterprise. During the three-month trial, witnesses - including his former bodyguard - testified about horrific murders both ordered and carried out by Guzman. On one occasion, he allegedly shot the rival-cartel member and then buried the victim alive. Guzman, 61, faces multiple life sentences; he will be sentenced in federal court June 25. Until then, the government requested Guzman be held in restrictive detention. "I expect the Bureau of Prisons would be concerned about El Chapo's communication access; his phone calls, email access and letters are likely to be more closely monitored than the average prison there for federal drug possession," Deborah Golden, staff attorney at the Human Rights Defense Center, told The Washington Post in February. Indeed, Guzman's conviction led to widespread speculation he would be housed at ADX, the administrative super-maximum prison in Florence, Colorado. Guzman's requests are being scrutinized because he has broken out of prisons in the past. He escaped from two maximum-security Mexican prisons - in 2001 with the assistance of prison guards and in 2015 through a tunnel underneath the shower in his jail cell. "An escape via rooftop, using a helicopter, or any related means would be elementary by comparison," the prosecutor wrote in his response to the court. Adding to the government's concern is the unsuccessful, attempted jail break in 1981, where an inmate arranged a helicopter-escape from the recreation area of a Lower Manhattan prison. The defense has a week to reply. Guzman is not permitted to have unmonitored phone calls or receive mail, Lichtman said, and his attorneys are the only people he can communicate with. "Because an inmate once attempted to escape the MCC 30 years ago via helicopter, Joaquin Guzman is planning the same?" he quipped on Saturday. "Which one of his lawyers passed the message to his co-conspirators to plan this escape?" Columbus, Ohio 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. "It doesn't matter what side of the aisle you are on, there are so many of us who share this trauma and this experience," Mace said in an interview. "Rape and incest are not partisan issues." Personal horror stories have done little to slow passage of bills in Georgia, where a lawmaker told about having an abortion after being raped, or Alabama, where the governor this week signed a law that bans all abortions unless they are necessary to save the life of the mother. In Ohio, a fetal heartbeat bill passed even after three lawmakers spoke out on the floor about their rapes among them State Rep. Lisa Sobecki, who argued for a rape exemption by recounting her own assault and subsequent abortion. It was gut-wrenching, the Navy veteran said, but her decision to speak out was validated the next day when she was approached in the grocery store by a man in his 70s, whose wife of 41 years had read of her account that morning in the local newspaper. The story prompted his wife to tell him for the first time that she also had been raped. "It's not just our stories," Sobecki said. "It's giving voice to the voiceless, those that haven't felt for a very long time that they could tell their stories and be heard." Four years ago, when a previous fetal heartbeat bill was being debated, state Sen. Teresa Fedor, then a state representative, surprised colleagues with her story of being raped while in the military and having an abortion. She felt compelled to share the story again this year when the issue resurfaced. "It's not something you like to focus on," the Toledo Democrat said. "And it didn't seem to have an impact in stopping the effort, so that's the sad part." The governor signed the bill, without exceptions for rape or incest. Ohio state Rep. Erica Crawley, a Democrat representing Columbus, said she didn't intend to share the story of her sexual assault when floor debate on the heartbeat bill began. But she said she was motivated by a Republican colleague who alleged that witnesses at committee hearings on the bill had exaggerated or fabricated their stories. "I wanted them to know that I'm someone you have respect for, and this has happened to me," she said. Crawley felt she had no choice but to speak out: "Because if I stay silent, I feel like I'm complicit." Kelly Dittmar, an expert on women and politics at Rutgers University, said she would not be surprised if even more female lawmakers begin to speak out about their rapes and abortions. More women feel empowered by the (hash)MeToo movement, she said, and the record number of women who won seats in state legislatures last year gives them a greater voice. "For some women who have healed enough in their own personal battles with this type of abuse, they might be comfortable speaking about this publicly because they see a higher purpose for it," she said. One such woman is Gretchen Whitmer. In 2013, she was minority leader in the Michigan state Senate when she spoke against a Republican-backed effort to require separate health insurance to cover abortion. Seven minutes into her floor speech, a visibly upset Whitmer put down her notes and told her colleagues that she had been raped more than 20 years earlier and that the memory of the attack continued to haunt her. She thanked God that she had not become pregnant by her attacker. In an interview this week, the Democrat said her decision to share her story was the right one. After her testimony, her office received thousands of emails from people thanking her. "That was the thing that bolstered me the most and convinced me that I had to continue speaking out and running for office and taking action," she said. "There are a lot of victims and survivors out there who care, who need to be heard, who need to be represented and who need the law to reflect what we want and need to see in our country." For a brief moment in time, all the moon and stars aligned. Nothing broke down and I had my dad to help and we were just able to go, go, go until we got it done, farmer Doug Coop said. Starting last Thursday morning, he said they barely shut off the tractor until they got their planting done about five days later. Except for a small window in April, that was their best shot to get corn planted before more rain that was forecast to hit the already waterlogged fields. Coop said the situation this spring is unprecedented in his experience and the more veteran farmers hes talked to say theyve never seen anything like it. A USDA crop progress report released this week reported 2.4 days suitable for fieldwork in Illinois for the week ending May 19 and less than one day the week before. Just 24% of corn in Illinois had been planted by May 19, compared to 95% on the same date in 2018. For the week ending May 12, only 11% of Illinois corn had been planted. For soybeans, 9% had been planted compared to 79% the same time last year and just 3% the week before. Allan Worrell, farm manager with Worrell Land Services, said the lack of planting progress is the number one issue for farmers this spring and described it as unprecedented. Above normal precipitation going back to November put farmers behind on fall preparation in the fields, combined with spring precipitation falling on already saturated soil is the culprit. We were kind of behind before we started this year, Worrell said. According to National Weather Service data, 2010 was the last 12-month period with as much precipitation in the Jacksonville area. The rain not only impacted planting, but also shut down barge traffic on the flooded Illinois and Mississippi rivers affecting the transport of fertilizers and grain and caused erosion in placed farmers have never seen it before. Farmer Jon Freeman has seen erosion this year in areas where he has terraces and dry dams, as well has washing out flat ground that has not had an issue in the past. Customers at his seed business have even had grass pastures wash out. Its just amazing the amount of damage weve had. Freeman said. Dale Hadden, whose farm also has a cattle operation that typically calves in March, described 2019 so far as frustrating. Problems started in the fall, followed by the harsh cold and snow this winter, and then a wet and cool spring. Weve had pastures that have actually flooded back there the first part of May and then just this past week, Hadden said. Weve put them out on grass got them out of the calving areas with their babies and weve had to go drive these cows and calves back up to high ground because the creeks have gotten out of their banks and went out into the pasture areas. Those are issues that, while we deal with every so many years, this year weve had to deal with them multiple times. It seems like we cant catch a break. TRADE Trade disputes, surplus from recent years with exceptional yields, swine flu and reduced demand grains from foreign pork producers have all had impacts on commodity prices for area farmers. If theres any silver lining to this weather, its that hopefully it will help drive the market back up a little bit. But for the past 18 to 24 months, for commodity prices, its really been a perfect storm of things to drive the prices down for us farmers, Coop said. Though it may not be enough to raise prices to where they need to be to make a good profit. Even though it looks like we could have smaller crops this year, worldwide theres still a surplus, said farmer John Potter. On Thursday, the USDA announced it would provide assistance to farmers again this year with $16 billion in aid, which it said was in line with the estimated impacts of retaliatory tariffs. A federal aid package provided billions of dollars in assistance to farmers last year after President Donald Trumps administration pursued tariffs against China that have since led to a back-and-forth for negotiations and retaliation. Worrell said the payments can help farmers cashflow, but he doesnt think theres any dispute that tariffs have hurt the agriculture industry. The aid is welcome, but seen as a short-term solution. The long-term resolution we need is we need markets, Coop said. We need global markets to sell our crops to and if we dont include China or Asia in that market, it makes it very, very tough for us. Worrell said the trade war also raises questions about losing long term export potential if China permanently takes its business elsewhere after the dispute is resolved. There is concern that South American farmers could fill the void while tariffs are being volleyed between the U.S. and China, though its possible that there are other markets that would pick up American agriculture products in place of China, Freeman said. But farmers need free trade with global markets. The scary part of it is, it takes a lot to get trade, it doesnt take much to lose it. And I hope we havent lost that China market, he said. ALMOST SUMMER Despite a wet fall, cold winter and weary spring, Potter is feeling guardedly optimistic. And hes not alone. Many farmers have been pulling long hours in the last week and a half to get in as much of their crops as possible. I think to be a farmer you have to have a little optimism, Potter said. The crops that we do have in, the ones that are up look OK, so hopefully we will have a decent growing season. The burglary case wasn't that unusual, until police found the suspect in a treehouse. A home in Ganesha Hills, California, had been broken into on April 18, with items taken from the residence and garage, according to a Thursday release by the Pomona Police Department. The victim said he recognized the suspect. On May 21, around 9 p.m., police received a tip that a man, later identified as the suspect, was living in "a very well built and modern tree house" in the neighborhood, the release said. Now, they had to find said treehouse in the dark. With an assist from a helicopter equipped with a FLIR heat sensing system, as well as a K-9 unit, Pomona police said they were able to pinpoint a heat source in the heavy brush and trees. Police found the treehouse and its inhabitant, who was arrested without incident. He was identified as 56-year-old Mark Duda, of Pomona. The police statement said that Duda's unusual dwelling was equipped with "a fire pit, barbecue, and lighting." Photos posted by the Pomona police department from inside the treehouse show a sweeping view of the nearby community and impressive mountains in the distance. Duda was charged with burglary, according to the police department release, and his case has been referred to the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office. He is being held on a $70,000 bail and will next appear in court in June, sheriff's inmate records show. By PTI ISLAMABAD: Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan, who arrived here on a three-day official visit, met Pakistan President Arif Alvi and Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday and signed several agreements and agreed to speed up the projects under the USD 60 billion CPEC to further cement the bilateral all-weather ties. President Alvi also conferred its highest civilian award Nishan-e-Pakistan on Wang, 70, a member of the ruling Communist Party of China's (CPC) powerful Politburo Standing Committee. The senior Chinese leader was received at the airport by Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and other top officials. During delegation level-talks between Prime Minister Khan and Vice President Wang, a number of Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) for cooperation in different sectors were also signed between the two countries, the government said in a statement. "These MoUs include cooperation in economic and technical affairs, Disaster Management and assistance in agriculture sector of Lasbella University," it said. Khan and Wang were present during the signing of the MoUs. The two leaders also launched and unveiled the plaques of four mega development projects in the fields of energy, technology and education under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, the statement said. Khan and Wang also inaugurated the Confucius Institute at the University of Punjab. The institute will impart Chinese education, promote cultural exchanges and other activities, it said. The visiting Chinese leader also attended a special seminar about the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Wang will visit Lahore tomorrow after completing his meetings in Islamabad, it said. The Chinese Vice President's visit underscores the vitality of the time-tested and all-weather relationship between Pakistan and China. His visit will reinforce the strength of bilateral ties and impart further impetus to the growing, multi-faceted cooperation between the two countries in diverse fields, it said. The visit is in continuation of high-level exchanges between the two countries, which have acquired an increased momentum since Prime Minister Khan's visit to China in November last year and his participation in the 2nd Belt and Road Forum in Beijing in April this year. Last week, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said in Beijing that Vice President Wang's visit to Pakistan will further deepen high-level exchanges, friendship and mutual trust between the two countries. He said the visit will also advance the development of the CPEC besides bilateral cooperation across the board. Lu said China and Pakistan are all-weather strategic cooperative partners and iron friends, and firmly support each other on issues concerning each other's foreign interests. He said Pakistan has been a priority on China's diplomacy and now both the countries have witnessed a sound momentum in their cooperation and frequent high-level exchanges. Lu said both the countries are deepening the mutually beneficial cooperation and conducting close coordination in international and regional affairs. The CPEC, which connects Gwadar Port in Pakistan's Balochistan with China's Xinjiang province, is the flagship project of the Belt and Roads Initiative (BRI). After visiting Pakistan, the Chinese leader will also visit Germany and Netherlands. Attorneys general from 51 states and U.S. territories have asked Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to forgive the student loan debt of veterans who became permanently disabled during their service. The request was made in a letter from the National Associated of Attorneys General dated Friday. As a nation, we have a moral obligation to assist those who have put their lives on the line to defend us, the letter read. As of last year, more than 42,000 veterans eligible for the Education Department's Total and Permanent Disability owed more than $1 billion in federal student loans. The cost of education for our disabled veterans today is soaring, and it would be of great benefit to those who are burdened by these crushing debts to obtain relief without arduous compliance requirements, the letter said. While veterans can become eligible for student loan forgiveness by filling out paperwork for TPD, fewer than 9,000 of them had returned applications, and more than 25,000 veterans had loans that were in default. Because Americas veterans deserve better, we ask the Department to develop an automatic discharge process to ensure that all eligible veterans can have their student loans forgiven, the letter read. Education Department spokesperson Liz Hill told Reuters that an automatic cancellation of loans could impact veterans' state and local taxes. In addition, she told Reuters, "A student loan discharge could preclude the veteran from taking out additional federal student loans in the future for continuing education." Related video: Science says chronic debt affects how your mind works: Banker Phares is a practicing attorney and founding member of the Estate Planning and Probate Law certification by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. He is the John and Karen Mast Professor at SFA and teaches in the Department of Economics and Finance. By AFP JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday he believed a deal to form a new coalition government remained possible, as speculation mounted over the possibility of fresh elections only days ahead of a deadline. Netanyahu has been unable to reach a deal with potential coalition partners despite results from April 9 polls giving his Likud party and its right-wing and religious allies a majority in parliament. Negotiations have broken down over legislation aimed at requiring ultra-Orthodox Jews to perform mandatory military service like other Jewish Israelis. The deadline for Netanyahu to form a coalition is Wednesday. Holding elections so close to one another would be unprecedented for Israel. "I think that the problem can be solved with good will, if that's what people want," Netanyahu said at the start of a cabinet meeting. "If there's not a desire, and things are being aimed in a certain direction, it's unfortunate. I don't think the country needs to be dragged to another election, but there might be someone who wants that," he added. Avigdor Lieberman, who is likely to become defence minister under a coalition deal, has pushed for a guarantee that a bill he backs on ultra-Orthodox military conscription be passed. The ultra-Orthodox parties have refused to support this reform. Netanyahu needs both Lieberman's Yisrael Beitenu party and the ultra-Orthodox to form the coalition he is seeking. Likud and its allies hold 65 seats in the 120-seat parliament, including Yisrael Beitenu's five and the ultra-Orthodox parties' 16. A Likud spokesman said Sunday that "if Lieberman continues to insist on taking down the government, the Likud has begun preparations ahead of elections." But he added: "At this stage there has been no decision on dissolving the Knesset (parliament)." Netanyahu's party later said in a statement that "the ball is now in the court of the Lieberman camp. If he accepts, we have a right-wing government tonight." Netanyahu had said on Twitter that he had put together a last-ditch proposal on the conscription issue and was meeting individually with party heads to discuss it. Both Lieberman and ultra-Orthodox leaders indicated they were not prepared to compromise. Lieberman refused to meet with Netanyahu on Sunday, his own party said in a statement. It added that Lieberman remained committed to the proposed law. Israeli media reported that Likud lawmakers had received a request to attend parliament on Monday afternoon to vote in favour of dissolution, in an apparent bid to put pressure on Lieberman to change his position and avoid fresh elections. Separately, thousands protested in Tel Aviv on Saturday night against Netanyahu's reported attempts to seek immunity from prosecution as part of coalition negotiations. Netanyahu faces potential indictment for bribery, fraud and breach of trust in the months ahead. Westerly, RI (02891) Today Cloudy skies early, then off and on rain showers overnight. Some sleet may mix in. Low 34F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%.. Tonight Cloudy skies early, then off and on rain showers overnight. Some sleet may mix in. Low 34F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%. More than 16 billion almost half of their value has been wiped off the share prices of Thomas Cook, Tui, Ryanair and easyJet in the past year, with hedge funds betting on further falls in a miserable summer for holiday firms. Over the past month alone share prices for the quartet have fallen 3.5 billion as travel companies struggle to persuade Britons to go abroad this summer. Investment giants BlackRock, Citadel and Marshall Wace have in recent weeks taken out short positions against the stocks meaning they profit if the share prices fall. Bracing: Four major travel firms have lost 3.5 billion of value in just a month Thomas Cook's shares crashed 40 per cent a week ago when they were branded 'worthless' by one analyst due to the company's enormous debt pile. City sources last night said Peter Fankhauser, the German chief executive of Thomas Cook, could emerge as a victim of the turmoil, with speculation mounting that chairman Frank Meysman is preparing to oust him. One source familiar with the company tipped Will Waggott the former boss of Airtours who joined Thomas Cook in February as head of tour operating as a likely successor. A senior company insider played down the suggestion. Many firms have launched sales on flights to Europe as they try to prop up their bottom lines. Industry figures admitted they are hoping for a colder UK summer to encourage Britons to flock abroad. Paul Carter, chief executive of Hotelplan, a business that includes Inghams, Explore, Ski Total and Espirit, said big firms have been offering up to 50 per cent off last-minute holidays. 'A repeat of last year's hot summer will mean that demand will be lighter and then prices are likely to reduce,' he added. In the past few days, City analysts have highlighted a series of major issues the firms are facing, including Brexit uncertainty, which has affected consumer confidence. Longer term, it is feared that rising concerns over the environmental impact of planes will mean travellers will fly less and new taxes may be introduced. In the past year, Thomas Cook's market value has dropped from 1.7 billion to less than 200 million on Friday. According to Bloomberg data, 6.88 per cent of the firm's shares are being shorted by hedge funds. Short-sellers bet against firms that they believe are over-valued on the stock market. They borrow their shares from other investors, sell them and then hope to buy them back at a cheaper price, pocketing the difference. Thomas Cook's share price plummeted earlier this month after the 178-year-old company, which serves 20 million people a year, reported a half-year loss of 1.5 billion. Tui, the Anglo-German travel group listed on the London Stock Exchange, suffered last week when investment bank UBS advised investors to sell its shares. Its share price has plummeted nearly 60 per cent in the past year, lopping more than 5 billion off its value, which now stands at 3.8 billion. Some 3.18 per cent of its shares are currently controlled by short-sellers. UBS analysts suggested that Tui's losses which deepened to 301 million in its first-half results this month, from 170 million the year before may eat into its 320 million dividend. Ryanair also suffered a downgrade from HSBC last week. Citadel has a 0.73 per cent short on the Dublin-based airline which has seen its value plummet nearly 7 billion in the last year. BlackRock and Marshall Wace are shorting 1.13 per cent of easyJet's shares, which have fallen 47 per cent to 9.19. The airline is facing relegation from the FTSE 100 if its fortunes do not improve soon. The proposed 2 billion-plus takeover of care home giant Barchester Healthcare is taking longer than expected due to the Brexit impasse. The Mail on Sunday revealed in February that Australian investment house Macquarie had entered into exclusive discussions with Irish tycoons Dermot Desmond, JP McManus and John Magnier majority shareholders in Barchester Healthcare. City sources said a deal should have been struck by now but negotiations have been tough amid concerns about Brexit and its impact on the pound. Gathering storm: City sources said a deal should have been struck by now but negotiations have been tough amid concerns about Brexit and its impact on the pound 'The mergers and acquisitions market has been extremely quiet since the New Year and it's mostly due to the failed Brexit negotiations and political uncertainty,' said one investment banker. However, one source said Barchester Healthcare, which owns more than 200 care homes housing 11,000 elderly people, is still in talks with Macquarie. The investment group is well known in the City for gobbling up huge infrastructure assets, such as Thames Water, and then selling them on to investors and pension funds. The private equity owners of car finance firm Blue Motor Finance are weighing up a 200 million sale. City sources said Cabot Square Partners had been talking to bankers about a sale of its stake and was now working with advisers from Lazard on 'strategic options' for the business. Cabot Square invested between 30 million and 40 million in Blue Motor Finance in 2014, since when it has grown rapidly. Blue Motor says it has about 100,000 customers, whom it has lent a total of 1 billion. Change of direction: The firm works with 3,700 UK car dealerships and in the past 12 months financed 50,000 vehicle purchases The firm works with 3,700 UK car dealerships and in the past 12 months financed 50,000 vehicle purchases. Bankers said the business generates about 15 million in operating profit and could change hands for 150 million to 250 million. It is now Europe's fastest growing firm, beating the food delivery app Deliveroo, the Financial Times said as the popularity of car leasing soars. Cabot Square didn't return calls for comment. IntegraFin Holdings plc, together with its subsidiaries, provides investment platform for UK financial advisers and their clients. The company operates Transact platform that delivers an infrastructure, which enables advisers to implement financial plans, as well as provides real time day-to-day and technical support services. Its Transact platform enables advisers to simplify management of the complex investment needs of clients; provides personal service to advisers and their clients; offers access to approximately 8,000 funds and assets listed on stock markets; and provides access to report and analysis tools, investment portfolio management, lifetime cash flow modelling, and others. The company also engages in the provision of software development and maintenance; life insurance and assurance; consultancy; service; and investment administration activities. The company was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom. Read More There is not enough analysis data for Samsung Electronics. 4.1 Community Rank Outperform Votes Samsung Electronics has received 130 outperform votes. (Add your outperform vote.) Underperform Votes Samsung Electronics has received 77 underperform votes. (Add your underperform vote.) Community Sentiment Samsung Electronics has received 62.80% outperform votes from our community. MarketBeat's community ratings are surveys of what our community members think about Samsung Electronics and other stocks. Vote Outperform if you believe SSNLF will outperform the S&P 500 over the long term. Vote Underperform if you believe SSNLF 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 Accenture: (Accenture Endustriyel Yazlm Cozumleri Limited Sirketi), 2nd Road, ?What If!, ?What If! China Holdings Limited, ?What If! Holdings Limited, ?What If! Limited, ACN Consulting Co Ltd, AD.Dialeto (Digital Agency acquired by Accenture), AGS Business and Technology Services Limited, AIG Shared Services Business Processing Inc, ASM Research Inc., ASM Research LLC, ATAN, Accenture (Botswana) (Proprietary) Limited, Accenture (China) Co. Ltd., Accenture (Shenzhen) Technology Co. Ltd., Accenture (South Africa) Pty Ltd, Accenture (UK) Limited, Accenture 2 Business Process Services S.A., Accenture 2 LLC, Accenture A/S, Accenture AB, Accenture AG, Accenture AS, Accenture Africa Pty Ltd, Accenture Agencia Interativa Ltda, Accenture Australia Holding B.V., Accenture Australia Holdings Pty Ltd, Accenture Australia Pty Ltd, Accenture B.V., Accenture BPM Operations Support Services S.A., Accenture BPM S.C.R.L., Accenture BPS Services S.p. z o.o., Accenture Branch Holdings B.V., Accenture Bulgaria EOOD, Accenture Business Services for Utilities Inc, Accenture Business Services of British Columbia Limited Partnership, Accenture Business and Technology Services LLC, Accenture C.A., Accenture Canada Holdings Inc, Accenture Capital Designated Activity Company, Accenture Capital Inc, Accenture Central Europe B.V., Accenture Chile Asesorias y Servicios Ltda, Accenture Cloud Services GmbH, Accenture Cloud Software Solutions Limited, Accenture Cloud Solutions Australia Pty Ltd, Accenture Cloud Solutions LLC, Accenture Cloud Solutions Pty Ltd, Accenture Co Ltd, Accenture Co. Ltd, Accenture Communications Infrastructure Solutions Ltd, Accenture Company Ltd, Accenture Consulting Pty Ltd, Accenture Consulting Services Ltd Tanzania, Accenture Consultores de Gestao S.A., Accenture Consultoria de Industria e Consumo Ltda, Accenture Consultoria de Recursos Naturais Ltda, Accenture Credit Services LLC, Accenture Customer Services Distribution SASU, Accenture Customer Services Ltd, Accenture Danismanlik Limited Sirketi, Accenture Defined Benefit Pension Plan Trustees Limited, Accenture Defined Contribution Pension Plan Trustees Limited, Accenture Delivery Poland S.p. z o.o., Accenture Dienstleistungen GmbH, Accenture Digital Holdings GmbH, Accenture East Africa Limited, Accenture Ecuador S.A., Accenture Egypt LLC, Accenture Enterprise Development (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Accenture Federal Services LLC, Accenture Finance II Limited, Accenture Finance Limited, Accenture Finance and Accounting BPO Services S.p.A., Accenture Finance and Accounting Services S.r.l., Accenture Financial Advanced Solution & Technology S.r.l., Accenture Flex LLC, Accenture GP LLC, Accenture Global Capital Designated Activity Company, Accenture Global Engagements Limited, Accenture Global Holdings Limited, Accenture Global Services Limited, Accenture Global Solutions Limited, Accenture GmbH, Accenture HR Services S.p.A., Accenture Healthcare Processing Inc, Accenture Holding Brasil Ltda, Accenture Holding GmbH & Co. KG, Accenture Holdings (Iberia) S.L., Accenture Holdings B.V., Accenture Holdings France SASU, Accenture Hungary Holdings Kft, Accenture Inc, Accenture Industrial Software Limited Liability Company, Accenture Industrial Software Solutions Kft, Accenture Industrial Software Solutions SA, Accenture Insurance Services B.V., Accenture Insurance Services LLC, Accenture International B.V., Accenture International LLC, Accenture International Limited, Accenture Japan Ltd, Accenture Korea B.V., Accenture LLC, Accenture LLP, Accenture Lanka (Private) Ltd, Accenture Limited, Accenture Lithuania UAB, Accenture Ltd, Accenture Ltda, Accenture Maghreb S.a.r.l., Accenture Managed Services SRL, Accenture Management GmbH, Accenture Marketing Services LLC, Accenture Marketing Services Limited, Accenture Middle East B.V., Accenture Minority I B.V., Accenture Mozambique Limitada, Accenture Mzansi Pty Ltd, Accenture NV/SA, Accenture NZ Limited, Accenture Nova Scotia Unlimited Liability Co., Accenture OOO, Accenture Operations GmbH, Accenture Operations S.p. z o.o., Accenture Operations Services Private Limited, Accenture Operations Services Sdn Bhd, Accenture Outsourcing S.r.l., Accenture Outsourcing Services S.A., Accenture Oy, Accenture Panama Inc, Accenture Participations B.V., Accenture Participations II Limited, Accenture Peru SRL, Accenture Post Trade Processing SASU, Accenture Post-Trade Processing Limited, Accenture Process (Mauritius) Ltd, Accenture Pte Ltd, Accenture Puerto Rico LLC, Accenture Qiyun Technology (Hangzhou) Co. Ltd, Accenture S.C., Accenture S.L., Accenture S.R.L., Accenture S.p. z o.o., Accenture S.p.A., Accenture SASU, Accenture SG Services Pte Ltd, Accenture SRL, Accenture Saudi Arabia Limited, Accenture Sdn Bhd, Accenture Service Center SRL, Accenture Services (Mauritius) Ltd, Accenture Services AB, Accenture Services AG, Accenture Services AS, Accenture Services GmbH, Accenture Services Morocco SA, Accenture Services Oy, Accenture Services Pty Ltd, Accenture Services S.p. z o.o., Accenture Services SRL, Accenture Services and Technology S.r.l., Accenture Services s.r.o., Accenture Single Member S.A. Organization Information Technology & Business Development, Accenture Solutions Co. Ltd, Accenture Solutions Private Limited, Accenture Solutions Pte Ltd, Accenture Solutions Pty Ltd, Accenture Solutions S.p. z o.o, Accenture Solutions Sdn Bhd, Accenture State Healthcare Services LLC, Accenture Sub II Inc, Accenture Sub III Inc, Accenture Sub LLC, Accenture Systems Integration Limited, Accenture Sarl, Accenture Tanacsado Kolatolt Felelossegu Tarsasag, Accenture Technology Solutions (Dalian) Co. Ltd., Accenture Technology Solutions (HK) Co. Ltd., Accenture Technology Solutions (Thailand) Co. Ltd, Accenture Technology Solutions - Solucoes Informaticas Integradas S.A., Accenture Technology Solutions GmbH, Accenture Technology Solutions Oy, Accenture Technology Solutions Pty Ltd, Accenture Technology Solutions S.A. de C.V., Accenture Technology Solutions S.r.l., Accenture Technology Solutions SASU, Accenture Technology Solutions SRL, Accenture Technology Solutions Sdn Bhd, Accenture Technology Solutions Slovakia s.r.o., Accenture Technology Ventures B.V., Accenture Technology Ventures SPRL, Accenture Tecnologia Consultoria y Outsourcing S.A., Accenture Uruguay SRL, Accenture Vietnam Co. Limited, Accenture Zambia Limited, Accenture do Brasil Ltda, Accenture plc, Accenture s.r.o., Acceria, Acquity Group, Adaptly LLC, Adaptly UK Limited, AddVal Technology, Adqptly, Advantium Inc., Advoco, Agilex Technologies Inc., Allen International, AlphaBeta Advisors, Altevie Technologies S.r.l., Altima, Altima (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Altima Asia Ltd, Altitude, Altitude LLC, Altius Consulting Limited, Altius Data Solutions Private Limited, Analytics 8 LP, Analytics 8 Pty Ltd, Analytics8, Aorui Advertising (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Apis, Apis Group Pty Ltd, Appaloosa Technology SASU, AppsPro, Arca, Arca Ingenieros y Consultoria S.L., Arca Telecom S.L., Ariba - BPO, Arismore, Artio People (Payroll) Pty Ltd, Artio People Pty Ltd, Aspiro Solutions (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Automation Partners Pty Ltd, Avanade (Guangzhou) Computer Technology Development Co. Ltd., Avanade Asia Pte Ltd, Avanade Australia Pty Ltd, Avanade Belgium SPRL, Avanade Canada Inc, Avanade Consulting Poland S.p. z o.o., Avanade Denmark A/S, Avanade Deutschland GmbH, Avanade Europe Holdings Limited, Avanade Europe Services Limited, Avanade Finland Oy, Avanade France SASU, Avanade Holdings LLC, Avanade Hong Kong Ltd, Avanade Inc, Avanade International Corporation, Avanade Ireland Limited, Avanade Italy S.r.l., Avanade Japan KK, Avanade Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Avanade Middle East Limited, Avanade Netherlands B.V., Avanade Norway AS, Avanade Poland S.p. z o.o., Avanade Schweiz GmbH, Avanade South Africa Pty Ltd, Avanade Spain S.L., Avanade Sweden AB, Avanade UK Limited, Avanade do Brasil Ltda, Avanade Osterreich GmbH, Avenai, Axia Ltd., BABCN LLC, BCS Consulting, BCT Solutions, BCT Solutions Pty Ltd, BENEXT, BPO Servicos Administrativos Ltda, BRIDGE Energy Group, Beacon Consulting Group Inc., Beijing Genesis Interactive Technology Co. Ltd., Beijing Zhidao Future Consulting Co. Ltd, Benext, Berico Technologies LLC, Bionic, Bionic Solution LLC, Blue Horseshoe, Boomerang Pharmaceutical Communications, Bow & Arrow, Bow & Arrow Limited, Brand Learning, Brand Learning Group Limited, Brightstep AB, Byte Prophecy, Byte Prophecy Private Limited, CAS, CRMWaypoint, CS Technology (Australia) Pty Ltd, CS Technology (UK) Limited, CS Technology Group LLC, CS Technology LLC, CadenceQuest Inc., Callisto Integration Europe B.V., Callisto Integration Europe Limited, Callisto Integration LLC, Callisto Integration Ltd, Capgemini - North American health practice, Capital Consultancy Services Inc, Certus Solutions Consulting Services Limited, Certus Solutions Ltd, ChangeTrack Research Pty Ltd., Chaotic Moon Studios, Chengdu Mensa Advertising Co. Ltd., Cimation, Cirrus Connect Australia Pty Ltd, Cirrus Connect Limited, Cirruseo, Clarity Insights, Clearhead, Clearhead Group LLC, ClientHouse GmbH, Cloud Sherpas, Cloud Sherpas (GA) LLC, Cloud Sherpas Japan G.K., Cloud Sherpas New Zealand Limited, Cloudeasier SAS, Cloudpoint Limited, Cloudsherpas Inc, Cloudworks, Cloudworks Consulting Services Inc, Cloudworks Technology LLC, Computer Research and Telecommunications LLC, Concrete Desenvolvimento de Sistemas Ltda, Concrete Solutions, Concrete Solutions Ltda, Context Information Security, Context Information Security LLC, Context Information Security Limited, CoreCompete LLC, CoreCompete Limited, CoreCompete Private Limited, Corliant Inc., Creative Drive LLC, Creative Drive US LLC, CreativeDrive, CreativeDrive Digital Content Services (Shenzhen) Co Ltd., CreativeDrive EMEA Limited, CreativeDrive Singapore Pte Ltd, CreativeDrive UK Group Limited, Cutting Edge Solutions Limited, Cygni AB, Cygni Norrsken AB, Cygni Stockholm AB, Cygni Syd AB, Cygni Vast AB, Cygni Ost AB, Cygni Ostersund AB, DAZ Systems Inc, DAZ Systems LLC, DAZSI Systems (India) Pvt. Limited, DI Futures Corporation, Data Essential SARL, Davies Consulting, DayNine Consulting, DayNine Consulting (New Zealand) Limited, DayNine Consulting LLC, Declarative Holdings LLC, Decora Marketplace LLC, Decorado Marketplace Ltda-EPP, Defense Point Security, Deja vu Security, Design Strategy and Research de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Designaffairs LLC, Digiplug S.A.S., Digital Results Group LLC, Double Digit Limitada, Double Digit Pty SA, Droga5, Droga5 LLC, Droga5 Studios LLC, Droga5 UK Limited, Duck Creek Technologies, ESR Labs, ESR Labs AG, EdenOne Solutions Limited, Edenhouse ERP Holdings Limited, Edenhouse Solutions Limited, Enaxis Consulting, Enaxis Consulting LP, End to End Analytics LLC, End-to-End Analytics, Endorphin Medici (M) Sdn Bhd, Energuia Web S.A., Energy Management Brokers Limited, EnergyQuote JHA, Enimbos, Enimbos Global Services S.L., Enkitec, Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions LLC, Enterprise System Partners, Enterprise System Partners B.V., Enterprise System Partners Bilisim Danismanlik Ticaret Anonim Sirketi, Enterprise System Partners Global Corporation, Enterprise System Partners Limited, Enthusian Pty Ltd, Entropia, Entropia (M) Sdn Bhd, Entropia Holdings Pte Ltd, Entropia Intercraft Sdn Bhd, Epylon, Espedia S.r.l., Ethica Consulting Group, Ethica Consulting S.p.A., Evopro Group, Exactside Limited, Experity, Exton Consulting, Exton Consulting Spain Strategy&Management S.L., Exton Germany GmbH, Exton International SAS, Exton Italia S.r.l., Exton SAS, FGM LLC, Fairway Technologies Inc, Farah BidCo Limited, Farah MidCo Limited, Farah Topco Limited, Filmproduction ApS, First Annapolis Consulting Inc., First Annapolis Consulting LLC, Fjord, Focus Group Europe, Formicary, Fruendo S.r.l., FusionX, Future State Consulting LLC, FutureMove (Beijing) Automotive Technology Co. Ltd., FutureMove Automotive, FutureMove Automotive Co. Ltd., GRA Supply Chain Pty Ltd, Gagel Group S de R.L. de C.V., Gapso Servicos de Informatica Ltda, Gapso Servicos de Informatica Ltda., Genfour, George Group Consulting L.P., Gestalt LLC, Gevity, Gren utvikling AS, H.B. Maynard and Co. Inc., HRC Retail Advisory, Hagberg Consulting Group, Hahntel Ltda, Halo Partners LLC, Hamilton Holding Company S.A, Hangzhou Aiyunzhe Technology Co. Ltd., Happen, Happen GP Limited, Happen Limited, Hjaltelin Stahl, Hjaltelin Stahl A/S, Hjaltelin Stahl K/S, Hytracc Consulting AS, Hytracc Consulting Malaysia Sdn Bhd, IBB Consulting, ICM.S S.r.l., IMJ Corp, IMJ Corporation, INSITUM, IQSP Consulting LLC, IT One Company Limited, ITBS Servicios Bancarios de Tecnologia de la Informacion SL, Icon Integration, Icon Integration (NZ) Limited, Icon Integration Pty Ltd, Imagine Broadband (USA) Limited, Imagine Broadband USA LLC, Imaginea Inc, Imaginea Technologies LLC, Industrie IT (Hong Kong) Ltd, Industrie IT (Singapore) Pte Ltd, Industrie IT Group Pty Ltd, Industrie IT Pty Ltd, Industrie&Co, Infinity Works Consulting Limited, Infinity Works Holdings Limited, Infinity Works Management Limited, Infinity Works Midco Limited, Informatica de Euskadi S.L., Innotec International EAD, Innotec International S.p. z.o.o., Innotec Marketing GmbH, Innotec Marketing International Ireland Limited, Innotec- Marketing Spain S.L, Insitum Consultoria Argentina SRL, Insitum Consultoria S.A. de C.V., International Biometric Group LLC, International Biometric Group UK Limited, Intrepid, Intrepid Futureworks Sdn Bhd, Intrigo Systems Inc, Intrigo Systems India Pvt. Limited, Intrigo Systems LLC, Inventor Technology Ltd, InvestTech, Investtech Systems Consulting LLC, ItSafer Continuity Services S.L., JKD Consulting LLC, Javelin Group, K Comms Group Limited, KSC Studio LLC, Kaper Communications Limited, Karma Communications Debtco Limited, Karma Communications Group Limited, Karma Communications Holdings Limited, Karmarama, Karmarama Comms Limited, Karmarama Limited, Knowledge Rules Inc., Knowledgent, Knowledgent Group LLC, Kogentix, Kogentix LLC, Kogentix Limited, Kogentix Singapore Pte Ltd, Kogentix Technologies Private Limited, Kolle Rebbe, Kolle Rebbe GmbH, Kream Comms Limited, Kunstmaan, Kurt Salmon, Kurt Salmon Canada LTD, Kurt Salmon US LLC, LEXTA, LINKBYNET, LINKBYNET Indian Ocean (L.I.O) Ltd, LabAnswer, Lexta GmbH, Lexta UK Limited, Lien par le reseau Inc, Lien par le reseau infrastructures Inc, Lin Bo (Shanghai) Network Technology Co. Ltd., Link By Net SAS, Link By Net SRL, Link By Net Vietnam Company Limited, Linkbynet East Asia Ltd, Linkbynet Singapore Pte Ltd., Loud & Clear Creative Pty Ltd, Lumenup S.A., MAXIM Systems Inc., MCG US Holdings LLC, Mackevision CG Technology and Service (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Mackevision Japan Co. Ltd., Mackevision Korea Ltd, Mackevision Medien Design, Mackevision Medien Design GmbH, Mackevision Singapore Pte Ltd, Mackevision UK Limited, Maglan, Maglan Information Defense Technologies Research Ltd, Maihiro, Matter, Maud Corp Pty Ltd, Maxamine International, Measuretek LLC, Media Audits Ltd., Media Hive, Mediasenz Pty Ltd., Meredith Specialty LLC, Meredith Xcelerated Marketing, Meredith Xcelerated Marketing LLC, Meridian Informed Purchasing Ltd., Mindtribe, Mistral Wind Operations Servicos Empresariais Unipessoal Lda., MobGen, Mortgage Cadence LLC, Mortgage Cadence an Accenture Company, Most Champion Ltd, Mudano, Mudano Limited, Myrtle Consulting Group LLC, N3 (Dalian) Business Consulting Co. Ltd., N3 Brazil Consultoria em Marketing Ltda, N3 Germany GmbH, N3 LLC, N3 North America LLC, N3 Results Australia Pty Ltd, N3 Results Ireland Limited, N3 Results Japan G.K., N3 Results Limited, N3 Results Malaysia Sdn Bhd, N3 Results Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., N3 Results S.A.S., N3 Results Singapore Pte Ltd, N3 Results Unipessoal Lda, NYTEC, Nanjing Demeng Advertising Co. Ltd., Nashco Consulting, NaviSys Inc., Nell'Armonia Israel Ltd, Nell'Armonia SAS, Nell'Participation SAS, NellArmonia, Neo Metrics Analytics S.L., Neo Metrics Chile S.A., New Content, New Content Editora e Produtora Ltda, New Energy Group, News Imaging LLC, NewsPage, NewsPage (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, NewsPage Pte Ltd, Northstream, Novetta Holdings LLC, Novetta LLC, Novetta Solutions LLC, Novetta Topco LLC, OCTO Technology, OPS Rules Management Consultants, Octagon Research Solutions Inc., Octo Technology Pty Ltd, Octo Technology SA, Odgaard ApS, Olikka, Olikka Pty Ltd, Openmind, Openmind S.r..l., Openminded, Openminded SAS, Operaciones Accenture S.A. de C.V., OpusLine, Orbium, Orbium AG, Orbium Consulting Limited, Orbium Inc., Orbium Ltd, Orbium Pte Ltd, Orbium Pty Ltd, Origin Digital, PCO Innovation, PLM Systems S.r.l, PRION GmbH, PT Accenture, PT Asta Catur Indra, PT Kogentix Teknologi Indonesia, PacificLink Group, Paja Finanssipalvelut Oy, Parker Fitzgerald Inc, Parker Fitzgerald International Limited, Parker Fitzgerald Limited, Parker Fitzgerald PTY Ltd, Parker Fitzgerald Services Limited, Parker Fitzgerald Solutions Limited, Pecaso Ltd., Pegasus Production A/S, Pegasus Production K/S, Phase One Consulting Group, Pillar Technology, Pollux, Pollux Automation Mexico S.A. de C.V., Pollux Canada Inc, Pollux S.A.S., Pollux USA LLC, Pragsis Bidoop, Pragsis Bidoop UK Limited, Pramati Technologies Europe Limited, Pramati Technologies Private Limited, Presence of IT Workforce Management North America LLC, PrimeQ, PrimeQ Australia Pty Ltd, PrimeQ Ltd, PrimeQ NZ Pty Limited, Procurian Inc., Prof. Homburg GmbH, Proquire LLC, PureApps Ltd., Qi Jie Beijing Information Technologies Co. Ltd., RBCP Fund 1-A Vapor Blocker LLC, RBCP Platform Vapor Blocker I LLC, REPL Consulting LLC, REPL Consulting Limited, REPL Digital Limited, REPL Group K.K., REPL Group Pty Ltd, REPL Group Worldwide Limited, REPL Pte Ltd, REPL Software Limited, REPL Technology Limited, Radiant Services LLC, Random Walk Computing Inc., Reactive Media Pty Ltd., Real Protect, Realworld OO Systems Ltd., Redcore, Redcore (New Zealand) Limited, Redcore Group Holdings Pty Ltd, Redcore Pty Ltd, Revolutionary Security, RiskControl, Root LLC, Rothco, Rothco Limited, S3 TV Technology Ltd., SALT Solutions GmbH, SEC Servizi, SOPIA Corp., Sagacious Consultants, Salt Solutions, Sandbox Studio LLC, Sapling Bidco Limited, Sapling Midco Limited, Sapling Topco Limited, Schlumberger Business Consulting, Seabury Aviation & Aerospace (UK) Limited, Seabury Consulting, Seabury Corporate Advisors LLC, Seabury Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Search Technologies BPO Inc, Search Technologies International LLC, Search Technologies LLC, Search Technologies Limited, Securiview SAS, Sentelis, Sentor Managed Secuirty Services AB, Servicios Tecnicos de Programacion Accenture S.C., Seven Seas Business Ventures LLC, Shackleton, Shackleton Chile S.A., Shackleton S.L.U., Shanghai Baiyue Advertising Co. Ltd., Shun Zhe Technology Development Co. Ltd., SigInt Technologies LLC, Silveo, Silveo Consulting India Private Limited, Simian Pty Ltd, SinnerSchrader, SinnerSchrader AG, SinnerSchrader Content GmbH, SinnerSchrader Deutschland GmbH, Sirvart S.A., Sistemes Consulting S.L., Skylink SAS, Soltians Limited, Solutions IQ LLC, SolutionsIQ, SolutionsIQ India Consulting Services Private Limited, Somers Ventures Ireland Limited, Somers Ventures LLC, Spacelink SAS, Storm Digital, Structure Consulting Group LLC, Sutter Mills, Synership LLC, Systor AG, TXF LLC, TargetST8, Tech - Avanade Portugal Unipessoal Lda, Tecnilogica Ecosistemas S.A., Tecnilogica, The Brand Learning Partners Limited, The Callisto Integration Corporation, The Monkeys, The Monkeys Pty Ltd, The Myrtle Group, Total Logistics, Tquila, Trivadis, Trivadis Austria GmbH, Trivadis Denmark AS, Trivadis Germany GmbH, Trivadis Holding AG, Trivadis Partner AG, Trivadis Services AG, Trivadis Services SRL, Troop Studios Pty Ltd, VanBerlo, Vector Acquisition Company LLC, Vector Topco LLC, Verax Solutions, Vertical Retail Consulting (Shanghai) Ltd, Vertical Retail Consulting Ltd, Vivere Brasil Servicos e Solucoes SA, Vivere Brasil Solucoes De Credito Ltda., Wabion GmbH, WaveStrike LLC, White Cliffs Consulting LLC, Wire Stone, Wire Stone LLC, Wise Partners SAS, Wolox, Wolox Colombia S.A.S, Wolox LLC, Wolox Mexico S.R.L de C.V., Wolox S.A., Wolox SpA, Workforce Insight, Workforce Insight LLC, Yesler, Yesler LLC, Yesler Limited, Yesler Singapore Pte Ltd, Zag, Zag Australia Pty Ltd, Zag Limited, Zag USA LLC, Zebra Worldwide Australia Pty Ltd, Zebra Worldwide Group Limited, Zebra Worldwide Media Pty Ltd, Zenta, Zenta Global Philippines Inc, Zenta Mortgage Services LLC, Zenta Recoveries Inc, Zenta US Holdings Inc, Zielpuls, Zielpuls (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Zielpuls GmbH, avVenta, designaffairs, designaffairs Business Consulting (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., designaffairs GmbH, designaffairs group China Co. Ltd., dgroup, i4C Analytics, iDefense, solid-serVision.com GmbH, and umlaut. The following companies are subsidiares of Colgate-Palmolive: 887357 Ontario Inc., COLGALIVE S.A., CP GABA GmbH, CP International Holding C.V., CP West East Investment Limited, Cleaning Dimensions Inc., Colgate (BVI) Limited, Colgate (Guangzhou) Company Limited, Colgate (U.K.) Limited, Colgate Business Services of the Americas S.C., Colgate Flavors and Fragrances Inc., Colgate Global Business Services Private Limited, Colgate Holdings, Colgate Inc., Colgate Oral Pharmaceuticals Inc., Colgate Palmolive Ghana Limited, Colgate Palmolive Holding S.Com.P.A., Colgate Palmolive Nouvelle Caledonie Sarl, Colgate Palmolive Tanzania Limited, Colgate Sanxiao Company Limited, Colgate Venture Company Inc., Colgate-Palmolive (America) Inc., Colgate-Palmolive (Asia) Pte Ltd, Colgate-Palmolive (Blantyre) Limited, Colgate-Palmolive (Brunei) Sdn Bhn, Colgate-Palmolive (Central America) Inc., Colgate-Palmolive (Central America) Inc. y Compania Limitada, Colgate-Palmolive (Centro America) S.A., Colgate-Palmolive (China) Co. Ltd, Colgate-Palmolive (Costa Rica) S.A., Colgate-Palmolive (Dominica) Inc., Colgate-Palmolive (Dominican Republic) Inc., Colgate-Palmolive (East Africa) Limited, Colgate-Palmolive (Eastern) Pte. Ltd., Colgate-Palmolive (Egypt) S.A.E., Colgate-Palmolive (Far East) Sdn Bhd, Colgate-Palmolive (Fiji) Pte Limited, Colgate-Palmolive (Gabon) S.A., Colgate-Palmolive (Guyana) Ltd., Colgate-Palmolive (H.K.) Limited, Colgate-Palmolive (Hellas) S.A. I.C., Colgate-Palmolive (Hong Kong) Holding Limited, Colgate-Palmolive (Kazakhstan) L.L.P., Colgate-Palmolive (Latvia) Ltd., Colgate-Palmolive (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Colgate-Palmolive (Middle East Exports) Ltd., Colgate-Palmolive (Myanmar) Limited, Colgate-Palmolive (New York) Inc., Colgate-Palmolive (Poland) Sp. z o.o., Colgate-Palmolive (Proprietary) Limited, Colgate-Palmolive (Research & Development) Inc., Colgate-Palmolive (Romania) SRL, Colgate-Palmolive (Thailand) Limited, Colgate-Palmolive (UK) Limited, Colgate-Palmolive (Uganda) Limited, Colgate-Palmolive (Vietnam) Ltd., Colgate-Palmolive (Zambia) Inc., Colgate-Palmolive (Zimbabwe) Inc., Colgate-Palmolive A.B., Colgate-Palmolive A/S, Colgate-Palmolive Adria Ltd., Colgate-Palmolive Argentina S.A., Colgate-Palmolive Asia Pacific Limited, Colgate-Palmolive Asia Pacific Treasury Services Limited, Colgate-Palmolive Belgium S.A., Colgate-Palmolive Bolivia Ltda., Colgate-Palmolive Canada Inc., Colgate-Palmolive Caricom Service Co. Inc., Colgate-Palmolive Central European Management Inc., Colgate-Palmolive Chile S.A., Colgate-Palmolive Cia., Colgate-Palmolive Comercial Ltda., Colgate-Palmolive Commercial (Hellas) SP LLC, Colgate-Palmolive Commerciale S.A.S., Colgate-Palmolive Commericale S.r.l., Colgate-Palmolive Compania Anonima, Colgate-Palmolive Company Distr. LLC, Colgate-Palmolive Company GmbH, Colgate-Palmolive Cote dIvoire S.A., Colgate-Palmolive Cyprus Limited, Colgate-Palmolive Development Corp., Colgate-Palmolive East West Africa Region (Pty) Ltd, Colgate-Palmolive Enterprises Inc., Colgate-Palmolive Espana S.A., Colgate-Palmolive Europe (Holdings) Sarl, Colgate-Palmolive Europe Sarl, Colgate-Palmolive Finance (UK) plc, Colgate-Palmolive Global Trading Company, Colgate-Palmolive Holding Argentina S.A., Colgate-Palmolive Holding Inc., Colgate-Palmolive Hungary Kft Limited Liability Company, Colgate-Palmolive IHQ Services (Thailand) Limited, Colgate-Palmolive Inc., Colgate-Palmolive Inc. S.A., Colgate-Palmolive Industrial Ltda., Colgate-Palmolive Industriel S.A.S., Colgate-Palmolive International Holding LLC, Colgate-Palmolive International LLC, Colgate-Palmolive Investment Co. Inc., Colgate-Palmolive Investments (BVI) Ltd., Colgate-Palmolive Investments (PNG) Ltd., Colgate-Palmolive Investments (UK) Limited, Colgate-Palmolive Investments Inc., Colgate-Palmolive Israel Ltd., Colgate-Palmolive Italia S.r.l., Colgate-Palmolive JSC, Colgate-Palmolive Lanka (Private) Limited, Colgate-Palmolive Latin America Inc., Colgate-Palmolive Limited, Colgate-Palmolive Manufacturing (Poland) Sp. z o.o., Colgate-Palmolive Marketing Sdn Bhd, Colgate-Palmolive Maroc S.A., Colgate-Palmolive Mocambique Limitada, Colgate-Palmolive NJ Inc., Colgate-Palmolive Nederland B.V., Colgate-Palmolive Norge A/S, Colgate-Palmolive Participacoes e Investimentos Imobiliarios Lda., Colgate-Palmolive Peru S.A., Colgate-Palmolive Philippines Inc., Colgate-Palmolive Pty Ltd, Colgate-Palmolive Retirement Trustee Limited, Colgate-Palmolive S.A. de C.V., Colgate-Palmolive S.p.A., Colgate-Palmolive Senegal S.A., Colgate-Palmolive Services (Hellas) LLC, Colgate-Palmolive Services (Poland) Sp. z o.o., Colgate-Palmolive Services CEW GmbH, Colgate-Palmolive Services S.A., Colgate-Palmolive Slovensko s.r.o., Colgate-Palmolive Support Services, Colgate-Palmolive Temizlik Urunleri Sanayi ve Ticart S.A., Colgate-Palmolive Transnational Inc., Colgate-Palmolive Ukraine LLC, Colgate-Palmolive Unipessoal Lda, Colgate-Palmolive de Paraguay Sociedad Anonima, Colgate-Palmolive de Puerto Rico Inc., Colgate-Palmolive del Ecuador S.A.I.C., Colgate-Palmolive del Peru (Delaware) Inc., Colgate-Palmolive Eeska republika spol. s r.o., Colpal CBS S de R. L. de C. V., Consumer Viewpoint Center Inc., Cotelle S.A., Dimac Development Corp., Dominica Coconut Products Limited, EKIB Inc., ELM Company Limited, Elta MD Holdings Inc., Elta MD Inc., EltaMD, Filorga Americas Inc., Filorga Asia Limited, Filorga Benelux SA, Filorga Cosmetiques Polska, Filorga Middle East DMCC, Filorga Portugal Unipessoal Lda., Filorga RU Limited Liability Company, GABA Europe Holding GmbH, GABA International, GABA International Holding LLC, GABA Schweiz AG, GABA Therwil GmbH, Gamma Development Co. Ltd., Global Trading and Supply LLC, Hamol Ltd., Hello Products, Hello Products LLC, Hills Funding Company, Hills Pet Nutrition (NZ) Limited, Hills Pet Nutrition (Thailand) Co. Ltd., Hills Pet Nutrition Asia Limited, Hills Pet Nutrition B.V., Hills Pet Nutrition Canada Inc., Hills Pet Nutrition Denmark ApS, Hills Pet Nutrition Espana S.L., Hills Pet Nutrition GmbH, Hills Pet Nutrition Holding B.V., Hills Pet Nutrition Inc., Hills Pet Nutrition Indiana Inc., Hills Pet Nutrition Italia S.r.l., Hills Pet Nutrition Korea Ltd., Hills Pet Nutrition Ltd., Hills Pet Nutrition Manufacturing B.V., Hills Pet Nutrition Manufacturing s.r.o, Hills Pet Nutrition Norway AS, Hills Pet Nutrition OOO, Hills Pet Nutrition Pty. Limited, Hills Pet Nutrition S.p.A., Hills Pet Nutrition SNC, Hills Pet Nutrition Sales Inc., Hills Pet Nutrition South Africa Proprietary Limited, Hills Pet Nutrition Sweden AB, Hills Pet Nutrition Switzerland GmbH, Hills Pet Nutrition Taiwan Ltd, Hills Pet Nutrition Trading (GZ) Co. Ltd, Hills Pet Nutrition de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Hills Pet Nutrition de Puerto Rico Inc., Hills Pet Nutrition s.r.o., Hills Pet Products (Benelux) S.A., Hills Pet Products Inc., Hills Veterinary Companies of America Inc., Hills-Colgate (Japan) Ltd., Hopro Liquidating Corp., Hygiene Systemes et Services SA, IES Enterprises Inc., Inmobiliaria Colpal S. de R.L. de C.V., Inmobiliaria Hills S.A. de C.V., Innovacion Creativa S.A. de C.V., Kolynos Corporation, Laboratoires Filorga Cosmetiques Espana S.L.U., Laboratoires Filorga Cosmetiques Italia S.R.L., Laboratoires Filorga Cosmetiques S.A., Laser Brand Toothpaste, Lournay Sales Inc., Mennen Company, Mennen Interamerica Ltd., Mennen Limited, Mennen South Africa Ltd., Mennen de Chile Ltd., Mennen de Nicargua S.A., Mission Hills Property Corporation, Mission Hills S.A. de C.V., Norwood International Incorporated, Olive Music Publishing Corporation, PCA SKIN, Paramount Research Inc., Penny LLC, Pet Chemicals Inc., Physicians Care Alliance LLC, Productos Halogenados Copalven C.A., Purity Holding Company, Purity Music Publishing Corporation, Refresh Company Limited, Samuel Taylor Holdings B.V., Sanex, Sanxiao Company Limited, Services Development Co. Ltd., Societe Generale de Negoce et de Services (GENESE) S.A., The GDN - The Global Distributive Network SAS, The Lournay Company Inc., The MPDP - The Medical and Pharmaceutic Distributive Platform SAS, The Murphy-Phoenix Company, Tom's of Maine, Toms of Maine Holdings Inc., Toms of Maine Inc., Veterinary Companies of America Inc., Vipont Pharmaceutical Inc., and XEB Inc.. iShares Russell 1000 ETF's stock was trading at $151.41 on March 11th, 2020 when COVID-19 (Coronavirus) reached pandemic status according to the World Health Organization. Since then, IWB shares have increased by 75.4% and is now trading at $265.60. View which stocks have been most impacted by COVID-19. China Telecom Corporation Limited, together with its subsidiaries, provides wireline and mobile telecommunications services primarily in the People's Republic of China. It offers wireline voice services, including local wireline telephone services and long distance wireline services; CDMA mobile voice services, such as local calls, domestic and international long distance calls, intra-provincial roaming, and inter-provincial roaming and international roaming; wireline Internet access services comprising dial-up and broadband services; wireless Internet access services; and wireline, Internet, and mobile value-added services. The company also provides Best Tone information services; and information technology-based integrated solutions, such as system integration and consulting, outsourcing, special advisory, information application, knowledge, and software development services. In addition, it offers managed data services that include digital data network, frame relay, and asynchronous transfer mode services for government agencies, large corporations, and institutions; and leased line services, as well as sells, repairs, and maintains customer-end equipment. Further, the company provides international telecommunications services, including network, Internet access and transit, Internet data center, and mobile virtual network services in various countries, including the Asia Pacific, Europe, Africa, South America, and North America; and music production and related information, instant messenger, finance leasing, capital and financial management, and e-commerce services, as well as sells telecommunications terminals. As of December 31, 2019, it had approximately 336 million mobile subscribers; 153 million wireline broadband subscribers; and 111 million access lines in service. The company was incorporated in 2002 and is based in Wanchai, Hong Kong. China Telecom Corporation Limited is a subsidiary of China Telecommunications Corporation. Read More Everest Re Group Ltd. is a holding company, which engages in the provision of reinsurance and insurance services. It operates through the following segments: U.S. Reinsurance, International, Bermuda, and Insurance. The U.S. Reinsurance segment writes property and casualty reinsurance and specialty lines of business, including marine, aviation, surety, and accident and health business, on both a treaty and facultative basis, through reinsurance brokers, as well as directly with ceding companies primarily within the U.S. The International segment offers foreign property and casualty reinsurance through Everest Re's branches in Canada and Singapore and through offices in Brazil, Miami, and New Jersey. The Bermuda segment comprises reinsurance and insurance to worldwide property and casualty markets through brokers and directly with ceding companies from its Bermuda office and reinsurance to the United Kingdom and European markets through its UK branch and Ireland Re. The Insurance segment writes property and casualty insurance directly and through brokers, surplus lines brokers, and general agents within the U.S., Canada, and Europe. The company was founded in 1999 and is headquartere Read More Champaign, IL (61820) Today Partly cloudy this evening, then becoming cloudy after midnight. Areas of patchy fog. Low 34F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy this evening, then becoming cloudy after midnight. Areas of patchy fog. Low 34F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph. Schoharie A vehicle forensics expert hired by State Police to determine the cause of last October's fatal limo crash is blaming the crash on a "catastrophic" failure of the brakes on the stretch Ford Excursion, according to newly released court documents. Lawyers for Nauman Hussain, who is facing manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide charges for each of the 20 victims in the case, revealed the results of the highly-anticipated State Police report in a May 17 filing in Schoharie County Court. "The sole cause of the accident identified on page 82 of that report is "catastrophic brake failure," the filing states. State Police consultant Brian Chase, who owns a company called Comprehensive Motor Vehicle Services & Consulting in Concord, N.H., was hired by State Police in the wake of the Oct. 6 crash to determine what happened with the 34-foot "super stretch" Excursion limo, which was carrying 17 friends and family that day from Amsterdam to Cooperstown on a birthday celebration when it crashed. Just before 2 p.m., as the Excursion was traveling south on Route 30, it blew through a stop sign at the intersection with Route 30A after narrowly avoiding a stopped car. It continued across the highway at full speed, before hitting an SUV in the parking lot of the Apple Barrel Country Store and then slamming into a ditch. All 17 passengers and the driver, along with two bystanders next to the SUV, died from blunt force trauma, making it one of the worst U.S. highway disasters in recent memory. There were no skid marks in the intersection after the accident. Although problems with the Excursion's brakes had been considered a potential cause of the crash since the beginning, the results of Chase's vehicle forensics report had been until now a closely-guarded secret by both State Police and Schoharie County District Attorney Susan Mallery, who is prosecuting the case. In an "attorney affirmation," that was filed as part of the May 17 court filing, Hussain defense attorney Joseph Tacopina says that the cause of the accident is presented on the second-to-last page of the report, which is dated April 26, 2019. "The cause of the violent multiple fatality crash of October 6, 2018, at Schoharie, New York is attributable to catastrophic brake failure of the involved 2001 Ford Excursion stretch limousine," Tacopina quotes the report. Specifically, the report states that the brake on the right rear wheel was inoperable due to "two seized disc brake caliper pistons," while the rear crossover brake line was "severely corroded." The report, which says the brakes on the other wheels had "reduced efficiency" due to poor condition, concludes that it was the rear brake line that burst and failed. Chase first got access to the Excursion and its mechanical parts such as brake lines and components back on Oct. 14 and Oct. 15. When asked about the conclusions Hussain's defense team said he reached in his vehicle forensics report, Chase declined comment Sunday. "At this juncture, it would unfortunately be inappropriate for me to discuss the matter due to the pending criminal charges," Chase told the Times Union. State Police spokesman Beau Duffy also declined to comment on Brian Chase's report when reached Sunday morning. Hussain's defense team only got access to the limo and its parts this past week, leading to the trial start date being moved from September to early January. Roadside inspections of the Excursion by the state Department of Transportation in the months leading up to the crash found issues with the limo's brakes. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. More for you Trial of limo operator pushed to Jan. 6 But Hussain's defense team tried to show in its May 17 filing that the last DOT inspection on Sept. 4, a month before the crash, did not cite any of the brake issues mentioned in the Chase report. The only specific mention of the brakes in that DOT report was concerning an ABS, or anti-lock braking system, line that was found dangling and coming into contact with a tire on the Excursion by DOT investigator Chad Smith. "While the ABS line was reported to be dangling during Smith's inspection on September 4, 2018, that system merely prevents skidding, and, as noted above, was not found by the People's expert to have caused "catastrophic brake failure," Hussain's attorneys wrote. The DOT's Chad Smith, however, did cite the Excursion in a March 21, 2108 inspection in Saratoga Springs for having faulty brakes. "Twenty-five percent of brakes defective," Smith wrote on the inspection report. Albany attorney Lee Kindlon, who is also on Hussain's defense team, has said in the past that Hussain got the Excursion fixed after the DOT inspections and that the vehicle was safe on the day of the crash. In addition to the State Police, the National Transportation Safety Board has been investigating the Schoharie limo crash. Although the NTSB issued a preliminary report in February, that document did not conclude what caused the crash. It's unclear when the NTSB will issue its final report. However, the NTSB had not been scheduled to get to see the Excursion and its components, including the braking system, until after Hussain's lawyers are done with their examination. South Korean director Bong Joon-ho's social satire "Parasite," about a poor family of hustlers who find jobs with a wealthy family, won the Cannes Film Festival's top award, the Palme d'Or, on Saturday. The win for "Parasite" marks the first Korean film to win the Palme. In the festival's closing ceremony, jury president Alejandro Inarritu said the choice had been "unanimous" for the nine-person jury. The genre-mixing film had been celebrated as arguably the most critically acclaimed film at Cannes this year and the best yet from the 49-year-old director of "Snowpiercer" and "Okja." It was the second straight Palme victory for an Asian director. Last year, the award went to Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda's "Shoplifters." The festival's second place award, the Grand Prize, went to French-Senegalese director Mati Diop's "Atlantics." Diop was the first black female director in competition at Cannes. Belgian brothers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne shared the best director for "Young Ahmed." Best actor went to Antonio Banderas for Pedro Almodovar's "Pain and Glory," while best actress was won by British actress Emily Beecham for "Little Joe." Associated Press Ford: nobody should play Indy after him Harrison Ford has a simple answer for who should replace him as the title character in the "Indiana Jones" movies once he's done with the role. No one. "Nobody is going to be Indiana Jones, don't you get it?" Ford said with a smile during an appearance Friday on the "Today" show. "I'm Indiana Jones. When I'm gone, he's gone. It's easy." Ford, 70, is set to suit up for a fifth time as the beloved adventurer and archaeologist in a sequel currently slated to premiere during the summer of 2021. He first played the character in 1981's "Raiders of the Lost Ark," and most recently reprised the role in 2008 for "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull." New York Daily News Wolf responds to errors found in book Best-selling author Naomi Wolf said Friday that she was correcting portions of her latest book after an awkward radio interview in which she was alerted to major errors in it. During the interview on Thursday to discuss "Outrages: Sex, Censorship and the Criminalization of Love," a historical examination of same-sex relations in the Victorian era and the ways in which they were criminalized, she told the BBC Radio host, Matthew Sweet, that she found "several dozen executions" of men accused of having sex with other men. "Several dozen executions?" he asked, later adding: "I don't think you're right about this." Sweet said that was a mistake based on a misunderstanding of the legal term "death recorded." "It doesn't mean that he was executed. It was a category that was created in 1823 that allowed judges to abstain from pronouncing a sentence of death on any capital convict whom they considered to be a fit subject for pardon," Sweet said. "I don't think any of the executions you've identified here actually happened." After a pause, Wolf said, "Well, that's a really important thing to investigate." On Twitter Wolf said she is correcting parts of her book as a result of the discussion. And she and Sweet offered a lesson on how to gracefully handle these sorts of situations on social media. Sweet explained the errors in Wolf's book in a lengthy Twitter thread, while Wolf thanked him for calling her attention to the misunderstanding. "My thanks to you is substantial," she said in one tweet, adding that these records "deserve to be pored over." New York Times Lee's ex-manager arrested for abuse A former business manager of Stan Lee has been arrested on elder abuse charges involving the late comic book legend. Los Angeles police say Keya Morgan was taken into custody in Arizona early Saturday on an outstanding arrest warrant. Morgan was charged earlier this month with felony allegations of theft, embezzlement, forgery or fraud against an elder adult, and false imprisonment of an elder adult. Authorities say Morgan sought to manipulate and exert control over Lee even though he didn't have authority to act on Lee's behalf. Lee died in November at the age of 95. Attorney Alex Kessel has said Morgan has never abused or taken advantage of Lee. An email was sent Saturday to Morgan's attorneys. Bail has been set for $300,000. Morgan will eventually be extradited to Los Angeles. Associated Press Albany New York Attorney General Letitia James has joined 50 of her counterparts from other states and territories in urging federal Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to forgive the college loans of veterans whose service-related injuries have rendered them disabled. Such veterans can apply for forgiveness, but many dont. The changes being sought would automatically facilitate the discharges for disabled veterans. On Memorial Day, as we honor the lives of all those we lost, we can also honor the service of those still with us by providing them with this financial relief, James said in a prepared statement. I strongly urge DOE to discharge these student loans and support the brave men and women who supported us. The effort is being led by New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal and Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes. It calls on the federal Department of Education to develop a process that would automatically discharge student loans of veterans who are determined by the Department of Veterans Affairs to be eligible for such relief. An automatic discharge process is in development. But the attorneys general want the Department of Education to halt debt collection efforts targeting disabled veterans and clear their credit reports of negative reports related to student loans. In 2018, the Department of Education identified more than 42,000 veterans nationwide as being eligible for student loan relief due to a service-related permanent disability, according to the attorneys general. Yet fewer than 9,000 of those veterans had applied to have their loans discharged by April 2018. And more than 25,000 had student loans in default. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. New York State numbers werent immediately available. But as the nations fourth-largest state, there are likely quite a few disabled veterans with outstanding loans. Veterans Ag by rkarlin on Scribd The attorneys general note that the federal government has taken some steps to make it easier for eligible veterans to secure student loan relief. According to their letter, though, an automatic discharge process would cut unnecessary paperwork. Groups supporting such proposals have included: Vietnam Veterans of America, Veterans Education Success, The Retired Enlisted Association, High Ground Advocacy, and Ivy League Veterans Council. rkarlin@timesunion.com 518 454 5758 @RickKarlinTU CLIFTON PARK A Cohoes man has been charged with vehicular homicide and driving while intoxicated in a Saturday afternoon crash on Route 9 in Clifton Park that killed two people from New York City, State Police said. State Police charged Dickie R. Winn, 58, in connection with the crash that killed John A. Heneghan, 33, and Caitlyn J. Holtzman, 32, both residents of New York City. A commenter on Facebook said that the five occupants of the car were on their way to a wedding locally when Winn allegedly slammed into their vehicle. Heneghan's Facebook page says he is originally from Mayo, Ireland. The Irish Times reported Heneghan and Holtzman were married. "A close relative of Caitlyn shared a picture of John and Caitlyn's wedding day in 2017," the Times reported. She said: "It all doesn't feel real ... It feels like a dream." Winn has been charged with aggravated vehicular homicide, two counts of vehicular manslaughter, and driving while intoxicated. Police said around 3 p.m. Saturday, Winn's car veered out of his lane while traveling south on Route 9, striking another car that was pointed east on Ushers Road and stopped for a traffic light at that intersection. The three other people in the car sustained serious injuries: Julia Staples, 24, Luke O'Doherty, 25, and Enda Crowley, 25. They were taken to Albany Medical Center Hospital for treatment. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. The Times reported O'Doherty and Crowley are from Ireland and Staples is American. A LinkedIn search appears to show that Heneghan, O'Doherty and Crowley worked for the same construction company. The Times Union could not reach family members or friends of the accident victims Sunday. Winn was arraigned in Clifton Park Town Court and sent to the Saratoga County Jail without bail. He is scheduled for another court appearance at 4 p.m. Wednesday. Anyone who may have witnessed the accident, or has any information, is asked to contact State Police in Clifton Park at 518-583-7000. Staff writer Steve Hughes contributed to this report ALBANY - Maxie, a roughly 15-month-old, purebred black Labrador Retriever, lopes over to the doorway of a conference room at the Albany Police training academy as half a dozen officials fill the room. Shes greeted with a warm reception, law enforcement personnel giving her scratches, her tail wagging as one man crouches down to pose for a picture with the Albany Police Departments latest addition a therapy dog. The city department last month sought officers from patrol and neighborhood engagement officers to detectives with interest in becoming certified therapy dog handlers for the new program they are launching, which seeks to improve officer wellness and mental health while also acting as an opportunity for community engagement. Police Chief Eric Hawkins said law enforcement agencies across the country are joining the trend of bringing therapy dogs into workplaces known for high-stress like hospitals, schools, court rooms, or airports. Theres no higher stress environment in this country than a law enforcement environment, so if these other environments were incorporating this tool to relieve stress and for therapeutic purposes than why shouldnt we look to see if something like this would work here? Hawkins said. Hawkins said Maxie and her handler, Officer Kyle Haller, will go to Florida for training. Haller and Officer Joseph Lynch who will be the primary handler for a second dog the department is receiving through a donation in Florida are headed to the Broward County Sheriff's Office in early June to receive the training. The handlers and dogs will regularly visit the departments various stations to provide stress relief for officers and will go to schools, nursing homes and public events to interact with the general community. Maxies purpose is to be pet, to be snuggled, Haller said. Not often do people come up and want to just talk to me. When you have a dog, everybody wants to come over and pet the dog. It kind of puts a cheerier face on the uniform, on police work. Unlike the departments K9 unit typically German Shepherd dogs trained in detecting drugs or explosives, or apprehending suspects the therapy dogs will be more people-friendly. That means Maxie will learn to tolerate a young child tugging on her ears and proper manners like sit, stay and come, Haller said. Maxie was donated to the department. The new program is funded through the Albany Police and Fire Foundation, which is a nonprofit that takes in donations for police and fire to be used for various operations, spokesperson Officer Steve Smith said. For example, the foundation helped pay for fans for the departments Mounted Horse Unit barn that houses the horses, Smith said. The Albany Police and Fire Foundation is thrilled to support the police departments new therapy dog program, foundation founder and chairperson Kevin OConnor said. Therapy dogs have been proven to have many health benefits and this program is sure to have a positive impact, not just to those in the community, but also our police officers. Smith said a $10,000 donation from MVP Health Care has helped kickstart the program. The donation will help with veterinary, training and upkeep of the dogs, he said. The department also is looking to purchase a vehicle that would be emblazoned with MVPs logo, Smith added. MVP Health Care is so proud to partner with the Albany Police Department on this exciting, new, and innovative approach to improving the health and well-being of Albany residents, said Christopher Del Vecchio, the health cares chief operating officer and president. Adding a therapy dog to help children and adults cope with stress, anxiety and other emotions during times of uncertainty and trauma, will ultimately lead to a healthier community and improved outcomes. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. There are also secondary handlers assigned to the dogs should an officer get injured or go on vacation, Smith said. Officer Jan Mika is Maxies second handler, while Officer Joseph Acquaviva will be backup for the second dog. The officers were selected based on an interview as well as a visit to their respective homes to make sure the conditions were conducive for a dog, Smith said. Haller jumped at the opportunity to be a therapy dog handler when the department sought interest. I love dogs, and I enjoy what Im doing, he said. He said Maxie will hopefully get more people to talk to him, which he always welcomes since he loves hearing peoples stories. She can also act as a buffer for children when they have to speak with law enforcement about traumatic incidents, Haller said. It can be intimidating for a child who has had something that probably you and I could never fathom having done to us, and now they have to relive the whole experience with a bunch of strangers, he said. Sometimes having a snuggly dog with you helps reduce some of that. Albany Police A 21-year-old physics student at University of Albany, who had been reported missing, was found dead in the East River May 19. John Carlos Garcia-Mendez, 21, was found in the water between Adams and Johns streets, according to a Univision report. The report said police found no signs of foul play. Albany police confirmed that Garcia-Mendezs death was not considered suspicious. Recently, the U.S. reached an earth-shattering milestone when the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere rose above any previously recorded level in human history and it's still climbing. This frightening reality means the battle against climate change and fight to save our planet has never been more urgent. New York has an opportunity to demonstrate how states across the country can lead the charge on climate change. Gov. Andrew Cuomo has proposed a Green New Deal to put New York on a path toward 100 percent carbon-free electricity by 2040. The bold plan calls for doubling distributed solar deployment, expanding new large-scale, land-based wind and solar generation, and deploying thousands of megawatts of energy storage and offshore wind in the decades ahead. The problem? New York's broken Article 10 permitting and certification process by which renewable projects are supposed to be approved is jeopardizing the state's clean energy future. Enacted in 2011, Article 10 was intended to create an expedited and unified process to move renewable energy facilities through the Department of Public Service's (DPS) siting board process. Article 10 was supposed to be an improvement on requiring project developers to apply for numerous state and local permits. By placing project licensing in the hands of a state body appointed by the governor, the statute acknowledged that these decisions are of statewide importance. But instead of streamlining the process, Article 10 has become a roadblock mired in red tape, bureaucracy and NIMBY politics. Forty-two wind and solar projects have initiated the Article 10 process since 2012. Only one has received a conditional approval and it still has yet to break ground. For any state and certainly one that claims to be a national leader in clean energy that's abysmal performance. The major delays in the Article 10 process pose grave risks to New York's clean energy goals because the federal solar investment tax credit and the production tax credit will begin to sunset in 2020 under President Donald Trump. If projects can't clear the Article 10 gauntlet in time, they will leave money on the table or not go on at all. Together, these licensing delays and financial risks are major blows to New York's clean energy agenda. And the only way the state can stay on track to achieve its ambitious commitments is to take immediate regulatory action to fix Article 10. We don't need to rewrite the whole law but it's past time to make sure it gets the job done. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. Here are a few ways the state can step in: First and most critically, the DPS must mandate that the required timelines under Article 10 are met. Every time. Too often, state agencies and developers get caught up in a back and forth paper shuffle that repeatedly delays projects by months and even years. This is despite the urgent need to deliver renewable electricity to our grid. Timelines set forth in the law should be followed, period. Second, the DPS needs to conduct a thorough audit of the siting board regulations and propose amendments to reduce the complexity of Article 10. Local communities are not provided a framework to untangle the participation process, while renewable developers working to invest in the state are repeatedly confounded by the overly burdensome nature of the law. This is killing development. Third, New York should spearhead a public awareness campaign on the economic benefits of renewable energy for rural communities. Wind and solar projects have the potential to create thousands of good-paying jobs and inject tens of millions of dollars into local communities to improve schools, roads and bridges and health care. There is no quick fix for rural communities hit hard by the recession, but there are new opportunities on the horizon. This one deserves a hard look. Bottom line: The growing threat of climate change demands big investments in renewable energy to protect our planet and safeguard our future. But under the current Article 10 timelines and existing processes, Cuomo's Green New Deal will not reach its goal of 100 percent carbon-free electricity by 2040. We can't afford to compromise our clean energy future. New York must seize the moment and the power of wind and solar and fix Article 10 now. Karl R. Rabago is the executive director of the Pace Energy and Climate Center at Pace University's Elisabeth Haub School of Law in White Plains. [May 26, 2019] Mini Program Set to Help European Brands to Appeal to Chinese Consumers LONDON, May 26, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- WeChat Mini Program made its public debut in Europe recently in London Business School. The event, WeChat Open Class London, provided insights into how European brands can take advantage of the super App and its business solutions. Members from WeChat team communicated with senior representatives from European brands, diving deep into China social commerce dynamics. "Mini Program has become a link between European brands and Chinese consumers," Bradley Mo, Senior Director of Industry Application, WeChat Open Platform, commented: "Mini Program provides three basic values for social commerce, including sales increase, user engagement and data optimization. As Chinese customers desire more personalized products and services, numerous brands are using Mini Programs to provide exciting and engaging digital social commerce experience to appeal to Chinese consumers." Europe has been well-known as the hometown of fashion. Famous fashion brands like Cartier, Dior, Armani Beaty, etc. have launched their WeChat Mini Program to stay ahead of their competition in digital era in China. With Mini Program, they realize multiple functions including membership management, e-boutique social commerce, self-service shopping, promotion mini site, product customize service, AI makeup trial and more. Brands could not only provide their customers with customized service but also integrate fragmented traffic from on and offline. On the same day, WeChat Pay announced that Europe would be their next key market of WeChat Pay Cross-border Business. Continuing its ONE FOR BILLION business initiative, WeChat Pay provides merchants with not only an advanced mobile payment method, but also ONE platform which enables long-term communications and customized customer services for BILLIONs of Chinese consumers. As of April 2019, the number of merchants in Europe offering WeChat Pay as a payment method was 3.5 times higher than that of last year. With outbound travel becoming easier and an increase in personal income levels, the Chinese outbound travel market continues to expand. According to latest data, in 2018, more than 149 million Chinese tourists travelled abroad, and Europe took up 11 percent of it. Capitalizing on the dividends of Chinese tourist traffic will be key in the future growth of tourism related industries. However, differences in language and consumption habits often affect the overall travel experience of Chinese tourists. For merchants, the lack of good communication channels may result in losing the potential Chinese customers who may eventually go to their competitors. WeChat has 1.112 billion monthly active users worldwide, of which 800 million are users of WeChat Pay. WeChat Pay has officially entered more than 49 overseas countries and regions, making it an excellent way for global merchants to quickly and effectively connect with Chinese tourists. Dave Fan, Senior Director of WeChat Pay, says: "WeChat Pay is not targeting on solving payment issue, but more on communication. Smart industry solutions with WeChat Pay at their core have been brought to millions of offline stores across over 30 industries in China, and are common throughout users' daily lives. Together with our global partners, we hope to extend the convenient experience of WeChat Pay overseas, so that global businesses can share the dividends of China's growing outbound travel market." Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/892793/WeChat_Open_Class_London.jpg [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] A few months ago, I installed an iOS update that changed my iPhone XS. The cellular connectivity icon to the right of my iPhone's notch had subtly switched from LTE to 5GE. As an AT&T subscriber, I was perplexed: Since when did AT&T launch 5G? And did this new logo mean faster speeds? AT&T had not, in fact, launched a mobile 5G network in New York City, and I realized that 5GE has nothing to do with faster speeds. The E in 5GE, which stands for Evolution, is telling. Nothing about my phone is faster in fact, I'm pretty sure the opposite is true. The 5GE logo now fills me with irritation, especially when I can't get a new batch of emails to download on a subway platform when my phone is allegedly connected to a 5GE network. The LTE logo, which pops up when 5GE isn't available, is infuriating. My phone is barely functional no emails will download, no tweets will load, and searching for a song in Apple Music results in a pitiful "try again" error. LTE has apparently lost all meaning for AT&T. MORE: AT&T 5G Network Rollout: Locations, Phones, Price and More And now that we've been able to test a live 5G network with a 5G smartphone Samsung's Galaxy S10 5G on Verizon's recently launched 5G network in Chicago 5GE is laughable. Not only does 5GE fall far short of 5G speeds, AT&T's advanced network doesn't even stack up to Verizon's LTE. What Is 5GE? 5G Evolution is AT&T's name for its advanced LTE network. The carrier has implemented 256 QAM, three-way carrier aggregation and 4X4 MIMO technologies to improve performance and boost speeds. Rival carriers have done the same, but they have chosen to call those improved networks LTE Advanced instead of using 5G to describe enhancements. 5G isn't just a marketing term. It's a standard agreed to by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project, comprised of telecom stakeholders. LTE is an anchor of 5G, and 5G-capable devices can also take advantage of LTE networks when 5G connectivity is unavailable. But LTE itself is not 5G. MORE: Real 5G Phones: Every Known Phone and Release Date That's where AT&T has run into trouble. Sprint sued AT&T over what it called deceptive marketing practices, but the two companies settled the suit in April. The lawsuit may have gone away, but unfortunately, the 5GE logo remains. How 5GE compares to LTE AT&T says 5GE delivers real-world speeds of 40 megabits per second. That's stretching it, in my testing. I used Ookla's Speedtest app to gauge my 5GE iPhone XS speeds compared with a Verizon LTE iPhone XS and a T-Mobile LTE Galaxy S10 Plus. So-called 5GE underperformed both networks by a lot. First, I tested the S10 Plus and 5GE iPhone at my desk, located on the 15th floor of a high rise overlooking Manhattan's Bryant Park. The connectivity here is extremely strong. With four bars of T-Mobile LTE, the Galaxy S10 Plus reached 53.1-Mbps download speeds and 20.2-Mbps upload speeds. My iPhone XS with full 5GE bars hovered at 39.5 Mbps download and 15.5 Mbps upload. The iPhone XS on Verizon's LTE network cleared 64.2 Mbps, although upload speeds were a little underwhelming at 10.4 Mbps. MORE: Fastest Wireless Network 2019 Verizon easily won our wireless network shoot-out last year, and it's also the only carrier to offer a 5G phone, Samsung's Galaxy S10 5G, on a live 5G network (though its coverage is currently limited to Chicago and Minneapolis). Then I pitted the 5GE iPhone against the Verizon LTE iPhone to test both networks as I was exiting a subway station in Manhattan. Both devices showed full bars, but underground connectivity is always spotty for me, regardless of what my iPhone says. The 5GE iPhone pulled down 22.2 Mbps with upload speeds of 4.6 Mbps. The Verizon LTE iPhone hit 49.3 Mbps, but upload speeds dropped to 5.83 Mbps. MORE: The Truth About 5G: What's Coming (and What's Not) The living room of my apartment isn't quite a cell phone dead zone, but I only ever have two bars, regardless of the network I'm on or the device I'm testing. From my couch, the 5GE iPhone hit 13.1 Mbps, then 9.1 Mbps in a follow-up test 2 minutes later. The Verizon LTE iPhone cleared 62.5 Mbps, then 50.1 Mbps in the follow-up test. Upload speeds were terrible on both networks 0.22 and 0.39 in back-to-back tests for the 5GE iPhone, and 3.06 and 2.61 for the Verizon LTE iPhone but Verizon's network was stronger than I expected. My speed tests aren't the only indicators of 5GE's failings. OpenSignal data collected earlier this year showed that AT&T's 5GE network averaged 28.8-Mbps download speeds, which is slower than Verizon's and T-Mobile's LTE networks, which averaged 29.9 Mbps and 29.4 Mbps, respectively. 5GE vs. 5G: It's not even close With 5GE lagging behind LTE speeds, how does it stack up to real live 5G networks? It doesn't. We spent a day in May testing the Galaxy S10 5G on Verizon's 5G network in Chicago, and while coverage was extremely spotty, we managed to break 1 gigabit per second. When people talk about 5G's potential, that's what we want to see. The S10 5G didn't consistently reach 1-Gbps download speeds, but it hovered around 700 Mbps during our testing. MORE: Samsung and Verizon Releasing 5G Phone in Early Verizon's 5G network is improving. An earlier test was less impressive Motorola's 5G Moto Mod helped our Moto Z3 reach average download speeds of between 177 Mbps and 468 Mbps. But even with 5G in its infancy, the difference between actual 5G and 5GE is staggering. Bottom line AT&T put pressure on itself by pushing out the 5GE logo. Without it, I was mostly satisfied with the carrier, even though I thought AT&T's service sputtered a little too often when I launched Apple Music as I stepped outside my front door or when I tried to download emails underground. But 5GE indicates that AT&T's network should be fast at least faster than rival LTE networks that aren't throwing around 5G terminology for their LTE networks. It's unclear which carrier will have the fastest 5G network or the broadest 5G coverage, but in the meantime, 5GE's got me thinking I should switch to Verizon. Credit: Tom's Guide MSI GT76 Titan ( (Image credit: Tom's Hardware)) If you like to attend LAN parties or professional eSports events and dont want to have to carry a desktop PC, let alone the monitor and peripherals, MSIs new high-end laptop could be for you. Due out this June with a starting price of $3,600, the MSI GT76 Titan uses a desktop Intel Core i9-9900K CPU that, according to the company, overclocks to a steady 5 GHz on all eight of its cores. Design We had a chance to spend a few moments with the GT76 Titan at MSIs Taiwan office and were impressed by both its specs and its looks. Like previous Titan GT laptops, its a behemoth, tipping the scales at 9.9 pounds (4.5kg). However, it has a new design aesthetic that we havent seen on an MSI laptop before. Where most MSI gaming laptops use the companys signature black and red color scheme, this one is a sleek shade of matte metal gray. Even the dragon logo is in on the party as it is a monotone shade of silver with no red accents. The lid itself is made from aluminum, but the deck is plastic, because metal would get way too hot for comfort. MSI GT76 Titan ( (Image credit: Tom's Hardware)) There are plenty of bright colors visible on the chassis, though, thanks to the array of configurable RGB light strips on the two sides and across the bottom of the front lip. Even the back exhaust area has a light, though it only shines in red. If you want to look at the inside of the GT76, look no further than the bottom surface. When you flip the laptop over, you can see most of its guts, including several heat pipes and fans, through the vent holes. MSI noted that the GT76 employs 11 heat pipes and four fans to stay cool. Keyboard In an unfortunate step backward, the GT76 uses a non-mechanical SteelSeries keyboard, instead of the awesome, clicky mechanical keyboard that was in the GT75 Titan. MSI said that it needed to do away with the mechanical keyboard due to thickness concerns. While the SteelSeries keyboard felt snappy during our hands on, its no mechanical keyboard. Considering how thick the GT76 is already at 1.7 inches (42mm) tall, wed rather have it be a little chunkier and get the better typing experience. However, on the bright side, the SteelSeries keys offer highly customizable, per-key RGB lighting and the ability to use every single key (except the function row) as a macro key. Components Because of its intense Cooler Boost cooling solution, MSI claims that the GT76 Titans Core i9-9900K CPU can run at 5 GHz on all eight cores for a sustained period of time. The company told us that each model is tested at the factory to make sure that it can it hit that speed. To power the laptop, youll need not one, but two different AC adapters that are 240 watts each. Considering that a full desktop with a Core i9 and an RTX 2080 graphics card likely needs at least a 500 if not a 650 watt or higher PSU, this makes sense. While the CPU is a desktop part, the Nvidia RTX 2080 is a mobile GPU. That should still provide plenty of performance, but not quite as much as a desktop graphics card. With a chassis this large, theres plenty of room for storage devices. There will be three M.2 PCIe slots for SSDs, along with a 2.5-inch SATA bay (for SSDs or hard drives). MSI did not immediately have a list of configurations, so we dont know what drives it will come with, but you should be able to upgrade the storage on your own as needed. The system supports up to 128GB of RAM. CPU Desktop Core i9-9900K; Other unspecified CPUs Screen 17.3-inch, 1920 x 1080 IPS Display 144 Hz; 3840 x 2160 IPS Display, 100% Adobe RGB Gamut RAM DDR4-2666, up to 128GB Storage 3x 2280 PCIe NVMe Gen3 SSDs; 1x 2.5-inch SATA hard drive Networking Killer 1650 Wi-Fi 6; Killer LAN E3000 2.5Gb Ethernet Ports 4x USB Type-A 3.2; 1x Thunderbolt 3, 1x USB Type-C; HDMI 2.0; mini DisplayPort 1.4; microSD card reader; 3.5mm audio Battery / Power 90Whr, 8-cell battery; 2 x 240 watt adapter or 1 x 330 watt adapter (lower-end models) Dimensions 15.6 x 13 x 1.7 inches (397 x 330 x 42mm) Weight 9.9 pounds (4.5 kg) Display The 17-inch screen will be available in two varieties: 1080p and 4K. The 1080p panel offers a 144 Hz refresh rate for smooth gaming, while the 4K panel promises to reproduce 100% of the Adobe RGB color gamut. The demo model we saw had the 1080p panel, and it seemed bright and accurate, but not exceedingly vibrant. Clearly, the 4K panel is meant for creative professionals, though they will likely have to wait, since MSi said that it will be available later. Ports In a system this thick, theres room for plenty of ports, including four USB Type-A ports, a Thunderbolt 3 port, a regular USB Type-C ports, HDMI 2.0, mini DisplayPort 1.4 and a 2.5 Gb Ethernet port that uses Killer networking technology. The Wi-Fi card is also from Killer and supports WiFi 6. You can even use both the Ethernet and Wi-Fi together to get more bandwidth. The MSI GT76 Titan is due out in June with an estimated starting price around $3,600 in the U.S., with configurations going up to around $4,800. The lowest end models will have lesser desktop processors that are not overclocked. Models with the 4K screen option will arrive later. We look forward to benchmarking the GT76 TItan to see if it really can sustain a 5 GHz clock speed for long periods of time and to find out just how that translates into frame rates on demanding games, such as Battlefield V or Shadow of the Tomb Raider. (CNN) - A former longtime Republican congressman called Friday for the impeachment of President Donald Trump, who he said is an "illegitimate president." "I'm calling for impeachment now because the Mueller report is out, and in it (special counsel Robert Mueller) describes 10 obstruction of justice charges that he could not bring because of a Department of Justice rule and regulation that says you can't indict a sitting president - that's (reason) number one," former Rep. Kansas City Weather Warning Tonight MORE STORMS: Parts of metro area under severe thunderstorm watch until 3 a.m. Sunday A wall of storms is barreling toward Kansas City Saturday evening.The National Weather Service has issued a severe thunderstorm watch for Anderson, Atchison, Douglas, Franklin, Jefferson, Johnson, Leavenworth, Linn, Miami and Wyandotte counties in Kansas, and Bates, Cass, Clay, Jackson and Platte counties in Missouri until 3 a.m. Kansas City Burning Sensation Saturday Crews battle fire in KC, north of Liberty KANSAS CITY, MO (KCTV) -- Firefighters were battling a fire in Kansas City north of Liberty on Saturday afternoon. An outbuilding in the area of NE Cookingham Drive and E. Overton Avenue, just east of N. Flintlock Road. The fire started at 5:52 p.m. and was under control by 6:10 p.m. Stormy Followup Fear Friday night tornadoes near Lake Lotawana, Longview Lake rated EF-0 KANSAS CITY, MO (KCTV) - Two tornadoes that occurred on Friday night near Lake Lotawana and Longview Lake have been rated EF-0. Tornado warnings were issued on Friday night. The first Tornado Warning was issued for southeastern Johnson County in Kansas and Cass and Jackson Counties in Missouri at 7:45 p.m. KCMO Biz Still Soggy Wet, cooler weather impacting visitors, businesses that thrive on sunshine BLUE SPRINGS, Mo. -- Memorial Day weekend is typically considered the unofficial start to summer, but this weekend, many are looking at soggy forecasts, festivals canceled, and attractions closed. "It's not been fun," said Courtney Klotz, with Custard's Last Stand. Talking Jolie & Artsy Seg.1: Mayoral Candidate Jolie Justus | Seg. 2: Indie Film Critics Crime is one of the top concerns Jolie Justus hears when speaking with voters. The mayoral candidate explains why criminal justice reform is in her plans to address the city's crime rate. Justus also discussed her approach to using economic development incentives. Check Doggie Robot Reporting Dogs in Kansas City looking for their furr-ever homes Looking to add a new companion to the family? There are dozens of delightful doggies up for adoption at animal shelters in and around Kansas City, so you won't have to look far to find the perfect new pal. Hoodline used data from Petfinder to power this roundup of dogs available for adoption near you. Local Losing Streak Continues Voit, Yanks beat KC 7-3, open twinbill with 6th win in row CLOSE KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Luke Voit put on quite a power show for his big rooting section at Kauffman Stadium. With 60 family members and friends in the stands, the Missouri native hit a 470-foot, go-ahead home run in the seventh inning that sent the New York Yankees past the Kansas City Royals 7-3 Saturday in the first game of a split doubleheader. Hottiecontinues to have our admiration as we check just a few local news links also worth a peek tonight . . .And this is the OPEN THREAD for right now . . . Soggy Kansas City Weather Cont'd Spotty showers Sunday, Monday with severe storms expected Tuesday Spotty thunderstorms are possible Sunday evening with a high of 82. It's more of the same on Monday with a high of 85. Tuesday is a First Alert Day with afte... Local Warnings Lost Residents say sirens need to be fixed BELTON, MO (KCTV) -- Severe weather in the spring is nothing new in Kansas City, but people in two Missouri communities said they were left in the dark when storms moved in Friday night. "I was really terrified," Kristina Twitty, who wants the siren fixed, said. Kansas City Artsy Revival Following deadly shooting, Kansas City man hopes to uplift neighbors through art KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Neighbors are demanding change one a week after a homicide in Kansas City's Northeast neighborhood. But one home is also getting a lot more colorful as Zac Laman attempts to uplift his neighbors through art. "Hopefully it brings a positive feeling," he said. KCK Faith Community Progress New Headquarters Marks Another Turning Point For KCK's Youthfront Over its 75-plus years, Youthfront, a Christian ministry that supports youth pastors and offers summer camps and other programs for young people, has made several key transitions. And now it's changing locations. Well, slightly. The organization's 38 full-time staff members are moving into new headquarters at 4600 Rainbow Boulevard in Kansas City, Kansas, and preparing for its grand opening June 20. Jeff City Needs Help Jefferson City police looking for volunteers to help with tornado damage cleanup JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Jefferson City police are now asking for volunteers who want to help with tornado recovery. Officials initially asked that people wanting to help didn't come to the city to allow emergency officials to work, but now police are sharing how people can assist. Kansas City Sporting Chance Sporting KC in search of a 'W' Sporting KC winless in its last nine matches. A date with second-place Seattle on Sunday, but one game won't fix all that's hurting right now. Sunday Local Serving Food Critics: The Best Sushi And Raw Meat In Kansas City In 2019 The transition from the cold winter to warm summer can bring about a shift in food tastes: Instead of soup, we look for fresh dishes. And in recent years, raw foods like poke and sushi have become more popular in landlocked Kansas City. Sunday look at hotness and the constant need for innovation. Read more:Closer to home, these news link inspire our Sunday:is the song of the day and this is thefor right now . . . editorial@tribune.com Tribune News Service Chandigarh, May 25 Engineering graduates of the PU were awarded with degrees at the University Auditorium here today. As many as 863 from three engineering institutes University Institute of Engineering and Technology (UIET), Dr SS Bhatnagar University Institute of Chemical Engineering and Technology (Dr SSBUICET), and UIET Swami Sarvanand Giri Panjab University Regional Centre (SSGPURC) in Hoshiarpur were honoured. The students were awarded degrees by Prof VK Malhotra, Member Secretary, Indian Council of Social Science Research, New Delhi. Prof RK Sinha, Director, CSIR-Central Scientific Instruments Organisation, was the guest of honour. The degrees were awarded to 591 graduates and postgraduates from the UIET, 162 BE graduates from the SSGPURC and 162 graduates and postgraduates from Dr SSBUICET. As many as 11 young assistant professors and research scholars from UIET, four from the Dr SSBUICET and three from the SSGPURC were also honoured. Panjab University Vice-Chancellor Prof Raj Kumar addressed the students. amansharma@tribunemail.com Ravinder Saini Tribune News Service Rewari, May 26 With the arrest of nine persons, the police on Sunday claimed to have busted a gang allegedly involved in leaking Naib Tehsildar exam paper conducted on Sunday. Among them, three of the accused were arrested by the Special Task Force (SFT) in Gurugram. The paper was leaked in Karnal and solved in Gurugram. The accused were nabbed before providing answer key to the examinees. Rewari SP Rahul Sharma informed 4,600 candidates took the exam for appointment as Naib Tehsildar at 33 centres in the district. We got a tip-off that a gang was trying to provide answer key to examinees in some centres. On inquiry, the cyber cell found that answer key was to be provided to Dinesh and his brother Manoj of Baans village (Hisar) who were taking the exam in different centres. Gang members were roaming outside their centres for helping the aspirants, said Sharma. He added that the cell also got information that one Pankaj was operating the gang from Gurugram. The STF Gurugram was informed about the gang. In the meantime, local police nabbed one Akhil from outside Jain Kanya School. On interrogation, he said Pankaj had sent answer key to him from Gurugram and it was to be given to Dinesh and Manoj. Akhil also revealed that the task to provide answer key to Manoj at an examination centre set up in Mount Litra School was handed over to school clerk Jasbir, class 4 employee Kuldeep and Deepak, brother-in-law of Manoj. The police rushed to Mount Litra School and nabbed Deepak, Jasbir and Kuldeep, but Manoj manage to escape, said Sharma, adding that Dinesh was later arrested another centre at Jain Girls School. The SP maintained Dinesh during interrogation admitted that his gang was involved in leaking the paper. In the meantime, the STF also arrested Pankaj and three others in Gurugram. The paper was leaked from SS International School in Karnal and its employee Raj Kumar was involved. He has also been arrested, he said. ROBINSINGH@TRIBUNE.COM Bhartesh Singh Thakur Tribune News Service Chandigarh, May 25 A Rohtak court has lambasted the Haryana Police and the prosecution agency for shoddy work that led to the acquittal of Manoj Duhan, a Rohtak-based lawyer, in a hate speech case registered in the wake of the Jat quota violence. The court said the lacunae in the investigation were left intentionally. Duhan is also an accused in the case relating to violence and arson at the residence of Finance Minister Captain Abhimanyu in Rohtak, which the CBI is pursuing. As per the police, Duhan had delivered a public speech on February 15, 2016, to people blocking the national highway near the Eastern bypass chowk at Sampla in which he had said that those belonging to the Khattar, Miglani, Arora and Sindhwani castes should be sent back to Pakistan. The police had also alleged that Duhan had said that if the Jat community was not given reservation, they would set Rohtaks Kila road market on fire. The Jat quota stir, which started from Sampla in Rohtak, later spread to other districts into large-scale violence. The Punjab and Haryana High Court has been monitoring all cases registered during the stir. In the judgment delivered on May 16 in the hate speech case, Judicial Magistrate First Class Bharat said, I feel no hesitation in saying that the investigating agency (Haryana Police) and the prosecution agency have failed to perform their duty. It appears that the investigating agency has left the lacunae intentionally, which has ultimately resulted in complete failure of the prosecution in the present case. During the trial against Duhan, both complainant Constable Yogender and investigating officer ASI Satbir Singh contradicted each other. Constable Yogender told the court he didnt file any complaint and neither identified the writing in the complaint. On the other hand, ASI Satbir said the constable had registered a complaint on February 29, 2016, and had also submitted a CD containing a video showing Duhan making a hate speech. The court observed that the prosecution had failed to prove the contents of the CD and it was not exhibited at the time of showing evidence in court. The mobile phone of Duhan was intercepted but no voice samples were taken. The court said it was the duty of the prosecution to provide assistance to the court. However, the application for taking voice samples of the accused was not pressed by the prosecution agency during the course of trial. No independent witness was joined, no sanction of state or Central governments was taken for the offence punishable under Section 153A (hate speech), 153B (for imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration), 505 (statements conducting to public mischief) of the IPC, as required and no complaint was filed by public servant for the offence punishable under Section 188 (disobedience to order promulgated by public servant) of the IPC, said the court. The court observed, In the alleged incident of Jat agitation in February 2016, loss of life and public and government property had taken place and lot of people had remained in jail for the same. The fraternity and the spirit of brotherhood in society was ruined in the alleged incident. In the wake of the incident, the society stands divided on the basis of caste, which is against the constitutional spirit. It said, In the whole process, the role of the investigating agency was very much crucial to apprehend the actual culprits and save the life of the remaining people. The court has ordered sending the copy of the judgment to the Haryana Home Secretary, Director General of Police, and the Rohtak SP for information and necessary compliance, it said. The 2016 case As per the police, Manoj Duhan, a Rohtak-based lawyer, had delivered a public speech on February 15, 2016, to people blocking the national highway near the Eastern bypass chowk at Sampla in which he had had said that those belonging to the Khattar, Miglani, Arora and Sindhwani castes should be sent back to Pakistan. The police had also alleged that Duhan had said that if the Jat community was not given reservation, they would set Rohtaks Kila road market on fire. editorial@tribune.com Arteev Sharma Tribune News Service Jammu, May 25 Notwithstanding strong internal differences, the BJP has emerged as the strongest force in the arid Ladakh region where the party has managed to increase its vote share by 7 per cent in the just-concluded parliamentary polls. Besides, the BJP has expanded its base in the region where it dominated three out of the four Assembly segments (Nubra, Leh, Kargil and Zanskar) in the Ladakh parliamentary seat. In the 2014 parliamentary polls, the BJP had secured 26.36 per cent votes, but its vote share went up to 33.94 per cent in the 2019 polls which assumed great significance in view of the Congress stronghold in three Assembly segments of the region and deep religious divide between Buddhists and Shia Muslims. The BJPs growing popularity in the Ladakh region was quite clear from the fact that the party had lead from only one Assembly segment, Leh, during the 2014 Lok Sabha polls at a time when its tallest leader Thupstan Chhewang was contesting the elections. This time around, the BJP took lead in three Assembly seats, including Shia Muslim-dominated Zanskar segment. This is despite the fact that the Congress had won three assembly seats, Nubra, Leh and Kargil, post the 2014 parliamentary elections. The Congress had also swept the civic polls in Leh district last year by winning all 13 municipal seats, while the BJP failed to open its account in the region. As per the latest available data, the BJP polled 3,958 votes in Nubra during the 2014 polls against 5,009 votes secured by the Congress. But the BJP topped the voters tally in this Assembly segment with 4,996 votes against 3,791 votes of the Congress in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. This time, the BJP took a lead of almost 10,000 votes over the Congress in the Leh assembly segment, which was being represented by the Congress stalwart Nawang Rigzin Jora. In 2014, the margin of votes was just 4,657. What was more significant in the 2019 parliamentary polls was the domination of the BJP in the Shia Muslim dominated Zanskar seat despite the fact that it fielded a Buddhist face in the elections. In the 2014 elections, the BJP got just 1,339 votes from Zanskar, but this number went up to 7,147 in 2019. The majority Muslim votes divided into two independent candidates, Congress rebel Asgar Ali Karbalaie and PDP, NC and influential Islamia School Kargil (ISK) backed Sajjad Hussain Kargili who secured 5,510 and 5,082 votes from Zanskar, respectively. There was a joint complaint to the Election Commission of India (ECI) by three candidates regarding alleged rigging and intimidation of voters by the BJP in the Zanskar sub-division. uttara@tribuneindia.com Srinagar, May 26 A large number of people took to the streets on Sunday against the alleged detention and thrashing of two boys by the Army in Jammu and Kashmir's Budgam district. The protesters alleged that during demonstrations that erupted in the aftermath of militant commander Zakir Musa's killing, the Army detained some youths belonging to Dharmuna village at an Army camp. Family members of one of the two boys handed over to them on Friday alleged that both had been ruthlessly beaten by the soldiers. One of the injured boys, Fazil Fayaz Malik, 14, of Soibug village was referred to the Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) and was operated for a head injury. "He has been put on life support facility. His condition is critical," a doctor said. Locals have also alleged that when they approached the Army camp earlier seeking the release of the detained boys, they were told that they had been handed over to the police. A police official said that they were now holding only three boys. Defence Ministry spokesman Colonel Rajesh Kalia told IANS that the Army was ascertaining details of the allegation and would soon come up with the facts. IANS Boy, army, assault, Zakir Musa, protest, detention, critical editorial@tribune.com Samaan Lateef Tribune News Service Srinagar, May 25 With the BJP returning to power in the Centre, the people in Kashmir fear that the party may bring demographic change in the Valley by removing Articles 370 and 35A, which provide constitutional safeguards to the region within the Union of India. A majority of Kashmiris may have stayed away from the polls, but they kept track of the results. More than results of the Valley, they were keen to see who will come to power in the Centre. And as the day progressed, with the BJP emerging the clear winner, the anxiety among people began to grow. In its first term, the Modi government took Article 370 to Supreme Court. Now, they will ensure it is removed, to appease the voters in India, said Mudasir Ahmad, a student of Kashmir University. Ahmad said the BJP wanted to change the demography and Muslim character of Kashmir to settle the non-state subject Hindus in J&K for political gains. Local political parties NC and PDP during the campaigning for the Lok Sabha elections had promised to safeguard the special status of J&K as Article 370 forms a link between India and the state. There are genuine apprehensions among the people in Kashmir as revocation of Articles 370 and 35A is ideological commitment of the BJP to its voters. However, undoing these Articles wont be that easy. It will have serious political implications, said senior political analyst Noor Muhammad Baba. He said the present regime of the BJP-led by Narendra Modi was hawkish towards Kashmir, which could face demographic changes if the two Articles were removed. However, Baba hoped that the NC, whose existence depends on these two provisions, would create some noise in Parliament to garner support from other opposition parties to safeguard the special status of J&K. In its first term, the Modi government took Article 370 to Supreme Court. Now, they will ensure it is removed, to appease the voters in India Mudasir Ahmad, a student of kashmir university There are genuine apprehensions among the people in Kashmir as revocation of Articles 370 and 35A is ideological commitment of the BJP to its voters. However, undoing these articles wont be that easy. It will have serious political implications. Noor Muhammad Baba, Political analyst ROBINSINGH@TRIBUNE.COM Arjun Kapoor has been busy with the promotions of Raj Kumar Guptas Indias Most Wanted. The movie has been receiving positive response from the viewers. For the first time, Arjun has forayed into the thriller genre as in the film as the actor essays the role of an intelligence officer. Indias Most Wanted narrates the story of five unlikely heroes who are on a mission to find Indias Osama rumoured to be about the deadly terrorist, Yasin Bhatkal. As seen in the trailer of the film, it opens with a mention to all the ghastly terrorist attacks that shook the nation. One such survivor of these bomb blasts that took place in Punes German Bakery in 2010 thanked Arjun for the film. The survivor took to Twitter to thank Arjun Kapoor as he wrote, I sincerely salute those heroes for capturing the person who is responsible for my worst nightmares. I know how difficult its to survive a bomb blast. I will never forget 13th Feb, 2010. Thanks @arjunk26 @foxstarhindi and @rajkumar_rkg for telling this story of #IndiasMostWanted. Arjun replied, We cant take away your trauma but I hope you feel slightly better knowing Indias intelligence did everything in their power to bring him to justice... editorial@tribune.com Itanagar, May 25 The BJP has won 41 seats in the 60-member Arunachal Pradesh Assembly after results of all the constituencies were announced, an election official said on Saturday. Assembly elections in Arunachal Pradesh were held for 57 seats as three BJP candidates were earlier declared elected unopposed. The Janata Dal (United) won seven seats, National Peoples Party (NPP) five, Congress four, Peoples Party of Arunachal (PPA) one and Independents two. The counting of votes on Friday for Daporijo, Dumporijo and Raga constituencies in Upper Subansiri district was delayed, the official said. In the Daporijo seat, the result of which was announced early this morning, BJP candidate Taniky Soki won the seat defeating his nearest Congress rival Togam Tamim. BJP candidate Rode Bui bagged the Dumporijo seat defeating his nearest NPP rival Paknga Bage while NPPs Tarin Dakpe won the Raga seat, the official said. The counting of votes on Friday for Daporijo, Dumporijo and Raga constituencies in Upper Subansiri district was delayed as the counting officials went away from the counting centre without handing over the results for which counting could not be continued as per the guidelines. However, it started after the polling officials returned and handed over the results, Additional Chief Electoral Officer Kanki Darang said. Among the prominent BJP winners are Chief Minister Pema Khandu, who won from the Mukto seat for the third time in a row. Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein won from the Chowkham constituency. In Miao constituency, state Geology and Mining Minister and BJP nominee Kamlung Mossang beat Chatu Longai of the Congress by 3,856 votes to retain the seat. The Namsang seat, which witnessed a multi-cornered contest, voted in favour of PHE minister and BJP nominee Wangki Lowang for the third time in a row. In the prestigious Tawang seat, BJP candidate Tsering Tashi trounced veteran Congress leader Thupten Tempa by a margin of 3,592 votes. The Congress won four seats but Arunachal Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Takam Sanjoy lost to Jummum Ete Deori of the BJP in the Lekang seat. PTI SKM stakes claim to form govt IN SIKKIM uttara@tribuneindia.com Shiv Kumar Tribune News Service Mumbai, May 26 Compensation for the relatives of the 15 commandos who lost their lives in the Naxalite attack at Gadchiroli on May 1 has been delayed as the Maharashtra Government failed to renew the group insurance cover for security personnel active in areas affected by left-wing extremism. According to officials here, kin of police personnel who lose their lives in action in Naxal-affected areas are eligible for a compensation of Rs 20 lakh each under the group insurance policy taken from the public sector Oriental Insurance company. Premium for this policy is deducted from the salaries of the personnel, according to a source. The policies were however not renewed as senior officials of the police department were reviewing the need for such a policy. The process was stuck in red-tape and the file was stuck at Mantralaya, says a senior IPS officer. Following the May 1 attack, the Maharashtra Government has asked senior police officials to pay the premium on the policies so that they are renewed as soon as possible. Sources say Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has ordered officials to pay the compensation that would have accrued to the kin of the deceased personnel under the policies from the states coffers. The next of kin of personnel who lose their lives in fighting red insurgency receive a compensation of about Rs 1.08 crore, including ex-gratia payments and grants from the state and centre. So far the government has arranged funds for only about Rs 60 lakh each for the kin of these jawans, according to officials. Disbursement of the funds is taking time as the process of verification is in progress. There are also problems with documentation like errors in PAN and Aadhar cards, says an official. For the first time the Maharashtra Government has also decided to provide jobs to one member of the deceaseds family in his or her home town on compassionate grounds, according to officials. kavishakohli@gmail.com New Delhi, May 26 Prime Minister Narendra Modi continues to receive congratulatory calls from leaders across the globe for returning to power with a massive majority in the Lok Sabha elections. The PM received telephone calls from the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman, Emir of the State of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, British PM Theresa May and former Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa. A statement from the prime minister's office said all calls were received on Saturday. Modi thanked the Crown Prince for his felicitations and conveyed his appreciation for his invaluable friendship with the people of India and his personal interest in furthering close relations between the two countries. The Emir felicitated the Prime Minister and noted the deepening relationship between India and Qatar. The prime minister thanked the Emir and expressed appreciation for his guidance in building a strong partnership between the two countries, the statement said. Congratulating Modi, Chancellor Merkel noted the growing relationship between the two countries and expressed her desire to further enhance cooperation in areas of mutual interests. The Prime Minister thanked her and noted the exemplary role played by her in furthering bilateral ties between the two countries as well as for global peace and prosperity. The two leaders also said that they look forward to interacting at the forthcoming G 20 Summit in Osaka, Japan, and to the Inter Governmental Consultations between the two countries later this year in India. Prime Minister May congratulated Modi on the strong mandate. Describing the Lok Sabha polls as a major showcase for democracy, Prime Minister May complimented the people of India on completion of the significant exercise. Prime Minister Modi thanked her and expressed his desire to continue to work for further deepening bilateral cooperation with the United Kingdom in all spheres. The prime minister thanked Rajapaksa for his greetings. "Stating that as neighbours India and Sri Lanka enjoy longstanding, close and friendly relations, the prime minister expressed the confidence that these relations will continue to grow for the benefit of the people of the two countries as also for regional peace and prosperity," the statement read. PTI gspannu7@gmail.com New Delhi, May 26 Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a telephonic conversation with his Pakistani counterpart Imran Khan on Sunday, during which he called for creating trust and an environment free of violence and terrorism for fostering peace and prosperity in the region. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said it was Khan who called up Modi. The prime minister thanked the prime minister of Pakistan for his telephone call and greetings, it said. Recalling his initiatives in line with his governments neighbourhood first policy, Modi referred to his earlier suggestion to Khan to fight poverty jointly, the MEA said. He stressed that creating trust and an environment free of violence and terrorism were essential for fostering cooperation for peace, progress and prosperity in our region, it added. It said Modi also received telephone calls from former president of the Maldives Mohamed Nasheed and former prime minister of Nepal Madhav Nepal on his victory in the recent general election. Former president Nasheed congratulated the prime minister on the historic mandate and noted that the relationship between the Maldives and India had deepened in recent times, the MEA said. He stressed the importance of close cooperation to fight the forces of extremism and radicalisation in the region, it added. On his part, Modi thanked Nasheed for his felicitation and reiterated his commitment to continue fostering a strong, mutually beneficial and all-round partnership between the two countries. The MEA said Madhav Nepal warmly congratulated Modi on leading his party and alliance to a grand, historic and landslide victory. He also expressed the confidence that Indias emergence as a front-ranking world power would qualitatively uplift the entire region. Prime Minister Modi on Thursday led his Bharatiya Janata Party to a landmark victory for a second five-year term in office, winning 302 seats in the 543-member Lok Sabha. PTI editorial@tribune.com Naveen S Garewal Tribune News Service Hyderabad, May 25 The Yeduguri Sandinti Rajasekhara Congress Party (YSRCP), which literally means youth, labour and farmers Congress Party, today unanimously elected YS Jaganmohan Reddy as its leader in the Andhra Vidhan Sabha, paving the way for him to become the Chief Minister of the state. The decision, on expected lines, was taken by the YSRCP Legislative Party in its meeting earlier in the day at Vijayawada. Soon afterwards, Jaganmohan met AP and Telangana Governor ESL Narasimhan at the Raj Bhawan in Hyderabad and staked claim to form the government. The YSRCP has got a thumping majority of 151 out of 175 Assembly seats, leaving 23 for the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and one for Janasena Party (JP). Party sources said that the swearing-in ceremony of Jaganmohan Reddy as Chief Minister would take place around 12.23 pm on May 30 at Indira Gandhi Municipal Stadium, Vijayawada. The YSRCP chief will go to Delhi tomorrow to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and will invite him for the swearing-in ceremony even though Modis own swearing-in is expected to take place the same day. Jaganmohan also met Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) chief and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekar Rao today and invited him for his oath ceremony. Though the YSRCP is not aligned to the NDA or UPA, Jagan was actively supported by the TRS leadership to dislodge the TDP, resulting in a sweep in the Assembly and winning 22 out of the 25 parliamentary seats in the state. Earlier, thanking the MLAs for reposing faith in his leadership, he said, In 2019, people voted for us out of faith and belief. In 2024, they should give us a bigger mandate because of our performance. In the YSRCP Legislative Party meeting, Jaganmohan Reddy stressed the need to work together to get a special status for Andhra Pradesh. uttara@tribuneindia.com Tribune News Service New Delhi, May 26 Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister-designate YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Sunday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to help with the states massive debt and invited him to his swearing in on May 30. At a meeting he had with Prime Minister Modihis first with the prime minister since his party swept Andhra's recent assembly electionsReddy blamed the states large debt on his predecessor, caretaker Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, and promised a detailed review of each department and a White Paper. ROBINSINGH@TRIBUNE.COM Salem, May 25 A judge has ordered an Oregon man to learn about the Sikh religion and submit a report to the court as part of his sentence for an attack on a Sikh shopkeeper in Salem. Andrew Ramsey pleaded guilty to misdemeanour counts of intimidation and assault in the January 14 incident targeting Harwinder Singh Dodd, the Sikh Coalition, the largest Sikh civil rights organisation in the US, said in a release. Intimidation count is considered a hate crime, it said. Dodd, who came to the US from India and owns the convenience store, noted in a written statement to the court that hate crimes are on the rise in America. The FBI says hate crimes increased by 40 per cent in Oregon from 2016 to 2017. He didnt see me as a person, Dodd said of Ramsey. He attacked me because of how I look. Because of my turban and beard my religious articles of faith. Police said Ramsey also threw his shoe at Dodd and snatched his turban. Marion County Judge Lindsay Partridge ordered Ramsey to attend the annual Sikh parade in June in Salem and report to the court what he learned about the Sikh community and culture, the Statesman Journal newspaper of Salem reported. Bigotry is the result of ignorance, Partridge said. All of us are able to learn and benefit from cultures in our community. He also sentenced Ramsey to three years of probation and 180 days in jail, with credit for time served, the newspaper said. Partridge said mandatory drug, alcohol and mental health treatment was the best option for Ramsey, who has convictions for methamphetamine possession, domestic violence assault and theft. Ramsey said he has had mental health problems and was ready to accept help. In 2018, members of Salems Sikh community joined other volunteers to aid 124 immigrants who were sent to a federal prison in nearby Sheridan by the Trump administration. AP PULLED BEARD, HIT Andrew Ramsey is accused of pulling the victims beard after he refused to sell him cigarettes without an ID. He also punched him and pulled him to the ground. Bystanders restrained Ramsey until police arrived. gspannu7@gmail.com Tribune News Service New Delhi, May 26 As the flurry of congratulatory messages to Narendra Modi from foreign dignitaries for a second consecutive victory in the general elections subsided, the neighbourhood found salience with the first-ever telephonic contact with Pakistan PM Imran Khan. The Maldives media has reported that Male could be his first overseas visit while the Sri Lankan President Mathripala Srisena has announced that he would be present at Modis second swearing-in ceremony as PM on May 30. Modi underlined Indias priorities for opening dialogue with Pakistan by telling Khan that creating trust and an environment free of violence and terrorism was essential for the region. He also reiterated his earlier suggestion to Pakistan to jointly fight poverty, said official sources. Khan in his congratulatory called expressed his desire for both countries to work together for the betterment of their peoples, said Pakistan Office spokesperson Mohammad Faisal. Khan looked forward to working with Modi to achieve these objectives, he added. The Maldives media reported that Male would be the first destination for Modi after his swearing-in ceremony on May 30 which the Sri Lankan President Mathripala Srisena has announced he will attend. Till a while back, both Maldives and Sri Lanka were deemed to have slipped into the Chinese zone of influence till general elections brought back governments that have stressed the renewal of ties with India. By tradition, a new Indian PM always selects a neighbouring country as his first overseas destination. A similar ritual of first visiting India is observed by heads of governments of neighbouring countries. Sources here did not discount the possibility of PM Modi visiting several neighbouring countries in one go. Modi had underlined the importance India attached to the change in government in Maldives by attending the swearing-in ceremony of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih in November last year. Solih had reciprocated by visiting India a few weeks later. A more conductive environment has been created for better Indo-Maldives and Indo-Sri Lanka ties due to the common threat of terrorism after the Easter Sunday blasts in Sri Lanka. The terror suspects were believed to have visited India and Sri Lanka had placed two Maldivians in custody after finding literature related to ISIS in their homes. ROBINSINGH@TRIBUNE.COM New Delhi, May 25 President Ram Nath Kovind on Saturday appointed Narendra Modi to the office of Prime Minister and requested him to advise him about the names of others to be appointed as ministers and also indicate the date of the swearing-in ceremony. Earlier, a delegation of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), led by BJP president Amit Shah, called on the President and informed him that Modi has been elected the leader of the alliance. The swearing-in is likely to take place on May 30. In his address at the NDA parliamentary party meeting, Modi said his government would now begin a new journey to build a new India with new energy and asked MPs to work without any discrimination, including on the basis of faith and castes. In his 75-minute address, Modi stressed the need to win over the trust of minorities, saying they were made to live in fear and exploited during elections for vote-bank politics, apparently a dig at the Opposition parties. He invoked the spirit of the 1857 struggle for freedom, saying all communities had then joined hands for Independence and a similar movement should be started for good governance now. TNS ON VERDICT 2019 Elections divide and create gulf, but 2019 polls united people and society WINNING TRUST We are for those who trusted us and also for those whose trust we have to win over ON MINORITIES Made to live in fear by those who believed in vote-bank politics, we have to end this deception, take all along ADVICE TO MPs Shun VIP culture, stand in queues wherever required, like other citizens TRUMP COMPARISON BJP, allies 25 %age points vote share rise as much as votes polled by Donald Trump ON MEDIA ROW Maintain restraint, some statements made for publicity often trouble us TALKS OF NA-RA Our slogan is National Ambition and Regional Aspirations (NA-RA) gspannu7@gmail.com New Delhi, May 26 BJP allies JD(U) and AIADMK are likely to be part of the new government while it will also reflect the saffron partys inroads into states like West Bengal and Telangana, sources said on Sunday. A JD(U) leader said the Bihar party expects at least one Cabinet berth in the government which will be sworn in on May 30. The party may also get one more berth in the Council of Ministers. The Rashtrapati Bhavan said on Sunday that Narendra Modi will be sworn in as prime minister on Thursday for his second term. Though there has been no official word on likely faces in the new government, many leaders are of the view that most key members of the previous dispensation will be retained. There has been speculation that Arun Jaitley, who held the finance portfolio in the previous government, may opt out due to health reasons but people close to him have insisted that he has been doing well after undergoing treatment. The government on Sunday stepped in to insist that reports regarding his heath condition are false and baseless. Reports in a section of media regarding Union Minister Shri Arun Jaitleys health condition are false and baseless. Media is advised to stay clear of rumour mongering, its principal spokesperson Sitanshu Kar tweeted. Rajya Sabha MP Swapan Dasupta, who is associated with the BJP, said Jaitley is off all medication now and is recovering his strength. He is still meeting officials, Dasgupta said. Questions about Arun Jaitley health understandable. He is recovering from a bout of heavy medication. But he is still in terrific form and his wit is firmly intact. Needs a little rest to get back his strength. All our good wishes, Dasgupa tweeted. A number of senior faces from the outgoing Cabinet, including Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, Nirmala Sitharaman, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Piyush Goyal, Narendra Singh Tomar and Prakash Javadekar, are expected to figure in the new Cabinet. Speculation has been rife that BJP president Amit Shah, who won the Lok Sabha election from Gandhinagar with a massive margin, may also join the government. Shah has refrained from commenting on the matter. Another BJP ally LJP president Ram Vilas Paswan, sources said, has pushed for induction of his MP-son Chirag Paswan in the government. His party LJP won six seats in the polls. Ram Vilas Paswan, one of the most veteran parliamentarians, was a Cabinet minister in the last government. Though the AIADMK, which was also not part of the previous government, has won only one seat, it may be given a ministerial berth as it is in power in Tamil Nadu and a key Dravidian ally of the BJP. The BJP put up its best ever show in West Bengal and Telangana these elections, winning 18 (from two in 2014) and four seats (from one in 2014) respectively in the two states. This may result in the party giving a greater representation to these states in the government. PTI amansharma@tribunemail.com New Delhi/Ahemdabad, May 26 Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the next five years will be the time to regain the rightful position of India in the world order. He was speaking here at a function following the Lok Sabha election victory, which was kept simple and shorn of pomp because of the Surat fire tragedy. Next five years will be very important in the history of the country, as was the period between 1942 to 1947, Modi said addressing a huge gathering. Next five years will be the time to regain the rightful position of India in the world order. In the past our country had that place. I am sure India will regain its importance in the world order, he said. Modi also expressed grief over the death of 22 students in Surat building fire tragedy. Till yesterday, I was in two minds whether to go for this felicitation function or not as on one hand, there was kartvya (duty) and on the other hand, there was karuna (compassion) for those who died in Surat. No amount of words can reduce the grief of the families who have lost their children in that tragedy, he said. On the other hand, I had to thank the people of the state and also take blessings of my mother as my duty, the prime minister added. Swearing-in ceremony NEW DELHI: President Ram Nath Kovind will administer the oath of office and secrecy to the Prime Minister and other members of Union Council of Ministers on May 30 at 7 pm at Rashtrapati Bhavan. Kovind had on Saturday appointed Narendra Modi to the office of Prime Minister and requested him to advise him about the names of others to be appointed as ministers and also indicate the date of the swearing-in ceremony. Modi was elected as the leader of the NDA on Saturday. Later, he called on the President in his capacity as leader of the BJP Parliamentary Party, which has majority support in the House of the People following the general election to the 17th Lok Sabha. The President, exercising powers under the Constitution, appointed Modi to the office of Prime Minister of India and sought his advise about the names of others to be appointed members of the Union Council of Ministers and indicate the date and time of the swearing-in-ceremony to be held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Earlier on Saturday, a delegation of the NDA led by BJP president Amit Shah, along with Prakash Singh Badal, Rajnath Singh, Nitish Kumar, Ram Vilas Paswan, Sushma Swaraj, Uddhav Thakeray, Nitin Gadkari, K Palaniswami, Conrad Sangma and Neiphiu Rio, called on the President at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. They handed over a letter to the President stating Modi has been elected the leader of the BJP Parliamentary Party. Letters of support from NDA constituent parties were also handed over to the President. The NDA together has a strength of 353 MPs in the 543-member Lok Sabha out of which the BJP has a majority of 303 Members of Parliament. Modi seeks mother's blessings After leading the BJP to a massive victory in the Lok Sabha polls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met his nonagenarian mother Heeraben on Sunday and sought her blessings. She lives with the PM's younger brother Pankaj in 'Vrindavan Bungalows' in Raysan village near Gandhinagar. Ahead of his swearing-in on May 30 as prime minister for his second term, Modi arrived here and attended a felicitation event at the JP Chowk in the Khanpur area in the evening. Modi spent about 20 minutes with his mother, touching her feet and seeking blessings. He is scheduled to stay at the Raj Bhavan for the night. He will leave for his Lok Sabha constituency Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh Monday morning. PTI/TNS editorial@tribune.com Kolkata, May 25 Violent incidents were reported from across West Bengal on Saturday in which a man said to be a BJP supporter was shot and many others were injured, officials said, as a face-off brewed between the ruling Trinamool Congress and a surging BJP after the Lok Sabha results were declared. Santu Ghosh was shot outside his home at Chakdaha on Friday night and declared brought dead at a hospital. No one has been arrested so far. Investigation is going on, an officer of the Chakdaha police station said. Claiming that Ghosh had defected from Trinamool, BJP activists blocked a national highway and railway tracks for about two hours on Saturday, causing major disruption of train services in the Sealdah division. The TMC alleged that a number of its party offices in various places have either been taken over or vandalised by BJP workers. Since the results came in, BJP workers have either locked down our party offices or vandalised them or set them on fire, said TMCs Sitalkuchi block president Abed Ali Miya. Police sources said TMC workers were beaten up allegedly by BJP supporters in Coochbehar's Sitai, Titagarh in North 24 Parganas and New Town area near Kolkata. The BJP, on the other hand, alleged its workers were attacked by TMC activists in the districts Bakshirkuti area during a victory procession. Though the TMC has denied the allegations, the BJP said its members from the minority community were attacked with sticks and spears. In Sitai area of the district, the TMC alleged that country-made bombs were hurled at the house of a leader of its women's outfit. Clashes have also been reported from Bhatpara and Kakinada areas under the Barrackpore Lok Sabha seat. There were reports of unrest from Narendrapur area in southern fringes of Kolkata as well. The reports of violence came even after 200 companies of central forces are present in the state. Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi has appealed to maintain peace. Agencies gspannu7@gmail.com New Delhi, May 26 Amid rumblings within the party after a disastrous performance in the Lok Sabha polls, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi is said to have accused three senior leaders of placing their respective sons above the party while his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has alleged the entire top-brass left him alone to fight it out against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, party sources said. Narrating inside details of the crucial Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting, which was held on Saturday to assess the partys poll rout, the party leaders said Rahul Gandhi did a lot of plain-speaking in his surgical analysis of the role of several party leaders while himself offering to quit as the party president. He also said he does not want any other member of the Gandhi family to succeed him, virtually ruling out Priyanka as well for the top party position. Party sources said the top leadership is working out possible strategies for its future course of action, even as there are rumblings within the Congress over the turn of events at the CWC meeting. The meeting was held in the backdrop of the Congress winning just 52 Lok Sabha seats and drawing a nought in 18 states and Union Territories. Gandhi himself lost from the family bastion of Amethi in Uttar Pradesh, though he won from Wayanad in Kerala. Stating that Priyanka lost her cool more than once during the four-hour long CWC deliberations, a party leader present there said the AICC general secretary in charge of Eastern Uttar Pradesh said, All those responsible for the partys defeat are sitting in this room. When some party leaders were trying to convince Rahul Gandhi to take back his resignation, which he had offered taking moral responsibility for the Congress debacle, Priyanka is learnt to have intervened saying, Where were you when my brother was fighting all by himself and alone? Priyanka sat through the meeting, looking visible anguished, and interjected twice at least, while saying on one occasion, No one supported Congress president in taking forward the narrative of Rafale and chowkidar chor hai. Rahul Gandhi, who left the meeting abruptly and was adamant there on not continuing as the Congress president, also ticked off three senior party leadersformer Union Minister P Chidambaram, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath and Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlotsaying they placed their sons before party interests. Chidambarams son Karti and Naths son Nakul managed to win the Lok Sabha elections from their respective seats, but Gehlots son Vaibhav lost. CWC sources said that when former Guna MP Jyotiraditya Scindia urged Gandhi to strengthen the state leaderships of the party, the party president quipped looking at Chidambaram, saying that Mr Chidambaram threatened to resign if a ticket was denied to his son. About Kamal Nath who was absent from the CWC meeting, Gandhi said, Mr Nath said how could he be CM if his son was not fielded. Taunting Gehlot the Congress chief said the Rajasthan CM spent seven days campaigning for his son in Jodhpur neglecting the rest of the state. Gandhi is learnt to have voiced his disappointment at the state of affairs in the party when he said to the CWC why cant anyone else be Congress chief? Sources said Priyanka also urged her brother not to resign saying it would be like falling into BJPs trap. Rahul Gandhi also expressed his displeasure at not being supported in the Rafale campaign and is said to have asked the party leaders present in the meeting how many of them backed him in building the corruption narrative against Prime Minister Modi. When some leaders raised their hands to say that they spoke about Rafale, Gandhi is said to have dismissed them. PTI gspannu7@gmail.com New Delhi, May 26 The government on Sunday said reports on the deteriorating health of outgoing Finance Minister Arun Jaitley are false and baseless, and media should stay clear of rumour mongering. Amid speculations on the state of Jaitleys health, government spokesperson Sitanshu Kar took to Twitter to clear the air. Reports in a section of media regarding Union Minister Shri Arun Jaitleys health condition are false and baseless. Media is advised to stay clear of rumour mongering, government spokesperson Sitanshu Kar tweeted. Jaitleys college friend and media baron Rajat Sharma as well as Rajya Sabha MP Swapan Dasgupta also rejected reports on deteriorating health of the senior BJP leader. Dasgupta tweeted that he met Jaitley on Sunday afternoon and presented a copy of his book to him. In another tweet, he said, Actually he is off all medication now. Just recovering his strength and working as usual. He is still meeting officials. Questions about @arunjaitley health understandable. He is recovering from a bout of heavy medication. But he is still in terrific form and his wit is firmly intact. Needs a little rest to get back his strength. All our good wishes, the MP tweeted. Meanwhile, Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das called on Jaitley here on Sunday. The governor in a tweet said that it was a courtesy meeting. Had a courtesy meeting with Honble Union Minister @arunjaitley this evening, Das tweeted while posting a picture of the meeting. Doctors treating Jaitley have advised him to go to the UK or the US for treatment, sources said. Jaitley, whose health has been on a decline ever since he underwent a kidney transplant in May last year, will take a call in the next few days on the issue. He has not attended office for the last three weeks and has rarely been seen in public. He, however, has been writing blogs and tweeted on Modis victory on Thursday. He neither attended the Cabinet meeting called Friday that recommended dissolution of the 16th Lok Sabha, nor the Saturday meeting of the BJP parliamentary party that elected Modi as its leader. Sources said that he, however, met all the five secretaries in his ministries at his residence on Friday in what was described as a routine meeting. A lawyer by profession, he has been the most important leader in Modis Cabinet and has often acted as the chief troubleshooter for the government. He had undergone surgery in the US on January 22 for a reported soft tissue cancer in his left leg, an illness that deprived him from presenting the Modi governments 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 have 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. PTI uttara@tribuneindia.com New Delhi/Kolkata, May 26 The CBI has summoned former Kolkata police commissioner Rajeev Kumar on Monday for questioning in connection with the Saradha ponzi scheme case, officials said. A team of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) visited Kumars official residence in Kolkata on Sunday evening to serve the notice, officials said. The 1989-batch IPS officer has been asked to be present at the Salt Lake office of the agency on Monday in connection with the investigation into the chit fund scam, an officer said. The CBI has also issued a lookout notice against Kumar. All the airports and immigration authorities have been alerted to prevent him from leaving the country and intimate the agency about any possible move, officials said. The agency wants custodial interrogation of Kumar in connection with the chit fund scam as he was heading the special investigation team (SIT) of the West Bengal police to probe the case before the CBI took over, the officials said. The CBI had told the Supreme Court that custodial interrogation of Kumar was necessary, saying he was not co-operating in the probe and he was evasive and arrogant in answering the queries put to him during questioning. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who was appearing for the CBI, had said Kumar was the incharge of investigation by the SIT and had allowed the release of mobile phones and laptops, which were seized from the accused and contained crucial records of alleged involvement of political functionaries in the scam. Mehta had said the seized mobile phones and laptops were not even sent for forensic examination and material evidence were destroyed in the case. The apex court had asked the CBI last month to furnish evidence for seeking custodial interrogation of Kumar in the Saradha case, saying it has to be satisfied that the agencys request was bona fide and not for political purposes. The court had on May 17 withdrawn protection given to Kumar from any arrest and had asked the CBI to proceed as per law. It gave a weeks time to Kumar to approach the competent court for anticipatory bail. Kumar had again approached the top court last Monday, seeking extension of the protection and saying the courts in West Bengal were not functioning due to a lawyers strike. This petition was rejected, following which Kumar had approached a Kolkata court with an anticipatory bail. In January, the Centre and the state government had faced an unprecedented standoff after a CBI team, which reached the residence of Kumar for questioning, had to retreat after the police refused to let it enter and detained its officers. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee came in the defence of Kumar and started a sit-in to protest against the Centres move. The Supreme Court had on February 5 had prevented the agency from any coercive action against Kumar and directed him to appear and co-operate in CBI questioning at a neutral place. He was questioned by the CBI for nearly five days in Shillong from February 9. The ponzi scheme scam was over Rs 2,500 crore by the Saradha group of companies, which had duped lakhs of customers promising higher rates of returns on their investment, the CBI has alleged. Similar modus operandi was adopted by other ponzi companies like Rose Valley operating in West Bengal, Odisha and North Eastern states where gullible investors were duped, it said. The Supreme Court had ordered a CBI probe in which the agency has allegedly detected collusion of scheme operators, police personnel, politicians among others, the officials had said. PTI editorial@tribune.com Shahira Naim Tribune News Service Lucknow, May 25 None of the smaller parties in Uttar Pradesh said to be crucial in post-election bargaining cut any ice with the voters this time. Samajwadi Party national president Akhilesh Yadavs estranged uncle Shivpal Singh Yadavs Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohia) contested 47 of the 80 seats in the state the largest number of seats contested by any small party. However, the party forfeited its deposit in every single seat, including Firozabad, where Shivpal was in the fray in a triangular contest with nephew and sitting SP MP Akshay Yadav. The BJP won the seat for the first time after 1998. The party, which had been generously offered a palatial bungalow as its office within days of coming into existence by the Yogi government, was expected to play spoiler as it was contesting so many seats. However, it failed to make a mark as its candidates polled between 0.1 and 8.54 per cent votes in all seats. Similarly, BJPs erstwhile ally Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP), which claimed to have a hold over the Rajbhar community of Purvanchal, contested 19 seats and lost deposit in all. SBSP president Om Prakash Rajbhar, till recently a Cabinet minister, had rebelled against Yogi over a range of issues, including the saffron partys refusal to part with any seat for the Lok Sabha election. Vowing to teach the BJP a lesson, rebel Rajbhar independently contested 19 seats and supported the Congress and mahagathbandhan candidates in a number of other seats. The result of this defiance was that he was sacked from the government earlier this week and asked to vacate his official bungalow immediately. uttara@tribuneindia.com Amethi, May 26 In the first incident of post-poll violence in Uttar Pradesh, a close aide of Smriti Irani, the newly elected MP from Amethi Lok Sabha constituency, was shot dead by two men, with the police not ruling out the possibility of it being a political murder. Surendra Singh (50), a former head of Baraulia village, was shot at around 11.30 pm on Saturday, said Additional Superintendent of Police Daya Ram. Singh was referred to a Lucknow hospital but he succumbed during treatment, Ram said. Speaking to reporters in Lucknow, UP DGP Om Prakash Singh said, We have come to know about old enmity. We are also finding out if there was any political enmity. UP police teams are conducting very intensive investigation. We have taken seven persons in custody, and they are being intensely interrogated. We have also got important evidence through electronic surveillance. I am hopeful that in the next 12 hours, we will solve the case, the DGP said. He said they are looking into a number of possible angles that could have led to the killing. Expressing grief over Singhs death, Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya said, The death of a party worker is indeed very sad and unfortunate. He was a hard worker. Even if his killers are hiding below the ground, they will be caught. The entire Amethi is sad over the incident. UP minister Rita Bahuguna Joshi said theres no place for violence in a democracy and demanded strict action against the killers. Baraulia, the village Singh once headed, was in the news during the General Election campaign after Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra accused Irani of distributing shoes to the village residents in order to insult Rahul Gandhi, the BJP leaders main opponent in the constituency. Irani defeated the Congress president on Amethi seat, for long a Gandhi family bastion. BJP convenor for Amethi Lok Sabha seat Rajesh Agrahari told PTI, Considering the fact that the Congress is disappointed, especially after the defeat of its party president in Amethi, a high-level probe should be ordered, and the guilty should be punished. Surendra Singh was a popular and active grassroots-level leader, and a close aide of MP Smriti Irani. He and other party leaders were actively involved in distribution of shoes, he added. Amethi Superintendent of Police Rajesh Kumar said, The incident cannot be ruled out to be a political murder. All aspects are being probed. There could be old enmity as well, the SP said. This appears to be the first incident of political violence reported in the state since the completion of the campaigning for the General Election. PTI amansharma@tribunemail.com New Delhi/Berne, May 26 As Switzerland strives hard to re-establish its global financial centre position after clamping down on secrecy walls of its banks, there has been a significant surge in the number of cases where it has initiated process to share information on Indians with Swiss bank accounts and shot off letters to about a dozen such individuals last week itself. Since March, at least 25 notices have been issued by the Swiss authorities to Indian clients of Switzerland-based banks in which they have been given one last chance to appeal against sharing of their details with India. An analysis of the notices issued by the Federal Tax Administration, Switzerland governments nodal department for sharing of information on foreign clients of Swiss banks, shows that the Swiss government has stepped up its efforts in sharing such details with a number of countries in the recent months, but the surge in India-related cases is noticeable in the past few weeks. At least 11 such notices were issued to Indian nationals on May 21 itself, though the gazette notifications of the Swiss government has redacted full names for several of them while making public only their initials besides the nationality and the dates of birth. The two Indians whose names have been mentioned in full are Krishna Bhagwan Ramchand (born in May 1949) and Kalpesh Harshad Kinariwala (born in September 1972). However, no further details have been disclosed about them as well. The Indian nationals with redacted names include Mrs A S B K (born November 24, 1944), Mr A B K I (born July 9, 1944), Mrs P A S (born November 2, 1983), Mrs R A S (born November 22, 1973), Mr A P S (born November 27, 1944), Mrs A D S (born August 14, 1949), Mr M L A (born May 20, 1935), Mr N M A (born February 21, 1968) and Mr M M A (June 27, 1973). In these notices, the individuals or their authorised representatives have been asked to file their appeals, if any, within 30 days with necessary documentary proof to support their case against providing administrative assistance to India, which broadly means sharing of their banking and other financial details. Earlier this month on May 7, a similar notice was issued to another Indian national, Ratan Singh Chowdhury, giving an option to appeal within 10 days, while another Indian national with redacted name, Mr R P N, was given 30 days on May 14. In April also, some such notices were issued including to one Mrs J N V, as also to Mr Kuldip Singh Dhingra and Anil Bhardwaj, among others. Several of these names are said to have figured in the leaked HSBC lists and Panama papers which allegedly contained names of Indians with Swiss bank accounts and are being probed by Indian authorities in alleged black money cases. In case of Krishna Bhagwan Ramchand and Kalpesh Harshad Kinariwala, such notices were issued in April as well and fresh notices have been served to them presumably after their responses to the earlier notices. Before that in March, Switzerland had issued such notices to Mumbai-based Geodesic Ltd and its three directors (Prashant Sharad Mulekar, Pankajkumar Onkar Srivastava and Kiran Kulkarni), as also to Chennai-based Aadhi Enterprises Pvt Ltd, who are being probed by the Indian authorities for alleged money laundering and other financial irregularities. Switzerland was widely known as an alleged safe haven for black money before it bowed down before the global pressure and agreed to bring down the famed secrecy walls that had historically surrounded the Swiss banks, provided the requesting country gave proof for financial irregularities done by the concerned person or the company. Along with several other countries, India has also been making use of this change in the stance of Switzerland by seeking details of suspected black money hoarders in Swiss banks and it has already got back information in a large number of cases in the last few years. As per the Swiss law, the FTA decision can be appealed within 30 days (in some cases 10 days), provided the appellant is able to give sufficient ground to challenge it. While the Swiss government documents did not disclose specific details related to the information and assistance sought by the Indian authorities regarding these Indian companies and individuals, such an administrative assistance follows submission of proof about financial and tax-related wrongdoings and typically involves sharing of information relating to bank account details and other financial data. While Switzerland has always denied being a safe haven for black money, it has begun sharing details for last few years with several countries, including India, after submission of evidence about financial and tax-related wrongdoings of the clients of Swiss banks. Besides, a new framework of automatic information exchange has been now put in place and the details can be accessed under the new system from this year. According to Switzerlands State Secretariat for International Finance, the global standard for the automatic exchange of information (AEOI) on financial accounts is expected to increase the transparency and prevent cross-border tax evasion. The global standard makes provision for the mutual exchange of information on financial accounts between states and territories that have agreed among themselves to the AEOI. Besides Switzerland, over 100 states and territories, including all major financial centres, have declared their intention to adopt the standard. PTI editorial@tribune.com Kolkata, May 25 Two days after her party suffered serious setbacks in the Lok Sabha elections, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday offered to step down from the post. Banerjee said that she had expressed her desire to quit the Chief Ministers post at an emergent meeting of the Trinamool Congress, but her decision was not endorsed by those present at the meeting. I feel insulted. In the meeting I expressed my desire to step down as Chief Minister, but those present did not endorse my decision, Banerjee told mediapersons after the meeting. She blamed polarisation along religious lines for her electoral setback and accused the BJP of engineering the division. Polling was done in Hindu vs Muslim line. But I cannot subscribe to communal politics. To me, people of every religion are same. While religion can lead to fanaticism, it also has a softer side and I like that. I cannot tolerate any kind of religious fundamentalism, she said. The TMC chief also accused the Election Commission of helping the BJP and said not a single request by the TMC was entertained by EC. She alleged that police officers, including the police commissioner looking after the area where Kolkatas NSCBI Airport is located, were transferred by the EC to facilitate transportation of cash by the BJP to bribe voters. For each vote, the BJP offered Rs 5,000, she claimed. The meeting was held in the backdrop of BJPs stunning show in West Bengal, where it won 18 of the 42 LS seats. This was BJPs best performance in the state since the formation of the party. The TMC won 22 seats this time. The Congress got the two seats. TNS uttara@tribuneindia.com Parvesh Sharma Tribune News Service Sangrur, May 26 Dhuri town of this district remained tense on Sunday after residents got to know about the alleged rape of a four-year-old girl in a local private school. They protested in front of Dhuri city police station to press for the arrest of accused and to take his custody to teach him a lesson. They also deamded action against management of the school, where the alleged crime occurred. On Saturday, the girl along with her mother had gone to school to attend a parent-teacher meeting. The victim was playing in the park of school when the accused took her to a nearby room and allegedly raped her. In the evening when the girl complained of pain in stomach, her family took her to hospital where the doctor prescribed medicine. Today when the victim again complained of pain, her parents got suspicious. On being asked, she narrated bad thing done with her by helper Kamal Kumar. Parents took the victim to Dhuri civil hospital and along with others started a protest in front of Dhuri police station. But police neither had received any complaint nor feedback from hospital by that time. After getting information about the alleged sexual assault, Dhuri DSP Mohit Aggarwal along with other senior officers reached police station and arrested accused Kamal, who works in school as a helper. After the arrest of the accused, the protesters demanded that he be handed over to them. The protest continued till evening and more police force was deputed in city from surrounding police stations to prevent any untoward incident. There must be strict action against the accused and management of school also. The state government must cancel the affiliation of school and close it permanently, said Harpal Singh Cheema, Leader of Opposition, who along with other AAP leaders also reached at Dhuri and assured support to the parents of the victim. Sangrur SSP Sandeep Garg said police had registered a case against accused Kamal Kumar under Sections 376 AB and started further investigations. During preliminary investigations, it has come to light that CCTV cameras of school were not working. Our team would conduct thorough investigation about the role of school management and none would be spared, said the SSP. At the time of filing of report, protest was going on in front of police station. RTHK: Crowded field jockey to replace May as PM The race to become Britain's next prime minister premier heated up on Sunday as Environment Secretary Michael Gove joined a growing list of hopefuls with competing visions of how to pull their divided country out of the EU. Gove's bid for the leadership in the aftermath of the 2016 Brexit referendum scuppered the chances of his one-time ally Boris Johnson, who is also running this time around and is seen as the current favourite. Theresa May's resignation announcement on Friday drastically raised the chances of Britain crashing out of the European Union without a deal on October 31 - the current deadline set by EU leaders. Some of the eight contenders to replace May have said they will seek to negotiate changes to a draft divorce deal struck last year, but would be prepared to proceed with a no-deal Brexit if the EU refused. The EU has said it is not prepared to renegotiate the terms of the deal. A no-deal Brexit would face fierce opposition in parliament, including from MPs in the ruling Conservative Party who backed staying in the union. Finance minister Philip Hammond warned he might even be prepared to take the drastic step of voting to bring down a future Conservative government in order to avoid no-deal exit. He told the BBC that leaving the EU without a deal would have "very significant economic and fiscal impact on the country". "It would challenge not just me but many of my colleagues," Hammond said. Former foreign minister Johnson said on Friday: "We will leave the EU on October 31, deal or no deal". Former Brexit secretary Dominic Raab, an even more committed eurosceptic, has echoed that position. "We'd be willing to walk away from the negotiations," he told the BBC. Esther McVey, another contender, set out a similar position: "We won't be asking for any more extensions." Raab and Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt announced their candidacies in the Sunday papers. Hunt had campaigned against Brexit in 2016 but has since reversed his stance. (AFP) This story has been published on: 2019-05-26. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Nacogdoches, TX (75965) Today Partly cloudy skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 64F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 64F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. editorial@tribune.com New Delhi, May 25 Two days after the Lok Sabha poll results, there is an upheaval in the Delhi unit of the Shiromani Akali Dal. Manjit Singh GK, former president of the Delhi unit, today asked the Sikh community to analyse why the party lost in Punjab despite all factors working in favour. The SAD lost eight seats of the 10 it contested. The statement comes hours after the Delhi unit of the party passed a resolution seeking GKs expulsion. Senior Akali leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa, an MLA in Delhi, said: A resolution was passed by the core committee last night seeking GKs expulsion. Indications are that the resolution stems from cases pending against GK in court on account of alleged fiscal impropriety in the DSGMC, which was once headed by him. GK said: What action those people will take who have been rejected by the panth? He said it needed to be analysed why Sikhs had given negative votes to the Akali candidates. I think its time to have discussions among Sikh intelligentsia. We must analyse the results and suggest measures to save the future of the Akali Dal, he said. TNS editorial@tribune.com Tribune News Service Faridkot, May 25 In the mysterious death of a 22-year-old youth in lock-up here on May 19, the police have arrested Parwinder Kaur, a woman from Kapurthala. She was produced before the Duty Magistrate, who remanded her in two-day police custody. It is alleged that the Crime Investigation Agency staff of Faridkot had arrested Jaspal Singh, the deceased youth on the complaint of Ranbir Singh, a resident of Nanded Sahib in Maharashtra. Ranbir Singh had married Parwinder Kaur, a widow, some time back. Before Parwinders marriage with Ranbir Singh, her young daughter was reportedly in friendship with Jaspal Singh, the deceased. It is alleged that upset with this friendship, Ranbir Singh and Parwinder Kaur had made a complaint to the police and Jaspal Singh was rounded up by the incharge of the CIA staff from Ratti Rori village on May 18 night. On the intervening night of May 18-19, Jaspal died under mysterious circumstances and this death was followed by suicide by CIA staff incharge Narinder Singh on May 19 evening. shriaya.dutt@tribuneindia.com WASHINGTON Scientists have developed a new test that can easily measure common stress hormones using sweat, blood, urine or saliva. Stress is often called "the silent killer" because of its stealthy and mysterious effects on everything from heart disease to mental health. Researchers from the University of Cincinnati in the US hope to turn the system into a simple device that patients can use at home to monitor their health. "I wanted something that's simple and easy to interpret. This may not give you all the information, but it tells you whether you need a professional who can take over," said Andrew Steckl, a professor at University of Cincinnati. Scientists developed a device that uses ultraviolet light to measure stress hormones in a drop of blood, sweat, urine or saliva. These stress biomarkers are found in all of these fluids, albeit in different quantities, Steckl said. "It measures not just one biomarker but multiple biomarkers. And it can be applied to different bodily fluids. That's what's unique," he said. The device, described in the journal American Chemical Society Sensors, is not intended to replace full-panel laboratory blood tests. "If you're able to do the test at home because you're not feeling well and want to know where you stand, this will tell whether your condition has changed a little or a lot," said Steckl. "Stress harms us in so many ways. And it sneaks up on you. You don't know how devastating a short or long duration of stress can be," said Prajokta Ray, from University of Cincinnati. "So many physical ailments such as diabetes, high blood pressure and neurological or psychological disorders are attributed to stress the patient has gone through. That's what interested me," said Ray. Taking exams always gave her stress. Understanding how stress affects you individually could be extremely valuable, she said. "Stress has been a hot topic over the past couple years. Researchers have tried very hard to develop a test that is cheap and easy and effective and detect these hormones in low concentrations," Ray said. "This test has the potential to make a strong commercial device. It would be great to see the research go in that direction," she added. PTI RAHUL SINGH RAHUL SINGH My father, Khushwant Singh, passed away a little over five years ago. He was 99 years old, yet mentally active right till the end (just minutes before he died he was solving a crossword puzzle). He had an unquenchable zest for life and spent much of his time in Kasauli, a military cantonment where my mother had inherited a home. He loved it there, taking long walks, noting the birds, trees and animals. Leopards were a common sight. He did a great deal of his reading and writing in tranquil Kasauli, where he was undisturbed. At 7 pm, he would have his two pegs of Scotch, usually with friends, even with strangers who simply wanted to visit him. But, at exactly 8 pm, they would be shown out. His love of nature and the importance of preserving the ecology were nurtured in Kasauli, and since it was a cantonment, the military was also very much in his thoughts. Successive brigadiers in charge of Kasauli became his friends. While he was still alive, though too old to travel to Kasauli, the idea of having a literary festival there in his name, reflecting his values and concerns, was suggested by my long-time companion, Niloufer Bilimoria. Then brigadier in charge Anantha Narayan and his wife, Aparna, were extremely enthusiastic with the idea and promised all assistance, including providing the Kasauli Club as the venue of the literary festival. That is how the Khushwant Singh Literary Festival (KSLF) was born seven years ago. We were apprehensive about getting a large-enough audience. We neednt have worried. Kasauli in mid-October became a magnet for all those who loved books and ideas and who wanted to mingle with some of the finest minds, achievers and celebrities in the country. From an initial audience of 500, we have grown to over 1,000. And they come from all over the country, even abroad. For the first few years, we had some eminent Pakistanis coming as well, since one of my father's abiding concerns was improving ties with our neighbour. Needless to say, the Pakistanis who were invited were on the same page as my father, keen to increase people-to-people contact. They were big hits with the audience, many of whom were serving and retired military officers. Sadly, in the past three years we have been unable to invite any Pakistanis, due to the deteriorating bilateral relations. Nevertheless, other passions of my father, such as his love for Urdu poetry, education of the girl child and the importance of humour, have been discussed and debated at the KSLFs, and successive brigadiers have been very supportive, including the present one, Vikram Chopra and his wife, Ruchi. About three years ago, Navtej Sarna, an unusual combination of diplomat, scholar and writer, said, "Why not bring the KSLF to London?" He was then our High Commissioner to Britain. And we thought to ourselves and replied, "Why not." After all, Khushwant Singh had done his higher education in King's College, London University, where he had studied law and qualified as a barrister. His first posting, after joining the diplomatic service was also in London. Britain made him an Anglophile and imbibed in him many of its democratic values that he cherished all his life: tolerance, secularism (though he was a proud Sikh), and the importance of dissent and humour. In the last three decades of his life, he was perturbed with the growth of religious fundamentalism among Muslims, Sikhs and even Hindus. He spoke up boldly against it, despite threats to his life. So, we decided on a small half-day "pop-up" London KSLF last May. Unfortunately, Sarna had moved to the USA as our Ambassador. London's Nehru Centre, which comes under the Indian High Commission, and which was going to be our KSLF venue, suddenly withdrew the invitation and the hosting, three days before the event! We still don't know why. A friend of Niloufer's, Zarir ("Zed") Cama, who once headed HSBC bank, came to our rescue by getting in touch with Indraneel Singh, a Sikh who owned the centrally-located Mayfair Hotel. Amazingly, at two days' notice, Indraneel, agreed to host us entirely. His family had been thrown out of Uganda by Idi Amin but, starting from virtually scratch, they had made good. Good for us as well! When King's College learnt of the KSLF, Tayyeb Shah from the college contacted us and offered my father's alma mater as the venue of the second London KSLF (dates June 1 and 2, all are welcome). Again, there were funding problems. And again, we were bailed out, this time; first by Chan and Pushpinder Chowdhury, who run a successful South Asian Film Festival in London, then by the ever-generous Vikramjeet Sahney of the Sun group, innovative pharmacist Dr Kartar Lalvani, restauranteur Camellia Panjabi, artist Prafulla Mohanti, and lawyer Kim Lalli all admirers of Khushwant Singh and what he stood for. The theme of this year's London KSLF is At home in the world. It will cover issues like migrations, partitions, Brexit, Indo-Pak ties, an appreciation of the late Nobel-laureate VS Naipaul, who made England his home, even though he remained essentially an outsider, observing societies with a discerning eye. Imtiaz Dharker, who was offered the position of UKs Poet Laureate, the first person from the subcontinent to get such an offer, but turned it down because it would interfere with her poetry writing, will be among the star speakers. Hovering over the proceedings, unseen, will be Khushwant Singh, having a good, benevolent laugh, sipping his Scotch and wondering if the values that he held so dear will endure and strengthen. The writer is a veteran journalist KV Prasad in New Delhi KV Prasad in New Delhi The thumping majority handed over to Narendra Modi by voters to lead the country for another five years marks a new beginning in national politics. For the first time in the 60-odd years since India became a Republic, a government led by a non-Congress leader with a full tenure was voted back to power for the second consecutive term. The Prime Minister characterised it as a mandate to construct a New India that is inclusive and aspirational in which age-old constructs of caste and community would be dismantled, leaving only two classes of citizens the poor and those who want to fight the scourge of poverty. Having offered the country a majboot sarkar, the BJP, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, struck a chord with people endorsing nationalism in which a strong country comes first, and everything else later. There were few questions on the unfulfilled promises or incomplete tasks of the government as the party assiduously kept reminding, especially the underprivileged, of how each section benefited through the delivery of various welfare schemes. My first vow is that I will not do anything out of ill-will or bad intention. I could make mistakes but never do anything out of malice. My second vow is that I shall never do anything for myself, and my third vow is that every minute of my life will be devoted to the country. Whenever you want to evaluate me, you must do so on these parameters, PM Modi said at the party headquarters in what is equivalent to the acceptance speech in the US by the President-elect. Even before the electoral process got over, reports suggested that the Prime Minister had put his official team to work on a draft action plan for the first 100 days in office. The immediate task for the Modi government will be to find a new team that will take forward the plan and translate it on the ground. Having offered what it wants to do to take the country forward, the BJPs Sankalp Patra can be a good reference point. While offering broadbrush strokes of what the government wants to accomplish in the second term, it also has a sub-set of 75 specific objectives by 2022 when India turns 75. This will be the template to measure progress when India turns 75. Over the past five years, there were concerns expressed in the country over the drift of the society. There were sporadic reports about some sections of peopletook law in their hands, lynched many and handed down punishment in their way. While those violating law of the land should be taken to task, the question is who should enforce it, authorities entrusted to maintain it or mobs? Strong action taken or promised by state governments, irrespective of the party to which it belongs, should act as a deterrent. It is reassuring that Prime Minister Modis first tweet after gaining ground on the day of results said, Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas plus Sabka Vishwas. The party manifesto promises that inclusive development is its commitment to empower and develop with dignity all minorities, including Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and others. In the speech at BJP head office, the PM remarked that during the campaign, there was no reference to either secularism or corruption being an issue. The BJP Sankalp Patra underscores that the party remains committed to combat the menace of terrorism and having demonstrated its will through surgical and air strikes, it will pursue the policy of zero tolerance to terrorism. Of course, one is yet to hear about the progress made on the Naga Accord signed in the early days of the Modi government. Among the other challenges before the new government will be the ability to deal with law and order issues, which essentially is a state subject. However, the party promised to engage with states in modernisation and bring everyone at par to combat emerging threats from cyber space. Some contentious issues There are a few hot-button issues. The party had promised to abolish Article 370 and 35 A. This was the issue on which the BJP had campaigned in the state. It is likely to find greater resonance when schedule for the state assembly is being worked out. Similarly in the Northeast, the issue of Citizenship Amendment Bill that caused unrest can now be taken forward since the region, in general, and Assam, in particular, has reposed faith in the BJP. The partys long-standing promises also found a mention in the manifesto. These include resolution of the Ram Temple construction at Ayodhya and adopting a Uniform Civil Code. In the past, these issues, along with Article 370, were kept on the backburner, especially during the NDA regime of Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The BJP believes there cannot be gender equality till such time India adopts the Uniform Civil Code, which protects the rights of all women, and the BJP reiterates its stand to draft a Uniform Civil Code, drawing upon the best traditions and harmonising these with the modern times. In this light, the new government would work to take forward the legislation on triple talaq as well. Other subjects that are close to the current BJP leadership is the issue of simultaneous polls which the Prime Minister has been talking about and urging people and parties to think about how it can be done. According to party leaders, the issue would be taken up after the party gets numerical strength in Parliament to push this Constitutional amendment. The party is also promising to provide for womens reservation in Parliament and state legislatures, With a clear mandate and most political parties on board, this progressive piece of law-making should be easy. There are and will be many challenges before the government with the task of sustaining economic trajectory in the wake of anticipated headwinds while confronting changes occurring in the geo-political and strategic sphere focused separately on this page. Sandeep Dikshit in New Delhi Sandeep Dikshit in New Delhi The world became more complicated during the months India was in election mode. The clear majority for PM Narendra Modi should give him considerable elbow room and accommodation from partners to play the altered diplomatic chessboard. India is in a particularly challenging position because of its policy of equidistance from both the US and its opposing line up of Russia and China. This necessitates a deep examination of its current position in the world because of the zero-sum approach of US President Donald Trump a variation of George Bushs either you are with us or against us and Chinas coming of age as an economic and military power. While the elections were on, the US refused to give India a waiver from its sanctions for it continued to purchase Iranian oil. The Russian deals for military hardware have also come under the American scanner as these violate a US law that prohibits countries from entering into arms deals with Russia. India has entered into three big-ticket deals with Russia S-400 missile defence systems, leasing a nuclear submarine and setting up a factory to make Kalashnikovs. The US has offered no cheer to India on the trade front. It remains unmoved to Indian pleas to continue with the zero-duty regime for its exports worth Rs 40,000 crore to the US. Given the current unforgiving mood in the White House of reducing the trade deficit with all partner countries, it is unlikely that India will get a fresh avenue to push its exports now that the IT boom has hit several speed-breakers. China has warmly congratulated Prime Minister Modi on his victory but Xi Jinpings effusiveness masks the Chinese frustration to get India aboard on its One Belt One Road project or to wean it away from the US-led naval alliance that aims to constrict space for a growing Chinese navy. As soon as PM Modi takes office for the second time, the Iran, US, China and Russia files will demand his immediate attention. As will the neighbourhood, especially Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Nepal all of which are showing inclination to sign Beijings project for communication links. The most important relationship that needs retuning with intervention from the Prime Minister himself is the US. And it needs a Modi-Trump face-to-face meeting to iron out several wrinkles. On the bilateral level, there are trade disputes that India deliberately kept on the backburner because of the ongoing elections. Then there are implications of American displeasure with Iran and Russia that is causing collateral damage to Indias national interests. India also needs to determine for itself how far it can afford to tango with the Quad (a grouping that includes the US, Australia and Japan) in the maritime domain around China. India can well comply with US directions to turn its back on Iranian oil. But unlike Japan, the oil ties are not Indias only relationship with Tehran. India is also participating in two major transportation projects running across the heart of Iran. This will help it overcome the Pakistani refusal to allow India transit access through its territory. PM Modi will be stretched in collaborating with Iran to develop its port of Chabahar and extending a rail link into Afghanistan and Central Asia while maintaining a distance on the oil relationship. A similar situation confronts India with respect to Russia. Here, purchasing oil is not a problem but the US has threatened to impose penalties on countries entering into arms trade with Russia. Just before the elections, India had struck three major arms deals with Russia. Making the US acquiesce to these aberrations is a knot PM Modi has to untangle. While ensuring that its arms trade with Russia continues unhampered, PM Modis next major challenge will be to keep the US military-industrial complex satiated with a steady stream of orders. It remains to be seen how PM Modi manages to fit in its Make-in-India policy in an environment where no arms-exporting country is willing to enter into a co-designing, co-production type of an arrangement. The third big relationship that needs a relook is China. As per indications from Beijing, Modi and Xi will have a round of confidential, trust-building conversations in India later this year. The Sino-Indian interplay on security and economic fronts will also impact New Delhis ties with countries such as Japan, Vietnam and Australia that are suspicious of Chinese intentions. The challenges of bilateral ties mask the sluggishness in exports which are putting strains on Indias balance of payments position, and thereby crimping its room for flexibility. The multilateral system, especially of the WTO and the UN, too, needs fixing. A tight national purse and the perception that India is a willing recipient for foreign goods put fetters on its options, especially in the neighbourhood where China has been generous with its purse strings. PM Modi will have to make structural changes in Indias economic and security outlook as the current model seems to have run into the law of diminishing returns. pardeepdhull@gmail.com Beijing, May 26 China should hold talks with Tibets spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, US Ambassador to China Terry Branstad told Chinese officials during a trip to the Himalayan region where he criticised Beijing for interfering in religious freedom. Branstad visited Tibet last week, the first such trip by a US ambassador since 2015, amid escalating trade and diplomatic tension between the two countries. His visit followed the passing of a US law in December that requires the United States to deny visas to Chinese officials in charge of implementing policies that restrict access to Tibet for foreigners, legislation that was denounced by China. Branstad met Chinese government officials and Tibetan religious and cultural figures, and raised our long-standing concerns about lack of consistent access to Tibet, the US Embassy in Beijing said in an emailed statement on Saturday. He encouraged the Chinese government to engage in substantive dialogue with the Dalai Lama or his representatives, without preconditions, to seek a settlement that resolves differences, an embassy spokeswoman said. He also expressed concerns regarding the Chinese governments interference in Tibetan Buddhists freedom to organise and practise their religion, she said. Beijing sent troops into remote, mountainous Tibet in 1950 in what it officially terms a peaceful liberation and has ruled there with an iron fist ever since. The Dalai Lama fled to India in early 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule, and Beijing still brands him a dangerous separatist. China says its leaders have the right to approve his successor, as a legacy from Chinas emperors. But the 83-year-old Nobel peace laureate monk, who lives in exile in the northern Indian hill town of Dharamshala, has said that his incarnation could be found in India after he dies, and that any other successor named by China would not be respected. Tibetan tradition holds that the soul of a senior Buddhist monk is reincarnated in the body of a child on his death. Tibets Communist Party secretary, Wu Yingjie, told Branstad how China had made huge achievements in guaranteeing according to law religious freedom and traditional culture in Tibet, the official Tibet Daily newspaper said late on Saturday. Wu added that he sincerely welcomed more American friends to visit the region. Chinas Foreign Ministry said last week that China hoped the ambassador would not take any prejudices with him on the trip. In December, China criticised the United States for passing the Reciprocal Access to Tibet Act, which seeks to promote access to Tibet for US diplomats and other officials, journalists and other citizens by denying US entry for Chinese officials deemed responsible for restricting access to Tibet. Reuters pardeepdhull@gmail.com New Delhi, May 26 In a strong signal to US President Donald Trump who is urging European allies to put pressure on or even block Huawei, the Chinese conglomerates Founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei has stressed that the US campaign against the company would not be powerful enough to call on everyone to follow them. Petrified at the Chinese dominance in the field of 5G a technology that has the potential to grow from approximately $528 million in 2018 to $26 billion in 2022 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 118 per cent Trump has imposed fresh restrictions on Chinese telecom giant Huawei in the US, followed by several American tech giants like Google, Qualcomm and Intel announcing to cut business ties with Huawei. In a lengthy discussion with the Chinese media, Zhengfei denied that restrictions imposed by the US on its products and supplies will affect the roll-out of 5G technology. I used to have afternoon tea at 10 Downing Street. They asked me how I learned to catch up with the rest of the world, and I said it was the afternoon tea. Therefore, they received me with afternoon tea at Downing Street. We have been communicating with leaders of different countries. Every country has their own interests. The campaign of the US will not be powerful enough to call on everyone to follow them, the Huawei CEO told the media. As tech giants cut their ties with Huawei, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) - the worlds largest contract chipset maker - would continue to deliver critical semiconductors to Huawei Technologies. In sectors where we have the most advanced technologies, at least in the 5G sector, there wont be much impact. Not just that, our competitors wont be able to catch up with us within two to three years, said a beaming Zhengfei. 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, he added. The company believes in 1+1 policy - half of its 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. These relationships wont be destroyed by a piece of paper from the US government, Zhengfei told the Chinese media. Anticipating a US backlash, the companys subsidiary HiSilicon which makes the Kirin chipsets for Huawei phones, has been reportedly stockpiling components and is confident about a steady supply of most products. Another critical front where Huawei can see its market share slip significantly if it does not get Googles support for myriad of products like Maps, Search, YouTube and Play Store, without which, the life cant be imagined. Google is a good company - a highly responsible company. They are also trying to persuade the US government to solve this problem. We are both finding solutions and discussing possible remedies, said the Huawei ECO. To mitigate the effects of the Google Android ban, Huawei has reportedly been working on its custom HongMeng operating system but it is in early days. We will certainly be able to continue serving our customers. Our mass production capacity is huge, and adding Huawei to the Entity List wont have a huge impact on us. We are making progress in bidding worldwide. Our growth will slow down, though not by as much as everyone imagines. In the first quarter of this year, our revenue grew 39 per cent over the same period last year. This rate may continue decreasing towards the end of this year. But the US ban will not lead to negative growth or harm the development of our industry, he hoped. The company currently has 26 centres of expertise for R&D globally, over 700 mathematicians, 800 physicists and 120 chemists working at Huawei. My children prefer Apple products over Huawei. Does it mean that they dont love Huawei? Of course not. We cannot simply say that one is patriotic if they use Huawei products and they are not if they dont use Huawei products. Huawei products are ultimately commodities. People use them if they like them. Politics should be left out of it, he noted. IANS sanjiv@tribunemail.com Islamabad May 25 Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan warned against the risk of conflict in the region, following a visit to Islamabad by Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif as tensions between Washington and Tehran escalated. Strains have increased between Iran and the United States, which is a firm backer of Tehrans regional rival Saudi Arabia, in the wake of this months attack on oil tankers in the Gulf region that Washington has blamed on Iran. Tehran has distanced itself from the bombings, but the United States has sent a aircraft carrier and an extra 1,500 troops to the Gulf, sparking concerns about the risks of conflict in a volatile region. Khan, who has been seeking to improve Pakistans strained relations with neighbour Iran, said he was concerned about the rising tensions in the Gulf, but did not specifically name the United States or Saudi Arabia. He underscored that war was not a solution to any problem, Khans office said in a statement late on Friday, citing the premier. Washington has been seeking to increasingly tighten sanctions against Iran, as relations continue to worsen under President Donald Trump. Reuters pardeepdhull@gmail.com Islamabad, May 26 Pakistan is ready to hold talks with the new Indian government to resolve all outstanding issues, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said. Addressing an Iftar dinner in Multan on Saturday, Qureshi said both India and Pakistan should sit on negotiation table to solve issues for the sake of prosperity and peace of the region, state-run Radio Pakistan reported. His remarks came two days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday led his Bharatiya Janata Party towards a super-sized victory for a second term in office. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday 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. 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 wins the general elections. The results of Indias general elections are very significant for Pakistan as the new government in New Delhi will determine the course of Indo-Pakistan ties, which were pushed to a new low after the Pulwama terror attack. Just a day before the announcement of results, 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. He conveyed to her Pakistans desire to resolve all issues through 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 sanjiv@tribunemail.com Johannesburg, May 25 Cyril Ramaphosa, the head of the African National Congress, was sworn in for a five-year term as South Africas President on Saturday after being elected unopposed by Parliament following the sixth general elections this month. Ramaphosa (66), swore allegiance to the Constitution in the presence of thousands of dignitaries and citizens at Loftus Versfeld Stadium in the capital, Pretoria after being voted unopposed in a process overseen by Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng as the countrys leader in the National Assembly this week. Several heads of state, former heads of state and heads of international and regional organisation attended the swearing in ceremony. It is the first time that a Presidents inauguration was open to the public and not just invited guests. The ANC, facing factionalism and public outcries about inaction against senior officials accused of corruption, won the May 8 general election but its share of the vote fell. The ANC secured 57.5 per cent of the parliamentary vote, while the main Opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), also saw its vote share fall. The ANCs seats in the 400-member parliament fell to 230 from 249. The main Opposition DA also saw its number of seats fall to 84 from 89, while the leftist Economic Freedom Fighters gained 19 seats to 44. The South Africa Constitution requires voters to choose a party, which then selects members to go to the National Assembly, where they choose the President. It was the sixth general elections since anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela was elected the first democratic President of the country. Ramaphosa first took office last year after former President Jacob Zuma resigned amid corruption scandals. After taking the oath of office, Ramaphosa said, Today, we reaffirm our determination to work with our sisters and brothers across the continent to realise the African Unions vision of Agenda 2063. To build the Africa that we all Africans want. He called for an efficient, capable and ethical state, a state that is free from corruption, for companies that generate social value and propel human development, for elected officials and public servants who faithfully serve no other cause than that of the public. He called for building a truly non-racial society, one that belongs to all South Africans, and in which all South Africans belong. Africa is poised once again to rise, to assume its place among the free and equal nations of the world. PTI Sixth general election editorial@tribune.com Lahore, May 25 Six militants have been arrested for allegedly collecting funds for terror outfits Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) in Punjab province. Pakistani security forces have launched a crackdown on terror financing after mounting pressure from the global community. The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) of the Punjab Government arrested the six members of the proscribed organisations from various parts of the province, CTD spokesman said in a statement. The CTD said those arrested were collecting funds for terror financing for their proscribed organisations JeM and LeJ. No member of any proscribed organisation will be allowed to collect funds for financing terrorism and extremism under the law of the land, the CTD said in a statement. Cases have been registered against the suspects under the anti-terrorism law for committing offences of terrorism financing. Muhammad Zahid and Irfan Ahmad of JeM were arrested from Gujranwala, and Zafar Iqbal of JeM from Rawalpindi. Similarly, Muhammad Hanzala and Hamza of LeJ were arrested from Lahore while Ijaz Ahmad of the same banned organisation from Multan. Paris-based international terror financing watchdog FATF in June last year placed Pakistan on its watch list in a bid to push the country to halt support for militant groups. PTI Heres a collection curated by The Associated Press entertainment journalists of whats arriving on TV, streaming services and music platforms this week. Movies Maggie Gyllenhaals feature directing debut, The Lost Daughter, scintillatingly adapts the 2008 Elena Ferrante novel about maternal ambivalence and a holiday in Greece. The film, which begins streaming Friday on Netflix, stars Olivia Colman as a vacationing professor whose interactions with a boisterous, distracting clan (including a young mother in their midst played by Dakota Johnson), recall her own parenting history, seen in flashbacks with Jessie Buckley. The Ministry of Health advises the population that on the evening of Boxing Day, six more ca LIBERATION war icon and former Cabinet Minister, Dr Dumiso Dabengwa, who died in Nairobi, Kenya, last Thursday has been declared a national hero. Dr Dabengwa was enroute to Zimbabwe from India where he had gone to seek medical treatment. He was 79. His family led by his widow Zodwa, arrived at the Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport at mid day yesterday. The body of The Black Russian as Dr Dabengwa was affectionately known is expected to arrive in Bulawayo this morning. After the arrival Dr Dabengwas family held a meeting at the VIP lounge with Vice President Kembo Mohadi who relayed the message on the national hero status. VP Mohadi was accompanied by Zanu-PF national chairperson Cde Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri, secretary for administration Dr Obert Mpofu, secretary for finance Cde Patrick Chinamasa and secretary for business liaison Cde Sithembiso Nyoni. Also present were Bulawayo Provincial Affairs Minister Judith Ncube and Retired Colonel Tshinga Dube among other senior party members. Speaking to journalists after the meeting with the Dabengwa family VP Mohadi said the ex-Zipra intelligence supremo would be buried like all other national heroes. The Government and the ruling party Zanu-PF, after they heard about the demise of our Cde Dumiso Dabengwa, we decided, we all agreed unanimously that he be conferred with the national hero status, said VP Mohadi. So I have just come here to convey the message to the relatives. That is what we have done. He is going to be buried in the manner all other national heroes are interred. VP Mohadi said the family had indicated that Dr Dabengwas wish was to be buried in Ntabazinduna, Umguza District in Matabeleland North. They indicated to us that he had said that he wanted to be buried next to his mother and as the Government we are not against that. We have done it before, (National University of Science and Technology founding Vice Chancellor) Professor (Phineas) Makhurane was buried at his homestead and (musician Oliver) Mtukudzi was also buried at his homestead, said VP Mohadi. However, the Government will take over all the expenses and everything that is required towards the burial will be borne by the Government until the day he is interred. Unfortunately the body could not come in this plane, we were told that the holding is very small so the body remained behind. We are making arrangements that his body is flown to Zimbabwe. The VP said Dr Dabengwas contribution to the liberation struggle was unquestionable. When I got to the struggle, he was the director of intelligence and that was the department I was under so he was my commander. Thereafter, he was assigned to be the secretary for the revolutionary council then Ethan Dube took over. After Ethan disappeared, we dont know where he is up to now, he came back again and became my commander, said VP Mohadi. He has been my commander not only in that sense but in the sense as well that he had been in the struggle before I joined the struggle as a Zipra. He belonged to everybody, he was a unifier, everybody loved him. Who didnt love DD? We have got no problems whether he was now in a different party from my party but we were still buddies. The day or two before he left he said wena mfana buya la. I was at State House, so he was calling me mfana up to now, I was mfana. VP Mohadi said the last time he spoke to Dr Dabengwa when he was still in India, the liberation icon sounded frail and told him that kwehlule. When I was a teenager I was assigned a book to read. It was The Tower of London, by William Harrison Ainsworth, and it was set in London in the mid-1600s. It was about the bubonic plague and the Great Fire of London (which, maybe, cleansed the plague?). TROY, N.Y. Steve Jane, a graduate student in biological sciences at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, was awarded a prestigious Fulbright U.S. Student Program fellowship for the 2019-2020 academic year from the U.S. Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board. Jane will spend his Fulbright tenure researching freshwater ecological responses to changes in climate and land use at Uppsala University in Sweden. The Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program was established in 1946 to expand and strengthen the relationships between the people of the United States and citizens of the rest of the world. The program counts 59 Nobel Laureates, 82 Pulitzer Prize winners, and 71 MacArthur Fellows among its alumni. The program selects 800 U.S. scholars annually for teaching and research-based academic and professional achievement as well as a record of service and demonstrated leadership in their respective fields. We are proud of Steve and congratulate him for receiving this distinguished opportunity to represent Rensselaer as a Fulbright Scholar, Curt Breneman, dean of the School of Science at Rensselaer said. This recognition is both a personal honor for Steve and a credit to his research adviser, Kevin Rose, the Frederic R. Kolleck 52 Career Development Chair in Freshwater Ecology. It is also an acknowledgment of the fine work of the faculty and the staff of the Department of Biological Sciences, and the School of Science as a whole, Breneman noted of the award. Jane is interested in understanding the consequences of increased browning in lakes. The term browning describes increases in tea-like dissolved organic matter in water bodies that make lakes darker in color. Browning is occurring in lakes throughout the Northeastern U.S. and Scandinavia as temperatures increase and natural areas are lost to urbanization and agriculture, sending more dissolved organic matter into lakes and other water bodies. Dissolved organic matter reacts with water treatment practice, forming carcinogenic compounds, and can reduce the biomass of photosynthetic organisms, which can, in turn, impact other organisms and overall water quality. Janes research will help to tease apart the specific impacts of increasing dissolved organic matter from the many other proposed mechanisms that drive biological communities in lakes. We want to understand how lakes are going to respond in the future to changes among all these drivers, and for that, it helps to understand individual drivers and how they affect these systems, Jane said. These changes are occurring in our region and also in Sweden. But Sweden has records that we lack, extensive long-term monitoring records that include detailed information about invertebrate communities. That makes Sweden a good place to study this phenomenon, Jane added. In Sweden, Jane will work with Gesa Weyhenmeyer in the Department of Ecology and Genetics at Uppsala University. His research will use data to examine chemical changes stemming from increases in dissolved organic matter that precede changes in bottom-dwelling fauna. Jane will leave Rensselaer in September 2019 and return in June 2020 to wrap up his doctoral work with Rensselaer aquatic ecologist Kevin Rose. The country still lags behind the rest of East Africa, despite constitutional provisions to ensure that women are represented in elected offices. International Womens Day is marked on the 8th of March every year to celebrate the achievements of women, and as a focal point for the movement of womens rights globally. The country still lags behind the rest of East Africa, despite constitutional provisions to ensure that women are represented in elected offices.Photo/PesaCheck. Source: UGC The day is marked with increasing calls for gender equality in academia, politics and the private sector to empower women. The 2019 International Womens Day theme is Balance for Better, highlighting a need to include women in decision-making, as well as in resource allocation and distribution. Despite the fact that gender balance is a key enabler of growth and development in economies and communities, the world still has a long way to go to attain given the current state of affairs. Balance for Better is a timely theme in the Kenyan context, especially following the promulgation of the 2010 constitution, hailed as one of the most progressive in the world. However, despite key provisions for equitable representation in elected offices, Kenya is the only country in East Africa yet to implement a law on affirmative action in order to realize gender balance in political representation. Meanwhile, the overall global gender gap the term used to refer to the average difference in remuneration for men and women is currently at 32%, meaning that women worldwide make on average 68% of what men earn, and this gap will take 108 years to close, as the 2018 Global Gender Report by the World Economic Forum shows. The most challenging gender gaps to close are those in the economy and political aspects, which will take 202 and 107 years to close respectively. Constitutional provisions for gender balance are yet to take effect The Constitution of Kenya provides a powerful framework for the achievement of gender equality in the country. Article 27(8) states that the State shall take legislative and other measures to implement the principle that not more than two-thirds of the members of elective or appointive bodies shall be of the same gender, with Article 81(b) reading Not more than two-thirds of the members of elective public bodies shall be of the same gender. However, despite these provisions, Kenya remains firmly in last place in terms of the representation of women in the East African region. The table below shows the political representation following the 2017 general elections (both elected and nominated): Kenya remains firmly in last place in terms of the representation of women in the East African region. Photo/Parliament of Kenya. Source: UGC Almost 9 years since the promulgation of the new constitutional dispensation, the gender rule is yet to be enshrined into law. Despite the fact that Kenyas constitution is the most liberal in comparison to its regional counterparts, with clauses calling for no more than two-thirds of the members of any elected body to be of the same gender, the country has performed dismally in terms of gender representation in elected office when compared with the rest of the East African Community. The country is still 41 women away from meeting the constitutionally accepted political threshold of 33% of the 349 members sitting in the National Assembly, with 76 out of the 349 members of parliament being women. The Senate needs 2 additional women members to meet the one third quota requirement. Kenya ranks last in East Africa for women representation Kenyas National Assembly and Senate rank last in East Africa in terms of the number of women, as the data below from the Inter-Parliamentary Union shows: Kenyas National Assembly and Senate rank last in East Africa in terms of the number of women. Photo/Inter Parliamentary Union. Source: UGC Data is from the various National Parliaments as at 1st January 2019 It has been a bumpy 8-year journey for Kenyas gender bill. In December 2012, the Supreme Court of Kenya, at the request of the Attorney General, issued an advisory opinion directing that the government address the two-thirds gender principle progressively and have it implemented by August 27, 2015. The AG had sought this advisory opinion based on the fact that the constitution did not provide the mechanisms through which the two-thirds gender rule would be actualized. Parliament then extended the time frame for the enactment of this provision by exactly one year, but failed to implement it yet again, leading to a petition by the Centre for Rights Education and Awareness and the Community Advocacy and Awareness Trust against Parliament and Senate at the High Court for violating the law. While issuing a ruling on this case in March 2017, Justice John Mativo directed Parliament and the Attorney General to enact the legislation within 60 days and report progress on the same to the Chief Justice. Again, this was not done. Parliament now faces the risk of dissolution, since its current composition does not meet the requirements of the constitution on the gender principle. Persistent quorum hitches have stifled debate on the Gender Bill The introduction of the Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) Bill to discuss the implementation of the gender principle has failed four times due to a quorum hitch, putting the willingness of Parliament as currently constituted to question over its willingness to let this matter slide once again due to a technicality. Opponents of the Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) bill say that it will put further strain on the public purse, with nominated Member of Parliament David Sankok arguing that the persons nominated do not really represent the interests of the women, and that the nominations are not based on merit or competence. An article by the Daily Nation indicated that the potential cost of implementing the Gender Bill could be about KSh 60 million in monthly salaries and allowances for the additional MPs, while the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) in an analysis published in 2015 found that the annual cost to taxpayers would be KSh 21.1 million for every additional seat in the National Assembly, and KSh31.3 million for each additional seat in the Senate. This means that it would cost KSh 865.1 million for an additional 41 women in the National Assembly and KSh 62.6 million for 2 more female senators, bringing the total to KSh 927.7 million. The IEA report further added that parliament is the least expensive branch of government, accounting for only 1.5% of national spending, with the executive spending 42 times more than parliament and 60 times more than the judiciary. IEA estimates that the maximum annual additional per capita cost of implementing the two-thirds rule is KSh 57.83, (KSh 865.1 million divided by Kenyas population), an amount it considers affordable to Kenyans. Kenya leads East Africa economically, but not in fair representation The need for gender equality in political and economic fronts cannot be overstated. Despite being East Africas wealthiest nation, Kenya still lags behind in the implementation of constitutional provisions to give women a voice in matters of national importance. Gender balance is key in the social and economic development of any country, and the inequality that the global gender gap shows is a major problem at national, county and local levels. Therefore, Kenya should strive to ensure proper gender representation especially in the political and economic space in order to ensure that women have a voice when it comes to decision-making at the national and county levels, and in effect, balancing the equation for the better. Do you want us to fact-check something a politician or other public figure has said about public finances? Complete this form, or reach out to us on any of the contacts below, and well help ensure youre not getting bamboozled. This report was written by Ann Ngengere, PesaCheck Content Editor and was edited by PesaCheck Managing Editor Eric Mugendi. The infographics are by Odhiambo Ouma, a Kenyan graphic designer, visual artist and digital content producer. PesaCheck, co-founded by Catherine Gicheru and Justin Arenstein, is East Africas first public finance fact-checking initiative. It seeks to help the public separate fact from fiction in public pronouncements about the numbers that shape our world, with a special emphasis on pronouncements about public finances that shape governments delivery of so-called Sustainable Development Goals or SDG public services, such as healthcare, rural development and access to water / sanitation. PesaCheck also tests the accuracy of media reportage. To find out more about the project, visit pesacheck.org. Source: TUKO.co.ke KKT Architects, inc. is pleased to announce that Meagan Farley has joined our firm as Director of Business Development. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Mass Communications from St. Michael's College in Vermont, then worked in broadcast journalism from Vermont to New York to Kansas to Virginia and finally to Tulsa, where she plans to stay. Because of her passion for architecture and urban developmentrooted in her time in Roanoke and stoked by Tulsas Downtown Renaissanceshe created the Tulsa Rising news franchise to highlight the energy of Tulsas reemergence. She is also a Board Trustee for the Tulsa Foundation for Architecture, which spotlights current projects as well as Tulsas rich architectural history. Meagan frequents City of Tulsa meetings, and shes excited to keep learning about projects and developments across the region. She will use her expertise to represent KKT to the community. If they refuse (to hold an early election) we will force them. Some will ask how will this be achieved. Zimbabwe has a dark cloud hanging over it, until and unless the dark cloud is removed, this country is going to slide into further problems because we had a disputed election. Oklahoma Renaissance Festival: Step back in time to the 16th century with Queen Elizabeth I of England, King James of Scotland and more than 600 costumed performers and artisans as they create the boisterous village of Castleton at the annual Oklahoma Renaissance Festival. Held at the Castle of Muskogee, 3400 W. Fern Mountain Road, Muskogee, this festival features a royal court, jousters and jesters, magicians, musicians and minstrels. Browse more than 135 booths for one-of-a-kind handcrafted items. The festival runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday and Monday. For tickets and more information, visit okcastle.com. First-responders are dealing with sinkholes in the River Parks, in addition to the tornadoes that swept through the city early Sunday, he added. If residents are asked to leave, they should leave, said U.S. Congressman Kevin Hern, who attended the Sunday press conference. His office is working with local and state officials to coordinate with FEMA for aid, and he said the cooperation between levels of government is everything the area needs to see in a disaster situation. Keystone on Sunday was at 110% of its available flood pool and well into a 3-foot "surcharge" allowance. If allowed to rise higher, the water could over-top the dam's Tainter gates and create an even more hazardous situation, according to Tulsa District spokesman Preston Chasteen. "We are currently experiencing inflows in excess of 285,000 cfs. We are increasing our releases to try to prevent even larger releases tonight at 7 (p.m.) and again in the morning at 7 (a.m.)," he said. The Corps had planned to keep levels at 255,000 cfs through Thursday, but rainfall of 1 to 2.5 inches across the region with a storm that brought straight-line winds and a possible tornado through Tulsa ultimately dashed that plan. Water was on both sides of the levee. Stormwater runoff pooled on the north side of one of the levees in west Tulsa Saturday. On the south side, it rushed passed as water was let out of Keystone Dam to cope with consistent rainfall. In some cases, it seeped through the ground to the north side, the side that is supposed to be dry. If it starts moving material, thats going to be a deciding factor because that means the levee is eroding and in danger of failure, Christopher Whitestone said. Whitestone lives in an old family home that survived the 1986 flood. He and his wife, Lena Whitestone, made their preparations, but they intend as do several of their neighbors to stick it out. Their bags are by the door. The Whitestones are ready to crate their pets and drive away from their home. We cannot move, of course, our entire household, Christopher Whitestone said. It would be catastrophic for us. When all you have is in one spot, its hard to leave. The Sunday Mail has gathered that areas such as Matobo in Matabeleland South province have since recorded low temperatures around 4 degrees Celsius. According to the Meteorological Services Department of Zimbabwe (MSD), a cold front has started sweeping across the country, triggering low temperatures. Weve lost all our World War I vets and nearly lost all those who fought in World War II, so now the focus is turning more to Vietnam, said Goodridge, who estimated he owns more than 2,000 artifacts and memorabilia. Its important we continue to honor those who fought and died for us. Soon well start adding more stuff from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Nearby, Rick George sat at a table representing the American Legion Post 17, which is based out of Sand Springs. While there to honor those who died in combat he said they were present Saturday to also assist any veterans affected by recent flooding. Our post is safe from flooding, and we want to help those who are affected by it, said George who is an Army veteran. They can contact us and the VA is assisting as well. Dont hesitate to ask for help. George said veterans in need of help can visit the Oklahoma Department of Veteran Affairs website at OKVets.ok.gov or call 918-781-7766 for assistance. Another pharmaceutical company has settled with the state, but the trial against the nations largest drug manufacturer is still set to get underway this week, Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter announced on Sunday. Teva Pharmaceuticals has agreed to an $85 million settlement with the state, according to a news release from the Attorney Generals Office. Specific terms of the settlement may take up to two weeks to finalize and will be released at a later date. Money from the settlement will be used to address the opioid crisis in the state, Hunter said. The attorney general said his office remains focused on the states trial against Johnson & Johnson, which is set to get underway Tuesday in Cleveland County District Court. Planning for memorials and events to recognize the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa race massacre in 2021 are ramping up. From a state-recognized commission to private organizations, groups are working on remembrances to honor the victims and encourage reflection and action on racial reconciliation. The event of 1921 should be memorialized significantly and properly with authentic remorse for what happened and under the guidance of Tulsas black community. For generations, the 1921 race massacre was absent from Oklahoma history books. It was deliberately covered up and eventually disappeared from the memories of succeeding generations outside the Greenwood and north Tulsa districts. This omission is an insult to African American residents. It compounds the moral stain of the original crime. The past cannot be changed, but we can do better moving forward. Among the first steps is providing public places for obtaining accurate information. 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 Maputo - Mozambique will host an International Pledging Conference to secure support for reconstruction following the devastation caused by cyclones Idai and Kenneth, which affected about 1.85 million people. The event will be held on 31 May and 1 June in the city of Beira, in one of the areas worst hit by the cyclones. The cyclones struck Mozambique in March and April, the first time the country has suffered from such devastating cyclones within six weeks. Cyclone Idai alone left more than 600 people dead and millions in need. The conference is being organized by the Post Cyclone Reconstruction Secretariat, recently established by the Government of Mozambique to facilitate the reconstruction and building of resilience in the affected areas. "I personally witnessed the results of the devastation caused by Cyclone Idai during my recent visit to the affected areas. UNDP fully supports the efforts of the Government of Mozambique to achieve sustainable recovery and resilience," said Ahunna Eziakonwa, Assistant Administrator and Director of the Regional Bureau for Africa for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), who visited Mozambique in April to see the damage caused by the tropical cyclones. The basis for the pledges is the Post Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) - an in-depth technical study conducted by UNDP, the European Union, the World Bank and the African Development Bank. Mozambique Government Spokesperson Ana Comoana said that "this report forms the basis of the Beira conference". According to the PDNA, Mozambique needs US$3.2 billion for post-cyclone reconstruction in the social, productive, and infrastructure areas affected in the Sofala, Manica, Tete, Zambezia, Inhambane, Nampula and Cabo Delgado provinces. The first day will be dedicated to technical discussions, and the second will focus on pledges headlined by H.E. Felipe Jacinto Nyusi, President of Mozambique. UNDP is actively supporting the conference with policy and technical expertise, having provided assistance in recovery efforts from the very beginning. Going forward, UNDP will be working with all partners to advance recovery and help build resilience. About 700 participants from international organizations, development partners, private sector and civil society organizations are expected to be present at the conference. Mozambique President H.E. Filipe Nyusi and several senior ministers will also participate. The International Tribunal on May 25 ruled Russia should immediately release three Ukrainian naval vessels, which were detained in the Kerch Strait in November 2018, and their crews. Ruslan Balbek, a member of Russia's State Duma who was illegally elected as a representative of Russia-occupied Crimea, says that the decision of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) to release 24 captured Ukrainian sailors means nothing to Russia. "If a highly qualified judge of the International Tribunal has been entrapped in the papers and does not see anything except accusations against Russia, his words and sentences are not worth a penny for us," the Russian news agency RIA Novosti quoted Balbek as saying in a comment to Russia's RT. It says that Balbek was backed by Aleksandr Molokhov, the head of the working group on international legal issues under the permanent "Crimean Representative Office" under the President of Russia. Read alsoITLOS obliges Russia to release 24 Ukrainian sailors According to him, the Tribunal in Hamburg does not have the right to demand that Russia release the Ukrainian navy sailors and return the ships detained in the Kerch Strait for violating the state border, so the decision is not necessary to be executed. In turn, the chairman of the Federation Council's committee on constitutional legislation and state construction, Andrey Klishas, said that the International Tribunal's decision over the Kerch Strait incident is not within the jurisdiction of this court and cannot be recognized. On May 25, 2019, ITLOS ruled that Russia shall immediately release three Ukrainian naval vessels Berdyansk, Nikopol and Yany Kapu, which were detained in the Kerch Strait in November 2018, and return them to the custody of Ukraine. What is more, 24 detained Ukrainian servicemen should be freed and allowed to return to Ukraine. "Having examined the measures requested by Ukraine, the Tribunal considers it appropriate under the circumstances of the present case to prescribe provisional measures requiring the Russian Federation to release the three Ukrainian naval vessels and the 24 detained Ukrainian servicemen and to allow them to return to Ukraine in order to preserve the rights claimed by Ukraine. The Tribunal does not consider it necessary to require the Russian Federation to suspend criminal proceedings against the 24 detained Ukrainian servicemen and refrain from initiating new proceedings. However, the Tribunal considers it appropriate to order both Parties to refrain from taking any action which might aggravate or extend the dispute submitted to the Annex VII arbitral tribunal," ITLOS said in its ruling on a request filed by Ukraine on April 16, 2019, for the prescription of provisional measures. ITLOS on May 25, 2019, ruled that Russia shall immediately release three Ukrainian naval vessels with the crews. Leader of the People's Front Party Arseniy Yatsenyuk says that the decision of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) obliging Russia to free Ukrainian sailors and ships requires an international reaction. "We must tell member states of the Organization: if Russia ignores such decisions, then your citizens, property and courts will be seized the same way," Yatsenyuk wrote on Facebook. Read alsoITLOS obliges Russia to release 24 Ukrainian sailors "Russia does not care about international law. It cites it only in its own interpretation," he said. Yatsenyuk also appealed to new President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky: "Call for an immediate meeting of the UN Security Council and [demand] reaction by members of the Group of Seven and the EU." "Demand the world should have its say. Because the voices of those who want Russia to return to the [Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe] PACE, sanctions to be lifted [from Russia] or to be friends with it are not what friends or law says. These are aftershocks while the world order ends," he said. As was reported, ITLOS on May 25, 2019, ruled that Russia shall immediately release three Ukrainian naval vessels Berdyansk, Nikopol and Yany Kapu, which were detained in the Kerch Strait in November 2018, and return them to the custody of Ukraine. What is more, 24 detained Ukrainian servicemen should be freed and allowed to return to Ukraine. On May 24, he announced the creation of a new party, "Ukrainian Strategy." Ukraine's outgoing Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman says he has decided not to join former President Petro Poroshenko's force for running for parliament. "There were such proposals from the president, and I can tell you that many politicians discussed different possibilities, but I decided I will do this independently. This decision is definitive for me. In my opinion, I think, we are simply different," he said in an interview on ICTV. Read alsoPM Groysman's resignation letter registered in Ukraine's parliament Groysman in 2018 announced his plans to take part in the parliamentary elections. He refused to name the party with which he was going to run for parliament, and promised to share his plans later. In April 2019, during the presidential election campaign, the prime minister said: "I have never hidden the fact that I will participate in the parliamentary campaign, as I believe that there is still a lot to be done, and therefore a smart majority, a smart coalition in the Ukrainian parliament is needed." As reported by UNIAN, Volodymyr Zelensky officially became President of Ukraine on May 20, 2019. During his swearing-in speech, he announced the dissolution of the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, and called on the Ukrainian government to resign. On the same day, Groysman stated he would resign after the Cabinet of Ministers meeting on May 22. He said he would "form a professional team together with like-minded people" in parliament. At a Cabinet meeting on May 22, Groysman confirmed he was going to resign. On May 23, his letter of resignation was registered in parliament. On May 24, he announced the creation of a new party, "Ukrainian Strategy." The crew consisted of 31 people, including 17 Ukrainians and two sailors from Russia-occupied Crimea, 11 citizens of India, Philippines, Sri Lanka, and another one from Azerbaijan. Ukrainian crewmembers of a Panama-registered oil tanker, Sea Shark, detained in Egypt are returning home. Five of the 17 detained Ukrainian sailors are expected to arrive at Odesa Airport on Monday, May 27, the Ukrayinska Pravda online newspaper reported, referring to the Assol Seamen Relief Fund. "A report came late on May 25 that the rest of the crew, along with the Ukrainian captain, had been released and sent to a hotel. All are waiting for documents to be issued and they will return home," the Fund said. Read alsoRussia says it won't abide by ITLOS decision to free Ukrainian sailors The tanker filled with crude oil was kept Egypt's Ein El Sokhna Port in December 2018. The crew consisted of 31 people, including 17 Ukrainians and two sailors from Russia-occupied Crimea, 11 citizens of India, Philippines, Sri Lanka, and another one from Azerbaijan. As UNIAN reported earlier, a member of the Sea Shark crew informed Ukraine's Embassy in Egypt about the detention of the oil tanker by the Egyptian authorities for the violation of Egypt's borders. The captain of the vessel, Vitaliy Nesterenko, confirmed that the vessel had gone adrift and accidentally entered into the territorial waters of Egypt. At that time, the ship was in the port of Berenice (subordinate to the Ministry of Defense of Egypt). The Egyptian side fined the shipowner company over the said offense and the crew's passports were seized. Having receiving the relevant permission of the Egyptian naval forces, the Sea Shark vessel was on April 25 removed from the anchor in the port of Berenice and departed to Egypt's Ein El Sokhna Port, located 100 km from Cairo, where the replacement of crew members was to take place. Yet, on April 27, when the ship arrived at the port of Ein El Sokhna, the Egyptian military prosecutor's office demanded that the crew unload the crude oil the ship was carrying over an alleged environmental threat that is possible if it leaked into the water area. 16-year-old Darya Kotsyuruba and 20-year-old Roman Filiuk on Saturday, May 25, staged a rally in Rivne protesting against recent appointments by Zelensky. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called on law-enforcement agencies not to take measures against political protesters if they obey law. "I've figured out the situation regarding the alleged detention of a young man and a [teenage] girl who staged a protest against me in Rivne. There was no detention, but law enforcers could have acted softer. The police will conduct an official probe," Zelensky said on Facebook on Sunday, May 26. "I call on the Interior Ministry not to take measures against political protesters if people obey law. I am not afraid of criticism," Zelensky said. Earlier, First Deputy Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada Iryna Gerashchenko said she was drafting a request to the National Police regarding the detention of two young people in the city of Rivne who simultaneously staged one-person protests with posters insisting on the impeachment to the newly elected president. Read alsoZelensky's childhood friend appointed SBU's first deputy chief (Document) According to the local news outlet UA:Rivne, 16-year-old Darya Kotsyuruba and 20-year-old Roman Filiuk on Saturday, May 25, staged a rally in Rivne protesting against recent appointments by Zelensky. They held posters saying "Ukraine beyond the law," "President should be impeached," "Acting as brothers rather than cronies," "Said. Violated. Resigned." Chief of Rivne city police department Vasyl Zelinsky said that the two had not been detained but invited to the police station for drawing up a protocol on administrative offences under Article 185-1 for the failure to inform authorities for holding a rally, protest event, and others. What is more, a protocol was issued against Darya Kotsyuruba's mother under Article 184 for bad parenting. Dr Thabela said there is a huge shortage of teachers in the country, hence the recruitment will reduce the teacher to pupil ratio. She said the absorption of more teachers in the education sector will facilitate implementation of the new school curriculum, which was rolled out in 2016. One enemy troop was wounded. Russia-led forces mounted six attacks on Ukrainian positions in Donbas, eastern Ukraine, on Saturday, May 25; no Ukrainian army casualties were reported. "There were no Joint Forces casualties. Every enemy attack received an adequate response," the press center of the Joint Forces Operation (JFO) headquarters said on Facebook in a morning update on May 26. Read alsoUkrainian troops post video of direct hit on enemy headquarters in Donbas One enemy troop was wounded, according to Ukrainian intelligence reports. All the violations of the ceasefire were recorded in the Skhid (East) sector, the JFO HQ said. Russia-led forces used grenade launchers and large-caliber machine guns to shell Ukrainian troops. Proscribed 82mm mortars were used in one of the attacks. Since Sunday midnight, the enemy has opened fire from anti-tank grenade launchers, large-caliber machine guns and small arms near the village of Hnutove in the Skhid sector. No Ukrainian army casualties have been reported. Information about enemy losses is being checked. Nauseda hopes to act as a non-partisan figure who can cool increasing animosity between the major political parties. A former bank economist won Lithuania's presidential runoff by a landslide in a small victory for the pro-European Union forces trying to beat back challenges to the bloc's liberal and multi-cultural values. Gitanas Nauseda, 54, former chief economist at SEB Bank AB's unit in Lithuania, had 71% of Sunday's vote, with 77% of districts counted, the Election Committee said on its website. His opponent Ingrida Simonyte, who was finance minister during the global economic crisis and was backed by the opposition Homeland Union, had 28%, Bloomberg said. Read alsoLithuania: Europe must arm itself better against Russian information war The ballot was marked by unambiguously pro-EU sentiment in a region where nationalist ruling parties in Poland, Hungary and Estonia are battling the bloc over issues including immigration and the rule of law. It also follows the victory of the like-minded liberal anti-graft activist Zuzana Caputova in Slovakia's presidential vote. Nauseda hopes to act as a non-partisan figure who can cool increasing animosity between the major political parties. While the president has limited powers over domestic issues, he may provide moral authority that can influence government policies. "I believe that Lithuania's politics will be different," Nauseda said after Simonyte conceded defeat. Like her, he had campaigned on fighting inequality that's the second worst in the EU, and said his goal was "to see a better life in Lithuania, that every person feels good and respected." Nauseda pledged to reject populism and keep the Baltic country of 2.8 million oriented toward the EU's democratic values. He said his first job in office will be to help form a new cabinet, a formality that happens after new presidents are sworn in, adding that Lithuania needs "stability and continuity in the government." He added that he won't restore relations with Moscow until it delivers on its peace promises in Ukraine. "I would like to be diplomatic and to use wording which could be slightly different from the wording which we've previously used," Nauseda said. "But the fundamental aspects of our relations with Russia and Belarus will be based on what will happen in Ukraine." Fairbanks, AK (99707) Today Snow likely. High around 20F. Winds light and variable. Chance of snow 100%. 1 to 3 inches of snow expected.. Tonight Snow this evening will give way to lingering snow showers late. Low near 20F. Winds SW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of snow 100%. Snow accumulating 3 to 5 inches. ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 26th May, 2019 ) :The Deputy Prime Minister of Uzbekistan Elyor Ganiev is scheduled to arrive here on May 27-28, 2019 along with a high-level delegation. During the visit, the Uzbek deputy prime minister would meet ministers for foreign affairs, railways, planning, national food security, health, commerce besides the head of the board of Investment. The foreign dignitary would be accompanied by a delegation including deputy ministers for investment and foreign trade and transport and other senior officials. The visit of the deputy prime minister would impart further impetus to the multi-dimensional cooperation between Pakistan and Uzbekistan in diverse fields. It would reinforce Pakistan's bilateral ties with Uzbekistan, contribute to building a closer economic partnership, and enhance possibilities for regional connectivity.The visit will also help deepen Pakistan's engagement with Central Asia. MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 26th May, 2019) Although 77 people expressed a desire to run for the Algerian presidential election scheduled for July 4, none of them submitted their candidature documents to the Constitutional Council in time, meaning the election may automatically be rescheduled, local media reported Sunday, citing Algeria's Interior Ministry. The deadline to submit the necessary documents was on Saturday. According to the interior ministry, as cited by the El Khabar news outlet, 74 independent candidates and three political parties the National Republican Alliance, the Future Front and the Algerian Front for Development, Freedom and Justice expressed interest to run in the election. An acute political crisis broke out in Algeria in February after then-ailing former Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika announced his bid to seek a fifth term in the office, triggering a wave of anti-government protests. On March 11, Bouteflika withdrew his bid for re-election and postponed the vote, initially scheduled for April 18. However, protests continued, with people demanding immediate changes. On April 2, Bouteflika stepped down. The speaker of the country's upper house, Abdelkader Bensalah, who temporarily replaces president under constitution, has set new presidential election for July 4. Nationwide protests, nevertheless, are still underway, with demonstrators demanding that all politicians who received offices under Bouteflika resign. MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 26th May, 2019) Lithuania will hold the second round of presidential elections on Sunday, May 26. According to the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania, the president is the head of state. The president is elected by citizens of the republic on the basis of universal equal suffrage in a free direct election by secret ballot for a term of five years. The same person cannot hold the office for more than two consecutive terms. The Seimas, the country's parliament, announces the presidential election. The regular presidential election in Lithuania is held on the last Sunday two months before the current president's term expires. The organization and conduct of the presidential election are provided by the Central Electoral Commission, municipal electoral commissions and precinct electoral commissions. Citizens of the republic, who have reached the age of 18 years by the election day, have the right to elect the president of the country. Citizens recognized as legally incapable by a court do not have the right to vote. A citizen of the republic by birth, who has lived in Lithuania for at least the past three years, may be elected president. The presidential candidate must be at least 40 years old and must have the right to be elected to the Seimas. A person who has grossly violated the country's constitution or breached the oath, who has been removed from office by the Seimas or whose mandate of a member of the Seimas has been revoked cannot be elected president. Presidential candidates can nominate themselves or be nominated by political parties. Presidential candidates are required to provide the Central Electoral Commission with his or her document confirming the citizenship and a document confirming the payment of a deposit in the amount of five average monthly salaries. The electoral deposit is refunded if the candidate in the presidential election has received more than 7 percent of the votes. In addition, presidential candidates are required to inform the Central Electoral Commission in writing if they have a citizenship of another state. Within three days from the date the Central Electoral Commission received the application, the commission checks if there are any circumstances preventing a person from becoming a presidential candidate. After the Central Electoral Commission decides to issue a person with forms for collecting voter signatures, before he or she is officially registered as a presidential candidate, the person has to provide the commission with information about his or her work in security agencies of the Soviet Union, such as the People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs, Ministry of State Security, Committee for State Security or others, as well as in the relevant agencies of other foreign states; about studying in schools of these agencies or about any cooperation with this agencies. A Lithuanian citizen who meets the above requirements and has collected at least 20,000 voter signatures is registered as a presidential candidate. Not later than 30 days before the election day, the Central Electoral Commission officially publishes the list of persons registered as presidential candidates. The voting takes place between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. local time in the premises specified by the election commission. A voter is entitled to vote only at a certain polling station, where he was included in the list of voters. The voter presents a passport or another document confirming his or her identity, and a voter card. A member of the election commission makes a mark that the voter has arrived to vote, and gives the voter a certificate of arrival, which indicates the member of the commission who will give the ballot paper to the voter. The voter receives the ballot, marks it in a polling booth and then places it in the ballot box. Some of the voters have the right to vote at home: persons with disabilities, voters who are temporarily disabled due to illness, voters who are 70 and older, if they cannot vote in advance for health reasons or come to the polling station on the election day and if they have submitted a formal declaration for voting at home. Voters who cannot come to a polling station on the election day are allowed to vote earlier. Early voting is organized by municipal electoral commissions. The final election results are announced by the Central Electoral Commission no later than within seven days from the voting day. A candidate who receives more than half of the votes is considered the winner if more than a half of the registered voters took part in the vote. If less than a half of all voters took part in the vote, the candidate who received the largest number of votes, but at least one third of the votes, is considered elected. If no one gets the necessary majority of votes in the first round, the second round of the election is held within 14 days. Two candidates with the best results in the first round qualify for the runoff. Following the second round, the candidate who received more votes than the opponent becomes president. If only two candidates took part in the first round of the election and none of them received the required number of votes, the runoff is held within three months. The elected candidate takes office the day after the current president's term of office expires and after taking the oath. (@FahadShabbir) ALEPPO (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 26th May, 2019) The Russian Military delivered humanitarian aid to people living in the most heavily damaged neighborhoods of Syria's northwestern city of Aleppo, Russian Defense Ministry's Center for Syrian Reconciliation spokesperson said. "This neighborhood was deemed to be the poorest and most damaged from the military operations [in the city]. The humanitarian aid packs are necessary for these people because the city is half-destroyed and [the aid] helps people feed their children," the spokesperson told Sputnik. The spokesperson said that more humanitarian aid may be delivered to Aleppo soon. Syria has been in a state of civil war since 2011, with the government forces fighting against numerous opposition groups and terrorist organizations. Russia along with Turkey and Iran are guarantors of the ceasefire regime in Syria. Moscow has also been providing humanitarian aid to residents of the crisis-torn country. Pattie Boyd was in a relationship with photographer Eric Swayne when she met George Harrison in March 1964, and therefore declined his initial date proposal. Several days later, having ended the relationship with Swayne, she accompanied Harrison to a private gentlemen's club called the Garrick Club, chaperoned by the Beatles' manager, Brian Epstein.In July 1964, Harrison bought Kinfauns, a house in Esher, Surrey, to escape the constant attention of fans in central London, and Boyd soon moved into the house also. The couple were engaged in December 1965, and married in January 1966.Boyd provided inspiration for several of Harrison's Beatles compositions, including "I Need You", "If I Needed Someone", "Love You To", "Something" and "For You Blue".In March 1970, a month before the Beatles' break-up, Boyd moved with Harrison to Friar Park, a Victorian neo-Gothic mansion in Henley-on-Thames. By this point, Harrison's devotion to Indian spirituality, particularly the Hare Krishna movement, had begun to divide the couple. They were also unsuccessful in starting a family, and Harrison would not consider adoption.Boyd resumed her modelling career in May 1971, in defiance of Harrison's spiritual convictions. In 1973, she had an affair with Faces guitarist Ronnie Wood. Boyd said her decision to leave Harrison in 1974 was based largely upon his repeated infidelities, culminating in his affair with Starr's wife Maureen, which Boyd called "the final straw".The couple's divorce was finalised on 9 June 1977. Boyd's solicitor, Paddy Grafton-Green of the London firm Theodore Goddard, later remarked on the sensitivity shown by each party towards the other, which he found particularly rare in his experience of high-stakes divorces. He said: "There was no overreacting, no greed or playing with each other's emotions I wish all divorces were so well handled."These lovely photos captured moments of George Harrison and Pattie Boyd on their honeymoon at their rented villa called Benclare on Gibbs Beach in Barbados in February 1966. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh meets with US Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin in Washington, D.C., May 23, 2019 At meeting with the Secretary of the Treasury, Deputy PM, FM Minh affirmed Viet Nam encourages American enterprises to do business in the Southeast Asian country where business climate is improving. Minh suggested the two countries work together to address emerging issues with a view to fostering bilateral trade ties for mutual benefits. Secretary Mnuchin agreed to further strengthen trade and investment cooperation with Viet Nam, considering it as the foundation of the Viet Nam-US relationship. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh and US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross in Washington, D.C., May 23, 2019 Meanwhile, Deputy PM, FM Minh and the Secretary of Commerce agreed both countries will continue the existing mechanisms like the trade and investment framework agreement (TIFA) as well as talks on formulation of a new economic and trade framework for stable and long-term cooperation in line with the nature and level of the overall relationship. During meeting with the Secretary of Defense, Minh highly valued the US for having provided financial resources to clean up dioxin at Bien Hoa airport. The two sides agreed to boost cooperation as enshrined in the Memorandum of Understanding on defense cooperation signed and the Joint Vision Statement on defense relations inked in 2011 and 2015, respectively. The same day, Minh met with Chairman of the House Committee for Foreign Affairs Eliot Engel who voiced support for the Viet Nam-US comprehensive partnership, and Vice President of the AES Corporation Gustavo Pimenta. Eliot said the US Congress takes care of the East Sea developments and backs the maintenance of freedom, safety and security of aviation and navigation and peaceful settlement of disputes on the basis of international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (L) and Norway's Prime Minister Erna Solberg in Oslo, Norway on May 24, 2019. Photo: VGP The two PMs welcomed the bilateral growing economic ties, as seen in the ever closer bilateral cooperation in fields such as forestry, environmental protection, fisheries, aquaculture, renewable energy, LNG, maritime transport and shipbuilding. They reaffirmed their determination to further strengthen economic, trade and investment relations in a sustainable and inclusive way, and expressed their countries commitment to seeking an early conclusion of the negotiations on a comprehensive and ambitious Free Trade Agreement between Viet Nam and EFTA. The pair encouraged the business communities of both countries to continue to promote and expand their trade and investment cooperation, especially in important areas such as the ocean economy, green and renewable energy, information technology and consumer goods. Both sides also encouraged ministries and agencies in both countries to expand their bilateral dialogue and cooperation in areas such as education, tourism, sport, culture, people-to-people exchange, and in areas relating to the women, peace and security agenda, including UN Security Council resolution 1325. As Viet Nam and Norway are both under review by the UPR Working Group this year, the two leaders highlighted the importance of the UPR process as a universal, transparent, state-led peer review mechanism based on dialogue and cooperation. They acknowledged the constructive human rights dialogue between Viet Nam and Norway, and highlighted the importance of the rule of law, human rights, and the implementation of the International Labor Organization (ILO) Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and commitments made under regional and international free trade agreements. The two sides stressed the importance of global efforts to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries, and welcomed the successful completion of the six-year year UN-REDD program in Viet Nam. They also emphasized their shared commitment to inclusive and sustainable development, as reflected in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals and applauded the important action taken by many countries to tackle the issues of climate change, rising sea levels and marine plastic litter. PM Solberg referred to ongoing and new regional projects on marine litter involving ASEAN member states. She welcomed the fact that Viet Nam will be represented at the Our Ocean Conference in Oslo in October this year. Both Viet Nam and Norway have shared a commitment to a fair, just and rules-based international order and a multilateral system with the UN at its core and attach importance to the role of the UN in addressing international disputes through dialogue and consultations, in accordance with the UN Charter and international law. The two PMs agreed that, if both countries are elected non-permanent members of the UN Security Council for the periods 2020-2021 and 2021-2022, respectively, this will provide a good opportunity for Viet Nam and Norway to work together to promote regional and global peace and security cooperation. The leaders expressed their support for efforts to promote peace, stability, cooperation and friendship in South East Asia, reaffirming the importance of safeguarding the freedoms, rights and duties set out in the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which provides the legal framework for all activities in the oceans and seas, and called on all parties to settle any disputes through peaceful means and in accordance with international law. 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. 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Albanian opposition supporters took to the streets again Saturday in a mostly peaceful protest, the sixth national one in three months, calling on Prime Minister Edi Rama to step down to pave the way for early elections. Waving posters and releasing paper lanterns marked Quit, some in the crowd of several thousand threw a dozen paint bombs at Ramas office. Some also hurled firecrackers at riot police near the parliament building. But there was less unrest than in the last protest two weeks ago, when some demonstrators hurled petrol bombs, firecrackers and paint at the government building and parliament. Rejecting allegations of fraud at the 2017 elections that gave his Socialist Party victory and him a second term in office, Rama told opposition Democratic Party leader Lulzim Basha he would not resign and urged him in a public letter to settle the crisis with talks. He is asking me, asking us to capitulate? Answer to him! Basha told the crowd, who chanted back in unison: Rama quit. Pave the way to the political solution, Basha added. Hours before the rally, the EU delegation, its member states embassies and the United States embassy had urged protesters to demonstrate peacefully. We call on all sides to build upon the existing offer for a dialogue, with the view to finding a way out of the current political situation as a matter of urgency, the EU office said. Germanys anti-Semitism commissioner has advised Jews that it may be dangerous in certain parts of the country to wear the kippahs, also known as skullcaps, traditionally worn by Jewish men. He did not specify which areas of the country he was referring to. I cannot advise Jews to wear the kippah everywhere all the time in Germany, Felix Klein told the Funke press group in an interview published Saturday. Kleins warning comes amid a rising number of anti-Semitic attacks in Germany. The commissioner said the lifting of inhibitions and the uncouthness which is on the rise in society has contributed to the growing number of attacks. The internet and social media have largely contributed to this, but so have constant attacks against our culture of remembrance. Anti-Semitism is deeply rooted in German society and has always been here, Claudia Vanoni, Germanys top legal expert on anti-Semitism told AFP, the French news agency. But I think that recently, it has again become louder, more aggressive and flagrant. In an interview with Handelsblatt newspaper, Justice Minister Katarina Barley said the attacks are shameful for our country. Commissioner Klein has blamed the far right for the majority of anti-Semitic attacks. Another contributing factor, he said, is the arrival of a number of Muslim asylum seekers in Germany who may also be influenced by some television stations which transmit a dreadful image of Israel and Jews. Malawis High Court has ordered the electoral commission not to announce presidential results until ballots from a third of the voting districts have been recounted, after complaints of vote rigging. Vote tallies from three-quarters of the countrys polling stations, released Thursday, found incumbent President Peter Mutharika leading with 40.9% of the vote. Opposition candidate Lazarus Chakwera of the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) had 35.4% of the vote, while Vice President Saulos Chilima was at 18%. The High Court injunction was obtained by Chakwera amid scores of complaints filed with the commission by various parties over the election process. Chakwera on Wednesday warned of alleged attempts to rig the vote, saying his party had conducted its own count and this, he claimed, showed he was ahead. The electoral commission, which has to announce the final results within eight days of voting, on Friday suspended updating the tallies from the May 21 vote in order to resolve the complaints. Speaking at the press conference Saturday, Commission Chairperson Jane Ansah said although the commission has looked into the complaints, she could not continue announcing the final results. I wish to inform you that the commission has been served with an injunction restraining us from proceeding with the results, she said. The commission will wait for this process to be concluded before announcing the results. But the commission did announce the parliamentary results for the 192 constituencies: the ruling DPP has gained 62 seats while MCP secured 55 seats. Eisenhower Mkaka is the secretary general for the MCP. He told VOA the injunction is aimed at paving the way for the commission to address voting anomalies. Which include use of unofficial [ballot] paper; which included tippexing [rubbing the results with tippex]; which included no signing of the results by the monitors or one person just writing names on behalf of the monitors and so many more irregularities, Mkaka said. Candidate Chilima, who heads the United Transformation Movement party, told reporters in the capital Lilongwe Saturday that the Malawi Electoral Commission should nullify the elections because vote counting had been fraudulent all across the country. This country must regroup and prepare for a credible election to the satisfaction of people in this country, he said. We should not allow fraudsters to hold this country at ransom. Just less than three-quarters of the 6.8 million people who registered to vote actually cast ballots, the commissions Ansah said. Kim Dong-hyun of the VOA Korean Service contributed to this report. WASHINGTON South Korea should integrate its missile defense system with that of the U.S. to maximize the combined capabilities to counter a potential incoming flight of North Koreas missiles across the border, experts said in the wake of Pyongyangs two missile launches in early May. South Koreas missile defense system and the U.S. antimissile defense system deployed in South Korea are coordinated but operate independently. The whole system would work better if it was fully integrated, if it was a completely combined operation, said Bruce Bechtol, a former intelligence officer at the Defense Intelligence Agency who is now a professor at Angelo State University in Texas. Why not integrate systems? The lack of integration is rooted in regional history. The South Korean government, whether it was conservative or liberal, never merged its system with the U.S. system for political reasons, in part, because integrating it would mean joining the U.S. missile defense alliance in the region that includes Japan, South Koreas colonial adversary toward which South Koreas public sentiment has been historically antagonistic, according to Bruce Bennett, a senior defense analyst at the Rand Corp. research center. Streamlining the command and control of the two missile defense systems with autonomous command and control would cut the time needed to analyze data, share information, and cue the proper system for targeting and intercepting an incoming missile, according to David Maxwell, a former U.S. Special Forces colonel and current fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. On May 17, the Pentagon announced the U.S. had approved a $314 million sale of air defense missiles to South Korea. South Koreas missile defense system, termed the Korean Air and Missile Defense (KAMD), includes Aegis and Patriot systems, and is designed to protect South Korea from missiles that fly at different altitudes and distance by detecting, tracking and intercepting incoming missiles in the air. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), which currently falls under the U.S. missile defense system, is also deployed in South Korea. Aegis, a sea-based missile defense system, and THAAD are area defense weapons that have the capabilities to defend wide areas against missiles that fly high altitudes. And, the Patriot system, known as pointed defense weapons, can intercept missiles directed against smaller areas such as air base, according to Maxwell. No perfect defense But they dont provide a perfect defense that prevents missiles from getting through, he added. Theres no impenetrable shield, Maxwell said. There [is] always going to be a gap, a seam, a weakness, that the enemy is always trying to exploit and defenders are always trying to fix and find a better way. This is constantly a game of where capabilities continue to evolve. This was part of what was happening when North Korea tested a new missile on May 4 that is considered to be similar to the Russian Iskander, a nuclear-capable missile that flies lower than the short-range ballistic missiles North Korea tested before. A ballistic missile leaves the earths atmosphere and glides back down, Bechtol said. This [test] missile does not, as far as I can tell, leave the Earths atmosphere. It operates more like a cruise missile than a ballistic missile. A cruise missile flies on a relatively straight line and at a lower altitude than a ballistic missile, which arcs up before curving down toward a target. Russian-like missile poses challenges Experts said if the new missile is modeled after the Iskander, it could pose multiple challenges and could exploit gaps in the existing missile-defense coverage in South Korea. The new missiles flattened flight path toward a target makes it difficult to intercept with current defense systems, said Michael Elleman, a senior fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. The North Korean version of the Iskander does not fly higher than 50 kilometers and can travel a ground distance as far as 280 kilometers, according to Elleman. But THAAD and the Aegis SM-3 interceptor operate at an altitude above 50 kilometers, and the Patriot systems effective intercepting range is at an altitude of about 25 to 30 kilometers with the Patriot variant PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE) interceptor extending its flight to an altitude of about 40 kilometers. That leaves a gap in interceptor coverage of at least 10 kilometers between the missile defense systems that operate at roughly 40 to 50 kilometers, said Ellemen. The Iskander spends most of its flight path in this gap, making it difficult to intercept. The Iskander can fly at a high speed, presenting another challenge for the current missile defense system. Bennett said, The Iskander flies perhaps 20-25 percent faster than the Scud, a series of tactical ballistic missiles that could travel five times the speed of sound, potentially capable of reaching South Korea in about five minutes, Bennett said. THAAD and the SM-3 on the Aegis [equipped] ships should be able to handle this speed. [But] the Iskander flies low, [a] potential challenge for THAAD and the SM-3, he added. Most accurate North Korean missile The Iskander can be mounted on mobile launch platforms, meaning it can be moved and fired quickly. Its a solid fuel missile, Bechtol said, explaining that the fuel can be loaded ahead of launch and moved much more quickly than liquid-fuel missiles. The latter need fueling just before launch. The Iskanders maneuverability also makes it difficult for THAAD, Aegis SM-3, and the Patriot system to intercept. The Iskander has fins mounted at the back of the missile, which allow it to maneuver during the entire flight, Ellemen explained. This makes it much more difficult to predict an intercept location and launches the interceptor on the optimal path for an engagement resulting in destruction of the threat. Bechtol said, It would be the most accurate missile the North Koreans have ever had, so accurate that they could actually fire out [and] target barracks, flight lines for aircraft, headquarter buildings. With the missile test, the North Koreans are showing us that they have a missile [with which] they can accurately target Osan Air Base or Camp Humphreys in a very real, in a very dangerous way, Bechtol said, citing American installations in South Korea. They were able to keep in accordance with the agreement they made with [President Donald] Trump, and at the same time, threaten the United States and South Korea in a very compelling way, he added. When the Pyongyang government began talks with Washington last year, it pledged to suspend nuclear and long-range missile tests. Complicated political situation Merging South Korean and U.S. missile defense systems could be hampered by the political situation in South Korea, according to Maxwell. Public attitudes have changed little since 2017, when hundreds of South Korean citizens protested the installation of THAAD at a U.S. military south of Seoul. I just dont see the political will for that in South Korea among majority of the people or the current rule and government, Maxwell said. Bennett said a North Korean missile that slipped under defense systems could devastate the peninsula, depending on the type of warhead it carried, which in theory could be conventional, nuclear or chemical, he said. So the defense would turn to passive defense: protecting people in shelters with masks and protective clothing. According to Maxwell, a variant of the Patriot interceptor, the PACT 3 Guidance Enhanced Missile (GEM-T) under the U.S. missile defense system in South Korea is better able to defeat tactical ballistic missiles and aircraft and cruise missiles and could potentially intercept the new kind of missile North Korea tested. Thousands of prisoners in Turkish jails have ended a 200-day-long hunger strike after jailed Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan was allowed to see his lawyer for the first time in eight years. "Comrades who have committed themselves to hunger strikes and death fasts, I expect you to end your protest," Ocalan said in an appeal to his supporters Sunday. He has been allowed to see his attorney twice in the past week A number of Kurdish lawmakers had joined the 3,000 prisoners and others in refusing solid food unless Ocalan was allowed to consult with his lawyer on Imrali Island prison. Pro-Kurdish lawmaker Leyla Guven said Sunday the strikes reached their goal. "But our struggle against isolation and our struggle for social peace will continue in all areas. This struggle must lead to an honorable peace," she said moments before being placed in an ambulance. Ocalan is leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has been fighting a guerilla war for an independent Kurdish state in Turkey. Turkey, the United States and the European Union have designated the PKK a terrorist group. Turkish forces arrested Ocalan in Kenya in 1999. He is serving a life prison term. Some Turkish analysts say allowing Ocalan to see his lawyers could be a sign the government is hoping to win over Kurdish voters ahead of next month's repeat mayoral election in Istanbul. New discoveries are making scientists rethink what makes us human, and even why we get sick and how to stay healthy. Research estimates that we're only about 43% human. The rest are microorganisms that affect health, mood and how you respond to medication. VOA's Elizabeth Lee visited a lab at the University of California San Diego for a peek at research about the bugs that live in all of us. Pakistan's prime minister has spoken to his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, congratulating him on his party's winning a second mandate. A statement from the ministry of foreign affairs Sunday said that during the telephone call, Imran Khan expressed his hope the two countries would work closely together to improve their relations. Tensions between the two nuclear-armed rivals flared in February, when a suicide attack on Indian paramilitary forces in the Indian-controlled portion of disputed Kashmir killed 40 soldiers. India launched an airstrike a few days after on a militant group based in Pakistan, Jaishe-e-Mohammed, which had claimed responsibility for the assault. Pakistan and India have fought two wars over the disputed Himalayan region, and engaged regularly in armed skirmishes along the heavily militarized border. The prospect of a "no deal" Brexit was fast becoming the central battle of the race to succeed Prime Minister Theresa May on Sunday, as environment minister Michael Gove became the latest candidate to declare. May said on Friday she was quitting over her failure to deliver Brexit, potentially opening the way for a new leader who could seek a more divisive split with the European Union and lead to confrontation with the bloc or a possible parliamentary election. Setting out their pitch to the Conservative Party's largely pro-Brexit membership who will decide the outcome of the contest, four of the leadership hopefuls have said Britain must leave the EU on Oct. 31 even if this means a no-deal Brexit. "I will fight for a fairer deal in Brussels ... if not I will be clear we will leave on WTO terms in October," former Brexit minister Dominic Raab, who bookmakers rank as the second favorite to win, told BBC TV. "If you're not willing to walk away from a negotiation, it doesn't focus the mind of the other side ... I will not ask for an extension." Fellow contenders Esther McVey and Andrea Leadsom both made similar comments on Sunday, while former foreign minister Boris Johnson, the favorite to replace May, said on Friday: "We will leave the EU on October 31, deal or no deal." Gove, a leading campaigner for Brexit during the 2016 referendum campaign and a candidate in the Conservative leadership contest that May ultimately won, told reporters on Sunday that he planned to run again. "I am ready to unite the Conservative and Unionist Party, ready to deliver Brexit and ready to lead this great country," he said, without giving any detail on his plans for Brexit. 'A dangerous strategy' The EU has said it will not reopen negotiations on the Withdrawal Agreement, which has been rejected by parliament three times, while British lawmakers have also repeatedly voted against the prospect of a no-deal exit. Highlighting the deep splits within the governing party over the way forward on Brexit, several senior Conservatives, including leadership candidate Rory Stewart, on Sunday warned against pursuing the policy of leaving without a deal. Finance minister Philip Hammond said parliament would be "vehemently opposed" to a no-deal strategy and a prime minister who ignored parliament "cannot expect to survive very long". "I will urge all of my colleagues who are standing in this contest to embrace the concept of compromise ... going to parliament with a hard line absolutist view and daring parliament to accept it is quite a dangerous strategy," he told BBC TV. Hammond said he could not support a no-deal strategy but declined to say what he would do if there was a vote of confidence in a government which adopted that policy. "In 22 years in parliament I have never voted against the Conservatives ... and I don't want to have to start now contemplating such a course of action," he said. The opposition Labour Party said it was seeking to work with other parties to try and block May's successor from taking Britain out of the EU without a deal. "There is real threat now of an extremist Brexiteer becoming the leader of the Conservative Party and taking us over the cliff edge of a no deal," Labour's finance spokesman John McDonnell told Sky News. "We have got to move to block a no deal." The deadlock over Brexit is expected to have hit both main parties when the results of the European Parliament elections are declared from 2100 GMT on Sunday, with Nigel Farage's Brexit Party, which backs a no-deal exit, predicted to come out on top. Thousands of motorcycles roared into Washington Sunday for what organizers say will be the last Rolling Thunder in the nation's capital. The annual Memorial Day tradition is meant to draw attention to more than 83,000 U.S. military personnel still listed as Missing in Action from World War I through the recent fighting in Iraq. They also include 126 people believed missing from operations related to the Cold War. The first Rolling Thunder was held in 1988. The cyclists usually meet up in the Pentagon parking lot and ride into downtown Washington across the various bridges spanning the Potomac River. Watch: Rolling Thunder in DC But Rolling Thunder Executive Director Artie Muller said this is the last year he will hold the ride in Washington. Muller said he has grown frustrated with the Pentagon bureaucracy in coordinating the event. Mueller said sponsors, vendors and others have not been given access to parking lots even though Rolling Thunder said it paid "exorbitant permit fees." For many people, the group's decades-long presence with the loud roar of their motorcycle engines has become synonymous with Memorial Day activities in Washington. But President Donald Trump says Rolling Thunder is always welcome in the city. "The Great Patriots of Rolling Thunder will be coming back to Washington, D.C. next year, and hopefully for many years to come. It is where they want to be and where they should be," Trump tweeted as he thanked the "great men & women of the Pentagon for working it out." Muller has not given any immediate response to Trump's tweet. Artie Muller interviewed by VOA's Jim Stevenson: In an interview with VOA, Muller said Rolling Thunder is "willing to talk" with the president. But despite the president's postings on Twitter, Muller said, "I think we really want to go nationwide" with local chapters holding their own observations on Memorial Day. Muller said the annual trek to the nation's capital is becoming too much for some Rolling Thunder members."We're all getting old and can't ride that far," he said. For members who come from the West Coast, Muller said, "It a haul. You're talking 2 to 3,000 miles . . . That takes a lot out of you." Pentagon figures show 83,000 American military personnel remain unaccounted for. Most of them -- about 73,000 -- are from World War II. Upwards of 7,700 are from the Korean War, and more than 1,600 are from the Vietnam War. The URL has been copied to your clipboard The code has been copied to your clipboard. Motorcyclists participate in the 32nd Rolling Thunder rally in Washington, Sunday, May 26. The event is to honor American prisoners of war and service members missing in action, and to call attention to veterans' issues. The world's coral reefs host an astounding amount of the ocean's biodiversity, but warming waters are putting them at risk around the world. Now a group of Australian scientists is searching for corals that can thrive in warm, acidic waters. VOA's Kevin Enochs reports. A top U.S. Republican lawmaker predicted Sunday that if opposition Democrats in the House of Representatives try to impeach President Donald Trump, the president will be re-elected next year and Republicans will retake control of the House. South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, an ally of Trump's, told "Fox News Sunday" that if House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the leader of the Democratic-controlled lower chamber, permits an impeachment inquiry to start, "it would be suicide for the Democratic Party." Graham said Pelosi's "job is very much on the line," depending on whether she eventually relents on allowing an impeachment hearing to open. About three dozen Democrats and a lone Republican in the 435-member House have called for impeachment hearings to start against Trump, to consider whether he obstructed justice by trying to thwart special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian intrusion in the 2016 U.S. presidential election that Trump won. Even if the House were to impeach Trump, the Republican-controlled Senate is highly unlikely to remove him from office. So far, Pelosi has resisted calls to start an impeachment inquiry, instead opting to continue several House committee investigations of Trump's finances, taxes and actions he took during his 28-month presidency to try to end the Mueller probe or curb its scope. But she said last week that Trump has been engaging "in a cover-up" by refusing to cooperate with the Democratic-led investigations. She said the House investigations "may take us to impeachment," but that currently "we are not at that place." Trump pointedly rejected her "cover-up" claim, saying, "I don't do cover-ups." At a brief White House meeting, Trump refused to negotiate with Pelosi and Senate Democratic leader Charles Schumer over policy issues while the House investigations continue. "You can't do it under these circumstances," he said. "What they've done is abuse. Let them play their games." Mueller concluded that Trump did not collude with Russia to help him win, but outlined 11 possible times he engaged in obstructive behavior, while not reaching a conclusion whether he should face criminal charges. Subsequently, Attorney General William Barr and then Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein decided criminal charges were not warranted against Trump. Trump has encouraged a counter-investigation by Barr, his appointee as the country's top law enforcement officer, as he has started a probe into the origins of the Russia probe. Trump gave Barr full authority to declassify intelligence information that led to the start of the investigation of Russian meddling in the election and eventually the Mueller probe. Before leaving Washington for a summit with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Trump said, "They will be able to see... how the hoax or witch hunt started and why it started. It was an attempted coup or an attempted takedown of the president of the United States." He claimed, "There's word and rumor that the FBI and others were involved, CIA were involved with the [United Kingdom], having to do with the Russian hoax. We're exposing everything." Several Democratic lawmakers and former intelligence community officials have attacked Trump for telling Barr he is free to release whatever information he decides to. But Graham said that does not worry him. "I support Attorney General Barr to make this as transparent as possible," he said. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders, from Tokyo on Trump's visit, told NBC, "We already know there was an outrageous amount of corruption at the Justice Department." She said Trump wants "to get to the bottom of what happened." Three powerful explosions in Kathmandu, Nepals capital, killed four people and injured at least seven others on Sunday. Though no group has claimed responsibility, police suspect that an outlawed communist organization, the Splinter Communist Group, was responsible for the blasts. Police say a pamphlet from Splinter was found at the site of the first blast. At least some of the dead and injured are believed to be members or supporters of the group. Police quickly secured the areas and victims were taken to nearby hospitals. Security forces in the region are on high alert and officers are patrolling neighborhoods in Nepals capital. The Splinter Communist Group broke away from the Maoist party that fought government forces from 1996 to 2006. Members of the Maoist party had ceased their armed revolt and entered mainstream politics. In February, the Splinter Communist Group was suspected of involvement in another explosion that killed one person outside the office of a telecom company Ncell, part of Malaysia-based Axiata Group Berhad. The government then banned the group following the incident, and forbade their activities. In a rare visit to Tibet, U.S. Ambassador to China Terry Branstad urged Beijing to engage in substantive dialogue with exiled Tibetan Buddhist leader the Dalai Lama, a spokesperson to the U.S. Embassy said Saturday. Branstad also expressed concerns regarding the Chinese governments interference in Tibetan Buddhists freedom to organize and practice their religion, an embassy statement said. The U.S. envoy also raised long-standing worries about the lack of consistent access to the Tibetan Autonomous Region, or TAR. China restricts access to Tibet by foreigners, especially journalists and diplomats. But, during the trip hosted by the Tibet Autonomous Region government, Branstad was given access to important religious and cultural sites, including the Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple, Norbulingka and Sera Monastery in the Tibetan capital, Lhasa. He also met with senior Tibetan religious and cultural leaders, the embassy said. In addition to the TAR, Branstad also visited neighboring Qinghai province. Qinghai is a traditionally Tibetan region also known as Amdo and the birthplace of the Dalai Lama, Tibets exiled Buddhist leader. The Chinese government is accused of committing human rights violations and imposing harsh restrictions on the practice of religion and culture in the region. But Beijing insists that Tibetans enjoy extensive freedoms and economic growth. Regarding the U.S. envoys trip, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said China welcomed Branstad to witness the earthshaking changes in the peoples production and life since Tibets peaceful liberation more than 60 years ago. Branstads trip to Tibet was the first to the region by an American envoy in four years. The rare visit to the TAR and neighboring Qinghai province began May 19 and ended Saturday. The 20th edition of Zim Expo is in full swing with a large number of people still flocking to the Zimbabwe Embassy corner where some people are obtaining birth certificates and passports. Some companies and individuals are exhibiting various items with the Movement for Democratic Change stand being another crowd puller. Indications are that all people visiting the Zimbabwe Embassy corner, manned by two members of staff from Washington DC, are getting birth certificates or passports. A smiling Minenhle Pedzisayi, who visited the center to obtain a birth certificate for her one year-old son Gabriel, was happy about services being provided by the Zimbabwe Embassy staffers. "I'm happy that I have obtained my son's birth certificate. I live in Indiana and so it's difficult to go all the way to Washington DC to get some of these important documents. So, I decided to come here and got all what I wanted." Another happy woman is Indiana resident Ester Gwepo. "It took a very short time for me to process all the necessary papers. I have extended the expiry date of my passport. I'm not worried at all now as I no longer need to travel to DC to extend it." Apart from these two, Zimbabwean Shamiso Nkonkoni came to the business and social networking event this year to represent the MDC led by Nelson Chamisa. "We have a lot of t-shirts, hats and other items that we are displaying and at the same time we are looking for new members. It's great to see that so many people support us as they are visiting out stand." No other party is being represented at this year's event. The Miss Zimbabwe pageant and music performances by two Zimbabwean artists are set for Saturday night with rising dancehall star Jah Signal promising fireworks. A DJs competition and Business Dinner capped the day's proceedings on Friday night with some company executives expressing optimism of striking good deals by the end of the day Sunday. At the same time, some individuals are also displaying items associated with their motherland, Zimbabwe. They include homemade biltong and alcoholic beverages produced in the southern African nation. We didnt jump in, Bates said. We got into the water gently and back-boarded both kids. When there is a risk of spinal injuries, lifeguards approach as gently as they can, trying not to make waves that could move the injured person and cause more harm. One swimmer made it out with bruises and the other had a mild concussion, but the incident stuck with him, Bates said. They were both strong swimmers, just warming up before a competition. Even with a competitive swimmer, if you arent paying attention to what youre doing, you can get hurt very quickly, Bates said. Summer is a busy time for the YMCA. 45 students have come through the Ys lifeguard training this year, and the organization will hold more than 1,000 group swimming lessons before summer is over. The YMCAs urban swim initiative accounts for another 300 to 400 young students. Bates said he grew up in West Texas, and most high schools had a swim team. He said when he moved to Waco, he noticed a difference immediately. We got here, and there was one high school team and one club team, he said. Moving here, I was like where is all of the swimming? Note: Memorial Day is a time to remember those who have gone before us. To mark the day, Veterans Voices will feature for two weeks those who served their country and have since passed away (although not while in service). Its small enough to fit into the palm of a hand or slip into a pocket, yet its contents are invaluable. They contain a tiny record of life in the trenches during World War I for one John Pustejovsky, an Abbott resident born on June 25, 1893, near West. Pustejovsky grew up working on the family farm. In October 1917, at age 24, he enlisted in the U.S. Army. As a sergeant during WWI, he was a member of Company A, 111th Engineers, caring for the Army mules and bringing supplies and ammunition to troops in the field. He fought in France in the battle of St. Mihiel and in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, the latter of which cost 26,277 American lives, making it the largest and bloodiest operation of World War I. With the end of WWI and the signing of the armistice, Pustejovsky received an honorable discharge on June 18, 1919. Florence Beavers December 16, 1946 - April 14, 2019 Mrs. Florence "Flo" Beavers (nee Falgoust) died peacefully after a long battle with cancer at her home on April 14, 2019 in Kiln, Mississippi, at the age of 72. Flo is survived by her husband, Jerry Beavers; children, Marie Beavers and Lee Beavers; grandchildren, Kealen Beavers, Zoey Beavers, and Emily Beavers all of Kiln, Mississippi; sister, Rosalie Joyce of Centerport, New York; brother and sister-in-law, William and Donna Falgoust of Harahan, Louisiana; and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her mother and father, John Pierre Falgoust and Betty Aucoin, of New Orleans, Louisiana; and father-in-law and mother-in-law, Albert Glenn and Jessie Beavers of Otto, Texas. Flo was born on December 16, 1946, in Pennsylvania, to Mr. and Mrs. John Pierre Falgoust. She married Jerry Beavers after meeting him in New Orleans in 1965. Over the first six years of their marriage, the couple welcomed two children into their home. Her children remember her as a kind, devoted, gentle and patient mother who encouraged them to pursue their dreams and goals. She was born in Detroit, Michigan on December 20, 1929. Dickie spent most of her childhood in Jacksonville, Florida. She attended and graduated from Tulane/Mathers School of Nursing. While working at the VA hospital in Alexandria, Louisiana, she accepted an offer to go on a blind date with a handsome young military man named Jim. She invited him to go to church with her the next morning, and they were inseparable from that day forward. They married on November 21, 1953. Just ten months later their first daughter Debbie was born. Dickie worked as a nurse during those early years of marriage while Jim attended college to earn an engineering degree, also working part/time to support his family. A few years later Dickie and Jim had two more daughters, Teresa and Linda, and Dickie became a stay at home mom so that she could attend to her husband's and children's every needs, which she did so tirelessly and with love. At various times Dickie worked part-time as a nurse at various nursing homes and other healthcare facilities because of her love of people and her desire to serve them. Dickie became a Christian at an early age in life and the presence of Christ in her life served as her guide for living each and every day. During the years she was raising her daughters she taught Sunday School, worked in Vacation Bible School, and provided numerous meals for those in need. Once her children were grown she became active in Bible Study Fellowship and served as a leader. While living in Malaysia where Jim worked late in his career, she was involved in volunteer work at a local orphanage. Dickie never smiled as big or looked as happy as when she had a little baby or toddler in her arms! After Jim's retirement, Dickie and Jim settled in Lorena in 1993 and became active members of First Baptist Church of Lorena. Dickie was sometimes known as a woman who asked many questions! This was always born out of her genuine concern and interest in other people. In her later years when she was helped by many caregivers, she always wanted to know what was going on in their lives and if their kids were happy and healthy and doing well. She was truly a woman who put others before herself, and her family and friends were blessed by her love and unselfish giving nature. We should question the motives of all who seek to further voter oppression and intimidation. And Memorial Day weekend is a good time to do so. One cant ask those who perished in combat why they were willing to step in harms way, but some fighting alongside them say they did so to ensure our liberty and our system of government. None, so far as I know, risked life and limb to allow charlatans and demagogues to pass laws to discourage, marginalize and frighten fellow Americans from performing one of their very few civic obligations. And hindering the handicapped is a new low for these self-styled patriots. Its clear whats happening. While Texas Republicans retained power in the 2018 midterms, the margins by which they did so were considerably smaller than in 2014 because of demographic changes and growing repulsion at GOP extremism. At a time when many agree the need for electoral cybersecurity is imperative, Republicans instead encourage the old canard about waves of illegal immigrants and corrupt poll workers seeking to fix elections. Given the real threats, such self-serving motives border on dereliction if not treason. In our time of deep division in this sweet land of liberty, an unexpected issue in Congress came to public light last week. Back in late February, House subcommittee chair, Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.), administered the obligatory oath to three witnesses but omitted the traditional concluding words: So help me God. The Chairs omission did not go unnoticed, triggering a short but lively debate over this ancient custom in the administration of oaths in the English-speaking world. All this more recently entered the broader media world with The New York Times effectively breaking the story earlier this month. What to make of this? At one level, the justification for the novel omission was grounded in the critically important text of Americas Constitution forbidding the imposition of religious tests. That was the specific constitutional provision advanced by Rep. Gerald Nadler (D-N.Y.), who also happens to chair of the House Judiciary Committee. For the record, I sit on the Community Board of Planned Parenthood. I do this because womens health and the health of their families is a primary concern for me as a citizen and pastor. Planned Parenthood is premier in its provision of comprehensive, non-anxious care for women. It is premier in its empowerment of women to make important decisions about their capacity to carry life in the womb and to care for life after it emerges from the womb. It helps women and their networks plan for what theyre capable of. In so doing Planned Parenthood believes in the intelligence and decision-making ability of women and their loving communities. Presbyterians within PC(USA) have many different opinions on this issue, and I do not come close to representing them all. But our Presbyterian tradition has taken a long and careful look at issues of the choice involved in carrying and caring for life. One of our fundamental beliefs is that God alone is Lord of the conscience. In other words, human beings are intelligent and discerning in their intimate relationship with God. The role of the church is to be in sacred conversation with the conscience of each person to strengthen his or her relationship with God and a purposeful life. I served as a poll watcher during early voting in the city election at Bellmead City Hall. Saturday, April 25, proved a disturbing revelation about the direction of our democracy and the disintegrating sanctity of the American polling place. At about 3 p.m., incumbent City Councilman Travis Gibson, an African American who was challenged for his seat, brought an elderly woman to the polling place. He parked his vehicle at the end of the parking lot in front of City Hall. He helped the voter to the door, then went back to his car to wait while she cast her ballot. He did not talk to any voters or hand out campaign literature. He simply waited so he could take her back home. At this point, the other poll watcher told the election judge that Mr. Gibson needed to be 100 yards from the polling place. (No, the correct distance by state law is 100 feet.) The poll watcher started hollering and falsely accusing the alternate election judge of changing votes at a computer set up nearby. The poll watcher said the judge had no right to be at this computer. Bear Stearns was bailed out. Lehman Bros. was allowed to fail. AIG was effectively nationalized. Citigroup received serial bailouts with virtually no strings attached. We were handing out government cash, picking winners and losers, without any statutory guidance governing who would be eligible, how support should be allocated or what we should ask in return to make sure the support flowed through to the real economy. Our successors now have the playbook that we so badly needed in 2008 and 2009. And if they have to make the same kind of hard choices we did, they will at least have rules that justify their actions. The public also needs a more thoughtful reassessment of how we could do more (not less) to let mismanaged financial institutions face the consequences of their executives bad decisions, whatever the market determines those consequences should be. Orderly liquidation of these institutions, as Congress has legislated, and imposition of losses on their investors would do far more to tame the financial sector than a regulatory regime that is proving itself, once again, to be far too captive of a Wall Street mind-set. Regulators are moving as they were in 2006, just before the crisis to ease requirements for how much money big banks must have on hand, as well as restrictions on loose lending and risky investments, when the banks should be tightening standards and building their reserves for the next downturn. Fifty-seven years have passed since I joined Shangri-La in the bay which holds the Italian resorts of Rapallo, Santa Margherita and Portofino. In Shangri-La, I made the friends and formed the bonds which mark this and every Memorial Day for me. I salute the service of all those who have worn the uniforms of the U.S. military since the Revolution, today and in the years to come, but my Memorial Day is a day of personal memories, the memories of those with whom I served, our times together at home and abroad, and the friendships which we shared then and throughout the years. Im sure that each of my shipmates and friends will stop for a moment to recall and salute those who have left us, absent friends in the traditional naval toast, departed the ship but not forgotten. American tourist told Rome police that he didn't know it was forbidden. A 26-year-old tourist from New York was fined 450 by Rome police after being caught splashing around in the waters of the Trevi Fountain on the morning of 26 May. The tourist, who told police he couldn't remember the location of his hotel, claimed he was unaware that swimming in Rome's fountains was illegal, according to Rome daily newspaper La Repubblica. The incident, which took place at around 07.00, is the latest in a string of cases of tourists behaving badly at the Baroque monument, from naked dips to brawling over the perfect selfie. Virginia state conservators work Tuesday on a time capsule found in the base of the Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee monument in Richmond. (Sarah Rankin/AP) The capsule opened Tuesday appears to be the official artifact buried in 1887, containing Confederate memorabilia. The message I saw was one of hundreds that include the label Auntie Network or Jane Collective, a reference to the underground web of support in the pre-Roe era. (Some initially used New Underground Railroad, which others quickly called out as tone-deaf and inappropriate.) Many messages were patterned off an early post written by a New Yorker named Lynnie, who has since set up a Facebook group. More than 2,000 would-be volunteers have joined; Lynnie wrote that shes hearing from more every day. Come and see the Lincoln Memorial, the Aunties offer. Come visit the Mall of America. Have you been to the Finger Lakes recently? Sherry Perkins, who led Capital Region Health since 2016, said in a statement that she is relocating to Delaware for a job in health care. Her resignation came one day after interim UMMS chief executive John Ashworth said he was prepared to make significant changes in personnel and management in the system, which includes 13 hospitals. The system has been harshly criticized by Marylands top officials following revelations that some of its board members had lucrative contracts with the hospital system they oversaw. It means little to us and even less to many D.C. families to hear that there are thousands of seats in many schools that boast poor academic results, Cruz said. Our objective is to ensure that every family has quality school choices, and when you look at this landscape through this particular lens, we still have far to go. The word quark, much like the eightfold way, represented the breadth of Dr. Gell-Manns interests. In addition to addressing the most challenging problems of the physical world, he was at home in literature and philosophy and was conversant in a dozen languages. (He delivered part of his Nobel acceptance speech in Swedish.) The coup set off a sometimes violent battle for power between Thaksins opponents and his political allies, who despite electoral victories were forced time and again from office, culminating in another coup in 2014. An election in March was set to install a government in the near future, but constitutional changes ensure the military will keep elected politicians on a tight leash. Suddenly these neighborhoods were going to have a massive steel structure contiguous to their communities and you would have seen it anywhere you were, Kramer said, adding that some residents also were concerned about possible health effects from the equipment. It may have suited the needs of county and state government, but it doesnt mean its an appropriate location for this kind of massive structure. At about 1:30 p.m., a Harley-Davidson motorcycle was driving on a curved section of the ramp from northbound George Washington Parkway to southbound I-495 when the driver lost control, police said. Police have no suspect information and do not consider the incident a mass shooting at this time, he said. Police are investigating potential gang activity in connection with the shooting. The incident remains under investigation. While airlines said they have reached out to affected passengers, travelers should still be sure to check their flights ahead of time, in case of last-minute changes. Many airlines have been able to replace 737 Max aircraft with other jets in their fleets, but that could become more challenging during the peak summer travel season. Other airlines have canceled flights on less popular routes. Oakland is constantly grappling with a fierce desire to hold on to its soul, said Mayor Libby Schaaf, who was born and raised here and may be called to testify in the case. That battle is a constant in this moment of intensive change. So whatever tragedy there is here, whatever victory there is here, it is that narrative that is always present. In March, the state settled out of court with Purdue Pharma, the third defendant in the 2017 lawsuit filed by state Attorney General Mike Hunter (R). Purdue, the manufacturer of prescription painkiller OxyContin, is widely seen as the central character in the crisis, and the company agreed to pay $270 million toward treatment of substance abusers and research on the epidemic. Mayor G.T. Bynum said the levees were built in the 1940s and have not had to hold back this much water since 1986. Officials also said they do not expect the river to recede in Tulsa until Wednesday at the earliest, pushing back their initial estimate by three days. I live in Montgomery Countys upcounty region where congestion has been choking us for too long. Ive changed my lifestyle to work around the traffic. Ive changed health-care providers because my doctors office was in Bethesda. I stopped participating in civic groups that meet in Silver Spring. Most crushing: When my father-in-law in Fairfax has a health issue, I pack a bag for the night to be close by should something serious happen where I otherwise wouldnt be able to get there in time. Shehri and several other exiled Saudi activists were in Washington last week attempting to change MBSs calculus. Like Iraqs Saddam Hussein before him, the Saudi ruler is betting that he faces no serious risk of U.S. punishment for perpetuating his brutality, whether it is the torture of peaceful feminist activists or the bombing of schoolchildren in Yemen. And why not? Trump doubled down on his support for the regime after the murder of Khashoggi. And Congress, despite expressions of outrage, has failed to coalesce around meaningful sanctions that could evade a Trump veto. I am a New York psychiatrist. I read the May 22 Style article How the city by the bay left our hearts broken at San Franciscos airport, when I was leaving the annual five-day meeting of the American Psychiatric Association. I enjoyed being in one of the worlds most beautiful cities and found the scenery breathtaking. However, while not unique here, the sheer numbers of homeless people on the streets were impossible to ignore. From the behaviors witnessed and statistics I read, I could tell many suffer from chronic mental illness. It would be great if more of the citys wealth were applied to combat this problem. Housing and treatment for this population can result from not just humanitarian motives but also from a desire to improve the quality of life for the more fortunate residents and visitors. But Trumps theatrics were also very convenient because they disguised the fact that he cannot now, or ever, deliver on his signature promise to create a great infrastructure program. This is why Trump infrastructure weeks have become a standing joke in Washington. LaTourette was right: The Republican Party is no longer interested in spending public money to solve big problems if doing so gets in the way of cutting taxes. Its not clear how long Biden can continue to limit his public exposure in this way. The first Democratic debate is June 26 and 27, and Biden will share the stage with nine rivals and a moderator, each eager to press him on his positions and record. Other debates follow, while influential groups ranging from labor unions to ethnic organizations are hosting multicandidate events and may not take kindly to being skipped. Her team is putting Gillibrand in meet-and-greet settings, confident in her ability to win voters over with wit, energy and a strong handle on policy positions. In her six New Hampshire stops, that strategy yielded dividends. While many voters said before her events that they did not know much about Gillibrand, they said afterward that they were impressed with her in particular her command of a wide variety of issues and her passionate defense of families and reproductive rights. As for North Koreas missile tests, Sanders said, Some of the activity thats taken place, as you can see from the presidents Twitter, isnt something thats bothering the president. He still feels good about the relationship that he has and about Chairman Kims commitment that he made to the president. Far-right leaders were on track for their best Europe-wide result ever, but it was only an incremental gain over their result from 2014, suggesting that despite years of tumult, voters might not be ready to give up on the European Union, or to embrace leaders who want to weaken it from within. Voters boosted Greens and other pro-European Union leftists, showing that voters who abandoned traditional parties were searching for new blood, but not a full-scale political revolution. We are all united in our hatred for Ghani. We dont want to see violence, but he needs to go, said Ahmad Wali Massood, a member of the group of candidates that has called for protests if the president refuses to leave. We need someone who can protect the election process, an independent national figure. At this point, anyone would be better than Ghani. Waterford ambulance personnel have led tributes to Dave Hearne, a Waterford-based garda who passed away in a tragic accident on Saturday. David was off-duty and helping in a search for a missing fisherman off the Wexford coast. The experienced diver and decorated former Water Unit garda, got into difficulty and passed away at the scene. Waterford Ambulance Station said: "Our thoughts and prayers are with our colleagues at Waterford Garda Station following the untimely death of their colleague Garda Dave Hearne." "He was a very popular and a highly decorated guard having won a number of awards for bravery. Sincere Sympathy to his family, friends and work colleagues at this most difficult time." Dunmore East Coast Guard said: "He will be remembered for his selfless commitment to the community in which he was stationed, borne out by his receipt of numerous bravery awards. We would like to convey our sympathies to his family,friends and colleagues at Waterford Garda Station." Waterford Marine Search and Rescue said: "We are so sorry to hear of the tragic passing of Garda David Hearne. Dave was a good friend of ours at WMSAR. We would like to offer our condolences to Davids family, friends and his colleagues." Back in 2014, Waterford Marine Search and Rescue presented Garda Hearne with a new PFD (personal floating device) after Garda Hearne had rescued three people from the River Suir and the Colligan River in Dungarvan in the previous years. A former business manager of Stan Lee was arrested Saturday on elder abuse charges involving the late comic book legend. Keya Morgan was taken into custody in Arizona on an outstanding arrest warrant after being charged by Los Angeles County prosecutors earlier this month. A former business manager of Stan Lee has been arrested on elder abuse charges involving the late comic book legend. Credit:AP Morgan faces felony charges including theft, embezzlement, forgery or fraud against an elder adult, and false imprisonment of an elder adult. A misdemeanour count also alleges elder abuse. Authorities say Morgan sought to capitalise on the Marvel Comic mastermind's wealth and exert influence over Lee even though he had no authority to act on his behalf. Infamous helicopter escapee John Killick, currently fighting a raft of charges relating to a fraud racket, met the co-accused and fraud ringleader Dean Ryan when the pair both appeared on the ABC TV series You Cant Ask That. Killick, famously plucked from Silverwater prison in a sightseeing helicopter hijacked at gunpoint by his Russian lover Lucy Dudko, and Dean Ryan - previously convicted of fraud-related charges - appeared on an ex-prisoners' episode of the show in 2014. John Killick, 76, and Dean Ryan. Credit:ABC Ryan told ABC viewers that prison had rehabilitated him. "For me it worked. It was me coming to the realisation that I needed to change my ways, I was away from my loved ones," he said. It might now be in foreign hands and new-age, savvy beer drinkers wouldn't be caught dead drinking it, but iconic brewer Victoria Bitter's new campaign proves it is still very much Australian. Like most of the nation, the Belgian-owned brewer couldn't be happier the federal election is behind us and, to celebrate, it's shouting free beer to patrons at 13 pubs across Perth this Sunday afternoon. Members of the VB-sponsored Australian cricket team with beer ambassador David Boon. Credit:Unknown Famed for its sponsorship of major Australian sporting teams and events, the beer gained cult status with working-class beer drinkers across the nation with its long-running 'The best cold beer" ad campaign, first aired in the mid-1960s with catchy lyrics to the tune of The Magnificent Seven. "Theres been a lot of talk over the last few months ... while we dont know whats coming next, we do know this ... its the start of another week and its time to get back to doing what we do best: working hard," the campaign says. "Thats the only way we are going to push this country forward. A woman has been charged after allegedly injuring a man with a samurai sword in Sydney's west. The woman, 29, and the man, 23, left an apartment in Liverpool on Saturday night and continued a confrontation outside the building, during which the man allegedly threw a brick at the woman, who then produced a sword. A woman has been charged after allegedly injuring a man with a Samurai sword in Sydney's west. Credit:Marina Neil The man ran away but stopped to speak to an acquaintance, at which point the woman approached him and allegedly swung the sword at his head. The blade made a deep laceration in the man's arm and he ran to the Hume Highway, flagged down a passing ambulance and was taken to Liverpool hospital. Lagos Cougars actress, Daniella Okeke isnt one known for addressing scandals that trail her. However, the curvy glamorous actress has ... Lagos Cougars actress, Daniella Okeke isnt one known for addressing scandals that trail her. However, the curvy glamorous actress has finally addressed the biggest controversy that has trailed her career yet. The media-shy damsel has addressed the issue of her alleged romance with fiery preacher, Apostle Johnson Suleiman. Though Daniella initially didnt want to address the allegations, but the social media pressure has made the actress to finally break her silence. Last night, Daniella in a post she shared and then deleted on her Instagram page, gave Stephanie Otobo who accused her of dating Suleiman, 24 hours to come out and state the truth. You bitch, I dont know who you are, but you came to call my name out of nowhere.All of a sudden you disappeared, afterwards you changed your name?No way you have to tell the world the truth Miss Otobo.I have kept quiet for too long. God will punish you wherever you are.I woke up on social media like every other person on that day. When you called my name on the internet, the way you called my name, better go and uncall it or else, the next 24 hours wont be funny. As expected her outburst triggered floods of comments on social media. A certain fan wrote: Ms. Okeke you are not wise at all, why speak out now (2019) to talk about something that everybody has forgotten, is either you are trying to trend or you are stupid. If not for this headline, I have completely forgotten about this Otobo issue, do you think people dont have shit to do, other than to think about shit that happened 2yrs ago. Grow up girl, grow up, maybe you woke up at the wrong side of the bed to remember this shit.gosh. A consultant psychiatrist at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Dr. Rotimi Coker, discusses depression with our correspondent. ... A consultant psychiatrist at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Dr. Rotimi Coker, discusses depression with our correspondent. What is depression? Depression is a type of psychological illness that manifests in sufferers as frequent low moods, loss of energy and losing pleasure in things that hitherto gave joy. It can also disturb sleep and appetite. How does it manifest? The person manifesting depression can become irritable, gain or lose weight. In its severe form, the person with depression can become confused, the memory, attention and judgement can be impaired. The person can also hear strange voices saying derogatory things to him or her. There can be associated feelings of guilt, hopelessness and worthlessness. These associated signs can make the individual want to attempt or commit suicide. Depression is a dangerous form of mental illness because it is difficult to recognise by medical officers, general or family physicians in the private hospitals, general hospitals and primary health care settings. Sometimes, depression can be masked and may manifest with physical health conditions such as chest pain, back pain, sleep disturbances, and weight loss. How is depression diagnosed? These signs are not quite suggestive of depression thus, making depression difficult to diagnose even by medical doctors. That is one reason why those suffering from depression will be diagnosed with having frequent malaria or typhoid fever. Is it possible for people suffering from depression not to know? It is quite possible for individuals to be suffering from depression without actually being aware of being ill for many years thus preventing the individual from being maximally productive at work or at home. It takes an average of four to six years for someone suffering from depression to get adequate professional care. The number of Nigerians suffering from depression varies due to its severity. Those suffering from depression can have mild, moderate and severe forms of depression. I mentioned that it is difficult to recognise by doctors. Thus, the percentages of those suffering from the mild to moderate forms of depression may be very high in Nigeria. However, the percentage can be put between 20 to 40 per cent of the population. What causes depression? There are many issues that can cause depression. For example, any significant loss can bring about depression. Significant loses such as the loss of parents, child, spouse, job or fortune, huge money, as we witnessed recently with MMM (Mavrodi Mundial Movement). Depression can also be caused by social problems such as poverty, living in houses that are not quite conducive with difficult neighbours; family problems between husbands and wives, those who cannot communicate adequately and appropriately; separation or divorce; those experiencing frequent environmental problems such as those living in flood-prone areas, or those who live in areas with frequent noise pollution. Others include persistent stress of life at work, on the streets or at home that one cannot cope with. Depression can be caused if one suddenly develops some forms of chronic physical illnesses such as diabetes, cancer and HIV/AIDS among others; when one sets difficult and unrealistic goals and the individual finds it difficult to achieve such goals. Goals are actually difficult to attain in this change era that we are going through at the moment in Nigeria. Who can be depressed? Both the young and old can be depressed. However, it is commoner in women than men. Women experience more stress than men because of their social roles as mothers, wives and workers. They may have additional roles in society as workers in the church or mosque. Mental illness has been found to be associated with menstruation, pregnancy and child delivery and after menopause. Stress in women was also observed to advance to chronic situations because they also do not know how to manage their stress adequately. Women, who live alone with two or three children without a confiding partner, may be vulnerable to depression. Many people experiencing depression may refuse to see medical doctors because of the social stigma associated with people who are suffering from mental disorders. How can sufferers be helped when they refuse to see medical doctors? Society should assist the mental health experts to carry out programmes to reduce the stigma and discrimination experienced by people with mental illness. After all, anybody can be ill mentally. The only way out of this problem is to carry out frequent advocacy programmes, awareness campaign and reach-out programmes in the all the council areas and every state in Nigeria to enlighten Nigerians that mental illnesses are not caused by demons, evil spirit, charms or as a form of punishment from the gods as portrayed in our local home videos. These programmes will enlighten our people that mental health conditions can be cured and also properly managed like most physical health conditions. We need to also show Nigerians that people with mental health conditions (even the chronic ones) can also be productive and integrated back to society.Society should assist the mental health experts to carry out programmes to reduce the stigma and discrimination experienced by people with mental illness. After all, anybody can be ill mentally. How can depression be prevented? One must learn to be optimistic in trying periods. This is because whether we like it or not, we will continue to experience difficult situations in Nigeria. We need to learn to see light at the end of the tunnel and also know that we can always find rainbow at the end of every thunderstorm of life. In the same vein, the God that we serve will not shut one door without opening another one for us. For every major disappointment, there is a hidden blessing. In this regard, when life gives one lemon, one should make lemonade out of it or if given bitter cola, make cola drink out of it by adding a little bit of sugar. Nonetheless, there are many ways of preventing depression and they include listening to empowering fast tempo music, dancing, smiling and laughing at all times, watching funny comedy videos, going out to the beaches and other interesting sites and locations, reading inspirational and motivational books, dressing well at all times, setting realistic, interesting and challenging goals and the acquisition of deep breathing, relaxation and meditation techniques. The ability to acquire all these stress prevention strategies before we encounter difficult times usually help to ameliorate the consequences of emotional trauma. How can it be managed or treated? Depression can be treated, cured and managed successfully with psychotherapy (counselling or talk therapy). Likewise, medications referred to as antidepressants can be prescribed for those who have severe depression. In its mild and moderate stages, the person suffering from depression can be counselled by a mental health expert by using different types of counselling techniques. The most common form of such counselling is the cognitive behaviour therapy. However, if CBT does not provide the healing that one desires, then the individual is placed on antidepressant tablets. Depression is like any other physical illness; if recognised and diagnosed at its early stages, it can be treated without any serious complications. There are many types of good antidepressants in Nigeria. The mental health experts include psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, psychiatric nurses, social workers in mental health. However, these mental health specialists are quite few in Nigeria. That is why we are trying to reach out and train medical officers in primary health care centres, general hospitals, general practitioners, family physicians, spiritual and community leaders on how to recognise depression and other common mental illnesses.Depression is like any other physical illness; if recognised and diagnosed at its early stages, it can be treated without any serious complications. In the same light, the church, non-governmental organisations, the electronic and print media and Nollywood producers have major roles to play, they all need to collaborate with mental health experts in reducing the stigma associated with mental illness. What is the relationship between depression and suicide? One of the major causes of suicide is depression. Studies have shown that about 80 per cent of those who committed suicide successfully had received treatment in the last six months of the act. Other causes include persistent unbearable stress at home or work, family distress, unexpected separation or divorce, recent heavy financial loss, drug abuse such as recent ingestion of high doses of mind-bending drugs, sudden reversal of fortune but most important, when someone lacks adequate and appropriate stress and resilience coping skills to manage daily insults of disappointments, frustrations and failures. Those who committed suicide recently in Nigeria might have experienced or suffered from many of the aforementioned risk factors at the same time. Roger Federer marked his return to Roland Garros after a four-year absence with a 6-2, 6-4, 6-4 win over Italys Lorenzo Sonego on Sund... Roger Federer marked his return to Roland Garros after a four-year absence with a 6-2, 6-4, 6-4 win over Italys Lorenzo Sonego on Sunday and said he had missed playing in Paris so much. Federer, the 2009 champion in Paris, will face German lucky loser Oscar Otte for a place in the third round. The 20-time major winner hadnt played the tournament since 2015 when he reached the quarter-finals. However, on Sunday, it was as if the 37-year-old had never been away as he swept to victory in one hour 41 minutes on a rebuilt and packed Court Philippe Chatrier. It was his 60th successive first-round win at a Grand Slam. I missed it so much so thanks for the welcome, said Federer. I felt great playing on this court. It looks great and attractive, so congratulations to everyone involved. Hopefully I can play here again for my next match. Federer broke serve five times and fired 36 winners past 24-year-old Sonego, the world number 73 who made the quarter-finals at the Monte Carlo Masters this year after qualifying. Two breaks in the first set were very important for me and when I was leading 4-0 I could take more risks, be more aggressive, said the third seed. I know that I can play very well on clay and I am very happy to win in straight sets. Kayode Olasehinde, aka Pa James, is undoubtedly one of the respected veteran actors in the country. However, his living condition at th... Kayode Olasehinde, aka Pa James, is undoubtedly one of the respected veteran actors in the country. However, his living condition at the moment is nothing to write home about. During the week, his son, Samuel, posted pictures of Pa James, scooping water out of his home. The whole house and its surroundings were evidently flooded. In a chat with newsmen, Pa James revealed that the problem was a recurring one. He said, This issue has been going on for some time and we have always pleaded with the government, but they have just been deceiving us. Sometimes, they would bring caterpillars and widen the channel which water passes through, which invariably worsens the situation. One of the caterpillars they brought even broke down and it has been abandoned there for some time now. Some media houses have helped us to publicise our plight but nothing has been done. The people living around here are now even tired of calling on the government. The Agbado Oke-Odo Local Council Development Area, which we fall under, has nothing to better our condition. It is clear that the government has neglected us. Whenever the flooding occurs, it damages all the properties in the house. If you get to my house now, you wouldnt see chairs. Pa James also admitted that the condition of his house embarrasses him. He said, It makes me feel ashamed and I dont even like to talk about it again. If not for my son who posted the pictures on social media, I wouldnt have said anything. He was flabbergasted because he saw the extent of the flooding with his eyes this time. We only used to tell him about it when he was in school. At a time, we, residents of the area, even tried to salvage the situation, but we were told that it was the government that could carry out the work. The incoming state government should please have mercy on us and assist us. A lot of our properties are getting spoilt. Speaking on his recent projects, the actor said, I just recently finished shooting a comedy movie titled, Perin Peke. It is currently in the studio for post-production works. I noticed that the comedy movies being made these days are not so good; so, I decided to do something different. Williamson, WV (25661) Today Cloudy skies with periods of rain late. Low near 60F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a half an inch.. Tonight Cloudy skies with periods of rain late. Low near 60F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a half an inch. Lagos State Police Command spokesman, DSP Bala Elkana, says the Command has arrested a Lagos State Polytechnic security guard who alleg... Lagos State Police Command spokesman, DSP Bala Elkana, says the Command has arrested a Lagos State Polytechnic security guard who allegedly killed his colleague while they were both on night duty. Elkana, in a statement on Sunday, told the newsmen, on May 24 at 7.00a.m, operatives of Shagamu Road Police Station, in collaboration with the Chief Security Officer of Lagos State Polytechnic, Ikorodu, arrested one Cletus Williams, a security guard with the institution, for allegedly killing his colleague, Okoro John, while they were on night duty. The suspect used a sharp knife to slash the throat of the victim and also chopped off his right hand, Elkana said. Homicide detectives from State Criminal Investigation Department, Yaba, are investigating the case to ascertain the motive behind the killing. The knife used for the murder has been recovered and suspect will soon be charged to court for murder he added. (NAN) TORONTO - Danielle Bacci's favourite part of her move to near Windsor, Ont., is the lack of traffic along her 15-minute commute to work in nearby Leamington. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 26/5/2019 (947 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. TORONTO - Danielle Bacci's favourite part of her move to near Windsor, Ont., is the lack of traffic along her 15-minute commute to work in nearby Leamington. The 26-year-old bank employee and her partner left Toronto and bypassed the suburbs of the GTA for the affordability of Kingsville, Ont. Andre Portovedo, left, and Danielle Bacci, who moved away from the Toronto area in January 2019, pose for a portrait in front of their new home in Kingsville, Ont., Thursday, May 23, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Dax Melmer "We decided if we're going to go somewhere far we wanted to kind of go somewhere dramatically far where we would change our jobs and everything because we didn't want to keep with our jobs and have a longer commute just for lower housing costs," she said. Bacci is among the growing number of first-time homebuyers relocating long distances to escape the high cost of big-city housing. Kingsville's 360-kilometre distance from Toronto allowed Bacci and boyfriend Andre Portovedo to put their savings towards a house instead of a one-bedroom condo. "Here we got a 1,500 square-foot semi-detached house for less than what the condo cost," she said in an interview. While some friends have relocated to Hamilton or Barrie, others are renting in Toronto to save for the required large down payment. Being the first in their circle to move to Windsor area has sparked some interest among friends and family. "I think us moving put Kingsville on the map for some of our friends and I know Andre's parents are thinking of maybe moving out here, especially because their house would get them probably three houses out here," she said. The move to towns near secondary municipalities called exurbs that are beyond reasonable commuting distances from large urban centres, has been gaining in popularity, says Phil Soper, CEO of Royal LePage. "If they choose community and lifestyle over 'urban excitement' and access to certain jobs, many of them are skipping the suburbs right now and going farther afield," he said in an interview. Eight of the 10 fastest appreciating Canadian exurbs are in Ontario, led by areas surrounding Windsor, London, Kitchener-Waterloo-Cambridge, Kingston, Niagara/St. Catharines, Hamilton, Belleville/Trenton and Guelph, he said. In British Columbia, exurbs have grown in the Hope Valley and Kamloops regions outside of Vancouver. Canada is a suburban nation with three-quarters of its population living in the suburbs in 2016, said a Queen's University report based on a review of that year's census. Auto dependent suburbs grew 17 per cent between 2006 and 2016 and exurbs grew by 20 per cent. Businesses are also accommodating this migration by opening offices and using technology that allows knowledge workers to locate just about anywhere, said Soper. Establishing roots in a new hub comes as a recent survey found that a majority of buyers in the country's three largest real estate markets worry that their down payment won't stretch far enough. Two-thirds of Torontonians say they feel the anxiety, along with 58 per cent of Vancouverites and 60 per cent of Montrealers, according to the poll released by residential mortgage insurer Genworth Canada in collaboration with Royal LePage. 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. High housing costs are also prompting more adult children to live at home, delaying downsizing by their parents. Faced with high costs to relocate in the city, these baby boomers are also looking to follow their offspring to these secondary cities, he said. "This is actually a very good thing because we've got housing shortages in our big cities like Vancouver and Toronto and it will provide something of a safety valve." Millennials are responding to the lure of lower prices, says Christopher Alexander, executive vice-president of ReMax. "They're looking for whatever they can afford and the good news is a majority of millennials still see home ownership as a good investment and they're doing what they can to get into the market and start building equity," he said. "So if they can find work in another city where they can afford to buy they'll do it." ATHENS, Greece - Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras called for an early national election following the defeat of his party at the European Parliament elections. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 26/5/2019 (947 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Greece's Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras makes statements at the Syriza party headquarters in Athens on Sunday, May 26, 2019. Tsipras calls for a snap national election following European election loss. (AP Photo/Yorgos Karahalis) ATHENS, Greece - Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras called for an early national election following the defeat of his party at the European Parliament elections. Tsipras said from the Syriza party offices that "the result does not rise to our expectations ... I will not ignore it or quit." Tsipras credited his government for pulling the country out of the austerity imposed by Greece's creditors and said that voting for Sunday's winner, the conservative New Democracy, would be turning back to "the darkness of austerity, the darkness off crisis, the oligarchs, the International Monetary Fund." 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 government's term expires in October and before Sunday night's announcement, government officials insisted that elections would be held at the end of the term. But a long and, it is said, contentious meeting of government ministers and party officials, ended with the announcement of the early election. Tsipras said he will visit the Greek president to request the early dissolution of parliament after the second round of local and regional elections on June 2. Supporters of New Democracy opposition conservative party react as they watch an exit poll at a campaign kiosk, in Athens, Sunday, May 26, 2019. New Democracy party is projected to win the European election, according to an exit poll jointly conducted by five Greek polling firms. (AP Photo/Yorgos Karahalis) This puts the election date at June 30 at the earliest. In the run-up to the election, Tsipras brought to Parliament a series of measures that amounted to handouts and defied the conservatives to vote against them. They did not, but accused Tsipras of a desperate gambit for votes. With just over a third of voting precincts reporting, New Democracy is leading with 33.62% to Syriza's 23.86%. The socialists of the Movement for Change follow with 7.16%, ahead of the Communist Party (5.75, the far-right Golden Dawn (4.86%), the hard-line nationalist Greek Solution (4.04%) and Diem25, the pan-European movement of Syriza's first finance minister Yanis Varoufakis (3.15%). If the results hold, New Democracy will win seven European Parliament seats; Syriza will get six; the socialists, the communists and Golden Dawn two each; and Greek Solution and Diem25 one each. New Democracy also stands to make important gains in the second round of the local and regional elections next Sunday. SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The California Legislature faces key decisions this week, including trying to reign in police use of force, prevent rent spikes, and alter labour laws affecting workers in the gig economy. Friday is the deadline for the Assembly and Senate to pass or reject bills that originated in each chamber. If they survive, they will be considered by the opposing chamber before lawmakers adjourn in September. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 26/5/2019 (947 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. FILE - In this May 16, 2019, file photo a woman uses an umbrella as it rains at the Capitol in Sacramento, Calif. The California Legislature faces key decisions this week, including trying to reign in police use of force, prevent rent spikes, and alter labor laws affecting workers in the gig economy. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File) SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The California Legislature faces key decisions this week, including trying to reign in police use of force, prevent rent spikes, and alter labour laws affecting workers in the gig economy. Friday is the deadline for the Assembly and Senate to pass or reject bills that originated in each chamber. If they survive, they will be considered by the opposing chamber before lawmakers adjourn in September. Some of the measures facing key votes: GIG ECONOMY Companies like Uber and Lyft helped create the so-called gig economy. Legislation pending in the Assembly could set a clearer standard for who, exactly, is an independent contractor with a "gig" and who has the rights of a full-fledged employee. Backed by labour unions, the bill, AB5, could expand rights and benefits to workers now labeled independent contractors, in turn upending some industries. It comes amid a state Supreme Court ruling and a wave of protests that are pressing policy makers to look at the fine print of workers' rights as the nature of work changes. The details, though, are bound to be subject to plenty more political wrangling this session. HOUSING Legislators have said repeatedly the state is in the midst of a housing crisis. But the biggest housing bill of the session, which would have overridden local zoning rules in some areas to allow for the construction of more homes, appears to be dead for the year but could be considered next year. The Assembly has voted to reduce some of the red tape around building accessory dwelling units, or granny flats and casitas. Two other measures are awaiting Assembly votes this week: AB1482 would cap the size of rent increases for some tenants, while AB1481 would require landlords to provide a reason for evicting tenants. SHOOTINGS BY POLICE Police would be empowered to use lethal force only if it's necessary to prevent death or serious harm to themselves or others under a pending Assembly bill. That's a change from the current standard that lets officers kill if they reasonably fear they are in danger. The bill, AB392, once was vehemently opposed by police. But it is now supported by key law enforcement groups after it was amended last week. The organizations are also backing another bill, SB230, which requires that every officer be trained in ways to avoid using deadly force. The police groups say the two bills "will go further than any other state legislation to minimize the use of force in our communities." PRIVACY The state adopted a sweeping privacy bill last year. Now, lawmakers and lobbyists are ironing out the details. The Senate has already stalled a bill that was a priority for privacy advocates, which would have allowed consumers to take companies to court for a range of violations of the state's new law. Several bills are awaiting a vote in the Assembly that would create exemptions to the privacy law, such as AB 846 for customer loyalty programs and more broadly for security purposes, such as in AB 1416. As Alexa and Echo devices pop up in more homes, another measure, AB1395, would put limits on how companies can use data collected through smart speakers. TRUMP REACTION Democratic lawmakers argue President Donald Trump's administration is cutting away at health, environmental and workplace safety protections. Their plan is to keep in place federal rules that pre-date Trump. SB1, which is awaiting a vote in the Senate, says many federal standards in place before Trump took office would still be enforceable under state law even if the federal government changes its policies. SURPRISE MEDICAL BILLINGS What you pay for health care varies by your insurance carrier, giving people incentives to only seek treatment at hospitals that are "in-network." The result can be some surprisingly high bills for people unaware a hospital is outside of their network. AB1611 seeks to change this situation. It would ban hospitals from charging out-of-network prices to people who have health insurance. 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 California Hospital Association opposes the plan, arguing hospitals and health insurance companies should have the freedom to negotiate their own rates. HEALTH INSURANCE RATES Premiums for small businesses and people who buy health insurance on the individual market are regulated by the state. But premiums for people who get insurance in some larger groups through their employers are not. That could change under AB731. It would require some large-group insurance plans to be regulated similar to small-group plans. Supporters say the bill would protect more people from exorbitant premium increases. America's Health Insurance Plans and the California Association of Health Plans say the bill would drive up premiums and encourage employers to move to self-insurance, which is not regulated by the state. ___ Associated Press journalists Adam Beam and Don Thompson contributed to this story. Two Good Samaritans have found and returned the severed head of the statue of St. Volodymyr. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 26/5/2019 (947 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Two Good Samaritans have found and returned the severed head of the statue of St. Volodymyr. Right Rev. Monsignor Michael Buyachok, of the Ukrainian Catholic Metropolitan Cathedral of St. Vladimir and Olga, and parish secretary Anna Katchanovski, said the head was left at the door of the church on Saturday around noon. A staff member of the church found the head in a backpack on Saturday. Two people had found it on nearby Dufferin Avenue. (Kevin Rollason / Winnipeg Free Press) "It was a sad day on Tuesday, but a glorious day on Saturday," Buyachok said after the morning service on Sunday. "And they didnt damage it thank God. We are so relieved. The statue will be intact once again." As for the perpetrators, Buyachok said "God will handle them. As for ourselves, we forgive them." "God will handle (the thieves). As for ourselves, we forgive them." Katchanovski said the head was inside a black backpack that was dropped off late Saturday morning on the front steps of the church by two people who found it in the 500 block of Dufferin Avenue. "Our custodian was here because of Doors Open. We were in a meeting when all of a sudden he runs in saying theyve found the head. We all started laughing and cheering. "It was almost like a Christmas moment." The St. Volodymyr statue, which was created by Winnipeg sculptor Leo Mol, was blessed by Pope John Paul II during his trip here in 1984, and the site where it stands, at the corner of McGregor Street and Flora Avenue, was dedicated in 1988 to mark the millennium anniversary of his baptizing of Ukraine in the year 988, and the beginning of Christianity in that country. Right Rev. Monsignor Michael Buyachok, with the statue head, which was returned Saturday. (Kevin Rollason / Winnipeg Free Press) Katchanovski said vandals began sawing off the head on Sunday night, May 19, and returned the next night to finish the job. They made off with it and parts of the cross and staff that were parts of the work. The staff and cross have not been located. Katchanovski said police have taken the backpack for forensic analysis. Winnipeg police said on Sunday they are asking for the publics help in finding the top and bottom of the missing staff. "Investigators believe that the top and bottom of the staff may have also been discarded in the area," police said in a statement. As well, police are asking anyone who has information about the vandalism and theft to contact investigators at 204-986-6219 or Crime Stoppers at 204-786-TIPS (8477). The vandalized statue of St. Volodymyr at the Ukrainian Catholic Metropolitan Cathedral of Saints Vladimir and Olga in Winnipeg's North End. (Solomon Israel) David Loch, owner of Loch Gallery, which sold Mols artwork, but who was also a friend of Mol, has offered to foot the repair costs. "I know Leo would be happy Im going to help," Loch said. "All I know is what happened and we have to get it fixed and replaced. "It is so important that the work is treated with respect." Loch said once he sees the statue and the head he will know where best to send it for repairs. "It will have to be transported out of Winnipeg," 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. The bronze statue of St. Volodymyr was once blessed by Pope John Paul II. (The Canadian Press) "We will get it back to looking as close to 100 per cent as possible." Both Buyachok and Katchanovski thanked Winnipeggers, the media, and people from around the world who offered support after news about the vandalism got out. "The response by people was astounding," Katchanovski said. "It took on more than a religious symbol, everybody took it up. "We got calls from England, Germany, Ukraine and elsewhere, from people offering to fix it. Ive been here for 30 years and it has always been part of it here. "It would be hard to imagine the place without it." kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca LIMA, Peru - A powerful magnitude 8.0 earthquake struck a remote part of the Amazon jungle in Peru early Sunday, collapsing buildings and knocking out power to some areas but causing only one reported death. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 26/5/2019 (947 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. In this photo provided by Firefighters of Peru, people pass in front destroyed wall in Yurimaguas Peru, Sunday, May 26, 2019. A powerful magnitude 8.0 earthquake struck the Amazon jungle in north-central Peru early Sunday, the U.S. Geological survey reported, collapsing buildings and knocking out power to some areas. (Firefighters of Peru via AP) LIMA, Peru - A powerful magnitude 8.0 earthquake struck a remote part of the Amazon jungle in Peru early Sunday, collapsing buildings and knocking out power to some areas but causing only one reported death. The quake struck at 2:41 a.m. and was centred in a vast nature preserve 57 miles (92 kilometres) east of the small town of Yurimaguas. Helping limit damage was the earthquake's depth, at 70 miles (114 kilometres) below the surface, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Earthquakes that are close to the surface generally cause more destruction. President Martin Vizcarra called for calm before travelling to the zone with members of his cabinet to survey the damage. He said first reports indicate a bridge had collapsed and several homes and roads had been affected. "It's a quake that was felt throughout the Peruvian jungle," said Vizcarra, who was scheduled to host a regional summit Sunday in the capital with the presidents of Bolivia, Colombia and Ecuador. Ricardo Seijas, chief of the National Emergency Operations Center, said one person died when a rock fell on a house in the Huarango district. 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 powerful magnitude 8.0 earthquake has struck the Amazon jungle in north-central Peru,; A preliminary survey by authorities found that six people were injured and 27 homes damaged across seven provinces. Three schools, three hospitals and two churches were also affected In Yurimaguas, a bridge and several old houses collapsed, and the electricity was cut, according to the National Emergency Operations Center. Images circulating on social media showed residents in several parts of the country panicked as the quake shook buildings. The quake also awoke people in Lima, who ran out of their homes in fear. "It was a really long quake," said Maria Brito, who lives on the fifth floor of an apartment building in the capital. "It could've been worse, and luckily it's over." Earthquakes are frequent in Peru, which lies on the Pacific's so-called Ring of Fire. On August 15, 2007, a similarly sized quake struck near Lima, killing more than 500 people. Annette Freiheit comes from a humble family. Her father did not finish high school. Her mother worked as a licensed beautician. They each played a role in shaping her down-to-earth, honest nature. My parents taught me how to work hard, be respectful of others and they will treat you that way, Freiheit said. Thats one of the foundations of my leadership. On July 1, Freiheit will bring that leadership to the helm of the Winona Area Public Schools when she takes over as superintendent. The school board Thursday approved her three-year contract, wherein her first years salary is listed at $149,000. Freiheit will first inherit a summer full of referendum projects OKd by voters last November, a task outgoing superintendent Rich Dahman said will be the most pressing issue to address with his successor. Hell also advise her on making community contacts and meeting the staff throughout the district, and on weathering what is sure to be an at-times tough job. In any superintendency, theres always difficult issues that you wrestle with, whether its budget issues, facilities issues, theres always going to be things that people feel strongly about, Dahman said. You can always feel good about the work that you do if you give people an opportunity to to have their voices heard. Though she agreed that making connections will be an integral part of her first few months on the job, Freiheit is no stranger to getting to know what shes getting into. As an elementary principal in Hayfield, she took the coursework for the reading teacher licensure to help her better understand why children were struggling to read and how teachers could help. In her current job as superintendent of Pine City Public Schools, a smaller district in central Minnesota, she rode all of the districts bus routes to familiarize herself with the landscape and personally meet each bus driver. And also in Pine City, she, the citys mayor and county officials banded together to take on the high poverty rate facing their community. They focused on three goals: healthy living, affordable housing and robust workforce development, and looped in as many programs and people as possible to make changes. At the school level, Freiheit oversaw a program to help teachers and staff better understand how poverty can affect students brains and behaviors. After implementation, the district saw a 30% decrease in behavior-related office referrals. The district also tweaked its school lunch policy to ensure that students with unpaid balances were getting fed. Theres never a barrier. Well figure out a way, she recalled. Freiheit wrote her doctoral dissertation on female superintendents and she will be the first one that WAPS has formally hired, as she was in Pine City. Kelly Halvorsen, former director of learning and teaching in Winona, served briefly as interim superintendent before Dahman was hired. The gendered world of education fascinated her, Freiheit explained, in that 80% of teachers are women but the top administrative roles in districts historically belong to men. When she was a finalist for an earlier superintendent position, she heard that a school board member had wondered whether their district was ready for a woman to lead. Were missing out on human capital and potentially really strong leaders, Freiheit said. It offers diversity of thought. Dahman said its exciting for a woman to take over the role. It really does create a mindset that that the the leader of our school district doesnt have to be restricted to one gender, he said. And I think thats a great message. Even with the intention of listening first, there are some issues that Freiheit said jump out for her to tackle: earning community trust of the school district, working with a relatively unseasoned board and examining the budget, which has taken a hit in recent years as enrollment declines. And though it wont be an immediate priority as the summer construction projects unfold, Dahman said that guiding a bigger discussion on facilities likely lies in Freiheits future. When readying for the November 2018 referendum, stakeholders discussed the possibility of another referendum to address facility and maintenance needs once the current one comes off the tax rolls in four years. It does create a window for a decrease in the tax rate and an opportunity to kind of match that so that you dont have a roller coaster effect with the taxes trying to keep that more stable, Dahman said. At the board discussion where they unanimously voted to offer Freiheit the contract, members praised her ability to acknowledge areas where she needs growth, one of which is cultural competency a critical piece of the puzzle as the district reviews the recent student climate survey, adjusts its dress code policy to curb bias and is working on closing racial disparities in discipline practices. When asked how shed address that gap, she said she will attend related workshops, as well as working with director of learning and teaching Maurella Cunningham, who is spearheading cultural competency training for WAPS staff this year. Over the next month, Freiheit said shell use vacation time from her current district to visit Winona and begin her work with Dahman and with the board to ensure a smooth transition. Shortly after Freiheits start date, board chair Nancy Denzer said representatives from the Minnesota School Boards Association will return to the district to lead the school board and their new superintendent in a goal-setting session, to help start everyone off on the right foot. The date and format for that meeting has not yet been decided. We feel like we really made a very good choice for the district, Denzer said. Shes coming in with a lens of her own. She has some background, a bit different from our traditional leadership in the district Im just excited that she brings the quality she does. The unanimous board vote on her hire packed a punch in terms of acknowledging her fit for the school district at its current juncture. She said with her training and experience and the fact that shes never showed up to work in a bad mood shes ready to take the lead. Women that are going into superintendencies tend to be pretty strong, confident women, Freiheit said. I feel honored to be a part of that group of women. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 After five months of a regular legislative session, Minnesota lawmakers spent Friday in what was supposed to be a one-day special session, called by Gov. Tim Walz to finish their uncompleted work passage of a two-year, $48 billion budget. You might be forgiven for thinking that would lend a certain urgency to the proceedings. Instead, the morning gave way to more closed-door meetings and may yet stretch into the weekend. Its easy to overstate the disputes, secrecy and power plays that dominate end-of-session drama, and easier still to forget that such elements are present in every session. A few things, however, distinguish this session and not in a good way. For the first time in modern memory, much of the budget took its final form not in conference committees some of which barely met but either in unofficial working groups, where there was little public notice and no notes of proceedings, or through Walz, DFL House Speaker Melissa Hortman and Republican Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka. The trio spent hours grinding out line-by-line sorts on bills and resolving disputes among warring committee chairs all behind closed doors. Walz told an editorial writer that he was thankful for the hard-nosed, pragmatic talks that took place. However, he acknowledged they should have happened in conference committees, before the public. Hes right. The missing ingredient for years now has been a willingness to acknowledge that each side must win a little and lose a little, because thats the only way democracy works. Instead, Senate conference committee chairs often declined to meet when it was their turn. That left far too many details that forced the session into overtime. Complaints among rank-and-file lawmakers, lobbyists, the media and interest groups abounded, and with good reason. Should this continue, there is the risk that public meetings are mere theater, with all the real action in private. Its clear that even with all the other issues Minnesota faces, this state once famed for good governance has serious work to do to reclaim that mantle. Some of that work should be establishing a larger role for the minority party. House Republicans, having been shut out of leader talks, were slow-walking the special session as this editorial was being written. It wont change the final bills, because their Senate counterparts have agreed to reject changes. But a $500 million bonding bill, meant to ease the sting of Walzs loss on his proposed gas-tax increase as a means to fix roads and bridges, may be in jeopardy because the votes of House Republicans are needed for passage. Gazelka, Hortman and Walz made a good start in creating a different path. Hortman, who pushed for earlier deadlines, said there has to be some hammer that drops when the final push starts. Walz said he will make governing reforms a priority after this. One thing they should consider: enlarging their circle to including minority leaders, as challenging as that may be. Early Friday, when Senate Minority Leader Tom Bakk graciously put up the votes needed to allow work in the Senate to begin, Gazelka offered public thanks, noting that we cant do this if we dont do it together. With that larger role for the minority, of course, comes some responsibility to make the process work. Hortman has said she wants a culture change. Thats a good goal. But it starts with leaders on all sides pledging to work through differences and ensuring that their members do the same. That can require tough action, even replacing chairs who refuse to meet or hold hearings on major bills. Analysis of what came out of this session will come later, whenever it ends. But add to our wish list a renewed emphasis on good governance. This was written by the Star Tribune editorial board. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 In early 2018, Minnesota State College Southeast faced a dilemma: how to partner with the community to address a workforce housing shortage while growing enrollment in mission critical trades programming. The answer was the Construction Technology program and integration of curriculum with Winonas Habitat for Humanity. In retrospect, this partnership is intuitive and necessary to build not only homes, but a community of tradespeople, volunteers, and goodwill. However, in 2018, this reality seemed distant. It was only due to the tenacity and big thinking of HFHs leadership, combined with the vigor of college faculty, that the goals so far have exceeded all expectations. Specifically, if not for the integration of HFHs John Corcoran into MSCSs Construction Technology program and his willingness to make HFHs worksite a functional classroom, the gains thus far would have not been captured. Highlights include: MSCS students, working under faculty member Jon Powell and in conjunction with Mr. John Corcoran, constructing HFHs new 2,800 sqft ReStore processing room addition; formally a hole in the ground. Expansion of construction education through daily and direct interaction with HFHs professional craftsmen and volunteers, resulting in breadth and depth of professional practice. Student labor, valued at more than $460,000, has helped build out HFHs critical mission to Winona, while providing education which grows the mind and the soul. In addition to these service learning metrics, the Construction Technology program has seen enrollment surpass all expectations, with 16 students in the first cohort. Looking to 2020, classes are expected to be at or near capacity. Many of these students, pursuing diplomas and AAS degrees, are already working in the local industry and helping to ensure Winona continues to be a great place to live, work, and thrive. In closing, if not for the visionary leadership of Habitats Amanda Hedlund and the unyielding support from John Corcoran, the seeds of this initiative would not yet have sprouted. Their efforts, combined with faculty member Jon Powells visionary leadership, have set an example for communities across the state to emulate. Travis Thul, Winona Editor's note: Travis Thul is Dean of Trade and Technology at Minnesota State College Southeast. Love 2 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Thank you for supporting the Lions Club Dear Editor: Merry Christmas to everyone from the Winterset Lions! We wanted to take this time to tell you how excited we were to see SO MANY of you folks... Julian B. Garrett State Senator The Revenue Estimating Conference (REC) met Dec. 13 to give us its latest estimate of what state revenues we can expect over the rest of the current fiscal... Cindy Axne Over the past year, Ive been hard at work fighting for the policies and investments that Iowa needs to grow and succeed in the future and Im proud of... President Muhammadu Buharis wife, Aisha, has rubbished the N500bn Social Investment Programme of her husbands administration, saying ... President Muhammadu Buharis wife, Aisha, has rubbished the N500bn Social Investment Programme of her husbands administration, saying that it failed woefully in the North in particular. Aisha, who hails from Adamawa State, said the situation in her home state, as far as the implementation was concerned, was pathetic. She also cited Kano, a highly-populated northern state, as another example where she believed the programme failed, despite the huge funds the Federal Government budgeted for it. The SIP is domiciled in the Office of Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, but its direct implementation is done by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Social Investment, Mrs Maryam Uwais. Mrs Buhari bared her feelings on Saturday in Abuja during an interactive programme she organised for women at the Presidential Villa. For instance, she disclosed that though Uwais informed her that 30,000 women would be beneficiaries in Adamawa State, four years had passed and there was no evidence that the SA kept her word. The Presidents wife spoke in detail, expressing her disappointment. She went on, Concerning the N500bn voted for SIP, that was part of 2015 campaigns where they promised to give out N10,000, feed pupils in primary schools and give N5,000 to the poorest of the poor. The SSA to the President on Social Investment is a lady from Kano and I am sure that my husband decided to put somebody from Kano because of the population and political impact it made. I have never asked how the money is being used or is being given out. I met Barrister (one of the Presidents aides on SIP) once and he promised me that for my state (Adamawa), we should get 30,000 women to be given N10,000. Up till now, I havent heard from him. I dont want to raise the alarm that my state does not benefit from it, where the SGF (Secretary to the Government of the Federation) came from, I kept quiet because I dont want people to say that I talk too much. Recently, I saw a 74-year-old man selling petty things in Kano, I asked him how much is his capital, he told me between N3,000 and N4,000. Dont forget that we have campaigned to give the poorest of the poor N5,000 every month. So, I dont know where is the social investment Maybe, it worked out in some states. In my own state, only a local government benefited out of the 22. I didnt ask what happened and I dont want to know, but it failed woefully in Kano, its not a good sign and its not a good thing. So, I dont know where is the social investment Maybe, it worked out in some states. In my own state, only a local government benefited out of the 22. I didnt ask what happened and I dont want to know, but it failed woefully in Kano, its not a good sign and its not a good thing. We have a lot of women that do business locally due to the cultural thing in the North, they are at home doing their business. Some are millionaires, some have thousands of naira, they need the assistance but they do not get it. Most northern women do not belong to any market association. I was expecting the N500bn to be utilised in different methods in the North for the aim to be achieved. I dont know the method they used, but most of the northern states do not get it. My state does not get it. How many of you (women in the hall) get it in your state? My state did not benefit from it. The women responded by saying that they got nothing in the past four years. She argued that the method employed in implementing the programme in the North was faulty, a reason she believed it failed there. It worked out well in a situation whereby they have market associations but I was thinking different methods should be used in the North, the Presidents wife stated. Amid applause from women in the hall, Mrs Buhari also criticised the $16m counterpart fund said to have been used so far on procurement of mosquito nets. She noted, I have heard about mosquito nets, Nigeria paid its counterpart fund, $16m. I asked them to give my own share of the net to send it to my village people. I didnt get it. They have spent $16m in buying mosquito nets, I did not get it, maybe some people have got it. But I feel that, thats my personal opinion, $16m is enough to fumigate mosquitoes in Nigeria. Thats my opinion. However, she commended the SGF, Mr Boss Mustapha, for the initiative to include women in the inauguration programme of her husband for his second term on May 29. She stated further, I will also like to use the opportunity to thank the SGF for including women in the inaugural activities of Mr President; this is what is called next level. They didnt allow us to participate in politics but now they have started giving us hope that we can be involved in certain things. On the anti-drug committee chaired by a former Military Administrator of Lagos State, Buba Marwa, the Presidents wife recalled how she practically made herself a member to ensure that things went well. She added, I also managed to put myself as member of the committee and the wife of the Vice-President. The wife of the Vice-President (Dolapo Osinbajo) has worked very well; it took her one year to go round schools in Abuja because of the level of abuse. Many girls dont go to school because they are afraid of being raped while returning from school or when their parents are away. You know most of their parents are farmers. The revelation is beyond comment. I asked her to publicise her discovery but she didnt; if she had done so, it would have served as a lesson. Over N12bn has been released by the President to take care of trauma cases across the country. Can you please monitor the money? The ministers are going very soon and the money is being released. On the 2019 polls, she called on the All Progressives Congress to refund the money female contestants spent to purchase nomination forms since the women ended up being marginalised. The following companies are subsidiares of Banco Santander: 2 & 3 Triton Limited, A & L CF (Guernsey) Limited (f), A & L CF June (2) Limited, A & L CF June (3) Limited, A & L CF March (5) Limited, A & L CF September (4) Limited, AFB SAM Holdings S.L., ALIL Services Limited (b), AN (123) Limited, ANITCO Limited, Abbey Business Services (India) Private Limited, Abbey Covered Bonds (LM) Limited, Abbey National, Abbey National Beta Investments Limited, Abbey National Business Office Equipment Leasing Limited, Abbey National International Limited, Abbey National Nominees Limited, Abbey National PLP (UK) Limited, Abbey National Property Investments, Abbey National Treasury Services Investments Limited, Abbey National Treasury Services Overseas Holdings, Abbey National UK Investments, Abbey Stockbrokers (Nominees) Limited, Abbey Stockbrokers Limited, Ablasa Participaciones S.L., Administracion de Bancos Latinoamericanos Santander S.L., Aduro S.A., Aevis Europa S.L., Afisa S.A., Albert., Aljardi SGPS Lda., Alliance & Leicester, Alliance & Leicester Cash Solutions Limited, Alliance & Leicester Commercial Bank Limited, Alliance & Leicester Investments (Derivatives) Limited, Alliance & Leicester Investments (No.2) Limited, Alliance & Leicester Investments Limited, Alliance & Leicester Limited, Alliance & Leicester Personal Finance Limited, Altamira Santander Real Estate S.A., Alternative Leasing FIL, Amazonia Trade Limited, Amherst Pierpont, Andaluza de Inversiones S.A., Aquanima Brasil Ltda., Aquanima Chile S.A., Aquanima Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Aquanima S.A., Arcaz - Sociedade Imobiliaria Portuguesa Lda., Argenline S.A. (b), Asto Digital Limited, Athena Corporation Limited, Atual - Fundo de Invest Multimercado Credito Privado Investimento no Exterior, Atual Servicos de Recuperacao de Creditos e Meios Digitais S.A., Autodescuento S.L., Autohaus24 GmbH, Auttar HUT Processamento de Dados Ltda., Aviacion Antares A.I.E., Aviacion Britanica A.I.E., Aviacion Centaurus A.I.E., Aviacion Comillas S.L. Unipersonal, Aviacion Intercontinental A.I.E., Aviacion Laredo S.L., Aviacion Oyambre S.L. Unipersonal, Aviacion Real A.I.E., Aviacion Santillana S.L., Aviacion Suances S.L., Aviacion Triton A.I.E., Aymore Credito Financiamento e Investimento S.A., BEN Beneficios e Servicos S.A., BRS Investments S.A., BZW Bank, Banca PSA Italia S.p.A., Banco Bandepe S.A., Banco Madesant - Sociedade Unipessoal S.A., Banco PSA Finance Brasil S.A., Banco Popular, Banco Santander (Brasil) S.A., Banco Santander (Mexico) S.A. Institucion de Banca Multiple Grupo Financiero Santander Mexico como Fiduciaria del Fideicomiso 100740, Banco Santander (Mexico) S.A. Institucion de Banca Multiple Grupo Financiero Santander Mexico como Fiduciaria del Fideicomiso 2002114, Banco Santander (Mexico) S.A. Institucion de Banca Multiple Grupo Financiero Santander Mexico como Fiduciaria del Fideicomiso GFSSLPT, Banco Santander - Chile, Banco Santander Consumer Portugal S.A., Banco Santander International, Banco Santander International SA, Banco Santander Mexico S.A. Institucion de Banca Multiple Grupo Financiero Santander Mexico, Banco Santander Peru S.A., Banco Santander Rio S.A., Banco Santander S.A., Banco Santander Totta S.A., Banco Santander de Negocios Colombia S.A., Banco de Albacete S.A., Bansa Santander S.A., CCAP Auto Lease Ltd., Canyon Multifamily Impact Fund IV LLC, Capital Street Delaware LP, Capital Street Holdings LLC, Capital Street REIT Holdings LLC, Capital Street S.A., Carfax (Guernsey) Limited (f), Carfinco Financial Group, Carfinco Financial Group Inc., Carfinco Inc., Casa de Bolsa Santander S.A. de C.V. Grupo Financiero Santander Mexico, Cater Allen Holdings Limited, Cater Allen International Limited, Cater Allen Limited, Cater Allen Lloyd's Holdings Limited, Cater Allen Syndicate Management Limited, Centro de Capacitacion Santander A.C., Certidesa S.L., Chrysler Capital Auto Funding I LLC, Chrysler Capital Auto Funding II LLC, Chrysler Capital Auto Receivables LLC, Chrysler Capital Master Auto Receivables Funding 2 LLC, Chrysler Capital Master Auto Receivables Funding 4 LLC, Chrysler Capital Master Auto Receivables Funding LLC, Cobranza Amigable S.A.P.I. de C.V., Community Development and Affordable Housing Fund LLC (g), Compagnie Generale de Credit Aux Particuliers - Credipar S.A., Compagnie Pour la Location de Vehicules - CLV, Comunidad Laboral Trabajando Argentina S.A., Comunidad Laboral Trabajando Iberica S.L. Unipersonal en liquidacion (b), Consulteam Consultores de Gestao Lda., Consumer Lending Receivables LLC, Crawfall S.A. (b), Cantabra de Inversiones S.A., Cantabro Catalana de Inversiones S.A., Darep Designated Activity Company, Decarome S.A.P.I. de C.V., Deva Capital Advisory Company S.L., Deva Capital Holding Company S.L., Deva Capital Investment Company S.L., Deva Capital Management Company S.L., Deva Capital Servicer Company S.L., Digital Procurement Holdings N.V., Diners Club Spain S.A., Direccion Estratega S.C., Dirgenfin S.L. en liquidacion (b), Ebury, El Corte Ingles, Elavon Mexico, Electrolyser S.A. de C.V., Entidad de Desarrollo a la Pequena y Micro Empresa Santander Consumo Peru S.A., Erestone S.A.S., Esfera Fidelidade S.A., Evidence Previdencia S.A., Financeira El Corte Ingles Portugal S.F.C. S.A., Financiera El Corte Ingles E.F.C. S.A., Finsantusa S.L. Unipersonal, First National Motor Business Limited, First National Motor Contracts Limited, First National Motor Facilities Limited, First National Motor Finance Limited, First National Motor Leasing Limited, First National Motor plc, First National Tricity Finance Limited, Fondos Santander S.A. Administradora de Fondos de Inversion (en liquidacion) (b), Fortensky Trading Ltd., Fosse Funding (No.1) Limited, Fosse Master Issuer plc, Fosse Trustee (UK) Limited, GTS El Centro Equity Holdings LLC, GTS El Centro Project Holdings LLC, Gamma Sociedade Financeira de Titularizacao de Creditos S.A., Gesban Mexico Servicios Administrativos Globales S.A. de C.V., Gesban Santander Servicios Profesionales Contables Limitada, Gesban Servicios Administrativos Globales S.L., Gesban UK Limited, Gestion de Instalaciones Fotovoltaicas S.L. Unipersonal, Gestion de Inversiones JILT S.A., Gestora de Procesos S.A. en liquidacion (b), Getnet Adquirencia e Servicos para Meios de Pagamento S.A., Global Vosgos S.L. Unipersonal, Grupo Empresarial Santander S.L., Grupo Financiero Santander Mexico S.A. de C.V., Grupo Financiero Santander SAB de CV, Guaranty Car S.A. Unipersonal, HQ Mobile Limited, Hispamer Renting S.A. Unipersonal, Holbah II Limited, Holbah Santander S.L. Unipersonal, Holmes Funding Limited, Holmes Master Issuer plc, Holmes Trustees Limited, Hyundai Capital Bank Europe GmbH, Iberica de Compras Corporativas S.L., Independence Community Bank Corp., Insurance Funding Solutions Limited, Interfinance Holanda B.V., Inversiones Capital Global S.A. Unipersonal, Inversiones Maritimas del Mediterraneo S.A., Isla de los Buques S.A., Klare Corredora de Seguros S.A., Landcompany 2020 S.L., Langton Funding (No.1) Limited, Langton Mortgages Trustee (UK) Limited, Langton Securities (2008-1) plc, Langton Securities (2010-1) PLC, Langton Securities (2010-2) PLC, Laparanza S.A., Liquidity Limited, Luri 1 S.A. en liquidacion (b) (e), Luri 6 S.A. Unipersonal, Master Red Europa S.L., Mata Alta S.L., Merciver S.L., Mercury TFS, Mercury Trade Finance Solutions S.A. de C.V., Mercury Trade Finance Solutions S.L., Mercury Trade Finance Solutions S.p.A., Moneybit S.L., Mortgage Engine Limited, Motor 2016-1 PLC, Motor 2017-1 PLC, Mouro Capital I LP, Multiplica SpA, NW Services CO., Naviera Mirambel S.L., Naviera Trans Gas A.I.E., Naviera Trans Iron S.L., Naviera Trans Ore A.I.E., Naviera Trans Wind S.L. (b), Naviera Transcantabrica S.L., Naviera Transchem S.L. Unipersonal, NeoAuto S.A.C., Norbest AS, Novimovest Fundo de Investimento Imobiliario, Open Bank Argentina S.A., Open Bank S.A., Open Digital Market S.L., Open Digital Services S.L., Operadora de Carteras Gamma S.A.P.I. de C.V., Optimal Investment Services SA, Optimal Multiadvisors Ireland Plc / Optimal Strategic US Equity Ireland Euro Fund, Optimal Multiadvisors Ireland Plc / Optimal Strategic US Equity Ireland US Dollar Fund, PBE Companies LLC, PECOH Limited, PI Distribuidora de Titulos e Valores Mobiliarios S.A., PSA Bank Deutschland GmbH, PSA Banque France, PSA Finance UK Limited, PSA Financial Services Nederland B.V., PSA Financial Services Spain E.F.C. S.A., PSA Renting Italia S.p.A., PagoFX Europe S.A., PagoFX HoldCo S.L., PagoFX UK Ltd, PagoNxt Merchant Solutions S.L., PagoNxt S.L., Parasant SA, Patagon.com, Pereda Gestion S.A., Pingham International S.A., Popular Spain Holding de Inversiones S.L.U., Portal Universia Argentina S.A., Portal Universia Portugal Prestacao de Servicos de Informatica S.A., Prime 16 Fundo de Investimentos Imobiliario, Punta Lima LLC, Punta Lima Wind Farm LLC, Retop S.A., Return Capital Servicos de Recuperacao de Creditos S.A., Return Gestao de Recursos S.A., Riobank International (Uruguay) SAIFE (b), Rojo Entretenimento S.A., SAM Asset Management S.A. de C.V. Sociedad Operadora de Fondos de Inversion, SAM Investment Holdings S.L., SAM UK Investment Holdings Limited (b), SANB Promotora de Vendas e Cobranca Ltda., SCF Eastside Locks GP Limited, SDMX Superdigital S.A. de C.V., SMPS Merchant Platform Solutions Mexico S.A de C.V, Sancap Investimentos e Participacoes S.A., Santander (CF Trustee Property Nominee) Limited, Santander (UK) Group Pension Schemes Trustees Limited, Santander Ahorro Inmobiliario 1 S.A., Santander Ahorro Inmobiliario 2 S.A., Santander Alternatives SICAV RAIF, Santander Asesorias Financieras Limitada, Santander Asset Finance (December) Limited, Santander Asset Finance plc, Santander Asset Management - S.G.O.I.C. S.A., Santander Asset Management Chile S.A., Santander Asset Management LLC, Santander Asset Management Luxembourg S.A., Santander Asset Management S.A. Administradora General de Fondos, Santander Asset Management S.A. S.G.I.I.C., Santander Asset Management UK Holdings Limited, Santander Asset Management UK Limited, Santander Back-Offices Globales Mayoristas S.A., Santander Banca de Inversion Colombia S.A.S., Santander Bank & Trust Ltd., Santander Bank National Association, Santander Bank Polska S.A., Santander Brasil Administradora de Consorcio Ltda., Santander Brasil Gestao de Recursos Ltda., Santander Brasil Tecnologia S.A., Santander Capital Desarrollo SGEIC S.A. Unipersonal, Santander Capital Structuring S.A. de C.V., Santander Capitalizacao S.A., Santander Cards Ireland Limited, Santander Cards Limited, Santander Cards UK Limited, Santander Chile Holding S.A., Santander Consulting (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Santander Consumer (UK) plc, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2013-B2 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2013-B3 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2018-L1 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2018-L3 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2018-L4 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2018-L5 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2019-B1 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2019-L2 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2019-L3 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2020-B1 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2020-L1 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2020-L2 LLC, Santander Consumer Bank, Santander Consumer Bank AG, Santander Consumer Bank GmbH, Santander Consumer Bank S.A., Santander Consumer Bank S.p.A., Santander Consumer Banque S.A., Santander Consumer Credit Services Limited, Santander Consumer Finance Benelux B.V., Santander Consumer Finance Global Services S.L., Santander Consumer Finance Oy, Santander Consumer Finance S.A., Santander Consumer Finance Schweiz AG, Santander Consumer Financial Solutions Sp. z o.o., Santander Consumer Finanse Sp. z o.o. (b), Santander Consumer Holding Austria GmbH, Santander Consumer Holding GmbH, Santander Consumer International Puerto Rico LLC, Santander Consumer Leasing GmbH, Santander Consumer Mediacion Operador de Banca-Seguros Vinculado S.L., Santander Consumer Multirent Sp. z o.o., Santander Consumer Operations Services GmbH, Santander Consumer Receivables 10 LLC, Santander Consumer Receivables 11 LLC, Santander Consumer Receivables 3 LLC, Santander Consumer Receivables 7 LLC, Santander Consumer Receivables Funding LLC, Santander Consumer Renting S.L., Santander Consumer S.A., Santander Consumer S.A.S., Santander Consumer Services GmbH, Santander Consumer Services S.A., Santander Consumer Technology Services GmbH, Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc., Santander Consumer USA Inc., Santander Consumo S.A. de C.V. S.O.F.O.M. E.R. Grupo Financiero Santander Mexico, Santander Corredora de Seguros Limitada, Santander Corredores de Bolsa Limitada, Santander Corretora de Cambio e Valores Mobiliarios S.A., Santander Corretora de Seguros Investimentos e Servicos S.A., Santander Customer Voice S.A., Santander Digital Assets S.L., Santander Drive Auto Receivables LLC, Santander Equity Investments Limited, Santander Espana Merchant Services Entidad de Pago S.L. Unipersonal, Santander Espana Servicios Legales y de Cumplimiento S.L., Santander Estates Limited, Santander F24 S.A., Santander Facility Management Espana S.L., Santander Factoring S.A., Santander Factoring Sp. z o.o., Santander Factoring y Confirming S.A. E.F.C., Santander Finance 2012-1 LLC, Santander Financial Exchanges Limited, Santander Financial Services Inc., Santander Financial Services plc, Santander Finanse Sp. z o.o., Santander Fintech Holdings S.L., Santander Fintech Limited, Santander Fundo de Investimento SBAC Referenciado di Credito Privado, Santander Gestion de Recaudacion y Cobranzas Ltda., Santander Global Consumer Finance Limited, Santander Global Facilities S.A. de C.V., Santander Global Facilities S.L., Santander Global Operations S.A., Santander Global Services S.A. (b), Santander Global Sport S.A., Santander Global Technology Brasil Ltda., Santander Global Technology Chile Limitada, Santander Global Technology S.L., Santander Global Trade Platform Solutions S.L., Santander Guarantee Company, Santander Holding Imobiliaria S.A., Santander Holding Internacional S.A., Santander Holdings USA Inc., Santander ISA Managers Limited, Santander Inclusion Financiera S.A. de C.V. S.O.F.O.M. E.R. Grupo Financiero Santander Mexico, Santander Insurance Agency U.S. LLC, Santander Insurance Services UK Limited, Santander Intermediacion Correduria de Seguros S.A., Santander International Products Plc. (d), Santander Inversiones S.A., Santander Investment Bank Limited, Santander Investment Chile Limitada, Santander Investment I S.A., Santander Investment S.A., Santander Investment Securities Inc., Santander Investments GP 1 S.a.r.l., Santander Inwestycje Sp. z o.o., Santander Lease S.A. E.F.C., Santander Leasing LLC, Santander Leasing S.A., Santander Leasing S.A. Arrendamento Mercantil, Santander Lending Limited, Santander Mediacion Operador de Banca-Seguros Vinculado S.A., Santander Merchant Platform Operations S.A. de C.V., Santander Merchant Platform Services S.A. de C.V., Santander Merchant Platform Solutions Mexico S.A. de C.V., Santander Merchant Platform Solutions S.A., Santander Merchant Platform Solutions Uruguay S.A., Santander Merchant Platform SolucoesTecnologicas Brasil Ltda., Santander Merchant S.A., Santander Mortgage Holdings Limited, Santander Paraty Qif PLC, Santander Pensiones S.A. E.G.F.P., Santander Pensoes - Sociedade Gestora de Fundos de Pensoes S.A., Santander Private Banking Gestion S.A. S.G.I.I.C., Santander Private Banking UK Limited, Santander Private Banking s.p.a. in Liquidazione (b), Santander Private Real Estate Advisory & Management S.A., Santander Private Real Estate Advisory S.A., Santander Real Estate S.A., Santander Retail Auto Lease Funding LLC, Santander Rio Asset Management Gerente de Fondos Comunes de Inversion S.A., Santander Rio Trust S.A., Santander Rio Valores S.A., Santander S.A. Sociedad Securitizadora, Santander Secretariat Services Limited, Santander Securities LLC, Santander Seguros y Reaseguros Compania Aseguradora S.A., Santander Servicios Corporativos S.A. de C.V., Santander Servicios Especializados S.A. de C.V., Santander Technology USA LLC, Santander Tecnologia e Inovacao Ltda., Santander Tecnologia Argentina S.A., Santander Tecnologia Espana S.L.U., Santander Tecnologia Mexico S.A. de C.V., Santander Totta SGPS S.A., Santander Totta Seguros Companhia de Seguros de Vida S.A., Santander Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych S.A., Santander Trade Services Limited, Santander UK Group Holdings plc, Santander UK Investments, Santander UK Operations Limited, Santander UK Plc, Santander UK Technology Limited, Santander Wealth Management International SA, Santander de Titulizacion S.G.F.T. S.A., Santusa Holding S.L., Services and Promotions Delaware Corp., Services and Promotions Miami LLC, Servicio de Alarmas Controladas por Ordenador S.A., Servicios de Cobranza Recuperacion y Seguimiento S.A. De C.V., Sheppards Moneybrokers Limited, Shiloh III Wind Project LLC, Sociedad Integral de Valoraciones Automatizadas S.A., Sociedad Operadora de Tarjetas de Pago Santander Getnet Chile S.A., Socur S.A., Sol Orchard Imperial 1 LLC, Solarlaser Limited, Sovereign Community Development Company, Sovereign Delaware Investment Corporation, Sovereign Lease Holdings LLC, Sovereign REIT Holdings Inc., Sovereign Spirit Limited (f), Sterrebeeck B.V., Suleyado 2003 S.L. Unipersonal, Summer Empreendimentos Ltda., Super Pagamentos e Administracao de Meios Eletronicos S.A., Superdigital Argentina S.A.U., Superdigital Colombia S.A.S., Superdigital Holding Company S.L., Superdigital Peru S.A.C., Suzuki Servicios Financieros S.L., Swesant SA, TIMFin S.p.A., TOPSAM S.A de C.V., Taxagest Sociedade Gestora de Participacoes Sociais S.A., Teatinos Siglo XXI Inversiones S.A., The Alliance & Leicester Corporation Limited, The Best Specialty Coffee S.L. Unipersonal, Time Retail Finance Limited (b), Tonopah Solar I LLC, Toque Fale Servicos de Telemarketing Ltda., Tornquist Asesores de Seguros S.A. (b), Totta (Ireland) PLC, Totta Urbe - Empresa de Administracao e Construcoes S.A., Trabajando.com Mexico S.A. de C.V. en liquidacion (b), Trabajando.com Peru S.A.C., Trans Rotor Limited (b), Transolver Finance EFC S.A., Tresmares Growth Fund Santander SCR S.A., Tresmares Santander Direct Lending SICC S.A., Tuttle and Son Limited, Universia Brasil S.A., Universia Chile S.A., Universia Colombia S.A.S., Universia Espana Red de Universidades S.A., Universia Holding S.L., Universia Mexico S.A. de C.V., Universia Peru S.A., Universia Uruguay S.A., Uro Property Holdings SOCIMI S.A., WIM Servicios Corporativos S.A. de C.V., WTW Shipping Designated Activity Company, Wallcesa S.A., Wave Holdco S.L., Waypoint Insurance Group Inc., and Wirecard (Technological Assets). Infineon Technologies AG engages in the provision of semiconductor and system solutions. It operates through the following segments: Automotive, Industrial Power Control, Power & Sensor systems, and Connected Secure Systems. The Automotive segment designs, develops, manufactures, and markets semiconductor for automotive applications. The Industrial Power Control segment involves in the design, development, manufacture, and marketing of semiconductors for the generation, transmission, and economy in the use of electrical energy. The Power & Sensor systems segment includes design, development, manufacture, and marketing of semiconductors for energy-efficient power supplies as well as for mobile devices and mobile phone network infrastructures. The Connected Secure Systems designs, develops, manufactures, and markets semiconductor-based security products for card applications and network systems. The company was founded on April 1, 1999 and is headquartered in Munich, Germany. Read More The following companies are subsidiares of Archer-Daniels-Midland: ADM (Shanghai) Management Co. LTD, ADM (Thailand) Ltd, ADM Ag Holdings Ltd, ADM Agri-Industries Company, ADM Agriculture Limited, ADM Agro Iberica S. L. U., ADM Agro Indust Latur and Vizag Pvt Ltd, ADM Agro Industries India Private Limited, ADM Agro Industries KOTA and AKOLA Pvt. Ltd., ADM Agro SRL, ADM Agroinvestimentos LTDA, ADM Alliance Nutrition of Puerto Rico LLC, ADM Americas S de RL, ADM Andina Peru SRL, ADM Antwerp NV, ADM Arkady Ireland Limited, ADM Asia-Pacific Trading Pte. Ltd., ADM Australia Holdings I PTY Limited, ADM Bio Science And Technology (Tianjin) Co Ltd, ADM Bioproductos SA DE CV, ADM CZERNIN SA, ADM Caribbean Inc, ADM Chile Comercial LTDA, ADM Clinton Bioprocessing Inc, ADM DO Brasil LTDA, ADM Direct Polska SP. ZO.O, ADM Dominican Holdings Inc., ADM Dominicana SA, ADM Edible Bean Specialties Inc, ADM Europe HoldCo SL, ADM European Holdings LLC, ADM European Management Holding GMBH, ADM Export Co, ADM Food Technology (Beijing) Co. Ltd., ADM France, ADM Germany GmbH, ADM Grain River System Inc., ADM Hamburg Aktiengesesllschaft, ADM Holding (Thailand) LTD, ADM Holdings LLC, ADM Hungary Agro Trading LLC, ADM Industries Centers Ltd, ADM International Holdings Inc, ADM International SARL, ADM Interoceanic LTD, ADM Investments LTD, ADM Investor Services Inc, ADM Investor Services International LTD, ADM Ireland Receivables Company Limited, ADM Israel, ADM Japan Ltd, ADM MALBORK SA, ADM Mainz GMBH, ADM Medsofts Sarl, ADM Mexico Inc, ADM Mexico SA DE CV, ADM Milling Co, ADM Milling LTD, ADM New Zealand Limited, ADM Olomouc S.R.O., ADM Paraguay SRL, ADM Protexin Limited, ADM Pura Limited, ADM Receivables LLC, ADM Rice Inc, ADM Ringaskiddy Unlimited Company, ADM Romania Logistics SRL, ADM Romania Trading SRL, ADM Specialty Ingredients - Europe BV, ADM Spyck GMBH, ADM Szamotuly SP Z O.O, ADM Trading Australia Pty. Ltd., ADM Trading Co, ADM Transportation Company, ADM Trucking Inc, ADM Vietnam CO. LTD, ADM WILD Europe GmbH and Co. KG, ADM WILD Ingredients GmbH, ADM WILD Nauen GmbH, ADM WILD Valencia S.A., ADM Wild Netherlands BV, ADM Worldwide Holdings LP, ADMIS Holding Co Inc., ADMIS Hong Kong LTD, ADMIS Singapore Pte Limited, AOR, AT Holdings II Company, Agri Port Services Investments Ltd., Agri Port Services LLC, Agricolas Madagascar SARLU, Agrinational Insurance Co, Agriserve, Agrograin LTD, Alfrebro LLC, Alfred C Toepfer International Netherlands BV, Alimenta USA, American River Transportation Company LLC, Ameriseed, Amylum Bulgaria EAD, Amylum Nisasta Sanayi Ve Ticarek Anonim Sirketi, Archer Daniels Midland (UK) Limited, Archer Daniels Midland Asia Pacific Ltd., Archer Daniels Midland Erith LTD, Archer Daniels Midland Europe BV, Archer Daniels Midland Europoort BV, Archer Daniels Midland Nederland BV, Archer Daniels Midland Singapore PTE LTD, Arinos Unlimited, Aston Foods & Food Ingredients, Balanceados Nova SA Balnova, Barbados Mills Limited, Bela Vista Bio Etanol Participacoes LTDA, Bern Aqua, BioPolis SL, Biopolis, Campa Sued GmbH & Co KG, Cattleman's Choice Loomix LLC, Chamtor, Ci ADM Colombia Ltda., Controladora ADM Sa De Cv, Crosswind Petfoods Inc., Daavision BV, Eaststarch, Eatem Corporation, Eatem Foods, Elstar Oils, English River Pellets Inc., Epicore Bionetworks INC, Epicore Networks (USA) INC, Erich Ziegler GmbH, Evialis France, Fasco Mills Co., Filozoo SRL, Florida Chemical, Florida Chemical Company LLC, GP Blanching Inc., Global Cocoa Holdings LTD, Golden Peanut Company LLC, Golden Peanut and Tree Nut Seed SA (PTY) LTD, Golden Peanut and Tree Nuts SA, Group Lysac, Guyomarc'h - VCN Company Limited, Guyomarc'h Vietnam CO LTD, HFR Shipping Company Ltd, HRA Shipping Company Ltd, HTI Shipping Company Ltd, Harvest Innovations, Hilltop Grain and Feed, Holding P and A Asia Company Limited, Hubei Meiweiyuan Biotechnology, Ilitchevskiy Maslo Extractionniy Zavod (IMEZ), Invivo NSA Asia PTE LTD, Invivo NSA Philippines Inc, Jamaica Flour Mills Limited, Julius Meijer-Alpharma BV, LLC ADM Ukraine, Liquid Feed Commodities, Malta Industries SA de CV, Malta-Texo De Mexico SA de CV, Master Mix of Trinidad LTD, Medsofts Investment Co, Medsofts L.L.C., Medsofts Trading Co, Mepla Comercio e Navegacao Ltda, NRG Inc, Naviera Chaco SRL, Neovia, Neovia Latina SL, Neovia Nutricao E Saude Animal LTDA, North Star Shipping S.R.L., P and A Marketing SA, PJSC ADM Illichivsk, PT Wirifa Sakti, Pancosma (Shanghai) Feed Additives CO LTD, Pancosma France SAS, Pancosma SA, Premiere Agri Technologies of Mexico Inc, Pura Foods LTD, Rodelle Inc., Schokinag-Schokolade-Industrie Herrmann, Sermix, Setna Nutricion SA, Societe Industrielle Des Oleagineux, Southern Cellulose Products Inc, Soy Investors LLC, Specialty Commodities, Specialty Commodities LLC, Sul Mineira Alimentos LTDA, SzSzV Kft, Toepfer International, Toepfer International Trading (Shanghai) Co. LTD., Vantage Corn Processors LLC, WILD Amazon Flavors Ltda, WILD Flavors, Wild Flavors Inc., Wild Flavors International GmbH, Wild Flavors Singapore Pte. Ltd., Wild Intermare GmbH, Wild Russia LLC, and Wisium SA (PTY) LTD. The Nigerian Army has denied media reports that 25 soldiers were killed in an attack coordinated by Boko Haram insurgents in Bo... 25 soldiers were killed in an attack coordinated by Boko Haram insurgents in Borno. The Nigerian Army has denied media reports that25 soldiers were killed in an attack coordinated by Boko Haram insurgents in Borno. The Director, Army Public Relations, Col. Sagir Musa, made the denial in a Short Message (SMS) sent to the newsmen in Maiduguri on Sunday. Some reports claimed 25 soldiers were killed on Saturday when the insurgents attacked a military convoy evacuating civilians on Damboa-Biu Road. Musa dismissed the report as rumour and fake. Contrary to rumour and fake news circulating, there was no attack on any of our troops locations at Sabon Gari or any other locations in Borno State. I have spoken with the Special Force Commander in Damboa and he confirmed to me that there was nothing of such in Damboa or any of his locations as at Friday) and Saturday, he said. TalkTalk Telecom Group PLC provides telecommunications services to consumers and business to business customers in the United Kingdom. It offers fiber, broadband, landline, TV, and mobile services under the TalkTalk and TalkTalk Business brands. Its products include HomeSafe, a home filtering service for residential customers; WorkSafe that provides protection for internet devices to business customers; SuperSafe, which offers protection from viruses and malwares; CallSafe, a security feature that screens inbound calls; and TalkSafe, a way of identifying a customer when they call using their voice. TalkTalk Telecom Group PLC was founded in 2002 and is based in Salford, the United Kingdom. Read More Unum Group is engaged in providing financial protection benefits. It operates through the following segments: Unum US, Unum International, Colonial Life, Closed Block and Corporate. The Unum US segment comprises of group long-term and short-term disability insurance, group life and accidental death and dismemberment products, and supplemental and voluntary lines of business. The Unum International segment engages in the operations of UK business, which includes insurance for group long-term disability, group life, and supplemental lines of business that include dental, individual disability, and critical illness products; Poland business primarily includes insurance for individual and group life with accident and health riders. The Colonial Life segment includes insurance for accident, sickness, disability products, life products, and cancer and critical illness products. The Closed Block segment consists of individual disability, group and individual long-term care, and other insurance products no longer actively marketed. The Corporate segment refers to investment income on corporate assets and other corporate income and expenses not allocated to a line of business; and interest Read More Superior Energy Services, Inc. engages in the provision of oilfield services and equipment. It operates through the following segments: Drilling Products & Services, Onshore Completion & Workover Services, Production Services and Technical Solutions. The Drilling Products and Services segment provides downhole drilling tools and surface rentals. The Onshore Completion and Workover Services segment offers pressure pumping, fluid management and workover services. The Production Services segment gives intervention services. The Technical Solutions segment involves in the products and services that address customer-specific needs with applications, which typically require engineering, manufacturing or project planning. The company was founded by Terence E. Hall in 1989 and is headquartered in Houston, TX. Read More Senate Presidency aspirant, Senator Ahmed Lawan, has defended the N13.5 million monthly salary being paid to each of the 109 senators i... Senate Presidency aspirant, Senator Ahmed Lawan, has defended the N13.5 million monthly salary being paid to each of the 109 senators in the country, saying that the major component of the amount was for oversight assignment allowances. Lawan, who has the endorsement of the Presidency and the national leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to become the President of the 9th Senate, spoke to journalists in Abuja, yesterday, maintaining that there would be no reduction of the amount if he becomes the next Senate President. The lawmaker also reflected on Fridays Supreme Court judgment which sacked three APC senators-elect from Zamfara State, describing it as a setback. That notwithstanding, Lawan pointed out that the APC was still in the lead in the Senate with 62 members, having lost three to the PDP, which now boasts of 44 members in the upper chamber of the NASS. According to him, there is nothing like jumbo pay for senators since each of them goes home with about N1 million a month and allowances for oversight functions, some of them outside the country. The Yobe representative, who remains the longest-serving lawmaker from the North in the Senate so far, also described himself as a Buhari man, who would always support all good policies and programmes initiated by the administration for the overall good of Nigerians. Lawan said: I wont deny it; I am a Buhari man and supporter. But that does not mean that I would be a rubber stamp to him or his policies if I become the Senate President. My support for him should not be misconstrued to mean that I would be a rubber stamp to him or his policies. But it must also be noted that I dont belong to the school of thought of using lawmakers to fight the government. For me, I recognize the fact that we must work together by agreeing and sometimes disagreeing to make things work better for all Nigerians ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - In New York state government news, a bill that would grant Congress access to Donald Trump's state tax returns awaits action by Gov. Andrew Cuomo. While it doesn't mention the Republican president by name, the measure would allow three congressional committees to request returns filed by any elected official who pays state taxes. Cuomo's spokesman says the Democrat supports the "principle" behind the proposal but must review the bill carefully. While Republican lawmakers denounced it as a partisan attack on Trump, Democrats said it's essential given his refusal to deliver his federal returns. Meanwhile, many lawmakers are hoping for progress on efforts to legalize marijuana as the session enters its final four weeks. Legalization is a priority for many Democrats, but it has been held up over disagreements about details. (Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.) ROME, N.Y. - A local family held their annual memorial service at Pinti Field for Rome native, Jason Westcott who died five years ago. According to his family, Westcott was shot and killed in Florida by Tampa Police in 2014 during a drug raid. His family says questions about the justification of his death still linger today, but they are determined to keep his memory alive by holding a memorial in his honor every year. "We call it an 'angel-versary', we do it every year for Jason, we just all get together and remember all the good," Ginny Bromley, Westcott's cousin said. "We don't want to remember him for what happened. He always lifted up everybody's spirits and we just reminisce on the good memories." Bromley says Westcott's mom lives in Florida and she holds a service every year in his honor there as well. Westcott's family filed a lawsuit against the city of Tampa and several police officers for their actions leading up to Westcott's death. They are now looking for a different attorney to handle to lawsuit. WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) Police have released the names of the drivers involved in a two-vehicle crash Saturday, as 21-year-old Alyssa Dufair of West Lafayette and 29-year-old Julia Angle of West Lafayette. Angle was the driver of the SUV and was taken to IU Health Arnett, Angle later died from injuries. Dufair was the driver of the minivan and was transported to Franciscan East Hospital with serious, but non-life threatening injuries. Previous story below: One person is dead and another is injured in a two-person vehicle crash on Salisbury Street in West Lafayette Saturday evening. Police suspect alcohol and speeding to be causes of the crash. West Lafayette Police responded to a crash that happened in between Spinning Wheel Ct. and Leslie Ave. just after 6 p.m. Witnesses at the scene told police that an SUV was driving at a high speed southbound on Salisbury. The SUV then crossed the centerline striking a minivan, which was driving northbound, head on. The force of the impact caused the SUV to roll onto its roof. The West Lafayette Fire Department was able to get both drivers out of the crashed cars. The drivers were taken to area hospitals. The driver of the SUV was taken to IU Health Arnett, where they later died of their injuries. The driver of the minivan was transported to Franciscan East Hospital with serious, but non-life threatening. The West Lafayette Police Department is working with the Tippecanoe County Coroner's Office on this case and once the family has been notified, the names of those involved will be released. Anyone with information about this case should contact the West Lafayette Police Department at 765-775-5200. This story will be updated. Since the start of the year 2019, some Nollywood superstars have sadly passed away. These are some of those stars. As we all know Nige... Since the start of the year 2019, some Nollywood superstars have sadly passed away. These are some of those stars. As we all know Nigerian movies industry has produced many Nollywood actors and actresses over the years and at the same time lost most of them to the cold hand of Death. The Nigerian movie industry has lost icons within the short period of the year 2019 and its been a sad occurrence. Here are 10 Nollywood stars that have died this year. 1. Funmilayo Ijewuru Ogunsola Funmilayo Ijewuru Ogunsola passed away on Monday, February 4 in Ibadan at the age of 58. She was a popular actress and was married to the late movie star, Ishola I show Pepper Ogunsola. 2. Gbenga Burger Akintunde Gbenga Burger Akintunde died on Thursday, January 3 at the age of 47, after visiting the hospital to complain of malaria. 3. Adewale Olanrewaju I show Larry died on Monday, January 21 at the age of 36. The actor was also a movie producer. Adewale Olanrewaju is popularly known asI show Larry died on Monday, January 21 at the age of 36. The actor was also a movie producer. 4. Abe Ishola Monsurat Olabisi Abe Ishola Monsurat Olabisi passed away on Saturday, March 30 at age 39. Her death was announced days after she delivered a baby girl. 5. LinChung Duke Oliver Duke LinChung Oliver passed away on April 2 at age 45. He passed away after a car crash on his way to Lagos from his moms burial. He is famous for his role as Sylvanus in the sitcom, Do Good. 6. Alfred Rotimi Popoola Alfred Rotimi Popoola passed away on Thursday, February 27 in Abeokuta, Ogun state. He died at 51. Popoola has featured in several Nollywood movies including Aiye Foreign, and Ropo Ijogbon. 7. Prince Dammy Eke Prince Dammy Eke died on April 28. He died at age 41. The actor reportedly slumped and was rushed to the hospital where he was confirmed dead. 8. Adio Majester Adio Majester passed away on Tuesday, May 7 in the intensive care of an undisclosed hospital. He died at age 50. He featured numerous movies and a number of stage plays in his career as an actor. 9. Henry Okoro Henry Okoro died following injuries sustained during a fatal accident that occurred on May 11. He was an actor before taking a backseat to work as director and producer after a decade. He died at 36 10. Eddie Ugboma Eddie Ugboma died on May 11 after a health challenge. He would be remembered for his role as Oyenusi in a film of the same title. He died at 78 Torrington council tables chicken ordinance; Pinedale man survives 500-foot drop in car; Legal Aid of Wyoming wants to help vets regardless of income CHEYENNE (WNE) Legal Aid of Wyoming is testing a pilot program in Laramie County to provide military veterans access to free legal assistance, no matter their income level. Currently, Legal Aid of Wyoming restricts its services to Wyomingites whose income is at or below 200% of the federal poverty level. But the new program being tested in the county would provide in-person legal assistance for any veteran without any income qualifier, said Raymond Macchia, executive director of Legal Aid. The program is a collaboration between several organizations, including Legal Aid of Wyoming, Equal Justice Wyoming and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. We want the veterans to know that their service is valued, and we do appreciate everything theyve done for us and our country, Macchia said. This is a military town, and we think its important for us to reach out to those people who have served our country and to say thank you. And if theres something you need, to let us know. Veterans across the state, regardless of income, can access legal aid over a hotline run by the Wyoming State Bar Association. But for those veterans who need in-person assistance, Legal Aid of Wyoming in Laramie County will not be checking income levels before proving services. Macchia said those services could range from helping create and update a will to filing for a divorce. But it could also be something like helping a veteran file an appeal of their discharge status, which could lead to a significant increase in benefits available for them in their civilian life. Drug cases dismissed because of late search GILLETTE (WNE) The drug cases against two Gillette residents have been dismissed after a judge ruled that since a search of their home was done during the wrong hours, the evidence of criminal activity cannot be used against them. Tohniejo Brimmer, 31, and John N. Miller, 42, were charged with two counts of drug endangered child, a count of possession of meth and a count of possession with intent to deliver meth, all felonies. They were arrested Nov. 26 in their camper at 107 Harry St. when meth was found on a man leaving their home after he was stopped for a traffic violation. That prompted Campbell County Sheriffs Deputy Eric Coxbill to apply for a search warrant for the camper, which was granted at 10:36 p.m. Nov. 26. He executed the search warrant at about 11 p.m. at the home and found more than six used meth pipes, packaging material, a digital scale and bags with meth weighing 3.21 grams and 4.13 grams, according to court documents. But attorneys for Brimmer and Miller protested that the material was seized improperly and asked that District Judge Thomas W. Rumpke suppress the evidence. Since the search warrant expressly authorized the search from between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. and it was conducted outside of that time period, Rumpke ruled that the evidence found in the search could not be used in court. Without that evidence, prosecutors said they likely couldnt get a conviction on the charges and asked that the charges against Brimmer and Miller be dismissed. Lyman man sentenced to probation in standoff EVANSTON (WNE) Lyman man Jonathon P. Burkett will serve two years of supervised probation following an armed standoff with law enforcement that occurred in January. The sentence is the result of a plea agreement with the Uinta County Attorneys Office, through which Burkett agreed to plead no contest to two counts and guilty to a third while two additional counts were dismissed. Burkett, 29, was arrested on Jan. 21 following a string of events that ended in the standoff. Burkett was reportedly armed with a handgun when he entered Johns Bar in Lyman in the morning hours while the business was closed. He was caught and confronted by the bar owner. Burkett left the bar and the owner called law enforcement, who later located Burkett at his parents home in Lyman. During his change of plea hearing in Third District Court on Friday, May 17, Burketts public defender Dean Stout said his clients memory of that morning is hazy, but court documents indicate he was still armed and refused to disarm when law enforcement officers made contact with him. Burkett was finally arrested after reaching for the gun and being taken to the ground by responding officers. Initial charges included aggravated burglary, wrongful taking or disposing of property, reckless endangering, interfering with a peace officer and use of methamphetamine after Burkett admitted to smoking the drug earlier in the day, which was confirmed by urinalysis. Burkett was sentenced to two years of probation for the burglary charge on count one and one year of probation for the charges of reckless endangering and interfering with a peace officer, to run consecutively to one another but concurrent with the probation on the burglary count. Pinedale man survives 500-foot drop in car PINEDALE (WNE) A Pinedale man survived a 500-foot drop when his car went over a cliff above Fremont Lake, but spent a cold night before contacting rescuers. Lucas Corwin, 25, of Pinedale, was able to call Tuesday about 10:45 a.m. setting off a search by law enforcement agencies, firefighters and personnel from Bridger-Teton National Forest. According to Sublette County Sheriff K.C. Lehr, when the call came in he and other law enforcement started walking the rights-of-way on Skyline Drive north of White Pine Ski Resorts access road. Lehr said at some point another officer heard Corwin shouting for help. The crash site was not visible from the road. According to Wyoming Highway Patrol Trooper Brandon Deckert, the Pontiac G6 vaulted almost 100 feet before hitting the edge of a rock shelf. The vehicle then cartwheeled end over end another 300 or 400 feet down the steep embankment. During the fall, Corwin, who was not wearing a seatbelt, was ejected from the vehicle. The crash occurred before dark Monday night. Corwin managed to get into the crashed vehicle, despite back injuries. He remained in the vehicle until Tuesday morning. According to the National Weather Service, temperatures fell to 21 degrees Fahrenheit during the night. Corwin was able to call for help Tuesday morning and give his approximate location. Deckert said the cause of the crash was intentional. No alcohol or drugs are suspected in the crash. No citations were issued. Torrington council tables chicken ordinance TORRINGTON (WNE) After two public comment sessions full of spirited debate both for and against an ordinance that would allow Torrington residents to have up to four laying hens within city limits, the Torrington City Council voted 3-2 to table the issue Tuesday night. The urban chicken motion had passed on its first and second reading, but was tabled or set aside before the third reading. If it passed on the third reading, it would have been officially part of the city code. Councilwoman Deanna Hill, who has voted twice in support of the ordinance, moved to table the issue. Councilman Matt Mattis, who introduced the urban chicken movement, seconded the motion and Councilman Ted Kinney voted with them in favor of tabling. Mayor Randy Adams and Councilman Bill Law voted against the motion to table the matter. Hill said she thought it would be appropriate to table the ordinance for the time being, which would allow the council to hear from representatives from other towns in Wyoming who have approved such an ordinance. According to Mattis, tabling the urban chicken ordinance was in the best interest of the council. Last time we had a lot of opposition to this topic, he said. I think we need to do our due diligence to get more info from other cities that have proposed this. The best service we can do for our citizens is to make a better decision based on other cities and towns and the trials and tribulations theyve had. Secretary of State Ed Buchanan is seeking a judgeship just seven months after winning election to his statewide office and a judicial commission has submitted his name and two others for Gov. Mark Gordon's consideration. Buchanan put in an application with Wyoming's Judicial Nominating Commission for a vacant circuit court judgeship in Goshen County. He was one of three names selected by the commission. The names now go to Gordon, who has 30 days to select a candidate. The other two candidates are Patricia Bennett, a clerk at the Wyoming Supreme Court, and Nathaniel Hibben, a Torrington lawyer who is current president-elect of the Wyoming State Bar. If he chooses Buchanan, Gordon will then have the opportunity to fill one of the five top statewide elected offices in his first year on the job. Buchanan's selection for the judgeship would trigger a process in which Gordon would pick from three recommendations advanced to him by the Wyoming Republican Party. If Gordon chooses Buchanan as a judge, it will be the secretary of state's second appointment to public office in fewer than two years, and place the second unelected appointee in the secretary of state's office in the same period. Former Gov. Matt Mead selected Buchanan for the secretary of state position after the Wyoming GOP submitted his name and two others. The previous vacancy in the secretary's office came after former Secretary of State Ed Murray resigned following allegations of sexual misconduct. After his appointment Buchanan ran successfully for the position in 2018. He won with 137,026 votes. Executive Director of the Wyoming Bar Sharon Wilkinson said in her 17 years at that organization she had never seen a sitting statewide elected official apply for a vacant judgeship. The Eighth Judicial District, Goshen County court is housed in Torrington, where Buchanan previously lived and practiced law. The move would carry a pay increase for Buchanan. The secretary of state earns $92,000 a year according to statute. When a new law passed by the Legislature goes into effect on July 1, a circuit court judge will earn $145,000 a year. In a statement, Buchanan said he "felt called" to serve as a judge. "I did not lightly consider this step in putting my name forward," Buchanan said in the statement. "Such a step came after prayer and careful consideration of the needs of the State of Wyoming, my family, and the citizens of Goshen County." Should he be selected, Buchanan said, the former Goshen County representative and speaker of the house will have completed the trifecta in Wyoming's three branches of government - legislative, executive and now judicial. The choice was not an easy one, Buchanan's statement read. "I faced the impossible choice knowing that I could serve my state and community in Goshen County through the Judicial System," it reads, "while also struggling with the fact that I love the work of the Secretary of State's Office. "Ultimately, the call to serve Goshen County as a judge was strong, but the decision was made knowing that my staff at the Secretary of State's Office are prepared to smoothly transition and seamlessly accommodate the arrival of an appointed Secretary of State, if that time comes," the statement reads. Buchanan said he would "honor" Gordon's choice of judge. The outgoing Goshen County judge Randal Arp announced his retirement in effective in July. Arp's wife Pat announced shortly after her husband revealed his plans that she, too, would retire from a long term of public service, most recently serving as Gordon's chief of staff. WyoFile is an independent nonprofit news organization focused on Wyoming people, places and policy. Netflix has acquired worldwide rights (excluding China, Benelux, Switzerland, Russia, France) to French-Senegalese filmmaker Mati Diops feature debut, the award winning Atlantics, which premiered at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, where it was awarded the Grand Prix. The films Cannes premiere earned Diop, niece of the late, great Senegalese cinema pioneer Djibril Diop Mambety, a spot in the history books: she became the first woman of African descent with a film in the 72-year-old festivals Competition section, and has proven to be one of the biggest breakouts at Cannes this year. Related stories If Film Is Dying, Then Cannes 2019's Genre-Heavy Lineup Proved Death Is Only the Beginning Secret Cannes Meeting For New Polanski Film to Find U.S. Buyer Took Place -- So Far, No Takers Previously titled Fire Next Time (although not based on James Baldwins famous essay collection of the same name), the film was in rare company. Diop and French-Malian Ladj Ly were the only filmmakers of African descent represented in Competition at the worlds most prestigious film festival this year. The acquisition represents Netflixs ongoing aggressive push into the African continent a still relatively untapped source of talent and content. The news comes just months after the streaming giant announced its first original African series Queen Sono, starring veteran South African actress Pearl Thusi (Quantico), as well as Mama Ks Team 4, its first African animated original. There was also Februarys series order of the South African teen drama Blood & Water, to be directed by Nosipho Dumisa, the helmer behind the buzzy 2018 SXSW thriller Number 37. Earlier this year, Netflix announced its acquisition of South African drama Shadow, which was released globally as a Netflix Original on March 8. And finally, at TIFF 2018, the streamer acquired Nigerian drama Lionheart, the directorial debut of Nollywood (Nigerian cinema) superstar actress Genevieve Nnaji. Also picked up as a Netflix Original movie, the film was released worldwide on January 4, 2019. Story continues These aggressive moves by Netflix shouldnt come as a surprise. In December, the company signaled that it planned to get serious about ordering/acquiring original series and films from the African continent, created by Africans a step which is in line with its global ambitions. Even Cannes Film Festival chief Thierry Fremaux recognizes the potential, telling Variety ahead of this years event, There is an exciting new generation coming out of the African continent and women are making half of [those works], if not more. Were sensing a simmering in Africa. Women are are driving it and Cannes is its arena. Indeed. In fact, the last two years alone have been noteworthy for the festival, with Zambian filmmaker Rungano Nyonis I Am Not a Witch, Wanuri Kahius Rafiki, and Diops Atlantics, all feature debuts by women of African descent, premiering at the festival. Meanwhile, French-Malian filmmaker Ladj Lys feature debut Les Miserables, which also premiered in competition and picked up a jury prize, was acquired by Amazon. Two Cannes award winners picked up by primarily streaming platforms is certainly noteworthy, especially at a time when the festival negotiates its relationship with non-traditional distribution platforms like Netflix, who also acquired Cannes Critics Week Award Winner I Lost My Body, Jeremy Clapins animated feature debut. Release dates and strategies for Atlantics, Les Miserables and I Lost My Body have yet to be set, and will likely be closely observed. Fionnuala Jamison negotiated Atlantics for mk2 Films on behalf of the filmmakers. And Carole Baraton did the same for I Lost My Body for Charades on behalf of the filmmakers. Sign up for Indiewire's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Bong Joon-hos Palme dOr winner Parasite revolves around a family that overtakes a wealthy residence, bit by bit, but the best sequence finds them trapped. When an unexpected development (no spoilers here) puts their scheme at risk, theyre forced to hide in various corridors of the expansive house, under floorboards and in the walls. Its a startling visual embodiment of the class warfare at the heart of the movie and in much of Bongs work, from Barking Dogs Never Bite to Snowpiercer wherein less fortunate people attempt to take control of the conditions holding them down, and wind up stuck somewhere in the middle. Bongs directorial talents were long overdue for this prize: His slick ability to compose rich visuals in every frame, with complex characters almost too driven for their own good, has made him one of the greatest working filmmakers for years now. But Parasite was also an ideal choice for the top prize at this years Cannes in a year when many of the best movies in Competition dealt with the same potent theme. Related stories If Film Is Dying, Then Cannes 2019's Genre-Heavy Lineup Proved Death Is Only the Beginning Secret Cannes Meeting For New Polanski Film to Find U.S. Buyer Took Place -- So Far, No Takers Consider Atlantics. Mati Diops surreal Grand Prix winner follows a group of women in Dakar abandoned by several young men who flee to the ocean in a quest to reach the coast of Spain. Ada (Mama Sane) is left to contend with a forced marriage to Omar (Barbara Sylla), a wealthy man whom her family hopes will support them. Ada feels trapped: On the one hand, she resents her lover abandoning her in a dreary, impoverished life; at the same time, shes expected to suppress her emotions for the sake of her familys stability. As Atlantics heads in an eerie, supernatural direction, and the ghosts of men who departed for the sea come back to haunt Adas small community, the movie creates the impression of a world defined by the haves and have-nots. Only through a profound, otherworldly set of circumstances can Ava even begin to contemplate the idea of an escape, but never once does it seem realistic. Story continues So it goes in Les Miserables and Bacurau, the movies that shared this years Jury Prize. In Ladj Lys Les Miserables, thick-skulled police officers persecute a Muslim community in Paris for no reason other than their ongoing desire to confirm their superiority. Their mounting acts of aggression toward one rebellious Muslim youth lead to a dynamic showdown in an apartment complex when the entire neighborhood acts out in revolt. That ending is mirrored rather closely in Bacurau, Kleber Mendonca Filho and Juliano Dornelles futuristic Brazilian Western, when a remote town bands together to fight back against mysterious vigilantes. Their purpose hovers in an ambiguous state for much of the story, but they take on a profound symbolic quality as the movie builds to its bloody finale, as a self-sustaining world defined by its self-sustaining ethos suddenly must fight to sustain its existence. The stakes take on more personal ramifications in Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Celine Sciammas screenplay winner, which finds a wealthy young woman named Heloise (Adele Hanele) falling for lower-class painter Marianne (Noemie Merlant) in the 18th century. Their bond is powerful, intimate, and essentially impossible: While the movie doesnt waste time exploring the taboos associated with same-sex attraction at the time, remaining close to its main characters developing bond, it magnifies just how much Heloise has been trapped by her palatial circumstances. As with Ada in Atlantics, Heloise is expected to marry a man who can support her and keep her comfortable, but that assumption doesnt take into account what she actually wants for herself. Her love affair is a quiet act of rebellion against the system holding her in place. While the fixation of these Cannes entries suggests a mounting discontent with wealth and persecution around the world, Ken Loach got there first. The British auteur has been the ultimate chronicler of underclass frustrations for over half a century, and his Competition entry Sorry We Missed You is a vintage example. Tackling the gig economy head-on, Loach focuses on desperate family man Ricky (Kris Hitchen) as he takes on a contract gig driving a delivery van around London, signing away his rights in the process. Loach excels at showing how vast industrial systems exploit the working man, and Rickys innocuous descent into a machine keen on eating him alive is tragic to watch, mostly because it feels so real. Nevertheless, the narrative of this years Cannes goes back to the beginning. Jim Jarmuschs The Dead Dont Die opened the festival to lukewarm reviews, but the master of deadpans dark zombie comedy is nothing if not a pointed critique of an exploitative system. The undead in Jarmuschs kooky ensemble are drawn to products that they obsessed over in their lives wifi, Xanax, coffee, you name it and it doesnt take much to see just how much contempt Jarmusch has for the way weve all become materialistic slaves. Its a blunt metaphor, explained in bitter terms in Tom Waits apocalyptic voiceover, but in retrospect it set the stage for the festivals many depictions of global outrage against capitalist persecution. Wealth attracts and it takes away; in the process, it catalyzes dramatic narratives that must be told. Even bad movies can be portals to the fears, anxieties, and frustrations of the times in which theyre made; the 2019 Cannes Film Festival brought us some great ones. 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. WARNING: Spoilers from The Perfection are discussed in this article. The obsessiveness or the obsessions in the classical music world are something that rings true to anybody who had to sit and practice for hours on end, says Paul Haslinger, a composer behind Netflixs The Perfection. The streaming distributor kept its dizzying horror-thriller from director Richard Shepard largely a secret, due to the complex web of spoilers that threaten to unravel upon any form of discussion, but this weekends premiere brings to light its dark tale of two musicians mission to achieve the unachievable: perfection. Allison Williams (Get Out) stars as Charlotte, a troubled cello prodigy who, after the death of her mother, seeks out Elizabeth (Dear White Peoples Logan Browning), the new star player at her former school, the Bachoff Academy. Their encounter sends both women down a path with its own shocking surprises. Its a film with lots of twists that play out through the narrative turns, shifting camera angles, and the very fabric of the ominous score. Haslinger, who studied music in Austria, recalls reading Elfriede Jelineks The Piano Teacher in school, a book about an S&M relationship between a piano teacher and her student. He says, It was a parallel world but utterly relatable. The Perfection, he adds, was a more extravagant version of that. To unpack the forces at play, Haslinger and fellow composer on the film, Rolfe Kent, unpack their soundtrack, which is full of its own deceptions. Charlottes Theme Netflix A harp and the strumming of strings lay the foundation for a lonely piano line. It slides between keys, while leaning into harmonic dissonance as Charlotte stares at the dead body that once held her mother. Flashes of her past career as a budding cellist attack her mind before we cut forward to find her in China. The piano feeds the sense of unease as she spots a poster for the one shes searching for, the cellist from her former academy who became an international success while she gave up everything to take care of her ailing mother, thereby giving way to the first twist from The Perfection. Story continues When they were looking basically for a composer to come in, I submitted a demo and there was a piano piece on it, Haslinger explains of the opening theme. They tried that piano piece when she reunites with her teacher. She walks through Shanghai and she sees the poster and theres a simple piano line playing there. Richard responded to that and that became the [melody]. A lot of the rest of the film is more or less Charlottes Theme. I originally wrote another opening, but he liked that melody so much, so I refashioned the opening using this melody, basically, as the core element for it and constructing the key around it. Dueling celli Netflix Haslinger came into the production later than usual, while Kent, a frequent collaborator of Shephard, wrote a series of original compositions for cello to play in the beginning of the film. One such piece was the cello duet between Charlotte and Liz, a frenetic melody that still throws the listener off balance with minor chords and striking dissonance, while the fast fingering of the strings mirrors the sexual tension building between the women. The opening duet was designed to feel competitive yet fiery and exciting, Kent wrote to EW over email. Reluctantly pushed together, each of these virtuoso players is seeking to play as perfectly as possible, but theres an ongoing tension needed, a sense of being close to the breaking point; the music has to tease us with that possibility, while drawing the viewer in to the energy, virtuosity, and sweat of the performance. Mozarts Requiem Netflix A needle drop is a preexisting piece or song played at a specific point in a film. The first in The Perfection is the Casadesus: Cello Concerto in C Minor, which comes with its own slight twist. The piece was credited to J.C. Bach but certain music scholars credit Henri Casadesus for writing it in the style of J.C. Bach. The young cellists can be seen playing this piece at the beginning of the film in the hopes of landing a spot at Bachoff. The second needle drop is Requiem in D minor, K. 626 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, something Haslinger knows very well. Anton (Steven Weber), Bachoffs outlandish instructor, is always associated with different movements from this piece, beginning when his tour of the academys private concert space. Haslinger remarks how the Requiem lended itself to the grandeur and ridiculousness of Anton in the context of this film. Dies Irae In Requiems, the Dies Irae movement denotes the day of wrath in the Mass for the Dead. Its this movement from Mozarts Requiem we hear playing over the car stereo as Anton drives up to the academy at night and sees Liz with a special surprise in the back of her trunk. I fear I am writing a requiem for myself, Mozart is quoted as saying in reference to his Requiem. The Requiem is an interesting piece because Mozart wrote it, basically, before he was dying and [it] was finished by a student of his, Haslinger says. It was a work-for-hire and it was a rush job. Its interesting what [the student] picked because he stayed pretty close to some models for it that you can find with previous compositions and previous pieces, and yet its become one of [Mozarts] most celebrated and most famous pieces. So, the piece in itself has a twisted story. Now I dont know whether Richard was aware of that when he picked it. I think he picked it for effect more than for the history, but Anton stood for a mix of qualities and obsessions and all the other things, some a bit clique, that come with the classical music world and because this piece is such a mix of all of that I think it just fit really well and the individual pieces in the requiem have this quality, they serve quite a few different elements. Electronic infusion While the first half of the film largely uses classical and acoustic music, Haslinger noted Shepard wanted the second half, where things get more twisted, to have a more current and electronically infused approach. My job was to retain the classical- and cello-based elements, but also to give it another dimension in sound and bring it more over into a current production feel, the composer explains. It was a necessary shift, but it was also a tight balance because its a very detailed and choreographed film. So, everything becomes a balancing game and a little too much is a lot too much and so it took a moment to find the right balance for it. A stressful solo Netflix Charlotte has nightmares about the solo sonata Anton forced her to play on his private stage. Its the biggest of all the twists in The Perfection and one that gets to the inner darkness of artistry wherein musicians forget their passion for the craft and instead kill themselves to achieve perfection. In this piece, I wanted to bring you into a world youd perhaps not considered the intensely physical world of the cello, Kent says of the sonata, which Charlotte plays in the past as a Bachoff student and again as an adult in the final scenes of the film. I remember seeing Ravels Bolero and noticing how hard the cellos and basses were working with that intensely physical piece. Its incredibly visual and visceral, and I wanted to show that kind of effort in this piece; you have to dig in and sweat to make the cello work with these fast musical rhythms. Its very demanding of the musician. Then I contrast it with a sudden shift into lyrical moments so the performer has to change gears on a dime and go from all-out sprinting to fluidly soaring, and then soaring ever higher, making it a fascinating, dangerous thing with consequences. Hip-hop break Netflix With all the narrative turns and surprises that arise the closer you get to the finale, Haslinger wanted to continue throwing the audience for a loop musically, hence the choice to feature hip-hop, a drastic departure from the classical space that became so toxic for the characters. When I came in, Haslinger says, the score was relatively straightforward: acoustic and then there were these juxtapositions between the song choices and the needle drops. The job for me, then, was to create more elements on the score side that creates variety and makes these jumps seem like theyre part of an overall concept of being allowed to jump. The scene in which Charlotte explains everything to Liz couldve been a needle drop, he says. Instead, its scored to sound non-orchestral, basically an electronic piece. That was a stylistic decision, he says. We said were going through all these big fights and action sequences, and we wanna throw people for a loop because, A, were revealing something we never thought of before, but, B, its good when this side steps. This shifting over to the left or the right doesnt only happen with songs, but it can also happen in the score. To me and Richard, that was a more modern, current approach of trying to get that effect. That way, these shifts occur throughout the movie in a variety [of ways], so sometimes its a strong shift with the hip-hop piece and sometimes its a gradual shift like in the application of the electronic elements in the score, or if you do a stylized piece like in the scene when they finally confess to each other. The result: perfection. Related content: LOS ANGELES (AP) Kim Kardashian West isn't the only celebrity speaking out for prison reform. It's a topic that was also very important to slain rapper Nipsey Hussle, and to Common, Kevin Hart and a host of others who consider the criminal justice system often unfair and dehumanizing. Hussle served time before he was shot to death on March 31 and was raising awareness for changes. Last October, he headlined a free #TimeDone campaign concert to bring awareness to the 70 million Americans living with a past conviction. In February, while attending the Grammy Awards, Hussle explained why the topic of prison reform was among his priorities. "I grew up in South Central Los Angeles. You know we come from gang culture so we dealt with the system a lot," he told The Associated Press. "We saw firsthand over-sentencing, unfair probation, the policies and stuff, so to see people putting energy into reforming that and just making it a little closer to what's fair, you know what I mean? I think that it's an important subject. It's an important movement that we should all support." Hussle was on the advisory board of WordsUncaged, a nonprofit where prisoners serving life sentences learn to reclaim their voices and reflect upon the harm they have caused through narrative therapy and creative writing workshops. Songwriter and record executive DJ Mustard, who is a Grammy winner and has collaborated with Hussle, has a cousin, Theodore, who is currently incarcerated. Mustard said prison reform is "super important" to him because often, people are "accused of something they didn't even do." "They take the time for it not knowing, not having any lawyers, not even being in the right state of mind to even fight the case or even have enough money to get a lawyer to fight the case," he said. His cousin was sentenced to 80 years to life as a teenager. "At that time, we didn't have money to go for a good lawyer and now we're fighting and fighting and fighting to get him out. That's a lot of people's cases throughout the world," Mustard said. Story continues Common, a Grammy, Oscar and Emmy winner, was touched in particular by the cause through his work on the 2014 film "Selma," the story of the 1965 voting rights marches in Alabama. The "Glory" rapper has performed at numerous concerts inside California prisons and is a frequent visitor to the men of one in Los Angeles County where all are serving life sentences. "I think one of the things that I've experienced from meeting men and women who were incarcerated was that they wanted to feel humanized. They wanted people to know that they were human beings," Common said. "The places that I've been, I've met some of the best human beings I've ever met in my life in prison that were doing life without parole that had actually committed violent crimes and had committed murders, but then were able to acknowledge that and try to move past it and do the work." Hart also has spoken out about the need for criminal justice reform because of what has happened with his friend, rapper Meek Mill. Mill has become a symbol for reform after a judge in Pennsylvania sentenced him to two to four years in prison for minor violations of his probation in a decade-old gun and drug possession case. He spent months in prison before a court ordered him released. "He had to go back, and they put them in for this crazy amount of time. So, seeing that, going and visiting firsthand, we realize that there is a large portion of people that have been convicted that are set up to get convicted again regardless of their good behavior," Hart said. According to the Prison Policy Initiative , a nonprofit that documents the effects of mass incarceration, the criminal justice system holds almost 2.3 million people in state and federal prisons, juvenile correctional facilities and local jails. More than 540,000 of those haven't been convicted. The NAACP said that between 1980 and 2015, the number of people incarcerated in the United States increased from roughly 500,000 to over 2.3 million. African Americans and Hispanics comprised 56 percent in 2015. "We just have to, in society," Common said, "not just look out for the people that can do for us but look out for those who are overlooked." What better way to celebrate a rite of passage than with an intimate hip-hop concert? Earlier this week, Offset traveled all the way to Moscow, Russia, for a lavish bar mitzvah gig at an undisclosed location. The Migos rapper snapped some photos with the attendees and performed a number of his fan-favorite tracks, including "Lick" off his debut solo album Father of 4 and "Slippery" from Migos' Culture. It's unclear how much Offset was paid for the event, but TMZ points out that other rappers have reportedly received anywhere from $50,000 to $1 million for a bat/bar mitzvah concert. Stars who have hit the circuit include 21 Savage, Lil Yachty, Drake, 50 Cent, Snoop Dogg, and Offset's wife, Cardi B. Check out clips and pictures from Offset's recent performance below. In other Offset-related news, the rapper took to Instagram on Saturday to preview a track off his upcoming Father of 4 deluxe edition. The song, presumably titled "Pink Toes," will feature Lil Uzi Vert and Gunna. The extended album is expected to drop soon. Essiewithout a doubtis one of the most iconic and beloved nail polish brands of all time. As of this year, approximately 818 bottles of the cult-classic shade Ballet Slippers are sold each day in the U.S. alone, (ahem, thats roughly 24 per hour, folks), the second and third best-selling shades are Blanc and Mademoiselle, and the ever-so-cheekily named polish Bikini So Teeny is the top-selling shade in history. Impressive, no? Since the fever for the perfect spring mani is exponentially rising, we had an itch to conduct some polish research. After reaching out to the experts at Essie, we now have the brand's official list outlining the 20 best-selling shades still available for us to buy in bulk. Curious to see how the list plays out? Keep scrolling! 20. Summit of Style Essie Nail Polish in Summit of Style ($9) The perfect glittering bronze. 19. Fiji Essie Nail Polish in Fiji ($7) An opaque full-coverage baby pink. 18. Licorice Essie Nail Polish in Licorice ($8) According to the brand, Licorice is "a beguiling jet black cream." 17. Wicked Essie Nail Polish in Wicked ($9) A villainous hit of dark red. 16. Hi Maintenance Essie Nail Polish in Hi Maintenance ($9) An elegant light pink that's sheerer. 15. Mint Candy Apple Essie Nail Polish in Mint Candy Apple ($8) The ultimate shade of creme de menthe for your nails. 14. Wild Nude Essie Nail Polish in Wild Nude ($9) Described by the brand as "a light tan with a wash of white." 13. Muchi Muchi Essie Nail Polish in Muchi Muchi ($8) A mauve-minded pop of pink. 12. Topless & Barefoot Essie Nail Polish in Topless & Barefoot ($8) One part beige, one part pink, so you don't have to choose. 11. Marshmallow Essie Nail Polish in Marshmallow ($7) A powderpuff shade of sheet white. 10. Forever Yummy Essie Nail Polish in Forever Yummy ($8) Essie's quintessential "tango" burst of red. 9. Bare with Me Essie Nail Polish in Bare with Me ($7) A moody apricot with a hint of tonal gray. Story continues 8. Sugar Daddy Essie Nail Polish in Sugar Daddy ($8) The most precious of pale pink nail polishes. 7. Lady Like Essie Nail Polish in Lady Like ($7) Essie's smooth wash of mauve. 6. Mrs. Always-Right Essie Nail Polish in Mrs. Always-Right ($8) A bossy desert-born rose tone. 5. Eternal Optimist Essie Nail Polish in Eternal Optimist ($7) Essie describes this nail polish as "a spiced tea rose with a dash of cream." 4. Bikini So Teeny Essie Nail Polish in Bikini So Teeny ($8) A sparkling dewy shade of blue. 3. Mademoiselle Essie Nail Polish in Mademoiselle ($7) The brand's most iconic shade of demurely classic pink. 2. Blanc Essie Nail Polish in Blanc ($9) A pillowy shade of snow white nail polish. 1. Ballet Slippers Essie Nail Polish in Ballet Slippers ($7) Essie's number one best seller? This sheer wash of ultra light pink. Next up: And Now, the 20 Best-Selling OPI Nail Colors of All TimeThat You Can Still Buy This article was published at an earlier date and has been recently updated. This article originally appeared on Who What Wear Read More from Who What Wear Denny Culbert What's better than finding a restuarant with incredible food? Finding one that's also beautiful. Each week our editors spotlight one of the most stunning eateries around the country, showcasing how inspiried interior design can enhance the dining experience. Follow along with Dine + Design to see where we go next. They say the third time's a charm, and there's no shortage of charming elements inside Chef Justin Devillier's latest (and third) venture, Justine. Though the restaurant's French Quarter setting is winsome by nature, Justine's most endearing features are a collection of imports curated over the nearly three years since Devillier discovered the cavernous former furniture warehouse. This past January, he and his wife-turned-business partner, Mia Freiberger-Devillier, reopened the space as a French brasserie. "You can open a brasserie in any building and call it a brasserie," Devillier says. "But what makes the really classic brasseries of the world super special is they all have that grand hall feel. There's a big space and lots of hustle and bustle." "Classic" is the operative word in Devillier's recounting of how Justine came to be something of an anomaly in a part of town where French restaurants should be a dime a dozen. "I've felt a void for a long time in the French Quarter for something as traditional as Justine," Devillier told Food & Wine just before the restaurant's January debut. Instead of taking cues from New Orleans' creole-flavored haunts, the Devilliers headed to Paris alongside the husband and wife design team behind Farouki Farouki. There, they scoured flea markets and scrap yards on the hunt for architectural, design, and color inspiration, and, naturally, ate all the French onion soup Paris had to offer. Denny Culbert From brasseries preserved almost as if in a time capsule to some more modern, no-doubt Instagram-friendly takes, Freiberger-Devillier says their brasserie tour took them all over the City of Light. "It was interesting to see the universal draw to that type of concept but then see it in different ways and to bring back the elements that we really like." Story continues "As far as onion soups in Paris go, I don't think I had one that was a total knockout," Devillier adds. "There are a lot of bad ones." What did resonate, however, eventually making its way back to New Orleans and into the brasserie experience at Justine, were a 20-foot zinc bar top, which the designers flanked with marble when it was installed, and a pressed-tin marquee that was placed over the restaurant's open kitchen. That piece, Freiberger-Devillier says, hung over a butcher shop at one point, and easily ranks among their favorite pieces from the trip. Behind the bar stands a six-foot tall statue of a lady nicknamed Justine (though Justin says he's the restaurant namesake, having been called Justine on many of his travels through France). "We got [the statue] from a gallery in New York, but it's originally from France by a well-known cast-iron artist," Freiberger-Devillier explains. "They had actually gotten it from an estate in New Orleans, so we felt like we were bringing her home." While the decorwith its quintessential brasserie style of mirrors, bentwood chairs, and brass railingsdid ultimately pepper in some nods to the historic French Quarter (there's a custom absinthe decanter-inspired fountain in the patio out back), the menu is as classic as it gets. "As far as the food menu goes, we wanted to create a Parisian-style brasserie using our local bounty of seafood when possible and local produce, but definitely not trying to cook the same food that a creole restaurant would be cooking," he notes. "We're focusing more on brasserie classics." Denny Culbert Among them: Onion soup, obviously. "That's one that will never leave the menu, it's the backbone of the concept and the cuisine," Devillier says. Then there's the beef tartare, made with egg yolks, mustard, cornichon, shallots and fresh herbs, and served with crispy fried gaufrettes chips. The slow-cooked octopus that's been chilled and marinated in a white wine vinaigrette, tossed with herbs, and garnished with roasted peppers, Louisiana citrus, mint, and basil is another favorite to date. The lobster tartine, Devillier jokes, "is kind of a fancy lobster roll dressed up in a French outfit." It's made with one slice of brioche, topped with lobster, tossed in an aioli with herbs, tarragon dressing, and then topped further with caviar. But Devillier seems to hold a special place in his heart (and on his menu) for Justine's raclette. "We opened with this really awesome raclette broiler and realized right away that we couldn't do the service the way we originally anticipated," he explains. "So, we got a custom raclette cart built. We will be pushing the raclette broiler around the restaurant and doing it tableside, scraping off big broiled servings of [Livradoux] cheese onto plates of potatoes and cornichons," he says. A moveable feast of cheese? It doesn't get more French than that. Time for a new cut? Prices can vary depending on where you live, the salon you frequent, and the type of hairstyle you request. Heres everything to know about what youll pay at the salon. According to a 2016 study by the financial services and mobile payment company, Square, the nationwide average price for a haircut differs by gender. For men, the national average is $34. For women, the nationwide average is $44. But the average price also varies widely per city. Big cities like New York and San Francisco are the priciest because the cost of doing business in these areas is much greater. These locales also attract some of the most ambitious talent in the country, and they expect premium quality services for the premium price they pay. Washington D.C. is the city that boasts the highest average price for haircuts, with rates averaging $78 for women and $61 for men. While some people may be willing to spend as much as $800 for their best hair. In smaller, less populated states, the prices are much more affordable. The lowest recorded average for women is $15 in Maine. Meanwhile, men can find the biggest bargain, on average, in Hawaii for $16. The cost of a haircut also depends on the reputation of the salon and the stylist who cuts your hair. Master stylists command a higher price tag, but booking an appointment with one of the salons other stylists can be a reasonably priced alternative depending on the stylists level of experience. For example, at Arrojo Studio in NYCs Soho district, a cut by celebrity stylist Nick Arrojo himself will set you back $500, but a cut with any of their other specially trained staff ranges from $85-$205. As for the type of style, whether you go for a simple trim or a drastic change, the price really depends on how much hair youre chopping. If you have long hair but want to go for the ultra-chic pixie cut that many celebs are sporting this season, the cost could total to $105 at Fox and Jane salon in New York. For a less radical style, a long bob can be just as refreshing and would cost $85 at the same salon. An additional blowout and styling would add $50-$95 to your bill. Only need a bang trim? It might be free, depending on how close you are with your stylist. Whatever the actual price tag may be, a great haircut for an extra spring in your step is always money well spent. UPDATE: 4 P.M., Saturday, May 25 Moby has apologized after Natalie Portman refuted his claims they dated when she was 20, which he had included in his new memoir. As some time has passed Ive realized that many of the criticisms leveled at me regarding my inclusion of Natalie in Then It Fell Apart are very valid, Moby wrote on Instagram on Saturday (May 25). "I also fully recognize that it was truly inconsiderate of me to not let her know about her inclusion in the book beforehand, and equally inconsiderate for me to not fully respect her reaction. I have a lot of admiration for Natalie, for her intelligence, creativity, and animal rights activism, and I hate that I might have caused her and her family distress, he continued, before adding, "I tried to treat everyone I included in Then It Fell Apart with dignity and respect, but nonetheless it was truly inconsiderate for me to not let them know before the book was released. So for that I apologize, to Natalie, as well as the other people I wrote about in Then It Fell Apart without telling them beforehand." "Also I accept that given the dynamic of our almost 14 year age difference I absolutely should've acted more responsibly and respectfully when Natalie and I first met almost 20 years ago," he concluded. Original Story: In a new interview with Harper's Bazaar, Natalie Portman refutes musician Moby's claims that they dated when she was 20 years old. Instead, she says, it was a case of him acting "creepy" toward her when she was a teenager and he was 33. Moby, now 53, claims in his new memoir, Then It Fell Apart, that he and Portman met backstage after one of his shows in Austin, Texas. I was a bald binge drinker and Natalie Portman was a beautiful movie star. But here she was in my dressing room, flirting with me, he writes, according to The Telegraph. In the memoir, per The Guardian, Moby recalls going to parties in New York with the actress and visiting her when she was a student at Harvard. 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. Story continues But Portman, 37, has a different memory of the events. 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 tells British Harper's Bazaar. He said I was 20; I definitely wasnt. I was a teenager. I had just turned 18. There was no fact-checking from him or his publisherit almost feels deliberate. That he used this story to sell his book was very disturbing to me. It wasnt the case. There are many factual errors and inventions. I would have liked him or his publisher to reach out to fact-check. She continued, I was a fan and went to one of his shows when I had just graduated. When we met after the show, he said, Lets 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. Moby took to Instagram on Wednesday, May 22, to address Portman's comments. "I recently read a gossip piece wherein Natalie Portman said that wed never dated," he wrote. "This confused me, as we did, in fact, date. And after briefly dating in 1999 we remained friends for years. I like Natalie, and I respect her intelligence and activism. But, to be honest, I cant 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. P.S.: 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." Portman goes on to say in the Harper's Bazaar storya feature-length profilehow instrumental movements like Time's Up and #MeToo have been in empowering women to speak up. "Times Up circumvented the legal system, which people have complained about, but the legal system has not been serving women for so long and there was such frustration with it," she said. "It gave women the ability to say, 'We're essentially being silenced and shamed, and now we're coming forward.' There's a real collective force when so many women come together." This post has been updated. Originally Appeared on Glamour Photo credit: Frederic Cirou - Getty Images From Women's Health Don't get me wrong, sweating can feel really good sometimes (think: when you're on a long run or finally getting the hang of your new boxing combination!). But nothing is more frustrating than unintended sweat, like the kind caused by pre-meeting jitters or a live presentation. But the truth is, sweat is normal. Everybody sweats different amounts, too. Some people may sweat less than a liter a day, as WH reported previously , while others may sweat several liters. This all depends on your body, your genetics, the climate you live in, and your physical activity levels. So if you notice you feel prettttyyyy damp under your armpits and your coworker seems totally comfortable temperature-wise beside you, dont assume you have a problemeverybody sweats differently and more or less in different parts of the body. But if you feel like your armpits are *much* wetter than they should be (and not just when its a scorcher out there or youre standing body to body on public transportation) and it's interfering with your life, you could be dealing with whats known as hyperhidrosis. Here's everything you need to know about normal *and* excessive armpit sweatand WTH you can do to fight it. Why do our armpits sweat in the first place? Sweating is a natural occurrence. Perspiration is your bodys way of keeping your temperature in check and keeping you cool. "Its our natural air conditioner, says Adam Friedman, MD, FAAD, professor and interim chair of dermatology at the George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Sciences. When youre getting overheatedsay, because youve been exercising or because its a warm dayyour body sweats and then the sweat evaporates off of your skin, which helps to regulate your overall body temperature, says Allison Arthur, MD , a board-certified dermatologist in Orlando, Florida. Because everyone sweats, and in different amounts, excessive sweating (or whats called hyperhidrosis) can be very hard for people to identify as a medical problem. "Its too much of something we normally do," Dr. Friedman explains. Story continues What is hyperhidrosis? An estimated 3 percent of people in the U.S. deal with excessive sweating, which is known as hyperhidrosis, according to the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD). Someone who has hyperhidrosis sweats more than is physically necessary for the body and even when they dont need a cool-down, the AAD explains. Its not totally clear what causes hyperhidrosis in every case, but it could be genetic for some people, or related to another underlying health issue. There are two types of hyperhidrosisprimary and secondary: Primary hyperhidrosis: This means that theres no underlying cause to your sweat, according to the AAD . People who have primary hyperhidrosis typically start to notice excessive sweat as a child or a teenager. Secondary hyperhidrosis: This is when your sweating is related to some other underlying health issueits not just a thing your body does. For example, youre taking a medication that triggered excessive sweating, you have diabetes, youre going through menopause, or you have an overactive thyroid. Most of the time, hyperhidrosis only happens in one or two areas of the body, according to the AAD. So, you might see a lot of sweat under your armpits and on your forehead, but nowhere else. While it sounds pretty uncomfortable, excessive sweating likely isnt a serious risk to your health. That being said, it can be a pain and a little embarrassing. Going on first dates or job interviews could lead to some pretty embarrassing situations. Maybe youd stop scheduling dates altogether or, at least, youd spend a ton of time thinking up a sweat strategy before you go out, and then worry about your sweat the whole night. That sounds pretty miserable, right? Hopefully, that kind of debilitating sweating would lead you to a doctors office. But it often doesnt, the AAD notes. Lots of people with excessive sweating likely never reach out to a doctor for help, either because theyre too embarrassed to talk about their sweat problem or because they assume its a burden they have to bear. But thats a mistake, because a doctor could help you figure out how to stop the sweatand whether your sweat is excessive in the first place. Not sure if your level of armpit sweat would qualify as hyperhidrosis? Heres how to tell. Normal is hard to quantify, Dr. Arthur notes. Sweat is one of those things that can easily freak us out, so its possible that you *think* you sweat way too much, but you actually have a totally normal amount of sweat. So imagine this scenario: Its a nice day80 degrees, sunnyand youre sitting in the park with friends. Youre not playing frisbee or running around or exerting yourself in any way. Youre just sitting. Itd be normal to sweat a little bit, sure, but you shouldnt feel sweat dripping from your armpits, down your back, or anywhere else. If sweat is dripping down the sides of [your body], or frequently soaking through your shirts at rest, that would be considered excessive sweating, Dr. Arthur explains. So if a day like that does make you drip sweat, you might have hyperhidrosis. Even if you're *still* not sure, it's worth making an appointment with a dermatologist. The first thing your dermatologist will do is determine if you have primary hyperhidrosis or secondary hyperhidrosis. Hyperhidrosis treatment depends on whether youre dealing with the primary or secondary type. Your doctor will ask about your sweating history to try to determine which category you fall under. And, if its secondary hyperhidrosis, addressing the root cause (e.g., diagnosing and treating a thyroid issue or getting through menopause) should help dial down the amount you sweat. If your hyperhidrosis is primary, then your dermatologist might first suggest that you try an antiperspirant like Certain Dri . Antiperspirant is different from deodorant because of its active ingredient, aluminum chloride, which plugs the sweat glands when you sweat and signals to your body to stop sweating, says Chris Adigun, MD , a dermatologist in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Antiperspirants are also great for people who don't have a hyperhidrosis diagnosis but still want to quell armpit sweatiness, and you can buy antiperspirant products at the drugstore. But just FYI, if you have sensitive skin, a product like Certain Dri could cause a rash or irritate your underarms due to its active ingredients, Dr. Arthur saysso patch-test it first. If antiperspirants dont work, there are also prescription medications (such as special wipes and pills) that could help reduce excessive sweating, Dr. Arthur says. One that Dr. Friedman recommends is Qbrexza, a cloth towelette for topical use. How does it work? It blocks the signaling from the nerve to the sweat gland telling it to sweat," Dr. Friedman explains. "We know that people who get hyperhidrosis, that signal is haywhire. And by blocking that signaling you stop sweating. Finally, you can consider in-office procedures like Botox injections, iontophoresis, or Miradry. Most people know of Botox for its power to smooth fine lines and wrinkles. But the injection has also proven to be helpful for a number of medical conditions, including excessive underarm sweat. Getting Botox shot into your underarms suppresses your sweat glands so they no longer create as much sweat. We can identify areas of excessive sweating with a starch iodine test, Dr. Adigun says. For this test, iodine is wiped on the skin and then a layer of cornstarch is spread over top. Purple dots will mark where your sweat glands are, allowing dermatologists to target those spots for treatments. With Botox, for example, those purple dots are where your doc will stick the needle (dont worry, they numb the area first). Botox is safe and long-lasting, Dr. Arthur notes. Typically, youll need to have Botox injections done twice a year. Of course, in-office procedures like this do tend to get expensive, which means theyre typically a last resort. The other two treatments, iontophoresis and Miradry, are also FDA-approved and safe. These use electrical currents and thermal energy, respectively, to either seriously damage or completely kill the sweat glands causing your excessive sweat. Iontophoresis is most often used for the hands and feet, but Miradry is great for your underarms. MiraDry targets the underarm sweat glands that produce sweat and odor, Dr. Adigun says. Miradry works like this: First, your armpits are marked with a temporary tattoo that indicates where your sweat glands live under the skin. Then, a technician uses a big, hand-held device that sends thermal energy underneath your skin while simultaneously cooling the top layer (so its not too uncomfortable for you). The heat kills the sweat glands so theyll never again create any sweat. Youre probably thinking, but isnt sweat important? Yes, it is. But you dont need to sweat everywhere. These types of long-term or permanent treatments target specific sweat glands in the armpits, head, hands, or feet, but they dont stop your sweating overall. So even if you choose to destroy the sweat glands in your armpits, youll still sweat from your forehead, back, and other body parts, giving you that much-needed cooling effect. You can also use these lifestyle tweaks to help control armpit sweatiness in general. Switch to an antiperspirant. If you've only been using deodorant, you're doing it wrong. "Deodorant does not stop sweating, it just masks the smell," Dr. Friedman says. Antiperspirant, on the other hand, is usually an aluminum-based product that is literally creating little plugs in the glands on your skin where sweat comes out, he explains. No exit, no sweat, no problem. Make sure it's clinical strength and doesn't contain aluminum chloride. Clinical strength antiperspirant will ensure that you're getting the highest dosage of sweat-stopping ingredients. Many of the super strength antiperspirants of the past, however, contained aluminum chloride, Dr. Friedman says. And that's no good. Why? Because if you take aluminum chloride and mix it with sweat you get hydrochloric acid, Dr. Friedman warns, and that can lead to underarm irritation. Most of the clinical strength antiperspirants today use aluminum zirconium, which Dr. Friedman recommends. Apply it at night. "In order for those plugs to form you really cant be actively sweating," Dr. Friedman says. So the best time to use an antiperspirant is actually at night, when youre sweating less. Then, you can apply a deodorant during the day as an added boost. Skip the caffeine. Anything thats vasoactive, meaning it can affect the nerves around the blood vessels, can worsen sweating, Dr. Friedman notes. This includes caffeine, chocolate, and alcohol. Don't use baking soda. So many of Dr. Friedman's patients have attempted to use baking soda under their arms to stop their sweat glands from overproducing. But the results can actually be quite harmful. According to Dr. Friedman, baking soda "completely disrupts the skin barrier" and can cause burns under the arms. Try an antibacterial wash. This can be helpful to reduce smell, Dr. Friedman says. And it can work better than deodorant because you're actually killing off the problem that's creating your unwanted odor. The doctor often recommends an over-the-counter brand called Hibiclens. Using it three times a week usually gives his patients positive results. Shave. Hair removal can be such a pain (amirite?). But it can actually help you with your sweat probs. "Hair burden can certainly add to sweating and smell," Dr. Friedman says. So if you want to cut down on both of these things, try shaving. Rinse off immediately after a workout. This will help prevent irritant contact dermatitis, which can be triggered by excessive sweat. Dr. Friedman says you can combat this by rinsing off after a workout and applying moisturizer to damp skin along the outer portion of the armpit (which is most susceptible to irritation, btw!). Buy absorbent pads. Need something to soak up that sweat throughout the day? Dr. Friedman recommends using underarm pads to help limit those unwanted pit stains. The bottom line: If sweatin the armpits or anywhere elseis derailing your life, speak up. Your primary-care physician can refer you to a dermatologist, who can help determine whether or not youre dealing with hyperhidrosis and craft a plan of attack to get rid of your underarm sweat. You Might Also Like Brussels (AFP) - Belgium's far-right Flemish nationalist Vlaams Belang party made strong gains Sunday in national, regional and European elections, partial results showed. The vote sets the stage for difficult negotiations to form a government, five months after the ruling coalition collapsed and left Prime Minister Charles Michel in charge of a caretaker administration with no majority. With 40 percent of the votes counted in all three elections in the Dutch-speaking Flanders region, Vlaams Belang (Flemish Interest) was on course for 18 percent, around three times their score in the last elections in 2014. The result would make Vlaams Belang -- which advocates the secession of Flanders from the rest of Belgium -- the second biggest party in the region, and joint second largest in Belgium's federal parliament, according to a projection by public broadcaster RTBF. If confirmed by final results "this shows that Belgium is not spared by the result of extremist populism," Michel told RTBF. In the European elections, Vlaams Belang, which is an ally of French far-right leader Marine Le Pen's National Rally, could end up with two MEPs. - 'Virus of hate' - The Vlaams Belang's advance came partly at the expense of the conservative nationalist N-VA, which looks set to drop five points to 27 percent. The N-VA suffered after being in an uneasy coalition with Michel for four years but is set to remain the largest party in both the regional and federal parliaments. "We have lost these elections, it's clear, but we remain the biggest party in Flanders. There are many losers but one big winner -- the VB. I congratulate them," N-VA chief and powerful Antwerp mayor Bart de Wever said. Filip Dewinter, a leading figure in Vlaams Belang, signalled the party's desire to play a leading role in Flanders, saying the so-called "cordon sanitaire" erected by parties that refuse to deal with it because of its hardline politics "must be broken." Story continues Socialist politician Ahmed Laaouej said Vlaams Belang had profited from the "anti-migrant rhetoric of the N-VA" during the 2015 migrant crisis, adding: "The N-VA has not stopped spreading the virus of hate." French-speaking socialists meanwhile have the lead in Brussels, with 19 percent, and the francophone region of Wallonia, with 27 percent, according to an exit poll by the Free University of Brussels. In Brussels the socialists may have to share power with the Greens -- reflecting broader gains for environmental politicians around Europe -- who doubled their score to 20 percent of the vote. "Tonight the green wave is growing," said the Greens' Zakia Khattabi. - 'Advance of the extremes' - The socialists, long the main force in French-speaking Wallonia, also lost votes to the far-let Workers Party which is on course to get seven percent. "The most striking outcome of this vote is the advance of the extremes," said Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders, who is from Michel's Liberal party. Voting in the triple election was also marked by a protest outside Brussels Gare du Nord station at which police said 200 "yellow vest" anti-establishment protesters were arrested. The deepening Flanders-Wallonia rift will complicate any effort to agree a coalition in the 150-member federal all Belgium parliament that represents parties from both communities, underlining the rift in Belgium politics. With 11 million people, Belgium is one of the EU's most divided member states. Dutch and French speakers choose separate candidates and parties. There is also a small German-speaking constituency. This makes coalition building extremely complicated. Belgium took a record 541 days to form a government in 2010 and 2011 amid deep divisions between the Dutch speakers in Flanders and francophones in Wallonia and Brussels. Making matters worse, economically booming Flanders votes traditionally to the right, while the socialists are the major political force in Brussels and post-industrial Wallonia, where unemployment is high. The N-VA broke party tradition in 2014 and joined the coalition government with Michel, a French-speaking liberal, as prime minister. The coalition collapsed in late 2018 when the N-VA jumped ship in opposition to Belgium's ratification of a United Nations migration pact. Budapest (AFP) - The Fidesz party of Hungary's nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban scored a big win in European parliament elections, according to results published by Hungarian media on Sunday. With 98 percent of the vote counted, Fidesz has won 52 percent according to the Magyar Nemzet newspaper, up from the 51 percent it won in 2014. The left-wing Democratic Coalition (DK) is far behind in second place with 16.3 percent and the small liberal Momentum party is set to break into the European parliament for the first time with 9.7 percent. The Socialists (MSZP) are on 6.6 percent, just ahead of the far-right Jobbik party which has suffered a dramatic drop from 15 percent in 2014 to just 6.5 percent. The environmentalist LMP party is expected to lose its single MEP seat, out of 21 allocated to Hungary. This election has also seen record turnout for a European election in Hungary, standing at 41.7 percent half an hour before polls closed. That tops the previous record of 38.5 percent in Hungary's first European elections in 2004. Fidesz was suspended from the centre-right European People's Party (EPP) grouping earlier this year because of the Hungarian government's anti-Brussels poster campaigns and Orban has not ruled out walking out of the group if it doesn't draw closer to right-wing populists like Italy's Interior Minister Matteo Salvini. Berlin (AFP) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel's fragile coalition took a fresh knock on Sunday with historic low scores at European elections, exit polls showed, raising questions on whether it could survive the latest body blow. While the list of Merkel's centre-right bloc led by ally Manfred Weber was on course to top the vote with around 28 percent, according to two separate exit polls by national broadcasters ARD and ZDF, the score was eight percentage points off its previous low. The evening turned out even more disastrous for Merkel's junior coalition partner, the Social Democratic Party (SPD), which was not only toppled from second place at European polls by the Greens, but also suffered a humiliating loss at state elections in its stronghold Bremen. The Greens more than doubled its share of the vote, winning over from Merkel's CDU-CSU bloc more than a million voters who brought to the ballot boxes their demands for more action to halt global warming. Meanwhile, the far-right AfD, which had hoped to ride on a wave of nationalism sweeping across Europe, only slightly improved its 2014 score of 7.1 percent to just past 10 percent. Merkel and the chief of her Bavarian CSU allies Markus Soeder as well as SPD boss Andrea Nahles are due to hold talks on Monday to take stock of EU poll results. But questions were already swirling about the future of their partnership. "There will be a new debate on staying in the coalition," predicted Die Welt daily. - Different dynamic - CDU general secretary Paul Ziemiak said the coalition "must go on so to maintain stability in Germany," stressing that for his party, "it's about the country and not party political questions". For Nahles, the results show that "there is still a lot to do", stressing the need to push through with plans to bring about a climate bill by year's end. But the Spiegel noted that the catastrophic results on Sunday may set off "a completely different dynamic: the anti-GroKo powers in the SPD win the upper hand and that leaves the future of the party and parliamentary group chief Andrea Nahles as open as that of the coalition." Story continues The partnership between Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Bavarian allies the Christian Social Union (CSU) along with the SPD has been an uneasy one from the start. The SPD, stung by a beating at general elections in 2017, had initially sought to go into opposition. But it was reluctantly coaxed into renewing a partnership with Merkel's bloc, and many within the party remain wary of continuing to govern in Merkel's shadow while taking the fall for any unpopular policies. With the party also losing the top spot in stronghold Bremen, rumblings of discontent against the leadership may yet grow louder. Bremen may be Germany's smallest state, but the SPD holds it close to its heart as it is a region it has governed since the end of World War II. With three major state elections coming up in eastern Germany in the autumn with the far-right on course for a strong showing, party chief Nahles' position may become increasingly untenable. Already ahead of Sunday's vote, Bild am Sonntag quoted unnamed sources saying that veteran politician Martin Schulz was ready to stand against Nahles when the parliamentary chief post comes up for renewal in September. - Viral video - Both Merkel's centre-right and the SPD were also facing a new formidable challenge from the Greens. Unlike in 2017, when parties in the coalition were punished over Merkel's decision in 2015 to let in more than a million asylum seekers, surveys show that the climate crisis has become the main worry for Germans this year. Among 18-25 year olds, 51 percent of Germans surveyed by YouGov said climate was their biggest concern. School strikes by students joining young Swedish activist Greta Thunberg's protests on Fridays have given momentum to the cause. But more damaging for Merkel's party was an online attack by a young German YouTuber Rezo days before the vote, raging that the CDU was not doing enough for the environment. Put online on May 18, the clip had been viewed more than 11 million times by Sunday. The CDU struggled for days to find a response and after initially reacting angrily against the YouTuber, finally on Thursday sought dialogue with him. Raising the ante, Rezo along with 70 other influential YouTubers instead published an open letter urging people to shun the CDU, the SPD and the AfD at the polls. The episode has exposed the CDU's struggle in capturing young voters. According to ZDF's exit poll, 33 percent of under 30s chose the Greens, while only 13 percent picked the CDU in Sunday's EU vote. Fiat Chrysler(FCA-IT) and Renault are in discussions to form a partnership, a source familiar with the talks told CNBC. The Italian-American and French automakers are looking at a number of opportunities that would have the companies working together in the future, the source said. It is unclear if a partnership between the two automakers would lead to Fiat Chrysler eventually joining the Nissan-Renault-Mitsubishi alliance. Fiat Chrysler and Renault both declined CNBC's request for comment. The Financial Times first reported the story. Back in March, The Financial Times reported that Renault planned to take up merger talks with Nissan within the year, and then potentially acquire Fiat Chrysler. Fiat Chrysler's chief executive, Mike Manley, previously told the FT: "If there's a partnership, merger, relationship that makes us stronger, then I'm absolutely open to looking at it." If Fiat Chrysler is added to the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance, which dates back to 1999, it would become the largest global carmaker, with 15.6 million combined sales a year. The current leader, Volkswagen, sold 10.8 million last year. Brussels (AFP) - Europe's mainstream political parties took a hit in elections on Sunday but held off a strong surge by the populist right of Marine Le Pen, Matteo Salvini and Nigel Farage. In one of the world's biggest democratic votes, the main centre-right and centre-left groups lost their combined majority in the European Parliament in the face of a challenge by eurosceptic and nationalist forces. The symbolic clash of the campaign saw French far-right leader Le Pen's National Rally on course to come in just ahead of President Emmanuel Macron's centrist movement, damaging his drive for deeper European integration. In Britain, Farage's one-issue Brexit Party appeared to have trounced the main parties and he will send a large contingent of British eurosceptics to a parliament they want to leave in a few months. And in Italy, Salvini's far-right League achieved a similar result, strengthening its role at the core of a vocal populist faction in the EU's legislature. The advance of the right was less pronounced in Germany -- where a strong showing by the Greens was reflected in a "green wave" in many countries -- but the anti-immigrant AfD broke the 10-percent barrier. "We are facing a shrinking centre," said German conservative Manfred Weber, lead candidate for the centre-right European People's Party (EPP) to replace Jean-Claude Juncker as European Commission chief. - 'Big win' - Turnout EU-wide was estimated at 51 percent, the highest in 20 years, suggesting more than 200 million citizens across the 28-nation bloc voted in a poll billed as a battle between populists and pro-European forces. Across Europe, according to updated projections prepared by the parliament, the EPP is on course to have the most seats in the assembly with 179, down sharply from 216 in 2014. With the centre-left Socialists and Democrats (S&D) projected to win 150, down from 185, the two mainstream parties will no longer have a majority and will have to reach out to liberals to maintain a "cordon sanitaire" and exclude the far-right from decision making. Story continues The Liberals (ALDE), who include Macron's party, are on course for 107 seats against 69 previously while the Greens are forecast to take 70 seats, up from 52. The various populist, eurosceptic and right-wing parties won more than 150 seats, but form no coherent coalition. The Europe of Nations and Freedom -- composed mainly of the French National Rally and Salvini's League -- saw their share rise from 37 to 58 seats. Salvini tweeted a photo of himself with a sign saying "top party in Italy" while standing in front of a bookshelf featuring a Make America Great Again baseball cap and a picture of Vladimir Putin. The Europe for Freedom and Direct Democracy -- which includes Britain's Brexit Party -- went from 42 seats to 56. "It looks like it's going to be a big win for the Brexit Party," Farage said, after an election held against a backdrop of disarray including the resignation of Prime Minister Theresa May and the postponement of Britain's EU exit. - 'Save the EU' - Each previous EU election since the first in 1979 has seen turnout fall, but turnout figures from across the 28-nation bloc were up, suggesting this year's culture clash has mobilised both populists and those who oppose them. In Belgium, the far-right Flemish separatist Vlaams Belang was on course to triple its previous score. And in Finland, the far-fight Finns Party increased its vote share and retained its two EU seats. The Sweden Democrats were on course to increase their share from 9.67 to 16.9 percent. Dutch anti-Islam leader Geert Wilders was however set to lose all his Freedom Party's seats, although there was a strong showing by upstart populist Thierry Baudet. In his home country of Poland, European Council chief Donald Tusk expressed confidence that voters would not succumb to "radical political movements" but admitted that the priority was to "save the EU as a project". In France, Macron had taken it upon himself to act as a figurehead for the centrist and liberal parties, and Le Pen took up the 41-year-old's challenge. "It is up to the president of the republic to draw conclusions, he who put his presidential credit on the line in this vote in making it a referendum on his policies and even his personality," Le Pen said. An aide to Macron however said the result was "respectable", with exit polls showing his centrist alliance on 22.5-23.0 percent, just behind Le Pen's 24-24.2 percent. Another nationalist party, the Fidesz of Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban, was on course for a massive 56 percent victory, according to a poll conducted Sunday. The mainstream parties are vying between themselves for influence over the choice of a new generation of top EU officials, including Tusk and Juncker's replacements. EU leaders have been invited to a summit on Tuesday to decide how to choose the nominee. The EPP is insisting on Weber for the Commission, but Macron and some others want a higher-profile candidate. burs-dk/dc/mtp/qan Berlin (AFP) - An international tribunal on Saturday urged Russia to release "immediately" 24 Ukrainian sailors seized last November off the Crimea peninsula. "The Russian Federation must proceed immediately to release the Ukrainian soldiers and allow them to return to the Ukraine," said Judge Jin-Hyun Paik at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, which is located in the German port city of Hamburg. The tribunal judges additionally ruled Russia should "immediately" return the three Ukrainian navy vessels -- Berdyansk, Yani Kapu and Nikopol -- it seized in the Kerch Strait off Crimea, which Moscow annexed in 2014. Ukraine took the matter to the tribunal last month -- but Russia does not recognise its jurisdiction to rule in the affair and did not send representatives to the hearing. "The continued denial of freedom to the Ukrainian sailors is worrying from a humanitarian point of view," said Paik, heading a tribunal tasked with overseeing maritime disputes since 1982 and which 168 states recognise, Russia included. - 'Clear signal' - "The tribunal ruling is a clear signal to Russia that it cannot violate international law with impunity," Ukraine's vice minister for foreign affairs Olena Zerkal said on her Facebook page after the judgement. New Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on Facebook that if Russia complies with the tribunal's demand to release the sailors then that "could be the first signal from the Russian leadership about real readiness to end the conflict with Ukraine." Former President Petro Poroshenko welcomed the decision, writing on Facebook it was "confirmation of the correctness of the strategy we have chosen." Zerkal urged Russia to "conform swiftly and wholly" with the ruling, which now faces going to arbitration. But Russia, which accused the sailors of violating its maritime borders, showed no sign of doing so even after a ruling which increases the pressure on Moscow with regard to its relations with Kiev. Story continues - Russia digs in - "In the course of the forthcoming arbitration proceedings we will constantly defend our position," a Russian foreign ministry statement said. The situation could have been avoided "under the conditions of following Russian law regarding navigation in this area," the ministry wrote. The statement added that statements by both nations as they ratified the 1982 law of the sea "exclude the possibility of using the dispute resolution procedures laid out by the convention." US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on his recent visit to Moscow urged the Kremlin to make a gesture to end the impasse. French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel telephoned Russian President Vladimir Putin last Tuesday to push for dialogue, just two days after Zelensky, a comedian, was invested in Kiev. The Ukrainian sailors face up to six years in prison if found guilty in what Kremlin critics have warned could be a show trial. The sailors saga is a sideshow in Russia's five-year conflict with its neighbour which started with Moscow's March 2014 annexation of Crimea. Since then, fighting between pro-Russian separatists and Kiev government forces in Ukraine's east has claimed around 13,000 lives, according to UN figures. Athens (AFP) - Greek voters on Sunday slammed Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras' Syriza party in EU parliament and local elections, giving the opposition conservative New Democracy party a solid lead, exit polls and early results indicated. The exit polls for European parliament elections gave New Democracy 33.5 percent compared to 25 percent for Syriza, according to a combined survey by the five main private TV stations. And early results from 15 percent of polling stations gave New Democracy a lead of over eight percent in local elections too. "Greece has sent a strong message... the people have withdrawn their confidence," said New Democracy head Kyriakos Mitsotakis. "Greece needs a new government... the prime minister must assume his responsibilities, he must resign for the good of the country," he said. Tsipras was expected to make a national address later on Sunday. National elections are scheduled to take place by October, but there was speculation on Sunday that Tsipras could call a snap election in late June. The socialist Kinal party came third at 7.7 percent, followed by the Communist KKE party at 5.5 percent, according to the voter survey. Greece's neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn fell to an estimated 4.5 percent -- nearly five points short of its previous showing in 2014 -- with a new nationalist party, Greek Solution, making gains at their expense. In a first for the country, over 100,000 Greeks aged 17 were given the vote. In local elections, early results from around 14 percent of polling stations showed New Democracy candidates in the lead, or securing outright, the majority of Greece's 13 regions. Participation was around 56 percent. New Democracy's candidate for mayor of Athens Costas Bakoyannis -- the grandson of late prime minister Constantine Mitsotakis -- also holds a commanding lead over rivals ahead of a second round on June 2, as does the conservative mayoral candidate in Thessaloniki. Story continues Tsipras had earlier called Sunday's ballot a "vote of confidence" and said voters "had a responsibility" to defend economic gains and social benefits under his four-year administration. "Today is the day to protect economic recovery and the measures taken in support of the social majority," the PM said after voting. "Over the last month, we see our people going to rallies, morale is higher than a few months ago. And this will work in our favour," finance minister Euclid Tsakalotos told state TV ERT. The PM recently announced sweeping tax cuts on food and dining and energy and hotel accommodation and unveiled an extra monthly stipend for the country's poorest pensioners. Greece exited its third and final international bailout in August 2018, a milestone in its progress from the catastrophe that had engulfed the country. The International Monetary Fund has forecast growth of 2.4 percent in Greece for 2019. Greece has consistently posted better-than-expected fiscal results under Tsipras, who abandoned an anti-austerity stance and reached a working arrangement with Greece's creditors after nearly crashing the country out of the euro in 2015. BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Following are predictions of the European Parliament election results based on exit polls and some official results. Over 400 million people can vote in 28 countries, seven of which held ballots between Thursday and Saturday, with the remainder voting on Sunday (times CET): 0040 - EU - The European Union's top competition official, Margrethe Vestager, called on Sunday night for an end to the center-right's hold on power in the bloc after European election, and for a first gendered-balance European Commission. "The monopoly of power is broken. And this is of course why we can do something else," Vestager said. 0028 - EU - The center-left candidate to head the next European Union's executive on Sunday ruled out building a coalition with far-right forces, calling for a "progressive" majority in the next European Parliament. "My offer is on the table: let's sit together, the progressive forces in this parliament, let's try and find a program for the next five years that will prepare Europe for the 30 years to come," said Frans Timmermans. 0018 - EU - The center-right German candidate to head the next European Union's executive called for a broad alliance of pro-EU forces among socialists, liberals and greens after a continent-wide vote on Sunday. "We are facing a shrinking center," Manfred Weber said. "When I look to the figures, I don't see a majority against the liberals, I don't see a majority against the socialists, I don't see a majority against the European People's Party." "So what I would ask us to do to is to join our forces to work together from now." 0020 - EU - The latest projections from the European Parliament estimate the European People's Party (EPP) will win 180 of the 751 seats in the European Parliament, followed by the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) with 152. The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe and Renaissance (ALDE&R) was projected to win 105 seats, the Greens 67, the European Conservatives and Reformists Group (ECR) 61, Europe of Nations and Freedom Group (ENF) 57, the Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy Group (EFDD) 54 and the Confederal Group of the European United Left/Nordic Green Left 38. The projection also showed 30 seats going to members not allied with any of the existing political groups in the outgoing Parliament and seven seats going to non-attached members. 2321 - SLOVAKIA - Liberal, pro-European coalition Progressive Slovakia/Together won the EU election in Slovakia with 20.1% of the vote, followed by the ruling leftist Smer party at 15.7%, official results showed. The far-right People's Party-Our Slovakia was third in the EU vote with 12.1%. 2319 - SPAIN - The Socialists won the EU election in Spain with 20 seats in the European Parliament, official results with over 98% of votes counted showed. The conservative People's Party (PP) won 12, center-right Ciudadanos seven and far-right Vox three. 2318 - HUNGARY - Prime Minister Viktor Orban's ruling Fidesz party won just over 52% of votes Sunday on a hardline anti-immigration platform. The leftist Democratic Coalition was second with 16.26%, according to the national election office. The Momentum party was third with 9.92%, the Socialists won 6.68%, and nationalist Jobbik got 6.44%. 2309 - UK - Nigel Farage's Brexit Party looked to be in the lead in the country's elections to the European Parliament, according to the first result from Leeds. Farage said it looked like a big win for the Brexit Party in the EU elections. The results from Leeds showed the Brexit Party at 29%, followed by Labour with 20%, the Liberal Democrats with 18%, the Greens with 16% and the Conservatives at 7%. 2300 - ITALY - The far-right League overtook the 5-Star Movement as Italy's largest party during Sunday's EU election, according to exit polls. The 5-Star Movement lost a third of its voters this year and is expected to win between 18.5-23 percent of the vote. The League was predicted to take 26-31 percent and the center-left Democratic Party was also expected to also surpass the 5-Star Movement with between 20.5-25 percent of the vote. 2233 - GREECE - Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras called for a snap general election in June after the opposition party took the lead in Sunday's elections to European Parliament. Greek opposition leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis called for the resignation of Tsipras after Mitsotakis's party pulled ahead in the vote. Early election results showed Mitsotakis's New Democracy party leading Tsipras's Syriza party by up to nine points. Elections in Greece are scheduled to be held in October. 2102 - POLAND - Poland's ruling nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party is expected to come first in the election with 42.4% of the vote, an exit poll showed. The opposition European Coalition - comprising the Civic Platform formerly led by European Council President Donald Tusk and a motley of leftist and rural politicians - scored second with 39.1%. As of 1500 GMT, voter turnout was 32.51% in Poland compared to 16.91% in 2014 at the same time, according to the election commission. 2050 - ROMANIA - The ruling Social Democrats (PSD) were tied with the opposition centrist National Liberty Party at 25.8%, according to exit polls. The poll showed a sharp decline in support for PSD, which won 45% in the last national ballot in 2016. 2036 - FRANCE - An Elysee official said French President Emmanuel Macron's loss to Marine Le Pen's far-right party in the EU elections was "disappointing", but would not prompt a change in the government's reform drive. "There is of course some disappointment," an Elysee official said. "But the score is absolutely honorable compared to how incumbents did in previous European elections. There was no sanction." 2011 - EU - The EPP is expected to remain the largest party in the EU Parliament with 173 of 751 seats, according to the first European Parliament estimate. The S&D follow closely behind with 147 seats and the ALDE+R is projected to win 102. The Greens are projected to win 71 seats and the combined two far-right parties are expected to get 113. 2004 - SPAIN - Socialists are expected to win 18 of Spain's EU Parliament seats, according to an exit poll, a gain of 4 seats from 2014. Far-right Vox is predicted to get its first members in EU Parliament, with four to five seats. The Ciudadanos and Catalan separatists are also expected to win seats. The Conservative People's Party is predicted to lose seats, dropping to 11-12 from 16 in 2014.. Voter turnout was nearly 50% in Spain at 1600 GMT, up from 34 percent in 2014. 2000 - CROATIA - According to the first exit polls on the state television, the ruling conservative HDZ party won four out of 12 seats in the European Parliament, slightly below opinion polls, which gave it five seats (some even six). The ruling conservatives have a pro-EU agenda. The main opposition party, the Social Democrats won three seats, according to the exit polls. The recently formed anti-corruption party led by a judge Mislav Kolakusic should take one seat. Also, the populist "Human Shield" gets one seat alongside two nationalist parties "Suverenisti" and "Neovisni za Hrvatsku". All three have an anti-EU agenda. A liberal pro-EU coalition "Amsterdamska koalicija" also wins one seat. Croatia will have 11 seats in the EU Parliament until the UK leaves the EU. Then Croatia is to get one seat more. 2000 - FRANCE - The far-right Rassemblement National party is predicted to win in France with 24 seats followed by French President Emmanuel Macron's party with 23 seats. The Greens are predicted to be in third place, with 13% of the vote. 1945 - EU - The European Parliament first estimate of the turnout in the elections is 49-52% against 42.61% in the 2014 election. 1917 - BULGARIA - The ruling center-right GERB party of Prime Minister Boyko Borissov won 30.5-32.7% of the vote, according to exit polls by two independent pollsters. The win gives Borissovs coalition government a breath of fresh air after a scandal over purchases of luxury properties at low prices. Opposition Socialists came in second with 23.2-25.4% and the ethnic Turkish MRF party won 12.8-13.6%, the exit polls showed. 1922 - HUNGARY - Hungary's ruling Fidesz, the party of Prime Minister Viktor Orban, was expected to win 56% of votes, state television reported. The Socialists and leftist Democratic Coalition were estimated to win 10% each, nationalist Jobbik was predicted to get 9% and the Momentum party 7%. 1810 - NETHERLANDS - ALDE+R TAKES THE LEAD ALDE+R are expected to win six out of the Netherlands' 26 seats in the EU Parliament, according to an exit poll. The European Conservatives and Reformists group (ECR) and the S&D follow with five seats each. The EPP is expected to win four and the Greens three. The Confederal Group of the European United Left and Nordic Green Left (GUE/NGL), the Europe of Nations and Freedom (ENF) and one other are all projected to win one seat each. 1810 - MALTA - S&D TAKES THE LEAD OVER EPP The S&D are projected to win four of Malta's six seats in the EU Parliament and the EPP two. 1810 - IRELAND - GUE/NGL TIED WITH EPP FOR SEATS Both the GUE/NGL and EPP parties are estimated to win four seats respectively out of Ireland's 11 seats in the EU Parliament, according to an exit poll. The Greens are projected to win two seats and ALDE+R one. 1810 - GERMANY - GREENS POLLING SECOND Chancellor Angela Merkel's governing coalition, the CDU/CSU, is projected to win 28 of Germany's 96 seats for the EPP in the EU Parliament, according to an exit poll. The Greens are projected to come in second with 23 seats, followed by S&D with 16 seats, EFDD with 10, ALDE+R with eight, GUE/NGL with five seats, three non-attached members and three others. 1810 - AUSTRIA - EPP TO BE THE BIGGEST PARTY The EPP is projected to win seven of Austria's 18 seats in the EU Parliament, according to an exit poll, followed by S&D with five, ENF with three seats, the Greens with two and ALDE+R with one. 1810 - CYPRUS - DEMOCRATIC RALLY LEADS The Cypriot Democratic Rally is projected to win 38.5% of the votes for EU Parliament, followed by the Progressive Alliance of Working People at 26% and the Democratic Party at 11.9%, according to an exit poll. Two of the six EU Parliament seats Cyprus has would go to the GUE/NGL party, two to S&D and two to the EPP. 1805 - GREECE - OPPOSITION CONSERVATIVES LEAD IN TV STATIONS' EXIT POLL The Greek opposition conservatives New Democracy took the lead over the ruling leftist Syriza party in the EU elections, according to a joint exit poll by five private TV stations. New Democracy had 36-32 percent of the vote and Syriza, the party of Tsipras, had 29-25 percent, according to the poll. 1745 - AUSTRIA - KURZ'S PARTY LEADS IN POLLS-BASED PROJECTION A polls-based projection showed the party of Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz leading in the EU election Sunday, the day before he faces a no-confidence motion. The projection found support for Kurz's party, the conservative People's Party, at 34.5%, followed by the Social Democrats at 23.5% and the far-right Freedom Party at 17.5%. (Reporting by EU bureaux; Writing by Daphne Psaledakis) By Krisztina Than and Marton Dunai BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Hungary's ruling right-wing Fidesz party won 52.14% of votes in the European parliamentary election on Sunday on a hardline anti-immigration platform, scoring a big victory over a divided opposition. Prime Minister Viktor Orban told supporters of his Fidesz party that he would cooperate with everyone in Europe who wanted to halt immigration. "The election victory means that ... Hungarians gave us the task of ... stopping immigration all across Europe," Orban told cheering fans in Budapest. Hungarians wanted Fidesz to "protect Christian culture in Europe" he said. Fidesz came in well ahead of the leftist Democratic Coalition, which was second with 16.26%, according to the national election office. The Momentum party was third with 9.92%. The Socialists won 6.68%, while the nationalist Jobbik got 6.44% of votes, both weakening significantly. Orban, who built a steel fence in 2015 sealing off Hungary's southern borders to keep out migrants, has framed the election as a choice between forces backing and opposing mass immigration. He was reelected for a third term in 2018 with a very strong mandate. His power at home is cemented until the next election in 2022. More open is whether Fidesz, which secured 13 of Hungary's 21 seats in the 751-seat European Parliament, leaves the mainstream European Peoples' Party (EPP) to side with far-right nationalists in the new European Parliament. Speaking earlier on Sunday, Orban declined to say whether he would join Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini's new party alliance after the election. The migration issue, and how people respond to it, would reshape the political spectrum in the European Union in the vote, he said, and traditional party groupings would not play the same role in the future. The EU elections were expected to further dent traditional pro-EU parties and bolster the nationalist fringe in the European Parliament. Orban said Fidesz belonged to the EPP, the European Parliament's main center-right grouping, but the group is arguing about its future direction and Fidesz wants to influence that debate. "We would not like to belong somewhere where we don't have an influence on the main strategy issues," Orban said. The EPP suspended Fidesz in March amid concerns that it has violated EU principles on the rule of law, and either side could pull the plug on their association. (Reporting by Krisztina Than; Editing by Keith Weir and Frances Kerry) By Padraic Halpin DUBLIN (Reuters) - Google's main regulator in the European Union, Ireland's Data Protection Commissioner, opened its first investigation into the U.S. 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 (DPC) 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 minimization, 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% of a company's global revenue or 20 million euros ($22 million), 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. "We 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. Authorized buyers using our systems are subject to stringent policies and standards," a spokesperson for Google said on Wednesday. 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. (Reporting by Padraic Halpin; Editing by Kirsten Donovan and Susan Fenton) BERLIN (AP) Israel's president said Sunday he is shocked by a German official's comment that he wouldn't advise Jews to wear skullcaps in parts of the country, which is drawing mixed reactions at home. Felix Klein, the government's anti-Semitism commissioner, was quoted Saturday as saying: "I cannot recommend to Jews that they wear the skullcap at all times everywhere in Germany." He didn't elaborate on what places and times might be risky. "The statement of the German government's anti-Semitism commissioner that it would be preferable for Jews not wear a kippa in Germany out of fear for their safety, shocked me deeply," Israeli President Reuven Rivlin said in a statement. He added that "we will never submit, will never lower our gaze and will never react to anti-Semitism with defeatism and expect and demand our allies act in the same way." Government statistics released earlier this month showed that the number of anti-Semitic and anti-foreigner incidents rose in Germany last year, despite an overall drop in politically motivated crimes. Germany's main Jewish leader, Josef Schuster, told news agency dpa "it has long been a fact that Jews are potentially exposed to danger in some big cities if they can be recognized as Jews." He added that he pointed that out two years ago, "so it is to be welcomed if this situation gets more attention at the highest political level." Others were sharply critical of Klein's comment. Michel Friedman, a former deputy leader of Germany's main Jewish group, said it was an admission of failure and that "the state must ensure that Jews can show themselves everywhere without fear." Bavaria's state interior minister, Joachim Herrmann, said that wearing a skullcap is part of religious freedom. "Everyone can and should wear his skullcap wherever and whenever he wants," he said. Klein himself told dpa that his statement had been "provocative" and he "wanted to initiate a debate about the safety of the Jewish community in our country." "Of course I believe that there must not be no-go areas anywhere in Germany for Jews or members of other minorities," he said. ROME (Reuters) - Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said on Monday nothing should change in the coalition government after his League party overtook its partner, the 5-Star Movement, in the European parliamentary election. "As far as I am concerned, nothing should change at the national level," Salvini told reporters after initial results suggested the League would take around 32% of the vote against just 19% for 5-Star -- an almost exact inversion of the 2018 national election result. Salvini said he would not seek any additional government posts for his party in the wake of the EU vote, but would look to change European Union politics in Brussels. (Reporting by Angelo Amante; Editing by Crispian Balmer) The United States Oil Fund LP (NYSE: USO) was down 7.5 percent this week as the trade war between the U.S. and China sparked fears over global oil demand. The volatility in the oil market triggered several large options trades in oil and gas stocks Friday as investors placed their bets on whether the downturn in oil prices is temporary. The Trades On Friday morning, Benzinga Pro subscribers received several options alerts related to oil stocks. One trader sold 1,674 $16 strike-price California Resources Corp (NYSE: CRC) puts expiring on June 21 at the bid price of $1.05. Possibly the same trader then purchased 511 $15 strike-price California Resources puts expiring on June 21 at the ask price of 70 cents and 750 $16 strike-price California Resources puts expiring on July 19 at the ask price of $1.90. The three trades represent a net bearish position of just $2,500. Another trader sold 500 Whiting Petroleum Corp (NYSE: WLL) put options at a $26 strike price that expire on Sept. 20. The puts were sold at the bid price of 65.1 cents and represent a $32,550 bullish bet. Finally, one trader bought 1,000 Oasis Petroleum Inc. (NYSE: OAS) call options at a $5 strike price that expire on Nov. 15. The calls were purchased at the ask price of 85 cents and represent an $85,000 bullish bet at a break-even price of $5.85. Even traders who stick exclusively to stocks often monitor option market activity closely for unusually large trades. Given the relative complexity of the options market, large options traders are typically considered to be more sophisticated than the average stock trader. Many of these large options traders are wealthy individuals or institutions who may have unique information or theses related to the underlying stock. Unfortunately, stock traders often use the options market to hedge against their larger stock positions, and theres no surefire way to determine if an options trade is a standalone position or a hedge. In this case, given the relatively small sizes of the oil options trades, its unlikely they are hedges. Story continues Buy The Oil Dip? Oil options traders seemed somewhat bullish on Friday morning, but the relatively small size of the orders suggest they arent particularly convicted in their belief that the oil market will recover in the coming months. The U.S. is on track to hit a record 13 million barrels per day of oil production by the end of 2019, but U.S. businesses impacted by the latest round of trade war tariffs could experience a slowdown in the second half of the year that could weigh on oil demand. President Donald Trump plans to meet with Chinas President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit next month, but a new China Morning Post report suggested the meeting may not occur. Related Links: Trade War Update: Trump Says Huawei Blacklist Negotiable, G20 Meeting In Jeopardy These Bearish Tesla Option Trades Suggest More Downside Could Be Ahead See more from Benzinga 2019 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. Madrid (AFP) - Favourite in the polls, Spain's ruling Socialists were hoping to emerge stronger from local, regional and European elections on Sunday seen as a "second round" of an April general poll. According to two surveys published after polling stations closed -- one of them conducted from Wednesday to Friday and the other Sunday -- the Socialists are expected to come top in the European elections with 28-30 percent of votes, gaining four seats. That would be 11 points more than the conservative Popular Party (PP) in second place. Newly-emerged far-right party Vox, meanwhile, would get at least four seats with between 6.5 and 8.2 percent of the votes, according to the polls. That would be less than the 10 percent it won in the general election on April 28 when it burst into the national parliament. That election saw acting Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's Socialist Party (PSOE) come first but fall short of a majority. Sanchez is hoping the party will perform well on Sunday so he can opt for his preferred plan of forming a minority government with the support of other parties on a case-by-case basis when passing laws. But he will also be looking to the European Union, where Sanchez has emerged as the big hope for European social democrats. Turnout at 6:00 pm (1600 GMT) stood at more than 49 percent, or 15 points more than at the same time during the last EU elections in 2014. The fact that the polls coincide with local and regional elections has probably boosted turnout. Spain could be the only major EU member state with socialists coming out on top in the European parliament elections. On Friday, outgoing Foreign Minister Josep Borrell, whom Spain could push to become the next EU foreign policy chief, told supporters that Sanchez was going to "lead the resurgence of social democracy in Europe". - Podemos or not? - On the domestic front, the results of local and regional elections may determine what Spain's new government looks like, and Sanchez has urged supporters to "finish the work" of the general election and turn out in force. Story continues While Sanchez wants to rule alone in a minority government, Pablo Iglesias, the leader of far-left party Podemos, is pushing him to form a coalition. Whether Sanchez accepts may depend on how both parties fare. The Socialists "might need the support of Podemos to retain power in some regions, which Iglesias might use to pressure Sanchez into forming a coalition," said Teneo analyst Antonio Barroso. But "Iglesias' party is on the decline according to the most recent polls, and PSOE might enjoy a certain 'honeymoon effect' after its victory in the April legislative election. "If the distance between the two parties widens after Sunday, Sanchez will be in an even stronger position to head a minority government." Polls suggest the Socialists will win in most of the 12 regions going to the polls on Sunday. But all eyes will be on the region of Madrid, which could swing left after being governed by the PP for 24 years. An exit poll by local television channel Telemadrid predicted that would be the case, with Socialist candidate Angel Gabilondo coming first. It also predicted that outgoing Madrid Mayor Manuela Carmena would win again. AUSTIN, Texas (AP) Sidestepping bigger abortion battles playing out elsewhere in the U.S., Texas Republicans on Friday pushed a bill toward Gov. Greg Abbott's desk that would ban the state's liberal capital city from leasing a downtown building to Planned Parenthood for just $1. For Texas, which has passed some of the nation's strictest anti-abortion laws over the past decade, the measure that was largely provoked by a single Planned Parenthood office in Austin is one of the few bills aimed at abortion providers that appears likely to pass the GOP-controlled Legislature before lawmakers adjourn this month. In 2013, Texas passed a sweeping anti-abortion law that shuttered more than half the state's abortion clinics before being struck down three years later by the U.S. Supreme Court, which at the time handed down its strongest defense of abortion rights in a generation . But Texas Republicans this year have conspicuously stayed on the sidelines. They've instead let other conservative states lead efforts squarely aimed at the Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion. That includes Alabama's new abortion ban passed this week, along with measures in Kentucky, Mississippi, Georgia and Ohio that prohibit abortion after a fetal heartbeat is detected. Democrats said the latest bill passed by the Texas House, although smaller in scale, would still have significant ramifications and disrupt women's health services. The Austin Planned Parenthood location that leases a city-owned space for $1 a year does not offer abortion. "It would not impact abortion services," said Republican state Rep. Sarah Davis, who stood with Democrats during the floor debate. She said the bill instead was a "statement that the Texas Legislature is so anti-abortion we're going to prove it by hurting women." Democrats tried derailing the bill through procedural measures during a debate that dragged on for hours in the waning days of Texas' 140-day legislative session, which is set to adjourn May 27. The measure prohibits a government entity from entering into a "taxpayer resource transaction" with an abortion provider or affiliate. Story continues It still must win a final vote in the House before moving to Abbott's desk. An unusually rough election for Texas Republicans in 2018 has led to a relatively milder legislative session. And this year, some anti-abortion groups in Texas signaled they wanted to focus on bills that stood a better a chance in court. Another that is also close to Abbott's desk threatens doctors with jail time if they don't try saving the lives of infants born alive after failed abortion attempts. But such cases are extremely rare. On the "heartbeat" bill, Republican Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick told a conservative talk radio station this month that it wasn't a high priority to some groups "because it eventually will be decided in the Supreme Court, and they felt some other state cases were moving." ___ Follow Paul J. Weber on Twitter: www.twitter.com/paulweber Baghdad (AFP) - An Iraqi court on Sunday sentenced three French citizens to death for joining the Islamic State group, the first IS members from France to be handed capital punishment, a court official said. Captured in Syria by a US-backed force fighting the jihadists, Kevin Gonot, Leonard Lopez and Salim Machou were transferred to Iraq for trial. They have 30 days to appeal. Iraq has taken custody of thousands of jihadists repatriated in recent months from neighbouring Syria, where they were caught by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces during the battle to destroy the IS "caliphate". The Iraqi judiciary said earlier in May that it has tried and sentenced more than 500 suspected foreign members of IS since the start of 2018. Its courts have condemned many to life in prison and others to death, although no foreign IS members have yet been executed. The trials have been criticised by rights groups, which say they often rely on evidence obtained through torture. They have also raised the question of whether suspected IS jihadists should be tried in the region or repatriated to their countries of origin, in the face of strong public opposition. Those sentenced on Sunday were among 13 French nationals caught in battle-scarred eastern Syria and handed to Iraqi authorities in February on suspicion of being members of IS's feared contingent of foreign fighters. One was later released as it was found he had travelled to Syria to support the Yazidi religious minority -- the target of a particularly brutal IS campaign that rights groups say may have amounted to genocide. The remaining 12 were put on trial under Iraq's counterterrorism law, which can dole out the death penalty to anyone found guilty of joining a "terrorist" group, even if they were not explicitly fighting. - Trials criticised - Gonot, who fought for IS before being arrested in Syria with his mother, wife, and half-brother, has also been sentenced in absentia by a French court to nine years in prison, according to French research group the Center for the Analysis of Terrorism. Story continues Machou was a member of the infamous Tariq ibn Ziyad brigade, "a European foreign terrorist fighter cell" that carried out attacks in Iraq and Syria and planned others in Paris and Brussels, according to US officials. Lopez, from Paris, travelled with his wife and two children to IS-held Mosul in northern Iraq before entering Syria, French investigators say. His lawyer, Nabil Boudi, condemned the trial as "summary justice". The French government had "guaranteed us that French citizens would all be entitled to a fair trial, even in Iraq," he told AFP. But Lopez had been sentenced to death "based solely on a series of interrogations in Baghdad jails", he said. Iraq declared victory over IS in late 2017 and began trying foreigners accused of joining the jihadists the following year. Rights groups including Human Rights Watch have criticised Iraq's anti-terror trials, which they say often rely on circumstantial evidence or confessions obtained under torture. Baghdad has offered to try all foreign fighters in SDF custody -- estimated at around 1,000 -- in exchange for millions of dollars, Iraqi government sources have told AFP. Among those sentenced to life in prison are 58-year-old Frenchman Lahcen Ammar Gueboudj and two other French nationals. Iraq has also tried thousands of its own nationals arrested on home soil for joining IS, including women, and begun trial proceedings for nearly 900 Iraqis repatriated from Syria. The country remains in the top five "executioner" nations in the world, according to an Amnesty International report in April. The number of death sentences issued by Iraqi courts more than quadrupled between 2017 and 2018, to at least 271. But only 52 were actually carried out in 2018, according to Amnesty, compared with 125 the year before. Analysts have also warned that prisons in Iraq have in the past acted as "academies" for future jihadists, including IS supremo Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. By Jonathan Stempel May 24 (Reuters) - A bipartisan group of state attorneys general on Friday called on U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to forgive more than $1 billion of student loans burdening more than 42,000 veterans who became permanently disabled through their military service. Led by New Jersey Democrat Gurbir Grewal and Utah Republican Sean Reyes, the 51 state and territorial attorneys general said they welcomed federal efforts to make loan discharges easier to obtain, but said the U.S. Department of Education should stop requiring veterans to take affirmative steps to get them done. They said fewer than 9,000 eligible veterans had applied for loan discharges as of April 2018, and more than 25,000 veterans were in default. "The current approach is inadequate," the attorneys general said in a letter to DeVos. "The cost of education for our disabled veterans today is soaring, and it would be of great benefit to those who are burdened by these crushing debts to obtain relief without arduous compliance requirements." A spokesman for the Department of Education had no immediate comment. In 2008, U.S. President George W. Bush signed a law deeming veterans "permanently and totally disabled" eligible for loan discharges when the Department of Veterans Affairs decides they have become "unemployable" because of service-related conditions. Friday's letter was signed by attorneys general of 47 states, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. It said loan forgiveness for disabled veterans also has bipartisan support in Congress and among veterans' groups. The letter was sent three days before the Memorial Day holiday honoring members of the military. "We now urge the department to take action to better protect those who once protected the nation," the letter said. "Our veterans deserve nothing less." (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in Chicago; Editing by Dan Grebler) The Trump Administration has spent the past month ringing alarm bells over what it has called troubling, escalatory and dangerous behavior by Iran. Yet government officials have shown very little evidence to the American public about that supposed threat. The Pentagon said Friday additional troops and firepower are headed to the Middle East, marking the latest move by the Trump Administration to boost the American arsenal in the region by air, land and sea. Meanwhile, in another effort to deter Iran, the State Department issued an emergency notification in order to move forward with $8.1 billion in weapons sales to Saudi Arabia and other Arab allies, despite Congressional objections. The U.S. has been headed on a collision course with Iran ever since President Donald Trump walked away from a multilateral nuclear deal a year ago. The Administrations increasing pressure on Tehran has resulted in an unpredictable and tense standoff with potentially serious implications that has already moved beyond fiery rhetoric. Adm. Michael Gilday, the U.S. militarys Joint Staff director, told reporters at the Pentagon Friday that Tehran was responsible for a string of recent attacks in the Middle East. The incidents, he said, included an assault on four tankers in the Gulf of Oman near the Strait of Hormuz, armed drone attacks against Saudi oil facilities and a rocket attack in Iraqs Green Zone, where the U.S. embassy is located. Each incident was directed by the leadership of Iran at the highest level, Gilday said, adding: Even more troubling, weve had multiple credible reports that Iranian proxy groups intend to attack U.S. personnel in the Middle East. Gilday did not, however, provide any proof linking Iran to the attacks or produce evidence of the threats. Nor did he explain how any of the behavior is different from what Iran and its proxies have been doing for years throughout the Middle East. Im not reverse-engineering this, he said. The Iranians have said publicly they were going to do things. We learned more through intelligence reporting they have acted upon those threats and theyve actually attacked. Story continues When pressed about the proof that resulted in sending additional manpower and equipment to the region, Gilday replied that the intelligence was too sensitive to disclose. I cant reveal the sources of that reporting except to say, with very high confidence, we tie the Iranians to those, he said. According to two intelligence officials and one military officer with inside knowledge of the intelligence, the answers to questions about whether Iran is mounting an offensive remain unclear. The White House began escalating warnings about the Iranian threat after overhead surveillance spotted Iranian groups moving ballistic missiles on small boats, called dhows, in the Persian Gulf. That was a defensive move, the analysts say. The Iranians know U.S. intelligence watches and eavesdrops on their military movements and communications, but they made no attempt to conceal the missiles movement. Nevertheless, the Pentagon now plans to send an additional 900 troops to the Middle East in response to Irans campaign of violence intended to damage the United State and its allies, Gilday said. Additionally, the U.S. will send a squadron of 12 jet fighters and several spy planes and extend the deployment of 600 soldiers operating Patriot missile batteries. The troops and hardware will join the B-52 bomber task force, the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group and other military hardware already dispatched to the region. There is little dispute within the Administration that Iran is a bad actor intent on expanding its influence in the Middle East, either directly as its military forces and Iranian-backed political groups have done in Iraq, or by funding and equipping proxies such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Palestine. The debate has been about how to respond. The decision came to Trumps desk Thursday and he decided to take a modest response. Were going to be sending a relatively small number of troops, mostly protective, he told reporters Friday at the White House before departing on a trip to Japan. And some very talented people are going to the Middle East right now, and well see how and well see what happens. Kathryn Wheelbarger, Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, told Pentagon reporters that the additional forces will be stationed at undisclosed locations in the Middle East, but stressed it wouldnt be Iraq or Syria. We are seeking to avoid hostilities, she said. We are not seeking war with Iran. Trump hasnt been shy in vocalizing his aversion to overseas military entanglements, but John Bolton, his national security adviser, has repeatedly advocated for the use of force in Iran. The president wants U.S. allies in the region to take on more of a role. The Administration issued an emergency declaration so it can sell arms to Saudi Arabia, Jordan and United Arab Emirates. For more than a year, U.S. lawmakers have blocked about $2 billion in weapons sales to Saudi Arabia, among the largest purchaser of American arms, over concerns about the October killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and mounting civilian casualties in the Saudi-led military operation in Yemen. New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said that the Administration cited Irans actions to use the rare provision in the Arms Export Control Act. In trying to explain this move, the Administration failed to even identify which legal mechanism it thinks it is using, described years of malign Iranian behavior but failed to identify what actually constitutes an emergency today, and critically, failed to explain how these systems, many of which will take years to come online, would immediately benefit either the United States or our allies and thus merit such hasty action, he said. Meanwhile, the Administration continues to ratchet the economic pressure on Tehran after abandoning the 2015 nuclear deal, known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. The State Department says nearly 1,000 Iranian individuals, businesses and banks have been sanctioned. The Administration last month designated the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, an arm of the nations military, as a terrorist organization, which restricts members banking transactions and ability to travel. It marked the first time the U.S. designated an arm of a nations government as a terrorist group. Despite resistance from virtually every major world power for leaving the deal, the U.S. has turned the global financial system into a weapon against Tehran. The policy has triggered an exodus of corporations and financial institutions that would rather abandon their investments in Iran than risk U.S. Treasury Department sanctions. Irans economy-sustaining oil exports have plunged to historic lows. Tehran, which for its part has complied with the 2015 nuclear agreement despite the U.S. pullout, is seeking to split other countries from the U.S. by salvaging a deal with its remaining signatories: Russia, China, Germany, Britain and France. It has thus far elected for minimum retaliatory measures. But as the screws continue to tighten on the economy, Iran has announced its intent to return to the path toward producing nuclear bomb. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani vowed to ramp up enrichment of nuclear material earlier this month unless Tehran gets sweeping relief from economic sanctions. He promised to enrich to weapons-grade levels in two months if the U.S. didnt relent. The moves taken by the Trump Administration on Friday show no intention to let up the pressure. With reporting by John Walcott in Washington Authorities in Mexico have confirmed that six people died when a military helicopter that was helping fight forest fires crashed in the north-central state of Queretaro. The Russian-made MI-17 transport helicopter was carrying water to firefighters when it went down Friday in the pine-covered mountains known as the Sierra Gorda. The crash occurred near the township of Jalpan de la Sierra, located on a high mountain range that drops abruptly onto Mexico's Gulf coast plain. The National Forests Commission said Saturday that one of its workers died in the crash, raising the death toll to six. Five Navy crew members also died. Mexico has suffered hundreds of brush, pasture and forest fires in recent weeks amid very hot, dry conditions. The Palestinian Authority foiled an attack planned by ISIS to be executed by a 23-year-old teacher from the West Bank city of Kalkilya, a senior source in the PA said Sunday. The suspected terrorist was arrested two weeks ago by the PA security forces and has been in their custody since. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook STRONG> and Twitter The arrest of Ala' Bashir, from a village near Kalkilya, prompted an online campaign calling for her release due to the fact that the suspect is a woman. In response, the PA was forced to release a vague statement about her arrest. Suspected ISIS terrorist Ala' Bashir A high-ranking Palestinian source told Ynet and its sister publication Yedioth Aharonoth that Bashir joined ISIS after she was approached on the Telegram encrypted instant messaging app to set out on a suicide mission. After this initial encounter, she was in contact with ISIS operatives in Syria and the Gaza Strip, who sent her an online training booklet on how to make a bomb. The Palestinian sources said Bashir had in the past expressed solidarity for Al-Qaeda and the Salafist movement that operates in the Gaza Strip. She is a teacher of the Quran who had social problems and had decided to end her life by committing the attack. Bashir's arrest was a source of embarrassment for the PA because of her family connections to a ranking-official in the intelligence forces. The PA recently received a fleet of armored vehicles from the U.S., with Israeli approval Palestinian security forces have foiled a number of attacks against Israeli civilians and military targets in the past year. Last week, it emerged that Palestinian Authority security forces received 10 armored vehicles from the United States four months ago, with Israel's approval. The Palestinian Authoritiy's security cooperation with Israel continues despite the PA's refusal to accept tax revenues from Israel with sums set aside for support of terrorist families deducted by Jerusalem. Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said on Sunday that Tehran would strongly defend itself against any military or economic aggression and called on European states to do more to preserve a nuclear agreement his country signed with them. Speaking in a news conference in Baghdad with his Iraqi counterpart Mohammed al-Hakim, Zarif said his country wanted to build balanced relations with its Gulf Arab neighbours and that it had proposed signing a non-aggression pact with them. Iraq stands with Iran and is willing to act as an intermediary between its neighbour and the United States, Hakim said, adding that Baghdad does not believe an "economic blockade" is fruitful, a reference to U.S. sanctions. A wave of massive bushfires over the weekend , caused by an extreme heatwave, left dozens of families without homes as entire neighborhoods were engulfed by the flames. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook STRONG> and Twitter Some 16 people suffered smoke inhalation and 13 others had light burns, including some of the 1,000 firefighters - from National Fire and Rescue Authority - who battled at least 1,023 conflagrations across the country. Moshav Mevo Modi'im damaged by fire (Photo: AFP) In addition, 300 volunteers also participated in the operation, dubbed Hot Fire in the scorching temperatures that sometimes reached 45 degrees celsius. Although damage to the property was great - with some 50 houses destroyed by the blaze - there were no reports of casualties. Moshav Mevo Modi'im, where 40 out 50 houses were damaged by fire (Photo: AFP) The fires also caused a wide-scale damage to the environment with some 7,940 dunams (two acres) of land, belonging to the Nature and Parks Authority as well as Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael - Jewish National Fund, scorched by the massive flames. Damage in Kibbutz Harel X "The damage is immense not only to the forest but also to the wildlife, said Gilad Mestai, director of the KKL-JNF for the Coastal Plain district. Very large forested areas, the green lung of the Dan region, have been burned down," he said. Aftermath of a fire in Mevo Modi'im (Photo: EPA) The residents of the communities that were damaged by the fire, have so far not been allowed to return to the homes, which they were forced to flee. At least 40 out of the 50 houses that were damaged by the fire are located in the religious moshav of Mevo Modi'im in central Israel. Mevo Modi'in fire damage (: , ) X "Although this disaster has befallen us, Shabbat is sweet and gives us life" said Alon Tieger, chairman of the association that runs the moshav. The way people of Israel opened their hearts to us, brought me to tears, and I did not cry when my house was burned." Flames from Mevo Modi'im seen outside the moshav (Photo: Fire and Rescue Authority) The remaining 10 houses that were damaged by the fire are located in Kibbutz Harel - just outside Jerusalem - with five of the homes being burned down to the ground. Damage from bushfire in Kibbutz Harel (Photo: Tal Shahar) Ofir Alkalay, a kibbutz resident whose house was heavily damaged by the blaze, said his home - although still standing - is filled with smoke and various toxic substances. Damage in Kibbutz Harel My house has been wrecked, he said. One of my children was sleeping inside the house when the fire started. My two children - aged five and ten - are traumatized This is the kind of thing that greatly undermines the feeling of security. "Most of our kibbutz has been burned down, some families lost their homes all of our farmland has been damaged, Alkalay added. Since the fires broke out we havent been able to come back to our homes and we wont be allowed to enter the kibbutz for at least another week due to heavy air pollution in the area. This may be just another scam courtesy of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Avigdor Liberman, but if it isn't and this coalition stalemate between the two forces us into yet another election campaign, it will be outrageous. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook STRONG> and Twitter After three hate-filled and divisive months, the voters have spoken. They were clear as day and Netanyahu was tasked with forming a sizable, functioning coalition. Benjamin Netanyahu after coalition talks with Moshe Kahlon (Photo: Yariv Katz) But with corruption charges pending against him, Netanyahu became an easy target for extortion by all his potential partners, no matter how small their size. Ultra-Orthodox parties leaving coalition talks (Photo: Alex Kolomoisky) Well, Netanyahu should have foreseen this, when insisting on early elections as soon as criminal charges against him appeared on the horizon. He himself created the union of far-right political parties, including the most extreme elements, ensuring their election to the Knesset and expecting them to support his efforts to gain immunity from his looming indictments. He gobbled up smaller parties in order to increase Likud's seats, and now finds he is unable to control his potential partners and their demands. Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Photo: EPA) He rejected any possible national unity government with Blue and White party, which would most likely force him out of the premiership while he defends himself in the courts. And now he threatens the public with another election campaign. What does he care? He is not in it for democracy, he is only in it for his own survival. For months now, we've had an interim government that has not dealt with the threats from Gaza, the endless construction site deaths or the failing health system. The interim government is concerned only with challenging our judicial system and providing cover for the prime minister. Nothing else, so far, has prompted Likud members to take a stand. The prime minister should, with all due respect, form the most reasonable coalition possible, even if it does not provide him with the protection he seeks, and just get on with it. The rightful debate about the immunity law that would protect Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from a corruption indictment has steered public attention away from the issue of partial or full annexation of the West Bank, an issue that is making its way into coalition agreements as we speak. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook STRONG> and Twitter The majority of Israelis reject such an annexation even those who are not excited about a Palestinian state, to say the least. But among MKs set to be part of the new coalition, there is a majority for the decision to claim the land as Israeli. West Bank settlement of Ma'ale Adumim (: ) In light of this apparent decision, Commanders for Israel's Security , a group of former IDF officers who object to such a move, sent a letter to the prime minister in which they asked him to avoid the annexation of the West Bank or at least hold a referendum if the government decides on it. Hundreds of former security officials signed the letter. "Declaring Israeli rule over the West Bank either wholly or partially not as a part of a political agreement, will lead to a series of reactions that would severely harm Israel's security and economy, and its status both at home and on the international stage," the letter reads. "Annexing (the territories) without an agreement will endanger Israeli security and the lives of residents What will start as a partial annexation will lead to a full annexation of the West Bank, and the millions of Palestinian people who live there." Netanyahu tweeted in response that "these experts" were in favor of the Iran deal (which he bitterly opposed and Donald Trump tried to destroy), and dismissed their warning that the prime minister was "navigating the wrong way and destroying our alliance with the U.S." Mic drop? Well, not exactly. Firstly, our alliance with Trump is indeed important, but it does not constitute a pact with America. Israel is slowly but surely losing the support of the Democratic Party and the largely liberal American Jewish community. It's true that this is mostly a result of anti-Israel propaganda, but there's more to it. And Netanyahu has had a part in this disaffection. Secondly, many expects have been wrong about many things, over and over again. When it comes to Iran, it seems that you don't have to be a Netanyahu supporter in order to understand that he was right. Iran indeed took advantage of the nuclear deal in order to expand its devastating impact, put Israel in danger, manufacture more and more missiles and shake the stability of neighboring countries. Benjamin Netanyahu addresses Congress over the Iran nuclear deal , March 2015 (Photo: AFP) Just like jihadists, Iran spreads destruction wherever it goes. And we have the nuclear deal to thank for this. But just like these hundreds of Israeli security officials had it wrong on Iran, and like JFK and Churchill had many things wrong, Netanyahu was also wrong about Iraq in 2002. And he was wrong big time. Netanyahu was one of people who pressured the U.S. government to attack in Iraq back then. Make no mistake, he told Congress, once Saddam Hussein gets nuclear weapons, terror groups will have nuclear weapons. But Israel's official position was very different back then. Then-prime minister Ariel Sharon opposed Netanyahu's stance, and actually tried to persuade then-president George W. Bush that Iran was the problem and not Iraq. U.S. troops in Iraq (Photo: Reuters) But let bygones be bygones. Research clearly stated that Israel wasn't the one who pushed the U.S. into the war in Iraq, but there are those who insist on reminding the public about Netanyahu's position back then as way of questioning his current position about Iran. Yes, he was wrong about Iraq, but that doesn't mean he's wrong about Iran. In the same way, the fact that security officials were wrong about one matter doesn't mean they are wrong about another. And annexation is a different ball game. There is no need to wait for the future to arrive to understand that annexation means the establishment of a Jewish-Arab entity. And the mixing of different and hostile populations always ends in bloodshed. Some rightists imagine that we could simply encourage Palestinians to leave. But that's a pipe dream, nothing more. Even if we take into account the 20,000 or so Palestinians who leave the West Bank every year, the Arab population is constantly growing due to higher fertility rates than the Jews. That's why annexation means a bi-national state, with or without civil rights for all. Either scenario spells the same thing the end of the Zionist dream. But we should despair. There are other solutions, compromise solutions based on civil separation under Israeli rule. Whichever solution we may opt for, there's no need to wait only to ultimately discover that the security experts were right about annexation. President Reuven Rivlin expressed shock Sunday after Germany's government commissioner on anti-Semitism warned Jews about the potential dangers of wearing a kippah (yarmulke) in the face of rising anti-Jewish attacks, and vowed that the Jewish people would "never submit" to any anti-Semitic threat. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook STRONG> and Twitter Speaking in an interview published Saturday by the Funke regional press group, Felix Klein said that he was reversing his previous position about the dangers posed to Jews who were identifiable by their religious headcovering. Thousands march in Berlin wearing kippas during a 2018 show of solidarity with the Jewish community (Photo: EPA) Anti-Semitic crimes rose 20 percent in Germany last year, according to Interior Ministry data that blamed nine out of 10 cases on the extreme right. "I cannot advise Jews to wear the kippa everywhere all the time in Germany," Klein said Saturday. In issuing the warning, he said he had "alas, changed my mind (on the subject) compared to previously." The Commissioner for Jewish Life in Germany and the Fight against Anti-Semitism Felix Klein The interview elicited a defiant response from the president. The statement of the German governments anti-Semitism commissioner, that it would be preferable for Jews not wear a kippa in Germany out of fear for their safety, shocked me deeply," Rivlin said the president said. "Responsibility for the welfare, the freedom and the right to religious belief of every member of the German Jewish community is in the hands of the German government and its law enforcement agencies," Rivlin said. "We acknowledge and appreciate moral position of the German government, and its commitment to the Jewish community that lives there, but fears about the security of German Jews are a capitulation to anti-Semitism and an admittance that, again, Jews are not safe on German soil. "We will never submit, will never lower our gaze and will never react to anti-Semitism with defeatism and expect and demand our allies act in the same way. Reuven Rivlin welcomes Angela Merkel to his residence in Jerusalem (Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg) Klein, whose post was created last year, cited "the lifting of inhibitions and the uncouthness which is on the rise in society" as factors behind a rising incidence of anti-Semitism. "The internet and social media have largely contributed to this -- but so have constant attacks against our culture of remembrance," he said. He suggested police, teachers and lawyers should be better trained to recognise what constitutes "clearly defined" unacceptable behaviour and "what is authorised and what is not". His comments came just weeks after Berlin's top legal expert on anti-Semitism said the issue remains entrenched in German society. "Anti-Semitism has always been here. But I think that recently, it has again become louder, more aggressive and flagrant," Claudia Vanoni told AFP in an interview, adding the problem was "deeply rooted" in German society. Vanoni said the proliferation of online platforms that allow people to express extremist views without inhibition while hiding behind screens had fostered the rise in cases. The arrival in parliament of the far-right AfD, whose leaders openly question Germany's culture of atonement for World War II atrocities, has also contributed to the change in atmosphere, as has the arrival of more than a million asylum seekers, many from Muslim countries such as Syria, Afghanistan or Iraq. Klein said that while the far-right was to blame for the vast majority of anti-Semitic crime, it was apparent that some Muslims were also influenced by watching certain television channels "which transmit a dreadful image of Israel and Jews". A German business group says German companies' trade with Iran has declined sharply as the United States turns up the economic heat on Tehran. Treier said that, of 120 German companies that were active in Iran, only 60 are still in the country. He said that "the U.S. sanctions affect economic relations like a full embargo because the financial sector is affected." Firefighting authorities said Sunday that a massive bushfire in one of the communities in central Israel, where at least 40 homes have been burned over the weekend, might have been caused by arson. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook STRONG> and Twitter National Fire and Rescue Authority is investigating whether a blaze in the religious moshav of Mevo Modi'im in central Israel was started deliberately after discovering the fire in the community had several points of origin. The investigation is still ongoing. Cars and homes burned in Mevo Modi'im (Photo: AFP) Overall, some 50 homes were destroyed by the blaze, which was exacervated by the extreme heatwave that hit the country over the weekend. At least 16 people suffered smoke inhalation and 13 others had light burns, including some of the 1,000 firefighters who battled at least 1,023 conflagrations across the country. Aftermath of Mevo Modi'im fires (: ) X In the meantime, fire investigators said the blaze in the communities bordering Gaza, where dozens of homes were also damaged, was likely to have been started by a failure of Israel Electric Corporation power cables in the area, and not by Lag B'Omer bonfires. The IEC responded by saying the investigation conducted by the companys own fire department contradicts the findings of National Fire and Rescue Authority and points to arson and bonfires as the main causes of the conflagrations. Massive blaze in Mevo Modi'im (Photo: Fire and Rescue Authority) Thus, it was decided by the two bodies to establish a joint investigation team in order to thoroughly examine the causes of the wildfires. Firefighting planes in Kibbutz Harel (Photo: Reuters) On Friday, the police arrested three suspects from East Jerusalem on suspicion of arson in connection with fires in the area of Mount Scopus in the holy city. The suspects were questioned and their arrest was extended at the Jerusalem Magistrate's Court. The police believe the suspects are not part of an organized cell, and each of the suspects acted independently. The southern city of Beersheba is getting ready to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the historical visit by Muhammad Anwar el-Sadat, the late Egyptian president who signed the Regional Peace Scroll in the city during the 1979 peace process with Israel. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook STRONG> and Twitter It was a warm Sunday; the residents of the then-small and peripheral city gathered in the dusty streets to pbserve history unfold outside their homes the distinguished Arab leader Sadat was to arrive in the city accompanied by state leaders and sign the historical treaty, some two months after the signing of the peace deal between the two countries. Sadat and Begin visit Beersheba (Photo: GPO) (Photo: GPO) Sadat arrived with his vice president, Hosni Mubarak, who later became president himself, Israeli prime minister Menahem Begin, Israeli president Yitzhak Navon and the American secretary of state Cyrus Vance; an entourage the city had never dreamed of witnessing. But why Beersheba? Sadat was a man deeply connected to biblical texts. He wanted to visit Abraham's well, an ancient site in the city traditionally recognized as the place where the Jewish patriarch signed the very first peace treaty with another nation. The Egyptian president wanted to go full circle and his wish was granted. Beerhseba's mayor Eliyahu Nawi had only one week to prepare. The desert city was scrubbed clean, and local newspapers hailed "the opportunity for simple people to make an effort and make the event unforgettable." School kids were told to draw Sadat and Begin, and the wining drawing was to be presented to the President. Local businesses went wild: a local cloths shop offered an Egyptian flag with every purchase, and the local college announced 20 percent off Arabic classes. The crowds were angry to learn that on the day of the visit, a hot day, local kiosks all raised the prices of water bottles to an outrageous 10 Israeli pounds. Yael Bracha, at the time a young secretary at city hall, recalls the excitement: "We still remembered our wars with Egypt," she says. "During the 1967 war, there was a round up of Egyptian prisoners near my house in Beersheba, some 2000-3000 of them. All of us schoolkids would go after school to see them, we would take water and snacks and give them, we also chatted. Some of us knew Arabic from home." "They were nice," Brahca recalls. "They didnt feel like the enemy. Then they were sent home to Egypt, and when Sadat came it was like coming full circle." People of Beersheba gather to greet Sadat (Photo: Tuviyahu Archive, Ben Gurion University) (Photo: Tuviyahu archive, Ben Gurion University) Sadat's Helicopter was on its way from el Arish in Egypt. Yotam Doron, then a young Israeli Air Force pilot, escorted the helicopter with his jet. "I was told that I can't trust the Egyptians to make it in time. But the president was right in time. I also remember that all his team had mustaches," he says, reminiscing about 1979 Middle Eastern fashion. The main event took place at the town hall square. Leaders made excited speeches about the end of war. The mayor and Israel's president, both born and raised in an Arab-Jewish neighborhood in Jerusalem, gave speeches in fluent Arabic. "Even those of us who weren't born in Islamic countries wish to know more about your magnificent culture, noble people and country," said Navon. "The deal we signed (with Egypt) is just one part of a comprehensive peace plan with the entire region," he added, "things that once looked impossible now look like reality, and tomorrow things that now look like a dream will come true." Sadat responded in same manner: "(History) will judge us not for our tough positions, but for the wounds we have healed, the souls we saved, the suffering we prevented." The Egyptian president was impressed, mostly with the fluent Arabic of the Israeli leaders. In a private conversation after the ceremony, the mayor recalled Sadat saying that "it was Arabic worthy of Arab leaders." But he wasn't finished. He told the mayor that he is sorry to learn that "the Jews of Mizrahi origins, including Egyptian Jews, are not fond of the Arabs." Decorating the streets of Beersheba ahead of Sadat visit (Photo: Tuviyahu Archive, Ben Gurion University) (Photo: Tuviyahu archive, Ben Gurion University) "I know that the last 30 years of Jewish existence in Egypt were rough. But is that enough to forget 3,000 years during which Jews enjoyed equal rights and took part in developing Egyptian culture and economy, and even in defending its borders?" said Sadat. The Egyptian president then drove around town, the masses waving at him. There were even two camels, decorated with a sign calling for peace by the Peace Now movement. Beersheba's current mayor, Ruvik Danilovich, was only nine at the time, but he remembers the event vividly. "Today I understand the meaning of that visit. This is the city of Abraham, holy to both the people of Israel and Muslims. This was a line connecting the first peace deal the Jewish people ever made, with modern times." Iran will defend itself against any military or economic aggression, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Sunday, calling on European states to do more to preserve a nuclear agreement his country signed. Speaking at a Baghdad news conference with his Iraqi counterpart Mohammed al-Hakim, Zarif said Iran wanted to build balanced relations with its Gulf Arab neighbours and had proposed signing a non-aggression pact with them. "We will defend against any war efforts against Iran, whether it be an economic war or a military one, and we will face these efforts with strength," he said. Strains have increased between Iran and the United States after this month's attack on oil tankers in the Gulf region. Washington, a firm backer of Tehran's regional rival Saudi Arabia, has blamed the attacks on Iran. Tehran has distanced itself from the bombings, but the United States has sent an aircraft carrier and an extra 1,500 troops to the Gulf, sparking concern over the risk of conflict in a volatile region. DUBAI - Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi arrived on Sunday in Oman and discussed "regional developments" with Yousuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah, the sultanateas minister responsible for foreign affairs, the state-run Oman News Agency reported. Bin Alawi said earlier this week that his country is trying "with other parties" to calm tensions between the United States and Iran. TUCSON, Ariz. -- The Global SuperTanker, the world's largest firefighting aircraft, is ready for the upcoming wildfire season. The Arizona Republic reports that the Boeing 747-400 series passenger jet converted for firefighting recently underwent maintenance at Pinal Airpark outside Tucson. The retrofitted aircraft has been used to fight wildfires in California, Chile, Israel and elsewhere. The plane can dump up to 19,200 gallons (72,678 liters) of water or retardant in just six seconds and fly as low as 200 feet (61 meters) above the ground to do its work. It can be refilled in just 13 minutes. The SuperTanker proved indispensable in 2018 helping battle some of the most devastating wildfires in California history. "It's a force multiplier," chief pilot Cliff Hale said. "When you need to build containment lines fast, having that very large capacity can really help the guys out on the ground." Yahadut Hatorah's Council of Torah Sages met Sunday evening and approved a compromise that may pave the way for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to form coalition government. The compromise formulated by former minister (Shas) Ariel Atias, and received backing from Netanyahu, involves agreeing to minimum quotas for drafting Yeshiva students into the IDF. However, Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman said in response that he is not willing to compromise on this fundamental issue. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook STRONG> and Twitter Liberman said that he views the prime minister's invitation earlier Sunday to a one-on-one meeting to try to solve the impasse as an attempt to portray him and his party as responsible for the failure to form a coalition and forcing the country to go to the polls again. Yakov Litzman, leader of Yahadut Hatorah Party Liberman said that the responsibility for the failure to form a government rests solely on the shoulders of Netanyahu and the Likud Party. "We would expect that the prime minister apply pressure to the Haredi parties and the rabbi's backing them," he said. On Sunday afternoon, Netanyahu invited the various party heads to one-on-one meetings with him in order to prevent having to call for "needless elections." He began by meeting with Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon. Liberman and Netanyahu (: , AP) At the same time, the rabbinical council of the Agudat Yisrael faction of the Yahadut Hatorah Party, led by the Rebbe of Gur, met to discuss the compromise to the draft bill proposed by former minister Ariel Atias. The compromise involves the rabbis agreeing to draft and national service quotas for Yeshiva students on condition that the matter be carried out by a government decision, and not written into the law itself, making it easier to change details if necessary. Shas chairman Aryeh Deri (Photo: Avi Moalem) Shas and the Degel Hatorah faction supported the compromise from the outset, believing that it is consistent with the Haredi interest and will not harm Torah students. The meeting was to see if the Agudah faction can live with it as well. Now that they too accept the deal, if the country ultimately goes to the polls again, blame will most likely be directed at Liberman. Earlier, a Shas spokesman said that the bill is not the issue and Liberman is only using it as an excuse to bring down a right-wing government. Liberman said that as far as he's concerned the Haredi delegates can leave the Knesset chamber during a vote, as long as all other coalition members are committed to supporting the original version of the bill. News Detroit, Michigan - A Southfield, Michigan-based doctor pleaded guilty Monday for his role in a scheme involving approximately $2.5 million in fraudulent Medicare claims for home health and physician services that were medically unnecessary, not provided and procured through the payment of illegal kickbacks. Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Departments Criminal Division, Special Agent in Charge Timothy R. Slater of the FBIs Detroit Field Office and Special Agent in Charge Lamont Pugh III of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector Generals (HHS-OIG) Chicago Regional Office made the announcement. Thomas Mays, M.D., 65, of Farmington Hills, Michigan, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud before U.S. District Judge Sean F. Cox of the Eastern District of Michigan. Sentencing has been scheduled for Sept. 20, 2019, before Judge Cox. As part of his guilty plea, Mays admitted that he offered and provided kickbacks in the form of prescriptions for controlled substances to Medicare beneficiaries who agreed to accept his purported physician services and referrals for home health care services. He further admitted that he prescribed medically unnecessary home health care services to Medicare beneficiaries. The prescriptions, in turn, were used by home health agencies to bill Medicare for home health services purportedly provided to Medicare beneficiaries. Mays billed Medicare for physician services that he purportedly provided to Medicare beneficiaries that were medically unnecessary, never provided and acquired through kickbacks, he admitted. According to admissions made in connection with his plea, from 2012 to 2018, the intended losses to Medicare as a result of the scheme were approximately $2.5 million. The FBI and HHS-OIG investigated the case, which was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force under the supervision of the Criminal Divisions Fraud Section. Trial Attorneys Jay McCormack and Tom Tynan of the Fraud Section are prosecuting the case. The Fraud Section leads the Medicare Fraud Strike Force. Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, which maintains 14 strike forces operating in 23 districts, has charged nearly 4,000 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $14 billion. In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers. News Atlanta, Georgia - A federal grand jury in the Northern District of Georgia has returned a three-count indictment against a former commissioner in DeKalb County, Georgia, for extorting bribe payments from a DeKalb County subcontractor. Assistant Attorney General Brian Benczkowski of the Justice Departments Criminal Division made the announcement. Sharon Barnes Sutton, 59, of Stone Mountain, Georgia, was arraigned on an indictment that charges her with two counts of extortion and one count of federal program bribery by U.S. Magistrate Judge Russell G. Vineyard for the Northern District of Georgia. According to the allegations in the indictment, Barnes Sutton was an elected member of the DeKalb County Board of Commissioners (the DeKalb Board), representing District No. 4 of DeKalb County. The DeKalb Board is comprised of seven elected, part-time commissioners. Among other functions, the DeKalb Board appropriates funds for infrastructure development within the county, and a simple majority of four commissioners is needed to award public contracts for any such project. The indictment alleges that, during the relevant time period, Barnes Sutton also chaired the DeKalb Boards subcommittee on Finance, Audit, and Budget, which undertook preliminary reviews of contracts, and was a member of the DeKalb Boards subcommittee on Public Works and Infrastructure. The indictment further alleges that, in May 2014, Barnes Sutton approached an individual whose company had received a sizeable procurement award from the DeKalb Board in connection with the construction of a wastewater treatment plant. Barnes Sutton demanded monthly payments of $500 from this individual, later increasing her demand to $1,000. The individual made the first $500 payment in June 2016 at a restaurant in Decatur, Georgia. The indictment further alleges that Barnes Sutton asked the individual to meet her at the restaurant and brought her son along so that her son would receive the cash payment on her behalf. The individual made the second $500 cash payment at Barnes Suttons residence in July 2014. The FBI disrupted Barnes Suttons continued demands in August 2014. The indictment is the result of an ongoing investigation by the FBIs Atlanta Field Office and the DeKalb County Police Department, and is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Amanda R. Vaughn and Victor R. Salgado of the Criminal Divisions Public Integrity Section. The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. News Washington, DC - Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General Edward OCallaghan Delivers Remarks at 36th National Missing Children's Day Ceremony: Thank you, Matt for all that you do leading our Office of Justice Programs. Its my privilege to welcome everyone to the Department of Justice. Let me begin by also thanking Administrator Caren Harp and our Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention for organizing todays ceremony, and for everything they do to keep Americas children safe. I want to express my appreciation to John Clark and our friends at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) for their tireless commitment in advocating on behalf of the victims and families of missing and exploited kids. The Department of Justice and the National Center are long-time partners, a partnership forged in identifying, rescuing, recovering and seeking justice on behalf of the most vulnerable among us. While I wish this partnership was unnecessary, I am proud of the work we have done and the work we will continue to do on behalf of child victims. I also want to thank Ms. Ambrose for being a part of our ceremony. Ms. Ambrose, my heart is broken by the loss you have suffered. I know that you miss Desiree terribly, and our prayers go out to you and your family. Please know that we are grateful for all that you have done and continue to do on behalf of exploited children -- raising awareness of the risks with parents and advocating for children and their families with lawmakers. We are honored to have you with us today. Finally, let me congratulate the remarkable group of public servants we recognize today: A Broward County Sheriffs detective whose diligent work resulted in jail sentences for three child pornographers; An outstanding team of federal, state, and local investigators that led a manhunt from Texas to Colorado to recover two abducted girls; Two firefighters who found a missing six-year-old boy in the mountains of Tennessee; and Another federal-state-local team whose excellent investigative work ended the serial exploitation perpetrated by an abuser masquerading as a foster parent. These extraordinary men and women displayed ingenuity, commitment, and incredible resolve the qualities we so often take for granted in our public safety officers but that are magnified in these exceptional individuals. They truly are the best of the best. The Department of Justice is proud to stand with these heroes, and with the hundreds of thousands of hard-working peace officers across the country. This Administration has given its unqualified support to those who protect our children and our communities, because we understand whats at stake. These brave men and women are our first line of defense against violent criminals, and they are often our last hope when children go missing and are put in harms way. It is because of this work, that we support the network of 61 Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task forces across the country. As you heard from Caren, those teams of federal, state, and local agents investigate tens of thousands of cases a year, and they take thousands of abusers and exploiters off the streets. In each of the last two years, weve made available approximately $30 million dollars to support ICAC investigations, operations, equipment and software purchases, and training and technical assistance. The Presidents budget request for the next fiscal year proposes adding $5 million dollars to that investment so the ICACs can continue doing their important work. Were also working closely with NCMEC to improve the way its indispensable CyberTipline contributes to the work of these task forces. NCMEC is working to make investigators work easier by increasing the number of CyberTipline analysts working with the ICAC program and by facilitating the exchange of CyberTip information to make investigators work easier. Our Project Safe Childhood program is another long-standing asset in our fight to protect children, and it remains as robust as ever. All our U.S. Attorneys offices, in coordination with the Justice Departments Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section and federal and local law enforcement agencies, are working under the umbrella of Project Safe Childhood to bring perpetrators of child exploitation to justice. Almost every day, we announce a new arrest or conviction. Just a week-and-a-half ago, a judge ordered a 35-year prison sentence against a Nebraska man who pled guilty to sex crimes involving a 13-year-old child who was unable to speak. During the course of the investigation, officers found the man to be in possession of hundreds of pornographic images of young children. Project Safe Childhood regularly brings people like this to justice. The Department of Justice is committed to protecting all children and we will continue to vigorously pursue justice on behalf of these young victims. Our efforts to combat child exploitation are under continuous refinement and were working diligently to update the Departments National Strategy on Child Exploitation Prevention and Interdiction. Stacie Harris, whos with us today, is my offices designated point person, and she has been conferring regularly with law enforcement officials and child advocates to make sure our approach to this issue is informed by the best thinking and most innovative ideas. These are just a few of the actions the Department of Justice has taken in the fight to recover missing and exploited children. It is a hard fight against some of the most devious and dangerous criminals, perpetrators bent on using our youngest citizens for their own depraved purposes. But make no mistake, they will not succeed. They will not succeed because of professionals like the men and women we honor today, whose fierce commitment to decency and justice will allow us to prevail over the darkest instincts of the worst in our society. To our award recipients, we are grateful for your service, we stand in awe of your accomplishments, and we are proud to recognize you for all that you have done and continue to do to protect Americas children. On behalf of the Attorney General, and all of us at the Department of Justice, thank you, and congratulations. Arizona News Phoenix, Arizona - Governor Doug Ducey Wednesday ordered flags at all state buildings be lowered to half-staff from sunrise to sunset tomorrow, Thursday, May 23, 2019, to honor Phoenix Firefighter Brian Beck Jr. On Sunday, May 19, 2019, Firefighter Beck passed away after battling occupational-related cancer. Beck, a third-generation firefighter, served at the Phoenix Fire Department for eight years. Arizona is saddened by the loss of Firefighter Brian Beck Jr. and our prayers are with his family, friends and colleagues during this difficult time, said Governor Doug Ducey. Brian was a dedicated member of the Phoenix Fire Department and lived a life of honor while serving and protecting Arizonans. In honor of Firefighter Becks life and service, Ive ordered flags at all state buildings be lowered to half-staff. Arizona News Phoenix, Arizona - Arizonans from across the state continue to show strong support for the fiscally responsible, balanced budget plan. The budget strengthens Arizonas financial position and saves for the future while protecting taxpayers and investing in the things that matter. Heres what others are saying about Arizonas budget: A For Arizona "Seldom do we see a $600 million appropriation for K-12 education in a single year. We are just a final vote on the budget away from seeing this happen two years in a row. When asking if the state is taking investment into K-12 seriously enough, the billion-dollar answer is clearly, 'Yes!'" (LINK, 5/23/19) John Ortolano, President of the Fraternal Order of Police (AZFOP) "The AZFOP represents 9,000 law enforcement professionals across Arizona. We believe that these raises represent an incredible leap in the right direction to fix pay that has been stagnant for a decade. This improved compensation will also be helpful in attracting applicants to fill the vacancies that exist in both state agencies. "To say that public safety is currently in a staffing crisis is an understatement. We heartily applaud both Gov. Ducey and the Legislature for recognizing this crisis and for rolling up their sleeves to ensure stagnant pay for these public servants is no more. "The last step in the process is for our lawmakers to sign off on the budget by supporting it with their vote," he said. "Thank you, lawmakers, for the work this session and your commitment to public safety. We strongly encourage you to pass this proposed budget as soon as possible." (5/22/19) Arizona Rock Products Association "ARPA appreciates the work of the Governors Office and the Legislature regarding pending budget items for critical infrastructure. Thank you for your leadership on these important matters that will help to drive commerce in Arizona and keep us competitive." (LINK, 5/22/19) Expect More Arizona "The budget under consideration follows through on the commitment to increase teacher pay 20 percent by 2020 and accelerates the restoration of district and charter additional assistance this year. Additional new investments in K-12 will support the hiring of school counselors, social workers and school resource officers; increased career and technical education opportunities; K-12 school construction and more. In addition, the proposal includes one-time and ongoing investments for Arizonas universities and community colleges." (LINK, 5/23/19) Arizona School Counselors Association "EXCITING NEWS: We are thrilled to announce that HB2749 includes language from our AZ Ratio Bill and would make sure, for the first time, that the role of school counselor is defined in statute. Thank you to Governor Doug Ducey and all who made this possible!" (LINK, 5/23/19) Americans For Prosperity - Arizona We applaud Governor Ducey and the legislatures efforts to reduce the tax burden on Arizonans and spend tax dollars in a more fiscally responsible way. A number of items proposed in the budget will allow for more money to stay in the pockets of hardworking Arizonans. AFP believes that controlling government spending is key to unleashing the private sectors ability to lift people from poverty, strengthen the middle class, and create prosperity and well-being. (LINK, 5/23/19) Arizona Department of Child Safety "We are excited that this years AZ Balanced budget increases the kinship stipend for Arizona families caring for our most vulnerable meaning more children will be able to be cared for by family and loved ones." (LINK, 5/23/19) Arizona Sherriff's Association "Arizona's Sheriffs applaud Governor Doug Ducey and Legislative leaders for including $1 million in the budget for AZPOST training. Effectively trained officers makes all the difference in keeping our communities safe." (LINK, 5/23/19) Arizona Fire District Association "Governor Ducey and Senate President Fann (LD-1) have ensured the $20 million dollars in wildfire deployment funding for Department of Forestry and Fire Management (DFFM) cooperators is included in the legislatures 2019 budget. These funds are essential to prompt pay DFFM cooperators for contract work protecting our states communities from wildfire." (5/22/19) Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management "This years AZ balanced budget increases the available funds from the Budget Stabilization Fund to $20m to reimburse our cooperators for their firefighting efforts." (LINK, 5/23/19) St. Mary's Food Bank "Many thanks to Governor Doug Ducey and the Arizona Legislature for investing in AZ food banks and our efforts to get more healthy food to Arizonans facing hunger." (LINK, 5/23/19) March of Dimes "Happy to see the state budget allocate $1 million for prenatal equipment in rural Arizona. Better access to care will improve outcomes for moms and babies in rural communities." (LINK, 5/22/19) Century Link "Thanks Gov. Doug Ducey for your commitment to Arizona broadband growth in your 2019 budget package. High-speed internet accelerates economic development, enhances education and improves public safety." (LINK, 5/23/19) Arizona Farm Bureau "Proposed budget is full of wins for rural Arizona! Rural broadband grants, non-native vegetation removal, and money for water infrastructure in Pinal County all received funding in this AZ Balanced Budget. Thanks Governor Doug Ducey and Arizona legislative leadership for making Rural Arizona a priority!" (LINK, 5/23/19) Arizona Coalition For Military Families "We at ACMF appreciate the support for Arizonas military and veteran population in this years proposed budget, including funding for Be Connected, our collective statewide effort to prevent suicides in our military and veteran population by connecting service members, veterans, families and helpers to support and resources." (LINK, 5/23/19) Arizona Restaurant Association "Thank you Governor Doug Ducey and Members of the Arizona Legislature for providing $ to help build much needed infrastructure at the Mariposa Port of Entry for cold storage of food products." (LINK, 5/23/19) "Thank you Governor Doug Ducey and Members of the Arizona Legislature for providing $ to help more healthy foods reach Arizona working families through AZ food banks." (LINK, 5/22/19) "Thank you Governor Doug Ducey, Rep. Ben Toma, Sen. Karen Fann, Sen. Vince Leach and Arizona legislature for providing relief to small business by working to remove the requirement to pre-pay sales taxes." (LINK, 5/22/19) Arizona Lodging & Tourism "Thank you Governor Doug Ducey for your expansion and support of Arizona tourism budget. As a leading state economic engine, we look forward to continued dialogue on growing investment and support to strengthen and positively impacting the Arizona economy." (LINK, 5/23/19) Rally Point "We appreciate the support for Arizonas military and veteran population in this years proposed budget, including funding for Be Connected, a statewide effort to reduce suicides in our military and veteran population by connecting service members, veterans and their families with support resources." (LINK, 5/22/19) Arizona School Facilities Board "The new Arizona state budget invests in the things that matter, like $62.8 Million into the Arizona School Facilities Board Building Renewal Fund to ensure K-12 schools statewide are kept up properly." (LINK, 5/23/19) Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System "Thank you Gov. Doug Ducey for adding state support for KidsCare in the 2020 budget. This means 34,000+ children will continue to receive needed health care." (LINK, 5/23/19) Human Services Campus "We are happy that Governor Ducey's FY20 budget provides $10 M to restore funds to the State Housing Trust Fund, a flexible funding source that helps meet the housing needs of vulnerable Arizona citizens including the homeless, low-income families and seniors." (LINK, 5/22/19) Arizona Department of Economic Security "Arizona invests $1 million for food banks to improve food transportation and storage. These organizations provide for Arizonans in need and deserve our support." (LINK, 5/23/19) Kingman Mayor Jen Miles "Kingman and our entire region stand to benefit upon passage because Governor Ducey and the state legislature have included a $20 Million appropriation in the coming fiscal year toward the building of the Rancho Santa Fe interchange!" (LINK, 5/22/19) Arizona Department of Health Services "Rural communities face too many obstacles to accessing critical equipment needed by healthcare facilities across the state. The AZ Balanced budget invests $1 million in prenatal equipment for our rural hospitals." (LINK, 5/23/19) Arizona-Mexico Commission "Arizona trade with Mexico is a critical part of our states thriving economy - $700k investment in building a cold storage inspection facility at the Mariposa POE in Nogales will support expanded trade with Mexico and grow our international competitiveness." (LINK, 5/23/19) Arizona Farm and Ranch Group Governor Doug Ducey and the Arizona Legislature have a great budget deal for rural Arizona! Let's get it done, thank you for your strong leadership! (LINK, 5/23/19) Arizona Department of Housing "ADOH supports Governor Ducey's FY20 budget providing $10 million to restore funds to the State Housing Trust Fund addressing homelessness in AZ." (LINK, 5/22/19) Arizona Department of Transportation "It is important that we keep our roads in our rural communities safe and reliable. This years budget calls for a total of $95.3 million dedicated to funding local infrastructure across Arizona." (LINK, 5/23/19) Arizona Medical Association "The Arizona Medical Association is grateful for the leadership of Governor Ducey and Arizona Legislators for prioritizing the health of over 30,000 children of working families by continuing the KidsCare program." (LINK, 5/22/19) Arizona Trucking Association "We hope that legislators will pass this budget and look towards finding solutions for our long-term transportation needs." (LINK, 5/21/19) Arizona Police Association After reviewing the recently released budget documents, we wanted to convey to the Arizona Legislature, our support for these expenditures for law enforcement. We hope that the amounts noted in the budget spreadsheets materialize in a budget adopted by the Arizona Legislature and signed by Governor Ducey. (5/21/19) Arizona Academy of Family Physicians AZ reopened #KidsCare enrollment in 2016. >114 kids received cancer treatment, 8K received behavioral health services,>5K received autism services,3K received asthma treatment. KidsCare should be top priority for Arizona budget. We support money to keep enrollmnet open for kids who need health care! (LINK, 5/21/19) The Committee for Responsible Budgeting "Increase the rainy-day fund, restore funding to key programs, and cut taxes? Kudos to Gov. Ducey and lawmakers in Arizona." (LINK, 5/22/19) Alzheimers Association, Desert Southwest Chapter "Thank you Governor Ducey & the Arizona Legislature for recognizing the urgency of the Alzheimers public health crisis by including $3.125M for Alzheimers research in the proposed budget. Together, we will #ENDALZ!" (LINK, 5/22/19) Crisis Network "We are encouraged by support of Arizonas military and veteran community included in the states proposed budget. Funding for Be Connected will enhance a statewide effort to reduce suicide and find support for service members, veterans and their families." (LINK, 5/22/19) Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport "Its great to see $10 million allocated to the State Aviation Fund in the proposed State Budget. This money is crucial to support important airport infrastructure across Arizona." (LINK, 5/21/19) Dave Richins, President and CEO of the United Food Bank "Thank you Governor Ducey and Arizona lawmakers for investing in the distribution of more healthy food for the working families, seniors, and kids who visit our food banks!" (LINK, 5/22/19) Community Food Bank "Thank you, Governor Ducey and Arizona lawmakers, for helping food banks get more healthy food to working families and Arizonans facing hunger by providing $ in the state budget." (LINK, 5/22/19) Megan Martin, SRP Government Relations Representative "Thank you to Arizona Legislature and Governor Ducey for including additional resources for the Arizona Department of Water Resources in the proposed Arizona budget." (LINK, 5/22/19) Arizona State Parks "Thank you Governor Ducey for providing budget funding for off-highway vehicle trails and trail maintenance, infrastructure, and park planning!" (LINK, 5/22/19) Tucson Medical Center "Balancing the needs of a state through the budget process is never an easy exercise. "TMC Healthcare thanks Governor Doug Ducey and state leaders for working to eliminate the freeze of KidsCare that was originally going to take effect in October and would have put at risk affordable health coverage for 35,000 children in working families across the state. "KidsCare provides children with necessary medical care, including cancer treatment, behavioral health services and services for autism. The working budget also supports rural hospitals with grants for prenatal equipment and to support improved broadband access."(LINK, 5/22/19) Yuma County Supervisor Russell McCloud "The state budget has several funding items favorable to Yuma County. Thank you to our legislative delegation!" (LINK, 5/22/19) National Federation of Independent Business, Arizona Chapter "The budget plan includes two key policy priorities for NFIB. This plan offers Arizona policy makers a rare opportunity to enact reforms simplifying Arizonas income and transaction privilege tax codes for small business owners." (5/21/19) The American Academy of Pediatrics, Arizona Chapter "Thank you for fighting for $1 million to increase prenatal care in rural Arizona, Governor Ducey! These funds will increase important care for new mothers around the state." (LINK, 5/21/19) Maricopa Association of Governments "MAG pleased funding being proposed in state budget that recognizes importance of infrastructure in advancing state and regional goals on I -10 and I-17." (LINK, 5/21/19) Health Systems Alliance of Arizona We support the Governor's budget, which preserves coverage for Arizonas working families and their children. KidsCare Families with children enrolled in KidsCare are not on Medicaid. They have incomes above the Medicaid income limit, but have too little income to afford commercial coverage. By definition, these are working families. We appreciate the Governor and the Legislature's support for healthcare in this year's proposed budget, including the protection of KidsCare for working families; funding for Alzheimer's research; and prenatal equipment to improve maternal outcomes in our rural communities. (LINK, 5/20/19) Diginity Health "Thank you Governor Ducey for continuing your commitment to ensure AZ kids from working families get the healthcare they desperately need. We appreciate your leadership in making KidsCare a priority in your budget!" (LINK, 5/20/19) Arizona Tax Research Association "Making changes to the tax code is never easy and opportunities for revenue neutral reform are rare. With two major revenue producing tax law changes available, state lawmakers and the Governor have elected to make prudent use of that revenue with modest tax reform." (LINK, 5/21/19) City of Sierra Vista "Were encouraged to see support of regional public safety communication efforts in Cochise County included in the states proposed budget, which is being discussed by the legislature. State investment continues to be key to regional public safety initiatives." (LINK, 5/21/19) Phoenix Children's Hospital "Thank you, Governor Ducey, for making KidsCare funding a priority in your budget. PCH, our patients and families and our more than 5,000 health care providers and support staff appreciate your leadership and support!" (LINK, 5/21/19) Health Systems Arizona We appreciate the Governor and the Legislature's support for healthcare in this year's proposed budget, including the protection of KidsCare for working families; funding for Alzheimer's research; and prenatal equipment to improve maternal outcomes in our rural communities." (LINK, 5/20/19) Brian Hummell, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network Close to 100 kids receive cancer treatment every year through KidsCare (LINK, 5/20/19) Deb Gullett, Arizona Association of Health Plans "Best news today is KidsCare in the budget! Health care for 35,000 children is AZ Awesome." (LINK, 5/20/19) Billie Orr, Mayor Pro Tem, Prescott "Thank you Governor for focusing on education and I-17. Nice compromise on the surplus. Excellent information here about the budget. Good job!" (LINK, 5/22/19) Arizona Vignerons Alliance "Check this out! Governor Doug Ducey is supporting $100,000 in the state budget for Visit Arizona to promote our local wine industry! Support like this will help small producers (aka your favorite wineries) share their product with more people." (LINK, 5/22/19) Nationwide RV Glass "Thank you dougducey for providing budget funding for off-highway vehicle trails and trail maintenance, infrastructure, and park planning!" (LINK, 5/22/19) Latest News Washington, DC - The number of patients diagnosed with measles in the United States continues to grow with 75 new cases reported in the last week, bringing the total to 839 confirmed cases in 23 states. The United States is presently seeing the highest number of measles cases since the disease was considered eliminated in this country in the year 2000. Measles is reported in Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Tennessee, and Washington. The American Red Cross has been involved in a worldwide battle against measles for years and continues its global fight against the disease. Since 2001, the Red Cross and our partners in the Measles & Rubella Initiative have vaccinated more than two billion children in 88 countries around the world to protect them from both of these deadly diseases. Our partners in this lifesaving program include the United Nations Foundation, the CDC, UNICEF and World Health Organization. With this latest outbreak here at home, the Red Cross wants everyone to know about measles just how contagious it is, how to recognize it, what you should do if exposed to measles and more. HOW DID THIS OUTBREAK HAPPEN? Measles is still a common disease in some parts of the world and travelers either bring measles into the U.S. or someone from this country gets measles while traveling and brings it home. The disease can spread in a community where a large number of people have not been vaccinated, which the CDC reports is what has occurred. All 50 states and the District of Columbia require vaccinations for children entering kindergarten, however all states also provide medical exemptions to these requirements and some states also offer exemptions for religious and philosophical reasons. TELL ME ABOUT MEASLES According to the CDC: Measles is a highly contagious virus that lives in the mucus of an infected person. It can spread to others through coughing and sneezing. The measles virus can live for up to two hours in a space where the infected person coughed or sneezed. If other people breathe the contaminated air or touch the infected surface, then touch their eyes, noses, or mouths, they can become infected. Measles is so contagious that if one person has it, 90% of the people close to that person who are not immune will also become infected. Infected people can spread measles to others from four days before through four days after the rash appears. Early symptoms include high fever, a cough, runny nose and red, watery eyes. Two or three days later small while spots may appear inside the mouth. Within three to five days the red measles rash breaks out on the face and spreads down the body to the feet. The patients fever may go to 104 degrees or higher. In a few days the fever goes down and the rash fades. If you have been exposed to measles, call your doctor immediately and let them know. Your doctor can determine if you are immune to measles based on your vaccination record, age, or laboratory evidence, and make special arrangements to evaluate you, if needed, without putting other patients and medical office staff at risk AM I AT RISK FOR MEASLES? The CDC considers you protected from measles if you have records showing at least one of the following: You received two doses of measles-containing vaccine applies to children in grades K-12 and adults in a high risk setting, including students pursuing higher education, healthcare personnel and international travelers. You received one dose of measles-containing vaccine applies to a pre-school aged child or adult not in a high risk setting. A laboratory confirmed that you had measles at some point in your life. A laboratory confirmed that you are immune to measles. You were born before 1957. The best protection against measles is measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine, which provides long-lasting protection against all strains of measles. Your child needs two doses of MMR vaccine for best protection - the first dose at 12 through 15 months of age, the second dose 4 through 6 years of age. HOW DO I CARE FOR SOMEONE WITH MEASLES? The Mayo Clinic makes the following recommendations: If you or your child has measles, keep in touch with your doctor as you monitor the progress of the disease and watch for complications. Get rest and avoid busy activities. Drink plenty of water, fruit juice and herbal tea to replace fluids lost by fever and sweating. Use a humidifier to relieve a cough and sore throat. If your patient finds bright light bothersome, as do many people with measles, keep the lights low or wear sunglasses. Also avoid reading or watching television if light from a reading lamp or the television is bothersome. The patient may also take over-the-counter medications such as acetaminophen, ibuprofen or naproxen to help relieve the fever that accompanies measles. Don't give aspirin to children or teenagers who have measles symptoms. Though aspirin is approved for use in children older than age 3, children and teenagers recovering from chickenpox or flu-like symptoms should never take aspirin. This is because aspirin has been linked to Reye's syndrome, a rare but potentially life-threatening condition. Children with low levels of Vitamin A may have a more severe case of measles. Your doctor might recommend Vitamin A, which may prevent serious health consequences and death. Be sure to check with your doctor before starting a Vitamin A regimen, since your health needs are unique. In a recent CNN Opinion post, Gail McGovern, president and CEO of the American Red Cross and Kathy Calvin, president and CEO of the United Nations Foundation had this to say about measles: In the United States, Europe and Latin America, we're seeing more and more headlines proclaiming a child has suffered due to measles -- a disease that is easily preventable by vaccination. As the disease surges to its highest levels in more than a decade, it's imperative that we all come together to stop the world from backsliding any further -- and that means ensuring everyone gets vaccinated. Unless we act -- and fast -- more people will get the virus and die. And many of the victims will be children. Latest News New Orleans, Louisiana - Raylaine Knope, 42, and Terry J. Knope II, 45, pleaded guilty Monday in the Eastern District of Louisiana to criminal civil rights charges arising from their abuse of an adult woman with cognitive disabilities. Both defendants pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to obtain forced, unpaid household labor and services from the victim, identified as D.P. Raylaine Knope also pleaded guilty to one count of forced labor and one count of misprision of a felony. Terry J. Knope II, also pleaded guilty to one count of violating D.P.s federal Fair Housing Act rights, one count of a hate crime, and one count of misprision of a felony. At the plea hearing, the defendants, who were married at the time of the offense, admitted that, between Aug. 13, 2015, and June 30, 2016, in Amite, Louisiana, they conspired with each other and with other members of their family to obtain D.P.s uncompensated household labor and services through a number of means, including by force, threats of force, and physical restraint. Both defendants admitted that they forced D.P. to live in a locked backyard cage and to perform housework and yard work in exchange for food and water. The defendants admitted that they and their co-conspirators subjected D.P. to routine physical abuse, threats, and verbal and psychological abuse designed to ensure her continued compliance with the familys orders. As examples of this abuse, the defendants admitted that Raylaine Knope once forced D.P. to eat D.P.s deceased mothers ashes, and Terry J. Knope II, intentionally burned D.P. with a cigarette lighter while another family member held D.P. in place so she could not escape. Raylaine Knope also admitted that she used this overarching abuse to obtain D.P.s forced labor, and that she helped Terry J. Knope II, steal D.P.s monthly federal disability benefits. Terry Knope further admitted that, because of D.P.s disability, he forced D.P. to live in the locked backyard cage and shot her with a B.B. gun at close range, and that he also helped others produce methamphetamine on his property. The Knopes conspired to brutally coerce a vulnerable victim with disabilities to work long hours in despicable conditions with no monetary compensation, said Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband of the Civil Rights Division. The Department of Justice continues to combat human trafficking by forced labor and todays guilty plea reflects our commitment to seeking justice for these vulnerable victims. Today's guilty pleas highlight that the U.S. Attorney's Office will continue to work with the FBI and local law enforcement partners to pursue human traffickers and to seek justice on behalf of vulnerable victims," said U.S. Attorney Peter G. Strasser of the Eastern District of Louisiana. The defendants actions were heinous, despicable, and in-human. As a disabled person, the victim depended on her family to care for her but instead, they abused and mistreated someone who was unable to defend themselves, said Special Agent in Charge Eric J. Rommal for the FBI New Orleans Field Office. I am confident the courts will show them the proper sentence they deserve however, I am certain the victim will never out live these horrific memories." Both defendants will be sentenced on Aug. 22 and face a maximum sentence of 28 years in prison. This case was investigated by the FBIs Field Office in New Orleans, Louisiana, the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriffs Office and the Tangipahoa District Attorneys Office. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Risa Berkower and Nicholas Reddick of the Department of Justices Civil Rights Division, Assistant United States Attorney Julia Evans, of the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana, and by the Tangipahoa Parish District Attorneys Office. 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. YEN.com.gh has come across a photo of popular Ghanaian actress Jackie Appiah pounding fufu in suit. Actress Jackie Appiah has set tongues wagging on social media after a photo of her pounding fufu popped up. In the photo that the actress posted on her Instagram page, she was seen wearing a blue suit while pounding fufu. READ ALSO: Shatta Wale's 'Island' song is number one on Soundcity Africa After posting the photo, Jackie Appiah wrote "No suit will stop me from pounding fufu on the National tv station of Ivory Coast. @RTI @cmidi I had sooo much fun." The photo was taken after the actress visited Ivory Coast for a tour and as a guest at the Cosmos Shopping Mall in Abidjan. Aside the tour, Jackie Appiah was interviewed on TV concerning her acting career and plans she has to improve the industry. Fans of the actress on Instagram took to the comment section to shower praise on her: @sandyz_one expressed her love for the actress: "Ma love for jacky." @sarouchboye heaped praise on Jackie: "You are definitely the best." @nuellllaaa.xx could not hide her joy: "Awww. I love u aunty." @bobby_yong had this to say: "Hmmm so cute." @cityhillsmedia commented: "Weldone maam." READ ALSO: Shatta Wale did not inform us he was going to sit among his fans - Charterhouse P.R.O It is evident that Jackie Appiah is one of the most love actresses as a video of her visit to Cote D'Ivoire reveals she was warmly welcomed. After many years of thrilling Ghanaians to the best movies, Jackie is known as Ghana's most popular actress. With a whooping 5.6 million followers on Instagram, Jackie is Ghana's actress with the most followers on Instagram. The actress was recently in the news after she was captured running away from the Dome where the VGMA was held. She flee after dancehall musicians Shatta Wale and Stonebwoy engaged in a misunderstanding on stage. READ ALSO: Patapaa claims he is more handsome than Lilwin Star Gist: I started acting because i was told i look like Suzy Williams - Kisa Gbekle | #Yencomgh Have national and human interest issues to discuss? Know someone who is extremely talented and needs recognition? Your stories and photos are always welcome. Get interactive via our Facebook page. Source: YEN.com.gh Hotel Business News and Analytics Important! This article is written by orangesmile.com editors and is protected by copyright law. The article can only be re-used with a direct link to www.orangesmile.com NEWS BLOCKS: New Bangkok Hotels Opening in 2018 and 2019 In terms of tourist arrivals, Bangkok has been the #1 international destination in the world for three years in a row. In 2017, the capital of Thailand welcomed as many as 20.5 million visitors. The result of the previous year was even more impressive - +9% more guests according to the Mastercard Global Destination Cities Index. Naturally, local hotel industry responses to the growing number of guests with new hotels. Nowadays, there are many quality hotels in different segments in the city. Here are the most notable and interesting hotels in Bangkok that opened in 2018 or 2019. Opened at the beginning of 2018, The Park Nine Hotel & Serviced Residence - Suvarnabhumi enjoys a fabulous location on Ladkrabang road not far from the Suvarnabhumi International Airport. This hotel is mostly focused on short-term and long-term business travelers, so it offers both rooms and serviced residences. In Ladprao Hills, a popular mixed-use development, travelers can stay at The Quarter Ladprao by UHG. This four-star hotel, which opened in February 2018, offers easy access to Union Mall and Phahon Yothin MRT Station. A modern gym, outdoor pool, and stylish rooms attract many travelers. Guests wishing to stay in the old part of the city may like Casa Vimaya Riverside that is located on the bank of a canal. This hotel is perfect for tourists who are primarily interested in sightseeing as such landmarks as the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, Temple of the Golden Mount, and Bangkok City Pillar are within walking distance. Bangkok Marriott Hotel The Surawongse opened in April 2018. Surawongse Road is a well-known heritage destination of the Thai capital as it is located close to such signature landmarks as the Sri Maha Mariamman Temple, Neilson Hays Library, and Bangkokian Museum. The luxurious hotel features a marvelous outdoor infinity pool, fitness center, spa, and a number of restaurants. On December 2018, Glow Sukhumvit 5 hotel greeted its first guests. It is located only several minutes walk from the BTS Skytrain. It is a modern urban development with all up-to-date facilities. This Bangkok hotel may particularly appeal to medical tourists as Bumrungrad International Hospital, one of the largest private hospitals in Southeast Asia, is located just one block away. The last but not the least, Rosewood Bangkok (opened in April 2019) is the right choice for ultra-luxury travelers who want to explore this new icon of the capital city. The hotel on Ploenchit Road is easily recognizable on the Bangkok skyline. It offers a range of rooms, suites, studios, and even houses with private pools and terraces. 26.05.2019Stay in touch with the latest news of a worldwide hotel industry. All up-to-date analytics, reports , and news about hotel business trends on OrangeSmile.com. Written by: Diana West Ever since I delved into the darkest corners of our past and came up with American Betrayal, this season of national holidays and observances, including VE-Day on May 8 (but really May 7), Memorial Day, D-Day, for my own family, the day in July my dad was wounded at the Battle of St Lo, and the anniversary of Hiroshima on August 15, has become an unnerving time of year. That's because this annual procession of national holidays and observances serves to bury in red, white and blue bunting the amalgam of Big Lies -- "court history," error and disinformation -- which Americans are instructed to hold to be as sacred as truth. As the late M. Stanton Evans put it here, all of that Establishment-history or consensus-history is "pretty much bogus." It is this bogus history that hides a cascade of lies and treachery, including communist and Soviet influence inside our highest government circles and even war councils, all of which becomes difficult for the American patriot to fathom, when the conditioned behavior is to look the other way at Old Glory passing by and salute. Thanks to Stefan Molyneux, I had the opportunity to discuss what is the greatest American betrayal of all, the betrayal of our own fighting men, our POWs/MIAs who never came home because they were abandoned by the US government in successive wars and proxy wars against Moscow and Beijing. This includes the story of the American GIs in POW camps who, as Nazi Germany crumbled, came under Soviet control ... forever. The US government continues to pretend these American sons never existed, but, of all days, We, the People, should remember them on Memorial Day. There's no point in eating unless there's also some partying involved. And it turns out that the most treasured boites, cafes, and eateries in New York's history have been the sceniest ones -- the places where people went before or after a club, or which became like clubs, thanks to the extraordinary richness of the ambience on the menu. Here are the 10 most glorious of these fabled haunts: One U (1 University Place) Mickey Ruskin had opened the world famous Max's Kansas City where rock, drag, and Warhol prevailed. Well, he later premiered Chinese Chance (which was nicknamed One U) with Richard Sanders, and the result wasn't quite as legendary, but it did have a distinctly downtown cache. One U was a comfortable, atmospheric '70s hangout for clubbies, stars (Lauren Hutton, Nico, Bowie), and gawkers. Sitting there one night, I learned that Reagan had been elected in 1980 -- but I still have good memories of the joint. Lady Astor's (Lafayette Street, across from the Public Theater) I loved this charming hangout, which brimmed with chandeliers, mirrors, and hanging velvet. Amazingly, it wasn't the least bit pretentious. It was actually cute and almost clubby, and I remember going for light snacks and not being forced to order more than I wanted. Dizzy Izzy's New York Bagels, 408 W. 14th Street Before the Meatpacking District became a polished destination for tourists with multiple credit cards, it was the home of prosties, transsexuals, rats, Jackie 60, meat trucks, and a wonderfully seedy place where you could get really delicious, fresh bagels. It was so New York I can still taste it. Florent (69 Gansevoort Street) This was another Meatpacking pioneer, opened by the flamboyant Florent Morellet in 1985 and going on to become a thriving hub for performance artists, AIDS activists, and onlookers way before that nabe was descended on by outsiders. An occasional drag performance would ratchet up the excitement, and the annual Bastille Day party was extravagantly fun and full of feathers. Most fascinatingly of all, the menu board on the wall included Florent's HIV diary! Dave's Luncheonette (Canal Street and Broadway) At this retro diner, old school waitresses served you eggs with egg creams, and if you sat by the window, the people-watching was just as delicious. Even if you didn't, you were agog at the panoply of extraordinarily colorful creatures sitting inside the place. Dave's was open 24 hours, and it quickly became the de rigueur stop for narrow-tied rockers and filmmakers who needed a bite after a night of dancing and posing at the late '70s hotspot, the Mudd Club. It was basically the after party. Brasserie (100 E. 53rd Street) This perfectly amiable restaurant is still there, but its heyday was in the '70s, when it became the after-place for revelers at the ultimate disco, Studio 54. It wasn't even all that close to the nightclub, but after dancing till 4 A.M. to Donna Summer songs, everyone was adrenalized (and a lot of them were pumped up on other things, of course), so the trek was inevitable. Brasserie -- which anyone in the know called "The Brasserie" -- offered not only sustenance, but a swanky enough sensibility to keep up the evening's classy allure. And it's open all night! Jean's Patio After nights of Village bar hopping, this was a wonderfully gay-friendly, comfy neighborhood hangout, with nice food, good service, and terrific outdoor seating in the summer. It was like home to many a gay. David's Pot Belly Stove (94 Christopher Street) If you craved an omelet at three in the morning, you headed to David's, which was cozy and rustic, yet sophisticated and teeming with the Village party crowd in need of some egg-citement. A real treasure, David's was on the site of what's now Havana Alma de Cuba restaurant. Even though it raised everyone's cholesterol rates, I miss the potency of that pot belly stove. Kiev (117 Second Avenue) The king of NYC's "Pierogi Belt," Kiev opened in the 1970s, serving wonderful Polish food to the East Village club crowd. It closed in 2000, was reinvented, then shuttered again in 2006, then reopened again, and then closed again! But the memory of that borscht lingers on. One-Fifth (1 Fifth Avenue) Where Otto pizza restaurant currently stands was a fancy but inviting restaurant that felt more like an event than just a place to get food. The nautical theme was special, and so was the next restaurant the same team of owners opened -- the long running Odeon. You can still go to Odeon, so I suggest you do that and realize that, despite the glories of the past, the best of times is now. Iran Says Zarif Met But Did Not 'Negotiate' With Senator Feinstein 05/26/19 Source: Radio Farda Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Abbas Mousavi says the meeting between Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and Senator Dianne Feinstein which took place during Zarif's recent visit to the United States was not tantamount to negotiation. Mousavi explained that Iranian officials and U.S. Congress members have been holding talks and exchanging views all along the past two decades. These meetings are aimed at "explaining the Islamic Republic of Iran's policies to non-government U.S. elites including members of Congress," Mousavi said, adding that "These individuals are not U.S. government officials. They are not authorized to negotiate and Iranian officials have not and will not negotiate with them." Earlier, a spokesman for the Iranian Mission to the UN in New York had confirmed that Zarif, had met with Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.). "The meeting took place as one of our routine meetings with members of Congress," Alireza Mir Yousefi told the government official news agency IRNA. However, he did not elaborate on the term "routine meetings", and did not provide any other details. According to Mousavi, the meeting with Feinstein, like other similar meetings, was meant to prevent the influence of pressure groups on the political community and public opinion in the United States. After news of the meeting was leaked to the Press last week, Senator Feinstein's office announced that it was a working dinner and the State Department knew about it. Nevertheless, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo criticized the meeting with Zarif in an interview with Fox News, adding that such measures fall at the borderline of the Logan Act which bars unauthorized persons from negotiating with foreign governments. Iran's Zarif says finds no reason to answer Pompeo's phone call 05/26/19 Source: Tehran Times Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has said because of the bad approach of U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, he finds no reason to answer the phone if he calls. "Pompeo makes sure that every time he talks about Iran, he insults me," Zarif said in a recent interview with Reuters. "Why should I even answer his phone call?" Three years ago, when Iran's military captured 10 U.S. sailors after they mistakenly strayed into Iranian waters, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Zarif jumped on the phone in minutes and worked out the sailors' release in hours. Could a similar crisis be so quickly resolved today? "No," Zarif said in the interview. "How could it be averted?" Zarif and Pompeo have never spoken directly, according to Iran's mission at the United Nations. They instead tend to communicate through name-calling on Twitter or through the media. The open rancor between the nations' two top diplomats underscores growing concern that the lack of any established channel for direct negotiation makes a military confrontation more likely in the event of a misunderstanding or a mishap, according to current and former U.S. officials, foreign diplomats, U.S. lawmakers and foreign policy experts. The Trump administration this month ordered the deployment of an aircraft carrier strike group, bombers and Patriot missiles to the Middle East, claiming intelligence about possible Iranian preparations to attack U.S. forces or interests. "The danger of an accidental conflict seems to be increasing over each day," U.S. Senator Angus King, a political independent from Maine, told Reuters as he called for direct dialogue between the United States and Iran. A senior European diplomat said it was vital for top U.S. and Iranian officials to be on "speaking terms" to prevent an incident from mushrooming into a crisis. "I hope that there are some channels still existing so we don't sleepwalk into a situation that nobody wants," said the diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity. "The rhetoric that we have is alarming." State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus declined to address how the administration would communicate with Iran in a crisis similar to the 2016 incident, but said: "When the time to talk comes, we are confident we will have every means to do so." In 2016, Kerry and Zarif knew one another well from the complex negotiations to reach a 2015 pact on Iran's nuclear program. Three years later, top-level diplomatic relations have all but disintegrated in the wake of the Trump administration's withdrawal from the nuclear pact, its tightening of sanctions on Iranian oil, and its recent move to designate part of Iran's military as a terrorist group. U.S. military officials cite growing concern about Iran's development of precise missiles and its influence in the region. In the absence of direct talks, Twitter has become a common forum for U.S. and Iranian officials to trade biting barbs. On Wednesday, an advisor to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani fired off a tweet at Pompeo castigating him for provoking Iran with military deployments. "You @SecPompeo do not bring warships to our region and call it deterrence. That's called provocation," the advisor, Hesameddin Ashena, tweeted in English. "It compels Iran to illustrate its own deterrence, which you call provocation. You see the cycle?" That followed a Trump tweet on Sunday threatening to "end" Iran if it sought a fight, and a long history of bitter insults against Zarif by Pompeo. Pompeo in February called Zarif and Iran's president "front men for a corrupt religious mafia" in a tweet. That same month, another official at Pompeo's State Department tweeted: "How do you know @JZarif is lying? His lips are moving." Zarif, in turn, has used the social media platform to condemn Pompeo and White House National Security Adviser John Bolton's "pure obsession with Iran," calling it "the behavior of persistently failing psychotic stalkers." In a Tuesday briefing with reporters, Pompeo appeared to dismiss concerns about Washington's ability to communicate and negotiate with Iran. "There are plenty of ways that we can have a communication channel," Pompeo said. Diplomats say Oman, Switzerland and Iraq are nations with ties to both countries that could pass messages. But indirect message-passing can be too cumbersome in a fast-moving crisis, said Kevin Donegan, a retired vice admiral who oversaw U.S. naval forces in the Middle East as commander of the Fifth Fleet when the U.S. sailors were captured by Iran. Such dealings through intermediaries "require time and will not allow an opportunity to de-escalate a rapidly unfolding tactical situation," said Donegan, now a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, who added that he was not commenting on current U.S. policy. Donegan said it would be helpful to have some kind of hotline between the U.S. and Iranian militaries, but Donegan and other experts were skeptical Iran would agree to such an arrangement. On May 3 - after Washington allegedly became alarmed by intelligence indicating that Iran might be preparing for an attack on the United States or its interests - it sent messages to Iran via "a third party," one U.S. official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Joseph Votel, the now retired four-star general who oversaw U.S. troops in the Middle East until March, noted earlier this year that the U.S. military might be able to indirectly get a message to Iranian forces through an existing hotline with Russia meant to avoid accidental conflicts in Syria. "The Iranians can talk to the Russians," he said. "We have a well-established professional communication channel with the Russians." But the prospect of relying on the Russian government to get United States out of a crisis with Iran is hardly reassuring to many current and former officials in the United States. "That would be a risky choice," said Wendy Sherman, an under secretary of state in the Obama administration. Mr Dennis Baidoo, the Marketing Manager of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), a strategic commercial vehicle marketing the nations oil, said transparency, although expensive, had made the Corporation vibrant in its operations. The biggest lesson learnt over the years by the GNPC in marketing the nations crude oil is that transparency is very expensive but it really pays, he said. You have to spend a lot of time and do a lot of work to be transparent, but it really pays. Why? When you are transparent it improves your credibility. Mr Baidoo said this in a presentation at a Stakeholders Forum on Crude Oil and Natural Gas Marketing in Accra, organised by the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) with support from the GNPC. It was to develop the capacity of stakeholders and afford them the opportunity to discuss the extent to which crude oil and gas marketing strategy, both locally and internationally, affects realized prices and accrued revenues. The Forum aided key government agencies to acquire a better understanding of the process of crude oil and natural gas marketing by both the GNPC and the international oil companies to boost their regulatory and revenue administration functions. Speaking on the topic: Crude Oil and Gas Marketing GNPCs Roles and Experiences, Mr Baidoo said the Corporation needed to collaborate more with its stakeholders to build their operational confidence and reduce the negative press. He said most often, due to lack of knowledge, some of their stakeholders made unpalatable statements about their activities. He called for more latitude for national oil companies across the value chain for an efficient paying/disbursement arrangement. On challenges facing the Corporation, Mr Baidoo said: In line with the Governments policy of local content (participation), we wished we would have as many local buyers as possible. But unfortunately, it has always been a challenge. The local buyers dont have the full capacity to stand alone to buy our barrels. There were instances that they partnered with some foreign partners, and when it came to payment, they couldnt really maintain the forefront, they have to relegate their positions to the international oil trading company to handle that. So, we feel really very bad about it. We want our local buyers to really get the forefront in line with our local content policy. Unfortunately, the delays in getting their share of the petroleum revenues were impacting on their credibility because they needed the funds to pay for their equity financing, he said. Also we have lifting or operation challenges, the weather is not always our friend. Sometimes the weather is bad that we have to suspend berthing vessels or loading vessels. And occasionally we have some buyers falsifying some documents for the vessel. A couple of weeks ago, a buyer falsified the vessel documents and it resulted in delaying the loading for three good days, he said. He said the world was fast changing, hence, the need to amend the crude oil agreement from time to time. Dr Steve Manteaw, the Chairman of the PIAC, appealed to the Government to desist from using the nations petroleum resources as collateral for loans. 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 Ghana has joined the rest of the continent in celebrating this years African Union (AU) Day. Heads of State and Government across the continent have designated 2019 as The Year of Refugees, Returnees and Internally Displaced Persons. The theme reflects the leaders shared determination to deal with the formidable challenges of migration facing Africa, including some of the tragic events we have witnessed recently. Ghanas Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration Minister, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, in a statement on the occasion, observed that the celebration presents the continent with an opportunity to mobilise its efforts and resources to deal with migration. The AU has adopted a Migration Policy Framework and Plan of Action for the period 2018-2030. It is intended to assist Africa to better manage and benefit from planned migration by providing strategic guidelines to Member States and Regional Economic Communities in the management of migration. According to the Minister, the Policy calls on each country to formulate and implement its own national policies in accordance with its priorities and resources. She added that this is apt because hostile conflicts, wars, natural disasters and economic difficulties have thrust upon the world, a seemingly intractable situation of insecurity, forced migration across perilous oceans and deserts as well as the internal displacement of persons. She lamented lately the jihadi activities in the Sahel region of Africa and North-Eastern Nigeria have seriously threatened the stability and security of the region with a considerable impact on human security. Africa, she said, continues to seek lasting solutions to resolve this phenomenon, which has wreaked havoc on its fragile economies and peoples. The Minister indicated that the phenomenal rise and mainstreaming of extreme and ultra-right nationalist political groups in Europe and elsewhere have exacerbated the socio-political difficulties which hamper the smooth integration of Africans into the recipient countries. With over 700 Refugee Camps worldwide and twice the number of inmates in these camps, she said, the sheer volume of refugees and displaced persons overstretch the resources of the international community to deal with the matter. Thus, she observed that a sustainable model to prevent the outbreak of conflicts, insecurity and socio-economic difficulties that compel people to migrate, seem to be the best option available to deal with this phenomenon. She called on African governments to strengthen systems that would guarantee inclusive government, deal with political crisis at the teething level and ensure socio-economic prosperity of the continent. AU Day is commemorated on May 25th annually. 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 Drivers plying the Ghana-Mali route through Burkina Faso now do so in fear of terrorist attacks, two of them having been killed already within Burkinabe territory. The incident, which occurred in a town between Burkina Faso and Mali last week, claimed the lives of Mouhamed Moumen and Suleiman Gariba. Reports indicated that the attack took place at a security checkpoint where activities of terrorists are said to be rampant. Speaking during the commissioning of an ultramodern police station constructed by residents of Tema Community 25 last Thursday, the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), David Asante-Apeatu, urged members of the public to be vigilant. His advice was informed by the threat posed by terrorists in neighbouring Burkina Faso. Information about the Burkina attack was released by the Chairman of the Joint Association of Port Transport Union in Burkina Faso, Alhaji Shamsu Yaro, who spoke to Citi FM in Accra. The long-distance drivers were reportedly attacked by the bandits when they stopped at the checkpoint to pay a routine levy at a town called Koury. Mali and Burkina Faso both landlocked countries transit their imports through the Tema and Takoradi Ports using trucks to haul them to Ouagadougou and Bamako; the two countries maintaining liaison offices in Ghana. The transport companies in both countries have a number of Ghanaian drivers among them even though local Burkinabe and Malian drivers make up the bulk of them. The two drivers were conveying floor tiles from Takoradi to Bamako for delivery to their consignees when the terrorists killed them. The long haul journey takes between a week and fortnight, with border formalities and the condition of the trucks determining the length of the trips. With the introduction of the ECOWAS brown Card, there is free movement of vehicles of member countries. Last year, a Ghanaian registered MAN Diesel articulated truck was set ablaze by suspected Boko Haram insurgents in Borno State of Nigeria. Heightened terrorist activities in neighbouring Burkina Faso have prompted thoughts about our porous borders. The French-speaking country shares cultural affinities with Ghana. There are many descendants of Burkinabe migrants in Ghana, some of the fourth generation. Some of their ancestors fought in the ranks of the Gold Coast Regiment of the Royal West African Frontier Force, especially during Second World War. The ease with which Burkinabe and Mali nationals are able to enter Ghana, many of them without passports, makes security management of such nationals even more challenging. During a regional commanders meeting of the Ghana Immigration Service, the Minister of the Interior, Ambrose Dery, spoke about a security alert in the country in the light of the terrorist activities in Burkinabe Faso and Mali. In the former, engagements between local forces and the terrorists have claimed many lives, putting fear into Ghanaian nationals, especially those living along the border. Observers have called for alertness from not only security agents but also citizens, especially those living along Ghanas frontiers. IGPs Demand Last month, French marines rescued four foreign nationals from terrorists who were holding them. Two French soldiers died in the daredevil rescue operation. 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 export of Capsicum, Solanum, luffa and all leafy vegetables has been suspended indefinitely from the list of exportable commodities from Ghana to any international market. The Plant Protection and Regulatory Services Directorate of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, announced the suspension, citing a number of reasons. In a statement signed by its Director, Dr. Felicia Ansah-Amprofi, the Plant Protection and Regulatory Services Directorate indicated that the suspension has become necessary due to the high level of local interceptions at the exit points; the alarming rate of external notifications, and the new EU directives to all countries to re-provide dossiers to the EU on the management of harmful organisms on some of the above vegetables. Ghana recently came out of a ban and as such we are still on the red list and being monitored closely, the statement noted. It added that we are only five months into the second year, the number of notifications is increasing, and if we are not careful the European Union will ban Ghana. It noted that last year internal interceptions by our officers amounted to 162 while external notifications were 53 due to harmful organisms. According to the statement, from the beginning of this year 2019 to date (23/05/2019), internal interceptions by our officers has risen to 120 and 20 for external notifications. 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 Chief of Garu in the Garu-Tempane District of the Upper East region has lauded the Nana Akufo-Addo government for implementing policies that have brought relief to him and his people. Speaking through a linguist, Naba Akuntam Awini said the poverty-inducing headache of paying school fees has been alleviated by the Free Senior High School (FSHS) programme, while the regular supply and subsidisation of fertilizers has made farming, the main occupation of his people, easier and less expensive. As well, the revival of the National Health Insurance Scheme means his people can enjoy better health care again. We appreciate the good work that this government, since they came into office, have done. One the Free Education has really cut our poverty down, and we are most grateful, Naba Akuntam Awini stated when the Vice President of the Republic, Alhaji Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, called on him at his palace on Saturday, 25th May 2019 at Garu. Equally important, we know that this is the time that farming is about to begin, and the intervention of subsiding fertilizer is very important. Chief is very pleased, and he hopes that Government will not remove that subsidy, and the farmers will be able to get the fertiliser, cultivate, and we will have a good yield, Naba Awini continued. We also know that the government has revived the National Health Insurance and we are enjoying it again. There are so many things, we cant count all, but we know that you have done a lot, and we pray that God will continue to be with you, and you will continue to do the good things for his area and Ghana. While in the region, Alhaji Dr Bawumia performed Zuhr prayers at the Tempane Mosque, Asr prayers at the Garu mosque, and the Iftar and Magrib prayers at the Paga Central Mosque where he praised the peaceful co-existence between Muslims and believers of other faiths. Long may the peaceful co-existence remain. Let us accept and respect each others beliefs. Ghana is big enough to contain all of us. Let us work together devoid of religious differences to develop our beloved nation, he added. Vice President, who was in the Upper East Region on the latest leg of his nationwide Ramadan Tour, also called on the Paga Pio [Chief of Paga], Charles Awia Awamampaga at his palace. The Paga Pio commended Vice President Bawumia on his decision to join Muslim faithful nationwide to pray together while preaching peaceful co-existence. May Allah be with you and give you the needed strength to undertake this national exercise, he prayed. Vice President Bawumia was accompanied by the Minister for Inner Cities and Zongo Development, Hon Dr Mustapha Abdul-Hamid; Minister of State at the Office of the Vice President, Hon Boniface Abubakar Siddique; the two Deputy Chief Executives of the Zongo Development Fund, Alhaji Baba Sadick and Hajia Aisha Salifu; Chief Executive Officer of the National Petroleum Authority, Hassan Tampuli; Registrar of the Pharmacy Council, Pharm (Dr) Audu Rauf; and other Muslim leaders. The Vice President will next visit the Bono and Ahafo regions. On Saturday, May 25, I started the third phase of my nationwide Ramadan tour with a visit to the Upper East region. I paid courtesy calls on traditional leaders of Tempane & Paga and also joined the Muslim Ummah in Tempane, Garu and Paga central mosques for prayers. I admonished my fellow Muslims to accept and respect each others beliefs. Ghana is big enough to contain all of us. Let us work together devoid of religious differences to develop our beloved nation. 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 Sweden set up diplomatic relations with Vietnam on January 11th, 1969, becoming the first Western country to establish diplomatic ties with Vietnam. Over the past 50 years, Sweden has offered great support and assistance to Vietnam during the past struggle for national independence and the present cause of national construction. Sweden set up its embassy in Hanoi in June 1970, and Vietnam established its embassy in Stockholm a month later. In September 2013, the Trade Office under the Business Sweden officially began operation in Vietnam. In March 2014, Sweden held the first conference of Swedish ambassadors in Asia in Hanoi, which coincided with the 45th founding anniversary of Vietnam-Sweden diplomatic relations. In January 2014, the parliament of Sweden ratified the European Union-Vietnam Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA). Source: VNA Trade value between the two countries has been on the rise, hitting over USD1.8 billion in 2018. Meanwhile, the flow of Swedish investment in Vietnam has risen sharply. By March 2019, Sweden had ranked 33rd out of 131 countries and territories investing in Vietnam with 67 valid projects. Swedish-invested projects have covered seven provinces and cities of Vietnam. Many big firms of Sweden have marked their presence in the country, including Ericsson, ABB, IKEA, Electrolux, Volvo and H&M. Meanwhile, Vietnam has to date poured investment into two projects in Sweden. Sweden is the biggest Northwestern European provider of non-refundable aid for Vietnam with total capital of over USD3 billion since 1967, mostly in health care, economic reform, institutional building, law, administrative reform, human resource development, environment, climate change, and anti-corruption. Through the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), Sweden has supported many culture projects in Vietnam. The two countries have signed two deals on culture and communications. In the field of education-training, Sweden has trained a large number of Vietnamese experts in forestry, paper industry, energy, biotechnology, health care and journalism. Universities of the two nations have shared close collaboration in training and student exchange. Since 2013, Sweden has prioritised Vietnamese students in scholarship granting. In August 2017, Vietnams Ministry of Education and Training and Swedens Ministry of Education and Research signed an agreement on cooperation in tertiary training and research. Currently, Vietnam and Sweden are working together for the formation of partnership in research, technological reform, innovation support for startups and small-and-medium-sized enterprises. Regarding tourism, the total number of Swedish visitors to Vietnam reached 44,045 in 2017 and 49.723 in 2018, up 16.9 percent and 13 percent year on year, respectively. In agriculture, in 1970, Sweden helped Vietnam build Bai Bang paper factory one of the biggest and most modern paper plants in the Southeast Asian country. The Swedish-funded programme of forest, tree and people in the 1980s helped develop a material region and boost socio-economic growth in five northern provinces. Sweden has also given many initiatives to support Vietnam in forestry, environment and climate change response. According to the Statistics Sweden, the Vietnamese community in Sweden groups about 20,000 people who have showed good integration into the local society./. Former President Jerry John Rawlings has urged citizens to commit to building a formidable national character that will facilitate sustainable good governance and national development. Speaking at a Tree-Planting exercise on Saturday to herald the 40th Anniversary of the June 4 uprising, Mr Rawlings said the theme; Developing a National Character for Sustainable Good Governance, should be planted in the hearts of Ghanaians just as the trees being planted would take roots in the ground. He planted the first tree among those planted by cadres of the revolution, sympathisers and some members of the National Democratic Congress (NDC). Some employees of the Zoomlion Ghana, led by the Chairman, Mr Joseph Siaw Agyepong, also took part in the exercise. "Ladies and gentlemen, as we commemorate this historic event, with a tree planting exercise, I sincerely pray that the theme for this event will also be planted in our hearts, the former President stated. Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, the Chairman of the NDC, Mr Rashid Pelpuo, the Member of Parliament for Wa Central, Mr Samuel Nuamah Donkor, a former Minister of State, Bishop Clive Mould of the Action Chapel, Mr Koku Anyidoho, a former NDC Deputy General Secretary, and Mr Ade Coker, the Greater Accra NDC Chairman, were at the event. The trees were planted along the Tetteh Quarshie Interchange to the Legon ECG Park. The exercise was to celebrate the environmental credentials of the leader of the uprising. Former President Rawlings is known for his leading efforts to green the environment and has, on some occasions, intervened in saving some trees from being felled at some public places. The exercise was also to stem the spate of indiscriminate felling of trees without recourse to planting new ones, which is having dire consequences on the climate. It is, therefore, to encourage Ghanaians to re-embrace tree-planting as a way of life and to mitigate the effect of climate change and foster a cooler environment. According to the Planning Committee of the celebrations, there would be a lecture on Wednesday, May 29. A durbar would climax the celebrations on June 4, at the Nungua Traditional Authority Park. 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 A 23-year-old taxi driver, who escaped death by the skin of his teeth after being attacked by unknown assailants, is receiving treatment at the Effia Nkwanta Regional Hospital in the Western Region. The assailants were said to have picked the taxi with the registration number GW 1086 U at Agric Junction near Ketan under the pretext of going to Diabene, an adjoining community. The victim, Joseph Nana Ofori, who narrated the incident to Connect FMs OMANBAPA morning show host Nhyiraba Paa Kwesi Simpson on his hospital bed, says one of the assailants first boarded the car before two others joined on the way. After driving a few meters away, two guys who were standing by the roadside stopped me. I was initially reluctant to pick them but the one in the car asked me to pick them because they were his friends, the victim recounted. Moment after boarding the car, the two at the back with the assistance of the one in front started attacking the driver and tied his neck with a nylon mesh against his seat. All of a sudden they abandoned me and absconded when they spotted another taxi car approaching, the victim further narrated. The second Taxi driver, who didnt understand the reason why the three were running away upon seeing his car approaching, stopped and went to the car and to his dismay, a colleague taxi driver had been tied against his seat. A police patrol team was quickly called to the scene and with its assistance, the victim was rushed to the Effia Nkwanta Regional Hospital, where he is currently responding to treatment after being temporarily dumb, out of the trauma. No arrest has yet been made. Source: 3news 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 National Youth Organizer of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), Henry Nana Boakye, is in Spain to attend the Madrid International Democracy Forum. Mr. Boakye, who is popularly known as Nana B, is leading a two-member delegation for the international forum at the invitation of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. The foundation is noted for offering young politicians, who believe in capitalism across the globe, a common platform to dialogue to help shape their political careers. The forums are also intended to help the participants to promote democracy and development in their countries. Nana B, who is also a lawyer, was invited to this years forum because of his fortitude. During the forum, which starts from 23-26 May, the participants would discuss several issues that would help to promote democracy in the various countries. They would discuss topics such as political leadership in democracy and others that have the tendency to promote democracy. Nana B and his colleagues from other countries would discuss leadership in companies and Parliament on Friday which is the opening day. 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 Attempts by elements within the opposition National Democratic Congress to smear the hardworking Ashanti Regional Chairman of the ruling New Patriotic Party, Bernard Antwi Boasiako aka Chairman Wontumi, has been exposed. The opposition, obviously reeling under the intensed pressure being mounted on its Presidential Candidate, Mr. John Dramani Mahama by the tough-talking NPP regional chairman, had schemed to incite Chairman Wontumi against some members of his own party. Reliable source indicates that the opposition party, in its desperate efforts, was planning to plant a story that suggested that Chairman Wontumi had refused to share monies earmarked for all constituency executives in the region. This wicked plot, the opposition party intended to execute by forming a non-existing concerned association who would issue a statement alleging financial misappropriation on the part of the Ashanti Regional Chairman. Information indicates that the opposition party, after forming the association, will then christen it as a group within the NPP, though such people never existed. They would then pursue an aggressive media strategy by pushing the story through various news portals just to court disaffection against Chairman Wontumi. However, the intended plot appears to be dead on arrival after a good Samaritan hinted the camp of the dynamic regional NPP Boss about the clandestine plot Source: Press Aide To Chairman Wontumi Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Former President John Dramani Mahama has called on African leaders to adopt a visa-free regime within the shortest possible time to allow Africans travel freely into each others countries. Mr Mahama said this will help give meaning to the adoption and entering into the force the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The AfCFTA is a trade agreement between AU member states, with the goal of creating a single market followed by free movement and a single-currency union. As of February 2019, 52 of the 55 AU states had signed the agreement, with Nigeria the only major country missing from the agreement. The former Ghanaian leader in a message to celebrate AU Day on Saturday, 25 May 2019 said Africans cannot trade freely and connect our continent if we cannot travel freely into each others countries. Mr Mahama, therefore, charged other African leaders to learn the Ghanaian ad Rwandan examples of a visa on arrival for holders of African passports. Mr Mahamas message on Facebook read: On the occasion of #AfricaDay, let us re-dedicate ourselves to the cause of our continent and the progress and prosperity of the African people. While progress has been slow on our integration project, on this occasion, we celebrate the expected entering into force of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). It is indeed a major development and we can, as a people, only continue to work towards the attainment of the AU Agenda 2063 and the Sustainable Development Goals. While we celebrate the AfCFTA, we need to remind our leaders that, we cannot trade freely, and connect our continent if we cannot travel freely into each others countries. I had the honour as President to introduce a visa on arrival scheme for all holders of African passports. Rwanda and other countries have since followed suit. We can give real meaning to the celebration of the #AfricaDay, and hail the implementation of the AfCFTA when all African countries adopt within the shortest possible time, a visa-free regime for all African Passport holders. Happy Africa Day. 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 Gospel musician, Wilhelm Ramzy Amui, popularly known as Ramzy, has tied the knot with the CEO of Decor Talk, Wendy Donkor. The beautiful traditional ceremony came off on Wednesday, May 1 while the white wedding was held on Saturday, May 25. The 40-year old came second at the first edition of the music reality show, Stars of the Future, organised by Charterhouse in 2006. Ramzy went on to audition for the M-Net West Africa Idol contest in 2007 in Nigeria. He returned home after qualifying for the next stage of the competition but his dream of being a music idol was dashed when he was arrested together with eight others for conspiracy, armed robbery and dishonesty. He was handed a 10-year jail term and was released in 2017 after serving six years in prison. 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 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 ABC News(MELBOURNE, Fla.) -- An alligator attacked a woman out for a holiday weekend swim in a Florida lake, leaving her seriously injured and having to be airlifted to a local hospital, officials said. The 26-year-old woman, whom authorities identified as Nichole A. Tillman of Melbourne, Florida, was swimming on Saturday afternoon at Key Lake Wilderness Park in Cocoa, on the state's eastern coast, when she was attacked suddenly by an 8-foot-6-inch long gator. "We're hanging out about waist to chest deep in the lake, next thing you know a girl starts screaming and luckily a couple guys reacted and grab her," eyewitness Dave Nygard told ABC News. "I thought she was more or less joking around ... next thing you know we pull her out and her side and her thigh were open. So then about 30 seconds later I see a gator head pop up. It was every bit of 8 foot." Rescuers who rushed to help Tillman put her on an all-terrain vehicle and drove her a couple of miles out of the woods to a nearby road, where she was loaded into a medical helicopter and flown to Holmes Regional Medical Center in Melbourne, officials said. "We have a female who was allegedly bit by an alligator. She was out in the woods, swimming in a lake, from what we understand," Brevard County Fire District Chief Thomas Uzel said. "She was classified as a trauma alert and she was transported to Holmes." Officials did not release information on the extent of her injuries, only calling them "significant." The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said only that they were "non-life threatening." An alligator trapper responded to the scene and successfully removed the gator that attacked Tillman from the area, officials said. "I mean, it's scary," Nygard said. "Just thankful a little kid wasn't in the lake at the time, because more or less the gator probably would've gotten the kid." Nygard said there were about a dozen people swimming in the lake at the time. "Several people grabbed towels and shirts and wrapped her side and leg and then they rushed her up here to the [road]," he said. Uzel said the gator attack was very unusual, and not something he had seen regularly. "Not very often," Uzel said. "As far as alligator bites, I think this was the second in 35 years." Uzel said there was an off-duty paramedic at the lake who also assisted Tillman. "Usually gators are not intrusive on people," Nygard said, echoing emergency personnel. "They're more or less more scared of us than we are of them, so for the gator to come up and -- he was curious more or less -- so thank goodness we got her out and hopefully she's doing fine right now." "You hear of shark bites, yet we keep going in the ocean," he added. "Born and raised in Florida, not going to keep us out of lakes." A woman was killed by an alligator in Hilton Head, South Carolina, in August trying to save her dog from attack, while a man in Lakeland, Florida, suffered a severe injury when he was bit by a gator in December. Copyright 2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. The diplomat made the statement during her trip to Ninh Binh province, which was part of the Vietnam-Cuba friendship exchange programme and made on the occasion of the 58th anniversary of Cubas Giron victory (April 19th). Ambassador Lianys Torres Rivera said the Cuban Government will make efforts to escape from the economic embargo facing the country and create all possible conditions for foreign investors in the country. Cuban Ambassador to Vietnam Lianys Torres Rivera (Photo: VNA) Tong Quang Thin, Vice Chairman of the provincial Peoples Committee and President of Ninh Binhs Union of Friendship Organisations, said Cubas Giron victory was a great source of encouragement to movements of national liberation worldwide, including Vietnam. The official briefed his host on Ninh Binhs geographical location, history, culture, and economic potential, and expressed his hope to step up cooperation and experience sharing with Cuban localities, agencies, and enterprises across all spheres, thus helping consolidate and enhance the friendship between localities of the two countries. Congratulating Cuban people on the great achievements they have recorded under the leadership of the Communist Party of Cuba, Thin said he believes that they will continue to overcome all difficulties and build a prosperous and happy Cuba. The same day, the Cuban delegation visited some famous tourist destinations in Ninh Binh. In 1961, more than 1,500 US-trained mercenary troops landed at Giron beach as part of a scheme to overthrow the fledging Cuban government. Under the direct command of Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro, the invasion was defeated on April 19th in under 72 hours./. Posted by Jay on at 12:45 PM CST Marvel has sent out solicitations for their August 2019 titles, including 7comics and one Trade Paperback!TOM TAYLOR (W) RAMON ROSANAS (A) Cover by PHIL NOTOPUZZLE PIECE VARIANT COVER BY MIKE MCKONECONCEPT VARIANT ALSO AVAILABLESTAR WARS GREATEST MOMENTS VARIANT BY CHRIS SAMNEEMOVIE VARIANT ALSO AVAILABLEFIGHT AND FLIGHT! 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And will any survive the fight?32 PGS./Rated T $3.99SI SPURRIER (W) WILTON SANTOS & ANDREA BROCCARDO (A)COVER BY ASHLEY WITTERSTAR WARS GREATEST MOMENTS VARIANT BY GREG SMALLWOODUNSPEAKABLE REBEL SUPERWEAPON PART IV Its time for DOCTOR APHRA to do what she does best: honor her commitments, help people in need, do the right thing. Hahaha, nope, the people shes swindling wont buy that either. Unlucky for them, shes always two steps ahead. Unlucky for her, the steps lead directly to Coruscant, and into the arms of an old enemy32 PGS./Rated T $3.99(of 5)ETHAN SACKS (W) WILL SLINEY (A)Cover by TOMMY LEE EDWARDSVARIANT COVER BY LUKE ROSSA DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD! KENDOHS crew of mercenaries spring their heist to steal one of the rarest relics in the universe - the hilt of the fabled SWORD OF KHASHYUN from DOK-ONDARS DEN OF ANTIQUITIES. But with the FIRST ORDER tightening its grip on BLACK SPIRE OUTPOST and the notorious RED FURY STORMTROOPERS on their trail, can these master thieves survive long enough to collect their prize? And does Dok-Ondar have one last gambit to play?32 PGS./Rated T $3.99TOM TAYLOR (W) LEONARD KIRK (A) Cover by PHIL NOTOPUZZLE PIECE VARIANT COVER BY MIKE MCKONECONCEPT VARIANT ALSO AVAILABLEMOVIE VARIANT ALSO AVAILABLEMAROONED! GENERAL HUX and KYLO REN crash-land on a far-off planet. With no hope of rescue, the two are forced to work together to survive. But can they survive each other?32 PGS./ONE-SHOT/Rated T $3.99Written by JOHN OSTRANDER, PAT MILLS, DOUG PETRIE, TIM TRUMAN & MOREPenciled by JAN DUURSEMA, RAMON BACHS, RANDY GREEN, DAVIDE FABBRI & MORECover by JAN DUURSEMALost memories, lost Padawan! Jedi Knight Quinlan Vos has lost his memory! Now he must rediscover his past while searching for his Padawan, Aayla Secura! But deadly gamblers, false Jedi, corrupt officials and the pull of the dark side all stand in his way! Then, lightsabers clash as the bounty hunter Aurra Sing arrives on Coruscant, slaying Jedi in the very shadow of the Temple! A number of Jedi Knights volunteer to take action but do they seek justice or vengeance? And when a prison planet watched over by the Guardians comes under attack from a deadly enemy, the still-troubled Quinlan Vos investigates but his newest assignment may be a suicide mission! Plus: More tales from the Republic era of Star Wars! Collecting STAR WARS (1998) #19-35 and material from DARK HORSE EXTRA #35-37, STAR WARS TALES #13 and DARK HORSE PRESENTS ANNUAL 2000.440 PGS./Rated T $39.99ISBN: 978-1-302-92033-3 Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, visits a privately-owned intellectual products maker in east China's Shandong Province, May 24, 2019. Li made an inspection tour to Weifang and Jinan in Shandong Province from Friday to Saturday. (Xinhua/Liu Weibing) BEIJING, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang stressed tax and fee cuts and the improvement of financial services to alleviate burdens on companies and promote their healthy development. Li made the remarks during his tour in east China's Shandong province from Friday to Saturday. He underscored the importance of tax cuts and fee reductions, as they are key to coping with current downward economic pressures and can benefit the economy in the long run. In Weichai Group, a leading machinery manufacturer, Li encouraged the staff to strengthen international cooperation in innovation. He also called for craftsmanship to produce more competitive, highly reliable products. A manager of Weifang Goertek Electronics Co., a privately-owned intellectual products maker, told Li that the company will pay 100 million yuan (about 15 million U.S. dollars) less in taxes and fees this year. Li said China has huge market potential and that through technological innovation, their own efforts and extensive cooperation, Chinese companies will eventually win consumers and the market. The government will also continue to improve policies and encourage companies to increase inputs into research and development, he added. During his visit to a local bank, Li said lenders should use big data techniques and innovate financial products and models to provide better financial services to small- and micro-sized enterprises, as these enterprises play a crucial role in driving economic growth, increasing employment and improving people's livelihoods. Li also asked local authorities to monitor prices of daily products and take proper measures to ensure sufficient supply and reasonable prices. 4 1 [ Editor: Zhang Zhou ] The launch ceremony of Shanghai National Pilot Area for the Innovative Development of New-generation AI is held in Shanghai, east China, May 25, 2019. Shanghai officially launched efforts to build the pilot zone Saturday, the second in China after Beijing. (Xinhua) SHANGHAI, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Shanghai officially launched efforts to build a pilot zone for the new-generation innovation and development of artificial intelligence (AI) Saturday, the second in China after Beijing. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the Shanghai Municipal Government jointly made the announcement on Saturday. The pilot zone in Shanghai will focus on AI in medical care and health, smart transportation and smart communities, said Gan Pin, deputy director of the Shanghai Science and Technology Commission. "As we apply AI in the three fields, the result will be tremendous changes to people's lives, which will help us contribute to the nationwide development of AI," Gan said. In building the pilot zone, Shanghai will raise the level of originality, develop industrial use, build an environment for innovation, and establish legal, regulatory and ethical standards for AI, he said. Shanghai has vigorously promoted the development of the AI industry with its AI@SH action in recent years, attracting industrial leaders like Microsoft and IBM. The city is eyeing a global AI hub with plans to expand the scale of its industry to more than 100 billion yuan (14.5 billion U.S. dollars) by 2020. By 2023, the pilot zone aims to become a leader in the theory, technology, application, talent and governance of AI, according to the target. Another pilot project was launched in Beijing in February. 2 1 [ Editor: Zhang Zhou ] A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi tendered resignation of his Council of Ministers, President Ram Nath Kovind on Saturday invited him to form the next government. "Exercising powers vested in him under Article 75 (1) of the Constitution, the President on Saturday appointed Narendra Modi to the office of Prime Minister of India," a communique from Rashtrapati Bhavan said. The President also asked Modi to intimate him about the names of others to be appointed members of the Union Council of Ministers and indicate the date and time of the swearing-in ceremony to be held at Rashtrapati Bhavan. Modi was formally invited when he called on the President at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Saturday evening in his capacity as leader of the BJP Parliamentary Party, which has majority support in the Lok Sabha following the general election. A delegation of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), comprising Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah and senior leaders Rajnath Singh, Sushma Swaraj, and Nitin Gadkari, Akali Dal's Parkash Singh Badal, Janata Dal-United chief Nitish Kumar, Lok Janshakti Party chief Ram Vilas Paswan, Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thakeray, AIADMK's K. Palaniswami, NPP's Conrad Sangma and NDPP Neiphiu Rio also accompanied Modi. "A letter stating that Narendra Modi has been elected leader of the BJP Parliamentary Party was handed over to the President. Letters of support from NDA constituent parties were also handed over to the President," said the communique. Bob Holden (2nd R), chairman and CEO of the United States Heartland China Association and former Missouri Governor, attends a panel discussion on education and cultural exchange during the Fifth China-U.S. Governors Forum held in the U.S. state of Kentucky on May 23, 2019. America's heartland, the seat of the U.S. agricultural economy, has been badly hit by the country's trade dispute with China, Holden said, urging the two sides to reach a win-win agreement soon. (Xinhua/Li Rui) by Xinhua writers Xiong Maoling and Liu Yang LEXINGTON, the United States, May 24 (Xinhua) -- America's heartland, the seat of the U.S. agricultural economy, has been badly hit by the country's trade dispute with China, former Missouri Governor Bob Holden said, urging the two sides to reach a win-win agreement soon. Eighteen out of the 20 U.S. states located between the Great Lakes and the Gulf of Mexico are "the hardest hit" by tariffs stemming from the U.S.-China trade dispute, Holden, chairman and CEO of the United States Heartland China Association, told Xinhua. "There's a great deal of concern, uneasiness" from soybean producers in Missouri and some other agricultural areas, Holden said on the sidelines of the Fifth China-U.S. Governors Forum held in the U.S. state of Kentucky. "The thing with farming, it is a cyclical process," Holden said. "If you leave the soybeans on the field until they rot, you get no benefit out of them." Holden, whose organization is committed to building stronger ties between the 20 U.S. states -- which include Tennessee, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, Illinois, Texas and Oklahoma -- and China, said "we've got a very sincere interest in getting this resolved ... so we can get back to work." To reach a trade agreement, the former Missouri governor said the two sides are "going to have to feel like they both gave something and they both gained something from it." "They've got to look at it from the standpoint that what can we do and what can they do to both serve our self-interest and not undermine the credibility of the other," he said. The three-day forum, which kicked off Wednesday, features dialogues on business, culture, education and other issues. Despite the trade dispute, Holden said "there is a tremendous amount of interest from the local level in figuring out how we bring these two cultures together to work on behalf of both." Holden, who has traveled to China about 15 times, said what struck him most is the people he met in China, who are "wonderful people, family people, who want their children to have a better opportunity than they have, which is the very same value system that we have in the middle part, the heartland of the United States." Holden helped bring the first Confucius Institute to the state of Missouri when he was a professor at Webster University. He highlighted the importance of U.S.-China cooperation on education and culture, saying that "it's my contention that how well you put together the cultural relationships, how well you build the education partnerships, will determine how successful you're going to be in the business department." Noting that he got "uneasy feelings" about what he saw in the political world, Holden said if cultural and educational aspects of the two countries could be mobilized, "they will be the driving force in making changes." "Education is at the center of what we do," Holden said, adding that his organization has been helping establish connections between academic institutions of the two countries. "It's important that we continue to look at ways to connect our educational system, our students with the students from China so that they can, at a young age, get to understand both cultures," he said. Holden opened Missouri's first trade office in China during his term from 2001 to 2005. The former Missouri governor has seen new opportunities for cooperation between America's heartland and China, such as energy and infrastructure. "We're also working with mayors throughout the 20-state region and governors throughout the 20-state region on building those relationships," he said. [ Editor: Zhang Zhou ] BEIJING, May 25 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. trade policies can hardly "make America great again" as they are throwing the country in a situation full of conflicts and uncertainties. Apart from triggering protests from domestic farmers and shoemakers, the policies using tariff as a weapon to contain the development of its trade partners are also destabilizing the world economy. To pull back from the verge of inflicting more losses on the country, some U.S. politicians need more economic common sense. Instead of addressing the real ail of the U.S. economy, they insist on reducing trade deficits, which, according to anyone with an ounce of economic sense, should not be the primary focus of a government. A trade deficit simply means one country buys more goods or services from a country than it sells to them. It is viewed as a natural result of trade flows, not a sign that one country is being "ripped off" by another. The United States has merchandise trade deficits with more than 100 countries and regions. Americans need to buy these products from overseas, either because of quality or price. Trade deficits are also determined by factors such as relative strength of currencies, economic growth rates, and savings and investment rates. In the U.S.-China case, it is affected by additional factors, including a miscalculation that inflates the trade gap, the U.S. ban on high-tech exports and deliberate neglect of trade in services where the United States runs a substantial surplus with China. A trade deficit cannot cause countries to lose money or domestic jobs, but adding tariffs can. By imposing steep tariffs on imported products, the U.S. administration is actually heavily taxing American consumers and businesses that bear the cost of the tariffs. The U.S. administration wants to rescue American jobs. However, statistics show that by "rescuing" jobs in steel and aluminum sectors, more jobs are lost in industries that rely on those materials for their products. A recent study by the Trade Partnership, a U.S. consulting firm, predicted a basic net loss of nearly 934,700 U.S. jobs by including positive impacts on U.S. steel and aluminum producers. Overall, more than 18 jobs would be lost for every steel and aluminum job gained. Despite its tenacious attempts to fix trade imbalances, the U.S. administration is even farther from achieving its goal. In 2018, the United States posted a merchandise trade deficit of 891.3 billion U.S. dollars, widening 10.4 percent from 2017, and was the largest in the 243-year history of the country. The trade policies, which have been proved counter-productive, could register the administration on the history of bad policymaking. Starting with fixing a non-problem, the U.S. administration ended up creating real ones -- escalating trade tensions, inflicting pains on U.S. farmers, increasing costs for American consumers and businesses, rattling financial markets and threatening global growth. President Trump once called trade deficit a "politician-made disaster." Based on the definition of a trade deficit, it's clear that is not the case. However, based on the evidence, U.S. trade policies seem to be the real politician-made disasters. [ Editor: Zhang Zhou ] Press Release May 26, 2019 DSWD backs De Lima's bill vs dubious NGOs The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has supported Senator Leila M. de Lima's proposed measure seeking stricter rules and regulations for groups engaged in social welfare and development services for the vulnerable sectors. In an official communication dated March 15, DSWD Secretary Rolando Joselito Bautista expressed his department's support for the passage into law of Senate Bill No. 2011 which he considers as one of DSWD's "priority" bills. "We are continuously advocating for its immediate enactment into law," Bautista said in a letter sent to the Senate Committee on Social Justice, Welfare and Rural Development which De Lima chairs. SB No. 2011, or An Act Strengthening the Regulation of Social Welfare and Development Agencies, seeks to institutionalize the accreditation and regulation of private individuals, agencies, and organizations engaged in social welfare and development activities. The lady Senator from Bicol noted that the said Senate measure aims to protect beneficiaries against malpractice, abuse, and exploitation by several practitioners and groups. "Our recent history has shown that even these institutions, which are supposed to be operating to perform humanitarian functions, can be used to commit crimes that seek to use the resources meant for the beneficiaries for personal gains," De Lima said in filing the measure in 2018. "In order to prevent similar situations from happening, we must clearly establish a process that can help donors to verify the legitimacy of the NGOs (non-governmental organizations) as well as provide them with recourse against fake NGOs," she added. In a separate letter dated Oct. 11, 2018, then Acting Secretary Virginia Orogo also assured De Lima of DSWD's firm support for her SB No. 2011. "The Department of Social Welfare and Development supports Senate Bill No. 2011 [i]ntroduced by the Chairperson, which seeks to strengthen DSWD's regulatory functions, set standards, provide benefits and incentives, and monitor the public and private individuals, agencies and organizations engaged in social welfare and development activities," Orogo wrote. Under SB No. 2011, social welfare and development service providers, also known as social welfare and development agencies (SWDAs), need to secure their registration and license from the DSWD. All registered and licensed SWDAs also need to obtain their accreditation from DSWD to enjoy the benefits and privileges, including endorsement for cash incentives or tax exemption, and for 50 percent discount to electricity, water and telephone services, among many others. It may be recalled that it was during De Lima's term as justice secretary that the government filed criminal charges against unscrupulous individuals involved in the "pork barrel scam" masterminded by businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles using dubious or fake NGOs. Amid an action-packed week for business news, a key piece of information will arrive on Wednesday afternoon when ANZ Bank's latest business confidence survey shows whether Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's decision to drop a planned capital gains tax has lifted business owners' spirits. Earlier the same day, the Reserve Bank will deliver its bi-annual financial stability report and a day later will be the week's highlight, the government's first Wellbeing Budget. "Most economists are expecting to see a slightly more difficult situation for the government, with softer growth likely to impact on tax revenue projections and therefore a little more pressure on the minister of finance to keep additional spending to a minimum," says Mark Lister, head of wealth research at Craigs Investment Partners. "At the same time, some factions of the coalition government want to see a loosening of the purse strings, as do many of the voters who put this regime in power," Lister says. But corporate news will also be coming thick and fast with Air New Zealand holding its annual investor day today and Fisher & Paykel Healthcare reporting its annual results. Another heavy-hitter, Mainfreight, will report its results on Tuesday, as will retirement home provider Arvida. Turners Automotive Group is reporting on Wednesday and cinema software company Vista will hold its annual shareholders' meeting that day too. About two-thirds of the April business confidence survey was conducted before Ardern's decision and it showed headline business pessimism virtually unchanged at a net 37.5 percent, only a marginal improvement from the net 38 percent March result. A zero result would be neutral. The shelving of CGT is a genuine game changer. A lot of small businesses in particular were worried about that, Lister says. The cut in the official cash rate to a record low 1.5 percent on May 8 may also have lifted business spirits. However, just about all the news from offshore has been considerably worse, Lister says. He's expecting the Reserve Bank will highlight that factor when it releases its six-monthly financial stability report on Wednesday morning. There's still a few things to be nervous about global issues have worsened and global growth has taken another leg down, particularly in China, Lister says. There will be an update on that on Friday afternoon when both China's official Purchasing Managers' Index and the alternative Caixin reading will show how manufacturers in China are faring. Both these measures remained in expansionary territory (in April), but only just, with respective readings of 50.1 and 50.2, Lister says. Index readings of 50 mean manufacturing is neither increasing nor decreasing. And then there's the escalating trade war between the United States and China. That's the main reason the broad measure of US shares, the S&P 500 Index, has fallen for three straight weeks and has lost more than 4 percent in May so far. The international economic picture probably looks a little less stable to the Reserve Bank than six months ago, Lister says. My strong suspicion is that the key thing worrying the bank is offshore stuff that I think will be the one that gets the most airing. The central bank will probably be comfortable with how much the housing market has cooled in April, the Real Estate Institute's Auckland house price index fell 4.4 percent from a year earlier while prices in the rest of New Zealand rose 6.7 percent, down from the 7.2 percent growth recorded in March. The housing market has done what the bank would have wanted to see, Lister says. Dairy farmers are also probably less of a worry for the central bank than in recent years. Although dairy giant Fonterra has reduced its annual earnings forecast to 10-15 cents per share and narrowed the expected farmgate milk price to near the bottom of its previous range, at $6.30-6.40 per kilo of milk solids, that's still more than a dollar above the average farmer's break-even price. And Fonterra is forecasting the coming year's milk price could be $6.25-7.25. We've had three year's of good, stable, steady payouts in the mid-$6s, when you include the dividend, Lister says. Although the last Global Dairy Trade auction result was down a little, ending 11 consecutive auction increases, prices are still up more than 22 percent in 2019 so far and flat relative to a year ago. But the weakening currency is providing a cushion the New Zealand dollar has dropped 2.43 percent against the US dollar so far this year. Everything points to the coming season being up slightly. The sector's not out of the woods completely because it's still got a heavy debt burden, Lister says. The Reserve Bank is likely to highlight that indebtedness because, as we saw in the GFC, such high debt levels mean the dairy sector is still vulnerable to a global downturn, he says. (BusinessDesk) Comments from our readers No comments yet Add your comment: Your name: Your email: Not displayed to the public Comment: Comments to Sharechat go through an approval process. Comments which are defamatory, abusive or in some way deemed inappropriate will not be approved. It is allowable to use some form of non-de-plume for your name, however we recommend real email addresses are used. Comments from free email addresses such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc may not be approved. Anti-spam verification: Type the text you see in the image into the field below. You are asked to do this in order to verify that this enquiry is not being performed by an automated process. Related News: Now is the time to reassess your investments Now is the time to reassess your investments Fonterra looking to lift China's importance in new strategy A2, Synlait shares climb as takeover bid revives optimism about Chinese appetite for milk Service sector activity eases in August but still expanding Lumpy imports drive bigger July trade deficit than expected Nimbys, carparks and the status quo under threat as govt tells big cities: grow up and out Dairy manufacturers got better prices in June quarter Orr defends RBNZ rate cut, says monetary policy looks ahead, not behind RBNZ's Orr says investors need to put their money to work Tourism Holdings will shrink its US fleet by about 17 percent as the rental RV operator seeks to address an "unacceptable" performance from its North American business. The company said the US vehicle sales market is in decline, and it estimates the volume of wholesale transactions is down 40 percent and retail sales are down 10 percent. What's more, heavy discounting is squeezing margins, something Tourism Holdings expects to continue to another 12 months. "Despite the current market conditions, our USA performance for FY2019 to date is unacceptable," chief executive Grant Webster said in a statement. "However, there is nothing which indicates our fundamental build/buy, rent and sell model is broken or that we have a poor business." The company downgraded earnings guidance in April, blaming the deterioration in the US business, and said it was reviewing its operations that include Road Bear, Britz and El Monte RV rentals, which they also sell. Tourism Holdings affirmed its intention to declare a final dividend of 14 cents per share in the current financial year, keeping the annual payment in line with the 27 cents paid in 2018. It also reaffirmed guidance for profit to be $25-28 million in the year ending June 30. Net debt is expected to be about $240 million due to the decline in the vehicle sales environment. The company will cut US$40 million of planned capital spending from the US business and expects to shed 400 vehicles from its US fleet, giving it about 2,000 RVs in the 2020 financial year. It forecasts gross capital expenditure in the US of US$23.8 million in the year ending June 30, 2020, down from a forecast US$62.5 million in the current financial year. The company wants to reduce its funds employed in the US by US$20 million Tourism Holdings expects its US business to generate positive operating cash flow of about US$35 million. It plans to strip out costs from the 2021 financial year by franchising or exiting up to five locations and cutting its wage bill. Tourism Holdings is also working line-by-line to trim other operating costs. The shares last traded at $4.30, and have dropped 17 percent so far this year. (BusinessDesk) Comments from our readers No comments yet Add your comment: Your name: Your email: Not displayed to the public Comment: Comments to Sharechat go through an approval process. Comments which are defamatory, abusive or in some way deemed inappropriate will not be approved. It is allowable to use some form of non-de-plume for your name, however we recommend real email addresses are used. Comments from free email addresses such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc may not be approved. Anti-spam verification: Type the text you see in the image into the field below. You are asked to do this in order to verify that this enquiry is not being performed by an automated process. Related News: 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 Trump says to send 1,500 more U.S. troops to Middle East amid tension with Iran WASHINGTON, May 24 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that his country will send about 1,500 additional troops to the Middle East amid escalating tension with Iran. Trump told reporters at the White House that the extra deployment, which is "relatively small number of troops," is mainly a protective measure. "We'll see what happens," he added. U.S. Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan said later in the day that the Pentagon has informed Congress about the new move. Shanahan said in a tweet that he has approved the combatant commander's request to deploy approximately 1,500 additional troops and defensive capabilities to the Middle East to increase U.S. force protection posture. "This is a prudent response to credible threats from Iran," he added in the tweet. Trump's decision came one day after he downplayed the likelihood of sending more American troops to the Middle East. "I don't think we're going to need them. I really don't," Trump told reporters at the White House. "I would certainly send troops if we need them," he added. Trump also revealed on Thursday that a high-level meeting centering on Iran would be conducted at the White House later in the day. Washington and Tehran have been locked in a war of words over the past two weeks amid escalating tension that had been stoked up following America's military buildup in the Middle East. Iran has vowed to withstand the U.S. "bullying policies." A poster advertising Huawei's smartphone is seen at the Wien Mitte mall in Vienna, Austria, May 23, 2019. (Xinhua/Guo Chen) BEIJING, May 24 (Xinhua) -- Millions of Americans in rural areas may be denied access to faster and lower-priced broadband connections because of Washington's restrictive moves against Huawei, a Chinese company which has offered equipment to U.S. rural telecom operators for years. The U.S. government last week announced it would "prohibit transactions posing an unacceptable risk" to the country by declaring a national emergency over what it claimed are technological threats, and announced restrictions on the sale and transfer of U.S. technologies to Chinese company Huawei. The ban would force small and independently-owned telecom operators such as Eastern Oregon Telecom and Union Wireless in Wyoming to spend their limited funds buying more expensive gear from Huawei's competitors, according to an article in The New York Times by Chen Lifang, Huawei's group board director. Though accusing Huawei of being able to use its network equipment to spy on foreign nations for the Chinese government, the U.S. government has not produced any hard evidence to support its accusation. However, innocent victims in the global chains of the telecom industry would bear the consequences. BACKFIRE ON U.S. INTERESTS "A ban will not make American networks more secure. Instead, it will hurt ordinary Americans and businesses by denying them access to leading technology, reducing competition and increasing prices," Chen said in the article. "The ban will financially harm the thousands of Americans employed by the U.S. companies that do business with Huawei, which buys more than 11 billion U.S. dollars in goods and services from U.S. companies each year," said Chen. "A total ban on Huawei equipment could eliminate tens of thousands of American jobs." The recent U.S. move to add the Chinese telecom company to a trade blacklist has already taken a toll on Wall Street. Shares of Huawei's major suppliers, including Google, Qualcomm and Broadcom, were pressured. Washington's plan has also drawn resistance from domestic telecom carriers, especially those in rural areas, where the optical cable infrastructure is weak and the cost-effective Huawei equipment is considered as a better option. James Kail, chief of LHTC Broadband, a digital service provider in rural Pennsylvania, told Xinhua that the ban could have an adverse effect on their business since they have a significant investment at stake as well as potential funding that could be jeopardized. "About a quarter of small rural U.S. broadband providers use Huawei equipment, which is ... 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. Banning Huawei in the United States has the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in a conundrum, Entner tweeted. "Is the FCC going to accept slower broadband build-out?" GROUNDLESS ACCUSATION According to some German media, after years of review, Britain, Germany and the European Union failed to find any backdoor in Huawei products. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said in response that "the conclusions of Europe's scrutiny have proven Huawei innocent, and showed the U.S. suppression against other countries' enterprises with state power is unjustified." "We'd like to see the U.S. comment on the findings," Lu said at a press briefing, adding that since the coming into light of the U.S. secret surveillance program Prism, the United States has remained silent over evidence alleging its illegal practices of cyber attacks and thefts. Likewise, the 2019 annual report compiled by the Huawei Cyber Security Evaluation Center Oversight Board, staffed by representatives from Huawei and Britain's government including the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and telecommunications sector, detailed concerns about Huawei's software engineering capabilities, but stated that the "NCSC does not believe that the defects identified are a result of Chinese state interference." Such conclusions came as a result of putting Huawei under a microscope. "I don't think any of the other vendors have been on such level of scrutiny to find out whether or not security risks exist in their software," Stephane Teral, technology fellow and advisor for Mobile Infrastructure and Carrier Economics at the consultancy IHS Markit Technology, told Xinhua. The United States has also been unsuccessfully trying to rally other countries to abandon Huawei products, citing security threats. "Our perspective is not to block Huawei or any company," French President Emmanuel Macron told the VivaTech conference in Paris. The Department of Information and Communications Technology of the Philippines said that there was no incident of a national security breach from the local telecommunication network using Huawei equipment. Major Malaysian mobile operators like Maxis, Celcom and U Mobile also said their cooperation with Huawei is not affected by the recent U.S. ban. "ECONOMIC BULLYING" 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 said. Such an egocentric approach by the United States will not win the recognition and support of the international community, said Wang. Blameless companies around the world, including Huawei's U.S. suppliers, could lose business, face disruptions and incur significant new costs, while China will only redouble its efforts to produce advanced technologies domestically, according to an editorial article published by Bloomberg. As Huawei is deeply embedded in the global supply chain, "there might be other manufacturers that will be caught up in it," Foad Fadaghi, an Australian technology analyst and managing director of Telsyte, was quoted by local media as saying. The U.S. restrictions on Huawei would also hold back the launch of 5G networks and earnings of the tech sectors across the world, Swiss leading investment bank UBS said in its latest research report. The Huawei ban in the long term "would also make network equipment more expensive because it could reduce the number of suppliers in what is already a small pool," according to Standard Investment Bank's note on Kenya's telecom operator Safaricom. In response to the U.S. restrictions, Ren Zhengfei, founder and president of Huawei, said Huawei had recently received widespread global support. Huawei never wants to "walk alone" in the global markets, but has made good preparations for any extreme circumstances, he said. Ren also appreciated the support of a large number of U.S. components suppliers over the years, and they were also lobbying for the easing of U.S. government-imposed restrictions. "As long as the U.S. government allows U.S. companies to export the components, Huawei will continue to buy while sticking to its own research and development," he said. Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with Brazilian Vice President Hamilton Mourao at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Capital of China, May 24, 2019. (Xinhua/Pang Xinglei) BEIJING, May 24 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday met with Brazilian Vice President Hamilton Mourao at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Xi asked Mourao to convey his cordial greetings to Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and commended Brazil's new government's commitment to developing the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries. China and Brazil are the largest developing countries in the eastern and western hemispheres, respectively, Xi said, pointing out that both countries are important major emerging economies with desire for common development as well as huge development potential, and both are major powers in the process of global multipolarization. This year marks the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Brazil. Xi said China-Brazil relations are at a key point to build on past achievements to open up a new horizon. "Both sides should continue to take each other as an opportunity and partner for their own development, and to respect, trust and support each other, and build the relationship between the two countries as a model of cooperation between developing countries and an important power facilitating world peace and development," Xi said. Xi also called on the two countries to make new contributions to the building of a new type of international relations and a community with a shared future for humanity, as well as to the world peace, stability and prosperity. Xi stressed that China supports Brazil's prosperity and development, adding that China-Brazil cooperation is highly complementary, and China welcomes Brazil to participate in the joint construction of the Belt and Road, and is ready to enhance the synergy of development plans with Brazil to achieve common development. "Cooperation between China and Brazil is bound to usher in a broader future," Xi said. Mourao conveyed President Bolsonaro's cordial greetings and best wishes to Xi, and handed over a letter from Bolsonaro to the Chinese president. Mourao said the new Brazilian government led by President Bolsonaro attaches great importance to relations with China, admires the Communist Party of China's idea of exercising power for the people, and highly commends China's important contributions to global economic growth. Brazil regards China as a comprehensive strategic partner that is trustworthy, stable and reliable, and stands ready to work with China to frequent high-level contacts, deepen cooperation and friendship, he said. "Brazil is willing to facilitate the synergy of its investment partnership projects with the Belt and Road Initiative and expand cooperation in areas including trade, science and technology, and innovation," said Mourao, adding that Brazil welcomes more investments from China. Mourao also expressed gratitude for China's support for the BRICS leaders' summit which will be held in Brazil this year, and said Brazil is willing to work with China to enhance coordination and cooperation in multilateral mechanisms including the BRICS, WTO and G20, to safeguard multilateralism and the global multilateral trading system. President Xi Jinping meets with Brazilian Vice-President Hamilton Mourao in Beijing on Friday. [Photo by Feng Yongbin/China Daily] Newly elected South American leaders see China as stable partner China would like to have a shared planning process with Brazil to achieve coordinated development, President Xi Jinping said on Friday during a meeting with Brazilian Vice-President Hamilton Mourao at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Calling the two countries highly complementary, Xi said China welcomes Brazil's participation in the building of the Belt and Road. He said China supports the prosperity and development of Brazil and believes that China-Brazil cooperation will produce great outcomes. Xi asked Mourao to extend his sincere greetings to Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro, who took office in January. China appreciates the efforts made by the new government to promote the comprehensive strategic partnership, he said. Xi noted that China and Brazil are the biggest developing countries in the Eastern and Western hemispheres, and both are important emerging markets. The two countries have a common wish and great potential for development, he said, adding that both countries are important forces for promoting a multilateral world. Since the establishment of diplomatic ties 45 years ago, relations between China and Brazil have achieved fruitful outcomes, Xi said. The president said it is a critical period for the two countries, and they should forge ahead, and each side should deem the other as a partner for development. Xi called on the two countries to respect, trust and support each other in making the China-Brazil relationship a model for developing countries' cooperation and an important force in promoting world peace and progress. The two countries should make further contributions to promoting a new type of international relationship and building a community with a shared future for mankind, Xi said. Mourao extended President Bolsonaro's greetings and best wishes, and delivered a letter from the Brazilian president to Xi. The new Brazilian administration led by Bolsonaro attaches great importance to relations with China, Mourao said. Brazil speaks highly of China's important contributions to promoting global economic growth and considers China to be a reliable and stable partner, he said. Brazil would like to connect the country's investment partners plans with the Belt and Road Initiative and expand cooperation with China in areas including trade, technology and innovation, he said, adding that Brazil welcomes investment from China. Mourao expressed gratitude for China's support for Brazil's hosting of the meeting of BRICS leaders. Brazil would like to enhance coordination with China under multilateral frameworks including BRICS, the WTO and the G20 to maintain multilateralism and the global trading system. ABC News(WASHINGTON) -- Since publicly sharing her own experience of sexual assault while serving in the U.S. Air Force, Sen. Martha McSally, the first female fighter pilot to fly in combat, has introduced legislation aimed at changing the way the military handles sexual assault, but keeping the investigations within the chain of command. "If you want to solve anything in the military, you have to have commanders more involved," the Arizona Republican, who herself served as a commander, told "This Week" co-anchor Martha Raddatz in an interview. "It's like no other position in civilian life. I mean, we tell people to go take lives, maybe to give their own life. We are responsible for every element of their -- everything that they do." The Combating Military Sexual Assault Act, which is co-sponsored by Sens. Thom Tillis, Rick Scott and Mike Rounds, focuses on four key areas -- prevention and training, victim support, investigation and prosecution. According to McSallys office, 17 out of the 18 provisions from the senators bill are included in a key military spending bill that passed in committee earlier this week. "The problem is that we need more investigators that are highly trained," McSally told Raddatz. "We need more special victims councils. We need better data forensics evidence for crimes that are really, really difficult to prove in the first place, even when theyre reported right away. But let's set the process up for the best success. That's what the focus is of my legislation this year." In the interview, McSally pushed back against criticism that commanders shouldn't be involved in handling these cases, and that commanders may choose not to prosecute someone they know, telling Raddatz it's "just not the way that works." "The problem is not the ultimate decision whether to prosecute or not by the convening authority, which is usually a colonel or a general," she said. "The problem is that oftentimes, the case along the way is taking too long. It's like a cancer rotting in the unit while this case goes on." McSally said that in instances where the commander is the perpetrator, victims "can go above the commander ... can go around the commander." "So there are many relief valves in this process." During a Senate Armed Services hearing on military sexual assault in March, the freshman senator made headlines when she told the committee and witnesses that she was "preyed upon and raped by a superior officer." "I also am a military sexual assault survivor, but unlike so many brave survivors, I didnt report being sexually assaulted," she said at the hearing. "Like so many women and men, I didnt trust the system at the time. I blamed myself. I was ashamed and confused. I thought I was strong, but felt powerless. The perpetrators abused their position of power in profound ways." During the hearing, McSally, who served for 26 years in the U.S. Air Force, said when she eventually did report her experience, she felt "the system was raping (her) all over again." "I stayed silent for many years, but later in my career, as the military grappled with the scandals, and their wholly inadequate responses, I felt the need to let some people know I, too, was a survivor," she said. "I was horrified at how my attempt to share generally my experiences were handled. I almost separated from the Air Force at 18 years (of service) over my despair. Like many victims, I felt like the system was raping me all over again." On "This Week," McSally said it took years for her to "come to terms with what had happened ... and the impact that it had" on her. "Those who are close to me, friends and family and others, are well aware in my journey of healing and my journey of not being crushed by it, but instead being strengthened by what happened to me and being empowered, not just to fight for myself but (for) other women," McSally said. "As I think back, I just dont even know if I would have known where to go at the time. And so, yeah, I really feel like there was a second very deep failure when I tried to -- to bring this to the attention of others." McSally told Raddatz that she had decided just two days before the hearing that she would tell her story to not just the committee members and media cameras covering the hearing, but to the victims there testifying. "I decided on Monday night that I was going to share that I was with them," she said, adding that she "didn't make that decision lightly." "I didn't realize it was going to be as emotional as it -- as it was, but there I was on that day," McSally said on "This Week. "Im glad I did it. I dont regret sharing what I shared and it has been an extraordinary journey since then." Copyright 2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. Chinese scientists may have found effective and safe immunizations Chinese scientists have developed two possible vaccines for the African swine fever virus, the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences announced on Friday. The research was led by Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, in Harbin, Heilongjiang province, which is affiliated to the academy. Researchers have determined the minimum amount required to produce adequate immunization, and have proved they are safe when used in large quantity and repetitively, the academy said, adding more research and tests are needed before the vaccines can be submitted to authorities for inspection and approval. Currently there is no effective vaccine for African swine fever, although research and development of potential vaccines is underway in some countries. By late April, China had been hit by 129 African swine fever outbreaks, affecting all 31 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions on the mainland, since the country's first reported outbreak in Shenyang, Liaoning province, in August, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. This resulted in more than 1 million pigs being slaughtered to prevent and control the disease, which is deadly to pigs but does not affect people. The ministry has called for intensified research and development to expedite the availability of vaccines for disease prevention and control, but admitted difficulties due to the complex nature of the virus. China is the world's largest producer and consumer of pork, with an annual production of 700 million pigs. Pork accounts for 62 percent of meat consumption in China, and sustained outbreaks of African swine fever will cause devastating consequences to the pig industry and endanger China's food security, the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences said. Before the development of the possible vaccines, researchers in the academy managed to isolate an African swine fever virus at a farm hit by an African swine fever outbreak last year in Jiamusi, Heilongjiang province. Subsequent research was conducted, including on the infectiousness and transmission of the virus. The Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences will also focus efforts over the next few years on other areas to help fight African swine fever, including technologies that can quickly test for the virus and kill it with high efficiency, according to a plan released by the academy. LEXINGTON, the United States, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Several U.S. governors have expressed their hope that the United States and China could soon reach a win-win trade deal to reduce uncertainty in business and bring bilateral cooperation back on track. "Of all the 50 states, more exports go to China from Washington state than any other state. And then similarly, China is our number one export destination of all the countries," Cyrus Habib, lieutenant governor of the U.S. state of Washington, told Xinhua on the sidelines of the just-concluded Fifth China-U.S. Governors Forum. "Our relationship with China is absolutely key, central to the success that we have had," Habib said. "It's important for all different sectors of our economy." When asked how he views the decline in bilateral trade volume since the trade dispute, Habib said "it's a concern in both directions," adding that additional tariffs are definitely "a source of stress" for both Chinese and U.S. companies. "What businesses want and what workers need is predictability and an environment that reduces barriers," said the lieutenant governor. Former Missouri Governor Bob Holden also highlighted the disruption, saying that America's heartland, where the U.S. agricultural economy grows out of, has been severely hit by the trade dispute. Holden, currently chairman and CEO of the United States Heartland China Association, told Xinhua that 18 out of the 20 U.S. states located between the Great Lakes and the Gulf of Mexico are "the hardest hit" by tariffs stemming from U.S.-China trade friction. Holden said "there's a great deal of concern, (and) uneasiness" on the part of lots of soybean producers in Missouri, as well as some other agricultural areas. The former governor urged the two sides to resolve the issue so that things could go back to normal. Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin, whose state hosted the three-day forum, said "there's no governor in America, not myself or any other governor that does not want these agreements to be done and done soon," adding that the trade dispute is hurting companies because of the uncertainty. "When you consider that the U.S. economy and the Chinese economy together comprise 40 percent of the world's GDP ... it is critical that we resolve at the national level anything that separates our nations," Bevin said. "We have 9,000 people in Kentucky working for Chinese-owned companies and hundreds have been added just in recent months. This is good. I want more. I want thousands more," he said. In order to reach a trade deal, Holden said, the two sides are "going to have to feel like they both gave something and they both gained something from it." "I think they've got to look at it from the standpoint that what can we do and what can they do to both serve our self-interest and not undermine the credibility of the other," said Holden. The former Missouri governor's remarks were echoed by Habib, who believes a possible trade deal should be beneficial to both sides. "What do we need to be doing? ... That's a conversation (which) needs to go in both directions," Habib said, stressing the importance of mutual respect which is needed "at the heart of any negotiation." A trade deal, Habib said, should help both sides have a good long-term understanding about trade dynamics, renew and refresh the rules of engagement, and make sure that "to the best of our abilities, we facilitate imports and exports." Bevin said that the two governments need to make sure that the trade agreement is "proper" and "solid," and that both sides "get something and give something." The trade deal needs to be capable of lasting for years to come, Bevin added, saying that he is confident the trade dispute will eventually be settled. "At the national level, there'll be solutions," said Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, adding that he believes negotiations will be beneficial to both countries and his role is to enhance and develop those relationships in sub-national way. "I'm very optimistic about it," Habib said, "because I've seen it work and I know that there's a strong desire in both national governments to resolve this." "We can't let something that happens in one day or one week determine how we view one another. We have to have a long term view," Habib said. Trump says still has 'confidence' in N. Korea's Kim Tokyo, May 25 (AFP) May 25, 2019 US President Donald Trump took to Twitter on Sunday to express his "confidence" in North Korean leader Kim Jong Un despite Pyongyang's recent weapons tests and deadlocked nuclear talks. Trump, currently in Japan on a trip aimed at improving ties with Washington's close Asian ally, also suggested that Kim was sending him a "signal" through a North Korean state media commentary on Joe Biden -- in which the former vice president was labelled an "imbecile" and a "fool of low IQ" for criticising Kim. "North Korea fired off some small weapons, which disturbed some of my people, and others, but not me," Trump wrote on Twitter, apparently referring to weapons tests in early May. Hours before Trump landed on Saturday, his hawkish National Security Advisor John Bolton told local media there was "no doubt" Pyongyang's recent missile tests had violated UN Security Council resolutions but insisted Washington is still ready to resume talks. But Trump tweeted: "I have confidence that Chairman Kim will keep his promise to me, & also smiled when he called Swampman Joe Bidan [sic] a low IQ individual, & worse. Perhaps that's sending me a signal?" North Korea is one of the top issues on the agenda as Trump meets with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Pyongyang fired two short-range missiles on May 9 following an earlier drill on May 4 -- the first in 18 months. The North had not launched any missiles since November 2017, shortly before once-reclusive Kim embarked on diplomatic overtures. In a historic first, Trump met with Kim in Singapore in June 2018, and again in Hanoi in February at a meeting that ended abruptly with no deal. Iraq warns of 'danger of war' as Iranian FM visits Baghdad, May 26 (AFP) May 26, 2019 Iraqi leaders have warned of the risks of war during a visit by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, whose country is locked in a tense standoff with the United States. Zarif's visit to neighbouring Iraq -- which is caught in the middle of its two allies, the US and Iran -- follows a decision by Washington to deploy 1,500 additional troops to the Middle East. "We are currently repelling all the efforts of war against Iran, whether economic or military," Zarif said at a joint press conference with his Iraqi counterpart Mohammed Ali al-Hakim. "We will face them with strength and we will resist," he added. Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi warned of the "danger of a war" during a meeting with Zarif on Saturday night, his office said. Abdel Mahdi pleaded for the "stability of the region and the upholding of the nuclear deal," it said, referring to a 2015 agreement between Tehran and major powers. Iraqi President Barham Saleh discussed with Zarif "the need to prevent all war or escalation," his office said. On Saturday, Zarif called the deployment of extra US troops to the region "very dangerous and a threat to international peace and security." It follows a US decision in early May to send an aircraft carrier strike force and B-52 bombers in a show of force against what Washington's leaders believed was an imminent Iranian plan to attack US assets. Washington says the latest reinforcements are in response to a "campaign" of recent attacks including a rocket launched into the Green Zone in Baghdad, explosive devices that damaged four tankers near the entrance to the Gulf, and drone strikes by Yemeni rebels on a key Saudi oil pipeline. Iran has denied any involvement. On May 15, the United States ordered the evacuation of non-emergency staff from its Baghdad embassy and Arbil consulate, citing an "imminent" threat from Iranian-linked armed groups in Iraq, two of which rejected the claim. During the three-year battle to oust the Islamic State group from Iraqi cities, Iran-backed Shiite militias on the ground effectively fought on the same side as US-led coalition warplanes in the skies. But since Iraq declared victory over the jihadists in December 2017, relations between Washington and Tehran have deteriorated sharply. In May last year, US President Donald Trump pulled out of the landmark nuclear deal with Iran and later re-instated tough sanctions. Zarif was due to meet representatives of Iraq's different political forces as well as religious dignitaries in the Shiite holy cities of Karbala and Najaf in southern Iraq during his visit through Monday. On Friday night, thousands of Iraqis staged anti-war demonstrations in Baghdad and the southern oil city of Basra, waving flags and carrying placards calling for a US-Iranian confrontation to be averted. Iraq warns of 'danger of war' as Iran's top diplomat visits Baghdad, May 26 (AFP) May 26, 2019 Iraqi leaders has warned of the risks of war during a visit by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, whose country is locked in a tense standoff with the United States. Zarif's visit to neighbouring Iraq -- which is caught in the middle of its two allies, the US and Iran -- follows a decision by Washington to deploy 1,500 additional troops to the Middle East. "We are currently repelling all the efforts of war against Iran, whether economic or military," Zarif said at a joint news conference with his Iraqi counterpart Mohammed Ali al-Hakim. "We will face them with strength and we will resist," he added. For his part, Hakim said: "We stand by our neighbour Iran, and economic sanctions are unnecessary and cause great suffering to the Iranian people." Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi warned of the "danger of a war" during a meeting with Zarif on Saturday night, his office said. Abdel Mahdi pleaded for the "stability of the region and the upholding of the nuclear deal," it said, referring to a 2015 agreement between Tehran and major powers. Iraqi President Barham Saleh discussed with Zarif "the need to prevent all war or escalation," his office said. On Saturday, Zarif called the deployment of extra US troops to the region "very dangerous and a threat to international peace and security." It follows a US decision in early May to send an aircraft carrier strike force and B-52 bombers in a show of force against what Washington's leaders believed was an imminent Iranian plan to attack US assets. Washington says the latest reinforcements are in response to a "campaign" of recent attacks including a rocket launched into the Green Zone in Baghdad, explosive devices that damaged four tankers near the entrance to the Gulf, and drone strikes by Yemeni rebels on a key Saudi oil pipeline. Iran has denied any involvement. - Visits to Oman, Kuwait, Qatar - On May 15, the United States ordered the evacuation of non-emergency staff from its Baghdad embassy and Arbil consulate, citing an "imminent" threat from Iranian-linked armed groups in Iraq, two of which rejected the claim. During the three-year battle to oust the Islamic State group from Iraqi cities, Iran-backed Shiite militias on the ground effectively fought on the same side as US-led coalition warplanes in the skies. But since Iraq declared victory over the jihadists in December 2017, relations between Washington and Tehran have deteriorated sharply. In May last year, US President Donald Trump pulled out of the landmark nuclear deal with Iran and later re-instated tough sanctions. Zarif was due to meet representatives of Iraq's different political forces as well as religious dignitaries in the Shiite holy cities of Karbala and Najaf in southern Iraq during his visit through Monday. On Friday night, thousands of Iraqis staged anti-war demonstrations in Baghdad and the southern oil city of Basra, waving flags and carrying placards calling for a US-Iranian confrontation to be averted. Iraq is trying to act as a mediator in the deeply fractured Middle East, particularly because it borders Iran and regional arch-rival Saudi Arabia, which is also at the centre of a dispute with Qatar. Also on Sunday, Iran's deputy foreign minister Abbas Araghchi began a tour of Oman, Kuwait and Qatar, his ministry said, while its spokesman "categorically denied" reports of talks between Americans and Iranians. Bikers mass for 'Rolling Thunder' as Trump vows to protect Memorial Day spectacle Washington, May 26 (AFP) May 26, 2019 More than 100,000 flag-bearing bikers, many of them Vietnam veterans, throttled their engines Sunday for the annual "Rolling Thunder" ride through the US capital as President Donald Trump vowed to keep the Memorial Day spectacle alive. Spectators lined the route from the Pentagon to the National Mall to watch the growling parade of choppers, a leather-clad, red-white-and-blue tribute to American soldiers missing in the Vietnam War. It had been billed as the last national Rolling Thunder ride by its organizers, but Trump, who loves a parade, appeared to offer a reprieve. "The Great Patriots of Rolling Thunder WILL be coming back to Washington, D.C. next year, & hopefully for many years to come. It is where they want to be, & where they should be," Trump tweeted from Japan. "Thank you to our great men & women of the Pentagon for working it out!" The Pentagon had no comment, referring questions to the White House, which offered no details on what had been worked out. But Trump's word was enough for Ron Galey, a Navy veteran who served in Vietnam in 1968-69 and has taken part in every Rolling Thunder ride since 1990. "Trump said it's not over, so it is not over, and he is the boss of those guys and he keeps his word," he told AFP. Many pro-Trump banners were visible among the bikers forming up for the parade. The huge motorcycle rally began in 1988 with fewer than 3,000 participants under the motto "We will never forget." The goal was to press for an accounting of those missing in Vietnam. Over the years, it has grown into a rumbling combination of protest and parade. Riders end up at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the nearby Lincoln Memorial for speeches and a concert on the eve of Memorial Day. Unlike Veterans Day in the United States, which honors all military veterans in November, Memorial Day -- on the last Monday in May -- is aimed specifically at remembering those who died while serving in the US armed forces, were prisoners of war or remain unaccounted for. The event has the same name as a major US bombing operation against North Vietnam during the war. Bikers kicked off the weekend of events with a "blessing of the bikes" at Washington National Cathedral on Friday. Organizers had cited difficult relations with the Pentagon -- where riders line up to begin the rally -- over logistics and costs, in announcing that this year would mark the last national rally. "As always, the Pentagon is charging us with an outrageous bill for their services," the group's national president Joe Bean said in a letter to members. Another letter co-signed by Bean said costs of staging the event had soared to more than $200,000. "The organization will continue to bring awareness to the public, in years to come, with regional demonstrations," organizers said in a statement on their website. Trump, who was on an official visit to Japan, offered his support. "Can't believe that Rolling Thunder would be given a hard time with permits in Washington, D.C. They are great Patriots who I have gotten to know and see in action. They love our Country and love our Flag. If I can help, I will!" he said. According to the Pentagon's POW/MIA Accounting Agency, more than 82,000 US troops remain unaccounted for in wars as far back as World War II. Five Nigerian soldiers killed in Boko Haram ambush Kano, Nigeria, May 26 (AFP) May 26, 2019 Five Nigerian soldiers have been killed and a number are missing after an ambush by Boko Haram's Islamic State-backed faction, security sources said Sunday. Fighters from Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) on Friday opened fire on a column of civilian vehicles under military escort in the northeastern Borno State, according to the sources who requested anonymity. The troops were escorting residents from the village of Sabon Garin Kimba in dozens of trucks to a camp in the town of Damboa about 50 kilometres (30 miles) away, according to a militia fighting against the jihadists alongside the army. They were being evacuated from the village, which lies 130 kilometres from the state capital Maiduguri, ahead of a major military offensive against ISWAP, which has recently increased its activities in the area. "We lost five soldiers in the ambush, two were wounded and several are missing, their fate still unknown," said one military officer. He said the attackers seized two military trucks and tried to immobilise an armoured vehicle by destroying its tyres but the driver managed to drive it to safety. "As they approached Bungiri village ISWAP laid an ambush on the convoy. The troops engaged the terrorists in a gun battle and all civilians were able to escape but five soldiers were killed," a second military source said. A search and rescue operation was under way, the officer said. Last month the jihadists raided a nearby military base in Mararrabar Kimba, killing five troops and stealing weapons, while some 30 troops are still listed as missing. ISWAP has since July last year targeted dozens of military bases in attacks that that have killed scores of soldiers. On Monday, its fighters ransacked a base in the town of Gubio, 80 kilometres from Maiduguri, killing three soldiers, although the group claimed it killed 20 soldiers. Boko Haram's decade-long campaign of violence has killed 27,000 people and displaced around two million in Nigeria. The violence has also spilled over into neighbouring Niger, Chad and Cameroon, prompting a regional military coalition to defeat the jihadist group. BEIJING, May 24 (Xinhua) -- When the United States used an unprecedented scale of trade bullying and blackmailing tactics against China, the latter had no choice but to fight back forcefully to defend its core national interests. After more than ten rounds of consultations with the U.S. side, China gained a deeper understanding of the capriciousness America has shown and the flip-flop tactics it used when the U.S. administration suddenly announced that it would add more tariffs on imported Chinese products, regardless of progress made in the previous consultations. China has fully prepared for a protracted trade war with the United States, as it seems highly possible that the trade frictions between China and the United States are far from over. All of the Chinese people are ready to embark on a new "Long March" journey with greater courage and resilience and will never yield to foreign bullying and assault. The "Long March" spirit was vital for the Communist Party of China to win the liberation war before the People's Republic of China was founded. It highlights the firm faith, strong will, and never-give-up attitude of the whole Party and all people to overcome major challenges in the revolutionary days. Such long-standing spirit makes a special significance today when China is fighting against U.S. trade bullying, as the country is engaged in a tough and protracted trade war with the United States. Difficult as it is, it offers China a chance to sharpen its ability to steer its economy through daunting external challenges. Recently, the trade frictions have been drastically escalated by the U.S. restrictions on Chinese high-tech companies such as Huawei. It is not surprising to hear that as it sounds like an old story. Huawei, among other Chinese technology firms, has come under excessive U.S. scrutiny and restrictions time and time again. Sadly, Chinese companies have become an easy target in the trade battle between the two countries. However, it has become all too clear that the U.S. restrictions on Chinese companies are based on groundless accusations. The U.S. government has never released compelling evidence to prove Huawei was engaged in backdoor spying activities. But it continues to attack Chinese companies not because they have done anything wrong, but because they are too outstanding for the United States to accept. Blocking and restricting Huawei becomes an easy and immediate approach for the U.S. to win against China. It nevertheless sounds like wishful thinking. The Chinese companies will not be intimidated, and will not be held back from further development. A great lesson provided by the trade war for the Chinese people is that only when we concentrate on our own affairs and excel in them, can we have a way out in the face of external bullying. We should be confident that the Chinese companies will properly manage their own businesses and finally emerge victorious amid U.S. bullying and grow stronger than ever. It is utterly absurd to see in the era of globalization, the United States still harboring the old-fashioned Cold War mentality. Blocking Chinese companies will not make America stronger. It only underlines America's sheer political arrogance and prejudices against China. Throughout history, the Chinese nation has survived and thrived amid difficulties and hardships. It will continue to fight U.S. trade bullying fearlessly before the protracted trade war comes to an end. We have already embarked on this new "Long March." Bikers on parade in 'Rolling Thunder' as Trump vows to protect Memorial Day spectacle Washington, May 26 (AFP) May 26, 2019 More than 100,000 flag-bearing bikers, many of them Vietnam veterans, roared through Washington Sunday in an annual "Rolling Thunder" ride, with President Donald Trump vowing to keep the Memorial Day spectacle alive. Spectators lined the route from as the riders set off from the Pentagon, making their way to the National Mall. It had been billed as the last national Rolling Thunder ride by its organizers, but Trump, who loves a parade, appeared to offer a reprieve. "The Great Patriots of Rolling Thunder WILL be coming back to Washington, D.C. next year, & hopefully for many years to come. It is where they want to be, & where they should be," Trump tweeted from Japan. "Thank you to our great men & women of the Pentagon for working it out!" The Pentagon had no comment, referring questions to the White House, which offered no details on what had been worked out. The current plan is still for this year's ride to be the group's last in Washington, Rolling Thunder president Joe Bean told CNN. "This is our final ride in Washington, DC. Until we can get into the White House and talk to President Trump and see what he can do for us -- this is our final ride in Washington," the network quoted Bean as saying. But for Ron Galey, a Navy veteran who served in Vietnam in 1968-69 and has taken part in every Rolling Thunder ride since 1990, Trump's tweet offered hope for future rides. "Trump said it's not over, so it is not over, and he is the boss of those guys and he keeps his word," he told AFP. Many pro-Trump banners were visible among the bikers forming up for the parade, a leather-clad, red-white-and-blue tribute to American soldiers missing in the Vietnam War. The huge motorcycle rally began in 1988 with fewer than 3,000 participants under the motto "We will never forget." The goal was to press for an accounting of those missing in Vietnam. Over the years, it has grown into a rumbling combination of protest and parade. - 'Blessing of the bikes' Riders end up at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the nearby Lincoln Memorial for speeches and a concert on the eve of Memorial Day. Unlike Veterans Day in the United States, which honors all military veterans in November, Memorial Day -- on the last Monday in May -- is aimed specifically at remembering those who died while serving in the US armed forces, were prisoners of war or remain unaccounted for. The event has the same name as a major US bombing operation against North Vietnam during the war. Bikers kicked off the weekend of events with a "blessing of the bikes" at Washington National Cathedral on Friday. Organizers had cited difficult relations with the Pentagon -- where riders line up to begin the rally -- over logistics and costs, in announcing that this year would mark the last national rally. "As always, the Pentagon is charging us with an outrageous bill for their services," Bean said in a letter to members. Another letter co-signed by Bean said costs of staging the event had soared to more than $200,000. "The organization will continue to bring awareness to the public, in years to come, with regional demonstrations," organizers said in a statement on their website. Trump, who was on an official visit to Japan, offered his support. "Can't believe that Rolling Thunder would be given a hard time with permits in Washington, D.C. They are great Patriots who I have gotten to know and see in action. They love our Country and love our Flag. If I can help, I will!" he said. According to the Pentagon's POW/MIA Accounting Agency, more than 82,000 US troops remain unaccounted for in wars as far back as World War II. We, in Sri Lanka, have been living side by side yet, do not have enough intercultural knowledge about others. Buddhist children do not know anything about Islamic culture, Muslim children do not know anything about Buddhist culture or Tamil culture. Yet, we expect Sri Lankans must respect religious sentiments. by Dr SLM Rifai All Sri Lankan communities have been living in fear for the last three weeks. This fear helps neither Muslim community nor Sinhalese community. It will take some years for this nation to recover from economic downfall and suffering due to all this unrest. I will briefly discuss the impact and implication of this fear both communities in this short article. While British parliament is debating how to define the terminology of Islamophobia, some racist elements in Sri Lankan parliament are inciting Islamophobia attacks on innocent Muslim community across the country. Some racist MPs in Sri Lankan parliament have been inciting hatred and discrimination against Muslim community for sometimes now. Aluthgama attacks, Digana attacks and now Kurunegala attacks all did not come out of blue sky. These are well-planned attacks with some political support and incitement. Neither Sri Lankan government nor the Sinhalese public endorse the actions of these racist elements in Sri Lanka. I do not make any generalization on this issue. 99% of Sinhalese public are getting on well Muslim and Tamil communities in Sri Lanka. Likewise, 95% of Sinhalese MPs do not subscribe to any extremism at all. On 16 May, the Communities Secretary, James Brokenshire, declared that a process for establishing a working definition of Islamophobia. Two experts will lead this work in close collaboration with the cross-government anti-Muslim hatred working group (AMHWG) and the Government will consider advisers recommendations on an effective definition. Speaking during a backbench debate on the issue, Mr Brokenshire welcomed the work undertaken by the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on British Muslims to develop a definition. This request is made by the communities secretary to protect the fundamental rights and human dignity of Muslim minority community in the UK. While British government is taking all measures to protect minority communities from racial discrimination and Islamophobia attacks, some racist elements in Sri Lankan parliament are encouraging racist attacks on Muslim community in Sri Lanka. It has been revealed that there are some racial elements behind all these attacks in Sri Lanka. what a difference between British and Sri Lankan politics. Some political elements in Sri Lanka use racial attacks on innocent Muslim community to increase their vote bank. Since Ester Sunday attack, many innocent Muslim youths have been detained on suspension. Some of them have nothing to do with ISIS. Some of them have been arrested without any substantial evidence. The Majority of Muslims today fear that any time, police or CID could raid on their homes, shops and mosques. They fear verbal abuses from Police officers. The Muslim lady teachers fear to go to schools with their headscarf. The Muslim shop keepers fear to open their shops. Arabic college students and teachers fear that their colleges will be raided any time. The Muslim patients fear to go to hospitals for fear of racial harassment from hospital staff. Likewise, most of the Muslims in Sri Lanka live in fear for their lives and properties. In short, for the last three weeks, the Muslim community has been living under immense fear and intimidation. This is despite the fact Muslim community has nothing to do with this ISIS group. Sri Lankan Muslim community has been condemning this radical group for a long time now. We all know this is an abnormal and exceptional situation and yet, a lot could have been done to reduce unnecessary tension among public. Moreover, some Sri Lankan police officers, STF, and army officers have failed to appreciate religious sentiments of Muslim community on their raids into mosques and Muslim houses. It is reported that some of these officers have entered the mosques in their shores and have failed to respect the sanctity the Holy Quran and other religious books. Moreover, some Sri Lankan media have been exaggerating about all this. Some Sri Lankan media has been waging a media war against Sri Lankan Muslim community for the last three weeks. Media people have been impartially spreading some rumours and lies about Sri Lankan Muslim community since Easter Sunday incident. All this has generated some sense of Sinhala-phobia in the minds of some Muslims. Although we cannot make a generalization on this issue, but most Muslims begun to have this fear during these three weeks. We cannot bluntly blame police, CID and army for this at all. They are doing their official duties in this checking and searching. Yet, the defence Ministry should have given them some training on intercultural awareness. This would have eased and mitigated the Sinhala phobia among Muslim community. Today, professional armies and police officers should have intercultural skills to respect the religious and cultural sensitiveness of different people. Profound knowledge and skills on this area will help police and military to avoid unnecessary trouble and encounters. That is why, US and European military forces always have a cultural awareness program before sending their armies to any foreign countries. We, in Sri Lanka, have been living side by side yet, do not have enough intercultural knowledge about others. Buddhist children do not know anything about Islamic culture, Muslim children do not know anything about Buddhist culture or Tamil culture. Yet, we expect Sri Lankans must respect religious sentiments. Some time ago a few tourists, Tamils and Muslims were arrested for disrespecting some Buddhist relic across the country? How would people know not to climb a sacred mountain or sacred stone unless they are told and educated about them? We assume that they must know about Buddhist relic and artefacts. How could we resolve this intercultural or inter-religious conflict? I think we must introduce a comparative religious study into our national curriculum. We must educate our next generation in four main religions in Sri Lanka. Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam and Christianity. It must be made compulsory from primary education to secondary education. Each child must learn about these 4 religions. It is not to convert children from one religion into another rather to educate them culturally and intellectually so that they could live peaceful in our multicultural society. I think that many western countries have succeeded in this respect. This will help them to enhance their knowledge about different religions and cultures. As result of this, we will respect other peoples religious sensitiveness and traditions. We do not have such a broader educational syllabus in Sri Lanka. Moreover, our universities could include some undergraduate and postgraduate courses in this comparative religious education too. All this will help to build a Sri Lankan national identity in Sri Lanka. It is entirely up to the ministry of education and higher education in Sri Lanka to reconsider about this humble proposal. I do not know if Sri Lankan policy makers in education will have an appetite to make such a change in Education. (Views expressed in this article are the author's own) Pictured in November 2015 are the residents of Wasperton and Barford including Richard Humphries, Fiona Humphries, Angela Chambers, Rob Skidmore, Stephanie Steel, Simon Johnson, Jim Gilligan and Julia Gilligan gathered on the site of the proposed gravel quarry to demonstrate their anger. Photo: Mark Williamson W104/11/15/19 CAMPAIGNING Barford residents are taking their fight against the construction of a new quarry in the village to Oxford University next week, to protest against the actions of one of its colleges. Angry village residents will demonstrate outside St Johns College next Tuesday (28 May), the college which owns the land where the quarry is proposed. By agreeing to allow the farmland to be used for sand and gravel quarrying, villagers believe St Johns is putting short term profit ahead of environmental and food sustainability, and is risking the health of local children. It is hoped that the protest will raise awareness of the groups campaign amongst college staff and students, who could potentially influence decision makers. Oxbridge graduate Charlotte Morgan, who has lived in Barford for more than ten years and has two young children, said: The Colleges own website proudly claims that they do all they can to reduce their impact on the environment, and have even won awards from Oxford University for doing so. Yet if this quarry goes ahead, the local ecosystem will be destroyed. There will be increased risk of flooding, risk of polluting the nearly River Avon and 220 acres of the highest grade agricultural land will disappear. Im really concerned about my childrens health suffering as a result of 700 diesel lorries travelling to and from the quarry each week, as well as the dust from the quarry. Our community is united in its opposition to the quarry, she explained. Around 1,000 people submitted formal objections to Warwickshire County Council last year and we have the support of our MP, Matt Western. Mrs Morgan added that campaigners had been disappointed by the responses they have received so far from Professor Maggie Snowling, Presidents of St Johns College. She added: Weve had nothing in response but platitudes and a refusal to meet with us. This shows how far removed the College are from the reality of what is going to happen to the land that they own. Its just a financial decision for them, but for people living in Barford and the surrounding villages, it will have a massive impact on our local environment, not to mention our health and quality of life. Villagers claim there are plenty of other available sites that are away from human population, not only existing sites that could be extended, but also former rejected proposed quarries that could be opened. Op-ed: 'Clash of civilizations' theory will come to no good end A senior American official from the State Department recently astonished the world with her racist comments portraying China-US relations as clash of civilizations. The Director of Policy Planning Kiron Skinner seems to be quite blunt about her deeply-rooted racism. She called US ties with China a fight with a really different civilization and a different ideology, saying the United States hasnt had that before. Its also striking that this is the first time that we will have a great power competitor that is not Caucasian, she said. Such voices are not new, and they remind us of the malicious Nazi curses on the Jewish and Slavonic people. Just imagine how scary it was when the Nazis called the Aryans a superior race and the monstrous crimes they committed since. To a man with a hammer, everything looks like a nail. The remarks made by American writer Mark Twain are a precise portrayal of the people like Skinner. What Skinner wants to do is to indiscriminately hammer everything considered a nail in China-US relations in excuse of the clash of civilizations. Such philosophy is considered a kind of typical racism by many, including Americans, who expressed strong criticism as it discusses international relations at racial level. Washington Post commented in an article that Skinners argument lacks empirical support, saying the enterprise of classifying countries according to dominant civilizations ignores the variety and contingency of identities. Bloomberg said the clash of civilizations tone has no space in the US foreign policy and does not help the US win competition. Talk of clashing civilizations reveals the racist, and dangerous, lens of the new US statecraft, remarked Foreign Policy. Skinner is an African American. Has she ever thought of the severe impacts on her own race brought by the racial discrimination that has long plagued the US society when she made racist remarks and talked about Caucasian? Is there any moment that flashed in her mind of the slaughtering made by the so-called white civilization to the Indian and black civilizations? What she believes is groundless, as harmony remains a major feature of the Chinese civilization. In Chinas Han Dynasty around 140 B.C., Zhang Qian, a royal emissary, left Changan, capital of the Han Dynasty and traveled westward, opening an overland route linking the East and the West. What he accomplished was a daring undertaking, rather than the clash of civilizations. More than six centuries ago, Chinese mariner and diplomat Zheng He of Ming Dynasty led seven ocean expeditions with the largest fleet in the world then. What he brought to the world was silk, tea and chinaware, rather than the clash of civilizations. Via the exchanges along the ancient Silk Road, China embraced the ancient civilizations from Greece, Rome and India. These civilizations and Chinese civilizations integrated with each other and enjoyed joint development. The Chinese people pursue harmony in the relationship between human and the world, in the relationship among nations, in social life, in interpersonal relationship, and in ecology. Such a feature has built a broad and inclusive mind of the Chinese civilization. It has had a profound impact on the Chinese nation from the ancient times to now. Just as what Chinese President Xi Jinping put forward, the love for peace has been embedded firmly in the spiritual world of the Chinese nation, and remains Chinas basic idea in handling international relations. Skinners logic identifying civilizations by races and international conflicts by civilizations is very dangerous. Abraham Lincoln once said that the Americans are free from racial restrictions. How come the extreme racist voices of White Supremacy is still made in the US today after huge efforts have been made by the people of the country to upheld freedom and equality, abolish slavery and emancipate the black slaveries? It is worth pondering. Skinners racism is dangerous because there is probably only one way to end the race-based clash of civilizations to exterminate the races she dislikes. Civilizations are created by races and nations. Does the US hope to put an end to the races and nations they dislike and the civilizations related? It needs global attention on such dangerous philosophy, and this racist theory that goes against the trend of history must be terminated. We have a diverse world and colorful human civilizations, and differences do exist in this world. China and the US have their respective characteristics, and differ in history, culture, social system and peoples demands. Its natural but not dangerous for them to have differences. What matters is that they should not take the differences as a reason to make confrontation. On the contrary, they should respect each other and hold equal dialogues, so as to find solutions that are acceptable for both sides. Civilizations should learn from and appreciate each other. To elevate the issues between countries on the civilization level and degrade civilizations to racial level will not help, but create damages. Those advocates for racism, you should stop and dont go against the trend of time! There is no way back if you keep staying wrong-headed. (Zhong Sheng is a pen name often used by Peoples Daily to express its views on foreign policy) Cabinet delays tourism PR campaign By Sunimalee Dias View(s): View(s): Delays at the Cabinet to approve a publicity campaign to get the tourism industry back on track have irked an industry that has fewer tourists to welcome as they believe the authorities may have not got their priorities right for a resurgence of the economy. Stakeholders of the tourism industry representing the private sector had a joint meeting at the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce on Thursday where key issues were discussed highlighting the need to get the travel advisories removed or softened in order to encourage visitors to holiday in Sri Lanka. The delay of more than two weeks in Cabinet approval for the campaign has left the tourism industry wondering whether the government has failed to understand where their priorities lie in reviving the economy. The City Hotels Association President M. Shanthikumar detailed some of the concerns raised at the meeting. Some of the key issues discussed were the soft loans, moratorium on the loans, and the moratorium for staff loans. In addition the matter of travel advisories was raised where it was pointed out that members of the different sectors of the industry had met the ambassadors in Colombo where the mission heads had indicated that no positive statement from the head of state was the key reason for the delay in softening the travel advisories to Sri Lanka. Foreign missions in Colombo have also indicated that once the schools return to normal there would be a relaxing of the travel ban to the country. With the travel ban and warnings against travel to Sri Lanka in place from some of the countrys key markets like India and China have left the island nation without visitors. Therefore the industry believed that it was left to them to lobby with the authorities to make a positive statement and to have the travel advisories removed as soon as possible. Devendre Senaratne, former head of a local industry body, said that though the country is safe according to the three armed forces we need this to be seen from especially the European ambassadors in order to soften the advisories. Also the industry needs the promotions to be carried out for a faster recovery and if this is carried out immediately by November the industry could return to normal. The statements already released by the President and Prime Minister were said to have been individual statements and not a collective one. Moreover, with tourism being the burning issue authorities urgently need to address the concerns impeding business in this sector. In addition the suspension of travel insurance to Sri Lanka has caused a serious concern and the possibility of providing travellers with local insurance policies was not workable and no decision made on that as yet. The industry believes that all talk would lead them nowhere if the PR campaign did not receive the necessary approval from Cabinet, Mr. Shanthikumar said. But this has not even been placed or discussed at the last cabinet meeting it was noted and it is believed the until this gains approval nothing could get moving. Travel Agents chief Trevor Rajaratnam explained that airlines that have already reduced frequencies is a growing concern as these aircraft would be re-routed to other destinations and it will be a challenge to get them flying back to Colombo. In addition, he pointed out that airlines were also in need of support right now with relief provided on catering, fuel, parking and ground handling as these costs were considerably higher compared to other South Asian destinations. Meanwhile, discussions were also held on Friday with the airline representatives on the tactical promotion to be carried with airlines, hotels and tour operators to lure visitors to the country. Calls for a verification site for government information By Raj Moorthy View(s): View(s): In the wake of the recent Easter Sunday attacks, innumerable information was shared on various social media platforms without verification by the public that compelled the government to temporarily block some social media platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram. The Business Times spoke to some of the tech experts in the country for a solution to identify actual news from the fake news. Some suggested that the government should provide verified information on an official website while any unverified document could be perceived as rumours. Chairman of the Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA), Rohan Samarajiva shared his thoughts about the prevailing situation with the Business Times and how ICTA can assist in setting up a verification site (VS). He said, in the current circumstances, there is heightened concern about intentionally disseminated falsehoods (disinformation) or falsehoods disseminated in error (misinformation). Intentionally distorted photo-shopped copies of a government letter are disinformation and forwarding some inaccurate information unwittingly is misinformation. There is interest in a technical solution to the problem of verification. In the past, there was a way to verify official information from the government the Gazette. But this has become overly bureaucratic. The question of interest on a technical solution is whether we can place documents short of what is normally published in the Gazette in another site, stressed Mr. Samarajiva. The solution to this depends on the following pre-conditions being satisfied, he elaborated. Government information comes from hundreds of sources. We have to persuade multiple originators of government information to publish their letters, announcements and so on, on the VS. The procedures for placing information on the VS must be secure and bar unauthorised information from being placed on the site. The damage would be worse than the original problem. The VS must adequately publicised. The old method (Gazette) had a solution for all three problems. Many documents draw their authority from being gazetted. There was no choice but to publish in the Gazette. The long established Gazette (since 1802) has procedures to ensure only authentic government information is published. It is well known, he explained. The difficulty with the pre-conditions may be illustrated using the example of the leaked memo that established the intelligence failure that occurred prior to April 21. It has to be accepted that the public interest was served by the publication of the memo on social media. When the Police Spokesperson, Ruwan Gunasekara was questioned about the veracity of the memo on the evening of Easter Sunday attacks, he was non-committal, saying he would check and answer the next day. It is unlikely that a leaked document would ever be published on the VS, noted Mr. Samarajiva. However, there is no harm in setting up a VS, he said. The legitimate authority is the Department of Government Information (DGI). If a request is made and the funds are provided, ICTA can assist in setting up a secure VS. The task of persuading government agencies to publish their documents on the VS has to be undertaken by the DGI, he added. CB gets tough with Licensed Finance Companies By Bandula Sirimanna View(s): View(s): Sri Lankas Licensed Finance Companies (LFCs) will face tougher regulations from the Central Bank (CB)s Monetary Authority with ownership limits, ensuring higher capital adequacy, loan loss provisioning and improved reporting standards. Calling for stakeholder observations, the CB recently released a concept paper introducing ownership limits of the LFCs to 25 per cent within five years, a senior official of the bank said. He added that this limit can be increased to 30 per cent under special circumstances and LFC stakeholders could submit their views till June 14. Currently tight ownership limits are effective in the banking sector at a maximum of 10 per cent per company/individual with a slighter higher stake subject to approval. The official said tougher rules for non-compliance will include suspension of business activities and cancellation of license. According to CB data, more than 50 per cent of shares in 30 LFCs are owned by the main shareholder in eight LFCs the ownership is limited to the main shareholder and related parties while two shareholders control two LFCs. Only three LFCs have diversified ownership, the official revealed noting that several LFCs owned by banks would be exempted from the new directive. Failed finance companies will have to follow restructuring plans instead of 25 per cent ownership plan while subsidiaries of other LFCs will be required to merge by end 2020. The new regulations have been imposed to maintain a minimum of 10 per cent capital adequacy to be increased to a minimum of 10.5 per cent by mid this year with a target to reach 12.5 per cent by mid-2021. Capital adequacy levels of the LFC sector are to be strengthened and the LFCs which fail to comply will be encouraged to consolidate on a voluntary basis. Non-compliance will result in restrictions on deposit and business expansion and, where necessary, winding up of businesses, the official said. CB Governor Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy recently asserted that they will be tough on the finance companies which fail to meet minimum capital requirements. New guidelines will be issued to strengthen financial reporting of LFCs and the sector needs to cope with enhancement of the minimum capital requirement and higher loan loss provisioning with the introduction of Sri Lanka Financial Reporting Standards 9. While capital and liquidity indicators remain adequate, non-performing loans increased to 7.7 per cent in NBFIs as of end-2018 due to the economic slowdown, with provision coverage declining to 57 per cent, the CB announced. Moreover, the phased introduction in January 2019 of new capital and liquidity requirements under Basel III and the ongoing adoption of IFRS 9, with stricter asset classification and provisioning, will require additional efforts to meet capital requirements. Challenges will be greater in the LFC sector, which accounts for 7.6 per cent of financial systems assets, where further consolidation is expected to meet capital needs. Corn farmer W. Wijerathna Banda from Mahiyangana and his family. He supplies corn to chicken producer Crysbro which this year boosted the rural economy by spending over Rs. 1 billion to purchase corn (maize) from over 1200 farmers in regions such as Moneragala, Mahiyangana and Anuradhapura. Manik Jayakumar to receive Lifetime Achievement Award at World Tea Expo View(s): Manik Jayakumar, founder of QTrade Teas & Herbs, will receive the John Harney Lifetime Achievement Award at World Tea Expo to be held on June 11-13 at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada QTrade Teas & Herbs provides end-to-end solutions to the North American specialty tea industry. World Tea Expo is the leading tradeshow focused on advancing the business of tea. As the 2019 John Harney Lifetime Achievement Award recipient,Mr. Jayakumar will be recognized for his significant support of the tea industrys growth, innovation and education, according to a report in the US-based World Tea News. Mr. Jayakumar is a tea professional with more than 55 years of experience in every segment of the industry. Hes a pioneer and expert on organic cultivation and specialty teas with a state-of-the-art GFSI facility that provides formulation, supply chain and manufacturing services to the hot, iced and bottled tea segments. In particular, QTrade is one of the regions largest suppliers of organic teas, loose leaf blends, and pyramid sachets, the report said. Samantha Hammer, the World Tea Expo event director and World Tea brand leader, said, Were thrilled to honour and recognize Manik Jayakumar with this years John Harney Lifetime Achievement Award. Manik is a shining example of success in the tea and business communities, and we congratulate him on his achievements and decades of work to improve and promote specialty tea in the marketplace. Mr. Jayakumar said, I am very appreciative of the great honour that receiving The John Harney Lifetime Achievement Award signifies. This most unexpected recognition of the small part I have played while working in the industry that I love is beyond anything I have ever sought. To be included now in the august group of recipients of this award is very humbling. Mr. Jayakumar was a planter in Sri Lanka before he migrated to the US. His career started on Brunswick Group, Maskeliya. He represented Royal College, Colombo in rugby in the pivotal position of hooker. Resilience of a nation View(s): At a Colombo office, a Chairman addresses his fellow directors and staff and talks about unity, peace and understanding and that Sri Lanka will succeed only if there is equality, unity and understanding amongst all communities. At the end of a moving pep talk, the group takes an oath of allegiance or unity pledge. At a Colombo office, a Chairman addresses his fellow directors and staff and talks about unity, peace and understanding and that Sri Lanka will succeed only if there is equality, unity and understanding amongst all communities. At the end of a moving pep talk, the group takes an oath of allegiance or unity pledge. At a hotel outside Colombo, the same pledge is read by the staff, while similar events take place across the city and outside in many offices and other establishments. This was soon after 300 representatives of businesses who are members of nine chambers including the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce gathered in Colombo at the Cinnamon Grand one of the hotels affected by the Easter Sunday bombings on May 21, exactly one month after the crisis, and read the unity pledge. The pledge was as follows: We members of the business community hereby pledge to work towards building a united Sri Lanka in which our people can live and work together in unity, in peace and in harmony, irrespective of differences in religion and ethnicity; to acknowledge the diversity within us and treat each other with respect at work and in the community, and we will, together, forge a true Sri Lankan identity and thereby restore Sri Lanka as a peaceful nation. The event meant to soothe a fractured nation was in many ways similar to a peace initiative in the late 1990s led by business leaders Ken Balendra and Lalith Kotelawela during conflict times. As I sit down to put my thoughts on the computer, I look out of the window and see Kussi Amma Sera, Serapina and Mabel Rasthiyadu at their favourite spot under the Margosa tree in animated conversation. Here are snatches of that conversation: Oyage putha-ge rassava kohomada (How is your sons job)? Kussi Amma Sera asks Mabel Rasthiyadu whose son works in a hotel in Bentota. Eya thavamath weda karanawa, deiyanta isthuthiwenna (Hes still employed, thank God), Mabel Rasthiyadu says. Eka hondai, mokada samahara kontrat hotel sevakayange raksha nethiwela (Thats good because some contract hotel workers have lost their jobs ), interjects Serapina. The trio then engages in a long conversation on the crisis that has befallen Sri Lanka. As I turn back to my computer on this gloomy morning, the phone rings. Its Arthika, my nonsensical economist friend, wanting to discuss the countrys economic affairs vis-a-vis the crisis. I say I believe Sri Lankas economy will recover as we have done in the past during crisis situations, says Arthika, for once making sense in a conversation. Yep during the war years too there were ups and downs but economic growth recovered, I said. Yes the pattern then was one bad year was reciprocated with one good year, he said. Hes right. Economic growth suffered during the many crises that Sri Lanka faced over the past few decades but often bounced back due to its resilience. In 1971, during the JVP insurgency, GDP growth fell to 0.2 per cent from 4.3 per cent in 1970. It recovered to 3.2 per cent and 3.7 per cent in 1972 and 1973, respectively. When racial violence broke out in 1983, GDP was 5 per cent but sank to 1.5 per cent in 1987 when the Indo-Lanka peace accord was signed. After a few years of dismal growth the economy recovered to 6.2 and 6.9 per cent in 1990 and 1993, respectively. In 2008, GDP was 6 per cent but fell to 3.5 per cent in 2009 during the time the war ended after heavy fighting in the first five months of the year. It rebounded to 8 per cent the following year and rose to an all-time high and a still-unbroken record of 8.4 per cent in 2011. Since then GDP growth has been on an uneven path: 2012 (6.3 per cent), 2013 (7.2), 2014 (5), 2015 (5), 2016 (4.5), 2017 (3.4) and 2018 (3.2). The economy, for the first time, contracted in 2001 when GDP or negative growth was recorded at 1.5 per cent. The war years were the time when conglomerates like John Keells Holdings and Aitken Spence spread their wings to the Maldives, India and West Asia, setting up hotels to make up for the downturn in their Sri Lanka hotel units. Jetwing Hotels, on the other hand, grew in size and stature during the war years, putting its faith in Sri Lankas resilience the same faith shown by the unity pledge event on May 21. This year economists say economic growth could lose 1-1.5 per cent growth from the targeted 3.6 per cent for 2019 due to the crisis but as reflected in this column today, is most likely to bounce back in 2020/2021. While tourism is always the first sector to get affected in a local or global crisis, it is also quick to recover and in this case the industry is waiting and hopeful that the travel advisories by several countries including India, China, the US, Germany and the UK Sri Lanka biggest source markets for tourists warning their nationals to avoid non-essential travel to the country, would be lifted. Hotels, similar to previous crises, are banking on locals filling the rooms at least during weekends to overcome the crisis in the short term. This happened during the Vesak, 3-day holiday weekend when several resorts were reportedly full helped by generous discounts amounting to as much as 60-70 per cent. There has also been some support from Sri Lankans to help hotels during this crisis. Let us all support our tourism industry by taking our vacations within Sri Lanka, cancelling our holidays overseas. In fact, given a choice let us all use local products and services enabling a rapid recovery from this unfortunate setback, urged one Facebook post. The hotel industry is hoping that the crisis would be over by the time of the winter arrivals season starting in November though it still wont be as good as in the past. However, as one veteran hotel owner commented, the industry has had some good times in the decade since the war ended in May 2009 and made good profits during this period. Arrivals shot up to 2.3 million last year from less than 500,000 at the end of the conflict. We shouldnt grumble because we had a good 10-year run. Now we need to take stock of the situation, re-train staff and weather the crisis, he said. The industry has got some generous concessions from the government to delay payment of capital and interest on loans for one year but has been disappointed that a multi-million- rupee tourism promotion campaign in Sri Lankas key markets is yet to be approved by the Cabinet. Sri Lankans have faced, often what seemed like insurmountable crises in the years after independence, like the JVP insurrection in 1971, the beginning of the ethnic conflict in 1983, the crisis precipitated by the 1987 Indo-Lanka peace accord when the JVP launched its second insurgency and the period leading to the end of the conflict in May 2009. The economy which suffered most also rebounded during these years, reflecting the Sri Lankan spirit of rising above such situations. That spirit and resilience are still alive today and in that unity pledge on May 21, one month after the Easter Sunday disaster, lies the hope of a united community and country that, hopefully, leaves behind enmity and bitterness amongst communities and stays on a firm course and an upward economic path. Kussi Amma Sera walks in with a second cup of tea that I had requested. Lankavata puluvanda yatha thathvayata enna? (Will Sri Lanka recover?), she asks. Mama ese balaporottu venava (I hope so), I said. A Western historian once said that it is often because of stupidity that people fall into irreversible disasters, and those American politicians who have entered the 21st century physically but still stick to the Cold War and zero-sum mentalities are contributing new evidence to the thesis. For a long time, some politicians of the U.S. have blustered such things as defeating China in space competition and China has stolen U.S. intellectual property". Moreover, they have teamed up with Steve Bannon, a has-been U.S. politician, to fabricate such rhetoric as China is planning to become an economic hegemony, acting as if doomsday was approaching the U.S. At present, zero-sum Mentality is rampant among U.S. policymakers. The U.S. arbitrarily imposes additional tariffs on the products of its trading partners once it sees a trade deficit, and slanders other countries for theft of intellectual property once it sees technological and innovative progress made by the latter. It has even made rumors about Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), claiming the strategy is a debt trap as the BRI is gaining increasing global influence. These U.S. politicians resorted to political, economic, and even military resources, and made threats, sanctions and even warfare, in an attempt to gain more private interests and destroy the others. However, they hardly realize that such shortsighted practices will never make America great again, but severely consume their country. According to statistics released by the Brookings Institution, from 1982 to 1984, the U.S. lost 60,000 automobile manufacturing jobs after it implemented trade sanctions on Japanese automobile industry, which led to a peak in the unemployment rate during the presidency of Ronald Reagan. A report released by Peterson Institute for International Economics showed that during the periods of 1945-1969, 1970-1989, and 1990-2000, the success rates of the U.S. sanctions were 50 percent, 31 percent, and 29 percent respectively. The figure suggested that the U.S. sanctions were losing effects as the Uncle Sam increased the frequency. Some American scholars even gave a 5-percent success rate on these sanctions. Going too far on zero-sum game, the U.S. has constantly fallen into strategic dilemmas, and been broadly criticized by the international community, as well as the U.S. society. Trade expert William Reinsch with the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) of the U.S. pointed out that todays international trade is win-win cooperation among countries, rather than zero-sum game. The current trade policies of the U.S. are more like an extension of the mercantilism policies it adopted in the 17th and 18th centuries, which do not accord with the reality of economic globalization in the 21st century, Reinsch said. According to economics professor Jeffrey D. Sachs of Columbia University, the U.S. with its current turn toward nationalism and extreme policy of America first , as well as its violation of international rules, will probably become a rogue state in the 21st century from a post-war leading country. Responding to the unilateral trade policies adopted by the U.S., an official from the European Commission told the media that trade policy is not a zero-sum game, and is not about winners and losers. We here in the European Union believe that trade can and should be win-win. Fair competition and win-win cooperation are supposed to be a fundamental reality of the international community. Unfortunately, some U.S. politicians are always obsessed with defeating others. Peter Navarro, head of the National Trade Council at the White House, has incited Americans to boycott Chinese products, and smeared the China-U.S. ties with a fictional and even horror fiction-like tone. But Navarros view is not just simplistic, it is wrong and dangerous, the New Yorker pointed out sharply in a commentary. For China and the U.S., two big countries in the world, cooperation is the only right choice, because it is not only beneficial to the two states and their peoples, but also has great influence over peace and prosperity of the world. Any wrong thinking and strategic misjudgment in this regard is possible to trigger chain reactions in the world. Growing trade tensions drive uncertainty, thus business investment is hit and global growth is stifled, the remarks of OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurriadeserve attention. In human history, there have been some people who were addicted to hegemony and monopoly. They have waged hot and cold wars in the world, causing the whole human race to suffer extremely serious disasters. It is exactly because mankind has experienced too much agony and too many hardships, we know we should cherish win-win cooperation, seek common well-being, and promote progress of the world as a whole. In todays world, countries are closely connected to each other and dependent on each other, and are increasingly becoming a community with a shared destiny and common joys and sorrows. Its not the time for some people to fight against some people, but the moment when everyone needs everyone. The development of a country is a natural historical trend that will never be stifled and suppressed by any power. Chinas development has been always aimed at a creating better life for Chinese people and people around the world, rather than playing a zero-sum game with anyone. The great course of the development of China, representing historical justice and global trend, is impossible to be stopped. Historical experience has proven to us repeatedly that handling international affairs with zero-sum and cold war mentality will only lead to self-destructive results. The obstinate behavior of some U.S. politicians will only drag the U.S. into the strategic trap set by them. (Zhong Sheng is a pen name often used by Peoples Daily to express its views on foreign policy) State mechanism told to get its act together By Duruthu Edirimuni Chandrasekera View(s): View(s): Terror attacks happen everywhere in the world and almost nowhere is safe given the current situation. However it is the way we manage the crisis that will send the right signals to the world. This is what Sri Lanka hasnt done. A foreign investor told the Business Times recently that the government hasnt shown how it can manage the crisis. We have delayed setting up our operation in Sri Lanka because we dont have confidence that the government can come through this situation, the investor noted. A top government official told the Business Times that similarly two projects were halted immediately after the Easter terror attacks as the investors had informed they are assessing the countrys situation. They will likely not return, he said. He added that the overall impact on economic growth depends on how quickly the government can restore normalcy in the country. Both Muslim and Christian community leaders have expressed concerns of further potential violence in the wake of the Easter Sunday attacks, and in early May a riot broke out in Porutota village near Negombo which further eroded potential investor confidence, analysts noted. While accomplices of the bombing attackers are found almost daily by security authorities, checkpoints have been posted across in Colombo. Checkpoints should spell safety, but it is almost like during the war. It is now a very difficult task to entice foreign investors to set up shop here, but the speed at which most of the perpetrators were caught has given renewed confidence, a foreign investor observed. He along with many other local investors noted that it is time the government got its act together without indulging in micro issues. When the shepherd doesnt know his sheep View(s): It was about two weeks after the Easter Sunday terrorist attack that in an unexpected moment, police officers were at my doorstep. They asked me about the residents at my home. Then they gave me a form, and asked me to fill it and return to the nearest police station with photocopies of the national identity cards of the residents. A few days later I went to the Police Station and handed over the documents according to the instructions. As I was returning, I thought to myself that even if I had an opportunity to provide inaccurate or false information; there was no way to verify the accuracy of the information. For the Police, which didnt intend anyway to conduct a population census, the information provided on the papers might have been satisfactory for the purpose. It must be the case that my information on the documents did not raise any point of suspicion demanding verification; but this is not the point I want to get across in this column today. Let me recall two more incidents, out of many that I can cite in order to highlight the issue which I intend to address today. When I come to the crux of the matter, I have no doubt that you may have many cases of your own experience in order to substantiate my point. Self-assessment Last year the Inland Revenue Department sent by post the new income tax forms to many people to provide information of their incomes and to pay income taxes. I also noticed that some of my colleagues, comprising public and private sector employees (including university academics), professionals in various fields, and some others had received the new income tax forms. It was quite strange that some have received the tax form, while some others havent. How fair is it to tax someone, and exempt another of the same income status? I asked one of my friends from the Inland Revenue Department. I was told that the Department does not have peoples information to decide who should pay taxes, and by how much. So it is customary that the Department depends on indirect information to chase after probable taxpayers. Moreover, the Department has to depend on peoples self-assessed income information, whether such information is genuine or not. It is not only an issue of being genuine or not, but also an issue that tends to penalise the people who provide genuine information and to reward the people who provide false information. Show your face Since last year, the problem seems to have become a cumbersome manual exercise. The new Inland Revenue Act No. 24 of 2017 became operational in April 1, 2018. An electronic tax administrative system is also in operation at the Department now. But the issue is how to find taxpayers without an effective revenue collection mechanism. As a result the revenue collection is still carried out in old fashion way by looking at the face of individuals; some may get caught, and some may not. Besides, I thought to myself: how long would it take to catch income-earners out of 21 million people of Sri Lanka? I have no issue of citizens paying income taxes in fact, every citizen of the country, because it is the price that we pay for living in a civilized society. But I have many issues about what people pay by those who pay, and how it is spent by those who spend the issues that we need to discuss some other time. Romans population census The last story I want to recall is about population census: Even more than 2000 years ago, the Romans have carried out a population census. Mary and Joseph had to make a long journey of about 150 km from Nazareth their residential town, to Bethlehem the home town of Joseph, to be present in front of the enumerators employed by the Roman Emperor, Caesar Augustus. Today the enumerators come to us rather than us going to them. Romans must have carried out the population census, not to compile and analyse demographic data of their empire, but to make use of the census for many purposes, including tax collection. Sri Lankas population census Sri Lanka is one of the few countries in the world which started a population census as far back as 148 years ago in 1871; it reported total population in the country at that time as 2.4 million. The most recent Population Census of Sri Lanka was carried out in 2011/12, which reported over 20 million total population. The next one has been planned for 2021. I wonder to what extent population census has been improved and how much have we made use of it to serve the needs of the country then and now between the 19th and the 21st Centuries; we can even extend the times of comparison to cover 2000 years. Moreover, I want to highlight the fact that today in many countries a population census is just a mouse-click away. They have got rid of the need of carrying out complicated census organising from time to time. At any given day of each year, population data can be generated without a complicated census. Whats the big deal? The big deal is that the government doesnt have complete and accurate information about the people the lack of a fundamental requirement of effective and efficient system of governance, which include policy-making, implementation, and monitoring. There is no question that numerous government agencies spend time and resources, and employ workers to collect information about people, and about their related activities such as businesses, living conditions and other. We have also heard about e-governance and electronic information among most of the agencies. In spite of all that, the fundamentals have hardly changed. In most of the cases the information is incomplete and repetitive. Many government agencies work in isolation and, there is little coordination among them. Some of the information is collected only at times as and when the need arises. The cases I mentioned above shows that the Police, the Inland Revenue Department and, the Census Department all need peoples information. There are many other government agencies which collect peoples information: For instance, the Registrar Generals Department, the Department for the Registration of Persons, the Department of Immigration and Emigration, the Department of Motor Traffic, and the Election Commission are some of the important agencies which collect and maintain their own information systems. Social Service agencies (including the Department of Samurdhi Development), the Provincial and Local government authorities, District and Divisional Secretaries (including the Grama Niladari offices) also collect peoples information according to their requirement. Scattered vs. centralised information In a more developed system of governance, information is centralized and shared by various agencies so that governance is efficient and effective. Peoples information is usually generated at local levels, and are fed into a centralized information system. The information is shared by various agencies which need to use the relevant information for their own purpose. There is no need to conduct a population census as all types of socioeconomic and demographic data will be generated with a mouse-click. Police and other local authorities know residents in the area. The Inland Revenue Department knows income and wealth of each individual. Social services agencies know who should and who shouldnt receive social benefits and subsidies. Governance is based on complete accurate information with no opportunities for information manipulation. There is less room for corruption and wasting resources. There is less room for disputes as the information system is transparent. Policy-making is easier and effective, and is based on better-informed facts. The government knows how to lead the nation, when the government knows about the people. (The writer is a Professor of Economics at the University of Colombo and can be reached at sirimal@econ.cmb.ac.lk). A melancholy week of many wrongs and no rights View(s): This was a week of many wrongs and virtually no rights. The optics of the image released to the public when the Bodu Bala Senas Galagoda atte Gnanasara and his mother met President Maithripala Sirisena following his pardoning while serving a prison sentence for contempt of court said it best, smiles and merry laughter all around as it were. The discarding of good governance niceties This presidential pardon must be read for what it is, with no frills and furbelows to obscure the core point. Clearly it is an unequivocal signal that good governance niceties have been discarded in what is essentially, a battle for political survival in an election year. Advocates of the Rule of Law may vainly screech themselves hoarse on the palpable affront to Sri Lankas judicial institution that this pardon most certainly denotes but let us unflinchingly recognize ugly realities in all their permutations and combinations. Indeed, by keeping silent on this remarkable pardon, the United National Party shifting uneasily in their government seats while trading insults with the President and his men, has also communicated that very same message. The monk had been sentenced for insulting the Bench in the most horrendous manner possible. But this pardon reduces that fact to a frivolous bagatelle of no worthy account. For those of us with short memories, it may be instructive to recall precisely what the Court of Appeal pronounced in handing down the punishment late last year. This was consequent to the monks barging into the hearing of a habeas corpus petition in the Homagama Magistrates Court filed in respect of the disappearance of cartoonist Prageeth Ekneligoda during the Rajapaksa years and haranguing the magistrate and the state counsel as eunuchs. In exceptionally stern language, the Appeal Court pointed to the fact that the accused who had no connection to the court hearing with no standing to appear, had addressed the Bench without express or implied permission, intending to intimidate the magistrate into granting bail to the suspect intelligence officers after the magistrate had already refused to do so. His address to the magistrate was in a high tone, heard even by those waiting away from the court room and in abusive, offensive and commanding language. In doing so and in saying that this was the white persons law and that he did not accept that law, he had tried to coerce the Bench into obeying his commands and to reverse an already pronounced Order. Pious statements and past reprehensible conduct The Court observed that whether the law is foreign-made or locally-made, it is the prevailing law that the courts have to apply and that the Court will administer justice according to such law irrespective of its genesis. The accuseds behavior was assessed as degrading the honour and the Court, amounting to a categorical refusal to accept its authority and deserving therefore of the most stringent response. Later and upon an appeal being filed against the appellate court order, that judicial position was upheld by majority decision in the Supreme Court. Effectively therefore, a punishment affirmed by the apex court in the country has been tossed aside by the Office of the President as mere trivia. This is made worse by the fact that the presidential pardon has been granted after a mere few months of the sentence being served. So the controversial monks pious injunction to the public soon after his release this week that everyone must work prudently and responsibly contrasts oddly with his behavior resulting in the sentence for contempt of court in the first place. For this was conduct that was neither prudent or responsible by any standard whatsoever. In fact, his unpardonable behavior before the Homagama Magistrates Court was the very least of those wrongs. This was on the heels of even more riotous conduct hardly befitting his robes, to put the matter mildly. An ugly cacophony of unreasoning hate and racial prejudice had targeted Sri Lankas Muslims with no perceptible differentiation between the innocent and the guilty. Indeed the very violence of that behaviorresulted in warnings issued by the Bodu Bala Sena in regard to the spread of Wahabism in Sri Lanka not being taken with the seriousness that was perchance warranted. If even the part serving of a jail sentence has resulted in the correction of past reprehensible conduct, that is to the good. But dogged skepticism prevents any such assumptions being made in good faith. Ultimately therefore, this pardon by the President, in the wake of increased insecurity of the countrys Muslim community following communal violence politically instigated in Minuwangoda and Kurunegala following the Easter Sunday attacks on Christian and Catholic churches and high-end hotels in Colombo will be read by many as a non too subtle signal to the countrys ethnic and religious minorities; behave or the (literal) barbarians will be at your gates. Unsurprisingly, wary apprehension has been heightened, increasing the persecution complex felt by Sri Lankas Muslim community. A series of diverting and distracting side-events One month from the Easter Sunday atrocities therefore, we are faced with diverting and distracting side events. The smoke and ashes of that fateful day had hardly faded away before we saw organised violence against Muslims in Minuwangoda and Kurunegala. Now we have the pardon of a convicted monk known for tirades against the Muslim minority and to boot, a Joint Opposition no-confidence motion competing for primacy with a Government supported Parliamentary Select Committee hearing on Minister Rishad Bathiudeen. Others who face similar allegations of instigating Wahabi radicalism, including the Governor of the Eastern Province who, along with his son, is implicated in a so-called Shariah University in the East escape unscathed. Quite apart from the disturbing scent of a politically motivated witch hunt in the baying of the Joint Opposition for Bathiudeens blood, probably as fitting revenge for not joining their ranks in the ill fated and short lived political coup last year, why is the Parliament tasked with ascertaining his guilt or innocence as the case may be? If that is the case, for what earthly reason do Sri Lankas criminal investigation agencies exist? Previously, a Tamil Minister was accused of making statements in support of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in addressing a public meeting in the North and the criminal law was moved against her following consultations with the Attorney General. Why is this approach followed in one case and not in the other? First priority of the political leadership The first priority of the Government and the Opposition should be to bring to brook those who were responsible as political handlers and protectors of Wahabi jihadists who brought about the Easter Sunday atrocities in Sri Lanka. That must manifestly be the common purpose. Political responsibility must be assessed against the strict standard of the law, evidence and proof and applied equally to wild eyed fanatics preaching devastation for unbelievers and infidels in fiery sermons as well as to a parliamentarian, a Minister or a Governor who promotes or protects them. But instead of a measured response to twin evils of terrorism and extremism, a dueling President and Prime Minister with their merry men grandstand politically while a Joint Opposition plots and schemes, greedy eyed for power at all costs to the extent of spilling blood without compunction. These political blocs led by impossible men have become the primary cause in bringing about a nation that is now a powder-keg of communal, racial and religious suspicion, where one match lit with calculated and deadly intent will suffice for a conflagration. This is Sri Lankas melancholy reality. Fixing date for No-Confidence Motion more contentious than their debates By Sandun Jayawardana View(s): View(s): After heated arguments and even a protest in the Well of the House, the No-Confidence Motion (NCM) on Minister Rishad Bathiudeen will be taken up for debate on June 18-19. Earlier this week, the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) mounted a vociferous campaign demanding that the NCM be debated during sittings in the 1st week of June. Leaders of the UPFAs constituent parties had proposed that it be held on June 6-7, with all motions on the agenda on those dates shifted to June 4. The Government refused, leading to angry exchanges between the two sides. Even a Party Leaders Meeting on Thursday (23) failed to resolve differences, after the Government insisted on sticking to the June 18-19 dates. Speaker Karu Jayasuriya was forced to adjourn sittings only two hours into proceedings on Wednesday (22), after some Opposition MPs held a protest in the Well of the House, demanding that he set an earlier date to debate the NCM. The Speaker urged the Opposition to accept the June 18-19 dates, as it was up to the Government to fix dates, in consultation with party leaders. Dates in July were proposed during the Party Leaders Meeting, but I suggested the debate be held in June, at the earliest, he added. Opposition MPs see the debate being pushed back to the second week of sittings in June as a sinister attempt to exonerate Minister Bathiudeen from allegations of complicity with the Easter Sunday terrorist attackers, that had been raised through the NCM. This is in light of the Governments proposal to investigate the allegations against the Minister through the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) appointed to look into and report to Parliament, regarding the April 21 terrorist attacks. It has also proposed to submit an interim report on the allegations against Minister Bathiudeen in 2 weeks. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe meanwhile, opined that the NCM submitted by the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) against the entire Government should be debated first, according to Erskine Mays principles of Parliamentary practice. JVP Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayaka immediately rejected the PMs contention. We have so far not requested a date to debate the NCM submitted by us, precisely because we also believe that the NCM on Minister Bathiudeen should be debated first, as it was submitted before our NCM, the JVP leader insisted. Opposition MPs also emphasised there should be no confusion between the NCM on Minister Bathiudeen and the investigation conducted by the PSC into the April 21 terror attacks. There were angry scenes when Minister Bathiudeen spoke to defend himself against allegations levelled by the Opposition. He vehemently denied allegations in the NCM, that a Moulavi who functioned as an adviser to his ministry and one of his coordinating secretaries, had been arrested over the terror attacks. Allegations that one of my brothers was arrested are also completely false. I even got a letter from the Inspector General of Police saying so. He further denied that he had tried to exert pressure on the Army Commander to release a suspect. An adviser to the Muslim Religious Affairs Ministry called me and said his son had been taken away by a group of men wearing black and had their faces covered. He asked me to help find him. I went to the police, but they had no information and said to ask from the Army. When I called Minister Ruwan Wijewardene, he too said to ask the Army Commander. I only asked the Army Commander about the individual, to find out if he had indeed been taken away and what happened to him. I never asked for him to be released, he claimed. In a highly charged speech, punctuated by interruptions by Opposition MPs, Mr Bathiudeen blamed the media mafia for allegedly tarnishing his image, by claiming he had links with the terrorists. Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera, who had also come in for severe flak recently, over his comment that Sri Lanka was not a Sinhala Buddhist nation, stuck to his guns in Parliament. I was abused in raw filth over this, but I say again, it is true that the majority in this country are Buddhists, but the country belongs to all Sri Lankans, he remarked. Mr Samaraweera said he was a follower of Buddhist Philosophy and it was wrong to call Buddhism a religion. Lord Buddhas teachings do not belong to one country, people or caste, he stressed. As Buddhists, we should be ashamed that certain Buddhist Monks are profiting by calling Buddhism a religion and creating so much trouble. He also denounced the hate campaign being conducted against Muslim-owned businesses, noting that they bring US$ 3 billion to Sri Lanka each year. Mr Samaraweera pointed out that 95% of the employees of a pasta factory owned by a Muslim, that was recently burned down in Minuwangoda, were Sinhalese. Out of 48,000 employees in Brandix, 75% are Sinhalese. A total of 80% of employees at Hameedias are Sinhalese, 90% of 10,000 employees at Timex Garments are Sinhalese, and 90% of 10,000 employees at Maliban Garments are Sinhalese. The list goes on, Mr Samaraweera stressed. On Friday, Parliament approved the extension of the State of Emergency by another month, by 22 votes to 8. The vote was taken on the request of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA). The TNAs 8 MPs, who were in the chambers, were the only ones to vote against the motion. PSC to investigate and report on Easter Sunday attacks A Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) under the Chairmanship of Deputy Speaker Ananda Kumarasiri was appointed this week to look into and report to Parliament, on the terrorist attacks that took place on April 21. Other members of the PSC are Ministers Rauff Hakeem, Ravi Karunanayake, Dr Rajitha Senaratne, MPs Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka, Prof. Ashu Marasinghe, Dr Jayampathy Wickramaratne, M.A. Sumanthiran and Dr Nalinda Jayatissa. UNP MP Kavinda Jayawardena, who had earlier been appointed as a member, withdrew from the PSC. The UPFA has announced that it would not participate in the PSC and, as such, have not nominated members to the PSC. The PSC is tasked with investigating and reporting back to Parliament, whether the Law enforcement authorities possessed prior intelligence relating to the attacks; whether there were deficiencies in the State machinery that led to the inability to prevent such attacks or mitigate their effects; whether any other factors contributed to such terrorist attacks; what action should be taken to prevent such attacks in the future; any other matters connected or incidental thereto. It will present its report to Parliament within 3 months of the date of its first sitting or, as such other or, further time period as Parliament may grant. In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity: Sun Tzu View(s): Gnanasara Hamuduruwaney, I thought I must write to you when I heard that you had been pardoned by Aiyo Sirisena. I suppose you must be quite happy, now that you are no longer behind bars, and wearing the saffron robe once more, instead of the infamous prison jumper. Ah, what a change of fortunes this must be for you! We knew something was afoot when we heard that Aiyo Sirisena visited you in the prison hospital, and Bond Ravi and that Governor looking after the Western regions followed soon after; so your release comes as no great surprise, although I daresay it sends the wrong message, particularly at this time. It was good to see you at a temple so soon after being released, looking hale, hearty and happy. It is strange what a release from prison can do to you. When you were there, you spent most of your time in hospital, citing various illnesses, yet as soon as you were released you look the picture of good health! It is strange, isnt it hamuduruwaney, how other events can influence your fate? The Easter bombings killed hundreds and did no good to anyone except you! It gave a chance to you and your senawa to say we told you so, leading to some people calling for your early release on that basis. Sensible people wouldnt have forgotten that what happened on Easter Sunday and why you were sent to prison were totally separate events. You were sent to prison for disrupting court and insulting the judiciary. That was a decision that was upheld on appeal by no less than the highest court in the land. Of course, we can trust Aiyo Sirisena to kill two birds with one stone. He must have been still smarting from the slap in the face given to him by the highest court when they declared his dissolution of Parliament unconstitutional. So, here was a great opportunity to slap them back and get even. On the other hand, Aiyo Sirisena being the great manipulator that he is, has also sensed the chance to free you and become a hero to the so-called patriots who are now calling for the blood of the Muslim community and the boycotting of businesses owned by them as a response to Easter Sunday! After all, he has to do something to get back into the good books of the majority community after presiding over meetings of the Security Council, where all he has done is stare at the ceiling when he was told about the possibility of these attacks. So, what better way to do that than to release you? We havent forgotten hamuduruwaney, that you did play an important role in the unrest involving the Muslim community five years ago at Aluthgama that left four people dead. You made some highly provocative speeches that inflamed an already tense situation and rioting followed. Of course, those were the days when you walked with the royal family of that time the R family so you didnt suffer any consequences for your actions. You too knew that you were above the law, which is why you were going about behaving in a manner that brought disrepute to the saffron robe. What is very intriguing is Aiyo Sirisenas decision to release you right now. We saw what happened at Chilaw, Hettipola and Minuwangoda recently. Unleashing you when feelings are running high between communities, makes us wonder whether he is hoping for a repeat performance from you. Your release, hamuduruwaney, has also given hope to those who had no hope. You were imprisoned for at least six years and you are free after less than a year and most of that time was spent in hospital, not prison. I am sure Duminda must be thinking he is next on Aiyo Sirisenas pardon list! Your release sends all the wrong signals to people. Still, we have now come to expect that from Aiyo Sirisena. His decisions to appoint prime ministers, dissolve Parliament, attempts to stay in office for one more year and wanting to run for the top job again were all wrong, so this is hardly surprising. Being free once again, you may have a difficult choice ahead of you. We heard you thanking Aiyo Sirisena for releasing you. He was all smiles when you and your mother met him at his residence. Well, that is one way of getting an audience with him insult the judiciary and go to prison! You must surely know that Aiyo Sirisena doesnt do you a favour without expecting something in return. Now, if he were to run again for the top job, which he still wants to do, whose platform will you grace, hamuduruwaney? Will it be your old friend, Gota, or your new friend, Aiyo Sirisena? We hope you are different now. After 10 years of peace, Easter Sunday changed our land. To limit its terrible effects, we need rational and reasonable people, not racists and rabble-rousers. If you can keep that in mind, it will help. Yet, something tells me that is too much to ask from you, hamuduruwaney. Yours truly, Punchi Putha PS: Aiyo Sirisenas recent actions remind us of the saying, whom the Gods wish to destroy, they first make mad. He has a few months more to go and it seems as if he is determined to make a lasting impression in that time. If he continues like this, it will be theruvan saranai for all of us! The road to economic recovery and development View(s): The question uppermost in the minds of most persons is whether the peace of the Vesak weekend was the turning point to peaceful conditions and economic recovery. There are signs that the country is getting back to normal with the fear psychosis diminishing though not eliminated. This return to peace and normalcy is an essential condition for economic recovery. The assurances of the Army Commander, Prime Minister, the President and the State Minister of Defence that there is no threat and that citizens could resume their activities is reassuring. Insufficient Peace alone is inadequate to promote economic growth and development. Social harmony is the prerequisite for long term development. Whether the dialogue and conversations of religious and political leaders in the past six weeks would lead to social, religious and ethnic harmony is yet to be seen. The nation must seize this opportunity to establish religious and ethnic harmony that is a necessary though not a sufficient condition for economic development. Stumbling block The biggest obstacle and setback to the countrys post-independent economic development has been the recurrent ethnic violence and the prolonged civil war. Unless the country is united with its rich cultural and religious diversity, rapid economic development will remain an elusive objective, an unrealised dream. Economic recovery For the present a return to peace and normalcy would provide the environment for economic recovery. That is the best we can hope for at this point in time. The bomb blasts and insecure conditions have setback the economy. It has not devastated it. The task is not one of economic reconstruction. It is one of picking up from the setback to progressively accelerate economic production. This does not mean that much harm has not been done to the economy, nor that the economic recovery would be speedy and spectacular. At best the economy could return to the recent level of economic growth. While achieving the low rate of economic growth of the past few years is not a difficult task, achieving economic growth of over 5 percent in 2019 is unrealistic. Essential not sufficient Peace, law and order are essential preconditions. They are not sufficient conditions for economic development. A host of other conditions are needed for the economy to take off to a higher trajectory pf growth. It is because these conditions were lacking that the countrys post independent economic growth averaged only around 3.5 percent. In the last four years it dipped even below that long term average owing to economic and non-economic conditions not being conducive to growth. Policies The lack of clear and certain economic policies, a weak capacity to implement economic policies, inability to undertake essential economic reforms and corruption have been among the main reasons for slow economic growth. This incapacity has led to the country being the one left behind in South Asias economic growth of over twice our attainment. Rapid economic growth is a long term prospect after a stable and capable government is established after the next elections. And that too is an uncertainty. IMF assistance The economys recovery may benefit from international assistance. The IMF releasing the sixth tranche of the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) is an instance of this. It also extended the arrangement by an additional year, until June 2, 2020, with the re-phasing of remaining disbursements. The release of the US$ 164.1 million is a small amount. Yet it is of significance in reinforcing international confidence. Its decision to release the funds was probably motivated by the sympathy it had for the country owing to the terrorist attack. Good report The IMF also gave a good report on the economy. It said: The Sri Lankan authorities have successfully brought the programme back on track, despite important setbacks, by advancing fiscal consolidation through a well-targeted 2019 budget, rebuilding reserves, while maintaining a prudent monetary policy under greater exchange rate flexibility, and reviving structural reforms. Sustaining policy discipline remains critical to strengthen resilience, given still sizable public debt and low external buffers, and support strong and inclusive growth. Advice Furthermore it advised: Sustained revenue mobilization is needed to place public debt on a downward path, while making space for critical public investment and an expansion of the social safety net under well-defined selection criteria. Strengthening the selection and appraisal process of large-scale investment projects and assessing their fiscal affordability is critical, given Sri Lankas high public debt. Stronger fiscal rules and a medium-term debt management strategy will support medium-term fiscal consolidation and debt reduction efforts. It advised the government to strengthen state enterprises governance and transparency, including a restructuring plan for Sri Lankan Airlines and completing energy pricing reforms, building on important progress with the implementation of the fuel pricing formula. China China has agreed to provide aid worth USD14 million to procure Chinese-made counter-insurgency equipment. This will not strengthen the balance of payments. Other countries too may be obliged to make contributions, especially those that are vying for a place in our strategically significant Island. If these come as loans, they have to be repaid, as in the case of the IMF facility. Then they are a relief for the present and a burden for the future. Hopefully we will receive mostly grants and assistance in kind to tide over the current economic difficulties. National task Economic recovery is a national imperative. The governments primary obligation of ensuring peace and security is the foremost precondition. Now that this is ensured and the life of the nation is normal, economic growth should gain momentum in the second half of the year. There is a need to catch up lost production in the months ahead. Peak production Both agriculture and manufactures should produce at their peak possibilities. At most they were interrupted and must regain their momentum. Among services the setback to tourism was shattering and the economic activities connected to tourism, received a mammoth blow. Economic activities that have backward linkages with tourism and other services that have been badly affected include, travel, hotels, guest houses and other tourist accommodation, restaurants, arts and crafts, gem and jewelry sales. The livelihoods of persons in these are severely affected. These could recover for most part, only after tourism bounces back. Meanwhile domestic tourism would have to fill in to some extent. If security conditions improve one could expect somewhat of a recovery at years end with the next tourist season. National harmony While all religious leaders have emphasised the need for religious and ethnic harmony and civil society organisations too have underscored this imperative, the stumbling block appears to be the narrow intents of sections to take political advantage of the conditions. The nearness of elections compounds the problem. Conclusion The terrorist attacks have slowed down the economy. It is likely to impact adversely on the balance of payments, the fiscal outcome and economic growth. However it is not a breakdown of the economy and could be resuscitated with the return of secure conditions, law and order, an enlightened political leadership and social harmony, The restoration of law and order, elimination of terrorism, ensuring ethnic harmony and good governance would be vital for economic recovery. It is also important to prevent any ethnic or religious backlash to ensure that the economic recovery is not impeded. Economic recovery would depend very much on the political leadership and implementation of economic policies. The politics of terrorism View(s): Last weekends somewhat muted Vesak celebrations resulting from the aftermath of the Easter Sunday bombings and the prevailing uneasiness in the country prevented the 10th anniversary of the defeat of the three decade-long northern terrorism from being given the attention it deserved. Countries that still celebrate the battles of Somme and Gallipoli and Poppy Day in WW I, a war of more than a century ago, and the defeat of Fascism in WW II more than 70 years ago (they however dont hail the bombing of Dresden or the Viet Nam war), say it is triumphalism to celebrate the defeat of terrorism in Sri Lanka. It was terrorism that was defeated in 1971, 1989 and 2009. And this nation and generations to come must not be allowed to forget the great valour, patriotism and supreme sacrifices made by men in official uniform and civilians alike who got caught in the cross-fire, in the three insurgencies. Alas, now we have, or seem to have, a fourth on our hands. A team of foreign reporters who went around the country recently noted the number of monuments, big and small, state-erected and privately initiated, from huge edifices to mass cemeteries to small bus shelters, some spick and span, others overgrown with weeds. The one thing in common they are all dedicated to Sri Lankans who had fallen to acts of violence. There was much in common as well in the southern and northern insurgencies. The boys (and later the girls) who started these violent terror-driven movements were those who found no place for them in the existing Parliamentary democracy system. It was the caste system that closed the doors to many of them entering Parliament. It was worse in the north than the south. The electorate vote their caste when they cast their vote, is an old cliche. The district becoming the electorate and the proportional representation system, with all its shortcomings, rectified this imbalance, but only somewhat. There were those who no doubt profited from this aberration, but a whole lot felt deprived and short-changed by Parliamentary elections. In the meantime, Governments have been urged to expedite the post-war healing process and the stagnant reconciliation efforts while seeing to it that the so-called deprived classes got proper representation in the countrys Legislature. This is not by increasing the numbers of the already bloated House, but primarily by political parties taking cognizance of these undercurrents. It is somewhat ironic that those who demanded the Armed Forces vacate the north, are now having second thoughts in the wake of the new wave of terrorism raising its ugly head, gripping the country with anxiety. Those in the north are only too aware that the LTTE indulged in ethnic cleansing first of the Jaffna town and then the North-Eastern and Eastern Provinces. There is still much to be done in the war ravaged north. The Government has been slow in infrastructure development, especially in the area of housing; the reopening of the Palaly airport as a regional hub to reach out to southern Indian states other than Tamil Nadu; and the imperative need for more effective patrolling of the Palk Strait and the Gulf of Mannar. Even India which considered the poaching by its fishermen in Sri Lankan waters as a humanitarian issue, will understand the new dimensions these cross-border movements take and the grave danger posed by easy entre for radicalised elements to southern India, quite apart from the growing heroin trade in these waters. It is but a quirk of fate that the incessant demand for greater autonomy and self-rule in the north, than through the existing provincial councils, has subsided to a whimper with infighting among the northern politicians and the threat of a radicalised movement from the east making its presence felt in the north. The 30 years cost lives and limbs. Peoples lives were turned upside down and thousands were displaced internally while scores left this country in bitterness. The countrys progress was stifled. The economy that was just about taking-off, as economists put it, was retarded for long periods. It was heavy price that was paid. As we salute and remember the heroes who played their part in putting an end to those miserable years, it is now back to the politicians to see that such sorry chapters in our history are not to be repeated. Working together with Modis India And so, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has swept back to high office, retaining his job in a stunning replica of his 2014 landslide victory. The Opposition coalition led by the Congress Party and scion of the Gandhi family, Rahul Gandhi was unable to stop the Modi juggernaut as it was popularly known from sweeping the polls in the worlds largest democracy. Modi critics say that the myth of the intelligent Indian voter has been exposed. We have referred earlier to some lessons to be learnt from the manner in which Indias Elections Commission monitored the campaigning in the sub-continent, but accusations were many, even from the countrys Supreme Court, that it was found wanting. There are also lessons for political parties in Sri Lanka; the good, the bad and the ugly. Mr. Modis BJP had superior organisational skills at the grassroots and in checking the pulse of the ordinary masses where the numbers were. On the downside, the BJP again ran on its nationalism agenda, no different to the way the current US President reached out to a particular segment of the American population which the more liberal minded see as dangerous politics. The Indian Opposition is now scrambling to make alliances, rather too late in the day. The anti-BJP votes got split in many states allowing the BJP to make inroads in West Bengal and Odisha, etc. Now, as the winner, the BJP has the upper hand in attracting them to join the Government. The fact that one party won an outright majority is good news for Sri Lanka. No longer need the Central Government in New Delhi dance to the tune of regional parties, as it had to not long ago, which even dictated its foreign policy, especially towards Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Mr. Modi has indicated clearly that he is a friend of Sri Lanka irrespective of the party in office in Colombo, and the once acrimonious bilateral relations hopefully are a thing of the past. The need now is for both South Asian neighbours to work together in good faith, for trade, security and the mutual benefit of both their peoples. Sri Lanka, meanwhile, has to lift its efficiency levels in its dealings as an equal partner. Colombo University to collaborate with CIMA View(s): The Cabinet has approved a proposal by Minister of Water Supply & Higher Education, Rauff Hakeem to sign a Memorandum of Understanding between the University of Colombo (UoC) and the Charted Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), to facilitate undergraduates to follow CIMA courses. According to the proposal, this would increase cooperation between the UoC and the CIMA in the United Kingdom. Universities re-open with strict security measures View(s): Universities have re-opened after the Easter Sunday bombings disrupted Primary and Higher Education activities. Security has been beefed up in campuses with the introduction of a pass system for vehicles and motorcycles and establishment of vigilance committees among students. Most campuses have either resumed academic activities or have drawn plans to resume lectures in the up coming few weeks. Police and armed guards have been placed outside universities, while Marshals have stepped up security within them. University of Peradeniya (UoP) Vice Chancellor Prof Upul B. Dissanayake told the Education Times they have stepped up security by deploying an additional 150 security personnel. He said, instead of the previous system where students could enter from almost any of the locations, the authorities have now restricted entrance from selected places, while the other open areas are being guarded by police and security personnel. He said they have also restricted students from carrying backpacks, while requesting them to use transparent bags. The UoP commenced its academic programmes by opening the Agriculture and Allied Health Services. Medical, final year Veterinary students and all 1st year Engineering students and 2nd year Computer Engineering students commenced academic activities on Tuesday, while the Faculties of Arts, Management and Science for all students commenced on Wednesday. The Dental Sciences Faculty commences tomorrow. At the University of Colombo (UoC), Faculty of Management & Finance Head Dr M.P.P. Dharmadasa said the UoC too has implemented additional security precautions, including restricting student entry only from main entrances. He said they have requested students to reduce the number of bags they carry and also avoid spending time unnecessary in the university, after completing lectures. In the hostels, records are being maintained of visitors, while awareness programmes are being held to educate students on security precautions, he said. Police and Security Forces personnel are stationed outside, while Marshals conduct checks on identity cards. Vehicles will be allowed entry only on a pass system. - Damith Wickremasekara Kids World * View(s): Respecting Elders Our parents, teachers, grandparents, uncles and aunts and anyone we meet who is elder to us, is considered as our elders. Our parents are the ones who look after us from birth. They sacrifice all their wants to provide our needs and give us a better future. So we must always be obedient to them and treat them with respect and dignity. Our dear teachers hold a very special place in our lives. They play a very important role to shape our future. They also guide us to become good citizens. So we owe our respect and gratitude towards our teachers. We must always respect our elders by being kind and polite to them. We mustnt raise our voice against them or argue. Simple and small things like talking to them in a friendly manner, greeting them, listening attentively, helping them, giving them a seat in a bus etc., not only will make them happy but will show them how much we respect them. If we respect our elders we will get their blessings which is important for us to have a good future. It is very sad today to see some children ignore their elders by not giving proper respect and care to them. So as children who will be the future of this world, it is our responsibility to make this world a better place by respecting our elders and taking proper care of them. Rahma Rushdie (Grade 6) St. Pauls Girls School Milagiriya Mothers Day The second Sunday in May is celebrated as Mothers Day. Although this day wasnt popularly celebrated in Sri Lanka for a long time, it is certainly catching up, with more and more people choosing to honour and celebrate their mothers on this day. Anna Jarvis of Philadelphia, USA is known as the founder of Mothers Day. In 1915, the US Congress asked the president of the USA to proclaim Mothers Day as a day to be remembered throughout the nation. Such a proclamation has been issued by successive presidents since then. On Mothers Day, most people wear a red rose or a pink carnation if their mother is still alive, or a white flower is she is dead. This custom of wearing a flower was also invented by Anna Jarvis. Many countries have different ceremonies to honour their mothers. The ten day long festival called the Durga Pooja in India is one example. Durga is known as the divine mother of arts, wealth and war. During this festival, people take offerings of flowers, fruits and vegetables or animals to the kovils. On Mothers Day many people visit their mothers and take gifts for them while children present their mothers with gifts or cards that they have made themselves. D. R. Sharukesh (10 years) Readway Int. College Be Happy Be happy every time Be happy with what you have Be the happiest person Some days make you happy Some days make you sad Have a smile on your face every time Dont be lonely Have fun with your friends and family If you practice this then you will be healthy Thats why you should be happy When its your birthday you are very happy Thats a good example of happiness When kids get good marks Then their parents are happy too Some people like to be famous When they achieve that, they are happy too Press every button then you would succeed Thats the key to success Shaheema Makkam (9 years) Lyceum Int. School, Nugegoda Importance of trees We stayed at Trincomalee which has a thick forest cover. I love climbing the many-branched Araliya tree on which there were white-coloured, sweet-smelling flowers. Some trees like Neem, with boughs at the top, are hard to climb. Huge trees and untamed grass miniature jungles are in both my ancestral homesteads. One day during the last summer vacation, I went with my grandfather to the mini-jungle; we watered trees with motor and pump and played with water. My father took a picture and said I looked like Mowgli. I have an umbilical relationship with trees. They are crucial for the survival of our planet. Heres how; Trees consume carbon-dioxide for photosynthesis. They prevent soil erosion; roots improve groundwater retention by guiding water to penetrate deep down; else rainwater, the purest water source can easily run off to the salty sea. Birds and animals live on trees getting food and nice shelter. The furniture in our houses is made from trees. Tree pulp makes paper. Fossilised trees generate oil which powers transport and industry. Like Sakura, the blooming of Japanese Cherry Blossom, refreshes minds, trees comfort us. Imagine a world without trees! Sophie Ann Benoj (12 years) Colombo 5 Tariffs on China to "hit home for every American," warn U.S. industries NEW YORK, May 26 (Xinhua) -- Kevin Cheung, vice president of a New York-based clothing firm, recently twisted his ankle and is steadily recovering from an intense burning sensation on it. Yet there are no signs of easing of the "slow burn" that his company, Lisa International, has suffered since the United States initiated tariff disputes with China last March. As Washington increased additional tariffs on 200 billion U.S. dollars' worth of Chinese imports from 10 percent to 25 percent earlier in May and threatened to raise tariffs on more Chinese imports, this worsening trade row between the world's two largest economies has prolonged market uncertainty. "Clothing tariff is still not in place yet, but we assume it will be here soon. This is a bigger concern to me," Cheung told Xinhua in a recent interview. CATASTROPHIC IMPACT Cheung's concern was shared by a growing number of U.S. industry leaders who warned the White House of the "catastrophic" impact of such trade disputes on Americans with rising costs and dwindling profits. "This latest escalation means the trade war will only get worse and hit home for every American," said a statement released on May 13 by the Tariffs Hurt the Heartland campaign, which comprises over 150 U.S. trade organizations. Tariffs are taxes paid by American businesses and consumers, and they force American consumers to pay more for clothes, shoes, toys, electronics and even food while making it more difficult for U.S. exporters to compete, it said. "The trade war has gone on for far too long, and the costs have grown far too high. The patience of farmers, manufacturers, businesses and consumers is wearing thin, " it said. Grant Kimberley, a sixth-generation soybean farmer and marketing director of the Iowa Soybean Association, said he and his peers hope some quick and positive changes could be made. U.S. soybean exports to China have been down 89 percent over the past year, and about half of the supplies that would normally have gone to China have now gone somewhere else, with farmers "still at a deficit for net total exports," Kimberley told Xinhua. "It's likely the trade dispute could be a long-term reality," he said. "With prices going lower and soybean supplies growing, and with only modest hope that a resolution is near, we're likely to be mired in this scenario for some time." "For some farmers, the crop they're currently planting may be their last," he said. Washington's tariff hikes will also hit the U.S. toy industry hard given "how heavily we rely on China for toy manufacturing and how thin the profit margins already are," said Rebecca Mond, vice president of federal government affairs at the Toy Association, a 950-plus-membered industry group. AGGRESSIVE BUT COUNTERPRODUCTIVE 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. "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," Hoffman told Xinhua. U.S. tariffs on tech product imports from China increased fivefold from 2017 to 2018, said Stefanie Holland, vice president for federal and global policy of the Computing Technology Industry Association. "Should a 25-percent tariff rate apply to all tech product imports the costs could run into the tens of billions of dollars," said Holland, adding that barriers to trade will also "negatively impact the products that are designed, developed and manufactured in the United States." According to a recent report by Swiss investment bank UBS, over 12,000 U.S. brick-and-mortar stores of apparels and textiles would be at risk because of the possible new tariffs. The big wave of store closures would be highly negative and create intense inventory dislocations and discounting in addition to impacts on jobs and the economy, the report said. The Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America, a trade organization, estimated the new tariffs could cost U.S. consumers 7 billion dollars a year. "It is time to bring this trade war to an end," said an open letter signed by 173 footwear companies and retailers. In a study released Thursday, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said U.S. tariff revenue collected from levies on Chinese goods "has been borne almost entirely by U.S. importers." "The bilateral trade deficit remains broadly unchanged," it added. The latest U.S. tariff hikes will impose a total annual cost of 831 dollars for a typical U.S. household, said a research posted Thursday by the Federal Reserve (Fed) Bank of New York. "In sum, according to our estimates, these higher tariffs are likely to create large economic distortions and reduce U.S. tariff revenues," it said. YEARN FOR NORMAL TRADE Frustrated by disrupted U.S.-China trade, U.S. soybean farmers yearn for "trading as normal" with China, President of the American Soybean Association Davie Stephens told Xinhua. It took U.S. farmers more than 40 years to build the soybean market in China, said Stephens, warning that it will become "increasingly difficult to recover" as the U.S.-China trade row rumbles on. "The tariffs need to be removed. Let's get back to trading in an open market. That's free trade for both sides," he said. "To decouple the American and Chinese economies would be an economic disaster, damaging each country and the entire world," Chairman of the Kuhn Foundation Robert Kuhn told Xinhua. Concurring with Kuhn, Sourabh Gupta, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Institute for China-America Studies, said "it is utterly unrealistic to uncouple China and the U.S. economically. The two economies are symbiotically connected and are too interdependent to be pried apart." Criticizing Washington for pushing its trade partners into a "win-lose situation," Hoffman said mutually respectful trade "is the whole principle behind our system. And I think that principle still holds." "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. "A mass shift of production out of China is not a viable option for our industry," said Mond. "The infrastructure, capacity and workforce to meet consumer demand does not exist anywhere else." Although Cheung has started to diversify his company's supply base as part of his mitigation tactics, he said he "will not change to 100 percent out of China." "That would be foolish," he said. Google managed to cram all the expectations we were having about Google I/O 2019 into a 2-hour long keynote. Needless to say, this put all our wandering minds to rest. Here are some of the biggest announcements from the Google IO 2019 Keynote. A New Pixel is Confirmed Say Hello to the Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL. Both devices pack a Snapdragon 670 chip and 4GB of RAM. You also get 64GB of onboard storage. Theres no expandable storage though, but thats what Google Photos is there for. The devices themselves are literally cheaper versions of the Pixel 3. As such, you get a polycarbonate body. No waterproofing and no wireless charging. You do however get a 3.5mm headphone jack and a 3,000 mAh and 3,700 mAh battery on the Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL respectively. Other features include a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor and stereo speakers. One thing that the new Pixel devices dont go cheap on are the cameras. Both new Pixel devices pack the same camera hardware as the flagship Pixel 3. They also get Night Sight, Top Shot and all the other goodies that Pixel 3 has in the camera department. They also get Googles AI Call Screen and Google Duplex along with the companys new AR mode for Google Maps. In terms of pricing, youre looking at a starting price of $400 for the Pixel 3a. The larger Pixel 3a XL starts off at $480. Google Assistant just got a turbocharge Google Assistant has been one of the breakthroughs for smartphone users. And it just got better. All the AI processing gets done on your device without the need for the cloud. This in turn means that the entire process came down from around 100GB to just 500MB. The results: the new Google Assistant will be upto 10x faster. The next generation of Google Assistant can also handle even more tasks at the same time without you having to switch between apps. This is thanks to Continued Conversation. So rather than repeatedly saying Hey, Google, you can say it once, and get all your work done. The onstage demo showed everything from composing a message, to searching for an image to attach, to sending the message, all in a seamless manner. We can expect the next generation Google Assistant for the latest Pixel devices later this year. Seeing things through a whole new lens Google Search, the oldest and most popular tool from Google is undergoing a change as well. You can directly access AR content from a Google Image Search on AR-compatible devices. A new view in 3D button pops up in the search results whenever 3D content is available. Eyeing a new pair of shoes and want to see how it matches your outfit? Well, that will be a possibility soon. Google Lens was another breakthrough. It made our smartphone cameras a lot smarter. The latest Google Lens update promises even more. For example, Google Lens will be able to search for a dish on a menu, and then show you what that dish would look like before you order it. Done with your meal? Point the camera to the bill and Google Lens will calculate the total, add a tip and even split the bill if needed. Translating text via Google Lens has also improved. Once translated, you can have your device read back the text to you. This is very useful for translating road signs that are in a foreign language. The icing on the cake is that the software has been tuned to run on Android devices as cheap as $35. Thats not all at Google IO 2019 We also saw Google Maps get an Incognito mode. When enabled, Google Maps will not be able to track your location and search history. The company also announced that users would be able to delete their location, web and app activity between periods of 3 to 18 months. Project Mainline allows you to get Android updates faster. The new system of updates woud be offered via modules aimed at parts of a device rather than an entire system update. This should also prevent an update from messing up other parts of the devices software or hardware as a result of the update. Was Google IO 2019 worth the hype? Overall, Google IO 2019 lived up to the hype that was created. Mid-range Pixel devices and advancements in Lens and Google Search give us more ways to search and interact with objects. Live subtitles are also a welcome feature for those who are hearing impaired. Duplex on the Web CTF organises a discussion on documentary film View(s): Colombo Theatre Forum has organised a screening of documentary film Die Abteilung Schauspiel (Department for Acting) and the discussion at 5.00 pm on May 28 at the Goethe-Institut Hall, Colombo 7. Die Abteilung Schauspiel (Department for Acting) gives a rough introduction to the study of acting at the Hochschule fur Schauspielkunst Ernst Busch Berlin and the curator of the event is M. Safeer. As every lesson is mandatory the students learning process is started with basic improvisation drills and speech exercises as well as body movements experiences. The schools philosophy is, that the accepted students are all talented, so in the first years they do not get any special, individual support but have to follow the strict course plan since acting is seen as a craft. Just as they start into their third year of studying suddenly personal genius and the by-hard learned acting skills have to be put together as acting students and students from the direction department work together on their first productions. Colombo Theatre Forum is a space created for those who are seeking new dimensions in Sri Lankan theatre. Scholars, Directors, Script writers, Actors & Actresses, Critics, Lighting Directors, Back stage creators, Stage managers, students and spectators can join this forum in order to widen their horizons in the field of theatre. Colombo Theatre Forum organized by Inter Act Art theatre and Goethe Institut Sri Lanka was recommenced 2017 with the Participation of many young theatre lovers and foreign delegates. The forum will be held last Tuesday of this month at the Goethe Institut Hall from 5.00 pm onwards. Heal the World an exhibition of paintings at the Wendt By Ruqyyaha Deane View(s): View(s): Having taught art at Lyceum International School since 1999, it is quite surprising to find that Saumya Jayasekera was also a lawyer by profession. She found that art was her true passion that was calling out for her. Due to commitments she stopped teaching in 2007 however was persuaded by a few friends to begin an amateur art class. Mostly through word of mouth, Saumya found herself teaching children and a few adults the craft in her home garage. Only taking students above the age of four, she explains how it is easier to teach people a craft that they genuinely enjoy. Art is very therapeutic and gives balance to my students. They have something to express themselves the colours they use are a fantastic way of guessing what their mood may be. Before parents bring their children to my class, I tell them that it is just for kids to have fun in the time they spend here and express themselves, she shared as she explained that the children get a lot of confidence after seeing their artwork on display at exhibits.Once I find that they are ready and when they themselves are ready we hold an exhibition. Sisters Rahma (12) and Hana Imran (10) have always enjoy art, with Rahma truly loving the craft at age 5, it was only natural for her younger sister Hana to also develop a liking to drawing and painting. We are all grateful to our art teacher who has helped each one of us develop our own personal style, tells Shari Jayawardhana (33) who has been participating in Saumyas class for 3 years now. Shari was one of the four senior students of Saumyas that held an exhibition Shades of Hope in aid of the Society For Upliftment & Rehabilitation of Leprosy Affected Persons back in 2016. Having always been interested in art as a young girl, calling it a therapeutic stress reliever. For art there is never a finish line and I needed this creative outlet in my life. Heal the World will be an art exhibition showcasing different techniques and styles from Saumyas students. The audiences can expect to see a variety of techniques used on canvas such as oil paints, watercolour, acrylic, charcoal, mixed medium,sketches, etc. The themes vary from the individual styles and creativity of the participants. There will be 15 participants and 126 paintings that will be up for sale. Part of the proceeds from the sale will be donated towards the Childrens Ward of the Cancer Hospital Maharagama. The exhibition will open on May 30 at the Lionel Wendt Art Gallery. It will be open to the public on May 31 and June 1 from 9.30 a.m. to 7.00 p.m. Nita wins international acclaims once again By Susitha Fernando Visakesa Chandrasekarams Paangshu hails in France View(s): View(s): Renowned actress Nita Fernando won her second international award at the recently ended Nice International Film Festival in France. Nita won the Best Actress award in the Foreign films category for her role in Visakesa Chandrasekarams latest film Paangshu. In addition to Nita, costume designer of the film, Kumara Karawdeniya won the Best Costume Designer award at the festival. Visakesa was nominated for the Best Screenplay award. This is a major award for Nita after her Best Actress Award at the 1998 Singapore International Film Festival. There she won the award for her role violet in Prasanna Vithanages film Pavuru Walalu. (Walls Within) This was the most challenging role I have ever played in my career as an actress. It is a role of a mother who is on a relentless journey to find justice for her abducted son, Nita said after winning the award. I am ever so grateful to my director Visakesa for the support he has given, Nita added. Expressing about Nitas acting and her dedication for the role, director Chandrasekaram said I think it is a challenging role. It involves learning lot of skills. Nita played a role of dhobi woman, where she had to learn lot of skills,. To be a dhobi woman Nita had to learn swimming and her dedication was such that she started learning swimming at least one year before the film shooting. She was extremely committed to her role. On the other hand probably my method would have been challenging because we worked with the cast and conducted a number of rigorous workshops before placing them in front of the camera, director explained. Nita is an extremely talented actress and her talent is built on her enormous experience. And she is an humble individual and that humbleness itself is a great thing. That kind of faith on her director who was doring his second film is very important. Lot of actresses with the experience they have, would have lost many good qualities but Nita was not so. I think that is the key to her success and that is why she did so well, It was also the first time that a Sri Lankan costume designer won an award at a foreign film festival. Kumara Karawdeniya who also handled the art direction of Paangshu noted that Nice International Film Festival in France is a platform for internationally talented artistes. It was an honour to represent Sri Lanka at this great festival, Kumara who went to France representing Paanghu said. Director Visakesa Chandrasekaram speaking about the festival said This is one of the foreign film festivals with lot of categories. There are sections for short films, feature films and a couple of awards are allocated for the foreign films, for which we won awards. What is most important is we have to understand that we competed with highly sophisticated films with lot of capital. But our film is an independent film that was produced with lot of hardships, the director said highlighting the importance of the awards the film has won. When you consider in that context our achievement is extremely significant, he added. Asked about the challenges in releasing films specially under the present security situation in the country, he said anyway there is a challenge in releasing the film of this nature. Regardless of the present situation it is challenging to get a film to the distribution channels. The distribution of films is kind of oligopoly and it is built on income generation. On top of that people are scared to go out to public places. We are still in the process of recovering. It is challenging to get the film to the audience. We have to work with the distributors, he added. A firm yes or no answer through DNA Profiling By Kumudini Hettiarachchi Genetechs Dr Ruwan Illeperuma explains how DNA testing provides irrefutable confirmation in crime scene probes View(s): View(s): With Sri Lanka reeling in the aftermath of the Easter Sunday bombings on April 21, the Government Analysts Department has without a doubt established the identity of the suicide-bombers within a month. How has the identity of the suicide-bombers been confirmed? The answer may seem simple but it is a complex process based on strong science. The unshakeable tool and expertise used is DNA Profiling. What is DNA Profiling? It is in search of this answer that the Sunday Times turned to the pioneers in this field of study, Genetech, and spoke to its Senior Scientist and Head of Molecular Forensics, Dr Ruwan Illeperuma whose DNA Field Guide on identification, isolation, handling and preservation of DNA is used extensively by the Sri Lanka Police. Delving deep into DNA or deoxyribonucleic acid, Dr Illeperuma explains that all humans have very similar DNA. Around 99.7% of DNA in humans is similar, except a fraction of DNA that makes someone special and different from all others. This is the fraction which is tested for human identification. He says that to test this fraction, the whole of the Nuclear and Mitochondrial DNA in a cell is not used, but only 0.1%, targeting the polymorphic region in the DNA or human genome which would help to establish the morphological (form, shape or structure) differences. The test entails measuring the sizes or lengths of the polymorphic regions. Therefore, DNA Profiling is simply a series of measures of 9-16 of such polymorphic regions. Each of these regions has been mapped and there is an internationally-accepted standardised name for it, says Dr Illeperuma, explaining that the pairs of chromosomes that a human inherits from his/her biological mother and biological father will have distinctly different polymorphic regions. He points out that as such, every human will have two distinct sizes or lengths for each polymorphic region, one passed down from the biological mother and the other from the biological father. Therefore, one DNA Profile can be used to establish the identity of a person and also trace all immediate biological relatives. Here it would be one profile but two applications. Getting down to the nitty-gritty of DNA testing, he says there are two types: Use of DNA to analyse biological material linked to a crime in a criminal investigation. Use of DNA to establish maternity or paternity. In both these instances, DNA is used to establish the identity of a person, it is learnt. The question that needs to be answered in a criminal investigation is: Who is the source of a biological sample found at a crime scene? This will be done by testing that biological sample, which could range from a hair shaft to a drop of blood, says Dr Illeperuma, categorising biological samples into two. They are: Solid biological samples detached from the human body such as hair; fragments of skin; flesh and muscles; bones; nails; and teeth etc. Liquid biological samples such as blood, urine, saliva and semen. According to him any physical evidence such as a cigarette filtre or butt, chewing gum, rubber slippers or clothes collected from a crime scene could contain one or more of 20 solid or liquid biological material of human origin. Analysing that fraction of DNA (polymorphic region) generates genetic information which helps create a Genetic or DNA Profile which is unique to a human, he says, stressing that in a crime scene investigation they seek a 100% match between the DNA Profile of the person and the biological samples found at the scene. Citing the example of a cigarette filtre with saliva found at a crime scene, he says they will then take a blood sample from the suspect and carry out the Genetic Profiling to make sure that there is or isnt a match. However, when testing to establish family links, there would be 50% matching between two individuals, such as a child and a parent or two biologically-related individuals. Comparing and contrasting the roles played by those carrying out forensic investigations Judicial Medical Officers (JMOs) and DNA scientists Dr. Illeperuma says that both groups examine biological material. While JMOs perform autopsies and collect samples, DNA scientists analyse biological samples. The JMOs give an expert opinion to court but DNA scientists give a clear Yes or No answer, whether a biological sample found at a crime scene is from a suspect or not. These DNA scientists provide an evidence-based conclusion and not an opinion, he explains. What is DNA? Referring to DNA-based human identity testing, Dr. Ruwan Illeperuma holds up DNA or deoxyribonucleic acid to the light, making a complex subject seem like childs play. DNA, he says, is a chemical found in almost all living organisms, whether microscopic or macroscopic, both animals and plants and is essential to sustain life. The specific task of DNA is to encode (store) information and it is special because among thousands of chemical compositions, storing information is what other chemical compositions cannot do. As such, the overall task of DNA is storing genetic information. According to this scientist the two types of information stored by DNA are: Information necessary to determine the physical look of an organism, called phenotypical expressions or traits. These can be seen in the overall external look of a person the colour of the skin, eyes and hair, whether hair is curly or straight, the height and the gender, to name a few. Information necessary to determine behavioural traits the way a person walks, talks, feels, thinks and makes decisions. Within the physical body of an animal including humans or plants the basic unit, meanwhile, is a cell and similar DNA is found in all the cells in an individuals body, says Dr. Illeperuma explaining that the DNA would be in two places. They are: Nuclear DNA (nDNA) every cell has a nucleus which controls it and there is DNA in the nucleus. Nuclear DNA is found in almost every cell in the body except red blood cells which have no nucleus. This Nuclear DNA is in a special structure called chromosomes and as such is also known as Chromosomal DNA. Each person inherits these chromosomes from his/her parents 23 from the biological mother and 23 from the biological father, making it a total of 46 chromosomes. However, this is only specific (having 46 chromosomes) to somatic cells or any cell in a living organism except reproductive or sex cells (sperm and ova also known as gametes). Each sex cell has only 50% of chromosomes amounting to 23. When a sperm and ova (egg) fuse, a zygote (one cell) is formed. This zygote has 46 chromosomes and repeatedly divides to become a multi-cellular foetus. After the birth of the baby, each and every cell of that baby has Nuclear or Chromosomal DNA, inheriting 50% from the biological mother and 50% from the biological father. A conventional DNA test targets the chromosomes and as such is performed on Nuclear DNA. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) a small amount of DNA is outside the nucleus of the cell in the cytoplasm, the matrix within the cell excluding the nucleus. The cytoplasm has mitochondria which is the cells powerhouse where respiration (release of energy) occurs. Mitochondria are small organelles floating free in the cell. Mitochondrial DNA, however, unlike Nuclear or Chromosomal DNA is exclusively from the biological mother (maternally inherited). If a biological sample has undergone extreme decomposition or degradation, almost all the Nuclear DNA may be unusable in a testing procedure. It is in these instances only that Mitochondrial DNA is used to give profiling information about the source of the sample. Identical twins, the exception There is always an exception to the rule and this also applies to DNA Profiles being unique to an individual. This fact of being unique does not apply to identical (monozygotic) twins. These are twins who develop from one zygote (fused sperm and egg cell) which splits into two. Other twins or fraternal (dizygotic) twins, however, develop from two separate eggs which have got fused with separate sperm to produce two individuals, each of whom would have his/her own unique DNA Profile. Billions in fertiliser subsidy go to wrong pockets By Namini Wijedasa View(s): View(s): Billions of rupees were erroneously credited to the bank accounts of persons who were not farmers under Sri Lankas cash transfer scheme for fertiliser and paid out towards untilled paddy lands instead of cultivated ones, the Auditor Generals Department has found. The national auditor also investigated the procurement fiasco that led to severe delays in fertiliser supply in 2017 and 2018. To avert a full-blown crisis, Cabinet authorised an emergency purchase of urea at a price much higher than world market rates. The loss to the Government from paying US$ 46.20 more than the prevailing price for a metric tonne was Rs 516mn. The subsidy was introduced in 2006 under the Mahinda Chinthana to provide a hundredweight of paddy fertiliser at Rs 350 with the Treasury absorbing the difference. The objective was to raise production, to encourage more paddy cultivation by cutting input cost and to improve the living standards of the farmer community. By 2016, more than Rs 2.3bnor one percent of total Government expenditurehad been spent on the fertiliser subsidy. But increase in harvest, expansion of the acreage under cultivation, minimisation of rice imports and improvement of living standards remained at a minimal level, the Auditor General states in a special report. The same year, the subsidy scheme was changed to a cash transfer system, ostensibly to make it more efficient. Farmers were instructed to provide bank account numbers into which money would be credited for fertiliser purchases. But a failure to use accurate information on paddy acreage and on the number of eligible farmers in preparing financial estimates led to uneconomic expenditure. The paddy land registers of divisional Agrarian Services Centres were not updated, making it impossible to obtain the correct number of beneficiaries. Nevertheless, estimates were prepared on outdated statistics. This defeated the anticipated outcome of minimising Government expenditure through the new scheme. The Auditor General carried out sample surveys in several districts. It found multiple instances of money credited to the accounts of non-farming beneficiaries during the 2016 Yala and 2017 Maha season. In the Bulathsinhala division, for instance, Rs 2.2mn was credited to 441 persons who were not the farmers. In Kalutara, Rs 6mn was paid to 1,170 ineligible persons. In Anuradhapura, 1,684 non-farmers received Rs 18mn. Similar instances were found in Galle and Badulla. During a sample test in 16 districts, the Auditor General also identified disbursements towards uncultivated paddy lands instead of cultivated ones. The amount thus squandered was Rs 1.1bn. A circular pertaining to the 2017 Yala set the maximum payment receivable by a farmer for a single season at Rs 25,000. But sample tests found many cases of overpayment. That money could not be recovered. There are examples of financial assistance not being granted on time, severely inconveniencing farmers who must apply fertiliser during a specific window. A total of Rs 5.4bn was paid after the required period of the 2016 Yala and Maha and the 2017 Yala seasons. Replacing the manual process for the first time, a computerised system was used for the disbursement of cash assistance before the 2017/2018 Maha season. Even under this programme, Rs 4.8mn was overpaid to 985 farmers from the Alugolla Agrarian Services Centre which was sample tested. There are deficiencies even after the Rs 375mn facelift. Meanwhile, a failure to buy the stocks under an acceptable procurement scheme resulted in a severe fertiliser shortage during the 2017 Maha season, the Auditor General says. Cabinet decisions were changed from time to time, aggravating the situation. President Maithripala Sirisena also played a role in this process. On the initiative of the Chairmen of the two State-owned fertiliser companiesLanka Fertiliser Ltd and Colombo Commercial Fertiliser Company Ltdthe procurement method followed over three decades was unexpectedly shelved in favour of a new format which precluded equal participation by all suppliers. In the end, fertiliser supply was declared an emergency and high-priced stocks were imported outside procurement procedure in quantities exceeding requirement. The delay which started during the 2017 Yala season dragged on till the 2017/2018 Maha season. Lapses in decision-making and procurement caused colossal expenditure to the Government, the Auditor General states. It was initially planned to import 18,000 metric tonnes of urea for the 2017 Yala season under accepted procurement procedure. However, instead of calling for bids from prequalified registered suppliers, the two company heads decided to import fertiliser through open international bidding on documents against acceptance (DA) terms. No reasonable explanation was given for the deviation, says the Auditor General. When bids were called in November 2017, only Jat Holdings qualified for the contract to import 72,000 metric tonnes of prilled urea at US$ 327.40 per metric tonne. (Prilled urea is made up of smaller particles and is softer than the alternative, granular). But the lab reports presented by Jat Holdings proved forged, resulting in the contract being cancelled and the crisis emerged as time was running out. The companys bid security of US$ 240,000 (Rs 42mn) has still not been confiscated. On December 11, 2017, the then Agriculture Minister, Duminda Dissanayake, presented a Cabinet memorandum to deviate from procurement procedure and order 36,000 metric tonnes of prilled urea within seven days and without an appeals procedure; and to grant Treasury backing to the State-owned fertiliser companies to open Letters of Credit (LoCs) for the import. It also proposed that the Treasury reimburses the two enterprises in the case of a deficit caused by price fluctuations. Cabinet approved the proposal and Agri Commodities & Finance FZE got the contract to supply the specified quantity of fertiliser before January 15, 2018 at US$ 316.20 a metric tonne. On the same day, however, a special Cabinet procurement committee annulled the decision. On December 12, another Cabinet memorandum was submitted. It said that President Sirisena had ordered Ceylon Fertiliser to find a supplier. The paper also sought to import 72,000 metric tonnes of granular ureaand not the required prilled ureaoutside accepted procurement procedure through Agri Commodities and Finance FZE from a port in the Middle East before December 28, 2017 at US$ 316.20 a metric tonne. Cabinet approved the proposal subject to Treasury concurrence. This was never obtained, a query by the Auditor General revealed. And while the Cabinet memorandum had said Ceylon Fertiliser was told to find a suitable supplier, there was no evidence of such instructions. This amounts to misleading of Cabinet. It is not known on what basis Agri Commodities was selected. And no reason was given for why 76,000 metric tonnes of low-priced granular urea was ordered at US$ 316.20 despite 36,000 metric tonnes of prilled urea having been earlier ordered for an identical price. The fertiliser requirement for the rest of the months of the Maha Season 2017/2018 was stated in writing to be 36,000 metric tonnes. But 72,000 metric tonnes were ordered. This, too, did not come within the mandated time period. Only 40,500 metric tonnes were received on January 08, 2018 while 32,000 metric tonnes came on January 15. The delay was around 10 days but seemed longer as the cultivation season had already begun, the Auditor General says. There are two types of urea: prilled and granular. The import price of prilled urea is higher. World market reports show that the free on board (FOB) price of granular urea ranged between US$ 206 and 240 a metric tonne at the time. As at December 14, 2017, the maximum price was US$ 240. Freight and other expenses amounted to US$30 a metric tonne. So, at the most, it should have cost the Government US$ 270 a metric tonne of granular urea. It remains questionable how Sri Lanka imported these stocks at US$ 316.20 a metric tonne, the Auditor General states, calling it an overpayment. The difference in price was US$ 46.20. And 54,000 metric tonnes were bought. It was more than the requirement. This amounts to a further uneconomical expenditure of US$ 17,074,800 at US$ 316.20. Kurunegala doctor arrested; probe on assets View(s): A Kurunegala Teaching Hospital doctor has been arrested over allegations that he had acquired a large number of assets through suspicious means, Kurunegala Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police Wasantha Kithsiri Jayalath said. The suspect, who police identified as Seigu Siyabdeen Mohammed Shafi (42), is a resident of Gettuwana, Kurunegala. He is attached to the Kurunegala Hospitals gynaecology and obstetrics section, it is learnt. He is a member of the All Ceylon Makkal Congress led by Minister Rishad Bathiudeen and had contested the 2015 General Election on the UNP ticket from the Kurunegala District, but failed to get elected. He was arrested following an investigation into several police complaints that he had acquired a large number of assets in a suspicious manner, the DIG stated. The doctor was handed over to the CID for further investigations last evening. Meanwhile, the Kurunegala Teaching Hospital is conducting an internal preliminary inquiry to determine whether there has been misconduct by a Medical Officer when performing Caesarian operations. We are holding a preliminary investigation, at the conclusion of which a report will be submitted to the Health Ministry, said the Kurunegala Teaching Hospital Director Dr. A.M.S. Weerabandara when contacted by the Sunday Times last afternoon. Dr. Weerabandara said the police had informed him of the arrest of this Medical Officer and requested the hospitals support in their investigations on alleged health-related issues linked to this doctor. The director said that there had also been a complaint from the public about a name-change in a Mothers Card which is usually filled up when an expectant mother comes for her delivery to the hospital. This is the card on which the newborns birth certificate is based, it is learnt. Explaining that this complaint came about three weeks ago, he said that the hospital has concluded the preliminary investigation into this complaint and submitted the report to the Health Ministry. Dr. Weerabandara, however, declined to confirm whether the Medical Officer who is now in police custody was implicated in the name-change complaint. Man sets fire to mother-in-laws shop after she refused to give money for gambling View(s): Police are searching for a man who allegedly set fire to his mother in- laws shop in Kochchikade, Negombo, following a financial dispute. Police said the three storey building comprising a trading centre that sold plastic, aluminum and sanitary wear, was set on fire on Thursday. Police said, according to initial investigations the suspect had requested money for gambling from his mother-in law- and when she refused he had set fire to the building by pouring petrol and setting the shop ablaze. Police said that although there were two employees in the shop at the time of the incident, they were unable to prevent the fire from spreading. The Negombo fire brigade had eventually doused the fire. Police said the accused had on previous occasions too, demanded money for gambling and on this occasion he had demanded Rs 500,000. -K.L.Richard Walter Perera President Maithripala Sirisena will attend Thursdays swearing-in ceremony of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi who was re-elected for a second term this week, a spokesman for the Presidents office said. President Sirisena earlier telephoned Premier Modi to congratulate him on his partys victory at the Parliamentary elections. Small traders bombed out Story and pix by Amila Gamage, Jayarathna Wickramarachchi View(s): View(s): Though over a month has passed since the barbaric Easter Sunday terrorist suicide attacks, normalcy is yet to return to the community. Small-scale vendors and traders throughout the country have been among the hardest hit. Colombos Manning Market in Pettah generally teeming with people, and one of the busiest markets in the country, is but a pale shadow of itself. In the aftermath of the Easter Sunday suicide attacks many people have tended to avoid the place due to security concerns regarding crowded places. This has had a devastating effect on vendors. The stock of rotting bananas rotting in the noonday sun is but one symbol of the situation the traders have been facing. bananas cant be kept for more than 2-3 days and the lack of customers mean that many bunches simply go to waste. Vendors say custom is down by as much as 60-70 percent. Though, some customers are gradually returning, business is still well below the level it used to be. Retail seller Mohammed Niyaz (52) said while there are some customers during the day, the market almost completely empties after 5.00 pm. Elsewhere in the country, the situation is similar. A banana seller at a roadside stall in Anuradhapura related an almost similar story, customers are few and far between, and the vendors live in the hope that their lost clientele return, the sooner the better. All the 6,000 CHF will go to support Sherpa community in the Himalayas. This watch reached Mt Everest on the wrist of Adrian Ballinger, record-breaking world-class mountaineer, on 20th of May 2018. Thus, the Bivouac 9000 became the first mechanical altimeter wristwatch to accurately convey altitude, air pressure and time, on the roof of the world. Favre-Leuba Antiquorum, the expert watch auction house, was identified as the perfect partner to present the comeback of the Bivouac, and such an iconic one at that. The opportunity to sell the unique watch was created by the exclusive Swiss auction house Antiquorum. Not only is it a fantastic watch that has climbed all the way up to Everest on the wrist of Adrian Ballinger, but on top of that we are really happy to have always participate in charity and help out the communities that need help. We can convert the value of the watch into a good cause, said Julien Shaerer, managing director at Antiquorum. Favre-Leuba We had no idea what to anticipate, shared marketing manager of Favre-Leuba Reema Vazirani. What we knew is that we are doing it for the right cause and with the right intent. After the watch had climbed with Adrian to Mt Everest in May of 2018 and was tested at the altitude of 8,848 meters, we decided to contribute the victory back to the mountaineering community. It was the quiet and not as often highlighted Sherpas for whom we wanted to do something. While they are the backbone of mountaineering world, they dont get as much attention and support from the non-mountaineering community. Together with Adrian Ballinger, Favre-Leuba chose to donate all the proceeds to the Khumbu Climbing Centre. The KCC was co-founded by Jenni and Conrad Anker. Influential members of the local Sherpa community were also crucial to the centers development. The proceeds from the sale of the Raider Bivouac 9000 will be dedicated to teaching a wide range of mountain skills to the local Nepali community: safety and rescue, wilderness first aid, technical climbing knowledge and English communication. What makes Mt Everest so challenging is we are really not in control here. Every year, we are surprised by different things here, whether its the weather, health or other challenges. Every person on the mountain is pushed to their physical limit here, said Adrian Ballinger, who ascended the highest mountain eight times. The auction of my Bivouac 9000 is really significant for KCC. It will help to run the school and give more Sherpas opportunity to continue building their skills. Favre-Leuba is honored to play part in improving the safety and wellbeing of the local community and everyone coming to the region. We hope that this support will help to at least minimize the perils for thos who conquer frontiers every day. Ven. Gnanasaras release smacks of racism: ULF View(s): The United Left Front (ULF) has condemned the Presidential pardon granted to Bodu Bala Sena General Secretary Ven. Galagoda-Aththe Gnanasara Thera, as an endorsement of racism and an act amounting to contempt of court. Issuing a statement, ULF General Secretary Lal Wijenayaka said the Ven. Gnanasara Thera had been sentenced to 19 years in prison to be served in six years for threatening the Homagama Magistrate and insulting the States Counsel inside the Homagama Magistrates Court. The BBS General Secretary had appealed against the Court of Appeal judgment and lost, the statement further pointed out. The person being released on a presidential pardon is someone who is serving a prison sentence for being in contempt of court. The President, by taking this action to further his own narrow political ends, is now also in contempt of court, the ULF asserted. It noted that the theras release came hard on the heels of recent communal tensions that exploded into violence. This decision, taken to appease racist Sinhala Buddhists, not only undermines the rule of law in the eyes of the public, but is also an endorsement of racism. We condemn it in the strongest possible terms, the statement added. Zaharan had an open warrant for his arrest since last year View(s): Police knew of terror chiefs motives; but search dissipated after arrest of TID Chief Nalaka Silva An open warrant for the arrest of Mohamed Zaharan, the self-styled leader of the National Thowheed Jamath (NTJ) had been issued by a Colombo Magistrate back in August last year, but the wanted man had gone into hiding by then and the search for him had dissipated with the arrest of the then Terrorism Investigations Division (TID) chief DIG Nalaka Silva shortly thereafter, it has now been revealed. The open warrant had been issued after the Police TID filed a B report dated July 2, 2018 before the Colombo Magistrates Court, citing Mohamed Cassim Mohamed Zaharan by name and stating that he was using the internet to spread disaffection among communities and also, for proposed terrorist activities. The report filed in court referred to Zaharans clash with Isthihadi Ahlul Sunnathul Wal Jamath (IASWJ) members in March 2017 in Kattankudy and ten persons being produced by the Kattankudy Police before the Batticaloa Courts. They were later bailed out while Zaharan had fled the area and gone into hiding. This means that, at least since last year, the TID had been hot on the trail of Zaharan, believed to be the mastermind of the Easter Sunday multiple bombings that killed 258 people. But the trail dissipated even after an open warrant for his arrest was granted in August last year as the TID DIG was arrested in September, 2018 on charges relating to an attempt to assassinate President Maithripala Sirisena. The TID had also asked court for Interpol to be requested to issue a Blue notice a notice that alerts police and immigration officials worldwide for additional information on the persons identity, location or activities in relation to a crime as there was a likelihood that he could travel overseas, or was already abroad. The B report submitted to court stated that Zaharan was suspected of wanting to create divisions between communities, especially among the Sinhala and Muslim communities with the aim of causing communal violence. It added that his name was being included in the Police Gazette as a wanted man. In an affidavit filed by the TID investigating officer, court was informed that Zaharan was using a video to disseminate radical views that were reaching a number of youths and causing animosity even within his religious community. The TID officer said they had been monitoring his speeches exhorting violence. His signed affidavit was dated June 29, 2018. The court order was dated August 8, 2018. DIG Nalaka Silva was released on bail this week. He was interdicted in October, 2018. Bringing to light the dark side of colourism Founder of Indias Women of Worth initiative, Kavitha Emmanuel who was in Sri Lanka as part of the Dark Is Beautiful campaign talks to Smriti Daniel View(s): View(s): Growing up, Kavitha Emmanuel remembers being one of the fairer members of her family. She still used skin-whitening products, but it was meant to preserve her skin tone. I was not born a campaigner for ending colourism, she says, I contributed to the endorsement of the bias in my own way. Kavitha, like many Indians, was raised in a society that equated fairness not just with beauty, but with success and even love. The effect was insidious, leaving women struggling to accept themselves. When Kavitha founded Women of Worth, a non-profit programme, where she is today also a director, she began to understand how pervasive the issue was through the experiences of her own colleagues. We shared our own stories and experiences on the issue and the trauma it had caused among us, she said. Kavitha recalls that one of the issues that kept surfacing was that of skin colour bias and how it had damaged peoples sense of self-worth. Accompanying it were these real-life stories of people who faced the issue on a daily basis. Name-calling, bullying, rejection from potential marriage partners, denied job opportunities and ostracization based solely on ones skin colour are painful experiences that people with dark skin tones face, says Kavitha, explaining that the more they talked, the clearer it became that it was something they needed to address. There were stories like that of Merlin Lilly, a Chennai-based stylist and designer: Growing up, I was the only dark skinned child among my five siblings. I take after my dad. I remember my close family calling me Karidhana it means blacky. Growing up, my parents would discourage me from wearing particular colours, especially yellow and blue. They were a big NO. My parents thought that those colours made me almost invisible because of my complexion. Merlin also remembers people cracking jokes (Dont go out in the dark, you cant be spotted) and being shy about being photographed because she would appear darker than her friends. There were hundreds of stories likes this but something had also begun to shift. WOW was tracing the obsession with fairness back to colonial times, when white people dominated the countrys centres of power. A layer of class consciousness was added, as dark skin was seen as a marker of someone who laboured outdoors in the sun. However, there was very little reflection around the issue most people just accepted it as a given. Being fair was preferable, and one simply did whatever one could to be fairer. Sapna, one of their early campaigners, was featured in a documentary called Hue by filmmaker Vic Sarin. As she became more outspoken, Sapna says she would have people writing to her, asking why she was wasting her time on something so unimportant. In a blog for WOW she tried to frame a response: After 67 years of independence we still have advertisements that teach our masses that being white is a requirement for being married, getting a job or being a beauty queen. Are you telling me that the masses of Indian brown skinned group of people have no right to be married, get a good job or be called a beauty queen? Is this not discrimination? For many, the answer was a resounding Yes. Its now been 10 years since the launch of WOWs Dark is Beautiful campaign. Theyve seen it take off in a way they couldnt have imagined. Its been featured by the media in over 18 countries. In 2013 the campaign went viral on social media with actor-director and social activist Nandita Das as an ambassador and was featured in several television documentaries around the globe. Most notably, in 2014 they applauded as the Advertising Standards Council of India launched their first ever guidelines for fairness products advertisers. For Kavitha, the last was a particularly critical step forward. It is a shame that brands are making hay while the sun shines. Instead of standing against the bias, they are endorsing it by promoting unfair standards and definitions of beauty, she says.In fact, hundreds of products are peddled by corporations, among them armpit lightener, genital lightener and fairness baby oil. Nearly all major cosmetic companies (like Dove, Nivea, Ponds, Garnier, Neutrogena, Olay) sell products that claim to alter genes to suppress melanin. The campaign also highlighted how, Hindustan Unilever, the manufacturer of Fair&Lovely, launched an application to make the skin of Facebook users look lighter in their profile pictures.All these efforts werent just targeted at women, as the now infamous Shah Rukh Khan Fair&Handsome ads confirm. With the corporations focused on profits, the campaign has increasingly turned to ordinary people to bring about the change they want to see. In recent years, Kavitha and her team have been focused on taking the fight against colourism to communities across South Asia. Speaking to crowds, she often points out that many of us are not just victims of colourism, but perpetrators of this unconscious bias as well. She emphasizes that change doesnt come through pointing fingers, but through each person taking a stand to celebrate skin colour diversity and take positive action in their spheres of influence to end colourism. Its this effort that brought her to Sri Lanka where WOW hope to continue the Dark Is Beautiful campaign. She looks forward to finding new collaborators here, and told the Sunday Times: We welcome stories of people who have survived skin colour discrimination. The more we talk about it, the more awareness will spread. We hope to launch social media pages with relevant information, articles and stories that will help Sri Lanka combat the bias. On the campaigns blog page you can now hear from people like Merlin (who now wears blue and yellow whenever she feels like it) and Sapna who calls on the Indian constitution to protect people from colour discrimination. These are stories of discrimination but also of hope. Perhaps none embodies this change better than that of Pranuthi Bunyans family. The mother of three spoke of how her children were different shades: one chocolate, one coffee and one caramel! but that people would always come up to her, point to the fairest and say his colour was better than the others. They did this in front of the other two kids. It would take Pranuthi a really determined effort to help her children find confidence in themselves. She knew she had hit the mark when her daughter Sanchitha, aged 12, wrote a poem. It began with the line: Black or white, Red or blue/We are the same/ And that is true. Find out more at: www.darkisbeautiful.in Letters to the Editor View(s): Let individual courage swell into collective courage, harmony and change We are, again, standing amidst the flames and ashes of peace and harmony.Again, the ugly monster of bigotry and mistrust is now gaining strength, all over our country. Discourses so far have probed and blamed the governments lack of action before the Easter bombings and the lack of action, again, during the recent spate of menacing communal violence. Others have discussed that the fear which has surfaced is an old one, triggered by new events. There are conspiracy theories and counter theories about who is behind these planned and efficiently executed attacks on a select community. Social media has been used to incite and inflame these various theories as well as promote hate speech and violence. But what about each one of us? What are we doing? We may think we are not bigoted but every time we unnecessarily name someones ethnicity or make a snide comment about a particular community, we are bigoted. We look the other way or are silent about injustice, discrimination and prejudice. Everyday, everyone of us washes our hands off difficult choices. In our country today, steeped in intolerance and trammelled by fear, we desperately need the individual courage to make difficult choices, instead of walking away. We need the courage to preserve justice, the courage to fight for what is right, the courage to make a difference. Each of us, therefore, needs to look inwards, into our own selves and our own actions. Each one of us, always has a choice for each action we take. We always have the choice of taking action that is good instead of evil; right instead of wrong; just instead of unjust, of legal instead of illegal. Each one of us can empathise instead of stigmatise. Each of us has the power to give another strength in place of doubt; courage in place of fear; hope in place of despair; fellowship in the face of bigotry; humility in place of power; honesty in place of deceit; love in place of hatred; and peace instead of hostility and conflict. During the Vesak weekend, my sister-in-law sent me some positive Facebook posts that showed that all of the above is possible, as tiny pockets of communal cohesion were forged, planting seeds of hope that will grow in the future. Each one of us can change. Soon there will be several of us who do change. Eventually, several peoples courage will swell into collective courage, collective harmony and collective change. To paraphrase Mahatma Gandhi Be the change that you want to see (in our country). Dr Sriyanie Miththapala Via email Through all this sorrow, I saw the true Lankan spirit rise As I sit down to pen my thoughts on May 21, sadness and grief take me back to that day, which began as a normal day for all Sri Lankans. Worldwide Easter is for Christians and Catholics a joyous festival to celebrate the Risen Christ, who came among all human beings to wash away our sins and liberate us. As it would have been around the world in Sri Lanka too, it was a very happy morning in every Christian and Catholic household as we prepared to attend Easter Sunday Service. My family and I were also attending Easter service at a church in Colombo, and as we exited the church we were very much surprised to see scores of police officers walk in through the gates. On inquiry we were appraised by our Vicar about the bombings of churches and hotels and everyone was told to go home as quickly as possible. I will never forget that moment when my mind was confused, saddened and in utter turmoil trying to figure out what had just happened. Did this really happen in my country? A country known to have been victorious as defeating terrorism, which caused mayhem for 30 long years. A country which had opened its doors to tourists from around the world, been listed as one of the best tourist destinations in the world. A country which was gearing up to celebrate victory over terror for 10 long years. Our drive back home was in shock and disbelief; we have been used to hearing stories of religious places being attacked around the world, and terrorist attacks on pedestrians and innocent people. Never in our wildest dreams did we imagine that our beautiful island nation would be targeted too. I came home, started praying and cried out to the Lord, asking him again and again Why Lord, why did you let this happen? What did all those innocent people who were worshipping you, do, to deserve such a fate. As always He alone knows the answer, to questions such as these and so many others which many of us ask on a daily basis. Everything changed in my country after this day; we were taken back to the days which we all had forgotten, the days when terror reigned. Roads were crawling with armed guards, checkpoints were set up almost everywhere; homes, offices, vehicles, schools, every place possible was searched by the security forces. Curfew was imposed back again, which most of our children hadnt even heard about, let alone knew what it meant. Breaking news was back and everyone only watched news on TV confined to their homes, fearing what would happen next. We cooked whatever we had, and ate for the sake of eating just for survival, not even tasting what we ate. Our lives were turned upside down within minutes, and Easter Sunday is never going to be the same again in Sri Lanka. Through all this sorrow and heartache, I saw the true Sri Lankan spirit rise, as people came together forgetting about religion and caste to help those affected in every possible way they could. Thats us, and thats what makes us unique. Sri Lankans are known for their beautiful smiles, helping spirit, and never tiring hospitality. As we gradually come out of our shell, and try our best to continue our lives as normally as possible let us not forget our true Sri Lankan identity which is One country, one nation. Let us come together to defeat any act of terrorism and show the world that anything can be achieved by unity and strength, which is the unique birthright of you and me. Lakshmi David Via email Trendy Hub opens flagship store By Ruqyyaha Deane View(s): View(s): Trendy Hub arrived on the local fashion scene last December with the opening of their first store at Colombo City Centre (CCC). Now making themselves even more accessible, their flagship store was opened in Colombo 3 on May 21. Chief Guest Mahela Jayawardene was accompanied by YNM Trendy Hub Chairman Yoonus Noor Mohamed, YNM Trendy Hub shareholder Andrew Perera, Chanaka Perera and others at the launch. Fashion has always given us the opportunity to express ourselves, no matter our individual identities. You can showcase who you are, what you like to believe in and how you want others to perceive you, Andrew Perera commented on the labels relevance to the market. Right next to the ACBT Campus adjoining Aloe Avenue, the store is designed in a pale pink and muted gold palette, and is ergonomically spaced, fitted with changing rooms, a helpful staff ready to offer assistance. Trendy Hubs outward chic is echoed in their clothing. From solid colours to tasteful prints, office wear to simple lounge wear inspired by the runways of London, Paris and Milan, the garments with sizes available from xs to xxl will prove to be flattering on any size or silhouette. A classy fusion of comfort and glamour, their evening wear selection is complemented by their limited range of branded handbags. Follow their Instagram on @trendyhubynm, their Facebook trendyhubynm or check their website trendyhubsl-ynm.com WNPS holds 125th AGM today View(s): The 125th Annual General Meeting of the Wildlife and Nature Protection Society will be held today, Sunday, May 26, at the Lecture Hall #08 of the Sri Lanka Foundation, #100, Padanama Mawatha,Independence Square, Colombo 7, at 5 p.m. The WNPS has, for 125 years, been in the forefront of the conservation movement in Sri Lanka. The third oldest non-governmental wildlife conservation organization in the world, it was responsible for the setting up and administration of the first National Parks, Wilpattu and Yala. It was also instrumental in the setting up of the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) and in the formulation of the Fauna & Flora Protection Ordinance (FFPO), the primary conservation legislation in the country. All Ordinary Members and Life Members are entitled to attend and vote at the AGM. Junior and Honorary Members may attend but are NOT entitled to vote. Admission to the meeting will be on production of a valid membership card. The WNPS invites all members to attend. A time of fellowship will follow after the AGM. Egypts Illicit Gains Authority has decided to remove the names of a Mubarak-era interior minister and presidential chief of staff from a list of those subject to an asset freeze after the men were recently acquitted of charges of relating to corruption. Ex-interior minister Habib El-Adly was acquitted in May of charges of embezzling public funds, and subsequently made a request to the authority to remove a freeze on his assets. El-Adly was previously sentenced in April 2017, along with a number of aides, to seven years in prison. Those convicted were ordered to pay a hefty fine and restitution of EGP 529 million on charges of embezzling interior ministry funds amounting to EGP 2.38 billion. The defendants won an appeal and the Court of Cassation acquitted nearly all of them, including El-Adly, at a retrial earlier this month. In addition, Mubaraks chief of staff Zakaria Azmy, Azmy's wife, and his brother-in-law were also removed from the list by the decision on Friday, following a request by Azmy after he was acquitted earlier this year of charges of illicit gains, in a case which dates back to 2012. Search Keywords: Short link: Newly elected South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Saturday that he is looking forward to meeting Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi soon in order to discuss ways to enhance bilateral cooperation, according to MENA. Ramaphosa made the remarks during a meeting with Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly on the sidelines of the newly elected presidents inauguration ceremony. Madbouly led Egypt's delegation to the inauguration ceremony on behalf of El-Sisi. The prime minister conveyed El-Sisi's greetings to Ramaphosa, stressing the importance of boosting cooperation between the two countries during the coming period, said cabinet spokesman Nader Saad. The Egyptian participation in the inauguration ceremony, according to the cabinet, comes within the framework of Egypts keenness to consolidate its relations with African countries. Ramaphosa's inauguration ceremony was held at Loftus Versfeld stadium in the capital, Pretoria. after he was elected earlier this month with a majority of 57.5 percent of the vote. He is the country's fifth democratically elected president since apartheid ended in 1994. Search Keywords: Short link: Strong 8.0-magnitude earthquake hits Peru Lima, May 26 (AFP) May 26, 2019 A strong 8.0-earthquake struck northern Peru in the early hours of Sunday, sending residents fleeing their homes and cutting off power to at least one town, with the impact felt as far afield as neighboring Ecuador. There were no immediate reports of injuries following the quake which the US Geological Survey said struck at a depth of 110 kilometers (68 miles). The quake hit t 0741 GMT about 75 kilometers southeast of the town of Lagunas, along the Amazon basin near the border with Brazil. "Some casualties and damage are possible and the impact should be relatively localized," USGS said in a preliminary assessment. Quakes of similar depth "typically cause less damage on the ground surface (but)... may be felt at great distance from their epicenters," it later added. The tremors were felt in northern and central Peru, including the capital Lima, where terrified residents ran out of their homes. The mayor of Lagunas, Arri Pezo, said many residents were too scared to venture back indoors for fear of aftershocks. "You could not walk at the time of the earthquake, things were falling," Pezo told the RPP radio network, adding that it was difficult to determine any damage because the electricity supply had been knocked out. Peruvian President Martin Vizcarra urged citizens "to remain calm" in a message on his official Twitter account. "We're evaluating the affected areas," he said. The Ministry of the Interior said on its official Twitter page that no injuries or deaths had been reported, but some houses had collapsed. Hugo Araujo, the mayor of the city of Yurimaguas near the epicenter, said, "there are many old houses that have collapsed after this strong earthquake." Seismologists at the Geophysics Institute of Peru said the quake, which lasted just over two minutes, measured 7.5 magnitude, revising their earlier assessment of 7.2 magnitude. Experts at the US-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said there was "no tsunami threat because the earthquake is located too deep inside the earth." - Power cuts in Ecuador - The shockwave of Sunday's tremor also extended to neighboring Ecuador, where power cuts were reported in parts of the Amazon region. "We have carried out the respective monitoring in each city to collect information and report damage after the earthquake, so far we have no news," wrote Ecuadorian Vice President Otto Sonnenholzner on his Twitter account. The president of Ecuador, Lenin Moreno, who is in Lima to attend a regional summit later on Sunday, tweeted that the town of Yantzaza had experienced power cuts, adding that officials would provide more information about the quake's impact as it became available. Peruvian media said the tremor was also felt in parts of Colombia and Venezuela. Peru lies on the so-called "Ring of Fire" -- an arc of fault lines that circles the Pacific Basin and is prone to frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. The South American country records about 200 earthquakes a year, most of them going unnoticed by the public. In February a quake measuring 7.5 with its epicenter in Ecuador rattled the coast and Amazon region of northern Peru. It left nine people injured and caused damage in Ecuador, but Peru was unscathed. Five key takeaways from the EU elections Paris, May 26 (AFP) May 26, 2019 The EU elections have been marked by successes for the far right, a surge by the Greens and setbacks for traditional parties across the continent. AFP selects five takeaways as the first results come in across Europe: - Far-right, populists advance - The first results and projections suggested France's eurosceptic far-right National Rally party led by Marine Le Pen was set to finish top in France, narrowly ahead of the ruling faction of President Emmanuel Macron. In Italy, Interior Minister Matteo Salvini's far-right League was set to win the most votes, and Germany's far-right AfD was set to improve on their 2014 score of 7.1 percent, with exit polls seeing it coming in at 10.5 percent. But the picture is far from uniform: in Austria the far-right Freedom Party was lagging in third after becoming engulfed in corruption scandal during the campaign. And the party of Dutch far-right leader Geert Wilders looked set to lose all its seats in the European Parliament as results confirmed a win for the social democrats. Observers doubt the populists' ability to form an effective coalition, with differences on key issues including how close to be to Russia. The populists "achieved the same size of wave, maybe a little better even, than in 2014 but there's no tsunami," Sebastien Maillard, director of the Jacques Delors Institute think tank, told AFP. He forecast that they would not be able to "disturb democratic life" in the next parliament. - Green surge - Environmentalist parties performed strongly, reflecting how the issue of climate change has leapt up the agenda as young activists take up the cause. In Germany, the Greens were on course to knock the centre-left SPD, the coalition partner of Chancellor Angela Merkel, from second place. Exit polls also showed the French green party EEVL led by a former top figure at Greenpeace France making strong gains with a score of 12-12.7 percent compared with 8.9 percent in the last EU elections in 2014. Through school strikes, civil disobedience and large-scale marches, the movements have succeeded in highlighting how human behaviour threatens the future of the planet. And unlike the eurosceptic populists, the Greens are not riven by division on a pan-European level. "The Greens traditionally form a homogeneous and coherent group in the European parliament," said Manuel Lafont Rapnouil, senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR). - Blows for leaders - Macron had made no secret of the significance he attached to the results and his party's performance was a symbolic blow for the president two years into his five year mandate. But his office sought to put a brave face on the indications, saying that the performance was "respectable" after reports indicated that a bad showing could lead to a cabinet reshuffle. The night was no better for Merkel, as exit polls showed the list of her centre-right bloc was due to only garner around 28 percent. Elsewhere, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said he would call snap elections after voters relegated his Syriza party to second place behind the opposition conservative New Democracy party. However, nationalist and eurosceptic ruling parties did well: the Fidesz party of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban was on course for a big victory while in Poland governing right-wing Law and Justice party (PiS) was well ahead. - Turnout jumps - After fears ahead of the election that voters would stay away, turnout across the European Union excluding Britain was estimated at 51 percent, the highest in 20 years, the EU parliament said. A variety of issues ranging from immigration, Brexit, the economy to climate change have made these polls the most closely watched EU elections in a generation. In the first election to the European Parliament in 1979, 62 percent of eligible voters cast a ballot in what were then nine member states. Since then the number of members has swollen to 28, but turnout has fallen every five years, to just over 42 percent in 2014. - Brexit party sweeps Britain - Britain took part in the EU elections despite still being scheduled to leave the bloc by October 31 amid the crisis and confusion over its delayed exit. The ruling Conservatives of Prime Minister Theresa May -- who announced her resignation last week -- are set to be punished by falling into fourth place. However the Brexit party of Nigel Farage -- condemned by opponents as part of a line of European populist leaders -- is set to win by far the largest share of the vote with early results showing it winning 31.5 percent of the vote. Yet in a sign of the extreme polarisation in British politics, the pro-EU Liberal Democrats are challenging the main opposition Labour Party for second place. The Perspective Atlanta, Georgia May 26, 2019 When the judiciary which is the bastion of democracy crumbles and dances at the tone of dictator; the entire Nation is doomed When the proctor of the law bares freedom of speech and expression, the hope of the peasants is flushed to the toilet and the courtroom then become a theater of drama where the voices of integrity are painful in the ears of judicial crooks this is exactly the case of Chief Justice Francis Saye Korkpor. The nation is rotten. From the Executive to the Judiciary there is an outflow of a systemic mess from the president to the Speaker; from the Speaker to the Chief Justice we see nothing but the outburst of the rotten system. The High Priest of the Supreme Court is now wearing a political pamper and passing out stools of intolerance and a mass inconsumable product of Justice. Indeed the nation is entrapped. Cllr. Tiawan Saye Gongloe I dont need to tell you much about the dramatic scene that was created by the Chief Justice at the Supreme Court a few days ago. The Chief Justice shockingly muscled the President of Liberia National Bar Association (LNBA), Cllr. Tiawan Gongloe after the later fearlessly criticized the entire bench of the High Court for lacking the moral courage to stand up to the Executive and the Legislative branches of government. Cllr. Gongloe has repeatedly stated that the removal of Kabinah Janneh was unconstitutional and he again reechoed it when he mounted the podium to give a statement on behalf of the Bar at Justice Kabas seating on the Supreme Court Bench. In his speech which was immaturely interrupted by Chief Justice Francis Korkpor, the President of the Bar reiterated that the removal of Janeh was illegal and called on the superior court to stand up against illegal action from the Executive or the Legislature. This angered Justice Korkpor and banged his gavel mandating Cllr. Gongloe to immediately take his seat. This action is a mind-boggling and a national judicial calamity that needs to be seriously considered as an attack on freedom of expression. In case the Chief is comfortable in the bed of the Executive and the Legislature to an extent that he has swallowed simple elementary legal principle, this must serve as a reminder to him that restricting peoples right to free expression is a violation of Article 15 of the 1986 Constitution of the Republic of Liberia - He also needs to recollect that the rights to freedom of opinion and expression have been protected in all of the relevant international human rights treaties including Article 19 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights as well as the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Those rights cannot be negotiated especially in the highest sacred hall of justice in the land; this must claim the attention of patriots especially advocates of social justice and freedom. Chief Justice has violated the fundamental right of Cllr. Gongloe; a confirmation of our argument that the entire Justice System of the land is rotten to its core. Judges including the Chief Justice are serving at the will and pleasure of the Executive. The police are extremely corrupt, the Immigration officers are slave to Indians and Lebanese traders, the Drug Enforcement Officers are partners of Drug-lord, for the Judges they dispense justice NOT on the basis of justice but based on the strength of your pocket , the higher bidder is always the winner like the judges, the Justices of the bench are pocketed puppet of the Executive and the Legislature. Indeed the nation is crumbling from all angles! To the beneficiaries of the spoiled system, the action of the Chief Justice is nothing to warrant citizens action but to us, it is a judicial disaster of the first order. For the Chief arbiter of justice in the motherland to openly present himself as a dictator, we considered this as an aggressive attack not only on Cllr. Tiawan Gongloe but the over 4.5 million people of the state. The action is disgraceful to our nation; the Chief Justice who should be the main protector of the right to speak freely is now a dictator and is barring freedom of speech and expression indeed Liberia is at the crossroads and drifting into an abyss of political tragedy. In this generation of ours, it will take not the silence of the spineless opportunist and bootlickers to save the state but the collective resilience of young patriots. Undeniably, the nation is rotten the Chief Justice has just pulled out judicial garbage clamping down free speech which is an embodiment of true justice. The action of the Chief Justice against the President of the Liberia National Bar Association is nothing but a reckless display of highest intolerance in judicial history; it is a paradox of justice, and a spiteful outburst of a rotten Judicial System managed by a group of political puppets who lack the independence and the high moral ground to dispense justice with objectivism. Now we know that gavel in the hands of a spineless bigot is a threat to the existence of the defenselessly mass of our people. Yes, Cllr. Korkpor is a political Chief Justice who works at the will and pleasure of the Executive and the Legislature in gross disregard to the separation of power, a doctrine of constitutional law under which the three branches of government are kept separate to maintain checks and balances. By action, the Chief Justice has flushed Article 3 of the 1986 Constitution of the Republic of Liberia to the lavatory this provision of our organic law which speaks of three separate coordinate branches of government in respect to checks and balances is now in the septic tank. Perhaps, the Chief Justice has forgotten that the courts are not sacrosanct. Citizens discussions of courts cant be questioned neither cant it be a punishable offense when the issues are not pending before the court. Judicial decisions can be scrutinized by the public including the Bar that is a friend of the court. For terming as illegal the removal of one of the Justices of the Supreme Court Bench Cllr. Gongloe has done no wrong and must not be stripped off his right to freedom of expression. As President Weah butchers our democracy, the Chief Justice has, therefore, become a brazen emblem of dictatorship and trumpeter of bad governance. He is now the key element in the Judiciary promoting Weahs authoritarianism, autocracy fascism. Indeed, this is an epitome of judicial misery. Comrades, in the judicial system where judges are stooges of major political actors, justice will be served at the will of major political actors. No doubt, the public is now suspicious of the working of the highest court, the Supreme Court. Constitutionally clothed with the power as the final arbiter of justice and the only interpreter of the Constitution, the court has lost its true independence under the stewardship of Cllr. Korkpor. Justice Korkpors display of intolerance to freedom of expression and his unorthodox opinion clearly undermine his already questionable independent nature as the Chief Priest of Justice of the motherland. He cannot in any way be seen as a neutral arbiter of unadulterated justice. This action signals that dark days are ahead and the freedom we fought for as a nation is not guaranteed. Considering what the nation witnessed at the unconstitutional unseating of Justice Janeh, it is now palpable that a change in the leadership and make-up of the Supreme Court current bench is a wholesome composition of consummate opportunist and wealth seekers. The free speech that we enjoy today did not come at the benevolence of any one individual. It was fought for - men lost their lives in defense of this worthy cause yesterday, let no man abuse it now especially those who have the gavel of judicial authority. Justice Korkpor owes Cllr. Gongloe and the Liberian people an apology. By his display of intolerance and bigotry, he has offended the Liberia national bar Association as well as the entire citizenry of the Republic who by his action, he abused their acumen. The right to freedom of expression is not a tradable commodity for capital exchange every Liberian has this right and must be respected. You have, indeed, brought disgrace to the nation you must apologize to the Liberian people. With resilience, we are under obligation to this not out of malice but conviction. The people, and the people nobody else! About the Author: Ephraim T. Nyumah is a student of the University of Liberia, reading Economics & Demography. He can be reached at : 0770255670 or alternatively - nsephraim@gmail.com The Perspective Atlanta, Georgia May 26, 2019 Finance Minister Samuel Tweah Samuel Tweah, Finance and Economic Planning Minister, who is perhaps Liberias most intolerant and arguably among the most corrupt Finance Ministers that ever hold the post, apparently presided over US$25 million Mop-Up exercise conducted by the countrys Technical Economic Management Team (TEMT) of which the General Auditing Commissions forensic investigation has revealed that US$2,378,187.00 has not been properly accounted for during the US$25 million Mop-Up exercise. The report revealed US$491,769.00 was spent on 15 entities, which the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL) claimed to have participated in the mop-up exercise; however, those entities denied participation in the process. In addition, the report said that, per CBL records, 27 entities received US$702,680.00 during the Mop-up exercise, but none of them were registered as per document review from the Liberia business registry records. The report also said that 52 entities, per the CBL record, received US$1,092,292.00 but did not answer or reply to telephone calls or text messages from GAC auditors. Further, the GAC report explained that 8 entities that received US$163,446.00 during the mop-up exercise, per CBL records, were not in operation during the field visit. Liberians politics is a den of thieves, but for at least over the past 8 years, I have been warning Liberians about a particular brood of thieves, which for lack of a more elegant descriptive idiom I will call the den of loud mouth talking thieves. These species of crooks comprise of thieving politicians who mask their corruption with ritualistic performances of incompetent leadership. They speak well and have mastered the University of Liberia palava hut jargons, or jargons of technocratic governance, becoming the darlings of donors, civil society, and neoliberal institutions. They are the politicians who say the right things, bamboozle the naive with the hifalutin language of good governance and transparency. They know what to do and what to say to impress their local and international interlocutors. Theyve mastered the pretentiously vacuous vocabulary of the donors world and are and development-speak even though they are not adept at governance as evidence in their actions. They are the first public officials to challenge others to a public transparency contest, the first to declare their budgets to be public documents. They are lauded for crafting and implementing open budgets and make sure that they co-opt renown international and local developmental partners into their programs, knowing that these agencies would then become their unwitting propaganda arm. It is a good political and technocratic theater. The loudmouth talking thieves can make mesmerizing presentations with or without notes or PowerPoint slides and hide their thievery behind confusing numbers, graphs, eloquent speeches, and pie charts. When accused of corruption or other misconducts they do not retreat or perform contrition and are not rattled. Instead, they arrogantly go on the offensive. They deploy counterattacks and counter-accusations as a tactic of deflection, distraction, and defense. These gestures are all carefully publicized and calculated to reinforce the public perception that they are competent, intelligent, and different from the average Liberian politicians or the populace. It is an elaborate charade. The loudmouth talking thieves are media savvy; they work the press and seduce and induce them into buying their obfuscation, sophistry, and glib rhetoric by spreading some of their loots to the press which in due course sing their praises. The thing is they do not believe that the laws and rules governing the conduct of public officials apply to them. Sadly, some Liberians believe that politicians and bureaucrats perceived as intelligent and competent deserve different ethical rules, and therein lies the problem. Samuel Tweah is perhaps the most illustrious member of the club of the loudmouth thieves. His articulateness and technocratic awareness relative to other Liberian politicians or the general populace have served to inoculate him against accountability. As a result, he has arrogantly continued to thump his nose at the ethics, rules, and laws while craftily and fraudulently playing the competence and good governance cards. Remember, when he was accused of upgrading from business class to first class on the governments recent trip to Beijing for the Forum on China-Africa Corporation (FOCAC) Summit. He responded Im entitled to travel on business class and the cost of my ticket was US$12,700, so lets get that fact clear I paid the upgrade difference. If I dont have US$4,000 to sit in a first class its unfortunate. I worked in this country for the past seven years as a consultant for the Ministry of Finance, after that I went to the African Development Bank where my salary exceeds US$500,000 a year, even though his annual salary at ADB was Tweahs actual annual salary was US$120,164 per annum at the time. Also, when ambassadors of United States, Sweden, France, Northern Ireland, the United Kingdom, Japan, and European Union signed a letter warning the government of Liberia of repercussion for irregular withdrawal of project for unapproved expenditures? His response was neither denial nor contrition. Instead, he arrogantly coined the termed borrowing initiatives. This outburst exemplifies the audacious but toxic mix of corruption, arrogance, sense of entitlement, and unreflective indignation that one encounters in the loud mouth talking corrupt individuals. On March 11, 2019, the World Bank wrote Finance Minister Samuel Tweah to repay the amount of US$3,285,750 of ineligible expenditures back to the Banks account. The money, according to the bank, includes US$35,750 worth of stolen laptops and unapproved debit of US$2 million, both from the Ebola Emergency Response Project; while the rest came from other unapproved debits from the Liberia Social Safety Nets Project under the Ministry of Health (US$500.000); Public Sector Modernization Project (US$500,000); Liberia Forest Sector Project under the FDA (US$200,000) and the Liberia Urban Water Supply Project (US$50,000). Samuel Tweah didn't see anything wrong with his conduct in upgrading from business class to first class on the governments recent trip. He certainly doesn't see anything wrong with US$2,378,187.00 that has not been properly accounted for during the US$25 million Mop-Up in which he presided over neither the US$3,285,750 demands from the World Bank for ineligible expenditures. That is how corrupt but marginally loud mouth politicians behave. They know that their reputation for technocratic incompetence, deserved or not, will insulate them or at least confuse Liberians. They almost feel entitled to a pass on account of their grammatical competence and choreographed, elaborate pretenses to governing ability. They are slick operators, hard to pin down because there are always compatriots who are taken by their polish and educated conduct and are willing to overlook all else. Loudmouth and corrupt politicians perceived to be competent, enlightened, and well educated are the most dangerous kind of political thieves because they are the most difficult to hold accountable. Let me explain. The average Liberian thieving attracts outright scorn because, in addition to being woefully incompetent, poorly spoken, unintelligent, pathetically under-read and uninformed, and incapable of understanding policy and poetics, he lacks the linguistic resources to express his thoughts clearly, lucidly, and persuasively. Liberians tend not to accord these average Liberians any benefit of the doubt and do not try to mitigate their wrongdoing. Moreover, because they are inarticulate and unintelligent, their attempts to explain themselves or defend or deny their wrongdoing only attract more derision and unvarnished contempt. When it comes to folks like Samuel Tweah, however, there are always Liberians who will be seduced by the fact that they are better informed, perceived as more intelligent, and have a better command of the University of Liberia palava jargons than the average Liberians. These Liberians will extend multiple benefits of the doubt to Tweah and his ilk, refusing to see that intelligence and corruption can and do coexist and that in fact intelligence, perceived or real, is the perfect camouflage for corruption. Tweah knows that he can always count on this cult of Cdcians, this naive group of compatriots, to dilute the ethical clarity that should inform attitudes towards corrupt, but pretentiously incompetent politicians. All that needs to happen is for consensus on the latters corruption to disappear and for ambivalence to enter the picture. The loudmouth talking corrupt individuals are beneficiaries of ambivalence on the part of Liberian regarding their corruption. That is precisely what they want and try to produce: ambivalence on their corruption profiles. If we cannot call corruption by its only name because the perpetrator is seen as being more intelligent, informed, and competent than the average citizens, we are essentially creating a special coven or category for thieves who are beyond reproach and cannot be held accountable. These crooked politicians are all too happy to dazzle us into complicit silence with their refined University of Liberia palava hut jargons and hackneyed policy jargons. Samuel Tweah personifies this phenomenon. Sadly, Tweah has never operated alone and still serve at the pleasure of President George Weah, and will continue to serve as long as President Weah wants him to. About the Author: Karweaye is a Liberian residing in the United States of America and can be contacted at s.karweaye1668@student.tsu.edu Sisi is chairing the African Union this year; Egypt has pledged to focus on issues of peace and security for the continent during its chairmanship, and to tackle reconstruction and development in post-conflict zones Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi called on Saturday on African countries to exert efforts to achieve the aspirations of the continent's nations towards prosperity and stablity. In a televised speech as part of the AU's celebration of Africa Day, El-Sisi asked the continents countries to maintain their unity in order to accomplish the dream of their founding fathers of a thriving continent. Saturday marks 56 years since the foundation of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) in 1963, which was established in Ethiopias Addis Ababa. The OAU was replaced by the African Union in 2002. El-Sisi is chairing the African Union this year; Egypt has pledged to focus on issues of peace and security during its chairing of the body, and to tackle reconstruction and development in post-conflict zones. We have to strive towards developing our human resources and rehabilitate the youth of the continent to keep pace with the developments of the era and fulfil their missions in leading the future of Africa, El-Sisi said. He cited the importance of a continued boost for the role of African women as a beating heart for societies and a guiding light to transform them economically, calling also for a boosting of cultural ties between nations as a consolidation of African identity and to raise the principles of African solidarity. El-Sisi also mentioned the continents drive to achieve sustainable development through an ambitious plan, Agenda 2063. Day by day, our joint efforts become more effective to find resolutions for conflicts and problems faced by our nations for decades, which has precluded accomplishing the dreams of nations, he said. Search Keywords: Short link: The Perspective Atlanta, Georgia May 26, 2019 Cllr. Tiawan Saye Gongloe As we celebrate the 56th African Liberation Day Anniversary, we neither do so with our heads high believing that the African peoples will no longer be subjugated nor return to the dark days of colonialism. As we look back into the annals of African history, we are reminded of the days when the African continent and its peoples became victims of foreign domination and exploitation. We are reminded of how for centuries the African peoples had no say in the management of their own affairs. Thanks to the champion of African freedom for their unwavering and relentless fight for the total and unconditional liberation of the African continent from the yoke of colonialism and imperialism. Yes indeed, Africa is free from colonial domination and has gained political independence. Today Africans are managing their own affairs, charting the way forward for sustained peace, collective security and unhindered socioeconomic development. Now that the African people have attained political independence, the struggle is for the general improvement in their living conditions. This struggle is based on the fact that the years of political independence have not brought self-reliance and self-determination. It is no secret that the continent of Africa is the richest on earth in terms of natural resources. Yet it is inhabited, largely, by some of the poorest people in the world, as millions of Africans go without food daily, and millions more are homeless and jobless, while a fingerful of people enjoy most of the wealth of Africa a situation that has made political independence meaningless to the struggling masses of the African people. The lack of economic independence and fair distribution of the income generated from the resources of Africa among the people undermines the peace, progress, and prosperity of Africa. Unless the wide gap between the rich and the poor in Africa is narrowed, there will continue to be mass anger and mass anger will continue to create one crisis after another. Therefore, the new struggle for liberation in Africa should be centered on the elimination of poverty and the improvement in the welfare of the masses of the people. The mass movement of young people of Africa to North Africa as a means of getting to Europe in the quest for a better life shows the need to intensify the struggle for economic liberation and a better life for all Africans. This trend must be reversed because the people of Africa cannot win the struggle for liberation if the able-body young men and women of Africa who should be leading this struggle are retreating and running away to Europe and the Americas. On the commemoration of the 56th Anniversary of African Liberation, MOJA calls on the people of Africa to pay homage to the dedicated leaders of the struggle for emancipation from colonial rule on the African Continent such as Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, Mwalimu Julius Nyarere of Tanzania, Nmzee Jomo Kenyatta of Kenya, Ahmed Benbela of Algeria, Patrice Lumumba of the Congo (DRC), Ahmed Sekou Toure of Guinea, Nnamdi Azikiwe of Nigeria, Modibo Keita of Mali, amongst many other African patriots. While they made their mistakes, their commitment to the true independence of Africa was not in doubt. We must continue to pay homage to them for their foresight and fortitude. Today, Africa needs a new breed of leaders to move the continent towards becoming a continent that will keep its young people by creating a better life for all Africans. This breed of leaders must learn to put the interest of the people above their own interest and develop plans with the involvement of the people, for a better life on the African continent. After 56 years our people cannot be relying on imported food for their survival, foreign hospitals for their health and dependent on foreign governments for things that African countries have the potential to do for their people. The African people cannot attain a better life if most of our leaders are so corrupt that the wealth of the continent is being mismanaged by them and their cronies. Africa cannot move forward if only family members and friends can be the beneficiaries of employment opportunities and contracts. Africa cannot experience sustained peace, progress and prosperity if justice is only for the powerful, well-connected and wealthy. Lasting peace begins with justice for all. In our country Liberia, there has been severe leadership deficit from the founding of the Liberian state to today. Liberia has been a country where there has been growth without development from year in year out. All these anomalies culminated in the fratricidal civil conflict that destroyed the fabric of our society and undermined our collective ability to move forward as one nation. With the help of ECOWAS and the International community, peace was restored to our country 15 years ago. Our collective responsibility as a people now is to maintain the peace. Instead, strange things are happening that could weaken our collective resolve to maintain the peace!! Yes, indeed strange things are happening in our country today- where people who were just barely managing to make life yesterday are today among the wealthiest people in Africa, if not the world, just in one year of being in power, as though they are money magicians. They must provide an explanation for their overnight transition from being very poor to being very rich so that other Liberians can learn from them if their method of wealth accumulation was devoid of criminality. Otherwise, the masses of the people will be right to conclude that they stole the Liberian people money in order to become wealthy. Corruption is a deadly virus that has been a menace in our country for the nearly two centuries of our national existence and has reached its zenith since the coming into power of the Coalition for Democratic Change led government. The cases in point are the failure of President Weah and his cabinet officials to timely and openly declared their assets, the issue of the missing $16 billion Liberian dollars, the doubt created by the manner in which US$25million meant for stabilizing the exchange rate between the US Dollars and Liberian Dollars was used; the awarding of contracts without exhausting public procurement laws, effort to acquire bogus loans from unknown and questionable sources, among others. In our Liberia today, the independence of the judiciary and its ability to deliver justice in accordance with the law have been the perennial subject of US State Department Reports and other external reports. The unconstitutional impeachment of Associate Justice Kabineh Janeh from the Supreme Court Bench by the Legislature, based largely on efforts by the power that be to demonstrate its effectiveness in retaliation is another form of injustice that Liberia faces today. The Movement for Justice in Africa (MOJA), calls on the Government of Liberia to, without delay prosecutes those found culpable in the $25M Mop-up exercise carried out by the Technical Economic Management Team (TEMT) of the Government of Liberia. Furthermore, MOJA calls on the Government of Liberia to demonstrate sincerity in addressing the poor economic conditions in the country. MOJA calls on the Government to scrupulously protect the rights of the people to free speech, free press, free assembly, and free movement. In this regard, MOJA calls on the government to protect the rights of Liberians who have planned to protest against governments actions and decisions on June 7, 2019. MOJA also calls on organizers of the protest to keep all options open, including dialogue, mediation by individuals, institutions and the international community. However, if all other efforts fail and the protest is proceeded with, MOJA calls on the organizers to ensure that no degree of violence is associated with the protest. Based on MOJAs experience, it calls on the organizers to be vigilant both internally and externally for people who may be planted to give the organizers a bad name. MOJA wishes every Liberian a happy African Liberation Day. Signed _____________________ Throble Kaffa Suah (Cde) Interim Secretary General Approved____________________ Tiawan Saye Gongloe (Cde) Interim Chairman, MOJA The Perspective Atlanta, Georgia May 26, 2019 Liberian Currency It has been sixteen years since the Liberian civil crisis came to an end in 2003. The motivations of the civil war itself were unproductive and created unbearable conditions that still impact negatively on the well-being of Liberians. One such impact is the poor state of the economy. Until 1989, the economy was relatively stable and living conditions of Liberians were good in comparison to some of its West African neighbors. During the period before the civil war, the political elites underestimated the benefits of a functioning economy that attracted nationals from neighboring countries to take advantage of the enduring Liberian economy. The fights in those years were not about the economy and the wellbeing of Liberians, rather it was about access to political power and authority. This attitude continues to unveil itself even today. The political elites struggled for political emancipation and ignored economic emancipation which was and is still the felt needs of Liberians. It is a reality that when citizens have jobs and are capable of addressing the bread and butter issues, then politicians will live and work in peace. If not, they get the opposite. This has been the state of affairs in Liberia for many years and has further manifested itself under President George M. Weahs Administration. Liberia is in a serious state of near collapse due to the poor state of the economy driven by the exchange rate as attributed by some Liberians, as well as the dual currency (United States Dollars and Liberian Dollars) used concurrently in the Liberian economy. While I am not an economist, I do believe that the dual currency has provided cushion to the ailing economy. However, in my view, what has been missing is Leadership. Strategic leadership has been a fundamental gap in the post-war governance of the country. The government of Liberia needs to provide the right leadership in the management of the dual currency economy. The government has got to take actions to reduce the demand for the United States Dollars on the local market. It does not make sense for the Liberian Government to collect taxes in United States Dollars. By asking taxpayers to go out on the local market and find United States Dollars to pay lawful taxes in a country that does not produce United States Dollars is a factor for creating unnecessary demand for the US dollar. The government needs to also ensure that those who want to import goods and services into Liberia do not go through the burden of trying to buy United States Dollars on the local market, as this also creates an unnecessary demand for the United States Dollars. There is also no need for goods and services to be sold in United States Dollars on the local Market. Schools and clinics should not be allowed to sell their goods and services in the US dollars. Banks and financial service institutions should not be allowed to give United States Dollars to any of their customers unless that customer can prove that they are traveling outside of the country (flight ticket, hotel bookings, etc) for which they have a need for United States Dollars. The government, multinational companies and private businesses operating in Liberia should not pay their employees and or contractors in United States Dollars; not even their expatriate staff unless they are traveling outside the Country. International Governmental Organizations and Foreign Missions should be exempted from this measure due to diplomatic immunity. In my high school economics, I was taught the law of supply and demand - the higher the demand, the higher the price and the lower the demand, the lower the price - and this is exactly what this article argues; that successive Liberian governments (past and present) have continued to create unnecessary demand for the United States Dollars without the correspondent capacity to supply the currency in the local market. The US dollar is produced and controlled by the Federal Reserve of the United States of America and not the Central Bank of Liberia. Why tag the countrys economic activities to the currency we have no control over? If the government take measures to stop too many people chasing a few United States Dollars on the local market, the demand for the United States Dollars might be reduced. However, some might argue that the government will not be able to service its debts - local and international - since the countrys export sector is still very weak. I maintain in this article that such a supposition is a weak argument. Let me pose a couple of questions to the proponents of such an argument. Where are the US dollars that are currently used to pay government taxes coming from, and how is it being generated? The lack of leadership on the part of our governments (past and present) that I mentioned earlier has got to do with the desire for officials of government to keep United States Dollars in their pockets to buy personal goods and services and not necessarily the need to service the countrys debts. This must stop. Officials of government need to delay their gratification to allow the Country to survive amidst the declining economic situation in the country. The current Liberian Government needs to move very fast and reduce the demand for the United States Dollars by taking certain steps which should include, but not limited to: All taxes must be paid in Liberian Dollars except multinational companies operating in Liberia with subsidiaries abroad or listed on any of the stock markets The Government must pay all goods and services in Liberian dollars including salary and benefits for all category of employees in all branches of the Liberia government including the President, Vice President, Speaker, Chief Justice, etc. The only payment to be made in United States Dollars are those to be spent outside of the Country. For any official of government to get payment in United States Dollars, he or she must provide proof that they will spend that money outside of Liberia. The government must transition its budget from United States Dollars to Liberian Dollars and subsequently ensure that all service providers supporting the initiatives of Government do likewise and transact in Liberian Dollars. It doesnt matter who is involved. This is where equity, fairness, and justice must be enforced. The Government must ensure that all supermarkets and businesses label their goods and services in Liberian Dollars and businesses pay hefty fines if caught accepting United States Dollars for their goods and services That multinational companies exchange their United States Dollars brought into the country for Liberian Dollars through the Central Bank. In fact, the commercial banks with whom they transact businesses should hold the United States Dollars and give them Liberian Dollars to pay salaries of their staffs. However, expat staff may be exempted only in case if they need money to use abroad and can prove that they need such an amount. These actions are as necessary as the systems and processes the government would put in place to ensure that those who need United States Dollars through the formal banking system can access it within 24 hours or less. The government should brace itself to mobilize all the United States Dollars that comes into the Country under its authority and regulate how is it used within its borders. Besides what happens within the local markets, there are big international currency exchange brokers sitting in Washington DC, London, Brussels, etc who are buying and selling local currencies that influence the exchange rates. These brokers are dealing directly with the commercial banks and financial service institutions providing them better exchange rates as against what the central bank is providing. They have argued in most countries where they operate that they are contributing to the stability of the exchange rate. I do not buy their argument. Instead, they are contributing to manipulating the rate for two reasons: They are not a registered business within the country and are not legal taxpayers, but yet maximize profit through the exchange of currencies by offering better rates than the official rate. Their action to participate in the currency exchange market while sitting outside of the country has the potential to manipulate the exchange rate at their advantage and putting local exchange businesses at the disadvantage even though (local exchange businesses) are legal taxpayers The Government needs to watch out for commercial banks doing business with these international foreign exchange businesses operating inside the Country without being a legal entity under the laws of Liberia. These potential currency manipulators do not see anything wrong with their operations and therefore will go all out to defend their actions including persuading ill-prepared officials to stand on their side. They exist in other parts of West Africa, but I have no proved if they are operating in Liberia. The government needs to find its footprint on the currency shores of Liberia and put in place the necessary regulatory framework. Finally, there is nothing wrong with the dual currency in Liberia. It has existed since the 1980s when the Military Government introduced the coins (LRD5.00) to regulate the movement of United States Bank Notes (capital flight) from the country and forced people to invest. The dual currency has helped cushion the dual currency market. The problem we now face is the unpatriotic actions of our governments which has increased the demand for the United States Dollars over the Liberia dollars. There is a need to ensure that the Liberian Dollars regain its glory as of the legal tender and regulate transactions in the United States Dollars on the local market so that the value of the Liberian dollar will appreciate by decreasing the demand for the United States Dollar. About the Author: Joseph Jimmy Sankaituah holds MSc degree in Diplomacy and International Relations from Fourah Bay College - the University of Sierra Leone, BA in Political Science from the University of Liberia. He has over ten years of experience working in Liberia and Sierra Leone in the civil society sector. He worked as one of three national consultants who reviewed and revised the National Youth Policy of Liberia in 2012. Between 2008 and 2010, he served as President of the Federation of Liberia. Between 2005 and 2007, he served as National Youth Coordinator of the Young Mens Christian Association of Liberia. He currently lives and works in Sierra Leone. Email: jjsankaituah@gmail.com The Perspective Atlanta, Georgia May 26, 2019 Artwork by Michael Anderson and Sam Ben-Meir Waging a war against Iran, or even thinking of doing so, is sheer madness. Trump has thus far wisely rejected the warmonger National Security Advisor John Boltons outrageous advice. Waging another war in the Mideast, this time against Iran, would have not only disastrous consequences for the US but will also engulf our allies from which they would suffer incalculable human losses and destruction. Bolton was the architect behind the devastating war in Iraq in 2003, which inflicted more than 5,000 US casualties and a cost exceeding two trillion dollars, allowed Iran to entrench itself in Iraq, and gave way to the rise of ISIS. The Iraq war would be childs play compared to a war against Iran, who will put up a fight, far worse than all of the wars in the Middle East since 1948 combined. Much of the Middle East will be in flames. American casualties will be many times that of the Iraq war. Trump should never listen to Bolton, who is being strongly influenced by Crown Prince bin Salman and Netanyahu, who seem to encourage him to attack Iran. They are dangerous men, and want to prevail over Iran at the expense of the United States by dragging it into an unwinnable war. No matter how much death and destruction Iran will suffer, it will be there to stay. To think that regime change in Iran, as Bolton and Pompeo continue to advocate, will usher in a democracy is an illusion that will never materialize. The US efforts to establish democracies in Egypt and Libya in the wake of the Arab spring offer glaring examples of the US dismal failure. To resolve the conflict with Iran by toppling the clergy though the use of force is not the answer. Iran technically will lose such a war, but that in no way guarantees that regime change and democracy will follow. The answer lies through negotiation and only negotiation, until all conflicting issues that separate the US and its allies from Iran are settled peacefully. Israels and Saudi Arabias concerns that if Iran acquired a nuclear weapon would severely compromise their national security is exaggerated at best and unfounded at worse. Even if Iran acquires such weapons, Tehran will not use them preemptively or in retaliation to a conventional attack on its nuclear facilities and high-value military assets. If Iran is actively seeking nuclear weapons, it is doing so strictly for defensive purposes, just like Israel, Pakistan, North Korea, and India. No one knows better than the Revolutionary Guard and the clergy in Tehran that using nuclear weapons for either defensive or offensive attacks is tantamount to suicide. Israel as a nuclear power will always maintain second-strike capability and will not hesitate for a moment to respond in kind and inflict unacceptable damage from which Iran can suffer for decades. Like any other country, Iran wants to live and prosper in peace. Yes, it has been and still is involved in many nefarious activities throughout the region. And yes, it has the ambition of becoming the regions hegemon. But, in the final analysis, Iran will weigh the benefits versus the disadvantages that it can garner by being a constructive player in the Middle East. However, Iran will fight with all its might against regime change imposed on it by a foreign power or otherwise. The Iranian government, led by the clergy, has every right to govern itself in any manner it chooses. Its current military preparations are only in response to the United States threats to use force to effect regime change. Tehran has in no way any offensive designs in mind, and Bolton cannot fool anyone otherwise. I give credit to Trump for being in fact the one who is resisting Boltons and Secretary of State Pompeos adventurous streak. Certainly, Irans behavior is not acceptable. Iran must stop threatening Israel and other countries in the region, and disabuse Netanyahu in particular of the notion that Tehran is out to destroy Israel. A resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will also disabuse Iran from using that conflict to justify its enmity toward Israel. There is no better or more urgent time than now for the EU to interject itself in an effort to ameliorate the growing tension between the United States and Iran. The EU should initiate behind-the-scenes negotiations with Iran and agree with the US on a joint cohesive strategic plan to mitigate the conflict with Iran. The new negotiations should be based on quid pro quo aiming to achieve a comprehensive deal in stages that could lead to a permanent solution. Every conflicting issue should be placed on the table. Iran must stop meddling in the affairs of other states, freeze its research and development of ballistic missiles, and end its support of extremist groups such as Hezbollah and waging of proxy wars in Yemen and Syria. In return, the EU and the US should offer Iran a path for normalizing relations and removing sanctions, and assure it that the West will not seek regime change. This kind of cooperation and high level of transparency will serve the objective of reaching regional stability from which Iran can benefit greatly, instead of continuing its nefarious activities which invite even more severe sanctions, and potentially a devastating war. Neither Tehran nor Washington want war, and every party directly or indirectly affected by the conflict with Iranespecially Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the other Gulf stateswill greatly benefit from a new, peaceful agreement with Iran. Trump must not engage the United States in another war in the Middle East. We have and continue to pay dearly for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, and we are still fighting the latter. Of all the promises that Trump made in his political campaign for the presidency, preventing another war is the one promise he must keep. About the Author: Dr. Alon Ben-Meir is a professor of international relations at the Center for Global Affairs at NYU. He teaches courses on international negotiation and Middle Eastern studies. alon@alonben-meir.com Web: www.alonben-meir.com The act of acquiring a business is a direct opposite of starting a new business that has never existed before. However, both actions amount to making an investment decision and thus come with feelings of excitement and fear simultaneously. This is normal as most, if not all, investments have advantages and disadvantages. Now, buying a new business can be a way of diversifying an investment portfolio or it could just be the bedrock of an investment portfolio. Below are a few steps you may need to consider before acquiring a business. Consider The first step to consider is the nature or type of business and whether you have the passion, skill and experience to run the business. For example, is it a restaurant? If it is a restaurant, do you have at least, basic cooking skills or hospitality industry experience? The second step to consider is whether you have enough capital to acquire the business. If not, where can you get the capital to acquire the business. You can try Fincorp or any of the local banks in Eswatini for assistance with funding for acquiring a business. The third step is to understand your reason or objective of acquiring the business. Is it to diversify your income sources or to earn livelihood, i.e., create main source of income? Understanding your reason or objective will help you stay grounded and look into the future when the chips are down in the business and trust me, they will; remember fluctuations in business are normal. The most important factor to consider is the finances of the business you want to buy focus on the real cash inflows and outflows on a weekly and monthly basis. Get an idea of the actual money that is flowing in and out of the business and do not dwell much or place high premium on projections. The second factor to consider is the reputation or goodwill of the business. ocustomers say about the product or service offered by the business you want to buy? Location Lastly, you need to consider the location of the business. Is it in an accessible and safe area? Is it in a densely populated area or is it at least in an area where your target customers frequent? The staff and management, if you are not going to be directly involved in running the business, is another key factor to consider. People make the business and you need to know whether the business has people with the right skills, experience and attitude. The above is not exhaustive, but just some of the basics to consider when acquiring a business. Courtesy of Chris Sicelo Gama, FSA. Fingroup Swaziland. PIGGS PEAK Though it is now winter, Gobolondlo Hall was as hot as summer thanks to performances by South African DJs. DJs Bongz, Merlon, Chynaman and Cheeze entertained revellers as part of the Winter Break Tour organised by DJ Mfundo of Kool Swazi. DJ Bongz, popular for Gwaragwara, did not fall short of entertaining the crowd with his dance moves as throngs of revellers literally went crazy. He also played one of his hits, Thina so babili which sent clubbers in a frenzy of dance. The South African DJs arrived after midnight but Eswatinis own DJ Mbo kept the crowds entertained while they waited. Played DJ Merlon, famous for his hit, Koze Kuse, also played some of his hits. Mfundo said he was happy with the throngs of revellers who had attended the show. He said DJs enjoyed their time with the crowds in Piggs Peak and that this was just the beginning of many shows to come. Mfundo also said it was a busy weekend because the DJs were also expected to perform at the Siteki Hotel. Other local DJs also include Rylo, Cuboid, Njebza and Crooks. Piggs Peaks very own Swazi Gqom artist M Nation did a live performance of his hit Butepo. THE Tinkhundla political system-driven government of the kingdom does not need external detractors to expose it for what it really is, it is built on a false and not credible, valid and sustainable foundation as ably depicted by last weeks abrupt silencing of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC). The PAC is an important organ of the Legislature through which it exercises its oversight responsibilities on the other arms of government, specifically over how the taxpayers Emalangeni are employed. Parliament itself is a critical institution in the scheme of things in projecting a veneer of so-called democratic credentials of the Tinkhundla political system although in reality, it is essentially a rubber stamp for executive decisions. Ordinarily, emaSwati in their collective, should be alarmed by this unwarranted encroachment on the institution of Parliament. But unfortunately, a majority of fear-gripped compatriots remain in the safety refuge provided by slumber land just so they stay out of trouble. Consequently, when there is no one to protest and criticise the excesses of the regime, that is when the rot and corruption gain currency. The question is why and by whom is the PAC being sabotaged in its investigations into how half a billion Emalangeni was spent without discernible outcomes in the construction of the Sicunusa-Nhlangano Public Road. In fact, this inquisition is long overdue as the construction of that road has been mired in controversy, like others before it, since its inception. Exacerbating matters is that the financing of the road is an interest-bearing loan in United States Dollars, which is the burden of the taxpayer. In the midst of the controversy surrounding this particular project, some senior officers within the corruption-prone Ministry of Public Works and Transport were reshuffled and some shipped out to other ministries to take up positions that they were not even proficient in. At the height of all these shenanigans, word got out that this was done partly to protect some of the political elites messing up the project as well as to appease the Arab funders. And while government - with major players in the financial services, industrial and agricultural sectors, including some State-owned enterprises in tow - splashed a couple of million Emalangeni in a public relations offensive in Forbes Africa magazine to create a superficial image of the country as an attractive destination for capital as a precursor to rolling out its Strategic Road Map 2019 2023, these efforts are contradicted by the realities on the ground of the obtaining political oligarchy. The system is like a runaway train owing to its bad governance track record that is motored by its inherent extreme excesses given its Byzantine nature. The PAC imbroglio is but a tip of the excesses that are synonymous with the political system that has no effective checks and balances. As I see it, this particular PR initiative was probably premised on the misguided understanding, if not belief, that this attempt at positive spin doctoring would be superimposed over and shade the real Eswatini a feudalistic country trapped in-between the stone age and the modern era of algorithms and robotics where the rule of law is anathema and the people have been immobilised into silence through induced fear. But even assuming that this was money well spent, whatever the spin-offs, if any at all, had been achieved would be undone by the reckless exercise of power as shown by the unfolding PAC debacle. But, to assist this fledgling government, it does not require expensive PR to make a country attractive to foreign direct investors (FDIs). It takes a sound political system in which power vests with the people that has checks and balances; is transparent and accountable; is predictable and whose mandate is periodically renewed through free and fair elections open to even political parties. Unfortunately, this cannot be said of this country where people cannot freely engage in politics where the plurality of voices is outlawed and generally the system is hostile to human rights and liberties. If and when investors have a desire to come and invest here, they will not look up to expensive PR projects because they understand that this effort is primarily to paper over and hide the political monsters real the rot that pose a risk to their capital. Instead, they would look up to data provided by legitimate and trustworthy institutions such as the World Bank or the International Monetary Fund (IMF). And between the two Bretton Woods institutions is a wealth of information on Eswatini even though they may refer to Swaziland. The identity issue and how the change happened could well be another Achilles heel to governments attempt at making this country attractive to FDIs. Worse still, this nation is not even congruent with the one thing that presumably matters above everything else, the new name of this country or at least how it is written. Is it eSwatini or Eswatini, the latter name being the version government has pronounced as official albeit without caring to explain the basis for this? The question is what if government is wrong etymologically and language/grammar-wise on this name issue? I am reminded of the tragic history of amaXhosa and Nongqause who is said to have convinced conformist tribesmen to poison themselves and commit mass suicide on the premise that they would arise renewed and a better nation. That, unfortunately, is the suicidal extent to which emaSwati have been sanitised into paralysis and helplessness. Al-Azhar plays a leadership and development role in Africa with more than 5,000 African students from 46 African countries studying at the Al-Azhar mosque and university Egypt's Al-Azhar, Sunni Islam's highest seat of learning, and its Grand Imam Sheikh Ahmed El-Tayyeb congratulated the African people on the occasion of the 56th anniversary of Africa Day, which coincides with Egypt's presidency of the African Union (AU) this year. Africa Day, which comes on 25 May, commemorates the founding of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) in 1963, which in 2002 changed its name to the AU. On this occasion, Al-Azhar called on the AU to activate the "Silencing the Guns" initiative that was launched by Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, who is the chairman of the AU in 2019. The initiative aims at containing conflicts and putting an end to civil wars and sectarian strife across the continent by 2020, through negotiations and peaceful means. The "Silencing the Guns" initiative also targets the elimination of terrorism in the continent. To these ends, Al-Azhar said it has recently carried out a mediation initiative to contain conflicts in Central African Republic. Al-Azhar plays a leadership and development role in Africa with more than 5,000 African students from 46 African countries studying in Al-Azhar Mosque and the university's colleges. Al-Azhar's African students, who are mostly awarded scholarships by the institute, study at different levels and in a variety of fields, such as religious sciences, Arabic language, applied and social sciences, and other sciences. Al-Azhar's role also includes sending religious, medical and educational convoys to various African countries with the aim of meeting the basic needs of the African people. Most of the African students are awarded scholarships to study at Al-Azhar. In the beginning of 2019, Al-Azhar announced a plan to focus on Africa. On the occasion of Egypt's chairmanship of the AU, the Al-Tayyeb formed a special committee to specialise in African affairs at the institute. The formation of the committee complements the role of Egypt and Al-Azhar in supporting the peoples of the African continent at all levels. This includes doubling the number of scholarships offered by Al-Azhar to African students, and also doubling the number of imams hosted by Al-Azhar from Africa, to train them to spread the true teachings of Islam and Al-Azhar's approach to freedom and tolerance. Al Azhar's educational efforts in Africa are not limited to receiving foreign students to study in Cairo. Al-Azhar says it is keen to have its curriculum and scholars reach within the heart of Africa, through 16 Azhar institutes located in Somalia, Tanzania, South Africa, Chad, Nigeria, Niger and Uganda, through cooperation protocols. Search Keywords: Short link: Sir, Another African AIDS conference has come and gone, and we are still no closer to a cure. A cure for what? Perhaps we need a cure for AIDS researchers. This indaba was the 13th International Conference on HIV Treatment, Pathogenesis and Prevention in Resource-Limited Settings. A real mouthful. But the word pathogenesis, meaning how the virus gradually causes the disease, was not uttered a single time during the three and a half days of presentations in Accra, Ghana. That is probably a good thing because when the curtain is pulled back on the doctors, scientists and professors who were professing at the conference, the irony is revealed that they do not really know how HIV causes AIDS. This is despite their unspoken, uncritical belief in an outdated, 35-five-year old explanation that HIV causes AIDS by killing CD4 cells. In fact, the professors do not really care about the technicalities of pathogenesis as long as the pharmaceutical companies keep funneling money to keep their research machines running and well-oiled. Who cares how the sausage is made? Just dont look behind the AIDS research curtain or ask any questions the professors cannot easily answer. In other words, do not question orthodox conventional wisdom even if it is wrong. Proved Indeed, your correspondent again proved to be the fly in the ointment of a perfectly planned and executed programme of mutually satisfactory scientific pats on the back and polite applause. The alphabetic health agencies of the United States and the World Health Organization were there, along with representatives of several pharmaceutical companies. All co-sponsored a well-run program designed by Virology Education and the Amsterdam Institute for Global Health and Development. The Amsterdam Institute was founded by imminent AIDS researcher and humanitarian Joep Lange who fatefully lost his life; shot down by a Russian missile over Ukraine in 2014 as he and his wife headed to the International AIDS Conference in Australia. Dr. Lange had campaigned zealously to make affordable treatments for AIDS available in Africa when there were none. He championed sustainable solutions to major health problems and a problem-oriented approach. Unfortunately, in the HIV scientific community, these noble goals are all too often smothered by a blanket of financial self-interest that puts the interests of AIDS researchers above those of poor and sick people living with the disease. Progress The good news is that across the continent, great progress has been made. In Ghana, AIDS has fallen from the number one to the number six cause of death. After all this scientific progress, people with HIV are expected to sit back and rejoice at their good fortune. As well we should. But good is not good enough. Especially when 10 million people with HIV still receive no treatment, and so-called experts at a pathogenesis conference cannot even correctly explain the pathogenesis of how HIV causes AIDS. Why? In 2001 at the First Scientific Conference on AIDS, the world-famous developer of the protease inhibitor drugs that finally stopped the dying, Dr. David Ho, declared the original hypothesis of how HIV causes AIDS by killing CD4 cells was scientifically impossible. Since then the AIDS research community has continued to skate on the thin ice of this scientifically impossible explanation about HIV killing CD4 cells. But all the ice has melted. Now they continue to skate merrily along on an ice-free pond of an illogical, false scientific theory; none the wiser. If anyone dares suggest that the scientific emperor has no clothes, or the scientific pond has no ice left to skate on, the AIDS boffins circle their wagons and pull rank. But we are the WHO, the CDC and the NIH, they protest. Good for them. That still does not put any ice back on the pathogenic pond when their explanation of how HIV causes AIDS remains impossible. It is incumbent for todays scientists to find a pond with real ice and a truly supportable explanation of AIDS pathogenesis if they really want to make progress towards improving treatments for people with HIV. However if anyone points out their logical fallacy, the professors ignore or dismiss it. Could this denial by ignoring be part of a campaign to obscure tremendous scientific progress made against HIV in another area, but that for commercial reasons has not been widely shared with the public? Forum The 13th Interest Conference was a laudable forum, bringing together almost 700, mostly young, African scientists to highlight the work they have been doing in practically every sphere of prevention, care and treatment. The countries of Sub-Saharan Africa were widely represented, and the next two annual Interest conferences are scheduled to be in Windhoek, Namibia and Kampala, Uganda. But will those conferences again allow self-interested AIDS researchers to whistle past the graveyard as they continue to ignore a fundamental question about a major part of the claimed purpose of their conference pathogenesis? The burning unanswered question remains; how does HIV actually cause AIDS? Unfortunately, far too many people in Africa still believe AIDS is a death sentence a disease to die from, rather than one to live with. This is because governments have failed to amplify this critical message clearly enough to the person in the street. Because of this, people are still dying who should not be. This misperception on the part of the public about life expectancy with HIV disease must change. Governments need to clearly communicate this necessary change in mindset to communities - but they do not. Important research conducted by the Ministry of Health of Rwanda has also been ignored and shoved under the carpet. A 2015 Rwandan study published in the journal AIDS showed that for HIV positive people who are not yet on ARVs, taking just one 200mcg tablet of selenium daily slows down progression of HIV by almost 45 per cent. Nothing else besides ARVs can do that. Ten million people worldwide, who are HIV positive but are not yet on ARVs, could benefit from using this affordable therapeutic approach but they do not. Those given the responsibility for world health fail to inform them about it. If critically important AIDS research conducted by mature, well-connected African scientists is ignored by the scientific community, what does that bode for the future of the bright-faced, optimistic young scientists making their debut at the Interest Conference? The 13th Interest Conference was interesting. But when will these virology boffins admit the fact that selenium plays a central role in HIV disease? After all, it is the most essential, critical chemical element for both the bodys immune system and antioxidant system. How long will it be before the AIDS Establishment stops standing in the way of improving HIV treatment for ordinary people living with HIV across Sub-Saharan Africa by adopting the strategic breakthrough African scientists have already discovered? Howard S. Armistead Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O\Neill announced his resignation on Sunday after seven years in the top job following weeks of high-level defections from the ruling party. "I am announcing today that I am stepping down as the Prime Minister of the Independent State of Papua New Guinea," O\Neill said in an emailed statement. O\Neill, who handed the reins of power to former prime minister Sir Julius Chan, said the change of leadership will allow the country to "continue the reform agenda that we have been delivering." Political instability is something of a fixture in the resource-rich but poverty-stricken South Pacific nation and O\Neill, who has been leader since 2011, has seen off previous attempts to topple him. ONeill had resisted calls to resign for weeks but his opponents said on Friday they had mustered enough support in parliament to oust him over a range of grievances including a gas deal with France\s Total, which critics have questioned. Defections from the ruling coalition have been going on for weeks and on Friday at least nine members switched sides, according to two ministers who were among them. O\Neill\s opponents needed to rally 62 members of PNG\s 111-seat parliament to vote him out. Opposition politicians said on Friday they would push for investigations in Australia and Switzerland into a A$1.2 billion ($830.76 million) loan arranged by finance group UBS if there was a change of government, the Australian Financial Review reported. A report by the Ombudsman Commission of PNG into the 2014 deal that allowed the country to borrow from UBS to buy a 10 per cent stake in Australian Stock Exchange-listed energy firm Oil Search is scheduled to be tabled in parliament next week. Oil Search in turn used the money to buy into the Elk Antelope gas field being developed by France\s Total . PNG is estimated to have lost 1 billion kina ($287 million) on the deal after being forced to sell the shares when the price fell in 2017. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison thanked O\Neill for his friendship on Sunday. "I will look forward to working with the new prime minister of PNG in the same way I have enjoyed such a strong friendship and relationship with Peter O\Neill," he told reporters in Canberra. SOURCE: AFP An Iraqi court on Sunday sentenced three French citizens to death for joining the Islamic State group, the first IS members from France to be handed capital punishment, a court official said. Captured in Syria by a US-backed force fighting the jihadists, Kevin Gonot, Leonard Lopez and Salim Machou were transferred to Iraq for trial. They have 30 days to appeal. Iraq has taken custody of thousands of jihadists repatriated in recent months from neighbouring Syria, where they were caught by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces during the battle to destroy the IS "caliphate". The Iraqi judiciary said earlier in May that it has tried and sentenced more than 500 suspected foreign members of IS since the start of 2018. Its courts have condemned many to life in prison and others to death, although no foreign IS members have yet been executed. The trials have been criticised by rights groups, which say they often rely on evidence obtained through torture. They have also raised the question of whether suspected IS jihadists should be tried in the region or repatriated to their countries of origin, in the face of strong public opposition. Those sentenced on Sunday were among 13 French nationals caught in battle-scarred eastern Syria and handed to Iraqi authorities in February on suspicion of being members of IS\s feared contingent of foreign fighters. One was later released as it was found he had travelled to Syria to support the Yazidi religious minority the target of a particularly brutal IS campaign that rights groups say may have amounted to genocide. The remaining 12 were put on trial under Iraq\s counterterrorism law, which can dole out the death penalty to anyone found guilty of joining a "terrorist" group, even if they were not explicitly fighting. Trials criticised Gonot, who fought for IS before being arrested in Syria with his mother, wife, and half-brother, has also been sentenced in absentia by a French court to nine years in prison, according to French research group the Center for the Analysis of Terrorism. Machou was a member of the infamous Tariq ibn Ziyad brigade, "a European foreign terrorist fighter cell" that carried out attacks in Iraq and Syria and planned others in Paris and Brussels, according to US officials. Lopez, from Paris, travelled with his wife and two children to IS-held Mosul in northern Iraq before entering Syria, French investigators say. His lawyer, Nabil Boudi, condemned the trial as "summary justice". The French government had "guaranteed us that French citizens would all be entitled to a fair trial, even in Iraq," he told AFP. But Lopez had been sentenced to death "based solely on a series of interrogations in Baghdad jails", he said. Iraq declared victory over IS in late 2017 and began trying foreigners accused of joining the jihadists the following year. Rights groups including Human Rights Watch have criticised Iraq\s anti-terror trials, which they say often rely on circumstantial evidence or confessions obtained under torture. Baghdad has offered to try all foreign fighters in SDF custody estimated at around 1,000 in exchange for millions of dollars, Iraqi government sources have told AFP. Among those sentenced to life in prison are 58-year-old Frenchman Lahcen Ammar Gueboudj and two other French nationals. Iraq has also tried thousands of its own nationals arrested on home soil for joining IS, including women, and begun trial proceedings for nearly 900 Iraqis repatriated from Syria. The country remains in the top five "executioner" nations in the world, according to an Amnesty International report in April. The number of death sentences issued by Iraqi courts more than quadrupled between 2017 and 2018, to at least 271. But only 52 were actually carried out in 2018, according to Amnesty, compared with 125 the year before. Analysts have also warned that prisons in Iraq have in the past acted as "academies" for future jihadists, including IS supremo Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. SOURCE: AFP Bahrain-based Investcorp, a leader in alternative investment products, has entered into an agreement to acquire Mercury Capital Advisors (Mercury), one of the worlds leading institutional capital raising and investment advisory enterprises. 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 regulatory 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. Our partnership with Mercury is completely in line with Investcorps long-term strategy and our mission to serve investors worldwide with an array of attractive opportunities 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. This partnership is a powerful endorsement of Mercurys 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 Mercurys outsourced CIO platform and partnerships 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 worlds leading investors and allocators, added Alan Pardee and Enrique Cuan, managing partners and co-founders of Mercury. We look forward to working closely with Investcorps 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. This investment is the latest milestone in Investcorps ambitious growth strategy to reach $50 billion in assets under management over the medium term and follows Investcorps acquisition last year of a strategic minority stake in Banque Paris Bertrand, an independent, Swiss-regulated private bank based in Geneva and Luxembourg. TradeArabia News Service Ithmaar Bank, a Bahrain-based Islamic retail bank said that it has successfully launched the regions first biometric-enabled Automated Teller Machine (ATM) network. The announcement was made after Ithmaar Bank retrofitted all it 43 ATMs with sophisticated fingerprint readers after having completed extensive testing of the new, first of its kind security feature. HRH Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa had earlier inaugurated the Eazy biometric payment network by making Ithmaar Bank the first biometric bank in the region. I take this opportunity to, once again, thank His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa for the unstinted support to the Kingdoms banking and finance industry in general and this path breaking initiative in particular, said Ithmaar Bank chief executive, Ahmed Abdul Rahim. This helps further reinforce Bahrains already prominent position as a key and innovative banking hub in the region." The pioneering initiative was first announced last September when Ithmaar Bank and Eazy Financial Services unveiled plans to launch the regions first biometric payment network, supported by the Labour Fund Tamkeen, to provide a new and more efficient alternative for customers to conduct many of their financial transactions. Ithmaar Banks inauguration of the first biometric-enabled ATM network is part of the Banks digital initiatives and is in line with the Banks commitment to customer-centricity. Following the commissioning, Ithmaar Bank customers are no longer required to use their cards at the Banks ATMs. Instead, they can simply use their fingerprint along with their PIN to process financial transactions. This provides a simpler, more secure way to process financial transactions than ever before. To use the service for the first time, customers will need to register their fingerprint data at their nearest branch. The one-time registration only takes a few minutes and allows customer immediate access to the new service. The network is based on a platform that was developed by Eazy Financial Services, a Bahrain fintech start-up, and built on a powerful Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) one of the most reliable and trusted biometric engines which is deployed and implemented in many countries around the world for both civil and forensic applications. Eazy Financial Services adopts a rigorous Identification Algorithm which has earned the highest honours from several standards organizations and authorities. TradeArabia News Service Saudi Arabia's construction industry witnessed a strong uptick during the first quarter on the back of SR48.9 billion ($13.3 billion) worth of awarded contracts mainly in the energy and utility sectors, according to a report by the US-Saudi Arabian Business Council (USSABC). This impressive performance highlights the focus by both the government and private sector in reclaiming the positive trend prior to the precipitous decline in oil revenues, it stated. Dwindling oil revenues served as a major inflection point and proved a contributing factor in the reduction of mega-project awards in the kingdom. However, improved oil prices coupled with a focus by the government to spend heavily on its capital expenditures aided in the turnaround, said the report by the council. The SR48.9 billion in awarded contracts contained significant mega-projects across numerous sectors. Most notable were the oil and gas, water, and transportation sectors, which accounted for 67 per cent of all awarded contracts during Q1 2019. The USSABC Contract Awards Index (CAI) reached 168.69 points at the end of the first quarter. This highlights a rebound in the index after an extended lull during 2017 and 2018. The CAIs 168.69 points marks a 29 per cent increase versus Q1 2018, which ended at 130.63 points. Furthermore, the impressive turnaround during Q1 2019 has not been witnessed since July 2016 when the CAI reached 176.53 points, said the USSABC report. As for the CAIs performance during the first quarter there was a gradual increase with each passing month, itstated. Januarys CAI reached 143.29 points, February increased to 155.34 points, and March ended higher at 168.69 points. The SR48.9 billion in awarded contracts during the first quarter marks an overwhelming 113 per cent increase compared to Q1 2018, when the value was SR23 billion. According to the report, the first quarter had the highest value of awarded contracts dating back to Q1 2015 when the value reached SR88.6 billion. Furthermore, the value of awarded contracts in Q1 2019 alone accounts for 48 per cent of the total value witnessed in 2018, it stated. "Consequently, the pace of awarded contracts thus far indicates that construction activities across all sectors will re-emerge as a strategic focal point in the Kingdom, the council said in its report. The power sector, which usually garners a significant share of awarded contracts, contributed only five per cent of awarded contracts. However, it is expected to be a larger contributor as the year progresses, it stated. From a geographical context, the location of contract awards was heavily concentrated in the Eastern Province, which accounted for a 40 per cent share, stated the Council in its report. This comes as no surprise given the heavy industries in that region. A significant portion of the awarded contracts in the Eastern Province were in the oil and gas and water sectors bringing the total value of contracts to SR19.3 billion, it stated. Several mega projects in the Eastern Province pertained to Saudi Aramcos investments in its offshore Marjan and Berri oil fields, it added. The Makkah region too captured a major share, around 17 per cent of the value of contracts worth SR8.2 billion led by the water and hospitality sectors. Water projects included desalination plants in Rabigh as well as the construction of a Four Seasons hotel in Jeddah, stated the report. The Riyadh region came in third with SR6.4 billion or 13 per cent of the value of awarded contracts. Two significant projects were awarded in the transportation and real estate sectors. The transportation contract pertained to the construction of the Riyadh second ring road, while the real estate sector witnessed a large residential project awarded by the Ministry of Housing, it added.-TradeArabia News Service Kuwait Projects Company (Kipco) said it has appointed Eric Schumacher as its new group treasurer replacing Declan Sawey, who recently retired after working with the group for 12 years. One of the biggest holding companies in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region, the Kipco Group has consolidated assets worth $33 billion as of March 31, 2019. The group has significant ownership interests in over 60 companies operating across 24 countries with special focus on financial services, real estate, media and manufacturing. Schumacher has close to 30 years of experience in corporate and investment banking, and a proven track record of managing regional and global commercial banking businesses. Prior to joining Kipco, Schumacher held leading positions with HSBC, Bank FAB and Citi, and was based in Abu Dhabi, Kuwait and Riyadh over the last decade. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce and an MBA from Concordia University in Canada. He is also a Chartered Financial Analyst. Commenting on the move, Vice Chairman (Executive) Faisal Al Ayyar, said: "We are delighted that Schumacher has joined the company. As we continue to implement our long-term strategy of diversifying our investor base to provide financial flexibility to the company, his expertise and knowledge of the regional financial players will be valuable for us moving forward." "I would like to take this opportunity to thank Sawey for his many years of dedicated service," he added. On the new role, Al Ayyar said: "Kipco is one of the regions renowned investment companies, and I am excited to be given the opportunity to work across the many businesses it operates." "I look forward to working with my new colleagues to support the companys strategy and create greater value for our shareholders," he added.-TradeArabia News Service The Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (ABCC) reported that a total of $980.4 million worth of products were exported by Brazil to Arab countries in April of this year. The figures recorded during the first month of the second quarter marks an increase of 40.3 per cent over the same month of the previous year, which represented a generated a total of around 2.7 million tonnes. To date, the figures posted is also being seen as the best exporting month for Brazil since 2014, said a statement. The ABCC reveals that a large bulk of the exports went to the UAE, posting around $239.15 million, or around 282.7 thousand tonnes. Saudi Arabia followed with $177.2 million (249.28 thousand tonnes), and Egypt with around $92.8 million (183 thousand tonnes), it said. The value of goods exported to Oman and Bahrain reached $63.49 million (801.23 thousand tonnes) and $51.7 million (535.75 thousand tonnes) respectively during the same period, it added. Some of the top exported goods recorded in April included meat, corn, beet sugar, iron ores and concentrates, aircrafts, satellites, live bovine animals, bovine meat, coffee, petroleum oils, soya-bean oil, soda or sulphate, plastering materials, lime and cement, organic chemicals and fish, it stated. Rubens Hannun, president of ABCC, said: The positive figures that we have posted for the month of April demonstrates the strong trade ties that we continue to maintain with the Arab region. This also reflects strong demand and popularity for Brazilian products, which are widely known for its world class quality, he said. We remain confident that the region will continue to see a key demand for Brazilian commodities. Rest assured that we will remain steadfast in our commitment to drive in more growth opportunities to further enhance trade relations between Brazil and the Arab region, he added. TradeArabia News Service Trukkin, a techno-logistics firm, has raised over $3.5 million in the recent funding round, which included marquee investors from the Al-Namlah Family Group, the Al-Madi Family Group, and the Abanumay Family Group. Batic Investments and Logistics, a publicly listed company on Tadawul, remains as one of the key investors in the start-up. As on demand services expand into more industries and market places, Trukkin is leading the way in digital logistics solutions for long-haul trucking. Launched in 2017, Trukkin is based in Saudi Arabia and the UAE operating throughout the GCC region and beyond. The company works to innovate and simplify logistics and land transportation. Mohamed Al Namlah, managing director of Amnest Group, said: Trukkins vision, operational efficiency, capital utilisation, and sound business model drove us to partner with them in the region over other competitors. Trukkin knows the pulse on the ground. By adding the new capital to the company, Trukkin will be able to significantly scale their services across the GCC region. The company has shipped to over 200 locations in the Middle East. In Saudi Arabia alone, Trukkin has completed over 10,000 long-haul, business-to-business truck movements. That is a significant accomplishment given that the country represents nearly 50% of the overall GCC market opportunity, said a statement. Investor Al-Madi explained that they had been following the sector for months and were impressed with what Trukkin has been able to achieve. Their team is very focused on the ground and has shown their operational prowess. We believe we can further add significant capabilities to Trukkin with our investment, Al-Madi said. Janardan Dalmia, founder and chief executive officer, said: Trukkin operates on an asset-light model, meaning it doesnt own the trucks. Our focus on overall service lets us improve both the customer and transporter experience and also increase asset utilization and reduce inefficiencies. Trukkin serves a wide range of customers. Through its app and online marketplace, the company brings together shippers who need more transparency and easier access to trucks with truckers who need better access to demand and higher fleet utilisation. Their client base ranges from businesses who order close to 100 trucks a day to ones with smaller needs who order as few as three trucks a month. Trukkin is fully aligned with the Saudi Vision 2030 plan to diversify the countrys infrastructure, with a specific focus on the National Industrial Development and Logistics Program (NIDLP). The NIDLP is working to make Saudi Arabia a leading industrial powerhouse and a global logistics hub. Chief executive officer Dalmia said that the companys aggressive growth strategy fully supports the vision. Trukkin is building up its marketplace to connect thousands of mostly independent truckers. The long-haul land transport market is highly fragmented and disorganised, and our aim is to institutionalise and professionalise this business, Dalmia explained. Trukkin is one of several startups gaining global recognition in the new industry. In 2018, a Wall Street Journal headline noted that Chinas Truck Alliance, a truck hailing company, was on course for a $10 billion valuation. Blackbuck, Indias largest trucking platform, was named CNBCs 2018 Startup of the Year reaching unicorn status in 2019, it stated. TradeArabia News Service More than170 speakers, 68 blockchain startups, and businesses and governments from over 130 countries gathered at the recent Future Blockchain Summit, hosted by Smart Dubai in partnership with the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC). The second annual edition of the event nited an agenda-setting global pool of technology visionaries, government bodies, the worlds biggest brands and industry first-movers to push blockchain forward, championing the conversation beyond theoretical use-cases and into real-life opportunities, featuring world-renowned brands including Coca-Cola, Tencent, Johnson & Johnson, Maersk, HSBC, eBay ,Lufthansa and many more. In a global first, UAE based telecommunications giant du brought a blockchain-powered society to life at the Summit with the walk-through City of the Future experience. The feature enjoyed by thousands of show attendees allowed visitors to earn and spend tokens while coming to grips with the true potential of the new technology, learning how it can impact every single aspect of our lives. The unique experience featured hubs hosted by local businesses and government entities including Dubai Police, Dubai Culture, Beeah, Careem, Evoteq and Takaful Emarat, all demonstrating how they will utilise the blockchain through real-life examples. Dr Aisha Bint Butti Bin Bishr, director general of Smart Dubai, said: We are building on the success of last years inaugural Future Blockchain Summit. While the industry continues to grow at a phenomenal speed, it has also experienced volatility and market correction in the past year. Resultantly, it is vital to bring all key stakeholders in the blockchain ecosystem together year-on-year to cooperate, learn and grow real business relationships. We designed the Summit with this in mind, as the worlds foremost platform shaping the future of the industry. We look forward to seeing how the UAE, and all smart cities, will be impacted by the way this technology is implemented. The third round of the Global Blockchain Challenge was hosted at the Summit by Smart Dubai, in partnership with Dubai Future Accelerators. The competition drew an incredible700+entries from79 countries, all vying for the chance to be recognised as the worlds most innovative blockchain startup. Quantstamp a smart-contract security company from the US took top spot, winning $20,000 in prize money. Indonesian agriculture startup iGrowChain came in second, winning $15,000; while Grayblock a blockchain financial services and development company from Canada placed third, taking home $10,000. At the heart of this years Summit was the PwC Middle East-backed Global Leaders Exchange an annual invite-only round-table discussion with over 20 senior government and business officials working to catalyse global blockchain adoption. The focus of this years Exchange was two pivotal topics: policy and governance for blockchain implementation, and positioning of crypto-assets and ICOs. The outcome of the meeting is a white paper report with guidelines on the focus areas which will be unveiled in June this year. Participating bodies included Smart Dubai, the United Nations, the Dutch Government, the Government of Estonia, the European Parliament, Litecoin and HTC, amongst others. The Summit was also the host of several key MOU-signings, with one of its most inspiring being between the British University in Dubai (BUiD), the Dubai Blockchain Center and the University of Nicosia, who committed to collaborating to further the understanding and promotion of blockchain through training courses, workshops, conferences, educational programmes and research. TradeArabia News Service Engaging women at all levels of decision-making is the cornerstone of Egypts Vision for the Empowerment of Women 2030, said head of the Egyptian National Council for Women Maya Morsy The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) in Egypt hailed the decision and strong initiative of the government of Egypt to develop the countrys first national action plan on women's peace and security. In a statement Sunday, the organisation praised the statements of the head of the Egyptian National Council for Women (NCW) Maya Morsy, in which she highlighted that engaging women at all levels of decision-making is the cornerstone of Egypts Vision for the Empowerment of Women 2030. Egypts forthcoming National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security will be developed on this premise; the participation of women in prevention and protection, Morsy said. The government of Egypts initiative coincides with the lead up to the 20th anniversary of UNSCR 1325, guided by a vision of inclusively developing a high-impact national action plan that drives coordinated and actionable policy change through the full and meaningful participation of women in peace and security, the UN Women statement said. The organisation also praised cooperation between the Cairo International Centre for Conflict Resolution, Peacekeeping and Peace-building (CCCPA), the Egyptian foreign ministry and the National Council for Women in securing the initiative's success. Egypt had declared 2017 as a year of Egyptian women, a step that was lauded by UN Women, which said it is the first such move of its kind globally. Search Keywords: Short link: Contributed by Anne Swartz / Simone Leighs art, which focuses on the experience of black women, is powerfully present in New York City by way of a major exhibition at the Guggenheim and the monumental bronze sculpture Brick House on the High Line with several pieces at the 2019 Whitney Biennial. Leighs work references the histories, imagery, and feminist sensibilities of black women culturally important phenomena that have generally received little attention. Like Nancy Grossmans leather-covered, masked and sculpted heads from the 1960s, Leighs figures have no eyes. The women depicted have lived in their heads, as Grossman described her sculptures, like ancient blind seers who nonetheless knew and could still see everything. If the brutality of their circumstances deprived them of sight, they overcame this hardship by sheer will. Brick House, named for the Commodores popular 1977 song, is a massive 16-foot tall bust atop a five-foot plinth of a black woman with a gilded head defined by an edged hairline and draping corn rows, nose, and mouth. The ridged garment is bronze with small passages of gold in some corrugation breaks. Its bulbous shape arrestingly holds the space, set as it is against the severe horizontals of its High Line railroad bridge base and the soaring verticality of adjacent buildings. Its surface, though simple, holds a range of allusions, from mud huts of the Musgum people in Cameroon to Mississippis roadside restaurants. Where the eyes might be, there is simply a blank space. Loophole of Retreat is the subtitle of Leighs Guggenheim exhibition and a chapter title from Harriet Jacobs Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, first published in 1861, an autobiography of a slave who hid from her master for seven years in an attic where she could glimpse out while staying hidden from view. Leigh contemplates slavery as a domineering reality when the black woman was defined as property and ignored as individual, and then as a metaphor in shaping American race relations after slavery was formally abolished. The small, memorable Guggenheim exhibition consists of four large sculptures, one smaller sculpture, a mixed media installation with sound, and three films all envisioning black womens experiences. Recalling her Anatomy of Architecture series about Batammaliba western African architecture, the approximately 10-foot tall Panoptica is a massive hut-like, raffia-tiered, anthropomorphic structure with a terracotta pipe and two-portal chimney centered at the top. The title is a feminization of the word panoptican, which refers to a surveillance system enabling constant oversight by penal guards from a distance, even if the pipe seems like a periscope looking out. Leighs title conveys her judgment that although black women are no longer literally imprisoned en masse, merely being black remains a form of incarceration. Jug is a large, black, bronze sculpture in the style of a stoneware jug with a small handle as fingerhold on one side, including, in line with African and early American tradition, a female torso, breasts, partial face, full round head of hair, and two arms dismembered at different places. The figures proportions seem incongruously delicate against the massive swell of the jugs base. Her defined breasts and the broken limbs recall nude sculptures from antiquity, while the defenselessness of her arms literalizes the figures imprisonment. The same state of enclosure appears in Sentinel, in which the giant head, face, and hair seem to emerge from the pipe, a woman both constrained and vigilant. In both sculptures, the bronze color reads as ebony or obsidian skin tone. Again, there are voids where the eyes should be. The mixed media work at the rear of the gallery space is also called Loophole of Retreat, like the exhibition itself. It consists of a long wall and a short perpendicular wall of precast concrete breeze blocks, prominent in many countries, including island homes such as those in Leighs parents native Jamaica. Contained within it is a The Village Series #14, a small stoneware conical sculpture, about five feet tall with the base, featuring a shiny brown glaze and three braided seams resembling hair or suture lines. The sound work, made with Philadelphia-based musician Moor Mother, is a paean to Debbie Africa, the MOVE member who gave birth in prison. It references her cellmates noises, masking birthing sounds to give the mother freedom to bond with her newborn. Even with perforations in the blocks, it is difficult to see the sculpture (or hear the sound piece) contained inside the walls until you are almost upon it. There are three films accompanying the Guggenheim exhibition, shown on a loop during one theater screening each day of the shows run. One, made by Leigh, shows an imaginary M*A*S*H unit that includes the Order of the Tents, a secret society of black nurses started by ex-slaves. The other two, by filmmaker Madeleine Hunt-Ehrlich, are about how black women help one another with female strength, maternal support, and female community. Leighs formal expressions of content reflecting racial injury and self-respect certainly expose and call out white supremacy and patriarchal intrusion, and her work is increasingly widespread and acclaimed. Yet her primary audience remains black women, whose narratives she entwines with exquisite nuance, and to whom she speaks with utter sincerity. The Hugo Boss Prize 2018: Simone Leigh, Loophole of Retreat, organized by Katherine Brinson, Daskalopoulos Curator, Contemporary Art, and Susan Thompson, Associate Curator, with Amara Antilla, Assistant Curator. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, 1070 5th Ave, New York, NY. Through October 17, 2019. Accompanying the exhibition is broadsheet with text by cultural historian Saidiya Hartman in collaboration with Simone Leigh and designed by Nontsikelelo Mutiti. Three films screen each day from 3:00-4:20 pm (Untitled (M*A*S*H), Simone Leigh, 2018-19; Black Composer Trilogy, Part 1: A Quality of Light, Madeleine Hunt-Ehrlich, 2018 and Spit on the Broom, Madeleine Hunt-Ehrlich, 2019. Loophole of Retreat: A Conference was held on Saturday, April 27, 2019 at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. Simone Leigh co-organized the conference with scholars Tina Campt and Saidiya Hartman with presentations by Simone White, Sharifa Rhodes-Pitts, Rizvana Bradley, Andrianna Campbell, Dionne Brand, Zakiyyah Iman Jackson, Christina Sharpe, Vanessa Agard-Jones, Francoise Verges, Denise Ferreira da Silva, Grada Kilomba, and Lorraine OGrady. Remarks by Annetta M. Lane. Performance by Okwui Okpokwasili with sound design by Peter Born. The conference webcast is available here. Brick House is the inaugural High Line Plinth sculptural commission and is installed at 10th Street and West 30th Street on the High Line Spur. Its section officially opens to the public on June 5. It will remain on view until September 2020. About the author: Anne Swartz is a professor of art history at the Savannah College of Art and Design. She lectures, curates, and writes on topics in contemporary art, especially feminist art. Related posts: Kara Walker: The wilder shores Peter Krashes: Summer in the city Pregame Painting Report: 2019 Whitney Biennial Our woman in Havana: The Construction of the Possible, Part 1 Over Two-Thirds of American Adults Do Not Believe in More Than Two Genders Leftist groups are pushing for abolishing gender identities, insisting that gender is a social construct and that the idea of a male and female is a misconception. According to a recent survey conducted by Rasmussen Reports, the vast majority of Americans dismiss such views and stick to the traditional two-gender A public letter titled "We, the Huawei people" from telecom giant Huawei detailing its employees' personal stories of solidarity and resilience amid restrictions from the United States, went viral on Chinese social media on Friday. The letter was published by Xinsheng Shequ, Huawei's official employee community platform, on its Sina Weibo account on Thursday. As of Friday afternoon, the letter has received more than 190 million reads. Chinese netizens have flooded the comment sections of Huawei's social media platforms as well as news outlets that have reported on the letter, many leaving the message: "Huawei, fight on." The letter is a collection of short stories submitted by anonymous Huawei employees depicting how their lives have subtly changed after the US last week put Huawei and its affiliates on an "Entity List", which restricts the sale or transfer of US technologies to the company. Ren Zhengfei, founder and CEO of Huawei, said on Tuesday that "not a single Huawei employee is fazed" by the new challenges. "We think it is rather normal." Ren said there has been a lot of speculation and exaggeration regarding Huawei's situation. "If one wants to truly know what is happening in Huawei, please read our Xinsheng Shequ." One of the entries by a Huawei employee said that his girlfriend had been quarreling with him because he often worked overtime, even during the weekends. However, after she heard about the US ban, she stopped fighting with him and promised to be supportive. Another employee said family members changed their opinions about working for Huawei. "They had been constantly urging me to leave because I worked away from home and couldn't take care of them. Now, they want me to stay, saying one must grow a spine and leaving now feels like being a deserter." Another entry said that some employees cut their lunch periods short to get back to work after hearing about threats and negative headlines from the US when eating at the cafeteria. "I'm not sure if there is any company in the world that is constantly being threatened by the US with a gun to its head," it said. "Nobody is panicking, we just work harder." The letter said these stories are the true illustration of the 180,000 Huawei employees, and represent the truest and deepest heartfelt wishes of every Huawei personnel. Huawei confirmed the authenticity of the letter on Friday with China Daily, but would not comment more on it. Chai Hua in Shenzhen contributed to this story. China News on Women Sorry, the page you requested was not found. If you're having trouble locating a destination on Womenofchina.cn, try visiting the Womenofchina Home page Please understand that womenofchina.cn,a non-profit, information-communication website, cannot reach every writer before using articles and images. For copyright issues, please contact us by emailing: website@womenofchina.cn. The articles published and opinions expressed on this website represent the opinions of writers and are not necessarily shared by womenofchina.cn. The Egyptian Ministry of Agriculture's Central Administration for Combating Agricultural Pesticides said on Sunday that it is intensifying efforts to curb the advance of locust swarms through the southern Luxor and Aswan governorates. Swarms of locusts coming from Sudan appeared on Friday night in the southern border region, prompting the governor of Aswan to deploy pest control teams in Abu Simbel city and in areas east of Lake Nasser. The governor has ordered all administrative facilities in Aswan to offer the necessary logistical assistance to the pest control teams. "The Ministry of Agriculture is taking all necessary measures to control the locusts' advance into Egypt through 54 bases and central operation rooms," said Mohamed El-Qersh, spokesman of the Ministry of Agriculture. Ahmed Ismail, director of Locust Control in Aswan, said that control teams have been deployed in Abu Simbel to inspect all crop plantations and determine the locations of the swarms. Ismail attributed the appearance of the locust swarms to the start of their breeding season in the summer, from May to September. The worst locust infestation in Egypt's modern history was in 1954, which resulted in the loss of nearly 250,000 tonnes of wheat. Egypt witnessed other locust swarms coming from the Arabian Peninsula between 2007 and 2011, but they did not cause significant damage. Search Keywords: Short link: Photo taken on May 24, 2019 shows the United Nations Peacekeeping Medal award ceremony held at the UN headquarters in New York. Two Chinese military officers on Friday were awarded together with 28 others the United Nations Peacekeeping Medal for their contributions to the UN peacekeeping effort. Colonel Zhang Qiman and lieutenant colonel Duanmu Donglin, currently working at the UN Department of Peace Operations (DPO), were recipients of the medal, which was presented to them by Jean-Pierre Lacroix, undersecretary-general for the DPO. [Xinhua] Two Chinese military officers on Friday were awarded together with 28 others the United Nations Peacekeeping Medal for their contributions to the UN peacekeeping effort. Colonel Zhang Qiman and lieutenant colonel Duanmu Donglin, currently working at the UN Department of Peace Operations (DPO), were recipients of the medal, which was presented to them by Jean-Pierre Lacroix, undersecretary-general for the DPO. "I feel so proud that I could work at the UN headquarters as a staff officer," Zhang said, adding that actively participating in UN peacekeeping operations is "a new historic mission and task." Zhang expressed her gratitude to the motherland, which she said gives her "confidence and courage" so that she could do her utmost for UN peacekeeping operations. Both Zhang and Duanmu had worked in UN peacekeeping missions prior to their posting at the UN headquarters. Lacroix told reporters after the awarding ceremony, "We are thanking them for their services. Peacekeeping is a very demanding work and we are grateful for everything they do." "We have excellent colleagues from China. As a permanent member of the Security Council, China's role is extremely important in the view of improving the impact and performance of peacekeeping," he added. Currently, China deploys a total of 2,508 uniformed personnel, including 70 women, to eight of the UN peacekeeping missions, including those in South Sudan, Lebanon, and the mostly deadly Mali, according to the UN. In December, China's share of the UN peacekeeping budget was raised from 10.24 percent to 15.22 percent, making it the second largest contributor only after the United States. UN headquarters observed the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers on Friday. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres laid a wreath to honor all UN peacekeepers who have lost their lives since 1948 and presided over a ceremony at which the Dag Hammarskjold Medal was awarded posthumously to 119 military, police and civilian peacekeepers, who lost their lives in 2018 and early 2019. The International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers was established by the General Assembly in 2002, to pay tribute to all men and women serving in peacekeeping, and to honor the memory of those who have lost their lives in the cause of peace. The General Assembly designated May 29 as the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers in commemoration of the day in 1948 when the UN's first peacekeeping mission, the UN Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO), began operations in Palestine. Leading UK healthcare figures discuss their work with senior Glyndwr academic This article is old - Published: Sunday, May 26th, 2019 Two leading figures in UK healthcare have spoken with a senior academic from Wrexham Glyndwr University about their work. Dr Edna Astbury-Ward, a Senior Lecturer at the university, met with both Sir Robert Francis QC and Professor Andrew Goddard at the recent Royal College of Physicians annual conference, Edna interviewed both men about their vision for future healthcare and the impact of their work. Sir Robert Francis QC a barrister who specialises in medical law was appointed Chairman of the 2013 Mid-Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust public inquiry. Dr Astbury-Ward said: Sir Robert was presenting his vision for the NHS at 100 years old. We talked about that vision during his interview he said we must remember the NHS is the most cherished part of our society, and that we must look at the magnificent achievements since its inception. As a senior academic in health, it was great to hear Sir Robert and to hear his support for nursing in particular, as he has championed nurses for many years. He is very actively involved with current health issues as Chairman of Healthwatch Engand. The interview has already gained a great deal of interest from Dr Astbury-Wards colleagues at Glyndwr not only as Sir Robert is renowned as a leading figure in healthcare, but also as many of his findings as an Inquiry Chairman are now taught at Glyndwr. Dr Astbury-Ward added: The Mid Staffs report is the cornerstone of a lot of our teaching at Glyndwr it runs across our undergraduate health programmes. There are 290 recommendations which Sir Robert made in that report, but the key principles he stressed are care, compassion and communication. Those principles form the base of not just our nursing degree, but also our health programmes, and we teach them to highlight to our students the importance of being morally and ethically robust in their work. Interviewing Sir Robert was one of the highlights of my 33 years in nursing. He has been as much of an influence on the modern face of nursing as Florence Nightingale was in her day. He was absolutely charming and kind and a wonderful interviewee and good listener too. Following on from her interview with Sir Robert, Edna also interviewed Professor Andrew Goddard who is the youngest President of the Royal College of Physicians in four centuries. He spoke with Dr Astbury-Ward about his appointment, his plans for the coming months and much more. She said: We talked about the plans he has for his Presidency, and he was very keen to stress the fact that his priorities were workforce issues and the wellbeing of staff. Interestingly, he also championed a new grade of healthcare professional called a Physicians Assistant this is a role which is neither doctor nor nurse, but will contribute to overall healthcare, Physicians assistants usually have a background in biomedical sciences and is an exciting new venture. Measures to be taken to reduce Wrexham Councils carbon footprint This article is old - Published: Sunday, May 26th, 2019 Wrexham Council is set to take steps to try to reduce its carbon footprint as concerns about Climate Change continue to mount. Last month the Welsh Government took the significant steps of declaring a climate emergency in Wales. The decision followed protests demanding politicians take action against carbon emissions. Wrexham Council is now set to explore how it can help to protect the environment. However, it stopped short of declaring an emergency within the county borough itself. It comes after a senior councillor asked for the authority to become more proactive at a full council meeting last week. Cllr David A Bithell, lead member for environment, said: Our minister Lesley Griffiths made a statement on behalf of Welsh Government about decarbonisation and climate change recently, also declaring a climate emergency. Im not sure that we in Wrexham need to declare a climate emergency as it is referenced in our council plan about decarbonisation. However, one of the things I considered with an all Wales group a couple of weeks ago is about how local authorities are developing the work programme on decarbonisation. Moving towards a low carbon economy offers considerable benefits socially, not just supporting the local economy. He added: The minister said that this is a critical time for Wales. What Im proposing is an amendment to develop a clear plan within the next 12 months on decarbonisation which supports our work and the Welsh Governments commitment to climate change. Cllr Bithells amendment to the councils plan for the next three years received unanimous support. It was welcomed by council leader Mark Pritchard, who also pledged to see if decarbonisation can be tied into the aims of the North Wales Growth Bid. He said: Im more than happy to support the recommendation from Cllr David Bithell. Id also like to add to work with the Public Service Board and others, which will support the North Wales Growth Bid to deliver carbon projects across the region of North Wales. By Liam Randall BBC Local Democracy Reporter (more here on the LDR scheme). Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-25 20:49:37|Editor: mingmei Video Player Close Newly-elected South African president Cyril Ramaphosa and his wife attend his inauguration ceremony in Pretoria, South Africa, May 25, 2019. Newly-elected South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Saturday said he is committed to tackling serious challenges the country faced in his inauguration ceremony in Loftus Versfeld stadium in Pretoria. (Xinhua/Yeshiel Panchia) JOHANNESBURG, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Newly-elected South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Saturday said he is committed to tackling serious challenges the country faced in his inauguration ceremony in Loftus Versfeld stadium in Pretoria. He made the commitment after being sworn in as South Africa's fifth president since 1994. Ramaphosa took the oath of office before the Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng while watched by over 30,000 people. In a speech delivered after he was inaugurated, Ramaphosa pledged to root out corruption and to address socio-economic problems plaguing South Africa. "Our people have watched as some of those in whom they had invested their trust have surrendered to the temptations of power and riches. The challenges we face are real, but they are not insurmountable," he said. Ramaphosa also declared a war on poverty. "Despite our earnest efforts, many in South Africa still go to bed hungry, many succumb to diseases that can be treated, many live lives of intolerable deprivation. Let's declare that our shared determination that we shall end poverty in South Africa within a generation," he promised. On the African continent, Ramaphosa said he would work with his counterparts. "We will work with the rest of the continent to realize the AU's vision of Agenda 2063, to forge a free trade area that stretches from Cape Town to Cairo, bringing growth and opportunity to all African countries," he said. The President also assessed his battalion, planes, Air Force jets and planes. Numerous heads of state from across the African continent attended Ramaphosa's inauguration including those of Zimbabwe, Namibia, Tanzania, Togo, Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Ramaphosa is expected to announce his new trimmer cabinet on Sunday or Monday. It remains unclear as to who would become his deputy president. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-26 02:07:45|Editor: yan Video Player Close HOUSTON, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Oil prices lost ground for the week ending May 24, with the price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for July delivery down 6.58 percent and Brent crude oil for July delivery down 4.87 percent, which were thought to be mainly caused by investors' concern over less oil demand. WTI closed the week at 58.63 U.S. dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude finished the week at 68.69 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange. WTI and Brent have increased 29.11 percent and 27.68 percent, respectively, so far this year. During the week, WTI and Brent ended mixed on Monday and Tuesday. The mixed endings were mainly due to the news about the Middle East that could have an impact on global oil balances. For the rest of the week, WTI and Brent moved in the same direction. The decrease of oil prices showed that oil traders were more concerned about the slowing global economy and less oil demand which are mainly due to escalating trade tensions between China and the United States. On Monday, oil prices settled mixed with WTI up 0.34 dollar to settle at 63.1 dollars a barrel, while Brent crude falling 0.24 dollar to close at 71.97 dollars a barrel. Saudi Arabia and other major oil exporters signaled to extend the current production-cut agreement until year-end. Meanwhile, a South Sudan senior official said that Saudi Arabia will provide technical assistance to its oil sector which is seeking recovery after more than five years of conflict. Oil prices settled mixed again on Tuesday as growing tensions in the Middle East pose a challenge to the stability of global crude oil markets. WTI decreased 0.11 dollar to settle at 62.99 dollars a barrel, while Brent crude rose 0.31 dollars to close at 72.18 dollars a barrel. On Wednesday, oil prices settled lower after a report showed an unexpected build in U.S. crude stockpiles. WTI was down 1.71 dollars to settle at 61.42 dollars a barrel, while Brent crude fell 1.19 dollars to close at 70.99 dollars a barrel. U.S. commercial crude inventories increased by 4.7 million barrels in the week ending May 17, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported. Investors were worried that increasing U.S. stockpiles combined with prolonged tensions between the United States and its major trading partners would dampen market sentiment. On Thursday, oil prices plunged as disappointing U.S. manufacturing data and lingering global trade tensions led to investors' concerns over slow global economic growth and less crude demand. WTI plummeted 3.51 dollar to settle at 57.91 dollars a barrel, while Brent crude dropped 3.23 dollars to close at 67.76 dollars a barrel. It was the worst trading day for crude oil since the beginning of the year and after the start of OPEC production cuts in December, as the escalating U.S.-China trade disputes and huge crude pileups from weak refiner demand combined to roil the market. Oil prices rebounded on Friday as U.S. oil rigs slid this week, offsetting concerns over rising U.S. crude stockpiles. WTI increased 0.72 dollar to settle at 58.63 dollars a barrel, while Brent crude rose 0.93 dollar to close at 68.69 dollars a barrel. Oil prices have kept gaining momentum since the start of the year due to some geopolitical concerns. The momentum has slowed down recently, mainly because of the concerns over downturn in demand for crude oil, but it gained ground in the weeks ending May 10 and May 17. The slowing global economy is a major headwind for crude oil. The slower economic growth of the world, mainly due to the ongoing trade tensions between China and the United States, will lead to less demand for oil, which, in turn, would put downward pressure on oil prices. Moreover, a rising U.S. dollar in the past months has dragged down the greenback-denominated crude futures, as the U.S. Dollar Index has been keeping uptrend since mid-2018. U.S. Dollar Index closed the week at 97.61 level. The U.S. Dollar Index is a measure of the value of the U.S. dollar relative to a basket of foreign currencies. Oil is mostly traded in dollars all over the world and a stronger dollar pressures the oil demand. In the near future, demand growth and geopolitical issues remain as important factors for oil prices. Both OPEC and the International Energy Agency believe the world oil demand will keep uptrend in coming years, although OPEC has revised down demand growth of the world oil market. In the coming week, analysts believe the relations between the United States and Iran and the ongoing production cuts by OPEC and Russia will continue to play their roles in tightening the global supplies, in turn, giving a boost to the prices. Meanwhile, the Memorial Day weekend staring Saturday kicks off the peak summer road travel period in the United States. Some forecasters remain optimistic that the holiday will help the oil prices to come back especially if the weekend travel lives up to expectations. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-26 04:13:11|Editor: yan Video Player Close RABAT, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Two Spaniards and two Moroccans have been arrested in the city of Casablanca for their alleged involvement in the possession of a quantity of gold suspected of being linked to criminal activities, the Moroccan police said in a statement on Saturday. The police said that based on a tip from intelligent services, the four suspects were arrested onboard a foreign country-registered vehicle, while carrying 78 gold blocks weighting 11.7 kg and looking for potential buyers, the statement said. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-26 04:18:13|Editor: Liangyu Video Player Close Chinese container ship SOLAR is seen at CSP Abu Dhabi Terminal of Khalifa Port in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates, on May 25, 2019. SOLAR, a Chinese container ship with a capacity of 21,000 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit), arrived on Saturday at the CSP Abu Dhabi Terminal of Khalifa Port in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The CSP Abu Dhabi Terminal, built and operated by China's COSCO Shipping Ports Limited (CSP) and Abu Dhabi Ports, has a design capacity of 2.5 million TEU. (Xinhua/Su Xiaopo) DUBAI, May 25 (Xinhua) -- SOLAR, a Chinese container ship with a capacity of 21,000 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit), arrived on Saturday at the CSP Abu Dhabi Terminal of Khalifa Port in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The CSP Abu Dhabi Terminal, built and operated by China's COSCO Shipping Ports Limited (CSP) and Abu Dhabi Ports, has a design capacity of 2.5 million TEU. Another Chinese container ship, PISCES, also with a capacity of 21,000 TEU, arrived on May 5 at the same terminal. The two ships are the largest vessels that the Khalifa Port has received since it started trial operations on April 20 following the arrival of CSCL Mercury, a Chinese container ship with a capacity of 14,000 TEU. "The arrival of SOLAR and PISCES is a milestone for Abu Dhabi Ports and its partner CSP, which demonstrates not only our growth as a hub port in the region, but also our position as the heart of COSCO's network in the Middle East," said Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, CEO of Abu Dhabi Ports. "The container industry is constantly looking for ways to improve efficiency, and the use of mega-vessels to cut the cost and time," the CEO added. "We have ensured that through CSP Abu Dhabi Terminal and Khalifa Port is able to handle the largest vessels of today and adapt to those of tomorrow," Shamisi said. "We are excited to facilitate the arrival of two of the world's largest mega-vessels at CSP Abu Dhabi Terminal as it demonstrates the strength of our partnership with Abu Dhabi Ports," said Ju Weiping, CEO of CSP Abu Dhabi Terminal. "The terminal has been built to accommodate the evolution of trade in an increasingly competitive global economy, applying the latest port technologies to improve efficiencies, reduce time, and ultimately deliver a competitive edge to our customers," Ju added. Abu Dhabi Ports is the operator and manager of the Abu Dhabi's commercial and community ports, as well as Khalifa Industrial Zone. The CSP Abu Dhabi Terminal, which was inaugurated in December 2018, connects Khalifa Port to CSP's global terminals, covering 285 berths at 37 ports worldwide. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-26 04:28:16|Editor: yan Video Player Close TRIPOLI, May 25 (Xinhua) -- The World Health Organization (WHO) on Saturday condemned the killing of two medical workers in the Libyan capital Tripoli, which is witnessing violent clashes between the UN-backed government and the east-based army. "WHO Libya condemns the deaths on Thursday of two health workers in Tripoli during an incident involving two ambulances. Several more ambulance personnel were injured," WHO tweeted. The two ambulances were hit by shells in southern Tripoli as they were rushing to rescue people wounded during the fighting, WHO explained. The army, led by Khalifa Haftar, has been leading a military campaign since early April to take over the capital from the government. WHO said that the fighting has so far killed 510 people and injured 2,467 others. The army is allied with the eastern-based government, as the country is politically divided between eastern and western government. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-26 04:38:21|Editor: yan Video Player Close MOSCOW, May 25 (Xinhua) -- The dispute resolution procedures provided by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea are not applicable to the settlement of last November's Kerch Strait incident, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Saturday. "As previously noted by the Russian side, statements made by both Russia and Ukraine, when signing and ratifying the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea of 1982, rule out the possibility of using the Convention's dispute resolution procedures regarding the incident of November 25, 2018 in the Kerch Strait," the ministry said in a statement. Earlier in the day, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) located in the German city of Hamburg ruled that Russia should immediately release three Ukrainian warships and their 24 sailors, which were seized on Nov. 25 for allegedly breaching the Russian border in the Kerch Strait connecting the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. "In the course of the subsequent arbitration proceedings, we intend to consistently defend our position, including the lack of jurisdiction of arbitration to consider this situation in the light of the circumstances mentioned above," the ministry said. It urged the Ukrainian side to take actions to meet the requirements of the Russian legislation concerning navigation in this area, according to the statement. Tensions have flared up between Russia and Ukraine following the Kerch Strait incident. Moscow called the incident a political provocation, while Kiev denied any wrongdoing and Western countries denounced the "aggressive" actions of Russia. Russia did not participate in Saturday's session of the ITLOS and the previous hearing in connection with this incident, as it has repeatedly said that the tribunal has no jurisdiction to review the incident. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-26 07:49:13|Editor: mingmei Video Player Close Performers take the curtain call after the performance at Vienna State Opera House, in Vienna, Austria, May 25, 2019. Vienna State Opera House held a special program on Saturday to pay tribute to the 150th anniversary of the house and its artists. The Vienna State Opera House is one of the most famous opera houses in the world which was opened on May 25, 1869. (Xinhua/Guo Chen) Egypt's Supreme Council for Media Regulation announced on Saturday that it is launching an investigation after complaints were made against the TV talk show Sheikh El-Hara, which has drawn heavy criticism after celebrity guest Maged El-Masry made disparaging comments about sub-Saharan African women. During the episode, which aired on 19 May, El-Masry, a well-known actor, recounted a story where he was pranked by a friend. The friend had arranged a rendezvous for El-Masry with three women, who the actor was shocked to discover were Africans. El-Masry to laughter from the shows host Basma Wahba said that he kicked the women out of his car and chased after the friend who had set up the meeting. The episode drew widespread criticism on social media, with many accusing El-Masry and Wahba of racism. Following the backlash, El-Masry told Youm 7 news website that he was only joking and did not intend to cause offense. "I am African too," the actor said. "I misspoke. I apologise to anyone who was offended," he said. On Saturday evening, the Media Syndicate released a statement saying that the shows host, Wahba, is not a union member and therefore does not have the right to appear on the airwaves as a host. Also on Saturday, Wahba announced that she was resigning from the show in protest over a decision by Al-Kahera wal Nas the channel which airs the show not to broadcast reruns of an earlier episode that had also generated controversy. Sheikh El-Hara, which is in its third season, has attracted millions of viewers both on television and online. As of the time this article is being published, the controversial episode featuring El-Masry is still available on the Al-Kahera wal Nas YouTube channel. Second allegation of racism on Egyptian TV This is not the first time the 2019 season of Ramadan TV has stirred up accusation of racism. During the first week of Ramadan, TV actor and comedienne Shaimaa Seif appeared on two episodes of a prank show on MBC-Misr 2 TV where she had her face painted black and posed as a Sudanese woman. The episodes drew criticism from many in Egypt and Sudan, with thousands of Sudanese social media users voicing their anger on Shaimaa Seif's social media accounts. Seif, a popular comedienne, has issued a short statement saying she is sorry and that she did not intend to "upset" her Sudanese brothers and sisters. "I am a comedienne doing comedy. I wished that you would view the matter in the comedic context that was intended. Of course I did not mean to upset you, said Seif, who has since suspended her social media accounts. Search Keywords: Short link: Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-26 08:34:25|Editor: Liangyu Video Player Close NANJING, May 26 (Xinhua) -- China's National Intellectual Property Administration (NIPA) is negotiating with the World Intellectual Property Organization on China's joining of the Hague Agreement, a Chinese official said Saturday. Attending the opening of the 15th China (Wuxi) International Design Expo, NIPA director Shen Changyu said by joining the system, Chinese companies will enjoy easier access to the protection of industrial designs, so that Chinese designs and "Made in China" products can better integrate into the global market. Hague Agreement for the international registration of industrial designs, a mechanism aimed at intellectual property protection, currently has 70 contracting parties around the world. An industrial design will be protected by all contracting parties through a single application. China has been promoting the protection of industrial designs. The country saw 709,000 applications for industrial designs in 2018, compared with some 600 in 1985. The 15th China (Wuxi) International Design Expo is scheduled to last from May 25 to 27. A design competition will be held during the expo. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-26 09:04:35|Editor: mingmei Video Player Close Chinese President Xi Jinping's special envoy Hao Mingjin (L), also vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of China and chairman of the Central Committee of the China National Democratic Construction Association, meets with newly-elected South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in Pretoria, South Africa, May 25, 2019. Hao Mingjin attended the inauguration ceremony of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa here on Saturday. (Xinhua/Chen Cheng) PRETORIA, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping's special envoy Hao Mingjin attended the inauguration ceremony of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa here on Saturday. Hao, vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of China and chairman of the Central Committee of the China National Democratic Construction Association, met with Ramaphosa after the inauguration. Hao conveyed Xi's sincere congratulations and good wishes to Ramaphosa and delivered him a signed letter by Xi. Hao said the two heads of state exchanged historic visits in 2018 and charted the course for the development of the China-South Africa comprehensive strategic partnership. China is willing to strengthen its strategic coordination with South Africa and promote bilateral cooperation in various fields, Hao said. For his part, Ramaphosa thanked Xi for sending an envoy to attend his inauguration and asked Hao to convey his warm greetings to Xi. Ramaphosa said the relations between South Africa and China are special, and that he and Xi share the common mission of creating a better life for people in their respective country. Ramaphosa also said he looks forward to working with Xi to plan and create a new era for bilateral relations. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-26 09:04:38|Editor: Liangyu Video Player Close GUANGZHOU, May 26 (Xinhua) -- Chen Shaopeng carefully draws golden roosters, mandarin ducks, and luxuriantly colored peonies on a piece of paper, not with paint, but with jam. The 20-year-old chef is trying to demonstrate his culinary skills and how human ability will always be superior to that of a machine. "I've never seen a robot cook before, but I've heard of them prepare or serve dishes. No matter what, the value of a chef is about creativity and originality. That's hard to beat," Chen said. Chen said a robot cook might perform just as well as he does in cutting a chunk of tofu into ultra-thin slices, but there is no way it can develop a personal style. "It takes years of training and learning from masters to develop my own style. My goal is to work as a chef at a five-star hotel," said the student at the Culinary School at Shunde Polytechnic. Robots may be good at tasks such as making hamburgers, but they have not become good enough to work in haute cuisine, Chen and his fellow students said. As the world becomes technologically driven, China's manufacturing hub Guangdong is reforming its education system to train talent to cope with the age of automation in which robots start to replace workers. Guangdong has 694 vocational schools with 2.23 million students. Many schools are changing their curriculum to deal with the transition. Gan Muyi, chief of the culinary school, said they are focused on fostering students' creativity to meet the increasingly diverse cuisine market. At the Shunde Liangqiuju Vocational & Technical School, students who study 3D-printing have to learn interdisciplinary knowledge in model building, digital control, design and assembly. School vice principal Zhao Ruqi said they have integrated previously isolated courses to teach students the knowledge they need to work in smart manufacturing. "Machines are replacing people. It is a strong trend of the times. These days, it's not enough for students to master one type of technology or be good at one step of a manufacturing process. We are being forced to make changes," he said. Guangdong started to reform its manufacturing industry five years ago. In the city of Dongguan, from 2014 to 2017, a total of 38.6 billion yuan (5.6 billion U.S. dollars) was invested in automation, which reduced the need for 200,000 workers, statistics show. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-26 09:54:56|Editor: mingmei Video Player Close LISBON, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa on Saturday called on people to vote in the upcoming European Parliament elections. "What is decided in Europe is as much important as what is decided only in Portugal. And in the coming months and coming years, Europe will make fundamental decisions for our future," said Rebelo de Sousa in his usual presidential message on the eve of an election broadcast on television, the radio and the website of the presidency. "I hope you will make a small sacrifice, and not to leave the decision of everyone to 20 percent or 25 percent," the president said, adding that staying home instead of voting on Sunday would be "a huge mistake." "To vote tomorrow is to not give up the freedom to rule our future," he said. When journalists asked on Saturday if he expected a large number of abstentions, the president said that anyone who does not vote cannot later turn around and complain about the results. There are about 10.7 million Portuguese voters registered in the country and abroad, compared to about 9.7 million in the previous European elections in May 2014. Some 14,900 people have decided to vote in Portugal, according to data earlier released by the ministry of internal administration. Portuguese voters will elect 21 members out of 17 parties and coalitions in the European elections on Sunday. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-26 09:59:58|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the media in New Delhi, India, May 25, 2019. After receiving the letter of appointment as the country's next prime minister on Saturday, Narendra Modi said he will continue to work for the welfare of his countrymen during his second consecutive term as the premier. (Xinhua/Partha Sarkar) By Pankaj Yadav NEW DELHI, May 26 (Xinhua) -- The stage is all set for Prime Minister-elect Narendra Modi to take oath of office and begin his second consecutive term as the head of Indian government, even as President Ram Nath Kovind has already formally appointed him to the office of prime minister. An official press communique issued by President's office late on Saturday said "Exercising powers vested in him under Article 75 (1) of the Constitution of India, President Ram Nath Kovind today appointed Narendra Modi to the office of Prime Minister of India. The president requested Modi to advise him about the names of others to be appointed members of the Union Council of Ministers, and indicate the date and time of the swearing-in-ceremony to be held at Rashtrapati Bhavan (President House)." Now, Modi is expected to soon fix the date of his swearing-in ceremony. In 2014, he along with his council of ministers, took the oath of office on May 26. In the just-concluded 17th General Elections, Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had registered a spectacular victory by winning in more than 300 constituencies out of the total more than 500 that went to polls. The Election Commission of India's official website showed the final results on May 24. A day after the results were announced, a series of events took place on Saturday evening leading to installation of Modi as the prime minister for his second consecutive term. It began with all the 353 newly-elected National Democratic Alliance (NDA) lawmakers electing Modi as their leader. To this effect a resolution was unanimously passed by the NDA lawmakers at the Central Hall of the Indian parliament. Addressing the NDA lawmakers on the occasion, Modi said that regional aspirations and national ambitions will define India's development in the coming years. He said that the world's expectations from India had increased over the years, and these global aspirations could be fulfilled only by India's overall development in the coming years. Modi stated that the just-concluded General Elections had sent the maximum number of women lawmakers to the lower house of parliament "Lok Sabha," and also witnessed the maximum ever number of voters exercising their right to vote ever since Independence. He also promised to work for the poor and the minorities in the country, and resolved to remove poverty from the country by providing them basic facilities like housing, water, electricity, health, education and etc. "The mandate given by the countrymen in the 2019 Elections shows pro-incumbency of our first government (2014-2019)," he added. Later, the top leaders of the NDA constituents went to meet president to hand over the letters of support for Modi's candidature as prime minister. A tweet from the official twitter handle of the President of India stated "A letter stating that Narendra Modi had been elected leader of the BJP parliamentary party was handed over to the President. Letters of support from NDA constituent parties were also handed over to the President." Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-26 11:15:17|Editor: Liangyu Video Player Close BEIJING, May 26 (Xinhua) -- Prime Minister of the Republic of Vanuatu Charlot Salwai will pay an official visit to China on May 26-31 at the invitation of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang. The following is a brief profile of the prime minister. Salwai was born in Vanuatu's Pentecost Island in April 1963. He was elected member of parliament in 2002, and served as minister of lands and natural resources, minister of education, minister of finance and economic management, and minister of internal affairs. In February 2016, Salwai was elected the 11th prime minister of Vanuatu. In August 2016, he was elected president of the Reunification Movement for Change. He and his wife Marie have three children. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-26 11:30:26|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close Malta's President George Vella (C) and his wife (R) vote for local councilors in Zejtun, Malta, on May 25, 2019. Maltese voted in the European Parliament (EP) election together with another three European Union (EU) countries on Saturday. There were 41 candidates vying for Malta's six seats in the EP. Maltese also choosed local councillors for 68 localities across the country in the vote. (Xinhua/Roberto Runza) BRUSSELS, May 26 (Xinhua) -- Voters in Latvia, Malta and Slovakia headed for the polls on Saturday as part of the European Parliament elections, while citizens in the Czech Republic continued their voting for a second day. Polling stations across Latvia and those at the country's diplomatic missions abroad opened from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. local time (0400 GMT to 1700 GMT). A total of 246 candidates from 16 Latvian political parties are competing for eight seats in the European Parliament in the elections. In Malta, polls closed after 10 p.m. local time (2000 GMT) with 41 candidates competing for six seats in the European Parliament (MEP), while the elections for local councillors were held at the same time. In Slovakia, nearly 4.45 million eligible voters participated in the elections, where 14 MEPs will be elected. The voting started in the Czech Republic on Friday and ended at 2 p.m. local time (1200 GMT) on Saturday, with voters choosing 21 MEPs from over 840 candidates nominated by 39 political parties, movements and coalitions. Britons and the Dutch were the first to vote on Thursday, followed by Ireland and the Czech Republic. Many European Union (EU) countries will hold their elections on Sunday and the results will be announced afterwards. Citizens of the 28 EU member countries -- over 400 million voters are eligible -- will cast their ballots over the course of four days to elect 751 MEPs for a five-year term. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-26 11:55:34|Editor: Yurou Video Player Close MANILA, May 26 (Xinhua) -- Eight people, including a one-year-old baby, were killed and 14 others wounded when some 30 Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) terrorists attacked government troops in a remote coastal town of Sulu province in southern Philippines, the military said on Sunday. A report from the 11th infantry division of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said, a platoon of soldiers were doing community work in a village of Patikul town when the attack occurred around 5:35 p.m. local time on Saturday. Civilians were caught in a 30-minute firefight that broke out between the government troops and terrorists, the report said. Among the dead were a one-year-old baby and a 12-year-old, the report said. Six terrorists were also killed in the clash, it added. The report said five soldiers, two civilians and seven terrorists were wounded in the fighting. Clashes between the ASG terrorists and government security forces erupt almost every day in the remote southernmost Sulu and Basilan Island provinces, a known Abu Sayyaf lair. The AFP considers the ASG as a collection of armed criminals or bandits preying on civilians and foreign nationals. The group gained notice in southern Philippines in the early 1990s, with demands for an Islamic state. It acquired a worldwide notoriety with a series of kidnappings and beheadings. The Duterte government has formed an entire army division to hunt down the militants who were blamed for a series of kidnapping and bombings in the southern region, including the Jan. 27 twin bombings in a church in Jolo city, Sulu province that killed more than 20 people and injured more than 100. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-26 11:55:36|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close A man puts his ballot paper into a ballot box at a polling station in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on May 26, 2019. The third mandate municipal, provincial, town and district council elections kicked off in Cambodia on Sunday after an eight-day campaign, said Dim Sovannarom, a spokesman for the National Election Committee (NEC). (Xinhua/Sovannara) PHNOM PENH, May 26 (Xinhua) -- The third mandate municipal, provincial, town and district council elections kicked off in Cambodia on Sunday after an eight-day campaign, said Dim Sovannarom, a spokesman for the National Election Committee (NEC). "A total of 203 polling stations across the country opened their doors at 7:00 a.m. local time and are due to close at 3:00 p.m.," he told Xinhua. The non-universal elections will be voted by 11,572 sitting commune chiefs and councilors-typically along party lines-for 4,114 municipal, provincial, town and district councilors. The elections are divided into two, said a NEC's statement, adding that one election is to elect 559 municipal and provincial councilors, while the other is to decide 3,555 town and district council seats. Seven political parties have registered to contest in the sub-national elections, the NEC said. Those are the Cambodian People's Party (CPP) of Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen, Funcinpec Party of Prince Norodom Ranariddh, Khmer National United Party, Cambodian Nationality's Party, Cambodian Youth Party, Khmer Will Party, and Khmer Republican Party, it said. Sovannarom said preliminary results are expected to be announced on Sunday afternoon at 4:00 p.m. local time. In the last council elections in May 2014, the CPP swept 2,540, or 76.4 percent, of the then-3,324 positions across the kingdom. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-26 12:30:47|Editor: Yurou Video Player Close YANGON, May 26 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar is drafting a national-level mechanism to receive complaints about forced labor, according to a senior government official. Minister of Labor, Immigration and Population U Thein Swe told a national tripartite dialogue forum held in Yangon Saturday, attended by representatives of the government ministries, employers and workers, that the system will be set up in cooperation with other ministries. All ministries are to participate in the mechanism, he said. President of the Confederation of Trade Unions in Myanmar U Maung Maung suggested that representatives of employers and employees should also be included in the mechanism. Employers are making preparations, including imparting training to their human resources, for avoiding unnecessary forced labor problems in the future, said U Myint Soe, a representative of the employers. Myanmar is a signatory to the International Labour Organization (ILO) Forced Labour Convention. Meanwhile, Myanmar is also striving to eliminate child labor and is implementing a national level program of child labor eradication, while cooperating with local and international organizations. Myanmar signed the ILO Convention for prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labors in 2013. The National Umma Party, led by former premier Sadiq Al-Mahdi, said any such decision should be taken by a council of leaders of the protest movement The National Umma Party, Sudans main opposition group and supporter of the protest movement, said in a statement on Sunday it rejected its call to stage a two-day general strike because of a deadlock in talks with the Transitional Military Council (TMC). We reject the general strike announced by some opposition groups in the umbrella protest movement, the Alliance for Freedom and Change, the National Umma Party said in a statement. Its opposition to the strike slated to start Tuesday was a sign of division between protest leaders at a time of deadlock in negotiations with the TMC over installing a civilian administration. "A general strike is a weapon that should be used after it is agreed upon by everybody," Umma said. "We have to avoid such escalated measures that are not fully agreed." The National Umma Party led by former premier Sadiq Al-Mahdi said any such decision should be taken by a council of leaders of the protest movement. Such a council was still not in place and "will be composed in a meeting on Monday", it said. It was Mahdi's elected government that Omar al-Bashir, who himself was deposed last month, toppled in an Islamist-backed coup in 1989. In a recent interview with AFP, Mahdi warned protesters not to "provoke" the TMC as they had been instrumental in ousting Bashir. *This story was edited by Ahram Online Search Keywords: Short link: Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-26 12:35:50|Editor: Yurou Video Player Close KUNDUZ, Afghanistan, May 26 (Xinhua) -- Three Afghan police officers and seven Taliban militants were killed, and seven police and six militants wounded following clashes in Afghanistan's northern province of Kunduz, a local official said Sunday. In one incident, clashes erupted after militants attacked a security checkpoint in Zakhil, a neighborhood in Police District 3 of provincial capital Kunduz city in early hours of Sunday, Esmatullah Muradi, provincial government spokesman, told Xinhua. "The police officers fought back the attackers and the gunfight claimed the lives of two police officers and four attackers," he said. In a similar incident at the same time, one police officer and three Taliban militants were killed in Saychinar area of Chahar Dara district, on outskirts of the city, the official added. Fighting rages across the war-torn country and clashes between security forces and Taliban have been continuing in more than 20 out of the country's 34 provinces since early April when the Taliban launched an annual rebel offensive. Fighting between government forces and Taliban fighters often intensifies in spring and summer, the period locally branded as the fighting season of the year. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-26 12:50:53|Editor: Yurou Video Player Close SYDNEY, May 26 (Xinhua) -- Embattled Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O'Neill has announced his resignation at a media conference in the capital city of Port Moresby on Sunday, after a series of ministers defected from his cabinet. As a pending leadership challenge scheduled for Monday is expected to gain the support of a majority of MP's, O'Neill cited the parliament's "need for change" as the reason for his departure. O'Neill handed over the leadership to former Prime Minister Julius Chan. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-26 13:20:59|Editor: mingmei Video Player Close TOKYO, May 26 (Xinhua) -- Japan Coast Guard said on Sunday that four people are missing after two cargo ships collided on the Pacific Ocean to Japan's east. According to the coast guard, the 499-ton Sumiho Maru and another 499-ton ship, the Sensho Maru, collided about 12 km off Inubosaki in Chiba Prefecture around 2:10 a.m. local time. The Sensho Maru, based in Imabari of Ehime Prefecture, sank and four of its five crew members are missing. The 60-year-old male captain of Sensho Maru was rescued by the patrol boat of the coast guard. The Sensho Maru put out a call for assistance. All four crew on board the Sumiho Maru, based in Kure, Hiroshima Prefecture, are safe, it said. The Sensho Maru was carrying about 1,300 tons of steel from Kashima in eastern Japan to Osaka, according to the coast guard. At the time it happened, the area was foggy and visibility was low. The coast guard is investigating the cause of the accident, with patrol vessels and helicopters continuing to search for the missing persons. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-26 13:21:02|Editor: mingmei Video Player Close MEXICO CITY, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Five naval officers and a forestry official were killed when their helicopter crashed in Central Mexico's Queretaro state, the federal government said on Saturday. Authorities located the wreckage of the MI-17 helicopter, which reportedly plummeted Friday afternoon, the Naval Ministry said in a statement. The helicopter crashed at 1:45 p.m. local time (18:45 GMT) after it helped fight a forest fire burning in the area since early May. The aircraft was found around 6 a.m. (11:00 GMT) Saturday. Rescue efforts were suspended late Friday due to bad weather. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador offered his condolences to the families of the victims, including a navy captain, two lieutenants and two marines. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-26 13:31:06|Editor: mingmei Video Player Close KABUL, May 26 (Xinhua) -- At least 15 Taliban militants were killed and nine others arrested in two eastern Afghan provinces on Sunday, the command of special forces said. "Afghan National Defense and Security Forces launched extensive operations in Wardak and Paktika province early Sunday, killing 15 Taliban militants and detaining nine other armed militants," Afghan National Army Special Operations Corps said in a statement. The slain militants were found to be involved in terror crimes in the past and those among the killed militants was a Taliban divisional commander, the statement read. The violence has been on the rise as Afghan security forces struggle against a surge in attacks by Taliban militants since early April this year when the Taliban's so-called yearly rebel offensive started. Warring sides in Afghanistan typically exaggerate the casualties of opponent side and it is difficult to verify the figures by them with independent sources. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-26 13:56:15|Editor: mingmei Video Player Close MANILA, May 26 (Xinhua) -- The Philippine government confirmed on Sunday that it has banned all government officials and employees from making official trips to Canada, a move that the country is serious in diminishing diplomatic relations with Canada over the trash dispute. The Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo issued a statement on Sunday that Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea issued a memorandum dated on May 20, "directing all department secretaries and heads of agencies, government-owned and controlled corporations and government financial institutions to refrain from issuing travel authorities for official trips to Canada." "The aforesaid memo likewise directed heads of government agencies to reduce official interaction with representatives of the Canadian government," Panelo's statement read. "We maintain that these directives are consistent with our stance on the diminished diplomatic relations with Canada starting with the recall of our Ambassador and Consul-General in that country in light of Canada's failure to retrieve its containers of garbage unlawfully shipped to the Philippines," Panelo added. Indeed, the diplomatic spat between the Philippines and Canada over the trash issue has deteriorated in recent weeks even if Canada has offered to take back 69 shipping containers full of garbage which has been rotting for up to six years in two Philippine ports. The Philippines said it feels insulted by Canada's inaction. When the 103 containers arrived in the Philippines in 2013 and 2014, they were falsely declared as containing recycle scraps. However, an investigation by the Philippine Bureau of Customs (BOC) revealed the trash included household trash, plastic bottles, bags, newspapers, and used adult diapers. Only 69 containers are quarantined in two ports in Manila and Subic, north of Manila. The rest of the garbage has been disposed of. Early this month, Manila gave Ottawa until May 15 to ship back the trash but Ottawa failed to meet the deadline. A day after, Philippine Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin tweeted that he ordered the recall of Philippine diplomats in Canada. On May 22, Panelo said the Philippines will "immediately" ship the tons of waste back to Canada and that Manila will pay for the shipping cost. In an apparent move to avoid the deterioration of diplomatic ties with the Philippines, Canada said on Thursday that it is ready to ship back the trash by end of June, but Manila rejected the offer and declared the Southeast Asian country will ship back the trash immediately by itself. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-26 13:56:17|Editor: Liangyu Video Player Close XI'AN, May 26 (Xinhua) -- The 5th Summer Summit of World Congress of Chinese Medicine will be held in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province from June 14 to 16, the provincial government said. The summit will discuss the development policies of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) industry, standardization and internationalization, culture, health management and big data of TCM, and will also showcase the latest scientific research achievements, new technologies and new therapies of TCM, said Sang Binsheng, secretary general of the World Federation of Chinese Medicine Societies. Shaanxi boasts large resources of traditional Chinese medicine. In recent years, the province has cooperated with a number of overseas hospitals on TCM treatment, including those in Switzerland, Russia, and Kazakhstan, said Ma Guanghui, director of the provincial administration of traditional Chinese medicine. The summit will boost the TCM in Shaanxi to go global while attracting more TCM experts and enterprises to the province, according to Ma. The first Summer Summit of World Congress of Chinese Medicine was held in 2015. The summer summit has provided a top international academic platform for TCM with high standards and wide coverage in China. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-26 14:41:47|Editor: Liangyu Video Player Close BEIJING, May 26 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory letter to the China International Big Data Industry Expo 2019, which opened in the city of Guiyang, southwest China's Guizhou Province, on Sunday. "The new generation of information technology, represented by the Internet, big data and artificial intelligence, is booming at present and has significant and profound impacts on the economic development, social progress and people's lives of all countries," Xi said. Different countries need to strengthen cooperation, deepen exchanges, grasp the opportunities of digital, internet-based and intelligent development, and properly address the legal, security and governance challenges in the development of the big data industry, he said. China attaches great importance to the development of the big data industry, and is willing to share opportunities of the digital economy's development with other countries and jointly explore new growth drivers and development paths by exploring new technologies, new business forms and new models, Xi said. Xi added that he hopes delegates and guests at the expo discuss plans for the industry's development and cooperation in the field to contribute to the common development of all countries and the building of a community with a shared future for humanity. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-26 15:09:07|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close People visit the exhibition "The Impressionist's Eye" at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the United States, on May 25, 2019. This exhibition brings together more than 80 works in a variety of media- painting, sculpture, prints, drawings, and pastels- to illuminate the achievements of some of history's most beloved artists including Claude Monet, Mary Cassatt, Vincent van Gogh. The exhibition will last until Aug. 18. (Xinhua/Liu Jie) Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-26 15:06:55|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close SYDNEY, May 26 (Xinhua) -- Embattled Papua New Guinea (PNG) Prime Minister Peter O'Neill announced his resignation in the capital city of Port Moresby on Sunday, after a series of ministers defected from his cabinet. With a pending vote of no confidence scheduled for Monday, the leadership challenge was expected to gain the majority support of MPs and as a result, O'Neill cited the parliament's "need for change" as the reason for his departure. Holding the office since 2012 and overseeing the success of last year's APEC summit, O'Neill has handed over the leadership to former Prime Minister Julius Chan, local news station EMTV reported. "We are a government that listens to the people," O'Neill told a media conference. "We have achieved quite a substantial amount of development. But all good things come to an end." "It is important that we maintain a certain amount of stability. We have heard the calls and we have agreed for a change of government," he added. Beginning with the resignation of former finance minister James Marape in April, a chain of other government MPs followed and the group eventually tabled a vote of no confidence against O'Neill. While the government battled to hold on to it's majority in the 111-seat parliament, further defections on Friday appeared to suggest the opposition block now had 62 MPs on board - enough to secure victory in their leadership challenge. With no room to move, it is expected that O'Neill's departure will be made official in the coming days, when he submits a letter of resignation to the country's governor general. "We will provide the numbers for the stability of the country, we will do so because we respect the people," O'Neill said. "I will be visiting the governor general to make sure that we pave way for a new government and a new leadership of a new government." In the meantime, veteran PNG politician and former Prime Minister Julius Chan, has taken control of the leadership. "The strength of the government is not about numbers. It's the transition of power from one government to another in tranquility and smoothness," Chan said. "I want to thank the prime minister, Peter O'Neill, for all that he has done to bring this country today." "Men and women of Papua New Guinea ... we have very short memories. Tomorrow you will look back and see all the things that he has done. But like life itself, you just got to move on," Chan added. Iraqi leaders has warned of the risks of war during a visit by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, whose country is locked in a tense standoff with the United States. Zarif's visit to neighbouring Iraq -- which is caught in the middle of its two allies, the US and Iran -- follows a decision by Washington to deploy 1,500 additional troops to the Middle East. "We are currently repelling all the efforts of war against Iran, whether economic or military," Zarif said at a joint news conference with his Iraqi counterpart Mohammed Ali al-Hakim. "We will face them with strength and we will resist," he added. For his part, Hakim said: "We stand by our neighbour Iran, and economic sanctions are unnecessary and cause great suffering to the Iranian people." Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi warned of the "danger of a war" during a meeting with Zarif on Saturday night, his office said. Abdel Mahdi pleaded for the "stability of the region and the upholding of the nuclear deal," it said, referring to a 2015 agreement between Tehran and major powers. Iraqi President Barham Saleh discussed with Zarif "the need to prevent all war or escalation," his office said. On Saturday, Zarif called the deployment of extra US troops to the region "very dangerous and a threat to international peace and security." It follows a US decision in early May to send an aircraft carrier strike force and B-52 bombers in a show of force against what Washington's leaders believed was an imminent Iranian plan to attack US assets. Washington says the latest reinforcements are in response to a "campaign" of recent attacks including a rocket launched into the Green Zone in Baghdad, explosive devices that damaged four tankers near the entrance to the Gulf, and drone strikes by Yemeni rebels on a key Saudi oil pipeline. Iran has denied any involvement. Visits to Oman, Kuwait, Qatar On May 15, the United States ordered the evacuation of non-emergency staff from its Baghdad embassy and Arbil consulate, citing an "imminent" threat from Iranian-linked armed groups in Iraq, two of which rejected the claim. During the three-year battle to oust the Islamic State group from Iraqi cities, Iran-backed Shiite militias on the ground effectively fought on the same side as US-led coalition warplanes in the skies. But since Iraq declared victory over the jihadists in December 2017, relations between Washington and Tehran have deteriorated sharply. In May last year, US President Donald Trump pulled out of the landmark nuclear deal with Iran and later re-instated tough sanctions. Zarif was due to meet representatives of Iraq's different political forces as well as religious dignitaries in the Shiite holy cities of Karbala and Najaf in southern Iraq during his visit through Monday. On Friday night, thousands of Iraqis staged anti-war demonstrations in Baghdad and the southern oil city of Basra, waving flags and carrying placards calling for a US-Iranian confrontation to be averted. Iraq is trying to act as a mediator in the deeply fractured Middle East, particularly because it borders Iran and regional arch-rival Saudi Arabia, which is also at the centre of a dispute with Qatar. Also on Sunday, Iran's deputy foreign minister Abbas Araghchi began a tour of Oman, Kuwait and Qatar, his ministry said, while its spokesman "categorically denied" reports of talks between Americans and Iranians. Search Keywords: Short link: Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-26 15:06:57|Editor: ZX Video Player Close Visitors look at stuffed toys at the booth of Ty Inc. during the 116th Annual North American International Toy Fair at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York, the United States, on Feb. 19, 2019. (Xinhua/Wang Ying) by Xinhua writer Yang Shilong NEW YORK, May 26 (Xinhua) -- Kevin Cheung, vice president of a New York-based clothing firm, recently twisted his ankle and is steadily recovering from an intense burning sensation on it. Yet there are no signs of easing of the "slow burn" that his company, Lisa International, has suffered since the United States initiated tariff disputes with China last March. As Washington increased additional tariffs on 200 billion U.S. dollars' worth of Chinese imports from 10 percent to 25 percent earlier in May and threatened to raise tariffs on more Chinese imports, this worsening trade row between the world's two largest economies has prolonged market uncertainty. "Clothing tariff is still not in place yet, but we assume it will be here soon. This is a bigger concern to me," Cheung told Xinhua in a recent interview. CATASTROPHIC IMPACT Cheung's concern was shared by a growing number of U.S. industry leaders who warned the White House of the "catastrophic" impact of such trade disputes on Americans with rising costs and dwindling profits. "This latest escalation means the trade war will only get worse and hit home for every American," said a statement released on May 13 by the Tariffs Hurt the Heartland campaign, which comprises over 150 U.S. trade organizations. Tariffs are taxes paid by American businesses and consumers, and they force American consumers to pay more for clothes, shoes, toys, electronics and even food while making it more difficult for U.S. exporters to compete, it said. "The trade war has gone on for far too long, and the costs have grown far too high. The patience of farmers, manufacturers, businesses and consumers is wearing thin, " it said. Grant Kimberley, a sixth-generation soybean farmer and marketing director of the Iowa Soybean Association, said he and his peers hope some quick and positive changes could be made. U.S. soybean exports to China have been down 89 percent over the past year, and about half of the supplies that would normally have gone to China have now gone somewhere else, with farmers "still at a deficit for net total exports," Kimberley told Xinhua. "It's likely the trade dispute could be a long-term reality," he said. "With prices going lower and soybean supplies growing, and with only modest hope that a resolution is near, we're likely to be mired in this scenario for some time." "For some farmers, the crop they're currently planting may be their last," he said. Washington's tariff hikes will also hit the U.S. toy industry hard given "how heavily we rely on China for toy manufacturing and how thin the profit margins already are," said Rebecca Mond, vice president of federal government affairs at the Toy Association, a 950-plus-membered industry group. AGGRESSIVE BUT COUNTERPRODUCTIVE 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. "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," Hoffman told Xinhua. U.S. tariffs on tech product imports from China increased fivefold from 2017 to 2018, said Stefanie Holland, vice president for federal and global policy of the Computing Technology Industry Association. "Should a 25-percent tariff rate apply to all tech product imports the costs could run into the tens of billions of dollars," said Holland, adding that barriers to trade will also "negatively impact the products that are designed, developed and manufactured in the United States." According to a recent report by Swiss investment bank UBS, over 12,000 U.S. brick-and-mortar stores of apparels and textiles would be at risk because of the possible new tariffs. The big wave of store closures would be highly negative and create intense inventory dislocations and discounting in addition to impacts on jobs and the economy, the report said. The Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America, a trade organization, estimated the new tariffs could cost U.S. consumers 7 billion dollars a year. "It is time to bring this trade war to an end," said an open letter signed by 173 footwear companies and retailers. In a study released Thursday, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said U.S. tariff revenue collected from levies on Chinese goods "has been borne almost entirely by U.S. importers." "The bilateral trade deficit remains broadly unchanged," it added. The latest U.S. tariff hikes will impose a total annual cost of 831 dollars for a typical U.S. household, said a research posted Thursday by the Federal Reserve (Fed) Bank of New York. "In sum, according to our estimates, these higher tariffs are likely to create large economic distortions and reduce U.S. tariff revenues," it said. YEARN FOR NORMAL TRADE Frustrated by disrupted U.S.-China trade, U.S. soybean farmers yearn for "trading as normal" with China, President of the American Soybean Association Davie Stephens told Xinhua. It took U.S. farmers more than 40 years to build the soybean market in China, said Stephens, warning that it will become "increasingly difficult to recover" as the U.S.-China trade row rumbles on. "The tariffs need to be removed. Let's get back to trading in an open market. That's free trade for both sides," he said. "To decouple the American and Chinese economies would be an economic disaster, damaging each country and the entire world," Chairman of the Kuhn Foundation Robert Kuhn told Xinhua. Concurring with Kuhn, Sourabh Gupta, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Institute for China-America Studies, said "it is utterly unrealistic to uncouple China and the U.S. economically. The two economies are symbiotically connected and are too interdependent to be pried apart." Criticizing Washington for pushing its trade partners into a "win-lose situation," Hoffman said mutually respectful trade "is the whole principle behind our system. And I think that principle still holds." "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. "A mass shift of production out of China is not a viable option for our industry," said Mond. "The infrastructure, capacity and workforce to meet consumer demand does not exist anywhere else." Although Cheung has started to diversify his company's supply base as part of his mitigation tactics, he said he "will not change to 100 percent out of China." "That would be foolish," he said. (Xinhua reporters Chang Yuan, Liu Yanan, Lin Yuan in New York, Wang Ping, Xu Jing in Chicago, Ye Zaiqi, Wu Xiaoling in San Francisco and Zhou Zhou in Washington also contributed to the story.) (Video reporters: Zhang Mocheng, Guo Yina; video eidtor: Liu Xiaorui) Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-26 15:11:59|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close TRIPOLI, May 26 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) on Saturday welcomed the release of two Libyan journalists arrested by the country's eastern-based army earlier this month. "UNSMIL welcomes the release of Mohamed Alqarj and Mohamed Alshaibani, journalists from Libya Al-Ahrar TV, and their safe return to their families in Zintan," the mission said. "The mission reiterates its calls for all others arbitrarily arrested and detained in Libya to be immediately released," it added. The two journalists disappeared on May 3 in southern Tripoli when covering the war between the eastern-based army and the UN-backed government forces. It was confirmed later that they were in the custody of a brigade of the army in Tarhuna city, some 80 km south of Tripoli. The army, led by Khalifa Haftar, has been leading a military campaign since early April to take over the capital from the government. According to the World Health Organization, the fighting has so far killed 510 people and injured 2,467 others. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-26 15:17:03|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close GABORONE, May 26 (Xinhua) -- President of Botswana Mokgweetsi Masisi on Saturday defended the country's policy to lift a ban on elephant hunting amid international criticism. "After extensive consultations with local communities, scientists, and leaders of neighboring African states, we decided on a course of action that embodies three guiding principles -- the need to conserve Botswana's natural resources, the need to facilitate human-wildlife co-existence, and the need to promote scientific management of the country's elephants and other wildlife species," Masisi said in a statement. Statistics indicate that Botswana's elephant population has been rising from 50,000 or so in 1991 to more than 130,000 currently. Masisi highlighted that with elephants moving out of their usual range in search of food and water, there has been a sharp increase in the number of dangerous human-elephant interactions, one result of which has been the widespread destruction of crops, livestock, and property. He added that in the country's north, elephants have slashed maize yields by three-quarters. Masisi said though the hunting ban did not cause a huge increase in the elephant population, it had allowed elephants to move with impunity into once-hazardous inhabited areas. "Thus increasing the number of human-elephant conflicts and, not incidentally, the environmental and economic challenges faced by rural people." Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-26 15:27:12|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close VILNIUS, May 26 (Xinhua) -- The presidential runoff kicked off in Lithuania on Sunday with former Finance Minister Ingrida Simonyte and economist Gitanas Nauseda contending for the country's top job. Polling stations are open from 7 a.m. local time (0400 GMT) to 8 p.m. (1700 GMT), with eligible voters of about 2.49 million. The runoff sees a close battle between Simonyte, 44, supported by the country's main opposition party the Homeland Union-Christian Democrats, and Nauseda, 55, running as an independent candidate. During the first round of voting two weeks ago, Simonyte received 31.31 percent of the votes, followed by Nauseda with 30.94 percent of the votes. In absolute terms the difference between the candidates in the first round amounted to 5,323 votes, according to the country's Central Electoral Commission (VRK). Saulius Skvernelis, the country's prime minister, lost the election as he ranked third with 11.24 percent of the votes. The first round's narrow gap between Simonyte and Nauseda who are both viewed as center-right candidates, has left political analysts and sociologists scratching their heads, refraining from predicting the outcome of the final vote. Distinguishing themselves from the other candidate and attracting support from the first round's candidates was key before the second round, analysts said. Simonyte highlighted her experience in politics, during especially the years when she served as the country's finance minister, during which the government implemented severe austerity measures to counter the effects of the 2018 financial crisis. "Life had forced me to take complicated decisions, doing what was, in my opinion, best for Lithuania," Simonyte said at the last presidential debate on Friday evening. Nauseda said he has earned people's trust working as an economist in one of the country's largest banks. "It helped me experience life from the other perspective witnessing how business and economy work," said Nauseda at the same occasion. For the first time in Lithuania, the advance voting is held for five days before the elections. According to VRK, 9.56 percent of voters have cast their votes during advance voting on May 20-24. Dalia Grybauskaite, the incumbent president, will leave the office after completing her second term in July. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-26 15:27:13|Editor: ZX Video Player Close BEIJING, May 26 (Xinhua) -- African diplomats and officials commended the robust and diverse ties with China on Saturday, hoping for more cooperation as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is inching towards effect. Speaking to Xinhua at an African Day celebration here on Saturday, Ambassador of Cameroon and the Dean of African Group in Beijing Martin Mpana praised China-Africa relations and cooperation. It touches "practically all conceivable spheres of development," he said. "The footprints of Chinese projects are visible everywhere in Africa ... (including) infrastructural development in roads, highways, building construction, mining, and water and sanitation projects, among many others," he said. Mpana said the African people are striving for economic independence by building up a free trade area, after achieving political independence. "A lot has to be done," he said, noting that China's investment, especially in infrastructure, helps interconnect the continent as roads, railways, airports and ports facilitate the flow of people as well as goods. "We are relying on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)," said Rahamtalla M. Osman, head of the African Union (AU) Mission to China, stressing that relations and cooperation with China achieve win-win outcomes. Osman added that Africa's integration and economic upgrading, which are one of the main issues and part of the African strategy, Agenda 2063 of the AU, will benefit the world economy, and will lead to more interaction with other economies. He also admitted challenges in developing the free trade area, as well as in the economic development of the whole continent. Therefore Africa "would like to benefit from the experience of China ... I'm already contacting with the Chinese authorities in order to invest in many grand projects in Africa." Development and cooperation would be a priority for Africa, including building the free trade area as well as connectivity on the continent, said Osama Elmagdoub, Egyptian ambassador to China. He said Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi raised these ideas at last year's Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Beijing Summit, and the ideas were received very positively by China. "We are working on the details now to see what contract projects can be achieved," he said. Similarly, South Sudan's Ambassador to China John Andruga Duku said Africa is in the process of achieving its economic independence and prosperity. The continent had to "look for countries (for partnership) which have no colonial history (in Africa)," and it regards China as a supportive true friend, he added. However, obstacles exist, said Duku, referring to Africa's infrastructure. "We must have roads, we must have intercontinental roads, the roads which connect Africa, across the borders of member states," he said. Within the framework of the BRI and FOCAC, Duku called for doubling efforts to solidify China-Africa relations. "We see a future in the relations with China," he said. The AfCFTA, which will come into effect on May 30, will establish the world's largest free trade zone by the number of countries, covering more than 1.2 billion people with a combined gross domestic product of 2.5 trillion U.S. dollars. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-26 15:57:25|Editor: ZX Video Player Close BEIJING, May 26 (Xinhua) -- A responsible player, an anchor of stability and a defender of global order...Shrugging off all the expectations for an economic superpower, the United States, with its go-it-alone trade policy, is becoming a major risk to the global economy. Ever since the U.S. administration vowed to "make America great again," it has become increasingly confrontational in its trade agenda, raising tariffs and challenging existing global trading systems. From threats of steel tariffs on Canada and Mexico to auto tariffs on Europe, the United States is stirring up trade disputes everywhere. As it has been repeatedly proved, either by economics logic or policy outcomes, launching trade wars is of no avail to the stated goal of narrowing U.S. trade deficit. Rather, U.S. businesses and households have been worried about the rising prices of production and consumer goods, and jobs of labor-intensive industries did not return to the U.S. as policymakers have wished. The New York Federal Reserve estimates that the latest round of tariff hikes on Chinese goods will cost the typical U.S. household 831 U.S. dollars a year. The prosperity of the global economy over the past decades has been built on the free flow of trade and investment. Disrupting the flow of trade between the world's two largest economies will put global growth at risk. But the U.S. administration refused to see this. In May, the United States unilaterally escalated trade tensions with China, rattling stock markets across the world and leaving countries in the global supply chain to gauge the negative impacts on economic growth. It is common sense that trade frictions between the United States and China, whose combined contributions accounted for more than half of the global economic growth in 2018, will be amplified through the stretching supply chains, and eventually, the global economy will bear the cost. Over the past decades, China, with its cheap labor and massive market, has gradually grown into the global manufacturing hub. The country is now the largest trade partner of more than 120 countries and regions. In 2018, trade between China and the United States reached 633.5 billion U.S. dollars. Any tinkering with trade policies in a single linkage will pass along the inter-related supply chain and incur collateral damages in unpredictable ways. According to a survey by the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, over one-third of the 585 companies doing businesses in the country found themselves negatively affected by tariff hikes started by the United States. A UN report released Wednesday lowered the global growth forecast for 2019 and 2020 to 2.7 percent and 2.9 percent, respectively, citing trade disputes as major concerns. The increasingly self-centered and short-sighted policies of the United States is putting its future and the global economic prospect at stake, driving the world into an "economic cold war" where nobody wins. Even if the world economy can hold up through the rounds of trade frictions, the uncertainties the tensions cause will be long-lasting. The United States is the world's biggest economy; it should act like one. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-26 15:57:27|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close CANBERRA, May 26 (Xinhua) -- Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has revealed his new cabinet and the nation's new ambassadors to the United States and the United Nations. Morrison on Sunday announced a new-look cabinet, including a record seven women and the first indigenous minister in Australian history, promising that it would focus on "service delivery" for Australians. "It's also about driving the better use of information technology that can assist Australians getting access to services they need," he told reporters in Canberra. Ken Wyatt, a Member of Parliament (MP) from Western Australia, will serve as the Minister for Indigenous Affairs after having served in minor portfolios. "Incredibly honored to be the first Aboriginal Minister for Indigenous Australians, committed to working and walking together with our Elders, families and communities to ensure the greatness of our many nations is reflected in the greatness of our Australian nation, now and forever," Wyatt said in a statement. Linda Reynolds has been appointed the Minister for Defence only five years after she entered the parliament as a senator while Marise Payne will remain the Minister for Foreign Affairs and has also been named the Minister for Women. Stuart Robert will be Morrison's Minister for Government Services, Paul Fletcher his Minister for Communications, Sussan Ley the Minister for Environment and Alex Hawke the Minister for International Development and the Pacific. Ley replaced Melissa Price who has been named the defence industry portfolio. Morrison by and large avoided significant changes in the most important portfolios. In national security Peter Dutton remained as the Minister for Home Affairs and David Coleman the Minister for Immigration. Josh Frydenberg will continue as Treasurer and will be supported by Mathias Cormann as the Finance Minister. The finance team will be under immediate pressure to deliver Morrison's promised tax cuts before the new financial year starts on July 1. "We put our entire tax plan to the parliament, we just put it to the people of Australia. It is a plan for aspirational Australians, a plan for tax relief not just now, but into the future," the PM said. "This is an important program of tax relief, out over the medium term, and it was put to the Australian people as a package, so it will be put to the Australian Parliament as a package." Christian Porter was again named Australia's Attorney-General and will add industrial relations to his responsibilities. "That will include creating fairer workplaces and enforcing the rule of law in industrial relations, particularly through the Australian Building and Construction Commission," Morrison said. Morrison will recommend to the governor-general that Senators Arthur Sinodinos and Mitch Fifield, previously the Ministers for Industry and Communications respectively, as the ambassadors to the U.S. and UN, according to The Australian newspaper. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-26 16:07:33|Editor: ZX Video Player Close GUIYANG, May 26 (Xinhua) -- An international expo on big data opened Sunday in southwest China's Guizhou Province, focusing on the latest innovation of the technology and its applications. The four-day China International Big Data Industry Expo 2019 in the provincial capital of Guiyang will be attended by 448 enterprises from 59 countries and regions, according to the organizing committee. Among them are more than 150 foreign companies, including 39 Fortune 500 firms. The expo will feature nine high-level dialogues, including one on big data and global efforts on poverty alleviation, as well as more than 50 forums. The expo will also include a global competition on artificial intelligence and autonomous driving. Since 2015, the expo, the first of its kind in China, has been held four times in Guiyang. Last year, the expo attracted over 40,000 participants from nearly 30 countries. As China's first big data pilot zone, the mountainous province of Guizhou has attracted heavyweight players, including Apple, Qualcomm, Huawei, Tencent, Alibaba and Foxconn, to establish cloud computing and big data centers as well as regional headquarters. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-26 17:38:27|Editor: Yamei Video Player Close LONDON, May 26 (Xinhua) -- The United States is getting nervous about China's development and has deeper motives for targeting Chinese imports and high-tech firms, a Cambridge University expert has said. "I am opposed to the American position 100 percent," Professor Alan Barrell told Xinhua in a recent interview, when commenting on the ongoing U.S.-China trade tensions initiated by Washington last year with slapping additional tariffs on Chinese goods. "I don't agree with trade wars, and I know they are never won," he said. "I have strong feelings about this." Meanwhile, he said he does not believe the current tensions between the United States and China are about trade. "The issues and the problem are bigger -- it is all about geopolitics," he added. In a similar fashion, what prompted the U.S. sanctions against world-leading telecom giant Huawei and other Chinese high-tech companies went beyond the alledged espionage concerns, according to the Cambridge professor. "In telecommunications, the real argument is not about whether Huawei technology will employ 'bugs' dangerous to Western interests, but about the Shenzhen company's superiority in 5G and other technologies, and the fear that the U.S. has now become No. 2 or even 3 in this key area of technology development," said Barrell. "Issues of cybersecurity extend far beyond simple issues of who makes and supplies the hardware," he added. The scholar noted that as China emerges in trade, technology and economy, U.S. President Donald Trump stresses "America First" and encourages his country to look inward. "The growth of China makes America very nervous. And Trump and America try to turn the rest of the West against China," he said. Emphasizing that the world should have "so much opportunity for us all to work together for the good of all people," Barrell said he is distressed by what the United States has done on China and Huawei. "It is a difficult time in world history," with some politicians having "de-camped into 'silos'" determined by what they believe in, said the professor. "Citizens of the world in both East and West are essentially now held to ransom," said Barrell. "The real issue is geopolitics and the progress of China as a future science, technology and economic leader." Citing the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative as yet another example, he added, "Why is ... such a courageous initiative so cynically regarded in the West? Fear and concern about loss of control and profitable exploitation might have a lot to do with such attitudes." As regards China, Barrell praised the Asian country's efforts in boosting global collaboration. "China, in many public pronouncements of its leaders and in actions, appears to be sincere in leading processes of internationalization and global collaboration," he said. In particular, the scholar said Cambridge welcomes the great investments and contributions from Huawei. "They have European headquarters for R&D in Cambridge, Europe's R&D capital," he noted. "And they just announced they bought a site ... to build a new factory here." "Cambridge is delighted! Open Innovation and collaboration are watchwords here," added the professor. Noting that "others in the global power domain take differing views" on China's development, Barrell urged people around the world to make a choice. "We can be sure that the balance of power in the world between East and West will not be returning to historical positioning," he said. "Can we become 'One World,' or be adversely divided? Citizens of the world must decide." Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-26 18:13:43|Editor: Yamei Video Player Close BEIJING, May 26 (Xinhua) -- China Automobile Trading Co., Ltd. (Tianjin) started to recall 1,465 imported Ford Ranger vehicles in the Chinese market, according to the country's top quality supervisor. The affected vehicles involve 400 imported units of Ford Ranger models manufactured between March 7 and April 13 last year, according to the State Administration for Market Regulation. The front brake caliper of the vehicles doesn't meet specification as cracks may appear in the caliper, which could lead to a loss of brake fluid and increase the brake pedal travel and stopping distance, said the statement on the administration's website. A total of 1,065 Ford Ranger vehicles produced between March 1, 2016, and June 16, 2018, are also on the recall list, the statement said. The front flexible brake hoses may have been excessively twisted when assembled to the vehicle, which could lead to cracks in the hoses and a loss of brake fluid. With that, the brake pedal travel and stopping distance will be increased, posing a potential safety hazard, according to the administration. The seller, China Automobile Trading Co., Ltd. (Tianjin), will inspect the recalled vehicles and change the front brake caliper and front flexible brake hoses free of charge. Saudi Arabia on Sunday shot down a bomb-laden drone deployed by Houthi rebels in Yemen to attack an airport in the kingdom, state media reported. The Saudi air force intercepted and destroyed the drone that targeted Jizan airport, close to the southern border with Yemen, the Riyadh-led coalition fighting the rebels was quoted as saying by the official Saudi Press Agency. The rebels' Al-Masirah TV said earlier that the drone targeted military hangars at Jizan airport. The airport is used by thousands of civilians every day, but the coalition reported no casualties and warned the rebels of a strong response. The strike comes after the Houthis on Thursday similarly targeted Najran airport also near the Yemeni border with an explosives-laden drone. That attack -- the third against Najran airport in 72 hours -- had targeted a Patriot air defence system, Al-Masirah said. The Saudi-led coalition intervened in Yemen in March 2015 to push back an advance by the Houthi rebels, who still hold the capital Sanaa, and to restore to power President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi. Since then, the conflict has killed tens of thousands of people, many of them civilians, relief agencies say. It has triggered what the UN describes as the world's worst humanitarian crisis, with 24.1 million -- more than two-thirds of the population -- in need of aid. Search Keywords: Short link: Rwandan people attend the completion ceremony of a China-funded village television project in Rulindo District, central Rwanda, on May 24, 2019. (Xinhua/Gabriel Dusabe) RULINDO, Rwanda, May 26 (Xinhua) -- The completion ceremony of a China-funded village television project was held in Rulindo District, central Rwanda, on Friday, where China and Rwanda signed a handover document. The project of Access to Satellite TV for 10,000 African Village, part of the outcomes of the 2015 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit, provides 300 Rwandan villages with free access to satellite TV. During the implementation, a total of 900 TV sets, 6,000 decoder sets, 600 projectors, 600 solar panels have been installed countrywide, said Jing Yuchang, CEO of StarTimes Media (Rwanda) Co., Ltd, at the ceremony. StarTimes, which carried out the project, has trained over 120 Rwandan youth's engineers to help in the installation and maintenance of the equipment after the installation to ensure continuity of the project, said Jing. With the newly installed TV sets and devices, a new world is opened for the beneficiaries who have access to all the information on agriculture, science and technology, education and etc., said Xing Yuchun, charge d'affaires of the Chinese Embassy in Rwanda. Rulindo mayor Emmanuel Kayiranga delivers a speech at the completion ceremony of a China-funded village television project in Rulindo District, central Rwanda, on May 24, 2019. (Xinhua/Gabriel Dusabe) The project will expand their horizon, improve welfare, and provide more opportunities for a better life, especially for the promising younger generation, she said. The influence and role of TV has grown in Rwanda, but the penetration is low because of high costs of sets, lack of electricity and coverage access, said Assumpta Ingabire, Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Local Government. This project will help Rwanda achieve a better nationwide TV penetration, and ensure wide access to TV through public TVs, said Ingabire. It helps local people to connect all over the world and will be helpful for people to receive more information, Rulindo mayor Emmanuel Kayiranga told Xinhua after the ceremony. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-26 18:43:52|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close Iraqi Foreign Minister Mohammed al-Hakim (R) and his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Jawad Zarif attend a joint press conference in Baghdad, Iraq, May 26, 2019. Iraq said on Sunday that it opposes sanctions imposed by the United States on Iran and proposed to mediate if asked. "We stand with our neighbor Iran and we affirm that the economic blockade is useless and causes great suffering to the Iranian people. Therefore, we stand against this blockade," said Iraqi Foreign Minister Mohammed al-Hakim at a joint press conference with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Jawad Zarif who is on an official visit to Iraq. (Xinhua/Khalili Dawood) BAGHDAD, May 26 (Xinhua) -- Iraq said on Sunday that it opposes sanctions imposed by the United States on Iran and proposed to mediate if asked. "We stand with our neighbor Iran and we affirm that the economic blockade is useless and causes great suffering to the Iranian people. Therefore, we stand against this blockade," said Iraqi Foreign Minister Mohammed al-Hakim at a joint press conference with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Jawad Zarif who is on an official visit to Iraq. "We are always against the unilateral measures by the United States. We stand with our neighbor Iran, and will be an appropriate mediator for the two sides if asked to do so," al-Hakim told reporters. For his part, Zarif said Iran "has strong desire to establish relations with all countries of the Gulf." Iran has "presented proposals for cooperation with regional countries, including signing a non-aggression pact with Gulf countries," he added. A statement by the media office of the Iraqi Speaker of Parliament Mohammed al-Halbousi said al-Halbousi held a meeting with Zarif, in which he confirmed Iraq's intention to "play a pivotal role in reducing the escalation between Tehran and Washington to avoid the risk of escalation in the region." According to the statement, Zarif said Iran "has no desire in any military escalation, and it is ready to accept any initiative that could help reduce the escalation." On Saturday afternoon, Zarif arrived in Iraq's capital Baghdad and met with Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi and President Barham Salih, discussing bilateral ties and regional situation. Zarif's visit came amid rising tensions between Washington and Tehran, which came after U.S. President Donald Trump decided not to re-issue the sanctions waivers for major importers to continue buying Iran's oil when they expired in early May. On May 15, the U.S. State Department ordered the non-emergency U.S. employees working in both the embassy in Baghdad and the consulate in Erbil to leave Iraq, a U.S. embassy statement said. On May 21, Mahdi said Iraq will send delegations to the United States and Iran to ease the tension in the Middle East. The United States has also increased its military buildup in the region recently by deploying an aircraft carrier, bombers and anti-missile systems, citing a threat of Iranian attack. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-26 19:04:08|Editor: ZX Video Player Close GUIYANG, May 26 (Xinhua) -- An international expo on big data opened Sunday in southwest China's Guizhou Province, focusing on the latest innovation of the technology and its applications. The four-day China International Big Data Industry Expo 2019 in the provincial capital of Guiyang will be attended by 448 enterprises from 59 countries and regions, according to the organizing committee. Among them are more than 150 foreign companies, including 39 Fortune 500 firms. The expo will feature nine high-level dialogues, including one on big data and global efforts on poverty alleviation, as well as more than 50 forums. It will also include a global competition on artificial intelligence and autonomous driving. "Today, the Internet, big data and artificial intelligence have integrated deeply with the real economy, while the digital economy has enjoyed rapid growth," Miao Wei, China's minister of industry and information technology, said at the opening ceremony of the expo. "Such integration has become the key driving force for high-quality development of the economy." By the end of 2018, the scale of China's digital economy reached 31 trillion yuan (about 4.5 trillion U.S. dollars), accounting for about one-third of the national GDP, Miao said. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has sent a message for the big data expo, expressing his best wishes for a fruitful event. "From medicine to transportation to farming, big data presents the world with a remarkable tool to advance global progress," Guterres said. He also encouraged participants of the big data industry to reflect on the analysis provided by the High-Level Panel on Digital Cooperation launched by the UN, so that "we can create a digital world that we are proud to pass on to our children and grandchildren." Since 2015, the big data industry expo, the first of its kind in China, has been held four times in Guiyang. Last year, the expo attracted over 40,000 participants from nearly 30 countries. As China's first big data pilot zone, the mountainous province of Guizhou has attracted heavyweight players, including Apple, Qualcomm, Huawei, Tencent, Alibaba and Foxconn, to establish cloud computing and big data centers as well as regional headquarters. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-26 19:34:26|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close LONDON, May 26 (Xinhua) -- Britain's Education Secretary called Sunday for an end to university degrees which leave graduates not earning enough to pay off their student loans. Damian Hinds said new analysis shows that on more than one in ten of all courses, there is a 75-percent chance that graduates won't be earning enough five years after leaving university to start making loan repayments. He said universities and higher education providers offering poor value degrees are letting down thousands of students and costing the taxpayer millions. Hinds has called on universities to drop or revamp courses delivering poor value for money. Graduates must start repaying their loans when they earn 25,000 pounds (31,782 U.S. dollars) or over. The analysis shows that on 40 percent creative arts courses students are not earning enough after five years to start paying off their loans. "When young people apply to go to university it is based on the assumption that a degree will set them up for a bright future, but today's analysis shows that isn't always the case," said Hinds. "The opportunity to study at university should be open to anyone with the talent and potential to benefit from higher education. With students and taxpayers sharing the cost of higher education it's right that we challenge those institutions which could appear to be more focused on 'getting bums on seats' than getting students into high quality courses worth paying for." Hinds asked universities to be brave and ask themselves if they're running courses that really help students gain the skills they need for the workforce of tomorrow. "If they're not they should improve them or end them," he noted. The new analysis has identified around 20 providers where at least three quarters of all students are still not earning enough to start repaying their loans five years after graduation, a situation Hinds said he believed should be a "wake up call" for universities about their responsibility to deliver the best outcome for students. Hinds' comments came as an independent panel conducting a review into post-18 education and funding finalises its recommendations to the British government. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-26 19:39:30|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte votes at a polling station in Rome, Italy, May 26, 2019. The European Parliament (EU) elections started in Italy on Sunday. (Xinhua/Cheng Tingting) BRUSSELS, May 26 (Xinhua) -- Voters in Germany, Lithuania, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Greece and Italy cast their ballots on Sunday in elections to the European Parliament (EP). Citizens of the 28 European Union (EU) member countries, among whom over 400 million voters are eligible, are expected to vote over the course of four days, starting from Thursday, to elect 751 members of EP (MEPs) for a five-year term. GERMANY'S GREEN PARTY GAINING POPULARITY The competition for the 96 seats in the EP is being taken seriously in Germany this year compared to the previous election cycles. A total of 41 German parties are registered for the election. The polling stations are open from 08:00 a.m. local time (0600 GMT) to 06:00 p.m. local time (1600 GMT). The election takes place in a climate of deep uncertainty about the stability of the EU in the wake of Brexit and the spread of Eurosceptic sentiment. Germany, with the largest population in the EU, felt obliged to voice their opinions. A surge in support for Germany's Green Party is expected to lead to its winning of 17 percent of the votes, a big improvement from its around 10-percent share, according to the poll by Infratest Dimap. Many voters are attracted by their pro-EU policies, humane stance on migration and firm position on tackling climate change and environment protection. Lithuanian Traditional Parties to Win Polling stations are open from 7 a.m. local time (0400 GMT) to 8 p.m. (1700 GMT), with approximately 2.49 million eligible voters across the country, according to the Central Electoral Commission. Sixteen parties and election committees -- an alternative form for the citizens to run for elections without establishing a party -- compete for 11 seats in the EP. According to the latest public polls, traditional parties are to win the elections. Lithuanian Farmers and Greens Union, the country's ruling party, gained 21.1 percent of the votes, followed by the Homeland Union-Christian Democrats gaining 20.5 percent of the votes, showed the survey conducted by Baltijos tyrimai in April. Lithuania's Social Democratic Party ranks third with 11.4 percent of the votes, according to the poll. Lithuania's elections to the EP are held alongside the runoff on Sunday. Cypriots to Elect Six Deputies Cypriot voters will elect six deputies to the EP, Chief Election Officer Kypros Kyprianou said Sunday, adding that polling stations are open from 8 a.m. local time (0500 GMT) to 6 p.m. (1500 GMT). Official results will be announced after midnight, when polling stations in all EU countries will close. This election has two highlights -- large numbers of Turkish Cypriot voters, and whether the extreme right will manage to enter the EP for the first time by taking a seat traditionally held by EDEK Socialist Party. This is the first time Turkish Cypriots are expected to take part in an electoral process organized by the Cypriot authorities since they pulled out of the internationally recognized government of Cyprus in 1964 to form their own breakaway administration. Kyprianou said that the electoral authorities expect about 10,000 Turkish Cypriots out of a total of 81,000 eligible voters to cross the buffer zone to cast their ballot papers. A total of 641,000 people in Cyprus are eligible to vote, the electoral authorities said they fear that the abstention may be as high as 60 percent, despite a big campaign organized by the EU and Cypriot authorities to encourage voters, especially young people, to vote. Public opinion surveys suggested that two of the seats will go to the center-right ruling DISY party, two to the opposition left-wing AKEL party, and one to the center DIKO party. The sixth seat will provide the biggest excitement, as three parties -- Socialist EDEK, the Greens in coalition with another small party, and extreme-right ELAM party -- have equal possibilities to win the seat, according to the latest opinion polls. Bulgaria to Elect 17 MEPs Bulgarians went to the polls Sunday to elect 17 MEPs for the fourth time in the country's history. Nearly 6.35 million eligible voters will choose among 312 candidates from 13 political parties and eight coalitions, as well as six independent candidates. Some 11,660 polling stations across the country opened at 7:00 a.m. local time (0500 GMT) and is due to close at 8:00 p.m. (1800 GMT). In addition, 191 polling stations in 64 countries are available for Bulgarians living abroad. The exit polls will be announced immediately after polls close, and the official results are expected on Wednesday. A survey, conducted by Mediana Polling Agency and released Thursday, showed that the two main parties -- ruling GERB party and opposition Bulgarian Socialist Party -- were neck and neck, winning 31.1 percent and 29.8 percent of the votes respectively, followed by the Movement for Rights and Freedoms with 11.4 percent. Greek Opposition Party Leading Election About 9.89 million citizens aged 17 and above, including half a million new voters, are eligible to vote at some 39,000 polling stations, according to the Greek Interior Ministry. A total of 1,155 candidates from 40 parties vie for Greece's 21 seats in the EP. Polling stations are open between 7 a.m. local time (1000 GMT) and 7 p.m. (2200 GMT). According to recent opinion surveys, the conservatives of the main opposition New Democracy (ND) party lead the EP elections. ND's leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis has called for snap polls should the ruling leftist SYRIZA party be defeated tonight. Most pollsters give ND over 30 percent of the votes in the electoral battle for the EP, SYRIZA around 25 percent, while the ultra-Right Chryssi Avghi and the centrist Movement for Change vie for the third place with some 7 percent of the votes. The Greek Communist party is expected to be in the fifth place with 5 percent of the votes. The abstention rate was about 40 percent. Italy to Elect 76 MEPs Italians are going to polling stations Sunday to elect 76 MEPs. Around 50 million Italians are eligible to vote, the equivalent of around 80 percent of the country's population. The nationalist, anti-migrant League is expected to be the top vote-getter, improving on its 6-percent showing from the previous vote in 2014. A big question is the accuracy of political polls, which have often proved inaccurate in Italy. The consensus is that the League will earn around 30 percent of the votes. That outcome would put it ahead of its coalition partner, the anti-establishment Five-Star Movement, which is projected to earn around 20 percent, barely ahead of the center-left Democratic Party, the main opposition party. Polls will close at 11 p.m. local time (2100 GMT). Results from exit polls will be available soon after, with official results expected to be announced early on Monday. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-26 19:59:41|Editor: ZX Video Player Close KUNMING, May 26 (Xinhua) -- Before Yu Songsong started to learn yoga, he knew little about India, where the practice originated. Having spent the last six years learning yoga disciplines, he is enamored by the yoga culture and eager to travel to India. In 2013, Yu from a rural area in Guizhou fell ill ahead of an examination to enter university. He ended up studying marketing at a local college of finance not far from his home. "I don't like marketing at all, and I was suffering from an emotional disorder, almost depression. I received medical treatment but did not get my mind and body right," said the 25-year-old who is pursuing a master's degree in the China-India yoga college in Yunnan Minzu University in Kunming, capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province. "It was yoga that turned me around. I was no longer lost. I've found a direction for my life," Yu said. He started to practice yoga when he was a freshman and became a vegetarian. "The physical and mental practices relieved me of psychological distress," he said. Yu participated in a national fitness yoga competition and studied hard for an admission test to enter the master's program in the yoga college. Through yoga, Yu is deepening a comparative study in the philosophies of China and India, two great civilizations in Asia. "In the class, we discuss and compare the traditional Chinese theory that 'man is an integral part of nature' and the Indian idea that 'the Buddhist and I are one.' Through this, we explore the similarities that underly the culture and civilizations of the two countries," he said. Yu is learning from his Indian teacher Yatendra Dutt Amoli, and his teacher is studying Taiji from Chinese masters and students after class. "I'm trying to teach them Indian culture from the Chinese way of looking at nature and values," Amoli said. "Both Chinese and Indian civilizations were born by nature, and we always try to find ways to connect human beings with mountains, rivers, forests and lakes in the class," Amoli said. For example, Taiji and yoga stress the elemental nature of the being and their performances reflect the balance between the elements of human being with nature, he said. In Amoli's opinion, though the ways to practice Taiji and yoga may differ, the fundamentals are similar. "In this sense, the two practices from the world's ancient civilizations value human life in the same way. This is the best medium for us to communicate with each other as we share the same levels of understanding," he said. As an ancient Chinese martial art, Taiji can establish a good base for yoga meditation and enhance one's awareness level, which will be helpful for yoga, Amoli said. At the beginning of 2018, two sub-centers of the China-India Taiji college of Yunnan Minzu University were established in India and have trained about 1,000 Indians. "Taiji and yoga provide two different platforms to pursue spiritual sublimation and a sound body and mind," said Yu Xinli, director of the international cooperation and exchange office of Yunnan Minzu University. "But many Chinese and Indian youths still know little about each other," he said. "They consider yoga and Taiji merely as two physical exercises rather than two cultures, so we need to do more to deepen mutual learning and friendship," he said. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-26 20:09:49|Editor: Liangyu Video Player Close A staff member of Cangzhou People's Hospital fills prescriptions of Traditional Chinese Medicine for patients in Cangzhou, north China's Hebei Province, May 26, 2019. Traditional medicine originating from Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has been incorporated into the 11th revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD), marking a major step for TCM's internationalization. The revision was approved Saturday at the 72 World Health Assembly being held in Geneva, Switzerland, according to China's National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine. (Xinhua/Fu Xinchun) BEIJING, May 26 (Xinhua) -- Traditional medicine originating from Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has been incorporated into the 11th revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD), marking a major step for TCM's internationalization. The revision was approved Saturday at the 72 World Health Assembly being held in Geneva, Switzerland, according to China's National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine. "The release of ICD-11 can help China establish a disease statistics network with the country's TCM health service information according to international standards," said Zhang Boli, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. It can also promote international exchange and cooperation of TCM and the integrated development of TCM with medical and health care systems of other countries, said Zhang, also president of the Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. China has signed specialized TCM cooperation agreements with over 40 countries, regions and organizations, built a group of TCM centers in countries and regions along routes of the Belt and Road, and opened hundreds of TCM institutes in more than 30 countries and regions. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-26 20:40:13|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close BRUSSELS, May 26 (Xinhua) -- Manfred Weber, leader of the European People's Party (EPP) group, voiced his confidence on Sunday after casting his vote in the European Parliament elections. "I am very confident to vote. (We have) good chances that my party EPP will become once again the strongest political group in the European Parliament, that is our election target," Weber said. "...Now the future is in the hands of the people. The most important today is to vote, to take voting rights seriously to decide the future of our continent," Weber said. He also tweeted online, urging voters to go to the polls, saying "It's done. Please go to the voting polls & make use of your right to vote. Europe counts on you." EPP was voted to be the largest group in the last European Parliament elections in 2014, after which its lead candidate Jean-Claude Juncker went on to become the President of the European Commission. This year, polls before the voting predicted that the EPP would remain the largest group of the European Parliament, potentially making Weber - its lead candidate this year - a top contender to succeed Juncker. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-26 20:50:22|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close GAZA, May 26 (Xinhua) -- The Gaza Strip has suffered financial losses of more than 9.5 million U.S. dollars in the latest round of escalation with Israel in May, a Palestinian official said Sunday. The losses affected agriculture, economy, health, education and infrastructure in the Gaza Strip, said Naji Sarhan, deputy minister of housing and public work, during a press conference. He said a number of agencies and institutions have been approached to coordinate the relief aid, including 2,000 dollars for demolition and 1,000 dollars as damages or rents for families without alternative shelter. The Ministry of Public Works and Housing said more than 700 houses were damaged in Israel's attacks in early May, with 130 completely damaged. Dozens of installations, workshops, shops and media offices were also damaged in the attacks, the ministry added. On May 4, a fresh military escalation broke out between Israel and the military factions in Gaza, causing at least 27 Palestinians killed and more than 154 wounded. The escalation also left four Israelis killed and about 140 wounded. Sarhan called on donor countries and international institutions to intervene to "protect the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip from repeated Israeli attacks and help lift the siege" on the coastal enclave. About 2,000 out of the 11,000 housing units completely destroyed in the Israeli offensive on Gaza in the summer of 2014 are still awaiting reconstruction, he said. A total of 207 housing units have been completely destroyed and 2,300 partially damaged by Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip since November 2018, the deputy minister added. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-26 21:00:28|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close An ambulance is seen in an explosion site in Kathmandu, Nepal on May 26, 2019. Three people were killed while five others were injured in two separate explosions in Nepal's capital Kathmandu on Sunday evening, a spokesperson of the Nepal Police confirmed. (Xinhua/Sulav Shrestha) KATHMANDU, May 26 (Xinhua) -- Three people were killed while five others were injured in two separate explosions in Nepal's capital Kathmandu on Sunday evening, a spokesperson of the Nepal Police confirmed. However, police has not confirmed whether these are bomb explosions or cylinder blasts yet. Gunmen burst into a church in northern Burkina Faso on Sunday and shot dead four people, a security source said - at least the fourth attack on Christians in the past month. Other worshippers were wounded in the assault on the morning service at the church near the town of Titao, the source added. No one has claimed responsibility for the attacks which threaten to upend traditionally peaceful relations between the Muslim majority and Christians who make up a quarter of Burkinabes. The government has blamed unnamed terrorist groups operating in the country and Africa's surrounding Sahel region. Islamist militants based in Mali have regrouped after a French intervention in 2013 and now use the countrys north and centre as launchpads for attacks on neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger. Gunmen killed a Protestant pastor and five congregants in another church in northern Burkina in late April. A Catholic priest and five parishioners were killed in an attack in the central town of Dablo on May 12 and another four Catholics died in an attack two days later in the northern town of Ouahigouya. Search Keywords: Short link: Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-26 21:05:34|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close ADDIS ABABA, May 26 (Xinhua) -- The African Union (AU) has unveiled the Memorial Wall in honor of heroes and heroines from its member states who lost their lives for the peace and stability in Africa on support missions. The inauguration of the Memorial Wall featured on Saturday at the Africa Day celebration which marks the birth of the then Organization for African Unity (OAU), and now AU in 1963 in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa. The Memorial Wall, with the names of fallen heroes and heroines, is at the Peace and Security Building named after Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, former president of Tanzania, who had great contribution to the struggle against colonialism. Speaking at inaugural ceremony, Smail Chergui, the AU Commissioner for Peace and Security, said the Memorial Wall is the immortalized names of Africa's heroes and heroines engraved in lasting remembrance, for future generations to know. He noted that they exhibited great acts of bravery and paid the ultimate price through their feats of ingenuity, bravery and strength. "Today, we gather here to bear witness to some of the bright stars that lit and continues to light Africa, stars whose lights gave and continue to give guidance and hope to millions in our beloved Africa. To us these stars who remain alive in our minds, were men and women of courage, they gave us the greatest sacrifice possible," the Commissioner said. "They will inspire us for years and years to come. We give honour to them for holding high the flags of their member states and that of the African Union for the sake of peace, stability and prosperity in our continent," he added. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-26 21:35:40|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close VIENNA, May 26 (Xinhua) -- Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz believes that the two other main parties in the parliament will join forces to see through a motion of no-confidence against his government on Monday. Speaking to the media as he cast his vote in the European Parliament elections on Sunday, Kurz said both former coalition partners, the right-wing populist Freedom Party and the centre-left Social Democrats would see his own conservative People's Party brought down. The comments came in the wake of a recent corruption scandal, which saw former Freedom Party leader and Vice-Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache caught on secret video offering government contracts to purported representatives of a Russian oligarch, in exchange for political favor. Strache later resigned, though Kurz also called for the dismissal of Interior Minister Herbert Kickl, another Freedom Party member, which subsequently took place. The remaining Freedom Party ministers resigned in retaliation, bringing the coalition that formed in 2017 to an abrupt end, and forcing Kurz to install a caretaker cabinet, replacing the departed ministers with high-ranking officials and experts. A snap election had initially been intended for September. Social Democrats leader Pamela Rendi-Wagner who was non-committal over whether her party would support the no-confidence vote, told the media that her party would decide on Monday. President Alexander Van der Bellen meanwhile said he thinks "there can be no talk of a national crisis" with regard to the issue, arguing that in other countries such votes can be much worse than in Austria. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-26 21:35:42|Editor: ZX Video Player Close URUMQI, May 26 (Xinhua) -- It is a morning routine for Aygul Jumanale to feed cattle in an animal husbandry company in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Having worked for the Chuangjin Animal Husbandry Co., Ltd. for three years, Aygul Jumanale lives a well-off life in her hometown -- Qapqal Xibe Autonomous County in Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture, a traditional farming and animal husbandry county, which has a long history of cattle raising. In 2013, the county government introduced German Simmental cattle to improve the local cattle population. The new cattle population continues to expand, attracting the state-owned enterprise of Chuangjin to settle in. The company has led the local cattle industry to develop and help the local farmers and herdsmen to get rid of poverty. Aygul Jumanale and her husband used to work out of her hometown as migrant workers, which failed to help her family make money. After working as a feeder for Chuangjin Animal Husbandry Co., Ltd., she can earn 3,200 yuan (463 U.S. dollars) per month. "I had never imagined that I could earn so much money near home," Aygul Jumanale said. Aygul Jumanale's husband also works in the farm owned by Chuangjin. The couple's annual income totals 100,000 yuan. Not only the couple, but many families in the county are also now working for the animal husbandry company. More than 20,000 heads of cattle are raised on the farm, which demands a lot of labor. Currently, 475 herdsmen are working on the farm, all of whom are local farmers and herdsmen, and 60 percent are ethnic minorities, said Zhang Ping, deputy general manager of Chuangjin Animal Husbandry Co., Ltd. To help those in need, the farm provides light manual jobs such as security guards for the poor households in the surrounding villages. "With a monthly salary of about 4,000 yuan, it is not a problem to make ends meet," Zhang said. The farm purchases 150,000 tonnes of silage each year, bringing business opportunities to more than 440 households in surrounding villages. By growing silage corns and other fodders, each household can increase the income by 5,000 yuan per year. Currently, the company has built 232 hectares of breeding bases and has production lines with an annual slaughter scale of 100,000 heads of cattle. Its products are sold in major provinces and municipalities including Beijing and Shanghai, with an output value of over 200 million yuan in 2018. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-26 21:50:51|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close Syrian soldiers are seen in the town of Kafr Nabudah in the northwestern countryside of Hama province in central Syria, on May 26, 2019. The Syrian Army on Sunday recaptured the town of Kafr Nabudah following battles with the al-Qaida-linked groups, state news agency SANA reported. (Xinhua) DAMASCUS, May 26 (Xinhua) -- The Syrian Army on Sunday recaptured the town of Kafr Nabudah in the northwestern countryside of Hama province in central Syria following battles with the al-Qaida-linked groups, state news agency SANA reported. The army captured the town after a "precise" military operation against the rebels of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the umbrella group of the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front, according to the report. Large numbers of the rebels, as well as their booby-trapped vehicles and weapons, were destroyed by the army. Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said that the army captured Kafr Nabudah after targeting it with over 675 airstrikes and ground shelling. The Britain-based watchdog group said the battles are taking place on the eastern and northern outskirts of the town. It added that huge losses were reported on both sides during the last hours of fighting. It's worth noting that the Syrian Army captured the town on May 8 and lost it to the al-Qaida-linked groups on May 22 amid ongoing showdown in areas in the countryside of Hama, the nearby countryside areas of Idlib and Latakia provinces. Kafr Nabudah has strategic importance as it links several towns in northern Hama countryside with rebel-held areas in the southern countryside of Idlib. Areas in the countryside of Hama, Idlib and the western countryside of Aleppo are included in the de-escalation zones deal which was reached between Russia and Turkey in September 2018. The deal failed to materialize as the HTS expanded in Idlib and started attacks on Syrian military positions instead of withdrawing from the designated zone which combines Idlib with Hama and Aleppo countryside as well as mountain areas in the eastern countryside of Latakia province. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-26 21:55:54|Editor: ZX Video Player Close BEIJING, May 26 (Xinhua) -- A total of 2,039 pieces of copyright infringing goods have been seized at the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge customs house, according to Gongbei Customs District. Relevant right holders have confirmed in writing that these goods, including garments, shoes and watches, infringe on the trademark right of 21 brands, such as Christian Dior, CHANEL and PRADA. These goods have been detained for further investigation. In the first quarter this year, China seized infringing goods worth 41.05 million yuan (about 6 million U.S. dollars), involving 4,612 batches of imported and exported goods with 16.54 million items, according to the General Administration of Comsoms. The administration approved 2,714 applications for the protection of intellectual property rights in Q1, up 11.3 percent year on year. Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce Qian Keming (L) shakes hands with Zimbabwean Public Service, Labor and Social Welfare Minister Sekesai Nzenza during the rice handover ceremony in Harare, Zimbabwe, May 24, 2019.(Xinhua/Zhang Yuliang) HARARE, May 26 (Xinhua) -- Zimbabwe and China have signed a memorandum of understanding for accelerated implementation of bilateral cooperation projects between the two countries. Visiting Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce Qian Keming signed on behalf of China while Foreign Affairs Minister Sibusiso Moyo signed on behalf of Zimbabwe. In particular, the two countries want to promote the joint implementation of economic and trade measures they agreed to under the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) framework. Some of the cooperation agreements covered under the MOU include the upgrading of China-Zimbabwe Friendship Hospital built by the China in Mahusekwa, Marondera District in 2012 and the handover certificate of 800,000 cash donation to assist victims of Cyclone Idai. A statement released by the Chinese embassy in Harare after the meeting between Qian and Moyo said the two sides agreed to boost cooperation in various areas. "The two sides held friendly and candid talks and reached consensus on jointly implementing the eight major initiatives of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Beijing Summit, strengthening infrastructure cooperation, expanding bilateral trade, promoting and protecting bilateral investment and deepening development assistance," the statement read. Zimbabwean First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa (L, front), also the country's ambassador for Health and Child Care, watches the use of a laparoscopic simulator donated by China's Hunan Provincial Maternal Hospital in Parirenyatwa Hospital, Harare, Zimbabwe, May 7, 2019. (Xinhua/Zhang Yuliang) Moyo said through its cooperation with China, Zimbabwe wants to implement projects that have immediate tangible benefits to the people and do not constrain the country's debt situation. He said Zimbabwe wants to expand its financial cooperation with China so that it stabilizes its financial sector currently reeling from foreign currency and cash shortages. Zimbabwe is keen to strengthen trade and industrial cooperation with China so that it improves its manufacturing capacity and export of value added goods, he said. Moyo said Zimbabwe also wants to have stronger aviation ties with China through establishment of a direct air link between the two countries. He said with Zimbabwe facing power shortages, the two sides also discussed the possibility of China expediting upgrading of Hwange Power Station. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-26 22:00:58|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close MOGADISHU, May 26 (Xinhua) -- Somalia has lauded the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) for their efforts in restoring peace and security in the horn of Africa country. Defense Minister Hassan Ali Mohamed hailed AMISOM for its role in securing Somalia following the decades-long civil war that devastated the country and displaced thousands of civilians. "One of the purposes for the establishment of the African Union is the contribution to peacekeeping mission across African countries and their populations. AMISOM is a good example of the benefit of the African Union," he said according to a statement issued by the AU mission on Sunday. The minister, who was speaking in Mogadishu during celebrations to mark the Africa Day, noted that AMISOM's objectives were in line with the aspirations of the founding fathers of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) - the forerunner of the African Union. "The original mission of the OAU was to liberate Africa from colonialism, defend the sovereignty, uphold human rights and restore the dignity of Africans," said Mohamed. He pointed out that AMISOM was an excellent example of the African Union's contribution to continental peace and hailed its personnel for the sacrifices made to restore peace and stability in Somalia. Mohamed stressed the need for African nations to address the problem of refugees and internally displaced persons to help stem the tide of migration of the continent's youthful population to Europe. The event, held under the theme "Refugees, Returnees, and Internally Displaced Persons: towards durable solutions to forced displacement in Africa" came at a time when Africa is grappling with an increasing refugee burden caused by conflict and loss of livelihoods. Francisco Madeira, special representative of the Chairperson of the AU Commission for Somalia and head of AMISOM, emphasized the need for African unity and empowerment. Madeira hailed troop and police contributing countries for embracing the spirit of pan-Africanism by deploying to Somalia to support peace efforts. "Somalia, which at one time championed African independence, and freedom, is presently facing difficulties. You understood our cause and left your countries to come and support your brothers in Somalia," he said. He stressed the need for continued support to recovery efforts and total liberation of the country from the control of al-Shabab and other armed groups. He observed that AMISOM had supported the rebuilding of Somali state institutions, especially the security sector and also demonstrated the ability to defend the country. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-26 22:36:25|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close PARIS, May 26 (Xinhua) -- As French citizens continued to cast their ballots on Sunday to elect their representatives in the European Parliament, the turnout stood at 19.26 percent by midday local time (1000GMT), the French Interior Ministry said. The ministry data showed less than a quarter of 47 million registered voters had participated by noon, up from the 15.7-percent rate in the 2014 election, and higher than in 2009 when it was 14.81 percent. Traditionally marked by low turnout, the European elections would attract between 46 percent and 52 percent of voters, according to BVA pollster. In 2014, the overall turnout was at 42 percent. A high abstention rate could benefit the political forces that had mobilized their supporters who are the most interested in the European issues such as the the Republic on the Move (LREM) ruling party and its rival far-right National Rally (RN), Erwan Lestrohan, an analyst at BVA opinion institute told Xinhua in a recent interview. However, low turnout likely to penalize other parties, among the traditional right-wing "The Republicans" and the Socialist Party whose efforts to revive their camps after defeat in 2017 presidential elections doomed to fail, he added. In a European vote, which had been framed as a battle between reformists and populists, French voters have to choose 74 lawmakers for the 751-seat parliament based in Strasbourg. French parties could have additional five seats if Britain quit the European bloc. Final polls projected the far-right National Rally's ranking would emerge first, ahead of the Republic on the Move ruling party with a narrow margin. In France mainland, the polling stations will close at 6 p.m with those in big cities closing two hours later. The first official results will be released after the last voting booths close at 8 p.m. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-26 22:51:32|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close DAMASCUS, May 26 (Xinhua) -- As many as 561 people have been killed during the chaos in the rebel-held Idlib province since April 2018, a war monitor reported on Sunday. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the lawlessness and chaos, including cases of assassination, explosions, and shooting sprees have increased since April of last year. The Britain-based watchdog group reports almost on daily basis incidents in Idlib, which is the final major rebel stronghold in Syria. On Sunday, a rebel commander of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the umbrella group of the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front, was killed when a roadside bomb tore through his car in the town of Marat Masrin in the countryside of Idlib, according to the observatory. A day earlier, a bomb went off in the town of Sarmada in the northern countryside of Idlib near Turkey, causing property damage with no reports on casualties. Another explosive device went off after midnight Saturday in the town of Dana in northern Aleppo, causing damage while unknown armed men opened machine guns on a military vehicle that belonged to a rival rebel group in the town. On May 13, an explosive device went off in Sarmada a day after a roadside bomb targeted rebels' vehicle in northern Idlib. On May 5, a suicide bomber detonated his explosive vest near a center of the HTS in the town of Dana in the northern countryside of Idlib, the observatory said. The Syrian army has been on an offensive against the HTS in the southern countryside of Idlib and the nearby northern countryside of Hama province in central Syria since late last month. The HTS is the striking force in Idlib and Hama amid a state of violence resulted from the rivalry with other rebel groups in that region. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-26 23:01:47|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close TEHRAN, May 26 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Foreign Ministry on Sunday denied that Iran had started talks with the United States over the mutual differences. "There are no direct or indirect talks between Iran and the United States," Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said. Mousavi made the remarks in response to the Kuwaiti media's Sunday reports that Tehran and Washington have started their negotiations over disputes. According to Kuwaiti media, Iran and the United States have started their negotiations to diminish the escalating tensions between the two sides, said a report by Iranian official IRNA news agency. The trade exchange between Egypt and Algeria hit $938 million last year, the Egyptian Commercial Service Authority said on Thursday. Egyptian exports to Algeria are estimated at $550 million and include finished and intermediate goods as well as raw materials. Egyptian imports from Algeria were valued at $399 million. The statement noted that deputy chairman of the authority Wael Aref took part in a meeting at the Algerian Trade Ministry and requested that Algeria reconsider the list of products with additional taxes. The Algerian trade minister has promised to examine these lists. Search Keywords: Short link: Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-26 23:31:59|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close NANNING, May 26 (Xinhua) -- The 2019 China Sugar Expo has attracted over 800 companies worldwide, which concluded Sunday in Nanning, capital of southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. More than 30,000 participants around the world, including experts and businessmen in sugar industry, have attended the three-day expo, which covers 30,000 square meters and exhibits more than 100 kinds of products in the industry. During the expo, the city of Chongzuo, known as the country's "sugar capital," has signed 13 projects which are worth 10.8 billion yuan (1.57 billion U.S. dollars). The World Sugar Seminar was also held in the city, where heads and experts from International Sugar Organization, Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association, Indian Sugar Mills Association, and other companies and institutions worldwide have discussed and explored the development of sugar industry. As China's largest sugar manufacturing base, Guanxi Zhuang Autonomous Region provides about 60 percent of the country's sucrose production. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-27 00:17:31|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close DAR ES SALAAM, May 26 (Xinhua) -- A Tanzanian senior government official said on Sunday the nation has sold gold worth 14 million U.S. dollars (about 32 billion Tanzanian shillings) in one month in recently opened gold trading centers. A statement issued by the Tanzania Information Services quoted the Minister for Minerals, Dotto Biseko, as saying the gold was sold in 21 new gold trading centers across the country in one month. Biseko expressed optimism that the selling of gold in the newly established gold trading centers will gain momentum and subsequently help boost the country's economic growth, according to the statement. In April, President John Magufuli ordered regional commissioners in regions producing minerals to open trading centers. "The mineral trading centers help in curbing smuggling of gold out of the country," said the president. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-27 00:22:35|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close MANAMA, May 26 (Xinhua) -- Bahraini Prime Minister Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa on Sunday called on Arabs and Muslims to "put their weight behind sisterly Saudi Arabia," the official Bahrain News Agency (BNA) reported. Saudi Arabia is the "pillar of Bahrain's stability, the basis of its security and peace and the main supporter to Arab and Islamic nations in the face of challenges," Al-Khalifa said during a meeting with royal family members and senior state officials. The Bahraini prime minister warned of some social media accounts that "disseminate false and fabricated news and try to spark sedition." He expressed confidence that the Bahraini people's awareness will "foil the malicious objectives of such accounts." Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-27 00:42:55|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close ADDIS ABABA, May 26 (Xinhua) -- The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), an East African bloc, on Sunday disclosed the endorsement of a regional protocol to effectively prevent and manage security perils in the region. "The Protocol to the agreement establishing IGAD Preventive Diplomacy and Mediation will serve as a main guide for member states to effectively, efficiently and transparently design interventions, deploy envoys or mediators and largely engage in conflict prevention, management and resolution in the region," IGAD said in a statement on Sunday. The protocol on the establishment of IGAD's Preventive Diplomacy and Mediation is mainly expected to effectively respond to regional security challenges through early warning mechanism, according to IGAD. The eight-member regional body indicated that the protocol was developed through a consultancy intervention, which was provided for due consideration by legal and technical experts who were drawn from IGAD member countries. According to IGAD, series of consultations with legal and technical experts from key institutions of the member states preceded the endorsement of the protocol on May 23 to 24 so as to undertake a final review of the protocol. Representatives from IGAD member countries, under the Committee of Ambassadors platform, also approved the IGAD Mediation Support Unit to establish mechanisms that aimed to strengthen and enhance mediation capacity of East African countries. The eight-member group comprises of Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda. Manfred Weber, the top candidate of the European People's Party (EPP) for the European elections, votes at a polling station in Wildenberg, Germany, on May 26, 2019. Voters in Germany cast their ballots on Sunday in elections to the European Parliament (EP). (Xinhua/Lu Yang) BRUSSELS, May 26 (Xinhua) -- Voters in Germany, Lithuania, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Greece and Italy cast their ballots on Sunday in elections to the European Parliament (EP). Citizens of the 28 European Union (EU) member countries, among whom over 400 million voters are eligible, are expected to vote over the course of four days, starting from Thursday, to elect 751 members of EP (MEPs) for a five-year term. GERMANY'S GREEN PARTY GAINING POPULARITY The competition for the 96 seats in the EP is being taken seriously in Germany this year compared to the previous election cycles. A total of 41 German parties are registered for the election. The polling stations are open from 08:00 a.m. local time (0600 GMT) to 06:00 p.m. local time (1600 GMT). The election takes place in a climate of deep uncertainty about the stability of the EU in the wake of Brexit and the spread of Eurosceptic sentiment. Germany, with the largest population in the EU, felt obliged to voice their opinions. A surge in support for Germany's Green Party is expected to lead to its winning of 17 percent of the votes, a big improvement from its around 10-percent share, according to the poll by Infratest Dimap. Many voters are attracted by their pro-EU policies, humane stance on migration and firm position on tackling climate change and environment protection. BULGARIA TO ELECT 17 MEPS Bulgarians went to the polls Sunday to elect 17 MEPs for the fourth time in the country's history. Nearly 6.35 million eligible voters will choose among 312 candidates from 13 political parties and eight coalitions, as well as six independent candidates. Some 11,660 polling stations across the country opened at 7:00 a.m. local time (0500 GMT) and is due to close at 8:00 p.m. (1800 GMT). In addition, 191 polling stations in 64 countries are available for Bulgarians living abroad. The exit polls will be announced immediately after polls close, and the official results are expected on Wednesday. A survey, conducted by Mediana Polling Agency and released Thursday, showed that the two main parties -- ruling GERB party and opposition Bulgarian Socialist Party -- were neck and neck, winning 31.1 percent and 29.8 percent of the votes respectively, followed by the Movement for Rights and Freedoms with 11.4 percent. A girl casts her mother's ballot at a polling station in Vilnius, Lithuania, May 26, 2019. The presidential runoff kicked off in Lithuania on Sunday with former Finance Minister Ingrida Simonyte and economist Gitanas Nauseda contending for the country's top job. European Parliament (EU) elections in Lithuania were held alongside the runoff. (Xinhua/Alfredas Pliadis) LITHUANIAN TRADITIONAL PARTIES TO WIN Polling stations are open from 7 a.m. local time (0400 GMT) to 8 p.m. (1700 GMT), with approximately 2.49 million eligible voters across the country, according to the Central Electoral Commission. Sixteen parties and election committees -- an alternative form for the citizens to run for elections without establishing a party -- compete for 11 seats in the EP. According to the latest public polls, traditional parties are to win the elections. Lithuanian Farmers and Greens Union, the country's ruling party, gained 21.1 percent of the votes, followed by the Homeland Union-Christian Democrats gaining 20.5 percent of the votes, showed the survey conducted by Baltijos tyrimai in April. Lithuania's Social Democratic Party ranks third with 11.4 percent of the votes, according to the poll. Lithuania's elections to the EP are held alongside the runoff on Sunday. CYPRUS TO ELECT SIX DEPUTIES Cypriot voters will elect six deputies to the EP, Chief Election Officer Kypros Kyprianou said Sunday, adding that polling stations are open from 8 a.m. local time (0500 GMT) to 6 p.m. (1500 GMT). Official results will be announced after midnight, when polling stations in all EU countries will close. This election has two highlights -- large numbers of Turkish Cypriot voters, and whether the extreme right will manage to enter the EP for the first time by taking a seat traditionally held by EDEK Socialist Party. This is the first time Turkish Cypriots are expected to take part in an electoral process organized by the Cyprus authorities since they pulled out of the internationally recognized government of Cyprus in 1964 to form their own breakaway administration. Kyprianou said that the electoral authorities expect about 10,000 Turkish Cypriots out of a total of 81,000 eligible voters to cross the buffer zone to cast their ballot papers. A total of 641,000 people in Cyprus are eligible to vote, the electoral authorities said they fear that the abstention may be as high as 60 percent, despite a big campaign organized by the EU and Cyprus authorities to encourage voters, especially young people, to vote. Public opinion surveys suggested that two of the seats will go to the center-right ruling DISY party, two to the opposition left-wing AKEL party, and one to the center DIKO party. The sixth seat will provide the biggest excitement, as three parties -- Socialist EDEK, the Greens in coalition with another small party, and extreme-right ELAM party -- have equal possibilities to win the seat, according to the latest opinion polls. Greek main opposition New Democracy party leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis (L) is seen at a polling station in Athens, Greece on May 26, 2019. Voters in Greece cast their ballots on Sunday in elections to the European Parliament (EP). (Xinhua/Michalis Karagiannis) GREEK OPPOSITION PARTY LEADING ELECTION About 9.89 million citizens aged 17 and above, including half a million new voters, are eligible to vote at some 39,000 polling stations, according to the Greek Interior Ministry. A total of 1,155 candidates from 40 parties vie for Greece's 21 seats in the EP. Polling stations are open between 7 a.m. local time (1000 GMT) and 7 p.m. (2200 GMT). According to recent opinion surveys, the conservatives of the main opposition New Democracy (ND) party lead the EP elections. ND's leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis has called for snap polls should the ruling leftist SYRIZA party be defeated tonight. Most pollsters give ND over 30 percent of the votes in the electoral battle for the EP, SYRIZA around 25 percent, while the ultra-Right Chryssi Avghi and the centrist Movement for Change vie for the third place with some 7 percent of the votes. The Greek Communist party is expected to be in the fifth place with 5 percent of the votes. The abstention rate was about 40 percent. A woman votes at a polling station in Rome, Italy, May 26, 2019. The European Parliament (EU) elections started in Italy on Sunday. (Xinhua/Cheng Tingting) ITALY TO ELECT 76 MEPS Italians are going to polling stations Sunday to elect 76 MEPs. Around 50 million Italians are eligible to vote, the equivalent of around 80 percent of the country's population. The nationalist, anti-migrant League is expected to be the top vote-getter, improving on its 6-percent showing from the previous vote in 2014. A big question is the accuracy of political polls, which have often proved inaccurate in Italy. The consensus is that the League will earn around 30 percent of the votes. That outcome would put it ahead of its coalition partner, the anti-establishment Five-Star Movement, which is projected to earn around 20 percent, barely ahead of the center-left Democratic Party, the main opposition party. Polls will close at 11 p.m. local time (2100 GMT). Results from exit polls will be available soon after, with official results expected to be announced early on Monday. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-27 01:33:12|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close ISLAMABAD, May 26 (Xinhua) -- Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Sunday said that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has given an economic and social development dimension to Pak-China relations. Addressing the Friends of Silk Road Forum here, Qureshi said that the second phase of CPEC with a focus on industrial and socio-economic cooperation has started and will bring prosperity and progress to local communities, and pave the way for enhancing Pakistan's development. "Pakistan and China believe in promoting collective dialogue, deepening practical cooperation and working together towards a stronger and prosperous world with a shared future in the new era. Both our countries jointly endorse the vision of a community with a shared future for mankind," Qureshi added. Talking about Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan's recent visit to China to attend the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, Qureshi said that the visit has paved the way for stronger collaboration between the two countries. He added that his country is committed to working together with China to leverage their respective strengths and to enrich Pakistan-China strategic cooperative partnership, for the benefit of the Chinese and Pakistani peoples and the rest of the world. The foreign minister also said that the Pakistani government is focusing on poverty alleviation, industrial development, education, technological and scientific innovation and agricultural development. Expressing his views about Pak-China friendship, Qureshi said that the two countries are the most reliable and trusted partners and friends. "Friendship between our two countries is firmly rooted in shared values, experiences, objectives and aspirations of peace, harmony and shared prosperity." Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan also attended the forum. Wang arrived in Islamabad on Sunday for his three-day visit from May 26 to 28. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-27 02:13:33|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close by Hassan Rouhvand TEHRAN, May 26 (Xinhua) -- The recent military build-up by the U.S. regional forces has increased danger of conflicts between Tehran and Washington and has worried regional and international players. The United States has deployed warships and bombers to the Iranian southern waters, and has reduced the number of its diplomats and employees in Iraq, citing intelligence about potential threats to U.S. nationals by Iran or its allies. Besides, the U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Friday that he had decided to send 1,500 more troops to the restive Middle East region. Basically, the tension between Tehran and Washington began to develop when Trump decided to pull the U.S. out of the Iranian nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), in May 2018. Washington cited the Iranian nuclear deal as "flawed," claiming that it did not address a number of major issues pertaining to the nuclear activities of Iran as well as its arms development and regional role. Washington seeks to seal a new nuclear deal with Iran, to further curb Iran's nuclear program, stop Iran ballistic missile development and halt Iran's push for influence in the region. Now, Iran is under unprecedented sanctions on its economy, which were reimposed by the U.S. administration following Trump's quit from the nuclear pact. The sanctions had been lifted under the 2015 nuclear accord. Iran has warned that it might not abide by some of the restrictions on its nuclear activities if its economic interests are not honored by the signatories of the deal. On May 8, Iran's President Hassan Rouhani announced Tehran's withdrawal from complying with the restrictions posed by the JCPOA on the country's enriched uranium reserves and heavy water supplies. Rouhani also set a 60-day deadline for the remaining parties to the deal to fulfill their obligations, particularly in preserving Iran's interests in the areas of banking and oil. He threatened that Iran might increase the level of uranium enrichment and start modernizing its heavy water reactor. Tehran's decision to suspend some of its nuclear deal commitments was meant to give time to Europeans to comply with their obligations and to bring the international agreement back on its right track, said Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesman of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI). Accordingly, the U.S. president vowed to maintain policy of maximum pressure against Iran. "Much now depends upon the dynamics inside the Trump administration and also on Tehran's assessment of what is going on there," Jonathan Marcus, a diplomatic correspondent, said. Despite the escalating tensions and military reinforcements in the region, the leaders on both sides have stressed that they are not interested in war. Saadallah Zarei, an Iranian expert on international affairs, said "there is no indication that the United States is seeking war with the Islamic republic." "As a matter of fact, there are many reasons why the United States refrains from military clashes with Iran," said Zarei. The Iranian expert cited deterrent power of the Iranian armed forces as an elemental factor for disinclination of Washington to engage in any military conflict with Iran. Trump has indicated that he has more enthusiasm in dialogue than in war over the foreign frictions. Besides, Mike Pompeo, the U.S. Secretary of State, in his recent trip to Russia, said that his country "fundamentally" did not seek a conflict with Iran. However, he added that the United States would "certainly respond in an appropriate fashion" if U.S. interests were attacked. Alaeddin Boroujerdi, former head of National Security Commission of Iran' Parliament, said Saturday that the United States would not engage in military clashes with Iran. The U.S. officials are well aware that any incident in this sensitive region will cause a big problem for the world's economy and will hit the U.S. economy as well, Boroujerdi said. "So, I do not think that the United States will make such a mistake," he added. In the meantime, Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said last week that Trump "does not want war, but the people around him are pushing him towards war under the pretext of making America stronger against Iran." By far, the most important remarks inside Iran came from the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei earlier this month, when he ruled out the possibility of a war between Tehran and Washington despite the rising tensions that have fueled worries about an armed conflict between the two rivals. "We don't want a war, nor do they," said Khamenei. Also, the Iranian officials have not excluded the possibility of talks with the United States, but they have stressed that negotiations should not be carried out under the U.S. "coercive policies and sanction pressures." Over the past weeks, delegations from Oman, Iraq and Germany visited Iran, seeking to pave the ground for the negotiations between Tehran and Washington before it is late. "One thing should be clear. There is no drift towards war," Marcus said, commenting on Iran-U.S. friction. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-27 02:28:40|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close DAMASCUS, May 26 (Xinhua) -- At least 28 rebels were killed on Sunday by the Syrian army on the outskirts of the town of Kafr Nabudah in the northwestern countryside of Hama province in central Syria, a war monitor reported. The rebels were killed as the Syrian army captured Kafr Nabudah for the second time within a week on Sunday, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The Syrian army captured that key town after battles with the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the umbrella group of the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front. Meanwhile, the Observatory said that the army captured Kafr Nabudah after targeting it with over 675 airstrikes and ground shelling. The Britain-based watchdog group said the battles are taking place on the eastern and northern outskirts of the town, adding that huge losses were reported on both sides during the last hours of fighting. It is worth noting that the Syrian army captured the town on May 8 and lost it again to the al-Qaida-linked groups on May 22 amid ongoing showdown in areas in the countryside of Hama, the nearby countryside areas of Idlib and Latakia provinces. Kafr Nabudah has strategic importance as it links several towns in northern Hama countryside with rebel-held areas in the southern countryside of Idlib. Areas in the countryside of Hama, Idlib and the western countryside of Aleppo are included in the de-escalation zones deal which was reached between Russia and Turkey in September 2018. The deal failed to materialize as the HTS expanded in Idlib and started attacks on Syrian military positions instead of withdrawing from the designated zone which combines Idlib with Hama and Aleppo countryside as well as mountain areas in the eastern countryside of Latakia province. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-27 03:24:12|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close BEIRUT, May 26 (Xinhua) -- The Lebanese State Minister for Refugee Affairs Saleh Gharib said Sunday that refugees in Lebanon are costing around 330 million U.S. dollars yearly in electricity and 50 million dollars in water, local media reported. "The flow of a great number of Syrian refugees to Lebanon have had severe security, economic and social impact on Lebanon," Gharib was quoted as saying by Elnashra, an online independent newspaper. Gharib emphasized the need to secure the return of refugees to their homeland by adopting a serious strategy for this purpose. "The Ministry for Refugee Affairs should be the only official entity responsible for dealing with these issues and we will submit a strategy to the government in this regard very soon," he said. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-27 03:54:27|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close WARSAW, May 26 (Xinhua) -- Poland ruling Law and Justice party (PiS) won 42.2 percent votes in the European Parliament elections on Sunday, main opposition group European Coalition (KE) won 39.1 percent votes, exit polls showed. 42.2 percent votes secured PiS of 24 seats, meanwhile KE obtained 22 seats in the European Parliament. Apart from that, the newly-formed Spring party (Wiosna) won 6.6 percent, which means 3 seats, and far-right group Confederation (Konfederacja) won 6.1 percent, also equals 3 seats. Other parties didn't reach the 5 percent threshold. According to the Polish National Electoral Commission, 52 members of the European Parliament will be elected, but 51 seats will be filled. The candidate who will receive the 52nd seat will sit in the European Parliament after the UK leaves the EU. Egypt's non-petroleum exports to Indonesia increased by 19 percent in 2018, reaching $138 million, the Egyptian trade office in Jakarta said in a report on Sunday. Egyptian imports from Indonesia declined by 17.6 percent to $1.33 billion, the report said. The trade office in Jakarta has played a key role in promoting Egyptian products on the Indonesian market, which has helped increase Egypt's non-petroleum exports to the Asian country, according to the report. Search Keywords: Short link: Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-27 05:10:01|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close By Wang Zichen, Ren Liying BRUSSELS, May 26 (Xinhua) -- The Greens are expected to be one of the biggest winners in this year's European Parliament elections, grabbing around 20 more seats in the European Union's legislature. Latest projections put the Greens at around 70 seats in the 751-member legislature, trailing only the traditional conservatives, socialists and centrists. It would also potentially land the Greens in a king-making position, if the larger parties want to establish a governing majority. "As Greens, we're very happy about the results, about the trust that we could experience," Ska Keller, a co-Group leader said, vowing to "put their trust into concrete action, into concrete climate protection." "And it's fantastic to see the trust has been given to us, this is not a thing of just one country, we can really see it all over the European Union from the results we have already know. From the results we have already known that the green way has really spread all over Europe and it's very fantastic results," Keller said. MAJOR GAINS ACROSS EUROPE Greens are set to win big in Europe, notably Germany, France and Ireland, amid growing anxiety over climate change. The initial prognoses, made by the local public channel ARD, showed a surge in support for Germany's Green Party, who won around 22 percent of the votes, doubled its 10.7 percent share in 2014. Seen as the biggest winner, the Greens also complied with German's domestic call for "fresh change", said Gu Xuewu, professor of the Institute for Political Science and Sociology of the Bonn University. "They have fresh images and new political ideas, making it different from the long-governing parties. Thus it attracted a lot of followers, who hoped the party would bring something new," said Gu, who has followed German politics for a long time. In Ireland, the Green Party surged to clinch at least one and possibly three of Ireland's 13 seats, an exit poll showed. That prompted Leo Varadkar, the Irish Taoiseach -- akin to Prime Minister -- to congratulations, saying "I want to congratulate the Greens on a very good election. It's a very clear message from the public that they want us to do more on climate action -- and we've got that message. That's going to require lots of changes on individual level, community level and government level." In France, the Europe Ecologie-Les Verts, is now projected to win 12.6 percent of the vote, making it the third-largest political force in this election. STRONG POSITION The Greens will leverage their victory to action in the EU, said Philippe Lamberts, a co-Group leader. He described his group as "indispensable" in the politics that will quickly follow the election results. "With the uptick in nationalism, the Greens will be indispensable. You can count on us to say we can bring about a radical change for a sustainable and democratic Europe," he said. The Greens will not just sign a piece of paper and let others take its place, he added. Other political groups have also signaled they will do more on the environment, with Udo Bullmann, leader of the European Parliament's second-largest group, the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D), vowing action. The S&D will support an increase in the EU's financial resources to combat climate change and raise the bloc's climate targets, he said. Bullmann said that Frans Timmermans, the S&D's lead candidate for the President of the European Commission, the bloc's executive arm, would make environment sustainability a core part of his policy platform if Timmermans wins that job. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-27 05:40:31|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close ADEN, Yemen, May 26 (Xinhua) -- Yemeni local tribal mediation on Sunday succeeded in releasing a leader of the pro-secession Southern Movement after more than 11 years of detention, in return for the release of 33 prisoners of the Houthi group. Yasser AlHadi, head of the prisoners' file in the pro-secession Southern Movement, told Xinhua that "Brigadier Ahmed Omar Marqashi was released by a mediation after spending about a decade in the central prison of Sanaa on malicious charges." "The mediation composed of senior tribal figures succeeded in freeing Marqashi in exchange for the release of 33 Houthi prisoners from the southern forces custody in Aden," said AlHadi. High-ranking tribal leaders from the country's southern provinces and senior military officials attended the prisoner swap, he said, but didn't mention details about place of the operation. Brigadier Marqashi, 56, is considered as one of the leaders who established the Southern Movement, demanding the secession of southern Yemen from its north. Marqashi was arrested in the southern port city of Aden in February 2008 and transferred to central prison of the country's capital Sanaa during the rule of former Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh. It's not the first prisoners' swap to take place between the warring factions in Yemen according to efforts exerted by local tribal and social figures, but similar ones occurred during the last years. Yemen has been mired into a civil war since late 2014, when Shiite Houthi rebels overran much of the country and seized all northern provinces, including the capital Sanaa. The civil war has killed more than 10,000 people, mostly civilians, displaced 3 million others, and pushed Yemen to the brink of famine. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-27 05:40:33|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close ATHENS, May 26 (Xinhua) -- Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras announced his intention to call early national elections, acknowledging his Radical Left SYRIZA party's defeat to conservatives in the European parliament elections and local elections on Sunday evening. In statements broadcast live on national broadcaster ERT after the release of the first official results, the Greek leader said that he will visit the Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos to start the procedures after the second round of local government elections next Sunday. "We requested Greek people's vote of confidence to our plan for the future. Today's results allow the opposition to question the plan to exit the crisis. People have the final verdict," Tsipras said. According to the provisions in the Greek constitution regarding timetables after the dissolution of the parliament, in such case Greece is heading to snap elections most likely in June. The government's term would expire in October this year. The main opposition New Democracy party wins the European parliament elections with 32.7 percent of votes against 24 percent for the ruling Radical Left SYRIZA party, according to estimates based on the first official results. During the pre-election campaign Tsipras turned the European elections and local elections into a kind of referendum on his government's policies and lost the wager, media commentators noted. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-27 05:45:40|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close NICOSIA, May 26 (Xinhua) -- Ruling center right DISY party and main opposition left wing AKEL party came out on top, with 29.02 percent and 27.49 percent votes respectively, in Sunday's vote for the election of the six Cypriot deputies to the European Parliament, according to official finals results announced on Sunday. Each party elected two deputies to the European Parliament, but DISY lost almost nine percentage points of its electoral power compared to the 2014 European elections. DISY's deputies are aligned with the European People's Party and the AKEL deputies with the European United Left group of European Parliament. Center DIKO party and Socialist EDEK party elected one deputy each, who will both join the European Socialist formation in the European Parliament. The office of the Chief Elections Officer announced after midnight in line with other European countries, the official final results, though counting had finished hours earlier. Democratic Movement (DIPA), a new political formation under a former speaker of Parliament and former DIKO chairman garnered 4 percent of the vote and the Greens-Citizens Alliance, also a new grouping had a 3 percent share of the vote. Turkish Cypriot "Yiasemi" (Jasmine) party under publisher and journalist Sener Levent, a declared enemy of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, which also appeared for the first time, received 2 percent of the vote. DISY party leader Averof Neophytou, addressing party supporters after meeting with President Anastasiades, said the vote resulted in the validation of the ruling party's policies by the electorate and ensured that the party remained the main political force of Cyprus. Neophytou also expressed concern over the rise of the extreme right ELAM party, which is believed to have increased its electoral power by six percentage points by drawing mainly from DISY voters. "The rise of the nationalist party, even if it has not elected an MEP, can only be a worry. You have to listen to society and to address the cause of the 'birth' of this phenomenon. As the Democratic Rally we will analyse seriously the election results and where required we will proceed with any changes needed," Neophytou said. AKEL leader Andros Kyprianou also expressed concern over the rise of the extreme right, saying that everyone needed to take responsibility for the phenomenon of the rise of nationalism. AKEL ran a Turkish Cypriot candidate on its ballot for the first time ever, a science professor of the University of Cyprus, Niyazi Kizilyurek, who was elected as a deputy to the European Parliament. Kyprianou said the party would continue to work with the Turkish Cypriots. Eight Turkish Cypriots candidates belonging to two Turkish Cypriot political formations also contested for the first time, albeit unsuccessfully, one of the six seats allocated to Cyprus. A total of 72 candidates competed for the six MEP seats, of whom 69 were backed by political parties or coalitions, and three were independents. Chief Electoral Officer Kypros Kyprianou said turnout overall was 42.8 percent compared with 43.97 percent in the European elections in 2014. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-27 06:21:13|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close BRUSSELS, May 26 (Xinhua) -- In the Belgian elections, the Flemish right-wing party N-VA is set to retain a stronghold in the House of Representatives, while the Socialist Party (PS) has enjoyed a small majority in Wallonia, showed the preliminary results published Sunday by the Federal Service Public Interior. The new party of the Flemish Alliance (N-VA) has won 25 seats in the Federal House of Representatives, 8 seats fewer than in the 2014 parliamentary elections, but continues to enjoy the single biggest share by any political party. "We lost the election, this is clear, but we remain the biggest party in Flanders", acknowledged Bart de Wever, President of the N-VA, late on Sunday. The real gains are with Far-right Flemish separatist party VlaamsBelang (VB), who increased their share of the national vote from 5.9 percent in 2014 to 18.2 percent, thus becoming the second largest party in Flanders. The Reform Movement (MR) party of outgoing Prime Minister Charles Michel remains the second largest political party in Wallonia. "We are well aware of how important it is to show the sense of responsibility to ensure that we are mobilized to manage employment and deal with climate challenge, " said Charles Michel on Sunday. King Philippe of Belgium will start his consultations Monday morning to examine the conditions under which a federal government can be formed. Due to the economic, social and administrative configuration of Belgium's three regions, the linguistically divided country could take some time to form a federal coalition. For this hybrid National and European election of May 26, around 8 million Belgian voters went to the polls to elect 150 members of the federal Parliament, 313 regional councillors and 21 MEPs. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-27 06:31:17|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close TALLINN, May 26 (Xinhua) -- Five Estonian parties shared the country's six seats for the 751-member European parliament, the National Electoral Committee announced on Sunday night. The Estonian Reform Party won two seats. The Social Democratic Party (SDE), the Center Party, the Conservative People's Party and Isamaa each took one seat. Marina Kaljurand from the SDE was the most popular candidate with 65,559 votes, followed by Andrus Ansip (Reform) 41,006 votes, Urmas Paet (Reform) 30,010 votes, Yana Toom (Center) 27,003 votes, Jaak Madison from the Conservative People's Party (EKRE) 22,823 votes, and Riho Terras (Isamaa) 21,474 votes. The seventh place went to Sven Mikser, who is also a Social Democrat, with 2,886 votes, according to the election results. Estonia is expected to be given one more Member of European Parliament mandate after Britain's withdrawal from the European Union scheduled for Oct. 31, which will reduce the number of seats in the European Parliament from the current 751 to 705. Compared with the results of last European Parliament election in 2014, the change of seats in the Estonian electoral district is the seat went to EKRE from the Independent. The preliminary data showed the voter turnout in Estonia was 37.3 percent, against the 36.5 percent in the 2014 European Parliament elections. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-27 06:31:20|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close ZAGREB, May 26 (Xinhua) -- The ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) and the opposition Social Democratic Party of Croatia (SDP) have won four seats each in European Parliament elections in Croatia, preliminary results revealed on Sunday night. According to unofficial results after the State Electoral Commission (DIP) had counted ballots of over 95 percent, the HDZ won 23 percent of the vote, while SDP got 18.4 percent. The results came as somewhat a surprise, because all the polls before the elections indicated a convincing victory of HDZ. Independent candidate Mislav Kolakusic, a former judge, also surprisingly took one seat by winning 7.7 percent of votes. He had also announced the candidacy for the presidential elections in Croatia, to be held by the end of the year. The right-wing party Croatian Soverenists, populists Zivi Zid and left-liberal Amsterdam Coalition won one seat each. The voter turnout this year was 29.4 percent. The HDZ belongs to the European People's Party, and the SDP to the socialists, while representatives of other parties and independent candidates will only determine which political option will be in the European Parliament. Sunday's elections in Croatia passed without major incidents, in a democratic atmosphere, concluded Gong, a non-partisan association that controls the elections in Croatia. Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-27 06:56:29|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close BUDAPEST, May 26 (Xinhua) -- In his speech following a landslide victory in the European Parliament elections, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said Sunday he would cooperate with everybody in Europe who wanted to stop migration. "We have a record victory with a record turnout. We know that with the migration a new era had begun. That is why we can say it was a historic victory," Orban told at a press conference. He thanked the people voting for him in "choosing that Hungary remain to the Hungarians". Orban said his victory meant a mandate for three things -- to stop migration everywhere in Europe, to protect the "Europe of nations" and to defend the Christian culture. "The strengthening of the liberals and the greens in Europe mean for Hungary that Orban will have to face fierce adversaries in the European Union, as most critics regarding the Hungarian government from the EU came from these two factions, who became stronger after tonight," Zoltan Somogyi, the founder of think tank Political Capital told Xinhua after the elections. Somogyi recalled that the report adopted against the Hungarian government by the European Parliament last September had been elaborated by green MEP Judith Sargentini. "Within Hungary, the fact that DK will send 4 deputies to the second biggest (S&D) faction of the EP will give ammunition to DK in the future," the expert added. Orban's ruling Fidesz-KDNP party alliance won a landslide victory securing 52.1 percent of the votes and 13 seats of the European Parliament, according to official figures here on Sunday, in line with expectations. The second winner was the Democratic Coalition (DK), a pro-European party which called for the "United States of Europe" in its campaign. They gained a surprise 16.3 percent (versus around 10 in the polls) that earned them 4 seats in the EP. The third place went to Momentum, a young liberal formation, also pro-European, they can send two deputies with their score of 9.9 percent. The alliance of leftist Socialist (MSZP) and green liberal Parbeszed (Dialogue) secured only one seat with 6.7 percent, just like the nationalist Jobbik, with 6.4 percent. Bataie in avion din cauza lipsei mastii de protectie. Femeie arestata dupa ce a agresat un batran Scandalul a izbucnit atunci cand femeia s-a ridicat de la locul ei, s-a dus la un alt pasager si a inceput sa ii adreseze acestuia cuvinte jignitoare.La un moment dat, ea chiar l-a lovit pe [citeste mai departe] On 26 May 1954, the Khufu Boat, one of the oldest boats on earth, was found buried near the Giza pyramids Related Renowned Egyptologist Zahi Hawass writes untold stories about discovering the Solar Boat of Khufu "On this day [26 May] in 1954, one of the oldest and largest boats on earth was found buried near Egypts biggest pyramid. Todays Doodle celebrates the discovery of the Khufu Ship, which has survived more than 4,600 years, although its true purpose remains a mystery," writes Google in the description of the doodle celebrating Egypt's famed pharaonic boat. The doodle has a large outreach and is visible across Asia, North Africa, all Russia, Australia, New Zealand and chosen parts of Europe. Built for Khufu (Cheops), the second pharaoh of the Fourth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom of Egypt, the boat was used to transport the pharaohs body to his final resting place. Some, however, believe that the boat was a symbolic means of transportation of the pharaoh's soul to heaven. Khufu's first solar boat was discovered by the late architect and archaeologist Kamal El-Malakh, together with Zaki Nour, during routine cleaning on the south side of the Great Pyramid. The first boat was removed piece by piece under the supervision of master restorer Ahmed Youssef, who spent more than 20 years restoring and reassembling the boat. For more arts and culture news and updates, follow Ahram Online Arts and Culture on Twitter at @AhramOnlineArts and on Facebook at Ahram Online: Arts & Culture Search Keywords: Short link: #EuropeanElections2019 Mures: More than 170 ballot papers for referendum canceled, as control stamp is misplaced More than 170 ballots were canceled in a polling station in Band rural town, because of the control stamp being misplaced inside the ballot paper, instead of being placed on its last page, as instructions say. "In Band they signaled that the ballot papers with the 2nd question for the referendum have the polling station's control stamp placed inside. The stamp must be placed on the last page of the ballot paper. Thus, the respective ballot papers will be canceled by the members of the polling station's electoral bureau committee, with new ballots to be transferred here from a polling Citeste articolul mai departe pe stiripesurse.ro Sursa articol: stiripesurse.ro Stiri pe aceeasi tema - Directorul Centrului National de Supraveghere si Control al Bolilor Transmisibile (CNSCBT), Adriana Pistol, a declarat ca exista o tendinta de descrestere a numarului de cazuri de COVID-19 in tara noastra, dar aceasta situatie nu linisteste autoritatile. Coordonatorul campaniei de vaccinare, Valeriu - Campanie reusita a Organizatiei Femeilor Liberal Democrate din ALDE: pe intreaga durata a lunii octombrie, luna dedicata la nivel mondial constientizarii si preventiei cancerului de san, au avut loc actiuni stradale de informare, seminarii online interactive cu medici si sesiuni de dialog cu femei de - Procurorii DNA l-au retinut, miercuri, pe Viorel Dinu, consilier din cadrul Corpului de Control din Ministerul Dezvoltarii, suspectat de luare de mita. Acesta este acuzat ca ar fi primit un autoturism de lux, in valoare de peste 80.000 de euro, pentru a nu constata nereguli in cadrul unor proiecte derulate - Actiuni de control ale ANAF la marii contribuabili: Cati operatori economici aveau conectate aparatele de marcat fiscale cu jurnal electronic Actiuni de control ale ANAF la marii contribuabili: Cati operatori economici aveau conectate aparatele de marcat fiscale cu jurnal electronic 100 de actiuni de - Proiectul mai prevedea si ca un membru neexecutiv al unei astfel de comisii poate primi o indemnizatie echivalenta cu un salariu mediu brut, din momentul in care este realizat bugetul de stat. Potrivit adevarul.ro, asta ar insemna, in prezent, suma de 5300 de lei. Pe de alta parte, un membru executiv - Relatia pe care o are Madonna cu fiica sa cea mare, Leon Lourdes, este adesea laudata in publicatiile de peste Ocean. Cele doua participa impreuna la evenimente, se sprijina reciproc si par sa fie bune prietene. Cu toate acestea, legatura lor nu a fost dintotdeauna lipsita de tensiuni, dezvaluie Lourdes. - Primul-ministru demis Florin Citu, sustine ca exista un stoc de 40 de ventilatoare, donatie a statului german, dar ele nu au fost distribuite de reprezentantii Ministerului Sanatatii, desi au existat solicitari din partea unitatilor medicale cu paturi. Conform premierului demis, inca din august exista - Kelly Clarkson a inregistrat o victorie in cadrul procesului de divort. Instanta i-a acordat control total asupra unei proprietati de peste 10 milioane de dolari pe care o detine. Este vorba despre o ferma din Montana, unde inca sotul ei, Brandon Blackstock, planuia sa se retraga pentru a deveni fermier Stiri pe aceeasi tema - Presedintele Klaus Iohannis a participat, sambata, impreuna cu sotia sa, Carmen Iohannis, la slujba de Craciun de la Biserica Romano - Catolica, din Sibiu. Seful statului le-a transmis si un mesaj celor prezenti in centrul orasului. - President Klaus Iohannis believes the decision to exclude judge Cristi Danilet from magistracy is "pretty strange", pointing out that it could be analyzed more in depth. "Honestly, it seems a pretty strange decision, but I cannot comment the decisions that are taken in the CSM [Superior Council - Autoritatile din Sibiu au argumentat de ce presedintele Klaus Iohannis si sotia sa, Carmen Iohannis, nu au fost sanctionati pentru ca nu au purtat masca de protectie pe strada, desi acest lucru era obligatoriu prin decizie a Comitetului Judetean pentru Situatii de Urgenta (CJSU). In raspunsul adresat - Klaus Iohannis s-a aflat la Sibiu duminica dimineata, unde a mers la slujba de la Biserica Romano-Catolica Sfanta Treime" din Sibiu. Seful Statului a fost insa, asteptat, la intrarea in biserica de mai multi protestatari. O femeie a strigat Jo napot kivanok, PSD!". "Jo napot kivanok, PSD!", rostita - Interim Prime Minister and National Liberal Party (PNL) Chairman Florin Citu, after a new round of PNL - Social Democratic Party (PSD) negotiations at the Palace of Parliament on Sunday, said that there will be several prime minister proposals on behalf of the two parties to be forwarded to President - Presedintele Klaus Iohannis si sotia lui, Carmen, au fost reclamati la Politie ca nu au purtat masca de protectie pe strada. Plangerea a fost depusa de un barbat din judetul Sibiu. Barbatul reclama ca, in 10 octombrie, Klaus si Carmen Iohannis au participat la Sibiu la redeschiderea Catedralei Evanghelice - The Save Romania Union (USR) National Bureau on Sunday approved the list of ministers and the final form of the governing program that will be proposed for validation in the party's Political Committee, which will convene at 18.00 hrs. The list of ministers is as follows, the USR Press Office announces: - Klaus Iohannis a primit, sambata, 2 octombrie, Premiul Carol cel Mare Pentru unitatea Europei. Presedintele a fost insotit la evenimentul din Aachen, Germania, de Prima Doamna. Carmen Iohannis a fost admirata de toata lumea. Seful statului si Prima Doamna au aparut in ultimul timp foarte rar impreuna. No one should underestimate the mood swings in patients with low visual acuity Older adults with impaired vision are more likely to have symptoms of anxiety and depression, and older adults with symptoms of anxiety or depression are more likely to develop vision impairment, according to findings from the U.S. National Health and Aging Trends Study. Older adults are at a high risk for vision problems compared to other segments of the population, the studys senior author Dr. Joshua R. Ehrlich from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, told Reuters Health. Vision impairment, particularly in later life, has many consequences beyond not seeing clearly, including an increased risk of mood disorders. Using data from more than 7,500 older men and women, Ehrlichs team found that far more individuals with impaired vision reported symptoms of depression than those without vision problems: 31 percent versus 13 percent. The same was true for anxiety symptoms, reported by 27 percent of those with vision impairment and 11 percent of those without it, according to the results in JAMA Ophthalmology. Overall, more than 40 percent of participants with impaired vision had either depression or anxiety symptoms, compared with just under 19 percent of those without impaired vision. People with impaired vision were also 33 percent more likely than those without it to report new symptoms of depression over time, but the same didnt hold true for anxiety. At the same time, individuals with symptoms of depression were 37 percent more likely to develop impaired vision in the future than people without depression, and those with anxiety symptoms were 55 percent more likely than those without anxiety. Vision loss is associated with many adverse health consequences beyond not seeing clearly, Ehrlich said in an email. Poor vision not only increases the risk of mood disorders, but also cognitive decline, falls, loss of independence, and even mortality, he noted. Advertisement However, poor vision is not an inevitable part of aging, and an estimated 80 percent of vision loss is preventable or treatable. Accordingly, vision care is a vital component of promoting overall health, well-being, and optimal aging, he said. In our clinical practice, we observe exactly this, that advanced age associated with low visual acuity generally leads to mood and anxiety disorders, said Dr. Marina Ribeiro from Universidade Federal de Alagoas in Maceio, Brazil, who wasnt involved in the study. This is of clinical relevance, because it works as a warning to family members, who should seek psychological and psychiatric attention for patients with low visual acuity if they observe any change in mood, she told Reuters Health by email. No one should underestimate the mood swings in patients with low visual acuity, Ribeiro added. Advertisement What is new and most interesting about this study to my opinion is its bidirectional focus on the longitudinal association between visual impairment and mental health, said Dr. Hilde van der Aa from Amsterdam University Medical Center in The Netherlands, who also wasnt involved in the study. Both mental healthcare professionals and eye care professionals should be aware of the bidirectional association between visual impairment and mental health, to be able to offer tailored support and timely referrals from which patients could directly benefit, she said by email. Search Keywords: Short link: Primul muresean din istorie care participa la un Campionat Mondial de Darts Anul nou incepe cu o competitie de darts, si nu cu orice competitie, ci cu Campionatul Mondial WDF 2022, Campionatul Mondial de Darts. Judetul Mures este casa multor sportivi talentati, asa cum am spus de multe ori. De data aceasta ne mandrim cu [citeste mai departe] 'There is no future for our Ummah, if we didnt decide firmly and determinately to end the march of blood and begin the march of scienceleaving the House of War and moving to the House of Peace.' I met Prince El-Hassan bin Talal, former heir to the Jordanian throne, several times. In one of these meetings, we were talking about unifying ideas in the Islamic World. At this point, he told me: The idea of Islamic Caliphate is by all means impossible to achieve and for modern times, the most appropriate idea that Muslims should aspire to is a cooperative idea similar to contemporary international experiences. Prince El-Hassan was inclined towards the Algerian philosopher Malek Bennabis theory regarding the Islamic Commonwealth. Malek Bennabi studied Engineering in France in the 40s then he came to Egypt and lived in Al-Maadi suburb in the 50s. The philosopher contacted President Gamal Abdel-Nasser and the Egyptian government allotted to him a monthly salary so as to focus on his intellectual and philosophical output full-time. Malek Bennabi used to write in French and in Egypt he became fluent in Arabic. Dr. Mustafa Mahmoud introduced him to the Egyptian cultural circles. The Algerian philosopher was one of the most prominent figures of the civilisational Islam current, which included the Egyptian philosopher Rouchdi Fakkar and the Lebanese thinker Shakib Arslan. Malek Bennabi was influenced by his teacher the giant intellectual Abdel-Hamid ibn Badis and the scholar Ibn Badis was, in turn, a disciple of the Sheikh Muhammad Abduh. In 1954, the Algerian Revolution started. Both Ibn Badis (1889-1940) and Malek Bennabi (19051973) tried to imbed moderation and enhance modernity and rationality. The two big intellectuals system of thought was about to succeed except for the germ extremism that begn to grow in the country. This germ was responsible for the killing of great numbers of Algerians in the tragic years of terrorism. Malek Bennabi criticised the political performance of the Algerian leadership after the independence. He said: Focusing on the political solution and neglecting the intellectual solution wont lead to anything. Then Bennabi began expounding his famous theory of the susceptibility to colonialism where the intellectual conflict in the Islamic World and focusing on the margins and not the essence have made the Islamic World prepared for and susceptible to colonisation. Hence, the responsibility for the Islamic worlds backwardness doesnt fall only on the shoulders of colonialism but also on the colonies even if they were a target of a conspiracy. Bennabis criticism was extended to the Islamic worlds elites, which fell captive to Western charity in education and work where the student travels to Europe and his sole goal to learn language or a profession. He doesnt want to get to know the culture and reasons for development and means of progress. In its turn, Europe doesnt want to give him these things and sees it is enough to distribute its garbage all over its colonies which has become a slave to Western economy. In his book The Destination of the Islamic World, Bennabi describes that big mistake in an attractive way: The student, who is living in Paris, doesnt see the woman gathering grass for her rabbits, but he sees the one who paints her fingernails, dyes her hair and smokes in cafes and symposia. In his book Between Guidance and Losing Ones Way, Bennabi concludes that it is imperative to decolonize the minds before anything. For decolonizing the minds requires many things including the concepts of culture and civilisation and these cant be achieved immediately after the withdrawal of colonial armies and declaring independence. In brief, Malek Bennabis intellectual project is the inevitability of conciliation between Islam and modernity, the critical thinking and the rote-learning. This has led him to the idea of the Islamic Commonwealth, which attracted big interest among the intellectuals at the time, then the call and the feedback vanished afterwards. Thinking of a universal project for the Islamic world is an issue that preoccupies the minds of many of its faithful sons, who after exerting much effort, have come to the conclusion that Muslims shouldnt be captives to the theory that destroyed the Ummah (Islamic Nation) and tore down homelands. History was falsified and hereditary kingdoms were described as the Caliphate. They werent only hereditary, they were also bloody. They were attained through blood and continued through blood and ending them was through blood. The Umayyad Kingdom, the Abbasid kingdom, the Fatimid Kingdom and the Ottoman Kingdom were described as caliphates. However, the accurate description was the kingdom, sultanate or empire. There is no room at all to call any of them caliphate. The Prophets description was decisive when he mentioned that after his death thirty years of caliphate then forced rule. Colonialism came in support whether publicly or secretly to the idea of caliphate in order to feed the cycle of conflict and the map of blood continues expands. Many wrote about striving to establish the caliphate as a religious duty and even launching a holy war for achieving it. A great intellectual heritage was transcended by the blood sultans when they were striving for power and claim that they were doing this for the sake of God. According to a study made by Dr. Nasr Aref in the Faculty of Economics and Political Science, Cairo University, titled The Sources of Islamic Political Heritage, all intellectuals who wrote about Islam and politics in the twentieth century didnt get to know only 18 percent of the Islamic heritage that exists in the form of manuscripts in the worlds libraries. In his book The Jurisprudence and Evolution of the Caliphate to become a League of Eastern Nations published in 1926, the great scholar Abdel-Raziq El-Sanhouri attempted to find a path for the Islamic peoples amid the staggering advances of the contemporary world. Both El-Sanhouris Islamic League of Nations or Malek Bennabis term the Islamic Commonwealth were attempts to renew Islamic jurisprudence and conciliate between the Ummahs interests and the requirements of the times. Contemporary interpretations, especially Sheikh Abdallah bin Bayyahs efforts on confirming the legitimacy of the national state and the legitimacy of multiple national states within the Islamic world aimed at driving the Ummah to be a part of the world and our age. The word commonwealth points to collective prosperity. The British Commonwealth is a voluntary association that includes independent states that consult with each other concerning common interests and promoting understanding and world peace. We can suggest discussing the idea of establishing an Islamic States Commonwealth or the Islamic Commonwealth and its General Secretariat be based in Cairo and Al-Azhar as its spiritual frame of the association. The General Secretariat would call Islamic states to join without any binding commitment in any policies or decisions. It is a consultative frame that relies on the cultural and religious common grounds that links the member states. There is no future for our Ummah, if we didnt decide firmly and determinately to end the march of blood and begin the march of scienceleaving the House of War and moving to the House of Peace. Search Keywords: Short link: Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the United Nations Volodymyr Yelchenko recollected the times when Russia laughed at UN attempts to force them to release Ukrainian sailors Ukraines Permanent Representative to the UN Volodymyr Yelchenko Ukrinform Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the United Nations Volodymyr Yelchenko recollected the times when Russia was laughing at the attempts of the international organization to force them to release Ukrainian sailors. Yelchenko urged Russia to fulfill the decision of the Maritime Tribunal. The diplomat wrote this on Twitter. When the UN General Assembly called on Russia to release our sailors and ships in the resolution 2/3 votes, their delegation called this decision ridiculous attempt. Had fun? Implement the decision of the UN Tribunal now! Yelchenko stated. Taking into account the victory of Ukraine in the case on the release of Ukrainian sailors, which was reviewed by the UN Maritime Tribunal in Hamburg on March 25, the Permanent Representative of Ukraine to UN emphasized that he laughs best who laughs last. We recall, on November 25, 2018, Russian border guards seized the Ukrainian Yana Kapu raid tug and small armored artillery boats Berdyansk and Nikopol of the Naval Forces of Ukraine in the Kerch Strait area, using weapons. Ukrainian ambassador to Germany regarded the decision of the International Maritime Tribunal in Hamburg as the diplomatic victory in the case on the release of 24 POW Ukrainian sailors Ukraine will call on Germany to implement Hamburg sanctions if Russia refuses to fulfill the decision of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea concerning the release of Ukrainian sailors. Ukrainian Ambassador to Germany Andriy Melnyk said this to Ukrinform. If Moscow decides to ignore the decision, we will support the idea of imposing new Hamburg sanctions on Russia, the diplomat claimed. According to Melnyk, he urged Minister of Foreign Affairs of Germany Heiko Maas to demand from Kremlin to implement the verdict of the International Maritime Tribunal immediately. The ambassador regarded the decision of the International Maritime Tribunal in Hamburg as the diplomatic victory and additional and very powerful bargaining chip in the case on the release of 24 Ukrainian sailors, who are being illegally kept in a Russian prison. Russia is obliged to implement the decision of the International Maritime Tribunal until June 25, 2019. The decision was made today, May 25, during a meeting in Hamburg. The International Maritime Tribunal today, on May 25, demanded from Russia to immediately release the Ukrainian sailors and ships and ensure their return to Ukraine. Ukraine is counting on Russias speedy implementation of the decision. In 2018, the Czech Police on Foreigners detained 4,992 illegal migrants , most of whom were citizens of Ukraine. Such data was presented to the government by the head of the country's Interior Ministry, Jan Gamachek, writes the Czech Vinegret.Ukrainians prevailed among the detained illegal immigrants - 1,470 people. They have followed the citizens of Moldavia (567), Vietnam (312), Russia (273), and Uzbekistan (157), the message said.It is noted that 4,653 people entered the Czech Republic legally, and only then for various reasons violated the established terms of stay. Russia is skeptical about the statement that Ukraine will demand the imposition of Hamburg sanctions from Germany if Moscow refuses to comply with the decision of the UN International Tribunal regarding the release of Ukrainian sailors. This follows from the comment given by the official representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia Maria Zakharova to RBK. "As we have already understood, there is no need for a reason for the sanctions - they are constantly stamped," she said. Earlier, permanent Representative of Ukraine to the United Nations Volodymyr Yelchenko recollected the times when Russia was laughing at the attempts of the international organization to force them to release Ukrainian sailors. Yelchenko urged Russia to fulfill the decision of the Maritime Tribunal. The diplomat wrote this on Twitter When the UN General Assembly called on Russia to release our sailors and ships in the resolution 2/3 votes, their delegation called this decision ridiculous attempt. Had fun? Implement the decision of the UN Tribunal now! Yelchenko stated. International Maritime Tribunal on May 25, demanded from Russia to immediately release the Ukrainian sailors and ships and ensure their return to Ukraine. Ukraine is counting on Russias speedy implementation of the decision. The police made administrative protocols for an improvised rally on the impeachment of President Volodymyr Zelensky against a 16-year-old girl and her boyfriend in Rive on May 25 Iryna Gerashchenko, the First Vice-Spokesperson of Verkhovna Rada, is preparing a request to the National Police concerning detaining of two young people in Rivne, who came to the rally for the impeachment of President Volodymyr Zelensky. Gerashchenko wrote this on Facebook. I express my indignation at the detention of two juveniles in Rivne. I am preparing a request to the National Police," Herashchenko said. At the same time, she reminded that during previous five years, almost everyday people conducted demonstrations, hunger strikes, set up tents, broke toilets, hang panties, threw toys near the Bankova Street, the Verkhovna Rada, the Cabinet of Ministers, and the regional administration. And sometimes it was quite aggressive and not quiet actions, but still, nobody was detained. The protesters behaved differently, but it was a democracy," Gerashchenko said. It should be noted that the police made administrative protocols for an improvised rally on the impeachment of President Volodymyr Zelensky against a 16-year-old girl and her boyfriend in Rive in the evening on May 25. The reason for this was they did not file the relevant application in advance, which violated the order and organization of meetings, rallies, street marches, and demonstrations. The ship Sea Shark with crude oil and 11 members of the crew have been kept in the area of Ain Sokhna of Egypt since December 2018 Open source The sailors from the Sea Shark cargo tanker, which was detained in Egypt, are returning to Ukraine, as the Ukrainska Pravda reports, referring to the Sea Assistance Fund Assol. According to the report, five of the 17 Ukrainian sailors will arrive in Odesa airport on Monday, May 27. "Late in the evening of May 25, it was reported that part of the remaining crew, along with the Ukrainian captain, was released and sent to the hotel, where they were waiting for documents and returning home," the report stressed. Besides, the ship Sea Shark with crude oil has been kept by the Armed Forces of Egypt in the area of Ain Sokhna since December 2018. There were 31 crew members on board, including 17 Ukrainians, two Crimean sailors, 11 citizens from India, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka, and one more Azerbaijani citizen. The tanker was detained by the Navy of Egypt due to unintentional and accidental entry into the territorial waters of the country. Sailors were sued for crossing the Egyptian waters for $56 million, which must be paid by the owner of the ship. Since then, the shipowner and freighter have been negotiating with the Egyptian fleet to release the ship and to organize a change of crew. Earlier it was reported that the Egyptian military detained a Sea Shark oil tanker with a crew. The tanker is loaded of 1.1 million barrels of Sea Shark crude oil but is now anchored in Ain-Sokhna. It is going to be moved to an unknown terminal. Overnight from Saturday to Sunday, May 26, 60 Musk's satellites will fly over Ukraine. They were launched into space for a global Internet project, as astronomy observation Astro Alert reported. It should be noted that the SpaceX Company launched 60 satellites on May 23. Each of them would fly around the planet at a distance of 550 km from the surface. These satellites will be able to provide internet connection around the globe with the help of solar energy. The company is going to add to these satellites many others soon and plans to launch thousands of such satellites into space. The satellites were flying over Ukraine yesterday, May 25. Kyiv - 10:09m., 11:45 p.m., 1:23 a.m., 4:15 a.m.; 10:09m., 11:45 p.m., 1:23 a.m., 4:15 a.m.; Kharkiv - 10:03m., 11:40 p.m., 1:17 a.m., 2:54 a.m., 4:31 a.m.; - 10:03m., 11:40 p.m., 1:17 a.m., 2:54 a.m., 4:31 a.m.; Lviv - 10:02 m., 11:38 p.m., 1:15 a.m., 2:52 a.m., 4:29 a.m. According to the report, the realization of the project started on February 22, 2018. Then, the company Falcon 9 launched two test satellites Tintin-A and Tintin-B into orbit. SpaceX estimated the Starlink project at 10 billion dollars, but experts believe that the number was even higher. Earlier, the fifth Falcon 9 rocket - fifth one over the year so far - took flight on Thursday evening, May 23, sending 60 Internet-beaming satellites into space. Members of the Synod of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine discussed the claims of Filaret that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Kyiv Patriarchate still existed Patriarch Filaret: no new church exists. Open source The Synod of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine confirmed its intentions to use the status, which was adopted at the Unification council of the Orthodox churches of Ukraine on December 15, 2018. The only person who did not sign this decision is Filaret, the Honorary Patriarch of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. Head of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine Epifaniy (Dumenko) said that to the journalists, as #Bykvu reported. The Synod confirmed that in its further activity and existence of the Ukrainian Orthodox Autocephalous Church, it will be regulated by the Holy Transmission, the Holy Scriptures, and the status, which was adopted at the St.Sophia's Cathedral in Kyiv on December 15. We all agreed to the decision, but the last one (concerning the status and the support of Epifaniy - 112 International) has not been signed by the only member of the Synod, Patriarch Filaret, Epifaniy said. According to Epifaniy, the members of the Synod of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine discussed the claims of Filaret that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Kyiv Patriarchate still existed. At the same time, they failed to persuade him. What the Honorary Patriarch made public, he also said at the session of the holy Synod: that Kyiv Patriarchate still exists, and that it was not withdrawn from the registration, although we tried to convince him that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Kyiv Patriarchate legally and de facto doesnt exist, and that Kyiv Patriarchate is the basis of the only autocephalous church. We debated, talked and tried to convince him, but we all understood that unfortunately, the Honorary Patriarch Filaret has not changed his mind, the Head of Orthodox Church of Ukraine said. Besides, Epiphaniy confirmed that Filaret continues to control the Eparchy of Kyiv and all its funds. "There is no dual power in the church ... It was agreed before the United Council that those eparchies and parishes, which were under control of some bishop would remain under his control. The Eparchy of Kyiv and parishes, which obeyed him until December 15, remain under his rule. Especially from these parishes, the monasteries receive its basic profits, "- Epiphaniy said. Epiphaniy added that he personally supported this decision. "I defended my position; I defended that he should control the parishes of the Eparchy of Kyiv, which are in the city of Kyiv. We did and we will do everything to ensure that the honorary patriarch Filaret, who made a lot of effort to build our autocephalous church, felt not only spiritually comfortable but financially as well ", - he said. According to the Head of the Orthodox Church, he will not punish Filaret for his position. Neither bishops nor clergy and Ukrainian people support Filarets position. Thank's for the fish. -- Douglas Adams Come back again sometime. Thank you for visiting. Attending this spiritual training creates an understanding of Kundalini energy and practices to awaken it. Chakras are the center of consciousness. To understand how to activate the chakras, is to discover the pathway that leads one to a sublime path--to awaken Kundalini and reach the highest of paththat of Realization. When you attend this spiritual training, you will take home a method of meditation that opens and aligns the Chakrasyou learn to pave the path of Kundalini. Pandit Dabral was born near Dehradun, India, in a family of Sanskrit scholars. He holds a doctorate in Yoga Philosophy and Sanskrit from Varanasi, India. He teaches Meditation and Yoga Philosophy in Asia, Europe and North America. Pandit Dabral is an experienced teacher in the Himalayan Tradition who is capable of bringing the authentic teachings of the yoga masters to all types of students. People of all ages enjoy his accessibility and humor. His knowledge of Sanskrit and the yoga scriptures is vast and comprehensive, yet he is able to explain complex ideas in ways that are easy to understand and apply to daily life. He brings the experiences and knowledge of the Himalayan sages to life. Subject Quick Links Click on any of the badges below to see posts from that subject area. This is just a quick way to search for all posts with these labels using one click. Presidente @MartinVizcarraC: Con la ministra de @MTC_GobPeru vamos verificar el estado de la carretera de Yurimaguas a Tarapoto, donde ha colapsado el puente y evaluaremos una solucion provisional que permita restablecer la comunicacion via terrestre de la zona. pic.twitter.com/ijWYERFGRU YEREVAN, MAY 26, ARMENPRESS. Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan has congratulated his Georgian counterpart Mamuka Bakhtadze on the Georgian National Holiday. I cordially congratulate you and the good people of Georgia on the national holiday of Georgia, the State Independence Reinstatement Day, Pashinyan said in a message sent to Bakhtadze. The centuries-old Armenian-Georgian ties of friendship have always been distinguished by mutual respect and trust, which is a solid basis for the furtherance and expansion of our multifaceted agenda. On this occasion, I would like to express my appreciation of our regular meetings and discussions, which add new quality and content to our cooperation. I am confident that the high-level Armenian-Georgian relations will continue to strengthen in the best interest of our peoples. I wish you all the best and every success, as well as happiness, prosperity and progress to the brotherly people of Georgia. Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan YEREVAN, MAY 26, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Minister of Foreign Affairs Zohrab Mnatsakanyan held a meeting today with Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Yerevan. Yi also serves as Sate Councilor of China. After the meeting the sides signed an agreement on mutual visa exemption for ordinary passport holders. Armenia and China also signed a treaty on extradition and a protocol for food safety, veterinary sector and plant protection on honey exported from Armenia to China. We reconfirm our determination to develop our relations based on mutual respect between our two nations. As old civilizations, we know each other well, the Armenian foreign ministry said in a news release. Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan YEREVAN, MAY 26, ARMENPRESS. Iran has offered countries of the Persian Gulf to sign a non-aggression pact amid heightened tensions in the region. Irans Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammad Javad Zarif made the proposal during a meeting with Iraqi Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohamed Ali Alhakim, according to RIA Novosti. Zarif emphasized that Iran wants to have excellent relations with Persian Gulf countries and welcomes any proposal on de-escalating the tension. Earlier a source close to the Iraqi Prime Minister told RIA Novosti that Iraq, together with Russia and 4 other countries, is mediating the resolution of the conflict between Washington and Tehran. Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan YEREVAN, MAY 26, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian held a meeting on May 26 with visiting Chinese Foreign Minister, State Councilor Wang Yi. Welcoming the delegation, President Sarkissian said the recent high-level official visits are contributing to enhancing the Armenian-Chinese relations that are based on friendship, mutual trust and respect, Sarkissians Office said in a readout. The friendship between our nations did not start with the 1992 establishment of diplomatic and inter-governmental relations, our nations have a history of friendly cooperation spanning through centuries and millennia, the Armenian President told Yi, adding that the Armenians and Chinese were successfully cooperating back during the Silk Road era. The Chinese FM emphasized that the Armenians have a great contribution in the history of human civilization. The great Silk Road united our two peoples centuries ago. The Armenian and Chinese people treat each other with mutual respect and regard, and our bilateral relations are developing resolutely, Yi said. He also conveyed Chinese President Xi Jinpings greetings to the Armenian President. During the meeting the parties also discussed the expansion of commercial ties, prospects of cooperation within the One Belt One Road initiative, as well as development of partnership in the new technology, education and science sectors. Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan YEREVAN, MAY 26, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan received on May 26th Chinas Minister of Foreign Affairs and State Councilor Wang Yi. Pashinyan welcomed Yi in Armenia and warmly recalled his recent visit to China. I had very productive and good meetings with Chinas President, Prime Minister and Chinese businessmen, and I am happy that as a result of our discussions we reached concrete agreements in the direction of developing mutually beneficial cooperation. Once again thank you for the invitation to participate in the Dialogue of Asian Civilizations Conference. This initiative has important significance in terms of strengthening cooperation, mutual trust between peoples and global stability. I would also like to emphasize that the Armenian and Chinese nations are united by firm human relations and warm hospitality, Pashinyan said at the meeting. Wang Yi thanked the Armenian Premier for the reception and participation in the Dialogue of Asian Civilizations Conference. He noted that China attaches importance to strengthening dialogue, developing mutually beneficial partnership and that Pashinyans meetings with Chinas top leadership in Beijing and subsequent agreements once more emphasized the importance that both sides attach to the Armenian-Chinese relations and their continuous enhancement and strengthening. The Chinese FM noted that since the establishment of diplomatic relations the cooperation between Armenia and China is developing effectively, based on the two peoples mutual respect and friendship. Were ready and set to deepen mutually beneficial partnership with Armenia, under your leadership, Yi said. PM Pashinyan said that the recent frequent high-level official mutual visits and meetings prove the positive dynamics of the Armenian-Chinese relations development, which the Armenian society is treating very well. Pashinyan attached importance to the visa waiver that was signed on May 26 between Armenia and China, which in his words will contribute to the development of not only humanitarian, but also business ties, and attraction of investments. In this context, the Armenian Premier also offered to consider prospects of establishing direct air communication. The sides discussed issues concerning the enhancement of ties in a number of sectors within the framework of the reached bilateral agreements. Particularly, they discussed the possibilities for developing cooperation in road construction, infrastructure, IT, machinery, and enhancement of export markets for businesses and implementation of investment programs. Both sides attached importance to cooperation in the construction of the North-South Highway. Pashinyan said the Armenian Government views the project to be not only a road infrastructure development program, but an opportunity of forming a communication corridor which can be an important ring in the context of the One Belt One Road initiative. Wang Yi noted that China is interested in participating in the construction of the North-South Highway, given the projects importance both for One Belt One Road initiative, as well as ensuring regional development and stability. Pashinyan said that the Government of Armenia is taking steps to boost technological industry, and in this context is interested in deepening cooperation in the IT sector as well. The Armenian PM invited Chinese companies to participate in the upcoming Yerevan World Congress of Information Technologies (WCIT), which will take place October 6-9. The Chinese FM noted that the high-tech sector is developing rapidly in his country, and being familiar with Armenias potential in this sector they are ready to discuss prospects of exchange of experience and development of partnership. Yi thanked for the invitation to participate in the WCIT and noted that China will consider the level and opportunities of participation. Nikol Pashinyan and Wang Yi also exchanged ideas over global and regional security challenges and attached importance to cooperation in the direction of strengthening global and regional stability. Pashinyan expressed gratitude to Yi for Chinas balanced stance over the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan I forgave our prime minister and I served him. But I have come to a point where I cannot serve this prime minister anymore. My colleagues, Don Polye and Kerenga Kua, we were terminated for speaking out. We were not terminated for incompetence. I have never come out publicly, but I can say that I was one of those that opposed the UBS deal, Duma said. Dumas main reason was the controversial K3 billion loan with the Swiss bank UBS, taken in 2014. Many of the ministers who had defected to the opposition took out full-page newspaper advertisements to give different reasons why they left ONeills Peoples National Congress-led government. URP leader and state enterprises minister William Duma brought with him 11 MPs to the oppositions Laguna camp including higher education minister Pila Niningi and police minister Jelta Wong. PORT MORESBY - It was a deadly blow that was inflicted on prime minister Peter ONeills government when the United Resources Party defected to the opposition on Friday, swelling the Alternate Governments numbers to 62. Don Polye in his Kandep electorate following his appointment as World Bank chairman. Soon after he was fired by Peter O'Neill as PNG Treasurer over the USB loan affair and his long journey to final vindication began Duma defected amidst intense coverage and debate of the UBS loan saga after a report compiled by the Ombudsman Commission was leaked to the media. In March 2014, then Treasurer Don Pomp Polye was sacked by ONeill for not signing prepared documents for the loan which was arranged to purchase 10.1% of the shares in Oil Search Ltd. Polyes Kandep people wondered why he had risked his senior Treasury portfolio and chairmanship of the board of governors of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. In 2012, Polye and Belden Namah had assisted topple the Somare-Abal government to install ONeill as prime minister and together they had formed a new government after national elections. Immediately after his sacking in 2014, Polye explained why he did not sign the loan instruments. The loan was unnecessary and would place a huge debt burden on the economy and would take generations to repay, he said. Economic conditions will worsen and the people will become poor and forced to live below the poverty line. Polye firmly believed that the people would never benefit from the rich resources with which God had blessed all Papua New Guinean citizens. I expressed my views in our national executive council (cabinet) meeting of 6 March 2014, but the prime minister did not respect my views as a senior state minister. Instead, he tried to entice me to sign it [the loan agreement] before he flew on the Kumul Falcon jet to Singapore. Before he left, he told me there is something in it for us. When it dawned on me what he implied, it hit me like a ton of bricks. I was forced to choose between self-gain through a corrupt deal or protect the long-term welfare of PNG. Polye applauded the brave men and women who joined him to relentlessly speak against the UBS loan and the deep-rooted corruption entrenched in all facets of PNG life. They are the cream of PNGs educated elite, the top brains the country has proudly produced, but who else will our government receive advice and constructive criticism from? I do not claim to be a perfect individual but the way the constitution was trampled on to effect the UBS loan defies logic. Polye said he was duty bound to express his views on behalf of the people, but the prime minister accused me of causing instability in government and sacked me. Polye had argued in the national executive council meeting and in an official letter to the acting secretary of the Treasury that the loan did not promote prudent economic management policies instituted by the government. He had warned that the extra loan would increase PNGs total debt to K6 billion in 2014. But the prime minister had bulldozed the loan through. We had the NEC meeting on 6 March, I wrote the letter to acting Treasury secretary on Sunday 9th, got sacked on Monday 10th and the loan was signed the very next day Tuesday 11th, Polye said. He said there was no real prospect for PNG with the massive loan in place. I feel sorry for the cabinet ministers and the government because the UBS loan never went through the proper process. The cabinet meeting of 6 March was highjacked by one man with the submission of the K3 billion UBS loan proposal and imposed on the cabinet ministers around midday. The submission went to the governor-general for approval before 6pm the same day. Polye said it had never gone through proper procedures involving parliament, Treasury, the National Petroleum Company and the Attorney Generals office. I went an extra mile to reveal how it was bulldozed through, Polye said. I got sacked in the process. Polye unsuccessfully took the matter to the courts at his own expense in an attempt to prevent what he called the growing culture of lies, deception and depletion of state funds by skillful manipulation of the system, a culture which he said had to end. I value honesty, truthfulness, sincerity, generosity and genuine love for the people and not abuse their trust to become over-night millionaires and billionaires through corrupt deals, he said. I ask my people of Kandep to bear with me during these trying times. One day you will understand why I was sacked. I will keep on fighting for our rights and the future of our children. Only time will tell when it comes to reaping the fruit of the K3 billion UBS loan investment, prime minister Peter ONeill has secured for us in Oil Search Ltd. Polyes Southern Region deputy leader of his THE Party and minister for labor and industrial relations, Mark Maipakai, was also dealt the same blow. Then four THE Party members - three cabinet ministers including Sir Leo Dion who was the deputy prime minister - resigned from the party to join ONeills PNC. Meanwhile, Don Polye lost his seat in parliament in the 2017 general election. Later, Polyes Kambrip people of Gini village were involved in a year-long tribal war with the Akul tribesmen of his arch political rival, Alfred Manase. More than 100 people were killed in the fight and millions of kina worth property was destroyed. Another devastating blow came when five of Polyes relatives plunged to their deaths in the middle of the night when the 10-seater they were travelling in crashed into a river in Jiwaka Province. They had been returning home after attending a graduation ceremony at the University of Technology in Lae. I take these as challenges in my life. I know life keeps on ticking, it doesnt reverse. There are more horrific disasters but people overcome them, Polye said. I know, after the clouds have cleared, the sun always shines. Note: Some of the historical information attributed to Don Polye is extracted from my book, I Can See My Country Clearly Now published in 2016 There was a view in PNG this afternoon that Chan's attempted elevation was a move to bring disaffected MPs back to the government camp but that O'Neill would continue to exercise power from the deputy's position. But it was not immediately apparent whether his stepping down was a political ruse or a genuine attempt to see if Chan could form a new government. At a media conference in Port Moresby, O'Neill said recent changes in party allegiances had signalled a "need for change". NOOSA - With more government coalition members joining the self-styled 'Alternative Government', giving it the majority of members in parliament, Papua New Guinea prime minister Peter O'Neill this afternoon said he had handed the weakened chalice of national leadership to ageing former leader Sir Julius Chan. Has Julius Chan (centre) received the gift of the prime ministership from Peter O'Neill (right) or is he the recipient of a hospital pass? But that is not how the numbers are currently running as O'Neill, in any capacity, seems to have lost grip of his parliamentary majority. Following the defection of another MP to opposition ranks today, late this afternoon the Alternative Government was claiming 63 of the 111 MPs, which spokesman Bryan Kramer said was the "lock down" number". This would give it a decisive majority when parliament resumes on Tuesday and, in these circumstances, Chan would not survive as leader. Leading opposition figure Bryan Kramer said that no further government members "will be allowed to join the Laguna camp" where the opposition has assembled because, he said, "the new government is in the house". He said O'Neill, Abel, Basil, Chan and Wingti are now "officially the opposition in waiting". It is still not certain who will be elected leader of this newly formed coalition, although there have been a number of contenders who have expressed their ambitions. But a middle choice achieving some traction is former attorney-general Kerenga Kua, from the highlands province of Simbu, who carries with him no political baggage and is widely regarded as a progressive force and a nation-builder. O'Neill technically remains prime minister as PNG Attitude understands he has not yet submitted a resignation letter to the governor-general, an important formality which would enable Chan to take the reins. "I want the photo from government house," quipped prominent media commentator and opposition research officer Martyn Namorong. Namorong also pointed out that, if O'Neill has resigned, under the PNG constitution Charles Abel, his current deputy, would take over the top job, not Chan. But with the opposition forces now likely to garner even more government defectors seeking fame and fortune with a new government (including forest minister Douglas Tomuresia who just joined the opposition's Laguna Hotel camp for the second time as he desperately sniffs the breeze), it is likely Chan's elevation to the top job will be more of a hospital pass than an enduring gift. As Roland Raintangken joked on Twitter, "Ladies and gentlemen, we are about to witness the shortest serving PM in PNG, PM Sir Julius Chan." More information as it comes to hand. Jo Walker with some of her clients. (Images: supplied) A retired Melbourne woman claims she is earning $1,000 each month without leaving home. Joanna Walker's main source of post-retirement income comes from pet-sitting or pet-minding. Best of all, her clients come to her: animal owners who go on holidays or go on work trips will leave their pet with Walker for an hourly rate. The 72-year-old told Yahoo Finance that learning how to use gig economy apps has opened up a new world of easy pocket money. "I've loved it. I've made great friends and a lot of regular clients," she said. "The dogs know me now and they're delighted to see me again and I'm delighted to see them." Walker is matched with clients through the Mad Paws mobile app, which was created by an Australian startup. Pet-minding is an industry that encourages customer loyalty, as the owners like to see their loved ones supervised by someone who knows their idiosyncrasies. "When I have the regulars, I know what their habits are. I know which ones sleep on my bed, which ones like to go out more, and how good they are at walking. It works out well for all of us." This client loyalty has allowed her to grow a reliable income stream around $1,000 each month while doing something that she enjoys anyway. "I charge $35 per day per dog, she said. I keep my rates competitive I don't want to charge as much as the fancy kennels. I don't want to do that, because I enjoy the dogs. I love it when they come." Research released this month by The Sharing Hub showed about 8 per cent of gig economy earners make more than $2,500 per month. However, Walker is well above the average of about $100 to $500 a month. The gig economy goes both ways As well as Mad Paws, other sharing or gig economy apps created in Australia include car-borrowing platform Car Next Door and Juggle Street, a matchmaking app for nannies and babysitters. Story continues Walker uses both of those, making money from childminding and spending money when she needs to drive somewhere. "When I moved to Melbourne, it was fantastic because [] I found a car within a 4-minute walk from my home in Newport," she said. "I don't pay for petrol but just pay for the kilometres. If I don't do a lot of mileage, the dog-sitting actually pays for the car." The Sharing Hub, which is an accelerator for Australian startups that are developing gig economy systems, also found in its research that 16 per cent of earners wanted to eventually make it their full-time career. Among the gig economy earners, 49 per cent have full-time jobs, 23 per cent have part-time jobs and 9 per cent are in retirement. Make your money work with Yahoo Finances daily newsletter. Sign up here and stay on top of the latest money, news and tech news. Dannii Minogue has opened up about her difficult mother-in-law. Photo: Getty Dannii Minogue has opened up about the strained relationship she had with her ex-husbands mother. Dannii and actor Julian McMahon - the son of Lady Sonia and former prime minister William McMahon - were married in 1994 but split one year later. In that time Dannii claims her mother-in-law would refuse to let her inside their home, and didnt want to come to the couples wedding. Julian McMahon and mum Lady Sonia McMahon. Photo: Getty There's a certain social pecking order and I was definitely not in that scene, Dannii said during a yet to be shown episode of Anh's Brush With Fame, due to air on the ABC on Wednesday, according to the Daily Telegraph. The 47-year-old said she was often left waiting in the car out front if Julian had to duck into the house. Dannii and Julian first met on the set of Australian TV drama Home and Away - where she played the role of Emma Jackson from September 1989 until August 1990. But even on their wedding day, Dannii revealed there was drama, as Lady Sonia almost refused to attend. (Lady Sonia) said she wasn't going to show up, so that's quite stressful, she said. Julian and I were going ahead with the marriage regardless. So she did end up coming and was causing a scene. It wasn't the greatest, it was hard. Dannii and Julian met on the set of Home & Away. Photo: Getty As the wife of Sir William McMahon, Prime Minister of Australia, Lady Sonia was well-known as a socialite. She died in 2010. Dannii went on to date Kris Smith from 2008 to 2012. The couple share an eight-year-old son, Ethan Edward Minogue Smith. Got a story tip? Send it to lifestyle.tips@verizonmedia.com Want more lifestyle and celebrity news? Follow Yahoo Lifestyle on Facebook,Twitter and Instagram. Or sign up to our daily newsletter here. Wracked with pain and anger, dozens of families gathered in front of a morgue in the Venezuelan town of Acarigua on Saturday after 29 inmates died in rioting at a police station jail. "It seemed there was a massacre of these children in the police station," 50-year-old Zuleyma Ponte told AFP. "My son was killed. Whose fault is it? It's the lack of supervision, the lack of serious government," he said. The deaths came after police special forces intervened Friday to stop a "massive prison break," according to Oscar Valero, public security secretary for Portuguesa state. The prisoners received the officers with "a hail of gunfire" while detonating three grenades that wounded 19 police, Valero told reporters. As the clash raged, family members near the station said they heard detainees shouting, "Don't let us die." "What we are asking for is, please, just give us our boys. They're not coming back, so give their bodies to their families and investigate those responsible," said Aliris Perez, a 34-year-old teacher whose 24-year-old brother died in the violence. Perez, who was close to the station when the riot occurred, said he heard several explosions as "many authorities" arrived at the site. Carlos Nieto, the head of a prisoner rights NGO, said the clashes broke out when special forces attempted to rescue visitors who had been taken hostage Thursday by the leader of the inmates. An official of the National Service of Medicine and Forensic Sciences told VPI online television on Saturday that work in the morgue was delayed as they waited for supplies from the capital Caracas, about 200 miles (350 kilometers) to the east. "They're sending us supplies, gloves, gowns, autopsy boots and scalpels, all of which we didn't have," said the official, whose name wasn't given. Eight autopsies have already been carried out, the official said. - Overcrowding common - Violence and overcrowding are common in the approximately 500 preventative detention centers in Venezuela. The penal code says defendants should not spend more than 48 hours in these centers, but in practice they function as prisons, and it's often unclear who is responsible for them. In the Acarigua police station, there were about 500 inmates in a space built for 60, according to an internal police report seen by AFP. Bloody clashes and accidents often occur in the facilities. In March 2018, 68 inmates died in a fire at a police jail in the northern city of Valencia, and in August 2017, a riot at a facility in the southern Amazonas state left 37 prisoners dead. More than 400 people are believed to have been killed in Venezuelan jails since 2011, while human rights organizations also say they face a lack of food and medicines -- like much of the country -- while the facilities are beset by corruption. Following the bloodshed in Acarigua, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights expressed its "special concern for the high levels of violence in Venezuelan prisons," and called for authorities to "protect the life and security of people under its custody." Amnesty International Americas director Erika Guevara-Ross blamed the Venezuelan government, writing on Twitter that, "because these people were under the custody of the state... the government of (President) Nicolas Maduro is principally responsible for these deaths." Families of prisoners who died in a riot in a police station jail wait in front of a morgue in Acarigua, Venezuela on May 25, 2019 According to an internal report seen by AFP, the Acarigua police station was holding 500 inmates in a space built for 60 Europe's mainstream political parties took a hit in elections on Sunday but held off a strong surge by the populist right of Marine Le Pen, Matteo Salvini and Nigel Farage. In one of the world's biggest democratic votes, the main centre-right and centre-left groups lost their combined majority in the European Parliament in the face of a challenge by eurosceptic and nationalist forces. The symbolic clash of the campaign saw French far-right leader Le Pen's National Rally on course to come in just ahead of President Emmanuel Macron's centrist movement, damaging his drive for deeper European integration. In Britain, Farage's one-issue Brexit Party appeared to have trounced the main parties and he will send a large contingent of British eurosceptics to a parliament they want to leave in a few months. And in Italy, Salvini's far-right League achieved a similar result, strengthening its role at the core of a vocal populist faction in the EU's legislature. The advance of the right was less pronounced in Germany -- where a strong showing by the Greens was reflected in a "green wave" in many countries -- but the anti-immigrant AfD broke the 10-percent barrier. "We are facing a shrinking centre," said German conservative Manfred Weber, lead candidate for the centre-right European People's Party (EPP) to replace Jean-Claude Juncker as European Commission chief. - 'Big win' - Turnout EU-wide was estimated at 51 percent, the highest in 20 years, suggesting more than 200 million citizens across the 28-nation bloc voted in a poll billed as a battle between populists and pro-European forces. Across Europe, according to updated projections prepared by the parliament, the EPP is on course to have the most seats in the assembly with 179, down sharply from 216 in 2014. With the centre-left Socialists and Democrats (S&D) projected to win 150, down from 185, the two mainstream parties will no longer have a majority and will have to reach out to liberals to maintain a "cordon sanitaire" and exclude the far-right from decision making. The Liberals (ALDE), who include Macron's party, are on course for 107 seats against 69 previously while the Greens are forecast to take 70 seats, up from 52. The various populist, eurosceptic and right-wing parties won more than 150 seats, but form no coherent coalition. The Europe of Nations and Freedom -- composed mainly of the French National Rally and Salvini's League -- saw their share rise from 37 to 58 seats. Salvini tweeted a photo of himself with a sign saying "top party in Italy" while standing in front of a bookshelf featuring a Make America Great Again baseball cap and a picture of Vladimir Putin. The Europe for Freedom and Direct Democracy -- which includes Britain's Brexit Party -- went from 42 seats to 56. "It looks like it's going to be a big win for the Brexit Party," Farage said, after an election held against a backdrop of disarray including the resignation of Prime Minister Theresa May and the postponement of Britain's EU exit. - 'Save the EU' - Each previous EU election since the first in 1979 has seen turnout fall, but turnout figures from across the 28-nation bloc were up, suggesting this year's culture clash has mobilised both populists and those who oppose them. In Belgium, the far-right Flemish separatist Vlaams Belang was on course to triple its previous score. And in Finland, the far-fight Finns Party increased its vote share and retained its two EU seats. The Sweden Democrats were on course to increase their share from 9.67 to 16.9 percent. Dutch anti-Islam leader Geert Wilders was however set to lose all his Freedom Party's seats, although there was a strong showing by upstart populist Thierry Baudet. In his home country of Poland, European Council chief Donald Tusk expressed confidence that voters would not succumb to "radical political movements" but admitted that the priority was to "save the EU as a project". In France, Macron had taken it upon himself to act as a figurehead for the centrist and liberal parties, and Le Pen took up the 41-year-old's challenge. "It is up to the president of the republic to draw conclusions, he who put his presidential credit on the line in this vote in making it a referendum on his policies and even his personality," Le Pen said. An aide to Macron however said the result was "respectable", with exit polls showing his centrist alliance on 22.5-23.0 percent, just behind Le Pen's 24-24.2 percent. Another nationalist party, the Fidesz of Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban, was on course for a massive 56 percent victory, according to a poll conducted Sunday. The mainstream parties are vying between themselves for influence over the choice of a new generation of top EU officials, including Tusk and Juncker's replacements. EU leaders have been invited to a summit on Tuesday to decide how to choose the nominee. The EPP is insisting on Weber for the Commission, but Macron and some others want a higher-profile candidate. burs-dk/dc/mtp/qan 21 countries voted on the final day of the European parliament elections European Parliament elections: projected number of seats per political group, as of May 27 at 0130 GMT Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage boasted of a 'big win' Extreme-right parties in western Europe Turnout EU-wide was estimated at 51 percent, the highest in 20 years, in a poll billed as a battle between populists and pro-European forces The centrist alliance of French President Emmanuel Macron (L) is just behind Marine Le Pen's populist National Rally, according to exit polls The EU elections have been marked by successes for the far right, a surge by the Greens and setbacks for traditional parties across the continent. AFP selects five takeaways as the first results come in across Europe: - Far-right, populists advance - The first results and projections suggested France's eurosceptic far-right National Rally party led by Marine Le Pen was set to finish top in France, narrowly ahead of the ruling faction of President Emmanuel Macron. In Italy, Interior Minister Matteo Salvini's far-right League was set to win the most votes, and Germany's far-right AfD was set to improve on their 2014 score of 7.1 percent, with exit polls seeing it coming in at 10.5 percent. But the picture is far from uniform: in Austria the far-right Freedom Party was lagging in third after becoming engulfed in corruption scandal during the campaign. And the party of Dutch far-right leader Geert Wilders looked set to lose all its seats in the European Parliament as results confirmed a win for the social democrats. Observers doubt the populists' ability to form an effective coalition, with differences on key issues including how close to be to Russia. The populists "achieved the same size of wave, maybe a little better even, than in 2014 but there's no tsunami," Sebastien Maillard, director of the Jacques Delors Institute think tank, told AFP. He forecast that they would not be able to "disturb democratic life" in the next parliament. - Green surge - Environmentalist parties performed strongly, reflecting how the issue of climate change has leapt up the agenda as young activists take up the cause. In Germany, the Greens were on course to knock the centre-left SPD, the coalition partner of Chancellor Angela Merkel, from second place. Exit polls also showed the French green party EEVL led by a former top figure at Greenpeace France making strong gains with a score of 12-12.7 percent compared with 8.9 percent in the last EU elections in 2014. Through school strikes, civil disobedience and large-scale marches, the movements have succeeded in highlighting how human behaviour threatens the future of the planet. And unlike the eurosceptic populists, the Greens are not riven by division on a pan-European level. "The Greens traditionally form a homogeneous and coherent group in the European parliament," said Manuel Lafont Rapnouil, senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR). - Blows for leaders - Macron had made no secret of the significance he attached to the results and his party's performance was a symbolic blow for the president two years into his five year mandate. But his office sought to put a brave face on the indications, saying that the performance was "respectable" after reports indicated that a bad showing could lead to a cabinet reshuffle. The night was no better for Merkel, as exit polls showed the list of her centre-right bloc was due to only garner around 28 percent. Elsewhere, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said he would call snap elections after voters relegated his Syriza party to second place behind the opposition conservative New Democracy party. However, nationalist and eurosceptic ruling parties did well: the Fidesz party of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban was on course for a big victory while in Poland governing right-wing Law and Justice party (PiS) was well ahead. - Turnout jumps - After fears ahead of the election that voters would stay away, turnout across the European Union excluding Britain was estimated at 51 percent, the highest in 20 years, the EU parliament said. A variety of issues ranging from immigration, Brexit, the economy to climate change have made these polls the most closely watched EU elections in a generation. In the first election to the European Parliament in 1979, 62 percent of eligible voters cast a ballot in what were then nine member states. Since then the number of members has swollen to 28, but turnout has fallen every five years, to just over 42 percent in 2014. - Brexit party sweeps Britain - Britain took part in the EU elections despite still being scheduled to leave the bloc by October 31 amid the crisis and confusion over its delayed exit. The ruling Conservatives of Prime Minister Theresa May -- who announced her resignation last week -- are set to be punished by falling into fourth place. However the Brexit party of Nigel Farage -- condemned by opponents as part of a line of European populist leaders -- is set to win by far the largest share of the vote with early results showing it winning 31.5 percent of the vote. Yet in a sign of the extreme polarisation in British politics, the pro-EU Liberal Democrats are challenging the main opposition Labour Party for second place. Voters were electing MPs for 751 seats in the European Parliament Four people were killed Sunday at a Catholic church in northern Burkina Faso in the latest in a series of attacks on Christian targets in the region, according to a bishop in the region and a security source. "The Christian community of Toulfe was the target of a terrorist attack which gathered for Sunday prayers. The attack left four of the faithful dead," the Bishop of Ouahigouya, Justin Kientega, said in a statement. Earlier a security source has said three people were killed in the attack. "Heavily armed individuals attacked the church... as the faithful were celebrating Sunday mass" in the town of Toulfe, the source had said. A local resident contacted by phone by AFP said the attack "caused panic in the village and many residents sought to seek cover in their homes or in the bush." Last week gunmen killed four Catholics in a religious procession, the day after a priest and five parishioners were murdered at mass. Also this month, French special forces freed four foreign hostages in the former French colony during an overnight raid that cost the lives of two soldiers. Burkina Faso's population is around two-thirds Muslim and one-third Christian. The semi-desert country has suffered increasingly frequent and deadly attacks attributed to a number of jihadist groups, including the Ansarul Islam group, the Group to Support Islam and Muslims (GSIM) and Islamic State in the Greater Sahara. The raids began in 2015 in the north before targeting the capital Ouagadougou and other regions, notably in the east. Nearly 400 people have been killed since 2015 -- mainly in hit-and-run raids -- according to an AFP tally. Jihadist groups target Christian clerics as well as Muslim ones they do not consider sufficiently radical in a country where traditionally both religions have co-existed peaceably. France has deployed 4,500 troops in Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Chad in a mission codenamed Barkhane to help local forces flush out jihadists. France has deployed 4,500 troops in Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Chad in a mission codenamed Barkhane to help local forces flush out jihadists More than 1,000 Haitians took to the streets of the capital Port-au-Prince on Sunday to denounce sexual violence in the country after two students were gang-raped this week. Marchers dressed in white walked to the city center from the university where one of the recent victims studied, passing the scene of the attack while screaming loudly to imitate the cries of rape victims. "Rape is becoming a form of repression against women in working-class neighborhoods and in universities across the country," said feminist activist Pascale Solages. Explaining the march's slogan #PaFeSilans, or "do not be silent" in Creole, Solages said: "Victims keep silent because they feel shame and fear. But everyone must end this silence: witnesses in the communities, families, no matter where the rape is committed, silence must not be kept." There has been little study of sexual assault in Haiti, but in 2017, the Ministry of Health released a survey saying one in eight women report experiencing sexual violence at some point in their lives. Haiti is dominated by a patriarchal culture and following this week's attacks, several commentators publicly questioned whether the women were responsible for their rapes because of what they were wearing. "Absolutely nothing can justify rape. Girls are free to walk outside at any time they want, and they can dress as they want," said Wilkenson Saint-Fleur, a student who joined the march. "We're not living in a jungle. The authorities must now uphold their responsibilities to the public they've sworn to protect, otherwise people will take justice into their own hands, and we'll fall into chaos," he said. The rector of Quisqueya University, where one of the victims studied, walked alongside his students and encouraged them to demand justice. "Violence is becoming a cultural phenomenon and society is beginning to tolerate violence against women," said Jacky Lumarque."We must say no." Protesters took to the streets of Port-au-Prince, Haiti on May 26, 2019 to denounce a recent spate of gang rapes Demonstrators shout slogans during a protest against sexual violence in Port-au-Prince, Haiti on May 26, 2019 Lewis Hamilton resisted intense race-long pressure on Sunday to secure a narrow, dramatic and emotional victory for Mercedes at the Monaco Grand Prix. The defending five-time world champion and current series leader, who came home less than a second ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen, said he survived the Dutchman's late attacks by "fighting with the spirit of Niki (Lauda)". He lifted his red helmet in tribute to the three-time champion Austrian and non-executive chairman of Mercedes who died on Monday. Verstappen, who was involved a pit-lane collision with Valtteri Bottas during the race, was classified fourth after taking a five seconds penalty. This elevated four-time champion Sebastian Vettel to second for Ferrari and lifted the luckless Bottas to third in the second Mercedes. Both joined Hamilton in donning red 'Niki' hats in tribute to Lauda for the podium ceremonies. "Lewis, it's James... Incredible drive," said Mercedes' strategist James Vowles before team boss Toto Wolff told him: "That was for Niki." "That was the hardest race I think I've had," said Hamilton. "I was fighting with the spirit of Niki. He's been truly an influential person in our team and we miss him." Verstappen's Red Bull team-mate Pierre Gasly came home fifth ahead of Carlos Sainz of McLaren, Daniil Kvyat and his Toro Rosso team-mate Alex Albon. Daniel Ricciardo, last year's winner for Red Bull, was ninth for Renault ahead of Romain Grosjean of Haas. It was Hamilton's third win in Monaco and the 77th win of his career opening up a clear lead in the title race. The result extended Mercedes' run of season-opening wins to six, but brought an end to their sequence of one-two triumphs, buoying up Ferrari despite another mixed weekend that saw local hero Charles Leclerc, who started 15th, retire in the opening stages. At the start, Hamilton led Bottas through Sainte Devote and up the hill, the pair maintaining a Silver Arrows one-two ahead of Verstappen into Casino Square. Sporting a new red helmet in tribute Lauda, Hamilton raced with all the elan shown in securing his 85th pole on Saturday while his team wore black armbands and, like many others, carried messages on their cars, a poignant sight after a pre-race minute's silence had created a sombre mood. - 'Terrible' car foils Leclerc - Leclerc, near the back of the grid following Ferrari?s qualifying bungles, was 13th after two laps and 12th on lap eight when he swept inside Grosjean at Rascasse. As rain fell, his Monegasque fans leapt in celebration. But a lap later, trying to pass Nico Hulkenberg's Renault, he made contact and spun, puncturing his right rear tyre against the barriers. Leclerc limped back to the Ferrari pits as a safety car was deployed. "The tyres are starting to fall apart," warned Hamilton, before Mercedes double-stacked his pit-stop with Bottas. Verstappen came in with them and was released alongside Bottas, forcing the Finn into the barriers as he stole second place. The stewards gave Verstappen a five-second penalty, announced on lap 22. By then, Leclerc's cameo was done, the showman retiring with his "terrible" car. Verstappen's collision with Bottas had caused a puncture for the Finn who had to pit again for new hard tyres. He re-joined fourth behind Vettel as Hamilton led the rampant Dutchman. Verstappen pushed Hamilton, who complained his front left was "opening up", to maximum concentration. By lap 42, Hamilton led him by six-tenths with Vettel third, 1.7 seconds adrift, ahead of Bottas. "I feel like I have the wrong tyre on," said Hamilton, running on mediums. "No, it's all fine," replied Mercedes. "I think I'm in big trouble guys," Hamilton repeated, on lap 50, to be told Mercedes had no intention of pitting again. Lapping back markers had slowed him, allowing the top four to close within four seconds. Hamilton's dramas intensified, but engineer Pete Bonnington stayed calm. "These tyres are dead. We're going to lose this race Bono," he radioed again. Yet he stayed half a second ahead and resisted a lunge from the Dutchman on lap 76. They touched, but continued, Hamilton cutting the chicane to retain the initiative and win. Lewis Hamilton paid tribute to the iconic Niki Lauda after the Austrian passed away at the start of the week Campione d'Italia, a tiny Italian enclave on the shores of Switzerland's Lake Lugano, is fighting for its survival after its main source of income -- a giant casino -- went bankrupt. "SOS Campione is dead" reads a giant banner hung opposite the immense casino, made up of modernistic cubic-shaped blocks with darkened windows stretching 10 floors high. "Rien ne va plus" -- the French version of "no more bets" -- reads another banner on a tent set up by the unions representing some 500 casino employees, who suddenly found themselves without work. For the 1,961 inhabitants of this one-square-kilometre (0.4-square-mile) sovereign Italian territory inside southern Switzerland, the closure of the public casino has been devastating. For decades, it guaranteed the prosperity of the town, 23 kilometres (14 miles) from Italy. "Those who were lucky enough to be born here, were lucky enough to have a job," Fiorenzo Dorigo, who worked at the casino for 21 years, told AFP. "Once you were done with your studies and military service, you reunited with all of your old school mates" working at the casino, he said. But that comradery and income security evaporated last July, when a local Italian court in Como ordered the casino to close after it failed to honour its financial obligations to authorities in Campione, which is part of Como province. - Hoping for resurrection - The atmosphere in the community now that the casino is shut is "sad", said Evgenia Petrova, a 52-year-old Russian artist, living in Campione since 2012. The typical "Italian positivity", which used to distinguish the village from the surrounding Swiss communities, "is not obvious anymore," she told AFP, looking sadly out the window of her paint-splashed studio. But residents still hope for the casino's resurrection. A Milan court recently overturned the Como legal ruling on the grounds of procedural inconsistencies. And last month, the Italian government sent an expert to evaluate the possibilities of bringing the casino back to life. Inhabitants are demanding that Rome comes to the rescue. "Campione is Italian. Italy cannot just abandon it. It must take all possible steps" to save the enclave, unionist Vincenzo Falanga told AFP. - Espionage - Campione has a long and rich history. In the year 777, a wealthy trader and landowner named Totone donated Campione -- later renamed Campione d'Italia under the rule of dictator Benito Mussolini -- to the monastery of Sant'Ambrogio in Milan, which became part of Italy in 1797. The picturesque enclave, which with its winding walkways and hills covered in cypress and palm trees offers a magnificent view of the lake, has a unique status. Inhabitants pay taxes to Italy, but almost everything else is Swiss, including the currency, car registration number plates, telephone lines and rubbish collection. It is also a tax haven: there is no sales tax and inhabitants benefit from a generous tax break to compensate for the cost of living, which is also very Swiss -- meaning high. A gaming establishment was first opened in Campione in 1917, but its main purpose was to spy on foreign diplomats during World War I, and it closed two years later. It reopened in 1933 thanks to a decree, which remains in effect, requiring the casino proceeds to cover all municipal costs. The casino, with its high-rollers, showered Campione in riches for decades, allowing the tiny enclave to dream big -- too big, according to some. - Competition, online gambling - In 2007, after seven years of construction, a brand new, 36,000-square-metre, ochre-coloured casino, saw the light of day. The colossus, designed by Swiss architect Mario Botta, can accommodate 3,100 gamblers at a time, offering them 56 tables and around 1,000 slot machines to choose from. But new laws permitting slot machines in bars and cafes and the rise of online gambling have gradually whittled away the house winnings. The strengthening of the Swiss franc against the euro, as well as the opening of three large Swiss casinos nearby since 2000 have also taken their toll. Over the past decade, as the casino's profits fell, so too did the town's fortunes. The mayor quit, the nursery school shuttered and the tourist office is preparing to do the same. Swiss and Italian aid groups say that around 200 people now usually show up at their thrice monthly food and other aid distributions. "Campione has not seen a situation this difficult since the war," said Giorgio Zanzi, the administrator sent by Rome to run things after the mayor left. His office is chilly: Campione can no longer afford fuel to keep the heating on, and municipal employees have not been paid since February 2018. The casino and municipality have together raked up millions in debt, Zanzi told AFP, adding, though, that he was still holding out hope for a rescue. As a result of the downturn, Campione had no candidates for Sunday's local elections and has cancelled the ballot, which should have run in parallel with voting in European elections. - 'Small territory, big problems' - Ideas on how to save Campione have been discussed, from investing in tourism or new technologies to the creation of an advantageous tax scheme for businesses. But time is of the essence. The situation will soon become even more complicated: Next year, the enclave is due to become part of the European Union customs area, raising practical questions about interactions with non-EU member Switzerland. Authorities in Bern say discussions with Italy about the implications of the change are "under way" but refuse to give details. Campione, Zanzi said, is "a small territory, but with big problems". The casino dominates the tiny Italian enclave of Campione d'Italia, which depended on it as its main source of income Map locating Campione d'Italia, an Italian enclave inside the Swiss canton of Ticino, where a casino is closing. The huge casino, designed by Swiss architect Mario Botta, opened in 2007 but online gambling and new laws permitting slot machines in bars and cafes have whittled away at its winnings The strengthening of the Swiss franc against the euro, as well as the opening of three large Swiss casinos nearby since 2000 have also taken their toll The picturesque Italian enclave on the shores of Switzerland's Lake Lugano is a tax haven Giorgio Zanzi, sent by Rome to administer Campione d'Italia after the mayor left, can no longer afford fuel to keep the heating on in his office Over the past decade, as the casino's profits fell, so too did the town's fortunes Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Saturday a US decision to deploy 1,500 additional troops to the Middle East is a "threat to international peace," state media reported. "Increased US presence in our region is very dangerous and a threat to international peace and security and must be confronted," Zarif told the official IRNA news agency before heading home from a visit to Pakistan. Washington says the reinforcements, which come after the deployment earlier this month of an aircraft carrier task force, B-52 bombers, an amphibious assault ship and a missile defence system, are in response to a "campaign" of recent attacks approved by Iran's top leadership. Those include a rocket launched into the Green Zone in Baghdad, explosive devices that damaged four tankers near the entrance to the Gulf, and a drone attack by Yemeni rebels on a key Saudi oil pipeline. Iran has denied involvement in any of the attacks. "Americans make such claims to justify their hostile policies and to create tension in the Persian Gulf," Zarif said. The United States this month ended the last exemptions it had granted from sweeping unilateral sanctions it reimposed after abandoning a landmark 2015 nuclear between major powers and Iran in May last year. The move dealt a heavy new blow to Iran's already reeling economy as even vocal critics of the renewed sanctions, like Turkey, announced they had stopped buying Iranian oil. Iran has appealed repeatedly to the other parties to the 2015 nuclear deal -- Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia -- to rescue it from renewed US sanctions, so far to little avail. Britain, France and Germany launched a special payment system, called INSTEX -- the Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges -- in late January to enable Iran to keep trading with European companies. But in March Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei dismissed the mechanism as a "bitter joke". - Brinkmanship fears - Earlier this month, on the first anniversary of Washington's withdrawal from the agreement, Tehran announced it was rolling back some of the limits on its nuclear activities it had agreed under the deal. It threatened to suspend more if there was no action from the major powers within 60 days on honouring their own commitments to sanctions relief. The European powers denounced Iran's threat to resume nuclear work but urged the US not to further escalate tensions with a military build-up. The successive US deployments have raised concerns, even among governments close to Washington, that brinkmanship with Tehran could lead to a dangerous miscalculation. The Gulf sultanate of Oman, which has acted as a broker between Iran and the United States in the past, said it was trying reduce tensions, following a visit to Tehran this week by state minister for foreign affairs Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah. On Tuesday, Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi announced that he was sending delegations to the US and Iran in an attempt to ease tensions between the two countries, which are both key Baghdad allies. Tehran has refused to hold talks with Washington "under any circumstances" if the rights of the Islamic republic are not respected. "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," Supreme National Security Council spokesman Keyvan Khosravi said on Thursday. The United States says it is sending 1,500 additional troops to the Middle East to join an aircraft carrier task force and an amphibious assault ship in response to what it calls a "campaign" of attacks approved by Iran's top leadership Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has pleaded repeatedly with the other parties to the 2015 nuclear deal for concrete action to rescue it from renewed US sanctions -- so far to little avail A 27-year-old homeless man has been charged with the murder of Courtney Herron. The 25-year-old womans body was found by dog walkers in Royal Park in Parkville, about four kilometres from the Melbourne CBD, about 9.15am on Saturday. Homicide Squad detectives arrested and interviewed the 27-year-old on Sunday and charged him overnight with one count of murder. He will appear at the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Monday. Courtney Herron, 25, was found dead on Saturday following what police described as a horrific attack. Source: Victoria Police Police thanked the community and media for assistance during the investigation. Homicide Squad Detective Inspector Andrew Stamper said on Sunday Ms Herron had suffered extreme violence. "This was a particularly, particularly horrendous attack," he said on Sunday. Ms Herron had been couch surfing and sleeping rough for some time while struggling with drug and mental health issues. A man was seen laying a bouquet of flowers at the site where a body was found. Source: AAP Police were seen taking away a body at Royal Park on Saturday. Source: AAP Det Insp Stamper said she had been in sporadic contact with her family and there were "a lot of people out there who knew and loved Courtney". "When there's a child that suffered drug use, mental health issues, family relationships can be fragmented," he said. "That doesn't mean that families out there don't love their children, and you know, our heart breaks for them. "We are dealing with a heartbroken family again." Flowers were laid in Royal Park following the discovery of the body. Source: AAP Ms Herron's killing has sent shock waves among the wider Melbourne community with prominent and everyday Victorians outraged over the death of yet another young woman. Over the weekend friends of Ms Herron and others laid floral tributes at the site where her body was found - just a short distance from Princes Park, where the body of aspiring comedian Eurydice Dixon was found on June 12 last year. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, download the Yahoo News app from iTunes orGoogle Play and stay up to date with the latest news with Yahoos daily newsletter. Sign up here. Lewis Hamilton said he owed his status as a five-time world champion to Niki Lauda after dedicating his 85th pole position to him on Saturday at the Monaco Grand Prix. The defending champion and current series leader also explained why he felt it was right for him to withdraw from speaking at a scheduled pre-event news conference on Wednesday. "It was very, very difficult at the beginning of the week, everyone was posting pictures and I don't feel like I need to conform to how everyone operates," he explained. "And coming here on Wednesday, I just didn't feel it was the time to do that and I wasn't ready. Toto (Wolff, Mercedes team chief) also felt the same. It wasn't the time to dig deep into our feelings because we were still reminiscing on the experiences we had. "We all love him and we miss him and it's hard to think of never getting to see him again. "Or to talk to him and have conversations, but I have the greatest memories of him and he will live long in my memories." Talking to reporters after his all-time record lap of the Mediterranean street circuit, Hamilton recalled that it was the three-time champion Austrian, who was non-executive director of Mercedes, who persuaded him to leave McLaren for Mercedes in 2012. It was the first time Hamilton had spoken in public about Lauda since his death last Monday, aged 70. "I was just thinking, because I was here at home in Monaco and down by the pool. And I remember getting a call from Niki in 2012 ? and we had never really spoken before and he was on the phone saying 'you should come to Mercedes ? this is where you need to be'. "It was the first time we'd started talking. I always said Ross (Brawn) was the convincing element in me coming to the team because when I sat down with him he explained what the team was doing and the plan for Mercedes. "I truly believed in that vision, but Niki was the one that brought it to me and really got it across the line. All of these years, he's been my partner in crime, through all my negotiations and pushing for improvements on the car, he was just such a racer. "He was always asking what needs to be improved with the car, whether its front suspension, down-force, whether the engine was OK. And he'd come to the factory and would be giving them 'arse-holes' as he would say. "Ultimately he was part of the process of changing my life and if I hadn't had the call, at that time, I'd be a one-time world champion now and probably on 22 wins, or whatever it was I had at McLaren, and now I sit here as a five-time world champion and I definitely feel like I owe him the lot." The halo of Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes was painted red in tribute to Niki Lauda A rare all-white panda has been caught on camera at a nature reserve in southwest China, showing albinism exists among wild pandas in the region, state media reported. The spotless, red-eyed animal was photographed while trekking through the forest mid-April in southwestern Sichuan province, said official news agency Xinhua on Saturday. The panda is an albino between one to two years old, said Li Sheng, a researcher specialising in bears at Peking University, who was quoted in Xinhua's report. The Wolong National Nature Reserve -- where the animal was spotted -- told AFP it had no further details about the albino panda. More than 80 percent of the world's wild pandas live in Sichuan, with the rest in Shaanxi and Gansu province. There were about 548 giant pandas in captivity globally as of November, reported Xinhua. The number living in the wild has dwindled to fewer than 2,000, according to the World Wildlife Fund. Famed for its "panda diplomacy", in which China dispatches the rare animals to other countries as a symbol of close relations, Beijing has invested in different programmes to protect its furry ambassadors in recent years. In 2018, China announced plans to create a bastion for giant pandas three times the size of Yellowstone National Park to link up existing wild populations and encourage breeding of the notoriously slow-reproducing animal. At least 10 billion yuan ($1.45 billion) had been budgeted for the Giant Panda National Park in mountainous southwestern China state-run China Daily reported. Pandas are currently listed as a vulnerable species, which means that while their survival is still threatened, conservation efforts have helped reduce their danger of extinction. At least $1.45 billion was budgeted for the Giant Panda National Park in mountainous southwestern China according to state media The death toll from a powerful earthquake that rocked parts of Peru and neighboring Ecuador rose to two on Monday, with more than 30 people injured, authorities said. Sunday's 8.0-earthquake hit a sparsely populated region of Peru's Amazon basin region but was felt over a wide area. Reports were still coming in Monday from remote areas affected by the quake, which also rattled the capital Lima and other cities where frightened residents rushed into the streets. "We have two dead because of the earthquake. The second victim is a 15-year-old who was hit on the head" by falling rubble at his home, Civil Defense Coordinator Ricardo Seijas told Chanel N television. The teenager died of his injuries after begin taken to hospital in Peru's northern region of La Libertad. The other victim, a 48-year-old man, was reported Sunday to have been killed by falling debris while he slept at his house in Cajamarca in northern Peru. The quake struck at 2:41 am (0741 GMT). Seijas said 15 people had been injured, with several hundred buildings destroyed or damaged. The quake was the most powerful to hit the earthquake-prone country in 12 years, Peru's President Martin Vizcarra said, adding that it blocked roads, damaged a bridge and knocked down houses. "It is an earthquake affecting the entire Peruvian jungle," he said. One of the most dramatic moments captured on social media happened in Yurimaguas, the town closest to the epicenter. Video from the police station shows the police chief shouting at his subordinates to quickly open the jail cells and get inmates outside. "The earthquake is strong!" he is heard yelling. "Open the cells! Help with the detainees, get one each!" Arri Pezo, the mayor of Lagunas, 75 kilometers from th epicenter, said many residents who fled from their homes later stayed in the streets for fear of aftershocks. "You could not walk at the time of the earthquake, things were falling," Pezo told RPP radio. Reports said 15 people had been hurt in Ecuador, where power-cuts were reported in parts of its Amazon basin region. Peruvian media said the tremor was also felt in parts of Colombia and Venezuela. Peru lies on the so-called Ring of Fire -- an arc of fault lines that circles the Pacific Basin and is prone to frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. The South American country records about 200 earthquakes a year, most of them going unnoticed by the public. A crack in the ground caused by a quake in Puerto Santa Gema, on the outskirts of Yurimaguas, in the Amazon region, Peru on May 26, 2019 Military personel and members of a health brigade unload equipment from a plane, to be used in areas affected by a quake, in Yurimaguas in Peru's Amazon region People salvage belongings after a quake damaged their house in Yurimaguas, in the Peruvian Amazon region, on May 26, 2019 An 11-year-old boy who was missing from Sydneys southwest has been found safe and well. He was found about 5.40pm on Sunday in Merrylands. NSW Police have thanked the community for their help. An 11-year-old boy has been found after he went missing from Sydney's southwest. Source: Google Maps, file The boy was last seen on Auburn Road at Yagoona about 9pm on Saturday. His parents noticed the boy, described as Caucasian and between 150cm and 160cm tall, missing on Sunday morning and reported it to Bankstown Police. The boy has a thin build, red hair, and a fair complexion with freckles, police said. He was last seen wearing pyjamas and may be carrying a black suitcase. Investigators urge anyone who may have information to contact Bankstown Police Station on (02) 9783 2199 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. 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. As nuclear explosions go, the US "Cactus" bomb test in May 1958 was relatively small -- but it has left a lasting legacy for the Marshall Islands in a dome-shaped radioactive dump. The dome -- described by a UN chief Antonio Guterres as "a kind of coffin" -- was built two decades after the blast in the Pacific ocean region. The US military filled the bomb crater on Runit island with radioactive waste, capped it with concrete, and told displaced residents of the Pacific's remote Enewetak atoll they could safely return home. But Runit's 45-centimetre (18-inch) thick concrete dome has now developed cracks. And because the 115-metre wide crater was never lined, there are fears radioactive contaminants are leaching through the island's porous coral rock into the ocean. The concerns have intensified amid climate change. Rising seas, encroaching on the low-lying nation, are threatening to undermine the dome's structural integrity. Jack Ading, who represents the area in the Marshalls' parliament, calls the dome a "monstrosity". "It is stuffed with radioactive contaminants that include plutonium-239, one of the most toxic substances known to man," he told AFP. "The coffin is leaking its poison into the surrounding environment. And to make matters even worse, we're told not to worry about this leakage because the radioactivity outside of the dome is at least as bad as the radioactivity inside of it." - 'Staggering' challenges - The dome has become a symbol of the mess left by the US nuclear test programme in the Marshall islands when 67 bombs were detonated between 1947-58 at Enewetak and Bikini atolls. Numerous islanders were forcibly evacuated from ancestral lands and resettled, including Enewetak's residents. Thousands more islanders were exposed to radioactive fallout and suffered health problems. The people of Enewetak were allowed home in 1980, and about 800 islanders now live in the southern part of the atoll, 20 kilometres (12 miles) from Runit. After the US military withdrew, the Marshall Islands government officially accepted a "full and final" settlement to cover the impact of the nuclear tests. But there have long been complaints that the compensation paid by Washington was inadequate, and the United Nations has described "a legacy of distrust" towards the United States. UN Secretary General Guterres raised the issue earlier this month after meeting Marshall Islands President Hilda Heine in Fiji, when they discussed the nuclear legacy and the prospect of radioactive leakage from Runit dome. "The Pacific was victimised in the past as we all know... the consequences of these have been quite dramatic, in relation to health, in relation to the poisoning of waters in some areas," he said. Marshalls Foreign Minister John Silk said he appreciated Guterres bringing the Runit dome to world attention with this comments. "We are pleased that the Secretary General made these statements, since so often it seems that these ongoing legacy issues that continue to impact our people are forgotten by the international community," he said. - Uncertain future - Rhea Moss-Christian, who chairs the Marshall Islands National Nuclear Commission, said the country "needs the support of the international community to address the staggering health and environmental challenges across the Pacific." The consequences of the dome failing are unclear. A 2013 inspection commissioned by the US government suggested radioactive fallout in the Enewetak lagoon sediment was already so high a catastrophic failure would not necessarily result in locals receiving increased dosages of radiation. Silk, noting that the US government had committed to ongoing monitoring of the dome, said an independent assessment of the structure's status "would be helpful". But Ading said the situation was "a constant source of anxiety for the people of Enewetak". "We pray that the Runit dome does not eventually become our coffin," he said. The huge dome built over top of a crater left by one of the nuclear nuclear tests over Runit Island in Enewetak in the Marshall Islands Graphic showing the "Cactus dome" US nuclear waste dump in the Pacific. Thousands of Marshall Islanders, amid continued nuclear tests in the region the 1950s, fled or were forcibly evacuated Marshall Islands' President Hilda Heine has discussed the legacy left from the nuclear detonations, and the prospect of radioactive leakage Venezuela's opposition leader Saturday rejected "false dialogue" in resolving the country's political crisis, as Norway announced it would host another round of talks between his representatives and the government of President Nicolas Maduro. The two sides would return to Oslo next week "to continue a process facilitated by Norway," the Scandinavian country's Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Soreid said. The mediation bid comes after a months-long power struggle between National Assembly leader Juan Guaido and the socialist president, with sometimes deadly street clashes. US-backed Guaido is recognized by dozens of countries as interim president after dismissing Maduro's presidency as "illegitimate" following his re-election last year in polls widely dismissed as rigged. Maduro has been shunned by much of the international community for presiding over the country's economic collapse, which has led to shortages of basic goods -- forcing millions to flee -- as well as brutally suppressing dissent. He retains the backing of major creditors Russia, China and Cuba, as well as the powerful military. "Nobody is ever going to get us here confused about a false dialogue," Guaido told supporters in Carora, Lara state on Saturday, without addressing Norway's announcement directly. He is cautious about the talks since they are unpopular with the opposition base that has spent months in the streets trying to push Maduro out. Guaido said there had been no "negotiation" in the Norway talks, while any deal should include mediation leading to Maduro's departure and new elections being scheduled. "We are going to insist," he said, "because today by combining all our strategies, using all the tools we have, we are going to get to that final step," Guaido said, referring to street protests and multiple levels of diplomacy. Guaido tried to incite a military uprising against Maduro on April 30 but only about 30 members of the armed forces joined him. The socialist regime has since ramped up pressure on Guaido's allies and supporters, charging 10 lawmakers with treason. The pro-government Constituent Assembly recently stripped 14 opposition lawmakers of their legislative immunity over their support for the failed uprising. Venezuela's self-declared interim leader Juan Guaido, pictured on May 24, 2019, is cautious about the talks in Norway because they are unpopular with the opposition base that has spent months in the streets trying to push out President Nicolas Maduro In connection with Memorial Day weekend, this column is about African-American men and women from Auburn who served our nation during World War II. Army Pfc. Charles Philip Johnson was killed in action in France, Jan. 1, 1945. He was the husband of Arlene Ethel Copes Johnson of 31 Parker St., Auburn, and he was a recipient of the Purple Heart. The following is a description of Charles Johnson that's in the records on file at the Cayuga County Historian's Office: Johnson, Charles PFC, Quartermaster Corps Assigned to the 118th Reinforcement Defense 106th Ground Force Replacement Service (GGRS) Note: In early December 1944, shortages of infantry rifle replacements in the European theater began to mount sharply. The theater had been experiencing rifleman shortages since July 1944, and its Ground Force Replacement Command (GFRC) had been engaged in a training program to convert basic privates from other arms and services to infantry. In December the shortages increased rapidly as the supply of replacements available from the United States declined. As of 8 December, a week before the beginning of the German counterattack in the Ardennes caused further depletions, the Theater estimates that there would be an overall deficiency of more than 29,00 riflemen by the end of the month. Such a deficiency would effectively curtail plans for pressing the attack against Germany. By the beginning of the Ardennes counterattack, the theater had already planned to convert to infantry as many physically fit men from service units as possible. A history of PFC Johnsons unit is not available at the Military History Institute, Carlisle, PA: however, he was killed in action at the Town of Givet on the France-Belgium border located about 32 miles west of Bastogne, Belgium on 1 January 1945. On this date and place the Battle of the Bulge was in full swing. PFC Johnson was killed, according to Army mortuary records, by gunshot wound to the chest. PFC Johnson, 29, was survived by his wife Arlene and four children of Auburn, two sisters and seven brothers, five of whom were in the service. A memorial service was held for him at the Thompson Memorial Church. He is buried in Fort Hill Cemetery. PFC Johnson was the first African American soldier from Auburn to be killed in the war. A large group of Auburn African-American veterans who survived World War II are in the photograph with this column. All of them were honorably discharged. One veteran not in the photo was James Chaffin, who was held captive in 1943 by Japan. Two sisters from Auburn also served. Elizabeth (Betty) Copes Gaskin and Rachael Copes Ellis enlisted in Womens Air Force. They were stationed at Williams Air Force Base on Oct. 30, 1944, and started active duty November 27, 1944. They received the American Service Medal, World War II Victory Medal and Good Conduct Medal. Both served in Medical Corps. Auburn resident Pauline Copes Johnson, Harriet Tubman's great-great-grandniece, writes periodic history columns on influential African-Americans. Love 6 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 A couple of recent articles in this newspaper caught my attention and, although they dont have any direct correlation to our real estate market, they did give me food for thought. The first on April 23 discussed the fact that for the third consecutive year, Maricopa County has been the fastest growing county in the nation. The second on April 24 discussed how Phoenix and Tucson are among the fastest warming cities in the nation and becoming urban heat islands. ' In addition, a newsletter that I subscribe to from Elliott D. Pollack and Company indicates that Arizona ranked fourth in terms of statewide real GDP growth in 2018. With this kind of growth and the warmer temperatures in the Valley, it is no wonder that traffic on I-17 north is lined up bumper to bumper on Friday afternoons and Saturday mornings. People are escaping the large cities to come to northern Arizona, where temperatures are cooler, recreation opportunities abound and the life style is laid back. Although most are here for a weekend experience to escape the heat and congestion, there are many who are looking for a more permanent situation, perhaps a second home or a condo for their kids who are enrolled at NAU. Many of our visitors say how much they would like to have mountain property and those who can afford it are actively looking and buying properties in our town. With the pressure of 4 million people south of us, there is little doubt that our real estate values can only increase. Like it or not, for better or for worse, we will continue to see pressure on our real estate market as more and more people move north to Flagstaff and surrounding communities. Those of us who own Flagstaff real estate can be assured that our property values will remain positive for the near future and probably the long-term. If you are contemplating a home purchase this year, I suggest you get off the fence and move forward. If you are waiting and hoping that prices will drop, you may be in for a long wait. Mary Monday is an Associate Broker at RE/MAX Peak Properties. She can be contacted at: (928) 214-7325, Mary@MaryMonday.com or www.MaryMonday.com. Love 0 Funny 2 Wow 0 Sad 2 Angry 7 The Museum of Northern Arizona named Mary Kershaw as its new executive director earlier this month. Kershaw comes with a breadth of experience, having spent more than three decades in museum work. Kershaw began her career at the Museum of London Archaeology Service, where she worked as a field archaeologist. She has also spent time at the Harrogate Borough Council, Head of Museums and Arts for the Harrogate Borough and York Museums Trust. She most recently served as executive director at the New Mexico Museum of Art, where she helped celebrate its centennial. Ahead of her official start date in June, Kershaw talked about her experience working in museums, the art of the Southwest and how museums give us the real thing. Gabriel Granillo, Arizona Daily Sun: Tell us a little bit about yourself. Mary Kershaw: Having been born and raised in Philadelphia, I was intrigued to discover that the museums founders, zoologist Dr. Harold S. Colton and artist Mary-Russell Ferrell Colton, came out to the Southwest from Philadelphia. So I feel connected to the museum from the outset. I graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in English literature focused on medieval literature, art and culture. While at Penn, I was part of a small cohort who traveled to Kings College London as a pilot group to establish an exchange program between Kings and the English department at Penn. It was a wonderful, life-changing experience. It was there that I met Peter Kershaw, and my future took a new direction. I moved to England and gained a masters degree in medieval archaeology from University College London and then lived in England, working first in field archaeology and then in museums, until we moved to Santa Fe in 2010. You began your museum career in Britain. What was that experience like and how did that shape your perceptions of what museums are and could be? Working in London was an amazing experience. The area has been continuously occupied for millennia by waves of different cultures. The past is ever-present in one of the most vibrant and modern cities on the planet. For me, the attraction of archaeology was the delight of discovery and the wonder of connecting with people and cultures that lived long in the past. Its also about creating story based on evidence. How can we use the information we discover to better understand the people who came before us? And how can we tell their stories? Working at the Museum of London Archaeology Service early in my career offered a wonderful model of integrating research and discovery work with interpretation for the public through museum exhibitions, publications, education and programming. It is a powerful model. It was in London that I first became convinced of the tremendous power of collections. To come face to face with beautiful objects that had been made or handled by Roman people in London, for example, gave a potent sense of connection between past and present. Many of the forces that shaped the lives of people centuries ago continue to influence the present, and that is a story the Museum of London tells through its archaeological collections. Youre quoted as saying, Authenticity is at the very core of all we do our collections are the real thing. I was hoping you could expand on that, the real thing. What do you mean by that, and why is it important to show that? I believe people have an innate desire for authentic experiences. Museums, by definition, collect and care for material culture that is genuine. That is a responsibility and a gift. Think of the people who travel around the world to see, for example, the Mona Lisa at the Louvre or an exhibition of works by [Vincent] van Gogh or [Georgia] OKeeffe. There are first-rate reproductions of these works that are widely accessible. But there is still a great desire to see the real thing, to have that authentic experience, and people will go to great lengths to have that authentic experience. The impact of seeing the genuine work; to see the brushstrokes that were made by the hand of the artist and to be in their presence that has impact. It is an experience that can stay with people for the rest of their lives. When I worked in Harrogate in North Yorkshire, there was an example I used to give about the power of the real thing. We had a collection of material related to the English Civil War, including a 17th-century linen shirt worn by Sir Henry Slingsby when he went to the gallows. He was the last Royalist to be executed in that civil war. There are many ways people can learn about the history of England during the civil war, but to come face to face with an item of clothing actually worn by someone at their execution during that war thats a powerful experience. Its a connection of human empathy that transcends time and place. All museum collections can create this direct, physical connection with authenticity, whether it be a connection with the natural world, with different cultures past and present, with works of art. These collections help us tell stories and build bridges. Museums have the great joy of working to create these experiences for the many people who engage with us in a variety of ways. In 2010 you accepted the position of executive director at the New Mexico Museum of Art and moved from England to fulfill that position. What was it about the museum or the art of the Southwest that drew you? Firstly, the Southwest is a wonderful place to experience. The breathtaking landscapes, the remarkable skies, the diversity of cultures, the depth of history and culture these are all so very special in this part of the world. The art of the Southwest was a great draw for me. The diversity of art made here is staggering, from some of the earliest surviving art traditions on this continent to contemporary work by major international artists such as Bruce Nauman, Judy Chicago, James Turrell and so many others. The Southwest has also had a great impact on the history of American art, and that is a story that is not widely told. Major artists such as Robert Henri, Marsden Hartley, Stuart Davies, Georgia OKeeffe, of course, and many others came to the Southwest. They influenced the development of artistic traditions here and, in turn, the Southwest had impact on their working practice. The art and culture of the many Native American communities, along with the distinctive light and landscapes of the Southwest, were creatively transformational for the work of many of these artists. The New Mexico Museum of Art in itself was a great draw for me as well. The museum is an iconic historic structure that helped define the architectural style of 20th-century Santa Fe. Throughout my career, I have worked with historic buildings and sites ranging from a 12th-century hermits cave to the early 20th-century museum in Santa Fe. It is wonderfully satisfying to help repair and restore these heirlooms handed down to us by the visionaries who created them. Finally, I would say, there was a lot to be done at the museum, and that is a great attraction to me. Big changes have been made there over the past nine and a bit years, working with the very talented staff in all areas facilities, collections, curators, educators, guards and cashiers as well as our many dedicated volunteers. Everyone had their part to play and joined in with great enthusiasm. While there, you helped organize and celebrate the museum's centennial. As it turns out youll also be doing the same for MNA. What do you have planned for the upcoming centennial, and how does your work with another museums centennial shape how youll approach ours in Flagstaff? In my view, the centennial is a time to look back at the origins of the museum and to understand what energy, creativity and innovation led to the foundation of the museum 100 years ago. Now, as we move into the next century, how can those founding values be relevant to our museum and our communities today? The answers to this question will help guide the planning of the celebrations, and they will help chart out a roadmap for the transformation of the museum into its next stage. The first order of business for me will be to get to know the museum and its place in the community. What do people love and value about the museum? Do they have hopes and dreams for what the museum can become? What are their concerns? This process involves a lot of talking and, more importantly, listening and learning. These initial conversations are so helpful in understanding the aspirations and potential of a museum. It is important to go beyond conversation and create opportunities for broad involvement, too. The museums centennial should be a community celebration, and I would look for ways to involve as many people as possible in the planning and implementation of this important event. Outside of the museum, where might we find you? Any hobbies youre hoping to pick up? The first place to look for me would be in a museum. Visiting museums is one of my favorite things to do. I always enjoy learning new things, and museums are a great place to do that. Aside from that kind of busmans holiday, my husband Peter and I enjoy a wide range of cultural activities concerts, lectures, dance, theater and especially cinema, as Peter is a filmmaker. When he is in production on his own projects, I love to be involved and work as part of the production team. We also love to travel, both near and far. Were looking forward to exploring the environment around Flagstaff and across the Colorado Plateau, and also getting to know more of Arizona. This is a beautiful part of the world, and we plan to get to see as much of it as we can. One other activity I have enjoyed and hope to continue is learning Spanish. Ive come pretty far in the past few years, and I hope to become fluent. That may involve traveling a bit further afield from time to time to immerse myself in the language, so trips to Spain may be in my future. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The Arizona Corporation Commission discussed the feasibility of converting the Cholla Power Plant into a power plant fueled by forest thinning byproducts on Tuesday, with the hopes that it would help the Four Forest Restoration Initiative (4FRI) complete its forest thinning goal. At their meeting, all commissioners agreed on the unhealthy state of the forests in northern Arizona and 4FRIs problem with forest-thinning byproducts -- or biomass. If 4FRI does not find a way to rid the federal-owned forests of the needles, bark and branches left over from forest thinning, catastrophic wildfires might still occur after thinning is completed. What was not agreed upon at the meeting, however, was whether Arizona citizens should pay for fixing forests as a part of their utility bill. The study was done by Arizona Public Service and the conclusion was that converting the generator would cost $205 million and could be completed by 2022. It also concluded that it was the most cost-effective option they had been proposed, and would save some jobs for the region. The Cholla Power Plant is currently scheduled to close their units that generate power using coal in 2025. The push for this plan was initiated by commissioner Andy Tobin, who seemed receptive of the idea of using the power plant for biomass power. The current plan would require 60 megawatts of power from biomass, a small portion of APSs total output. I think what Im hearing is Cholla is fast becoming the number one opportunity that well have for getting additional biomass energy, Tobin said. However, commissioner Sandra Kennedy voiced concerns with the plan, saying she did not feel it was the responsibility of APS customers paying for power to also pay for the cost of converting the power plant and helping solve 4FRIs biomass problem. Is this not a federal issue, rather than a state issue? Kennedy asked. 4FRI aspires to treat one million acres, with a goal of treating 50,000 acres per year. Commissioner Boyd Dunn spoke to Tom Torres, deputy forest supervisor of the Tonto National Forest, when he said that he wished the U.S. Forest Service would spend the money to handle the issue of forest health itself. Dunn, however, didnt have much hope in seeing timely results. I dont see [federal funding] turning around very quickly, Dunn said. Thats why I feel this is an emergency in my state, in Arizona, to try to turn the cycle. David Tenney, director of the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management, attended the meeting and agreed with Dunn that while it may not be the state ratepayers' responsibility, it was a problem that affected the states ratepayers. What Im saying is, the national forests are overgrown, Tenney said. There is not the appetite at the congressional level to fund it. And we can either say it is their fault and it is their problem, or we can step up and say we have a possible solution and maybe we should look at it and not see if its worth us diving into. Jeff Burke, director of resource management at Arizona Public Service who explained APSs feasibility study to the commission, said APS would like to begin looking for companies to contract delivering biomass at the same time as 4FRI begins to look for new logging contractors this summer. Burke indicated that they would to make an action soon, and the commission plans to vote on this issue in June. Scott Buffon can be reached at sbuffon@azdailysun.com, on Twitter @scottbuffon or by phone at (928) 556-2250. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 1 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. N.C. State professor emeritus Herb Eckerlin Herb Eckerlin designed the N.C. State Solar House, but he's a critic of the ways the solar industry markets its power. (CJ photo by Dan Way) In its application to build a solar facility on Gov. Roy Cooper's Nash County property, Durham-based Strata Solar said its generating capacity would be about 5 megawatts. Enough energy to power continuously about 3,750 homes.But the plant won't generate 5 MW of energy 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Much of the time it won't produce anything.the application notes.Cooper's application isn't unusual. Engineers who've worked with electric utilities say solar facilities generate no power most of the day, and seldom reach peak generation, yet they are marketed by how many megawatts of electricity they can produce during the rare times they're at maximum output.The ratings are ambiguous at best, and deceptive at worst, raising significant public policy concerns, engineers say.Herb Eckerlin is a retired engineer who has designed power plants for the electric utility industry and professor emeritus at N.C. State University. Eckerlin has been a proponent of solar energy for more than 40 years and remains a fan. He designed and built the N.C. State Solar House , a nationally recognized education and demonstration center for residential solar power.But he doesn't like the way ratings are reported and accounted for.Eckerlin said county officials who approve zoning and other permits for solar facilities, and state lawmakers who pass laws regulating and rewarding solar plants with subsidies, can be misled by the megawatt ratings assigned to a solar application.Officials often interpret the MW rating as a constant flow of electricity. In reality the rating reflects only potential - a maximum output that occurs for about one hour around noon on a sunny day. A solar plant generates less than the megawatt rating the other 23 hours, and no power at all the 14 hours the sun is down.Eckerlin said of the megawatt labels.As a result, many incorrectly believe solar power is available on demand, solar and conventional power sources are interchangeable, and programs like the Green New Deal would let solar replace conventional power sources, Eckerlin said.said Sam Watson, general counsel for the N.C. Utilities Commission. Regulations require applicants for a solar facility to inform the commission the potential maximum output so electric utilities can decide how to connect the solar power with the electric grid, he said.Watson said, including its intermittent characteristics.Gary Rackliffe, vice president of smart grids and grid modernization at ABB Inc. in Raleigh, which deals in solar equipment and power grid operations, said a solar facility can meet the megawatt rating only when all of its panels receive full sunshine.Electric utilities such as Duke Energy and Dominion Energy must keep redundant fossil fuel-fired electric sources operating constantly to fill in immediately when solar power is disrupted by clouds, rain, and nightfall.Making matters more costly, the federal Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act requires utilities to buy all commercial solar power generated, even if it's more expensive than energy from other sources such as nuclear, natural gas, or hydro power.Eckerlin has expressed his concerns as a consultant for opponents of solar projects in North Carolina and other states. He's testified before legislatures and other government panels.And still, he remains a backer of solar energy. He says the industry should be honest about the capability and limitations of a solar power plant, rather than use a fictitious megawatt rating.Eckerlin captured data from instruments at the N.C. State Solar House to create plotlines graphically illustrating solar power's intermittent nature.The plotlines tell a story: On mostly cloudy or rainy days, the solar array powering the house produced less than 10% of its maximum rated capacity. A mostly cloudy day recorded occasional blips of about 45%. The number never exceeded 10% on a rainy day.Eckerlin said those fluctuations would be the same regardless of a solar facility's size. They illustrate that assigning a megawatt rating to a solar power plant has no meaning.Lawrence Watts of Greenville, a retired engineer who worked at Duke Energy's predecessor Carolina Power & Light, agrees with Eckerlin. He used solar facility data he got from a power company and converted it into a series of plotlines covering several 24-hour cycles in January, June, and August 2016. His diagrams resembled Eckerlin's - a Bell curve sharply rising and falling during the narrow time band power is generated.Watts said power companies are stressed with high electricity demand in the morning, late afternoon, and evening. They charge higher rates and make much of their profit in those peak demand hours, the time little or no solar power is produced.Watts said. "The people that own solar farms don't want you to know how little they produce before 10 o'clock in the morning."Solar enthusiasts misrepresent solar efficacy by omitting peak demand shortcomings, Watts said. That influences public policy when, for example, they push officials to convert farmland into solar installations.Eckerlin suggests the solar industry created the maximum capacity megawatt rating system to disguise actual power generation, which is much lower and more erratic than industry marketers like to admit.Rackliffe said solar energy can be stored in batteries on sunny days when there is more supply than demand. Battery storage lets solar energy be used during peak demand when solar installations aren't generating electricity.Costs of solar batteries are dropping - from about $1,000 per kilowatt hour in 2010 to less than $200 today.Rackliffe said. Solar batteries account for a small percentage of electricity storage on the grid. About 94 percent of storage comes from pumped hydro power.To store 1 kilowatt of electricity to produce just one hour of operation would require a storage pod the size of a shipping container, Rackliffe said. By comparison, a typical nuclear plant generates a gigawatt of electricity, he said. One million kilowatts. The Beartooth Highway reopened to the Montana-Wyoming state line Saturday morning after an avalanche prompted a brief closure, according to the Carbon County Sheriff's Office. No one was injured in the avalanche, which was discovered at about 5:30 a.m., according to the county's emergency dispatch office. It had blocked both lanes of traffic, the sheriff's office wrote on social media, before a crew from the Montana Department of Transportation removed the snow from the roadway. Saturday marked the beginning of seasonal access to the Beartooth Pass. The highway had previously been open only to Vista Point, about 19 miles south of Red Lodge. Travelers will still need to turn around once they reach the state line. The Wyoming side of Highway remains closed as the National Park Service continues work to clear it, according to the Montana Department of Transportation. Earlier in the week the highway opening was delayed by more than 3 feet of snow that dropped over the mountain roadway Love 4 Funny 3 Wow 4 Sad 2 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. "Riding a motorcycle no matter where you are is dangerous," Quote Wizard noted when it released its report. "The open exposure compared to the confines of a vehicle presents a greater risk of bodily harm. Safety features are better than ever but injuries and death are an ever-present risk." The big takeaway we saw on both sides of the ranking list was the southern, warmer states came out on top in terms of having the highest rate of motorcycle fatalities, whereas the colder weather states had the lowest, said Adam Johnson of Quote Wizard, who compiled the study. Its what we figured it would be. The less time folks are outside on motorcycles, the less danger theyre in of having a fatal accident. That explains the general pecking order, but it doesnt clarify why little old Montana, among all the northern tier states and Alaska, ranks so much better than any of them. Both statistics really surprised me, but as I dug into it a little bit I guess I was surprised a little less, Lavin said. Yes, he agreed, fewer months of good riding weather plays into the low fatality rate for motorcycles. Members of the legislative Montana American Indian Caucus and I held a ceremonial signing last week for five pieces of legislation focused on reporting, investigating and addressing the missing and murdered Indigenous women epidemic in Montana. The missing and murdered Indigenous women legislative package included House Bill 21, also known as Hannas Act, as well as House Bill 20, House Bill 54, Senate Bill 40, and Senate Bill 312. The epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous women is a moral and humanitarian crisis. Just one Montanan missing impacts countless others, including families, loved ones and entire communities. No family should have to suffer this pain. We brought Democrats and Republicans together to make sure every Montana family knows they are valued equally and that we wont rest when our sons and daughters are missing. I want to thank the work of the Indian Caucus, the families of the victims, and the countless advocates, who brought these bills forward, held our elected leaders accountable, and refused to let injustice stand. That ceremony also included legislation that honors Montanas native heritage and history. A great example of this proactive approach is the student job fair at MetraPark last month where more than 700 high school seniors visited with representatives from 100 local businesses. Todd Buchanan, one of the job fair organizers, said contacts made at the job fair have already resulted in job shadows, offers of apprenticeships, full-time and part-time jobs. Sysco Montana conducted followup interviews with about 20 students who indicated interest in jobs at the MetraPark fair, according to Chris Gomez, Sysco human resources vice president in Billings. Ten of those teens have been hired at very competitive wages, Gomez said. Some wanted summer jobs before going to college, some wanted full time jobs that may lead to careers with the company, he said. All will start work at more than double the state minimum wage. Gomez said the company is looking for skills such as good attendance, personal accountability and safety consciousness. There's strong competition for local talent, he said. Two hundred nineteen health care economists recently sent an open letter to Congress and U.S. citizens in support of improved Medicare for All. Financing good quality health care as a basic right and significantly reducing overall health care spending is viewed as a public good. People need to realize that evidence from around the world demonstrates publicly financed health care results in improved health outcomes, lower costs and greater equity. The United States is currently spending 17% of GDP ($3.3 trillion dollars) each year, which is about $10,000 per person. Other developed countries are spending 9-11% of GDP, averaging $3,000 to $5,700 per person, and have better results. Think of the impact on well-being that could be achieved by 80-90% of Americans if we insist and move to accomplish Medicare for All.